I’m being silly but I just want to know some character Headcanons you have in your au (just because I’ve been reading your story constantly…). Do you have relationship maps, or any new Headcanons, etc…?
I’m so glad you asked!
(This took way longer than expected…)
Little Einsteins x Rhythm Heaven AU Headcanons
The Land of Rhythm Heaven (and it’s origins)
In this AU, the Firebird has a far greater impact than what’s shown in the OG series. She’s actually the very being who gave life to Rhythm Heaven, which in turn gave life to music. So not only does her magic spread music around to others, but it was also heavily involved with the creation of music as a concept. Eventually, the land’s music found its way to the rest of the world (in spite of the fact that it’s in the middle of nowhere and no one can find it unless it shows itself to them), and had become just as much as a global sensation as in real life…for better or worse.
Lots of people worldwide know what music is. But almost no one knows how it came to be. Some believe that the history behind it was erased (and they’d be half-right, I suppose), some believe it’s some kind of ‘gift from above’ and some believe it’s the work of a greater evil that’s trying to brainwash people (it’s banned in certain places because of this). The only ones who know the truth are those who are aware of the existence of Rhythm Heaven.
Now, about the land itself. Most of the music in Rhythm Heaven is a part of its nature, meaning that not only is the land home to some very unusual things in nature, like musical rollercoasters or Sound Barriers (I’ll explain the latter in a future post), but also that the music plays by itself. It’s like if the background music in cartoons, movies, video games, etc, actually played in-universe! A lot of the time, though, there are musicians in Rhythm Heaven who make their own music that’s often influenced or inspired by the land’s music, which is also why singing is a thing. In fact, music videos and live performances, even in Rhythm Heaven, only use music made by hand rather than by the land. Nevertheless, nearly everything that the citizens do is done rhythmically thanks to the background music, even jobs.
Speaking of the citizens, let’s take a moment to cover who lives in Rhythm Heaven. There are humans living there, of course, but living alongside them are a native species called ‘Rhythmians’, which is why some characters are colourful, stick figure-esque, have cuboidal heads, etc. Not all Rhythmians are human-like; some take the form of anthropomorphic animals, or even objects (hence Rocket). Rhythmians, much like the land, are physical manifestations of music; they’re pretty much made of it. They even have their own language (the musical language heard in Little Einsteins) and sign language. In addition, even most of the non-anthropomorphic animals in Rhythm Heaven are sapient, have their own jobs and can speak in languages such as English, Japanese or Rhythmian. There are also some animals outside of Rhythm Heaven that speak Rhythmian due to music’s influence on the world.
There’s even something special about humans who have had their lives changed by music, even if they aren’t aware of Rhythm Heaven’s presence. Some people have such a deep connection to music that their very souls are bound to it. Humans who live in Rhythm Heaven are essentially considered ‘pseudo-Rhythmians’ because of it. There is a cost to this, though. Because the Firebird created the land and its music alongside one another, Rhythm Heaven can’t exist without music, and music can’t exist without Rhythm Heaven. If music as a concept were to disappear, so would Rhythm Heaven, and vice-versa. And since Rhythmians are essentially made of music, they’d disappear along with their homeland and life force. As for humans and animals, those outside of the land would not remember music, with those who were previously bound to music feeling like they ‘lost a part of their soul’. Meanwhile, those who lived in Rhythm Heaven would literally lose a part of their souls. Which, as you could probably imagine, would not be good for them.
So basically, if music as a concept were to stop existing, everyone in Rhythm Heaven would die.
…And that’s all I have in terms of worldbuilding as of now. With that bummer note aside, let’s get onto the character headcanons.
Leonardo “Leo” Damion
The conductor, pilot and leader of the Little Einsteins. He’s very calm, level-headed, reliable and responsible, taking his role as leader and his conducting skills extremely seriously. Though it’s not usually to the extent in which he comes across as arrogant or a buzzkill. All in all, he’s simply a kid who enjoys goofing off and playing around with his friends.
On his second birthday, Leo had first received his favourite baton from his dad, Archie (for reasons that will be revealed later), and ever since then, he’s been researching and practicing conducting on a regular basis. Unlike Archie, however, he’s much more possessive of the baton. If he were to lose it (which, well, has happened at least twice now), he’d internally spiral - a fact that he’s tried to hide from his loved ones, with…debatable success. Whenever it’s not in his pocket, it’s usually either in a drawer or in Rocket’s care.
