#and i also reminded them that what regular team members make is below the los angeles living wage

[gobbluthbutagirl]

talked to both hr guy and the store director about what happened to my poor coworker on thursday and it was kind of funny because literally none of us were there when it happened so we were all going off second- and thirdhand information. but according to them one lead had to go on lunch right when it happened and the other lead was perhaps not aware of the exact nature of the spill(?) when she asked my coworker to clean it up. which i find REALLY hard to believe because that same lead once asked me to clean up vomit while knowing it was vomit so it seems HIGHLY likely that she would ask my coworker to clean up piss knowing full well it was piss. and i reminded hr guy that he told me when i first started that regular team members NEVER have to deal with any type of bodily fluids even from a dog. and that i worked here for 9 months under the impression that this was the case and found out it wasn’t when HE(the same guy who told me i would never have to deal with it!) asked me to clean up dog piss. and that most likely my coworker had never been informed that that was something she’d have to do right up until they made her do it. and also that even if the leads did not intentionally deceive her she would have definitely felt like she was being deceived and in addition to that ESPECIALLY if she felt like she had been tricked into cleaning it up she probably didn’t feel like she was allowed to say she wasn’t comfortable cleaning it up. like i don’t know this girl super well but she’s only like 20 or 21 and really nice and basically does not seem like the type to have the “hey wait a minute what the FUCK” reaction that i had the first time they asked me to clean piss, ESPECIALLY if she didn’t find out it was piss until after she’d started cleaning it. and i told them that they need to get all the leads together and figure out exactly what the plan is for dealing with bodily fluid spills in the future and make sure all the leads are in agreement so that the expectations for what we as cleaners have to deal with are uniform regardless of who the LOD is. and then they need to communicate that to not just the cleaners but EVERYONE because i know a lot of us were lied to when we were first hired. and i also told them that somebody from target needs to reach out to that poor girl who quit and apologize to her because regardless of what the two leads’ intentions were they handled that HORRIBLY and put her in a terrible position. and they did seem to be in agreement with me there so we’ll see

[beca-mitchell]

even when my body blows away, my soul will stay (1/1)

Summary: Four days in NYC away from her very pregnant girlfriend feels like a lifetime. But at least Beca has the cutest travel buddy ever—her two-year-old baby.

Word count: 4,539

Notes: Title from Ingrid Michaelson’s “Home”. I don’t really know what this is...just go with it. For @asimplefavors. This is a bit into the future (obviously) of this universe and subsequently reveals a lot more about Beca and Chloe's relationship and where it is. 

Hope you enjoy and sorry this isn't smutty.

Read below or on AO3.

* * * * * 

Age: 31/32 New York, New York February

 * * * * *

Emma trots in front of Beca, just a step or two ahead, happily wielding her miniature purse like she knows exactly how to pose for cameras already. Beca tilts her head with a smile, wondering just when Emma grew up so quickly right before her eyes.

As always when she thinks about Emma, she thinks about Chloe, back home in their Los Angeles villa...and, of course, their newest family member who is well on her way.

She thinks of Chloe’s decidedly grumpy face as Beca and Emma left just yesterday morning, but Chloe is simply too pregnant to travel and Beca’s press obligations for her voice-acting role in an upcoming animated film seemed like a good opportunity to get Emma out of the house. Also, some much-needed one-on-one time and a break for Chloe and her seemingly endless patience for Emma’s incessant demands as to when her (Emma had somehow taken a liking to referring to their incoming family member as her own baby, which despite Beca and Chloe’s endless efforts ) baby would be ready to play. Or whether Chloe would let her balance her blocks on her stomach again.

Still, Beca misses Chloe terribly and more than ever, wishes she were back on the west coast cuddling with the love of her life in their comfortable home. She winces as the sound of cars rushing all around them and quickly reaches out to hold Emma’s hand.

“Stay close to me,” Beca instructs when she sees the paparazzi ahead of them, already snapping photos. They seem docile for the moment, only occasionally shouting out questions. Beca somewhat recognizes their faces as regulars whenever she comes to New York. She only hopes that they keep their voices low and their words appropriate as to not startle or scare Emma.

Not that it seems like Emma is paying them any mind. Beca’s grin grows again when she notes how big of a fucking ham her kid is, playing it up for the camera. She just knows Emma got that from Chloe, somehow. All that confidence and taking everything in stride. It had taken Beca years before getting used to the entire atmosphere of being famous and most days she’s still not used to it. She’s not quite sure how she feels about Emma adapting so easily to all of this, but for now she’s just happy that Emma is content.

She makes a mental note to tell Chloe about it and maybe perhaps even break their code about looking at paparazzi photos because she’s pretty damn sure that the fact that Emma’s jacket matches her own jacket is something that might be so ridiculously cute that Chloe will demand they print a few copies. Beca makes an additional mental note to thank her stylist for pulling strings and getting almost an exact miniature replica of the designer suit jacket Beca has on. It looks adorable on Emma and Beca isn’t afraid to say it.

“We say hello?” Emma asks, slowing to a stroll as they near the wall of people waiting for Beca just at the entrance to the building.

“Not today, Em. Maybe one or two, but mama has to go inside really quickly, okay?”

Emma smiles at her. “Okay, mama.”

Beca smiles back before bending down to pick Emma up quickly. “Don’t look at the lights, baby.”

Emma tucks her head against Beca’s shoulder in a brief show of shyness before she nods. “Okay, mama,” she repeats like the absolute angel she is.

It turns out that her daughter is a bit of a trickster too because the moment they get close enough for somebody to fire off a question, Emma’s head immediately pops up and she responds animatedly as if Beca’s words had no meaning whatsoever.

“Beca! Beca—what’s next on the agenda for you?”

“Is Chloe with you? Is she supposed to be travelling?”

“Beca, how’s the wife?”

Beca chuckles at that particular question without responding. She knows it is something that is purposefully brought up time and time again simply because the world refuses to let go of the fascination surrounding her and Chloe’s decision to not get married before having Emma. She supposes now with a second child on the way, the rumour mill is exceptionally full and just desperate in its desire to unleash something particularly spiteful.

