#which of course he does he’s a skater and in a high res sure job and he’s gay

[beomglocks]

sk8ter boi ; c.bg

summary : he was a boy, she was a girl. can i make it anymore obvious?

pairing : skaterboy!beomgyu x reader

warnings & other : reader already has a child with yeonjun ok, beomgyu still pining after all these years, based off queen avril lavigne’s sk8ter boi song, listen while reading if you want 

w/c : 2.1K (i may have gotten carried away)

"where'd you get that note and roses from?" your friend maria asks you when you get into class. you wipe away your smile quickly, already knowing who the mystery person was. "i don't know."

yeah, of course you knew. how could you not when the boy oh so clumsily shoved them in your locker while you were literally turning the corner. he tried to act like he wasn't doing anything but he was clearly caught. he tried to play it off in the best way possible and smooth talk his way into a conversation with you but you shut him down due to the bell ringing.

"oh- oh ok sure...yeah," beomgyu stumbled over his words, nervousness eating away at him with you being here. "yo gyu you coming? i just finished fixing my drum kit," his friend, jeongin, calls him over, interrupting your already over conversation.

"you should go...but thanks for whatever you just threw in my locker," you laugh. he nods hesitantly, rubbing the back of his head with his hand. "dude," jeongin now stands in your vicinity. he looks at you and beomgyu before pulling away his best friend to where the spare band room was.

"well open the letter, we wanna know who your little secret admirer is," maria says, leaning onto your desk. your other friends agree, eager to know who was pining over you. you laugh nervously before opening it. you're not sure how they'll react to finding out that it's beomgyu.

you see, you wouldn't exactly call yourself the prettiest girl in the school but hell it sure was close. almost everyone would compliment you every day even if it was something minor like a change in your nail color. you kind of prided yourself in that, not to gas yourself up or anything.

someone like beomgyu...well. he wasn't exactly the ideal guy, to put it simply. he was a skater boy, he hung out with the "simple boys" who skated and did music and hung out around the skate parks after school. he wasn't the scholar type like soobin or the athlete type like yeonjun, he was simple.

you liked simple but your friends didn't. they had preferences for people like soobin and yeonjun, not people like beomgyu. you could probably guess they felt like beomgyu was the bottom of the barrel, like a roach on their foot not worthy of their time.

you pull the letter out of the envelope. for some reason without even trying, you could smell his cologne all over it. you want to smile at the obvious try hard gesture but your friends don't allow it. "what the fuck is that smell, it's so strong," maria gags. you roll your eyes at her dramatics. "it doesn't smell that bad."

"yes the fuck it does," she retorts. "just see what it says." you read over the letter, smiling at certain parts where you could tell he'd done his research on the things you liked. "it's from beomgyu," you say when you finish the letter. you already knew this anyway but maria's eyes go wide and she suddenly snatches the letter from your grasp. "hey!"

"CHOI beomgyu?" she asks while she reads the letter herself. "yeah?" you confirm.

your other friends mumble amongst themselves and you can hear some snicker. "y/n you could do so much better. beomgyu is like a street rat or something. don't do that to yourself," she laughs like it's the funniest thing she's ever said. you don't think beomgyu's that bad but you also don't stand up for him, simply biting your lip as she continues.

"he barely comes to school and when he does all he does is sleep. he skates with those other weirdos and thinks he's gonna make it big with his shitty guitar playing- i mean have you heard him?" she rolls her eyes, throwing the letter back on your desk. "you should go out with yeonjun, i think yall would be a cute couple. the prettiest girl with the coolest guy, your babies would be so damn cute."

"babies?!" you laugh at her ridiculousness. "yes! have you seen choi yeonjun?" she sighs in content. "anyways, don't pay beomgyu any mind because he's not gonna make it in life. go for someone like yeonjun and please for the love of god throw that letter away!"

you never did throw the letter away. you sigh as you think back to your high school years. you had just found it hidden behind one of the closet drawers while you were looking for valkyrie's binkie. she was crying so much since her father had gone out for the day and you were stuck taking care of her, as always.

you wonder how beomgyu was doing. you both talked after the fact but fell off during college since he had gone off to do his own thing. you didn't know what that thing was but you were proud of him nonetheless. you finished high school, went to college, got a good paying job, and were now married with a kid. all at the young age of 21. the typical life, you figure.

you're snapped out of your thoughts when you hear your child crying in the next room. "shit," you mumble to yourself. you leave the letter in your drawer and head back to the living room with the binkie. "valkyrie~" you sing song.

she continues crying, not giving a fuck about your efforts to calm her. she was usually a bit of a daddy's girl. "val please stop crying," you exasperate. "daddy's not coming home until late today. cut me some slack babygirl."

you slip the binkie into her mouth but her shrill cries go right through it. "let me go see if you need a diaper change," you mutter.

before you can even get up from the couch you hear your phone ring from somewhere in the couch. "shit where did i put my phone?" you put valkyrie down to look for your phone but it stops ringing before you can begin searching. you wait for it to ring again you find it between the cracks of the couch.

"oh hey mari," you say in confusion. after high school ended, you and maria kind of fell off along with all your other popular friends. you still had that clout all throughout college given who you were dating but you kind of strayed away from her. you guys were still on speaking terms though but this call was odd since it had been months since the last time she called.

"GIRL-" she pauses for a moment, still as dramatic as ever. "what it is mari? val won't stop crying she needs attention," you sigh, looking over at your daughter. her cries had gotten softer but she was still grumpy about not being with her father.

"girl turn on your tv to MTV right now- like right now before you miss it!" she says hurriedly. "this better be good you know i dont watch those shows," you say into the phone. you place the phone between your ear and shoulder so you can hold valkyrie while watching whatever it was that maria wanted you to watch.

then you see it. "is that-?" you begin. "CHOI beomgyu! yes girl!" maria finishes your sentence. she's right. there he is, the boy you were just thinking about was on your tv screen. "he's famous?" you ask.

maria sucks her teeth, "apparently after high school and like a year or two of college, he dropped out to pursue a music career and i guess it worked out for him." you nod even though she can't see you. "he signed with a label and now he's in like some super fucking famous band, look at him," she continues.

you stare at your tv screen in silence, watching beomgyu have the time of his life on the MTV stage. he really did get good on his guitar. the camera pans to the drummer and your eyes go wide when you see jeongin. wow, they really stayed together this whole time.

"he's fine as hell," you admit. you hear maria cackle on the other side, "you said it, he looks so attractive playing guitar like that, look at his fingers."

"ok alright maria, i have a child right next to me," you say. she laughs again, "anyways, i got tickets to their next show. you wanna come with?"

you're not sure how you managed to convince yeonjun to stay home with the baby while you went out with maria to this concert, but you did it. he was skeptical of letting you go out with what you were wearing which is why you both argued before you eventually stormed out to go anyways.

when you met up with maria outside the venue she looked up and down with a knowing smile. "i thought that pussy belonged to mr. choi yeonjun? what're you all dressed up for?"

"dressed up?" all you were wearing was a black and white bandana for a top and tight leather pants and comfortable shoes. "do the pants really have to hug your ass like that though?" she jokingly slaps your butt and you glare at her. "that's what yeonjun said," you mumble to yourself.

the concert goes smoothly and you're glad you actually got to see beomgyu in person and playing guitar. one thing about choi beomgyu is that he will play guitar like it's his last day on earth. he plays with so much intensity that you almost feel bad for the guitar.

you could almost feel how the crowd's energy in this packed room transferred to the members. if it was even possible, they started to play with more vigor.

at some point, beomgyu was full on immersed in his own playing. his once fluffy hair was now soaked with sweat and covering his forehead and eyes. he kept headbanging along to the beat while skillfully moving his fingers along the strings of the guitar.

during the middle of one of their songs, beomgyu took the center stage for his guitar solo. it was a fast paced riff that just seemed to give the song more life. his head is down so that it's solely focused on the guitar but once he finished the hardest part of the riff he looked up smugly. the crowd went absolutely mad when beomgyu bit his lip during the rest of his solo.

you had to admit the boy had stage presence, you practically almost re-fell in love with him.

after the show, you and maria went to get refreshments at the nearby bar. beomgyu seemed to already be there talking to one of his members so you took this opportunity to speak with him. you wonder if he'll remember you after all these years but you take your chances.

"beomgyu!" you shout over the music that's playing in the background. he whips his head around to the sound of his name being called and smiles lightly when he sees you. when you get to him, he subtly looks you up and down, taking in your body and attire. "y/n is that you?" he says, his voice laced with something teasing.

"you remember me?" you ask him with a smile. "how could i forget a face like yours," he smiles, leaning back. you laugh and he smiles. "i just saw you on stage, i never thought you'd become this huge! congrats!"

he nods, "yeah, i always wanted to make it big you know." he trails off, looking over you again like he's entranced somehow. "so how's life? you still with-"

"yeonjun...yeah we um- we have a kid...now," you finish nervously. did he really have to bring yeonjun up right now. "a kid?" he says, surprised. "let me see."

you show him a selfie of you and valkyrie that you took at a time when she wasn't completely hating your existence and wanting to cuddle her father instead of you. he laughs and leans back once again, "she's cute like you, she definitely got her mom's features."

