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punching-pentagrams · 2 months

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Talk to Me

Chapter 1

Lucifer x Fem Fallen Angel Reader

Word Count:4.1 k

CW: Angst, abuse, lies, slowburn,

Chapter 1|Chapter 2 (Updated through Chapter 5)

Welcome back friends! I will be tagging all chapters now under #punching-pentagrams if the tags ever have issues or if you are looking for updates from me 😊

Once upon a time, there was a glowing city protected by golden gates, known as Heaven. It was ruled by beings of pure light. Angels that worshiped good and shielded all from evil. Lucifer was one of these angels. He was a troublemaker with “fantastical ideas” for all of creation, and was seen as such by the elders of Heaven. For they knew his way of thinking was dangerous to the order of their world. So, he was to watch as the other angels began to expand the universe in their ways.

From the dust of Earth, they created Adam and Lilith. Equals as the first of mankind, but despite this, Adam worked to take charge over his responsibility to care for Earth, and Lilith refused to work alongside him. She fled the Garden. Drawn in by her rebellious nature, Lucifer found her and troublemaker seduced her to his cause. Together, they wished to the ruin the future of humanity with their selfish dreams and ideas, offering the Fruit of Knowledge to Adam's new bride, Eve, who accepted, unaware that this “gift” came with a curse. For with this single act of disobedience, evil finally found its way into the Earth. With it, a new realm of darkness and sin. And the order Heaven worked to maintain was shattered. As punishment for their reckless act, Heaven cast Lucifer and his mistress into the dark pit he had created, to live out his days as the King of the cruel and the wicked.

This was the Parable of Lucifer, known by every Angel in Heaven, memorized, but rarely spoken. His name, or even the threat of falling was akin to swearing, which wasn't forbidden but it was frowned upon. For many eons, his name was rarely mentioned. That is, until the morning his daughter came to visit Heaven.

You watched that morning as Emily, the young seraphim you served under, danced around her room as she got ready that morning, singing and flitting about while talking about how excited she was to be at the the side of Sera, the High Seraphim, later at a meeting with the daughter of Lucifer and Lilith.

You listened and nodded at her excitement, trying hard to keep your own thoughts to yourself. You didn't understand how she could be so excited, being in the room with anyone related to Lucifer sounded like a fate worse than death. You were not important enough to be in the room where it all was going to go down, and you were perfectly ok with that.

"And then! Oh! What about the zoo?! Do you think they have zoos in hell? Maybe we have different animals.... Oh I'll just ask them!" Emily squealed with excitement as she brushed her hair.

You were trying so hard not to roll your eyes, why would some hellspawn want anything to do with a heaven zoo? And why did Emily insist on showing them around? It almost seemed cruel to show them around something more wonderful and beautiful than they probably had back home in their dark pit of evil. But it couldn't be helped, that is just who Emily was. Kind and full of desire to make people happy.

You were a "right hand man" of sorts to Emily, a sort of "lady in waiting" or "aid", and had been ever since the beginning of her time as the Seraphim of Joy. You enjoyed a higher status, that was marked by your four wings, but not as many as Emily's six, which marker he status as a seraphim. You liked being by her side, she was sweet and playful. It was her job to keep the people of Heaven happy, and it was your job to assist her in that. She was gentle and kind, and that made your job easy. She treated you as an equal, even if she didn't need to, you were happy to serve her.

"Sounds great, my lady, I hope you guys have fun," you say trying to hold back any sass you wanted to add to your comment in response to the idea of her field trip with the Princess of Hell.

Emily looked at you with a smile, "Oh! You're coming with us, of course. Aren't you?"

You held a strained smile, of course she would want to include you.

"Oh... I wish I could. But I can't I have plans," you responded coolly.

"Plans? Like what?" Emily pouted.

"Well... there uhhh... there is the updates to the Golden Girls theme park! Now that Betty is here, I figured it was important to meet with her and make sure it is correct...ya know... get her ideas..." you start.

Emily floats over and grabs your hands, "Oh but that can wait, can't it? Pleeeeease? This is so exciting and I want my best friend their with me!" She gave you big puppy dog eyes.

You can't help but feel a little shy when she calls you her best friend, you were honored that she thought of you as a friend, but you knew that was not your place, even though you had been by her side for several thousand years. It wasn't forbidden for you two to be friends, just... discouraged. Due to the difference in status. You sighed, she knew you couldn't say no to her when she got all pouty and pulled the "best friend" card.

"Alright, alright! I'll go... Just... Please don't expect me to be all buddy-buddy with them? I mean no disrespect, my lady... The idea of having beings of Hell in Heaven just... makes me nervous..." you nervously confess to Emily.

Emily smiles and pulls you in for a hug, "Yay! Oh (y/n), it's going to be ok! How about this? If you get uncomfortable, you can flap your wings quickly twice and I'll give you a reason to leave, ok?"

"But won't that leave you alone with them? What if they should try to harm you?" you say with worry in your voice.

Emily squeezes your shoulders, "It will be fine. Come on! We are gonna be late!" Emily grabs your hand and she half drags you out the door and out the the main plaza to meet up with Sera before going to welcome the guests from hell. You bow respectfully to Sera in greeting and wait as Emily and Sera fly out to the front gate while you wait inside with Sera's aid, Lily, who also had four wings like you. You rarely talked to Lily, but she was also nice, more serious like her seraphim she served.

"How is your lady feeling about the meeting?" Lily asked calmly, looking forward instead of at you.

"Very excitedly, as is her nature. Almost a little too excited, but that is not my place to tell her, of course. And what of your lady?" You asked Lily.

She shook her head, "Nervous, but collected. She was very distressed by Lucifer's request for his daughter to meet with the council of Elders. Her ideas sound... preposterous, and dangerous. Just like her father's," she responded flatly, her nose crinkling slightly.

"What ideas?" you ask.

Lily looked around for any nearby souls before leaning close and whisper, "Something about trying to redeem souls to get them to give them a second change in heaven."

You blinked, what? She is trying to redeem the souls of sinners? "Is that even possible?"

Lily shrugged, "It is not our place to ask such things, besides, we have no idea why they would want to try that. It sounds fishy to me, and I think it sounds fishy to Sera, too. We have a system in place for a reason."

"Of course, that does seem silly to try to change things," you go back to your neutral stance and start to think. The daughter of Lucifer wants to redeem souls? Why? That seems like a good thing to try to do? But how could they prove they were actually "redeemed" to even attempt something like that. As far as you knew, this had never been done before. This thought left you with so many questions, that from that point on would start to unravel your very understanding of everything you thought you knew.

Eventually you see the gates open and Sera and Emily enter with two others, a girl with long white hair, wearing an eye patch, named Vaggie, and a young woman with long blonde hair in a ponytail and a red suit, who was introduced to you as Charlie Morningstar, the daughter of Lucifer. You wanted to focus on the Morningstar child but... something about the other one seemed off about the other one, especially in the way she looked at all of you. Specifically she looked... uncomfortable? That seemed like such an odd way to react to Heaven. But maybe a place this beautiful was just hard for a demon like her to feel comfortable in. A pity.

You shifted your attention back to Charlie, you were only briefly introduced as Emily's aid, she greeted you warmly and then went back to talking with Emily and Sera. You liked it this way, it gave you a chance to just watch this daughter of Lucifer at a distance. As you toured Heaven with them, you were surprise by how sweet and bubbly she came off. She talked, mostly with Emily, about how excited she was about the meeting and looked in awe at everything she came across in Heaven. Your face remained a pleasant neutral, but you were processing everything through the lens of what you had been told about Lucifer and the information given to you by Lily about her reason for being here. What was her deal?

Eventually, Charlie and Vaggie were set up in their room, and Vaggie decided to stay at the hotel while Charlie went off with you and Emily to the zoo, and Sera and Lily went off to prepare for the meeting. Great... now there was more of a chance that you would have to interact with the Morningstar child, but you were good at remaining pleasant and neutral. You stayed to Emily's right while Charlie walked on Emily's left as they went through the zoo. Luckily, the Princess of Hell was more interested in fawning over the animals than paying attention to how little you were interacting with her. You exchanged some pleasantries and small talk when addressed, but not much beyond that.

The longer you were around her, the more curious she made you. She didn't act at all like how you expected a hellspawn would act. You know you shouldn't be making assumptions but... something was not adding up. How could this be the spawn of the most hated and dangerous being in all of creation? Either she was a very very very good actor, spinning colorful and exciting tales to disarm her victims and seduce them to her side... or somehow... despite having such an awful and cruel creature of a father... this young woman had an actual passion and love for others. You were worried at how much you felt like you wanted to agree with the latter, especially with how in-sync her personality fell with Emily's. You tried to shake the questions out of your head, again it was not your place to ask such questions.

Before long, it was time for their meeting with the angelic Council of Elders, which meant it was your time to separate from Emily and the Princess. You bid them a farewell and went off to take care of that meeting with Betty White to make any additions or suggestions to the theme park. You had a pleasant meeting with her, luckily there were only a few additions that needed to be made, so you were able make note of them with the construction team and get back to Emily's suite to prepare her some tea for her when her meeting was over.

Before long you heard the quick open and shut of the door, signaling that Emily had returned home, "Welcome back, my lady Emily! How was..." you stopped as you heard the sounds of... something you had never heard before... little sounds in quick secession that would get quieter, she'd breathe in, and then the quick secession of sounds would happen again, but starting louder and growing softer.

You peaked out around the corner to see Emily curled up on the floor right next to the door, face in her hands, making her little sounds. You had heard about this, was... was she... crying? She had never seen anyone cry before. You rushed over to her side.

"My lady? Emily? What's wrong? Why do you cry?" you asked with a slight panic, you had not idea how to help her with this, you had never seen someone sad before.

She let out different higher pitched sound and shook before she looked up at you, tears rolling down her round cheeks.

"Oh (y/n), it's terrible! I'm so angry!" Emily cried.

"What's terrible? What did the Princess do? Are you hurt?" you start to look her over.

"No!" Emily cried, "It's Sera, and Adam, and Lute... They have done something terrible!"

You blinked, you had never heard her speak of her superior sister like that, and you new the First Man to be... a colorful character, but what could he have done? "What happened?"

Emily took a few breathes before looking up at you, "They have been allowing a yearly extermination on human souls in Hell to control the overpopulation down there... Adam has an army of angels that go down with him to kill and erase human souls!"

You sat back a little, taking in the news, "Wait... why... That does not make any sense... why would they do something like that?"

Emily let more tears fall, "It's how they control the overpopulation of souls, trying to keep them from thinking about uprising against Heaven... that's why Charlie was here. She's trying to redeem souls into heaven so that we would stop killing them. She-she's just trying to protect her people, and we have just been slaughtering them! For... centuries!"

You sat in silence as Emily continued to freak out and cry, this was the worst thing you had ever heard of. How could heaven allow something like this?! Sure, the sinners had all earned their place in Hell, and they needed to stay in their place... but the does not mean anyone should be erasing them!

"Who could have allowed this?" you ask quietly.

"Sera..." Emily snarled, you look up at her, and she looks at you... with anger in her eyes, it made you jump, "Sera allowed this it happen, and what's worse... she kept it from everyone! From the rest of the Elders... from me... Only Sera, Adam, and his army of angel exorcists know... The rest of us were in the dark..."

You just sat there on the floor next to her, trying to breathe, trying to work through the thoughts and feelings in your body, this was bad... this was... really bad. You never knew this try of bad could exist, not here, not in Heaven, and you felt it all over your body. Your chest felt tight, your thoughts were racing, everything was a blur.

You looked at the young angel next to you, "What do we do now, my lady?"

Emily's expression went serious and she sat up straight looking at you, "This can't be a secret anymore, we must tell everyone."

Your eyes widened, "E-everyone? Even the human souls? My lady... I don't know if..."

Emily got up, "Yes! Everyone! They have been keeping this secret from everyone! They are breaking one of God's base commandments! Now that we know we must tell the truth! Everyone must know!"

You get up to meet her, "But... that would cause an upheaval! What if..." you change to a whisper "What if this causes you to fall? Like Lucifer?"

Emily shook her head, "If something like this is what caused his fall... then maybe there is more behind his fall than they told us in the first place..." She looked at you, "After hearing Charlie... it's worth the risk... I need to do this. Are you with me, or not?" Emily grabbed your hands.

You froze in place. Do you defy Emily, your seraphim that you are sworn to serve and support? Or do you go against something that you know will make the elders unhappy, and risk both you and her falling? You knew this look on her face, there was not talking her out of it at this point.

You sigh, "Ok... I'm with you." She smiled and hugged you, and you hugged her back. You had not idea what was going to happen next, but you couldn't bear the thought of not supporting her. It's all you knew.

You spent the rest of the night planning with Emily on how you were going to get the word out to the people. Unfortunately for the both of you... Sera had been worried about Emily's outburst in support of Charlie and went to go check on her. Emily was not watching her volume, no matter how much you reminded her, so before knocking, she was able to hear Emily talking out some ideas out with you. With a heavy and broken heart, Sera went to go alert the rest of the Elders.

