#and yeah this is mostly in relation to the ssx timeline but still

[mikurulucky]

More Tochiro headcanons because I just thought of these today, and they're mostly about his adhd and coffee, since he's sometimes seen drinking coffee in Endless Orbit SSX.

So, this is the 30th century, some progress has been made in regards to how neurodivergency and mental illness is viewed and treated in many places, especially in Japan prior to earth's invasion. It's not QUITE as taboo anymore, but there was still some work to be done, especially amongst the older generations on Earth. There were some steps forward and some steps backward, after many MANY generations and political movements on Earth. With that context in mind, I can move on to the actual headcanons about Tochiro specifically.

Tochiro was diagnosed with ADHD-PI when he was young, and one of his teachers was the first to notice his fidgeting and attention issues. His mom was the one who got him tested and his dad was a bit apprehensive at first, still holding onto some dated views on mental health.

Tochiro used to be on welbutrin for his symptoms, which only helped a bit with motivation issues. After the Illumidas invaded earth, he lost access to medication as an adult, especially after joining the army as an engineer. He was already a semi-regular coffee drinker, so he ended up drinking it more regularly to compensate to somewhat mixed results.

With THAT in mind, coffee only rarely wakes him up. He mostly drinks it to relax his mind. It's why he regularly drinks it on the Arcadia. (his mind rarely shuts up, and the coffee calms the mental noise and even makes his focus easier when doing important tasks on the ship..... sometimes it helps his focus a little TOO well, though he's prone to hyperfixating on tasks anyhow, the coffee just sometimes enhances that hyperfocus for him)

If he feels like he NEEDS the caffeine, he won't be too picky with the coffee. He'd wait for it to cool enough that he can quickly chug the coffee and get it over with.

What he CAN'T stand, however, is coffee grounds in his coffee, they're a sensory nightmare for him, especially compared to Harlock and Tadashi's reactions to feeling coffee grounds floating in coffee. They're mildly annoyed by the grounds, but Tochiro is outright grossed the fuck OUT by floating coffee grounds and that can lead sensory overload if he's already on the edge of an overload from other unpleasant stimuli like bright cool lights, as one example, (the Arcadia's lights are mostly warmer lights to accommodate this sensitivity and Harlock does prefer warm lights as well, so they both win)

He prefers hot coffee over ice coffee. But again, he won't be picky if he absolutely needs it and iced is the only kind he can get for whatever reason. Easy to chug down in a pinch, but the downside is the temperature can feel uncomfortable in his mouth and especially on his teeth

Tadashi makes sure Tochiro doesn't overdo it on the coffee as does Harlock and occasionally La Miime. Tochiro overdid it on the coffee once and needed medical attention because of it, and he STILL felt sleepy during and afterwards.

He typically doesn't drink coffee and alcohol at the same time, but he did try irish creme in coffee once prior to the invasion in his early 20s.

Oh, and he likes his coffee black most of the time. He knows good coffee when he tastes it (and Tadashi knows how to make some good coffee even with the cheapest grounds the crew manage to get)