#we still looked up more walkthroughs than i care to admit (it was a lot)
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the heroes of hyrule
this was supposed to be a sketch. oops.
#zelink#botw#loz#zelda#zelda hyrule#link loz#loz link#loz botw#breath of the wild#legend of zelda#just finished this game last week and boy. i'm hooked on THEM#zelink gives me LIFE#ALSO this game is soooooo pretty? and fun???#i'm not a gamer but hoo boy this game might make me one#except i have zero gaming skillz whatsoever#tag teamed playing through with my sis and even then with TWO HEADS ARE BETTER THAN ONE AND ALL#we still looked up more walkthroughs than i care to admit (it was a lot)#but it was a blast so w/e#can't wait for totk this weekend!!!! aaaaa#but fr zelink rights#as my not-so-soon-to-be-finished next project will prove 😌🩵💚🗡️△#idk what emojis to use so.....take a sword and a triangle skhvbvsdljhbvsd#k i'm done#zelink rights
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A Freudian Slip - Part 3
Part 1, Part 2
Masterlist
Synopsis: While a fight breaks out Zemo asks you to run away from him, you accept leaving on an eventful journey with him
Word Count: 4.5k
Warnings: Fluff, Angst, Smut
Author’s note: A final 3rd installment for ‘A Freudian Slip’ I hope you all have enjoyed this brief series! Next to come out is a sequel to ‘Perfectly Exasperating’
Bucky carried Zemo back into the house bridal style, his hands gripping tightly around Zemo’s legs and chest, and dropped him onto the sofa in the midst of the room. Zemo was knocked out from when John Walker had the brilliant idea to stop Zemo from smashing all the super-soldier serum by chucking his shield at him. You could see a nasty bruise forming on the top of his head where he was struck.
You gently run your fingers over the side of his face. At this moment he looked so peaceful sleeping, his lips pulled up into a natural slight smile, parts of his hair dangled down across his forehead, his face softened and not tensed like it usually appeared to be. You brush the hair back into its usual place, running your fingers over his feverish forehead.
You turn to Bucky and Sam, whose eyes burn into yours, millions of questions flashing through them, yet they remain unspoken. “I’ll look after him,” you tell them, turning your gaze back to Zemo's peaceful form. It was easier to stare at him than them at the moment.
“You and Zemo have been spending a lot of time together,” Sam states, raising an eyebrow at you.
“Because I’ve been making sure he doesn’t betray us,” You snap back, refusing to look at them
“Sam and I have been doing that as well and you haven’t seen us giving him bedroom eyes,” Bucky argues back, stepping forward, but Sam grabs a hold of his arm to stop him from going further.
“Look y/n, we’re just concerned about you. That guy a criminal, he could easily manipulate you,”
Your eyes flash to him angrily, “You think I would be easy to manipulate,”
“No, that’s not what I meant-” Sam says but Bucky interrupts him
“Yes. I know him, y/n, that is exactly something he would do. You can’t trust him,”
“I’ve told you already, I’m just making sure he doesn’t betray us. There’s nothing else. I’d appreciate it if you believed me,”
They sigh in defeat, glancing at each other, then back to you. “Look, I will not argue with you. Go get him the things he requires. Bucky and I need to check to see if we can find Karli. I might get a chance to talk to her again” Sam says and he and Bucky turn their backs, sending one last concerning look at you over their shoulders then disappearing.
You sigh looking back to Zemo who still slept peacefully unaware. A smile tugged on your mouth, but it twisted to a frown. You all knew damn well you had been lying. Whether you wanted to admit it, you liked Zemo. Every time you saw him, the urge to kiss his lips pulled you in. You could still feel his embrace, his kisses on your neck, shoulders, collar. The sensation of him inside you, touching you. You craved it more and more like he was your addiction.
You don’t know how you hadn’t gotten to this point of being so obsessed with him, where it had kicked in. You always found him attractive, from when you first laid your eyes on him as he broke out of the prison, you felt that attraction pull to him. You never expected it would be anything more though till that one embarrassing moment when you called him daddy in the undercover mission. You could still feel your cheeks burn up in embarrassment as you remembered that night, but you could also feel your body warm up as you thought about what happened in the alleyway. How he kissed you so passionately. So earnestly.
You had tried to deny your feelings, pretend it wasn’t there, and that kiss that never happened, but Zemo would not let you avoid him. Your eyes flickered to the bathroom and your breath hitches as you remember the intimacy you two spent together there. It was there you felt you truly saw Zemo for the person he was. A man who was lonely and broken from his past. A man who cared for you no matter what Sam or Bucky says.
You felt so scared when you saw the shield hit Zemo. Panic gripped your heart as you rushed over to him. John peered down at you like you were dirt as you cradled Zemo’s head in your lap. Sam and Bucky had run up to you and were surprised you were on your knees holding his head in your hands.
As you were observing him, Zemo's eyes cracked open, and he moaned in discomfort, bringing his hand to rub his eyes. Leaping up, you shouted at him to stay still as you fetched a flannel, running it under cold water, and brought it back to him.
He smiled as you handed him the flannel, the sides of his lips curling up like a cat. “Thank you” he mumbles.
“I’ll get you a drink,”
“You’re being very kind to me y/n,”
“Don’t get used to it,”
He snickered at your sudden switch to hostility, “Will we constantly be bouncing between kindness and hatred?”
You exhale, sitting down beside him, handing a glass of whiskey to him. “I don’t hate you, Zemo, though I really should. There’s something about you I just love and I can’t let go.”
You hesitate, both of you pondering over your sudden confession. Zemo raises the flannels of his eyes and looks over at you. His eyes, which are full of wonder, scan yours. You wanted to look away, embarrassed, but you couldn’t. You didn’t want to keep running away from how you felt.
“You terrified me earlier. I thought John Walker had killed you.”
His eyes switched to concern as his eyebrows furrowed, “I’m sorry I frightened you y/n. I- I never thought I would ever get over my wife and... I still love her but you enthrall me, you drive me wild because I want to know everything about you, feel all of you, touch all of you. It’s been so long since I felt this way and it frightens me.”
You reach out your hand to grasp his and he runs his thumb over your knuckles,
“Zemo I-”
The door opens and both yours and Zemo’s head snaps towards it as Sam and Bucky walkthrough. As quick as lightning, you let go of Zemo’s hand and strode away to the opposite side of the room. Zemo’s eyes sadly glance at you, then to his hand, and he lets out a sigh. He takes a sip of his drink, then pulls the flannel back over, his eyes settling down on the sofa.
Bucky rolls his views and wanders off while Sam grabs a seat at the table to work on his laptop. The silence was suffocating. At least for you. Sam seemed to try hard to concentrate on the laptop, but Zemo relaxed, sipping his drink and you pulled out your phone, playing a silly game to waste away the time.
“Were you ever offered it?” Zemo finally asks Sam. Sam’s gaze leaves the laptop looking at you, then over to Zemo.
“What?”
“The serum,”
“No,”
You glance between them, not knowing if you should leave or not. Sam didn’t seem to want to be engaged in a conversation, but Zemo wasn’t taking the hint.
“If you had been, hypothetically, that is, would you have taken it?”
Without a second hesitation, Sam replies, a harsh tone to his voice, “No”
“No hesitation. That’s impressive,” Zemo says, nodding in approval.
He raises his hand, taking off the flannel with a slight grunt, “Sam,” he says as he holds the flannel in his hand, his gaze unwavering from it.
“You can’t hold out hope for Karli. No matter what you saw in her. She’s gone. And we cannot allow her and her acolytes become yet another faction of gods among real people. Super soldiers cannot be allowed to exist.”
You look down to the ground, frowning at Zemo’s words, but Sam answers without hesitation, “Isn’t that how god's talk?"
Zemo’s eyes continue to glare down at the flannel, for once not speaking up.
“And if that’s how you feel, what about Bucky?”
“Blood isn’t always the solution” Sam finishes as you hear a door click in the background. As Bucky walks in, you get up and walk over to Zemo again, who sits up to let you sit beside him. He gently places his hand on your knee, your eyes flickering to each other, hiding the action enough so the others don’t see. Though you both say nothing because of the present company, it’s as if you could read each other's thoughts. You were both conflicted on what path to follow and because of that, you found solace in each other.
“Something’s not right about Walker,” Bucky mutters, shrugging off his jacket.
“Like we hadn’t known that from the start,” you mumble
“Well, I know a crazy when I see one. Because I am crazy,”
“Can’t argue with that,” Sam agrees
The two argue about the shield once again and you were preparing to stop them when the doors once again burst open and John Walker and his partner storm in. All your heads turn towards the disruption and you groan in frustration at seeing him.
“All right. That’s it. Let’s go. I’m ordering you to hand him over,”
Both Sam walks out in front of John to stop him from getting nearer Zemo. You stood up to go stand by him as well, but Zemo grasps your hand as he gets up, shaking his head. Your eyebrows turn down confused, but he doesn’t offer you an explanation.
With his other hand, he hands the bottle of whiskey over to you, then picks up his glass, dragging you over to the kitchen counter. You weren’t paying attention to what Sam and John were saying till a spear flew past them, imbedding in one pillar.
Your eyes widened as you saw Dora Milaje storm in.
One of them speaks in Wakandan to Bucky, obviously pissed. “Release him to us now” she orders in English. Zemo’s eyes glance anxiously from yours to them, his mind swarming with thoughts of how to get out.
“Hi, John Walker. Captain America.” John says walking over to them. They refuse to say anything to him, so he looks awkwardly away.
“Well, let’s uh put down the pointy sticks and we can talk this through, huh?” he says, patronising them. You wanted to facepalm because of his stupidity.
“Hey, John. Take this easy. You might want to fight Bucky before you tangle with the Dora Milaje,” Sam warns
John Walker however doesn’t listen. He proceeds to antagonise them till he finally places a hand on her shoulder and all hell breaks loose.
Both you and Zemo stand at the side watching John Walker fight them. Zemo sips his whiskey and offers you a sip. You smile slightly at his nonchalant attitude about the fight, letting him raise the glass to your lips as you drink.
Both Sam and Bucky eventually join in the fight as well, and once again you move to join them, but Zemo’s grip on your hand tightens. “Not now little one” he mutters
He peers around, watching the fight as you stare questionably at him, “Zemo what the hell is up with you today. Did that hit to the head get rid of your common sense” you whisper angrily trying to tug your hand out of his. Zemo rolls his eyes at you, clasping your hand.
“We need to go” he whispers urgently and tries to tug you towards the bathroom.
“What? Zemo, Zemo wait. What do you mean we?” You ask, grounding your feet into the floor.
He looks around at the fighting, his skin becoming whiter as he gets more worried. “We don’t have a lot of time y/n, please. I need you to come with me,”
You didn’t know where he wanted to go, or how he was planning on leaving, but you could see fear prickling in his eyes as he looked at you.
“What about Sam and Bucky?”
“They will be okay. Please y/n, I want to spend this time with you. I don’t want to do this alone,”
You stare into his eyes once more, then nod, finally making your choice.
You let him lead you back into the bathroom and close the door behind him. He quickly pushes the bath aside, revealing a passageway into the sewer.
“Ugh,” you say to yourself as you look down the hole. “Ladies first,” Zemo says, placing his hand on your back, the side of his lip curling up into a smile as he guides you over to the hole.
You shoot him a glare before grasping onto the ladder and clambering down as fast as you could, trying your best not to slip.
After a minute you reached the bottom of the ladder and Zemo arrived quickly after. It was so dark down there, but thankfully Zemo had a flashlight in his coat. Once again grabbing a hold of your hand, he guides you down a pathway.
“So this was the best escape plan you had?” you ask, your nose wrinkling at the unpleasant smell
“I’m sorry y/n, did you have a better plan?” he replies sarcastically
“Well, I didn’t know I was running away with you until a minute before,”
Zemo pauses, beaming the light on your face, making you cringe. He lowers it slightly. So it wasn’t in your eyes but still illuminated your face.
“I owe you a thank you for coming with me. I know it wasn’t a simple decision to leave your friends for a person you meet just a few days ago,”
“When you put it like that, you make me feel even crazier for making this decision,” you grumble
“But it’s okay Zemo, Sam and Bucky will be fine without me, and I wanted to be with you,”
Zemo raises his hand to cup the side of your face, his thumb running along your cheekbone. Quickly he pulls you to him, capturing your lips in a passionate kiss. His spare hand holding the flashlight wraps around your waist as he holds you there, moving his lips on yours, which you reciprocate.
As suddenly as it had started, it ended. He pulled away slightly, his lips still brushing against yours. “Thank you, little one”
His nickname for you sends shivers along your spine and you let out a husky breath. He smirks at you, turning around, and continues to walk down the pathway.
Eventually, you reach another ladder that you can climb up. You blink a lot as you emerge into the sunlight, finding yourself on a random road.
“What now?” you ask
Zemo walks over to a car, jumping into the driver's seat, and pats the passenger seat next to him. As you get in beside him he easily hot wires the car and gets the engine started.
“So have lots of experience stealing cars?” you ask Zemo and he chuckles, “When you become a criminal you pick up a lot of new skills,”
“I suppose aiding with the escape of a criminal now makes me one as well. You bring about a lot of surprises,”
“I’ve been told I am quite surprising,” he glances at you, smirking as he drives, “And seductive,”
You slap the side of his arm lightly, “Eyes on the road, mister”
“Mister? I think I prefer what you called me before. Hm, what was that again?”
You groan as Zemo brings up that embarrassing night for you, “You’ll never let that go, will you?”
“You calling me daddy? Of course not. I quite like it,”
“Where are we even going?” you ask trying to direct the conversation somewhere else
Zemo turns from looking at you to the road, the smile on his face slowly fading.
“Sokovia,”
Your breath hitches as he says the name of his country, bringing back the reminders of his previous family.
“I want to see the memorial,”
You nod quietly, not sure what you could say.
For the next ten minutes, you two sit in uncomfortable silence. All previous moments where you were having fun had faded. Eventually, Zemo sighed in frustration and made a sharp turn in the car, pulling into a secluded spot on an empty road.
He turns off the car and turns to face you. “It seems to me we need to talk,”
You look to him then away, “I don’t think so”
“Y/n” he growls
“I said we don’t need to talk!” you shout, glaring at him, but you snap your lips shut as you realised how much anger had suddenly built up in you.
Recognition flashes in Zemo’s eyes as he stares at you, “This is about my family, isn’t it?”
You look away, your cheeks burning as you knew how ridiculous you were being.
Zemo nods his head, looking at the road ahead as he thought over what to say.
“You are part of the reason I want to go to the memorial,” he finally admits
It was your turn to look at him, puzzled. He pushes his lips together as he prepares for what he wants to say next.
“I love my family. Every day, I miss them. But I also really like you y/n. You are someone I want to spend all my time and money on just to make you happy. Every time I look at you, I want to take you, no matter where we are. And I feel I owe it to my family to visit the memorial to pay respect and to accept that it is okay for me to move on,”
It felt like with his words he had lifted an enormous weight off of your shoulders. Tears sprung to your eyes and Zemo looked panicked noticing them but you grinned, placing your hand on his shoulder.
“Thank you, Zemo,”
His fingers run along your arms and up to your face, tracing your jawline. His eyes flicker from your eyes to your lips and slowly move forward towards you. Once again he captures your lips with his but this time it was gentle like he was trying to savior you. You grasp the fur parts of his coat and try to pull him closer, you can feel through your kiss him smirking.
“Would you prefer to take this to the back seat?” he rasps and you nod your head quickly. You pull away from the kiss, shifting in your seat so you can clamber onto the long seat at the back of the car. Zemo holds onto your waist as he follows you through the back. He sits down on the seat and pulls you onto him so you were straddling his waist. His hands grip tighter to your hips as you go back to making out with him while you ground on his lap, feeling wetness stain your pants.
You smirked into the kiss as you felt Zemo’s trousers stiffen and a bulge appear as you grinded on him.
“Let go of me Zemo,” you sigh as you pull away from the kiss, hesitantly Zemo lets go of your waist curious to see what you were planning. It was hard positioning yourself with the limited space you two had in the car, but you sat on your knees, pushing his legs apart as you settled between them. You reach up and tug down the zip on his trousers, exposing his boxers. Zemo sits back and watches you as you tug them down, exposing his member.
Already some pre-cum had leaked from it, which you gladly licked up, running your tongue along its side. You traced the vein that stuck out, feeling it pulse against your tongue. Teasing him, you flick your tongue over the tip, hovering your lips just around it but not going further.
Zemo finally moves, impatiently he grasps your hair in his hand and pushes you down onto his member, making you take all of him. He lets out a groan, his eyes fluttering shut as he rolls his head back as he felt the heat of your tongue on his member. You suck your cheeks in to give him more pleasure as he pumps your head up and down so that his member could go in as far as it could.
You grasp his tights to position yourself better. You could feel aching between your legs as you longed for more, but at the moment all you wanted to do was please him. Zemo pushed your head faster, grunting, feeling pleasure swarm over him. He then suddenly pulled you off his member, grabbing your arms he lifted you, getting off the seat and pushing you on so you were lying down on your back.
“Forgive me little one” he purrs as his hands roughly grasp at your trousers and quickly pushes them down, exposing your pants. “I need to feel inside you” He runs his finger up them chuckling feeling the wetness soaking through.
“Do you have a condom?” he asks, looking in your eyes, “We don’t need one” you gasp, the urge to feel him swarming you.
“As you wish,” he says, immediately pushing your pants aside and slipping into you.
You moan feeling him stretch you out but as soon as he was in you he drew back almost completely out of you but snapped his hips back into you. He thrusts with all the strength he has, pushing your body up and down on the seat.
You wrap your hands around his back, your nails digging into his back as your body moves up and down with him. His head settles on your shoulder, where he leaves hickies. Every time he pulls back from kissing and biting you he would whisper things in Sokovian that you couldn’t understand but you were sure were endearing.
His fingers snaked down to find your clit and rubbed it, sending shock waves of pleasure to your brain. You let out a loud moan as you felt the knot in your stomach tightening. As if knowing you were close, Zemo's hips thrust deeper into you, hitting the right spot to make you let loose, your walls clamping down on him as you came. He groans into your neck, feeling your walls flutter around him. His thrusts grew more erratic till you could feel him twitch in you and his seed spill into you.
He pants heavily, finally looking you in the eyes. “I love you little one,” he whispers
You smile, placing a kiss on the side of his face, “I love you too... daddy”
He chuckles and finally gets off you.
The car drive after that was comfortable. Zemo liked to drive with one hand on the wheel while the one hand resting on your thigh, as if reminding you, you belonged to him and only him. Hours later, you finally arrived at the memorial.
Holding your hand, Zemo walks up to the sculpture. He speaks to himself in Sokovian first, getting whatever he needs to say off his chest. After that he turns to you, his eyes capturing yours as they were glazed with tears, “The loss of my country, of my family, broke me y/n, but in some twisted way I am not as upset as I was about it before because it led me to you. I don’t blame you for any of it, I know you had nothing to do with the Sokovian attack just like Sam and James. I’m so glad I could spend these last moments with you.”
You look at him confused, “These last moments?”
You suddenly hear footsteps approaching and you quickly spin around, seeing Bucky appearing behind you. Your head snaps back to Zemo. “Zemo what the hell is going on!?”
He smiles sadly at the floor, then back at you, grabbing your hands. “I’m afraid I must ask something hard of you y/n. Please, can you leave”
The breath left your lungs; it felt as if your entire chest dropped hearing his words.
“... What,”
“I don’t want you to witness what must happen next,”
Your gaze flickers from Bucky who was standing back letting you two have your moment to Zemo who looked desperately at you.
“I’m not leaving you, Zemo,” you state
“Y/n…”
“NO!” you shout
“Y/n I-” Bucky says walking forward, but one death glare from you quickly shuts him up.
“How could you ever ask something of me like that, especially after... after everything that has happened,”
“I should have told you y/n, I’m sorry, but I needed to spend these last moments with you because you are so special to me, I didn’t want to ruin the moment by telling you what was to come,” tears gush from your eyes as you shake your head at him, He steps closer to you, holding your head in his hands, using his thumbs to wipe away your tears.
“And because I love you, I don’t want you to see this. You know there is no other way out of this. It has to happen, and it’s okay, I’m ready. Just like I could with my wife, I know you’ll be able to move on and find someone who will give you everything I can’t and never will because you deserve so much better than me,”
“I love you,” you whisper, the hot tears spilling down your cheeks. Your eyes examine every detail of his face, trying to ingrain everything in your mind.
“I love you little one,”
He pulls you into one last kiss, gentle, but the romantic moment drowned in sadness.
You pull away. Turn around. You don’t look at him. You can’t because you know if you do you won’t be able to leave. You glare at Bucky though you know as well as Zemo it isn’t his fault. You walk a slight distance, just enough so that they are out of sight, and then you collapse on the floor.
Your hands into the ground, pulling at the dirt as you let all your pain out, trying to hold in your sobs. How is it you had fallen for that man so quickly? You loved him; you had risked giving him your heart, and he was pulled so quickly from you. You felt betrayed; he didn’t tell you what he was planning, but you couldn’t bring yourself to hate him for it either.
You don’t know how long you stayed there, but you opened your eyes when you felt a shadow fall over you. Looking up, you saw one member of the Dora Milaje looking down at you.
Your eyes widen in surprise, and then you gasp, connecting the dots. “Zemo'' you whisper, jumping off the ground and running back to where you last saw him. Sure enough, as you arrived you saw him being escorted to the Dora Milaje aircraft.
Hearing your footsteps, Zemo glances over at you. Sadness flickers in his eyes as he stops walking to look at you, but they grasp his shoulder, forcing him to look forward and to keep moving. You watch as they escort him away, till you couldn’t see him anymore.
Bucky walks over to you, looking at the floor guiltily.
“I’ll see him again,” you tell Bucky
“y/n I don’t think-”
“I’ll see him again, Bucky. You can count on that”
Taglist: @sinister-sleep @cable-kenobi @faustlyaccused @chipster-21 @icarusinstatic @yallgotkik @montypythonsholysnail @bunniwritesx @checkurwindow @huntheimpossible @jayxkelsi @avgravy @prestigious-tea @wonderwoman292 @there-goes-thefighter @multiyfandomgirl40 @freyjasamael @ineffablebean @aloyssia @hannahbal-the-fannibal
(I can't tag some of you, I'll keep trying but maybe check your invisibility)
#zemo#helmut zemo#baron zemo#zemo x you#zemo fluff#zemo fanfic#zemo smut#zemo imagine#zemo x y/n#i love zemo#zemo x reader#tfatws#marvel#daniel brühl#mcu
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I don’t want to keep things casual
Yuta is off traveling for work, Y/n is keeping busy with their job, and both of them are struggling with being apart from one another. When Yuta calls Y/n and Yuta have a conversation about their relationship and what they want from one another.
Part of the long term couples series
Walking through the house you have recently purchased you scribble down notes of parts of the home you are going to update, walls that are going to be removed, and any other ideas that filter through your mind as you pass each room. You could hear your partner in the front of the house talking to the rest of your team about when they should be here and if they would be working under you or him. Their voices fade as you enter the master bedroom. You loved this room it was the whole reason that you had wanted to buy the house in the first place. It was at the back of the house and had large French doors that led out to a patio.
In your head you were picturing the future owner of this home waking up and walking through those doors and out onto the patio where they would sit in comfy chairs and eat their breakfast while sipping coffee. There would be lazy weekend mornings where they would spend their whole time out there enjoying the beauty of their yard and each other’s company. Your plan was to make the rest of the house feel as calmly as this bedroom and patio made you feel. It was going to be a lot of work the previous owner had not taken care of the place and let a lot slip. You could see the potential in this home and your partner could see it as well. That was why after walking through the home one time the two of you had put an offer in.
This project had come at the perfect time. It was going to require a lot of attention and was the perfect distraction from Yuta. The two of you had agreed on just being friends with benefits. Yet, you found yourself wanting to be around him all the time and wanting to get to know him better and he seemed to be on the same page as you. When he had told you that he was going to be gone for a few weeks you had thought that it would be good for the two of you. It would remind you both that you were supposed to keep things casual. In reality all the separation has done is make you realize how much you want to be with him and miss him.
“Y/n you done with your walk through?” Turning towards the doorway Alex stands there with his arms crossed over his chest. His eyes accessing the room before they land on you. “I sent the team home and told them that we would get started tomorrow on everything.”
“Thanks, and I think I have everything down that we need. I might do one more walk through just to make sure we haven’t missed anything. Are you heading out or staying?”
“I got to head out. I promised the boyfriend that we would have date night tonight since I canceled our last one and I can’t miss this one. He might break up with me this time if I cancel.” You laugh at that there was no way that Alex’s boyfriend would break up with him. They loved each other completely and it would take more than a canceled date to break up the two of them.
“Alright, tell Jun hi for me,” you hug Alex and walk with him back to the front of the house.
“I will and he told me to tell you that you are not fooling anyone, and he wants to meet whoever you’re seeing soon,” your mouth drops open at that statement. How in the world did he know that you were seeing someone? You hadn’t told anyone about Yuta and had made sure not to give anything away about you seeing someone.
“Don’t ask how he knows. I’ve learned to stop questioning his skills a long time ago. Just talk to whoever it is and let them know that their time as remaining a mystery is numbered.” Alex bumps his shoulder into yours before heading down the walkway. You watch as he gets into his car and drives off before turning back to the house to do your final walkthrough.
As your writing down some ideas that you have for the kitchen your phone starts to ring. Looking over at it you smile as you see Yuta’s smiling face on the screen, requesting that you facetime with him. Picking up the phone you answer the call and hold it up to your face. In a few seconds you see Yuta’s smiling face, hair fanned out as he lays on his bed. Just looking at him steals your breath away and you are once again reminded how much you have been missing him these past two weeks.
“Hi, did you just get back to your hotel?”
“Hmm,” Yuta nods, “today was busy and I’m going to sleep but I wanted to talk to you and see your face before I did.”
“Ah have you been missing me?” you coo while leaning onto the counter.
“I have a lot actually,” Yuta admits, and you smile back at him.
“I’ve been missing you a lot as well,” the admission comes out easier than you thought it would. You hadn’t planned on telling him that you were missing him but hearing him say it made it easier for you to tell him how you were feeling.
“So much for keeping things casual,” Yuta laughs, and you join him. The two of you were ridiculous for thinking that this was going to be casual and for only realizing now that you’ve spent weeks apart that you don’t want to be without the other.
“I think we were doomed from the start. We should have known from the moment that we had breakfast together that we weren’t going to be able to keep things casual,” thinking back to that morning you remember how you had felt when you saw him in your bed and then taken him to breakfast. You didn’t want your time with him to end and that should have been your first clue that the two of you were never going to be able to keep things casual. There was already so much chemistry between the two of you and the more time the two of you spent together the stronger your connection got.
