#rider roundup

[bugtransport]

Kamen Rider Stronger finished April 20, 2023

i forgot i finished this on 4/20. LONG POST WARNING!!

Okay, before I start this one, holy shit I’ve done so much since the last time I wrote one of these. Let me get back into the groove here. Stronger is in a weird spot where I feel like I have to recap a lot to talk about what I want to talk about so there’s going to be a lot of that. This one builds. Let me convince you that General Shadow is an interesting character.

AS ALWAYS: I’ll be dropping spoilers willy-nilly for like every series leading up to this + all of Stronger but there's an extra warning before the show ending spoilers. Thank you.

YIPPEE!

I know I've already owned up to it but at this point let's make it official... Showa Rider might be made for me? Every single time I try to think back about what I just watched to write about it I'm hit with the exact same thought: holy shit, that was SO fun. It is, it really is and always is. I had a blast, thanks. This is also the first time I've really felt like the way that I'm watching this (by starting at the very beginning and just blasting through season by season) has actually paid off! The past couple seasons have gotten interestingly experimental but Stronger feels like they were attempting to return to form while still using the knowledge they learned along the way. It's kind of adjacent to how V3 felt like '71 Rider refined; Jo Shigeru came in like "we are SO fucking back." 

The comparison between V3 and Stronger extends to the main characters too; I think that Kazami and Shigeru are more alike than not. We've been rotating protags (sans Hayato, sorry babe but you’re special in my eyes) in a pattern I've described as "sensory issues -> batshit -> wet" where for as much as I compared Hongo and Amazon to each other in the "the world is so loud and scary and I can't trust myself to not lash out and that scares me more" department I have to do the same for Kazami and Shigeru in the "hey boss, I'm gonna go fucking, I don't know, dig this bullet out of my shoulder with a knife I cleaned by spitting on it and then electrocute myself for funsies" department. Like okay, take a look at this list I whipped up here:

Both Kazami and Shigeru wanted to become borgs to avenge people who were dear to them and killed by the organizations in their respective series; Kazami for his family and Shigeru for his friend. Though Shigeru went straight to the source while Kazami tried to convince Hongo and Hayato to borg him first to no avail, you can’t tell me that Kazami didn’t jump into that beam and save the two of them and not think that might win him brownie points that he could then later use to convince the two of them that yes, this is the right thing to do and he would be a great addition to the team. 

Both of them have another Rider with them (I count Tackle!) who aren’t really… fully borged? Yuki isn’t for sure, he’s just got the arm; I’m not sure exactly whether or not Yuriko is a full borg because I don’t believe they straight up address that in the show but they sure didn’t address her like one and I’ve heard some things (...we’ll get into this later) that would lead me to believe that she was meant to be only partially there originally and get to full borgification by the end of the show. Both of them fought with the respective riders they were paired with. Also, both of their mouths are out in their suits! Very cute! 

Speaking of suits, both of them have very silly little suits that I don’t think anyone else in the series could pull off wearing. Imagine if Keisuke transformed into V3 or something. I think I’d cry looking at that. Hayato as Stronger? Man, he doesn’t have the sheer balls for that one. Sorry king…

Which of course leads me to: they’ve both got huge egos. I really don’t need to elaborate on this one, look at the shit the two of them pull… Kazami a little more in the physical department with the stunts he does and Shigeru socially with his cockiness, but you can see the comparison, right? 

And before we go on I think I need to clarify something: Shigeru jumping himself with his bike is very very real. That is actually a scene that happens. Anyway! I adore the way that the show started off and Shigeru and Yuriko had already been through their borg procedures and that the first time we meet them they're already fighting. It's a nice break from tradition! It feels fresh and new! I also think that it's one of the only ways that you could possibly sell how they borged Shigeru in a way that would make sense in a children's show. They gave him electric hands? Like, metal hands that he has to wear gloves over lest he fucking electrocute everyone? There had to have been an adjustment period there but by the time we meet him he's fine with things. I think this was probably the right call; while I love myself some good borg angst and it's interesting to see them adapt to their new lives and Ishinomori back me up here I think you would agree that exploring this idea is fun... for the way that Shigeru is borged specifically I think there's a little too much room for things to go south way too fast. Those two concepts can coexist in my mind. Can you imagine what it would have been like if he had tried to go swimming or something? 

After the first episode we do get a flashback in the second to exactly how Shigeru got borged which was basically:

Shigeru: [walks into Black Satan] hey I want to be on your side I love facism 

Scientists: ok what borgification u want

Shigeru: just fuck me up and make me stronger

Scientist: okay [electric hands]

Shigeru, Stronger: haha fuckin idiot I’m actually here for revenge! you killed my friend and I hate nazis. taste the powers you gave me [explodes them] 

And then he escapes, taking Yuriko (Tackle) with him. From the start he’s really cocky! My remark as I was watching the show was that he really feels like he can do anything because he just doesn’t give a shit about the social implications of anything that he does. Take him just walking into a lighthouse, getting stopped by the guard who works there, patting the guy down and being like “alright, well, you’re not a monster I guess,” and leaving. He’s silly and kind of rude to Tachibana (when he shows up) and has a “Who are you?” “What? Don’t you know who I am?” exchange with all the monsters he meets. He has a whole damn speech he does every time he transforms. It’s so good!

^ HE GOES :D

While this might have set Yuriko up to be the Female Straight Man (which she kind of is for him a little) she’ll rib Tachibana or the two of them will team up and slander a monster together. I love the way they interact… I think it helps them remain on pretty equal footing even though Shigeru is absolutely the primary fighter. He still leaves things to her and trusts her to do them. I don’t think she’s fully borged - she’s never referred to as such and instead gets the term… what’s it in English, electrowave human? So she can do special attacks and such. It kind of feels like a Taki type role but stronger? Not exactly; a lot of Taki’s importance in ‘71 Rider comes from the fact that he is fully human and able to keep up with them to contrast Hongo and Hayato, but Shigeru doesn’t have the same need to connect with his humanity as they do (being borged was his choice, after all) and as such I think Yuriko fits with him much better. If we let Tackle and Taki 1v1 I think Tackle would sweep. 

You see what I mean about Stronger seemingly learning from and refining the previous series? There’s not a way that I can talk about it without contrasting it – I think this is the point where I would stop and say that if you’re thinking about taking on the Grand Prix for yourself in full or in part and would like Stronger to be one of the series you watch to watch whichever of the series come chronologically before this that you are also interested in partaking before starting Stronger. I personally believe that there can be a lot of value in experiencing things in reverse order [<- guy who played the Layton series backwards and loved it] but also… I think that seeing things build up to Stronger as opposed to experiencing Stronger and then going behind the scenes to take a look at the building blocks is the way to go. Nowhere is that more apparently in my opinion than with: 

Hey man, what if the Generals fucked? 

^ he's calling the cops on me for that one

Maybe this was the part of the series I was most excited to talk about. Don’t worry about it. So far I’ve pitched Stronger like a continuation of ‘71 Rider to V3 which I’d say the main cast falls into; there’s not really a lot of the others in Shigeru… but if we’re talking villain generals? We’re talking X, baby. I think that meeting Apollo Geist first is absolutely essential if X is something you’re planning on watching (don’t watch X but like, watch X) so that you can see the fields from which Titan was grown. I have it on anecdotal evidence that doing things non-chrono and going back to watch X and therefore meeting Apollo Geist post Stronger feels a little underwhelming, but meeting Apollo Geist fresh off the heels of V3 feels correct and the ramp up in Stronger comes naturally. All of that to say: we’re back with the sexual tension, but it’s even more nuts this time. 

There’s one scene in X where civvie Apollo Geist shows up at Tachibana’s coffee shop and sits down at the counter to order. He asks where Keisuke is; Tachibana tells him that he’s out, and inquires as to how this man (who has not introduced himself) knows Keisuke. An old friend, perhaps? Apollo Geist shrugs – something like that. It feels like Titan took that scene and decided to build his entire goddamn character around it. 

^ man what the hell was this pick up line

Remember earlier when I mentioned that none of the monsters seem to know who Stronger is? That’s very much true, but Titan absolutely knows. He follows him around and smokes his stupid little cigarettes from his stupid little cigarette holder and just watches him. Titan’s obsessed with this man but whereas with Apollo Geist all the monsters were like “oh fuck yeah, let’s tie up X and drag him back, I’m sure that would make Apollo Geist happy,” it almost seems like Titan wants to keep Stronger for himself and just… doesn’t tell anyone about him. He’s possessive. He’s really intense about it. He is also using X-era techniques which didn’t even end up working against Keisuke to try and get Shigeru, of all people. It’s a fascinating strategy. The two of them follow each other to a concert and just stare at each other across the hall. Titan doesn’t really get his ass kicked, but he knows he’s not strong enough yet for Stronger. He upgrades himself. He fucking goes for it. And Titan… dies.

