#runaway king

[runawaykingcomic]

The Kingdom And The Preist's Son: 3

[kenneduck]

It's hard to be stealthy with Sidon!

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[pink-evilette]

by Alexa King

[lemonboyjosten]

[twolovelyberries]

a man can only have so many issues. it is just a phone.

[sillysapphillean]

Credit to @bisexualfagdyke for kicking the pebble that lead to the avalanche of this idea in my head even if the end product has nothing to do with what we talked about anymore

AU where Mary dies when they are in france and coincidentally around the same time is right before jean was about to get sold and because he caught wind of their plans to sell his sister he instead flees together with her. Neil & Jean meet when they try to approach the same contact to get new papers and go to the US. Neil at wits end going back to the states because europe clearly isn't any safer anyway and in the states he has faster access to more cash and resources. Jean aiming for the US because he's not rly quite fully aware of the threat the moriyamas pose there, he just wants to keep elodie safe away from his family.

So these two abused 15(?) year olds on the run from their mob families and way too unaware of the yakuza band together. Because neil doesn't rly think he can function and continue going completely by himself. And jean doesn't rly know wtf he's doing and neil at least has experience and resources so this will keep elodie safer.

They get by for a while but jean is very conscious of how life on the run is wearing on elodie. He just wants her to be able to have some kind of normalcy and happiness. Jean and neil fight a bunch because neil's like "i was fine being on the run at her age" but rly he's just battling with a bit of jealousy for elodie having someone who wants her to be happy, unlike his mother who only cared about survival.

Eventually they settle a bit in millport. It feels small and isolated enough for them to stay a while. Neil lets himself experience some happiness again too, joining the exy team and roping jean into it too.

And then coach wymack shows up with kevin day because coach hernandez sent him their files.

(i will be adding onto this and you should be able to find all future posts about it under "#aftg runaways AU" on my page. Masterpost here)

[thedevilsofcarthya]

love reading the ascendance series when i’m having a bad day cause no matter what kind of day i’m having, jaron is having a worse one

[thebatrodenused]

"I dont lie, i *flip the truth*"

"Jaron. Thats lying" - Tobias

[wanderersrest]

An Abbreviated History of Mecha Part 3.1: Do You Remember Love? (1980-1985)

Welcome back to An Abbreviated History of Mecha! Last time, we covered a small smattering of shows from the 70's. I tried to cover the big names, with a focus on the Holy Trinity (Mazinger Z, Getter Robo, and Mobile Suit Gundam). While the latter of the three will be showing up throughout this series, the other two will largely fade into the background. Do not mistake this for them no longer being relevant though, as there is a very good reason why they are part of the Trinity. Besides, they'll show up again in some capacity towards the end. This also ignores the fact that both Mazinger Z and Getter Robo would constantly get updates throughout the years, so to say that the other two were somehow lesser than Gundam is foolish.

What we DO see in the 80's though are mecha shows popping up left, right, and center. A lot of this is helped by the fact that the 80's are also a time in Japanese history where the economy was booming. OVAs also become a major thing in this time period, as do a lot of surprisingly influential series. As such, I will be covering 80's (and later the 90's) in multiple parts due to how many series come up in this time period:

Part one (this part) will cover the time period from 1980-1985

Part two will cover 1986-1990

Part three will cover pretty much everything directed by Yoshiyuki Tomino from 1981 to 1993 and will serve as a bridge between the 80's and the 90's

Oh, and let me reiterate something about Mobile Suit Gundam from the last point: Gundam wouldn't become successful until the 80's with the release of the compilation movies.

With that out of the way, let's transform and ROLL OUT!

Space Runaway Ideon (1980)

Coming off the heels of Mobile Suit Gundam, Yoshiyuki Tomino would follow it up with Space Runaway Ideon. Think of it as a classic giant robot series mixed with the style of war stories that would be more in line with Space Battleship Yamato or Mobile Suit Gundam. Do not let the brightly-colored giant robot fool you. Ideon is, to my understanding, one of the darkest entries in the canon of mecha. Ideon is also where the Itano Circus came from, so that's another reason to be aware of this series. More importantly, Space Runaway Ideon specifically would be the inspiration for one Hideaki Anno when he made a certain series that I will talk about in the future. Something about a young man needing to get into a robot something, I don't know.

