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chaithetics · 7 months ago

Text

Late Night Mends

Pairing: Kid (Monkey Man) x reader

Word count: 2.1K

Warning: 18+ MDNI, mentions of anxiety, injuries, not a lot of spice, some fluff, not proof/beta read lol, does not contain spoilers for Monkey Man.

Note: Absolutely am in love with Dev Patel, he adores the world and fandom love! Also special mention to my friend @mittos who helped with this prompt/story ideas. Go and see Monkey Man if you haven't already! And if you have go and see it again! Also jaan is a Hindi term of endearment. Also can we take a moment for Dev Patel's side profile?! Comments, and reblogs are always appreciated as well! I hope you enjoy!

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It was late, extremely late. It had been a slow night but it was quickly becoming the latest it had ever been without his tired, bloody presence. It made you uncomfortable how late it was becoming, he never took this long to show up after a big match. You bit your nails as you couldn’t help but think about the possibility of where he was and scarily, what condition he was in.

It was a risky field that Kid was in, especially when he was the losing dog for the overeager, sweaty crowd not to bet on. He took the punches and rarely complained about it, you’d only ever been to one of his fights before and never again. It was too painful to watch, you’d bitten each of your fingernails right down to the beds, and you swore that it gave you a few grey hairs. If you had any, each of them could be traced back to being his fault, you were sure. You loved him, truly adored him, but he certainly knew how to stress you out.

You’re sitting down waiting for him to arrive. You don’t even realise that you’ve put your hand up to your face to bite your nails but now you know that you must’ve as you’ve been subconsciously biting them as you look out the window waiting, lost in your thoughts. You could think and use that as a distraction but no, the more you think or gaze off, the more you think about him, worry about him and overanalyse every little thing to be analysed, including what would need a magnifying glass to do so. You sigh and rub your face tiredly and also as another poor attempt at a distraction to take your mind away from him.

It was a ridiculous thought, nothing could distract you from him, Kid lived rent-free in your mind 24/7, no matter what you did or wanted. And now was his prime time for filling your head.

You rub your face some more and then look up, you can hear the door quietly open and the sound of gentle footsteps start to make their way to you. You look up as you try to glimpse the start of his lean shadow to confirm that he’s really, really, finally here. The light switch turns on as you see his arm stretch out and then he’s standing there in your doorway.

You look up at him as he stands, he just looks at you for a moment. His gorgeous doe-eyes are wide, he looks exhausted and defeated but there’s a small smile on his face as his eyes meet yours. Ever since you’d known Kid, he had always been a man of few words, which seemed to balance out just how expressive his handsome face was. You liked that though, that his eyes truly were the window to his soul. You did like his voice though as well, you’d have no problem with him using it more. Sometimes he would talk though, about his sweet mother, the stories of Hanuman that his mother had told him and that had vividly stuck with and inspired him still.

You quickly take him in, there’s sweat in his hair, a cut in his cheek, and his knuckles are bloody as always. You bite your lip as you look at him, chewing over your words so you don’t come across as either a scolding lover or treating him like a patient.

“Your hands…” You finally say as he steps closer to you and you can see that he made some attempt to cover them with a bit of cloth but the blood is all over his right hand.

“It’s fine.” He says in a soft whisper, his voice is melodic as always but a little hoarse and deep. He looks down at his hand he tries not to flinch when you take his hand and it’s further proof that no, it really isn’t fine. You sigh and move his hand to check his fingers, it causes discomfort but based on the movement you know it’s not broken at least. It was genuinely impressive that he was still alive, still functioning and not just with everything he’d been through as a young boy, but with the amount of beatings he’d taken at the club. That he’d somehow avoided major damage to his body, that his handsome looks were still intact, and also his teeth. That was a big surprise you had to admit.

“Sit down.” You look at him with a look of concern, one that he doesn’t like. “Come on, I’ll clean it up.” You say softly. He runs his right hand, his good hand through his damp but perfect locks and he sighs, sitting down, waiting for you to fix his wounds and to feel your tender touch.

You’d had the first aid kit ready to go, sitting on the floor waiting for his entrance. You always used it, he always needed it. Your medical background certainly helped, some nights you’d crack a joke that that was the only reason why he was with you. The first time you made that joke his eyes widened at first, and he immediately stuttered to try and reassure her that that wasn’t the case. He didn’t realise that it was a joke. You’d kissed him to reassure him and he kissed you back so sweetly. Now when you made the joke he’d just look at you and give you a small, precious chuckle. You just want to make him smile, make him laugh, bring him joy, and make him feel safe. He deserved that at the very least, especially with his gigantic hug.

His hand clearly had taken the worst of it, you hold it gently in yours, and his hand twitches for a moment. He’s spent most of his life being devoid of affection. He craved a gentle touch, to feel seen and safe in the company of another. He’d started to find that with you, in the way you looked at him, how you carefully held his hand in arms when cleaning an injury and wrapping it up. You somehow had never noticed it, he figured it was because of how attentive you were to his injuries, to him, and his lips quirked up into a secret smile you’d miss over the irony of you not noticing this because of how attentive you were being to him.

“You were later than usual.” You say as you clean his bruised and bloodied knuckles.

“I know.” He whispers as he looks up at you, he’s tired but there’s a small smile on his lips as he knows the scolding is incoming, just what degree is it going to be from you tonight, is the question.

“I was worried, my fingernails are almost as bloody as your knuckles because of how much I was biting them.” You say as you try to clean his hand gently, noting how his hand occasionally twitches in response.