Well, let’s put a pin in that for a second. In any case, we need a new general, because that’s how these things go. Despite looking like a cross between an anatomical model, an astronaut, and the fucking Joker, Shadow is oddly compelling as a character to me in a way I have absolutely no idea how to describe or talk about? He’s not actually a part of Black Satan – he just kind of heard that Black Satan was fighting Stronger and was like “well shit, I want a piece of that, let me in,” and is just kind of here now. He proclaims so to Shigeru upon meeting him. Shadow really likes to play whatever game he thinks is going on by his own rules and he seems to have a blast doing so. He’s enigmatic, he’s fresh, he’s unlike any general that we’ve had before. His weird secretive nature almost makes him seem more like the leader type than the general type. Shigeru seems to understand that Shadow’s much more of a sinister threat than Titan, but doesn’t really seem to know what to do about it. 

Let me quickly detour you another time just to finish setting up this stage here: throughout my time watching Stronger I was also working on over easy, you know, that Donbros comic I made! Still really like that thing. I know I and others have joked about Tarou being Showa-coded and honestly if you were to pick him up and place him down in a 70’s Rider series I think he’d be right at home; I mentioned up top that Shigeru doesn’t seem to give a shit about societal expectations and while I think that Tarou gives a little more of a shit about the consequences (seems to have less of a grasp on how the implications actually work though) I’m fine putting them in a similar category. Did you know Inoue’s dad worked on Stronger? That’s a fun little fact for you. 

Okay, time to get back to the show. 

Titan gets one funeral (which Shigeru gets invited to in the funniest way, by just Being in a field while this was announced to him somehow) but it was kind of a flop and nobody showed up and they didn’t even manage to use it to capture Stronger, so they decide that he needs another one. It’s at this second funeral that Shigeru finds Titan laying in a casket on a bed of roses (yes, just like Shigeru has all over his outfit) and manages to prick his electric hand on one of them, bleeding like a human, directly onto Titan’s lips, who then revives, licks it, and becomes Hundred-Eyes Titan. Buildup’s over, this is where the mad yaoi really starts. 

You might now be understanding why I brought up Donbrothers earlier; yes, this scene shares really striking similarities with the time that Tarou got the juice sucked out of him at Sonoi’s funeral but even more homoerotic, because it’s actual blood?

Nevermind the actual Showa-era “how human are cyborgs, really” conversation that’s to be had both in the borg angst sense but also about the fact that he can bleed from his what-I’ve-been-presuming-to-be-metal hands. Again, calling back to X, it’s almost like that point after Apollo Geist got resurrected and was going to die unless he took one of X’s parts and put it in his heart, but this actually happened and wasn’t just theoretical. We’re going past where Apollo Geist got to. If first base is fighting the Rider and home base is actually killing them, I think Titan’s made it to second. Uh, but he’s got a problem getting to third. They’ve already brought in his replacement. There’s only one way to fix this one. 

Titan and Shadow Get Divorced 

Titan was kind of a flop in his first life. He’s been powered up a little more with Shigeru’s blood, but Shadow’s also been given Titan’s position pretty recently, and it would be a dick move to fire him. Look, usually the generals don’t come back unless the people they’re working for are the ones bringing them back, and they sure as shit weren’t doing that for Titan. Might as well just make them work it out together? For some reason the Black Satan leader seems to think this will work; really all it does is just instantly sets the two of them at each other's throats, and they begin to fight over Stronger.

They get exceptionally petty about it. Titan shows up, with a rose again, leading Stronger into a minefield, also strewn with roses, just to really rub in the whole “haha, your blood revived me” thing. Shadow at a couple points ends up straight up giving information to Shigeru so that he can get the upper hand on Titan. Shadow (who has a playing card theme, by the way, that’s his whole deal) shows Titan one of the cards that he just did a fortune reading with, and who else appears but Jo Shigeru, dripping wet, in the outline of the spade (cropped with the tail not showing) like he’s being framed in a heart. 

^ the way he looks at that card just takes me the fuck out every time

I feel like I’m losing my mind every time I think about the two of them. Titan staggers up a dune into the good ol’ Toku Desert, dragging himself to Shadow before Shadow kills Stronger so that he can have the pleasure of at least torturing him a little bit before he goes. Shadow pokes fun at Titan for being like “I’ll be the one to kill Stronger!” with a “are you sure you actually can?” and Titan, hand to my heart, blushes. 

Titan staggers up a dune into the good ol’ Toku Desert, dragging himself to Shadow before Shadow kills Stronger so that he can have the pleasure of at least torturing him a little bit before he goes. What the fuck?!

^ DIVORCED BITCHES REALLLLLL

Titan has his own hell! Titan has made his own hell and takes Shadow there to show off his accomplishments in a scene that I can only call “two socialites who desperately need a divorce” in which Titan plays the tired husband who’s got eyes for his secretary (Shigeru) but has to bring his bitch of a wife Shadow with him to work to show off just how much he does for this family while his bitch wife Shadow looks on, unimpressed, and thinks about also fucking his husband’s secretary (still Shigeru) or maybe killing his husband and taking the life insurance money, because there’s no way this plan of his will do anything but collapse down around him, which it does, and Titan once again dies as Stronger throws him back down the crevasse to this pit he’s quite literally dug himself. 

Watching the two of them interact is absolutely fascinating. Titan’s passion for Shigeru seems renewed and completely focused now that he has a rival, Shadow’s ignited something in him, and Shadow seems like he’s having fun playing around messing with Titan while enacting his own plans. Shadow turns out to be superstitious, and bases most of his decisions off readings that he does with his deck of cards, which adds an even more fun element to his character. This is the part of the show where he seems the most… I don’t want to say happy, but how about “in his element.” These are all some really good episodes of television and they’re a blast to watch. 

Black Satan leader susses out that Shadow’s up to some shit (don’t know how that could have happened, it’s not like he’s been telling everyone he meets or anything) and decides to try and bring in another General instead of letting Shadow lead. Shigeru gets captured, defeats the leader, and Shigeru and Yuriko are the FIRST RIDERS IN HISTORY TO CRACK OPEN A COLD ONE WITH TACHIBANA!! 

LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL! THE END! 

LET’S GO TO DEMON WORLD! [SHOW END SPOILERS START HERE]

No, things aren’t actually over. This is where you can tell that things got rushed in production as (from what I’ve heard) ratings kind of tanked. Shadow brings in his friends from Demon World (where he lived before?) and decides to start a new army with them called the Delza Army, which he kind of leads. This is what he’s spent his time fighting with Titan and Shigeru and Black Satan secretly working towards - taking over the facilities that Black Satan already had and using them for his own new purpose. And sure, to do this, they need to kill Stronger, yeah. 

In much the same way that Titan and Shadow fought with each other, giving Stronger an edge, the Delza Army part of the show is mostly about these characters showing off their weaknesses through their bickering with each other, but there’s a whole fucking throng of them this time around. They each brought their own themed goons with them, and on multiple occasions the goons even begin fighting with each other while Stronger just kind of looks on in confusion and gets a clean path to the monster he’s actually looking to fight. This being backed by scenes of Shadow (somehow) drinking wine listening to one of his compatriots drone on and on makes it seem like he really misses being on the front lines?

^ look all i'm saying is that it looks like it's 2:55 and he's got another meeting with the guy this dude is bitching about at 3 to hear the other side of this story and he hasn't had lunch yet

The thing about the Delza Army is that it’s absolutely a “too many cooks in the kitchen” situation. Shadow’s brought in a bunch of people with conflicting views and outrageous personalities and different fighting styles who spend half the time using him as HR to work out their interpersonal issues and he just seems… tired. He doesn’t seem like a guy who was cut out for management! This is not a new character type by any means, I could name so many characters who get into a position in their job and realize like “nah, actually, I was way happier where I was,” fucking Jim from The Office does it, but it’s a completely new role for any General and like also, this was what he was working for from the beginning. To finally get here and realize that actually, he doesn’t want this, is kind of weirdly fucked and not at all what I was expecting from this show. All of the characters around him have so much personality and character that they’re completely forgettable because of the oversaturation . They went an oddly adult angle with his character and I can’t tell if it’s at all intentional or if it just happened to turn out this way. I don’t personally think that this part of the show is as good as the part with Titan and Shadow fighting, but I feel like that decrease even more helps support the change in Shadow’s character, so it ends up wrapping around to working.

This is also the part where Yuriko dies. 

There’s not really much that I can say about that one other than the fact that I’ve heard she was supposed to be brought back later as a full rider this time but, because the show had to be cut, isn’t. I have a story in my mind where the rest of the guys – because they all come back at the end, they have to put on one last big show, and they’ve got a lot of science guys there – manage to jump her back to life in much the same way Shigeru did himself and transform her into a full cyborg, like I said earlier, and that she’d fully join the ranks. I know that there was talk of possibly making Taki V3 or even Riderman, which is another reason I compared the two up top. They could have done that without all of the additional angst that it would have caused the '71 cast to borg Taki since Yuriko's already been modified. It would have been so good... I’ll mention this again I’m sure come Skyrider post, but I really liked his little spotted scarf, mostly because it reminds me of Tackle’s suit. It’s like she did get to be with us in a way! 

From there on you get your usual show beats: as mentioned previously, all the previous riders show up which is very fun, they defeat Shadow (who kind of seems relieved to be going out, to be honest) and the rest of the Delza army, and then it’s time to fight the Leader.

