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bananabreads · 12 days ago

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Dad!lads with their children while they're exercising!

(⁠?⁠・⁠・⁠)⁠σ Dad!Rafayel, Dad!Caleb, Dad!Sylus, Dad!Zayne, Dad!Xavier — Requests are open :)

Tumblr was lagging so bad.. i had to rewrite THIS WHOLE FIC four times before it finally posted.. TT

RAFAYEL —

Rafayel stirred awake, the warmth of your body against his was a temptation to stay in bed forever, and for a while, he did, just resting there, arms gently curled around your waist, nose brushing your hair.

But eventually, he had to get up and go have his exercise.

He carefully untangled himself from you, moving like a whisper so as not to wake you. After a kiss to your temple and a soft brush of his fingers against your cheek, he made his way to the closet, pulling on his usual black joggers and a black compression workout sleeveless shirt.

Before leaving the room, he returned to your side to whisper softly, "I'll just go for a morning jog, I'll be quick," planting another kiss on your forehead as you sleepily hummed in return.

The hallway was quiet and dim as he was just holding his bottle of water, but just as he passed by your daughter's room, the door creaked open.

Tiny footsteps padded toward him, and there she was, Seraphina, rubbing her eyes with one hand, the other reaching toward him.

“Daddy..? Where you doing..?” she asked sleepily, arms lifting for him to carry her.

A soft chuckle escaped him as he bent down and scooped her up.

“I’m just going for a quick morning jog, sweetie,” he said, brushing some hair away from her face as she nestled against his chest.

“Can I come..?” she mumbled, already melting into him.

He chuckled again, gently pinching her cheek. “Mhm, well, aren’t you still sleepy, sweetie? You won’t be able to run in that condition.”

“I’m awake!” she immediately perked up, suddenly squirming out of his arms and darting back to her room. “Wait for me, Daddy!"

He blinked, still holding his half full water bottle, and soon heard the sound of frantic rummaging and closet doors banging lightly. Two minutes later, she came rushing out proudly, wearing a white t-shirt with a cartoon fish, her favorite jean jumper over it, and mismatched socks. She lifted her arms expectantly.

“Button me, Daddy.”

He knelt to button the front of her jumper, pressing a kiss to her forehead when he finished. “Perfect. You’re the cutest jogging buddy I’ve ever seen.”

Their "jog" was more like a slow stroll around the neighborhood. Rafayel kept his pace slow, his long strides shortened just so his daughter could keep up. She held his hand the entire time, skipping a little when she had energy, giggling at squirrels, and occasionally stopping to examine flowers or pebbles like they were the most fascinating things in the world.

But ten minutes in, she started to lag. The energy that had burst out of her earlier now dimmed as she tugged on his hand.

“Daddy, I’m tired…” she pouted, lips trembling slightly as she dramatically started lowering herself down the pavement.

Rafayel quickly scooped her up before she could sit on the dirty sidewalk.

“Hey now, we don’t sit on the street, little guppy,” he said, lifting her into his arms with ease. “Did you overestimate your stamina, hm?"

She rested her head on his shoulder, arms wrapped around his neck. “M’not tired… just… my legs are.”

He laughed softly. “That’s what tired means, sweetie.”

He adjusted her comfortably against him and continued walking, his jog long forgotten now. As he moved, she helped herself to his water bottle, nearly finishing it in a matter of gulps.

He raised a brow, amused. “Remind me next time to bring two bottles if I’m training with you.”

Seraphina, cheeks puffed from the water, gave him a cheeky grin.

“You’re the best exercise,” she mumbled sleepily. “You carry me.”

Rafayel smiled, pressing his lips to her temple. “Of course I do. Always.”

And as the sun finally rose higher, father and daughter strolled through the soft morning sun, not quite jogging, not quite working out, but very much in sync.

CALEB —

You were in the living room folding some laundry when the soft shuffle of tiny footsteps approached. Your daughter came into view, clutching her little container filled with colorful hair ties, clips, and sparkly accessories like it was the most sacred thing in the world.

She looked up at you, messy strands of hair falling into her face, and asked in a soft voice, “Mommy, where’s Daddy?”

You reached over to gently brush her tangled hair back with your fingers, smoothing it as best you could.

“Why, baby? Daddy’s in the spare room. He’s exercising right now.”

She gave a little nod. “Oki, Mommy. I will go to Daddy!” And with that, she turned and toddled off, still holding her container like a tiny trick or treater on a mission.

The door to the spare room was left slightly ajar, and she didn’t bother knocking, just pushed it open with her little hand and entered.

Caleb was in the middle of stretching, preparing for his push ups when he heard her voice, “What are you doing, Daddy?”

He turned his head and smiled when he saw her by the doorway, her hair in a cute mess, her arms wrapped around the plastic container she now set down beside her feet.

“I’m exercising, baby,” he said as he sat up on the mat, wiping a bit of sweat from his brow. “Getting stronger for you and mommy.”

She nodded seriously, then sat cross legged beside him. “Can I stay with you? And… can you fix my hair first?” she added, pushing the container toward him.

He chuckled and leaned forward, pulling her gently into his lap. “Of course I can. What kind of hairstyle do you want today, little lady?”

She placed a small red apple clip in his hand. “This one. And two ponytails. Like bunny ears!”

Caleb smiled as he carefully combed her hair with his fingers, untangling the knots with gentle precision. He used two colorful bands to tie twin ponytails, then added her favorite clips, small paper crane clips, butterflies, even a tiny apple slice. He made sure everything was symmetrical, as symmetrical as you could get with a squirmy child, and once satisfied, held up a pretend mirror with his hands.

“There. All done. Look at you, the most stylish and cute bunny I’ve ever seen.”

She giggled, pleased, then stood up and dusted off her little pajamas before saying, “Okay! Now I exercise with daddy!”

Caleb just chuckled, “Oh? Gonna do push ups too?”

She simply climbed onto his back like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Caleb laughed under his breath, adjusting his arms as he lowered himself into position. “Well… i guess that works too..”

As he began doing push ups with her riding along, she pulled out more tiny clips from her container and began decorating the back of his head, carefully clipping them in place with intense focus.

“Daddy, don’t move too much,” she scolded gently, trying to balance another pink lotus flower clip on his hair.

“I’m literally doing push ups with a tiny human backpack,” he grunted, smiling despite himself.

She leaned forward, resting her little hands on his shoulders. “This exercise is easy, daddy. I'm having abs now too" she said while she was just sitting in his back.

And as his daughter kept talking and his back slowly turned into a walking hair clip display, Caleb smiled through every rep, because honestly, he wouldn’t trade this workout partner for the world.

SYLUS —

A It had been a full, laughter filled day in the house. Your daughter had spent hours with the twins, Luke and Kieran, who had gladly taken up babysitting duty from morning to late afternoon. You could still hear their voices echoing through the halls earlier, playful yells, scattered giggles, and a few loud thumps that were always followed by one twin yelling, “Mini boss won!”

Now, however, things have calmed down.

She was finally at Sylus' personal gym, the space tucked neatly into the back of your home, sitting cross legged on a mat while watching her dad with full concentration. The steady sound of fists hitting leather echoed in the gym, accompanied by the low, rhythmic thud of Sylus’ punches slamming into the heavy bag. His muscles flexed with each strike, sweat trailing down his jaw as he kept his focus sharp, or at least, it looked like he was fully focused.

But he felt it the moment she stepped in.

He didn’t have to look. The moment his daughter peeked into the room, he caught the soft shuffle of her small feet against the floor. Her presence had a weight he could always recognize, no matter how quiet she was. After all, she was his only daughter, and Sylus always knew when she was near.

Without a word, she stood up, waddled over to the smaller, child sized punching bag you’d gotten for fun a while ago, and started mimicking him, her little fists pushing awkwardly at the bag, grunting softly with every “punch.”

He finally glanced over his shoulder, softly smiling as he spotted his daughter, cheeks flushed from playing with the twins all day, hair a bit messy, her grape juice box on the floor as she was mimicking his actions with the punching bag.

A low chuckle rumbled from his chest as he dropped his gloves and made his way over.

“Hey, princess,” he said, kneeling beside her. “You trying to beat up that bag, too?”

She looked up at him, proud and slightly flushed. “Like you, Daddy!”

“Well, you’re missing some technique,” he teased as he gently took her hands and showed her how to make a proper fist, adjusting her stance, and explaining the difference between a jab and a cross. She listened intently, nodding seriously at every instruction, as if she was training for a championship fight next week.

And for the next twenty minutes, she was completely absorbed in learning how to throw proper, yet gentle, punches at the bag. Sylus guided her softly, his big hands covering her tiny fists when demonstrating a move. He never corrected too harshly, only with praise and a proud smile.

By the time training ended, your daughter had one mission.

'show off to mommy and big bros(luke and kieran)'

Now every time she saw Luke or Kieran pass by, she’d leap up, throw a pretend combo into the air and yell, “BANG! Look! I’m strong like Daddy!”

And when you walked into the room with a towel and water for Sylus, she rushed over to you next. “Mommy, look! I punch like this now!” she demonstrated with exaggerated form, accidentally almost punching your leg.

Sylus sighed, standing behind her, already anticipating the chaos and softly chuckling.

“She’s been punching air non stop,” he said with a small smirk, towel now over his shoulders. “She's been trying to use her tricks with the twins.”

Your daughter looked up at you with an adorable grin. “Daddy said I got perfect form!” she beamed, hands on her hips.

Sylus knelt beside her again, pulling her into his arms as he pressed a kiss to her temple.

You chuckled and softly reminded her, “You do have perfect form, baby. But punching is for training. Not for attacking your big bros, yeah?”

Your daughter grinned, wrapping her arms around her dad’s neck. “But Daddy said I got fighter blood!”

Sylus just chuckled in response and stood up, still carrying her.

You shook your head, hiding a smile as you watched the two of them, one who's literally the Onychinus's Leader, and the other… his proud little baby girl.

ZAYNE —

A The soft hum of music played from Zayne’s speaker in the corner of the room, but he was focused, both hands gripping the pull up bar, arms flexing with each controlled lift. His face was calm, only the faintest crease of effort on his brow as he powered through his set.

But he wasn’t alone today.

Just a few feet away, sitting cross-legged on a mat, was his daughter, happily munching on a tiny box of macarons. She was mid-bite into a pink one, watching her dad with the kind of wide eyed curious look only a child could manage.

After a few seconds of silent observation, she tilted her head and asked, “Daddy… is that like the monkey bars?”

Zayne stopped mid pull, then dropped down with a light thud. He turned to her, amused.

“Monkey bars?” he repeated, grabbing a towel to wipe his hands. “it's quite similar, i guess.”

She stood up, brushing a few crumbs off her shirt. “But why don’t you swing?” she asked, walking over to him and looking up at the pull up bar like it was some grand playground structure. “You’re just going up and down.”

He crouched to her level, brushing a macaron crumb off her cheek. “It’s not for swinging, sweetheart. I’m doing pull-ups, it’s an exercise. Makes Daddy strong.”

She looked skeptical. “…But I think it’s monkey bars.”

Zayne chuckled softly, then stood and gently picked her up with ease. “Alright then. Let’s try it your way.”

Her small hands reached up to the bar as he lifted her, and she immediately started kicking her legs in the air, trying to pull herself up with all her might, but of course, her arms weren’t quite ready for that kind of effort.

So Zayne took over.

He supported her by the waist and gently moved her up and down, mimicking the movement of pull ups. “There. You’re doing it very well, sweetheart.” he said with a soft smile, watching her squeal in delight.

“I’m strong like Daddy now....!” she declared, still hanging on as he lifted her again.

“Stronger,” he whispered with a smile, planting a kiss on the side of her head as she lightly giggled. “You’re definitely stronger.”

Soon they weren’t really doing pull ups anymore. She just wanted to swing back and forth, and Zayne gladly held her, gently swaying her in the air as she laughed and begged to go higher.

He was supposed to be training, counting sets, burning muscle, but in that moment, with her tiny fingers still gripping the bar and her laughter echoing through the room, he figured this was the best workout he could ask for.

XAVIER —

The low sound of the cycling machine filled the corner of the room, the soft rhythmic clicking of gears blending with Xavier’s steady breaths. His hands rested on the handlebars, one earbud in as he cycled through his usual routine, nothing too intense today, just enough to keep the momentum going.

Across the room, sitting on the floor with his legs sprawled out and spaceship toys surrounding him like an orbit, was his four years old son.

Xavier glanced at him between at least 3 minutes, just enough to make sure he wasn’t sticking a toy into an outlet or trying to sneak and play with the ipad again.

Then came the inevitable.

“Daddy?” his son piped up, standing and wobbling over in his socks, a little spaceship toy clutched in one hand. “Why are you biking without moving?”

Xavier slowed his pace slightly, pulling the other earbud out with a raised brow. “Hmm?”

His son looked at the cycling machine with visible confusion. “You’re biking but… you’re not going anywhere.”

Xavier gave a soft laugh, ruffling the boy’s hair. “It’s called a stationary bike, buddy. It’s for exercise. Kinda like biking in place.”

“…So it’s pretend biking..?”

“Exactly.”

His son squinted at the machine, thinking very hard. “Can I pretend bike too?”

Xavier smiled and tapped the handlebars. “C’mon, climb up.”

He reached down and carefully lifted his son onto his lap, making sure he was sitting safely, feet dangling way too short to reach the pedals. He adjusted the seat a bit, holding his son in place while the little boy clutched the handlebars like he was about to race in a championship.

“Ready?” Xavier asked.

“Go...!” his son declared, softly giggling.

Xavier began pedaling slowly, just enough to keep the wheels spinning without jostling him too much. His son squealed as he bounced slightly from the movement, pretending to steer with dramatic turns and sound effects.

“Vroooom! Zoom! We’re going to uncle Jeremiah!” he said.

Xavier leaned closer, playing along. “Left turn, captain. Don’t miss the ice cream stand.”

His son cackled, twisting the handlebars and yelling, “I’m going super fast now!” even though Xavier was moving at the slowest pace possible to keep things gentle.

They biked “around the world” in circles of imagination, racing through invisible cities, dodging flying dinosaurs, and somehow ending up in space at one point.

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ao3commentoftheday · 4 months ago

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ao3 skins faq

Just a few answers to questions I've seen in the notes on this poll

What is a site skin? A site skin is CSS code that changes the way AO3 looks. This could be anything from changing the page colour to the font to the way tags look to hiding parts of the site - and more.

Where do I find site skins? There are a few places. The easiest one is in the site footer (that red band at the bottom of the page). There are four skins linked there under the word Customize, and you can click on them to see what they do. Another place to find skins is https://archiveofourown.org/skins?skin_type=Site Those skins were created years ago and loaded into AO3 for easy applicaiton. Just hit the Use button and they'll be applied to your account. Lastly, you can find skins created by other AO3 users. Some people post their code on AO3 itself, some use github or other code repositories. A lot of folks share their skins here on tumblr with images and then a link to the code itself.

How do I save them to my account? If you're using the ones in the footer or the ones linked on the Public Skins page, you don't need to save them. Those are built into AO3. If you want to create your own (or use one created by another user), that's when you save them to your account. Tap on your name at the top of the Ao3 page. Then select Dashboard, then select Skins. Tap the button labelled Create Site Skin and give your skin a unique name. Write or paste the CSS code into the big box, then hit the Submit button to save it. If you want to use it right away, hit the Use button on the next page.

What's the difference between a Work Skin and a Site Skin? A work skin changes the appearance of an individual AO3 work, and it changes it for everyone who looks at that work. This lets you turn your fic into something that looks like an email or a text chain or a newspaper, etc etc without having to use images. Work skins can also be turned off by other users, so if they just want to read the plain text of your work they still can. A site skin changes how the entire site looks - but only for you.

How do you have 100+ site skins?? I start a lot of skins that I abandon partway through. I also create skins for certain specific purposes - for example, changing the look of all of the buttons on the site - and then I can just grab that chunk of code and add it to any "full" site skins I create for the purposes of sharing. I have a lot of experiments that fail, but I keep the code around because maybe I'll learn how to fix it someday.

Can I create my own site skin if I don't know how to code? You can! AO3 has a site skin Wizard that will help you change the colours, fonts, and font sizes on the site. Go to your Dashboard > Skins > Create Site Skin and then tap on Use Wizard. Give your skin a unique title. Click on the ? bubbles to get examples of how to enter information into each box. If there's anything you don't want to change, you can just leave that box empty. When you add in colours, they must be hex colour codes, and they must include the # at the start. Any font you add need to exist on your device (so it might work on your computer but not on your phone because your phone doesn't have that font installed). You can add parent skins to Wizard skins, too. See below!

I wish I could have [X functionality] in [Y aesthetic skin] You can! If you create one site skin in order to block certain works or tags, you can add that skin on top of an aesthetic skin. To do so, edit your aesthetic skin, scroll down and tap on the Advanced button (lower left of the CSS box), tap on Parent Skin, type in the name of your blocking skin and Add Parent Skin. Then save your aesthetic skin, and the two are combined! You can also do this with those skins that are native to AO3. So for example, you want a Reversi (dark mode) skin that Shortens Long Tags and also hides the "you have muted some users" banner. Create a site skin with the muted users code:

p.muted.notice { display: none; } And add Reversi and Shortening Long Tag Fields to it as parents. (you can also copy/paste all of the code into a single site skin, if you'd prefer)

For more FAQs, you can check out the Skins & Archive Interface section on AO3's FAQ page. Or you can drop questions in the notes, too.

#long post #how to ao3 #site skins

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lactoseintolerentswag · 2 years ago

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Rise Characterizations Pt. 4!!!!

Nearing an end with writing notes for turtles. Thinking of posting about April and Splinter separately, and then a big post for side characters.

Raph, Leo, and Donnie here. Now let's start with

Mikey Character Notes

Language Habits:

Catchphrase: "razzmatazz"

Tendency to "hoo-ha!"

