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todoscript · 3 years

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SYNOPSIS: Years of memories pouring out, Katsuki and Shouto confront their feelings for you in your very hospital room.

pairing(s): bakugou katsuki x fem!reader, todoroki shouto x fem!reader

genre: angst.

word count: 4.5k+

warnings: really self-indulgent fic, characters are aged-up, implied sexual content, mentions of drinking alcohol, jealousy, reader identifies as female with she/her pronouns,

author’s note: so i found this pretty old wip i wrote before i made my blog, and after reading it over, i decided hey why not publish it? so i finished it up, did some cleaning, and heres what we got. sorry if it seems kind of shaky, i did my best with what i initially had!

“Bakugou… what are you doing here?”

Shouto enters the room with freshly bought peonies in his hands—one of the many dozen he had brought to this hospital already—his steps coming to a halt at the sight of the Explosion Hero near your hospital bed. Katsuki looks up and narrows his eyes, aggravated by the offender’s question.

“What? You got a fucking problem with me being here?” He keeps his voice low, not wanting to disturb the entire hospital wing, knowingly admitting to how loud he could be. But that doesn’t suppress the bite in his tone.

“Just because you’re her fucking boyfriend doesn’t mean you’re the only one that’s allowed to worry about her,” he nearly spits, and Shouto’s face mirrors Katsuki’s own irked expression.

You have been unconscious for a week now. The cause of this incident was due to your encounter with a dangerous villain who had been wanted by the police for quite some time. Months of evading capture down the drain, the villain had unfortunately ran into you as you patrolled the streets during your nightly shift.

In the end, you won the fight, but at the cost of damage done to your body and overuse of your quirk. As a result, you entered an unconscious state, recovering in this hospital bed to be monitored by medical staff throughout each day. The doctors assured them that you would eventually wake up but will need time to heal on your own through rest.

Ever since the day you’ve been admitted here, Shouto has been visiting your bedside. However, this is the first time Katsuki’s shown up.

Shouto only points a glare to the blond, ignoring him while he sets his bouquet down next to your bed. He notices the already present vase of hydrangeas, surmising that Katsuki must have brought them. He places his bundle of peonies beside them.

The dual-haired man sits on the opposite side of the bed from Katsuki, whose attention is brought back to the girl’s sleeping face, patched with wraps and bandages as a result of your tribulations with the villains.

If I had finished my jobs quicker, I would’ve been able to see you the moment you had to stay in this damn hospital. The thoughts ring in Katsuki’s head, hands clenched into fists out of frustration.

Knowing you had to deal with that whack job of a villain on your own—that your overprotective and valiant nature wouldn’t allow you to let this criminal walk away when you encountered him, and that they weren’t there to prevent you from getting like this—killed both him and Shouto on the inside. They especially hated not knowing when you would wake up or if what the doctors said about you eventually regaining consciousness would even be true.

Shouto takes your hand in his, intertwining your fingers together. Katsuki catches him pressing delicate kisses against your lightly bruised knuckles from the corner of his eye, the young man not caring that he was performing these intimate acts in the presence of another man. Shouto especially did this in order to make a solid point:

She’s mine.

Katsuki knew very well how possessive Shouto could be while he was in their presence. And honestly, he couldn’t blame him. If he got to call you his and keep you all to himself, he’d make sure everyone knew they couldn’t have you—that your smile and attention were all his and his alone. But in this case, they weren’t, and all he could settle for were envious emotions and fantasies of what could’ve been.

•

Bakugou Katsuki’s feelings for you date back to as early as your high school years at U.A.

At first, he wasn’t entirely sure what made these feelings arise. Having his goal of becoming the Number One hero plastered at the forefront of his head made romance and love trivial concepts down his path. Katsuki had no time to be chasing after girls, going on dates, and devoting a chunk of his time to a partner.

However, at one point, things started to change. He felt ripples affect the still waters that were his life, and he noticed that only you could calm this torrent. You were the one person he sought comfort in, the one person that understood who he was and why he acted the way he did. And the one person who mended him physically and mentally without belittling his character or crushing his pride.

Through all of that, Katsuki had begun to appreciate and admire all the little things about you. Like your beaming smile and the twinkle in the lovely hues of your eyes that you’d give him as you two interacted. It was such a welcomed contrast to the fearful looks the other students would have etched on their faces whenever he so much as called out their name.

He always took note of how you adjusted his food to his preferences during times you were assigned to cook that night at the dorms. And how you’d go and try to tend to him after training, when his muscles ached and his bruises were settling into his skin.

At first, Katsuki thought of it as a sign of weakness—to accept help from someone else when at his most vulnerable state. Yet you were persistent.

He recalls a particular memory after a battle during his internship where he was reduced to resting in bed to recover. Not many of his classmates came up to check on him during that time. Mainly because they figured he wouldn’t bother to open his door for them anyway. Though one night, he heard a knock sounding from his door. He glanced up from his bed, already thinking about ignoring the visitor in favor of staying in bed to rest, but a voice spoke beyond the threshold.

“Katsuki? I hope you’re not asleep yet. It’s not much, but I made you a little something to help you get better.” He didn’t reply upon recognizing your voice, hesitating to see what you’d do if he didn’t respond.

There was a pause of silence until you eventually continued. “Well, I’ll leave this in front of your door for you to have… If not, I’ll come back and retrieve it, okay?” That was the last you said before Katsuki picked up a light clank near the bottom of the entrance. Afterward, feet padded lightly down the hallway till they returned to the elevator to descend to the bottom floors, and the blond was by himself once again.

He weighed the option of leaving whatever you left for him untouched, but knowing you made an effort to arrive at his door to check on him caused him to waver. Before he knew it, his feet treaded to the spot to discover a hot plate of curry at his doorstep, followed by a note and painkillers. The plate perched on one of his hands, he opened the letter with the other.

Get better soon! We’ll be waiting for you!

Closing the note, he tossed it on his desk before plopping down on the edge of his bed with the plate of curry in his lap. It steamed and dispersed heat on his sore thighs, piping hot and ready to eat.

He gripped his spoon between his fingers, an irregular grin surfacing his lips. He scooped up the spicy bits of curry, gobbling the dish down to its very last grain of rice until the plate was clean. And in that time, every bite he brought to his mouth made him think of you.

“Dumbass, there’s no way I’m falling behind.” Feeling thoroughly full, he transferred the finished plate to his desk, where he had left the note. Before he had even realized it, he reached out for the paper, glancing over the words one last time. He fished a pen from his drawer and scribed a reply of his own for when you would return for the dirty plate.

Thanks, dumbass. It was good.

•

The Icy-Hot Hero, Todoroki Shouto, loved you too much to let you go.

You were the girl that shaped him to become the person he is today—who taught him to embrace himself for who he was and not let his past define him and what he stood for. You were the person that brought him out from the dark hole he trapped himself in and cast him into warm light. You’ve stuck together through thick and thin throughout your journey to becoming Pro Heroes, protecting one another and watching each other’s backs. It wasn’t long before he noticed his feelings for you had developed into more complicated emotions. Emotions that made butterflies flutter in his stomach and his face unusually hot whenever he even glanced in your direction. As he began to actively seek you out for comfort and support, he thought of you differently in comparison to all of his other classmates.

Initially, these foreign feelings troubled him. Yet, he could never quite piece together why you could garner such flustered reactions.

Then after consoling these newfound sensations with his close friends and family, he realized that you meant so much more to him than just a classmate, an ally, a colleague. Todoroki Shouto was—is—in love with you.

And the feeling was mutual.

Whether it was the intense looks you two sent as your gazes naturally drifted to each other or how your hands would always brush across soft and calloused knuckles in a silent plea to lace your fingers together, it wasn’t long before he discovered that his feelings for you were reciprocated.

Interestingly, you and Shouto never had to confess anything to each other. Your feelings came almost naturally for you both like you were telepathically linked and on the same wavelength. You came to one another like magnets attracted to their opposite poles, and in just a blink, your lips had met one day, and you took each other’s first kiss.

From then on was the start of many more “firsts.”

Shouto remembers the first time he let you hang out in his dorm room, talking about simple things like school, studying, and internships.

He remembers your first date to a cafe his older sister recommended—the one with flavorful milk teas he knew you’d take a liking to, with bountiful flowers decorating the interior of the tea house.

He remembers inviting you into his home to meet his older siblings, have dinner with them, and letting his family get to know you as his significant other.

He remembers taking you to see his mother at the psychiatric ward his wretched father had admitted her to, finally letting the two most significant women in his life meet and watching as his mother took a relieved liking to the girl he loves.

He remembers the tension that hovered in the air over an argument you two had one day, which was eventually mended through communication and reaffirmations of love.

He remembers embracing you in his bed, devoid of nothing but yourselves in your purest forms, eliciting sweet sounds from your lips that intoxicated him with lust and drove him to desire more and more until he monopolized every crevice of your body—every ounce of your soul—and intended to burn your beautiful, sinful image into his memory.