Leo has plenty of methods for practicing conducting, such as using toys that he and/or his little sister own as an imaginary orchestra. But where exactly does he get his research? From books, of course! He loves reading books almost as much as he loves conducting, and his family, since it’s quite a good source of entertainment, as well as information. Whenever Leo learns about something new from the books he reads, he’s always eager to share what he learned with others.
Leo always tries to solve conflicts in the most civil manner possible…which doesn’t always work. Funny enough, it’s actually him who gets himself into the most trouble out of the team.
Annabelle “Annie” Damion
Leo’s younger sister, the singer of the group and an adorable little friend magnet all around. She’s bubbly, sweet and has so much energy that she could practically burst at any moment. Sometimes, everyone else looks away from her for one second, and suddenly she’s wandered off to pick up a shiny object she’d noticed or pet a cat that she’d just walked past. Some may or may not see her as too easily distracted or ‘immature’ to actually help the group, but in reality her focus is at an all-time high during missions. She always means well, and cares about her family, animals and miscellaneous allies more than anything.
Annie wasn’t always this energetic, though. Back at the school she used to go to, she got relentlessly bullied by her classmates for not being good at the things she loved to do. And as a result, she became self-conscious, closed-off and shy, and wouldn’t talk to anyone but her stuffed animals. Her family would always comfort her and compliment her work, but she never believed them. That was, until a new friend came along (wink-wink). Said friend gave her some honest criticism by telling her that she wasn’t perfect at her hobbies, but also told her that she was pretty great at them for her age, and encouraged her to keep going. This was just what she needed in order to develop into the confident ray of sunshine she is now.
As plenty may know, Annie’s favourite thing to do is sing. Her parents’ little nursery rhymes and lullabies always made her feel calm and happy, so she wants to express herself in a unique way and make others happy too. She also enjoys the process of creating lyrics for the songs she sings. Although, if she had to choose a close second, it would most certainly be drawing. It’s enjoyable, relaxing and keeps her occupied. Plus, it gives her a chance to express her feelings and interests beyond words, which singing can admittedly be slightly limited in.
Annie’s solutions to problems can sometimes be quite unconventional, and often bordering on unhinged. But they do tend to work more often than not, so the others always hear her out before deciding whether or not they’d be helpful in the given situation.
Archibald “Archie” Damion & Evangeline “Evie” Damion
Leo and Annie’s father, Archie, could best be described as the ‘fun parent’. He’s quite perky and playful, and is usually seen partaking in silly little games with his kids, and being very good at committing to the bit. At the same time, he’s still extremely responsible when it comes to looking after them (though he’s not exactly perfect at it), and can be empathetic when needed. Their mother Evie, on the other hand, has a bit of a ‘stern’ exterior, which usually makes her come across as rather intimidating, particularly to other kids. And admittedly, she can be strict at times. But when they get to know her, they realise just how calm, caring and loving she really is…and that she has a sense of humour! Just because she’s got plenty of work to do doesn’t mean she can’t be fun. Much like her husband, she enjoys spending time with her kids, sometimes through games, and sometimes through music-related activities.
(I was typing this first bit out, and I ended up realising that they’re kinda like Bandit and Chilli from Bluey-)
As mentioned before, Leo’s baton used to belong to Archie, who gave it to him as a birthday gift. But why exactly did he have it in the first place? Well, the truth is, Archie and Evie actually used to be really adventurous when they were younger, just like their kids are. Although, the main differences between their younger selves and their kids are: they were on the slightly older side when they started adventuring, and their adventures partially came from a place of rebellion. They had it pretty hard growing up (especially with their families being rather negligent), so they would often sneak out to visit a mutual family friend of theirs - a vehicular-based Rhythmian similar to Rocket, only more…purple. (Again, wink-wink.) She took them out for sightseeing, lent Archie the baton and got the two to meet, and the rest is history. The family lore sure is crazy, huh?
Quincy Oswick
This fun-loving musician is the latest addition to the family/friend group that’s now known as the Little Einsteins. He’s excitable and energetic, though not quite to the exact extent that Annie is. In fact, he’s ever-so-slightly more mellow, although he does have a playful, jokey, mischievous side. Making his loved ones laugh and smile is one of the most important things to him, along with dinosaurs, his loved ones in general and, of course, making music. In addition, despite not always being able to deal with his intense fear of the dark, he constantly pushes through for those he cares about.
