#but it's being incorporated into my personal headcanon as we speak

[elissastillstands]

HOMECOMING: on Minthara's return to the Underdark

Rating: Teen and Up Audiences Word Count: 5,408 Relationships: Minthara Baenre & Tav Additional Tags: Religious Discussion, the Underdark, Pre-Relationship

Excerpt: A casting of Silence would require trust, and trust is just as much a fantasy as an end to her exile. But Minthara imagines it nonetheless: stepping silently over the threshold, back to the realm she called her own for centuries. Breathing in its air, seeing its lambent blooms again, without feeling the pangs of a sinner's transformation. She imagines sitting beneath sussur branches and feeling whole again, even if only for a moment. Once she starts imagining, she cannot stop.

A homecoming without pain. A boon without a cost. A glittering, impossible thing.

Link to fic: https://archiveofourown.org/works/61167520

[glamourscat]

Thoughts on Kaiser

a/n: be respectful about it please in the replies and reposts, i would like to hear your thoughts on the matter! :)

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Truth is, I struggle in writing for Kaiser. As a literature enthusiast, I have this bad habit of over analyzing things. I cannot enjoy things simply for the life of me, thus, every headcanons, every oneshot is a way for me to incorporate how I see the character through my eyes, adding little anecdotes and fun facts about them. But ultimately I base myself off of canon very strongly. I just use a different key for writing.

This is why if I had to write for him, my Kaiser would not be a “nice Kaiser”. Unlike other characters, like Rin, who in their complexity are somewhat salvageable– for how Kaiser is written and how his story has been progressing so far– I cannot see him any different than how canonically wise he is portrayed. Let me explain.  

He is the meaning of the sentence “the one abused turns into the abuser”. Objectively speaking, he had a horrible life. Abandoned by his mother, left in the hands of a father who turned abusive and neglectful. Kaiser has suffered both physical, emotional and mental abuse at the hands of the same person who was supposed to be “his guide”, his “how to” starter in life. He was left alone as a child, trying to figure and parenting himself out. 

The abuse he suffered has shaped his life from the smallest to the biggest things. From not being able to enjoy milk anymore, to how he views and relates himself to other people. We can argue that now, pushing 20, he is old enough to know different as he is surrounded by people who did not have the same upbringing as him. We can argue that because of this he should be able to tell that what he is doing, what he is saying, is wrong. 

And deep down, I believe he does understand. That he does realise it. But realising it and actually making the conscious choice to change are two separate things. But, what does this mean? It means that he is a flawed, if not tragic, individual. This does not excuse his behaviour nor justifies it in any shape or form. He does not want to be like his father yet he is doing the same things, even if toned down, to Ness. 

His actions are not miscalculated. His actions are not random. From the first moment he saw Ness on that field he knew, he sensed by just looking at him that he would be an easy target to use. Ness, who has faced his own battles, is an easy prey for Kaiser because of his good, if not naive even, heart. 

We can acknowledge that Kaiser is a victim but we cannot remove the fact he is an abuser at the same exact time. Two things, although quite different, can coexist. I do hold hope that he can change, that as the story progresses we will see a different Kaiser. But the truth is that the trauma he faced made him apathetic. His resolution, if it will come, will not be an easy one and most likely will be a life time work.

This is why I cannot physically write for him. Relationships for him are a way to gain something from, if not to control someone. He does not even know what love is. He won’t be cold on the outside but sweet once the doors are closed. He won’t be this sex god. It’s fanfiction, at the end of the day everyone is free to portray a character as they wish. For me personally, on my blog, I simply can’t find it in me to portray him any differently. Because that’s who Kaiser is. 

[amerricanartwork]

What's up with 12th Council Pillar, the House of Braids?

Just wanted to share something interesting I noticed in Metropolis while looking at the room names on the interactive map! I doubt I'm not the first person to discover or take interest in this, but nonetheless now that I'm into the worldbuilding for this game, both canon and headcanon, I hope to at least encourage a discussion about what the rooms I found could possibly be for!

*Oh and by the way, spoilers for Artificer campaign, just in case.

Alright, so I was originally looking for how to get to a specific room for an Artificer expedition, but decided to browse around on the map just to refresh my memory on the region overall. Right off the bat I think it's interesting how this region's rooms are denoted mostly with lexical names rather than the more common "Capital letter + 2-digit number" formula. But scrolling to the right is where my interest really got piqued when I saw this name for the room right before that long corridor on the way to the 12th Council Pillar, the House of Braids, labeled "LC_templegate":

And the next room after that, "LC_templeentrance" confirmed my realization that this was a temple of sorts:

Now don't get me wrong, Rain World has always had a fair amount of religious associations, and even just the name "12th Council Pillar, the House of Braids" gave me the impression from the first time traversing it that it was once some high-esteemed, holy location of sorts. But I guess that never really sank in and captured my greater interest until now.

Part of that's because earlier I was focused more on just completing the campaigns from a basic playthrough perspective, not yet as big on uncovering every little lore detail, and another reason I didn't really take it in was that, at the time of my first Artificer playthrough, I wasn't as big on headcanon worldbuilding and trying to uncover/imagine Ancient culture and society outside of very general ideas. But now I think about it, another major part of this lack of realization was because of how the main rooms of this subregion that stuck out in my mind were the low-gravity iterator-esque zones. Many of which are explicitly labeled with "LAB", like this one, and they even have the same neurons, inspectors, and/or those gravity-distorting spheres:

I mean, that cube at the bottom even very strongly resembles an iterator puppet chamber!

But then the questions become: what are these rooms for, why are they so similar to the interior of the iterator they sit atop, and why put them in what seems like it was supposed to be a temple? And by extent, is this something unique to Five Pebbles, or do other iterators have similar temple-labs somewhere in their cities?

I guess the reason these parts stuck out to me more than the actual temple association was because 1.) we don't see this low-gravity mechanic and these features anywhere else in the game besides inside the iterators, so it already gets points for uniqueness, and 2.) they're such a great contrast to everything else within Metropolis; even the "temple" rooms still look very similar to the rest of the region in their general aesthetic.

Seriously, what's up with all this "lab" stuff? It's not that I haven't seen these things before at this point, but why are they here, in a temple, of all places?

However, I do really like this idea so far, as I believe it speaks to a theme of Rain World I really enjoy: the seamless blend of science and spirituality. I enjoy seeing fictional worlds where "magical" things are not only objectively real, but have a scientific in-universe explanation, and/or are employed to create magical technology, yet in a way where these two ideas can exist in harmony rather than seeming like opposites. And the Ancients seem to have been very big on that, not only having a very strong cultural sense of spirituality but also being very technologically advanced, and incorporating those spiritual ideas and even elements of the world into their tech (ex: mass rarefaction tech derived from Void Fluid, an objectively real and "magical" substance with direct connections to their religious beliefs).

