#my headcanons have truly taken a lot of place when it comes to the design of the characters but i love them so much i can’t stop jdjdjd

[electromignion]

Jeremy Bradshaw portrait 🫶

I missed drawing him and I had not drawn him this way with alcohol markers yet so here you go, I needed to have him drawn this way, he’s my comfort character after all 😭🫶

[zareleonis]

Furina x Neuvillette Fic Recs

All I ask of You by Lyrecah | rated T, 28.2k words

Some nights, Furina can’t sleep.

Neuvillette has taken notice and decides to address it.

Neither were expecting a bard from Mondstadt to come along and have an effect on the course of the night.

Why I like it: The pining is so sweet and it's so wonderful to see Furina have a friend in Venti.

The Altar of Her Body by Maleficar | rated E, 4.1k words

She devours his obscenities and his holy vows.

Neuvillette and Furina celebrate solving the serial disappearances case.

Why I like it: THE LADDERS IN NEUVILLETTE'S OFFICE ARE A WONDERFUL SUPPORTING CHARACTER!! Really love how this approaches their relationship from a very different angle from most other explicit works for this pairing so far, including this author's other story for them (more on that one later)

As Light Rain Falls by StarTears | rated T, 3.1k words

Furina drowns in self-doubt after the atrocious meeting with the Knave. As light rain falls, Neuvillette, who watched her back fade away from the Opera House, knocks on her door.

Why I like it: Just what I needed to heal my heart after what Furina went through in the 4.1 Archon Quest. And it made me cry! Simply lovely.

bisous amicaux by LKjoghtun | rated G, 800 words

Focalor kept diaries. A lot of diaries, or maybe she just liked to write and then reread what she had written. She was alarmed when she finished another notebook, three-quarters of which was devoted to Neuvillette. Each page described something they'd done at the place during the day or wanted to do.

Why I like it: The only story on this list written pre-4.0, yet it still feels so right for them. Very impressive how well they portray Furina's insecurities despite knowing so little about the characters at the time of writing.

the complete opposite of professionalism by Sakura_Blight | rated E, 300 words

Furina is insatiable.

Why I like it: Unfair how hot this one is. A story that's short by design but leaves you desperate for more.

Dancin’ Closer To The Edge by sillylittlebard | rated E, 1.9k words

Furina wanted Neuvillette. Over, over and over again. He always would. He would always need his estranged lover. No matter how much he hissed and spat, words were never venomous in nature. This was their game, and this was their own duel. This was theirs. Here, Furina could be wanted. Truly, wanted. Touched. Loved. Heard. He could be heard.

Why I like it: Transmasc Furina enthusiasts rise up!!! Makes me a little giddy to read someone else's take on that headcanon for Furina. I love the intensity and friction to their relationship in this story.

Dancing In the Rain by HydroLily | rated G, 1.7k words

Furina is losing control, and she’s still not even close to reversing Fontaine’s horrible prophecy. She retires to her bedroom, resigned to her circumstances.

Neuvillette notices this and decides that it’s time for a change of scenery.

Why I like it: The act Furina puts on to her true feelings and the quiet but steady Neuvillette are wonderful.

étreinte fantomatique by LKjoghtun | rated G, 800 words

If he were younger, he would certainly be upset by Focalor's behavior, but centuries have passed and he has learned to accept many things, even if he doesn't approve or understand the reason for them.

Why I like it: Glorious prose and my very favorite part, the description of both their fashion sense (I won't spoil, just read it!)

A Fitting Punishment by Maleficar | rated E, 3.9k words

“What are you going to do?” she asks. For all her contrite body language, an impish grin spreads across her lips. “Punish me?”

Neuvillette punishes Furina for nearly condemning an innocent man.

Why I like it: Glorious! Neuvillette is so hot in this I could implode. Love the playful and needy Furina who is a thorn in his side til the end. Can't punish your Archon if your Archon likes it!

Five More Minutes by MissDema | rated G, 1k words (Spanish language version)

Charlotte interviews Neuvillette, Fontaine wants to know about its judge's morning routine. What no one will ever know is that the nation's goddess is actually more present in it than his words say. - minute /ˈmɪnɪt/ 1. a period of time equal to sixty seconds or a sixtieth of an hour.

Why I like it: Easily one of the cutest fics for them out there!!!! Furina so adorable. Now that Charlotte is actually getting her interview with Neuvillette I will pretend it is canon :3

How the Archons Were Tried and Sent to Jail by BookishWanderer | rated T, 15.3k words, ongoing

Why Morax, Barbatos, Beelzebul, and Buer chose the middle of the night to visit Focalors was unknown. The fact is that they did and in doing so, were arrested for crimes related to the honor of the Hydro Archon. Now, their people must navigate the complicated waters of the Fontainian legal system in order to bring their gods home- or at least make sure they are not punished too harshly while grappling with some truths regarding their identities and other things that the archons would rather stay hidden.

Why I like it: Incredibly funny!! Tears of laughter levels of funny. It's so beautiful how enthusiastic the nation is for their love. And the large ensemble cast is handled so deftly.

leisurely times by fukiana | rated T, 4.2k words

With no ongoing court cases and the opera epiclese under construction Furina finds herself quite fidgety with nothing to do, this frustrates her and so she heads to the person she’s closest with.

Why I like it: The gossiping Melusines are adorable and soooo funny. Such a great idea.

Midnight Rain by MissDema | rated T, 1.6k words (Spanish language version)

“But I don't just want you to kiss me, Neuvi…” - Late at night, Neuvillette has still not returned to their chamber. Consequently, Focalors decides to look for him. - midnight /ˈmɪd.naɪt/ 1. twelve o'clock at night.

Why I like it: Adore seeing Furina as the one giving care and comfort. They are so in love!!

Moon, Ahold of All Light, Please Shine Down On Me by AdmireAsunas | rated E, 5.3k words, ongoing

There was an old saying, if you throw coins into the Fountain of Lucine, and make a wish. The Hydro archon will do her best to make it come true. If only the people of the nation of hydro, realize the position their archon puts herself in for their sake.

It's going to take a lot of power and feelings to save the archon, both from herself, and from the group trying to take her out.

Why I like it: Neuvillette hasn't even appeared in this one yet, but the Furina portrayal is downright heartwrenching. Really looking forward to where this story goes.

A Needy God Hates the Rain by LittlestFallenAngel | rated G, 1.2k words

Fearing that Neuvillette has lost faith in her, Furina pays him a visit.

Why I like it: Furina's insecurities hurt my heart, but Neuvillette's love and faith in her heal it :') Love the dialogue in this one.

The reason why by Budget_hrdirector | rated G, 700 words

Furina bounces around Neuvillette's room, loudly complains, sits in his chair and spins around. He wonders why she's doing this.

Why I like it: Very, very cute. The banter between them here is top tier!

Salty and Still Water by WanderingRhyme | rated G, 7.5k words, ongoing (gen fic)

A long time ago, when the island of Erinnyes was inhabited and the fountain of Lucine just a small spring, the youngest of the Lochfolk meets the fallen sovereign of water. Neither of them knew that this meeting would change the fate of the entire nation.

Why I like it: Very imaginative back story for Furina and Neuvillette with characterization that really shines. They're so very different form the Furina and Neuvillette of the present, but still so recognizably them.

ah, a spoonful of sugar by yanderemonoma | rated E, 2.2k words (feat. arle x furi. warning for rape/non-con. please mind the tags.)

Furina neglects to explain to Neuvillette why she's so adamant in having him attend her diplomatic meeting with the Knave.

Perhaps she should have.

Why I like it: A devastatingly self-sacrificing Furina and a Neuvillette who would do anything she ever asks of him, no matter what it costs them both :( Haunted me since the moment I read it.

Summer Rain by SleepyBirdie | rated G, 1.4k words

It rains during a heatwave. Furina wishes there were more sunny days to come.

Why I like it: I love the way they support one another in this one. It's so soft.

Troubled Waters by MissDema | rated E, 1.9k words

“Anything you say can and will be used against you. Now, be a good boy and turn around!” - Focallette pegging fic. That's it. That's the whole plot. - trouble /ˈtrʌbl/ 6. a situation in which one is liable to incur punishment or blame.

Why I like it: TOP FURINA LET'S ALL CELEBRATE!!! Great stuff. It's hot. Also love that there are some bold Fontainians who would dare speculate what the Archon and Chief Justice do in bed.

The Truth, and Nothing But by ThatWindingPath | rate G, 300 words (gen fic)

Boredom is the one and only reason Furina ever visits Neuvillette. That is the whole truth.

Or so Furina pretends, anyway.

Why I like it: Another trans Furina story that I adore. Furina's pride and desperate need to be loved by the public hurts my heart, and the dynamic with Neuvillette, who understands him better than anyone one else, is beautiful.

Woes of Public Transportation by Karmilk | rated E, 1.8k words

“If you are hoping to meet the two figureheads of the Opera Epiclese, I don’t recommend waiting around here. They use their own private transportation, not the aquabus. I doubt this is because they don't wish to associate with the common folk. I suspect they simply don't wish to see their private words and deeds appearing in The Steambird blown out of proportion…” - Elphane

Why I like it: Very funny and delightful exploration of one of the more.... provocative NPC mentions of Furina and Neuvillette.

[dingoat]

hi sorry I haven't gotten around to your ask yet I'm working on it, BUT I'm tossing the favorite SWTOR oc question back your way (and also whether they're following canon or doing their own thing).

I'd also love to know if you have any particular bothan headcanons you like a lot.

Hi hi!! Don't worry at all, please take your time with your response! We're all here for fun and interactions, not pressure, right? And thankyou for asking!!!

Now, part one is easy, haha. Ahuska is hands down my number one best favourite SWTOR OC, even if she appears somewhat differently in game than in my imagination. She's my main toon, the only one actually up to speed with game content, the only one with passable gear, lots of fun pets and mounts and outfits, and is currently working on polishing up her Mojo Dojo Copero Dream House.

(I absolutely need to draw her as her proper bothan self in this outfit!)

BUT, where she matters to me even more than that is in her story/RP, and here things diverge... quite a lot, hahaha. Very very originally she was just a toon that I made to PVP alongside my husband with (I actually did think of her as a bothan right from the start), but when I found myself hungry for RP I fleshed her out a little to join a RP guild in game which is where her life really started (particularly owing to @koboldgirl and the exceptional times we've had writing together). The group's premise was a Mandalorian clan rebuilding itself after all the Zakuul business, but despite that vague timeframe her story never really touched on swtor events or canon characters (the toon is an Imperial Agent but she is not REMOTELY an Agent, even as much as I love the IA storyline). Over time I made a bunch of wonderful friends in the swtor community and Ahuska's story has intercepted a few others here and there, and from that perspective keeping the timeline vague/unimportant and away from key canon characters/moments has really helped with being able to have her interact with others without contradicting their own things they have going on. I think engaging with other characters/writers is what motivates me more than anything and I get a tonne of joy in seeing/considering/plotting how they might interact!

(Read more for things getting weird and werewolfy.)

Now, Ahuska also took a deep dive into an AU with @askshivanulegacy that started as a halloween drabble challenge and has somehow become literal years of very intense worldbuilding and fiction and words can't describe how much I love this story, hahaha. It's still very much Ahuska, and very much swtor, it's just... swtor if the Empire managed to perfect a weird-science-sith-alchemy-intelligence-conditioning combo to create a very star-warsy version of werewolves (and were-any-other-critter). The first generation were designed to be secret soldiers/weapons, but the project failed and Ahuska is the sole survivor, going on a wonderful journey of self liberation and learning what truly makes a monster. The second generation (and all subsequent) came from Intel refining the technology and utilising it as an extra toolset for the most elite of elite Cipher agents, which is where almost all the rest of the cast comes from. Naturally there's a lot of divergence from canon here by the very nature of things, but funnily we also lean on a lot more canon swtor story beats, particularly when we look ahead to the KotFE and beyond time period.

I have so much love for every iteration of Ahuska, honestly, and I know I've mentioned it here and there but she really truly did play a huge role in pulling me out of a pretty grim place, not only helping me rediscover a lot of creativity but also helping to restore my trust and faith in people in general. She's led me to people who are now my absolute dearest friends, which in turn has taken me quite literally, physically across this humble planet we live on. I genuinely believe sharing stories is a massive part of what makes us human and I get very sentimental when I consider what a significant place this silly little bothan holds in my heart <3

Now, it's getting late for me, haha, so I will probably visit the second part of your ask in another post, but I love that as a question! >3 Once again ty for sending this and I can't wait to hear about yours!

[memryse]

The magic of 3rd Life, or why such a simple hardcore miniseries works as well as it does

For a series which only lasted for eight sessions, 3rd Life has had a profound impact on the MCYT fandom. While it did go comparatively unnoticed on Twitter (as is consistent with YouTube-based Minecraft content as a whole, admittedly), Tumblr and other platforms have fallen in love with this series, and it’s become a vector for many fans to familiarise themselves with Hermitcraft and Empires SMP as well. But at its core, 3rd Life is a simple vanilla survival series with a gimmick. What about it resonates so much with so many people?

I would argue that its simplicity, its small cast, its vanilla gameplay “with a twist�� is certainly part of it. It’s an easy series to consume, with many POVs totalling four hours or less, and it doesn’t require any prior knowledge of any of the members. Its mechanics are easy to understand. As a standalone, it functions perfectly – it’s immersive and can be followed easily by anyone, regardless of any prior knowledge they may or may not have. However, these factors alone don’t quite encompass what makes 3rd Life so special. Its true charm point lies in the format of the series, and how well it utilises improv.

[more below the cut; this is a fairly long post about 3rd/Last Life meta and my love of its improv. I'm mostly talking about 3rd Life here as it's a completed series, but this most definitely does apply to Last Life as well]

3rd Life is an entirely improv-based series. Whilst members may have a brief concept of the direction they’d like to take their series in – how heavily they want to roleplay, for example – the actual content of each session is fully improvised. Each episode is recorded in one three-hour block, and members are not allowed to play on the server outside of the allotted time other than specifically to finish builds. This time constraint prevents any planning from going into each episode, and interactions between players are completely spontaneous. Players simply run around the map looking for others to interact with (which is significantly easier with the limited world border) and chat about various events on the server, form alliances or deals, etc.

By definition, this almost completely negates the possibility of bad writing. Each player’s reaction to any server event is spontaneous, a legitimate reaction; they aren’t trying to play any specific roles or shoehorn in any specific events (with the exception of the Red King/Hand of the King roles, who were still completely improvising). Even the finale – a distinctly heart-wrenching and tragic scene – was improvised without Grian or Scar attempting to tell any specific story. According to Martyn, they weren’t roleplaying, they didn’t have any aims with that scene. It just happened to turn out in the way that it did, and they were legitimately sorry to one another. The server progressed in this natural way, and every person’s perspective tells a completely different story. It’s hard to identify any specific heroes or villains – fans of the Dream SMP can surely relate to this feeling, but I would argue that 3rd Life takes this one step further. 3rd Life is a tragedy from all perspectives, a tragedy which tells one cohesive story in its entirety before stopping as abruptly as it began.

3rd Life hinges entirely on its interactions between its members. Whilst solo content does exist – base building, for example – the majority of each session is spent interacting with others. 3rd Life is carried by its dialogue; nothing else drives the story, and yet many episodes are between 30 minutes and an hour long. It’s that dialogue-heavy. Members of the server have expressed trouble with even editing their videos because there is so much key dialogue that they don’t want to cut. People don’t watch 3rd Life for the actual gameplay, at all – there’s so little of it! They watch it for how each member interacts with the people around them. This is something not found in any other SMP I’ve encountered. SMPs livestreamed on Twitch have plenty of downtime, and people will happily watch streams on that SMP no matter what’s occurring on the server; people often watch them for their interest in specific members. Other currently popular YouTube SMPs, namely Hermitcraft and Empires, are well-balanced between solo content and interactions, and all server content hinges on the members’ various skills like building and redstone. 3rd Life is, to my knowledge, the only SMP which does not rely on building or redstone skills (what’s the point, when they’ll be dead the next week?), it doesn’t rely on the creator doing solo work talking to their chat, it doesn’t rely on planned roleplay. People legitimately just want to hear various members talking to each other. It’s a fascinatingly unique series in this regard. This dialogue-heavy aspect of 3rd Life ties back to my earlier point about 3rd Life feeling like a completely different series from all perspectives; with all of this dialogue being conveyed through proximity chat, so many events are entirely left out of other POVs, or presented in very different lights.

The pure improv format also helps significantly with worldbuilding, whilst also leaving plenty to the imagination. MCYT fandoms always require a significant amount of imagination to become invested in them, let alone make fan content of them, and 3rd Life is no exception to this. As discussed in this post, which was incidentally the inspiration for me to write this one, 3rdLife is full of lines which flesh out the series, which illustrate what happened better than can be shown in Minecraft. These lines are improvised on the spot, and are often complete throwaway lines in the creators’ eyes. In the fans’ eyes, they make 3rd Life feel alive, they provide plenty of material on which to base headcanons. Again, this isn’t necessarily unique to 3rd Life, it’s a common aspect of all Minecraft series, but I think this is where the rather angsty nature of 3rd Life comes into play. A dramatic survival game, entirely unscripted, with all events hinging entirely on your interpretation of them? It’s not hard to see why 3rd Life fans are so creative with character designs and fanfiction – hell, a lot of 3rd Life fics simply narrate canon in their own more dramatic light. Canon-compliant fics are significantly more common for 3rd Life than other fandoms I've encountered, because people hear these simple lines and want to dramatise them, put their own spins on them. I don't feel that this would be possible with any other series, not to the extent that 3rd Life fans do it. Other series' canon is either already dramatic, and so rehashing it can feel repetitive, or so lighthearted that people write AUs/new storylines. 3rd Life strikes a brand-new balance.

The development of its characters is also bolstered by improv. As no events on the server are pre-planned, members have to react completely spontaneously to anything that occurs. They don’t get time to think – only to react as though they genuinely were in that situation. As I said at the start, 3rd Life inherently lacks bad writing, because it’s not written. Ren, for instance, began 3rd Life as a kind and harmless person, with others often walking right over him. His reaction to his death by Grian and Scar’s trap spurs him to become the Red King; he raises an army and goes to war, and ends the series having taken countless lives, becoming hardened by war. He begins Last Life by isolating himself from others, seeming jaded and unwilling to form alliances, ready for another war to break out. Being improvised, it’s impossible to say how much of this was deliberate, or if Ren just started building his base without thinking about continuity from the previous season. This improv is what makes it feel so natural. It isn’t planned beforehand. This is Ren’s natural reaction to starting Last Life. It makes his character feel so much more real than it would if this was all scripted beforehand.

3rd Life is, overall, a testament to the power of improv. It manages to be compelling and dramatic without any acting feeling forced or wooden. Its characters’ arcs feel natural, because they are natural. Placing such a heavy emphasis on dialogue, with the gimmick of the server being a vehicle for interactions to happen rather than the sole appeal of the series, makes it truly feel as though we’re getting a glimpse into the characters’ lives, rather than watching a story which has been written beforehand. We get to watch everything unfold in real time. 3rd Life has a magic to it that, to my knowledge, no other SMP has been able to recreate.

[the-ferocious-kittyrose]

My complicated opinion on Keith Kogane

Keith Kogane is definitely one of the more popular characters in the VLD fandom. People love brooding emo bad boys.

My feelings on Keith are... complicated. I definitely don’t hate him. I have a lot of problems with the character but I don’t think I could ever bring myself to actually hate him. Mainly because I kinda relate to him. We both have problems controlling our emotions, interacting with people, and making friends.

And we both have trouble believing there are people who truly have our best interests at heart and won’t abandon us because we’re a burden.