^ Tachibana's really silly in this one and but it's the sweetest thing seeing his boys come back to him

The leader this time around is like, I think the quarry come to life? No, but for real: some kind of rock monster that has been pulling the strings of all the different groups that all the different riders have fought. It’s all the same guy behind the scenes. I’ll say it, I kind of appreciated that one as a “no matter what name you put to it, facism is facism” type thing? I don’t think it’s that much of a stretch to interpret it that way. It feels kind of appropriate. The specifics of what they’re fighting change but the root cause and their aim is always the same; though there might be infighting between the groups, Kamen Rider is a show about punching Nazis at its core. 

^ and they all love Tachibana so much!

This is the last time (besides the little special) that we get to have Tachibana on the show. There’s a break between this one and Skyrider and you can absolutely feel it looming in the horizon as everyone rides off again. Despite that, Stronger’s a blast of a show! I think this is one where there are absolutely different ways you could watch it and I just managed to take the path where I ended up probably the most satisfied I could have been during the Delza part since I was just watching the degradation of a man in bureaucracy. Which is always, always fun. 

TO RECAP:

YES fuck yes I recommend Stronger, with the caveat I gave at the beginning that you should probably watch whichever shows chronologically come before this one that you’re interested in watching before you Tackle Stronger. 

Bu dum tss…

[redsnerdden]

This Week In The Nerd Fandom: February 15, 2024

This Week In The Nerd Fandom Deadpool and Wolverine's New Trailer, Kamen Rider Geats and Shout! Studios, and More! #DeadpoolAndWolverine #StormKingComics #DCComics #KamenRiderGeats #Manga #anime

It has been one thrilling, eventful week in this new edition of This Week In The Nerd Fandom. Deadpool & Wolverine finally got its trailer, DC announced a new reprint of their DC and Marvel Crossover titles, and more! Deadpool and Wolverine Finally Got A Trailer! Image Credit: Marvel Studios It may have been a three-peat at the Super Bowl for the Chiefs (more like the Super Swift Bowl, am I…

[fleaearred]

when sparkbird said "One Loggerhead Shrike must skewer my invertebrate dopplegänger on barbed wire in a parallel universe" it was abt them. if you even care.

read noittbst / teodk here (poll fic)

[insanethrottlebikernews]

MONGOL MC MEMBER GETS CAUGHT UP IN SOME BS *VIDEO*

#MONGOLSMC #MONGOLS #MONGOL A senior Mongolian is the first person in WA to be convicted of violating an anti-partnership notice after inviting bike friends he was banned from associating to his wedding. Jason Gastarov, 47, appeared at Rockingham Magistrates Court on Monday after being charged with six counts of having twice or more contacts with a named offender earlier in the day. 00:00 How…

[avomagazine]

Want to discover some brand-new tunes from Japan? Good news! We have a fresh selection of new music videos for you.

Since 2020, AVO Magazine has been publishing a list of seven music videos by Japanese artists in a variety of music genres (from pop to rock to metal) that we think you will find interesting!

This week we highlighted music videos from:

🍙LIGHTERS 🍙白航 (Hakko) 🍙セグウェイライダー (Segway Rider) 🍙the dadadadys 🍙Winter Wakes 🍙SHIFT_CONTROL 🍙omeme tenten

Enjoy the music!

[l-e-i-k-o]

Holden Kamoins for @fizzytoo's cowfolk roundup!

young adult

he/him

bisexual

horse lover, rancher, self-assured

aspiration: championship rider

he's really just a dude who loves horses and riding them competitively and has a dream of owning his own ranch one day.

download here!

[hauntedtrait]

Jess and Maria Marshall-Lee for @fizzytoo's Cowfolk Roundup!

Jess and Maria live on one of the biggest ranches in Chestnut Ridge, and provide much for their community. Maria (on the left), a renowned championship rider and horse trainer, and Jess (on the right), an ex-model turned small-plot farmer own and operate Chestnut Ridge's longest standing dyke bar, Calamity Jane's.

More info below!

Maria is 60, Jess is 58 (Adults in-game)

They are both lesbians, though Jess occasionally talks about having identified differently and experimented in her youth

The two live on a ranch Maria inherited from her grandparents, though the house and barn have seen many renovations

Maria is a retired championship rider with many trophies on her shelves, as well as a well known horse trainer in Chestnut Ridge. Despite being retired, the training is something she still does on occasion due to her endless love of horses.

Jess grew up in San Sequoia and moved to San Myshuno to pursue a career in modeling. Early retirement knocked on her door about fifteen years later due to multiple different health issues.

The two met, at first, in their 20s when Jess was part of a photoshoot on a ranch in Chestnut Ridge, using horses that Maria had trained. They went on a few dates, but due to leading such different lives, decided to not pursue things further.

After recovering from a double mastectomy and (unrelated) heart surgery, and deciding to leave the spotlight for good, Jess moved to Chestnut Ridge, in search of the woman she had never been able to forget about.

The two reunited and admitted to having remained in love with each other even after all those years, despite the distance.

Jess moved in with Maria and revived Maria's garden which had been neglected for many years.

With the money the two had saved up, they bought the only lesbian bar in town that was going out of business, renovated and revitalized it to bring in new clientele, which turned out to be very successful.

[keepthedelta]

Dakar Chaos Roundup: Stage 1

Honda rider Joaquim crashed at the 82km mark, bringing out the medical helicopter early on

Later in the day, Tosha Schareina, leading overall in the bike category, had a fall and broke his wrist

Ross Branch stopped to help him and crossed the line in 16th. In the tradition of the Dakar Rally the time he spent with Schareina was deducted from his time and he ultimately won the stage by more than 10 minutes

Century's Brian Baragwanath was supposed to start first for the car category, but didn't show up in time, prompting Lionel Baud to begin first. About 200m from the startline Baud had an incident with a Russian tourist who was seemingly away from the advised viewing area. The tourist was given medical treatment and has been transported to hospital

Belgian driver Guillame de Mevius won the first stage after starting 32nd, in his maiden Dakar attempt

Carlos Sainz finished 2nd, but claimed that 3 punctures had set him back about 15-20 minutes. Nasser Al-Attiyah, Dakar legend who had a terrible day himself, called him a liar. It's worth pointing out that the drivers only take two spares with them. Sainz says that they managed to get air back into one of the tyres and continue but is not clear on how

Brazilian driver Rodrigo Varela was informed in late December that the cargo ship carrying his Dakar UTV had been attacked by pirates in the red sea (thank you to @huginn01 for alerting me to this). Although the ship eventually escaped the pirates, the detour it was forced to take meant that it would not arrive in time for Dakar. Varela was forced to put together a last minute UTV entry, and has shown up to Dakar without much of the maintenance equipment needed, including a power generator. Varela and his co-driver Bozzano shocked everyone by finishing 5th in the Prologue, and did even better on Saturday, winning Stage 1

[quickspinner]

Weekly Lukanette Link Roundup

What is the Weekly Roundup? | Previous Weekly Roundups

Two weeks' worth of links and I hope I got them all. Sorry guys between Halloween and sick kids and then sick me (it is extremely unfair that kid B brought home a different sickness than kid A so that just when I was getting over the first one, I got taken out again. rude.) I just couldn't get stuff done. I also have to confess, normally I have a least skimmed through all the fics on the roundup to make sure they are as labeled, but I didn't have time this week, so I'm trusting the tags that these are what they say they are. I recognize most of the authors so I'm not too concerned, but I just felt like I should put that disclaimer on here so you know. Remember to check the original post tags.

From @lovebugs-and-snakecharmers: October Minifics Post Part 1, Part 2 (there were too many links for one post, and thus, too many links to put them all in here again, so I'm just linking to the summary posts 😄)

From @haphira: Miraculous Ladybug and the Valiant Annuler Ch 38

From @airi-p4: Guarded and Protected Ch 2 | Ch 3 | Ch 4 | Ch 5 | Ch 6 | Epilogue (woohoo you finished it congrats!)

From @writer-rider-dirty-thirties: Her Cover | Our Beginning | Just as Promised | A Perfect Fall Day | He's My Best Friend | Stargazing | A Spark | As Long As It Takes |

From @rierse: Bunny Kisses

From @generalluxun: Small Problems: A Lukanette fanfic

If I missed something that should be included, reblog, reply, DM, or drop the link in my asks and I’ll make sure it goes on next week’s roundup! If you prefer not to be included in these roundups for any reason please drop me a message, or if you post something that you would like to be sure I include, please drop a link in my asks and I’ll make sure it gets listed (Lukanette endgame only please - see what is the weekly roundup for more details). If you want to be sure I’ve flagged your work for inclusion you can check the quickroundup tag on my blog to see what I’ve got in the queue for this week.

If you find something you like please like/reblog the original post to let the author know you enjoyed their work!

