#hurts more than getting a fight if i'm being candid

[kisakis-boyfriend]

Okay, here's my request for the halloween event!

First thing: I forgot to ask about the polyship, so I wondering it's possible to request with Makoto & Akihiko. If not, then can I just get Makoto?

(Note: I'm writing the context with Makoto & Akihiko as a polyship, so ignore Akihiko if polyship is not possible)

(Also: NSFW)

Context: Reader is a member of SEES and the crew is visiting Tartarus on Halloween, which makes it more dangerous than usual. The party (which has Reader, Makoto, and Akihiko, plus anyone else (Up to you, if you want)) is separated on a floor with Fuuka unable to locate and hear them. The reader finds Makoto and Akihiko fighting a powerful shadow, only for them to become inflicted with Charm before they could defeat the shadow. Reader managed to defeat the shadow only to find the two still under the Charm status and looking at Reader with hunger... What happens next is up to you.

Thank you! Hope this is alright with you!

🎃

Author's Note: You've activated my trap card! AkiMako/Mina is one of my favorite p3 ships. 🥰 Reader ended up being a bit of a switch rather than fully dom, I hope that's alright 😵‍💫 This was super fun to brainstorm for and write! The focus kept shifting more towards Akihiko no matter what, I tried to keep Makoto included but I'm sorry if that's not quite what you wanted. ;( I hope you enjoy it anyways~

Pairings: Makoto x Akihiko x male reader

Warnings: Male!reader, switch/top!reader, switch/bottom!characters, everyone is 18+ & a virgin, reader is a bit of a closeted pervert, mild dubcon, riding, facesitting, oral sex

The moon hangs heavily in the sky, not quite full, but close. A small sliver remains dark — the promise of an upcoming hardship once that section is also lit.

Your leader gathered the group earlier tonight, arranging a plan to infiltrate Tartarus and hone your skills further in preparation for these final few shadows you're guaranteed to clash with.

Certain teammates weren't available — which left the candidates for tonight's mission as: Makoto (your leader), Akihiko, Junpei, and yourself. Fuuka is, of course, your trusty navigator. Mitsuru is also on standby, just in case something happens.

Everything was going smoothly at first, until you came across a floor that was slightly warped. Your teammates began to complain of a headache, but before any of you could even say "let's find a teleporter" — or before Fuuka could warn you of the incoming danger — you all fainted.

None of you even considered that Tartarus, the dark hour, or the shadows would behave differently tonight. Apparently, the holiday where the veil between worlds is thinner does affect Tartarus, and now you were all going to pay the price for venturing in so willy nilly.

The first thing you perceive is a terrible pounding in your head—like someone is hitting your brain with several hammers—followed by the hard surface underneath you. Your eyes feel far too heavy to open, and a faint ringing invades your ears as you regain consciousness. There's an ache in your limbs that wasn't there earlier, but nothing appears broken or outwardly injured—save for a few bruises.

Sitting up hurts. Whatever transported you here wasn't gentle and you can really feel it. The familiar presence of your friends is no longer with you, and you panic, finding yourself all alone in a completely different area.

“Hey, Fuuka? Come in, Fuuka! …Shit!” no response.

Ok, don't panic. Surely there's just something jamming our communication. They're probably still here somewhere, I just have to look around.

Luckily, your weapon wasn't stolen. You pick it up and keep it at the ready — god only knows what's lurking around here, waiting for you to let your guard down so that it can pounce.

There are stairs not too far from where you wake up, and they lead to a floor with a similar structure. Another flight up, and it's the same. You gather that, from your knowledge of previous blocks, these are the floors right before you encounter a gatekeeper. No enemies in sight, just a straight path up.

Which means, the next floor should be… !!!

—

“You want a piece of me?! Then, come get some!” someone shouts in the distance. A deep male voice, quite feisty, too.

—

That all too familiar voice catches your attention, and you rush up the stairs without hesitation. Your guess is correct; on the next floor, your friend, Akihiko is fighting what appears to be a gatekeeper. Your leader is fighting by his side, but Junpei is nowhere to be seen. Before you can locate him though, you'll need to defeat this thing. Eliminating any immediate danger before you can get your bearings and conduct a search and rescue is a priority.

They manage a couple strong hits to the shadow, but that doesn't seem to do much more than provoke the damn thing. After a successful attack from Makoto, the shadow winds up to unleash a counter attack that hits both of your teammates, knocking them both down and stunning them in the process.

While your teammates are capable all on their own, you can't stuff down the protective itch scratching at your brain. Seeing your friends in a vulnerable position triggers your theurgy — and before you can even think, you slam a cartridge into your evoker and point it at your head. Pulling the trigger to unleash an attack so devastating, it turns that shadow into dust instantaneously.

“Whew… hah, take that, asshole! Mess with my friends again… *huff* I dare you!” you manage between heavy breaths. Wow, ok…may have overdone it a bit there… you say in your head before turning towards your friends, giving them a quick once-over to see if they're injured.

“Hey, leader, how ya feeling?”

He hesitates for a minute. Finally speaking, “Fine, now that you're here~” you definitely notice a change in his tone, but you chalk it up to disorientation after being teleported to a strange floor like you were. It's not until Akihiko speaks up that you really clock something strange happening…

“I'm so happy to see you, y/n~” your white haired companion says in a sing-song way.

……… yeeeaahh no. Akihiko does not talk like that- something's definitely fishy here.

You squint at your friends, glancing back and forth between them. “Are you guys sure you're feeling alright? You're acting a little funny…”

As you eyeball them, they both begin stepping forward, with strange looks on their faces. It's unclear what their intentions are, but something about the way they move is… unnerving. Maybe not threatening, it's just unlike the way they normally move.

Your voice betrays you, trembling as you also take a step back while they close in on you. “This isn't very funny. What are you doing?” You try to keep both guys within your peripherals, eyes flicking back and forth between them as you try to figure out what's happening. It doesn't help that your feet also betray you, and you fall flat on your ass.

Akihiko drops to his knees in front of you, crawling towards you with a strange hunger swirling in his gray eyes. He slots right between your legs, leaning ever closer until his breath tickles your face. “Sanada-senpai…?” any further questioning gets cut off as your teammate steals your first kiss—unexpectedly so.

Tartarus is not exactly the ideal place for an impromptu kissing session… especially not from one of your friends whom you were convinced had eyes for someone else, but it seems like Akihiko isn't thinking about any of that. Actually, you don't have a clue what's going on in his head. Why on Earth is he suddenly smooching you?! Now's not the time for this!

“Mmph- wait wait wait, Junpei's still– !!!” you whine as your teammate holds you here by the small of your back, stealing kiss after kiss while you remain helpless to his attack. There's the faintest taste of blood on his lips, but otherwise he actually tastes… really nice. His lips only leave yours for brief moments, allowing for quick breaths before he continues this strange, uncharacteristic display of affection.

When Akihiko finally pulls back, he leaves your head spinning, not too dissimilar to how you felt before you fainted earlier. Before your senior can lean back in, you gasp, “Why… did you do that?”

His only response is a chuckle as he tilts his head, aiming for your jawline next. Hot, wet lips trail along your skin, jumbling your thoughts further.

Impatiently waiting his turn, your leader circles behind you, kneeling down as well and experimentally touching you. He starts off rubbing your shoulder, almost in a comforting manner, then growing bolder when you don't shrug him off, sliding his warm hands under your shirt.

Makoto's lips eagerly make contact with the back of your neck, and you gasp at the sudden feeling. With both of your friends groping and incessantly kissing you like this, it's not hard to lose yourself — getting caught up in the raw, carnal emotions and sensations.

Your chest has felt tight this whole time, and your stomach feels much the same, and somewhere a little lower… there's an unbearable heat building up, and it's starting to drive you crazy.

“Please… I get it if you're happy to see me, but, senp–mMmMPH–!” Akihiko's lips crash into yours once again, cutting you off unceremoniously. Something you said must have triggered this reaction—earning grunt and groan from your teammate as he takes you by the wrist and guides your hand in between his legs.

“D'you feel that… mmf! Look at what you're doing to me, y/n~~” your palm presses against the large bulge in Akihiko's pants. It's firm, and you swear that it…throbs…within your grasp. Your friend can't help himself as he humps your hand, moaning so close to your face while you simply stare in curiosity.

The hot and heavy breaths on your shoulder indicate that your leader is excited by this display too—panting hard as he shuffles around. You catch the sound of fabric rustling and assume that he's begun to touch himself as well. Just imagining the sight of Makoto with his hand down his pants, touching his hardened cock… and all of this is, presumably, because of you. For whatever reason they seem to be enamored by you — captivated, even. And, you do have to admit… this is all making you very excited too. What's the harm in giving in? What's the worst that could happen?

“So stiff… tell me what you want, Sanada-san.” you prompt, palming him more aggressively now. Akihiko stutters, tipping his head back as he groans “You! I want you~! Wan' you to… ruin me~❤️”

Behind you—still jerking himself with no shame—Makoto whimpers against your ear, sloppily fucking his fist until everything down there is wet and messy. God, it's an adorable image to think about. Watching your reliable leader whimper and whine, all while his pants become stained with his lust. You can even hear how wet he's become, just from sitting next to you and watching you touch Akihiko.

Your fingers graze his soft cheek and Makoto gasps, chasing your touch. “How about you, leader? You want the same thing, don't you?” His bangs bounce as he vigorously nods his head, boring into your soul with those pretty blue eyes.

“I hate how easily you've roped me into this… but I don't think any of us can just up and quit now–” you grumble, “We're in way too deep…”

Now that you're more on-board with whatever's happening, it's easy for you to take control—by pushing Akihiko onto the ground and pinning him by his hands. “Aah~ Y/nnn, please~” he whines, spreading his legs open obscenely. You've never seen Akihiko blush this much—or at all! His cheeks are almost the same shade as his vest.

You press a finger to his lips, then drag your digit down his chest all the way to his belt. “Shh, shh, don't get ahead of yourself, senpai. D'you really want me to stick it in so soon?”

The way your senior's eyes flutter and roll back has your own stomach fluttering like crazy. He licks his lips before answering “Yeess~ I'm so ready for you~” and moaning so sweetly. This is so unlike the tough yet socially awkward guy you're used to, but it is kinda hot, in a way.

“I'm sure you are, but I'm not gonna hurt you. Let's just take these off first–” you counter. Your fingers easily undo Akihiko's belt and remove it enough for him to pull his pants off, per your instructions. As he does that, you turn your attention over to S.E.E.S' most trusted leader—whose eyes shift between Akihiko's dick and your face rapidly.

“I feel like you've been rather neglected this whole time, so you come over here as well—I'll take care of you.” Makoto silently makes his way next to Akihiko, laying on his back and allowing you to remove his bottom clothing without a fuss. He gulps, and his mouth has never felt drier as he gazes at you through heavy eyelids while your hand lingers on his hip.

A forced whine pulls your attention back to Akihiko, who you can tell is trying with all his might not to touch himself as he awaits your next action.

The sight before you is a lot to take in; two of your closest friends, in the nude and lying on their backs in the middle of Tartarus, desperately staring at you with eyes completely overtaken by lust. Their cocks stand stiff, shining with the sinful layers of precum from being toyed with earlier. And, in a desperate attempt to get you to do literally anything, Akihiko grabs his ass and spreads his cheeks apart, offering up his untouched hole for you alone. “Please, y/n…”

While you are still a virgin (for a few more moments, at least) you've definitely browsed through plenty of porn — probably more than Junpei alone, maybe even more than all of your male friends combined… you have a decent idea of what to do, and a few dirty ideas of how to make your submissive friends even more embarrassed and excited~

“Alright, alright– I'm gonna use my fingers first though, ok? No protests.” you said firmly. Akihiko grumbled, but made no move to take control, relinquishing it all to you.

You wrap one hand around each of their dicks, respectively, making sure to gather precum moreso on your fingers than the rest of your hands, and pump their cocks a little. They're so fucking wet, precum is all over the inside of their underwear and now it's dribbled onto the front of their pants…and your stroking is only making a bigger mess.

Once you feel like you have enough on your fingers, you instruct them to “Open up~” Makoto understands the assignment immediately, parting his lips wide and accepting your sticky fingers so obediently. Akihiko, on the other hand, has the wrong idea, and spreads his hole more, thinking that you were going for that area already. He splutters when salty fingers push down on his tongue, filling his senses with his own lewd fluids.

The precum and saliva mix together quickly, graciously coating your fingers—much to your liking—and you finally pull them out and begin the main prep here. As your wet fingers enter Makoto for the first time, he keens, tightening up; “Hey, it's alright, you're ok. Take a breath, Makoto.” you push inside as he relaxes, and the realization of what you're doing hits you with a spark of electricity.

While your leader adjusts to the new intrusion, you set your sights on your other teammate as he lay there, panting, staring at you expectantly. “Ready?” a firm nod as Akihiko grasps the flesh of his own cheeks and spreads them once more is all the confirmation you need, rubbing the rim of his hole before your finger slides on in. You're only using one finger to start with, lest you accidentally hurt one of them. But it's not long until you can go up to two digits, scissoring their cute, puffy holes for the very first time.

The usually silent Makoto has higher pitched, breathy moans. They echo off of the twisted walls of Tartarus — creating sweet, sweet music to your ears. And over on the other side, Akihiko's grunts mix with eager growls and occasional moaning, honestly what you'd expect from him.

Their voices fill your ears, putting you in a trance as you mindlessly finger their asses like in the videos you watch online. But, the monotony of your movements made Akihiko bored—impatient. He hungered for more than what you were giving him.

Fed up with your slow pace, the white haired male grabs your wrist, snapping you out of the trance and making you panic slightly. “What's wrong, senpai?! I'm not going too fast, am I?”

In his eyes, you catch a dangerous glint, before your world gets tipped over. “Not fast enough…” your senior mumbles, sitting up in a flash and pushing you over so that you now lay flat on your back, staring up at a sweaty, crazed teammate. His hands make quick work of your belt, yanking your pants open and freeing your cock as fast as humanly possible. As he watches your stiff cock bob and drool with precum, his eyes glaze over, gasping like a kid in a candy shop.

