Your_Denis

In my universe where Janka happens, and then Jabber joins the Cleaners

Goes by he/him pronouns, but doesn't really care that much; if asked, the answer is "whatever is funniest in the moment." As far as sexuality/attraction goes, he doesn't go out of his way looking for those types of relationships; but if pressed, he prefers men, and he prefers those men to be strong

His hair care routine is incredibly complicated and time consuming; he takes an entire two days to maintain his locs, the first dedicated to detox/masking/washing/conditioning, the next day dedicated to retwisting the roots and fixing anywhere that might be thinned out or damaged (this is the only time he takes out the hair cuffs)

Also, he mixes up his own hair/body products! He gets the raw ingredients completely for free in bulk, in exchange for making custom products for the lady who supplies them

After they're together for about a year or so, Jabber lets Zanka learn and start helping with his hair. Sometimes now, if he's tired enough, he'll let Zanka do the whole thing

(p.s. I know what Urana said about how he smells, I'm going to compromise and say he smells bad when coming down from a trip and after fights, but normally he smells really good)

↑ Jabber's main scent profile is mint and eucalyptus. He has a very specific order of operations in which he applies certain products in his shower routine, and even after he's left an area the smell of mint lingers a bit

Jabber has the following piercings: each ear has two holes, tongue, snakebites, nipples, and belly button. He wanted to get a dermal on his dimples, but the first one he got ended up rejecting so he had to give up on it. Had an eyebrow piercing before, but it got ripped out in a fight (he would have had it repierced, but the healing process after losing it was ugly and he knew the likelihood of it happening again was very, very high)

Jabber has waist beads! The first two he got in honor of his parents, the third in honor of Mankira's awakening. The next two were just because he thought they were cute (after Zanka beats him for the first time, he gets another one made in the colors of Lovely Assistaff to commemorate the occasion)

Jabber grew up with two moms; one was an apothecary in the village he grew up in, the other was a fighter in the village's guard. Jabber grew up learning medicines and natural remedies, as well as poisons, and also learned self-defense (which turned into offense when it was clear he was good at it)

In the village he's from, domestic unions were signified by matching jewelry; his mothers each wore one handful of matching rings. This is where Mankira came from, one set from each parent

His apothecary mother was also a bit witchy; she believed in a lot of manifestation and being connected to your surroundings and nature, she'd brew spells that always somehow worked, and she'd make altars for different ideas/deities

↑ Jabber can't remember the the names of the deities now, but he has a couple of shrines/altars in his room now, too, one for his parents and one for himself.

His village was burnt to the ground when he was around ten, but he never found out who did it. His warrior mother died trying to help defend the town, and his apothecary mother died while trying to help deliver aid and treatment to the injured immediately after the fires. Jabber was hidden away in the family cellar, where the fire couldn't reach, and when he finally crawled out, everything was gone. He took his mothers' rings from their hands before leaving the village and not looking back

He worked in a brothel for a bit to make money, until he was kicked out for fighting the customers

In addition to taking really good care of his hair, he also takes care of his hands. His hands are basically a part of his altar to his mothers, and keeping them clean and in good shape in order to wear Mankira is extremely important to him. His nails are always done, kept short and square but always painted, and he keeps a little tube of lotion in one of his pockets

Jabber is extremely smart, smarter than most other people, he just doesn't bother to learn technical terms for most things. But if you put a problem in front of him, he'll be able to solve it with ease. Just don't expect a coherent explanation as to how he did it

Jabber is an audiophile, he collects CDs and records and tapes, and has the equipment to play them all in the best quality. There's never a moment in his space where there's not music playing

He also has a wide variety of music he listens to; anything from R&B to country, swing to rock, jazz, orchestra, he has all of it! He's the friend that randomly bursts out singing when it's too quiet, or can immediately respond with a relevant song when you say certain words ("y'know, somebody—" "SomeBODY ONCE TOLD ME ♪")

