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Ah, because I'm a nerd and I find this stuff fascinating, my favorite time of year, when star citizen releases their financials for the previous year (in this case, for 2022)
Some numbers of interest by the end of 2022
headcount: 860 worldwide
Salaries and related costs excluding the publishing/marketing teams: 56M
Other Game Dev (overheads,studio rentals, travel, etc): 18.4M
Contracted Game Dev ( external services and dev teams): 9.5M
Publishing/community/marketing: 29.9m
Accounting/Admin and legal fees: 1.4 Million
Capital expenditures (hardware/software, fixtures, offices, server upgrades etc): 12.9 million USD
All told they took in 130.7 million and spent 129.5 million or thereabouts.
In other words, they're spending almost as much as they bring in.
#star citizen#I def feel like their marketing team is too big#and also really really out of touch with the player base#but that's a different topic#most of the marketing funds comes from the subscription program and the external investments so its#kind of a non entity in terms of backer funds#but they have made some Choices#in recent years#anyway#some scam right?#spending all their money on development and related costs#also building a new studio#and getting 1 video game to feature complete status#while simultaneously developing a second video game#with a huge scope
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unedited screenies of chioma's apartment in soho. largely inspired by @cocoelleansims and some of the paintings are by @kikovanitysimmer
[bonus: accidental shot cause i love her & this little corner of her room in her @yuyulie sweater and THE BOW IN HER IN HAIR UGH]
#simblr#ts4#sims4#sims4cc#ts4 interior#showusyourbuilds#its criminal how long i spent on this entire build#i turned myshuno meadows in soho and it took me at least a week and a half the venue changes mod saved me fr fr#but the view from her apartment is unmatched ESPECIALLY AT NIGHT CAUSE THE BILLBOARDS LIGHT UP IM CRYING#i'm trying to finish up san my so i can finish oasis (Vegas) and del sol (LA)#but honestly i'm too indecisive with what i wanna put down#i'm currently working on a lounge cause its new years in game#also if you can't tell by her apartment yes she's a painter/sculptor and im going to be making her an art studio#she also does paint w/ me videos#*chioma#mybuilds
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i feel completely insane for noticing that this episode of knight rider and this episode of columbo were filmed on the exact same fake street film set and i hate that i recognized it literally immediately
they changed the facade of the "metro hotel" (as they tend to change sets around every now and then) but the buildings in the back are the exact same
what is Wrong with me.
#liz blogs#columbo#knight rider#kr#hollywood#same place similar shows. 1983 vs 1989. i am insane#i'd seen the columbo episode first months ago. and i'd watched this episode of knight rider like *a* month ago but forgot to#cross reference it until i was rewatching it with phoenix and we BOTH went 'HEY. COLUMBO?'#anyway this is specifically the Universal Studios Backlot and its just called New York Street#it burned down in 2008 :( they rebuilt it but i figure the buildings are even MORE different now#sadge. i can never stand where columbo and michael have standed#i love how fake it looks in both shows. at least in columbo it is also a movie set in universe#apparently lots of stuff was filmed here and now that i know vaguely what it looks like i am going to see it forever now
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watched secret world of arrietty potentially my new favorite ghibli movie... not potentially i think it legit is
#i watched fourr movies today 2 ive seen b4 and 2 new ones... arrietty was one of da new ones#the other new one was orlando pretty good i liked how likee. artsy it was... it was very cool basically i liked it and i rly loved the#costuming#i do wish it had subtitles on site i use tho bc i had a hard time understanding.. not da movies fault bc i have a hard time comprehending#dialogue in a Lot of older movies.. but i liked it :]]#but anyways yes. one thing abt me i was obsesseddd with borrowers as a kid it was part of my fairy obsession. i was sososososooso hopelessl#delighted by the concept of tiny people who live secretly and their houses and furniture are all fashioned out of#everyday human objects it made me fucking craaazy#me and my siblings favorite activity used to be building fairy houses... we even had one playground we loved specifically#bc it had a bunch of trees with little hollowed out areas under the roots which made the best fairy houses...#we had umm. for a while this is fun my mom had this likee. sheet she made that was like.. a grading sheet for playgrounds#so everytime we went to a playground wed check the little boxes for each thing on the list it had... like we had Curly slide swingset seesa#etc... and then wed also write in anything that wasnt on the sheet that we loved#and we wrote in Great for fairy houses for a lot of them.... it was rly rly rly fun i honestly think that might be part of where my love of#spreadsheets came from.. one thing abtme i looooove to categorize things by a set metric. so yes#basically :DDD I LOVE FAIRIES I LOVE BORROWERS!!! i rly rly rly wanna get into building those little miniature houses. dollhouses whyd i sa#minihouses LOL. i was thinking of likee studson studios type thang i forget what theyre called#ik they make little kits for it so id start with that but eventually id love 2 start just making my own...#i also used to watch those like. miniature cooking videos. they were my cocomelon i would literally watch them boil a droplet of water and#Lose my fucking mind KJASBDKUBSJ#or when they put the little miniature cake in their little miniature oven... i specifically am remembering the pancakes#I NEED 2 FIND THOSE AGAIN. I MISS THEM!!!!!
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it sucks when ur trying to find more music similar to a specific song but all ur “songs like ___” or r/ifyoulikeblank google searches are yielding NOTHING because everyone else looking wants more music similar to different criteria of said song that you do. point #834904985403 as to why we need to bring the hyper specific microgenre names of electronic music to all genres (joking. ....unless?)
#but for real ive been fighting for my life for like MONTHS#trying to find more music that rocks as much as even a FRACTION of your best american girl#but all the recommendations are all like 'here is more guitars and women singing' and im like NO YOU DONT UNDERSTAND#its not just women with guitars its THE DISTORTION the fuzzy noise the way it builds her specific singing style the power the seriousness#the REVERB. the reverb...............................#even putting aside the transcendental revelations about identity that song gives a lot of us whenever we hear it for a second#i also think its just like one of the best rock songs ive ever heard#i like the other songs by the same artist ive heard (although shes like. a super diverse musician so like)#(every other song i hear from her is totally a new thing LOL its good!! i like that kinda thing)#but there was something like. like i said before: transcendental going on with that song specifically#the depth of her voice amplified by the reverb... the scream of the distortion guitars crashing in at the end of the like bridge/break#a piece of studio recorded music that emulates so perfectly the sound of a life performance with just like the ambience of it all#sorry for musicposting (said to the tune of sorry for party rocking) again. i will continue my search#for now i at least have the company of mitskis other rock-y stuff which is also good. i really like fireworks especially
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apartment hunting be like 'that flat is in an inconvenient neighborhood, that building is right next to a massive construction site, that kitchen hasn't been updated since like the 70s and the stove looks like a fire hazard, this apartment has a super inconvenient layout, this hasn't got enough storage, a minimum one year contract...'