He remembers so much of the little things and the significant things about your love that he could never, ever hand you over to anyone else. Less of all to Bakugou Katsuki.

•

Katsuki was one of the first people to notice that they were in a relationship.

At first, it wasn’t obvious. The two made a point to keep their romantic bond a secret among their classmates and teachers not to complicate things and be the subject of teasing. They also considered the fact they needed to focus on their studies and hero training. Kisses and other affectionate touches were done behind closed doors or whenever they knew no eyes could discover them. These sneaky tactics proved to be effective and not many questioned them about relationships, aside from the occasional girls/boys talk they’d do. They’d ask each other things like “who would you date” and “don’t you think ‘so-and-so’ is cute” and many other curious asks. Their answers to these inquiries were inconspicuous enough that most of their friends didn’t suspect much of anything. Except for Katsuki.

Katsuki was never one to pick apart details, not as much as his childhood rival, Deku, anyway. But the more he looked at them, the more he was aware of the particular hints and their subtleties of tenderness. Such as the way the red-and-white-haired boy would perk up at the sound of your name or the chime of your voice from across the dormitory’s common area. Or the way you two would hover around each other more often than you would your classmates as if maximizing the most of your time together in public. Or how you’d go on small study dates together and hold each other’s hand underneath the table in the library, thinking no one would notice.

Perhaps, the most significant indication, however, was the expressions on each of their faces.

Maybe Katsuki had started becoming very hyper-aware, unraveling your mannerisms and making out even the smallest of singularities, but he felt your faces alone were an obvious giveaway.

The looks you gave each other were ones harboring nothing but pure love and adoration. He could discern the glow you exuded simply basking one another’s presence. Those looks weren’t ones you would give to a close friend; they were something more. He would know. That look Shouto gives is the same one Katsuki has for you, after all.

Except, his is never reciprocated.

That pretty smile, the flustered expression across your cheeks, the sparkling hues of your eyes—all those little details were reserved for Shouto, not Katsuki.

It hurt to know that the gaze you give Katsuki wouldn’t ever be the same one you give to Shouto. Katsuki knows this, and yet he still can’t seem to get past you.

The moment he was aware of his feelings—reluctantly fathoming the fact that you were with Shouto—Katsuki did everything in his power to stop these feelings.

No, not just stop. He had to get rid of them. Cut any connection with them. Dealing with an aching heart was too much work and pain for a boy with heavy aspirations to bear. So he ignored you—erased you. He didn’t so much as spare you even a glance as if you were just another extra. Whenever you appeared, he made a move to leave, spouting excuses such as “I’m going to sleep,” or “I don’t have time to be around you losers,” the usual Bakugou Katsuki response to any form of unnecessary socializing. He had to act like you didn’t exist, put his mind on something else—anything else.

But darn that girl and her need to check on and care for other people.

Noticing something was wrong with the boy, you sought Katsuki out, cornering him. You asked him what was wrong, to which Katsuki gritted his teeth, unable to look at you in the eyes, knowing that those feelings would bubble up inside him again as they conjured troublesome butterflies in the pits of his stomach. Yet it was no use.

He couldn’t deny that he missed those times together—when you would patch up his wounds and bruises after training or when you’d let him try out your spicy ailments before half-and-half because you always knew he had a preference for spicy foods. He still had it bad for you.

And he continued to harbor those feelings even after you all graduated after your third year at U.A.

The heroes-in-training were ready to take on the real world as Pro Heroes and sidekicks. By then, you and Shouto had admitted to the class about your relationship. Some were surprised, while others, specifically the girls, expressed their rounds of “I knew it!” likely noticing the chemistry between the two long before. Katsuki had decided to play dumb and acted like this announcement meant completely nothing to him. Just useless news. That was what he told himself, anyway.

After that, Katsuki didn’t see much of the couple around. All of them were busy with work and trying to get their names out in the public to compete on the Billboard Hero Chart.

Which was good news for him. With his goal of becoming the Number One Hero still lodged into his head, the blond threw himself into his heroic duties. Often, he didn’t stop, persisting on job after job until the agency he was under forced him to take breaks whenever they deemed necessary for his health. In those times, Katsuki found himself slowly forgetting about you. But occasionally, he’d see glimpses of you again.

As expected of one of the graduates under Class A of U.A., you were definitely making a name for yourself and propelling in popularity. Whether he wanted to or not, Katsuki would see articles and advertisements glowing with your resplendent features plastered on headlines, covered by your hero name.

God, did you look as beautiful as always. Katsuki would think before jolting his mind back to reality, remembering that you weren’t his to ogle.

The last part was hard to bear, especially when his former class announced a reunion party at a restaurant Momo had reserved for them when everyone had hit the legal drinking age. Katsuki was definitely not keen on going. However, his friend Kirishima had convinced him to come along through relentless persistence.

Ultimately, he attended the reunion. He and Eijirou arrived together and appeared relatively earlier. Well, earlier than at least half the class anyway. Eventually, more of their former classmates trickled into the food establishment and greeted one another with boisterous cheers all around. Which, unfortunately for him, included the people Katsuki dreaded to see the most—you and Shouto.

Your hand was already laced with half-and-half’s when you two entered, resulting in some of their classmates teasing you about your public display of affection. Both didn’t mind though. Over the years, you’ve grown quite comfortable with hand-holding and even hugging in the open.

You know who did mind? A certain explosion hero, of course.

Save that shit for when I don’t have to fucking see it. He almost hissed out loud but bit his tongue at the last second.

To his luck, you had ended up sitting next to him, with Shouto at your left. Though you were sandwiched between two guys from your former class who were infatuated with you, Katsuki felt like he was more suffocated than you were.

The reunion that night went by relatively smoothly. You would chime in some small talk with Katsuki during certain intervals of time while everyone was holding their own conversations in the background. He did his best to keep his cool and not let himself act like a high schooler in love. To some degree, he thought his facade had worked as he played off his usual “Bakugou responses,” albeit with a lot less yelling and venom in comparison to how he spoke to everyone back in high school. Dare he say, he might have even softened up a bit. What he didn’t notice was Shouto glancing at him from the corner of his eye while in the middle of a conversation with Midoriya.

The night continued with rounds of alcohol poured across the table of twenty-one heroes. They made their cheers before helping themselves to their spirits. Conveniently, Shouto and Katsuki were very adept at holding their drinks. You? You weren’t as great. By the end of the night, you passed out from how drunk you were and had ended up laying your head on the table, head floaty and light.

By then, everyone else had left aside from maybe five or so people. Momo graciously helped the couple secure a cab home safely for the night, and Shouto had gotten up to help confirm some information. Katsuki was left to his own devices with you next to him.

His eyes couldn’t help but wander toward your form. You were so vulnerable in front of him, with your soft lips, splayed hair, and long eyelashes turned in his direction for him to see. Though a bit of that smell of alcohol lingered, he could still make out the flowery aroma you always gave off. You smelled of lavenders, daisies, roses—every fucking flower under the sun—with a hint of honey. Your scent intoxicated him. He started to wonder if this is how you smelled like at home, or if your scent became even more potent whenever you appeared fresh out of the shower and—

Katsuki hadn’t realized his hand had subconsciously gone up to brush a stray hair from your face until he managed to pull himself away from his thoughts. Thankfully, he retracted his hand back before committing himself to the act. But the gesture did not go unnoticed by the heterochromatic-eyed man who had appeared again to gather you in his arms.

Shouto had taken his coat and wrapped it around you before hooking his arms beneath you to cradle your body.

“Mm, Shouto…” you hummed against him, arms instinctively wrapping around his neck as you nuzzled further into him while on the verge of sleep. Katsuki’s heart throbbed hearing those half-dazed murmurs that left your lips, which hovered so close to that bastard’s neck. He wanted the privilege of holding you close and taking care of you at your most vulnerable.

“Come on, love, we’re going home,” he said fondly at your resting state. Katsuki didn’t catch the cold glare Shouto sent his way as he looked elsewhere to avoid the couple’s intimacy right in front of him. All he could hear after that was the engine of their cab rumbling in the distance, trailing back to their humble abode.

•

“...I know.” Shouto finally breaks the silence within the hospital room, eyes still trained on his beloved as he rubs his thumb across your knuckles to the base of your hand.

Katsuki looks up at his words incredulously. “The fuck is that suppose to mean.” He narrows his brows into a pressed glare.

“I know that you’re in love with her.”

Katsuki deadpanned, his eyes wavering at the man’s declaration. Should he deny it? Make it seem as if the icy-hot head was delusional? No. He knows that the signs must have been obvious coming from the one man in his way of vying for your attention, the man that would go to so many lengths for you that he’d travel to the moon and back in a heartbeat if it were in your name. Katsuki can’t pry himself out of this one.

