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mistriavalley · 3 months ago

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Telling Shane about the Junimos

Gender neutral

TW: established relationship, mentions of drug consume (it was just a potion from the wizard), mentions of alcohol

Masterlist

It's no secret that Shane doesn't believe in magic or anything that hasn't been backed by science

You on the other hand are over here fighting all sorts of monsters while helping a bunch of round forest spirits to rebuild the community center and seeking advice from the local wizard. Your hands are full with all the stuff that hasn't been proven by scientists yet

Obviously Shane doesn't think much of the strange items you bring to the community center or the amount of times you ran to the tower in the west with a poisonous mushroom. So what if you need a Bream for the broken down house in the town? It's just your way of fixing things...apparently

The two of you had that talk so many times where you ask him if he's absolutely sure that he doesn't believe at least a little bit in magic

"Nope."

One day you decide to take him to the community center to show him what exactly you're doing there. Of course he won't see the Junimos, but maybe he will be convinced by the item lists they need from you and the boxes where you put said items inside

But to him the letters look like scribbles of either a madman or a toddler that hasn't learned how to write yet and the boxes where you put the items in are...well they must be your doing, right?

He doesn't know how to react to your frantic explanation about some spirits that look like apples. The old Shane would have told you off and walked away, but you're very important to him and the new Shane doesn't wanna hurt your feelings in any way or at least tries to avoid it

"You did all these things for the community center? Wow. You're doing great."

The tone in his voice makes it more than crystal clear that he doesn't believe a word you said. It's frustrating, but he'll see

"Do you trust me, Shane?"

"Uh..."

He looks around the place. He always knew you were a bit quirky, but now he's pretty sure he's apparently dating a second Emily

"I want to open your eyes."

He blinks a few times

"Sure?"

That's all you need to hear to grab his hand and lead him towards cindersap forest

Shane's mind is racing and he has no clue what to expect. The expression on your face is so serious that it's almost scary. What do you plan on doing with him inside the goddamn woods of all places? Will you perhaps sacrifice him? Hah! What a ridiculous thought! And even if. At least it would be happening by the hands of his hot significant other

You lead him up some stairs towards no other place than the tower. It's taller from up close. Shane had looked at it many times from the ranch, but only the tip of the roof is visible from that distance

But is this really happening? Is he seriously going to meet that crazy dude who lives on the border of Pelican Town? Shane doesn't know if he should feel worried or excited. He never particularly cared for that guy or what his business here is so it's difficult to say

Once you two take a step through the wooden front door, Shane is being hit by an earthy smell. This place smells more of the forest than the forest itself. The room wasn't particularly big and it lacked furniture. The big, colorful sigil on the floor is the first thing that catches his attention

Inside the alien looking symbol stands a man with a thick, purple beard and black clothes. The man's eyes light up at the sight of you, but it's immediately being replaced by a frown once his gaze meets Shane's

You pull the stranger aside and started a hushed, but heated discussion with him. Shane feels out of place with his worn out joja sweater and old cargo shorts. Everything here is so mystical and Shane is...well, he is Shane

The sound of a cough rips him out of his thoughts and his legs seem to be moving by themselves as the purple man waves him over to an enormous cauldron. The reassuring smile on your face is the only thing that keeps him sane at the moment

A cup filled with a bubbling, green liquid finds its way into his hands and he just stares at it for a long time, unsure about what to do now

"Drink it."

"Hold up, buddy! You want me to do what exactly?"

Shane has mentally prepared himself to be sacrificed by his partner (for some reason) and not by some old guy who smells like he uses dirt as deodorant

You gently put a hand on his shoulder and plant a kiss on his cheek

"Nothing bad will happen to you. You have my word. I had to drink it too in the beginning."

Okay, so nothing bad will happen, but something definitely will happen to him. Cool. Yea.

"Just pretend it's beer, Shane. Alright. Bottoms up."

The moment the liquid touches his tongue he feels the strong urge to spit it all out onto the floor. It tastes of donkey ass or at least that's what he imagines it to taste like, but it's not that what he should be concerned about

Almost right after thag horrible experience, an explosion of colors hits him and what the fuck? Are those trees flying around him? His knees cave in and he plops down onto the hard floor. By Yoba. Not even Gus' strongest hits like this

Thankfully this odd feeling vanishes as quickly as it came

"Did you fucking drug me?"

"It was a potion."

"That doesn't answer my goddamn question!"

You tell him that it was no drug and that this will help him read the letters and see the spirits. Since he doesn't have a natural connection to nature like you do you had to ask Rasmodius to change the potion a little bit

"I'm so sorry. I should have warned you, but he told me you won't feel any side effects like I did."

"No, don't worry. I'm not mad at you."

But the wizard on the other hand shouldn't show himself around these parts

It doesn't take long for you guys to leave the tower and it feels like as if something is being lifted from Shane's shoulders the more distance he puts between himself and that place

"How do you feel?"

"Fine? I think? I keep expecting to fall over and die though."

"Noooo! That won't happen."

He doesn't want to imagine what the guy put in that so called "potion" of his. Raccoon shit? Poisonous berries? Worms? He shivers at the thought

Once again Shane finds himself inside the old community center with you and once again nothing looks out of the ordinary. Well, except for the dead fish that are piled up in the corner

But then he spots something in the far corner and rubs his eyes. It's gone. Ah, that was probably just a trick of the light

You startle him by holding up one of the letters infront of his face and...wait a minute. Where are the unreadable scribbles? Why can he read the writing now? Shane shakes his head violently. You must have exchanged the letters, but when? You hadn't left his side at all today

He goes through every room, reads every letter and checks every single box. The content of the boxes fit. So you actually do have a system here even though he can't find a sense in it

Then he hears a noise echoing through the hallway to the right

"What was that?"

"A Junimo."

For the first time since forever he finds himself praying to Yoba. He has gone mad. The "wizard" has made him mad with the raccoon shit drink

Shane bolts out of the house and stumbles back home. Back to the ranch. Part of him is trying to drag him towards the saloon to drown the madness in beer, but he can't drink now. He needs to think

After this incident you don't see him for a whole week. Every now and then you do spot him in town, on his way to work, but decide not to approach him. Obviously he's avoiding you right now and you don't want to push things. He had gone through a lot now and probably just needs the space. It still worries you

A week later someone knocks at your front door right as you were about to hop into bed. Shane is standing there, looking more tired and exhausted than ever. You feel the familiar sting of guilt in your chest

"Can we talk?"

Without saying a word, you step aside to let him in. Both of you sit down in the living room infront of the still glowing fireplace. A comfortable heat eminates from it

"You weren't kidding when you said you'd open my eyes."

"I'm sorry."

"No. Don't be. I mean it kinda sucked, yea."

An unbearable silence stretches on. This moment is like torture to you. You have no idea what to expect. Is he angry? Is he sad? Will he break up with you now? You banish these thoughts before your mind can wander any further

"Thanks."

Wait what? That came...unexpected

"But I only thank you. Not that wizard dude in that shitty tower with his raccoon shit potions. I guess...I guess I needed something like this. I needed to know that we're not alone in this world. It's kinda comforting in a way."

You throw your arms around him, relieved that he doesn't hate you. It also feels like a burden has been lifted from you, because now you don't have to keep these things to yourself. Now you have someone to talk to

"I'm free tomorrow. We could go through the lists in the center together maybe and see what we can do."

"Shane..."

"Stop. No. Don't. Don't get all soft on me and shit. This is still super fucking weird."

"Oh."

"Yea! Like why the fuck do these spirits need raw fish? How the fuck do you repair a building with dead fish?"

"OH!"

#stardew valley #sdv #stardew valley x reader #sdv x reader #sdv headcanons #sdv shane #sdv shane x reader #stardew valley shane #stardew valley headcanons #stardew valley shane x reader

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silassinclair · 9 months ago

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Hi!

Can I request Maddox with a darling who lives to read, maybe he catches her reading some old romance books in an abandoned house they shack up in or something like that

Btw I live your writing ♥️

As someone who loves to read I am obligated to write for this req 😤🫡 Thanks for the request tho!! Hope you like it :-)

Yandere Wild West Outlaw x Bookworm Reader

CW// Maddox is annoying, Reader being a little perv Masterlist Here!!

The new house Maddox found was lovely. It had decently okay furniture and a vast collection of old books on the shelf. It's small with only two bedrooms and one bathroom but it was charming. But what caught your interest was the big oak wood bookshelf. You couldn't even remember the last time you picked up a book. Being on the run with Maddox made time fly.

"Who would leave all these books behind? They're all in great condition." You mutter to yourself as you take a blue and purple book with gold trim off the shelf. Tracing your fingers down the spine of the hardcover novel you appreciate the craftsmanship. It was clearly expensive, something you could no longer afford. Your Dad bought you many books like these but now you were pretty much broke. You only had Maddox to rely on now.

Speaking of Maddox you had no clue where he was. Which you didn't really care, he always disturbed your peace. Cracking open the book you sit down on the loveseat and start reading. It was a romance book about a huntsman who fell in love with a duchess. The story was beautiful as it was exhilarating.

"Oh wow, you into that kinda stuff?"

You snap the book shut instantly, a mini cloud of dust poofs from the pages. Maddox chuckles huskily behind you, leaning down and resting his chin on the back of the loveseat.

"Oh don't be embarrassed princess, it was getting to the good part. What did it say again? Oh! Ahem-"

Maddox coughs into his hand and smirks. Deepening his voice he quotes the passage in a deep, British-like accent,

"He caresses the duchess' milky thighs, her womb felt of silk wrapped around his ma-"

"OH HUSH!" You whip around and smack the outlaw's head, his hat nearly flying off. But he only laughs at your flustered state.

"You're filthy." You groan and put the book back on the shelf where it was. But Maddox follows behind you and takes the book into his own hands and opens it up. Skimming through the pages he smirks.

"I'm filthy? Sweetheart you're the one readin' this junk." Maddox shuts the book and puts it back. Putting his hand up on the shelf he leans against it while looking down at your shorter self.

"Well it is a romance book." Rolling your eyes you choose a different book. This time you pick a title you're familiar with, Pride and Prejudice.

"Now leave me alone you brute. I'd like to relax for once." With that you walk away and go outside. Finding a nice tree you sit beneath it and read the book. Reading reminded you of home, the home that was ripped from you. In a way it was escapism which is unhealthy but a girl can dream right?

Hours pass and the sun begins to set, casting an orange glow across the cloudy sky. The words on the page become harder to read as the sun sinks lower and the moon rises. You didn't want it to end. You know you could read inside but that damn outlaw was inside. You just wanted to stay out here forever with the natural ambience of wind and birds.

Footsteps approach you and you already know who it is. Looking up you see him. Black denim jeans, a burgundy vest, twin revolvers around his waist, and a dark brown cowboy hat on his head. And of course that bandana covering the bottom half of his face. Anytime you asked him about his face he got ticked off so you avoided the subject. But you couldn't help but be curious.