“No comment,” Beca says at large, smiling apologetically at the one fan who managed to sneak her way into the throng of paparazzi. She would stop but with her arms full of precious cargo, she doesn’t feel like risking a potential injury, especially for Emma with all the heavy equipment around.

Emma grins at the closest reporter before she begins to wave, cheerily saying, “Hello!” and “Bye-bye!” like she is absolutely a pro at delivering soundbites. Then, to Beca’s horror, Emma says, “butter on mommy!” with absolutely no context because she’s, well, two, but Beca’s face heats up immediately, already envisioning future headlines. Beca Mitchell—butter kink? It is possibly still the cutest thing ever however because Emma says it with such determination, but because of her tiny high-pitched voice, it comes out sounding 100 times less incriminating than if Beca had said something like that herself.

To be fair, Emma is referring to how she has recently been allowed to help Chloe apply body butter to her growing stomach. Unfortunately that is not easily contextualized. Still, Beca hastens to correct that before it gets back to Chloe who probably won’t be too happy with that characterization. “She means, like, lotion,” she explains hastily before pulling open the door and darting inside, still unsure if that was a better explanation at all. She chuckles at Emma’s bewildered expression upon not being able to talk with her ‘friends’. “Told you we had to be quick.”

The security guard gestures towards the elevators. “Right this way, Ms. Mitchell.”

Beca pauses in her blatant adoration of her child and slips on her professional mask. “Right, thank you.”

“Mama work?” Emma asks as they enter an elevator. Then, sadly, “Mama bye-bye?”

“Yeah, just for a bit,” Beca says, reaching up to brush at Emma’s hair. “But you can play with Julia,” she says excitedly, referring to her publicist who somehow manages to hold lengthy conversations with her toddler. It is a skill that few adults seem to be able to achieve with Emma, outside of Beca and Chloe.

“Juwia,” Emma repeats.

“Julia,” Beca attempts to correct even though she thinks Emma’s speech is the cutest ever. She wouldn’t be opposed to hearing those little blips and the sound of tiny voice for a little while longer.

“Juwia.”

“Okay,” Beca laughs.

Emma laughs back like she’s sharing a secret joke with Beca, reaching up to touch Beca’s cheek tenderly before she sighs and rests her head against Beca’s shoulder. Before Beca can do something totally embarrassing like take a million selfies just to send to Chloe, the elevator dings open and Beca mourns the loss of their little bubble being burst as light floods into the small space. Before she knows it, she is already being ushered off into the little green room where she’s meant to get ready with her team.

Emma giggles delightedly upon seeing Hannah who immediately squeals in return and drops her make-up bag on the closest chair and reaches out to pull Emma in for a kiss and a hug. Beca should be concerned at how easily her kid willingly just goes to other people, but she warms at the sight of a group of people she trusts interact so freely and wonderfully with her baby.

And another one on the way soon, Beca’s mind reminds her as if she had somehow forgotten.

“Missing the wife?” Hannah asks knowingly once Emma scurries off to find Jill who is likely hanging up a few of Beca’s clothing choices. She smirks at the way Beca bristles.

“The wife,” Beca says with emphasis and an eye-roll. “Is, unfortunately, a bit too pregnant to fly without me popping an aneurysm on the flight. So she’s at home. And yes, yes, I am missing Chloe, but Emma and I have some time, which is nice.” Beca shrugs, trying to play off exactly how much she misses her girlfriend and tries to get back into the professional mindset.

“Jill has a couple fun outfits for you,” Hannah announces, deftly changing the subject. She hums and reaches out to examine Beca’s hair. “Both of you in case your mini-me wants to match again.”

Beca is secretly excited at the prospect of matching with Emma, mostly because she knows Chloe is going to love it (and likely cry over it, but Beca knows how to soothe her at this point). Outwardly, she simply tries not to smile too much as Hannah begins to fiddle with her make-up and guide Beca over to the miniature sink so she can first wash her face. Beca sighs, knowing that she has to get this over with. She lets the sound of Emma’s delighted screams in the distance soothe her.

  * * * * *

 “Hey,” Beca murmurs, settling on the couch quietly when she has a moment to spare. Chloe’s voicemail had been a disappointment, but she can’t blame Chloe for taking the opportunity to sleep in without a rambunctious two-and-a-half-year-old in the house. “I guess you’re still sleeping, but I just wanted to call to say I love you and I miss you...and Emma can’t shut up about you. We’re basically falling apart without you, hope you’re happy.”

“Mommy?” Emma chimes in from Beca’s immediate left. She reaches for the phone and peers at the screen confusedly as if expecting Chloe’s face to be there. “Mommy,” she repeats, looking up at Beca.

“Mommy’s sleeping so I’m leaving a message for her before I go to work,” Beca explains. Emma is accustomed to FaceTime and seeing Beca or Chloe’s faces on the small screen. “Want to tell mommy you love her?”

“Kisses!” Emma exclaims before planting a huge kiss right on Beca’s phone screen. Beca winces at the amount of spit that ends up on the screen and makes a note to teach Emma how to kiss with her mouth closed. “Kisses for mommy,” Emma declares before handing the phone back to Beca with no small measure of pride.

Emma darts off again, endlessly entertained. Beca wipes the screen hastily before pressing the phone back to her ear.

“Okay, Emma says she loves you and she basically just licked my phone screen to do so...hope you’re happy, Chlo.” Beca chuckles, her heart clenching unexpectedly when there is no Chloe to respond in kind. She misses Chloe so much already and they’ve only been away for a day. “I miss you,” she says again. “Hope you and baby are doing okay. I’ll call you later. And if you’re bored without us, don’t clean the whole fucking house,” Beca instructs, making sure to lower her voice in case Emma is nearby again. “Just chill out, okay? Okay,” she repeats, mostly to herself because it’s weird not hearing Chloe’s voice agreeing with her or bantering back and forth with her. “Bye, gotta go.”

Tapping off the call, Beca sighs. She rests her phone on her lap and closes her eyes for a moment.

A throat is cleared. “Are you ready?”

She opens her eyes and clicks her phone open so she can just take in the photo she has as her lockscreen: Chloe and Emma and herself all at Santa Monica Pier. If Beca takes a moment, she can remember exactly how the sun had felt against her skin; how tightly Emma had gripped her hand as Chloe and her had swung their baby around, walking up and down the pier; she can feel the gentle press of Chloe’s lips against her cheek just after this photo was taken, cold like the ice cream she had just finished.