“Would’ve been quite a match.” He whispers before he looks at your hands, noticing your nervously bitten nails. His cheeks heat up as he can’t help but feel a little bit of guilt about causing you to worry so, he’s spent so much of his life without someone who cares about him like this. You sigh and roll your eyes at his response.

“You’re going to be the cause of every single grey hair I have in this lifetime.” You say as you treat the knuckle wounds, making sure you’re gentle. “All I do is worry, you spend every night getting beaten, thrown off tables. It’s going to be too much one day. Something will go wrong. Then what?” Kid can’t help but look up at you, it’s a conversation that’s happened more than a few times. “What if it’s your spine or something? I won’t be able to fix that-” “It’s okay. It’s fine. I’m okay, jaan.” He says as he looks up at you, his big brown eyes are widened and he’s looking at you with his sad puppy dog eyes, he feels bad for making you worry so much.

You sigh, biting your lip as you try to stop yourself from saying anything else. He’s too sweet and so you nod and finish cleaning and bandaging everything. After a moment, you cup his cheek as you look at his warm eyes and you go to get him some water to drink. He watches you and continues to as he drinks the water. You two have become quite good at playing a game of watching each other, almost like it’s a sport to observe the other.

He looks at you, tilting his head which tousles the gorgeous locks he has a little. You sigh and run a hand through his soft brown curls, damp with sweat but somehow miraculously not blood. His hair has always been absolutely perfect. You feel bad for essentially venting your anxieties at him right as he’s come from a long night of work at the club.

“I only scold because I care.” You say but you’re not sure if it’s him or yourself that you’re trying to convince more as you say the words, but it’s true technically. “It’s a form of doting really.” You say as you look at him as he adjusts in his seated position, looking up at you with his wide, doe-eyed orbs. Even if it was a form of doting, you could never stay mad at him for long when having to look into those gorgeous eyes. They’d melt away any troubles and you’re sure if awards were given out for best brown eyes, he’d win. You hated that he did this, that this was how he had to get by. That he had to take these awful, unhealthy beatings but you love him anyway.

He was freshly bandaged now, he moved his hand up and Kid started to slowly caress your cheek, he traced some invisible line so gently with the pads of his fingertips as he looked at you. His doe eyes were filled with adoration and peacefulness as he concentrated on your beauty. You let him, it was soothing and sweet and you had no reason to even consider stopping this. You were his and he was yours.

Your eyes glance down at his fingers, and then you put a hand up to cup his cheek and look into the most beautiful eyes you could ever imagine seeing. After he feels your touch his eyes quickly close and he inhales. He isn’t sure if he’ll ever get used to the feeling of your fingers on his face, of how your hair feels against his skin, or your breath, but he knows for sure, that he’ll at least never tire of it.

His fingers glide down do your mouth and he traces your lips as he looks at them. He tilts his head and before he can even move, you��ve moved your head to press your lips together. There’s something about how gentle his hands are with you, how they feel even after everything that has happened to him and that he does. How it just takes a glance at you for him to melt into a puddle.

You put your hand back into his hair and run it through his curls as he kisses you back and the kiss deepens almost immediately. He cups your cheek gently as your lips move together in sync and you can’t help but start to tug his locks a little and his hand moves to your waist to hold you close against him. You continue to play and tug his hair as his lips move down your chin and jaw and he kisses your neck. You gasp out and tug on his hair a bit more as you feel his breath tickle your throat between his passionate kisses. You struggle to not let out a giggle as he does this and you feel your cheeks heating up as you tilt your head back so your neck is as exposed as possible for him while he kisses your throat and makes his way to your collarbone.

He always gets like this, and so quickly. He just needs a little touch, the reassurance of you being there and he feels an all-consuming need to make up for the years of loneliness, the lack of affection, the lack of physical contact outside of a fight he was guaranteed to lose. He has you in his arms and it’s something right for once, if it was a game this would be a victory, some kind of peace.

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spadesolace · 22 days ago

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status quo

iskolar! karina x atenean! reader

all it took was a car ride from her uni to her home that karina started pouring everything on to you - all because of a status quo

words: 3.1k

Karina believes she’s going insane.

within the 3 years of being friends with you has she decided to hurt herself in everything that involves you. any lingering eye contact, hands brushing past each other, or being left alone within the same vicinity. not a moment has she thought of;

i need to get away from you.

three years ago, Karina would have done everything in her power to stay close to the new face in her life. 16 years old with a dream - that involves a girl from the STEM section with such willpower and dedication that makes her think she isn’t reaching as high as that girl.

Karina met you in the most unpredictable way possible - last minute paskuhan date with her friend group and your group together.

to you, it was a dream come true to meet the girl in the HUMSS section who has preoccupied your mind for the past month. you’re lucky enough that your friend is close with her group to help you grow some pairs and talk to Karina.

it started with force proximity, talking the night away and singing along to the songs that for once, you don't feel like it’s draining your system. sure, she’s a bit talkative but you don’t mind. it gives you a glimpse of her mind as you’re fascinated to hear such stories and theories. she’s a bright girl who went through a lot and you couldn’t believe that all of that information was dumped into one night alone. who would have thought despite her tough exterior she’s lowkey a loser who gushes at the smallest things.

a quick exchange of socials lead to a few study dates, late night dinners, staying over at your place, and a bit of tension here and there. she’d complain about the amount of papers she’s doing while you sat there with multiple computations for calculus and statistics, a rare chance where she’d ask for your help with the statistics of the paper she’s reading - the same way you’d ask her to check if your paper is making any sense at all.

things were slow but it was clear as daylight you both liked each other - problem was that you’re a bit dense with your feelings. you swear that Karina doesn’t like you that way with the way she spends her time with Minjeong that you simply bite the inside of your cheek to not say anything at all.

