kael! @ivyc0re - Tumblr Blog

Feb 7

fluff alphabet ➤ zanka nijiku

notes ➤ gn!reader. cleaner!reader. typical zanka insecurities are touched upon. nijiku sibling neglect mentioned. might be ooc as i've only done one read of the manga so far and did this as a character study.

w.c. ➤ 2.8k

activities - what do they like to do with their s/o? how do they spend their free time with them?

zanka likes sparring with you. he likes to show off what he's been learning, and likes helping both himself and you improve in combat. during missions, he turns fights against trash beasts into friendly competition, but he definitely has to remind himself not to get too heated.

but during free time, when improvement and missions aren't in the picture, he likes sitting around, talking, and admiring the views from a high rooftop. sure, the sights might not be the prettiest, but it really is all groundlings have ever known. he also likes walking around the various towns and doing some window shopping.

beauty - what do they admire about their s/o? what do they think is beautiful about them?

he admires your determination to reach your goals. he’ll help when he can, but he wants you to get there on your own.

you like taking care of others? in a world that’s essentially survival of the fittest, he definitely finds that admirable.

in terms of what he finds beautiful about you, he finds beauty in all of your hobbies. for example, say you like writing or drawing—he finds it beautiful that you want to do something that could leave a mark on the world. or maybe you like inventing or something that gets your hands really dirty. he might swoon a little.

comfort - how would they help their s/o when they feel down/have a panic attack etc.?

it's pretty easy to conclude that he was neglected based on his backstory. he's learned how to comfort and ground himself, and as a result, can do the same things for others.

he'll recommend meditation when you're feeling down, but he gets that it might not always work, especially those with louder minds. he'll take you on walks, ask you to talk about your interests—anything that distracts you.

for panic attacks, his first idea would be to take you to the nearest (clean) water source and have you splash your face. it works for him, but again, he knows that won't work for everyone. he leans towards helping using more immediate grounding methods, such as smelling something strong, tasting something strong, and/or touching something with a rougher texture.

dreams - how do they picture their future with their s/o?

despite the awful situations on the ground, people still do lead relatively fulfilling lives, but you both being cleaners does add a bit of tension and worry.

he really does hope that you’re by his side for as long as possible. now that you’re together, he can’t imagine a future without you there, and it shows in little ways. he’s always watching you extra carefully during missions, ready to step in if he thinks you need help.

he pictures a life where you both accomplish your goals. and if he’s being idealistic, he pictures a life with no trash beasts and no pollution. just a comfortable and safe future.

equal - are they the dominant one in the relationship, or rather passive?

overall, i'd say that your relationship is equal.

zanka thought he'd be passive at first. it already took a lot of guts for him to actually confess, so he was sure that doing all the stuff that comes with being in a relationship would also be difficult for him. he's still dealing with a massive inferiority complex, mind you, and feels like he doesn't deserve to be in a relationship with someone like you.

but no, he gets the craziest high once he's actually in a relationship, and it all comes naturally to him. he runs ahead of you to open doors, pulls out your chair during meals, all the gentlemanly stuff.

he'll come up to you at headquarters, throw out a "wanna check out this spot?", and never explicitly call it a date, but it sure is.

he's not huge into pda, but he'll initiate affection in public from time to time. a kiss on the forehead after you return from a mission. though he’ll immediately fluster if someone points it out and teases him about it. he's much better about showing his love for you in private.

fight - would they be easy to forgive their s/o? how are they fighting?

oh boy. zanka’s got quite the short fuse. he really does make an effort to keep his cool around you, though. but if you’re a ragebaiter, he definitely would lose it at some point and get real snippy with you.

he doesn’t apologize or forgive immediately. he’ll take some time to himself following an argument or fight with you—mostly because he has lingering ugly feelings towards himself in the aftermath and doesn’t want to make things worse.

he meditates. he falls back to old habits and works himself to the bone. he rehearses apologies in his room. then, like a mature person, he sincerely apologizes and tries to work though whatever got the both of you arguing in the first place.

gratitude - how grateful are they in general? are they aware of what their s/o is doing for them?

zanka is very grateful. he has his insecurities about your relationship for sure, but he’s been generally happier since getting with you.

he treasures every moment he has with you—both when you’re doing cleaner duties and when you’re just being relaxed and doing typical couple things.

he does notice when you do things for him, and of course he’s grateful for that. of everything you could possibly do for him, though, he appreciates that you even give him the time of day.

honesty - do they have secrets they hide from their s/o? or do they share everything?

while his ties to the nijiku family and the hell guard are no secret, what went down there is. he doesn’t speak much about his relationship with kyouka and goka. he’d really rather not talk about it.

riyo and enjin, for the longest time, were the only ones that knew about the time he hid down in a well for three days straight. this, he decides to tell you about one day, but only once you’ve been official for a while.

other than the things regarding his siblings, he doesn’t keep many things hidden. he doesn’t have much to hide.

