Late Night Thought About Atsushi. If The Orphanage Didn't Mistreat And Starve Him, Would He Have Been

Life is so much more enjoyable once you stop putting so much pressure on yourself

dug a deep hole

Atsushi leaned against the railing, half of a sandwich hanging from his mouth. “What’s going on here?” he asked Ryuu-chan, sitting on the railing swinging his legs, and watching the spectacle.

“Acchan has to run an entire lap without using his ability at all,” Ryuu-chan said, kicking his feet. Atsushi raised an eyebrow, taking a bite from his sandwich and watching as Acchan, tail out, ran face-first into a wall of Rashomon.

“Return to the starting line,” Akutagawa’s voice carried clearly to where they were standing. “Again.”

A clearly furious, red-faced Acchan stomped back down the track. “How many—?”

“Thirty-nine times,” Ryuu-chan reported dutifully. Atsushi chewed on the inside of his cheek to keep from looking too amused. “He actually got halfway around the track, earlier.” Ryuu-chan looked up at Atsushi. “Why is it so important that he doesn’t use his ability? Father never stops me from using mine.”

“Because you think about using Rashomon, and typically have to intend to cause harm with it.” Atsushi watched Acchan sprint—on two legs, instead of four—and make it nearly a quarter of the track before round ears sprouted from his head. Acchan dodged the first Rashomon wall, dropping to four legs, tail out, used a second tentacle as a springboard, and was plucked out of the air by the third, catching him around the middle. They both heard the growl from the stands.

Akutagawa’s voice was razor-sharp. “Did you just GROWL at me, Nakajima Atsushi?”

“And that’s my cue,” Atsushi said, slinging himself over the railing and dropping to the track.

“I didn’t growl,” Acchan very clearly growled, getting fuzzier by the minute. Atsushi managed to contain his laugh, catching Acchan by the back of the shirt. Akutagawa scowled, but Rashomon released him.

“Deal with your son,” Akutagawa said, and Atsushi patted Akutagawa’s shoulder.

“I think that’s enough practice for today,” Atsushi said gently. “Everyone’s tired and hungry, yeah? Let’s go get something to eat.”

Have you ever seen one of those videos of Tigers or other big cats playing with a pumpkin that's been filled with meat?

Here's a cute one if you've never seen that before. https://youtu.be/fFOPhelZxPU?si=5jR3eDQg5BU4QBjC

Anyway can you imagine as Atsushi Starts to feel more comfortable and safe around the agency He starts displaying more big cat mannerisms. Because he knows the others won't judge him for it or think he's less human.

Imagine getting him to feel comfortable and safe enough that he starts playing. I think that would be fun.

a/n: THAT’S ADORABLE OMG honestly atsushi deserves to play around every once in a while outside his agency duties given his traumatic childhood :(( i think it’d b so nice seeing him relax a bit and just be the kid he never got to be. here’s some headcanons i think might fit into ur idea !!

atsushi hcs: big cat behavior!

✑ character/s: atsushi nakajima, mentions of other ada members

✑ short desc: just atsushi being the big cat he is.

✑ content includes: general headcanons ; focus is on atsushi ; no warnings, just pure fluff

✑ word count: 1.3k words

i think as much as atsushi may have been portrayed as being on the more timid / wary side in the beginning of the series when he first joined the agency, he was also almost always on high alert / defensive mode a lot — typical cat behavior

after the whole shenanigan with the black lizard breaking into the agency’s main office (and them being thrown out promptly after lol), that’s when his trust in them solidified a little more and he decided then and there that they were the people he could always come back to no matter what

hear me out for this one: although the popular choice for the person able to loosen up his screws a bit more is dazai, i genuinely think that both the tanizaki siblings are one of the most responsible for helping him relax a little around the agency

when both jun’ichiro and naomi aren’t being weird (ahem) or when they aren’t on the job, i’m pretty sure they act the same way all typical teenagers do — they have interests outside of work / school that they spend time with, like to go along with trends, and they socialize a lot with people their age

and because the tanizaki siblings are the closest age-wise to atsushi, i think he learns to act his age around them as well. they probably hang out every once in a while and do normal stuff that don’t involve the use of abilities or crime-solving