“antanga mo, sabi nang ikaw crush ni Rina.” Minjeong rolled her eyes as she held onto your shoulders and shook you. watching the way you were sulking at your place and avoiding replying to Karina for the past two days.

“what if hindi ha! you’re making me delulu!” you held her by the wrists to stop the shaking, then leaned back on your chair as you looked back up at Minjeong.

“tangina mo! be delulu for once - might be worth it.”

you rolled your eyes as Minjeong crossed her arm and handed your phone with Karina’s contact open. looking at the girl then back at the phone as you called Karina, flipping Minjeong off who had a smug smile.

it took about four rings for her to pick up, her sweet voice that sounded a bit deeper than usual. your heartbeat slowly picks up its pace as you realise what this was about.

“hello?”

“Rina, hi!”

silence. Minjeong was pacing around your room as she urged you to say something - to continue what you had finally started. with a deep breath, eyes closed, and your hand fidgeting; she had broken the silence.

“are you mad at me?” you opened your eyes and abruptly stood up as you repeatedly told her ‘no’. hand running through your hair as you stood there, a bit panicked by the question.

“gosh, Rina. no, i’m not mad at you. i just-“ deep breaths, Minjeong was gesturing you to copy her. a slow deep breath then exhales as you finally sit down on your chair. hand still in your hair as you closed your eyes.

“i had some personal stuff to deal with.” you weren’t sure if Karina heard Minjeong smack her forehead as she muttered something under her breath as she decided to close the divider of your bedroom to the living room.

“oh, are you feeling better now?”

“... a bit.” you were hesitant to admit anything or initiate when it came to karina. but you knew that you needed to tell her the truth someday. ”can we talk?”

it only took a few minutes for you and Karina to settle in a place to meet up, since she’s staying at the other side of UST. you decided on picking her up and going to a nearby cafe to get coffee.

in your hand was a bag of your orders, walking at a moderate pace with a space in between you two that everytime karina moves closer, you back away. there’s a bit of awkward silence, you initiated this but you can’t say anything towards the girl you’ve been avoiding for weeks.

everytime you open your mouth, it immediately closes shut as if you’re speechless. you don’t know how to start or what to say.

“you know, minjeong told me.” that’s one way of breaking the ice.

“ha? ano?” the way you turned to look at her almost gave you whiplash. blinking as you processed what karina said. what do you mean minjeong told you?

she began telling you how it all happened. starting off from how she noticed you were slowly growing distant and avoiding her as if she carried some sort of disease. until minjeong confronted you and made you open up - admitting your feelings for the top student in the HUMSS strand and how you wish not to interfere with whatever “relationship” she has with minjeong.

the walk to her place as she told you the story made you two slowly get closer once again. karina had linked your arms together as she opens the door to her place, about to head in when she noticed you standing still with your cheeks puffed out and a pout on your lips.

“why are you pouting?” karina gently pulled you inside, closing the door as your head hung low to avoid looking directly at her.

“... its nothing.”

“nothing my ass, you’re pouting.”

karina couldn’t hear your confession, a quiet mutter, with your gaze going anywhere and everywhere just not directly at her. you felt soft hands cup your cheek, a soft giggle, then a pinch.

“spill it, y/n.” she lets go, gently caressing the cheek she pinched as she looked at you - that smile could instantly kill you, almost giving you a heart attack with how pretty she is.

“gusto kita - i like you, Karina.” it's easy, simple, and straight to the point that karina didn’t waste a second to kiss you on the cheek and mutter those same exact words onto your ear like a secret.

you’d think it's a happy ending, you and karina would start to date but she had asked you to wait. it wasn’t because karina wasn’t ready for a relationship - priorities had to be set straight unlike you two. graduating high school was there followed by getting into their respective dream university. karina wants to go to UP while following your parents who were alumni of the famous blue eagles, you had no choice but to try and pass in Ateneo.

after senior high, karina pursued her major in communication research - wishing to take it as a pre-law course. while you followed your parents wishes in taking a science related course as pre-med - you’re questioning why you picked biology in the first place.

it was set straight between you two that it would be a waiting game, one that you agreed upon without any regrets. you didn’t mind, it was evidently clear that your priorities were different; karina wanted to focus on academics and graduate on time while you had a perfect balance between academic and karina as your top priorities. she has her reasons, one of which was to provide for her family as soon as possible. while this isn’t a struggle nor a priority for you, there is also the understanding that not everyone is as blessed as you are.

still karina needed the time to focus on her classes, despite both sides of the family being well aware that you’re courting her. does it bother you that she sets you aside? no, you understand that karina has priorities set straight and even if you’re not on the top - you know she still likes you.

its a give and take relationship, you both need each other for varying reasons. emotional support? you both can provide it. need a reminder to take a rest when overwhelmed? again, you both provide. even if karina doesn’t have you as her top priority, she still cares about you enough to take your feelings into consideration when she needs to make a decision.

2 years of courting her, almost turning three now that you’re in your second year of college. things can get a bit more hectic, especially how karina is taking more classes to finish early, slowly losing time for you. similarly, you understand where she’s coming from, you update her here and there - she does the same thing but not as frequently as you.