Before he joined the band, however, Quincy was far more distant and in an intense state of ennui because of something shocking happening that he found difficult to cope with. His emotions were at an all-time low, he felt numb, he didn’t talk to his dad as much as he used to and he never felt like doing much of anything. That was, until his passions gave him hope. He was given his now-beloved musical instruments and a chance to practice using them, and ever since, he started becoming much more joyful, although it took some time and the aforementioned event still has an effect on him. The hole in his chest was pretty much filled once he moved into the neighbourhood in which he met the other Little Einsteins, and he couldn’t be happier.
There are plenty of things that Quincy enjoys. There’s playing instruments and listening to music, for a start. Then there’s playing games with his family, crafting and building things, gathering all the facts and information that there is to know about dinosaurs (alongside other animals), telling people jokes, going out for walks with his dad, seizing whatever opportunity he can to go sightseeing with Rocket and the team…it’d take less time to list what Quincy doesn’t enjoy (like going on missions in dark places).
The way Quincy solves certain issues is whatever solution he thinks would get the job done in the most fun or entertaining way imaginable. Judge all you want - this kid gets results. (Though a lot of the time, he does tend to rush into things head-first, much to his sister figure’s dismay.)
Alfred Oswick
The type of dad who loves his kid to the point where he wouldn’t trade him for the world. He’s very easygoing yet enthusiastic, always willing to greet others and assist them with whatever they may need. And he’s especially enthusiastic when it comes to his son. Whenever he gets the opportunity to spark conversation with someone, Quincy is always mentioned at least once, along with his great accomplishments and how proud Alfred is of him. And whenever his son is present in said conversation, he does his utmost to make absolutely sure the kid knows he’s supported through thick and thin. Quincy can often get embarrassed by this, but he certainly appreciates the sentiment. His dad also tries his best to make sure he’s not being too overbearing.
Alfred is very much present in Quincy’s life, that’s true. But it used to be to a higher extent, with the two spending time together almost every other day. After the aforementioned moment that led to his son’s lowest point, Alfred suddenly started getting heavy workloads thrown his way. And this, combined with the sudden information that his kid was part of a global team of problem-solvers, meant that things had started changing far too quickly for the man’s liking. He doesn’t spend as much time with his son as he used and would like to, and often finds himself relying more and more on Rocket to take care of him. Because of this, he’s afraid of the possibility of their father-son relationship becoming strained or distant. So whenever they do get the chance to hang out, Alfred always makes sure that every little moment together is well-spent.
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June Adore
The Little Einsteins are definitely a smart bunch on their own, but if anyone has the most brains out of all of them, it’s got to be this elegant dancer. She has particularly high intelligence - she knows so many sophisticated words for someone her age, she’s knowledgeable about certain places and their history and she can handle appliances such as microwaves all by herself. But that’s not the only reason why she’s so loved by those around her. Her kindness, excellent manners and big heart have led her to develop a great social life and become cherished among her peers. Not to mention how graceful she is, even when she’s not dancing. Whether or not they know she’s a Little Einstein, most people in Rhythm Heaven see her as a pure soul, and someone truly perfect.
But little do they know, there’s way more to June beyond the soft twirls and sparkling dresses. For a start, whenever a fact or topic particularly interests her, she becomes extremely chatty and could talk about said subject for hours at a time. Furthermore, in spite of her accomplishments, there’s plenty of things that she isn’t the best at. Sure, she’s great at making beverages, and she’s been trying out baking - which has paid off quite nicely - but one thing that she’s rather out-of-practice with is cooking savoury meals. And she may know how to use certain mechanical appliances, but that doesn’t mean she knows how they work or how to fix them. (She usually gets her mothers or Leo to help her with this; they’re way more knowledgeable about it.) But what others really don’t know is how emotional and regularly stressed she is. She feels like she has to keep up this “perfect” image for people to like her, and the memories regarding her past definitely aren’t helping. But no one can know about her “worst” qualities - what if everyone she knows turns their back on her? Despite these worries, though, she does have a bit of an attitude and isn’t afraid to sass others when necessary.
When in public, June is always seen either dancing, exploring or helping others in need. Though there are some things that she does in her free time too. For instance, she loves writing. Whether it be a short poem or a full-fledged story, you can always count on her to produce a surprisingly compelling piece of work. Her family absolutely loves her work, and some of them have even been keeping some pieces she’d created with them. She also enjoys going out to eat at the café; it’s very relaxing, and quite an enjoyable way to clear one’s mind.