He takes a glance at you. Was this really the place to be confronting him about this? In the presence of your unconscious state resting in this hospital bed between them?

“And what about it?” Katsuki counters his claims.

“I don’t plan on letting her go no matter what.” As if to make a point on his words, Shouto’s hold on your limp hand is firm, unmoving. He slowly shifts his gaze to the ash blond, crossing his look of anger. “So stop playing this game.”

When the words travel across the hollow hospital room and to Katsuki’s ears, his fists tighten in response. “Game? Game?!” He raises his voice, body shaking. “You think my feelings are some sort of joke to you?! That I’m only looking at her like this for fun?!” His eyes find Shouto’s blue and gray, red with ire. The young man in front of him is unfazed in the wake of his indignation.

“Let me tell you something fucking straight…” Katsuki starts, stepping forward, finger pointing fiercely in Shouto’s direction. “I won’t deny anything I feel for her at this point. I’m in love with her, alright?” he admits without hesitance and notices the subtle quirk of Icy-Hot’s brow. “And I’ll tell you that if she were mine, she wouldn’t have gotten in this position in the first place.”

Those words are what finally make Shouto’s unnatural composure crumble. He releases your hand to stand from his place and face the blond at eye level. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

Crossing his arms, Katsuki scoffs at the question.

“You’d think I’d even let that villain get near her if this was gonna happen?” He gestures in the direction of your patched-up form, asleep and littered with bruises. “If she were looking at me, I would’ve already been on the scene to back her up. And just what were you doing, huh? Helping old ladies cross the street?” Katsuki is unfiltered as he hurls his insults, but three years of dealing with him as a classmate has made Shouto immune to his temperament.

“Let me get this through your head then. She was never looking at you. She was looking at me.”

Ouch. The blond would be lying if those words didn’t stir a pot of hurt inside him.

“And as both her partner and a fellow Pro Hero, I more than trusted her enough to finish the job on her own. Even if this isn’t a game to you, you’re already losing a battle you can’t hope to win.”

“Not sure why you’re the one calling the shots for her,” Katsuki quips. How ironic the girl they’re both fighting over lays comatose in this very bed between them.

The atmosphere is layered in dreadful silence afterward. The monitor next to you beeps in eery succession. It is the only thing heard in the hospital room that is wrapped in tension so taut it is bound to snap at any moment.

The knot of strife is undone by the door sliding open to reveal a nurse entering the uneasy state of the room.

“Mister Bakugou and Mister Todoroki, I’m sorry, but visiting hours at the hospital are closed for the evening,” she informs them as the two had yet to realize the sky veiled darkening orange with the setting of the sun. Eyeing the clipboard hugged to her chest, they knew it was about time for the hospital to assess your condition again.

The two make their leave, taking the time to thank the nurse before doing so, but the suffocating tension follows them even outside the hospital. They don’t speak a word afterwards, only sharing bristled looks and heavy steps until they’re forced to head off in their respective paths, not sparing any more kindness.

To Shouto, Katsuki would never understand the lengths he’d go for you because Katsuki could also never experience what the two of you went through together in the same way. All those years together, forging unforgettable memories of love and tenderness, could never be replicated.

But the blond isn’t bothered by those facts. It doesn’t unnerve him that he was unable to encounter all those firsts with you because in his mind, he’ll just create new memories—ones that you’ve never experienced and ones that will make him the last and only person you’ll ever want by your side. He’ll blow fucking Icy-Hot out of the atmosphere.

ending note: heyyy congrats if you’ve made it to the end. i think at the time i was writing this, i had an idea on how to progress the fic, but i decided to leave it on this. not particularly sure if i’m going to continue this, i may just leave it up to your interpretation. does katsuki steal the readers heart? does shouto protect his love from being severed in front of him? will the reader even wake up? find out on the next episode of dragon ball z

#bnha x reader #todoroki x reader #bakugou x reader #bakugo x reader #bakugo fic #bakugou fic #todoroki fic #bnha imagine #bnha fic #bakugou imagine #todoroki imagine #todoroki shouto x reader #bakugou katsuki x reader

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softlass27 · 4 years

Note

Directors cut of One More Word and you Wont Survive 🙏

Gah, this fic is so long, but I shall try and break it down!

So the initial idea came from a brief conversation I had with @soft-husbands about how ridiculous it was that in 2018 the writers had Lachlan kidnap Rebecca (who literally no one cared about) instead of Robert, which would have been a much better storyline. Since I needed to write something for her in a gift exchange, I decided to do my own version of it!

These are the key points/main ideas that were the most important for me:

Aftermath

One thing I knew I definitely wanted to do – even before I’d really worked out the exact plot – was include a lot of the actual aftermath of the kidnapping, and really show how it mentally affected Robert (as well as Aaron). I didn’t want to write one of those fics where you just have the drama, and then maybe one scene at the end where everything’s suddenly okay again. Which, y’know, is what the Emmerdale writers tend to do. 🤷

So that’s why the fic is literally divided into two halves – the action and the aftermath. And I loved writing the second half – looking at Robert’s mental state, showing other characters’ reactions, lots of communicating between him and Aaron etc.

I didn’t want Robert to just be fine straight away, I wanted him to take some time to settle back into things again, to go to counselling and to work towards recovering from what he’d been through. I kept it mostly quite upbeat and hopeful – I couldn’t bring myself to make it too angsty – but I did have Robert struggle to come to terms with what had happened to him.

On top of that, I wanted Aaron to be his rock. The writers never really gave Aaron a chance to be the strong one in the relationship, not for longer than a couple of episodes or so, and I wish we could’ve seen it. It would’ve been great to watch, but also a nice switch for Danny and Ryan (who would’ve both smashed it!).

And of course this was an excuse for me to write lots of soft fluffy husbands content, which as you all know, is my jam.

Lachlan

So in the show, I thought the writers did a good job of building up Lachlan’s psychotic tendencies. In late 2017, he did begin to seem quite scary, you could see they were building up to him properly snapping.

But then as soon as he actually did start killing people, he became kind of… meh. They’d done all this buildup to make him as deranged as possible, but from the Whites car crash onwards, his character lost all that great creepiness and just became a bit of a wet wipe. His killing of Gerry was completely lame, his kidnapping of Rebecca was rubbish and so was the aftermath. He spent most of his time flapping about what to do and obsessing over Belle, and honestly he became one of the most boring soap villains they’ve ever done. By the time he was arrested and went to prison, they’d lost so much momentum it was kind of a pitiful ending for him.

Maybe it’s because I watch a lot of crime stuff (both true and fictional), but I just wanted more. I wanted him to be terrifying, to be unhinged and scarily cold. And it made sense to me that he would really show this side of himself by kidnapping and torturing Robert. Robert’s been his number one enemy from the beginning – he hates him more than anyone and essentially blames him for every single thing that went wrong in his life. In terms of storytelling, it only seemed right that his final showdown would be with Robert and no one else. It’s what both characters deserved.

So that’s what I wrote. I did a big final “fight to the death” between the two, and I tried to make Lachlan this cold-blooded psychopath who got off on making Robert suffer as much as possible – for as long as possible. All those years of built-up resentment finally spilled out of him and it made him totally lose the plot. But at the same time, he was able to switch that off and act completely normal when he was with Belle. I tried to show this in a few scenes, like including a moment where he told Robert – his kidnapped victim – he had to go because Belle was expecting him to go for breakfast with her family.

I really enjoyed doing it, but at the same time I was terrified that the way I was writing him would seem ridiculous, like he’d come off as a bit of a silly pantomime villain. It seems to have paid off though, judging by peoples’ reactions, so I’m quite happy with how my Lachlan turned out :)

Chas/Paddy/Liv

I knew from the beginning that Chas, Paddy and Liv would all be on the “wrong” side of the story, so to speak. They’d be the sort of “lesser” villains, the ones causing conflict on Aaron’s end and in the second half of the story.

On the show, I never really believed that any of them actually accepted Robert as family after reunion 2.0, to me it seemed like Chaddy were just civil with him as long as he made Aaron happy. And I never bought into the whole “roblivion” concept during boyfriends era, so I was even less convinced of it in husbands era. I always found it shallow and fake on Liv’s end.

This was pretty much proved right by Chas, Paddy and Liv’s behaviour during the aftermath of Robert’s exit – all three of them showed their true colours and their true feelings about him very quickly.

Considering every time things got rough for Robron on the show, Chaddy and Liv either turned on Robert or just acted like he never existed/meant anything and actively tried to push Aaron to “grow up” and move on from him, it made perfect sense to me to have them suspect the worst of Robert in my story. To assume that him disappearing meant that he’d done something wrong, rather than he was in trouble.

(Fun fact: the scene where Robert has that big showdown with Chaddy in the pub was actually one of the first ones I wrote. Ah, priorities.)

