The Unassuming Healer

(Indie RP account for Isane Kotetsu, current Captain of the 4th Division of the Gotei 13) About | Rules | Headcanon | Verses | Playlist 1 | Playlist 2 | Pinterest

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Taking an indefinite break from tumblr RP

Madame Mun will be taking an indefinite break as a high volume of work that needs doing. There is also some chaos on the domestic front as well as some nonsense over the flat and government-mandated improvement works. Apologies to anyone waiting for replies and whatnot. I loved interacting with everyone so far and it has been wonderful, but RL matters take priority. It can’t be helped, as the old girl would say.

In the meantime, I have some music posts, mopey posts and aesthetics posts queued until early September 2023. I can’t say when I’ll be back. Possibly next year or possibly later. Right now, work and the hurly-burly of life take priority. Be safe and look after yourselves, everyone.

Those who know how to reach me are welcome to prod me and whinge about RL stuff like the cost of eggs at the supermarket, the bloody heat, rheumatism and general things.

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The stars of night are to me the memorials of my day's faded flowers.

- Rabindranath Tagore

[burlcountry]

Wildflower bonanza.

[happyheidi]

𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘺

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Within thy life and mine there also lives a cherry blossom

-Basho

[fortunescaling]

[From the Columbo Sentences, Vol. 4 prompts.]

"Oh. You're moody again."

'I'm not. I'm simply quite busy as you may see.' He said defensively while she stared silently at him, with a look of resigned disapproval. She'd indeed told him so a few times lately, but she also knew better than to disturb him in his study when he said he was working on an important case. Though usually she was respectful of that boundary and only came when she had a very good reason. So perhaps, he was the one who had been unfair with her.

In any case, he never liked to see her upset, even when he deemed her worries unnecessary and excessive.

'My apologies.' He sighed with mild frustration, not with her, but his once again inveterate stubborness. He had to admit he'd been so absorbed in his work, he had neither taken very good care of late and hadn't occured to him, until now, that she might have feel neglected.

'I believe I've let this case take the better of me. I shouldn't have projected my frustrations onto you. I'll be more mindful, in the future.' He continued earnestly, hoping this would ease her discontement with him. 'Let me take care of dinner tonight and give you my undivided attention as an apology. It's been far too long since we've had an evening to ourselves, I trust we've both earned a bit of rest.'

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Most people would assume that Jugram was inscrutable, but it was quite simple to read his moods in Isane's estimation. A faint crease between the eyebrows meant he was either perplexed or troubled. A tense jaw meant he was keeping himself in check from any outburst. Half-lidded eyes usually indicated wariness and measured assessment of potential pitfalls. A stony expression with narrowed eyes denoted moodiness, especially when accompanied by long stretches of silence, coffee at all hours and barely touched comestibles she left outside the door of his study. After nearly a fortnight of this behaviour, she was beginning to fret. She had a suspicion he was vexed by something he could not make sense of, likely one or more contradictions in the evidence he could not untangle. As he prided himself on his analytical skill and intelligence, any inability to cut into the heart of the matter would incur his annoyance. It pained her to see him directing his displeasure at himself, for it invariably led to him staying up till the wee hours and not eating very much.

Grateful though she was that he never complained outright of her tendency to worry over him and those around her, it was impossible for her to be anything but concerned. Not eating for too long could lead to build up of stomach acids, severe stomach contractions and throwing up. While that would not break his concentration on working through the ins and outs of a case and she could pretend she did not know what went on in the bathroom should gastroparesis get the better of him, it would waste time he could have otherwise spent reviewing the material he had on hand. Thus, she had gone into his study with a cup of Ovaltine and an omelette in a bid to tempt him to eat something and tell him that brooding for extended periods like Humphrey Bogart in a film noir would not facilitate a breakthrough.

Although his quick snap at her made her bite her lower lip and dip her chin to her clavicles with a slight flush, she had anticipated it. It confirmed her assessment that he was irritated at himself for not making as much headway into his case as he liked. Indeed, he said as much with his words and the sideways sweep of his eyes. Isane set down the plate on an empty space on his desk and slipped the mug into his hands, shaking her head with a tight smile of understanding when he apologised.

"You need a break before you give yourself a headache and inflame your stomach lining," she soothed, rubbing his forearm in tacit assent of his proposal, for it was plain to her that he was more stressed than he let on given his wish to finely cut and dice ingredients. "Repeated reviewing of the files would only irritate your further, no? Making dinner would allow you to vent your frustration and you need a good night's sleep. Go back to the case tomorrow when you feel more refreshed."

