My AO3 and FF.NET account. I'm so head-over-heels over Gachiakuta currently, more especifically about Jabber Wonger & Zanka Nijiku. Expect pieces about them :).
Dropping this Gachiakuta (Nijiku siblings/Goka) chapter 153 semi-analysis. More like me explaining the way I saw it.
Copy-pasting my very rambly rant of Chapter 153, more specifically the Nijiku siblings, because I don't think I explored all I wanted about this in the fic, soo, archiving this in the blog:
.
.
.
Fuck. where do I even BEGIN. The flashback??? Obviously Goka's, about Zanka, about what he and Kyoka have discussed, about Goka's own insecurities and fears when it comes to Zanka—
That's why it starts with Kyoka telling him to "stop comparing himself to Zanka". Even back then, even before Zanka was able to "defend himself" and find his sharpness, his potential was obviously there, his flame was there, bright. WHICH IS WHY!!! Kyoka chides Goka about it, he shouldn't be putting Zanka's potential so high up, because it will undoubtedly blur out everything else. Kyoka sees and wants for them three (and everybody else) to make the best with what they've got, to support one another and push each other to be better and just. FUEL EACH OTHER'S CAPABILITIES AND QUALITIES!!!
Zanka's quality of overcoming his struggles, of refusing to give up to them, of being so fucking full of life and determination to push forward and take his own path is like.
But Kyoka knows Goka's focused so much into that, that he fails to see his own qualities— that sturdiness she claims to be the best amongst the Hell Guard. Yeah, Goka is like. BUILT DIFFERENT. But, but. Kyoka sees that, that he can be a solid rock others can lean on. That he can be the rock Zanka can lean on if he ever stutters, if he ever needs a break. WHICH IS WHY!!! KYOKA!!! ASKS HIM TO DEFEND ZANKA'S QUALITY!!! like!!! She's basically smacking him for failing to see his own qualities and reminding him that everybody has something going on to them, and that it's their duty to nurture that quality, that flame. And the best way to get there is nurturing one's own flame. I am 100% on the thought that Kyoka's line of "You mustn't use your qualities to fuel an inferior flame" is not a line TOWARDS ZANKA'S FLAME. It's a line towards Goka's stubbornness to his skewed approach. He won't be able to help Zanka grow strong if he keeps getting lost in banal things like jealousy or comparison.
Kyoka is basically telling Goka "stop focusing on trivial things, if you do, you'll lose the vision of the whole forest. You won't be able to see what must be done to uplift one another." WHICH IS WHY!! she tells him to never look away form Zanka. Goka can learn from him in that regard— even with all the trials and tribulations and setbacks and the impossible standards they all must meet, Zanka keeps pushing forward, it's a burden he carries in the way that his flame doesn't die. Zanka refuses to die, and he refuses to give up. All his setbacks, all the blocks in the road? Zanka just keeps going. He leaves the past in the past and reaches for his own fucking future and so Kyoka is telling Goka to "fucking give the past and his mistakes a rest" (after all Goka is shown injured!!). Telling Goka to evolve, basically.
But ofc Zanka is still young, he still has so much to live and he is not a Hell Guard yet. Goka is, and thus, he must be the one to make sure Zanka's qualities don't deteriorate. Kyoka sees all of Zanka's potential, and how much stronger he can get by virtue of refusing to remain stagnant in the past and his mistakes. And here??? this situation in the flashback??? Goka looks SOLEMN and fucking… remorseful, perhaps? He's holding a burden and a weight that Kyoka is telling him to drop it. "and it goes double if you see Zanka's good qualities as blindingly bright" DUDE. THE WAY I GOT SO FUCKING GUT PUNCHED!!! Goka is so fucking deep with admiration for Zanka's zeal. So much so he ends up comparing himself to it, so much so Kyoka has to step in and remind him that "everybody has their own flame, and you shouldn't try to feed onto one another's flame with inferior, weaker ones". Basically Goka shouldn't be using the wrong motivation or goal or, or, idk. He should be using his own good qualities instead of grasping for things he struggles with or are detrimental. If he can't push past his setbacks the way Zanka does, then he has to figure out his own way to keep getting better. To keep feeding of one another's potential. That's how the "hell guards become a bigger flame."
When Goka says "You're pathetic". His expression is hidden. But prior that??? prior that??? LOOK AT THIS SHIT!!!