June solves problems by stopping and taking a moment to think logically about the issue at hand, then choosing whichever solution would work best for the given situation. The outcome is always varied because of this; there’s times where the team go for a calmer and more mannered approach, and there’s times where they just decide, “Okay, let’s go buck wild.”
Sora Adore & Kokoro Adore
June’s adoptive mothers may be different in many aspects, but they love each other - and their daughter - all the same. Sora has always appeared aloof and uninterested to others, especially back when she worked in the music industry, causing others to misinterpret her intentions. Some have speculated that she’s trying to seem ‘cool’ in order to appeal to her fans (which those same people say has worked), while others have mistaken her neutral expression for a glare, which unintentionally intimidates them. In reality, she’s actually quite casual and laidback, and allows June to just do whatever as long as no one’s hurt. Meanwhile, Kokoro is very friendly, chipper and has a pep in her step, most likely influenced by her tap dancing skills. Although, she’s also prone to overthinking and getting extremely anxious. In fact, ever since she was told about the Little Einsteins and their adventures, her anxiety has been growing more intense, and understandably so. She never tries to talk June out of missions, though; she knows Rocket always takes good care of her, and that these adventures make her happy. They both love their daughter to death and always try their best to protect her and raise her well.
When it comes to the Adore family, the lore isn’t exactly as crazy as it is with the Damions, but it’s still pretty hard to believe nonetheless. (It mainly has to do with the fact that June is the daughter of someone who’s essentially a celebrity, but there’s other reasons too.) Sora comes from a family who had such high standards for their bloodline that they pretty much considered themselves royalty, and treated each other as such. Unfortunately for Sora, she was no exception to this treatment, and her parents kept forcing her to cut ties with any friends she made whom they deemed ‘below’ them. She left them when she was old enough to move out, and soon made two friends who she eventually formed a rapper group with, called ‘The Love Posse’, in which she went by her stage name, ‘MC Adore’. Kokoro Shinkawa was a small, not-very-known tap dancer who had two little monkey friends and dabbled in ballet. Not very interesting to most, and if you were to tell her how her life would soon turn out, she might not have believed you. When the Love Posse started to gain traction, she gave their music a chance, and became a big fan of MC Adore ever since. Plenty of people in Rhythm Heaven, Kokoro included, have gotten to meet Sora in person while she was on tour. But what made Kokoro’s experience so special was that she was one of the few people who would become friends with Sora. Soon enough, an overwhelming…feeling began to blossom between the two, and they fell in love. And sometime after Sora quit working for the music industry to work on indie projects, she decided to surprise Kokoro with a small but special gift…
Rocket
The Little Einsteins’ vehicle, teammate and friend (and babysitter, sort of). Their parents usually leave them under his care whenever they’re unavailable - he’s best suited for caring for the kids seeing as they somehow always come out of their adventures unscathed, and they all care for him just as he does for them. He’s very protective over the kids and responsible when it comes to taking care of them. After all, their adventures and missions can be extremely dangerous, especially for children, so he makes sure to keep them safe at all costs. Most of the time, though, he just likes to have fun with the team. A majority of their adventures are for sightseeing, exploring and relaxation purposes rather than the often-treading-on-risky missions seen in the show.
Outside of missions, Rocket is quite an active, excitable Rhythmian who loves playing with the kids and taking care of them, though admittedly they can be a bit difficult to look after at times. Sometimes they just…vanish after he looks away for a moment and he loses track of where they are, sometimes they touch things or go somewhere they really shouldn’t, sometimes he witnesses some of them arguing, etc. There are also times where he slips up, like when he trips over his Rhythmian words and says things that sound ‘stupid’, or when he forgets something important, or when he lets his emotions get the better of him, and he tends to worry that he’s not being the best influence on the kids because of that last part especially. But overall, he’s just trying his best as a caretaker, and the kids and their parents know this.
Rocket usually deals with problems by listening to the kids’ input, and letting them try out their ideas on their own as a way of encouraging their problem-solving skills, since, as pointed out before, they’re a smart bunch. Though he does give his own suggestions more often than not.
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I’ll update this at some point. ;)
For now, though, I’ll just give you some more general headcanons that I couldn’t find a place for in the character bios-
General headcanons
All of the Little Einsteins have classical music as their favourite genre, and that’s not going to change in a million years. However, they are starting to explore their interests beyond their comfort zones.