What I do hate is the way his character was written and the way it negatively impacted the characters around him.

There are definitely a lot of factors that contributed to VLD ending up the way it did. But to me, Keith and the writers insistence on pushing him to the forefront was the poison that killed the show.

Ok, before we get into this whole rant I feel like I should talk about the things I do like about Keith.

I like the premise of Keith’s character. He’s half Galra and never really fit in on Earth. He didn’t act like the other “normal” kids so kids made fun of him and adults didn’t want to deal with him. So in order to protect himself from the pain of rejection he would put up a tough angry facade and push people away and reject them before they could reject him.

This is something that really resonates with me personally having grown up neurodivergent. It’s awful growing up in a world that isn’t made for people like you and not knowing how to interact with or connect with your peers. Especially when you don’t know why you’re like that.

You learn to avoid social interaction because it always ends up negative. You put up walls because you don’t feel like anybody understands you or what you’re going through.

I know the writers probably didn’t intend to code Keith as neurodivergent. They just wanted Keith to be a hothead with abandonment issues, but nonetheless, this interpretation means a lot to me.

I also really like his relationship with Shiro. Keith is so used to being left behind and abandoned that when he meets someone like Shiro who’s patient and genuinely cares it’s new and strange. He’s so ready for Shiro to abandon him, even telling Shiro to send him back to the home, but Shiro refuses to leave him and tells Keith ethat he’s never going to give up on him.

It’s also interesting to see how their relationship develops over time. It’s clear Keith trusts Shiro, but you can tell that that fear of abandonment is still there deep down. In S2, Keith tells Shiro that he’s like a brother to him, and then in season 6, he takes the extra step and tells Shiro that he IS his brother and that he loves him. And for someone like Keith, telling their friend they love them is a big scary thing.

And also it’s just great to see a platonic “I love you,” especially between two guys. Don’t be afraid to tell your bros you love them!!!

Now let’s talk about the stuff I didn’t like.

Keith doesn’t have much going for him in terms of personality. He’s just sorta brooding and serious all the time. He does make jokes occasionally but it’s rare. The writers were more focused on making him cool and badass rather than fun.

I always loved the idea of Keith as a cocky carefree asshole who doesn’t give a shit about rules/laws and is kinda rude/aggressive but has a heart of gold deep down and would do anything for the people he cares about. (Just like a cat.)

I would also make him more alien esc. In terms of design I like the idea of Keith having red eyes with narrow pupils and fangs. And also just small things like the way he walks and holds himself. He growls and bears his teeth when he’s angry, his hair puffs up when scared, he’s fast and agile, disappearing and reappearing without making much noise, small things.

Then you have his race and sexuality. I have no doubt in my mind that Keith was intended to be a straight white dude. A lot of people see him as gay and Asian but there’s no evidence for this in canon. Acxa was originally intended to be his love interest and his race was never mentioned in canon. His name isn’t even Kogane in canon. (And the race of the voice actor doesn’t equal the race of the character. If that was the case Shiro, Hunk, and Lance would be white.)

They should’ve totally made Keith Japanese like he was in the original. It would’ve been so easy! Just canonize Kogane as his last name and have the book say he’s half Japanese half Galra. They could’ve also done what they did with Shiro and keep his og GoLion name. Just have him be Akira Kogane. Definitely cooler than “Keith.”

And as for his sexuality, I definitely think they should’ve had Keith be gay. But well get to that Later...

I also don’t like how they handled the whole Krolia thing. Not only was it crazy rushed, but it completely goes against the shows theme of found family.

Keith’s arc should’ve been about overcoming his abandonment issues and learning to accept the paladins as family. But instead they just get rid of the abandonment issues by just giving him his mom back.

I know a lot of people love Krolia but I don’t feel like she should’ve been introduced in anything other than flashbacks. Because Keith’s mom isn’t really that important. The show is about found family and friendship, not blood relation.

You can definitely have Keith learn about his mom and his family, but I feel like giving him his mom back was too much.

Personally, I always headcanoned that Kolivan was Keith’s grandfather or just a close friend of Krolia’s, and when Keith showed up at the Blade’s base Kolivan recognized the blade as his Krolia’s. Keith could learn about his mom through Kolivan telling him about her, how she was a great person and warrior who died fighting to make the universe a safer place for her son.

Another thing I didn’t like was the whole Keith leaving the team for the Blades thing. I know why he did it, he felt like the team was gonna reject him, he wanted to be more useful, and wanted to learn about his family, but I feel like you could’ve touched on all that without having him abandon his team.

One of the biggest problems with the show is that they did a bad job at establishing the paladins as friends, they feel like coworkers more than anything, and I feel like Keith being absent for two seasons contributed to that.

And his absence is hardly addressed. The team forms Voltron perfectly without him and no one ever says they miss him. Keith doesn’t even seem like he missed them after being gone for two years.

And a lot of the weight was taken out of that Keith v Kuron fight by the fact that Keith and Kuron hardly interacted.

That whole thing amounted to four things, Keith meeting Krolia (which I don’t think should’ve happened), them finding the colony (which was a dumb plot I don’t think should’ve happened), Keith aging up two years (which was weird and unnecessary), and Keith meeting Kosmo (which is... complicated).

I don’t think this plot was necessary. Keith should’ve stayed with his team.

Then you have his relationship with Lance. I know people are very sensitive about this topic. People have very strong opinions about whether or not Keith and Lance were intended to be romantically coded.

Personally, I do like Klance but I don’t believe they were romantically coded. I think if you want them to get together some things would have to go differently.

For example, the bonding moment. In canon, Lance tells Keith, “we make a good team.” I don’t see this as referring to him and Keith. I think he was talking about the whole team. If you want it to be about the two of them, I feel like it should be Lance telling Keith something like, “ya know, you’re not so bad after all,” and then Keith smiles and responds, “you’re not so bad yourself.”

Another example could be the scene where Lance comes to Keith with his insecurities. (Whether it’s as a leader or a friend.) This scene was weird in canon, Lance comes to Keith for advice and Keith basically tells him to just stop thinking about it.

I would prefer if Lance brought up to Keith how he doesn’t feel like he’s good enough or that he doesn’t have, “a thing,” and Keith is completely dumbfounded like, “what are you even talking about?” He goes on about all the good shit about Lance. Talks about how Blue chose him, how he’s a great shot, how he’s good at dealing with people, meanwhile Lance is standing there in shock as Keith says all these nice things about him.

Over all you would just have to develop their relationship more. More meaningful interactions. And if you want the relationship to be romantic you would have to establish that early on. Establish that one or both has romantic feelings for the other in like S1/S2 because if you wait too long it’s gonna feel forced/out of no where.

And then... you have the Black Paladin arc... I’m gonna be real with y’all, this is the arc that killed the show for me, for a few reasons.

One, even ignoring the whole quintessence bond thing, it makes no sense for Keith to be the bp. He doesn’t fit the role. I adore Shiro but choosing Keith as his successor was a dumb move. I get that he saw potential in Keith but they’re are fighting a war, there’s no room for favoritism.

Shiro should’ve chosen Allura as his successor. Not only does she have actual leadership experience, but you would only have one paladin in a new Lion instead of three.

If a lifeguard breaks his leg and can’t work, he should choose an experienced swimmers to take his place, not his little bro that’s still in water wings in the hopes that it’ll teach him to swim.

Two, Keith being the bp doesn’t help his arc. Keith’s arc is about overcoming his abandonment issues and learning to be a team player, he doesn’t need to be the leader for that.

VLD should’ve been about the paladins growing into the best versions of themselves they could be. Their development shown by unlocking new abilities in their respective lions, new forms for their bayards, and new Voltron bayard power ups. They shouldn’t have to change lions and themselves.

Keith and Red have a strong bond and work great together. Keith and Red are both temperamental, unpredictable, and have issues with trust. Keith having to fight to get Red to trust and open up to him mirrors how others have to fight to earn Keith’s trust and get him to let down his walls.

It would’ve been interesting to see them grow together. Keith has no emotional connection with Black.

We never even get to see them bond. Keith just suddenly becomes the “perfect” bp/leader because he got over his mommy issues

Three, it’s a MASSIVE disservice to Shiro’s character. Shiro put all the work in earning his position as the bp, he literally fits fought Zarkon on the astral plane to earn her trust, yet Keith is the true bp? What?

It sucks. Sendak told Shiro that a monster like him could never be a paladin and the writers went and proved him right. Hell Shiro didn’t even get to kill Sendak, Keith got that too.

And don’t tell me, “but he got the Atlas!” REALLY!? A massive Deus ex machina that required absolutely no effort from him to acquire!? Filled with a bunch of rando background characters no one gives a shit about!? You’re totally right, that 100% makes up for it.

I could go on and on about how the treatment of Shiro in this show (and fandom) is blatantly ableist but that’s a rant for another time.

It sucks. I want to like Keith! He had the potential to be an amazing character but the writers just kept on trying to turn him into something he wasn’t and it ruined him for me.

They kept trying to turn Keith into the main character and ignored that ALL the paladins are the main characters. It’s an ensemble cast! You don’t have to have everything come back to one guy.

[tooweirdforyou]

Mihawk Having A Strained Relationship With His Masculine! Daughter

Request : sorry if this is VERY specific but can i request a scenario or headcanons where mihawk has a daughter who is very masculine and dresses very princely that people often mistake her for a boy. (bonus if she has a pet raven🥺) and she acts like mihawk but she hates being compared to him because their relationship is strained because mihawk was always busy with other things when she was growing up. but mihawk tries his best to get back on his daughter's good side and so they can be close again ??

A/N : tried something different- do you prefer me posting fics this way or the way I had prior? - thanks for requesting, I hope I did this right. ;-;

I deeply apologize if this seems offensive somehow. It isn’t my intention at all.

Summary : Mihawk attempting to fix his relationship with his masculine! daughter.

-

“So strong-looking and stoic. As expected of Hawkeye Mihawk’s son.”

“Son? I recall him having a daughter.”

“Is it a daughter? He doesn’t look like a female..”

Hearing the many whispers among the crows, you tilt your head to the left to eye them, your sharp, empty and intimidating eyes startling them.

Immediately the two strangers kept their mouths shut and strolled off before you could do anything to them.

Exhaling out in annoyance, you turn back to your teacup, handle gripped between your fingers.

Karasu, your raven, sat on the edge of the table in front of you, standing still and waiting for you, whilst basking in the shade given by the umbrella hung up.

You sat outside alone, hoping to be given the peace of quietness on this island you passed by,

but of course, being the only child of the strongest swordsman in the world and a Warlord, you definitely weren’t going to be allowed that.

Dracule Mihawk..

Dracule [Name]..

You despised the name.

You absolutely hated everything that made you related to the infamous swordsman.

It seemed obvious to you as well, that Mihawk despised being related to you. Being your father.

There was never a time where Mihawk would venture away from his castle and not be questioned about you. About his thoughts on your growing strength and fame in the New World.

Same with you. You weren’t sure how news even came out that you were related to him, considering the amount of effort you put to cut ties with him.

Yet people knew, and people asked questions. Lots and lots of questions. Irritation grew easily with you when Mihawk’s name was heard at all.

Even Marines were getting involved with you, even if you weren’t a pirate.

Just merely a traveler, attacking both pirates and marines that stood in your way and to cure boredom.

You never were and never will be given a normal life.

“... Let’s get going, Karasu. Before we get kicked out for scaring customers away.”

The caw of your raven was heard and you smile slightly, the corner of your lip twitching upward as you let him rest on your shoulder before standing up.

Glancing down at your reflection in the small teacup, your lips curl back down into a slight frown, seeing the resemblance indeed, to your father.

“Tch.”

You poured the tea onto the ground and slammed the cup on the table, sucessfully shattering it.

The mutterings didn’t stop. Not that you expected them to. But it was irritating.

Didn’t these people have anything better to do then constantly talk and gossip about you, right in front of you no less?

“Should we get going to our next trip?” You mumble, walking around the coast of the island you were on, needing some peace from the citizens in town.

Mindlessly wandering, your thoughts were interrupting by a messenger bird.

( I forgot what it’s called— it’s not a news coo right? )

Karasu cawed at it, the messenger bird cawing back as it flew down towards you, and dropped an item into your hands.

“A delivery? From who?”

It was a letter, along with a eternal pose.

To Kuraigana Island.

Immediately recognizing the name, your grip tightened on the item, frustration and even anger quickly building up at you at the sight of it.

Leaving it alone for the moment, your eyes turn to the letter.

No signature or anything of the sorts. Just your name.

“[Name].”

Scoffing slightly, you carefully held the eternal pose and opened the letter and read it, the smallest part of your praying it wasn’t what you thought.

-

“[Name].

I heard you were in the area. I apologize that I cannot come see you in person, as I am occupied with other matters. However, I’d like to speak with you. Come to my castle and we shall discuss matters. I’ve sent you an eternal pose to guide you. Expect to see you soon.

Best Regards, Mihawk”

-

You then turn to the eternal pose, the engraving of the island name across it. You wanted to break it, destroy it completely from your sight but you couldn’t. You didn’t know why.

After disregarding you, throwing you off and pushing you aside to focus on himself, always neglecting you, why.. why did he want to patch things up now?

The whites of your knuckles were seen from how hard you were gripping the letter, nearly crumpling it.

“Tch. All these years, why now?... doesn’t even have the decency to come see me himself.. ‘other matters’..”

No matter how much you wanted to ignore the letter, to shatter the eternal pose and completely ignore your father forever.. you just couldn’t.

Something in you was demanding to see him one last time.

Either, to hear what he has to say, to finally ask him why he even had you if he wasn’t going to care for you, or perhaps shout at him for all the pain and misery you’ve been given being his child, you weren’t quite sure.

“Damn it.”

Crushing up the letter into a ball, you shove it into your pocket and glance down at the eternal pose.

You were going to visit him.

“Holy..shit..”

Admittedly, you were in awe.

Perhaps it was because you didn’t remember much, but the island was probably one of the best things you’ve ever seen.

The appearance seemed gloomy and dark, but it was just your style. The many trees that surrounded the center of the island and the giant castle with a beautiful view, you were sure of it.

Forcing yourself to ignore the actually really cool place, you trudge forward to look at the letter in your hands, Karasu resting on your shoulder.

“It’s not that cool.. we’ll take a look around after we see what the hell he wants from me..” you could only scoff so you wouldn’t give in to the aesthetic.

But it looked really cool.

Sighing, you continue forward and finally made it to the gate fo the castle, just to find someone sitting there on the step, holding three swords.

He was laying down, panting heavily. His green hair and forehead was soaked with sweat.

Though, it seemed as if he heard you because he snapped up within seconds and held out one of his swords towards you.

“Who the hell are you?”

Your brows furrowed at the male. He seemed around your age, or maybe a bit younger. Either way, he was weird.

“Uh.. I’m here for Mihawk.” You mutter, clearly not threatened nor intimidated by him. In actuality, the swordsman was a bit taken back.

To him, you were just some guy with weird tastes in clothes, since they seem so fancy and royal, and had such a dark aura, resembling Mihawk.

“What’s your business with Hawkeye Mihawk?”

“Are you his guard dog or something?”

The swordsman only scowls are your retorted question and clicks his tongue. “I’m his apprentice, dumbass.”

It made him even more annoyed at your stupid raven constantly staring at him with its sharp eyes and cawing every few seconds towards him.

“Like I’d know that, you stupid...green-hair weirdo.” You stare at him weirdly before walking past him before he could say anything.

He started to shout a few profanities but you simply ignore him, passing a pink-haired female with an umbrella and a teddy-bear along the way, but you paid no mind to her or her stares and calls.

Rubbing your temple, you started to question your choice of coming, and your ‘father’s’ choice of apprentice and his pink-haired girlfriend, you were assuming.

Looking around the hall as you walk, you just sigh and admired the interior design whilst muttering on how the hell you were supposed to know which room he was in.

Feeling lost, you groan a bit, turning to Karasu. “Karasu, should we just go? I have no idea where the hell I am.”

Finding a door, you walk over to it and open it abruptly, pushing it open just to find the person you were looking for.

The noise made Mihawk look up from his book in his hand and he stands up almost immediately when he realizes who it was.

“...”

“...”

You two just stared at each other, unable to say anything. Unable to handle the silence, you just turned and went to walk out, until he spoke.

“[Name].”

It nearly made you jump but you, fortunately, didn’t.

Slowly turning back, Mihawk gestures to the couch with the tilt of his head, before going over to a table drawer.

Whatever he was doing, you ignored as you reluctantly close the door behind you but let Karasu outside of the room to wait.

Slowly and cautiously, you went over to the couch and just stood beside it, not really feeling the need to sit down.

Mihawk returns, clutching a small wrapped box in his hand.

“...how was the journey? Did you come across any unwanted miscreants?”

“..naturally. It was handled with ease.. the journey was fine.” You mutter, forming your lips into a tight line as you frown.

Mihawk nods once at you and eyes your form, while you eye the box, wonder what it could be.

Then, he spoke up again. “Thank you for coming.”

“Don’t get your hopes up, I’m not expecting any good news to result from this. Whatever you want, just say it so I can leave.”

You turn away from him, establishing the harshness and bitter feeling you felt towards him which he understood. He didn’t deserve any kindness you had to offer.

Though he didn’t voice it aloud, he was a bit impressed with how you grew up. You truly did seem like one powerful force to be reckon with, almost on the same level as himself. You had potential.

There was regret building up in him seeing you though. The fact that you grew up to be someone so strong like you were now..

.. but he didn’t aid in any of that. He wasn’t there and he couldn’t help raise you be the person you were now.

“Are you going to keep staring or start speaking?”

Though he didn’t appreciate your sass, he understood it. “I’ll get straight to the point then.”

“..I.. have no excuse for neglecting you.”

Mihawk admits, slowly taking a seat in his chair. He closed his eyes for a brief moment before opening them.

“Other than that I’ve kept myself busy and away from you. I’ve been losing focus, settling matters on the side than focusing my attention on you.” He stood up again, gripping the box.

Your fists clenched at his words, mind recalling painful memories you’ve suppressed.

“But, before I could realize that I should be caring for you, you were already distant from me. I’ve became someone you despised even at such a young age.”

He continues, slowly stepping towards you as he holds out the wrapped box in his hand, which you slowly took.

“..You dress nice.” He nods at the outfit, appreciating the look. “I’ve had Shanks ask me if I had a son, since he’s also seen you on the news lately. I made sure he’d remember that you are my daughter.”

He didn’t judge you for looking so masculine. He accepted who you are as a person.

Finally stepping in front of you, gently placing a hand onto your shoulder.

“...Mi hija...I don’t expect you to forgive me.” He states firmly, looking down at you. You look up at him, trying to stay calm but it wasn’t working.

“But I’d like to be back into your life, a different way than the first time. However, I understand if you refuse it. Whatever you choose, I shall respect and go with you. I just want you happy.”

You weren’t the sentimental, emotional or sensitive type, but, tears slowly brimmed your eyes hearing him.

You hated the familiar ache in your chest, it pounding inside you and felt like it was ripping you to pieces..., yet, you weren’t angry.

Happy? He wanted you to be happy?... what did feeling happy feel like? Was the thought of finally having this father figure back into your life after missing it for so long, a reason to be happy?

Quietly, you just look down at the box that has your name written over it.

Opening it, you lift the top up and saw the all too familiar necklace inside. A gasp escaped your lips as you look up at Mihawk, realizing what it was and you whispered out.

“You’re giving this to me?” There was a hint of confusion and skepticism in your tone.

Mihawk nods. “I’m handing it down to you.”

Carefully, you lift up the mini cross and pull out the blade inside it and poked your finger, seeing it pricking the skin with ease and blood trickling down.

