#god I love Kabru's faces so much

[treesinginghobbit]

Realized I never shared these character studies! These were my first ever sketches of the boysss

(I referenced manga panels for these but there's one anime Laios and he looks slightly weird to me in sketch form lol)

[twt]

[ltlemon]

guys my world has been rocked i just realized. the oc i've been obsessing over and microwaving in my brain is literally like a steven universe fusion of two characters that i have also (recently) obsessed over and microwaved in my brain. what the fuck ya'll.

[awarmbowlofhomemadesoup]

What I love about Dungeon Meshi is that it writes platonic relationships with the same weight romantic stories would normally be written.

The Character that Got Their Heart Broken Too Many Times

Humanity broke Laois' heart. This is taken advantage later on by the Wingled Lion, but I digress.

Laois got bullied in all-boys school to the point that he ran away to become a soldier. Heartbreak #1.

He got harrassed in the training camp to the point that he became a deserter. Heartbreak #2.

The combination of these events were so bad, his lack of basic self-care can be a sign of a depressive state. If Falin hadn't joined him, who knows what would've happened to him.

Laois was so happy when he became friends with Shuro and felt so betrayed when Toshiro said he couldn't stand him. Not exactly a heartbreak #3 but it hurt all the same. They got past it but Laois remembers.

And when Kabru, for once in his life, stopped playing poker and laid down his cards, Laois wasn't going to let his heart be hurt for the fourth time.

The biggest thing that stands out to me in this manner is how Kabru's blurted confession of wanting to be friends with Laois was treated as much as a big revelation as a romantic one. Because the weight of that confession is Kabru's character development.

The Character Whose Sincerity Doesn't Come Easy for Him

This guy grew up being infantilized and not taken seriously by the elves for being a short-lived race. So, he honed diplomacy as sharp as his assassin's blade.

He knows the right things to say and when to say them, making him well-liked by everyone (much to his team's chagrin over their loved ones). And yet his personal cause puts a distance between him and his trusted teammates (including his childhood friend).

To say his true feelings and thoughts would end up with long-lived races dismissing him for being unwise and irrational.

So he keeps his cards to himself and works with subtlety throughout the manga, until things got worse, and he couldn't make Laois stay.

And he was left with nothing but to be sincere.

Right from the start, he said he wanted the Touden siblings to be unmasked. But in the end, he unmasked himself, much to his horror.

Addition edit: Kabru has been keeping his cards close to himself for so long, I don't think he realized what he really feels until he blurted it out. He chased after Laois throughout the dungeon because Laois might defeat the mad sorcerer. But for a guy who wants to understand everyone, he never understands what he feels about Laois and what that feeling means until his brain catches up with his mouth.

After decking Laois for not believing him, Kabru elaborated in his confession. He has developed a platonic crush (plush for short) or desire to be friends with Laois because:

1. Kabru wants to understand how Laois could love the very thing Kabru hates. Hate is just another face of fear. We fear what we don't understand. To understand Laois is to understand monsters. I think Kabru finds it admirable that Laois could admire monsters when everyone just view them as a threat.

2. He wants Laois to care about the same thing he does, which is saving humanity. Laois and co. are willing to side with the demon to protect Marcille from the Canaries. By asking to be Laois friend, Kabru becomes Laois' link to humanity that whatever they would do from there with the demon, please don't forget how it might affect other people outside his friends. And by gods, this is important to Kabru's development because he has never asked for help for his cause nor asked anyone to care because he's too used to the self-serving nature of all races. And yet, he chose to believe in Laois. Because if Laois could go that for his sister and elven friend, what more if he could do the same for what Kabru cares the most?

However, it was only in the end that they were able to talk after things had settled down. And they are so different and so alike at the same time.

Source

In this scene, there are two differing thoughts:

Laois, who experienced social rejection growing up: Do you still mean it?

Kabru, who had to deal with those of higher power: Are you testing me?

But they're still thinking the same thing: Is this real?

Like, all of their motivations have the weight often molded into romantic plots in any other story. A character who got their heart broken too many times and another character whose honesty does not come easy for them. But it's not a romantic story, but a start of a beautiful friendship.

There are more examples out there, but this is what came to my mind. Feel free to add more.

[calxprince]

❀ LOVE, OR THE LACK THEREOF (2)

. . . a kabru x gender neutral reader story

# Chapter 2 : Stupidity is The Key to Happiness. You were Plenty Stupid— Just Not Happy

# genre : multiple parts. breakup angst. reader can't move on for the life of them.

# notes : click here for the masterlist

4370 words

. . . in which god has just currently decided that you're going to be his strongest soldier today and give you his toughest battles, and you can't do shit about it.

I mean, who else wouldn't freak out after finally seeing their ex again? Especially when you only find him and his party as corpses lying on the cold dungeon floor, lined up like meat in the produce section. All stiff and mildly damp.

FUCK, HE’S STILL SO HANDSOME—no, perhaps even more so now? You feel a bead of sweat form as you bite down on the inside of your cheek, staring at Kabru’s unconscious body sprawled on the cold, concrete floor. He was ominously peaceful, with his eyelids closed and his hair messed up as it pushed against the wall. It dragged your heart by its heartstrings, bringing in strange wave of nostalgia.

You recall the messy sheets, his cheek pressed up against your pillows— the curls in his hair handsomely framing his face.

It was as if a prince had just stumbled into your home and fallen into a deep slumber in your dingy bed.

A familiar warmth crept up on your cheeks, followed by a small smile you couldn’t hold back. However, you took a fist straight to the middle of your chest— leaving you winded as you tried to punch away the looming melancholy feeling creeping up.

You decide to look in a different direction and drive your attention away. If you could withstand not seeing him for years, you can surely do it again this time.

Your eyes scan the rest of the party, and you notice an unfamiliar figure among them. Your hands unwittingly clench down on your staff— the natural grooves of the wood digging into your skin, bound to leave a significant indent into the palms of your hands. The sensation rivaling the gruesome battle in your mind, grieving the person you were before finding out. The mere presence of the stranger left a bitter taste in your mouth, turning a switch in your mind as you fell into a dangerous spiral.

It's just like they say, fuck around and find out.

And you have, in fact— fucked around and found out.

It was like a jagged, serrated dagger twisting around in an old wound; like a thousand needles had just poked you like a bad acupuncture therapy attempt. Your mouth felt dry, and each muscle and bone felt like it held up the weight of the heavens and sky itself. You couldn’t move, you couldn’t even run no matter how much you yearned to do so.

You start to consider showing up at the door of the Touden siblings, begging the sister to exorcise the bad spirit that was probably haunting you— cursing you with horrible luck.

You had spent thousands of nights tangled in the sticky spider web of your fears and doubts. About 1826 nights, to be exact (Maybe? You’re not sure). The thoughts of the future had been eagerly gnawing at your sanity, flooding your worrying mind with questions like:

‘Is he thinking of me right now? Does he even think about me anymore?’

‘Is he living a happier life without me?’

‘Has he replaced me already?’

It was that last question.

That stupid question that haunted your mind at least 5 times a day.

You already knew what the answer would probably be. You were completely and utterly convinced that it would be a breeze to handle if you were to find out and that you had moved on. which was the biggest and most delusional lie you had ever told yourself. But you don’t like to dwell on that thought much.

Being stupid was probably one of the keys to happiness, and you were plenty stupid— just not happy.

But God, no amount of dread and nail-biting anxiety could ever prepare you for the actual answer. The painful reality that just slaps you in the face stabs you at least 30 times in each of your vital organs— and completely shatters every bit of your almost non-existent hope.

It’s quite a reach, especially when the girl is literally lying unconscious on the floor unable to even move a finger. But she might as well have killed you at this point just doing absolutely nothing, with the amount of pain she’s putting you through— purely just due to her existence.

It was as if Thor had just thrown his hammer at you, digging into your toes with little to no hope of escape. No amount of desperate tugging could set you free. Who the hell even is Thor? You question, you shrug it off.

‘Ways to Get Back with Kabru—Idea number 25: Run back and work as their mage again if they still have a vacant spot… I better cross that out later.’