[nasuversekinkmeme]

Weekly Roundup: Prompts

FSN

Illya/Rin, Comedy. Illyasviel experiences her own happy ending, a well deserved story in her book after a long and straining war. (if the pairing doesnt work then any other female character like artoria works? rin is best girl)

smut, Luvia/Rin, BDSM, dirty talk. Luvia has a tendency to tease Rin, saying all sorts of obscene things to her in an attempt to humiliate her. Embarrassing Rin was becoming a normal occurrence and Luvia was set on making the best out of her favorite pastime; toying with the object of her affections. [Bdsm/light bdsm, ropes? Clocktower shenanigans]

smut, Gilgamesh/Saber, "Only I can love her in all her destruction" (aka Gilgamesh somehow travels to Camelot and manages to corrupt Saber ala her Lion King persona [but still looking like her usual self]) +There's cunnilingus under the Round Table ++If Gil treats Saber's body count as dirty talk

The Gorgon sisters tend to Medusa as her transformation into full monster groes ever closer, accepting this as well as their ultimate fate together one last time

Fate/Samurai Remnant

Iori overstimulating Saber (don't worry, they're into it)

Rogue Saber watches as Iori, Rider, and Yui disappear through a portal to join Saber. Suddenly, he feels a burst of anger and longing and tries to join them only to be too late. Comfort from other servants if the writer would like.

FGO

Chaldean staff deserve more content, they also survivor and work hard

smut, Mephistopheles uses Afterimage to gangbang virgin!reader. Bonus points for Mephistopheles having a rapid weight gain kink, and EXTRA bonus points for (this part is the most important) genderfluid Mephistopheles

You have a Mastersona? Cool! What would happen if that Mastersona had a Shirou-Archer moment? What would drive the “Archersona”? How would the Mastersona react?

smut, Raikou pegs Lancelot. You can make it hard or gentle, plot or no plot, add on whatever flavor you want.

Crossover

(my brain has never been in crossover mode before, FGO x FFXIV) Fujimaru Ritsuka summons Fray Myste, who takes one look at the Last Master of Humanity and realizes they seriously need the conscience of a Dark Knight. "Serve, Save, Slave, Slay."

Bakugou Katsuki somehow got summoned as an Avenger for dumb reasons....

[bugtransport]

Kamen Rider X Finished February 14th, 2023

Here's your warning now: this one also got away from me. I BROKE 4k...

Kamen Rider X is… a show!

Look. I don’t know how to start this. I don’t know how many of you have seen this show. I don’t know how many of you saw me lose my fucking mind when I watched the first two episodes of this one. I had to kick myself out of the house and go get a breath of fresh air and went to H Mart and bought a shitton of side dishes. Just to cope, you know? Sometimes you need some fish cakes, for the soul. I ate great that whole week but that’s besides the point. X does have what I myself would describe as “a beginning” so let’s just recap that first, I guess, because it sure kicks the show off.

Pictured: welcome to Wet Boy Wonderland.

PART ONE: SETUP!

Before we begin fully: I think I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that there are… a couple issues with and themes in this show that I appreciated having a heads up on before I got to them. I think that what I might have to say might come off as far too complimentary without this disclaimer and to spoil my final conclusion, my actual feelings are a little mixed. We’ll be touching on this later with how it ties into what my thesis ends up being, but there’s a switch in the theme of the monsters part way through the show from Greek Mythology to Various Bad Guys In History and the thing about various bad guys in history and also shows that are made in, let I remind you, the 70s, is that sometimes things can be… well, I’ll be blunt. There’s a pretty racist caricature in there and some of the picks can be a little off color and also there’s Starfish Hitler which does feature swastikas and was a decision that the boys and I dubbed “sure a choice.” I mean yeah, he gets killed like all the other bad guys do, but still. Do you know the experience of watching Aristocats for the first time as an adult and being like “Hmm, I really do not remember this weird racist scene in the middle of this film, what the fuck? I mean I guess it was a different time, but still…” That’s kind of what this feels like in spots. Jin Keisuke also has maybe the world’s worst dad. This is a guy who seems to have decided that a “signs of parental abuse” checklist is a game of bingo and that somehow it can be won. This is most apparent during the first couple episodes for reasons you’ll see in like, a minute or so if you read at the same speed I do or faster, but it flavors the entire show in a way I’ll hopefully convince you of by the end. Trust me on this one. Those are the two big disclaimers I have out of the way; if either of those are non-negotiable issues for you, I recommend not finishing this and watching something that isn’t Kamen Rider X. For the rest of you? Buckle up. 

Here’s (roughly) what happens in the first two episodes of X. Jin Keisuke comes back home for a visit. He gets jumped by some goons at the boat docks who want to kidnap him because of his dad and gets shot at and falls into the water. He gets out of the water and reconnects with his… fiancee? I think? Keisuke goes to visit his father at his lab in a seaside cave, says that again, dad, he has no interest in going into science, and gets promptly judo thrown in response. His dad then tells him to put on a vest, which he does. Keisuke and his fiancee (?) go out to eat dinner and she tries to guilt him into sticking around because his dad is lonely. Keisuke gets a message saying that GOD is coming to fuck his shit up. Oh, right, GOD is the name of the bad guy organization in this one. Just roll with it... Neptune and the goons (great band name, the more that I think about it) overthrow a ship. Keisuke’s fiancee comes to visit them at the cave-lab; Keisuke’s dad shoots his son. This is okay because it turns out that the vest was bulletproof. Everyone laughs at this. Keisuke presumably goes to sleep at some point after this but gets woken up in the middle of the night and attacked by some goons and oh look, one of them happens to be his fiancee! What a surprise! Keisuke rushes to his dad’s side to find the guy bleeding out on the rocks in front of his cave-lab. Goons pop up and shoot him too, killing him. Keisuke’s dad has enough fight left in him to drag his son into his cave-lab and borg him and somehow get him onto a boat, where Keisuke wakes up after an indeterminate amount of time, surprised to be alive. Keisuke’s dad left a message for him telling that he built a supercomputer that is also an island (the Jin Station) to house his consciousness on a computer now that he’s dead. He gives Keisuke a bike and a quick rundown on how to become the X Rider and then asks Keisuke to explode his corpse for him. He does this. There’s a flashback of Keisuke as a kid running to his dad and his dad grabbing him and just fucking slamming the kid down. Keisuke goes off and defeats Neptune and the goons and gets helped by a woman who looks exactly like his fiancee but isn’t actually her, who gives no explanation as to why this is the case. 

…So that’s episode one. 

Pictured: father-son bonding at its finest!

I’ll make episode two shorter: Keisuke has another run in with his fiancee and her doppelganger which doesn’t explain anything either. Our monster of the week plotline is about a kid whose dad was just killed in a car accident a couple weeks ago and who apparently fought with his dad a lot and doesn’t know how to deal with the guilt that comes from that. Keisuke tries to protect this kid from misinformed townspeople who think that he’s hypnotizing people and the fact that he’s a borg starts to sink in. Keisuke goes back to the Jin Station to experience his first bout of borg angst with some support from his computer-father, whose response to his son wanting comfort is to call him a weak bitch and tell him that he can’t rely on anyone, he has to fight alone, and insist that Keisuke blow up the Jin Station, killing him again. This happens. Keisuke manages to convince the public that the boy was being slandered by GOD and that he wasn’t actually hypnotizing people. He then beats up the guy actually responsible. Keisuke comforts the kid by straightening out his flute, which got bent in the fight, and contemplates that maybe there are some good things about being a borg after all. 

Pictured: I might have understated exactly how the stages of grief impacted him on this one here.

If you think I'm exaggerating anything here you're more than welcome to fact check me. These first two episodes are available for free on the Toei Youtube channel, go ham! Good luck.

In any case, you might be seeing a theme emerging here. Don’t worry, we’ll get to that in just a minute. There’s a little bit of contrasting that I want to do first with the previous riders. Jin Keisuke is pretty different than the guys that we’ve had before and is especially jarring coming off of a dude like Kazami Shiro. Keisuke’s wet. He doesn’t have a support network like even Hongo did with at least knowing Tachibana from the start. Hell, it’s debatable that the guy even knows Kamen Riders are like, a thing, and not just some random shit his dad made up. He certainly doesn’t know them personally like Hongo was able to make sure both Hayato and Kazami did from the start. There’s a vague kind of uncertainty undercutting everything that Jin Keisuke does as a borg because he wasn’t borged in the same way that the other previous riders were. It was by someone who he ostensibly should be able to trust (unlike Hongo and Hayato) and for a fight that wasn’t at all his (unlike Kazami) and in a way that, because of these facts, comes off as more malicious and personal than Shocker’s sterile, random cruelty and while yes, his dad was technically saving his life, it doesn’t really seem to come from a place of kindness. It really comes off like his dad wanted to have just another way to control him after he was gone and when he realized that his son was still something that he viewed as “weak,” died to save himself the embarrassment. He explicitly requested that Keisuke not lean on anyone and instead take on the fight himself, despite doing exactly the opposite of that in giving the fight over to his son in the first place. What a hypocritical ass. 