inspiration - did their s/o change them somehow, or the other way around? like trying out new things or helping them overcome personal problems?

you’ve definitely had an effect on him. he knows that he’s been happier, a bit more pleasant, not so snippy. he feels changed for the better.

he might not work himself to the bone as much because some of his free time is now dedicated to typical couple things.

jealousy - do they get jealous easily? how do they deal with it?

this is zanka nijiku we’re talking about. it’s so obvious. he gets jealous easily. it’s mostly out of insecurity, of course. this is also obvious.

he gets a bit antsy, especially if you’re around someone he looks up to, because what if you leave him for them? he knows how much better they are than him (at least that's what he tells himself). he can act all nonchalant if he wants, but it’s painfully obvious how he’s feeling.

one time riyo had to stop him from clenching his fists because he was starting to bleed from how strongly he was digging his nails into his palm. all because you gave someone else a compliment while sparring.

in terms of dealing with it, he meditates on it rather than smacking around some training dummies like he would to cope in different scenarios. he reasons with himself, reminds himself that all of the other cleaners know damn well that you're in a relationship with him and wouldn't even dare to threaten that.

kiss - are they a good kisser? what was the first kiss like?

your first kiss, by definition, wasn’t a first kiss.

it was the middle of the day, the two of you in his dorm room. he was playing with your fingers as you talked, when he suddenly held your hand to his lips and kissed it. he was curious how you’d react, is all.

for your first proper kiss by definition, it happened after you were away from headquarters for a long time. some backup was needed in the north ward, and you were the best fit for the job.

zanka missed you terribly during that time. when you returned, he was pretty good at keeping his cool as you caught up with everyone. then, he pulled you to the side. he had rehearsed this moment for days.

instead, he just stared at you as he choked out a, “can i. please. kiss you. properly.”

and with permission given, his lips touch yours, and it’s as awkward and bad as one would imagine.

over time he got better. he’s pretty good at it, and likes to be touching some part of your face while kissing, even if it’s for a quick peck.

love confession - how would they confess to their s/o?

it takes a very, very long time for zanka to confess. so if you’re waiting for him to confess first, get ready to wait.

this is being brought up a lot, but he’s got his whole inferiority complex going on. there’s all these fish in the sea, and he expects you to settle with him?

honestly, it’s probably even hard to tell that he’s crushing on you in the first place. he’ll probably be extra flustered if you compliment him, and he’ll seek out your praise after missions or training, but… that’s just typical zanka stuff, isn’t it?

it takes enjin coming up to him for him to even make the moves towards confessing. the guy that he fanboys over all the time is encouraging him to do it? hell yeah, he’ll start trying.

he makes sure it’s in a more private spot where hopefully nobody is eavesdropping, but lets be real, everyone that’s invested in the two of you getting together is probably watching in secret.

he’s probably not saying anything outright about loving you. just an awkward “wanna go on a date?”

it isn’t until you’re well into the relationship that he actually says ‘love’. and it’s a slip of the tongue. a simple, “bye, love ya,” as he’s about to leave for a long mission. he proceeds to power walk out without looking back.

but when he does return, he’s sure to clarify that he really meant it.

marriage - do they want to get married? how do they propose? what would the marriage be like?

marriage isn’t on the front of his mind at all.

or on the back of his mind.

he doesn’t see marriage as something necessary for your relationship. that’s about it. but if you ask, he'll do it.

nicknames - what do they call their s/o?

he prefers to call you by your name.

he’ll have a few ‘mean’ nicknames though, but they’re affectionate. like ‘weirdo’.

on the rare occasion where he does use a proper pet name, he goes with ‘love’. sure wonder where he gets that one from…

on cloud nine - what do they like when they are in love? is it obvious for others? how do they express their feelings?

you’re definitely his first relationship, so those butterflies he gets are bad. a lot of what he feels is disbelief. he does a lot of staring for the first few days after getting with you.

yes, it’s so obvious that he’s in love with you. so obvious that there were bets amongst the cleaners for when you’d get together—the winners were enjin and semiu. tamsy also would’ve won if he bothered to participate.

while he expresses his feelings through both actions and words, he much prefers action. the typical gentlemanly stuff, like stated before, is something he likes doing. he’ll grab your food for you during meals, just a bunch of acts of service.

pda - are they upfront about their relationship? do they brag with their s/o in front of others? or are they rather shy to kiss etc. when others are watching?

when it comes to physical affection, he’s quite reserved. he’ll limit it to holding your hand beneath a table or a quick forehead kiss.

but oh boy, does he brag. he’s always proud of you! during training, if you totally kick someone’s ass, he leans to the nearest person and goes, “that’s my partner. in case ya didn’t know.”

once you two become a thing, everyone knows because he keeps on yapping about you, managing to bring you up in any conversation, always near you, and so on.

