my name is yanjú, and i'm a black butch lesbian with a passion for art, writing, and analyzing my favorite characters! right now, i draw gachiakuta but i've been around many other fandoms!
current projects: nico robin art collab
i don't work as of now though i'm graduated — so if you'd like to help me out a bit, i have comms open* & a strawpage to talk to my friends lol!
synopsis: jabber breaks his arm badly and keeps pestering zanka about doing things for him while he heals. zanka keeps letting him get away with it — which is why he ends up unwillingly spoon-feeding jabber cake.
Zanka was already at his wits end with Jabber and his… odd requests.
He’d had a hunch that Jabber would be displeased with the healing process of his arm — fractured — thanks to a lucky swing with Assistaff. His left arm had only finished healing from Hii a while ago, and Jabber had practically flipped out every time he couldn't do something he was used to. The amount of times Zanka had to wrestle Mankira away from his own shoulder as he screamed in frustration was hard to count. Now, his right arm was out of commission.
Still, Zanka couldn’t ignore the way that pride had swollen in him for a minute when Jabber had fallen with a confused blink, incapacitated by Zanka’s strength. That was, until Jabber leapt back up and his arm wouldn’t move at all, with Mankira completely shutting off. Zanka had to wrangle him to the ground to check his arm, with Jabber nipping at his forearm and kicking bruises into his side. He was upset that they couldn’t keep fighting when his arm was very much fractured — like Zanka wasn’t horrified enough by the fact that his arm was twisted unnaturally. In the end, Zanka made him call the other Raider with the portals to take him back, though he twisted and fought it.
He’d tried to ignore the pleased vibration of Assistaff when he'd finally knocked Jabber to the ground. Tried to block out Jabber's displeased cry as his bones shattered, and how his dreamlike eyes blinked slowly as he registered. Zanka had already nearly walked into two walls in Headquarters, and nearly embarrassed himself running in and out for missions to force his thoughts off the annoying little worm that was crammed in his brain.
Since then, which had been like a week at most, Zanka was dealing with his whining through his collar. ‘Zankaaa, I’ve got nothin’ to do. Wanna watch me chew up this plant?’, no, he did not want to! ‘Zanka, can you bring me bandages? I ran out!’, he could but why’d it have to be him! And most recently, ‘Zanka, I ordered food. Pick it up for me, ‘kay? I’ll let you have some!’. At some point, Zanka could recognize he was making excuses to see him again. At some point, Zanka realized he came every single time he was called, despite complaints. Tried to convince himself it was guilt.
When he was younger and a lot more foolish, Zanka was used to the pleased hum in his brain when he won something, but he never attributed it to seeing someone struck down by his hand. He was a good sport, he helped them back up. When he'd lost his grip on that winning streak, he'd felt like nothing was worse than being a weak loser — and embraced that he wasn't a genius, therefore shouldn't derive happiness from his victories until they were permanent.
He’d completely given up on trying to ignore the pestering dreadhead. Zanka held a paper bag with two containers of chocolate spice cake. It had smelled outrageously good the whole car ride to Jabber’s little house thing, that was less a house more of a shed that he used to contain things that weren’t allowed at the Raider’s base.
“Hey, Wonger! I’ve got yer stuff, let me in!”
“The door is unlocked!”
“Do ya wanna get robbed?! Lock yer doors, idiot!”
“Nobody comes around but you, Bad Boy!”
Zanka didn’t have a proper response for that as he closed the door behind him. Pride slowly bubbled in his chest, knowing that he was Jabber’s only company, before he pushed it down and swallowed his grin. He followed the sound of Jabber’s shuffling to find him in his makeshift living room, laying on a stack of pillows and assorted plush objects that wasn’t there before, with a flimsy table put there for eating.