Jabber sings, all the time. It's one of his hobbies that he does most often simply because it can be done while also doing other tasks. He'll hum, or freestyle a lot, but he also has a beautiful voice when he puts actual intention behind it. He executes runs and riffs flawlessly. Zanka asks him to sing from time to time, and he's always present for karaoke at Cleaners HQ. At night, when it's just the two of them, Jabber will sing hushed lullabies from when he was younger. Zanka openly admits to this being his favorite way to fall asleep, his head in Jabber’s lap and Jabber’s voice in his ears

He also dances a lot, all different styles, but mostly defaults back to bouncy, high-energy styles that remind him of home. (Think traditional West-African dance, he knows the drum but he'd prefer the dancing) He's almost never completely idle, even without music he's bouncing his hips or shuffling his feet or swaying side-to-side. If he's overstimulated or has an excess of energy, dancing is the number one way to release it, unless fighting is a viable option

Is pretty touch-adverse, and even when he gets something started with Zanka, that persists. Gentle touch reminds him too much of his mothers, and being little, so it's uncomfortable when his partner attempts to initiate such; luckily, Zanka is incredibly patient, and eventually Jabber craves it to the point of being clingy

Jabber's clinginess with Zanka includes, but is not limited, to: Refusing to let Zanka out of bed in the mornings; hanging off of him even when trying to walk somewhere; if they're sitting together, Jabber presses himself as close as he possibly can; arms wrapped around Zanka's middle when standing; holding his hand all the time; insisting on sharing chairs, with either one of them on the other's lap so he can maximize contact

Jabber's years and years of testing poisons on himself have made his saliva and blood a littleeee bit toxic themselves. His injuries stitch themselves back together pretty quickly compared to others in his age/health range, but now Zanka feels a little high whenever he kisses him. They did not realize what was happening at first, and Jabber teased Zanka relentlessly for "being so addicted to me!" but. Yeah, Zanka is actually maybe a bit addicted. Not that he minds it, of course :)

Jabber has a green thumb. His room is full of plants, some with uses, some just for fun! He has indoor grow lights, homemade fertilizer, and is constantly collecting and testing soil when he's out to bring back to his plants. He has several pothos plants along fishing line going across the ceiling, and a wall full of kudzu (he uses the kudzu for a wide variety of things, from medicines and teas, to making his own paper and threads, to ingredients in his soaps and lotions)

When he decided to dedicate himself to Zanka, he was required to join the Cleaners; fighting trash beasts wasn't very interesting though, so instead he joined Eishia in the clinic. He gets to put his time growing up in the apothecary to use, as well as earn the trust of the other Cleaners

Jabber is, surprisingly, very organized, especially in his lab space and clinic areas. Everything has its own place, nothing touches or mixes unless he intends for it to. He has a large shelf on the back of his clinic wall, filled with books dedicated to horticulture, toxins and poisons, typical medicine and holistic remedies, methods of extracting certain compounds from plants or other ingredients. He also has a lot of thick, worn journals from his own experiments and tests. When others enter the space, they are immediately impressed

Jabber has hallucinations, sometimes benign, sometimes malicious. It's part of why he self-medicates so much, in an attempt to manage the symptoms.

↑ His benign hallucinations include a slight fuzzy haze in his periphery, and typically include one or both of his mothers' voices. He can't always see them, mostly oit of the corner of his eyes but when he turns to face them they're gone. The voices don't tell him anything new or original, but if he reaches a breakthrough in a project, they will praise him or encourage him further, reflecting his own thoughts back

The malicious ones are the reason he's constantly high. In these episodes, the pleasant haze is replaced by a suffocating dark fog that leeches too far into his view, until he can barely see around it. The voices here are those of the unknown pillagers who burnt down his home, and of himself when he was younger. Recently, Zodyl's voice has joined the mix. They point out all of the flaws he hates about himself, they jab at him when he makes mistakes, and they laugh when he's confused.

During any of the episodes, benign or malicious, he doesn't seem to realize that he's in one. Sometimes he does, in which he'll ignore the voices to varying degrees of success. But typically he will respond to them.