GOKA DOESN'T LOOK AWAY!!! He heeds Kyoka's word and LEARNS from Zanka. Beyond it being their duty as Hell Guard or Nijiku, is their duty as siblings to learn and uplift one another, to defend each other's good qualities and flames.
IS THIS THE FUCKING EXPRESSION WHO THINKS SO LOW OF THEIR SIBLING?!??!?! IS THIS THE FUCKING EXPRESSION OF SOMEONE WHO THINKS THEIR BROTHER PATHETIC???
Then:
THIS?!??!? THIS?!?!?!? It's not Goka telling Zanka that his flame is weak and "lukewarm". It's Goka's call to action, to Zanka. He's basically saying "show me how bright your flame really is", he's saying "I KNOW this isn't all you have. I know your flame isn't only good enough for heating lukewarm water for the cleaners" (or anybody else, in that regard. BUT HERE!!! HERE GOKA is reminding Zanka why he left, why he kept pushing forward.) Because he knows Zanka's flame burns so hot that lukewarm is not it. "What becomes of the man who refused to live up to his elder sister's expectations." NOT BECAUSE!! He is not scolding Zanka for "failing to live up to Kyoka's expectations", he is scolding Zanka for "failing his own self", for the expectations he superimposed over those of Kyoka. His own. Zanka depends of Lovely Assistaff alright and that makes him vulnerable, that ties him up to the Cleaners. It's Goka reminding him of Hell Guard code of not being dependent of Instruments, it's Goka reminding him that such weakness should be making him stronger.
Goka's words are no more than rehearsed lines all of them have heard. "Zanka's incompetence", "you are pathetic" it's lines they've rehearsed but they are lines spoken with so much in between (TO ME. AT LEAST)
"Don't get any funny ideas" as he picks Zanka up. "I'm only doin' what Kyoka asked me to do." YES BECAUSE FUCK!!! THEY CARE FOR ZANKA SO MUCH!!! "Don't get any funny ideas", to me, it's: "don't think we've gone soft, don't think we won't hold you up to the expectations YOU'VE set for yourself, when you refused Kyoka's guidance and decided to join the cleaners." It's Goka telling Zanka, again, that his flame should be burning brighter and hotter than what was shown. Goka shows no sadness or anger, in my opinion. He is BEING THE FUCKING STONE that can hold Zanka, when Zanka can't hold himself. He is keeping Zanka's flame alive, he is BRINGING HIM TO MEDICS!!! because Kyoka asked that of him!!! to defend Zanka's flame!!!
THIS?? HELLO???? "It is not acceptable for a Nijiku to die from somethin' as minor as this" Yeah, i can see how it's construed as "the siblings being so cruel and ruthless and uncaring for Zanka." BUT TO ME??? TO ME??? TO FUCKING ME??? It's Goka letting Rudo and Zanka know that he is sure Zanka won't die because of such wound. Goka knows how much potential Zanka holds, how much he keeps rising up again and again and again no matter how hard and how often he falls.
Look at— fucking. GOKA's expression. as he looks towards Rudo. To me is the— the conflict of. how much to let a stranger in. How much to say, knowing full well his words carry a weight beyond the one spoken. "It's not acceptable for…" is double speak (TO ME!!) for "I'm not going to let Zanka die. Zanka can't die, he's stronger than this, I know and believe it so." something as minor as this he says. And I fully believe he calls it "minor" because he knows this is just one more stepping stone, one more stumble in the path Zanka's decided to walk. It's Goka telling both Rudo and Zanka that he won't let Zanka die, and Goka telling Zanka that he better not die. Then when he says "your pity is unnecessary."?? THE WAY ZANKA FUCKING TOLD RUDO, BACK AFTER THE TRASH BEAST BELLY????
HELLO???? HELLO???? How much they are cut from the same cloth. How much Goka is firm in his belief of Zanka pulling through. How certain he is that Zanka will survive, and that Goka himself will make that happen. He tells Rudo to focus on Mymo. Sure, as Hell Guard duty, but also. BECAUSE HE KNOWS ZANKA!!! HE KNOWS HIS FLAME!! this is Goka's way of ensuring Zanka's flame keeps bright. This is Goka's way of using HIS OWN FLAME, his own sturdiness, to feed Zanka's flame.
