#Brave Commander Test Type

[specshroom]

hello hello, I stumbled across your writing and wanted to say how much I enjoyed “Blood In The Water” I was curious about how reader struck that deal with all the mer-creatures in the first place?! did they try to eat reader too? or did one/many have an attachment or attraction since reader grew up around that place? the whistling was soooo cool, like they were dogs trained to a command! does that mean they had struggles with communication at first? do the mer-peeps understand language or just body language? I’m full of questions 😂❤️ it was just so enthralling and love a good morally grey character! is reader struggling to make ends meet and that’s why they do this? or is it more of ‘it’s either me or them’ type scenario? OR reader is just like this is the easiest way to get money?! 👀 oml lemme stop here this is getting quite long— LOVE UR STUFF 😚

I'M SO GLAD IT INTERESTED YOU SO MUCH (˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶)

I like to keep things up to interpretation cus I think it's more fun BUT I can answer a few of those.

- They definitely struggled at first lol. The merfolk can't speak human language and don't understand it. Humans can't speak mer-language either because it's mostly high pitched clicks and chitters. Reader figures out that the closest they can get to making sounds the merfolk understand is by whistling because it's loud and high pitched enough that they can hear it easily even through the water.

- They do share a lot of body language and mannerisms with humans (like kissing👀) so that made things easier.

- The merfolk do recognise Reader as a local and that made them more trustworthy. (Later on they marked the bottom of Readers boat so they know it's them🥺)

I wrote a little drabble to answer the "How did this happen?" question.

꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷

You sigh as you row your way out of the canal and into the open waters.

Your new patron lounges in his seat on the opposite side of the gondola, staring up at the clear blue sky. You preferred doing business at night when it's quiet, few braved these waters at night. Alas dwindling funds force you to suffer the business of the day. There's just too much comotion in the daytime, too many tourists.

Its been like this since the first rich fool "discovered" that your relatively small and unimpressive lake town actually boasts some magnificent and horrific monsters in the depths of the decievingly calm waters surrounding it. Now flocks of fools come to "test their bravery" by crossing the dangerous waters.

Conservationists and locals convinced them that hunting down the monsters in the lake would lead to environmental catastrophe and the snobs decided that it would be a better investment as a tourist attraction.

"Don't you get bored of this?"

Your patron slices the silence in half. You blink out of your thoughts, releasing the iron grip you had on your oar.

"I could give you a different job."

The well dressed man's tone is almost convincingly sympathetic. You keep your gaze locked onto the familiar waters ahead of you...until you hear the distinct sound of coins being jostled against one another. That changes things.

You hesitantly turn to where the stranger sits comfortably, grinning with pride.

"I thought so, it's always the same with you locals."

The tourist opens his money bag and takes out one gold coin. At least enough for a small meal.

"What would you do for it?"

He plays with the coin in his fingers before tossing it out of the boat and into the water. The carelessness with which he tosses his gold makes your blood run hot. Through the thick permanent fog that hangs over the waters, you can just barely see the gold coin as it sinks into the abyss and your stomach growls pitifully.

He holds out the pouch over the side of the boat, dangling it over the water.

"Would you dive for it?"

The sick thing is that you actually consider it. You stare intensely at the stupid pouch that could keep you going for a good while.

The man suddenly drops the pouch and you jump forward to catch it but he yanks it back up by the drawstring before it can touch the surface of the water. He laughs at his cruel humour and your blood reaches it's boiling point.

You don't know why it was that patron in particular that made you snap or why that bad day in particular made you finally put the knife skills your father taught you to good use.

But before either of you know it his laughter turns to bloody choking. You scramble off of him, panic clear on your face. He reaches for the knife in his neck but it's useless. His body sags over the edge of the boat and his blood mixes with the water. You watch with wide eyes as he takes his last struggled breaths.

It's silent for a while before you take your eyes off of the man Infront of you to look down at your red stained hands. You look around as if anyone could've seen your crime through the fog anyway.

After a while of just staring blankly at the still body Infront of you, you try to compose yourself and lift him off the side of the gondola. You manage to tip him over and watch his body sink down.

You stare at the corpse fading deeper into the water. Just as you ready yourself to leave the scene something rocks the gondola slightly and you fall on your ass, gripping the side of the boat.

You feel a breath on the side of your cheek and jump when you look over and see two big pitch black eyes staring at you from over the side of the boat. Your skin turns to ice, unable to move.

You hear chittering from the other side and jump again as another one peers over the furnished wood of the boat. The first one takes your frozen hand in their cold clawed hand and inspects the drying blood covering it.

They stick their tongue out and slowly lick all the way up your shaking hand, licking away at the blood as if cleansing you of your sin. The other makes a clicking sound that sounds oddly like laughter.

Once all the blood on your hand has been licked off, the creature looks up at you for a moment before disappearing below the surface once more. The other one doesn't look like it wants to go but a few clicks from the water convince it to slowly lower back into the depths.

You lean over the side of the gondola trying to get a better look at the creature before it leaves. You deflate when you don't see so much as a ripple in the water.

Suddenly, just as you were sure they weren't coming back, the same one from moments ago bursts from the water. In a second it cups your cheek and kisses you. It's hard and deep, more passionate than you'd ever had before. The creature releases you and this time before it leaves it gives a little wave with its strange webbed hand. You wave back, a little dazed, as the monster dives back into the water.

You have to sit there for a good while staring at the pouch of coin the tourist left behind and then back to the murky waters, touching your lips while contemplating what the hell just happened.

[lint-beetle4]

Toys with wukong?

Wukong With Toys Headcanons (Smut)

Smut Headcanons down below!

Wukong enjoys experimenting a lot

He gets bored with a routine, so it's important that you keep him on his toes

In bed, that also means you get to choose what he gets to try out

Sometimes it's cuffs or vibrators, maybe feathers or food if he's brave enough--which he almost always is

Wukong is pretty responsive to most toys, he's preferential to dildos and blindfolds though

The only time Wukong had to use the safe word with you was when you bound him to a wall to test out a fuck machine

Rather, he broke the wall when he escaped and tore through his restrains off in a fit of panic

Wukong doesn't take well to be restrained, he always needs to have the ability to move in some way, so you two quickly learned to stay away from ropes and certain types of bondage

Nevertheless, Wukong hordes his toys just like everything else he's collected or stolen in the past

On days where Wukong is particularly pent up, he'll drag you to the bed room and demand you get on your knees while he uses you, eager to test your endurance with far too many vibrators to be healthy

Yet, there are also days where Wukong would like to be cared for and will cum at the touch of your hands alone and drool at the sight of the dildo that filled him up wonderfully while you commanded he didn't cum

Wukong is a bit of a brat, so you have to reign him in with a few whips and gags that have him screaming and crying out for release

Wukong himself is partial to using collars and handcuffs on you, tempted to parade you around while teasing you with sharp yet kind praises

[thebluestbluewords]

"Hey, Squeaks." 

Squeaky freezes. 

Mal sighs. She's not trying to scare the kid. She's only interested in being wicked and evil to the Auradon brats these days, and she's been actively trying to be friendly to the kids who are living in her house now. (Thanks, Evie, for that one). 

"At ease, tiny one," she commands. "I come in peace." 

Squeaky relaxes, one tiny, fractional inch at a time. His (their? The twins are basically tiny, silent shadows around the house so far, and Mal doesn't actually know what the kids go by, beyond allowing her crew to call them Squeaks and Squirms in an attempt to feel like they're friends) hand is hovering slightly in front of the fridge, which Mal, in her all-knowing wisdom of being eighteen and old enough to understand at least some things, assumes means he's hungry. 

"You here for food?" Mal guesses, and is rewarded with a tiny, fractional nod. "Cool, me too. You want to scavenge for leftovers again, or should we be brave and try cooking?" 

Squeaky shrugs, a tiny motion. 

Right. They've had the twins here at Evie's place for all of a week so far, and nobody except for Dizzy has been able to get them to talk. No reason to think they're going to start now, at least not with Mal. She's the big mean princess now, the one who's connected to the scary Auradon adults who keep wanting to do things like poking and prodding at them and taking blood and doing other awful things, like giving them school aptitude tests, which made Squirmy cry and Squeaky go very red and flustered and unsure what to do with his hands. Mal's the one who gets to drag them to fun things like that, so it's really not a surprise that they're not talking to her now. 

"Well, I'm going to make chicken nuggets," Mal decides, moving deliberately, so that it's very obvious where she's going. “And apple slices. Have you had apples yet?" 

This gets a nod. 

"D'you want me to make some for you too?" 

Another nod. 

Cool. Great. They've progressed to communication, which is wonderful. The sort of progress that should be celebrated. Preferably with cake, but chicken nuggets and apple slices will have to do, as Mal’s baking skills are not nearly as solid as her skills in other things, like magic and knives and being scary around the real princess-types, who mostly treat her like the monster she is to anyone not from the isle. 

The celebratory apples (and nuggets, for that matter) are in the fridge. Squeaky, inconveniently, is still standing frozen in front of the fridge. Mal, in order to do her duty as one of the oldest people in the house, needs access to the fridge, because it's pretty fucking hard to heat up food when you can't get to said food, and her magic is good, but it's not good enough to levitate a bag of frozen meat out of the freezer, through the door, and into her hand so she can put them in the microwave. 

Scratch that. She's putting these in the oven. They've had successful communication. Multiple nods. Basically a whole conversation. This is deserving of quality oven nuggets, and maybe even chocolate milk on the side.  

[natedogx15]

Kamen Rider Deku Mission 15: The Next Phase

Previous Chapter / AO3 / Master List

In one of the office buildings of Deika City's central tower, the Meta Liberation Army executives are meeting about the Kamen Riders. The room is dark, with the only light playing being a projector showing various data they've collected on the Kamen Riders over time.

They're reviewing Deku's performance against Overdrive Nomu and how fast he and the Plus Striker are

"It's impressive that they can have such speed and control to keep up with that Nomu. They're quicker than any of our warriors, I would say." Trumpet says with an intrigued smile as they watch the chase happen.

"Yes. That motorcycle is faster than any support item my company has created. Not only that, it uses the same system as its rider." Re-Destro nods in agreement as the tall man, who recorded him and Giran, pulls up footage of Plus Striker using the Barrier Power Coin.

"It's amazing. I wonder what the capabilities of the system are. It's too bad we can't just take the one wielded by the one Slidin' Go and Shinonome without drawing suspicion. I'd love to see what the inside of such a revolutionary device looks like." Curious says with her usual smile as she watches the different videos.

"I wouldn't mind having our scientists look into them as well. Amazing job as always in collecting data, Skeptic." Re-Destro says while he smiles at the tall man.

"It was a simple task with the resources of Feel Good Industries, Grand Commander." Skeptic nods.

"So, what will our next move be?" Trumpet asks calmly, much to Skeptic's annoyance.

"Obviously, we'll try to find a weakness from the data gathered." He tells Trumpet in a somewhat condescending manner.

Trumpet rolls his eyes at his fellow executive's antics as Re-Destro speaks up.

"That's one of the reasons for this meeting. Another is that I'm having Geten look for a warrior who can wield the proto-type duplicate of the Driver the Kamen Riders use. I was wondering if any of you had any suggestions as well." Re-Destro tells them.

"Unfortunately, I don't know any warriors around me that can wield it." Trumpet tells Re-Destro.

"It's the same for me. I can't think of anyone." Skeptic nods.

The only one not denying it is Curious, who has a finger to her chin as she thinks about those around her.

"I might have someone in mind to test the device and make sure it's safe. He's a rather brave man who works as a security guard at my company. I'm sure he'd be more than willing to test the Driver for our cause. Do you plan to give it to Geten when you know it's safe?" She asks her leader with a smile, causing him to nod.