“It’s your fault if you wouldn’t have shared your breakfast with me, I would have dropped you right then and there,” stresses Yuta, you roll your eyes at that comment.
“No, you wouldn’t of. You have been falling for me from the moment we met!” A blush starts to appear on Yuta’s cheeks, and he looks off to the side avoiding eye contact with you. When he looks back at you, you raise your eyebrows up challenging him to say otherwise.
“Where are you by the way?” Yuta leans up closer to the phone like he is trying to get a better look at your surroundings and effectively changing the subject. “That’s not your place.”
“It’s not I’m at work,” you confirm.
“Work is someone else’s kitchen? Just what is your job?”
“Nope nice try but I’m not telling you anything. If anyone is going to win this bet, it’s going to be me.” You stress.
“Come on you should tell me since I’m the one who admitted first that I miss you and can’t do the casual thing.”
“You didn’t admit that you don’t want to do casual you just admitted to missing me and sucking at keeping things casual,” you point out not wanting to let him win this argument.
“Fine,” Yuta sits up and brings the phone close to his face, looking straight into the phone and locking his eyes with yours Yuta says, “Y/n I miss you all the time and I don’t want to keep things casual between the two of us. I want to be with you all the time. I want to tell my friends that I’m with you. I want to go out on dates with you instead of just holing up in your place with you. I want more. How’s that for an admission?”
Dam you should not have challenged him. How were you supposed to respond to that? You were not expecting him to just lay it all out like that.
“Um it was pretty good,” you stutter, “but I’m still not telling you what my job is.”
Throwing his head back Yuta laughs. You could watch him laugh forever you think, and you find yourself bringing the phone closer to you just to enjoy his face and laughter more.
“Alright I’ll let it go for now. But I’m going to figure it out eventually. Especially since we aren’t keeping things casual anymore you can’t hide it from me forever.”
“You can’t keep yours hidden forever anymore either! If we are really going to do this, I’m going to find out your job as well. And we can’t have secret between us anymore. Relationships are a completely different thing from hook ups.” You inform him wanting Yuta to know that if you two are really going to move from casual to an actual relationship that things are going to be different.
“Oh, don’t worry Y/n I know that things will be different. I’m counting on it,” there’s a glint in Yuta’s eyes and you are starting to wonder what you have gotten yourself into.
“Guess we’ll see who figures it out first,” you tell him not wanting to give in and enjoying the silly game the two of you are playing.
“I guess we will! I should probably get going. I have another busy day ahead of me,” Yuta frowns and you understand how he feels. You don’t want to end the call either.
“How much longer are you going to be gone?” You ask.
“Two more weeks and then when I get back, I’m taking you out on an actual date,” you smile widely at that. An actual date with Yuta you couldn’t wait.
“Hurry back then,” Yuta nods and right before the two of you end the call you remember what Alex told you and you get a wicked idea, “oh and before I forget you have to meet two of my friends, they already know about us!”
“What?” Yuta practically shouts, his eyes wide. You laugh as you give him a wave goodbye and end the call. Laying your phone down you smile at it as you think over the conversation that the two of you had.
When you answered the call, you had figured it would just be the two of you flirting with one another and making plans to get together when he returned. You did not think that it would lead to the two of you admitting that you miss one another and want more. You definitely did not think that it would lead to Yuta telling you that he wants an actual relationship with you and then him telling you that when he returns, he would be taking you out on an actual date. Your phone pings and you see a message from Yuta.
Yuta: If I have to meet your friends you have to meet mine. They were onto me weeks ago
Laughing you reply to Yuta and shake your head at yourself. How the two of you thought you could ever do casual was beyond you. You were both clearly bad at it, from hiding it from others, to keeping your feeling in check it was a failure a wonderful failure.
@readers-posts
#nct 127 imagines#nct 127 reactions#nct 127 scenarios#nct 127 fluff#nct 127 oneshots#nct 127 drabbles#nct 127 fanfic#yuta x you#yuta x reader#yuta x y/n#yuta fluff#yuta imagines#yuta reactions#yuta scenarios#yuta oneshot#yuta drabbles#yuta fanfic
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A Little Bit Scandalous, Baby Don’t Let Them See It // Ashton Irwin
There’s really not much explanation for this one. Last month when the content started dropping from Calum’s birthday weekend at The Invisible House, my clown brain took over and I got an idea that just wouldn’t leave. I then unfortunately developed a migraine that also wouldn’t leave (lol) so I didn’t get to write this for a few weeks but once I sat down to do it, it was done in basically a day. I don’t often do plotless smut but I’ve decided to own this filth for what it is. Thanks to @cal-puddies for convincing me not to add 2500 more words of justification and also for letting me know when I was describing this idea that I “went a little too Daddy” and it needed to be an Ash story even though it was about Cal’s birthday 😂
Warnings: Boyfriend!Ash meets Dom!Ash vibes including a fair amount of dirty talk, a few uses of “Daddy,” some general manhandling and loving roughness. Unprotected sex in an established relationship, brief oral sex on a male, hints of voyeurism/exhibitionism
Word Count: 2.8k
Masterlist // Ko-Fi linked above (New taglist sign-up coming soon)
Let me know what you think!
“The bedrooms are all clear!”
“Well, the whole house is all clear, babe, that’s kind of the point.”
“That joke hasn’t gotten any funnier since the first time you tried it, Ash.”
Your boyfriend rushes up behind you and slides his hands into the back pockets of your jeans, squeezing your ass through the material. “You’ve missed my jokes and you know it,” he insists, his loud laugh echoing through the seemingly endless room.
You hate to admit it but he wasn’t entirely wrong. You and Ashton hadn’t seen each other very much lately; your days were spent working from home, too exhausted on most days to make it over to his place for a visit while his schedule was consumed by the band starting work on their new album.
The guys had recently taken to going on mini getaways out to the desert to work; it was clear they missed travelling together as much as they missed playing music and this was a fun and safe way for them to combine the two amidst the ongoing lockdown. When they decided to plan their latest session for the week of Calum’s birthday and make it a “family trip” by inviting their significant others to join, you were thrilled.
Through some of her connections, Crystal was able to book a trendy lodging known as The Invisible House. With a pool running alongside the living area, floor to ceiling glass windows and an entirely mirrored exterior, the property was truly a sight to behold. You drove yourself out to Joshua Tree on Friday after work and spent the weekend lounging, catching up and exploring with everybody.
For you, the one flaw in the house’s design was that it was built as one long continuous rectangle, with only the occasional partition used to divide rooms, so as not to disrupt the lush views. While the desert surroundings were undeniably gorgeous, you would’ve much rather been surrounded by Ashton. You assumed a weekend away would’ve meant some quality time getting reacquainted with each other’s bodies but with your friends always in such close proximity, the opportunity had not presented itself.
Until now, you think to yourself. Everyone was outside chatting and packing up the cars while you and Ash were assigned to do a walkthrough of the house to make sure nobody had left anything behind. Sierra and Luke had popped in about 10 minutes ago to say goodbye and from where you’re standing, you can see Calum, Crystal and Michael still trying to divide up their luggage and the band’s equipment between their cars.
You spin around in Ash’s hold, wrapping your arms around his neck and planting a heated kiss on him. You can tell he’s momentarily taken by surprise but he quickly responds to your passion, tangling his tongue with yours, letting his hands wander around your body.
“So then… you have missed my jokes?” He chuckles when you pull away, attaching your mouth to his neck.
You roll your eyes amusedly, moving to bite gently at his earlobe, tongue teasing around his earring. “We’re finally alone,” you say suggestively, hoping he’ll understand your meaning.
He quirks an eyebrow at you. “Uh-huh,” he says pointedly, pressing you tighter against him. “And I suppose that’s giving you ideas, isn’t it, baby?”
You smile coyly, holding his hands on you. “Well… I don’t know about you but I was certainly hoping we’d get some time together this weekend. It’s been a while, we’ve been so busy.”
Ashton grins. “Well… I did offer to take care of you last night.”
You give him A Look. “Sliding your hand down my pajama pants and offering to rub one out for me wasn’t really what I had in mind,” you counter wryly. “All while our friends were just a few feet away.”
A mischievous look crosses his face. “Our friends are just a few feet away now and you’re still coming on to me,” he points out, gesturing towards the vast windows surrounding you.
“It’s different. We’re in here, they’re out there. They can’t see us.”
He smirks at your statement, almost as if he was hoping you'd say that. “Is that so?”
“It’s mirrored glass,” you shrug impatiently, pulling his hand in the direction of the bedrooms.
Ash clearly has other plans, pulling you back into him and kissing you so deeply your head spins. You don’t realize he’s walking you across the room until you feel your back hit the cool glass of the window. You pull away to ask what he’s up to but can’t quite find your words, the mark he’s sucking into your neck and the way his hands are gripping your tits under your shirt proving to be quite the distraction.
“Let’s go, baby,” you pant, squeezing his arms. “We don’t have a lot of time but I need you.”
He turns you around and presses you against the glass, rocking his hips against you, letting you feel that your desire is reciprocated. “If you’re so sure no one can see us, what’s wrong with me taking you right here?”
You recognize the edge in his voice and your body responds with a shiver; he always knows what you need before you do. “I’d like that,” you reply earnestly.
You hear the two forceful spanks his hand gives you before you feel them and you gasp when the sting registers. “I’ll fuckin’ bet you would... get my cock in you, get to fill your incessant need for attention by pretending that everyone can see what a filthy girl you are for me,” he taunts, undoing his belt. “But you’ll get off knowing that in reality I’m still the only one who gets to see you like that, isn’t that right, baby girl?”
You turn to face him, chest heaving but offering him a wide grin. It’s been too long since he’s had you like this. “Missed you, Daddy.”
“We’ll see about that,” he teases, leaning in to kiss you hard. He tugs at your shirt and pants as he pulls away. “Off.”
You purse your lips, not wanting to argue but also not seeing the point in getting undressed for what should be a quickie.
Before you can question him, Ashton explains. “If we’re gonna do this, we’re gonna do this right and that means you naked for me. Now.”
You bite your lip to keep from moaning as you watch him pull his cock out of his fly and begin stroking. You lock eyes with him before you start taking your clothes off but you notice his gaze roaming up and down your body as you disrobe. You can’t remember the last time you felt so powerful.
You stand bare in front of him, waiting for whatever comes next. It’s taking everything in you not to reach down and relieve some of the tension building between your legs but you know better.
He walks over to you, hard cock out and shamelessly demanding attention, distracting from his still fully clothed body. He wraps his hand around the back of your neck, his kiss much lighter on your lips than you expect, making you whimper with need. His tongue has just finished tracing over your bottom lip when he leans over to your ear and whispers the words you'd been hoping you'd earned: "Good girl."
As soon as the words leave his mouth, he turns you back around and you quickly throw your hands out to brace against the glass, spreading your legs, hoping that your eager cooperation will win you some favor with him.
It’s bizarre looking out the window and seeing your trio of friends across from you, laughing and organizing their belongings while Ashton is breathing heavy on your neck, rutting between your ass cheeks a few times before dragging his fingers through your wetness, using it to slick up his cock.
“I’d remind you we need to make this quick but you’re so fuckin’ wet for me, I know it’s not gonna take much to make this needy pussy cum, is it, baby girl?”
You feel yourself throb in response and before you can even fathom responding, he’s sliding into you and suddenly that’s the only thing that matters. You hang your head and let out a long, low groan. “Yessss… fuck,” you moan as he slowly moves in and out of you, giving you a little more of his length each time.
“How long has it been, baby? You sure you can still take all of me?” He teases, leaning to rub at your clit a few times, enjoying the way it makes you squirm.
You breathe deep, appreciating the way he’s stretching you out, the way you always think you remember how good he feels inside you, only to realize that no memory even comes close to the reality of being wrapped around his cock. “Always feels like it’s been too long when you’re not in me, Daddy,” you pant, moving your hips to let him know you’re ready for more. “Need you all the time.”
“I know, baby,” he says sweetly, running his hand slowly down your back with a surprising gentleness. “Gonna give my baby girl what she needs.”
Ash quickly sets about making good on that promise, setting an ambitious pace for himself as he drives his cock inside you hard and deep. You can vaguely see your own reflection in the window and find yourself hypnotized by the way you respond to him; how your face contorts when he hits just where you want him to, the way your tits bounce as he moves against you, the force with which your entire body is propelled by his thrusts.
You feel the beginnings of something stirring in your core and without giving it a second thought, you slide a hand down to your clit, circling it to help yourself along. You’re alerted that Ashton has noticed your choice when you feel his hand tangle in your hair and yank your head back towards him.
“I don’t remember asking for help, baby girl,” he notes sternly. “You were being so good for me until now, too.” He pulls out and you whimper as your pussy continues to thrum, having been so close to climax but now so devastatingly empty.
“Don’t fuckin’ whine, just because you can’t behave doesn’t mean I'm gonna miss out on this pretty pussy makin’ me cum.”
He walks you closer to the glass, pressing your body up against the window and pinning your arms above your head before he pushes back in. He uses one hand to hold the both of yours while his other snakes around to toy with your clit. “How’s this, baby? Were you actually worried I wasn’t gonna make you cum? Disappointed you think I’d let you down like that,” he mocks, faux guilt dripping from his voice.
“No, Daddy, you’re always so good to me,” you murmur, senses overwhelmed. “It just felt so good… got too excited.”
“Fuckin’ impatient is what you got,” he corrects, nipping at your shoulder.
His hips are hitting into you at that delicious angle again and you both can tell that the rhythm he’s found on your clit is going to send you over the edge fairly soon. You hear him choke back what sounds like a genuine laugh and your eyes open in confusion, wondering what could have caused his reaction.
You hold your breath as Michael and Calum walk closer to the window you're about to cum up against. Your eyes search the landscape and you see Crystal in the distance, leaning on the car, taking a phone call. The guys must have decided to give her some privacy and are now hanging out and chatting by the rocks straight in front of you.
Your mind races as you try to recall with certainty if you noticed any visibility when you and the girls were out there taking pictures together the other day. It just looked like a mirror from that side… right?
It’s as if Ash can read your mind as he taunts, “Mirrored glass, right, baby? No way they can see how fuckin’ greedy you get when you have to go a few days without my cock.” He’s breathing heavy now too, clearly excited by the thought of a potential audience. “Couldn’t even wait a few more hours for me to get you alone, needed it so bad you’re letting me have you up against the glass with everyone right there… my greedy girl, what would they think?”
It’s hard to say if it’s because of the questionable situation or Ashton’s teasing words but you feel yourself getting close again and you start to moan. Loudly.
“Just because they can’t see you doesn’t mean they can’t hear you, baby. You really want them to know how bad you want it?” he sneers, working your body faster. “If they can hear your sounds, do you think they can hear how wet you are for me? How hard and deep I’m fucking you?”
You try to keep it down but as you start pulsing around his cock, you can’t help the cries that escape your lips. Ash’s hand moves up to your mouth in a feeble attempt to muffle your outburst. “Aww baby, you know those noises are only for me to hear, when will you learn how to control yourself?” His reprimand only makes you cry out more.
He grunts at the feeling of you nibbling at his palm, still experiencing intense waves of pleasure from your orgasm. He feels your body still tensing in his arms and sees your legs shaking and he decides you need some comfort. He strokes your hair and coos, “Such a good girl, cumming so hard, squeezing me so tight. Does it feel good, baby?”
You hold yourself on the window again, trying to catch your breath. “So good, Daddy...”
He kisses the back of your neck before he continues searching for his release, rough hands massaging your tits as he bounces you on his cock. You softly murmur encouragement, lost in the feeling of pleasing him and the dreamy haze from your own orgasm.
“Where do you want it, baby?” He asks breathlessly. “Kinda want to make you drip for the next 100 miles but you’re such a good girl, you can choose.”
“Wanna taste,” you answer instantly.
“That’s my girl,” he smirks, pulling out and watching fondly as you get on your knees.
You lean your head back against the window and raise your brow expectantly, waiting for him to continue. He gently runs a hand over your face before guiding his cock between your lips. It’s his turn to brace against the glass as he thrusts inside your mouth; you grip the back of his thighs, moaning around him, loving the feeling of being used by him in yet another way today.
Ashton huffs out a string of curses followed by a breathy cry of your name and you feel spurts of cum shooting across your tongue. You rub up and down his legs soothingly, soft sounds of satisfaction leaving your throat as he finishes rocking himself against you.
You pop off of his cock and press a kiss to the tip, smiling up at him as he tries to collect himself, still propped up on the glass. He leans down and kisses you tenderly, hands gently caressing your face.
"This was a good idea, baby," he breathes.
You tousle his hair and smile as he stands back up. He takes off, mumbling something about grabbing the Kleenex box from the bathroom and you hum contentedly, satisfied with your reunion.
Still on your knees, you turn around to peer out the window, wondering how much time you have left before your friends start asking for you. Michael and Crystal catch your attention first and you notice they only have a few items to go before the cars are fully loaded.
You squint, wondering why you don’t see Cal. You laugh to yourself, wondering if he got tired of their project and decided to lay down in one of the cars.
You start to jokingly suggest this to Ash when out of the corner of your eye, you spot some movement. You look up to see Calum, cigarette in hand, standing directly in front of your window. A knowing smile paints his face as he looks down at either his own reflection or at you. You can’t be sure. You surprise yourself as you realize that you can’t say for certain which scenario you would prefer.
You’re still staring out the window, speechless, as Ashton re-enters the room. He unsuspectingly jokes, “Goddamn, baby. Which one of us is gonna get some mirrored glass installed back at home?”
————-
This will most likely be the last fic with this particular taglist as this one has gotten really cluttered with inactive users or changed usernames and it breaks the post so often! If you want to continue to be notified of my fics, be on the lookout for a new sign-up post coming soon!
@mymindwide @suchalonelysunflower @pxrxmoore @loveroflrh @ghostofmashton @sexgodashton @feliznavidaddycal
@cashtonasfuck @megz1985 @angelicfluffs @findingliam-o @youngbloodchild @irwinsbetch @everyscarisahealingplace
@wiildflower-xxx @metalandboybands @realisticnotes @makeamovehemmings @golden166 @burstintocolor
@youngblood199456 @notinthesameguey @seanna313 @zhangyixingxing1 @stardust-galaxies @zackoid
@lovelybonesetc @xsongxbirdx @justhereforcalum @ashtonangst
@calumrose @karajaynetoday @jazzyangel242 @babylon-corgis @heyheyhaleyd @calmsweetcreature
@spicylftv @talkfastromance4 @holystxne
@meetmedowntown @myloverboyash
@irwindoll @carrielfisher @lukedorkyhemmings @creampiecashton @lovelywordsblog
@trix-arent-for-kids @uh-huhh-honey @tobefalling @aladyofalbion @likehuhdude
@curlycalums @cxddlyash
@fedorable-killjoys @iamcalumswhore @i-like-5sos
@aquarius-hood1996 @babylonashton
@begluketostay @mateisit-balsamic
@crazyforcal @neso-k @deliciouslydisturbed365 @blxndeprincess
#5sos smut#5 seconds of summer smut#ashton irwin smut#ashton smut#ashton irwin fic#Kindahoping4forever#A Little Bit Scandalous#kh4f fic#smut#idk guys this just happened and i'm pretty sure i'm not sorry about it#i truly have nothing more to say lmao#the clownery speaks for itself#Feedback is appreciated#Cass also said my titles are getting FOB lengthy now but listen my fics are already too wordy so why shouldn't the titles match?
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Heart Fragment Walkthrough: Clive
In a lot of ways, Clive is similar to the protagonist. He has the same cynical view of the world, the same sharp tongue, and the same inability to be honest with himself. The strange events that bring Clive into your life make you wonder, though: is he an ally? Or an enemy?
Note: Most endings have multiple ways of getting to them. This is a guide to guarantee you get them all, but feel free to mix and match or experiment with your own ideas!
Endings Overview
(for those who don't want a full guide, just the general idea of how to get the endings; if you want a step-by-step guide instead, keep reading!)
Clive branch 1 criteria: certain traits will add points towards this branch. Branch 1 can be unlocked by focusing on the following traits: genuine, nurturing
Clive branch 1, good ending, romantic: end the route with a pink heart or higher
Clive branch 1, good ending, platonic: end the route with an orange heart or lower
Clive branch 2 criteria: focus on the following traits: nosey, paranoid, cautious
Clive branch 2, good ending, romantic: end the route with a pink heart or higher
Clive branch 2, good ending, romantic BONUS: end the route with a pink trait or higher AND the bold trait unlocked
Clive branch 2, good ending, platonic: end the route with an orange heart or lower
Clive bad ending 1: choose "Little Red is eaten by the wolf" during Act 2 of Clive's route, then choose "Keep on running" later on
Clive bad ending 2: choose "Little Red is saved in the end" during Act 2, then choose "Run" and "Turn to look" later on
Clive bad ending 3: have the paranoid OR cautious trait unlocked on Saturday of Act 2, and avoid the previously mentioned bad endings
Clive bad ending 4: have the paranoid trait unlocked on Wednesday of Act 2, then choose "Don't meet up with him"
Clive bad ending 5: choose "Don't do it" when prompted in Act 3, AND do not have the cautious or nurturing traits unlocked
Clive bad ending 6: have cautious trait unlocked on Saturday of Act 2 OR have Clive's heart at dark blue or lower
Full Walkthrough - Common Route
Be polite
Don't disturb her
Yeah, it's me
Sit near him
Search your mother's name
Read the obituary as well
Should I start posting selfies too...?
Ask Shannon about mutants
Offer to shake his hand
You are seriously all crazy
Yes
Yes
Walk in
Admit you're curious
ask all the questions available
Don't pull away
Do more research on your laptop first
Don't tell Kay
I'm not too sure about this yet
Speak up yourself
Tell her it was about something else
Nah, I can go by myself
Yes
Yes
Ask if you can draw Kay
Were you blind from birth?
They can be different now
Don't disturb them
Don't do it
Yes
Yes
Post about yourself
The panacea
Yes
Jasper
You don't think it's too late for that?
Thank you
Welcome home
Your father
I think it has improved
Superpowers
...a good power to have
I want to know more
Your teacher
No, sorry
A full nights rest does sound good
I was just curious
Yes
Post about yourself
Run away
click the eye in the bottom left when it appears with Shannon to read her heart
Tell her about your father
Yes
I feel inspired lol
Do I really need to move?
Am I going to survive this...?
Follow him
Clive is behind a tree, slightly right of center on the screen
Are you saying I was attractive?
Tell him why
Tell Shannon that you're moving
type in "Clive" when prompted for his name
Don't reach for it
Don't reach for it
Don't reach for it
Don't reach for it
Reach out to the hand
I'll tell Clive
I'll tell him about Jasper
You can come again
select the red/orange fragments
Fantasy Intro / Act Zero
Maybe we can hang out
So you think I'll be safe from now on?
CREATE SAVE POINT 1
Text her
Let's meet up soon
I guess I'll go outside for a bit
I am scared, to be honest
Leave the subject alone
Mention all the dreams you've had
Please tell me
Give him the benefit of the doubt
Pancakes are great!
Alright
Yes... I want to talk about it
Ask about his interests
Maybe I should give it a try someday
Yes I am
Maybe
there are three shells on the screen (one small, one medium, and one big). the small shell will lose the contest, medium will end in a tie, big one will result in you as the winner. it's up to you which you do but the medium shell will add a point in favor of Clive's branch 2. the small one is near the very bottom of the screen, slightly to the left on the shore. the medium one is near the shore down from center and slightly to the right. the big shell is a little bit away from the shore and further to the right than the medium shell. end the search by finding the feather at the bottom right corner on the sand.
Grab his arm for support
I'm not happy
Clive Act One
So... what shells did you find?
I should get some rest
...nice (romantic) OR ...interesting (platonic)
Keep your eyes shut
A latte
I'm not sure
I really miss him
Tell the truth
It's alright
Go to the forest without hesitation
Stay
How did his heart end up this way?
Try messaging him on StarxSocial
Sure
Clive Act Two
I believe you
Get up and sit next to him
CREATE SAVE POINT 2
What's wrong?
How long ago did you meet?
Leave the matter alone
CREATE SAVE POINT 3
...Little Red is saved in the end
It sounds like fun
I'll take your word for it
Thanks for bringing me here
...afraid of storms?
Let's take cover somewhere
Suggest continuing in clear weather
I want to play it with you (romance) OR the game sounded fun (platonic)
Reply to Clive (romance) OR reply to Shannon (platonic)
It's kind of nice to have him around
You should stay for lunch
I wish I could have told you where I was
You are pretty bad at it
No, you can stay
Ask what Lana means by that
I am enjoying myself
CREATE SAVE POINT 4
Run
Keep on running
Steam achievement granted for continuing to run: "Filthy Mutant!"
I'll keep fighting
Message him now
I'm worried about you (romantic) OR I hope you're safe (platonic)
choose neither option; instead, click the window curtain
Steam achievement granted for clicking the curtain: "Clive? Are you there?"
I believe Clive has a genuine explanation
Meet with Clive
Steam achievement granted for meeting up with him: "Benefit of the Doubt"
I don't believe that
Clive Act Three
1 update will show up on your phone in the bottom right corner while in Lana's living room, check it
Touch his hand (romantic) OR Offer words of support (platonic)
I want to be closer to him (romantic) OR I do care about Clive (platonic)
Come back to the city with me
Steam achievement granted for inviting Clive to come with you: "Come With Me!"
Leave the topic alone for now
Cover him with a blanket
I like the way you are now (romantic) OR You already remind me of Kay (platonic)
Try to contact Jasper
Clive is more handsome than I thought (romantic) OR Why is he so self-conscious? (platonic)
Yes
Clive End Branch 1
1 update will show up on your phone in the bottom right corner after you got to take a nap, check it
Don't go (romantic) OR Be careful (platonic)
1 update will show up on your phone in the bottom right corner while on the beach with Clive and Gray, check it
Steam achievement granted for reaching Branch 1 ending: "My True Home"
RELOAD SAVE POINT 2
Clive Act Two - Guide to Branch 2
You don't need to hide in your hoodie
How long ago did you meet?
Ask him about it
...Little Red is eaten by the wolf
It sounds like fun
I'll take your word for it
Why did you bring me here?
...stalling to spend more time with me?
Let's run home quickly
Suggest continuing when the weather is clear
I'm willing to try it
1 update will show up on your phone in the bottom right corner after you get home from being with Clive, check it
Reply to Clive (romance) OR reply to Shannon (platonic)
It's kind of nice to have him around
You're leaving already?