The positive feedback gets smiles, laughter or delighted whispers in response. The negative voices make him irritable and jumpy. He flinches away from nothing, and hits his own head trying to silence them. He'll tell them to 'shut up' repeatedly, until he's screaming it, and rubs his eyes as though that will get rid of the fog. Bad episodes make him confused and disoriented

One time a bad episode hit while Zanka and the rest of Team Akuta were on a job. As Jabber wandered the halls, terrified, Semiu found him and dragged him back to her desk. Somehow, her plant-shaped lamp cut through the fog and he could see again. He stayed at her desk with her the rest of the time Team Akuta was gone, until Zanka came back. He's been calling Semiu "auntie" ever since.

One of Zodyl's punishments whenever Jabber failed a job was to take Mankira from him and lock him in a dark closet. Normally Jabber would have been able to simply break through the doors, but as soon as it closes him in the dark, his brain shuts off and he panics. He would scream and cry, begging to be let out. He was once left in there for three days, unable to beg anymore after screaming himself hoarse, and Zodyl only remembered to let him out because Cthoni happened to ask where he was. Jabber didn't speak to anyone for a week after that

When Team Akuta find out about this, the younger ones all immediately want to find and kill Zodyl, especially Zanka, but Jabber just tells them to drop it. It's not like the man can do it now, right?

Jabber prefers spicy food, but next to that would be anything with a lot of rich flavor. He has also been known to throw down on nothing but bread and garlic butter.

He prefers tea to coffee, partially because the extra caffeine does nothing for him and coffee is much more expensive to aquire, but also because he can make and brew his own teas and customize them however he wants (sometimes this means adding a little something extra to the blend)

He actually had a side hustle for a little while of making and selling cannabis tea, but he got tired of people asking so many of the same questions about it that he stopped. He still has some friends he'll make tea for if they ask, though

As for desserts, he typically prefers pastries or cakes over candy. He mostly likes cinnamon based things, like cinnamon rolls or coffee cake. His favorite thing by far, though, is Devil's chocolate cake. He tried it for the first time when Zanka ordered a piece while they were on a date, and it was so unexpectedly huge they had to split it. The cake was good, of course, but Zanka's face taking the first bite was better

Jabber is devastatingly ticklish, and it seems like there's no spot on him that isn't weak to it. During a hand-to-hand spar in the courtyard outside Cleaner HQ, Zanka accidentally finds out about this and then exploits it. Jabber is immediately down for the count, and can't even wheeze out his surrender after just a couple minutes. Enjin, Riyo, and Rudo all laugh at him from the sidelines, but Zanka's quiet chuckles and teasing in his ear is worth the embarrassment

When he finally manages to get off the ground, he lunges for Zanka with the intent of revenge, only to find out Zanka isn't ticklish at all. Zanka even sits back and allows him a few moments to try multiple spots, before his smile turns deadly and Jabber is pinned again and begging for mercy

At least once a day, now, someone from Team Akuta will poke at im and send him straight to the floor. Enjin especially takes advantage, using the excuse of keeping him in his place "for Zanka's benefit." Zanka only rolls his eyes at it, but admits later in bed that he’s happy his family is comfortable enough to mess with his boyfriend like that

Coincidentally, this is the first time Zanka has referred to Jabber as “his boyfriend” to his face. Naturally, this sends Jabber through the stratosphere, and Zanka has to kiss him to keep him from squealing loud enough to wake the entirety of HQ

The next morning, though, Zanka can’t quite stop him from announcing this to anyone who will hear (as if it wasn’t incredibly obvious to literally everyone who sees them together)

Jabber had, before joining the Cleaners, an entirely non-existent sleep schedule. He'd sleep whenever he wanted, be awake whenever he wanted, no wind-down ritual before bed or anything

After getting with Zanka and cohabitating, though, he has had to adapt to Zanka's routines: Two hours before bed, Zanka turns the lights low and lights some incense for the room. Low-caffeine tea and a book, curled up in bed, Zanka reads for a little while; now that Jabber is there, though, that can be exchanged for nonsensical chatting. Sometimes this involves an actual conversation; more often than not, the silence is filled with an in-depth, passionate lecture about whatever topic made a home in his boyfriend’s mind. Jabber is more well-rested in just a few short weeks than he’d been in several years. The bags under his eyes shrink considerably