It was the real thing. And it was just as amazing as you always expected.

You close it back up and set it down onto the table beside you, forcing yourself to contain your excitement.

Though you hated him, you often saw photos of him and saw his familiar cross. Even when you were younger, his mini blade in his cross was extremely cool to you and you always wanted it.

And now he was giving it to you.

“Father, I..”

“I’m aware I may not have been the best father. But I plan on being a good one from now on.. if you’ll allow me to.” Seeing how serious and stoic his expression was, made your tears start to stream down your cheeks.

You were silent for a minute.

“..why now?”

It was all you could ask, you wiping your tear-stained cheeks as you look down, uncertain of how you should react.

How could you react?

Were you willing to give this man a second chance into your life, after he blatantly ignored you the first time?

Or were you going to reject the opportunity of finally experiencing what having a father was like?

Mihawk stares at you for a moment, an unreadable expression across his face before he closed his eyes. “..I’ve been watching you through the news, watching your bounty grow.. I.. I’m proud of how far you’ve come and how much you’ve grown.”

Your eyes widened.

Proud?

Tears streamed down your cheeks faster, your shutting your eyes tightly. You’ve never had someone say they were proud of you for something.

And even if Mihawk was barely in your life, the fact that he was your real father and trying to get back into your life... hearing him say he was proud of you just hit different. It snapped something in you.

“I hate you...”

Mihawk was a bit taken back but showed no emotion, slowly closing his eyes as he accepted your decision.

“I hate you for not being there for me. For not being my father when I needed you.. for leaving me alone for [—] years. For focusing more on yourself than your own child.”

He listened to every word, feeling a small pang in his heart with each statement but remained silent for you.

“But..”

You stare at him with teary eyes and a strained expression. “I’m so happy.. I’m so happy you’re changing.. to bring yourself back into my life.”

Mihawk widens his eyes just slightly, feeling an unknown heavy weight lifting off of his shoulders.

And he certainly didn’t expect you to wrap your arms around his waist tightly and hug him.

Though he was a bit uncomfortable since it was so sudden, and he wasn’t the affectionate type all too much, he quickly relaxed and wrapped his arms back around you.

“Thank you..father..”

“I should be thanking you, [Name].. for giving me a chance to be your father once more.”

His comment only made you lean closer into his touch as you shut your eyes tightly, sniffles being heard from you and staining his shirt.

But he didn’t care. Mihawk was happy. Happy to have you back into his life, and getting a second chance at fatherhood.

bonus :

Perona and Zoro peek into the room from the door and watch the two hugging in the center of the room. On top of Zoro’s head sat your raven, using his hair as a nest.

“So who the hell is that?” Zoro bluntly questions and Perona flicked his head and hissed to shut him up, successfully making him quiet.

“That’s his kid, you moron!” She whispers out harshly to him as she turns back to the two.

“Why the hell is his kid here?” Zoro mutters quietly, rubbing his head, but he only received a smack.

A/N : ooc~ also wth, this is so much longer than intended— and ugh I told myself to keep it short and do headcannons so I have more time to post but ahhhhhhh ;-; this is a little rushed too~ TuT

Also let me know which way is better for posting fics. Answering it in a ask or posting it as a separate post and copying / pasting the request like so? ^ thank you!

god, I’m so soft for some platonic relationships right now, like, I’m thinking about making an event for that, when it’s near March. But I’m already doing an event for my birthday AND White Day, in March so idk :((

[yanderecandystore]

aaaaa I loved the deity reader x the collector sm!!! can we please have more of them? even if it’s just them being salty towards each other/fighting or if it’s them just talking it out.

Hey boo, how's it going?

I'm trying to do all requests in the order that they came in and how long does it take me to write them, sorry if yours has taken some time to be answered.

I'm surprised people liked this headcanon, so how about more of it?

TW/Tags: Let's go the fighting then talking route // vague fight scene because why the hell not // some slight angst and fluff? Maybe. // Really sad out of nowhere?? Also, mentions of injuries.

🍭꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡🍮꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡🍰꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡🍮꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖🍭

"- Fighting is pointless." [Yandere!Eldritch OC x Experienced God!Reader - Headcanon]:

I guess you can imagine the destruction that you and him can cause.

You didn't expect him to have so many tricks up his sleeves. But you guess he also didn't expect you to have just as much willpower as you have.

A fight that was truly fit for the gods, but at what cost?

An entire continent being destroyed by your hands.

You tried convincing him to leave this planet and never come back. To never take any creature from this place ever again. Talking was proven to be futile, as your fight has begun the moment the discussion started.

You managed to hurt his skin, granted that it could still regenerate at any time. He hurted you a couple of times, but-

The fight has ended shortly by his mask starting to crack from each time you hit him and each time he inflicted any small amount of pain on you.

It took you some time to realize why he was so stressed out, of why his mask was breaking so easily.

You two managed to turn a once beautiful place into a wasteland. How could you do this?

"- I didn't want this to happen." He was the first one to say what you were both thinking while taking a look at the vast amount of land that has been destroyed.

His body was shaking slightly as he had sat down, trying to cope with what just happened.

You did the same.

You decided to give him a second of silence before asking:

"- Why are you breaking?" And as the question left your lips, his body had cringed at the words so badly, that it almost caused another crack in his face.

"- Y-You really d-don't know me, huh?" He asked almost jokingly. His voice was stuttering so bad, his whole body was about to give up.

He is correct. You're aware of that. You don't really know him all that well, apparently.

"- I-I- I HATE-E THIS!" He managed to get out between stutters and frantic shaking, while punching the ground with his fist.

You know, when he said he loved life and living creatures, he really meant that. So many life forms dead by his hands, and for what? For an stupid argument.

He never killed anyone like this, really. This was a really difficult experience for him to cope with.

"- Me too." You said back. You didn't want things to reach this point.

You sighed. Feeling just as bad as the mutual earth lover by your side. You felt two large fingers pull your clothes, in a "trying to take your attention" sort of way, but because of how huge he is in general, it js really hard to not notice.

"- What is it?" You asked while turning your head to see an immense amount of oil starting to slip through his mask's holes.

There are a lot of words that are known in his kind's vocabulary. Some could even be translated to the human vocabulary really easily by associating their meanings. But what they didn't know how to say was 'sorry'.

So in a pathetic attempt to apologise to you, he does this little mannerism. Is all he is able to do. Pull your clothes in a shy manner while crying oil and whimpering.

But you didn't notice that, all that you did noticed was the amount of cracks opening his mask.

"- Your mask! Is too broken!" You stated as you tried getting closer to him. Either by flying or by getting some help by his hands, you got closer to his face.

"- I didn't think you would be-" You started saying as you tried to put your hand in his mask, but he flinched. Scared of your touch hurting him. Again.

"- Oh… Oh my God." You can't tell if you're sorry or just feel pity for his current state. It's a creature tall as a building acting like a scared dog.

"- I hurt you." A low whisper was able to be heard coming from the mask, just like other whimpers and… Uhn, some unsavory sounds. Sounds of something squishy moving, constantly.

You sometimes forget that you don't know exactly what hides behind the mask, you only know that the entrance to his dimension is behind it, just that. Whenever he tried putting you in his pocket dimension, a bright light would always blind you temporarily, so you don't know what truly is there.

But anyway, this is not the time to care about his freaky anatomy, but rather to focus on his well-being and safety (and well, the safety of the entire planet).

"- Oh come on now, I hit you, you hit me, we were fighting. You don't need to worry about me." You tried reassuring the big guy, because again, if his mask breaks, you're going to be sent flying through the air.

You patted the mask, even though it doesn't make any sense, he still felt your soothing touch. The oil coming out of his cracks is a little sticky and is starting to dirty your clothes a little.

Even if you try to comfort him, the deed was done. You two managed to devastated a whole piece of land, and just the thought of all the life forms he has wiped out in a couple of seconds started to make him spill more and more oil on the ground, and on you, accidentally.

"- ……" There is an eerie sound coming from the mask, untill you heard a couple of words be said in a language you aren't familiar with.

"- ……… I'm sorry……." He did it again, this time translating what he said. It's kinda funny how ridiculously hard it is for him to say those words. It's like it hurts his ego so badly, lol.

Oh no wait, nevermind, it really does hurt to say them, he is whimpering all over again.

This situation may seem hopeless at first, until you remembered one thing, maybe this could help him cheer up.

"- Hey, we're similar right? Maybe we can both fix this together." You said hoping he would catch what you meant. But no, he didn't.

He didn't understand until you started to show him you could create life in this wasted land. There was still hope, it'll just take a little bit of help and patience.

"- Will you help me?" You asked, smiling at the creature who technically is always smiling because of his mask's design.

In the end, you two decided to work together for once. Bringing life to this place once again.

It seems to be way more fun than capturing creatures to his own personal viewing pleasure. He is really, really quiet, maybe you should find a way to fix his mask, to not only stop it from breaking more, but to also help him heal, because as long as the mask is in this terrible state, he'll always be in pain.

You wonder if this is why his voice has been so quiet and shy out of nowhere. Or maybe it's because he really does feel sorry for hurting you and the life forms that used to be here.

Anyway, you got a big soft spidery boi now. Give him some head pats once in a while.

🍭꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡🍮꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡🍰꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡🍮꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖🍭

[datenoriko]

Wondering if I could request some reactionary Headcanons for the warlords where MC is a highly trained and skillful forensic scientist?

I’m so sorry this is waaaay overdue and writing-wise is still unsure of the style... I hope this one’s okay though~ TnT

p.s. I tried adding Kennyo & Motonari too, but brain won’t let me ><

p.s.s. Updated masterlist for my random shenanigans here!

*Every one of them thought MC would be scared of a dead body and multitudes of it on the battlefield and beyond it but...

ODA FORCES

Nobunaga

- “Huh, this fireball’s not afraid of the dead?” // “I examine them for a living.” Visibly impressed, a devilish smirk forms on his lips

- The Devil King is fascinated by you actively asking to take her to battles to study the bodies

- “Look at this! With that deep slice on his jugular vein, no wonder he’ll die pretty quickly due to all that blood loss.” // “On his what?” // “T-the blood vessel found on the neck, my lord.” // *is confused*

- Nobunaga considers this carefully and commissions the armour makers to improve their designs, and/or trade for more sturdy materials with the Portuguese (you know… aside trading for konpeito :3)

- Lets you examine more specimens to determine all possible deaths in battle, and then have it discussed at the next council. It’s a great help for them in terms of preparation & strategizing. After all, prevention and preparation is still much better!

Hideyoshi

- A worried mother hen as always, all he wanted is for you to stay away from the worst sights possible and definitely not going straight towards them! “What do I keep telling you?” // “Uh, stay away from the corpses…?”

- Just like how his lord would sneak away to have konpeito, you also tend to get around stealthily just to study “them”

- Being a highly observation person due to your work, you even know which wooden floor in Azuchi will make a creaking sound and by instinct you will avoid it

- But Mamayoshi is just as observant as you are, and he caught you one night

- “I know you were once this ‘forensic expert’ from where you came from, but you are a princess now and must behave like one!” Legend has it that the lecture continues...  

Mitsuhide

- Ah, he loves asking for your suggestions on how to get away with murder treason!

- I mean, he’s surely an expert but an additional piece of advice his little mouse wouldn’t hurt, right?

- “This place’s almost clean, I’d say.” // “’Almost’, little mouse? It scares me so that you have trained eyes for such matters. // “Is that a compliment? Anyway, I saw a strand of hair near the sliding door... and its color is much similar to yours. Care to explain?”

- Now he’s more careful than ever to leave any trace, knowing you can find him even with the smallest of clues

- The tables have turned for him after such a long time of being a sneaky fox

Masamune

- Oh boy, make sure you won’t overwork yourself by being with this man, being a battle-loving man that he is (meaning, more bodies and scenes to check out)

- At the same time, he finds it amusing that you proactively ask him to take you to his trips, campaigns and whatnots

- “It really is fun having you around, lass! Or should I say ‘partner’?” // “Damn straight, partner… now, let’s solve this case!” Cat-like grin commences for you two

- He sees you having fun hanging out at the scouts’ camp, chatting about experiences in the battlefield. your eyes would glimmer the more explicit they describe it. Creepy? Maybe a little, but at least he sees you happy about it… right?

- The One-Eyed Dragon will find this unusual, sure, but it certainly makes him want to know you more

Ieyasu

- Did he care at first? No, not really. He just wanted no involvement at first and to be left on his room alone, reading or eating extra-spicy food

- However, Yatsun gets curious when he finds you taking a peek at his medicinal work on a man he is a bit late to save :(

- “What are you doing here? You better not get in the way.” // “Oh no, poor man though… what’s the cause?” // “I am yet to find that out, if you’ll excuse me,---” // “Can I take a look?”

- He tries to pry you away from the room but being already in and touching the body leaves him no choice but to keep a close eye on you, making sure you’re not doing anything daft.

- “Huh, not bad.” Ieyasu says as you were able to identify the cause of death, deep inside he’s amazed of course. Later on he would let you join him in his post-mortem activities if the schedule allows to, but still keeping an eye on you to prevent any mishaps from happening

Mitsunari

- “Wow, MC-sama is unfazed as we all are in the battlefield! You truly are an amazing woman.” Did you see that sunny smile on his face as he says it???

- Your logical explanation as to identifying one’s death baffles the force’s cinnamon roll (because of the jargon used), otherwise it fascinates him

- Well, he’s never seen a woman who’s into dead bodies work-wise!

- Like some other warlords, he would ask you for advice when making strategies for the next battle

- When you went to his room one time to borrow a book, the first thing you said was “Am I in a crime scene?” when seeing piles of books around, untouched food and seeing a man unmoved in the middle of the room, reading and not even sensing your presence. “Ah no, just a normal room. I see.”

Ranmaru

- While in an errand, he sees you one day looking at a dead body about to be taken away. He is worried that the view might traumatize you for life… in the back of his mind he already has a plan to take you to a sweets shop and let you gorge in manjuu for the rest of the day

- “MC-sama, are you alright? You look shocked.” // “Yeah, I mean it looks to me that someone killed him when everybody says the opposite! I wanted to look into this so badly…” // “My apologies, but… what?”

- Of course it is never the answer he expected, but when you plead to help him solve it, this page is more than willing to do so

- Now both of you are going around the town looking for clues and asking who you think are involved; partners-in-crime!

- You did get to gorge on manjuu (and tea, lots of it) with Ranmaru when the case is solved!

UESUGI-TAKEDA FORCES

Kenshin

- Oh boy, make sure you won’t overwork yourself by being with this man, being a battle-loving man that he is pt.2

- “How dare you try to even speak with MC; draw your swords. Now.” // “Kenshin-sama, even if I’m used to seeing the deceased, please don’t do that. You’re scaring your own men!”

- He has little to no problem in taking her along to the battlefield, too! One more way to keep her in sight at all times

- Sometimes when you two are drinking and think he had too much you just had to stop him, to his slight annoyance. You have seen many deaths due to alcohol poisoning and definitely wouldn’t want him to be in the list… Bunshin Lord Kenshin appreciates the thought though

- Like Nobunaga, he allows you to do some research on the dead bodies, anything useful for the ongoing war

Shingen

- How can an angel such as you be associated with death and decay? He thinks

- But this daddy needs to accept the fact that you are quite comfortable around such! However once your investigation takes a scary turn expect him to nearby, comforting you with soothing words, or a hug… or eating sweet buns as many as you’d like to calm yourself down

- At first he is reluctant to let you get near the deceased, however whenever he sees your expression light up whenever he makes a cheesy comment (albeit in a rather awkward place) he thought of going along with it

- “Hm, this job of yours is unfitting in every way.” // “Oh yeah? How so?” // “You are brimming with life that I do think you are a goddess who descended upon us men.” // “Ah, here we go again…”

- You have to admit, his presence help you keep your sanity as you used to work alone for long periods of time

Yukimura

- “I thought you might be running away now once you see these.” // “As if they’ll chase me! Unless… are they still alive?” // “Weird woman…”

- This tsun does admire how brave you are after even making such joke

- Along with Sasuke, you three are pretty much effective when doing some investigation at the enemy’s base with you giving them (modern) tips of not getting caught. Unusual hiding spots? Hidden weapons? Suspicious people? All checked and cleared! 

- He has been doing that for a long while now, but hearing your strange ideas do sound plausible… especially when ninja friend is highly approving it

- If Sasuke trusts you, he surely starts to trust you (and your skills) too

Sasuke

- Once again, be paired up with Yuki and you three would make a great investigation/espionage team

- When investigating, you and memelord ninja are speaking to each other in partly jargon, partly heavily-memed language

- Possibly having watched and/or read crimes shows or movie you two are getting along so well

- “So here’s our undercover story: husband, wife and husband’s best friend---” // “Wait, do we get cool names too?!” // “Yeah, I’ll get to that part later… or I’ll do it now. Miyako, Tsune and Chozaburo; sounds cool?” // “Noice.”

- As the conversation continues, Yuki is left by himself to wonder how on earth did he get friends like you, shaking his head lightly as your talk no longer makes sense to him

Yoshimoto

- This beautiful mailman sees you one day sketching and as a man of the arts he comes over to look at what you’re drawing

- What he sees is a detailed sketch of a man, possibly a random person. The facial structure, features are all spot on! He is in full admiration mode

- “My, such a lovely piece you are making there. Has someone commissioned you to make him a portrait?” // “Actually Yoshimoto-san, I am making this to be posted around town. A wanted poster of some sorts… he’s a criminal.”

- You explained to him your job as a forensic artist, and he listens to every single word of it. Yoshimoto would find himself asking about your style of sketching as you continue drawing

- When the posters are up he is one of those people who would look at it for a long time; for him it’s not for memorizing the perp’s face, but simply to appreciate the art, fanning himself ever so gracefully

[carewyncromwell]

Back with another installment of the POTC AU...and we have entered mermaid (and men) waters, folks. These two lovely creatures are Merman!Kai Williams and Mermaid!Keira Jones, owned by @hphm-brooke, based on their designs here, but with more of the “fishy” look the mermaids have while underwater in Pirates 4! (They look much more like Brooke’s concepts, when they’re above water.) I hope I did your kids justice, cherie! Yes, I know this visual logically doesn’t work at all as neat as it looks, since Carewyn should be drowning if there’s a hole in the ship she can see through: I was stupid and half asleep when I originally drew this, but I went ahead and conjured up an explanation for it for the actual writing section, so indulge me. XD;;

Some LGBT+ headcanons of mine for the HPHM cast are also featured here -- namely, McNully as gay, Skye as lesbian, and Charlie as aroace. (I also personally see Carewyn and Orion as ace/pan and gray-A, respectively. ^.^) Feel free to ignore them if you see these characters differently than I do...goodness knows I understand why plenty of people would want to hook up with Charlie!! He can always be interpreted as demi, gray-A, or just a late bloomer here too, if thou dost prefer. <3

For the previous part of this AU, click here -- for the full POTC AU tag, click here -- otherwise, enjoy! And beware any siren song you may hear...

x~x~x~x

The Revenge was an even more oppressive prison than it was when Carewyn was a child. Charles Cromwell had always been a very controlling, cruel man who only saw someone’s value based on what they could do for him. Even when you were family of his -- or, one could argue, especially if you were -- you were expected to never say “no” to him and to always put his desires over your own. So it was when she and Jacob were under his control way back when, and so it was now that Carewyn was alone.

Interestingly, despite Charles’s clear disdain for Carewyn having become a Commodore of the Navy, he actually seemed very coldly pleased by how she’d grown.

