Hear me out, when it comes to alcohol, both Tsunagu and Shinya have some kind of aversion to the substance (generalised; don’t care if it is whiskey, saké, liquor or whatnot. Alcohol is alcohol, even though I tend to fall back on saké in my fics) because their parents kind of sucked and alcohol only worsened those already dark and consuming personality traits in the house.
A lot of what I write in this post (okay, pretty much all of what I write in this post) are my headcanons for these two, and they’re going to be explored in the ongoing U.A. High series [I’mma sit here and pretend like this post wasn’t a spontaneous write up because I have been staring at my word processor for days now reworking the third chapter for that fic — cue, it is Tsunagu’s chapter next]
I’ve been wanting to share all of my headcanons for a while now, instead of relying on what time I have around the clock to write out fanfictions when I’m not dealing with school work, so here goes nothing :)
Note: this only covers up till the boys are 18/16 respectively, so until the end of Shinya’s first year. Also, this is non-exhaustive, so there's probably more I didn't write into this. But please proceed with caution as a lot of these headcanons are potentially triggering - your mental health is more important!!
He's the son of divorced parents
His family was wealthy growing up (you might notice this becomes a point of contention that the first instalment of the U.A. High series keeps circling between himself and Shinya seeing as it is one of many main contrast points)
Only child [though I also love headcanons where he has siblings (I will devour any fanfic regarding Tsunagu and Shinya; it is already hard enough to find new fanfics for this pairing T-T) but I imagine in the stories I write, it doesn't make much sense to me that his mother would want to have another child with how her ex was.]
His parents divorced when he was 15, after several years of domestic, spousal and child abuse.
He takes after his mother on a lot of stuff (another point that will be continuously circled back on in Shinya's PoV in the U.A. story)
When he was 16, before his second year at U.A., his mother discovered after all the legal trouble with Tsunagu's father following their divorce was finally settled that he (Tsunagu) had been actively lying to her about what time he left for school every morning (although, this really only worked because she was too hurt to actually think through the logic of train fares and commute time between Okayama and Shizuoka, especially regarding bullet trains) and relocated herself and Tsunagu to eastern Aichi Prefecture, closer to U.A., and closer to Tokyo where Tsunagu would eventually be based in after going professional.
Was hyper-reclusive as a child and teenager as a result of his father and bullying when he was a child.
Was used to people talking to him only because they wanted something of him; until Shinya casually tore that all down with one "I don't mean to intrude," and he saw a reflection in his later-companion.
Scared out of his mind for his mother growing up, didn't want to trouble her.
Learnt and discovered the fibre arts as a result of his maternal lineage having a stronghold in the fashion industry.
Had a period when he was young when he hated his given name (because of the bullying)
Was extremely talented and clever as a teenager, but was spoken down to so much that he genuinely couldn't see it in himself, and any sign of 'lacklustre' performance (struggling with textiles), he took to mean he was beyond weak.
His emotions directly affect his Quirk, and how out-of-control it could get, which becomes the reason why he carries such a monotone, flat expression all the time.
Since genes are weird in terms of randomness, Tsunagu's eyes are teal, (admittedly, it is only because I cannot tell if they're supposed to be green or something. They look teal/turquoise to me), a liminal between his mother's very striking green and his father's crystal blue, but leans more green in terms of hue.
Parents are alcoholics who chose the bottle over him.
Has never felt a speck of what love, compassion or affection was like until he met Tsunagu when he was 15 (and consequently, Tsunagu's mother.)
Was from an impoverished household where his parents spent more money on alcohol than keeping him fed.
Didn't really have a reason for becoming a hero-hopeful when he first got accepted into U.A. (didn't really believe he could actually make it until the acceptance letter came since... robots), but found a reason through his friendship with Tsunagu.
Grew up in Aichi Prefecture.
Extremely observant and agile.
Was used to having nothing, if anything at all.
Hated, kind of (innocently; stupid teenaged jealousy), that Tsunagu had 'everything', at least in terms of materialism until he found that generosity turned on him.
Didn't have any interest in the textile arts until he found out his best friend loved it, which piqued his curiosity but nothing more for some time.
Talks of Tsunagu in a lot of holier-than-thou/pedestal imagery, metaphors and terms, from the very second he saw the upperclassman because of teenaged idolisation/idiocy/fascination.
Never quite got over the 'Hakamada-senpai' phase for much of his U.A. days until Tsunagu fully stopped with 'Kamihara-san'/'Kamihara-kun'
Very composed most of the time, but was the more expressive one between himself and Tsunagu as teenagers, but it is so minute it is basically negligible.
Mostly takes after his father in appearance, except the eyes, which are his mother's.
Only child; until he went no contact with his parents as an adult and they brought another child into the world (like they didn't already prove they aren't ready for parenthood)
Headcanons related to the two but aren’t directly about the two:
Tsunagu's mother (Yui Hattori; married Hakamada but reverted after her divorce) was once best friends with Shinya's mother (Metsumi Suzuki, married Kamihara) in high school, but for reasons, their friendship fell apart a few years before Yui would conceive Tsunagu with his father (Horaku).
The Hattori legacy is a fashion empire, where the textile Quirks come from and until Tsunagu came about, they never believed they would produce a mostly-universal Quirk variant.
Yui's a renowned woollen garment weaver, Horaku an accountant (I imagine this combination as reason for headcanoning Tsunagu to be quite good with numbers, since he seemed to know Shinya's decision in the Final War was basically the equivalent of a death sentence), Metsumi and Shinya's father... no need to talk about that.
I am still expanding the Metsumi-Yui lore, and I would love to talk more about it as much as I would love any other takes on teenaged EdgeJeanist, or just EdgeJeanist in general.
Feel free to ask me anything about my headcanons, or tell me about yours - comments or askbox (if it is not turned on, please let me know) - but please keep things civil!!
I would love to hear your thoughts, your takes, what you agree with or disagree with. It's all fair game and an open space here [my only reservations are honestly anything NSFW (though no judgment!) and nothing to do with adults and children paired together.
I would love to talk all day about Tsunagu and Shinya with anyone who would like to listen, and read other headcanons too, so please don't be shy to share if you want!! :)