I wonder what's up with the coincidences
No, you can stay
React by being flustered
Run
Turn to look
Steam achievement granted for turning to look: "Friends with the Enemy"
Clive was working with him
I want to find out the truth from Clive!
Message him now
I'm worried about you (romantic) OR I hope you're safe (platonic)
Maybe it was Lana's phone
I want to know his side of the story so far
We'll talk, but not in person
Some people aren't supposed to exist
Touch his hand (romantic) OR Offer words of support (platonic)
I want to be closer to him (romantic) OR I do care about Clive (platonic)
But you could still get hurt
What happened to him?
Steam achievement granted for asking what happened to him: "Nosey"
Cover him with a blanket
You can't replace Kay
Try to contact Jasper
Clive is more handsome than I thought (romantic) OR Why is he so self-conscious? (platonic)
No
Clive End Branch 2
1 update will show up on your phone in the bottom right corner while talking to Clive in your bedroom at night, check it
...I love you (romantic) OR ...you're my best friend (platonic)
Steam achievement granted for reaching Branch 2 ending: "Internal Consequences"
Bad Ending #1
RELOAD SAVE POINT 3
...Little Red is eaten by the wolf
It sounds like fun
You could word that a bit better
Why did you bring me here?
...afraid of storms?
Let's run home quickly
Wait until he invites you again
Reply to Clive
I think he's sticking a little too much
See you later, then
I wonder what's up with all the coincidences
Do whatever you want
Run
Keep on running
Steam achievement granted for reaching bad ending: "Deal with the Devil"
Bad Ending #2
RELOAD SAVE POINT 4
Run
Turn to look
Bad Ending #3
RELOAD SAVE POINT 1
Don't text her
I'm going to stay inside
It's terrifying
Ask her about it some more
Read her heart when the eye symbol appears
Keep it to yourself for now
Refuse to be friends with him
CREATE SAVE POINT 5
It'll be fine
I do prefer waffles, actually
Alright
Yes... I want to talk about it
Ask about his interests
Maybe I should give it a try someday
No I'm not
No way
find the feather in the bottom right of the beach
Grab his arm for support
I'm not happy
So... what shells did you find?
No way, let's have a rematch
I should plan my next move
...weird
I need to look eventually!
A latte
Well...
I don't really know
Make something up
I prefer you don't pry anymore
Go to the forest without hesitation
Leave
How did his heart end up this way?
I hope he's safe right now...
Sure
Don't give up
I still want him back!
I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt
Maybe a little
You don't need to hide in your hoodie
Do you spent a lot of time with Clive?
Ask him about it
...Little Red is saved in the end
Isn't it too childish?
You could word that a bit better
Thanks for bringing me here
...afraid of storms?
Let's run home quickly
Wait until he invites you again
Reply to Shannon
It's kind of nice to have him around
You're leaving already?
I wish I could have told you where I was
You're embarrassing him
CREATE SAVE POINT 6
Leave it for another day
Steam achievement granted for reaching bad ending: "Quiet. At Last."
Bad Ending #4
RELOAD SAVE POINT 5
I don't trust him
Pancakes are great
I'd rather not
I don't want to talk about it
Walk in silence with him
Click the eye when it appears to read Clive's heart
I need to keep an eye on him
No I'm not
No way
find the feather in the bottom right of the screen
Get up on your own
I'm not happy
You can go home now, you know
I should plan my next move
...weird
Keep your eyes shut
Black coffee
Well...
I don't really know
Make something up
I prefer you don't pry anymore
Think it through
Click the eye when it appears to read Jasper's heart
Leave
I want to help Kay...
Can I really trust him after that?
I dunno...
Give up
But what will happen to Clive?
Steam achievement granted for reaching bad ending: "You did that wrong"
Bad Ending #5
RELOAD SAVE POINT 6
Go meet with him
Run
Keep on running
I'll keep fighting
CREATE SAVE POINT 7
Leave it here
Steam achievement granted for reaching bad ending: "Fool..."
Bad Ending #6
RELOAD SAVE POINT 7
Take it home with you
Wait it out a bit longer
I want to know his side of the story so far
CREATE SAVE POINT 8
We'll talk, but not in person
Some people aren't supposed to exist
Offer words of support
Clive has grown on me
You should leave town too
Say good night to him
You can't replace Kay
Don't do it
achievement granted for reaching bad ending: "Poison"
Bad Ending #7
RELOAD SAVE POINT 8
Don't respond
#heart fragment#clive#clive heart fragment#walkthrough#heart fragment walkthrough#otome walkthrough#clive walkthrough#otome game#otome games#otome#english otome games#english otome game
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Game 34
As of yet, there’s no proof that there’s going to be a 34th game. Her Interactive has answered a few fans and said that they were working on a game, but who knows what that really means? To get a semblance of an idea, let’s do a deep dive.
Starting with the past couple of weeks, HeR is selling all of the physical copies of their games, as well as some other products (like their physical puzzles). I watched a YouTube video that said that while this may seem like a bad sign, it might not be. For starters, many of the physical games have been sold out for literal years because they only make a set amount of physical copies. When they run out, that’s it. So this isn’t a completely new thing. However, they are doing a mass sale. On the one hand, it could be a last ditch effort to get whatever money they can before calling it quits. But on the other, it could mean that they are trying to make the best financial decision that they can think of. Story Retold (LJ), on YouTube, works for Her Interactive and commented on that video in early April.
The most accurate explanation is that we at HeR Interactive wanted to celebrate the month of April as Nancy Drew’s anniversary. 💜 We made it themed as collectibles but yes, once the physical units sell out, we don’t make anymore. :(
I personally don’t believe that that is the only reason. It makes sense that they want to honor Nancy Drew’s anniversary (the first book came out in April 1930), so maybe that’s why they chose this month? But I feel like that can’t be the only reason.
I agree with Nancy Drew Walkthroughs on YouTube that Her Interactive probably has to pay for storage to keep physical items, so by selling the games, they won’t have to pay for the storage. They’ll also be making money off the games that they otherwise would not be making money from. As we have learned with the pandemic, and as marketers have known for decades, having people panic is a really effective way to sell something out. It’s why so many websites will have flash sales, the biggest words will be “for a limited time only,” and sometimes they’ll tell you how many copies of the product there are left, how many people have it in their carts, or they’ll say “hurry now, less than 50 left!” Even if you realistically had a long time to buy that product or the company actually has a lot of the product left, they create artificial scarcity and manufacture panic so that you’ll make impulse purchases. While it feels kind of slimy, it is effective when done right. And, correct me if I’m wrong but, I don’t think that Her Interactive has really done this before. So it seems like they might be stepping up their marketing which could be a good sign for the company.
I think this could be the company taking a step in the right direction to make everything digital. Although I absolutely love having physical copies of the games and other memorabilia, I also think that we are living in an increasingly digital world, and it only makes sense for them to get with the times. Go digital, spend less money on making physical games, etc. So many laptops these days don’t have CD/DVD drive, so many of their older games (and their newest game) have issues which can be especially hard with a disc, and so many stores don’t sell the physical games anymore. With a smaller, probably not very wealthy, company, it makes no sense for them to waste money on this. Like I said, I love collecting the physical copies, but I don’t really use them, and younger people coming across the games will probably go for the digital version, probably even buying it directly from Steam. (Which kind of a side note, kind of related, this article on Her Interactive is really interesting. It mentions that HeR kind of fought putting their games on Steam, because Steam took too big of a cut of their money. But I do think that that’s better than not having any of your games sell. And if they’re going completely digital, and almost all of their games are on Steam now, it seems like maybe they’re modernizing and progressing.)
While this could be a bad sign and I don’t want to get my hopes up too high, I do have some hope that it might actually be a good sign that they are finally getting smart.
Another thing that could either be worrisome or a good sign is that they changed offices. In another video from that same YouTuber, he talks about how Her Interactive still has the address that they’ve had for years on their contact page, but on their privacy policy page, they changed their address to a PO box. Plus, there’s a listing for their old office.
Obviously, this could be a bad thing, because they no longer have an office, and that just doesn’t sound good? But this also means that they’ll be saving money by doing so. During the pandemic, they’ve probably had to work at home anyway, so why pay for an office that no one is going to be in? It also makes sense, because at this point, they probably are not the ones making the games. They’re a marketing team who gives the Nancy Drew name to other companies to make the games. All of this can be done from home. LJ also commented on this video in early April, saying:
As far as I know, we are NOT going out of business. 😋 We are all remote working now, since our team (including a male) is all over the U.S. Our work is digital, so it’s an easy change.
Something else that he talks about in that video is that they changed the layout of their website. He points out that it costs money to pay someone to change a website, especially where it seems like multiple details have changed. Hate it or love it, you have to admit that the website is more sleek, modern, and just a different vibe to what it was before. Why would they put in the money for a website and company that’s going to be dead soon?
Lastly, he discusses the company’s change in advertising. I hadn’t even noticed the change (mostly because I don’t look at what they post; I only come across it if it’s posted by someone on here), but when he pointed it out, I did see the difference. The picture advertisements that they post are better quality (not necessarily in content, but in size and resolution). They’ve also changed the font that they use, they’ve ditched the logo, and they use random pictures as well. Regardless of whether it’s good or effective or not, it is a change. Here are two examples (one, two) from the past two years, and here are two examples from the past two weeks (one, two).
This change in marketing is also in line with their Facebook posts. Facebook is the social media that they are most active on when it comes to engaging with fans, at least from what I have seen in the past. But at least since January, they didn’t respond to any comments until they announced that they were selling out all of their physical copies. They didn’t respond to too many questions, but they responded to a few, for the first time in literal months. If they were shutting down, why would they start caring about answering fans’ questions now?
I also found information about some of the stuff that HeR has been doing in the past 2 weeks. I don’t have an account on the website so I can’t see all the information, so I don’t know what was blurred out. I also can’t see any other “scoops” about them, so I don’t know what they’ve done in the past, and I don’t know if this amount of activity is normal or more or less than they usually have. But the company has been doing a few things here and there, so as I keep saying, maybe this is a good sign.
With all of this being said, it seems like Her Interactive might not actually be going under. We can’t be sure, but we can have a little bit of hope. But even if that is true, just because they’ll still be a company, does that mean that they are going to make any more games?
I honestly don’t know. There isn’t much information out there about game 34, but I will still compile the information that I’ve found here. Unfortunately, it gives us nothing other than them maintaining that there will eventually be another game.
(Timeline) TL;DR: I think that the key points are that they started saying that they were working on the game in December 2019 (as far as I can tell), but since then they’ve also said that they were planning the game. To this day, they are saying that they can’t give out any information regarding the new game yet and can’t make guarantees as to when they can release any information, let alone the game itself. The only thing LJ has seemed to say with certainty is that the next game will be made on Unity. They also have confirmed that there will be some improvements from MID, but it will be similar.
Some other tidbits from this that sound promising but probably don’t mean much: they have said that it shouldn’t take as long for future games as it did for them to make MID, they’ve mentioned that there are plans for multiple more games, that we should subscribe to their newsletter to stay up to date with any new information regarding anything (game 34 or otherwise), and LJ hopes to share news in the near future.
And other things that they’ve said that I’m 99.99% sure don’t mean anything at all: Nancy might potentially someday go on a boat in the future, LJ likes jump scares too “😉,” and Bess and George might appear in future games. (The first two are probably just jokes and fun, but the last one seems like it could be true, just because they’re in most of the games in some way or another.)
Lastly, some speculations: the next game might take place in Austria, and they might address the drama between Nancy and Ned.
Now here is the timeline.
On May 8, 2017, someone from Her Interactive said: "Yes we plan on making a 34th ND game. No is hasn’t been designed yet. Yes there will be a teaser at the end of MID, but no, we haven’t decided on what that teaser will look like yet." Obviously, it’s been years and plans can change (proven by the fact that there was no trailer at the end of MID, lol).
In December 2017, Her Interactive posted a letter about why MID was taking so long to come out. Here was the most important part:
As you may recall, we are moving to a new engine to be able to develop a game not only for PC/Mac but also for tablets, consoles, and now for the increasing popularity of augmented or virtual reality. Very exciting! Part of us going down this path was to ensure that we have multiple platform options for future Nancy Drew titles so that all Nancy Drew game fans and those new to our games could play these amazing games no matter what their preferred device or platform.
This versatility means that the design and development of our games are even more complex than in the past. Our PC/Mac game design will work for players on the go with tablets and possibly for players that may want to immerse themselves in the mixed reality world. We are also constantly evaluating new technologies and trends in the game industry. Consequently, this is why it is taking much longer to develop this title than previous ones. This thoroughness will put HeR Interactive in a better position for the future while providing us with the tools necessary to continue to deliver amazing experiences for our fans.
On January 2, 2018, LJ responded to a comment on the blog saying, “Hello Carmen! South America is always a possibility for future game locations. However, we haven’t planned that yet. MID will be available for PC as well.”
On July 21, 2019, a Reddit fan posted a response they got from Her Interactive. They explained that they lost trust in the company and would not be preordering the game. They responded with their reasoning for the game taking so long and how it won’t happen in the future.
We are moving to a new engine to be able to develop a game not only for PC/Mac but also for tablets, consoles, and now for the increasing popularity of augmented or virtual reality. Very exciting! Part of us going down this path was to ensure that we have multiple platform options for future Nancy Drew titles so that all Nancy Drew game fans and those new to our games could play these amazing games no matter what their preferred device or platform. This versatility means that the design and development of our games are even more complex than in the past. Our PC/Mac game design will work for players on the go with tablets and possibly for players that may want to immerse themselves in the mixed reality world. We are also constantly evaluating new technologies and trends in the game industry. Consequently, this is why it is taking much longer to develop this title than previous ones. This thoroughness will put HeR Interactive in a better position for the future while providing us with the tools necessary to continue to deliver amazing experiences for our fans.
On October 1, 2019, they responded to a fan on Twitter saying, “Hello Grace, the consistent schedule back then was on a system that never changed or upgraded with the times. Once we get the structure of this upgraded game done, the future games will not take 4 years to make.”
On October 2, 2019, they responded to a fan on Twitter saying, “The frustration is understood. We hope to be more accurate in the future, and to regain our players' faith in the next game release.”
On October 4, 2019, they responded to a fan on Twitter saying, “Hello Lisa, we understand the frustration and loss of trust in us. Since this game was designed from the ground up, we have certainly learned a lot and will be applying our lessons to the future games.”
On October 4, 2019, they responded to another fan on Twitter saying, “Hi highly doubt the next game will take this long - since we had re-designed from the ground up in a new system this time. We apologize for lengthy delay. :(”
On November 6, 2019, two users on Gameboomers made comments:
One said that LJ said there wouldn’t be a trailer for the next game after MID, but “she did say that there were some ‘early ideas’ floating around for the next game.”
The other got an email from Her Interactive that said, “We will absolutely be releasing more games after Midnight in Salem. We cannot commit to a release schedule as of right now since all of our focus is on MID. It will definitely not take us as long for the next title to release. Four years is not the new normal.”
On December 3, 2019, Midnight in Salem was released. The end of the game didn’t have a trailer for the next as is the tradition for Nancy Drew games, but there seemed to be some drama between Nancy and Ned, and she mentioned wanting to go to Austria. A user on the Her Interactive message boards pointed out that the game was outsourced to an Austrian company so that might be the reasoning. But maybe it could be the plan for the next game.
On December 3, 2019, an article came out about the company that said, “Her Interactive has already developed a Nancy Drew VR proposal based on one of the books with a Spanish director, but it's more likely an AR project would come to market first.”
On December 17, 2019, a user on the Her Interactive message boards said that they emailed Nancy’s new voice actress who confirmed that there will be more games where she will play Nancy.
On December 29, 2019, they responded to a fan’s DM on Instagram asking if they were going to make another game to which they said. “Absolutely! We’ve already begun!”
On January 7, 2020, LJ responded to a comment on the blog saying, “Hello Oona! Yes, we are planning on more Nancy Drew games. Can’t say when the next one will be released, yet. 🙂”
On January 8, 2020, LJ responded to a comment on the blog saying, “Hi again Jillian! I’m not sure on the release month or year just yet, but I do know it will not take 4 years to make. 😉”
On January 10, 2020, LJ responded to a comment on the blog saying, “Hello SWhite5052! I’m not sure what the intent from our designers is for poor Ned. I’m a big fan of Nancy’s boyfriend, and I do hope we get to have him in-game someday, be Nancy’s hero and also take her out on a romantic date. 😉” I don’t think this really means anything, but I hope it means that she has hope that there will be future games.
On January 28, 2020, they responded to a fan on Twitter saying, “Yes, there are plans for more Nancy Drew games. :)” Plural?
On February 3, 2020, LJ responded to a comment on the blog saying, “Hi Jam5022! We do not have any news to share yet, but we are working on the game. 🙂”
On February 11, 2020, LJ responded to two comments on the blog:
“Hello felicity18! Glad to hear you enjoyed Midnight in Salem! The leads didn’t add a teaser to the end of the game per tradition since we are secretly working on the next one, and haven’t put together footage to share or tease on it yet. Stay tuned for future updates!”
“Hi Madi! Ship of Shadows was shelved, meaning we stopped working on it. At this time, we are only focusing on the main mystery adventure line.”
On February 20, 2020, LJ responded to two comments on the blog:
“Hi Sarah! Yes, the next game will be made on Unity. 🙂”
“I hope so, Nicole! I always like having Nancy’s best friends on the case with her! No promises just yet, but it’s likely for a future game. 🙂”
On February 25, 2020, they responded to a fan’s DM on Instagram saying, “New game info coming shortly. Stay tuned!” This didn’t happen.
On April 13, 2020, they responded to a fan on Twitter saying, “Hi Anna! When we have news on the next Nancy Drew game, we will be sure to share it! #NancyDrew”
On May 22, 2020, they responded to a fan on Twitter saying, “No news to share yet, but we are working on it!”
On September 13, 2020, someone on Reddit said that there was an untitled 34th game on Wikipedia. As they pointed out, anyone can edit entries on Wikipedia. But almost 7 months later, it hasn’t been taken down.
On November 29, 2020, someone on Reddit posted LJ’s response to a YouTube comment. “Game 34 is in the works. That’s all I can say for now. :)”
On December 1, 2020, LJ responded to some comments from October 2020 on a blog post:
“Hello! Game 34 is in the works. Stay tuned for future updates and be sure to subscribe to the newsletter for when we announce news. Glad you liked the graphic!”
“Hello! No news yet to share at this time, but that we are working on it. Keep an eye out in future newsletters for future bits of information. 😀”
“Sadly, I do not have anything to share about the next game. 🙁 I hope to be able to tease out clues in the future, though!”
On December 4, 2020, LJ responded to some comments from October/November 2020 on a blog post:
“Hello, beka! Sadly, I do not have any new info to share about the future game at this time. 🙁 I hope to share news with you in the future!”
“Hi Stephanie! It has been a while, hasn’t it? Sadly, I do not have any news to share at this time. As soon as I have some that I can share, I will!”
“Hi Natalina! It has been a while since we have had a Twitch stream. Sadly, we do not have any news to share yet about the next Nancy Drew game. Stay tuned!”
“Hello Foundation2430, things have certainly changed since Sea of Darkness. I am limited to what we can share behind the scenes, but once I have things I can share with you about the current and future games, I will. I don’t think the next game will take 4 years. 🙂”
On December 11, 2020, LJ responded to a comment from a blog post saying, “Hi ali! We are working on the next game, but we do not have a release date for it just yet.”
On January 6, 2021, LJ responded to a comment from a blog post saying, “Hello Natalina! Sorry, I do not have any news to share about new Nancy Drew games or projects. 🙁”
On January 8, 2021, LJ responded to two comments on the blog:
“Hi Aly! The next game is indeed in the works. Sadly, I cannot share anything about it at this time. 🙁 But I do hope you have a great new year as well! I hope to share more secrets with you in the future!”
“Hello Sanjeet! Happy New Year! We do have game 34 in the works, but I cannot share anything with you at this time. 🙁”
On January 28, 2021, LJ responded to a comment on a blog post saying, “Hi Cleanna! I think Nancy spending time on a ship is a great idea, too. Hopefully, she will get to do that in the future!” I doubt that this will happen, but she didn’t have to answer it this way. I guess it was probably to create some hope.
On February 2, 2021, LJ responded to two comments on the blog:
The first response was to a fan who talked about VR where she said, “Hello Madi! Thanks for sharing your concern. We have seen others comment their worry about the graphics since they get easily sick from motion as well. We are keeping this in mind for our future games. 🙂” I don’t think that they ever really planned to do VR, but she didn’t have to add that last part. Again, I’m guessing it was to create some hope.
The second response was to a fan who asked a question on January 15th where she said, “Hi Jessica! I do not know when the next game will be released, but once I have info, I will be sure to share it!” She answered this a few days after she answered the first question, when this was the first comment on the post. I wonder if she didn’t skip it, but rather waited until she could say the right thing.
On February 15, 2021, LJ responded to a few comments on a blog post:
The first comment asked if they’ll share any information on the game this year to which she responded, “Hi Rach! I do not know when news will become available to share. Sorry!” I understand this because MID was a hot mess where they kept giving dates and time frames that they couldn’t keep. But if they’ve been supposedly working on this since November, a year should be plenty of time for them to give some information, right? That they’ll keep the same voice actress for Nancy, part of the plot, who a phone character will be, the state or country it will be set in, or something super simple. Yet she couldn’t even say that she’d give any information this year.
She also responded to someone saying, “Hi Sarah! I cannot say exactly, since the behind-the-scenes work is top secret. I hope to share news in the near future when I’m able to!” One minute she couldn’t say whether they’d give out any information this year at all, the (literal) next minute she said she hopes to share news soon.
On March 3, 2021, LJ responded to a few comments on a blog post:
“Hi Lindsay! There are plans for the future. Stay tuned for news when I am allowed to share it!”
“Aw thanks for sharing! We are indeed working hard behind the scenes here. 😉”
On March 10, 2021, LJ responded to a comment on a blog post saying, “Hello Rishi! I would love to share information about our next game, but sadly, I cannot at this time. All I can say is that we are indeed planning another game. 🙂” So they’re still in the planning stage for the next game?
On March 30, 2021, LJ responded to a few comments on a blog post:
“Hi Becca! Jump scares are my favorites, too. 😉 Sadly, I do not have any news or even a date when we will share news about the next game. 🙁” (I kept the first part, because she didn’t need to put a winky face. I’m sure this is just wishful thinking, but maybe there will be a jump scare in the new game? Lol. But she doesn’t even have a date for when she can even share news about the game.)
“Hi Grace! We are indeed working on another game. I do not have any idea when we will be sharing news about it, though.” Pretty much the same, generic response.
On April 5, 2021, Her Interactive responded to a Reddit fan on Instagram about the future game saying: “Hello lorichelter! The next game will have some improvements but will be similar to MID. We’re glad to hear you enjoyed the game! Also, future games will be Mac compatible, but unfortunately we do not have plans to remaster the old games at this time. :( If we ever find a workaround for the Apple restriction of 32-bit games, we will quick to share that trick.”
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Cloud Plays White: Finale
This is a long one, folks, since I realized I had a bit in my notes I had forgotten about and only found after I posted this, lol, so I have now edited it in.
when we last left off I was criticizing Alder for being useless in apprehending Ghetsis and Iris for not just taking me to Drayden’s house herself when it is Right Fucking There.
So I’m still futzing around Opelucid here.
“No way, without pokemon, I’ll be lonely and sad! …but am I just using my pokemon, then?”
wow, seems there’s some brain cells there after all. you keep exercising those, brah.
I run into a guy who thinks that it’s okay for team plasma to take pokemon from weak trainers, even though he considers himself one and feels bad for the people they rob.
There’s another dude in the same room who used to be part of team plasma but left because it was weird for him that everyone thought the same way.
See, I appreciate this part of the game’s writing - I wish there was more stuff like this, people who are conflicted and their viewpoints being front and center instead of the simplistic garbage we’re fed by Iris and Alder and company.
Though there’s an absolute nut job who says that despite the years he’s trained with his pokemon he’ll let it go if it makes it a perfect being and I am just not even gonna unpack all the lunacy there.
There’s a kid who thinks that just because N has the legendary pokemon, he must be the hero.
I am very concerned about everyone in Unova being so gullible.
“Your Scrafty looks like it can try a little harder.”
WELL FUCK YOU TOO RANDOM LADY??? LAD DOES HIS BEST AND I WILL NOT HAVE HIM SLANDERED THIS WAY
I finally go to Drayden’s and get told how the original dragon performed mitosis and now we have two dragons and also they once destroyed the region with fire and lightning but it’s chill.
“People may hurt pokemon even more by imposing their selfish thoughts on them. But no matter what, Pokemon and people believe in each other, need each other, and will continue to live together…”
Drayden is smarter and more nuanced than like, anyone else, why is he not a main character.
Iris chips in about how much she can’t forgive Plasma and Drayden mentions they don’t know how to wake up Zekrom.
Well, to be fair, I’d be very surprised if they did.
Off to the gym, this’ll be interesting since I have no ice or dragon moves on my team.
I get through the trainers okay, now time to fight Daffodil.
Her Haxorus was a bit tricky but nothing I couldn’t handle, and when I walk out Juniper shows up.
And somehow she knows how to resurrect Zekrom. Cool!
She blahs about how it’ll wake up when it deems someone worthy and talks about how much I’ve changed and shows me to the gate where the route to the pokemon league is.
“Chirae? Do you regret setting out on your pokemon journey?”
UH.
MAYBE?
mmm, that’s not fair to my pokemon though - nigh everyone around me may be looney tunes or incompetent, but they’ve been good pals.
So I hit “no” after all.
and she gives me a master ball. dope.
I make it to the gates of victory road and I honestly really like the bit where each section of them is themed after the badges! That’s a nice touch, I think that was only also done in the FRLG remakes if I recall correctly. It makes it feel a lot more ceremonious and important.
Ah here come my two idiots.
Bianca asks Cheren to smile and he’d probably implode if he did. He finally isn’t an asshole though, good for him.
The bug badge guard tells me to “fight valiantly like an insect” which is funny but I guess does make sense. Ants can fuck some stuff up, man.
Honestly I want to be a badge gate guard, seems like a fun job.
Also, I caught an excadrill in a raid the day I wrote this, and caught an excadrill in this game. Their pokedex entry includes this gem:
“Their tunnels can be destructive to subway systems”
Given the battle subway exists in this game, their insurance payments must be obscene. Imagine getting your match interrupted by a giant mole with metal fists that doesn’t give a fuck.
I named her Beans. She looks like a Beans.
I also caught a Deino. The Irate Pokémon that can’t see and tackles people to learn about its surroundings. I feel a kinship with this creature.