“The Navy may be a pathetic institution,” Charles said very coolly as he strode leisurely in a circle around Carewyn, “but at least fighting in the War toughened you up. You’re strong -- ruthless -- talented in swordplay and willing to do whatever it takes to defeat your enemies. You’ve been taught and trained to kill.”

He stopped right in front of her, his cold almond-shaped blue eyes boring into her as his lips spread into a smile.

“You are far from the weak, bleeding-heart little girl you were before, Carewyn. Before, you could only be useful in persuading other men to join my crew -- now, once we’ve finished at Isle de Muerta...you’ll be able to join your aunts by doing that and helping us with our plunder.”

Carewyn’s eyes, which were the same color and shape as Charles’s, met his gaze head-on with just as much coldness, but with no hint of a smile.

“I have no intention of being anything like Pearl or Claire,” she spat, “least of all by being one of your pawns.”

Pearl made a violent move forward, but Blaise grabbed her arm and gave her a dull warning look.

“Pawns?” repeated Charles. “I’m wounded, child. We are family -- we are blood. I raised you and your brother. I provided for you.”

“After killing both Mum and Dad right in front of us,” Carewyn said very coldly.

Charles feigned an empathetic expression, but it only came across as incredibly condescending.

“Yes -- it was a horrible thing. But your parents thought to abandon the crew, our family...to take you two children away from me, your grandfather, who loves you so dearly. And deserters and traitors must be held accountable -- any good leader knows that. It’s awful that it had to happen...but they left me no choice.”

Carewyn’s eyes flashed with hatred.

“First of all...our parents thought to protect their family -- Jacob and me -- from you. Second, any good leader knows that true loyalty is accrued through respect, not fear. Third, you always have a choice to do what’s right, and you didn’t. Fourth, I will NOT hear you try to tell me that my parents brought their deaths upon themselves when you pulled the trigger. And fifth...”

She took a step forward, aiming to get right up in Charles’s face -- Claire Cromwell grabbed her harshly by the arm and held her back, but Carewyn was strong enough to push herself forward right up into her grandfather’s personal space anyway.

“...you don’t know what love is,” hissed Carewyn venomously.

Charles’s face lost all hint of a smile or warmth, instead becoming oddly mask-like and detached as he considered her. The stillness was far, far more intimidating than his attempts at pleasantry -- it was like he truly felt nothing...like all possibility of persuasion or appealing to his better instincts was hopeless.

“It seems freedom has spoiled you, my child,” he said softly. “I suppose I’d have to blame your brother for being such a bad influence on you...at least while he was still alive.”

Carewyn’s face blanched and her eyes widened. ‘What?’

“Oh?” said Charles, raising his eyebrows in mock concern. “Were you unaware? I thought for sure something would’ve trickled back to you through the Navy. But I suppose if they had told you, you’d have had far less reason to be loyal to them. After all...the pirate who killed him ended up getting a full pardon from the crown, and now works alongside the new Lord Cutler Beckett at the East India Trading Company...a thoroughly prosperous woman, by all accounts.”

Charles’s face again grew much mask-like as he stared down at Carewyn.

“One would never know such a woman could be capable of shooting a man square in the back and then pushing him overboard into the ocean...and just when he’d returned from Port Royal, to find that his sister was gone...”

Carewyn could feel her shoulders quaking. Her eyes had fallen away from Charles and down to the deck a while ago, as she struggled to contain her emotions, but what he said --

It couldn’t be true. It couldn’t be. Jacob, dead -- Jacob, having gone to look for her, and not finding her because she’d gone off to War -- Jacob, being murdered right after he tried to come home --

“You’re lying!” snarled Carewyn, but her voice quaked with pain and grief despite her best efforts.

Charles didn’t answer. Clearly he didn’t think he had to. The silence was infinitely worse than if he’d chosen to mock her further -- it forced her to solely focus on the terrible doubt and pain flooding her chest and making it hard for her to breathe.

Charles’s gaze flickered up to Claire still holding Carewyn’s arm.

“Get Carewyn out of that Navy filth and into some proper clothes,” he said almost boredly. “Make sure to pick something that shows off her assets -- she comes from fine breeding, and we want the men of Tortuga to see that first.”

His gaze then rested on Carewyn again, twinkling with a cruel kind of satisfaction, as Claire yanked Carewyn away. Carewyn fought against her grip, but before she could pull out of it, Pearl grabbed her other arm and, with considerably more strength, helped Claire drag her away.

Carewyn was soon forced into a pair of men’s knee breeches so tight that they felt more like form-fitting stockings than trousers; tall black boots; an off-white sailor’s shirt identical to Pearl’s with such an oversized neckline that her chest was largely exposed; and an R-standard dark red coat just small enough that she couldn’t button it around herself to hide her chest better. Pearl had also pointed a pistol at Carewyn’s neck while Claire applied eye-make-up and bright red lipstick. Carewyn normally wouldn’t have minded wearing make-up -- she may have had to dress like a man out of necessity, but she liked women’s fashion a lot. Under the circumstances, though, it was impossible to enjoy it.

Needless to say, Carewyn was in no mood to take orders from Charles or exchange so much as a word with any member of his crew, whether it was her uncle, aunts, cousins, or in-laws. At one point, one night, one of those such cousins -- clearly very amused by how unhappy Carewyn was with her new “look” -- decided to try to force himself into her personal space, and Carewyn was so disgusted that she grabbed his own pistol out of his belt and pointed it right at his head to threaten him to back off. Rather than scare him, though, the cousin merely laughed.

“Go ahead!” he jeered. He clearly thought Carewyn was too much of a “good girl” to do it. “Go ahead and shoot me. Right in the head, come on -- ”

Carewyn pointed the pistol down at his thigh instead and fired.

BANG.

The younger man collapsed in on himself with a cry as his leg collapsed out from under him, the bone clearly blasted open from how close the pistol had been. Carewyn then gave the pistol a light shake to clear the smoke.

“Seems to me that place is closer to where you do most of your thinking than your head,” she said very coldly. She looked around at the rest of the crew, who’d stopped to watch, and added, “Now, all of you, stay away from me -- AHH!”

She suddenly felt a hand seize her around the neck and hoist her up off the ground.

The younger man somehow was back on his feet again, as if he hadn’t been injured at all. Carewyn’s shock only seemed to make him smugger still, even though his smile was oddly humorless.

“You’re so cute, little Winnie,” he said. “Thinking you can hurt somebody who feels nothing but pain already.”

At that very moment, the clouds parted, to reveal an eerie silver-white moon. And it was in that terrible, paralyzing moment that Carewyn saw why everyone said that the crew of the Revenge was cursed.

It seems that the medallion Jacob had stolen from Charles’s office wasn’t just a pirate trinket. It was one of 100 identical pieces from a cursed chest that once belonged to Cortez himself. Anyone who stole but one piece from the chest was cursed trapped between life and death, unable to enjoy any earthly pleasure -- food, drink, or otherwise -- with their true decaying form only revealed under moonlight. Jacob had taken the medallion with the thought that Carewyn could always sell it if they ever got really desperate for money -- Carewyn had kept it because it was one of the only things Jacob had ever been able to give her before he disappeared, and she cursed herself eternally for the sentiment now. Still, she told herself, it also hadn’t seemed safe to try to sell something that so clearly looked like a pirate medallion anyway -- just about anyone would ask where she got it, and that would’ve opened her up to a million more questions. In either case, that medallion Carewyn had was the last piece that Charles Cromwell needed to break the curse -- and thanks to her fame as the newest Commodore in the Navy, one of her portrait miniatures had found its way into Charles’s hands, revealing to him where his granddaughter had vanished to. And now he had both her and the medallion -- in short, everything he’d wanted.

Charles Cromwell decided to punish Carewyn for her little act of defiance by locking her in the brig. It was a very wet and mildew-stained place -- clearly it had been host to more than a few leaks. One hole in Carewyn’s cell in particular even showed clear blue ocean water -- she suspected that the Revenge had been patched up with quite a few spells to keep it from sinking, over the years. She remembered there was a witch on Tortuga that her grandfather sometimes made deals with -- maybe she’d given him something to keep the sea water from rushing in.

Carewyn could’ve easily broken out of the brig, but under the circumstances, she decided it wasn’t worth it. Not only did she not want to show off all her tricks yet, but the cell door would at least serve as a barrier between her and everyone else, for now. And that was what she’d wanted -- to get as far away from them as she could. Jacob would’ve understood. Jacob had always been there as a protective wall between her and the rest of their family, in the past...

The night in that cell was one of the coldest, darkest, and loneliest of Carewyn’s life. Her heart ached at the thought of Jacob -- of Percy, his face white with upset and terror when she told him to retreat -- of Bill and Charlie -- of Jules. She missed them so much, and yet she knew...she would likely never see them again. Charles Cromwell wouldn’t tolerate her insubordination for long, and if she failed to escape -- rather likely, considering that neither he nor the rest of her family could be killed, at this point -- she’d be murdered just like her parents.

...At least then...she’d see Jacob again...

She didn’t know when or how she’d fallen to sleep, but it was in her sleep, when she was most lonely, that Carewyn found herself again in her and Jacob’s tiny, old house in Port Royal, sitting at the side of her own bed, which currently held a young man with a worn brown bandana around his head, a black eye, and bandages around his arms. He looked up at her, his dark eyes rippling like the darkest sea -- and then, he rose from the bed. As he did, he changed, becoming older, with tanner skin and dreadlocks under an emerald green bandana. Orion didn’t say anything in the dream -- instead he held her gaze, drowning her in it as he gently held her hands in his...

When Carewyn awoke, she found her face wet with tears. Wiping her face clean, she sat awake for a while, revisiting Orion in her mind. As bizarre as it sounded -- just like he had many times in the past -- the thought of Orion seemed to bring her a sense of peace and focus she couldn’t quite explain. And it was for that reason that she found herself singing one of the songs she used to sing Orion to sleep, all those years ago...for the thought of him, if not for the man himself.

Abroad, as I was walking one evening in the spring,

I heard a maid in Bedlam who mournfully did sing.

Her chains she rattled on her hands, and thus replied she:

"I love my love because I know my love loves me.

Oh, cruel were his parents who sent my love to sea,

And cruel was the ship that bore my love from me --

Yet I love his parents since they’re his, although they've ruined me...

I love my love because I know my love loves me.” 

As luck would have it, however, her song attracted some attention. For the waters surrounding the dreaded Isle de Muerta contained merfolk -- specifically a mermaid called Keira and a merman called Kai, who hunted as a pair and had heard Carewyn singing through the hole in the ship’s hull.

“Was that you singing?” asked Kai. He seemed the more sociable of the two -- the red-haired mermaid behind him called Keira was staying at a distance.

Carewyn rested a hand beside the hole, trying to peek out at who was speaking. She couldn’t see them very well, but from what little she could see, they didn’t look like how she’d always heard mermaids described. They appeared human enough on top, of course, but she could see scales on their faces and there was no white in their eyes. Kai had one completely brown eye and one completely blue eye, while Keira had completely blue.

“Yes,” said Carewyn.

“I could hear the longing in your voice,” said Kai. “Like a woman in love.”

Carewyn’s face flushed, but she kept as proud of an expression as she could manage.

“...Are you merfolk?”

“Why, yes,” said Kai with a smile. “And you? Are you a pirate? Or perhaps you’re a maid from Bedlam, awaiting her love’s return?”

“Neither. My name is Carewyn...but most people call me Carey Weasley.”

Keira looked at Carewyn through the hole, clearly interested despite her distance.

“You’re different than the other humans on this ship,” she said thoughtfully.

Carewyn scoffed. “I’d certainly hope so. I suppose my grandfather and his crew fear you?”

“Fear, yes,” said Keira in an oddly stiff voice, “but we don’t approach them.”

The memory of her disgusting pirate cousin as a molting skeleton rippled over Carewyn’s mind and she grimaced.

“...I don’t blame you for that. I wouldn’t be here either, if I had a choice.”

Kai raised a curious eyebrow. “You’re a prisoner, then.”

Carewyn sighed and nodded. Kai’s eyes flickered over to Keira before returning to Carewyn.

“...Perhaps we can get you out.”

Carewyn was startled. “What?”

Kai’s lips turned up in a smile. “Come with us...we’ll help you escape.”

It was strange -- Carewyn hadn’t known these two at all, but something in their voices sounded so kind. Despite everything she’d ever heard about sirens, they seemed oddly persuasive...it was like even they were singing beautifully, even while talking...

But...

“No,” she said. “My grandfather and his crew can’t be killed. I’d never be able to defeat them, while they’re like that...and anyone who tried to help me would be killed right along with me.”

Her eyes softened. “Thank you...but I have to stay here.”

Both Kai and Keira looked genuinely startled. Kai seemed to rest on his stomach in mid-air, his tail flopping up over his head as he rested his chin on his fist, his lips spreading in a much fuller, fanged smirk.

“...Well, now,” he said, “I don’t think I’ve ever heard of someone saying ‘no’ to one of our kind in order to protect them before. He shared a glance with Keira. “You truly are different, Carey Weasley.”

Keira exhaled tiredly. “Come on, Kai...let’s go.”

“Coming, coming,” said Kai in amusement, as Keira began to swim off. He added to Carewyn, “Guess we’ll never know if we would’ve been able to tempt you, if we’d met you above water...oh well. Best of luck, little Bedlam maid -- thanks for the new song!”

Kai swam in a circle to follow along after Keira and disappeared into the dark blue depths.

Back on the Artemis, the days of their voyage dragged. Jules had heard all sorts of exciting stories about pirates since she was a child, but now that she was onboard a ship with them, she found that it was far less glamorous than one would think. There was so little to do to pass the time, aside from trimming sails or swabbing decks. Charlie and Bill admitted that was a lot of what sailing on board ships was like in general -- there was plenty of excitement, sure, but only inter-spliced briefly between long stretches of nothing. On top of that, the water on board went sour before long, making it so everyone had to drink rum instead, since it was the only drink that didn’t go bad at sea. The best thing by far for Jules, though, was that there was no dress code -- and so she ditched her fancy dress as quick as she could, traded them in for a pair of men’s breeches, and then belted her chemise around her waist so that it fit more tightly like a shirt. She’d be a little embarrassed walking around in her underwear for a while, but after a while, she concluded it really wasn’t any more revealing than the loose-fitting shirt and men’s breeches Skye was wearing. Bill’s ears turned a very dark red when he first saw Jules out of her dress, though.

Their first real burst of action came when they had to battle a torrential storm that had blown in. The Artemis had been tossed about as if it were a toy in a bathtub, sea water splashing onto the deck with full-bodied waves that could knock a man off their feet. It was likely only thanks to Orion’s bizarre idea to tie everyone securely to the mast with a long piece of rope that served as a life line that no one was thrown overboard. The following day, the storm had fortunately cleared to leave an almost surreal calm. Soon everyone returned to the boring routine of before, mending torn sails and swabbing the deck, as if nothing had even happened.

The helmsman solely followed Orion’s direction of where to go, rather than using a map, so Bill, Jules, and Charlie had assumed he already knew where the Isle de Muerta was. One could therefore imagine how horrified Bill was overhearing McNully talking offhandedly to Orion one afternoon about his compass “not working right for him” -- Jules recalled that it didn’t work at Port Royal either. When the three confronted Orion about it, the Captain responded rather cryptically.

“Lieutenant Weasley said that my compass didn’t point north, Miss Farrier. That doesn’t mean it’s broken.”

Orion turned on his heel and headed back up to the helm. “A bit more to starboard.”

Bill opened his mouth to protest, but McNully climbed down one of the loose ropes enough to pat his shoulder.

“Easy, Mr. Weasley.”

He lowered himself back down into his chair and rolled it around to properly face them.

“The Captain’s compass isn’t like most compasses -- just like Orion himself isn’t like most captains.”

“But you said it wasn’t working right,” Charlie said angrily. “And all he ever seems to look at is that compass. How do we know we’re even heading the right way? Does he even know how to get to Isle de Muerta at all?”

Jules had to admit, she had doubts too. Orion had sounded pretty confident that he’d be able to find Carewyn -- but how could anyone do that, when they didn’t even have a compass that could point north?

The dispute was interrupted, however, when Orion abruptly called out from the helm.

“Put out the lamps!”

The crew immediately tensed up, and bolted around, putting out every lamp. Jules looked around in confusion.

“What are you doing?” she asked. “It’s almost dusk -- we won’t be able to see!”

“The water is darker and colder here,” said Orion solemnly, “and there’s a song on the air. The lamps would only antagonize them further.”

“‘Them?’“ recurred Jules.

“Mermaids, of course,” said Skye impatiently.

“Mermaids?”

“I heard those tales when we were all in the Navy,” said Bill, glancing at Jules a bit uneasily. “Mermaids are attracted to singing and lamplight.”

"Right,” said McNully. “There’s still a 32% chance they might show up even without those, though, so you’d best keep your wits about you.”

Skye nodded. “Mermaids are no joke. They might look beautiful above water, but they don’t look half so pretty under the water when they pull you down to the depths and eat you alive.”

Jules cringed.

“If they’re that dangerous,” she said slowly, “why don’t you do what Odysseus did, to escape the sirens? Just have someone else tie you up really tightly on the mast, and you can’t jump overboard.”

“Yeah!” Charlie piped up. “I reckon Jules, Skye, and I can handle running the ship for a bit on our own -- pretty faces don’t really do much for me.”

McNully laughed. “If being attracted to gorgeous women was the problem, then I’d be a better choice to help than Skye.”

Skye rolled her eyes and scoffed.

“Mermaids don’t just tempt you with sex,” the quartermaster explained. “They’re temptation itself. Everything about them draws you in, makes you open up to them and talk to them...lets them look right through you. They’ll try to tempt you with whatever they think you want most in the world -- and when you give in and get too close...”

She made a knife-like gesture across her throat with her finger.

“There’s only one person on this ship that’s known to have ever said ‘no’ to a mermaid before,” said McNully, and he nodded up at the helm. “And that’s the Captain.”

Bill, Charlie, and Jules all looked up in surprise. Orion had his back to them and was looking out to sea with narrowed, unreadable eyes.

Then, all of a sudden, the crew could just barely make out a eerie, beautiful song, which seemed to float on the wind itself.

“...her chains she rattled in her hands and thus replied she...”

“Stopper your ears!” McNully said urgently. “Quickly!”

The crew hurriedly did as they were told. Orion, however, did not do so. Instead he darted down to the main deck, grabbed one of the lanterns, and set about relighting it.

“Orion, what are you DOING?!” bellowed Skye.

Orion didn’t answer her. McNully rolled hurriedly around the deck as he tried to make sure everyone blocked their ears, but Orion completely ignored him, instead rushing over to the side of the ship with the lit lantern.

The singing was getting louder now.

“Yet I love his parents since they’re his, although they've ruined me... I love my love because I know my love loves me...”

Just as Bill had finished helping Charlie and Jules completely stopper their ears, he caught the sound of a low male voice singing the next line.

“With straw I'll weave a garland, I'll weave it wondrous fine...”

Bill looked up in alarm at Orion. He had a hand cupped over his mouth to magnify his volume as he sang over the ship’s railing.

“With roses, lilies, daisies I'll mix the eglantine...”

“Stop!”

Bill barreled over, grabbing Orion’s shoulder and trying to pull him back away from the edge.

“What are you doing?! Singing and lanterns attract mermaids!”

“That’s the plan,” said Orion, his voice almost frustratingly calm.

Bill saw the water burbling up beside the edge of the ship. His heart clenched with fear.

Orion, however, paid him no mind -- he turned right to the form burbling under the water, his hand beside his mouth again as he continued,

“And I'll present it to my love when he returns from sea... I love my love because I know my love loves me."

