#why would you ever prioritize fan questions over letting an actor have their turn to speak????

[wheretheresawyll]

What's happening with Theo Solomon is so, so frustrating and needless and disgusting (more info can be found at this post), and I also want to acknowledge the treatment of Wyll's original voice/mo-cap actor, Lanre Malaolu.

Malaolu gave an excellent performance! His delivery and the way he incorporated mannerisms and posture into Wyll's physicality was amazing. The original characterization of Wyll was written very well and matched the general tone of the wider party/narrative.

And to suddenly have Larian, years into the project, rewrite the character entirely and then re-cast it? To have other actors talk about how Wyll just 'wasn't working' as a character? All because of fan criticism that places ridiculous (and often contradictory) standards and expectations on black characters. Even if the re-cast resulted from scheduling conflicts (as Malaolu couldn't come in to re-record), we lost Malaolu's entire performance because of a rewrite that was simply not necessary.

And after disregarding Malaolu's years of work into this character, the same criticisms that Larian caved into are thrown at Wyll's rewrite, and the same disregard is being seen with Theo Solomon again and again. As someone who started playing early access when it first came out, fans' treatment of Wyll and his actors hasn't gotten better. It's actively gotten worse.

[heyyyharry]

Chapter 13: The Oscars

(from the My Girl Trilogy: Stay Mine)

…in which they attend the Oscars and Y/N almost misses it.

Word count: 5k

AU: actor!Harry, older!Harry, younger!Y/N, (4-year age gap).

Song in the kitchen scene: A Million Times - Alice Kristiansen ft. Julian Lamadrid 

Wattpad link (Thea as Y/N)

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“And the Oscar goes toooooooo...HARRY STYLES!”

“Stop making fun of me!”

“I’m not!” Y/N plumped down on to the treehouse floor, sitting with her legs crossed as she shook Harry’s arm gently. “Come on. Don’t be so hard on yourself.”

“I’m not being hard on myself. I’m being realistic,” he replied, toying with a yellow leaf he’d found on the floor just to avoid making eye contact as they spoke. Y/N didn’t get why he was embarrassed and so doubtful of himself. She had seen him on stage when he’d been Romeo last year. He was one of the best kid actors and no one could convince her otherwise.

“Your new drama teacher was a meanie,” she huffed, arms folded across her chest.

Harry finally cast her a glance as the corners of his mouth turned up. “You’re not being objective. Mrs Berry was.”

“You’re a kid! Kids are allowed to make mistakes. That’s the only way they can learn and improve. My writing sucks but you don’t see me giving up.”

“Has anyone ever told you your writing sucks?”

“Celine’s brother.”

“He’s an arsehole.”

“Harry!”

“Sorry,” Harry chuckled, lifting both hands. “He’s a bum.”

Y/N didn’t laugh when he did. If her mum and dad knew he cursed all the time, they wouldn’t let her hang out with him anymore. “Well,” she exhaled. “I feel sorry for your teacher. She probably has nothing better to do with her life than crushing kids’ dreams because her dreams had died with her talent when she became a teacher instead of an actress.”

“Are you sure you’re ten years old?” Harry smiled, giving her a look that could be interpreted as either amazed or amused or both.

She’d never told him, but he had one of the best smiles she’d ever seen, which was why she was sure he would become successful. Having a great smile was a great quality for every actor. At least that was what her best friend Celine had told her.

“Are you sure you’re older than me?” she rebutted.

He lifted his shoulders in a half-shrug. “I’m gonna listen to you because you’re a know-it-all.”

She said nothing and launched herself to her feet, clearing her throat. He watched with a confused look on his face when she picked up his water bottle and held it with both hands like the way an actor would hold the Oscar statue.

“Harry is too shy to come on stage and accept this Academy Award,” she said, “so I’m gonna accept it on his behalf. He’d like to thank his family, his drama teacher Mrs Berry, and his biggest fan Y/N aka Bambi. These are the people who helped shape his career.” Harry doubled over laughing as she lifted the water bottle above her head. “Thank you so much for this award. Have a good night, Los Angeles!”

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Y/N contemplated her reflection in the full-length mirror while Harry was watching her from the couch on the side. She cast him a sideways glance, to which he responded with a thumbs-up and a grin.

She sucked in a breath, looking back at herself. She looked different. She felt different. She had worn plenty of expensive gowns that didn’t belong to her and attended countless exclusive events with Harry before. But this. This was the Academy Awards. And she was wearing the kind of dress that was meant to turn heads on the red carpet, the kind of dress that models wore on the runway. She used to watch award shows with her best friends all the time, and could never imagine herself pulling off such elegant outfits. But now, she almost looked like she belonged at the Oscars.

She wasn’t wearing any make-up and her hair was in a simple low ponytail, so she knew the dress had done all the work to make her look desirable. Harry’s designer had taken the inspiration from the iconic silver dress in The Little Mermaid, when Ariel returned from the sea and reunited with Prince Eric. Harry had joked that Y/N resembled a fawn more than a princess, and she had smacked him hard on the arm, proving that she was neither.

“Is it too tight?” asked Meili – the designer. She was so kind that Y/N felt like they’d been friends forever. But on second thought, being a professional, it was Meili’s job to make her clients feel most comfortable in and out of her designs.

“No, this is perfect,” Y/N said.

“Are you sure?” She confirmed with a nod. “All right.” Meili patted her gently on the back. “How about we try walking?”

And so Y/N descended the steps and sauntered about the fitting area to make sure she was comfortable and able to breathe normally. Harry had risen from the sofa and come to stand beside Meili, his eyes dancing with amusement as he watched Y/N strike a silly pose.

“What do you think?” she asked him.

Instead of answering the question, he turned to Meili. “Can you show me how to take it off?”

Meili had quite a good laugh watching Harry with his hands up in defence as Y/N tried to hit him without hurting the dress. It was then that the sound of her ringtone from her bag came for his rescue.

He pecked her cheek and stayed to chat with Meili about his outfit while Y/N answered the call from her agent.

“Y/N!” Laura said before Y/N could speak. “What are you doing, babe?”

“I’m at the fitting for the Oscars.”

There was a pause followed by a dramatic sigh. “Oh, I nearly forgot that you’re attending the Oscars. Are you nervous?”

“Kind of.” Y/N giggled. “But I suppose you’re not calling me to ask what I’m doing, are you, Laura?”

“Of course not! I’d like to remind you that we’re having a party next Saturday!”

“Right, right, party–No!”

Both Harry and Meili whipped their heads back to gape at Y/N.

“What do you mean?” he asked. “I thought it was a brilliant idea–”

Y/N shushed her boyfriend as she indicated the phone to let him know she wasn’t talking to him.

“Hi, Laura!” he shouted, and Laura, who obviously had heard it, squealed like a schoolgirl and demanded to be put on speaker.

Y/N tapped the speaker icon as she slumped into the couch where Harry soon joined her, sitting with an arm around her shoulders. “Hi, Laura,” he repeated.

Laura laughed excitedly. “Hi, Harry! We’ve never met before but I’ve heard so much about you!”

“And I’ve heard so much about you!”

“I’m your client, Laura. Not him,” Y/N snorted as Harry kissed her temple.

“Oh, yes, right.” Laura cleared her throat to compose herself. “So what’s the matter? I thought–”

“The Oscars is next Sunday night, Laura. I have to catch the plane on Saturday morning. I can’t go to your party.”

“Your party, Y/N.”

“What party?” Harry asked.

Y/N opened her mouth to answer but Laura was faster. “To celebrate your girl’s debut novel! It hasn’t come out yet, but everything is settled. It’s a tradition. I always throw this party for my client. Everyone at the agency will be there and there will be some guests from the publishing house and some published authors. It’ll be grand.”

Y/N sucked in a breath and pinched her temple, her eyes met Harry’s. His expression was unreadable. To Laura, she asked, “Can we push it back a few days?”

“Absolutely not! I’ve sent out the invitations. You told me any date this month would do!”

Y/N had. And she kind of regretted it now. She’d been chatting with Gemma when Laura asked her about the date. Gemma had been devastated by what had happened with Winton, so Y/N had been busy comforting her and told Laura to just pick any date she’d like. It was all her fault; she should have reminded Laura about the Oscars.

Y/N glanced back at Harry, hoping he didn’t think she’d purposely prioritized her success over his. Because why would she think her first novel was a better reason to celebrate than his first-ever Oscar nomination?

But Harry didn’t seem vexed. His dimples appeared as he traced his fingertips along the strap of her sparkling dress. “It’s okay, Laura,” he said to the phone. “You don’t have to change the date.”

Y/N’s eyes went round as Laura hissed, “Yes!”

“Baby–”

“You’ll go to your party,” he said, “and I’ll send my ride to pick you up and take you to the airport. They won’t leave without you, silly.”

Right. She’d be travelling on his private jet.

“But...I’ll be late.”

“So?” He shrugged nonchalantly. “I can manage the first few hours without you. Why should your career be any less important than mine?”

“He’s right, Y/N,” Laura said.

Y/N swivelled in her seat to face him as she took his hand. “I’ll just come to say hello to the guests–”

“And give a speech!” Laura interjected, making Y/N roll her eyes and Harry chuckle.

“Fine, I’ll come to say hello and give a speech and then I’ll come to you.”

“Deal?” His lips twitched as he gave her his pinkie.

“Deal,” she said, hooking her pinkie with his.

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The party was insane.

Y/N had specifically asked Laura not to overdo this, but the agent had insisted on throwing her favourite client the most Gasby party she could pull off. Y/N didn’t even know half of the faces who’d shaken her hand and congratulated her on her debut novel which hadn’t been released yet. She felt like a fraud. What if these people ended up hating her book? What if this party made her seem like a show-off? She was already dating an Oscar nominee; she didn’t want to be branded as any more privileged than that.

She kept the speech she’d promised Laura as short and simple as possible, then returned polite smiles to the guests as she made her way to the back of the room. She wouldn’t be surprised if these folks thought that she had zero personality. When it came to self-branding, she needed all the help she could get. How did Harry do it? How did he charm people into liking him before they even viewed his work? As much as she loved him, she couldn’t help but envy him sometimes.

She wiped her sweaty palms on her dress before getting another glass of champagne and finishing it a second before Laura came up to check on her.

“You okay? You look a bit pale,” Laura said.

“Well, I tend to get anxious at formal events,” Y/N snorted, shaking her head. “I usually attend these kinds of parties with Harry. He’d do all the talking and help me get involved in the conversation. He’s very charismatic.”

“I’m charismatic!” Laura said with a hand on her chest. Y/N responded with a smile. Laura wascharismatic. The problem was, Y/N was more comfortable with Harry. Or maybe she couldn’t help but feel guilty that she’d miss the red carpet walk with him. She hated to be the one to break a promise.

“You need to stop checking your watch like modern Cinderella at the royal ball.”

Y/N dropped her arm back to her side. “I’m so nervous, Laura.”

“About this party? People love you!”

“About...everything.” This party. Her 2 AM flight. The Oscars. Showing up late. Missing Harry’s category. Her book release. The likelihood of having people roast her book unforgivingly on the internet.

She had the tendency of freaking out over insignificant matters whenever good things kept happening to her. Because, as usual, bad luck would come for her when she was most defenceless and took away her joy. This time, she could feel it in her stomach.

Laura gripped her shoulders and squeezed them tight. “You are my superstar, Y/N. You are the shit. You are the most brilliant–”

“Okay, I get it, I get it,” she laughed, pulling Laura into a hug. “Thank you for tonight. I owe you so much, Laura.”

“Don’t be stupid. You saved my life. Literally,” Laura smirked and gently patted Y/N’s cheek. “Now, let’s go say goodbye to the guests. It’s almost time for you to go.”

Y/N didn’t need to be told twice. She’d been waiting for this moment since she’d arrived. People might wonder why she seemed more energetic saying goodbye to them than when she’d welcomed them to the party. But she was just happy that she could finally leave. The last thing she wanted was to show up late for her flight (Harry had said the plane wouldn’t leave without her but she hated delays anyway) and missed more of the Oscar ceremony tomorrow than she’d allowed herself to.

The journey to LA happened in a rush. She’d slept for most of her twelve-hour flight because she’d been so exhausted. Harry’s bodyguard only woke her up when they were about to land. The next thing she knew, she was taken to his LA house. She had never been there before. It was much bigger than the one in London, but less homely, perhaps because she’d known every corner of the place that was supposed to be theirs. This one just seemed like a resort.

The hair and makeup team and Harry’s stylist were waiting upstairs to make her Oscars-ready. She’d eaten quite a lot on the plane before it took off, so she feared she wouldn’t fit in the dress. Magically, she did. And she felt so silly for feeling like she might burst into tears.

When the makeup artist asked how she’d like to have her makeup done, she told them to make her recognizable. They didn’t ask her to elaborate on that, so she hoped they knew what she meant. She didn’t want to be the centre of attention tonight, especially when she was going to show up late. The only attention she craved for was Harry’s and she was going to get it anyway, with or without this glamorous costume.

Fortunately, the makeup artist did a fantastic job. They gave her simple eye makeup and red lips and put her hair up into a classic high bun. It wasn’t until tonight that she couldn’t stop staring at herself in the mirror. Harry would be so impressed.

As Harry’s team did some final touches on her face, one girl showed her some clips and pictures of Harry on the red carpet. He looked dashingly handsome and comfortable, and when being interviewed, he said he loved her and couldn’t wait to see her later. The part of her that had been feeling guilty could finally let go of that breath she’d been holding. She thanked the makeup team for everything and came downstairs when her car arrived.

The chauffeur was a middle-aged man with greyish hair and a kind face. He was talking on the phone and ended the call as soon as he saw her. He looked rather tired, but before she could ask for his name and if he was feeling well, she remembered that she’d left her clutch upstairs, and so she asked him to wait while she went back to get it. He told her to take her time.

When she came downstairs for the second time, the man was on the phone again. He didn’t see her return so he didn’t hang up. Y/N couldn’t help but overhear the last part of the conversation where he told whoever he was speaking to that he would be at the hospital as soon as he finished his job.