#noopa rambles#frigging studio apartments having stupid layouts#esp the trend with new apartments to have the kitchen just along the living space wall is killing me#it makes furnishing the rest of the apartment such a pain#fucking hate that moving seems like a smart option atm#bc there's gonna be construction that will last for years right outside my window soonish#I'll have some time to find a place before it starts#I really don't want to live right next to a construction site for years when I work from home#if I didn't work from home it wouldn't be an issue#ofc I could wait and see just how loud the construction will be when they start doing the demo first#kinda still wanna move cities but the city I wanna move to is so much more expensive#I'd either need a roommate or live far from downtown#which would be super annoying for a side job commute and I'd like a side job#and I don't exactly know anyone I could ask to be a roommate#and let's be real I also wouldn't want to ruin friendships by existing as a roommate#I feel like I'd be a disaster as a roommate#I really like my current flat the layout is sooo good and the location is excellent#I'm lowkey just considering finding a flat in the same group of apartments but a few buildings down#so that there'd be at least a block and two-three buildings between me and the construction#but idk if that'd still do enough to protect from the noise so it might just be pointless to move half a block#but this location is just so good man!!!
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this is turning out so goood.....
#moving & rearranging a tonnn of stuff in my building..... reference library is gonna be offices the old offices r gonna be the new darkroom#etc.. big stuff but for now we're working on a better student lounge & shared workspace :]]]#my goal as soon as the ceramics studio opens again is i wanna make a mug lending library#for our coffee place!!! soooo many gdes & art majors r here all the time (cough cough hi lmao) & they either use tons of paper cups#which makes so much waste or use thermos which goes cold or have to babysit a mug.... i think it#would b cute also!!! 2 have handmade mugs!! :] n our department is small enough for honor system to work i think.#anyway.theres so much fucking stuff here holy shit..... =_=#txt
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When they call you clingy, so you distance yourself | Hyung Line Pt. 2
Warnings: Cursing
Pt1, Pt3 Maknaeline
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BANGCHAN|
Chris groaned and put his head into his hands. He stared at the the screen in front of him.
8:28
He had decided to make today an early morning so he could call it an early night, but he wasn't even able to work on what he had actually intended to do because a trainee's mistake. Although he was heated in the moment he had apologized when he had run into the frightened guy in the canteen. It was an honest mistake when laptops looked exactly the same.
He had also realized that he was heated in the moment when you had come to visit him.
His fingers itched to text you an apology but he knew this was something that he needed to apologize for in person. So he shut his laptop and tucked it into his bag and decided to head home rather than starting a new project.
It was eating at his consciousness, the way he brushed you off so easily earlier just because of stress that had nothing to do with you. He reached over the couch in his studio to flick off the light.
A soft ruffling of fabric startled him slightly and he looked down to see your black coat draped over the couch of the same color.
"Its freezing." He mumbled grabbing it and quickly heading out of the building.
I was such a dick. She was so distraught she walked home in this weather without a coat.
Chris drove over to your apartment and parked haphazardly on the street. It wasn't the safest neighborhood, and a small part of him was worried about having something happen to his car, but he couldn't focus on that when he needed to focus on fixing things with you.
He pulled out his keys and found the small silver spare to your apartment.
"Baby?" Chris called out. He slipped off his shoes and he walked from the foyer into your kitchen, his black socks slipping a little on your freshly swept floors.
"Y/N?" Chris called out, flipping the light on in the kitchen. The box of trash bags was sitting on the counter and he placed them back under the sink. "Baby?"
Something was off. Chris felt it in his bones. He tried to steady his heart. Maybe you were asleep? If it wasn't to him, you tended to turn to your bed for comfort when you were sad.
He reached for your door handle out of habit of strolling into the guys room but paused to knock.
"Love?" He called out. He knocked for another minute or two, before turning the handle softly in case you were sleeping. "Baby, I don't know if your asleep but I'm coming in okay?"
Your room was empty, and the fairy lights you always kept on were off.
He flipped on the light and he felt his heart sink to his feet.
He immediately rushed out of your room and started looking through the cabinets and drawers and nooks and crannys of every other space.
Your apartment was bare minus the essentials.
In your guest room you had boxes neatly stacked in various places.
Chris felt tears crawl at his throat.
"Baby?" He tried calling out again. "Y/N this isn't funny! Say something!" He cried out.
He fumbled to grab his phone from his pocket.
His fingers shook as he called you.
The number you have dialed cannot be reached.
"No," He mumbled.
The number you have dialed cannot be reached.
The number you have dialed cannot be reached.
"No," Chris mumbled. "No," He said again.
He felt his heart jump through his throat and he couldn't breathe.
His hands were shaking as he dialed up another number.
"Oi, Chris you coming home soon-"
"Fe-Felix." He choked out. He couldn't even continue without hyperventilating. "Fe-Felix I-I can't breathe. I-I can't-"
"I'm coming to you alright? I have your location I'll be there okay? Okay just try and calm down okay? I'll be there soon." Chris could hear the jingling of keys and the slamming of the door and Minho's voice in the background as Felix panted running to the car. "Stay on the phone Channie-hyung okay, I'll be right there."
"I-I can't breathe." He cried out.
"It'll be okay, I'll be right there hyung." Felix slammed his fist down on his car horn and yelled a string of profanities as another car blared their horn in the distance as well.
By the time Felix had arrived at your house Chris was an absolute mess.
Felix was instantly able to tell what was wrong with Chan when he saw the boxes and Chan desperately trying to unpack them.
"Hey-hey Chris calm down." Felix said as he grabbed onto his hyung's shoulders.
"S-She's leaving me." He cried out. "Felix, she's leaving me. She can't leave me. My heart -my heart can't take it. I don't want-want her to leave m-me."
Felix didn't know what to do as he watched his best friend completely shatter in front of him.
"Hyung I'm sure she is-"
"I-I called her clingy. I told her to leave me alone. I don't want to be alone." He whimpered. "I didn't mean it Felix. I didn't m-mean it." He whimpered his voice cracking. "I-I was stressed and-and I yelled- I called her ob-obsess- Felix, she can't leave me. I don't want to be alone."
Felix pulled out his phone and dialed your number. "Hyung calm down I'm sure she's just angry at the moment, it'll blow over. It'll blow over." He repeated as if convincing himself as well. He chewed on the edge of his thumbnail as your phone rang. Chris was collapsed on his and Felix pet his hair.
The number you have dialed cannot be reached.
Felix looked at the broken man in front of him and swallowed.
"It'll be fine. Y/N wouldn't break up with you over something like that, right?"
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MINHO|
"Do you really think it was necessary to yell at her?" Changbin asked as the guys were walking through the market. You had opted not to join and rather hang out with some of the girls from TWICE who were also in Paris for the same event the Kids had came for. The only problem was you had opted to do that for the entire week. You all were flying home tomorrow and Minho hadn't seen more than a glimpse of you other than a few pictures the girls had posted on their fake accounts, and the few pictures you had posted on your private account.
"Why would it not be necessary?" Minho asked.
"Because you're pissed at something that wasn't even her fault." The shorter male said and he picked up a random little trinket to look at, it was a little heavy so he used it as a makeshift dumbell for a second.
"Ya, she quite literally ruined my entire plan."
Changbin looked at Minho like he had grown a second head. "How the hell was she supposed to know you were trying to propose to her?!"
Minho pursed his lips and turned away and started walking.