It’s not just that – there’s the way that he fights with a weapon, kind of like Riderman, but essentially fences, which is so unlike any of the boys previously. He just kind of coincidentally falls into fighting GODborgs for the first part of the show with no real rhyme or reason, not with any plan, not necessarily being targeted by them even, really not seeming like he has any stake in the fight at all. He kind of doesn’t. Everyone else had some kind of personal vendetta and sure, GOD killed his dad the first time around, but Keisuke also got asked by his computer-dad to kill him, and he did. So. I mean, he could have just kept his dad alive that way. This is explicitly not his fight. He just kind of ended up here. Once the show gets going and Jin Keisuke gets into the swing of things and we start getting back into something that feels… a bit more like the previous Rider seasons, there’s still this odd disbelief in his abilities that all the characters, including Tachibana and the rest of his allies, approach Keisuke with. With Kazami, he’d do completely off the wall shit and everyone would be like “haha, that’s our guy!” Keisuke will play dead to try and throw someone off his tracks and go a little overboard with the fake blood or something and it’ll work, but in the same breath Tachibana will just look at him all confused and question why on earth he decided to go that way in the first place. I feel like I’m going full Pepe Syliva; is this not meant to mirror his father’s disbelief in his son’s abilities/path in life and the subsequent control that he tried to push onto him? In fact, there’s really only one character who I can think of who doesn’t underestimate him near constantly: Apollo Geist, baby.

Pictured: the creature in question

PART TWO: Fuck it, call me a Jin Keisuke apollogeist

Sorry, I had to fit that joke in here somewhere. I’ve been trying for weeks to make it work. Apollo Geist is the leader of GOD’s secret police, a position that is basically analogous to any of the other commanders that we’ve seen before. Weekly monster gets sent out, he’s the one above them in the ranks so he oversees their progress, critiques them, ends up 1v1ing the rider at some point, gets their shit kicked in. We’ve seen this before, we’ve loved this before, it works so well and I think it’s definitely something that the beginning episodes were lacking. We have to get some structure in these evil organizations in order to be able to even start to think about tearing them down. Though – because of the aforementioned constant and relentless underestimating of Jin Keisuke, when Apollo Geist appears and becomes obsessed with taking him down and claims that he’s the only one who can actually defeat the rider and stands on cliffsides watching him fight it really comes off as way more personal than anyone else we’ve had before. He can transform, not really into a monster, but into something way closer to X or any of the riders than we’ve had with anyone else previously. Apollo Geist feels like he’s set up to be Jin Keisuke’s equal, and it’s mad yaoi. 

Oh yeah, and totally forgot about this until I was looking back through my caps to write this, but Keisuke’s fiancee? Yeah, she was trying to do like whole double agent thing with her twin (who was the other one who looked like her) and it didn’t work out and she exploded mere minutes before Apollo Geist was introduced for the first time. She never really gets mentioned again. But that does leave the spot for a romantic interest open…

Pictured: special friends...

So. What the hell else am I supposed to think. Like, sorry, the man butts into pretty much every fight because he doesn’t trust his lackeys with this man. He wants to take X down in a way that’s satisfying to him. He checks in with Tachibana when Jin Keisuke fakes his death without telling him that he’s with GOD, leading Tachibana to think he must be one of Keisuke’s friends. He does the same thing when visiting the coffee shop later. He’s fucking obsessed with this guy. The two of them bike joust. Apollo Geist will jump onto his bike from 20 floors up, tenderizing his nuts into oblivion when he hits the saddle, just to show off. He’s obsessive and wild and wears a suit that’s all one color and man, I cannot imagine who else this might be reminding me of right now, but my word… and, both times he dies, he does so trying to take X down with him. 

“Both times he dies?” Both times he dies. The man fails to hold down X the first time around when he tried to explode him with his arm bomb and following that gets rebuilt and upgraded in the process. Long story short, after donning his little cowboy fit and realizing that he has shit aim suddenly during his daily shooting practice to kill Jin Keisuke, he learns that he only has a day or two left to live and that the literal only way to reverse this is to take a piece of the X suit and have it attached to his heart. 

Pictured: heterosexual behavior

Yes, you heard me correctly there: the only way for Apollo Geist to live here is for him to quite literally accept Jin Keisuke into his heart. Fucking incredible, isn’t it? He doesn’t do this, obviously, because he did die a second time, but look. The metaphor. It’s right there!! Maybe if Apollo Geist and Jin Keisuke had met under different circumstances, or maybe if they had a common enemy, or maybe if Apollo Geist wanted to admit his newfound weakness to Jin Keisuke or accept Jin Keisuke’s weaknesses as well (like the part where Keisuke didn’t want to transform because he was hurt, right, and Apollo Geist wanted to force him into changing so they could fight) and get into something that isn’t just this back and forth will they won’t they tension, the “what if we were two boys?” complex, the fucking starcrossed lovers of it all. 

Pictured: he likes to be tall

Sorry, wait a fucking second, wasn’t there someone else who died a horrible explosive death because they didn’t want to accept Keisuke into his heart? Who also saw Jin Keisuke as someone who should be able to put up a good, satisfying fight, regardless of what his wishes might be? Does Apollo Geist… also tie back to the whole dad thing? 

PART 3: The whole dad thing. 

Pictured: not a compliment

So. The whole dad thing. There are so, so many examples I could pull from, but lemme just run through what I specifically took notes on while watching the show as being repeated quite a distracting amount: 

Human experimentation. My fucking god, X has a lot of it randomly peppered in throughout the show. Not even really things that GOD is doing – the one that comes to mind is in one episode when the GODborg was influencing a bunch of kids to commit suicide and the tie between all of them was that they were all taking an experimental drug because they’re all honors students or something and they wanted to boost their brains even further. Honestly sounds like some shit that would happen in the suburb I used to live in, which is why I remember this one so well. The person who developed this thing gets nervous because like, I believe that the last kid alive on this drug is their kid. Jin Keisuke does save them, but you know who fucking else experimented on their kid? Jin Keisuke’s dad. 

Vampires. What the fuck, this show has I think at least 5 separate instances of vampires in it. In a 35 episode show. There are so many vampires. You know, the monster that’s notorious for infecting other people and sucking their life from them and changing them irreversibly in the process, making them stronger physically but also condemning them to living a hellish life. Wow, you know what that sounds like to me? Kind of like turning your son into a cyborg to save him and forcing him into a fight with a bunch of guys that were trying to kill you. 

The switch in monster themes in the middle of the show. There’s a point post Apollo Geist where the monsters swap over from being themed after figures in Greek mythology to historical figures. Yes, like I stated in the warning at the beginning of this post. Almost as if Jin Keisuke spent the time up to Apollo Geist fighting the mythos of his father, his ideals and the impact that left on him, and then when Apollo Geist died because he refused to let Keisuke into his heart, swapped over to fighting the actual sins of his father’s past. As if Apollo Geist dying for a similar reason that his father did when he asked Keisuke to blow him up so that he could “build character” or whatever, make Keisuke then realize that his father’s beliefs were… kinda fucked. That maybe the way he treated him wasn’t right. That maybe after that realization, he can move on slightly and begin the actual work of taking GOD down. 

[[Important to note but not a section in the dad saga – after Apollo Geist and the monster switch happens, the new guy leading the GODborgs is one big robolad named King Dark. Yeah, this thing has already gone on for too long and I didn’t want to recap even more of the show so I’m just giving you the context. Couldn’t figure out how else to do it and make it coherent and again, don’t know how many of you have actually watched this show. Okay back to the essay:]]

Kazami Shiro shows up and upgrades Jin Keisuke towards the end. After this point, Keisuke gets a perm (irrelevant) and his fighting style completely changes (very relevant) to be much more traditional Rider. The Ridol stick that his father gave him that he used to fight all the time with? Not used anymore. He has a new henshin pose and a new finisher. It’s just like, oh, I don’t know, being able to meet people he relates to and find a new family with the other riders is maybe helping him find his identity separate from his dad? While he is still obviously impacted by the trauma his father imposed upon him (in being a rider in the first place) he’s taking it and changing it into something his own? Quite literally, textually, physically changed by the people he’s met? Who would have thought!

The GOD leader? The one who we’ve been working towards fighting all this time? The person controlling King Dark? Yeah. That’s Keisuke’s dad’s friend, who was the one behind getting him dragged into GOD business, which of course is then in turn the reason that Keisuke got dragged into this mess in the first place. Remember above when I mentioned how the monsterswap lead to Keisuke fighting the actual sins of his father and his past actions? Yeah. That’s the final boss. Just to cement and drive home really how much of this could have been avoided. How much the entire thing was his dad’s fault. Keisuke gets stabbed all the way through his chest while in King Dark but still manages to come out on top. Yeah, it hurt him, but the man was finally cut off. 

The ending scene of the show, where Keisuke rides off into the distance and Tachibana reads the note that he left for him explaining his plans going forward, is so much different than the end of V3. V3 ends with Kazami Shiro experiencing loss once more and going to go off to deal with that. X, on the other hand, ends on one of the most hopeful notes I’ve seen yet. Keisuke seems… really happy. He’s excited to head out on his own, like the other riders before him. He’s excited to experience what they’ve experienced. He’s finally shed the weight of his father and his expectations for him and he can figure out what being a Kamen Rider means to him, specifically. It’s really, really sweet. It’s the ending I want in a story about parental abuse. It didn’t make me cry, because I was too happy for him, but it really stuck with me something vicious.