"yeah and she's got her dad's attitude," you say, mostly to yourself but beomgyu catches it. "oh yeah! i wanted to say, i really like that one song you played, uh- fairy?"

"fairy of shampoo? yeah we added our own little rock twist to it," he says. "you know the lyrics are actually about y-" your phone cuts him off and you apologize, turning away to answer it. "what is it yeonjun"

beomgyu sighs in frustration when he hears you say that. when you finish talking you turn back to him and he has his eyebrow raised in question. "looks like my fun is over," you laugh dryly. he nods in understanding, "before you go though, let me get your number so we can catch up sometime."

you agree, not wanting to pass up the chance to reconnect with your now famous friend.

"maybe we'll see each other around gyu," you smile, beginning to walk away.

he smiles at the old nickname, waving you off, "i sure hope so."

[goddess-aelin]

So since 500 is a pretty big number and I never EVER thought that I’d have this many followers, I decided to do something a little different. I’ve been in the fandom since season 2 and I’ve read SO MANY fics over the years. So i decided to compile a giant list of my absolute favorites. Then I compiled that list and realized how long it was so now I’m splitting it up! Here are all of my favorite modernverse/farmer Bellamy/Hogwarts AU fics.  (Obviously I have my weird kinks) These are in no particular order and I don’t have an AO3 so I know that I left so many good ones out because I’m going off of ones that stick in my head.  

- A Song to Keep Us Warm  by kindclaws........N/R

   This is an absolutely beautiful fic. Dancer!Bellarke is definitely HOT.  Clarke and Bellamy are co-dance-instructors. Bellamy helps her find her passion again.

-The Girl Next Door by funfanfin.....M

   OH MY GOD. THIS FIC. just wow. I don’t even know what to say. Bellarke as neighbors. Angst, fluff, and of course, happy endings. 

-Turn the Tide on My Losing Side by Lalalli.....T

   Fun Bellarke + Jaha facebook shenanigans. Such a fun and lighthearted fic. “I want to touch your abs.” Iconic, honestly.

-Ice by rabiscar....T

Is it really a fic rec by me if there isn’t a hockey/ice skater AU? Hockey player Bellamy is hot and I absolutely love the dynamic between Bellarke in this fic. Not only does it have hockey, it also has bed sharing, enemies to friends to lovers, and so much teamwork, which is Bellarkes brand tbh.

-Potions et Patroni by @chants-de-lune...T

A Harry Potter AU where Bellarke are professors at Hogwarts. Also doubles as a soulmate AU. Meg does such an amazing job of bringing the show characterization to these characters in a completely different setting. I absolutely love this and am a huge sucker for Harry Potter AU’s. 

-What’s a Little Quaffle Between Friends? by @talistheintrovert...G

Another Harry Potter AU. Talis is a genius and had all the chapter titles be Harry Potter puns. Bellamy is constantly getting hurt and Clarke is always there to patch him up. So much light fluffiness but also so much angst! One of my fave fics! She also wrote a smutty follow-up to this, Finders Keepers. 

Talis also has so many other fics that are amazing and I’d so like to recommend them all here but this would be miles long. Definitely check out all of her others!!! 

-Weave Me a Myrtle Crown by AJRedfern....E

So this fic is on almost every fic rec list I’ve come across and its not finished but its literally that good. Mixes mythology, reincarnation, and firefighter Bellamy/EMT Clarke. The characters are so well written and there is seriously so much angst that it makes me want to cry whenever I re-read it. 

-The Odds are Good by tacosandflowers...E

Modernverse with so much angst that it hurts. This fic taught me everything I need to know about kayaking and waterfalls and now every time I go kayaking, I think about this fic. This fic is B E A U T I F U L.  The amount of love that Bellarke has for each other in this fic is only paralleled by show Bellarke. This author also wrote a follow up, New Expectations, which is a baby fic set in the same universe.

-Willing to Wait For It by LayALioness....T

FARMER BELLAMY. I’m not quite sure why i have a Thing^TM for farmer Bellamy but I sure as hell DO. Clarke is a vet that helps take care of Bellamy’s farm animals. She needs someone to come with her to her high school reunion. Features two idiots in love who don’t know how to talk about their feelings for each other.

-Without Giving Anything Away by chash...E

Another farmer Bellamy fic! Octavia leaves home but doesn’t want Bellamy to be alone, so naturally he puts an ad out for a wife. Clarke comes knocking. Not one, but TWO Bellarke weddings! 

-Of Coffee and Magic by @chase-the-windandtouch-the-sky ...T

Clarke owns a coffee shop with a twist. She puts magic into people’s drinks to take their pain away. The only downside is that she gets to feel their pain, taking “I bear it so they don’t have to” to a whole new level. So naturally, she thinks that Bellamy only likes her because of her magic. So fluffy it kills me. 

-Win a Date With Bellamy Blake...Bittyab18...M

So I honestly haven’t read a lot of the new chapters on this one but this is the first Bellarke fic I ever read, so it has a special place in my heart. Exactly what it sounds like is what happens. Clarke wins a date with movie star, Bellamy Blake, who she knew from high school. Of course, they become friends and then hide their feelings for each other.

-Did Venus Blow Your Mind (Was it Everything You Wanted?) by @selflessbellamy ...M

Clarke signs up for a body paint contest and Bellamy is her canvas. Is it weird that body painting is a kink? Because I definitely have it.  

-Jumping to Conclusions is Sacrificing Yourself to Embarassment by tempestaurora...T

Such a fun, lighthearted fic. Bellamy and Clarke take the same elevator everyday. She thinks he doesn’t speak English so naturally she talks about how hot he is to Raven right in front of his face.

-Take My Hand by winterwaters...E

A So You Think You Can Dance AU where Bellamy and Clarke aren’t too fond of each other. But, of course, the power of dance brings them together.

-Vienna Waits for You by panem_et_circenses....M

This is one of those fics that I could just read again and again. It has such a weird and unexpected mixing of tropes but the way that the writer put them all together works so well. Bellarke in college, Bellamy as an underground boxer, artist Clarke, nude model Bellamy, fake dating, Finn as his natural douchey self, and some Wicken, Linctavia, and Monty/Miller!

-To My Favorite Scar (To All of the Stars) by @prosciuttoe...T

So this is more of a college AU than it is a Foxhole Court AU but it has some of the delinquents as Exy players, which is a made up sport from the previously listed title. I read this so long ago and I still to this day remember how much I love it. Bellamy is the captain, Clarke transfers from another team, who she now shares a rivalry with. A relationship filled with animosity quickly turns into a loving friendship (and more, wink wink)

-I’ll be Home for Christmas (if Only in My Dreams) by @head-and-heart...T

An AU loosely based on Eliza’s movie, Christmas Inheritance. Bellamy is a grumpy hotel owner and Clarke is running away from her life in the city. Angst but so FLUFFY.

**definitely check out all of these wonderful writers’ fics! They’re all AMAZING!

Thank you to everyone for following me and helping me out with finding fics! Here’s to the 600 follower canonverse/fantasy AU list I already have compiled 🥂

[hsmtmtsnet]

“Do you see why we love the theatre, people?” an over-serious drama teacher once exclaimed. (Her name was Ms. Darbus and she is an icon for High School Musical lovers.) Well, Disney+ has given us a new reason to love the theatre: High School Musical: The Musical: The Series.

The Disney+ series, created by Broadway scribe Tim Federle, takes place at “the real” East High—where the original High School Musical was filmed. The students there have never put on a production of High School Musical: The Musical, but the new drama teacher, played by Broadway’s Kate Reinders, rectifies that toot suite. Filmed mockumentary style, the show features confessionals with the teens in the cast and teachers in the halls about the drama onstage and off.

Joshua Bassett and Olivia Rodrigo, play Ricky and Nini—the most shippable couple since Cory and Topanga. When HSMTMTS kicks off, the students are just back from summer break and Ricky and Nini are back from their own break. You see, Nini told Ricky she loved him (in the earworm of a love ballad “I Think I Kinda Ya Know”) but Ricky, reeling from his parents’ separation, couldn’t say it back and instead said they should take a pause. Nini went off to drama camp and found a new leading man; but now Ricky wants her back. When Nini sets out to audition for Gabriella in East High’s High School Musical, Ricky decides to win her back by auditioning for Troy.

The new series, which wrapped filming in Salt Lake City in August, has transcended the original—and its musical stage adaptation—with its purity of heart and musical theatre excellence. The cast, including Bassett (now 19) and Rodrigo (now 16), often sing live and give new meaning to no marking full out in showstopping dance routines. Over the course of nine episodes thus far, HSMTMTS has proven ridiculously relatable and sharply witty.