Changbin moved his tiny legs to catch up with the cat eyed member.
Felix crossed paths with them and joined the conversation.
"Minho-Hyung you've been miserable all week. Just swallow your pride and apologize."
"I have nothing to apologize fo-"
"Ya! No offense Hyung but you're being a fucking idiot!" Felix said. The two Hyungs of Felix recoiled and looked at the sunshiny Aussie. "Sorry for my tone Hyung but it's true. All she wanted to do was spend time with you because she loves you. And to her it seems like you got upset because you didn't to spend time with you. And you got upset with her because you planned a super elaborate and flamboyant proposal because you love her and you weren't able to execute it. So basically, you are both pissed at each other because you love each other more than anything in this world. So tell me how that makes sense at all?"
Changbin nodded. "He's not wrong at all you're kind of an idiot."
Minho sighed and pouted.
"Which means you need to be the one to apologize because Y/N-ie actually has reason to be mad."
Minho's pout became even more noticeable.
Ugh...apologizing.
Felix seemed to read his elder's mind.
"Its either apologize or ruin your relationship. While it is super easy to replan a propsal, it sure as hell won't be able to replan your future if she walks out on you."
Minho felt that hit his heart hard, but still wanted to be stubborn. "What do you mean easy to replan a proposal? I spent months planning the one I intended to do."
Changbin rolled his eyes. "Ya! Y/N might be your girlfriend but you seem to forget she was all of our friend first. And I sure as hell know she would not care how you proposed to her. Even if you just did it the traditional and plain way of getting down on one knee and saying 'Y/N...will you marry me?" Changbin said mimicking Minho's voice.
Felix shook his head. "No it'd be more like 'Y/N marry me. You have no choice."
"No- 'Y/N, my cats need a mom. You are now their mom.'"
"'Y/N, our wedding is next Friday. Don't be late. Wear white." The happy boy mimicked with a deadpan face.
Changbin and Felix's antics were the thing that made Minho laugh all week. And the levity he felt now was what he felt with you always. And that made the absence of you hit him even harder.
"Can we go back to the hotel? I want- no I need to apologize." He said suddenly.
Changbin sputtered. "Never thought I'd hear that come out of your mouth ever."
Minho playfully shoved Changbin into Felix as they headed back in the direction of the hotel.
"So how do you think you'll propos-"
"Minho-ssi!" The guys stopped and they noticed Chaeyoung running towards them.
Minho felt his heart dip for a second. "What is it?"
"I-I went to get Y/N-ie for a girls night out but she wasn't in her room so I figured maybe she just stepped out to the convenience store with Tzuyu or Momo but she wasn't with them when they came back and Tzuyu said the last time she saw her was this morning after we had brunch." Chaeyoung tried to steady her voice. "And I called her but my calls aren't going throu-"
Minho didn't give Chaeyoung time to finish before he started running.
He didn't know where he was going, he didn't even really know where to find you.
All he knew is that he had to.
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CHANGBIN|
"Y/N." Changbin said. "Jagiya!" You ignored Changbin as you walked into your apartment.
He followed ensuite and was pouting. "Jagiya please talk to me. It's been three weeks."
"Mmmm. Nah. I don't feel like being clingy today." You said as you set your purse down and headed towards your bedroom.
"C'mon please? It was a stupid argument. I'm sorry. I was just upset."
"Hmm. And I'm upset right now too." You said as you started digging through your closest. You pulled out a cute yet sleek dress.
The same dress you had worn on your first date with Changbin oh so long ago.
"Babe?" Changbin asked as he saw you rummage through things on your vanity.
"Red or Pink?" You asked allowed. "Or I guess the question is should I do a matte red or a glossy red?" You turned to Changbin and gave an innocent look at him. "I don't know which one makes me look better."
"Stop that! Thats not funny. At all." Changbin said as he followed you into the bathroom. He stayed planted in the same spot even as you changed, shutting his eyes respectfully until you finished changing.
"Where are you going? Why are you getting dressed up."
You pulled your hair out of the braided updo you had it in and let it fall over your shoulders in a beautiful mix of loose curls and evem looser waves.
Changbin couldn't help but admire just how beautiful you looked right now. Matter of fact you always looked beautiful, but Changbin couldn't help but stare. Since this was the longest he had seen you in the past three weeks.
And seeing you get ready and dolled up worried him. It sparked a jealousy in him that he found himself all too familiar with these past few weeks. It was partly the reason he had snapped at you in the first place.
He had thought it was just a stupid argument but right now it seemed like it was so much more than that.
And it was slowly killing him. Had he really hurt you that bad?
"Jagiya where are you going?"
You ignored Changbin as you touched up your makeup slightly, wiping off the clear gloss you had and favoring a glossy red lip instead. You grabbed your favorite perfume - and Changbin's favorite on you - and sprayed it delicately over yourself.
You looked at your watch and looked up at Changbin. "I have to go I'm meeting someone at five."
You grabbed your purse and Changbin grabbed your wrist.
"W-What do you mean you're meeting someone?" You snatched your wrist away from him gently and made your way towards your car.
"W-Wait Y/N it's not a date is it? You're not going on a date? Wait please tell me you aren't."
"Changbin I have to go. It would be a bad first impression if I was late."
"Can you please at least tell me where you are going?"
You huffed. "I'm going to that one coffee shop next to the karaoke bar? The one we always used to go to when you had first asked me out." You said as you were strapping on a pair of heels.
Changbin felt like his world was collapsing.
"No. We aren't breaking up you're not allowed to do that."
You looked at Changbin with a confused - what the fuck are you on - type look.
"Changbin you realize people have the free will to do whatever they want right? Thats like me telling you you're not allowed to go to the gym anymore."
"You're not breaking up with me Y/N." He said his voice starting to waver. "You can't."
"Yup, Bin." You said as you opened the door and walked to your car. "Lock the door behind you, would ya?" You called out over your shoulder.
The muscular man quickly locked your door and came to the drivers side.
"Y/N," He said tapping on your window.
"Changbin can you make this quick? Like I said being late is a bad first impression."
"Who cares about first impressions! Y/N you can't date someone else!" He cries. "It was an argument! Are you really breaking up with me over this-"
"Damn Changbin I'm no-" Your phones started to ring and you answered it.
Changbin pouted at you as you spoke. Trying his best to listen to the conversation.
"Hello..." Why'd she say hello like that? So nicely... "Yes, I'm on my way right now just leaving my house..." She's already on the stage of letting him know her whereabouts? "Haha no no of course not...yeah....haha!" What could he possibly be saying to make her laugh that much? Only I can make her laugh like that...well I guess Jisung too but mainly me! "Uh I'll just get an iced vanilla latte with all my modifications- just ask Jiwon she'll know...." They have mutuals? "Yeah I'll be there soon....Yep! Can't wait to meet you either...mkay bye!"
Changbin felt his heart constrict as he watched you hang up and start your car.
You gave Changbin a small wave and pulled off, your tires screeching a little as you drove.
He quickly went to follow you. You wouldn't leave him. He wouldn't let you. Because you meant the world to him.
And without his world he would be nothing.
