#| ic: Ryoko |

[ciderjacks]

Wip

[upathosarts]

could u draw a ryoko please

ryonryon

[nephytale]

Which Archetype on a Pirate Ship are You ?

Your Result: The captain

You are inspiration and desperation all at once. whether you are sailing to find aztec gold, to hunt a mythical sea creature, or to discover a lost sunken city, you are determined to go beyond your limits and make a name for yourself. perhaps during your time on land you were not given all the love you deserved, so you believe you must earn it. you impassion your crew with speeches from the bow and you lead by example, but when you are alone in the stern you wonder, what if all of this is for nothing? what if you fail? what you dread is that at the end of the journey, after you’ve harvested all the gold of the seas, it will not fill the aching void in your soul. what confidence and faith you cannot give yourself, you imbue on your crew. you hope you will not let them down. you don’t realise that your crew follow your colors not because of your treasure trove, but because of your heart of gold.

"Good, the winds are in my favor"

Tagged by: @hunting-songs

Tagging: @astrxthesiai @oc-menagerie (Xia and/or Kyana) @shinuchi-ulti @videcoeur @cc-one-piece-grand-ocs (Kaito) @sarcasticmercy

[sentient-rift]

Have any plans for the upcoming summer vacation, Peni?

"Other than the usual superhero stuff and helping my friends save the Multiverse, I was hoping for an epic Girls Night Out with my besties here."

"I like the sound of that!"

"Hey, hey! You'll join us this time, right Ryoko?"

"Oh... I don't know..."

"Please, Ryoko..."

"Alright, alright. I'll come. Put your puppy dog eyes away, Peni."

("Works every time.")

[kayebuns]

newest chapter made me want to go stand on an ocean wharf staring at the water and listening to the waves crash for 72 hours. anyway, things are great

[missallanea]

"They aren't cute. They're a terrifying criminal who's devastated entire planetary systems. Tell 'em, Ryo-Ohki."

"....mrrrow~!"

[protectivemusesmoving]

@stiiricidium | Continued from here.

Ryoko picks up the currently empty plate, giving a nod before putting a little extra food on it before returning it with a smile, glad the girl had enjoyed the food she had cooked. At the question, she hums while thinking it over. "I think I can handle it. Thank you for asking though, I appreciate it. Just get your fill, and I'll handle the dishes once you're done." Once Mimiko has her plate, she turns to begin getting the containers she would need in order to put up the food to put away in the fridge for leftovers. "And if you ever want a specific food, you're welcome to ask me and I can cook it for you when I have time if you'd like."

[makuta5200]

All together That and this With all our tricks We’re making Christmas time!

[revengesworn]

Ryoko's stern expression softens ever so slightly at her son's words. Make no mistake - she's still mad, but... the fact that he felt the need to let her know he's okay makes her heart ache a little. It's reassuring, but she doesn't know if he's being completely honest - and that's what's actually scariest.

In the end, she just wants him to be safe. But she can't let him get away with getting in fights all the time, either... with hands on her hips, she sighs.

"You got in a fight again, didn't you?" she says. It's not a question. "You're in big trouble later, you hear me?" But for now... with that downcast look in his eyes, she thinks he might need reassurance first.

"Let me get you cleaned up. Come on! I won't hear any complaining."

@prxenuntius ( continued from here! )

[dove-da-birb]

Happy you love it! *sees all the reblogs* Really love it by the looks of it! I wanted it to be super fluffy and full of pining, and I'm happy that you think it's cute!!!

And I left it open, that you could decide what you would do (same for every reader); so kissing him is an option!

Feelings Thawed

Character; Cater Diamond

Content; Fluff, gender-neutral reader, pining, ice skating (to various degrees of success)

Word Count; 650+

Author's Note; This is a present/thank you to my mutual @i-like-forgs. I hope you enjoy this ice skating scene with Cater, and that you get to skate soon!

As a reminder, do not put my work — or others for that matter — into AI as it steals. Link to Masterlist

The brisk wind bit at your nose, and you pulled up your scarf, trying to keep away the offending wind. Around you it was a winter wonderland, all made possible in the temperate conditions thanks to Cater, who was filming you skating around on the frozen pond’s surface.

