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Tanaka's feelings have grown complicated regarding Masato and their fates. In life, the two only had each other in the orphanage they grew up in, Masato being Tanaka's first real experience with having a family at all up until that point. The day Masato got adopted left him alone in the village, making his name for himself through joking about the village "hero," being the one to lead the revolt when the shogunate was set to seize the land they were living on.
Their rivalry was never perceived as equal, Tanaka seemingly unaware that Masato had ruined his life and kept him in perpetual danger after death until the night he was approached to do Masato's sealing. Atrocities and the way it ruined the lives of the peasants Tanaka swore to protect left him furious at Masato's selfishness, agreeing to take the job. He subsequently choked under the pressure when he saw how desperate Masato was to see him again. He hasn't seen him since, and is terrified to address the man sealed beneath his feet.
Foretold by a soothsayer to be the one to finally kill Masato, Tanaka denies his fate by simply hiding away from his destiny, refusing to even return to the site Masato was buried in fear of confronting Masato again.
Masato has grown complicated feelings regarding Tanaka and their fates. In life, the two only had each other in the orphanage they grew up in, and Masato clung to Tanaka heavily as the only semblance of family he had known in life. Things change dramatically when he was adopted, and Masato was forced to see the only brother he had known as an enemy. The rivalry continued into death, with Masato desperate to undermine his fate, trying to draw Tanaka closer to him through a defeat and capture. Compared to the other destinies his fellow generals had concocted, Masato saw mandatory recruitment as the only way out for Tanaka, with him getting his family back and Tanaka getting to live.
Everything changed when Masato's planned treason had landed him with a sentencing of execution. It was talked down to being sealed away, due to a hung council. Tanaka was slated to seal him away, and had failed until an oni had to step in and finish the ritual himself.
Foretold by a soothsayer to be thwarted by a swordsman with a wingspan that eclipsed the sun, Masato fights tooth and nail to deny his fate, drowning and falling farther from grace with each desperate thrash. Part of him still hopes that Tanaka will hear him out and join his faction.
Radimir loves Sid's weird act, and is constantly endeared by everything he does. Sid, however, does not read it the same way, and the two are in a weird stalemate in which Radimir constantly tries to befriend Sid while holding up his own loyalty to his empire. This leads to interactions of Radimir trying his best to be friendly, interspersed with actual assault attempts. If Radimir ever tones down his intensity, the two could be best friends.
If it's one thing Sid is fucking terrified of, it's Radimir. He's one of the only people that can make Sid's act noticeably waver into fear, and is quick to cry uncle after the two get into altercations where he ends up in a headlock by Radimir. Does not understand how Radimir can laugh off the encounter immediately after, and is intimidated by Radimir's friendliness after nearly trying to kill him. Since their encounters are sparse, if Sid ever figure out Radimir is just like that, the two would become inseperable.
Calvin is Sid's parole officer, after no one in Sid's empire could properly handle him. The two commonly butt heads, with Sid actively antagonizing Calvin a majority of the time of their visits. Calvin is a lot more tolerant of Sid compared to Percy though, and the two have 50-50 odds on who will give up on walling the other first. Generally, he gets a headache first before he'd ever blow a fuse.
Calvin is fully aware of Sid's complicated legal position, and has some sympathy for Sid for being stuck in such a horrific situation. As such, Calvin often spends times during "extended meetings" to get food with Sid, or to sneak him things like cigarettes or necessities before the ending of their meetings. Calvin always insists on paying, after firmly stating to Sid he won't let him pay for dinner anymore.
Calvin is Sid's parole officer, as the two empires decided to outsource after Calvin had grown a reputation for taking some of the most difficult cases in the galaxy. Assuming Calvin took the job to better his reputation, Sid tries to antagonize him the way he does with Percival, with a 50% of it working, although he just usually gives Calvin a headache first more than anything.
Calvin's direct manner of speaking and knowledge of Sid's situation makes it hard for him to keep up the act long, with Calvin eventually breaking the act altogether after a night out on the town ended in an earnest statement asking Sid just to allow him to be cared for. The two always go out to eat at the end of their parole meetings, and Sid secretly looks forward to it every week along with whatever goodies Calvin can sneak him.