Goka's expression there is not one of anger to me. It's. it's. it's like he is convincing himself of such thing. It's like he's so shaken Zanka's gotten injured. It's Goka showing the cards close to his chest for a moment before he reminds them all that pity will lead them nowhere. HE GOT NOWHERE WHEN HE WAS WALLOWING IN HIS OWN SELF PITY!!! Kyoka had to pull him aside and whack him for it basically.
Goka said "Let me take care of keeping Zanka's flame alive. Let me and the Hell Guard's quality FAN YOU CLEANER'S FLAMES. It's Goka putting duty above all, but acting through Kyoka's words and teachings. He's learnt through it all. He's had to be the sturdy rock Zanka can lean on. And like hell he'll fail. Like hell he'll lose sight of the bigger scope. OF HOW MANY LIFES HE CAN SAVE. Goka pushes through it all and takes it upon himself, he lets the others help. He's stopped comparing himself, he's stopped thinking of Zanka's flame as blinding. It's not something he is jealous of no more, but protective of. It's Goka using his flame to fuel the superior flame here— of camaraderie and his own sense of duty. He's stopped dwelling on smaller flames. He's just. he knows what he can do and how he can help. so he does.
Zanka's expression here??? Yeah, he's in pain and struggling with it. But more than that, is him just. IN MY MIND. basking in Goka's words, reading between the lines, digging through the meanings to understand what Goka really means. It's clear from the moment Goka speaks to him. when it seems that Goka's "taunting him and mocking him", but Zanka. to me. TO ME. it's trying to swallow the information between lines. Trying to grapple with the fact that Goka and Kyoka fucking care, in their own way. that they fucking worry in their own distant, muddled way. It's Zanka berating himself for almost falling down that self.-pity (see: why is it always me?). Zanka frowns in both physical pain and with the realization that yeah, yeah you know what? Goka's right. this won't be what kills him. this is not where he dies.
LIKE. You think if Kyoka and Goka didn't care about Zanka they'd fucking remove him from there (that Goka wouldn't pass him off to somebody else to take care of him)??? That Goka would fucking SPRINT to Zanka the moment Mymo approached him because "he doesn't care"???? MNH??? HELLO??? HELLO???¿ YA SEEING MY VISION??? YA SEEING MY TRUTH???
"I will report to (Kyoka) about your incompetence." like. ??? SURE. YEAH. RIGHT. Say it whatever way you want, Goka. i can read the "I'm looking after you because Kyoka's asked me to long time ago. because you are my brother. you are OUR little brother. I'll let her know of this perceived incompetence and blunder." But words that jagged mean JACK SHIT when it's preluded by Goka admitting to recognizing how hot Zanka's flame burn. By asking Zanka if this is all he can give, when Goka knows better— when Kyoka knows better, and when Zanka himself knows better.
It comes off as uncouth and rude and mean. but that's just because they can't bring themselves to speak with a bared heart and open emotions. That's not how they operate. NONE OF THEM. and it's. that's why Zanka gets it
.
.
.
Anywaaaay. I just. Chapter 153 was a happy one for me lmao. Can ya see my vision? of the stoic siblings, refusing to show how much they love the brother that left? GUH! Call me delusional if you will, I understood it as such! Horrible relationship they have. They really have A LOT of family and communication issues they should work on lol. Oh, I hope to see more of them!.
also i think he will allow students to retake tests but only if they argue. he may or may not actively encourage arguing with him about answers. lectures probably digress because he very clearly heavily favors students who will take up the entire class time arguing. but only good interesting arguments.
Can absolutely see that happen, as I've lived it. Dumb, baiting arguments get shot down on the spot and clarified while actually engaging questions/arguments get followed through. Ya gotta make sure you teach the kids right, and it's always good to encourage their critical thinking skills.
Of course he'd enjoy a good debate. Jabber realizing most of the class' time has gone into an argument and wrapping up with reading material because well, they can catch up on their own time and he can polish off any hazy understanding of things.
Thanks for the asks! It's always nice to think of the "blorbos" <333
i saw the modern au ask! modern au jabber! as someone working for medical researchers, whose sibling has an organic chemistry phd (her colleague/friend had to wear a geiger counter), i 100% think youre correct, probably mostly research but they might drag him out of his lab (boss music might play) to do lectures/teach some college courses (Boss Music WILL Play). i suspect organic chemistry! only source being my unhinged sibling (and maybe the Ochem Is Pain stereotype lmao)
I'm sorry but having to wear a geiger counter, considering how the anime uses that often is--- oh, so funny to me hahahah. I always forget how much research, research, reading, reading, research, research, comparing info with your peers, conferences for new information science is (thinking back to genetics and biochemistry).
