#i know for sure that the last of the three different PC cards will be shown on the post for next episode (the tiny fullbody shots)
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Slices: Great RPG Mechanics #RPGMechanics: Week Three
Yesterday I talked about flashbacks as an element of play. Today I want to talk about them as a cornerstone. I’m using the term slice, as in vertical slice for this. I’m sure there’s a better way to say this. But these are games which anchor us to start at a specific point in time, a slice that we’re exploring. Some play happens there but the major is retrospective: incidents from the past, shared history, insights into tragedy.
I think this represents more structure than a specific mechanic, but it is one worth pulling out.
A couple of my favorite instances of this come from Pelgrane’s amazing rpg collection Seven Wonders. If you haven’t checked that out, you should. Each game is striking and interesting, revolving around a dynamite core concept and all very different from one another.
Admittedly my favorite from the collection is Before the Storm by Joanna Piancastelli. It hits on many things I love: shared world building, exploration of history, tragic heroes. The game begins with the table reading through a prophecy about fighting off a potentially world-ending foe in a fantasy realm. The group then picks setting elements to define that and sets the tone. Each player builds a character using prompts generated from playing cards.
Then we set the stage. It is the night before the great battle. Tomorrow our band of heroes will face off in a final confrontation with the Foe. They don’t know if they will live or die, triumph or fail. This is a last chance for the characters to talk, share secrets, and explore how they came to be here. Scenes in the present moment flash back to the past giving us insights into who these characters are. The sketchiness of initial character creation supports this, letting up fill in details via these moments. Those Slices of the past do so much.
There’s more to it– scenes generate cards which get played at the end to determine both if the group succeeds or not and if the individual heroes live or die. I’ve enjoyed it every time I’ve played it and have even run it with a superhero re-skin ala Avengers: Endgame.
Becky Annison’s When the Dark is Gone from Seven Wonders also takes a Slice approach. This rpg has a game facilitator in the form of a therapist who has brought together a group of clients with a shared history in order to make one last try at uncovering the group trauma which has so deeply affected them.
And as we discover that trauma stems from when they were younger and whisked away to a magical realm ala Narnia, isekai, DIE, etc. Here the present is the therapy session. The play is about playing out repressed memories and building a story of what happened in the past. The adventure has happened, it changed their lives, but they’ve not confronted that in the years since. It’s a great pitch and the game provides a lot of tools for digging into those concepts.
I’m sure there are other games which establish a fixed point in the present with play being slices of the past. Lots of great fiction uses this flashback structure– seasons of TV shows which begin with the end and then go back to show us how we got there. I love these two especially for how the two levels interact with one another, exposing how the characters have changed. We see two versions, in some ways, of every PC and get to build a great shared setting.
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For Adina, lawrie pierce moody, and Leslie!
Background, Secret, and End!
stirring them up in my chili pot where they have been cooking all day. delicious
Background: Does your PC get up to anything that you don't narrate often? Any background habits, activities, plots? Do you share these through other avenues (e.g. a group chat, table cross-talk, posting online)?
adina: he does So much, most of it stays in my head because its very basic stuff like taking care of goldbiter, mending his clothes, training during downtime to keep up his reflexes. also there's some patron stuff that happens behind the scenes, less so now that he put most of his cards on the table last session. ive written about the aftermath of his last soul collection, im sure he'll talk about it/it'll come back to bite him in the ass at some point.
lawrie: similar stuff as adina where i think about his working on his armor and his sword, taking care of pepper. now thats hes spent a decent amount of time in wildspace he has nightmares most nights, and weird dreams on the nights he doesnt. ive been meaning to write smth about it, but ive still only got vague vibes for what's going on with his patron/ancestry so it'll probably be a bit.
leslie: i feel like i tell you . every single important thought i have about leslie atp hmm. i feel like he would press flowers. and translate latin and arabic poetry for fun. also im definitely going to bring it up in game if i can bc i think its fun, but he has a specific love for typewriters
Secret: Is there anything that you know about your character but your character doesn't know? What is it? How did you come up with this secret?
adina: yes <3 i cant share yet, because vee came up with it and gets to drop it in game when they want lol
lawrie: Also yes and Also i cant share yet in case any of my fellow spelljammers look but. i cant send u his lore on discord sometime if u want. secret lore. illegal lore. with secret fics included. i came up with it because i wanted something to foil his dad sid's arc, and i love being tragic, gay, dramatic, etc
leslie: hmmm. he is in so much danger. also the actual ghost of his brother is still haunting him. idr where i got the idea but i give it to you for asking if any of his family was on the titanic, because that def perfected the idea
End: What's the ideal ending for your character's story and the game? Are these the same, or different?
adina: okay. so he wants to save his family from their debt. and be very rich. i want him to detach himself from finding worth in his family's business and needing their approval of him in general, and learn to love himself as a person and not a weapon. also still be very rich tbh. he deserves it. he deserves everything he wants and to never feel bad about it <3 also i think he does want to marry the mlms. he's not ready to admit it mentally yet but I Know
lawrie: save his family!! and his friends!! and also the rest of toril. and also himself and rex. and live happily ever after In Space. mwah.
leslie: not die! get married to basher and run away to live in the countryside with cows, where he writes books about old buildings or ghosts or blood or probably all three <3
#adina st carmine#lawrie pierce moody#leslie daube#gooddddddd im so excited for sessions this week!!!#ask meme#ask#stir-fried-kilometers
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welcome home!! 💜💞
Also this is your free chance to pretty please go on a full long ramble to your heart's content about the concert and everything else too :3
Love you bunches!!
Thank you!! 😊💖(if anyone wishes to see some of my concert photos- pls click keep reading~) *there will be spoilers to the setlist*
Thank you for allowing me to ramble about this- I apperciate it sm- I think I'd have to do a whole other ask to talk about all the things I saw in NYC- because there's a lot but for now I'll happily tell you my highlights w/photos from the tbz concert- And oh god - ik it's been a little since you sent this but like I have sm i want to talk about and I finally wrote down some highlights in my daily journal (i'm like 5 days late on atp) So this is gonna be all over the place but I'll add little pictures for it to make sense :)
So I got VIP 2 benefits- which my mom and I both got- I got Sangyeon ID & Sunwoo pc and mom got Sunwoo ID and Sunwoo pc- I traded her the Sang ID for Sw- and then someone wanted a sunwoo pc and had a hyunjae pc- and well- Hj happens to be one of my wreckers so I traded for him- and then as mom and I were on that corner (everyone wanted younghoon there on that corner- there was no way i could have gotten him sadly- but that's okay) I move over and someone is handing out bracelets- I got a Younghoon one and mom got a Tattoo one- someone wanted a Sunwoo ID for a Juyeon- and I traded- well later in the real line- I traded Juyeon ID for Q ehbebhbha- I had to- that's the ult versus the bias yknow? So both mom and I got a bias id and a wrecker pc hehe~ And then they came back around with the bracelet bag and i got a Juyeon luvr one and I went around- and got a Juyeon flower! it was so cute-
I went down and got merch- my mom can't do stairs so in a convoluted way she made her way to our seats- and we had made 4 friends? well 3 that we exchanged socials with- and I was hopingggg for a Younghoon doll & a tshirt- I was with a fellow yh bias btw- and well the tshirts and hats and the eric doll sold out- but I got the Younghoon puppy along with a younghoon post card and pc~ that would later be used in the vcrs... my god those vcrs- *they looked so good in them*
Anyways!! Onto the show- At first I was sure that I wouldn't scream, and I didn't really- I was more so "OOOH!? WOaH! Awww" And gasping- outside of singing- but then Kim Younghoon did the unforgiveable... He brushed his hair back- which made me melt and then on fucking Watch It- he... he dropped his jacket- and all of the sudden even tho my voice was shredded before that- (listening back to the audio my screams really weren't as loud as my throat felt like they were ebhebhbhaa) I was just "WAHHHHH!!" *breath* "WAHHHH" and it was so funny to hear- and then I melted into my mom- and it was over for me- I couldn't stop letting out little screams esp with the people around me screaming- I was done for- *i panned that camera so fast to get that large screen cause I was about to become shaky and jelly faster than comprehension* the last image happened before and would take place just before the sw jacket moment below :)
But then ughhh I'll never be over how cute Changmin was- he kept fucking blowing kisses to the crowd and being adorable- and his dimple!??!?! It's so deep... I'll never forget it- He wore this tight shirt with a crop jacket and left me absolutely melting away- and him performing levitating and reveal- I was ascending and levitating and leaving this plane- *the differences are stark :)*
Juyeon with slicked back hair and just ?!?!? His outfits were just so good- and he had the cutest yankees' hat on- I didn't know it at first and then he... he flipped it around to show us before flipping it to wear it sideways... he endeared me sm- and him doing the time of dogs and wolves- part with hj was sososososo good-
All three of my biases blew my ass away- they were just so handsome- sure I knew that prior but like in person it was just seeing 11 stunning men and 3 that we're even more...
Now... um well... I've been having wrecker problems with Choi Chanhee... bad ones *as you kind of know*... ever since I watched the Idol Radio in Yokohama with Kebbi- I've been a mess for him- but seeing him in this?? *see below* but this ebhebhbhabha the blouse- sent me to new planes of existence- I truly was as the song they performed- levivtating- losing my goddamn mind- and he was just so handsome and pretty and i couldn't handle my heart one bit-
And Kevin? He was so cute during d.d.d and thrill ride because he kept showing us his jersey with the yankees- now sadly I couldn't hear a word he said past a few- because the people behind me were screaming endlessly for him... *and I was 29 rows back* but then... someone proposed to their deobi... and at first- I was ??? "Kevin you're asking someone to marry you in nyc??? no prior announcements?" [not that I would have minded I was just surprised tbh] and i could hear the people saying behind me "what the fffffuccckkkk" and then the camera panned to show the couple and i was 🥺🥺🥺 it was so cute- idk how it all worked but it was sweet-
Anyways: My favorite title track is The Stealer and seeing that performed was just my dream- and I had sm fun- and I was on such a D.D.D kick (& KeePer kick but they didn't play that...) that not only did it make sense they perform since it was filmed in nyc but like hearing it was just so fun to jump to- Fantasize?! I thought I hallucinated them playing this- but they did- and I was having sm fun to it- Fire Eyes as an encore was so cute *also where the proposal happened*- Right Here!??! Considering that was my last album purchase I was absolutely losing it- Survive The Night- is just such a beautiful song- The Stealer read above- BITE BACK?!?!?HJBEHEBHBHA THAT NEW UNRELEASED TRACK?!?!? OOOHHH MYYY GOOODDDDD I'M GONNA BE BLASTING THAT FOR MY WHOLE SMALL TOWN TO HEAR *sorry I'm so normal for that... "if you take a bite then i bite back" oohhh yeah that was tooooo goooddddddd- Levitating as you've read- I lost my mind too :) Hurt Me Lesss!?!??! I just loved absolutely completely- I loved the It's Live and hearing it live was just so beautiful esp with their soft outfits on- (Juyo had such a cute cardigan on)
I wore this "Watch It" One Take SBS Inkigayo inspired outfit there and I only got one halfassed photo of it- and I'm so sad about it but I have many photos of my decorated deobi lightstick (heart byong bong)- and not many decorated theirs sadly- but I'm happy because it's cute~
Extra photos~ One of my three dancing together hehe~ (It's weird because now I won't be saying my three soon... it'll be the four? what am i trying to form a quartet here?) One of Bite Back- I adored the graphics smsmsmsmsmsm- and then ofc 1 of their ending bow 🥺🥺
These following Sunwoo moments would have hurt if Changmin, Younghoon, Juyeon, and Chanhee didn't have my neck already- but we have him biting a bottle cap- and him dropping his jacket *which happened after yh brushed his hair back so I didn't even know I had captured this photo tbh* and would lead to Yh showing off in the next song Watch it with his arms... cheeky...
#tbz in nyc#photos all by me#*I could water mark em but idc*#kate rambles#how i wish i could go to [nyc] again#zeneration ii in nyc#usually i don't use official tags but since these are photos of tbz i took i figure i should#anyways i hope it let's me post this many photos and doesn't get messed up- if so i'll just add em by reblogging it tbh#anyways#thanks anna!#seriously i could go on but these are some highlights#i love these little guys#and it's surprising to me how deeply i've fallen for their music but now that i have i can't ever understand why it didn't happen sooner#i love em...#Kate saw tbz#i cannot wrap my head around that fact but I did#lovely mutuals#lovely mutuals asks
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i'm usually the problem solver when there are tech issues at work and 99.99% of the time I'm able to figure it out. today was the 0.01% I guess. the videographers couldn't find footage they shot last week. I spent the day using various data recovery programs on three different computers (both Mac and PC) for 7 different camera cards and just couldn't get what I wanted out of it. the edit is literally due tomorrow and we are now scrambling to get the subject (a pediatrician who has patients) and her marketing rep back into our studio tomorrow morning. I'm so mad I couldn't recover the files. I would have been a damn hero.
our manager is over the top angry about this though and the whole video team was walking around the office like wounded animals, it was extremely sad. she was like "they probably forgot to press record!!!", which was such an insulting take because these people are professionals who've been working here for a decade or more. I happened to be at the shoot running the teleprompter and because I run the teleprompter, I was given the cue for when we started rolling. So like... idk how you can say "rolling" without uhhh pressing record? We had to do multiple takes and I'm 100% sure my coworker stopped recording between them. So at least one of the takes would have made it.
to be semi-fair to my manager's anger.... it's still a huge mistake if someone formatted the card without checking to see if the footage was offloaded. Also we have 7 camera cards???? Just use one that isn't as full instead of erasing one???? That's also a bizarre thing for professionals to do... so I actually don't know what to think. But the team really should have edited it/realized the footage was gone last week instead of the day before. there are five whole ass videographers and it was shot on Wednesday.
Anyway, when I told the one videographer I was trying to recover the files, he gave me a dead stare and said "I'm not expecting any miracles". well he didn't get one 😭
Edit: just got a text from my boss saying the pediatrician is coming in at 8:30 tomorrow. We only have 1 videographer scheduled to be in at that time and it had taken the team a really long time to do the lighting for shoot that got lost. So uhhhhhhh I hope my manager is calling in more people.... as the lowly teleprompter person I can't help with any of this.... (for the record, teleprompter is like 2% of my job. I just happen to be the only person on the team who knows how to do it)
#zuzu note;#personal post for ts;#work related nonsense;#i don't think that's a tag I've used before so I don't know why I'm using it now
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How to Download Fonts to Cricut: A Comprehensive Guide
Hi there! Welcome back to this blog, where I share everything related to Cricut. In this blog, I am going to teach you how to download fonts to Cricut. Do you know the right font plays an important role in your DIY project? I remember when I recently created a project, I added fonts. This project was nothing but a greeting card. In which I wrote the message using a Cricut pen. But the question is, how can I download attractive fonts? What sources are available for this?
If you are also thinking the same thing, then relax! In this blog, I will cover everything related to fonts, like how to download them and how to add them to Cricut Design Space. Since I am a professional Cricut user with more than 3 years of experience, I can easily guide you through the complete installation process. However, the procedure will be for both Windows and Mac users. So, let’s delve into it!
How to Download Fonts on a Windows PC?
Till now, I have used various sites on the internet that provide free fonts for Cricut. For example, DaFont, Creative Fabrica, Font Squirrel, 1001 Fonts, Font Freak, and more. But my favorite site is DaFont, as I can easily download any fonts of my choice. Rest is your choice, what you prefer.
