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Description

The Common Rider , protector of Elysium, has been active for over a hundred years. Officially, the Elysium City Council holds that it is an anonymous position—and while it technically is, the truth is far stranger. Tsuyoshi Hitomonji is the second known "parahuman" to ever have existed, an artificial recreation of the spontaneously-manifested transformation of Parahuman Ichi-Gou, who the young Hitomonji idolized and saw as his mentor. Though Ichi-Gou was initially unwilling to take the 19-year-old Tsuyoshi on as a protégé, she reluctantly worked with him to combat Geister attacks for two years until the first manifestation of the Medusa Geister; in the battle that ensued, Ichi-Gou persuaded Hitomonji to destroy the Geister, killing her in the resulting blast.

In the aftermath, Hitomonji was officially recognised by the Elysium City Council as "the Common Rider" for his heroism; the rudimentary "Ni-Gata System" incorporated into his body was refined and upgraded over the following century, keeping him alive all the while, driven on by his own misunderstanding of his mentor's last words: "human life is more important than even peace and justice". In equal measures anti-Geister defense force and propaganda tool for the government, the Common Rider was given a rugged, battle-scarred appearance with a meticulously-distressed scarf, presented as a warrior roaming the lands outside the Aegis dome in search of a way to expand Elysium's boundaries. The Ni-Gata System's control unit was integrated into the Locus Charger, a belt that combined a K-stone projector with biological catalysts and a cybernetic exoskeleton. He was outfitted with a powerful motorcycle, the heavy-duty Battle Chopper; granted the ability to refine found objects into weaponry with K-stone energy fields; and given access to two alternate forms with their own unique abilities.

As the century drew to a close, it became increasingly clear that the antiquated systems that kept Hitomonji alive, even with constant maintenence, would not last forever; this culminated in an incident in which the Common Rider was defeated by a Geister and taken out of action for a period of eighteen months, motivating the start of development on the San-Gata System: a new series of technologies, taking advantage of all the advances in Rider systems made over the preceding decades, with which a new Common Rider could be appointed. However, as certain individuals learned a terrible secret — that the natural resources of Elysium were rapidly running out, and that a complete ecological collapse was seemingly inevitable — some began to see other uses for the San-Gata System; first Rider system technician Barbara Prophet, who intended to use it to protect her late brother's recently-orphaned child Parker in the event of Elysium's fall, and later Golgom "high priestess" Marianne Chaumet , who conspired to have her son Roger — aka Contract Rider Luxe — selected to become the new Common Rider, wishing to use him to further Golgom's intentions. Hitomonji — indebted to Barb, and seeing Golgom's "Shin Anthropocene" as the best chance for human survival in the event of collapse — collaborated with both as they pursued their own goals.

During the initialisation of Roger Chaumet as the first user of the San-Gata System, the facility being used for the procedure came under attack from a group of Contract Riders including Parker Prophet, now Contract Rider Java , who had formerly looked up to the Common Rider in the same way as Hitomonji had to Ichi-Gou. Though Hitomonji fought back against the attackers, his inexperience with fighting anything but Geisters proved his undoing - his leg was badly injured in a clash of Rider Kicks with Java's Full Menu form, and after his eye-lens was shattered by an attack from Contract Rider Dolmen KT Strata, Hitomonji's eye was taken out by a strike from Contract Rider Wyvern's arm-blades. While he survived the experience, the scars remained — both on his ailing human body, and reflected onto his Rider form.

Despite this, Hitomonji remained committed to his promise to keep Parker safe. Indeed, as time went on, he came to see something of his own younger self in the other Rider's idealism. Despite his alignment with Golgom, Hitomonji repeatedly tried to reach out to Parker, hoping desperately that they would somehow understand and validate his mistakes; as part of this, he revealed to them the existence of "Tartarus", the existential void beneath the city of Elysium caused by the over-extraction of K-stones. His inability to convince Parker to absolve him caused all his long-held doubts and regrets to resurface, and for the first time in decades, Hitomonji began to worry that everything he had done might have been for naught.

