Couples Who Slay Together – Hailey & Chris

Welcome to our Community Project of 2017 (you can see our last one in 2014 here)!
We propose to do a series of – fun and lightearted – interviews which help us learn a bit more about our awesome community, and hopefully unravel some juicy details about our readers. 

If you would like to get involved, contact us

​Thanks for doing our little interview! Can you introduce yourselves? 

We are Chris and Hailey (Abraxo). Chris is a soon-to-be grad student who is a console-exclusive gamer while Hailey is a business owner who plays on both console and PC.

Could you share a pic of you together – either IRL or in game, we don’t mind!  

How long have you been together and where did you meet? 

 We met at a coffee shop/bar that we both frequented. We had a mutual friend who we both came to see perform that night. I (Hailey) noticed that he was wearing an anime t-shirt and liked the same kinds of beer as I did. He was cute, social, and I assumed a bit of a geek based on his shirt, my kind of man, so we chatted a bit.  The mutual friend pretty much told me not to get any ideas because they were trying to set him up with someone else. I ignored them with the idea that he could make his own decisions about dating. A few days later I invited him to a huge board game night I attended every week. I figured it was casual enough to be a friend only situation or it could turn into a date. It turned into a date and we’ve been together ever since. This was just over four years ago. 

Show us a picture of your setup – do you have a cute couple thing going on, all cosy? 

We do have a couple’s thing going on. When we moved in together, we had two TVs, two PS3s, and many other systems between us. The only logical thing was to set up our living room with both TVs so we could game on the couch together while still enjoying our own games. I also have a desktop with dual monitors behind the couch so we can still talk while I PC game. 

  Pictured is our TV set up with all our consoles. Not pictured are a classic Nintendo, Nintendo 64, GameCube, PlayStation 1, PlayStation 2, two PSPs, and a 3DS XL. 

   So, do you tend to play the same games together or prefer to keep gaming life separate? 

  Chris loves to play the same games together. With two PS3’s it’s really nice to own two copies of a game, so instead of split screen, we can have full screen side by side. I generally prefer to play solo and at my own pace, but we will often times play separate games while sitting on the couch together. We like to watch each other play games that either one of us has no interest in playing or has already played. We discuss strategies and help each other out with puzzles when we get stuck. 

   With the current political situation it’s only right we ask your affiliation: HORDE OR ALLIANCE? 

  I am definitely horde, although I do love some draenei waggle. Chris does not play WoW, mostly because he’s been in college and has no time to sink into an MMO. He did play the trial and definitely leans Alliance though. He’s all about those worgen! 

   Spill the beans: what’s the most fun activity you like to do together? GAMING ACTIVITY… naughty! 😉 

  We both love to discuss the lore of games we have both played. Especially in series with overarching histories like Fallout and Star Ocean. We have gotten lost in hours of discussion and interpretation of lore.

   

  As a couple, do you find sharing your gaming hobby helps your relationship? 

  Definitely! We bonded early on because of our mutual love of the Fallout franchise and Bethesda in general. We grew up playing some of the same games, one of which (Star Ocean: Till the End of Time) I had never met anyone else who played.  So, we bond a lot over nostalgia. We help each other strategize and listen to each other’s frustrations and loves for games that the other isn’t into playing. 

   

  *ahem* who rides who on the two seater mount? 

  Well, that’s situation dependent. Depends on who knows the game best. They are usually the mount, or at least the driver. Most of the time it’s Chris so he can carry me. He has no problem playing a game a second time through and likes to play ahead so he knows what’s coming. 

  Who is the raid leader in your relationship?!  

  I would have to say I am. He agrees. I manage most everything and he gladly lets me.  

  What’s been the biggest, how can I say this… marital dispute… whilst gaming together? 

  We don’t have too many disputes, but I don’t like being told what to do unless I ask and I’m vocal about how much it irritates me. He wishes I would play co-op with him more and that I would initiate so he doesn’t have to nag me. 

   

  One of you has to kill 100 kobolds and one has to collect the 100 shiny beads they drop… who does which task and why? 

  Chris is definitely the muscle of the two so he would kill the kobolds. I would collect the shiny beads. It’s only fitting since I make jewelry for a living. 

   Where do you see your future in gaming? 

  We see ourselves in about the same place as we are now. Hopefully we’ll be a little busier with work and school. 

   Ok, the million pound question. You’re farming a rare mount. Neither of you has it. It drops. Who gets it?!! 

  Good question. We haven’t had to deal with this much, but we would probably give it to whoever wants it more. When asked, Chris said whoever has the least amount of stuff should get it. I’m not sure he fully understands the concept and competition of mount farming. I’d like to think he would be chivalrous and let me have it if the need was equal, but knowing how he plays Borderlands, he would likely be a bit greedy. He always carries me in shooters so the effort should be rewarded. It’s probably a good thing he doesn’t play WoW.  

   Thanks so much to both of you for letting us learn a bit about you! For how to find Hailey on the twittersphere see below.

  Hailey can be found @AbraxoCast on Twitter and Chris does not internet socially.