#and rin my friend rin

[imsosleepyofyourbull]

I firmly believe that Kabru is autistic but masks so hard that he’s convinced himself and (almost) everyone around him that he’s neurotypical.

That man’s special interest is people and how they work, but he just thinks it’s him Being So Good At Socializing — like he doesn’t spend 95% of his time people watching and adjusting his personality in response to the traits he witnesses and obsessing over the intricacies of human interaction while mapping an ever growing relationship chart in his head. For fun. He even admits it in the manga!

Like, look at him!!!

It’s such a shame that — because he’s the narrative foil to Laios and his interest is generally considered more “socially acceptable” in both their world and our own — more people don’t realize this about him. He’s constantly misinterpreted as a horribly manipulative person who only acts the way he does to use the people around him, when that’s explicitly shown to not be the case at all. Kabru is naturally empathetic and is almost always thinking about other people, regardless of whether or not they’re right there with him or a thousand miles away.

I mean, his most defining motivation is his desire to do everything he can to avoid another tragedy like the one at Utaya. Someone who doesn’t care wouldn’t have a goal like that, and they most certainly wouldn’t go about it the way he does. He’s constantly working to help people who can help everyone else and tries so hard to make sure that anyone who seems like a threat is actually someone he needs to worry about before doing anything about it. His supposed aversion to Laios is only because of the ridiculous trolley problem he’s set up in his own head.

Outside of that, he (rather justifiably) hates monsters but is desperate to understand Laios’ love for them and his apparently most selfish goal in getting close to the guy was literally just to become friends with him.

When he’s interacting with the canaries and they imply that they’re going to take him and all of his friends to the West, his first thought is of Rin and how much she’d hate to be stuck in the place that gave her so many bad memories.

He helps Kuro learn Common when Mickbell is asleep and firmly looks forward to the day that the half-foot and Kuro can communicate properly so that their relationship can get properly started without any miscommunication.

And he understands Mithrun with only a handful of weeks AT BEST interacting with him, getting enraged when the elf seems to give up and immediately trying to help him find a new motivation for life.

I’m excited just thinking about the day that Kabru starts unmasking more and more around his friends — both new and old — because if being with my current friend group has taught me anything, it’s that hanging out with anyone so unabashedly themselves is bound to make you more comfortable with yourself too. It’s part of the reason why I like Labru so much! There’s something nice about imagining them hanging out in the throne room or laying in the grass outside and talking for hours on end about their special interests. They might not strictly understand what the other finds so fascinating about monsters or people, but they can grasp that shared feeling of love.

They probably influence each other in really good ways too, with Kabru helping Laios figure out what people are thinking even when it doesn’t make sense or Laios helping Kabru understand that not everyone and everything needs to be analyzed a thousand times over. They both get to learn that there are people like them and people who will love them without them ever having to change a thing about themselves. They deserve to know that they’re fine the way they are.

[baylee-doodle]

Nii-san!

[nyaaamato]

orpheus & eurydice

[catboynutsack]

The current trend of drawing Miku as different cultures and every single one being a banger reaffirms the fact that World Is Hers

[n-fblog]

so i heard some ppl like hiorin

[equill]

Reuniting with a distorted past.

Extra:(New personality tested gone wrong)

wanted to play with rin living in the aftermath aus aswell and had these drawings laying around to share so yay

Panel 1: Was buried alive.

Comic 1: Who are you supposed to be?

new friends

Comic 2: Misguided protection.

obito still sensing the warning signs of rin losing her temper. anyways they proceeded to be dragged into the ocean by rin like some sea monster

Comic 3: Finding out (Now what will you do?)

obito is harshly brought back from his delusions because now its not just kushina but rin too who he needs to ripped out the tail beast from

[die-mitri]

Doodles from my sketchbook!! BEACH EPISODE MODE!!

The Kabru thing is based on real life... Sorry IRL friends for acting like a cornered and injured animal whenever you try to look after me. I will not stop ❤️

But yeah Kabru is super uncomfortable when he's doted on. I can imagine him reacting poorly when someone tells him how to take care of himself. He's usually so good at keeping his true feelings inside but I think a couple things would make him break character.

