#it has to be more direct and push them at their own game. bamboozle and make them think your ideas are theirs

[sleeping-on-cracking-ice]

Hey! Can you write something with Chishiya and Y/N when she almost died in game beacuse of Niragi but didn't tell anyone about this (he tripped her on purpouse or smth). Chishiya finds her up on the roof few days later really anxious+crying beacuse her visa is ending and she is scared that Niragi will come and play the same game as her and will try to do something bad. Chishiya becames really protective over her especially when he sees her bruised knees.

Here you go!

Comfort Zone | Shuntaro Chishiya

{Alice In Borderland Masterlist}

Character(s): Chishiya (ft. Niragi, OC’s, Hatter)

Summary: You came close to dying due to being attacked by Niragi, and you fear it will happen again during the next game. Chishiya notices your anxiety and tries his best to prevent it from happening.

Warnings: mention of murder, swearing, blood, violence (punching)

Word Count: 3.9k

*reader is female

“Just my luck,” you groaned out, lifting yourself to your feet by using a chair nearby for leverage. “Not only am I clumsy as fuck, I’m also stuck with a group of murderers.”

Hatter had suggested you go with a few of the militants for the next game, as he wished for them to test you to see if you were capable enough to join them.

It was a hearts game called Capture The Flag. It was very self explanatory. You had to capture the opposite team’s flag and bring it back to your base without getting killed by them. The game would continue until a flag was captured, and the losing team would have their small bomb strapped to their chest explode as soon as the flag was returned to the team’s base. So theoretically, you could die at any second. And if that wasn’t stressful enough, everyone carried weapons, ranging from machete’s to revolvers, so you were on high alert.

You were on the same team as a muscular militant woman named Ren and a much younger kid (he looked around fifteen years old) called Minato. But of course, Niragi had to be placed on your team, bringing you nothing but more trouble.

The room you stood in was dark and ominous. You managed to trip over a few shards of glass and impact on the ground heavily, causing your hip to throb in pain as you attempt to recover from the fall.

You had been separated from your group. You managed to sneak off without them noticing, just rather being on your own than with others. You thought you had a better chance by yourself anyway, as no one was there to betray you.

In the Borderland, you didn’t know who to trust, so you kept to yourself.

The brightness of your game phone flashed a light green, reminding you of what colour team you were on. You had to search for a base that was illuminated by a blue light and take the flag that was supposedly meant to be there. But so far, you hadn’t seen any indication of the other team. You hadn’t even seen any of the other players now that you thought about it.

You made your way out of the empty room you had just checked, peeking around the corner down the hall before stepping out of the doorframe. The small  bomb strapped to your chest over your shirt felt heavy on your frame, especially knowing that it held your life in its hands.

You sighed loudly and rubbed your hands together to relieve the tension in your muscles slightly. You had to be close, surely. You had been walking around the abandoned hospital for ages, as if you hadn’t at least walked past the enemy’s base and missed it somehow.

Just as you were about to turn the corner to the main corridor, a whispered grunt made you stop in your tracks. You held your breath and pressed yourself against the cold wall next to you, trying to listen to any movements they make.

The sounds of rustling met your ears, making you frown. It sounded like someone was trying to find something in their pocket, moving around the objects until they’ve found what they need.

You slowly peeked one eye around the corner, making sure not to accidentally hit the wall or fall forwards in fear of the person being an enemy player. Good news, it wasn’t. But seeing someone on your team wasn’t much reassurance either, as all three of them seemed to be clinically insane.

Niragi was crouching over a dead body. A game phone was thrown to the side on the ground a few feet away, emitting a bright blue light. The dead person must have been on the blue team.

The blood pooled around the body, Niragi’s boot being in one of the puddles.

‘Why didn’t I hear the gunshots?’ you asked yourself, watching as Niragi rummaged through the pockets of the guy’s jacket. He was probably looking for another weapon or perhaps something to assist him in the game.

Your eyebrows furrowed when you noticed a slight blue tinge on the fabric of Niragi’s shirt. You turned your head the other way down the hall, eyes lighting up at the sight of a bright fluorescent blue light coming from around the corner. That must’ve been the enemies base.

You glanced back quickly to Niragi, noting he was busy with the corpse, still searching through their pockets. Perhaps you could make it if you were quiet enough.

You slowly lifted a foot while keeping your eyes pinned to the man down the hall, ready to dive back behind the wall if he decided to turn around. When your whole body had left the comfort of the darkened hallway you came from, you turned and quickly shuffled down the hall towards the light, looking over your shoulder every now and then.

When you had turned the corner, you let out a sigh in relief. “Fuck,” you rasped out, wiping your sweating brow with the back of your wrist. “If only I came with Chishiya, I wouldn’t be so cautious.”

You entered a room a few steps in front of you that had a door slightly ajar with the blue light pushing through. You squinted your eyes as you opened the door at the brightness of the light, covering your eyes and hissing lightly.