The next morning, you and Emily did not have a chance to start telling anyone before Emily was brought to stand trial before the Council of Elders. You were brought with to stand witness for the conversation you had with her. Emily fought and cried, angry tears running down her face as she pleaded for the safety and protection of the people of Hell, quoting how the Elders were breaking commandments. The Elders responded of how they were doing what they needed to do to maintain the order in Heaven, and Emily teared back about how they were only proving Charlie's point about "angel's getting to do whatever and remain in the sky" while the people of hell suffered by Heaven's hand. Sera warned Emily not to press but she didn't care, saying if this was the truth that she no longer wanted to be the Seraphim of Joy.

"If you don't stop this now, you may soon not be a seraphim at all!" one of the Elders warned.

Adam sat over on the side, grinning. He was quieter than yesterday, he was trying to play nice after his major slip up the day before when he revealed the existence of the exterminations, but he was still enjoying watching the drama. Sera looked over to you, eyes pleading with do something to stop this. You looked over at Emily. There was only one way you could see getting her out of this, it wasn't going to be pleasant, but it was all you could do.

You stood up and looked over to the council, starting to cry and shake, "I'm sorry! I'm so... so sorry, my great Elders!" You whole room was looking at your now, even Emily.

"Please... please do not blame her! It was my fault! I... I was so excited to see the Princess of Hell, know why she was here. I know I wasn't allowed at the meeting... but I still stood outside of the door and listened! I couldn't bear the news! I've gone mad! Emily came back and didn't want to talk about it... but I did! I made her! I filled her head with ideas of telling the people of Heaven the truth! The angels deserve to know! It's barbaric! All of you refused to listen to Charlie and I can't stand that!" you say grabbing your hair. "Please! Emily is innocent of everything besides being to close to me! Please spare her! Punish me instead!"

"(y/n) what are you doing?!" Emily cried.

"I'm telling them the truth, my lady! Don't try to cover this up for me. You've suffered enough!" you cried, flying down to the floor and standing in front of Emily, fanning out your wings to block her, "Punish me instead! I should fall for my madness! My lady Emily has done nothing wrong! Punish me for my sympathy for Lucifer and his daughter!"

Sera frowned, looked at the others, and shook her head, "What a shame, but not unexpected from you, unfortunately." That comment almost made you flinch, what did that mean? Sera looked to the others, who all nodded at her and looked at you with distain.

"Very well," she said, lifting a hand to prompt two other angels to remove Emily from the floor, leaving only you in the middle, all eyes on you. "(y/n), for your attempt of treason against Heaven and attempted corruption of a seraphim, you have fallen from Grace and will be cast into Hell."

You give Emily one last look as she screams, whispering a goodbye to her. A portal opens up in front of you, giving you a clear but distant view of the rings of hell. Intense fear flooded your body for the first time. You take a step back, only to be stopped by Adam who had flown over an landed behind you, a wicked grin on his face.

Behind you he whispered "See you on extermination day", before breaking off one of your wings and kicking you into the pit, the sound of your screams of pain mixed with his laughter as you began to fall.

What an absolute piece of shit.

Most of your fall was spent in searing pain from your one missing wing, the other three fluttering in the wind as hell grew closer, golden blood oozing from your new wound, your first wound ever. You cried the whole way... out of pain, out of fear, out of hope that you saved Emily from this fate, out of confusion...

As you got closer, you felt more pain sear through your body, but for a different reason. You watched as you hands stared to turn into black claws, horns sprouted from your temples, a tail lashed out behind you, eyes watering as they changed to red, some of the feathers of your wings burned red. More tears burned down your cheeks as you fell, mixing in with some feelings of... anger? You wish that Emily had not dragged you into this... but it was your job to serve her... and you did it until your falling day... Who knew what awaited you in hell. The second fallen angel in all of history...

You realized then, yes, would would be the second fallen angel, would Lucifer seek you out if he found out another angel had fallen? You wanted to avoid that at all costs. As the ground grew nearer, you knew you had two choices, use your wings to ease your fall and risk being seen, or tuck them away and have a much harder hit but hide your identity as an angel. You swallowed hard as you forced your wings to tuck away. It was something angels could do, but it was not common, as it was more comfortable to keep them out.

You were almost to the red floor of the Pride Ring. God Above, this was going to hurt... You braced yourself as you plummeted into the hard rock of the upper part of the ring, making a small intend in the ground from the length and power of your fall. Your body seared with more intense pain, bones were definitely broken, but by some grace you were still barely conscious.

After catching some amount of breath, you looked around. With as much information as you could process at the moment, it looked like you had landed on some old battle ground near the edge of the ring. At least some luck was still on your side. With one good arm and leg, you clawed and crawled your way across the red brimstone ground, leaving a trail of golden blood, before finding a pile of stones that were set in just a way that you could hide. Probably something someone had built for cover at some point.

With the last of your energy, you crawled into the hole, took off your robe, and stuffed it under your head as your felt yourself suck into unconsciousness.

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Hello! Just wanted to let everyone know that this one will have less of a back and forth between Lucifer and y/n's point of view, it will still have that, but it will be a lot more focused on y/n until they meet. Also it might take a little before they meet, but we will get there! Let me know if you want added to the taglist!

Taglist:

@sapphireravensworld @cimadreamer @froggybich @randomstranger703 @tiredlillypad @melday0105 @btsgangleader @hawke1917 @gbshdhd @pandaquick @littleladydemon @wonderlandangelsposts @hulyenl @willow404

#hazbin hotel #hazbin hotel lucifer #lucifer hazbin hotel #lucifer morningstar #lucifer x reader #fanfic #fanfic writing #lucifer x y/n #lucifer fanfiction #hazbin lucifer #lucifer #lucifer magne #lucifer hazbin #fanfiction #hazbin hotel fanfiction #slow burn #angst #punching-pentagrams

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dracobrooklyn · 3 months

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|| MDNI 18+ ||

Did anyone ask for Vox x Female!Reader headcannons? No? That's fine. As Thanos said "Fine, I'll do it myself." and I just did.

This is a Cannon x Female!Reader just a heads up. I do take some cannon stuff from the Show, but I also add my own things in their, these are just guess's since we don't know what's gonna happen in Season 2.

CW: There is NSFW stuff in this, Sugar Daddy x Sugar baby theme, pet names, P in V sex, spanking, biting, scratching, and a bit of Age-gap.

Word count: 777

Vox is very much old fashion so dating him, he very much can be a gentleman with his lover. His sweet little sugar baby. Opens the door for you, pulls out the chair for you and gently slides you back in. Kiss's your knuckles as a token of affection and greeting. Vox I like to think absolutely would sometimes sends flowers if he is inspired or saw them thinking about you.

I mean why are you dating him? Isn't he dating Valentino and Velvet? Well yes he is, but why not have more in the circle. Also yes you are probably in your middle to late 20's and he probably in his late 30's Early 40's... But he also offered a good price to be his arm candy. $5,000 Dollars. Welp time to put on that makeup, and cute heels he likes.

Vox isn't into much PDA but he will wrap an arm around you to keep by his side. Sit on his lap in a club or even when he's working onto his chair. May run his Blue neon claws through your hair just to get a good feel of them while listening to someone talk or reading something. Maybe smell the shampoo you used in your hair.

Vox will SPOIL you! And I mean it. The Man will buy you so much Jewelry. Nice new clothes, dresses, shoes, and yes sexy lingerie. Or he will get Velvets stuff for free cause yeah they work together. He likes to dress up his lil Sugar baby. The Lingerie he likes black, anything with black and some blue in there, he will lose his mind! In a good way that is. You see the red blood of the corner of his mouth seeping as he grins at you wearing that delectable outfit.

Vox will want you to call him daddy. I am not kidding he will look at you smirking as he hands you a gift you say "Thank you." to him as he wiggles his brows at you as he asks "How about thank you daddy~?". You're not sure if you like to say the nickname, it's in a way degrading to yourself... but at the same time you can't help but blush and mumbled it out making him grin showing his sharp teeth, and the blood seeping from the corner of his mouth again. Vox is a Switch, I am sure he very much bottoms when it comes to Valentino or maybe Tops the Moth man when Valentino feels like taking it up from the ass. But with you, you're the Sub, and he's the Dom. He will want you to call him daddy while he is thrusting into you. Resting your knee's onto his shoulders trying to bend you as much as he can so he can thrust deeper inside your plush wet Pussy.

Will the man electrocute you sometimes during sex? A little yes, I like to think his blue tongue does lick onto your skin and you feel a little shock. Causing goosebumps onto your skin. Even more so he will do it to your nipples as well. Vox also is a Biter, I mean with those sharp teeth, He leaves marks. The Bite marks glow neon blue but they slowly fade away over night only leaving the bite marks.

Vox's pet names towards you is "Kitten, Sugar Tits, Princess, and Sweet heart." and sometimes "Brat." if you act up because this man is a Brat tamer. He will grab you and give you a soft spank as a warning. If you continue, he will later at night give you a punishment worth deserving.

Vox loves lip play. Gently takes his blue claw thumb gently flicking your lip lovingly tracing his thumb onto them as he licks his teeth slowly. He loves looking at your lips, just thought of them kissing something to vile as he is. Or even sucking him off.

Vox cums neon blue cum... I'm not sorry and I was not the only one who thought that, don't lie.... *squints eyes* Vox uses Sex toys?.... Honey.... the man is the vibrator... XD JK but he does yes, he will get creative though as long you like it of course. I like to think he communicates with his partner, unlike Valentino the rat. And Yes use Aphrodisiac's if you're alright with that. Give you a better sex experience.

His Aftercare is meh, it could be better but he at least make sure you have something to drink after fucking you. Makes sure you didn't get hurt from his claws cause he do have those sharp claws. They hurt guys... ouch.

#Hazbin Hotel #Vox #Hazbin Hotel Vox #Hazbin Hotel x Reader

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sweet-baby-squid · 8 months

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HELLO THERE! Welcome to @churro-lord's Homebent askblog!

This, as you can probably tell, is a roleswap au. We'll start off with Feferi first and as the blog grows more characters will become available as to make sure not everyone is brought in at once.

Important info:

This au takes place in current year [2023]

The kids haven't played Sburb yet, though I'm still debating on if they'll get to playing while the blog's rolling. The trolls though are playing right now

Everyone here is a minor, minus the guardians. If you do send anything to the guardians just don't be too extreme, for my sanity and theirs

Alpha kids may come later who knows [I don't]

Have fun, be silly goofy and do not be hesitate to ask whenever you want! I am fueled by asks, even smaller ones. I don't mind it if you flood my inbox with them so long as it's not just copy pasting the question over and over again

You don't have to ask to draw anyone here!!! I would literally cry if anyone drew the fellas, just be sure to either submit the post or tag the blog so I'll be sure to see it <3

I wasn't allowed to add an exclamation mark to the url please read it like an exclamation like "holy shit!" please

One more thing: anon magic is enabled right now, have fun

#homestuck #Homebent #Feferi Egbert #feferi peixes #homestuck ask blog #ooc

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nnschneider · 7 months

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Halloween Crochet Project

Last year, I made an octopus balaclava which became my first Tumblr post.

This year, I saw a Medusa knitted hat on here and said to myself, "Make That."

So I did.

I didn't follow the instructions for the knitted project because I went with crochet instead. (I am scared to learn knitting in the round, and don't want to buy more needles.) I made a ton of crochet snakes. 🐍🐍🐍 So many snakes! 🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍 And then I attached them to a beanie. Then I realized I didn't have enough snakes and had to make even more. 🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍

The snake pattern is below. Basically, rows 1-8 are the head, rows 9-11 are the neck, and all the rest is the body. As these are attached to the hat, I didn't need to do the tail.

Magic circle. SC × 6. Slip stitch to close the loop. Tighten the ring. (6 st)

Increase: Ch ×1, (SC × 2 in a SC, SC × 1 in a SC) × 3. Slip stitch to close the loop. (9 st)

Ch ×1, SC in every SC. Slip stitch to close the loop. (9 st)

Increase: Ch ×1, (SC × 1 in a SC, SC × 2 in a SC, SC × 1 in a SC) × 3. Slip stitch to close the loop. (12 st)

Ch ×1, SC in every SC. Slip stitch to close the loop. (12 st)

Decrease: Ch ×1, [ (SC × 1 in a SC) × 3, SC 2 Together, SC × 1 in a SC] × 2. Slip stitch to close the loop. (10 st)

Decrease: Ch ×1, [ (SC × 1 in a SC) × 2, SC 2 Together, SC × 1 in a SC] × 2. Slip stitch to close the loop. (8 st)

Decrease: Ch ×1, [ (SC × 1 in a SC) × 1, SC 2 Together, SC × 1 in a SC] × 2. Slip stitch to close the loop. (6 st)

Ch ×1, SC in every SC. Slip stitch to close the loop. (6 st)

Ch ×1, SC, HDC DC, DC, HDC, SC. Slip stitch to close the loop. (6 st)

Ch ×1, SC in every SC. Slip stitch to close the loop. (6 st)

Repeat 12 & 13 until your snake is long enough.

The body as I did it has a bit of a wave to it to give it some natural movement, but go with whatever makes you happy. I also stuck pipe cleaners in them so I could try to position them later. It wasn't as effective as it initially sounded; it gave them more shape but not to the point where I could make the top layer stand up and look menacing.

