I don't think he was having a good time at all with The Disease (crazy how we dont even have a name for this, then again hollow knight's infection is just called The Infection too). Coughing up blood regularly is uh. Definitely Not Good from all the stuff ive learned, and considering the causes for that and the complications it comes with, it really is a damn miracle he can keep going and fight in his condition

I'm gonna sound real nerdy for this particular part sorry, but I imagine The Disease being cancer-like by taking over or infecting the host cells so it can keep replicating, as well as having periods of remissions and exacerbation like a chronic condition depending on the situation, likely triggered during times of high stress and also maybe by close contact to hyper light or Judgement itself who probably can also manipulate it. if it's transmissable, i doubt that it's contagious (if it was everyone's dead lmao) it's more likely that it can be passed on genetically though if you consider Guardian's story.

K here's where I get rlly off the rails by trying to put a pathophysiology to this (this is pure speculation and i'm simplifying this as much as i can)

The Disease can start at any part of the body, it all depends on how its transmitted (mainly bloodborne and perhaps through hyperlight) but it likes to latch on to the the heart first (the best place for the disease, if it starts there its so easy to spread to all the organs through the bloodstream) and as it begins through there, fatigue and low stamina become the first early signs, and as the heart struggles to function it eventually affects the lungs which leads to the coughing, and due to the lack of oxygen supply the brain is affected as well, leading to the hallucinations, the late and most recognizable sign would be your once red blood slowly becoming completely pink, indicating the disease has full access of the body. As circulation is compromised, the rest of the body follows. A lot of complications start; the coughing gets worse, weight loss and muscle wasting occur, which can worsen if nutrition is insufficient and that typically is the case as many lack an appetite due to the frequent coughing up of blood plus damage in the esophagus.

The cloak Drifter wears is pretty good at hiding all of that, and he takes care in making sure contact is at a minimum so people don't find out about his sickness and his race

Okay that was long, and it's only going to get longer from here on!

I rlly liked @blossomfever's headcanons about the Blus and their relationship with the Tanus and I wanted to incorporate and expand on that here as well ehe

Focusing on the tail specifically, i imagine they're almost as long as their body and just as fluffy,,, (imagine the ones from a snow leopard and how they like putting their tail in their mouth...awwww) and idk how accurate this may be but i imagine their fur can shed to a smaller amount (but still dense!) to adapt to warmer environments they likely will still need technology to help cool or it could be shaved because its the one part at most risk of getting wet and catching infection but that has its own setbacks as well

i like to think the tail is also one of the most identifiable feature of a Blu, its super cute!

and yeah Drifter lost his :>

His ability to chaindash is severely affected because of it, (his balance!!!) and it took a painstakingly long time for him to relearn how to do without it (yeah this is just a justification to how much i SUCK at chaindashing, im sorry for slamming you into practically everything)

How'd he lose it?

Well... I'm still debating on how that happened, as it depends pretty heavily on Drifter's origins, and while it was stated his race lives in the Northern Realms in 2023, I still really like the long time theory that they were artificially created in some way for war in the underground lab wastes, as that was my assumption as well without the influence of outside sources.

I liked both so... I decided to mash both ideas together! ＼(^-^)／

Drifter is a natural born Blu and the ones in the vats underground are either artificially made and spliced with other creature's genes or Blu experimented and seemingly turned into Dirks, Dirk Riflemen, Dirk Gunmen etc etc

A true Blu has dark eyes, those with pink/purple eyes typically have been experimented/artificially created as both have had a lot of exposure to hyper light (they look. strangely human...)

How'd they get so many Blus to create the Dirks? Uh.....

...Well thats where the tails and Tanu come in.

being a recognizable feature is a double edged sword...

Yeahhhh.... most of my headcanons is not very happy and only doubles their suffering whoops

You can kinda guess how Drifter's tail is lost from here, so whether willingly or unwillingly, take your pick on whatever breaks your heart more!

As for where Beheaded fits in all this, he learns to be mindful of Drifter's condition after a few close calls that definitely did not terrify the crap out of him at all and slowly starts to recognize the tells of a coming attack or fatigue because Drifter has learned to not show weaknesses having been solo for so long and fails to communicate it too which is something they're working on. As they get closer I imagine he'd also become insistent in making sure the guy eats properly and fusses over him as well in his own jerk way.

Now activating my delulu powers and imagining a self-indulgent timeline of Drifter being alive thanks to the panacea courtesy of Beheaded, he would be in miraculously excellent health. Since the magical cure all is able to even fuse spirit and body back together as well as increase strength, I imagine scars, damaged organs and even amputations would be nothing and get regenerated in time, which i can imagine would be pretty funny for Drifter to find out

once again he has to relearn how to chaindash because the tail messes up the balance that he had gotten used to without it lmao

aaaaand i think thats about it! i have a couple more doodles i can post separately but as a bonus for reading through all of this to the end, have a sleepy Drifter