Jules quickly grabbed Bill’s arm, pulling him back away from Orion. Bill looked at her anxiously, but she merely reached up to stopper his left ear with some fabric she’d ripped out of her chemise. Orion wasn’t going to explain, so all they could do is get ready.

Within moments, a woman with red hair had appeared out of the water. Her chin and neck were still largely submerged as she blinked up at Orion.

“You know the words,” she said almost shyly.

“Yes,” said Orion. “Where did you hear that song?”

The mermaid blinked slowly. “A maid imprisoned in the brig of a pirate ship.”

Jules had been just about to stopper Bill’s right ear when he straightened up sharply. He turned his head sharply to better listen to the conversation.

"What did the maid look like?” Orion asked.

The mermaid’s eyes flickered over the pirate captain’s face carefully as she eased her head and shoulders out of the water.

“I could not tell for sure. The brig was dark. The hole looking into it was small.”

“Yet you spoke to her?”

“Yes. She was a selfless woman. Very selfless.”

“When did you see her?”

“Very early this morning...before dawn.”

Orion’s dark eyes narrowed. The mermaid reached out to grab onto the edge of the Artemis so as to slide herself out of the water and closer to Orion.

“You know her,” she said.

“Yes,” Orion answered quietly.

The mermaid’s eyes seemed to soften. “...You love her.”

Bill, who had been listening carefully, looked quickly at Orion’s face for some sort of reaction -- but once again his face was remarkably calm, and he didn’t respond.

“I could take you to her,” the mermaid said sweetly. “I know where she is...”

Bill felt his mind drifting slightly, as if he’d suddenly become very sleepy -- her voice sounded almost soothing -- and she knew Carewyn? She could take them to Carewyn?

“No, thank you,” said Orion with the kind of polite finality one would more likely hear at a Christmas function than to a creature that wanted to eat human flesh. “If you saw her this morning, we’ll be caught up with them soon enough. The wind will take us where we need to go, if only we have our sails pointed in the right direction.”

He inclined his head respectfully.

“Best of luck finding your next meal elsewhere.”

The mermaid frowned in immense confusion at him, looking almost put-out.

“You and Carey Weasley are both very strange humans,” she said. Her lips then curled into a faintly wry smile as she added, “She was not tempted by our call either. That should please you.”

And with that, she splashed back into the dark water and disappeared.

Orion blew out the flame on the lamp and turned back around.

“It’s all right now!” he bellowed loud enough that everyone could just barely make out his voice through the stuffing in their ears. “It’s safe!”

Everyone little by little unblocked their ears. Bill turned around to face Orion properly, his brown eyes rippling with amazement and a bit of guilt despite himself, as the pirate captain walked past him.

“You did know what you were doing.”

Orion turned to Bill. The eldest Weasley rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably. 

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I misjudged you.”

Orion inclined his head slightly to Bill, his lips touched with traces of a smile.

“A common enough thing, for people to do,” he said patiently. “Think nothing of it.”

He strolled back up to the helm, leaving Bill and Jules alone.

Jules turned to Bill. He still had his eyes on Orion’s back.

“Bill...is everything okay?”

Bill glanced at Jules and then back up at Orion, and he swallowed.

The mermaid had said Orion loved Carewyn. He didn’t make any kind of reaction that would prove it was true -- but he didn’t deny it either. And more importantly, back at the church, he’d said he wouldn’t have hurt “either Bill’s or his lady,” when talking about Jules and Carewyn. And immediately after, he spoke of Carewyn’s past, of her history with him...of details even he didn’t know, like her apparently having worn a red ribbon in her hair since she was little...with such a soft voice that it wouldn’t be a stretch to think there was something fond in it, under that detached affect..

Bill hadn’t had a real friend in his life until he’d met Carewyn. They’d connected almost immediately out of their mutual desire to protect and nurture others, and they always seemed to be in sync whenever they had to battle together. Bill had always been a shoulder for others to cry on, but it was Carewyn who had first offered her shoulder to him, while they were fighting the Spanish together. The friendship and caring she’d shown him made her family to him more than her using his name alone ever could have. She was a sister to him -- his best mate -- someone he loved and cherished like few others in the world. And he wanted every happiness for her, just as he knew she did for him...

But what happiness could there be for her, with Orion? He was a pirate. There’d be no way the Navy would pardon him with the East India Trading Company breathing down their necks -- and would Carewyn truly be happy living the life of a pirate, after having been raised on a pirate ship like the Revenge? She’d built up a stable life for herself in the Navy, and Bill knew how much Carewyn loved being able to come back to Port Royal after a long expedition -- to come home, after being at sea. But pirates had no home. There was nothing anchoring a pirate. And no matter what Orion’s feelings were, and how much Bill suspected they might actually be something genuine...it didn’t mean a thing if Carewyn didn’t feel the same way.

“Jules...” he said at last, very quietly, “...is Carey...in love with Amari?”

Jules was startled by the use of her nickname. She glanced from Bill to up at Orion at the helm and back, frowning deeply. 

“...Love, I’m not sure, but...back at the fort, before Captain Amari rescued me...Carey told me that she’d bandaged him up and hidden him from the Navy, when they were young. So when Captain Amari figured out who she was...he let her go. I reckon they probably just made it look like Carey broke free.”

This information startled Bill. His brown eyes brightened in understanding.

“He owed her a life debt,” he said softly.

Jules smiled. “No. I thought the same thing -- that it was gratitude, on Captain Amari’s part. But...”

Her dark eyes softened.

“...Carey said...that he was simply a good man. And I don’t know...but the look in her eyes, as she looked out to sea...I’ve never seen her eyes look like that before.”

She reached out and took Bill’s hand. Bill gave it a squeeze.

“The water temperature has returned to normal,” announced Orion from the helm, emptying the bucket of sea water he’d filled earlier over the side. “Go ahead and relight the lamps -- we should approach Isle de Muerta within the next day or so.”

[ckret2]

So I've been deeply pulled into the Radiosnake pairing bc of your fantastic writing! Problem is, now I have fic ideas but no knowledge of the Hazbin background. Can you tellI me where I can get more Hazbin info? I've only watched the pilot and read your stuff. I heard there were comics??

That is an excellent question anon, because right now it is really hard to get Hazbin background easily.

Okay, so, the canon info on Hazbin Hotel can be sort of sorted into four tiers, from most to least canon.

Tier 1: The Definitely Canon

There is, of course, the pilot. And then there is an Angel Dust prequel comic, only seven pages of which have been released so far. We’ve been told it’s gonna be finished and we’ve had glimpses of in-progress prequel comics for a couple other characters—most prominently Alastor’s and Charlie’s—but so far that unfinished Angel Dust comic is the only one that’s been officially released.

Finding the in-progress comic pages is... a challenge. Nobody, as far as I can tell, has been specifically collecting all of the pages we’ve seen so far. I was able to scrounge up:

Couple more Angel pages

some Alastor pages

another Alastor page

a random Alastor panel

another random Alastor panel—I’ve seen the full page of this before, Alastor goes “Hello ladies!” and they go “HELLO ALASTOR~<3″ but I can’t find the full page now

There’s a smattering more canon panels on the artist faustisse’s twitter, but I haven’t dug them all out, and some of the posts I’m gonna link in a lil bit have a glimpse of another panel.

If you haven’t already heard of Helluva Boss, I recommend looking into it as well. It’s a second series being created by the same folks, different cast of characters but set in the same version of Hell, so any canon details we learn in Helluva also apply to Hazbin.

Helluva’s pilot is here. Plus a cute music video here.

Earlier this month, during a BLM charity stream hosted by show artist Ashley Nichols—she runs regular streams under the title “HuniCast”—they released a few sneak peaks of future Helluva scenes, all compiled here.

And that’s it for canon. Two pilots, a music video, a smattering of future scenes, part of one comic, a few WIP pages/panels from other comics.

Tier 2: Pseudo-Canon

Everything else we currently know about Hazbin (and Helluva) are things that the creators have told us. Consequently, they’re all pseudo-canon—and likely subject to change in the future as the shows and comics are further developed and released. Some details that were released/described in the past have been contradicted at other times, or else radically changed by the time the pilot came out.

(For example, when Alastor was first created years and years ago as an OC with no plans for Hazbin, he was a demon deer who could shapeshift into a human shape—now he’s a demonized human with a few deer traits. And Charlie and Cherri Bomb used to look very different.)

So until and unless they make it into canon, all these pseudo-canon details are subject to change and should be taken with a grain of salt—but, they also comprise most of what we know about the characters’ backstory and the as-yet-unaired characters.

Pseudo-canon info on Hazbin is scattered mainly between two sources: the creators’ twitter accounts, and livestreams where they take questions and talk about the making of the show. If you and livestreams do not get along (my ADHD and livestreams do not get along), or if you don’t want to wade years and years back into twitter accounts to dig up every scrap of info on the characters the creators have ever mentioned, collating all the pseudo-canon info is gonna be hard. (It’s gonna be hard even if you do want to sit through the streams and dig through all their tweets.) Lots of fans, me included, depend on the absolutely heroic work of various fans who are willing and able to watch hours-long streams and collate a list of canon factoids released during the streams. I’ve reblogged as many of these posts as I’ve been able to find:

Alastor’s sound design (on twitter)

Alastor's Sound Design (post I made with screenshots of weird—but very interesting—subtitles slipped into the aforementioned video)

Sir Pentious and Cherri Bomb’s sound design

Niffty and Husk’s sound design

Charlie, Katie, and Tom’s sound design

Intro song’s sound design

Happy Hotel’s sound design

details from Faustisse (including a pic of a couple costume designs. Most of these posts come from zatyrlucy, who’s been doing a fantastic job of going stream-by-stream to get lists of details from the regular streams by Ashley Nichols and by comic artist Faustisse.)

more details from Faustisse (including a pic of the Von Eldritch family dining room)

Faustisse 3 (better look at that table)

Dollymoon’s Hazbin Hotel Facts - PART ONE (Shoutout again to dollymoon for compiling these, we’ve never spoken but I am eternally grateful for this service. Dollymoon’s posts are THE single most reliable compilation of Hazbin Hotel’s nebulous pseudo-canon facts that I have found to date, including both links to the sources and timestamps where applicable. Dollymoon’s URL has changed since making this post so the “read more” link doesn’t work but the “source” or “reblogged from” links direct correctly to the new blog. Incidentally, the risk of other blog creators deleting their blogs/posts or changing their URLs is why in info posts like these, I always link to my own reblogs rather than their original posts—their original posts might vanish without warning, but I know I ain’t gonna delete my posts, so these links will still work in the future.)

Hazbin Hotel Facts - PART TWO

Hazbin Hotel Facts - PART THREE

Faustisse 4

HuniCast - Australian Wildlife Relief charity stream

I think this was a faustisse stream (the original source deleted these posts, so the comic pages that were originally behind that read more cut are now gone.)

Faustisse stream 6?

And those are all the masterposts of factoids I’ve managed to collect. If anyone has more masterposts, chuck ‘em at me.

Even this isn’t all the knowledge that’s been released about the show. The posts that dig the farthest back are Dollymoon’s, and even they don’t comprehensively cover all of Hazbin’s production. A couple of these characters, Vivziepop created as a teenager, so there’s some truly ancient concept art floating around out there that will have details that probably aren’t canon anymore... but might still be until something happens to actively contradict them.

Tier 3: The Wiki

The wiki is kind of an absolute mess. It’s a chaotic blend of things actually seen in the pilots/comic, things mentioned at some point in some stream somewhere, and wild fan speculation based on what they headcanon as plausible based on the above, all mixed together with very little indication for which is canon, pseudo-canon, fanon, or speculation. Most of the statements on the wiki don’t have citations.

(And, on top of that, half the main characters’ info gets split up into separate tabs instead of just having a normal-ass wiki page, AND their image galleries are on COMPLETELY SEPARATE pages that are linked to in one of the tabs, and the most important characters all have TWO SEPARATE GALLERIES. Which doesn’t have anything to do with the quality of the facts hidden underneath those tabs, but nevertheless drives me up the wall.)

Some things on the wiki were added according to info released so long ago it’s probably changed by now. Some are possibilities that got reported as facts. Other things on the wiki have unambiguously changed, or else are just flat-out incorrect. (For instance, at this moment Alastor’s page still lists him as an overlord, even though it's been confirmed that Alastor is not an overlord despite his power level because he isn’t interested in and didn’t pursue that position, per this stream. For a little bit, somebody’s fanart of their headcanon human Alastor got added to the wiki as concept art.)

tl;dr: the wiki should never be trusted as a primary source. The wiki’s better than it used to be. Even so, at this time, it’s only trustworthy to fill in the gaps of what you already know is true from other, better sources.

The thing it’s good at is it more or less compiles all the known info all in one place. Trying to figure out who the hell this Vox guy is is really hard if you’re reading for mentions of him in compilations of a dozen different streams, much less if you’re trying to comb through those dozen streams yourself, plus a dozen more, plus three different artists’ twitters. In comparison, it’s really easy to, say, just go look at Vox’s wiki page, where all the trivia is compiled. (And Vox’s page is actually one of the better cited on the wiki. Look at all those numbers!)

So, if you need to find out who this character is you’ve never heard of before, if you want to see a full list of the thus far named characters, if you don’t remember whether Alastor likes coffee or tea, if you want to know what Angel’s twin sister looks like, if you need a reminder of Sir Pentious’s death year... check the wiki. It’s an okay starting point.

But, if you see a “fact” on the wiki that you yourself don’t remember from straight out of the pilot, and it doesn’t have a citation that links to a tweet or a stream... regard it suspiciously. And do not trust it unquestioningly as fact until and unless you have seen the source.

Tier 4: Noncanon Creator Shitposting

I’ve mentioned Ashley’s HuniCast streams a couple times. The biggest draw of them is that she usually gets several of the voice actors in the streams, where they’ll happily say nonsense in their character voices. For the most part, they’re not sharing any actual canon info they’ve been given on their characters, just goofing around pretending to be their characters. Nevertheless, a lot of the things that happen in streams get accepted as broad fandom headcanons, like Alastor being into dad jokes. (My favorite, for obvious reasons, is this one.)

It’s easy to find the source audio for all this wonderful nonsense by searching youtube for “HuniCast highlights,” and then rummaging around for animatics people make out of the audio. The only one noncanon video of this sort I can think of that didn’t originally come from HuniCast is a lone one from Alastor’s singing voice (who’s a different voice actor than his speaking voice).

So, obviously, none of these are canon. But they do come from some of the people actually involved in the creation of the show, and they are in the characters’ canon voices, so a whole lot of people treat them as semi-canon anyway. (Even the wiki lists “dad jokes” among Alastor’s likes, which to my knowledge hasn’t come up anywhere except for HuniCast streams.) Since they’re so broadly-known, they’re worth knowing about as important sources of fanon, even if you don’t want to adopt them into your own headcanons. They’re basically the same level of canon as blooper reels.

[electromignion]

Jeremy, Vipin and Olivia’s pizza night!

I really wanted to draw our favourite squad today so here we go!! I had not drawn like this since a while and I missed it a lot <3

I like to imagine they often do various stuff together as a bestie group and this time Vip and Liv suggested to Jeremy to come over to chill, maybe play some tabletop games and to discuss about whatever they want. So Jeremy decided to bring pizzas!!

Inspired by this reference pic from @draw-the-squad-like-this !!

Tag yourself, I’m Vipin being overjoyed at the sight of pizzas (and probably by the smell of pizzas too jdjdjdj)

[tsubaki3192]

Had I known you were taking requests, I'd have requested one sooner! May I request a HC for Shingen, Hideyoshi, Kennyo and Mitsuhide comforting their s/o who came home crying after having the worst day ever? Lots of love 💜💜

Oops that might be my bad for not properly announcing ^-^’’

[How does Kennyo, Shingen, Hideyoshi and Mitsuhide comfort MC when she’s upset from having the worst day?]

Notes: Modern! Headcannons, assumed ‘living together’ stage. Long, because I have no self-control when I have inspiration….

Warning: Kennyo’s headcanon might be a little much… because I didn’t know how to write for him lol… Talks a little about Behavioural issues in Children. I blanked out for his. 

Warning 2: I… Have no idea if this is even headcanons anymore. I got carried away… xD 

(Without further Ado, I’ll start with Kennyo!)

————————–

Kennyo:

…. Is the type to have no idea why you’re feeling terrible, let alone how to deal with it.

To be fair, he blames it on himself: Y’know, calling himself a ‘demon’ and whatnot. And rather than he assuring you, you’re back to reassuring him that he’s not what he says he is.

But he can see the distress in your eyes; the coldness as you tell him it’s not his ‘curse, or whatever he likes to call it, that has befallen you.

You don’t work, not in a stereotypical office setting, but you do help his temple in various ways, whether it be watching the younger children, patching up clothing, or the like. Just simple things, you know?

It’s loads of fun, but every once in awhile you’ll receive angry parents, demanding for cures to their incurable children, because, you know, bringing an ill child to a temple really does something good. 

It’s not their fault that the child has behavioural issues (ones you just like to call minor, for they truly weren’t cursed) and it’s not yours, nor the child’s fault either.

(Incurable diseases they were, often genetically related, but-)

You just gently smile at them, falsely promising them that you’ll do what you can to help, even if it’s not much. (Falsely, because you know there’s really nothing that a temple can do to help… A doctor would be much better, but these were people who truly believed they had been cursed with whatever-)

But today’s issue was terrible… And that was the very least to be said. The couple who had dropped their child off had been rather… Aggressive, to say the least, dumping the child, who, mind you was seven years of age, in your arms and storming off without so much of a goodbye.

And then you were granted the responsibility of caring for the child, who would just not stop crying…. All before you had properly woken yourself up. And the child just would not leave your side, clinging to your leg wherever possible.

On top of that, the parents had looked so smug when they came to retrieve the child. 

(To be fair, you nearly slammed the door in their faces when they stepped back out.)

You just stand there for several moments, fuming at their inability to properly look after the child (And your inability to do much else for the child).

It doesn’t take long for Kennyo to find you staring at the now-shut door with clenched fists.

Again, he swears it’s his fault, but you just give him an indignant look before storming outside to the Koi pond purposely hidden in the corner of the yard where no one would dare look. The pond was yours, as it had always been since the very beginning.

Kennyo left you for several moments, unsure of how to deal with your troubles (save for giving you space). But it wasn’t even 10 minutes later that he strode out to the garden, your shared cat now cradled in his arms.

There is a wooden bridge over the pond, leading to a tiny island, and that was exactly where he found you: seated beneath the now-green Sakura tree, head buried between your arms and knees.

And he… Just takes a seat beside you. There’s quite literally no room to shift comfortably, but he ignores the fact and just… places the cat on your head.

You, however, are fully aware he is seated beside you, though you don’t dare move for the sake of breaking his almost trance-like state. 

(His actions make you want to laugh but-)

Awkwardly, he places an arm around your waist and pulls you closer to him. He doesn’t say anything, but he knows you’ve considerably calmed down. All there’s left is for you to talk. About anything; about everything.

And you do, blabbering about how your day went, how it could’ve gone, how you were being an idiot for getting so worked up about something minor.

His large hand just runs through your hair as you pull yourself onto his lap (the cat now on a branch above you), and nuzzle your face into the crook of his neck.

“Shh… Don’t cry….”

Really, he thinks he has no clue, but he does more than he thinks he does xD.

Shingen:

…. Is the type to pick up his phone as soon as he hears your call, and rush home when he hears your sobs…. No matter if he is scolded by Yuki or not the next day. 

(But when Yuki hears about your condition the following day, he’s actually genuinely concerned, that tsundere-)

He keeps you on the phone the entire time he runs home (it’s rush hour, he knows, and running will be faster, despite his terrible health), listening as you blabber about your day.