She can see it all—the endless miles of past memories and future memories—and she feels so incredibly lucky to share it with the love of her life.

She just has to make it through these next few days and she can return home and their family can be together again. The separation anxiety is likely only raring its head in such a horrible way this time around because Chloe is so close to her due date and Beca is feeling exceptionally protective and anxious. That much she knows. But she really, truly hates being apart from her family at all. She didn’t expect the day to drag on so long...and it is still technically morning.

She gazes at the photo again, hearing the echo of Chloe’s laugh in her ear.

“Yeah,” Beca finally says. “Let’s go.”

  * * * * *

 The next two hours of press junket interviews drag on, but Beca wills herself to keep a smile plastered on her face throughout the entirety of the time period, lest her publicist chide her for being too overtly wry or grim for a children’s movie. Beca pretty much is only doing this for her own kids (kids! plural!) because she wants cool mom points and it seems like doing voice work for major animated movies is the way to go.

Also, singing.

She is mulling over an interview opportunity that had just been suggested to her when she finally hears the sound of Emma’s giggling from behind the door.

“Ugh, finally,” Beca drawls out loudly as to announce her presence to her giggling child. She pulls her hair free from the loose up-do she had, shaking it out as she enters the green room only for Emma to dart out to greet her instead. “Hey! Where are you going?”

“Apple,” Emma says, holding the banana up for Beca to look at.

“Banana,” Beca corrects.

“Apple,” Emma insists before giggling at Beca’s inability to recognize the fruit in her hand. Beca reaches for her and she screams, darting off. Beca makes a mental note to ask if Julia had slipped some alcohol or sugar to her kid because what the hell? Beca shakes her head, pulling out her phone to dial Chloe’s number while she has down time before her next round of interviews.

Chloe picks up just as Beca is totally prepared to leave another message. “Finally,” Chloe complains jokingly. “Thought you’d never call me back.”

“Chlo, hi,” Beca says breathlessly as she chases after Emma who is rushing at a surprisingly fast pace down the hall. She offers an apologetic smile at one of her costars who looks entirely too amused at Beca power-walking down the hall in heels. “Your kid is literally running away from me right now.”

Chloe’s laugh is like music. “My kid now? Pretty sure she came out of you.”

“Shut up, she’s yours when she’s crazy fast.”

Chloe sighs like she is reclining comfortably on their bed. Beca is immediately envious. “Hmm, pretty sure you were the one on the track team, babe.”

“Hey, one of the outlets had a fun idea for an interview,” Beca says, finally catching up with her baby. “What would you say to letting me and Emma do a little interview? It’d be like a behind the scenes bonus video for YouTube. Julia thinks it’s a good idea but I dunno…”

Chloe laughs. “That sounds crazy enough to go viral.”

“But the exposure,” Beca worries.

“I know,” Chloe agrees softly. “I don’t want it to be too much for her but…”

“We can request that they turn off comments for the video,” Beca suggests. “But if you think I shouldn’t, then that’s totally fine. I want to know what you think.”

“God, she really is such a ham for the camera,” Chloe murmurs. Beca laughs, wondering if Chloe is looking at the earlier photos.

“Definitely didn’t get that from me,” Beca mumbles.

“Alright, miss Vogue covergirl.”

“Chloe,” Beca whines. “Stop that.”

“Stop what?”

“Stop flirting with me and answer me!” Beca jokes, feeling a light pang in her chest as Chloe laughs along with her.

“Bec, it’s fine. I trust your judgement and honestly it doesn’t sound horrible. And maybe I just want to see how cute my girlfriend and daughter are on screen together.”

For some reason the word “girlfriend” stands out to Beca in full force today. Whether it’s because she just happens to be missing Chloe more or because she feels an itch to settle down more than ever before, she can’t be sure. One thing is for certain, Beca knows she needs to have a conversation with Chloe sooner or later.

“Okay,” Beca finally says. She sighs. “I just...wish you were here. I wish you could be here.” She holds on to a squirming Emma. “Want to talk to this little punk?”

Chloe laughs. “Sure, put her on FaceTime.”

Beca does so and immediately wishes she had thought to FaceTime Chloe right at the beginning. She breaks into a smile at Chloe’s face appearing on her screen. “Emma! Baby, look! It’s mommy!”

Emma gasps dramatically and immediately grabs at the phone, dropping the “banana” she had been holding on the floor. She holds the phone away from her face at arms-length, smiling so widely that Beca wonders if her face hurts at all. “Mommy! Mommy, hi!”

“Emma! You look so cute! I love your hair, sweetie! Are you having fun?”

“Mama working!”

Chloe gasps. “I know! And you’re being a good girl right?”

Emma smiles, this time shyly in a complete show of how she has both Chloe and Beca wrapped around her tiny finger because Beca can see how Chloe visibly softens even through the screen. “Good girl,” Emma repeats before pointing at herself. “Miss you, mommy,” she says, pressing closer to the screen as if she can get closer. She looks like she might kiss the screen again but she just falls silent for a short moment, content with just watching Chloe smile back at her.

Beca totally relates.

  * * * * *

 Emma has an intuition. At first, Beca had rolled her eyes at Chloe when Chloe had pointed it out, but now she kind of sees what Chloe means.

It’s a kind of...jealousy instinct? Beca isn’t sure how to characterize it without being totally weird considering Emma is two (and a half...Jesus, already?), but it’s that Emma kind of knows when people are flirting with Beca or hitting on her (usually totally unprofessionally, but that’s another issue)...and it’s usually before Beca herself realizes what’s going on.

She isn’t expecting it to flare up during this press tour considering Beca’s just there for work and she isn’t even dressed to the nines, but Beca notices that Emma suddenly takes to cuddling close to her while she is in the middle of interacting with an over-enthusiastic interviewer off-camera, off-record.

“Hi you,” Beca greets, reaching down to lift Emma into her arms. She smiles apologetically at Angela (or was it Amy?). “Sorry, you were saying?”

“Oh, she’s adorable. Yours, right? She looks exactly like you.”