The first row was 8 snakes. 🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍

The second row is 10 snakes. 🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍

The third row is also 10 snakes. 🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍 I can feel the weight pulling the hat back so that it rests higher on my forehead. I suppose this means I need to balance it a bit. I had put pipe cleaners in all snakes in the first two rows but decided to only bother with them in the front 4 by row 3 because the pipe cleaners weren't as effective as I wanted. I probably should have not bothered with pipe cleaners in the bottom rows and done more with them in the top rows.

The fourth row is 9 snakes. 🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍 And the snakes are shorter on top than the bottom rows, so they take less time and less yarn! The cap is feeling loose but the weight distribution is relatively good so it's not sliding off my head. I'll probably feel more secure if I bobby pin it in place.

Enough snakes! Something like 10 or 13 on top. I feel like a fricking Gorgon. 🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍

But am I done? No. Gotta gild that lily.

I added bead-y yellow eyes and forked yarn tongues to the snakes because it adds.

The tongue was fun and easy, just knotting the yarn until it was a good (variable) length and then changing up the last knot to make the forked tongue seem more or less forked.

Oh, and. The snake heads each have a top and bottom, but the bodies have a little wiggle and don't all lay flat and easy. My point is that it's not obvious which side is the top side for sewing on the snake eyes, especially when a blob of yarn noodles is laying in your lap. I had to put it on and then stand in front of the mirror, marking the top sides with safety pins so I would know which ends were up.

True confession: I'm running out of momentum to finish the snake eyes. I plan on wearing this to hand out candy so I don't need to gild every snake, just the ones ppl will see.

And if my kids get any costume ideas (they don't beg from door to door anymore but they do get into the spirit), I'll have bandwidth to work with them.

As a couple's costume idea, I need my husb to coat himself in gray face paint and stand as still as a statue.

#crochet #halloween #halloween costumes

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enbyleighlines · 5 months

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Leigh plays Tellius prt 2

We got Soren's first crit on this map! Btw, this stupid pirate map took me THREE tries. Once I lost Mist, and twice the houses were burnt down before I could get to them. Ugh. This was the first map that gave me any trouble.

And unfortunately, it wouldn't be the last.

The prisoner's map! I decided not to do the stealth thing, and just killed everybody. I think I took a little too long, though, so I didn't get much bonus exp from this map. But it's okay, because I now have Nephenee and Kieran, two more fruits to add to my basket. And Brom, too, of course. I love him, but I'm sorry, I will probably never use him. Armored knights and I don't get along too well.

Gosh, I absolutely love the dynamic between these two characters. I 100% believe that Kieran has a crush on Oscar, and that's why he took Oscar's discharge from the military so personally. One day, Kieran will realize why Oscar's squinty-eyed face makes his heart go all pitter-patter. Until then, I will fully enjoy getting these two to A rank.

Yeeeee, Nephenee!! I have said it before, and I will say it again. I love how there is just a series of chapters in early PoR where you get to recruit a new anime waifu each map. In any other FE game, these would be Ike's love interests. But not in this game! I just love how Ike collects this group of cute girls with fun, quirk personalities, and then remains platonic friends with all of them. And of all the "recruitable waifus", Nephenee is definitely my favorite. She's just too damn adorable.

I made a terrible error on this map, and accidentally put Mia within the boss's range. Thankfully, she survived with 1 HP, and I was not forced to redo this map. Whew!

It's Port Toha time! I love that Ranulf pays such close attention to Soren. Apparently, in the Japanese version, it's implied in this scene that Ranulf knows Soren's secret, which explains why Ranulf keeps such a close eye on him. I wonder if this is Ranulf's first time meeting someone like Soren. I really wish the game had expanded on this. I bet Ranulf and Soren would have some really interesting conversations. If they ever remake these games and add support convos to RD, I hope Soren and Ranulf have a support chain.

The fucking humor in this game is so great.

I don't even know what to say about this line, but man, does it make me feel a certain sort of way. Mackoya is not the only character who expresses this sentiment, but I do believe it is the first we see it, this idea that soldiers will become weak without "a steady diet of war". It's a key aspect of Ashnard's entire philosophy. I like how this completely contradicts with what Mist says later, about "Doesn't everybody want peace?" Because no, they clearly don't. There is no use for soldiers in a world without war, after all.

Someone much smarter than me could turn this into an entire thesis paper.

I respect Zihark 100%, but man, his introduction is wild. Entirely unprompted, he's just like "how many men do you want me to murder? Give me a number and I'll start hacking!" It's a shame I never use him, because I love him as a character. I do wish we got to learn more about his past, or had his past tie into the plot.

I always snort out loud at this line, because like, what steps are you taking, Nasir? There are two defining features of dragon laguz, which are the forehead markings and the pointed ears. You have decided to conceal neither of these things. You could easily hide your ears in your hair. Your hair is long enough. And what is the point of those things around your forehead? Could you not put some dangling gem or something to cover up your forehead marking?

I will accept that most beorc probably don't know what dragon laguz look like, but still. Nasir has taken exactly 0 steps in concealing his identity.

This might be my single favorite line from Ike. Gosh, he's so funny, I love him.

And that's it for part 2! Next time, we fight some pirates!

#leigh plays tellius #path of radiance #fire emblem path of radiance #tellius #fe9

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starshine-wagner · 11 months

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Midnight Dip

Pairing: Danny Wagner x F!Reader

Summary: You can't sleep on a hot summer night, so Danny comes up with an adventurous alternative.

Word Count: 1,600

Warnings: swearing, non-sexual nudity

A/N: This is a re-upload to move it from my old blog to my current blog.

The sheets were too sweaty on that humid summer night. Your childhood home lacked air conditioning, so you and Danny were damned to a week of staying as far away from each other as possible in bed.

Clearly, the big fan on your ceiling did very little to aid the cause. Your boyfriend's big body tended to take up a majority of the space, so it was no help that you couldn't cling onto him like usual. Thus, you were resigned to the edge of your mattress in the sweltering heat.

You tossed and turned for what seemed like hours, though in reality it was probably just under one. Unsticking your legs from the sheet, you headed over to the bathroom to splash water on your face and try to reset for a better night's rest.

Not wanting to wake Danny, you waited until the door was shut before turning on the light. Once on, it lit the room in a yellow-ish hue and started the humming of the shower fan.

You opened the squeaky closet door to find a rag made from one of your old beach towels. You were pretty sure it used to be Hello Kitty. Now, it just looked like a mess of colors and old makeup stains despite being fresh out of the laundry.

You wet the rag, squeezed out the excess water, and put it up to your face. Sweet, momentary relief.

You contemplated just bringing the wet rag into bed to rest on your forehead, but you hated the idea of waking up with a damp spot beside your head. So, you dabbed yourself in a last bit of coolness and tossed it into the hamper. You went to open the door and head back to bed, but before your hand even reached the knob, it was opening.

"Hey baby. You okay?" Danny's sleepy voice asked as he leaned against the door frame, arms crossed. Normally you'd want to jump his bones when his muscles looked that good. But right now, in the heat, you had negative interest in getting even sweatier.

"Yeah, I just couldn't sleep. It's too fucking hot," you complained.

"I know. Next time we're coming back with a window AC. I'll install it myself."

"Please..." you replied, placing your hands on his cheeks. He smiled softly into them, his dreary eyes blinking ever so slowly.

The two of you shuffled back to the bed and attempted to get comfortable once more. He grabbed your hand and kissed the back of your palm before placing it back by your side. After a minute or so, Danny spoke up.

"Idea."

"Mhm?"

"You're nowhere near falling asleep, right?" he asked, rolling on his side to face you.

"Hell no."

"Perfect. Go put on some pants and meet me by the front door."

Confused, you questioned him. "Danny, it's like, after midnight. Where're you trying to take me? Everything is closed..."

"Don't you trust me?" he asked with a mischievous pout.

A few minutes later, Danny was revving up his car in the driveway. You hopped into the passenger seat and reached to turn on the air while Danny put a location into Apple Maps. The genius he is, he angled the phone so you couldn't see where you were going. It wasn't until the two of you turned down Great Neck Road that you realized where he was taking you.

"Wait, are we going to the beach?" you asked.

"Maaaaybe..." he said, squeezing your thigh with his free hand.

You'd told Danny countless stories of nights spent at the beach when you were in high school. When everything closed at 9pm, the shore was always open and practically begging for stupid teenagers to do reckless shit.

You'd told him of the time that Mark set off a firework on accident and the police got called. You'd told him of the (several) occasions on which you'd fallen asleep with your best friend on the beach only to wake up with the sunrise and a hoodie full of sand.

"I figured we might as well add a little memory to the late-night-beach collection." The side of his mouth turned up a little bit into the tiniest smile. "But if you'd rather, we can ju-"

"No!" you cut him off, "This is a great idea. I'm honestly honored that you remembered..."

"Of course I remembered," he reassured you, rubbing his thumb on your bare skin. "Call me crazy, but I think we should go in." Despite admitting to the craziness of the idea, he sounded completely serious.

"Like... in the ocean? Now? In our clothes?"

"I mean, we don't have to wear our clothes..." he said, wiggling his eyebrows. You smacked his shoulder at the heinous suggestion of skinny dipping in the ocean.

No way in hell were you letting seaweed get up your asscrack.

"Okay, I mean we can wear our underwear if you want, but I feel like we'd want dry clothes to ride back in, no?" he suggested.

"Damn. You're right. What if someone else is here? I don't want to be caught half nude by an innocent bystander who probably knows my Dad..."

The two of you inspected the parking lot and scanned the shore as best as you could. Luckily, the moon was near full and the light reflected off of the sea just enough to make out any other visitors.

"Y/N, we're the only ones here. Everyone else has air conditioning and is happily asleep. Probably cold, even."

You knew he was right. Damn those people.

So, that's how Danny convinced you to strip down to your underwear. You ran (as best as you could in the shifting sand) hand-in-hand towards the water's edge, which was just about at high-tide.

You weren't sure why, in all your years of living by the beach, you never dared to enter the ocean in the dark of night. It seemed so much more intimidating, more ominous... more sacred, even.

"Okay, on the count of three," he encouraged. "One, two, THREE!" On three, he practically dragged you into the waves with him. You yelped just a little, but were silenced when a wave covered your head and cut you off.

"FUCK it's cold!" he whined. All you could do was chuckle as you pulled him closer, this time using your body heat for good. You wrapped one arm around his back while your other hand toyed with his necklace. It was obsidian, you thought. With a black cord tying it around his neck.

"I want one of these," you told him, eyeing the jewelry.

"You can have it, if you want it, baby." Always the giver.

"No, I want my own. That way we can match." You peeked up at him in the moonlight through your wet eyelashes.

His curly hair was mostly held together in the quick bun he'd put it in, but a few strands clung to his forehead. You reached to move one behind his ear as he stroked your cheek with the back of his hand.

"You know you're so beautiful, right?" he murmured. You blushed. "Are you sure you're not a siren?" He knew how embarrassed you got whenever he complimented you, and you hid your face in his chest. "I'm serious, Y/N." You placed a small kiss on his chest as a form of acknowledgement and thanks.

Running your hands down his muscly arms, you mentally thanked him for suggesting you leave your clothes in the car. Even this short time in the water was making you a bit chilly coupled with the slight breeze off the waves.

"Shall we get dried off then?" he suggested. You nodded, but not before pulling his face into yours. You kissed him slowly, sacredly. You kissed him like he'd be gone with the sunrise. You deepened the kiss as he ushered for you to wrap your legs around him. Your lips made their way from his mouth to his jaw and, eventually, his collarbones.

"What was that for?" he asked, once he caught his breath.

"Just because. You love me so well."

"Hm. You're right. I do love you." Danny scared you a bit when he suddenly swept you off of your feet and into his arms, bridal style. It was a bit tricky wading up to the shore with the waves coming against his back and you in his hands, but he somehow made it. You dodged the dried seaweed in your path and padded back to the car.

Once you were both clothed again and settled under the interior car light, you looked him in the eyes.

"Thank you, Danny." You could tell he was about to argue and say it was no big deal, but he caught the sincere gratitude in your eyes.

"You're welcome," he reassured with a kiss to your forehead. The two of you held hands on the center console the whole way back home and snuck back inside like two 15-year-olds trying to avoid waking up anyone else in the house.

With little giggles and sush-es, you made your way back to the bathroom to squeeze the water out of your hair and get the sand out from between your toes.

Finally back in your bed, the heat wasn't so damning anymore. You weren't sticky from sweat, but rather from the salt water that lingered on your skin. The dampness of your hair kept you cool as you lulled off into a deep sleep beside Danny.

His hand found its way to your chest and stayed there until morning.

#danny wagner #Daniel wagner #Danny gvf #Danny fic #Danny wagner fic #fanfic #fanfiction #fic #gvf #greta van fleet #fluff #blurb #imagine #Danny wagner fanfiction

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camellia-salazar · 8 months

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Ed Edd n Eddy as Ponies.

Just note that I am fully aware that there are other pony versions of EEnE, and just to let you know that I drew this before I found those. I love their interpretation of our beloved Peach Creek kids as ponies and I want you to check them out over on Deviantart. The first one I saw and the second one.