“Is everything okay, sir?” she asked once he’d finished the call. He whipped around, seemingly startled to see her there. “You can tell me if something is wrong. I might be able to help,” she said.

The chauffeur looked hesitant at first. He worked his jaw for a moment before he could tell her, “My daughter...is sick. She’s just been taken to the hospital. I’ll go see her as soon as I take you to–”

“No! You’re going to see her now!” cried Y/N.

He squinted his eyes at her as if he thought she was testing him. “Are you...are you sure, Miss? Mr Styles told me–”

“I’ll talk to Harry for you. Don’t worry.”

Telling someone not to worry never seemed to work. The man screwed up his face as he shoved a hand in his hair. “Should I send you another car, Miss? Mr Styles said...he said that you couldn’t drive.”

“Of course I can!” Y/N blurted, then realized how defensive she’d sounded.

She could drive. However, she was afraid to sit behind the wheel.

Ever since her accident, she’d been using public transport and let Harry drive her around instead of doing it herself. He knew it wasn’t just her anxiety of getting into another accident. Her mother had died in a car crash, and Harry had seen how scared she’d been when he’d crashed his motorcycle. Those final thirty seconds after the collision and before she’d gone unconscious, Y/N had felt it all at once. Her mother’s death, her almost losing Harry, her head cracking open and the numbness when she lay on broken glass and her vision faded to black. She could only hope she would get through her fear this time.

“I’ll take one of his cars,” she reassured the man. “Don’t worry about me, sir. Your daughter needs you.”

The man thanked Y/N repeatedly and hurried back to the car parked in the drive. Y/N waited until he was gone, checked the time to make sure she’d make it, then she sucked in a deep breath and headed to the garage.

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Harry was a bundle of nerves trying to act composed while the other nominations were being presented. There were cameras everywhere and they could zoom into his face at any moment so he could not look like he might throw up. He was here for his Best Actor nomination; it’d be so embarrassing if he couldn’t act like he was having the best time of his life.

Y/N should have been here a long time ago. Where the fuck was she? She’d texted him that she’d drive here by herself. He didn’t want to be pessimistic, but the last time she’d sat behind the wheel, she’d ended up in the hospital.

It’d been half a year since, but he couldn’t forget that feeling when he got the call. He was praying to God that the next time his phone buzzed, it would be her telling him she’d arrived safely. If something unpleasant was going to happen (as it always did), he would accept anything as long as she was safe.

The moment his phone sounded, he jolted so hard he might have startled the lady sitting beside him. Jeff’s words swivelled in his head: Do not check your phone during someone’s acceptance speech.Well, screw that. His girl wasn’t here and the last thing he would worry about was looking like an asshole on live television.

➣ I’m here.

When he saw those words, the lump in his throat dissolved and his body relaxed into the cushion. His fake smile had been replaced with a genuine one, so at least people who saw him texting during Brad Pitt’s speech would just assume he was texting his girlfriend, who was supposed to fill the vacancy next to him.

Good. I saved you a seat, he typed and sent.

➣ I’m staying backstage. I can’t go out there.

Harry’s smile dropped as he squirmed in his chair. Why? Are you okay?

She took a bit longer to reply.

➣ Yes, don’t worry. There’s a screen here. I can watch you.

Harry muttered a curse as he put his phone back into his pocket. After a moment of leg bouncing and lip biting, he decided to go check on her.

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Y/N splashed water on her face, which was now clean of makeup and checked her pathetic reflection in the mirror one last time before she left the bathroom. She’d been sweating so hard on the way here that by the time she’d arrived, Harry’s beauty team’s two-hour of hard work had been ruined. She’d even ripped her dress by accident when she’d nearly fallen headfirst in the car park, so going out there to sit beside Harry would do so much damage to his reputation.

Besides, she was fatigued after the long flight and hadn’t rested since she got off the plane. She’d thrown up as soon as she’d texted him and found the bathroom. So it was for the best if she didn’t make an appearance tonight. It was less intimidating here backstage. She could just watch him on the screen and–

Where the fuck was he?

Her eyes frantically searched on the screen for her boyfriend.

Where had he gone?

No, he couldn’t–

“Bambi!”

She smacked him with her clutch as he rushed in for a hug. The backstage security and a few others couldn’t help the amusement as they watched them. Y/N flashed the strangers a smile before turning back to her boyfriend, who looked so stupidly happy it should be illegal. “Jeff would kill you! Go back out there!”

“But you’re here,” he said.

“I’m not nominated, you idiot!”

“I’m the idiot? You drove here!”

“I have a fucking license!”

“Then you’re an idiot with a fucking license!”

He didn’t wait for her to rebut and locked her in his arms, squeezing the air out of her like he hadn’t seen her in years. She held him back, for a second forgetting that she was sweating like a pig, her hair had fallen loose and her face weary from jetlag. She didn’t feel any less desirable, though. She knew he loved her anyway.

“Go out there with me,” he said, cupping her cheeks and kissing her nose.

“Are you crazy? Look at me!”

He pulled back to consider her appearance, his eyebrow arched. “You’re the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen.”

She glared at him as he grinned. “The world doesn’t wear rose-coloured glasses like you do.”

His face grew serious. “You’re right. Maybe I see a princess and they see a frog.”

Too familiar with his teasing, she snorted, “Your ability to go from Prince Charming to an arsehole never fails to amaze me.”

“My pleasure.” He leaned in and brushed his lips against hers just in time his phone chimed in his pocket. “Shit, that must be Jeff. I must go before he finds me here.” He let out a long heavy breath and then stroked her hair like she was a child. “Can you stay here by yourself, baby?”

“Keep talking like that and people might think you’re my dad,” she said.

“Daddy.” He smirked.

She hit him again, shaking with laughter. “Go!”

“Okay, love you, idiot.”

“Love you, too, idiot.”

He kissed her on the cheek and then he was gone.

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Harry didn’t win.

Even though he’d said he wasn’t disappointed, and he didn’t seem disappointed at all, Y/N still suspected that he might be faking it. It wasn’t such a big loss since he’d been up against some big contenders. He was young, so there was a bigger chance for him to get an Oscar in the future. However, she knew the feeling of not expecting anything but still feeling awful when you didn’t get it. She’d known his chance was flimsy, and yet she had hoped he’d win somehow. She might have to wait until next year to hear his acceptance speech.

Exhausted (Y/N more than Harry), they skipped the after-party to have one at home by themselves. They drank champagne and danced barefoot around the kitchen in their nice clothes. The house which Y/N had compared to a resort soon became familiar with his presence.

Streetlights, stumbling home

To our very own, after party

Won't lie, when we're alone

You're my favourite poem to recite

Harry turned down the volume of the song playing on the speaker. As Y/N poured some more champagne, he climbed onto a chair, standing on one foot, the other foot resting on the kitchen island.

She watched him with lazy eyes and took another sip. “If you fall, I’ll let you fall.”

He chuckled. “I’m overwhelmed by your love, Bambi.” Then he shook his head and pulled out a folded piece of paper from his pocket. It took her two seconds to figure out that it was his acceptance speech. She slid into a chair and gazed up at him with her chin on her knuckles.

He cleared his throat extravagantly and began by thanking the Academy, the cast and crew and the director of his movie, then his family and his team. It must be the wine that made every word he said in that posh accent extremely funny. She laughed so hard she almost fell off the chair.

Then, he took the longest pause to consider her, and the room sank to silence as he worked his jaw before he proceeded. “There’s this girl I love. She used to be my little secret but now she’s here watching me accept my first Academy Award. She’s the reason I’m here today, so I owe this one to her.”

Then he raised his glass as if it was the award and hopped off the chair. Before she could applaud, he’d pulled her to her feet and pressed his mouth against hers, kissing her as if she was the only thing he wanted. She kissed him back just as hard, hands in his hair, on his neck, his chest, his back, his face. Her whole body was on fire. It must be the wine. She needed to get out of this dress and get him out of his suit.

Went to bed without you (While you were sleeping)

Felt colder it used to (I crossed an ocean)

And I can't wait (And I can't wait)

'Till I get back to you

“It sounded better when I first wrote it. I’m kind of glad I didn’t win,” he said against her lips as he picked her up and sat her on the edge of the kitchen island.

She tipped her head back and laughed. “At least you weren’t going to propose to me on the stage.”

Suddenly, he stopped. She blinked as he pulled away, his mouth red and glossy from kissing her. She hadn’t even got a chance to feel bad for making that joke and he’d already stepped back. The next thing she knew, he was on one knee on the floor.

She slapped a hand over her open mouth. Her mind went blank, and the music in the background faded to white noise. The thundering beats in her chest made it hard for her to breathe. He wasn’t going to, was he? But if he was, was she going to say yes?

“My beautiful mermaid, frog, little deer,” he began with a straight face, and she choked out an unexpected laugh muffled by her hand. “I love you,” he said. “And I want to spend the rest of my life with you.” Then he sucked in a breath. The suspense was killing her. “But...I don’t want to marry you–”

“Excuse me?!”

“–right now.”

She could tell he was trying his best not to guffaw at her reaction. She was confused and amused at the same time. What was going on? Was he really that drunk? He didn’t seem that drunk. She would kick his arse if he thought this was funny!

“I just want to let you know,” he went on despite the look on her face, “that I will ask you to marry me. I know you hate surprises and if I asked you unexpectedly, the chances of you saying no would be much higher. So let’s consider this as a proposal for a bigger proposal.” He wetted his lips, his eyes fixed on hers. “Y/N, my darling, will you allow me to ask you to marry me someday?”

She laughed out loud though her eyes were already filled with tears. She didn’t know why she was crying but she couldn’t stop. She blamed the wine and him and his stupid speech and whatever the fuck he thought he was doing right now. “I hate you.” She laughed through her tears. “I hate you so much.”

He got up, his eyes wide. “You hate me after I told you I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you?”

“Yes.”

He closed the distance between them, standing between her legs with his hands on her hips. “Yes, I can ask you to marry me in the future, or yes, you hate me for what I said?”

“Both.” She threw her arms around his neck and pressed her mouth against his. “I love you. I hate you. I love you,” she said in between kisses. “I love you so much I hate you.”

“Tonight is the best night of my life,” he whispered, stroking her hair. “I didn’t want to win. I just wanted you to be there with me.”

“I’ll be there with you next time.” She rested her forehead against his. “And next time, and next time, and forever...”

You don't fall in love once but a million times

Waking up each morning with you by my side

When I drift away, I'll come back with the tide

I'm falling in and out again

Falling in and out again

[aion-rsa]

Gina Carano Was Fired from The Mandalorian, But Should Cara Dune Live On?

https://ift.tt/2N0IeiI

Gina Carano deserved to be fired from The Mandalorian after months of posting dangerous online rhetoric that goes against everything Star Wars should stand for. After Carano used her Twitter bio to mock the common practice of users listing preferred pronouns, denying the gravity of the Covid-19 pandemic, posting election fraud conspiracy theories, refusing to show support for Black Lives Matter, and implying that being a right-wing conservative today was like being a Jewish person during the Holocaust, Disney finally did the right thing.

“Jews were beaten in the streets, not by Nazi soldiers but by their neighbors…even by children. Because history is edited, most people today don’t realize that to get to the point where Nazi soldiers could easily round up thousands of Jews, the government first made their own neighbors hate them simply for being Jews. How is that any different from hating someone for their political views,” read her now-deleted Tik Tok post.

While Carano did return for The Mandalorian season 2, which wrapped just before the Covid lockdowns that seemingly triggered the actor’s toxic views on social media, Disney decided that it had seen enough. In a statement released on Wednesday night, a spokesperson for Disney said that Carano’s “social media posts denigrating people based on their cultural and religious identities are abhorrent and unacceptable.” The spokesperson also confirmed that Carano “is not currently employed by Lucasfilm and there are no plans for her to be in the future,” effectively putting an end to her time on The Mandalorian and Star Wars. Deadline also confirmed that Carano and her agency UTA have parted ways.

Two days later, Carano doubled down, announcing a new movie project with alt-right pundit Ben Shapiro’s conservative website The Daily Wire. She will develop, produce, and star in the movie, which will release exclusively to the site’s members, according to Deadline. Carano dubiously framed her next move as “a direct message of hope to everyone living in fear of cancellation by the totalitarian mob.”

But while Carano may see herself as a rebel fighting for the right to claim “freedom of speech” no matter how hateful or downright false her posts, there are also plenty of Star Wars fans who are relieved to see her jettisoned from the universe they love. While Disney should still be held accountable for how it failed John Boyega and Kelly Marie Tran, actors of color who faced racist attacks upon being cast in the Sequel Trilogy, and who were sidelined as the trilogy progressed, the company has done a much better job of late of showing where it stands on the issues. The company stood in support of The High Republic show host Krystina Arielle after she faced similar attacks. By firing Carano, Disney and Lucasfilm have taken a clear stance not only against bigotry but the kind of dangerous rhetoric that has become pervasive among a small but loud minority of the fandom (although I’d hardly call them actual “fans”).

THR learned from a source close to Lucasfilm that the studio had been “looking for a reason to fire her for two months” and that Carano’s Holocaust post was “the final straw.” According to the outlet, Lucasfilm had previously planned to have Carano star in her own Mandalorian spinoff, potentially Rangers of the New Republic, and considered making the announcement during its investor’s day event in December before that idea was scrapped due to her social media posts.

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

Does Carano’s firing mean that this is the end of her character’s time in Star Wars? While the end of Cara Dune’s storyline in The Mandalorian season 2 teased that there would be more to her journey as a mercenary turned New Republic marshal, for the moment, that adventure seems to have been cut short. That said, some fans are already wondering whether Cara’s life in the galaxy far, far away could continue without Carano.

A few people on Twitter have suggested that the character should simply be recast, with Lucy Lawless already positioned as a frontrunner among fans. The Xena: Warrior Princess and Battlestar Galactica actor and activist would be more than a suitable replacement for Carano and the kind of talent the Star Wars brand should want to work with. Not to mention that Lawless would bring the energy, grit, and physicality needed to play a tough-as-carbonite brawler like Cara.