Before Beca can respond with an awkward thank you (she still doesn’t know how to take compliments even though she wholeheartedly agrees that Emma is the cutest baby on the planet), Emma is grabbing her cheeks with both hands and saying, with startling firmness, “mommy kiss.”

Beca isn’t quite sure what to make of that and gently shakes her face out of Emma’s grasp, raising an eyebrow.

“Are you mommy?” the interviewer asks with a laugh, none the wiser.

“Mommy kiss!” Emma repeats before turning to stare at the interviewer with a look that Beca has definitely seen before...on Chloe’s face.

Oh.

Beca’s face heats up. “Um, yeah. I’m...yeah,” she lies before laughing awkwardly. She takes a quick step back feeling guilty for no real discernible reason, but now that she’s actually looking, the body language is—yeah. Awkward. “I think she’s a little cranky, I’m just going to let her lie down for a bit, but it was nice talking to you.” Beca can’t quite make it away fast enough, barely resisting from bursting into laughter as she exits into a quiet room, away from prying eyes. “You’re horrible, you know that?” she tells Emma affectionately. “No,” she sighs. “You’re not. You’re like...ridiculously perfect.”

“Sleep now?” Emma asks eagerly. “Sleep, mama,” she insists, sounding so much like Chloe that Beca has to do a double take.

“Soon,” Beca promises.

  * * * * *

 By the third night, Beca is so exhausted from all the running around that she can barely keep her eyes open. However, Emma is rolling around in the large bed, excitedly playing with the stuffed Pluto that Beca had bought her from the Disney Store in Times Square. Emma makes little shrieking sounds that Beca thinks sound like barks, but she can’t be sure. Emma could just be screaming for the sake of screaming and Beca wouldn’t be any wiser.

“Read, mama!” Emma says once Beca finishes towelling off her hair.

Beca flops onto the bed next to Emma, pulling Pluto from her. “This is a dog,” she says clearly. “What sound do dogs make?”

Emma makes a barking sound.

“Oh, so you do know what they sound like,” Beca mutters. She grins and leans into press kisses against Emma’s rosy cheeks, eliciting giggles and flailing arms as Emma tries to push her away.

“Mama, stop!”

“Okay, okay,” she relents. She can’t help but kiss Emma’s cheek again, revelling in the soft scent of soap and baby powder that fills her nose. “Do you want a story before bed?”

Emma nods. “Story,” she says slowly. “Please.” Beca melts because Emma hasn’t quite mastered all her “l” sounds, so it comes out more like pwease and Beca never thought she’d be that mother but she absolutely wants to record every last thing she does.

“What books did we bring with us?” Beca asks aloud. She reaches over to the backpack leaning against the bed, pulling out a series of picture books. “Which one tonight?”

Emma points immediately at her favorite, a story about farm animals which means that Beca will have to make all the animal noises as best as she can.

She’s horrifically bad at that. Even after years in the music industry and literally doing voice work, she still feels woefully inadequate compared to Chloe.

“Are you sure?” Beca tries. “What about this one? There’s singing!”

“Dis one,” Emma says immediately and firmly. Unfortunately her daughter prefers animals over singing. Chloe’s child through and through, Beca thinks with mock-betrayal in her mind.

“Okay, fine,” Beca says. “But you owe me.”

Emma nods like she understands.

Together, they settle back in bed. Beca loves these moments the most, especially in the liminal spaces of the hotel rooms she often finds herself in. Most of the time she’s alone and she longs for the comfort of home. Now, she at least has Emma’s warm body snuggled against her side. She and Chloe have been slowly weaning Emma off from falling asleep in their bed with them, so it’s something that Beca has begun to miss a bit more with each passing day. Emma cuddles into her side, resting her head against Beca’s arm, reaching up to clutch at the fabric of Beca’s shirt. Beca points at each word as she reads, wondering if any of the sentences are really sinking in. Emma giggles—each giggle decreasing in volume—with each animal sound that Beca makes until finally she is silent, her head drooping against Beca’s forearm.

There is nothing quite like the feeling of successfully helping her child fall asleep comfortably. It is better than any validation Beca could receive.

Beca flips the book closed and places it gingerly on the side table. She gently maneuvers them both so they both end up under the sheets and kisses Emma’s forehead one last time before she feels exhaustion catch up with her.

Her last thought before sleep claims her is how incredibly large and empty the bed feels.

  * * * * *

 Before Beca knows it, it is finally their last day in New York. Emma has unfortunately chosen this day to be grouchy and refuses to wake up early so that they can catch their flight back to Los Angeles.

“Don’t you want to see mommy?” Beca pleads, trying to pull Emma’s leggings on. Baby clothes are somehow the hardest pieces of clothing Beca has ever had to wrestle with. “Don’t you want to see mommy and baby?”

“Mommy,” Emma whines.

Beca senses an impending tantrum. “Hey, hey, we’re going home, okay? Don’t you want to tell mommy all about your trip? And how much of a big girl you are now?”

“Go home now?” Emma asks, sniffling.

“Yes! Aren’t you excited? I’m excited. We get to see mommy again!”

Emma allows her to put a sweater over her head, though she still stares at Beca with mild disdain in her blue eyes like she isn’t quite sure what she agreed to. Beca is obsessed with her.

“Come on, little weirdo.” She picks Emma up off the bed, ignoring her squirming. “Let’s go home.”

  * * * * *

 Emma, who had been on the verge of sleep the entire drive from the airport, is suddenly wide awake as the car pulls around the corner of their street. Beca laughs when Chloe flings the door open and has to literally hold onto the back of Emma’s shirt as to stop her from launching right out the window.

“Okay, now you can go,” Beca says, opening the door for her.

Emma shrieks happily and toddles up the path to their house right into Chloe’s arms. Chloe, who immediately bends down as best as she can to sweep her into a tight hug. As Beca approaches with their bags, making sure to shut the gate behind her, she hears Emma babbling nonsensically to Chloe about their trip, ostensibly. Beca catches the tail end of a few words like “Dog” and “Julia” and “Mama”. It almost sounds like an entire paragraph of coherent sentences. Almost.

“Hey you,” Chloe says once Emma releases her and wanders into the house, likely in search of her toys. “Oh my God, are you Beca Mitchell?”

