9962 réponses à ce sujet

[lillitheris]

fluffywalrus wrote...

 I actually (As someone who didn't romance Thane) thought he was handled pretty decently, what with him beating up Kai Leng a bit and keeping him from assassinating the councilor.

You should see the other guy! The one who got killed by a sword. In 2186

[LanceSolous13]

lillitheris wrote...

fluffywalrus wrote...

 I actually (As someone who didn't romance Thane) thought he was handled pretty decently, what with him beating up Kai Leng a bit and keeping him from assassinating the councilor.

You should see the other guy! The one who got killed by a sword. In 2186

Right? *facepalm* Thane, honey, sweetie, When your fighting someone who fights soley with a sword, Don't run TOWARDS them...

[InLoveWithTaliZorah]

hot_heart wrote...

InLoveWithTaliZorah wrote...
Quesiton: Is it bad to be a grammar Na*i while writing fanfics? I find that it makes me comb through my works for errors and it sets back my publishing schedule significantly.

I'm eager to learn about this art form that I have enjoyed for a long time but haven't partaken of until recently.

I think it always helps to put a little extra care into your writing.

Though, at a glance, you are missing commas before names.

i.e. There should be a comma after the first 'OK' here:
"It's OK Shepard. It's all going to be OK."

And one after 'anymore' here:
"You're not supposed to call me that anymore James. I'm a civvie now."

Damn sneaky small bastardos. I didn't notice those.
Sometimes, so that the flow of the statement isn't interuppted, I don't even consider putting in a comma. I don't want the character to have a small pause at that time so I don't even think of a comma. Though I'm afraid that I don't know all of the grammar rules. English teacher is always complaining about how the rules are changed every few years.  
In any case, I appreciate the feedback.

[dpMeggers]

LanceSolous13 wrote...

lillitheris wrote...

fluffywalrus wrote...

 I actually (As someone who didn't romance Thane) thought he was handled pretty decently, what with him beating up Kai Leng a bit and keeping him from assassinating the councilor.

You should see the other guy! The one who got killed by a sword. In 2186

Right? *facepalm* Thane, honey, sweetie, When your fighting someone who fights soley with a sword, Don't run TOWARDS them...

To be fair, when you're oxygen deprived, you don't exactly think straight. And he does favour the neck-snap, which requires close quarters. But I'm another person who didn't mind the way Thane's death was handled. (Kai Leng the plot-armored highly visible ninja on the other hand...)

[LanceSolous13]

dpMeggers wrote...

LanceSolous13 wrote...

lillitheris wrote...

fluffywalrus wrote...

 I actually (As someone who didn't romance Thane) thought he was handled pretty decently, what with him beating up Kai Leng a bit and keeping him from assassinating the councilor.

You should see the other guy! The one who got killed by a sword. In 2186

Right? *facepalm* Thane, honey, sweetie, When your fighting someone who fights soley with a sword, Don't run TOWARDS them...

To be fair, when you're oxygen deprived, you don't exactly think straight. And he does favour the neck-snap, which requires close quarters. But I'm another person who didn't mind the way Thane's death was handled. (Kai Leng the plot-armored highly visible ninja on the other hand...)

And, Shepard, EDI, James, Garrus, Liara, and Javik's excuses are...?

[hot_heart]

LanceSolous13 wrote...
Thane is going to be cured, ready to join Shepard on the Normandy in fact, but killed by Kai Leng during the Citadel coup. I really just can't get a good situation for Thane to sacrafice himself for Shepard and how to get Shepard's crew out of the way during the fight.

Have you tried playing around with some of the events that happen?

Maybe have a more impressive skycar battle involving Thane and Kai Leng, possibly ending with Thane tackling him off and the fight concluding elsewhere (with Thane surprised by a phantom rather than in a fair fight with him?).

Or perhaps include him in the section on the elevator, trying to fend off multiple opponents?

[LanceSolous13]

hot_heart wrote...

LanceSolous13 wrote...
Thane is going to be cured, ready to join Shepard on the Normandy in fact, but killed by Kai Leng during the Citadel coup. I really just can't get a good situation for Thane to sacrafice himself for Shepard and how to get Shepard's crew out of the way during the fight.

Have you tried playing around with some of the events that happen?