Maybe most questions should be left unanswered, you should’ve turned back 15 minutes ago. You should’ve run back up to the surface and continued to live your life in ignorant bliss. The naïve past seemed much kinder than the truth of the future.

There was a hazy, strange sense of satisfaction that hung over your heart. However, the painful drilling sensation in your stomach seemed to drown it out— the rising feeling of dread and regret filling like a thick liquid in your lungs that you can’t cough out.

With deliberate steps, you approach the unknown body, lowering yourself to kneel beside the new individual. She was beautiful, as much as you hated to admit it. You quickly tugged at your hair, pushing it out of the way of your eyes. Maybe to see better, maybe out of pure insecurity.

Your lips press into a thin line. She had slick, luscious black hair— you even start to consider asking her for her hair care routine after (which was stupid of you to think, so you flick that thought to the back of your mind.) Her sleek figure was complimented by her simple medium-length frayed red dress. Her facial structure made you guess that she came from the east, and her lack of other special features— she’s also a tall man.

You pout, squeezing your eyes tight as you feel the tight rope of jealousy tugging at your neck. Maybe, it would’ve been much easier to skim over the existence of your replacement if she hadn’t been so beautiful. Maybe if her face was full of warts, or maybe if she was a toad that you had picked up from the well in your house— the blow would’ve been less impactful.

Scratch that. The frogs that resided in the well were incredibly cute. But would Kabru know that she turned into a frog? You began to backtrack on that thought, fighting against the itch in your hand to start flipping through your grimoire to find a spell to turn people into frogs.

It had instructions on how to use a dog to harvest a singular mandrake, so why the hell wouldn’t it have a spell on turning people into frogs?

But then, you dwelled on the thought of the curse being able to be lifted by a kiss. The image of Kabru kissing a frog, in a complete fairytale-esque love story scene— it was enough for you to abandon the idea again.

He would be the type to do such a thing, even if he hated every minute of it.

He would probably even eat monsters out of pure righteousness and pushover people-pleaser politeness if someone asked him to—at least just a bite.

…

Maybe you should start putting those fairytale books down or donate them to the local village library, it would fix your problem of outrageous delusions.

So instead of planning your path to evil, you began wishing and praying to whatever god is currently listening to you— if there even is any.

‘Please, please, please. God, or… whoever is out there. I’d even accept it if the Mad Mage is the one tuning in. Please erase this girl from existence.’ You begged, but you felt a pang of guilt crash into your heart. You peek with one eye, staring at her peaceful face once again— You squeeze your eyes shut once more and re-clasped your hands together to reset your prayer. If that even works, it probably doesn’t…

‘Actually, disregard that… That was rude. Kind of. She probably doesn’t deserve it… Just please, don’t have any personal relationship with Kabru.’ You mutter under your breath, feeling a bit of the weight come off your shoulders. It was as if you had shooed away the annoying spirit haunting you with bad luck, or at least you had hoped you did.

Your hands pushed against your bent knees, assisting you as you stood back up. Which drives you into yet another dilemma. With the amount of writing and overthinking you had just done, you had completely forgotten that they were all lying dead on the floor.

You sulk by the wall, feeling the rocky surface leaving indents on your forehead. You curse at the wind. You were not God’s strongest soldier; he should not be giving you the toughest battles. You sigh, whittling down your options into 3.

You walk away from this place and run back to the surface. Possibly seek therapy and hit your head just enough times to forget whatever you had just discovered in this dungeon. Quit dungeon exploring to completely cut off all possibilities of ever encountering Kabru and his party ever again. Get a normal job and live your life in ignorant bliss.

2. You continue onwards but be sure to bless their corpses to ensure their safety until they get retrieved by the corpse revival company— or possibly scammed by that other resurrection company. Or maybe even saved by some other random guy somewhere, who knows? Leave strands of your hair around their wrists and spray your signature scent around them; fully aware that Kuro could sniff you out in mere seconds (which was the plan.) It leaves them knowing you were there but gives them the edge that you didn’t bother to help them, even though they know that you’re fully capable of doing so.

3. Be an idiot, who out of goodwill and righteousness— revives the party and allows you to make yourself known as the unfortunate victim and hero who had stumbled across them. This gives room to analyze and dissect the relationship between the new girl and Kabru, and even a chance to converse and interact with your old party. This may urge Kabru to be aware of your existence if he has already forgotten (you hope not). Make him bow down on his knees, head touching the floor as he begs you to join him and his party again.

And of course, you chose to be an idiot.

You had already made so many bad decisions for fate to put you in this position, so why don’t you push it to its limits? Plus, you had already been doing this whole revival business to earn gold by farming corpses of fallen adventurers within the higher levels. You don’t scam them at least.

You need to think this over first. You can’t revive everyone at once, even if you wish you did at this moment. You tuck your chin in between your index finger and thumb, carefully planning out how you can carry this out with a high success rate and a low rate of embarrassing yourself in front of your ex.

You couldn’t possibly revive Kabru first, since you’d have to swallow down the thick tension that forms in the air while he stares at you reviving the rest of his party. It would leave too much room for conversation (if there was any), and too little room for your swift escape. So, he’s reserved for last place for now.

The new girl… You should sandwich her in the middle. It’s best to revive someone you know first, so they don’t end up freaking out at your random appearance. But you can’t squeeze her right before Kabru, it’ll probably spawn some weird first impressions between the two of you. You’ll put someone else in between him and her, so she can just get the gist that you were just trying to help.

Holm should be first. He’s the calmer one of the party and is a lot closer to you than the rest of the party. It would be a bit weird seeing an old friend that suddenly ran out of your life and having them be the first thing you see after waking up… You have to clear that up with him if Kabru hadn’t already told him about what happened between the two of you. He would also probably help you with reviving, which will help you cut down on the time.

Mickbell will be revived right after, giving you a chance to calm him down before proceeding with the girl— who will probably ostracize you on the spot if he suddenly bursts into tears, or just makes a scene. Kuro… will be right after Mickbell, which will help you in the cause of calming him down.

Daya will be the unfortunate shield? Cushioning? Between Kabru and the girl. You were somewhat close to her, so she would probably understand your cause right away. She’s an innocent soul.

‘If he asks… I’ll just say I do it as a form of work.’ You whisper, kneeling towards Holm. You analyze his body, keeping a sharp eye out for any major injuries. You pick up his arm gently, holding it up in the air before letting it go— It falls limp.

‘He’s out cold…’ Your eyebrows furrow, making eager work of brushing off any bit of dust or debris off him. None of them seemed to have any weak soul bonds or missing limbs.

Your hand meets his chest, lying directly on top of his heart as you begin your ritual. You feel your mana coursing through your veins, like a cold shot of flowing water. Your fingertips felt a gentle tingle, like pins pricking them— enough to poke through the skin but not enough to draw blood.

Warmth spread through his body, feeling your heartbeat synch with his as it began to beat at a steady pace. Holm’s body staggers, as blood rushes through— his muscles moving on their own, just from pure muscle memory. As you felt his body heat return to normal healthy temperatures, your fingers eagerly swiped against his forehead. Your index finger is digging and pressing into the skin between his two eyebrows.

He woke up with a start, eyes wide and chest heaving. If he wasn’t already freaked out by his sudden consciousness, he was even more freaked out by your appearance. His jaw drops, gaze wavering as he looks at you as if you had just come back from the dead (even if he was the one that just did.)

You stare back at him, oblivious and aloof of the internal battles he is currently fighting in his mind. His mouth sputters, eager to voice out his mind— however, it lacks the voice, and the proper mind and muscle articulation.

“Are you okay?” you question, your tone drawn out and unsure. Your mind was currently reeling, as you slowly began to be filled with regret. Would he mind if you just ran away right now? You’re hesitant to engage in conversation with him, fully convinced that he is seconds away from lashing out at you.

”Y/N ? ? “ He shouted, his voice echoing around the entirety of the hollow dungeon floor. He slaps a hand over his mouth, coughing as he regains his composure. A feint pink dusted over his cheeks, embarrassed by his sudden outburst. You flinch slightly, squeezing your eyes for a second so you could brace yourself for whatever he was about to say.

Holm backtracks for a moment, leaning in towards you in a state of curiosity.