I have yet to come up with an explanation for what these iterator-esque lab rooms are (and on that note why they so strongly resemble iterator interiors, to the point they even contain their neurons and inspectors, which are supposed to directly aid in their functions). But as of now, just going mostly of basic gut instincts, my current theories are: A.) they exist in the temple so that whatever scientific endeavors carried out within were blessed with a sense of "holiness" in a similar manner to the holy ash Pebbles talks about, and B.) whatever tasks they were used for was one entrusted to the clergy class of this city, probably because the tasks were seen as something very important and connected to the Ancients' spiritual beliefs.

However, as I said I'm hoping to invite discussion with this post. Figuring out the Ancients' design philosophies and intentions for their creations has been a passion of mine when it comes to my headcanons, so I really do want to see if I can find a more concrete, or at least reasonable answer as to what the overall purpose of the 12th Council Pillar, the House of Braids was. Therefore if anyone has any extra details or theories as to what it was, I'd love to hear them!

And if you made it to the end, thanks for listening to my little spur-of-the-moment ramble!

[shigayokagayama]

gender+random headcanon for tome? or tsubomi, whichever one you're feeling

why not both?

tome:

Sexuality Headcanon:

lesbian!!!

Gender Headcanon:

trans girl! ive actually thought about this one a lot but her whole arc of like. coming out of her mostly male friendgroup and trying to totally remake herself to fit into a girl friendgroup and make herself more palatable to girls her age before realizing that all her friends have weird hobbies too and you dont have to stifle all your interests to fit in with other girls fits the experience of a lot of trans girls i know

A ship I have with said character:

her and keiko from the reigen manga

GAY PEOPLE

A BROTP I have with said character:

her and mob's friendship is very special to me but her and the whole telepathy club ouuughhhhhhh alien arc my beloved... i miss when youd get like 20 posts a day of her and takenaka messing with each other with telepathy shenanigans they mean the world to me. i also think she and teru would get along really well theyd be terrible influences on each other.

A NOTP I have with said character:

i really cannot see her with mob i know this is punching down because theres maybe 1 person on the planet who ships this but theyre definitely a "mob-kun youre my best friend and i love you but i would never date you under any circumstances" sorta friendship. also not really a notp just a "?" but of the possible femslash ships i feel like her and tsubomi appeals to me the least. probably just because they never interact and we dont know enough about tsubomi's interests to know if theyd have anything in common. it gives "pair the spares but we dont like mezato" to me.

A random headcanon:

tome mentions in one of the semi canon anthologies that kijibayashi asked her out when they were first years and im incorporating that into my worldview. i also think she and takenaka had a like one week long middle school "relationship" that consisted primarily of them being too awkward to speak to each other or be in each other presence until they broke up over text just because it makes alien arc even funnier. also more of a reigen headcanon than a her headcanon but in the context of reigen manga i think it makes sense if reigen was very similar to her in middle school then when he was approaching highschool he was like "well i cant stay passionate about things forever" and dedicated himself solely to being a good student and good employee til he burned himself out.

General Opinion over said character:

she is solidly my second favorite mp100 character i love her so so much shes so special to me shes like. level of favorite character where i get excited handflaps seeing art of her. daughter of all time.

tsubomi:

Sexuality Headcanon:

aro lesbian is fun for her i think!

Gender Headcanon:

one of my friends really likes transmasc tsubomi and i respect the vision. boy fans be like "not yet"

A ship I have with said character:

mezato and tsubomi. listen. listen to me. of all the femslash ships it makes the most sense. every time we ever hear mezato talk about tsubomi it gives "dear dumb diary". that girl is one long psychoanalytical speech about this girl she's never even had a conversation with from realizing she's bisexual and i think tsubomi would find mezato a really interesting person to interact with. they'd study each other like bugs. it's perfect.

A BROTP I have with said character:

her and mob staying friends is really important to me i like them a lot </3

A NOTP I have with said character:

honestly none really, like i said with tsubomi i dont really get tsutome but i dont dislike it. i prefer her and mob as friends but i dont necessarily think them getting together like. years post canon really ruins the message of the show or anything bc the whole point of the confession arc is that he was chasing this fake image he'd built of her as this perfect person so them getting to know each other and dating in the future wouldnt really ruin that i dont think.

A random headcanon:

i think she's a music person!!! one of her fanbook interviews mentioned that she likes to scream as loud as she can in empty piano rooms and it kind of put the idea of her going into music theory or smth when she's older into my head

General Opinion over said character:

i really really like her and find her narrative role interesting and i both wish we got more of her but also understand that knowing tsubomi would kind of ruin the plot of the show. seeing her only as glimpses and trying to extrapolate who she is through that is unfortunately the point </3

[bone-honey]

Oh boy, I'm so excited to ask! What are your head cannons for the Klowns courting their human S/O? Like how would they approach it?

My first ask! Thank you! ☺️🎉

First thing’s first: These aliens aren’t actually very alien, they’re just very clowny, so a lot of their expressions do end up being very similar to ours… just in a silly or funny way. (With a tad of that literally blood thirsty maliciousness on occasion.)

Gifting flowers are definitely a thing for them, and not always in a malicious fashion like Jumbo did with that appalling cop I can’t be bothered to remember the name of rn 💀

If, and only when and if you accept their advances, would they gift you tech that could defend you. They’re comical, but they definitely aren’t dumb. They’re not gifting tech to just anyone.

I can definitely see them sharing candy, and depending on which one were talking about, they either get real shy when you take it and run away or they take pride in the fact that you like the type or flavor they gifted you. Some may even want to hand feed you, so try not to take offense and feel like they’re treating you like a child.

If they see you wearing a color a lot, they’ll consider it “your color” and will incorporate it into their look in some way. (Not their ‘face paint’ though, mostly because my personal headcanons on how that works for them.)

The ones that know how to speak human languages will actually try and flirt it up a little bit, but for the most part they’re all capable of a word or two, and will give you a sweet little nickname. (It’s highly likely to be flower influenced, though I can see sugar, sweets, or even candy.)

They’re exaggerated movements can oftentimes make them seem slightly sarcastic, but they have a flair for the dramatic, committing to the bit and all that, so big bows in greeting and kisses to the hand and blowing you kisses and winking.

The more assholish ones definitely pull little pranks to catch your attention, but as apposed to what we all know they’re fully capable of, the things they do to you are harmless.

If they leave you notes, I swear to god they look like ransom notes. I shit you not, some of them have decent handwriting, but the ones that can’t write will legit tear words out of news papers and glue them to a note.

[blackkatmagic]

Hey, blackkat!