“mahal, sorry, may deadline na naman. resched?” you looked at the message again, sighing as you stood in front of her place. taking a quick picture of the coffee and dinner you had bought for you two.

“mind if i join you in studying tonight?” it didn’t take long for karina to come rushing down to greet you, arms around your neck as she basically threw herself at you. using one arm around her waist as she hid her head on the crook of your neck. a quiet mutter of ‘i missed you’ coming from the iskolar and the atenean being exchanged.

after your study date with karina, you dropped karina off the morning after as you had class later in the afternoon, giving you enough time to freshen up. your family was on the high class side, it didn't take long for your mother to greet you herself with her arms crossed and a scowl on her face. it was another earful early in the morning as she walked towards you.

“were you at that girl’s place again?” that girl being karina, only recently your mom suddenly disliked her. at first, your parents didn’t really mind. believing it wouldn’t last this long but here you are, in your second year of college and still waiting for karina. that was how you thought of it - you weren’t too sure when your parents started to compare karina or pressuring you into dating someone that had a much higher social status than karina’s family.

“why can’t you date a nice boy taking business or a-“

“nepo baby?”

your mom hated that term, but that was what she wanted. a nice boy with a high social status, someone with power, just everything being handed to him. you never wanted that, hated it because you grew up working hard to achieve the things you want that money can’t buy. one of which is karina’s feelings for you, waiting game or not - you would give everything for her.

“out of all the people in your class, why her? she’s just a middle class girl who pl-“

“ma, stop. i don’t want to have this conversation.” you left your mother, not before you noticed a guy in the living room holding a bouquet. a quick glance at your mother as the guy tried to approach you, immediately stopping him as you walked away.

your parents have tried a bunch of tactics; blind dates, setting you up with one of their friends, and sabotaging your dates with karina. despite your mother following you up the stairs and to your room, you can’t take it anymore. how they belittle karina, always trying to set you up, it doesn’t help there’s always the pressure of finishing on top of your classes.

you had enough.

the next time you saw karina during her very few free days, you planned to take her out on a date. rewarding her for her hard work in her classes and getting high grades.

karina sat in the passenger seat as you fixed your stuff in the back, getting a few items ready for your quick little trip to the mall. her hands fidgeting the matching bracelet you got for her birthday, observing you through the rear-view mirror, which you caught sight of. that soft smile, similar to when you were in 11th grade - the very same one but you’re losing your teenage features. face much more defined as you lose those baby fat, styled your hair that fits you, and dressed much more casually and comfortably.

still she can’t help but fidget, there’s a lump in her throat that she can’t swallow; was she really going to tell you everything that has been going on for the past few months? she wasn’t even sure if this would change your perspective of her, especially how it involves your parents. your mom, specifically.

“rina? earth to karina?” she snapped out of her thoughts as she noticed your hand waving in front of her. quickly flashing a smile but you’ve known her long enough to pick up on her habits, especially whenever she’s deep in thought.

“something wrong?” she shook her head, muttering a ‘its nothing’, tilting your head to the side as you moved a bit closer, taking a closer look of her features.

“nothing my ass, rina. what’s running in that pretty mind of yours?” karina could never lie, or keep a secret for so long but this was a big thing, one that could jeopardise your relationship with your parents (that she wasn’t aware is already ruined).

you weren’t going to force her into telling you, so you just took her hand as you finally drove off. not even five minutes in, karina squeezed your hand two times - a sign that she’s ready to talk. reciprocating the action, she slowly turned towards you then to the road.

“i think we should see other people.” you have never almost crashed with karina as your passenger but that coming out of her mouth almost made you press the brakes in the middle of edsa road. shaking the feeling off as you look for the nearest cafe to park and discuss this not while you’re driving.

“no.”“no? y/n, what do you mean no? this is not up for discu-” karina has never seen you cry, a few tears here and there but not this badly. bloodshot, snot on your nose, it's ugly crying and not the cute type.

although it was funny how you tried to not look at karina with your back facing her when she could see it through the reflection of the car window on how badly you’re crying. hearing you sniffle as well was a dead giveaway.

“could you tell me why…” still holding back the tears that are endlessly streaming down your face, and messily wiping your nose with your handkerchief - there were a lot of questions running in your mind.

“i love you…” karina tried to cup your cheek, your gaze avoiding her eyes as she’s trying to hold back her own tears. “... but i don’t think i’m the best fit for what your parents are looking for.”

“what?” what does she mean by your parents? what did it all mean when she said those three words that you’ve been waiting to hear for who knows when?

“you deserve someone of high class, one that could provide for you - not you providing for me–” one way to shut karina up was always to kiss her, and this time was not an exemption. your lips on top of her soft ones that always taste like strawberries was all it took for karina to stop and slowly kiss you back.

“no, i don’t. i want you - only you so please.” it felt like you were slipping away from her grasp, like water just passing through the gaps of her fingers that she desperately tries to catch and save. “please… i don’t want to lose you… just tell me why.”

karina nodded, taking your hands with her own as she told you everything. starting with your mother’s threats, trying to pay her thousands of pesos to make her leave you alone. even fabricated photos of you going on dates with some guy but she always knew those were fake. you were always with her, even after family events or business events from your parents - home has always been karina for the past two years.

it didn’t end there, your mother had always favored your other friends, one’s that you’ve long left behind because they had always used you for their own benefits. karina had mentioned how one of them messaged her and sent pictures of you sleeping in your room - again it was an old picture because your hair in those never matched with your current one.

she spilled it all, how it started a couple of months ago - the comparisons, the comments, and the threats. she never accepted any of those until it overwhelmed her. it was happening around the same time she was swamped with deadlines from classes and orgwork that she slowly tried to push you away. taking in more work to lessen your time together all because she knew deep inside that your mother was right.

you wiped away your tears, after karina had told you the entire story, the drama and issue with your very own mother as you pulled her in for a hug. you didn’t know this was happening or what your own mother was doing to the girl you love oh so deeply.

