Is Erik South Asian / Indian coded?
This post isn’t going to be as extensive as my other FT posts, but I am going to put out thoughts of mine that have been playing in my head for some time now. Along with my observance of ‘Jellal wearing kohl’ and ‘Why aren’t the ladies of FT wearing panties anymore’ , I have another I want to put out today.
I think Erik (Cobra) of OS/CS is South Asian coded.
Specifically Indian.
I will list the evidence and explain my train of thought underneath.
Admittedly though , a lot of my reasons are for visual representations I have seen of him in both manga and official art, so I am not sure how solid my connections are for the HCs but I will say them either way.
Clothing pattern
Let’s start with the first reason why I believe Erik to be SA coded.
This is an image of Erik/Cobra from the official manga during the Nirvana Arc
Sadly the intricate design of many characters' clothes are omitted/reduced when animating, Erik here being no exception. And though I understand why, it’s a shame as so many details get taken out which could help piece some more information on the characters which aren’t told upfront.
In the manga, Erik is introduced with a piece that includes a paisley design (the teardrop shaped pattern) on the inner parts and cuffs of his coat. Why this is important to note is because the paisley design is something that is known to be a widespread clothing print all across Asia, namely South Asia/South-west Asia!
This Kameez (South Asian tunic) of mine has the ‘paisley’ pattern which is on Erik’s coat
Of course it is possible that the pattern on his inner coat/cuff could just be for the sake of fashion with no cultural significance, but taking in mind my next points I think it makes the argument of Erik being SA/Indian coded stronger.
Jewelry
This may come off as a weaker point I admit, but Erik’s use of jewelry also reminds me of SA heritage. His rings and armlet (or what I learned is called an arm-ring).
This opinion is purely subjective. I can admit that, but me coming from SA heritage myself, his use of jewelry resonates with the way I've seen it being used in my own culture; such as the design , what patterns it is being paired with, the use of adornment. It really reminds me of SA fashion and tradition.
But I want to be more objective in my reasoning so I looked up why his use of jewelry in the manga does resonate with SA heritage and found some things.
The armlet/arm-ring that Erik has on his coat in the manga is similar to that used in Indian heritage.
Fair in Indian tradition it’s used as a bridal jewelry (Vanki) for the women, but it was the closest I could find that was similar to what he had for my argument. It might be a reach though and I can accept that.
Now I will go onto my other point as to why I believe Erik is SA/Indian coded.
Salwar in game card
Another clothing observation, but his trouser reminds me of a salwar with a slit at the bottom. The slit is a bit higher than what I am accustomed to but I have seen clothing like this in SA heritage.
It’s not overly common but you can see where the influence comes from-
But let me go onto the main reason I have always thought Erik to have some ties to SA (but specifically India).
Cobra
As everyone knows his name when introduced is Cobra, however what this name also holds significance with, is the fact that India’s national reptile is actually the Cobra too!
King Cobra to be exact!
And on top of that in Hindu mythology, the cobra is a greatly respected and revered figure, literally seen as a deity and I believe that ties in well with Erik’s connection with snakes/cobra.
Erik
And the last point I want to make is that even his name can be found in South Asia too , just in case people want to counter the argument that the HC is improbable due to him having a European name.
As it can be seen the name Erik can be found near everywhere in the world, predominantly in places with European connections but also in Asia too.
And since I am arguing Erik being possibly Indian coded, I will show the statistics for his name there.
1,386 incidents of the name in the country! That is not a small number even if minute compared to the density of the population.
Map of India with distribution of the name Erik. (the darker red parts show a larger population of Eriks)
It’s very possible though Erik’s name could be from another SA country too. Or maybe he’s a case of being biracial with both SA heritage and something else.
