#yusuf al kaysani headcanon

[nnicky]

I lowkey hope Joe and Nicky's introduction in TOG 2 is chaotic. Like, Nile and Andy are meeting with an important associate of Copley's and they burst in fresh from a mission/stakeout. Neither of them have slept in three days, their eyes are bloodshot, they definitely need a shower, and they are so overtired to the point of being delirious. They can barely stand up. When Andy introduces them and she's poised as ever, Nicky definitely checks out the guy and he's like "oooh oooh oooh". Andy dismisses them right after that obviously.

#then they get in the shower and just laughing because they're so tired #i had a dream about this lol #except i was working with them and for some reason my ninth grade english teacher was there #and nicky checked him out lmfao #but yeah i hope it's like this #joe x nicky #yusuf al kaysani #nicolò di genova #the old guard #text #headcanons #i guess

[nicojoe]

“nicky has traits that could be read as autistic, but what’s joe done that might suggest he has ADHD?”

there's no way that in over 900 years of marriage, nicky hasn’t patiently explained to him that, as far as flavor and texture is concerned, if an animal fat (like, say, goose) needs to be substituted, it should be with a different kind of animal fat (like tallow, lard, or even butter), instead of a plant-derived oil.  like olive.

joe knows this simple culinary fact.  he just keeps forgetting. 

#(he's used to olive oil as a staple of mediterranean/north african cooking and his mind just goes there by default ok??) #bless his heart #joe my beloved #this is my headcanon #he has lists everywhere at home #he's left his phone in the fridge more times than he can count #he loves that nicky *gets* it - that although nicky can sometimes fixate (he REALLY wanted the authenticity of goose fat) he also gets #why joe sometimes just... can't remember (especially if he's focused on something else) #(or distracted) #they are two peas in a pod <3 #the old guard #yusuf al kaysani #nicolo di genova

[catofadifferentcolor]

Terrible Fic Idea #62: Hauteville!Nicolò di Genova

My major problem - the one that keeps me from actually writing any of the terrible fic ideas I have - is that I hyperfixate on details. Case in point, I was reading Crusaders by Dan Jones as background for eventual TOG headcanons - and was hit by how much the physical description of Bohemond I of Antioch resembled Nicky. So, naturally, I thought, why not?

Or: What if Nicolò di Genova was the bastard son of that famous crusader, Prince Bohemond I of Antioch?

Bear with me:

Eldest son of the Norman adventurer Robert Guiscard (aka "The Terror of the World"), Bohemond was declared a bastard when his parents' marriage was invalidated and, "discovered that the most reliable way to get ahead in the world was with a sword in one's hand, and he had been blessed with the physicality and family connections to do just that" (55). Alternately described, "a fine figure even among the greatest," "a hero of great stature," and "spiteful, malevolent, deceitful, treacherous, inconstant, greedy, bitter, [and] a congenial liar," even his detractors were forced to admit, "he was magnetically beautiful: tall, broad-chested and handsome, with large hands and a solid stance, captivating light blue eyes and a fair complexion, his hair cut short around his ears and his chin shaved quite smooth, both provocatively out of keeping with a world in which tresses and beards were the usual symbols of machismo" (54).

Naturally, having just finished watching The Old Guard for approximately the eighth time, I thought, who does that sound like? Luckily the timeline seems to work, and thus this headcanon was born.

Just imagine it:

Bohemond was born between 1050 and 1058. If the date was on the earlier side of things (or he was a bit precocious), it's not impossible for him to have fathered a bastard child born c. 1069. The mother is quickly married off to a minor noble in Genoa, earning her child the appellation di Genova.

As a child Nicolò saw little of his father, but was encouraged to follow in his footsteps. He received perhaps the best military education available at the time given his Hauteville relations and proved to be a prodigal swordsman. Unlike his extended male kin, however, Nicky had little desire to carve a principality out for himself.

Given the choice, Nicky would rather join a monastery than a military campaign. There are a variety of reasons for this, ranging from not wanting to be assassinated as a potential rival to a legitimate brother or cousin's throne to monasteries being great centers of learning to genuine religious feeling, but no religious house would dare cross his father or grandfather by allowing him to take holy orders without their permission. Which neither would ever give. Nicky was more useful to them as a knight than an abbot or bishop.