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HYUNJIN|
It had been a few days since Hyunjin had felt like he had spent time with you.
Because while you had been in his presence physically he felt like you had something on your mind.
You weren't all up on him like you usually were. And he missed that. He also missed you asking him if he liked your outfits. He missed the little twirl you would do asking if you looked okay; he missed being able to look at you lovingly while you did so; he missed being able to wait a little bit before he could comment how striking you looked; that little pause in time just to assure that he would be the one who could see you in that specific outfit longer than anyone else you would run into or hang out with, even if it was mere seconds more.
The way every part of you took up every aspect of his life was something he was so used to that he longed for it when he couldn't have it.
And for the past eleven days he longed for it.
So bad.
He missed you.
"Do you think I did something wrong?" Hyunjin asked Jisung as they sat down enjoying a cup of coffee together.
"I'm assuming so because she's treating me just fine. We actually just went to the movies the other day. Some random guy tried to hit on her and she made a comment about his hairline and how it showed his age and that shut him down real quick. It was actually fucking hilarious the way-"
"Did she say anything about me upsetting her?" Hyunjin asked, interuppting Jisung's tangent about his trip with the most loved girl of the band.
"Mm...now that I think about it, she made a comment about some other idol. I forget who she was talking about but I remembered her saying you were talking to them because she was just standing there waiting for you to finish and thats why she decided to drink that one drink. Because she didn't want to...how did she put it...look pathetic? Yeah, I think thats what she said. And she said it was no use because she looked pathetic throwing up all over Bangchan." He took a sip of his coffee. "I actually thought it was funny because Chan was saying he was trying to find an excuse to not have to wear that one suit jacket anymore because it was-"
"Jisung you're getting off topic." Hyunjin sighed. "Did she seem upset when she said that?"
Jisung shook his head. "I wouldn't say she seemed upset when she was talking about finding a use for her hands. I think she looked...off afterwards though. Especially whenever your name came up in ocnversation." He looked at Hyunjin pointedly. "But that wasn't that often. She may be your girlfriend but she is my soulmate so we have our own issues to discuss." He said taking another sip of his coffee. "Like all the drama in Hybe right now. Did you see- wait I'm getting off topic."
Hyunjin frowned. "So it was something I did..." He mumbled.
Jisung sniffed once. "Yeah probably." He said scratching his ear. "I can ask her if you'd like me to."
"No I thinks it okay, I'll find time to talk to her."
"Well they say there is no better time than the present because look who just walked in." The chubby cheeked boy nodded his head somewhere behind Hyunjin.
He turned around and saw you walking in with Felix. You walked up to the counter but didn't notice Hyunjin or Jisung sitting there.
Felix greeted the barista and ordered himself a drink while you looked at the menu.
Hyunjin felt the tiniest - the most miniscule pang of jealousy but it was quickly washed away because he knew that you only had eyes for him. You guys hadn't celebrated your first anniversary yet - it was in four days -but he knew just how much you loved him and he loved you.
And just that - he knew how in love you were with each other.
And thats why it hurt him so much to think he had hurt you.
Felix finished ordering and turned to you. Hyunjin had expected you to tell him your order and for Felix to relay it back to the barista but instead you spoke in Korean - hesitantly - but still with an immense amount of effort and obvious intermediate skill.
Felix corrected you on a couple of words, but after a few motivational words from the barista - words you obviously understood - you shined a bright smile and laughed.
"Y/N doesn't speak Korean." Hyunjin turned to Jisung, and the small quokka like boy pouted slightly. "Jisung."
"I walked in on Y/N-ie and Felix-" He blurted out. "God, I've been keeping that secret so long." He let out a breath and looked at Hyunjin's shocked face.
"Walked...in...?"
Jisung put a hand to his forehead. "Sorry I didn't finish my thought. I meant that I like...walked in on them while he was giving her secret korean lessons." He said wiggling his eyebrows.
"Jisung you're not helping my paranoia."
"I was wiggling my eyebrows because of the reason. She said she wanted to learn Korean so when it came time to meet your family she would be able to communicate well with them. It seems like she's actually pretty damn good at it too. Shes a fast learner according to Felix."
Hyunjin groaned. "She's so fucking cute but of all people in our groups she decided to get lessons from Lix? Did she never watch the survival show." He chuckled.
"Yeah...I guess that means I can tell you the actual reason she's upset with you now right?" Jisung said.
Hyunjin's head shot up and he looked at the younger boy expectantly.
"She overheard you calling her clingy. With the idol and his girlfriend..." He looked down and his voice dropped a little. "Its been eating at her a lot. Especially the girl's comment about foreigners and stuff. She was a total bitch for saying that because now it's been making her rethink everything. Because she seems to be convinced that it would be best for your reputation and your future if she ended things with you."
Hyunjin felt his throat constrict slightly. "S-she didn't mean that. She doesn't mean that. She can't."
Jisung hmmed in acknowledgment. "Hyung...she has it rough you know? The pedestal people in our industry put you on - and even in other industries and other countries -is the pedestal you're put on by the same people she consistently is surrounded by when accompanying you. The same people who write all those hateful comments about her on your posts and send even more hateful comments to her private account."
Hyunjin's eyes widened, and his fingers twitched slightly. "What comments? She hasn't told me about any...hate...comments..."
Jisung sighed. "She doesn't want to worry you. And I think she believes those comments too...she can't think of anything else to believe."
Hyunjin felt a knot place itself in his throat to stay as he walked you watch out the coffee shop with Felix trailing you. The thought of your insecurities bothered him immensely. The thought of you thinking you weren't worthy of him when it was the complete opposite; when it was him who wasn't worthy of you. He wished you could see yourself the way he saw you.
And he wished you believed him when he said all the things said.
Believe me when I call you beautiful. When I say I love you...
And if you don't want to in me...
Believe in us.
#skz angst#skz imagines#stray kids reactions#skz x reader#christopher bang#lee minho#skz changbin#skz hyunjin angst#skz reactions#@dontwannaexist @adrisiwiris @ddiidi @minsungsthirdwheel @keshet2k @ray0magdalene @maaatyroshka @hardladytale @dreammix88 @yaorzu-blog..#@periodpoops @parisanmorovati @theodorenottgf @vixensss @lovesunshinefelix @conwunder @bo-fairykim @ka0ila @imperfectlyperfectprincess..#@dollschan @stay-tiny-things @hyunjins-dimples @lisunny2 @katexstay @chuuyaobsessed @abovenyx#@jiminssluttyminx#@pearl-monkeys#@viola-celine#@wave2ivy#@keshet2k#@dreammix88#@mysticalhumano#@xocandyy#@hannahlolo#@seungmyynie#@mlrroh#@qrstarz#@beebee18
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SFX Magazine Issue 372 - Designing Good Omens ❤ 😊
PRODUCTION DESIGNER MICHAEL RALPH REVEALS HOW THE SHOW’S CENTREPIECE SET, WHICKBER STREET, WAS GIVEN A DEVILISHLY CLEVER UPGRADE FOR THE SECOND SEASON
WORDS: DAVE GOLDER
Invisible Columns And Thin Walls “The new studio is Pyramid Studios in Bathgate – it used to be a furniture warehouse. And unfortunately – or fortunately, because I accept these things as not challenges but gifts – right down the middle of that studio are a series of upright columns. But you’ll never spot them on screen. I had to build them in and integrate them into the walls and still get the streets between them. And it worked.