So, do you know how to download fonts to Cricut? If not, you need to follow the instructions below. If you already know how to download, then skip this step and go to the last section of this blog. Here’s the way to download Cricut fonts from DaFont to a Windows computer:
First, you will need to visit www.dafont.com on your browser.
Then, select a font category and scroll down to browse among various options.
Upon choosing the right font, you have to click on the Download button.
After that, you need to go to the file folder where your font is downloaded. Open that folder and unzip the font.
To unzip the file, you need to right-click on the downloaded file font.
Next, click on the Extract All option and choose the file destination wherever you want.
After unzipping the fonts, you have to select all the fonts you have downloaded and then right-click to install them.
How to Download Fonts to Cricut (Mac)?
Since I am an iOS device user, I often use my Cricut Design Space on my Mac and iPad. So, if you want to know how to download fonts on your Mac, follow the steps below:
The first step will be to download fonts (refer to the above steps to download fonts from DaFont).
Then, you need to unzip the file by double-clicking on the downloaded zip file.
After that, you have to select the Three Dots and then press Ctrl + Click to call the Menu.
Next, you will see a pop-up screen to install your fonts. Here, I have chosen multiple fonts in a group at once. As a result, multiple fonts opened simultaneously.
Finally, your fonts will be downloaded, and you can add them to your Design Space.
How to Access Fonts on Cricut Design Space?
Now, you have learnt how to download fonts to Cricut for both the devices. Let me tell you how you can access these downloaded fonts in your Design Space. These are essential steps if you want to use fonts on your DIY projects.
Here are the steps to access fonts on the Cricut app:
First, you have to open a Cricut Design Space.
Then, use the Text Tool to add a text box in the design panel located on the left sidebar.
At the same time, a Text Edit menu will also appear along with the top of the software.
Now, select the Font dropdown to choose the different fonts for your projects.
FAQs
Question: How do I add fonts to my Cricut Design Space?
Answer: Make sure you have downloaded and installed the app on your device. After installing it to your device, you have to try the following instructions to add it to the software:
First, you need to open the Design Space on your computer.
After that, you should create a New Project.
Then, add the new text layer.
Select the text tool so that you can add a new text box to the canvas.
Afterward, click on the font dropdown menu to change your font.
Question: Can I get free fonts from Cricut? Answer: On Cricut Design Space, there are several fonts available for free. So, you can easily get free fonts for Cricut. Regardless of fonts, you can also get free images, patterns, and others in your Cricut app. In addition, you can make anything using these free fonts. Now, add your favorite fonts to your software and transform your project to the next level.
Question: How to download fonts to Cricut on iPhone?
Answer: To download fonts on iPhone, follow the steps below:
First, launch an App Store and search for iFont.
After that, download the font file.
Then, unzip the file before installing it.
Now, open the iFont app and select Font Finder.
Next, you have to select the Open Files tab and go to the font file.
Afterward, select the font file and click on the Installer tab.
Then, you need to press the Install button.
Finally, your fonts have been successfully installed.
Conclusion
In the end, this blog might have taught you the way on how to download fonts to Cricut. Fonts play an important role in project design. Be it a greeting card, T-shirt, or coffee mug, I always use stylish fonts to make it attractive. Since many beginners find it intimidating in the beginning, it will help them download fonts in the correct method. Lastly, this blog post is only for Windows and Mac computer users.
Source Url :- how to download fonts to Cricut
Source Url :- how to download fonts to Cricut
Visit For More Information :- Cricut cutting machine
cricut design space
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Everyone Introduced in Dimension 20′s Shriek Week episode 2
#dimension 20 spoilers#shriek week#dimension 20#shriek week spoilers#SO sorry i'm late but also no i'm not it's my blog 😌#also seeing as many of these intro cards are being repeated (though i do appreciate it) making the decision to only put down new characters#exception being the PCs i think bc they have a few different character portraits#have to say the editing on the episodes this season are SPOT on they add so much#also honestly glad they decided to just COMMIT to making mothman sexy#also: i'm enjoying the mothman & megan friendship!#and do appreciate the little assurance from gabe at the beginning of the episode that there's nothing wrong with a friend date#after that one bit last episode that kind of rubbed me the wrong way#it DOES certainly seem that there might not be newer characters coming up later in the season but who knows!#i know for sure that the last of the three different PC cards will be shown on the post for next episode (the tiny fullbody shots)#but there could be more! who knows#hopefully at least one for the finale#d20 introductions
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Jon Renish (Foundation Technical Director @ BioWare, working on DA4) recently did a Twitch stream where he played through some DAO. Although he works on DA, this is his first time playing through DAO. He’s playing through it looking at random details from a dev perspective as he’s currently working on DA4 and therefore wants to know more about the previous games.
On the stream he mentioned some tidbits on the development of DA4. There were also some insights and anecdotes about the development of DAO and similar. It’s a 3 hour stream so I collected them here in case that’s of use to anyone (for example not everyone can watch streams which don’t have subtitles/captions). The stream is a fun/interesting watch though, so if you’re curious or able to watch I recc doing so. 😊 The rest of this post is under a cut for length.
Please note that there’s some paraphrasing on my part, this is not a transcript. There are also some additions from another dev who featured on the stream to give some commentary. The stream also contains more snippets that at times I couldn’t make out (I tried my best!).
(There is a mention of Cullen’s VA in the text below.)
DA4
Jon said he can talk about things about DA4 that aren’t “consumer-facing”, but he can’t say anything about the game that would be consumer-facing but which isn’t already publicly available. There are several reasons for this. One, that’s not his job, there are people whose job this is and they let each other do their respective roles. Two, BW are a publicly-traded company, so if he said something that could affect that that would be insider trading. Three, they’re not done making DA4 yet, so if he said that they have added [x] to the game and people got all excited about that or pre-ordered on that basis, but [x] ended up being cut, people would be like ‘BioWare lied to us’, when it’s just that things changed during the course of development, as is often the case
He’s glad that fans are excited for the game but notes that fan expectations are always double-edged. It can be really tough as some people started ‘playing’ the game in their heads as soon as they heard of it. That’s fine, he loves that, but he hopes that peoples’ expectations don’t turn into requirements. Clearly BW have alluded to certain characters, like Solas, being in the game, but some fans say things like “If [say] Morrigan isn’t in the game, then, rahhh!” Y’know, there’s a lot of talk about how certain characters have to be in the game, and yeah.
On characters which are quantum (i.e. characters which can die or which can have similar end-states as death in previous games): their being quantum makes it really hard for the devs to work with those characters in subsequent games. The devs naturally aren’t going to put as much effort into characters which could have died previously. A character can have had an amazing appearance throughout/role in a previous game, but if there is a risk of something happening to them and of them being removed [effectively] from the plot, it just doesn’t make sense to have them as a major character in a subsequent game. If a character can, say, sacrifice themselves in some glorious ending, the devs have to make sure that if they use them again, in worldstates where the character didn’t do that, the character is kind of ‘muted’, as the devs don’t want to disrespect the players who made a different choice
A comment in chat expressed a wish for Shale in DA4. Jon’s response is that he has no idea on that front
Bugs don’t come out of crunch, they come out of development in general. Crunch does impact on the quality of a game though. In recent years BW are always really trying to reduce crunch, they’re currently working really hard to bring it down. The best way of doing that is by controlling scope. As creatives it’s tough to balance wanting to make great stuff and be industry-leading with the desire to constantly do extra passes over things they’ve created like the audio, art etc. Their biggest enemy is time, other ways of reducing crunch or time spent in general include iterating tools to make often-repeated processes as time-efficient as possible
I think the following was an observation on the industry in general as opposed to a BW-specific/-exclusive comment: he thinks that as a result of this sort of thing [working to reduce crunch], a lot of games are going to have to be smaller and a lot more focused in scope i.e. the devs will have to focus on hitting the key selling points of that particular game/series as hard as they can, and cut down on branching out sideways/wide on a bunch of random other stuff
Jon doesn’t personally engage in character creators in games, but he knows that for some players that expression is worth a lot of time and focus. BW want to be industry-leading in this kind of stuff as it’s something which is interesting/key/integral to their games
In a way BW have made their own nest of problems what with every DA game being so different to the previous one. Still, he notes that each game has a staunch fanbase that says that their particular favorite game is the best one in the series
He doesn’t want people who think that DA4 isn’t what they want to buy it and be upset - there are so many other great games out there! BW are going to make the game they’re going to make - if some people like it, that’s great, and if some people don’t, that’s cool. Sometimes waiting until reviews are out and/or really seeing beforehand if a game is something that you want [has things/features in it that you want] prior to getting it - as opposed to jumping right in or pre-ordering - is a good idea. Fans don’t always know what they want, but they do know what they like - these are 2 different things
He hopes that whatever they ship for DA4, people go “I enjoyed this experience”, and that then, if there’s additional content for it down the road, people can decide, “do I want this further content?”
On hair: BW are using the new hair technology in the latest version of the Frostbite engine, so they’ll see what they can do! This was said in response to a comment about the hair in the latest FIFA games (as EA make FIFA)
A comment in chat asked about a flying mechanic (griffons). Jon’s response is that flying is such a heavy gameplay mechanic that you can’t put it in a game without everything in the game being built about it (see Anthem)
Relating to the above comment, in DA4 mounted combat would be cool but then they’d have to make the game ‘around’ mounted combat and make the mounted combat feature meaningful
On the underwater concept art: it should not be interpreted as a promise of gameplay. BW have amazing artists who sit down for a couple weeks while they’re in early production and just draw loads and loads of all kinds of stuff. Concept art is like a moodboard or Pinterest board. Elsewhere in the stream he advised, take all the concept art together like a mosaic and ask, ‘what is the overall theme[s] here?’, and to zoom out from individual details. [This stuff echoes PW’s word on concept art]
BW don’t generally write things or the choices as bleak as the choices in DAO were anymore. This is a conscious choice on their part, they want their game to be fun [note: this was said when the side quest in Orzammar where the Warden has the option of convincing a dwarven mother to abandon her young baby to die was being played through. It seems to refer to intensively grimdark choices/beats of this kind]
I think this was more of a general comment on games: SSDs (solid state drives) mean that players will see shorter elevator rides (Mass Effect - was this a reference to the remaster?) and fewer switchback corridors (those are actually loading zones). Generally, these are going to change mechanically the time it takes to do stuff in games
The devs have lots of features on their backlog that they’d like to offer players but each will ofc involve implementation and subsequent maintenance, and each one that is chosen to add is being chosen over something else. And sometimes, it’s hard for them to tell if [x] feature or [y] feature would be better to add to the game
They’re about to work on a giant feature (a pure tooling feature, something that isn’t consumer-facing) that is probably going to take ~2 staff years of effort [I think “staff effort” includes multiple staff working concurrently, so 2 years of staff effort doesn’t = 2 years of time chronologically] to get done in the next few months. They’re investing all this effort across the people working on it because they don’t want their artists and designers etc to have to deal with the problem that it’s going to solve anymore. I’m not sure what this feature is but elsewhere in the stream they referred to tooling and automation and gave the example of, the better your tooling is, the fewer times you have to manually set the camera for a human vs elf vs dwarf position, for dynamically-generated [cinematic?] content and for the first pass to be automated (if this is the case, less time is spent/wasted on redoing it and manually touching it up) [see last bullet point in this section]
He doesn’t know how big DA4 is going to be but said “let’s ballpark and say like most games it’ll be somewhere between 70 and 100 GB”
If we kept our Wardens as the PC throughout all 3 games, at the end they would be so powerful that it’d be a bit like “Let’s just do [thing], I’ve killed gods before, whatever”. He thinks it’s good that they have fresh characters each time in DA in order to reset that power level. Some people want more Commander Shepard in the next Mass Effect and he feels like, ‘what else could you possibly want / what else could that character possibly do after 3 games?’
When asked how much freedom he/they have now to focus on next gen, he said that there’s actually almost no difference on that front. The problems never change. They now have better renderers, better ray-tracing, better graphics cards etc, but they have always made DA games for high- and low-spec PCs, so it’s actually about gameplay systems. The freedom isn’t power-based and them getting access to more cores and more RAM generally isn’t going to change how the games are played. The games still have to be made for hard drives on PC. Dev creativity matters more than power here. The challenge of building a BW game is more about/from managing loads of different plotstates, loads of different art pieces, etc
On the title situation (two): names are the last thing they worry about because names have to go through legal before being approved. Every name, including character names, has to be checked in case it’s a famous person, or associated with something bad, or offensive in a different language due to localization etc
They don’t do face scans of people with big beards
There was also a bit about changes/developments to/in the cinematic design process and associated tooling [?] but I found it too hard to follow sorry >< This bit of commentary begins at timestamp ~ 1:52:45 and continues til ~ 2:00:05 [keep listening through the bit where they pause for a cutscene]
General BW
There’s currently ~350 staff in Edmonton, ~200 in Austin and more elsewhere
He notes that DA games sell pretty well, but relative to EA games in general, they’re a drop in the bucket compared to FIFA
DAI
5% of players of DAI never created a character [Q: does this refer to people who just used the default appearances/presets with no editing, or people who only played multiplayer?]
The mounts don’t actually go faster than running, this is an illusion
I think they said it has 55,000 lines of dialogue. [I’m pretty sure I remember devs elsewhere saying it has 80,000 lines of dialogue]
One of the companions had to have their name changed during development because of legal/translation reasons. It sounds like the original name sounded too close to something offensive
DA2
Back when DA2 was internally code-named “Nug Storm”: this was at the beginning when it was pitched to the team on a set of slides. The image on the slide for that pitch had devil horns, a metal hand and no flesh, it was just made out of fire and flames
DAO
The engine DAO is made on is the third engine that they tried for it during development. [David Gaider has gone into the DAO engine stuff some on Summerfall’s series of DAO playthrough streams]
The cracks on the cracked eluvian asset are modelled after the crack on the Tardis in Doctor Who from around that time, as at the time some devs had been talking about Doctor Who a lot. A dev actually added this factoid to DAO’s entry on TV Tropes but someone else (evidently not a DA dev) came by and deleted it saying that it was too much of a stretch x)
Before the game had its name there was an HTML script that randomly generated possible titles for consideration, it adds verbs and nouns together e.g. “Grim Dark”. One of the craziest possibilities that it once generated that the devs always remember is "Bone Wind”
One of the portraits that’s used for decoration around the world in-game (it’s of a bearded human man) is actually of a specific BW staff member
He played through Stone Prisoner, where Wilhelm’s son Matthias gives exposition in the cellar. Matthias is voiced by GE and this had been pointed out to Jon earlier on. Jon: “I don’t think that character’s voice acting was super strong there”
On the in-game area towards the end of Stone Prisoner: Outdoor areas in games are large and one of the things needed for them is streaming, so different chunks can be ‘streamed in’. There’s a tower [?], and technically the top of the tower was made an outdoor level so that sky stuff could be there, though it didn’t really need to be. The person that made it an outdoor level chose the very smallest chunk size for the terrain mesh, which determines how fine of a streaming they do. So when playing, every time you moved like 4 meters, the game would stream out 50-100 chunks behind you and the same in front of you (this is the bubble around the player of what actually exists). Because it was so small, it was constantly thrashing the CPU and disc to do all the loading. The devs were like “this isn’t going to work”, but they barely had any time. The solution: they made a new level that was outdoor and copied all the sunlight and other settings, but with the largest chunk size. They copy-pasted the entire level from one to the other. The problem with that many chunks then is that there was a giant expanse of flat terrain sticking out of the middle of the tower. They didn’t know if the story was going to involve shots of the outside of the tower for this sequence or not, so they took the terrain deformation tool and bundled all the terrain vertices at the bottom of the tower in a giant clump. So to this day there’s a mess of vertices and twisted terrain at the bottom of the final level that probably no-one has ever seen [not sure though if this anecdote is in reference to a place in that DLC or somewhere elsewhere in the game?]