quirk - some random ability they have that’s beneficial in a relationship.

we all know how much he loves and cares for lovely assistaff. he’s very good at taking care of what he loves.

so, he takes great care of you! he’s a wonderful caregiver when you’re sick, he knows how gentle/rough he should be when patching up your injuries post-mission, and he knows the exact moment when you’re too cold so he can give you a jacket.

you and lovely assistaff are his favorite beings.

romance - how romantic are they? what would they do to make their s/o happy? cliché or rather creative?

he's pretty romantic once he gets into the swing of things. he definitely leans more towards being a people pleaser, so he'll really do anything to make you happy.

you want some plushie of a very specific animal? he'll be looking around stores forever for it if he has to. or, because he's too stubborn to try to ask august to make it, he'll sure try to learn how to make it himself.

he does lean towards being a little cliché, just because of his upbringing.

support - are they helping their s/o achieve their goals? do they believe in them?

as stated in the ‘beauty’, he’ll be there to support your goals, but wants you to get there yourself.

he really believes in you. he’s your number one fan.

he’ll check in every so often, but tries not to be overbearing about it. at the hell guard academy, he’s seen the snowball effect that comes with slacking off on goals via other students. he doesn’t want that for you. even if it’s just a tiny bit of progress, he’s proud of it.

thrill - do they need to try out new things to spice out your relationship? or do they prefer a certain routine?

he doesn't feel the need to try anything new. he's perfectly content with everything staying the way it is with you. if you're the one that wants to spice things up, he'll happily go along.

he tries to keep a routine—specifically, he always makes an effort to go with you somewhere once a week. you both get busy, being cleaners and all.

understanding - how good do they know their partner? are they empathetic?

he's very observant, so he can read your expressions well, including little microexpressions. this makes you two a pretty good pair for missions, since he can tell at a glimpse if you're in a sticky situation and need assistance.

he's a great person to ramble to, and he'll remember everything you say, and he'll ask further questions about things, too. truly a miracle to those with special interests and hyperfixations.

zanka, of course, is empathetic. i think he feels things very strongly, so it comes naturally to him. he's great to come to if you just need some comfort, but he'll just as gladly provide solutions, too.

value - how important is the relationship to them? what is it’s worth in comparison to other things in their life?

zanka strikes me as someone who deeply values his all of his relationships —both romantic and platonic. his relationship with his family is very rocky, so any other connections he has have shot up in value to him.

you're very important to him, as a result.

he tries his very best to balance you with the other things going on in life, but if he's called for a mission, he's not really going to fight it, even if it means missing out on your weekly outings. he always tries to make up for it whenever he picks something else over you, though.

wild card - a random fluff headcanon.

zanka is the vital instrument guy. if you've got one, chances are, he loves it and thinks its the prettiest little thing—well, prettiest little thing right after lovely assistaff.

he admires you technique with it, regardless of it's combat-oriented or not. he'll be really invested in how it changes and grows as you keep training.

your vital instrument has part of your soul in it. so sometimes, he likes talking to it, usually while you're asleep. he gets very flustered if you catch him in the act.

xoxo - are they very affectionate? do they love to kiss and cuddle?

in private, yes. he likes to be touching you somewhere—he finds it grounding. a hand on top of yours, shoulders touching, anything small like that will do.

he has a preference for kisses on the forehead, hands, and lips.

when it comes to cuddling, he's got a soft spot for the 'head on lap' position. he likes playing with your hair, he likes his hair being played with, it's a win-win for him. he also enjoys it when you rest your head on his shoulder.

yearning - how will they cope when they’re missing their partner?

we’ve got zanka ‘yearner’ nijiku over here. being in the cleaners, there’s a lot of times where either you or he is away for periods of time.

if you’re gone, he gets fidgety. his favorite sparring partner is gone! he goes extra hard when it comes to training, and he brings you up in conversations without realizing it. if someone dares sit in your usual spot during meals, he sulks about it, but isn’t gonna tell whoever took your spot to move.

if he’s the one that’s gone, it’s about the same. training extra hard, being rougher during fights against trash beasts. it’s a lot more internalized, since all the cleaners at the location he’s at don’t know you at all, so he feels weird mentioning you.

fake idgafer.

zeal - are they willing to go to great lengths for the relationship? if so, what kind of?

as mentioned in 'value', zanka does try to balance your romantic relationship with your more professional one. it gets hard at points, but he's always making up for it when he finds things are lacking.

he also makes up for it by being quite protective during missions. keeping an eye out for you more than the others. if you're about to get hit, he'll trust you to get out of it yourself—but if you can't, he'll go straight to you. it won't be the grand rescue where he princess carries you, moreso a rough shove where you both end up getting roughed up.

he'll try his damn best to make sure you feel cared for, both mentally and physically.

#zanka x reader #gachiakuta x reader #gachiakuta fluff #zanka nijiku x reader #x reader #kaelivy writing

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