Do I sound like I’m going off the rails? I feel like I am! 

The thing is… most if not all of these things can totally be explained away in ways that don’t have a damn thing to do with Jin Keisuke’s dad. The change of the monster themes from mythology to reality? I know that one’s because the person who handled the monster designs for the first part of the show left and they had to bring someone new in. The vampires? I’m convinced they got a great deal on the fangs and just wanted to use them where they could. The human experimentation themes? Sure, that’s always been a theme in Rider, not really to this degree of lethality, but maybe they’re just trying to bring in a somewhat older audience or something. V3 upgrading him? Kazami Shiro fucking rules, of course they’d want to bring him back into the show, and why not have him give Keisuke something cool so they’d have an excuse to do just that. The contrast between the endings of V3 and X are super apparent to me because I’m watching them as an adult less than a month apart, but so many other characters also ride off into the sunset, it could just as easily mean nothing. 

I don’t care, I guess; I can’t see it any other way. It’s about defeating his dad and learning to deal with the trauma that your shit parents gave you. It’s Saturn Devouring His Son. Jin Keisuke is battling GOD but really, he’s just fighting all the demons that his father passed down to him. He’s fighting his ideals and his past and his old friend. He was fighting his father’s fight, and he’s done now. He’s found people that are like him, who have similar ideals and can support him in a way that his father couldn’t, and so when he rides off into the sunset at the end of the show, it’s maybe the lightest that I think the show has ever felt. He’ll have to deal with the consequences of his father’s actions for the rest of his life, there’s no question about that, but at least now he’s shed most of the baggage he was saddled with and is all the stronger for it. And I really, really don’t think that their intentions going into the show matter, because I think being able to read it that way can be enough for me. It feels like the story itself wanted to be told. It might have been messy, but hell, what weird relationships with your parents aren’t, right? 

Pictured: sure that was probably just a throwaway line but damn, I get why you would associate those things...

TL;DR:

Kamen Rider X is a show where I think that the curtains were blue because that’s what was on sale at the store; maybe yellow curtains were more in season so they got a good deal on the blue ones, and that’s why they used them. Still, whether or not they meant anything by them or not and again, let’s be real, I don’t really think that they did, sometimes they can blow in the breeze and catch the wind just right and ripple like the surface of the ocean, and maybe if you squint your eyes and think about it in just the right way, you can see the debris from the Jin Station floating by. 

Would I recommend Kamen Rider X?

FUCKING UHHHHHHHHHHH look okay. Yes if you’re nuts like me and think that this sounds like at least an interesting ride to watch. I can’t say that it really ever got boring and the fact that it’s only 35 episodes? It goes by fast. I was entertained throughout… that entertainment however did range a little bit from feeling like I was watching a fun little toku show to sometimes maybe watching a car wreck. I might have been rubbernecking down the freeway. I wouldn’t recommend that you start with X. Please, for the love of god, start with something that isn’t X. Heed the warning I wrote at the start. Maybe skip this one if you aren’t interested in thinking about some dude’s dad issues for a few weeks! But… it’s still compelling. I still keep thinking about it. It did a lot accidentally and I like it for that. Jin Keisuke, I wish you all the best! 

ONE MORE THING! I COULDN’T FIND A PLACE TO MENTION THIS BECAUSE THIS IS LIKE THE ONLY THING THAT DOESN’T TIE INTO KEISUKE’S DAD ISSUES BUT ALSO I STILL WANTED TO MENTION IT: THERE ARE LESBIANS!

LET’S GOOOOO CHIKO AND MAKO YEAAAAAHHH!!! 

One last Apollo Geist for the road:

[gofancyninjaworld]

Webcomic Chapter 143 Review

Fetch yourself a cup of tea or beverage of choice: this is a long one.

Story Summary

In brief, we are staying with the scenes of the last chapter, and have moved our viewpoint to take in the responses of various heroes from the two organisations as they try to deal with the influx of killer robots as the latter scythe down civilians and pulverise buildings.

Straight away, we see very different fates play out. Lightning Max cautiously sizes up a single robot and tries to work out who best to tackle one that shrugs off his blows nonchalantly, but soon a sea of robots approach, driving before them a wave of panicked civilians. Max's feet are shot out from under him and he is surely at the end as a robot takes aim at him, but...

No lie, when I first saw these panels I felt so ill I had to stop reading for a few minutes

... the shot is absorbed by an armoured figure and Mumen Rider -- no Neo Mumen now -- protects him. He carries Max off to safety.

Around the various locals, it is a similar story of pro-heroes struggling to make headway against the robots, only to find Neo Heroes sweep in to make short work of them. Even former pro-heroes (we met this lot suffering in chapter 138) who've taken up with the Neo Heroes are finding it easy.

Who needs courage or skill when you've got tech?

The situation reaches its apogee with Tank Top Master. He finds it easy enough to destroy the robots, but is prevented from ploughing through them by needing to defend his comrades who were felled after mistaking approaching figures for escaping civilians. He's desperate to fight back but moving means abandoning his comrades to die.

what a bind!

Relief arrives in the form of the Neo Hero Hunter group, but with it comes real ugliness. The Hunters start mincing up the robots and are hailed as the true heroes of the day by the present civilians. Fair enough, however, when Tank Top Master asks for help moving his comrades to safety so he can join the offence, only to be so rudely rebuffed the man is left stunned into silence.

Tank Top Master is really too nice

The chapter closes with Axel's thoughts as he and his team destroy the robots. He sees this as the start of a society kept safe from monsters by universally-worn power armour from the Neo Heroes. If the world has changed, then so must mankind.

And he will permit no one to stand in the way of this vision.

Oh. Dear.

Much more below the cut!

Meta: Roundup Ready

A: So this is how you kill an organisation

Unless something big and wonderful happens, today is the day the Hero Association dies. Its destruction has been as systematic as watching a once well-unionised trade be dismantled.

The Neo-Heroes didn't do it all on their own. They've been aided by a press that has highlighted every scandal and flow of the Hero Association (ably aided by data breaches -- cough McCoy cough) while fawning uncritically over the Neo Heroes. The government has been persuaded to dilute the Hero Association's position by giving the Neo Heroes the same rights once only entrusted to the HA.

They have then stolen away sponsors and enticed away pro-heroes with lavish salaries, equipment, free housing, and even clothing and food. They've run a slick public relations campaign the HA can't hope to match and have stolen public approbation from the HA.

And then they've gone a lot further. At some plausible remove, someone has been systematically unleashing cybernetically-enhanced monsters (and now robots) onto the populace. These threats have been marked by their ferocity and destructiveness when faced by pro-heroes, and their willingness to lie down and die when confronted by Neo Heroes, making even inexperienced fighters feel powerful and leaving an impression on the public. [1]

RoundUp Ready is the Monsanto trademark for its patented line of genetically modified crop seeds that are resistant to its glyphosate-based herbicide, Roundup. By deploying a cybernetically-enhanced campaign of terror, pro-heroes are being culled like weeds [2].

It is no accident at all that the three S-Class heroes who succeeded in defeating the dragon-level threats sent simultaneously to several cities, Tatsumaki, Flashy Flash, and Genos, are precisely the heroes sent on special missions when they are most needed on the front lines.

In Genos's case, he's been sent on the sort of mission designed to finish off whatever lingering credibility the Hero Association has. At the very best, deadly infighting is a foul look on any organization. At the worst, his destroying Metal Knight's arsenal (and maybe Bofoi too) will remove the only source of systematic mass defense the Hero Association has. No matter how things turn out between Genos and Metal Knight, only the Organization wins.

This is how the bad guys win. There are more ways to defeat a hero than engaging them in head-on combat. [3] The bad guys don't care in the slightest about the value of the human lives they've destroyed to achieve this. For Tumblr readers, I've spoken about it here.

B: Brave New Techno World

On the one level, a conflict like the one between the Hero Association and the Neo Heroes was always going to come. We've learned that monsters have long been part of the Earth, and so long as humans aren't being excessive, they're happy not to attack humanity.

In a world where monster attacks were sporadic, the Hero Association, with its emphasis on finding and supporting exceptional individuals to be heroes, was a brilliant innovation. In a world where monster attacks have become endemic, there was always going to be pressure to move away from dedicated amateurs to a more standardized, professional response.

However, as we've seen, the magnitude of the threat has been artificially worsened. Also, as we've noticed, the ultimate goal of the founder of the Neo Heroes, Mr Fuzzy, is control.

World Dominion: an oldie but goodie. And damn is he being clever about it.

Once the actual heroes are gone, with the politicians and businesses bought, there's little preventing the Neo Heroes (or more precisely, the powers behind them) from becoming an oppressive force keeping the populace in line.

Any protests from within can be silenced by cyborgization. Any protests from without... Ah, remember when Raiden tried to take in Puri Puri and his men for forcible thought correction? Remember the stupid people cheering the prospect?

This is the note-perfect way to introduce unjust laws: inflict them first on those society does not respect, not thinking that laws apply to *everyone*, not just the ones we don't like. There will be no wrong thought in this brave new world.

