Cruise! Cloudhead (Pizza cruise by @lunar-dal)
A moment of self-disclosure: I actually really like Pizza Cruise. I mean-please don't throw tomatoes at me, I only got around to reading the comic a few days ago, but even long before that, Pizza Cruise always gave me this weirdly cozy feeling. AND THAT'S EXACTLY WHY... I want to shove Cole into this AU.
It was pretty hard to figure out what role to give him, but... every ship needs someone to actually run it. Set the course, keep an eye on the weather, monitor the surroundings, and make sure nothing goes horribly wrong. You know, technically Pizzahead should be doing at least some of that, but as far as I can tell he's way more concerned with massages and getting a nice summer tan than making sure the cruise ship doesn't ram into another vessel or something.
So, with great pleasure, Cole works aboard the cruise as the Second Officer.
(And... I scrolled through a few Pizza Cruise posts and noticed they seem to handle things a little differently. Like... HOW OLD IS THIS SHIP, EXACTLY...? ANYWAY. I'M JUST NOT GOING TO THINK ABOUT IT. Hahaha...)
In this AU, Cloud (Cole's father) owns one of the cruise companies, so Cole was practically born surrounded by ships and the cruise industry. It only makes sense that he'd want to work aboard one himself.
But wanting to prove he could make it on his own instead of living in his father's shadow, Cole left to work for Pizza Cruise instead full of ambition. (Of course, he ended up working under... less than an ideal boss, who happily dumps half of his responsibilities on him. It's basically, "If the ship isn't on fire or actively sinking, you'll manage without me.")
In reality, the job is pretty lonely especially when you're the only one actually on duty during working hours.
Regular sailors aren’t allowed up there unless there’s a real reason, so all that’s left is staring at the monitors, filling out endless paperwork, and staying constantly alert. And it’s like that almost the entire time the cruise is sailing because you simply can’t afford to leave it unattended.
So even the company of a not-so-pleasant captain during a game of chess would be enough to make him shine with happiness.
His relationships with others are fairly ambiguous, mostly because he simply doesn’t have the time to properly build them.
In general, he probably wouldn’t have conflicts with anyone. Maybe only with those sailors who try to “teach him the correct way” to do his job. Even then, he wouldn’t make a scene in public. He’d just subtly make life a little harder for someone he doesn’t particularly like (or at least, that’s how Cole would describe it “just a little”).
He doesn’t openly criticize his superiors, not out of fear, but because there’s no real reason to. Outside of work, he can keep company or help with tasks when needed, though that kind of help doesn’t always come for free.