Diaclone (1980) & Transformers (1985)

Remember when I brought up Microman (the toy, not the wrestler)? This is why.

In 1980, Takara would release the Diaclone line of toys as a spinoff to Microman. This series would be noteworthy due to its inclusion of transforming machines designed by one Shoji Kawamori (more on him soon). One of these machines would be the eighteen-wheeler known as Convoy.

In 1985, Hasbro would license out the Diaclone line among other Takara licenses for the surprisingly ambitious series known today as Transformers. The story would follow the Autobots, led by Optimus Prime (who Diaclone fans would recognize as Convoy), as they fight against Megatron and the Decepticons. Chances are very likely that if you're not thinking of the RX-78-2 Gundam when you hear the word "mecha," chances are likely you're imagining Optimus Prime.

Transformers' success in America and beyond would be so great that, in the 90's, Takara would end the Diaclone line and create a new line of toys, complete with accompanying TV series. That's another story for when we get to the 90's though, so stay tuned for that.

Beast King GoLion (1981) & Voltron (1984)

In 1981, the anime Beast King GoLion would air in Japan. GoLion itself would be pretty run-of-the-mill as far as mecha shows in the early 80's would be concerned. However, GoLion is worth mentioning as it would be one of the first anime properties that US showrunners would splice with other shows like it in order to make something for syndication.

In 1984, World Event Productions would splice Beast King GoLion with another mecha series, Armored Fleet Dairugger XV (1982), to create Voltron. And when it comes to combining robots, chances are very likely that one would think of Lion Voltron (or GoLion for those more familiar with the original) over something like Getter Robo or Voltes V. Voltron is an icon of the 80's, so much so that Voltron (specifically the lion version) would get multiple adaptations over the years, including but not limited to Voltron Force in the 2000's and Voltron: Legendary Defender in the 2010's, the latter of which I am told is a big part of Tumblr history. At this point, I wouldn't be surprised if people considered GoLion/Voltron to be more of a US creation than a Japanese one.

Fang of the Sun Dougram (1981)

Starting in 1981, Ryousuke Takahashi and company would create Fang of the Sun Dougram. Building off the themes of Mobile Suit Gundam, Takahashi would begin to push the envelope in terms of what one could present with a military mecha series. Whereas Gundam's relative realism comes from how the One Year War affects the soldiers, Dougram would go further and show us just how the parties involved plan out their attacks and political machinations.

If you want to learn more about Dougram, I'd highly recommend Pyramid Inu's video on Dougram, as they're a big Takahashi nut.

Also, Dougram is of vital importance to a certain tabletop RPG coming up.

Super Dimension Fortress Macross (1982) & Robotech (1984)

In 1982, Shoji Kawamori and the people at Studio Nue would release Super Dimension Fortress Macross, a series that would explode in terms of popularity. Like Gundam and Dougram before it, Macross would give us a war story featuring giant robots. But unlike Gundam and how war has its tolls on soldiers, or Dougram with its focus on political machinations and realistic strategy, Macross would focus more on how love and culture can overcome conflict. Macross is notable not just for popularizing transforming robots, it would also bring idol singers into vogue.

In 1984, Carl Macek would be tasked by Harmony Gold to make Macross eligible for syndication. Doing the best he could, Macek would fuse Macross with two other series, Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross and Genesis Climber Mospeada, to create the controversial Robotech.

Why is Robotech controversial? To put it very shortly: Robotech would be the reason why the original Macross has never been brought over to the west, for reasons that we will see later. It's a shame too, since Macross is one of the biggest mecha franchises after Gundam. But, it should also be worth noting that Robotech, while controversial, is still important due to it being a major introduction point into mecha stories and anime as a whole for a whole generation of people.

Ginga Eiyuu Densetsu/Legend of the Galactic Heroes (1982)

In 1982, Yoshiki Tanaka's Ginga Eiyuu Densetsu, or Legend of the Galactic Heroes for us westerners, would be published. Over the course of ten volumes, the series would follow the exploits of the so-called Galactic Heroes, Reinhardt von Lohengramm and Yang Wen-Li, as the factions the two belonged to fought for control of the galaxy, with all of the politics and strategizing that ensues. Galactic Heroes is such a large and sprawling story that, when it came time to adapt it into an animated original video animation (OVA) series in 1988, it ended up becoming the longest-running OVA series of all time, clocking in at about a whopping 108 episodes in total. The series would also get another animated adaptation in 2018, Die Neue Theiss.