Maybe have a more impressive skycar battle involving Thane and Kai Leng, possibly ending with Thane tackling him off and the fight concluding elsewhere (with Thane surprised by a phantom rather than in a fair fight with him?).

Or perhaps include him in the section on the elevator, trying to fend off multiple opponents?

Slightly, but it doesn't seem to work as well as I'd like.

I've got a rough work for it going at the moment, but its simply going from Point A to Point B that's giving me trouble. I think I have a small idea, and I'll work with it for a few mins before I post again...

EDIT: Ok, So, Garrus escapes with the Salarian Councilor and Kai Leng jumps to the sky car like usual. Thane, James, and Shepard steal a car and fly after. Thane, using a Sniper Rifle, shoots out the engine of Kai Leng's car and it crashes onto one of the buildings crossing the Presidium. They stop to kill Kai Leng and the battle takes place.

Kai throws a grenade sending Shepard and Vega over the side of the building; James holding onto Shepard's hand and Shepard gripping the edge.

Now all that remains it to gravely wound Thane and for Thane to pull Shepard and James back up over the edge. I'm not sure how to do it though...

Modifié par LanceSolous13, 11 juillet 2012 - 11:28 .

[fluffywalrus]

dpMeggers wrote...

LanceSolous13 wrote...

lillitheris wrote...

fluffywalrus wrote...

 I actually (As someone who didn't romance Thane) thought he was handled pretty decently, what with him beating up Kai Leng a bit and keeping him from assassinating the councilor.

You should see the other guy! The one who got killed by a sword. In 2186

Right? *facepalm* Thane, honey, sweetie, When your fighting someone who fights soley with a sword, Don't run TOWARDS them...

To be fair, when you're oxygen deprived, you don't exactly think straight. And he does favour the neck-snap, which requires close quarters. But I'm another person who didn't mind the way Thane's death was handled. (Kai Leng the plot-armored highly visible ninja on the other hand...)

Aye. With his trouble breathing, there's probably no way he can trust his ability to shoot at medium to long range. Close quarters would be his best bet. I'll admit Shep and co should have intervened, but games don't always make sense. Throughout the entire game, Shep appears with that really bad assault rifle or pistol, instead of the weapons you equip, or using their biotics. It's a cinematic for a reason.
I more or less like it because Kai Leng is a pretty darn good assassin, equipped with reaper tech and cybernetic implants, and Thane...terminally ill...manages to chase him off and keep him from his mission. That's pretty cool, imo, and I would honestly never have Thane losing a one-on-one fight against Kai Leng had Thane been cured. It just wouldn't ever happen.

[Drussius]

fluffywalrus wrote...

dpMeggers wrote...

LanceSolous13 wrote...

lillitheris wrote...

fluffywalrus wrote...

 I actually (As someone who didn't romance Thane) thought he was handled pretty decently, what with him beating up Kai Leng a bit and keeping him from assassinating the councilor.

You should see the other guy! The one who got killed by a sword. In 2186

Right? *facepalm* Thane, honey, sweetie, When your fighting someone who fights soley with a sword, Don't run TOWARDS them...

To be fair, when you're oxygen deprived, you don't exactly think straight. And he does favour the neck-snap, which requires close quarters. But I'm another person who didn't mind the way Thane's death was handled. (Kai Leng the plot-armored highly visible ninja on the other hand...)

Aye. With his trouble breathing, there's probably no way he can trust his ability to shoot at medium to long range. Close quarters would be his best bet. I'll admit Shep and co should have intervened, but games don't always make sense. Throughout the entire game, Shep appears with that really bad assault rifle or pistol, instead of the weapons you equip, or using their biotics. It's a cinematic for a reason.
I more or less like it because Kai Leng is a pretty darn good assassin, equipped with reaper tech and cybernetic implants, and Thane...terminally ill...manages to chase him off and keep him from his mission. That's pretty cool, imo, and I would honestly never have Thane losing a one-on-one fight against Kai Leng had Thane been cured. It just wouldn't ever happen.

From a guy who got in his fair share of schoolyard brawls back in the day (god, I feel old), let me say one thing: Getting involved in a fight between two people can sometimes do more harm than good. Since you can't read each other's minds, you end up bumping into each other, holding back because you think your pal will make a move, etc. I avoided what would have been a solid butt kicking at least twice in middle school because a second guy was dishonorable enough to get involved, and they made it harder for their friend rather than easier. When you both rush someone at the same time and then both stop to avoid colliding, it gets really easy for your outnumbered opponent to make a run for the nearest fence... Of course the one time I got double-teamed well, it sucked hard...