Let's make #LucyLawless the new and improved #CaraDune! #TheMandalorian @Jon_Favreau @dave_filoni pic.twitter.com/xuqqM3SOea

— 𝕂ℝ𝕀𝕊𝕋𝕀𝔸ℕ 𝕆𝔻𝕃𝔸ℕ𝔻 (@kreshjun) February 11, 2021

But as nice as it is to dream of Lawless or another fan-favorite performer taking on the role of Cara Dune and continuing her story, Star Wars has traditionally been averse to recasting its characters to the point where the franchise would rather paste a questionable CGI version of Mark Hamill’s face on another actor’s head than cast someone new to play a younger Luke Skywalker. (Sebastian Stan, for example.)

Not that Lucasfilm hasn’t tried recasting before, such as when it brought on Alden Ehrenreich and Donald Glover to play pre-Original Trilogy versions of Han Solo and Lando Calrissian in Solo: A Star Wars Story, but that movie was a box office failure for the studio. While there are many reasons why that film failed, a few fans might tell you it’s because Harrison Ford and Billy Dee Williams weren’t in it. If history tells us anything, it’s that there’s a section of this fandom that does not like change.

That’s not to say Disney should go out of its way to pander to viewers who are resistant to change. Big franchises like Star Wars need to embrace change to stay fresh and better reflect audiences. And Disney certainly shouldn’t prioritize people who would be mad if anyone but Carano played Dune on The Mandalorian or Rangers of the New Republic. My point is that Disney would likely save itself a lot of grief by not doing anything else with the character at all. There’s no doubt that the path of least resistance for Disney would be to phase out the character completely, giving her a quiet off-screen exit, perhaps coupled with some brief exposition in season 3 regarding where she went. Done.

Is that fair to Cara Dune and the fans who see themselves in her? Cara quickly became a fan-favorite after her debut on the Star Wars live-action series as a fierce gun-for-hire who’s not quite a hero and is as prone to violence as Din Djarin but who will ultimately choose to do what’s right. Many have lauded Cara for the ways she breaks away from the “traditional mold” of female Star Wars characters who have come before, both in terms of her morally gray motivations and her buff appearance, which, as fans of The Last of Us II‘s Abby will tell you, remains a rarity in our entertainment.

Read more

TV

How The Mandalorian Gave Fans a Different Kind of Star Wars Story

By Lacy Baugher

TV

Why The Mandalorian Was Always Destined to Meet Luke Skywalker

By Ryan Britt

Unlike Leia, Cara is a former Rebel shock trooper from Alderaan who didn’t immediately fall in line with the New Republic, preferring the chaos and danger of living in the Outer Rim than joining up with the new galactic government, which she felt wasn’t doing enough to quell the ever-present threat of the Empire that had destroyed her home planet. She preferred to brawl in cantinas and make her own way in the galaxy sans an official allegiance or badge, a lifestyle rarely lived by Star Wars‘ women — at least on screen. (In that way, Cara has much more in common with breakout Marvel comic book character Doctor Aphra.)

Sure, some of these traits began to change, but the show took its time developing Cara’s character, and by the time she did join the Republic’s law forces in the Outer Rim, it was after she’d witnessed many of the atrocities committed by what was left of the Empire. And even with the badge, she did some things on her own terms, like helping Mando and friends rescue Grogu from Moff Gideon.

To many, Cara has been a unique character worth following for years to come, whether it be on more seasons of The Mandalorian or in an eventual spinoff. Fans could perhaps still get that opportunity off-screen were Lucasfilm to continue Cara’s story in the books or comics, as it has with many other characters for over 40 years. It might just take some waiting.

But the mere fact that many fans want to see Cara’s story continue without the toxic presence of the actor who originally brought her to life is a testament to the power of the character herself. Like the best Star Wars characters, Cara seems to have staying power, and perhaps she deserves to outlive Gina Carano’s time with the franchise.

To The Mandalorian‘s credit, there are many other great female characters to look forward to on the show, including Bo-Katan Kryze (Katee Sackhoff), Koska Reeves (Mercedes Varnado), and Fennec Shand (Ming-Na Wen), who will actually star in The Book of Boba Fett later this year. (Please bring back Frog Lady, too.) They’re fantastic characters with their own motivations and stories, and I’d love to see more of them in season 3, but not all female characters are interchangeable and the other women in The Mandalorian’s world cannot replace Cara’s unique contributions to the show. They cannot simply “fill a spot” left behind by the last female hero, a character who was one of our first introductions on the show.

There’s perhaps no obviously right answer or course of action when things are still so raw and production is moving quickly on the next year of Star Wars stories. Does keeping Cara in Star Wars also ultimately mean that Lucasfilm is acknowledging Carano’s legacy with the franchise? Maybe. But should a great character that people look up to and relate to be allowed to exist beyond the bad decisions of an actor or its creator? Probably.

We only know this for sure: if you never see Cara Dune again in Star Wars, you only really have Gina Carano to blame.

The post Gina Carano Was Fired from The Mandalorian, But Should Cara Dune Live On? appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/3ahfyuC

[osleyakomwonkru]

hi, for the salty ask list: 1, 5, 10 and 19

1. What OTPs in your fandom(s) do you just not get? /  5. Has fandom ever ruined a pairing for you?

I’m answering these two questions together, because they very much go together for me, and the answer is: Clexa.

As I’ve mentioned before, I started watching the show between S4 and S5. And before I’d met my infection vector (Ilian and then by extension Octavia), the only thing I’d ever heard about the show was that there was this badass lesbian called Lexa who had this epic romance with an equally badass bisexual Clarke, until Lexa was killed in a particularly tragic case of the Bury Your Gays trope. 

That had been enough to put me off the show initially, since LGBTQ representation and portrayals in media are very important to me. But Octavia’s storyline intrigued me enough that I was like, okay, I’ll give it a shot anyway, and then I went into it all ready to be righteously angry when Lexa died. 

Only... that didn’t happen. I watched the first three seasons, and couldn’t see any sign of that epic romance that fandom had told me about. Clarke and Lexa were actively hostile with each other (well, the hostility was mostly on Clarke’s part) for much of their screentime together. Then things began to soften, and then they slept together, and then Lexa died. This last sentence all happened within the space of three episodes - not a lot of time at all.

Was it a bad case of the Bury Your Gays trope? Oh, for sure. There are a hundred better ways Lexa could have died. But she was always going to. This isn’t a romance tale of happily ever after, and people in her position live dangerous lives, and once she’d been brought into focus she wasn’t a character that could be put Out of Focus again. She wasn’t ever going to survive the plot. Not in this sort of ‘verse.

But fandom had built them up to be this huge epic sweeping romance, when in reality they had very little time together under very trying circumstances. The epic wasn’t there. It was the start of something, which may have turned epic had Lexa lived. But she didn’t and it didn’t, so the idea that it was this grand love that Clarke still mourns intensely years later just doesn’t sit right with me.

I think had fandom been honest about what their relationship was - the start of something then cut tragically short - then I wouldn’t have gone into the show with the expectations I did, and I could have appreciated the relationship for what it was rather than what fandom told me it was. So yeah, fandom ruined Clexa for me.

10.  Most disliked arc? Why?

Bellamy taking Clarkephine on their forest walkabout in S6. And if we want to expand that a bit further, Bellamy’s entire arc with Clarke since the beginning of S5, where he’ll throw everyone else under the bus and even ignore her own wishes to save her from either a perceived or actual threat.

If there *hadn’t* been a six year separation where they each lived very different lives, maybe I could buy it. Maybe. But as it is, especially given that she hasn’t done the same for him? No. The only conceivable explanation - where he’s willing to throw both his blood family and his found family under the bus on a consistent basis for her benefit - is that he’s in love with her. Yet we’re supposed to believe their relationship is platonic, but he does things for her that he won’t do for any other platonic friend - so why is this girl who he’s known personally for mere weeks the one he chooses, especially given he’s repeatedly chosen her over his sister who was the centre of his world for seventeen years, as well as over Spacekru who he lived and formed bonds with for six years? I’m not a Bellarke shipper, but if they’re not supposed to be endgame, I don’t know what the hell they’re doing here. It doesn’t make any sense at all.

Then there’s the overt hypocrisy where he’s ready and willing and wanting to know about and accept what Clarke went through during those six years, but won’t do the same for Octavia. Where he’ll forgive Clarke for what he did to her (no, that’s not a typo, he somehow thinks that he’s the aggrieved party when he’s quite the opposite), but not do the same for Octavia. Where he’ll prioritize Clarke over everyone else, even her own daughter that she’ll risk everything for.

I hate it. Hate hate hate.

19. What is the one thing you hate most about your fandom?

I have to pick just one? Haha. Well, there are many different ways that I could answer this question, depending on what precisely is meant by “fandom” - does that mean in this context the canon source material, does it mean the fans of the show? Because other questions in this quiz make it sound like it could go either way.

I’m going to go on the “fans of the show” aspect here, since the canon would make me rant for days in many different ways, so let’s stick to fan behaviours.

At which point, I have to go with the rabid shipper behaviour - you know the type, where their every response to JRoth’s Twitter posts is something about their ship, even when the post has nothing to do with any of that. Where they threaten X, Y and Z if their ship doesn’t happen. Where they hate on actors whose characters are standing in the way of their ships.

This is not a romance show. Who is fucking who is not the be-all end-all of the universe. If you’re still reading this post after I’ve already ranted about both Clexa and Bellarke, then I’ll assume you’re probably not one of those rabid shippers. I mean, obviously, love and relationships are a part of life, but the most compelling storylines and story arcs are not about romance. They’re often about how far people are willing to go to save the people they love, but what type of love that is can vary drastically, and more often than not, isn’t based on romance.

[highroadsteve]

the greatest lie (part one) — t.h.

pairing: tom holland x actress!reader

warnings: a tiny bit of angst

requested :: thanks love!! and im sorry this is so late :(

a/n: part two will be published soon

masterlist

The sound of your tv was playing in the background, along with the loud voices coming from everywhere around you. There was chaos in your house, chairs being moved and squeaking as they glide across the wooden floor, high heels were clacking against the wood, makeup that was placed on the table was being shuffled through. You let it all happen, unbothered, knowing everyone there is taking care of you and making you look as good as you can for the awards show in five hours.

Zendaya, also known as one of your closest friends, was talking to you from the other side of the table. Your eyes were focused on your phone, scrolling through Instagram but still listening intently to the words that were coming out of Zendaya’s mouth. The hair clips in your hair were placed comfortably on your head, making you look like a child with pigtails on when the hair stylist was curling it. Zendaya laughed at you, taking a picture of the scene in front of her and posting it on her Instagram story.

“Hey dude, you should meet Zac Efron.” She brought up casually in conversation. You looked up at her, furrowing your eyebrows and widening your eyes a bit.

“I’m sorry, what?” You asked.

“Yeah, he told me he wants to meet you and I told him I’d introduce you to him. So basically, you‘re already going to meet him, I don’t know why I asked.” Zendaya let out a breathy laugh, causing you to reciprocate but roll your eyes as well. “He’s super cool anyway, you’d love him.”

“I’m sure he is, but Z, he’s literally like one of the most famous people ever. You do realize you’re talking about the Troy Bolton.“ She shrugged, shaking her head at you with a sarcastic grin.

“So what?”

You pursed your lips and shrugged as well, continuing your scrolling online. The person working on your hair moved over to your side, letting the makeup artist work on applying the foundation to your face.

“Who knows, you might just fall in love.”

...

The white car stopped in front of the event, the chauffeur saying their farewell to the two of you. After thanking them, both you and Zendaya stepped out from the same side. You helped Zendaya by holding out your hand, and she took it, using her other hand to clutch her dress. The interviewers were quick to arrive, already asking questions from the moment you opened the door. Nevertheless, you still smiled politely and stopped for a minute to be interviewed.

The two of you walked on the red carpet, waving to the fans that were standing behind the small barricade that stood between you. Some people were shoving cameras into your faces, trying to get the inside scoop to your personal lives. You simply dodged the questions with ease, losing Zendaya during the answers when she drifted away to be photographed. Excusing yourself, you made your way to the main carpet, posing for the cameras in front of you.

As you entered the venue, you looked around for Zendaya but found other people you know, greeting them with a warm smile and making small talk. Meanwhile, Zendaya had found Zac Efron and was having a conversation with him, getting him ready to meet you. He really was excited to finally meet you, having been supporting you from afar and admiring all of your work. You were also absolutely stunning, it was no surprise that he thought so.

After finally catching a glimpse of Zendaya’s tall figure from across the room, you walked to her, waving at a few people along the way. Once you made it there, you nervously smiled.

“Hey, I thought I lost you back there. Was starting to get worried.” You stated, looking into Zendaya’s eyes. You turned and looked at Zac, a huge smile placed on your face.

“Y/N, this is Zac. Zac, this is—“

“Y/N Y/L/N. The beautiful star of M/N. Big fan.” He stuck out his hand, gently taking yours and pressing a soft kiss upon it. You blushed, placing your other hand on your chest and posing for the camera that took a picture of you two. He pulled away and smiled at you.

“It really is amazing to meet a fan.” You replied. He laughed, shaking his head slightly. “But seriously, you’re making my childhood dream come true. I’m over here meeting Troy Bolton!”

“Did you ever, doubt your dream will ever come true? Did you ever...I forgot the rest.” He sang his iconic song slightly and laughed. It clicked in your head, making you gasp and almost drop your drink.

“This is the best day of my entire fucking life.”

The rest of the night consisted of you and Zac hanging out when you could. It wasn’t awkward at all between you. You would be talking about something that recently had happened, and stood up together whenever Zendaya would win an award. It was all fun and games, up until it was time to go and you had to go through the red carpet.

“Y/N! Y/N! Is Zac Efron your rebound? Is he replacing Tom Holland now?” You tensed up at the loud voice questioning you, your eyebrows furrowing in shock. That name hadn’t crossed your mind the entire night and it hit you like a train when you finally heard it. You looked around, Zac grabbing your wrist and gently pulling you with him into the car with Zendaya.