"You're starin' sweetheart." His husky voice breaks the silence. There’s a hint of a Spanish accent mixed in with his Southern drawl. You can't help but think about what it would be like if you and him met under different circumstances. Would he save you from bandits? Offer to buy you a drink at the saloon?

Would you two have a storybook romance just like in the books you adore?

"Hey."

He's right in front of you now, crouched to your height. His gloved hand pets your hair and you're frozen. He has you in a trance that you make no effort to free yourself from. His dark amber eyes are crinkled in slight concern over your unusual silence.

"What..?" You say softly.

"It's gettin' dark. Unless you wanna be dinner for the coyotes then I suggest comin' back in. I'll cook up some beans so hurry your little bum up."

Well there goes the moment. You groan and get up off the grass, your back cracking as you stretch. Your eyes watch as Maddox walks back into the house. His hips sway as he walks, you never really payed attention to that before. His ass looks pretty round in those pants to-

"Ugh, what is wrong with me.." Groaning, you follow after him.

#yandere #yandere x reader #x reader #yandere imagines #yandere x you #yandere oc #yandere oc x reader #obsession #maddox graves #yandere cowboy #cowboy #western

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staytinyville · 1 year ago

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OUTLAW (1)

ATEEZ ot8 x Reader

Cowboy AU/ Wild West (it’s giving Red Dead Redemption)

New Fanfic for ATEEZ boys. I got no clue yet if it’s gonna be mature quite possibly but we get there when we get there. For now, I’ll be giving warning here if there is a chance of those things. Please enjoy!

You worked in your family's Inn, attending to the patrons who came and went. The Illusion Inn was built by your grandfather when he had left his hometown in search of work. This was back when the town was barely putting in the cobblestone roads and better infrastructures. When the revolution started hitting closer, the Inn was the first one to house all the workers who were coming to better the city.

Now though, it wasn’t often that people would stay longer than a day or two, they were only traders moving along to sell their things. You had the select few who had some jobs to do in the area and stayed for longer, but most often than not the hotel always had at least one room open.

It made working there a lot easier for you seeing as you had three other siblings ranging in age from 20 to 6. The eldest were all placed to work around in some capacity which made the load that much easier to handle. Since being the oldest you were told to manage the front desk as well as the bar while your father was busy handing out drinks to the men who were often seen coming in just for alcohol.

Being a waitress for the saloon part of the hotel meant you got to meet people of all kinds of class. As well as stories from different parts of the country. Each patron came in with outlandish stories about their journey by horse to Cromer or the gangs they met along the way.

It was the time in history where so many people found it easier to steal and kill for things rather than do work themselves. Everyone was struggling to some extent. No one was safe from poverty when it came to building a society that was barely starting.

“I think the outlaw is moving this way,” Some man spoke to your father behind the bar counter. “I heard he shot up a bar in Sharpstown. You better be careful with your family.”

Your father met your eyes as you placed a tray full of empty glasses on the bar. You carried on with your work though, moving to clean the cups you had just cleaned up.

It was hard to miss the large wanted poster that was plastered nearly on every building in town. The bold Dead or Alive really caught everyone's attention. While it wasn’t uncommon to find a wanted poster of someone, it was rare to have the government want them dead or alive. You must have done something extreme to reach that point.

“Don’t worry about me, John.” Your father told the man politely. “I’ve seen plenty of outlaws come and go here. You just have to know what to serve them.”

You pursed your lips to keep from giggling at your father. You moved around him to get some empty bottles of liquor before going back to pick up more dirty dishes. It was a rather tame day due to being the middle of the week, so the saloon of the Inn wasn’t really packed. It was easy to forget about the outlaw and his travels.

It was around the time the saloon closed for the night and your younger siblings had all gone to bed that things seemed to change within the air. Your mother was moving things around inside preparing to lock the door for the night, when the sound of horses caught both of your attention.

You saw your mother pause at the door, moving the stopper to hold it open herself. She spoke some words to someone outside before moving to allow them room to enter. You were quick to put the cash from the day into a box, locking it to keep the two men from seeing just how much you actually had.

There were two of them, their styled boots hitting the wood flooring with a loud stomp. When they had walked through the threshold, they immediately glanced around the area, assessing the place.

You weren’t one to shy away from your opinion on people. As a child you would oftentimes get in trouble because you would openly make faces at people. As you grew older and started working with the patrons of the inn you learned how to be more subtle about it. So while these men assessed the inn you took the moment to assess them.

The tallest one walked ahead of the other, seemingly messing with the bands around his wrists. He only took a glance around the lobby before heading in your direction with purpose. He had a slim face with high cheekbones. The clothes he wore were meant to withstand the weather. He was decked out in leather and cowboy boots.

The other however walked with his shoulders squared, eyes moving about in search of something he might not like. Unlike the tall man, this one had a more stern expression on his face, he looked mature. He wore just about the same clothing as the other, however his pants seemed to stretch over thighs a bit tighter.

It was especially hard to miss the police badges on their chest as you eyed them up. When they reached you, you had to look up as the man spoke to you first.

“We would like a room.” He told you.

The Inn was technically closed for the night so you couldn’t give them a room until the morning. You glanced at your mother first, the woman giving you a nod.

“Just one?” You asked, glancing behind him to his partner.

“Just one. With two beds if possible.” He didn’t dare to move his eyes from you as you stared him down.

He didn’t speak more on the subject, but you knew he was coming up with conclusions on his own about the place he had just entered. It left a bubbling feeling in the pit of your stomach to think this person would assume you or your family would bring harm to anyone. Maybe you would if threatened.

“(Y/N).” Your mother cleared her throat. “Please give these kind officers the room in the back.”

“Of course.” You told her, moving along to get the key you needed.

“Follow me.” You told them, not waiting to see if they had listened. You could hear their boots clicking on the floor so you knew they had.

The room was on the first floor towards the back of the Inn. With the building stationed on closer to the outer limits of the town, the view from the windows was of the meadows and neighborhoods. Your grandfather had chosen the area to make it easier for travelers who came by horse or foot to find rest faster. Your home wasn’t that far, which meant oftentimes you all would walk back for a rest.

“I am the attendant for the night.” You told them in a rehearsed voice. “Should you need anything, I will be in the front.”

With that you immediately left the room and back towards the front with a shiver going down your spine. They weren’t dangerous men from what you could feel, but they still left you with an uneasy feeling.

“I’m going to head home now.” Your mother told you. “Be careful. You know where the gun is.”

It wasn’t the first time it was your turn to take over the night shift. When your parents deemed you old enough to attend to the hotel alone, they took rest and shifted the load. There were other employees as well but they still put you down as someone to watch over the inn. Besides, compared to others they trusted you a bit more.

It was midnight when you had finished going over the inventory and had decided to go to sleep in the backroom for the night shift worker. Before taking a nap though, you made your rounds around the inn to make sure there was nothing out of the ordinary.

As you passed the two police officers bedroom, there was some shuffling heard but not enough to cause suspicion. Maybe they had still been awake. You shrugged your shoulders and moved along to take your rest.

That was short lived when around 3 in the morning there was a lot of noise going on outside of the window. There was a good amount of cursing and arguments of trying to keep others quiet as whoever the group was seemed to move along the hotel's side.

You kept the light off, hoping the street lamps would illuminate the aggressors. All you could make out were silhouettes cluttered at the end of the hotel. You tried to quietly open the window to peak your head out to get a better view.

The building stretched for a good amount so the group hadn’t caught sight of you peeking in at them. You quickly glared when you noticed them huddled at the window that was meant for the last bedroom of the floor. It was the room where the officers were staying.

With outlaws in mind, you were quick to put on your boots and a cardigan to cover up your pajamas. You rushed to the front lobby, doing a double take on the rifle leaning against the wall by the door. You made haste to grab it before rushing out of the lobby and into the foggy night.

When you turned the corner, you raised the gun aiming it towards whoever you could. Before you could shoot to alert others, the last person seemed to have made their way into the window ungracefully. You cursed to yourself quickly rushing to see where they had entered.

“Hey!” You screamed, rushing forward with the gun aimed right into the bedroom. Your eyes went wide as the barrel pushed into the stomach of the tall officer from earlier in the day.

His arms were stretched above his head as he was about to shut the window. His eyes went wide as well when he realized someone was looking into the room. He moved to the side in a panic, eyes searching for his leader on what to do.

As he moved out of the way, you noticed there were more men in the room than you cared to admit. You were more worried about how they all fit into the small space if anything. While your eyes scanned over all of them, you counted 6 new people in total. However the ones that seemed to stop you from scolding them were the two who seemed to be bleeding profusely.

There was one on a bed, more than likely staining the sheets that made you internally cringe at having to buy new ones. Another was holding onto his shoulder as he seemed to sit across from the one sprawled out on the mattress.

Just as your wide eyes swept back over the other men, your eyes caught the blue haired man who was looking at you with squinted eyes.

“Grab her.”

Series Masterlist

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youryurigoddess · 1 year ago

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A nightingale sang in the London Blitz

When exactly was that certain night, the night Aziraphale and Crowley met — and spoke for the first time in 79 years in the midst of the London Blitz?

And what’s the deal with the nightingale’s song, really?

Grab something to drink and we’ll look for some Clues below.

The night they met

The Blitz, short for Blitzkrieg (literally: flash war) was a German aerial bombing campaign on British cities in the WW2, spanning between 7 September 1940 and 10 May 1941. The Luftwaffe attacks were carried out almost non stop, with great intensity meant to force a capitulation and similarly strong impact on British life and culture at the time.

Starting on 7 September 1940, London as the capital city was bombed for nearly 60 consecutive nights. More than one million London houses were destroyed or damaged, and more than 20,000 civilians were killed, half of the total victims of this campaign.

The night of 29 December 1940 saw the most ferocity, becoming what is now known as the Second Great Fire of London. The opening shot of the S2 1941 minisode is a direct reference to recordings of that event, with the miraculously saved St Paul’s Cathedral in the upper left corner.

The actual raid lasted between 06:15 and 09:45 PM, but its aftermath continued for days. The old and dense architecture of this particular part of the city turned into a flaming inferno larger than the Great Fire of 1666. Multiple buildings, including churches, were destroyed in just one night by over 100,000 bombs.

Incendiary bombs fell also on St Dunstan-in-the-East church that night, the real-life location of this scene as intended by Neil. It was gutted and again claimed by fire in one of the last air rides on 10 May, when the bomb destroyed the nave and roof and blew out the stained glass windows. The ruins survived to this day as a memorial park to the Blitz.

Such a delightfully Crowley thing to do: saving a bag of books with a demonic miracle adding to the biggest catastrophe for the publishing and book trade in years. 5 million volumes were lost, multiple bookshops and publishing houses destroyed in the December 29th raid alone.