Jabber himself was sprawled on the pile comfortably, fitted in an oversized tee and shorts, looking a lot less dangerous than he usually did in normal clothing. Of course, Zanka knew his docility was temporary, because the moment he was healed enough to scuffle Zanka would surely get his ass kicked for denying him even further injury. But there was a charm to seeing him yawning and freshly awake, drowsy and all. For a moment, Zanka wished he'd left his uniform.
There was a glint in Jabber's eyes as he stared Zanka down, motioning him to take off his shoes and step into his space with a point of his thin fingers. Zanka obeyed, awkwardly shuffling into the panther's den.
“Almost didn't think you would come.”
“Don't doubt me. I had ta borrow the car ‘cause yer impatient.”
The bags went on the table, and they eyed each other from their respective places. After a moment, Zanka poked Jabber in his ribs with his jinki to the sleepy man’s delight, revealing his makeshift cast to check if it had been changed before he'd taken a nap. Jabber’s fingers grasped for Lovely Assistaff, as if wanting to admire her while Zanka checked over him. Zanka grunted but allowed it as long as Jabber allowed him to check the wound.
Mankira ran gently against her wood, technically pressing their souls together for a moment. Zanka could feel Mankira’s satisfactory hum through Assistaff’s pleased purr before he pulled her back. Really didn't want to digest what that had meant.
“I can change my own bandages, y’know.”
Zanka grunted, “Didn’t know checkin’ over ya wasn’t allowed.”
“Your kindness is kinda misplaced.”
“I forgot you’re allergic to niceties.”
Zanka finally sat down as Jabber scooted over to the table, gracefully flopping on it like he was too lazy to sit up properly. He wouldn't be surprised if something was running through Jabber's system right now, Zanka thought as Jabber gave him a particularly sweet smile. There was no way he'd look at Zanka like that if he was in his right mind. He averted his eyes to the bag.
“...When you said you got food, I was thinkin’ soup not cake.”
“Sweets are good in moderation, they give you lots of energy.”
“As in a sugar rush?”
“Next time, I’ll order food with it, ‘kay?”
“There isn’t gonna be a next time.”, Zanka lied and could practically sense Jabber’s smile grow.
Choosing to ignore his delight, he popped open the containers and set the cake out, giving Jabber the slice with less frosting since he knew the injured teen didn’t like it when tastes lingered in his mouth.
Jabber handed his fork to Zanka, and Zanka passed it back. Jabber handed his fork to Zanka again?
“Dude.”
“This isn’t my dominant hand, I can’t eat with it!”
“So what? Use your other—?”
Zanka finally turned to see Jabber, with the shine in his eyes that he only got when he was about to propose something idiotic. Oh, what the fuck? Zanka brandished the fork at him.
“Why would you order cake if you couldn’t eat it, dumbass?!”
“Ah-ah-ah! I just can’t eat it by myself. But now, you’re here! Isn't this the most perfect coincidence?”
“What.”
“You’ve gotta feed me. Can't eat with his hand, the food will just slip off my fork!”
“I am not feeding you! Aren’t you ambi-- ambidextr...? Can’t you use both your hands?!”
“Nah, never been able to do that. You’re dragging it out, Zan-Zan.”
“You called me to feed you cake?!”
“I was gonna eat the cake anyways, I just don't think you'd appreciate me using my hands!”
Jabber burst into laughter, while Zanka turned redder and angrier. He had half a mind to get up and walk out the house, leaving this guy to innovate a way to eat his own stupid cake. Jabber immediately leaned back on Zanka, body still wracked with giggles as he prevented him from leaving with his own weight. For a moment, Zanka considered killing Jabber and himself, his cheek pressed against Jabber's locs, as Jabber himself snorted and huffed on his chest.
“There’s no shame in helping out an injured man, yeah?”
“...The gall to trick me after I got yer snack for you…”
Zanka grumbled under his breath as he stabbed Jabber’s cake and pushed him off. He should be grateful that Zanka was taking the time to help him instead of letting him suffer on his pillows. His big crimson eyes only had to bat a few times before Zanka stepped up to pitch him whatever he needed. Told himself over and over that it was just a habit. Why'd he form a habit like that in the first place?!