“Waitwaitwait–!! Don't! I haven't– you haven't done this yet… it might still hurt!” your pleas fall on deaf ears as you watch in slow motion as Akihiko lines up your cock with his ass and pops the head in. Both of your eyes widen, and it would be a lie to say that this didn't feel amazing, just from your tip penetrating your friend's ass. “Senpai… fff-shiiit~ Ah–!”

The dizzying sensation returns, more intense than it has been so far, blurring all vision and judgement as your entire length fills up your friend's ass — from tip to base, your dick is squeezed tightly by Akihiko's hot walls.

“Oh yeah, that's it! Right there, y/n~ This is what I needed from you!!” your teammate exclaims, throwing his head back as he rides you with enough force to bruise your pelvis. His ass slams down repeatedly, only stopping to grind down and clench around your cock.

Feeling neglected and equally as hungry as his teammate, Makoto sits up and pouts. “Mmm, y/nnn… it's empty… without you…” his hips move without rhythm, chasing the phantom of pleasure left from having your fingers pulled out of him too soon. “N-need you… haah~”

Though you're out of breath, and struggling to focus on anything with Akihiko's tight hole sucking you in, you manage to get out, “C'mere… oOH~ Sit on me.” Brief images of pretty men and women sitting on another person's face as they get eaten out pop up in your mind, reliving the nights spent watching strangers' tongues lap at someone's ass or cunt in all kinds of ways. It's unclear what possessed you to suggest this, but that's what comes out of your mouth regardless. As your leader gives you an inquisitive look, you repeat, “Sit on my face, Makoto, I wanna… taste you.”

“Aah… like this…?” he murmurs, placing his knees on both sides of your head. With your patience now dwindling by the second, you wrap your hands around Makoto's thighs and make him sit on your face. His hole is right at your mouth, and you instantly begin to lick it, acting so lewd compared to your regular day-to-day self that your leader blushes even deeper.

“It's… too good–!! Ah! Y/n~” Makoto moans, grinding against your mouth selfishly. His voice goes up an octave when you dip your tongue inside — squeezing his thighs for dear life as adrenaline kicks in even more. All of these lewd acts have fired you up to the point where you just want to stay here all day, humming as you eat out one friend, and thrust your hips into another.

Speaking of– Akihiko hasn't even slowed down once while you've been taking care of your leader. And you finally feel the effect of that as your core tightens, and your thrusts become erratic. Akihiko matches that enthusiasm, bouncing with all of his strength until you're whining into Makoto's hole and creaming Akihiko's.

“Unf–! Fuuuu– mm, that's… what I needed~” your senpai grunts. His cock leaks onto your stomach, but he's yet to cum–

On top of you, Makoto's cock leaks all over your shirt—it aches for something more… In a fit of boldness, he pulls himself from your grasp just enough to scoot backwards and slide his dick into your open mouth. The action surprises you, but your head is so dizzy that you don't make any fuss over it.

Now, with his cock working further into your throat, Makoto hunches forward, cursing at the newfound sensation. Between seeing all of that happen, the obscene sounds coming from both his leader and you, and the hard cock still buried in his guts—Akihiko yearns for another round. Wasting no time in finding a steady pace, he rides you like a cowboy would a mechanical bull; gyrating his hips to bring himself (and you, by proxy) every ounce of pleasure available.

Both of the men on top of you are so caught up in their own agendas that they don't realize how much they've been gradually leaning forward, closer and closer to each other until their faces are right there next to each other.

They make eye contact, and it's Akihiko who moves first — he smirks at his leader, then puts a firm hand on the back of his neck to pull him into a kiss. A whole new feeling of lust takes over as Makoto fucks your mouth while Akihiko dominates his with his tongue. Feeling himself close to his release, Akihiko uses his free hand to masturbate his cock. It's sloppy and messy as his precum smears all across his glove—but clearly he does not care about that right now. His only goal is pleasure; a satisfying release after all of this intense fun.

You're still recovering from your orgasm when you feel your teammate's ass tighten around your dick, and seconds later he's shooting cum that hits yourself and your leader. His hips stutter wildly, and his breath is ragged and short as he savors the feeling of ecstasy shooting through his veins.

All of the excitement tips Makoto over the edge as well, and his load goes right down your throat, the surprise of which causes you to arch your back and buck your hips into Akihiko. When he eventually pulls out (and allows you to breathe!!) his body immediately slumps, accidentally resting his head on Akihiko's shoulder as he, too, trembles from the aftershocks.

Several minutes pass—so you assume—and your head begins to clear up. It's now that you take in the mess you've all made… there's cum all over your clothing, sweat and other bodily fluids clinging to your face, not to mention that your legs have fallen asleep after so much riding! The heavy presence on your chest and the one on your pelvis are noticeable now that you've calmed down too.

Still sitting on top of you, Akihiko's tired eyes flutter open and, judging by the intense look in them—the hearts taking up the space where his pupils once were—you fear that this isn't over yet…

[astralnymphh]

finding out i'm suddenly unfriended on multiple apps out of nowhere has to be the cherry on top of this already buttass bootyshit month 😭

[bynux]

"don't vote for Harris or you're supporting genocide" "voting blue is still voting for fascists" Then what else do you expect us to do?

Here are some options y'all seem to insist on and why they're fucking stupid:

Vote Third Party :: Until we have ranked-choice voting (and probably even if we did have ranked-choice voting), it is practically impossible to make a 3rd-party candidate viable. There's not enough of the population that's far enough from moderate to give up their "safe" blue vote for some "revolutionary."

Don't Vote At All :: I'd prefer to pick my enemy. If I'm going to be working in spite of the government, or even against it in some ways, I'd rather the people I'm working against not already be targeting me for being queer, for example. If my options are "bad" or "much, much worse" I'm gonna pick "bad" and try to improve things from there.

Violent Revolution :: It's a cosplay power fantasy in the same vein as the Right-wingers looking for a reason to shoot protesters. Assuming you even have enough people organized and enough firepower to pull that off in the first place…have you prepared a plan to keep the innocents alive and safe? Are you sure you can keep supply chains for food and medicines intact? Are you sure there will be resources available for the disabled, the scared, the young and old, those who won't be able to fight and still need to be taken care of? Turns out revolution is ugly and causes a lot of undue collateral damage. Are the lives "saved" really going to outweigh those whose lives will be upended and destroyed? It's not like a newly-toppled, unorganized country will be able to do anything about Israel/Gaza, so you're just hurting and killing far more people than you're saving.

As for the power you do have to better things (and make Leftism more viable as a political stance in the US)?

Work at the level of your local government. If you're in a small enough town or neighborhood and think you have what it takes, run for local office. Be a local face of the left wing; you're far more likely to sway a small town to your views than the whole country, and each small town with a socialist-leaning government is a dot on the map for larger-scale viability, and you can help keep your community safe while trying to build up in scale.

Build community so we can keep each other safe if worse does come to worst. Push mutual aid initiatives, help at food banks, grow produce to donate to those in need, apply to work at your local free clinic, empower local businesses whenever possible so that if there is a socioeconomic collapse, you and those you love aren't left completely without resources.

Protest, and make it disruptive. You can be disruptive without being violent: graffiti, blocking roads, encampments, sit-ins, to name a few examples. Create inconveniences so it gets people's attention whether they like it or not.

Above all, FUCKING VOTE BLUE. You're choosing your enemy. You get to help decide if the government we're working in spite of is run by milquetoast neoliberal war hawks who do, on some rare occasions, actually make things marginally better…or full-tilt Christo-fascists who want to kill some of us for kissing people with the same genitals as us. There aren't any other options that are going to be picked. It sucks, but at the bare minimum we can pick the option that isn't going to actively murder us while we try to build up viability for a candidate who won't sell out brown people to an ethnostate.

If you aren't doing at least one of the things above, then don't lecture me about how I keep myself and my community safe. I'd love to see a United States (or some future iteration of it) that acknowledges the sovereign rights of indigenous peoples, that doesn't fund genocide, that provides healthcare as a basic human right, that doesn't meddle in every other country's business. But if we are to see that, let alone help that happen, we need to survive this next presidential administration.

Edit: y'all have lost reblog privileges. If you wanna screenshot this and have stupid unnuanced opinions OFF of my post, be my guest. Just leave me tf alone.

[p0orbaby]

Cream Crackered

summary: being a phd student is not for the faint of heart

warnings: none, well tiredness? does that count?

a/n: based on this request. im also suffering from a hefty case of writers block so if this is awful, i apologies to all involved

word count: 1.1k

-

You’ve been burning the midnight oil for weeks.

As a PhD candidate in molecular biology, your days and nights blur together in a haze of research, experiments, and writing. You’re exhausted, running on fumes, but you have to push forward. You have to finish what you’ve started.

One evening, as you’re hunched over your computer, frantically typing away at your latest chapter, there’s a knock on your door. Startled, you look up to see Alessia standing there, concern etched on her face.

“Alessia?” you croak, your voice hoarse from lack of use. “What are you doing here?”

She steps into your cramped apartment, taking in the sight of scattered papers and empty coffee cups littering every surface. “I haven’t heard from you in days,” she says softly as her eyes scan your exhausted form. “I was worried”

You force a tired smile. “Just… I’m trying to finish this dissertation before my defense”

“You haven’t slept either, have you?”

“Is it that obvious?” You force a laugh, a weak little thing cut off by a large yawn. Gosh, you were tired.

She places her hold-all down on the floor, the one you were too tired to initially notice, before coming to stand over where you’ve stationed yourself at the dining table.

She nods, concern etched across her features. “Yes, it is,” she replies softly, her hand reaching out to brush a wayward strand of hair away from your face. “And it’s not healthy. You can’t keep pushing yourself like this”

You lean into her touch, feeling a sense of comfort wash over you despite your exhaustion. “I know,” you admit quietly, the weight of fatigue settling heavily on your shoulders. “But I need to get this finished”

Alessia hums, a low rumble in the quiet of your humble abode. “I thought you might have said that”.

Before you know it, Alessia leans over you and slams your laptop shut. Snuffing out the light of the screen in one smooth move, leaving you blinking and confused.

“You’re done for the day” she deadpans.

It all catches you off guard a little if you’re being completely honest.

“Wait, what? No, I’ve only got a few thousand words left” you protest, trying to prise your laptop open again. But it was no use, a perfectly manicured hand was keeping it closed, and you were too tired to fight her on this.

Looks like you're tapping out at homologous recombination.

Alessia gives you a firm look, an expression that leaves no room for negotiation. “You need rest, more than anything else right now”

You slump back in your chair, defeated but also secretly relieved. Deep down, you know she’s right. You’ve been pushing yourself to the brink, and it’s not at all sustainable.

With a resigned sigh, you nod, finally conceding. “Okay, okay. You win. But just for tonight”

Alessia smiles softly, “I’ll make you some dinner,” she offers, already heading towards the kitchen. “And then you're having a bath because no offense baby, you look like you could use one”

The truth hurts, you guess.

-

"So, tell me about your day," Alessia prompts as she rinses the shampoo from your hair.

You relax further into the warm water, gratefully leaning back against her. "It was hectic, as usual," you begin, recounting the events of the day with a sigh. "I spent most of it in the lab, running experiments, analysing data, the usual”

You feel her nod behind you. "Sounds intense," she comments, her fingers working wonders on your scalp. "Did you make any progress?"

You hum to confirm you had, a sense of pride swelling within you despite your fatigue. "Yeah, I think so. I managed to replicate some promising results from a previous study, which was a relief”

"That's great!" Alessia exclaims, kissing along your shoulder and up your neck. "I'm so proud of you”

You feel a warmth spread through your chest at her words, a sense of validation that you desperately needed. "Thanks," you say, settling into her further, then asking her the same.

As suspected, her day was filled with training and game strategies and business meetings, a routine you’re familiar with but nonetheless always interested to hear about.

You start to doze as she talks, not because you’re bored, but because this is the first time you’ve felt relaxed in days.

It’s only when you hear the water slosh and she shifts behind you that you realise your eyes have closed and your head has lolled against her shoulder.

“C'mon you, let’s get you to bed before we both get colds”

You blink, gradually returning to awareness as Alessia’s words register. With a gentle nudge, she encourages you to rise from the bath, the cold air hitting you before she wraps a towel around your shoulders.

You offer Alessia a sleepy smile, feeling the weight of exhaustion in your bones. “Thanks for looking out for me,” you say softly, gratitude laced in your words as you nestle closer to her.

Alessia returns your smile, her eyes warm with affection. “Always, my love,” she replies, brushing a strand of hair away from your face with gentle fingers. “You know I’ve got your back.”

You nod, feeling a sense of comfort wash over you at her words. “I do,” you murmur. “And I’ve got yours too, always. Even more so when my every thought isn’t consumed by nondisjunctions and point mutations”

“That’s the most romantic thing you’ve ever said” she teases, a playful grin tugging at the corners of her mouth.

“I can keep going? What about horizontal gene transfer? Or chromosomal segregation. Any of that doing it for you?” you jest, raising a suggestive eyebrow in her direction.

She just rolls her eyes and pushes you gently through to the bedroom.

“Come on, you know you love it when I talk nerdy to you,” you tease, wiggling your eyebrows.

She chuckles, shaking her head in amusement as she grabs some clean pyjamas from the dresser. “Usually, but right now, I think we both need some shut-eye”

You pout playfully, feigning disappointment. “Spoilsport,” you mock, reaching out to wrap an arm around her waist and pull her closer.

Alessia laughs, gently extricating herself from your grasp to pull back the duvet. “Hey, sleep is important,” she informs. “You of all people should know that”

You relent with a sigh, knowing she’s right. “Fine, fine,” you give in. “But you’re missing out on some riveting conversation”

So riveting in fact that you're yawning again and leaning into Alessia's touch as she helps you get dressed and tucked into bed.

Sleep, yes. What a splendid idea.

Alessia gives you a knowing look, “I think I’ll take my chances,” she says, before snuggling into bed beside you and pressing a tender kiss to your forehead.