"Yes. Geten's Meta Ability has already gone through its awakening. Should we give him another way to enhance it, he may even be capable of fighting All Might, and our revolution can happen sooner than initially intended." Re-Destro says with a confident smirk that excites the others.

"Having the next All Might be on the side of our cause would greatly increase our influence. People would believe this was meant to happen and that your ancestor was right from the beginning, Grand Commander." Trumpet says with a pleased smile.

"Imagine how many hearts I could claim for the army by doing a story on Geten's life and his constant training for the Meta Liberation Army's belief. Everyone loves the story of a hard-working underdog whose efforts let them rise to greatness." Curious says happily while imagining publishing the article after Geten's debut and getting the M.L.A. more recruits.

Skeptic doesn't say anything but smiles at the prospect of their revolution taking off quicker with far more firepower than expected.

"Yes, yes. That's all perfect. However, we mustn't get carried away. We don't know how strong that device is or if it will help Geten's Meta Ability." Re-Destro chastizes the revolution leaders.

The leaders calm themselves from their excitement, and Re-Destro continues.

"Now, we have a good amount of information on each of the powers the Kamen Riders have used. Deku seems to be the most well-rounded of the group, with abilities that work to enhance his already incredible abilities along with long-range attacks, such as this Petrification Power Finish." Re-Destro states while the scene of Deku using the Solidification Power Coin against Overdrive Nomu is shown.

"On the other hand, Chamber is a mainly long-range Kamen Rider but does seem to have a mid-range form that relies on invisibility or camouflage," Re-Destro states while images of both Chamber's forms appear for the executives to see.

"Finally, the Kamen Rider we're trying to get on our side. King Explosion Murder." Re-Destro says as Katsuki's image appears onscreen along with his Kamen Rider form.

"From what Slidin' Go has told me, trying to get him on our side has been difficult. He has his mind set on only becoming the number one hero and isn't interested in anything else. All he cares about is the chance to be seen as the strongest." Skeptic states.

"Yes. He's a wild card but is also one of our more promising candidates for new warriors if his history at Aldera is anything to go by. He's apparently smart and has a lot of natural talent. With his Meta Ability, he'd make him the perfect warrior and possibly give him a chance to usurp Geten's position as the strongest warrior to our cause. Especially if we can get him to join us while he's wielding the Driver." Re-Destro states while holding up a file of Katsuki given to him by the Aldera Middle and Aldera High School principals.

"The problem is how we can get him to side with us. And how to do it without drawing suspicion to us." Trumpet nods.

"Exactly. Slidin' Go has told me his teachings haven't been going well. Luckily, from what I've been told, he likely won't hesitate to attack the other Kamen Riders when given the chance again." Re-Destro tells them with a smile.

"That's comforting to know. Even if he's not a part of our cause yet, he's still willing to help us by weakening the other two." Trumpet says with a content smile of his own.

"Yes. That's why I believe the key to our victory is to separate the Kamen Riders so two will be in one place. We'll give our wildcard the chance to take his anger out on the other Kamen Riders while forcing another to fight alone." Re-Destro explains.

"So, we're going to have our wildcard battle one of the Kamen Riders and soften them up for us?" The only female executive asks with a cheerful smile, much to Skeptic's annoyance.

"Obviously. The real question is, who do we make fight the Nomu, and who will fight our Kamen Rider?" He tells her.

This question causes the executives to fall silent as they think about the best course of action.

"Wouldn't it be best to have Deku face off against K.E.M. since his history with Deku made Shinonome choose him?" Trumpet asks with a raised eyebrow.

"Plus, since Chamber is a long-range specialist, it may be easier to handle him with a Nomu than Deku. We can just find someone with a speed Quirk who will easily close the distance against him." Curious states in agreement.

However, Skeptic has other plans.

"I say the one we should make fight King Explosion Murder is Chamber. Lately, they've been at each other's throats more than King Explosion Murder and Deku. Also, Chamber has displayed more experience and tactical thinking, constantly putting himself in a position where his range gives him the advantage. Let's not forget about his new form." Skeptic states calmly.

Re-Destro doesn't say anything as his executives discuss what to do. He can see their points and isn't sure what to do. Finally, after a few minutes of debate, he makes his decision.

-------------------

In Hisashi and David's lab, the two put the final touches on the fourth Hero Driver to ensure it's running right.

"Looks like everything's running right. Get some of the test Power Coins ready so we can test the power output of the nanotech." David tells Hisashi as he sets the Hero Driver on a table with multiple scanners.

Hisashi nods and goes toward a cabinet. He opens it to reveal different sets of Power Coins. He quickly takes a few and heads toward the Hero Driver. He quickly inserts one, and David checks the real-time data it's displaying from the scanners.

"Everything looks good for emitters," David tells him.

Hisashi nods and inserts another.

"Transformation looks good too." David nods.

Moving onto the last one, Hisashi inserts it, and David frowns when he sees that data.

"Something seems off with the mutant-type Quirks. The output is a little sporadic." David warns Hisashi, who frowns in response.

"Let me see," Hisashi says while walking toward David to see the problem.

Just as David says, the power output being shown is moving at a sporadic rate.

"Huh. Well, it's not like we didn't expect this. Mutant Quirks are the most difficult to copy since they have a more permanent effect over the other two types." Hisashi mutters as he tries to figure out where the problem may lie.

"True. We may have to re-check the analyzer again. It may just be a small glitch like last time." David nods as he types a few things on the computer.

Hisashi groans in annoyance when he hears that.

"I can't believe people will want to mass-produce these eventually. It takes so much time to finish one of them. Plus, it takes laser surgeon-like precision to guarantee that it works." Hisashi grunts as he prepares to open the Hero Driver. 

"Well, you know people. They always want more." David laughs as he walks over to help Hisashi.

"Don't I know it? Plenty of the heroes I've made equipment for always wanted me to improve the design of something I made for them so they have a better chance to get up in the rankings." Hisashi says, annoyance clear in his tone.

"We can probably develop a mass-production model by cutting back on some things," David tells him.

"Probably. We'll work on the design later after we finish working on the Hero Drivers." Hisashi tells him.

-------------------

While plots are being formed, Izuku and Shiki are with Toshinori for their usual beach training. Compared to the beginning, Izuku is showing clear improvements in physical ability by continuing to lift various medium-sized pieces of trash like Shiki. Shiki isn't far behind in growth, either.

"So, how have things been with you?" Shiki asks as he carries a refrigerator door off the beach next to Izuku, who's holding a beaten-up trashcan.

"They've been going good. I'm starting to get used to everything, I think." He tells Shiki.

"That's good. I'm glad you're getting used to everything. It'll make things easier when we try out for U.A." Shiki nods before setting the door in Toshinori's truck.

Izuku's eyes widen at the reminder of U.A.

"That's right. I've been so busy that I forgot the entrance exam will be in a few months. It's a good thing I already sent in my application." Izuku thinks in relief as he follows Shiki's lead and sets the trashcan in the truck.

After doing this, he looks toward the horizon.

"It feels weird. After everything I've been through these last couple of months, the idea of the entrance exams doesn't feel as scary. In fact, I'm looking forward to it." Izuku thinks with a smile.

"You realize we can't use our Kamen Rider forms for it, right?" Shiki randomly asks Izuku, causing his brain to pause.

"What?" Izuku asks in confusion.

Shiki continues, thinking Izuku wasn't listening to him.

"We can't use our Kamen Rider forms. We don't want people spreading rumors that the Kamen Riders weren't even in a hero school when they started saving people. We can use other things like our weapons, but not the armor." Shiki states to Izuku.

Suddenly, Izuku's bravado disappears as he realizes it'll be up to his physical abilities without being transformed. He crouches and begins to mumble to himself about the possibilities. Shiki sweatdrops at this reaction.

"Did I say something wrong? I thought he already knew. Did he really think we could use the form for an exam where people can see us and tell everyone?" Shiki questions in his mind as he stares at Izuku.

"Are you okay?" Shiki awkwardly asks as he stares at the panicking Izuku.

"What am I going to do? Will I be able to handle the exam without my body being enhanced? I'll be the only one between us to fail, and All Might will hate me because I took up the precious time he could have used to save people." Izuku continues to mutter as he thinks about multiple bad scenarios.

Shiki's sweatdrop grows when he sees his partner's reaction to his question.

"I kind of feel bad now." Shiki thinks before trying to shake Izuku out of his stupor.

"Hey. Calm down. You still have a good chance of getting in without the armor." Shiki tells his friend as he finally wakes Izuku up.

"R-really?" Izuku asks hopefully as he looks at Shiki as if he's on the verge of crying.

"Yes. We can still use weapons like the Power Blade, and we have another advantage most people don't." Shiki tells him to try and cheer the teen up.

"What?" Izuku asks curiously, and Shiki motions toward Toshinori. Who is currently going over something on his phone and not paying attention to them.

"We're being trained by All Might himself. That's something most people, especially our age, can say. Not only that, we're also getting real experience. That's something only vigilantes have over other applicants." Shiki tells him.

Izuku thinks about Shiki's words before realizing he's right. Most applicants for a hero school have little to no experience unless they break the law by becoming vigilantes or have a hero in their family since those family members can often help them train. He and Shiki would have a clear advantage in the U.A. exam due to their experience as Kamen Riders.

"You're right. But we don't have Quirks either. That could be a problem still." Izuku tells him.

"We're not going up against Nomu during the exam. Our weapons and training should be more than enough." Shiki tells him with a calm shrug.

Izuku still looks unsure, and Shiki sighs.

"We'll be fine, Midoriya," Shiki reassures him.

"Quite right. You two can handle anything that comes your way with proper training and by sticking together." Toshinori tells them as he walks toward them, having heard only the end of their conversation.

The two turn toward their teacher as he smiles at them.

"I want you two to remember. Heroes often work together to accomplish a common goal, even if they have to compete for attention. Teamwork is important for heroes so the people will feel safe with them around." Toshinori tells the two.

Izuku and Shiki nod at his words, causing Toshinori's smile to widen.

"Good. Now, back to your training. Time waits for no one." Toshinori orders while pointing toward the beach.

With a sigh, the two quickly get back to work. As they do, they're both thinking about their futures.

"I can't believe the entrance exam is only a few months away. Am I really ready for it?" Despite Shiki's best efforts, Izuku is still nervous about his chances, given the acceptance percentage of U.A.

On the other hand, Shiki has a determined glare and seems to be pushing himself a little more than before.

"I'm going to get into U.A. I have to. The best way to become a strong hero is to go there." Shiki thinks while lifting another large piece of garbage and power-walking toward Toshinori's truck.

Toshinori watches the two work and can't help but smile at their progress.

"Both of them are showing real signs of change. One of them might be worthy to inherit my title." Toshinori thinks as he keeps a close eye on the two.

He then looks at his palm before clenching it into a fist.

"I'm running out of time. I can barely keep my strength up for a few hours now. I may need to choose a successor soon." Toshinori thinks with an angry scowl.

"Hopefully, I can finish him off before I run out of time. I'm sure he's still alive. The Nomu prove that." Thinking along those lines causes the scar on his torso to start acting up with phantom pains, and he winches.

"I shouldn't have let him get to me. The suffering and Nomu are my fault. I can't leave it to the next generation." Toshinori thinks with a tone of finality before returning to observing his students.

He watches as Shiki determinedly puts more pieces of trash in his truck while Izuku seems to be moving somewhat sluggishly like he's thinking about something.

"They don't deserve to suffer for my mistake." Toshinori thinks.

-------------------

Days after that, Slidin' Go is on his phone with Skeptic.

"That is our current plan for the Kamen Riders," Skeptic informs him about the executive's plans.

"Alright. I'll try to make sure Bakugou works with one of the other Kamen Riders." Slidin' Go nods, knowing his boss doesn't like it when he asks questions.