“jimin… i don’t care what my parents say-” you rarely called her by her first name, she doesn’t like it but when you say her name in a soft whisper, everything else seems to fade away. ”my heart belongs to you and i’m not gonna give up that easily”

that was all karina needed to hear, she was so close to giving you up for some guy that your parents would set you up with but hearing you say that. it felt like sweet relief knowing that you’ll fight for her against your parents wishes.

“i love you, i don’t care about the status quo or what my parents want - it’s my life. i make my own decisions and each one involves you.”

karina had decided earlier that day to hurt herself, to let you go and set you free from dating a low class (as your mother had called her) and finding someone better. she thought she was going crazy into thinking that she needed to get away from you. when all she truly needed was for you to reassure her from all the mess that has been thrown her way.

“stay.”

“i will.”

#big 4 au #big4 #iskolar!idol #iskolar!karina #atenean!reader #karina aespa #karina #karina x reader #karina imagines #aespa karina #aespa x reader

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room-surprise · 4 months ago

Note

what part of SA does kabru seem like he's from? i thought maybe nepal or India but idk

(To clarify for readers I think by SA they mean "South Asia." Also this post is an excerpt/remix of the information in my essay about the real world linguistic and cultural references that exist in Dungeon Meshi. You can read Kabru's section of that essay here. You can also read a tumblr version of Kabru's section here.) Kabru is the name of a mountain on the border between Nepal and India, so I agree with you, and I think he's from somewhere similar to both of those places! I don't believe any location in Dungeon Meshi is an exact copy of a place in the real world (Except Wa being Japan) so there's probably some other cultural elements mixed in there too.

I talk about this in detail in the Kabru section of my essay, in the chapter on Miscellaneous tall-men. I'll give an abridged version here, with some pictures, since this is tumblr, and I love nothing more than talking about Kabru lmao

Utaya (ウタヤ) is the name of the village that Kabru lived in until his mother’s death. It’s located in the southeastern part of the Western Continent, in an area that seems to be made up of arid mountains and cliffs, based on images in the manga, anime, and world guide.

(Utaya circled in red. As you can see it's around a mountain chain.)

Obviously the terrain information is anime-only, as Kui's map doesn't include this information... HOWEVER, Kui does give us POPULATION maps.

This is the combined population map my spouse made in 2023 to help us understand where the different races live. How does this help us?

In the real world, geographic barriers like rivers and mountains are usually what create the boundaries between different cultural groups. The person who made the anime map obviously knows this (or Kui told them) and they placed mountains and rivers based on where there are divisions between the races on Kui's map.

There's an ethnic enclave of gnomes and dwarves in the bottom east corner of the Western continent. There is most likely a serious mountain range between that population and the rest of the continent, since the World Guide says the Western Continent is dominated by elves, not dwarves or gnomes.

So, there probably ARE mountains around Utaya, in the manga, even though Kui hasn't explicitly told us so. So it's probably a region like the Himalayas, like Nepal, since those are some of the tallest mountains on earth.

These red cliffs Kabru is standing around in the first anime opening are likely meant to represent Utaya, since there is no place on the island or in the dungeon that looks like this. It's where Kabru comes from and what happened there is both vitally important to his character, and the Dungeon Meshi story as a whole, so it makes sense to foreshadow its existance in the OP.

Utaya (pronounced “uthaaya”) could be Hindi (उठाया) or Urdu (اٹھایا), but it’s also the name of a Yakut/Sakha village in Siberia (Утайа). So the village's name is either Hindi or Urdu (both Indian languages which are mutually intelligible) or Turkic. I think it's most likely the former.

The appearance of Utaya, especially the red cliffs that the anime has shown us, looks a lot like a remote part of Nepal called the Mustang District.

Mustang (मुस्ताङ) District straddles the Himalayas and extends northward onto the Tibetan Plateau. The district is one of the remotest areas in Nepal and is second in terms of the sparsity of population.

Geographically, Mustang is a cold, high-altitude steppe that is a part of the Tibetan highlands.

Upper Mustang (the northern part of the district) was once part of the Kingdom of Lo-Manthang, isolated from the rest of the world by some of the tallest peaks on earth. From the 15th to the 17th century, its strategic location granted the Kingdom of Lo-Manthang control over trade between the Himalayas and India.

We know that dungeons only grow large and dangerous if a lot of humans visit them, and dungeons that don’t have a lot of traffic tend to wither away. If Utaya was a trade hub that saw a lot of people and goods moving through it (lots of desire) like Lo-Manthang, it would make sense for a man-made dungeon to grow out of control there.

Being major trade hubs might even be something that Utaya and Merini have in common, since Merini was once the major port of entry to the Eastern Continent from the West. That may be part of why both of them grew such catastrophically dangerous dungeons.

Now obviously these houses are drawn REALLY roughly and without a lot of detail... But Kui generally doesn't seem to enjoy drawing houses so I'm not surprised. Nepal has both steepled and flat-roofed houses though, and villages that are built on the side of a steep incline aren't uncommon.