Uses aave/bae

Like Raph and Leo, he will verbalize his attacks, but notably less than the aforementioned two. His most common phrases: "power whip jitsu" (chain moves), and "power fun jitsu" (use of his fire)

Shortens words/phrases in his excitement (i.e. the famous omigosh), but lengthens words in his wonder/amazement like drawing out wow into wooooooow

Uses a lot of idioms, i.e. "give us the 911", "hit the bricks", "you've been workin' a nerve"

Uses a lot of alliterations, especially when describing something

Refers to splinter as "pop" or "dad", with the rare "father" (usually for dramatics)

Will refer to others using "chico", "dude", or "man"

Answers the phone with "shell-o"

Personality:

Oblivious. A lot of stuff goes over his head, or he'll pick on the wrong thing to focus on. Like thinking they're part imitation crab men

Passionate. He throws himself into everything, whether that be cooking, fighting, or art. Sometimes this focus comes at his own detriment (i.e. forgetting to tell his brothers that Meatsweats mutated on t.v. bc he was cooking his pork risotto)

Optimistic, a dreamer. Not one to back down from doom and gloom, and is often among the first of the brothers to take action. Has a lot of perseverance

Believes the best in everyone. He can easily connect and empathize with others, most notably Draxum

Blunt, he doesn't hide his opinions and can accidentally be a little too harsh. On the other hand, he uses his persona of "Doctor Delicate Touch" to purposefully use his bluntness. He doesn't really much to hide on what he thinks about people

Sensitive, he's easily swayed by the emotion or pathos of others (read: gullible). This also mean his ego is easily damaged, which can contribute to his competitiveness with Leo at times and his inferiority complex with Raph babying him

The emotional heart of the team, he keeps the brothers grounded in empathizing with others

Energetic. Mikey's the wildcard. No one can guess what's coming out of his mouth next, and his fighting style is very innovative. All his energy gives him a charming amount of "razzmatazz"

Firey. Mikey's a pretty expressionate guy. He doesn't hide his emotions, and he doesn't really hide his anger. Sometimes this comes out in his bluntness, and sometimes this comes out in strained rage that has a boiling point

Looks up to his brothers. He has a lot of admiration for his older brothers. Whenever he's put in a corner he thinks what would Raph do, he's grateful for Leo's advocacy, and likes spending a lot of time with Donnie and his inventions. He also has a need to prove himself to his older brothers due to his admiration

Miscellaneous:

First to unlock mystic powers

Nicknames/code names: "Doctor Delicate Touch" and "Doctor Feelings" are self-proclaimed titles, "orange pawn" code name by Donnie, "Michael" nickname by Donnie, and "Flavortown" is his video game handle

Named his piggy bank "Mrs. Porky Coin"

Only chooses scissors in rock, paper, scissors

Has the top score in "Pance Pance Revolution" (rise's equivalent of DDR)

Well that's all the turtles for reference notes. I think I'll post Splinter next :)

#rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #rise of the tmnt #rottmnt #teenage mutant ninja turtles #tmnt #rottmnt mikey #rottmnt michelangelo #character analysis #long post #fanfic #writing #critter talks

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youloveamonsterlikeme · 5 months ago

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Sal fiddled with his controller, not completely paying attention to the game, as his concern rose in the conversation. He was used to Ms. Johnson being very sick every year, but he didn't realize how bad it was this year.

"Jeez... I'm sorry, man, that's awful."

He wanted to help in any way he could. He cares so much about Lisa -- without her, he would have never met his best friend.

"How about I help out around the place? I can cook, clean, grab meds... You name it. I want to be here for you both."

@asklarryjohnsonofficial

After years of being friends, it was tradition for Sal to check up on Larry, especially during the winter season. It was also a common pattern for Larry's mother to get sick every year, and Sal's been doing what he could to support them. He approaches the basement apartment door and gives it a few knocks, awaiting his best friend. Behind his back he was holding a wrapped gift, which he continued to keep from any eyes until Larry met him.

#reply #ic #sally face #sal fisher #indie rp #art reply #larry johnson #next time im on my computer i'll find out how to shorten these posts lol

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little-miss-fandom-freak · 6 months ago

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Hi there!

This is my first time asking so I'm sorry if I ramble too long

I'm just about caught up with creature commandos, and to say The Weasel's backstory broke my heart would be an understatement 😭

So could I request The Weasel [and the others cause yes] rescuing and taking care of a child reader who coincidentally looks similar to the girl he was trying to save?

[Bonus if said child is a telepath so they can communicate with him]

WEASEL MY BABY 😭😭 I was drenched in tears after his episode

Note: IM SO SORRY FOR THE DELAY IN POSTS BTW! Finals week is coming up and I've been studying and finishing projects. Once it's over with I'm sure I'll be back to posting more frequently. Also The Commandos are on a mission that is septeate from the shows main storyline

Weasel Adopts a Kid

The Commandos weren't told much about their next mission, they were simply told that there was extraterrestrial activity that needed to be handled quickly and quietly.

It was everything but quick and quiet.

The large, gray beings had destroyed everything in their path. The day was full of pure chaos and destruction. Once the extraterrestrials were defeated and were collected by Waller's team, the Commandos were put on damage control duty.

Flag kicked down a door to one of the many half-burnt down flats, making sure no civilians or their bodies were stuck inside. Weasel scurried around as usual, smelling and licking everything when he froze.

"Help..."

A faint, small voice echoed in his mind. His nose picked up a scent. A human scent.

He went racing for the back, Flag called after him before running to catch up. In the back of the kitchen was a broken stairwell that likely once led to a basement, however now it was fully caved in with rubble. Without a second thought, Weasel began to dig.

"Wease, what the..." Flag stopped to catch his breath until he realized just what Weasel was doing. He quickly moved to help the creature, pushing a shoving the larger rubble that Weasel couldn't. Underneath a large bolder lied a small hand. Flag felt his lungs tighten in fear before he jumped to twords the hand and began to help Weasel move the rocks.

You didn't think you cry for help would reach anyone, but when you saw the faint light creep through the cracks, you couldn't help but feel relief. Whether it was help from a person or from the gods above, you were simply thankful to be soon out.

The space around you began to close in as you felt a tug on the back of your shirt; Weasel was carefully dragging you out from beneath the rubble and ran it off the building with Flag calling him from behind.

Just as the three of you escaped the building, it's lower structure began to crumble inward. Your vision was blurred from the tears and dirt in them, but as your adrenaline rush died down a and your eyes began to drop, you used the last of your energy to thank your saviors.

"Thank... you..." A small voice rang in Flag's head that made a chill rush down his spine. He looked around, trying to figure out the source of the voice. Then it hit him.

He looked down at the little kid and thought one thing.

Metahuman.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

You slowly began to awake, the feeling of a soft bed calming your nerves. As your vison returned to you, you looked around the unfamiliar room. It looked like some kind of campsite; the walls were clearly a tent, and the bed beneath you was a fancy cot. You tried to think of the events that happened before you fell unconscious, but you found your memory running blank. You began to panic, your eyes frantically moving around the room as you tried to remember anything before the ceiling caved in on you.

Your vision began to blur from the tears, your breaths became shortened as you began to hyperventilate. A fluffy feeling rubbed against your hand, you flinched at it's touched. Looking to your right, there was that creature that had saved you.

"You... you're the one who saved me..."

The creature looked up at you with big eyes, nudging your hand as an attempt to call you.

"What's your name?" You asked in it's mind. Even in his head he responded in chatters, but you were somehow able to understand him.

"Weasel? That's a funny name." You mentally said with a small smile.

Weasel chittered some more as he crawled onto your cot, plopping his big head into your chest as you scratched a spot behind his ear. As you two calmly lied there, the entrance to your tent opened. Walking in was an older man and a very tall lady with staples on her face.

"Is she okay?"

Bride flinched as a small voice echoed in her mind. She looked around the room until her eyes landed on the little kid on the cot. Their big eyes stared up at her; they were filled with wonder and curiosity, two things she's never seen in the eyes of another before.

"So this is the refugee you snuck into the base?" She asked Flag as he made his way to you. He ignored her question as he sat in the stool beside your bed. He smiled softly down at you as you slightly coward underneath Weasel.

"Don't worry kid, there's no reason to be scared. My name is Rick Flag, I'm a general for the US Military. My team and I are only here to help. What's your name?"

You stared at him in silence before you spoke in his mind.

"I don't remember."

He flinched at the echoing voice, but tried not to show his shock. "Don't remember, huh? Well you're clearly a metahuman, so that's a start."

You stayed quiet, your small grip tightening slightly around Weasel. "I'm scared Mr. Flag."

He sighed slightly, his heart aching at your situation. He placed a gentle reassuring hand in yours, his thumb lightly grazing the top of it as he tried to comfort you.

"It's okay, kiddo. We're going to help you. I have some friends that want to meet you, they want to see if they can help you remember who you are."

The light in your eyes shines a little brighter, excitement filled your mind as you quickly say up. "Really? You can help me?"

He chuckled at your eagerness and excitement. "We're gonna try our best. C'mon, why don't you take Weasel outside and play fetch? My friend and I need to talk."

You quickly hopped off your cot and ran out the entrance, looking back every other second to make sure Weasel was behind you. You found the biggest stick you could find and began to play fetch with your new friend Weasel.

Back at the tent, Flag and Bride stood watching you play. He couldn't help but feel guilty for taking part in the case of your situation, even if he and his team were only trying to help.

"You're not really going to bring her to Waller, are you?" The Bride asked, breaking the silence.

Flag sighed as he kept his eyes on you. "I can't leave her here, and we don't know the length of her power. Shockingly enough, taking her to Waller is the best option."

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

I hope you enjoyed this and if you have anything you would like me to personally respond to, message me or put it in my ask box because as of right now, Tumblr won't let me respond to comments :)

And I would like to apologize again for not writing as much, I get really stressed during finals weeks.

#dc comics #fanfic #creature commandos x reader #creature commandos #dc comics x reader #child!reader #weasel #weasel creature commandos #weasel dc

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obvithe-bestsoph · 2 months ago

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when it hits, i'll be there.

masterlist requests word count: 1.6k

a/n: i'm really sorry everyone! i know i said i was going to post yesterday but I got injured pretty badly at my game and I'm out for the next few weeks so maybe more fics for you all lol. yeah, sorry again, I was just in a lot of pain and found it hard to get motivation for writing. anyway, enjoy! genre: angst to comfort warnings: social anxiety, panic attacks.

summary: you don’t mean to fall apart at his celebration, but when you do, it’s pedri who finds you - quietly, gently, like he’s always does.

You knew it was a mistake the moment the elevator doors opened.

The lounge is packed. People laughing, clinking glasses. Cameras flashing. The hum of too many voices buzzing beneath the surface like static in your brain. You should’ve said no. Or stayed in the car. Or pretended you were sick. Or just said, “I’ll meet you later.”

But Pedri looked so happy. So excited to bring you this small post-match celebration for the Copa del Rey, a victory dinner for the team, nothing too huge, just the players, their partners, their families, and some staff.

Just enough people to make your hands go sweaty.

You’ve never liked crowds. And lately, with general life stress and not much good sleep, your tolerance is even lower. You told yourself it would be. You’d stick close to him. Smile when necessary. One hour, maybe two. Then back to the hotel room.

But within minutes, he’s swept into a conversation with Ferran, who’s waving over more teammates from across the room. Someone else offers you a drink.

You take it.

Not because you want it, or are thirsty, but because it gives you something to hold. Something to focus on.

And when you finally catch Pedri’s eyes from across the room, you give him a small smile - a lie you’ve mastered. He sends one right back, warm and soft and proud. He mouths, “¿Estás bien (are you okay)?”

You nod.

Lie number two.

The room gets louder.

Someone near you spills their drink. Another person brushes against your back too close, too casually. The ceiling lights feel like interrogation beams. Your breath begins to shorten before you even notice. You can’t hear what the woman next to you is saying. You laugh anyway.

Fake. Distant.

You find a wall. Lean against it.

You scan for Pedri. He’s in conversation still, nodding, charming, his eyes crinkling as he laughs. You’re glad he’s happy. You don’t want to ruin that.

But your heart is racing now, fast. Too fast.

You try grounding yourself. Five things you can see. Four things you can touch.

Your palms sting.

Your chest tightens.

Three things you can hear.

One - someone calling Pedri’s name.

Two - a phone camera clicking.

Three - your own breath, stuttering and shallow.

You can’t do this.

You turn quickly, heading for the bathroom. You keep your face neutral. You don’t want anyone to stop you. If they try, you’ll cry. You know it.

The hallway is better. Calmer.

You walk through the restroom door, it’s quiet. That’s all you need.

You slip into the last stall, lock the door, and sit on the floor, back against the cubicle wall, curling into yourself, your hands trembling. Your chest is tightening, breath is coming too fast. Your knees press to your chest. You try to stay quiet.

You can’t.

Your whole body feels like it isn’t listening to your brain, like it’s betraying you. Your breathing stutters. A whimper escapes. Your hands are icy cold, and your vision feels like it’s going dark at the edges. You clench your jaw, press your fists into the tops of your thighs.

Don’t cry. Don’t cry.

The sound of the bathroom door opening barely registers in your mind.

You freeze.

Footsteps, measured and steady, moving softly across the bathroom tile.

You hold your breath, heart pounding. Please don’t see me. Please don’t hear this. Please don’t know.

There’s a pause just outside your stall. Then, the sound of someone shifting. Not leaving. Just… listening.

It’s too late when you realise what gave you away.

Your shoes. The ones Pedri picked out and gifted you for your birthday. The same ones Rosy, his mamá, has complimented before the match.

You’re not sure how long she will stand there.

You know it’s her. She knows it’s you. Still, neither of you say anything.

But then the footsteps move again and the bathroom door opens once more.

And closes.

She’s gone.

You’re trying to breathe, trying not to make noise, but your chest convulses, your ribs hurt, your fingers are numb and trembling.

It’s not the first time.

But it’s been a while.

You feel small and ashamed. Embarrassed. You’d told Pedri things were fine. That you could handle it. And now you’re shaking on a random hotel bathroom floor like a scared little kid.

You try the counting thing again. Sometimes it helps.

Five things. Five-

You’re still shaking, head spinning, world tilting, when the door opens again.

Then, a voice you could recognise from anywhere.

“¿Mi alma?”

Pedri.

Your breath catches in your throat.

“Can you open the door for me?”

You feel like you can’t move in. Frozen in place. Frozen in time. But somehow, you find your hands shakily twisting the lock on the cubicle door. You barely get it open before just takes you in - crumpled on the floor, eyes wet, lips pale and trembling, your hands white-knuckled against your legs.

“Oh, Y/N…”

You turn your face, trying to hide.

“Please go,” you choke out. “I’m okay… I just- I just need a second.”

He turns your face back to look at him. “No seas tonta (don’t be silly). You’re not ‘okay’ at all.”

You gently brush his hands off your cheeks. “You have people out there. Teammates and friends and- and- and I didn’t want to embarrass you.”

He looks at you like you’ve just stabbed him.

“Embarrass me?”

You feel his arms gently wrap around your back. He doesn’t try and pull you to your feet or move you at all. He just holds you there, grounded. Present. Calming. A hand running up and down your spine.

“Amor, mírame (love, look at me).”

You do, slowly.

“I would rather walk out of every press event, every match, every conversation in my life than ever see you suffer alone like this again. “No tienes que ocultármelo (you don’t have to hide this from me). No debería ser algo de lo que avergonzarte (it shouldn’t be something you’re ashamed of). Y a mí, desde luego, no me avergüenza (and i’m certainly not embarrassed of it).”

You hiccup softly, tears burning down your cheek. “I didn’t want to ruin your night.”

“My night is only good if you’re okay too.”

He presses a kiss to the crown of your head, not caring if your smudged makeup gets on his shirt. “You’re not some burden to me, ¿lo sabes (you know)?”

You start crying again - this time, not from panic. Just overwhelmed. He holds you through it all.

At some point, he sits down properly and pulls you sideways into his lap, your cheek pressed against his firm chest, his heartbeat right next to your ear. Strong and steady.

Beating for you.

“I’m sorry,” you whisper, once the storm in your brain quiets. “It just… it hit so fast. I didn’t see it coming.”

“I know,” he murmurs, “It’s okay. You don’t have to apologise for how you react. That’s not really your fault.”

You shake your head weakly. “You’re not understanding. I’ve been doing better lately. I didn’t want you to think that I was getting bad again.”

Pedri tilts your chin so you have to look at him.

“Going through something hard isn’t ‘getting bag again’. It’s being human. And I’m not going anywhere.”

The words feel soothing.

Safe. Genuine.

“Te amo,” you whisper, like it’s a secret.

“Te amo,” he whispers back, like it’s a promise.

Minutes later, when your breath has steadied and the walls don’t feel so much like they’re closing in, he helps you to your fet. You feel shaky, but stronger with him beside you.

“Do you want to leave?” he asks softly.

You mod.

He slips his hoodie over your head and walks the two of you out of the bathroom without a second thought. Doesn’t say goodbye to anyone. Doesn’t check over his shoulder to see if anyone is filming.

Only keeps his arm snug around your waist.

The walk through the hotel is quiet. Peaceful.

His fingers never leave yours.

When you reach the room, he helps you change into soft clothes, tucks a blanket around you, and brings you a drink. He doesn’t hover, helicopter or smother. He just stays close, offering quiet comfort the way only someone who really knows you can.

At one point, you whisper, “Do you still want me to come to things like that? After today?”

Pedri looks genuinely confused. “Why wouldn’t I?”

“I don’t want to make you worry.”

“I’d rather be worried than smile without you.”

Your throat tightens again.

“And, inevitably, when we do something like that again,” he adds, “We’ll have a aplan. We don’t even have to stay the whole time. We’ll make signals. We can go together, leave together. You never need to be stuck like that again.”

You lean into him, your head resting in the crook of his neck. His arms tighten around you.

“I’m proud of you, you know?” he says quietly.

“For what?” “For being honest. For trying. For getting through it.”

You let the silence stretch for a while, but it’s warm now. Comfortable.

Then you whisper something you hadn’t let yourself believe before;

“Thank you for not making me feel broken.”

He shakes his head against your hair. “You’re not broken. You’re the strongest person that I know.”

And he kisses you, it’s not rushed, dramatic or particularly passionate. Just slow. Certain.

You fall asleep in his arms that night - not because you’ve forgotten how panicked and overwhelmed you felt, but because, for once, it doesn’t own you.

Because someone saw you at your worst… and stayed.

And somehow, with him there, it starts making the world feel okay again.

#pedri gonzalez #pedri #pedri gonzalez fic #pedri fic #obvithebestsoph!pedri #pedri gonzalez x reader #pedri x reader #fc barcelona #fanfiction #football #football fic #culer #PG8 #Spotify

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nihongoseito · 1 month ago

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uhhh fuck it: reverse-translating all the japanese in aftg 5

i guess this is what i'm up to these days??? i'm so terminally bored i'm ctrl+f searching "japanese" in all the aftg books by nora sakavic. turns out aftg 5 (the golden raven) is the only one with actual legible japanese (i.e., japanese written as english, instead of just "and then he spoke japanese"). so uhhhhh yeah let's translate that!!

note: i'm going to include some rōmaji (latin transliterations) in this post, just in case it breaks langblr containment!

1. 無理やり = by force

anyways, let's get into it. here's our first of three:

jean rounded on kevin and did the only thing he could: he slipped into japanese and said, "don't make me do this." (175)

ooh, this is very english, especially "do" as a filler verb. japanese doesn't often use する this way, but we'll use it here due to context.

let's check out "make me" first. in japanese we've got the causative form:

〜させる* = to make or let (someone) do ~

which is fine and good, but we've got to make it clear that we mean make and not let (which is probably the more common usage). to do so i'm going to use this adverb:

無理（むり）やり = by force, against one's will; forced (i.e., not natural or obvious)

with this, there's no way you could read the sentence as *don't let me do this or similar.

lastly, we should get the flavor of the imperative (command) right. we could use the true blue negative imperative, させるな, but i don't think that quite matches jean's tone here, which is much more like begging. so, let's use 〜てください, or more specifically, the rough version 〜てくれ—in the negative, of course!

putting all these together, we get my reverse translation:

無理やりさせないでくれ。 = (lit.) please don't make me. = "don't make me do this." transliteration: muriyari sasenaide kure.

i'm pretty satisfied with this! we could maybe get a more specific verb in there, but that's less to do with the translation and more with the source text.