"Good," Skeptic says before hanging up.

Slidin' Go sighs as he looks at his phone while rubbing the back of his head.

"How am I supposed to do that when neither wants to be near him and are usually together? It's more likely that they'll already be near each other." Slidin' Go mutters as he tries to figure out how to separate Deku and Chamber.

"This is going to be tough." Slidin' Go complains before sighing and getting to work.

-------------------

Somewhere else, Izuku and Shiki are heading to school on Izuku's Plus Striker.

"So, are you feeling better about the entrance exams?" Shiki asks while holding onto Izuku.

"I-I think so. I think you're right. We do have a good chance of getting into U.A.," Izuku tells him with a nod.

"It's not like we can aim for anything lower. Most schools with a hero course have a ban on people without Quirks even trying out. Besides, we'll likely get into the General Studies Course. So, we'll have the chance to get into the Hero Course later on." Shiki explains to him.

"Wow, you know a lot about this." Izuku can't help but praise his friend.

Sure, he's a hero nerd. But his hobby usually involved studying different heroes and their Quirks. Of course, he's kept up with other hero subjects, such as schools. But U.A. was more secretive and protective with their curriculum since it's the best school in Japan for heroics.

"It comes with being the grandson of the Hero Public Safety Commission chairman. I learned a lot that others don't about heroics. And I do mean a lot." Shiki states calmly while checking to make sure his helmet is secure.

"Really?" Izuku asks excitedly.

"Yeah. I might know more than you. Hard to say, though. I've heard you are a heavy hero nerd." Shiki tells him with a shrug.

Hearing this makes Izuku more excited about talking to Shiki. However, something comes to his mind when he keeps hearing Shiki discuss his grandfather instead of his parents.

"Hey, Hikage. What are your parents like? I've only seen you're grandfather, and they weren't at your apartment when I visited." Izuku asks curiously.

Unknown to Izuku, Shiki winches when he hears that but answers anyway.

"They're not around that much. They're both heroes that travel often." Shiki tells Izuku calmly.

"That's cool. What are their names? Maybe I've heard of them." Izuku says excitedly.

"I'll tell you later. We're almost to school now. So, we don't have time if you want to fanboy over them." Shiki quickly states as he sees the school in the distance.

"Alright." Izuku nods.

-------------------

Unknown to the two, the Meta Liberation Army is about to begin their latest plan.

"I'm in position." A male warrior with a shaved head, slightly tanned skin, and brown eyes says into an earpiece.

The man is wearing a black shirt with a skull, blue jeans, and black boots that go a bit above the ankles.

"Good. You sure you're Meta Ability will be able to separate the Kamen Riders when you see them?" A feminine voice asks into his earpiece.

"Yeah. It should work without a problem. I've practiced with it before we got here and have a pretty good idea of how it works." The man states.

"Good. I'll be ready to pounce on them as soon as we see them." The female voice nods.

The man doesn't say anything and looks toward a roof where a woman with long black hair, pale skin, green reptile-like eyes, and skin-colored scales around her cheeks. She's dressed in a long-sleeve black shirt with diagonal dark green stripes, turquoise green jeans, and beige flats.

Seeing she's up there. The man takes a deep breath and starts morphing into his Nomu form.

The man's Nomu form gives him pitch-black skin with a grey belly and legs. His face elongates into a reptile-like one as his skull separates to reveal his brain, and his eyes turn golden. Purple pants replace his clothes as his body bulks until he can dwarf Death Arms, and he seems to grow a tail. Finally, purple scales that wouldn't look out of place on a stegosaurus grow from his back to the end of his tail.

With his transformation done, the man growls like a predator in the wild before charging out of his hiding place and slamming into an oncoming car. The driver screams in a panic and quickly gets out as Stego Nomu picks the vehicle up and throws it at another one.

"Bring me the Kamen Riders!" Stego Nomu screams at the top of his lungs before getting on all fours, and the scales on his back and tail fire in different directions. The scales pierce through anything in their path like a spear through paper, and Stego Nomu regrows his scales instantly to perform a rapid fire of this.

When the two un-transformed Kamen Riders see this, Izuku immediately skids them to a halt while Shiki has to duck to avoid getting his head cut off.

"Get us somewhere to hide! Now!" Shiki shouts in alarm as he sees Stego Nomu's scales regrow, and he's about to fire another volley.

Izuku quickly turns on the gas and drives them toward a corner they passed before to get out of Stego Nomu's line of sight. After turning that corner, Izuku lets up, and the two park. It takes a little bit for them to get their bearings from the sudden Nomu, though.

"Okay. Do these guys have nothing better to do? That was way too close for comfort." Shiki says as he puts a hand to his heart to try and calm it down.

Izuku isn't in better shape. He's shaking a bit from the shock as he tries to relax. After a few moments, the two calm their nerves. When they do, they see most people are busy doing their own thing or heading toward where the screaming is to see the heroes fight.

"Looks like we have room to transform," Shiki tells Izuku before the two duck behind a truck and pull out their Hero Drivers.

They insert their respective Power Coins simultaneously and cause their Hero Drivers to sync with the other as they announce.

"Rabbit + Quirkless, blank match/Rifle + Quirkless, blank match."

Following the synchronization of their Hero Drivers, the two turn the keys simultaneously without realizing it. Causing smoke to envelop them both.

"JUMP, JUMP, REACH FOR THE MOON, JUMPING RABBIT/READY, AIM; I'VE GOT YOU IN MY SIGHTS, SNIPER RIFLE!"

When the smoke clears, both Kamen Riders are ready.

"Kamen Rider Deku/Chamber!"

That announcement draws a few eyes in their direction.

"It's the Kamen Riders!" Someone says excitedly.

"Go take that villain down!" Another person says.

"Go, heroes!" A young boy says happily as the Kamen Riders run past them.

As soon as Stego Nomu sees the two, he grins.

"Perfect. They're here." He says into his earpiece.

"I see that. Make sure to separate them." The woman orders.

"You're finally here, Kamen Riders. You're about to be destroyed by the dino might of Stegogai." The newly named Stegogai announces before charging toward the Kamen Riders, slamming any vehicle in his path to the side as he does so.

The Kamen Riders see him coming, and Chamber fires upon Stegogai with his wrist-mounted guns while Deku equips the Mighty Knuckle. However, the bullets don't seem to slow Stegogai down. He continues to charge toward them while raising his fists above his head. Seeing that the attacks aren't working, Deku runs toward Stegogai with the Mighty Knuckle ready to deliver a punch.

"I need to dive in close to hit him." Deku thinks as he and Stegogai are about to meet.

But before he can meet Stegogai, the dinosaur-themed Nomu slams his fists into the ground and causes the earth around him to move like waves in the ocean. This attack sends Deku flying and pushes him and Chamber to opposite sides of the street as Stegogai stands before them.

Chamber shakes his head and moves to stand up. Before he can, though, he feels talons latch onto his shoulders before picking him up and quickly bringing him into the air. After taking a second to get over the shock of his current situation, Chamber looks behind him to see a feminine Nomu who looks like a pterodactyl is the one carrying him off the ground.

"Sorry. But we can't have you two work together. But don't worry. I'll let you have a partner for our playtime. You can call me Terra Swoop, by the way. As you might have guessed, we're here to take you down." The Nomu says in a mischievous and slightly sadistic tone as she increases their speed to get him further away from Deku before either Kamen Rider can try anything to stop her.

Deku sees Chamber being taken away as he recovers and screams.

"Chamber!"

He gets up and is about to equip his Power Blade to fire upon Terra Swoop before getting slammed into a building by Stegogai.

"No, you don't. You and I will be fighting mano a mano while my friend deals with him." Stegogai says confidently before grabbing Deku's leg and throwing him into a car across the street.

Stegogai follows this up by getting on all fours and charging toward Deku. As he does, he fires the top spines on his back at the prone Kamen Rider. Deku barely looks up in time to see them and pull himself out of the way. He then has to jump back to avoid Stegogai's charge but gets hit with a tail swing before he can do anything else.

Deku groans as he crashes to the ground again.

"Wow. This guy is fast for his size. He's strong, too. He's using his Quirks amazingly. I can't even tell which is his real Quirk." Deku thinks before finding his leg getting grabbed again.

Not wanting history to repeat itself, Deku quickly uses the Mighty Knuckle to punch the arm holding his leg before Stegogai can lift him too far off the ground. The force from the punch causes Stegogai to let him go and take a couple of steps back while rubbing his hand.

"Man. You do pack a punch. No wonder the other guys couldn't get the job done if only one of you packed that much power." Stegogai says in slight irritation as the pain starts to subside.

Deku quickly takes advantage of Stegogai's shock to distance himself from Stegogai and regain his bearings.

"Good. I managed to get away from him, and the Mighty Knuckle can hurt him on its own. If it's like this, I can probably beat him if I keep moving. Should I run toward the Plus Striker, just in case?" He wonders in his mind as he raises his fists in a fighting stance.

"I was hoping this job wouldn't be too easy. It wouldn't do us any good if the Kamen Riders were weak. Besides, it's more fun to beat the crap out of someone to get what you want." Stegogai says as he cracks his knuckles before charging toward Deku.

-------------------

With Chamber and Terra Swoop. The Kamen Rider is struggling to get away from the pterodactyl-like Nomu. However, every time he tries something like shooting her or reaching for his Power Coins, she maneuvers herself to stop him by suddenly diving, corkscrewing, looping, or letting her hold go to grab another part of his body.

After some time, she releases him and throws him into the window of a school building. When Chamber collects himself, he sees that he's in a classroom. More specifically, Katsuki's classroom.

"Woah!"

"What's happening?"

"It's a Kamen Rider!" Someone shouts excitedly.

"Awesome!"

"Wait. He was thrown through a window. Is a Nomu here?"

As his classmates start panicking, Katsuki growls at how Chamber is thrown into his classroom before running out of the room. Luckily, Slidin' Go gave him some lee-way today and let him keep the Hero Driver on him. But while having the chance to turn into a Kamen Rider is nice, it annoys him that he has to hide to transform and can't show that he's the best to the extras around him.

Back with Chamber, he's standing up but doesn't have a chance to do anything else as Terra Swoop flies through the hole she made with him and slams beak first into him, causing the windows and wall behind him to break as they leave the classroom and he lands in the school's track field.

"What's the matter, Kamen Rider? Can't get your feet off the ground? I thought you could fly. I guess I was wrong. I'll bet I was wrong about your aim too." Terra Swoop mocks him as she flies in place by flapping her wings.

Chamber glares when he hears this and equips the Ultra Magnum. He tries to hit her, but Terra Swoop quickly soars out of the bullets' paths, and Chamber has trouble keeping up with her speed. He soon hits the ground again when Terra Swoop divebombs him again and crashes into his chest.

"Looks like I was right about your aim being terrible." She mocks again before needing to dodge an explosion courtesy of the school's resident secret hero.

"Die!" He shouts as he uses his explosions to propel after the Nomu.

Despite his best efforts, he can't keep up with Terra Swoop. That doesn't stop him, though. All it does is anger him more, which he uses to fuel himself and continue chasing her while trying to figure out how to catch her.

As K.E.M. tries to catch Terra Swoop, Chamber gets up and looks through his Power Coins for something to help him shoot her down. After a second, he chooses his new go-to Power Coin, the Dragonfly Power Coin, and inserts it into the Ultra Magnum.

"Dragonfly Power Finish!" The Hero Driver announces as Chamber fires bullets with sporadic flight patterns at K.E.M. and Terra Swoop.

Terra Swoop sees these incoming bullets and secretly smirks.

"Time to put the plan into action. Let's see how you like this." Terra Swoop thinks as she concentrates on the bullets while K.E.M. is charging behind her.

As the bullets are about to surround and pierce Terra Swoop, they suddenly change flight paths and fly toward K.E.M.