There were also some tidbits on Anthem, however I didn’t note them down (sorry).
If you think I misheard or misunderstood anything from this stream please let me know and I will edit/fix it. :)
(Thankyou to some of my friends who explained a tech detail from this to me.)
[source] <-- current rewatch link
#dragon age 4#the dread wolf rises#dragon age#bioware#video games#greg ellis mention#morrigan#queen of my heart#solas#mass effect#anthem#next mass effect#i love these factoids and insights into game dev it's so interesting and fun#i actually started this post yesterday but 2 hours in I was so sleepy (it was mad late) so I called it a night
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genre: fluff, drama, and comedy. high school au!
pairing: Choi San x Reader
author's note: apart of the Ateez Summer Collab hosted by @bangchan-fairy My first official posted collab please let me know what you guys think. Enjoy your summer! ✨
word count: 5.3k
summary: After slacking off junior year and struggling to juggle responsibilities, you're stuck retaking your math course in the summer. With your future on the line, you were stuck with San to work together with you so you both can pass this summer course as seniors. You two seem to have a hard time focusing on your studies. Is it because you don't understand the work or a certain someone that's distracting you
taglist: @purplepsycho03 @melonmochimoon @neptunehobi @soleilsuhh @dundun-baby @kpopsnowball (Send me a message if you want to be added or removed from the tag list.)
Your stepmom Maria seemed to be very disappointed in you once again for letting her down this year. She had planned so many family trips, vacations, and hangouts for the whole family to enjoy this summer, but thanks to my failing this dumb math class, I have to be stuck in this school until July.
“You better be lucky I can afford for you to retake this class. Your reckless behavior has gone on long enough.” Your mom walks beside you upstairs inside Walnut Hills Highschool making sure you don’t skip out on the first day of summer school.
“Mom, you know you don’t have to walk me to class. I know what I’m doing!” You groan at her as she links her arms with you in the hallway.
“Clearly you don’t! If you did you wouldn’t be stuck here retaking this class. Now we’re almost there so keep your head high and lose the tude.”
There it was class 2A once again. This class was an absolute nightmare. I took a deep breath and slid the door open slowly with my eyes halfway open anxious to see who was sitting in the classroom.
“Welcome back miss Y/LN! Good seeing you again.” Mr. Harris said with a smile. This sucker, you had a love-hate relationship with Mr. Harris. You loved the fact that he was super nice and helpful when he was your English tutor freshman year, but you hated how he had a crush on your mom and how weird teacher-parent conference meetings would get when they would sneak off with each other in his office.
“Good morning Mr. Harris. Good seeing you again.” Your mom blushed to try to contain her excitement, but it was too obvious. “Anyways I’ll be heading my way out. She’s all yours for the summer.” Your mom gave you one last hug and kiss on the cheek before she left.
You sighed, rolling your eyes, fanning yourself already sweating from the classroom’s lack of cold air blowing. You complained again by saying.“Mr. Harris, are we staying in this room all summer? I’m sweating like a fat pig.”
“Unfortunately, yes. The PCs in the computer lab have been shut down and the school plans on replacing them with apple PCs by august. So these are the cards we’ve been dealt with. Let’s get started shall we.”
All the students in the classroom sighed, taking sips of their water bottles as Mr. Harris took attendance.
“Let’s see...We have Angela, Oliver, Chris, Yui, Y/N...Who’s missing? Choi San?”
“Here.” San slams the door open, arriving 20 minutes late with his chocolate milk in one hand and a glazed donut in the other. “Sorry Mr. Harris, I’ve overslept.”
Mr. Harris sighs, shaking his head, chuckling to calm himself down. “As expected. Just glad that you’re here, please have a seat.”
There was only one seat left which was in the front next to you and that would of course be his assigned seat for the rest of the summer.
You never heard much of San except everyone saying that he dropped out sophomore year.
You remember having a crush on him during freshman orientation when you both were shadowed by this kid named Lee Know. The whole time you were quiet, but you remembered staring at the handsome devil strutting in his uniform the whole time.
So to see him once again took you and everyone by surprise.
“Class, make sure you remember your partner’s name sitting next to you for this summer because you will work together in order to pass this class.”
“Say what?” You look over at San, who was making origami at his desk. “Good seeing again kid.” He smirks at you leaving you speechless. “Want a donut?” He reached out, handing a piece to you.
You were slamming your head on the desk thinking to yourself. “Mom, I know I promised I would finish this class, but I don’t know if I can...”
Mr. Harris had you paired up in groups of two to complete a series of word problems and online on this website called Pearson. On the bright side, walnut hills provided MacBooks for students that didn’t have their laptop, but of course, if they tried to watch Netflix, facetime with their friends, or search for something inappropriate, their laptop will be shut down for 24 hours until further notice.
The first two weeks were pretty quiet between you and San because both of you aren’t necessarily the best conversation starters and whenever San would ask you something it would only just help him cheat on an assignment or help him make up an excuse to skip class. Up until the third week hit you had enough of his excuses trying to avoid doing the work.
The third week you were assigned to work on three hours of pre-cal on the computer and you had the option to locate to a different classroom of course if you couldn’t focus in a cramped room full of sweaty students. So you and san decided to work in the math lab across from class 2A and try to work out a plan.
“Listen San I know this class is our worst enemy, but I promised my mom I would graduate next year and If I have to restart my junior year again I would die of embarrassment. So please try a little harder.” San sighs nodding to your proposal looking deeply into your eyes.
“Fine. I guess I’m in the same boat. I figured retaking junior year would make my mom mad too.” He reaches his hand shaking it with yours smiling.
Your heart starts pounding pretty fast as you're exchanging the agreement with San and you gaze your eyes back at the computer again clearing your throat.
“So, all we have to do is remember the methods Mr. Harris taught us and we'll be alright. What section are we on?” San scrolls through his laptop trying to login into his Pearson account. “I believe it's section 3.A. 20 questions which are due this Friday?! Man, Mr. Harris won’t give us a break.”
You giggled at his surprised reaction. Sometimes he can be soft which makes you melt inside even more. It made you wonder why he was always hanging around with the rebels with no future at school. Maybe life at home was rough and he didn’t have a lot of friends. All these questions were running through your head, which made you not realize that San suddenly moved closer to you.
“You need help with that problem? You were staring blankly at the screen for the past 10 minutes. Here let me show you how to do this.” San wraps his arm around you, pulling you closer to writing the answer problem step by step to help you understand it better, but that wasn’t exactly helping.
All you were doing was admiring his beautiful face to face. It made you remember the first time you saw him with his glowing melon skin, sharp jawline, the way he can pull off a white collar and a striped tie it just seemed impossible.
On top of that his knowledge in math made him 10x more attractive, but you couldn’t understand why someone as brilliant and essential as him set himself up in the wrong crowd and stuck in this situation that cost him his high school diploma.
“So that’s how you get y= 18 + 15x. Any questions?” “Yeah, why the hell are you so fine. Forget Mr. Harris, you can be my tutor.” Would’ve sounded better in your head, but you accidentally said it out loud.
San looked at you with his eyes flashing open and then he burst out laughing. “Well Ms. Y/LN if I knew you were having this much fun, I would’ve signed up for this a long time ago.”
“Same here. You know I didn’t think math was your thing. How come you're so good at it?” He sighs, leaning looking up at the ceiling as his mood changes very quickly. “My dad is an entrepreneur and a CEO of his own company.
He’s very good at math so he taught me at an early age so someday I can take over his company someday. He’s never home at times either so I’m pretty much always helping my friends with their math homework as a side hustle.”
“That must be tiring. I know that must be a lot of pressure for a 17-year-old.” San nods his head in agreement and says “It is, but hey that’s what I’ve been dealing with all my life. We got to finish these questions so we can go home early.” With the both of you panicking you turn back to your computers finishing the last set of problems.
You were having so much fun at school with San that you forgot you had to make it to dinner on time with your wicked stepmother. Ever since you’ve started your sophomore year at Walnut Hills your father was keeping his dating life a secret until he unexpectedly announced that he wanted to marry Maria. Your dad was always the playboy so it always would irritate you whenever he brings another woman into the picture.
Your father planned on marrying Maria by the time you’ve graduated high school, but that all ended in tragedy when your father one day died in a car accident on the way to your volleyball game. This is why you quitted sports, fell out with your best friends, and flunked almost all your classes. Maria has always shown tough love even when your dad was around, but that’s because she never knew what it was like to raise children and she wanted to learn to become closer to your family, but your relationship with her was always rocky.
Arriving late at night you’ve run to your house sweating and panting to your angry stepmom in the kitchen tapping her foot.
“Y/N, do you know what time it is? School ended at 5. Why are you late for dinner? This better is good missy.” You caught your last breath and then rolled your eyes at Maria’s snarky comment. “Me and my partner in my class took longer than expected to finish our assignment. Sorry, okay?”
You’ve slammed your backpack on the back of your chair and grabbed a plate of yong chow rice to eat with your family. “Don’t you roll your eyes at me? I just asked a simple question. Don’t tell me your working with that Choi San guy?”
You shook your head as you started to feel yourself explode at the dinner table, but you let her finish. “I know that because Mr. Harris told me. Look all I’m saying is you better stay concentrated on getting out of summer school and don’t fool around with these boys. Got it?”
You’ve finally snapped and stood up slamming the table with your fists. “You know what, I don’t understand why you're nagging me about every little thing going on in my life. You can’t just be proud that I finished my assignments for this week. But, no you keep finding ways to complain to me about me not working hard enough or messing around. I’m getting really tired of it. That’s why I hate it here!”
“Y/N! Don’t walk away from me when I’m talking to you.” She followed you all the way upstairs until you closed the door and locked it in her face. You were too tired and frustrated to be dealing with her constant ranting so you’ve just sat in your room, put your AirPods on, and blocked her yelling from the background. “We’ll talk about this another day. Psh teenagers.”
For the rest of the night, you smush your face in your pillow crying yourself to sleep. You look back on the polaroids of your dad around your room and through your phone missing his presence in your home. “Dad, why did you leave me alone with her? If it was just the three of us, things would be so different. I miss you.”
Your partnership with San seemed to improve drastically which was surprising, to say the least. All the other kids in the class however didn’t seem to improve. Some were either cheating or missing the deadlines. Mr. Harris was not pleased by the results so he found other alternatives.
“You know what class, here’s what we’re about to do. To make this a lot more fun, how about we do class activities for extra credit. Since some of you are glued to your devices nowadays we can play games like Kahoot, Jenga, and Tetris to answer questions. I can even narrow down the questions on the assignments. How does that sound?” Everyone in class chants and cheers loving the idea which keeps them even more motivated to continue working.
“Alright everyone the games won’t start today, but next week. This is the last week of June and summer school so that means we’re halfway there from finishing. You cannot screw this up. Try acing this week’s quiz with 90% everyone or no games for those with below 70%. Got it?” “Yes, Mr. Harris!” You’ve become closer to the class since it was only nine of you, but your best friends are Angela, San, and Chris. The four of you stopped for ice cream after school to study for this week’s big math test that covered five sections.
“Gosh, Mr. Harris put 40 questions on the test! What the hell is he on crack?”
Everyone laughed at Chris complaining. He would always try to find shortcuts just so he can finish playing PubG, but he always ends up getting in trouble because he procrastinates too much. The only reason he’s somewhat doing well is because of his girlfriend Angela.
She was always a straight-A student and a bit of a geek at school, but outside of school, she was a baddie. She ended up having to retake pre-cal because she wanted to offer to help Chris with homework but ended up failing with him. “Oh hush it’s not even that bad. If you would’ve done those practice problems like you were told, you wouldn’t be complaining so much.” She slaps the back of Chris' head making him spat out his dip cone.
San looks at them admiring their silly dysfunctional relationship and then looks at you mesmerized. He leans in whispering in your ear saying “Why can’t we be more like them. They’re cute together.” You turned to him, slapping his shoulder softly giggling. “We shouldn’t. We agreed to only focus on school, remember?” He looks at you pouting “Does it have to be strictly about work? Like Mr. Harris said, we can have fun with it. We are partners after all.”
You look to the side trying to avoid his gaze as you take another spoonful of mint cocoa. With your sloppy spoonful of ice cream leftover on your face, San quickly grabbed a napkin from the table and whipped your face. “Be careful, you had a little mint chocolate on your face.” He kissed the side of your lips and smirked at you right afterward leaving everyone shocked.
“You guys are hot together.”
Chris with no filter shouted out leaving you a blushing mess. You quickly grabbed your ice cream and backpack as you heard your stepmom pulling up at the dairy parking lot. “You know what duty calls. I’ll meet you guys at the same time tomorrow at San’s place just like we planned. I gotta shave my legs. Later!” San wanted to grab your arm real quick to give you a proper goodbye, but you already beat him to it by sprinting to the car.
“Honey, why did you run in the car so fast? You would have finished your ice cream-”
“No time for that, just drive Mom.” Maria laughs looking at you covering your face with your cardigan and looking at San’s pouting face playing with his spoon he just ate from his ice cream. “Reminds me of the good old days when I was in high school.” Your stepmom cranked the engine and drove all the way home.
When you arrived home you flopped your body on your bed trying to focus on finishing studying for your test by yourself, but all your thinking about San’s kiss replaying in your head over and over again. “Ugh that San man, why did his lips have to be so soft? I'm supposed to be finding the formula for x, not the formula to get into San’s heart.” You’ve pulled out your laptop attempting to send an email to Mr. Harris said that you wanted to switch partners, but you prevent yourself from pressing send through your mouse.
“There’s no point. We only have four more weeks plus he would be upset if I do that. I just need to calm down.” You’ve closed out of your email tab and finished your homework sinking in your thoughts.
“Dad, hey it’s me again, I just wanted to leave a voicemail letting you know that later on today I’ll be bringing my friends over to work on studying for our big test. It would be nice for you to meet them, but of course, I know work is more important. Anyways please come visit again sometime soon. Love you, peace.” San sighs, hanging up the phone as he sets the table up getting ready for you, Angela, and Chris to come over. San has always learned to live basically on his own growing up.
His father is always running off on business trips, his mother left him at a young age to marry a wealthy man and his older brother was already out of the country to join the Navy. His brother was the only person he can count on for family events when it came to birthdays, Christmas, and even father’s day. At least his brother could attend and catch up with his crazy high school life.
Snapping out of his train of thoughts he opens the door as soon as he hears the doorbell ring. “Coming!” He fixed his Pikachu long sleeve and parted his hair before he opened the door. He was smiling so wide after seeing it was you, Angela and Chris.
“C'mon in you guys. Welcome to mi palacio. Let’s study in the living room.”
Everyone ran to the living room pleased with the smell of pina colada candles filling the house. You were shocked that San got to live in this huge nicely decorated home yet you seem to notice that his family is not present.
You see picture frames of him when he was younger in a monster inc sitting on the fountain at Disneyland.
There was also another cute family photo of San’s best friend named Wooyoung that he met since kindergarten, but sadly they ended up cutting ties since they went to different schools.
A picture that stood out from all of them was one of him sitting on his mom’s lap when he was five smiling super hard with his pretty white smile. You’ve never seen him smile that hard and you were always curious more about his past so the family photos have shown a nice glimpse into his past “Hey y/n cmon I made some ramen. We have to pull out the flashcards so we can study.” “W-wait, but your baby pictures I want!” “No time we can look at them later.”