Even without this context, judging by the seemingly unending night, overwhelming cold and darkness, broken heating at the theatre, and seasonal clothing (like Aziraphale and Crowley’s extremely nice winter coats), it’s rather clear that it was the very beginning of the year 1941.

Everything suggests that Aziraphale and Crowley’s Blitz reunion happened exactly 1900 years after their meeting in Rome — which, according to the script book, took place between 1 and 24 January 41 (Crowley was right: emperor Caligula was a mad tyrant and didn't need any additional tempting; there's a reason why he was murdered by his closest advisors, including members of his Praetorian Guard, on 24 January 41).

Interestingly, both events involved a role reversal in their otherwise stable dynamic, with Aziraphale spontaneously taking the lead instead of letting the demon be the one to do all the tempting and saving, and ended with a toast.

The S2 Easter Egg with the nuns of the Chattering Order of St Beryl playing table tennis at the theatre suggests that the Blitz meeting happened on a Tuesday afternoon, which doesn’t match any of the above mentioned days, but sets the in-universe date for 7 January 1941 or later.

The Chattering Order of Saint Beryl is under a vow to emulate Saint Beryl at all times, except on Tuesday afternoons, for half an hour, when the nuns are permitted to shut up, and, if they wish, to play table tennis.

The nightingale

January means one thing: absolutely no migratory birds in Europe yet. They’re blissfully wintering in the warm sun of Northern Africa at the time. But, ironically, when the real nightingales flew off, a certain song about them suddenly gained popularity in the West End of London.

It might be a shock, but A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square wasn’t a hit from the start — even though its creators, Eric Maschwitz and Manning Sherwin, were certainly established in their work at this point. The song was written in the then-small French fishing village of Le Lavandou shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War with first performance in the summer of 1939 in a local bar, where the melody was played on piano by the composer Manning Sherwin with the help of the resident saxophonist. Maschwitz sang his lyrics while holding a glass of wine, but nobody seemed impressed. It took time and a small miracle to change that.

Next year, the 23-year-old actress Judy Campbell had planned to perform a monologue of Dorothy Parker’s in the upcoming Eric Maschwitz revue „New Faces”. But somehow the script had been mislaid and, much to her horror, replaced with the song A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square. She had never professed to be a singer but even so, she gathered her courage and went out onto the moonlit set dressed in a white ball gown. Her heartfelt rendition of the now evocative ballad captured the audience’s imagination and catapulted her West End career to stardom.

It was precisely 11 April 1940 at the Comedy Theatre in Panton Street and the revue itself proved to be a great success — not only it kept playing two performances nightly through the Blitz, but also returned the next year. And the still operating Comedy Theatre is mere five minutes on foot from the Windmill Theatre, where Aziraphale performed in 1941, and not much longer from his bookshop.

Now, most Good Omens meta analyses focus on Vera Lynn’s version of the song from 5 June 1940, but it didn’t get much attention until autumn, specifically 15 November, when Glenn Miller and his orchestra published another recording. And Glenn Miller himself is a huge point of reference in Good Omens 2.

According to the official commentary the infamous credits scene is establishing Aziraphale and Crowley’s final resolve for the next season using the same narrative device The Glenn Miller Story (1954) does in its most crucial scene. It starts with the tune (and audio in general) totally flat, then adds a piano on one side, and gradually becomes fully multidimensional. The Good Omens credits not only emulate the same sound effect, but bring it to the visual side of the narrative by literally combining the individual perspectives of the two characters together. Even though they’re physically apart, their resolve — and love to each other — brings them even closer than before. Aziraphale smiles not because he’s being brainwashed, but because he knows exactly what to do next.

Some of you might have noticed that Tori Amos’s performance for Good Omens is actually a slightly shortened version of Miller’s recording — much less sorrowful than Vera Lynn’s full lyrics that include i.a. this bridge:

The dawn came stealing up

All gold and blue

To interrupt our rendez-vous

I still remember how you smiled and said

Was that a dream or was it true?

Which is a huge hint when it comes to what we can expect from the main romantic plot line in the Good Omens series. The original song introduces an element of the doubt — it seems like there was no nightingale at all, only the mirage woven by the singer clearly intoxicated with love, much like Aziraphale and Crowley for the length of the last six episodes. Crowley’s comment in the season finale might allude to that interpretation, stating that there are no nightingales — never have been. It was all a dream. But the version we’re working with here is short and sweet, and devoid of that doubt. In the Good Omens universe angels were actually dining at the Ritz, the streets were truly paved with stars (or will be shown as such in the next season), and a nightingale really sang in Berkeley Square, as the omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent narrator, God Herself, had shown us.

All in all, it’s not an accident that the “modern” swing ballad activating Aziraphale’s memory and opening the 1941 minisode is the Moonlight Serenade by Glenn Miller. It’s a track naturally associated with A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square when it comes to music style and the sentiment in the lyrics.

But why the sudden popularity? In the great uncertainty and hardship of the Blitz, A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square provided solace and escapism for listeners, offering a glimpse of hope and love amidst the darkness of war. It became a universal anthem of resilience and a reminder of the power of love transcending difficulties. By January 1941 the whole city knew this tune by heart, including a certain West End aficionado with a cabinet full of theatre programs in his bookshop. Thanks to Maggie’s grandmother, he most probably had a record at hand to play during his spontaneous wine night with Crowley. We can only suspect the details, but it was was mutually established as their song exactly at that time or soon afterwards. Pretty sure we will see a third installment of that minisode for many, many reasons, but especially because of this “several days in 1941” answer by Neil:

The Man Hunt

In 1941 A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square gained even more popularity as the romantic theme of the Fritz Lang’s newest film Man Hunt. The 1939 story by Geoffrey Household first appeared under the title “Rogue Male” as a serial in the Atlantic Monthly Magazine where it received widespread comment, soon becoming a world-wide phenomenon in novel form. Its premise criticizes Britain's pre-war policy of appeasement with Germany, ready to sacrifice its own innocent citizens to the tentative status quo. Sounds a bit like Heaven's politics, right?

Yes, I'm trying to make you watch old movies again — like all the other classics, Man Hunt (1941) is easily available on YouTube and other streaming websites.

The next part will include spoilers, so scroll down to the next picture if you prefer to avoid them.

The plot of the movie seems simple enough: the tall, dark, and handsome Alan Thorndike, who nearly assassinates Hitler, narrowly escapes Germany and back in London continues to evade the Nazi agents sent after him with the help of a young trench-clad “seamstress” named Jerry, bridging the class divide and becoming unlikely friends-partners-romantic interests. It doesn’t end well though.

Jerry's small London apartment serves as a hideout for Alan when he was being followed by Nazis, similarly to how Aziraphale's bookshop is a safe haven for both Crowley and Gabriel in S2. She helps the man navigate the streets and eventually out of London — by sacrificing herself and getting forcefully separated from him by a patrolling policeman. The last time they see each other, Alan watches Jerry look back at him yearningly and disappear in the fog, followed by the elderly officer.

Unfortunately in the next scene we learn that the latter is a Nazi collaborator and helps the agents apprehend Jerry in her own flat. Staying loyal to her love and uncooperative, she’s ultimately thrown out of a window to her death, but posthumously saves Alan once again — through the arrow-shaped hatpin he gifted her earlier that is presented to him as the evidence of her off-screen fate.

Long story short, thanks to Jerry’s sacrifice Alan not only survives, but is able to join the war that broke out in the meantime and go back to Germany, armed with a rifle and a final resolve to end what he started, no matter how long will it take. The justice will be served and the dictator will pay with his life for his sins.

I wouldn’t be myself without mentioning that the main villain has a Roman chariot statue similar to the one in Aziraphale’s bookshop, an antique sculpture of St Sebastian (well-known as the gayest Catholic Saint) foreshadowing his demise, and a chess set symbolizing the titular manhunt/game of tag with the protagonist.

Aziraphale’s song

Will Aziraphale sacrifice himself as well? Or has he already? If his coin magic trick can be any indicator, we should expect at least a shadow of a danger touching the angel’s wings soon.

Let’s sum up the 1941 events from Aziraphale’s perspective: the very first time they’ve interacted after almost a century, Crowley actively sabotaged his entire existence twice by stepping onto a holy ground and by being outed by agents of Hell, both on the very same night and both because of his undying dedication to the angel. That’s enough of a reason not only for performing an apology dance, but also maintaining a careful distance for Crowley’s sake for the next 26 years. Only when he heard that his idiot was planning to rob a church, he gave up since he “can't have him risking his life”.

That’s when Crowley, sitting in a car parked right under his bookshop, offered him a ride. It wasn’t even subtle anymore. It was supposed to be a date, this time both of them understood it. But Aziraphale wouldn’t risk Crowley’s safety for his own happiness, especially not when he can name his feelings towards him and knows that they are reciprocated — the biggest lesson he learnt back in 1941.

So he did what he’s best at, he cut Crowley off again, but this time with a promise of catching up to his speed at some point. Buddy Holly’s Everyday, which was originally planned to play afterwards instead of the Good Omens theme, adds additional context here:

No, thank you. Oh, don’t look so disappointed. Perhaps one day we could... I don't know… Go for a picnic. Dine at the Ritz.

Aziraphale, carefully looking around and feeling observed through the whole conversation in the Bentley, consciously used the “Dine at the Ritz” line from A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square, from their song, as a code only the two of them understand. Not as a suggestion to go out for a meal, but a promise. A hope for the privilege of being openly in love and together — maybe someday, not now, when it’s too dangerous — even if it leads to a bad ending.

Fast forward to 2023 when for one dreadful moment Crowley’s “No nightingales” robbed Aziraphale even of that semblance of hope. He looked away, unable to stop his tears anymore. Only their kiss helped him pull himself together and make sure that a nightingale did sing the last time he turned — just like in their song — this time without a smile, as a goodbye.

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silentstyx · 5 months ago

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"But Daddy I Love Him!" ~ (lip gallagher x fem!reader's version)

sum! "But Daddy I Love Him!" Taylor swift - The Tortured Poets department.

tw! FACEBOOK... toxic family, mention of having a baby, swearing ig (again its shameless)

uhm this is gonna suck! I have no clue what I'm doing! ok days later n the middle/ending is very sloppy i feel like. idk i kinda dont like it.

"I forget how the west was won, I forget if this was ever fun, I just learned these people only raise you to cage you"

You and Lip were fighting again. You hadn't been getting along as much anymore, you were getting closer to your two year mark too.

No one in your family liked the Gallaghers to begin with, so you couldn't complain to your family (siblings, cousins, whoever). The one who disapproved of your relationship the most though? Your father. Your father hated the relationship you had with Lip. He thought he was going to use you for money, your body, etc. He just knew Gallaghers were usually up to something, so he didn't approve of this relationship as soon as you told him.

Except with how much you and Lip were arguing now, it's hard to remember all the fun you would have. It's like a distant memory that you forget was a dream or not.