[besidebloomingirises]

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Will continue to be scarce. Although the work projects written of in this OOC entry were completed in early January 2026, I have been repeatedly ill since November. The joys of autoimmune diseases. It has been a cycle of a few days being okay, followed by weeks of influenza, then a few days being well again only to succumb to weeks of a cold and pleurisy, then another few days of recovery before being laid up for weeks with grand mals and bronchitis, then another few days of being okay only to now have pneumonia and pleurisy for the past three weeks. Not fun at all to have to plod on the work projects when ill and there are even fewer spoons to ration, and it's bloody inconvenient to still be unwell and coughing up my lungs when work projects are done. While I am resting and keeping hydrated, I'm tired all the bloody time, have prolonged coughing fits and breathing is painful. Thus, I will be very slow and simply continue to lurk.

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He smiled as he approached the quiet captain with a soft smile and a blanket. He draped it over her shoulders to allow her some warmth as the fireworks explode in the air outside the Seireitei. He gives her a soft kiss as he gives a smile to his arms still lingering around her waist as the new year began around them. "Happy new year Isane-chan. May you have a better year than the last."

"Happy new year to you too," was the soft utterance as Isane tried to discern the pattern in the fireworks. What was it supposed to be this time? A round vegetable with a face? She could not tell. Perhaps it was upside down because of the angle it shot into the air. In any case, she hoped the fireworks would not go on for much longer. She much rather the higher-ups cut down on expenses of such displays and allocated the funds to the various Divisions and her hospital wing. Then there was the din. It would not be good for the patients' rest. There was the aftermath to consider too, for revellers might stumble into the Fourth with single fingers or other injuries. She once read in a living world newspaper someone from the Ninth brought back that a spent firework shell had hit a person on the head. While such an occurrence was rare, there was no telling what would happen if some of the more boisterous youngsters were involved.

Wrapping the blanket around her, she decided she would leave instructions for the nurses on duty to prepare for burns as a precaution. Meanwhile, the in-house patients and staff on night duty needed to be fed now that the new year had rolled in. "Please help me to distribute nanakusa gayu around the wards. They need to be kept warm and reminded they're not forgotten," she said with a smile, patting his hands around her.

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*gives Kiyone 4 different poppin' cookin' kits and Isane a snowflake necklace.* "Merry Christmas to you both."

Kindly meant as the tributes were and delighted as her sister would be by the entertainment provided by the kits, the necklace gave Isane pause even as she blushed. One did not give jewellery willy-nilly to another outside the family and it indicated serious intent on the part of the giver. That was something that merited mulling over. In the interest of prudence, she decided she would put it safely aside for the time being. No doubt, she reflected, it was mere thoughtfulness because someone mentioned she had snowflake stud earrings.

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He smiles as he approached behind her, letting the air feel charged. He gently placed his hand on hers, letting her feel the warmth. He leaned over as he wished he had his other arm to wrap around her.

"How are you feeling? I know the surgery took a long time." He said to comfort her exhaustion. "If you'd like, I can get you a cup of tea to help warm and refresh you."

Though initially startled by the tread she heard behind her, Isane relaxed a fraction from feeling the faint crackle in the air and familiar reiatsu. In all likelihood Keitaro wanted to report the conditions of his patients or confirm some recommendation or change she made vis-a-vis the treatment of someone still housed in their wards. However, she had cause to be flustered when these reasonable suppositions were proved false when he placed a hand over hers. Much too drained to protest as extended back-to-back recombitant Kaido surgery was mentally and spiritually taxing, she only managed a small intake of breath in surprise before giving him a tired smile.

"That is very considerate," she muttered in acknowledgement, giving his hand a quick squeeze. "Thank you. Tea and something sweet would be nice."

[besidebloomingirises]

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Will be slow and "not here" until god-knows-when. Just got back from hospital and still sick because autoimmune rubbish likes to flare-up all at once. All the journals that must come out for their respective winter editions came in late and all the papers have the same deadlines. Moreover, some authors have to be chased down for their papers and their citations. All papers are also very problematic in terms of grammar, language, etc, for reasons that I cannot discuss here. So it's back to 20-hour days with massive rewrites and dealing with recalcitrant authors, etc, to meet deadlines that are sometime in late Nov - early Dec.

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He smiled as he played his shamisenin the courtyard near his barracks. He was doing it as an alternative stress relief, maybe something that his captain would approve of. He knew she was appreciative of classical arts and hobbies. He hoped that she wouldn't judge him if she were to find him practicing.

Stretching and massaging her back from sitting in one position for extended period while communing with her blade, Isane was about to do some light reading when the sounds of a shamisen wafted into her quarters. She had never intruded upon the after-hours activities of her officers and non-Shinigami staff. In this, she followed the example of her predecessor and left such matters alone when they did not affect the work or dedication of those under her. While she was more lax in certain areas such as allowing staff to use the cookhouse for little parties so long as they were not too noisy, did not damage any property, did not get sick or make others sick from over-indulgence, and cleaned up the place, she let others do as they pleased.