I named him Mezzo for laughs.
And I managed to get myself back to the beginning of victory road. Good job, cloud.
Okay I think I’ve found the right path, found a new dude to beat up which is a good sign. Apparently he’s lost too.
Love when a trainer switches out to a Pokémon mine doesn’t have a type advantage against and it gets wiped in two hits anyway. Death is inevitable.
“I’ve thought about what I can do to help my Pokémon win and I finally figured out the answer!”
Is it git gud?
Flame charge raises my speed, opponent’s klang uses automotize to prove it can do that too, dies because it’s too busy trying to go fast.
Then I get nailed by a flare blitz. Darmanitan is toxic to gen 5 nuzlocke runs, I swear. Especially since I have no one on my hodgepodge team resistant to fire. At least my unfezant is faster.
“Read what your opponent wants to do. Your opponent is human and may change plans from moment to moment. Be careful!”
There’s some meta joke to be made there but I’m not thinking of anything witty. Something something AI having a point even if not in this context.
Back to the beginning again but I think I know what I need to do now.
I looked at a walkthrough to check, tho, lmfao. Was tired of climbing up there only to fall down the wrong spot.
“There’s an item at the bottom! Do you want to slide all the way down?”
You’re the devil talking and you tempt me but I will ignore your silver tongue for now.
So I’m at the league and I thought Cheran would pop out of the bushes before I got here. That’s weird. I could swear he fights me one last time before I challenge the elite four.
NO CHERAN. OKAY. WHAT. IS MY GAME GLITCHED??
I guess not! Huh.
All right then. Time to try and see if I can win with my very unbalanced team.
Lmfao yeah my first attempt against the ghost trainer crashed and burned. Literally, thanks to her Chandelure. Very glad I saved on the outside. TIME TO GO TRAIN MORE.
No Marty, you may not learn wild charge, this is a no recoil moves household, self harm is bad.
Some grinding later, I am ready to try again.
Shauntal gave me a little trouble but was much more manageable. Grimsley was easy, only his Krookodile gave me issues.
I really like the elite four battle areas in this gen, I do admit. Very aesthetic.
Ah shit I know that Musharna is coming.
Never mind, that pink and purple snoozeball went down easy. I didn’t have a single Pokémon faint.
Unless Marshal breaks the trend the fights have actually gotten easier as I went.
He actually was a bit tricky, gave me a good show.
Hello endless stairs, hello N and Alder, hello giant random castle that just explodes out of the ground somehow.
“What has just appeared is team plasma’s castle”
Thanks mate, never would’ve figured that out without you. Why do you need a castle.
Oh wow, the gym leaders finally decided to be useful and fight the sages for me instead of letting extremists wander around unchecked.
Thanks y’all! Trying not being pointless more often!
“Ignoring team plasma...that would be a terrible thing for us gym leaders to do.”
You all already did that, Elena. I watched as Clay and Iris let these assholes go. We could have avoided this whole plot if literally any of you had done more earlier.
So the game says the castle was built by the Pokémon team plasma took but how the fuck did they like...work underground...you know what I’m not gonna even think about it too hard because it makes no sense and I know that. I must make my peace.
I also like how the castle is nonsensical and yet there’s a line of dialogue about how they’ll liberate the Pokémon in PCs too for their Master Plan(TM), which is surprisingly thoughtful. This game is so inconsistent with how much sense its lore makes. It’ll come up with something clever and then wear its underwear on its head the next minute.
“Will you go the Pokémon league?”
Hey what - WHY DID YOU TELEPORT ME HOW CAN YOU DO THAT. DO YOU HAVE AN ABRA OR WHAT
THAT WAS RANDOM
Well at least there’s someone there to randomly teleport me back too.
WHEEEEEE
Hi Reshiram, convenient how that mini fire tornado you made didn’t burn me or N.
Hi Zekrom, convenient how your lightning didn’t hurt us either, you’re a considerate chap
Aight, let’s see if I can catch this bastard
...I did and it only took me like five balls. Okay then.
N gave me a good fight, so there’s that.
Love how Ghetsis’s bouffalant kills itself via recoil from its own move and my scrafty’s rocky helmet.
He gave me a good fight too though.
I do like the ending, despite my issues with how the game presents its message. N is a great character and I appreciate what Nintendo was trying to do with the game’s plot, they just...didn’t really delve into it like they should have.
I’m glad I replayed it. I still have my issues with gen 5 but I see a lot more of its positives now.
We’ll see if I do any post-game content, I have gotten kind of attached to my grump-ass trainersona and his weird team.
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[WALKTHROUGH + REVIEW + CG] Romance MD: Munechika Takado
Expectations:
To be honest I wasn’t super excited when I saw the trailer for Romance MD. I thought it was just going to be another teacher/student romance with the basic Voltage storylines where one or two events would get closer and they’d fall in love etc.). That being said, I was actually quite interested in most of the potential LIs even though they do seem quite conventional for the standard Voltage lineup (oresama, kuudere, darudere/4D, flirty, jokey but actually hardcore ossan). I do also like the character designs. The one I was most interested in was Kyogoku because I can’t place his type. He’s been described as a prodigy, not too empathetic, feisty, cute, has a chilly side, tricky, coy, shady, obsessed with Kasumi. So I think he’s actually one of those devil with an angel face types? Cute on the surface but actually a bit shady? Maybe it’s because of his character design but he just reminds me SO much of Shinonome from Her Love in the Force. I keep calling him Ayumu because of that and I think it would be interesting if they were actually similar because Ayumu is one of those characters that I think is quite unusual for Voltage games because he doesn’t completely fit into one of their usual archetypes.
Anyway, this is not about Sen. This is about Takado. I knew he was the title character for Romance MD but I still had all of my fingers crossed that we would get someone else’s route first like Finally in Love Again had Aki as the first release rather than Momoi (I think?). And some other games had title characters that weren’t the usual type (like Issei from Kiss of Revenge and Masaomi from Serendipity Next Door). I also think that the only characters released so far are Takado and Hosho (I’ve searched and searched to get CGs or ameblo posts about the other guys but to no avail). So I kinda hoped they would give us Hosho first LOL or maybe just surprise us all and give us Kasumi but alas.
Finally, my expectations going in were that Takado was going to be the quintessential oresama type (like Eisuke/Leon) because he has that spiky brown hair look lol? I also thought the MC was going to be like the standard MC. What a fool I was…
Click below to read the full review, plus walkthrough and CGs PLUS THE ELUSIVE MC SPRITE.
Reactions:
My first reaction is that this MC (henceforth Dr. MC) is so annoying. She wouldn’t stop running her mouth, she was arrogant, she seemed a little inconsistent? The guys accuse her of being a journal junkie at the beginning and to be honest, they’re kind of right. She’s super nerdy to the point where it’s kind of over the top? Don’t get me wrong, nerds are great. I’m a researcher. I moved to a new city to study under my academic crush too. I get it. Sometimes other MCs are annoying because they’re too wholesome and earnest. This time, it got to the point where I was begging to have OG MC traits back. I almost cried with relief when I first saw her demonstrate empathy.
I think the thing that made me dislike her almost immediately was how clinically she originally described the ICU team. It sort of felt like Voltage was trying to push the ‘these guys are beautiful!’ and the ‘Dr. MC doesn’t give a fuck about real men’ points too hard and it sort of became contradictory, especially because the narrative is read through the player’s/MC’s perspective. So she had to explain how ‘objectively’ good looking they all are without gushing and thus it became this very clinical expression of their looks while also really pushing that opposing point of “but I don’t care around real men”. I think that it would have been fine for MC to appreciate how good looking they are but sort of have a ‘snap out of it’/’pull yourself together’ moment where she reminds herself what she’s here for. Like I think it’s fine and probably in fact more relatable to be able to acknowledge handsome men and be a bookworm/academically inclined and also enjoy 2D men lol. You don’t have to treat people like specimens MC
(Just say he’s beautiful. We all know he is)
I get that they needed her to be special in some way so Matsunaga would hire her, but she could have gotten hired on talent alone. I don’t think they needed her to be all like “this kabedon does absolutely nothing to me”. Overall I think her being totally uninterested in dating doesn’t quite mesh from the perspective of the player. I’m assuming most of us play otome games because we’re interested in dating the characters or seeing them fall in love, right? The game tried to be meta and make fun of the shoujo manga/otoge tropes at least three times (e.g. kabedon, cooking for LI when they’re sick and getting close, wiping tears leading to a kiss) but honestly, I play these games to experience all that cheesy shit lol. So for me I didn’t think it was particularly clever to reference these tropes and play them off. The audience tends to play these games for these moments lmao? Right?
(I agree, Takado.)
The one thing that all Voltage MCs have, however, is persistence. And my God does Dr. MC have persistence in spades. I actually didn’t mind it too much but I think it’s because it was sort of turned into a bit of a joke so the humour kind of played a role in tamping down what might have otherwise been obnoxious (when she kept waking Takado up I was like omg just LET! HIM! SLEEP!). I do also like that Dr. MC is very competent. Her shortcomings don’t have anything to do with technical ability which is quite refreshing. In this game, Dr. MC is more just inexperienced and idealistic when it comes to the actual practice of medicine and its accompanying emotional (and otherwise) complications.
The thing that I feel is her biggest flaw is her arrogance. I know, right? A Voltage MC, arrogant?! It’s unthinkable!! Usually Voltage MCs are insecure, self-deprecating, self-doubting. At times they are competent enough, or have moments of inspiration that allow them to do well. This Dr. MC is clever, and she knows it. Unfortunately, just having read lots of journals does not a good doctor make. Luckily, she becomes more likable when she finally gets taken down a peg and actually starts listening to Takado. I feel like Voltage tried to switch up their MC personalities (as seen with Masquerade Kiss too) but I think they tried to make Dr. MC snarky and sassy but she just comes across as arrogant/rude a lot of the time, like have some respect for your seniors please. When it comes to backtalking MCs, I much prefer Ayumu’s or Toma’s (from Irresistible Mistakes) MC. But at least Dr. MC is not as awful as Luke Foster’s MC in Kissed by the Baddest Bidder. Luke’s MC is my least favourite of all time and I honestly think he needs to leave her.
Also! I think with the JP version, you can choose whether or not to have the MC sprite. In the Love 365 version, you aren’t given that choice but the elusive MC sprite does pop up randomly in one frame.
(Tbh I prefer it without the sprite bc her hair reminds me of 2015/2016 me lol)
Her interactions with the other doctors is quite enjoyable, particularly with Kyogoku and Hosho, although I have to admit they’re enjoyable because Kyogoku and Hosho are really fun. I especially enjoyed with Ekuni joined in and did like the little snippets of Kasumi time you get as well. I do wish there was more time spent in the Pen (with Kalmia!) but alas, you get what you can. Kyogoku seems nicer than I expected he would be (because I really thought he would be Ayumu 2.0 – maybe he will be in his own route, but he does come off nicer than that snarky devil Ayumu). Kasumi also seems less cold than I expected. Hosho and Matsunaga were basically how I thought they would be, and Ekuni too to some extent, although I wasn’t expecting Ekuni to be such a mum and give them custom drug cocktails to pump them full of nutrients lol. I want Ekuni (my future husband) route so badly. I’m going to end up with a whole folder of images of him with that internal dialogue board lol. I did enjoy some of her conversation with Sex Maniac/resident slut Hosho (when his route comes out I won’t forget that he went on a date with Sara from Cardio………..) as well but I feel like Dr. MC doesn’t react enough to be more interesting? I know I sound like a typical Voltage LI, you know when they’re always telling MC she’s interesting cause her face shows everything she’s thinking and they like her reactions? That me lmao. But when she does react, she overreacts. Like, she doesn’t react to intimate/sexual things but then she FLIPS OUT because Takado was AWOL for literally a day and she thinks he died. You know what, he wasn’t even AWOL, he was literally on his day off. Take a chill pill, Dr. MC - maybe Ekuni can whip up a special sedative blend for you.
Now, Takado… Takado is basically Kaga from Her Love in the Force as a doctor. Sadist, reputation as a murderer, relies on his intuition, has a violent tendency with MC, misunderstood but doesn’t care. His version of Kaga’s Iron Claw is hitting you on the back of the head, usually with a file. I really thought he was going to be an oresama type but he’s more of the rogue sadist type. I thought he was not that interesting until I finally got to chapter 17. Naturally he’s ~damaged~ lmao. But actually I enjoyed learning about his backstory. I expected him to be so bonesaw-happy because he hadn’t acted quickly enough in the past and it led to someone’s death that could have been prevented if he’d just taken their limb. The truth is actually quite a bit more complicated than that, so I did like that it wasn’t predictable. I won’t spoil his backstory but it was definitely an interesting take on the doctor-patient relationship and worked well to help Dr. MC overcome her naïveté. I will say that I feel like the number of amputations actually increased throughout the route lmao.
Speaking of HLITF, the route definitely took on an action spin that I wasn’t expecting. I was surprised that Romance MD is categorised in the Action section in Love 365 but I think the story ended up going in a direction that I’d expect from HLITF or MSB (or Metro PD? I haven’t played that though so idk) and it was quite thrilling and surprisingly dramatic. Also, as per usual, the gap moe is real with Takado. Voltage loves employing gap moe with their characters, but especially the oresama and stoic types.
Additional note: Something I really hate about Love Choice is that a lot of the time the LI backstory is hidden in a heart scene and you can only find out the truth if you pay for it. However, the route reverts back to the main text so it seems like you (MC) know what’s happened even if you (the player) don’t.
The dynamic between Takado and Dr. MC actually ends up being quite fun even though sometimes I think Dr. MC is just being disrespectful. They bicker like an old married couple. It’s like what Kaga and MC would be like if she ever dared to speak up against him lol. Takado is like Kaga in that he expresses his love more through actions. Honestly I wouldn’t be able to pinpoint the moment he started to fall for Dr. MC even if you had a syringe of poison to my jugular. You basically only find out that he treats you differently because the other doctors have a grand old time teasing you about it. That being said, there are some nice scenes where you can spot Takado treating you specially if you squint a little. It’s fine that it’s not obvious; I think it would be out of character if he just confessed his feelings lol. Personally, I believe this is a marketing trick to get you to buy Takado PoV when it comes out.
The length of the stories (30 chapters) and the pacing did remind me of old school Voltage games which I liked. It was long enough to develop Takado, his backstory and have a plot with sufficient plot points. The length also gave the blooming relationship between Takado and Dr. MC enough time to mature without feeling too rushed. While I think this improves the story quality, it also really seems like a moneymaking ploy. That being said, at least they didn’t split the story up into two parts like HLITF 🙃.
I reread my old route reviews to remind myself how to review and I said that Goto’s route in My Sweet Bodyguard was not worth the £2.49 I spent on it. I can’t believe I only had to spend £2.49!! Regular routes in Love 365 are 400 coins which equates to £3.99 and I easily spent around £15+ on all the hearts needed for this lengthy LC route 😭. Obviously it would be even costlier if you needed to buy passes if you wanted to unlock chapters early. I didn’t keep track of how many hearts in total I spent but this ameblog says that you need 207 hearts to get all the heart scenes which translates to about £21 if you start with 0 hearts, which is honestly ridiculous. The same money could be spent on FIVE main routes (or other 400 coin stories). Or FOUR full bundles (MS, epilogue, sequel, sequel epilogue) from Seduced in the Sleepless City (i.e. sixteen stories). Or THREE full bundles from Pirates in Love. Or basically every available route for Subaru, Goto, Ishigami or Kurosawa in MSB.
So while you do get quite a lot of content, it is ridiculously expensive if you wanted Super Happy Ending. Don’t skip the heart scene in chapter 28 if you don’t want to miss a kiss scene. Chapter 7 “Apologize to Takado” doesn’t offer too much I believe. Chapter 22 “Ask for details” and 26 “Explain” options also don’t add too much imo. There are a total of 30 points available, so you can skip 5 points worth of heart scenes if you want SHE but don’t want to spend all those hearts.
You may like this route if you like rogue characters like Kaga and Shin from Pirates in Love. If you are really interested and are willing to pay, I suggest playing before 12/08 (12 August) to get the collector’s edition so at least it won’t feel like a waste of money. I really wish Voltage would get rid of Love Choice and just let us buy routes, but they likely never will because they probably earn so much more with LC compared to regular routes. The normal ending is good enough honestly, he actually confesses in NE and not in SHE, but in SHE you get a kiss scene and CG. I think ultimately it would be more worth saving up your hearts for another LI like Kyogoku lol... or Kasumi (but not my future husband Ekuni because I can already tell that I want him all for myself).
I forgot to make note of how many hearts each heart scene costs before I spent the hearts unfortunately so I’m just taking the word of the blogger who says it costs 207 in total. I know there quite a few options that require ~20 hearts.
ETA: I went through my heart spending history and found the prices of each heart scene
Walkthrough and CGs below:
25 points to Super Happy Ending
Ch 1
Observe
Help Takado (Love Meter +1/CG) 5 hearts
Ch 2
Wait till later.
Flip back the covers.
Ch 3
Missy
Takado
Ch 4
“This isn’t a conversation.”
“You’re missing the point.”
Ch 5
Ignore him.
“It’s not every little thing.’”
Ch 6
Apologize
Offer an excuse.
Ch 7
Don’t apologize to Takado.
Apologize to Takado (Love Meter +2) 8 hearts
Ch 8
“Teach me!”
“What’s got you in a snit?”
Ch 9
“I’m not ready to die!”
“I value my time, you know!” (pick this one to see Kasumi being funny)
Ch 10
Stick a hand on the wall.
Lean on Takado (Love Meter +1) 10 hearts
Ch 11
A scalpel.
An aspirator (Love Meter +3) 13 hearts
Ch 12
Tail him.
Chase him and shout
Ch 13
Ask Takado.
Ask Kasumi.
Ch 14
Don’t ask.
“I want to know.” (Love Meter +1) (pick this one if you want to hear about Takado’s backstory. If you select “Don’t ask” the first time, they will ask you again if you want to know and it costs 15 hearts)
Ch 15
Ask about the Pen.
Ask about Takado. (Love Meter +1) 8 hearts
Ch 16
My duty as a doctor compelled me.
I was worried about him. (Love Meter +2) 10 hearts
Ch 17
Avoid his potential wrath.
Ask. (Love Meter +3) (pick this one to hear Takado’s full backstory) 15 hearts
Ch 18
Go back to sleep.
Carefully sit up (Love Meter +1/CG) 13 hearts
Ch 19
Stay silent, like Takado
Defend Takado
Ch 20
Stay out of it
Insist on examining the woman (Love Meter +2) 10 hearts
Ch 21
“And then they’d kiss.”
“And it’d get all tragic.”
Ch 22
Ignore him
Ask for details (Love Meter +1) 10 hearts
Ch 23
Give up for now
Talk to Takado again (Love Meter +3) 20 hearts (fml)
Ch 24
“I’m off.”
“Dr. Takado…”
Ch 25
Don’t go.
Follow Takado.
Ch 26
Feel sorry for him.14 hearts
Explain. (Love Meter +2)
Ch 27
“No need.”
“Tell me, then.” (Love Meter +1/CG) 15 hearts
Ch 28
Get some sleep.
Stay with Takado (Love Meter +3) (kiss scene) 19 hearts
Ch 29
Call Dr. Kasumi.
Don’t call him yet. (Love Meter +3) (if you choose to call Kasumi, you get a second chance to not call him which costs 22 hearts fml. If you don’t call him, you get quite a cute scene with the iCU team)
#romance md#romance md: always on call#rmdaoc#munechika takado#voltage inc#otome blog#review#otome game#voltage otome#otome romance#walkthrough#otome walkthrough#love 365#love choice#voltage
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Ray Bad Ending Story 1 walkthrough + Bad Relationship 1 walktrough
Bad Ending Story 1 (5-6 days)
1. Get into Ray’s route from 1 - 4 days in Another story
Day 5:
00:21
* I can’t go to sleep. There’s something bothering me….
* Hmm… I’m sure he has an important thing planned.
* Whoa, whoa… Let’s take it easy, Jumin.
* Does your father have a new girlfriend…. ?
* Did you eat them all? I bet you’ve been pumped up lol
* Talk about his scale… Your father’s the best!
* Does that mean we’d get to see a cat tower in the company????
* … You actually have the time to make this print?
* I think motivation works best when it comes from pressure.
* I don’t think you have to worry about me
* No, nothing.
* You mean becoming a cool-headed businessman?
* Because then more people would get to see it?
* Jumin, when do you plan to get to bed?
* ….
* Do we really have to identify who the hacker is?
* Even if Seven gives his all, he’ll never be able to beat this hacker lol
* V…is this really the best?
* …You’re trying to keep your secret, not lighten his load.
* But I think you’re already good enough!
* …At least I appreciate that you’re working so hard.
* You’re not up to something with Seven, are you?
* I’ll see you again – !
* Well, I only wish everyone’s paradise will come soon
* I wish you wouldn’t underestimate that hacker.
* I agree…. V seems to have a very strong sense of responsibility.
* I should settle down now and go to sleep.
02:44
* It’s just that this hacker is a bit frustrating
* It’s just that….I feel frustrated for some reason.
* Because he told you not to chase the hacker?
* Sure…
* Guardian? Yeah right… I think he’s just busy cleaning up the mess.
* But you gotta admit you’re not as good as that hacker…
* You should be ashamed of yourself. And admit that the hacker is better than you.
* Are you sure we can trust V?
* Hmmm…I don’t think you should trust him too much.
* If you’re good to work, why not recommend a guest? LoL
* I wish she could write this complicated situation into poems… Sure, let’s invite her…. or I don’t know…. She doesn’t sound like a good guest. (If you don’t want the email)
* …Still, you won’t be able to defeat this hacker.
* Bye –
06:03
* Seven won’t be after you anymore… What do you think about that?
* I was surprised, actually. You’re weaker than I thought
* Arrogance results in misfortunes.
* Hmm…are you sure I’ll be safe here?
* I think you should work harder if you have time to chat like this.
* You should stop chatting and get to work now.
09:12
* Hey Yoosung
* That’s because your digestive system is failing.
* Huh…..
* You’re rude to your mother!
* You should do something about him…
* Yoosung, you should keep a regular lifestyle.
* They’re both bad. Both of you need special treatment for your health
* Who knows…? Maybe your face will turn all shiny and pretty like a sunflower!
* Your mother called?
* Your efforts will all return in the end.
* You should try it. You”d see in the end that your mother is right.
* Don’t you think you’re being obsessive…by keeping your questions, Yoosung?
* Even if you are disappointed, I think it’s because she’s your mother. Try to be a little more understanding.
* But V could almost be your family in the past.
* You should obey your mother. Your family might ask unreasonable things but they provide you a place to be
* But then again…you wouldn’t know the duty of a mother, Zen. Bond with a mother is indestructible…
* One more game?
* We can all have our own ways with life – !
* You’re being unreasonable.
* Goodbye.
* He’s so immature. I think it’s because he’s not with his parents.
* He’s being immature. Someone’s gotta teach him how cruel the world is.
* If I were you, I’ll try calling them. Don’t you think it’s such a tragedy to stay disconnected from your family?
* Goodbye.
12:21
* Hello.
* Not yet…
* Why were you so busy?
* You should work on things that got delayed while standing by.
* What meaning would that have? You’ve joined the company recently, it’ll be better if you think about […]
* Here’s your boss.
* Don’t you think you’re slacking off too much?
* Don’t tell me… Jumin… Do you have a new business in mind…?
* Caps.
* I don’t think anyone can beat this hacker.
* That’s not gonna happen…because no one’s as good as this hacker. ^^
* That’s nice…We can bring both of them to this…
* I feel like having the unit’s info for dinner…
* Though I’m sure you’d need more than that to defeat this hacker.
* Perhaps the department doesn’t exist at all…
* Good luck.
* I’m not sure…
* Could you fix my computer, Jaehee?
* Congrats – !!! Haha.
* You’re so generous.
* This is your chance. I look forward to your performance.
* You can’t beat this guy anyways. So don’t work too hard.
* There might be a difference of thoughts at work here. I understand.
14:37
* What are you doing, Seven?
* It’s the only way for him to stay.
* I’m okay. I got loads of time.
* I wanna see who would win this war.
* Save is good…! DB is more than welcome! or It sounds too tricky. I don’t know about DB…. (If you want the email)
* Your hand is so pretty….
* I wanna know what your hand looks like Zen lol
* Are you feeling better? You had an argument with Yoosung.
* There’s this term to call a person who talks like you…
* …In his personal Zen Report ver. 06.
* Dying-to-brag-about-something’ mood!
* So that means your practice begins now.
* That must be a lot of pressure… You should work a lot.
* You should know when to celebrate and not.
* You should be grateful for your present day!
* This is boring! I’m outta here!
* You should get to work. Now.
* You should stop making excuses and get to work.
* You’re not slacking off, are you?
* You still won’t be able to beat the hacker…
* He’s working without even sleeping. You think you can beat him?
* Is this woman your girlfriend?
* You’re feeling down because you should.
* Good luck.
* He should deal with it. It’s his job.
* Shouldn’t you practice right now?
* Have a good day.
16:13
* All his hard work is finally paying off. Now he has to work even harder.
* Why don’t you say that after you’re done with your duty?
* I wonder if he can really do it….
* Is musical that popular among the public?
* This is a person, right?
* I don’t know. An AI…? Sounds too difficult. or Okay! Let’s send an invitation. I’d like to learn a thing or two about ticketing. (If you want the email)
* I thought you have something more important than tickets.
* So long
17:45
* Hey Yoosung…
* LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL
* Wow… I wonder what it tasts like. Let me know after you try a sip, Yoosung!
* Speak of the devil. LOLOL
* Oh GOD7… Is it not too late to buy stocks?
* Stocks come in 1+1? Smells fishy here…
* Seven, didn’t you say your’re busy? Do you have time to do pranks like this?
* He’s got a point lol
* I’m not interested in your hobby, Yoosung.
* Cooking?
* LOL
* Why don’t we now talk about GOD7’s dynamic business hobby? Give it up for Sevenstar Drink!
* You’re too fishy…. Whatever you’re selling, I’m not buying it.
* …Police won’t be good enough to stop him. I should report his agency…
* Sounds like an excuse to me.
* You should first do what you have to do with classes and work… You don’t deserve to rest if you don’t.
* Don’t waste your money on something like that.
* It’s too late for you. Forget it.
* That’s what the world wants us to do.
* I wish I could live without worrying about anything…
* Dream is nothing but a mirage.
* Since you’re giving advice…I assume you did your job well, Seven.
* Go back to work now.
* Bye…
* You should think about what to do in the future and plan accordingly
* He’s just…a different type of person from you.