"Sarah's and Hannah's in their sunday best, Clutching their pearls, Sighing 'What a mess', I just learned these people try and save you ... cause they hate you"

Your family wasn't just rude to him, you as well. It was a bunch of rich snobs, and if something hadn't gone their way then get rid of it.

They hated you for even being in the vicinity of someone 'lesser' than them. Because god forbid you bring normal people into the wretched family of yours. Your cousins and extended family were known to gossip about others in the family, and right now you were the hot topic.

"too high a horse, for a simple girl to rise above it, they slammed the door on my whole world, the one thing I wanted"

It was an accident. Sort of. With how complicated you and Lip were right now you had changed your relationship status to "it's complicated". Not thinking about how public your page is to your very judgemental family. Lip did the same so he wasn't necessarily mad. All of your cousins, aunts, etc. were messaging you asking what happened, trying to get as much information as they could. It was all fine until your dad texted you.

"Come home."

Oh god. You could feel your stomach doing flips inside of you. You knew what he was going to say. 'You need to break up with this boy if it's to the point you're both telling the entire world how complicated your relationship is right now'. You went over there with the full intent to defend yourself and your boyfriend.

"Now I'm running with my dress unbuttoned, Screaming 'But Daddy I Love Him!' I'm having his baby. No, I'm Not, but you should see your faces"

You got to your parents house and your dad started saying the exact things you thought he would.

"If you're sharing your relationship vis-à-vis the internet than I do not think this relationship should go on." Your dad kept repeating this in different wordings time and time again.

"Dad, me and Lip are just arguing like normal couples do. All you do is talk about how I should break up with him and that he is horrible for me." You snap at him, finally.

You continue your rant, "It isn't up to you to decide for me whether my boyfriend is good for me or not. I'm an adult and I can figure my love life out for myself. He has done nothing but be kind to all of you and get on your good side, but all of you are too snobby to understand that!"

You have to take a break to breath.

"I'm having his child. Not now... but eventually." As you said this they're faces were all filled with shock. Some of them had concern written all over there face.

"I'm telling him to floor it through the fences. No, I'm not coming to my senses, I know he's crazy but he's the one I want"

"I know none of you like him, but I see a future with him. But if you never learn to accept none of you will be apart of this future." God, it felt good finally standing up for yourself in front of your family.

Instead of waiting for them you got up and left. Not wanting to here what kind of excuse he's going to make for himself.

"Dutiful daughter, all my plans were laid, tendrils tucked into a woven braid, growing up precocious sometimes means not growing up at all."

Your way back home had you thinking about your childhood and how you grew up. If there so against difference, and all of your other family is, why were you taught different?

It can't be because of school because you went to school with some family that acts the same as them.

Maybe because you had friends that were in south side? They were friends with the private school's principal and they were able to get in free of cost. You would go over to their house sometimes and it wasn't a huge clean house in a nice pretty neighborhood. Maybe that's why you weren't born to be a horrible person and you actually got to learn about people who weren't as lucky as you.

Which also means from a young age you were already more mature than your entire family.

"He was chaos, he was revelry, Bedroom eyes like a remedy."

You got back to the house and saw Lip on the couch. You went inside and sat next to him. At first he didn't say anything to you. Until he couldn't just not speak.

"Where'd you go?" He mutters, not looking at you still.

"Parents." You answer him almost instantly, looking at him.

He nods, knowing what this is about.

"So, they knock some sense in ya? You dumping me?" He rubs his face and the looks at you.

You snicker, "You must know absolutely nothing about me if you think I'm listening to my parents?"

He smiles and chuckled (i'm thinking of the lil breath through the nose laugh that no one knows what to call...) he knew how stubborn you were when it came to your parents.

"Soon enough the elders had convened, down at the city hall, 'stay away from her', the saboteurs protested too much"

Your family had been trying to text you. Some to apologize, some to try to talk out out of being mad, some to get gossip, the others still trying to get you to break up with him.

Your father had compared you to a '"rebelling teenager" because of how you're acting? You and Lip had stopped arguing for now.

Every time they reached out to him to talk to you through him, he would tell them to stop, "leave her alone", or block them. He was sick of how they treated you and him too.

Almost all of your family was blocked now, because they all decided to text you. The only people you couldn't bring yourself to block were your parents. Even though they were the ones laying it on the strongest. Your mom kept apologising but your dad was saying the same things as before.

"Lord knows the words we never heard, Just screeching tires and true love"

God this whole situation felt like a movie or a taylor swift song. It was ridiculous. Everyone's actions were childish and obnoxious.

You and Lip haven't been arguing in a while, because your attention was on other things at the moment. You two had actually been more romantic. You both have put your status back to normal. Yet, nothing in your life was back to normal.

"I'll tell you something right now, I'd rather burn my whole life down, Than listen to one more second of all this bitching and moaning"

This had been going on for over a month now. It was just annoying and obnoxious now. Lip knew you defended him and this is why this is still going on. No doubt about this. Except now he was having to deal with you being: bitchy, exhausted, or just annoyed.

It was affecting him now, and he was starting to get pissed.

"I'll tell you something about my good name, it's mine alone to disgrace, I don't cater to all these vipers dressed in empaths clothing"

"Your parents have been talking to Frank about us. Frank was asking me about you." Lip said through gritted teeth and a scowl, he had been walking inside while I said that.

You roll your eyes and respond in an almost whiny voice, "Please tell me your joking. They have gone way too far with this. First they tell my entire family and now they start on yours?"

"God save the judgemental creeps, Who say they want what's best for me, Sanctimoniously performing soliloquies I'll never see"

The texts were all the same from your mom and dad.

"We just want what's best for you, and he isn't it!" They would say. Over. And over.

It was so repetitive, you had to block them. Not everywhere just where they would text you the most.

"Thinking it can change the beat of my heart when he touches me, And counteract chemistry, And undo the destiny"

I swear if you never had met him, which your not upset about meeting him, your parents wouldn't complain to you all the time. But oh well. There's a very real possibility they would have done this with anyone who you ended up with, seeing as how everyone they would try and set you up with was not your type.

Since this has been happening, your family would always have witty remarks like: "I'll keep you in my prayers" or "I'm thinking of you"

"You ain't gotta pray for me, Me and my wild boy, and all this wild joy."

When were they going to realize that he made you happy. You liked loved being with him. He was your wild boy. Yours. For no one to take.

"If all you want is gray for me, Then it's just white noise, And it's my choice"

Being with him wasn't there choice to make, it was yours. You just had to blur out all the background noise that meant nothing to you.

"There's a lot of people in town that I, Bestow upon my fakest smiles, Scandal does funny things to pride, But brings lovers closer"

Instead of biting back, you played nice. They would would say something rude and you would respond with a smile. All of the fighting only made you and Lip begin to grow closer to each other.

Their bickering with you about him, was backfiring. Big time.

Your parents saw this. They then saw how you looked at eachother. Realised you went to war for each other. Defending each other to your parents. It made them think a little longer.

"We came back when the heat died down, Went to my parents and they came around, All the wine moms are still holding out, But Fuck 'em, it's over"

Your parents had asked you over again. There wasn't anymore fighting online for a couple of weeks now, but you still went over there with the full intent of defending yourselves.

When they started apologising though you were skeptical at first until you saw the genuine look. They meant the apology. They didn't just apologise for what they said, but the actions they had on social media, how they brought the family into it.

"I was being a hypocrite," Your father had explained, "You were talking about your issues on the internet and then I went and did the same things to the both of you, as well as involving other people when it was unnecessary. I sincerely apologise."

Lip had a subtle smirk on his face, only you and his family could recognise.

You both had thanked him for apologizing, none of your other family had apologized though.

"Now I'm dancing in my dress in the sun and, Even my daddy just loves him, I'm his lady, and oh my God, You should see your faces"

Your parents were now very fond of Lip, praising him consistently. Your mother called him handsome. Your father realised how bright he was. Most of all they realised how good the two of you were for each other and how much he loves you.

"No you can't come to the wedding, I know he's crazy but he's the one I want"

You were at your family's annual gathering when one of your cousins came over to the two of you, "So when's your wedding?"

You laughed, "If and when it happens it will solely be immediate family and some friends that will be invited. The ones who actually care about us, ya know?"

#shameless x reader #shameless us x reader #lip gallagher x reader #phillip gallagher x reader #reader x lip gallagher #reader x phillip gallagher #frank gallaher #reader x shameless #reader x shameless us #lip gallagher x y/n #lip gallagher x you #y/n x lip gallagher #you x lip gallagher #but daddy i love him #playlist fics

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callsign-dexter · 4 months ago

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Changing Paths

Request: Okay not to be angsty or potentially make Tim Bradford seem ooc but like imagine he had a kid and growing up he was sure she was going to join the LAPD like him bc she always wanted to know how his day at work was (wanting to know what bad guys he caught), and always wanted to ‘play police’ with him but as she grew up she realised that being the kid of a well known/respected police officer can be quite pressuring (see Jackson for example) and she also just discovers new interests growing up too. And when Tim finds out, be it from her directly or from someone else accidentally, he kinda freaks a little like he had this whole plan in his head about her career and it kinda scares him that she’s diverting and potentially going to move away n shit so at first he reacts quite harshly but after some SEVERE talking to from some of his friends he realises his mistakes and apologies and all that jazz (I have no clue if that made sense it just popped into my head)

Pairings: Tim Bradford x Daughter!Reader

Warnings: fluff, angst, cursing

Masterlist

A/N: Thank you @justabigassnerd for requesting this! I may or may not have gotten a little emotional towards the end.

You weren't like the other girls in your class. You weren't into cheer, barbies, or anything girly. You loved the action and the adrenaline. You loved sports, football, basketball, baseball and softball, you loved them so much that you've been on the basketball and softball teams. You probably grew a love for it from being raised by only your father, Tim Bradford. You never knew your mother and she was never in the picture having left when you were just a day old. It's just been you and your dad and honestly you loved it. You are your father's entire world and he was so happy when you took interest in his hobbies and interests. Growing up; you had always wanted to be a cop. Your father and you played cops and robbers all the time and he showed you the ropes and taught you the law. You knew the dangers of him being a cop.

You have almost finished your sophomore year of high school, only 10 more days and then it was summer vacation and you had decided to start looking into colleges and a new career path. Your interests were still strong in cops but recently you wanted to steer clear of becoming a cop and you started to become interested in some girly things but not a lot. You saw the toll it took on Jackson West, one of the rookies that was in training with your dad's fellow coworker, Angela Lopez aka your godmother. You saw the stress it put on him to be perfect and not make a mistake. You didn't want that to be you so you started to look for new career paths and one that came to you almost easily was lawyer. Wesley Evers, Angela’s husband and your godfather, kind of inspired this. You loved arguing and you won several arguments and you were also on a debate team for your school and you were good at it like scary good at it. The only thing is you couldn't tell your father, were scared to tell him. He would hate it and try to talk you out of it but you didn't want to be talked out of it. You wanted to talk to someone about it so when your dad had to go to work for the weekend and Angela didn't you begged and pleaded to stay with Angela and Wesley and of course they agreed and so did your dad. He knew you would be fine at home but he wasn't going to keep you away from your godparents or tell you no, he wanted you to feel like you could trust him. So, when he went off to work you gave him a hug and kiss on the cheek and saw him off and then you were getting in your truck and heading over to their house. It was an easy and short drive. You parked in the driveway and turned off the truck and got out, you grabbed your duffle and slung your backpack and headed to the front door. When you got there you knocked on the door and waited with a smile. It wasn't long until it was answered by Wesley with a smile. “Hey, Sweetheart. I'm so glad we have you this weekend. I was missing our bonding time.” He chuckled and so did you as he brought you in for a hug.