“Y/N .. ?” He whispered, questioning your existence. His voice filled with disbelief and wonder, secretly pinching himself as he pondered if this was a dream or not.

“It’s me.” You smile, a sense of warm familiarity filling your heart as you stare back at him. A quick rush of joy and excitement drowning out your worries, as you meet up with your old friend. You spread your arms out slightly, and he takes the opportunity to capture you in a tight embrace. It finally brought back that sense of belongingness as you reconnect together as friends, one that you had forgotten the feeling of.

You have grown accustomed to the fast pace of your life, meeting and seeing faces but never finding them again. Your fear of attachment only grew as a sense of loneliness was chained to your foot like a weight of punishment. You pass by thousands of faces, thousands of people who carry their heavy burdens and stories— Yet, you still live life alone.

“I thought I’d never see you again” He sighed, patting your back as he pulled away. You could read him like an open book, he was a simple person. You could feel a sudden rush of relief flow through him, as his worrying mind cleared within seconds. However, your sudden gleeful moment was interrupted when he suddenly punched you straight in the gut.

“Ack— !” He’s not much of a fighter, so it was weak— since he was mostly kidding. But he did go for a sensitive area, so you hunch over in pain.

“You’re such a dummy you know. You left without a word, and I haven’t seen you in five years. Five years! That’s half a decade!” He grumbled, judgmental as always. You rub the area he punched to soothe the pain, as you laugh dryly. However, his expression softens at the sight of you.

“I know… Hasn’t Kabru told you why?” You tilt your head, fixing up your posture. At this point, you’re on a self-sabotage spree. You should’ve probably kept that question unsaid, knowing that you’re just leading yourself into a whole new world of hurt by finding answers to questions that should be left unanswered.

“No… He only showed us your resignation paper, then never spoke of you ever again.” Holm pouted, rubbing down the back of his neck.

He never told them.

He never spoke of you again.

You were seconds away from curling up, falling to the floor, and dying right then and there. You had to hold back every cell in your body from begging Holm to bring out his undine and put you out of your sad, sad misery.

Your expression remained blank; your lips pursed as you tried to keep yourself from spiraling again. You practice a couple of breathing exercises, digging the nails of your fingers into the palm of your hand. It’s possibly not too late to turn back, Holm could probably handle all the resurrecting.

“Right… How did the rest of the party take it?” Your voice is drawn out, deciding to rip off yet another bandage off the wound. If the party didn’t react nicely to the news, you’d probably get chewed out immediately— just to confirm whether or not you should continue with your plan or run away.

“… Not that well. We basically stopped adventuring for a week straight, since Kabru completely locked himself up ever since then. We all kind of freaked out a bit, though— Kabru seemed to have sucked it up and gathered all of us up again to go mage hunting to complete our party. Mickbell was against replacing you and was somewhat insistent on dragging you back. But Kabru stopped him, he wasn’t mad per se— Just scary looking.”

Okay, you need to stop asking questions that could lead back to Kabru— noted.

“Anyways, what happened to you guys?” You changed the topic, gaze averting towards the huge body of water in the middle of the dungeon. You had noticed that their clothes were slightly damp, but you didn’t necessarily question it.

”As far as I remember, we got attacked by a bunch of violent mermen. Which is weird, given that it isn’t common for them to be near the surface of the water… It’s usually just bladefish.” He mumbled, deep in thought as he stared at the eerily now calm waters.

“Right… Would you be okay with helping me revive everyone? You can take..., the new girl and Kuro. I’ll take on Mickbell, Daya, and… Kabru.” You stared at him with pleading eyes, offering to take on the odd number of corpses— Just so you don’t drain him of his mana too fast since he had just recently come back to life.

“Oh… The new girl. Her name is Rin by the way, she’s a bit blunt and standoffish when it comes to new people. So don’t feel too offended when she criticizes you…” Holm smiles sheepishly, though agreeing to take on your offer. You spring up into a stand immediately, offering a hand towards him— which he eagerly accepts.

You both make your way to your respective assigned corpses— Though the speed at which you both were doing it made you feel more and more dread as time passed. Your mind was blurring together the current happenings, not truly processing the moment.

Mickbell wasted no time in shouting, punching your legs as if any form of violence would undo your long period of absence. You didn’t take any significant notes on what he said, as his actions only translated into an irritated cat that was begging for more food.

However, you ran your fingers through his hair— which ultimately silenced his aggressive yammering. You pat his head gently, just like you always would back then. His expression mellowed out, hugging your leg as he cursed your name in the wind. He doesn’t like being treated like a kid, but he lets you just this once.

He lets go of you (reluctantly), after realizing that everyone else was knocked unconscious. He stands off to the side, stretching out his limbs and doing a quick inventory check— just to steer clear out of your way.

Rin had been revived shortly after Mickbell was, which rendered her completely and utterly confused at your foreign appearance. As well as Mickbell’s sudden affectionate behavior and outburst. She stares back at Holm, slightly bewildered at the sight— the look on her face begging him for any sort of explanation.

Holm only explains your presence briefly, mentioning your closeness and familiar bond with the party. He doesn’t bother explaining your relationship with Kabru, saving you from any sort of random rivalry with her. Rin only hums in response, the gears in her mind turning as she analyzes you from afar.

She played with her hair, twirling it around as she stared. Completely oblivious of your brain-shattering nervousness as you realized she was awake.

You felt the need to flex or one-up her. You wanted to show her your sheer amount of power and give her an excellent first impression.

Was it to impress her? Was it to make her feel envy and Jealousy? You don’t know, probably both.

You’re still not sure about making her a friend or an enemy. So you decide to lean more into the friend category.

However, all thoughts of her quickly dissipated as your gaze met Kabru’s body on the floor. You tense up, realizing that there’s unfortunately no more escape from your demise. You try to cough up the thick sense of nervousness from your throat, as an insatiable itch begins to dance all over the inside of your body.

There was a sick sense of familiarity as you kneeled and placed a hesitant hand onto his chest. You felt a wave of nausea override all of your rational thoughts, as the palm of your hand seemed to fit that one area of his chest like a puzzle piece. Your expression turns soft, while your body stiffens, and you find it difficult to move. It left a sickly bitter taste in your mouth.

Being close to him like this, didn’t fill your heart with the same glee as you had fantasized. Instead, seeing him again made you feel immense amounts of dread— a seething anger igniting a long rope tied to a bomb of anger. As much as you had idolized him throughout the years, finally seeing him again made the coin flip over on the dirty side.

The reality settled in like getting hit by a car, the adrenaline carrying through before you crash. His face only made you feel pure unbridled rage, how dare he live his life and fall into a slumber as peaceful as this— when you spent thousands of sleepless nights all because of him.

You had never wished for a viler amount of karma towards anyone until now.

Your hand pushed down with more force than necessary, forcing out the mana flow as you healed him with pure negative thoughts buzzing around in your head. You felt yourself seeing red, as you felt his heart begin to beat to a steady rhythm.

That same soft and slow beat that would lull you to sleep each night. Once you had even promised him that there was no other music that even the greatest musician could compose— would compare to the sound of his beating heart.

You bite your tongue back from cursing his name out, taking a deep breath to brush off the suddenly blinding anger. ‘I need to give off a good impression.’ You mumble, relaxing your muscles and the scowl on your face.

Your hands hesitate to meet with his forehead, your touch fleeting as you push against the pressure point in his forehead. Your fingertips lightly intercepted with his hair— which made you confused on whether you wanted to run your fingers through it again or bash his face into the ground. Maybe both.

Your hand quickly leaves his face, eyes unwavering of its stare.

Usually, you would kiss his forehead instead of using the pressure point method. You blink away the unwarranted memory, watching as he stirs awake. You remain seated by his side, making sure to be there if ever he has any side effects that would come with his resurrection.

Kabru groans, rubbing his eyes away from sleep. However, he seemed to have woken up immediately as he recognized your scent. His eyes shot open, as his head snapped to turn towards you— which did not fail to scare you. As you suddenly lean backwards, completely flabbergasted by his current expression.

Kabru mumbles your name under his breath.

Oh fuck.

[laiosbun]

͙͘͡★ need kabru to eat me out ASAP!!!