When your eyes adjusted, you felt a euphoric feeling fill your body when you caught sight of the blue flag resting against the wall. You immediately scrambled over and gripped the wood, feeling the sweet ecstasy of victory and being able to live another few days.

You walked out of the room flag in hand. But as soon as you exited the door, your game phone rang loudly, making you freeze in your spot.

“Green Team has now obtained Blue Flag.”

Your breath became lodged in your throat and you felt your fist tighten on the flag pole. If the game announced it to the rest of the players, they were going to come after you.

Your fear was proven correct when you heard loud footsteps down the hall, making its way to your position. You knew it was Niragi, but the fact that he was on your team gave you slight reassurance. He wouldn’t hurt someone he’s meant to be working with, right?

You couldn’t be so sure, so you pulled out the fairly sized knife that you had sneaked into your pocket before leaving for the game. There was nowhere you could run. Down the hall was the only exit you had.

Before you knew it, the angered face of Niragi turned the corner and you locked eyes. He glanced down at the large knife you held at your side, then at the flag. A smirk painted on his face and he chuckled cockily.

“You think you can defend yourself with that piece of shit?” he asked you, taking a few threatening steps towards your frame. Your feet remained planted on the ground, trying not to appear as panicked as you actually were. “Everyone’s going to come here, and you’re going to fend them off with a kitchen knife?”

You felt belittled from his mocking, eyebrows furrowing in frustration. “The fuck else am I supposed to do?” you asked, pointing the tip of the knife in his direction.

Silence filled the air as you and Niragi had a stare down. The grip he held on his rifle tightened whenever you shifted, never failing to make your heart skip a fearful beat.

“Princess,” he started with a sickening pet name, “why don’t you give the flag to me? I’ll protect you.” His sudden change in mood gave you whiplash and you took a step back in confusion, still holding your weapon towards him.

“What?” you muttered out, a bamboozled expression on your face. “I said, pass the flag to me. I’ll make sure we’ll be okay,” he answered while slinging his gun to his side a bit too casually for your comfort.

You watched as he fiddled with the bullet compartments of his rifle. He seemed to have been checking the ammo, making you realise what he was intending.

You shook your head, trying to sound normal, but the slight shakiness in your voice made you quite obvious. “It’s fine Niragi,” you insisted, “I can get it to our base myself.”

He glanced up at your frame as he closed the bullet compartment to his rifle. His serious expression made your adrenaline kick in and your hands began to shake, becoming obvious from the way the tip of the knife was quivering.

“Fine,” he muttered out, basically snarling at you. “I’ll do this the hard way.”

His words made your expression drop and before you could even think, Niragi swung the butt of his rifle and socked you across the side of your head, making you fall to the ground abruptly and drop the blue flag. You groaned in pain, and yet you didn’t even get a second to recover before Niragi blew another hit to your shoulder, kicking you harshly in the stomach at the same time.

You suffocated on nothing, becoming winded from his kick. Gasping for air, you attempted to crawl away from the violent man, shuffling on your hands and knees. Another hit to your lower back brought you to your stomach and you gagged at the sudden feeling.

Luckily, Niragi had quit abusing you and reached down next to your bruised body to pick up the blue flag. “Maybe next time, be careful what you say to me,” he hissed into your ear before standing up and walking away from you.

You laid on the floor for a short moment, trying to compose yourself and control your breathing once again. When you finally came to your senses, you lifted yourself up from the ground while groaning in pain. You had to find a hiding spot, otherwise the Blue Team would find you at their base and kill you.

You used the wall for support as you stood up, bones cracking and blood dripping down the side of your face. You lifted your hand and pressed against your throbbing head, wincing as the pain rocketed from your action.

‘At least he didn’t kill me,’ you thought to yourself. A bright shimmer caught your eye and you turned your head to see your weapon laying on the ground. A grumble left your body as you leant down to pick it up, admiring the way the blue light reflected off it.

You leant against the wall and slowly made your way down the hall, searching for a small cabinet or anywhere that you could hide for the next ten minutes or so. You got a wave of relief when you spotted a cleaner’s cupboard just down the corridor, stumbling towards it.

When you pulled yourself inside the dark cupboard and closed the door, you allowed yourself to slide down against the cold wall, feeling a few tears slip from your eyes.

All you had to do was wait for Niragi to get the flag back to the Green Base and you would be fine, hopefully.

***************

You dragged your exhausted body towards your hotel room, your legs throbbing in pain at every step you climbed. You had decided against going back to the hotel in the car with the other militants, as you didn’t want to deal with the tension of sitting next to the man who almost killed you. Plus, the car would hold half the amount of people it left the hotel with, probably making the atmosphere more eerie.

The door of your hotel room felt heavy as you pushed it open, stumbling into the cold room. You groaned in frustration at your past self. Why didn’t you leave your heater on before you left?

You let out a deep sigh before falling backwards onto your bed, spreading your arms out wide to feel the comforting blankets underneath you. Your eyes closed in content, trying so hard to ignore the pain on the side of your head and your knees.