I've been reading your star wars fanfictions for a while now and I'm seriously intrigued by all of them. My favorite is running with lightning feet and I'm currently reading efface the footprints in the sands--poor Master Kolar...

Anyway, I really wonder how you approach writing. You seem to be able to write very consistently and keep track of many stories all at once, which are things I admire very much about you. Would you be able to give some advice on that?

Also, I very much love your characterization of more 'minor' (less appearance in canon) characters and how you breathe life into them with your dialogue. Really make me wonder how you make that out--what do you consider, or do the characterization/dialogue just pop up, fleshing themselves out?

Yeah, I really hope you don't mind me asking these. Again, love your writing very much. Would continue to read your stories always~~ Thank you for sharing them (and putting all your effort into writing them!)

Hi! I definitely don't mind, and I've answered similar questions before in my writing advice tag, if you want to scroll through some other answers that might be worded better.

For how I approach writing...the inconvenient answer is that it's mostly practice. I've been giving myself a goal of 500 words every day for the last....10-ish years, probably? Just consistently sitting down and doing a thing, writing without worrying about quality and only quantity, with lots of WIPs always going at the same time, really helps in figuring out how to juggle them. I usually keep a file of vague notes, one doc for each WIP with a bunch of keywords and ideas I want to hit eventually, and plot twists I'm aiming for, though I don't ever really outline things, and that helps a lot with keeping track, too.

As far as characterization of minor characters goes, that's the part I enjoy most about writing, and it's one of the easier parts for me, so I'm not sure I'm the best at putting it into words. But basically, you have to get to the very core of how you see the character - what their baseline personality is, what motivates them, what their goals are. It's something that can change between fics (which I think is one of the joys of minor characters; you don't have to stick to one defined interpretation), but it is something you have to nail down, imo. It also takes some filling in the gaps with headcanon and some leaps in logic.

Take Agen for example: canon gives us the information that he lost his padawan on Geonosis, incorporated Tan's lightsaber crystal into his own, and is an incredible swordsman but too blunt and aggressive to be diplomatic, while still being very loyal to the Council/Order. He gets called "the Council's attack dog" in the comics. Also, in the wider universe, we know that Zabraks have a reputation for being aggressive/warlike, and at one point Qui-Gon calls Maul it, even though he has to know what Zabraks are.

Those are all the canon facts. If you go back and fill in the gaps: Agen is someone who's grieving deeply, and he's incredibly devoted. He uses Tan's lightsaber crystal against Palpatine, which means he's sentimental, and he's not willing to speak against the Order in public, so he's at least that tactful. At the same time, he has no patience for people who get in his way, and he's willing to use force to cut through them. He believes in other Jedi until they irrevocably prove themselves traitors, and then he's stern and willing to remove them by whatever means. At the same time, he's very aware of his reputation, and he knows what people say about him/other Zabraks, but he's stubborn enough (at peace with himself enough) that he's not going to change.

From that sort of character summary, you can figure out the way Agen talks pretty easily. He's blunt, and he doesn't always think about the impact of his words, but he can be compassionate and thoughtful, particularly given his own grief. He's willing to defend anyone, and he doesn't make a fuss but always tends towards action - that means short sentences, usually directly to the point with no niceties. He's polite, because that's usually the fastest way to achieve something, but he's not overly deferential. He has a sense of humor, but most people miss it because he's so blunt.

Taking a character and dissecting them like that is something I have a lot of fun doing, which, well. I'm a therapist irl, so that probably helps. But I think it's very much just about breaking a character down into component parts and applying them to whatever you're writing - if you understand why someone reacts a certain way, it's a thousand times easier to figure out how they're going to react in a new situation. And after that, getting them to sound right, getting your dialogue to fit - it's all about practice.

[irlbkgs]

3, 5, and 7 for the ask game? 🫶

i fell eep before i got to answering these ooopsss sowwy

3. Favorite headcanon/fact you have for an F/O? You can answer for multiple if you want

god this is rly hard to choose bc like i have so many f/o's...erm i rly like the hc of daryl being aroace tho like to me i find it hard to see him any other way bc he just reads so like. demiromantic at the very least but also demisexual. compared to almost every other character it's like not even a consideration for him in the show outside of carol and obviously it like takes a lot for them to get there. daryl isn't a very open person and i can't imagine him just suddenly jumping into a relationship but even further than that i can't imagine him feeling any real romantic or sexual attraction until there's like a deep relationship and trust and years of knowing each other.

5. Any common themes or threads between your F/Os, if you have multiple? If you don't have multiple-- what is similar between you and your F/O, and what's different?

god erm so. all of them have killed people except 2, simon and stan, and even stan is iffy bc of the space clown stuff...he wasn't there for the 2nd killing but he sure did try the 1st time.

besides that, mostly hot heads or guys who use heavy sarcasm, dry humor, just bitchy in general. generally speaking, all gay and autistic or adhd or both. def mentally ill. lots of possessive freaks. i like guys who want to own me, what can i say?

7. What's something you feel is uncommon that you do with/for/about/etc your F/O(s)?

hmm...idk i think it's pretty uncommon to like, instead of making s/i's or just putting myself into my these selfships, i use kins as a way to selfship a lot of the time. like ik it's something people do but i rarely see it talked about but that used to be the ONLY way i could selfship and that only changed after adrian. i still don't rly do it bc while i can enjoy making s/i's i find it hard to develope them and talk about them and it's also like if im hyperfixated on the character it's easier to find a canon x canon fic than an x reader (in most fandoms, some are different).

besides that tho i also think a lot of my selfships lean towards toxic or even problematic dynamics, and also just incorporate d/s stuff. this is just something that's like part cope bc ive got so much untreated trauma and part what i actually like irl but know isn't like. usually achievable and/or healthy 😭😭 so i just go "hey i can act this out with my f/o's instead". my point being tho that this is very much not the norm in these spaces, everything is very fluffy and cute for the most part and i get it but it doesn't appeal to me bc me and my f/o's are erm. degen pervert freaks. we live in toxic yaoi bdsm world.

[nemo-in-wonderland]

My thoughts on Shay:

It's down to House Greyjoy and House Mormont for me. With House Greyjoy, you have the connection to the ocean, which suits Shay's life as a captain. That being said, I don't think he would agree with House Greyjoy's "We do not sow" motto. The man's entire reason for leaving the Assassins, regardless of how pragmatic he could be under the Templars, was because he was increasingly horrified of the actions they'd take to get an edge over the Templars, I can't see him as a reaver -- he's a privateer, but someone else has to be in charge for him to justify it, there has to be some broader goal as opposed to pure slaughter for the sake of personal gain.