All the bits are in place: the satellite surveillance, the instruments of terror, the legal right to act with impunity, the conspiracy of other powerful organisations working in the shadows.

It'll be a brave new world all right. You may be alive and tech-savvy, but you won't be free. And you'll like it.

Or else.

The only question is: How is our titular hero going to deal with this? Against an evil that seemingly has no form? I guess we'll have to pray ONE is minded to give us more soon!

Asides

[1] We see what happens when the Neo Heroes face non-nobbled opposition. It often doesn't go well, not even against regular monsters:

[2] This development puts a much more sinister cast on the delegation that sought Mumen Rider to press on him a specially-modified Neo suit. It's as if they knew the cull was coming.

[3] Yes, there are wildcards such as Saitama, Garou, and even Sonic, but the enemy knows something that the Hero Association understands well: without credibility, a hero is just a weirdo ranting in the street no matter how strong they are. A discredited hero is no threat.

[allwaswell16]

All the One Direction fics I read and enjoyed in November 2022. You can listen to my podcast to hear me talk about each of these fics (yes I talked about every single one of those trick or treat fest fics lol) as well as an overview of what was posted on ao3 including the fics on this month’s fic roundup which you can find here! Please let the writers know if you liked the fics by leaving kudos and comments! Happy reading!

-Larry-

These High Walls by LarryAlways28

(E, 68k, a/b/o) So... when the older, and wildly attractive Harry Styles offers him a deal in exchange for saving his family's legacy- how could Louis ever refuse that?

All Out of Love by SunTomato / @sun-tomato

(G, 32k, cupid au) While on a mission to match Liam and Zayn, the distraction comes in the shape of Louis Tomlinson – an overworked and underloved man trying way too hard to do everything himself.

Where the World has Come Together by LadyLondonderry / @londonfoginacup

(M, 26k, fantasy au) For the crime of elven blood running through his veins, Louis Tomlinson spends his days protecting the human kingdom he’s been cast out of. Forcibly tied by magic to the very walls that encircle the city, he and the other guards do what they can to find some semblance of a life.

I Know You Rider (Gonna Miss Me When I'm Gone) by @cyantific

(T, 9k, 90s au) The one where Louis hates hippies and roller coasters and Harry tries to fix that with lots of fun facts, terrible puns and perhaps one very life-changing moment in a dark tunnel.

kill my mind by StarryDay13 / @daydreaming-sunflower

(T, 2k, uni au, ficlet as part of series) Kind of a "the extroverted friend adopts the introverted one" scenario except they are in love.

dont let it break your heart by StarryDay13 / @daydreaming-sunflower

(T, 2k, emotional hurt/comfort, ficlet as part of series) Louis is a flirty bartender, and Harry just got dumped.

-Rare Pairs-

enough to make a girl blush by @disgruntledkittenface

(E, 22k, Louis/Niall) When Louis moves from her small hometown to the city, she runs into her childhood friend Niall. Despite her surprise at learning that Niall presented as an alpha, she’s immediately drawn to her. 

over my shoulder by @nouies

(E, 10k, Louis/Sebastian Stan) The media thinks omega singer Louis Tomlinson is dating alpha actor Sebastian Stan because they bump into each other all the time.

Not Sure How To Say This Right by @wabadabadaba

(M, 7k, Louis/Florence Pugh) Louis had resigned herself to be Florence's best friend and watch from the sidelines as Florence gave her all to someone who didn't appreciate her. That was until she came home to Florence in her kitchen with a new hair cut, brownies and newly single.

As long as you're not afraid to feel by wordsnnotes / @quelsentiment

(T, 5k, Louis/Liam) Liam can’t help sounding a bit suspicious as he replies, “You want to co-host Phantom Tales? Do you even believe in ghosts?”

With This Wing, I Thee Wed by LadyAJ_13 / @ladyaj-13

(T, 4k, Louis/Niall) “Nando’s?” Niall crosses his arms and pouts, a little line appearing between his eyebrows. “I want Nandos. I like Nandos.” “And I like my dignity,” Louis mutters.

Next Door by @allwaswell16

(NR, 2k, Louis/Rob Pattinson) When a stray cat starts coming round Louis' garden and bothering his dog, Louis and his best friend set out to capture it.

-Trick or Treat Fest-

(all 666 words)

Accidental Love by Laziam (MItCheLlInE) / @guilty1dlove

An Apple A Day by @lululawrence

Bloody Squid by rainblou / @loubbies

fallin' all in (love with) you by eynap / @panye

Foreshadowing by @neondiamond

Ghost Ship by cherrylarry | @beelou

head all full of stuffin' by Lhhome | @lhhomefics

Holy Guacamole! by bluegreenish | @greenblueish

Hot Pumpkin Guy by downcamethelightning | @sxvedbyastranger

i've been looking for the missing piece by @dragmedown

Meet-Woof by @littleroverlouis

Needle by @nouies

Scare me, baby by TeamLouis / @teamlouis2022

Spellbound by yourlionheartx / @djtommotomlinson

Swallowpeen by yeah_alright / @uhoh-but-yeah-alright

Sweet Talk by wordsnnotes / @quelsentiment

the ghost of love keeps haunting me by we_are_the_same / @so-why-let-your-voice-be-tamed

The Rescue by @haztobegood

there’s a house in english bond (somebody planned to stay) by safetyfilm / @larrieblr

What’s cookin’, goodlookin’? by 4ureyesonly28 / @evilovesyou

Who wants to snog a ghost? by @fallingdefenceless

You Really Should Keep Driving by @homosociallyyours

[fandomtrumpshate]

By the Numbers update!!

With just over a day left to sign up as a creator for Fandom Trumps Hate 2023, here's a quick roundup of all of the numbers:

We have 705 offers by 527 creators (I've had to update this three times while writing this post!). Of those, 97 are offering to work in ANY fandom! The rest have signed up offering fanworks in 273 fandoms, including 177 write-in fandoms! (To compare that with roughly the same time last year, as we approached 24 hours left to sign up for FTH2022 we had 680 offers from 525 creators in 257 fandoms including 153 write-ins … meaning we have 23 more offers in 16 more fandoms by the same number of creators for 2023 … SO FAR.)

A look at the offers, broken down by type (with last year's numbers in italics for comparison purposes) -

458 Written fanwork (fic, fan poetry, etc) (457) 107 Fan art (103) 63 Fan labor (beta services, translation, Brit-picking, etc) (70) 59 Podfic (39) 13 Other Digital Fanwork (7) 5 Video (4)

Nearly 65% of creators are opting to let their bidders choose which org to support with their donation. The orgs most often chosen by those who wish to direct donations to a particular nonprofit remain the Transgender Legal and Education Defense Fund, any/all abortion fund, Rainbow Railroad, and the Navajo Water Project. The orgs selected least often are The Appeal, Razom, and Violence Policy Center.

In our listed fandoms Good Omens has increased its lead and its lock on the top spot. MCU caught up with Sherlock and Teen Wolf for a brief 3-way tie for 4th place behind HP and K-pop, but has since gained an additional signup to claim that spot, leaving Sherlock and Teen Wolf tied for fifth ahead of Star Wars, Stranger things, SVSSS, The Untamed, and The Sandman.

A handful of signups could still shake things up here, or over in the unlisted fandoms, where the Young Royals lead has been cut in half … see the full list of all 177 write-in fandoms under the cut. Sign up to create fanworks to push your fandom up in the rankings! Reblog FTH posts so your fandom friends can do the same! Sign ups are open until Sunday Feb 19 at 11:59 PM Pacific.