*of course, this form shows up as 〜あせる in 五段 verbs :)

2. 〜てもらいな = get them to ~

this one is long, a veritable speech:

kevin ignored her and answered in japanese. "have jeremy take you outside for some air. i will inform hannah we will not be answering any of these questions. if she refuses to back down, we will leave. i will message jeremy with the decision either way." (175)

i'll be honest, this one took me a while—it was tough, but fun. (also, kevin is my favorite character, so i wanted him to sound right!) let's go sentence-by-sentence:

have jeremy take you outside for some air.

tricky right off the bat! what are we supposed to do with "have jeremy take you"? probably we should use 〜てもらう, which usually comes up in cases of receiving. after all, kevin is basically instructing jean to "receive" an action from jeremy. because this is a sports anime, we could have kevin use the rough imperative もらえ, but we could ALSO have him be slightly nicer (but still authoritative), since jean was once his mentee/mob partner/co-captive/etc. just bc i like the tone of it, let's do the nicer-but-authoritative one using the shortened 〜なさい form:

1. ジェレミーに外で休憩でも連れて行ってもらいな。

honestly, this is much wordier in japanese than in english, which i don't completely like. we could probably delete 外で (= outside) and lose a bit of specificity but keep all the essentials if we wanted.

next sentence:

2. i will inform hannah we will not be answering any of these questions.

idk about you guys, but in my english, "will not be ~ing" essentially means "refuse to ~", so that's how i'll translate this sentence. also, because kevin is going to use reported speech ("hannah, we will not..."), i'll put that portion in 敬語 (respectful language). as we know, kevin is a perfect publicity boy, so he would definitely be appropriately and maximally formal in these situations. lastly, he's emphasizing that he will take care of hannah and that jean doesn't have to worry about it, so i'll put in 俺 with emphatic が.

2. 俺がハンナにこんな質問お断りしますと伝えてくる。

next!

3. if she refuses to back down, we will leave.

again, "refuses to back down" isn't extremely wordy in english, but in japanese, something like 譲るのを拒む is very wordy, so i'm going to switch this to something more like "won't yield" using 〜てくれる.

3. 譲ってくれないならやめよう。

and lastly:

4. i will message jeremy with the decision either way.

i'm actually going to change the sentence structure a little bit here: instead of saying "with the decision," i'll write it as "once it's decided" (using 〜たら). i'm also going to use 〜てあげる instead of the rougher 〜てやる, because again, i'm having kevin be slightly nicer to jean out of like vestigial cult survivor affection. (also, he's talking about jeremy, who's his hero/憧れの人!) and lastly, i'll end the sentence on the particle combo からさ to express something authoritative yet reassuring, like so you don't need to worry about it (which we got a little bit of in sentence 2 as well).

4. とにかく決まったらジェレミーに連絡したげるからさ。

now, we actually have something of an interesting task: putting it all together. in the english kevin just rapid-fires off all these statements, but in japanese we like a lot more transition words, so i'm going to combine and reverse the first two sentences.

俺がハンナにこんな質問お断りしますと伝えてくるから、ジェレミーに外で休憩でも連れて行ってもらいな。 = (lit.) i'm going to tell hannah we refuse to answer these questions, so get jeremy to take you outside for a breather. = "have jeremy take you outside for some air. i will inform hannah we will not be answering any of these questions." transliteration: ore ga hanna ni konna shitsumon okotowari shimasu to tsutaete kuru kara, jeremī ni soto de kyuukei de mo tsurete itte moraina.

then, the next two sentences will go in regular order:

譲ってくれないならやめよう。とにかく決まったらジェレミーに連絡したげるからさ。 = (lit.) if she won't back down, we'll give up. in any case, once it's decided, i'll contact jeremy [so you don't have to]. = "if she refuses to back down, we will leave. i will message jeremy with the decision either way." transliteration: yuzutte kurenai nara yameyou. tonikaku kimattara jeremī ni renraku shitageru kara sa.

and just for thoroughness, i'll compile the japanese:

俺がハンナにこんな質問お断りしますと伝えてくるから、ジェレミーに外で休憩でも連れて行ってもらいな。譲ってくれないならやめよう。とにかく決まったらジェレミーに連絡したげるからさ。 transliteration: ore ga hanna ni konna shitsumon okotowari shimasu to tsutaete kuru kara, jeremī ni soto de kyuukei de mo tsurete itte moraina. yuzutte kurenai nara yameyou. tonikaku kimattara jeremī ni renraku shitageru kara sa.

phew! that was a long haul, but i'm pretty happy with how it came out, especially kevin's tone. let's look at the last one!

3. やってやらねーわ = no way in hell

i like this quote in english a lot, so the pressure is on for me:

in weary japanese, kevin said, "our damage control needs damage control. i will never do an interview again." (179)

ooh, tasty! this isn't exactly a joke, since he obviously means it, but there is some sarcasm in there. japanese....doesn't do sarcasm very well (lol), so we're going to have to make it a little more literal. let's do the joke first:

1. our damage control needs damage control.

this sentence basically means our damage control is insufficient, which would translate into japanese really succinctly and comprehensibly—while, of course, completely losing the sarcasm. our other option is to force the sarcasm into a bit of a wordier/weirder sentence:

1. ダメコン足りねー。　<OR>　ダメコンにもダメコン要るじゃん。

i like both of these, but for the sake of being loyal to japanese, i'm going to stick with the first one. at the very least, using the rough 〜ねー negative gets across how fed up he is.

now, let's do the follow-up:

2. i will never do an interview again.

i'll interpret this as something like, "i'll never deign to give them an interview ever again," using 〜てやる, because he actually IS being a huge bitch here. that way we can enjoy using this extremely rough form which he hasn't been using with jean and give it a flavor of no way in hell. lastly, i'll add なんか for disdain and the masculine sentence-final particle わ for emphasis:

2. もう2度とインタなんかやってやらねーわ。

funnily enough, i feel like the sarcasm comes through much more clearly in this second sentence. and here's our final translation:

ダメコン足りねー。もう2度とインタなんかやってやらねーわ。 = (lit.) our damage control is not cutting it. no way in hell i'm giving [them/anyone] a stupid interview ever again. = "our damage control needs damage control. i will never do an interview again." transliteration: damekon tarinee. mou nido to inta nanka yatte yaranee wa.

am i completely satisfied with this? honestly, no, but i think it gets the job done. some of the problem just comes from the way the dialogue is set up, which would be a problem for an ACTUAL translator to fix (lol).

what did we learn...?

weirdly, we learned (or i learned) that i really want to put 関西弁 (kansai/western japanese) into all this sports anime ass dialogue (lol). i resisted since it wouldn't match the tone, assuming that kevin and jean learned how to speak from a tokyo mafia prince, but maybe if jean speaks marseilles french he'd actually be pretty down with getting into some 関西弁! やんけ！

also, as i've mentioned a couple times, i found the sentence structure of these quotes to be really wonky if you translate them straight to japanese. i messed with it a little but, but definitely not enough for it to sound like regular japanese (i don't think). that wasn't exactly my mission here, so i'll let it go as a problem for another, rainier day, but i think it's important to note. (actually, my opinion is that some of this sentence structure is pretty awkward in english as well...but since she's writing drama, the dialogue doesn't HAVE to sound like real people, ofc.)

and lastly, we (i) learned (remembered) that i love kevin day!! heinous bitch!! <33

anyways thanks for sticking with me for a pretty unusual episode of "sasha uses this blog for whatever the hell she wants"....hopefully it was interesting even if you don't know the source material! as always, great work and お疲れ様でした!!

#aftg #all for the game #the golden raven #japanese #langblr #日本語 #sasha.txt

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yandere-sins · 2 months ago

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The Octopodes' Tale - Prologue

Yan-Poll #40 #MerMay 2025 Special Prev. Part

My, my! I was surprised to hear you were going to look after my 'pet'! Who would have thought that your next journey would lead you to us?

I, for one, am happy it did.

What, surprised? Well, I never said witches don't need help from humans. We just prefer not to, surely, you understand that, right? We are mostly independent, after all. It's our job to give you guidance, not the other way around. You didn't need my help much last time, but maybe this time you will? Let me know if you are unsure where to go, and I'll be willing to help you... for a smile fee. After all, you'll take care of my beloved mate for me, won't you? We are in a little predicament, so surely you won't abandon us, right?

I could tell you so much about my beloved. My Leo is the most pure-hearted, sweetest male in all of the ocean! He likes to dance for me and put up displays of color, catch me food while I work, and hug me for hours sometimes until I put him back in his place. So make sure to feed him his food directly by hand—that's how he likes it! I know his tongue can be sharp, but I promise he'd never bite off a finger. I would know; I trained him, after all. Oh! If you scratch his back, he will give you little hickies! It's the most adorable thing! I love him so much!

Of course, I'd prefer it if you'd return him to me... it's been so lonely without him. He can be quite a needy leech if he likes you, but he's the sweetest little male I have ever met. We spent so many years in harmonic togetherness, his absence has been truly sorrowful. Now that I can't reach him, I don't even know if he's keeping his tentacles at bay. Hopefully, no one has taken off his restraints; make sure to check that! As you know, we octopuses die easily upon mating, so you must always keep that in check. For you, he's just a test subject.

But he's my whole life.

If something were to happen to him, I wouldn't know what I would do. We are meant for each other, you understand? So whatever you do, try to keep him alive, alright? You don't often find a well-trained pet like him, so he can be quite valuable! And I need him like you need air to breathe.

Maybe you should think about returning him to me instead of doing your silly little experiments. We could both benefit from it. I may have what the facility wants you to find, and you have what I want. What do you say?

However you decide, I hope you know what you're doing. We wouldn't want anything to happen to you, right?

But I trust you, I know you'll make the right choice. You are a smart human, aren't you?

I can't wait for you.

And with that: welcome back to MerMay!!

Yes, my favorite month of the year, and well, I have two very interesting specimen for you this time, although it depends on your choices if you're meeting them both (which I truly hope!) or suffer at the hands of the facility like all the others. At least, you won't be alone (;

It'll be almost the same game as last time!

At the end of each chapter, you'll get to make a choice which can either progress the story or lead to a bad end. Mind you, there are no secret routes or choice combinations you need to make. One path goes forward, the others are more or less literally "game overs". So, choose wisely! However, as she has some personal agenda, this particular sea witch from above will help you reach the end of the story if you make a wrong choice, and sometimes, bad ends are still interesting and full of information! I wouldn't blame you for choosing them :D

At this point of time, I have not plotted the story to its fullest, so... length may vary. But I plan to just go as far as I possibly can to make a fulfilling story (:

One thing is different: Polls will only be three days (and I will post as soon as I have a new part). I want to make the most use of yan-polls, stories, and this month, so with the new option to shorten the length, I decided to reduce it to three days instead of seven. Hope everyone gets to vote even with the shortened timespan!

Warnings ahead:

This story revolves around heavy sexual themes (Non-/Dub-Con, Talking about Pregnancy, Mating, Breeding, Eggs/Ovipositor, Tentacles, Dom/Sub Themes, etc.) and violent themes (Possible Major and Minor Character Death, Blood, Biting, Murder, Fighting, Licking (yes that is an actual violent act this time), Guns & Shooting, etc.). Also: both love interests are yandere, meaning the following themes are included: Possessive/Obsessive Behavior, Stalking, Kidnapping, Overall Crazyness, Gaslighting, Manipulation, Mental Breakdowns, etc. And the very last point: The mermaids are monsters, as such beware of Tentacles, Beaks, Sharp Teeth, Teethed Tongues, Animalistic Behaviors, Claws, Monster Anatomy, Monster Behavior, Toxin, and also Witchcraft.

Please always read the warnings on each individual post and stay away if they are not your cup of tea!

If you have questions, please feel free to ask. I appreciate comments, asks, and responses always ♥

I will have fun, and I hope you guys will, too! ♥

Happy MerMay and Happy Choosing! ♥

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thinkingaboutyou247 · 3 months ago

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Cinema Sex 🩷💋

this is a tad longer than usual, if it does well I'm definitely going to do longer posts, if it doesn't then I'll definitely shorten it 🩷

reblogs are VERY appreciated

it's sort of busy here, we just chose a random film to pass some time before we could go to the hotel. god i can't wait to go there. we sit down near the back, it's a bit hard to see but no one will come up to us.

the lights dim.

it's starting out with sex?? not my favourite but it just reminds me of how long it's been since I felt his cock inside me, and he's right next to me watching the same thing I am. his eyes aren't leaving the screen, almost fixated on the actress taking her top off while sitting on the actors cock.

no way, he's getting hard over this!

just looking at the imprint his dick makes in his trousers makes me remember the times he's thrown me on the bed and gave me exactly what I was asking for, or the time I was sat under his desk while he worked and sucked him off over and over again. his eyes flickering between the monitor and me.

gosh, am I getting wet over him being hard?

he doesn't realise I'm not even paying attention to the film anymore, my eyes are staying on his growing dick, just praying he'll pull it out any minute now. I can feel my panties soaking up my juices, my mind racing with excitement.

I hope he fucks me right now.

I'm so glad the lights aren't on, no one will notice my hand down my panties. I'm so glad I wore a skirt 🤭🤭 no one will hear my breathless moans because of how loud the speakers blare. no one will notice that I'm playing with my clit watching his print get bigger, pulsing even.

I hope he notices.

I'm getting so needy sat here, I wish I stuffed my pussy with a vibrator before I left. it would be so much easier, I could just turn it on and pretend to watch the film as my pussy is being constantly stimulated.

he looked over.

the smirk across his face, the smirk says it all. he's been waiting for me to notice, he's been dying to see me needy in public. maybe he knew what the film would be and chose it on purpose, the thought of me watching it turned him on?

he's moved his hands.

he's pulled me closer towards him, with one quick move, and he's dug underneath my shirt for my bra, moving quickly to unhook it so he's got more room. it doesn't fall off because of the straps, but it's enough for him to grab my tits.

I want his dick in me.

I want him to move his hands from my tits to my pussy, it's aching for his touch, he's made me so horny and he's barely even touched me, just playing with my tits like it's nothing unusual for him, still watching the film, I don't even know what it's about anymore my head is filled with lewd thoughts. 🤭🤭

I need his full attention.

I'll stand up and move across over to him, but instead of continuing to move over, I'll sit on his lap, and then my body to face him, legs over the arm rest, facing him!! I would love to feel his bulge pressed up against my ass, twitching every so often, begging to be played with 🤭

now I've got him.

he pushes me just a tad away from his crotch, I'm a bit confused but then he undoes his belt, undoes the button and slowly unzips his jeans, he then shifts himself a little to expose his boxers, and slowly rolls them down!!

finally 🩷

he grabs one of my legs and pulls them to the other side, I'm sat facing him, and he pulls me closer. I lean back a little and he puts his cock in me!! he's sitting there as I'm fucking myself. one of his hands is still on my tits and the other is covering my mouth so I don't blow our cover too hard 🤭🤭

when I get closer, my body starts quivering, absolutely reeling from how good it feels. and this is when he grabs my waist, it's like he planned this all out, he starts slamming my pussy straight on his cock, the first time made me moan so loud!! 🩷🩷 I love when he takes control of me 🩷🩷🩷

now he's getting closer, panic starts to set in, how will he be able to pull out so quickly and finish in my mouth? how can he control himself for so long? Will he pull out??

and just like I've manifested it into the earth, he gives me one final slam and shoots his load deep into me 🤭🤭 every time I think he's finished, more comes out. I'm gonna be a dripping MESS walking out of this cinema 🩷

#rough cnc #cnc free use #free use slvt #submisive and breedable #dumb slvt #needy wh0re #overstim kink #virgin wh0re #breeding k1nk #dirty slvt

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sissyisawitch · 2 years ago

Text

I'll Be Home For Christmas

Relationship: Sebastian Sallow x f!MC

Summary: After leaving everything behind and starting a new life almost three years ago, MC returns to Hogsmeade for Christmas Eve. Little does she know that her brief return will be enough for her past to catch up with her…

Word Count: ~9.4k

Warnings: Mentions of alcohol in the beginning? Otherwise it's just pure pining and fluff

Author's Note: Special one shot because I just love Christmas. It should've been even longer, but I had to shorten it, or I'd never have managed to post it in time for Christmas. Anyway, I had a blast writing it, and I hope you'll enjoy it as much as I did!

I wish you all a wonderful Christmas!🎅🎄 Lots of love💕

“Oh, MC, I can’t get over how much we’ve missed of each other’s life. You can’t imagine how much I’ve missed you!”

MC and Poppy sat in a cozy corner of the Three Broomsticks, whose dim lighting and soft hum of conversation provided a comfortable backdrop for their reunion. Excitement and laughter had been echoing for the past hours, as the two best friends shared their numerous respective adventures, and reminisced about the wonderful times they shared while at Hogwarts.

“Life sadly took us on separate journeys after graduation, there was no other way… But I'm so grateful that we haven't lost touch.” MC said as she took a sip of her third Butterbeer of the afternoon. She had never realised how much she had missed the sugary drink, especially after being away from Hogsmeade for so long. It tasted of the good old days when she spent the entire day shopping with her schoolmates, before going for a collation to relax and forget about the homework they had to do.

After Hogwarts, Poppy became a renowned Magizoologist, following in her grandmother's footsteps, like she had always dreamt of doing. As for MC, she had taken a very different path. Barely a few weeks after graduating, the girl had decided to leave everything behind and embark on a life full of travel and adventure. She never stayed in one location for very long. Her aim was to discover as many places as she could.

Now, the only thing left of her former life was her best friend Poppy, and the letters they regularly exchanged. It was for her that MC had exceptionally returned to Hogsmeade, to see her on this Christmas Eve.

“Merlin… I didn’t realise it was so late already.” MC sighed as she looked out the window. The evening sun painted the sky in hues of orange and pink, casting a warm glow through the pub windows.

Poppy grimaced in response, as if a bittersweet realisation came to her, “Time flies when you’re having fun. I wish I could stay longer... but Gran hasn't been well lately, and I've already left her on her own all afternoon...”

“Don't worry, Poppy. I totally understand.”

“I'd love to offer you a place to stay, especially since it’s Christmas Eve… but as I said, it's complicated at the moment.”

MC offered the girl another genuine and reassuring smile, “It’s okay, I don't mind. I've managed to find a room in an inn for a couple of days.”

“I'm glad to hear that.” Poppy smiled back, although ruefully.

After paying for their drinks, the two girls made their way out. They stood on the porch on the Three Broomstick in contemplative silence, the air thick with unspoken emotions. The time had come to bid farewell once again.