I think he has the brusqueness of a Northerner, and the Wildlings are Fantasy Celts anyway, so I think he might have a bit of Wildling blood, from when one of his ancestors controversially married a Wildling. Since Shay isn't wildly aristocratic in canon, I think he might be from one of the vassal houses, with Mormont being my best guess ("Here we stand" is, imo, more Shay than the Greyjoy motto.) He might have done something to get him exiled from the North, similar to Jorah's situation in-canon, which led to him seeking refuge from House Lannister (and, possibly, Dottie in particular). It wouldn't have been as horrific as what Jorah did, but it was likely one of those cases where honor conflicted with doing the right thing, he chose the latter, and so the Starks wanted to execute him because even though they didn't *like* the thought of it, honor had to come before everything else.

Thank you so SO much for bringing your take on Shay!

I truly appreciate you taking the time to indulge me in this, and I have to be honest, I am immensely happy to read that your reasoning and take for Shay is not too dissimilar from my own.

When I first thought about which houses he would belong, my first thought went immediately to one of the Great and Minor Houses of the North, because with his personality (exactly as you have underlined) he matches the Northerners much better than he does the Southerners.

I initially envisioned him to be mostly connected to the Greyjoys, due to the whole sea connection and him being the captain of the Morrigan (infact, in my own self-indulgent AU, I kinda dubbed him "The Ironborn").

But after reading your take, I am honestly just so in love with the idea of Shay being a Mormont through and through, and with a story not too dissimilar to that of Jorah (albeit, as you said, not as despicable), running away in exile and find a safe port in Lannisport, where Dorothea's branch of the House resides ( I cannot see her being a Lannister of Casterly Rock, but a Lannister of Lannisport would suit her much better. Plus, the sea is one of her great loves, so I can definitely imagine her preferring to reside by the sea rather than hanging on a cliff in Casterly Rock). I can kinda imagine her being the one running the branch of the family at the time Shay arrives in Lannisport, responsible for overseeing the trades and after hearing his story, she would accept his services (and also I kinda want her to have some sort of old grudge with the Starks, something that would prompt her even more in accepting Shay's offer of becoming her sworn shield. Like, pettiness, thy name is Dorothea).

Also, I never made the connection with the Wildlings, but omg I am actually enamoured by your idea behind it and will incorporate it for Shay, with your permission (also, I am doubly delighted by this headcanon because, if you remember a while back, when I asked for an advice on Shay's possible faceclaim, I leaned toward Ciarán Hinds, and he plays Mance Rayder in GoT, so it just feels like the cherry on top of the hot fudge sundae! <3 <3 and depending on which period of time this whole AU takes place, he could very well distantly related to him lololol).

Once more, thank you so much for indulging me in this and for allowing me also to speak about this, because I am so in love with this idea, my brain has been buzzing all afternoon, and I was barely able to focus on anything else!! 😂😂😂 So truly, THANK YOU <3

[earthtooz]

omgomg hi i literally love every single thing u post esp the dr ratio content we r getting recently (we are being ABSOLUTELY FED and i'm FERAL for ur characterisation of him)

if u dont mind sharing do u have any tips for new bloggers(?) tumblr writers(?) to grow platforms 😔😔 i myself have posted a couple of things but they aren't gaining much traction 😔

first of all, thank yew anon!! 🙆🏻‍♀️🙆🏻‍♀️ much love, i’m very happy that you’re enjoying my dr ratio content because tbh… it’s not going to stop HAHAH he is here to stay.

second of all, i’ve been here for almost three years so i hope i have some good tips to share 😔 they are below the cut !!

everything on this list is targeted at gaining traction with likes and reblogs rather than focusing on your writing!! pls keep that in mind ;o

1. blog layouts and post layouts.

generally speaking, if a reader is scrolling through the tags, the first impression they get of your fic is how neatly it is laid out. a more aesthetically pleasing layout is always going to capture someone’s attention, regardless of the story.

take a scroll through the tags and maybe find inspiration (don’t steal layouts!) as to how some writers have arranged theirs. normally it incorporates a cute banner/picture with a/n’s or warnings.

also, this may just be personal taste, but don’t post your fic in small text. small text fics are the ones i get turned off the most because i… don’t want my eyes to hurt 😔😔 simple as that 😔😔 even if the synopsis sounds great, i want to see your story in full, not in tiny!!

2. write broader and more cliché tropes at first

i just wanted to reiterate again, this post is not to help you improve your writing quality (bc mine is still ass lol). from when i was still starting out on tumblr and trying to get a following, i think i focused quite a bit on writing tropes that i know everyone will enjoy.

these generally are like the cliché ones, like hurt/comfort, sleeping on the couch, being clingy or whatever, just fluffy stories that you find everywhere.

for example, in 2021, i wrote jujutsu kaisen headcanons of you sleeping on the couch and like… that fic is still getting notes to this day (to my chagrin). so the more cliché, or fluffier, the stories you write, the better.

(MINORS LOOK AWAY, as an sfw writer, i wont sit here and act like people don’t enjoy nsfw though, so if you’re capable of doing so AND OF AGE, then why not try your hand 🤣🤣)

3. long fics and stories that take a lot of effort

despite how many short blurbs you may see in the tags on tumblr, a lot of people do enjoy long fics (me included!). people love their long fics with classic tropes interwoven throughout.

ofc, use the tags as they are the medium that you’ll be guaranteed interaction! i don’t think i need to tell anyone that anymore LUL

but these tips are the ones i have conjured off the top of my head. whether or not you choose to listen is completely up to you, but i wholeheartedly believe rule 1 is one to follow, no matter what. rule 2 is a great one to implement, and rule 3 is just bc i love reading long fics, as with a lot of other readers!

i hope this post has been helpful even just slightly :) thank you for your ask, anon! and i wish you much luck for your writing journey 🍀

[pencilofawesomeness]

Hello!

*Taps fingers together* I come to bug you regarding the Secret Santa exchange!

I saw your character prompts and decided to try and mix all three. I wanted to ask if there was any Laxus + Cobra brotp, or Cobra + Thunder Legion friendship headcanons you'd want to see added?

If not headcanons, then anything in particularly you would like to see regarding the five of them?

Hahahah hello there, mystery person~

Oooo you bring to the table a tantalizingly interesting prospect. I do have waaaaaay too many thoughts, and many of them are admittedly steeped in my own AU because I accidentally sold my soul to it (as authors do) so by all means, do not feel encumbered by my thoughts/ideas. Treat them as a buffet to pick and choose and take inspo from, because unfortunately you just gave me license to ramble :D

(and this is going to be rambley; too tired to make this cohesive beyond bullet points)

(I love these idiots very much)

—Laxus and Erik brotp is so real to me, fam. It's the "hey we got a lacrima bestowed upon us, whoo" bonding, for one, but beyond that, the sort of....quiet mutual understanding of what it is like to have a "father" figure who is just treating them like a weapon, making them *stronger*, with a faux sort of affection. Beyond the trauma, though, they are both deadpan assholes and I love that for them. If Erik (and this is the htryds coloring) spends a good deal of time having the braincell, then with Laxus he can channel the little-shit-little-brother energy and bully him a bit, and Laxus can be grouchy back and know that Erik can parse through the emotions and figure out what's genuine or not without him figuring out how to put in the effort.