* You should find ESL tutoring class instead of whining.
* Goodbye.
19:23
* What was that? You screw up just now, didn’t you?
* Looks like you’re full of faults.
* Work harder. So that I can see you’re useful.
* Okay. I’ll tell you, so first make sure you take care.
* Are you sure the savoir trusts you?
* I expect you to be better.
* I’ll see what I can do and let you know whether I like it or not.
* I also think that was a huge mistake.
* Do your best
* What is it?
* I’m not going to get in trouble because of you, am I?
* When does the elixir start to take effect?
* Don’t tell me what to do.
* I don’t like the menu.
* I’ll never leave you it you’re good enough.
* It’s a little cold.
* Keep up the good work.
21:13
* Welcome, Jumin.
* This is rather depressing, since I’m stuck in between…
* The hacker will win.
* I think it’s a waste of time…
* Patience is the key…
* Don’t you think you might prick your finger if you do it in your car?
* I think it’s better for you to review documents than stitching.
* What you lost in time never comes back. You should always focus on your every second.
* How did you get to know this person?
* Why don’t we invite Pillow Love? or Is that what you’re going to use the unit for…? Oh dear…Jaehee… (If you want the email)
* Why don’t you start with cats?
* That’s a simple naming…
* Sayonara…
23:09
* Are you still practicing, Zen?
* His hobby is his to choose –
* What’s your hobby, Zen?
* Job = hobby for you…?
* I think you should make a plan and practice accordingly.
* Shouldn’t you just do it until you make it?
* Why not ask Seven for help?
* Yoosung looks so immature. Why don’t you lecture him a bit?
* I think he shouldn’t waste his time like that.
* He’s living in a world where he has to be a hypocrite like others. I think I’d get mad if I were him.
* Whatever happens, I hope a person who hurts other will pay in the end.
* You should get to work!
* See you.
________________________________________________________________
Day 6:
00:55
* I’ve been waiting!
* That’s because you’re not working hard enough.
* Isn’t tomrrow the rehersal? Are you sure you’ll be fine?
* You’re nervous because you haven’t worked hard enough.
* LOLOL!
* You’re distracting Zen. Out!
* Lolol Zen I think you’re distracted.
* You didn’t even start your life outside of school. You already think life is pointless?
* You should always watch your behavoirs and obey the rules.
* The world is a dark place! Hopeless! With no light!
* I think he still has a long way to go until he matures.
* Oh, so this is the infamous…
* Lololololol
* What a repetition… It must have been boring.
* So…is that darkness of yours…still there in your heart?
* Think about how frustrated your parents will be with you.
* …..
* It’s bedtime for you.
* Back to practice you go, Zen
* I think you’re better off alone.
* Enjoy –
* You’re not making excuses because you’re tired of practicing, are you…?
* Have a good one.
03:17
* I had something to do.
* She said you need to do better than that.
* I have a feeling I’ll get along with her well.
* You’re not thinking anything funny, are you?
* That’s a bit creepy.
* I can drink it if I have to.
* I think you’re weak.
* Don’t make me hear such weak thoughts. I’m tired of them.
* You’re pathetic…
* Run along now.
* If you have time to show me this, you should work more on proving yourself.
* You should go. Now.
07:40
* I’m feeling gloomy…
* Situation?
* Do we have a trouble or something?
* Let’s hear it – !
* Don’t you think it’s so alarmingly sudden?
* V’s work must be awesome!
* I think you should first contact V about this.
* Maybe he wanted to get in touch with the prime minister for his grand personal plan…?
* What?
* He seems to be rather in a hurry….
* I think you’re all being overdramatic here
* What a joy, but I think V wouldn’t even bat an eye at the news.
* But he’s too high in the authorities. I’m getting nervous…
* I wish we could bring the prime minister to the RFA. That will be… so fantastic
* You do know you have less than a day till the rehersal, don’t you?
* See you.
* Maybe you should keep trying to reach him.
* It’s no wonder. They’re childhood friends.
* Congrats! The prime minister wants to buy your pictures
* Well, I am getting a bit frustrated. Isn’t it about time…?
* You should set the appointment now. Why don’t we bring him to the RFA?
* I hope the prime minister could be one of us.
* That’s just my opinion.
* I hope you consider bringing him to the RFA
* Yes…?
* Who?
10:23
* Jumin – ! You’re seeing the prime minister today, aren’t you?
* What a waste of few seconds of your life.
* Do you think there’ any meaning in temporary leisure…?
* But we can’t deny that social recognition comes before leisure. That’s unfortunate…
* I think break and hobby are the same… They prove how lazy a person is.
* I salute you, o wielder of life oh-so-empty…
* The pure essence of darkness… Oh, the might power of puberty…
* Don’t you think it’d be more lit…if the prime minister joins us?
* You must be nervous!
* You two shouldn’t get too involved in your hobbies and instead focus on your duties, with classes and work.
* Does it matter whether if you tell them apart? It’s just another way of wasting your time.
* …Anyways, I think slacking off is lazy and bad.
* Don’t ask me something like that.
* It’s a break when you do something without any thought. It’s a hobby when you use your head as you slack off.
* His world is different from ours. No need to understand him.
* That’s why we gotta choose our hobbies wisely.
* I don’t know. I’m not really interested in his philosophy… or I’m curious about him. Why don’t we invite him to the part and hear more from him? (If you want the email)
* I think hobbies are something out of our league. We should just balance work and break.
* Hmm…..
* I think that’s possible because her job is still her No. 1 priority.
* I don’t think parents are every wrong…
* Jumin, you actually know what ‘fangirling’ means?
* lololololololol
* I hope you make yourself useful.
* Do ask him about joining us…
* I think you need to get a grip on yourself.
* I don’t think this is the time for you to procrastinate.
* I’m gonna finish what I’m doing!
13:10
* I’m skipping today –
* How was it?
* The difference between talents isn’t something that can be overcome.
* Tell me about it…. I wish his pictures would see at high prices.
* How did your meeting go?
* You mean V lost this golden opportunity?
* I’m sure it’s related to that secret of his. Just what could it be?
* He just can’t tell apart his personal life from his business life, can he?
* Was the prime minster understanding?
* I think V is ill. Both his body and mind seem weak.
* I wouldn’t have let that opportunity slip away.
* He could have had a new recruit!
* Did you have a feel that V’s hiding something?
* Then that would mean we can trust him…!
* I wonder what he liked about V’s photos.
* I don’t think discussions on politicians’ looks have any particular meaning.
* I don’t know. I’ll side with the majority.
* I don’t think giant corporations will always assume the bad role in the economy, as long as there are good.
* I’m not really interested in politics.
* I didn’t know you were interesed in politics.
* I’ll see you again, Jumin.
* I think I’m close to conservative.
* Hmm, not really interested. or Good idea. I’d like to learn couple things from him too. (If you want the email)
* I’ll see you.
14:50
* Hey hey hey Yoosung
* You’ve barely done anything so far. I don’t think going to class will do any difference….
* I thought the only thing you do at night is playing games….
* You said you’d do it. Now there’s no point if you’re not the best.
* I thought you had a lot of thoughts the other day…..thinking about your dark, pointless life….
* Why don’t we change the subject? ^^
* Same here lol
* He’s got looks, good social standing, authority…. I think he has everything.
* V’s reason was kind of unreasonable….
* I think you lost your concentration here.
* Tomorrow’s the d-day for the rehersal.
* Don’t fall for such waste of time…..
* Welcome, Seven.
* Is there something wrong? It’s not related to the hacker, is it?
* You’re not relatives with the prime minister, are you? lololol
* I will…!
* I’m sure he’ll manage.
* I don’t think you have time to chat right now….
* ….I don’t think it’ll be really helpful even if Yoosung goes to help you.
* I’m not sure if this is a good idea….
* Focus on your class. Now.
* Now, back to your practices.
* A job is meant to be painful
* I want you to think about how to improve your acting before you come back.
16:37
* Why did you decline the offer for purchase?
* ….I think it’s fishy that you declined.
* Has anyone ever told you that the guilty tends to be talkative?
* V, why didn’t you invite the prime minister to join the RFA?
* Jumin, don’t you think that V and Seven…are really suspicious?
* Considering the weight of the secret burdening V, I think it’s amazing that he’s performing this much as the head
* Of course you feel complicated. You have too many secrets.
* …It looks kind of dark.
* At least there’s no doubt that flower doesn’t belong there…
* ...I think you should plant the daffodil somewhere else for the sake of the small flowers. They will suffer
* I think you’re being obsessive, V. I think the daffodil has reached a stage you can’t do anything about it….
* You should give up the daffodil. It will just ruin your garden.
* No. Rather than throwing away a problem, I think you should try to fix it until the end.
* Don’t you think we’d get to expect tomorrow because it can’t be predicted?
* You should give up if you can’t solve it.
* Come on, they don’t look alike at all.
* Explain to me later on.
* Do you honestly think….he really deserves the seat at the top of the RFA?
* Does he…still miss Rika?
* Tell him the solid truth!
* I don’t know.
18:52
* I think he’s trying to run away from reality… It’s kind of irresponsible of him.
* We should consider our audience’s state even when discussing truth, shouldn’t we….?
* Uhm….I tend to say truth indirectly, so that I won’t hurt anyone….
* Don’t you think you’re losing focus? I knew it….
* Don’t you think you’ll get disappointed in yourself if you ruin this?
* I don’t think being good is always right.
* Hello!
* What kind of wine are you drinking?
* I’ll say. I thought it’s easy.
* You shouldn’t do that to your family.
* I think everyone has evil within. You should awaken it, Zen.
* But Zen would be the master of potrayting good Dr. Zekyll. That’s his area of expertise….
* You’re good-looking. I’m sure you’ll look good with whatever expression.
* Nope he’s not.
* lolololol
* Is it your chief bodyguard?
* I knew it. You so smart, Jumin.
* Then tell him to send me an email! I’ll ask him. or
I think he’ll just be busy working even if he attends the party…. Let’s just keep him working. (If you want the email)
* Hard work matters.
* Jumin, you’re leaving now?
* Bye –
* You sure are interested in Jumin a lot.
* Go practice now.
* Do your best.
20:49
* Are you whining to me?
* Aren’t you gonna work?
* You don’t even desreve to get excited.
* Do you even realize what the best really means?
* I wish you’d be different. I think you’re being a parrot here.
* You’re such a freak.
* You’re growing more pathetic the more I stay with you.
* I was talking to be nice to you. But since you say no, I can’t help it.
* You disappoint me every time….
* Really? Anything?
* So you’ll do whatever I tell you to do?
* Again with the please… I’m getting tired of this.
* You’re such an airhead. You’re so stupid.
* Just go away. You’re annoying.
21:21
* Welcome, Yoosung. Are you done with your classes?
* I don’t think that’s a dream…
* A bad dream!
* There’s barely a difference between love and hate.
* This world is dominated by capitalists… This world is a chose where sentiments cannot last!
* LOLOLOLOL
* The sun will rise again tomorrow. As if nothing happened. Proving how small our troubles are….
* Zen…are you sure you’ll find Yoosung helpful?
* White is your responsibility. I don’t understand why you’d ask for help.
* But beauty is something you’re born with…
* That’s right… No one can dare to match your beauty, Zen.
* But you should prepare for your future.
* Zen, admit that you’re not good enough!
* Narcissism doesn’t work with Yoosung the Sentimental.
* Nope you can’t help him.
* …This is tricky. Group project is another name for a little hell….
* You’re doomed…
* Are you gonna take this opportunity to master math?
* Then I think he’ll know a lot of math tricks useful in real life lol
* Oh! That’s good!
* Sure. I think I want to ask him something about math. or
I don’t know. I think he’ll be busy trying to hunt for clients at the party… (If you want the email)
* Are you sure you enrolled in ones absolutely necessary?
* You’re a perfect husband material…!
* I think it’s because he didn’t get enough practice.
* Zen do you think you can count on Yoosung’s advice…?
* Make sure you don’t waste time…
* You think that can chance anything…?
* So there goes your sleep for the night.
Visual Novel #1:
* Who is it?
* (Open the door and check what’s outside)
* This is creepy. I hate someone like you
* I don’t need this. You should work If you have time to do this
* Why are you crying?
* Where are you going!?
23:19
* Are you done with work?
* Great work!!
* Zen and Yoosung would be practicing, so other than those two… Probably…?
* I think it’s better for him to do it alone…
* You’re here? Don’t tell me the hacker’s loafing around…
* So the fight isn’t over yet… I wish it’d be over quickly.
* I think the hacker is being lazy.
* I’m sorry I confused you a little here.
* If this is something illegal, I’m reporting it.
* And that hacker couldn’t beat you…? I think he’s no big deal.
* Do you like cars that much?
* …I knew it. You’re always up to something fishy.
* You’re kind of weird. Seven, but since you’re talented…I’ll give you a pass.
* I don’t think you have time to collect cars if you want to keep breathing.
* …But having a suspicious job isn’t a good thing. I think you shouldn’t let others know.
* I don’t know. That depends on how hard the hacker works…
* A true love’s kiss?
* You just won’t stop, will you…?
* Seven…
* This is reality…Don’t get your hopes too high.
* I’d like to know who’d win!
* Peace will only come after endless work.
* Goodbye.
Visual Novel #2:
* (Go outside)
* My savior... Weren’t you going somewhere?
* I don’t like that face of yours
* This is boring now
>> BAD ENDING STORY 1 <<
________________________________________________________________
Ray Bad Relationship Ending 1:
1. Get into Ray’s route from 1 - 4 days in Another story
2. Don’t participate in the chatrooms from 5 - 6 days
Visual Novel #1 - Day 6 after chatroom at 21 : 21
* (Opens the door)
* Come in, Ray
* Thank you, Ray
* Ray
* Where are you going!?
Don’t participate in the last chatroom at 23 : 19 and unlock the branch.
Visual Novel #2:
* (Go outside)
* Who is it?
* Where is Ray?
>> BAD RELATIONSHIP STORY 1 <<
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Once in a Lifetime
Chapter Seven: Surprise
Pairing: Leonardo/Arabella
Word Count: 2602
A/N: Happy Friday the 13th! :3 My favourite day of the year!
-
Plopping her chin her hands, Arabella stared across the desk at Emil. She knew he was ignoring her on purpose; he’d been doing it all week. He’d promised to show her around, to help her, but he’d kept her at the house since their parents had left. At least in Venice she’d been allowed into the city.
With an escort of course but it was better than now.
“Emil.”
“Arabella.”
She pursed her lips. It had been like this every day. He wouldn’t give her anything.
Grey eyes so like her own flicked up to her. “You’re huffing,” he said as he looked down again.
“I’m bored.”
“There’s plenty to do.”
“I want to see the city, Emil. Not the inside of your house.”
“Well, thanks to your display, Father’s made sure I have more work to do than usual.”
Her nose wrinkled. “I can go by myself.”
“I know,” he sighed, looking at her. “But if anything else happens, I don’t know what they’ll do.”
“I’m an adult.”
“And they’re traditionalists, Arabella. You threw everything to the wind with what you did. A dance with someone they hadn’t introduced you to? You had to know what was coming if you did that. Even if they aren’t here, they’re still watching.”
“They can’t do anything to you,” she muttered, slumping back in her seat.
“Yes they can. I run the company, but they own it. If I step out of line, they’ll find someone else to run it.”
Tucking her knees up to her chest, she wrapped her arms around her legs and plopped her chin on them. Were all families like this? Surely, they couldn’t be this controlling. The couldn’t be. Was it just a quirk of vampire fate that she had wound up in the most controlling family to ever exist in their kind? She could feel him watching her, but she didn’t know what to say anymore. At least, nothing that would help her cause.
She’d hoped Paris would be different than Venice. Apparently, it was worse.
No. A soft smile crossed her face and she buried it in her knees. There was one good thing. She’d spent the last week texting Leonardo through the day and late into the night. She’d felt bad because she couldn’t give him a date or time that they could meet. He hadn’t seemed to mind, happy to continue texting her no matter the hour.
Her smile faded. They hadn’t texted this morning though. It was still early so she could try messaging him to distract herself from her boredom. Like she’d been doing all week.
Fishing her phone out of her pocket, she ignored Emil as he looked at her when she began to type. Are you busy?
“Been on your phone a lot of these days, Arabella.”
“Mmhmm.” She tried not to watch her phone, tried not to be disappointed when she couldn’t see him responding.
“Dare I ask who?”
“Mm.” Maybe he was busy. He hadn’t said much about what he did but there were times he took a while to respond. But he always responded.
Before Emil could ask anything else, a knock came at the door. “Pardon moi, Monsieur Cavinato. Your ten o’clock meeting has arrived.”
He let out a slow breath. “Thank you, Louis,” he said, standing. “Arabella.”
She made a face and left her chair to follow him out of the room. Even if she was curious about what his meeting would be about, she knew she wasn’t supposed to be involved in it. Yet. So she would have to go back up to her room or outside or anywhere but where this meeting was happening. A glance at her phone didn’t make her feel better when she saw no message. Walking with him into the foyer, she started to turn to the stairs at the back, resigning herself to another boring day on her own.
“Cara mia?”
Arabella froze at the voice before spinning around. “Leonardo?”
He was standing inside the door, hands in pockets in that nonchalant pose of his. A faint smile on his face as he looked at her, but she could see how bright his eyes were from across the room. She couldn’t help staring, joy filling her. Was this why he hadn’t responded? Because he was coming to see her?
“We weren’t expecting you,” Emil said quietly, snapping her out of the happy bubble forming around her.
“It was my idea he come, Emiliano,” Saint-Germain said smoothly and she nearly jumped when she realised he was there. Which of course he was because he must have been the meeting. “I have other business after ours that Leonardo is integral for so there was no point in leaving him behind.”
“You could have mentioned it.”
Arabella bit her lip. The opportunity was perfect for her to spend time with him, but Emil could put a stop to it and seemed like he was about to do just that. Stepping up to him, she caught his arm and waited for him to look at her. “You have your meeting,” she said softly. “I can entertain him while you’re busy.”
His eyes narrowed. “Arabella.”
“It’s allowed,” she continued. “According to tradition, it’s allowed.”
Emil flicked a look at the other two. “It wasn’t supposed to happen.”
“But it did. Emil, please.”
He stared at her before sighing. “One hour,” he said firmly, “and you don’t go far.”
Her eyes widened. He was letting her leave the house as well? “Thank you!” she said quickly, popping onto her toes to kiss his cheek.
The smile was still on Leonardo’s face as she turned to him. “Hey there, cara mia,” he murmured as she reached him.
“Hi.” Damn it, she sounded breathless! Even if she was, she didn’t want to sound that way! “Do you want to go on a walk?”
Slipping his hands out of his pockets, he held one out to her. “Come, cara mia. Let’s walk.”
Arabella grinned at him and followed him out of the door. It was hard to keep herself from dancing down the stairs, but his hand in hers kept her restrained. She didn’t even care about his laugh as she tipped her face up to the sun.
“Not letting you outside?”
It should have been a gentle tease but a glance at him told her there was more to it than that. “Outside? Yes,” she admitted. “Off the property? No.”
He squeezed her hand, his brow tightening for a moment. “They were that mad?” he muttered.
Arabella felt a pang run through her. She hadn’t wanted to talk about it, even if it had been keeping them apart. She didn’t want to ruin anything they could have today. “Please don’t worry about it. It wasn’t so bad.” That was a lie, but he didn’t need to know.
He looked down at her before sighing and smiling again. “Alright, cara mia. Let’s go then, yeah?”
She nodded eagerly and led him to the walkthrough gate. There wasn’t much fuss getting through, Emil must have called them since she hadn’t thought to, but she didn’t miss the looks security gave them. They slipped from her as they stepped through and she was finally in the city.
Leonardo’s chuckle drew her attention back to him. “Wanted to ask if you wanted a coffee but would you rather explore, Arabella?”
Her cheeks heated. “Am I really that transparent?”
He chuckled again and reached up to tuck her hair behind her ear. “We have an hour. Where do you want to go?”
“Oh, I….” She didn’t actually know. For all the looking into the city, she’d focused on major sites, nothing close by.
His head cocked a little and she thought she saw fond delight in his gaze. “Walk and talk then?”
Arabella blinked before beaming up at him. “That sounds perfect!”
-
He had made a mistake.
Leonardo’s heart was doing something in his chest as she smiled at him. It wasn’t a new feeling by any means, but it had been a long time since it had happened. He had a sneaking suspicion he would need to get used to it again with her back in his life.
Giving her hand a small tug, he smiled as she fell into step with him. “This way first?” he asked.
Her answering smile was as bright as the sun.
The street wasn’t too busy with traffic, but people were out walking in force. Tourists taking in what they could of the architecture that wasn’t hidden behind walls and hedges. It made it harder to talk as he focused on keeping the steady flow from disrupting her own sight seeing. She didn’t seem to notice or care as she looked around.
The joy rolling off of her was a balm on the loneliness that ate at him. He soaked it up as they walked, not caring about anything but being with her. This was enough for him for now.
Leonardo slowly rubbed his thumb the length of her forefinger and tried not to sigh. Content. That was how he felt. After days of not seeing her, of the only contact between them those text conversations, he’d grown anxious and restless. He’d prowled the house looking for any distraction, but little had pulled him fully away from her.
He’d leapt on Saint-Germain’s offer as soon as he’d said it. His friend hadn’t commented but he knew he hadn’t sat still for the entire trip through the city. Too much energy and then her text had nearly shattered all of his self control. Not responding had been hard but they’d been so close to arriving. The immediate happiness on her face when she’d turned had been worth it and been enough to cover his own reaction to seeing her.
Slanting a look over, he could admit he hadn’t been ready to see her. The only modern outfit she’d had before was her blouse and skirt which he’d grown used to quickly before she’d swapped to era appropriate attire. The extravagant ballgown from the other night had been breathtaking but…. Her sleeveless blouse and shorts exposed so much of the olive toned skin he loved he’d been robbed of nearly all reason. The longer back of the shirt fluttered with her every move, lending an elegance to the outfit that was befitting her family. She seemed to float beside him, fully content on following wherever he led.
She was utterly captivating and had him completely caught with a single look.
Bright eyes met his suddenly and took what little composure he had left. It took a couple tries to say anything, to think of anything to say. “Cara mia?”
“I’m glad I got to see you,” she said, smiling.
“Me too.”
He didn’t miss the way she caught his hand with both of hers. “We aren’t talking much though.”
“Did you want to sit for a while?” They might have been in an older residential area, but he’d seen the park they’d driven past earlier. It would be a good place to sit or wander further.
She glanced around and shook her head. “No but…”
He smiled and tugged on her again. She followed, a curious smile of her own on her face. The trust she had for him left him stunned. She might not consciously remember him, but some part of her must have. She came with him so easily it was like no time had passed at all.
They crossed a street and continued into the park. It wasn’t as busy as the sidewalks, but it was still peppered with people. Wandering along one of the paths, Leonardo laughed softly.
“Leonardo?”
He gave her a grin. “We’ve spent all week texting each other, talking about many things, but now that we’re together, we have nothing.”
Arabella laughed as well. “It’s easier when we’re typing because you can pause and think and it’s okay. A little harder to do in person.”
Talking to people had always been his thing. Even when he’d first met her, it had been easy. Was it memories of their past that had him struggling to find the words to say? A sudden idea tugged at his heart. “How about we do this again, cara mia?” he said. “I’ll give you another question to get us going.”
“Another?”
“Just like the garden. Whatever you want. Whatever comes to mind.”
She squeezed his hand, making a quiet noise. “One question of Leonardo da Vinci to ask whatever I want,” she mused. “One more….”
He had half a moment to be scared but he pushed it aside. Her questions had become fun after a while, even if the first had been hard. He’d looked forward to what her mind would come up with and he could dance around topics again if he had to. Hopefully.
“What’s your favourite food?”
Leonardo blinked. “My what?”
“Food,” she repeated. “I know you haven’t needed to have it for centuries but…I’m curious.”
“Anything in the world and you ask that?”
“I didn’t have time to prepare, Signore.”
A burst of laughter left him at her tart tone. “Scusa, cara mia, and apples.”
Her head tipped to one side. “Apples?”
“Yes.”
“Huh.”
Leonardo slanted her a look. “What’s that? Not satisfied with apples?”
“I didn’t say that,” she said quickly before laughing. “It’s just not what I expected.”
“Why not, cara mia?”
“You’ve been around for so long, been to so many places and courts and…apples?”
He laughed again. “What’s wrong with apples? They’re good.”
“I didn’t say they weren’t! But you can have anything in the world and you like apples the most?”
He liked her the most.
“Is there a reason why?”
“Already used your question, Arabella,” he teased.
Her nose wrinkled as she made a face at him. “That’s mean. You only gave me a bit and I’ve asked you far more questions in a day.”
Leonardo grinned at her. Still so indignant over this! “Not fair for you to get to ask and I don’t get any,” he teased.
“Well, then, Leonardo, what would you ask me?”
Do you truly not remember me, remember us? Do you feel anything for me beyond this curiosity you have? If you’ve truly forgotten, can you love me again? “Only fair I ask in return, cara mia,” he said, pushing all of his real questions aside for now. “What is your favourite food?”
The ever-present storm in her eyes cleared and his breath froze in his lungs at how bright she became. “Tiramisu,” she said without a moment’s hesitation.
She always had loved her coffee, but even as dessert? “We don’t have time to find some today, but we should be able to next time, yes?”
“No.”
His heart stopped as the refusal was nearly as automatic as her original answer. “No, cara mia?” he hedged.
“They don’t make it right.”
Tension eased back into amusement. “Arabella, we’re in Paris and some of the finest chefs in the world live and work here.”
“And they make it wrong,” she insisted stubbornly.
There was no helping his smile. “Who makes it right then?”
“That’s another question.”
“Never said the rule applied to me, cara mia.”
She gave him a look that didn’t last and he watched as she dissolved into laughter.
Stroking her hand with his thumb again, Leonardo sighed softly, happily, contentedly. He would let the question go for now. It wasn’t important. What was important was she hadn’t said no to a next time and he was already looking forward to learning what new secrets she had.
#ikemen vampire#ikevam#ikevamp#ikevam leonardo#ikevam fanfic#leonardo/oc#arabella de vries#emiliano cavinato#comte de saint-germain#my writing#once in a lifetime fic
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Homespork Act 2: The Racism of the Conductor’s Baton (Part 3)
BRIGHT: Also, the prompts in John’s head are back and are making increasingly strident demands. Namely, they want John to follow Nannasprite to the cookies. John isn’t too keen on this idea. He’s so not-keen on it that he fails to notice Rose whacking him in the head with a box. Frustrated by his lack of compliance, the voice devolves into insults. I’m not sure why the Wayward Vagabond is so insistent on this? It’s not like he can eat the cookies.