He winks and gently holds your hand and walks downstairs with you.
“Here goes the love birds. We have to try San’s famous spicy ramen dish before it gets too cold.” Everyone sits down at the dinner table clasping their hands together ready to dig in until the door opens.
“Surprise brother! Sorry I’m late. Did I miss dinner?” San’s brother Jinhyuk walks in with veggie wraps and steak bulgogi in his hand. San runs up to his brother hugging him super tight happier to see that he finally made it home. “Guys this is my brother Jinhyuk. Jinhyuk this is Chris, Angela, and Y/N.”
Jinhyuk smiles at everyone greeting everyone. “So what’s been going on with you guys? I know you have been stuck in school together, but what have you guys been doing outside of school?” Angela started by saying “Well so far me and Chris have been seeing each other every day. We always go to the park or the carnival when we get the chance for dates. We have also been hanging out with these two right here.”
Chris joined in saying “Exactly right. You can say we’re like the Scooby-Doo gang of course without scooby.” San laughs adding on “No way you’re definitely Scooby. Angela is Velma, I’m Freddy, and Y/N is Daphne.” Everyone at the table laughed as they enjoyed San’s ramen catching up with each other.
Jinhyuk elbows you as he chats with you in the kitchen. “Hey, I noticed that you were sitting there staring at my brother. What’s going on with you two.” Your eyes flashed wide open as you were surprised by Jinhyk’s sudden question. You faced him scratching the back of your head not knowing how to answer his question. “Well, I honestly don’t know. I think he just likes teasing me. One minute he flirts with me, the next minute he treats me like one of the guys. My mom also doesn’t want me getting distracted so I’m trying to keep my distance.”
Jinhyuk laughs and then pets your head. “Well, you both already failed at keeping your distance. I think he likes you, but since you keep running away or avoiding him too much, he feels like he’s making you uncomfortable and that you strictly want to stay as friends. I wouldn’t give him the wrong idea to be upfront about how you feel about him. You got this kid.” He grabs your empty bowl for you and washes the dishes giving you that boost of confidence. “You know what you're right. Mama didn’t raise no punk. I’ll tell him after we finish studying. Thanks, Jinhyuk I owe you the next time you visit.” You give him a thumbs up and skip happily out the kitchen looking forward to seeing your friends.
After hours of studying flashcards, everyone finally studied feeling confident in themselves about the final test of the semester. Everyone packed their things and was ready to head home since their parents were outside. You were the only one that still felt confident about your process throughout the class so you’ve decided to stay an extra hour to study with San.
“Are you sure this is right?” You put the pencil down crossing your fingers as San checks your work. “Wow yes, that is correct. See you’re doing just fine. You only got 7 wrong out of the 40 questions. Just keep using that method I taught you and you’ll be just fine.” San smiles at you pinching your cheeks. “It’s 10:30 pm. Your mom is going to be worried about you. You should start heading home. I'll drop you off.” San started putting his notebook and laptop back on his desk getting ready to leave his room, but you pull on his sleeve bringing him back down on the couch with you.
“Wait, um why don’t we watch a movie or something. My mom is out with Mr. Harris anyways they won’t be back until the morning. I kind of told her I was spending the night at my cousin’s house.”
San smiles, shaking his head gulping, sitting back down next to you. “That sounds nice and all, but I don’t want to get you in trouble. Plus you do realize you’re staying over at a boy’s house at night.” You lean your head on his shoulder holding his hand yawning. “I know I trust you. You wouldn’t do anything unless I told you I wanted to. Just for tonight please San?” San sighs, lifting your chin patting the back of your head. “Fine, but next time let me meet your mom. I want to know everything there is about you okay?” You nod linking pinkies with him. “Deal. Now let’s watch Money Heist Shall we?”
The next morning you wake up in San’s arms as you share a blanket on the living room couch. You woke up fixing his messy black hair struck by his sleeping face. “Gosh you're even more dreamy when you're sleeping.” You checked the time on your phone and realized what time it was.
Pre-cal normally starts around 10, it was 11:20. “San gets up, we're late for class! We can’t miss this one Mr. Harris is giving us get extra credit today.” San woke right up alert as he wiped the drool from the side of his mouth.
“Dang, we gotta go. Here brush your teeth real fast, brush your hair and let’s roll.”
The two of you got ready as fast you could and hopped right on his motorcycle speeding through the traffic throughout the city.
You wrapped your arms around San the whole time scared you’ll fall on the motorcycle. San felt so happy whenever you depended on him for anything. “God I love this girl. I know they say I’m too young or going too fast, but I can’t help it.” He mumbled under his breath as he arrived at the school.
“Well well if it isn’t San and Y/N. You better be lucky you didn’t miss the test. We just got done playing Kahoot.” The two of you poured with your heads looking down feeling ashamed as you walked to your seats. The two of you took one last glimpse of each before Mr. Harris handed out the test.
This was it after everything you’ve been through this past month with San and your friends. The hard work was going to determine if you actually made it through or not. Mr. Harris gave you a whisper of encouragement you never heard in a long time except for your dad. “Y/N no matter what happens I’ll always be proud of you. Finish this strong.”
Mr. Harris' words almost moved you to tears as you smiled and nodded your head right back at him. Now you understand why Maria loved him so much he was always passionate about teaching and cared about your well-being.
You grabbed your pencil and your laptop as you started getting to work. The whole time you were nervous and a few questions caused you to slip up, but in the end, you remembered how to do most of the work. San seemed to be holding up just fine so you weren’t too worried about him, Angela would always double-check her work before turning it in and Chris was surprisingly focused the whole time.
As everyone finished their tests Mr. Harris checked everyone’s grades one by one slowly seeing their process.
He stands up taking off his glasses and says. “Class...congratulations on becoming seniors! Everyone has passed summer school. See you in the fall.”
Everyone screamed cheering as the paper was flying and everyone in the classroom cheered. “Yeah, you guys hang out at the carnival!” Chris screamed and everyone followed him out.
Before catching up with everyone you called your stepmom to tell her the good news with Mr. Harris next to you.
“Mom, I finally passed. Dad’s face right now you know he’s probably crying. It was all thanks to Mr. Harris too, he's the best teacher ever.”
You can hear your mom’s voice on the other end as she gets teary-eyed. “Your dad would definitely be so happy that you passed, but also pissed because he never wants you in summer school ever again.” The three of you laugh together as you share the happy news.
“I’m so sorry I doubted you and was super harsh y/n. I love you and just want you to succeed. Your my only banana muffin I got in this world so don’t pull off any dumb crap like this ever again.”
“Yes mom, you know I will. I made a promise to dad after all. I will graduate and stay close to you if it’s the last thing I do. Love you, I'm going to the carnival with my friends.”
Maria makes kissy noises back and says “I love you too. Don’t stay out too late. Matter of fact I’ll meet you there since me and Harris have a date anyways. See you there.” You hang up feeling emotional as you hug Mr. Harris.
Mr. Harris pats you on the back saying “Didn’t I tell you she’s very proud. Now I think you need to catch up with your friends before he leaves without you. I’ll meet you at the carnival.” Mr. Harris leaves the classroom giving you one last smile and heading out.
You walked in the hallway looking all around the school for San, luckily you found him in the science lab where he’s sitting by the window with a sad look on his face.
“San. We’ve gotta meet up with everyone at the carnival. Why are you here by yourself?”
San sighs, crossing his arms.
“There’s no point in celebrating. I tried reaching out to both of my parents to tell them about one of the biggest accomplishments in my life and as usual, they didn’t answer.” You sat right next to him at the window petting his head. “You know what, how dare they? Forget them.
You have a supportive big brother, an amazing group of friends, and the best teacher a school could ever ask for. You have a family right here and we’re proud of you.”
San lifts his head up as he sees your bright smile that always makes him helpless.
“You always know exactly what to say. What would I do without you?”
He links pinkies with you. “I really can’t wait for you to meet my stepmom. She gets on my nerves sometimes and we always tend to bump heads, but we always come right back together. Dad would’ve also loved you. He was always straight to the point and never held back. I loved that confidence he always had.”
“Oh yeah he did get into that accident last year, I’m so sorry about that.”
You shake your head “It’s alright, I’m still holding up just fine. I’m just happy to have you here with me plus I get to be seniors with you and everyone else.” San looks up at you one last time slowly leaning his face close to yours until your noses touch.
“Gosh, I wonder what would happen if I made out with Y/N in the science lab? The janitor would for sure catch us in the act.” You giggle flirting with him back.
“The only thing he would have to worry about cleaning up is the kiss marks that are going to be on your neck.”
“Wow, I didn’t know you were this playful. I love seeing this side of you.”
The two of you finally exchange a short yet sweet kiss in the orange sunset peeking against the window. It was going to last longer until Angela and Chris crashed the party with a loud knock on the door.
“Hurry up Freddy and Daphne the Scooby gang has to pull up at the carnival together. You guys can finish eating each other's faces off in the car. We can’t miss the flight of fear!”
The two of you looked at each other shrugging and walked together hand in hand out the classroom. “Well, I guess we will have to finish this on the carousel.” “Indeed, that sounds more romantic than making out while being surrounded by jars of disinfected frogs in the science lab.”
The two of you catch up with the rest of the seniors of class 2021 as you look forward to your last summer as juniors together. Today was going to be the day where you go all out and live like you're gonna die young.
#ateez collab#ateez summer collab#ateez high school au#ateez fanfic#ateez fluff#ateez scenarios#ateez imagines#ateez reactions#ateez x reader#ateez x you#ateez x y/n#san x reader#san x you#San x y/n#san imagines#San reactions#san fluff#san scenarios#naja collabs#kpop imagines#kpop fanfic#kpop scenarios#kpop reactions
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C3E11 - liveblog
Oh I love that Sam bit, so earnest and adorable
Being honest, I expected this to immediately go into combat, so the fact that there was a little discussion at the beginning? Genuinely surprising.
As soon as Chetney took off the beanie and the jacket, I think everyone knew what was coming. The reveal was FANTASTIC though! The sad thing is that in a home game this reveal would have worked very well because Travis never said ‘rogue’, just implied via his skill set. However, since there are cards for each character, we were informed ‘rogue’ even though it was false. It’s something where in a home game, it’s a surprise, in a live streamed game, it’s a lie. *shrugs* To be fair, I’m not actually bothered by it, and there’s really nothing that they could have done because they couldn’t have left the class blank, but maybe that would be an option for if they do a fourth campaign, only fill in the classes when we see it in combat. I was also slightly expecting a multiclass reveal, so the straight bloodhunter was a surprise.
For anyone who has been reading my C2 rewatch reactions, you know that I was wondering how bloodhunter would actually work as we didn’t get to see too much of it, so this will answer my questions! A different subclass, sure, but from what I can tell most subclasses still are very clearly the main class (rogue subclasses all still have the sneak attack and such, casting subclasses will still have the main spell lists, etc. etc.), so should get an interesting idea.
I’m honestly not sure how I feel about the furniture fighting. Now they at least know where it’s coming from, but even though it can still attack and do significant damage, it just doesn’t have the same emotional impact as fighting a living creature. The shade creepers provided more stress than the table and chairs. I am hoping that this is early campaign only, I don’t know how I’d feel about the BBEG being a full dining room set. XD
WHY DOES IRA KNOW FEARNE. Or at least “Calloway”!!!
Oooof, that was a kind DM move, had the fight gone on for real, I’m sure a TPK would be incoming, but good on Matt for finally being able to create a re-occurring villain! Here’s hoping the party doesn’t kill him in like, three episodes XD
Hmmm...I just checked, and Chetney could transform as of level 3. The reason I (and I think many) were suspecting multiclass is because then it could be 1 rogue and 3 bloodhunter, therefore why Travis came in late to the story. But with being full on bloodhunter, I don’t get why Chetney wasn’t there from the start.
Claret Orders again. Is that where all bloodhunters come from? I don’t recall if it was mentioned during C1, but that’s C2 and C3 set.
Man, C3 is really jumping hard into plot stuff waaaay faster than C2 did (though C2 was more shorter things connected with the PC growth being the main ‘story’). Same with C1 even, because C1 didn’t really get going until Briarwoods for main plot connectedness. But C3 seems like this could even be leading to eventual BBEG, and we’re only episode 11!
Reasons that I think this could be:
the cast and/or Matt wanted a more definite plot after C2
Matt really wants to make sure he has villains that last more than a handful of episodes or a single arc
maybe the cast wants to play to level 20 again? They did start at 3. Or at least maybe go higher than the C2 cast (which I would say capped at level 15, the level 16 was like half an episode) so maybe like to 17 or 18?
or maybe they are just tailoring it for a show versus a game, which is a valid thing to do, but also I’d feel mixed about it. Well, I guess as long as they were still having fun, but I didn’t feel like too much of C2 ever felt like they forced it in a certain way due to an audience, and I really hope they don’t for C3 either. The inclusion of Bell and the formatting of the first episode felt that way, but I’m hoping they just go for fun.
LOL Matt took their teasing about the bathhouse and ran with it. And of course they spend a nice little character moment each in it, I adore it so much.
Ooooo, Liam plot! Tying into the same location as Ashton’s deal, more incentive to head there. And going after the ball, so going in five days? Should fit perfectly in with Jiana’s timeline.
IMOGEN PLOT.
I don’t mind The New Nobodies, but I’m also not super vibing with it.
@suicidallyreckless
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Rangers, Lead The Way - Chapter 2 - Jay and Hana
written by @anotheronechicagobog
warnings: swearing, cannon typical violence, jealousy, abandonment
When Jay had gotten a call from Kenny at three-thirty in the morning he didn't exactly know what to expect. Sure, he could have called because someone died, but he could've also called because he wanted to debate the pronunciation of 'avocado' (something he'd already done twice). So when Kenny's name flashed across his phone screen he just took a deep breath and went to the hallway, leaving a sleeping Hailey alone in bed. "Halstead."
"Hana got shot."
"What? Hana? Your Hana?"
"Yeah- it was a fugitive. She- she's fine. Shot in the foot. She was on leave for a bit, stayed with her parents, but now she's on desk duty. She was going to be with us, but apparently, she was helping the cyber division track some hackers, and they're connected to an organized crime group in Chicago. And she's going to be working with the unit that's been conducting the investigation into that organization. Your unit."
"Yeah, we were told that an FBI cyber analyst was coming down to work with us but they didn't tell us who. Okay, well, she'll be perfectly safe. Our tech room is in the basement with secure entrances, and I'll see if I can get either myself or Hailey assigned to work with her."
"Thanks man, you have no idea how much this means to me."
"Actually I do, remember?"
"Yeah, any advice on how to get through it?"
"I'm not gonna lie, it's gonna be hell, but you'll just have to hang in there and trust me."
"Okay."
"... So I'll finally get to meet Hana..."
"Yeah, I'm hanging up now. Bye."
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"Everyone, meet special agent Hana Gibson from the FBI. She's the tech specialist here to help us out with the Anderson family. Play nice." After his... Enthusiastic introduction, Voight walked back into his office and shut the door. "Hi, I'm detective Jay Halstead and this is my partner Detective Hailey Upton, it's nice to meet you. I can show you where you'll be working if you want?"
"That would be great." Jay moved to the desk by the stairs. "Okay, this desk is just like ours, older than our boss and with a PC on it. The tech room is downstairs, this is mostly for basic searches and so that the tech expert can be with the group when we debrief and work the board and the like. The stairs over here take you down to the garage which is where the tech room is. The stairs are old so they creak a lot but don't worry, they're perfectly safe."