Poppy took a deep breath, as if to get rid of the lump in her throat, before breaking the silence, "MC, it's been wonderful catching up with you. I wish we could freeze time and stay like this forever."

A wistful smile played on MC's lips. "Life moves on, though. We have our own journeys to continue."

Poppy hesitated before uttering her newt words, “…Don't let it be another three years before our next reunion."

“It won’t. I promise.” MC replied weakly, having to bite the inside of her cheek to hold back her tears. She had never been very good at goodbyes.

Maybe that was why she had never said one to Sebastian.

With a lingering hug, they exchanged a few more words, promises to stay in touch, and expressions of hope for the future. It was nightfall when Poppy finally disapparated, leaving MC alone on the village streets, which were neither crowded nor deserted. Most of the people still outside were on their way home, or off to enjoy a late drink with their friends.

MC walked for a while, before stopping at a vantage point overlooking the quaint village which was bathed in the soft glow of Christmas lights that shimmered like a galaxy full of stars. Tremendous decorated Christmas trees could be found on every street corner, perfectly matching the garlands of fir branches that linked the roofs of the various cottages. It was even possible to find some snowmen that were bewitched to fill the air with the enchanting melodies of Christmas carols. The whole scene resembled a holiday postcard brought to life, especially with the thick blanket of snow covering the village.

It was magical. Literally.

As MC gazed at the picturesque view, memories started flooding her mind. The charming village setting reminded her of the spirited Christmases she used to share with Sebastian, spending the best part of their day at Zonko's trying to find a way to prank Ominis, before heading off to Honeydukes to buy Chocolate Frogs, just in case the blond ended up sulking for too long. The inseparable duo then made it back to the Great Hall just in time for the big Christmas feast, where they joined Ominis. The smell of roasted turkey, and the sound of familiar laughter echoed in MC’s thoughts.

After dinner, the group of friends used to return to their common room and sit down by the fire. She could almost hear the crackling of the fireplace, and feel the camaraderie that accompanied their joyful exchange of gifts. After that, Ominis fell asleep very quickly, and MC and Sebastian usually took the opportunity to get a little closer. If she closed her eyes, she could feel the sensation of his shoulder used as a pillow against her cheek, while his woody cologne invaded her nostrils.

MC could never escape these kinds of memories, especially when she was in Hogsmeade.

Everything always led back to Sebastian in Hogsmeade.

That was why she had refused to set foot there for so long.

To forget the insurmountable heartbreak of never having her feelings returned by the love of her life, MC had decided to start a new life. She had wanted to move on, to forget her feelings for Sebastian, but she had known that this would prove to be impossible with him in her life. She had therefore decided to make a clean break – because she knew that bidding Sebastian farewell was not a skill she possessed – and to disappear brutally. To make her plan even more effective, she had also cut ties with Ominis, seeing as he was Sebastian’s best friend, and MC had felt awkward to put him in the middle of her drama. The only thing MC had kept from her old life was Poppy... now her one and only friend.

MC had then spent years travelling around the world, searching for a place where she would feel comfortable enough, and that she would love enough to want to settle there for the rest of her life. The goal to her quest was to find a place that felt like home.

After almost three years, she still had not found her home.

“Ow!” MC suddenly exclaimed. Someone forcefully colliding against her back disrupted her reverie.

“I’m so sorry, ma’am. I didn’t see you.”

MC turned at the sound of a deep masculine voice. Indeed, the man could not possibly have seen her, for he was carrying a large pile of children's toys in his arms, up to his eye level, thus blocking his field of vision.

The man shifted the pile of toys into one of his arms instead of both, moving them away from his face to take a look at the unlucky person he had just unintentionally bumped into.

Next thing MC knew, before she could even realise it, MC found herself face to face with none other than Sebastian.

His chocolate eyes widened in recognition as they locked onto hers. An amalgam of shock and bewilderment flashing across his face, washing away his previous apologetic look. He was so flabbergasted that he forgot about the packages in his hands, which began to wobble. MC rushed closer to him, to put the parcels back upright, and prevent them from shattering on the floor.

“…MC?” He asked hesitantly, never tearing his gaze away from her, just to make sure he was not dreaming, that his former best friend was well and truly standing in front of him.

“Hi.” She smiled softly at him. She could not believe that she had not recognised what had once been the only voice capable of soothing her even on her worst days. To be fair, it had changed remarkably. It was more intense, manly... even sexy.

“You’re back?” He questioned eagerly, a beaming grin breaking through the initial stupor.

MC nodded in response. She could not bring herself to tell him that it was only temporary, or even worse to admit to him that she had not come back for him, that she had never had a single intention of ever seeing him again. She could not be the one to wipe that gorgeous smile from his tantalising lips. It would break her own heart all over again.

As she kept staring into those familiar eyes, a rush of emotions overwhelmed MC. The old crush she had once harboured seemed to reignite with an unexpected intensity. It was unbelievably insane that just one glance at him was all it took to make her flamboyant feelings for him resurface. She thought she had managed to eradicate them, but she had actually only been able to bury them deep inside.

However, with that also came the horrid realisation that Sebastian was carrying a large number of toys in his arms. As MC looked once again at the eye-catching bundles in his arms, reality struck her like a cold breeze.

There, nestled in his grasp, was the object of the rude shock that life had evolved without her, in ways she never could have foreseen. Obviously, these toys were for his children, meaning that Sebastian was also married and had a loving wife waiting at home for him.

MC, still quite in denial, racked her brains to find another rational explication, but there was none. There was no other option because Ominis always said he never wanted kids in order not to pass on his ‘cursed Gaunt genes’. As for Anne… well last time MC had heard of Anne was the day Solomon Sallow died. After that, she had severed all contact with everyone except Ominis, who had promised her not to divulge any information about her whereabouts.

MC’s heart sank as her mind kept repeating itself that Sebastian had moved on, embracing a world that now included the joy and responsibility of raising a family.

“Merlin, MC! I thought I’d never see you again! You’ve missed so many things, there’s so much I need to tell you! Do you live here now?” If Sebastian had ever held a grudge against MC for disappearing without warning, no trace of it was visible. His excitement was taking over completely.

“I have a room at the Hog’s Head.”

“What? The Hog’s Head?” He exclaimed in horror – rather dramatically if you asked MC – “You can't possibly stay in this dodgy shithouse!”

MC was surprised by his crude words. She was used to his outspokenness, but she had not expected to hear it again so soon after such a long time. She could only shrug sheepishly, “I don't really have much choice... Sirona didn't have any more rooms available for me. Everything was booked up… you know… with the holidays.”

“Ah... Well, I can't exactly let a lovely lady like you sleep there. I've got room at home, you can come if you like.” Sebastian puffed out his chest, putting on his false air of chivalry.

MC tried her best to conceal the blush creeping up her cheeks, but alas, she could do nothing about her nervous stammering, “Oh… Oh, I… I don’t wanna bother you. Besides, the Hog’s Head’s not that bad…”

“Don't say no. Please. Really, I insist. We could spend the evening drinking and catching up… What d’you say?” Sebastian gave her the sad puppy eyes, and MC could feel all her resolve slipping away at the same second.

Thinking about it twice, the Hog's Head was truly, absolutely dreadful. The few times MC had been there, she had been catcalled far too many times for her liking.

So yes, she knew that staying with Sebastian, his wife and their children was going to be pure torture, but MC still preferred that to the risk of being mugged or assaulted by one of the Hog's Head patrons.

“Okay.” She ended up saying, forcing a smile that masked her internal turmoil.

“Brilliant!” Sebastian looked so excited that it would not have surprised MC if he had started jumping up and down. “Have you got any luggage you need to pick up in your room before going to my place?”

“No, I've just got this." MC replied, pointing to her small rectangular shoulder bag, barely large enough to hold a box of Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans. “I travel light.”

“Perfect! Well then, if you will follow me, my lady.” He offered her his arm with a wink, and after a brief moment of surprise, she accepted it.

Sebastian made it so effortless to fall back into their old dynamic, that it made it just as natural and easy for MC to do the same. It was like they had never been apart.

They walked together, sticking close to each other, in the same way they used to do when they were still teenagers. As they strolled through the streets of Hogsmeade, MC assumed Sebastian was taking her to a Floo Flame. The girl was therefore genuinely caught off-guard when he stopped in front of her. a small house typical of the village – made of stone with an excessively pointed roof – and took out a key to open the front door.

“Ladies first.” Sebastian's face lit up with pride and joy, while he let MC in first, still the perfect gentleman as usual. Even married, he could not help being flirty.

Before entering, MC took a deep breath to try and calm her nerves, in anticipation of meeting the woman who had succeeded where she had failed, the woman who was better enough than her in Sebastian's eyes to have succeeded in stealing his golden heart.

However, instead of coming face to face with her nemesis, MC found herself immersed in an intimate reflection of Sebastian's essence, overwhelmed by how homey it felt. The house was truly cosy, but a little small for a family in MC's opinion. But then again, it had to be remembered that Sebastian was used to small spaces, having lived in his little one-room cottage in Feldcroft for most of his life.

The living room had the charm of disarray, with stacks of well-read books scattered on the coffee table next to empty mugs, suggesting that Sebastian had not lost his messy habits. The smell of the fireplace and coffee intermingled, creating a comforting atmosphere that reflected precisely the way Sebastian always managed to put MC at ease.

MC guessed that the upstairs, which was in fact a mezzanine, must be the bedroom. She did not dare go upstairs to respect his privacy, but from the ground floor, she could see the top of bookshelves reaching up to the pointed roof, proof that Sebastian was still as thirsty for knowledge as ever.

All these little details showed MC that, although his life had evolved, the man standing a few steps away from her was still her beloved Sebastian.

Sebastian, observing MC's reactions, could not suppress a grin, "It's not much, but it's home. You can have the bedroom, and I'll sleep on the couch.”

On further inspection of the house, MC came upon the kitchen, which was open to the living room. She could not help noticing that the worktops bore the marks of failed culinary experiments. Some pans with burnt bottoms were abandoned on the counter, and dirty cutlery had accumulated in the sink. In short, the kitchen was a mess, just as Sebastian could be in other people's lives.

However, what stood out most to MC was the absence of signs of shared living. There were no visible traces of another person – no stray belongings, no indications of a partner or children. It was as if the whole house resonated with Sebastian alone, as if his whole person had become woven into the fabric of his environment.

As MC continued to stare in silence at his topsy-turvy house, Sebastian scratched the back of his neck nervously, “Don't pay attention to the shambles, please. I didn't clean up... since I wasn't exactly expecting any guests.”

Instead of reassuring him as she would have liked, MC's curiosity was quicker to take over her next words, “Where’s your wife?”

“My wife?” Sebastian frowned.

“Yes. The woman you married.” She added bitterly. Her curiosity slowly lowered its mask to reveal its true self of authentic jealousy.

He looked away, but MC could still see that he was biting the inside of his cheek to keep a straight face, “I’m flattered you think I’m charming enough to get a wife, but I’m afraid there’s still no Mrs. Sallow. Besides Anne, of course.”

“Oh.”

“Oh?” Sebastian chuckled at her enigmatic reaction.

“I thought the toys were for your kids…” She admitted shyly, pretty embarrassed after making so many wrong assumptions about him.

“My kids? Bloody hell, MC, you sure have high expectations for me!” Sebastian exclaimed, clearly amused by the situation. “But no, I don't have kids. The toys are for my niece.”

MC was gob smacked, eyes wide and mouth agape, “Your… niece? You have a niece? Anne had a child? Wait, did she get married? With who?”

“That’s a lot of questions.” He smirked playfully at her, while looking for a bottle in one of his cabinets. “But I think you can guess the answer to the last one.”

MC looked down at her feet, taking a moment to think, when realisation hit her like a bolt of lightning. She turned her head back to Sebastian so fast it almost gave her whiplash, “Ominis?”

“Bingo.” Sebastian replied casually, uncorking a bottle of Firewhiskey. “And he took Anne's name. He's Mr. Sallow now.”

“No way!” She gasped, letting herself fall limply onto the sofa out of utter stupefaction.

“Yes way.” He laughed wholeheartedly, sitting down next to her and pouring two glasses of alcohol for each of them.

"How? When?"

"Apparently, after fifth year, they did more than just keep in touch."

MC took her glass in hand, but did not drink from it. She had far too many questions on her mind to take the time to have a sip, "But how did they deal with Anne's curse?"

"It disappeared once you killed Rookwood, since he was the one who cursed her. Apparently, magic disappears with the caster. I learnt all this a few months after graduation, when Anne got back in touch to invite me to their wedding…”

Sebastian suddenly paused in his explanations to down his glass of Firewhiskey in one gulp.

“She wanted to invite you too… I had to explain to her that you'd disappeared without warning." He continued, looking pained, and MC suspected it was not just because of the bitterness of the alcohol.

"I'm sorry." MC winced at her own words. She was pathetic to listen to, using the most clichéd and basic phrase. But it was all she could muster to respond, because it was exactly how she felt. She was profoundly sorry. Sorry to the people she cherished the most, for abandoning them without looking back. But also sorry for herself, because she now had to accept the bitter realisation that she had been absent for so many crucial milestones of their lives.

Sebastian only shook his head, avoiding her gaze and preferring to stare at his empty glass, "Why did you do that? Why didn't you say anything? I was worried sick ‘cause I thought something bad had happened to you, that some Ashwinders were still out there, and had kidnapped you. I spent months looking for you... I'd even asked the Aurors to search for you.”

MC sipped her drink slowly, using the alcohol as a distraction from the painfully heartbreaking explanations of the man sitting next to her

“…They eventually found you overseas. In perfect health... and in perfect company so I've heard. That's when I realised that you hadn't been taken away, but had gone away of your own free will.” Sebastian poured himself another glass before throwing it back again.

“I'm so sorry.”

He scoffed bitterly, “I don't want to hear that you're sorry. It's no use. I just want to know what you were thinking when you left.”

This time, it was MC's turn to down her glass before pouring her heart out in the most honest way possible, "I just needed to get away from everything, from the past. I just wanted to start again."

Against all odds, he nodded understandingly, "Wish I could stay mad at you for it... but I won’t say that I don’t understand."

What he did next surprised MC in the most pleasant way. Sebastian reached out towards her, placing his large hand on top of hers, which was resting on the brown leather of the sofa. Even if his hand was calloused and weathered by time and experience, MC was amazed by how perfectly it fit around her own.

"What matters is that you're here now." He offered her a tender smile that warmed her heart in the most appeasing way. Only he could do that to her.

"I am." MC smiled in return, even more brightly. It was contagious. She turned her hand over and intertwined their fingers together.

As their conversation died down, MC could not help but steal a moment to observe the transformation in Sebastian’s appearance. The once-adorable teenage boy she remembered had blossomed into a handsome man. His features, chiselled by the passage of time, sculpted a strong jawline that added a touch of rugged refinement to his countenance. The shadow of a beard adorned his face, giving him a distinguished and slightly mysterious air. Sebastian's tousled hair fell with a casual elegance, framing a face that bore the subtle imprints of life's experiences, such as a scar on his eyebrow arch that MC had never seen before.

The only remaining trace of the boyish charm that MC had cherished years ago, was the constellations of freckles that beautifully decorated his face. They had always made MC weak in the knees, but the butterflies in her stomach were multiplied tenfold now that they were highlighted by his light tan.

MC internally begged herself to stop ogling him before she fell further under his spell (if that was even possible, considering how head over heels she was for him).

She poured herself another drink and cleared her throat, “You said you wanted to catch up over drinks, right? Go ahead. Tell me about yourself.”

As Sebastian spoke, MC found herself captivated by the way he carried himself – his confidence unaltered after all these years, and the assurance with which he gestured. There was an understated magnetism in the way he spoke, a reflection of the man he had become since they last parted. As he easily recounted all he had achieved, MC marvelled at the beauty of the journey that had transformed him into the person sitting in front of her.

And so, MC listened attentively, desperate to know everything she had missed about him. She thus learnt that, after Hogwarts, Sebastian had joined the Auror recruitment programme. His first reason was that it was a profession he was passionate about, and that allowed him to do what he loved all day long. The second reason – and perhaps the most important – was because he knew that this career would help him to achieve noble things. In other words, it was his way of making amends for all the mistakes he had made in the past, in the hope that Anne would eventually forgive him too (which had taken a long time, but eventually worked out).

After having been accepted into the programme, Sebastian knew that he would not be able to stay in Feldcroft, firstly because the cottage held too many painful memories, but also because it was now Anne and Ominis' shared home. Consequently, he had found himself a small studio in London, not far from the Ministry. However, even after spending several months there, it just never felt like home to him. He resented the lack of green space, and the fact that he always had to check that none of his Muggle neighbours noticed that he was a wizard. So he moved again.

Looking for a place that was both in the heart of the Highlands and still bustling with life, Sebastian found only one possibility: Hogsmeade. The small, all-wizarding village met all his expectations, and the Ministry was easy to reach thanks to the Floo Network. And so, Sebastian moved into this small cottage, perfect for his life as a bachelor.

“So Auror Sallow, huh?” MC said playfully. “Well, can Auror Sallow win a duel against Ancient Magic Prodigy MC?”

“He sure hopes he can, since it’s supposed to be his job.” Sebastian laughed along with her.

“Do you want to put yourself to the test?” She cocked an eyebrow at him mischievously.

“You know I never shy away from a duel.” He replied with the same spark of deviltry in his eyes.

Without wasting any more time, Sebastian stood up, then turned to MC, holding out his hand to help her up. It was a simple gesture, but it was enough to make MC's cheekbones turn pink, as would any act of affection she received from Sebastian.

The two took their positions, taking a few steps apart before facing each other. It had been years since they last engaged in the exhilarating dance of magical duelling, a pastime that had once defined their youth, especially after being named Crossed Wands champions for three years running.

"Ready?" Sebastian grinned, the confidence of experience illuminating his eyes.

"Always." MC replied, wand at the ready, and they prepared to rediscover the thrill that had bound them together in shared laughter and friendly rivalry.

Ever the perfect gentleman, Sebastian let MC commence hostilities.

“Expelliarmus!”

“You're off to an easy start.” Sebastian laughed after brushing the attack off with a simple Shield Charm. “Confringo!”

MC deflected the spell just as easily, smirking right back at him, “You're off to a predictable start.”

A symphony of lights ensued, as sparks and spells flew, and the air shimmered with the energy of their magical prowess. MC’s spells were fluid and controlled, a testament to the skill she had honed over the years. Sebastian, however, moved with a newfound grace and precision, his every movement reflecting the growth and mastery he had attained thanks to the Auror training.

The duelling only grew in intensity as the two friends weaved intricate spells, each trying to outmanoeuvre the other. Laughter and teasing remarks echoed through the night as memories of their youth resurfaced in the midst of their magical exchange.

After several long and intense minutes of competing against each other, Sebastian unexpectedly directed his wand away from MC, aiming instead at the ceiling, and more precisely at the chandelier hanging from it.