The blankets shifted underneath your tired frame as you rolled over, pulling the duvet over yourself in the process. You didn’t even have the energy to turn your body so you could place your head on the pillow, so you simply slipped into unconsciousness in the position you laid in, hoping for a better day to come tomorrow.

Whilst you travelled to dreamland in your mind, a short blonde man stood outside your door, knocking lightly on the wood. When Chishiya received no response, he lightly turned the silver door knob and peaked his head into the room. A soft sigh of relief left him when you saw you safe and sound, asleep on your bed. He had been worried from how you were acting as you slumped to your room, noticing that you seemed more tired than usual.

Chishiya walked into the room and quickly shut the door behind him, holding the doorknob until it was completely shut to avoid the clicking noise. He tip-toed towards your frame and admired your sleeping self, his lips curling up at the sight.

“Get some sleep love,” he whispered, running the back of his hand softly down your cheek to sooth you. “You need it.”

Before Chishiya left the room, he tucked the blanket tighter around your body so you stayed warm and gave you a soft peck on your forehead. He glanced back once more before stepping out of the room. He headed back to his own hotel room to get some sleep, feeling content that the person he cares for most was okay.

**************

As the days of your visa grew fewer, your dread grew bigger. Thoughts from your last game bounced around your head, continuing to come back to you in the most random of times. Sometimes you would feel an imaginary harsh kick to your back in your dreams, causing you to wake up abruptly, covered in sweat. You couldn’t escape the fear of Niragi attempting to kill you again. If you managed to run into him again like in the last game, it would be a guarantee that he wouldn’t let you off the hook again.

Just the thought of Niragi blasting a few bullets from his sniper through your head brought you the irrational belief that that was your future. No matter how hard you attempted to shake it, it found its way back into your mind.

The stars shone in the sky, glistening against the endless ceiling of darkness and winking at you from above. It felt foreign to see such sights in the world you lived in, where everything seemed to hold some kind of darkness behind it. Even the label of ‘Utopia’ on The Beach was a complete lie.

You huffed in a stressful tone, hanging your head low and rubbing your eyes with your hands as you leaned your elbows on the railing. The minutes before the next game were becoming less and less. If only you had one more day on your visa, you could potentially avoid all the bullshit that Niragi brought with him everywhere he went.

Hatter had informed you that Niragi was taking you to another game, as he didn’t get to properly assess your skills last time. He was making you go because that night was the night your visa ended. You didn’t have a choice.

Before you knew it, small droplets of tears escaped your eyes, cascading down your face and dripping off your chin. You felt helpless and scared. You could do nothing but wait for the fire alarms to ring to indicate Hatter’s speech before everyone left for their own games. It felt like your time on the roof was lasting forever, so you tried to drag out your time there as long as you could.

You closed your eyes and lifted your head high, letting the cold air swim around your face and bring you comfort. “This isn’t fucking fair,” you stated bluntly to yourself.

It wasn’t. Why did the world think you deserved this kind of stress? You never asked to be in the Borderland. You never asked to be involved with these people. Why did you have to be thrown into this mess?

The sound of light footsteps ripped you from your thoughts, causing you to whip your head around and lock eyes with Chishiya, who froze a few metres away. Your face visibly relaxed at the sight of your boyfriend, smiling weakly as he lifted his hands in defence from your paranoid actions.

“Hey Chishiya,” you greeted him, turning your back and wiping your tears from your eyes. “Sorry, I’ll be down soon. Just give me a minute.”

Chishiya frowned at your shaky voice, approaching your frame and placing a soft hand on your shoulder. “Y/N? What’s wrong?”

You turned your face to him and his eyes displayed concern as soon as they met with your teary ones. “Wait, baby why are you crying?” he asked, placing a hand on the small of your back and another cupping your cheek to make you look at him.

You shook your head and gave a fake smile, not wanting to tell Chishiya what had happened. “It’s fine. I’m just getting a bit stressed for tonight.”

Chishiya eyebrows furrowed at your answer, noticing how you bit your lip after your sentence. You only ever did that when you were lying.

His eyes glanced up towards the small gash on the side of your head. “How did this happen?” he questioned you, lifted his hand to run a gentle thumb over the injury. You glanced at him nervously as he waited for an answer.

“Oh that? It’s nothing. I just managed to trip over and smack my head on the wall during the last game. You know me, such a clumsy idiot,” you tried to laugh it off.

Chishiya didn’t buy it for a second. He moved his gaze to the rest of your body, searching for any more injuries. He had had enough of your lying when he saw your bruised knees, dried blood around the edges of small cuts from earlier when you accidentally reopened them.

“Y/N, what happened the other day? Who did this to you?” Chishiya asked in a serious tone, wrapping his hands around your neck and holding you protectively. “These look bad Y/N. I’ll have to treat them for you.”

You nodded, looking down at the ground. Chishiya lifted your chin with his finger to make you have eye contact. “You going to tell me what happened?”

You let out a big sigh, accepting the fact that you can’t hide literally anything from Chishiya. He knew you too well.