“There’s all sorts of cheeky design values to those sets. Normally a set like this is double-skin. In other words, you do an interior wall and an exterior wall, with an airspace in between. But really, the only time a viewer notices that there’s that width is at the doors and the windows. So I cheated all that. I ended up with single walls everywhere. So the exterior wall is the interior wall, just painted. All I did was make the sash windows and entrances wider to give it some depth as you walked in.”
GOOD OMENS HAD A CHANGE of location for its second season, but hopefully you didn’t notice. Because Whickber Street in Soho upped sticks from an airfield in Hertfordshire to a furniture warehouse in Bathgate, Edinburgh. It’s the kind of nonsensical geographical shenanigans that could only make sense in the crazy world of film and TV, and production designer Michael Ralph was the man in charge of rebuilding and expanding the show’s vast central set. “I wish we could have built more in season one than we did,” says Ralph, whose previous work has included Primeval and Dickensian. “We built the ground floor of everything and the facades of all the shops. But we didn’t build anything higher than that, because we were out on an airfield in a very, very difficult terrain and weather conditions, so we really couldn’t go much higher. Visual effects created the upper levels.”
But with season two the set has gone to a whole other level… literally. “What happened was that the rest of the street became integrated into the series’s storyline,” explains Ralph. “So we needed a record shop, we needed a coffee shop that actually had an inside, we needed a magic shop, we needed the pub. To introduce those meant we had to change the street with a layout that works from a storylines point of view. In other words, things like someone standing at the counter in the record shop had to be able to eyeball somebody standing at the counter in the coffee shop. They had to be able to eyeball Aziraphale sitting in his office in the window of the bookshop. But the rest of it was a pleasure to do inside, because we could expand it and I could go up two storeys.”
For most of the set, which is around 80 metres long and 60 metres wide, the two storeys only applied to the shop frontages, but in the case of Aziraphale’s bookshop, it allowed Ralph to build the mezzanine level for real this time. According to Ralph it became one of the cast and crews’ favourite places to hang out during down time.
But while AZ Fell & Co has grown in height, it actually has a slightly smaller footprint because of the logistics of adapting it to the new studio.
“Everybody swore to me that no one would notice,” says Ralph wryly. “I walked onto it and instinctively knew there was a difference immediately, and they hated me for that. I have this innate sense about spatial awareness and an eye like a spirit level.
“It’s not a lot, though – I think we’ve lost maybe two and a half feet on the front wall internally. I think that there’s a couple of other smaller areas, but only I’d notice. So I can be really annoying to my guys, but only on those levels. Not on any other. They actually quite like me…”
Populating The Bookshop “The props in the new bookshop set were a flawless reproduction from the set decorator Bronwyn Franklin [who is also Ralph’s wife]. It was really the worst-case scenario after season one. She works off the concept art that I produce, but what she does is she adds so much more to the character of the set. She doesn’t buy anything she doesn’t love, or doesn’t fit the character.
“But the things she put a lot of work into finding for season one, they were pretty much one-offs. When we burnt the set down in the sixth episode, we lost a lot of props, many of which had been spotted and appreciated by the fans. So Bronwyn had to discover a new set decorating technique: forensic buying.
“She found it all – duplicates and replicas. It took ages. In that respect, the Covid delay was very helpful for Bron. There’s 7,000 books in there and there’s not one fake book. That’s mainly because… it’s a weird thing to say, but we wanted it to smell and feel like a bookshop to everybody that was in it, all the time.
“It affects everybody subliminally; it affects everybody’s performance – actors and crew – it raises the bar 15 to 20%. And the detail, you know… We love a lot of detail.”
(look at the description under this, they called him 'Azi' hehehehe :D <3)
Aziraphale’s Inspirational Correspondence “There’s not one single scrap of paper on Aziraphale’s desk that isn’t written specifically for Aziraphale. Every single piece is not just fodder that’s been shoved there, it has a purpose; it’s a letter of thanks, or an enquiry about a book or something.
“Michael Sheen is so submerged in his character he would get lost sitting at his own desk, reading his own correspondence between takes. I believe wholeheartedly that if you put that much care into every single piece of detail, on that desk and in that room, that everybody feels it, including the crew, and then they give that set the same respect it deserves.
“They also lift their game because they believe that they’re doing something of so much care and value. Really, it’s a domino effect of passion and care for what you’re producing.”
Alternative Music “My daughter Mickey is lead graphic designer [two of Ralph’s sons worked on the series too, one as a concept artist, the other in props]. They’re the ones that produced all of that handwritten work on the desk. She’s the one that took on the record shop and made up 80 band names so that we didn’t have to get copyright clearance from real bands. Then she produced records and sleeves that spanned 50, 60 years of their recordings, and all of the graphics on the walls.
“I remember Michael and Neil [Gaiman] getting lost following one band’s history on the wall, looking at their posters and albums desperately trying to find out whether they survived that emo period.”
It’s A Kind Of Magic One of the new shops in Whickber Street for season two was Will Goldstone’s Magic Shop, which is full of as many Easter eggs as off-the-shelf conjuring tricks, including a Matt Smith Doctor Who-style fez and a toy orang-utan that’s a nod to Discworld’s The Librarian. Ralph says that while the series is full of references to Gaiman, Pratchett and Doctor Who, Michael Sheen never complained about a lack of Masters Of Sex in-jokes. “He’d be the last person to make that sort of comment!”
Ralph also reveals that the magic shop counter was another one of his wife’s purchases, bought at a Glasgow reclamation yard.
The Anansi Boys Connection Ralph reveals that Good Omens season two used the state-of-the-art special effects tech Volume (famous for its use in The Mandalorian to create virtual backdrops) for just one sequence, but he will be using it extensively elsewhere on another Gaiman TV series being made for Prime Video.
“We used Volume on the opening sequence to create the creation of the universe. I was designing Anansi Boys in duality with this project, which seems an outrageously suicidal thing to do. But it was fantastic and Anansi Boys was all on Volume. So I designed for Volume on one show and not Volume on the other. The complexities and the psychology of both is different.”
#good omens#gos2#season 2#photos#bts#bts photos#interview#sfx magazine#magazines#hq photos#neil gaiman#terry pratchett#michael sheen#david tennant#michael ralph#mickey ralph#bronwyn franklin#anansi boys#the small back room#maggie's record shop#soho#aziraphale's bookshop#dirty donkey#magic shop#aziraphale's correspondence#give me coffee or give me death#fun fact#michael ralph interview#sfx 372 magazine#s2 interview
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The Best News of Last Month
Sorry for being not active this month as I had some health problems. I'll start posting weekly now :) Meanwhile here's some good from last month
1. Widow donates $1 billion to medical school, giving free tuition forever
Ruth Gottesman surprised by her late husband's $1 billion in Berkshire stock, decides to donate it in full to the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, New York City's poorest borough. The donation is intended to cover students' tuition indefinitely, ensuring access to medical education for generations.