In a last desperate attempt to persuade Parker to "see reason" after they lost access to Java's power, Hitomonji led them back to Barb's café Caffeine Kicks, where he revealed the truth of his deal with the young Rider's aunt. However, Parker's ally Hannah Shirogane, Contract Rider Wyvern, had been following the two; her fury at Parker's aunt apparently betraying them to Golgom triggered a citogenesis event, transforming her into a terrible new form, which she used to attack Barb. Hitomonji transformed into the Common Rider once more to protect Barb, but his ageing systems were no match for the berserk Trinity Wyvern ; though he was badly wounded, he was able to buy enough time for Parker to jury-rig a transformation into Bio-Rider Wild , which they used to force Wyvern to back down. By the next morning, the balance of power had shifted. Marianne Chaumet was dead, Golgom was in disarray, and a new would-be tyrant had laid claim to Elysium. With the plan he had made so many moral sacrifices for in ruins, Hitomonji sank into a state of malaise and depression, holing up in Caffeine Kicks as Barb prevented his systems from deteriorating further. This only got worse when Senan Lexley publicly released the footage of the young Hitomonji killing Sawatari, prompting public outrage and further destroying the reputation of both the Common Rider and Contract Riders as a whole.

Soon after, Parker and their allies returned, hoping to convince Hitomonji to help them; disillusioned and apathetic, the former Common Rider opined that the Riders, as "kaizo ningen" — altered humans — would have to accept being forever set apart from humanity if they want to save it. Hannah, however, forcefully disagreed: as everything that humans do and experience alters them, she argued, "we are all kaizo ningen". Though Hitomonji was still reluctant, at that moment they were interrupted by mass panic; the anger and fear towards the Common Rider had prompted a mass spawning of Common Geisters. Hitomonji was ready to sacrifice himself in order to destroy the monsters, but Parker pointed out how ridiculous the idea was — not least because they had no way of knowing if it would work — and encouraged their one-time idol to instead live up to his heroic image and defend the city. Finally convinced by Parker's idealism, Hitomonji transformed for one last time, joining forces with the Contract Riders to help them fight for a better future.

There's a few design elements that went into Hitomonji here; most obvious are Kamen Rider Black RX and the armored Kamen Rider #1 design that appeared in the Kamen Rider Ghost crossover movie. More subtle are the red gloves, intended to provide a hint towards the fact that he is in fact this universe's equivalent of Kamen Rider #2; indeed, "Hitomonji" is an alternate reading of "Ichimonji", while "Tsuyoshi" is an alternate reading of "Takeshi" (from Takeshi Sasaki, Hayato Ichimonji's actor). The symbol on his pectoral plate is based on the "C" design on his belt, but also evokes both a vertical scar and an omega symbol.
As the Ni-Gata System incorporates biological, cybernetic and hard-light elements, I also incorporated elements of Black RX's Bio Rider and Robo Rider forms; the former in the stomach area, the latter in the shoulders. The belt is based on Kamen Rider Black's Vital Charger, with elements from Bio Rider and Robo Rider's belts. "Ni-Gata" and "San-Gata" ("Type-2" and "Type-3") come from, of course, Kamen Rider Ichi-Gata from Zero-One.

The pink eyes come from the original Kamen Rider #1 suit and are intended to give a slightly "unhealthy" look, reflecting Hitomonji's advanced age and how the systems that keep him alive are gradually giving out. The curving-back antennae and the tattered scarf that covers the mouthplate come from RedlineSSB 's original design sketch.

For design thoughts on the Robo-Rider and Bio-Rider forms, see here .

In human form, Hitomonji's skin is pale as a result of never going outside untransformed. His face is modeled on a mix of Tetsuo Kurata (Kamen Rider Black) and Ryo Hayami (Kamen Rider X) with an older Harrison Ford, while his hair and outfit are colour-inverted versions of the terrible mullet and jacket worn by Prince Dex from Saban's Masked Rider. (The jacket is similar to that worn by Kotaro Minami in Kamen Rider Black RX, but I wanted it to be just as ill-fitting on Tsuyoshi as it was on Dex.) Lastly, I wanted to give the sense that his shirt under the jacket is straining and too tight, conveying how inhumanly large Hitomonji is as a result of his cybernetic enhancements.

As ever, pixel bases used were by Taiko554 .