Armored Trooper VOTOMs (1983)

Following up on the success of Dougram, Ryousuke Takahashi would release the extremely iconic Armored Trooper VOTOMs in 1983. While Dougram was already a pretty grounded military robot in its own right, VOTOMs would take that concept to its logical conclusion. Here, VOTOMs were 4-meter tall machines that acted more like humanoid jeeps, and not only were they expendable, they were easily replaced. When mecha heads talk about realistic mecha series, VOTOMs is oftentimes brought up as the gold standard for this.

Panzer World Galient (1984)

Galient gif courtesy of Sakugabooru

Following up from VOTOMs, Takahashi would then follow that up with Panzer World Galient, a series that would trade out the military robots in favor for fantasy-flavored mecha. What's interesting to note here is that this would come out a year after a series called Aura Battler Dunbine, and I'd argue that both series would be the bases for later fantasy-inspired mecha series such as Magic Knight Rayearth and Break Blade.

Battletech (1984)

1984 would also see FASA Corporation release the first edition of its BattleTech ruleset. Rumored to have taken inspiration from series like Fang of the Sun Dougram, Macross, and Crusher Joe, BattleTech would become the poster child of the western giant robot aesthetic, that of the walking tank.

Also due to a messy copyright situation, BattleTech would also get tied up with Harmony Gold due to stolen designs. This legal back and forth would eventually be the reason why Macross would be unavailable outside of Robotech to this very day, though at one point the legal nonsense got so out of hand that, if I remember correctly, they tried to also bar FASA and their successors from using mechanical designs from Dougram and Crusher Joe (even though they did not have the rights to either series).

Blue Comet SPT Layzner (1985)

Blue Comet SPT Layzner is a 1985 series created by Ryousuke Takahashi. The series, from my superficial glancing of the series, would be the first major Gundam-like series to come out. It should be noted that, prior to this, the only major Gundam series to exist prior to 1985 was the original Gundam. Unfortunately for Layzner, 1985 would be the year that Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam would air, which is generally considered to be the most popular Gundam series in the franchise.

Conclusion

As we get further into the 80's, we will begin to see more and more stories show up that would be a part of the mecha canon. The latter half of the 80's is where we see the rise of the OVA which, as I mentioned briefly with Legend of the Galactic Heroes, will be where we see a lot of OVA series pop up. We'll also see couple more western productions, along with an appearance by a certain Blue Bomber.

This is a work of fiction, but in ten years? Who knows?

[theelectronicstranger]

Ultimate X-Men #3 Discussion

          If you have not read this issue, then please look away now! I’ve been really loving this title so far. I think this issue is worth your time and money, so don’t spoil yourself and maybe come back to this when you’ve read this issue.

          I really enjoyed learning more about Mei Igarashi/MayStorm this issue and seeing how her powers manifested. We saw a bit of her connection to Storm/Ororo; in the issue, we saw a glimpse of her looking up “Storm” on social media and reading all about her escapades as a freedom fighter in West Africa:

I already talked about this in my Ultimate Black Panther #1-3 Discussion, but I really appreciated that we get some confirmation on who Storm is and how she is related to Mei in this universe. I also like how this is kind of the first time these books have connected with one another. Unless you count the Tony Stark appearance in Ultimate Spider-Man #1, there hasn’t really been that much crossover in the first 3 Ultimate Universe titles. My only problem with them showing Mei and Storm’s connection is that I wish it was longer. I would love to know more about the extent of Mei’s interest in Storm. I’m hoping we see more of her connection with Storm and maybe see her work with Storm in the future as the stories of this universe progress. Although this little panel suffices, I just wish there was more.