Plus there's always the honor card. When I was in school there (as opposed to today) was a cardinal rule: You don't jump into the middle of a man-to-man fight. Stay the heck out of it no matter which way it goes and then the fight's fair. The only time jumping in was okay was when it was 2v1 or worse, or if someone else jumped in and you were intervening (and so, brawl begins). I know that it doesn't quite apply when you're dealing with an armed assassin, but perhaps the thought was the same... that it was more respectful to trust that Thane could get the job done.. It could be seen as an insult to try to help, suggesting that your buddy couldn't handle it on his own.

And you certainly don't want to try to fire weapons into a hand-to-hand melee. No matter how skilled a marksman you might be, there's way too much chance of hitting your pal. Just a few thoughts. That scene actually didn't bother me much. The only problem I had was that no one was able to track where Kai Leng went when he cloaked. You'd think someone would have been able to point in the right direction.


Edit: And what's wrong with someone using a sword in 2186? Guns are fine, but there will always be a use for solid pointy objects on the battlefield! Especially in the ME universe, where kinetic barriers are meant to deflect fast incoming objects. Something that comes in more slowly... like a blade... could be really useful in close quarters!

Modifié par Drussius, 12 juillet 2012 - 12:03 .

[fainmaca]

LanceSolous13 wrote...
EDIT: Ok, So, Garrus escapes with the Salarian Councilor and Kai Leng jumps to the sky car like usual. Thane, James, and Shepard steal a car and fly after. Thane, using a Sniper Rifle, shoots out the engine of Kai Leng's car and it crashes onto one of the buildings crossing the Presidium. They stop to kill Kai Leng and the battle takes place.

Kai throws a grenade sending Shepard and Vega over the side of the building; James holding onto Shepard's hand and Shepard gripping the edge.

Now all that remains it to gravely wound Thane and for Thane to pull Shepard and James back up over the edge. I'm not sure how to do it though...

For wounding Thane, I reckon your best bet would be to have Kai Leng cheat in some way. Maybe a part of his indoctrination augmentations is a concealed blade that slides out over the back of his hand, a lethal gut-punch? Or simply have Leng's augmentations give him superhuman strength, leading to a wrestling match that ends with Thane being lifted bodily off the ground and impaled on a conveniently spiky piece of terrain, with C-Sec showing up just in time and with the numbers to chase Kai Leng off while Thane drags himself over to haul Shep and Vega up.

 In any case, I recommend against using the sword. It just feels out of place, and Thane is good enough to be watchful for as obvious a threat as that.

[LanceSolous13]

This is one time I really wish they'd done Kai Leng justice in ME3 because I have not much to work from but I suppose I'll give it my best shot.

About his breathing causing the issues, That should have been stated. No where does the scene suggest that Kepral's is interfering with his ability to fight. But, It never comes up. He mentions dizziness from time to time but nothing in the scene suggests that he's dizzy.

About not getting in a fight because you don't know what the other is doing, Just look at the other scenes in the game. When has that ever mattered in Mass Effect. Just look at a Vanguard on the Battle Field. They're constantly jumping from target to target. Trying to fight how you suggest would be imposisble there. On the idea of an 'Honor thing', That has also never applied to Mass Effect before this either. If that was the intent, Than it should have also been stated.

The scene is just lazy writing. The idea of Thane being killed by Kai Leng is ok, the execution of it and the inability to actually do something about it is extremely poor. Also, the complete lack of it ever being mentioned again. Garrus even says that he was afarid of having to put another name on the wall and is glad they didn't lose anyone in the Cerberus Coup....Errrrmm.... : /

The scene later in the hospital would be ok if there was a choice there, but there isn't. For a scene that will happen no matter what you do, its not as good as it needs to be dor saying goodbye to a friend or lover.

[fainmaca]

There's a lot about it that could have been done in a way that brought past choices to play. Its a powerful sequence, but not ideal for what Mass Effect was a few months ago.

[Drussius]

LanceSolous13 wrote...

This is one time I really wish they'd done Kai Leng justice in ME3 because I have not much to work from but I suppose I'll give it my best shot.