[basofy]

Hey like, ignorant USAmerican here. Im trying to understand the situation going on in Venezuela and since, well, you live there, I'd like to hear ur voice. The actions of Maduro seem really indefensible but I worry about the US governments involvement in the opposition. I can't exactly do anything but it seems like the Venezuelan people are stuck between a rock and a hard place. I pray for your safety and that your land doesn't become a vassal state for the USA.

hello, i appreciate you reaching out to me to know more. the issues we are going through now don't really have anything to do with the usa, or probably not at the extremely big scale that annoying people online are saying. the opposition candidates we are rooting for (María Corina and Edmundo) are simply trying to prove the legitimacy of the votes in which Edmundo ended up with 70% in favor in contrast to Maduro who got 30%, i think the number in favor of Edmundo has even been going higher now that they're registering more votes.

on the day of the elections, me and everyone i know were watching reports of how the elections were going in other states, we watched as all the votes were being counted and Edmundo was proclamed winner in every state. there are recordings of the government attempting to steal the boxes (some did get stolen) and mistreating and even killing civilians for it. María Corina stated that the priority right now is protecting the votes and that's all she's asked from the country as of now (aside from some peaceful concentrations in places where she's spoken). venezuelans of all areas, of all economic classes have been protesting agaisnt Maduro, which i think is really good to note because, we used to be extremely divided in between people who opposed chavismo and people who wanted it, but lately the number of people opposing it has been really high, to the point that symbols of chavismo like statues and posters have been getting ruined everywhere by the people. even people who used to depend on what the government gave them (because Maduro created a situation where many people of low resources had to either put their trust and love in Maduro waiting to get something good out of it (and not even that good) or starve) realized they didn't want to depend on him anymore. nobody wants to 'just survive' anymore. this has been going on for 25 years, my country and my people have been deeply hurt. people are tired. and Maduro's mandate didn't even start in a fair way either, he has been commiting fraud everytime, the difference being now that people are more united and also more tired than before.

as for what you might've heard regarding USA i think you might have been seeing the people who say that the opposition is a bunch of cia leaders led by the US who only want Venezuela's resources. look i'm not saying the USA doesn't suck or that our resources aren't very preyed on, but that isn't what is happening here. it's a problem inside our country, it's a problem of people wanting their vote to be respected, who have had to fight for it and oppose the regime and the police and the military and risk their life for it. people have been getting abused and even kidnapped and tortured for protesting.

i would like to mention that people with the ideology that the opposition is an us backed coup have been dehumanizing us venezuelans to no end and refuse to listen to us. they don't know the reality of venezuela as of now and don't want us to explain it to them and put every excuse possible for it. it's just a bunch of people who talk about politics like it's videogames. they talk like every person opposing Maduro is a privileged white person when most of the people fighting right now are from the poorer areas of the country, the people they are suppossedly 'defending'. they feel more betrayed than everybody else does.

if USA is only supporting us for our resources rn i'm honestly unaware and wouldn't be surprised but as i said that isn't the issue at hand rn, and chavismo and Maduro have been profiting off our resources all these years leaving the people with nothing so thats to keep in mind. the disaster you fear the usa might do has already been done by chavismo

i would also like to mention that the supposed numbers in favor of Maduro don't even match with the amount of people protesting. all the people protesting outside aren't in his favor, and he has been suppressing every demostration of opposition with police brutality.

as for María Corina i can't say i 100% trust her, for different reasons, but she seems more ready than past figures of the opposition have been and has managed to unite the country alongside Edmundo, the people have hope and are willing to give it their all and i don't want the rest of the world to ignore this.

we are indeed in between the sword and the wall here but it's because this is a chance that we really need, not because of the USA preying on us but because we just want to be free from chavismo and Maduro once and for all.

unfortunately it's hard to find good articles in english about this but i've found some trustworthy posts in instagram that very well summarize about what is going on, you might want to look at them

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[a-loose-collection-of-ants]

Ok. Shit.

I get the feeling I'm not gonna sleep tonight, and who knows, I might regret this tomorrow but I need to get some thoughts out.

I've tried to retain this idea that most people are inherently good. Some of this is the remnants of whatever religious faith I was brought up in, and some of it is just what I tell myself to stay sane. It's getting harder to think that way, but I am trying to hold on to it.

There's this image I keep replaying in my head. My dad and I were visiting family down south shortly after he had wrapped up his cancer treatment. We stopped by my aunt's house in South Carolina, and she told me with tears in her eyes about how she had started gardening again after my dad's diagnosis. There was a Trump flag flying from her roof.

On another visit to the same family members, we were visiting a college and walked by a gender neutral bathroom. My uncle made some off-color joke about it and then quickly moved on when nobody laughed. My sister (a sort of closeted trans woman) looked at me with an expression of both deep sadness, and whatever face you make when you watch a bird fly head-first into a window.

My point is, I know these people aren't filled with hatred and malice. It's not constructive to waste your energy hating them when their greatest sin is ignorance.

I barely remember the Obergerfell decision, but I remember being in middle school around the time it happened. Attitudes towards queer people weren't great, but they changed so rapidly that I barely noticed. Maybe the fact that this was when I realized I was queer gave me a false sense of security when it came to the "moral arc of the universe", or maybe it's the example I have to hold onto about how fast things can change.

It's easy for people to fall into patterns of hate when they lack exposure, and the media landscape right now is making easier to avoid that sort of exposure. The basis of the fight against extremism is education, and I think it has to also be compassion.

Don't get me wrong, I also have family that are more than likely not worth the effort ("they" control the weather and all that), but those aren't most people. Most people are exhausted by politics. They see the price of groceries and vote for the other guy regardless of who's name is on the ballot. Or they're like a classmate of mine, who didn't really like either candidate and was having trouble just voting for the "better" one.

If anything, I guess this is a reminder to myself to hold on to empathy despite everything. It's fine to feel angry. Hell, it's probably good if it gets you moving. But we cannot respond to dehumanization with more dehumanization.

I'm not really all that religious anymore, but I hold on to some things. One of them is this: All things, by virtue of being crafted by God's hands, have value. Or, as my dad said it "God don't make no shit". This goes for yourself, as well as everyone else. I can't let myself lose that right now.

I don't want to belabor my point too much, but I do want to say that I saw people saying things like "it's all over if trump wins". I'm not going to lie, it's bad and people are going to get hurt and die because of this. America was waiting for the results of it's biopsy and we found out it's cancer... but we're not dead yet. I don't have a specific action I can advocate for, but please, don't give up. Authoritarianism is a longstanding wound on this country and it festers in apathy.

Take a deep breath. Regardless of what happens, time moves forward and the sun will rise in the morning. I am going to go to work, make some dinner, and hopefully find some way to work volunteering into my schedule.

Recommended listening if you want to cry right now

[sassenashsworld]

Strong at the Institute

(this one is purely headcanon since we know nothing about this aspect of Strong's past)

The List

The man is completely bewildered. He doesn't understand where he is. He can't understand what is going on. He's not sure who these folks are.

Who are they?

He finds the room quite peculiar. Even the sound is weird. It somewhat resembles Dr. Sun's clinic. Or, rather, Dr. Sun's clinic appears to be a bizarre parody of this play. There are men and women wearing too clean attire in a too clean place with too clean equipment. Too much white. There's an excessive amount of white in the clothing worn by those individuals. And other colors. Comedy of colors. Too much faded. Too much clean.

The people around him take notes and whisper with one another, but everyone ignores him.

“Hey!” He tries to free himself, but he has been tightly tied to some sort of bed. Even this bed is strange!

The man's struggles do not go unnoticed. A man, tall, wearing glasses with thick lenses comes closer.

“You finally awake,” the man tells him with a smile. “Good.”

“Who are you?” the poor victim asks him, still struggling against his bonds.

“I'm a doctor,” the glasses-wearing man says, looking over him without touching him. “Can you tell me your name?”

“The hell with everything!” The man barks back. "Why are you strapping me to this bed? Why am I being held captive? Who the hell are you?”

“Calm down, please. No one is holding you captive. You're in a hospital at Diamond City.”

“There is no hospital at Diamond City! Only a clinic! Who are you? Why did I am here?”

“Doctor Virgil,” a woman in a strange, clean suit of a different color says as she approaches the doctor-like figure. “He seems a suitable candidate.”

The man looks at the woman and nods.

“He'll do,” he validates.

“It's seemed. Should we start the experience?” the woman asks.

“Yes, Missis Anubia. First, give the vitamins to ensure the serum response.”

Anubia nods and leaves the room, only to come back with a tray that contains a couple of syringes and some other medical instruments.

The man, bound to the bed, widens his eyes.

“Hey! I don't want anything!”

He starts struggling again.

“It's just vitamins,” Anubia reassures him. “Nothing to worry about. You need them.”

The man shakes his head.

“Nope. I don't want 'em. Leave me alone,” he says defiantly.

The tall man approaches once more, examining his notes.

“You've expressed a liking for classic music and literature. Would you like us to incorporate some of these elements into your transition process?”

The man's attention is somewhat grabbed at that.

“Hah. So, you do know me.”

“We know many things about you,” says the tall man matter-of-factly.

“Doctor Virgil, is it? You are a doctor? Virgil, my man, can you do me a favor?”

The doctor looks at the man with a smile. This is the first time someone is willing to cooperate.

“Sure. What do you want?”

“GETTING THE FUCK OUT OF HERE!”

The tall scientist chuckles, looking at his colleague. Anubia raises an eyebrow and moves the syringe closer to the man's arm, despite his continued struggle.

“Oh, don't worry. It won't hurt,” she says. “Quite the contrary, in fact.”

The man tries to twist to the point of hurting himself, but the more he struggles, the more he understands the bounds are really mean to hold. He cannot avoid the needle. Anubia administers the vitamins without trouble.

The man slumps. The medicine was more than vitamins, the effect being quite noticeable.

“What... is this...?” he stutters.

“Vitamins and some soothing products,” says Virgil. “Don't worry. It's simply intended to help you relax a bit so we can assist you better. There will be no interference with the serum at all. It will soon be dissipated.”

The man tries to move his arm—to twitch—to do anything, but he becomes paralyzed. Fear settles into his eyes as he realizes he can't do anything. He can't fight. He is at their mercy.

“Don't worry!” The doctor repeats with a smile. “It's only temporary. You'll feel better soon.”

“How... how soon...?” The man manages to ask even if, for now, his jaws seem too hard to move properly.

“About twenty minutes. This is the duration required for the serum to fully penetrate your system."

“Twenty... minutes...?!” The man gasps. “Serum?”

“Don't worry,” Virgil continues, putting a hand on his shoulder. “Nothing awful will happen. You will feel better in no time.” He quickly injects another vial into the man's arms. “But in the meantime, we think that listening to some music will help you.”

“Music...? Like a lullaby for a child...?” the man asks in a trembling voice.

“Not exactly,” Anubia replies, her smile spreading. “We comprehend you like the works of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. We have prepared something for you. I'm sure you will enjoy it.”

“I... I don't understand,” the man says, feeling a dread in his bowel.

Anubia presses a few buttons on a strange machine, causing it to begin playing music that may resemble Mozart's compositions but is far from it. The sound is loud and unlike anything the man had ever heard before.

The man attempts to speak, but the noise is so loud that it overpowers him and takes over his entire consciousness. At this stage, he has trouble even recalling his own name. He feels as though a drill bit is whirling within his skull. The sound seems more than just sound—like claws closing on his brain. He tries to blink, shake, and find something, but nothing happens. Nothing forms in his mind. He's not even able to grasp reality and time.

He felt as though he plummeted into an emptiness, and this emptiness embodied the sound.

A blank.

A long blank of nothingness.

When something finally surfaces in his consciousness, he desperately clings to it.

“It's not Mozart... it's not MOZART!” The man doesn't understand why it bothers him so much, but it does. “IT'S NOT MOZART! PLAY MOZART!”

Virgil approaches Anubia and points something on her pad.

“Sadly, I have the impression we can already state about the aggressivity...”

Anubia nods and writes something down her pad. After that, she fidgets with the machine until it stops making noise. The man is sweating profusely, struggling to calm himself down.

“It's not Mozart...” he says with an uneven voice. “Why is this not Mozart? It has to be Mozart!”

On a wave of the doctor, the personal leave the room as well as Virgil and Anubia. The poor man finds himself alone. He doesn't understand what is happening. He doesn't understand why he is here. He doesn't understand what those people are doing to him.

He can't move, but his mind is wide awake, racing. What is happening here? The serum is making him feel... strange. He tries to move his arm again... and again. And again.

A... shiver of his fingers! He's not completely paralyzed.

In fact, the man is not paralyzed at all. The effect of the serum is unclear, but he can move his fingers, hands, and feet. Why did he thought he was paralyzed?

The man is confused. Why the hell did he thought he was paralyzed? He looks around, checking if he is indeed alone. He takes a deep breath to get his bearings. His legs, his arms, his body—all of it is intact! He can even breathe properly! Now, why the hell did he thought he was paralyzed? He flexes his fingers and toes, rolling his shoulders.

The ties firmly hold him to the bed. He can't do anything. He is stuck here, alone, with no answers.

He sighs, slumping against the bed. What can he possibly do now? Wait until those guys return to continue... whatever they're doing? Hell no. His mind is on fire. He is more than ready to fight…

...but there's no one to fight.

Time is running its course. The twenty minutes are long gone now, but no one comes back. He’s waiting. He waits for what seems to be hours. After a long time, he does not understand why, but his obsession with Mozart returns.

“Hey, Virgil?” He tries to call. “Doctor Virgil! You said I’d have Mozart? Can I have Mozart?”

Just as he finishes, the door to the room opens, but the man coming in is not Virgil. It is someone new.

“You are conscious,” says the stranger. “Good.”

“What the hell is going on here...?” the man asks hostilely, staring at the newcomer with suspicion.

The newcomer comes to his bed. He looks different from other people he has seen so far. He looks older. Older than any person he's ever seen. He is in a lab coat, as are Virgil and some others, but with a clean sweater underneath.

“Don’t fear about anything. We got you. You are in good hands.”

His voice is so soothing.

The poor man stuck in a strange bed can only calm down now.

“Who... who are you?”

The newcomer inspects some instruments and screens, then turns to the other.

“The serum has already been injected into you. Those idiots. I will need to make further adjustments to ensure your double is functioning properly.”