Before the Season 1 finale hits the streaming service January 10, Playbill spoke to Rodrigo and Bassett about life on set, creating fresh characters, writing original music for the series, and what to expect in Season 2.

Did you grow up with High School Musical or was it something that you were actually too young for? Olivia Rodrigo: I totally grew up watching this film. I had High School Musical lunchboxes, and I had Troy and Gabriella Barbie Dolls and the whole shebang. I went back and re-watched all the movies once I booked the role with fresh eyes and a new mature perspective. It’s really amazing. I was just always such a musical kid and so watching Troy and Gabriella burst out into song on my TV was just such a magical experience. Joshua Bassett: I was so young when I first saw it that I do not remember. I honestly started seeing it before I was capable of making memories. Josh, were you always drawn to musicals as a kid, or more drawn to music? Bassett: Definitely both. The music was my favorite part of the musicals, but I did everything from obviously High School Musical [as J.V. Jock #2]. I did Peter Pan, I was Peter Pan, but I also was Chip in Beauty in the Beast. I was the White Rabbit in Alice and Wonderland. I was a random tree in The Wizard of Oz. My dad is a musician, so that’s pretty much in my blood. My sister started doing musical theatre before I could even remember. When I was old enough to do it, there was no question. It was like, “Well, of course I’m going to do it.”

In the beginning of the series, Ricky’s friend Big Red says to Ricky, who is clearly a musician—carrying around his guitar—”I thought you hated musicals.” You are the kid who scoffs at musicals, but loves music. Do you think about the gap in people’s minds between music and musicals and how this series might ingratiate them towards musical theatre? Bassett: I love that question because I think there’s a stigma in general about musical theatre, but specifically for guys. A lot of guys probably think, “Oh, musical? That’s lame.” But musicals are pretty awesome. One of my favorite things [was when] two eight and nine-year-old boys ran up to me and they were like, “Oh my gosh. I love your show. I sing all the songs all the time.” I just thought that was the sweetest, most awesome thing—to be inspiring younger boys to do it and not be afraid. What’s really cool is how people can see Troy Bolton, who plays basketball, who’s also in musical theatre, and now Ricky Bowen, who’s a skater and “Oh, he’s too cool for musical theatre,” but he does it for love and then finds out he loves musical theatre just as much.

Was your audition like a musical theatre audition? Bassett: Well, the walls [were] paper thin. There’s like 10 people before me. You can hear them all belting out these insane showtunes. I was just like, “Oh, boy. Everyone’s going to have to hear me sing when I go in there.” [On my final audition] I actually sang three songs in that one: a Bruno Mars song [“Count on Me”] and then I sang a song that I wrote, and then I actually sang a another song that I had written for this girl to ask her to homecoming, on the ukulele. Rodrigo: I went in and did the sides, and sang “Price Tag” by Jessie J, and they had me sing a song with Joshua, to test our chemistry, and we just love each other so much. So it was electric from that first audition. Bassett: “Count on Me” ended up being the song that—once I got the role—they had Olivia and a bunch of girls come in and sing and read for the role of Nini. I was like, “Do you know this song?” She said, “Sure.” We literally stepped inside an office and I stole a guitar from a girl in the waiting room and we just worked out a quick rendition of “Count On Me” by Bruno Mars. She just figured out the harmony in literally one minute in a random executive’s office. Olivia knocked it out of the park and I think that’s when everyone knew it was the right fit. Rodrigo: We really got to know each other after we auditioned, we spent six months in Utah together and that’s really great. He’s my best friend. To be able to work with him every day and sing songs with him, and write with him, and act with him, is just amazing. And he inspires me as a performer as well as just a person. I wouldn’t rather do it with anybody else. Bassett: I don’t want to say it was fate, but honestly, part of me feels like there was something that just got us in the same place at the same time. We just instantly connected on multiple different levels. There was just magic in there. Rodrigo: Funny story. I knew Joshua before, but he claimed that he didn’t remember meeting me, which he did many times, and I still give him crap for it.

What was it like to discover and form these new characters over the course of the season? Bassett: The description of Ricky is basically me. I read it and I was like, “What? Who’s following me around and writing about my life?” The way he operates things and how he has problems with saying he loves people and all that stuff. I definitely can relate to that in my life. Rodrigo: Nini was a character that was so similar to me already. It’s written very authentically. I actually think that the writers though, have taken some bits of my life and put it into Nini’s. If not, then they’re just like psychics and they are just good at writing and doing their job. I was on the phone with my best friend talking about how unconfident I had been feeling and she was talking to me and she said, “Oh, Olivia, you’ve never felt this way before you started dating guys.” Next week, Courtney goes [to Nini], “Oh, you wouldn’t have been this unconfident if you didn’t let guys have such a monopoly over your brain.” And now, Tim was asking me about some experiences that I had with growing up in creativity and he said that he was going to have Nini experience that in Season 2.

Josh, what do you most commune with in Ricky? And, Olivia, for you with Nini? Bassett: He comes up with this outlandish plan to win [Nini] back and to last-minute go and audition for the musical and everything. Obviously, that can tie back to the homecoming thing. This girl that I wanted to ask to homecoming, she rejected three guys who asked her prior. I was like, “Okay. I’ve really got to go big or go home here.” So that night, I stayed up all night and I wrote the song. Then I bought her flowers. Me and my friends drove over to her house. I knocked on her door and sang the song. I just went for it. That mentality is what I definitely connected to with Ricky. Rodrigo: Nini is very confused throughout most of the first season and I was definitely very confused filming the first season, as well. Growing up is just hard. And being a girl in the 21st century, not knowing what boys are good for you, and how to communicate your feelings, and if you’re good enough to have received all these opportunities that you have been given… I think that me and Nini are just sharing these experiences in real time, so it was really an honor to play that.

We grew up with princess movies and women who needed the man to rescue them and then we swung so far the other way with “I don’t need anyone,” so to see Nini negotiating relationships was refreshing. Rodrigo: It’s definitely more realistic. It’s like, “Oh, I don’t need a man.” But it’s like, “Are you really going to do that?” Or is it, “I’m confident with myself and a man”? Is just like to be able to augment my amazingness? What have you learned from inhabiting Nini? Rodrigo: Nini handles tough situations with a lot of grace, and I think that I want to try to be more like her in that regard. She’s always kind to people and always knows what she wants and not afraid to say it. That’s a great thing to be confident in yourself that whatever life throws at you, you can handle it with love and respect.

As a musical series, you guys have experts in Tim Federle and Kate Reinders. What have you learned from working with them? Bassett: Fun fact. Me and my siblings went to New York in I want to say 2016, maybe even 2015. We saw Something Rotten!. My sister saved the Playbill—they save all the Playbills. It turns out we saw Kate Reinders in Something Rotten! on Broadway years and years ago. Didn’t find that out until about halfway through the filming process. Rodrigo: All of my cast members are teaching me about musical theatre. We did a press tour in New York and we all went to Dear Evan Hansen together and Jagged Little Pill. It was Matt Cornett’s—who plays E.J.—his first Broadway show and so all of us kind of got to teach him this is what happens. He was just so in awe. Bassett: One of the really unique things about this show is it feels like we’re in a musical in the sense that we have the same kind of spirit, we’re this team effort. I think that mirrors the theatre community that you don’t often see in Hollywood. I always say Kate Reinders is the mother of the show. She is the emotional backbone for all of us because she has so much spirit in that world. [HSMTMTS] has the heart of musical theatre with the scale of a TV show.

And you guys often sing live! Was that nerve-wracking? Liberating? Bassett: That was a thousand times more liberating. It’s funny. I booked the job and then my first session, I talked to the head of music at Disney and was like, “Are we going to sing live on the show? Because they did that for La La Land. They did a lot of live scenes and stuff, and I just think that it’d be really cool.” I was already pitching the idea. Tim is actually our biggest champion in that.

The chemistry crackles when you guys sing live—just like it did in Episode 8 during that emotional scene where we learn the origin of Nini’s name. What was it like shooting such an intimate moment? Rodrigo: I actually have always been curious about the origin of Nini’s name and Tim had always been coy about like where it came from, but it’s one of his friend’s sister’s names, I think. This bond that Ricky and Nini have is just so sweet and loving and they’re with each other as friends forever. You know they’re friends first and they are there for each other.

What was your favorite scene to shoot in Season 1? Bassett: My favorite scene to shoot in the show so far was in Episode 10. It was one of the best moments I’ve ever had in my acting career. It was liberating and exciting. Tim actually gave me the freedom to improvise. They kept the tape that I improvised on, so I’m expecting a writer credit. No, I’m just kidding. That scene was very special to me. I think people are going to love it. Rodrigo: I love doing group scenes cause I get to hang out with everybody and we’re all just such a big family. There’s so much laughter and love. Filming “Born to be Brave” was amazing and all the other cast members came to watch and it was like 11 o’clock at night but they came on their day off to come watch us film this number and my best friend was in from L.A. She flew in for this number and afterwards it was 1AM and we all went to IHOP. It was one of the most magical days of filming.