“Glacius!” The candles obviously failed to resist the ice and were instantly extinguished on contact, plunging the room into semi-darkness.

Distracted by the newfound refined strategy established by Sebastian – which he had no doubt learnt to put in place at the speed of light during one of his courses – MC did not notice Sebastian disappear under a Disillusionment Charm, which was all the more effective as there was hardly any light in the living room, apart from the orange flames crackling in the fireplace.

With a final, masterful flick of his wand, Sebastian cast the final blow, “Depulso.”

MC found herself propelled to the floor, her back slamming against the sofa. Judging by the underwhelming low force of the impact, it was easy to guess that he had restrained himself, so as not to hurt her.

“Looks like I've had my long-awaited revenge for fifth year. I've finally bested you in a duel." Sebastian, breathing slightly heavier but grinning ear to ear, extended a hand to help her up.

MC, refusing to admit defeat, grabbed Sebastian's hand but only to make him fall to the ground beside her. She rolled them over until she was astride him, holding him firmly down.

She grinned down at him, “Really? Because I actually think I’ve won.”

He barked a laugh, “And I think you've forgotten the rule that you're not allowed to use physical violence in a wizard duel.”

“Since when do we play by the rules?”

Their gazes met for the umpteenth time that night, but this time was different. It was as if time had come to a standstill, as if the world had momentarily stopped spinning for them, just to let them savour the closeness of the moment.

MC kept staring into Sebastian's chocolate eyes, and was truly taken aback by what she saw in them. His eyes, once full of youthful curiosity, now sparkled with a different kind of radiance. They shone with a brightness that seemed to reflect the happiness and contentment he had found in his life. The laughter lines around his eyes only enhanced their glow, and as MC looked into those bright, expressive eyes, she could not help but feel a sense of joy for the man who had evolved from the adorable teenage friend she once knew, into the confident and content individual currently lying on the ground beneath her.

In those eyes, she saw the echoes of the genuine happiness that had transformed Sebastian into the person he was meant to be, the person she should have met from the very beginning of fifth year, if only Anne had never been cursed by Rookwood.

But now Sebastian was completely fulfilled with every aspect of his life. It was as plain as the nose on his face. And the feeling was made all the clearer by the fact that his lively eyes were perfectly matched by his wide toothy grin, which shone brightly even in the middle of the darkened living room.

After eventually snapping out of her thoughts, MC pulled herself away from Sebastian and helped him straighten up, “I’m proud of you, Seb, of what you’ve become. The future Mrs. Sallow will be very lucky to have a capable man like you by her side.”

Sebastian sat down next to her on the floor, facing the fireplace, and back resting against the sofa behind them, “She’ll never be as lucky as Mr. MC will be. I hope he’ll realise he’s got the most brilliant witch of the world by his side.”

MC grabbed his arm and hugged it close to her chest, while hooking her leg over one of his. Their limbs were tangled together, clinging to each other. Sebastian seemed to have no objection to this new positioning. In fact, he seemed quite delighted as he wrapped an arm around the shoulders of the girl next to him.

“What d’you think he’ll be like, my future husband?” She asked quietly.

“He’ll have to be right for you.” He replied all too solemnly.

A small laugh escaped her, “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means it has to be someone who will know how to take care of you, and give you everything you need to be happy, without a single shred of hesitation. It will be someone who's worthy of standing by your side and will be able to protect you from any danger… so basically someone who'll be able to defeat me in a duel."

"Seems like I'll be stuck with you for the rest of my life, then." MC continued to smile, but it was no longer in amusement. It was something more akin to contentment.

Sebastian mirrored her expression, "Perhaps you will. I can’t imagine it'd be too bad, would it?"

"Apart from your occasional bad temper, I think I could take it." She rested her head on his strong shoulder.

MC was not sure whether it was the fatigue accumulated from her perpetual travels, or the feeling of being in a warm, comfortable home, or even the fact of being reunited with Sebastian (it was probably all three), but her eyelids became heavy without her even realising it, leading her into a peaceful sleep.

“I'm going to celebrate Christmas at Anne and Ominis' house tomorrow. You're coming.” Sebastian declared out of the blue, without realising that the girl had started dozing off.

“What? No, Seb, I can’t do that. I can’t just barge in when I wasn’t invited.” MC mumbled groggily.

“You don’t need an invitation, MC. It’s you. You’re always welcome.” He retorted instantly, as if it was the most common fact to ever exist. “Plus, they miss you, so they’ll be the happiest people in the world if you show up.”

“I won't even have a present to give them...” She muttered like a pouting small child, which made it impossible for Sebastian to hold back a chuckle.

“You're back. Believe me, that's better than any present you could buy.”

Sebastian's fingers subconsciously started tracing invisible shapes on her arm, effectively lulling her back to sleep.

❄∗❆∗❅⁂∗☃∗⁂❅∗❆∗❄

The next morning, MC was woken by the few rays of winter sunshine that the curtains had failed to hold back. Keeping her eyes closed to enjoy a few more minutes of rest, she rolled onto her stomach and was pleasantly surprised by the feel of soft sheets against the skin of her face. But what struck her most was that she could smell Sebastian's perfume all around her, as if she were immersed in one of the bottles.

Completely enveloped by the sophisticated fusion of woody undertones and hints of vetiver, and the enigmatic charm it carried, MC opened her eyes and realised that she had indeed spent the night in Sebastian's bed. On seeing this, MC let herself think that Sebastian had slept in the same bed as her, and that perhaps, with a little bit of luck, he reciprocated her feelings.

A flutter of anticipation flickered within her, one that prevented her from staying in bed any longer. Without wasting any more time, MC descended the mezzanine stairs to the living room, where Sebastian was already sitting on the couch, Daily Prophet in hand.

“Good morning, sleeping beauty.” Sebastian greeted her with a smile when he noticed her standing at the bottom of the stairs.

MC realised he must have been up for quite some time, for he was freshly cleaned up – the lack of stubble which had been present the previous day was testament to it – and already dressed up for the imminent Christmas reunion. He was clad in a tan windowpane shirt, coupled with a gingerbread brown vest matching his tailored pants. The choice of colours could not have been more perfect. All those shades of brown brought out all his most majestic features: his unruly yet soft hair, his freckled skin, his warm and reassuring eyes…

Sebastian was making it humanly impossible to tear one’s gaze away from his god-like appearance, and MC could not resist making a comment about it.

“Morning, handsome.” She smirked playfully back at him.

“Did you sleep well?”

“Better than ever.” MC admitted, a discreet pink tinting her cheekbones. “Just a question, though. How did I get up there?”

“I carried you, of course. Couldn't let you sleep on the floor. What kind of host would I have been?”

“And… you slept…?”

“On the couch. Just like I told you I would.” Sebastian smiled tenderly.

“Right.”

And with these few simple words, reality dawned on MC. Disappointment settled in, like a gentle snowfall dampening the warm embers of her previous hope that Sebastian harboured feelings for her.

The truth was that he had chosen the sofa over sharing the bed with her, a sign that he still viewed MC as nothing more than a friend. The girl felt her heart tug, like a reminder of why she had chosen not to be part of his life any more.

MC took a deep breath, “I'm gonna go and get ready, so we don't arrive late at Anne and Ominis'.”

“Anne likes us all to be dressed up for Christmas. We can go and buy you a dress at Gladrags, if you'd like–”

She immediately shook her head, “No, no, it's fine. Don't worry, I've got everything I need.”

MC took out her wand and pointed it at her small shoulder bag on the floor. With a simple flick, the object grew tenfold in volume until it reached the size of a suitcase. MC opened it, revealing that the bag had been enchanted to be bottomless, and she climbed inside it before disappearing. All that could be heard was the sound of her footsteps, and her bustle as she went through all sorts of outfits.

“Talk about travelling light.” Sebastian snickered.

A few moments later, MC emerged back from the suitcase as if climbing a ladder, wearing an ankle-length cotton mahogany dress. The corset hugged her waist perfectly, and highlighted her bust with its square neckline and short puffed sleeves. The dress was nothing extravagant, but the fact that it fit her like a glove was what made it so charming.

“Is this dress all right? Think it'll be nice enough for Anne?” She gave it a twirl, so that Sebastian could see it from every angle, before putting on a black cloak to protect herself from the winter cold.

“It looks great. You look great. Well, not great, actually. I mean– More like stunning. You look stunning, you do. We’re even matching. The colour, I mean. Because obviously you look better than me.” Sebastian stammered awkwardly, his cheeks tinged with a hint of shyness. “Merlin, this is awful. I need to learn to shut up.”

“It’s alright. I understood what you meant, that's the most important thing.” MC could only chuckle at his new bashfulness. She found it absolutely endearing.

Sebastian took a deep breath before speaking more clearly, “What I’m trying to say is… You're beautiful. You’ve always been.”

“Thank you, Seb.” She met his gaze, a gentle smile playing on her lips.

He tried to divert attention from his nervousness by slipping on his long black coat, and grabbing the wrapped gifts for his niece, “Ready to go?”

MC nodded in response, waiting for Sebastian to apparate them. She expected him to grab her by the arm, but instead he wrapped an arm around her waist. He brought her small figure close to him, as if he wanted to make sure that she would be comfortable during the apparition, that there was not even the slightest chance for her to get splinched.

With a loud crack, the world began to spin. Next thing she knew, MC was standing in the middle of the snowy village of Feldcroft. As she tried to right herself, she staggered slightly, dizzy from the apparition, whose effects were far more brutal when someone was doing it for you. Fortunately, Sebastian still had an arm wrapped around her waist to cradle her against him. With his other hand, he grabbed her elbow to steady her.

Once Sebastian was certain that MC was all right, he guided her towards the Sallow cottage, which she had not seen for years. From the outside, it looked much bigger than she remembered, particularly because it had an extra floor. Sebastian explained that he had helped Anne and Ominis enlarge it after their wedding, so that they would have enough room for their future family.

Sebastian was the first to set foot on the cottage porch. He hid MC behind him with his body, to create an effect of surprise, then knocked on the door. It was Anne who answered, appearing in the doorway wearing a sublime ankle-length midnight-blue velvet dress adorned with cultured pearls.

"Sebastian! I told you to buy only one present! She's going to end up spoiled rotten if this keeps up." Anne exclaimed without even greeting her brother.

"She's my only niece. Who am I to spend my money on if not her?"

"How 'bout your sister?" She raised an accusing eyebrow at him, while clearing him of all the packages in his arms.

"Ah, but I've brought a surprise for you too. Look what I found last night…" He intoned with amusement, and stepped aside to reveal MC. "A lost soul who wanted to spend Christmas alone at the Hog’s Head!"

"Oh my, MC!" Anne swiftly pulled the girl into a bear hug. "Ominis, come here!"

"What is it, sweetie?" The blond man called from afar, carrying his daughter in his arms.

Judging by the way he had stopped dead in his tracks, coming to an abrupt halt, MC knew that he had sensed her presence thanks to his sentient wand.

Sebastian decided to take his brother-in-law’s daughter off his hands, so that the two friends could reunite peacefully, "Hey, little monster! Wanna give a hug to Uncle Seb?"

Meanwhile, MC approached her old friend and spoke softly, "Hello, Ominis."

Knowing that Ominis was not very comfortable with physical contact, especially with people he did not know well, MC was not sure how to greet him. So it came as a great surprise when he made no hesitation whatsoever and took her in his arms, holding her tightly.

"I should be telling you off for disappearing... but I'm not going to. Not today." Ominis whispered in her ear.

She chuckled lightly, "I'm happy to see you too."

"Let me take your coat." He offered after pulling away.

MC untied the ribbon from her cloak, and handed it to Ominis. She then turned to Sebastian to pick up the toddler in his arms, so that he too could remove his thick winter coat.

"Hi, little princess. I'm a friend of your mummy and daddy, and your uncle Sebastian too." MC cooed in a honeyed voice. She could not help noticing that the little girl in her arms was the perfect amalgam of her two parents. She had all her mother's features, but with meadow-blonde hair and grey-blue eyes like her father.

"Unkie! Unkie!" She pouted and made big gestures with her arms to indicate that she wanted to go back to her uncle. She truly was an uncle's little girl.

"I'm here, baby.” Sebastian immediately took her back into his arms, after giving Ominis his coat, to cradle her. “You don't have to be scared of MC. She's really nice too, you know."

"Auntie?" The one-year-old asked hesitantly, reaching out to wrap her hand around MC's index finger.

"That's right, that's Auntie MC." Sebastian encouraged her. It was impressive how he naturally had his way with kids.

It may have been silly, but something as simple as being called Auntie by a child she had just met, as well as by Sebastian, awakened something in her, a sense of belonging that had been dormant for a long time. She truly felt like a fully-fledged member of this family.

Anne suddenly let out a sigh, "I'd love to be able to celebrate the reunion with you, but I've still got lots of things to do in the kitchen. Sebastian, can you look after the baby while Ominis lays the table?"

"I'll come and help you, Anne." MC declared.

"Thank you, MC. You're too kind." Anne exited the living room, followed by MC.

“So… You and Ominis, huh?” MC started once they were alone. She was sitting across from Anne at the small kitchen table which was covered in food stains from preparing the meal.

Anne immediately shook her head, “Oh, no, no. We’ll have plenty of time to talk about my marital life later. Let's talk about how you ended up here with my brother after all these years."

"We ran into each other last night in Hogsmeade. He offered me to sleep over, and we basically spent the better part of the night talking." MC shrugged.

"And?” Anne pried impatiently. “What happened?"

"Nothing. What do you want to happen?”

“Nothing. It was just a random question.” Anne replied coyly while she finished icing the Yule log. “So, update me as well. Where are you in life? Have you met anyone?”

“No, not at all. I haven't really had time for that.”

“That's a shame.”

“What – uhm – What about him?” MC did not look up from the kilted soldiers she was preparing, in an attempt to appear nonchalant. Needless to say, it was a failure.

“Who?” Anne feigned ignorance.

MC heaved a sigh, deciding to finally meet her friend's gaze, “Sebastian. Has he met anyone recently?”

Anne bit the inside of her cheek, "I think you should ask him directly."

"I'm scared it'll be awkward…"

"Well… if you want to know everything, he hasn’t courted anyone since you went away. He claims that he's not interested in dating, that he’s focusing on becoming a proper Auror first. He always finds an excuse to avoid admitting that he's already got a girl on his mind, but is too much of a coward to act upon it."

MC felt her heart skip a beat. A cold realization settled over her, making her stop everything she was doing. Her heart sank, the weight of unspoken truths pressing upon her, and she forced a tight-lipped smile, concealing the ache within as she navigated the sudden revelation that someone else was in Sebastian's heart, and it was not her.

MC swallowed thickly, "Has he known her for long?"

"Several years."

"And is she a good person? Does she treat him well?"

"He's never been happier than when he's with her." Anne admitted with a sincere smile that contrasted drastically with the unsettled look that MC was unable to disguise.

"Who is it?" She asked weakly, not entirely sure she wanted to know the answer.

"I fear that’s too much information, and that's not for me to tell. Just ask him."

Without another word on the matter, Anne gracefully pivoted, excusing herself to go back to the living room and announce that the meal was ready. MC took a moment to compose herself, swallowing the bitter pill of disappointment before joining the others in the living room.

Seated at the table, surrounded by the warmth of holiday decorations and the aroma of a festive feast, the four friends engaged in a pleasant chatter. The clinking of cutlery and laughter created a veneer of normalcy. They reminisced adventures from their time at Hogwarts, shared stories about their jobs, exchanged anecdotes about Anne and Ominis’s little one, and indulged in the delights of the Christmas meal.

“So, MC, what have you been up to during your travels?” Ominis asked as he had just finished feeding his daughter.

MC swallowed her mouthful of turkey before replying, “Well, you know, trying to explore the world and discover new places. Honestly, I’ve just been searching for a place that makes me want to stay, that feels like home.”

“And have you found that place yet?”

MC was silent for a moment. How was she supposed to explain that she had found this special place years ago, but had fled far away from it, just to search the world for something similar? Because if MC was willing to face the truth, she knew that her home was wherever Sebastian was.

Sebastian was her home.

It was quite ironic that he did not feel the same way about her…

“I… I’m not sure.” MC finally said.

“…Does that mean you’ll be back on the road again?” Ominis questioned again, but this time with caution.

“Yes. I leave tomorrow morning.” MC replied resolutely.

The clatter of dropped cutlery echoed like an unintentional punctuation to the tremendous silence that followed. Eyes widened, gazes met with uncertainty, and an unspoken tension pulsed through the room.

Anne was the first to break the palpable unease by raising her voice, “What? But you just came back! You can’t leave so soon.”

The next sound came from Sebastian's chair legs scraping the floor as he stood up abruptly and threw his napkin on the table, “Excuse me. I need some fresh air.”

His eyes did not meet anyone's as he left the table. Without even grabbing his coat, he stormed out of the house. The door slammed behind him and echoed through the deathly hush inside.

"What’s up with him? Did I say something wrong?" MC asked, disconcerted. She was completely unaware of the weight of her revelation, which had hit her friends like a tidal wave.

Anne huffed in irritation before shouting at her, "Of course you did, MC! You're supposed to be his best friend! Can't you see how cruel you're being to him?"

Ominis rested a hand on his wife's shoulder, "Calm down, sweetie. It's not her fault MC is dense."

"Hey!" The girl exclaimed indignantly, but Ominis ignored her.

"Let me put it simply for you, MC. We were all hurt when you left without saying a word, but Sebastian's been a complete wreck ever since. The usual cheerful Sebastian you know was nowhere to be found for years… until today. And that's only because you came back.”

“And now, you've just brutally told him that you plan to disappear tomorrow, and take his happiness with you! Again!" Anne insisted, determined to keep rubbing it in until realisation eventually hit the girl.

Fortunately, it worked quite quickly, but now MC did not know what to do with herself, "I... I didn't know that... I thought he’d just forget about me and move on."

"I thought you knew him better than that. Haven’t you yet realised that you're everything to him? Because it's more than time you do!"

“I… need to talk to him. Excuse me.”

MC, in turn, rushed out of the cottage, only grabbing Sebastian's coat in her haste.

The freezing air greeted her as she stepped outside, snowflakes landing on her hair and the bare skin of her arms. Thankfully, it did not take her long to spot Sebastian, who had moved slightly away from the house to lean against a tree, his shoulders hunched slightly against the winter chill.

She approached him slowly, but with a determined step, the snow crunching under her feet. She knew he had heard her by the way he straightened up, even though he seemed intent on ignoring her.

“Seb, come back inside. It’s freezing, you’re gonna catch your death.” She implored him, covering herself with her arms to protect herself from the icy wind.

“What’s it to you? You won’t even be there to see it.” He replied even more coldly than the weather, without even turning to look at her.

“…Put on your coat at least.” She insisted, extending it to him.

Sebastian took the coat from her, but instead of putting it on like expected, he draped it over her, so that she would not get cold. His hands lingered on her shoulders, which were now protected by the thick felt.