“Shit, Y/N. I’m sorry, I should’ve said something, I just—“ You shook your head at Zendaya, a crooked smile on your face as you tried to find light in the situation.

“Dude I’m totally fine.”

“You sure?” Zac asked, the concern evidently on his face. You nodded, elbowing him playfully.

“Of course, can’t wait to kick your ass at Mario Party.” You retorted and Zac smirked, rolling his eyes.

“I’d like to see you try.”

...

You were pacing around in your room, your finger in your mouth as you nervously chewed on your nails. Zendaya sat on the bed, her eyes trained on you with worry.

“I know you’re nervous but you’re going to be okay.” She spoke, titling her head slightly and curling the corners of her lips downwards.

“I just don’t think I can face him.” She sighed at you, knowing exactly well the reason you’re nervous.

Tomorrow is the first day of filming for the new Spiderman movie, Far From Home. Since you were an actress from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, you were going to make an appearance as Peter Parker’s love interest/partner in crime. Sure, it is completely normal for someone to be completely anxiety-ridden before acting in a huge movie that was pegged to make millions of dollars. Although this was a huge reason of your freak-out, there was also another.

Tom Holland was the actor who played Peter Parker in the new Spiderman movie franchise. He became extremely well-known after his debut in Captain America: Civil War, which is where the two of you had met. Your character was fighting alongside Tony Stark, having met Peter Parker due to being on the same team. It was obvious that both of your characters had chemistry and the writers were heading towards the two of you becoming an iconic teen couple.

But the situation was that your characters weren’t the only ones who had chemistry. You and Tom Holland were also crushing on each other during the filming process. It isn’t surprising, many actors get together after acting intimately on screen.

So the two of you got together after the year of filming and after the year of becoming best friends. The both of you were so comfortable with each other, hanging out most of the week and having an absolute blast every single time. Everything was so much more fun when the two of you were together, making the older actors laugh at your outgoing behavior. There was always a slightly flirty tone in your voices when you made jokes, and the teasing from the other actors continued until you both finally decided to start going out.

So far it seems as if the both of you would live happily ever after with no problem, but the problems arose when you had to move away to Iceland and film another movie outside of the MCU while Tom had to film Avengers: Infinity War. You were completely fine with keeping a long-distance relationship, claiming that you’re still so in love with him and you want to stay with him.

He didn’t think the same. He loved you, but he couldn’t keep up with having to manage having a girlfriend and filming at the same time. He felt as if he had to prioritize one over the other and he felt it wasn’t fair for either of you. The guilt was eating away at him for weeks, until he finally spoke to you about the problem, ending things off with you through an argument.

You wished it didn’t end that way, but things were piling up on both of you and you blew up on each other. The screaming over the phone, the heat burning at your faces, the break in your hearts. It was overwhelming, so you two ended it right then and there with a harsh ‘fuck you’.

It’s been over a year since you last talked to Tom, your anger no longer there and your heartbreak is already healed. The only problem was that you haven’t spoken to Tom, or even try to speak to him. Your pride was constantly beating you up, yelling in your ear about how if he wanted to talk, he would have messaged first. You wanted to say happy birthday, you wanted to say merry Christmas, you wanted to say happy new year, but you never did.

Now it’s the day before filming and you’re crying. You’re letting go of all your frustrations into Zendaya’s shoulder. You’re letting go of all your insecurities, anxiety, and fear through your tears. You felt like a high school girl, avoiding your ex boyfriend because he did you wrong. You wanted to be mature about the situation and prepare for your role but knowing that you had to act like you’re in love with Tom was nerve-wracking.

So there you sat, your stomach nauseated with butterflies and your head pounding as the tears stuck to your cheeks. You were exhausted and you hated that the reason was because of him.

-

part two

[revengeisalwaysanoption]

ITAINSTITUTE CON 2 - THE M&Gs

Featuring: My confused memories of the M&Gs with Matt&Dom and Alberto.

PARABATAI M&G

Okay, so... The real reason I bought this M&G is because Matt’s were sold out and from other conventions I know that is the experience I enjoy the most even though I spend those 30 minutes taking in the actors’ more than actually interacting with them. but whatever. I’m really sorry I can remember only very little from this M&G. - Matt was lovely and always gives long and in depth answers to what is asked, sometimes he takes detours and you start wondering ‘Is THIS what I asked him?’ but you can’t help but love how passionate he is when is talking (and how he can’t help using his hands... Italians can relate X°D) -  Some people disagree but BOTH Matt&Dom were a bit sorry the parabatai bond is underdeveloped even though it's (supposed to be, I would say) a deep platonic relationship. They DO understand that couples are more important, especially Malec for what it means to so many people. According to them it should be like the feeling you have with a best friend, when you can tell that there’s something wrong just by the way they say “Hi” to you but I personally believe it didn’t come across so well. - Don’t expect them to talk about what happened in the 3A finale: the writers have decided that everything has been said already with Alec acknowledging that who nearly killed him wasn’t Jace but the Owl in 3x10 and that’s it. They were quite disappointed about that. - Someone pointed out that the bond is quite unbalanced and they agreed. They used a simile that I liked, saying that Alec is like oxygen to Jace not in the sense that he is vital to his survival but rather that he takes him for granted and realizes it only when he is fighting for breath while Alec is different ‘cause he has learned to hold his breath for quite a long time by now. -  They were asked if there’s room for improvisation and they said that while it was much more accepted in S1, they can’t add their own twist to it now. I can’t recall if Matt said something about his scenes but Dom said that apart from the ‘ILY’ in 2x20 (Matt was ENTHUSIASTIC about it and argued that IT HAD TO BE SAID) he also put in the ‘Please, don’t leave me, Alec’ line in 2x03 that was unscripted. - They were asked if they ever have disagreements writers/directors about their characters, because they feel Jace and Alec would never do something like what is written on the script.  They said they discuss it with the writers and sometimes it turns out it would all make sense in a couple of episodes, and sometimes their foot down like Dom did with the Owl (I didn’t quite get in what capacity, I’m sorry) and Matt about having Alec crying: it’s a cheap way to show emotions. - Matt also said you don't only cry out of sadness but also out of frustration and selfishness (to make the other feel bad, I believe) so yeah, writers should be wary of using crying too much especially with Alec. (it was then that they asked the question about the lack of balance in the parabatai bond, I think) - The last question was mine, and I find it doesn’t quite fit what he said to the individual M&G Shumdario news reported (see here: https://twitter.com/ShumDarioNews/status/1019666993920774144)  but what Matt had said about not wanting too have Alec breaking down in tears, so it was like: “Connecting to what we have previously said about showing emotions on screen... I felt a bit underwhelmed by the way Alec acted in the finale, especially when he was saying goodbye to Magnus before he went to Edom, so I was wondering if we can expect to see a less restrained Alec in 3B. ” He told me that since Alec was on duty as a Shadowhunter - even during the goodbye to Magnus before he goes to Edom -  he wouldn't let anything show and just soldier on.  Unlike the 2x18 scene where he was just Alec off duty and so taken aback that he didn't know how to react.  "That's why I asked you.” (about more emotional scenes for Alec, because I KNOW he can shows a wider range of emotions that what he we have seen during 3x09-3x10) He said that yeah, we can expect some in 3B. - I believe someone asked about Alec’s role as the HOTI in 3B and Matt went off on a rant about the Clave. I’m 99% sure it was in the M&G because it would have popped out already on someone’s Twitter if he said in the panel, since he originally said “It’s a FASCIST organization.” He immediately backpedaled on the term not because he found it too negative for the Clave but for its historical/social connotations (especially in Italy: I was really impressed that he felt the need to immediately correct himself even though nobody said a word about that or glared at him or anything) so he said he wishes Alec could just quit that “Prejudiced and self-serving organization’ that thrives on the subjugation of Downworlders under the pretense of keeping them safe. ****** ALBERTO M&G********************* So first of all I want to say that Alberto went overtime by, like, 10-15 minutes because he wanted to answer everybody's questions... Such a sweetheart ç_ç <3 !!! He got into the room by walking in queue with us, so we played along and even complained that he was jumping the queue :D - Alberto talked a lot about his brother Diego and how him being a director gives him a different insight on his work as an actor, the process of their work together and how inspired they have been by their parents now following their dreams.

- Since he is so passionate about literature he isn’t ruling out becoming a Professor in the future. - He also said that it was his mom who made him realize he was always prioritizing acting over everything else so he started to organize his part-time jobs so that he could audition for Shadowhunters. He encouraged to find the thing we prioritize without even realizing (acting for him) and hold on to it, give our all to it. It's never too late; he talked how his mom is now embracing her dreams as a painter and is Dad is getting a PhD. - He does want to go back on stage and do musicals. If he could, he’d love to star in Newsies and Dear Evan Hansen (he mentioned another title as well but I can't recall what it was 'cause I'm not familiar with it) - I asked him how it was playing those few scenes he has with Harry. Like many others at the Con, he is a big fan of Harry too. Right after saying that those scenes were awesome to shoot, he went on gushing how great Harry is and how hard he worked to be a professional in so many different fields. And how Harry knows a lot more about the business related to TV shows as well so in a way he sees him as his mentor on the show. -  Alberto hopes to have an opportunity to direct in the future, maybe starting from a show not too distant from SH, kinda like what happened for Paul Wesley. Concerning directors he said that Matt Hastings is the one who has to make sure the ‘mood’ of the show is not lost (that it doesn’t become CSI - Brooklyn, for example) when they have a guest director on the show. -  He agrees that his scene in 3x09 was one of the best ever (and his usually very critical about his acting) but he gave much credit for it to Christina Cox and the writers who made it so tragic and poignant. Similarly to Matt in the M&G he said that you don't necessarily need to cry rivers to show emotions. Alberto compared that to spilling water on the floor (which he did) against keeping it in the bottle which gives you more room to work. - He wasn't happy with how the scene where Simon goes to ask Raphael infos about the Mark went. In the editing Simon's hesitation and different tactics to approach Raphael didn't get across... So it looked like Simon was annoying Raphael in a very delicate moment. He had prepared the scene well with David and also had argued that the stakes didn't seem , to him, so high that Simon couldn't save it for a moment when Raphael wasn't suffering that much.

- He wants to use the Rosende Book Club to promote initatives like the Bibliocicleta (https://www.awesomefoundation.org/en/projects/52670-bibliocicleta) 

[singingwordwright]

can you talk a little about what brought you, as a published author, back to writing fanfic. also what was your inspiration for your One Easy Answer fic/universe?

Hi there.

I’ve pretty much always been a fanfic author, ever since that day when I was 12 when my current beta @roseglass asked me how I would re-unite two ex-lovers in a story and thus began our six-year journey of writing Riker/Troi fanfic long-hand and snail-mailing it back and forth to each other after she moved away.

So it’s not like I ever intended to turn my back on writing fanfic, even once I published some of my original work. These days there’s a lot of crossover between the two, and my publisher, in particular, @riptidepublishing, specifically seeks out authors of fanworks and was started by someone who is very active in fandom.

For a few years, my mind was more in a place of generating original stories than it was in fanfic mode. Now the pendulum has swung the other way, in part because I’ve lost–or at least misplaced–my ability or desire to write sex scenes, and erotic romance was sort of my wheelhouse as an author so now I really can’t produce the sort of content most readers of my original works would expect from me. When I do get back into original writing, unfortunately it’s probably going to have to involve starting from scratch in a new genre with a new pen name to make a break from those expectations.

In the meantime, though, there’s this lovely show and this lovely ship that has brought me back into fan writing and consumes incredible amounts of my creative energy. And at least I’m writing something (also the last time I was this inspired with my fan writing, it ended up sparking my inspiration for original writing, which I’m hoping will happen again.) 

Now, as for what inspired the One Easy Answer concept/universe, the short answer is that I emailed @roseglass one day and said “I want to write an arranged marriage AU that isn’t, like HUGELY AU, it’s still mostly canon, but with a twist” and she said “that’s a fine idea, go for it!.” (Actually, it may be more accurate to say I wanted to READ a mostly-canon arranged marriage AU and realized the only one I could find had long-since become an abandoned WIP so it was down to me to write it.)

And in truth, I never got that thing I wanted initially. I WANTED a situation where Alec and Magnus didn’t become familiar with each other or fall in love until after they were married. But if I wanted that and still wanted to keep it close to show-canon, I would have had to have them getting married…oh, around maybe 1x04 or 1x05?

Like, I imagine the scenario would have been that the backlash from the Clave over the unsanctioned raid on the Hotel Dumort came in the shape of the Clave being afraid that Robert and Maryse’s children were going down the road of Nephilim supremacy the way their parents had, conducting “special missions” the way the Circle had, and in order to prove that wasn’t the case, Alec had to marry a Downworlder. That’s how that story would have looked, if I’d gone that route.

But for some reason, that premise didn’t occur to me until later. What occurred to me at the time I decided to write this arranged marriage AU was that I needed to pull one thread from the tapestry, and watch how it unraveled.

I’ve always been a tremendous fan of the idea of parallel universes, or that a universe exists in which each possibility to becomes reality and redirects the course of events in that universe (this is probably the teenager who got her first exposure to genre TV with ST:TNG popping up, actually.)

So I wanted to construct a universe in which the split point between show!canon and my!canon was Magnus backtracking on his promise that he wouldn’t approach Alec about their relationship again.

Now, I adore 1x12, don’t get me wrong, but let’s be honest. Ghost!Ragnor (or Magnus’s imagined construct of his recently deceased friend) convincing Magnus to change his mind and try one more time was almost bordering on deus ex machina. At least, so it seemed to me.

Like, we’d never seen anything in the show indicating that Magnus–or anyone else–tended to get wise counsel from ghosts, nor had we seen anything indicating that Magnus tended to have imaginary discussions with his lost or absent friends. So this idea that he was conferring with Ragnor and it shifted his determination to let Alec go after his last attempt to talk to Alec had failed, was…highly convenient and sort of came out of nowhere. It was the last-minute miracle solution to an unresolvable dilemma.