—Also, depending on the setting, they both have the tendency to pull the ~too good for you~ bad boy vibes as a defense mechanism, which makes it utterly unusable on each other, which is fun. Mostly, though, Laxus and Erik have the ability to enjoy a mutual quietness, so to speak; not trying to prove anything, but just leaning back and being normal young adults (with a little salt on the side) and doing whatever. That said, Erik is a bit too much of a dark mirror of how things could have been worse for Laxus, if Ivan was more involved, and this leads to Laxus winning the "big brother instinct" award of the two, which is an experience Erik is not used to but....does not necessarily hate.

—This is a fun headcanon that I haven't had the chance to incorporate into my series yet, but they have fun little music debates. Laxus got Erik into the magic of using music to calm the overstimulation, but they have wildly different tastes. Laxus loves rock and roll and metal, and Erik turned to liking types of bluegrass and straight up classical music. They meet in the middle at alt-rock. They are both always trying to win each other over on certain songs or genres. It works surprisingly often but it's part of the fun to swear undying rivalry to the other's favorite.

—For more Cobra-specific vibes (aka the canon edgemaster), I can see them being a bit more competitive with each other. Which quickly doesn't work when they have completely different specialties, but an effort is made.

—Also something I haven't had the chance to capitalize on outside of the scenarios in my head, but Bickslow and Erik definitely have a fun "we perceive you but we don't care" vibe that I love. Your secrets are obvious but not their business. Sometimes they people watch together for the fun of it, because all of the thoughts they *do* have regarding the things they know have got to go somewhere.

—Evergreen, being the queen of gossip, really really wants in on this. They tease her for it though, and purposely dangle that tea on a string. (Though sometimes Ever *does* get in on it, mostly when it comes to roasting anyone who was particularly rude or annoying, or the silly speculation at the expense of friends, like figuring out what job Nab will eventually go on or what animal Bisca will adopt next.)

—On this same note, Bickslow and Evergreen both have insufferable little sibling energy amongst the Thunder Legion squad, nevermind that Bickslow is the second oldest. Mostly it's just really fun to tease the more serious ones.

—Though Ever and Bickslow are also the most keenly aware of what it is like to be feared. Truly feared. Having eye magic that isn't quite controllable (as a kid, especially) will grant that experience. It is their unspoken agreement never ever to speak of this, of course.

—On an individual note, it is worth it now to bring up that I am an avid fan (read: it's canon to me and sometimes I forget it's not real canon) of the theory that Bickslow was one of the kids experimented on by the Bureau of Magical Development. He's got that unhinged flavor that comes from straight-up trauma, and it does add more context to his otherwise creepy magic. I also hc that the babies are all deceased test subjects, and that is why they have stuck with him all this time. (I am very passionate about the babies as characters, unfortunately, and my little mini series I'm doing for them on tumblr is proof. I am soooo normal.)

—Another theory I love, and that I have somewhat brandished into my own spin, is that Freed is half demon. He sees this as an awful thing, raised by his human parent (mother, in my case), without any real context for demon culture other than the fear of it, so that's why he's super edgy and has locked all of his demon traits away into a single form he swear never to uses unless things are ~Dire~ or whatnot. It's really not that bad though lol.

—The fact that Erik will Know Freed's secrets bother him immensely. Freed is, unfortunately, *just* a smidge too dense to realize that Bickslow has also known all along, just because Bickslow is strangely very good at keeping things to himself, whereas Erik's magic is more obvious. In my au, Laxus knows too, and is literally just waiting for Freed to admit it, because it's not that big of a deal, really.

—Laxus is also the only one who (at first) knows about Bickslow's past, among the team. Mostly because of some variant of Laxus having seen/met him when it was all raw. Depending on the au flavor, this either is what gives the chaotic dude and the stoic dude a sort of mutual respect (closer to canon) or makes them the og best friends (htryds style). In the latter case, they are each other's impulse control and/or voice of reason, which is probably unfortunate because they're not great at it. This is why Bickslow has doodled drawings on half of Laxus's furniture and why Laxus gets away with avoiding his problems a little longer than he should.

—Freed is simultaneously the most responsible and the most edgy and ergo reckless of the crew. Everyone agrees he's got to value his safety just a little bit more. He's also the only one who consistently remembers the schedule/to-do-list.

—Erik shares the "living itinerary, doesn't have executive disfunction problems" braincell with Freed, and in the right conditions, they work very well together. Bonding over the experience of herding cats, that is their teammates.

—Not a headcanon but I want to whack all of them with sticks. The Sad Boi Stick, the Whump Stick... All flavors. Getting the ones who never fess up to their trauma a good thwack makes the trauma spill out, and I enjoy the possibilities that entails. Put them in Situations. >:D

—I do also appreciate them being silly-goofy, too, of course. No need to be angry all of the time, in some of their cases. (They all need affection so bad. The hurt/comfort allure of it all. Just sit down and admit they need it, etc etc.) Something that is conveniently done after a good physical and emotional thwacking— *gets dragged away forcefully*

[kainissoable]

Sensible Sarafan Headcanons

The Sarafan take a lot of visual cues from Christianity and for years now I've been steadily grabbing bits and pieces from the real world religion for my Sarafan theories and headcanons, so here are the main ones I can still remember rather than leaving them in a dozen different discord chats. (also note I'm in no way a Christian so if anyone who is wants to correct me on anything, please do)

In SR2 the use of haloes in art is really inconsistent, which is a shame because they could have done some really cool stuff with that. A specific halo for members of the Circle incorporating the spirit glyph into it, like the specific haloes for the Holy Trinity. I also prefer the depictions of vampires with no haloes as opposed to red, because that's literally dehumanising them by depicting them as beings without a soul. And not a headcanon, but the crossed Reavers in William's chapel having a halo around them? Delicious.

It's so interesting that the Sarafan kept the angel motif as a symbol of righteousness whilst having hunted down the ancient vampires who would have inspired the mythology as winged messengers of their god.

Speaking of, the Sarafan Church definitely originated as a splinter group of the Ancients' faith.

And now we get onto the dark shit, so don't look under the cut unless you're prepared to deal with heavy stuff involving sex, death, and violence, often at the same time. Like we're talking suicide, abortion, sexual assault, it got worse than expected pretty damn quick.

