I forgot to take my digital drawing pad with me again. I might color it after the exams.
I shipped Sesshomaru and Rin since I was in 6th grade? Never think of them as father and daughter before. But now I also ship the dog brothers. (,,・ω・,,) I want to draw them so bad.
I told you I had an obsession, and I just find these two adorably irresistible~ Anyway, since I couldn’t finish yesterday, here it is a bit late. I would have loved to participate in all the prompts but I have to pick my battles, plus I already had this sketch since last month.
That said, aside commission, you’ll probably see a lot of sessrin here for a while… I have A LOT of ideas for these two LOL. Bear with me xD
Look, they’re not being subtle about the ship: “殺生丸を慕う少女・りん” (Sesshomaru wo shitau shoujo Rin) is how they officially described Rin.
慕う-shitau can be translated as adore, but it has also the meaning of “pinning for, yearn for, to miss, love dearly”. In other words, it conveys a meaning of desire and longing.
So , with that context… I would dare to translate it as: “Rin, the girl that pines for Sesshomaru"
It also is worth to notice her description was not chosen as “Rin, the ward/daughter of Sesshomaru”, or anything where she’s the object of the action mentioned. Here it’s Rin’s PoV, an active role, because she’s growing and gaining agency, which is probably what they’re going to develop in Yashahime.
It’s also obvious her feelings from “Since Then” reciprocate Sesshomaru’s interest shown in the Asatte CD proposal, and his overall disposition to be near her when she needs him…
1. They went to a months long honeymoon after their marriage, travelling around Japan (and maybe some neighboring countries).
2. Rin was happy to be able to travel far again, and surprisingly, Sesshomaru expressed the same sentiment. And that was how she knew Sesshomaru never traveled too far away when she lived at Kaede’s village. He only roamed within some few miles radius so that he’d hear if she called / whistle for him in danger.
3. Jaken retired after the two married, and they chaperoned him back to his imp tribe. There was a teary goodbye from Rin, and Jaken might have shed a little tears too.
4. … And then Sesshomaru and Rin continued their journey alone (plus A-Un), and suddenly, because they’re dorks like that, they felt kinda awkward. They’ve never been really alone before, there was always Jaken around somewhere. And now it’s just the two of them, and would be so for months to come, and the realization rendered them into an awkward, bashful silence.
5. A-Un scoffed and rolled his eyes in his A-Un way, but thankfully none of his masters was fluent in A-Un-ish.
6. It didn’t last long though because soon the saw the ocean in the distance and Rin began to reminiscence about how they went to the beach once, remember, near the magical half-demon island? And Rin was having so much fun collecting seashells but unfortunately Sesshomaru had his own matters at hand so he couldn’t accompany her … but now that they were together, how about going to the beach once more?
7. It was decided: their first honeymoon destination was the beach.
8. And they talked a lot. About the sea, the sky, the smell of the coming spring in the air. About Kagome’s stories about the future. Even Sesshomaru shared his experiences too, to Rin’s delight.
9. They went farther to the sea to see a pod of whales.
10. And then they swam together, seeing corals and what not.
11. Rin decided that Sesshomaru looked so beautiful with his hair tied in a bun like that.
12. Sesshomaru decided that she was perfect when she looked back at him and smiled, sunset kissing her sand-colored skin.
13. They decided that they liked the beach and the ocean very, very much.
14. They slept their first night together under the stars, her in his embrace, mokomoko curled around them.
15. And they decided they liked sleeping together very, very much too.
.
.
haha okay sorry this might not be a proper HC but I got carried away whoops? Anyway I hope you enjoy it <3
@lettherebewisdomtalks sent me a collection of Japanese Twitter posts containing scans of official material talking about Sesshoumaru and Rin. Since it is official material and some interview questions, I figured they were relevant to post here, and it’s easier than trying to post these long text pieces in a reply box.
[source] did not mention a source of this scan so it’s unknown who wrote this or where it came from.
Sesshoumaru is a man not concerned with ruminations of good and evil. To achieve his goals, he has no qualms sacrificing others or resorting to murder. And one other particular trait is his unusually elevated pride. Thus he thoroughly despises plots involving manipulating others. Conversely, he does not use others the way Naraku does. He acts only for himself, and the grandeur in which Sesshoumaru refuses reliance on others could appropriately be referred to as “nobility”. So for someone such as Sesshoumaru to carry the healing sword Tenseiga, it appeared a transformation was trying to assert itself. When Sesshoumaru saved an unknown child, Rin, even his attendant, Jaken, was unable to hide his surprise at his unusual behavior. The lonesome yet courageous Rin stimulated something in Sesshoumaru’s otherwise cool heart.