hanging out with dazai is a little more different; i don’t want to make their relationship seem shallow because i know there’s more to them than meets the eye, although branching out in this post might make me go off topic, so we’ll just stick to saying that beyond them having a mentor / supervisor and student relationship, dazai seems to be able to bring out a much more honest and open side to atsushi

dazai’s words of encouragement and points of advice allow him to grow from being stuck in a circle of self-pity and learn to slowly move on from the events that traumatized him as a child — that being said, atsushi learns to unfold himself a little more with dazai’s guidance, which in turn helps him become a more honest version of himself around others

outside agency duties, i hc dazai to be the more chaotic of the two, often dragging atsushi into whatever shenanigans he has planned. he probably lures atsushi into playing pranks on kunikida, who very likely finds them irritating at first (schedule issues) but i think kunikida has the heart to let them off easy every now and then given he’s well-aware that they never had the easiest upbringings either. and if he scolds dazai / atsushi, it’s really just because he cares about them

with ranpo, i think atsushi is probably the more mature of the two. i hc that whenever they get paired together for a mission and are sent out of yokohama for that same reason, they often stop by candy stores to bond over buying sweet treats after accomplishing their tasks

yosano comes off as quite strong to atsushi at first, and the whole operation thing probably still scares him to death, but her kindness and care towards everyone including atsushi helps put him at ease. he’s at comfort knowing that someone is there to patch him up as well as the other people he cares about at the end of the day, even if his ability allows him to regenerate his limbs

he learns to become an older sibling figure through both kyouka and kenji. there’s more responsibility taken for them outside their jobs (older brother duties), but the innocence that comes with playing games with them or simply chatting about whatever topic pops up helps him hold onto his own innocence

and then there is fukuzawa — stern as he may appear, i’m sure he genuinely cares for the well-beings of all his employees. his ability says it all: it gives his subordinates all the control and freedom needed to ensure that their abilities are under full command of themselves. from atsushi’s side, there is gratefulness (especially after making peace with his own ability), but from fukuzawa, there is a lot of parental care outside duty (also because atsushi is part cat and fukuzawa likes cats lmao)

that comfort from having peers he can socialize with without the fear of being bullied or messed around with allows him to feel a little more at peace with himself at some point later on, and because he is part-tiger, he eventually ends up becoming more playful around everyone when his feline instincts come out

i like to imagine everyone sees it as a little inside office joke at first when they buy him toys like those cat scratching pillars or the little fishing rods with the feathers at the end, and he gets embarrassed about it initially, but he’s around people who care about him and don’t judge him for what he is, and he figures hey, why the hell not?

so now, it becomes the norm for one person every day to bring a new cat toy for atsushi to play with

it’s kenji who brings the pumpkins to the office (which earns him a few side-eyes of confusion, not to his knowledge), and at first, atsushi doesn’t really know what to do with them until one day after a particularly stressful mission, he finds himself gnawing at the pumpkin to help relieve himself a bit

it’s a strange feeling at first, but being able to sink his teeth into something that (thankfully) isn’t human flesh really helps him relax

sometimes he’ll use his tiger claws to slash at the pumpkins and mess around with the insides if he doesn’t feel like using his teeth

nobody at the agency really says anything about it aside from the occasional joke about it here and there but it’s all light-hearted and they seem to really enjoy watching him be himself around them

there is now a supply of pumpkins specifically for atsushi, and the roof garden above the agency now also has a pumpkin patch (run by kenji and kyouka, of course, and supervised by fukuzawa every now and then) so they don’t run out

remains of the pumpkins aren’t wasted. somehow the rest of the agency members (or at least the ones who know how to cook) find different pumpkin recipes to try and now they have a mini cookbook in the communal kitchen where the main ingredient for every dish is a pumpkin lmao

i’d imagine that if they do celebrate halloween, atsushi’s in charge of gnawing out the insides so the rest of the members (and he himself) can carve their decorations on the pumpkins respectively

when atsushi is sleepy, he’ll rub his face around on the surface he’s laying on or the person nearest to him (kind of like cats in general) and i think that a lot of the other members find it adorable so nobody makes any comments about it when he does that