I don't think the Sarafan would consider suicide a sin, because while they share the "your life/soul belongs to God" thing, the Elder God hungers for their lives and I don't think he would want to dissuade people from speeding the journey in extremis.

But then I realised the same probably wouldn't be true of Sarafan views on abortion. In LoK canon, souls aren't indivisible and eternal. Shades are formed from coalesced fragments of half consumed souls, in SR1 Raziel can sip a human soul without killing them, and in SR2 the Reaver will devour part of an enemy's soul when it hits them but only fully devours the soul on a killing blow. Therefore, I think it's reasonable to headcanon that in LoK, a soul grows along with the foetus rather than appearing fully formed at a certain point in the process. Given this, I think the Elder God would ban abortion simply because he wouldn't be able to consume the partly formed soul in the same way Raziel can't consume defeated shades.

But if we go with the Catholic belief of souls appearing at conception as LoK canon, I could see EG going either way on the issue. On one hand, he'd be able to eat the soul since it's a whole human immediately and would therefore be in favour. On the other, pregnancy is dangerous and if the pregnant person dies then that's even more food for him. Of course, either way he wouldn't justify his explanations like this when giving commandments through Moebius.

BUT EG and by extension the more strict branches of the Sarafan Church would be 100% anti-birth control. Not only does it get more delicious souls, uh, believers, but if LoK souls do form at conception then that's a whole lot of fertilised eggs that just aren't going to implant, giving EG a whole lot of snacks over the years.

While faiths both real and imaginary are no strangers to hypocrisy, I do believe that the Sarafan are in favour of live saving magic, as we see vampire hunters in Defiance using it, plus Moebius and Mortanius lived for goddamn ever.

Having said that, I 100% believe there was at least one Ancient cult that was anti-live saving magic as "it's against God's will" which to be fair it probably is.

Deeply fucked up, but there's also massive scope here for using a Sarafan turned into a vampire against their will and thus being excommunicated and seen as the evil they were taught to despise as a metaphor exploring Christianity's appalling real world treatment of survivors of sexual assault. Once again, vampires really can be a metaphor for anything.

Okay, that got not fun fast. Better make that post about my happier, sillier headcanons.

[providencehq]

With the reveal of the Black Pawns actually being robots, what did you think that said of BK's leadership style vs WK's leadership style? Also, do you think she incorporated some aspects of herself into them? Like, fighting styles and personality traits; watching "Assault on Abysus" had me hyperfixated on that one Black Pawn with a speaking role. That one, at least, made me think of a younger BK, more easily frustrated and with the need to succeed without additional help.

Man, your brain. Thinking things I would have never esp in regards to Black Knight. You seemed to have nailed on the head of my personal headcanon when it comes to her: her leadership style is vastly different from White Knight but it seems more so from an internal force rather than external and it radically shapes their ideals and how it plays out into their leadership styles and let me explain. (Edit as I finish writing this, very rambly, I think I repeat points many times)

Black Knight is seen constantly as a need to control, something, anything whether it is as openly as Providence or as lowkey (more so indirectly but still having her hand in the pie as the saying goes) in regards to the initial Nanite research group. This need to have control and in essence power can stem from who knows where. We as viewers never get that chance to actually dwell into her past like we were able to in a degree with White Knight. I personally make the assumption due to what we do see of her of being a fairly rash, quick tempered, and take/make an opening to get the smallest step ahead as a result not having power in her life to some degree when she was younger. Black Knight has to make opportunities to get power rather than what seems to be willingly handed with White Knight in comparison. (I can and would talk about my headcanons about young BK here but that is long and lengthy and I feel like little evidence to support from the show but know my ideas about her and her relationship with whatever happened to young her is basically rivalry based and feeling lesser.) She kills a member of the Consortium who more or less challenged her and made it seemed like she was a means to an end (for the Consortium) because she wasn't viewed as an equal. Questioning of her role, her power, her knowledge is a threat to her and the ability to control herself.

But here's the thing! She's a really, really shit leader for Providence. We know she's rash, manipulative (yay! go gaslight, gatekeep girlbosscore for her). She can't lead like White Knight does. Here's the thing, White Knight, questionable at times with his leadership skills but he's commanding a massive, multibase operation over many years and he makes tough calls. He commands forces, he gets information, he's actively working on trying to better the world whether the cure is feasible or not. He was forced into a position of power by happenstance but he takes in stride and understands that his leadership hinges on the survival of humanity, cure or not. WK has a tough job he has good reigns on the whole of Providence.

What does Black Knight do? Clearly struggle through keeping Providence under any semblance of control in comparison. She has lost it's more or less elite force when Rex went a little MIA there for a few months and clearly she can't keep things in Providence under control unless every aspect it seemingly controlled by her. The Black Rooks, her elite guards (I don't think all of them are androids just... most. I like to think she managed to have a few actual human elite running around) ARE FUCKING ANDROIDS! SHE CONTROLS THEM FULLY! Programmed to obey (and clearly be more prone to violence and generally extreme tactics which uh, wonder who programmed them to be like that!?) But to get onto that point of her ask, I see it's a very reasonable jump to make that she included aspects in herself in the androids. She needs something that she can rely on, that she can understand what move they'll make next, that understand the objective. Time after time we see she can't rely on anyone but herself to get after her true goal of just control (over Providence, Rex, EVOs, nanites, Consortium, the human body, life and death itself) why would she program her elite to not have a similar mindset to herself? Basically disposable extensions of herself. But I like the idea of her incorporating her fighting style with them, I will be crafting ideas in my head for that for a bit. Gonna let that idea simmer in the brain pot of headcanons.

Also back onto the whole internal verses external forces causes her leadership to be super wonky and insightful in comparison to White Knight. White Knight is more or less driven, yes to an extent the Consortium, but mostly by to be in power. A goal that all of humanity can overcome or bare with the nanites. Dude is pessimistic, makes choices that could easily in the blink of an eye end millions of lives (like bleaching a city), and manipulates/misleads people to get closer to a cure. But it's all for that chance for a cure, for Providence to come out on top, for humanity to survive fully! He has the support of Providence, large portions of the population, Rex and Six and Holiday, to make the hard decisions for humanity. To make decisions with that kind of gravity can't be done lightly and there's trust in his leadership and decisions even if they suck from Providence on multiple levels.