          We also get to see Mei’s family life in this issue, and it is not good. Her parents seem to be fighting all the time because her father seems to be cheating on her mother with another woman. Also, her dad seems pretty checked out with the whole relationship and his family in general because anytime we see him, his expression doesn’t really change. He’s just looking at his paper or looking somewhere else. It feels like he has straight up disdain for the family he has, and Mei has learned to dislike her father because of his actions and inaction within their family. He is also pretty abusive in this issue. When Mei talks back to her in this issue, Mei’s father hits her without any remorse:

What really gets to me about these pages is the fact that he just did it so nonchalantly. Like he knew this was just something Mei deserved or something he needed to do to punish her daughter. He did it so matter-of-factly that it was really scary and effective in making me hate this guy, which makes what happens next so satisfying:

This is my favorite panel of the issue. Mei, after being struck by her father, unleashes and awakens her mutant powers. It’s like all this pent-up anger and repressed emotions she feels inside just explodes and makes themselves feel known. I absolutely love Peach Momoko’s art here. I think she drew Mei’s awakening so well, which makes what follows after so heartbreaking:

Her father doesn’t even flinch, and he doesn’t change his demeanor. He just wants her out of his house. When I first read this, I was speechless because her father was just so cruel. He didn’t even try to understand what happened or understand his daughter at all. All he knew was that her daughter was now a liability and someone he couldn’t control anymore, so he told her to go. This scene just completely deflates that big burst of energy from when Mei awakens her power. It’s as if there’s nothing that she could do to change how her father feels and acts about her. Even her powers manifesting wasn’t enough to get a better reaction from him.

          I’m going to talk a little bit about the Shadow King (This is still not confirmed by the way, but we still don’t have a name for him so I’m just sticking with “the Shadow King” for now). We saw a bit of him this issue. I still maintain my belief that it was too early to reveal that the Shadow King’s identity was an actual physical person and not some spirit or entity because I felt like all of the mystique surrounding his identity and what he is went away when we found out what he looked like. I really would have preferred it more if his identity was kept a secret for at least a year. Yes, there’s still some questions regarding his identity and his motivations that are left to be answered. However, I felt like we could have kept more of the horror aspect of the book if his identity was kept a secret for a little longer. I’m not saying that it’s not there still, but with this issue specifically, it felt like that aspect has been diminished. I understand that Momoko probably wanted to temper people’s expectations of who this person is, so I’m trusting that she knows what she’s doing and I’m just going to enjoy what she has in store for us in the future. I am a little excited to find out more about who this person actually is and what his motivations are, so I hope we get those answers soon.

          This issue also introduces us a bit to Nico Minoru, which was a nice surprise. As far as I know, Nico Minoru was never a mutant unless I’m missing something. If I am, then please let me know. I’m pretty sure she’s a sorceress/witch in the main 616 universe and was never a mutant. I wonder how this version of Nico Minoru’s powers work because is seems to hint that she’s a psychic in this issue; but also, at the end of the issue we see her holding a magnifying glass that oddly looks like the Staff of One:

I like her design in this issue and I’m wondering if the magnifying glass helps her use her powers at all. Maybe that’s how she knows that Mei and Hisako are mutants. Sidenote: This is the first time in this series that anybody has mentioned the word ‘Mutant”. If that magnifying glass is the Staff of One, then that makes me wonder if certain mutants in this universe need “trinkets” to activate their powers because Hisako in this issue talks about how her Omamori is always with her even when she forgets it:

When Hisako activated her armor power back in Issue 1, we see her holding her Omamori in her hand:

The Omamori looks exactly like her armor too. My theory is that maybe certain mutants in this universe are connected to certain items that helps them manifest their powers? We know that this universe has a very interesting history with artifacts and stolen destinies/powers. The Maker took certain items/artifacts that would have turned certain people into superheroes. What if this universe holds value to those artifacts/objects and that is how some mutants use their power in this universe? What do you guys think?

Anyways, I want to go back to the picture of Nico Minoru’s introduction and focus on the little girl on Nico’s right:

The little girl is wearing bunny ears, and my immediate thought is that it was Molly Hayes of the Runaways. Maybe even the girl with the eyepatch is Gert Yorkes? I don’t really know if that’s Molly or if that’s Gert but I’m excited to find out. Also, I want to point out that Mei Igarashi is technically a runaway right now. She’s not with her parents anymore. It seems that she’s alone right now, so maybe we will see a version of the Runaways in this series? What do you guys think? I personally really like the Runaways team, so seeing them in this book in some form or another will be nice.

          That’s all I have for this issue of Ultimate X-Men. Thank you for reading this! I’d love to know what you guys think of the issue. I didn’t talk much about Hisako this issue because this issue was more about Mei, but there were some panel in the beginning of this book that I want to see where it goes for a bit before I talk about it. Thank you for reading and have a great day.

[runawaykingcomic]

The Kingdom And The Preist's Son: 2

[ascendanceseriesveteran]

Literally any enemy ever *slams Jaron against the wall*: Surrender now bitch.

