Hello! Happy 2026! The moment I woke up on the first I immediately threw myself into Chapter 5 after taking a mini break (aka the days between christmas and new years). It technically wasn't a full break because I playtested and changed a few things and took notes here and there but I wasn't full on editing like I have been. I'm rambling but anyway it was nice to refresh.
I knew I wanted to do another special for a while. They're a nice break from writing stuff about the chapters. I enjoy playing in the infamous sandbox away from the demo and what's canon because it's low stakes haha. I don't have to worry about consistency or continuity and I can exercise some romance muscles that I haven't been able to use (yet). Of course, I don't like writing too far ahead from the demo so this is written as some huge hint for the routes in the demo (like the others) lol but still removed enough to do what I like.
I had the idea to write a special where each RO scenario is an hour of the same day. MC is doing a lot of things on NYE to prepare for some party Triple is throwing at the last minute. They're all self-contained but lead into each other. I thought it was a fun concept. (Band Tier version will have the sub-ros.) The scenarios are lighthearted but with a little bit of demo angst because I can't avoid it heh.
This is not canon! Post-tour interactions with the ROs are going to look very different. You won't be having these conversations at the end of the show, trust me. I just don't like writing something that looks too much like the demo ending because I feel like that's indirectly spoiling it!
As usual my specials are on the longer side so this Orion/Oriana one is 10,000 words if you play through every choice. There's a less romantic version. There's still romance but the romance isn't as established as the other version. (They have different choices at points so I do encourage you to try both!)
Enjoy! If there are errors, please lmk!