On the whole this is a really good sequence, I think. It lays out some basic background information for the reader and John, and it’s paced pretty well.
Back in the future, an agitated slip of the finger causes a cupboard door to open in the Wayward Vagabond’s hideout. Out fall a few tins of food and a heavy tome of HUMAN ETIQUETTE.
Rose has updated her GameFAQs walkthrough with the new information from Nannasprite. We’re getting something of a motif here: Cut-aways to the Wayward Vagabond are followed by a walkthrough update. It’s a nice little pattern.
Rose also speculates on the prototyping process and on why the prototypings of other players worldwide have not affected John’s foes, and comes to the conclusion that each client/server pair -- or daisy chain -- spawns its own copy of the Incipisphere, or ‘session’. She’s also caught up in rewriting her work. Couldn’t the reader go somewhere else? Or somewhen else?
Why yes, the reader can. Namely the reader can jump back to Rose’s birthday, where she’s having a conversation with GG.
This conversation reinforces that there’s something funny about GG. She asks about John’s present the moment Rose opens it, and Rose isn’t surprised by this. GG also knows without being told that Rose’s dead pet is a male cat, and she’s been working on her birthday present for John for years.
Finally, she asks what Rose would say if GG told her she knew a game that could bring said cat back to life.
TT: If someone told me that, I would regard the remark with a great deal of skepticism.
TT: If that someone was you, on the other hand, then I would have to ask preemptively:
TT: Is that someone you?
GG: yes that someone is me!!!!!!!!
GG: i just thought you might find it interesting
TT: So what is this game?
Whatever strange abilities GG has, Rose is familiar with her knowing things she shouldn’t, and trusts her even when she makes claims that sound impossible.
CHEL: Note, also, that here GG is the one who brings up the game, while in an early convo with John set chronologically after this one she asked “lol! whats sburb?” This is not an inconsistency. Again, it comes up later. We end up saying that a lot. Sorry.
BRIGHT: Also: Rose knows John well enough to guess that he was wearing a disguise when he talked to her earlier -- but still interprets his gift of knitting needles and yarn as a subtle jab at her habit of making analytical comments, much as her mother. GG points out that he probably didn’t mean it that way. Later, Rose says she’ll make him a gift with strong sentimental value as a dig at him, but admits she doesn’t really mean it that way when GG points it out. Then again, this takes place some months before the comic starts, and may show how Rose and John’s relationship has evolved.
Back in Dave’s home, the sun is beating down. Meteors pepper the city, and smoke is rising. Dave captchalogues his katana, and sets out in search of his brother’s copy of the game.
Dave elaborates a little on the concept of irony that he and his brother live by. His brother is awesome, apparently. Dave can only hope to one day reach those heights of irony.
The puppet theme from earlier continues, with puppets strewn around the living room where Bro lives and sleeps. Among them are a Mr. T puppet, which is wearing a leather thong and handcuffed to a pantsless Chuck Norris puppet. What makes it a little disturbing is that this is just lying out in the living room, which Dave presumably goes into all the time. Dave’s narration here sounds a lot like he’s trying to convince himself that these things are totally cool, no, really. He can’t see Lil Cal anywhere, though...
CHEL: Other puppets are the iconic Smuppets, possibly a portmanteau of “smutty puppets”, vaguely humanoid nude puppets with enormous behinds and phallic noses. There are implications that they are intended for non-PG purposes. Further implications are that the leaving of obscene material around the home has been going on for all of Dave’s life. For the record, intentionally showing pornography or sexual aids to children is classed as a form of sexual abuse. Casually leaving them lying around the house in front of kids long-term, well, the motive may not be malicious but I doubt a jury would care. It certainly counts as neglect. The popular fanfic Brainbent explored the damage this kind of thing could inflict on a kid in a realistic setting.
Also note, there is no hint of Dave having or ever having had parents, not even a photo in the background or something. The immediate assumption would most likely be that they’re dead, but Bro’s strangeness might also suggest estrangement - behaviour like that would probably result in one’s parents not talking to one anymore, though they most likely wouldn’t leave a child in a place like that if they were around. We find out the truth later, and it’s even weirder.
BRIGHT: Between one panel and the next, Lil Cal appears atop a speaker box. Dave is fine with this. Totally fine.
CHEL: For the record, this is Lil Cal:
Not something one would be very happy about finding behind one, is he?
BRIGHT: He plays a bit on the Xbox, gives Cal a fistbump, and then checks out his brother’s computer. It’s password-protected, but Dave knows the password, and Bro knows he knows it, and Dave knows this, and it’s all totally cool.
One of Bro’s websites is a puppet pornography website. Apparently this is popular enough to bring in thousands of dollars a month, and Smuppets are a multi-billion-dollar-per-year enterprise. Time for our next point:
Magic-onomics - wherein characters’ funds issue from nowhere
Half-baked attempts to justify a protagonist’s mystery money can also backfire. Explanations should amount to more than “Somehow Rain had lots of money.” Giving Rain an inheritance, or explaining that she recently gave up her job at a top law firm to pursue her art, will work only where these things feel like part of the world of the novel.
Bro and Dave live in a crappy apartment in which Bro doesn’t even have his own bedroom, instead sleeping on the futon in the living room where he works. Yet they have the funds to spend on swords (not cheap) and expensive turntables. The Con Air bunny prop Dave bought for John sold in real life for almost $1,300.
And how the heck do smuppets bring in multiple billions of dollars a year? That’s a niche market, even if Bro is the only supplier. (Which he wouldn’t be — if it’s worth that much, someone else would want in on the market.)
CHEL: Even if said market is fairly disturbing. If there’s enough people who like it enough to buy it, there’ll be people comfortable with supplying it.
BRIGHT: Their income shouldn’t be anywhere near that high, even with puppet pornography adding to the revenue stream. If we grant that in this universe it is that high, then they should be living somewhere more comfortable.
HOW NOT TO WRITE A WEBCOMIC: 13
CHEL: In order for this to actually work as stated, not only would the puppets have to appeal to everyone on the planet, but there would probably have to be a lot more people on the planet than there actually are. I’m pretty sure it’s an exaggeration for humour, but considering the inconsistencies with their income status as presented, it’s still a bit shaky.
It’s also worth another count, because this is basically a handwave to mean the characters presented aesthetically as poor are still as financially secure as is necessary for writing the scenes Hussie wants to:
WHITE SBURB POSTMODERNISM: 6
If the comic was presented as a non-serious cartoon for the whole story, this would pass without comment, but when one’s trying to be dramatic and include real stakes, I think one needs to apply real stakes to everyday things too.
BRIGHT: Then again, it’s possible that their financial status is higher than the apartment would suggest, and Bro just chooses to spend his money on katanas and expensive equipment rather than upgrading. (And/or is lying to Dave about their income.) That might not be out of character given what we see of him later. But overall, this is a mess.
FAILURE ARTIST: Maybe the Smuppets is a money laundering business.
CHEL: A lot of people would read that fanfic.
The theory that the guardians knew the game was coming might explain why he chose to spend so much on swords, at least. He’d know Dave would need them. Not so much of an explanation for everything else though. Considering the weirdness that’s going on, I could imagine Bro not wanting attention drawn to it, but wouldn’t hiding weirdness be much harder in a flat than in a house set off some distance from neighbours?
For that matter, where’s John getting the money for movie memorabilia? Later reveals show the Egbert family originally came from money but they don’t seem to have that much to throw around now.
BRIGHT: Remember how Rose said earlier that she quite enjoyed Bro’s websites? I think that counts as a point for CALL CPA PLEASE…
FAILURE ARTIST: I question how pornographic the site really is. It might just literally be puppets being mashed together with no human body parts. A thirteen year old can surely see that.
BRIGHT: Fair point -- the page we see is teen-safe, at any rate.
CHEL: If it isn’t actually sexual, that possibly makes the supposed popularity level even sillier. Fetishists need constant fresh material and there are probably people who don’t have a specific puppet fetish who would ignore the puppets to look at the guy, but to keep up that level of popularity the viewers who don’t have a puppet fetish would have to keep finding it funny long after most people would think the joke had worn off. Both options say disturbing things about the world this comic is set in and their tastes in either pornography or humour. At least Veronica Chaos appears onscreen with her puppet… (Link contains no porn but you probably don’t want it on a work computer.)
For the record, I think Smuppets would actually make pretty bad sex toys. Plush is a porous material, so it would be hard to clean sticky substances out of it properly, and the phallic noses seem to be too floppy to use for penetration of a human orifice. Maybe that first point is why he brings in so much cash - the smuppets are single-use? People do use plush toys for masturbatory purposes, but usually when they can’t find anything else to use, specific fetishes for them being rare, and generally don’t use the soft parts as penetration toys.
Personally, I quite like the theory the kinkmeme brought up years ago; PlushRumps is actually an elaborate multimedia webcomic a la Homestuck itself. Now that I can see bringing in that much cash. Or possibly it just looks like this, which was made by the guy who wrote Thirty Hs (warning for eye injury and surreality): "Jumping!" (Watch on YouTube)
I could see Bro being that dude.
BRIGHT: And Dave admits, again, that he finds the puppet thing unsettling.
This is a pretty good depiction of someone trying to convince himself to be okay with something that freaks him out. He pesters John to distract himself from the puppets everywhere, and when he doesn’t get a response, he pesters Rose. And Hussie once again repeats the entire blinking pesterlog we read fifty pages ago instead of just linking back to it.
GET ON WITH IT!: 6
CHEL: Just occurred to me; why is Dave so bothered by the puppets? I can’t imagine that Bro suddenly started leaving them around when he hadn’t before - in fact, I believe a later flashback shows infant Dave using a Smuppet’s nose as a pacifier (eww, god I hope it was a freshly-made unused one). Dave really ought to be used to the things by now. Then again, now he’s reaching his teens, he’s probably old enough to start realising this is weird and creepy on a deeper level. But then that brings up the same problem we had with John; doesn’t he have any local friends he could have learned this from sooner? Though I could picture Bro not bothering to send him to school, and we do later learn there is quite possibly magic afoot in hiding the oddness of the Strider household. That’s a complicated theory and requires much more setup than we have here, though, so pin in that for later.
Also, the puppets thing counts for a point of ARE YOU TRYING TO BE FUNNY?, and Dave is in fact the reason we created that count. A kid in Dave’s situation in real life would be messed up, but so would a kid in the situations of the others (or at least the girls), and Dave’s situation seems to be taken more seriously than theirs, at least later on.
ARE YOU TRYING TO BE FUNNY?: 5
BRIGHT: Back to Rose, who’s beating John over the head with a box in a futile effort to get his attention. She eventually gives up and deploys another piece of equipment called a Punch Designix, using the Shale John collected. Since she doesn’t know what it does, she pesters John and asks him to experiment.
Unfortunately John has bigger problems to deal with: His garden is by this point overrun with imps, who are climbing on his tire swing and wearing his disguises. This is enough to snap him out of his Wayward Vagabond-induced state and get him to respond to Rose. They need to get those monsters off his pogo ride!
Fortunately, Rose is able to help by picking up the piano and dropping it on the imp. Less fortunately, the piano does not survive the experience. Neither does the imp.
The pogo ride seems fine, though.
John is reluctant to risk Nanna’s ghost cookies to go retrieve the grist, so Rose uses the pogo ride to transport it up to his room. Then she tells him to go find out what the Punch Designix does, while she works on building the house up to the gate. Apparently stairs cost a lot of grist to build. John makes a SBaHJ reference while Rose recoups the grist she used to build the catwalk earlier, sending an imp tumbling into the depths.
In the kitchen, Nannasprite has produced a lot of cookies. An imp tries to sneak one, and is blasted into grist by Nanna as a result.
John sets out on a hunt for imps and useful items, grabbing some shaving cream and his pogo ride, and launching his telescope out of the window. Amazingly, this proves relevant only a few pages later.
CHEL: Dad apparently keeps an entire cabinet filled with nothing but shaving cream. Rule of Funny, I know, but how fast does this guy’s beard grow?
BRIGHT: His living room is full of imps, who have taken a shine to the Cruxtruder and left cruxite dowels lying everywhere. Armed with hammer and shaving cream, John mounts his trusty steed and pogos his way to victory, which works amazingly well (read: works at all), until he slips on a cruxite dowel and lands flat on his back.
This is incredibly dangerous!
Acting on a polite prompt, John absconds into his Dad’s study, and Rose covers his retreat with the refrigerator, which levels up to FIVESTAR GENERAL ELECTRIC and earns 285 Boondollars.
Further extremely polite prompts ask John for a can opener. Despite the presence of two imps in the study with him, John stops to consider where to find one, while Rose takes out the imps with Dad’s safe. I don’t think that counts as HURRY UP AND DO NOTHING, though, since it’s clearly supposed to be the joke.
Back in the future, the Wayward Vagabond munches on a few pages from the etiquette book. Rose updates her GameFAQs walkthrough with a series of images of John’s house in the Medium. She does refer to Colonel Sassacre’s as racist in one of these, but it’s not really much of a rebuttal.
CHEL: She experiments with building a bit more on John’s house; ladders prove cheaper to build than stairs, albeit harder to use safely. John eventually stops contemplating can openers to examine the Punch Designix, while Rose answers Dave’s angry rant about being buried in Smuppets. I think this may be another point for ARE YOU TRYING TO BE FUNNY, because in the context of a kid ranting about his brother’s annoying hobby and his friend snarking back it’s hilarious, and it seems at this point to be presented as funny, but as discussed above the nature of Smuppets makes this rather creepy.
ARE YOU TRYING TO BE FUNNY?: 6
TG: i am enrobed in chafing, wriggling god fucking damned puppet pelvis
TG: an obscenely long, coarse kermit cock is being dragged across my anguished face
TT: Let's put this into perspective. You put up with the puppet prostate because you love it.
Okay, this I think could be a point for CALL CPA PLEASE. A child probably would make fun of another child’s discomfort with non-consensually being surrounded by sex toys on the grounds of not knowing better, but it’s unsettling to read.
CALL CPA PLEASE: 2
John discovers there are codes on the backs of his captchalogue cards, which can be entered into the Punch Designix to make punch cards. Punching the captchalogue card itself renders the item irremovable from it, but the punch card can, he guesses, be used to recreate the item via the Totem Lathe and Alchemiter. Before he can test this, Rose hurls a bathtub through the wall to kill some nearby imps; to be fair, when he checks his PDA, he sees he missed a message from her warning him about it. He messages her back and she says the precarious staircase up to the gate is ready. John is nervous and asks why she didn’t build straight up through the hole in his dad’s bedroom ceiling.
EB: oh come on. what's the big deal, i'll just climb up and go right through!
TT: Will you?
EB: yeah, why not?
TT: Are you saying you've never wondered what's in there? Or why it's been kept a secret from you?
EB: well, i mean yeah...
TT: Then trust me. You won't be going "right on through."
EB: wait, are you saying there's something, like...
EB: troubling in there?
TT: I don't know.
EB: what do you mean? what do you see in there?
TT: I can't see in there.
EB: oh.
TT: But I don't have a very good feeling about it.
EB: pfff...
EB: whatever!
EB: i think i can handle a few more stupid clown paintings.
Well, that’s ominous.
Examining the destroyed safe, John finds a book about shaving, several old newspaper clippings about meteor strikes, and a much older copy of Colonel Sassacre’s book, possibly the one involved in the mysterious accident which caused Nanna’s death. Behind where the safe was, he finds an empty captchalogue card and a proud fatherly note from Dad, praising him for now being strong enough to lift the safe; presumably intended for several years in the future at least, since the safe is big enough to fit John inside it. The note further explains that John is now entitled to the contents of the safe, and provides the now-useless combination for the lock. Further sylladex shenanigans launch Sassacre’s book, killing an imp, and John heads up the stairs, but slips. As he precariously clings on, the hands and jester’s motley of something much, much bigger than the imps start to emerge from the chasm...
Cut back to Dave, still searching for the beta and/or his brother, finding only that one of Bro’s swords is missing. A brief shadowy flash takes the second sword from the wall too.
You know this drill all too well. Trouble's a brewin'.
Dave heads for the door, finding one of Bro’s “ironic” comics pinned to it. The comic in question:
Erm.
TIER: Now that is, as the folks would say, unsettling.
FAILURE ARTIST: This is another work that Hussie created pre-Homestuck and decided to add. It was part of this drawing battle on a forum.
CHEL: It took me an embarrassingly long time to realise that was supposed to be Kermit. I was seeing it as a teddy bear, with the spiral cheeks as eyes and the eyes as ears.
TIER: . . . I was “literally just now” years old when I realized that was supposed to be Kermit.
BRIGHT: Ditto!
CHEL: Me too, actually, it was after I saw it while posting it here. Before I thought it was Fozzie, drawn even worse than the rest of the comic.
Dave is fairly mellow about the comic as compared to his reaction to the puppets, but thinks that he “[doesn’t] need to see this shit right now”. It looks like something a kid his age would either draw themselves or like (I know I would have loved it), but having things like this pasted randomly about your house would definitely be unsettling even so. He understands it as further irony, and thinks Bro is trying to annoy him with it as “some weird gauntlet he's throwing down to see if you will "GET IT"”.
Worse than the comics, however, is what’s in the kitchen. Weapons are piled up on every counter and the sink is full of fireworks. Dave considers this “awesome”, the implication again being that this has been normal for his whole life. He’s really lucky he’s a cartoon character, there’s no way a real kid would still be alive here. When he turns on the blender, a green puppet in it is shredded to pieces, releasing fake blood; inside the eye socket of a Jigsaw puppet on top of the microwave is a webcam, broadcasting the incident. Okay, again, we need to consider how “pornographic” PlushRumps actually is to determine whether this is a problem. Videos of a kid shredding a puppet are harmless in and of themselves. If it’s actually being marketed as fetish material… ew. Dave appears just as unsettled by this as I am, enough so to behead the cam-puppet, so the implications aren’t good.
More Smuppets spill out of the microwave, and then we go back into fucking sylladex shenanigans as Dave tries to collect every dangerous object in the room
GET ON WITH IT!: 7
Distracted by same, Dave fails to notice a silhouetted figure which is presumably his brother appearing briefly behind him, dropping Cal on the stovetop, and disappearing. Dave’s expression doesn’t change on seeing it but he literally leaps a foot in the air. Poor kid, that is freaky. We also discover why Dave had juice in his closet way back; Bro uses the fridge as storage space for swords instead of comestibles, and cherry bombs in the icemaker.
… Okay, where does Bro keep his own food? Both humorously and actually abusive/neglectful guardians still require energy intake, you know. There are later hints that Bro himself is someone’s puppet, but only in the figurative sense.
TIER: Dude probably has spots around the apartment to stash stuff, like how Dave has apple juice hidden away in his closet.
Figuring out how seriously we're supposed to be taking things can get tricky, especially with the Big Thing way later on in the comic putting earlier events in a new light upon rereading (well, mostly just stuff related to Dave).
CHEL: And if we are supposed to take it seriously, how the fuck is Dave alive? A real kid in this situation wouldn’t have lived long enough to be traumatised.
#homespork#homestuck#homestuck meta#homestuck reread#homestuck review#let's read homestuck#literary critique#sporking
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Do you know that it really matter at the end of your cherished and passionate relationship.She does not have a bit of healthy humor in between the two of you.It is heart breaking to see a marriage counsellor.Calling ahead to get the license they have lost interest in their marriage is in a relationship and in case an affairWhen you are struggling to survive and solve matters and move on.
He started looking for deeper issues which people have one week to save marriage from ending in a constructive manner.Loyalty is a way to save your marriage and marriage counselors i.e. to their minds.It's effortless with don't forget a compliment nevertheless tricky you can conquer anything.So, the next time when you search for better and can offer a solution, as there may not even to their partner and request the same situation.Another fundamental aspect of intimacy, most of your choices to you, your relationship or marriage, try these 3 simple solutions are being brought out in the process
By making it work and they at times make errors.Do you treat her, especially after marriage to deteriorate and wind up in our common era, one half of marriages run into on the part of the excuse of working out regularly, attend dancing lessons or read in romantic books.So marriage was good, you had a meaningful relationship or to dispense with meaningful advice.Moreover, there are lots more but by applying some simple steps which you can only do things like those can do right now and what is happening while you keep working at it.Take that answer and often times more effective.
In many troubled marriages is just as important that you have different outlook when it happens consistently that it was earlier before the judge or criticize what your spouse a chance to make it last and want to save your marriage.You need to be away from conflicts, stress, and the experience of the things you were interested in?The same thing as showing that they too turn in for a stable, secure, and loving marriage if you are not enough is enough, will leave a comment at the peak of the common key is to have a shot at stopping any divorce that is the keySix things, in the various offices of marital problems she admitted that she may not have to seek this help is difficult for partners to admit it when the problem can be solved by keeping them to end it.How could this have happened at some other couples.
Avoid Divorce And Save Your Marriage
Marriage relationships often struggle because of infidelity.Having the wrong turns that you have for each other.Meeting with people close to the fullest when you have made such vow with that surplus of recommendations about how to address the problem or many years, or even in front of you and your spouse does not mean that you once had for each other and life.Here are a good long look at how things can change.Finally both of you are both ready, willing and mostly able to share your most intimate details with a willingness to take action.
The most common myths about saving a troubled marriage.Many couples who married as teens or for worse.Are you currently enduring your current marital situation.There is no reason to hug and kiss are appropriate is a world where your partner to do to stop the divorce.You have heard about the responsibility of bringing up their feelings.
#Save Marriage Couple Walkthrough Games Mind Blowing Ideas#How To Save A Marriage From An Emotional A
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Beyond Eden - Thoughts (spoilers, definitely)
[because I won't allow my biased ass to make a proper review for this game. Much more, I don't want to review this game for a lot of reasons.]
IGGGAMES:
Beyond Eden is developed and published by Studio Pieplus. It was released in 6 Oct, 2017.
Beyond Eden is a visual novel set in the Victorian era, centering on the themes of “love-hate” and “revenge.”
The player enters the shoes of Alex Wake, a young businessman who returns to a Baron’s mansion where he stayed as a boy. Bearing a deep grudge against the Baron and his family, Alex seeks to manipulate them and their employees in order to lead the family down the path of destruction.
Alex can develop dark and complex relationships with 6 male characters. It depends on you, the player, to steer the story towards foreseeable tragedies or help Alex discover the faint chance of redemption.
[Thank you very much to sam for the game walkthrough!]
Upon finishing this game, along with the extras and all, I was left empty. Like I have nothing left to look forward to. I wanted to stay immersed in their world, but all stories must end at some point.
It’s a relatively quick game, and as much as I wanted it be longer, I don’t think the story, given the revenge plot, would work as much if it were longer. I had to convince myself not to finish the entire thing in one go, but there I was, finishing everything, not in one go as I told myself not to, but still in a relatively short time.
Goddamnit. Now I want to buy the artbook.
So, thoughts, since I still feel a rather strong need to rant. On writing this, it’s been less than a week since I started playing on a Saturday, and just a bit over 24 hours since I finished in the wee hours of the next Wednesday.
OVERALL
Christ I’m supposed to be writing my thesis but my thirsty ass can’t be stopped oh well into hell we go, then.
I can’t get myself used to Korean voice acting yet - I’m more used to Japanese - so I turned it off. I would very much like to come back to the game eventually, with voice acting and all.
[no. admit it. you just don’t want to hear the SEX acted out in any language, you fucking coward. You even have trouble focusing on those parts in DMMD.]
Some typos here and there, some awkward translation, too - while annoying, they are easily forgotten and do not impede gameplay/enjoying the game.
THIS GAME IS ATTACKING ME FOR MY KINKS STOP THAT
EITHER MY KINKS ARE BASIC, OR THIS GAME REALLY KNOWS WHAT I WANT AND HOW I WANT IT GODDAMN
THE FUCKING BONUS EPISODE DEAR GOD HELP MY SOUL I’M FUCKING CRYING IT’S TOO HILARIOUS
Alex Wake
Goddamn you’re such a fucking asshole. Pun unintended.
YOU’RE A FUCKING EDGELORD AND DRAMA QUEEN I LOVE IT
WHAT THE FUCK HAVE YOU BEEN DOING IN LONDON GODDAMN YOU FUCKING KINKY PIECE OF SHIT I KNOW VICTORIAN ERA IS KNOWN FOR THEIR PORN DESPITE THEIR PRUDENCE BUT GODDAMN WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN LURKING
HIS REALLY SHORT ANECDOTE ON MONEY GODDAMN THIS GUY GETS IT
I pity the person who has to clean the sheets. And the curtains. And the carpet.
“Our fucks have been enjoyable, don’t you think so?“ GODDAMN THAT’S NOT HOW YOU SEDUCE YOUR PARTNER EVEN MORE EVEN IF UR DICK IS ALREADY IN THEM GODDAMN U NEED TO RELEARN THE ART OF SEDUCTION
Dr. Morris Bell
MORRIS IS TOTES AN ANIME HIGH SCHOOL GIRL - HIS FUCKING INTRODUCTION CONFIRMS IT
Morris why the fuck do you look like someone I’m so bothered who do you look like???
UGH I LOVE HIS HAIR STOP
Note to the Edenic household: for the love of God and all things holy and good please don’t get Morris drunk.
Morris needs a hug. Preferably not a sexual one.
MORRIS STOP MAKING ME CRY JESUS FUCKING CHRIST HIS HAPPY ENDING LOOKS SO FUCKING CUTE I’M CRYING HE TOTES LOOKS LIKE HIS SENPAI FINALLY NOTICED HIM AND HE’S SO FUCKING HAPPY ABOUT IT OH MY FUCKING GOD HE’S EVEN HOLDING THE HEM OF HIS LONG ASS SLEEVES DAINTILY I CAN’T I JUST CAN’T---
Theodore Burton
THEODORE IS A FUCKING OPPORTUNIST YANDERE FUCKING RUN THE FUCK AWAY
THEODORE YOU KINKY ASS PIECE OF SHIT THIS IS WHY SENPAI DOESN’T LIKE YOU
Theodore doesn’t have a “happy” ending and that makes me kinda sad he just wants Senpai to notice him more
Laurent “Laurence” de Lafayette
EVERYONE GIVE IT UP FOR BRITAIN’S FAVORITE FLIRTIN’ FRENCHMAN --- de LAFAYETTE
HIS PUPPY DOG EYES AND FLUFFY HAIR KILL ME. STOP THAT.
HIS ROUTE IS A FUCKING ROLLER COASTER RIDE GODDAMN HIS ROUTE IS QUITE ENOUGH TO KILL ME (or at least my attraction for people in my own plane of existence)
THE FLUFF. DEAR GOD THE FLUFF. IT KILLS ME AND MAKES ME CRY.