“I missed you and Angela too.” You said as you hugged him.

“Angela will be home in a few. She has some stuff to finish up at work.” He said and you nodded as you released each other and then he was ushering you in as you set your bags down.

“How has everything been?” You asked

“It's been great. Cases have been going great.” He said “You?” He asked.

“It's been great. I think I've decided on a career path.” You said and he looked at you as you sat down at the bar stool while he grabbed a glass for you and him.

“That's great! What is it?” He asked as he poured some water for him and you.

“I want to be a Lawyer.” You said watching his reaction.

“Excellent career choice, if I do say so myself.” He said smirking and you chuckled “What made you decide that and not cop?” He asked as he leaned against the counter. You shrugged your shoulders.

“I've seen the stress that Jackson has to go through being a cop's son and his father being a higher up cop himself. I love cops, don't get me wrong but waking up every day and going to a job where you have to work to keep an image up just because of who your family is can get to someone. Everyone will know who my father is and expect me to be like him and if I fuck up then it would ruin his image and I can't do that to him.” You said and Wesley listened and nodded.

“I get it. I do. You know Angela and I along with the others will support you. Even though your dad won't like it, he'll be happy for you and support you. He'll love you no matter what. You know why?” He asked and you shook your head.

“Why?” You asked as he came around and you turned to him.

“Because you are his daughter and he's proud of you every day. He loves you so much more than you would ever know. Of course, it'll take him some time to get used to the fact that his daughter is growing up and going into a different field but he won't stop loving you, ever.” He said and brought you into a hug and some tears fell. That is how Angela found you both when she got home.

“Everything ok here?” She asked slightly concerned and the two of you broke apart and you wiped your eyes.

“Perfect. We were just discussing my career path.” You said

“Ohh do tell.” She said

“I've decided to become a lawyer.” You said

“You would be a hell of a good one.” She said and you chuckled.

“I'm just afraid to tell dad. He has this big idea of me being a cop but after seeing how it took a toll on Jackson, I don't want to go through that. It's just what if I fucked up? It would ruin his reputation and image.” You said and she nodded.

“I've seen how it takes a toll on him. He talks about it a lot. Everyone will support you either way. Believe it or not your dad will too. He's so proud of you each and every day.” Angela said and you smiled.

“That's what Wesley said.” You chuckled and they chuckled as well. “Enough of all these sappy moments.” You said and they chuckled

“And there is your father coming out of you.” Angela said “So, how does Steak Fettuccine Alfredo sound for dinner?” She asked.

“Delicious.” You and Wesley said at the same time and you both looked at each other and everyone laughed.

“Well let's get to cooking and you,” She pointed at you “Get to working on your homework.” She said and you chuckled.

“Yes ma'am.” You said and went and grabbed your backpack and got your work out. As you were working and they were cooking you got to thinking. “Wesley?” You asked and he looked up.

“What's up?” He asked

“Could you help me research good law schools?” You asked and he smiled.

“Absolutely.” He said

“Could you also help me with the college applications?” You asked

“You know I will. You'll need some experience and I can help you with that and get you as an intern at the DA office and some law firms.” He said

“Thank you so much.” You said and he smiled.

“It's nothing. Meet me at the precinct Monday after school. I'll help you there and you can sit in on some cases. I'll even let you try your hand at some.” He said

“Oh, that would be wonderful.” You said

“You're going to be great at it.” Angela said and you smiled at her. "The rest of the night was spent eating, you working on your homework and getting help when needed, and then some TV time watching cheesy cop shows that Angela liked to make fun of, criticize, and critiquing and some lawyer shows that Wesley and fun criticizing and critiquing as well. Soon everyone was in bed.

By the time the weekend was over you felt pretty good about everything. You said bye to both of them Sunday morning and headed out the door and got in your truck and headed home. When you got home your dad was home and was out with Kojo in the front yard it seemed like they just got back from their walk. You parked your truck and got out and grabbed your bags and walked over to them locking your truck. Kojo barked happily and tugged on the leash wagging his tail. You dropped your bags and bent down and he started to lick you and you chuckled petting him “Hey handsome boy.” You said and then looked up at your dad smiling. “Hey, Dad.” You said standing up and hugging him.

“Oh, I see I'm second best to a dog.” He said smirking and you chuckled.

“Never. How was work?” You asked

“It was good. Busy.” He said

“How was Lucy?” You asked, wiggling your eyebrows and he rolled his eyes.

“Good.” He said “How was your weekend at Angela and Wesley's?” He asked.

“Great. We had fun. They helped me with some school work and we made fun of some cop and lawyer shows.” You said and chuckled.

“That's always fun. Let's get inside.” He said and you nodded and grabbed your bags and the three of you headed inside. You dropped your back at the stairs and met your dad in the kitchen. “So have you thought about college?” He asked and you nodded.

“I have. I'm gonna start working on some of the applications Monday. Wesley is going to help me with some stuff so I’ll be at the station after school.” You said

“That's great. You'll have to let me know which college.” He said and you smiled.

“You know I will.” You said and he chuckled.

“I'm going to take a shower and then we have all day to spend together.” He said

“Sounds perfect.” You said smiling and he smiled back. He walked over to kiss your head and then headed off to take a shower. You sighed once you heard the shower turn on. How were you going to tell him that you weren’t going to be a cop and a lawyer instead? It was no secret that cops hated lawyers but it just spoke to you and you were quick to fall in love with it. You wanted this and decided that nothing was going to stand in your way. You must’ve been lost in thought because of the sound of your father’s voice speaking in front of you.

“Are you alright?” He asked and you looked at him confused.

“Yea, why?” You asked

“Because I’ve been speaking to you for the past 5 minutes.” He said

“Oh, I’m so sorry. I just got lost in my head. So, what do you want to do?” You asked, smiling at him and he gave you a concerned look.

“I figured that we would just stay in and enjoy our time together. Start with some breakfast and just let the day go from there.” He said and you smiled.

“That sounds like a nice day.” You said and that is what you did. The day was spent laughing together and bantering back and forth playfully. Lunch was eaten and shows were watched and then supper was made and movies were watched. Overall, it was a lazy day and you liked that especially if it was a lazy day with your dad. Soon it was time to go to sleep.

“Have a good night and I love you.” He said kissing your forehead.

******************

Monday morning rolled around and you were getting up to the sound of your alarm. You quickly got ready for school and walked downstairs to be greeted by Kojo. Your dad was in the kitchen fixing breakfast for you and him to go. “Good morning handsome boy.” You said bending down and petting the dog on the head and he barked which alerted your father who turned around and smiled.

“Hey!” He said and came over and hugged you kissing your head. “How did you sleep?” He asked.

“Pretty good. Oh, don't forget I'm meeting Wesley today for him to help me.” You said as he stepped back to the food.

“That's right. I'll be looking forward to seeing you and so will everyone else.” He then looked down at his watch. “You need to get going before you're late.” He said as he handed you food and you grabbed your bag. “Be safe and don't do anything illegal.” He said and you chuckled.

“Well, there goes my plan for today.” You said sarcastically and he rolled his eyes and then started to gently usher you out.

“Go go.” He said and you were out the door and to your truck. You got in and headed off to school. You got there and met up with their friends and then the school day started. The first part of the day came and went and when you got to lunch you were quickly heading to the library to meet with your debate team as always. While you all ate everything and anything were discussed you all had met in your law class which is the only class you looked forward to was your law class. If it were up to you could stay in this class all day long and not complain about it. You really don’t know where the sudden change of career paths came from but you honestly didn’t mind it. It was your last class of the day and you were excelling in it.

The final bell rang signaling the end of the day and you were quickly packing up and heading out to your truck. Once there you opened it and put your pack back away and then started it and once all clear you headed off to the precinct. When you got there and parked beside your dad’s truck you saw Lucy Chen, your dad’s former rookie but now partner, standing by the shop and you were quick to turn off your truck and get out to greet her. “Hey, Lucy!” You said happily as she turned at the sound of her name. She smiled when she saw it was you.

“Hey, what are you doing here?” She asked as she hugged you.

“Wesley is helping me with college stuff and he told me he was going to be here. So, I’m here.” You said as you both released each other from the hug.

“That’s right. Tim told me you were picking colleges. Do you have a career path in mind?” She asked and you nodded.

“I do.” You said smiling and she smiled back.

“That’s great! What is it?” She asked

“I want to be a lawyer.” You said

“That would be great for you.” She said “I’m just curious as to why you don’t want to be a police officer.” She said curiously and you smiled.

“I have considered it but after seeing the stress and what it is doing to Jackson I decided against it. I love law enforcement but being a lawyer, I feel like it would be less pressure and less dangerous. Also, I would have to uphold an image and if I fuck up then people would be saying something like “Well your dad did it this way and wouldn’t have fucked it up.” and I don’t want that. Plus, it could ruin his image too and I don’t want that either.” You explained and she listened and nodded.

“I get it. Whatever route you take I’ll be there backing you up and so will everyone else especially your dad. We’re so proud of you, especially Tim.” She said as your dad came out and greeted you both.

“I shouldn’t be too late tonight. If I am then I’ll let you know.” He said and you nodded. “Oh, Wesley is in the briefing room. He just got done with dealing with a client.” He said.

“Thank you. I’ll see you later, Lucy. Love you dad.” You said

“See you later.” Lucy said

“Love you too.” Your dad said and you were heading off into the precinct as they got ready to go.

******************

Lucy and Tim had just been on the road for an hour after leaving you at the precinct and started patrolling the area. It was silent in the shop as Tim liked it but Lucy did not. “So, Y/N said she has picked a career field and is starting to research colleges.” Lucy said.

“Yea that’s right. She’s going to be a good cop.” He said and Lucy looked at him confused.

“No, she told me that she was going to be a lawyer.” Lucy said and then suddenly the shop came to a screeching halt and Lucy was thrown forward against her seatbelt that luckily locked into place to prevent her from crashing into the dash. Tim looked at her.

“No, she’s going to school to become a cop.” He said defensively and she shook her head.

“No, she didn't, she told me that she wanted to be a lawyer.” She said “You can ask her yourself.” She said and suddenly the shop was jerking around and they were heading back to the precinct. “What the hell? Where are we going?” She asked, hanging on for dear life as he finally straightened the shop out.