So I decided to explore what would happen if Magnus had stuck to his guns. Maybe he never received his visit from the Ghost of Warlocks Past, or whatever. But Magnus never wavered in his determination not to pursue Alec any more. 

Now, the first question is: would that mean Alec didn’t call off his wedding? Possibly, and I’m sure there could exist yet another parallel universe in which he didn’t. Maybe I’m cheating a little, but I like to believe that even without Magnus there, staring him down, Alec would have come to his senses before he crossed the point of no return.

So yes, Alec called off his wedding.

The next event where we might have seen ramifications of Magnus not interrupting Alec’s wedding is in the scene where Alec walks in on Magnus and Camille. 

Magnus, not having had the recent refresher course from ghost!Ragnor on why Camille is Pure Evil, is probably much more vulnerable to her manipulations and less wary of her. Maybe even inclined to seek comfort from someone he once had feelings for, no matter how bad he knows she is for him. He’s perhaps not going to be as unwilling a participant in that kiss as he was the way things happened on the show.

Which is what majorly shifts things into parallel reality territory, because it puts a rather effective kibosh on Alec approaching Magnus and saying, “hey, you were right, I chose not to go through with the wedding, let’s see where this thing we have between us might go.”

Because imagine how Alec was feeling that day after his wedding. Like, yeah, he’s concerned about the Hodge running off and giving the Mortal Cup to Valentine thing, but setting that aside, he did it! He cancelled his wedding. He came out to his parents. He prioritized his own happiness. He’s got to be chomping at the bit wanting to run to Magnus, tell Magnus what he’s done, and ask for another chance. But when he finally gets the opportunity to see Magnus again, he finds Magnus in someone else’s arms.

Ouch.

From there, it’s a cascade effect, isn’t it? Alec, hurt and stinging, is going to want nothing to do with Magnus, so all the events of season 2a feel the ripple effect of them not only NOT building their new relationship, but actively avoiding each other whenever possible.

Sure, Magnus keeps Alec alive in 2x03, but probably only because Izzy begged him to and because he feels guilty over what happened with Camille. Alec doesn’t nearly kill himself in 2x08 because he’s not being influenced by the spell at Magnus’s party, but he and Clary have still not found any sort of conciliation after Jocelyn’s death. Without the framework of their relationship, Alec remains ignorant of Izzy’s yin fen addiction because Magnus doesn’t clue him in during the events of 2x09, which means nothing stops Raphael feeding on Izzy that night, which becomes its own very dangerous situation. So now these events between Alec and Magnus have influenced events between Raphael and Izzy because without his confrontation with Alec, Raphael doesn’t have any reason to confess his feelings for Izzy. And so on, and so forth.

I just find it a fascinating study in how one event can influence so many other, and that’s really where the inspiration came from.

I deviated a bit farther from that original “one event causes ripples that influences others” mission statement in A Separate Peace, because for one thing, some of the events of season 2b (like the body swap plot) wouldn’t have worked in the canon I had established. Also, after season 2b, I decided one thing that was really missing on the show was character agency. So I decided to take an approach where the characters drive the events instead of vice-versa.

I also decided to make it an attempt to fix things that were bothering me about the show, such as the fact that the show leans heavily on “situationally convenience incompetence” (and hyper-competence, at times) wherein a character either becomes a total blundering idiot or the most awesome person to ever do A Thing depending on how tidily it moves things along in the story. 

Alec being more competent in his due diligence to vet Sebastian doesn’t actually CHANGE anything, except that it shows just how terrifyingly devious Sebastian is. Alec being competent forces Sebastian to be MORE competent. Which is frankly awesome because that’s the way it should be. You shouldn’t have to force your heroes to be dolts in order for your villains to pull the wool over their eyes. You just need your villains to step up their game and be that much craftier than your heroes.

I decided in A Separate Peace to fix the fact that there seemed to be storylines for Aldertree and Robert Lightwood that might have been set up initially, but never went anywhere, either because the show didn’t have time to include them, or because the actors were unavailable. If you’ve read my metas there were some really obvious clues laid down in both cases and there was just…no follow through. It was frustrating and I had the ability to work all that in and frankly it was some of the best plotting I’ve ever done.

The final thing I decided to tackle with A Separate Peace was the fact that the obligatory adherence to book canon relationships is getting in the way of the fact that, on the show, the characters are demonstrating insane chemistry that those pro forma relationships will never allow to flourish.

Wow. This ended up being really long. Sorry, nonny. I hope this answered your question?

[calzona-ga]

When Grey’s Anatomy boss Shonda Rhimes told EW that the finale would be “on fire,” she was being quite literal.

After Stephanie set fire to the escaping rapist in the penultimate hour, she accidentally caused a giant explosion in the hospital. Against all odds, Stephanie survived the fire, and even saved the little girl, but the event made her realize that she’s spent most of her life in a hospital and doesn’t want to anymore. Yes, Stephanie survived, but she subsequently quits — and her portrayer Jerrika Hinton is officially leaving the ABC medical drama.

“Actors evolve differently and when an actor like Jerrika comes to me and says she wants to try something new creatively, I like to honor that,” executive producer Shonda Rhimes says of the exit. “Jerrika has shared so much of herself with Stephanie and I am incredibly proud of the journey we’ve taken together. While I’m sad to see Stephanie leave Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital, I am excited to see what’s next for Jerrika.”

EW turned to Hinton to get the scoop on why she decided to leave:

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: What came with the decision to leave Grey’s Anatomy, and what was that conversation with Shonda like? JERRIKA HINTON: That was a conversation that happened almost a year ago. It was very, very open and straightforward. You ever have one of those conversations — with a superior in particular, not just a peer — that feels like a natural, genuine meeting of the minds? That’s what that conversation was like. It was extremely and deeply gratifying.

How do you feel about how Stephanie’s story came to an end, that she went off to live her own life and not die, which is what everyone expected after that penultimate episode? I’m a fan. I deeply appreciate that she gets to leave a lasting mark, not just in that place, but also from what the fans on social media are saying and within the audiences’ minds as well. I feel like this is the natural conclusion of what her journey has been over this season. Her journey has been about self-actualization and repression. Being in the line of work that is about literal life and death and yet no one processing it, and no one encouraging that you process it; Minnick was possibly the only one, in episode 22 or 23, when she sent Steph to therapy. For as upset as people may be with Minnick, that was the right thing. That is the thing that not only Stephanie needs, but everybody in that line of work — everybody in that hospital definitely — needs. You’ve got her sacrificing herself for a place that isn’t doing the same thing for her. We saw it when they lost the little boy, and Robbins ran after Minnick rather than tending to the distraught resident. You’ve got her in the midst of conditions that are figuratively and literally burning her out. It’s meaningful that she not only sees the world for what it is, but that she also makes a healthy decision about how to move forward. Whenever we see people on television making those kinds of hard decisions, it makes it easier for us to do that in our own lives — or at least makes us soften to the possibility of doing that in our own lives.

Was there ever a possibility that they were going to kill off Stephanie? I mean, I’ve pitched a lot of things over the years, and I’m sure the writers in the bungalow have pitched a lot of things this season. So, I can’t necessarily speak to how many versions of Stephanie’s exit there were, but I know there were multiple versions.

Would you have wanted her to die? Only if it had been in a very specific way. There are a very narrow set of circumstances that I felt would be appropriate for her to exit the show with death. It can’t just be death for melodrama’s sake.

Stephanie basically got Minnick fired. How do you think she feels about that? I think in that final interaction that Stephanie has with Minnick, Stephanie would feel a-okay. She would not lose any sleep at night. This is what I will say: Everybody should just go off and live their best life.

Looking back at your time on the show, is there any particular moment that sticks out to you? Honestly, it’s going to be that scene with Jim [Pickens Jr.] in the finale. Everything about shooting the last two episodes was so strenuous and exhausting and, in ways, traumatizing. That one scene, which came very early in the schedule of the finale, was a moment where everything became easy, and everything had such flow. In the midst of such chaos and spectacle, to have something like that, I think the dichotomy alone makes it something that just stands out for me.

What was it like filming this episode? It was a beast, to be quite honest with you. I’m still recovering, physically and emotionally, from it. I’m going to get emotional. When my parents get in town [Thursday] and we go over to my girlfriend’s house and we all sit down together and have a big viewing party, there’s going to be a couple things that I know I can’t watch, just because it’s going to feel like I am going through it again; I can’t watch it as a viewer. So I’m prepared for that. But to speak about production, I had to do an hour of prosthetics every morning, you had pyrotechnics going off all around you, you were breathing propane fumes all day, all week, running up and down stairs, carrying a kid, screaming my heart out on a rooftop in the middle of the night. It was a lot. It was more than I have ever had to endure with an episode or a role. I hope it was all worth it, I hope it all shows on the screen.

Is there anything you would change or anything you regret from your time on Grey’s? No. I’ve been there for five years, and the decision to leave was my own that was supported in a very deep way that I could never communicate, by my boss, and a host of other things that I could mention that have happened in those five years that are just significant memories. So when I look back on my time, I genuinely can’t. Not only do I not have regrets, I don’t have any what ifs, I don’t have any if onlys; everything that has happened has happened in exactly the way that it should for myself. I look forward to the next chapter, because I know I can close this and let go of this one so cleanly.

There’s really nothing you wish you had gotten to do with Stephanie? No romance you wish you could’ve explored? No, because for me to answer that question, I’d have to create a whole new world of circumstances. Within the circumstances of what the show is and all the characters that we have had and all the pairings that we have had over the years, there’s nothing else I would’ve done differently. There are no new romances that I think they should’ve thought out with cast members. It’s not like I think Stephanie should’ve taken over the hospital, none of that. Everything has been what it is.

Are you open to returning to Grey’s Anatomy in the future? Yes, that place has a really wonderful soft spot in my heart. I think that because of the nature of Stephanie’s injuries and the way that she has decided to leave, what she has decided to prioritize, for it to make sense, it would have to be a long time before Stephanie graces those halls again for it to make sense. She can’t have gone through all of this and then six months later says, “Hey guys, just kidding, I’m back. I went and I took two hikes and I was like, ‘I’m good!‘”

You’ve already signed onto something new, this Alan Ball project for HBO. Is there anything you can say? To be honest with you, even though I’m a month outside of being in Shondaland, my reflexes are still Shondaland reflexes, which means I get very nervous about sharing information. Even though I’m certain I can, I’m still working to recalibrate those reflexes. The new show is really wonderful. I’m very, very excited about my character. I’m still scared, because I don’t know what I can or can’t say. Shonda has trained me well. [Laughs] Words can’t explain [how much fun I’m having]. My new family and I, we have this group text. We sit and text all day. If you would’ve told me a few months ago that I would sit on my phone texting all day with a bunch of people, I would’ve said, “That sounds like pure hell, please let me just turn off my phone and not be connected,” but I pick up my phone and go, “What is the group talking about today?” It’s just so exciting. There’s such love and generosity. It’s very collaborative. I feel very fortunate.

[kuwaiti-kid]

12 Best PS1 Role Playing Games (RPGs) of All Time

Magic, adventure, intrigue, and the 32-bit era of graphics.

When you mention the origins of our favorite role-playing video games, nostalgia runs rampant within us. We all remember our first, our favorite, and everything in between.

Role-Playing games have shaped the expectations of how many of us want to experience our gaming journey. The hardest part is finding which to choose. Which are best? What stories should you invest thirty hours of your life into?

Get ready to have another blast from the past! We are delving deep into the amazing games that made up the epic Playstation Roleplaying genre of the ’90s.

Here is our list of the best PlayStation RPG games ever!

The Best PS1 RPGs of All Time

1. Xenogears (1998)

When it comes to RPGs of such massive scale and scope, Xenogears should need no introduction. The story is all-encompassing and intense. It does not only does it entail the death of a god and dualism. Xenogears also has arching stories of reincarnation, religion, use of mass control, and brainwashing.

Xenogears centers around the main character Fei, an adopted young male in the village of Lahan. Fei was brought by a mysterious man while suffering from retrograde amnesia. During an attack on Lahan from Gebler, Fei pilots an empty gear and fights the enemy, accidentally destroying the village. As a result, Fei and Citan, the village's doctor, leave with the abandoned gear to get it away from the town.

From this point, you meet multiple supporting characters that very clearly also have skeletons in their closets.

Mixing a unique style of 2D animation with 3D backdrops, Xenogears focused on its anime inspiration with fully animated and voiced cutscenes. Gameplay centered around a stamina-based combat system. This is a playoff of the Active Time Battle system found in games such as Chrono Trigger and the Final Fantasy series.

Every character and inch of this game is worth exploring to experience the all-encompassing details and rich storyline. At the time, Xenogears was a groundbreaking game. This is a must-play.

2. Final Fantasy VII (1997)

If you haven’t heard of Cloud, Tifa, or Aerith, you have been living under some very large rubble in Midgar. Final Fantasy VII is considered to be by far the best Final Fantasy game ever made. So let’s talk about why.

FFVII's gameplay, story, and setting are almost unparalleled.

The Materia system was an excellent idea that contributed to altering character stats. The character list is filled with interesting personalities, even if they're not all brought into the open.

The world setting for FFVII is full of mystery and variety, from exploring the ocean depths in a submarine to zipping about the skies in your airship to traveling around on a Chocobo, it was about as dynamic as any interactive world could've been. Each town had a style and persona all its own, each area had a specific appeal, and how each character reacted to each region was also outstanding.

The depth of that story, the levels, and dimensions on which it operates, the pacing that seems just about perfect; it all combines to create a highly enjoyable experience. It has philosophical and psychological angles that few really appreciate,

And Sephiroth remains the greatest villain of all time for one big reason: He has mastered the art of being both sympathetic and completely brutal.

The game was so fantastic; the Final Fantasy VII Remake is the most requested and anticipated remake game of all time.

If you are looking for a fully immersive and enjoyable RPG experience that pulls you in from the moment you begin, then Final Fantasy VII should be the next game to pop into your system.