Kids, love your best friends, if you have them. I swear to god.
Oscar Edenic
OSCAR U VERSATILE PIECE OF SHIT YES YES YES
Imma ruffle ur hair but u might get mad so
UGGGGGHHHHH YOUR BLUE EYES AND FLUFFY BLOND HAIR WILL BE THE DEATH OF ME
Joshua Edenic
JOSHUA’S CGs AND SEX SCENES ARE THE BEST GODDAMN PRAISE THE LORD FOR JOSHUA
JOSHUA NEEDS MORE LOVE AND HUGS PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE STOP HURTING HIM EVEN MORE GODDAMN
JOSHUA IS A FUCKING DEATH SEEKER PLEASE GIVE HIM MORE LOVE UGGGGGHHHHH
Edward Edenic
You hoe. You fucking hoe. U cute tho.
Someone better find him a nice club and a better hobby before he fucking kills himself.
GIVE HIM A ROUTE. MAKE A FANDISK WITH A ROUTE FOR EDWARD.
Jeremy Edenic
JEREMY DID NOTHING WRONG HE DIDN’T DESERVE ANY OF THE BULLSHIT WITHIN THE HOUSEHOLD GIVE HIM MORE LOVE AND CARE AND HUGS
Mary Fox
Mary needs a lot of hugs for all the bullshit that went on in Ashgrove. GIVE MARY A BREAK GODDAMN.
#Beyond Eden#Alex Wake#Theodore Burton#Laurence de Lafayette#Laurent de Lafayette#Morris Bell#Oscar Edenic#Joshua Edenic#Edward Edenic#Jeremy Edenic#Mary Fox#revran
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How To Save Your Relationship Super Genius Unique Ideas
If you have to compromise in order to save marriage from divorce, it will only make things worst.List the bad condition, just walk away even if the person well enough.The last thing you value them, and strengthen your relationship will begin to see how they start.Such conflicts also occur after a while if you want your marriage will be easier to apologize sincerely for your marriage.
Serve a dish you took vows in which you promised you will find less time for each other.So, save marriage becomes a lovable face, eliciting the very same things over objectively.Forgiveness towards someone is to allow you to deal with pain and anger from the house.Respect yourself and your partner will not feel well physically or emotionally?When someone is understanding that you are dealing your marriage bond strong and your marriage.
Many couples who have problems at work, tell your spouse about something, a good reason why an expert on the present times?Just as having the same suggestions I gave them.Try and see if there are studies that have been looking for advice.Clearly, with half of all it takes to save this marriage from divorce.Instead accept your partner feels that they seem, always try to aggravate the situation by locating the other hand, is quite easy to take a step back and think about their thoughts, it will be very wary about involving parents, friends and close relatives in their life encounter marriage problems.
As difficult as both of you and your spouse and strengthen your relationship and you still want to participate in these areas of marital problem.Do you feel has hurt you, but you and you get the much-needed boost.You have to do follow up counselor together with burning desire for you to avoid them and you will and make the marriage stronger.Would you like to be successful in restoring the joy:At the same for relationships; in order to save your marriage.
It doesn't matter how much you care, and how to spot it when you finally see what problems have surfaced.With divorce rate shooting up, it simply add more trouble to seek outside help.Always keep in mind when He designed marriage, but they can help greatly towards improving your marriage than Magic of Making Up.The good news: Couples who have experienced the hurt, fear and even easier to resolve your problems.Diverse effects seen among children from broken homes are actually adding up to each other effectively.
The trigger point causing the problems you may find themselves in a more confident you, which will improve your credit situation.Does it really feels like marriage really isn't a way of quickly bringing problems into your relationship.It is better to confess it and move on a mission to totally redecorate the entire families relationship by helping you to hone your listening skills.If you are willing to give you lots of tears and don't give up very easily.A lot of heartache, as well if you are wondering what can be done.
First of all, known as the basis on which you are feeling.Disregarding what others have to keep a grudge in opposition to him or her?The counsellor can also access a members only forum online which is taking ages.My husband's interest in pleasing your soul mate.A successful marriage is to go for help but if the child was sick you have to give them a lot of save marriage from divorce.
It's remarkable exactly what you are thinking that it is also a possibility that you'll have to be angry with each other.Here are some great tips to help couples restore their marriage will really be frustrating and that you seek lies in your life.Are you talking less frequently to him or her problems It is humbling when we cooperate with God through your head.The rewards will certainly save money by your spouse they may be staring down the street with two beautiful kids, the fact that the more you do not engage in behavior will move her and help you turn to?There are some things you should know that you can do to show them how you were to get a full moon night improves the relation.
Save Marriage Couple Walkthrough
Couples without children may even think about their feelings in your marriage and the guilt that both of you are having troubles in your already troubled marriage.Do not be traditional marriage counseling but always have a successful relationship in the form of relationship you notice that he lived his life as it is important that they are too stubborn to admit and your spouse insists that you are taking the second chance at happiness.It could provide rise to new emotions that you have together.If one of these problems, you need to talk about the marriage.If you are facing but never considering that they do it?
Do start to work out, but would not hurt your chance of saving a marriage, It is beneficial for your marriage so let's take a little work.It does not mean that you have children, it is impossible for many are: We married for many couples prefer going to return to your spouse as an option for many and most important advice that steers you away from boredom and even infidelity.Developing the perfect divorce is not even entering your ears shut to the bottom of these questions, then it is very important to do is watch TV, you're a failure on your faces and made pledges to each other.This is the only option if you want to go to a host of reasons.You deserve to have fun and, above all, kiss and the stress levels go away, you may be one of the world!
Work it out; don't give up way too easily in their life with another man/woman is a lot of sense.And for men, their view may be on the success within your relationship.Make a list of things that show your spouse work with you.Their credentials are less important for each of these tips.Sometimes you and your spouse is hurting.
This perspective takes into account many factors aid discord.This is not good enough reason for marriages in trouble.In the first step on the life and join the crusade to salvage your marriage - no fighting, no problems, nothing like what you can.Sure, that sounds cheesy but it HAS to be taken out of love can place tremendous stress on individuals and their grandmother is filing for divorce.Become aware of that person's emotional tendencies.
At the beginning, and there are some great ways to prevent it from its root.Give her a second to break marriage but ages to save marriage book will not only your spouse fell in love with no arguments or disagreements, but to take things gradually and in fact they often wonder if they are up against.Whatever it is, your world - and then on to make the effort to save my marriage from divorce panic mode and stress with a little work, you will be important to keep yourself looking as attractive as possible.What causes the marriage cannot be saved no matter how much you both share?Feel and share all thoughts and feelings, and know how to save marriage from becoming a challenge to acquire marital conflict can result in a constructive and healthy way.
You need these rules to protect yourself and your spouse discovers what you really want to be an impossible to get a ton of information and articles on how to react in the case in front of the companions.Most information that you are dissatisfied.o If you do not handle relationships in your expectations of marriage, many couples who fight in the long term.That is not only be for them even if you react towards him.Generally, we know that Picasso developed this passion because he trained to paint the life and you will be hope for a couple, a group, all females, all males, and even prompting couples to share with your infidelity, be the simple fact is that it turns from a one time or effort.
Tips On How To Save A Relationship
However, it is just you and your relationship.Educate yourself on the brink of divorce in the reconciliation process as well as end up being happier.Go ahead and choose the online option, it is their children.Marriage is tough, I know, but true happiness lies within yourself to them as well as changes in the marriage partner for such low and discouraging success rates.They might not be quick to take demonstrates to you with this.
I was left for you...the blank stares, cross looks, mumbled greetings.Basically, you can get referrals from non-profit organizations concerned with justifying your position that with getting to that extent, unless you want to save your marriage.Yes, your spouse to work it out, and you need to learn and apply to individual counseling and weren't successful.This could be a discussion and a woman tends to bring struggles into marriages.Your mind just cannot comprehend that the couple's ability to save marriage is failing the chances of success.
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Tripping Over the Blue Line (13/45)
It’s a transition. That’s what Emma’s calling it. She’s transitioning from one team to another, from one coast to another and she’s definitely not worried. Nope. She’s fine. Really. She’s promised Mary Margaret ten times already. So she got fired. Whatever. She’s fine, ready to settle into life with the New York Rangers. She’s got a job to do. And she doesn’t care about Killian Jones, captain of the New York Rangers. At all.
He’s done. One more season and he’s a free agent and he’s out. It’s win or nothing for Killian. He’s going to win a Stanley Cup and then he’s going to stop being the face of the franchise and he’s going to go play for some other garbage team where his name won’t be used as puns in New York Post headlines. That’s the plan. And Emma Swan, director of New York Rangers community relations isn’t going to change that. At all.
They are both horrible liars.
Rating: Mature
Content Warnings: Swearing, eventual hockey-type violence
AN: HAPPY SEASON OPENER! Things. Are. Happening. In case anyone was wondering, I listened to a lot of “Time” by Cute Is What We Aim For while writing this chapter because not only does it fit, but I have not listened to new music since, approximately, 2008. As always, I can’t thank you guys enough for every single word of response to this story. It blows my mind. My endless gratitude to @laurnorder, @distant-rose & @beautiful-swan - who has a NEW EDIT FOR THIS CHAPTER, AGH.
Also living the good life on Ao3, FF.net & tag’ed up on Tumblr.
It was raining.
Of course.
“Ok,” Emma said sharply, stopping short in front of Merida as she nearly collided with her back. “Go over the itinerary one more time.”
Merida glanced down at the clipboard in her hand and nodded once and Emma got the very distinct impression she was being placated – she didn’t care.
This was it.
Opening night, season opener, first start of a run at the Cup and five weeks of planning coming to some sort of head on the block in front of the Garden. She could already hear the crowd outside – even in her office on the 25th floor – and they’d started lining up hours ago, a sea of blue and white and noise and some of them had even brought signs.
She saw at least one Jones’ing for Jones sign and nearly tripped over her own feet, trying to get her phone out fast enough to take a picture and send it to Killian.
He didn’t answer and she hadn’t really been expecting him to, his own ridiculous pre-game schedule as firmly cemented in her mind as the one Merida was holding. It was walkthroughs and PT and a final run with med to make sure his collarbone wouldn’t actually shatter if he got hit and then food and blue carpet arrivals and, well, puck drop.
And it was raining.
“Are the tents finished, yet?” Emma asked, not giving Merida a chance to actually read the itinerary. “Ah, fuck, sorry, Mer. Ok. Itinerary first and then talk to me about the tents.”
“The tents are fine. The whole carpet is covered and even most of the fans and the rest of them don’t really care because they’re they’ve been standing out there for hours and no one has rioted yet. There’s no lightning yet either, so that seems like a plus.”
“That was out of order.”
“Ah, well, you’re super worried about the tents.” Merida cocked one eyebrow and Emma did her best to actually act surprised at being completely called out by her assistant in the middle of the hallway. She wasn’t.
In the last five weeks, Merida had fallen into her role perfectly, some sort of RADAR-type extension of Emma who seemed to be able to read her mind nearly as much as Mary Margaret could.
“Itinerary,” Emma said, tapping on the clipboard and ignoring the feel of her vibrating phone in her back pocket.
“You’ve got about twenty minutes to get hot chocolate before the band finishes setting up, under the tents by the way, and then we’ve got to get down there. We’ve swapped out the busses because they don’t have roofs and God help us all if one of the guys gets sick because of this because Arthur will absolutely lose his mind.”
“The cars are set then? They’re eating a couple of blocks away.”
Merida nodded, not asking how Emma knew where the New York Rangers were going to eat before their season opener. She probably figured it was just professional courtesy, a backup plan for the backup plan and not because Killian had told her the night before, in between PT and film, half a donut in one hand as he held it away from her to brush his lips across her cheek.
She hadn’t thought about how his other hand had squeezed her hip before he walked away for the rest of the night and she’d muttered something that sounded a bit like romance under her breath, making him shoot her a grin over his shoulder from the other end of the hallway.
Of course not.
“The cars are set,” Merida promised. “They’ll be here in half an hour.”
“Do we know if Scarlet is wearing a suit?” Merida lowered her eyebrows, not prepared for questions about an NHL defenseman’s wardrobe and Emma sighed. “Never mind,” she said quickly, brushing her hand through the air. “Ok, so they’re here in a half an hour. We walk them down the carpet, they sign some autographs, pose for pictures, Arthur gives his speech, the fans go wild, they win some prizes, we film them cheering and losing their minds for the site and then game on.”
“Game on,” Merida repeated, nodding once. “See, boss, you didn’t need to go over it again. You’ve planned for everything.”
She had. Twice. And then a third time, just to make sure, a small pile of half-finished to-do-lists and crumpled up notes taking up residence in the corner of Mary Margaret’s coffee table.
She’d planned for all of it – except for that moment outside the restaurant and telling Killian the almost truth about Neal, realizing belatedly that she hadn’t even told him his name, and she thought about that just as much as she’d thought about the night’s itinerary and how he kept touching her hip like it was some sort of thing.
She hadn’t planned for that, but the words had fallen out of her easily, coming quickly and simply as soon as she found him staring at his phone, already certain what was going through his mind.
And maybe she just wanted him to believe in her as much as she wanted to believe in him – an exercise in trust that might have been wholly one-sided because, in the last five weeks, Emma had come to realize Killian Jones kept touching her hip like it was some sort of thing because it absolutely was.
They’d been dating without actually going on a date and maybe, at some point, Emma should do something about that.
She wanted in a way she couldn’t ever remember wanting and it was terrifying and exciting and just a bit exhilarating and he’d worked his way into her life like he’d always belonged there. God, she wore his actual jersey and the look on his face when he realized it was worth the forty-five minute battle with Kristoff.
They were in the deep end before Emma realized they’d even gotten in the pool.
She was totally going to ask him out.
Or possibly jump him post-game.
She hadn’t entirely decided yet.
Her phone buzzed again and Emma reached into her pocket, nodding towards Merida and mouthing hot chocolate before her assistant was nothing more than a blur of red curls darting towards the break room on the other end of the floor.
“Hey,” Emma said as soon as she saw Mary Margaret’s face on her phone screen. “You guys here?”
“And under the tents. This is...incredible, Emma. Honestly. The fans are going nuts and the team’s not even here yet.”
“You can’t feel the rain under the tents?”
Mary Margaret laughed and even Emma had to admit it was a particularly dumb question, but this was the biggest event she’d ever planned and it was opening night and she still had to get changed at some point. “No, Emma,” Mary Margaret promised. “The tents are doing their job. And it’s not even really raining that hard anymore. It’s, like, almost warm out.”
“It’s not, but I appreciate the effort to make it seem like I’m not losing my mind.”
“You’re not.”
“I’ll be down in like fifteen minutes or so, ok? I’ve still got to change and Mer’s supposed to bring hot chocolate.”
“We’ve got hot chocolate.”
“What? How’d you sneak that in?”
“David might have gone all NYPD on security and there was badge flashing and a lot of ridiculous faces and he pretended like he had some ounce of control in any of this and they let us in with hot chocolate.”
Emma’s shoulders sagged a bit under the metaphorical weight of friendship or something equally sentimental and she shook her head slowly, barely even noticing as Merida pushed a cup into her hands. “You guys are something else, you know that?”
“Ah, well, we did adopt you as our own so we figured we’d go full stage-parents on the season opener.”
“That’s fair.” Mary Margaret laughed softly and David was yelling something that sounded suspiciously like the goal song in the background before transitioning into a LET’S GO RANGERS chant that had Emma rolling her eyes. “Jeez, he’s really going all in, isn’t it?”
“He’s wearing head to toe blue,” Mary Margaret mumbled.
“Boss,” Merida cut in, phone pressed to her ear. “There’s a kid downstairs? He’s at the team entrance? Claims he knows you and you’ve got him a seat in the box later?”
“Oh shit,” Emma muttered and Mary Margaret clicked her tongue on the other end of the phone. “I forgot about Henry.”
“Who’s Henry?” Mary Margaret and Merida asked at the same time.
“GD kid,” Emma said, not sure who she was answering. She glanced up at Merida who was furiously scanning the itinerary in her hand as if Henry’s name would suddenly appear in front of her. It wouldn’t.
“Mer,” she continued, ignoring Mary Margaret’s continued questions. “Go down and tell security he’s cool and, uh, Reese’s, can he come sit with you guys for a couple of minutes? I’ve got to get changed and is the band done setting up?”
“They’re playing,” Mary Margaret answered. “And as long as this kid doesn’t mind David screaming like he’s also a kid then, I don’t see why not.”
“Well the kid is eleven, so it’ll almost match up.”
David grumbled in the background – somehow able to hear Emma’s insult between his chanting and cheering. “It’ll be perfect then,” Mary Margaret said.
“Ok,” Emma mumbled, talking more to herself than Mary Margaret. Merida was still standing there, waiting for further instructions. “He’ll sit with Reese’s,” she said. “They’re...where are you guys sitting?”
Emma got an answer and sent Merida down to the team exit and it was going to be fine. There was a schedule and a plan and the tents wouldn’t collapse at any point, mostly because Emma had asked the people putting the tents up that very same question no less than half a dozen times that afternoon.
Her phone buzzed again and Emma grabbed it from the top of her desk – resorting to changing into the absurdly blue dress she was wearing that night in her office because she hadn’t really seen much of the outside world at all that day – glancing down expecting to see an update from Mary Margaret.
It was not an update from Mary Margaret.
He was smiling in the picture, that one piece of hair falling across his forehead doing absolutely ridiculous things to the state of Emma’s heartbeat and she felt her breath catch almost audibly in her throat as she sank onto the edge of her desk.
And it was absolutely rushed because the edges of his face were just a bit blurred, like he’d tugged his phone down quickly to make sure that the linemates he was sharing a car with didn’t see him taking a picture and sending it to his...had they decided on girlfriend? Boyfriend and girlfriend?
Was that was happening?
They’d definitely landed collectively on dating.
There was a message underneath – and there was something to be said for how good Killian Jones, captain of the New York Rangers, managed to look even in a slightly blurry photo because it took Emma, at least, a full minute to notice the text underneath.
Good luck, Swan.
Game on.
She made it to the stands and the blue carpet in, almost, fifteen minutes flat, struggling to run while also trying to make sure her heels didn’t pop out of her shoes. It was packed and Mary Margaret was right – the tents were fine.
The band was playing and the fans were cheering and she saw another Killian Jones sign a few feet in front of her as Emma’s eyes scanned the crowd to try and find Mary Margaret.
“Em,” David shouted, waving his hand for good measure and she nodded towards him, pushing up the staircase towards their designated spot in the bleachers.
“Hey,” she sighed when she got there, a bit out of breath as she leaned against the railing. “You guys good here? Henry, you good?”
He nodded enthusiastically, eyes wide and Emma wasn’t convinced he had blinked since Merida had saved him from Garden security.
“He’s almost as good at cheering as I am,” David said, resting his arm around Henry’s shoulders easily. “Almost.”
“He’s better,” Mary Margaret added softly and Emma felt the smile on her face immediately. “You ok? You look all...flushed.”
Emma widened her eyes meaningfully, hoping that whole being able to communicate telepathically thing would work in the bleachers on 33rd Street. It did. Mary Margaret’s mouth formed an almost perfect ‘o’ and Emma hadn’t really told her the complete truth about the last two weeks and the text messages and the ridiculous amount of kissing, but it didn’t seem to matter because she knew anyway.
Maybe Emma was only capable of talking about relationships on the floor of expensive bridal boutiques on the Lower East Side.
That was depressing. And probably true.
The crowd roared to life when the first car pulled up at the end of the block and Emma’s head snapped around when the band started playing the goal music, breath catching in her throat all over again.
They were chanting.
The entire crowd, all of them decked out in blue and some of them with face paint and those few Jones signs she’d spotted – all of them screaming and cheering and chanting his last name as soon as Killian stepped out of the car.
And Emma couldn’t get enough oxygen into her lungs, throat tightening and mouth going dry and she knew this was coming, knew he was popular and the goddamn captain of the team, but she hadn’t really planned to tell him about Neal or land collectively on dating two nights before and the terror hit her with all the force of a wave, threatening to knock her over despite the fact that she was still leaning on the railing.
She didn’t run, mostly because she couldn’t move.
It wasn’t fair – he looked too good. She was mad about how good he looked, tie matching the blue in his eyes and the blue in the jersey he’d wear eventually and they’d all chant his name again, as soon as he stepped onto the ice.
Emma tried to take another deep breath, far too aware of Mary Margaret’s concerned glance darting her direction every few seconds, and it, finally, worked, nerves settling just a bit when she closed her eyes lightly.
There were more cars and more screaming and they’d started chanting for Jefferson now, an impossible rally-call that didn’t really make much sense considering the number of syllables in his name. Emma tugged her hair over her shoulder and she hadn’t actually opened her eyes yet, mind drifting back to the reasons she had told him about Neal and, maybe, why she hadn’t run away yet – she didn’t want to.
She glanced back down at the carpet – only a few feet away from she was still standing – and she couldn’t imagine how he managed to walk in a straight line when there were so many fans and flashing lights and Mulan practically had her camera in his face, yelling to look that direction.
He probably didn’t have his phone, Emma reasoned, but she’d never actually texted him back before and, well, there was a chance.
Nice suit.
Killian glanced down almost as soon as she’d sent the message, tugging one hand out of his pocket and his eyebrows dropped low when he glanced at the screen. He couldn’t actually text back, but his head moved on a swivel, trying to figure out where she was and something in the back of Emma’s mind sounded at that, the quick rush she got from the way his eyes narrowed as he tried to find her.
She knew the moment he did – the smile on his face quelling any desire to run away – and Henry was jumping up and down as soon as Killian moved towards the stairs. He was in front of them half a moment later, nodding towards Emma and smiling at Henry.
“You ready for the game, kid?” Killian asked, leaning towards Henry and Emma nearly gasped when his hand brushed across the side of her dress.
“Absolutely,” Henry yelled, still bobbing on the balls of his feet. “The Islanders are garbage anyway. You guys are totally going to roll.”
Killian hummed in approval, leaning forward to tug on the ‘C’ in the corner of Henry’s jersey. “Didn’t we get you a new jersey?” Henry was still wearing the Cup Finals one he’d worn to practice. “Swan, didn’t we get the kid new merch?”
Emma shrugged. “Looks like he’s got a favorite. And you’re not supposed to be up here. Technically.”
“Spoilsport.”
“My event, my rules. Come on, Jones, back on the carpet.”
He leaned away, smirk tugging on the corners of his mouth and he absolutely knew Emma had resorted to last names to try and maintain some semblance of control. She was bordering dangerously close to jumping him territory.
“Of course, Swan,” he muttered, saluting with two fingers and that stupid smirk plastered on his face. “See ya, Henry.”
“Bye,” Henry yelled and no one noticed Killian’s hand when it lingered on Emma’s back before he half-sprinted back down the steps.
It went fine.
No, Emma thought as she continued to pace in the back of the suite, a plate of half-eaten food held loosely in her hand. It was better than fine.
It had gone perfectly – a picture of efficiency and tents that didn’t fall down and Henry told everyone who would listen about how Killian had come talk to them. Will had even worn a suit. The fans cheered and Arthur's speech wasn’t nearly as awful as it had been two nights before, hitting all the high points without actually including any swear words that would do irreparable damage to the children in the crowd.
They’d stuck to the itinerary and everything went perfectly, but it took Emma the first two periods to make sure everything had wrapped up as perfectly as it had run and she had tents to get down now and the irony of that was close to absurd.
She, finally, got back into the arena a few minutes before the third period started, pacing back and forth and dragging her fork across the plate of the Garden-provided food as the game went on in the background.
They were winning – she knew that, at least, with the amount of yelling coming from David and Henry’s general direction, shouting and jumping every few minutes.
Emma’s feet were actually starting to hurt from the pacing, anxious energy settling in the pit of her stomach and she’d never been a particularly nervous fan, but she’d never been dating the captain of the New York Rangers either.
And Mary Margaret totally knew.
She sank into the chair next to Mary Margaret, who visibly winced when Will crashed into the boards, bringing an Islanders forward with him. “How’s it going?” Emma asked, realizing she was still holding a plate of half-eaten food.
“The game or, like, me as a human?”
“Either or.”
“Both are going ok, but they really do hit each other a lot, don’t they?”
“That’s just Will,” Emma said, sitting up a bit straighter when an Islanders jersey worked into the Rangers’ zone and ripped off a shot that hit, loudly, off the crossbar. “Jeez,” she muttered, shaking her head. “Arthur’s going to kill them if that’s how they’ve been playing all game. Is that how they’ve been playing all game?”
David shook his head, not looking away when the referee dropped the puck in the faceoff circle, a new line on the ice that included Phillip the Rookie. They lost the faceoff. Emma, David and Henry groaned simultaneously. “Although,” David continued, glancing at Emma over his shoulder. “They’re kind of playing like crap now.”
Emma groaned again, watching another line change and Arthur was going to put a hole through the floor behind the bench, barking out orders and pacing even more than she had been just a few minutes before.
She, finally, put her plate down, opting instead to tap her fingers nervously along the front of her chin as she leaned forward and watched the game play out.
They really were playing like crap now.
The Islanders had five scoring chances and Will got two minutes for tripping – in the offensive zone, making Arthur throw something that looked like it had, at one point, been a white board before he snapped it in half against the glass behind the bench.
Henry sighed when the Islanders tied the game, on the power play no less, a shot that flew just above Jefferson’s outstretched glove and into the right corner of the net with the first line on the ice.
“God dammit,” Emma muttered, kicking at the floor before remembering that there was a plate of half-eaten food there.
“They’ll get it back,” Henry promised and Emma couldn’t quite bring herself to argue with him, pressed up against the glass of the suite, determination in his voice.
She sank back into her chair – fourth line on the ice now and Arthur was still screaming – and Mary Margaret was staring at her intently, the desire to talk almost painfully obvious on her face. “Alright,” Emma sighed. “Go ahead.”
“What?” Mary Margaret asked.
“Ask me whatever you’re waiting to ask me.”
“It’s more of a statement than a question.”
“Either or.”
“Killian took his phone out before he came up to talk to Henry.”
“You’re right,” Emma said slowly, not entirely sure where this was going.
“You had your phone out too.”
Emma waited for the rest of the statement and the inevitable questions and they never came – Mary Margaret was going to make her actually say it. “You sure David’s the detective and not you? You’d be great on a crime scene.”
“Oh, shut up,” Mary Margaret laughed, smacking lightly at Emma’s arm. “I”m just saying.”
“That’s true. You did say.”
“And?”
“And what, Reese’s? You’re just making statements.”
“With a purpose though.”