“Back to the precinct. You’re wrong and I’m going to prove it.” He said

******************

“So what colleges are you thinking about?” Wesley asked as he sat on the table in front of you.

“I was thinking in state. I don’t want to be too far away from home and I want to visit dad whenever I can.” You said as you pulled your laptop out and he nodded.

“I can certainly help with that. Stanford is the top choice for California.” He said and you nodded.

“Which one did you go to?” You asked

“I went to Whittier Law School.” He said “We can certainly look into that one but I’m sure you want the best right?” He asked and you shrugged.

“I mean yes but I would be happy to get into any of them to be honest.” You said and he nodded.

“That’s a good way of thinking. Have you considered going out of state?” He asked

“Yes, but I just know California better but if going out of state is what it takes then I’m all for it.” You said

“I like that you’re keeping your mind open.” He said “Why don’t we apply to some in state and out of state. We’ll research them and then go from there.” He said and you nodded smiling.

“I like the sound of that.” You said and so the two of you set off getting to work on researching and starting applications. Angela walked in and the both of you looked up from your computer.

“How’s it going in here?” She asked

“Pretty well. Wouldn’t you say?” You asked, turning to Wesley and he nodded.

“I agree she really knows her stuff and knows a lot about these colleges.” He said and you smiled.

“I just don’t want to make the wrong choice.” You said and they both smiled.

“I wish more people were like that.” Wesley said and then you caught your dad storming in and heading straight for the briefing room. Your eyebrows scrunched together and then the door was slamming open before your godparents could ask you what was wrong.

“Dad?” You asked as they both turned to him and he was fuming.

“What is this I’m hearing about you becoming a lawyer?” He asked and you looked at Wesley and Angela and they both looked at you.

“We’ll be outside if you need us.” Angela said and you nodded and once they were out of the room you turned to look at him.

“Dad-” You started but he cut you off.

“Why the hell didn’t you tell me? I had to find out from Lucy.” He said arms crossed and now you were fuming not at Lucy but the way he was taking it.

“This is why I didn’t tell you. I knew how you would react. Yes, I want to be a lawyer and yes, my plan was to become a cop but that has changed now.” You said

“No, you’re going to be a cop and that is final. I have your whole path mapped out.” He said and you shook your head and stood up almost like you were squaring up to him you were not backing down from this fight.

“See that is the problem right there. Your dream is for me to be like you. Yes, I wanted to be a cop but that has changed. I’ve seen the way it has affected Jackson and put pressure on him to be like his father. I don’t want that pressure on me. What if I do become a cop and don’t mount up to your expectations or what other people that know you. What will they say? I’ll tell you ‘Oh your father would be so disappointed.’ ‘You’ll never be as good as him.’ ‘Why aren’t you more like him?’ ‘You need to be more like your father.’ ‘Your father wouldn’t have done it that way, he would've done it this way.’ Do you know what that does to someone? It breaks them down and makes them feel like they’re not good enough. I would feel like a disgrace if I did become a cop and fucked up one way or the other.” You explained tears starting to form but not from sadness from anger “I get it you’re disappointed in me now and I’m sorry about that but it is my life, Dad. My interests have changed and so have my plans. I was looking to go to a college in state to be closer to you but now I think I’m going to start looking out of state because I don’t think I can be in the same state doing what I love while my father is disappointed in me for what I love. I don’t think I can deal with being in the same state going to law school while my father hates what I want to come. It’s no secret that cops hate lawyers and the thought of my own father hating me just because I want to be a lawyer kills me and I hate that feeling because I love you and I always will even if you can’t stand me or love me anymore just because I don’t want to become a cop.” You said and he had been silent the whole time still fuming.

“I’ve already put in a good word for you at the police academy and you will be going. I would still love you not hate you and wouldn't be disappointed.” He said angry that you would say such things and you huffed because you knew he didn’t like lawyers, the only one he did like was Wesley and that is it. Hell, the only reason he did was because he was married to Angela and they watched you as a kid.

“Oh, bull fucking shit you would hate me, be disappointed, and wouldn’t love me because I would be lawyer! You hate them! The only reason you like Wesley is because he is married to Angela and he is my godfather. If he wasn’t any of those things that you wouldn’t even like him.” You said throwing your hands up getting frustrated. “You’re also not fucking listening to me!” You yelled out.

“Don’t curse at me and you know that is not true.” He warned and said and you saw red.

“I wouldn’t be cursing at you if you didn’t fucking listen to what I just said and also yes, it is true. Hear me when I say this. I. Don’t. Want. To. Be. A. Cop.” You said punctuating each word “I want to be a lawyer.” You added “If you can’t accept that then that is saying something. You can’t even support your own daughter in her interests and that is sad, truly sad. I just hope when I do become a lawyer you won’t hate me. If you do then I won’t even bother coming home on holidays, I’ll stay away. I won’t even contact you because you’ll be so disappointed in me. So, congratulations, you just lost your daughter.” You finished and grabbed your computer and shoved it into your bag and stormed out with him following you looked at Wesley. “I think I’m going to go out of state.” You said and walked off.

“Y/N, I’m sorry.” Lucy said and you shook your head.

“Not your fault, it was bound to come out at some point.” You said and rushed off opting to take the stairs instead of waiting for the elevator. Once you got down them and out the door you went to the truck and got in you bawled and then decided you couldn’t stay here any longer and went to the next person you trusted and knew would support you and who knew you wanted to be lawyer, John Nolan.

******************

Back at the station Angela, Wesley, Lucy, and Wade Grey were all standing outside of the briefing room shocked and to be honest a little pissed at Tim for the way he handled it. Grey knew all about your dream to become a lawyer; he actually encouraged it and was also helping you out. Angela was seeing red the most. She knew you wanted so much to please your dad but you wanted to be a lawyer. She loved you like you were her own kid. “What the hell is wrong with you?” She asked angrily when he came out.

“What?” He asked as she pushed him back into the room and shut the door making it clear that she wanted to be left alone with him.

“You know she hates disappointing you and you just made her feel like she just did because she’s not doing what you want her to do.” She said

“That is not true. I just wanted her to carry on the police career.” He said “She would make a hell of a cop.” He said.

“She would but if she fucked up then what? You’ll be much harder on her and she would push herself until she burnt herself out. She doesn’t want to let you down which is why she is picking another career field.” Angela said

“That is not true.” He said

“Yes, it is. She doesn’t think you would be proud of her if she didn’t pick what you wanted her to be.” She said

“That is not true. I would be proud of her and I wouldn’t be disappointed in her or not love her.” He said

“Well, with the fight you both just had she’s thinking you’re not proud and that you don’t love her and are disappointed in her.” She said

“I didn’t mean it that way.” He defended

“It sure as hell sounded like it. It is a well-known fact that cops hate lawyers and now she thinks you’re going to hate her. She has been so scared to tell you that she wanted to be a lawyer and not a cop. I’ve never in my life seen her scared but when she was over the other night and told us she was. Let me tell you she was scared.” She said and that seemed to click something in his head.

“She was scared?” He asked and Angela nodded.

“She told me that she was afraid to tell you. Because you had this big idea of me being a cop, she has seen the toll it had taken on Jackson and she doesn’t want to go through that. She said if she fucked up then it would ruin his reputation and image.” You said and she nodded.

“How do I make this up?” He asked

“Go talk to her and reassure that you’re not going to hate her, be disappointed in her, and not going to stop loving her. If I know her then she’s going to be at Nolan’s house.” Angela said and he nodded and then left. Grey stopped him.

“You better fix this.” He said and Tim nodded.

“Yes, Sir.” Tim said and then he was leaving with Lucy behind him because they were still on shift and they were off to Nolan’s house.

******************

When you got to Nolan’s house you were quick to park and shut the engine off. You got out and locked the door and headed for his front door. When you got there you were quick to knock and didn’t have to wait long before the door was opening. “Y/N/N, What’s wrong?” He asked as you slammed into him hugging him and started to sob. He backed the two of you up until he could shut the door.

“Dad found out that I wanted to be a lawyer. We had a big fight. I have just seen what being a kid of a cop does to someone, that someone being Jackson. I don’t want a strained relationship like that but I think I just ruined that.” You said as he pulled back you wiped your tears.

“I don’t think your relationship is ruined. He’s going to be proud of you no matter what career you go into. Sure, it may take some time to get used to but he won’t stop loving you.” Nolan said and you nodded. He always knew what to say.

“Can I stay here for a while? Just until I have enough guts to go home and face him.” You asked and he smiled and nodded.

“Of course, stay as long as you like.” He said

“Thank you.” You said

“It’s not a problem.” He said as you both went into the kitchen “Hungry?” He asked and you smiled at him.

“Maybe just a little.” You said

“Food coming right up.” He said and started to fix something to snack on. You two talked about anything to just take your mind off of everything. It wasn’t 10 minutes later there was another knock on the door, this one more authoritative. Nolan went to answer it and you listened.

“Is Y/N/N here?” Your dad’s voice came through.

“Yeah, she is. Come on in. She’s in the kitchen.” He said and when you heard their footsteps coming closer you looked up and eyes met your dads.

“Can we talk?” He asked you and you looked hesitant and you looked at Nolan and he nodded giving you encouragement.

“Yea.” You said quietly the feeling of defeat and disappointment still there.

“I’ll be no here.” Nolan said and awkwardly made his outside and you chuckled but turned serious when you looked at your dad.

“I’m not changing my mind on the career field.” You said getting defensive.

“I’m not going to ask you to.” He said and you looked confused.

“But you want me to be a cop.” You said

“That is true and I still do but I had a very stern talking done by Angela. I was angry and let my emotions take over when I heard you wanted to be a lawyer from Lucy and not you but I’m over it now. I’m sorry I reacted like that. I want you to do what you want to do and if that is to be a lawyer then so be it. I will love you and be proud of you either way. When I heard that you were scared to tell me it killed me, I never want you to be scared to tell me anything. I want you to come to me for anything. I’m so sorry for making you feel like I wouldn’t love you. I will always love you. I will always be proud of you. You could never disappoint me, Y/N/N. You being my daughter makes me so proud. I really hope you don’t go out of state. I don’t want you to stop talking to me. I want you to come home for the holidays. I don’t want you to stay away, I want you closer.” He said and you started to cry “Come here.” He said and brought you into a hug. “I’m so proud of you every day. I will always be proud of you even if you become a lawyer, hell you’re already good at arguing.” He said chuckling and you chuckled too.

“You really don’t care if I become a lawyer?” You asked and he shook his head.

“I wouldn’t care if you became an FBI agent. I would be so proud of you.” He said

“You know that was a consideration.” You said and chuckled.

“I wouldn’t put it past you. Which part?” He asked as you both pulled away.

“The Behavioral Analysis Unit.” You said “I know some of them there.” You added.