This stalemate goes on for a while, until the First Crusade. Although left behind in Italy to finish the siege of Amalfi in 1097, Nicky was summoned to the Holy Lands by his father after the siege of Antioch to help solidify his new position as prince of the same. Nicky delayed as long as possible, finally sailing to Jaffa in June 1099 with Guglielmo Embriaco to relieve the siege of Jerusalem.

Joe and Nicky kill each other for the first time on night of 14 July 1099, after the outer walls are breached (93). They repeat the process several times through the night, moving further and further away from the city each time. On the morning of 15 July they realize they're soulmates lay down arms, make their way back to the city, and arrive just in time to see the walls of Jerusalem fall.

They each die multiple times trying to protect the innocents caught up in the fighting and it's at that moment they each realize how easily they could fall in love with the other - though neither acts on their feelings until they arrive at Cairo some weeks later, having decided to leave the fighting behind and search the world together for answers to their immortality.

They go from Cairo to Alexandria to Tripoli to Mahdia, moving slowly and staying in each place for months to do research and earn coin for the next leg of the journey.

They are preparing to leave for Algiers when news arrives that Bohemond I has died, leaving the principality of Antioch to his infant son, Bohemond II, under the administration of his nephew Tancred. This should be the one and only moment Nicky has doubts about traveling with Joe, as Nicky considers returning to the Holy Land to protect the half-brother he's never met from those who might take advantage of a young ruler and leverage this guardianship to bring peace to the war-torn region. It is an agonizing night until Nicky realizes he made his decision long ago, and that he'd rather travel with someone who loves him and doing good where they can than fight for a land he's never seen for people who only ever saw him a weapon.

Nicky and Joe continue like this for several more years, going from Algiers to Tangier to Marrakesh to Al-Andalus to Sicily (where Joe finally learns Nicky is a descendant of those Hautevilles), finally making it to Constantinople shortly before the Second Crusade.

Honestly this is where this particular headcanon starts burning out, because I love the idea of Joe and Nicky's lives being shaped by (and shaping) the Crusades and as such is a part of all my headcanons for these two. (That, and Ibn Battuta-like journeys in between, visiting Aden, Mogadishu, and Mombasa before the Third and settling in Constantinople just in time for the Fourth.)

Specific to this headcanon is Nicky's journey being less one of religious deradicalization - though that is part of it - than confrontation of the consequences of his family's actions throughout the Mediterranean. Some part of him will always think that his immortality is necessary atonement for his and his family's sins, though that part grows less as the centuries pass.

Bonuses include: 1) Nicky confronting his cousin Tancred for failing to contain the violence in favor of ransacking the Dome of the Rock (95). Despite feeling betrayed - honestly having thought better of Tancred, - Nicky choses to walk away rather than kill his cousin. Years later, history will somehow mutate this into the basis for Jerusalem Delivered, getting all the important details wrong in the process; 2) Although not his mother tongue, Old Norman is the language Nicky always reverts to when needing particularly strong curse words. He blames his father for this; and 3) His highly annotated original copy of the Alexiad found its way into historians' hands in the 1800s and is considered an important contemporary Italo-Norman reading of the text. There is considerable academic debate as to the annotator's identity, with no one ever having gotten close to the truth.

That's all I really have that's specific to this character background - as I said, a lot of what happens after their first deaths is consistent across TOG headcanons for me. It's just getting them to Jerusalem that fluctuates. As always, feel free to adopt this bun, just link back if you do anything with it.