When he does get home, you can ensure that he will pull you to his chest, (he wheezing or not) and coo gently.

And depending on what, when and where the trouble had affected you, he’ll be sure to pamper you.

Today’s issue seemed to be about your day out:

You had taken the day off, calling in ‘sick’ for the amount of work they had given you over the past few months, courtesy of Shingen’s suggestion. You’re stressed, and it’s clear, given how little time you’ve spent with him over the past few months…

Still, as a seamstress, your work isn’t overly difficult- just plentiful- especially when you consider just which company you work for: It’s one of the highest ranking embroidery offices, and yet they refuse to allow workers to take breaks when a major project has arrived…. It’s no wonder that the company has a high drop-out/quitting/firing rate.

And yet Shingen finds you on the ground of the living room, knees curled into your chest. He could hear you cry from metres away.

You’re dressed in nice clothes- too nice for a normal, casual setting- and he had immediately assumed you had prepared a day out with your friends in town. 

You, despite being one of the best workers in the company, had been fired, thanks to a suspicious coincidence that your boss had also called in ‘sick’: More than likely the reason why you were fired. 

(Which was kinda stupid, because you were pretty sure you couldn’t be fired in places outside the yours and the company’s working hours, as per company rules.)

But you had been humiliated, stripped of your role, and fired nonetheless- All in front of your friends.

You had bolted home, ignoring the horns of passing cars and slammed the door shut behind you. Your phone had been switched off for several minutes, before you unconsciously made the decision to call Shingen.

And he was home now, preparing a simple action movie and caramel popcorn (something you had made a compromise over-). It was stay-at-home time, tonight.

But you had crawled over to him impatiently, clinging onto his back still crying.

And he’ll freeze, before drawing your arms tighter around him.

“My dear angel, weep not for the loss of your job, but for the freedom in being in mine”

And if that line didn’t address all your concerns, then who knew what would?

Be prepared for the sweetest kisses all over your face, silver words whispered in your ear and sweets. Lots of sweets. And pampering. He’ll do that too.

(Shingen’s the type to drop everything and anything for you, and that underestimates what he wants to give you.)

And when you’re ready again, he’ll give you a job in the design team. Be sure of it. Whether it’ll be clothing design, interior design- you qualify in most areas, and he’ll come to you first.

Bonus: Watch him utterly crush your old company to pieces with his words. It’ll be the best thing to watch ^-^

Hideyoshi:

…. Is the type to arrive home after you do.

To be fair, you don’t blame him when he does- His devotion to Nobunaga is admired amongst many employers, both inside and outside the company. And so is his devotion to you, though very few people know about that.

So when he finds out you’ve essentially collapsed on the fluffy rug in the living room, he begins panicking.

He’s genuinely, utterly distressed at the sight of your condition, and he perhaps doesn’t even notice the tear-stains on your face… Until he turns you over in his arms.

Oh. Ohhh.

Your skin is worryingly pale, and aside from your tear-stains, your lower eyelids are darker than your norm.

And he just sits on the ground, leaning against your shared couch, as he cradles you in his arms, not at all concerned at how uncomfortable he is in the position and the clothes.

It takes him several moments before he hesitantly decides to lay you gently on the couch (shoes and socks removed) and cover you with a nearby grey overthrow, before retrieving a warm, damp cloth to wipe the stains from your face.

You stir slightly and wrinkle your brow, murmuring his name quietly against your lips when he does this, but he can see the colour returning to your face. The crinkle in your eyebrows remain though, and he brings his fingers up it, smoothing it over gently.

And that’s when you truly relax, shifting slightly to a more comfortable position and with a more satisfied look on your face.

He leaves you then, but only for a few moments before he returns, now in a more comfortable nightwear than a stiff suit and tie.

When you wake, he’ll be seated beside you, watching you with a kind look on his face. He won’t ask you how your day went, because he knows that it was downright terrible- Had it just been exhaustion, you would collapse on your shared bed otherwise. 

And he just holds you, until you’re ready to talk; until the tears have truly dried. 

You mumble everything out. How you were accidentally late, how your day spiralled down from there, how you were burnt by someone’s extra-hot coffee and how you managed to almost ruined an idol’s new item of clothing. And it wasn’t even your fault.

But he just listens, letting your head lean against his broad, muscular chest. His heartbeat is what soothes you and you rest, once again closing your eyes and falling asleep, though much faster and much more peaceful than you had just moments earlier.

“My love, none of that matters at the end of the day. Do not let their words and actions harm you. I’m always here for you. Next time something does happen, come and find me okay?”

And if you both worked for the same company (Which is more than likely, by the way), he’ll ensure that your boss becomes fired… Valid reason or not.

He’s second in command. Vice-CEO, if that makes sense. 

Also be sure that he’ll make you take the next day off and pamper you with anything and everything :3

Mitsuhide:

…. Is the type to be spontaneous at times. Surprisingly sweet, too, if you’re not careful.

Though you work for the same company, you come home at very different times, given the differences in your departments.

You work as a member of the design team, while he works in the communication’s team, because that’s what he’s best at, right?

And though you technically work together, there are just times where he can’t see you for various work-related reasons.

And that includes today.

You’re home before him, though he hasn’t noticed as your shoes, usually neatly placed by the door, aren’t there, even though it’s already 9 in the evening.

Something’s wrong, he can tell, though he’s not quite sure just what… Until he spies your leather satchel, your favourite, thrown scandalously on the wooden floorboards of the living room.

He strains his ears, listening to your hyperventilating breaths and quiet sobs from above him, and he knows you know he’s home. 

He sighs, gently taking his time to return upstairs where he knows you’re attempting- and failing- to hide your distress from him. It’s okay, though. He knows you’ll be fine…. Eventually.

His footsteps are loud against the wooden steps, each soft thud drawing you to take several deep breaths to hide your emotions.

When he does arrive at the door of your shared room, you falsify reading a nearby book, one that had been placed on your bedside table.

“Oh! Mitsuhide! How was work?”

Your voice is falsely peppy for someone who had been crying just moments before, and it takes him two large steps to reach where you now sat on the bed. 

Gently and wordlessly, he wrenches the book from your hand and close it, returning it back to the table, before pulling you into a standing position.

And he draws you in, wrapping his arms around you as your face is pressed into his shoulder. You freeze as he hushes you, before collapsing against his arms in a shuddering mess.

Your tears gnaw at his heart, though he lets you wet his shoulder until your sobs slow to a stop.

When it does, he removes you from his shoulder and cups your face in his hands, thumbs wiping at the tear marks on your otherwise red cheeks. It’s embarrassing, he knows, but he won’t tease you. Not now, when you’re hurting. Not now, when he’s hurting because you are.

“Look at you, Darling. To think you would ask about my day when clearly yours was abysmal!”

Your lips curl upwards slightly, thinking about how incredulous it sounds, hiding your cheeks behind locks of hair.

But he just places a chaste kiss on your lips, before taking a seat beside you on the bed and drawing your shoulder and ear to his chest. His fingers run through your hair soothingly.

“When you’re ready, I’ll listen. When you’re ready, I’ll ensure whatever happens to you won’t happen again. I promise.”

[shirtlesssammy]

2x08: Crossroad Blues

Welcome to this season’s real hellatus! We’ve got a little theme for the episodes we’re recapping. Try and guess what it is :D Also, we have some good news and bad news. Good news: We’re going to do a whole week of recaps towards the end of the break! Yay! Bad news: They’re all episodes that we hate. We need to get them off our recap plate before the show ends. Enjoy the hellatus (*crying noise*).

Then:

Sam Winchester, professional puppy dog

Now:

Greenwood, Mississippi

August, 1938

Robert Johnson plays Crossroads Blues on a stage to a crowd at a bar. He briefly hears growls but continues to play. He stops again when he sees shadows race outside. The crowd looks confused. Robert runs outside after hearing barks. He races to a shed, but the unseen source of the barking follows him. He kneels to await his fate. 

The door bursts open to find a woman and two men from the bar. The men run to find help and the woman pleads with Robert to stay with her as he mutters, “Dogs, black dogs.” He dies in her arms. 

Sam and Dean are at a diner and Sam’s researching how much of an outlaw Dean is. Sam is upset because it’s going to make their job harder now that the feds have them on their radar. Well, they have Dean on their radar. Dean thinks Sam is jealous. 

Sam’s got a case. An architect jumped off a building he designed, after calling animal control about seeing wild black dogs in his condo. 

There’s a ton of lore on black dogs. Dean brings the real insight to the situation when he tells Sam, “Bet they could hump the crap out of your leg.” AND I MISS THIS DEAN SO MUCH SOME DAYS. 

They interview Gunner Lawless his business partner under the guise of writing a tribute for Architectural Digest. His partner is resentful but admits that the man was a genius. He wasn’t always that way though. He wonders why people with true talent die young. 

The brothers’ next stop is at an area animal shelter. Dean flirts his way into learning more about black dogs in the area. Dean Bean got Carly’s MySpace address too. 

They next head to interview all the people that reported the black dogs. The first on their list is Dr. Sylvia Pearlman. She hasn’t been home in two days. Dean notes that she’s chief of surgery at her hospital, a position she’s had for ten years. She’s only about 42, so she’s very young for that position. They also find a connection to their vic and the doctor. They both visited a place called Lloyd’s Bar. 

Meanwhile, the doctor is hiding out in an early season dingy motel room. She’s frazzled and petrified when someone knocks on the door. The motel staff is there demanding money for another night’s stay. She grabs her money and turns to the man in the door,  only to see his face warp unnaturally. 

The boys find Lloyd’s Tavern next. On the cross road outside the joint, Dean notices yarrow flowers growing alongside the road. These flowers are used for summoning rituals. They put things together and start digging a hole in the middle of the crossroads. They find a tin with various items in it.

People have been summoning and making deals with a demon. “Y’know cause that always ends good.” EAT YOUR WORDS DEAN. Sam says that these people aren’t seeing black dogs, they’re seeing hell hounds. 

Meanwhile, the doctor meets her end with a visit from her own date with the hell hounds. 

Rosedale, Mississippi

1930

We witness Robert Johnson make his crossroads deal with a demon. 

Sam notes that whatever they’re dealing with is a lot like the Robert Johnson lore. Dean notes that Johnson’s music is full of references to hell hounds, demon deals, and the occult. Dean’s barely-tolerating-this-bullshit eyeroll is truly a wonder. (Objectification Sidenote: Damn, Dean’s pretty in this scene.) 

Anyway, they have a picture of another person that made a deal, George Darrow. They head to where he lives. They notice pepper on the doorsill. George answers his door but doesn’t want anything to do with them. They reveal that they know about the supernatural and tell him they want to help. Sam asks about the pepper and George tells them that it’s actually goofer dust. It keeps out demons.

George talks about making his deal and reveals that the demon stayed around Lloyd’s for a week making deals with other people. George mentions the architect and doctor. There’s one other person that also made a deal ten years prior, a man named Evan Hudson. George is resigned to his fate and tells the brothers to leave. 

Evan Hudson works in his home office late at night and flinches at hell hound barks. His wife peeks in before she heads off on a trip. 

As she’s bidding him farewell, her face warps into a dead zombie howl. WHEE HALLUCINATIONS!

Sam and Dean arrive at Evan’s house. Dean opens with asking about Lloyd’s Bar, and Evan immediately slams the door in his face and retreats into his home. That went well! Dean kicks down the door and I’m FINE WITH THIS and not objectifying him at all.

The Winchesters corner Evan in his office. Yes, he knows hell hounds are coming for his soul. Dean’s bitterly dismissive of Evan’s distress, joking about potentially frivolous reasons for him to bargain his soul away. Evan reveals that his wife was dying of cancer, and he made a deal for her health. While Sam melts into a puppy-eyed puddle, Dean still reacts to this with anger. “You ever think about her in all this?” Dean asks. “I think you did this for yourself. So you wouldn’t have to live without her. Well guess what? She’s gonna have to live without you now.”  

Dean’s anger is...counterproductive. So Sam pulls Dean away and they consult in the hall. Dean instructs Sam to spread George’s goofer dust around while he high tails it to the crossroads to summon himself a demon. He’ll exorcise it, and that will buy them a little time. Sam calls this out as a reckless plan and speculates that Dean’s only doing it because he thinks their dad made a deal. “What if he struck a deal?” Dean asks. “My life for his soul?” OH this SWEET EMOTIONAL TORTURE! He heads out to summon the demon.

Dean buries his offering in the crossroad and turns around to find a woman smirking at him. She’s a crossroads demon! They take turns objectifying each other and then Dean invites her to meet in his car for a little privacy. Classic serial killer pickup line. 

Dean tells the demon his terms. He wants Evan released from his deal and he’ll barter himself for it. “You’d sacrifice yourself for someone else?” she says with a devilish smile. “Like father, like son.” 

DRAMATIC MUSIC BREAK

The demon gleefully taunts Dean about John’s deal. When Dean tries to usher her into his car, she balks at the edges of the devil’s trap she sees peeking out from under Baby. Nice try, Dean Bean!

Meanwhile, Evan does his best dramatic chipmunk (prairie dog) impression. 

The hell hounds are now growling from INSIDE THE HOUSE! Sam and Evan watch the doors warily. 

While the hounds close in, Dean gets emotionally traumatized by the demon. (Side note, her breath is visible in this scene and she’s wearing a short sleeved, thin dress. I’m cold in sympathy.) She taunts him about his man-pain and terrible guilt about John’s death. She has the power to bring back John. Dean seems...interested.

The hell hound at Evan’s house stops rattling the door and the room goes silent for a moment until...the hound bursts through the ventilation grate! What a smart doggo!

Dean wants to learn more about the potential to bring back his dad and mopes under a wooden structure until the demon joins him there. She tells him she can give him a ten year deal: John’s life for Dean’s, and they get ten years together before Dean heads below. She plays Dean like a fiddle, and we get a callback to Dean’s feelings in Faith - that he’s not supposed to be alive. Dean experiences VERY LARGE EMOTIONS before wandering out of the structure. “You think you could throw in a set of steak knives?” He directs her attention upward, where he’s painted a devil’s trap on the underside of the structure. What a smart Dean Bean! Excellent misdirection. 

Dean reels off HIS deal: Evan lives, and the demon goes free. If she doesn’t strike a deal, she gets exorcised. (Which is SO embarrassing amirite?) 

Dean starts the exorcism and it starts a fierce wind to howling. The wind gusts into Evan’s house and blows away Sam’s goofer dust circle. Sam and Evan run for safety. The hell hound barks fiercely...until it doesn’t.

Cut to Dean angry-kissing the demon. A kiss seals the deal (apparently all demons like to slip a little tongue). (Insert crack headcanon that this is Crowley in an alternate vessel, when he first gets heart eyes for Dean.)

The demon tells Dean that her word is her bond, but if Dean breaks their deal then the first thing she’ll do when she escapes Hell is tear into Evan like he’s wet paper.

The demon can’t resist one parting shot. Dean should’ve taken the deal. John Winchester’s torture is unimaginably bad. Dean charges for her, the demon smokes out, and Dean’s left with a scared woman in the middle of the crossroads and way too many feelings.

Driving away, Sam and Dean listen to the blues and contemplate John’s deal. Sam tries to focus on the people John saved, but Dean’s stuck in a sadness pit of his own making. Sam asks him if he considered actually making the deal. Dean doesn’t answer, instead just turning the music up.

Oh, Dean.

The Quotes Bark at Midnight:

Dude, I'm like Dillinger or something

I bet they could hump the crap outta your leg

MySpace, what the hell is that?

Somebody goes over Niagara in a barrel, you gonna jump in and try to save 'em?

You're lucky I've got a soft spot for lost puppies and long faces

Want to read more? Check out our Recap Archive! 

[omnislaught]

@magitekelite asked :

pls talk about kefka's upbringing in vector and when you approximate that he might have started to have grander designs beyond the empire's conquests . it's for ( MAGITEK ) science !

(  do not reblog .    none  of  my  headcanons  are  for  fandom  purposes ,  but  for  my  writing  /  worldbuilding  reference .  )

the  fanon  theories  that  kefka’s  origin  involve  being  an  orphan  is  common .  it makes sense , too . but that  isn’t the direction  that i personally wanted to take in regards to kefka & who he is . not like mine is any more or less canonical than others’  ( i’m still in the speculation zone , after all ) , but that was common take that had been done before by other writers , other interpretations .  i wanted to try something different .

kefka’s family was involved in the gestahlian empire for many years .  he was born in a noble house with high imperial presence .  raised in a house that valued military practice & imperial ideals had left little time for kefka to be a child .  the only child .

palazzo . palace . 

kefka’s parents were heavily involved in the empire , be that its literal design ( in the case of his father , as imperial architect )   or its inner workings  ( like his mother , who served as a general before the magitek knight studies began ) .  alighiero ,  kefka’s  father ,  had spent many hours away from the palazzo home , due to his work in the empire . alighiero had been the main designer ( with a heaping of gestahl’s own input , to bring his dreams of an opulent , steam-powered , clockwork palace to life ; the imperial palace of vector had gone through a few changes in appearances over the years   ) , and had his own team of assistants who helped in a number of tasks . however , as the work of alighiero was admired throughout the country , he was oftentimes called to other cities to provide work & oversight to architectural projects . alighiero was rarely home , leaving his son kefka under the watchful eyes of servants , nannies & tutors of the empire . as with most of the higher-ups of the empire , housing is provided at the palace , if need be , for their talents to remain at hand . alighiero would stay at the palace , rather than returning home . the same is usually the same for kefka’s mother , denisa , whose place within the empire was beside emperor gestahl as an entrusted & practiced general .

alighiero had left kefka a number of books & some of his tools , set aside in case he had wanted to follow in his footsteps & choose the same career . studying only a few aspects of architecture , kefka never truly picked up the profession . but his skills as a draftsman are quite good . he enjoyed drawing & drafting as a child . a point of interest here is that he possesses a drafted version of the layouts of the vector palace & any other subsequent buildings of significance . they were somewhat of a keepsake , but now , kefka has since lost interest in their sentimental value .  he has no qualms  about destroying his father’s works .

denisa , born of jidoor , was oftentimes absent from her son’s life , as well . leader of raids , attacks , trainer of troops , valued for her military strategy . denisa was a focused , level-headed woman . the choice to have a child was agreed upon by both of them after some time of marriage . denisa & alighiero had a stable relation , but spent many days & nights  apart  from one another . while not estranged by any means , there were times when their relation felt a bit of a strain due to this fact . however , denisa was actively vocal about being a part of kefka’s life . though she had a stoic personality on the field of battle , she cared for her son deeply & wished to see him succeed . denisa wishes she could have spent more time with him as a child . she had fuelled his pursuit of military action & encouraged kefka to practice swordsmanship . she was the one who had taught him how to wield a dagger properly ,  how to kill the enemy discreetly .

kefka had spent most of his childhood  alone  & without his parent’s guidance firsthand . many times , he felt lonely . he’d wished he could’ve gone to a regular school as opposed to receiving an education at home , but it was supposed that he was jealous of the other children . despite that fact , he did view himself as higher up than most , regarding his situation . a lot of a more haughty attitude was instilled in kefka’s mind ,  becoming more & more spoiled of a figure in his childhood development . even as a young boy , he had begun to fancy his clothes of nobility & the delicious foods . during the yule season , when his parents were allocated breaks & rest , he was taken to the jidoor opera house as a gift .

at his mother’s request , when he was finished with satisfactory marks in his education ( mathematics , imperial history , literature & writing , mythology of the world , sciences , music & the arts ) ,  he was sent to military academy in his early teenaged years . it is here that he met leo christophe , already a few years kefka’s senior & advanced in his training ( the canonical guidebooks state otherwise , that leo is actually younger than kefka ... but i say Fuck That ! my empire now  ) .

the idea of kefka wanting to ascend to greater heights comes later on in his life , after he’s been engulfed in the empire for so many years . his relationship with gestahl deteriorates from numerous ways ; instead of looking to the man in fear as a child , he has come to hate the emperor , possibly more than anyone else .  resentment .  anger .  how gestahl had twisted the world around him & others to make it how he sees fit .  in a sense , kefka had wanted a part of that power .  he is greedy , power - hungry . after a life of living quietly aside the grandeur of others , kefka had become envious . of celes & how she was a successful experiment .  of how the people , purely out of fear , listened to gestahl .  whatever taste of fear that gestahl had instilled into the public , kefka had always wanted that sort of power .  he never wanted to be loved as such .

had wanted .  because there came a time when kefka desired  nothing  at all .  when kefka had realized that everything & everyone was worthless ;  that the world would be a better place emptied . some time after his magitek experimentation , all of these feelings came to surface . kefka suffered a number of breakdowns ,  which lead to hospitalizations under the care of the imperial doctors . lacking ( perhaps , refusing ) proper care & guidance , kefka chose to enact on his own feelings . slowly cultivated . growing more & more  bored / disgusted  in the imperial war rooms , listening to the other generals & gestahl’s ideas .

he wanted something ... different now . but he would keep it to himself .

edit :  thank you , kaycee , for bringing up the aspect of kefka’s family being intimately tied to the construction of the the imperial palace .  kefka , who knows everything about the palace , including secret rooms & passages that no others would figure out . seems i missed that little detail while writing this up ! 