He takes a syringe on a plate and moves closer to the bed.

“WHO ARE YOU?” asks again the poor victim.

The newcomer gives him a disinterested gaze, obviously not impressed.

“People here call me Father, but for you it doesn’t matter anymore.” He inserts the needle into the other’s arm, but instead of injecting something, he collects his blood. “Soon, nothing will matter to you... except perhaps… Mozart?”

The attached man can't help but feel a deep fear seeping into him. Mozart. Why is nothing playing Mozart? Why is Mozart important? He had questions. He’s sure of having questions. Important questions...

“Why didn't anyone let me hear Mozart?”

The newcomer's smile widens at that.

“You do like Mozart,” he states, not as a question but as if he were hammering something in the mind of the man.

“I... am... yes... maybe? I... I WANT TO HEAR MOZART!”

A sudden fist of rage seizes him, and he tries again to struggle in his bounds. That's when he is surprised to be able to slack them. But before he can rejoice, an unbearable pain seizes him on top of his rage, and he lets out a cry of agonizing pain.

The newcomer does nothing but watch the man writhe on the bed, trying to free himself with only his own muscles.

“Shhh... calm down,” the stranger says, his voice so oddly soothing. “Don't resist too much. You will only hurt yourself.”

The man is now panting. The strange sounds they have make him listen sooner invading his mind.

He wants Mozart. He wants Mozart. He wants Mozart.

“Make it stop! MAKE IT STOP!”

Virgil and Anubia abruptly return to the room.

“Sorry, Father,” Virgil rushes to defend himself with humility in his voice. “This subject quickly succumbs to the serum, it seems.”

The newcomer doesn't even turn to his colleagues; he keeps focusing on the poor man on the bed.

“I know!” he says, his voice still eerily calm. “What did I tell you about that? Why are you so reckless with the serum dose?”

“We followed the usual protocol, Father,” Anubia quickly answers, somewhat intimidated by the too calm man.

Virgil nods, agreeing with his colleague.

“It's the usual dosage we use with the other subjects,” he says.

Father sighs, turns to face them, and takes another syringe from the platter.

“You didn't take into account that our subject here is older than the others,” he says slowly, injecting the new product in the man's veins. “Of course he succumbs faster. You are too careless to notice these things.”

Anubia and Virgil exchange sheepish glances as the newcomer calls them out.

“We... were not aware, Father. We apologize,” Virgil finally says.

“Of course you weren't,” Father said with a small, bitter chuckle. “You apply the same treatment to every subject, disregarding their physical attributes. That's why the success rate of the FEV is so low.”

“Wait!” suddenly grasp the victim. “FEV? You have injected me with FEV? I AM TRANFORMING INTO A SUPER MUTANT?”

Virgil and Anubia try to hush the man, but Father simply puts a single hand up to silence them.

“FEV is more than just a transformation to 'super mutants'” he says. “It is the future of our kind. It can change everything. There is so much potential in that serum. So much to explore. So much more. You are not just a subject; you are a candidate. And we are going to change you to something better.”

The man struggles more and more, feeling his bound weakening fast.

“I DON'T WANT! I DON'T WANT! NO! NO! NO!” He is losing his mind so swiftly. Rage, blind rage. He is losing it. He will lose it even more. “NO! YOU CAN'T! YOU HAVE NO RIGHT!”

Father smiles like a shark.

“The Institute has all rights. Calm down now, or we won't allow you to have your... Mozart.”

The mention of Mozart seems to have an immediate effect on the poor man, despite the turmoil in his mind. He instantly looks at Father, as if hoping he can get an explanation or... a threat.

“Mozart?” he asks with a trembling voice.

“Yes, Mozart. Soon, you will hear all the Mozart you want, Mister McDonough.”

The elder exits the room with Virgil and Anubia.

The man begins to feel increasingly weird; his struggles decrease, and his breathing gradually worsens as the sound again invades his mind.

“Mo... Mozart...” he says in a dreamy voice. “I want... Mozart...”

[impossibleprincess35]

Since you're an American, what are your thoughts on the comparisons of the Duchess and the Death Watch to the election? I read one of your stories and you compare them to alt-right politics in the U.S. Thx!

Heyoooooo, thanks for the ask! I'm going to go TL;DR, so please forgive me and feel free to wish you'd never asked. :)

So, I've never been a Trump voter. Never. It's been a major point of contention with close family and friends, and in the 8 years since his first campaign, it has been eye opening watching people blatantly fall for fascism in the guise of security and strength.

And so, during the pandemic, dealing with so much misinformation and seeing so many people subject others to danger to make a point about their "freedom," when I rewatched "The Clone Wars," the Mandalore storylines hit so much harder.

A lot of times, when people are hating on the Satine character and blaming her for Mandalore's fall, what I see is a lack of acknowledgement that Death Watch was so hell-bent on getting their way that they had to stage incidents to make her look weak and unfit as a ruler. They weren't starving. They weren't exiled from their system. They got a moon. They had political representation with a governor. They had resources. But instead of using everything at their disposal to do better and to evolve as a people, they used it to stage bombings, attacks, and incidents that only hurt their own people and undermined their own system.

But what Death Watch did so well was they spun a narrative that is so false that even FANS believe it.

Like, we're supposed to see that they're domestic terrorists.

But people are out here like, "Fuck Satine, she's the worst."

Oh, okay.

As an American, I've seen two viable, suitable female candidates who have lost to Donald Trump, a piece of shit grifter, a convicted felon, an impeached dirtbag of a human being, and BOTH of these women have lost.

The bar is so high for them, and it's so low for Trump.

And I see that with Satine Kryze and Pre Vizsla.

The damning theories about Satine committing genocide on her people and white-washing them of their history and culture are assumptions made from information given to us on the show by Almec, who turns out to be as corrupt as Pre Vizsla and Tal Merrik, and inferred from the animation choices made due to budget constraints; but those things are held over Satine's head and her reputation as though they are gospel. As though she herself confirmed them.

Meanwhile, Pre Vizsla is out here running an entire terrorist group that intends to destabilize Mandalore's peaceful government just to reassert themselves as strong warriors. He has shown us who he is. He shows us every time we see him on screen after his reveal as the leader of Death Watch. He commits himself to it. He has gaggles of lackeys behind him putting him up on a pedestal, enabling him.

But Satine's always the villain, and always to blame; nevermind the fact that she has proven herself to be a resilient leader who put her people above all else, including her own desires, and she fights to keep them out of the fray between the Republic and the Separatists. More than anything else, their stability and their independence is her top priority.

And I guess, for me, I see strength in Satine's diplomacy, strength in her kindness, strength in her restraint; so when I see people who only acknowledge strength in name calling, in divisiveness, in threats of violence, like Pre Vizsla and Death Watch, I'm instantly reminded of the crowd of American politics who believe that we must bully our way around the world.

The bar for women, especially women of color, is set so high that it's unattainable; but the bar for men is so low it's in hell.

And as an American who voted for Vice President Kamala Harris, and who was genuinely thrilled to imagine a Harris/Walz administration, I've found myself annoyed by the remarks about her that I've read. The claims that she's not tough. That she couldn't hold her own with a room of world leaders. Because I don't see that. And I'm heartbroken to see that the popular vote wanted brute force and displays of bully behavior instead of a steady, calm hand to bring us together as a nation.

Worst of all, I fear the very possible outcome that, much like Mandalore, Americans are sacrificing their liberties for what they believe is security (ie. the xenophobic hate and the border talking points, lower grocery prices, etc.), but like Ben Franklin said, they'll lose both and deserve neither.

And in Mandalore's case, the people were scammed into believing that Satine failed them, when really, the attack on Sundari was an inside job - and when the flames of fear were stoked, the people turned on Satine, on peace, for the safety they believed Death Watch was going to bring them.

And then their asses got glassed by the Empire.

I look at what's going on around me, and I'm disappointed because I'm a dumb optimistic bitch who believed Americans were better than this. And there's a lot of blame to go around, but the vibe is off and things do not feel right. My gut tells me that the game was rigged - that Madam VP Harris was meant to fail from the word go, because the right aligned themselves to win at all costs, even at the costs of their own nation.

But Jyn Erso said it best: Rebellions are built on hope.

So, hopefully we don't get glassed..?

Jesus, how do I even end this post?

I'm sorry. I know you're wishing you'd never asked. <3

[botaniqueer]

Even though I always vote blue as a concession (and also because I'm easily guilted while also absolutely despising the democrats), I'm understanding of folks voting third party and I'm chill with people voting for whoever as long as it's not Trump or RFK, but a criticism I do have of third party voters is that a lot of them still have the problem the main two parties have where they come across as thinking we can vote our way out of this without some of of meta-strategy after the voting is done, and they also get attached to their candidates.

Absolutely all presidents are bad for the same reason all cops are, in that the occupation itself is structurally harmful, and the attributes of the job override whatever personal attributes the person occupying it has– the most personally nice cop in the world still is obligated to remove a homeless person from a bench while protecting capital, otherwise they lose that cop position. This applies to Jill Stein, Bernie Sanders, etc. An except to this is if the incumbent fully intends to dismantle the position, but it's exceedingly hard to gain the position with this goal, and keeping the job longer enough to successfully execute it without the job changing or compromising the person first.

As mentioned in other posts, the absolute minimum job of the US president is to maintain the suppression of a collection of 500+ ethnic groups, and prevent them from having true agency or full access to the land. If this isn't maintained, the United States literally can't keep existing in a meaningful way and ends up evaporating. This will become Jill Stein or Cornell West's job if they are elected, same as when Bush or Biden have the job.

Actually using electoralism as a strategy requires good organizing for after the candidate is elected, and specifically not getting attached to them and thinking of them purely as a means to an end. Liberation and the position of the presidency are inherently at odds, so there will be times you will need to fight against your own candidate. The Democrats are notorious for getting attached despite using the "you're not marrying them!" refrain, shushing people for saying anything vaguely critical.

The metaphor I think of is dungeon crawling roguelike games, or any other game where you choose branching paths in that you're choosing the challenges you think you're best equipped to deal with, but you do still have to deal with them. You can't do what the democrats do and lay down arms immediately after choosing the more favorable path, just being it's better than Trump, and I expect the same from third party voters as well as to not be like the DNC. In the unlikely case in which a third party candidate gets elected, there still has to be a struggle, otherwise the United States and other settler nations will continue to persist and hurt others, even if things are better for most settlers, and there will always be the likelihood of things ending up back where we are now if we don't follow through.

[sleeplesssmoll]

HC: Looking at all the promotional art, I believe Sonetto and Schneider would have been friends.

Regulus and Vertin's relationship have a similar same vibe as Sonetto and Schneider's. That friend who drives you nuts but you're a pretty awesome duo.

Vertin's involvement might complicate things but I can see them teaming up on her when she does something stupid or fighting side by side to protect the crew.

If I had to use the lore and context around Reverse 1999 to explain how Vertin, Sonetto, and Schneider's dynamic would work, it'd be a compromise. While others may say Vertin would be the reason they fight, I'd say she's one of the things that draws them together and makes them appreciate each other. Here is how I see it:

Schneider understands what it means to sacrifice and provide for a family. She knows the struggle of fighting against a world constantly taking from you. She and Vertin have a natural chemistry because of these experiences. Sonetto understands this and instead of being jealous (not that she isn't at times but she learns to let go), comes to realize its good for Vertin's mental health. They "get" each other. At the end of the day, Sonetto wants what's best for Vertin.

While there was turbulence in the past, Sonetto's devotion to the Timekeeper is unwavering. Vertin isn't impartial either since we know Sonetto lives rent free in her head from the trails (analysis of this here). Sonetto grew up and is willing to cast aside her faith in the Foundation if it means protecting Vertin. Schneider finds that admirable and its gives her a sense of security. Sonetto is someone she can depend on, which is a big deal considering she's used to being the "rock" in her family holding everyone up.

At first its like "I need to keep you around for Vertin's sake."

But then it turns into "I'm happy you're here."

Vertin's always making sacrifices for people. They'd rather compromise than force her into a position they know she can't handle (no matter what Vertin decides, someone will get hurt).

On that note, they do exist outside of Vertin. Schneider might enjoy telling Sonetto about her home country while Sonetto eagerly listens. Sonetto doesn't know much about the outside world, but she can share insight on the world of arcanum. Its utterly insane and Schneider is amused by this. They teach each other things and also complain to each other about Vertin's gremlin ways.

Moving on, it's possible to have complicated feelings for more than one person. The important thing is deciding on whether or not you want to pursue a future with with them.

I'm about to drop a hot take so hot it could burn you. This is an opinion that ties into my HC. Ok, here I go.

Love isn't just feelings, it's work. You need to put work into a relationship or else it'll fall apart.

There are so many people on this earth. In my eyes it's normal to going to have chemistry or complicated feelings for more than one person in your lifetime.

But you choose the people you love out of the other potential candidates because you see a future with them. It's not about what you feel today but what you're going to feel years down the line so you devote your time and energy to those people in you life. You see something worth fighting for which is why you commit to those people (could apply to all relationships honestly).

That's why I HC Sonetto and Schneider like this. They could move on. Sure it'll hurt, but its not impossible. However, they found someone they want that future with. Someone with a lot of love to give yet asks for none in return, which is really sad tbh. If Vertin's not going to love herself then damn it they will! Maybe its unconventional and sometimes difficult, but that doesn't mean it isn't worth it.

[crummblycakkes]

I'm back twst tumblr with somewhat of a profile for this au (twst as god intended: criminals and villains) warning because I think this is a LOT of text

In this au, Night Raven College is a sort of juvenile detention to hold the worst of the worst: powerful mages that cannot be contained elsewhere. It's placement is on Sage Island, where no one can leave, but also coincidentally only half an island away from the top school in all of Twisted Wonderland: Royal Sword Academy

Though it's purpose is to hold and rehabilitate and continue to teach the boys stuck in nrc, the schools budget has deteriorated so much due to having to pay for building damages that it can no longer pay for real therapists and good teachers

That's where rsa comes in! this year, rsa has established a volunteer program for it's students where they will go to nrc as staff and hopefully help its poor students think about improving their lives

it ends up being way more chaotic than they expect...