Actually sleeping sees Jabber on the inside of the bed, pressed flush against the wall with Zanka clutched tight to his chest. Sometimes Zanka will manage to peel Jabber off the wall and rest him on his chest, but that doesn’t happen for a while. Jabber snores just a little, whereas Zanka is completely silent in his sleep; Jabber, one sleepless night, freaked out by how silent ans still Zanka was, and woke him a few times throughout the night to make sure he was still alive

Jabber has also taken up the hobby of journaling; a suggestion from Semiu, he has two: one journal is for actual mental health and feelings, and he has it right next to Zanka’s on the short shelf at the foot of their bed. His other journal is where he writes all the things he’s learned each day, the things that caught his interest— he basically writes essays on whatever the topic is. He shares this journal with Zanka on days he doesn’t feel particularly talkative, Zanka scribbling notes and reactions in the margins and underlining or circling different parts, even doodling in the empty spaces.

The first time Jabber’s birthday is celebrated since he was a child living with his mothers happens his first year with the Cleaners. He doesn’t expect it when it happens, but Zanka can be pretty sneaky when he really wants to, and when Jabber wanders into the mess hall late in the morning, he’s completely taken by surprise to find everyone there, for him

Dallas Winston Angst HCS

warnings: unhealthy relationships mentioned, bad hygiene, malnourished, wounds, drinking, cigarettes, implied self-harm, death mentioned, read these at your own risk please know that these are headcanons and are not canon and are based off of how I perceive this character as of this moment and can change

younger;

< He usually walked funny when he was young since his shoes were either a size too small or too big.

< Barely clean or hygienic, he probably hadn't showered the entire time on the streets.

< Malnourished and dehydrated.

< When he first ran away, he couldn't sleep for a few days because he couldn't find comfort without shelter.

< He usually just cut his hair randomly, no exact even length.

< Other kids knew him since he walked around New York, but they never interacted with unless bullying him, which Dallas was little to too much numb to care.

< Some woman had found him and felt bad, so she gave the leather jacket her fiancé had given to her so he wouldn't be cold. Dallas kept it even if worn down.

< Once Johnny found him. That boy was the most precious thing he ever has met. He clung to Johnny even now. Johnny would try to sneak him food.

< Then Johnny introduced him to Sodapop and Steve, Sodapop was so confused about his appearance but didn't want to comment about it, Steve ended up trying to help his bloody (maybe infected) wounds.

< Dallas was scared to be around them but eased when he met Ponyboy, Darry, and Two-Bit. Two-Bit was obsessed, Dallas was tiny then, and Two-Bit was tall. Dallas was like his little sister.

< Dallas usually as always stayed around Johnny, but then Ponyboy as well since they were friends. He didn't like Ponyboy at first, he felt like he was stealing Johnny.

< He didn't mind Sodapop and Steve, he tolerated Steve since he helped with his issues, but Sodapop always found good somehow.

< Dallas, however, saw Darry almost like a father figure and didn't want to disappoint him. Often unfortunately saying yes to things he didn't like.

older;

< He was devasted when he heard that Mrs. Curtis died, he saw her as a mother figure. He then clung to Sodapop for a while since he reminded him of Mrs. Curtis the most.

< He started drinking and taking cigarettes to cope.

< Johnny often caught Dallas's wrists having fresh cuts. And it didn't look like he was attacked.

< Johnny told Two-Bit that Dallas was struggling so Two-Bit tried to distract him, but he always seemed to trigger something in Dallas that made the boy angry.

< Dallas hated Ponyboy because he saw the same determination he had when he was younger.

< He never really understood how to be in a healthy relationship, so he often was in toxic, on and off going, or one-sided ones, especially when he was younger.

< When Johnny died, Dallas almost manipulated himself that it was just a nightmare, but when he didn't wake up, he snapped. Ponyboy saw Dallas look back at him before he ran, like he had something to say.