Beca rolls her eyes, pushing her sunglasses up above her forehead. “Shut up, nerd. How have you been,” she asks, tone softening.

Chloe’s palm touches her stomach, a soft smile stretching across her face. “Still pregnant.”

“I can see that,” Beca says before she can help herself.

Chloe swats her immediately. “Don’t be rude.”

“I’m not!” Beca exclaims, laughing. She bends down to press a soft kiss to Chloe’s stomach, only slightly disappointed when there isn’t a kick in return.

“She’s missed you.”

“She has?” Beca asks, straightening so she can cup the back of Chloe’s neck. She smiles, leaning in for a kiss, sighing longingly against Chloe’s lips. “What about...other people? Have there been others who have missed me?”

“I’ve missed you,” Chloe murmurs, giving in far quicker than Beca expected. She pulls Beca in for a slow, wanting kiss, ending the kiss with a soft nip to Beca’s lower lip.

Beca shivers, even as the hot California sun beats down on the back of her neck.

She is so happy to be home.

fin.

*see more of this universe—now i see daylight.*

[operationrainfall]

It’s always frustrating when you’re anticipating something for a while, keep thinking about it in advance, then totally forget about it the day it happens. That’s exactly what occurred today with Yacht Club Games Presents. It was on my radar and I just blanked entirely. Thankfully, being in the game journalism industry, I got a helpful reminder later this morning, and then I read about what was presented in Yacht Club Games Presents. To my pleasant surprise, it was a mixture of old and new. If you missed it like I did, you can catch up by watching the video below.

The presentation starts with Sean Velasco narrating and showing off Cyber Shadow with an awesome trailer. I love the visual style of this game, and am happy Yacht Club Games opted to help publish it for Mechanical Head Studios. One cool reveal was that the Shovel Knight amiibo, Shovel Knight, Plague Knight, Specter Knight and King Knight, will all work in the game. They will summon tiny Fairies for their respective character, as well as unlocking color palettes for Shadow. As someone that owns all the Shovel Knight amiibo, I’m looking forward to trying these out. That part of the presentation ended with a release window of Fall for Cyber Shadow.

Then Alec Faulkner, a designer at Yacht Club Games I wasn’t previously familiar with, took over narrative duties. He covered the history of Shovel Knight, including the glorious Kickstarter campaign all through the releases over the following years. Alec then announced that Feb 26 – Mar 3 will be the 3rd anniversary of Specter of Torment, and as such, will have the game discounted by 50%. That’s a great bargain, especially since I loved the story in Specter of Torment the most of all the campaigns. Oh and if that wasn’t enough, this part ended with the reveal of Shovel Knight phone stickers. Though I don’t think I’ll use them myself, they are very snazzy looking.

Next they revealed that the 4.1 update is coming to Treasure Trove, bringing with it a number of fixes and additions. An example is adding 1:1 pixel scaling, and aerial characters in Shovel Knight Showdown being nerfed so they can’t remain airborne as long. Furthermore, all characters can now destroy dirt blocks in Showdown. They also added a Character Gauntlet mode added to Target Attack, which randomly changes characters every time you hit a target. And in true old school fashion, that mode can only be accessed via a cheat code. Also, King of Cards will be adding multiplayer Joustus, which can be found in King Knight’s room. That’s surely good news for those of you actually competent in Joustus, unlike myself.

Then we got a quick Shovel Knight Dig check-in. There wasn’t much, but they did say that new enemies, objects and areas are being introduced and polished on a regular basis. They also had an introduction for the new villain Hive Knight, complete with a butterfly net and beetle buddy. The release date for Dig is sometime next year.

Yacht Club Games announced they have 2 new games in development, though both are a ways off. Then they cryptically hinted at “what they’re crafting in the year of the rat, 2020“. So I’m not sure what to make of that, but I’m intrigued.

The presentation ended with the reveal of a totally new game, Shovel Knight Pocket Dungeon. It’s not clear if that was one of the two games referred to earlier or a third, but either way I liked what I saw. It’s a rogue-like puzzle dungeon crawler with adorable chibi characters. Calling it a match-3 would be an insult, as this looks pretty unique. Sadly, there has been no date or platforms announced yet for Pocket Dungeon, though they did unveil a key character, the aptly named Puzzle Knight. And then a dagger was put through my heart when they announced the first playable demo of Pocket Dungeon will be playable at PAX East, which I sadly won’t be at. But if you’re there, you had better try it out! They’ll also have demos of Dig and Cyber Shadow, and you can even challenge the YCG crew at Shovel Knight Showdown.

All in all, I continue to be impressed by the hard work of the folks at Yacht Club Games, and can’t wait to try out their new titles. Stay tuned to oprainfall for more news from the folks behind Shovel Knight as it hits!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

LOS ANGELES, FEBRUARY 26, 2020 – Yacht Club Games announced today via its Presents video a brand new Shovel Knight game – Shovel Knight Pocket Dungeon. developed by VINE and Yacht Club Games, is a brand new action-packed puzzle adventure mashup. The team has also released a new story trailer for Cyber Shadow, which has been confirmed to come out this fall on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and Steam. Shovel Knight Dig also got some news with a reveal of the latest member of the Hexcavators- Hive Knight!

SHOVEL KNIGHT POCKET DUNGEON Delve with Shovel Knight into the depths of the Pocket Dungeon on an action-packed puzzle adventure mashup like none other! Join your mysterious guide Puzzle Knight as you shovel through scads of foes, procure new equipment, and battle bosses both familiar and new. Explore a tale with endless twists and turns, quest as your favorite heroes, and even challenge a friend for fast-paced head-to-head competition in Shovel Knight Pocket Dungeon!

Shovel Knight Pocket Dungeon is the third title made in collaboration with an external game development team, after Cyber Shadow and Shovel Knight Dig. “Working with Yacht Club has helped us to leverage resources we wouldn’t have access to otherwise, and helped get the game in front of more people. It’s fun to add to the mythos of Shovel Knight, too.”, says Russell Rafferty, developer behind VINE and creator of Pocket Dungeon.

At Yacht Club Games, the team is glad to be able to shine the spotlight on up-and-coming developers. “By working together with great devs on new Shovel Knight games, we get many different creative perspectives and cool new designs that push the boundaries of the Shovel Knight Universe! It’s been thrilling to see Pocket Dungeon progress, and we can’t wait to see where Shovel Knight goes next.” says Sean Velasco, designer at Yacht Club Games.