"Sorry to interrupt, but is that a cage?"
"Yes, but don't worry, we don't use it. It's from the old guard, you know, when cops were assaulting people for no reason and no one would say anything. At least now people are talking about it."
"I sense a 'but'."
"But... I wish that cops who were still like that actually got arrested, or never made it out of the academy."
"You and me both."
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"Okay, so the Anderson family has been selling legit products online but then stealing and selling the credit card info, they've been covering their tracks pretty well up until now. That means that something changed. What that is could be key to catching all, and I mean all, of them. Work your CI's, talk to victims, flip some people. Figure out what it is." The team nodded and turned to their partners to figure out their next move.
"Should we head out to Cook County? There's an inmate there connected to the Anderson's, right? Maybe they could give us something."
"Actually, I was thinking maybe I could head out there with Ruzek and you could stay with Gibson because you found their online pattern and figured out which products and websites were theirs. Maybe you two could find more together."
"Sure, that sounds okay but, we're good, right?"
"Of course we are, we'll always be good. I just think this will be best for the case, plus you have the most experience working with the FBI, and her being here has put Voight on edge which has put everyone else on edge."
"Good point, I'll see you later." His eyes followed her until he couldn't see her anymore and he let out a breath, it was different this time. Last time, when Hailey hadn't been here, OA had kept an eye on her but his partner wasn't there so that made it a bit easier, but Hailey was here and now so was Hana. It would take some finessing to have both of their backs but he figured if they were in the same place it would be a little easier. "Halstead? You ready to head out?"
"Yeah, let's go."
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Cook County was as unpleasant as always. Angry convicts yelling at them through their cells that they wanted to slit his throat. Lovely. But that wasn't what got to him. Leonard Mitchell, the man they were there to see, wouldn't say anything helpful. He wasn't even threatening them or insulting them, he was just asking "where the smoking blonde from last time was". It was taking an enormous amount of restraint to keep him from jumping across the table and tackling the guy. "You're here for hacking the Chicago Municipal Courts website and unsealing confidential information. You're in the high-security ward and have more restricted access to places in the prison than most inmates. You don't have much going for you, maybe if you give us some information we can help you out."
"That's a joke, I'm not saying anything to either of you. Now that blonde, get her to show up for a conjugal visit, then maybe I'll consider it."
"Okay! So, we're done talking, we're going to search your cell and work station now, and you know what, because you have been so unpleasant to deal with today, we're also going to search the cells and workstations near you. Have fun explaining to your neighbours why their contraband got carted off by Chicago PD." Jay marched out of the interrogation room before he lost his cool even more than he already had. He gestured for the warden to get some guards together to start the search. He took a deep breath to try and calm down. "Hey Halstead, are you okay? I mean, what he said about Upton..."
"I'm fine. I don't like hearing anyone talk about my partner that way, but I'm fine."
"Really? Cause the stuff he said was pretty..."
"She's back at the station with Gibson in probably the most secure room there, far, far away from that perv. And if she's okay, I'm okay."
"You should ask her out. I mean, I know it might be weird considering I'm her ex, but you're so far gone on her it's ridiculous and I think that you'd make a cute couple. Think about it, man"
"Uh, yeah. I'll think about it, come on, let's go see if the warden's ready for the searches." Jay's heart was pounding and he felt like he'd just jumped out of the way of a moving train. Nobody knew about them yet, but they were all criminal investigators surely they'd picked up that at least something was different.
They searched Mitchell's room and found a burner phone... Behind his toilet. "Man, I am so glad I don't have to touch that thing. That's Upton and Gibson's job."
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"So I have good news and I have bad news. The good news is, we found a cell phone. The bad news is, it was behind his toilet."
"How lovely."
"Well, you can thank Leonard Mitchell for that. Hey, how's it been working with Gibson?"
"Why?"
"What do you mean?"
"You seem really interested in her, that's all. Do I need to be worried?"
"No, I just want to make sure that she feels welcome and won't give us a bad review to the FBI."
"I know what you look like when you're lying, Jay."
"Hailey..."
"Just... Go back upstairs, Jay."
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"How's everything going?"
"Other than the fact that I'm in the doghouse, good."
"What'd you do?"
"I was a little too protective of Hana, I guess. Hailey picked up on it and I couldn't exactly explain without blowing our cover."
"That sucks, man. I'm sorry but honestly, it sounds like you were gonna end up sleeping on the couch either way."
"Yeah, how are you? You holding up alright with Hana gone?"
"No. You were right, this is hell. I keep looking around to make sure she's covered or to offer to get her that terrible coffee she likes and then she's not there and it feels like whiplash." Jay could practically feel himself sharing the weight on Kenny's shoulders. "It doesn't get any easier, it actually gets a lot harder, but she won't be here forever. She'll be home soon and you'll be able to breathe again."
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Hailey was still giving him the cold shoulder when he went around to take lunch orders. She was curt "my usual" before turning back to her computer screen and completely ignoring him. He did what he could to not let the pang in his chest play out on his face but from the way Hana looked at him it was obvious, he'd failed. "What about you Gibson? Do you need a copy of their menu?"
"No, that's okay, I looked it up. I'll get the spicy shrimp pad thai."
"You got it." He was about to leave when Hana gestured for him to lean down close to her. "Just apologize for whatever you did, it'll go a long way. She's been off since you dropped off the cell phone." He wanted to say something, explain that he was just caught between a rock and a hard place, but the words were trapped in his throat. Hana sent him a I-know-what-I'm-talking-about-if-you-don't-listen-to-me-you're-probably-going-to-regret-it look and all he could do was allow his shoulders to slump and nod.
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The intense silence of the bullpen was interrupted by Hailey entering behind Hana, who looked incredibly confident on her crutches. "We got something off of the phone." Hailey moved to the board with some papers as Hana plopped down into the office chair at her temporary desk. "It took a while to crack some of the files but I got it. They're transactions between an off-shore account and a shell company based out of Arkansas. While the account was set up there, it's been used mostly in New York, Washington DC, and Chicago. The most recent transaction was for 85K."
"Hana and I also found some emails with photos of military-grade weapons. Guns, missiles, and grenades. Mitchell isn't the buyer or the seller, it looks like he's mediating between the two. We don't have an ID on the buyer yet, but we have one on the seller. Lori Anderson, member of the Anderson crime family. Got no idea what they're planning, but the Anderson's were particularly interested in armour-piercing weapons and rocket launchers. And two days ago she asked Mitchell if he could put her in contact with an explosives supplier. We need to talk to organized crime, both from CPD and FBI, this looks bad. There are still files and emails that we have to go through, and his calendar makes no sense it's all in code. It's probably pretty important because he was in prison and couldn't actually go anywhere. We're also still combing through the contraband from the other cells just to make sure none of his neighbours were also involved."
"Alright. Upton, Gibson, good work. Keep at the phone. Atwater and Burgess you two talk to organized crime, see what you can dig up and alert them of our discoveries. Ruzek and Halstead, flip any CIs you've got. We need to get ahead of whatever they're planning."
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They were supposed to be safe. They were supposed to be safe. They were in the precinct, they were surrounded by on-duty cops, there was another detective unit across from Intelligence, Platt was at the front desk, Hank-don't-you-even fucking-dare-Voight was in his office. They were supposed to be safe. But they weren't.
They'd just left one of Adam's CIs twitching in excitement down the street as he counted his money when they got the call over the radio.
"10-1! 10-1! Shots fired at police at 21st district! We're pinned down!" They had a moment of stunned silence together before they hauled ass to Jay's truck and high-tailed it back to the district, sirens blaring and lights flashing. Jay's body was moving on autopilot, which probably wasn't good considering he was speeding in a large vehicle down busy roads, the only thing that was going to calm him down, that would quell and panic and rage bubbling up in was seeing Hailey alive. He would move heaven and earth to make that a reality.
Pulling up at the district he vaguely remembered he had to look out for Hana too, but lord help him, and whoever stood in his way, if he didn't see blonde hair and blue eyes attached to the fiery woman who held his heart.
The lobby reminded Jay of Kandahar, there were bullet holes lining every vertical surface. Blood pooled under the bodies of the injured. He did a quick sweep of the room, finding nothing but injured cops and civilians, none of whom were Hailey or Hana, or the attackers. The door to intelligence hung open, barely attached at the hinges. "They went up to intelligence! Move your asses!" Platt didn't spare them a second glance as she went back to ordering the remaining able-bodied patrol officers around.
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"Kim!"
"I'm okay, I'm okay."
"We're okay too, just so you know."
"Where did they go, Kev? What happened?"
"They went down to the garage-" Jay didn't have it in him to finish listening, he just ran, gun raised. "Hailey! Hana!" It was bad enough that he might lose Hailey, the woman he loved more than anything, but losing Hana too? He wouldn't be able to look Kenny in the eye ever again.
"We're over here!"
"We're okay!"
And then he could breathe again. Oh thank god, she's safe, Hailey's safe. She's mad at me but she's safe... Does my heart always pound this fast when I'm not with her and I'm just noticing now? No, it's probably adrenaline because... I almost lost her. But I didn't. They were tucked into separate corners of the tech office, Hailey, covered in blood that she immediately indicated wasn't hers, was armed with her Glock and Hana armed with her crutches. There were five men in black tactical gear with ski masks lying in various positions on the floor. Four had obvious non-lethal bullet wounds, a courtesy from Hailey, and the fifth was still moving and being hit repeatedly by Hana with one of her crutches. "Stop. Moving. Already. You. Ass!" Jay would've been more impressed if he wasn't still coming down from the adrenaline. "Thank god. You're both okay? Hailey?"
"We're fine."
"Hails-"
"We're fine, just help guide the ambos here, please?"
"...Okay." God, he could feel his heart start to splinter. Less than a minute ago he'd thought that his world had been savagely destroyed, but now... All he wanted was to hold her and it only made him ache more when she pushed him away. He just walked over to the garage door to allow the paramedics easier access, only his footsteps and groans of pain coming from the goons kept the room from being dismally silent.
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"She's completely fine, so before you freak out just know that she's in the exact same shape she arrived here in."
"That is a terrible way to start a phone call Halstead! Was that supposed to calm me down or help in some way? What even happened?"
"The Genna's hired some local weapons enthusiasts the bust into our precinct and steal what we knew about them. They trashed our bulletin board and tried to get to the computers in the tech room but Hailey and Hana whooped their asses. When I got there Hana was actually beating one with one of her crutches. Hana's a badass."
"Damn right she is... But she's okay?"
"She's pissed off, but there's not a scratch on her."
"Good... That's really good."
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"Hailey?" Jay knocked again, using every last thread of hope he had that she'd answer. It didn't matter that she was still upset with him, he just wanted to see her face. She and Hana had been whisked away by the FBI and IA right after the ambulances picked up the hired help. He just wanted to see her for more than thirty seconds, reassure himself that she was okay and that she still loved him. That he could fix everything, that he would at least get to hold her one last time. "Hailey, please open the door." He was only met with soul-crushing silence. "Please."
The relief he felt when the lock turned and the door opened could not be described. "Hana is inside if you want to talk to her."
"I'm here for you, Hails. Please, just... Talk to me. I love you, I love you more than I ever thought possible to love someone and today I found you hunched over, covered in blood. It doesn't matter that the blood didn't end up being yours. I was- I still am- terrified. I could have lost you today and I don't know how to face that. Can I just have a hug, at least, please? I just- I can't-" And then she was wrapping her arms around his waist, her tired gravity pulling him to her. He honestly considered being able to wrap his arms around her in return, and burying his face into her hair a gift from the gods. "I was so glad that you weren't there, because it means you weren't getting shot at, I've had to deal with you getting shot more than enough times, I couldn't deal with it again, Jay. I... I love you too." Jay didn't know how much longer they stayed like that, enveloping each other, but he cherished every second of it. And when they finally parted it was like coming down from an adrenaline high. "Do you want to come in? We were about to order from Bartoli's."
"I would love that."
"Good, cause we've left Hana waiting for a while."
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"So, now I get to have the legendary deep-dish pizza, huh?"
"Yep. Best damn pizza in the world."
"Damn straight."
"You know, I think you two are a little biased."
"You sound like the partner I had while I was in the FBI, OA Zidan, he was always riding me about my opinion on pizza." Jay froze. He could feel himself freeze up. He could feel Hailey and Hana eyeing him in confusion. Shit. "What is it, Jay?"
"Sorry, I just don't like remembering that my partner was away from me for so long, and had another partner in that time period."
"Really, Halstead? You don't need to get all territorial, Hailey clearly doesn't want to be anywhere but with you. Seriously, you should have seen her when the FBI and IA showed up-"
"Hana!"
"What? He's the one who got all stiff when you brought up the FBI"
Phew, they didn't know, thank heavens.
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Everyone was back the next day, ready to keep moving, to catch the people who organized the break-in of their precinct which injured twenty-three and killed four. It was bad enough that they'd tried to bust into Intelligence in the first place, but to hurt innocent people in the process? That was just plain wicked.
Hailey and Hana were working side by side, delving into the cyber goings on of the Genna family, Kim and Kevin were working with the crime lab to analyse the precinct, and Jay and Adam were back to flipping CIs. Jay felt better about where things stood with Hailey, but he was still grumpy that he couldn't be in the temporary bullpen with her today. He knew that she was capable and that she didn't need him to hover, but that didn't make being away from her after she was almost killed any less difficult. They were supposed to be in the most secure place in the precinct, how were any of them supposed to feel safe working in a place that had been breached by mercenaries in only a few minutes? He tried to shake off the worry and fear, but he just couldn't. And it was made worse by the fact that it wasn't only Hailey who had been in danger- Hana was too. And Kenny had already lost so many people that he really didn't know how he would've handled that situation. Having to tell one of his best friends that the woman he was in love with was dead while dealing with the exact same senario.
The second last CI on their list had been dodging them all day, and Jay's sanity was already hanging on by a thread- he did not have the strength or patience to deal with this. So instead of trying to track him down again, he just put out a BOLO and waited until patrol brought him in, kicking and screaming. When he entered the interrogation room Marcus went on a tirade, "what the FUCK, man!", "we had a deal!", "are these handcuffs really necessary?". Jay just stared at him. He didn't have the energy to try and get the guy to shut the fuck up, so he just sat silently across from him, trying to make him as uncomfortable as possible. "... Are you okay, man?"
"No, not really, Marcus. See, I've been calling you all day. I've called up other CIs and they were all okay to meet. But not you. No, you ghosted me and I had to get patrol to drag your ass in here. You still have robbery charges I could lay on you. This is about to get a whole lot worse because I have exactly no patience to deal with any BS right now, but yours especially. So. The Genna family. Tell me everything you know."
And he did. He sang like a damn canary, which Jay attributed to luck, and Adam attributed to Jay looking like he was going to tear the poor bastard limb from limb. Seriously. Adam made a mental note not to piss off Jay, which he subconsciously realizes means that as long as he didn't hurt Hailey he'd be fine. But he didn't have time to dwell on that as Jay exited the interrogation room looking like the leprechaun at the end of the rainbow. "I've gotta get this to the girls, you're not gonna believe what this bastard knew."
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An apartment, down in Canaryville, was occupied by Daniel Anderson's mistress. And she wasn't just his mistress... She was his accountant. She didn't just file his taxes, she managed his money, she knew everything that it was used for and how they got it in the first place. Jay ran to the temporary tech room ready to drop a bomb, only for his fiery girlfriend to beat him to it. "We found out where they got the weapons and ammo! The navy didn't put out a report until they'd finished their investigation, but it's their stuff. It all came from Norfolk, but they were shipping it to Kandahar when they were robbed by a twelve-person team, well-skilled and heavily armed. But look at this surveillance video, where part of the leader's sleeve got torn off."