So we're starting with:

Heartslabyul!

Riddle Rosehearts has two attempted murder charges, one being against a magicless human and the other being against a trained magician (his mother, celebrate! ms rosehearts almost died!) and a couple of theft charges

To get a better grasp on the situation that lead him there, Riddle actually meets Trey when he's 15 instead of 8, ms rosehearts finds out and gets trey sentenced to night raven on false charges, leading riddle to look for ways to rebel even harder

so he moved on to theft, things like small convenience store stuff that he could fit into his pockets, one time snatching a box of cigarettes an employee forgot to put away after someone wanted to see them

that's where he got the smoking habit. it felt good to break rules, doing stuff his mother would be appaled by

"how does he get cigarettes at nrc?" azul.

he gets caught and freaks out, gravely injuring an innocent employee and running home in panic

his mother is upset because she didn't even know he snuck out and now she's finding out he's stealing and hurting people, they get into a fight, the authorities come in to see Riddle being very aggressive and take him in

he doesn't like his red hair and dyed it blue the same week he became housewarden (dye from azul again) and his uniforms are oversized because I like the detail that his gym uniform is oversized

Trey Clover, like I said before, attended night raven on fake charges at first but when he was released and returned home he was jittery and nervous all the time

no one knows what happened, but one slow day at the bakery a fight breaks out and treyy is the only standing with 15 people on the ground, all injured

he claimed he didn't do it at first, but layer changed his story to being self defense, but he was carted back to night raven again

he tries to be good but it's really hard when everyone else are actual rowdy evil people and are willing to commit actual crimes for malleus draconia

design wise I wanted him to look like a bit of a nerd

I like Cater a lot but also wanted to spice up his design a little.

in Canon he's against magicam monsters but here? he's the magicam monster boss. he's lost all his sense of self and dignity just for pictures. he's sold pictures of Vil Schoenheit to tabloids before

specifically his crimes are loitering and stalking and breaking and entering and using his magic to get away with it

Rook calls him the chasseur de bonheur here, he likes to take pictures of people smiling and being happy, which would be good if he were some sort of street photographer doing candid shots with consent but he's not

no one knows where he got the camera and film (it was azul)

Deuce the baby. he's here for normal delinquent stuff and aggravated assault on a magicless human

he really wants to get better, he's just normal deuce spade

wears his bow crooked because he doesn't really know how to tie one perfectly yet and he would like to take the piercings off but people seem to like them

Ace almost didn't get in but he's shoplifter an accumulated 10k from stores including alcohol using his wind magic, so he qualified

it hasn't really sinked in yet that he's in here he's having normal teenager fun

Alan Rabbithole, the volunteer from rsa

not a girl not a boy but a secret third thing (anxious mess)

he's already regretting his decision tye moment he sees chainsmoker riddle and wonders if it's even worth it to get him to stop

[cosmics-beings]

to me at least it's always interesting seeing people condemn megatron for starting his revolt, especially when looking at tfp or idw megatron. while i really can't excuse the shitfire the deception movement became, people getting mad at him or not really understanding why megatron snapped or why he was angry at opitmus in prime for getting the primeship or why he went violent in idw...it just shows that a lot of people don't understand a) that he was a slave and b.) revolutions aren't really won peacefully.

but going back to point a.), especially in prime, the alternative for megatron was either fighting in the gladiatorial pit until he was eventually killed, or going back to slavery. while he did get his glory in the rings of kaon, there was still very much a dynamic of, he had to do this, and eventually die doing it and before that, he was a miner, a slave.

when megatron invited optimus into his space and taught him, he was very vulnerable and allowed an outsider, someone who had privilege over him, to be in his circle and to be close to him. someone who understood the oppression he faced by the primes and by the caste system, someone who was still privileged, but someone who he trusted. and someone who also knew what he had to lose if he didn't win his revolution, or if he wasn't given the position of the prime. and more importantly, megtaron assumed that optimus was someone who understood that peaceful protests and activism weren't going to work for someone like him, a slave. so mind you, when it came down to it, and opitmus was seen as the better candidate for a prime simply because he was peaceful and megatron wasn't...well...shit i'd lost my shit too. because again, the alternatives for megatron in his mind, if he did not become a prime, were slavery - whether a miner or gladiator. optimus had nothing to lose, no stakes in the same way megatron did.

so of course he snapped, of course he went evil. people try to frame it as "he started getting violent because he was upset that optimus got what he wanted' and no that wasn't the case at all. it was far more than it being something he wanted, it was something he needed. something that was going to grant him freedom and happiness and the ability to make a difference. mind you, i'd snap too.

idw is similiar. he had to make a revolt, he was a slave. he had tried peace and it didn't work, in fact whirl beat the shit out of him for being peaceful and that radicalized him. but then people feel bad for whirl

it's always interesting to me, to see fans tend to brush over why he did what he did, or call him selfish or stupid and not realizing that his freedom and bodily autonomy was on the line. this is REALLY shown in IDW.

in idw if he was caught and if he wasn't executed or imprisoned, they'd probably fuck with his mind to make him a slave again.

i say as I'm writing a fic with this premise and he is eventually broken out of that and given help and support by people he loves and the revolution is started differently

anyway, this isn't an excuse for how he completely falls off later. he becomes a tyrant, a facists, and oppressor he becomes everything he hated if not worse, much worse. and he needs to be stopped. he doesn't care about the war, that much is extremely clear in both idw and tfp. he only cares about getting to optimus, making him hurt, making him hate/blame himself, killing those close to optimus and continuously ruining his life. in idw CLEARLY he changes and becomes a good person. in tfp...eh...

but my point is, i don't think people really understand that his bodily autonomy and rights were on the line.

do i think some stuff can be said about how harmful the oppressed oppressor narrative is, yes, but that's not for this post.

[hood-ex]

Did you read dark crisis? What are your takes on it, did you like it?

I just watched a YouTube video telling the whole story and I haven't seen you comment on it besides the amazing 'the more things change the more they stay the same' post

I honestly just found the whole thing discombobulating with all the talk of darkness and how it would better or worsen the multiverse. Like ooo the darkness is sentient... or not. It's just created from Pariah's own insanity... or something? (Dude, idk, they talked about it back and forth so much that I couldn't remember what the truth was by the end of it.)

Slade's motivation throughout the story (when he wasn't being mindfucked by the darkness) was ehhh. He wanted everything to end so that people wouldn't have to feel pain like he did when his children died or were hurt. Which, idk, is pretty weird to me since he didn't used to like endangering innocent people and would sometimes protect innocents even if no one paid him. (EDIT: I totally forgot about Slade's involvement with the destruction of Bludhaven when writing this ALKDA. Slade's willingness to protect the innocent depends on who's writing him.) It just seemed a bit out there for him is all. An overreaction, if you will.

Hal and Barry had pretty solid interactions throughout the story. They were getting shit done for sure.

Loved Roy and Dinah's reunion hug.

Black Adam was kind of annoying being all Mr. Doom and Gloom. I understand it was meant to juxtapose the whole theme of light/darkness and hope/despair but whatever. It was also weird af that they made him look like The Rock in one panel.

Gar got an eye patch after getting his eye shot out, and I thought it was interesting how his eye looked perfectly fine when he transformed into a tiger but then a scar appeared across his eye when he transformed into some werewolf looking beast.

Jon's solo fight against the dark army (or whatever the fuck they were called idr) was one of my favorite parts. Mostly because it reminded me of Ponyboy getting his shit rocked during the Greaser vs. Socs rumble.

I like that Clark jumped in to save him from Doomsday at the last second.

Let's see... there were definitely some Titans that could've gotten some more lines in. Some of them didn't really have a major part in the story. They were mostly background fighters.

Dick was not one of those Titans. He had a pretty big role in this story as the "light" in the darkness. Honestly pretty insane that his willpower was so strong that he was able to unpossess himself (he was a candidate to be a Green Lantern at one point though sooo). I thought it was hilarious as fuck when Dick gave his speech to Bruce about his little candle and how he wanted to keep candles lit to bring hope to other people, and then Bruce wordlessly took the candle out of Dick's hand and snapped it with his thumb ASLDKJA, and Dick was all *shocked Pikachu face.*

I mentioned it before but I personally feel a little iffy about how much DC is pushing Dick as the new leader of the future. Mostly because when Bruce previously wanted Dick to become a member of the Justice League, Dick declined. And now Bruce isn't even really giving Dick the option. He's just like, "So anyway the world needs a leader while the JL is on recess annnd that leader is going to be you." Y'know. Despite the fact that being the leader is stressful as fuck and Dick had to step away from two different teams because he was mentally and emotionally worn down from them.

Also, I hate that they didn't keep all the events of this story contained to one book. At one point Damian was like, "Brb," and then later he randomly showed up with some more heroes to join the fight. Like bruh. I'd rather read his little adventure in this story rather than have to hunt down whatever the hell he was doing in some other book.

And the veeery ending with Waller and her idea to get rid of metahumans just made me think of Nightwing: New Order. I'm doubtful that idea is going to feel new or fresh in any capacity, but we shall see.

All in all, the event was kind of just... meh. The art was probably my favorite part. It gave us some good whump shots of Dick and Jon. It also made Dick look more intense and serious which made him feel like his old self. That I appreciated.

[put-me-out-of-my-destiny]

Thinking about the "Kyrie gains demonic minions" AU again (all info in my pinned post).

I'd always imagined that at some point, this plot would put Kyrie in conflict with Nero. But I've realized that this would have to happen very gradually, that Nero would take a little too long to admit that Kyrie is in the wrong.

In my opinion (and based on things that DMC creatives have said), Nero basically treats Kyrie as his moral compass, he believes that without her he would end up like Vergil. I think he does have his own morals, but he doesn't listen to them as much as he does to Kyrie - which wasn't a problem until those two things no longer overlapped.

I think the first to really call Kyrie out is Nico. To Nero, this might feel like Nico being disloyal, like she doesn't love Kyrie enough. Really, Nico loves Kyrie more than Nero knows, but she's a firm believer in tough love, in telling people what they need to hear rather than what they want to hear.

I think it's Nero she'd be more pissed at. Kyrie believes that she's justified, but Nero knows on some level that what she's doing is wrong. He just isn't willing to stand against her because he isn't sure who he is without her.

As for what Kyrie is actually doing? I'm not completely certain yet.

Perhaps it begins as taking revenge against the zealots that believe Nero to be responsible for the Savior incident. I can imagine that, knowing how dangerous it would be to pick a fight with Nero, they've made Kyrie's life a living hell, harassing her, calling her seriously nasty things, all under the justification that she's corrupted or possessed by Nero in some way.

And like she always does, Kyrie would simply turn the other cheek and put up with it. She probably wouldn't even tell Nero or Nico, knowing that they would retaliate. But Kyrie can only take so much bullshit. I think one of these incidents would be when her illness finally becomes too severe to ignore.

I think it's possible that this harassment would extend to Kyle, Carlo, and Julio? The zealots themselves wouldn't harass children, but if their own children repeat the things their parents say at school, there's bound to be conflict. Perhaps they confide in Kyrie before Nero, and she tells them exactly what she was always told, to turn the other cheek and respond to cruelty with kindness.

The thing that would really set Kyrie off is insinuating that her parents would be ashamed of what's become of her. They were killed by a failed candidate of the ascension ceremony, a truth that Credo actively hid from Kyrie.

These zealots, who still believe that Sanctus and all of the Order's knights were heroes, who believe every bad thing that ever happened in Fortuna is somehow Nero's fault, would certainly blame him for the deaths of Kyrie's parents, and likely Credo as well.

So once Kyrie gains her minions, and confronts the feelings they represent, she makes their lives hell in turn, perhaps running them out of Fortuna. I don't think Nero would initially have any problem with this, now knowing what these people were saying to his Kyrie. This would have to progress into something else in order to really become a conflict.

Maybe Kyrie decides that shutting up the zealots isn't enough, and decides to ensure that no one can hurt her and her family again by seizing power, taking over Fortuna. For all that Nero's afraid of turning out like Vergil, the person he trusts most is going down that same path. Maybe Kyrie's revenge becomes more petty, until she's taking her anger out on people who'd hardly wronged her at all.

Also, while I'm not sure how or why Kyrie would do such a thing, it would be interesting if she had revived some of Agnus's experiments, just because Nico would be even more pissed at Nero for standing by Kyrie. He would have killed Nico had she intended to do something like this, but Kyrie gets a free pass?

[a-chlolix-blog]

Scarabée and Kitty Claws AU

Darkblade. The kakistocracy King.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chloé was in her luxurious room looking at herself in the mirror.

Adoring the absolutely beautiful Scarabée-themed dress she was wearing.

She then turns to her right and sees Scarabée walking towards her.

Scarabée: Hello, my priceless Princess~

Chloé: Itty-Bitty!

Feeling another's presence in the room, Chloé turns to her left and sees Alix.

Chloé: Ally-Kins?! What are you doing here?!

Alix: Chloé, I've seen ALL the incredible things you've been doing. I was hoping that you'd... be my girlfriend?

Chloé, blushing: Alix-

Scarabée, pulling Chloé to her by the waist: You've HAD your chance to show her how much you love her and now I'm here to love and adore her!

Alix: Superheroine or not, I WILL fight for you, Chloé! *magically summons an axe*

Scarabée, putting Chloé onto her bed: Don't want the prettiest Princess to get hurt.

Alix: That's one thing we can agree on.

Before Scarabée and Alix could fight over her, Chloé's alarm goes off, which immediately wakes her up.

Chloé, groaning before turning off the alarm: Noooo, did it HAVE to go off now?

Plagg: Why are you so bummed? Your dad's been reelected for the fourth time as the Mayor of Paris. The re-election party alone kept me happy ALL night.

Chloé: That's because you kept stuffing your little face with camembert the whole time. You were lucky you didn't get caught.

While Chloé was happy for her dad, she couldn't help but remember what the adults at the party talked to him about.

"Isn't the election for class representatives at your daughter's school tomorrow? She's gonna be a little you when she wins!"

"That' right! She's been class representative three years in a row. I bet she'll do an incredible job again this year!"

"You two are SO much alike! I bet her classmates adore her so very much. She'll win by a landslide, just like you André!"