“Look, it’s fine Chishiya. Niragi just got mad at me during a game. You know how he is. I’m honestly glad that he didn’t do anything else,” you explained, watching as Chishiya’s face contorted into anger at your confession.

He fell silent, making you more tense. You knew Chishiya was really aggravated when he went completely silent.

“Niragi did this to you?” he asked scarily calmly, running a soft hand over the gash on your head again. You nodded, leaning against his touch.

“Alright. You stay with me tonight. I don’t care what Hatter has asked from you. You stick by my side and don’t let go of my hand,” Chishiya demanded you, pulling you into a comforting hug. You tucked your face into his neck, breathing in his scent.

“I love you,” he whispered out, giving you a soft smooch on your cheek. “I’m so sorry I wasn’t there to protect you.”

You shook your head in denial. “Don’t be baby. You’re here now. That’s all that matters.”

Chishiya smiled happily at your words, pulling back from the hug and giving you a loving kiss on your lips. You both held each other close, moving your mouths against one another’s intimately.

You felt safe in Chishiya’s arms and he felt safe in yours. And that’s where both of you were intending to stay as long as possible.

****************

You sat on Chishiya’s small bed, admiring as the young man wiped carefully over the dried blood on your knees. He was being so careful, holding you by the underneath of your knee and making sure not to press too hard on your bruises.

You had returned from the game you attended with Chishiya. Before the game commenced, you both hid on the roof so Niragi or Hatter wouldn’t come looking for you, wanting to take you to the game. You waited until most cars had left before making your way down to the bottom floor, climbing into the last car together that only held two other people you didn’t know.

Chishiya made sure to keep you by his side the entire game, not letting go of your hand once. At some point you were afraid he was going to sacrifice himself for you, as he wasn’t acting too far from it. His protective side had kicked in and he wasn’t taking your situation lightly.

At some point you both had to hide from an attacker. Chishiya had shoved you both into the corner of a small room, shielding your entire body with his with both of his hands against the walls, keeping you trapped in and hidden. The action alone was enough to make you realise how much Chishiya actually cared, how afraid he actually was of losing you.

“All done,” the blonde announced, breaking you from your thoughts. You grinned as he glanced up at you, giving you a cheeky wink. He shifted up the bed and leant against the headboard beside you. “Are you okay?” he asked once again, his fingers lightly running along your thigh soothingly. You nodded, leaning your head on his shoulder.

“Don’t worry about Niragi,” Chishiya reassured you after a short moment of silence. You looked up at him from his shoulder. “Why not?” you asked.

Chishiya gave a cocky smirk and ruffled your hair playfully. “I’ll make sure to give him a piece of my mind,” he said in a monotone voice as usual.

You chuckled at his words before placing a soft kiss to the underside of his jaw. “I’m sure you will,” you laughed.

Chishiya smiled happily and turned his body. He picked you up slightly and made you lie down before placing himself next to your frame. You rolled over to face him, not even getting a chance to breath before his lips were on yours.

His kiss was passionate, running his tongue along your lips to ask for you to open them. You obliged, letting him have his way with you. You ran your fingers up underneath his shirt, feeling his warm skin shiver underneath you touch. He groaned at the feeling, pushing himself closer to you and placing one hand on the back of your neck while the other dragged lazy patterns along your bare hip.

You two held each other close, getting lost and drunk on the thoughts and feelings of one another. No one could make each of you feel the way you made each other feel. In Chishiya’s arms you felt safe and content, making all the terrible things around you disappear. And for Chishiya, you made him feel sane again. You made him remember that he was human, he was allowed to have human emotions and make mistakes.

You brought a sense of comfort to one another, and clearly Chishiya wasn’t willing to let anything come between you both.

[crimethinc]

Take the Offensive: Moving from Protest to Resistance

It’s time to strategize. Is it more realistic to set out to overturn the Muslim ban, halt further construction of the border wall, help our friends and loved ones evade ICE roundups, stop the DAPL and Keystone XL, protect our drinking water, slow down global warming, tame the financial sector and stop the police from killing people and defend abortion access—or to take down the government itself? Should we fight a thousand defensive battles—or a single offensive one?

In less than four weeks, the Trump administration has accomplished something that American radicals haven’t been able to do for almost 250 years: it has convinced the majority of the American people that the government is a public menace. Trump and his cronies have picked fights with Black people, Latinos and Latinas, Native Americans, Muslims, immigrants, feminists, environmentalists, radicals, progressives, liberals, and a swath of federal, state, and municipal employees—in short, with the better part of the population. For good measure, they appear to be trying to provoke a major terrorist attack in the United States in hopes that it would shore up their dubious mandate. Undoubtedly, I’m forgetting something. It’s been an eventful month.

Furthermore, the administration has antagonized the CIA, the NSA, and the Mexican and Chinese governments; aligned itself with Russia to such an extent as to create national security scandals; and threatened to upset the entire post-Cold War global order. On the public relations side, it is making up fantastic stories out of thin air and has randomly gone to war with CNN.

