since my poll was met with resounding enthusiasm here are my very miscellaneous darui (and kind of kumogakure) headcanons.
shoutout to @cadeewadee who helped me develop these xoxo
darui is so blunt and kind of monotone in part because he's autistic. this is critical to almost any character i like. he actually has a really great sense of humor but everyone always thinks hes being serious
i think because kumo was considered more militaristic than other villages, regular kumo shinobi are trained more strictly (a little more like konoha's anbu training) especially as shinobi become more powerful or closer to the raikage. this is why the top shinobi are given letters as titles, similar to the headcanon anbu animal codenames, as kind of an anti-individualism thing. you're a tool to the nation first etc
relatedly i think darui outwardly rejected being titled as "D" (despite his partner being C) and insisted everyone just call him darui because he wasn't comfortable being lowkey dehumanized. similarly as raikage he's really trying to convince everyone not to call him lord raikage or "A"
he kind of just has issues with identity in general. the reverse of root where instead of having no feelings or sense of self, he has a very strong sense of who he is, that is kind of trampled on by his position as D and as raikage. he's apologetic about it but he can't stand being treated like a Title before a person, and he believes strongly in being honest about that
kumogakure is significantly colder than konoha because it's further north + higher elevation. everyone over there is walking around with open shirts and short sleeves and its like 40°f. despite this they have strange weather patterns that bring in storms all year round (& even more in summer)
darui is an orphan and has no idea where he got his storm kekkei genkai (also if not for the kekkei genkai, his primary/innate chakra nature would be water)
because of this he was mentored by the third raikage from a very young age; A saw his potential and sort of adopted him (as he did with killer B a decade or so earlier) so darui viewed him as a father figure
by extension he is deeply loyal to the fourth raikage. they are not as close but darui would die for him. after all the fourth is darui's father figure's real son :')
darui is very honest but also very private, and apologetic about his feelings. no shinobi is raised to be very emotional but i think darui is particularly closed off because of his proximity to the raikage + the responsibilities that come with that
as such he is depressed as hell but he kinda doesn't know. he's going "well maybe i'm just tired haha i'll feel better tomorrow" for years. this is part of why he's so bored all the time
ocd also. literally the word he's said most in his lifetime is "sorry" i don't make the rules
he did not (and still does not) want to be raikage and, like kakashi, only accepted the position because the fourth raikage retired and he had no choice. he does not enjoy it or the extreme pressure but he's doing his best
he's probably bisexual but he's the raikage so he doesn't really care abt that rn. i think he's flirted with a few people prior to being elected but he's just not a super huge romantic. he and C are (friendly) exes though
actually i think he's kinda lonely in general. he considers A B and C his most trusted and valued comrades and he gets along with omoi and karui but he's not talking about his problems or feelings with them yknow. this is where i push my tenzo/darui ship cough cough that's getting its own post soon
so yea that's my thoughts. i know he has like 3 seconds of screentime i don't care i'm so fond of him. i love a guy who displays symptoms of mental illness and we never find out why or what happened. seriously though how are you an adult and your most frequently used word is "sorry" that's so sad. someone tell him its ok
gracieabrams
ellievsbear
yousharknotpass