A video capturing students' emotional reactions to the news, cheering and crying, circulated after the announcement, highlighting the profound impact of the donation on the medical school community.
2. Electric school buses outperform diesel in extreme cold
In Colorado's West Grand School District, electric school buses outperformed their diesel counterparts, particularly in the bitterly cold temperatures of towns like Kremmling, where morning temperatures can drop below -30 degrees Fahrenheit. Despite common concerns about reduced range in extreme weather, the electric buses maintained their battery charge even in these frigid conditions, providing reliable transportation for students.
This success has been welcomed by the school district, as diesel vehicles also face challenges in starting in Colorado's harsh winter weather.
3. Christian Bale unveils plans to build 12 foster homes in California
Christian Bale has led a tour round the new village in California where he plans to build 12 foster homes, as well as two studio flats to help children transition into independent living, and a 7,000 sq ft community centre.
The actor has spearheaded the building of a unique complex of facilities with the aim of keeping siblings in the foster care system together, and ideally under the same roof.
4. Average lifespan of a person with Down syndrome has increased from 25 years in 1983 to 60 years today
Today the average lifespan of a person with Down syndrome is approximately 60 years.
As recently as 1983, the average lifespan of a person with Down syndrome was 25 years. The dramatic increase to 60 years is largely due to the end of the inhumane practice of institutionalizing people with Down syndrome.
5. Greece legalises same-sex marriage
Greece has become the first Christian Orthodox-majority country to legalise same-sex marriage. Same-sex couples will now also be legally allowed to adopt children after Thursday's 176-76 vote in parliament.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said the new law would "boldly abolish a serious inequality".
6. Massachusetts police K9 tracks scent for over 2 miles to find missing 12-year-old in freezing cold
A Massachusetts police K9 followed her nose to help find a 12-year-old who went missing in frigid temperatures last week, tracking the child’s scent for over two miles, authorities said.
K9 Biza, a female German shepherd, was called on to help after officers learned the child left their home at around 10:30 p.m. Wednesday and was last seen in the Pakachoag Hill area of Auburn, the Auburn Police Department said.
7. Good News for the Socially Anxious: People Like You a Lot More Than You Think They Do, New Research Confirms
The "Lake Wobegon effect" or "illusory superiority" phenomenon highlights people's tendency to overestimate their abilities, but recent research suggests that in social interactions, individuals often underestimate their likability and charm.
Studies indicate that people consistently fail to recognize signals of others' liking toward them, leading to a "liking gap" where individuals believe they are less likable than they actually are.
Techniques such as focusing more on others during conversations and genuinely expressing interest in them can help alleviate social anxiety by shifting the focus away from self-criticism. Ultimately, understanding that others may also experience similar anxieties can lead to a more relaxed and enjoyable social experience.
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That's it for this week :)
This newsletter will always be free. If you liked this post you can support me with a small kofi donation here:
Buy me a coffee ❤️
Also don’t forget to reblog this post with your friends.
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Are you really an art major if your not violating osha on the reg?
#was absolutely thinking about the time my prof made me mess with the new lighting system in the lighting studio that was hot enough to melt#gels and also had enough voltage to kill power to the whole building while also telling me not to touch it while hooking it up to the#camera bc if I did it would electrocute me while I made this
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Calling all wild witches and handsome devils: it's time to rock 'n roll.
Hey, you, wake up a new CC set just dropped! This time @mellosakicc joined me and threw in some very wicked cool goodies for you. Everything is Base Game Compatible and optimized for potato computers. Go and build your slightly haunted Memphis studio apartments.
But only after you downloaded our small tribute here: MERGED ZIP
Update: This set is making it into TS2! Well, kinda? I hope so. I'll update this if more gets converted. (pls, someone, I also don't have the know-how!)
@grilledcheese-aspiration did a stellar job porting the really pretty clutter over [Link] I love how the Belladonna looks nicer in the older game
Mid-Century's elegance meets Gothic Kitsch in Rituals, a 50 asset large set full of stuff for your living, dining and bedrooms. Every object was lovingly (help me) hand painted by yours truly (pain... the pain...!) and I hope you have as much fun playing with it as I had making it!
Read more and get a preview below the cut
As usual, here's the catalogue of the entire thing
And an unedited in-game screenshot
Highlights of this set include:
a very modular set of curtains
3D wall paneling
a vanity table
a canopy bed
vintage electronics
lots of references for you to find
buy and build items ( these walls and floors are included, yes)
I playtest to my absolute limit, but I'm a one-man-team so if you end up finding bugs I missed, please send me an ask or comment on this post. That way it gets fixed asap.
#sims 4#maxis match cc#maxis match#sims custom content#ts4 maxis match#ts4 download#cc#ts4 cc#download#witchy#mid centruy modern#ts4mm#ts4 maxis cc
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boxer! geto with his cute little prima ballerina wife has been PLAGUING my mind!
warning! not proofread
Geto owns and lives in a busted down gym before he met you, but after he asked you to be his girl he made sure to build a small section for you in the gym to practice. You call it your at home studio!
Geto will absolutely go to every single one of your performances! He will sit front row and center just so you don’t struggle to find him. After the performance is over he will go backstage to hand you a bouquet of beautiful flowers the size of your torso!
When you finally convince Geto to move out of the gym and into your apartment he is shocked to say the least. Everywhere he walked there was some sort of equipment for ballet whether it was pointe shoes, a mini barre in your living room or the new leotards you’ve bought.
When you 2 started dating he would always be in such awe of how flexible you are (even in bed). Every morning he watches you do your daily stretches and it never fails to amaze him to see how easily you contorted your body. He also loves helping you stretch but that’s only because he gets to see your body in all new angles.
Getos favorite pass time for when your not around is watching videos of you dancing. He never would’ve thought that watching some of the same performances over and over again would be entertaining before he met you. But now he knows he’s sorely wrong.
Whenever you come home from a particularly hard day at rehearsals he will sit you down in his lap and give you kisses as you vent all bout it to him.
Geto loves seeing your beautiful face when he just finished beating the shit out of someone. He loves seeing the look of pride on your face when they lift his arm up to signify that he just won. He will run to you and he hugs you tightly. effortlessly lifting you up and spinning you around.
Geto loves putting boxing gloves on you and just telling you to hit him. The first time he did it he was surprisingly shocked how strong of a right hook you got on you. But he would be lying if he said that didn’t turn him on..
a/n just a few headcannons before I post their actual story! likes and reblogs are greatly appreciated! let me know if you would like to be on the taglist in my dms or comments! sweet days my lovies <3
#bibi!—writes#jjk suguru#jjk geto#geto suguru#jjk fluff#geto x reader#getou suguru x reader#geto x y/n#geto x you#jujutsu kaisen x reader#jujutsu geto#suguru x you#jujutsu kaisen suguru#getou suguru x y/n#getou suguru x you#getou x reader
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.