K.E.M. is shocked at the sudden shift and is hit by the bullets in full force, causing him to crash to the ground while Terra Swoop charges toward a shocked Chamber. She slams into him and drags him across the ground before she picks him up and soars straight up. She then dives back down and sends Chamber flying into K.E.M.

"Get off me, you useless shit!" K.E.M. shouts as he kicks Chamber off him.

Chamber grunts as he gets up while glaring at K.E.M. and trying to figure out what happened. However, he doesn't have long, as K.E.M. grabs and lifts him off the ground.

"What was that, you worthless fuck? You shot me instead of the Nomu!" He shouts into Chamber's face with a tone full of venom.

"I don't know. It must be one of her Quirks. I was aiming to take her out." Chamber tells him as he pushes K.E.M. off him.

Their fight amuses Terra Swoop before choosing to end it by diving toward them again. The two Kamen Riders don't notice her until she's close to them and don't have time to avoid the hit.

From the ground, Chamber growls and fires at Terra Swoop with her wrist-mounted guns. Luckily, one of the bullets managed to hit her, causing her to falter slightly.

"Why, you little." She grunts in slight pain and surprise as Chamber continues to fire at her.

-------------------

Back with Deku, he's currently ducking under a punch from Stegogai before delivering an uppercut to Stegogai's chin. However, the Nomu sees this coming and quickly intercepts the punch by grabbing Deku's arm before throwing him to the side.

Not wanting to stay on the ground long, Deku quickly springs back to his feet by running forward to keep out of Stegogai's grip. He turns around just in time to see Stegogai, with his back turned to him, about to fire his spines at the Kamen Rider.

Seeing this, Deku instinctively reaches for his Power Coins and manages to pull out the Barrier Power Coin and insert it into the Mighty Knuckle.

"Barrier Slam Finish!" The Hero Driver shouts as Deku slams the Mighty Knuckle into the ground to create a green barrier around him that blocks the incoming spines while they crack the barrier upon impact.

Stegogai turns around in time to see the barrier dissipate and glares at the Kamen Rider.

"Alright. You're as annoyingly tough as they said you were. But you won't be able to beat my combination of Meta Abilities." The stegosaurus Nomu tells him as he prepares to charge again, not knowing that his words cause Deku's eyes to widen in surprise.

"He's referring to his Quirks as Meta Abilities, too, like with the Paper Nomu." Deku thinks as he jumps over Stegogai, causing the Nomu to crash into the wall behind him.

He then follows this up by charging at him and delivering a strike to Stegogai's butt, with the Mighty Knuckle, pushing him deeper into the wall.

"Why, you little," Stegogai growls as he gets up and turns toward the Kamen Rider.

Only to be met with a boot to the face courtesy of a dropkick from Deku before the Kamen Rider uses his face to jump back again. The full-body kick causes Stegogai to stagger back while holding his face in pain.

"Good. It looks like I'm doing some damage to him without the Power Coins." Seeing this makes Deku happy, knowing he's not as weak as he first thought due to the damage done already, even if it's only minor.

However, his happiness is short-lived when Stegogai throws a table near him at Deku and sends him crashing into the concrete. Stegogai then follows it up by charging at Deku and jumping to try and land on him with the entirety of his weight. Deku sees this and panics before rolling to the side. The force behind Stegogai's landing leaves cracks in the concrete.

Deku quickly gets off the ground while equipping the Power Blade in his other hand. He then turns the blade and grip around so the gun muzzle is pointing behind the blade.

He charges at Stegogai and slashes at Stegogai. The blade doesn't cut into Stegogai's tough skin, but Deku doesn't give up. He quickly pulls the trigger on the Power Blade and uses the extra force from the gunshot to force the Power Blade into Stegogai's skin.

Stegogai grunts and quickly slams the arm Deku is cutting into him, sending the Kamen Rider skidding a few feet back. He tries to follow this up with a straight, using his other arm, but Deku ducks under this attack and launches his own punch with the Mighty Knuckle. The force from the weapon sends Stegogai skidding back before he falls forward and gets on all fours. He then launches the top spines at Deku to stop him from getting too close.

Deku instinctively jumps in the air to avoid the shots, but that opens him up for the other spines on Stegogai's back and tail. Deku tries to use his arms to block the attacks, but it doesn't help much, and he falls on his side in pain.

Stegogai takes this chance to charge at him. Luckily, Deku is one step ahead of him this time. While in the air, he reached into his Power Coin holder and pulled out a Power Coin before hitting the ground.

He inserts that Power Coin into the Power Blade, causing the Hero Driver to shout.

"Swamp Power Finish!"

Deku quickly slams the blade of his sword into the ground and the ground before it starts turning into sludgy water, heading toward Stegogai in a wide arc. The Nomu doesn't have time to dodge it and finds his feet stuck.

"Really, A makeshift tar pit since I'm a dinosaur? Too bad for you. This dinosaur has a way to fight against it." Stegogai says as he slams his hands into the muddy water.

This causes ripples within it before it explodes and goes everywhere, freeing him. Deku stares in shock as that move has hardly failed him besides when Overdrive Nomu jumped over it.

"Surprised? We've studied your moves and worked out good ways to counter them. All for the glory of our revolution. You won't be able to beat me with your usual tactics. I can easily break out of any trap you set. Even if it's that weird ability where you petrify someone." Stegogai says while pointing toward Deku with a confident tone.

Hearing this causes Deku to tense up.

"Wait. If they've studied my moves, does that mean they studied Hikage's too?" He thinks, suddenly even more worried about his friend after he was taken away.

"You don't have time to be thinking about other things. Especially since I'm done playing around." Stegogai says before slamming his hand on the ground again and sending a wave of earth at Deku.

Seeing this causes Deku to jump to the side, but Stegogai already predicted that. He got on all fours and fired the top spikes on his back at the hero, hitting him in the arm and causing him to drop the Power Blade in pain. Stegogai follows this up by charging while still on all fours and slamming into Deku, sending him flying into another lamp post.

Deku groans as he gets up and reaches for another Power Coin to try something else. In desperation, he pulls out the Draco-Breath Power Coin and inserts it without realizing what it is.

"Dragonic Breath Power Finish!" The Hero Driver announces as the Mighty Knuckle is covered in flames while glowing orange as Deku charges at Stegogai.

He throws his fist forward, and Stegogai is sent staggering back from the impact while there are slight burns in a knuckle outline where he was punched. However, it doesn't look like he took any substantial damage.

"Now that had some sting to it. But it's not enough to get through my skin." Stegogai grunts before charging and trying to punch Deku.

Deku moves to the side, but Stegogai follows it up by spinning and slamming into Deku with his tail.

Deku manages to stay on his feet and reach into his holder for another Power Coin.

"Division Power Finish!" The Hero Driver shouts as Deku inserts the Division Power Coin.

"I haven't used this one yet." Deku thinks as he charges forward and throws another punch.

As the Mighty Knuckle soars toward Stegogai, energy fists suddenly appear around Deku's arm to launch multiple punches simultaneously, each with equal force to the last. The strength of these punches sends Stegogai flying into the ground and causes his scales to get stuck in the concrete.

"Damn it," Stegogai grunts as he tries to get up.

But he's positioned in a way that he can't reach the ground with his arms and legs that well. He can't put enough power into his attempts. Deku sees this and decides to try and finish things.

He pulls out the Rabbit Power Coin and inserts it into the Hero Driver instead of his weapon.

"RABBIT POWER FINISH!" The Hero Driver shouts as energy builds around Deku, and he charges forward.

He jumps into the air and tries to deliver a flying kick to the trapped Nomu. However, Stegogai suddenly rolls backward while his scales remain stuck in the ground. When Deku crashes into the ground, a small explosion and the earth around him is destroyed.

Unfortunately, it doesn't do much to Stegogai, and he takes advantage of Deku's opening to send another wave of earth at him and send him flying.

"I can't believe you fell for that. I told you, we studied all your moves." Stegogai laughs as he looks at the downed Kamen Rider.

Deku groans as Stegogai charges and tries to jump on him.

-------------------

With K.E.M. and Chamber, the two are having trouble dealing with Terra Swoop and each other. Chamber is being targeted after one of his bullets managed to hit her and her orders.

Currently, Chamber is trying to hit Terra Swoop with his wrist-mounted guns, but she is nimbly avoiding them with the ease of a hummingbird changing directions. Luckily, Chamber has started to adapt to her speed and is avoiding more of her strikes than before.

On the other hand, K.E.M. is trying to chase after her in the air but is getting hit by a few of Chamber's stray bullets for some reason. Needless to say, the two are starting to clash from their situation.

"Will you fucking quit shooting with the pea shooters! You're doing nothing helpful and getting in my way!" K.E.M. shouts at Chamber.

"Maybe if you would stop getting close to her, my bullets wouldn't be at risk of hitting you. I'm trying to figure out what she's doing!" Chamber shouts back with a bit of sharpness in his tone.

"It's obvious this bitch is manipulating your bullets! Quit making my job harder, Pompadour!" K.E.M. screams back as he tries to swipe at Terra Swoop, only for her to move out of the way.

Chamber grits his teeth but realizes that K.E.M. is right and decides to switch things around. He quickly grabs the Chameleon Power Coin and inserts it into his Hero Driver.

"You can't see me? Where am I? I'm on the wall! I've got you in my sights!" The Hero Driver shouts as smoke covers Chamber while he transforms.

"Kamen Rider Chamber!" It says with a tone of finality as Chamber switches forms.

Terra Swoop dives toward Chamber, but he vanishes before she hits him. As she's trying to gain altitude again, a whip suddenly wraps around her wing, and she's pulled toward the ground, causing her to skid across it from her previous momentum.

"You bastard!" Terra Swoop shouts as she gets up and instinctively looks around for the Kamen Rider that sent her crashing to the ground, only not to see him.

While she's doing that, the other Kamen Rider comes diving in and slams into her with a double palm-generated explosion that shakes the ground slightly. Seeing this causes Chamber to drop the camouflage a fair distance from the two as he waits for the smoke to clear.

However, Terra Swoop flies back into the air as if nothing happened, shocking the Kamen Riders.

Before she can see him from above, Chamber quickly camouflages himself again while K.E.M. chases after her. However, Chamber's action wasn't enough for him to completely escape her view. Having the features of a flying predator, her eyesight is enhanced exponentially. So she can distinguish the shifts in coloring and movement from Chamber's camouflage.

She charges at the area where she notices the shifting, and Chamber barely has time to jump over her attack. However, that doesn't stop him from getting hit by K.E.M., who chased after her. The impact causes Chamber to lose his camouflage while the two crash.

"Get off me," Chamber tells him as he kicks K.E.M. off him before needing to duck under another attack from Terra Swoop.

"Quit getting in the way!" K.E.M. shouts at Chamber, getting sick of the other Kamen Rider constantly messing him up.

"That was your fault. You're the one that keeps charging after someone you obviously can't catch!" Chamber shouts back at him.

"Like your fucking bullets are helping Pompadour. You've been hitting me more than you've been hitting Prehistoric Bitch!" K.E.M. screeches.

Terra Swoop sees their argument and secretly grins when she realizes the plan is working.

"Now for a quick disappearing act." Terra Swoop says before flying off at top speed before the Kamen Riders realize she's gone.

It takes longer than you should have for them to realize this. And when they do, K.E.M. pushes Chamber away while growling.

"This is your fucking fault, Pompadour! I could have handled that bastard without you! You and your worthless aim!" K.E.M. screams.

"My aim was fine. Whatever Quirks that Nomu had was the problem. And what about you? You uselessly chased after her when you couldn't catch her." Chamber tells him.

K.E.M. growls, but Chamber isn't done.