⸝⸝ smut ahead ! cw, cunnilingus, overstimulation, praise kink, squirting

the sounds of bedsheet rustling fills in the room, accompanied by the sweet mewls coming from your lips as kabru peppered your thighs with gentle yet eager kisses, never leaving a spot untouched

his gaze never left your face, focused on the way your brows knit when he gave a sweet little bite on your inner thigh, how your hands either reach to grab onto his dark locks or hold onto the nearest pillow you have, covering your face with it when the feeling gets too intense

“no.. don’t hide that pretty face now..” he lifts himself up from between your legs, reaching out to grab the pillow away. and when he does, he feels himself twitch underneat. gods, that beautiful sight of your flushed face, how your hair strands stick onto it, your eyes glistening from the tears that threatened to spill from the pleasure

he couldn’t help but smile at you, feeling happy that you’re comfortable enough to be doing this with him “look at you.. so pretty..” he leans down, immediately peppering her face with kisses, his heart was beating so fast, feeling the adrenaline rush from how beautiful you are, always so pretty for him

he gives your lips a soft kiss, to where you reached out for more but he pulls away with a soft chuckle when he sees how desperate you are for him. he moves down your body slowly once more, leaving kisses and gentle nips at the same time. when he reaches your chest, he couldnt help but give it a little lick, taking your nipples in his mouth and giving it a suck, your body immediately reacting to it with a light arch

one of his hands reach up to cup your other breast, squeezing it lightly, letting his thumb rub and flick on your nipple, stimulating your senses— listening to you cry out his name, your body jolting again when his teeth tug on your nipple, leaving it after to go down on your pussy

both of his hands now grabbed onto your hips and pulled you over, bringing your closer to him. he rests one of your legs ontop of his shoulder whilst pushing the other onto the bed, spreading your legs open for him

“so wet.. did i do this..? or are you just that eager for me to do something to this pretty cunt?..” he teases you before licking up a stripe on your pussy. if you weren’t so horny for him you’d jab back at him, but your head is full of kabru and his lips on you, only giving him a whine. his tongue gathers your juices on his before flicking it against your sensetive nub, feeling your thighs shake against his hands, the buildup making her sensetive than usual

he couldn’t help but laugh at how sensetive you were, his hands grip onto your thighs a bit tighter now, his mouth working down on you like a starved man, watching you closely whenever he gives your clit a harsh suck, immediately jolting up and grabbing onto his hair tightly, trying to push him off

“k-kabru!”

your cries were ignored by kabru as he keeps on eating you out. he loves to overstimulate you, to see you cry his name out to stop, how you pulls your hips away from him just for him to pull you back and holding onto you tighter than before. he hums, moving down to insert his tongue in your hole, his nose bumping against your clit as he eats you out

“i’m.. hah! gonna— gonna cum— kabru!” you shout out, grabbing onto his hair and squirt on him. this made kabru pull away, eyes wide open as he watches you squirt everywhere, thighs shaking as soon as you got down from your high. kabru has never seen you squirt before, he felt his cheeks heat up, that scene made him feel even aroused than before

now he wonders, what else can you do..? how much more can you handle..?

once you’ve calmed yourself down, kabru immediately throws himself ontop of you, cupping your cheeks and giving you a kiss before pulling back, caressing your cheek with his thumb before whispering out “you never told me you could do that..” you pushed him away when he asked that, not wanting to hear him tease you about that. he laughs at it, finding it cute how easily flustered you are by him

that’s when he grabbed onto your thighs and pulls it up towards him, a cheeky smile plastered on his face, giving your thigh a little lick before looking down at you and purrs

“i wonder what else your body can do.. guess we’ll have to find out..”

you really can’t hide anything from this man..

sorry guys he’s like a leech sucking on me for this past week, im actually gonna go insane bc he’s been in my dreams multiple times too😭😭 truly hate him…. hate… tch

[dadsbongos]

Hi!! I LOVED your kabru fic! Can I request something with him? Ok so, fem reader stumbles upon an aphrodisiac and now kabru is stuck with her, conflicted between his own feelings for her and maintaining a facade. What would happen between them, would kabru confess his feelings? You can make it NSFW or not, it's fine anyway ><

kinda just heavy petting but still +18! mndi ~~~

he hates the way you are.

pathetically crooning and gyrating pointlessly against your own hand, thighs quaking and lips wobbling. they're red, glittery like jewels with your spit after being bitten absolutely raw.

kabru hates how his eyes just won't stray from you writhing on the floor.

"Kabru...!" and god, you won't stop whining his name.

"Yes?" he twists politely, hands restrained over the tent in his lap.

"It huuuurtss, Kabru!"

"Holm's working on it," he prays the reassurance will somehow snap you from your delirium.

it doesn't. you groan.

kabru sighs, lips pressing into a thin line. he'd volunteered to watch after you since he was the reason you got hit with that dubious orange-y mist in the first place. now, he was regretting it terribly.

"'s not enough," you whimper, rolling far too close into his personal bubble. nails raking up his clothed thigh and mouthing clumsily at his hip, "I need you!"

"No, no, no," he chuckles awkwardly, though heat swells up the back of his neck -- cheeks flaring, "You're not in your right mind."

"But I want you," you manage to scramble onto your knees, both hands perched on his shoulders, "I need you, or I'll die!"

kabru's never heard an offer so tempting. his eyes sear through your flaming face, your teeth gnawing your bottom lip and lashes wet with desperation. his throat seizes around a clammy yes, yes of course anything. let's do it, i need you.

but, instead, he shakes his head and clenches his eyes, "We shouldn't."

you swivel and plant either knee around him, circling your arms around his neck and cuddling into his shoulder. kabru's breath hitches when his knuckles -still helplessly trying to hide his boner- brush against your hot groin.

heedlessly grinding down onto his covered lap, you mewl and grumble into his ear.

"C'mon, Kabru, 's your job to look after me, right?"

it is.

"And you want to, right?"

he does.

kabru's hands find your hips, stuck between lifting you off and pushing you down: so he does nothing but rest them there.

you gasp and crush yourself down onto his erection as if to map his impression through your pesky clothes. pressing sloppy, open-mouthed kisses against his neck and kabru just lets you. he even releases a soft groan, momentarily losing composure as his hips jump against you.

"Alright, I got something of an antidote!" holm's level voice comes from around the corner.

kabru slips out from under you in a split second, an electric sobriety washing over him, just in time to hide his debauchery from the other man.

"Good!" he smiles, patting you up by the shoulder, "Good, good! Good. Good..."

you moan hopelessly, rolling against the wall now as holm gently takes your arm and drags you out of the room.

he isn't sure how much longer he can contain himself from spewing all those sick thoughts into your ear. until then, he can at least settle his hard-on by himself, right?

(nevermind the fact that 'by himself' definitely means, more thoughts of you)

[withlove-xixi]

— THE CHURCH ON THE EDGE OF THE BED: kabru x reader

KINKTOBER DAY THREE: BODY WORSHIP ᥫ cw: nsfw, body worship, oral sex, religious imagery (i guess) ᥫ wc: 1126 ★ erm .. i think this turned out more romantic than sexual .. my apologies i grew up in a religious community and im a lesbian now [٩(๑`ȏ´๑)۶ thank you @cavern-creature for the suggestion!] cross posted on ao3 — MINORS DNI! —

— KABRU WASN’T A RELIGIOUS MAN.

[♡]: honestly, he didn’t quite get the concept much. no greater being really interested him, no ritual brought him to his knees, no prayer left his lips. he didn’t really get religion, but he had his own god.

THIS WAS KABRU’S FAVORITE VIEW, the expanse of heaven that stretched for what seemed like infinity, the impossibly perfect stretch of soft skin as breathtaking as springtime flower fields. And he’s got the best seat in the house too; kneeling against the edge of the bed, looking up at your naked figure.

The first time you had Kabru like this, you were flustered, embarrassed even. Piercing blue eyes almost seemed to study you, learning the way the muscles on your face twitched when he pressed gentle kisses on your thighs, memorizing every curve and dip on your body when he pinned you beneath him. It was intimidating to say the least. And it felt like he was about to take down notes, keep a nice well-documented report on how you were in the bedroom.