#just found out theres a pole studio in a nearby city and they also do aerial hop classes sometimes#like. for beginners.#and that's an honest to god childhood dream of mine.#i want to keep doing pilates next year and over the summer. but maybe i can also try to sign up for a month of pole classes next year....#just to try. and in if they do another aerial hop masterclass try it too ...#i need to build some more strength first. also. confidence. and maybe stop being terrified of driving cause idk where the class is exactly#and i may not be able to rely on public transport#but.... bro.#im so scared of trying new things because everything feels so embarrassing#and idk ive been saying for years that im going to try to make myself less miserable but so far i havent managed#but maybe i can bring myself to do this#and other. smaller things.#mmmh#dl
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TAKING CARE OF THE YOUNGER MEMBERS
" it feels the best when you' re right next to me "
HYUNG LINE x fem!reader . . . CONTENT LIST : fluff + domestic acts + est relationship + skinship . . WORD COUNT : 545 & & CHECK BOX !!
( reblogs + feedback always appreciated !! )
𝗟𝗘𝗘 𝗛𝗘𝗘𝗦𝗘𝗨𝗡𝗚
It was cold, and Heeseung was walking beside you in front of the rest, enjoying the view of frost coating the the grass, but most importantly to be with you. The weather was cold enough to blow smoke into the air, and Heeseung made sure that you were warm and cosy. As well as that, he'd turn around and see if anyone else was freezing. He catches Jake not wearing his scarf properly and says, "Fix your scarf man, you can't become sick now. There's no one to impress in this weather either" He tightens it and pats his shoulder. "I mean, you did this when you liked y/n." Jake says, exposing Heeseung and he chuckles awkwardly and return to you. "You really also gotta keep yourself warm, honey." You say as you intertwine your fingers with his.
𝗣𝗔𝗥𝗞 𝗝𝗢𝗡𝗚𝗦𝗘𝗢𝗡𝗚
He has the nurturing side to him. Let's you be in the kitchen with him when the others aren't. You giggle to yourself, knowing that you have someone as perfect as Jay with you. "You guys aren't allowed in here." Jay holds his palm out for Jake and he sigh. "Why is y/n in there then?" he groans. "She's differen't from you animals, go to the livingroom or something." Jay shoos them away. "So I'm special?" You ask, and he nods,"Very." kissing you softly on the forehead. You and him cook together in the kitchen, the new aroma of the food filling the building. "Sweetie, could you tell the rest that they can finally come here?" He asked, pulling the oven mitts off his hands. "of course," you say and run off, leaving him smiling.
𝗦𝗜𝗠 𝗝𝗔𝗘𝗬𝗨𝗡
Sees the others playing card games, and asks if he can join, in which they reply yes excitedly. "babe, come play with me." He says, patting the place on the mat beside him. You shake your head at first, but then he pleads with you and you give in, taking a seat beside him. "What are we playing?" You ask, and they answer with a game you've never heard of. You, unfortunately don't know the rules, and poke Jake on the shoulder. "Hmm?" He asks, and you admit that you don't know the rules. "No worries, we can play together." He pulls you onto his lap and rests his chin in your neck as he looks at his cards. "jake hyung, you're so weird." Riki says with a giggle and this results in him getting a card thrown at him.
𝗣𝗔𝗥𝗞 𝗦𝗨𝗡𝗚𝗛𝗢𝗢𝗡
You were in the practice studio, supporting the seven while they trained with their coach, and you helped them record the dances that they used to monitor their moves. While they did that, you noticed how tired and exhausted they looked, sweat dripping down their foreheads. You cringed at this, knowing that you don't like the feeling of sweat sticking to your skin, so you offer to bring them all some snacks and water bottles while they were on break. The youngest burst out in cheers and thanked you over and over for your kindness. "Are you sure? I can follow along?" Sunghoon asks, chasing after you and stopping you by the door. "I'm sure. Please take a break from your hard work, babe." You take a small towel and wipe his face with it before rubbing your nose with his.
TAGLIST : @dollyhoon @itjengirl @saeivra @orimuraa
#yuvany's work౨ৎ#enhypen#enhypen fluff#enhypen x reader#enha#enha x reader#enhypen imagines#enhypen drabbles#enhypen scenarios#enha imagines#enha scenarios#enhypen x you#enha fluff#heeseung#lee heeseung#sim jake#jake x reader#sim jake x reader#sunghoon#sunghoon x reader#park sunghoon#enhypen soft hours#jay x reader#park jongseong#enhypen jay#sim jaeyun#enha fics#enhypen hyung line#lee heesung x reader#sunghoon enhypen
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[JK] My first job was as an Assistant Producer for a video game company called Interplay in Irvine, CA. I had recently graduated from Boston University's School of Fine Arts with an MFA in Directing (I started out as a theatre nerd), but also had some limited coding experience and a passion for computers. It didn't look like I'd be able to make a living directing plays, so I decided to combine entertainment and technology (before it was cool!) and pitched myself to Brian Fargo, Interplay's CEO. He gave me my first break. I packed up and moved out west, and I've been producing games ever since.
[JK] I loved my time at EA. I was there for almost a full decade, and learned a tremendous amount about game-making, and met the most talented and driven people, who I remain in touch with today. EA gave me many opportunities, and never stopped betting on me. I worked on The Sims for nearly 5 years, and then afterwards, I worked on console action games as part of the Visceral studio. I was the Creative Director for the 2007 game "The Simpsons", and was the Executive Producer and Creative Director for the 2009 game "Dante's Inferno".
[JK] I haven't played in a long while, but I do recall that after the game shipped, my wife and I played the retail version for some time -- we created ourselves, and experimented with having a baby ahead of the actual birth of our son (in 2007). Even though I'd been part of the development team, and understood deeply how the simulation worked, I was still continually surprised at how "real" our Sims felt, and how accurate their responses were to having a baby in the house. It really felt like "us"!
Now for some of the development and lore related questions:
[JK] So I ended up in the incredibly fortunate position of creating the shipping neighborhoods for The Sims 2, and recruiting a few teammates to help me as we went along.
Around the same time, we started using the Buy/Build tools to make houses we could save, and also bring them into each new build of the game (correcting for any bugs and incompatibilities). With the import tool, we could load Sims into these houses. In time, this "vanguard QA" process turned into a creative endeavor to define the "saved state" of the neighborhoods we would actually end up shipping with the game.
On playtesting & the leftover sims data on various lots:
Basically, we were in the late stages of development, and the Save Game functionality wasn't quite working. In order to test the game properly, you really needed to have a lot of assets, and a lot of Sims with histories (as if you'd been playing them for weeks) to test out everything the game had to offer. So I started defining a set of characters in a spreadsheet, with all their tuning variables, and worked with engineering to create an importer, so that with each new build, I could essentially "load" a kind of massive saved game, and quickly start playing and testing.
It was fairly organic, and as the game's functionality improved, so did our starter houses and families.