///

For one, Jabber is frighteningly well aware of the things he wants for someone so young. He is extremely intelligent, confidant, and strong in a fight, and talks about weaklings and strong opponents like it’s shit he’s been after his whole life. In that case I think it’s safe to say that he’s been doing this for a long, long time. Seeking out strong givers and hard hitters to beat him up, getting stronger as a result to his dismay until he has to find stronger ones to put up a better fight.

But then the sexual aspect of it is where it gets concerning. He isn’t shy about anything, certainly not how much a fight gets him going. He is openly into pain, being hurt, and degradation.

“So many strong looking guys…looking at me…like I’m a piece of trash. Damn it’s making me hard.”

Many people miss this degradation part but it’s so important to his character. He likes pain and he likes this, so it’s safe to say he likes feeling small, weak, helpless.. he wants to find someone strong to beat him to get to that point, but there’s no indication that what he wants is to die. He hasn’t said it clearly but one could assume he wants a friend/companion stronger than him that he can rely on to give him the fight he craves, leave him broken and feeling weak and pitiful, to do it all over again.

That’s a very trauma-response kind of dynamic he has. I don’t think it’s far-fetched to consider than someone made him constantly feel weak and small and pitiful as a child, and he is chasing this feeling as an adult for the comfort of it.

What doesn’t really click in peoples’ minds is that a lot of kinks/fetishes come from trauma. When bad shit happens to you, it is very common for the brain to convince yourself that you *like* it. It can become pleasurable. Because, how can something hurt you if you like it? How can something scare you if you expect it, if you want it, if you *need* it? This often becomes crossed in with sexual pleasure, where the body and mind is arguably at its most vulnerable and one can surrender themselves to the things their brain has claimed to like, and to need.

It often looks like repeating the cycle of abuse, willingly. Even recreating the scenes of one’s own sexual assault or abuse, yes to gain agency back and be in control, but to also just go back to that pleasurable state of mind. To crawl back to what you know. It’s way more common for rape victims to have sex in a very specific way, or choose partners resembling their abusers, which can either help them heal, or make things so, so much worse.

It’s a coping mechanism. And Jabber is hauntingly reminiscent of a rape victim repeating their own abuse for self-gratification, chasing and seeking pleasure for pleasures sake without a care of their own health or future. His design makes clear the bags under his eyes. I doubt the guy gets proper sleep.

Also, his rings and where they are worn is interesting. His Mankira sits on top of his first knuckle instead of down to the root of the finger, and although I initially thought that was just his fashion, someone online pointed out that rings like those are typically thinner, while thicker ones like Jabbers are meant to sit normally. This tells me that either the rings belonged to someone with smaller hands before, or Jabber got them when he was a kid himself and has since outgrew them.

Back to Amo, who we know was taken by a trafficker. The guy says something interesting though, that the “other traffickers” don’t like him. So if there’s more, and I think we can assume trafficking is a bigger issue considering how many orphans they have on the Ground, maybe Jabber was a child trafficking victim too. I see many raise that Jabber was probably also experimented on, and a lab rat being tortured until pain was turned into pleasure, which would also handily explain all his eccentricities without child sexual abuse playing into it. It definitely is plausible and is a valid theory. However, there’s just a few things that strike me with his similarities to Amo.

I can think of three givers who cherish their instruments to a high degree: Zanka ofc, Amo, and Jabber. Amo goes as far as being catatonic whenever someone tries to claim her boots, and Jabber introduces his weapon with its name and is clearly very in tune with his instrument. Zanka is best at using his instrument amongst the cleaners, and calls her “her” and takes meticulous care of her, very attached to Lovely Assistaff. It’s said that the bond one creates with their instrument can help unlock its potential, eventually having their name written on it. Jabber had his printed on Mankira and is clearly very well versed in how it works as he’s always explaining such a complicated tool to his opponents. He fights so well with her too, never accidentally stabbing or cutting himself and never getting close to chopping off his hair or his clothes. That shows extreme control and precision, something that even a genius would’ve had to practice. I think we can safely say that he is on par or close to Zanka in terms of knowing his vital instrument, and as attached as Amo is to hers.

