The hierarch candidates having merch of themselves wasn’t something common nor was it even heard of, so when you saw Yi Sang carrying a small plushie of Ishmael with him, you had to ask him where he got it.
“This one I have assembled myself as an exhibition of my veneration of the young Miss,” he told you proudly. “Do you require one of your own?”
You didn’t say no.
That was putting it lightly, as you might’ve gotten a bit carried away with him and gotten yourself a bunch of trinkets made in Ishmael’s image. All as tiny and cute as the person that they were based on.
“What are you two doing?”
Your fun unfortunately didn’t last long as Ishmael comes into the room that you and Yi Sang were holed up in. Her gaze lingers on the tiny versions of herself before moving to Yi Sang, expression changing to that of exasperation but without a hint of surprise before her eyes land on you. It’s then that you can make out the surprise in her eyes, together with disappointment.
How could you explain yourself in this kind of situation?
“Yi Sang’s idea,” you quickly threw him under the bus. He didn’t seem to care, looking proud of himself for all the little plushies and trinkets that he made.
“And why did you go along with it?” she questioned, targeting you instead of the man that started the incident. So much for you throwing him under the bus.
Since you didn’t really have anything to hide, you might as well tell her the truth. “I asked about a plushie of you that Yi Sang had, and he told me that he made it as a sign of his devotion and asked me if I wanted one as well. I want to show my support for you for the hierarch evaluations so I agreed.”
She stared at you one moment then opened her fan to cover her face with it the next. “Haah, you two…” was all that she responded with before leaving you and Yi Sang be.
<- Back to the masterlist?
tag list: @rosaberrii, @yuri678, @wifeguyoutis, @existence-is-a-pain87, @successfulthinkgirl, @rainachain, @costcosundae22, @dem1sedscholar
this is the perfect time to say that zwei Ishmael lowkey haunted my brain when she was first teased and I am a sucker for bodyguard x client dynamics, so mayhaps headcanons for zwei Ishmael with a client reader who frequently gets into trouble....? 👉 👈
BODYGUARD X CLIENT DYNAMIC MY BELOVEDDDD velvet u r so nice 2 me
zwei ishmael with a client reader headcanons
🫧congratulations! there aren't many in her grade more competent, sturdy, and attentive than ishmael. if you wanted a strong and capable sort to intimidate potential foes away, look no further-- hey, where are you going? stop chasing that cat into that dark alleyway! this isn't what she signed up for at all!
🫧at the start, she tries to convince herself that you're truly just unlucky. maybe even a bit naive. it isn't your fault that you manage to get caught unaware, that it's just a wrong time and wrong place type of deal. eventually she has to talk some sense into herself and insist that you're not just cursed.
🫧her professional facade begins to crumble away, and you're subjected to heavy sighs and glares she could have used to scare your assailants away rather than hefting that sword around. you stress her out. not enough for it to really be that much of problem, but enough that there were certainly contracts with much less troublesome clients that she could have accepted. still, she has confidence in her abilities-- she just wishes that you had a little less. maybe you should have gone for a contract with the southern branch, since you're not the sort to make it easy to stand and loom behind you. at the very least, you keep her days free of boredom, unlike many of her previous contracts.
🫧no matter how charming she starts to find your affinity for chaos, in the most surprising and strange of ways, it isn't wise for her to get attached to you. you may not want to renew the contract, or maybe she'll get a better offer near the end of this one that she won’t be able to refuse. the idea of failing her assignment doesn't occur to her even once. she claims that it's just because she doesn't want to leave a poor mark on the reputation of the zwei (or her resume), but...
🫧then why does her devotion run deeper than ink scrawled on the page of your contract? why does her heartbeat stuttering have more to do with your safety for safety's sake, than failing to fulfill a contract? her gloved hands land on your waist to pull you away from trouble, armor separating her skin from yours, and she can't let go. it's as if she has to pry her fingers away. she tells herself she's going to finally see about transferring to another line of work after the job expires, because she's clearly going crazy in this position.
you get into another situation. of course you do. nothing all that serious, but enough that it's definitely an inconvenience. ishmael is irate, despite having not even broken a sweat. and out of nowhere, with starry eyes, you tell her that the blue cape on her uniform makes her look like so knightly, like a storybook heroine in shining armor. and she's cringed at such fantasies before, mocked others for indulging in them... but she's blushing anyway. staring at you with her mouth hanging open, her fingers twitching on the handle of her sword like she can fight that feeling away. the long list of choice words she’s selected for you seem to vacate her mind, leaving her stunned.
"shut up, that's not getting you off the hook." she claims once she gathers her bearings, though she's not trying to lecture you anymore.
i had fun w this one 💃 one of my fav dynamics. i've always loved how ishmael clearly craves order despite how often she puts herself in chaotic situations and just... lives in the city itself. granted even the great lake follows rules so it makes sense that she expects anything less insane to follow them too. i think thats why i like the idea of her with a chaos gremlin partner tbh
anyway hope everyone had a good ishmael day the other day. eat some hot dogs
YOU DIDN'T THINK I WASN'T GONNA POST SOMETHING FOR ISHMAEL DAY RIGHT????
takes place shortly after canto 5. man they were on the limboat forever
happy birthday ishmael!