What this teaches me is that it is a universal truth that after you do a musical you go to a diner. Rodrigo: They actually make a joke about that as the last episode.

You both wrote songs for Season 1. Olivia, I came across that song that you wrote when you were six and I’m like, “She was writing songs when she was six?” Was it always second nature to you both? Rodrigo: I have old notebooks, just chock-full lyrics that I’ve written when I was super young and you could barely read and write. I love singing and expression and emotion. It’s really cool that I get to write for the show on such a large scale. I can’t believe they let a teenager do that. Bassett: I was constantly creating ... Most of them were just jokes and me and my sisters being goofs, but I was constantly at the piano, coming up with these dumb short snippets of things. Just allowing myself to do whatever I wanted. It didn’t matter. No one was going to hear them. I did not know what I was doing. I could fake it enough, although I still don’t know what I’m doing, by the way.

Olivia, you wrote “All I Want” on your own. Were you given the context of that song before writing it? Rodrigo: We filmed that song as a reshoot, so we filmed all 10 episodes and then Tim came up to me and said, “I think Nini might need a song in Episode 4.” They let me do it because nobody is going Nini like I know Nini.

Do you start from lyrics? Do you start from music? Rodrigo: It changes from song to song. Usually for me they come at the same time. I’ll find the chords that I like and then put lyrics to them and maybe a thought. You wrote “Just for a Moment” for Episode 9 together, but I know you wrote it early on in the season before you knew where the song or the story would go. How was that, writing blind? Rodrigo: We were just shooting in the dark a little bit and it was a strange experience. That was the first time either of us had co-written a song. I would kick out stuff on the piano and send a voice memo to Josh, and he would do the same. We finally decided on a melody that we liked, and then came together and camped out in my apartment for a day and wrote all the lyrics. He wrote his character’s lyrics, and I wrote Nini’s lyrics. We were a little bit stubborn and it was hard to work with each other sometimes. It was such a great learning experience. I’m so inspired by Josh and I learned a lot from him and I hope that he learned something from me.

What skills have you been honing in the songwriting process now, working in a professional environment? Rodrigo: It’s definitely a whole different ballgame, writing for Disney and I’m writing knowing that the song that I write is going to be consumed by people. Writing something with that knowledge is a little bit daunting, at first, and it’s kind of hard to be vulnerable when you know that people are going to listen to it. Bassett: I think the important thing is to just not take it too seriously. I think people put this expectation on themselves. “I need to write a hit. I need to be honest.” Just be honest and be yourself. Don’t put any expectations on the product. Everything will work out.

Looking back at season one as a whole, what is most important for you to carry in to Season 2? Rodrigo: We filmed Season 1 in such isolation and we didn’t really know what was going to happen to the show. We knew that we felt super passionate about it. After seeing the response, I love seeing people really resonate with the themes that I find really important, like LGBTQ representation, truthful teenager stories, with people that might not look like she’s the average movie star but actually look like a real teenager that one would see at their high school. Bassett: I think what’s really neat about this cast is that you would not believe the hidden talents that everyone in this cast has. It is mind-blowing. Every single day on set, we’ll find something out about someone. Like, “Wait. You do this, too?” So I think as Tim and the writers found that out more, I think they’re going to write more things that cater to us as actors that we can incorporate into our characters. I’m really excited to help shine the spotlight on everyone else.

As the next chapter of the High School Musical anthology and canon, what does that feeling and what do you hope the impact of it is on other kids now or other audiences in general? Rodrigo: High School Musical and musical theatre, in general, has always been a safe haven for people who have felt like outcasts or felt weird or different. This show acts as just yet another place for people to feel they belong and for people to feel represented. I think that’s a really lovely thing and I’m really happy that we get to portray that.

[lady-olive-oil]

Work Out: Chapter 2

Writings || Florian Index || MTC ||

What up, what up! It’s ya girl Liv here with another chapter of Work Out. In this chapter we’ll go deep into Geneva’s past and her favorite past time. Let me know if ya wanna join the Lil Nasties Squad. I also added 2 new characters to the roster, one is Josephine Montoya-Wade (in MTC) and the other one, well you’ll see soon. Thanks for reading! Stay tuned from scenes for our next episode. Skating visuals linked in bold.

WC: 3.4K [I’m starting to think each chapter will be this long]

Warnings: suggestive themes, dirty flashback if ya squint

Tag Team, Lil Nasties: @maddiestundentwritergaines || @sparklemichele || @designerwriterchic || @honeychicana || @chaneajoyyy || @jojolu || @dc41896 || @titty-teetee || @inlovewithmakeupcomicsanimelove || @ljstraightnochaser || @mimigemrose || @crushed-pink-petals || @fumbling-fanfics || @madamslayyy

The sounds of 70’s to 00’s music rumbled through the rink, as skaters young and old all came together for one night in solidarity. For those who can skate that is. Others like myself however, have been in the game for years.

“Come along and ride on the fantastic voyage.” I couldn’t help but sing along to the sounds of my childhood. Seeing friends of old and new in the rink made me feel at home again. Not like good old nostalgia to make you feel at peace.

“Is that Jimmy and Trinity? The franchise let them have a break before the big match? That’s new.” Destiny got my attention by noticing two old friends of mine from the past.

I was a trainer for WWE in Orlando, years ago. I have met the past; present and the future of the company come in and out of those doors. It was a tremendous job to have right out of college, that I will forever cherish. I’ve grown close to most of everyone from all rosters. I left due to some personal reasons.

“Yeah it is. Let’s go say hi.” Maneuvering through the busy crowd I tapped the glow queen herself, and was met with an excited squeal. Thus rewarded with a loving hug with just enough force.

“Gege! It’s am so glad to see you. How’ve you been girl?” Upon giving Destiny and Cynthia their hugs as well, Jimmy and Jey both hugged us all in a group hug.

“I’ve been well, about to be blessed with a divorce soon.” Taking a swig of my Angry Orchard Rośe, I heard Trinity chuckle.

“You finally went through with it. Proud of you little sis.” Jimmy commended me, with Jey nodding in agreement.

“Thanks Uce, It’s been a long time coming too. Trust and believe me, Dede and Cyn are throwing me a divorce party. What better city to do it in, than Atlanta?” You better believe I was looking forward to that party. Nothing was going to keep me away from it.

“You know I’ll be there. Even if I have to drag Jimmy with me.” Trinity nugged her husband, who was in a deep conversation with his twin over which food is better: bacon double cheeseburger vs mozzarella sticks.

“Huh? Uh yeah Atlanta seems cool.”

“That’s funny because last time I remember, you weren’t going for my good sis to move to the ATL.” I arched a brow in mock curiosity, causing Jimmy to blush a tad.

“At first I was but then I realize she needs a lot of family around no matter what. Plus Georgia and Florida ain’t far, so we came to an agreement.” Placing a kiss on how wife’s head, made all of us smile in pure joy.

“Y’all are sickeningly cute. Let’s go skate, I gotta get my groove on.” Lacing up my white skates, the ones with the hot pink wheels, and neon green laces on them, I saw a pair of Jordan’s come into view.

“Well well well, look who showed up.” Leaning against the table, giving a glance over

“Couldn’t stand my cousin up now could I?” Michael  showed his pearly white teeth, before giving me a hug. Looking up behind him I see Florian in all his glory.

His tight black v-neck shirt; with matching jeans and red polo sneakers just made him irresistible. His hair and beard were clean cut, and what set it off was his gold link chain around his neck. If I’m being completely honest here y’all, at some point I plan on yanking on that gotdamn chain and-

“Hello gorgeous.” His deep voice broke my inner thoughts and just melted my insides. Making my body feel all warm and giddy. This man does things to me already.

“Well hello there handsome. I see my cousin let you come out and roll with the big dogs huh?” Smirking a bit as I skated around him on the rubber glow in the dark floor.

“Actually he didn’t want to come, I dragged him. He wanted to stay in all day and watch Netflix.” The way he laughed was even a magical tone. Like you could be hugged by a velvet blanket, by a cozy fire in the middle of winter.

“Oh? Damn Baraki, you don’t wanna spend time with ya cousin? I’m hurt.”

“I’m here aren’t I? Besides, had to break out my skates from retirement and help Florian buy his from Amazon. Turns out, the dude here owns a pair, without my knowing” He shrugged and stuck his tongue out at me when I flipped him off. Feeling glad that the rink had given us the party section to have us somewhat away from fans. Yet a few had asked for pictures, and I didn’t mind taking them for them.

“Yeah yeah. Anyway, Florian do you know how to skate?” I asked gently.

“Little bit. Haven’t had the time to in a while, just been training more often.” His reply was honest and sincere. Man why isn’t her dating anybody already?