While Chloé was happy for her dad, she never really liked running for class representative.

While Sabrina's help did make it noticeable more bearable, Chloé couldn't help but not be too fond of the responsibility.

Chloé, internally: Since I'm Kitty Claws now, I don't have time for it... THANK YOU, BLACK CAT MIRACULOUS!

While everyone else was watching Scarabée and Kitty Claws on the news, Nadja Chamack switches to another news report, stating that the previous day, André Bourgeois was reelected for the fourth time as the Mayor of Paris.

There were two different types of reactions.

The positive...

👑Princely Sunshine☀️: Congrats on your dad winning again, Chloé!

🐱Catty-Chlo💛: Thanks Adrien.

🧠BrainyBrina👓: What are we gonna do when you run for class representative again?

🐱Catty-Chlo💛: About that... I gotta talk to you about that when we're at school.

And the negative.

~~~~~At their respective homes~~~~~

Marinette, working on the box for her diary: Since Mr. Bourgeois won again, we gotta deal with another year of Chloé being Class Representative...

Nathaniel: This is gonna be a LONG school year.

Max: Unfortunately, there's a 95% chance that Chloé's gonna run for Class Representative again.

Rose: I'm sure she'll do better than previous years...

Juleka: She obviously won't be any better than previous years.

Luka: I'm happy I don't go to your school.

Kim: Aw man! I was looking forward to running this year too!

Ivan: I hope Mylène isn't gonna be too upset...

Mylène: I was really looking forward to running for Class Representative this year...

Alya: I haven't been here long, but I KNOW that "Chloé" and "Class Representative" don't mix.

Tikki, reading the group chat: Is Chloé running for Class Representative really that bad?

Alix, getting ready for school: You had to be there to see it, Tikki.

The news report returns, bringing with it the face of Armand D'argencourt, the losing candidate, who is also a fencing instructor at the Lycée.

Alix then picks up a familiar box and opens it again.

The black and light green silk choker that Kitty Claws gave her for her birthday not too long ago.

Alix, putting the choker on: Let's see if KC's gift gives me and the others some good luck today.

~~~~~At School~~~~~

In Miss Bustier's classroom, Chloé and Sabrina are standing in the front of the students.

While Sabrina's expecting the make the usual running for Class Representative announcement, the blonde shocks her as well as the whole class.

Chloé: I will not be running for Class Representative this year. Leading you losers around is so boring!

Sabrina and Adrien, incredibly shocked: What?!

Almost the entire class: *cheers loudly*

Miss Bustier: Are you sure, Chloé?

Chloé: Absolutely. *walks back to her seat and sits down*

Miss Bustier: Alright... would anyone else like to run for Class Representative then?

Marinette, Mylène, Rose and Kim, in unison: ME!!

The four friends looked at each other before they all started laughing.

Miss Bustier: This is so exciting! Four people running in one year? How fun!

Alix, whispering: Thank you, lucky choker.

After a (long) while of trying to get the class to calm down, Miss Bustier dismisses them for lunch, letting the class mull over its decision. 

Marinette, Mylène, Rose and Kim were more than happy to talk about their ideas with each other, not even caring that they're all meant to go against each other.

Rose: This is gonna be so much fun!

Kim: I know right?!

Mylène: We actually get to think of campaign platforms!

Marinette: I already know what I'm gonna do! But it's a total surprise.

Not far from the four excited friends' table, Alix and Nathaniel watched them.

Alix: Don't think I've ever seen the four of them so happy during Class Representative elections.

Nathaniel: Can you blame them? The first year Chloé ran for Class Representative, Mylène was CRUSHED. Then the year after that, Rose was in tears after Chloé embarrassed her. And don't even get me started on what Kim went through last year when he decided to run against Chloé.

Alix, caressing her choker: I'm just happy those four get to have fun with it now.

Nathaniel, noticing the choker: Wait... is that the present Kitty Claws gave you?!

Alix, blushing: You shut it!

Nathaniel: You're wearing a choker that one of the two heroines of Paris gave to you for your birthday. We gotta talk about what's going on between you two!

Alix: There's NOTHING to talk about! Besides... I heard Marc's running for Class Representative in his class. Gonna give him your support? *smirks*

Nathaniel, now blushing as well: You shut it!

Alix: You started it!

The two tried to hold it in, but they couldn't help but to laugh with each other.

Little did the two know, Chloé was watching them both from afar.

Chloé, internally: SHE'S ACTUALLY WEARING IT!! *blushes*

Sabrina, walking up to her: Chloé? What happened in class?! Why aren't you running for Class Representative? You've ran for it and won since middle school!

Chloé, turning to face Sabrina: I just... didn't wanna do it anymore.

Adrien, walking up to them with his duffel bag over his shoulder: You always told me about how much fun you had as Class Representative. It's quite surprising that you wanna give that up.

Chloé: Is it so surprising that I want a change of pace this year?

Sabrina and Adrien, in unison: Yes!

Adrien, hearing his timer go off: I gotta go home and eat, then get ready for fencing practice. See you two later! *runs off*

Brigiette was watching Adrien leave.

Brigiette, internally: Oh Adrien... when I become Class Representative in MY class, I'll make sure our classes hang out all the time so you can see how incredible I am! But first... I have to deal with Marc.

Marc walks up to the table were Alix and Nathaniel are sitting and sits with them.

Marc: Hey guys!

Alix: Hey Marc.

Nathaniel, still blushing: Hey, Marc...

Alix: Heard you're running for Class Representative in your class.

Nathaniel: Are you nervous? I heard Brigiette's also in the running.

Marc: Not too much. Thanks to Marinette, I got an ace up my sleeve.

Alix, after finishing up her lunch: Good luck dealing with that one, I gotta get my stuff ready for LaCrosse practice later.

Nathaniel and Marc, in unison: See ya later, Alix!

~~~~~Later that day~~~~~

Alix was looking at her resent texts as she walked to LaCrosse practice.

❤️Best-Blogger📱: Let's hope your practice doesn't take too long. Marinette, Mylène, Rose and Kim have these cute Class Representative booths with their ideas all over them. Since one of Marinette's idea is to raise more money for a better school dessert menu, she’s gonna be quite popular.

💜Priceless Jule💎: Rose's idea for more comfortable chairs in the library is a sweet idea too.

📚Maximum-Mind🧠: While it could be exhausting, I do see Kim's idea to add an extra five minutes to classes that require physical activity as a good idea.

🎵Singing Softie🖤: Mylène's idea for better recycling for the class is a good one too!

🥇Alix the Awesome💥: Remember guys, when one of them wins, they'll make sure to fix in ALL their ideas.

On her way to there, Alix saw Nadja Chamack and her camera sneaking around the school.

Alix, internally: After yesterday's election, this could not end well. *follows them*

During his fencing class, Adrien is taken out by a remarkable attack from his coach, Mr. D’Argencourt.

Adrien, getting off of the floor: Ow! That's quite the attack, Mr. D'argencourt. Who taught you that?

Mr. D’Argencourt: This particular maneuver was developed by my ancestor, Darkblade.

Adrien, sarcastically: Darkblade? That doesn't sound like a super villain AT ALL.

Mr. D'Argencourt: Adrien, what did I say about the sass?

Adrien: Wait til after class.

Mr. D'Argencourt: Good, now on with the story. In the days of yore, Darkblade conquered Paris and ruled over it with an iron fist until he was overthrown fence by a wealthy Frenchman who used his dirty gold to buy the loyalties of the common people.

Adrien, internally: So... either option was bad and they chose the one they could actually survive with, got it.

Mr. D'Argencourt, not noticing that Nadja and the cameraman walking closer to him: To think not too long ago, my ancestors' flag was waving above Paris.

Nadja, holding up her microphone to his face: Is that why you ran for Mayor, Mr. D'Argencourt? To seek revenge on your ancestors' behalf?

Mr. D'argencourt, irritated: Who do we have here then?

Nadja: Nadja Chamack. Don't be bemused, it's just the news! Do you have anything to say about quote on quote "Landslide Defeat"?

Fred Haprèle, with Alix walking beside him: Hey! How did you get in this school?!

Nadja, pull her cameraman along: I think it's time to get back to the studio!

While Fred ran after Nadja and her cameraman, Alix walks up to Adrien and Mr. D'argencourt.

Mr. D'argencourt: We're ending the lesson for today. *walks away*

Alix and Adrien share a concerned look as the teacher left.

Hawkmoth senses Mr. D’Argencourt’s frustration and sends an akuma after him.

As Mr. D'Argencourt leaves the school, Nadja and her cameraman follow him while getting footage for the news.

When Mr. D’Argencourt bumps into a poster featuring Mayor Bourgeois, he angrily slashes it to pieces, surprising the news crew behind him.

The akuma then arrives and possesses his fencing sword.

Hakmoth: Darkblade. In return for the powers I've given you, you'll capture Scarabée and Kitty Claws' Miraculous for me.

Mr. D'argencourt: when the flag bearing the emblem of my ancestors lays again upon the roof of city hall, then to thee I shall be indebted! *transforms into Darkblade*

While he transformed, Nadja made sure her cameraman got the shot.

Nadja: A-anything you'd like to say about your transformation into a-

Darkblade: DARKBLADE! The Lord of PARIS!

Alix and Adrien watched as Darkblade transforms Nadja and her cameraman into knights before running back into the school.

Adrien: We gotta tell the others to barricade the school!

Alix: Our Class Representative candidates are running booths by the classrooms. You go tell them and I'll go tell as many people as I can on the other side of the school.

Adrien: Got it. Be careful, Alix! *runs off*

After Adrien's out of sight, Alix runs into the nearest girls' bathroom, which was fortunately empty.

Alix: You hear all that, Tikki?

Tikki, phasing through her duffel bag: Yeah I got all of that.

Alix: Good. Tikki, Spots On! *transforms into Scarabée*

Scarabée: This Akuma is quite the challenge. I should wait for Kitty Claws to show up.

~~~~~At Le Grand Paris~~~~~

Chloé was in her room painting her nails in a Scarabée inspired style.

Plagg: You'd really rather be here than at school checking out the booths?

Chloé: *rolls her eyes* You heard how happy they were to hear to I wasn't running for Class Representative this year. Why would I be there? Besides, with me here, they clearly won't have to worry about me sabotaging them or their precious booths.

~~~~~Back at Lycée Françoise Dupont~~~~~

While Chloé's class didn't have to worry about a cheating candidate, Brigiette's class wasn't so lucky.

While the other students from enjoyed the booths from Miss Bustier's Class Representative candidates, Brigiette snuck away to the lockers and picked Marc's locker open.

In it she saw his little book in an open rainbow box unfamiliar to her, but quite familiar to Marinette.

Brigiette: Yes! It's not in his bag this time! I bet his writes all his cringe stories in this. I could totally use this against him!

When Brigiette puts her hand in the box to pick up the book, the box closes down on her hand.

In a panic Brigiette manages to close the locker, lock it back up, and hid her trapped hand in her purse as she ran away.

By the time she made it back to the Class Representative booths with the others, she saw Adrien running towards her (and the MANY other students there).

Brigiette, internally: He's even more handsome while running!

Adrien, stopping in front of Alya: I think it's best that we don't leave the school for a bit.

Marc, walking up to him: Why is that?

Adrien: Me and Alix saw Mr. D'Argencourt get akumatized. He can turn people into his Knight Minions, so it's probably best that we DON'T increase the numbers.

Nathaniel, running up to him: Where is Alix?!

Adrien: She went to tell those on the other side of the school.

Mylène: Shouldn't we go find her then?!

Scarabée, walking in: Don't bother. I saw her get turned into one of those Knights.

Rose, nearly crying: No... *gets pulled into a hug by Juleka*

Marinette: Shouldn't Kitty Claws be here to help you?

Scarabée: *sighs* She's not answering my calls or texts... I hope she's okay.

Marinette: If you need help, I'd be more than happy to come with you.

Scarabée: No can do. We don't know what this Akuma could have up his sleeve. It's probably best that you all stay here. Board up the school and STAY SAFE.

Scarabée then quickly makes her leave.

Little did Scarabée know, Marinette had a plan of her own.

Marinette, turning to Alya: Alya, will you come with me? I think we're gonna need the ScaraBlog to keep everyone in the loop.

Alya: I'm in!

Kim: You're gonna need more muscle *pulls Max close* and brains. We're coming too!

Max, holding his laptop: I agree.

Mylène: Me and Ivan can help Socqueline and the others board up the school.

Socqueline: We gotta get started now! *takes Mylène, Ivan, and a bunch of other students with her*

Rose: Me and Juleka will also stay to keep everyone's spirits up!

Adrien: I want to go too!

Sabrina: So do I! Given that D'Argencourt lost the election yesterday, he's probably targeting Mr. Bourgeois. He's probably gonna go after Chloé if he can't get to him.

Marinette: Alright! So the six of us are going! Get your gear and be ready in three minutes.

Nathaniel, balling his fist up: Alix... no.

Marc, gently grabbing his hand: Don't worry, Scarabée and Kitty Claws will saw her.

~~~~~Outside~~~~~

Scarabée watched from a few top as Darkblade transformed every and anyone around into his Knight Minions from a rooftop.

Scarabée, looking at her yo-yo again: KC still isn't answering any of my calls. *sighs* guess I'm on my own for now.

Darkblade: Let us do battle, Knights!

Scarabée then makes herself known to the Akuma and his army by jumping from the rooftop and landing in front of them all.

Scarabée, spinning her yo-yo: The people had their say and they chose Bourgeois over you, D'Argencourt!

Darkblade: Their words don't apply to me. D’Argencourt was defeated, NOT Darkblade! Onguard!

Scarabée's lone fight with Darkblade began.

But it doesn't last long due to Darkblade managing to get Scarabée yo-yo out of her hand and over the bridge.

Scarabée: Well, that's un-fucking-fortunate!

Darkblade, shocked: Language, Young Lady! Take her!

Scarabée: Yeah... no! *jumps off the bridge*

Darkblade: Now that she’s dealt with, City Hall awaits us!

Scarabée, under the bridge: Let's hope KC's there too.