"That's... That's Daniel Anderson. He's got that tattoo. We can get a warrant with that, but what about this- Daniel has a mistress in an apartment in Canaryville. She's his accountant, she knows everything. And if we can get a warrant with what you found, we can search that apartment too because it's in his name." Hailey smiled that vindicated smile that just lit up her whole face and made her eyes shine with pride. Jay could feel himself mirroring her and he just couldn't look away, finally feeling like they got their groove back, their relationship back. "Hey guys? I'm glad you made up but can you either get to work or get a room? I don't need a front seat to this."
"Oh, admit it Gibson, we're your OTP."
"I admit to nothing, Halstead."
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Honestly, the raid of all of Daniel Anderson's properties, and consequently the collapse of the Anderson crime family, was dismally anti-climactic. They found boat-loads of evidence, Daniel's wife, mistress, and right-hand man all turned on him, and the FBI and NCIS were currently fighting over jurisdiction even though the case was already solved... By the CPD. Truthfully no one minded, because it meant that once they submitted their case notes and raid reports, they were done and might not even have to go to trial, the feds could handle that. While the majority of Intelligence decided to go to the regular watering hole, Hailey and Hana had made other plans and were dragging Jay along for the ride. And it was all going well, until they started talking about roommates. "I like Zadie, but she's gotten annoying now that she's dating my partner. So has he honestly. I mean, who thought that Kenny Crosby, an ex-army ranger would be acting like a thirteen-year-old that was in his first relationship? 'Is that text from Zadie? Is it about me? Were you guys talking about me while you were in the kitchen together this morning?' He was It's... A little exhausting. All he can talk about, is her. And whenever we hang out it always involves her somehow. He won't say it but I know he was a little disappointed when I came back and interrupted their 'love nest." All that Jay was able to gain from that other than the echo of sadness from behind her eyes, was that Crosby was dating someone who was not Hana. Which would be weird if he talked about her constantly on the phone, which he does, have an intimately trusting relationship with her, which he does, and ask one of his old army buddies to keep an eye on her while he can't because he cares about her so much and can't bear to lose her, which he did. So in conclusion; the fact that Kenny is dating someone who is not Hana is weird and will require further investigation.
"So he's constantly asking you about his girlfriend?"
"Well, she is too. But it's more annoying with him because he's my partner, we work together."
"But you live with her."
"It's... It's just different." Jay could see that she was mentally grasping at threads while trying to keep herself from falling into a black hole, this clearly meant much more to her than she was letting on so he decided to drop it. It was good timing too, because Hailey returned to the table with their food. Hair up, with a cute little Greece-themed apron on, ignoring her older brother's teasing from the kitchen. "Σκασε ηλιθιε!" (shut up idiot!)
"Μην μου πεις να σταματήσω, αυτό είναι το εστιατόριο μου!" (Don't tell me to shut up, this is my restaurant!) Jay found himself chucking at the Upton sibling banter. They interacted a lot less than he and Will did, though he supposed part of that was because he and his brother ran into each other through their work fairly often, and it was nice to see them... Happy with one another. Hailey usually looked like a constipated pigeon whenever she talked about her family so it was nice that she had reconciled with at least one sibling. After they were all able to move out, their relationships with each other got much more contentious. Theodore was the middle child and believed that they should quietly encourage their mother to leave their abusive father and just silently support her, Declan was the oldest and quite firmly just didn't care about their parents anymore and wanted nothing to with either of them because one was the abuser and the other was the enabler, while Hailey was the youngest and wanted to drag her father to prison by his ear herself. "Your brother seems like quite the joker."
"Oh, he is. He's always been the comedian in the family, a bit of a cross between SpongeBob and Chandler Bing. When I was seven, Theo put these gummy spiders in random places all over the house. It scared the crap out of my dad when he opened the- a top kitchen cupboard and about twelve of these spiders fell out, scared him even more when Theo grabbed one off the floor and bit into it, I think he ate three in total, one was completely whole, talking about how 'tasty' they were before my dad needed to sit down. It took him longer than he will ever admit to realize that they were just candy."
"Oh, that is good. I used to use some of those YouTube jump scare videos on my parents. I thought it was the funniest thing ever, especially because I used Elmo jump scares. So they'd be freaking out, and I'd just ask them why they were so afraid of a red puppet. My mom still doesn't trust me to show her videos."
"Well, it sounds like you and my brother would get along like fire, you should meet him later. He said he'd join us for dessert." Wait... What? Oh no... I know that look, she's trying to set Hana up with her brother! As much as I'd like Hana to be my sister-in-law, that would preferably be through a different brother.
."That sounds great, I really like Theo. What was that thing we had last time we ate with him and... Her name was Kate, right? Do you know how they're doing? I feel like I haven't heard about her in a long time." Hailey gave him a look. A I-can't-believe-you-just-said-that look. "No, they're not dating anymore. I thought I mentioned that."
"Oops, seriously though, what was that dessert we had with them?"
"That was revani, we can ask if that's what my brother has here today."
"Uh- what is revani, if I may ask, as the only non-Greek and non-Greek-dating person at this table?"
"Ha, of course you can ask Hana. It's a semolina cake, flavoured with lemon and orange zest. It's really good."
"That sounds great, but do you think I'd also be able to order some takeout for tomorrow? I just have a long day of travelling via bus tomorrow and I don't know when I'll get the chance to eat, so I figure having a big breakfast might help with that."
"That sounds like a cool idea. Hailey, why don't we all order some food to go and eat it tomorrow morning together?"
"You mean as like a big Greek breakfast?"
"Yeah."
"I wasn't thinking that initially but I'm glad Jay did, it sounds great."
"Alright, yeah, let's do it. I'll go talk to Theo and order somethings that reheat well." Hailey left them with a smile to go bother her brother in the kitchen, their discussion in Greek filling the restaurant with jokes and quips only a few present were able to understand, forging smiles on the faces of strangers as they listened to the voices in the kitchen. Hana looked apprehensive, and he doubted it was about the long bus inter-state bus ride. "Hana, I'm sure that your partner missed you, maybe he didn't say it, maybe he needed a distraction, but he missed you."
"How do you know? You don't even know him." If only you knew.
"Trust me on this."
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"You fucking idiot." Jay was trying to keep his voice down so that he didn't wake Hailey, who was asleep in her bed (where he wanted to be), or Hana who was asleep in the guest bedroom. As much as he loved her with his entire being, Jay had to admit that Hailey was a fucking demon if you woke her up without 'just cause'.
"Excuse me?"
"You heard me Crosby!"
"What the hell Halstead?!"
"You called me at three-thirty in the morning, worried out of your mind about Hana, asking me to keep an eye on her, to protect her, all while you're dating someone who isn't her!"
"Oh, yeah, I'm dating her roommate-"
"Zadie. I know. Why do you think I called you to yell at you at two in the morning?"
"Hey, back up man. I don't know what you think you're talking about, but just because I'm dating Zadie doesn't mean that I don't care about Hana. There is very little I wouldn't do to keep her safe... If I could even do it."
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"I... I was right there. I should have been able to help her. So, so why couldn't I help her? Huh? She is so important to me, okay? I don't even know how to describe it."
"Try."
"She... My mom told me that to make a woman fall in love with me I had to make her laugh, but every time she laughs I'm the one who falls more and more in love. She is astonishingly intelligent and I have never been more glad to feel like a complete and utter fool just by standing in someone's presence. If I had to crawl to hell and be tortured by the devil himself to keep her safe, I'd do it. I have never felt as wholly accepted by anyone else in my life, she has found ways to motivate me to climb out of my own grave on my darkest days. Every time a look at her, I see a glowing, deliriously happy future that I know I don't deserve." Heavy silence bore on both sides of the phone, dragging Kenny deeper into the dark crack in his chest, and delivering Jay an epiphany.
"... Have you ever thought that maybe it's about what she deserves?"
"Hm?"
"Listen, man, not everything is about you. This is about her. You just said you would let the devil tear you apart to keep her safe, and yeah maybe you don't deserve her, but she deserves you. She deserves someone who would do whatever it takes to make her laugh and keep her safe at whatever the cost all in the same day, and it sounds like that's you."
"Jay..."
"Just think about it man. And while you're at it, stop neglecting Hana, okay?"
"What?"
"You constantly talk about Zadie, you always involve her somehow when you're hanging out with Hana, and Hana's been getting the vibe that you're upset she came home and disrupted the little bubble you had going on with Zadie."
"She told you that?"
"Me and Hailey, when we were all out at dinner. Just listen, pay a bit more attention to her, stop treating her like the middle man between you and your girlfriend, and work on your self-worth, man. You're a good person and an even greater friend, don't sell yourself short."
"Thanks, Halstead."
"No problem, Crosby."
"So what exactly makes me a 'great friend', Jay?"
"Uggggghhhhhhh."
"Hey! You said it, can't take it back!"
"... This is why we can't have nice things Kenny, goodnight."
"Wait you didn't tell me-"
#One Chicago#Chicago PD#fbi cbs#FBI Most Wanted#jay halstead#hailey upton#kenny crosby#hana gibson#jay halstead x hailey upton#kenny crosby x hana gibson#kenny x hana#oa zidan x maggie bell#OA Zidan#Maggie Bell#zibell#upstead
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5 Companies That Have Too Much Hype Around Them
Look, we all love our favorite games with a passion, and to an extent that’s fine, but when that passion becomes obsession and that obsession becomes forgetting our own moral compass for the sake of entertainment, it does feel like it’s gone too far. It’s one thing to love what a company releases, it’s completely another to ignore every problem they’ve ever had. Not all of the companies on this list have done horribly un-ethical things, but they’ve at least been anti-consumer, and the fact that people don’t question that enough has led to them sometimes, making horrible mistakes. I am RepentantSky, I love making lists that trash on things that are popular, and these are 5 companies, that have too much hype around them.
5. Nintendo
Already I can hear people getting angry, and in a way I get it. Nintendo is for many people the place where they either begin to play games, or the place they go to keep on playing them when everything else let’s them down, and of course, they put an end to the flipping video game crash of 1983, and no one else will ever be able to claim that from them. That’s all wonderful, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be critical of them. I’ve talked about a number of things they’ve done wrong before, so let me quickly run down the list of some of their anti-consumer practices. They, charge too much for remasters and ports, they don’t drop prices in games, they used to charge for fixing Joy-Cons and now completely deny it’s a problem for legal reasons, despite everyone pretty much having experienced drift, they haven’t been good at getting stock for their items in at least 20 years, and oh yeah, they sell all the content for a remake for $115 on the 3DS, the system and the fans that helped them get by while the Wii U was massively underperforming, all while handing owners of the, at the time, unproven Switch, free content. Nintendo has a tendency to still think like a toy company, and they even used that idea to present the Nintendo Entertainment System as a toy instead of a console when they first game to the West with it, but they aren’t a toy company, their a gaming company that also sells toys, just like everyone else. I get they’ve done amazing things, I own over 150 physical handheld games from them, and a ton of digital games besides, but when they start charging twice what they are worth for SD cards, while releasing games that absolutely won’t fit on the limited space of the Switch, and they simply don’t care when costumers complain, it’s time to at least question their motives.
4. Bethesda
Boy I used to really rip on this company back when I posted lists on Facebook, but I haven’t done it in a while, so let’s do it again. Bethesda has absolutely spent at least the last 10 years lying to people, Todd Howard, has become famous for it, but I think I might have been the only person who wasn’t shocked when Fallout 76 was the disaster that it was. There were so many things wrong with that game, that I don’t even have time to go over every little thing, but lying, you know the thing that will get another company on this list very soon, was a big thing they did with the game. They promised at one point that they weren’t ever going to charge for items in the game that gave in-game benefits, and they did, allowing ammo and other items to be bought with real money for a time, they promised new, specialized servers if you paid for a yearly service that was way too expensive, and that wasn’t true because people found proof of things missing from what would have been a freshly made, private server, and there’s no excuse for that, games in early access do that correctly, and they aren’t, at least supposedly, even finished yet. I wish I could say that’s all they’ve done, but they also bullied an indie developer over their game Prey, a game they may have bullied the original developer for so they could get cheaper, but we’ll never know because they refused to comment on that when asked, they also refused to update their outdated game engine for years, which caused something they spent over a decade fixing, games releasing with glitches, some of them game breaking. Yet somehow, they have such a fan base that those who love their games will claim the glitches are just part of the charm. That kind of fierce loyalty led to Fallout 76, and even though we make jokes about it even now, the horse DLC from way back in the day, was an indication of everything they’ve done, including trying to charge for mods made for free, meant to be consumed for free, twice. Bethesda is a bad company and they do not care.
3. Activision/Blizzard
You know one of the worst things Nintendo does that I didn’t really mention directly in the first entry, is limit the amount of time a product is available, instead of just letting it be there for consumption as long as it’s selling (that was what the toy company reference was about if it wasn’t clear). However, Activision/Blizzard are the Kings of doing this, as they not only limited things while they were in control of Destiny 2 to the point where you pretty much had to use real money to get everything, and never mind everything else they did to it, because we’d be here all day going through it all, but they also don’t support games as a service titles long enough for dedicated fans. Crash Team Racing Nitro fueled, is a prime example of this. People weren’t done with that game, and when fans thought for even a split second that an update was going to come to fix an issue, their hype (mine to) was so explosive, it was almost like we were getting a new game, but then nothing happened, because they didn’t care. A lot of companies that do yearly release titles as a service have this problem and nothing exemplified that more for Activision, than Skylanders, a series originally made off the back of Spyro, who didn’t even wait for a year to release new games, as technically between October 21st and November 20th of the year the first game came out, they released three of them, and I’m not even kidding. Two of them, were mobile games! You might have thought I was going to go after Call of Duty, for this, but that horse has been beaten to ground, somehow, more than Skylanders was. They also, for whatever reason, released each expansion on different generations console generations, at different months throughout Fall, like somehow the season of Fall, they needed a release every month, if not two, and so off they went. I didn’t even get into Blizzard, but all I need to say is “Blitzchung” and all the memories will likely come flooding back. There’s also the fact that in two separate years, after gaining massive profits, they dropped hundreds of employees, and hired more than they’d let go, but I guess that doesn’t really matter to some of you, because when they did it this year, with so little warning, most employees found out via the news articles about it, but we all made such a little stink this time around, it didn’t create any media buzz, so I guess that doesn’t matter, you’d all rather play flipping World of Warcraft, like better MMO’s don’t exist.
2. CD Projekt Red
I know this one comes off a little more fresh in the mind, and they technically only lied about one game, but man, what a series of lies it was. Also, let’s be honest, one major game, does not a great developer always make. CDPR’s previous two Witcher games did exactly what the author of the books thought they would, and that was almost nothing in terms of making a serious impact, and the reason is, they are kind of bad. They aren’t the worst games out there, but there is a good reason why The Witcher 1 and 2 haven’t been ported and/or remastered, despite how important they are to the story of Witcher 3, and that’s because they both suck. Cyperpunk 2077, was in a lot of ways, them just going back to being the developer they were before, the BIG ONE happened. They lied about nearly everything in regards to the game, including how the main platforms where consumers were going to buy it, were actually running well. I made those references to Witcher 1 and 2 for a reason, although if I’m being honest, they actually look better than Cyberpunk did on day 0, and that’s completely unacceptable. The budget for CDPR was basically nothing for Witcher 1 and 2 combined to what Cyberpunk got, but they were so focused on the PC versions because PC ran the game better, somehow (like maybe because they didn’t try with consoles) and they missed glitches that were so bad, the game felt like it was still in beta, if not alpha upon release. The fact that they’ve only released eleven games in twenty-three years, and only two of them didn’t have The Witcher on them, should have told us all we need to know, and yet the game, even after returns, which was another massive screw-job that led to Cyberpunk being removed from the PlayStation store, still sold Sixteen million units, all because of hype, and because apparently, some people don’t care if they’re lied to. Do you want to know what the other game they released is besides a Witcher title? It was flipping Saints Row 2, a fun game, but also one that’s too goofy for it’s own good, and yet suddenly makes Cyberpunk’s release, make sense, because it was all a massive joke, and a parody of good, well running, open world games. CDPR needs to seriously do something, anything different, and never release a game in this poor of a state ever again.