The thought process behind the creation of the iconic three neighborhoods:
I would not say it was particularly planned out ahead of time. We knew we needed a few saved houses to ship with the game; Sims 1, after all, had the Goth house, and Bob Newbie's house. But there wasn't necessarily a clear direction for what the neighborhood would be for Sims 2. We needed the game to be far enough along, so that the neighborhood could be a proper showcase for all the features in the game. With each new feature that turned alpha, I had a new tool in my toolbox, and I could expand the houses and families I was working on. Once we had the multi-neighborhood functionality, I decided we would not just have 1 starter neighborhood, but 3. With the Aging feature, Memories, a few wacky objects, plus a huge catalog of architectural and decorative content, I felt we had enough material for 3 truly distinct neighborhoods. And we added a couple of people to what became the "Neighborhood Team" around that time.
Later, when we created Strangetown, and eventually Veronaville, I believe we went back and changed Pleasantville to Pleasantview... because I liked the alliteration of "Verona-Ville", and there was no sense in having two "villes". (To this day, by the way, I still don't know whether to capitalize the "V" -- this was hotly debated at the time!)
Pleasantview:
Anyway, to answer your question, we of course started with Pleasantview. As I recall, we were not quite committed to multiple neighborhoods at first, and I think it was called Pleasantville initially, which was kind of a nod to Simsville... but without calling it Simsville, which was a little too on the nose. (There had also been an ill-fated game in development at Maxis at the time, called SimsVille, which was cancelled.) It's been suggested that Pleasantville referred to the movie, but I don't think I ever saw that movie, and we just felt that Pleasantville kind of captured the feeling of the game, and the relaxing, simple, idyllic world of the Sims.
Pleasantview started as a place to capture the aging feature, which was all new to The Sims 2. We knew we had toddlers, teens, and elders to play with, so we started making families that reflected the various stages of family life: the single mom with 3 young kids, the parents with two teens, the old rich guy with two young gold-diggers, etc. We also had a much greater variety of ethnicity to play with than Sims 1, and we had all new variables like sexual orientation and memories. All these things made for rich fodder for a great diversity of families. Then, once we had family trees, and tombstones that carried the actual data for the dead Sims, the doors really blew open. We started asking ourselves, "What if Bella and Mortimer Goth could be characters in Sims 2, but aged 25 years? And what if Cassandra is grown up? And what if Bella is actually missing, and that could be a fun mystery hanging over the whole game?" And then finally the "Big Life Moments" went into the game -- like weddings and birthdays -- and we could sort of tee these up in the Save Game, so that they would happen within the first few minutes of playing the families. This served both as a tutorial for the features, but also a great story-telling device.
Anyway, it all just flowed from there, as we started creating connections between families, relationships, histories, family trees, and stories that we could weave into the game, using only the simulation features that were available to us. It was a really fun and creative time, and we wrote all of the lore of Sims 2 within a couple of months, and then just brought it to life in the game.
Strangetown:
Strangetown was kind of a no-brainer. We needed an alternate neighborhood for all the paranormal stuff the Sims was known for: alien abduction, male pregnancy, science experiments, ghosts, etc. We had the desert terrain, which created a nice contrast to the lush Pleasantville, and gave it an obvious Area 51 vibe.
The fact that Veronaville is the oldest file probably reflects the fact that it was finished first, not that it was started first. That's my guess anyway. It was the simplest neighborhood, in many ways, and didn't have as much complexity in terms of features like staged big life moments, getting the abduction timing right, the alien DNA thing (which I think was somewhat buggy up until the end), etc. So it's possible that we simply had Veronaville "in the can", while we put the last polish on Pleasantville (which was the first and most important neighborhood, in terms of making a good impression) and Strangeville (which was tricky technically).
Veronaville:
But my personal favorite was Veronaville. We had this cool Tudor style collection in the Build mode catalog, and I wanted to ship some houses that showed off those assets. We also had the teen thing going on in the aging game, plus a lot of romance features, as well as enemies. I have always been a Shakespeare buff since graduate school, so putting all that together, I got the idea that our third neighborhood should be a modern-day telling of the Romeo and Juliet story. It was Montys and Capps (instead of Montagues and Capulets), and it just kind of wrote itself. We had fun creating the past family trees, where everyone had died young because they kept killing each other off in the ongoing vendetta.
[JK] You know, I have never seen The Lone Gunmen, and I don't remember making any kind of direct references with the Strangetown Sims, other than the general Area 51 theme, as you point out. Charles London helped out a lot with naming Sims, and I'm pretty sure we owe "Vidcund" and "Lazlo" to him ... though many team members pitched in creatively. He may have had something in mind, but for me, I largely went off of very generic and stereotypical ideas when crafting these neighborhoods. I kind of wanted them to be almost "groaners" ... they were meant to be tropes in every sense of the word. And then we snuck in some easter eggs. But largely, we were trying to create a completely original lore.
[JK] Well, I think we kind of pushed it with The Sims 2, to be honest, and I remember getting a little blow-back about Bunny Broke, for example. Bunny Broke was the original name for Brandi Broke. Not everyone found that funny, as I recall, and I can understand that. It must have been changed before we shipped.
We also almost shipped the first outwardly gay Sims in those neighborhoods, which was bold for EA back in 2004. My recollection was that we had set up the Dreamers to be gay (Dirk and Darren), but I'm looking back now and see that's not the case. So I'm either remembering incorrectly (probably) or something changed during development.
In general we just did things that we found funny and clever, and we just pulled from all the tropes of American life.
[JK] The alien abduction started in Sims 1, with a telescope object that was introduced in the "Livin' Large" expansion pack. That's when some of the wackier ideas got introduced into the Sims lore. That pack shipped just before I joined Maxis in 2001; when I got there, the team had shipped "House Party" and was underway on "Hot Date". So I couldn't tell you how the original idea came about, but The Sims had this 50's Americana vibe from the beginning, and UFOs kind of played right into that. So the alien abduction telescope was a no-brainer to bring back in Sims 2. The male pregnancy was a new twist on the Sims 1 telescope thing. It must have been that the new version (Sims 2) gave us the tech and flexibility to have male Sims become pregnant, so while this was turned "off" for the core game, we decided to take advantage of this and make a storyline out of it. I think this really grew out of the fact that we had aliens, and alien DNA, and so it was not complicated to pre-bake a baby that would come out as an alien when born. The idea of a bunch of guys living together, and then one gets abducted, impregnated, and then gives birth to an alien baby ... I mean, I think we just all thought that was hilarious, in a sit-com kind of way. Not sure there was much more to it than that. Everything usually came from the designers discovering ways to tweak and play with the tech, to get to funny outcomes.
[JK] Possibly we were just testing the functionality of the Wants/Fears and Memories systems throughout development, and some stuff got left over.
[JK] I can't remember, but that sounds like something we would have done! I'm pretty sure we laid the groundwork for more stories that we ended up delivering :) But The Sims 2 was a great foundation for a lot of continued lore that followed.
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I once again want to thank Jonathan Knight for granting me this opportunity and taking the time from his busy schedule to answer my questions.
#BURNING LORE QUESTIONS FINALLY ANSWERED!! :D#the sims 2#ts2#sims 2#ea games#ea#electronic arts#sims#the sims#strangetown#veronaville#pleasantview#jonathan knight interview#the sims 2 development#sims 2 development#sims 2 beta#I'm so glad I got this opportunity man.
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