And if he were any less sane, he might’ve.

And if we’re being honest, with the way you were looking at him right now, the back of your hand pressed against your mouth to hide your flustered expression, the squint of your eyes and the furrow of your brows from the sheer difficulty to focus, the rosy flush that kisses your cheeks and the tips of your ears like moonlight, it was driving him to the edge of insanity.

Kabru kisses your knee, hands gently coaxing them apart to reveal to him the space between your thighs. He swallows at the sight, eyes fixed on the way you look, trailing down your body with such adoration until his eyes land on the space in front of him, the deliciously divine fruit between your thighs. His tongue pokes out from between his lips, moistening them, licking them in hungry anticipation. His eyes dart back to meet yours, graced against by that beautiful expression on your face with your bottom lip tucked beneath your teeth in a harsh bite.

He’s patient, almost for the first time in his life, he’s patient. His long lashes kiss the tops of his cheeks, a silent plea for permission, for command. When you give him a slow nod, your cheeks only turning a deeper shade of red and pupils dilating in an almost-hazy way, his heart skips a beat in gratitude. If he weren’t already on his knees, he would’ve gotten down on them to mouth praise and thanks against the flesh of your thighs as he kissed towards your core.

Your hand leaves its hold on your mouth and moves to tread through the dark, curly tresses atop Kabru’s head. The touch is gentle, soothing, but Kabru would’ve called it merciful. Yeah, that’s what you were. Such a kind, loving and merciful thing, indulging Kabru in every little sinful desire that ate away at his heart. Such a softhearted god to provide him so many graces, and at the mere bat of his eyelashes at that!

Something about you lights this passion inside Kabru, one he feels for no other person. It grants him the smallest semblance of understanding for Holm and his silly little deities. He understands what it means to devote yourself to someone to such an intense degree, he understands what it was like to so readily fall on your knees in worship, he understands what it feels to have your life be changed in the most mind-shattering manner.

To show his gratitude, to you and your mercy, he kisses from your knee, slowly and gently working his way up your thigh, lips sealing seering kisses against your perfect skin like wax on a love letter, like laying his life at the altar.

As if to prove your divinity, your kindness, your compassion, your whimper, a soft sounding hymn that sings like angel song in Kabru’s ear. He feels his heart race at the sound. His hands remain on your knees, keeping you spread wide apart for him, giving him access to every inch of your heavenly body. His kisses— his show of devotion —finally reach your core, and he pauses to fully indulge himself in your presence, to fully take in your indescribable holy image. He feels you tug at his roots, just slightly to tell him to quit his antics and get to work. A smile grows on his face, his god’s request is one he can’t ever deny, not for too long at least.

His lips meet your ache, a soft, gentle kiss at first, one that elicits that sweet angelic moan from your pretty lips, the same one that replays in Kabru’s mind in an attempt to memorize the sound. Soon his tongue pokes out, licking intentionally slow stripes against you, feeling your every twitch against the muscle. You reward him by pressing your hips against his face, pulling him against you by his hair. Kabru sighs dreamily at the act, encouraged to keep lapping wherever you’re most sensitive, to keep kissing and licking and sucking until the whole room echoes with only the holy preachings of your lips, the breathy moans and shy mewls that rivaled the scripture people had tried to teach him.

This was his worship, you were his altar, his god. You were some taste of heaven, some fragment of divinity, put on this mortal plane just for him because you were kind like that, you were merciful. He’s convinced no other god can exist, no greater being lives in some outside plane beyond the world he knows because nothing could have ever conjured up something as precious as you, someone as perfect as you. Your eyes rivaled the stars in the night, your voice rivaled the sounds of spring, your beauty rivaled the treasures of this world.

He huffs against you, his grip on your knees tightening very so slightly, a feeble attempt at grounding himself back to earth when he was buried far beyond the paradise of heaven. You whine at the feeling, hips bucking towards his face, gently rolling against his face, rubbing yourself at his eager mouth and tongue.

“Cl… close…” Your whisper, voice so soft and shaky it almost sounded broken.

There’s a primal sound that erupts from Kabru’s throat and vibrates pleasantly against your flesh, some sort of animalistic growl that has you miserably whimpering, writhing under his careful touch. He kisses you with more gusto, each time his lips and tongue meet your skin was another testament to his love, his devotion, his faith.

Your grip tightens, pulling harshly now on his silken locks, your knees threaten to snap shut around his head. Kabru continues his prayer, moaning against you when he feels you tug at his hair again.

He’s rewarded with a groan, almost frustrated the way it falls off your lips in near desperation. “Kabru, more, please. Gods—”

Gods. What use were gods when he had you?

[ropes3amthoughts]

Fun fact did you guys know that in canon Kabru is shown shirtless 3 times

If you guys know of any more instances of Kabru with no shirt on feel free to correct me to make my fact factually correct y’know? Feel free to send me any other instances of Kabru with no shirt on for my data this is my important data y’know? Please guys sned me Kabru with no shirt on this is an emergency and for the sake of science. Ascientific emergency if you will. Guys please help me in my sceifnricc endeavors. My research. Guys. My scientific paper is due in 3 and I need Kabru with no shirt on. Guys please I need it for my totally real and legit history article. I need shirtless Kabru images for my English resume. Kabru’s exposed shoulders are necessary for my grade in calculus guys

Ok I can’t think of any more jokes I am just going to be serious and say I love Kabru because those are my genuine earnest feelings I love him so so so so much he is my sweet dove scrimblo bbb (babyboy) <333333333333333333 I feel like a cartoon character with hearts for eyes I am swooning I love him so insanely much he is my dearest guy ever muah muah muah <3333333333333 I would open a pickle jar for him and like he could totally open those by himself but I think he should get to sit around and not worry his pretty little head bc like I could totally fuck up those pickle jars and then he could just chill like I’m actually pretty good at opening jars you guys that’s a fun fact about me I’m cool like that and I could be so cool and good to Kabru I would be like “I love you” and stuff you know all lovingly Kabruuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh I love him so much like just imagine a scrawny guy fanning their face and sighing dreamily because that’s me right now about Kabru god he’s so lovely I love himmmmmmmm <33333333333 he makes me smile and makes my heart flutter and stuff teeheehee I love Kabru I feel like a burning in my chest and I keep biting my teeth I feel like I’m going to explode I’m going insane Kabruuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu agghhhhhhhhhhhhhhh slobbers everywhere and starts bawling my eyes out and falls over and splats on the ground with a loud thud and does fifteen summersaults and pulls my hair out and kicks my legs oughhhjh Kabru <33333333 I feel so much for him and I don’t even know what to say to exes it properly he is like a leaf in the wind that falls on your head when you’re walking and you become so inexplicably charmed by it and feel as if nature is giving you a gentle kiss and you just feel so loved he’s like a mug of hot chocolate on a chilly day and there’s also a fuzzy blanket and comfortable pajamas that’s him to me I love him I love him I love him so bad you guys he’s so dear to me I LOBE KABRU I feel so passionate about him right now and to cope with this I just watched that one animatic like 20 times in a row and now I’m going to read a fanfic where he eats a yummy meal he’s like a sweet summer’s day to me Kabruuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu

[fallow-hollow]

Aaa! Your Kabru x reader was really nice! May I request a Holm x Reader where the reader helps him when he freezes up in rapid situations?

pick-me-up

…ft! holm kranom x gn! reader

…tags! pre-relationship, fluff, a little banter, reader knows some magic, some magic lore i may or may not have made up

…word count! 1167

…notes! people who are madly in love with side characters are truly god’s strongest soldiers. i hope i characterized your man correctly!!

As close as you and Holm were, neither of you really seemed to idealize one another too much. Being in the dungeon, you had to be aware of all your teammates’ strengths and flaws, regardless of personal opinion. When it came to the gnome you called your closest friend, even he didn’t deny it — he did not operate well under pressure.

Considering that you were in a place where foes could ambush you at any moment, anybody could see why this wasn’t a great quality to have. From being unable to save your friends to even being unable to save yourself, there were a lot of potential consequences to locking in place during the middle of combat. Something had to be done about it sooner rather than later, and if he had to ask someone, he’d rather it be you than anybody else.