[maepop]

my survivor group is begging me to kill my wife i dont CARE if she got infected by a zombie im not DOING IT

realized i have to post zombie apocalypse AU docdora right now because that would mean i would have started 2023 with docdora and ended 2023 with docdora

🎵

[maochira]

hii Mao! could do Nagi, Ryusei, Bachira and the Itoshi brothers with a reader who is short like less than 1.60 (6'3 sorry i don't understand American measurements) 🥹 (I'm brazilian and kisses from Brazil!) 🥰🥰❤️‍🩹

Don't worry I don't get American measurements either SLHLSHCLS I'm from Germany soo,,, according to google 1,60m = 5"3' ALSO FUNFACT I AM VERY TINY... I'm 1,55m (barely 5"1') Oh and I added Barou because I love writing him sm!!

Characters: Barou, Nagi, Shidou, Bachira, Rin, Sae

Requests open! - masterlist

Tags: gn!reader, reader is tiny (like me fr), this can be seen as platonic or romantic it's your choice

Barou thinks it's funny how small you are, and he likes to tease you about it. But he also thinks it's cute and it gives him some sort of urge to protect you. Whenever you need something you can't reach, he grabs it and puts it in your hand. Well, that's the way it started. By now, he actually lifts you up and lets you grab it by yourself because he thinks it's cuter.

Nagi thinks you being so small is cute. But every now and then he complains about how exhausting it is to lower his head whenever he talks to you. If it bothers him too much, he just lifts you up and makes you stand on the next best surface that can get you to a similar eye level as him.

Shidou NEVER stops pointing out how small you are and he loves to tease you about it, even in unrelated situations. Really, whenever you fail something his instant response is "Maybe you would have done better if you were taller" and you're like "I failed my Maths test HOW IS THIS RELATED TO MY HEIGHT" then Shidou just laughs at you with "Hehe tiny person angry."

Bachira adores how small you are! Similarly to Shidou, he never shuts up about it. He loves to point it out and because to him, all the little traits you have simply because you're small are adorable. The way you stand on the tip of your toes to reach something and so much more - Bachira simply thinks it's adorable.

Rin never talks about it, but he thinks you're so cute. Every so often he fights the urge to pick you up and spin you around, but he feels like it'd be an odd thing for him to do. But one day, he just decides to do it to see your reaction. And seeing you laugh and giggle about it makes him adore you even more, he immediately does it again.

Sae never paid much attention to your height until one time, you were in a store and you couldn't reach for the drink you wanted, so you asked him to grab it for you. Then he said "Huh, I never did that before" and you were confused what he meant and asked about it. His answer was "helping tiny people."

[chodzacaparodia]

Do you know that nothing unites people more than hatred towards the same person?

Imagine this bonding during Shidou's haters group meeting:

"I don't know if I hate you or that insect more."

[splootdoolies]

how do you eat your mik mik? (also i made her sing yaaaayy)

[cenvast]

Rin, Kabru, & Toshiro: On Asian Identity

I have a lot of thoughts about Rin's identity as a second-generation Asian refugee and how it impacts her relationships with other characters, especially Kabru.

I see Rin as being Indonesian specifically. The name "Rinsha" is of Muslim Arabic origin. In real life, Indonesia has one of the largest Muslim populations in the world, so what might seem like a geographically incompatible name works if Rin is the Dungeon Meshi equivalent of Indonesian.

Rin also says that her parents came from an island that isn't Wa, and Indonesia is a series of islands.

In her Adventurer's Bible entry, she's described as having "no real knowledge or attachment to the East" because "she's second-generation." She also clarifies to Mickbell that she was "born here." From this character description and her dialogue, we get the sense that Rin doesn't really identify with being Asian.

As noted in this Rin masterpost, a large part of this is because she was denied her parents' cultural identity by the elves. They likely suppressed any cultural markers she had and denied her information about her heritage. Since she wasn't born in the Eastern Archipelago and her parents died when she was young, she understandably hasn't inherited a lot of cultural knowledge.

Rin seems to have internalized ethnic self-hatred. Her disconnect from the East and her unwillingness to remedy that disconnect suggests that she has shame surrounding her Asian identity.

Again, she doesn't have many opportunities to interact with people from her parents' homeland, and her trauma also impacts her behavior. Remembering her parents is probably painful, considering the horrible way they died, and since they're her main connection to her cultural heritage, it makes sense that she wouldn't broach the topic.