Ishmael never did much for her birthday.
On the ship, it was just another day. Another slot on the calendar, eclipsed by other events of more relevance, or left entirely blank. Until she hardly acknowledged it herself, long after that final voyage, leaving it a space on the calendar forever left white. Not that she'd ever placed much more value on it before, dedicating all of her time and energy to getting that cushy job working for U Corp., there wasn't much time for festivities then either.
Nothing changed when she started with Limbus Company either. Twelve birthdays, excluding the bus staff, was already more to keep up with than any other company was willing to keep track of. There was no point in making a fuss, in calling attention to it, and–
"Hey, when's your birthday, anyway?"
The question had sounded innocent enough when you asked it, though she hardly knew you then. Hardly knew your sinister intentions of keeping track of everyone's birthdays, your personal mission to do something for each of them. What harm could there have been in volunteering such basic information? It was easy enough to access if you truly wanted to.
She knew she'd made a horrible mistake in trusting your curious gaze when just a week later, she walked into the kitchen to find Don Quixote sitting in a party hat, positively beaming at a grocery store birthday cake. Eyes twinkling with the sparkler candles, which you'd lamented you weren't sure how many to place. Party blowers went off, confetti poppers blew, and she realized she had sealed her fate. She was going to get an over the top, cheesy, painfully embarrassing birthday. And you were going to make sure of it.
It felt akin to watching the others go through their own personal circles of hell, awaiting her turn as the calendar moved further and further into the year. Not everyone got the same treatment– she'd have loved to see you try with some of them– but you made a big enough deal of it that she could firmly state that she was not looking forward to your plans.
"Your birthday is coming up." You said, leaning over the back of the seat in front of her, awaiting the other sinners' arrival to the cabin for the morning.
"Oh, I guess so." Ishmael replied, with all of the serenity she'd practiced earlier that summer on the Great Lake. The pinnacle of nonchalance, she began to bounce her leg.
You rested your chin on your hands, folded over each other. Head tilted just so. "It's tomorrow, in fact."
She coughed, looking out the window at the waves. "Huh, hadn't noticed."
A smirk formed, as if to tell her that you certainly had, before you headed to your seat.
She had intended on avoiding you the next day, just as she'd meant to inform you the last few weeks that she really didn’t like the idea of a huge celebration. But you practically threw yourself into planning the festivities, using it as a clear distraction and desperately needed morale booster, and she just couldn't bring herself to crush your spirit. Not when you put more and more effort into each birthday that came along.
When you quickly located her and to took hold of her jacket sleeve, your tenacity a force to be reckoned with when she was trudging so slowly along, she resigned herself to her fate. The kitchen door loomed closer and closer, and she braced herself for all sorts of variables. Silly string in her hair, party blowers, the works. Maybe a vaguely nautical themed cake, the best you could do with limited sources.
As the door swung open, she received only the sight of a totally vacant room. Not a cheer to be heard; only the monotonous buzz of the refrigerator. The door shutting of its own accord forced her further into the room as it tapped her back.
She blinked a few times. "Huh?"
You gestured grandly towards the cupcake on the counter. Large, definitely homemade with what was at your disposal. Blue and orange, leftover food dye from someone else's party favors. A card sat next to the plate, practically leaking with glitter. Someone's heavy handed signature could be clearly made out through the back of it.
"Dante has the others doing Mirror Dungeon runs. You've got the day off to just do..." You threw up your hands, smiling. "Whatever."
"I thought there was going to be a whole song and everything." She breathed out a sigh of relief, shoulders relaxing finally. The song felt like the absolute worst part to her.
As if you hadn't been tormenting her for the last week, you had the nerve to laugh innocently. "But you would hate that!"
Ishmael let a smile slip despite herself. "Yeah, I would."
Silence settled over the two of you, a beautiful but rare sound on the bus, especially at that hour. With how bored everyone had been.
You began making your way towards the door, straightening out your uniform as you walked backwards. "Well, I'm gonna go join the others. Leave you to it."
It felt a bit odd to be so excited, especially after all that had happened in the last few months on the lake. Sitting alone in the small kitchen of the bus, eating a cupcake by herself and undoubtedly getting glitter bombed by that card, was the most short term thing she'd had to look forward to since...
You paused midstep, your thumb still pointing over your shoulder towards the exit.
"Unless, y'know... you need help with that."
Ishmael looked down at the, quite honestly, comically oversized cupcake. Whoever did the icing did not excel in decorating desserts, but she took in the poorly done little orange hearts with sigh. That felt incredibly overfamiliar, whoever had done it, but the idea of it being you didn't feel so bad. If anything, it made her mouth go dry, her heart flutter.
Celebrating her birthday with solely you this year didn't sound too bad either, once she thought about it. After all, she didn’t explicitly state she wanted to be completely left alone.