3. Final Fantasy IX (2000)

It is no surprise with how iconic the Final Fantasy series is that there would be more than one of them on this list. We talked about the iconic Final Fantasy VII, so now let us talk about Final Fantasy IX and why it is so crucial in the series.

There were concerns regarding how modern Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy VIII were with more high-tech robotics and settings. When IX came along, we were transported back to the origin of the Final Fantasy game designs.

FFIX brings us back to pay tribute to its former classics. Traditional medieval fantasy setting and a cast of characters who resembled the classes of old. The characters included Vivi, the Black Mage, and Steiner the Knight, to name a few.

They even made subtle nods and references to previous games to kick that nostalgia up a notch.

The basis of the story? A theater troupe named Tantalus moonlights as a gang of noble thieves. They head to the city of Alexandria to perform their latest play and devise a plan to kidnap the royal princess Garnet. You play as main character Zidane, an actor and thief with a monkey tail. The troupe sets out to capture the princess, only to find that she’s been planning her escape all along.

What follows is a world-spanning adventure involving war, subterfuge, magical crystals, summoned monsters, and lots of clones. If you want to see how it all plays out, I suggest you grab yourself a copy!

4. Chrono Trigger (1995)

The first installment of what is referred to as the Chrono Series is the famous Chrono Trigger.  Having been described as revolutionary, some of the elements of the game had never been presented before. These included its multiple endings, plot-related sidequests focusing on character development, unique battle system, and detailed graphics.

Chrono Trigger is a timeless role-playing classic where you embark on a journey to different eras. As the story unfolds, you will travel to the middle ages, future, prehistory, and ancient times. Chrono Trigger gives a new spin to the traveling and monster-killing that you’ll have to do.

 The battle system, which is a new take on the “Active-Time-Battle” (or action RPG) system seen in the Final Fantasy games, is enjoyable and unique. You can perform special moves called Techs and even combine with a couple of your party members to perform a triple combo Tech. The use of Mode 7 graphics pops off the screen, and the level of detail is astounding. The overall visuals of the game are brilliant for the time.

Chrono Trigger was the third best-selling game of 1995 in Japan and shipped 2.65 million copies worldwide by March 2003.

It is widely considered one of the most unique RPG’s ever to hit console. It was also very well-deserving of a sequel!

5. Chrono Cross (1999)

Looking for time travel, changing your fate, and the concept of parallel worlds all rolled into one package? Say no more! Welcome to the fantastic must-play sequel, Chrono Cross!

Boasting some beautiful graphics for its time, and an equally brilliant score, it's also one of the first games to offer a ‘New Game Plus' for replayability in an RPG. For anyone that is an RPG fanatic, the replay value for a game speaks volumes.

Renouncing from the traditional turn-based combat system Chrono Cross went with a more stamina-focused approach. They added elemental magic to the mix as a means to sway the battle. You have the option of a large playable support cast wielding different affinities. Having the opportunity to mix different battle group combinations gives the player the power to create a lethal group against powerful foes.

Many say this was not necessarily the best sequel for Cross due to the change in platform. This game the opportunity for new graphics and options that could substantially adjust the game scope. However, it is repeatedly noted as being a brilliant game worthy of precious playtime.

6. Suikoden (1995)

Not long after the launch of the PlayStation, Konami released a 2D role-playing game with a killer soundtrack called Suikoden. Creator Yoshitaka Murayama opted to prioritize storytelling and atmosphere over the fancy 3D graphics that were just starting to take off.

The game centers on the political struggles of the Scarlet Moon Empire. The player controls a Scarlet Moon Empire general's son, who is destined to seek out 108 warriors or 108 Stars of Destiny) to revolt against the corrupt sovereign state and bring peace to a war-torn land.

 Suikoden was widely considered the best RPG on PlayStation. It earned this title from fans due to its great premise, fast-paced combat, and emotional story. The game itself was so well received that it was worthy of a sequel.

7. Suikoden II (1998)

Continuing with its traditional 2D graphics, Suikoden II is brilliant in both narrative and storytelling. It avoids traditional world-destroying power/demonic force in favor of warring states and factions. The game itself follows with the same storyline and characters as the original. Unlike other RPGs, the Suikoden games are all set in the same universe, with recurring storylines, characters, and settings.

The game itself contains challenging dungeons and bosses, but there is no grinding necessary! Thanks to the auto-attack option, you can quickly and efficiently level characters, so they are always up to speed.

Not only do you have satisfying combat, a cooking mini-game, a top-ranked villain, and flying squirrels, you also get to run your castle.

8. The Legend of Dragoon (1999)

This RPG is another that has a well-known name, but for different reasons. Gamers found this one appealing and claim it is PS1’s most underrated RPG. That makes this classic worthy of a second look!

While it does offer many similarities and familiar aspects of a “traditional” RPG, Legend of Dragoon added the ability to change the nominal Dragoons into enhanced versions of themselves to aide in combat.

Much like Limit Breaks and Trance in FF, it enhanced combat from being turn-based and straightforward.

It had all the fluff and pizazz of a 32-bit-era Final Fantasy, but the CG cutscenes and pyrotechnics weren’t as up to par with its competition. The battle system also had some technicalities as far as healing and logistics that were a bit questionable. On the flip side, though, many loved how pleasantly straightforward it is.

If you're after something to fill that void between Final Fantasy but don't want to branch too far out, you can't go wrong with Legend of Dragoon.

9. Final Fantasy Tactics (1997)

More Final Fantasy, you ask? Absolutely! They did not earn their title as masters of RPG for no reason! So let us delve into another series gem, Final Fantasy Tactics.

Final Fantasy Tactics begins with Ivalice just recovering from the Fifty Year War against Ordalia. The game's story follows Ramza Beoulve, a highborn cadet who finds himself thrust into the middle of an intricate military conflict. This erupts into a full-scale war known as the “Lion War,” with either side using whatever means possible to secure their place in the throne. This includes bearing an illegitimate child, killing other potential heirs, betrayal, assassination, and false identities.

Pretty intriguing, isn’t it? The plot sounds like a Game of Thrones spinoff!

The battle system is a traditional turn-based and is played out on three-dimensional, isometric fields. In battle, JP is rewarded for every successful action. JP is used to learn new abilities within each job class. Accumulating enough JP results in a job level up; new jobs are unlocked by attaining a certain level in the current job class.

Final Fantasy Tactics received universal acclaim upon its release, and critical opinion of the game has improved further over time. This one is definitely worthy of a spot on the must play list!

10. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (1997)

Symphony of the Night is a platform-adventure action role-playing game developed and published by Konami in 1997.

Symphony begins during the ending of the previous game in the series, Castlevania: Rondo of Blood, where Richter Belmont confronts and defeats Count Dracula. Four years later, in 1796, Richter goes missing, and Dracula's castle reappears. That is spooky enough to get my attention!

The game is non-linear, but most of the castle is inaccessible until various items and abilities are collected, including shapeshifting into a bat, wolf, or mist. It does have RPG based elements in the combat as well. Alucard's hit points determine the maximum damage he can withstand before dying while his magic points decide how frequently a magical attack may be cast. He has four other attributes: strength – the power of his physical attack; defense – his resilience to damage inflicted by the monsters; intelligence – the recovery speed of magic points; and luck – the frequency that enemies drop items.

Symphony has a massive, free-to-explore game world with numerous secrets to uncover. It has been praised for integrating RPG elements without compromising the series' basic gameplay.  Multiple critics also made mention of the ingeniously designed enemies and the story's many plot twists.

The game has developed such an immense following that original copies are now considered collectors’ items. It has continued to receive critical acclaim and has appeared on many top games’ lists.

Make sure you grab a copy of this one. You will not be disappointed!

11. Star Ocean: The Second Story (1998)

What landed Star Ocean: The Second Story on this list is the aspect of quality over quantity. It may not be the biggest entry on the list, or even the most popular. What does it have? A story that could rival some of the greatest of those sitting on the throne of the RPG universe.

The overall storyline begins with the main protagonist Claude, son of Ronyx Kenny of the first Star Ocean, being transported to a mysterious world, where he meets Rena and a cast of enigmatic support characters. One of whom, Ashton, is cursed with having two dragon heads attached to his head, that bicker and talk over him. Talk about a permanent headache?

Your progress toward towns, and through dungeons toward the ultimate evil force. This all comes across as a fairly standard base of a PRG story.

 The plot twist? This game has 87 different endings.

Some are minor changes, ranging from discovering the identity of one of the bosses, or if you paid attention to certain conversations throughout the game. But this added a new scope than the standard RPG game progression system.

The combat system was also impressive by doing away with being time-based and staying continuously active. It was a refreshing change over selecting through menu prompts.

While this may not be the most popular or classic game on the list, it is definitely one worthy of checking out!

12. Vagrant Story (2000)

Vagrant Story is a beautiful exploration into cult lore, mythology, and ancient magics. It is often referred to as a form of a “spin-off” if Final Fantasy Tactics due to Yasumi Matsuno working on both and set in the same fictional world of Ivalice. Doesn’t that name sound familiar?

Vagrant Story is unique as a console action-adventure role-playing game in that it features no shops and no player interaction with other characters; instead, the game focuses on weapon creation and modification, as well as elements of puzzle-solving and strategy. For many in the know of the ROG universe, this concept was almost completely different.

The gameplay is more of a 3D dungeon explorer, with each area of exploration/combat being broken apart as rooms or small arenas. It utilizes a form of a real-time active battle combat system. Activating combat brings up a personal space bubble, and any offending part of the enemy's anatomy that pierces that is asking for some battle damage. You can also chain together stronger attacks for a combo hit.

These combinations gave a fresh take on the adventure RPG genre. It would pave the way for new gameplay concept to come to light.

Vagrant Story is a lengthy yet wonderful fantasy journey through a largely rewarding game.

Wrap Up

The list of amazing RPGs that were produced and released for the PS1 could go on for ages. Some may even consider this the golden age for RPG releases. It paved the way for amazing remastered games and fresh stories for modern-day gamers!

Original Playstation RPG’s truly take the digital cake for all that they encompass. Unique storylines, bold changes in new combat systems. You name it, and they produced it.

Whether you experienced this fantastic 90’s age of gaming firsthand, or are new to it and looking to explore, you will not be disappointed.

All that is left now is for you to pick a game and play! After all, no story would be complete without the player beginning their journey.

Where Can I find The Games?

Here are some primary locations to obtain these classics:

Playstation Store Classics

LukieGames 

DKOldies 

GameStop 

The Old School Game Vault

Are you looking for more? Check out our list of the Best SNES RPGs of All Time!

from Your Money Geek https://ift.tt/2VEINAk via IFTTT

[theconservativebrief]

Every week, we pick a new episode of the week. It could be good. It could be bad. It will always be interesting. You can read the archives here. The episode of the week for September 9 through 15 is “High-Like,” the fifth episode of the third season of HBO’s Insecure.

Why do you watch your favorite TV show? What is it about it that makes you keep coming back to it, again and again?

That’s a deceptively simple question — yet one that’s often very difficult to answer. And of course, the answer will vary from show to show. I might watch Game of Thrones for its elaborate world-building, and Superstore for its lovely character work. The Handmaid’s Tale lets me look at our reality through a skewed lens, while Stranger Things takes me away from it entirely.

But when a show reveals that it’s prioritizing something other than what you care about most, while that may not be a dealbreaker, it can be hard to push past. That’s how I felt as the latest episode of the HBO comedy Insecure, one of my favorite shows, reached its final scene and revealed something the show had clearly been holding onto for some time. I sighed in frustration. My wife squealed in delight. Clearly, we were watching for two very different reasons.

But to talk more about that, I’m going to have to spoil what happened, so if you haven’t seen the episode, you may want to go watch it before you read further.

What’s most surprising to me about my response to “High-Like” is that, up until its final scene, “High-Like” had been one of my favorite episodes of Insecure to date, because it foregrounded the part of the show that I care about most: the story of a group of friends in their early 30s, navigating the tricky blend of personal and professional lives together.

The episode sends Issa (Issa Rae, also the series’ co-creator), Molly (Yvonne Orji), Kelli (Natasha Rothwell), and Tiffany (Amanda Seales) to the Coachella music festival, so that they might check out Beyoncé’s groundbreaking performance from earlier this year. In true TV comedy fashion, they never succeed in actually getting to see Beyoncé, much less right up front.

They keep getting waylaid by a variety of amusing calamities and poignant meetings, and the episode skillfully pivots from the hilarious (Issa trying to wake up her friends after they all fall asleep while waiting for Molly to show up after work, by banging sheet pans together) to the moving (Issa and new love interest Nathan connecting in a broken Ferris wheel car).

It’s not the show’s most plot-heavy episode, but the combination of the Coachella setting and the characters cutting loose makes for an installment that feels like a respite from the rest of the season’s stories, which have focused on Issa and Molly’s professional dissatisfaction, as well as Issa’s love life in the wake of former boyfriend Lawrence (Jay Ellis) exiting her life permanently at the end of season two. And if you’ve seen the episode already, you can probably guess what I’m going to talk about next.

Issa and her friends go to a party before heading to Coachella. HBO

The episode ends with Issa walking into a 7-11, where she bumps into Lawrence himself, completely unexpectedly. It turns out he hasn’t exited her life — or the show — as permanently as viewers might have thought (or heard). And judging from some of the Twitter reactions I saw, Lawrence’s return was something Insecure had to have known would delight its fans.

I wasn’t quite so happy. I really loved the way the first two seasons of Insecure dug in and examined why the Lawrence and Issa pairing wasn’t quite right, and looked at how both halves of that equation would need to spend some time maturing before they might be able to come together in a way more beneficial to both of them. Bringing Lawrence back just five episodes after the season two finale solidified their breakup felt a little like the series was reneging on a promise it had made to me.

And, look, I know how television works, so I know that Insecure was almost always going to end (several seasons down the road, hopefully) with Issa and Lawrence together, because you don’t invest that much time and attention in a couple without eventually paying it off. And I also know that actor contracts often necessitate paying for a full season, even if you’re not going to use an actor that much, so why shouldn’t Insecure get its money’s worth out of having Jay Ellis around, right?