[source] does not provide a source, but it appears to be an interview answer from Narita Ken (Sesshoumaru’s voice actor)
– Do you think that Sesshoumaru saving Rin with Tenseiga was unusual behavior for him? Narita: I think that he might have felt some sort of kindred spirit with Rin. I feel like it was the first time he ever cared about anyone else. I decided on my own that when he calls Rin’s name, to give it the feel of one calling on a disciple.
[source] says this is from an interview with Takahashi that appeared in the magazine “Stranger Sorento” in the 2015-04 issue. “Stranger Sorento” ran a segment in every issue during that time called “Takahashi Rumiko Character box” that explored one of her characters each installment. If anyone can find back copies of those magazines or other scans from these interviews, it would be greatly appreciated.
Takahashi: Sesshoumaru has a few of his own monologues, but Sesshoumaru’s follower Jaken ended up being a very important character for voicing most of his goals and motives. Sesshoumaru’s actions are dictated by, quite simply, “I cannot abide by my esteemed daiyoukai father showing preferential treatment to my half-youkai younger brother (Inuyasha) rather than me, when I am a direct-line pure-blooded offspring.” The readers understood that well enough, but in some circumstances I feel like they thought his situation was unfortunate. So Sesshoumaru’s story in “Inuyasha” became one of “freeing himself from his father”. – Thanks to meeting the human girl Rin, Sesshoumaru was able to learn the emotion of “Fear and sadness of losing someone precious to you: anger for someone’s sake other than your own” and finally matured into a powerful daiyoukai. Takahashi: When I initially introduced Rin, I was thinking that there would eventually be a part where Sesshoumaru was killed by a human in order to protect Rin, but as I continued writing I dropped that idea from my head. I thought this would be an easily-understood impetus for Sesshoumaru’s limited emotions to start coming to the surface and mature the sword he inherited from his father. I think it’s fun to have a character’s emotional state gradually change over the course of a long-running series.
[source] doesn’t cite a source in this tweet, but another page posted later that appears to be from the same place says it’s from the Wide-ban release of the manga.
Feelings awakened from the healing sword
When Sesshoumaru was healing from his injuries, he met a human girl called Rin. Under normal circumstances Sesshoumaru would have paid her no mind. However, due to his injuries he was unable to move, and as a result he ended up interacting with Rin. Rin was attacked by wolves and killed. Sesshoumaru initially thought to just leave her that way, but an image of her smiling face came to mind. Sesshoumaru drew Tenseiga for the first time and restored Rin’s life. Emotions that he had never felt before were beginning to stir in Sesshoumaru’s heart, which had never held a shred of interest in others, to say nothing of a powerless human girl. Likely a large part of it was also simply a test of Tenseiga’s effect. However, as the revived Rin travelled with him, Sesshoumaru’s actions with her gradually began to indicate that wasn’t the case. Through his strength, Sesshoumaru’s neglected heart was gradually showing signs of growth.
[source] gives this as being from Wide-ban volume 28.
Emotions Sesshoumaru has never felt made to surface, his soul grows
Sesshoumaru steps into the Meidou in order to mature Tenseiga and grow Meidou Zangetsuha’s power. He believes that by going there he can widen Meidou Zangetsuha’s circle, but he is forced to make an unexpected sacrifice. The living are not supposed to set foot into the Meidou but he and Rin entered, and thanks to Sesshoumaru being a powerful youkai it had little effect on him, but Rin, being a mere human girl, lost her life. Furthermore, even Tenseiga could not save Rin’s life. For the first time in his life, Sesshoumaru felt incomparable grief and fear at losing something precious: the feeling of remorse. Then, when faced with countless dead souls, he embraced a compassionate heart. Holding Rin to his chest, when he purified the souls of the dead with Tenseiga, the Meidou created by Tenseiga widened. Originally ruthlessly seeking only power, Sesshoumaru knew nothing of compassion. But in the Meidou, Sesshoumaru learned both grief and compassion. Tenseiga was able to mature by Sesshoumaru maturing himself and growing his soul.
[source] does not cite a source for these but they also appear to be from the Wide-ban, however they’re written as someone’s thoughts rather than a glossary summary. It doesn’t say whose words these are.
The souls of the dead bound to that world were purified, so their dead souls could pass on… This was because Sesshoumaru, faced with Rin’s death, finally knew the grief and fear of losing something precious, and was able to wield Tenseiga’s true power. Thanks to that, Tenseiga’s Meidou Zangetsuha grew and became closer to completion. I think the story of Sesshoumaru’s journey and return from the Meidou was fairly important. It was a story of Tenseiga, first of all. By the end of it, Tenseiga had matured, meaning Sesshoumaru had matured as well… I feel like that means it was a significant story.
![[ These hands are meant to embrace you, first and foremost ]](https://64.media.tumblr.com/5f8c69320b13a25dedb0666617ae79c4/8a1699e356c6aeb2-ef/s1280x1920/3bcfe3d9add795c253fc10869adeafb30cd77367.png "[ These hands are meant to embrace you, first and foremost ]")