The younger teen’s hand found itself grasping Jabber’s chin to keep him still, thumb resting on his too-soft cheekbone. Jabber’s eyes locked onto exasperated blue ones, suddenly silent as his canines dug into his own lip.
“We’re not doing this again.”, Zanka whispered as if he'd lost his breath during the soft exchange, tension sinking into the atmosphere as Jabber seemed to squirm in his gentle touch. It was almost refreshing, not being the one that was out of his depth. “Open.”
“Aah...”
Jabber seemed to actually enjoy the taste of the cake, as Zanka cataloged his reactions as he chewed with his pupils expanding. Chocolate spice cake, possibly his favorite if the redness dusting his face said anything. When he was done with his mouthful, he’d nip at Zanka’s hand for another. Zanka would pinch him hard and he'd push farther until he got his cake.
Greedy, not even letting Zanka get a moment to taste his own. Zanka absentmindedly popped a forkful of cake into his own mouth. When Jabber squawked at him, he realized he was eating Jabber’s cake.
“Sorry.”
“I mean, I bought two for a reason. It’s good, ain't it?”
“Yeah, honestly. I wouldn't buy it for myself if there were other flavors — but I would consider it, I think. Like one of those flavors you only get a taste for a few times ‘round.”
Jabber gave an appreciative hum when Zanka gave him an extra big mouthful.
The situation was strangely domestic, Zanka would call it. They were sitting on their knees together, and the room smelled of warm cake. The atmosphere was something silent, despite the history they had. Even if Zanka’s palm began to sting from bite after bite, it was still stunningly gentle. Jabber’s thighs were marked with Zanka’s mean little pinches — no wonder he bruised easily, Jabber was a pretty thin person all things considered. Zanka almost felt bad for taking a few bites of cake. He stuffed the thought of feeding Jabber more, coming over with food because he had no plans to come over frequently.
Within no time, Zanka was giving Jabber the last mouthful of his own slice of cake. Jabber was released and moved to rest on his shoulder, having leaned off his knees to burrow himself into Zanka. It was as if he knew Zanka was his own, and therefore would allow the contact with mild complaints. He pressed himself into the crook of Zanka’s neck and stared at him, running his fingers against his own face before dragging them against Zanka’s. He closed his eyes before he was poked in them. Mankira was cold, but he could tell her humming was in satisfaction. Maybe he was happy that Zanka had folded to him. Jabber took what was handed to him, and then plunged his fist inside Zanka for more — grasping blindly like he needed more of him. Zanka felt embarrassed as he tugged Jabber closer, feeling up the notches of his spine through his shirt.
“Do ya want me to stay?”
Zanka muttered, less of a question and more of an offer given to Jabber, before Jabber pressed his thumb to his cheek and pushed it up to mimic a lopsided smile.
“Do I look like I’m getting up anytime soon? You don't gotta ask.”, Jabber paused before he nodded against Zanka’s shoulder. “I always do.”
“Say that with less words next time.”
⭐️ cross–posted on twt, i think my main struggles were making it flow nicely. a song that goes w/ it is 'missus piano' by rio romeo
in my mind, jabber and zanka have a similar dynamic to tyler and narrator in fight club. "i want you to hit me as hard as you possibly can" is a great way to put it actually.
a janka relationship analysis, first posted on twt. possible (?) spoilers for anime watchers — tread lightly! also if you don't watch fight club it's ok, I kind of explain both dynamics.
⭐️ twt thread & ask me more about soapshippingcore janka
╰ 1. JABBER & ZANKA'S RELATIONSHIP THUS FAR.
As a shipper of janka, a lot of people credit the way they ship them to janka's dynamic, which is so insane + boosted by the uniqueness of the characters and their writing.