“You know,” you hollered, making sure that you caught his attention, “you should join me! It’s fun!” You came to a stop by the pond’s edge, where Cater was standing with a large thermos.

Cater just shot you a wink, handing you the thermos. “This is for you though, silly!” 

He was deflecting, you could tell; behind that bright and cheery smile that he always seemed to wear around others, you knew when there was something off with Cater. You accepted the thermos though, and took a sip of the spicy apple cider, still piping hot.

You gave him a look and pulled lightly on his coat sleeve. “Yes, but it’s more fun with others, come on Cater!” You stepped back onto the ice, and slowly skated near him, waiting with an eager smile.

He looked at you, and then back at the ice, but he stayed standing in the light snow, shooting you that smile. “But I can’t take photos if I’m out there with you!” He scratched at the back of his neck.

Liar. “Cater,” you looped back around and stepped onto the bank, balancing on your skates, “do you not know how to skate?”

Cater’s smile turned sheepish, and his ‘ahahaha, looks like my gig is up’ chuckle made its appearance. He had been found out. “Never got the chance to,” he hid his face slightly in his scarf, either to keep the cold at bay or to hide that his cheeks were turning pink. “So I’d just slow ya down.”

You took his hand into yours, “Well, I could teach you if you wanted. Just a warning though, you’re gonna fall on your butt a lot, might get a few bruises.”

Cater looked down at your entwined hands. Mittens and gloves separated your skin from touching one another, but Cater could swear that he could feel the sensation nonetheless through the layers of fabric.

“You would? Even if I pull you down with me?” 

The last question wasn’t just about the ice skating; Cater didn’t want to force you to do anything that you didn’t want to… and that included being his friend. His heart seemed to whisper stronger emotions though, but he didn’t want to ruin what the two of you had.

You walked him out to the ice, and the both of you swiftly fell down on the ice, hard. But you just laughed and got right back up again, “Well, we did just fall. There isn’t anything scary about falling down; yes it stings and might leave a gnarly bruise, but in order to move forward we have to fall and get back up. So yes, is what I guess I’m saying.”

Cater looked up at you, the sun illuminating you and the snow glittered behind you. You were holding your hand out again, waiting for him. And Cater took your hand. 

It took him a while to get the hang of it, and he fell down quite a bit, but every time he fell down you helped him back up. And by the time that the sun was setting in the west, the both of you were cold, and both were going to wake up tomorrow with some bruises. It was fun though, which is all that mattered… but that whisper in Cater’s heart was by now singing, and maybe he would listen to it, but for now, he was happy with how the way things were, and he wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world, especially with how much you had smiled today. Your smile and knowing that you had fun with him was enough.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Tags; @eynnwwyjth, @ithseem, @krenenbaker, @silvers-numberonefan, @twistwonderlanddevotee, @xxoomiii

[musememoirs]

Tag Dump

[tofixtheshadows]

Id love to hear ur interpretation and analysis on falin! She’s one of my favorite characters and and I was wondering what ur thoughts on her are

Man, I struggle to think of anything I could say about Falin that others have not already said. But she's one of my favorite things about Dungeon Meshi too.

So much of the story revolves around Falin, and she's not even there. Tumblr loves to talk about haunting the narrative, but Falin might be one of the best examples of it ever put to page. She's dead. She's alive. She's dead. She's alive. She's alive but she's missing, she's alive but she isn't herself. She's dead but she might wake. She's dead but she's frozen in ice. She's alive but she's sleepwalking. They chase her ghost and they chase her body all through the story.

I think what Kui does with her is fascinating. Not just as character with a personality we can analyze, but as an object in a narrative- that's why I say she's one of my favorite things about the story, because I also mean it in a mechanical sense. As a writer, Kui's really good at misdirection- that is, setting you up to believe or expect something about a character or a plot, and then turning that on its head. It's most apparent with Kabru, but it works really well with Falin too.

Because the precious little sister is a very well known character archetype, right? So is the gentle healer. The heart of the party. The white mage girl. The damsel in distress. The martyr.

And this isn't a Laura Palmer situation, where we find out that beneath her wholesome surface there's something dark and troubled. No, Falin truly is a kind and gentle person. That isn't where the misdirection leads (and that, too, I think, is another misdirection- it's not "Plot twist, she isn't as nice as you thought!", which would almost be too easy).