But it was the first time I felt like the show was letting its fans — who are notoriously super into Lawrence — make creative decisions, instead of deciding for itself. We know so much about Issa and Lawrence’s connection and surprisingly little about Issa’s connection with her three best friends (something Tiffany brings into the text of the show by fretting over her place in the group in the scene immediately before Lawrence’s return). Those relationships deserve just as much attention. That’s obviously an unfair criticism, because if anybody can find new stories to tell featuring Lawrence, it’s Rae and her creative collaborators. They haven’t steered wrong so far.

But it’s still what I felt, because I was so enjoying this season’s focus on other aspects of Issa’s life. And it left me wondering if Insecure is meant to be a coming-of-age story about a woman in her 30s, or a romantic comedy. And if it’s more the latter than the former, is that the show I signed on for?

Issa thinks it over. HBO

Completely coincidentally, I had Rothwell on my podcast, I Think You’re Interesting, this week, so we got to talk about how the show is constructed. (She’s also a writer on the series.) And she told me that Insecure’s writers view the series as a love story between Issa and Molly, celebrating their friendship and the ways it helps them get through the tumultuous parts of their lives they find themselves in.

And that’s what I’ve keyed into while watching the show. My favorite scenes tend to be the ones that feature Rae and Orji, and I love when that expands to include Rothwell and Seales as well. Indeed, I keep finding myself hoping that the show will do more to expand the lives of Kelli and Tiffany, who are consistently responsible for some of its most cutting lines and best moments.

“High-Like” could have been a great way to do that, and it does, to a point. There’s some focus on how Tiffany’s current pregnancy has affected the group, and I love the way the characters interact, then split off for their own adventures, at both a party they attend and later on at Coachella. The episode’s story — everybody goes to a big event but never actually makes it there — is as old as the sitcom format itself, but that’s because it’s such an effective way to get to know characters outside of their usual domains. And the way that Issa almost takes her friends for granted while waiting on pins and needles for a text from Nathan does underscore how she lets her love life step all over the other people who are important to her.

But that final reveal with Lawrence is the sort of thing that suggests a shift is afoot. The season so far has ably balanced Issa and company figuring themselves out without the presence of a major romantic story arc, but the end of “High-Like” reveals that the show isn’t as done with Lawrence as it pretended to be. And even though Lawrence isn’t a bad character or anything like that, it does feel as if Insecure has sort of exhausted what it can think of to do with him for the time being, sort of similar to how Girls felt compelled to keep Adam Driver around, even though he ceased being Hannah’s foremost love interest about halfway through the show.

But this, of course, is just how these stories work. It’s a lot harder to sustain audience interest in a story about friends struggling together through professional and personal ups and downs than it is a story about star-crossed lovers who finally find their way back to each other. But Insecure doesn’t need the Lawrence boost, not right now. Its ratings are good, the stories it’s telling are compelling, and the laughs are coming as quickly as ever.

I know I’m overreacting — I even knew I was overreacting in the moment, when Lawrence first showed up. And I trust Rae and her team to make sure his return doesn’t take over the show. But I sure wouldn’t have minded a little more time just with Issa and her friends, before the inevitable will-they/won’t-they resurfaced to remind me I was watching a TV show.

Insecure airs Sundays at 10:30 pm Eastern on HBO. Previous episodes are available on HBO’s streaming services.

Original Source -> Insecure dropped a big reveal in its latest episode. The show didn’t need it.

via The Conservative Brief

[aion-rsa]

Has Rick and Morty Lost the Zeitgeist?

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Rick and Morty season 5 is nearly upon us and, even among all the high-quality productions released at a rapid clip these days, the show still stands out as a unique television experience. Yes, there are a lot of amazingly well-crafted dramas (I’m looking forward to the conclusion of Better Call Saul) and this seems to be the heyday for brilliant comedies that actually turn out to be the most heartbreaking thing you’ve ever watched (I’m looking at you, PEN15). But truly great sitcoms that do what sitcoms are historically known to do—namely make you laugh a lot and endear you to a cast of characters—are rarer.

For those of us who grew up with the golden age of The Simpsons and like our sitcoms densely packed with clever, layered jokes, there’s a lot less out there. Bob’s Burgers and its offspring The Great North are pretty great, but there’s a simpler, gentler vibe to those. Their storylines are solidly constructed, they’re full of heart, and you can usually count on several laughs per episode (The Great North‘s Judy Tobin might be the most notable breakout comedy character since, well, Rick and/or Morty). However, they’re a far cry from the Simpsons tradition of semi-madcap, complex plotting and rapid-fire gags that hardly let you catch your breath.

The last series that gave me what I was looking for in a sitcom and then some was Community, created by Dan Harmon. At its peak, the scripts sang with tight, clever plotting; joke stacked upon hilarious joke; and characters so wonderfully charming they made you wish you’d been in a community college study group, it looked so damn fun.

However, there was also the “and then some.” Community wasn’t just retreading the ground worn by classic sitcoms past. As a product of a more media-savvy era, it packaged its earnest, heartfelt sitcom stuff in a self-aware, meta framework with the events of many episodes guided by classic genre tropes (the genesis of this parody/homage method of TV storytelling probably originated with the UK sitcom Spaced, but Community took the torch and really ran with it). Further in contrast to classic sitcom protocol was that Community made character and world development a cornerstone. Where old-school sitcoms—from I Love Lucy all the way up to The Simpsons—prioritized a familiar setting and characters who “reset” every episode so that new viewers could jump in at any time, Community (taking a cue from shows like Arrested Development but being quite different in execution) pushed the weirdness threshold of its universe further every season and the changes characters and their relationships went through weren’t just one-offs—they stuck and evolved the dynamic of the series as it progressed.

I was a champion of Rick and Morty before it even premiered. I’d followed Dan Harmon’s career from back when he was making things on the internet and my favorite thing he’d ever done that I will never shut up about was a series of animated shorts called Mr. Sprinkles, which was made in collaboration with Justin Roiland. Despite all the episodes adding up to little over twenty minutes total, it still featured everything I loved about Harmon’s work, packing a ton of worldbuilding and character development in at a breakneck pace.

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However, Roiland’s involvement added some new spices to the usual Harmon flavor: ultraviolence and gross-out humor, yes, but, more importantly, extremely dark, emotional lows and poignant—well, not quite highs—but bittersweet moments that hit hard. It was a powerful and unique combo that resulted in one of my all-time favorite pieces of media, so when it was announced the two would be working together again for a new series, I predicted it could very well be the best thing ever made.

And I was right! Well, at first, anyway. The first season of Rick and Morty is one of the most surprising and confident comedic works ever put on television. In true Harmonian fashion, it used his and the audience’s shared knowledge of sci-fi tropes to rapidly advance the development of its multiverse and characters and, Roiland-style, it shocked viewers with the devastating emotional depths it was willing to plumb (and it also had violence and lots of gross burping). Unfortunately, after that first season, Rick and Morty ran into some familiar problems.

The problems were familiar because they’d showed up previously in Community. That series evolved and pushed the limits of its world for three seasons and Harmon’s original plan was to keep following that trajectory and move the protagonists’ lives further outside the confines of the community college setting with the characters themselves embodying the community of the show’s title. However, before that could happen, Harmon was fired. Following an abysmal fourth season, he was rehired, but felt he had to reorient the series, which meant keeping the characters in community college for the remainder of the show’s run.

It’s understandable why Harmon felt he had to approach his return to Community this way but it’s also the reason that, even though the series was overall better with him back in charge, it never reached the heights it had in the early seasons. Community was about growth and change and, though it tried to get more experimental while staying within its old confines, there was a sad sense of stagnation hanging over the proceedings up until the end. In other words, the radical ambition of Harmon’s earlier work spelled doom for the later (perhaps unavoidably) safer stuff.

The problem that Rick and Morty faces is that it burned through its world and characters even faster than Community did before it. Again, it made for an incredible first season. It was a season that said: “Hey, you know these sci-fi tropes, right? God-like character who can do pretty much anything and can jump through an infinite supply of crazy universes at will? Well, since you already get it and we already get it, let’s just go for it.” And so, you have a season in which the protagonists use and abuse their sci-fi tropes so hard that only six episodes in they destroy their home universe and are forced to take shelter in another universe in which they’ve previously died. When a series so early on establishes that its protagonists can jettison their problems by starting up a new life in a whole new universe, how do you create satisfying conflicts anymore? Where do you go from there?

Look, I get that I might be taking the show’s sci-fi rules a bit too seriously. Rick comments that they can only start a new life in a new universe so many times, which, with endless permutations of universes available to them, doesn’t really make any sense, but that’s the point. The series doesn’t always want you to think of these sci-fi rules as concrete guiding principles. To wit, last season’s “Never Ricking Morty” seemed to poke fun at fans for expecting too much from serialization. If you don’t take what you’ve learned about the multiverse too seriously, Rick and Morty can just keep getting into trouble in all manner of crazy universes. But unfortunately, the development extends to the characterization as well.

Just as in Community, character development sticks and Rick and Morty are extremely different characters from the ones they were at the show’s start. Morty is far more jaded now, quite rightly; you’d be jaded too after burying your own corpse. In fact, the entire Smith family (except maybe Jerry) are sick of Rick’s crap and his position as the alpha is very much in question.

Rick and Morty certainly is, in part, a sci-fi cartoon sitcom that’s just trying to make you laugh, surprise you, and gross you out in each episode. However, its depth and ambition are what set it apart. It’s the pop culture phenomenon that it is because of how well-crafted it is and because of how unique and exciting it was that it was willing to go all-out in its first season. We’re endeared to the characters because it makes sense that an almost-all-powerful being like Rick would be cynical and pessimistic and that Morty would transition from a gee-whiz kid ready for adventure into a world-weary traveler who kind of hates his grandpa.

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As much as I see some fans claim the serialization should be ignored and is just the creators “trolling” (gosh, they sure put a lot of work into these episodes just to troll lil’ old me), I’m quite certain you’d find it very odd and annoying if Morty suddenly regressed to his pilot episode persona for no reason. In fact, this sort of happened back in season 2’s “Mortynight Run,” in which Morty caused a lot of death and destruction in his naïve pursuit to rescue a sentient fart cloud. I was actually fine with this episode myself as I felt Morty still retaining some naivete at this point was not entirely out of character, but a commenter noted that it felt like Morty was relearning a lesson he’d already learned, which I couldn’t really argue was incorrect. And, with everything Morty’s been through in subsequent seasons, it would only make less sense now for him to devolve back to his early, innocent form.

This means you get a lot of episodes in which Rick and Morty deadpan their way through threats, murdering up whatever gets in their way as though every otherworldly intergalactic threat is merely a nuisance to be brushed aside. This makes perfect sense after what we’ve seen these characters survive, but it’s not particularly exciting to watch, and gets old. It also makes sense that the Smith family are regularly antagonistic toward one another after all the sci-fi dysfunctionality they’ve been through, but that gets super unfun to watch and seems entirely at odds with what Rick and Morty is at its core: a sitcom. We’re supposed to be endeared to these people, not put off by them.

Rick and Morty has backed itself into something of a damned if it does, damned if it doesn’t situation. If it retcons all its character and world development, it’ll feel cheap and unfair, but if it maintains the status quo, we’ll be getting a lot more episodes where all-powerful beings who hate each other effortlessly whack-a-mole their way through conflicts (the trailers haven’t revealed a ton, but the tone unsurprisingly feels like it’s mostly sticking to the latter approach). Perhaps all the blame shouldn’t be put on Dan Harmon’s shoulders, but the problems feel like the same ones from Community. I must reiterate that I remain glad regardless that there’s a Harmon-helmed series on TV because, even if the conflicts are lacking and the characterization has gotten a bit stale, no one else is doing complex, breakneck plotting that stuffs gags into almost every possible moment.

Or at least that used to be true. There are now multiple writers out there who’ve emerged stronger from a Dan Harmon writing room. As a result, we’ve got Solar Opposites from Mike McMahan and Justin Roiland, which, unlike Rick and Morty, has (at least so far) managed to have its cake and eat it too with a core cast who follow the classic sitcom tradition of silly characters dealing with self-contained conflicts, but also a portion of every season’s runtime is dedicated to another group of characters’ concurrent, darker, more dramatic, serialized story.

McMahan is also the creator of Star Trek: Lower Decks and he’s brought his solid plotting and above-average joke-writing to that show, too. Michael Waldron started out as a writer’s assistant on Community and then wrote for Rick and Morty and Dan Harmon’s animated improv role-playing show HarmonQuest. He’s since he’s been brought aboard by Disney to write Loki, the upcoming Doctor Strange sequel, and the screenplay for Kevin Feige’s as yet untitled Star Wars film. Former Rick and Morty writer Jane Becker now has a Simpsons episode writing credit under her belt, which makes everything come nicely full circle (a la Dan Harmon’s famous story circle). Furthermore, there’s even a new Dan Harmon cartoon on the way called Krapopolis that I’m willing to bet will at least start out very strong and, if we’re lucky, this one won’t fall victim to the Harmon Curse.

Plus, the Harmon Curse is hardly absolute. In spite of its somewhat depressing twilight years, Community stuck the landing with a beautiful series finale and, similarly, Rick and Morty still totally works a lot of the time, e.g., I really enjoyed the season 4 finale specifically because it brought back serialization. Even though it often feels like the characters on this show hate each other or that there are no real stakes to the conflicts, sometimes it pulls off an episode that makes me forget all that and just have a good time.

It’s also not entirely impossible for Rick and Morty to reintroduce stakes and sitcom character likability. There’s the aforementioned fact that Rick’s standing in the Smith family is in flux, so there’s possibly emotionally resonant character stuff to wring out of there. And, though it certainly wouldn’t be good to overuse him, there’s always fan-favorite Evil Morty, whose dark influence seems to transcend universes, making him a palpable lurking threat to the titular duo.