More Terrible Fic Ideas

#plot bunny #fic ideas #the old guard #tog #nicolo di genova #headcanon #character backstory #character background #yusuf al kaysani #immortal husbands #origin story

[tommy-evan]

random yusuf al kaysani headcanon of the morning

he loves howl’s moving castle

he loves anything by hayao miyazaki films, but that one especially

and on days where he just wants to let the world take him in, when all he wants is music and a cup of tea, and nicky sleeping on his lap he would listen to joe hisaishi

so when nile becomes part of their family, and he sees her curled up just watching totoro on netflix, he joins her quietly and just watch with her

and when it was her turn to join him, she’d find that he doesn’t use subtitles

then on days when yusuf needs cheering up, nile and nicky would work together to recreate a dish from one of the films, and e’d talk about it for days

nicky gets really good at making onigiri because of it, especially since it becomes one of andy’s fave

and when they reunite with booker again, nile sees that booker gives him sakuma drops, and he’s so happy about it, and shakes it with nile

it becomes one of her favourites and when she finally gets to japan, she gets so much of it, much to andy’s delight

#the old guard #yusuf al kaysani #usernati #tog headcanon #L writes things

[searchingcassiopeia]

I love the idea that despite their healing the tog team still get aches and pain after battle. Sore muscles, phantom pain from wounds, hell maybe they pulled a muscle in their leg and its still throbbing for an hour after even though its totally healed. Dying is exhausting.

Booker has a stash of painkillers - some otc level but most are high end off market opioids because he can take them with alcohol and it makes him totally numb without the after effects of him dying of liver failure. Joe and Nicky regularly go to couples massages not just because its romantic but because the muscles in their backs and shoulders from swinging heavy swords get tight. Andy and Nile get pedicures and have spa days to relax and they find they have a shared passion for Yoga - Andy having learnt it in Northern India some time around the Maurya Empire and Nile has the more modern Americanised teaching so they enjoy comparing the differences in the ancient style versus the new age.

#tog #the old guard #tog headcanon #andromache of scythia #sebastion le livre #booker #yusuf al kaysani #nicolo di genova #joe x nicky #nile freeman

[bestwisheslatersgators]

I thought of this headcanon for Joe and I had to write it before I forget. I’m also sure that someone else has thought of it but oh well!

Joe is a HUGE comic book nerd. He’s been a fan of them since they came out. I’m sure he has a ton of different comic books scattered around at all their different safe houses. I’m sure in the past he has even written and drawn some of his own comics. (He definitely based a character or two on his found family.) He obviously loves Marvel and DC. At some point in his life he definitely had drinks with Stan Lee.

I also think he definitely watches all the comic book movies and tv shows with Nile. They almost always get tickets to an early showing unless they are on a mission. If they are on a mission they make sure to see the movie immediately when they get home, She always used to see the movies in the theater with her brother and now she gets to do it with her new brother. They decided at some point make the rest of the team sit down and have a marathon of them. Joe’s favorite character is Moon Knight. Nicky loves Daredevil. Andy’s favorite character is Wonder Woman (Especially after hearing that maybe she was the inspiration for her). Niles favorite character is Iron Man. Bookers favorite character is the Scarlet Witch.

#the old guard #the old guard headcanon #joe #joe al kaysani #yusuf al kaysani #nicolo di genova #nicky #Nile #Nile freeman #Andy #booker #andromache the scythian #sebastien le livre

[astrabear]

🔥

You didn't specify a topic, so I will default to TOG.

I don't like reactive headcanons. "Other fans write Character as X, so I will write him as even more Y!" I get the impulse behind it, especially when X feels very hostile to the nature of the character, but it still feels flat and shallow to me. Which means that there comes a point in the "Joe is a sweet sweet ball of sunshine" characterization where I nope out. Yusuf al Kaysani will slit a man's throat and wipe his sword off on the dying man's clothes. He has a temper. He has chosen a life of violence. He is also very warm and loving, and an artist, and a confused red panda when suddenly awakened, and an incurable romantic, and he makes corny jokes to defuse tension. I love him, and I love all of him, including the parts that aren't soft. I love that he's a complex character.

(None of this is meant to throw shade at the Soft Joe fans. Like I said, I get where that's coming from, and I prefer that approach to the one they're responding to. But it's not for me.)