sometimes dazai will bring one of those laser pens around when he’s bored and when he points it at a wall (or kunikida’s forehead), atsushi instinctively goes up to try and “catch” it lmao

i think he really enjoys playing hide-and-seek with the kids (and ranpo) especially when he’s “it”, primarily because of the feeling of the chase / hunt (which big cats seem to enjoy)

to no one’s surprise, fukuzawa enjoys playing with him a lot when he’s in his big cat form. i feel like he spares a few of the sardines he keeps in his yukata for atsushi as well. he probably carries around one of those fishing rods with a toy fish / feather at the end for atsushi (and atsushi enjoys it anyway lol)

everyone thinks it’s very enjoyable seeing him be himself. even if the whole found family dynamic turns out to not be true in canon, his happiness will still remain their happiness because they’re all still part of an organization who supports each other and are understanding of one another’s upbringings

atsushi with big cat behavior is so cute :>

a/n: i think i enjoyed myself a little too much with these and got carried away LMAO feel free to let me know how i did!

Feral Atsushi because he is a weretiger.

Atsushi hates wearing shoes with a vengeance and kicks em off whenever Kunikida isn't looking.

He will argue what's the point anyway when his ability will just break them. It's not like the Orphanage ever let wear shoes anyway so what's the big deal?

When Atsushi runs he will automatically do it on all fours, because it feels natural and he's just faster that way.

He once gave Akutugawa a dead bird as an apology.

Atsushi curls up into a ball when he's asleep. He'll sleep in his futon but sometimes he'll just throw off his blanket and snooze on the floor.

He loves to swim because tiger and is almost as bad as Dazai in that he will just dive into whatever body of water he finds.

Dazai sometimes hops in with him because it's fun and it pisses off Kunikida.

Kenji is more than happy to gift Atsushi with meat he's acquired from family. Atsushi will straight up eat it raw if he's hungry, not even bothering to cook it if Kenji hasn't already.

Atsushi is a lot more alert and focused at night. He likes to take night walks and hunt in the woods.

Atsushi both as a combination of poor socialisation and being part tiger, doesn't understand humans and their etiquette sometimes. He will blurt out that someone is lying.

He will ask and state things very bluntly without beating around the bush what so ever. He was punished and taught to always tell the truth, so this all confuses him.

The only one who gets him in that regard is Ranpo.

When Atsushi gets lost or kidnapped he will roar to try and get the others attention.

Atsushi makes chuffing sounds when he's happy. He takes naps during his breaks, either curled up on the sofa or under his desk.

Atsushi has deemed the Agency as his terrority. He's very protective over everyone in the Agency, especially Kenji and Kyouka.

He had to be held back from biting Fitzgerald because Atsushi sensed bad intentions. Infact the Agency always know if someone's bad news because Atsushi will immediately start growling at em to back the fuck off.

And if that doesn't work Atsushi will than launch himself at them and bite them.

It's why they know Poe and Lucy are cool now because Atsushi just waved at them.

Cut to Ranpo leaving the meeting with Fukuchi after thinking it well. And the moment Atsushi spots Fukuchi he's on all fours hissing

Ranpo:... Well I fucked up.

bruh the only thing i can think of is those atsushi getting high on catnip fics 💀

actually does bsd have anesthesia or the such fics after like wisdom tooth removal or just after some surgery where the person gets all loopy cuz i cant remember seeing any

and im too lazy to just filter it on ao3 so instead im just gonna post it here

hc that atsushi finds the nearest soft item and starts kneading it with his hands when stressed because it calms him

Tide

Atsushi & Kyouka gen commissioned by @harlequinade-13​! They get a day at the beach together :D

Rating: G Words: 3,600 Warnings: mentions of past child abuse.

Tide

Summer dragged over Yokohama like a beast’s hot breath, sweltering from mid-morning to late at night, making the pavement simmer. It seemed to turn the streets liquid and the day light to fog; Atsushi could not walk outside without feeling like he had stepped into a cloud, if clouds were made of sticky sweat. Sharing a dorm with Kyouka meant that whatever coolness they could afford by the way of electric fans had to be shared as well, and often the night found Atsushi breathing loudly in the open closet where he slept, trying and failing to put his overheated mind to sleep.