The first drawing of the three Eds. After drawing this and a few of the other stuff I couldn't stop noticing mistakes so I go back to fix them or add something to the design. Now I'm happy with the results (at least to this one).

More of the three Ed Boys. I thought drawing them more would help me match it up to both MLP and EEnE. Like wacky movements but with MLP. You get the idea. (What sucks about this one is how I failed to fix Edd's hat in one doodle. Oh well, they didn't add his white lines on his hat in the Jawbreakers game anyways.)

The other Cul De Sac kids as well as the Kanker Sisters. This was redone several times because they didn't match up to their canon counterparts well enough. Mostly Jimmy, Sarah, and Plank got changes.

Eddy and his Big Bro. You can't forget him. I thought since Eddy would have small wings his big bro should take a lot of the wing genes. Idk if that counts as irony or not. Probably.

Pony redraw of the last part of the intro. Getting a good freezing frame was hard so I did what I could.

More about these pony versions as well as transparent art down below. But otherwise thanks for checking out my art. I drew more EEnE pony art so look out for those. ✨✨👋

To those of you who wanted to learn more, here it is.

Ed: pretty much the same. He doesn't have the ability to fly or do magic but he does have a lot more strength then your average earth pony. His cutie mark is buttered toast dipped in gravy and a jawbreaker (don't worry I actually add the butter to the toast later on). The jawbreaker is to match up with the other Eds.

Edd: He is the most powerful unicorn in the entire Cul De Sac (besides his parents to some extent) because he was studying to get into Celestia's School.

But of course he doesn't know every spell just yet. But he can levitate (not only objects but himself and others), Teleport (which he learns accidentally), and maybe invisibility (again on accident). He learns about spells but he doesn't use them until later on throughout the show, if there's my pony version of it however. Idk what I mean by that.

His cutie mark is a magnifying glass with a jawbreaker. Again, the jawbreaker to match up with the other Eds.

Eddy: we all know about his short stature in the show, but in this version he has little wings as well. He can barely get off the ground and not for long. Whenever he gets angry or agitated he hovers for a bit before landing on his hoofs. Whenever he tries to fly he falls on his stomach.

Another reason he looked up to his big bro was because he thought that one day he would probably teach him to fly, since he could be such an expert with his massive wings.

His cutie mark is a quarter with a jawbreaker. We all know his love of money so it's a no brainier. And yes the jawbreaker matches the other Eds as well.

---

I wanted to match up the three Eds like the CMC in MLP. So that's what I did. I'm sure I'll probably change some designs later on as I draw more of these pony versions, like Edd should probably be more orange than red orange or Jonny's hairline (maybe idk) but for now we have this.

I'll explain more about the Eds in another post, as well as the other kids in the next one. I might do three at a time tho. Next might be Kevin, Nazz, and Rolf.

Thank you for reading all the extra stuff. I hope y'all have a good one. 👍✨✨

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sebstanaddict · 2 months

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Too Good To Be True

Sebastian Stan x Reader Story

Summary: A romantic comedy story where Sebastian Stan falls in love with reader but she is not who he thinks she is.

Luck was finally on reader's side as Aurora was taken away to jail for a whole month. She was free to be who she really was. Great expectations were in her heart as she and Sebastian were going to spend the weekend together practicing their scenes. But what she expected to happen didn't happen and she was left to wonder what she did wrong as Sebastian's behavior towards her changed completely.

Pairings : Sebastian Stan x Female!Reader

Chapters : 14/28 (Might add more)

Chapter list >

Warning : slight cursing, some spoiler from Sebastian's potential next project Pumping Black (I changed the character names and some of the plot details though). I also took a scene from the actual script and incorporated it here. Just a head's up.

Word count : 9k words

---

Chapter 14 - Great Expectations

13320 Mulholland Drive, Los Angeles, California - Wednesday, July 12th 2023 - 3.00 pm

—

“No! I don't want to go to jail! I'm innocent!” Aurora shouted as she started to run away from them.

“We're really sorry Miss Watson, but it's the best we could do. Better than three months like what the judge originally wanted.” The lawyer continued to say.

“Yeah, thank you. I.. I know you did your best.” She smiled at the lawyer.

“No! Get away from me! Don't touch me!” Aurora continued to shout as she ran all over the backyard with the two policemen hot on her heels.

Her jaw dropped as she watched the scene unfold before her eyes. Aurora insisted on not being caught but of course she was no match to two big bodied policemen. They succeeded in cornering her near the pool but Aurora decided to jump into the pool, startling everyone.

“Your assistant is.. interesting.” One of the lawyers remarked as they watched Aurora swimming in the middle of the pool and refusing to be arrested.

“Yeah, she's one of a kind.” She said, laughing internally.

Several minutes later the policemen finally succeeded in catching Aurora as they both decided to jump into the pool as well.

The three of them walked past her, dripping wet and Aurora looked at her in derange.

“This is all your fault! You are going to pay for this! I swear to God, once I get out you will pay for this!” Aurora spat right in front of her face, leaving wet marks on her cheeks.

She wiped Aurora's spit away from her cheeks and continued to look at her as the policemen handcuffed her and dragged her away.

“Miss Watson! Are you okay?” Rosa asked in surprise.

“I'm fine, Rosa. It's just spit and she had the right to do that to me.” She replied, smiling wanly at Rosa.

“No one deserves to be treated like this! I can't believe how different she is from the first time we met her! I mean.. breaking and entering? Cursing and spitting at you?!” Rosa asked, dumbfounded.

“Yeah.. I know.. It's like she's a different person isn't she?” She said and Rosa nodded.

“Well, Miss Watson, now that we've done our job, will you excuse us.” One of the lawyers said.

“Of course, thank you so much.” She said and they finally left after she shook both their hands.

“Are you going to tell Mr.Stan about this?” Rosa asked.

“No, I don't think I will. It will just make him feel bad. I'll just tell him she needs to go out of town or something to visit her family.” She replied.

There was no way she was going to tell Sebastian what happened. If he knew, she was afraid of losing the chance of becoming his assistant again once she and Aurora switched back to their own bodies.

“Yes, that's probably for the best. By the way, do you need anyone to replace her and Gabriella? I can probably find someone who needs a job.” Rosa offered.

“Umm.. I think I can manage without her for now. As for Gabriella, I'll help clean up whenever I can. So you don't need to do her tasks.” She replied.

Rosa's eyebrows shot up at that.

“Are you sure, Miss Watson?” Rosa asked, her face full of doubt.

“Of course I'm sure, Rosa. I can do some cleaning too. I mean, it's a great alternative to regular exercise, right? And you kill two birds with one stone by doing some cleaning.” She winked and Rosa smiled.

“Well, never in 15 years of being your maid have I ever heard you say something like this.” Rosa chuckled.

“Well, people change. I can change too.” She smiled, hoping Rosa wouldn't realize who she really was inside. With Aurora gone she felt like she didn't need to keep up with her behavior. She decided to just behave like herself. Besides, acting like herself made Sebastian seem to like her. So why shouldn't she start behaving like herself with other people too.

“Well, in that case, I'm happy to see the change in you Miss Watson.” Rosa smiled and she smiled back.

“Thank you so much, Rosa. Appreciate it.” She said, patting Rosa's shoulder.

“Anyway, what would you like for dinner Miss Watson?” Rosa asked.

“Hmm.. why don't we just order some pizza. You don't have to cook.” She winked and Rosa's eyes widened.

“Miss Watson! Pizza? Are you sure?”

“Rosa, I told you I've changed. Life is short, why not enjoy something like pizza once in a while. It's not like I eat it everyday.” She protested, remembering the time when she really did eat pizza daily for a week when she was still in Silicon Valley.

“Well, as you wish Miss Watson. Would you like me to order it for you?” Rosa asked.

“No, it's okay, I can do it myself.” She said.

“Very well, Miss Watson. Well, if you'll excuse me. I have some ironing to finish.” Rosa excused herself.

“Thank you so much, Rosa.” She smiled and Rosa finally left after returning her smile.

Once Rosa was out of sight a grin spread on her face. She couldn't believe her luck! Yes! She could finally say it now! Luck! Luck was finally on her side!

Then it hit her. This was God's answer to her prayer last night.

She looked up and smiled “Thank you God. I know now that You listen. I'm so grateful for this and I will not let You down.” She made a silent prayer in her heart then she walked back towards the house with a spring in her steps. Her heart felt light and for once she felt so carefree. No Aurora for a month!

A month! A lot can happen in a month! She couldn't believe all the things and the possibilities she could do as Aurora in a month.

Well, the first thing she should do, she finally decided, was to shop for new clothes. She had checked Aurora's closet and most consisted of dresses and mini skirts. She wasn't comfortable wearing them. She was much more comfortable wearing jeans and pants rather than dresses and skirts.

So after she took a quick shower and changed out of her exercise outfit, she asked Nelson to take her out shopping to Rodeo Drive.

It was her third time going to Rodeo Drive and the difference in experience going there compared to the first two times she went there as herself was immense.

This time around the store attendants immediately paid attention to her and were very kind and helpful. Some even asked to take a selfie with her, which she couldn't say no to of course.

“Oh, thank you so much, Aurora. This means a lot. I'm glad I asked because the last time you were here you didn't want to take pictures.” One of the store attendants commented.

Yes, she remembered it now. When she was there accompanying Aurora, Aurora rejected all requests from people to take pictures. She even scolded a fan and left the fan in tears.

Well, she wasn't going to be that Aurora anymore. She was going to be herself and there was no harm in agreeing to take pictures with some people.

It didn't take long for her to shop for some jeans and pants so afterwards she decided to drop by Felix Trattoria restaurant again and order some pizza to take away. The pizzas were to die for and she wanted to have some again and share them with Nelson and Rosa.

It was with great surprise that Nelson and Rosa accepted her request to eat the pizzas together that night while watching some movies together.

“Miss Watson, I'm really sorry to say this, and I'm saying this not to offend you in any way. But.. what happened?” Nelson had asked when they were all sitting on the sofa in front of a huge TV in the living room. A classic movie, one of Rosa's choice, was playing on the TV and 3 boxes of pizzas were opened on the coffee table.

“What do you mean, Nelson?” She asked, pretending not to understand what he was talking about.

“This.” Nelson said, gesturing his hand between all of them and waved his hand towards the pizzas and the TV.

“Nothing, I just want to share this amazing pizza I had the pleasure of having the other day and what could be better than enjoying it while watching some movies.” She replied, smiling at all of them.

“Well, in the five years that I have been working for you, this never happened. This definitely is one for the history books.” Nelson chuckled.

“I'm sorry if I was a pain to be working for these past years, Nelson. And you too, Rosa. I've changed. And I'm going to try to be a better person now.” She said and both Nelson and Rosa's eyes widened.

“Well, I'm really glad to hear that, Miss Watson. You know I've watched you grow since you were a teen and became this beautiful young woman. But there was always something missing. I think you finally found it now.” Rosa commented.

“Yeah, maybe I have.” She smiled. If Rosa meant Aurora was missing a heart, well, she was absolutely right, she laughed internally.

“Anyway, I don't feel comfortable that you guys are calling me Miss Watson again. Just call me Aurora, okay?” She said and once again Rosa's and Nelson's eyes widened.

“Oh, of course, Aurora.” Nelson nodded.

“Yes, Miss.. I mean.. Aurora.” Rosa nodded.

Well, she knew once she decided to change her behavior that Rosa and Nelson were going to be suspicious, but she didn't care. She wasn't going to change her personality just because she was in Aurora's body. And with Aurora gone, even if for just a month, she was free to be who she really was and she knew she was also somewhat helping Aurora.

—

The next two days were exhausting but interesting for her. On Thursday she did a photoshoot for Givenchy. The photoshoot was done both on location and indoors. There was a new fall collection that she had to model. So she had to wear a lot of sweaters and jackets. Being in LA during the summer it didn't take long for her to start sweating but she tried to be professional and hid all the feelings of being uncomfortable away.

It took her much faster this time to finally master posing for the photoshoot. She did the same as she had done during the photoshoot for AquaChic and pretended she was an actress that had a role as a model. That mindset worked wonders for her and the photoshoot director was really happy with her work.

“Aurora, that was brilliant! I remember having worked with you in the past and you were good but this time you were absolutely brilliant!” Dave the photoshoot director gushed as she was leaving the set.

“Oh, thank you so much, Dave. I really appreciate it!” She smiled widely.

Not only was she told that she was a good actress but she was also told to be a good model! She had never imagined ever experiencing something like this ever!

On Friday she did a shooting for a dog food commercial with Paris. She was kind of scared that Paris wouldn't want to work with her. But much to her relief, the dog was quite tame and was able to work well with her and the day went quite well for her too. She never knew she had the talent to be both an actress and a model.

It wasn't until Saturday morning that she felt her happiness start to taper away. She had high hopes of meeting Sebastian that day to practice their scenes together. She had chosen the best outfit she could think of and styled her hair and makeup the way she liked. She even had ordered some food for lunch that day because she had asked Rosa to take the weekend off. She also asked Nelson to take the weekend off. So she was essentially alone in the big castle, hoping that she could have some quality time alone with Sebastian.