Organic chemistry is undoubtedly unhinged (though inorganic is, too. I am 100% sure that you ought to be some kind of off-your-mind to dedicate your career to that. Because. Yeah.)
Jabber doing lectures or teaching is-- I picture him very hands-on about it. Like the kind of teachers you see doing experiments to prove what they are talking about and demonstrate it. Like. YUP! I think he'd be well respected and feared in equal measure (as I've done with all my chemistry-related professors. They were awe-inspired, for sure. I'm sure a few had boss music too hahah).
So anyway, Lovely Assistaff cracking because Zanka's insecurities, self-doubt, self-hatred, self-worth get the best and worst of him? Sign me TF up!!
If you haven't read Hemlock, I recommend you do, it's so awfully sweet!! And also, so awfully heart-breaking! (I did NOT read the tags and walked blind lmao. So it ending where it did was... Gah, I was killed on the spot, I say, I say!)
I haven't had much energy to draw... but here are a few Janka sketches I've done in the past months (*´꒳`*). I am so, so, soooo weak for Jabber's fingers in Zanka's mouth. The visual blows my kneecaps to next week come. Every time. Jabber whump has been in my mind a lot, too... emotionally eviscerate him, someone, please.
Your Zanka analysis was so good, so what about Jabber? I mean, he's obsessed with fighting strong people and finding people that are stronger than him, but still, he keeps going after Zanka, who has yet to fully bloom? I mean, he sees the potential in him ig, but he was bored after their last fight, but at the same time I don’t think he has given up on him? What do you think about it?
Thing is, I can see Jabber's interest in Zanka going a few ways. Also, since we have only gotten two fights between them, there is not really that much to work with without making leaps into conclusions or reading between the lines.
Uh. Where to start. Obviously I have my canon-wise straight-cut thoughts, some giving more flexibility and leeway for the rivalry that is so clear-cut between them, and my more Janka-oriented ones (this one's at the bottom, sorry! Had to ramble a bit, hah).
Canon-compliant, here is my stance based on what Jabber's said: Jabber, by all intent and purposes, should not care about Zanka anymore— they fought, and Zanka turned out to be a disappointment. It's a done-and-over thing, his interest, I believe. No matter how much he had thought it would turn different, the results are there, and so Jabber's done with it. I do wholeheartedly believe such thing's frustrating to him, though, or at least annoying/disappointing.
(also it just came to me that, there is a high chance Jabber intended to kill him, if we compare where his claws were headed to--Zanka's mouth. In his first appearance, that's how he ends up taking the other guys' life
)
Next time they meet, I do not think Jabber will even spare a glance to Zanka. Beyond a "Oh, you've survived". If his interest has died entirely, I believe him capable of going all-out on the spot and going for the kill (after all, he kills the people he doesn't like). If Jabber, through the disappointing fight, still believes or clings onto the potential he initially saw on Zanka, I think he'd go the same way. He'd go all out to see if Zanka's grown since their last fight, holding himself back as to not kill him. He might even poison him, to keep alive for next time.
Now bear with me, cause I have, uh 👉👈, a lot of thoughts...
I don't think "Jabber keeps going after Zanka" is necessarily a valid statement (to my Janka-addled brain, it is tho... of course he keeps going after Zanka...). Considering their first encounter simply piqued Jabber's interest (and lord, do I have thoughts about that encounter haha). It started the itch, it did not scratch it. Their second encounter did— their first fight. The moment Jabber decided to test Zanka's mettle. Jabber had expectations, he had hopes, he had an idea of who Zanka was, could be. Alas, Zanka fell short. He went after him once, in the Trash Beast belly, and beyond him being on the Information Broker arc, he hasn't popped up again. He said nothing about Zanka then, simply addressed Riyo and asked her to shoot him again (Hence why I think he's moved on from Zanka, though he could have just been entirely occupied by the thought of fighting the Cleaners/Fu).
From their 1st encounter, to me it's clear: While not explicitly shown, I just know that Jabber was watching the fight. Or at least, he caught the tail end of it. Hence why he gets the jump on Zanka. Hence why he finds himself interested, why he could see the potential in Zanka.
Their first interaction is key to their following one, and on Jabber's stance on Zanka.
