#askolof

In "Love Poison", we learn that Javaan apparently has some carpentry skills, despite having no history in construction work and never owning a house.

It's possible that he just developed these skills on his own by taking odd jobs throughout his life, but I like to think that he actually spent some time apprenticing under Olof. Nothing formal, just some lessons here and there while they shared a few drinks. Shooting the shit as they rebuild the Hollow together after the fire (because god knows that was an all-hands-on-deck ordeal...)

I don't think Javaan and Olof have interacted much--if at all--in the series. But I imagine they're actually pretty good bros behind the scenes. They're the only two adult male centaurs in the village, so I think they'd have a lot to talk about despite hailing from very different cultures.

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Questions/Comments?

Lore Masterpost

He's a really nice dude! But Olof's niceness is his biggest strength as well as his biggest weakness. His fear of conflict makes it hard for him to stand up for himself. This is why Frederick walks all over him, and how he came to be such a spoiled brat in the first place.

I imagine Olof has always been slightly on on the timid side. But after his village was raided, that timid nature got much worse. He became fearful of everyone and everything around him, so he just tries to be as "nice" as possible to avoid pissing anyone off.

We saw what Haldora looks like in Fairy Tale Rejects, but she hasn't appeared in World of Looming Gaia yet, so we don't know much about her personality.

She is talked about briefly by a few characters, and we learn a few interesting things through this dialogue. Apparently she was a skilled bone carver, and she could make everything from toys to weapons. She was missing a finger, which she likely lost in a carving accident.

When Kaldenfel was raided, Haldora told Olof to take their son and run away, meanwhile she stayed behind to fight the raiders and slow them down. From this we can assume she was a very brave person who cared deeply for her family.

I imagine Haldora's personality was opposite of Olof's in many ways, and maybe that's what attracted them to eachother. He was quiet and timid, she was loud and bold.

I do have plans to reveal Haldora's fate later on in the series. Eventually we'll learn what became of her!

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Questions/Comments?

That's an interesting ship! I never would have thought of that, but ...yeah, I could kind of see it working. They have similar good-natured, generous personalities and they both put the needs of others before their own. They're active, helpful members of their communities, and both are well liked by their village. Not to mention Frederick already looks up to Philippa as a mentor and mother-figure.

I think the main problem would be Olof's devotion to his wife, Halldora. He doesn't know if she's alive or dead, and until he knows her fate, he's acting as if his marriage to her is still valid.

Another problem might be the age gap between them. Olof is younger than he seems, I think 30-ish at this point in the series? Philippa is about 15 years older. 45 might not be old by human standards, but that's more like 55 in centaur-years because they don't live as long as humans.

He's in the summer of his life and she's in the autumn of hers. This may not seem like a big deal at first, but it does affect the types of activities they like to do and the interests they have. Olof might be a little too "active" for Philippa's liking, and I'm not sure she could keep up with him and his hobbies. She's at the “chill out and veg” stage of her life.

I'm not sure I would personally ship them, but I do see the appeal! Once again, just my two cents. Everyone is entitled to their own ships and opinions!

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Questions/Comments?

Anon this is probably the most savage ask I’ve ever gotten but you are ABSOLUTELY right and you should say it lmao

Yes, I could totally see this happening to Frederick if they lived in a slightly cushier society. Even in a primitive place like Drifter’s Hollow, he was already spiraling down this road pretty quickly. If he continued on that path, I could easily see him mooching off his dad forever or ending up in prison.

(Slight spoilers here but he does go through some major character development later in the series, and he isn’t quite so bad after that point)

I guess I should at least try to defend Frederick a little here, so I’ll say this...If you’ve only read a handful of the stories, you’re probably like “oh my god, what an irredeemable little shit! Why is he like this???” but if you read them all in order, you can kinda see what led to him being so awful, and it’s not really his fault. Olof is 100% responsible for creating this monster.

So, Frederick’s village was raided by Kelvingyard slavers when he was just a baby. His mother was captured in the battle, and Olof was forced to leave her behind to save his son, fleeing with him to Drifter’s Hollow. Olof was already a sensitive guy, but this event really traumatized him and wrecked his nerves. He just lost everyone he’d ever known and loved overnight, and all he had left was his baby son Frederick.

Worse yet, he was starting to lose Frederick too, who was still reliant on his mother’s milk and starving to death before his father’s eyes. Olof would try and try to feed him, but Frederick just wasn’t ready for that kind of food and kept getting thinner. Luckily Ginger came to town around that time and had just given birth to her own son, so she was able to breastfeed Frederick too and save his life.

This experience further traumatized Olof, who became obsessive about feeding his son. He always made sure he cleared his plate, feeding him way too much, way too often. Even after his son became obese, all Olof saw when he looked at him was a malnourished, dying baby. Olof couldn’t see his son as a man, so he never really treated him like one. He just spoiled him and never wanted him to suffer any kind of hardship whatsoever. He wanted to protect Frederick from all the pain in the world, but later on, he finally realizes he’s actually doing him no favors and decides to get tougher on him like he should have in the first place. Thus, Frederick’s course to neckbeardism was disrupted, and now I think he’s on a better path.