Consequently, the American corporate, political, industrial, financial, media, military, and intelligence elites are at cross purposes, deeply divided among themselves. Some factions are betting that neo-fascism is the wave of the future and that it will be good for business. Other factions would prefer to return to business as usual. Given the events of the last twenty-five days, it seems possible that the administration will overstep its authority and bring about a constitutional crisis at some point over the next four years, if not sooner. If such a “crisis of legitimacy” does develop, it is likely that the latter factions of the ruling class would prefer regime change to dictatorship.

I hate to resort to Game of Thrones references, but Donald Trump and Steve Bannon are acting the parts of Cersei Lannister and Maester Qyburn respectively: not only are they playing with fire, oblivious to the dragons circling on the horizon, but they consider themselves to be very clever.

If this is really how the administration wants to do things, they can bring it on. White conservatives and a small number of web-based reactionary activists versus people of color, white liberals, a seasoned cadre of radicals and progressives, and the vast majority of Millennials? Let’s do this. They may have more guns, but we definitely have more numbers. Home team bats last.

Trump and Bannon have had a few weeks to push people around. In doing so, they’ve backed themselves into a corner and alienated over half of the country. Now, it’s time to do like our grandparents taught us and punch these bullies in the face. Here are a few suggestions for how to do so—and what comes next.

Protest Won’t Change Anything—Resistance Will

Protest is so 2003, people. Resistance is the new black. It is all well and good for thousands or even millions of people to assemble in the street. However, doing so accomplishes nothing in and of itself, as many of us bitterly remember from the lead-up to the invasion of Iraq fourteen years ago. On the other hand, gathering at times and places where our presence impacts the day-to-day operations of essential infrastructure can accomplish a great deal, as many of us remember fondly from the airport occupations two weeks ago. This is the difference between symbolic protest and direct action, which anarchists have been pointing out for upwards of 150 years. Less protest, more action, please.

Seriously, there is no point in pleading with this government or registering our opposition to its policies. They truly could not care less what we think. We need to make it impossible for them to govern. We can do this. For the moment, it may be enough to simply start picking targets to shut down, sending out calls over Twitter, seeing how many people show up, and taking it from there. I think that the airport actions were the right idea—we just need to apply that model to some part of the government itself.

Take the Offensive

They always say that the best defense is a good offense, and it did just work out that way for the Patriots in the Super Bowl. The Trump administration is trying to send us scrambling in a thousand different directions at once. It’s a trap. They hope to prevent us from capitalizing on the fact that their government is out of step with the values and desires of most American people and holds questionable legitimacy in the eyes of millions.

It is true that many of us have to stay focused on solidarity work, mutual aid, and self-defense. There’s no way around that. However, the time has come to ask ourselves: under an extremely hostile administration, is it more realistic to set out to overturn the Muslim ban and halt further construction of the border wall, help our friends and loved ones evade ICE roundups and stay out of prison, stop the DAPL and Keystone XL, protect our drinking water and slow down global warming, tame the financial sector and stop the police from killing people and defend abortion access all at the same time—or to take down the government itself?

We may find that the only way to prevent everything from getting drastically worse is by going all in on revolution.

Tap the Powers of Millions

Huge segments of society are angry and afraid, full of fresh ideas and energy, open to radical perspectives, paying attention, well informed, struggling to survive, and ready to fight. I’ve never seen anything like it in my life.

Resistance to the Trump regime will succeed or fail depending on how effective we are at finding each other and making the most of our various strengths. We need great numbers of people to participate if we are going to prevail. No crack team of specialized activists can do this on their own. No judge or politician is going to set things right. Nobody can save us but ourselves. That should be more than enough.

Three Possible Futures

Suppose, then, that there is a crisis of legitimacy ahead for Trump. What are the likely scenarios, and how do we prepare? Let’s look ahead a little further since things have been happening so fast lately.

The most likely possibility is still that the Deep State (as represented by entrenched elements in the CIA, the neoconservatives in the Republican Party, etc.) will manage to rein Trump in somehow, permitting him to carry out the ordinary racist aspects of his program but preventing him from going overboard with economic protectionism, haphazard foreign policy, and collusion with Russia. Repression will keep pace with escalating social tensions as the law-abiding Left sells out protest movements in return for another shot at state power. In this scenario, we lose, Steve Bannon and the white nationalists lose, and the Deep State wins, stabilizing capitalism for another four years or more.

Those losses would be temporary, however—throughout such an administration, anarchists would compete with white nationalists for the allegiance of increasingly disillusioned sectors of the Left and Right. In such a scenario, it should be possible to make the case to white working people that the bankers and businessmen have bamboozled them once again by getting them to back Trump.

It is less likely—but possible—that Trump will face a real crisis of legitimacy. In this case, protest movements will rise to a boil, forcing the Deep State to choose between Trump’s presidency and the stability of the state itself. If the Deep State steps in to depose Trump, whether covertly or overtly, real social change may be on the table—but only if the momentum that drives events is coming from below, beyond the control of any party with a stake in state power. In this scenario, Steve Bannon and the white nationalists lose—at least temporarily—and we duke it out with the Deep State.