8 Young Royals 7 Malevolent (Podcast) 5 The Queen's Thief 4 911 Lone Star 4 Homestuck 4 Overwatch 4 Red White & Royal Blue 4 The Owl House 3 Alex Rider 3 Attack on Titan 3 Between Us 3 Chainsaw Man 3 Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency 3 Disney's Descendants 3 Erha He Ta De Bai Mao Shizun (The Husky & His White Cat Shizun) 3 Justified 3 Lout of the Count's Family / Trash of the Count's Family 3 Love in the Air 3 Miraculous Ladybug 3 Not Me 3 Pokemon 3 The Legend of Zelda 3 Top Gun Movies 3 Witch Hat Atelier 3 X-men 2 Aphmau MyStreet 2 Bungou Stray Dogs 2 Carmen Sandiego 2 Danganronpa 2 Destiny 2 2 Digimon 2 Escaflowne 2 Gravity Falls 2 Hollow Knight 2 Howl's Moving Castle 2 Kingsman 2 NU: Carnival 2 Professional Wrestling 2 Scholomance 2 Stargate: Atlantis 2 Stephen King's IT 2 Suits 2 Supergirl 2 The Song of Achilles 2 Twilight 2 Video Blogging RPF 2 Warrior Nun (TV Show) 2 What We Do in the Shadows 2 YuYu Hakusho 1 A Series of Unfortunate Events 1 A Voice from Darkness (Podcast) 1 Ace Attorney 1 Alex Stern series - Leigh Bardugo 1 All The Wrong Questions 1 Animorphs 1 Be Kind My Neighbor 1 Bioshock 1&2 (only) 1 Blood of Youth 1 Blue Exorcist 1 Blue Lock 1 Bug Fables 1 Cabin Pressure 1 Call the Midwife 1 Cats the Musical 1 Cherry Magic 1 Citizen Sleeper 1 Cobra Kai 1 Coco Pixar 1 Cosmere (Brandon Sanderson) 1 Crossover Chaos AU (multifandom crossover AU) 1 Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 1 Dead by Daylight 1 Dead Poets Society 1 Derry Girls 1 Dice Punks (podcast) 1 Divergent (Movies) 1 DMBJ/Grave Robber's Chronicles 1 Downton Abbey 1 Dr. STONE (anime/manga) 1 Dragon Ball Z 1 Dragonriders of Pern - Anne McCaffrey 1 Dungeons and Daddies 1 Eerie Indiana 1 Elder Scrolls 1 Emma - Jane Austen 1 Fire Country 1 Firefly 1 For All Mankind 1 Glee 1 Grace and Frankie 1 Greys Anatomy 1 Grimm 1 Guardian/Zhen Hun 1 Gundam 1 Half-Life 1 Hello From The Hallowoods 1 Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni / Higurashi When They Cry 1 Hit the floor 1 House of the Dragon 1 Hudson & Rex 1 IDOLiSH7 1 Ikemen Vampire 1 Imperial Radch Series - Ann Leckie 1 Infinity Train 1 Jane Austen (any novel any pairing) 1 Jeeves - P. G. Wodehouse 1 Jojo's Bizarre Adventure 1 Jurassic Park 1 King of Scars Duology 1 Les Misérables 1 Los Simuladores 1 Love Between Fairy and Devil 1 Madre Solo Hay Dos 1 Miss Scarlet and The Duke 1 Mob Psycho 100 1 Monochrome Factor 1 Motorcity 1 Obey Me! 1 One Last Stop 1 Outlast 1 Paper Girls (TV) 1 Parasol Protectorate 1 Peacemaker 1 Persuasion - Jane Austen 1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen 1 Psych 1 Qi Ye 1 Ranger's Apprentice 1 Ranma 1/2 1 RPF 1 Sable 1 Sanders Sides 1 Scooby Doo 1 Shadow and Bone 1 Shameless (US) 1 Sidemen 1 Silicon Valley (TV) 1 Skins (UK) 1 Tamora Pierce works 1 Tangled the Series 1 Ted Lasso 1 Teen Titans (Animated Series) 1 Temple of the White Rat series by T. Kingfisher 1 The Ancient Magus Bride 1 The Boys 1 The Daevabad Trilogy 1 The Dark Pictures: House of Ashes 1 The Diviners (Libba Bray) 1 The Goblin Emperor - Katherine Addison 1 The King: Eternal Monarch 1 The L Word: Generation Q 1 The Legend of Drizzt 1 The Lion Hunters Series - Elizabeth Wein 1 The Man From U.N.C.L.E. (2015) 1 The Man From UNCLE (TV) 1 The Princess Weiyoung (Jinxiu Weiyang) 1 The Tarot Sequence - K.D. Edwards 1 The Terror (TV 2018) 1 The Vampire Diaries (TV) 1 The Wilds (TV 2020) 1 This Way Up 1 Tortall - Tamora Pierce 1 Tower of God 1 Transformers 1 True Blood (TV) 1 Until We Meet Again 1 UuultraC 1 Valorant 1 Velvet Goldmine (1998) 1 Vikings (TV) 1 Vorkosigan Saga - Lois McMaster Bujold 1 Warframe 1 White Collar 1 Whiteley Foster's Mansong 1 Xena: Warrior Princess 1 Yellowjackets (TV) 1 Yu-Gi-Oh!

[what-breaks-my-heart]

Watched in 2023

Korean Drama:

Apple of My Eye (KBS daily drama, 2023)

Between Him and Her (Channel A, 2023 - ongoing)

Can We Be Strangers? (Genie TV, 2023)

Check Out the Event (MBC short drama, 2021)

Elegant Empire (KBS daily drama, 2023 - ongoing)

Lady Durian (TV Chosun, 2023)

Live Your Own Life (KBS weekend drama, 2023 - ongoing)

Meant to Be (MBC daily drama, 2023)

My Dearest (MBC miniseries, 2023)

Numbers (MBC miniseries, 2023)

Pandora: Beneath the Paradise (tvN, 2023)

Perfect Marriage Revenge (MBN, 2023)

The Real Has Come! (KBS weekend drama, 2023)

The Third Marriage (MBC daily drama, 2023 - ongoing)

The Witch’s Game (MBC daily drama, 2022 - 2023)

Three Bold Siblings (KBS weekend drama, 2022 - 2023)

Unpredictable Family (KBS daily drama, 2023 - ongoing)

Woman in a Veil (KBS daily drama, 2023)

KBS Drama Special:

To My Assailant (2020)

While You're Away (2020)

One Night (2020)

Scenery of Pain (2021)

Siren (2021)

Ordinary Jae Hwa (2021)

The Effect of a Finger Flick on a Breakup (2021)

Underwear Season (2022)

Do You Know Ashtanga (2022)

Silence of the Lambs (2022)

The Distributors (2022)

No Path Back (2023)

Half Lies (2023)

Do Hyun's Confession (2023)

We Were There (2023)

Dog Days of Summer (2023)

The True Love of Madam (2023)

Love Attack (2023)

Korean Movie:

Confidential Assignment (2017)

Confidential Assignment 2: International (2022)

Emergency Declaration (2022)

Exit (2019)

Gate (2018)

Recalled (2021)

The Roundup (2022)

The Roundup: No Way Out (2023)

The Tower (2012)

Chinese Drama:

Gank Your Heart (2019)

Love You Seven Times (2023)

Nothing But You (2023)

She and Her Perfect Husband (2022)

Song of the Moon (2022 - 2023)

The Romance of Tiger and Rose (2020)

Chinese Short Drama

Love at Second Sight (2023)

Chinese Movie:

My Blue Summer (2022)

Yesterday Once More (2023)

Taiwanese Movie:

Someday or One Day (2022)

Taiwanese Drama:

Someday or One Day (2019)

Japanese Drama:

Bokura wa Koi ga Hetasugiru (2020)

Japanese Toku Series

Kamen Rider Ex-Aid (2016 - 2017)

Avataro Sentai Donbrothers (2022 - 2023)

Ohsama Sentai King-Ohger (2023 - ongoing)

[clonerightsagenda]

The aro icon poll has concluded, with Murderbot claiming the lead. This is unsurprising as I wasn't sure TMD even qualified since I think the aromanticism is intentional, but I knew not including it would result in a bunch of 'where's murderbot op' comments.

Anyway! Here is a roundup of everyone's submissions for additional iconic aro works and moments.

Keladry of mindelan, tbh. she had sort of crushes, but turns out romance isn't her thing, which she learned as she got older and is totally valid. she's also canonically aroace, so yay!

when lirael in the book of the same name spends her whole life alone and treated like a child bc she fails to develop a power that most people get before puberty. and also when someone flirts with her and she leaves/changes the subject very quickly bc she doesn't want to deal with it. she's still aro to me

lirael erasure on that poll. goldenhand is not real and cannot hurt me

when rin from the books of bayern's defining moment of using her powers Wrong is when she thinks it will satisfy her to persuade someone she's told likes her to kiss her but everything abt it feels so horrible she runs away and is miserable for years. and then reclaims her powers by using them to help and befriend people on a deeper level

The entirety of Kamen Rider Fourze #The main character is determined to become friends with everyone even his enemies #he is completely oblivious to anything romantic that may involve him #he quite literally gets stronger from the power of friendship

oh Fushi To Your Eternity's whole story #being about finding humanity and connection as an immortal demi god #and still Not Getting romantic/sexual love #despite many people trying to explain it #and also a cult that has spending 200 years #trying to help the reincarnation of their founder seduce him #and never getting past the friend zone #also barely getting in the friend zone because Fushi is pretty :/ about them #seriously pls watch To Your Eternity it is SO good

everything about jo and laurie's relationship in little women

-ME from REAL LIFE

oh also tris from the emelan books is rlly quite acearo!!

deeply unpopular opinion but steve harrington is aro TO ME #i know there are multiple ways to read his character but like. his s3 character arc is about realizing he doesnt need to be in a #relationshp to be happy and he’s trying to force it anyways bc thats what he thinks he should do! #his most fulfilling relationships are with children and a qpp with a lesbian! #he tries to ask robin out and it definitely seems like he maybe just doesn’t know the difference between romantic and platonic love because #he has not in fact ever experienced the former!! #yes i know there are other ways to interpret these things. However its my god given right to project onto characters so thats what i’ll do #i also think ophelie from la passe mirroir books is aro but presumably nobody else here has read those lol #OH and cannonical acearo rep shoutout to the fires stone haha

Seren from “Seren” being exiled from her home planet for reaching the age of 25 unmarried, and her whole entire regret is the “getting exiled” and “disappointing her family” and “failing to be a Productive Citizen of her Planet” parts whereas she never seems like she actually cares about the being married part At All

I am slapping each of these works with a celebrity book club-style sticker like this