Additional reasoning:

In the Daydream Hour book, there is a comic about various characters presenting sweets from their home regions. Kabru attempts to share a dessert from Utaya that looks like white oblong balls on a plate.

These are probably an Indian sweet called rasgulla (literally "syrup filled ball"). Rasgulla are a dessert popular in the eastern part of South Asia (an area that includes the Himalayas), made from ball-shaped dumplings of chhena dough, cooked in light sugar syrup. Rasgulla are also popular in Nepal, where they are called rasbari.

The Nepal sky caves have a passing resemblance to parts of the Ancient cities that Kui shows us towards the end of the manga, where there are homes that look like they are built directly into cliff walls. Since Utaya had a man-made dungeon beneath it, there was probably an Ancient city located there... Just like these ancient ruins in Nepal.

The Ancient cities even more closely resemble Phuktal Monastery, a Buddhist monastery located in the Lungnak Valley in the Himalayan region of Ladakh, in Northern India. Phuktal is in a region very similar to Upper Mustang, on the border between North India and Tibet.

And finally, I think there's story significance to Kabru coming from a place like Nepal.

The way Kui describes dungeons and the villages that grow up around them are similar to real world gold-rush or boom towns. The ability for people to make a lot of money in a hurry, with very little initial investment, attracts poor and desperate people who use the dungeon as a way to lift themselves out of poverty. This transforms the local areas from whatever their normal lifestyle was into a service economy that is completely dependent on the unstable dungeon.

In the real world, a huge amount of Nepal’s economy depends on tourism in the Himalayan mountain range. Nepal is a very poor country, and working as a porter at Mt. Everest, a Nepali can make nearly double the nation's average wage.

The Himalayas are an extremely popular tourist destination, and the amount of people who want to visit and attempt to climb the mountains far outpaces the local ability to support it. This makes me think of the dungeon of Utaya, and the dungeon of Merini, and how people have overcrowded it in their desire to conquer and exploit it for economic gain and glory.

Dungeons as an unsustainable way for locals to make a living, that leads to the destruction of their homes when the dungeon inevitably collapses, is a major plot point in Dungeon Meshi, so I think the parallel is likely intentional. Characters often talk about someone “conquering” the dungeon, and “conquer” is also the terminology commonly used for climbing a mountain.

This phrasing obviously has a hostile, imperialist subtext in the real world, since it’s most commonly used by outsiders talking about proving their strength by climbing a mountain in some exotic, foreign place. I think it has the same subtext in Dungeon Meshi. People want to assert themselves by proving they are stronger than the dungeon.

#dungeon meshi #delicious in dungeon #kabru #kabru of utaya #talking mushroom #analysis #The Essay

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starryalpacasstuff · 28 days ago

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Queer Indian Media: A Compilation

A couple of days ago, @impala124 sent @lurkingshan an ask about the lack of discussion about Queer Indian Media in fandom spaces. I wrote about it here, @neuroticbookworm here, and @waitmyturtles here (both of them have excellent points, I highly recommend you read their posts!). It's become quite apparent that people are willing to watch and engage in discourse about queer Indian media, it's just that the lack of popularity and accessibility makes it harder for people to start. So, I've decided to make a list tracking all of the queer Indian media I know of, and hopefully also any meta/discourse about it, which is an idea I've had floating in my head for months now.

This list is by no means comprehensive, so if you have recs, send them my way! Text me on DM, send an ask, tag me in your posts, whatever. And though it's not possible for me to watch everything on the list, I will be slowly going through as many of these as I can and writing about them, as well as hopefully finding more stuff and easier to access versions for the ones that are harder to access right now. This post is going to be a slow work in progress, but I'm hoping to update it regularly. So, if you'd like me to keep you updated, let me know through the tags/replies and I will tag you in future posts!

I've tagged the people who've recommended certain shows alongside each show. Everything on here is available online. The hyperlinked titles lead you to the media itself, meaning that it's available for free online with subtitles. Other details will be mentioned separately.

Disclaimer: The media I have watched/read have recommendation ratings (which will not always reflect my enjoyment of something, rather are based on how much I'd recommend it). While I did lightly screen everything on here, the criteria was 'has a trailer or otherwise showing queerness to be a central theme in the story' and 'is available online', so take that into account if you decide to pick something up, and definitely watch trailers and/or skim the wikipedia pages beforehand.

Movies

Fire | English | @neuroticbookworm

Recommendation: 8.75/10 A 1996 movie surrounding a lesbian couple packed with commentary on religion, class, purity culture and more. Quick Pitch + Historical Context

Kapoor & Sons | Hindi | @neuroticbookworm

Available on Netflix, Prime, and paid on Youtube and Apple TV

Kaathal-The Core | Malayalam | @neuroticbookworm

Officially on Prime, also available grey without subtitles

Super Deluxe | Tamil | @neuroticbookworm

Officially on a paid streaming service called aha, grey on youtube

Dear Dad | Hindi | @neuroticbookworm

Geeli Puchi (Ajeeb Dastaans) | Hindi | @blorbingqls @neuroticbookworm

Available on Netflix

Cobalt Blue @blorbingqls

Officially on Netflix, also available grey without subtitles

Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga | Hindi | @fallsouthwinter @usertoxicyaoi @neuroticbookworm

Available officially on Netflix, so watch there if you can, but can also be found grey in two parts without subtitles