This scenario involves tremendous risks. Remember, this is basically what happened in Egypt in 2013 when the Egyptian military deposed Morsi and installed the strongman al-Sisi in his place—effectively bringing the so-called Arab Spring to a close and re-stabilizing totalitarianism in the Middle East. If we count on elements in the government to take care of the situation, they will do whatever they have to do to sideline or suppress radical activity—and people will look to the state to solve their problems for another full generation or more. On the other hand, if we proceed into open battle with the Deep State in conditions of upheaval, we had better have a great deal of the population behind us, and we had better do so in a way that doesn’t leave any space for white nationalists to regain their footing in opposition movements while we are reeling from repression.

Finally, it is possible that there will be a crisis of legitimacy but Trump will come out on top, using it to purge the opposition and wipe out protest movements. In this case, Steve Bannon and the white nationalists will win and everyone else will lose. This seems to be the least likely scenario—but most of us were surprised by Trump’s victory, too. In this case, it will be possible for Bannon and his ilk to portray anarchists as tools of the Deep State at precisely the same time as they are able to silence us with repression.

Reviewing these possibilities, a few things become clear. It is essential to organize in a way that distinguishes us from all state actors and leaves no space for the state to regain legitimacy; antifascism must mean opposition to the state itself, lest we topple Trump only to pave the way for an equally authoritarian regime. The sooner a crisis comes, the better, before Trump, the Deep State, and the Democratic opposition have the chance to get their feet under them; at the same time, we have considerable work to do making our proposals comprehensible to the general public. Last but not least, if regime change takes place, the momentum must come from the streets, not from within the halls of power. As usual, we’ll get out of revolution what we put into it, nothing more.

In any case, our work is cut out for us and the stakes are double or nothing. We’ll see you at the front.

[elsnark]

@miss-ruin I felt it would make my initial response more lengthy and disorganized if I brought up your tags.  So I have decided to make a second post to address you.  Since there’s an image involved, I felt it best to make an entirely new post so there’s no issue in reading it.

You say no shade, but your tags say otherwise.  So FailureMaster and I are going to respond to each and every one.  Congratulations!  You’ve invoked elsnark’s first ever dual response! =D

Sourcream (will be shortened to S):   okay so first thought is: "on the subject of ap requirements, the reason they're often so high is that PEOPLE ARE SUPER STUPID!  INEXPERIENCED PEOPLE OFTEN DO NOT DO MECHS OR EVEN KNOW THEM OR EVEN WANT TO BE BOTHERED TO LEARN THEM!  It's fucking frustrating!  They just want to be carried and do nothing!"

FailureMaster (will be shortened to FM):   Now this isn't a strong point, but "They want to be carried and do nothing" might be because they're trying to learn how to do it? I don't see how you're supposed to do something by doing it 100% perfectly the first time. You all wouldn't want them to do anything anyways because they "do not know the mechs".  So which is it? Don't do it? Do it?

S:  Also, calling people "stupid" is... rude?  Like why call new or casual players "stupid" for not knowing mechanics?  You were there before.  By your own logic, you were stupid.

FM:   How is calling a huge group of people stupid not throwing shade?   Like.....That's the same as saying "Many Americans".   Like what does that mean?

S:  It’s a game.  There’s no reason to make a big deal about it.

FM:  One thing I'm still confused about is....Why is it such a big deal?   BnS has no stamina system.  You can do this dungeon again.  And again.  Tomorrow and the next day... Spare one run to teach your community??  Just one run.  What’s the problem?   You can get TONS of those if you have SUCH A GOOD WEP.   Inexperience?  How else do we get experience?   In fact, what is THEIR plan to get more people to learn?  Videos don't do much. I could watch several tutorials on how to disassemble and assemble a car and I promise you I could not just go out and start assembling cars.  You are not automatically the best player just from watching good players.  So where do we start?

S:  Kick out the new and casual players and only have old, experienced, hardcore people sounds like what miss-ruin wants.  Not to mention that's the impression the community gives off.

FM:  And then when the old people get bored because the game is so dead?  They will quit and then the game dies early.  "But how? The game had great content, fair story, nice graphics, interesting system!"

S:   You can't just keep a game alive by relying on the oldies who'll quit when they get bored or when they get frustrated by the content pushed through.  MMOs constantly need new blood.  New individuals who'll buy items from the Item Mall and tell their friends about the game.  If the game doesn't get new blood, the game dies.

The new blood that comes in is going to quit.  Why?  The community.  It's only been a year and a half and the community is so elitist it's insane.  No matter how good a game is, especially a MMO, if the community isn’t welcoming to newcomers, they’re going to quit.

There’s literally no reason not to help new and casual players learn mechanics.  Any reason you come up with is just an excuse because you were in the same boat before.  Hell, if I was looking to learn mechanics and was greeted with this type of attitude, I wouldn’t bother learning either and would just stand there and do nothing.  Would you, FailureMaster?