"Then again, that's all you can do, seeing as you don't bother collecting Power Coins like you're supposed to. Instead of keeping them on you just in case, you go out of your way to destroy them. So, you're nothing but a one-trick pony." Chamber tells him with an edge in his tone.

Hearing this causes K.E.M. to growl.

"At least I can make better fucking use of this stupid thing than you. You're nothing but a Quirkless reject who got lucky! If your grandfather weren't in such a high fucking position, no one would give a shit about you like Deku!" K.E.M. snaps at Chamber, causing the Kamen Rider to tighten his fist.

"I'm using the Hero Driver better than you. If I remember right, I almost beat you at the docks." Chamber snaps back, causing K.E.M. to growl.

"I didn't fucking lose to you!" K.E.M. snarls back before going for an explosive palm and sending Chamber flying to the ground.

Chamber has enough of K.E.M.'s attitude and launches his whip at the other Kamen Rider, sending him skidding back.

-------------------

Back with Deku. He's running from Stegogai and trying to reach the Plus Striker for extra help since Chamber hasn't returned and K.E.M. is nowhere to be seen.

"I need help to beat him." Deku thinks as he pulls the Unicorn Power Coin off the Plus Striker's Power Coin holder and inserts it.

The Plus Striker quickly turns into its mechanical animal form and throws Deku atop it before running from the charging Stegogai.

"Get back here!" Stegogai snaps at the Kamen Rider and steed before firing his scales at them.

However, the Plus Striker turns around and fires lightning bolts at the attacks, stopping them and causing them to fall harmlessly. It then takes it a step further by charging at Stegogai. As it does, Deku pulls out another Power Coin and inserts it into the Plus Striker.

"Overdrive Power Charge!" The Hero Driver announces as light blue energy surrounds the Plus Striker and its power and speed increase.

With the increased momentum, the Plus Striker tries to slam into Stegogai. However, the Nomu quickly uses his other ability to make a wave of earth rise between them to reduce the damage. The Plus Striker runs through it and slams into the Nomu, sending him flying but not turning him back to normal.

"Alright." Deku thinks happily, but before he can do anything else, he suddenly feels something slam into him and knock him off the Plus Striker.

He looks up to see what hit him and sees Terra Swoop staring down at him while holding a struggling Plus Striker.

"It's your turn to see what it's like to be hunted." Terra Swoop says excitedly as Stegogai stands up.

Deku looks between the two Nomu and backs away nervously while they close in on him. As he's getting cornered, he worries about what happened to Chamber while wondering what he'll do.

Power Coins Deku Rabbit, Draco-Breath, Charge, Marsh, Solidification, Unicorn, Overdrive, Wheels, Division, Bull, Barrier, Creation, Razor Edge, Mantis

Chamber Rifle, Fierce Wings, Shadow Stalk, Gatling, Chameleon, Dragonfly, Sonar, Burrowing Drill, Sprouting

King Explosion Murder Explosion

Next Chapter

[absolute-matter]

Brave commander test type practice work

[giveamadeuschohisownmovie]

Pitch for the third installment in the Until Dawn/The Quarry trilogy:

1) The title: META

(reason: double entendre since the game is a meta-take on horror gaming and a reference to the Metaverse)

2) The plot

In 1984, a mysterious serial killer known as The Gravedigger murders a sibling pair who were on their way to visit family.

In the present day, a group of people vacationing in the same spot as the Gravedigger murders realize they’re being stalked. But as the night goes on, the vacationers realize there’s something else to fear aside from the killer. Something…supernatural-

Wait…why does this feel familiar? Isn’t this the same plot as Until Dawn? Also, this doesn’t feel too different from The Quarry. Something feels wrong with this set-up…

As the game goes on, the main characters start to feel that there’s something off about their world. They feel like they’re just following a script and that they have no control over their actions. That’s when we get the big reveal; they’re trapped inside a virtual world that was developed by Supermassive Games. In reality, the main characters are gamers who were brought in by Supermassive to test a new virtual reality game. However, a rogue programmer hacked the game, resulting in the gamers losing their memories, being stripped of their free will, and becoming trapped inside.

You, the player(s), are an actual character in the story. You’re a Supermassive employee trying to save the gamers by playing the rogue programmer’s script and making choices for the helpless gamers. It’s up to you to stop the rogue programmer, who is making the virtual world more and more nightmarish as the story goes on.

So, while chapters 1-6 play out like a typical Supermassive game, chapters 7-10 become more of a surreal nightmare due to the rogue programmer fighting back against the player.

3) Inspirations (to get a feel for how I imagined the game would turn out):

The Backrooms, The Cell, Doki Doki Literature Club, Harvester, Don’t Worry Darling, WandaVision, Too Many Cooks, Wes Craven’s New Nightmare, Danganronpa V3, Black Mirror: Bandersnatch

Sword Art Online and The Matrix, for non-horror inspirations

Squid Game, sorta kinda. It’s mainly the concept of this evil overseer watching over these people who are being forced to take part in the overseer’s game.

4) The main playable cast:

* Sean Parker (INTOLERANT, ARROGANT, CONFIDENT): A men’s rights activist/Andrew Tate-type gamer. He is played by Gregg Sulkin.

* Kim Myung-seok (BRAVE, RATIONAL, STOIC): An esports player from South Korea. He is played by Wi Ha-joon.

* Sameer Patel (INSECURE, RELAXED, DEFENSIVE): A gaming journalist from the United Kingdom. He is played by Dev Patel.

* Luis Santos (FOOLHARDY, CHARMING, BRASH): A gamer from Los Angeles and Melissa’s love interest. He is played by Anthony Ramos.

* Melissa Ramirez (AMBITIOUS, ADVENTUROUS, SELFISH): A gamer from Texas and Luis’ love interest. She is played by Leslie Grace.

* Donna Smith (COMMANDING, KIND, ADAPTABLE): A gamer who becomes the de facto leader of the group. She is played by Zazie Beetz.

* June Greene (REBELLIOUS, DETERMINED, WITTY): An e-girl streamer who is the first to realize something is off about the world. She is played by Erin Kellyman.

* Katrina Mason (NAIVE, ANTI-SOCIAL, FEARFUL): A NEET-type gamer who reluctantly joins the group. She is played by Kaitlyn Dever.

(Romance paths: Luis x Melissa, June x Katrina, Donna can choose between Myung-seok and Sameer. Sean is the only one without a romance path, for obvious reasons.)

5) Other characters:

* The Player, a gender-neutral Supermassive employee who, from the real world, is guiding the characters to safety (or getting them killed).

* Dante Connors: The rogue programmer responsible for trapping the gamers. He is the main villain of the game. Dante is played by David Tennant.

* The CEO of Supermassive, who fulfills the same role as the Curator, the Therapist, and Eliza Vorez. To make this as meta as possible, he is played by the actual CEO of the company.

[solar-siren]

Angstpril Day Eleven: Self-Sabotage

Warning for 2.0 spoilers and suicidal thoughts/ideation.

Alan walks the laser bay in a slow spiral. He’s never sure how to feel about this place. Lora spent countless hours here, working tirelessly. There’s not a space she didn’t touch. He can all but see her crowded over the laser control, her and Gibbs working shoulder to shoulder. Flynn rushing up the stairs in a noisy clatter, interrupting her work. Her calling him away from his own desk to join if she was especially excited or nervous about a test. Lora was often at her happiest here, full of ideas, passion and life. Sometimes, she was also at her most frustrated here. While trying to solve a problem, she would often pace the floor as he is now.

And she died here. Basically.

The laser she dedicated her life to building ended her life. They still don’t know exactly what caused the malfunction that day. Only that Lora was injured in some way that couldn’t be identified or fixed. She lasted for a few months afterward, languishing, fading until there was nothing left. Even then she worked for as long as possible, pouring as much life as she could into saving the very thing that took hers.

Alan thinks of her constantly. She was his best friend, his better half. He took up her work after she passed. No else was brave enough, and someone has to finish what she started—the thing she died for. He owes her that much, at least.

But sometimes, when Alan is here, alone in the dark, he can’t help but think how easy it would be to join her. Looking at the SHIVA laser is like staring down the barrel of a gun. It almost feels like it’s watching him back. He steps closer.

“Alan-One,” Lora’s voice says. Ma2a. He must have forgotten to shut her down for the night.

“Are you alright?”

Alan swallows. Most people would be concerned that she’s asking a question like that—something she wasn’t programmed to do. (She’s always been… personable. He’s learned to glean amusement from others’ discomfort surrounding her eccentricities.) He’s more alarmed by the path his thoughts were taking just now. That, and the fact that he still hasn’t escaped from the spiral.

“Just thinking,” he says quietly, still watching the laser. Ma2a considers this.

“The SHIVA laser is currently offline,” she says. So she      has    been watching. He doesn’t respond.

“Your shift ended 11 minutes ago,” she continues. “Alan-Two will worry if you are late.”

That jolts Alan back to reality. Jet. How could he even think about—leaving—when Jet needs him? How could he have forgotten that for even an instant? He shivers through a wave of guilt and nausea.

“I’m sorry,” he chokes, inexplicably. Neither one of them is certain he’s speaking to her. Still, Ma2a responds.

“All is well.” She sounds almost gentle. So much like Lora. It hurts even as he’s grateful.

Alan does his best to pull himself back together. He swipes at his eyes with his sleeve, straightens his coat. Breathes.

“Right,” he says. His voice is mostly back to normal. “Thank you.”

“Always,” Ma2a returns. She waits until Alan types in the commands for her shut down before adding, “Goodnight, Alan-One.”

Alan freezes, stricken and moved.

“Goodnight,” he murmurs. “Sweet dreams.”

[ms-erin-kallus]

I See a Storm Bubbling Up from the Sea

Chapter 3

AO3 link in master list

Rhoan sighed heavily as the door to the lift that took her and Kallus up into the belly of the yacht, and what lurked within, opened in front of them. She was immediately taken aback by the scenery of dozens of people set before the backdrop of a room, encompassed by tall floor to ceiling windows that glistened with millions of twinkling stars trapped deeply within the dark void of deep space.

A range from members of the Imperial Admiralty to influential war profiteers to Galactic Senators to any and everything in between danced across the marble floors as others conversed around large tables that overflowed with delicacies from every corner of the galaxy. 

 Kallus gave her a light tug and her attention was quickly jerked back to the problem at hand as the two stepped out fully into the large, open area that was decorated ornately and in her opinion, on the verge of tastelessness. Large, bright crystal chandeliers clung to the ceiling of the room above them and cast prisms of color in every direction. The floor was flanked by two intricately hand carved staircases made from a deep, richly colored type of wroshyr that led up to a large balcony that overlooked the entire room.  

 Immediately, another of her senses was assaulted as the heavy air, unsettling and tumultuous, imploded into a suffocating thickness caused by the constant, brazen self aggrandizement that seemed to intertwine itself into the myriad colors from above and into some sort of a beautiful yet personal agony.

 To Rhoan it felt almost lethal as it beat down on her mercilessly from every direction. To Kallus it was just another day as usual.

 He noticed her face was twisted into a stressed expression before he realized that she was digging her fingers into the back of his arm as she looked around the crowd. Kallus suddenly acknowledged that he might have put her in over her head a little more than he initially realized. Most women he brought to these gatherings were at least somewhat familiar with how to handle them; her station wasn’t something he had considered much in his plan. He winced internally at the possible predicament before he gently tapped her arm to get her attention, “let’s get a drink.”

 He held his elbow out before she hooked her arm through it stiffly, and held on to it as though it was a life raft, as they began to make their way through the center rather than around the room. Just as he had hoped, every head turned toward the woman in the resplendent blue dress. Most didn’t even try to hide the impure thoughts that started in their eyes and bled into their almost predatory body language as she glided by them. 

He expected as much from the audience at hand, as this was not the type of event that required any amount of tact.