“Oh really? Well I wouldn’t mind teaching you a bit.” The slight bite on my bottom lip, caused Florian to smirk at me before taking a sip of his Heineken.

“I’m sure you could.” He mumbled just enough for me to hear, letting me hold his beer so her could tie his skates up.

His arms bulged with every movement, a vein popped a few times and it just made my body hum in desire and need. That was until I felt my phone vibrated, I gave him back his beer, and watched as he skated with Michael over to the Dj booth. Checking my phone for a few updates from friends and fans of my work, I received a message from Cassie that she had arrived.

Cassie was also another childhood friend of  mine who had no issue with telling you how it is. Knowing that she moved back to the city as well, made it all better for me to have friends. My phone buzzed again, letting me know a message came again. This time I was worried. Re-reading the message, I felt my face scrunch in confusion.

Cassie: Uh Geneva don’t be alarmed but a certain blonde walked in.

What was she talking about? Responding as fast as I could, I looked around the section and saw nothing.

Me: who?

Looking at Trinity, who nodded her head in the front direction of the rink.

Trinity: she devil

Me: oh fuck

The she devil in question, was another former trainee of mine at the facility back in 2016, when I had started. She is one of the major causes of my divorce; Mandy Rose. I don’t see what the WWE universe sees in her anyway. All the while I know what I did see; Jake’s dick in her in our bed.

“Watch my back.” I told the girls, and they all looked towards where I was skating at. They soon followed me when they knew immediately where I was going. The memories came flooding back.

I haven’t spoken to Mandy sinch I quit. It was around April of last year, Wrestlemania season, when everything went down and I had filed for divorce 2 weeks later. That was the final nail in the coffin of my marriage with Jake, and I couldn’t take it anymore. With all the blatant disrespect; the awkward silences when I asked him about the finances of our joint accounts; the secret rendezvous he’d have coming home late, the high expense charges and the lying.

I thought he was different from all the others but that was lie, a bold face lie. We got married right after graduation, in 2014, two years later I started working in Orlando. The first full year on the job I introduced Jake to Mandy. It had been a whirlwind to work for WWE with my medical degree, to make sure the superstars were in tip top shape. With the constant bickering, physical altercations and accusations he threw at me, about sleeping with one of my coworkers I had to put out marriage on pause that same year.

A year of separation had put my mind into perspective and think about what I wanted out of this marriage. We had agreed to meet up at our house, I was staying at Cynthia’s at that time, for dinner to catch up. I still had a key to the condo, it was in my name, and I looked all over the house for him. What do I see walking up the stairs? Mandy riding Jake like no tomorrow. He tried to save his ass by running away from me, as I waved my steel bat at him. Mandy was long gone and laughing by then.

Putting in my resignation was hard but I had to do it. Now more than ever, I was focused on me and only me. Moving back home to New York was just the beginning. During the first few months, filing for divorce, I did go on a few dates. Only a few guys came home with me, none of them satisfied the itch I craved. Maybe Florian could be the one to fix that.

Trying not to fall while skating through the crowd, I made it to the group that just came in. Sonja Deville sported me quick and pulled me into a tight embrace. The death glare I set straight towards Mandy could be picked out of a much bigger crowd.

“Geneva! It’s been too long. How’ve you been?”

Keeping my composure I returned Sonja’s gesture.

“I’ve been well, been well. Working on my personal trainor thing, keeping the lights on. I’m always busy, plus going back to school so yeah.”

I made it my priority, to keep my bond strong with Sonja, after I left the company. When I told the MMA fighter about the scene I witnessed, she couldn’t fathom it either. She promised to keep an eye out on Mandy for me as well.

She was one of the first people, besides my crew of course, to message me about the sly matching posts on Instagram, between Florian and I. She wished us nothing but luck and invite her to the wedding in the future.

“I hear ya. I hear ya. Just to let you know, I did keep- ah hell.” An exaggerated sigh escaped Sonja’s lips, causing my face to contort in confusion.

“Uh something wrong?” I asked curiously, seeing her visibly gulp.

“Want me to be honest?”

“I expect nothing from a woman who kicked my ass in practice back in Orlando.” Earning a soft chuckle from her, she sighed and turned me around to the scene.

“That little bitch.” The growl that erupted in the back of my throat, made Sonja go wide eyed.

“Geneva-”

Before she could even finish that sentence, a let my anger skate me towards Florian. I was already attached to him and I didn’t want Mandy to ruin that for me. She was touching all over him; feeling him up, touching his face, shoving her silicone bean bags in his face and just being her trashy self. The look of discomfort shown on his face, but soon shifted once I came into view.

“Hey Florian, ready to go skate?” I intervened so fast, that you could see steam coming out of Mandy’s ears.

“Well lookie here, It’s the hag. Listen honey, he doesn’t want to skate with the likes of you. He’s having fun talking to me. Isn’t that right Florian?” Moving her hand on his chest, you could see the disagreeable expression on his face. Upon removing her hand from his chest, he stood by me and I felt my body temperature erupt in euphoria and triumph, as if I had won.

“Well I was here to skate with Geneva and her friends.”

Mandy sneered at me with her fake lips and tosses her bleach blonde hair.

“Fine, but this isn’t over Geneva. May the best woman win. Oh and Florian, I’ll catch you later.” Being the snake that she is, she leaned up on her tippy toes and placed a kiss on his cheek, before leaving with her friends. I wanted to claw at her face so bad, yet I’m surprised Florian held me back.

“It’s Genevieve to you.” I gritted through my teeth.

You see, lately I’ve been talking to Florian about myself, opening up a bit more, getting to know one another better and such. I had mentioned Mandy in the conversation, how she was one of the causes of my divorce, and how she tried to one up everyone. He knew her through a friend of theirs, they chatted and had a night together.

Although she got too clingy for  him after that and it’s not in him to just let a woman go after a night, but he needed to be away from her. By the time this all transpired, it was before his practice scenes for Creed. That’s when I met him on set a month later.

“I’m sorry that happened Geneva. Nor did I know she was coming either.” He tried to sooth and keep me calm. I had never been consoled by another man who wasn’t my father or my brothers.

Glancing up at Florian I saw hope; dedication and devotion. Some qualities I loved in any man, but this man here was something else. Collecting myself together, I took a breather and skated away from him on to the rink floor.

“It’s all good Flo.” The way I said his nickname, caused his face to heat up in embarrassment. The action caused his sweet smile to appear as he leaned against the rock wall, watching me groove to the music in place for a bit. He was entranced by just a little movement.

“So I hear that you’re, Queen of skating huh?”

“Maybe so. If you can keep up with me during this song or the next I’ll go on that date.”

“Wait wait, for real?” He arched a brow, as I nodded.

“Foreal. I’ll go on a date with you if you can keep up.” Sending off a wink before I skated off to the jumping sounds of reggae music. Moving my hips to the rhythm, I kept eye contact with him as I move to the beat.

My hips have a mind of their own, as I float across the floor and take off my jacket. I managed to hand it to Cynthia as I skated around to hand it to her and I kept going. I always felt at home here, it was never a dull moment.

Upon hearing the song change over, to Rock the Boat by the ever so great Aaliyah,I felt a pair of strong hands grace my hips. I didn’t think he’d catch up to me.

“Guess who?” His warm voice graced my left ear, and sent chills through my body, as we grooved to the music in sync. Moving my hips on instinct against him, rolling in tandem with his hands around the rink.

“So Flo got rhythm. So tell me, how do you know how to skate?”

“A movie you mentioned, that was your favorite. May have picked up a few pointers.” Grabbing my hand on cue, he twirled me around before bring me back to his strong, broad chest. I stand corrected, I was in heaven.

“You watched Roll Bounce? And you listened to me too.”

“And I’ve been skating since I was 10. So that’s just a bonus.”

Dancing on him with the music changing, made the tension grow hotter and more sensual. Lost Without You started playing and I followed Florian’s movement this time around. Hearing his gentle voice singing in my ear once more, I began to sing along with him. I haven’t felt this much emotion in so long, I’m starting to feel like this was meant to happen. The smooth gentle rocking, made me feel like I was floating. We were floating. I felt safe in his arms more than I thought. I could feel his rigid muscles through his shirt on my back, making me hold back a moan.

I know he could feel the connection as well. The grip on my hips told me otherwise. Placing my hands on top of his, I laced our fingers together before turning to skate backwards.

“White boy got some moves. I like it, you can keep up with me.” He twirled me around a bit before holding me against his chest again. I leaned my head back to look up at him a little, just to place a kiss on his chin.

“That’s not all I can do.” The deep baritone bass of his throat made me want to jump his bones right then and there.

“Oh I bet.” I teased him back by rotating my ass against him, earning a low growl to erupt from his chest. Gege can play too Flo.