Black Knight doesn't have this trust. We as the audience are missing a lot of information from those six months Rex was gone but Black Knight is in charge now and things are weird and bad. The lack of trust with Black Knight being in charge can come from so many angles: new leadership, discontent from the public and Providence workers as a whole, the loss of many of their assets without an effective replacement. But I lean towards she won't trust down the ranks in Providence. She sees herself as higher than everyone else in Providence and won't let anyone be an equal. Research? She knows best. EVO containment and control? She knows best. The direction of Providence? Don't worry, she knows what to do. Her need of control is her downfall for leadership, her suspected inability to have Providence soldiers/rooks be completely under her thumb with her decisions led her to make her androids that would follow her orders instead. (Which brings into question, what was something she asked them to do that they wouldn't cross the line of? WK was going to bleach a city, costing countless lives, what could be worse than that? Providence before WK was pretty casual about child vivisection so who knows! Maybe refusal to accept a new leader simply, esp head of Providence.) Black Knight's leadership is stemming from her need to control, a pressing internal force is seemingly every choice she makes. She's selfish and it shows how she heads towards goals with Providence as the vessel and man! is it shit! It's just a massive shitshow barely holding together!!!

Black Knight is ahhhhh! She's so focus driven on herself and her goal of control in whatever means and it's so clear she's basically a kid who wants power but doesn't actually know how to handle it. She's nothing like White Knight no matter how she tries to emulate him when she's running Providence. She wants power but she doesn't know how to handle it. She fumbles through the steps of being a leader and yes, members of Providence question her, but she's still there, leading it! It isn't until placing her directly up and against White Knight do you really see it! Their fight is such a great analogy for how they run Providence. White Knight prepares, plants ahead, has backup plans, and knows what he's up against verses Black Knight who lashes out, has to pull a plan out her ass, and thinks she knows what she's up against by personal history but not through technical knowledge and it fucks her in the end.

Ahhhhh! the parallels! THE PARALLELS!!!!!!!!!!

[kittyconfidant]

Yes and no. like I think there's plenty of interpretation but also I feel like you can gleam some kind of intent from how people draw certain characters.

The obvious example is the Fizzlebeans clearly having poc hairstyles, I would feel it would be strange for somebody to not incorporate that into their humanised design and might reflect a lack of education into the significance of such design features / hairstyles in general and representing diversity - like you don't HAVE to but I might give you the side eye.

Then with body type especially, I think allot of people draw characters skinny by default and if you were to draw all the grumpuses as skinny I would think 'oh this person doesn't really draw diverse body types' because allot of them are pretty round, like just shape wise..

So I think you can get funky with it, experiment and headcanon however you want but I think like, if you have a lineup of grumpus humanised designs that can reflect how diverse your art is as a whole in my opinion because it has so many good opportunities to represent different kinds of people :3 but I feel that way about art in general so I'm probably biased.

edit: maybe 'might give you the side eye' is a bit harsh I would not automatically assume it's malicious but I feel like being aware of such things is pretty important in art circles and the fact that some people WOULDN'T be aware that certain hairstyles and such are racially significant speaks to a deficit in knowledge that I feel like we should really be working to overcome instead of just brushing off y'know? so like again do what you want but I do think it reflects on a wider thing than the thing itself

same with the body type stuff, it's not a PERSONAL failing to draw non-fat characters by default! that's how most of us are taught, but I think encouraging people to try more than that is positive. I don't think 'oh ths person doesn't draw fat characters' and think it's out of malice i just think it's sad that that's kind of the normal thing. Like I wouldn't be upset if they didn't but I would be happy if they did. Hope that's clear

tldr: i would prefer if the implied body and racial diversity that I feel is implied within the cast were represented but it's not people's fault if that's not their default but we should strive towards diverse design rep in general. <- realised i wrote 6 paragraphs

[meddlearound]

PLATONIC  : 

𝐋𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 𝐏𝐔𝐍𝐂𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆. we got a puncher  !    coraline knows how to handle her strength, but sometimes these punches can land a little harder than intended and when that does happen,  she’ll feel bad but wouldn’t know how to approach it.   depending on the situation / the person,  she’ll go “oh, shit, walk it off” and just kinda rub her hand against the sore spot for a couple of seconds.  the usual hits are against the upper arm and shoulders.  

𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐃 𝐁𝐔𝐓𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆.    coraline is the type to just bop her forehead on someones arm before pulling away for a quick second,  there are two environments this motions occurs :  when it’s a laughing and joking one,  maybe playing video games or just hanging out casually,  something in those lines.  or when she’s drunk / in need of comfort, where she just groans and leans in and smacks her forehead against someones arm. 

𝐀𝐑𝐓. forever an artist,  and that love bleeds into her relationships so easily because its the first way she learned to express herself,  art came before words and it just stuck.  her stories / poetry are her learning to speak, but with drawings she has the language mastered.   this comes in the form of little doodles being left around or slipped into bags,   portraits of someones loved ones,  or paintings of someones favourite character / interests.  she also has her hands in patches and jackets,  so if you want something like that and briefly mention it in her proximity ? it’s already made and you’ll get it handed to you like its nothing.   

ROMANTIC : 

𝐄𝐘𝐄 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐀𝐂𝐓.              i have always had this headcanon,    always been in the back of my mind and something i’ve incorporated through the years i’ve had this little shit .   however i’ve never been able to word why,   today that ends bitch  !    i think it comes from the notion of being absolutely,   well and truly safe with someone and having that trust to be so vulnerable.   coraline is a firm,  firm believer in eyes really are the key to everything,   with her experiences in the other world and how much value crimson  ( then the other mother )  held with the eyes,   by trusting someone enough to stare and be naked is something she’d lacked her entire life. it’s a really intimate thing when in a relaxed environment.   she’s the type to not speak about this,  she’ll just....  place her forehead against her partners,   nudging her nose against theirs and just stare. if someone questions why this is happening, she’ll get  little flustered and move away, shake her head and “nothin’’“ depending on the type of reaction,  if it’s harsh,  it will stop her from doing it again.   it’s a true safe space for her this act.   it also links into the want to remember features i think,  to be so close,   look at flaws and what color hues the individual has...  perfect for a picture shot to later put in her sketch book. 

𝐁𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆.              yeah coraline will bite someone and it just be like that.  peak love language for her,   for the most part this is the most common thing to occur when truly feeling safe with someone.   put your arm around her ?  she’ll just bite and rest there for a while.  hug her ?  firm bite to where her face is squished,  this is with and without clothes, it doesn’t matter.  she’s also not above biting cheeks, necks and shoulders.   while she does bite in a nsfw settings,  it’s a different energy,  different motions .   its so SO important that when in a relationship with her to read the room carefully,  because this is not an inherently sexually driven thing and if the person turns it sexual she will get uncomfortable,  this leads into a different headcanon entirely,   but you gotta be good at reading her full stop otherwise a relationship will just not work. 

𝐍𝐎𝐒𝐄 𝐊𝐈𝐒𝐒𝐄𝐒.              another action that has been a headcanon since the dawn of time. coraline is an absolute sucker for nose kisses,   they’re such an important aspect to her because it’s not just something done off handedly,   these also are signs that she’s ready to talk,  ready to apologise in her own way,   where she’s feeling things and wants to speak about it but doesn’t know how to start.  it’s not just a love language, it’s the most important action for communication as well as an act of affection.  she wont just rub her nose against someone else’s though,  she’ll also do it against someones arm,  cheek, and even the back of someones hand. 