Little did Scarabée know, there was another part to Darkblade's City Hall plan.

~~~~~Back at Le Grand Paris~~~~~

Plagg was eating his camembert cheese when he sensed that something was off.

He then stealthily flew outside, saw the army of Knights surrounding the Hotel, and flew right back in.

Plagg, quickly flying back inside: Blondie? You gotta see this!

Chloé: *groans* Plagg! You chose NOW to admire the view I have of Paris?! I'm trying to relax.

Plagg: I got a view all right, but it's not a good one!

Chloé gets up from her bed, runs out to the pool, and is able to see the Armored Knights surrounding Le Grand Paris from below.

Before Chloé could transform, her door is kicked down and in walks Darkblade.

Darkblade, walking into the room: Hello, Princess.

Chloé and Plagg (who managed to hide in her purse), internally: Oh shit. Oh shit. Oh SHIT!

Darkblade then uses his sword to transform Chloé, but not into a Knight.

~~~~~Outside of Hôtel de Ville~~~~~

While André was being held up in the building by the Knights with swords being held up to him, Scarabée wasn't far as she fought through the many Knights outside to get to him.

Just when Scarabée finds herself surrounded, a limousine drove towards her, hitting all the Knights around her before stopping.

Marinette, Alya, Kim, Max, Adrien and Sabrina all come out of it.

Scarabée: I thought I told you guys to stay at the school- is that a limousine from the Agreste home?!

Sabrina: Don't worry, we didn't steal it. Adrien's body guard was turned into a Knight!

Max: And we technically weren't driving it. I used my laptop to control it.

Marinette: Kitty Claws still isn't here with you?!

One of the Knights: Oye! Oye! Darkblade shall speak now! Listen or be imprisoned!

Darkblade, with a tied up Chloé in a golden princess dress next to him: Henceforth my flag shall fly over my Kingdom. *readies his swords* Bourgeois, pathetic naive! Come hither and do battle! For your the Kingdom and your daughter!

André, running outside: CHLOÉ!

Scarabée: Mayor Bourgeois, NO!

Scarabée then uses her yo-yo to prevent André from getting any closer to the Akuma.

Adrien, angrily: Using his love for his daughter against him is incredibly low!

Scarabée: I have to agree.

Scarabée then wraps her yo-yo around one of the Knight Minions and throws them at Darkblade.

Once Darkblade is on the ground, Scarabée uses her yo-yo to quickly pull Chloé close to her.

Scarabée, still holding her: Are you okay, Chloé? He didn't hurt you, did he?!

Chloé, blushing at the closeness: N-no I'm okay.

Alya, livestreaming: Scarabée is on the scene! Where are you, Kitty Claws?!

Chloé, internally: Damnit! I should've stayed at the school. Transforming would've been SO much easier!

Kim: We gotta get Chloé and Mayor Bourgeois inside!

Sabrina: We gotta clear out the inside first!

Scarabée, letting go of Chloé: Stay close, Chloé. *turns to face Kim and Sabrina* follow my lead, you two.

While Scarabée Kim and Sabrina ran inside Hôtel de Ville, they knocked out every Knight Minion that came at them while Chloé Adrien Max and Marinette carefully followed them.

Just as Darkblade gets up again, Scarabée flings all the Knights they defeated out of the door.

After they all land on him, she slams the door.

Darkblade, getting back up angrily: YOU ALL SHALL FEEL THE THE WRATH OF DARKBLADE!

Scarabée: Board up the windows and doors, now!

Darkblade, walking up to the door: you all shall kneel before the flag of Darkblade!

Before Darkblade could fully open the door, Kim throws a heavy chair at it, making sure it closes in his armor covered face.

Marinette: Scarabée, take Chloé to safety! We should be able to hold them off until you get back.

Scarabée, picking Chloé up bridal style: Thanks! Be safe, you guys *runs up the stairs*

Chloé, internally: Damnit! This is all my fault! If I were there, I could've been helping Itty-Bitty and not caught by Darkblade. But nope! I just HAD to go home and do my nails.

Chloé, speaking out loud: Why would you want to save a spoiled brat like me? It's worth it to sacrifice me to him.

Scarabée: Chloe, I swear to you. As long as I'm by your side, you'll never be harmed. Trust me, my dear.

Chloé, furiously blushing: ... *thinks to herself* STOP BEING HOT! I'M UPSET WITH MYSELF!! *speaks out loud once again* Y-you can just had me in one of these rooms. I promise I'll be fine.

Scarabée, smirking: You got it, Princess!~

Chloé, internally: STOP BEING SO SMOOTH AND SEXY DAMNIT!!!

Scarabée then kicks open the door, walks inside, and gently puts Chloé down before quickly leaving.

After the door is closed, Plagg flies out of Chloé's purse, wearing a little dress of his own.

Plagg: Please transform now!

Chloé: You don't have to tell me twice. Plagg, Claws Out!

After transforming, Kitty Claws leaps out the room's window, runs around to the front of Hôtel de Ville, and make herself known to Darkblade and his Knights.

Kitty Claws: Hey! Instead of mess with the ACTUAL Mayor of Paris and a bunch of teenagers, why don't you take a swing at me! *readies her baton*

Marinette, looking between a part of the window they didn't cover: It's Kitty Claws! She's here!

Alya, filming Kitty Claws from inside: Finally!

Scarabée: *sighs in relief* Thanks for showing up, KC. I'm gonna go out to help her now. You all stay safe in here! *runs up the stairs*

Scarabée briefly looks at the door of the room she put Chloé in before going into the door across from it and closing the door.

Outside, Kitty Claws is surrounded by Knights, but Scarabée rescues the cat heroine with her yo-yo.

Scarabée: Sorry I wasn't out there helping you, KC. I was helping with damage control.

Kitty Claws: If anyone should be apologizing, it's me for being so late, Itty-Bitty!

Kitty Claws then gets up, quickly walks up to Scarabée and gives her a tight hug.

Scarabée couldn't help but to hug her back.

They're nice moment is interrupted by Darkblade shouting

"COME FORMATION!!"

To stop the Knights from climbing onto the windows, Scarabée uses her yo-yo to swing kick them off while Kitty Claws uses her baton to push them off.

Kitty Claws: Your form is terrible! *pulls Scarabée back in the window*

Darkblade, angrily: Cursian colorful acrobats!

Darkblade then turns two cars into catapults and launches himself onto the roof.

Kitty Claws: They're trying to fling themselves onto the roof to get the flag!

Scarabée: I know where his akuma is. We can’t let him change that flag! Let's get that sword!

Kitty Claws and Scarabée follow him and see that he is about to place his family flag on top of City Hall.

The two heroines try to get the sword before he plants the flag, but they're is too late.

As Darkblade plants the flag, a dark cloud spreads over Paris and creates a gigantic cylinder of darkness that shrinks inwards, turning everyone it passes through into knights.

This of course included everyone in Lycée Françoise Dupont and their six allies with Mayor Bourgeois as well.

Darkblade: Bow to King Darkblade!

Scarabée, absolutely furious: GOD FUCKING DAMNIT!!

Darkblade: Soon you shall join my army, verminous insect!

Kitty Claws, knock all the Knight off of her: NO ONE TALKS TO SCARABÉE LIKE THAT! BRING IT ON, YOU FUCKING OLD TIMER!!

While Kitty Claws begins to repeatedly hit Darkblade with her baton, Scarabée begins to spina her yo-yo, ready to continue the fight.

A certain super villain absolutely loved watching the two heroines struggle.

Hawkmoth: It won't be long before Scarabée and Kitty Claws show up to meet their doom.

While still finding Darkblade, Kitty Claws noticed that the gigantic cylinder of darkness was getting closer to them.

Kitty Claws, still shielding herself with her baton: We're about to wind up as Knights too... I would NOT rock a suit of armor!

Scarabée, noticing that the Knights are getting even closer to her: Damnit...

Scarabée and Kitty Claws realize that they have little time to spare before they too are transformed into knights.

Scarabée uses Lucky Charm, which produces a small wind-up toy.

Scarabée, after using her lucky vision: You better be ticklish, Darkblade!

Even after all of her attacks, Darkblade continued to get back up.

This still doesn't stop Kitty Claws from fighting him.

After winding up it up, Scarabée swings abit closer to Darkblade and away from his Knights.

She then tosses the toy under Darkblade’s shoulder, tickling him and causing him to drop his sword.

Kitty Claws, who activated her cataclysm then catches the swords and tosses the now rusty sword to Scarabée, who quickly breaks the already fragile thing, revealing the akuma and causing the cylinder of darkness to vanish.

Scarabée then catches the akuma, purifies it, and uses her Miraculous Cure to fix everything.

Which included turning everyone who got transformed into a Knight back to normal.

Scarabée: Great job as always, KC.

Kitty Claws: Thank you very much, Itty-Bitty~ *hears her ring beeping* we gotta get going! *quickly pulls Scarabée close and uses her baton to take the selfie*

Scarabée: I'm taking D'Argencourt back to the school he works at. See you soon?

Kitty Claws: I hope so!~

After Scarabée leaves with Mr. D’Argencourt, Kitty Claws goes back through the window she went out of and transforms back into Chloé before Plagg hides in her purse.

Just as she left the room, Adrien and Sabrina ran up to her.

Sabrina: Chloé! We're so happy you're okay! *quickly hugs her*

Chloé, hugging her back: Yeah, it's a good thing Scarabée came when she did.

Adrien, smirking: Chloé can always count on Scarabée to be HER hero.

Chloé, blushing: Don't leave out Kitty Claws!

Adrien: Yeah, but it's clear that you have a favorite-

Chloé, blushing furiously: Shut it!

Sabrina: Marinette and the others already left... which one of them do you think is gonna win Class Representative tomorrow.

Chloé: Don't know, don't care. Any one of them will do a better job than me.

Sabrina: Chloé...

Chloé: It's fine, Sabrina. I told my dad I wasn't running for Class Representative again when I got back to my room and he wasn't upset with me at all.

Adrien: I gotta go! Placide's probably freaking out looking for the limousine.

Sabrina: We'll come with you!

After Scarabée drops Mr. D’Argencourt off in front of the school, she hides before transforming back.

When she walks up towards the school, she sees Nathaniel Marc Mylène and Rose running towards her.

Nathaniel, hugging her: I'm so happy you're okay!!

Marc: You had us ruined sick.

Rose, joining in on the hug as well: We're so relieved that you're alright!

Mylène: These Akumas are enough to stress Angels out!

Socqueline, shouting from in school while dragging Brigiette towards the entrance: Hey Marc! We got a little cheater with a trapped hand here!

When Socqueline shows them Brigiette's trapped hand, Marc pulls a key out of his pocket, walks up to them, unlocks the box, and takes it and the book from Brigiette.

Marc: Gotta thank Marinette again for the magic box.

Without saying a word, Brigiette snatches her wrist out of Socqueline's strong hand before running away.

Marinette, Alya, Kim, and Max then walk up to the group.

Alix: Now that she’s gone, can I ask were YOU FOUR have been?!

Alya: You can see it all on the ScaraBlog!

Rose: They took Adrien and Sabrina to go help Scarabée!-

Kim: Whoa! Don't spoil it for her!

Marinette: The important thing is that Scarabée and Kitty Claws managed to save the day again.

Alix: I'm going home now! *points at Marinette, Rose, Mylène, and Kim* You four gotta take down those booths you set up.

Nathaniel: Me and Marc are gonna stay behind and help clean up, see ya tomorrow, Alix!

As Alix walks away, she couldn't help but think about what Chloé said earlier.

"Why would you want to save a spoiled brat like me? It's worth it to sacrifice me to him."

Alix, internally: Seeing everyone cheer after she said she wasn't running for Class Representative must have really got to her...

Alix then took out her phone and started to text a familiar number.

❓️AK🎭: You there?

👑Princely Sunshine☀️: Yeah, what's up?

❓️AK🎭: Do you have Chloé's new number?