She sat on the sofa in the living room that morning at 10, Aurora's cellphone in hand, contemplating whether to call or text Sebastian. He had not contacted her at all ever since he dropped her off at the castle after the table read, and she was too busy to contact him too. She assumed he would just show up like he always did. But it was already 10 in the morning and she wondered if Sebastian forgot about his promise of coming over.

She was just about to text him when Aurora's cellphone rang, startling her. Sebastian's name was on the screen and she immediately picked it up.

“Hello.” She greeted him.

“Uh.. hey, Aurora.” Sebastian's voice traveled through the speaker, his gentle voice made her heart flutter.

God, she really needed to control her reactions towards him.

“Hey, Sebastian.” She replied, smiling from ear to ear.

“How are you?” He asked.

“I'm good, thanks. How are you?”

“I'm good too, thanks. Umm..listen, I'm really sorry for letting you know too late but I'm afraid I won't be able to come to your place and practice our scenes together this weekend.” He said quickly and her heart dropped to her stomach.

“Oh.. okay. Yeah, that's.. fine. What's going on?” She asked, trying to mask her disappointment.

“I.. uh.. something unexpected came up and I need to focus on it for now. So, I'm really sorry, Aurora.” He replied.

“Oh, right. Okay. What about tomorrow?” She asked, still trying to have hope in her heart that he would be able to come the next day.

“I'm really sorry but the thing that came up.. it needs my attention this whole weekend including tomorrow. So.. I'm really sorry but I can't come either tomorrow.” He explained and she couldn't help but felt her heart dropped even more.

“Oh, okay. That's fine. I hope everything is okay?” She asked, hoping whatever it was that he had to focus on wasn't something bad.

“Oh yeah. Everything is fine. Nothing to worry about, really.” He replied.

“Okay.. that's good to know.”

“Yeah. Well, I gotta go. Take care, Aurora.”

“Thanks Sebastian. I'lll see you at the shoot then?”

“Yeah. I'll see you at the shoot. Bye.”

“Okay, bye.”

He hung up first, leaving her hanging, causing her to finally feel the disappointment in her heart.

She sighed as she looked at Aurora's cellphone screen. All the preparation she did that day was apparently for nothing.

She didn't want to think badly about him but he sounded kind of weird, like he wasn't telling her the whole truth. But she decided to brush it off. Maybe he did have something urgent that came up. Yes, she was disappointed that he couldn't come, but she was going to meet him at the shoot of Pumping Black for three whole months anyway, well, at least for a month, assuming she would switch to her own body after Aurora finished her jail sentence. So she shouldn't be too disappointed about it.

Having the castle all to herself she decided to enjoy it and also practice for the shoot herself. There were still many lines she needed to memorize and she needed to determine how she was going to perform them.

Being an introverted girl at heart she enjoyed being alone. She spent most of her time learning her lines but when she got bored she explored the whole castle.

Aurora's castle was truly a beautiful castle. It had everything anyone could ever need. She felt it was such a waste of space having a huge place just for one person. She knew if she was Aurora she would just move to a smaller place, like Sebastian's penthouse for example, which was still big compared to the apartments she had stayed at over the years, but she thought it was enough for someone with a status like Aurora.

Of course she knew that moving to a different house was something she couldn't decide for Aurora. But if she really was going to be stuck in Aurora's body forever, she would definitely move out of the castle.

Speaking of switching bodies, she had opened Aurora's cellphone earlier and read the messages Aurora and the private investigator she had hired had exchanged over several days. The investigator had texted Aurora saying they had found a lead of where the Gypsy woman might be and told her that they needed more money to pursue the lead because it was leading them overseas. They asked for five thousand dollars! She knew she needed to ask Aurora whether she would agree to it or not. But knowing how Aurora would definitely agree to pay the investigators more, she decided to just ignore it for now. She didn't want them to find the Gypsy woman so soon so she decided not to reply to the investigators question just yet. She would just prolong it as long as she could.

It was 7 at night during dinner when she finally felt the subtle feeling of being lonely. It wasn't the first time she was eating dinner alone. She had spent many nights alone back in Silicon Valley, but at least she had Lara back then as her neighbour. Now, Aurora's neighbours were far away. Her castle stood on top of a hill and had tall fences surrounding it. There were no humans around in her immediate vicinity.

Her eyes started to burn as tears started to form in her eyes. She never knew being a famous model and actress could feel so lonely. She wondered if Aurora ever felt that herself.

She realized being Aurora was not as much as fun as she once thought and she started to miss her own life.

She sighed and blinked furiously to stop herself from crying and decided to have a chat with Lara, her ex roommates and her parents. It had been a while since she last chatted with them.

Unfortunately none of them replied to her text, it seemed like they were all busy. She couldn't call them because she was sure she would sound different in their ears. So she had to fight the urge of calling them and just wait until they texted her back.

Having nothing else to do after dinner she decided to go back to learning her lines that night and hoping her friends or her parents would text her back soon. She couldn't deny that she missed them too.

Her friends and parents finally texted her back several hours later when she was getting ready to sleep. She spent a short time chatting with them and was glad all of them were doing okay. However, she still couldn't shake the loneliness in her heart. She ended up going to sleep imagining Sebastian again, lying down beside her and just being there for her. She wondered if that would ever happen. She wondered if a real relationship could happen between them. With that thought in mind she finally fell asleep with Sebastian's gorgeous face etched behind her eyes.

—

The next Sunday turned out more or less similar to the day before. Since she had allowed Rosa and Nelson to take the weekend off she was alone again in the castle.

In order not to feel so lonely that day she decided to turn the TV on out loud and just leave it on for the whole day even if she wasn't watching it. She also tried to focus back on learning her lines. The next day was the first day of shooting and she didn't want to mess it up.

Despite the loneliness she felt, she survived that day and was able to memorize almost all of her lines from the movie, making her feel more confident in doing the shoot.

It was finally the first day of shooting and she woke up feeling excited yet nervous. Rosa and Nelson both came to work and she felt much less lonely with them around.

It was 8 in the morning when she arrived at Universal Studio Lot for the shoot. She was scheduled to have her first shoot with Sebastian and Jennifer Aniston that day.

Heart pounding hard, she walked out of her car and was immediately welcomed by one of the crew members from the movie. She was quickly taken to her trailer and soon had her hair and make up done.

The scene they were going to shoot that day was in a wedding reception of one of Celeste's cousins so she was wearing a beautiful peach dress, something one of Celeste's cousin's bridesmaids was supposed to wear. Her hair was styled in soft waves and pulled back in a half up half down style, a floral hairpiece placed at the back completed the look. She smiled at the mirror as the make up artist and hair stylist were done and felt she looked the most beautiful she ever had in Aurora's body.

“You look absolutely beautiful.” The make up artist, Lisa said.

“Thank you, you did a wonderful job.” She smiled at Lisa.

“Thank you, Aurora. I didn't have to do much. You already look beautiful naturally.” Lisa commented, making her blush.

“Thank you again, Lisa.” She smiled.

“You’re welcome. You know, those that have worked with you in the past told me you would be a pain to work with. But, I find you to be nice and pleasant to work with.” Lisa commented.

“Yeah, I heard about that too.” The hairstylist, Shannon commented.

Her heart seemed to stop as she heard their comments.

“Well, rumors aren't always true huh.” She said quickly.

“Yeah, that's true.” Lisa nodded.

She was saved from commenting on the subject further when a crew from the movie came to fetch her.

It was 11 when she walked out of her trailer and was quickly ushered towards the studio where the set of the wedding reception was located.

As she walked towards the set she looked around hoping to find Sebastian or Jennifer but they were nowhere in sight. She was surprised that when she got on set, she was the first actor there. Well there were plenty of extras of course, and Maya as well as Hannah were there too. But Sebastian and Jennifer were still nowhere to be seen.

“Hi Maya.” She stopped next to Maya and smiled.

“Oh hey Aurora. Excited for today?” Maya turned to her.

“Yeah, excited and nervous.” She replied.

“Oh don't be. I'm sure you're going to be great.” Maya smiled and patted her arm.

“Thank you Maya.” She smiled.

“Hello everyone.” Jennifer Aniston appeared on set with Sebastian walking next to her.

She looked up and smiled at both of them. Jennifer smiled widely at her while Sebastian looked at her like a deer who just got hit by a headlight. His jaw dropped a little and he seemed to be mesmerized as he continued to stare at her, making butterflies fly around in her stomach. But then he quickly looked away and continued to walk towards her, making her wonder again why he did that.

“Aurora darling, how are you?” Jennifer stopped in front of her and gave her a brief hug.

“I'm good Jennifer, thank you. How are you?” She asked.

“Good too. Excited for today.” Jennifer smiled.

“Hey Maya.” Jennifer then continued to walk past her and greeted Maya, leaving her and Sebastian standing face to face. Her heart pounded hard in her chest as she looked up at him.

“Hi.” Sebastian looked down at her and smiled a little.

“Hi.” She smiled back. Sebastian looked gorgeous wearing a blue suit. The suit highlighted his ocean blue eyes even more. Staring at them made her heart flutter.

“You look.. good.” Sebastian said, looking at her from top to toe and she couldn't help but blush.

“Thanks. You look good yourself.” She smiled.

“Yeah. Thank you.” He smiled back but she couldn't help but notice how quickly he averted his eyes from her.

“So, ready for the dance?” He asked and her heart skipped a beat.

Yes, there was a dance scene they were going to shoot that day. It was nothing elaborate, just them dancing slowly to the music while talking, which was why they didn't prepare much about it. But it still made her nervous.

“I hope so.” She chuckled.

“Yeah, I hope so too.” He replied.

“Maya!” He called out suddenly, startling her.

“Sorry. I need to talk to her.” Sebastian said and she nodded.

Sebastian turned away from her and walked towards Maya who had walked away from them and was talking to one of the camera men.

Once again she felt Sebastian was kind of different towards her and she wondered why that was.

She decided to try and forget about it for now and focus on the shoot she was going to do that day. She was a professional actress and her feelings about Sebastian's behavior was not her priority.

The first scene they were going to do was a scene during the wedding reception where Mike, Celeste and Celeste's mother were going to talk.

She took a deep breath as she waited for everyone else to be ready and she repeated her lines in her head.

Half an hour later they were finally ready. She sat between Sebastian and Jennifer at one of the circular dining tables on the set. Extras were all ready around them, sitting on tables next to them. The actors playing Celeste's cousin and her husband were seen sitting at a special table in one corner of the room.

Her heart pounded hard in her chest as she noticed all the cameras facing towards them. It was one thing to practice the scenes at home or at the table read, the vibe was completely different during shooting and her hands started to sweat as the realization dawned on her.

She closed her eyes for a moment, made a silent prayer in her heart that she would not mess things up, then imagined herself as Celeste, being in her cousin's wedding, having a chat with her mother and boyfriend.

She opened her eyes just as she heard the sound of a person calling out “Scene 20, take 1, mark!”

A clapperboard was clapped then she heard Maya shout “Action!”

She picked up a fork and knife and started to eat the dish in front of her which was chicken gallantine with potatoes while she waited for Jennifer to start her line.

“So, Mike. How's the preparation for the Tour de France going?” Jennifer as Mary Nichols, Celeste’s mother said, looking towards Sebastian.

Sebastian, who was also eating, swallowed and cleared his throat. “It’s doing well.”

“Oh, that's good. I hope nothing like what happened last year will happen again, huh?” Jennifer snickered, referring to an accident Mike got himself into during last year's Tour de France.

“Mom!” She exclaimed in annoyance.

“What?” Jennifer turned to her, her eyebrows raised.

“Could you not mention that again, please?” She replied, exasperated.

“I was just expressing my hope that Mike will not get into the same situation again this year. I didn't mean to offend you, Mike, I'm sure you understand that, right Mike?” Jennifer turned to Sebastian with her eyebrows furrowed.

“Yeah, I know you mean well Mrs.Nichols.” Sebastian nodded, then he placed his fork down and took a gulp of water.

“Will you excuse me for a minute? I need to go to the restroom.” Sebastian put the glass back on the table then pushed his chair back and stood up.

“Okay.” She looked up at Sebastian with concern all over her face. Sebastian gave her a small smile. She smiled back then watched as Sebastian left the table.

“I wish you didn't mention the accident, mom.” She protested as soon as Sebastian left them.

“Celeste, I mean no harm, you know that.” Jennifer defended herself.

“Yeah, it's just.. it took him a long time to get over the incident. Both, physically and mentally.” She commented.

“I understand, Celeste. I'm sorry if what I said caused you and him to feel uncomfortable.”

She sighed. “It's okay, mom.”

“So.. all of your cousins have been officially married now. When are you going to take the same step?” Jennifer asked.

“Oh mom.. why do you have to ask me that?” She whined.

“Celeste, you're almost 30, I had you when I was 25 having been married since I was 23. I'm just concerned, honey.” Jennifer said, reaching out and patted her hand.

“I know. It's just.. getting married is not exactly on our minds right now. Mike is focusing on the Tour de France this year and you know I have my own career to think about.” She explained.