You could also argue that Rin identifies more with her Northern identity than her Eastern identity since she was born and raised in the North for the first eleven years of her life, and as a result, she doesn't feel the need to connect with her parents' culture. But considering her home was presumptively still steeped in her parents' culture and her main association with the North is probably her parents' murders, this seems unlikely.

It's important to note how different her experiences are from the story's other Asian characters', like Toshiro's, for example. Toshiro travels to the Island as an adult of his own volition (technically, his father's). He's completely culturally Eastern. In comparison, Rin's parents fled from the East. Her family had to assimilate into an unfamiliar Northern culture, and later, she was "raised" by western elves, who are coded as colonizers in text. She seems to have internalized the elves' suppression of her culture and the way assimilating to the North required them to discard parts of their heritage. Her lack of interest in her culture seems learned.

Her strong attachment to Kabru further complicates her relationship with her Asian identity. I see Kabru as Indian or Nepalese; his name derives from a mountain on the border between India and Nepal. On top of being the only person who treats her like a human being during her childhood, Kabru is the only other significant Asian person in her life. They share the trauma of their parents having been brutally murdered and being raised imperfectly (much more severely in her case) by elves. While in the elf's care, they're both othered as tallmen— this aspect is strongly emphasized in the text — and in the main story, they're othered as Asian people in its European-inspired setting. Their shared experiences as Asian refugees are the foundation of their close bond.

It's not a stretch to assume that Rin consequently views Kabru as her main connection to being Asian. While they're from very different parts of fantasy Asia, their experiences as Asian refugees still overlap significantly as seen above, and the way she clings to Kabru suggests she wants to connect more with her culture, but for the previously stated reasons, she doesn't prioritize it. Besides, she doesn't have good models for what embracing one's cultural identity as a refugee/immigrant looks like. Just like her, Kabru doesn't seem to have many cultural ties, similarly because of his upbringing with the elves.

Toshiro could completely topple Rin and Kabru's original dynamic. Rin doesn't seem to like Toshiro. Their personalities would probably clash at first, because just like him, she's prone to judgment, out of self-preservation, and she's quiet. One of their canonical interactions is being captured by the orcs together; they don't even speak to each other in this scene.

Kabru and Toshiro become friends by the story's conclusion. Deep down, Rin might feel threatened by this. She's been Kabru's closest Asian friend up until this point. Toshiro, as an Asian person who was born and raised in his culture, might seem like a "better Asian" and thus, Kabru's replacement for her. This would be the worst projection of her buried insecurity over her disconnect from being Asian and how it potentially separates her from other Asian people. Given her personality, I doubt she would express this beyond acting wary around Toshiro.

With time, Rin, Kabru, and Toshiro could resolve her fears and the deeper issues they point to by all becoming friends. Interacting with other Asian people would heal her. She appears unphased by Mickbell's microaggression, implying it isn't an uncommon occurrence; she seems to only hang out with Kabru and their party. Being around other people of color would lessen the amount of othering she experiences and grant her a break from defending her identity.

Beyond the potential for cultural exchange and bonding over being Asian in fantasy Europe, Rin and Toshiro are also very similar in character. They're both anxious, quiet, and caring. If they made a little effort, they'd relate to each other and get along well.

Ideally, Rin would also befriend Hien, Benichidori, and the other girls in Toshiro's party. Kabru and Toshiro have their own issues with their treatment of women, so without positive Asian female friendships, she'd have another issue on her hands. Still, Kabru could be the bridge to a friendship with Toshiro, and Toshiro could be the bridge to friendships with his retainers. And with mutual growth, they could all enjoy each other's friendships.

Rin herself points out the vast cultural differences and language barriers between different parts of the East. The Asian characters of DunMeshi might not always share culture, but because of the story's setting in fantasy Europe, many of them experience being nonwhite in a mostly white locale. A support system of other people of color could allow Rin the space to explore her identity and culture and begin healing from her childhood trauma.

[mobblespsycho100]

i love how kabru is kind of a loser when he's with rin and mickbell. smth abt them calling him out on his bs just makes him look like more of a lame weirdo (i say this with love&affection in my heart) than smooth-talker rizzmaxxing . like hes also a bit pathetic with laios but hanging out with rin and mickbell makes him sopping wet silly kind of an oddball dorky guy

[rinisdrawing]

the coolest kids you’ll ever meet!

(individual shots below!)

[gomiii4545]

a drawing my pookie made for pride month @/hikari275026 on twt

[pixelpastry]

three of them