As there was no agitation or discordance in the melody, as was sometimes the case when the Captain of the neighbouring Third Division was feeling particularly dispirited, she assessed that the musician in the courtyard beyond was not stressed or in the doldrums. It was reassuring to know that she did need to smooth ruffled feathers or offer what support she could to staff in distress. Aware that not many of her officers were of a musical bent, she whittled down the list to less than a handful as she prepared hot tea so that the person practising outdoors would not catch chill in the night air.

"To aid in soothing Or means of contemplation Let the tune ground you," she counselled quietly with an impromptu haiku on seeing Keitaro and placing the steaming cup beside him. "There is peach oolong to your left. Please do not stay up too late. The instrument, like fingers, need to rest."

[cinghialefedele]

"Haha, really? Maybe in another time, your Captain and My Lord would have enjoyed sitting at the same table, then...!"

It's an endeared tone, thinking of his Master's own tastes; not picky per say, but definitely prefering strong flavors across the board, from savory to sweet to spicy. He stays as requested, taking a look around with his head swivelling to counter the urge to wander, until the snow-haired Shinigami returns. He bows his head in appreciation, accepting the books, and giving an almost surprised glance at the cup of tea, uttering shy thanks and lifting the cup to sniff, before sipping, and letting out a pleased hum.

"Rhizome...for nausea..."

He echoes, glancing between where he's scribbling notes and perks up at her offer to see a spice market.

"Really? That would be so much fun! I'd love to get some new spiced and things to make a wider variety of meals at home! Especially with the colder seasons around he corner. Master Nnoitra isn't a big fan of the cold... besides spice, it would be nice to find some warm comfort foods to make to pass the time..."

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She could not help but smile at the idea of her late captain debating the merits of various dishes with a fearsome Arrancar. Perhaps it would not be so absurd when there was food to occupy them. After all, one was less inclined to move when one was full. The thought was banished from her mind when she observed Tesla tentatively sniffing and tasting the tea. Was he unused to hospitality? Or did they have different customs for guests in Hueco Mundo? She bit her lower lip and mentally chided herself for not finding out. Still, if he was contentedly sipping the tea and chatting amiably with her, then it must be all right.

"Oh, yes, they have markets selling ground up spices and as pods, seeds and other herbs. They can look like anything from little fragrant stars to curled up bark, and most of them smell wonderful. And at these places that they call supermarkets, they have packets of readymade sauces and pastes with instructions on the back," she elaborated, sitting beside him and watching him make notes.

Instantly sympathetic when he mentioned his master's antipathy towards the cold, she nodded in understanding. The cold could make one rheumatic and feel as though it was cutting through to the bone in certain circumstances. "Simple meals can be adapted to be warming for the body too. Soups with dried jujube may help. Just a few will do. Even something like fried rice… Well, if you pour over hot ankake sauce… That's a thick, starchy sauce reduced from soup stock and other ingredients. Well, pouring over ankake sauce can make fried rice wholesome and hot. And if you take ginger and bash it for the juice, it's a good marinade for chicken and can make a stew warming with a hint of heat. Mother uses it for her soy sauce chicken stew. At the spice market, you can find five-spice powder for stir-fries and noodle dishes. It's a little strong because it's a mix of anise, fennel, cinnamon, cloves and black pepper, but very aromatic and your lord may like it."

[besidebloomingirises]

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How is Kiyone taking the reaction of Isane's dates? Seeing as she's probably seeing it as one of the many romance novels.

As long as Isane returns in a mood that is not upset or perturbed, Kiyone won't do much beyond pestering to know the details. She thinks Isane is too sedate and a fuddy-duddy, and thus knows her big sister will keep things within the bounds of propriety in public and takes time to open up. Considering that Kiyone probably finds Jane Bennet from Pride and Prejudice insipid and Natasha Ilyinichna Rostova from War and Peace high-spirited and relatable, we have a gauge of how much younger than Isane she is. This is a lass who deems Isane's softness, kindness and peaceable nature to be "meek" rather than the active practice of soft power that counsels and disapproves rather than commands and issues punitive punishment.

So long as the suitor doesn't do anything to render Isane troubled or teary, there will be no younger Kotetsu stomping on his foot and making huffy threats borne from indignation. Regardless of the questions posed, Isane will be suitably demure and vague in her answers to Kiyone and attempt to placate (and distract) her with snacks and souvenirs, such as the Popin' Cookin’ kits. That should work in keeping Kiyone occupied.