#send me a fire emoji and get an unpopular opinion #bonus if you give me a topic #ask game #they are all killers #I love them they're my blorbos my babies my beloveds #but boy have they killed an awful lot of people

[raedear]

Character game: Yusuf Al-Kaysani (aka The Most Beloved)

I feel like I turn into Nicky every time I think about Joe. I LOVE HIM SO MUCH 😭

- favourite thing about him: he's a cheeky shit and I adore him. "he thinks you're a mouse, Nicky" MY DUDE HE JUST STABBED YOU

- least favourite thing about him: fuck all I love him but I would also like to take him away from some people who think they can literally find and replace his name in any kind of shit they want because apparently he doesn't deserve consistent or accurate characterisation looking INCREDIBLY specifically at some folk here

- favourite line: the wink at the dinner table.

- brOTP: Joe+Nile besties you can't change my mind

- OTP:

- nOTP: just keep booker away from my blorbos please it's all I ask

- random headcanon: occasionally he needs Nicky to just lie down on top of him and smush him like a living weighted blanket for a bit. In a pinch Andy or Nile can also do this but it's most effective when it's Nicky.

- unpopular opinion: I need to stop starting fights when I'm in a mood like this but suffice to say there are some folk I would not hesitate to square go over Joe.

- time after time as covered by iron & wine

- favourite picture of them:

Edit:

I considered doing this twice again because I thought that would be funny but I decided against it haha, thank you @astrabear for the very very kind thought and thank you nonie for reading my fic! 💜

#ask me anything my dudes

[myriadimagines]

Could i request headcanons for being part of the old guard and the closest to nicky and joe? Thank you in advance 😊

BEING PART OF THE OLD GUARD WHO’S CLOSEST TO NICKY AND JOE: 

You got closest to Nicky and Joe because they became like parental figures for you

You were so lost and confused when you first found out about your immortality

You didn’t know how to comprehend any of it, and you felt so incredibly alone

Joe and Nicky were incredibly patient with you

It didn’t matter how many questions you had, how trivial you felt they were, they would listen to them all and answer them the best they could

They knew that not being able to see your friends and family anymore would be taxing on you, so they did their best to help you feel like you were part of a new family with them

They were willing to be with you every step of the way as you processed everything

And Nicky is such a good listener, you always feel so heard and comforted with him

Training with them and learning to use different types of weapons

Joe teaches you how to use a sword, Nicky teaches you how to use a sniper rifle, although you know you’ll never be as good as them

You’re always the most coordinated with them in a fight, seeing as you trained with them and have similar techniques 

Joe’s sarcasm always makes you laugh, and the others make remarks about how his sense of humor is starting to rub off on you when you become increasingly sarcastic

Sometimes getting in trouble because of it, because you’ll always laugh when Joe says something snarky, even if you’re in danger

When you get more comfortable with them, you always tease Joe and Nicky about how romantic they are 

“Even in the midst of a fight, the two of you can’t stop staring into each other’s eyes.” “Well, they are very hard to resist.”

Them telling you stories about their first encounters, and you love hearing about how they went from killing one another to falling in love

And subsequently, they love hearing stories about you and your own life, even though you don’t have nearly as many stories as they do

Them teaching you different languages 

The three of you love placing silly bets with one another, sometimes Booker included, just to lighten the mood

Despite how dismal life can get sometimes, Joe and Nicky are your best friends, and they can always make a bad situation better

And even though being part of the Old Guard is something you never would’ve imagined, you’re glad to be part of the group, and to know such amazing people

tag list: @ruvaakke​​ / @lxncelot​​

#the old guard imagine #nicolo di genova imagine #yusuf al kaysani imagine #the old guard #the old guard headcanon #nicolo di genova #nicolo di genova headcanon #yusuf al kaysani #yusuf al kaysani headcanon #imagine #imagines #reader insert #headcanon #headcanons #anonymous

[krimsnkramsart]

#the old guard #joe x nicky #yusuf al kaysani #nicolo di genova #kaysanova #immortal husbands #tog #tog fanart #the old guard fanart #a very self indulgent (and probably boring haha) drawing of our immortal husbands snuggling... again ^^ #the cats kinda snuck in last minute when I was already done with the drawing ;) #so now I have finally drawn something for my headcanon that they always attract stray cats (or other animals) wherever they are staying #😻😻😻 #nicky x joe #nickyjoe #joenicky #yusuf al-kaysani #nicolò di genova