The Dj let everyone know that it was time to roll out, and to drive safely. Rolling off the floor, we met up with our group and planned the next move of action to extend the night. The rink was starting to close up soon, so we all met in the parking lot.

“Girl we saw you and Florian getting down like an old southern couple.” Cynthia nugged me, giving me a sly look.

“Y’all were doing the damn thing.” Destiny winked and caused me to laugh a bit.

Cassie high fives me before heading to her car.

“Geneva, I’ll catch you later this week aight? Gotta get up for work in the morning. I’ll see if I can bring Josephine to the meeting.”

Sending her my love my regards, I placed my skates in the back of my Range Rover.

“So y’all good for some bar hopping? I know this great spot along the jersey shore.” Ryan mentioned while looking up the directions.

“I can’t. I have class in the morning and a test, I need to be sober for. Sorry guys.” Gently replying I smiled up at the crew before shrugging.

“Dang maybe next time. Oh what about our monthly couples game night? How about Monday, Geneva’s?” Destiny suggested as she headed towards her Jeep renegade.

“Couples game night? Sounds intriguing, I’m in. I’ll bring Johari, you in Florian?” An enthusiastic Michael was all anyone could handle.

Glancing over at me, he smirked gently.

“Yeah I’m down. Geneva, I’ll pick you up tomorrow from class for our date. See y’all around.” Placing a kiss on my cheek, I sighed heavily and bit my lip. This man was gonna be the death of me. The action caused him to chuckle adorably.

“Deal. See you tomorrow Flo.” Kissing his cheek, I saw his face heat up again. Seeing him walk away with my cousin, I let out a soft groan.

“Girl, you are sprung.” Cynthia smirked at me while Destiny let out a gut busting laugh.

“She got it bad.” Destiny couldn’t help herself.

“I will say this; I hate to see him go, but I love to watch him leave. His ass is sculpted like a god.” I fanned myself in the process.

Hugging my friends goodbye, before getting into my car and driving home, I glanced down at the sound of my phone going off. Glancing down for a split second, I saw the notification. I had received a text message from Florian.

Making it home safely I got ready for my shower and for bed; tying down the massive mess of my 4c curls in a silk scarf, I finally read the message. Leaning against my room door, I read it over and over again, feeling all giddy.

Florian:

Can’t wait for tomorrow night gorgeous. I promise it’ll be worth it. You deserve the best and I plan on delivering. Sweet dreams my queen.

This man knew how to charm his way through anything. Getting back on track, I kept staring at the message. I had to reply and not be rude. So I kept it short and sweet, yet tasteful.

Me:

Looking forward to what you have in store handsome.

“Damn Florian. My heart is yernin for ya love..” singing gently to myself before getting into the shower, I felt powerful. Maybe this is my chance to finally be happy. To finally be free from my chains of the past. This whole turning over a new leaf thing, won’t be so bad after all.

[daleisgreat]

25 Years of PSone - Flashback Special!

I am back with another videogame anniversary special this week. In last week’s flashback on the Saturn & Virtual Boy I ran down all the other platforms that had milestone anniversaries this year. Of course I realized I neglected one days after posting it, and realized last month marked the 15th anniversary of the PSP in North America. I was originally going to combine my PSP memories with the PSone as we approach its 25th North American anniversary, but as you will soon see, I have quite a lot to say about the PSone, so it looks like the PSP will be touched on in the near future. With that said, hopefully I can grant you a brief reprieve from the real world times we are in if you indulge me while I reflect back on Sony’s unforgettable console debut in the gaming world.

I will start off with the PSone, which was originally abbreviated to the 1990s stateside gaming press as the PSX. When the PS2 hit in 2000, Sony retroactively changed the PSX branding into the PSone with the requisite late-gen slim design having that official branding. The PSX was later a whole separate PS2 variant only available in Japan, so the PSone labeling helped clear up any potential confusion with the Japanese PSX. As I mentioned in my flashback last week, I was initially not on board with the dawn of 32-bit systems after the initial polygonal games like Star Fox and Virtua Racing appeared ugly to my then 11 year-old eyes, and after trying the Saturn and PSone at retail kiosks shortly after their launches, I was bamboozled at the concept of ‘loading’ and being forced to wait for gameplay after not experiencing that on nearly all 8 and 16-bit games. The only bright spot I can recall in the first couple years of the PSone was having fun at my cousin’s blasting each other to bits in the excellent combat driving game, Twisted Metal. For the first few years of the PSone’s lifecycle in America, I easily dismissed it and stuck with my NES, SNES and GameBoy in those early years of the PSone because that was all my family had back then and they understandably did not want to cough up a few hundred more dollars to upgrade to a whole other platform. For the Christmas of 1997, after enough pleading with them to upgrade to a new gaming system I made my case for the N64 and was delighted to see it awaiting under the Christmas tree. That was due to my gaming preferences at the time and it being a four player powerhouse that worked ideally with my family and friends and also due to not getting my first job late in that console cycle it lead to me siding with it as my preferred console that generation. I do not regret it, but I did not miss out entirely on the PSone during this era as I had a couple friends around this time that got PSones instead and I wound up playing a fair amount of Sony’s first console hanging out at my other friend’s households.

The early NFL GameDay and Madden titles were the first big PSone games I played regularly against a friend. This video does a nice quick job explaining how the two were fierce competitors in early years of the PSone. In 1998 my friend Rich upgraded to a PSone and the bulk of my PSone playing the next two to three years wound up being at his place. We played a ton of 16-bit Madden in the years preceding, so naturally the first PSone game that was our go to was Madden NFL ‘97. It only looked like a slightly touched up version of the 16-bit games and still stuck with marginally bigger and detailed sprites (or incredibly weak looking polygonal footballers, it is hard to tell when looking at videos) when compare to the 16-bit Madden titles. I recall us then switching the football games up with Sony’s NFL game, NFL GameDay ‘98 for a little bit of variety, and being impressed with its superior polygonal graphics. That all changed a few months later when Rich got the then-brand new Madden NFL ‘99 that holiday season. That was a landmark game for the series, and it righteously blew us away when EA Sports delivered a brand new polygonal graphics engine to compete with GameDay, and its graphics and gameplay blew GameDay away. Madden NFL ‘99 also debuted the multi-season Franchise mode that is a staple in single player Madden features today, and was revolutionary back then. Rich and I played Madden NFL ‘99 regularly and it was our new favorite pigskin game that gen.

Rich and I would play a lot of other competitive multiplayer games over the next couple of years. I have good memories of us renting games on a weekend night and tearing each other up in games like Knockout Kings 2000 and NHL Rock the Rink. After I got my first job the next year I would occasionally purchase a PSone game I wanted to try to bring over to play. The N64 AKI wrestling games we played to death, and I wanted to try out what the PSone grapplers brought to the table. I recall us detesting the unplayable trash that was WCW Nitro (minus its laugh-riot of character select screen taunts), but having a pretty fun time with the deep roster and gameplay options available in the first WWF Smackdown game. I remember getting really into ECW after discovering their first wave of DVDs in 2000, and eagerly picked up ECW Anarchy Rulz. Looking back, that aging game engine from Acclaim was barely playable, but we managed to have a blast with the absurd gameplay modes available at the time like barbwire and brimstone deathmatches. After hearing how the gaming press was giving it game of the year-caliber buzz, I took a chance and picked up Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 on PSone after I could not track down the harder-to-find Dreamcast version, and it worked out for the better because that game became an institution with Rich and I as we played countless bouts of Trick Attack and HORSE against each other. I could not hold a candle most times against Rich, but could care less since the gameplay was that lethal combo of accessible and fun, and that THPS2 had one of the all-time best licensed soundtracks, with a few selections like “Bring the Noise,” “Blood Brothers” and “Guerilla Radio” that remain in my running playlists today. I know, I know, you probably do not want to read entirely about sports and wrestling games, but for most of the 90s that made up a majority of what I consumed, but rest assured I am now moving on to some of the acclaimed single player titles the PSone is renowned for. My friend and podcast co-host Chris is a big fan of RPGs and I would chill at his place and enjoy watching him play through the story of Final Fantasy VII, Star Ocean, Grandia and Final Fantasy Tactics. Chris tried to help me wrap my head around them and guided me through first couple hours into FFVII and Tactics, but I did not have the attention span for those steep learning curves of their complex battle systems, especially Tactics. I recall watching my brother get wrapped up in FFVII and Legend of Dragoon and will never forget his anger at repeatedly failing against Seipheroth in the final FFVII boss battle, but will equally never forget his glee at finally conquering him. I finally made an honest effort at putting time into a new FFVII playthrough a couple years ago on my Vita, and I managed to make it out of Midgar which I considered a huge accomplishment. I only made it a little ways past that however and never got past that tall creature in a marsh I later found out was one of those battles you were not supposed to win. Speaking of FFVII, I played the demo recently for the newly released FFVII Remake and it looks dazzling and it sounds like that first installment of the Remake is getting high marks all around, which is great to hear for one of the most identifiable and best-selling games on the PSone.