The misdirection here is more about structure than about character (but also, yeah- a little about character).

What I mean is, with these archetypes firmly in mind, along with a whole other host of fantasy genre expectations, I think anyone who goes into Dungeon Meshi un-spoiled probably expects Falin's rescue to be an endgame event; at least on a subconscious level, where you're not really thinking about it but in the back of your head you're already stretching out the story to place Falin firmly in the distance. Fire breathing dragon at the bottom of the dungeon is perfect final boss material, right? Slay the dragon. Rescue the princess.

And Falin is the perfect prize in the traditional old school fantasy that the concept of the titular dungeon is a send-up to. Blonde (white), soft-spoken, sweet-natured, beloved by everyone. An angelic figure.

Maybe that's why Ryoko Kui gave her white wings.

It is sort of jarring when chapter 23 rolls around and it's already time to fight the red dragon. And it takes a few chapters, but they succeed. And then Falin's impossible resurrection succeeds. But by then you guess that this is not going to be the story you expected it to be.

I want to point out that Falin spends a lot of time getting, well, babied, post-resurrection. Marcille washes her in the bath, despite Falin stating that she's capable of washing herself. Marcille schools her about her mana use despite Falin demonstrating that she is not hurting for mana, and brushes aside Falin's explanations. Both Marcille and Laios refuse to actually tell her what happened. Laios scruffs up her hair like she's a little kid and scolds her for something she can't remember doing. Marcille explicitly calls her a little kid when Falin tries to talk about how much she's grown.

Of course I'm not saying that Laios was wrong to act like a big brother, or that Marcille shouldn't be worried about taking care of her shell-shocked friend in the bath. But the framing of it clearly shows a Falin who is struggling to be heard.

If you'd like to address the big gay elephant in the room while we're here, I want to state for the record that- whether you read her as gay or not -I think Marcille is completely oblivious during this. Because Falin is her little friend from school. Her best friend, yes, but also the young tallman student she, in her infinite elven wisdom, had to mentor and look after. Marcille has not yet accepted that Falin is an adult now, nor has she accepted that she, herself, is only barely past teenagerhood developmentally and is not nearly as mature as she believes. Of course she'd scrub Falin in the bath and fuss over her.

Falin, meanwhile, seems more than aware of her own adult body and the inappropriate way Marcille is treating it.

The mana-sharing scene is, I think, Falin trying to get a little of her own back. How do you like it, Marcille?

And she tries again in bed.

Maybe she's wondering if their relationship will change now that they're grown ups. If Marcille prefers her as a little girl, or at least as a woman who lets herself be guided like one; if Marcille will react badly if Falin keeps trying to assert herself. She also might be subtly trying to signal to Marcille that bed sharing, like bathing, carries a different weight to it when you do it as adults rather than as children.

With all this in mind, the decision to turn Falin from the precious prize they rescued into to the vicious dragon they have to slay, hits a lot harder.

Falin with a powerful, monstrous, destructive body. Falin, who couldn't even stand to cause people pain from using healing spells, slaughtering half a dozen people in brutal ways. And that's not her, she's being mind-controlled, but as an object in the story she has completely flipped. From damsel to threat.

And I love that she carries a little bit of that with her when she's resurrected again.

Because she's no longer the girl who's going to let herself be stifled by her brother's and her best friend's co-dependency, no matter how much she loves them. She's different now: stronger, eyes open, forging her own path instead of following in their wake. Falin is still going to come back to them again, but this time it won't be because they chased her. It'll be because they let her go.

[room-surprise]

New Ryoko Kui Interview from Anime Expo 2024 (Summary/Commentary)

This interview is unintentionally hilarious. It's much shorter than the other interview, and every question was met with either a polite non-answer or a flat-out "No." Kui embodied this elf lady she drew for the entire thing:

Kui really wasn't having any of it. Every time the interviewer tried to ask a leading question about things the fandom thinks are extremely central to the manga, Kui basically answered no/I don't care/You're overthinking it/I wasn't suggesting what you're assuming I was suggesting.

My summary/commentary of the interview under the cut.