“Well, you can't prioritize both your careers all the time. Before you know it, time has flown by and you will regret not having started a family sooner.” Jennifer advised.

“I know. I'll try and talk to him about it.” She sighed.

“Yes, you should. Celeste, listen. If he isn't willing to do the next step with you, maybe he's just not the one.” Jennifer said and looked at her pointedly.

“Oh mom. I love him. Okay? And I will wait. I'm not going to push him into doing something he doesn't want to do.” She stated, her eyebrows knitted together.

“But it's for your own good, Celeste. If he isn't willing to commit, I say you better dump his ass and find someone else who will. If he really loves you, he wouldn't hesitate to commit. I'm just saying. I love you so much, my baby girl. And I just want what's best for you.” Jennifer said as she reached out and placed her hand on her cheek.

She sighed as her eyebrows straightened and stared at Jennifer.

“Thank you, mom. I love you too. And you don't need to worry. I know Mike loves me. He just.. he still has this ambition, you know, of winning the Tour de France before he can focus on something else.” She said.

“Tour de France is just a race. He has been doing that for years hasn't he? He shouldn't prioritize a race over you. I'm just saying.” Jennifer dropped her hand from her cheek and stared back at her, her eyebrows furrowed.

“Yeah. Thank you mom for the enlightening conversation.” She said coldly then she pushed her chair back and stood up.

“Where are you going?” Jennifer asked.

“The restroom.” She replied then she started to walk away.

“Cut!” Maya shouted and she stopped in her tracks.

Maya sauntered over to her with Sebastian following behind her and they stopped in front of her.

“Okay, that was good, Aurora. But could we do that again? You need to show more how annoyed you are at Mary towards the end.” Maya requested.

“Oh, yeah, of course.” She nodded.

Maya left them and went towards Jennifer, leaving her alone with Sebastian.

“That was good, Aurora. You did a good job.” Sebastian smiled at her and she couldn't help but blush.

“Oh, thank you Sebastian.” She looked up at him and for a split second could see the admiration in his eyes when he looked at her. But once again he quickly averted his eyes and started to walk back towards the table.

She sighed and wondered what was going on with him. She turned around and followed him and tried hard to brush the feeling away.

It took them four more takes before Maya was finally satisfied. She breathed a sigh of relief after Maya told them that.

The next scene that was scheduled to be shot was of her and Sebastian dancing and talking. The makeup artist and hairstylist touched up her makeup and hair as she sat on a chair by the side of the set.

She looked across and watched Sebastian talking with Maya and he laughed. Her heart swelled as she looked at him laughing and she couldn't help but smile. But then he glanced at her and abruptly stopped laughing. He said something to Maya and turned away, walking to the other side of the set.

If her eyes weren't playing tricks on her, it seemed he purposely avoided her. Again she couldn't help but wonder what happened. She contemplated whether or not to ask him about it. It made her sad to think that he could be purposely avoiding her. She wondered if she did anything wrong.

Her thoughts about them were gone however as they started to do the next shoot. Once the cameras started rolling she could see the change in him and how he turned to act like he used to around her.

“Celeste..” Sebastian whispered as she was shot walking towards where the restroom was supposed to be. He was standing behind a wall not seen from the reception area. His hand shot out, grabbed hers and he dragged her behind the wall, making her jump in surprise.

“Mike! You scared me!” She protested, clutching her chest.

“I'm sorry, sweetheart.” Sebastian looked down and smiled at her. She could now see the adoration again in his eyes and it made her heart flutter.

“What are you doing?” She asked as Sebastian let her hand go.

“I.. uh.. waiting.” He replied.

“For what?” She asked, her eyebrows raised.

“For the right time to come out.” He replied, blushing as he said it.

“Oh, Mike. I'm sorry about my mom.” She sighed.

“It's okay, honey. What did you talk about? You look annoyed.” He said as he raised his hand up and his fingers started to stroke her cheek gently, making her breath hitch.

“I.. umm..” She forgot! She forgot her next lines, so focused she was at how his fingers felt on her cheek.

“Cut!” Maya shouted and her shoulder slumped.

“Aurora! Focus!” Maya shouted at her.

“I'm sorry.” She turned to Maya and grimaced.

“The usual marriage talk.” Sebastian said.

“What?” She turned to him, looking at him in confusion.

“Your next line.” He replied.

“Oh! Yeah, yeah. Thanks.” She nodded, feeling the blush rising in her cheeks.

“No problem.” He smiled at her warmly, making the butterflies fly around in her stomach.

“Aurora! Go back!” Maya shouted.

“Oh yeah, okay.” She nodded and turned around back towards the reception area, kicking herself mentally for being so unfocused because of Sebastian.

They started to do the scene again until the part where she forgot her lines came up.

“It's okay, honey. What did you talk about? You look annoyed.” Sebastian said as he raised his hand up and his fingers caressed her cheek gently, making her breath hitch again.

“The usual marriage talk.” She grumbled.

“Oh, right. Typical at an event like this.” He commented.

“Yeah. I don't understand why she needed to push it on us. I mean.. we have our careers to think about.” She said, looking up at Sebastian expectantly.

“Yeah. We do. I mean, once we're ready, we'll do it but right now we both know it's not the right time.” He stated.

She didn't respond immediately and she gazed at him, trying to convey a million emotions through her eyes. Sebastian stared back at her and once again she felt like he was seeing into her soul, making butterflies fly around in her stomach.

“When will the right time come, though?” She asked slowly.

“Oh Celeste, please don't ask questions like this. I don't know. Okay? I just.. you know what's on my mind.” He stated as he dropped his fingers from her and he balled his fist in agitation.

“I know. The race! Which has been on your mind for the past.. what? Fifteen years? It's what's on your mind when we met five years ago and it still is.” She grumbled.

“I'm sorry, honey. I just need to win this one.”

“You've been saying that since we met.” She said pointedly and she could see the hurt flashed in his eyes.

“Because it's important to me, Celeste. You know that!” Sebastian protested.

“Am I not important to you?” She asked and Sebastian’s jaw dropped.

“Honey, of course you are! You’re the most important person in my life!” He exclaimed as he placed both hands on the sides of her arms.

“Then maybe.. maybe you need to show it.” She said slowly.

“I’ll show it right now. Come on!” Sebastian said and her eyes widened.

He grabbed her hand and guided her back towards the reception area. She could hear slow romantic music playing and some people were slow dancing on the dance floor.

Sebastian guided her onto the dance floor and they stopped at the edge. They stood facing each other. Her heartbeat raised as she gazed at Sebastian who was smiling warmly at her.

“Celeste Nichols, would you please give me the honor and dance with me?” He asked as he picked her hand up and kissed it gently, sending shivers down her spine.

“Oh, Mike. Of course.” She sighed and nodded.

Sebastian smiled wide and picked up her left hand with his right then placed his left hand gently on her waist. He pulled her closer to him and their chests almost touched each other. He started to sway to the music slowly and she followed.

He continued to gaze at her softly as she tried hard not to hyperventilate and shifted her mental state back to being Celeste.

“I’m sorry, sweetheart.” Sebastian started to say.

“Hmm..” She mumbled and he sighed.

“You are important to me. Soo important that I want to give you the world! I mean, you know how much money I can get if I can win the Tour de France. I’ll get money not just from the race itself but also from sponsorships and advertising deals, you know.” He explained.

“I know. But I don’t need the money, Mike.” She protested.

“Honey, I know you’re a successful model but we will need more money in order to live comfortably and start a family. You know I still don’t make much with my current condition in the team.” He sighed.

“You can quit racing and continue your father’s business.” She suggested and Sebastian’s face quickly turned sour.

“You know it’s not my passion running a slaughterhouse.” He objected.

“I know, but it keeps the money coming in. And you know you just need to continue it. Everything has been set up by your late dad. I mean, I’m sure he would have wanted you to run it instead of having it run by a third party.” She suggested.

“Celeste, please. I don’t want to run it. I hate it there. Just.. trust me. This year will be different. I can feel it! Yesterday Alex brought in a new doctor. This doctor successfully made the American cycling team win at the Olympics! She said she has a method that will make us stronger and have better endurance. She’s going to start the method tomorrow.” He said excitedly.

“A method? What kind of method?” She asked, her eyebrows raised.

“She hasn’t told us yet what method she’s going to use.” He replied.

“Interesting.” She commented.

“Yeah. If I win the Tour de France this year then I can retire and we can live comfortably and start a family.” He said with hope in his eyes.

“Well, if you win, aren't you going to be needed for next year’s race?” She asked.

“No, I’m.. I will be too old. I don’t think Alex is going to let me stay in the team next year.” He replied, his mouth turned into a frown.

“So you want to go out with a bang.” She stated.

Sebastian’s mouth turned up into a smile. “Yes! You know me so well, Celeste.”

She couldn’t help but smile back at him, both, as Celeste and as herself.

“Trust me, Celeste. I love you and I want to give you the best life you can get. But I can’t if I don’t win this year’s race.” Sebastian pleaded.

She didn’t immediately respond to him but stopped dancing. She released her hands from his hand and shoulder and cupped his face.

“Mike Taylor, I need you to know that I love you, no matter what happens. Even if you don’t win the race and you have to retire and do a regular nine to five job, I will still be here. Because I love you as you are and not because you’re a pro cyclist.” She stated, gazing at him sternly.

Sebastian gazed back at her. His eyes widened and his mouth opened in surprise. Then a smile broke on his face.

“I love you so much, Celeste Nichols. I don’t deserve you but I will try to make myself worthy of you.” He said slowly, giving her a look of complete adoration, making her heart beat so fast in her chest.

“By winning this race?” She asked.

“Yes.” He replied.

“Fine. I said I love you as you are and this ambition of yours is a part of you, so..” She trailed, dropping her hands from his face.

“Thank you for understanding, honey.” He smiled.

He leaned closer to her, making her heart do somersaults in her chest. Then he placed both hands on the sides of her face and kissed her forehead gently, making her smile. Then they continued to slow dance, but their bodies were even closer than before. His left hand took her right hand, he placed his right hand on her waist and she placed her left hand on his shoulder, then she turned her face to the side and leaned her cheek on his chest.

The cameras continued rolling as they slowly danced. It felt very comfortable to dance in his arms. She could smell his signature scent wafting from his suit. She could hear his heart beating fast in his chest. She could feel his hand in hers starting to sweat, making her wonder if he was as nervous about the dance as she was.

“Cut!” Maya shouted and Sebastian immediately let her go and stepped back, startling her.

“Okay, we got it! Great job you two!” Maya shouted at them from the side of the set.

“That was really good.” She commented and looked up at him.

“Yeah, as usual you did a great job.” He smiled but his smile didn't reach his eyes, making her heart plummeted.

“Umm.. I have to go and get ready for the next scene.” He continued, his eyes averting hers yet again.

“Oh yeah, okay. I'll see you.. hmm.. the day after tomorrow I think, for our next scene together?” She asked.

“Yeah, I guess so.” He nodded.

“Okay.” She nodded and he smiled then turned around, leaving her alone on the dance floor with people walking around her as the set was starting to be cleaned up.

She sighed as she watched him go and kept wondering why he acted so differently around her.

Maybe he has some kind of problem. The thing that came up yesterday probably stressed him out. She tried to reason. But deep down she had an inkling that she was the reason he was behaving like that towards her, as if she had made a big mistake.

She walked back to her trailer with a frown on her face and her shoulder slumped. The dancing scene was the last scene for her to shoot that day so she could go back home if she wanted.

She contemplated on staying to watch the others shoot, but decided to go home instead. She was tired and tense and needed to relax.

So she went to her trailer, changed into her own outfit and went straight home. Feeling the complete opposite of what she thought she would feel at the end of that day.

—

The next day she didn't have any shoot or any other work scheduled, but she knew Sebastian was going to shoot some scenes with Rooney Mara, Jude Law, Chris Evans, Anthony Mackie and Chace Crawford. She was curious about it so she decided to come to the studio and see it if she was allowed. She also wanted to try and talk to him about his change of behavior towards her. It was still bothering her and kept her almost awake the entire night.

Thankfully security let her in so she could watch the shoot. It was being done at a studio next to the one she was shooting at the day before.

When she arrived the shoot was already starting. The studio had been set like they were in the racing team's headquarters with two different areas set up. One was a changing room area with lockers while the other one was a room similar to an infirmary with a small hospital bed in the middle and an ominous machine standing next to it.

She could see Sebastian, Chris, Anthony and Chace with other actors she assumed to be part of the racing team, standing side by side facing Jude Law who seemed to be informing them of something. They were all standing in the changing room area.

Then she saw Rooney Mara standing to the side of the room behind a door, seemingly waiting to come out. After a while Jude Law opened the door and Rooney came in.

She watched as Rooney gave a chilling performance as the racing team's new doctor. She was tough, stern and mysterious. Being the professional that she was, she nailed the scene in one shot, allowing them to move to the next shoot in the next area.

The actors were given some break time and they walked out of the set to their designated chairs. She saw Sebastian walking towards his chair and just then he looked up at her.

She waved at him and smiled a little. He looked a little surprised but then waved back at her and nodded. She thought he would come and approach her but instead he turned his back on her and sat on his chair, his hand grabbed a bottle of water on the floor and he started to chug it down.