Chitrangada: The Crowning Wish | Bengali | @silverquillsideas @neuroticbookworm

I believe it's available on prime, but you might need to do some digging. Also available grey on youtube without subtitles (the movie is in part Bengali, part English)

Shubh Mangal Zyada Savdhan | Hindi | @silverquillsideas @twig-tea @neuroticbookworm

Officially on Amazon, grey on youtube without subtitles

Maja Ma | Hindi | @flyingrosebeetle @silverquillsideas

Available on Amazon Prime

Badhaai Do | Hindi

Officially on Netflix, available grey without subtitles

Loev | Hindi

Available on youtube with Spanish (I think?) subtitles

Margarita With A Straw | Hindi

I believe this is a cut version, it is officially on Netflix which is likely the uncut version

Recommendation: 9/10

A self-discovery story about an Indian woman named Laila with cerebral palsy with great rep and beautiful execution.

Meta by @wen-kexing-apologist

Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui | Hindi | anon

Available grey without subtitles, officially on Netflix

Amar Prem Ki Prem Kahani | Hindi | @flowerbeasblog @aneechan

Officially on Jio Cinema, also available grey without subtitles

Time Out | Hindi

Available on Netflix

My Brother…Nikhil | Hindi

My Son Is Gay | Tamil

Hindi dub available on youtube without subtitles

Shows

Romil and Jugal | Hindi | @anixknowsnothin

You do need a vpn if you're outside India to watch it with the above link, it's also grey on youtube without subtitles

Recommendation: 8.5/10 India's modern gay remake of Romeo and Juliet, five years before Bad Buddy Random thoughts

The Married Woman | Hindi | @a-not-knowing-bisexual-wizard

Dev DD Season 2 | Hindi

Legitimately no clue whether this and the prev are grey or official

Made in Heaven | Hindi | @flyingrosebeetle @non-beingnary @neuroticbookworm

Available on Prime

All About Section 377, Still About Section 377 | Hindi

The Story Tales S2 | Gujrati

Insomnia | Hindi

It's a streaming service I've never heard of before, not unlike Gaga, this is one of the darker shows on the list so please do check out the trailer beforehand

Amra 2GayTher | Bengali

Available on two streaming services here and here, both paid

Mini gls from @twig-tea (og post here)

Firsts S3 | @tinyreadinglifelight

Neverland

Maaya 2

Last two eps do not have subtitles but the story is followable

The ‘Other’ Love Story @/silverquillsideas

Just Another Love Story

Books

Memory of Light

Recommendation: 5/10 A historical book set during the colonial era, the lesbian romance is mostly a subplot that loses it's way towards the end. It's kind of a drag, but the history component is somewhat interesting.

Don't Let Him Know

Recommendation Rating: 7.5/10 with serious trigger warnings including rape. It's a brutally honest book designed to make the reader uncomfortable, so proceed with caution. I personally liked it quite a lot, but that's majorly because of how authentic the book felt.

Falling Into Place

Recommendation Rating: 8/10 A modern lesbian romance that follows similar beats to the typical thai bl/gl. A little underdeveloped in some places, but overall quite good.

My Magical Palace

Cobalt Blue

The Paths Of Marriage

Marriage Of A Thousand Lies

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literaryvein-reblogs · 6 days ago

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A List of "Beautiful" Hindi Words

for your next poem/story

Asha - hope or desire

Astitva - existence, life

Bhadfod - the breaking up of earthen pots; disclosure of a secret

Chhanv - shade

Dhairya - patience

Ivari - the hot wind of summer

Jhankar - chime

Jijivisha - a strong eternal desire to live and continue living

Manavta - humanity

Nirbhay - fearlessness

Pavitra - pure; holy

Pyaar - love

Ratnkar - the ocean, a mine of jewels

Rimjhim - pitter-patter of a light drizzle

Saanjh - evening

Samvedna - empathy

Shanti - peace

Smaran - remembrance

Sneh - affection

Tapasya - austerity

Thumakna - to walk with dancing steps, to make the ankle-bells tinkle

Utsah - enthusiasm

Varmada - rejoicing in the rains

Vatsalya - motherly love

Vinamrata - humility

Sources: 1 2 3 4 ⚜ More: Word Lists

If any of these words make their way into your next poem/story, please tag me, or send me a link. I would love to read them!

#requested #hindi #word list #writing inspiration #writeblr #spilled ink #dark academia #writing reference #langblr #linguistics #language #literature #creative writing #light academia #writers on tumblr #poets on tumblr #writing prompt #poetry #writing resources

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indiasuprenews · 1 year ago

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कुरुक्षेत्र में जज के पिता को जान से मारने की धमकी देने का मामला सामने आया है। धोखाधड़ी के दर्ज मामले में बयान न देने को लेकर यह धमकी दी गई है। आरोपी ने पहले शिकायतकर्ता पर अदालत में बयान न देने का दबाव बनाया। फिर बाद में जान से मारने की धमकी दी। आरोपी ने पाकिस्तानी नंबर से व्हाट्सएप कॉल की थी

शिकायत में शहरवासी व्यक्ति ने बताया कि इस साल मई में उनके साथ 34 लाख रुपये की धोखाधड़ी हुई थी। इस मामले में बिहार पुलिस ने संजीत कुमार निवासी मोतिहारी जिला पूर्वी चंपारण बिहार को गिरफ्तार किया था, जबकि इस मामले की जांच एसटीएफ अंबाला कर रही है। मामले में जमानत को लेकर आरोपी ने 12 अक्तूबर को सेशन कोर्ट में याचिका दायर की थी |