Description

The Common Rider , protector of Elysium, has been active for over a hundred years. Officially, the Elysium City Council holds that it is an anonymous position—and while it technically is, the truth is far stranger. Tsuyoshi Hitomonji is the second known "parahuman" to ever have existed, an artificial recreation of the spontaneously-manifested transformation of Parahuman Ichi-Gou, who the young Hitomonji idolized and saw as his mentor. Though Ichi-Gou was initially unwilling to take the 19-year-old Tsuyoshi on as a protégé, she reluctantly worked with him to combat Geister attacks for two years until the first manifestation of the Medusa Geister; in the battle that ensued, Ichi-Gou persuaded Hitomonji to destroy the Geister, killing her in the resulting blast.

In the aftermath, Hitomonji was officially recognised by the Elysium City Council as "the Common Rider" for his heroism; the rudimentary "Ni-Gata System" incorporated into his body was refined and upgraded over the following century, keeping him alive all the while, driven on by his own misunderstanding of his mentor's last words: "human life is more important than even peace and justice". In equal measures anti-Geister defense force and propaganda tool for the government, the Common Rider was given a rugged, battle-scarred appearance with a meticulously-distressed scarf, presented as a warrior roaming the lands outside the Aegis dome in search of a way to expand Elysium's boundaries. The Ni-Gata System's control unit was integrated into the Locus Charger, a belt that combined a K-stone projector with biological catalysts and a cybernetic exoskeleton. He was outfitted with a powerful motorcycle, the heavy-duty Battle Chopper; granted the ability to refine found objects into weaponry with K-stone energy fields; and given access to two alternate forms with their own unique abilities.

As the century drew to a close, it became increasingly clear that the antiquated systems that kept Hitomonji alive, even with constant maintenence, would not last forever; this culminated in an incident in which the Common Rider was defeated by a Geister and taken out of action for a period of eighteen months, motivating the start of development on the San-Gata System: a new series of technologies, taking advantage of all the advances in Rider systems made over the preceding decades, with which a new Common Rider could be appointed. However, as certain individuals learned a terrible secret — that the natural resources of Elysium were rapidly running out, and that a complete ecological collapse was seemingly inevitable — some began to see other uses for the San-Gata System; first Rider system technician Barbara Prophet, who intended to use it to protect her late brother's recently-orphaned child Parker in the event of Elysium's fall, and later Golgom "high priestess" Marianne Chaumet , who conspired to have her son Roger — aka Contract Rider Luxe — selected to become the new Common Rider, wishing to use him to further Golgom's intentions. Hitomonji — indebted to Barb, and seeing Golgom's "Shin Anthropocene" as the best chance for human survival in the event of collapse — collaborated with both as they pursued their own goals.

During the initialisation of Roger Chaumet as the first user of the San-Gata System, the facility being used for the procedure came under attack from a group of Contract Riders including Parker Prophet, now Contract Rider Java , who had formerly looked up to the Common Rider in the same way as Hitomonji had to Ichi-Gou. Though Hitomonji fought back against the attackers, his inexperience with fighting anything but Geisters proved his undoing - his leg was badly injured in a clash of Rider Kicks with Java's Full Menu form, and after his eye-lens was shattered by an attack from Contract Rider Dolmen KT Strata, Hitomonji's eye was taken out by a strike from Contract Rider Wyvern's arm-blades. While he survived the experience, the scars remained — both on his ailing human body, and reflected onto his Rider form.

Despite this, Hitomonji remained committed to his promise to keep Parker safe. Indeed, as time went on, he came to see something of his own younger self in the other Rider's idealism. Despite his alignment with Golgom, Hitomonji repeatedly tried to reach out to Parker, hoping desperately that they would somehow understand and validate his mistakes; as part of this, he revealed to them the existence of "Tartarus", the existential void beneath the city of Elysium caused by the over-extraction of K-stones. His inability to convince Parker to absolve him caused all his long-held doubts and regrets to resurface, and for the first time in decades, Hitomonji began to worry that everything he had done might have been for naught.