Cyber Shadow by Aarne “MekaSkull” Hunziker is coming this fall on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch and Steam. The game will be released as part of Xbox Game Pass for Console and PC.

In Cyber Shadow, the world has been taken over by synthetic lifeforms. A desperate plea for help sets Shadow on a journey to uncover what started the path to perpetual ruin. Slash through the techno hordes, leap past traps, and nimbly navigate the ruins of Mekacity.

Yacht Club Games Reveals New Game in Presentation It's always frustrating when you're anticipating something for a while, keep thinking about it in advance, then totally forget about it the day it happens.

[symbianosgames]

The following blog post, unless otherwise noted, was written by a member of Gamasutra’s community. The thoughts and opinions expressed are those of the writer and not Gamasutra or its parent company.

In November of last year, we launched Owlboy to some insane reviews, and having just crossed 100.000 sales, we've started to pick up our promotion efforts around the world! Starting with a journey across the States!

And phew, that was SOME journey! We showed off Owlboy at DICE, GDC and SXSW, where it won the Gamer's Voice Award! Using our merch-girl's tiny Kia Sportage, we've been on the road for 2 months!

BUT, WHY are we spending this much time on the road? Why would any dev spend their precious time doing promo-tours, in this age of connectivity? Promoting your game is as easy as posting about it on Twitter right?

In this post, I'm going to touch on why we've become addicted to travel, how it has impacted Owlboy's development, and try and figure out if it's been a worthy investment on our part. I'll share numbers, costs and tips on how to fund your travel.

Let's go back to the beginning. One major reason why we started journeying across the sea was simple - Back home, NOBODY cared about our game. We first started showing Owlboy around in 2008 (even before I joined the team in 2009).

American press picked up on it immediately, while in Norway - the game would remain unknown until our debut in Norwegian newspapers back in 2011. We immediately realized Owlboy's international potential once it got nominated for the IGF in San Francisco. We've been traveling to San Francisco annually since then.

Having convention goers, developers and press show genuine interest in the game made us believe in ourselves. Not only were we able to promote it, but we felt like people were listening to us, seemingly understanding what our game and team was all about. I immidiatly set out to discover more venues!

Since getting nominated to IGF, I've been actively seeking out conferences to attend. Below is a list of some of the events and festivals where we displayed Owlboy:

GDC (San Francisco, nominated for IGF 2010, annually attendance ever since)

Fantastic Fest (Austin, Texas, 2011)

PAX 10 (Pax Prime 2013, Seattle)

PAX Rising (Pax Prime 2016, Seattle)

SXSW (2013, Austin Texas)

SXSW Indie Corner (2017, Owlboy won the Gamer's Voice Award)

E3 (Los Angeles, 2012)

Minecon (Indie Area, London, 2013)

SpillExpo (Lillestrom, Norway, annually since 2013)

Raptus (Comic Festival, Norway, Bergen)

Nordic Game (Malmo, annually since 2011, Sweden)

Giga Con (2014, Stand Indie)

Norwegian Game Awards (Owlboy won GOTY, Award Ceremony)

SpillPrisen (Owlboy won 3 prizes, Award Ceremony)

Gullstikka (Savant - Ascent won GOTY, Award Ceremony)

(Recently I discovered PromoterApp, a calendar for any important deadlines or events that might interest budding developers!)

I got so addicted to showing our games off, I started arranging my own indie booth in Norway to help spread some love for our neighboring devs, and give them the same shots we had. We called it Stand Indie.

Stand Indie at SpillExpo 2012. It became a major success, and indies has been a part of SpillExpo ever since.

Later years, I've been too busy with development to help out, but now that Owlboy is released, I aim to get back in the game, starting with a roadtrip through Norway!

But none of our travel had been possible without friends. Meeting new developers, and talking to them or adding them on social media helps you stay in the loop for whenever new events are happening. I would have missed half the events we ended up going to, hadn't it been for reminders from fellow devs.

Below is a list of dev groups I recommend following (I'll keep this list updated as I find more):

It's hard to tell what we've gained from traveling around - especially in the form of exposure and sales. One thing I know however, it's helped boost our working morale something fierce! There's something about seeing players experience your game first-hand, and getting real-life feedback.

Each time we've come home from manning a booth, we've returned with notebooks full of useful tidbits. Heck, we added an entire new dungeon based on feedback from IGF players, whom had struggled with the controls.

Travel is never cheap, but we've found ways to help us save some coin. For GDC, we've always made sure to book hotels in the neighboring town of Oakland, and commute to San Francisco.

One other great tip is to get your trip funded. Whenever we went to GDC forexample, we've always tried to be part of a presentation or panel, so that our lodgings got taken care of. It also helps to be prepped way ahead of schedule. Start looking for events today, and you're bound to find some that'll fit in your schedule.

Simon's talk at GDC - The Motivational Power Of Inspiration.

My own country, Norway, also has a brilliant travel fund for students and industry professionals, to which I always apply. Keep your eyes and ears open for opportunities that present themselves, and never think: "No way we'll get nominated/funded/selected".

I think most countries has some kind of funding instances. I'm more than happy to create a list of funds in different countries so feel free to tweet them at me.

Now let's look at real costs for a moment. A typical journey costs us about:

Flight $500 per person, one way $1.000 Total. Food $50 x 7 days per person $350 Total. Hotel $50 x 7 days per person $350 Total. Transport $25 x 7 per person $175 Total.

A one week journey would cost us a total of $1.875 per person.

We're usually at least 3 folks traveling, so it adds up pretty quickly! Luckily(???), as unemployed indie developers with no paychecks, we've had few other regular expenses other than food.

Let's try and find out what our expenses has gained us, both short-term and in the long run. Below are examples of what we've gained from our travels:

A foothold in the US, and direct contact with press, publishers and developers.

Face to face interviews (GameReactor, Eurogamer, etc.)

Invitations to parties where we can connect with like-minded people.

Nominations for awards, invitations to shows, business deals.

Direct contact with fans.

A venue to sell our game/merch, arrange give-aways/competitions.