But also, who are the main characters that hold back their vital instruments? Jabber and Amo. One purposefully, the other subconsciously. Zanka we assume is too, as Jabber claims to see him holding back the same as he does to get better fights.

Additionally, Jabber and Amo have similar manners of speech. Amo of course talks in the third person, likely due to her lack of socialization and maybe projecting herself into children’s books she read. If the book talked about a “princess in the tower” or something like that, and Mister always calling her Amo, it makes sense she develops that speech pattern. But the only other person who speaks like that is…Jabber. When he’s fighting Zanka in their round two, twice does he call himself “Jabber.” He talks twice in the third person, after we meet Amo. That feels significant. He says something like “Jabber you genius!” While cocooned in his final form Mankira as Zanka checks on him, and while he’s dragging Zanka to feed to the trash beast he says “Good ‘ol Jabber carried out his mission like a champ!”

That’s super interesting to me, and also plays into his childish nature. Amo acts childish for very obvious reasons, has childish ideals, manners of speech, fashion, and perspective. Jabber himself is also someone who behaves very immaturely despite being so independent and skilled. He refers to his fights as “playing,” calls his opponents (Rudo and Zanka) his “friends,” talks about “rewards” and “punishments” from the boss like one talks about their parent, says shit like “no fair!”, “forever and ever”, “pretty cool right?”, hops excitedly over to Zanka, literally dances/spins around and makes up a silly song after defeating Zanka, and even during the fight mimicking the gloopy sounds like a kid.

So him and Amo: super young but (unfortunately) well-versed in sexuality, talk in third person, suppress their vital instruments, are very attached to their instruments, behave and even speak very childlike. Meanwhile it’s confirmed that there are several traffickers in the area, Jabbers instrument appears to be too small for him, he displays all the trauma responses of child abuse, and speaks too plainly and assuredly on sexual pleasure. Think it’s a fair theory to have about him. People say online it’d be funny if he had a completely average childhood with a normal family and he just came out *like that* but I honestly don’t think it’s true. There’s too much to be unearthed on this character.

I tie him with Amo heavily because she’s the only Gachiakuta character to have introduced sexual abuse in the manga and suffers/is shown to heal from it. I got the vibe from Jabber after his first fight, but his similarities with Amo cement it for me. That and although I don’t include it as tangible evidence, the picture one of the people that work with Kei Urana drew of Jabber sitting on Zanka’s shoulder mimicking the Amo and Fu pose with Jabber as Amo only fueled my theory.

On one last note. Amo doesn’t fight, and she isn’t violent. But both of them do have wires crossed when it comes to affection. Amo has an obsession with love, and Jabber has an obsession with pain. We know about Amo and how her trauma caused her to view love and finding people to love her. But Jabber?

Well, I think it’s clear when he lies down beside Zanka to laugh with him, saying he must be having great hallucinations, and always calling him and Rudo his “friend” shows that this is how Jabber connects with people. He probably doesn’t know any other way. Violence and pain are the language he speaks, so when he injects people with his venom he sees it as a positive thing since *he* does. When people are in pain, he assumes they enjoy it like he does. When he fights, he expects the other to let loose and have fun like how he does. So when he meets Zanka, definitely a closeted sadist, I think he really meets his match here. I think he really connects there, why he was so adamant on his potential.

He lays side by side with Zanka, doesn’t hurt him, doesn’t poison him more, doesn’t make fun of him for loosing, doesn’t even *touch* him. He just laughs with him. Such a boyish thing to do. So innocent and creepy and precious and horrifying all the same. Because if Zanka is having fun, he wants to have fun too! He has no other reason to do this, doesn’t even poison himself to experience the hallucination.

The way his rings don't make it past his knuckles, implying either he outgrew them or they once belonged to someone else

The way they heavily resemble self defense rings typically worn by women and the way they are actually 10 different instruments

The way Mankira's unleashed form creates a shell around Jabber to protect him

The way Jabber's Favorite Hallucinogenic came from someone who tried to kill him with it thus getting him addicted