At last, he met her gaze, his eyes silently pleading with her, “Am I not good enough for you to stay? Not good enough for you to notice me?”

MC grabbed his wrists as if by instinct, “Seb, of course you’re plenty enough. You’re my oldest friend–”

Sebastian sighed in annoyance and pulled away from her, “But can’t you see it’s not enough for me?”

“…What?”

Sebastian reached into his pocket, retrieving a small velvet box. He had always imagined giving her this gift with a broad smile, but now he was opening the box with a rueful frown, to reveal a delicate ring.

“I wanted to give it to you a little after we graduated. I wanted to give it to you to confess my feelings. I wanted that ring to be a symbol of my devotion, and a promise to always remain loyal to you… Turned out life had other plans because you left the day I bought it.”

“Sebastian…” MC croaked out, doing her best to fight back the tears that threatened to fall as she stared at the magnificent jewel that was the poignant representation of all the missed opportunities and lost time.

"Now’s a good time to give it to you, I think. If you’re going to leave again, might as well be honest while I have the chance, before you run away like last time." He said acrimoniously as he placed the ring on her finger.

"Wha…” The shock took away MC's voice before she could even finish her sentence. Her eyes were riveted on the golden band. “What about the girl you like? Anne told me you were interested in someone."

"The girl I like?” He laughed humourlessly. “MC, I've been ridiculously and irrevocably in love with you since fifth year, since the day you kicked my arse in Hecat’s class. You literally knocked me off my feet. I know I didn't always show it well, but it's true, it's always been you.”

MC let out a pained grunt and hid her face in her hands in shame, "Oh Merlin, Seb... I've been such an idiot."

“Why?” Sebastian frowned.

“I've always loved you too. But I was so miserable thinking I'd never be anything more than your friend, that I decided to disappear to try and forget you.”

“And? Please, tell me it didn’t work.” His words came out desperate, almost begging.

She took his face between her hands, and lovingly caressed his cold cheeks, “It didn’t. How could I ever forget you? Being away from you only made me miss you more.”

His hands came down to rest around her waist, bringing her close to his body, in search of both solace and warmth, “It's all right. We're together now. You don't have to leave anymore. All's well that ends well.”

“Well… Not exactly all. You gave me this beautiful ring, and I have nothing to give you in return.”

“I finally have the witch of my dreams back at my side. I couldn’t dream of a better Christmas present.”

Suddenly, MC and Sebastian were interrupted by a cracking sound coming from above them. They looked up and saw a branch of mistletoe sprang out of thin air from one of the branches of the tree they were standing under, its delicate white berries shimmering in the soft glow of the surrounding lights.

Sebastian looked back down at MC, a playful smirk tugging at the corners of his lips, “Actually… I’ve just thought of a gift you could give me.”

The snowflakes descended gracefully around them, creating a magical scene that mirrored the fluttering emotions in their hearts. In that enchanting moment, with the world cocooned in a quiet hush, MC found the fiery courage and desire to close the thin gap between them. Their lips met in a passionate kiss, and their hearts were set alight, for the moment they had dreamt of most in their lives had finally become reality.

Out of enthusiasm, Sebastian tightened his grip around MC, with his arms completely wrapped around her petite frame, enveloping her in such warmth that she completely forgot they were both covered in snow. He pressed and secured her tightly against him, and lifted her off the ground. Out of reflex, the girl's hands travelled up to wrap around his neck to steady herself. Her fingertips grazed his soft curls, sending shivers down her spine.

Unfortunately, their winter wonderland moment was abruptly interrupted by the joyful cheers of their friends inside the house. MC and Sebastian reluctantly pulled away from each other, and turned in the direction of the commotion to see Anne and Ominis glued to the window to spy on them. The wand in Anne's hand was proof enough that it was she who had conjured up the mistletoe.

MC giggled, looking back at her boyfriend with stars in her eyes, and her hands resting in his chest, “Merry Christmas, Seb.”

“Merry Christmas, darling.” He answered softly before leaning in to steal another kiss from her.

MC sincerely hoped there would be another Mrs. Sallow other than Anne next Christmas, for she had finally found her home and never planned on leaving ever again.

❄∗❆∗❅⁂∗☃∗⁂❅∗❆∗❄

Part 2 : Christmas at Home (link)

#hogwarts legacy #sebastian sallow #sebastian sallow x mc #sebastian sallow x reader #sebastian sallow fanfiction #sebastian sallow fluff #hogwarts legacy fanfic #fanfic #christmas

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leafy-m · 2 years ago

Text

Because I'm autistic and because I love Witch Hat Atelier Kitchen, I page-by-page compared the recent Kodansha USA English release of volume 1 to its Japanese and fan-translated counterparts.

If you've read the official English translation, you may have noticed that some of the big Orufrey moments are.... a bit underwhelming, word-wise. You may have even noticed that the word "wine" is suspiciously missing from the final chapter's WillowGrape Wine recipe, in which wine is kind of an important and obvious factor in it! And you would be correct!

While most of this manga volume is pretty accurate to the original text, there is absolutely a concentrated effort to tone down the more tender Orufrey moments, as well as minimize the alcoholic nature of the final chapter's recipe and related contraptions.

And that's frustrating!

The entire draw of this manga spin-off is seeing these gay witch dads take care of each other and their four daughters in an idyllic countryside setting while also making yummy food that you the reader can try make too. Why is Kodansha USA trying to no-homo these gays?? (Is this a reflection of how bad things are in the USA now?) And while you might say, "But Jade! Qifrey and Olruggio are not actually dating in canon!" — and I would agree with you! But there is nothing straight about these mens' behavior in this comic, and if Qifrey is going to look in Olruggio's direction while tenderly saying his name in Nearly Every Chapter, I expect to read that in English, dammit!

So I'm activating my autism trap card and presenting ya'll with a thorough comparison of every mistranslated and omitted Orufrey or wine moment, complete with discussion and screenshots from the Japanese, fan-translated, and USA English versions. This post is ridiculously long and maxed Tumblr's 30-image limit so chapter 10's discussion is actually in a reblog (sob sob), so I'm putting it all under a cut (you're welcome), and you can be sure that I'll be doing this again if need be for the translated volumes releasing next year.

For now? Let's go.

CHAPTER 1: pg 10

Japanese: フフ...

Fan translated: Heh heh

English version: Ahh...

This is a small moment, but it's important because it's foreshadowing. Qifrey is "airing out" the kitchen, but what he's really doing is sending those delicious smells into Olruggio's room. He's trying to lure him into the kitchen! And that little フフ/heh heh panel is evidence that he's up to something. If you've noticed in the main series, whenever Qifrey is doing something shady or it has a double-meaning, the 'camera angle' focuses on this side of his face with the dark lens.

But the English version obfuscates this by changing フフ to "Ahh..." like, 'isn't that better,' even though it keeps the ellipsis thought bubble indicating that something is up. Why the mixed messaging?

CHAPTER 1: pg 13

Japanese: オルーギオ!

Fan translated: Orugio!

English version: Excellent!

This is the first of many moments where Qifrey will directly say Olruggio's name, and yet the English version will translate it to something else, or drop it entirely. And no, "there wasn't enough room" is not a valid excuse for most of these. Especially when Olruggio's name can (and often is) shortened to Olly.

Look at Olruggio's little smirk at making Qifrey beam happily like that. My God. Kodansha USA/translator Stephen Kohler, why would you take this from us.

CHAPTER 1: pg 14

Japanese: 二人共今日も一日　お疲れ様でした!

Fan translated: These two people are together tonight. Another day's work well done, you two!

English version: Here's to another long day... ...and a well-earned break!

The omnipresent narrator from the beginning of the chapter is back, and clearly highlighting that 'these two people' are together tonight. And yet the English version removes all that. It may be redundant since we can see they're together in the illustration, but the whole page has that type of text redundancy, like focusing on 'eating that first bite,' or how 'a laugh bubbles up' with Qifrey. And combined with all of the other later omissions, this becomes an obvious trend of targeting these specific types of moments.

Update: Thanks to Farlynthordens for additional insight on this Japanese phrase!:

二人共: (the) two of you [the "tomo" implies the narrator is talking "to" them rather than "about" them] futari-tomo means in a literal sense "(you) two people who are together", but in terms of actual usage/definition it's just identifying a specific pair of people who the speaker is talking to.

今日も一日お疲れ様でした: the rest of this can't really be separated. this whole phrase is meant to be like "good work for all the things you did over the course of this whole day". the fan translation seems to have not understood that the two text blocks were meant to be all one sentence. so if you put this all together, it's like "Good work for everything today, guys!"

Knowing this, I'll still keep it as part of the list because it does omit addressing the two of them in the English version, which follows that trend of minimizing these moments between them. But thank you for the clarity! 💕

CHAPTER 2: pg 28

Japanese:　料理も魔法器も相手のことを一番に考えるのは　君の美德だね　半分ずつだオルーギオ

Fan translated: Whether you're cooking or performing magic, you always think of others before yourself. It just goes to show your good character. We'll share it, Olruggio.

English version: I've always admired that about you. Whether in your work of in the kitchen... ...You always think of others' needs before your own. All right. Let's split it, then.

The English version has two mistranslations here. I'll start at the top. In it, Qifrey is observing how Olruggio puts others first, and then compliments how it shows his good character. The 'good character' bit is changed to "I've always admired that about you," which at first I thought was sweet! Points for Kohler. But now that I really look at it, there is still some shady translating happening here.

In writing and communicating, what is said last has the most importance. This is how people "bury the lede," by hiding important information in the early part of a speech or amid other sentences, and then distracting them with other stuff.

In that English version top panel, even though Qifrey is complimenting Olruggio, by having it be said first it makes the second speech bubble (and therefore Olruggio's flustered response) be about Qifrey remarking on Olruggio's own behavior, rather than Qifrey's nice compliment about his character. Which changes the meaning of what's going on here. Olly is not flustering because he puts others first, he's flustering because Qifrey is saying something really nice about him, right to his face!

And then of course, in the bottom panel, Qifrey saying Olruggio's name is once again removed.

And I have to say, this bothers me not just because of autistic AcCUraCY! needs, but because he is very specifically saying his name. They are the only people in the room, it's very clear who Qifrey is addressing, and yet here he is once again, putting that man's name in his mouth.

It is intentional.

It is heartfelt.

STOP REMOVING IT!

CHAPTER 3: pg 36 and 37

Japanese: (Olruggio): キーフリーそれいらないならこっちに..してくれ (Qifrey): オルーギオ　ひとつおねがい!

Fan translated: (Olruggio): Qifrey, if you won't be needing those, send them my way. (Qifrey): One pot please, Olruggio!

English version: (Olruggio): Mind if I grab those breadcrumbs from ya? I'm gonna use 'em as a binder for the patties. (Qifrey): Could you bring that pot over here for me?

This is a sweet segment because it shows how well Qifrey and Olruggio work in tandem in the kitchen. As someone who has repeatedly failed at working harmonically with others while making food, them being in sync in the kitchen is more fantastical than the actual magic.

And once again, Olruggio and Qifrey saying each other's names are removed. The Olruggio panel translation is also a bit misleading because (as you can see in the larger fan-translated photo), it's Qifrey who is controlling that wind spell! Olruggio is not "grabbing" the breadcrumbs from him, it's Qifrey who is sending them to him. It also lends to the back-and-forth of these moments because as soon as Olly's done with that pot, he gives it to Qifrey to use.

CHAPTER 3: pg 41

Japanese: ありがとうオルーギオ　行ってきます

Fan translated: Thank you, Olruggio. We'll see you later.

English version: Thank you, my friend. We'll be on our way now.

We're now at the part of the manga where Qifrey saying Olruggio's name is changed to "my friend" in the English version. Which is a phrase I'll admit I have some Daevabad baggage with, so idk, is this some platonic ray-beaming or is it code for tender feelings for that person you like but aren't ready to date yet because of trauma and societal complications? Is Stephen Kohler a Daevabad fan? So many unknowns. Still counting it as a wrong though.

CHAPTER 4: pg 56

Japanese: (Olruggio): ま... 眩しくて眠れやしない (Qifrey): がんばれ! オルーギオ

Fan translated: (Olruggio): Really... I can't sleep with all this shimmering... (Qifrey): Do your best! Olruggio.

English version: (Olruggio): Hmph. How's a man supposed to get some sleep with this thing sparklin' away over here? (Qifrey): Keep at it... ...my friend.

Qifrey literally made a bouquet of rose-shaped tarts for Olruggio to cheer up his room, so of course the English translation needs to tamp down that gayness by unnecessarily bringing up Olruggio's manhood when he complains about not being able to sleep from the tarts' sparkling. Even though this chapter's cover image is of Olruggio sitting in a field of flowers, pondering quietly as he holds one in his hand. Maybe later chapters will have Olruggio edited so he's sitting 5 feet away from Qifrey.

And again, Qifrey saying Olruggio's name in the bottom panel is changed to "my friend" in the English version.

CHAPTER 6: pg 95

Japanese: いい出来だろ? 家事の分担が大変だなんて思ってたらこんなものは作れねえぜ

Fan translated: Turned out pretty good, right? If I really thought sharing the housework was a pain, then I couldn't make something like this.

English version: Whaddya think? Not bad, huh? Sorry for leavin' you stuck with all the chores these last few days. I figure this is the least I can do.

Of all the mistranslations, this one bothers me the most. Olruggio is a wonderful malewife! He is constantly trying to help Qifrey out with the Atelier chores, in Kitchen and the main series. And yet the English translation changes the entire context of what these panels are saying.

The right panel is Olruggio proud of how good the soup tastes (it's even in a fancy bread bowl!), and yet the English translation downplays it by saying, 'Not bad, huh?'

Then the left panel, with it's sparkly background and close-up on Olly's face, goes further into how if he thought helping out with the housework was a pain, he wouldn't be capable of making stuff like this. Which is an understated way of saying that Qifrey can rely on him for things like this. (and he says it more outright in other chapters/the main series) But instead the English version is treating this soup like it's an apology for not helping out more. It's also really stupid because Olruggio was not making the soup as 'the least he could do' for Qifrey — he made it because he was hungry and wanted to eat it now! He literally admits this a few pages back!

Olruggio is not someone trying to do the bare minimum, he's someone trying to tell his control-freak of a friend that he wants to share in helping out. And the English version disappointingly misrepresents that here.

CHAPTER 10! Has several issues both Orufrey and wine related, and has several comparison segments. But because I maxed out Tumblr's 30-image limit, I can't include it here and so have to post it in a reblog. UGH. 😔

(Here is the link to the Chapter 10 comparison/discussion!)

In the meantime, image credits! The Japanese scans are from Comic-Days.com, the fan scanlations are thanks to Don't Quit Your Day Job, Robot Garden Scans, Brimhats/Nyaruhodou, and Kirbypoyopoyo, and the English version photos are from my own copy. And thank you AskeFinns for help with reading Chapter 2's kanji 💖

If chapters weren't mentioned, it's because I didn't notice anything significant enough to comment on. But if you know of something I missed, do let me know! And thanks for reading this far!

#Witch Hat Atelier #Witch Hat Atelier Kitchen #Witch Hat Kitchen #Orufrey #Olruggio #Qifrey #Kodansha USA #Jade talks WHA #my posts

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scuderiabutch · 11 months ago

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What to ask for at a barber's shop, a butch guide

As promised, here's the ultimate butch guide to what to ask to your barber when asking for a specific haircut! A few premises: I'm not a barber, this means that everything you'll find in this post is purely based on my personal experience. If you're a barber and you see I explained something wrong, please correct me! I'll update the post asap. Furthermore, I won't cover up haircuts for black folks, because I'm not an expert on that topic, however I would love to link external and trustable resources on that so If any of you has them let me know and I'll add them! My intent is helping as many butches and studs as possible (: Second thing is that this post is more about short and really short haircuts, I won't talk about wolfcuts, middle part, mullets, however if you want I can make a post about them if requested! I think this is all I had to say, so let's start!

When visiting a barber, it’s important to know how to articulate what you want to ensure you leave with the perfect haircut. Understanding the difference between taper and fade, as well as the most common hairstyles that pair with them, can help you communicate effectively with your barber. Here’s what you need to know:

Understanding the Basics: Taper vs. Fade

Taper and fade haircuts are versatile and can be paired with various hairstyles, depending on the desired look. The terms "fade" and "taper" are often used interchangeably, but they refer to different haircut techniques:

Taper:

Subtle Transition: A taper gradually reduces the length of hair from the top down to the sides and back, but the change is subtle. When talking about "tapers," it's important to know that they can vary in style depending on how subtle or pronounced the transition is, where it begins, and how it complements the overall hairstyle.

Low Taper: The low taper starts lower on the head, around the ears or just above them, and gradually shortens down to the neckline. It offers a gentle, natural transition that’s less noticeable than other tapers

Mid Taper: A mid taper falls between the low and high taper, starting around the middle of the head. It offers a balance between subtlety and definition.

High Taper: The high taper begins much higher up on the head, typically around the temples. The hair shortens more quickly as it moves downward.

Tapers, source: Jimmythehairdresser on Tiktok

Fade:

Bold Contrast: A fade, on the other hand, involves a more noticeable transition where the hair gradually becomes shorter as you move down the head, often going down to the skin. As for the Taper, the fade starts at varying levels as well (low, mid, or high) depending on your preference.

Low Fade: The fade starts low on the head, just above the ears and around the nape of the neck.

Mid Fade: The mid fade starts slightly higher than the low fade, around the temple level.

High Fade: The fade begins high on the head, around the temples or forehead.

Fades, source: jimmythehairdresser on Tiktok

Bonus Fades:

Burst Fade: The burst fade creates a circular fade around the ear, leaving the hair longer at the nape. It resembles a "burst" around the ear, with the fade extending outwards.

Drop Fade: The drop fade follows the natural curvature of the head, "dropping" behind the ears towards the nape of the neck. It creates a more rounded silhouette compared to the straight line of a traditional fade.

The main difference between a fade and a taper is that the taper requires less maintenance. In order to keep the fade clean and neat you must go to the baber shop every two or three weeks.

Common Hairstyles to Pair with Tapers and Fades:

Once you’ve decided between a taper or a fade, the next step is choosing a style for the top. Here are some popular options:

French Crop: is a classic and timeless men's hairstyle characterized by short hair on the sides and back, with slightly longer hair on top that is usually styled forward. The defining feature of a French crop is its fringe (bangs), which is cut straight across the forehead or slightly textured, giving it a clean look.

Edgar: the most defining characteristic of the Edgar cut is its blunt, straight-across fringe (bangs). The fringe is cut very short and is typically styled straight down across the forehead. The sides and back are usually kept very short, often with a high fade or a sharp taper that contrasts significantly with the longer hair on top.

Textured Fringe: is a type of hairstyle where the bangs (fringe) are cut and styled to have a messy, layered, or choppy appearance, rather than lying flat or being uniformly cut. This style adds depth and movement to the hair. Sometimes is also referred as "fluffy" fringe on Tiktok.