Consuela doesn't get why people are so scared of "Slaughterhouse Sid," seeing him more like a sweet flustered gentleman than anything. Thinks it's adorable how bad he is with words around her. completely denies it when people say the man's a menace, and she continues to be sweet on him, much to Sid's confusion.
Sid has a near school-boy crush on Consuela, being thrown for a loop after their initial meeting ended with Consuela giving him a peck on the cheek. He gets surprisingly quiet and grouchy near her, and refuses to admit he's got a sweet spot for her. Angry if you bring it up, but angrier if you call her something bad. He cannot understand how someone could enjoy his presence, and feels like it's the end of the world to admit he likes her a bit more than most.
Initially assigned to keep Radimir in line, Calvin's natural ability to perceive tells and tolerate clients like Radimir landed him a position as an invaluable balancer between Radimir and the empire. What the empire didn't realize was that a 7'+ tall Slav with nearly 150 pounds on the other wouldn't give a shit about what his superior would say, especially if he looked like Calvin. As such, Radimir was a thorn in Calvin's side from day 1. Radimir's antics only saw a break when Calvin broke one day and completely gave up on Radimir, telling him that the empire didn't give a shit if Radimir had died under his care, with Calvin trying at this point only under some weird obligational feeling to try and at least advocate for Radimir (the feeling was empathy). Radimir did make attempts to connect after such a plea, and the two have been on much better terms since.
Within the present, Calvin values Radimir as one of his closest allies. Although he always keeps secrets of his past close to his chest, Radimir has been the closest anyone has gotten to knowing what Calvin endured, the latter earning soft statements and whispers of the past as Calvin tries to remain in the present with Radimir. Although his immediate annoyances still earn a yelp and then a lecture, Calvin wouldn't trade anything in the world if it meant that Radimir's gaze would leave him, even for a moment.
The two compliment each other strangely well, with Radimir's defiant nature and unconditional love for his own life and his allies slowly turning Calvin's gaze away from the empire to a life outside of power and control. Somehing about Radimir makes him feel like he's worth more than just his work, he supposes. He's never given it much though, and continues to bury his feelings under his paperwork.
If you listen closely, Vietnamese pet names can be heard when the two of them are around. Gấu-gấu is a particular favorite of Calvin for Radimir.
There are no nice words to describe how Radimir felt about Calvin upon their first meeting. To be blunt, Radimir thought Calvin was a sniveling, weak pencil-pusher, and he could break him over his knee. Immediately deeming the other to be pretentious, Radimir remained defiant of empire orders up until he broke Calvin's spirit, causing the former to regret doing so immediately. The two shared a quiet moment together, Radimir finally realizing the gravity of their situation and the amount of pressure and stress all of them were under. From that point onward, Radimir took smaller strides to care for Calvin, even indulging him as a dinner guest and easy companionship.
Within the present, Radimir has a lot of love for his heart for Calvin. Perhaps he sees Calvin's mannerisms as just a show by the other, or is flat-out unable to be intimidated by him. The fact remained that Radimir saw through so much of Calvin's window dressing immediately, and found what was left to be charming. As such, Radimir delights in Calvin's prickly nature, finding it more endearing rather than off-putting. The way he saw it, Calvin could have gotten rid of him a long time ago. To even be kept around was an opportunity to sink his nails in and never let go.
When together, Calvin often helps Radimir with language barriers, along with being someone he can place his affections towards. Calvin continues to be a professional advocate for Radimir, with Radimir always trying to find ways to make it up for a debt that never existed between them. All Radimir knows in his heart is that although the world around them is falling apart, he's got something real to ground himself in with Calvin, an invaluable concept to have in a world designed to keep both of them lonely.
If you listen closely, Russian pet names can be heard when the two are sure no one is around, кошка is a favorite of Radimir for Calvin.
Dahlia became a motherly figure to Sid quickly, as one of the only lieutenants who speaks to him with some semblance of kindness. She's been responsible as an advocate for him, earning him funding and several project through her reputation, and considers him a brilliant mind. When she needs an expert on engineering topics, he's often the first person she calls. The two balance each other, with Dahlia often telling SId he needs to strive to be more than he is for himself before anyone, and to live authentically to himself.