 Kallus began to keep a mental tally of the number of those faces that instantly disappeared as soon as he made eye contact with them. Their cowardice made him feel more confident by the second as the crowd parted to make way for the two of them. The men, and a few women, continued to leer as the volume of the room’s chatter dropped noticeably. The power of the command that he had taken, along with the lustful jealousy that she was creating with unconscious ease, was a powerful aphrodisiac.

 Rhoan simply looked annoyed by it all and he couldn’t wipe the stupid smirk that grew on his face, even if he tried. If they thought that maybe her <em>date,</em> he cringed hard at the word, was actually less of a threat than they assumed, then perhaps they would be stupid enough to test their hypotheses. He couldn’t wait for the first one brave enough to try.

 Kallus felt a hard twitch right where he liked it.

 The two stopped at a high top bar that ran parallel to the farthest wall and he watched Rhoan turn to look intensely around the lavishly decorated room as he ordered their drinks. He held a bright blue drink up for her to take, “here,” he said quietly.

She turned to take it and caught something in her periphery that caused her to suddenly let out a cry loud enough to turn the room to pin drop silence. As she instinctively stumbled backward and away from the abomination in front of her, she tripped over the hem of her skirt and fell ungracefully toward the floor.

 Kallus barely managed to reach out and catch her before she could tumble over her feet and turn a big scene into a full blown show, “it’s okay. She’s alright,” he smiled and reassured the people around them as she grabbed at his jacket to regain her balance and then pulled herself into his chest as she turned away from the woman in front of them.

“She’s fine,” he nodded as he struggled to hold onto the visibly shaken woman. He made sure that everyone had begun to go back to whatever stupidity he assumed they were up to before he glared down at her.

 “What is wrong with you,” he hissed. 

Rhoan was literally trembling in his embrace and for the briefest of seconds he almost pitied her, but instead he simply put his arm around her shoulders so that he could covertly scan the room one last time to make sure that they were no longer the center of its short focus. She was beginning to attract the wrong kind of attention and he wasn’t about to have it ruin things before they could really get going.

 <em>If they considered her weak though,</em> he wondered briefly.

 “What is that,” she barely whispered. “What did they do to her?”

 “That,” he asked confusedly as she stepped away from him and looked into his chest instead of at what was left of the woman serving drinks with robotic maneuverability to a crowd easily ignorant of the horror among them. “She’s just a slave or <em>something</em> of the likes. I had heard that people were coming up missing on Jedha around the same time that these things showed up,” he said apathetically as he looked the lobotomized woman up and down in genuine interest. “I didn’t think it was possible though,” he shrugged as he looked down at a very distressed Roan.

 She swallowed hard and he could tell she was trying to collect herself enough to ask her next question, “does she,” she started, “does she know?”

 “I would think not,” he started as he looked at her, “but I guess that it would depend on what parts of her were actually removed.”

 “What is wrong with you?” she growled as she ripped herself away from him. “Your lack of humanity is appalling, She’s a person not a science experiment,” she almost yelled as her green eyes went wide with her bewilderment and disgust at not just him, but everyone in the room.

 “Just don’t look at her then,” he whispered down into her ear as he faced her away like a parent would a small, scared child. “See, it’s that easy.”

 “I hope that she is someone you care about one day.”

 She said it so quietly it was almost a whisper and for reasons he couldn’t explain, her words hit him in a way he didn’t expect.

 “What am I saying, you are unnoticeably interchangeable with any person in this room. Money and your name buy your relationships that you somehow still can’t keep.” She looked at him with genuine sadness, “your kind have to play morose little mind games with unwitting participants just to feel something more than numb.”

 “That’s enough,” he snapped.

 “Did I hit a nerve <em>agent</em>? I’m surprised you felt it.”

 Before he could lie to her, Rhoan reached over and downed the drink in front of her. She shook her head in reaction to its strong burn before she put the glass down heavily and downed his drink as well. He couldn’t lie, he was somewhat impressed by it.

 “You might want to pace yourself. These people can be dangerous,” he warned her sternly. He needed her at least somewhat sober or it would make things sloppy and annoying, even though she was well on her way to killing the fun without that.

 “Shut up,” was all he got in reply.

 Kallus rolled his eyes and grabbed her elbow. She needed to put food in her stomach before the alcohol could hit, but the pair only made it a few steps before a loud voice yelled over the crowd, “Gods in the stars! Is that Alexsandr Kallus?”

 Kallus turned just in time to be punched hard in the shoulder by a short, round, white haired man in his late fifties. “I haven’t seen you in ages, son. How have you been,” he yelled more than asked as he jealously tried to straighten the too small jacket around his large shoulders upon seeing the cut of the man in front of him.

 “I’ve-,”

 “Now, who is this?” The man interrupted him as he took a hold of Roan’s free hand and brought it to his wrinkled face for a kiss, much to the dismay of the woman behind him that could’ve been his granddaughter’s age. Easily.

 “Roan this is S-,”

 “Call me Boom,” he interrupted again and Alexsandr noticed that Rhoan couldn’t stifle a laugh as she watched his face immediately twist up in annoyance.

 Kallus was fond of the old man but he could be a little much at times, and he was well on his way to turning their conversation into one of those times. Regardless, the man was personable and incredibly useful, a dangerous pair.

 “Always got a stick up his ass, this one,” Boom said behind his hand as he pointed his thumb at a visibly irked agent that popped his jacket straight before he reset his broad shoulders and stood straighter.

 The move only emboldened the two.

 “You noticed that as well,” Rhoan asked with sweetly veiled sarcasm, which caused the old man to laugh so hard that most of the room stopped to look at them. 

<em>Again.</em> 

“I don’t know how he walks sometimes,” she leaned in and whispered loudly, much to the old man’s delight.

 “Oh, Alexsandr,” the man wheezed, “I hate to do this, but may I speak with you in private. Don’t worry,” he said suddenly seriously as he pointed at Rhoan, “we are gonna continue this later.”

 “I’m so looking forward to it,” she smirked up at Kallus before she turned and made her way through a parting sea of partygoers.

 ~

 Thankfully, the conversation with Boom was short, sweet, and to the point and Kallus was back looking through the exponentially grown crowd for Rhoan before he knew it. He easily found her situated in a far corner with a grouping he never would’ve imagined. An admiral, arms dealer, and two senators all laughed wildly at a story the smuggler was vividly acting out more than he was verbalizing. 

 Kallus stopped and watched in somewhat awe that some lowly lieutenant stationed on an outer rim hellhole, who spent all of her time with robots because she ardently avoided all other humans, could converse so easily, so casually, with some of the most powerful and intimidating people in the galaxy. 

 He had studied her file, if he could call the single page a <em>file</em>, the day they met. Roan Rial was an orphan originally from Canto Bight; therefore, he assumed she would be used to, or at least aware of, how this type of society maintained itself. He was majestically wrong. She was an absolute savant and he was confused by her nervousness upon their arrival. <em>The alcohol must’ve hit,</em> he thought.

 The smuggler suddenly jumped up and theatrically threw his glass hard against a wall and Kallus instinctually began to make his way over before the group erupted into raucous laughter, Roan tossed her head back and gingerly brushed her fingertips across the skin between her collarbones as she laughed. She smiled and giggled and teased as they silently and darkly contemplated their best means of attack.

 The admiral, that felt the need to wear every medal in his ownership all at once, took the opportunity to put his splayed hand deep on her lower back and the agent felt a white-hot carnality suddenly ignite exactly where he wanted it to, but his <em>date</em> was a professional. She immediately and nonchalantly turned to face him, but when she did she took a very small step backward and put her arm on top of his, essentially using physics to remove his unwanted touch without notice.

 <em>Time to begin,</em> he thought as he began to make his way over but, again, was immediately stopped.

 She downed the last of her water and made a show of tapping on the empty glass with her pointer finger as a subtle indication that she was going to quickly remove herself from the situation. Every single one of them looked genuinely dismayed as they watched her float away and Kallus reveled in the deep eroticism, ignited by their disappointment and exacerbated by her unforeseen abilities, that he felt creep through him like wildfire.

 Without him doing anything.

 He never in a millennium, would have considered <em>her</em> an active player in his favorite game.

 The agent covertly followed her and stood beside a large sculpture by a buffet and watched her diligently as she nonchalantly walked over to another group, this one included an incredibly wealthy banker, the one throwing the party, and the <em>newly appointed</em> dignitary of a resource rich planet that the Empire had just taken over. She casually ingratiated herself flawlessly and they were not at all subdued in their attempts to volley for her attention. 

Their overinflated and unrestrained arrogance, while humiliating for them, was an all-consuming erotogenic for him.

 Apparently, voyeurism could be added to his list of <em>hobbies.</em>

 Kallus perked up as he noticed as another dignitary quickly made his way toward her. Conversation and a pretty smile could only get her so far before cultural customs became a seriously tricky issue.

 However, it turned out, it was not.

 She welcomed the man flawlessly with the proper respect of their traditional greeting. It was as if she were a walking encyclopedia of galaxial knowledge and oblivious sexual prowess.

 He really needed to recruit her to more than just his bed.

 Alexsandr felt an electric heat pulsing through him as he watched these men almost fall over themselves as they vied for her attention. In return, she smiled sweetly, occasionally played with <em>his</em> necklace that lay around her neck, and ran her index finger ever so slowly up and down the still empty glass that she held up with such unconscious seduction that the captain himself probably would’ve handed over the keys to the vessel had she simply asked.

 Kallus grabbed a server that was restocking the buffet, “you see that woman over there?” He pointed to Rhoan and the boy nodded. “Watch her. If anyone tries anything while I’m gone, it’s your ass,” he growled as he pushed him to the side and made his way out of the room.

 Upon his very quick return, he had intended to actually start what he came for, but instead found Rhoan standing alone, incredibly close to, and in very deep conversation with the man that was throwing the party, Eind Frold. They met eyes and the tall, dark headed man shot him a snobbish smirk before he made a show of returning attention to <em>his</em> conversation with <em>her</em>.

 Rhoan smiled at something he whispered down into her ear and Kallus couldn’t help the animalistic sound that came from his throat as she reached up and tucked a wayward strand of curly hair behind Eind’s ear. 

Kallus felt his face turn to fire as he stormed up to them, there was no way that some punk rich boy was going to interfere with his fun. 

 “She is <em>mine</em>,” he growled before he turned and grabbed her by the arm, “and I’ll make sure every damn one of you knows it!”

 As the crowd around them quieted and looked toward the commotion in shock it was decided for him that it was time to stop playing and start winning.

 Kallus pushed the woman backward towards a small table and pulled the tablecloth from its edge hard enough that its contents clamored to the floor. The noise instantly caused the rest of the room to stop and look at them in bewilderment.

Kallus looked around purposefully and once he knew he had everyone’s attention, he grabbed Roan by her hips and hoisted her up onto the table as she yelped in stunned surprise.

~ 

He ripped Rhoan’s knees apart and stepped between them as he looked down at her with intent, “just be a good girl for me,” he commanded her in a rough, deep whisper as he pulled up handfuls of the fabric of her skirt until the hemline was finally at her waist.

 “Alexsandr,” she screamed as he reached both hands under her legs and tore the delicate lace of the underwear she was wearing in half before he threw the two pieces right at an obviously jealous Eind without taking his eyes off of her.

 Kallus quickly grabbed her chin and guided her face even to his. “What did I say,” he asked as he slowly brushed his thumb across her bottom lip seductively.

 “Alex,” she started quietly before he leaned down and turned his face so that it fit with hers before he wrapped his long fingers around her throat and pulled her close enough to him that he could feel her building body heat hot against his cold hand.

 “Say it,” he instructed her, so close to her mouth that he could smell her breath and feel her surprise. 

 “Be a good girl,” she exhaled.

