#maybe i put too much thought into hijitae family head canons oops but it is what it is

[hijitae]

Hi so i’ve read your fanfic a Comet sounds like a frog in space (I couldn’t comment since I didn’t have an account) and I remember Togoro mentioning having a sister. What is her name ,and what is she like.

Hi there! Thank you for the question. I forgot that I had anon comments disabled for some of my fics, and I must’ve overlooked that fic when I got rid of that setting. I used to do that because of stalkers, but now AO3 users and guests can comment. Sorry about that!

Also, my apologies to the other anon; I am gathering some head canon things together for that question! I’ll get back to you soon, although I guess this can be included in with my future response, as this post features some head canons for HijiTae’s children.

For those who haven't read that fic of mine yet, here is a direct link to it.

Anyway, I’m glad you enjoyed the fic. :) And I thank you for your curiosity into what a daughter of Tae and Hijikata would be like. I’ll put the rest of my answer under a cut:

So, I always imagined Hijikata and Tae having a daughter, too – not just to give Togoro a sibling (since they both had siblings), but also because they’d want another child.

I’ve never been able to stick to a name during the few times I’ve written her into (unpublished) fanfic. I once used “Takako” in order to keep all their names beginning with a ‘T’ and fashioned it after Tae’s name the way fathers would conventionally pass on the first part of their name to sons (Toshiro, Togoro, etc.). However, Takako didn’t seem to fit the image I had in mind. I’m not well-versed in kanji, so I can’t pick names through that process; I have to rely on the kinds of meanings various blogs provide for any name I might choose. I thought of Asumi. I considered Masami or Yukino to pay homage to Tae’s live action actress and voice actress.

At this point, I still haven’t settled on a name, and until she makes a proper appearance in my fanfic, I’ll leave it to readers’ imaginations. Mostly I’m trying to finish HijiTae fanfic that focuses more on them before/if I get into family life. But for the sake of this ask, I’ll refer to her as Asumi.

I see her being born 5-6 years after Togoro. What she’s like? Well, right now, I base it on how I created Togoro’s appearance and personality. He looks a lot like Hijikata, except he has Tae’s eyes and smile. He was raised to be responsible and well-mannered. Also, being the firstborn, there is a little more pressure on Togoro to live up to expectations and so forth. Not to say Tae and Hijikata would be super strict parents – maybe Hijikata a bit in some aspects because of his years spent as the Shinsengumi’s vice-chief – but it’s common for firstborns. First-time parents are going through a lot in trying to make sure everything starts off well. Some parents tend to be more relaxed by the time the second child comes along now that they have the experience.

I see it like that for HijiTae, especially with the age gap between Togoro and his yet-unnamed little sister. He’s still a child, but eager by then to help take care of his sibling as she grows. As a result, Asumi will be a little more spoiled by her parents and brother. She will also be born during a time with more peace and stability – I mean, as peaceful as the rapid changes within the Meiji era can be in the Gintama universe after an immortal tried to destroy the entire world and all, lol, complete with advanced technology and galactic travel being mainstream now. Anyway, with a more stable society in place and Hijikata finally letting go of his past, I envision Asumi being sort of symbolic of that inner peace he’s achieved – and, of course, Tae being delighted to have a girl to raise now after a son.

I don’t want to make HijiTae’s kids carbon copies of their parents in appearance (or personality), but since Sorachi made it quite clear that Hijikata’s genes run strong in Togoro, then I imagine it to be similar with Asumi. She’ll have her dad’s eyes and a hair colour shade between dad and mom. She’ll grow her hair long, but might cut it to shoulder-length when she’s older – a reversal of Tae’s childhood and adulthood hairstyles.

Personality-wise, I haven’t given that too much thought yet. Asumi won’t be that short-tempered, but when she is, she is more like Hijikata in that way. She's less patient than Togoro, who is generally calmer; it takes more to anger him, especially since he did his best to be very patient with a little sister, so that influenced him as he grew older. I see Asumi being quite assertive and straightforward like her parents – which might make her seem less courteous than her brother when she speaks her mind. She has a lot of pride in her family background, so she’s determined to succeed and live up to her fullest potential. She also looks up to Togoro, idolizes him like a younger sibling tends to do. She wants to make her parents just as proud of her as they are of Togoro (though, of course, they already are). She's more expressive, less prone to bottling things up, and more relaxed than her brother.

Togoro will most likely follow Hijikata into law enforcement, but Asumi will be more interested in helping to keep the Koudoukan Dojo afloat in the new era. Like her brother, Asumi will receive the same training, but with an emphasis on the naginata from Tae’s instruction in order to uphold the tradition of women and the naginata. I think the history behind the naginata is fascinating, so I imagine Tae to proudly pass on that knowledge to her daughter, teaching her about women’s past roles in society but also encouraging her to pursue any path she dreams of taking – especially since public education really took off in the Meiji era with the first Ministry of Education established in 1871, so there are many more possibilities open to Hijikata and Tae’s children, paths that they did not have in the Edo era, growing up in a more turbulent time (not to mention Utsuro).

Okay, I’ve talked a LOT on the subject of Gintama OCs here, lol, so I’ll stop now. Nonetheless, I hope it was entertaining and interesting, and that I was able to answer your question to your satisfaction. I think Tae and Hijikata will be great parents, who will raise their children in a way that seems best for the family and for society. Positive and negative traits may be passed onto the children because, whether we like it or not, we all end up reflecting our parents in some way when we're older.

Thank you once again!

P.S. Hijikata will be quite devastated when Asumi doesn't take to mayonnaise that strongly. She ended up liking sukonbu a lot instead because Kagura was a frequent visitor and babysitter on occasion. Don't worry, Toushi -- Togoro will carry on the great mayonnaise tradition. 😄