[kounkibou]

HC: Nagito’s Parents

After a lot of encouraging from friends and followers, I’m actually going to make this post. It’s something that I’ve alluded to a few times in posts and replies, but I’ve never said outright. I’m aware it’s a “hot take” among people who RP Nagito, and that’s why I’ve been hesitant.

It’s my RP blog, though, so I can do what I want.

So let’s do this. Let’s talk about Nagito’s parents and his relationship with them.

One of the first things I do when I take on a character is think about their upbringing and what sort of things they went through. With Nagito, a lot of it was put out there in his FTEs. He glosses over most of his traumatic experiences, but we can tell that’s just how he deals with stressful situations. He’s been through so many of them that his coping mechanism is to hope for something good afterward, to count on his luck to give him something in return for the misfortune.

I mention this because stating something like watching your parents die horribly in front of you in a matter-of-fact way with a smile just shows how traumatic it was for him.

The hot take in this headcanon is simple. Nagito’s parents loved him, and he loved them. I understand where the opposite comes from as Nagito in the first trial says (Full Disclosure: this is taken from Ultimate Luck and Hope and Despair but he says pretty much the same thing in game.) “I’ve never received a compliment for my appearance before. Not even from my own mother.” I’ve actually noticed that this is really more of a trend in the English-speaking audience as most Japanese artists I’ve seen imply a good relationship with them. I’m not sure if it’s a translation thing because I don’t know enough Japanese to read the text or understand the audio, but it’s something to think about.

My problem with this is it’s such an offhanded comment, and he doesn’t elaborate on it in his FTEs. In fact, from those FTEs, we can infer the opposite. This is something my good friend Nova ( @theultimatemusemess​ ) pointed out to me way back. If Nagito’s parents didn’t love him, why would they take him on a vacation with them? They could afford for someone to look after him while they were gone. If they really didn’t care, they could even just leave him by himself.

I know quite a bit about wills and/or transferring belongings after death, but not much about how it works in other places. However, Nagito received all of their wealth and possessions. We could put this up to inheritance laws designating the child to be the recipient of properties, and Nagito has no other living relatives. However, these two were wealthy. I imagine they either of their own volition or under someone’s advice put a will in place.

Nagito says that his inheritance gave him independence, which is scary considering how young he must have been. He says he was in elementary school. That gives us an age of 6-12. No matter how you swing it, that’s young to be living on your own.

Why does this matter? Nagito was little when his parents died. That’s a large span of age possibilities. Depending on how young he was, he might not remember a lot of his life before. His parents’ death was a big event. Anything before that pales in comparison. Plus, Nagito has lost so many people, he tries to distance himself from everyone. I imagine he tries to belittle his attachment to his parents to protect himself from the grief.

To put it simply, as I said in my tags, Nagito isn’t a reliable narrator in his own story.

That’s all of the canon and albeit limited research I have to offer to excuse my reasoning. Now, let’s get on to the actual headcanon part. I’m going to introduce you guys to Nagito’s parents, who I lovingly put together as I do parents for most of my muses.

All I have as references are doll makers. (This one specifically) In the future, I’m hoping to have actual references for them, but for now, we have this.

Nagito’s Mother

Here’s the ref sheet that I put together for her. It includes a quick rundown of information as well. Note: For both of them, I took colors for skin/hair/etc. from Nagito himself.

As it says on the tin, Miwako is a real estate agent. She’s high up in a particular agency that deals with foreign properties and buyers. As a consequence, she travels quite a bit and speaks several languages. If the agency is experiencing a problem, they ask her to resolve it as she notices details and remembers things that others put in the back of their minds. She’s been known to work herself too hard and fall asleep where she drops. 

On the outside, Miwako is stone faced and looks like she’s locked on and ready to kill. It comes in handy when she’s working, but it hinders her in her social life. She cares about other people and their well-being. It’s just...hard for her to convey that properly. The only people who can easily do that are her husband, son, and close friends.

The only problem is her work doesn’t leave a lot of time for her child, who she loves very much. She carries pictures of Nagito on her person and goes from :| to :D when asked about him. Think of Maes Hughes pulling out tons of pictures of his daughter, and you have a good vision of how Miwako feels about Nagito.

One thing Miwako loves is reading. She funds a local library and donates books once she’s finished with them. Her favorite way to bond with Nagito is to read to him, starting his love of literature. Sometimes, she enlists her husband to do silly voices so they can all spend time together. A few times, she’s accidentally read Nagito bits from her own book (sleepily) before opening a children’s book when she gets in bed. Oops.

It was Miwako’s idea to get a dog. Since both of them worked so much, they wanted their son to have a companion while they were gone. Thus, they got Taiki shortly after Nagito was born. He ended up being keeping track of Nagito, who, as I’ll touch on in another headcanon post, got into trouble and got lost frequently. This stressed both parents out because that’s their baby and he ends up in these terrifying situations too often for comfort.

Miwako is really a nice person. She just finds it hard to communicate with others on a personal level. She loves her family, but she doesn’t have a lot of time for them.

Nagito’s Father

Kozei is an interesting character. His specialty is medical research, something that he got an interest in as he grew older and watched parents, grandparents, etc. decline in health. He wanted to come up with ways to help ease the pain of aging and improve everyone’s quality of life. 

Partially because of his family name and partially because of his own abilities, he rose up in the ranks and ended up at the top. This is something he isn’t always happy about because he hates doing paperwork and going through valid procedures. He also prefers to do things on his own rather than having other people do them for him. Kozei ends up doing actual work more often than his fellow big-wigs would like. He’s dedicated to his work and truly believes in it.

Personality-wise, Kozei is a bit of an airhead. He seems lazy on the surface, not always dressing formally or caring about his appearance. Getting him to brush his hair is an ordeal. He likes to make jokes and keep things lighthearted, one of the ways he was able to break through Miwako’s tough exterior. He’s a little forgetful sometimes, but when it comes down to it, he’ll remember small things like a person’s favorite color or a food they said they liked one time in passing.

Kozei’s work schedule is just as heavy as Miwako’s, but he gets home earlier and doesn’t have to travel as much. Some days when he feels bad about leaving his kid, he takes Nagito with him and sits him at his desk in his own special chair with crayons and paper. Kozei has so many drawings up in his office, and he’s proud of them. His son made those.

He has the more excited personality out of the two. Kozei’s thing is science. Anything science. Chemistry, biology, physics, you name it. He loves scientific advances and will nerd out about them. He’ll lay in bed late at night and talk Miwako’s ear off about something cool that she doesn’t understand. He’ll explain astrophysics to five-year-old Nagito, who just thinks he’s talking funny and laughs.

If you need someone to pick up your spirits, Kozei is your guy. If he believes in something, he believes in it ride or die, and that includes your friendship as well as his medical research.

Kozei and Miwako’s Relationship

How did these two meet? Simply put, Miwako sold Kozei’s father property, and since Kozei’s father was trying to involve him in his affairs as preparation for the future, he was there. They got to know one another, and on the last day they were going to interact, Kozei asked Miwako if she’d like to meet up sometime...possibly over dinner. At first, she had this face like “Are you serious?” but he did this thing where he gestured expectantly at her with this goofy grin that gradually got more nervous as the silence went on. Something about that tickled her funny bone, and she lost it. This nerd was asking her out, and he obviously knew how much of a stretch it was. She had to say yes, you know? He made her laugh.

They actually dated for a few years since their schedules made it hard to meet up a lot. After a few months, Kozei was on board for the long haul, ready to make the big commitment. Miwako was the more cautious one about things, wanting to feel it out before getting too caught up in the romance. He proposed to her after taking her to the same restaurant they went on their first date. (Obvious Spoiler: She said yes.)

They were fairly set financially, and they both wanted to have a child. However, it took quite awhile for pregnancy to happen. Miwako isn’t the best at doing romantic things, so the way she told Kozei was really just...

Miwako: *walks out* Hey, I’m pregnant. Kozei: Oh. Kozei: Wait what?!

As a couple, they have an open, honest relationship. If they have issues, they talk to one another and make sure they’re both on the same page before talking about doing anything big. Kozei tries to make Miwako laugh when she gets stressed. Miwako lets her guard down in front of him because she trusts him, and he’s a sweetheart. If asked, Kozei would tell you that his wife does most of the hard work and is a genius. He’s her biggest fan.

They’re honestly just really supportive of each other and will do anything to make sure the other is happy.

Nagito & His Parents

Like any new parents, they weren’t experts. They did some kind of silly things. Kozei may or may not have forgotten in a sleepy haze to put Baby Nagito in his crib, and the two of them may have had an exchange something like:

Kozei: Where's the baby? Miwako: I gave him to you. Kozei: shIT! NAGITO WHERE ARE YOU? Miwako: HE'S A BABY! HE'S NOT GONNA ANSWER!

The two of them find him later comfortably on a cushion that fell on the floor.

Because they work so much, they had to arrange for someone to care for Nagito while they were away. They had housekeepers and other staff to help who they paid well for their efforts. (They could certainly afford to, and they weren’t stingy with their money.) A lot of Nagito’s time was spent with a caretaker, but when his parents were home, they doted on him. They loved him very much. Nagito thought the world of them. He couldn’t wait for his parents to get home so he could tell them about his day.

They taught him as much as they could, and he learned some of their behaviors. A lot of Nagito’s body language mirrors Miwako’s, and his excitement about things he’s passionate about reflects Kozei’s. They weren’t in his life for long, but he had a close bond with them. They spent time with him and took him fun places when they had days off so they could all bond.

I wanted to compile some of the funny scenarios I’ve thought of, so here’s a one.

Kozei: Your mother works hard. Without her, I'd be some idiot rambling about science and probably homeless. Nagito: But science is cool. Kozei: I KNOW RIGHT?!

Another where Miwako is teaching Nagito what to do in case of an emergency.

Miwako: What would you do if you found me or your father on the floor and we wouldn't wake up? Nagito: Go to the kitchen and eat whatever I want. Kozei: *snorting*

And one last one after Miwako actually cooks dinner.

Miwako: How was it? Nagito: *not impressed* It tasted bad. Kozei: That's very mean. She went through all the trouble to cook for you. Say something nice about it. Nagito: Thanks, Mama, for trying.

These are just examples of the dynamic and how they’re pretty normal parents.

Their Death

I did way too much research about this vacation they went on. I looked at the location, what things people could do there, and what kind of flights needed to be taken. The last time I checked, it took...three different flights to get from Tokyo to San Cristóbal. (I can’t check right now flights right now are sketchy. Future Tiki who survived the pandemic, fact check me.) It’s a lot of flying.

There’s not a definitive answer as to whether this was right after they landed or right before they took off. I like to think it was the latter because I hate happiness. What’s better than a nice, fun vacation that ends with dead parents? (Heavy sarcasm.) I’m going to go with that.

The basics are that the plane was hijacked and a meteorite the size of a fist killed the hijackers and also Nagito’s parents. The truth of the situation is muddied mostly due to the fact that Nagito only provides that much information. He likely blocked out that memory and is going off of what he’s been told. This is just my take on it, but I imagine his information is so, for lack of a better word, flat because he doesn’t want to remember the situation first hand. His explanation is like that of an outsider, not someone who was there in real time. That and he was a child. (For the record, I place him at about 7 or 8.)

My interpretation of events is as follows. The plane was hijacked still on the runway. The passengers are afraid. These two have a young child they want to protect. They were probably fairly close to the hijackers since we don’t have the details of anyone else being hurt in this situation, though I do think it’s possible there were more.

In order to protect their child, maybe they tried to reason with the hijackers. Maybe they wanted to resolve things peacefully so everyone could go home and the hijackers could get a lesser punishment. Either way, both parties were killed, and Nagito became an orphan.

Now this child not even in double digits is in a different country, his parents just died in front of him, there’s strangers all over the place, and there’s a whole investigation likely happening. He’s terrified and alone. These people are talking around him, and a lot of what they’re saying doesn’t make sense. (Whether it’s the language barrier or just because he’s too young to understand doesn’t matter. Maybe it’s both.) Just imagine how scary that would be.

Imagine this tiny child saying he just wants his mom and dad and that he wants to go home. It’s heartbreaking.

How Nagito Copes With It

I’ve said it several times, but I’m going to put it all right here to make sure my thoughts are together.

Nagito tells Hajime that this event gave him his independence. It was one of the first incidents that showed him his “luck cycle” in action. In hindsight, he sees this event as more evidence that yes this is what’s happening. He looks back on it as a positive to protect himself. He was the last person left in his family, all alone. I like to imagine there were still people who worked in and around the home, but as a whole, he was by himself.

Without fully realizing it, as he grew older, Nagito ended up dealing with this grief by burying the happier memories. He built up this narrative that his parents were indifferent to him in order to avoid mourning them. The reason he doesn’t talk about them, what he says about his mother, how nonchalant he is when he mentions what happened? It’s his way of keeping himself safe. If he thinks of them as people who didn’t have an attachment to him, he won’t miss them. He won’t feel sad.

To put it simply, Nagito fabricated a narrative where his loving parents weren’t as loving in order to keep from feeling the pain of losing them and not having them there as he grew up.

There you have it. That’s the long, in-depth post about Nagito’s parents! If you read through the whole thing, thanks! I’m still nervous about posting it, so hit me up if you have any opinions or ideas or if you want me to talk more about things!

[cheshiresense]

Yet Another Time Travel AU ft. Ichigo With Fractured Memories + TBTP!Kisuke Falling In Love One Cryptic Hint At A Time [Headcanons 2]

[Headcanons 1]

By the time Kisuke makes it back to his division compound and has dismissed his Shinigami, another day and night has passed, it is way too early in the morning to be up, and Kisuke is in no mood to do anything except maybe get some answers and then hopefully get some sleep.

So of course – when Kisuke reaches his office – no one is there waiting for him, because life just can’t give him a break. He will never admit to the spike of panic that twists in his gut even while his mind rushes off in a dozen different directions, trying to figure out what’s happened. Have they been caught? Is Ichigo already standing before Central 46 or even locked up in the Maggots’ Nest or the Senzaikyū? But no, Kisuke can’t believe that. The boy has enough skill to come and go from a secure compound anytime he pleases; he would be even more careful when he has those two kids on the line. Shiba compound then? But he’d be hard-pressed to hide people for any length of time right in the heart of clan territory, and if he meant for Kaien to know, surely he would’ve lured his cousin and Clan Head out to District 64 instead of Kisuke. The girl was hurt but Kisuke doubts Ichigo would’ve taken her to the Fourth. Too many paper trails, too unique a case, too many gossiping mouths, all who work for a government that wouldn’t bat an eye before tossing all three into the Nest. So, what’s left?

It really only takes another moment after that. Impossible, he thinks, because unlike his squad compound, his private labs are far more secure, under the lock and key of his own personally designed seals. But even as he thinks it, he’s already flash-stepping away in that direction, and when he arrives and finds the door ajar and the light switched on inside, he also thinks he should probably be a little more concerned than he actually is that Kurosaki Ichigo seems to have raised breaking-and-entering into an art form that even Kisuke would be hard-pressed to match.

He spares a moment to run a diagnostic scan on his seals, and he’s only mildly surprised to find almost every single ward neatly unravelled, not a single seal out of place, ready to be locked up again when the occupants depart. Only the blood ward is truly broken, shattered with a brute strength that Kisuke makes a note of for later. Blood wards are no good if someone with enough reiatsu can simply tear right through them. He’ll have to find either a way to fix that weakness or create a different ward entirely to compensate for it.

There’s also the little fact that Ichigo is apparently enough of a genius and somehow also knows Kisuke’s sealing style well enough to unlock all his other wards on the spot, but that’s a much harder problem to solve, and it gives him a headache when he thinks about it, so he puts it out of mind for now.

He steps inside and almost rolls his eyes when he finds that the little brats have broken into his instant ramen stash in the cupboards of his kitchenette. At least they washed the bowls before tossing them into the garbage. Rangiku and the white-haired boy – Kisuke should probably ask for a name soon – are fast asleep on the couch in the corner, but Ichigo is still awake, lying flat on his back on the floor for some reason and staring almost unblinkingly up at the ceiling.

Kisuke shuts the door behind him, shrugs out of his haori, and makes his way over to sit next to the boy. He waits for Ichigo to notice him, and he’s rewarded when brown eyes slide from the ceiling to his face, half-lidded and dazed.

“Your face is weird,” is the first thing Ichigo tells him, and Kisuke actually quirks a wry smile.

“You’re not the first to tell me that,” Kisuke says agreeably. He goes still when Ichigo reaches for him, stopping just shy of his left cheekbone, an inch below his eye.

“It’s weird,” Ichigo continues like he didn’t hear Kisuke at all. “I thought it looked weird when you first got them, and now I think it looks weird without them.” His fingers feather down the length of Kisuke’s cheek, so lightly that Kisuke barely feels the touch. He still tenses a little, unused to both contact and proximity, and yet he can’t seem to pull away.

“First got what?” Kisuke asks quietly and gets a slow blink in return.

“Your scars,” Ichigo says like it should be obvious. “They weren’t ugly or anything, just a little weird when I first saw you again afterwards. But you lost your eyes so she had to stitch them back together.” Kisuke feels a chill go down his spine. Ichigo’s hand falls away even as he smiles hazily up at Kisuke. “Try not to lose them again, okay? I mean you turned out fine, and that’s what matters, but it must’ve hurt, and some people made Frankenstein jokes behind your back later so I had to pick a lot of fights, cuz one, it’s Frankenstein’s monster, not Frankenstein, but also two,” His features twist into something fierce and protective and Kisuke forgets to breathe for a moment. “Nobody’s allowed to talk shit about you.”

He stops after that, for which Kisuke is grateful. He has to remind himself to breathe, even as the sheer impossibility of every word coming out of Ichigo’s mouth rings loud in his ears. Where is he even supposed to start? Benihime. Ichigo has to be talking about Benihime. But nobody except the few people who saw his Captain Proficiency Test and Yoruichi and Tessai know about his Bankai, and even then, only Yoruichi and Tessai know any of its abilities, and neither of them would talk about it to anyone else. And then there’s the mention of his eyes. His scars. Scars he doesn’t have. Scars he’s never had. He doesn’t understand.

