BETRAYAL AT THE HOUSE ON THE GAME TOWER - END

[idolpro]

Who: Traitors and Survivors, Exael
Where: The Game Tower, and leaving it
When: Day 25, morning-- it appears that game lasted the bulk of day 24 into the night.

[ Abruptly, the nightmare ends.

You, in the rooms you kept restarting in, awoke. Before you can even panic, before even despair, the elevator doors were open in front of you to take you downstairs again. It could be a trap, sure, but your head is quiet— those fucking ghosts are gone. You also appear to be wet like someone dumped, perhaps, a bucket of holy water on you while you were asleep. All your wounds are gone, and you have been left bereft of any physical damage from your ordeal.

Unless you choose to take some with you. Nothing prevents you from taking any of your spoils downstairs with you, if you wish it, though all revolvers will have no ammo.

On the screens as you descend back to the lobby, Exael is clapping on screen, broadcast showing her in the mansion's entrance hall. "And so close the gates to this forbidden garden, and so closes this chapter of our story! Just as—" her hologram flickers as she doesn't seem to notice, chattering still to the cameras, "so too will—" fzzt, fzzt. Static, flickering, and then back into focus, "So give them all a hand! Everyone, you've done well! You stand before us still, ready to present us all with more marvels after having survived such grisly wonders with—" "—in the balance!"

As she speaks, she doesn't notice a figure approaching behind her. He's in a slick suit with both hands in his pockets, and you've seen him before— his portrait is in the foyer. His shoes are utterly silent as he walks across the marble floor, till he's right at her back.

"Audience and actors alike, we've been blessed with—" Her hologram doesn't flicker this time, but she stops speaking. Her eyebrows furrow as she tries to figure out what's amiss, and only belatedly begins to slowly look over her shoulder.

"Exael," he says with a friendly hand on her solidifying hologram shoulder, the effect spreading beneath his touch, "We need to have a chat about your requisitions paperwork."

She tilts her head, eyes wide with a finger tapping against her cheek as she thinks, "I didn't do any!"

"Yes," he agrees, smiling with all his teeth. "I know."

The broadcast cuts. The doors open to let you leave. ]

Comments

[rollplayinghouse]

[she approaches him a little hesitantly.]

[criminaljustice]

[he's still in that suit from the house, even.

mostly, he's the one staring wide-eyed at nothing, a clear what have I done??? being screamed internally. because. that sure was. some murders.

hi, your boyfriend's sane(?) again...]

[rollplayinghouse]

[she comes close, not incredibly close but certainly closer than a casual amount of personal space]

Boss.

/2

[criminaljustice]

[he startles, just a little. focusing on her and--]

[criminaljustice]

[this time he's the one moving in quickly to hug her. trying not to crush her but also oH THANK FUCK HE SOMEHOW MANAGED NOT TO MURDER A PERSON HE REALLY CARES ABOUT cry.

he might be shaking a little.]

[rollplayinghouse]

[a crushing hug seems like the appropriate thing right now, and she immediately tightens her arms around him too]

It's okay.

[her voice is quaking, though.]

[criminaljustice]

I'm sorry.

[it comes out strangled, a bit choked, very quiet and easily lost as he buries his face in her hair. even if he was right about the whole revival thing, the fact that he did it at all--threatened to do more...]

[rollplayinghouse]

It's not your fault.

[her throat closes on those words a bit, too]

[criminaljustice]

[yeah, he doesn't really believe that.

but he does tighten his hold a bit in thanks for her saying the thing, though.]

[rollplayinghouse]

...And it's over now.

[she tries to make her voice sound positive]

[criminaljustice]

[that has him sagging a bit. tension just. gone.

too bad the laughcrying thing seems to not have been a possession-induced reaction, but it's at least probably slightly better to listen to when he's sane...r. not as hysterical, just sad and happy and relieved all at once.]

[rollplayinghouse]

[She keeps her arms firmly around him and appears to have no trouble supporting however much weight he leans against her, just... waiting for it to pass, and trying to breathe, and showing no interest whatsoever in letting him go]

[criminaljustice]

[it's another long moment before he takes a deep breath and releases it shakily and pulls back enough to look at her again.

and maybe definitely touch her face like it's been centuries since he's been able to see it with non-murderghost eyes.]

[rollplayinghouse]

[When she looks up to meet his gaze her eyes are extremely uncertain—not scared, just like she has no idea what to expect at all and can't manage to prevent that from showing on her face]

[criminaljustice]

[#datingwildcards

but it's fine. he's just moving in for a kiss because. really. he should have done that ages ago.]

[rollplayinghouse]

[is this what people mean when they say their heart skips a beat?

for a moment she can't react, but after that she does, kissing back hard, hand fisting in his hair and holding him there with an iron grip, like he might escape]

[criminaljustice]

[well, now he gets why Phoenix is really into that hairpulling thing.

it pulls an amused and pleased sound from him since he's not planning on going anywhere, just upping the intensity of the kiss. he's so thirsty, Maki. you have no idea.]

[rollplayinghouse]

[This is her third kiss ever and the brief 'please stop being so insanely insecure' kiss with A shortly ago in the house doesn't entirely count, so Maki is still not sure what she is doing. But, in the face of everything that happened, being kind of unsure seems like a terrible reason to stop, so she follows suit kissing as best she can, rising on her toes for leverage and to bring her body just that much closer to his.]

[criminaljustice]

[has... had plenty of practice. hilariously, most of it during this game in particular, but.

he's practically vibrating with need and want and he could probably stand to be a bit... less with it, but honestly why do that? he's already wasted enough time not going all in. a hand drops to her waist to ensure she's as close as she could possibly by to him.

when he does pull back from the kiss, it's really just to make sure they have enough air and he doesn't really stop kissing--her face and jaw and neck all seem fair game.]

[rollplayinghouse]

[perhaps Boss should kiss his girlfriend as much as he kisses other people. but this is a good start.

when he breaks for air she makes a noise that's clearly not entirely intentional, a sound of protest combined with a breathy gasp, but when she realizes he's not actually stopping she tips her head back and arches her body against him, hand in his hair loosening enough that he can maneuver and just threading through the curls at the back of his neck]

[criminaljustice]

[kissing girlfriend more is definitely in the agenda.

mostly because she hasn't tried to stop him once and he's taking full advantage. kissing down her to her throat, he murmurs her name against her skin, reverently, in all the tones of someone who's probably thought about this for way too long. his voice is barely there, half harsh breath of someone who's heart is racing. hints of teeth against her skin start being introduced not even halfway down, not hard enough to do damage but enough to gauge a reaction.]

[rollplayinghouse]

Ah—

[even the first brush of his teeth sends a shiver of pleasure through her; her skin is sensitive and she's not prepared for how it feels. now she seems a little off-balance, figuratively and literally, her grip on his hair and his shirt holding some of her weight, her breath coming quick]

Ah... I...

[criminaljustice]

[the attempts to speak catch his attention just enough that he works to steady his breathing, but continues to place kisses at her throat.

You...?

[it's still airy, breathy but it's louder--very loud to his own ears--and low. he slows the fervent speed of the kisses enough so she can say what she wants, though he's just making up for the reduced speed by ensuring his arms are around her, providing support.]

[rollplayinghouse]

I...

[what does she want to say?]

I... like that...?

[her face is red, the flush crawling down her neck to her chest.]

[criminaljustice]

[... cute.

he's just. so utterly charmed by that, smiling against her neck.]

I can keep going. Do more.