#India Super News Hindi Read Latest news in Hindi of India #State #Top Stories #Naukri #Politics #Business #Bollywood #Health #Lifestyle #Aaj Ka Rashifal #Cricket #Education #Sports at India Super News Hindi

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aashiqeddiediaz · 7 months ago

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teri meri, meri teri prem kahani mushkil do lafzon mein yeh bayaan na ho paye yours and my love story is a difficult one it can't be told in two verses

(for @bieddiediaz hehehe ily)

[ID: two gifs of Evan Buckley and Eddie Diaz, in black and white with a gif overlaid in red and black. The text overlying the gifs is lyrics from Teri Meri from the movie Bodyguard. There is the original Hindi lyric in Latin letters, with the English translation written similarly. One word within the lyric is emphasized in a split-design font, separated to allow smaller, white text in the middle.

GIF 1: Eddie and Buck standing, staring at each other after Eddie gets shot in 4.13. Overlaid is a red and black gif of a wide shot of Eddie climbing the ladder to an unconscious Buck, dangling from the ladder in 6.10. The Hindi text reads, "Ek duje se hue juda" and the English subtitle reads, "Why were we torn away from one another."

GIF 3: Eddie pausing at the door of Buck's loft, turning around to look at him in 7.05, blended with Buck looking up when he realizes Eddie's still there. This is overlaid with a red and black of gif of them hugging. The Hindi text reads, "Jab ek duje ke liye bane," and the English subtitle reads, "When we were made for one another."

/end ID]

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fatehbaz · 10 months ago

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what does your username mean?

Cat ghost.

As child. Would go to library, to look at books about creatures, with a pen and notepad. Or sit before a television watching "nature" documentary stuff, with a pen and notepad. Was fixated on habitats. The context. Did not like to isolate an individual creature from the wider ecological community. This led to interest in geography, distribution range maps. Was aware that, in popular perception, some creatures were strongly associated with a particular place. "Lion is an African animal. Tiger is an Asian animal." Allegedly. And other stereotypes (many of them, I would later come to learn, due to chauvinism, exoticism, Orientalism, colonialism, etc.). Came across a kind of large textbook on wild cats. Saw the historical distribution maps. Only a few centuries ago, tigers were in Anatolia, the Caucasus, near the shores of the Black Sea. Was intrigued. From the middle of the twentieth century onward, the lion and cheetah were so closely associated with Africa, where like over 99% of their range was located. And yet. There remains a small remnant population of nearly-extinct Asiatic lions far away within India''s borders. And there remains a small remnant population of nearly-extinct Asiatic cheetahs within Iran's borders. And all that space, in between, where both cats were now extinct. Only 100 years ago, tiger, lion, leopard, and cheetah all lived generally near each other, still, in eastern Anatolia, near Mesopotamia, etc. And now, only a few dozen wild native cheetah remain on the entire continent of Asia.

"Cheetah". The word for this cat is from South Asia. Through Hindi, from Sanskrit.

"What happened?" I read on. Cheetahs were present within the national borders of what is now India, along with tigers, lions, and leopards. By the 1500s, there was a tradition in South Asia, where some in the Mughal aristocracy enjoyed using cheetahs as companions in sport hunting. The cats would be captured in the wild, and then trained, and then brought along on royal hunts. The cat was the star athlete, goaded into chasing down prey, for the entertainment of the hunting party. There are elaborate paintings, commissioned by Mughal courts and some now displayed in collections of European museums, depicting trained cheetah hunts. It has since been popularly said that Akbar was particularly fond of cheetahs. (Akbar the Great was the "emperor" who is credited often for consolidating Mughal state power across India, solidifying regional power by building administrative systems/structures in India ["forging an empire out of fiefdoms"] that would later eventually be manipulated and overtaken by the British Empire. According to some tellings of the historical narrative.)

Accurate or not, it was said that at any one time, Akbar possessed one thousand cheetahs. A vast royal menagerie. The names of several of the most celebrated cheetahs are still known. In some stories, when he was still young, Akbar was presented with a gift. His very first cheetah: Fatehbaz.

This disturbed me. A child, reading this book, I was upset by the idea of such a vast menagerie of wild animals. Large wild animals, with great need for food, space, enrichment. I was upset by the exploitation of captive wild animals as displays of aristocratic wealth, not just in the Mughal state(s), but also those menageires and exhibitions elsewhere, both earlier and later in time: the royal hunts of Assyrian kings, the Roman arenas, Charlemagne's elephants, European circuses.

So, as a child, I imagined that Fatehbaz resisted the captivity. Like in a daydream, a fantasy. I imagined a royal menagerie breaking free from restraint. I imagined elephants and rhinos and tigers and lions and leopards and jackals and crocodiles. I imagined the beasts attacking an emperor's court. But there are now less than one hundred cheetahs which survive in the wild in Asia. And when Mughal statecraft gave way to European statecraft, when Britain moved into South Asia, the bounty hunting specifically targeted big cats. And, meanwhile, the cats were confronted indirectly with habitat destruction, commodity crop monocultures, industrial-scale resource extraction. So I came to imagine the ghosts of cats. The ghost of a cheetah like Fatehbaz on the Indus plain. The ghost of a jaguar in the Sonoran desert. The ghost of a lion on the Mediterranean coast. The ghost of a tiger on the Amu Darya shore beyond Bukhara, where even the Aral Sea itself has vanished.

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