“Do I wanna know?” He asked and you chuckled.

“It’s nothing bad.” You said and he looked at you. “I promise.” You said and he nodded.

“Ok, just making sure. So what college were you thinking in state?” He asked

“Stanford. Wesley said it was the best one.” You said

“Wesley knows what is best when it comes to law.” He chuckled and he nodded and after a beat of silence he added “I love you and I’m so proud of you, you know that right?” He asked and you nodded.

“I love you too dad and I know.” You said and then Nolan was awkwardly popping his head in.

“Do I still have a daughter?” He asked and you smiled.

“Yea, you still have a daughter.” You replied

“Good because I love her so much and am proud of her.” He said and you smiled and hugged him. It was silent for a minute. The only sound you could hear was his heartbeat, a sound you loved now and have since you were a baby, until Nolan was knocking on the now opened door as his head popped into the house.

“I don’t hear anymore talking or yelling and I got concerned that you both have killed each other but I see you both haven’t killed each other which is good.” He said and you both chuckled and smiled at his antics. “Everything ok?” He asked and you nodded.

“Everything is ok.” Your dad said.

“More than ok. Everything is great.” You said and they both smiled.

“Well on that note. Anybody hungry?” Nolan asked and you along with your dad smiled.

“I have to get back to work.” Your dad said.

“But I can stay.” You said and Nolan nodded.

“Great! I’ll get snacks started.” He said and walked into the kitchen. You turned to your dad.

“Be safe and I love you.” You said.

“You know I will and I love you too.” He said and hugged him one last time before he had to get going. When he left you turned your attention to Nolan who was turning around with food in his hands. As you spent the rest of the time with Nolan until you had to go home for supper and because of school the next day. When you got home your dad was already there and when you parked beside his truck and turned the engine off and got out after grabbing your bag and locked it you walked into the house.

“Y/N/N, that you?” He asked as Kojo ran and greeted you.

“Yea, it's more.” You said as you kicked your shoes off and dropped your bag. You walked into the kitchen where he was making dinner.

“Good. Food is ready. You wanna eat at the table or the couch?” He asked

“Couch.” You both said at the same time and you both chuckled. You grabbed a plate and filled it and then he did too and then you were both headed to the couch and sitting down. He turned on the show that you’ve both been watching together. As you ate you got to thinking of how lucky you were to have him as a dad and he was thinking of how lucky he was to have you as a daughter. After you ate you cuddled into him and he snuggled you.

“I’m so proud of you each and every day. I love you so much.” He said and you smiled.

“I know, Dad. I love you too.” You said and he smiled into your hair as he kissed the top of your head. That is how you spent the rest of the night, cuddled in the protective and loving arms of your father.

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theresattrpgforthat · 11 months ago

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Games with an atypical division of Player/GM responsibilities? For example, in Fellowship, the players have final say in lore/world building questions, not the GM. (Not counting GMless games, which have atypical GM duties by default)

Alternatively, if that's too niche: any games explicitly designed for rotating GMs and/or 'West Marches' style campaigns.

THEME: Unique Player Responsibilities / Rotating GMs

Hello there! I hope to do your ask justice, although I feel more at home talking about the first half of your question than the second. I’ll ask my followers to supply some more suggestions in the tags/reblogs, and throw at you what I have!

Fae’s Anatomy, by Hebanon Games.

Fae’s Anatomy is a comedic storytelling RPG wrapped around a challenging logic puzzle, recreating the high-stakes melodrama of medical procedurals like Grey’s Anatomy, House, and General Hospital.

Anybody can be an expert in Fae’s Anatomy. The game is set in a world where all forms of magic, spirituality, and mysticism are science. Science? Just another form of wizardry. Quackary, superstition, and pseudo-science work, but so does chemotherapy, antibiotics, and sound medicine.

In many ways, I’d say Fae’s Anatomy feels like a typical ttrpg: you have one person giving hints and clues to the rest of the players, who will use certain skills and abilities to solve a problem. But the closest role to the GM role - the Patient - is simply different from the doctors in what limits them. The Patient is suffering from some kind of mysterious illness, and while they have a little bit of information available to their general illness, the app presented to them to help them run through the diagnosis keeps the solution obscured enough to keep them on their toes. The Patient also has to role-play their symptoms well enough to help point the doctors in the right direction. In some ways, it feels like Fae’s Anatomy is an elegant form of charades - and if you want to hear how this game plays, you can check out the special episodes that Lawful Great Adventures recorded using this game!

Apocalypse Keys, by Rae Nedjadi @temporalhiccup

The Doomsday Clock is ticking down and emotions run high as you and your team of DIVISION agents struggle to find the Keys before the villainous Harbingers unlock the Doors of Power and bring about the apocalypse.

As an Omen class monster, you are the only thing capable of holding back the apocalypse. Combat occult threats and investigate supernatural phenomena alongside your team of supernatural agents working for the shadowy DIVISION. But in a world that shuns monsters like you, only your deepest, most heartfelt bonds can grant you the power to stop those who seek to unlock Doom’s Door.

There are two ways in which Apocalypse Keys uniquely empowers the players in ways I consider slightly unorthodox. Firstly, there’s the fact that the lore of DIVISION, the shadowy government agency that holds your monsters leash, isn’t fully fleshed out at the beginning of play. It’s slowly uncovered with each mission and playbook advancement, with the players being presented with questions and workshopping the answers together.

Second is the mystery mechanic, which was popularized by Brindlewood Bay and The Between, and also made its way into games such as External Containment Bureau and Bump in the Dark. While the GM designs clues and thinks about what kinds of Harbingers might be responsible for this specific apocalypse, it’s up to the players to decide what the answer to the mystery actually is - and it’s the player’s roll that determines how accurate they are.

Brinkwood, Blood of Tyrants, by Far Horizons Co-Op.

Mask up. Spill blood. Drink the Rich.

The world is not as it should be. The rich feed, literally, upon the poor, as blood-sucking vampires who barely bother to conceal their horrific, parasitic nature. The downtrodden peoples of the world struggle under the burdens of rent, payable through the sweat of their labor or the blood of their veins. Evil has triumphed. Many have given in to despair. But all is not lost.

In Brinkwood, you take on the role of renegades, thieves, and rebels struggling for freedom and liberation in a castylpunk world controlled by vampires. Radicalized by tragedy, you have taken up arms and fled into the forests, where you were taken in by unlikely allies - the fae, forgotten creatures of myth - who offered a different path and the means to fight back against your oppressors. Masks, forged of old wood and older magic, are the final tool left to fight a war long ago lost. If you wear them, they will take their price, etching themselves upon your very soul. But they will also let you spill the blood of the rich and powerful vampires that now rule the land, and from that blood strengthen yourself and your movement.

There’s a lot of things about Brinkwood that I absolutely love, from the way the mask playbooks are meant to be swapped among the characters/players with every mission, to the slow but steady revolution that you build by fostering connections with various factions in the Bloody Isles. But for the purpose of this request, we need to talk about Your Exquisite Fae.

Your Exquisite Fae is the process by which the group collaboratively creates a faerie patron, otherworldly and uniquely powerful. It’s inspired by the game Exquisite Corpse, which has each player draw a piece of a drawing without knowing what the others have already created. In Your Exquisite Fae, the players receive answers to prompts written by other players but aren’t given hints as to what the context was - and then they elaborate on what those answers mean. For example, one player might state that the Fae has eyes that reflect the night sky, gleaming like a thousand distant starts. The second player might decide that those eyes see the deepest fears of the enemy, giving the group an advantage at finding weaknesses and secrets when spying on vampires.

Ars Magica, by Atlas Games.

Ars Magica is the award-winning roleplaying game by Jonathan Tweet and Mark Rein•Hagen about wizards and their allies in Mythic Europe. This flexible, deeply built world can support games that are historically accurate or fantasy-based, epic or small scale, political or personal.

Players work together to tell the story of their covenant — all of the magi, their companions, and grogs. This history can span decades. It might be heroic, tragic, or both in turn. The covenant could influence the entirety of Mythic Europe or the fates of a small corner of the world.

Spells will be cast. Duels won and lost. Houses may rise and fall. But magic is forever.

The last time I talked about this game, one of my followers pointed out that this was an incredibly complex game that was designed to accommodate rotating GMs. The game styles itself as a troupe-style game, which means you’re not just responsible for your mages, but also your companions and servants. If you want a game with complex relationships and big-picture conflicts, this might be the game for you.

Slugblaster, by Mikey Hamm.

In the small town of Hillview, teenage hoverboarders sneak into other dimensions to explore, film tricks, go viral, and get away from the problems at home. It’s dangerous. It’s stupid. It’s got parent groups in a panic. And it’s the coolest thing ever.

This is Slugblaster. A table-top rpg about teenagehood, giant bugs, circuit-bent rayguns, and trying to be cool.

It may look like a small thing, but during crew creation, each character playbook has specific roles in determining the crew’s resources and relationships. The Grit picks a faction that trusts the crew. The Guts chooses a faction that the crew has somehow annoyed. Each player draws a portal between the known multiverses, but the Smarts draws two. The Chill has final say over where you hang out when you’re not Slugblasting, and The Heart has final say over your crew name.

I’ve drawn direct inspiration from this setup in my own game that I’m playtesting, by giving each playbook final say over some element in the world, and I think it really boosts player agency and gives them control over the kind of story the group wants to tell.

Planedawn Orphans, by Sharkbomb Studios.

Planedawn Orphans is a campaign kit that helps you prepare a campaign for the fantasy role-playing game of your choice. It provides a flexible and versatile framework to start a campaign. The campaign kit will help you get started and provide structure and support, but some assembly is required.

Set in the Planar City, a strange melting pot that connects the vast diversity of the multiverse. You all play Planar Orphans stranded in this city, your original home worlds destroyed, corrupted or lost. A mysterious Patron has brought you together, provided you with a base of operations and tasked you to complete a Planar Key. This key will let you create a new plane for you and your fellow refugees. Your quest will bring you to exotic places filled with strange creatures and bizarre phenomena.

This isn’t a standalone rpg, but rather a campaign kit for whatever system you like - or even multiple systems! I’m recommending this toolkit because I’m actually planning to use it to run a series of rotating-gm games later this year, with a friend of mine. You’re building your own custom dimension by jumping into a series of vastly different worlds, and your home base is built collectively. There’s a lot of player agency and GM agency here, as players have plenty of control over their home dimensions (since they can’t ever go back) and the GMs can take turns designing custom worlds for the party to jump into. I definitely recommend checking it out.

Also Check Out

Asymmetrical Games Rec Post

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dimiclaudeblaigan · 11 months ago

Text

So I have some genuine questions/curiosities here about the second point (and some more stuff).

Sorry, tis long!

Do we know anything directly from Pat himself about the localization direction? I'm wondering because I can't tell if his intentions were to change the messages in the game or because he went with what the west would find more "cool" and "appealing". Granted, I do disagree on him changing anything in the first place because it's a blatant disrespect to the original creation. When I play a game/watch a show, I want to be having the same understanding and experience as the game's origin location.