The fight in the Trash Beast Belly starts with Jabber testing Zanka. When the fight starts, Mankira is still in its compact form. Call it a warm-up, call it a test. I think Jabber is just testing the waters, considering his enjoyment on their first clash, and his comment of "finding out for how long Zanka can avoid the poison" from his claws. He slings the poison at Zanka, testing.
It is once Zanka's been so vicious in his response, once Zanka's flipped the earth-and-poison over Jabber, that Jabber gets the confirmation he needs. Zanka's not pulling punches, and so Jabber does not see the need to continue testing him— it also helps he doesn't get vaporized with the acid if he uses Mankira's claws as a shell lol. (i also think him Jabber says "play", whether he says it quite literally or as a way of saying "fight"... well... isn't it the same to him?)
"You can do it. He can take it. You can do it!!" That, and Jabber's words of "You can go all out now, too. C'mon! C'mon! ... Let's fight for real." Jabber thinks Zanka's holding back as much as Jabber was, if his words are anything to go by (and I believe him on that, too! I think Zanka has not truly shown his hands. I think he's holding back his full potential/Lovely Assistaff's real form/power due to X or Y or Z). Jabber thinks Zanka's got whatever's needed to wipe the floor with Jabber.
Zanka's "I'm all outta tricks." Sooort of rub me in the wrong way. Or, rather, it makes me think far too much into it. "Tricks", he says, and in a way I think that's probably it— all his skills are put forward as a trick, as a placeholder for what he really can get to. I think that's what Jabber sees.
When Jabber says "So is it game over?" while having Zanka pinned down, I think that's when he's decided to go for the killing blow— just like he did to that guy once he'd gathered the needed info on Rudo. Then, of course, there is that fight, that push, that potential. Jabber recognizes it, even if to Zanka it might seem like a desperate struggle to "prove it".
(also catch the way he tilts his head... as if trying to figure out if this is it. If this is all to it. Because surely there's more, right?)
Things just pick back up and then— Zanka gets caught up in it, maybe acts a bit recklessly, maybe forgets to account for Jabber's claws mobility. It's a high and a low one after the other, and to that, I think Jabber's disappointment is directed. Things just started getting good, Zanka was going to show him his potential, his brutality. But he gets caught. Jabber catches him and it's over.
(He tilts his head here, too, as if thinking "Huh. So this is it. This was all Zanka could offer me. How disappointing". And you can read that later on when he wonders if any other Cleaners would have been more fun to fight against. I see him as being bored by the fact Zanka's efforts only got him so far, annoyed even. Because he had thought, he had believed, he had hoped— but Zanka's brutality never came, he never matched Jabber in his savagery beyond cracking his ribs, he had thought Zanka would be it, the one to wipe the floor with him, but it never came to pass).
Him stabbing Zanka with Mankira's right, I think it's Jabber's frustration boiling over. Now I'm not sure if you require the Givers to be alive before being made sacrifices, or if you need to "connect their souls (body/Vital Instrument)". So Jabber going for the kill to me is a 50/50.
In a more Jabber/Zanka-sided answer: I don't think Jabber's given up on Zanka. I think he still wants to fight whatever potential Zanka's still not uncovered. My thoughts still follow the same "Jabber was disappointed, and even mad about Zanka's weakness, because it cut the fun short".
Because I truly think Jabber put him high up on a pedestal after their first encounter. He saw, he got the itch, but he really didn't get to fight Zanka. Easily proved by his words "I can hope that I've finally found somebody other than the boss who can wipe the floor with me". If Zodyl's words of Jabber's intuition about them is pretty perceptive (as he did with Follo and Gris, and Rudo even, saying his scent was similar to Zodyl. Guessing that might be the Watchman series Instruments... if not being Sphere-related).
So Jabber might've been disappointed, but he saw a glimpse of Zanka's potential, when he made a comeback, when he turned out "to be a real sadist". Jabber gets excited and all that excitement meets a wall when Zanka doesn't avoid Mankira's claws. And all that excitement turns to frustration— and in that, he stabs Zanka.
Specially when you consider Zanka's words of "not holding back, and fighting for real". Zanka says "someone as average as him WILL match Jabber." Zanka talks a big talk and Jabber's met with a short-lived struggle. Wouldn't that infuriate you? You're told you'll be served cake and get naught but frosting.