Her heart plummeted seeing how he behaved towards her, but she tried to make up another reason for his weird behavior. She thought maybe he didn't approach her because he wanted to focus on the shoot. He wanted to stay in character maybe and talking with her would just ruin that. She finally reasoned. With that thought in mind she continued to watch the shoot.

The scene they were shooting next was the scene where Rooney’s character Ava performed a stress test on the whole team.

She watched as Sebastian walked into the room with the hospital bed and ominous machine alone and faced Rooney.

Rooney circled him and prodded his arm, making him wince.

“Strip down.” Rooney commanded and Sebastian's eyebrows raised.

“I need to see what I'm going to work with.” Rooney continued when Sebastian didn't make a move.

He looked at her defiantly and they stared at each other, unblinking. Finally, Sebastian took off everything but his boxer shorts.

Her heart skipped a beat as she looked at his body. He was lean but muscular with sculpted biceps and a six pack stomach. She had seen his naked upper body pictures and even his fully naked body in movies before, but to see him in person like this was a completely different experience.

“Lie down!” Rooney commanded.

“Which test is this?” Sebastian asked.

“Lie down!” Rooney commanded and Sebastian quickly laid down on the bed.

Rooney strapped his wrists and ankles onto the bed and put electrodes on his biceps, quads, neck, calves and both his temples.

“You will feel a shock.” Rooney said.

“Okay, wh..” Sebastian responded just as Rooney threw a switch on the machine and Sebastian's body started to convulse. Electricity coursed through him and his face contorted in pain. She couldn't help but be horrified to witness the scene in front of her. She knew Sebastian was just acting, but he looked to be in so much pain that it was unbearable to watch. The scene reminded her so much of the scene where Bucky Barnes had his mind wiped out when he was still the Winter Soldier.

“Do you want me to stop?” Rooney asked. “Nod if you want me to stop.”

But Sebastian didn't say anything, he looked at Rooney with his face in agony but he endured the pain.

Rooney glanced at her stopwatch and looked at Sebastian with a gleam in her eyes.

Sebastian continued to endure the pain as the machine hummed menacingly, louder and louder until..

“Stop! STOP!” Sebastian screamed.

Rooney turned off the machine and wrote down the time as she consulted her watch. Sebastian caught his breath, tears streaming down his face.

“F""k.. “ Sebastian said.

“Why?” Sebastian continued.

“Baselines. Your muscle’s maximum ability to contract is higher when the mind is not involved.” Rooney answered.

“How’d I do?” Sebastian asked.

Rooney didn't answer. She stared at him, reading something in his face.

“It is a difficult test.” Rooney finally said.

Sebastian's face fell.

“Let me go again.” He quickly said.

Rooney paused her movement. She gazed at Sebastian, reading him, unpeeling him.

“You would submit yourself again to this? Willingly?” Rooney asked.

“I can do better.” Sebastian stated.

“The pain will break you.”

“I don’t care about pain. I care about winning.”

The sentence triggered something in Rooney. For a split second she almost looked like she might smile, but..

“There are no do-overs in the Tour. Why would I give you one here?” She asked but her eyes gleamed as she said it.

Sebastian slumped, seemingly feeling devastated and like a failure.

“Cut!” Maya shouted.

“Okay, that was amazing, Rooney, Sebastian. We got it.” Maya continued.

She was amazed at how both Sebastian and Rooney were able to nail their scenes in one take and made a mental note to ask them for some tips.

There were several more scenes that were shot that day. She ended up watching all of them as she was fascinated by the whole shooting process and wanted to learn as much as possible by watching the other actors perform.

It was 6 in the afternoon when the shoot was finally done for that day. She waited for Sebastian by the side of the set. Throughout the whole day he effectively ignored her and she was itching to ask him about it.

He finally walked off set and walked towards her with Chris, Chace and Anthony walking next to him.

“Sebastian.” She called out as they went nearer.

“Aurora, hey.” Sebastian greeted her.

“Hey Aurora.” The other guys greeted her and she nodded.

“Today was amazing. I loved watching all of you perform. You were all amazing!” She smiled at them and they smiled back at her.

“Why thank you, Aurora. That's very nice of you to say that.” Anthony said.

“Where are you guys going by the way?” She asked.

“Umm.. We're going out for dinner. There's this new place near Chace's apartment that he said has the best Kung Pao chicken.” Chris replied.

“Oh, I see.” She nodded.

“We'd love to ask you to join us but..” Chris glanced at Sebastian, waiting for him to continue.

“We're having sort of.. a boy's night, you know. So.. I'm really sorry.” Sebastian said, staring at her, his eyebrows furrowed.

Her heart dropped at his answer. She was certain now that he was avoiding her. The question was why. Unfortunately she couldn't find the answer that night.

“It's okay, Sebastian. I guess I'll see you guys tomorrow.” She said and they nodded.

She gave them one last smile, her gaze lingered for a moment at Sebastian who was gazing back at her with an unreadable expression on his face. Then she turned around quickly as she felt the telltale sign of tears forming in her eyes.

—

She woke up the next morning with bags under her eyes. Once again she found it hard to sleep because she kept thinking of Sebastian. Several times she almost texted him to ask him why he acted so different towards her for the past few days, but she couldn't bring herself to do it.

Still feeling sleepy and worn out she left the castle having only drank a cup of coffee and nothing more. She wasn't hungry. She had no appetite whatsoever.

The scene that they were going to shoot that day was an outdoor shoot done at, coincidentally, Mulholland Drive. Sebastian and the others were going to be shot doing a local racing at Mulholland Drive. She was supposed to be shot being in the crowd and watching them.

When she arrived on set, which was only several miles away from the castle, Sebastian, Chris, Chace and Anthony were already there, wearing their team's signature cycling jerseys which were blue in color and had the team's name, “Inverness” written at the back.

She didn’t have time to greet Sebastian and the others because she was immediately ushered to her trailer.

Once Lisa and Shannon finished putting make up on her and styled her hair, she was rushed to the spectator's box.

There was a monitor at the spectator's box where people can watch the progress of the team. She sat on a chair in the box and watched the screen.

A real pro cyclist team had been hired to do the hard stuff but since some shots were for close-ups, the actors were also needed.

She watched as Sebastian and the other actors started the race. Chris, as the fastest rider, was obviously leading the team. Behind him was Chace, Anthony, another actor in the team by the name of Johnny, and Sebastian was at the tail.

The shoot for the part of the actors took several takes. It was on the fourth take that something unexpected happened.

They were riding past a curved road when all of a sudden a stray dog came out from the woods next to them and ran in front of Sebastian. Sebastian was surprised and steered his bike to avoid the dog. He couldn't control his bike and crashed.

“Sebastian!” She shouted in panic. Her heart dropped to her stomach as she saw Sebastian toppled over and fell down on the ground hard.

Chapter 15 >

Taglist

@dhoruwolfie @kandis-mom

#sebastian stan #sebastianstan #sebastian stan fanfic #sebastian stan fanfiction #sebastian stan x reader #sebastian stan x y/n #sebastian stan x you #bucky barnes #sebastian stan x female reader #sebastian stan fluff

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thetorturedpoetsintern · 1 year

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Fem!Severus Snape - what it would have been like if Severus was born a girl

Note: I had them going over and over in my head for over a month and have to get it out my system somehow so here it is: my thoughts and opinions about it. Please keep in mind this is not edited, not one bit, so if you have anything to add I'm waiting for them in the comments and reblogs.

If Severus was born a girl...:

...her and Lily's bonding as kids wouldn't be considered creepy, on the contrary, it would probably be encouraged by the adults and the staff at Hogwarts once they figure out Severus is lonely.

...the maurauders might or might not pay her any attention. If the former is the case, their bullying would be even more disturbing, though unfortunately being born into poverty, Severus still doesn't have the influence to change much even if she's born a girl. She still would practice dark spells and duelling in order to protect herself, her signature probably being The HalfBlood Princess.

...she would still hang out with the future Death Eaters, and her and Lily's fight would still happen. There's nothing that could change that, not even the gender in which she is born.

...she'd still be a potions nerd, Slughorn would still invite her to his club, and instead of Lucius as a protective shadow she had Narcissa (this last part is obviously more headcanon than canon but it's close to my heart and I'll keep it)

...she wouldn't be a Death Eater straight from graduation. She isn't pure enough and bold enough as Bellatrix or Alecto are, so Severus is glad to be helping the Dark Lord without being an official recruit, same as we see Narcissa and probably same as other pureblooded women.

...she still spies on Dumbledore and finds about the prophecy, still shares it with Voldemort, and like in canon she makes an oath to Dumbledore to protect Lily and becomes a double spy. Voldemort promises her a Dark Mark when he returns but he doesn't, Dumbledore makes her a teacher, Lily and James still die and little Harry survives. The difference is that Severus' change of coats wouldn't be seen as a tragic romantic gesture, it would be just about women solidarity, about deeply caring for someone that was your friend even though it's unrequited for years at that point. Her choice of neglecting Harry when asking for Lily's protection would be valid because he's the child of her ex-bully, a constant reminder of her childhood torments.

...ten years later, Harry arrives for the first time at Hogwarts and she feels responsible to keep an eye on him from the shadows. Voldemort begins his attempts of returning and one faithfull night during the Triwizard Tournament he succedes. Severus doesn't have a mark to burn her but had heard the gossip and rumours between ex-Death Eaters so she knows the Dark Lord is back. She's still tortured when she joins him because her lack of a Death Mark doesn't excuse her tardiness, but Voldemort keeps his word and the night ends with her receiving the long dreaded Death Mark. Then she's one of the few women joining the ranks of Death Eaters.

...she still kills Dumbledore to save Narcissa's child, still gives Harry Griffindor's sword and by this point she's tired so when Voldemort summons her at the Battle of Hogwarts she senses her demise approaching and doesn't flinch. She gives her memories to Harry while she's succombing in a pleasant darkness.

...the story doesn't change much, only little details here and there, details that don't influence the narrative, only people might perceive her differently through this lense.

Dumbledore's and Voldemort's manipulation wouldn't be overlooked, and her interest in the occult magic wouldn't be seen as dangerous because she's a woman.

#severus snape #female severus snape #snapedom #prosnape

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himehikoshrine · 7 months

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Himehiko Timeline

This is my best attempt to gather the information we get about the Tamasaka Himehiko line and thus the game universe timeline. It is based on what I've found in the game and bonus material, but it may yet be incomplete. If you have any information I'm missing, please let me know. It's also always possible we get more lore drops in extra material.

It'll be behind a cut, so I will edit any additional information into the post. If I add things, I'll try to keep track here of when the last edit was. This will obviously contain spoilers for the full game (especially Kisa's route - major spoilers for Kisa's route) as well as bits of side material. Specifically the First Anniversary Short Story and the Summer Light Novel, though also the pre-release short stories on the website and others.

Shout out to the other people who seem to have independently attempted the same project, including Anemone (@ snowblossom_jj on twitter) for something to double check myself against. Before I go right into the Himehiko Timeline, I'm going to put in some Japanese Theater History for context, though it's worth noting none of this is referenced specifically in the game and may differ within the Jack Jeanne universe.

As always, happy to answer questions via asks or elsewhere if you have them.

Japanese Theater History potentially of note.

1374 - Kan'ami (観阿弥) and 12 year old son Zeami (世阿弥) perform what would become known as Noh for the teenage shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu (足利義満) who is so impressed by Zeami he gives him patronage. Zeami is educated in court and eventually becomes the Shogun’s lover. At 22, after his father’s death, he takes over the family troupe and begins to integrate his classical education and Buddhist instruction into the art. He goes on to formalize Noh, write plays for it, and treatises on acting and the Philosophy of Drama that continue to be informative to this day.

Of note, the idea of “hana” 『花』 is one of his core tenants, and his formulation of “the flower of youth” vs “the flower of experience” is referenced in game, though not credited.

1603 - Izumo no Okuni (出雲阿国) creates Kabuki. It is originally performed by a troupe of all women.

1629 - Women are banned from Kabuki for “morality” leading to the form being taken over by “young men” who are later also banned for being too sexy, in moves through the next several decades.

Probably by the timeline we are given for Tamasaka, in our world, Kabuki would have been established as an all male form of theater, with men playing women’s roles referred to as “onnagata” as they are to this day. It is unclear if this history happens the same within the Jack Jeanne universe, as no mention of Kabuki itself happens in game, and Tamasakaza isn’t placed within it as a larger tradition, despite being described in much the way Kabuki is, suggesting perhaps in the Jack Jeanne universe, history diverges at some point.

1680s - Bunraku, (then known as Jourui) a form of Puppet Theater takes on something close to its modern form and starts becoming increasingly popular. Many famous Kabuki plays were originally written “for the puppets” and the literary tradition is considered overlapping.

1683 - Chikamatsu Monzaemon (近松門左衛門, 1653 – 1725) has his first verified play produced. He is sometimes called the “Shakespeare of Japan”. He would continue writing plays for both puppet theater and kabuki, until around 1715. He was a writer, but did not act. He is most famous for his lovers’ suicides.