About his breathing causing the issues, That should have been stated. No where does the scene suggest that Kepral's is interfering with his ability to fight. But, It never comes up. He mentions dizziness from time to time but nothing in the scene suggests that he's dizzy.

It's true that it's not suggested, but he does say earlier that he cannot track the damage to his brain, but he experiences dizziness, numbness and tingling. But since he as much as says the damage could be worse than he realizes, it's possible that a big part of the mistakes he made was just because he wasn't thinking clearly.

LanceSolous13 wrote...

About not getting in a fight because you don't know what the other is doing, Just look at the other scenes in the game. When has that ever mattered in Mass Effect. Just look at a Vanguard on the Battle Field. They're constantly jumping from target to target. Trying to fight how you suggest would be imposisble there. On the idea of an 'Honor thing', That has also never applied to Mass Effect before this either. If that was the intent, Than it should have also been stated.

The game is full of situations that just wouldn't happen in a more realistic scene because it's a game. You don't fire into a crowd where your friend is beating people up with his bare hands. But since it's a game and there's no friendly fire, of course you can. Because it would be frustrating if the game didn't let you shoot at enemies just because an ally happened to be close. I just approach my writing in a more realistic sense and was offering realistic interpretations.

I was just offering my own thoughts on what could have happened in that scene because it was a narrative cinematic, where the wierd game mechanics don't really apply. Personally, my Shepard wouldn't have interfered in that fight even if there was a renegade option or something that allowed you to get involved. Because Thane was my friend and a great assassin, and it would have been an insult to get involved. Trust me, as a guy who has had a friend jump into a fight to save his butt, even though my pal kept me from getting beat up any further, I was both humiliated and angry that he did it. I would have rather finished the fight alone, even if I lost it.

Maybe it's just because I grew up in a time when fights settled things, rather than started even worse things. Back then, I fought a guy, one of us won, and the next day there was respect between us and the fighting was over. I actually made friends by standing up for myself. At least two people I fought in junior high ended up being my closest friends going into high school. Today if you fight a guy and beat him, he shows up tomorrow with friends or a gun looking for payback. Somewhere along the line, character got replaced with ego and grudges. But I'm drifting off the topic.

I was just saying that when you're writing such a scene in fiction as opposed to the game, you're not bound by game mechanics or the vague nature of cinematics. A writer can describe the thoughts and feelings involved, and you could convey to your readers that Shepard and Garrus (or whoever) couldn't get a shot off to save Thane because the frantic motions of both combatants made it impossible to be sure they wouldn't hit Thane. Or the reader could be filled in on Shepard's thought process about why he didn't jump into the fight. In writing you have options that just aren't as viable in a video game. You can increase the realism by having people actually get in each other's way... miscommunicating their intentions and messing up. You have options that don't play out as well in a purely cinematic fashion. Fiction has an additional depth in which you can play around.

[InLoveWithTaliZorah]

His lack of ability to hit Kai Leng when Leng is about 3 meters away indicates dizziness, I think. But Thane coughing a bit would have been better.
About Shepard and Co. not interfering to help Thane, honor coming into it really only applies depending on your personal playstyle. Paragon Sheps might adhere to an honor code instead of trying to save a friend but certainly not Renegade Sheps. Even then it would seem odd for a Paragon Shep to not do anything to save a friend.
Kai Leng always seemed to be...intended to be all powerful but the presentation of him was akin to a fluffy poodle. He talked big, but did very little in game. Although, Thane was, in lore, terminally ill and the effects of the disease are internal, not external. It's a very touchy scene. Thane certainly wasn't ill enough to miss knocking a blade away with a small pistol. That seemed to show that he was in full control of his physical and mental faculties.
A surprise attack or Kai Leng 'cheating' in combat seems like a good bet. It is in Kai Leng's personality to do so.
What about Thane's actual death scene? There did not seem to be any problems with that. It was very moving.

[Smugglers Luck]

So I was in an Aria mood:

http://www.fanfictio...962/1/Reminisce

I need some constructive criticism please. All I've gotten is good reviews. Since I don't get to write much fanfiction and 95% of it is scrap material, I know I did something wrong here.

Modifié par Smugglers Luck, 12 juillet 2012 - 01:40 .

[Drussius]

InLoveWithTaliZorah wrote...