👑Princely Sunshine☀️: Yeah, why?

~~~~~The following morning~~~~~

Marinette is elected as the new representative, with Alya as her deputy.

While everyone else cheered, Sabrina couldn't help but notice Chloé's subtle smile as she looked at her phone.

🥇Ally-Kins💖: Hey Chloé, it's Alix. Good on you for NOT choosing to be a major Drama Queen as Class Representative this year. Also, I saw your golden Darkblade dress on the ScaraBlog. You looked very cute.👍

Inspired by: @emdoddles @princess-of-the-corner @muggle-born-princess @dcschart @justanotherpersonsuniverse @symphonic-scream

[kchasm]

Let's Watch: Kamen Rider: Episode 1: The Mysterious Spider Man

Kamen Rider is a series of children's television shows where a man is sometimes a robot man and fights against evil people who want to do evil things. It is not a television show that should be scrutinized by some no-fun wannabe-snarker who's a lot less funny than he thinks he is.

I am here anyway.

I have never watched Kamen Rider, but occasionally (i.e. when a new show comes out), a hear about the great enjoyment a lot of people are having, and today the piquement of curiosity has reached a tipping point. I am going to watch (and hopefully enjoy) Kamen Rider. And where better to start with Kamen Rider than the beginning?

…I really hope this doesn't go the way it did when I tried to get into Elder Scrolls.

Episode 1: The Eerie Spider Man.

The joke is obvious there, so I'm not gonna acknowledge it.

This is Takeshi Hongo, motorcyclist and pretty good dude.

He's practicing for the grand prix under the watchful eye of his... instructor? Mentor? Mr. Tobee Tachibana.

As Hongo rides off for another lap, Tachibana muses to himself that Hongo's a real ace rider—and on top of that, he's a leading biochemist at Johoku University. This is, admittedly, a rather cumbersome way to unload this information unto the viewer, but what the hey.

Hongo's motorcycle practice isn't going as swell as he thinks it is, though. There's a strange, inhuman being watching him from the forest. And also there's the fleet of dark-suited motorcyclists who are suddenly on his tail. They come out of nowhere, and Hongo takes their sudden, unexpected appearance as some sort of motorcycling challenge, like when you're stopped at a red light and some jerkwad in the lane next to yours starts revving his motor to show that he's prepared to peel out faster.

Which: Fair enough for Hongo. If I were a motorcyclist and some other motorcyclist started stepping on the heel of my shoe I wouldn't expect there to be more than non-issue quotidian douchebaggery afoot.

It isn't until another fleet of motorcyclists starts coming at him from the other direction that he starts to suspect some high-effort nefariousity is happening. Looks like he's gonna have to jump—!

...Okay, I'm going to be real with you. Not only do I not fully understand how he just did that, I also don't fully understand what he just did. And I definitely don't understand why it makes the mooks after him suddenly give up and ride off. Did they lose track of him somehow? Do they not have peripheral vision?

Hongo seems just as perplexed, to be honest. Curiosity flaring, he decides to sneak after this mookfleet as they rev off.

Unfortunately, he doesn't get very far before he's unexpectedly netted by a giant spiderweb.

I swear by all that is good and delicious that I had no intention on landing on the most hilarious frame of this sequence. This is just what happened when I hit pause.

When Hongo comes to, he finds himself chained up, surrounded by doctors who look like they lost their licenses collectively, and a voice welcomes him to Shocker.

Shocker, the narrator of the show informs us, is some sort of vaguely evil organization with a reach that extends to all corners of the globe. Their modus operandi is to recruit folks and "alter" them into soldiers toward a goal of world domination, and Hongo, with his superior intellect and athleticism, has made their list of candidates. In the week since Hongo has been brought in, those backstreet docs have already filled him with cyborg parts.

Hongo's a bit skeptical, up until the doctors put fifty thousand volts through him and he doesn't die. It does him a big hurt, but he doesn't die, because he has... um, the power of wind?

This explains nothing, doctor man. But before they electrocuted him, they also spun some sort of turbine that was on the belt of the suit he was wearing. So his suit is wind-powered? I'm going to take this as meaning that his cyborg body is wind-powered and by spinning the turbine his cyborgousity was charged up, which let him withstand what would kill a normal man.

Anyway, the physical alterations have been completed, so all that's left is to operate on Hongo's mind—they're going to do evil brain surgery, essentially brainwashing him into a loyal Shocker soldier.

Fortunately, they're interrupted by an explosion—someone's destroyed a generator somewhere, which means that Hongo's not as alone in his plight as he might've feared. Once all the doctors have skedaddled, he breaks his chains with his cyborg body and comes face to face with his rescuer.

This man is Dr. Midorikawa. He went missing some time ago, but it turns out he's been here—kidnapped to serve Shocker. Now, with Hongo cyborgized unto super-strength but his brain yet unwashed, Hongo can help him bust out. Looks like he's gonna have to jump—!

Hongo and Midorikawa make their escape by motorcycle (I don't know if it's Hongo's motorcycle or a motocycle that someone just left lying around somewhere near-base), but their win's cut short when a giant spiderweb in their path stops them in their wheels and sends Hongo tumbling apparently fatally down a cliff. The Shocker grunts capture Midorikawa and present him to the episode's monster. It's the first time we get a look this clean of them, though they are Very Zoomed In, which I am beginning to assume was the style in those days.

Dude pronounces judgment. Not only will Midorikawa be killed for his betrayal, but so will his daughter Ruriko. Bummer.

But wait, who's that in the distance?

Hongo's not dead. And he leaps into everyone's business, making mincemeat out of mooks. Mookmeat?

A note on the combat sequences here: Are they cheesy? Sure. Do some of the hits and kicks visibly not connect? Absolutely! And yet, there's something about the entire deal—the choreography, and camerawork—that makes it feel exciting. Maybe it's the triumphant music. Maybe it's the quick and forthright brawling maneuvers done instead of whatever graceful martial arts you might expect.

I think what it might be is the fact that there are less cuts than I'm accustomed to: Hongo will punch and kick and shove and toss a whole team of mooks, and the camera absolutely will not cut to another angle. You can actually follow what's happening, instead of getting bombarded by the disorienting flashes of this angle and that angle and over there and where is everyone standing now, a choice of camerawork that in turn lets my brain appreciate how, yeah, there's definitely a dirty fight happening here.

Anyway, they escape. So that's good.

From left to right, this is Ruriko and her friend Hiromi. Ruriko's uneasy—she's felt eyes on her for the past few days. She's right: The titular Spider Man of the episode is indeed keeping watch, and plans to kidnap Ruriko to draw out her father. The kidnapping attempt comes in the form of a bunch of nondescript men in suits who start to walk threateningly at her from opposite directions while she's on her way to work, which I am just assuming is the classic Shocker Pincer now.

Before they can lay their hands on her, however, a car screeches up to them, and who should be driving it than...

In a truly coincidental coincidence, Tachibana is not only Hongo's trainer, but Ruriko's boss at the cafe she works at, and seeing her on the side of the road, he decided he'd be a cool dude and pick her and her friend up partway. Ruriko's real relieved at the save Tachibana's effected from the mysterious mooks, but Tachibana doesn't really have any idea what she's talking about—said mooks, having been angled off-frame for more than a solid second, have long vanished themselves into the ether.

What Tachibana does know, however, is that Ruriko's father has been found! He gives her a note with the address where she can meet him, and I am immediately filled with suspicion. He just knows this information, I guess? Somehow? My first thought is that he's in on it—if Shocker can perform Evil Brain Surgery/Evil Brainwashing to make anyone a loyal Shocker soldier, nobody can be trusted.

But when Tachibana and Ruriko make it to the cafe ("Amigo," which is a nice name for a cafe, though I wonder if it actually has anything in the way of Spanish delectables), they are immediately beset upon by Shocker goons, which I suppose means that my distrusting hypothesis was absolutely incorrect and that Tachibana is on the side of angels after all and was simply informed of Dr. Midorikawa's recovery off-screen. By Hongo, I guess?

I'm going to be honest, I'm having trouble imagining how that happened. So did Hongo call Tachibana up and say "Hey, I found Dr. Midorikawa; could you tell his daughter he's alright, please?" Did Hongo tell Tachibana that he and Midorikawa had been kidnapped? Did he lie to Tachibana and try to play off Midorikawa's disappearance as a misunderstanding? Did Tachibana not tell Hongo to tell the police? I feel like if someone's been notably missing and then they turn up, you're supposed to inform the police, so they don't waste any more of the resources they aren't using looking for the dude in question. Like, how much does Tachibana know about Shocker at this point? He can't know anything, right? Because if he had known anything, he wouldn't have been like, "Oh, yeah, Ruriko, your dad showed up, here's where you can meet him." He would've been more like, "Ruriko, your dad's okay, but he escaped after he was kidnapped by some real bad folks; we need to be careful."

So basically, it must be that Hongo didn't tell Tachibana anything, which seems irresponsible, frankly. And then Tachibana was just an Uncurious Motherfucker (pardon my language; that's a technical term, I swear—it originates with John Rogers, a screenwriter who had a hand in Leverage, The Librarians, and Jackie Chan Adventures, among others, and his needling of the tendency of characters in early episodes of LOST to see a Notable Thing and then spend no effort to look deeper into and/or communicate the matter). (That parenthetical was significantly longer than the couple of sentences it parentheticized off of and I'm deeply sorry about that.)

Anyway: Tachibana manages to get a couple of blows in before the Shocker goons have him and Ruriko pinned (a feat which instantly cements Tachibana as awesome to me, which is the quickest turnaround), but surprise! Ruriko isn't Ruriko at all! She's Hiromi, who switched clothes with Ruriko in the car! And Ruriko's still in the car, now driving merrily to the warehouse at Toura pier where her father is!

Wait, now Tachibana and Hiromi have been captured by Shocker. That's bad, huh.

Unfortunately, all this careful clandestinity is kneecapped when Ruriko reads the address to herself on the way there, since there's a spider on the back windshield. It's a literal bug, transmitting audio to the Spider Man. Oops.

At the warehouse, Hongo and Midorikawa are hanging out—awaiting Ruriko, I assume. Hongo tells Midorikawa that it's imperative that he testify to the world about this whole Shocker thing, seeing as it's pretty bad for everyone. He messes with a faucet in the building, I guess to get a drink or spramp his face or something (I wouldn't trust warehouse water, myself), but the faucet breaks off in his hand—ah, he's sharply reminded, he's predominantly cyborg now. His body was permanently altered without his consent. You could even say that he no longer counts as human! I mean, I wouldn't say that. You would have to be a real cyborgist douchebag to say that. But you could say that.

Midorikawa tearfully apologizes. It turns out, shockingly (har), he set this all up. After he was kidnapped by Shocker, he wanted to escape, but he needed someone's cyborg strength to assist him in that. To minimize the risk, he chose the most optimal person to get cyborgized, so that he could interrupt the process pre-brainwashing and skedaddle. In other words:

Midorikawa is the one who recommended Hongo to Shocker.

Hongo is understandably put out by this, somewhat. Voices are raised. Midorikawa pleads for forgiveness. Ruriko, standing right outside the door in a coincidental coincidence of timing, gets a very poor understanding of the situation. It doesn't really last long enough I'd call it an "argument," though—Hongo quickly moves off to stare dramatically at nothing in particular as he ruminates over his circumstances (still counting Tachibana and Midorikawa on his side in his internal narration, if you're wondering whether he's holding a grudge against Midorikawa too badly here). Unfortunately, this means he misses it when a spiderweb starts oozing in through the ceiling, up until it literally wraps itself around Midorikawa and starts strangling him to death.

Hongo moves in to assist, but can't seem to get the webbing off, and of course now Ruriko decides to rush in, misunderstanding the situation all the more and trying to stop Hongo from "strangling" her father. It's all for naught for everyone, though. Dr. Midorikawa dies, to Ruriko's distress. And then the Spider Man pops in and shoots a presumably lethal dart out of his mouth.

(This would be an easy joke, I guess—"I am pretty sure that this is not an ability spiders have," etc.—but many tarantulas actually have specialized barbed, bristly "hairs" on their abdomens that they can "fling" toward threats. More than one tarantula encounterer of the human kind has had the misfortune of getting these bristles straight in the eyes, which I don't know if means that all these cases had the victims looking at the tarantula really close-up, or that tarantulas are just really really good at aiming. The point is, re: spider men having dart powers: I'll allow it.)

Hongo's got reflexes that ensure the dart misses, but it hits Dr. Midorikawa's body instead. And then we get a sequence that exhibits the actual lethality of this attack.

If you think I'm making fun of this, I absolutely am not. These folks knew they had a budget, and by golly, they found a way to meet it. They got the idea straight across to the viewer: Dr. Midorikawa's body straight up dissolves.

(I am very bad at gifs, by the way. Do you know how long it took to finagle this sequence under 10 MB so tumblr would accept it? Longer than I'd like.)

Irritatingly, even after seeing this happen right in front of her, Ruriko still thinks that Hongo killed her dad, which makes very little sense but I'll chalk it up to her being distraught and not thinking clearly. Either way, she makes a run for it, which of course gives Spider Man prime opportunity. Instead of killing her, though, he just grabs her and hops on top of a truck that happens to be coincidentally passing by.

Hongo jumps onto his motorcycle to give chase (still not entirely clear where he got this motorcycle, by the way), and then flicks a switch on the handlebars, which... transforms his motorcycle? And then also he transforms into Kamen Rider while riding the motorcycle?

The Kamen Rider transformation makes sense—riding a motorcycle creates enough wind for the turbine to power up the transformation, sure, I'll buy that—but I have no idea why his bike transformed, or how. Is this a special bike Hongo stole from Shocker on his way out? Did he tinker with a bike sometime between the escape from Shocker and the scene at the warehouse? He just has a transforming bike now, and this vexes me.

Anyway, having transformed into Kamen Rider, Hongo manages to get ahead of Spider Man, forcing the confrontation of him vs. Spider Man and the mooks Spider Man summoned in the second he was off-screen. Another thoroughly cheesy but nevertheless fun-to-watch fight scene occurs, with Spider Man trying his dart attack but of course only hitting one of his mooks, who dissolves the same way Midorikawa did.

Finally, it's down to a one-on-one, which, of course, Kamen Rider ultimately wins.

Interestingly, upon his defeat, the Spider Man dissolves in the same way Dr. Midorikawa and the mook did earlier. Is this some sort of failsafe so that no evidence is left behind? Is it just some biological side effect of whatever was done to this guy when he was transformed by Shocker? (He's probably more than just a cyborg, right? They've got to have done some biological fiddling in there as well.) No idea, and the episode isn't much interested in answering the question. Fair enough.

Tachibana drives up, and Hongo hands off the unconscious Ruriko, so that he can stand there dramatically and do some staring off into the distance as the episode ends.

(So I guess Tachibana and Hiromi are safe? What, did Shocker just... let them go after they found out they'd been bamboozled? Feels like a bit of an oversight on the part of the Shocker mooks. Were they just super embarrassed about the whole thing? "Sorry, thought you were someone else. Tell you what, you go your way and we'll go ours and nobody has to know. Especially not our bosses, who are probably inclined to murder.")

(See, that's the problem with being the sort of boss who drops mooks into the alligator pit when they fail a mission. The mooks are less scared of failing you and more scared of you finding out they've failed, which is a subtle but important difference. Covering one's metaphorical behind becomes much more important than meeting organizational goals, which can directly lead to actions that run against those goals. It's much better to have your mooks analyze where they went wrong so that they can better pull off their assigned tasks the next time around.)

Conclusion: All in all, this was a fun episode. I don't envy the difficulty in having to set up everything—the protagonist, his origin, the threat, the powers, etc.—in a single thirty-minute episode, and for the rough edges there, I definitely wouldn't be able to do it better.

The character I'm most interested in here, though, is Tachibana. He seems to have just immediately put himself on the line once he found out what happened to Hongo (albeit entirely off-screen). If your student/trainee/etc. showed up after a week missing and told you he'd been transformed into a cyborg by a secret society bent on world domination, you'd probably take him straight to the hospital. I guess with Dr. Midorikawa there corroborating, Hongo was a lot more believable?

But no, wait, does that mean Tachibana did know about the whole kidnapping-and-cyborgizing issue when he gave Ruriko the address to the warehouse? Because that would mean he's the irresponsible one here, just sending Ruriko there without even a warning.

Man, I dunno. I think someone messed up somewhere, and Dr. Midorikawa paid for it. Bummer.