I wanted Aaron to be strong, to never doubt that Robert was in trouble and to unapologetically stick by him in the aftermath. I wanted him to stand up to Chaddy and to put Robert before Liv for once (judging by quite a few comments that I got, lots of other people did too, so I’m glad I went for it!). I also wanted him to make it very clear that his main family unit – his priority – was Robert and Seb, not the Dingles’ feelings. Anyone who disagreed with him could fuck right off as far as he was concerned.

By the end of the story, Aaron has very much allied himself with the Sugden family, that’s why we saw lots of him with Diane and Vic. I really wanted to call back to the “Who Shot Robert” era, where they both stepped up and rallied around Robert 100%, only this time with the bonus of Aaron being on their side, too.

Rebecca/Ross/Seb

I mean… this is quite self-explanatory, but I knew from the beginning that Rebecca would die and Ross would end up going to Liverpool miserable and alone. No happy ending for either of them because they didn’t fucking deserve it.

And of course, this would mean that Seb would stay with his dads where he belongs. I will never get tired to coming up with new ways for this to happen (just you wait for Aaron week).

The ending

Since I was writing this fic for the engagement anniversary gift exchange, I thought it’d be fun to include an actual engagement at the end of it. I hadn’t necessarily planned to make it another lay-by proposal, but when I looked at my story timeline (yes, I did make an actual timeline lmao) and I realised that the 4th December wasn’t very far away, I knew I HAD to get them back to that spot. It was only right!

So I’m probably in the minority here, but I’m not actually a huge fan of proposal 2.0. Don’t get me wrong, it’s nice and super cute, but the whole “trying to propose to each other at the same time” gimmick just wasn’t really for me. I thought it was a bit unrealistic that they’d both separately just randomly come up with the same idea at the same time (I know, I’m sorry). And since we’d already had Robert do it the first time, I kind of wanted the second one to be totally Aaron’s thing, let him have a proper turn.

So I took elements of proposal 2.0 that I liked – the location, some of the dialogue – and took out the bits that I didn’t – Robert trying to propose, Aaron’s funfair lie (I’m sorry but that was just dumb), the jinx thing, other people (Chaddy and Liv) being so involved. Thereby creating my own perfect version of proposal 2.0 (what can I say, I am a self-indulgent girl).

I think in this universe, after everything they’d been through, after Aaron’s terror of losing Robert for good, it seemed right that he would be the one to do the asking. And because we know he’s a sentimental sod, it made sense that he would wait until their lay-by anniversary to do it.

#omg i'm sorry this is so long #i think i've covered the main things #but if anyone wants me to expand/mention something else #go for it!#my writing #lauren rambles #robandaaronsoulmates

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tired-luxis · 5 years

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Tomarrymort: Why it’s Such a Promising Ship

I absolutely adore Tomarrymort. It’s one of my all-time favorite ships, and I find myself coming back to it time and time again. Of course, it might take a bit of work to convince the quintessential skeptic about this pairing, so here are some reasons why Tomarrymort is a gold mine of content.

I. The parallels

J.K. Rowling painstakingly draws numerous similarities between Harry and Tom’s upbringing. For instance:

A. Childhoods

Although not explicitly stated by Rowling, Harry definitely grew up in an abusive home (starvation, overwork, belittlement, so on). Tom Riddle also spent his childhood in a bad environment, as he was born in 1926 at the height of global turmoil and England-specific class upheavals. As an orphan at an unforgiving home, he likely experienced harsh treatment for reasons even aside from his fear-inspiring magical abilities.

B. Unfit, Hostile Guardians

The Dursleys did everything they could to quash any freakishness in Harry. They systematically diminished his self-worth and sought to stifle his magical abilities in every way. Similarly, Wool’s Orphanage also treated Tom as an “other”. While Tom was by no means a saint, the Matron and his peers made no secret of their unease and borderline dislike for him, which likely only alienated Riddle further.

C. Marked by Dumbledore from a young age

Since the prophecy’s creation, Dumbledore singled out Harry as a tool to win the war. Dumbledore may have cared for him and genuinely regretted the self-sacrificing role he would have to play, but regardless, he still passively and actively ensured Harry would be put in too many life-or-death situations that no child should’ve experienced. And while Dumbledore preemptively christened Harry a savior, he contrastingly damned Tom at the very start. Within mere moments of meeting Tom, he was convinced that this young boy was someone to be feared. Mind you, I’m not a Tom Riddle apologist; I fully recognize that he was a very dark villain as an adult and his actions could not be primarily attributed to the rejection he faced from adult figures. However, the way that they were both pseudo-predestined to play opposing roles is rather fascinating.

D. Why these similarities matter!!

On a surface level, children are objectively impressionable beings, and the way Tom and Harry were raised likely affected their behavior and character in interesting ways. Because they had similar influences upon their childhoods, it becomes even more intriguing to observe where their paths diverged and how they became such famous hero-villains. I’ll let Tom say it himself:

“There are strange likenesses between us, Harry Potter. Even you must have noticed. Both half-bloods, orphans, raised by Muggles. Probably the only two Parselmouths to come to Hogwarts since the great Slytherin himself. We even look something alike.”

There’s something uniquely attractive about characters who could’ve been like one another, and yet ended up as completely different people. It’s like looking into a mirror and seeing a twisted reflections — rather incredible, isn’t it?

II. The magical ties

A. Horcruxes: Parseltongue, Occlumency, and more

This is probably the biggest addition to Tomarrymort’s intrigue. To start with, we have Harry’s Parseltongue abilities, which presented themselves early on in the first book and continued to appear in very memorable scenes throughout the series. While Parseltongue itself is a rather loaded concept rife with worldbuilding potential, its continued presence was a constant reminder of the soul relationship between Harry and Voldemort.

For, recall that Harry’s Parseltongue ability was a direct consequence of his soul relationship with Voldemort. He housed a piece of Voldemort’s soul for over a decade. This is astounding, given that there are several examples of other characters being affected by even a brief contact with Voldemort’s Horcruxes. The Diary possessed Ginny after just a school term, the Locket recreated Ron’s greatest fears after mere weeks of wear, and the shard in Nagini likely contributed to her complete obedience and lethality. That then begs the question — how could the piece in Harry have affected him? And if there was no effect, that just makes it all the more interesting with questions of why Harry alone was immune.

Bonus: ficwriters can play with the idea of soul magic or Horcrux-related worldbuilding. It’s wonderful seeing all these different interpretations of Horcrux events: restoring/rejoining pieces of Voldemort’s soul, establishing soul bonds, soul-based mind manipulation, and more.

B. The Prophecy

The actual prophecy has been re-interpreted by numerous fanfics in different ways. The last two lines are the most fanficable, in my opinion.

“And the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not...”

Consider the phrase, “mark him as his equal”. A mark in and of itself is an inherently possessive act of claiming, which ties back to Tomarrymort’s obsessive relationship. And, the pairing can be written with paradoxically imbalanced power dynamics despite their “equal” status.

“And either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives...”

Oh, would you look at that — predestined enemies, fatal tragedy, and more. It’s quite poetic, really. Imagine falling in love with your worst enemy in this scenario. For Voldemort, the prophecy ascertained Harry’s status as a threat to his greatest goal of immortality, which would make a romantic pairing between the two into a very emotionally charged concept. And for Harry, he would have already experienced pain for loving a creature defined by an inability to love, and this prophecy line would have been the final nail in the coffin.

III. Fanfiction application

A. Sheer variety

Tomarrymort fics span across a wild spectrum. You can scroll just a couple fics down and go from a soul-crushing tale of beautiful angst to a gentle coffeeshop AU. There’s something for everyone here!

B. Depth

The nature of the pairing usually requires a good deal of buildup or context, and it can be pretty intense or achingly soft. Regardless, you’re guaranteed to get quite the vividly emotional experience.

IV. Conclusion

Generally speaking, there are too many reasons in canon and in fanfiction application that make Tomarrymort amazing. The community itself is also so lovely, and I found some of my greatest friends here. Give the pairing a try if you’d like, and cheers to happy fandom experiences!

(If you’ve read this far, kudos to you! Check me out on ao3, where I write sometimes! Or yell at me on twitter.)

#tomarry #harrymort #tomarrymort #fanfic #rant #fanfiction #harry potter #tom riddle #i just really wanted to get this off my chest #tomarrymort is so underrated

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venus-says · 4 years

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Kamen Rider Gaim Episodes 21-47

I LOVE FRUITS.

⚠ ⚠ Warning! Very long post ahead, be prepared. ⚠ ⚠

Yes, I got a bit too excited about this damn show and I couldn't contain myself from watching the rest of it on the weekend so here we are, a post for the rest of the show in its entirety.