Jaron:

Jaron: Are we about to kiss right now?

[fuyuthefoxwriter]

What’s this a Team Red color Colab, how fabulous!!! we sadly didn’t get it done before the deadline (ha dead pun) but we still were so happy with how it turned out and decided to share it, I hope you all enjoy it as much as we enjoyed coloring it together

Ghostwriter and Cujo colored by me (aka @fuyuthefoxwriter )

Johnny 13 colored by @half-deadmagicperson

Ember and Background colored by @ectoblastfromthepast

Danny and tiny man Skulker colored by @echo-does-art

Technus colored by @brothebro

And last but not least spectra colored by @furiarossa

The amazing line art was made by @things-i-cannot-do-in-amitypark

[ascendantloser]

Rest in peace Erin Eckbert you would've LOVED Imogen 🙏

[jaronxlordashcombe]

I wonder what Jaron would do if he found out about a gun? it would be a big mistake doing that. Then he would remind me more of Christopher Rowe

[sillysapphillean]

Finally coming back to Runaways AU posting. If the original concept interests you but you don't like where i'm taking it, please consider what i said here.

(There's a lot so i included a cut here to not make it fill up your dash too much)

Quick disclaimer: queerplatonic jeaneil is very dear to me. I do not ship them romantically. Their dynamic in this AU is fairly complicated and codependent and the presence of strong emotions & physical affection doesn't mean their bond is romantic. I of course can't stop anyone from interpreting it whichever way they choose but i'd rather people don't insist that what i'm writing must be romantic because that's how they read it.

So. Neil & Jean + Elodie on the run together..

Neil of course is the one to teach Jean and Elodie english. He's an okay teacher, good enough that they get by and they improve fast enough. Neil however is simply not aware of a couple of accented words and anglicisms in his own vocabulary, so the moreau siblings have some random british words in their vocabulary

Physical affection is complicated for the boys. They both initially only know touch as something practical or to hurt. They are touch starved. But elodie is a child who gives and craves physical affection freely, so the boys gradually grow more used to giving and receiving affection through touch. Sleeping curled together becomes a necessity to keep warm wherever they're camping out but they eventually do it even when not necessary because it is comforting to have the other right there

After his mother got got, before joining up with jean, neil felt kinda directionless & defeated because without his mother there to push for it 15 year old neil doesn't really see the point of running forever if the only possible end is eventual death. Then he meets jean & elodie, starts bonding with them & keeping them safe becomes his entire world. Like a "i'll get caught and killed eventually but as long as i'm alive i can at least make sure they're okay & will be fine when i'm gone" mentality because he doesnt understand that jean is equally as fucked if the butcher finds them.

They bicker a LOT, getting into verbal fights over a lot of small things. They are constantly stressed with no outlet except eachother. Neil for a long time is also just not coping well with witnessing elodie receiving such genuine love and care because it makes something in him burn with ugly jealousy. Jean for a while absolutely despises having to rely on essentially a stranger for so much when his own english is way too lacking to get around by himself.

As much as he doesn't cope well at all with his own jealousy and yearning for being cared for, neil does also become fiercely protective of elodie pretty quickly. If she gets to have what he can't have then she needs to be able to keep that and not become like him. His "one of us has to make it" mantra we know from canon becomes entirely focused on her.

They have pretended to be a couple a few times, simply because it is the easiest cover for why a teenager as clearly french as jean would be so close to some very clearly not french teenager

They kissed once or twice as like a "for the sake of the cover" thing, trying out if that works but unanimously decided it wouldn't. It just made neil feel queasy and uncomfortable and bisexual disaster jean is self aware enough to know that risking developing a hopeless onesided crush would be the worst in their situation

Little head kisses have kinda become a thing though. It's something jean did a lot to comfort elodie & once when neil was having a breakdown he did it to him while holding him and it helped so it just stuck

In millport their story is that jean & elodie's father had moved to the US with them for work and had been colleagues with neil's parents. When father moreau turned out to be abusive, neil's parents helped jean emancipate himself and gain custody of elodie, and helped them move away, letting neil go with them.

When they get to palmetto, most of the foxes do assume they're dating and the boys don't directly correct anyone out of worry it will raise too many eyebrows, so neil doesn't get to explain that he doesn't swing any direction until much later