Jabber is a person who seeks the rawness of pain, the excitement of battle. He doesn't truly care for winning or losing. Meanwhile Zanka has something to prove, he wants to be on par with someone like Jabber. Someone who's so good at fighting that it's like primal nature. Someone who's bound to "overshadow" a person who considers himself 'average' -- and because of Zanka's upbringings, he can't see himself as anything else. He's forced to accept this but never loses his self-loathing when he realized he couldn't measure up no matter how desperately he tried.
Putting a genius that has no real qualms about winning or losing as long as he gets what he wants from the fight, and someone who's so intensely focused on not losing anything to the point where his own pride hinders him as much as it helps him survive is a crazy combination. It's what attracts people to the ship, the way they're opposites of eachother.
Their dynamic is rough, as in Jabber is repeatedly trying to grab and drag Zanka through cracks in his shell, because he saw that potential in Zanka and he's almost obsessed with pulling it out. And Zanka is trying to beat him with the cracked shell of his self-esteem still intact anyways, because he's afraid of what happens if he sheds it again. Jabber has the upper hand as of now because he's got no such shell, physically. Emotionally might be different, though.
╰ 2. HOW DOES THIS RELATE TO FIGHT CLUB?
Personally, the forcefulness of their dynamic reminds me of Tyler Durden and The Narrator. Tyler has the upper hand because he's "free" in his eyes. He doesn't care for pride, and he hates those who clutch onto it like a shield. This hatred and disconnect with the world are flipped into him being a violent antagonist because that's what such selfishly unselfish desires make him. He believes everyone wants to be like him and engage life the way he does deep inside, even though his life is objectively painful and stressful. It's his mindset alone that leads him to being so happy with it, and he leads/tries to force others down that same mindset -- under the guise of freeing them from society.
Meanwhile, The Narrator is someone with something to prove. He's suffering under the neglect of a capitalistic society, and he can't even prove to his own doctor that he's suffering. As much as he wants to let go of the burden of the world -- he also entirely defines himself in it. To escape the shell of himself would be the death of himself and the growth of Tyler. But he's NOT Tyler, he can't survive with Tyler's mindset.
╰ 3. ELABORATE?
Janka has a similar emotional premise to Soapshipping.
Jabber's life is objectively awful. He's a Raider (criminal), he's stated that people actively are still trying to kill him and that the only reason why his own neurotoxin venoms don't affect him as bad as they do to others is because he's taken so much of it that he can dose himself with neurotoxins to ignore the pain in his body. But his mindset allows him to live destructively and freely despite these bad conditions.
Zanka doesn't have the mindset to join him in this. Zanka was pulled out of the well and given a better life than he did in the Hell Guard and with his own family. Zanka is a defected solider, accustomed and accepting of society despite hatred for the systems and the acknowledgment that he couldn't make it there. Zanka has connections to the world he lives in -- through his friends & mentor, and through his job.
Instead of manipulating him into doing anything or coaxing him out the shell, Jabber violently jumps on Zanka's shell and straight up declares that what's inside him is INTERESTING. He truly believes in him in a twisted way, but by pulling Zanka down his path — he's causing him pain and practically ripping him from the stable earth he's found for himself. That blocks them from understanding each other, dooming them to fight each other.
They can't exist together as they are right now. Zanka isn't wrong for this, and Jabber isn't either. Both of their fights have always been mutually engaging despite Jabber being a genius therefore giving him an advantage.
╰ 4. CONCLUSION?
Zanka doesn't want to lose himself, and Jabber wants him to lose his shell without realizing how Zanka's self is attached to it.
Honestly, i think Janka happy ending would be the same as Tyler and Narrator's. Zanka has to kill Jabber not only to stop the violence but to preserve himself. Jabber is a force that can't be contained easily, and he'd probably rather die than set down that easy life path that neglects all of his pleasures in life. It's like Soapshipping without a Marla that allows narrator to pull away and slow his fall into despair. anyways this went on for a while but i truly believe that Janka dynamic is similar to theirs....hopefully, Janka gets the happy ending though.