About Shepard and Co. not interfering to help Thane, honor coming into it really only applies depending on your personal playstyle. Paragon Sheps might adhere to an honor code instead of trying to save a friend but certainly not Renegade Sheps. Even then it would seem odd for a Paragon Shep to not do anything to save a friend.

This is the thing that bothers me about the Paragon/Renegade dichotomy. People tend to associate Paragon choices with being the good guy, and rightly so, but Renegade does not necessarily mean "bad guy." Just that the ends justify the means, which isn't necessarily a bad thing all the time. Killing the Rachni Queen on Noveria is a renegade act in ME1, but it's not really such a far-fetched or "evil" option, given the history of the Rachni Wars as you know them at that point. So in the scene with Thane and Kai, even if your Shepard is a Renegade, does that mean that he would automatically be willing to fire on Kai and risk killing Thane in the process? Or that he wouldn't trust Thane to get the job done and stand back to watch? I mean, until the moment Kai somehow gets lucky and stabs Thane, I could buy Shepard thinking that Thane would come out on top of that confrontation. After all, Shep knows that Thane was a world-class assassin, and even while terminally ill, he was holding his own up to that point.

There are actually a lot more reasons I could imagine for Shepard and company to stay out of it, but in the end I was just trying to offer some perspective to help people who are reimagining the scene think of other ways it could play out...

There's a salarian councilor involved in the scene, right? So if you really need to justify why the others can't come to Thane's defense right away, you could even introduce more Cerberus troops that they need to defend the Councilor from. Or have Shepard take a few steps forward to start to get involved in the fight, and have Kai take a shot at the Councilor, forcing Shepard to back off and stay between them as a shield. The options are limitless, and there are dozens of ways it could be written that would come off as believable. I may have ascribed some of them to my interpretation of the scene as it stands in the game, but when you're deviating from the established scene and making it your own, there are tons of different ways it could go down that give you the same result, more or less.

[Obsidian Gryphon]

Tis true it's never wise to get into a melee between two opponnets. You'll end up hampering your friend than helping. Especially if he already has tactically planned out what he wanted to do.

Applies in MP too   I hate it when players drag a Banshee over when I was cleaning up the flanks. More often than not, some damn Marauder or Cannibal always gun you down in the back when you're facing the Banshee, etc.

[InLoveWithTaliZorah]

For the record, I agree that Renegade options are not evil (except shooting Mordin, agh.) Bioware did a good job on not presenting the option of killing ten puppies or saving your friends as a common Ren/Par choice.
I guess overall you would need to make Kai Leng much better than he was. Much faster and such. You could even have Shepard try to interfere but Kai Leng uses Shepard to distract Thane by taking Shep hostage or going after Shep specifically and Thane feels compelled to take a less than optimal stance to defend Shep leading to Thane's mortal injury. That would be nice. Thane sacrificing himself to personally defend Shep.
Leng and Thane becoming isolated would work, say if a pocket of C-Sec soldiers came out and fired on them and Kai Leng moved away from the stream of bullets or grenade and Thane followed. Or do what Drussius said and have more Cerberus troops try to grab the objective, the Salarian, while Kai Leng deals with Thane.

[LanceSolous13]

I would diagree with the 'honor' thing being a Paragon thing. 'Honor' has never been a huge subject in Mass Effect and Paragons, being idealistic, would step in to take out the Assassin before he got away.

What I was trying to say about the Vanguard thing is that its unrealistic to be thinking about not hitting someone everywhere else in the game, so it makes very little sense to suddenly think "Oh. Hey. What if I hit someone?" during this one scene. That was my point.

Regardless of the medium, Its the job of the author/creator to convey those thoughts and parts of the scene. There is no cue or hint in the scene to suggest Thane is dizzy or losing focus. If he was, It is the job of the writer to show that. There is no reason Shepard couldn't join in the fight with Kai Leng. If there was, It is the job of the author to conevy that fact. There is absolutely no reason Shepard cannot yell to Thane that he's joining in the fire fight or, considering Kai Leng is not sheilded or wearing spesific armor as Thane's Biotics work wonderfully on Kai, for Shepard to not throw Leng back himself for a clear shot. (Yes, this depends on Biotics, but thats besides the point). Its simply lazy writing all round for that scene and pretty much any scene Kai Leng appears in.