1. Ubisoft
I put Ubisoft at number one for a damn good reason, and that reason is, that everyone seems to hate the company, but loves their games, and I don’t know why. They haven’t been the overall worst company on this list, although they are pretty bad, but the major problem they have, and have had for at least a decade is that none of their games have any identity, they are literally all the same game, with different coats of paint. Sure, an occasional gem sneaks through like Assassin’s Creed IV, but all of the rest of their games have the same visual style (although ACII does seem to be the base for which they create their art let’s be honest), the shooting mechanics they have in all the games that have guns, all feel exactly the same, which is something even Call of Duty manages to avoid most years (guess I took a shot at them anyways) and yet somehow, someway, I keep seeing people getting excited for their releases, and it doesn’t make any sense. Sure, they throw a celebrity actor in from time to time, and the artistic style they use does look pretty cool, but everything is always the same with them, every single time, no matter what it is, and they still keep making money. It doesn’t really make sense either, because a lot of developers do make games that are very similar feeling, see the Life is Strange team or much as well all loved them, Telltale Games, but at least those titles told extremely interesting stories, and developed their mechanics at least a little, which is something most companies do just on principal, but not Ubisoft. They throw out a few Tom Clancy games every time they talk about what their releasing, the Trials and AC games are still mostly a yearly experience, and I’ll say it again, their entire list of releases since at least 2013, the year the previous generation kicked off, have pretty much all been the same. It would be nice if they made more games like Child of Light, but despite the fact that their games will likely never be as popular as Call of Duty, they keep churning out same-y shooters hoping that one day, maybe just one day, they’ll create their own CoD, and it’s just not gonna happen. The saddest part of all is that when they announce something different, something fans have wanted for years, we get The Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake, which was literally delayed because fans said they wouldn’t buy it unless some actual effort was put into making it, why is this company so popular that it can keep doing this, someone please explain it to me.
And that’s my list, can you think of any other companies that are too hyped? Let me know in the notes below, hit me up with a follow if you like my content, and give me a reblog, I’d really appreciate it. Have a wonderful life!
#ubisoft#activision#blizzard#cdpr#CD Projekt RED#bethesda#nintendo#nintendo 3ds#3DS#nintendo switch#witcher 3#witcher#prince of persia#skylanders spyro#spyro the dragon#spyro reignited trilogy#crash team racing#nitro fueled#destiny#destiny 2#cyberpunk 2077#saints row#toys#Joycon#child of light#Entertainment#top 5#lists#hype
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Weekend Top Ten #497
Top Ten PC Games No One Talks About Anymore
Blimey, Quake is rather good, isn’t it? Have you heard about it? I really hope so, because it’s only twenty-five years old. I mean, Jesus. What’s up with that? Quake is meant to be the future. It’s full of true-3D polygonal texture-mapping and real-time dynamic light-sourcing. Fancy it being a quarter of a century old. That’s ridiculous. “Old” is for things like, I dunno, Space Invaders or The Godfather or I Wanna Hold Your Hand. Stuff that our parents heard about before we were born. It’s not – it’s absolutely not – used to describe something that people bought 3D accelerator cards for. It’s not used to describe a game that popularised online gaming.
But old it is, getting silver anniversary cards and everything. No longer the angry, hungry young tiger, devouring its ancestors and growling at upstart rivals like Duke Nukem 3D – sure, you’ve got non-linear levels, interactive scenery, and toilet humour, but we’ve got grenades that bounce with real physics – Quake is now an aged beast of the forest, resplendent, battle-scarred, weary with gravitas. Quake is the game that shaped the now, but it does not represent the future anymore. In fact, arguably its greatest rival – Unreal – is the game with the lasting, living legacy, its progeny building the next generation of gaming with one of the most popular and impressive engines around, the framework underpinning everything from Gears to Jedi to Fortnite. Quake blew us all away, but arguably it ceded the conflict, secure in its status as one of the most important and influential games of all time. Quake II got plaudits for actually having a proper story and an engrossing single-player campaign (and coloured lighting!), and its immediate descendants such as Half-Life changed the nature of what FPS games could do, but in a funny way it feels like Quake has long since retired. A sleeping titan. It got old.
So it’s great that they rereleased it on modern systems! The version of Quake released last month is basically the game I remember, but tarted up a little around the edges, with texture filtering and dynamic shadows and other stuff that I couldn’t manage on my Pentium 75 back in the day. It plays great – it’s slick as anything, and you go tearing round the levels like a Ferrari with a nail gun, blasting dudes and ducking back around a corner before you get hit with a pineapple in the face. It’s the first game I’ve played in a long, long time that evokes the feel of classic PC first-person shooters of that era – which, y’know, kinda makes sense as it is a first-person shooter of that era. But that style of fast-paced run-and-gun, circle-strafing gameplay has gone out of fashion now, with FPS games usually favouring slow, methodical, tactical combat, or larger-scale open-world warfare usually involving vehicles. Whether it’s a straight-up no-frills blaster like Quake, or a game that takes you on more of a linear, narrative journey, like Quake II, or even just a multiplayer-focused arena shooter, like Quake III Arena, it does feel like a dying artform, like a style of gameplay that could do with a resurgence (and, to be fair, there are games on the horizon that look like they’re harking back to the era, so that’s cool).
But it’s not just first-person shooters like Quake that I feel have slipped from gaming’s shared consciousness. Maybe it’s my age (it’s definitely my age) but there seems to be quite a lot of games that were a big deal twenty or so years ago that are utterly forgotten now, whereas some – Doom, Duke Nukem, Command & Conquer, Age of Empires – are often namechecked or rebooted (even before the full-on 2016 reboot, Doom must have been one of the most re-released games of the last thirty years). But there are lots of others where sometimes I feel like I’m the only one that remembers it. And that’s where this list comes in: inspired by the excellent re-release of the Quake franchise, here are some other great PC games of that general era that I feel still need shouting about, even if I’m the only one doing the shouting. Maybe they don’t all need a full-on remaster or whatever, but it’d still be nice if they got a bit of modern gaming love.
No One Lives Forever (2000): coming at a time when most FPS games were still Doom-style blasters with little in the way of real plot, NOLF was different: stylish and funny, genuinely well-written (as in the dialogue), with interesting objective-based missions and a cool female protagonist. It skirted similar ground to Bond and the then-white-hot Austin Powers franchise. Two games were made and then, as far as I’m aware, it evaporated into a mess of tangled rights, hence no sequels or remakes. A shame, because it was great.
MDK (1997): the next game from the people who made the multimedia phenomenon that was Earthworm Jim, MDK was a really cool slice of sci-fi style, all sleek level design and intriguing features. It had a supremely bonkers plot which bled through into a game with a sense of humour, but mostly it was the run-and-gun gameplay and innovative use of a scoped weapon – possibly (don’t quote me on this) the first sniper rifle in a videogame. An even wackier sequel followed, but despite its cult status, that was it.
Star Trek: The Next Generation – Klingon Honor Guard (1998): it’s probably fair to say that Star Trek has not had as many great videogames as Star Wars, perhaps because Trek’s historically straightlaced earnestness just didn’t translate as well as bashing someone up the chops with a laser sword. Honor Guard shook things up by casting you as a Klingon, showering levels with pink blood and going Full Worf. It was the first game to licence the Unreal engine, and had a cool level where you walked along the outside of a ship like in First Contact. Also: shout out to the Voyager game, Elite Force (2000), which was another really good FPS set in the world of Trek, with intriguing gameplay wrinkles as you fought the Borg. It also let you wander round the titular starship between levels. Trek deserves more quality action games like these.
Earth 2150 (2000): the nineties on PC really saw RTS games come down to those who liked Command & Conquer or those who liked Warcraft, but as the decade drew to a close other titles chased the wargame crown (including Total Annihilation, which would have made this list, except I feel like the Supreme Commander franchise is a sequel in all but name). 2150 was notable for its Starcraft-like mix of three factions with contrasting play styles, and its use of 3D graphics and the ability to design and build weapons of war that could lay waste to armies and bases with spectacular results. I think the genre has ossified into something more hardcore, and this was probably an inflex point where idiots like me could still get a handle on things.
Midtown Madness (1999): Microsoft has a history of building up great racing franchises and then abandoning them, but their “Madness” line of games in the late nineties/early noughties was terrific and much-missed. Back when tooling round actual 3D cities was still new and exciting, this was a no-holds-barred arcade racer, with some gorgeous shiny chrome effects on the cars, and very nippy handling. It was great fun smashing up VW Beetles and the like. It was surpassed, I guess, by Project Gotham on the Xbox, and sadly the whole franchise was then forgotten, despite the ascendent Forza franchise mostly shunning city driving.
Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines (1998): part tactical war game, part puzzler, Commandos was famous for its gorgeously intricate graphics and its difficulty – I mean, it was way too hard for me. But its beautiful top-down design and its slow, methodical gameplay was compelling, as you evaded Nazis and solved missions with a team of unique units with special skills. Sequels followed, and western spin-off Desperados, but there’s not been a true follow-up for quite some time, despite promises; and few games have echoed its style or look.
The Pandora Directive (1996): okay, so really this is just a placeholder for an entire subgenre of game that appears to have been forgotten: interactive movies. I know, there are flirtations with this from time to time; and many of these games featured obtuse puzzles and relatively little gameplay strung between FMV scenes. Pandora was great though; a first-person 3D game with loads of old-school adventure aspects, as well as FMV, it was a noir-tinged detective story but set in the future. The Tex Murphy series (of which this was the fourth instalment) has had sequels – the most recent one was sadly cancelled only this year – but many other games of a similar ilk, such as Phantasmagoria and even Wing Commander – have fallen by the wayside. With in-engine graphics now allowing the fluidity and expression of cinematic renders of old, shooting movie inserts doesn’t seem like it’s worthwhile; but I still always loved a point-and-click game that featured digitised actors milling about. Toonstruck, anyone?
Marathon (1994): before Halo there was… Marathon! Back when I used to lug my Pentium round my mate’s house so we could play different games on different machines side-by-side, he’d bang on about this Mac-first series of games, like Doom but better, with an intricate plot and complex levels. And y’know what? He was actually onto something. There’s a style and an earnestness to the Marathon franchise, along with many concepts that would be refined in Halo years later. With Bungie now seemingly committed to Destiny, and Halo in Microsoft’s hands, I’m not sure what could possibly become of this, their forgotten FPS forebear, especially as it shares so much DNA with its offspring.
Outlaws (1997): LucasArts are famous for two things, really: their Star Wars games and their adventures. But they made loads of other stuff too – including this intriguing Western shoot-em-up. Back when Western games were rarer than Western movies (which were rare at the time), this quirky and difficult cowboy-em-up saw you rounding up outlaws in typical oater locations such as saloons, trains, and mines. It had great music and a really intriguing set of weapons, including (don’t quote me on this) the first sniper rifle in a game. Sadly Outlaws’ success could be described as “cult” and it never got a proper sequel. and, weirdly, despite the success of Red Dead Redemption, we’ve never had a bit Western-themed FPS again. Which is really odd.
Soldier of Fortune (2000): I pondered whether to include this one, as if I’m honest I’m not sure I want this licence brought back. But I can’t deny the game was a huge deal and has seemingly been forgotten. A relatively gritty and realistic combat game with a huge variety of excellent real-world weaponry, its big hook was its incredibly detailed damage modelling, that could see you blowing limbs off enemies, or splitting open heads, or disembowelling them. Whilst its OTT violence made headlines, the granularity of its systems meant you could be more tactical, shooting weapons out of hands. But really its biggest controversy should be its association with a big old gun magazine.
There are many, many other games that nearly made the list - I almost had a Top Ten of just FPS games, for instance. Little Big Adventure was here, till a sequel was announced the other day. Hexen and Heretic I think still have a place in FPS history. Toonstruck, although without a sequel, was only really a cult hit at the time, and I feel the people who’d love it already know about it. I do tend to overthink these things, y’know.
So maybe not all of these could make a comeback, but all the same I don’t think they should be forgotten, and it does make we wonder what games will fall by the wayside twenty or more years from now. That game about the big green space marine dude in a mask – what was that called again…?
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How to choose right computer?
Evaluate your needs...
“How would I know that?“ If you don't know how then this blog will help you.
How fast your PC needs ti be depends on what you plan to dowith it.For exeple, a gaming PC need a fast processor and sufficient RAM as well as a powerful graphic card.If you plan to use your computer for browing the web and simple productivity tasks,such as word then a lower budget desktop shuld suffice.
Desktop Processors
There are many different desktop processors,most come from: AMD and Intel.Intel processors back at time offer better performances then AMD, but AMD ha become better than Intel in the last couple of years.Main difference between processors relates to the numbers of cores they offer and their relative speed.If you looking to buy some old procesors then don't buy AMD series like: Athlon,FX...if you buy AMD then buy Ryzen. Your best bet is to look for PCs in your price range and then reserch the processors to make sure they are powerful enough for your needs.At the end of the blog I will leave a couple of assembled configurations with description of what they are for.
Memory/RAM
Memory, or RAM, plays a big role in the speed and performance of a PC.Experts recommend at least 8 gigabytes of memory, but 16 GB offers better performance.For gaming and other power-computing uses,16GB is the minimum you should consider. Although DDR3 memory was standard for desktop computers for meny years,DDR4 now preferred.When buying memory, try to buy as few DIMMs as possible to allow for future memory upgrades.
Hard Drive
Some PCs still rely on Hard disk drives, most newer PCs ship with solid-state drives for storing and caching data.SSDs are preferable since they're faster, more efficient, and more durable than HHDs. Okay now let's get to the point.There are two main elemtns to cosider when shopping for hard drives: size and speed.In terms of speed, most run at the 7200 rpm.Hard drive should have at least 1TB of storage space. -Graphic Cards If you don't play PC games with 3D graphic, then you don't have to worry about a dedicated graphic card.Gamers should consider a DirectX 11 card with at least 2GB of onboard memory.Pick a budget video card if you're just interested in accelerating non-3D tasks.Factors to consider include performance, the amount of memory on the card, the output connectors, and the version of Direct X supported.
Power supplies
Power are often overlooked, but htey are vital component in any Desktop PC.You need to consider form factor, efficiency, amperage, protection, and the cables you're going to need, along with any other features you are looking for. A good power supply can last for many years and can have a huge impact on the efficiency of your PC, so take the time to choose wisely.Now is the question "How many watts do my PC need?" there is one easy answer.Every component have intheir description how much they need you just need to look and wrote it on a paper.You will see exaple on the end.