The plan was formulated during some downtime the party had — something to stop Holm from going stock still whenever he felt overwhelmed. Luckily, your companion already had an idea for you.

“I figure the easiest way to deal with this’ll be using magic.”

You nodded. Not much of an obstacle, since you already had at least a few spells under your belt.

“As long as you have a rudimentary understanding of magic, it’s not gonna be too hard to get down.” For a moment, the gnome deliberated, wondering how to explain the concept to you. “You know how healing magic can hurt sometimes?”

With a grimace, you shook your head in understanding. Rin and Holm were pretty good about that sort of thing, but there had been more than a few occasions in past parties where healing and injury hurt even more than obtaining it. Seeing that you were familiar with what he was saying, the man continued.

“Well, that’s actually how healing magic is by default. When it doesn’t hurt, that’s because the caster is using a separate spell to numb your sensations.” As you listened, your mouth formed a little ‘o’ shape to show your interest. “Naturally, you can alter people’s sensations with magic in other ways, too.”

“Oh,” you would interject, “so I could use magic to make you more….focused?”

“Not quite, but yes.” At your approximation, he held up his index finger. “I was thinking you could use just a little bit of mana to sort of perk me up, almost like a spike of adrenaline to set me back in motion again.” His hand then lowered, turning over so his palm faced upward. “It’s pretty simple, just transferring mana through touch like you would with a healing spell.”

“I can do that, no problem!”

Ah, he was still looking at you, even after you said that… was there still more he wanted to share? When your eyes wandered down to the hand he held out, embarrassment that you hadn’t realized sooner quickly washed over you.

“Ah, you wanted to practice?” At first, you feared that your slow uptake had caused Holm some annoyance, but the relaxed smile on his face didn’t give way in the slightest. He seemed almost amused, really.

“Guess I should have been more clear about that, huh?”

The smirk on his face let you know that the question was most certainly rhetorical. Answering it would have been a moot point anyway, so instead you pouted and mumbled, “You’re always so snarky with me… not fair.”

Transferring mana was something you were fairly familiar with doing, so you were able to take the gnome’s hand into two of your own with little hesitation. Back when you’d just joined the party, the act of touching him made your cheeks heat up, but exposure to it over time had made the experience far from unfamiliar.

Just remember to envision the flow of the mana, you reminded yourself. Truly feel it, from your head to your toes, through your veins and bones, and out the tips of your fingers. Feel the current connecting you to him…

With your eyes trained on your joined hands, half lidded while you chanted the spell as instructed, you hardly noticed the way your companion’s ears actually twitched and perked up when the incantation was completed. Only when his whole body jolted did you shoot up in turn, concern pooling in your irises.

Said concern seemed to be unneeded, judging from the pleased look on his face. It was one that brought you relief, not just from the knowledge that you’d done well, but from the sight of him alone.

“That’s good, I think you’ve got it.” Even his voice seemed cheerier than before, and you weren’t quite sure if it was from the magic, your success, or both. Nonetheless, it was kind of nice to see his usually laid back demeanor become more enthusiastic from time to time. “So remember, the next time I get stunned in an overwhelming situation, use that if you’re near.”

“Of course!” You grinned, knowing you’d always be neat if you could help it.

That little practice session with Holm had been a few days ago by now. It took quite a while for a situation to actually arise that called for your little backup plan, but you most certainly kept your word.

Perhaps if it was just one stray suit of living armor, Rin or even Daya would’ve been able to dispatch it just fine. But in a whole hallway full of them with no way around, you could only tiptoe past them in hopes that maybe they’d ignore you, or even end up just being normal suits of armor. You should’ve known, of course, that the dungeon is no place for wishful thinking.

When the intimidating armored figures inevitably sprung to life, the first thing you did was look to Holm. Unsurprisingly, he was completely still by your side, eyes blown wide and mouth hanging open while he didn’t even shake or quiver.

Just do what you talked about. Transfer the mana as quickly as you can. You may have taken the latter half of that a bit too seriously judging by how, instead of taking his hand like you had during practice, you immediately reached for his face instead.

Only halfway through chanting the spell did you notice the slight tint on his cheeks, likely from embarrassment, and it took everything you had in you to continue the spell without stuttering from your own flustered state. After all, restarting the spell would take even longer, and that was pretty much the exact opposite of what was needed right now.

The second the spell had been completed, the both of you pulled away from one another, invigorated by both magic and embarrassment respectively. You heard Holm utter a quick thanks to you, but you were too busy feeling completely mortified by the way Kabru had just glanced at the two of you, seemingly more entranced by your interaction than the imminent peril you were dealing with.

You’d never hear the end of this, would you?

[mangochii]

The Crow and The Butterfly 🦋

(Holm Kranom x Half-foot!reader)

Fine then, I'll make one myself 🥹 Sorry for any grammar mistakes and misspellings in advance, I'm writing this during a flood and blackout. Might as well write while our 1st floor is flooded LOL.

Also some art too in the end.

I stared intently at his hands, the way it moved and swayed as he spoke. Marillier floated blissfully, seeming to enjoy her time being fed with mana, the sweet undine dripped little droplets on the ground as she ate.

"Spirit care is quite simple, really..."

His voice tickled my ear, he had always been a bit soft-spoken. Every syllable that fell out of his mouth I consume with much fervor, I nod every now and then. The small tug at the corners of his lips did not go unnoticed by me, his face always lights up ever so slightly as he talks about spirits.

"Though, gnomes like me usually have an easier time to gain a spirit's trust. Being more attuned to nature, of course."

"I see..." I mumbled, as if I could even befriend a spirit like Marillier, I'm not attuned to anything but probably myself. My eyes met with his, and I can't help but get lost in it. It's like he carved his initials onto every gemstone in existence, and made it his eyes. It glints as he opened his mouth, a beautiful melody filled my ears with every word he spoke.

I am a crow, and intrigued I was with a sparkling treasure, his eyes, a pretty shiny.

"Pretty..."

"Hm? What was that?"

I closed my eyes, hopefully not noticing my expressions. "Pretty interesting, I said. Can you tell me more?" I want to hear more of you, more of your voice.

I am a crow.

"Of course."

And I am smart enough to know that you're out of my reach. The shimmering gem fell into a hole, too deep for my beak to reach.

Why he keeps on indulging me is beyond me, but I fell into the same trap every time. Hoping he'd feel the same.

"Teach me more, Prof." My lips tugged upwards, my eyes closed. "I'd like to know more of the things you love."

I saw him smile softly, a smile softer than the moonlight in the winter. "You never fail to amuse me." With a chuckle he turned to fully face me, Marillier by his side.

"What do you want to know?"

"Everything." I breathed, voice barely heard. I saw his eyes widened slightly, I hear his heartbeat racing, his breathing hitched, and muscles tensed.

"Okay." He whispered back, pink lightly dusted the apples of his cheeks and to the tips of his ears.

For once, I felt like that shiny gemstone is within reach. It's so wrong, so selfish of me. But I can't help it.

Holm stared at the fire, he felt the eyes of his party members bore through him. "So Holm, you never really opened up about your love life to us." Daya hummed, her finger pointed at him.

"Well, I don't think Holm's the type to have a partner, y'know?" Mouth filled with meat, Mickbell shrugged, with Kuro nodding in agreement. "I've crashed by his place few times already, it's maidenless."

"No..." Kabru, the ever so perceptive man, spoke. His hand covered his mouth as he began to mutter. "I've seen him talk with a half-foot lady everytime we go back up from the dungeon, she looks like an adventurer too... Maybe a newbie? No, she looks a bit experienced... Hmm..."

Holm's breath hitched, he dare not to look away from the fire. A futile attempt to delay the inevitable, in the back of his weary mind, he thinks that it's already a bit too late.

"A half-foot lady with Holm? Oh!" Mickbell eyes lightened in recognition, "I know her, she bought me and Kuro free food when she accidentally spilled grape punch on me."

"Meat yummy."

"You're so right, Kuro! Gods, I wish I can eat there again... Anyway, I heard that she's with that dwarf, Namari, for a bit... I didn't think she'd be into gnomes though, most half-foot ladies nowadays prefer to be with dwarves, because they look muscular than us half-foot men."