When the influence of Vocaloid begins to seep into Rhythm Heaven, Annie finds herself becoming extremely engaged with it, and especially with Miku. She has gotten the others pretty into it as well, albeit to a lesser extent.
As previously mentioned, Quincy likes crafting and building things, and he’s planning on getting into architecture in future.
Not all of the microgames in Rhythm Heaven actually happen in-universe. Some are part of TV shows or cartoons, and some remain video games (e.g. Shoot-‘Em-Up and Lady Cupid).
Most citizens of Rhythm Heaven are aware of the Little Einsteins’ existence. Though not all of them know who they are - they’ve only heard of the team from word of mouth, news and rumours.
Rocket’s able to change his ‘voice’ settings. The marimba voice is his ‘default mode’, along with what the kids are most used to, hence why he doesn’t change it very frequently.
Given how big of a bookworm experienced Leo is, he’s usually the first person June goes to whenever she’s written a story or poem.
Leo is also the best person in the team to ask about technology.
Quincy used to always have a stuffed dog on hand for anxiety management purposes. But since he seems to be doing better and has other means of dealing with stress, he doesn’t exactly have much use for it anymore. He’s thinking about giving it to a friend who may or may not need it more…
Since Archie and Evie were the ones who set up the baby mobile Rocket used to be a part of, they had both known about Rocket and his maternal nature the whole time. And since Alfred, Sora and Kokoro had been their neighbours for a while now, they knew about Rocket too. And while he was away, he’d contact them from time to time to check in on them and their kids. This explains why they were so quick to trust him with their kids…for the most part. *cough-cough* Kokoro- *cough-cough*
Before he reunited with the Little Einsteins, Rocket spent most of that time either trying to find a place for him to stay (with his attempts being in vain), or with Grandma Rocket.
Annie has always been greatly inspired by June ever since the day she encouraged her to keep going with her hobbies. She looks up to her a lot, seeing her as an overwhelmingly positive and supportive role model…although they are always best friends first.
June absolutely loves the dance-based rhythm games at arcades, like DDR for example. She absolutely kills it at Dancerush.
In spite of her grace and impressive vocabulary, June, much like Rocket, is not immune to tripping over her own words. (Ma’am, how are you both girlboss and girlfailure simultaneously?)
[CW: Child abuse, abandonment, panic attacks]
[June has always kept her memories of her biological “family” abusing and abandoning her. Only, after meeting the other Little Einsteins, her brain blocked those memories away, making her life feel more normal for a certain period of time. But after the events of Dance Like Nobody’s Watching…well…that stress became bigger than ever.
In addition, she has gone through panic attacks even before meeting her friends. The biggest difference being that she didn’t have that breathing exercise that Leo and Annie ended up teaching her, and Sora and Kokoro didn’t know how to calm her nerves no matter what they tried. As such, the end result every time was far worse than what’s shown in the fic.]
Out of all the kids’ parents, Sora and Kokoro have had the least amount of experience with parenting. In fact, after having adopted June, they realised that they didn’t even know how to be parents. A lot of the time, they went to Archie and/or Evie for advice. Sometimes Kokoro still comes to them (and Alfred) because she’s worried that she isn’t the best mother that she possibly could be for June, to which they reassure her that she’s doing the best she can.
Sora changed her last name to her stage name to further distance herself from her family. Kokoro took Sora’s last name when marrying her because she views it as a symbol of freedom, and didn’t want to take that away from her. (Though ultimately, it was Kokoro’s choice to do so. It was also June’s choice to become a part of the family and take the last name ‘Adore’.)
Quincy’s mother’s name was Miya.
Evie is part-Rhythmian. And by extension, so are Leo and Annie, though they don’t have as many physical differences from humans as she does.
This, however, doesn’t mean that they don’t have any physical features similar to Rhythmians at all; Leo has glow-in-the-dark eyes, and Annie has blue shoulder freckles that sparkle in sunlight.
The kids’ school is in a place outside of Rhythm Heaven. This is why, when June met Leo for the first time, she was baffled that a classmate of hers was just as passionate about music as she was.
At the time, neither Annie nor Quincy went to the same school as the others. The former was rather young to attend (but got sent up a grade sometime after her confidence boost) and the latter hadn’t moved into the neighbourhood yet. But now they all attend together! :D
Quincy spends time with June and her mothers during Mother’s Day, and June spends time with Quincy and his dad during Father’s Day.
June does not miss her old hometown and life. But there were one or two people who gave her life a more positive outlook. She still thinks about those people, and she still misses them.
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