HIMEHIKO TIMELINE

1st Himehiko - His name was Chuza Tsukihiko (中座月彦), and he lived sometime in the “mid-Edo period’ about 300 years before the present. Specific dates are hard to pin down, but we’re looking at around (or maybe a little before or after) 1700. It is likely not exactly 300 years ago, give or take a few years, as no one in the game mentions any kind of anniversary, and you’d assume the 300th (or 200th of the established settled troupe) would be marked and mentioned.

He’s canonically called a "bishonen" and was known to be able to play both male and female roles. At this time, in our universe, no women would have been allowed on stage. We know his troupe was all male.

He receives the patronage of a local lord (much like Zeami) - the lord of the castle in Hiraki - Hiraki Matsubara (開松原). Matsubara was considered very talented and is credited with the town flourishing under his rule as well as the creation of Tamasaka and Tamasakaza.

He is given the name Tamasaka Himehiko 玉阪比女彦 which he takes on, and which becomes the title passed down. (The name "Tamasaka" is mentioned to maybe be a play on the word 『偶さか』 implying a "rare, unusual kind of talent")

Though the troupe itself will be considered a traveling troupe for the next 100 years, it seems to have a sort of home base on that lord’s land. They are given land for a stage there, the forebearer of the Tamasaka theater that exists to day.

We know little about him, but one thing we know is that he was quite fond of the story of the catfish god in Ayahama (which is historically near where Hiraki Castle is), and used to dance in tribute there. The relationship between Tamasaka and the hot springs goes back all the way to him.

There is one Wisteria tree on Mt. Oodate, and he is said to have been fond of it. (Fuji Musume - 藤娘- is one of the most famous Kabuki dance/plays, though technically it would have, in our universe, postdated the first generation Himehiko, it is likely a reference).

He dies of “severe, violent emotional suffering”.

He is enshrined in Himehiko shrine, and may actually be buried there. He is worshipped there as a god of theatre, and a bringer of fortune in other endeavors as well. This would imply the shrine is established well before the troupe settles.

2nd - The next Himehiko is the elder brother of the first. We don’t know if the rule that was later in place that the title be passed to someone under the age of 30 was in place yet. It may imply that the troupe, like Zeami’s was a family affair at least in part, from the beginning, if his brother was considered the natural next head.

3rd - The eldest son of the 2nd.

History that happens at an unclear point in the timeline after this --

At some point after this, though it does not seem to be specifically after the 3rd, in the way it’s told, one generation of Himehiko will choose to pass the title onto an adopted son. Rather than the adopted son taking the Chuza name as well, this son becomes the start of a new branch family, known as the Tamasaka branch. From this point on, the title will occasionally pass between the Tamasaka and Chuza branches, eventually developing into quite the rivalry. The Tamasaka branch became known as “true flowers” or the more talented of the two branches. The exact timeline of all of this unclear.

At some point, after several early, tragic deaths of people carrying the Himehiko name, both branches of the family begin to speak of a “Himehiko Curse” - which causes those who take the title to die young. They believe in this so strongly that people from both branches will sometimes pass up the title, or defer it, to try to avert the fate. However, it doesn’t seem to be something that affects every Himehiko. Just enough of them for it to be considered a threat in the family.

How it operates and if it is one of the genuine supernatural forces in the Jack Jeanne universe is unclear. The first Himehiko dies of severe mental suffering. The cause of death for others is not established.

It is possible that, either supernaturally or non-supernaturally, it is the distillation of the stress, politics, rivalries, burdens, and expectations of the theatre.

All of this happens and is well established between the 3rd Himehiko and the 10th Himehiko, but specifics are vague.

At some point, a rule is added that the title is past to a young man under the age of 30.

It seems some people may pass the title down before they die, rather than it only transferring via death. It is unclear the effect this has on the curse within the narrative of it. At another point, rather than taking the full stage name of Himehiko, each generation takes only half as their stage name - either Hime or Hiko, plus an additional character. This was done to try to avoid the “curse”. It does not work.

4th - A tree in the courtyard of Himehiko Shrine, which contains many trees, including many fruit trees, is said to have been planted by him. All we get is that the tree is “planted in the lucky direction.”

It is possible this is an Ume tree, which apparently can be considered a protective charm against evil and is traditionally planted in the northeast corner of a garden. Other than this, I can’t find much — the other mentions of lucky directions change by year, and don't seem to be what’s being referred to.

5th - nothing is known

6th - nothing is known

7th - Established Tamasaka Drama School as per random Neji encounter. Neji says he ‘fell in love with…’ and is then cut off. We get no other info from that encounter, or elsewhere.

It’s possible that the establishing of the Drama School coincided with the settling of the Troupe from a traveling one to a stationary one, but that’s not mentioned directly. If so, that would put 7th at about 100 years after the 1st, and about 200 years before the present.

It is unclear if from this point on all Himehiko’s also serve as Principal of the School or not.

At some point “several generations back (from present)” the principal of the school plants Night Jasmine on Mt. Oodate.

(About 200 years ago, the Takashina Style of dance is founded as a family dance tradition. It has no association with Tamasakaza, but given it’s part of the timeline we get, plus the Kabuki/Nihon Buyo overlap in our universe, I’m putting it on here.)

8th - The tree he planted at the shrine is the most prominent one. No other info is known.

9th - nothing is known.

10th - From the Tamasaka Line. Very likely the older brother of the 11th - According to the Anniversary Short Story, he dies a shocking and tragic death (that would fit within the narrative of the Himehiko Curse). The title would then be passed to his younger brother.

11th - Real name Tamasaka Shikitoshi 玉阪志木年 - stage name unknown. He is the current head of the troupe during the Meiji era merger of Hikari and Tamasaka, as depicted in the Anniversary Short Story. That takes place in 22nd year of the Meiji Era - 1889, giving us our first firm date.

According to Tancho, the lead Hiko actor at the time was rather critical and nagging of him, but in the events depicted in Neji’s play, ultimately is willing to almost give his life to protect 11th.

In Neji’s telling of the events he is described as innovative, as well as a very shrewd politician. And rather indifferent or reckless about threats against his own life.

He has two daughters and no sons. Presumably no one else in the Tamasaka branch has any sons of eligible age either. To prevent the name from passing back to the Chuza branch, and perhaps as a test on the limits of the Himehiko Curse, to see if it would spare women, Shikitoshi passes the title to his second daughter.

We have no information on why not the first daughter - whether she was over 30, or less skilled, or didn’t want it - all we know is that he passed it to his second daughter.

12th - The second daughter of the 11th. Member of the Tamasaka Family. First and only female Himehiko. The tree she donated to the shrine is marked with an actor’s crest of clappers — something recognizable as specifically belonging to her.

Despite being a woman, she was not just a figurehead, and actively acted in Tamasaka Plays. There is at least one that she was quite fond of, that involved a Kimono salesperson and a woman walking around on “Izayoi” - a play that the troupe stopped performing after her early and tragic death.

Tagane was involved in a revival of this play at some point, likely a pretty clear sign of his loyalty to the Tamasaka Branch faction.

At some point, it is likely that she placed a platinum Kanzashi bearing her crest in a wooden box in a tree hollow near Himehiko Shrine, following the superstition and custom born out of the Tamasaka play “Tearful Kanzashi." “Tearful Kanzashi" depicts a young woman (the fourth daughter of a man with no sons, who is abused and locked away by her father in anger after her birth also kills her mother) putting the Kanzashi her lover gives her into a tree by a shrine she stops at to pray to be reunited with him in the next life, before throwing herself off a cliff. (For more, see the Summer Light Novel chapter).

This also takes place on the 16th night of the lunar cycle. It is unclear if the play is the same one — but since the summary is given to Suzu and Kisa by a Kimono salesman, it seems unlikely that it wouldn’t include that detail if it were the same — rather it seems likely Tearful Kanzashi predates the 12th, and Tamasaka just has a lot of plays that use "Izayoi" in them.

This may indicate that the 12th takes her own life like the woman in the play, but it’s all speculation beyond that her death fits within the narrative of the Himehiko Curse.

After her early, tragic death, the title passes back to the Chuza Branch, and the whole incident/experiment is considered a disaster.

12th's older sister, and thus the surviving Tamasaka Branch go into hiding of some kind. She has children, thus continuing the line, under an assumed name. The Tamasaka branch retains supporters both in the troupe and the town, who believe that the Tamasaka branch have true talent that the Chuza branch lacks.

13th - Chuzu Dairi (中座内吏), stage name Uchihime (内比女).

After the death of the 12th, the title passes back to the Chuza line for the first time in 80 years. He quickly makes a new rule, reserving the Himehiko title for the Chuza branch, further pushing the Tamasaka branch into hiding and out of power.

We know he was born in the Meiji era (ended 1912) and lived until Showa (started 1926).

He had a strong interest in western style plays and musicals, and is the one who renamed the Tamasaka Drama School to Univeil Drama School, as well as changing the roles from Hiko and Hime to Jack and Jeanne within the school.

(For what it’s worth, Takarazuka is started in 1913. It was based heavily on western, particularly French musical Revue in direct contrast to Kabuki. It was started by a businessman in the city of Takarazuka as an all women’s theater company. Much of Jack Jeanne is based on a gender swap of Takarazuka as inspiration, but its timeline and the actual style of Tamasaka do not match Takarazuka. But this is a Himehiko Timeline so no more on Takarazuka for now.)

He apparently made a good deal of innovations to the troupe as well, and seems to have been quite active and hands on in both.

It’s hard to pin down how long and exactly when he lived and was in charge.

Kisa’s class being the 78th class would put the first numbered class in 1942, which is a particularly strange year for a traditional theater school in Japan for young, fit boys to be rebranding to a western aesthetic. It would literally be months after the attack on Pearl Harbor and several years into a war that greatly disrupted all forms of theater, calling most able bodied men to arms, rather than dance - so that’s something to consider when trying to fit the timeline. Perhaps there are years missing - a reversion to the old name, a pause in the numbering, but for some reason they pick up from where they left off, rather than restart? There is no indication in any material of any of this, either way.

14th - Takahiko (鷹彦) - the grandfather of Chuza Shuri, the current/18th Himehiko. Written with the character for “Hawk” and is noted as having very sharp eyes, but otherwise looking very much like Shuri. The game’s timeframe puts him taking up the title some time when black and white portraits were still most common, but recent enough that an old lady alive and walking around Tamasaka remembers him as a young man.

Apparently, he married a wealthy local family’s daughter after taking the position of Himehiko - and this old woman remembers having a crush on him at the time, and being disappointed - so one could guess that she was at least in her teens then.

The game’s menu actually says he’s the one who designed the school, rather than 13th - so perhaps Takahiko is the one who designed it architecturally - even if the rebrand happened before hand.

15th - nothing specifically is known

16th - nothing specifically is known

17th - nothing specifically is known

We know nothing about these or the order they were in, but one was almost certainly Shuri's father. In the anniversary short story, Tancho mentions Shuri's father by name. His name seems to have been Chuza Osamu (中座倫). From what Tancho says, the implication is that Shuri's father maybe have been principal before him, whether right before or not is not clear, or if he served this role concurrent with the title of Himehiko or not is also unclear. As previously stated, it's unclear if Principal of the School and Head of the Troupe are jobs all Himehiko's serve as part of the title, or if only some do. So it's possible that he held one and not the other or one for longer than the other - i.e. continued running the school after passing the name down or something.

All we get is the name, and that Tancho both knew/knows him and what his preference for incense was/is (and that its different than Shuri's).

It is possible an uncle and/or brother of his also held the position, as there is a nephew of his in Tamasakaza right now, which means Shuri has at least one (almost certainly) older sibling.

18th - Chuza Shuri (中座秋吏), stage name Akihime (秋比女) (Written with the character for Autumn, a kanji from his given name).

Currently the principal who is not well liked by Tamasaka Elders. Still seems to technically be the head of the troupe, but displays no desire to actually do anything onstage and finds his obligations to the Troupe to be a chore. Considers himself decent enough at both dance and singing (apparently singing is something Chuza branch is usually considered weaker in, or so he says).

He is in tension with the board over many things - Chui says the situation around him is “worse than you know,” implying there may be far more going on than anyone tells Kisa, and thus the player.

The Tamasaka Elders seem, from what we’re told, to want to make Univeil into more of a training school for Tamasaka (again?) - and Chuza is resistant to the idea.

19th - In a weekend event, the old lady in Tamasaka who tells Kisa about the 14th seems to state Akihime is the previous rather than current Himehiko (at least in the English). But everyone else seems to refer to him as the current one. Maybe she’s misremembering, maybe she’s got Opinions on his lack of participation and how much the board hates him - which she also mentions. Who knows.

The two candidates for the position seem to be Chui - the Tamasaka branch heir, and already seen as kind of a god, and Shuri's nephew (mentioned in a VERY missable Sou event on 8/1 - who is currently a Hime actor in Tamasaka, who is “treated like a king” as part of the Chuza family there. He apparently doesn’t resemble Shuri much.)

One presumes the Tamasaka board has its factions on which one they support, and, regardless, are preparing them to hold the position more to the boards liking than Shuri.

#jack jeanne #jack jeanne lore #tamasaka himehiko #lore hunting #timeline #reference #the brainrot is bad #really bad

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