In a last desperate attempt to persuade Parker to "see reason" after they lost access to Java's power, Hitomonji led them back to Barb's café Caffeine Kicks, where he revealed the truth of his deal with the young Rider's aunt. However, Parker's ally Hannah Shirogane, Contract Rider Wyvern, had been following the two; her fury at Parker's aunt apparently betraying them to Golgom triggered a citogenesis event, transforming her into a terrible new form, which she used to attack Barb. Hitomonji transformed into the Common Rider once more to protect Barb, but his ageing systems were no match for the berserk Trinity Wyvern ; though he was badly wounded, he was able to buy enough time for Parker to jury-rig a transformation into Bio-Rider Wild , which they used to force Wyvern to back down. By the next morning, the balance of power had shifted. Marianne Chaumet was dead, Golgom was in disarray, and a new would-be tyrant had laid claim to Elysium. With the plan he had made so many moral sacrifices for in ruins, Hitomonji sank into a state of malaise and depression, holing up in Caffeine Kicks as Barb prevented his systems from deteriorating further. This only got worse when Senan Lexley publicly released the footage of the young Hitomonji killing Sawatari, prompting public outrage and further destroying the reputation of both the Common Rider and Contract Riders as a whole.

Soon after, Parker and their allies returned, hoping to convince Hitomonji to help them; disillusioned and apathetic, the former Common Rider opined that the Riders, as "kaizo ningen" — altered humans — would have to accept being forever set apart from humanity if they want to save it. Hannah, however, forcefully disagreed: as everything that humans do and experience alters them, she argued, "we are all kaizo ningen". Though Hitomonji was still reluctant, at that moment they were interrupted by mass panic; the anger and fear towards the Common Rider had prompted a mass spawning of Common Geisters. Hitomonji was ready to sacrifice himself in order to destroy the monsters, but Parker pointed out how ridiculous the idea was — not least because they had no way of knowing if it would work — and encouraged their one-time idol to instead live up to his heroic image and defend the city. Finally convinced by Parker's idealism, Hitomonji transformed for one last time, joining forces with the Contract Riders to help them fight for a better future.

There's a few design elements that went into Hitomonji here; most obvious are Kamen Rider Black RX and the armored Kamen Rider #1 design that appeared in the Kamen Rider Ghost crossover movie. More subtle are the red gloves, intended to provide a hint towards the fact that he is in fact this universe's equivalent of Kamen Rider #2; indeed, "Hitomonji" is an alternate reading of "Ichimonji", while "Tsuyoshi" is an alternate reading of "Takeshi" (from Takeshi Sasaki, Hayato Ichimonji's actor). The symbol on his pectoral plate is based on the "C" design on his belt, but also evokes both a vertical scar and an omega symbol.
As the Ni-Gata System incorporates biological, cybernetic and hard-light elements, I also incorporated elements of Black RX's Bio Rider and Robo Rider forms; the former in the stomach area, the latter in the shoulders. The belt is based on Kamen Rider Black's Vital Charger, with elements from Bio Rider and Robo Rider's belts. "Ni-Gata" and "San-Gata" ("Type-2" and "Type-3") come from, of course, Kamen Rider Ichi-Gata from Zero-One.

The pink eyes come from the original Kamen Rider #1 suit and are intended to give a slightly "unhealthy" look, reflecting Hitomonji's advanced age and how the systems that keep him alive are gradually giving out. The curving-back antennae and the tattered scarf that covers the mouthplate come from RedlineSSB 's original design sketch.

For design thoughts on the Robo-Rider and Bio-Rider forms, see here .

In human form, Hitomonji's skin is pale as a result of never going outside untransformed. His face is modeled on a mix of Tetsuo Kurata (Kamen Rider Black) and Ryo Hayami (Kamen Rider X) with an older Harrison Ford, while his hair and outfit are colour-inverted versions of the terrible mullet and jacket worn by Prince Dex from Saban's Masked Rider. (The jacket is similar to that worn by Kotaro Minami in Kamen Rider Black RX, but I wanted it to be just as ill-fitting on Tsuyoshi as it was on Dex.) Lastly, I wanted to give the sense that his shirt under the jacket is straining and too tight, conveying how inhumanly large Hitomonji is as a result of his cybernetic enhancements.

As ever, pixel bases used were by Taiko554 .