If Kyouka suffered the same, she didn’t say anything. She was still as a statue as soon as she lay down at night, but Atsushi didn’t know if it meant that she slept. She always kept her back turned to him.

Keep reading

I know I've talked about this before but thinking about Atsushi with tiger traits. Thinking about his eyes glowing at night if any light hits them and night vision. Enhanced hearing that causes a lot of sensory overload, especially during storms. Slightly hissing that just sounds like air leaving his mouth if he gets extremely startled, for example, someone waking him up from a nightmare. But it was something he would get punished for at the orphanage so it only makes anxiety worse.

Time for Dazatsu fluffy headcanon

It is saying something about my obsession with my tiger cinnamon roll that I imagined him when I was studying about cat body language.

About my headcanon. Well, it’s not even a secret that Dazai is this master at reading people. He is just so expert at stripping someone naked with his eyes that no one is safe. Everyone held onto their pants (or skirts) whenever they encounter him, to no avail because that person is just so sinfully beautiful and dangerous.

Ehem.

But what if because of his ability, Atsushi showed a completely different body language than normal people? I am not an expert at tiger’s body language so I will just use cat’s. Trivia for you guys who are interested:

Cats don’t like to stare directly into someone’s eyes because to them it means ‘fight me’.

Cats are vocal with their happiness (the beauty of purring that makes human fell head over heels over this furballs), but they are master at poker face whenever they hide their pain. Let me tell you, you will be lucky if they even vomit or loss weight whenever they are in tremendous pain. They are just that good.

They mark things to show possessions over things that they want to keep or their territory. They rub their body around your feet as you walk? They don’t want to kill you (why should they kill their source of food and affection) but they are saying ’you are mine. Other cats should piss off because you are my human’

There are many more but it’s nearly 1 am and I have to get up early tomorrow but if someone wants to ask you can send an ask. Mind you I am not an expert and I am still learning and this is mainly to proof my obsession of Dazatsu.

So what if Dazai saw Atsushi and… he just mistakes things because he is so used in reading humans?

“Ah, Atsushi doesn’t make eye contact with me. Is he afraid? Or is he lying? But his words are genuine. So why won’t he look at me?”

“Atsushi’s smile is just so beautiful… but how could he smile while being all bloody and hurt after that fight? Do I need to call Yosano-sensei? Have his Ability healed him completely already?”

“Atsushi, why are you rubbing your heads on my chest? I mean it’s adorable and I love it but I’m supposed to be the shameless one with public display of affection…”

Also a bit of a…nsfw one:

“Dazai, why are you wincing so often today?”

“Last night Atsushi scratched at my back when we have sex and unfortunately I don’t heal as fast as him.”

Cue Kunikida sprayed his coffee everywhere. While Dazai just smiled this smug smile. And Atsushi’s face rivalling that of a boiled crab.

Dazai continued on wondering why Atsushi is an enigma to him until one day Haruno squealed while looking at her phone. Dazai saw the cat photo and Haruno immediately became this cat wikipedia who explained all of the cute cat behavior and everything. Just. Clicked. Together.

Then someday when Atsushi is cuddling with him at their home, Atsushi blinked at him slowly. Dazai used to think that it meant Atsushi was sleepy, but now he knew that for cats it was the symbol of trust. Trust that he won’t hurt Atsushi and Atsushi could keep his guard down whenever he is with him.

So Dazai blinked back, slowly. Atsushi, who was doing all of this cat behavior subsconsciously, doesn’t know why his heart feel so warm and he has this greatest impulse to kiss Dazai. Along with rubbing their face together.

It became a sort of secret language for both of them. Dazai will be the first one to notice whenever Atsushi is in pain. Since Dazai can’t actually mark Atsushi with scratches because Atsushi heals too fast, Dazai will lend his clothes to Atsushi whenever they have to be separated on a long mission. Whenever they are snuggling, Dazai will pet Atsushi’s head and let Atsushi peppers him with little kisses.

Too bad that tiger can’t actually purr because that would be perfect but tiger can chuff and it’s equally adorable. I have some more cute headcanons but I really have to sleep now *cries*