At the moment, it's all right if he ends up sacrificing Zanka. That's his mission, after all, and he already got as much of a kick as he could out of it. But seeing that Zanka survives (or, that he gets hauled off. I have so many ideas/wips regarding Jabber's thoughts on Zanka surviving, like legit surviving. Because next time he meets the Cleaners Zanka is not there and like. Does that point to his death, or his injured state? Anywaaaay) surely made it all the more tempting, to see what takeaway does Zanka end up with after their fight.
The next time they cross paths —their 3rd encounter and perhaps their 2nd fight—, I think Jabber would want to try Zanka again. Either he grew and got nearer to hit the potential Jabber sees in him, or he's remained stagnant. Overall, I do think a lot of his words, calling Zanka's front of swinging Lovely Assistaff "not all there is". Because I believe that. Much as of course, I would love for Zanka's Instrument to be as simple as a staff he swings, I also think there's more to it. There's more Zanka is holding back due to the way he perceives himself (an average joe).
In that sense, I think Jabber's obsession would steam for his desire to see Zanka's true strength. He wants go see what he hides (that brutality), he wants to see how much of a beating he can take if Zanka stops holding himself back. Above all, Jabber wants to experience the pain Zanka could bring, and he wants to see first-hand how vicious he can get. I think a lot about how others' conversations bleed into someone else's fight/scene.
Obviously here, the "shock to the system" Zodyl speaks of did not occur for Zanka, much to Jabber's dismay. But I also think it's more of a Zanka being so stubborn in his ways, he refuses to budge— considering the enviroment he grew in, much as he's changed and adapted, he's still so him, you know? Idk how to explain it proper, or even if a real, concrete thought is actually there. I'm very staunch of Zanka dismissing his own genius on the wake of the inadequacy created by his family's expectations and Hyo's superior skills. In that sense, I think he has deluded himself into being average (which don't get me wrong, I love how much that's played from his character, the effort he puts in and how simple his Vital Instrument is. But he's had to get creative and good at it, and isn't that a kind of genius, too?). He can be average, but if Jabber's seen the potential, then that means he can grow into it, right? He can match the geniuses. So Jabber wants to see it, what Zanka refuses to acknowledge/show.
(i also think Zanka's shock will come more as a realization that, to beat Jabber, he needs to go all out in his brutality and ruthlessness. That Jabber's victory has made him realize he has to look in the eye the parts he keeps to himself and represses— "his inner self will be dragged out". And perhaps Zanka's "inner self" is just him, being average. That there's nothing down there deeper, that this was as good as it got. I can work with that, too. Because then Zanka's belief of him being average stands true, so then his efforts to match Jabber ought to be great. I would find it more satisfying if it is Zanka coming to realize that, well, he's gotta match Jabber's freak. He can't afford to be playing by the rules.)
One of my WIPs has Zanka saying "I fought with everything I got. I was not holding back. I gave it my all", or something akin those lines, to which Jabber's rebuttal is "Perhaps. But you and me were fighting under different rules", and I think about that a lot. The "rules" being the way Jabber was aiming to have fun, not holding back, while Zanka was trying to prove a point, he was trying to fight while still holding himself back by one reason or another. Yeah they both gave it their all, but Zanka's own "rules", whatever limitations he's self-imposed on himself gave him such a disparity between them. He was never meant to win, the way he was thinking through the fight. He didn't heed Jabber's call for "showing his true self", so the match was decided even before either had a say.
Ahhhh, but that's just me being so fascinated by these two. Gghhhh. I love them so much. Sorry I rambled a lot. I have not really explored much their fight in the Trash Beast, I just had so much to think about ╰(*´︶`*)╯♡ when given an outlet.
Anyway all that to say: I think Jabber's expectations of Zanka would be more realistic next time they fight, and while he is still curious and wants to see what Zanka truly has to offer, he won't be as hopeful as before unless he sees Zanka's growth. He has not given up on it, no, but maybe he is not as eager as before. I think he'd be jusy as excited to fight him, if only to test and see how much progress he's made. If Zanka won't take strides to move towards the person Jabber knows he can be, Jabber will forcefully push him towards it, one defeat at a time if needed.
Do you think zanka biggest worry with jabber is that he won’t be able to measure up to jabber expectations?
Nnghh... This is such a hard question. Anon, this has been haunting me for the past days :c. Canon-wise, as of chapter 146, I think Zanka's biggest worry is trynna survive the fight without getting hit by Jabber's claws.