I feel like this, kinda like the first one I did for Gaim, will be a post where it'll look like I hate the show because I'll talk a lot about the points I disliked and I won't spend as much time talking about what I did enjoy so let me just reinforce, I LOVED THIS SHOW A LOT (so much that I couldn't wait for another week to watch the ending) it's just that ironically it's easier to talk about the bad points rather than the good ones. XD

Since there's a whole lot to talk about I'll do this differently and instead of talking about the story as a whole, I'll comment on each character and their journey instead because I feel like this the best way to do it.

Starting with our protagonist, Kouta... was kinda difficult for me. Like, I get that he went through a lot and he definitely had an arc of growth that was compelling to watch, but I think his indecisiveness at times was kinda boring to see. And my problem isn't so much that he's not assertive of what decisions he has to take is the fact that we see him in periods of doubt, then the show makes it seem like he finally has made a decision, just to a few episodes later make him be doubtful of his convictions again. And while I understand that it's a normal thing to change your thoughts about something, I feel like it happens SO MUCH in the show that it feels forced for convenience of the narrative at times. They can't make him decide on a path earlier because the path of other characters wasn't laid down yet so he had to be in this constant roller coaster which got a little tiring after the fourth time he argued about what would be the best course of action to deal with Yggdrasil, the Overlord invasion, Kaito and Mitchy, and all of that.

Though I'll give credit for the show where it's due and it is very in character for Kouta to be like this so as much as it bugged me I know that if he was a real person IRL Kouta would do the exact same things and take the exact same decisions he made so that's great. Though I have a little problem with his selflessness, in the end they make a huge point about how Kouta was always like that, he always put the needs of the others before his own, but we never really see a backstory for him, the closest we get to his past is that one episode where we get to know that he rescues a dog while he was kid, so all we have to back up that claim is the show and, at least to me, it never felt like he was putting himself aside for the others. Of course, that may be because he's so selfless that even when it looks like he's doing things for his own satisfaction he is helping the others because that's where his satisfaction comes from, but I can't deny that it felt like we missed an episode just to illustrate that a little better.

Now, if there's one thing I really didn't buy was Kouta basically becoming a God by the end. First, he looks awful, I know his "armor" is basically the Zenith form but goooooosh he looks awful, everything there looks 4 sizes bigger than Kouta's actors actual size and geez that wig... how could they find a wig for Mai that looked pretty natural (aside from the color) but gave him that awful instant noodle wig???? And not just the looks, I knew that Kouta would be the one to be chosen in the end, not just because of his relationship with Mai but also because the entity that should be impartial in this whole matter only actively helped him during this journey so aside of a brief moment where I thought Kaito had the chance of being the one, I pretty much knew since the beginning that the one to hold the golden apple at the end would be him, which took all the tension this specific plot had to me.

Speaking of Gaim, he got two new forms, and they were pretty dope. The first one is the Triumph Arms and it sits with OOO's Tajador and Wizards' Infinity as my favorite rider forms from the ones I could experience so far. He looks like he's fully geared up and he's gonna get into that field and beat the entire enemy army on its own, I absolutely love everything about it, the fact this form has two flags on his back announcing that he's coming and those flags are also used in combat to me it's just incredible, and the DJ Gun???? Omg, that's so creative and so fun, I absolutely love it, also the bgm song that plays when this form is used is super hype and I desperately need to download it and listen to it on repeat for a whole month. The way it came up to be in the show was a little meh, the first time he uses it is to destroy Yggdrasil's scalar weapon thing so it wasn't that big of a moment, but it was still great. The other form he gets isn't as cool, at least to me, but I love that his final form is an actual shogun, again whoever was the person who came with this concept was a genius. I have an aesthetic problem with the fruits basket on his chest plate, but I pretty much like everything else about it. This form is everything Fourze's Cosmic States wanted to be but less convoluted and way better looking. And again another great song for this form, I know it's not exclusive for him but it doesn't make it any less awesome, honestly, Gaim's soundtrack is just incredible.

Moving on to Kaito, seeing his descent into the final villain of the show and perishing because of it was quite fun, and I also like that despite him going to the evil path he didn't become a monster. I mean, he did become a monster by the end after he turned into an Overlord himself, but even in his villainous path he still cared for the people who were at his side, you could see that he cared for Zack (to a certain extent), and he really cared for Yoko, so it was good to see that he didn't just become a senseless evil force, he had a vision for what he wanted and he was determined to achieve his goal. If I have to say a bad thing about him, and in this case, it's very similar to one of the complains I had about Kouta, that is the fact that we didn't get a lot of his past, I said in my first post that I didn't really get him and I still feel this way, all I know from his past is that he hates Yggdrasil for taking over the city and destroying the life that he had, but we don't know anything else and it gets hard to understand why is he so obsessed with power like that, I think that if instead of having the episode that served as tie-in for the movie we had used that to dive into his path and on his character more it would've been better, especially to make his death more impactful (but maybe that's not really necessary and the impression I have from this moment not being as good is because of the faces his actor was doing at that moment).

Talking about Baron, I got a little disappointed because his power-up form as a Rider was using the Lemon Energy lock seed and you know considering he would end up becoming the final villain I wish he didn't use the same lock seed that other two riders already used, especially when for one of them Lemon is it's only form, I don't know if it was a logistic problem but like they could've given him another fruit to use, or even make a Banana Energy lock seed and make it feel like if it was a direct evolution of his suit. But I think they redeemed themselves with his Overlord design because it looks amazing, very threatening and incredibly powerful. I think I'll never forget his final fight with Ryoma, it was awesome.

Mitchy was fun, I hated him every second of it but it was really fun seeing him becoming a crazy, obsessive, delusional asshole. He was everything I wanted for a villain, but I didn't like how he ended. Like, he almost killed Kouta and his brother, and the other characters in the show kept wanting to save him, and then in the end the show gave him a redemption by making him a hero and I was "oh please no". Call me a heartless prick but I do think he should've ended broke in the same mind state he was after Mai "died", I'm not against the idea of bringing Takatora back from the dead, but he really shouldn't be there acting as a hero in the final fight for the last episode. If they wanted to redeem him they should make him play the role Gridon had in that fight but without transforming and then Kouta comes back, he forgives Mitchy, but Mitchy doesn't forgive himself and he still has to live with the consequences of his acts weighing on his heart and he'll have to work to become a better person with the help of his brother instead of magically becoming a hero and everything is all joy and dances.

Next in line is Mai, and the problem I have with her is the same problem I have with the archetype she is in this story. She's the girl who has a deep connection with the main rider that has almost no personality that in the end plays up a crucial role in the main story, it was like that with Koyomi in Wizard, with Yuki in Fourze (on a smaller scale), Hina and OOO, and I'm really tired of this, especially because none of these characters are actual characters, none of them get any level of development through-out their shows, they have a quirk unique to them (Hina's supernatural strength, Yuki enthusiasm for space, Koyomi is a doll, Mai likes dancing) and is that quirk that defines them and their actions and it's really boring. Making characters like them be so important for the final plot kinda weakens everything because these are characters that I don't care for, but then suddenly they have the power of god inside them and I must get apprehensive about who she'll turn into a god as well even though when it's obvious who they'll choose to beneficiate in the end. I really don't like this element.

Zack was a nice surprise, I do think they waited too long to give his character some development because despite he appearing quite a lot he also was in the back seat many of those times so it was a bit of wasted potential. But he had his times to shine and when it came to it he really shined brightly, I think one thing that helped him a lot was all his interactions with Kaito while he tries to understand what's going on with his friend that he cares so deeply. I should be angry at him since Yoko died because of him, but I can't deny that his plan at the end to act as a double agent was pretty cool. I'm glad they gave him a movie special because I feel like he really deserves more exposure, I started not caring for him but I ended liking him quite a lot.

Another set of characters that also changed in my concept was Oren and Hide. My problems with them still exist, but after seeing their bond in episode 25 and seeing them becoming allies I grew to like them more, especially during the final arc. I still wish they weren't used for comedy as much as they are, but I came to be okay with them. Also, Hide in that final episode showed a lot of character seeing that he hasn't let go from Hase yet showing that he's more than just a coward guy that lives in the shadows of the others so, it's kinda impossible to hate on them after the end of the show.

Going to the new generation Riders, Takatora it's the one that had the most interesting development. I think what I like the most from this portion was seeing that he's very genuine in his desire to help humanity, he was open to listening to Kouta when he got to know about the Overlords, he didn't want this fight to happen, he just wanted to keep people safe. I also liked seeing he's fall and his uprising, everything happened in a very short time span, but it was very interesting to see his world falling apart in front of his eyes, but even then he didn't lose his convictions and this culminates in that great episode where he fights against Mitchy. I'm a sucker for siblings fighting each other in situations like that and they really delivered here, like bringing back his original melon suit to go against Mitchy who was using his energy lock seed was awesome, I did wish he had won that but I guess if he had won we wouldn't have Mitchy going deeper and deeper in his darkness so... but I'm glad they brought him back, just wish they had used him more in the final episode. But well, we got him as a "ghost" inside Mitchy's head for a good portion of the show so I guess it was a good trade-off. I'm really excited to watch his movie.