[tachiguin]

As much as I adore the concept of Gin and Akutagawa having a supportive and loving sibling relationship, it's also interesting to explore them through the lens of being fairly distant from each other. This is canon in BEAST, where the siblings are not on the same page, which does imply that Gin doesn't just go along with everything Akutagawa does without questioning.

(credit to dazaiscans)

To begin with! Gin and Akutagawa's only canon interaction is in chapter 41, where Akutagawa says "It's been awhile. Let's go home" and while it's true that he's not the most talkative character in the series, it's honestly pretty curt. There's no "I missed you!" or "How has work been?" from either of them, which is both indicative of their reticent personalities, but also of their sibling dynamic!

That's not to say they're on bad terms, like in BEAST, but it does lend itself towards the theory that they honestly don't interact that often. I also suspect this is partially influenced by them not wanting to be seen together in a work setting, to avoid getting used against each other in a hostage situation.

It should also be noted that Gin rarely shows concern for Akutagawa’s wellbeing on screen, and vice versa. This doesn’t necessarily mean that Gin isn’t concerned, but in the multiple instances where Akutagawa suffers major injuries, Gin shows no outward distress, especially in chapter 14. After the Black Lizard shows up and clears out the mercenaries, Gin seems content to wait outside while Higuchi checks on Akutagawa. 

(credit to easygoingscans)

I think that it’s not that Gin does not care about Akutagawa, but rather, that Gin believes first and foremost that he doesn’t need anyone constantly worrying about him, and also that they simply have their own lives now. They were likely very close and dependent on one another while living in the slums, but after joining the Port Mafia, they walked different paths, so to speak. Akutagawa was trained by Dazai while Gin trained under Verlaine, and ultimately their lives no longer orbited one another. 

It’s an interesting aspect of both their characters that isn’t explored very often. Especially when compared to BEAST, where Akutagawa is driven by his need to rescue Gin from the Port Mafia. Whereas in the canon universe, Akutagawa pretty much never mentions a sibling, and doesn’t obsess over Gin’s wellbeing.

In the next part of this post, I will be going into personal theories and headcanons that I incorporate into my own fics and metas, which don’t have much basis in canon and are pretty susceptible to being wrong. 

Akutagawa is very much a lone wolf, in both BEAST and canon, but one difference is that in the canon universe, he wasn’t forcefully separated from Gin, as far as we know. They’re still in contact with one another, and yet, despite this, they still appear emotionally distant from one another.

This could be the result of a combination of two things. One being Akutagawa’s fixation on Dazai, and Gin’s resulting fatigue with this fixation. Gin is only human, after all, and it’s not that much a stretch to speculate that Gin felt burnt out with Akutagawa’s obsessive personality. After all, this is how Gin felt in BEAST, just with different things. In BEAST, Gin’s answer to Akutagawa’s obsession with revenge was to put distance between them.

In canon universe, at a certain point, Gin might have stopped trying to reach Akutagawa emotionally. There’s only so much that one can do to help, and it’s pretty well established that Akutagawa is not very good at listening to advice. It’s possible that as Akutagawa’s began to grow distant from Gin while preoccupied with pursuing Dazai’s validation, Gin also came to reciprocate this distancing between the two, and eventually formed friendships and built a social circle outside of just Akutagawa.

[uselessheretic]

I’m curious if you have done any research into the “Olu” short form for Oluwande being offensive. I am not a POC or from the region, so I would like to learn. I wouldn’t use it in a fan context obviously, but Olu is a name I have heard before in RL so I’m surprised it’s inappropriate and that the actors/writers didn’t know that either. I want to understand more.

So, from what I can tell "Olu shouldn't be used as a nickname" is something that originated from one fan (who is Yoruba) on Twitter that then spread out from there. The fan never actually said it was "offensive" even, but that it's not proper and they don't like the nickname. When someone brought up that they know people who use that name, the fan clarified that they, personally, have just never seen it used before.

Someone asked about this on the Yoruba subreddit where a user explained that it's not the "proper" nickname, but it's common for people in the west to use and isn't offensive.

If you google the name you even get a wikipedia page about it and a list of famous people who go by Olu

Someone on Twitter who's from the same ethnic group also talked a bit about this and how it's a very common thing in the UK and confirmed with their mom who is Nigerian

Which it's worth bringing up that Samson is, ya know, British and Nigerian and would be aware if it was an offensive nickname. I know Vico has talked about how receptive everyone was to any feedback, so I can't imagine Samson not feeling like he could speak up about it.

Like the thing that's funny about Olu as a nickname is that there isn't even much gray area here? It straight up isn't offensive, and in the context of the show it makes sense for people to use it with him. The ones who call him Olu the most are Jim and Spanish Jackie (and I think Stede calls him that once?) who are familiar with him. The show also never makes jokes about Oluwande's name, so I don't think this is a thing of "it's too hard to pronounce" because they never do that?

And I think it's a bit presumptuous for fans, who are often white or not Nigerian, to assume they know better and that they need to liberate Oluwande from the confines of his self-colonization of [checks notes] "having a nickname." I think I said this before, but the takeaway for me from learning that Wande is the proper way to shorten his name is to incorporate that into headcanons. Like, it's fine for the crew to say Olu, but if you're writing his family or someone from the same ethnic group, they would likely default to Wande.

For my own person headcanon, I honestly feel like it'd be sweet if Wande as a name was something he felt sentimental about where he wouldn't want just anyone to call him that, but it would be something his family called him, and when he gets closer and more open with Jim, they would also use it. I mean, names are incredibly personal things with meaning. It can also be an act of racism to tell a poc that they're wrong about their name and that they should be using this one instead. Which is why... we go off of what people tell us lmao because there's no reason to think that Oluwande is uncomfortable about the name and there's no reason to think this is a slip up from the writing team.

At this point in time, it's just misinformation that's being spread and that's like?? Irritating?? Like it's annoying that people keep correcting strangers and telling them to stop using the name. It's patronizing and invasive for people to assume that you have to use this name and that they're correcting an error that doesn't exist. It's just odd to to interpret racism and discomfort where it doesn't exist, changing relationships in the show and familiarity into microaggressions. It's honestly flat out disrespectful for people to @ the OFMD crew on Twitter asking for them to change the name. And it has a real life impact where people are then becoming convinced that Olu is an improper name, that people using it are only doing so to appease white people, and that it's offensive to use when there are real life people who use the name 😭

It's just... frustrating lol and I hope this stupid trend dies out eventually because there's legit no backing to it???