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As Disney’s stranglehold over all of existence only grows more absolute and seemingly every other TV show is either a superhero show, a Star Wars spinoff, or an origin story series nobody asked for about a side character from a classic film, I remain glad a creative visionary like Dan Harmon is still in the business. We’ve got great Harmon-adjacent series like Solar Opposites and Lower Decks, plus another upcoming new Harmon show, and former Rick and Morty and Community writers all over the industry. Dan Harmon’s unique influence reverberates throughout modern media and our entertainment is all the better for having him.

Rick and Morty season 5 premieres June 20 on Adult Swim.

The post Has Rick and Morty Lost the Zeitgeist? appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[kuwaiti-kid]

12 Best PS1 Role Playing Games (RPGs) of All Time

Magic, adventure, intrigue, and the 32-bit era of graphics.

When you mention the origins of our favorite role-playing video games, nostalgia runs rampant within us. We all remember our first, our favorite, and everything in between.

Role-Playing games have shaped the expectations of how many of us want to experience our gaming journey. The hardest part is finding which to choose. Which are best? What stories should you invest thirty hours of your life into?

Get ready to have another blast from the past! We are delving deep into the amazing games that made up the epic Playstation Roleplaying genre of the ’90s.

Here is our list of the best PlayStation RPG games ever!

The Best PS1 RPGs of All Time

1. Xenogears (1998)

When it comes to RPGs of such massive scale and scope, Xenogears should need no introduction. The story is all-encompassing and intense. It does not only does it entail the death of a god and dualism. Xenogears also has arching stories of reincarnation, religion, use of mass control, and brainwashing.

Xenogears centers around the main character Fei, an adopted young male in the village of Lahan. Fei was brought by a mysterious man while suffering from retrograde amnesia. During an attack on Lahan from Gebler, Fei pilots an empty gear and fights the enemy, accidentally destroying the village. As a result, Fei and Citan, the village’s doctor, leave with the abandoned gear to get it away from the town.

From this point, you meet multiple supporting characters that very clearly also have skeletons in their closets.

Mixing a unique style of 2D animation with 3D backdrops, Xenogears focused on its anime inspiration with fully animated and voiced cutscenes. Gameplay centered around a stamina-based combat system. This is a playoff of the Active Time Battle system found in games such as Chrono Trigger and the Final Fantasy series.

Every character and inch of this game is worth exploring to experience the all-encompassing details and rich storyline. At the time, Xenogears was a groundbreaking game. This is a must-play.

2. Final Fantasy VII (1997)

If you haven’t heard of Cloud, Tifa, or Aerith, you have been living under some very large rubble in Midgar. Final Fantasy VII is considered to be by far the best Final Fantasy game ever made. So let’s talk about why.

FFVII’s gameplay, story, and setting are almost unparalleled.

The Materia system was an excellent idea that contributed to altering character stats. The character list is filled with interesting personalities, even if they’re not all brought into the open.

The world setting for FFVII is full of mystery and variety, from exploring the ocean depths in a submarine to zipping about the skies in your airship to traveling around on a Chocobo, it was about as dynamic as any interactive world could’ve been. Each town had a style and persona all its own, each area had a specific appeal, and how each character reacted to each region was also outstanding.

The depth of that story, the levels, and dimensions on which it operates, the pacing that seems just about perfect; it all combines to create a highly enjoyable experience. It has philosophical and psychological angles that few really appreciate,

And Sephiroth remains the greatest villain of all time for one big reason: He has mastered the art of being both sympathetic and completely brutal.

The game was so fantastic; the Final Fantasy VII Remake is the most requested and anticipated remake game of all time.

If you are looking for a fully immersive and enjoyable RPG experience that pulls you in from the moment you begin, then Final Fantasy VII should be the next game to pop into your system.

3. Final Fantasy IX (2000)

It is no surprise with how iconic the Final Fantasy series is that there would be more than one of them on this list. We talked about the iconic Final Fantasy VII, so now let us talk about Final Fantasy IX and why it is so crucial in the series.

There were concerns regarding how modern Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy VIII were with more high-tech robotics and settings. When IX came along, we were transported back to the origin of the Final Fantasy game designs.

FFIX brings us back to pay tribute to its former classics. Traditional medieval fantasy setting and a cast of characters who resembled the classes of old. The characters included Vivi, the Black Mage, and Steiner the Knight, to name a few.

They even made subtle nods and references to previous games to kick that nostalgia up a notch.

The basis of the story? A theater troupe named Tantalus moonlights as a gang of noble thieves. They head to the city of Alexandria to perform their latest play and devise a plan to kidnap the royal princess Garnet. You play as main character Zidane, an actor and thief with a monkey tail. The troupe sets out to capture the princess, only to find that she’s been planning her escape all along.

What follows is a world-spanning adventure involving war, subterfuge, magical crystals, summoned monsters, and lots of clones. If you want to see how it all plays out, I suggest you grab yourself a copy!

4. Chrono Trigger (1995)

The first installment of what is referred to as the Chrono Series is the famous Chrono Trigger.  Having been described as revolutionary, some of the elements of the game had never been presented before. These included its multiple endings, plot-related sidequests focusing on character development, unique battle system, and detailed graphics.

Chrono Trigger is a timeless role-playing classic where you embark on a journey to different eras. As the story unfolds, you will travel to the middle ages, future, prehistory, and ancient times. Chrono Trigger gives a new spin to the traveling and monster-killing that you’ll have to do.

 The battle system, which is a new take on the “Active-Time-Battle” (or action RPG) system seen in the Final Fantasy games, is enjoyable and unique. You can perform special moves called Techs and even combine with a couple of your party members to perform a triple combo Tech. The use of Mode 7 graphics pops off the screen, and the level of detail is astounding. The overall visuals of the game are brilliant for the time.

Chrono Trigger was the third best-selling game of 1995 in Japan and shipped 2.65 million copies worldwide by March 2003.

It is widely considered one of the most unique RPG’s ever to hit console. It was also very well-deserving of a sequel!

5. Chrono Cross (1999)

Looking for time travel, changing your fate, and the concept of parallel worlds all rolled into one package? Say no more! Welcome to the fantastic must-play sequel, Chrono Cross!

Boasting some beautiful graphics for its time, and an equally brilliant score, it’s also one of the first games to offer a ‘New Game Plus’ for replayability in an RPG. For anyone that is an RPG fanatic, the replay value for a game speaks volumes.

Renouncing from the traditional turn-based combat system Chrono Cross went with a more stamina-focused approach. They added elemental magic to the mix as a means to sway the battle. You have the option of a large playable support cast wielding different affinities. Having the opportunity to mix different battle group combinations gives the player the power to create a lethal group against powerful foes.

Many say this was not necessarily the best sequel for Cross due to the change in platform. This game the opportunity for new graphics and options that could substantially adjust the game scope. However, it is repeatedly noted as being a brilliant game worthy of precious playtime.

6. Suikoden (1995)

Not long after the launch of the PlayStation, Konami released a 2D role-playing game with a killer soundtrack called Suikoden. Creator Yoshitaka Murayama opted to prioritize storytelling and atmosphere over the fancy 3D graphics that were just starting to take off.

The game centers on the political struggles of the Scarlet Moon Empire. The player controls a Scarlet Moon Empire general’s son, who is destined to seek out 108 warriors or 108 Stars of Destiny) to revolt against the corrupt sovereign state and bring peace to a war-torn land.

 Suikoden was widely considered the best RPG on PlayStation. It earned this title from fans due to its great premise, fast-paced combat, and emotional story. The game itself was so well received that it was worthy of a sequel.

7. Suikoden II (1998)

Continuing with its traditional 2D graphics, Suikoden II is brilliant in both narrative and storytelling. It avoids traditional world-destroying power/demonic force in favor of warring states and factions. The game itself follows with the same storyline and characters as the original. Unlike other RPGs, the Suikoden games are all set in the same universe, with recurring storylines, characters, and settings.

The game itself contains challenging dungeons and bosses, but there is no grinding necessary! Thanks to the auto-attack option, you can quickly and efficiently level characters, so they are always up to speed.

Not only do you have satisfying combat, a cooking mini-game, a top-ranked villain, and flying squirrels, you also get to run your castle.

8. The Legend of Dragoon (1999)

This RPG is another that has a well-known name, but for different reasons. Gamers found this one appealing and claim it is PS1’s most underrated RPG. That makes this classic worthy of a second look!

While it does offer many similarities and familiar aspects of a “traditional” RPG, Legend of Dragoon added the ability to change the nominal Dragoons into enhanced versions of themselves to aide in combat.

Much like Limit Breaks and Trance in FF, it enhanced combat from being turn-based and straightforward.

It had all the fluff and pizazz of a 32-bit-era Final Fantasy, but the CG cutscenes and pyrotechnics weren’t as up to par with its competition. The battle system also had some technicalities as far as healing and logistics that were a bit questionable. On the flip side, though, many loved how pleasantly straightforward it is.

If you’re after something to fill that void between Final Fantasy but don’t want to branch too far out, you can’t go wrong with Legend of Dragoon.

9. Final Fantasy Tactics (1997)

More Final Fantasy, you ask? Absolutely! They did not earn their title as masters of RPG for no reason! So let us delve into another series gem, Final Fantasy Tactics.

Final Fantasy Tactics begins with Ivalice just recovering from the Fifty Year War against Ordalia. The game’s story follows Ramza Beoulve, a highborn cadet who finds himself thrust into the middle of an intricate military conflict. This erupts into a full-scale war known as the “Lion War,” with either side using whatever means possible to secure their place in the throne. This includes bearing an illegitimate child, killing other potential heirs, betrayal, assassination, and false identities.

Pretty intriguing, isn’t it? The plot sounds like a Game of Thrones spinoff!

The battle system is a traditional turn-based and is played out on three-dimensional, isometric fields. In battle, JP is rewarded for every successful action. JP is used to learn new abilities within each job class. Accumulating enough JP results in a job level up; new jobs are unlocked by attaining a certain level in the current job class.

Final Fantasy Tactics received universal acclaim upon its release, and critical opinion of the game has improved further over time. This one is definitely worthy of a spot on the must play list!

10. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (1997)

Symphony of the Night is a platform-adventure action role-playing game developed and published by Konami in 1997.

Symphony begins during the ending of the previous game in the series, Castlevania: Rondo of Blood, where Richter Belmont confronts and defeats Count Dracula. Four years later, in 1796, Richter goes missing, and Dracula’s castle reappears. That is spooky enough to get my attention!

The game is non-linear, but most of the castle is inaccessible until various items and abilities are collected, including shapeshifting into a bat, wolf, or mist. It does have RPG based elements in the combat as well. Alucard’s hit points determine the maximum damage he can withstand before dying while his magic points decide how frequently a magical attack may be cast. He has four other attributes: strength – the power of his physical attack; defense – his resilience to damage inflicted by the monsters; intelligence – the recovery speed of magic points; and luck – the frequency that enemies drop items.

Symphony has a massive, free-to-explore game world with numerous secrets to uncover. It has been praised for integrating RPG elements without compromising the series’ basic gameplay.  Multiple critics also made mention of the ingeniously designed enemies and the story’s many plot twists.

The game has developed such an immense following that original copies are now considered collectors’ items. It has continued to receive critical acclaim and has appeared on many top games’ lists.

Make sure you grab a copy of this one. You will not be disappointed!

11. Star Ocean: The Second Story (1998)

What landed Star Ocean: The Second Story on this list is the aspect of quality over quantity. It may not be the biggest entry on the list, or even the most popular. What does it have? A story that could rival some of the greatest of those sitting on the throne of the RPG universe.

The overall storyline begins with the main protagonist Claude, son of Ronyx Kenny of the first Star Ocean, being transported to a mysterious world, where he meets Rena and a cast of enigmatic support characters. One of whom, Ashton, is cursed with having two dragon heads attached to his head, that bicker and talk over him. Talk about a permanent headache?

Your progress toward towns, and through dungeons toward the ultimate evil force. This all comes across as a fairly standard base of a PRG story.

 The plot twist? This game has 87 different endings.

Some are minor changes, ranging from discovering the identity of one of the bosses, or if you paid attention to certain conversations throughout the game. But this added a new scope than the standard RPG game progression system.

The combat system was also impressive by doing away with being time-based and staying continuously active. It was a refreshing change over selecting through menu prompts.

While this may not be the most popular or classic game on the list, it is definitely one worthy of checking out!

12. Vagrant Story (2000)

Vagrant Story is a beautiful exploration into cult lore, mythology, and ancient magics. It is often referred to as a form of a “spin-off” if Final Fantasy Tactics due to Yasumi Matsuno working on both and set in the same fictional world of Ivalice. Doesn’t that name sound familiar?

Vagrant Story is unique as a console action-adventure role-playing game in that it features no shops and no player interaction with other characters; instead, the game focuses on weapon creation and modification, as well as elements of puzzle-solving and strategy. For many in the know of the ROG universe, this concept was almost completely different.

The gameplay is more of a 3D dungeon explorer, with each area of exploration/combat being broken apart as rooms or small arenas. It utilizes a form of a real-time active battle combat system. Activating combat brings up a personal space bubble, and any offending part of the enemy’s anatomy that pierces that is asking for some battle damage. You can also chain together stronger attacks for a combo hit.

These combinations gave a fresh take on the adventure RPG genre. It would pave the way for new gameplay concept to come to light.

Vagrant Story is a lengthy yet wonderful fantasy journey through a largely rewarding game.

Wrap Up

The list of amazing RPGs that were produced and released for the PS1 could go on for ages. Some may even consider this the golden age for RPG releases. It paved the way for amazing remastered games and fresh stories for modern-day gamers!

Original Playstation RPG’s truly take the digital cake for all that they encompass. Unique storylines, bold changes in new combat systems. You name it, and they produced it.

Whether you experienced this fantastic 90’s age of gaming firsthand, or are new to it and looking to explore, you will not be disappointed.

All that is left now is for you to pick a game and play! After all, no story would be complete without the player beginning their journey.

Where Can I find The Games?

Here are some primary locations to obtain these classics:

Playstation Store Classics

LukieGames 

DKOldies 

GameStop 

The Old School Game Vault

Are you looking for more? Check out our list of the Best SNES RPGs of All Time!

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