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ciaossu-imagines · 1 year

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I always enjoy writing for Bungou Stray Dogs and am pretty lucky to have it requested every now and again on this blog! I really enjoyed writing these headcanons as I haven’t written much for this character, despite being one of my favourites from the manga! Using this prompt here, I hope ya’ll will enjoy these headcanons for John Steinbeck!

A(rousal): what gets them aroused quickest

John’s actually a really simple man sexually and he’s really easy to turn on, especially where he’s kind of in the prime of his sexual life but hasn’t had many opportunities to actually get laid. I feel he’s really turned on by almost anything that hints that his partner wants him, from small but naughty touches but especially by kisses. Kiss this man, full on, and make it clear it’s not just a sweet little ‘I love you’ smooch. Or surprise him with kisses along his neck because he’s really weak to those and all the blood rushes from his head when you do that to other areas of his body.

B(roken): what it takes to break them

John’s really resilient. He’s been through a lot, living through poverty and with his family always being an edge away from being homeless. He’s been through hell with the Guild. He’s tortured and murdered just to not only to keep himself alive but to keep his family alive and happy and together. So, it will take a lot to break him, but I do think the most surefire way is by hitting him where it hurts and killing a member of his family. If you killed his entire family, that’s it. He’s done. He’s nothing more than a shell of a man and he’ll consider himself as someone who has nothing to live for anymore…which is dangerous, because it means he also has no reason to have morals or a conscience anymore and he will go to the most depraved lengths to see you suitably punished for what you did.

C(an’t): one thing they can’t do in life/refuse to do

Steinbeck does appear to have some questionable morals and he is a little hypocritical in his behaviours. That being said, even he has places where he draws the line. He doesn’t kill or maim for fun and he’s loyal to those he truly cares about. That blind, devout loyalty is actually what often skews his moral compass, to be honest.

D(enial): something they’re in denial about

It’s not so much that he’s in denial about it…because he knows that the things he’s done or the things he’s currently doing are wrong and that they go against all the teachings of his parents and the bible. But I think he rationalizes it as being necessary so much that it strongly hints at him at least trying to live in some kind of inner denial.

E(ager): something they are eager to do in life

I think that, after all is said in done, all Steinbeck wants in life is to be able to go back to the farm, make it profitable, and live out his days living a simple, happy life close to his family. Settle down, expand the family, work the earth…that would be true happiness to him and he is bound and determined to get a chance to do so.

F(itness): how often they work out and what they prefer doing for a workout

John doesn’t work out. He’s not a gym rat, he doesn’t have an exercise routine. His physique and health are the result of hard physical labour and outdoor living, combined with there never being enough to eat for him to gain too much weight. He’s really going to prefer physical labour to keep fit and healthy over any exercise routine.

G(uarded): something they always guard (item can be physical or mental like their feelings)

He always knows exactly what is going on with his family. Even while abroad, he has ways of making sure they’re safe and okay and doing well and he is really protective of them, as much as is humanly possible to be when he’s not right there with them.

H(ell): what would make their life hell

Aside from the obvious answers listed above in the ‘how to break him’ section, I feel like he has kept his family really in the dark about what he’s actually doing and what his life is actually like. He would rather die than have his mother or his younger sister, in particular, ever learn about what he’s done.

I(ngenuity): how clever they can be in tough situations

Steinbeck might appear dumb or slow at times, like a country bumpkin. But that’s okay with him and might even, in some cases, be a deliberately exaggerated act because he really is very cunning. He thinks fast on his feet and he comes up with clever tricks quite easily.

J(ealous): how easily they get jealous

I think Steinbeck gets angry or disgusted before he ever gets jealous. While there might be an undercurrent of jealousy in his attitude towards the rich, there’s more outright anger and disgust for how they live these lavish lives without ever helping those who need it most, for example.

K(iller): how old they were when they first killed someone

I think he made it into his teens before ever having to kill someone. But he has killed and he will kill again, but he’s respectful towards his victims in that he will at least remember their names and will make sure that their families get to bury a body.