Main reason I'm wondering about this is because if he did it to change the messages to fit something he personally wanted or changed the messages to fit some kind of agenda, that's definitely a more nefarious change intention. My other thought is that things got changed to fit what he might have thought the west would like/would understand more. Like, the whole Church bad stuff? That's huge in the west and the west will gobble any indication the churches are evil right out of your hand, no justification even needed.

Part of me is HOPING he might have learned from what happened in the localization because I know he has a Twitter account and can't possibly be that blind to the backlash and the discourse unless he just literally does not associate whatsoever with any projects he's worked on - I have no idea if he does). But again, I don't know him or his opinions, so I don't know if he'd actually change his mind in the future about how the team went about localization.

Is the backlash related to just the team that worked on Houses, or just localizers in general? Because I don't think all localizers are an issue or even take things to this extent. Since 2019 in particular as far as release dates go though, I've definitely seen an increase in laziness and a lack of care in how safely messages get across in localization.

There's another game that came out that same year, albeit a release of a game that was in Japan a fucking long time ago and was a remaster of a game previously localized... and not only was there a lack of consistency in the editing of the old game's text to fit in with the additions (i.e. they very very very clearly did not go back and check the old dialogue to ensure it reflected the changes made in the remaster, and there were still typos and placeholder translations left behind), but the overall direction of the game was... inarguably worse than the original, which was inarguably completely different in tone.

It would be a whole lot to explain here so I won't go that deep unless asked, but basically the vocal direction for the main character was changed in a way that I highly suspect was meant to cater to what a western audience would be interested in, versus what the character was actually genuinely like in the original script/performance. It changed a lot of weight behind that character's feelings, decisions and relationships. It basically wiped out what that character was like and left him a shell of his actual character.

That's why I'm wondering if Pat's localizing was a result of "I just like Edelgard and hate Rhea so I'm going to change the game to be how I want it to be" or "I bet the west would prefer Edelgard over Rhea so I'm going to change things to reflect what our audience would take to better". Which, again, I don't agree with either of those, but I feel like if he (or anyone, not just Pat because I don't know that I can put this all on him) changed things just to suit his own preferred narrative in a game he did not create, I can't blame the JP audience for feeling offended that localizers are taking games from their region and effectively rewriting a whole lot of the story to fit whatever narrative they personally prefer. If it was just an attempt at better catering to the west's preferences and thinking it would sell better that way, I can kind of understand it and see it as a mistake but I still can't get behind it.

As for Hopes, yeah, I can fully understand their anger at that. It did absolutely look like they went out of their way to trash Houses' JP existence to make it more along the lines of the western context of Houses.

That said, I don't think ALL localizers are absolutely terrible (and that not all localizers should lose their jobs since I'm sure there are some great people out there in the job). The game I mentioned above is part of a franchise and the game that came out in the west after it was localized fairly well. JP audio was removed for, what I recall at this point, legal purposes? But there has since been someone who uploaded the English dialogue with the JP audio onto YouTube and from my memory the localization wasn't really edited all that much except regarding cultural references like food... which unfortunately those changes get lost for western players in gacha games anyway so rip on that I guess (not that those gacha games EVER survive in the west for that franchise, as we are now down to a handsome zero (0) gacha games and only one left running in Japan...).

I think for Fates, part of why it gets defended is because the west removed an actually controversial topic that was in the original JP, as well as removing fetish-like aspects (y'all know exactly what two things I'm referring to LOL). I can't speak for the overall game at large as far as other changes went, but I think because some of the more major and well known changes were good that people give it a pass. The game is more recent than the game I mentioned earlier, but older than the release of its localized remaster... and the original localization of that game was pretty sub par in most areas, with the more recent release being on a scale of bad to atrocious (the latter fully relates to the main character though).

Response for Random!

I'll be honest, I'd rather different release dates if it meant having the time to handle it correctly. Remember that game I mentioned above again? Yeah. So. That game was the first time that franchise had gotten a western and Japanese release at the same time. You see all that stuff I mentioned up there? Yeah. Not good localization. There are, aside from the character mentioned, some seriously jarring changes that were meant to sound cool and/or edgy (which also resulted in completely changing the message/mood/meaning of a sentence/situation) when the JP context was actually aiming for, you know, fitting the mood and characters. Unsurprisingly, it was the game that got a simultaneous release that had an extremely tragic localization; and I'm really not joking when I say tragic.

If changing the dates to make sure there's time to work shit out is what they have to do, I'd rather they do that. If they can't be trusted to keep the context the same if they're working under the pressure of a simultaneous release, I'd rather they just don't do that. I understand of course that localizers themselves don't get a say in release dates, but it's probably affecting their decisions to say "fuck it" a whole lot.

I don't really expect that dual audio will go anywhere because to my understanding within fandom as a whole, it's had very positive reception. People used to be very annoyed at the lack of that option.

As far as Heroes, technically there is dual audio because you absolutely can change the language to Japanese at any time. It requires you to redownload files, but it's there and always has been. The only downside for English players is that it's not just the audio but the text as well, so you're getting the whole JP package whether you can read it or not.

What you mention about "interpretation" is a huge problem to me in localization tbh. There shouldn't be "interpretation" at all. They should be working alongside the JP team to make sure they're on the same page and not having to interpret anything period. I know there are some cases where it works out and the teams can work together and that sometimes it doesn't happen, but just from my perspective personally, I think, at the very least in a massively story heavy game, that it should actually be a requirement for them to be working together. I'm sure it's not always feasible, but if gets to the point of having to interpret, there's always the chance someone's interpretation will come off completely wrong because they can only base their interpretation on what they know.

What you said about "steering" to their interpretation, too, is part of why for me. I want to form my own opinions on the context as it truly is and not what I'm going to come out thinking about something based on, well, altered context. Remember that game above? Again??? You sick of that yet??? Yeah, me too. I wish the localization was better. I don't want to be steered in the direction of "this character is annoyed/angry/aggravated" when the actual context is "playful/casual/joking/understanding". Shit like that makes a world of difference in how people will interpret relationships or how quickly they will come to understand the dynamic of it. I'm using a very specific instance actually LOL.

That all said, I'm actually genuinely happy if JP audiences are actually finally speaking out against this. I've always hated the idea to begin with of original stories being altered, but like... if I created a character and made them a certain way for a reason there was... well, a reason. I'd be really pissed off if people took that character/story and altered it to "their interpretation" without consulting me during localization. When you take someone else's work to release it in another region, I feel that there should be at least the respect of retaining the meaning behind the work.

It's basically like, if they let localizers fuck around this much now, how much would localizers actually care to tell the right story at all in the future? To not take the faces/names/etc of their characters and just write in whatever the fuck they want for them? Tell whatever story they want to tell and just use someone else's media to do it? Also, that's super lazy - i.e. taking someone else's work to make your own story instead of just making your own story - and I would not put it past the west's ass to do that. In some cases, they have done it before to an extent (like you mentioned... 4Kids is a primary offender of that and they've actually been sued for their shady shit - and if I'm not mistaken, more than once. They don't exist under that exact name anymore and had to change their name/area of work for a reason).

I feel like they'll probably have an in between solution though? Not letting localizers be gung ho about it but still want their stuff in the west for sales. Because really, if they do let them keep doing stuff like that, it will only get worse.

If you've made it this far, congratulations, the game I was mentioning was ToV. Rest in actual fucking pieces Yuri Lowell and I'm sorry the localization fucking butchered almost all of the fun and silly aspects of you. You'll always be a pouty, fun loving, childish fucking baby in my heart. <3333 (I love Try Baker's performance btw - it's not his fault the directors sucked booty and wanted Yuri to be Edgy and Cool and not... well, Yuri as he actually is. Then the DE version came out localized, chucked Troy into the trash for the new lines and it got even fucking worse)

(Thank god for drama CDs galore and side content/canon side content up the fucking yeehaw that's all JP only. If westerners want to get their hands on that content, they'll have no choice but to get the real full package...)

2 thoughts:

Number one, Emblem Byleth is supposed to be a post-Houses Byleth and has the Sword of the Creator. It's not really confirming which route he is from, but if you think about it it can hint which the route the Emblem isn't from. In order for the Sword of the Creator to work, it needs it's Crest Stone however it's Crest Stone can't be inserted into the sword because it's in Byleth's chest. So for a post-war Byleth to be able to use the SotC, they'd still need that rock and said rock disappears in Flower. Their solo ending says he continues to wield his legendary sword, but that ending says Byleth loses his power due to an injury, an injury we don't see them taking. The Crest Stone just disappears, with the only explanation coming from the Japanese text that it has "shattered" aka you broke Sothis's heart. We also see Byleth use the Sword of Seiros in the Jeritza ending, pointing to Byleth's solo ending just being propaganda by the empire less people think Edelgard doesn't have the approval of the Goddess.

So if Emblem Byleth is meant to adhere to any form of canon, then he can't be from Flower.

And two, I know the localization controversy is a pretty complicated matter but from what I'm hearing, there's a lot of backlash in Japan over it. Otaku are calling for the localizers to lose their jobs, as they feel what they're doing is both disrespectful and appropriation. But the thing that was really sticking out with me is going back to when Hopes launched we had players in Asia accusing the game of being made to pander to the Western fanbase. In the past, I've seen some fans reverse-engineering the translation, and they appear to know the direction given for Rhea. While people argue that Fates shouldn't be used as a bad translation due to it's age, I can't help but wonder if over there they're using Houses as an example of localizers running wild. Because, let's say it, Treehouse didn't just change lines it tried to change the message of the game itself.

#Localization Stuff #could swear I had tag for this before but I don't remember it so new tag ig #it's sad bc I have a lot of positive feelings abt some aspects of the loc #but that's like strictly in terms of voice acting quality #like Cherami Leigh did fantastic with what she was told to do and I can't blame her for what she was given #and I'm really happy to see western VAs having their careers having gotten a huge leg up from Houses #most of them definitely did insanely good work and did better than just what was expected/necessary #and it's a huge shame the loc ended up the way it did with those talents #for me loc issues aren't even just related to Houses either like... I've been on about this shit for YEARS #I'm just glad more ppl are seeing it now and that there's a bit more awareness of it #especially with IS which I've been saying for ALSO YEARS has been fucking around with FE's loc #long before Houses but Houses was like the extreme case (that seems to have gotten the most notice)#as far as Bamco goes I... generally? trust them not to pull IS' bullshit #ToV was just... a very terrible case and I have NO fucking clue what happened there beyond #they were CLEARLY not communicating with the JP side of things #and just made shit up as they went along and ''interpreted'' shit (read: misinterpreted shit) as they went along #huge shame because both are massive games in the west in their respective franchises #and both locs got yoinked to hell and back to the point that the audiences aren't getting the same content

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