I re-uploaded this podcast from my archives where we breakdown nearly all RPGs on the PSone. Brought on a lot of RPG-vets for this episode which yielded one of my favorite episodes in our near-200 episode run! I remember hearing the legendary FFVII vs. FFVIII fan debates over the years. For the first couple of years after its release, Final Fantasy VIII was almost universally panned by gaming mags and the newly emerging online gaming media at the time before it slowly built up a vocal contingent of defenders similar to how Luigi’s Mansion got its fanbase once the ‘it is not Super Mario’ hubbub at the GCN launch gradually died down. I remember when my brother finished FFVII and with his birthday approaching understandably wanting to play the next one right away and him pleading with my mom for FFVIII for his birthday. This was a year or two after it was already out and I remember warning my brother it was not received that well, and he blew off my warnings and persisted with his birthday wishes for it. He eventually procured Squall’s journey for his birthday, and I will never forget it asking him several days later for his first update on it and him furiously responding, ‘That game sucks, I already traded it in to Gamestop!’

To put a bow on RPGs on the PSone, I would like to nudge you towards another podcast I recently uploaded from my archives in time for this flashback where we did a multi-part history of RPGs special, with the PSone getting its own episode since it had so many highly-rated RPGs. As you have read by now, I am no expert at this genre, but Chris and a few other friends I brought on are and it lead to a thorough discussion breaking down nearly every major and minor RPG on the system! It was a fun roundtable I will never forget with the first half dedicated to passionately dissecting all the Final Fantasy titles on the system to the back half making sure nearly all other PSone RPGs get their due. I have embedded it in this article for your convenience, or you can click or press here to queue it up for later. Another multi-episode special of On Tap saw us focusing on the history of comic book games. I brought on longtime friend and comic book expert Matt for the perfect co-host for this series. He took his research for this line of episodes remarkably seriously and tracked down and bought any comic book games he was missing for each system to fill in any gaps and by the time we wrapped up our comic book games history series he purchased nearly every comic book licensed game there was. When it came time to cover PSone and Saturn comic book games we spent a weekend trying out many of these games Matt tracked down online. With the exception of the excellent Marvel-licensed fighting games by Capcom and a handful of other titles, a vast majority of the rest were a dumpster fire of barely playable platformers. I vividly recall Fantastic Four, The Crow: City of Angels, Blade and Hellboy: Asylum Seeker standing out as the cream of the crap. We suffered through a lot of dreck that weekend, but it was worth and it culminated in an episode where a lot of ragging was done on some atrocious games. I do not have that episode re-uploaded from the archives as of this writing, but I plan to eventually and will embed it here soon so you can experience our pain!UPDATE 6-23-2020 - I finally uploaded the podcast covering PSone comic book games to my YouTube channel; it is embedded at the bottom of this special, or you can click or press here to check it out!

The primary reason I never got a PSone during its lifecycle was because when I landed my first job in 1999 and finally had disposable income, it was either announced or much-rumored by that point that the highly anticipated PS2 would have backwards compatibility with the PSone library so I held off on getting the system. I would however purchase a handful of PSone games in the year leading up to the PS2 launch knowing that they would work on the PS2. I loved SNES Street Racer, so PSone Street Racer was one of my first PSone games, and it had a nice bump up in visuals and somehow pulled off split screen multiplayer for up to eight players! The 3DO version of Road Rash got a nice performance boost on the PSone, but like the 3DO version also does not have support for its killer licensed soundtrack during gameplay. Sadly the PSone’s exclusive follow up, Road Rash: Jailbreak failed to deliver, and the beloved franchise has rarely been seen from since. Street Fighter Collection: Volume 2 was how I first experienced the turbo speed and hyper combos of Super Street Fighter II: Turbo that I fondly remember doing regular match-ups against my classmate Josh! The wrestling nut in me experimented with a couple other exclusive wrestling games on the system. Power Move Pro Wrestling was a decent early polygonal wrestling game, which I could have seen being addicted to if I played it when it originally released in 1996. WWF WrestleMania: The Arcade Game and WWF In Your House were mildly entertaining Mortal Kombat-esque takes on wrestling games, but needless to say I stuck with the N64 for my main wrestling games fix during this era. I loved both Destruction Derby titles on PSone back during this time, but I revisited them briefly in prep for this flashback and am sad to report they have not aged the best and I forgot how loose they controlled and how some inadvertent spinouts could lead to a quick demise. Another oddball title was the Kurt Warner backed Arena Football Unleashed. It is Midway taking the Blitz engine and giving it an Arena-rules makeover, but with more vicious hits and tackles that the NFL would not endorse in their games.

I want to make sure to get a couple other quick props to a few other assorted PSone memories. Loaded was a fun overhead two player action title to mindlessly blast away in coop. I was impressed with Blizzard’s port of Diablo and how well it surprisingly handled the co-op action with not too many performance hiccups. Another PC hit series my brother and I dug, Delta Force did not make as smooth of a transition to PSone with Delta Force: Urban Warfare being a bit of a choppy mess. The hit multiplayer series Worms I first discovered on PSone with Chris introducing me to the series with Worms 2 and I instantly became a fan of its fantastical weaponry like Banana Bombs and exploding sheep. One of the scant few times I got my mom to play games with me was knocking out several rounds of Jeopardy 2nd Edition where it was then impressive to hear every question…errr answer audibly read by studio host Johnny Gilbert. On one of the annual 24-hour Extra Life charity drives I participated in, a friend brought over one of the strangest PSone titles ever in Incredible Crisis, to begin to describe its zaniness would be impossible, so I will point you towards this video instead. The aforementioned Capcom Marvel fighting games you cannot go wrong with, but a decent alternative was the pair of X-Men: Mutant Academy fighting games from Activision.I remember they had Professor X as a hidden character and going to town dishing out damage with his array of wheelchair attacks! I never got into the hardcore sim Gran Turismo titles, but it was another title that I would be fine watching Chris show off its then best-in-show graphics and presentation of realistic cars and driving physics. Finally, the Tekken 2 and Tekken 3 were in regular rotation at friends. Like Virtua Fighter 2 on Saturn they proved that polygonal fighters were here to stay, and I remember being stunned how good Tekken 3 looked when next to its arcade counterpart and how Namco squeezed everything they could out of the PSone with that title.

It was a different time for WWF games in the early years of the PSone as this video elucidates how a Mortal Kombat take on a wrestling game came to be. PSone and PS2 owners were spoiled with a constant supply of demo discs courtesy of OPM and Playstation Underground. I remember Chris keeping up with the demos and him constantly popping in the latest one whenever I swung over. The Playstation Underground discs especially stood out since they were essentially a virtual magazine, complete with mini-documentaries and interview features, cheat codes and content unlocked save files. I have been able to experience these again with Giant Bomb doing an exquisite job regularly reliving this era with their ‘Demo Derby’ video series I give a high recommendation for everyone to check out. I also remember the final years of PSone’s lifecycle that introduced the concept of the $10 budget game that saw dozens of low-budget games release brand new for at that price point. A lot of these were utter trash like All-Star Slammin’ D-Ball where I discovered it is possible to screw up a dodge ball game, but there was an occasional gem sprinkled in there, and it was part of the fun chancing one when randomly perusing the racks at Best Buy on a routine payday visit back then.

My last dive into PSone gaming was downloading the various PSone classics released digitally on PS3. According to good ‘ol reliable Wikipedia, there were 265 PSone Classics released for PS3 download in North America. I downloaded around 30 of them. Most of them were $6 each, with a few multi-disc games going for $10 I think, but they frequently went on sale for half off and it was a great way to track down games I always wanted for a bargain, and having most of them being cross-compatible on the Vita was a handy bonus too! I booted up a few of them prepping up for this, and a big standout for me were the five volumes of the NAMCO Museum catching my eye with their impressive explore-able museum filled with all types of fan service that made me get a lot more than I expected when revisiting arcade classics like Galaga and Pole Position. One day I will make time for the other downloaded PSone Classics in my PS3 library I have long neglected and heard nothing but great things about like both Mega Man Legends titles and the pair of Suikoden games. Speaking of PSone Classics, that brings me to Sony’s entry into the console-mini market a couple years ago with its critical and commercial flop, the PSone Classic. I love my NES, SNES and Genesis mini consoles, but I avoided Sony’s version with its surprise amount of issues that are far too numerous to breakdown here. From what I understand, a lot of it can be resolved by modding the system, but ultimately I prefer having my PS3 be my own personal PSone Classic. My PS3-slim model still plays all my PSone discs, and combine that with my own curated PSone Classics I have downloaded on it and I see no need to upgrade to the PSone Classic and its Dual Shock-less controller.