L(ust): what they lust after in life

Security. Having grown up in the poverty he did, Steinbeck lusts after financial security, both for himself and the people he loves.

M(aturity): how mature they are as an adult

Honestly, even before he became an adult, Steinbeck had to learn to be mature for his age. He didn’t get to have a long childhood and while he’s a mature individual, I feel like that missing childhood will lead him into some childlike behaviours later on into his adult years.

N(egligence): what they can be negligent about

He neglects his personal health and grooming quite a bit. He gets really focused on his missions and his goals and can forget to take care of himself, missing meals or sleep. It’s only when his body is hitting its limits that he really remembers and thinks to take care of himself if there’s no partner on his mission to remind him to do so.

O(pinionated): one thing they are very opinionated about

Eat the rich. Seriously, Steinbeck has some very anti-authoritarian and anti-government sentiments, as he feels the ruling parties are more geared towards lining their own pockets and supporting the wealthy one percent than they are in making anything truly better.

P(ersistent): how persistent can they be about something

It will really depend on what it is. If he feels something isn’t necessary, but it’s just something he would like or wants, Steinbeck can move on from it and let it go pretty easily. But if it’s something he considers necessary or a need, he will move heaven and earth to obtain it or accomplish his goal in getting it.

Q(uest): what they feel their quest in life is/their main goal in life

At the root of everything, Steinbeck is just out trying to do right for his family and to earn them all a happy, safe life. He wants to do good for the people who raised him.

R(egret): what they regret most in life

So, just because Steinbeck the character is based off Steinbeck the writer’s creations, the Joad family, I do think he also has an older brother Noah who is handicapped. While John knows it isn’t his fault and that he does the best he can by his family, Noah ran away from the family after confessing to John that he knew his parents didn’t like him as much as the other children and that John was the son his parents had wanted. It still really troubles John and he wished he could have figured out what to do or say to his brother to keep his brother from leaving.

S(trength): where they find their strength

I feel this might be really repetitive, but it is his family. They are the root of everything he does, what he thinks about to keep him going.

T(est): something that will test them to their limits

I think Steinbeck can deal with pain, both physical and mental. But isolation gets him really bad. He’s never been truly alone much and loneliness hits him harder than it should. He’s not someone who could hold up to extended periods by himself; he needs at least some contact with his family or some contact with people in general.

U(nbelievable): one thing that they experienced that they still have a hard time believing was real

Sometimes Steinbeck does wonder, now that Lovecraft isn’t around, if he dreamed the man up…Lovecraft truly was something, someone, truly unbelievable.

V(engeance): have they ever wanted vengeance on someone

My god, yes, and it’s on Fitzgerald. The man is not getting off easy if John has anything to say about it.

W(aiting): how good they are at waiting on something/someone

Steinbeck has a lot of patience, honestly. He’s learned patience from a young age and he can usually keep himself from getting too bored or antsy while waiting for something. With some things, he even enjoys the waiting and the excitement for a thing more than he’ll enjoy the thing itself.

X(enodocheionology): (the love of hotels according to some) since they do some traveling, what their favourite hotel was

While it wasn’t his first choice of lodgings, Steinbeck really did marvel at the Moby Dick and all the opulence Fitzgerald put into the modifications on it.

Y(ield): one thing that will make them stop what they’re doing no matter what

Very repetitive and I am truly sorry about that, loves, but it will be the threat of injury to those he loves. It’s about the only thing that will stop him once he sets his mind on something.

Z(oo): how old they were when they first went to a zoo and what their favourite animal was

Steinbeck has never been to a zoo. There weren’t zoos in the area he grew up in and his parents never had the extra money needed to take their children to the zoo in the big city so it’s not an experience he’s had. He did grow up on a farm though and they did keep animals there, with the baby goats being John’s favourite.

#bungou stray dogs #bsd #bsd headcanons #john steinbeck #steinbeck bsd #headcanons

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