Dahlia couldn't help it-- the moment she met Sid, she grew attached to how much he resembled her boy. Maybe it was his spiked hair, or his love for all things mechanics, but meeting him struck a special chord with her that she hasn't felt in a long time. She holds some guilt for the projection, and tries her best to actively see Sid as his own person with completely separate struggles, but it gets hard for her. Sid is one of the first tangible things in her life that resembles the family she used to have, and she's sank her nails into it on having something she can keep close to her.
Surprisingly, Sid is defensive of Dahlia and her aspirations, with him remaining one of her loudest advocates when it comes to manners in the office. Although it's not a full neutering, his demeanor does shift around her, witnesses often saying Sid sounds more burnt-out and tired than anything. When the two are together, Sid's surprisingly the voice of reason, often trying to keep Dahlia grounded and to think realistically about her problems before despair gets the better of her.
He's unaware of how much he resembles her son, even if he's radically different in personality. All he knows is Dahlia needs someone like him to keep her grounded, and he does it without question. Sid's known what it's like to have no one in your corner, and doesn't want some one who has a lot to keep going after to give up. Being coddled in order to fill a spot someone else used to hold may become a point of contention later, though.
Percival hates Sid's guts, to say the least. Everything about him pisses Percival off, from Sid's chopped, greasy hair, to the way he sprays his mouth everywhere when he laughs. Percival knows Sid does this for attention, and cannot fathom why he would ever want notoriety attached to his name if it's respect he supposedly wants. As a result, he regards Sid as immature and irresponsible, and hardly the first person he'd go to if he wants something done.
A particular day of constant demeaning from Sid caused Percy to snap, with him unable to recall what he even said. It's only then when Sid started to say Percy's rich from his daddy's money did Percival outright blacked out. He remembers throwing a right hook and being pulled off of Sid, a look of pure hatred from the other as he held a broken jaw. He's still pissed to this day about it.
Percival has enough sense in his head to put two and two together about Sid's past, but not enough to realize how genuinely rough Sid has had it. A loud personality and inability to be ignored is the only way Sid got his job after all, and it was either do that or live in a perpetual loop of poverty and imprisonment. Had he known, he'd never kick a man who also had to work his way up from nothing.
If the two could just talk this out in counseling or something, there's a potential to repair the relationship to at least a mutual understanding of what nerves to not press. After all, if Percival truly wanted Sid dead, he could do that by now.
Percival is the reason Sid strives to be worse every day. Percival represents everything Sid despises, from his apathy towards others to his background as a trust fund baby. Percival has never respected Sid the moment he came into the position, regardless of the work he does. Sid thus opts to just be obnoxious instead. Has never referred to him as Percival, opting to give him nicknames like "Percy" and "Pretty Boy."
A huge fight broke out between the two where Sid was called "a dirty piece of shit" when Percival snapped at him. Sid then proceeded to bring up how Percival was a "spoon-fed piece of shit" and has "never worked a day in his fucking life" and it broke out into a fight where Sid got several nasty injuries, including a broken jaw. Ever since then, he vowed to make Percival's life hell.
Although he certainly hit a nerve, Sid is unaware of Percival growing up in an abusive household. He has enough sense in his head to not bring up his family again at least but would be absolutely mortified to learn just how badly he had hurt Percival if some communication could happen between the two. There's some common ground at least for the two on the fact that they did have to remake themselves from practically nothing.
If the two could just talk this out in counseling or something, there's a potential to repair the relationship to at least a mutual understanding of what nerves to not press. After all, if Sid wanted Percival to suffer again, all he'd do is bring up his family instead of stupid petty things like his naturally grey hair or inability to use a calculator.
She saved him from a huge monster during one of his interviews and then also killed a big guy with him which was cool. She worries about him and his ability to defend himself, but really respects his dedication to his job and to the truth. She finds him admirable, if not a little air-headed, which is fucking crazy coming from her.
T.V. Break has a great deal of admiration for Cygnus and her strong will to see the good in people, and certainly she has been one of her favorite people to work with during the making of his stories. Gets concerned on how impulsive she can be, though he knows she can probably handle herself if push comes to shove.