Yoko makes me sad. Not because she's bad but because the show didn't allow her to be used to her full potential. Like, she's a strong independent woman, but the show doesn't let her shine on her own, she for some reason, has to be always following a man, and even though she's still amazing and all the decisions she makes are very befitting with her character, I still wish she had done more. I thought at that moment where Ryoma left her behind while the Overlord invasion was happening she would finally bloom, but no, she just started following Kaito around. And don't get me wrong, her period with Kaito was very good, it ended up with her getting killed but it was still good, I just wish they had used her more, especially considering her actress also did a good portion of her in-suit scenes. I think wasted potential is the best way to describe her, sadly. Still love her to death tho.

Sid and Ryoma I don't have a lot to talk about. Sid was interesting just until the time he stopped being a dude that watches the situation from the outside, in the moment he started to get obsessed with power he lost all he had going on for him. At least he died and his death was quite decent so. And Ryoma, well he's Ryoma, he never had that much of a character to begin with so I don't have a lot to say. He's the typical mad scientist that's willing to use any ways possible for the sake of his research. It's not much, but it works for him.

The final characters to talk about are the Overlords. I like them, their designs are very cool, I like the concept of them being the last reminiscent of their civilization, and I also like that they gave them a new language. I have a problem with the fact that after a certain point they start to use Overlords as MOTW, but it doesn't offend me a whole lot. I like how they enter this story both as a threat and as a sliver of hope and despite becoming the main villainous actors they don't last till the end. I think what we got was way more interesting than if the Overlords had taken the final boos spot.

This pretty much sums up all of my thoughts in regards to the characters, but I still have a few nitpicks to talk about in a general perspective.

First, the show had two episodes that broke the action that were very weirdly placed, the first is that one with cyborg guy and the second is the tie-in with the movie, and these episodes shouldn't exist, I'm sorry. I know the tie-in episode is kinda important because it's a villain of the movie that comes attack in the final episode, but I only know that because I went to look it up because from the tie-in episode there's no way for the audience that only had contact with the show to know who's that rider attacking is. My second nitpick is that the show ended without a message, I know a message it's not something necessary to make a show good or not, but I don't know I feel like it would've been nice to have something it was trying to pass.

In any case, this is already way longer than it should be so I'll wrap up right here. Gaim is an awesome show, despite my problems with it I really love it and I definitely recommend everyone to watch it. I'm in love with this series and I don't wanna let it go. I hope the next one will be just as good. Now if y'all excuse me I'll walk in the path of blossoms to my bed, thank you so much for reading this absurdly long post and don't forget, if they could make fruits and samurai work you can make any of your stupid ideas become real as well, maybe that's the whole message of Gaim. XD Oh well, I'll see you, folks, on the next time. ^^

#Kamen Rider Gaim #kamen rider

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khtrinityftw · 4 years

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The Good, The Bad, and the Cards - A Brief Look Back at KH: Chain of Memories

It’s been 15 years since Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories was released, and while I adore this game, I want to look back and highlight 7 specific elements worthy of praise that still hold up to this day and 7 specific elements that aren’t so good and helped derail the KH franchise going forward, the “Franchise Original Sins” as it were. So without further ado, here they are:

Positive: The Card Map System - I really love the usage of cards when it comes to exploring each world. Through the different cards, you get to create your own customized dungeon to crawl through, and the incentive to battle in order to collect cards you need to progress further in the level is a good one.

Negative: The Card Battle System - Unfortunately, using cards in combat isn’t done nearly as smoothly, and they complicate battles way more than they should. This is especially bad in the original GBA version of the game, where the cards are hard to make out on the small screen and the tiny, cramped arenas that you fight in make it all too easy to get backed into a corner while trying to shuffle through or reload your deck. This game could’ve done better.

Positive: Sora’s Story - The main scenario of the game is superbly written by Daisuke Watanabe. Like I said in my video review, he took what he was given, which was virtually nothing, and turned it into something. Sora’s character has never been explored in as much depth as it is here, with all of his raw strengths and weaknesses on full display. His bond of friendship with Donald and Goofy, his strong romantic interest in Kairi, his tortured clashing with “Riku”, his animosity toward Organization XIII, and the interactions he has with Namine toward the end are all handled perfectly. It really reminds you of just why you love this guy.

Negative: Riku’s Story - Reverse/Rebirth, otoh, doesn’t hold up so well. It tries its best to give Riku good character development, but too much of it is focused on practically everyone but Riku, the lack of anything occurring in the Disney worlds means that the story feels too light on content, and the conclusion Riku’s character is ultimately brought to contradicts what was established in the original KH and only creates further problems down the line. What’s more, this was the start of forcing Riku down our throats as the deuteragonist of the series, which is a role he was never suited for and that he only gets worse in overtime. So yeah, not a fan.

Positive: Organization XIII - Primarily the members introduced in Sora’s story; Lexaeus and Zexion are more useful as plot devices than as characters. Not only are Axel, Larxene, Vexen and Marluxia all excellent villains in their own ways, but the villainous arc they are part of is the best-written one in any KH game. Watching them work off each other and against each other in this dark but easy to follow political intrigue plot is one of the game’s highest points.

Negative: The Riku Replica - Don’t get me wrong, this was a decent character with a decent arc, but the execution was way too over-the-top and overstayed its welcome. Between Sora and Riku’s story, you have to fight this asshole six times! That’s just ridiculous for any boss in any game! And then there’s what the whole “replica” concept he introduced was used for in subsequent games, since Nomura just loves taking the simple and making it convoluted.

Positive: The GBA Graphics - This is one of the best-looking GBA games ever, hands-down. The fact that full cutscenes with PS2-style graphics were actually able to fit on the cartridge is simply incredible, and Square should really be commended for pushing the system to its absolute limits.

Negative: Console Spread - COM marked the first time that a KH game was put on an entirely different console than before, being a GBA game released and set in between two PS2 games. This wasn’t too much of a problem back then, since COM was only needed to fully understand the purposefully confusing prologue of KH2 and it ended up getting a PS2 remake anyway. But after a while, the sheer amount of consoles that KH spin-off games that are necessary to understand KH3′s story with became ridiculous. At this point, the only way you can actually get the full KH series is to own a PS4. If you don’t, then you’re out of luck.

Positive: Disney Expansion - Because this game re-uses Disney characters and worlds from the original KH, Daisuke Watanabe got to expand on things that weren’t really delved into in that game. We get more on Aladdin’s character, more on Alice’s character, more on Peter Pan and Wendy’s characters, more on Belle and the Beast’s characters and relationship…and perhaps most notable of all, more on Jiminy Cricket’s character. The Disney worlds and characters that we saw in KH are all enriched by their memory-based appearances.

Negative: An Influx of OCs - The original KH only had four original characters: Sora, Riku, Kairi and Ansem (five if you are counting Xemnas from Final Mix). COM introduced nine new ones: Namine, Axel, Larxene, Marluxia, Vexen, Lexaeus, Zexion, Riku Replica, and DiZ. Again, this wasn’t a problem with the game back then, especially seeing as two-thirds of those characters get axed before the game is through. But it started the trend of Nomura introducing way too much OCs that come to overshadow all the Disney and FF characters. Worse still, he refuses to truly let any of them go, as all six of those dead characters end up coming back to life later on, as do the two who went on to perish in KH2. This results in an overly cluttered canvas by KH3, to the point where no FF characters can appear.

Positive: Set-up for KH2 - This game’s existence did for KH2 what the later Dream Drop Distance should have done for KH3 but didn’t: it effectively set the stage for the following game. It gave all of the necessary foreshadowing for things like Nobodies, the Organization’s true goal, Xemnas, Roxas, Twilight Town, Namine being Kairi’s Nobody, and DiZ being the true Ansem while the Ansem we knew being an impostor. It also removed five members of the Organization from the board, with the sixth slated for removal in KH2′s prologue, which left the villain roster at a much more manageable number for the game’s main scenario. COM truly feels like the middle installment of a trilogy: the shit that happens in it actually matters.

Negative: Too Much Rehash from KH1 - There is so much from the original KH that is on repeat in COM. Beyond the same Disney worlds and characters being re-used, the stories in those worlds and with those characters match the original KH’s beat for beat, except with themes of memory inserted in and all context to the larger narrative removed so that they feel like filler. Both recycling from the first KH and Disney world visits being filler were not so bad in this game, but when it kept happening throughout the rest of the series, players grew sick of it. Furthermore, beats from the first KH still transpire in the main storyline of the game: Namine is in a role like Kairi’s, the Riku Replica is in a role like Riku’s, Marlxuia is in a role like both Maleficent and Ansem while Ansem himself comes back for more fun darkness times in Riku’s story, and we get sequences of Sora being separated from Donald and Goofy (this time it’s flipped and he’s the one who turns on them), the trio making an “All for One, One for All” promise as they put their hands on one another, and Sora making a promise with Namine that has Kairi’s good luck charm at the center of it. It’s all a little too much familiarity.