"They're right, you look like a noodle." Rin added, eyeing Mickbell's form up and down, with Daya giggling in tow.

"Oi!"

"A good noodle in our eyes, Mick." Kabru sneaked in.

"That doesn't make it any better!"

Holm flinched as Mickbell stood and pointed at him, "This is about Holm's love life! Not my physique!" He huffed and sat back down, arms crossed. His brows were furrowed together so hard that it might leave a crease in-between.

"There wasn't anything really... She was just curious about Marillier and gnomish magic." Lies. The way she tries to listen intently to his explaination was adorable, her smile every time she met his eyes filled his heart with such a comforting warmth, the way she asks questions to clarify some of his points, the way she bites her lip when he talks a bit too fast, everything.

She was Holm's everything, but they're just... Nothing. There's nothing between them at all, despite the two of them knowing they both want to be something, anything but what they both currently have. There was nothing.

A series of groans came from the rest of the party, disappointed. But Holm couldn't help but sweat at the way Kabru looked at him, sapphire eyes stare at him knowingly. He swallowed hard and looked away.

To love her was selfish, and cruel for himself. She could've fallen for any other half-foot, but chose him. What happens to him once you pass? Look for another? Or spend every waking moment of his life grieving til' he too, passes away? Surely she had thought the same, settling for ghostly touches and lingering smiles.

He knows and feels her hesitance, how her fingers twitched when she tried reaching out. But they both feel too far from each other.

No, she knows this is unfair to him. Unfair to the both of them.

But gods, why does she look at him so fondly like that? Why? Her eyes shine brighter than any jewel in the world every time he spoke. Why?

"I love you, Holm." With a sad smile, my voice hushed and sung a broken melody, I finally spoke my heart out. I've mulled it over day and night, and I've concluded that my happiness is worth less than his.

"But I can't. I can't have you. It's too cruel for you."

His eyes widened, mouth opening and closing. Words failed to get past his throat, so he stood there, frozen. As he'd always do.

"I'll spare you the decades worth of pain. The years worth of you grieving my inevitable death." I said as softly as I could, reaching for his cheek. "Thank you... For indulging me." I rubbed tender circles on his skin, before pressing my lips on his own, his lips were dry and a bit chapped, he tasted like sweet fruit. For mere seconds, that's how long the kiss lasted, but I was for sure thought it lasted for minutes.

I am a greedy, greedy crow. And you are a butterfly.

As I pulled away, his hands crept up to the back of my neck. Slowly, delicately pulling me back closer to him. "No." He breathed, shakily. I hear his heart hammer on his chest, his eyes glimmer amidst the tears that began to pool.

"I want to love you, I want to hold you more like this. I want... I want to love you in every library, by the fountain when we first met, on the sidewalk, at that one restaurant that you said you liked, at the storage room that I found you stuck in,

Under the, the tree by the hill,

In the dungeon,

Everywhere.

Let me love you."

Little butterfly placed delicate kisses on my beak, your wings were more beautiful than any shiny that a crow like me could ever find.

His kisses was chaste, delicate, and thorough. Tenderly engraving his name in my soul. "I don't care if I have a decade or two or whatever years left to be with you."

His fingers guided themselves to my waist, he held me so desperately, as if I'd disappear had he let go of his tight hold. "I'll cherish those years like a family heirloom."

In his eyes, I'm neither crow nor butterfly. But a little flower, your crystalline jewels stare at my petals, as I guard the spinning nectar that you can't help but consume.

I guess you're no better than me. You drink and drink, an endless parchment of my love.

My body relaxed as he kissed me once more, the sweet honey of my soul pours fresh unto his heart and tongue. His heartbeat is my beautiful orchestra, and his eyes is the forest that I don't mind getting lost in.

"I love you." He whispered to my ear like a silent prayer.

I couldn't help but smile, red flooding my face. "I love you too." Your voice is the sweetest symphony.

___

YAY ART 🥰

[candlecordyceps]

Ok I’m taking the time to Yap now WARNING FOR ANIME SPOILERS IF YOU HAVENT WATCHED IT!!!

This is just my raw emotional reactions, opinions, and just general interpretations of the last few scenes in the episode.

Starting off, I’m beginning with Shuro confronting Laois for what he did. Shuro seems to be a very high-standing fellow from what I’ve been given so far (as an anime only currently- I will start reading the manga once it finishes releasing I promise). He has guards that are close to him, and I assume he’s rich, and knowing that he will DEFINITELY care a lot more about black magic and laws, because they effect him more due to his (assumed) status. He’s understandably terrified of what this means for Falin. And he confronts Laois by asking him,

“Do you know what you’ve done?” He tells him all the hell that he can go through for it, what FALIN will go through for it, Marcille will go through- but Laois knows.

He’s well aware of the consequences and he was willing to do it anyways. For Falin. For his sister. Because she was willing to risk her life for him and for everyone, everyone followed suit, and the desperation to do so was so powerful they were willing to do what it took. And Laois ALSO knows, that despite what Shuro is doing right now,

He would’ve done the same. Shuro won’t kill him, because he knows he would’ve done anything too. Laois doesn’t GET people. He thought he could trust Shuro to be quiet. At this point it’s pretty obvious to me, especially in the episode with him being clingy and friendly with Shuro, calling him the one of the “only ones to call him a friend”, despite Shuro’s very obvious uncomfortable-disturbed-annoyed attitude toward Laois and general unwellness being unnoticed (until told specifically of it, to which Laois immediately got onto Shuro about his health). Yet, he knows Shuro would’ve done anything too.

Shuro stays his sword, Laois wishes for understanding, Kabru gets a drama boner (I find it funny how into it he is), and the scene changes. And FUCK man.

Laois loves Falin so much, and he knows how much Shuro cares. He cared enough to return. He told him everything because he needs the help, and he’s banking on the care for Falin to be enough to work with him to return her to safety. I’m SOOOO hoping he does help. That he breaks down and the sword falls from Laois’s neck. That even though it goes against a law so potent it could get everyone involved into extremely deep trouble, the bonds he’s made are enough. I don’t know Shuro well enough at all. Lord knows if he’ll even keep it to himself if they get out of the dungeon. But GOD am I not thrilled to figure out more. AND NOW, to the scene that made me scream from my seat multiple times,

Faliiiiiinnnnnnnnn GHHHHHOOOODDDD. When I tell you I GASPED. Watching the hands that we had witnessed painstakingly put together. The hands That two people took the care into fixing and making sure each was in the perfect place- scraping against the floor. Bloody around the sleeves, clawing forward- on a mission for someone she doesn’t actually know. Her mind is warped by the mission of the mage. Put back together just to bleed and be reshaped and melded to something scary and unknown and new-

AND ITS TERRIFYING. LOOK AT HER. JESUS CHRRRIIIIIIIST. Someone so loved and someone they all want to protect is RIGHT THERE, but she’s almost unrecognizable beyond her face, and mentally she’s so incredibly far away.

I can’t imagine the distress in everyone as they realize that they have to fight the exact person they’ve been fighting for. Because there’s no way she is peaceful and there is no way she’ll just “be Falin” without some extreme inbetweens. There’s no way that the mage doesn’t return if/when they succeed. I’m SOO excited to witness them figure it out and try to save her once more.

IF YOU MADE IT HERE THANKS FOR READING ME YAPPING!! This is mainly a little storage for me later when I wanna revisit and figure out what I thought before I knew what happened. Have a nice day/night readers!

[ask-artsy-oncie]

The children of Laios and Kabru! My first drawing of them was as very young children but I always find it much easier and more fulfilling to design more grown versions of characters because they have more developed personalities that can show through! In this case they're all fully grown here, with the eldest being 20 and the youngest being 16. (I'm also a dumbass and meant to put "first queen regent", not simply "first queen")

Some more about them under the cut

The name "Kilala" came up when I was looking for names related to "Ambrosia", because I think Laios would hear that Marcille's staff is named something that means "food of the gods" and fall in love with the concept and want that name for his kid, to the chagrin of everyone in his immediate vicinity. I imagine Kabru would attempt to compromise by looking into names with similar meanings.