The short and round about answer, to me, is: Yes, in a way. It already stung that he had not been strong enough in their fight. So next time, I'm sure Zanka wants to close as much of the gap between their skills. But meeting up Jabber's expectations is just a by-product of meeting his own self-imposed expectations. So in a way he's set his goal on Jabber (his goal being that of surpassing the geniuses with his own efforts).
(and on a more long-winded answer that I could not shorten as much as I'd like, I've attempted like 6 times and I just. Have one too many thoughts on the matter)
Vol.7 shows us a lot about Zanka. Of where he stood, where he stands, and where he wants to stand.
Their second/first real battle was a series of rude awakenings to him. I believe. He had been doing so well in the Cleaners, but the moment's Jabber's decided to fight him "for real", no matter how hard he pushes back, no matter how much he thinks he can win, and no matter how much Jabber thinks Zanka can win, too, the power gap between them becomes obvious. Or the gap between skills, at least.
I think Zanka's bigger worry with Jabber is not so much that he won't measure up to Jabber's expectations, but more of a bitter reality that "he could never surpass the geniuses", that all the effort put in his training is, in the end, for naught. It's more of Zanka failing his own expectations, and falling so far behind the goals he's set for himself. He'd be failing the vision Enjin set out for him, and the rule that's kept him going: that even an average joe such as himself can surpass the likes of geniuses.
Zanka's so stubborn in this way (but I also think it has a lot to do with his desire to prove his own worth). When Jabber's got him pinned, he remembers Hyo, someone who he'd put on the pedestal of the geniuses. Hyo was the first one to show Zanka that after all, he was not the genius his classmates claimed him to be. Zanka is hit with the reality that it all was just a show, in a sense. Hyo knocked Zanka down from his high horse, and she is someone who Jabber reminds him of. Zanka thinks of Jabber as a genius— he recognizes the imbalance he'd seen with Hyo, now that Jabber is "fighting for real". So Zanka comes to realize that, all his effort, all the praise he might have gained, is for naught, again, when faced against the likes of Jabber, a genius (and in that, I think he also gets more invigorated to try harder, to show his worth and to prove that being a genius is not all to it— pretty much as we see when he first interacts with Rudo).
I think Zanka's so hung up on his past in multiple ways. Imagine, thinking yourself superior for so long, only for a newcomer to show you how big the power gap "between a real genius and one who's faking it" is. Add salt to injury with Hyo's words of "You just want people to tell you you're an amazing person". I think that created a big, deep-rooted insecurity and struggle in Zanka: If he is not the genius everybody's claimed him to be, he's on the same level the rest of his classmates are, who he has thought below him all this time.
His ego is something funny to me... Enjin makes him realize that being average shouldn't be something to look down upon— and I do wholeheartedly believe that such thing is also what drives Zanka forward, and gives him a new perspective: if he is not a Genius, then he's on the same baseline as his classmates. But compared to them who he's seen given up and fawn over those above them, Zanka simply refuses to stay stagnant.
I do like that about him, though. What a fighter, as Jabber says, hehe.
I think having been at the (very literal) bottom after such rude reality hit him with Hyo, he just refuses to go back to that same position. In part because he does not want to let Enjin down, and in part because he just wants to prove his own worth, to himself or others. Which is why Jabber's genius is a challenge to him, I think. He is an immediate goal before him, one he wants to reach. Zanka's tried the "i wanna die, I'm so pathetic" already— I think Enjin shifted Zanka's whole mind frame. Because, if Zanka was/is just as average as his classmates, the biggest difference between them was Zanka's efforts (which we know he trained hard, studied hard). If Zanka was a genius back then, and his classmates where just "chums", then it stands to reason the gap he's seen there can also be closed between him and "the geniuses".
...
Anywhooooo. Zanka's so afraid of letting Jabber down in my Janka-addled head because, well. Jabber's been clear he likes strong people, and if he's thought Zanka capable of beating him, then if he keeps falling behind, if he keeps losing, then that means Zanka's gotta be below average, right? If he lets himself down, and by proxy can't meet Jabber's vision of his strength, then that'd hurt all the more, right?
I'm not the only one whose immediate thought was "he's got huge boobs, I mean some serious honkers. A real set of badonkers. Packin' some dobonhonkeros. Massive dohoonkabhankoloos Big ol' tonhongerekoogers." at the anime screenshots, right...?
Jabber would be shot on the spot, no questions asked, the moment he tried getting chummy with them wihekgnjñm. Which would probably make him all the more eager to interact with them.