Positive: Atmosphere - As much as this game rehashes the previous one, it has a markedly different tone. It’s darker, more foreboding, more eerie, more psychological and uncertain. The white walls of Castle Oblivion and the creepy music playing as you go through them floor by floor really helps to sell this, as does a lot of the dialogue, memory-based insights into the characters’ hearts, and twisted machinations of the villains. It makes COM, well, memorable.

Negative: Convoluted Writing - That’s right, it all starts here. The writing for the original KH was smart enough to not actively dwell on the more ponderous elements of its story, keeping the narrative to a simple presentation while leaving the deeper lore as stuff for the player to think and speculate about it on their own. But in this game, it starts getting pushed to the forefront. Memory and darkness are the central themes of Sora and Riku’s story respectively, and yet neither of them quite make sense the way they’re explored. Memory is repeatedly said to be an aspect of the heart, to the point where removing it altogether would shatter a person’s heart completely. Except that this is not only confusing to basic logic that says memory is an aspect of the mind, but it gets contradicted by the following game, KH2, where it states that Nobodies that have no hearts act upon the memories of when they had hearts. Then we have Namine’s powers and how it relates to memories, which is nebulously defined here and ends up ballooning to ludicrous godlike degrees in order to make certain plot turns happen in later games, and you end up retroactively questioning why she didn’t just fuck with the Organization’s memories and shatter them in order to escape captivity all by herself.

Meanwhile, darkness is completely rewritten so that it can be a good thing if Riku isn’t afraid of it and uses it for a good cause...except that this is literally what he did in the first KH and it corrupted him. Darkness was unambiguously bad and something that should not be used in that game, but now it’s being revamped just to make Riku into a special snowflake with uber-awesome darkness powers. Future games continue going back and forth on darkness on whether it’s good, bad or neutral, whether it’s a natural force that needs to co-exist with light or whether it’s the source of all evil in the universe. And I again must remind you that this is only the start of how convoluted the series gets with its stories! By KH3, the series has become an absolute clusterfuck where nothing really makes sense or amounts to anything. There’s no real depth anymore, just pretentious nonsense that Nomura confuses for depth.

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katara0524 · 7 years

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RWBY Speculation: Will Ruby Be Captured in this Volume (or in a Later Volume)? *UPDATED*

So, I’m not a theorist in any way, shape or form, but I really felt like I had to get this off my chest because literally NO ONE has seemed to mention anything about Salem’s intentions for Ruby. So I brought it upon myself to put together this post for ya’ll. You’re welcome. (I think.)

DISCLAIMER: This post is mostly speculation, and not everything is held up by evidence. Some inspiration/speculation for this post came from some of @calxiyn‘s videos.

With Volume 5 now in full swing, fans will be piecing together theories 24/7. But, one theory that I haven’t ever seen talked about is the fact that Salem has plans for our favorite Silver-Eyed warrior (SEW), yet we don’t know what exactly what these plans are. I’ve watched countless theory, reaction, and analysis videos, and read pretty much every speculation thread I can, yet no one has seemed to mention anything about Ruby possibly being taken off to Salem’s castle (is it a castle? I’m calling it a castle.) in the near future, whether it’s in this Volume or a later one. Of course, there ARE going to be 14 episodes this season, so anything’s possible, I guess…

Anyways, seeing how things are currently going for Ruby and the gang, we can safely assume that she could very likely be captured this Volume, most likely by someone other than Tyrian since he already failed in retrieving her once.

Even in the last moments of the V5 intro, as RWBY is running towards Salem, Ruby looks a little bit afraid of her, while the rest of her teams just looks determined. Of course, the intro should be taken with a grain of salt, since several things from the last intros never made it into the show (like Weiss vs. Emerald in V2 and V3).

So, I’m basically going to present 4 different scenarios of what could go down once Ruby is taken to Salem’s castle.

Scenario #1: Cinder will attempt to kill Ruby.

We’re all too familiar with the infamous scene in the Volume 3 finale. Upon seeing Pyrrha’s tragic death, Ruby activates the power of her Silver Eyes in sorrow, unleashing it onto Cinder and Kevin the Dragon.

Then, in the Volume 4 premiere, we see that a now severely debilitated Cinder is itching to get revenge against Ruby, even expressing intense anger towards the other members of Salem’s faction whenever they poke fun at her misfortune.

Later, in the finale of Volume 4, we see that Cinder’s hatred for the protagonist hasn’t faded one bit. Emerald creates a hallucination of Ruby for Cinder to practice using her Maiden powers on. Even Salem herself watches this, and appears to express some satisfaction in the brutal murder of the vision (though it could be that she’s simple pleased with Cinder’s progress).

Now, in this scenario, I believe that Ruby will be brought to Salem’s castle (obviously), and thrown into a battle against Cinder. Cinder will go on full-on Fall Maiden (aka “Avatar State”), while Ruby will use the full(?) extent of the SEW powers.

Because of each character’s desire to seek vengeance on the other, this scenario can make a lot of sense. But before we come to any conclusions, let’s take a look at some other probable situation that could explain Salem’s intentions.

Scenario #2: Salem will somehow steal Ruby’s powers.

Now, I know what ya’ll may be thinking:

“Marii, now you’ve REALLY gone crazy! There’s no evidence for this!”

I hear you, comment section. Just let me state my case. Besides, this is all just speculation, so chill out. XD

If you’ve ever seen any theories about Salem, you may know of one that suggests that Salem was once a SEW herself (according to her supposedly having Silver Eyes in the concept art she was seen in).

In this speculation, Salem somehow became corrupted and turned into the evil ruler of the Creatures of Grimm we all know today. It is also theorized that she gained the power to “absorb” or even “steal” the SEW abilities from other Warriors. Some even believe that this is what could have happened to Summer Rose. Perhaps this is what Ruby’s fate could’ve lead to if she wasn’t the main protagonist.

It seems very unlikely, but it’s still a plausible outcome.

Scenario #3: Salem will possess Ruby in order to gain her powers.

This one is pretty similar to the previous scenario, but instead of Salem simply taking Ruby’s powers, she could possibly just straight-up possess her, or absorb her soul in some way.

Much like the last situation, there are many theories about Salem possibly being a former SEW. Some of these theories state that Salem could have the ability to absorb the souls of other SEW’s, or even just possess them. This could also possibly explain Summer Rose’s fate.

If you look at one of Salem’s hands, you can see a ring or bracelet resembling a beetle of some sort. This might be just the thing that Salem could use the possess other SEW’s, much like the glove (which might I add also had a beetle in it) that Cinder used to steal the Fall Maiden powers from Amber in V3.

But, of course, we won’t know until more information is revealed about this mysterious villain before we can come to a conclusion like this.

Scenario #4: Salem will manipulate Ruby, and turn her over to their side.

Now, this is the scenario that I’m most on board with. It also seems the most probable to actually happen.

If you recall the World of Remnant episode about the huntsman and huntresses, the final seconds of the video could very well be foreshadowing this exact situation…

Ozpin, the narrator of the V2 WoR episodes, says this: “…all are expected to serve humanity, and never succumb to the darkness.”

As he states this, a silhouette of Ruby in front of the moon is shown on screen. This moment here has to be foreshadowing if I’ve ever seen it. After all, why would RUBY of all people be shown during a statement like this? Seems a little fishy to me… :/

What I predict could happen, is that when Ruby is taken to Salem’s castle, Salem will “push her buttons” and manipulate her into joining Salem, forcing the girl to use her SEW abilities against the rest of our heroes.

In the V4 director commentary (which I had the privilege of seeing during V5 premiere in theatres), Kerry himself talks about Salem being really good at getting others to do her bidding, and she does so by hitting a the “weak spots,” so to speak. For example, she can easily manipulate Tyrian by using his obsession with pleasing her, and she only has to tell him that she’s disappointed in him to set him off, and he’ll punish himself and make sure he doesn’t fail her again.

With this information, we can predict that Salem will use this same tactic on Ruby in order to get her to “succumb to the darkness,” as the WoR episode states.

So far, I can definitely say that this one is my favorite. It has a lot more evidence to back it up than the others do, as well.

If/When Ruby is captured, what will it mean for the others?

Now that I’ve gone through the different scenarios of what could happen to our protagonist, let’s talk about what Ruby’s capture will mean for the rest of our heroes.

To start out with, Ruby could very well be the only one who’s able to stop Salem, for all we know. And if Ruby’s gone, Salem wins. So, if (or when) Ruby gets taken away, the rest of the crew will HAVE to go after her, no matter what. Even if it means losing a few battles along the way (like the Fall of Haven?). If their only hope of saving the world disappears, then Remnant is royally screwed. (Now, obviously she won’t die or join Salem’s side permanently, because she’s the main character, but that doesn’t mean she’s necessarily invincible, either.)