Faux Mohawk: is a modern and versatile hairstyle that mimics the look of a traditional mohawk but is less extreme. Instead of shaving the sides completely as with a classic mohawk, the sides of the hair are kept shorter but not shaved, and the hair on top is styled to create the appearance of a mohawk.

Side Part: is a classic and timeless masculine's hairstyle that features a distinct parting on one side of the head, based on personal preferences or the natural hair grow pattern. The side part can be combined with different types of fades or taper with longer hair on top.

Slick Back: The defining feature of the slick back is that the hair is combed straight back from the forehead towards the back of the head. The goal is to create a smooth, uniform flow of hair. To achieve the slicked-back look, styling products like pomade, gel, or wax are typically used. The sides can be kept short with a fade or taper, creating a contrast with the longer hair on top.

Fringe Down: A fringe down hairstyle refers to a look where the bangs, or fringe, are styled to fall naturally down onto the forehead, rather than being swept to the side or styled upwards. The fringe can be cut in various lengths, from just grazing the eyebrows to longer, covering the forehead. The fringe down look can be combined with various fades, tapers or even longer sides, depending on the overall desired style.

Two Blocks: The two-block haircut is a hairstyle known for its distinct structure, featuring two contrasting sections of hair: a longer top section and significantly shorter sides and back. The style is versatile, easy to maintain, and can be adapted to suit various hair types and face shapes.

Styling:

When it comes to hairstyling, there are several key products that are commonly used to achieve different looks and hold styles in place. Each product has its own unique properties, making it suitable for specific hair types and desired outcomes. Here’s a breakdown of the most common styling products:

Pomade: Designed for more combed looks, such as side parts. It will give your hair a varied degree of shine and hold depending on the strength of pomade used. Pomade should be applied before you start styling your hair. It helps to shape and define the hair, making it easier to achieve your desired look by using a comb.

Wax: Hair wax is one of the most versatile hair styling products. Basically there are two types of hair wax, water based ones and oil based. It can give you a matte or high shine finish, depending on that.

Clay: Compared to Wax, Clay is usually dryer and a bit more stiff compared to a regular hair wax and that is what gives the product its hold and matte finish. For people with thinner hair a hair clay can be an option for some more volume when you apply it in damp hair before blow-drying.

Gel: Hair gel is somewhat similar to water based pomades. Both are relatively wet products, but hair gel is slightly wetter. The downside is that it is not very versatile. Furthermore, cheap hair gels are pretty chemically and they can leave white flakes in your hair when the product dries and you touch it too much.

Styling Powder: is a product you apply directly at your roots and then you piece it into your hair. This kind of product is great when you like to get some more volume in your hair and make it appear thicker and fuller. You hair will get more body, especially when you add it to your roots directly. Compared to other styling products, you need to apply them on already dry hair.

Sea Salt Spry: Sea salt spray mimics the effect of ocean water on hair, adding texture and volume for a beachy, tousled look. It’s ideal for creating casual, undone styles with a matte finish. It’s particularly popular for enhancing natural waves and curls.

Some final small tips:

When talking to a barber, clear communication is key to getting the hairstyle you want. Here are some final practical tips to help ensure you and your barber are on the same page:

Show a Picture: If you have a specific look in mind, showing a picture can be incredibly helpful, even better if it's a 360 video.

Ask for Advice: Your barber is an expert, so if you’re unsure, ask for their recommendations based on your hair type and face shape.

Mention Your Styling Routine: Let your barber know how much time you spend on your hair daily and what products you use. This helps in choosing a cut that fits your styling routine and maintenance preferences. Furthermore, if you have a specific lifestyle (e.g., active, formal work environment), let your barber know. This information helps them recommend a style that fits your day-to-day life.

Ask About Maintenance: Inquire about how often you should get the haircut maintained and any specific care instructions. This ensures you know how to keep your style looking its best.

Provide Feedback: If you notice something you don’t like during the haircut, give feedback politely and promptly. It’s easier for the barber to make changes if they’re aware of your concerns early on.

This is it, hope it can be helpful for some of you guys!

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suevi-if · 2 months ago

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Weekly Update - May 17th 2025

Hey guys! First weekly update since the prologue was released!

It's been a week, and what a week it has been. I can't thank you all enough for your support, and all the asks that have been coming in. I had so much fun answering you.

I've been very focused on writing chapter 1. I'm at nearly 6.6k words right now, which is already longer than the prologue (this is not counting today's progress). Plot-wise, I've actually only been working towards the first of the major events of chapter 1, and slightly begun with writing the event yesterday. So, yes, chapter 1 is going to be massive.

What I can tell you without spoiling too much is that there will be more customization options, two time skips, two battles, one assembly, one fling, and you will meet the BBEG of the whole plot. In short, a ton of action; including some smut and several battle scenes.

Solely talking about plot, it might actually be the most dense and longest chapter I'll write. But that's still open to change. I might shorten the chapter and put parts of it in chapter 2 instead, which is planned for now to be a shorter chapter, with the main focus of introducing most of the important characters.

If I end up shortening chapter 1, it would mean the BBEG would be introduced in chapter 2 instead, along with all ROs (and a reintroduction of Ing, who has changed a lot since childhood).

But again... not sure about this yet. If I shorten it, you will get a massive cliffhanger, and if I don't shorten it, you will get a smaller cliffhanger that still lets you anticipate the next chapter.

Let me know how you feel about that! Do you maybe want a poll about it? I'd be up to post another one and let you decide.

That's it for now. Thank you for reading <3

#interactive fiction #if wip #writing #choicescript #updates #suevi-if

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remedyturtles · 6 months ago

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2024 Writing Roundup

tagged by @plothooksinc

Words Posted:

Additional Words Written:

adding together as many unposted docs dated this year as i could find, 49,122 words

Fandoms:

mostly rottmnt

Highest kudos + Highest Hit One-Shot:

specifically one-shot? how are we defining one-shot? bc technically the highest kudos and hits for a one chapter fic is stare directly at the sun ... which is, you know, 32k lmao

New Things I Tried:

collabing has been really fun!!!

Fic I Spent The Most Time On:

unsurprising to all, firefight

Fic I Spent The Least Time On:

get out of the road i wrote for @cass-phoenix as they beat me in a sprint. i literally have the timestamps for how long it took me to write lmao

Favourite Thing I Wrote:

firefight is the obvious answer. i wrote this nearly every single day until it's completion in september. i wrote this in DM's and voice memos with L. i wrote this any moment i wasn't at work or asleep. i wrote this as i walked 700km while in hostel bunks on my phone. it was everything to me. it was a huge labour of love and i appreciate all the love i received back for it.

i also wanna give a quiet shout out to take one for the team. this one gripped me so, so hard.

Favourite Thing(s) I Read:

going solely off what i bookmarked with the tag 'favourite' for this year:

life is short and i've shortened mine

anatomy of a bug

coming undone (one step at a time)

let the monsters loose

but i can't live in a storm

thicker than ice

a brain so big that you get lost in it

i'll get up and lay back down

bombastic side eye

keep the nightlight on

Writing Goals for 2025:

fuck if i know

New Works:

i've got a bunch of things i'm playing with but we'll see if any of them pan out. i never post unless it's finished or i'm 100% sure i can finish it. so it might take a while to find the next 'thing'. until then, i'm slowly working on a bunch of ask game prompts

Tagging:

@liketheletter-l @callmehere-iwillappear @cass-phoenix

#rem askbox #fic stuff

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jinnaizaemon · 1 month ago

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Nintama Rantarou Movie 2: All of Ninjutsu Academy Ready for Action! cheat sheet

Our translation of the movie is finally available to download! whee! I had made a similar cheat sheet post for the first movie that you can find here. Movie 2 is longer and I have more to say about it, but hopefully it won't be too boring a read. I know I made a post about this same movie before, but since we finalized the subs I wanted another go at it. I'll be honest, I'll paste and reword some part of the older post into this one and then add new thoughts, observations, and comments about the finalized subs into it. Consider it a V2... Enjoy!

This time again, I'll try to follow the movie chronologically (though some back-and-forth can happen) and write about all my thoughts and comments about the movie itself and translation choices we made. Let’s begin under the read more! Beware of spoilers if you haven't watched it yet, and forgive my bad English.

A little background first of all: The first Nintama Rantarou movie came out in 1996. This one, Ninjutsu Gakuen Zenin Shutsudou! no Dan, came out 15 years later, in March 2011. We went with All of Ninjutsu Academy Ready for Action! for the English title. More precisely, this movie came out in theaters on March 12 2011, that is to say one day after the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami of March 11 2011 ; it resulted in promotional events related to the movie being cancelled, and in general theaters in Japan shortening screenings or closing entirely. As a consequence of this, the movie is a box-office failure, despite having extremely positive reviews.

Between the first two movies, the franchise grew and so did the cast of characters, so this movie was made with the intention of showcasing all of Ninjutsu Academy. It adapts the contents of volume 37 and 42 of the manga, which had already been animated in the 16th season of the anime series, making the movie a remake of sort with original scenes, and an adaptation of the plot so that it includes every member of Ninjutsu Academy.

Opening scene

Nintama plays a lot with historical accuracy and I always think it does so in a really clever way. The very first scene shows the circumstances in which the very unfair deal between Oomagatoki and Tasogaredoki Castles was made. Tasogaredoki's army looks threatening with its skull emblem, equipment and sheer numbers. It contrasts with Oomagatoki's blobby emblem... and the plastic chocolate and candy wrappers its lord dropped to the floor along with a war fan. To me that shot really is Nintama in a nutshell lol. War, but still funny!

It's interesting going back to this movie after watching the third movie, The Strongest Tactician. Both open with a scene displaying the horrors of war in a family-friendly, sensible way. In movie 2, torn flags lay on the ground as both armies are battling in the background. Cloth in general is a recurring motif in this movie: lords go to war with flags adorned with their family emblem on them, and they walk around in opulent silk fundoshi, while the people have to use and reuse every piece of cloth they can find to dress their wounds. I really like the symbolism in Isaku reusing war flags to use as bandage to treat the wounded. Also, if the movie starts with showcasing these flags, it also ends with Kisanta waving his own! He also turned a war lord's display of opulence into Ninjutsu Academy's own flag for peace and independence. Beautiful!

Next, we get Zatto's fateful meeting with Isaku. It's a nice touch that while we're seeing through Zatto's eye, the bottom left corner of the screen is greyed, where the bandage covering his right eye would be.

Isaku is dressed as yamabushi, practicioners of shugendo, known for retreating to the mountains for ascetic practices, rituals, etc. In the context of nintama, the outfit helps Isaku hides any affiliation, making him an enemy of no one, and signify a knowledge of herbs and medicine giving him credibility to care for the wounded.

A lot of people were puzzled by Isaku's hair color in this scene, and I wondered about it too. It appears too dark if the goal was just to have the movie's usual color palette but more dulled. I really wonder if it's another attempt at increasing the realism for this scene, since it contrasts with the one just after with Rankirishin in present time. It's not like Nintama TV anime uses dull palettes at all, but except for the scenes with Tasogaredoki's army battling Oomagatoki, Tasogaredoki and Oomagatoki having dinner at camp, and later Tasogaredoki's army marching towards Sonoda Village, movie 2 picked especially bright and vivid colors, and I genuinely think it's a deliberate choice to have these contrast so much visually.

Ninjutsu Academy

Again, I love the sudden change in color palette compared to the scene just before. It's like the children get to live in a much more innocent world than the adults directly confronted with war, and how there's hope in the present and future. In Zatto's words, nintama are potential, aren't they?

The TV anime seems to go back and forth with this, sometimes showing background students in classrooms, sometimes showing very small classrooms (like how 1-i and 1-ro each have 4 known students, and they are sometimes the only ones in their classroom while sometimes there are more desks occupied by nameless mob characters), but the movie features a BUNCH of unknown, nameless students appearing in the back. It’s probably an effort to give the school a feeling of greatness to fit the grand scale of the story, but it’s a bit weird to see unfamiliar students especially in older years haha.

Tegata Kessai brought the Headmaster the local specialty of Sonoda Village. I like how much this little flower relates to Isaku. Like how Zatto never got Isaku's name throughout the movie, it remains unnamed. Obviously, it has a white color, like the yamabushi outfit he wore on the battlefield (plus, obviously, the green leaves like his uniform). It's unassuming ; despite showing up many times throughout the movie, no big attention is ever brought to it. But despite appearances, it's an efficient painkiller than can be toxic used at a wrong dose, mirroring Isaku's skills both in medicine and in ninjutsu. Its role is made obvious in the very end, though, when Zatto uses it to stop Dokutake army. Not in a lethal dose though, he can't make members of the Health Committee sad...

Tegata Kessai's name comes from 手形決済 tegata kessai, meaning to pay a bill or settle a debt.

Komatsuda was probably too busy thinking about his big brother, owner of a fan shop, to notice the pattern on the floor spelling へっぽこ heppoko, “useless”, “incompetent”.

When 1-ha is discussing the mixed-up homework, Chouji is shown growing asagao, Japanese morning glories. Because these flowers grow fast and easily, they are often used as teaching material in lower grades of elementary school where students have to care for them and report on their growth as homework.

In the same scene, while all of 1-ha is laughing, only Shouzaemon and Kingo stay serious, Shou-chan being Shou-chan and Kingo showing worry as Kisanta’s roommate!

Before the Headmaster enters, there’s a sheet of paper on the floor with every student’s name and the homework they received. If they got the right homework, it’s marked with a O. Flipping and zooming on this frame reveals whose students got the wrong homework, and what the assignment they got was. Sadly, since the text is blurry I couldn’t decipher everything. But I can tell you that apart from Kisanta, Monjirou, Chouji, and the Rescue Team… Heita, Kyuusaku, Shirobei, Sakubei, Kazuma, Takamaru, Heisuke and Hachizaemon got the wrong homework too. Sakubei had to make a map of Dokusasako Castle. Kazuma had some ninja code to decipher. Heisuke had to steal a rooftile in Naruto Castle. Hmm... familiar. I think Hachizaemon had to get Harumaki Gyouja's autograph.

…And Takamaru’s summer homework was “crossdressing”.

Kisanta Rescue Team’s introduction scene has a LOT of interesting details, so I already dedicated a post for it.

Talk with Tegata Kessai

Tegata Kessai explains how he wants to get a 庇いの制札 kabai no seisatsu from Tasogaredoki’s lord, which I translated as a “protection decree” for ease of reading, but it’s actually a little bit more specific. In the words of Doi-sensei: “Don’t burn, steal, and kill. Basically, a document prohibiting the army from committing violence.” kabai means protecting or sheltering, while seisatsu refers to an edict publicly displayed on a wooden board to make the public aware of a law in place in the area, a recent proclamation of the local lord or of the shogun, etc.

Danzou misunderstands kabai no seisatsu as kaba no keisatsu, literally “a hippo policeman” - I don’t know if the average Muromachi child would be knowledgeable of animals in Sub-saharan Africa, though! It became hipprotection in the subs.

I think the people behind him are Maasai people, but I’m not very knowledgeable so feel free to correct me if I’m wrong.

The movie has a lot of on screen text, so initially, the subtitles, the Japanese text, then the English captions made for really crowded shots... But isn't it nice and clear like this?! Azul even made the text zoom in and fade out, that's so cool!! I'm so happy with the end result. Everyone clap!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In the English subs, Rantarou says "what does collecting intel means?", in the Japanese script, he asks what does 印をとるshirushi wo toru, literally "collecting marks", means. That might be either unique to Nintama or is some obscure military/ninjutsu expression... a recurring problem I have when researching ninjutsu stuff is that ninjutsu websites will often quote Amako Soubee/Nintama so it's hard to find actual sources sometimes. Anyways, as Shouzaemon explains, it's to scout an army to deduce its numbers, amount of supplies, etc.

In this post, under the read more, I wrote about the meaning of the words “Tasogaredoki” and “Oomagatoki”.

Kousaka makes his only appearance ever in civil clothes in the next scene. I have to point it out. It’s important, okay. Incidentally, he's dubbed by Wataru Takagi, Takiyashamaru's voice actor here... ugh.

By the way, badminton only became a thing in the 19th century. But feudal Japan already had a similar game called hanetsuki, which started as a game reserved for nobles, but grew in popularity during Muromachi and became a New Year tradition by Edo. He’s not being anachronistic… just a little bit avant-garde.

Opening theme and to Sonoda Village

The noodles they are eating is a dish called kuzukiri, a popular, refreshing summer dessert from Kyoto, so it’s a local snack for nintama. It’s made by mixing kudzu starch with water, and once thickened, cut in the shape of noodles with the tool seen above. It’s then served with black sugar syrup traditionally, and with a variety of others toppings in modern times.

Given Danzou, Isuke and Heidayuu’s reactions, it looks like there wasn’t enough for everyone.

Are the people walking on the path in the foreground on their way to the battlefield, too? Since the war between Tasogaredoki and Oomagatoki is on an apparent standstill, a large camp has been set for soldiers, so they are likely to be carrying supplies there. It's because those "stand-by camps" were so large and attracted so many peddlers and entertainers that it's possible for children to be there as young laborers or entertainers, making 1-ha sneaking in to "collect intel/marks" plausible.

What is translated as "page”, as in a manual worker, is 夫丸 bumaru in the original script, and is a word specific to Muromachi-Edo. The bu part means male and maru is a suffix for names used at the time for children (like Kirimaru!) or lower-class workers. Shinbei explains that they are “the people carrying supplies to the battlefield”, which is true, but it seems that the word refers to lower classes laborers in a more general way.

When Kirimaru explains how he traded his lunchbox for a bunch of things until he got the Oomagatoki hands’ uniform, Rantarou tells him it’s just like Warashibe chouja, or the Straw Millionaire story. It’s a folktale that became popular during the Muromachi period, about a poor man who starts by trading a piece of straw, and after a series of trades, meets with a rich man who offers him his daughter in marriage, making the poor man a millionaire.

Rantarou misreads the tag as “Size rerere” because the roman letter L looks like the katakana character レ, which is read re. So レレレ is read rerere. Became lelele in the subs.

When Kirimaru first tries to carry Shinbei on his shoulders, they both talk in a very theatrical, over the top way, and wear red make-up. You can also hear a nohkan flute, hyoushigi wood clappers and tsuzumi drum in the background. This is all typical of Kabuki theater.

Zatto gesturing at a subordinate off screen to go after the 1-ha kids with finger gestures, Oomagatoki not being able to see him, is really cool to me haha.

It's so cute how Rikichi carried Shouzaemon on his back. You can only see his ponytail peeking from over Rikichi's shoulder when he lands.