Outwardly, once he regains some semblance of mental balance, he only offers a weak smile and a joke, “Defending my honour?” But even that turns out to be a mistake because he gets a brilliant grin in return, a little cheeky but warm in a way that almost makes Kisuke flinch. Ichigo looks infinitely more alive like this, more so than Kisuke’s ever seen him, and his answer is steady and sure and terrifyingly honest, “Always.”

There’s not much else to say on the topic after that. Kisuke doesn’t know how to react with anything except the overwhelming desire to run away, but he can’t do that, so he doesn’t react at all. And Ichigo doesn’t seem to expect anything from him because the bright awareness in his eyes fade away, and even now, bewilderingly enough, something in Kisuke mourns the loss. Ichigo rolls to his feet instead and makes his way over to the civilian kids still sleeping on the couch, and the awkward moment passes, much to Kisuke’s relief.

(He doesn’t forget though. But at least this way he can focus on something else for a while.)

The white-haired boy – Gin – proves to be exactly as much of a brat Kisuke thought he was, hovering and glaring as Kisuke pokes and prods at Rangiku to make sure she won’t keel over anytime soon. Her reiryoku still seems to oscillate at random times, but not as much and not as wildly. Now that he actually has the time and equipment on hand, the readings he gets of her reminds him a little of what happens when a Hollow devours a soul and leaves behind the body, except those three Shinigami couldn’t quite replicate that and instead only tore out part of the girl’s soul. It’s probably fortunate Ichigo happened upon them when he did; there’s no telling if the girl would’ve ever recovered, and even if she did, the loss of part of her soul probably would’ve damaged her permanently to the point where she would never have regained her original levels of reiryoku. Certainly, if she ever attempted to become a Shinigami, Shikai would’ve been difficult for her to achieve. Bankai, probably impossible.

As it is, the soul is a resilient thing, and with all the parts still there, if a bit… ragged, it’ll heal itself with some time. Kisuke is far more interested in who wanted it in the first place, how they’re doing it, and most importantly, what they want it for at all.

“So,” Kisuke asks once Gin and Rangiku have been packed off to Kisuke’s spare bedroom for a few more hours of sleep while he and Ichigo convene around one of Kisuke’s computers as he organizes all the latest data he’s gathered for his newest project. “You mentioned a wishing stone. And a boss. Would you like to clarify either of those points for me?”

Ichigo hums something tuneless under his breath. His legs swing a little from where they’re dangling over the edge of the desk, and his attention meanders around the room, following something only he could see.

“Kurosaki-san,” Kisuke prompts insistently, because at this point, he deserves to know. He’s been patient enough, hasn’t he? “You gave me your word.”

Ichigo’s brow knits into a frown, and his shoulders hunch as if he’s bracing himself against a blow, but he also finally mumbles, “Wishing stone. You make a wish and it grants you your heart’s desire, but you didn’t know at first cuz all you wanted was to figure out what would happen if the barrier between Shinigami and Hollow was broken down.” Kisuke freezes, and his mind jumps to the (highly illegal) project he only recently started. “He knew from the beginning though,” Ichigo continues in a rush. “But his wasn’t complete for a long long time. Or maybe a short time? How long is long for Shinigami? He failed though, no matter how many souls he fed it. You were smarter, even if you didn’t know what you really made. He needed to use yours instead. But it took him years and years before he could steal yours, years and years of feeding souls to his-”

His almost feverish rambling breaks off with a muffled cough. Kisuke glances up sharply, and then he’s on his feet in an instant when he spots the fresh blood trickling from Ichigo’s nose and the way he’s pressing the palm of one hand to his temple, eyes scrunched in pain.

“Kurosaki-san!” Kisuke scrambles for something clean amongst the clutter on his desk and finally comes up with a hand towel. Ichigo blinks dizzily at him, swaying a little, but he lets Kisuke dab at his nosebleed, and he doesn’t resist when Kisuke – after a moment of hesitation – scoops him up and deposits him over on the couch instead where he at least has something to lean against.

“I did not know you were-” Kisuke pauses and then amends, “Are you sick?” Because he thinks of all the things he’s heard even just in the short time he’s known Ichigo, all the things Ichigo shouldn’t know but does anyway, and has offered to Kisuke in bits and pieces, hints and riddles and bald-faced truths so outrageous Kisuke should be shipping him to the Nest or at least the Fourth, not indulging him, not wanting to know more, and certainly not believing him. And an illness would explain it, wouldn’t it? A sickness in the head or whatever this is. But no, that doesn’t account for everything, and yet Kisuke’s mind still rebels a little at the niggling suspicion that’s starting to creep into his thoughts.

Ichigo only smiles wanly at him, gone pale in a way that makes the bags under his eyes stand out, and Kisuke ends up biting back all the other questions still pushing against his teeth. Maybe captaincy’s made him soft. He really should be interrogating Ichigo some more, or honestly, interrogating him period, not asking and coaxing and nudging for answers that mostly just give him even more questions in the end. But he’s pushed already, a little bit, and this – somehow – this was the result, and it makes him… leery of pushing too hard again.

(He’s broken people before. He doesn’t think he wants to see what Ichigo looks like broken. Or maybe more broken would be more accurate, considering Ichigo’s state of mind most of the time.)

So he sighs instead and rises to his feet to fix them both some tea. At least Ichigo’s told him a little more, however confusing the information was. Kisuke is looking into dissolving the barrier between a Shinigami and a Hollow - he wants to know what would happen – but… a wishing stone? Capable of granting any wish? Kisuke doesn’t even know where to begin to make that happen. Either way though, according to Ichigo, someone has already made what Kisuke will make, only an… incomplete version perhaps, and so they’re looking to steal Kisuke’s own research. Or… will be stealing it, once he finishes? And somehow, Ichigo knows ahead of time. Somehow.

Kisuke doesn’t know why he believes the boy at all. Most people probably wouldn’t, even if he has been correct all the other times he’s brought something to Kisuke’s attention. But Kisuke’s never been the sort of man to disbelieve something just because it seems impossible or isn’t logical or lacks hard proof. For all that he values scientific research and analytical study and rational thought, he’s always considered impossibilities to merely be the limits of a mind that can grow no further. Impossible, only until someone makes it possible.

He returns to Ichigo’s side and eases the cup of tea into the boy’s hands. He has questions, so many questions, but… he supposes they can wait.

For the time being, Kisuke shuffles Gin and Rangiku into a storage-room-hastily-turned-bedroom above a small but decently skilled tailoring shop and… persuades the owner to hire them on in exchange for room and board and a bit of pocket change on the side. Gin starts running deliveries while Rangiku helps out with the requests for repairs and alterations that come in fairly frequently, although neither child accepts their new lot in life until Ichigo swings by again and gives them a vague okay.

How rude. It’s like they don’t trust Kisuke at all.

“It’s the captain’s haori,” Ichigo tells him sagely. “And Shinigami uniform. They don’t trust any Shinigami right now.” And alright, Kisuke supposes that’s fair.

They talk about enrolling the kids into the Academy, but Kisuke isn’t sure whether Rangiku was the target or just randomly chosen, but if it was the former, then whoever was behind the attempted soul-theft might still be looking for her, and considering that person had Shinigami at his command – and high-ranking Shinigami at that – Kisuke is pretty confident that the new enemy he’s made – will make? – is also a Shinigami, and a strong one too.

(He meets up with the other captains for drinks a few more times in the following months, mostly whenever Shinji invites him. Before, he didn’t much care what they thought of him, and he never took much notice of them beyond noting down the faces of who he shares a rank with these days and absently memorizing random embarrassing secrets they let slip when they’re too drunk to keep their mouths shut. Now he watches them like they’re potential targets, keeps an eye out for anyone who might be watching him a little too closely in return, and he’s very careful not to get even slightly tipsy in front of them anymore. Even Shinji’s friendliness – previously slightly uncomfortable but also a bit of a relief to know that Kisuke hasn’t alienated all his colleagues right off the bat without even trying – has taken on a more suspicious undertone to his paranoia. Those Shinigami Ichigo killed were Fifth Division after all. Only Yoruichi is exempt.)

Besides, Rangiku isn’t fully recovered yet, so for now, keeping them close and away from excess attention is for the best.

“Not yet,” Ichigo agrees in one of his more lucid moments, with Gin and Rangiku there under the guise of delivering Kisuke’s newly mended spare training shirts. “He probably won’t figure out what really happened but he did know your squad was nearby taking care of some Hollows, and if two new students appear in the Academy right after, he might investigate.”

“And who is this ‘he’?” Gin asks, pale blue eyes intent on Ichigo’s face. He huffs when Ichigo only repeats, “Not yet,” but he also sighs even before Rangiku shoots him a quelling look and goes back to threading a needle for her. Rangiku takes it once he’s done and fusses over the frayed cuff of Ichigo’s sleeve for the next twenty minutes.

“I thought nobles were s’posed ta be rich,” Gin remarks. “Doesn’t your clan give ya new clothes?”

Ichigo shrugs. “Yeah.” And doesn’t say anything else.

Gin hums noncommittally and shares one of his dried persimmons with him. Kisuke almost rolls his eyes when the boy pointedly makes no move to offer him the same.

Kisuke pulls out his project on Shinigami and Hollows and their respective souls. He knows – kind of – that someone will be coming after the finished product, and he reasons that he might as well use it as a trap, and in the meantime, he’ll be able to learn a lot more about all three subjects too. And maybe a part of him also likes the idea of succeeding in creating something so powerful, when another has already failed.

He spends two and a half weeks in a spiralling research binge because he doesn’t have Yoruichi to drag him back out anymore, and he loses time and forgets everything else because that’s just how he is when he buries himself too deeply into his research. He does doze off now and then, but only for minutes at a time, his mind continuing its work on a problem or equation the second he wakes again. He eats too, but only what he has in his lab, when his stomach provides a loud enough reminder which isn’t often, and his snacks aren’t anything healthy anyway, nor do they last for long.

Two and a half weeks, and then Ichigo comes and digs him out of his labs. By the time the boy slams down a tray crammed full of very strongly flavoured tea and a full dinner spread right on top of his notes, Kisuke is light-headed with hunger and lack of sleep and he actually has to take a full minute to blink the blur of words out of his eyes before finally registering the food in front of him.

“You need to eat and sleep,” Ichigo tells him bluntly.

Kisuke has to remember how to move his tongue before he manages to mumble, “I want to finish this bit first…” He trails off, ready to dive back into one of the theories he’s been chasing down. Half a blink and a dizzying moment of vertigo later, Ichigo’s hauled him out of his chair and carried him over to the tiny living area. He doesn’t even have time to sit somewhat upright before the food is there too and tea is being shoved into his hands.

“You need to eat and sleep,” Ichigo repeats, and he doesn’t move and doesn’t let Kisuke move until he finishes at least two-thirds of the tray and is drooping sideways as bone-deep exhaustion finally catches up with him. He’s only dimly aware of being carted off to his bedroom where a futon is already laid out, even less aware of being tucked into bed like a child, and then he’s out like a light for the next forty-eight hours.

When he wakes again, he’s feeling far more rested and far more hungry. Luckily, there’s a bowl of rice and curry waiting for him on the counter, with a note on top that tells him to eat, shower, change, and then come up to his office for actual sunlight. Apparently, he also triggered a silent alarm seal the second he walked out of his room so Ichigo will know if he tries to return to his research. When Kisuke takes a peek into his lab, there are Kidou cages glowing everywhere, boxing up everything from stacks of notes he has almost no memory of writing to every last one of his computers. When he touches one of the barriers, an angry face with stick arms wielding two swords appears on the translucent surface and bobs up and down in warning. It startles a huff of laughter out of Kisuke but also makes him terribly curious about how Ichigo managed to create something like this. He doesn’t think even Tessai knows, but then again, Tessai’s not exactly one to experiment with new Kidou seals for something so… trivial.

Kisuke’s pretty sure he can break the barriers, but he has no doubt Ichigo will be as good as his word, so instead, he eats, showers, changes, and then heads upstairs. He’s surprised Ichigo isn’t waiting for him in his office. He is surprised to find Hiyori parked right outside the door, paperwork spread across the floor, and looking fit to murder the moment her eyes land on him.

“WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?!” She roars, leaping to her feet, and for someone so small, Kisuke still marvels at her lung capacity. “I’VE HAD TO DO TWICE AS MUCH WORK CUZ YOU HAVEN’T BEEN AROUND! MISSIONS ARE BACKED UP BECAUSE THEY DON’T HAVE YOUR STUPID SIGNATURE ON THE FILES AND THE NINTH’S BEEN HOUNDING US BECAUSE WE HAVEN’T BEEN GETTING THE PAPERWORK IN ON TIME AND NOBODY’S BEEN HAPPY CUZ PAYCHECKS WERE SUPPOSED TO GO OUT LAST WEEK AND THEY DIDN’T! YOU’RE A CAPTAIN NOW, YOU CAN’T JUST SKIP OUT TO DO YOUR OWN THING AND ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO ME, YOU ASSHOLE??!!!”

Kisuke is, sort of. He listens to his lieutenant’s complaints with half an ear as he sweeps into his office and eyes his desk with no little dismay upon finding it half buried under unfinished paperwork. He opens the windows to let in some air and get rid of the musty smell, and his gaze flicks for just a fraction of a second to the mostly hidden camera fly nesting in the leaves of the tree outside. When he turns back, Hiyori is muttering resentfully, “-and if you were gonna send someone to help out anyway, why didn’t you do it earlier?”

Kisuke pauses for only a moment between shuffling aside some folders before offering an oblivious smile. “I forgot.”

One of these days, Hiyori’s probably going to burst a blood vessel working for him.

“I hate you.” She hisses, eyes spitting fire. “I hate you so much. Why are you even a captain?”

Most days, Kisuke would like to know that too.

“And how has my replacement been doing?” He asks instead a he goes back to trying to make some sense of everything on his desk, blithely ignoring the way Hiyori’s hands are clenching like she wants to strangle him. “It doesn’t look like-” He takes an educated guess. “-Shiba-san has done any of my paperwork.”

Hiyori looks positively scornful. “There’s no point when they need your signature, and there’s stuff in there that the captain actually needs to know. Besides, Shiba didn’t wanna do them anyway, and I can’t blame him. He helped me do last month’s budgeting though, and made sure everyone was paid with an added bonus on top, and he led some of the new officers through a couple training sessions.” She makes a face. “It’s weird as hell – he’s shorter than all of ’em and he can still kick their asses. I don’t think he’s even a Shinigami. How’d you get the Shiba Clan to loan one of theirs out to you anyway?” She shakes her head before he can answer. “Never mind, I don’t care. He kicked that creep Kurotsuchi in the head when he tried to experiment on Akon-” Kisuke glances up briefly at that, keeping his face blank, but Hiyori isn’t really paying attention anyway. “-and he packed Akon off to the Academy when he asked the chibi-creep if he wanted to go and the chibi-creep said yes. Also, anybody he caught slacking off while on gate duty is now on rebuilding-the-left-wing-of-the-barracks duty. You know,” She shoots him a dirty look. “The wing where the pipes burst and half the second floor caved in two weeks ago but we couldn’t get a squad from the Fourth to fix it because you weren’t around to sign off on it.”

Kisuke raises his eyebrows. “And everybody followed his orders?”

Hiyori snorts. “They do if they know what’s good for ’em. For a shrimp,” Which is rich, coming from her. “He’s strong. Anybody who isn’t helping to keep this squad running gets a special one-on-one spar with Shiba. And the smackdown ain’t pretty, ’specially since he does it in public.” She looks wistful for a moment, but she and Kisuke both know she isn’t strong enough to enforce the same kind of order the same way as Ichigo. “Anyway,” She glares hard at him. “Do your damn work and don’t fuckin’ disappear like that again or I swear I’ll set fire to your precious research department and burn it to the damn ground!”

And with that said, she turns on her heel and storms back out, slamming the door behind her. Kisuke can hear her still cussing up a storm as she presumably gathers up her paperwork to return to her own office now that she’s finally managed to catch him for a… conversation.

Kisuke sits down and looks at his paperwork for a long moment. Then he glances up as the tree outside his window goes up in flames.

“Drastic,” He remarks mildly, and a second later, Ichigo is there, swinging in through the window with all the careless nonchalance of a stray cat. Kisuke sighs, makes a hand seal, and douses the tree with a jet of water that leaves the tree dripping but at least camera-free.

“I suppose I should thank you,” Kisuke muses as Ichigo flops onto his couch. He gets a shrug in return.

“Don’t have to,” Ichigo mutters. He even sounds tired, as if the bruises under his eyes aren’t telling enough. “I cover for you, you cover for me. That’s what we do.”

“Is it?” Kisuke murmurs, because that’s news to him.

Ichigo doesn’t answer directly, instead dropping his head back over the armrest to stare at Kisuke upside-down. “Sometimes, I can’t come by as often.” He says matter-of-factly, as if he should be coming by at all. “So I didn’t know you were stuck in your research again or I would’ve dragged you out sooner. You have to set an alarm or something to remind you when I’m not there to do it.”

Kisuke should probably feel offended. He’s far too old for anyone to be riding herd on him. On the other hand, well. He did forget to eat and sleep and juggle all his other duties for two and a half weeks. Ichigo may have a point.

He also gets points for not nagging once he’s said his piece. Instead, he lies flat on the couch again and informs the ceiling, “Akon’s at the Academy. I think it would be better this time if he actually has a Zanpakutou. He’s smart; he might even graduate early. Keep an eye on him, he doesn’t have anyone else.” He pauses, eyes darting around the room. “And… And Kurotsuchi. You already know, I think, but he’d stab you in the back at the first opportunity so watch out for him too, in a totally different way. And… And…” His head jerks like he’s shaking off cobwebs. Kisuke tenses a little, instinctively searching for any signs of blood. There’s none this time, but Ichigo presses a hand to his eyes like the light hurts them.

“I don’t know,” He says at last, frustration twining around each word even as he pushes himself upright and twists around to stare at Kisuke, eyes wide and dark and distant. “I want to say you shouldn’t make it. But if it happens again, you’ll need it to save them. But I’m here now so I should be able to stop it from happening but I don’t know if I can and making it in the first place is-” He breaks off and shakes his head again. “You’re still this-you, not that-you, and I don’t- I don’t want to change you cuz this-you made you into that-you, and that-you was amazing but some of the things you did-” He stops and takes a shuddering breath while Kisuke twitches a little at the implication that this boy in front of him…

But when Ichigo looks at him, there is no disgust or pity or hatred, only a terrible sadness that puts lines in his face and makes Kisuke drop his own eyes for a moment, unable to hold Ichigo’s knowing gaze.

“So I won’t say, either way,” Ichigo rasps out in the end when Kisuke finally manages to look at him again. “It’s up to you. I’ll work around it, whatever you choose.” He’s frowning a little but he also offers a shaky smile. “I cover for you and you cover for me. That’s still the same now.”

“…Is it,” Kisuke sighs this time before rising to his feet and making his way over to Ichigo, who blinks up at him, so very trusting in the face of a former assassin with more blood on his hands than half the Gotei (there is no such thing as a former assassin – once a killer, always a killer). Kisuke sighs again and sheds his haori before nudging the boy into a more comfortable position and tossing the coat over him as a makeshift blanket.

“Get some sleep,” He orders, returning to his seat. “I don’t think I am the only one who forgets.”

He doesn’t get a response as he uncaps his inkbottle and grabs a brush and cracks open the first file needing his attention, but when he glances up a few minutes later, Ichigo is sound asleep, curled up under the haori.

Kisuke doesn’t wake him until the sun begins to set.

[TBC]