[ultrasopp]

he’s passionate about his spices, he’s got stuff to say, some info to dump

#soppart #the old guard #joenicky #nicolo di genova #yusuf al kaysani #the script fueling my 'joenicky are peak autism/adhd solidarity' headcanon<3 i owe u my life

[nnicky]

Do you think Nicky is ever so thirsty that when Joe pushes up his shirt a little to scratch at his stomach, Nicky will automatically look at the exposed sliver of skin and he'll lick his top lip?

#and later will he kiss and bite and then come on joe's stomach? probably. #nicky love his man's body and he's so correct for that #joe x nicky #nicolò di genova #yusuf al kaysani #the old guard #text #also #headcanons #??? i guess?

[sixth-light]

The Old Guard’s varying literacy levels, circa 1150

ANDROMACHE: thinks reading is for the weak, who live in cities and pay ‘taxes’

QUỲNH: can read just enough classical Chinese characters to recognise an arrest warrant 

NICOLÒ: can read anything as long as it’s the Latin Bible, out loud, very slowly, or the Greek letters ‘chi’ and ‘rho’ (hat-tip @with-my-murder-flute)

YUSUF: has written poetry in three languages. can read four separate alphabets. his calligraphy is impeccable. does not understand why his new brother and sisters in arms are Like This 

#the old guard #andromache the scythian #nicolò di genova #yusuf al-kaysani #quỳnh #headcanon

[veryoldmuchguard]

Thinking a lot about whether or not poison would work on the immortals and I think the general fandom consensus is that yes it would but I think it would be so fucking funny if it just didn’t. Maybe that’s why Booker constantly has to be drinking like a frat boy, because his liver is just so goddamn Super Effective.

Like I’m picturing them all at some late 19th-early-20th century high society  fancy crime dinner, doing some espionage and then the moustache-twirling villain archly reveals that all the guests dishes have been poisoned. The mortal guests all die and Andy, Joe, Nicky and Booker are all sat awkwardly at the table.

Andy is like: Oh you want me to die? 

Joe decides to go full Theatre Kid and loudly proclaim that if he is about to die he is damn well going to confess his Totally Secret Hidden Love for Nicky, and makes it about half way through his daring confession before Nicky has had enough and they just start making out instead.

Booker doesn’t even look up from eating his Poison Soup.

#the old guard #tog headcanons #andy andromache of scythia #yusuf al-kaysani #nicolò di genova #sebastien le livre #booker #joe x nicky #might fuck around and write a fic #also open if anyone wants to write it #I'm not your boss #edited because i forgot how fucking centuries work

[non-un-topo]

Sometimes I think about what they were like as students/apprentices

#tog #siggy draws #the boooys... as boys #yusuf al kaysani #nicolo di genova #just an experimental doodle with some accompanying headcanons :) #i imagine yusuf worked for his dad when he was a kid/teen #and there's nico at the monastery maybe... 14 or 15 years old?

[astrabear]

the Old Guard and electricity: my headcanons

Andy: She’s seen so many fads come and go, this is just another one that won’t catch on. New ways to die, none of which she’s looking forward to.

Joe: You mean I can have constant, steady light? That doesn’t depend on the time of day? Nicolo! You have to sit for a new portrait!

Booker: Fascinated by the technology, attends lectures and demonstrations and reads journal articles, exhausted by trying to convince Andy what this really means.

Nicky: Withholding judgment on the idea itself, but has listened to Booker enough to have very strong feelings about Thomas Edison, against whom he carries a grudge for several decades.

Quynh: So overwhelmed after coming out of the ocean that it takes her at least a week to start wondering how it all works. Now attributes everything to electricity. How do planes fly? Electricity. Telephones? Electricity. It starts off sincere but now she does it just to annoy the others. She wants to see how many times Nile will try to explain it before she gives up.

#the old guard #andromache the scythian #yusuf al kaysani #booker #sebastien le livre #nicolo di genova #quynh #tog headcanons