"Zanka! You didn't tell me how great your siblings were!" Jabber'd probably say, while Zanka's torn between letting Jabber fuck around and find out, or stop an inevitable fight lol. The Nijiku siblings probably get the shared experience of "this guy's so annoying, how do I keep him off my back?", with little to no success because Jabber's tough enough to withstand the beatings (he likes them anyway) and come for seconds.
On a very tangential note, remembering a WIP wherein Jabber gives the wrong impression to Kyouka by being all over Zanka and saying stuff like "My Zanka...", which prompts Zanka flipping him off with "I'M NOT YOUR ANYTHING, BITCH! THIS WHY YOU MAKE IT LOOK ALL SORTS OF WRONG WAYS!". Anywhooo
I am going bonkers. Thinking about— you know, Jabber poisoning Zanka. And like, I feel his first dosage was more of a "better safe than sorry" sort of situation, hence:
But I *neeeed* to know the context to that frame. Was that Jabber's POV once Zanka's collapsed at first? Just as we see Rudo's reaction here:
He's collapsed, too, under Jabber's poison. However the ragged breath I think it's more a reaction to Rudo's initial panic/turmoil of Gris' amulet having crumbled. The wound is far deeper/bigger than the small prickle given to Zanka, and the prickle he gives himself. (Also love love loooove how we can tell apart which hand he's using by Mankira's claw's color).
And I have my own thoughts and opinions in the matter. But. Would his dosage be standard, unless he willed it otherwise? He was, after all, knocked out and unconscious while fighting Rudo, while he gave him the scratch.
ANYWAY! All of this coming back to Zanka being shown on the ground.
Because obviously Zanka is IMMOBILE. and PARALYZED. And Going Through It. Again. Is this immediate panel a cut-away to show us Zanka's state. Or is it from Jabber's POV after he's collapsed, or while he was leaving? (Which in my own mind, he leaves well after he's prickled him, for Reasons.)
But in my heart of hearts I don't think Jabber's first dosage was a "better safe than sorry". It's the standard for the people "he likes". THAT SAID!! Ignoring my own gnawings thoughts regarding the interval of Zanka getting prickled, and Zanka arriving on scene/moving, I have a question:
Did Zanka got dosed in the same measure the second time as he did the first?
AND IF HE DID! I find if sooo interesting he is MOVING shortly after. He is already planting his hands on the ground, pushing himself up:
Rudo moves shortly after, too, if not a bit later than Zanka:
He's obviously putting in a lot of effort to do so. And Jabber's words make me think these are not the reactions he usually gets (maybe he's never nicked any Givers?). It also puts into question again if he is able to control the dosage while unconscious or not (looking at you, Mankira!!) or if there is a baseline higher than the one he'd administer if conscious (based on what he's said to Rudo).
Anyway. What was I saying? Ah, yeah. Anyway. If his first dosage was more of a "better safe than sorry", that means he's lowered the second time, where we clearly see Zanka moving pretty much immediately after. He pricks him with the same dose he's used on himself.
"To start wearing off" he says. He emphasizes the "you"... Perhaps his own experience? Perhaps based on how he's come to realized Zanka's moved, even when he is still under his poison (Zanka collapses pretty much after they both think they've defeated Jabber)
Again, how common is it for those under his poison to move shortly after?
LOOK AT THIS GUY!! Already moving!! Ahhhh. I need to know & see more of 'em. Sorry for being so fannish about. This. I just. Mmmmm. Thinking.
Honestly, Jabber probably adjusted his second dose so Zanka would not fall unconscious. He just wanted him out of the way. Idk man. Idk.
Don't believe so— staffs often used in herding tend to be straight (rod), or curled over at the end. At least I believe so lol.
Far as I'm aware his Vital Instrument, active or inactive, are a reflection of a Sasumata. Which, uh, if you read from the link you have the Tsukubo (push pole) and the Sodegarami (spiked pole), too. "Torimono Sandōgu" or "Three Tools of Arrest", it says... which in turn makes me think about his siblings. Huh.
AHHH!!!
And now I'm thinking about the theory going around of the Nijiku siblings having no shine in their eyes, which we know it's a give-away of when someone is a Giver (giving part of their soul onto their precious object)....
(sigh) for my own personal archival and looking-later purposes: Torimono Sandogu: one(Portuguese), two(English), three(Spanish).
stormborns
jbbartram-illu
titsay
janainaart
izzy806
prguitarman