FM:  Of course not!  Even if they are standing there and doing nothing, what does it matter to you with your AP?   If you can ignore the entire mechanics with such a weapon, then what is the big deal of having someone stand there?  Of course, I’m being annoying by constantly bringing AP back up, aren’t I?

S:  Like the entire community.

FM:  Not very fun, is it?  Also, how does lower AP equal lower skill?  It’s a terrible assumption.

S:  It doesn’t.  I’ve read on the forums there are lower AP people who are very skilled.

FM:  So what’s the problem?  Clear the dungeon a bit slower?

S:  Can’t waste their precious time on a dungeon they’re familiar with.

FM:  And, I will be honest, I didn't make it to the end-game crazy weird stuff.  But.....Watching videos....I'm really not sure how it's helping. 

S:  The videos I've watched seem too crazy to know for sure what's going on?  Like... I don't know the boss.  I haven't experienced the boss myself.  How am I supposed to know what's happening?

I think they get the point.  Shall we move on?

FM:  I hope they get the point.

S:  Same.  Okay, so... “High AP requirements are either 'cause they ran the shit before and won't fuck mechs or they're so strong they just ignore mechs if they happen to fuck them”.  We covered this already, yeah?

FM:  Pretty much!  I feel like if I, a newer player (quit early on shortly after B&S released, came back recently) had like a 1000AP wep, people would think I'm a veteran.  Because it looks like I ignore the mechs but really, I don't know a single thing.  At least by THIS logic?

S:  I think the highest back then was like 450?  So they would've had to cash to get to 1k.   So you're saying the returning player came back, cashed, got >1k AP?

FM:   Let's say that happened!  Could probably easily ignore the mechs and complete stuff and be praised for that.  Because, you know, that's all that matters!

S:   Okay, so... this returning player... yeah... Most likely.   As long as they know how to play decently, I can't see them being called out for not knowing.

FM:   Don't care about what you do or how you do it, is that 900AP?  Come on in!  And yes, I'm being annoying talking about only AP, right?  Just saying.

S:  XD

I don’t think we have anything else to say on this topic because it’s so... it’s... it’s just plain dumb.  Shall we move on?

FM:  Yes!

S:  Their next tag thought is:  "no one likes wasting time running a dungeon then wiping".  Hold up.  I thought this wasn't an issue because of your high AP?

FM:  I thought it wasn’t either?  Weird.

S:  Damn!  I guess we’ve been bamboozled!  AP doesn’t equal skill.

FM:  Oh, no!  How could this be?

S:  Truly amazing.  Shall we move on?

FM:  Lets~

S:   Alrighty... “like, of course, this doesn't apply to all lower geared players though.  It's just these lazy dumb people that ruin it for y'all”.

Damn, they backtracked.  “It's not all lower geared players, just (some/most) of them”?  In their post, they made it seem like ALL low AP people were the issue.

FM:   But what if I'm lower geared, don't know the mechanics, but am not dumb or lazy?  Or does not knowing the mechanics make me dumb and lazy?

S:  Sorry, still can't come.  Don't know mech.  That's what they said.

FM:  Oh dear me.....I must be dumb and lazy for running something for the first time.

S:  I know!  It's almost like a baby boomer's thoughts on our generation.  See how fucked up that is?

Moving on?

FM:   Oh! Sure! There isn't much else I can say on that topic, I don't think.

S:  Me neither.

FM:  Oh how fun it is to be a bitch.

S:   "Also it's hard for me to find a party on my alts even though I know mech".

FM:  Why is that?  Is it because you’re undergeared?

S:  wait wait wait... IS THIS THE TOXIC COMMUNITY WORKING AGAINST THEM?!  I WONDER!  HMMMMMM... IT’S ALMOST INVISIBLE!  IT’S ALMOST LIKE THERE’S A PROBLEM?!

FM:  REALLY?!  DID NOT KNOW!

S:  WAS NOT OBVIOUS!

FM:  Sourcream, this is shocking!

S:  GOT A LIGHTBULB STUCK IN MY NOSE TRYING TO FIGURE THIS OUT, BUT THEY JUST POINTED THIS OUT!  WAIT!  THEY’RE DENYING THE PROBLEM THOUGH!  ARE THEY THE TYPE OF PERSON WHO’D GET THEIR DICK STUCK IN A CEILING FAN BECAUSE THE INSTRUCTIONS WERE “UNCLEAR”?!

FM:  TRULY, THIS IS STRANGE!

S:  I like how this makes their entire elitist attitude fall apart  ."Can't get party because no AP".  "Everyone should know mechs".  That's contradictory.  Low AP people who know mechs can't get parties.

FM:  I think we see the problem, doctor.

S:  They got their dick stuck in a ceiling fan.

FM:  That would definitely cause trauma, yes.

S:  But enough trauma to get them to contradict themselves?

FM:  As it does appear!  The B&S community at its finest.