He let his open mouth ever so gently graze her own as he relaxed his grip and began to run his fingers down her neck. 

The red mark that his hand left almost ended things before they could begin, but he had a point to make regardless of his previous intention. The shocked, yet intrigued, crowd was about to get more than they came for.

He could add <em>exhibitionist</em> to his growing list of new hobbies.

 Kallus looked over to make sure that Frold was still looking when he came to the notch in her collarbones, the one that she had so innocently played with all night before he slowly crept down the smooth, blushed skin exposed by the gown’s plunging neckline without breaking his stare. He could feel her muscles roll under his fingertips as he moved down over her belt and underneath the satin bunched up in her lap.

 He returned his gaze to hers as he flipped his wrist and slid one finger between her before he let his fingertip linger in her growing wetness. He moved it upwards and let it barely touch her at an achingly slow pace. She gasped and her eyes fluttered shut at it and he put his hand behind her head to keep her face at his. 

 “Do you like the way I touch you?” he asked, his eyes flickered around the room to make sure he still had complete command of it as he felt her ragged breath against his mouth quicken. 

 She nodded shakily.

 “Say it,” he growled lowly as he began to make small, soft circles around her clitoris.

 “I like it,” she whimpered quietly.

 He grabbed the hair at the base of her skull and jerked down hard so that her face popped up to his. “I’m going to absolutely brutalize you unrelentingly as you cry out for me over and over and over,” he trailed off without letting go. His nose crept up from her mouth, past her own nose and to her hairline before the floral scent of her hair lingered in the air around him.

 Her breath caught before she finally whispered, “I want it.”

 Start editing here use onslaught somewhere

“Good girl,” he whispered back as he reached down and quickly unbuckled his pants that he let drop to the floor. He looked up again as he hooked his hands on the inside of each of her thighs and pulled them open further which caused her to let go of the edge of the table and fall back on her elbows.

 He stepped forward, between her now wide opened legs and slid one arm around her waist, and used his other hand to guide himself to her opening before he thrust himself hard and deep into her.

 She let out a loud cry as her head fell back and her fingers grasped helplessly at the surface of the table. He grabbed her hips tightly with both hands to anchor himself both mentally and physically as he pulled back and thrust hard again.

 She was so tight that he almost lost himself before he even began and he glared up at Frold to keep himself centered as he began to move in and out of the woman that this other man, that every man, had dared to even look at. His face was more than enough to give him what he needed as Kallus returned his undivided attention to the woman under him. 

 The force of his onslaught caused her back to arch high and her chest to face up and out and a maniacal grin crossed his face as he let go of her hips long enough to reach up and rip the fabric of the gown’s top from where it was sewn into its belt and leave her breasts exposed to everyone in the room. She instantly looked up at him and he smiled as her bare skin flushed bright red.

 The sight of her reacted nipples, as they jerked back and forth from his force, made him grow even harder inside of her and he slowed his pace as he began to run his hands up her soft body. Her skin instantly prickled as his fingertips traced lightly across her belly and she moaned loudly when his hands cupped and grabbed her breasts. He squeezed hard with both hands before she let out a small cry and clamped down around him so hard that he had to put his left arm back around her waist to keep himself inside of her. A low laugh escaped his throat as he took her right nipple between his fingertips hard which caused her to whine loudly and wrap her legs around his waist.

 He continued his assault with his fingers, alternating between pinching hard and massaging her breast until he felt her legs begin to quiver and her breaths quickly become much more chaotic.

 “Alex,” she whimpered as she leaned up closer to him, “gods..I’m,” she didn’t finish before the shaking turned into violent spasms and she suddenly threw herself backward and screamed loud enough for the next system to hear.

 He didn’t stop when she did. He leaned over her and grabbed the edges of the table behind her shoulder and to her side before he looked straight at Eind as he slammed himself into her again. His pace quickened and he was surprised that the small table had held up for as long as it had.

 Everything began to melt away: the entire party and its jealousy, his make-believe competition, the universe, even her. It all dwindled away to just himself and his desire when suddenly he was brought back to reality by the sound of someone behind him.

“Are you alright in there,” a monotonous voice asked again just as Kallus came hard into the urinal in front of him.

 <em>Seriously?</em>

 “I was!” he yelled back in angry frustration as he put one arm out to lean against the wall in front of him in support of his sudden lightheadedness.

 “Alright,” the barely human voice said before quiet footsteps let him know he was alone again.

 He quickly walked over to the sink and washed his hands before he splashed his face with cold water and smoothed his disheveled hair back into place. He looked into the mirror and couldn’t help but grin, a devious look sparkled deep in his amber eyes, 

<em>it’s always easier with a properly clear head.</em> 

 A few seconds later, Kallus made his way back to the party and quickly scanned over the crowded floor, but Rhoan was nowhere to be found.

 <em>That server is going to disappear too.</em>

 He sighed agitatedly and slowly made his way up one of the room’s ornate staircases; he let his fingers glide along the polished wood as he diligently scoured through the moving sea of swirling colors below him for his pretty little prize, but to no avail.

 At the top of the balcony, he found her.

She stood situated far too comfortably in a quiet corner as she conversed intimately with <em>him</em>.

 <em>Alone.</em>

 Kallus instantly saw red and he almost, for a split second, stormed over to pummel the little prick’s face until he was unrecognizable to even his mother, but he managed to stop himself just as quickly. He took in a long, deep, breath <em>this is what you came here for,</em> he reminded himself as he hubristically walked over to the pair and casually interjected himself into both their conversation and personal spaces.

 “Alexsandr,” Roan began with a suspicious side-eye up at him as she was forced to step back, “this is Eind Frold. We were just having a lovely conversation about the exquisite art collection onboard his beautiful ship,” she said as she looked back at Eind with a shy smile.

 “I don’t know if I would call it exquisite,” the man laughed with feigned modesty as <em>he</em> pushed a stray strand of dark, curly hair back behind his ear. “Maybe more of a well-curated investment that’s nice to look at. Though not nearly as nice as you, my dear,” he said smoothly as he returned her smile and bowed his head slightly toward her respectfully.

 Rhoan blushed and Kallus tried hard not to roll his eyes into the back of his head. “I hadn’t even realized you were a collector. I’m assuming you keep your better pieces in a private collection somewhere else,” he asked with a not so subtle hint of sarcasm.

 Frold scoffed hard, “the painting behind you was given to me by Grand Admiral Thrawn himself and is worth more than the ship you flew here on.”

 Kallus turned and looked at the painting with exaggerated interest. “I've always found boasting is typically the result of deep rooted insecurity,” he said mockingly as a man approached from their side and whispered something into Frold’s ear while Rhoan rubbed her left temple in embarrassment.

 “As is well concealed, or,” Frold began as he straightened his posture and intimidatingly looked Kallus straight in his eye, “well <em>attempted</em> passive aggression.”

 <em>You’re about to see active aggression.</em>

 “Forgive my lack of decorum,” he apologized, “but I must step away. Perhaps I can show you that private collection when I return,” he offered to Rhoan as he bowed again and walked away without acknowledgment of his competition.

 As soon as he was out of earshot, Kallus grabbed Rhoan by her arm and pulled her in front of him. “Be careful around him,” he warned her quietly.

 “Aw, did you get a spoonful of your own shit and not like the taste,” she mocked him as she pouted out her bottom lip. “He’s a philanthropist. His family’s name is synonymous with altruism. Altruism means when-,”

 “Shut up,” he warned her.

 “Even during the Clone Wars, they never took sides, they just helped whoever needed it,” she challenged.

 “Well, the Empire considers that treason,” he scoffed.

 “Of course you do.”

 Kallus stepped forward and leaned over her angrily. He began to give her a spoonful of her own, but was stopped short and surprised.

 Rhoan had grabbed the lapel of his jacket and jerked him down to face her before he realized it, “don’t assume that I don’t know what you’re doing here.”

 “Do you though,” he asked condescendingly as he began to pull the soft, expensive fabric from her small, tight grip. “Enlighten me then.”

 The move only caused her to grab more of it as her strength took him by surprise. “I’m not stupid,” she hissed in his face, “nor am I here for you.”

 “Is that so,” he asked curiously as he grabbed and squeezed her wrist hard enough to force her hand to open. He stood upright and scowled at the wrinkles she had left behind, “you know, you didn’t hit me as the galactic debutant type but I’m beginning to question my earlier judgment.”

 “Maybe I saw this as an opportunity to use you too,” she began with well hidden facetiousness as she stepped closer to him and smoothed out the wrinkles she had made. “Perhaps to spend the night with some tall, handsome man,” she continued as she slid one hand slowly up his chest and gently wrapped her fingers around the back of his neck before she let them playfully thread their way into the hair just above his quickly warmed skin. She pulled herself into him as she walked fingers upward slowly.

 As much as he had wanted to shoot her from an airlock before, he felt something unfamiliar as she looked up at him with the intensity that she did.

 “A man that could sweep me off of my feet,” she whispered before she suddenly pushed off of him. “And get me the fuck away from <em>you</em>.” 

 Kallus balled up his fists and had to stop himself from doing something he never thought he would.

 He almost hit her.

 “Stop making it so easy,” she said as if she had read his mind.

 Kallus had all he could take. He grabbed her arm hard and pulled her into his chest as he turned and pushed her against the wall behind him, “be as immature as you want, but I have to at least keep you alive to avoid a shitload of paperwork.”

 “Read the room, <em>Alexsandr</em>. No one here was ever safe for me to be around,” she said sarcastically as she waved her hand around in the air as some sort of grand gesture of unnecessary suggestion. “And you’ve managed to make it worse.”

 He gave her a long, silent look that made her turn her head to the side in perplexed contemplation before she narrowed her eyes. “What exactly did you mean, then,” she asked with a dark warning in her voice.

 He looked around before he leaned down and whispered into her ear, “he’s a mark.”

 “You brought me on a fucking mission,” she growled in his face before she took an unforeseen swing at his side that he probably should’ve seen coming considering her frustration with him had visibly grown.

 Kallus caught her arm just in time and pulled it up to her face level before he slammed her wrist into the wall, “an easy one,” he said down to her.

 <em>What the hell would you know about covert ops anyways, droid girl.</em>

 He locked eyes with her as she glared at him with complete fury. He needed her to calm down before she blew <em>both</em> missions, but as he felt her body heat radiate intensely against his chest his attention shifted just long enough that he almost missed her free hand attempt at another blow.

 “All of that fancy ISB training and you can barely handle the droid mechanic,” she asked with a laugh as she stood up on her toes and lightly leaned her cheek against his chin before she whispered up into his ear, “I should transfer if <em>you’re</em> the best they’ve got. ”

 Her insult instantly made him feel the wrong kind of rage as he pinned both wrists into the wall at her sides. He knew that women, or a majority of people actually, would have been, at the very least, threatened. Most would’ve been terrified. Not her. She deliberately didn’t try to fight him back. Instead, she moved her face to maintain eye contact with him the entire time that he held her down.

 “You finally got me where you want me.”

 “I have a pocket full of bugs I need to go plant and then you and I have unfinished busi-,”

 She cocked her head and looked at him with a flash of sincerity. “You’re afraid of being alone,” she said quietly.

 “What the fuck are you talking about,” he snapped, “where did that even come from?”

 She watched him turn defensive in an instant at his truth.

 “It’s why you womanize. There’s no connection so that you feel safe when you discard them the next morning.”

 He didn’t realize that he was squeezing her wrists so tightly that she had to squirm to get him to loosen his grip before he snapped them, “shut the fuck up.”

 Her eyes softened but she continued her torture. “It’s why you started bouncing from one assignment to another, but still keep that poor woman around to torture. You can’t be alone but you’re afraid of loss and abandonment.”