What will be most interesting to see, however, is how everyone copes with Ruby’s kidnapping. Surely they’d all be sad or angry. Some might even hit a breaking point. However, Miles and Kerry might have other ideas in store for us…either way, it’ll be really interesting to see how our main cast deals with this tragedy, and how they plan to get their friend back (seriously tho i rlly wanna see them all unit and rescue Ruby as a team; make it happen, RT!)

More Evidence *SPOILERS FOR V5C2*

Also, I think Chapter 2 hinted at Ruby’s capture.

Whenever Cinder asks Salem about keeping Ruby alive, Salem says this:

“Never underestimate the usefulness of others. Take Leonardo; he was one of Ozpin’s most trusted, and yet, now…”

“…If Ruby Rose has learned to harness her gift, then you must take care to protect yours.”

Not only is it interesting that Salem says Ruby’s name (though she probably just got it from Cinder), but she also talked about how Lionheart was turned against Ozpin. Sure, she may just be referring to using the bandits to get the Spring Maiden, but I’m pretty sure she means that she’s going to use Ruby against the rest of our heroes. (also I want to know what she meant by Cinder protecting her Maiden powers; maybe it’s the same reason why Cinder got messed up by Ruby?)

Also, the RWBY banner for the RT Site depicts Team RWBY, but the background is of the Grimmscape. I may be looking too far into this, but if Ruby DOES in fact get taken off the Salem, really the only place she’d be is IN the Grimmscape, right?

Now, do I WANT any of these to happen? Well, yes and no. Yes, because it means we’d get some much-needed development for several characters. No, because each scenario involves hurting my favorite character (and all the others, too), which hurts my heart. T-T

What do ya’ll think? Is Ruby going to be capture by Salem and her forces? If so, when do you think it’ll happen; in Volume 5, or later on? Which outcome do you think will come to fruition? Do you have any ideas for other scenarios? Am I just another crazy RWBY fan who needs to chill out? Let me know in the comments below! Sorry for the super long post, but I hope ya’ll enjoyed my rambling anyway. :)

-Marii

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arkus-rhapsode · 7 years

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Hiro Mashima On The Ending of Fairy Tail

So recently Hiro Mashima was at New York Comic con and let slip that, indeed everything at the end of the series, he had no plan for. He once again brought up his original plan of FT being only 10 volumes and stated he hadn’t thought beyond that.

After hearing it straight from Mashima himself, I think I can finally say something I’ve wanted to to for a while and finally start confirming a suspicion I’ve had for a while.

Hiro Mashima having no idea on the future of Fairy Tail past volume 10 makes so much damn sense to me. I don’t mean in a term of “Ft sucked after a certain point”, but what I mean is you can see how this was supposed to be finished way earlier than it ended up being. If you look back at the beginning of FT, many praise the first arcs because of how they develop our eventual main cast and give them all relevance. The thing about why that worked was, Mashima was working with what he had established and built on. This might sound wierd, but just bare with me, imagine if the real ending of FT was originally suppose to be Fantasia and not Alvarez.

This might sound odd, but thinking about all the arcs up to that point a lot was established an kinda in a bottle resolved. Many characters didn’t have long standing motivations that need to be resolved later on in the series. A lot happened upon their resolution naturally. Gray’s story with Lyon was introduced on Galuna and concluded on Galuna, Erza’s past with Jellal was hinted at through Seigrain and then resolved in ToH, and Lucy’s familial issues were hinted at and then resolved after Phantom. Alot of these events were layered, having some form of build up or Mashima knowing what he wanted to do with the characters. This all concluding with Laxus, him and his crooked morality was the last built up thing and when it concluded there was nothing left to build on.

Now I want to explain a little more, after Laxus was defeated, we got the Oracion Seis arc, this arc was when the bad staples of FT really showed up. There was an increase of Fanservice, an increase of Friendship speeches with no point, and a lack of consistency. It strikes me as odd that this all started happening after Laxus was defeated. The last built up character. Another thing that happened was there was soon a lack of playing with expectations. Reading back, it’s hard to imagine how much foreshadowing there was in only the first real arc of the series. As small of a story it was, Daybreak told a compelling tale that seemed to lack a lot of the problems of Fairy Tail. It knew how to do the twist of “this book wasn’t something your father was ashamed of, but the best book he ever wrote” a lot better than say, “Wendy your guild is an illusion”. With Daybreak you get clear foreshadowing in Kaby’s own words, Lucy discovering a seceret while reading the book, and the tragedy of Zeuka Melon already happening, whereas Wendy’s guild had that one line from Rabaul after we had just learned who they were near the end of the arc. The thing is, playing with expectations is easy to do if you know how you want it to play out, but stuff like Wendy’s guild are clear sign of adding something in near the end.

Now that we know about the lack of planning in the series, a lot of choices still make sense. The ending of FT was ambiguous and left with no real conclusion, now compare that to the end of FT, it was ambiguous and had a lot of things open ended. The reason why FT worked more is that after 11 years what Hiro gave us in Alvarez was not worth it, while in Fantasia, we got a conclusion to a built up problem, Laxus and it was small enough we could accept it.

Now some might then point out things like, what about Grimoire Heart, Mystogan, Igneel, Zeref, the whole raven tail thing, well lets think about those. These do smell like additions to the series, nothing wrong with adding more concepts, but think about how he resolved most of them: Lazily. While these were later additions there was clear signs that unlike the previous arcs these new developments lacked any real direction.

Notice that dragon force didn’t get a name in its first outing (Aside from the title of the chapter), but Zero gave it a name. Another thing that stinks of inconsistency is that after the Laxus arc is when we get the dark guild hierarchy. Another thing is the cease of any of the development for side characters like Elfman, Mira, and Juvia. All really got the height of their characters in Fantasia (though Elfman in phantom lord). Hell the last scene of Fantasia was a montage of every character we had sen in the series so far.

The Laxus arc could’ve ended the series on the same ambiguous note and celebration of FT that the last chapter did.

My theory on this and why Mashima went this route was he was trying a repeat with Rave: extend the story longer by introducing three new villain groups linked by a signal thing. With Rave Master it was Doryu, Onigami, and Blue Guardians linked by sinclaire. With FT it was OS, Grimoire Heart, and Tartaros linked by Zeref. But the difference was in execution: Rave needed a reason to extend conflict while looking for the Rave Stones, but the rave stone quest never stopped being the focus, FT need a reason to exist. Aside from Natsu trying to find his dad, thee was no reason or these characters to go on past the LAxus arc. They had all been resolved: Gray and Lyon fought, Erza was freed from the tower, and Lucy stood up to her Dad. So there was no real goal for them. Zeref being the big bad was a concept introduced as the main antagonist was a add on. And it only loosely connected together.

I think your all tired of my rambling so I’m going to cut to the chase. Like a lot of people have said FT was a series with a lot of potential and that is true, but you can always see potential in a blank slate that has gaps to fill, but FT never filled those gaps, it gave us the same old thing and then hoped it would work. But if you don’t live up to your potential then the only thing people will see you as is lazy. I know this has seemed like a long bashing on Mashima, but after learning how he had no plan it really began to show me that FT wasn’t suppose to be the next big action shounen, but rather an author experimenting in a borderless world a lot of people got invested in. I am disappointed in Mashima because I think with planning beforehand of FT and instead of diving into it like he did, then maybe this could’ve been a great series. There is one thing that I am actively angry at though and it goes back to mashima at comic con

FT might not be over because by keeping it ambiguous, Mashima now has a safety net to return to if after his next series fails then he can just keep going with FT. To me there is nothing more lazy then returning to what made you popular, you should stride to always do better than how you did before. So knowing that Mashima has the chance to return makes my blood boil. You had the chance to make a good series and give a conclusion, too late to try again. I hope to never see FT 2 in the future, but I am eager to see Mashima’s next work, because unlike FT, he isn’t rushing it. His new series isn’t coming out as the same time as FT ends, just like FT did when Rave was still running.

I hope you all could take something away from all this... whatever I just wrote... And see FT in a new light.

#fairy tail #hiro mashima #laxus dreyar #fantasia arc #oracion seis #natsu dragneel #lucy heartfilia #erza scarlet #gray fullbuster

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kuwaiti-kid · 4 years

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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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kuwaiti-kid · 4 years

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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.

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)

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.

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)

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.

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)

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

4. Chrono Trigger (1995)

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.

6. Suikoden (1995)

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.

7. Suikoden II (1998)

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)

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

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!

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)

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.

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)

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

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!

The post 12 Best PS1 Role Playing Games (RPGs) of All Time appeared first on Your Money Geek.

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

#IFTTT #Your Money Geek

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