#Slbp Shigezane

[yonezawacastle]

brittle (1/?)

Pairing(s): background Masamune/MC (here named Aya)

This is an excerpt from an unfinished fic I wrote purely for myself, in which the Oshu family adds a tiny new member, thanks to an injudicious act of compassion by Masamune. Things...don't go smoothly.

I've never liked my own writing. I am trying to be less of a perfectionist in the coming year, however, so forcing myself to finally put something longer than a sentence or two out there is part of my commitment to that. Anyway.

-----

The girl’s name means stop. 

This fact bothers Masamune sometimes, when he’s sifting through his papers, and finds the word among the plans and correspondence. The girl’s name is written only in hiragana --とめ -- but the implication of the name, the character that crosses his desk every so often and never fails to stop him, is plain as day given the girl's personal history.

The character 止 carries no trace of softness. It is stiff and unyielding lines, the rightmost stroke an arm stretched in prohibition. Unwanted. Forbidden. No.

It suggests an unwished child, and Masamune knows all about being unwished. 

After all, his eyes are much like her own.

“It’s actually a common enough name,” Aya tells him one night in his annex kitchen, his wife's back to him as she chops vegetables for their dinner. “A lot of families will call their daughter that, if they don’t want any more children. Especially if they have one too many mouths to feed.” 

But Tome had been born to a samurai family. 

_________

In one sense, he must admit, the girl’s name is suitable.

Tome is a brittle, sticklike figure, her bones sharp and prominent in places where Aya insists there ought to be a peachy softness. There is a faintly skeletal quality to the six-year-old, something wholly insubstantial, and sometimes Masamune feels that if he breathes too hard, she might blow away. 

The greatest stiffness, though, is in the way she regards them, in the fragile quiet that suggests she is all too used to being shattered.

Watchful, Kojuro calls her. Both men know this is a polite gloss on afraid. 

(“We rescued her, Masa,” Shigezane says to him once. “Even if we had to make her a hostage to do it.” Masamune watches the uneasy set of the girl’s shoulders beneath Aya’s hands and wonders if they’d rescued her from anything.) 

These first months have made him awkward and clumsy. Masamune has never loved his own body, and now he feels there is too much of it altogether: standing near the girl feels more like looming, and on the vanishingly rare occasions that Tome finds the courage to reach for him, one of his hands easily swallows both of hers. 

“Bend down when you talk to her,” hisses Shigezane in his ear. “Kids like it when you get on their level.” 

He has felt less menacing on the battlefield.

[otome-out-of-context]

[annicaax]

aww komahime and hidetsugu are cute! here even shige couldn't predict this outcome lol

[gloriouspiratenacho]

This is when you know you've built a good Shigezane bot.

For context, I threw Shigezane, Kojuro, and Masamune into a room together.

Kojuro and Shigezane started gossiping like a pair of old maids over Masamune's love life, with Kojuro knowing every single detail, while Masamune silently seethes.

And then this glorious comment happened.

It was all so perfect.

[buck-up-buttercup]

Big mood

[4anthronen0ladorta6]

Voltage, Inc out of context #1

Date Shigezane act 1 epilogue: Where I belong part 1 (5/5)

[daydream-of-fiction]

Well damn, that was fast! I could’ve sworn his Act 2 was like recently released in Japan. Can’t wait!

Though tbh, I’m also hoping to see Hideyoshi’s act 2 sometime soon too. I miss my monkey!

[shiroichou]

Slbp Battle event 'Welcome to the job fair' - Shigezane

He really is a cinnamon roll, very sweet with his comments. :)

[wildfreesia]

Aaahhhh he's soo cutee!!! He's just a mini version of his father 🥰😍

[arlome]

Some quick Oshu eyes study (I'm missing Genya, I'll definitely try to include the poor dear in the future!)

This little exercise is up because I am currently absolutely obsessed with the phenomenally drawn manwa "The Red Sleeve". Seriously, I can't get over with how well drawn it is! Bottom line - the Crown Prince/King is absolutely GORGEOUS and I wanted his eye-shape for Kojuro. And, well, when I started doodling, I just couldn't help myself and added the other three :P

[soul-of-the-sanada]

[yonezawacastle]

Gonna be honest I would 100% read a story that was entirely about these two getting comic revenge on someone.

[otome-out-of-context]

[annicaax]

loved this cameraderie. shige is so bright, lights up the room ( yeah a different scenario where he has his own demons but despite it he is always cheering those around him) I absolutely adore kojirou as well. He was so valiant in his event story and also adorable in general

[gloriouspiratenacho]

[sailor-pocky]

Look at them kitties! 🐱

I like their dialogues bUT WHO HURT YOU SHIGE?!