But I could see him being fully SA too since despite the Christian / European origin of the name, there’s a lot of POC who give names like that possibly due to following Christianity or just out of preference! (and personally I know this is a trend in South Asian communities)
But I guess we will never know unless Mashima sheds some light on Erik’s background. ^^'
Now with all this evidence presented, you can judge for yourselves if Erik’s design/clothing and connection to cobras is merely a coincidence and i’m reaching or is he possibly a SA/Indian coded character?
Thank you all for taking the time to read this <3
Also big thanks to @jerzaworms for helping me find some of the evidence to help supplement this post and strengthen the argument of this hc!
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absolutely awesome lnco and bts photos that i want to reshare with yall cause yall deserve to enjoy them too
and my commentary too of course cause yall aint never getting rid of that
BEST MEME TO COME OUT OF THIS SERIES SO FAR COME ON YALL WHERE ARE THE MEMES USE THE PIC
closest we’ll ever get to seeing the ot3 bbys cuddling after a case
look at them and tell me they arent one adorable polycule, i DARE u
yasssss queen cheer for us
new fave reaction pic, needs to be a whatsapp sticker
closest thing we’ll ever get to seeing lockwood on vacay
also are those PURPLE SOCKS?!
the boi aint got no sock chill
'never forget to massage ur eyes before u leave for work’
totally canon moment of the bbys hiding from the rain on a job, the fuck u mean this is a bts pic? aint no such thing its CANON
*inTENSE BBY GIRL EXCITEMENT*
how dARE YALL
the face u make when ur told u burnt down a client’s house but u still sealed the source so u technically did ur job right
girl aint got no idea what the fUCK is going on
dick measuring contests bby, dont worry ur pretty head with it
when u hear u now owe 60000000000∞ money
MANIFEST IT
RENEWAL
MANIFEST IT
hi
bye
dont talk to her she angy
load of bullshit bby boi thats what
the siblings are fightinggggg
what the ever hell
WEE WOO WEE WOO WEE WOO WEE WOO HANDS IN THE AIR CHEATEHS PREPARE TO BE FUCKED BY THE LONG DICK OF THE LAW
why
why does cameron look like jim carrie in this photo
alexa activate my ‘charm lucy into never leaving me’ smile
THATS ALL HE IS
A GLORIFIED HOUSEWIFE
and we love him for it
come at me, bitch
i just love how the skull sits over her shoulder in most interviews, is that an intentional thing?
*insert that weird laugh that sounds in like the very 1 second of spice girl’s wannabe here*
george about to commit a crime
AYO WHERE MY BOYS HAVING A SPA DAY FANFICS AT
look at the way he looks at them, if thats not what being in love with a pair of idiots looks like then who the fuck knows what is
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So I've mentioned before that I just watched Sk8 The Infinity.
I also got into the whole mxtx thing a few months prior.
Here is just one observation I made which I can't let go of:
So.
Adam. This bitch. We all know what he's like.
Me and my sister watched Sk8 and there was one thing which continued to come up whilst observing him.
Adam is literally skate version of this bitch (OK sorry Jun Wu I actually like you more than Adam but still. Heck I like Qi Rong more than Adam. But that doesn't change the fact that you're a bitch.)
Both are strangely obsessed with one kid which they definitely should not be obsessed with.
Both are incredibly weird- I mean need I remind you of a particular sword in Jun Wu's possession. No sane person would have that. And Adam, well enough said. He's weird. Period.
Both are so overpowered yet they are defeated by the kid they've been obsessed with who has suddenly become more overpowered than them (obviously with the help of Hua Hua and Reki respectively.)
Both have this askewed view of the world where they always want to come out on top.
Both also see themselves in Xie Lian (in JW's case) and Langa (in Adam's case) and want them to join their askewed world.
Both also have the tired husband who was there from the very start, was there to support them in the beginning and see them grow, but now they just want them to stop what they're doing even if it means they have to fight against them to do it, yet in the end that husband remains by their side no matter what. Yes I'm talking about Tadashi and Mei Nianqing (I.e. Guoshi).
That's not even all of it but I'll leave it as that.
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