Seeing new places, gain inspiration, come up with new ideas!

Looking at this list, it might seem like we didn't gained much compared to the costs, BUT, we aim to stay in this industry for a long, long time. Gaining fans, contacts and friends are great, as they'll follow the development of future titles (or even read your long-ass blog posts).

While it's impossible for me to convert travel into sales, the long term gains are extremely valuable.

Press is one thing. Since I'm a developer, and because we're a small team, talking to press feels way more rewarding than directing them to a publisher, or a marketing guy. I know the backstory and all the dirty details on the game. Whenever you talk to 'D-Pad Studio', you are talking to the guys who created the game. This way, it'll be way easier for us to spread info on our coming projects!

While parties are a great way to connect with new people, I always prefer talking to people one-on-one, that's just the way I'm built (maybe it's a Norwegian thing?). But parties are great for meeting people you might like to talk to later. When out traveling, always carry some business cards, or even printed codes for your game - anything that clearly states which game you're working on.

BUT, my absolute top recommendation for traveling is that your brain gets a chance to disconnect from "working". I've never been able to sit on my computer and "work" on coming up with new ideas. Our greatest new ideas has come from just loitering around an airport, or sitting on a train. New ideas usually spring outta nowhere, but I find that during travel is when my creativity runs on it's own.

When I started working with games, I had no idea I was gonna travel the world. I was picturing a nine-to-five job on a computer. Travel has become part of how we maintain our business, morale, and creativity!

Our latest booth marked the first time we've displayed Owlboy post-launch! We jumped at the opportunity to try our luck as sales-men! Not only did we manage to sell t-shirts and buttons, but more than a few expo-goers were eager to purchase the game!

As an added incentive, I made sure the game was on a 25% discount on all digital stores for the occasion. It worked like a charm!

Roughly calculated, I think we earned back what we spent on travel, and it prompted us to come up with new ideas for our next booth! It makes a huge difference to finally be able to talk about Owlboy in past-tense.

This is the first booth where I've heard Simon utter the words "Wow, this is actually starting to look rather professional".

A few tips we've picked up from manning our own booths:

It's always a good idea to display the logo of your game very visibly. We got comments from expo-goers who'd spotted our booth from the other side of the convention hall! Posters are cheap to print at any FedEx Office with access to copy machines.

Business cards are a given, but also make sure to display them properly, and even print your game-art on there. People are more prone to recognize your game logo, than your company.

Also, hire a guy who KNOWS how to sell. your. game! Often, I find myself hard pressed to try and sell Owlboy, cuz, well, we're the architects behind it. As devs, we are inherently awful at selling our own product, because we tend to point out all the flaws in our work.

We've been lucky enough to be graced with a friend who does sales for a living. Here's to you Noah!

While we're far from experts, we've spent nearly 10 years of travel and attending conventions. We've seen the effects of displaying our work, and doing presentations, interviews and greeting fans with our development woe stories has sort of become second nature by this point.

Sitting on my computer and knowing we'll soon be on the road again, fills me with glee. We get to see the reaction of our players first-hand. We get words of praise, or constructive critique (funny how criticism feels more grounded once it's face-to-face).

Our games have been shaped by the reactions of the people playing them, and is another reason why we decided to spend all this extra time in developing Owlboy. Soon, I will touch on ALL the changes it went through.

For now, we hope to see you on our travels!

Thanks for reading, and thanks to Konnestra who helped me touch up my blog with her illustrations. For travel tips, or if you want us to visit your fave convention - get in touch!  ~ Jo

[symbianosgames]

The following blog post, unless otherwise noted, was written by a member of Gamasutra’s community. The thoughts and opinions expressed are those of the writer and not Gamasutra or its parent company.

In November of last year, we launched Owlboy to some insane reviews, and having just crossed 100.000 sales, we've started to pick up our promotion efforts around the world! Starting with a journey across the States!

And phew, that was SOME journey! We showed off Owlboy at DICE, GDC and SXSW, where it won the Gamer's Voice Award! Using our merch-girl's tiny Kia Sportage, we've been on the road for 2 months!

BUT, WHY are we spending this much time on the road? Why would any dev spend their precious time doing promo-tours, in this age of connectivity? Promoting your game is as easy as posting about it on Twitter right?

In this post, I'm going to touch on why we've become addicted to travel, how it has impacted Owlboy's development, and try and figure out if it's been a worthy investment on our part. I'll share numbers, costs and tips on how to fund your travel.

Let's go back to the beginning. One major reason why we started journeying across the sea was simple - Back home, NOBODY cared about our game. We first started showing Owlboy around in 2008 (even before I joined the team in 2009).

American press picked up on it immediately, while in Norway - the game would remain unknown until our debut in Norwegian newspapers back in 2011. We immediately realized Owlboy's international potential once it got nominated for the IGF in San Francisco. We've been traveling to San Francisco annually since then.

Having convention goers, developers and press show genuine interest in the game made us believe in ourselves. Not only were we able to promote it, but we felt like people were listening to us, seemingly understanding what our game and team was all about. I immidiatly set out to discover more venues!

Since getting nominated to IGF, I've been actively seeking out conferences to attend. Below is a list of some of the events and festivals where we displayed Owlboy:

GDC (San Francisco, nominated for IGF 2010, annually attendance ever since)

Fantastic Fest (Austin, Texas, 2011)

PAX 10 (Pax Prime 2013, Seattle)

PAX Rising (Pax Prime 2016, Seattle)

SXSW (2013, Austin Texas)

SXSW Indie Corner (2017, Owlboy won the Gamer's Voice Award)

E3 (Los Angeles, 2012)

Minecon (Indie Area, London, 2013)

SpillExpo (Lillestrom, Norway, annually since 2013)

Raptus (Comic Festival, Norway, Bergen)

Nordic Game (Malmo, annually since 2011, Sweden)

Giga Con (2014, Stand Indie)

Norwegian Game Awards (Owlboy won GOTY, Award Ceremony)

SpillPrisen (Owlboy won 3 prizes, Award Ceremony)

Gullstikka (Savant - Ascent won GOTY, Award Ceremony)

(Recently I discovered PromoterApp, a calendar for any important deadlines or events that might interest budding developers!)

