synchronised | shared headcanon

shared headcanon

A H E A D C A N O N P O S T
TELL ME SOMETHING I DON'T KNOW, TELL ME SOMETHING I SHOULD KNOW

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

MAKO MORI

» has extensive knowledge in the traditional art of japanese blade making. despite the protests of his family (who insisted only a male child could continue the mori swordmaking legacy), her father took the time to pass some of the tradition to his only child. one of her favorite ways to pass the time had been to sit with her father in his workshop and watch him at the forge. because this was a potentially dangerous place for a small child to be, mako was instructed not to make a sound and never to move from the spot where her father told her to sit. this ultimately contributed to mako's ability to remain quiet and still for long periods of time as well as her general comfort with drawn-out silence.

» despite this knowledge, gipsy danger's chain swords are the only blades mako has contributed to the creation of. although it was her job to oversee all aspects of the mark 3 restoration project, mako personally helmed the design, development and sourcing of materials for gipsy's twin blades.

» mako's memory is predominantly tactile (followed by visual, followed aural). the only exception to this is the onibaba incident which remains an extremely aural memory in her mind.

» the biggest fears she had to overcome immediately following the incident all involved sound. chiefly: extreme silence and loud, sudden noises.

» has very little aptitude for natural sciences beyond what she has studied through her exposure to the k-science division. this didn't stop newt from attempting to steer mako towards cryptozoology when it became clear that she would not be readily granted piloting status. his attempt failed, however good naturedly.

» instead, mako has a considerable knack for the physical sciences. her mind has an easy time perceiving and understanding spatial relationships (though interestingly enough this is more solidly grounded in mako's sense of touch rather than her visual perception). this made jaeger engineering an obvious fit for her when her piloting career was effectively stonewalled. this didn't stop dr. leibgott from attempting to steer mako towards rift study and analysis. his attempt failed, however good naturedly.

» mako knows the two last men standing of the k science division and has for almost as long as she's been stacker pentecost's adoptive daughter. they, like the hansens and certain ppdc members like tendo choi, are among the few constant fixtures in mako's life since the onibaba incident.

» mako speaks a little german thanks to dr. gottlieb. she also knows how to play a few rolling stones songs on the guitar thanks to newt. mako has never heard the originals and doesn't actually know any of the song's titles.

» due to her fairly remote upbringing on the island of tanegashima, mako has an extremely limited and very low pop culture iq. by the time she was in a place that allowed her access to these sorts of things, her attention had moved to more important matters. as a result most references are lost on her and need to be explained.

» CHUCK HANSEN
» mako grew up alongside chuck hansen as the two shatterdome children to hero pilot fathers. this relationship started in a place of shared understanding, the both of them forced to deal with a huge amount of unresolved emotional trauma as the result of onibaba's and scissure's attacks. while their fathers' responsibilities kept them apart for long periods they were generally inseparable whenever housed under the same roof. their early relationship, into adolescence, was characterized by a sibling-like quality (rivalry mixed with a profound understanding and extreme, but never talked about after-the-fact, emotional vulnerability).

» before meeting raleigh, chuck was the only romantic outlet mako had ever had (wanted and ~~kind of~~ pursued) in her life. any other encounters she has had have been brief, superficial and on the whole have never been revisited after-the-fact. in addition to being the closest thing mako has ever had to a relationship (emotional or physical), chuck is the only sexual partner she has ever had.

» yeah that's right they were big fat virgins together until they weren't big fat virgins (only let's be real, they were still big fat virgins cause neither of them knew what they were doing).

» please note, use of words like "relationship" and "sexual" and "partner" are highly qualified considering chuck's own internal hurdles (which managed to only grow up around them more and more as they grew older).

» that said there was a period during adolescence, when their rivalry was strongest, when mako was convinced that she was in love with chuck. whether or not this was actually the case or if it was her emotional inexperience simply assigning incorrect labels to intense emotional investment is anyone's guess.

» chuck is the only person capable of making mako completely lose her reserve. their last huge blow-up (years past) resulted in a formal and extremely harsh reprimand from the marshal. mako also broke chuck's nose. they haven't exchanged more than a few sentences with one another in a single sitting since.

» though mako's emotions with regards chuck hansen are layered, complicated and occasionally contradictory, as an adult she continues to view him both as one of the best pilots the academy has ever produced as well as her only sibling. a sibling she has been sharply and irrevocably estranged from, but a sibling nevertheless. the strongest emotions associated with chuck in the drift are disappointment and loss. the strongest memories associated with chuck are their memories as children curled up in one of their bunks with the sheets pulled over their heads as chuck has one of his fits.

» although mako does not actively keep any of her memories or herself from raleigh in the drift, any memories of chuck as a child come with the understanding that he will never use these things against chuck (even if she thinks sometimes he deserves it).

» RALEIGH BECKET
» given the fact that the last person mako thought she was in love with was chuck hansen (and he proceeded to burn the entirety of their relationship to the ground in order to become a better pilot), mako is reluctant to label her emotional connection with raleigh as "being in love" (especially since the feelings evoked by both individuals seem so extremely different from one another). while she has no doubt that she loves raleigh, romantic interest seems ultimately small compared to the enormity of her investment in him. if anything it transcends any traditional labels and therefore cannot be properly expressed through the usual declarations of love, longing and attraction. as a result mako doesn't quite understand how to progress their relationship, if only because there doesn't seem to be anything next to progress it to.

» unless given an express reason not to, mako will always stand directly beside raleigh. she will almost always be found standing to his left.

» raleigh is one of the few people that mako can actively and enjoyably engage in small talk with. this is mostly because any small talk they engage in has a strong undercurrent to what is left unsaid. though mako remains a generally quiet individual who doesn't speak unless having to, she will never not indulge raleigh's desire to hear her speak.

» if presented with a social situation, mako will default to allowing raleigh do most the talking for them. if presented with a military/intel situation, the narrative is often split between the two of them down the middle.

» mako has developed a sweet tooth since drifting with raleigh. she has also grown more tolerant of the cold.

» despite being a tactile person, mako would rather come up extremely close to raleigh during quiet moments rather than actually touch him. this mostly has to do with her own inexperience with dealing with unresolved tension. (thanks, chuck.) mako's main outlet for expressing her attraction to raleigh is through sparring. once the match is over, however, she would just as readily break apart as linger nearby.

» although she and raleigh have been reunited in-game, mako still occasionally experiences the momentary grief and loss she'd felt when she still thought raleigh was dead. these are the only moments wherein mako feels actually distant from him.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only