I will wind down here by stating how I went until three or four years ago unexpectedly stumbling into procuring a physical PSone. I was helping a longtime co-worker move an old couch, and afterword we were having a quick breakfast when she suddenly had a lightbulb-turned-on look dawn on her and she exclaimed, ‘hey, you like games, right?’ I responded that I do, and she went on to say how her son left a couple boxes of games in her closet and insisted I take them for helping her out. I felt it was a bit much for moving a couch, but she persisted and double checked with her son after a quick text. Upon opening up the couple of shoeboxes when I got home I discovered it wound up being the PSone-slim, with two controllers and about 20 games mostly of the Crash Bandicoot and alternative sports variety which was fine by me! The PSone/Saturn/N64 generation I remember being a crazy ‘fanboy war’ era. Aside from the standard lunchroom verbal jabs that were exchanged, that generation in the mid-to-late 90s was when the Internet, online forums, boards and messenger programs became ubiquitous and only fueled the fire. As stated above, I remember sticking by the N64 during this time, but over the years as you have just read, I came around on the PSone over the years. I may have touched on an unorthodox lineup of games compared to what people that were playing the PSone during its active retail timespan, but I do not regret any of the PSone ‘classics’ I experienced one bit. Please check back here later this year for more Sony platform flashback specials on the PSP and PS2, and if you want more retro gaming flashbacks then please take a look underneath here for a list of my previous flashbacks!

Here is the podcast I did covering all of the comic book games released on the PSone, along with other systems from that era like the Saturn and N64. My Other Gaming Flashbacks Dreamcast 20th Anniversary GameBoy 30th Anniversary Genesis 30th Anniversary Saturn and Virtual Boy 25th Anniversaries TurboGrafX-16 30th Anniversary and 32-X 25th Anniversary

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Puck Daddy Bag of Mail: Did Marchessault sign six-year, $30M extension too early?

In the midst of a stellar playoff run, Jonathan Marchessault must be thinking that he signed his extension a little too early, right?

The conference finals have, to this point, been very good. Entertaining hockey pretty much all the way around unless you count Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals, which was not very fun at all.

As you might imagine, the ultra-concentration on just one game per night leads people to ask increasingly specific questions about these remaining series, which I like because it’s nice to be able to really dig into this stuff and the meaning that springs from every win and loss, hero and goat.

Let’s just get right to it:

William asks: “Had Marchessault waited until the offseason to sign a new contract with Vegas, how much more could it have been for versus the six-year, $5 million per he ended up signing?”

I think this is an interesting question mainly because Marchessault is really just carrying on the high-quality play Vegas got from him all year.

The Golden Knights obviously have all the cap room in the world because they’re like $6 million below the ceiling for the season but that’s before all the guys they could LTIR and get cap relief for if they started going over the limit somehow. That’s why they were in the conversation for Bobby Ryan and Erik Karlsson at the deadline.

That said, Marchessault probably could have cashed in an extra mil or two, for sure, but six years sounds about right on the term. Moreover, when he signed that deal, he became the highest-paid non-LTIR skater on the team, tied with Reilly Smith. At that point he couldn’t reasonably demand more than what Smith was getting. After all, okay he had a great year with Smith and Bill Karlsson, but this is a guy who wasn’t even an NHL regular until he was 26 and, to the earlier point, he’s 5-foot-9, so you can see where teams, even his own, might be a little skeptical that he’d be worth the $30 million. (I think the skeptics would have been proven very, very wrong, but that’s beside the point.)

Marc-Andre Fleury makes $5.75 million against the cap, and the since-traded-for Tomas Tatar inexplicably pulls $5.3 million AAV. Smith and Marchessault settling in a shade below Tatar mostly makes sense.

Plus, you have to keep in mind that Nevada has no income tax, so that $5 million is actually worth more to him there than it would be elsewhere (he was, of course, a pending UFA). To put another way, one imagines Marchessault isn’t really going to miss the money he probably left on the table.

Michael asks: “This being a copycat league, do you see anything from the final four that could be a new trend developing?”

Let’s think about some of the best players on these teams. With the exception of Washington, there are a number of undersized star players on these teams. Jonathan Marchessault is probably the playoff MVP right now and he’s listed (perhaps a bit generously) at 5-foot-9. So is Yanni Gourde. Tyler Johnson is an inch shorter than that. Mathieu Perreault and Brayden Point are both 5-foot-10.

Obviously very few players are Patrik Laine where they’re giants who can skate like the wind, but I think we’re getting to an inflection point where there are just too many good teams powered by guys who are under 6 feet tall that you have to say teams will smarten up and realize that, in the modern game, you don’t need to be 6-foot-2 to be an impact player. It helps, obviously, if you can be effective at 6-foot-6 like Victor Hedman, or even 6-foot-3 like Mikhail Sergachev.

But I think (hope) we’re close to being past the point of “short guys have to prove they can play and tall guys have to prove they can’t.” Hopefully some day soon it’ll just be “guys have to prove they can play.” Because if things keep going like they have here, Marchessault being the Conn Smythe winner would mark the fourth time in six years a guy under 6 feet tall took the postseason MVP award home.

Mitch asks: “So was the Matt Niskanen Free Agency signing actually a good idea?”

Yeah.

Since he signed, he has arguably been the best defenseman on their team, John Carlson’s phenomenal contract year notwithstanding. He costs just $5.75 million against the cap, which is a bargain for a defender like Niskanen.

He’s having a great playoff (even if he isn’t scoring a ton; check the underlyings) and even if his regular season wasn’t great this year you have to look at how he was used to make things easier on other defensemen.

Since we’re all pretending like this is the best Caps team of the modern era, if the Caps don’t have Niskanen, I don’t think they get anywhere near this far in these playoffs.

The issue, obviously, is that he’s signed for four years after this one and that’s a long time given that he’ll be 32 in about six and a half months. If the Caps don’t win a Cup this season, what are their chances for doing it next year? Probably not great. And if they don’t do it then, they’re really not likely to improve in the remaining period of the Niskanen deal. At which point, they’ve gotten worse, he’s aged into his mid-30s, and people probably view the contract negatively.

But the Niskanen trophy case in terms of “engendering team success” is pretty good: Two Presidents’ Trophies and an Eastern Conference Final appearance at the very least. Seems pretty good.

Tampa Bay Lightning center Steven Stamkos (91) during the second period of Game 2 of the NHL Eastern Conference finals hockey playoff series against the Washington Capitals Sunday, May 13, 2018, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)

Brandon asks: “Where does Steven Stamkos rank among the NHL’s elite?”

Obviously he ranks pretty high as a center, but he only played in 17 games last season while Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews really seemed to shake everything up in that time.

I wouldn’t say he’s top-5 at his position anymore. We’re three years removed from the 400-game stretch when he scored 250-something goals from age 19 to 24. Since then, he “only” has 72 in 172. That puts him tied for 49th in the NHL over the last three seasons and 13th in goals per game. But a big chunk of the guys in front of him (Malkin, Matthews, Crosby, McDavid, Seguin) score more goals per game and John Tavares, with less help, is 1/100th of a goal behind that pace. Plus Mark Scheifele seems to be emerging, and don’t forget about Sasha Barkov.

Stamkos is absolutely a top-10 center in the league, but I couldn’t in good conscience put him in the top five.

Just ballparking it, and without really digging into the numbers, I’d probably go something like McDavid, Crosby, Malkin, Matthews, MacKinnon, Tavares, Bergeron, Scheifele, Stamkos, Giroux for my top 10 right now? Something like that for sure.

Robbie asks: “The Jets look really good and are young. How long is their window going to be open, and are they just getting started?”

I guess I’m a little worried about their long-term prospects to some extent because a few of their really good players are 30-plus — Dustin Byfuglien is 33, same for Toby Enstrom, Blake Wheeler is 31 and Mathieu Perreault is 30.

These are players that, while not taking up a huge percentage of the roster, are also difficult to replace, and that’s especially true of Byfuglien. Who knows, though? The Jets have cap space to throw around once those guys slow down or have their contracts expire (Byfuglien and Perreault three more years, Wheeler just one.) Enstrom’s a UFA this summer.

But also: They have so many guys on RFA and entry-level deals that a bunch of that cap space is gonna go up in smoke in a hurry. This summer they need to re-sign Connor Hellebuyck, Jacob Trouba, and Josh Morrissey. Next summer it’s Patrik Laine and Kyle Connor. Gets expensive in a hurry, doesn’t it?

So those are two factors that could hold them back from being mega-competitive in the long term. But if they maybe don’t return to the Conference Finals for a while longer, it won’t be because they don’t have enough talent. That’s what makes Kevin Cheveldayoff’s job so interesting for the next two years.

Anderson asks: “If the Caps blow this, is it still a successful season?”

Depends who you ask. I’d say yeah but you know how these freaks out here can be.

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Ryan Lambert is a Puck Daddy columnist. His email is here and his Twitter is here.

All stats via Corsica unless noted otherwise. Some questions in the mailbag are edited for clarity or to remove swear words, which are illegal to use.