Please keep in mind these are my opinions, based on my knowledge of Japanese social conventions, and how I personally read the interview!

Q: Dungeon Meshi is about the power of eating in groups/family, do you have any food memories or recipes you can share with us that are important to you? A: No. (In other interviews Kui has stated that she doesn't like eating, other people seeing her eat, or watching others eat, and that she used to eat her meals in the toilet to avoid being around other people during meals. This is a common thing people who are shy, bullied, or socially avoidant do in Japan.)

Q: What meal in DM do you want to eat? A: None of them, I'm a picky eater.

Q: You obviously love TTRPGs. A: Uh...Not really... I've never played one, I just read about them for research purposes. (In other interviews Kui has stated she's never played a TTRPG because she doesn't have friends she can do it with. The fact that so many people in the world do have that many friends they are that close to was very shocking to her. She was amazed that people would actually role-play in front of other people. This, plus other things Kui has said in the past ("I'm not good at human relationships"), suggests that she's not very socially active.)

Q: Your fantasy ecosystem is so complex, how did you build it? A: I though about it, and then I used my imagination. (This is kind of an ice-cold burn. Like a writer saying "I wrote one word, and then another, and then I kept adding words until the book was done.")

Q: Do you love monsters as much as Laios? A: No. But I do like them a lot, and I've loved them since I was a kid.

Q: How'd you design Laios' ultimate monster? A: I used the childhood memory of wanting to design the coolest, strongest monster.

Q: A lot of fans think Laios is autistic, especially because of his fight with Toshiro. A: I wrote him to be a normal guy that anyone can relate to. I don't think he's special or unusual. Both he and Toshiro have problems and they both need to work on communicating better. (Kui saying she didn't write Laios as autistic doesn't mean you should shit on other fans who read him as autistic. All it means is that he's not canonically autistic, and you can't say "Laios being autistic is the foundation of the entire manga." Kui saying that she didn't intentionally write Laios as autistic doesn't invalidate the interpretation, it just means saying Laios is autistic is an interpretation, and not a concrete fact. Also worth noting that labeling Laios as autistic might come across as very rude for a Japanese person. Kui may not want to call Laios autistic due to social stigma.)

Q: Tell us about the Senshi fanservice. A: Calling it "fanservice" feels wrong to me. He's just an older man who doesn't care if people see his underwear, something I've experienced in real life. It might make some people uncomfortable but Senshi's just living his life, I thought that was funny. Laios is a bit uncomfortable seeing people in their underwear. (Holy shit. This answer is the equivalent of Kui firing a shotgun directly in the interviewer's face and screaming "it's not fucking fanservice." She's being VERY direct for a Japanese person, and implying that she doesn't like people calling the Senshi pantyshots fanservice, that she sees them as comedy.)

Q: But Senshi's handsome isn't he? A: All dwarves are handsome :) (This is a complete non-answer, and after that previous answer, it's very likely Kui is trying to brush the interviewer off. This is most likely Kui saying "Please stop this line of questioning/I don't want to talk about this anymore.")

Q: What inspired Marcille's dungeon lord dress? Her friends all make fun of her but I thought it looked nice. A: There's no specific reference. I made it up to look like her mom's dress and added a childish head covering. The dress is totally normal, her friends making fun of Marcille is a joke. They're just not used to seeing Marcille in that kind of clothing, so it seems weird to them. They don't actually think the dress is that strange or uncool.

Q: Did you expect the strong fan reaction to Marcille and Falin's relationship? A: I don't think about how the fans will react when I'm writing. (Another complete non-answer. She doesn't want to discuss the topic of Farcille and avoids it like a landmine. Honestly, good for her. She wants fans to feel free to think what they want and have their own interpretations.)

Q: Will you write a spin-off about Izutsumi getting revenge on the person who made her? A: Maybe, maybe not. Probably not. I think Izutsumi's pretty happy as she is and just wants to live her life.

In short, Kui's reaction to a lot of the fandom opinion questions was:

EDIT: Also, looking at the headline/page summary for the article, it's uh...insanely misleading.