So from this, we can conclude that even our high AP friends can't play anyone other than their high AP character.  Which limits them to one character, one server, one group of people, same dungeons.   Over and over and over again.  Waiting for new content.

S:  Just proving our point.  The community is toxic and the toxic individuals are blind to it.

Moving on?

FM:  Let's move on, yes. I hope and pray they got the idea.

S:  I do, too.

Ooooooooooooh, a direct assumption about me from my post!  “A lot of this reads a bit like:  why won't these strong people let me do things with them?  What do you mean run with folks with my AP?  Why would I want to do that?  lol” I... Lemme handle this.

First of all, I've established so many times that this community is toxic as fuck.  Why would I even TRY to run end game content?  News flash:  I wouldn't.  You're making yourself look like an idiot by making all these assumptions about me and what I'm trying to achieve.  Yes, I have a lvl 50, but she's HM 1.  I got her to level 50 because my friends were playing and then we all... stopped.  Why did we stop?  I wonder... Could it... Could it be because the community is disgusting?  Could it be because the community isn't welcoming to newer players?  I have tried making two new characters (one's around lvl 35 while the other is below lvl 20).  Guess what though?  Seeing everything saying, "must be 900 AP or higher to join" isn't appealing.  It feels like I'm being alienated due to not meeting some requirement that isn't obtainable without months and months of grinding with a party.

How am I supposed to get a party when I'm ready to start grinding though?  It's not happening.  No one does the dungeons needed to upgrade gear that I’d need to upgrade, do they?  The population is small.  Everyone's off doing dungeons to upgrade their own gear.  How would I be able to find a party in the first place?  And to be expected to know mechanics on top of that?  Not happening.

Anything to add, FailureMaster?

FM:  Nothing to add!  You said everything needed to be said.

S:  Okay.

The next topic is:  "I have so many hours in this game, I am so sorry.  I just have a lot of feelings".  Good for you.  I'm not like this with Elsword, a game I have spent countless hours in.

FM:  As you can see, we have a lot of feelings on this, too.

S:   Also, just gonna say, your apology means little when you're hellbent on tearing new and casual players down.  Learn you're part of the problem.  Improve yourself.  Then maybe I'll take your apology seriously.

Next part is just baby boomer-esque bitching.  Shall we cover it anyway like the filthy millenials we are?

FM:  Let’s!

S:   “The game actually gives new players SO MANY HANDOUTS!  You finish story, you're at like 700 AP.  DO YOU KNOW HOW LONG IT TOOK TO GET THAT STRONG BACK IN THE DAY?!  MONTHS AND MONTHS OF GRINDING”

Congratulations, Debra.  You're officially a baby boomer now.

FM:  I....Umm...Don't see why this is a problem. The game is trying to get new players accepted by people like you?

S:  “But!  We had to grind!  Waaaaaaaaah!”

FM:  Why is the game trying to fix this?  Why aren’t YOU trying to fix this?

S:  The devs wouldn't have to try to make new players on par with people who grinded for months if, oh, idk, the community helped them?

FM:   Also, just to say....You'd have to be pretty skilled to make it to the end of the story, there really isn't a crazy huge ton to learn if I may be so gross.  Don't make this harder for yourself.

S:  I remember this time before you fight Jinsoyun that there's this gross ass boss and he has crazy range and damage.

FM:  Exactly!

S:   Like... if I could hardly deal with THAT boss back in the day, what makes you think I can deal with the entire story NOW?  ESPECIALLY when we can't get accessories through the story anymore to my knowledge?

FM:   Exactly!  And eventually you will get through it as the story is supposed to be a single-player experience perhaps with a couple of others to help, but you have to be good to get through it.  So...... With this difficulty, the new players should be pretty smart, is that not right?

S:   Also it's even harder to exchange for Soul Shields unless you use the Wheel of Fate?  Soul Shields cost Naryu Silver now I think?

OH, BUT WAIT!  TO USE WHEELS OF FATE, YOU NEED TO FIGHT FIELD BOSSES WHICH TAKE SKILL!

Sure, you can still get dungeon Soul Shields, but you need a party.  You need to know the mechanics and have high AP for any party. =D

FM:  How should we learn mechanics?  Perhaps by watching an experienced player before us?  Oh, no, we’d be standing there doing nothing!  That is a no-no.

S:  Oh wait... They can't take time out of their precious day to teach us.  You're assuming too much by even THINKING someone would take us along, FailureMaster.

FM:  Oh, right!  How foolish of me!

S:  I guess it's about time we wrap this up, don't you think?

FM:  Perhaps so, we'll probably get pitchforks and torches our way.

S:  As always with me~

FM:  It’s a bit delightful in its own way!  Lining up as a mob for us?~  How kind, how very kind.

S:  I can't wait to see the discourse!  This toxic community coming after us would only further our point, though!

FM:  Indeed!

S:   Anywho!  Thank you SO MUCH for proving our points, miss-ruin!  This is Sourcream and FailureMaster signing off!

FM:  It was a pleasure to be here!  Bye!