I got so addicted to showing our games off, I started arranging my own indie booth in Norway to help spread some love for our neighboring devs, and give them the same shots we had. We called it Stand Indie.

Stand Indie at SpillExpo 2012. It became a major success, and indies has been a part of SpillExpo ever since.

Later years, I've been too busy with development to help out, but now that Owlboy is released, I aim to get back in the game, starting with a roadtrip through Norway!

But none of our travel had been possible without friends. Meeting new developers, and talking to them or adding them on social media helps you stay in the loop for whenever new events are happening. I would have missed half the events we ended up going to, hadn't it been for reminders from fellow devs.

Below is a list of dev groups I recommend following (I'll keep this list updated as I find more):

It's hard to tell what we've gained from traveling around - especially in the form of exposure and sales. One thing I know however, it's helped boost our working morale something fierce! There's something about seeing players experience your game first-hand, and getting real-life feedback.

Each time we've come home from manning a booth, we've returned with notebooks full of useful tidbits. Heck, we added an entire new dungeon based on feedback from IGF players, whom had struggled with the controls.

Travel is never cheap, but we've found ways to help us save some coin. For GDC, we've always made sure to book hotels in the neighboring town of Oakland, and commute to San Francisco.

One other great tip is to get your trip funded. Whenever we went to GDC forexample, we've always tried to be part of a presentation or panel, so that our lodgings got taken care of. It also helps to be prepped way ahead of schedule. Start looking for events today, and you're bound to find some that'll fit in your schedule.

Simon's talk at GDC - The Motivational Power Of Inspiration.

My own country, Norway, also has a brilliant travel fund for students and industry professionals, to which I always apply. Keep your eyes and ears open for opportunities that present themselves, and never think: "No way we'll get nominated/funded/selected".

I think most countries has some kind of funding instances. I'm more than happy to create a list of funds in different countries so feel free to tweet them at me.

Now let's look at real costs for a moment. A typical journey costs us about:

Flight $500 per person, one way $1.000 Total. Food $50 x 7 days per person $350 Total. Hotel $50 x 7 days per person $350 Total. Transport $25 x 7 per person $175 Total.

A one week journey would cost us a total of $1.875 per person.

We're usually at least 3 folks traveling, so it adds up pretty quickly! Luckily(???), as unemployed indie developers with no paychecks, we've had few other regular expenses other than food.

Let's try and find out what our expenses has gained us, both short-term and in the long run. Below are examples of what we've gained from our travels:

A foothold in the US, and direct contact with press, publishers and developers.

Face to face interviews (GameReactor, Eurogamer, etc.)

Invitations to parties where we can connect with like-minded people.

Nominations for awards, invitations to shows, business deals.

Direct contact with fans.

A venue to sell our game/merch, arrange give-aways/competitions.

Seeing new places, gain inspiration, come up with new ideas!

Looking at this list, it might seem like we didn't gained much compared to the costs, BUT, we aim to stay in this industry for a long, long time. Gaining fans, contacts and friends are great, as they'll follow the development of future titles (or even read your long-ass blog posts).

While it's impossible for me to convert travel into sales, the long term gains are extremely valuable.

Press is one thing. Since I'm a developer, and because we're a small team, talking to press feels way more rewarding than directing them to a publisher, or a marketing guy. I know the backstory and all the dirty details on the game. Whenever you talk to 'D-Pad Studio', you are talking to the guys who created the game. This way, it'll be way easier for us to spread info on our coming projects!

While parties are a great way to connect with new people, I always prefer talking to people one-on-one, that's just the way I'm built (maybe it's a Norwegian thing?). But parties are great for meeting people you might like to talk to later. When out traveling, always carry some business cards, or even printed codes for your game - anything that clearly states which game you're working on.

BUT, my absolute top recommendation for traveling is that your brain gets a chance to disconnect from "working". I've never been able to sit on my computer and "work" on coming up with new ideas. Our greatest new ideas has come from just loitering around an airport, or sitting on a train. New ideas usually spring outta nowhere, but I find that during travel is when my creativity runs on it's own.

When I started working with games, I had no idea I was gonna travel the world. I was picturing a nine-to-five job on a computer. Travel has become part of how we maintain our business, morale, and creativity!

Our latest booth marked the first time we've displayed Owlboy post-launch! We jumped at the opportunity to try our luck as sales-men! Not only did we manage to sell t-shirts and buttons, but more than a few expo-goers were eager to purchase the game!

As an added incentive, I made sure the game was on a 25% discount on all digital stores for the occasion. It worked like a charm!

Roughly calculated, I think we earned back what we spent on travel, and it prompted us to come up with new ideas for our next booth! It makes a huge difference to finally be able to talk about Owlboy in past-tense.

This is the first booth where I've heard Simon utter the words "Wow, this is actually starting to look rather professional".

A few tips we've picked up from manning our own booths:

It's always a good idea to display the logo of your game very visibly. We got comments from expo-goers who'd spotted our booth from the other side of the convention hall! Posters are cheap to print at any FedEx Office with access to copy machines.

Business cards are a given, but also make sure to display them properly, and even print your game-art on there. People are more prone to recognize your game logo, than your company.

Also, hire a guy who KNOWS how to sell. your. game! Often, I find myself hard pressed to try and sell Owlboy, cuz, well, we're the architects behind it. As devs, we are inherently awful at selling our own product, because we tend to point out all the flaws in our work.

We've been lucky enough to be graced with a friend who does sales for a living. Here's to you Noah!

While we're far from experts, we've spent nearly 10 years of travel and attending conventions. We've seen the effects of displaying our work, and doing presentations, interviews and greeting fans with our development woe stories has sort of become second nature by this point.

Sitting on my computer and knowing we'll soon be on the road again, fills me with glee. We get to see the reaction of our players first-hand. We get words of praise, or constructive critique (funny how criticism feels more grounded once it's face-to-face).

Our games have been shaped by the reactions of the people playing them, and is another reason why we decided to spend all this extra time in developing Owlboy. Soon, I will touch on ALL the changes it went through.

For now, we hope to see you on our travels!

Thanks for reading, and thanks to Konnestra who helped me touch up my blog with her illustrations. For travel tips, or if you want us to visit your fave convention - get in touch!  ~ Jo