"We sat down with Kui-sensei at Anime Expo 2024 to discuss the community of food, why Senshi is so sexy, seeing neurodivergence in Laios, and more." Kui literally said no in response to all of those questions, this summary of their own interview implies that there was anything discussed, and not just Kui telling them "no" to each question.

[nephytale]

💕 both Ryoko and Ronin

Love calculator | Let's start with Ryoko!

Ryoko & Layla

Your result: 82%

Dr. Love thinks that a relationship between Ryoko and Layla has a very good chance of being successful, but this doesn't mean that you don't have to work on the relationship. Remember that every relationship needs spending time together, talking with each other etc.

"Mhm... so maybe with this result I managed to make you more curious?"

[nephytale]

An amused smile spread across the woman's face slowly but honestly. That woman was cunning, there was something beyond the innocent appearance of an adventuring bard that she gave off. She was cautious and she seemed to know how to deal with people. Interesting. What was she hiding under that innocent and relaxed appearance? Ryoko leaned forward gently, her hands casually clasped behind her back, a sign of courtesy and humility, and a silent thank you, though the theatricality in the other's words was evident.

"Oh my…" She laughed softly, shaking her head before taking the teacup in her hands. "You too? Let's say I have a good friend with very well-developed hearing… so I know what you're talking about" Only when she saw the other woman drink the tea did she take a small sip, smiling softly at the pleasant taste. "Well, you indulged my ears a while ago with your sweet flute, I don't see why I shouldn't tell you a little about my book" Ryoko sat on the ground, her legs delicately crossed to the side, as she supported her weight on her hand resting on the grass. “Well, it's not a written book, so I'm sorry, but I'm not a writer… It is one… rather, two books of illustrations" The red-haired paused, drinking a little more of the tea.

"I like to have adventures, and I enjoy tell them in illustrations, so I can show places and experiences, and share them with others. But the second book, it is more of a symbol of protest… there are those who would call it… rebellion…" the word came sweetly from her lips, a mischievous smile appeared on her face "I like to draw things that people don't like or don't want to see, as the saying would say, the elephant in the room?. Things that we see every day and with which we live, but that are only the tip of the iceberg." She hummed a soft, innocent melody. "And you, mysterious young woman? What do you do with your life, besides sweetening the ears of the people who pass by you?" She winked, amused.

{ @hunting-songs }

Placing her flute beside her in the warm grass, Senritsu preformed herself a dramatic little bow that would fit more a medieval jester than the adventuerer she was: "How was that saying- fate favours the bold? And who am I to not welcome beautifully bold art inspired by my song? Not only fate dolcissimo favours the bold, I have to say." the young womans voice was nothing but a purr and she winked up at the other in all good humor. The grass beneath accompanied her movements like a choir when Senritsu got up, nimbly grabbed two cups hanging from her rucksack and walked over to the fireplace to fill the cups with tea. The scent of the tea was bitter and spicey- a stark contrast to the sweet scent of petrichor hanging on the glade. "The name is 'someone who is payed to have very good ears so don´t scold yourself over beeing heard' and the tea is Assam tea. It is a pleasure to meet you, Ryoko. And it is even more of a pleasure to have a tea ith such a beautiful artist and apparent writer." too overly theatralic to be serious Senritsu offered the other woman one of the teacups, lifting a imaginary hat off her head and even dropping a little courtsey. She lasted only a few second before the young woman started to laugh; a sound as sweet as a song. Working within the mafia before, Senritsu was used to interact with mistrustful person so she took her own cup of tea and smiling took a little sip from it to show that it was good to drink. "So indulge my ears- what is your book about?" [ @nephytale ]

[protectivemusesmoving]

“ hey, look at me. i’m slowing you down, we both know it. it’s okay. i’ll hide and wait for back-up; you get yourself out of here. “ - kaiyo to ryoko

"No, absolutely not!" Ryoko shook her head, still attempting to catch her breath from them having to run from the enemies they were facing. This wasn't supposed to happen! There was supposed to be back-up here already, where was everyone?! "I'm not leaving you!"

"And what if they don't let me come back?! If they deem it unsafe?! Either both of us get out of here, or neither. Between the two of us, your ability is more suited for a fight. I'm the less likely one to make it out on my own, but what I can do is restrain them for a bit to give you time. Just enough along the way to be able to stay ahead of me."