Kai Leng sitting on the roof of your car? Yes, Fire only when he's using his shields to block your bullets and kindly not ruin his face with a bullet once he takes said shields down.

Kai Leng walking into an elevator? Nope, don't fire upon him or anyone else in the elevator.

The death scene in the hospital itself was good, but not good enough for a mandatory death scene. That is something I would expect of an optional death, like Miranda's, not of an unavoidable one. That would be the scene to say "You could have saved him." but you can't save him.

That's also one thing that is an issue with his death, You can't save him at all. He will die regardless of what you do in the game. Heck, what made Mordin's death one of the most emotional deaths in the game as well as Tali's suicide IS the fact you can stop it. You could have sabotaged the Genophage Cure to save Mordin. You could have either made peace with the Quarains or stopped Legion from uploading the code. But you didn't, and here is their emotional death because of that. Thane's death is something that will happen every playthrough (unless he died on the Suicide Mission).

[Spiritwolf1]

Yeesh finally got another chapter out... Again with the thing running away on me. I included a character I never wanted to include cause I hate the character. She just sort of popped in and was appropriate.

Just a note Mordin dies no matter what you do. He either heads up and sacrifies himself making the cure, or well the other is a spoiler.

I didn't like a lot about how Thane died as well. My Shepard would never have stood around and let the fight continue, knowing how sick Thane was. Thane missing Kai Leng from that short distance is off. I like the idea of his sacrificing himself but I whole heartedly agree that it should have been done better. I also hate the fact that I didn't shot Kai Leng as he was getting on the elevator cause my Shepard would have totally done that.

[Drussius]

I was only trying to help by pointing out some possible thoughts and motivations, since you said you were rewriting the scene, in case some of my perspectives helped you out with your reimagining of the scene into something you liked better. I never meant to turn this into a debate on how badly written the scene in the game is. I guess I just cut the game scene much more slack than you do because in the same situation, I probably would have stood there, protected the councilor, and let Thane do his thing without getting in the way... and then gone after the assassin afterward when Thane didn't get the job done himself. We'll have to agree to disagree on the quality of the scene, because this thread is for support on the fanfictions we are all writing, not to argue over game mechanics and story execution.

As for the scene you're writing, if you haven't already come up with the solution, one stands out as obvious for me, if perhaps cliched. You said you had Shepard and James hanging from a ledge, and Kai Leng and Thane fighting, but needed to figure out how Thane got mortally wounded. So I will point out my first thought, which may have been obvious enough that you already thought of it: If Shepard and James are about to fall, Thane might have to knock down Kai and rush to their aid. And if he's busy trying to pull two people up to safety, it gives Kai the perfect opportunity to shoot/stab him in the back. You may come up with something more elegant, but that's one possible solution.

[Drussius]

Spiritwolf1 wrote...

Yeesh finally got another chapter out... Again with the thing running away on me. I included a character I never wanted to include cause I hate the character. She just sort of popped in and was appropriate.

Just a note Mordin dies no matter what you do. He either heads up and sacrifies himself making the cure, or well the other is a spoiler.

Congrats on the chapter's completion!

As for Mordin, and this is a Spoiler:

You can save him. I did it in my second playthrough. If you sabotage the cure, you can talk him down with I think it was a paragon option, and make him see that he's acting out of feelings of guilt for his work on the genophage, rather than logic. He secretly joins the crucible project and you let everyone think he died to release the 'cure'.

Edit: This may or may not require that Wrex is dead. I believe that was the playthrough in which Wrex was dead for my import, and Wreav was a colossal jerk, so I decided to sabotage the cure to spite him while still gaining his support.

Modifié par Drussius, 12 juillet 2012 - 02:52 .

[Spiritwolf1]

I actually considered sabotaging the cure because of Wreave in the play through from scratch that I did.

Just looked on You tube. cool

Modifié par Spiritwolf1, 12 juillet 2012 - 03:02 .

[LanceSolous13]

I appologise. I didn't mean to get so...passionate about debating the scene. Lol Sorry about that.

And, yes, I was thinking something similar, actually. Though, I might have Shepard shoot Leng as it happens. He needs to be given a bit of fault here. Lol

[TheMarshal]

So, I think I'm going to take the advice of some of the people here and put Returned on hold until I finish up with the BB fic.

Still, I managed to get out Chapter 6 in less than a week!