Motherboard
When you’re buying a new motherboard and not sure what size will fit, you can always measure your old motherboard and compare it with different sizes. The ATX board is popular, as it has the addition of more expansion slots, which can be useful. After choosing a form factor you’ll need to choose a processor socket. There has been different types of sockets used in the past however three are only applicable today. These are LGA, PGA and BGA. Intel uses LGA, whilst AMD use PGA.Depending what type of socket you have on your motherboard, it will determine what processor you can buy. So this you will probably need to consider what CPU you want first, then buy your motherboard.These are the basic of choise you need.
Examples
Examples will be in the next post.
#amd#intel#pc#computer#how to#motherboard#hard drive#cpu#ssd#foryou#tag#gaming#self learning#help#blog
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tutorial under the cut.
the first thing you’ll need is a screen recorder; a program to record your screen and save it in a video format onto your computer. i personally use the in-game overlay from geforce experience, but if you don’t have an nvidia graphics card, i’d recommend fonepaw screen recorder. the trial version is completely free and lasts for an unlimited time, but only has a maximum recording time of three minutes; that should be plenty for our purposes, though!
for this tutorial, we’ll be using the geforce experience overlay, but if you have any questions regarding fonepaw, feel free to ask!
the geforce experience program should be installed on your computer by default if you have an nvidia graphics card, so simply search for it. you’re going to need to create a new user if you don’t already have one, but if you play games, you definitely should, because this is also where you’d go to keep your driver up to date. to enable the in-game overlay, simply click on the little settings cogwheel to the top right next to your user. make sure that the “in-game overlay” is enabled.
you can adjust your shortcuts by clicking the settings button in the in-game overlay section, then going to keyboard shortcuts. the only one you really need to worry about for this purpose is the “toggle manual recording on/off and save” shortcut under record. mine is set to ctrl+r, but it can be anything you want really. just make sure it doesn’t conflict with any shortcut in game, as that might be inconvenient.
now, to start recording your screen, simply launch the game and get your desired framing. staying in tab mode whilst recording is preferable, seeing as your screen recorder will record your entire screen, including the ui. press your shortcut keys, and a little pop-up should show momentarily in the top right corner to let you know that you’ve started recording (this won’t show up on your finished recording, don’t worry). to stop recording, press the same shortcut keys again, and a similar pop-up should tell you that the recording has been saved. i usually record for about 3-10 seconds, but don’t worry too much, as you can trim down the recording later. do keep in mind that longer recordings will obviously take up more space and take longer to process.
if using fonepaw, you’ll need to have the program open alongside your game for it to work. also keep in mind that after recording once, you’ll need to go to the program to either hit save or discard recording before you can record a second time.
once satisfied with the recording(s) you’ve gotten, close down your game and open up photoshop, then go to file > import > video frames to layers and locate your recording. for the geforce experience overlay, they should be located in this pc > videos, and for fonepaw they’ll be located in documents > fonepaw by default.
if you don’t have photoshop, you can use the video to gif converter at ezgif.com. it won’t give you as many options for editing, but it’s really quick to use and learn.
i personally use photoshop, so that’s what we’ll be using for this tutorial. if you have any questions about ezgif.com, don’t hesitate to ask. i’ve used it myself in the past! after opening up the video file, you’ll get this pop-up. this is where i usually trim down my recording if it’s too long. you can do that by dragging the two lower arrows back and forth. i just leave the “limit to every x frames” option alone, but you could mess around with it if you want. a higher number will result in smaller file size, but will also make the gif less fluid. keep the “make frame animation” ticked.
when clicking ok, you might get a pop-up saying “this will produce a large document and possible take a long time”. either just click continue or trim down the length of your recording further. this might help with lag and unresponsiveness if your computer isn’t the strongest.
once everything has loaded in, go to window and make sure that timeline is checked.
it’ll make this neat little line appear at the bottom of your workspace, showing you each individual frame of your gif, allowing you to play the recording and adjust the time each frame will be shown for. most times i’ll just leave mine at the default 0,02. you can also delete individual frames to fine-adjust the length.
this is also where i crop the gif if needed. simply select the crop tool and crop it like you would a picture.
don’t forget to resize! i always resize to 540 pixels in width, because that’s how wide a tumblr post is. if i want to place two gifs next to each other, i resize to 268 pixels to save on file size. just leave the resolution and resample options as is.
now is where you can play around with editing and such! just make sure that your adjustments are at the very top of all the layers and that you don’t merge the gif layers themselves.
to save your gif, you need to go to file > export > save for web (legacy). if you’re on an earlier version of photoshop, it might be called something slightly different, but it should be located under file regardless.
here are the settings i use. you might need to adjust them a bit if your file size is above 3M, because that’s the biggest tumblr will do. you can check the file size underneath the preview to the left, right underneath “GIF”. mine happens to be 2,213M, so i don’t have to take further steps to size it down, but if you do, you can try lowering the colors from 256. it will sacrifice a bit of quality, but in most cases it won’t be that noticeable. resizing further will also make a difference in file size.
always remember to make sure that looping options is set to forever. if not, your gif will only play through the frames once.
now simply name your gif and save it to your desired location. you can leave the format and settings as is. you might get a pop-up after hitting save, but just choose continue, you should be fine.
if you run into any problems with saving or opening up your gif afterwards, try saving it as a .psd first and restart photoshop, then open up the .psd and try the saving process again. sometimes when working with big files, photoshop will run out of memory space and have trouble saving, but simply closing down the program and opening it again should fix it. if not, try resizing the gif to be a bit smaller.
and that’s it! again, if you have any more questions regarding gif making, please feel free to ask. i’m in no way an expert, but i’ll help where i can.
happy gif making!
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On structuring your campaign’s main plot line... (Part 2)
Now we move on to actually writing our plot! This will be laid out in a three act system, with various steps along the way. If you haven’t read part 1, I highly recommend you do so before starting on this guide! There’s some preliminary questions you should have answered before beginning your plot. I’ll try to keep this short and sweet where it’s needed. But without further adieu, we begin!
ACT I
PROLOGUE
This is the introduction to the plot, the PC’s, the NPC’s, and the general theme of the campaign. Essentially, this is our session zero where everyone get’s to know each other before things truly take off.
HOOK
This is where the main idea and possibly the main goal is introduced, and what gets your players hooked on the plot. It could be your party’s first mission. Whatever happens here and wherever you plan to place the hook, just be sure it introduces the common goal and foreshadows the main conflict at hand.
SETUP
This is the bulk of Act I, wherein the party learns about their characters, each other, their goals, and the stakes at hand through a series of team building quests and adventures. This should be the course by which the party hashes out their differences and becomes a true team.
INCITING EVENT
The legendary Call to Adventure for the party-- the point of no return in which the players cannot easily turn back anymore once they abandon the normal world for their common goal and need for adventure. This should be the first glimpse into the main conflict.
BUILD UP
This is the point in which the final puzzle pieces necessary to pull the curtain on the main conflict at hand are moved into place, while also ramping up the tension.
FIRST PLOT POINT
The key event to the main conflict of the campaign being introduced. The party should know what is at stake by this point, and have a decent resolve to dedicate themselves to the common goal by now.
ACT II
REACTION
After the main conflict is revealed, the party must dodge and understand obstacles put in their way by the antagonist(s). This could be anything, so get creative with your antagonists’ antics and focus on things that can both bring your party together and tear them apart.
FIRST PINCH POINT
This is the point by which the party is reminded of the antagonists’ power. It could be a major loss, or a big win. Either way, this should reveal new clues about the nature of the main conflict.
REALIZATION
A major realization or discovery of some sort will hit the party, making their actions and reactions more informed... or cause them to go into a dark moment out of fear. Either way, they now know more than they once did about the conflict and the antagonist(s).
MIDPOINT (SECOND PLOT POINT)
The moment of truth where the party realizes the central truth about the nature of the main conflict. This could be the turning point, a major revelation that clearly lays out what the antagonist’s goals are now.
ACTION
The party makes headway against the antagonist thanks to new information or a new understanding. Of course, this doesn’t always mean they win. They just have more help and understanding at their disposal. What your players do with it is up to them. But the cards should at least appear to be in their favor at this point.
SECOND PINCH POINT
This foreshadows the third plot point and serves to remind the part what is at stake. This could also be a major loss, or a major win. But bring home what the stakes are currently and remind your party what they’re fighting for.
RENEWED PUSH
The party renews their attack against the antagonist and appears to gain some ground in their trials against them. How this inevitably ends up going, though, is always up to the dice and your players’ choices. There should be a give and take here, however. A tough choice, one could say.
ACT III
THIRD PLOT POINT
The third plot point usually involves a dark moment for the party. After the complicated events at the end of Act II, they usually will experience a reversal or a setback of some kind here, be that internally or externally.
RECOVERY
The party reels as they question their choices, their commitment to their goals, and their own worth and abilities. This is the defining moment for your players, and what they choose to make of it could make or break their characters and the campaign. This is their lowest point.
RISING ACTION
This is where the party begins preparation for the end. They set up their defenses for the final battle and begin preparing for the point of no return and facing the antagonist.
CONFRONTATION/CLIMAX
This is the final battle. A duel to the (literal or metaphoric) death. What occurs here ensures the party and the antagonist(s) cannot both walk away here.
RESOLUTION
This is the moment the party’s goal is met, usually resulting in the defeat of the antagonist. It becomes a physical impossibility for the conflict to continue.
EPILOGUE
Use this last step to ease the players out of the excitement of the climax and into the final moments of the campaign, including any epilogue narratives you may want to explore. I usually don’t even write this aspect out until the very end, because it’s so dependent on the climax and final choices of the players.
PART 1...
#dani speaks#dnd#d&d#dungeons and dragons#dungeons & dragons#tabletops#tabletop rpg#ttrpg#trpg#writing#writing reference#writing guide#dm tips
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Treasure Hunt (Dakota Kai x Reader)
“Good morning gorgeous!” Dakota loudly exclaimed once she was sure you were awake. You turned onto your stomach and looked over at her, unamused. “Do you know what today is?”
“I believe it’s Monday,” you told her as you sat up. “And it’s really early Kota, so can I please get some more sleep?”
“Absolutely not, I’ve left you breakfast downstairs in the fridge. I’d suggest you get a move on, you’ve got a busy day ahead of you,” Dakota told you. “Happy birthday.”
“Thank you, but it’s too early for whatever this is,” you said and Dakota handed you a card. She ran off before you could open it and you chuckled at her. She obviously had something planned and you knew that you did have a busy day ahead of you figuring out what she had planned. You opened the card and there was a clue, essentially telling you where to go after you had breakfast. You went downstairs to eat your breakfast and then came back up to get ready.
Dakota’s clue had led you to the coffee shop where you stopped every single day on your way to the gym. There was a cup of coffee with another card attached to it. Instead of the clue leading you to the gym, it took you to Raquel’s. Raquel was waiting there for you outside. You already couldn’t believe the effort that Dakota had put into this, which made you wonder how long she’d been planning this.
“Happy birthday Weenie Hut Junior,” Raquel said to you as you got out of the car. You rolled your eyes at the nickname and let the other woman pull you into a hug. She held a wrapped box out towards you and a bag. “The box is Dakota’s, she wrapped it herself. The bag is from me.”
“What time did she drop this off?” you asked as you took the box first.
“Last month, but she called me super early to make sure I still had it,” Raquel said and you unwrapped the box first. This clue was a shirt belonging to a wrestling gym that you’d been wanting to check out for a long time. It had been announced a couple of months ago, but only recently opened up. They were known to have a lot of legendary wrestlers stop by. “Open mine in the car, away from me. I don’t need you pulling any sappy shit.”
“I’m opening it here and I’m pulling sappy shit,” you told her and Raquel groaned. You smiled at her and she rolled her eyes, smiling as she looked away. You opened the bag and pulled out a little necklace. It was simple, but it commemorated the first conversation you’d ever had with Raquel, which was about shark teeth. “Yeah, I’m the sap.”
“It’s just a shark tooth necklace so you can look like the douche I know you are,” Raquel teased you. “If you don’t like it, I can get you a different one.”
“It’s really nice, thanks you jerk.” Raquel looked down and you hugged her before you went off to check out the gym. You would totally be teasing Raquel on Instagram later for being such a sap and both of you knew that. A part of you expected Dakota to be at the gym when you got there, but she wasn’t. Instead, you were met with a couple of main roster superstars and Beth Phoenix.
“Y/n, hey,” Beth said and you waved at the blonde. “Happy birthday kid.”
“Thanks Beth,” you said and she handed you another card from Dakota. You opened it and smiled. She had bought you a membership and classes with Beth and Edge to help develop your wrestling a bit more. You did your first class and then Natalya gave you your next clue.
“Lunchtime, it’s not exactly the nicest, but I know you’re lovin’ it,” Natalya told you and you nodded. It took you a couple of minutes to figure out which McDonald’s to go to, but you settled on the one closest to the PC. There, you met Tegan and Rhea, who were waiting with chicken nuggets for you.
“Ah, if it isn’t my work wife,” Tegan said, scooting over so you could sit next to her. “Happy birthday, you’ll get your gift from Rhea and I tomorrow. We don’t wanna steal Dakota’s thunder.”
“Anyways, after this, we’re taking you to pick up your suit for tonight. Oh, and to a movie,” Rhea told you. You ate with the two of them, went to the movies, and then picked up your suit. You changed on the way back to your house, where you saw Candice leaving.
“Enjoy tonight,” Candice told you as you passed her on the porch. You thought it was a bit odd, but brushed it off as you went inside. The lights were dimmed and you saw candles in the dining room, so that was where you went. Dakota was sitting in a dress at the table and you smiled over at her.
“This is really nice. Today was nice, a bit of a hassle, but I liked it,” you said with a small chuckle. Dakota got out of her seat and pulled your chair out for you. You sat in it and watched her lift the metal top off of your plate. “You really went all out.”
“I try,” Dakota said with a cheeky smile. You recognized the meal from your first anniversary date, when Dakota took you to the nicest restaurant from your hometown. It had been ridiculously expensive and you knew why Candice had been at your house now. After dinner, Dakota took you upstairs, where there were three boxes sitting on the bed. “All are yours, but choose which you open first wisely.”
“Before I open these, thank you for today. I couldn’t ask for a better girlfriend,” you told Dakota and she blushed. You reached for the box in the middle and opened it to find a picture book full of pictures of your time since you joined NXT. You would have taken your time to look through it, but Dakota was antsy and you knew better than to keep her waiting. The second box you opened was a diamond ring with a piece of paper rolled inside of it.
“Read it,” Dakota told you nervously. “Like, out loud.”
“Hey, do you wanna be my wife sometime?” you read and Dakota kneeled down in front of you.
“Two and a half years ago, I asked you if you wanted to go out sometime and you told me that you’d love to. Five weeks later, I asked you to be my girlfriend and you told me that you’d love to. Two years ago I told you that I love you and you said you love me too. A year ago, I asked you if you wanted to move in with me and now here we are. Y/n, will you marry me?” Dakota asked you.
“Of course I will,” you told her and Dakota stood up. She pulled you into a hug and the two of kissed each other. You broke the kiss from smiling and Dakota handed you the other box.
“I was hoping you’d go for the left one last.” Dakota watched you open the last box nervously. Inside of it was a certificate of adoption for a local shelter. “Tegan and Rhea are bringing the puppy over tomorrow. I think she’s already spoiled and probably named.”
“Hey Kota, we’re gonna be wives,” you said with the biggest smile on your face. Dakota nodded and draped her arms across your shoulders and the back of your neck. “I can’t wait to marry you.”
“I can’t wait to marry you either.”
#dakota kai#dakota kai imagine#dakota kai imagines#dakota kai x reader#WWE#wwe imagines#wwe imagine#wwe x reader#nxt#nxt imagines#nxt imagine#nxt x reader
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