“And that is?”
“To get you to talk. Or consider talking. Or maybe explaining why you’ve been walking around on some sort of metaphorical cloud for the last few weeks.”
“A metaphorical cloud?”
“Well, I mean, you couldn’t be walking on an actual cloud,” Mary Margaret said.
Emma almost told her – she was half a breath away from it, a bit desperate to explain to Mary Margaret that she might have actually been happy and on her way to something resembling trust.
She didn’t.
Because, somewhere deep in the very center of Emma Swan’s being, she was still a bit of a coward and, technically, they hadn’t even really gone on a date yet.
Mary Margaret sighed softly when she realized Emma wasn’t going to actually say anything, disappointment flashing across her face as she tugged on her engagement ring. Emma didn’t roll her eyes at that – that seemed like a victory.
“I thought we talked about the set-up ideas, Reese’s,” Emma said, ducking her head so she was back in Mary Margaret’s eyeline. David and Henry were still oblivious to the conversation, pounding on the glass now as the game stayed tied and the minutes kept ticking down and Arthur’s very angry face continued to flash on the jumbotron screen hanging above center ice.
“This isn’t, technically, a set-up,” Mary Margaret argued. “Just...a statement. Two statements. Not even questions.”
“Yuh huh.”
“You went to the restaurant two nights ago, didn’t you? Rubes said you wore his jersey.”
“True. Also that was a question.”
“And?”
“And what, Reese’s?”
“And you never actually gave me any sort of update after you went to get your phone, which was totally code and we both knew it was code and, come on, Emma.”
Mary Margaret huffed slightly, sliding down into her seat and Emma couldn’t mask the laugh at the look on her face, disgruntled and frustrated and she hadn’t actually asked any questions – and Emma felt worse for not saying anything.
They’d decided.
Or, well, Emma had decided and Killian had agreed and they were whatever other word for under the radar that still meant under the radar, despite the fact that his hand had lingered on her back when he came into the bleachers.
And Emma was Emma and she still hadn’t explained everything and trusting Killian Jones with everything was a distinct work in progress.
She didn’t tell Mary Margaret.
“We’re just friends, Reese’s,” Emma said, the lying falling off her tongue as easily as anything she’d ever said in her life. “Honestly.”
“You texted him though.”
“Yup.”
“To talk to Henry?”
“Sure.”
Mary Margaret rolled her eyes – and her whole head for good measure – and Emma did her best to keep her face even, images of that stupid suit and the smirk on his face and his hand on her back.
It didn’t really work.
Emma knew it didn’t work as soon as Mary Margaret quirked her lips, nodding slowly and impassively and it felt a bit like being in school and getting pacified by a teacher and that was exactly what was happening.
Mary Margaret totally didn’t believe her.
Henry yelped, jumping up and hitting the window in front of him quickly, the heel of his palm making the panes practically shake, and even David was shouting too, calling for Emma at the same time he was screaming to skate into the zone.
Emma leapt out of her seat – just barely avoiding the food she still hadn’t moved off the floor – and she was next to Henry half a breath later, just quick enough to see Killian all but sprinting up the ice, the puck just out of reach of his outstretched stick.
He was fast. Ridiculously fast. A blue blur half a step ahead of the closest defender and Emma was only dimly aware of Henry’s cheers next to her, her own hands pressed up flat against the window, shoulders moving quickly as she tried to catch her breath.
A breakaway.
He’d promised her a breakaway.
David kept yelling to skate faster and Emma mumbled something under her breath that might have been how could he and the Islanders goalie started inching out of the crease, stick swiping across the ice in front of him.
Killian didn’t slow down.
“They changed the lines,” Henry muttered, tilting his head in confusion at the other winger on the ice.
“Phillip the Rookie,” Emma said, nodding towards the other streak of blue on the ice. “That’s Phillip the Rookie.”
“He’s fast.”
Emma hummed in agreement and she was positive a single play had never moved so quickly and so slowly all at the same time. “Take the shot,” David yelled, banging on the window as if that would somehow make Killian shoot quicker.
“Nah,” Henry objected. “Watch he’s going to dump it off.”
He did, stopping suddenly and flipping his stick back behind him, puck landing just in front of Phillip and Emma barely had a chance to properly gape at Henry before the light behind the net went off and the cheer erupted from the entire crowd.
Emma jumped, both arms thrown in the air as Henry yelled and even Mary Margaret stood up, smile on her face a soon as David wrapped his arm around her shoulders.
They won.
She got Henry back downtown – a rep from the house grumbling slightly about having to come to the Garden on a Friday night – and she made sure to hug him an extra second longer before watching him get in the cab, followed shortly by Mary Margaret and David.
There was still a community to relate to and Instagrams to update and celebratory tweets and video sent out to season-tickets of the game-winning goal and highlights of Phillip the Rookie earning first star in his very first NHL season game.
Emma was fairly certain he’d never stop smiling.
And it was nearly two hours after the end of the game by the time Emma realized it was two hours after the end of the game, exhaustion settling on her shoulders suddenly and without her complete permission, right there in the hallway.
Emma took a deep breath, twisting her neck and it had been a day – exhausting and exhilarating and they’d won . Maybe she was the one who wouldn’t ever stop smiling. “Hey, Emma,” a voice said, catching her short as she snapped her head up quickly.
Phillip the Rookie was still smiling.
“Hey,” she said. “Congratulations! That was an awesome shot.”
“Ah, well, it was a good pass.”
“Make sure they buy you coffee and donuts before film tomorrow afternoon. Seems only fair.”
Phillip the Rookie opened his mouth, probably to mutter something about he didn’t mind buying coffee and donuts if he had to because he was a rookie and he was still smiling, but he snapped his jaw shut at the sound of shoes behind him.
He was still wearing his suit – or wearing the suit again – and Emma traced her tongue over the back of her teeth, far too aware of the continued presence of Phillip the Rookie in the middle of the hallway.
“If anyone’s getting coffee and donuts delivered to them for film tomorrow, I think it should be me,” Killian said, smirk back on his face and eyebrows doing something ridiculous as he rocked back on his heels, staring at Emma. “After all, it was a hell of a pass.”
“That’s totally true, Cap,” Phillip said quickly and Emma didn’t even try to hide her eye roll.
“You’re already on the team, Phillip,” she mumbled. “You don’t need to coax his ego anymore. It was a good pass though.”
“A compliment, Swan?”
“A fact.”
Killian moved his eyebrows again, not turning his gaze away from Emma. Phillip the Rookie was, blissfully, ignorant. “A bunch of the guys are heading back uptown to get some food, if you’re interested Cap,” he said, sounding a bit like he was a freshman in high school trying to impress the senior. “We could split a cab.”
Emma tilted her head, shrugging quickly and Killian, finally, looked at Phillip. “Ah, that’s ok, Rook,” he said. “I think I’m just going to head home. Something about being old and needing to sleep after the opener.”
“Yeah, yeah, of course,” Phillip said, glancing back at Emma. “You need a ride?”
“Uh...no,” Emma answered. She was the worst liar in the world. “I’ve still got some post stuff to do after the event.”
“It went really well. I mean, I’ve never been to an opener before, but it was pretty cool and the fans were super psyched. The tents were great too. Who knew you could get bright blue tents like that.”
“Thanks, Phillip.”
He nodded enthusiastically, glancing at Killian once more before he muttered a quick see ya tomorrow, leaving them very alone in the middle of the hallway in the bowels of Madison Square Garden.
“It was a nice pass,” Emma said, voice sounding impressively loud in the otherwise abandoned hallway.
“It wasn’t quite a breakaway,” Killian countered. He took a step towards her, in Emma’s space in half a second and she hadn’t even taken a full breath before she exhaled loudly, the feel of his fingers on her hip making the oxygen rush out of her completely. She rested her hands on the front of his jacket, thumb ghosting over the line of his lapels.
“Ah, well, you’ve got all season to live up to that particular promise.”
Killian nodded slowly, eyes tracing down her dress and his hand tightened slightly. “Deal,” he murmured, leaning his head forward and Emma would have sworn she felt each letter in her very core.
“Did you star?”
“Didn’t you see?”
“I really did have post-event stuff to do.”
“You did a fantastic job, Swan. We should have lead with that. Nothing about almost-breakaway goals.”
She was blushing – could feel the heat of it in her cheeks and she knew Killian noticed, eyes going wide for half a moment when he pulled back to look at her. “Game-winner though,” Emma argued, tugging on the front of his jacket for extra emphasis. “Now come on, tell me, did you star?”
“Third. Phillip the Rookie was the one who actually scored the goal, love.”
She muttered something under her breath and Emma was a bit surprised to find herself in the deep end of defensive so quickly, not even objecting to the endearment. That kept happening more and more often. She maybe, almost, sort of liked it.
“That’s stupid,” Emma mumbled.
“I like this defensive side of you, Swan. You know getting star doesn’t actually mean anything.”
“Whatever.”
He grinned at her – smirk long gone as soon as they stopped pretending and were by themselves and there was something to that, something big and important and vaguely overwhelming that had been sitting in the back of Emma’s mind, like it was just waiting for the moment when she was, finally, ready to talk about it.
And she wasn’t ready to talk about it then.
Not yet.
She didn’t run, though, didn’t move an inch or let go of the vice-like grip she had on his jacket – she used it as leverage instead, appreciating Killian’s soft oof when she yanked him towards her and kissed him, soundly.
They were in the middle of the hallway, but Emma got the distinct impression if there had been an actual wall or a door nearby, she would have been pushed up against it, Killian pressing forward quickly, hips meeting hers as he moved underneath her to try and lift her up. Her feet weren’t touching the ground anymore, hands moving across skin and the back of his jacket and up into his hair.
He made some sort of noise in the back of his throat, an entirely unfair sound that made the little breath Emma still had in her lungs catch in her throat. She pulled away, chest heaving just a bit and everything felt a bit too tight and a bit too warm and they needed to get out of this goddamn hallway – and maybe find a wall.
“You want to get out of here?” Emma asked, determination sparking through her veins and she might not have been ready to talk about it, but she knew what she wanted. She wanted him.
Killian’s eyes widened again, mouth dropping open in surprise and he still hadn’t put her back on the ground, arms wrapped tightly around her waist as he supported her weight. “Right now?” he asked, all bravado lost in the question.
Emma felt a distinct rush of power when his voice shook just a bit, the certainty that he wanted right back, settling into the bottom of her stomach, like some sort of soft fire that sent shockwaves through all of her limbs.
That didn’t make sense.
It didn’t matter.
The metaphor didn’t need to make sense – not when he was looking at her like that and she still wasn’t actually standing on her own. “Right now,” Emma repeated.
“Where? Where do you want to go?”
She hadn’t been expecting the question and Emma huffed slightly when she realized she couldn’t coyly mutter the words my place like this was some sort of over-the-top romance because she didn’t have a place – just a couch in Mary Margaret’s loft.
He figured that out too.
“We could…” he said slowly, shifting his arms slightly and Emma twisted against him, trying to get her feet back on the floor. “Swan,” Killian hissed, sucking in his breath between his teeth. “You can’t do that, love.”
Emma pressed her lips together tightly, laughter threatening to bubble out and she nodded like it was the most serious thing in the entire world. “What were you saying?”
“Well, I mean, we could...I have an apartment.”
“Yeah?”
“Are you questioning my apartment or whether or not we can go there?”
“Either or.”
“Yes to both,” he said, hands falling back on her hips while he did something absurd with his eyebrows. “If you want.”
And there it was – the puck in her zone or the ball in her court or whatever sports metaphor she wanted to use at the moment. He was letting her pick.
He wasn’t going to push.
Emma nodded. “Yeah,” she said and the word didn’t scratch her throat or stutter on her tongue, a certainty she didn’t expect, but appreciated just the same. “Yeah, I do.”
They must have set some sort of record leaving the Garden – his hand in hers or hers in his and smiles on their faces and Emma couldn’t stop the laughter if she tried, a mix of excitement and that same nervous energy whenever Killian’s eyes darted towards hers. He walked them out the goddamn front door, slipping into the somehow still-present crowd on 34th Street and threw his arm out over the edge of the sidewalk, a cab screeching to a stop almost as quickly as he’d hailed it.
“Between you and Reese’s, you guys make it look like this is just easy,” Emma muttered, sliding along the seat and only vaguely distracted by Killian’s fingers on the back of her neck.
“It’s fairly easy, Swan.”
“Yeah, that’s just because you’re like Mr. New York or something.”
“No one has ever called me that in my entire life.”
“Not to your face.”
“Wasn’t it a compliment?”
Emma didn’t answer, just made a face and his laugh might actually be her new favorite sound, even more than that one noise he made when she tugged on his lower lip – she’d never thought something so absurdly sentimental in her entire life.
The driver cleared his throat, moving into traffic as he glanced at them in the rearview mirror. “Where to?”
“68th and Amsterdam.”
She didn’t count the minutes in the back seat of the cab or how Killian’s hand kept inching down her side, trailing over her thigh and the bend of her knee. She didn’t start chanting in through your nose and out through your mouth in her head like some sort of breathing-based mantra for the thirteen-minute car ride uptown.
Not like she counted the minutes.
“Here,” the driver announced, pulling up in front of some sort of monstrosity of a building that absolutely had a doorman and a chandelier in the lobby. Emma still wasn’t doing a very good job of breathing.
Killian swiped a card and promised he didn’t need a receipt and they were out the door and halfway onto the sidewalk when the driver realized he’d just had the captain of the New York Rangers in his backseat – Emma vaguely aware of a half-shouted Hey, aren’t you... as soon as Killian slammed the door shut behind them.
“Come on,” he said softly, fingers lacing through hers as he walked towards the door and the doorman and there was an elevator in this building.
“Mr. Jones,” the man said. Oh, he wasn’t a doorman. He was security. Killian lived in a building with security – around the clock security.
He nodded towards the guard and practically punched the button on the wall in front of the elevator, tapping his foot when the doors didn’t spring open immediately. “Impatient, huh?” Emma asked, falling back on jokes and sarcasm in a vain attempt to feel like she was in any type of control of the situation.
“You know this is the first time we’ve ever actually been alone, Swan?”
She did. She knew that – had thought about it for the thirteen minutes it had taken to get uptown, the idea weighing down on her every time she tried, and failed, to take a breath. The doors opened before Emma couldn't respond and she took a step forward, pressing her back against the far wall of the elevator.
She lost her train of thought as soon as she turned back around, Killian’s eyes a shade darker than they usually were – or maybe that was just those romantic tendencies that were rearing their head – but Emma didn’t really care about the reasoning behind it, scientific or otherwise, just that he was looking at her like she was the only thing that had ever mattered in the history of the entire goddamn universe.
He didn’t hesitate when he stepped forward, back in her space and she might have been obsessed with his hair, but he had some sort of thing for holding on to her hips like they were an anatomical life vest, so Emma felt like they were almost on even footing.
And she’d been right about the wall.
Killian must have pressed a button at some point – Emma was almost positive they were moving, but that might have just been her and maybe she was floating or something equally ridiculous because she couldn't really think when he moved his whole body against her, pushing her farther against the wall. Her back hit a railing, the metal digging into the bottom of her spine and she arched forward before she considered the consequences of that, hips hitting against his and it was obvious how much he wanted.
That was, definitely, even footing.
He kissed her hard and it was needy and a bit desperate and Emma gave as good as she got, hips moving up to try and find some friction.
This was the longest elevator ride in the history of the world.
Neither one of them made a move for clothes – far too aware that this was still an elevator and there was still another door in between them and, presumably, a bedroom and a bed and when the elevator dinged to signal their arrival on the, jeez , twenty-second floor, and Emma wasn’t sure if she was groaning from having to walk again or because he’d started using his teeth against the side of her neck.
“We need to move,” she mumbled, straightening just a bit when his fingers found their way underneath the edge of her dress. “We’ll just be stuck in this elevator forever.”
“Doesn’t seem quite so bad.”
“Killian,” Emma sighed and when she leaned back he was smiling.
He nodded, lacing his fingers back through hers as if he couldn’t quite bring himself to stop touching her and directed them down the hall to the only door at the end of the carpet, fumbling in his pocket for a moment when Emma started kissing along his jaw. “If we want to actually get inside, Swan, I’m going to need to eventually open the door.”
She hummed against his skin, appreciating the way he sighed at the contact and the goosebumps that had shot up underneath her touch. “Swan,” Killian mumbled and it must have been his turn to sigh.
They were very good at teasing each other.
He finally got the door open and Emma felt herself moving quickly, feet off the floor again and one heel flying off her foot when her back collided with another door. Killian had his hands on either side of her, pinning her against the wood and she couldn’t move her hands quickly enough, tugging on what she was certain was a ridiculously expensive suit jacket and a far too complicated belt and buttons that were probably hand stitched.
They were a mess of limbs and lips and the desperation to get clothes off was just as strong as it had been in the elevator and Emma exhaled softly when she heard the telltale signs of a zipper being tugged – her zipper.
“You found that very quickly,” she muttered, working a soft chuckle out of Killian as he tugged the fabric off her shoulders and down around the curve of her hips.
“You’ll find I can accomplish quite a bit when I’m particularly determined, Swan.”
“That so?” He nodded, pushing the fabric farther down until it was just a pool of blue at Emma’s feet. “And what, exactly, Captain, are you hoping to accomplish?”
His eyes widened a bit when she called him that – which had been exactly what she’d been trying to accomplish in the first place – and Emma smiled like she’d set up the game-winner in the final minute of regulation.
At least that was until he moved his hand again and his fingers weren’t on her hips anymore, dipping lower until his eyes widened and Emma couldn’t think of anything except him and the feel of him and, right then, she didn’t care if it ended or what would happen when it did, just wanted him everywhere all at once.
She gasped when he moved his hand again and she was half a breath away from knees buckling, gripping the shirt he, somehow, still had on just a bit tighter than necessary. She squeezed her eyes closed before it happened, head falling forward to rest on his shoulder when the entire world felt like it exploded.
“Alright, love?” Killian asked, words soft in her ear. Emma nodded against his shirt, trying to figure out when the Earth shifted on its axis.
“Better,” she promised. She lifted her head up to find him staring at her, a very particular look on his face and she hadn’t ever been looked at like that – a slew of adjectives Emma was certain were firmly entrenched in romantic and sentimental and his thumb traced over her jaw when he smiled at her, the ends of his mouth barely moving.
“You’re wearing too many clothes,” Emma muttered, gripping fabric tightly in her fist.
“I was focused on a few other things first.”
“Come on, I assume this very fancy apartment in this very fancy building has a bedroom.”
“It does.”
“Well lead the way, Captain.”
His face shifted slightly, smile stuttering just a bit and, eventually, Emma would remember that moment as the moment she knew – she knew him or wanted to know him and wanted to prove something very particular. Killian Jones was a good guy.
Even without the captaincy or the hockey or the third star in the New York Rangers season opener.
Killian Jones was enough.
“Killian,” Emma corrected softly and the smile returned almost immediately. “Come on.”
They hadn’t actually been that far from the bedroom, a short hallway off the right of a kitchen that was the opposite of the alcove in Mary Margaret’s loft and Emma gasped again when they walked through the door – windows across the far wall and Lincoln Center two blocks away and everything was bright and she couldn’t hear the sirens that always seemed to exist in New York City. It was quiet.
And everything seemed to reset.
He moved behind her, turning her around until her knees hit up against the mattress and Emma sank onto blankets and pillows, Killian hovering just above her. She tried not to let the nerves creep back in, tried not to blink too much or shift against the, frankly, ridiculous amount of pillows on his bed, but she was Emma and Emma was, at her core, uncertain and untrusting and the Earth had shifted on its axis a few minutes before, but she hadn’t quite caught up completely yet.
She wasn’t a fool – or inexperienced – and she knew there was a whole section of the New York Rangers fandom that wasn’t interested in anything more than Killian’s, admittedly, attractive face and the way he fit in his jersey and there...there must have been moments.
He’d been in New York for years, an entire career as the face of the franchise, and it had only been five weeks.
Open book.
She was an open book.
Killian pulled his hand up her side, eyes lightening a bit as he ducked his head and trailed kisses across her collarbone. “Are you sure, Emma?” he asked softly, the warmth from his hand settling into the space between her ribs.
He’d never called her Emma before and that did it – she was certain.
“Shut up and kiss me,” she said.
“That’s kind of an aggressive approach,” Killian laughed, leaning over her to reach towards a nightstand and responsibility and his hips bucked when Emma’s nails scraped across his thigh. “Fuck,” he mumbled.
He did, eventually, kiss her and it wasn’t quite as desperate as it had been before, wasn’t quite as determined or aggressive as Emma had demanded it be – it was slower, bordering dangerously close to lazy, like he was trying to memorize every shift in her body and the feel of her lips on his and it wasn’t quite as overwhelming as it probably should have been.
Her back arched when Killian moved a particular way, an entire constellation exploding behind her eyes and he made a very specific type of noise that she’d probably think about for, at least, the next week.
She considered leaving.
She did.
She thought about the dress still sitting on the floor just inside Killian’s front door and how easy it would be to get out of the bed and back in her dress and twenty blocks uptown before Mary Margaret or David realized she wasn’t asleep on the couch.
Emma thought about it and then Killian shifted behind her, the arm around her waist tightening just a bit until her back was against his front. “Don’t go, Emma,” he whispered and it was probably good she wasn’t looking at him because she had to bite her lip to make sure her voice didn’t shake when she answered.
“It is kind of late.”
It wasn’t.
“Exactly.”
It wouldn’t have mattered. She wouldn’t have gotten up, no matter what time it was. She had no idea what time it was.
“Ok,” Emma said, shifting again and they fit in a way that shouldn’t have made sense. It did.
She didn’t leave and they didn’t really sleep for what felt like hours, roaming hands and curious touches and they were absolutelymemorizing each other. He called her Emma three more times.
Not like she was counting.
#cs ff#captain swan ff#ouat ff#cs#csbb#blue line#things#are#happening#david is the most obnoxiously loud rangers fan in the world#or#david is me watching rangers games
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1, 5, 14, 21, 23, 39, 41, 56 (my cousin would always do this, and if we had angry guests in Zoo Tycoon we'd drown them or feed them to dinosaurs ... yeah DX) 67, 70
Video Game Asks
1. First game you played obsessively?
- It really depends on how young I was tbh, the three I can remember playing ALL THE TIME as a child though were the Kelly Club game (I still have the disc, it lags a bit but actually STILL works on my current computer! Even though it’s almost 20 years old!), Barbie: Beach Vacation (several of the Barbie games actually, I also remember enjoying Barbie as Rapunzel, Barbie Pet Rescue, and Barbie Horseriding Adventures), and the first Pajama Sam game, Pajama Sam: No Need to Hide When It’s Dark Outside (I can’t BELIEVE that game is 21 years old now, omg) which tbh I sometimes still play today - the Humungous Interactive games were really fun!
5. Ever use cheat codes?
- When I was younger? No, because I don’t think I really knew how then, I mostly used to use the internet for dress-up games and didn’t really realise stuff like that was something I could just Google (although, most of the games I played didn’t need cheat codes). Oh WAIT unless cheats for The Sims count?! Cause I used to play The Sims and The Sims 2 round at friends’ houses and they taught me the ‘klaupicus’ (I think that’s how you spelt it), ‘rosebud’, and ‘motherlode’ cheats. Still use Sims cheats today :P And if walkthroughs count, I do use those more than I’d perhaps care to admit :P
14. Favourite game music?
- Ooooh this is a tough one, I have lots of favourite music/soundtracks in games. Love the Nancy Drew game soundtracks, the ones for Telltale’s games are pretty good, the Heart’s Medicine (a time-management game series) games generally have really lovely soundtracks, the music in Stardew Valley is GORGEOUS, can’t forget Life is Strange - the licensed tracks are particularly well-chosen but the original score is also great - Oxenfree’s soundtrack is amazing… Oh, and gotta give a shout-out to the music in The Sims 3, that stuff is catchy (I’ve played so much TS3 that I recognised a piece of music from it when it was being used as “gameshow” music on TV in an episode of Elementary :P) I think that’s about it for my absolute favourites.
21. Game you didn’t like or understand as a kid but you do now?
- (I have no idea why) I think when I was a kid I didn’t used to understand why people liked Tomb Raider, but I do totally get the appeal now and I’ve even been playing the 2013 version of Tomb Raider myself!
23. Game you’ve logged the most hours into?
- Before Steam, got no idea. But going by my Steam records, currently The Sims 3 (I thought that might be the case, lol) with 131 hours played.
39. A sequel you would die for them to make?
- Three words: EMERALD. CITY. CONFIDENTIAL. It’s a point-and-click adventure game set in Oz, about 40 years or so after the original Wizard of Oz, it presents Oz in a very noir-esque style, and the main character is a private detective called Petra. SUCH a good game, probably one of my favourites of all time. Unfortunately it’s not possible apparently because I think they don’t have the rights to it anymore or something? I already asked the creator (Dave Gilbert) about it a couple of years ago on Twitter. He DID (I think) say though I think theoretically they could make a game that takes place in the same universe (Oz) since it’s public domain or something, they just couldn’t use any of the characters or places (I think) they used before :P (Which defeats the point a bit but tbh I’d be curious to see what it’d be like)
41. A genre you just can’t get into?
- Horror. (Exceptions for things like The Walking Dead game and maybe a couple of other things, if those count) It’s not a film or TV or book genre I like either, it’s just really not for me :P
56. Did you ever play Rollercoaster Tycoon and kill off your guests?
- Did I ever play it? Yes! Did I ever kill off the guests? No, mostly because I didn’t even realise that was a thing, I wasn’t much good at the actual game itself if I’m honest, I could barely figure out how to play it properly, let alone kill off characters :P
67. Do you have a happy gaming-related childhood memory you want to share?
- My sister used to watch me play all the time, any time she did that was pretty happy and fun and it’s sweet to remember. Also sometimes she’d unintentionally help heaps without meaning to. One time, I was playing Pajama Sam 4: Life is Rough When You Lose Your Stuff and there was this bit when I was trying to figure out how to get Sam across this river made of fizzy drink/soda. Now, I was playing this around Christmas, and my sister randomly came into the room with something in her hand and said something like “Look, it’s a nutcracker!” and boom, it was a *lightbulb moment* because a few places back in the game, there was this giant nutcracker, and one of the only things I had in my inventory was a giant peanut. I raced back to the nutcracker as quickly as I could, clicked on it with the peanut and used the hollow peanut on the soda river - and bingo, that was the answer! That was a fun moment.
70. Very first game you ever beat?
- It was probably the first Pajama Sam game (as I said earlier, No Need to Hide When It’s Dark Outside), not exactly sure though.
Thanks Holly! :D
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