Drew would treat his s/o like absolute ROYALTY

Freddy would protect his s/o to his final breath

Sander stayed as an Esper Union Commander while Falken was the one who defected to the Shadow Decree?

Saw a thread on Twitter explaining how Falken would act as a Shadow Pillager and got inspired to create my own headcanons on how Sander would be should he have stayed in the Esper Union as a commander.

Sander’s personal reason for his want for more power is so that he would be able to better protect the Espers in the Union and the people who are powerless against the threat of the Miracles, Miramons, and from rogue Espers.

A lot people’s first impression on the Union commander is that he’s a stoic and distant Esper, hence why some tend to steer clear of him outside of missions. But almost everyone in the Union agrees that the stoic commander will always have your back on dangerous missions.

When Falken defected to the Union’s enemy organization, Sander felt as though he had failed both the Union and his former friend and apprentice that day. He was a Union commander after all, a symbol of strength in the ranks of the Union and to the people he had sworn to protect. The fact that his once close friend and apprentice had turned to the shadows so easily left a scar on the Union commander’s  psyche that continues to haunt him even in the present.

Ever since then, he has refused to personally mentor any aspiring student in the Esper Academy or any newly-recruited ops chiefs. On the outside, he tells them it’s because of his packed workload that he refuses to assign or delegate to anyone else, but secretly he’s afraid he might send another Esper down the dark path his former friend is now on.

His mother died before he could return home to her as a newly-transformed Esper. Might elaborate on this more later, prepare for angst.

Smokes cigars very often whenever he’s stressed with work or when memories of the past he tries to forget and bury deep within his mind begin to resurface.

Would also occasionally drink alcohol to help alleviate stress and repressed trauma either at the bar he frequents from his bounty story or from his own personal stock.

Shoutout to @quirkyfries for inspiring me to write this hehe. Please check out their post on how Shadow Decree! Falken would happen and how he acts as a Shadow Pillager. Now on to the post!

This version of Sander would value the safety of the people around him more than power, but him wanting to attain more power for himself is still second on his list to accomplish in his life. Of course, this was a development that happened after he left the Shadow Decree.

After he turned into an Esper, he didn’t immediately leave the military, choosing to use his new powers in helping the army combat the threat of the Miracles and Miramons. He was able to reach the rank of First Sergeant before he chose to leave the military, knowing that he could acquire more power and prestige by placing all his focus and effort on discovering the secrets of the Miracles that had given him the powers that he has. If he couldn’t do so on his own, then perhaps he could help someone who’s more versed on the subject or field.

When he first began working for the Shadow Decree, his mother was the only one keeping him from fully embracing the dark nature of Set’s powers. Try as he might, he could never forget the sacrifices she had made for him despite of the destitute life they had before. (Inspired by a fanfic I read before, try to guess which one hehe)

He kept the nature of his work a secret from his mother, only telling her that he had found work with an organization who aims to discover the secrets of the Miracles for the betterment of humanity and Espers alike. Or so he thought.

It’s in the Shadow Decree that he met Falken, a former mercenary who joined the Shadow Decree to help pay off the debts his family had. The two ended up being assigned to missions very often, which resulted in a close friendship between the two of them.

But as time passed and the longer Sander worked in the Shadow Decree, he began to notice that the Decree’s experimentations and methods had become more...drastic and questionable. Consequences mattered little to the scientists and shadow guards, for as long as they got the results or things they wanted in the end, then everything that they have done would be worth it.

While Sander began questioning the Decree’s questionable actions, Falken merely shrugged it off and continued his work as a shadow guard.

Sander’s choice on leaving the Shadow Decree solidified when, during an experiment gone wrong in one of the Shadow Decree’s labs, a volatile Miramon broke loose from its confines, going on a rampage up until it reached the rural community where Sander grew up in and where his mother still lived in. When Sander was finally able to reach the village, it was too late. 

The researchers treated the whole incident as statistics to their experiments, only measuring and taking into account how they could further improve the destructive capabilities of a Miramon. This was the moment Sander questioned his reason for joining the Shadow Decree in the first place.

The day that him and Falken were supposed to ascend to the ranks of Shadow Pillagers was also the day Sander left the Shadow Decree and later joined the Esper Union. 

Sander tried to bring along Falken with him when he defected but Falken refused to, as the latter believed that he now owed the Decree for helping him and his family in paying off their debts. Falken also believed that the Decree was the only or true key to solving the mysteries of the Miracles and in helping humanity and Espers unlock its full potential; no matter the cost to achieve such a goal.