Rikichi has some stag-gering news! Hahaha!!! Because he's holding a deer!... Right?! Right... We really wanted this release to not have any translation notes on screen, so it was important to find another pun for this scene. It took a while and after long, long brainstorming Azul found something... I'm so grateful.... In the original script he says 斯く斯く然々kakukaku shikajika, which simply means “this and that”, “such and such”… while holding a puppet of the bishop shogi piece, called kakugyou or kaku for short, and a puppet of a deer, or shika in japanese. So the joke is that as he says kakukaku shikajika, he shows a kaku and a shika… hm…

I really really love Yamada-sensei blushing and coughing at his son's embarassing attempt at joke.

Hinata mentions that Oomagatoki doesn't have enough power to spy for intel, but to be more precise they employ no ninja at all. Well... in the TV anime, Oomagatoki orders Iba Tooru and Kaibara Tarou, originally two foot soldiers, to become ninja despite them having 0 knowledge of ninjutsu, because "having no ninja at all is kind of a bad look".

惣 sou is an historical term referring to rural local self-governments. As Shouzaemon explains, because Oomagatoki lacks power as a lord, the villages in his domain are organizing towards self-governments, or becoming sou, hence why he needs Tasogaredoki's strength to oppress them back into obedience. If all his villages were to become independent, they wouldn't pay him taxes anymore, he wouldn't be able to hire them for his army, etc. It's because he feared losing his power and wealth that he agreed to that "9 for me, 1 for you" deal with Tasogaredoki.

Lord Oomagatoki, in hiding, wears a raccoon dog mask to conceal his face. Raccoon dogs with the ability to shapeshift to conceal their true identity and play tricks on others are a common motif in japanese folktales and they are known as bakedanuki. They are usually portrayed as goofy and fun characters, with um, large testicles reminiscent of Oomagatoki’s chin under the mask lol. If Oomagatoki is the short, plump, funny bakedanuki, I guess it makes the taller, slender, cooler Tasogare Jinbei a bakekitsune, a shapeshifting fox.

"9 for me, and 1 for Magatoki-dono..." I really, really love this scene. While Tasogare Jinbei has a young boy pouring him alcohol in a large, lacquered dish, Oomagatoki Magatoki isn't even invited at his side, and has to pour himself drinks in a small cup. Tasogare eats red sea bream, madai in Japanese, a luxury food typically served for special occasions like New Year, and is also a symbol of wealth, abundance and good fortune. Magatoki gets a very thin piece of said sea bream, two grilled small fish (I think smelt?) and some pieces of takuan, pickled radish. He specifically got the end part of the radish, which is the driest and most bitter part! Usually, in Nintama, they usually aren't too specific with food, and the Cafeteria lady typicall serves anachronistic dishes like hamburg steak or curry rice. Here, they specifically depicted brown rice on Tasogare's plate as back then, polished white rice was not common at all. Back to my point between the varying degrees of realism between "the world of adults" and "the world of children" Nintama depicts: later on, Shinbei eats the Equipment Committee's packed lunch, which consisted of... white rice balls.

Zatto turns his head to listen to lord Tasogare from his right side, since he’s deaf in his left ear.

It seems the owl symbolizes Tasogaredoki spying on Ninjutsu Academy, using hooting sounds as 矢羽音 yabane, their secret code. It's made more explicit in the third movie, where a similar motif is used.

Sonoda Village

Everyone is here! This is the part where you point in excitement at your fave getting two seconds of screentime.

(insightful commentary) Everyone's different sleeping position is so cute. Heidayuu is like a cat...

Chouji is shown with the 震天雷 shintenrai, or thunder crash bomb, which will play a big role later in the story. The thunder crash bomb, or heaven-shaking thunder bomb (cool name!) originates from 13th century China. It's already an old weapon by the time Nintama takes place. More modern, specialized, and of course safer cannon balls and hand grenades have been developped since then, but hey, if it's just what they needed, why not? Personally I find it so funny that while they point out how dangerous that bomb is, there's no adult to supervise the nintama during that whole scene. Oh, Ninjutsu Academy...

There are a few words used related to Ninjutsu Academy’s whole defense tactic that are a bit specific, either to warfare or to the period, which I swapped for ease of reading. For example, 逆茂木 sakamogi is “abatis”, as in a fortification made from stacking wood. I left it as simply “barrier”.

The rabbit design of the telescope is explained in the manga and TV anime, but not in the movie. According to Shousei, it’s a common motif on telescopes, but when I tried to find pictures of real telescopes with a similar design I only found Nintama Rantarou related webpages. So. Okay stay with me this is a little look into how tricky nintama can be to translate sometimes hahaha… (Actually I'm so glad they didn't explain it in the movie. I wonder if we'll translate the TV anime version of this arc eventually...) The design is a pun based on the 12 animals of the zodiac, ordered like this: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, Pig. If you count ten animals starting from the rabbit, you end up with rat. Rat in japanese is nezumi, or “ne” for short. “tenth is rat” is 10番目がね juubanme ga ne, which you can also read as 十目がね toome ga ne, which is itself an homonym of 遠眼鏡 toomegane, “telescope”. …Phew!!!

In Japanese, Heidayuu says 弱点を逆転 jyakuten wo gyakuten, literally "to reverse the weak spot" of the barrier. Because of the -kuten syllables being repeated twice, Shinbei mixes up the two words, so we changed it to "strenghten and weaken".

It's interesting that that Tasogaredoki soldier specifically aimed at Torawaka with his matchlock. Tora noticed him before the shot too, but had kind of a deer in headlights reaction? Or is it his own interest in firearms that made him stop and think? Anyways what matters is that he gets saved by Shousei, and I love the composition of that shot. Just before, he's guarded by his classmates, but Tora lifts his head to look up at Shousei, and there's that panning shot with Shousei looking really cool, front and center of the screen, and almost god-like with his head and matchlock surrounded by blinding light... While poor Torapapa is in the background, his face not visible, almost swallowed by Shousei's radiant light... I love seeing Tora's adoration for Shousei conveyed with such striking visuals.... gudaguda.. gudaguda... gudaguda...

Interestingly, Shousei arrived to Sonoda Village without his usual black horse. Where is it.....

Shousei addresses Torawaka as 若太夫 wakatayuu, which I initially translated as "Young Master". The issue is that Seihachi addresses Danzou as 若旦那 wakadanna, which I had also translated as "Young Master", so the distinction was lost... Lizzie, who edits my ESL messes of translations, changed it so that wakatayuu became Young Sire, and I love it sooooo much. Genius, genius, genius. If they're both "young master" in English, what's the difference? The 若 waka part is the same, and means young. 旦那 danna refers to the person in charge of a house or a business, so depending on context it can be translated as "husband" Not yet, Seihachi, not yet., "boss", "master"... Since Danzou is the son of the Katou horse carriers' boss, it makes him the young master. 太夫 tayuu, or taifu by itself, is a title associated with the fifth court rank from the ritsuryou, Japan's historical legal system. It's not the highest nor most illustrious rank, but it's the lowest rank to get a honorary title, so it felt prestigious for samurai to be called tayuu. The word came to mean a distinguished person in the more general sense, so tayuu also refers to a kabuki actor in the leading female role, among more example. So because of its association with nobility, something like "lord" or "sire" works better than the more general "master". And so we got young sire! Young Sire...!!!

Speaking of, even though we don't see him in the movie, Seihachi is working with Satake at this point of the story. I wish we could have seen him in action...

When the Explosives Committee destroys the bridges leading to the village, Takamaru and Saburouji, being newer additions to the committee, have to cover their ears while Doi and Heisuke are okay. Cute detail.

While most soldiers in the Tasogaredoki army simply wear the skull kamon (emblem) of their lord, higher ranking members wear kabuto helmets with… interesting designs, like a crab, squid, or a banana design. In the Muromachi period, when the tanegashima matchlocks were introduced, armors had to be redesigned to become thicker and bulletproof ; as their design evolved, so did the datemono, or crests on helmets. Initially U shaped, these crests got a number of designs, usually one’s kamon or fortuitous animals like rabbits, dragonflies, etc. Yes, samurai walked around with cute rabbit ears. The country of moe, truly.

When Mikiemon goes "What are those disappointed faces for, you 1st years brat?!" he pushes Tora off screen, and we can't see his expression... I really wanted to see it lol.

And just after, Tora says this line. In Japanese, he asks Shousei to be his 薬込役 kusurigomeyaku. This word is brought up in Nintama TV anime and the original manga, and in context is the person bringing new, loaded matchlocks to the person in charge of firing. Looking up the word outside of the context of Nintama brings up results relating to spies of the Edo period... it's another case of me not knowing if it's an historical fact so obscure it only brings up Nintama related results, or if it's just a word the author used to sound historical, specific, and cool. Ahhh, sigh. Anyways, I wanted something equally specific in English but that would remain understandable in context, so it became powder boy. Powder monkey, or powder boy (no way I'm calling our Young Sire a powder monkey!!!!!!!!) is actually a naval term and refers to young sailors tasked with loading cannons with gunpowder. Not exactly the same, but I guess it works! If Sensei does it, so can I.

Here, Isuke and Shouzaemon call Hieta Happousai 冷えた発泡酒 Hieta Happoushu, hieta meaning cold and happoushu is an alcoholic drink similar to beer. It became Happoucider in English to keep the "sai" sound.

They used the firefly jutsu on Dokutake. It's a technique used multiple times throughout the franchise, and it consists in diverting the enemy's attention by spreading a (possibly false) rumor.

In English, the secret message is "wrapped around a 3 centimeters wide stick", but in Japanese he says a 1 sun wide stick. The unit of measure was swapped for clarity. 1 sun is 一寸 issun, which might sound familiar if you played a certain Capcom RPG.

I had already written about it in my post about the first movie, but Takiyashamaru is holding a 水中すいり suichu suiri, a ninja tool for crossing water discreetly and safely.

"They're keeping my slugs as hostages! Ah, but they're slugs, so maybe I should say slugages." Hostage in Japanese is 人質 hitojichi, the first character, 人 hito, means person, so Kisanta comes up with the word ナメ質 namejichi, slugage, swapping the "hito/person" part for the first syllables of ナメクジ namekuji, slug.

Kisanta being diligent enough to try and complete homework that is absurdly too hard for a student his age is so cute and touching. And he planned to stay here until he rescued his slugs... I also find Kisanta's reaction when seeing that Senzou is here to rescue him so cute. It's heart-warming how much they love each other (…despite everything).

Look at how cute Hikoshirou dozing off is. Yes, that’s all.

Monjirou mentions that Zatto used the 逃止の術 toushi no jutsu, halted escape jutsu. It involves shaking the enemy off and infiltrate the place once the enemy thinks you've fled.

This scene puts a lot of focus on the two tins containing the leaves from Sonoda’s local flower ; it can be used both as a painkiller or a poison depending on the dose. When Zatto enters the room, Fushikizou throws a bunch of stuff at him, including one of the tins. Just after, Fushikizou notices that Zatto took one of the tin with him… but doesn’t seem to have told anyone about it. I guess that makes the first time Zatto and Fushikizou work together!

Speaking of, I guess Zatto didn't care enough to move, but it's impressive that Isaku managed to aim right at Zatto's forehead when he threw the bandage.

For someone like Zatto who only knows allegiance to his own folks, Isaku is a complete mystery. Treating anyone without discrimination, risking your life and wasting precious supplies on potential enemies makes 0 sense to him, and I love that it bothered him enough that he went out of his way to meet with Isaku again in private to ask him about it directly. The thought of this grown man being tormented all summer remembering his kind, anonymous benefactor is so much lol. But it goes to show how much of an outlier Isaku is not just as a ninja, but also as a person.

Despite everything, Kazuma is a great ninja. He reacted quick seeing Zatto and quickly shielded Sakon with his own body. Too bad about the Health Committee's bad luck though... In the spin-off of the 14th musical, he earns a lot of praise from Zatto for his skills.

Remember how the first movie had wolfholes? Well, time to introduce foxholes. A foxhole is a small hole dug to fit one or two person with a role similar to a trench, where the person inside can fire from it while also covering themselves if needed. As Monjirou said, if you're going to dig foxholes, do it on the frontlines! In Japanese, foxhole is タコ壺 takotsubo, literally "octopus pot". Kihachirou named them respectively Taako-chan (feminine name) and Tawaemon (masculine name), keeping the "ta" part from tako, octopus. So if our octopus pots became foxholes, I guess it's logical that they are now named Miss Foxy and Mister Fox. It's convenient that both languages evoke animals...

"Senpai, thank you for always taking care of us..." "Always?" Apparently Rantarou is oblivious to the all the misery Shinbei and Kisanta inflict on Senzou lol.

Tasogaredoki’s assault

2011 is written on the telescope Tomesaburou is holding! It's the year the movie came out.

I LOVE Mikiemon's lack of actual combat experience showing in this arc. He claims the cannonball won't reach and is visibly in shock realizing he might be wrong. Everyone gets down when ordered to, and Shousei, well aware of Mikiemon's lack of experience, jumps to make him get down. It's like one frame but he does hold Miki down by the shoulders... All in all the events at Sonoda Village must have been a very humbling experience for Mikiemon.

1-i and 1-ro dodging the cannon ball are so cute lol. Ayakashimaru almost passes out.

Meet Lucy, Lucy the mortar. She's Lucy because she looks up in the sky.....!!!! Yes there is a Beatles fan among Tasogaredokijou. It's another joke that had to be swapped if we wanted to avoid TL notes on screen. The original dialogue literally goes like this:

臼砲のきゅうちゃんだ。 kyuuhou no kyuuchan da. It's Kyuu-chan the mortar. きゅうちゃん? kyuuchan? Kyuu-chan? きゅうちゃん。 kyuuchan. Kyuu-chan. なるほど、　上を向いている。 naruhodo, ue wo muiteiru. I see, it's looking up.

Mortar in Japanese is kyuuhou, so we've got our Kyuu, but why does Heidayuu say it's looking up? Because singer Sakamoto Kyuu sang "Ue wo Muite Arukou", "I Look Up As I Walk", in 1961. Now I don't think this is a joke that the average Japanese kid would get, and it's anachronistic given Nintama's setting lol. So hey, a Beatles reference makes a good swap for an English speaking audience, I think! And that's how Sakamoto Kyuu became Lucy in the sky with diamonds. By the way, here's a cover of Ue wo Muite Arukou by Kanemaru Junichi, Raizou's voice actor.

This is another moment which makes me really glad to do these subs with Lizzie because she made the lyrics for the song so fun. It really makes me think how lucky I am to be part of a group where we can brainstorm ideas and work together like this to put out something we wouldn't have been able to pull as a solo work. Also, sometimes I find myself humming Yuuki 100% but I go "hai hai, sore wa boku ni yarasete kudasaiii!" before going Uhhh wait wrong lyrics lol.

The tactic used by Ninjutsu Academy to defend the village against Tasogaredoki is very reminiscent of the battle of Waterloo, 1815, where Wellington’s army was posted on a slope made muddy by bad weather, slowing down French troops.

Tasogaredoki's army is stopped, and the Satake folks raise their flag! The Satake emblem is a centipede. Mukade, the Japanese centipede, is a rather big specimen, venomous, known to be aggressive and said to never retreat. This, plus their link with Bishamonten, god of war and bringer of justice, made them a popular family emblem for samurai.

We talked about kusurigomeyaku / powder boys earlier, and we can see Saburouji and Heisuke of the Explosives Committee fulfilling the role here. Mikiemon also got to help Shousei, good for him!

"Gotta go back home and tend to the rice fields..." A good chunk of the army wasn't employed full time as trained soldiers, but were common folks hired for the duration of campaigns. Typically there would be more people to hire during agricultural off season, but a lord could requisition them if a big battle is coming.

火矢 hiya is literally fire arrow, but it's also rocket. Which I guess Heidayuu kind of invented just now.

I love this scene so much… even though he’s the titular character, Rantarou rarely gets the chance to shine like this, doesn’t he? After this line, you can hear hyoushigi wood clappers again, as Kirimaru and Shinbei cheer for Rantarou. This evokes Japanese theater again ; what they are doing is called kakegoe, shouts from the audience to encourage performers. When a kabuki play reaches its climax, when an actor does something really impressive, he will often strikes a pose and the story will stop for a moment just for the audience to shout such kakegoe.

I don’t know if it’s intentional, but there’s that scene earlier in the movie where Tasogare Jinbei repeats multiple times “Nine for me, and one for Magatoki-dono”, referring to their respective share at dinner but obviously to the taxes taken from Sonoda Village, too. Yuki wasn’t here to witness it, I think, but I find it ironic that she specifically goes “One for my lord” here as he hasn’t realized yet his scheme has been found out.

This isn't the first time Takamaru makes a fool of Tasogare with a stupid haircut, it happens at the end of the Double survival orienteering arc in season 19.

It's funny Tasogare says that Oomagatoki has strange tastes for being into Denko. In the 6th musical, he has a whole song number about courting her and he gifts her a rose. Even after Denzou tells him "I'm actually a man", Tasogare replies that he doesn't mind and tries to kiss him. Also in season 20 he acknowledges Denko as a woman... and Sonnamon even gets hit for not agreeing with his lord. Character development!

The word Komatsuda uses for "secretary" here is 右筆 yuuhitsu, and is another specific, historical word. It refers to the private secretary of a noble or castle lord, tasked with writing and stamping official documents, records, decrees, etc. The profession came to be because initially, not every samurai knew how to properly write and format official documents. Then it became common for the most important ones to have a designated secretary to handle their paperwork! So it's a different word from the usual "secretary" found mostly in Komatsuda-related episodes of the TV anime, which is the more common 事務員 jimuin, clerk, office worker. It ended up being the same word in English, spoken by our usual secretary, so I wanted to point it out! They do different things!

Again, I love how this movie plays with realism. The ominous Tasogaredoki army marching at the beginning of the movie was reduced to a cartoony dust cloud by the end. It's the Ninjutsu Academy effect!

When the kunoichi watch Oomagatoki get undressed they all make disgusted expressions while the Cafeteria lady behind them is just "?" LOL I guess she has seen worse...

The war flags from the beginning of the movie are cut and turned into bandages. We've come full circle!

I guess it's something we never really captioned, but Dokutake's war flags spell どく doku.

...And Tasogaredoki ninja corps used the leaves taken from the Health Committee earlier to stop Dokutake. They aren't getting involved in the battle of Sonoda Village, but Zatto can't have anyone go against his lord... while still respecting Isaku's ideals. So cool~

Credits

It’s more explicit in the manga but Monjirou is bonking his head because he’s frustrated he didn’t get to fight haha.

And Kisanta isn’t the only one who completed his summer homework in the end, Isaku got to bring back a Tasogaredoki war flag back to school!

Finishing with one last pic because Doi crying for Kisanta is just way too cute.

And now I'm done with the Second Version of this post lol. It sure is longer... this time I hope I didn't forget anything. It's funny, when I was done writing the first post I concluded saying that I hope I didn't forget anything. Well I did! I forgot a lot of things! And also after rewatching the movie since them I kept noticing and thinking about new things... This movie is full of little details and it makes it a treat to rewatch every time, isn't it? I hope it wasn't too boring a read! Thank you for reading this far.

#nintama rantarou #nintama #op #meta #translation

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