 “I will give you to every man here-“

 “You use power to control that fear so that you don’t have to face it directly.” She cut him off before she looked him straight in his eyes, “you’re hiding from it.”

 “Wrong,” he said darkly as he took a single menacing step forward and forcefully pushed her harder into the wall with his broad chest, “control is the only way to maintain order. I keep her, and everyone, in line with an iron fist. It’s the only way and if you don’t stop,” he tapered off, warning her that she had crossed a line.

 She didn’t care. She knew exactly what she was doing.

 “Authoritarianism is maintained by total control. Those that uphold it, the ones that <em>think</em> they are at its helm, they are nothing more than slyly played pawns tricked into believing they are on the side of necessity,” she sighed quietly.

 “What the fuck do you know about intergalactic politics?” he said down to her condescendingly. “You work in the equivalent of the dome’s basement and never interact with anything that has a pulse.”

 The corner of her mouth twisted before she leaned up and gently let her cheek fall against his, “I know that legitimate order is maintained through <em>cooperation</em.>”

 “That’s a nice sentiment,” he whispered into her ear before he jerked away from her, “but completely impractical. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a job to do before I give that mouth something better to do.”

 Roan yanked her arms from his loosened grip, “I won’t be here when you get back.”

 “Everyone on this ship is on the Empire’s payroll and knows who I am and what I’m capable of. You absolutely will be staying seeing how you’ve led on literally everyone here like the fucking tease that you are.” His words made him instantly both jealous and somehow angrier than he already was. Everyone there felt exactly the way he was supposed to, but didn’t. “All I have to do is tell them a few words and you’ll go nowhere.”

 “Control stemmed from fear.”

 Kallus slammed his fist into the wall to keep himself from choking her. “You know what. Just leave, then. I don’t know how you will get all the way back to Lothal on your own though,” he said as he bent over and put his hands on his knees. He shoved his face into hers and glared at her with amber eyes darkened by rage. “I brought you here, and I will take you back when I’m done with <em>everything</em> I came here to do.”

 He froze as she reached up and gently pushed a stray strand of his hair back into place. She didn’t break eye contact as she let her fingertips ghost along his neck before her hand fell back to her side; his skin unwillingly erupted into a sea of sensitive prickles at her touch.

 Then she spit his insecurities right back into his face.

 “I’m sure that Eind can arrange something,” she whispered breathily.

 Kallus stepped back away from her, his face burned hot from both the sensation of her against his mouth and the embarrassment of her unforeseen threat.

 “After I let <em>him</em> fuck me.”

[lingrenyu]

About Brave Standard Test Type and Brave Commander Test Type commentary of Mobile Suit Gundam 00.

[essentialclothing04]

Pattern Play: Bold Prints in Men's Fashion

Men's style changes with time, acceptance new styles and trends. Among these trends, bold prints stand out. Bold prints add a dynamic edge to men's clothes. They break the tedium of solid colors, vaccinating vitality and behavior. Bold prints are not just for the brave; they can outfit any man willing to experiment. This article digs into the world of bold prints in men's fashion. We explore how to wear them with confidence and style.

The Growth of Bold Prints

Bold prints in men's fashion are not a new wonder. During these periods, men embraced floral shirts, formal patterns, and colored prints. Today, these prints make a strong response. Modern designers reinvent these patterns with a current twist. Fashion icons and influencers winner this trend, making it more open.

Why Bold Designs?

Bold prints offer several benefits in men's fashion. They allow men to express their personality. A well-chosen print can make a powerful statement. It platforms self-confidence and a alacrity to stand out. Furthermore, bold prints can raise a simple outfit. A printed shirt can transform plain jeans into a stylish joint.

Wounding Bold Prints

Styling bold prints needs balance. The key is not to overpower the getup. Start with one bold piece. A printed shirt couples well with plain jeans. This combination ensures the print stands out. For a more brave approach, mix prints. Ensure the prints share a common color or theme. This technique creates a solid look. Fittings can also feature bold prints. A printed tie or pocket square adds flair without overpowering the outfit.

Occasions for Bold Prints

Bold prints outfit various occasions. Casual settings are perfect for testing. A beach outing calls for a bold floral shirt. A barbecue is an opportunity for a printed polo. Bold prints also work in semi-formal settings. A printed blazer can spice up a formal event. Ensure the rest of the outfit remains understated. This approach keeps the look urbane and balanced.

Coolness is Key

Wearing bold prints requires confidence. Confidence makes any outfit shine. Stand tall and own your style. Remember, fashion is about self-expression. If you feel good, you look good. Coolness also helps in mixing and matching prints. Experiment with different mixtures until you find what works.

Gentle for Bold Prints

Proper care extends the life of bold prints. Follow the care commands on the garment. Wash printed clothes inside out. This technique preserves the print's vitality. Avoid harsh detergents and high temperatures. Store printed clothes away from direct sunlight. This practice prevents dying. Iron printed garments on the back side. This method protects the print from heat damage.

Viable Fashion Choices

Opting for maintainable bold prints benefits the environment. Choose brands that priorities environmental practices. Look for organic cotton or recycled materials. Support local artists and fair-trade products. Maintainable fashion ensures your style does not harm the planet.

Bold Prints in Men's fashion

Joining bold prints into your clothes can be an exciting journey. Here, we delve deeper into specific pieces and tips to help you master this fashion trend with ease.

Discovering various Types of Prints

Bold prints come in various forms, each offering a unique visual. Understanding these types can help you make learned choices.

Floral Prints

Floral prints are endless and versatile. They suggest a sense of nature and freedom. For a casual look, choose for a floral shirt with jeans. For a more polished presence, pair a floral blazer with custom-made slacks. The key is to choose floral patterns that resonate with your style.

Regular Prints

Regular prints are modern and uneasy. They include shapes like squares, triangles and circles. These prints work well in modern settings. A geometric print shirt can be paired with chinos for a smart-casual look. Ensure the regular origins are balanced to avoid graphic confusion.

Animal Prints

Animal prints are bold and brave. They include patterns like leopard, zebra and snake. These prints can be delicate but paying when styled properly. An animal print jacket can add a daring touch to a simple outfit. Keep the rest of your dress loud to let the print shine.

Mental Prints

Mental prints are creative and creative. They feature original designs and color systems. These prints are perfect for making a statement. An mental print shirt can be the focal point of your outfit. Pair it with solid-clouded pieces to maintain balance.

Social and Cultural Prints

Cultural and ethnic prints draw motivation from various traditions. They include patterns like African family prints, Indian block prints, and Japanese themes. These prints add a unique, global touch to your clothes. A shirt with an cultural print can be balancing with neutral jeans for a balanced look.

 Bold Prints Ties & Bow Ties

Accessories are a subtle way to join bold prints. They allow you to test without awesome your outfit.A printed tie or bow tie adds a pop of character to formal wear. Choose prints that balance your suit. Flowered or regular patterns work well with solid-colored suits. Confirm the print size is balanced to the tie's size.

Pocket Squares & Socks

A printed pocket square is a small yet impactful accessory. It adds a dash of flair to your blazer. Match the pocket square with your tie or shirt for a cohesive look. Play with different folds to showcase the print. Printed socks are a fun way to add bold prints. They peek out slightly and add interest to your outfit. Choose patterns that align with your overall style. Ensure the colors match your trousers and shoes.

Scarves& Footwear

A printed scarf is both stylish and functional. It adds warmth and personality to your attire. Choose for prints that match your outerwear. A floral or abstract print scarf can enliven a neutral outfit. Printed shoes are a bold avowal. They can transform a simple outfit into a fashion-forward collective. Choose prints that line up with your apparel. Ensure the rest of your outfit is understated to let the shoes stand out.

Mixing Prints & Start Small

Mixing prints can be scary, but with the right approach, it can create a outstanding look.If you're new to mixing prints, start with understated mixtures. Pair a printed shirt with a floral addition. Confirm the prints share a common color to maintain cohesion.

Poise is Key

When mixing prints, balance is vital. Avoid pairing two large prints together. In its place, mix a bold print with a smaller, more subtle pattern. This approach creates graphic accord.

Color Coordination & Test and Adjust

Choose prints with matching colors. This technique ensures the prints work well together. Use a color wheel to identify musical color mixtures. Fashion is about challenging. Try different print mixtures to find what works for you. Adapt your choices based on the time and your comfort level.

Cyclical Thoughts Spring & Summer

Bold prints can be adapted for different seasons. Choosing the right fabric and print can make your outfit season-appropriate. Lightweight fabrics and energetic prints are perfect for spring and summer. Opt for floral and mental prints in bright colors. Linen and cotton materials keep you cool and stylish.

Autumn and Winter

For autumn and winter, choose darker, richer prints. Geometric and cultural prints in deeper types work well. Wool and flannel fabrics provide heat and comfort.

The Role of Fit in Bold Prints

The fit of your clothes knowingly impacts the overall look of bold prints. A well-fitted garment improves the print and your appearance.

Conclusion

Bold prints in men's fashion are a vibrant and expressive trend. They offer endless options for creativity and personal expression. By understanding different types of prints, styling them correctly, and joining them into your wardrobe, you can master this trend with confidence. Remember, fashion is a reflection of your personality. Embrace bold prints and make a statement. Let your clothing speak volumes about your style and personality.

[braveggg-hq]

The two Brave units were waiting in Wing C yet, each spending their own time in their own corners of the wing. Seeing how Gunmax was being extra firey and crude. Not that it wasn't expected, though it wasn't something to be excused. The day had been long and unforgiving: all the tests, commands, unwanted but warranted checks, scans, everything for them to be sent here to wait for who knows how long.

It had been an hour since her arrival, and it seemed it may be more than a few days until another would be sent out or them being sent out. It was an estimate but it could take months for them all to be sent out if they were lucky but the rate of exams was slow. Very, very slow.

He could figure out if they were sent out due to their commissioner's request, importance, or even some bribe to get them out. the commissioner was careful with his choices, yet he knew some of them were prioritized their others. He could have figured Deckard would have been sent out first, perhaps he would be out next.

Kouryu was an airhead, that was a fact. But she was able to use that MASER of here well, a good shooter, Raw GR energy... key figures. She also seemed to get along with the public as well. But for him to get out in that short of time? He figured it was due to America's bribing, he wouldn't say he was useless, but he certainly didn't have all the best qualities compared to some of the other braves.

Perhaps it would have been better to have Volfogg sent out since he was the spy type-small, Hyoryuu was a good choice as well with his water abilities, King was another choice since he was the Scottish force's lead, and then Deckard. Some of them were just more lucky and important then himself. Maybe even Kouryu. Not that they had much say in things.

Snappy Spark of Gold

@braveggg-hq

reply to ♡♡ Rebooting Hearts Prompt♡♡

A lot happened. Firstly, the AIs– all of them fell to MIA– and the organizations were in an uproar. The small group of cybertronians was worried as everyone else, and Ghostwire was stricken with grief along with her worries.

And lastly, a mini bot was no longer a mini bot. Despite being slightly mellowed out, a fire in Phantasma’s soul burns. She is worried, doesn’t get her wrong, but Phantasma grew understandably irritable each day by no news about the situation– and her baby sister’s seeming constant depression.

With enough of the radio silence, the dull blue and gold femme marched towards the building. The surfacing anger grew as the femme approached the draw, walking past the works and pleading for Phantasma to stop and listen.

She was exhausted from hearing stop with no satisfactory answers. Phantasma wants to give everyone a piece of her processor.

[f3lldrag0n]

[murumokirby360]

GundamVersusV3: Gundam Extreme Vs. Maxi Boost - 057 Brave Commander Type Gameplay

Tagged: @ftgxsee, @lordromulus90

[lesser-mook]

[gundamfight]

[darthveda]

Gundam00 -A wakening of the Trailblazer- 7th Anniversary!!-

Artwork by  巴