With her eyes on the unopened card, rather than you, she conceded with red cheeks. "...I might."
You were back at her side in an instant, obviously having no intention of leaving to do any work as you immediately procured a knife to cut the cupcake into quarters. She sighed, fondly exasperated this time.
As the two of you devoured her cake by yourselves, having no intentions of sharing with the others whatsoever, Ishmael made a note to try to make sure you got similar treatment whenever your next birthday rolled around. She would be sure to mark it on her own calendar, a space she could fill in with your favorite color. After all, the idea of her own being something of note didn't seem quite so ridiculous anymore. So long as you didn't make a big deal of it then too.
(By New Years, you had a new personal calendar hanging in your bunk filled with different birthdays. On the 8th of August, was a space completely filled in with doodles and exclamation marks.
And little orange hearts.)
word count 1,198
i wrote this in 2 hrs today bc of a time crunch and i'm sure it shows but i haaaaad to do smth for ishmael day. her story means sm to me<3
Hello 👉👈 could you make a Ishmael x reader hc about how a relationship would go and what her feelings would be towards a reader who is head over heels for her?? Over time, of course. Anyway I loved your general Ishy headcanons and like I just love how reasonable she is and how well she communicates!! Thank you!! 💕⚓️
ishmael birthday tomorrow....... was saving this request on purpose
headcanons for ishmael with a head over heels reader
🫧at first it's just a little embarrassing. she doesn’t have bad self esteem or anything, she's a fairly confident woman and secure enough in herself, it's just that she isn’t used to having such rapt attention on her. she's flattered, really
🫧if you're the sort to stumble over your words, to giggle nervously and forget what you're saying because you're just so flustered, she finds it... cute. after she realizes what's going on, that you're not just feeling unwell or suffering some after effects of battle that a rewind couldn't fix. it's a little ridiculous to watch, but endearing because it's you
🫧she doesn't like to be bombarded. i can see her getting overwhelmed by it, maybe even finding it a little suspicious if it's especially soon into the relationship. she's not very materialistic; the things she has are few, but they hold tremendous sentimental value to her. anything you give her, whether it be handmade or just personalized, has a special place in her room, on her person, etc. so she wants any gestures to have real meaning.
🫧in her own way, she's head over heels for you too. she just shows it differently. your attention and affections are appreciated, even if she doesn't always know the best ways to reciprocate, or her attempts at doing so look more subdued.
how would ishy and rody take care of me when I'm sick
we are all suffering lately i fear. had such bad allergies recently that i wanted to be put down
taking care of sick reader headcanons ~ ishmael, rodya
ISHMAEL
🫧probably not super used to taking care of others but she'll try. has a basic knowledge of how to handle common illnesses, but she likely doesn't get sick often if at all and might not have that much experience with it. she's not squeamish at the very least. it's the best possible time to get some sympathy out of her; you just look really pitiful, and you're asking her for help, and she can't stand to leave you alone in such a state.
🫧she's very insistent upon you taking your medicine at exactly the right time. she sets alarms. stop whining that it tastes bad and just take the damn cough syrup. you're also going to be getting a lot of soup, because she knows that that's supposed to be good for you and it's quick and simple to make. if you are really, really pathetic, you might be able to get her to spoon feed it to you. that information will not be leaving your room though
🫧very by the book once more, she insists on rest. and if you really can't rest without her there, well, she's willing to cuddle with you. she's not worried about catching anything, and again, she really can't bring herself to say no to you in this condition. deep down, it makes her feel good to be able to help you in this way. she doesn’t like to feel powerless, but this is something that she can try to ease your suffering in
🫧at least you're not getting quarantined at sea 🤷♂️
RODYA
🫧i'm so sorry to say this but she is probably squicked out by your sickly-ness. it's icky. she's not going to leave you to fend for yourself, but she's not gonna cuddle you, and she's probably going to hate a lot of it. like if you have a fever she'll change the cool damp rag on your forehead, but she'll make a face and it'll be very obvious she's grossed out
🫧will however pet your head and coo at you like you're the most pathetic creature on the planet, but her bringing your favorite snacks/drinks might make up for it. she's always struck me as the sort to do kind things but not act the nicest while doing them/be borderline patronizing, but she cares about you and doesn't want you to suffer
🫧she's got home remedies from when she was a kid and she is willing to try them all. they're low cost/free and really not that difficult because they're from when she was a kid, but she really does want to help and believes that they will
🫧tries to take your mind off of your misery. she'll bring some card games or even just sit and talk with you for as long as you can stay awake. she sticks around when you fall asleep in case you wake up and need something, and also because she does get a little worried. growing up in the backstreets, she's definitely seen small illnesses take people away unexpectedly. on occasion she'll look up from whatever she's doing, make sure you're okay, and go back to it
i haven't been writing much at all recently bc of trials and tribulations so i hope these headcanons at least are anything. i also hope this doesnt sound like rodya slander i adore her but i think she's the LAST person i'd want taking care of me while sick bc my god she'd irritate me DHSBFBHSJF