They all inherited monster features from Laios, mostly subtle things like heightened senses and fangs and claws, but then Cassius was born with a tail (resembling one of the two Laios had in his monster form). He'll grab onto it as a nervous tick but for the most part I don't think he actually likes having a tail. It singles him out, since his sisters all have much subtler features than he does, and he's not the kind of person who likes being the center of attention. Sometimes he hides his tail in one of his pant legs so he doesn't have to think about it.

Laios and Kabru planned on having three kids because Laios is vehemently against the idea of adhering to the tradition of "first born son has to be the successor". He lived that, and he hated having that loom over him. So if he has to have kids, and one of them has to succeed him, he'd rather it be whichever kid ends up wanting it, rather than having it be decided for them. Ergo, multiple kids leaves more chances that one of the kids actually wants to be the next monarch. Three sounded reasonable so that's what they planned for, but then the third "child" turned out to be twins.

And yeah, as it states above, Cassius did not want to be king. Luckily for him, Kilala was more than willing to follow in her dad's footsteps.

They call Laios "dad" and Kabru "papa".

I don't actually know if Kabru would be able to pass down the gene for his blue eyes or the gene for his family's brown eyes, since his eye color is a genetic mutation. Gave the kids a mix of both for variety more than anything.

Kilala's hair is on the redder side due to Laios's mother's red hair. Meanwhile, Pamina looks more like Kabru's mom.

Melora is often in work clothes and wears her hair short because she's working with metal so often, but she does have moments when she wears fancier clothing, she's not opposed to it by any means. She just takes care of her nicer clothing, unlike Pamina, who will only really do as much as roll up her skirt and/or sleeves to protect her dresses.

Pamina is immensely comforted by the smell of gardenias (and as a kid even wistfully thought of having her name changed to Gardenia) and carries around a vial of perfume of it. She also, maybe paradoxically, loves the smell of dogs. I imagine the castle has plenty of dogs living in it by the time the kids are born, and she can often be found with her face pressed up against one.

Pamina and Cassius are the only ones of the four who end up having kids of their own.

Kilala is a horrible liar and would regularly get herself and her siblings in trouble by virtue of not being able to hide their troublemaking. Kabru insists that being an honest ruler is a strength she can utilize rather than focusing on her inability to convincingly lie.

When Kilala and Cassius were young children, like shortly after the twins were born, Kabru would try to get them to mask their autistic traits. Eye contact and "fidgeting" was a big problem for the both of them. The first major fight Laios and Kabru had as parents had to do with this, because Laios did not want to pressure his kids to be "normal" the way he and Falin were, while Kabru specifically wanted his kids to be prepared and protected against being ostracized like he was. They both wanted to protect their kids, but had completely opposing ways to go about this. Ultimately, I think, the kids ended up being taught how to mask but aren't outright pressured to do so.

[chuckeroo777]

Dungeon Meshi Volume 6 Part 1

Welcome back to my liveblog! As a reminder, this is a re-read, so expect plenty of spoilers!

Don't intentionally spoil people or get thwacked in the face.

Huh. So they have been here for about a week. Makes Rin's exasperation even more understandable.

Wow, rude. I feel like if you actually knew her, that's kinda the last thing she would do. She hates eating weird stuff.

Batting 0 for 3 Maizuru. Honestly, I originally thought she was kind of a jerk, but between this and "Ninja Art: Babysitter", I think her observational skills are just really bad.

See? She doesn't have a clue why this is an atrocious idea.

I mean, it was an elf who was around during Delgal's day, and was using exceptionally potent ancient magic. Who the heck else would it be? Plus the orcs confirmed his identity. And of course Laios thinks Thistle is mad about the food.

Asebi is not amused.

Hmm... another depiction of the winged lion with horns. Also, there was no need to bring up the black magic. Marcille used a regular resurrection spell, just using ancient magic to boost the power level. If the dragon hadn't been soul-bound by Thistle, it would have gone without a hitch. People like to joke Marcille did nothing wrong, but in this one case, I think she was totally in the right. There is plenty of time for her to commit war crimes later.

Chilchuck: Gasp! You were drugging him!

Kabru is here for ALL the hot goss. From a distance.

I love how the canon explanation for why Faligon has feathers is that Dragons = Dinosaurs. It's like an atavism or something. Idk, it looks cool. Stop asking questions.

God. Marcille may be my favorite, but I relate so much to Laios. This chapter and the next are painful. (And I'm not talking about the part where everyone dies)

If only Chilchuck won the coin toss, we could've avoided this drama. (At least until Shuro saw Falin)

Now that's a trustworthy face if I ever saw one.

Well well well. If it isn't the consequences of my actions.

I know I just got done explaining that her actions were fine. Just let me be funny.

Eh, it's worth a try. It works in at least one alternate universe.

She's beauty, she's grace. She's gonna eat your face.

What's all the more heartbreaking is you get little moments where Falin shines through. She wants to pet the doggie! But then the dragon reasserts itself.

Even freakier, I think this is actually Falin too. You can see her pupils oscillate throughout this scene between normal, and elongated.

Like, I don't think it did that on purpose, but the dragon is more than happy to exploit the opening it creates.

Holm? Holm, are those golem cores? Have you been holding out on us?

Man, no wonder she freaks out. Imagine you've been a dragon for who knows how long, covered in scales of iron, and suddenly this dude manages to stab you five times like it's nothing. Heck, Laios just stabbed her in the foot with a normal sword. This dragon must be fearing for it's life like crazy.

Obligatory Whoa Hey!

An important image.

No you dummy. This is standard dungeon procedure. There's a reason healers like Holm and Falin wear those silly robes. So that they get priority resurrections.

Hold up a sec. My drama senses are tingling.

I am genuinely curious what this insult was in the original Japenese, if only because I can't see that coming from either of them.

You know, when I first read Dungeon Meshi, I kinda glossed over the secondary cast a lot. Hard not to when you have my attention span, and like two dozen characters. I didn't even notice the Asebi stuff.

I know people dunk on Toshiro a lot, but I really have to question his relationship with his retainers if a simple thank you and sorry elicits this sort of reaction. Honestly, I mostly get the impression that his dad isn't great, and Maizuru is too loyal to do anything about it.

I also have to wonder why he left Asebi behind. Did he just not want to bother? Or is he rethinking his whole relationship with his retainers, and is offhandedly giving her her freedom?

Like brother like sister.

Image limit reached! I'll be back in a bit. Need to get some meshi!

[prismatoxic]

i finally remembered to finish filling this out

idk if i'm gonna render it... i have a bunch of other things i also wanna work on, so. here you go. (template here)

chilchuck & laios - self explanatory, i'm The Chilaios Guy. laios is my muse when it comes to rp and i relate to him a lot but i really can't say i love him more than chilchuck, so. they're tied.

kabru - fuck man i love this dude. like he is easily one of my fave characters in the series alongside laios, chilchuck, and mithrun. his character is so fucking compelling and when people in the fandom dismiss him for being two-faced or whatever i'm like do you hate good stories? do you hate good characters? can you really not appreciate anyone but the main cast? begone. he's laios's foil and no amount of not understanding his character will change that. and he's a damn GOOD foil, the ways they interact and contrast each other are amazing.

shuro - SPEAKING OF THE FANDOM BEING SHITTY. like, the scene with him and laios that is coming up very soon in the anime is one that hit me HARD. i relate to laios in that whole debacle so hard that i cried describing the scene to my friend. but it doesn't make shuro a bad person. he and laios are so fundamentally different that they clashed because they didn't understand each other's needs or boundaries. and like, fuck, man. he still shows up for laios and the gang. also if you think he's a creep towards falin or whatever i think you need to get your eyes checked, he's so fucking respectful. and she clearly cares about him even if she doesn't return his feelings. shuro haters stay away from me

namari - godddd i love her. like idk that i have any extended analysis to give, she's just fucking awesome. i really loved all her interactions with senshi and the fact that she's chilchuck's drinking buddy delights me. she's really strong and obviously deeply caring... the moment when she bowled laios out of the way to help with the undine. god. she was so fucked over by her father's actions and she's been trying to build herself up ever since and she's just REALLY NEAT and i was always glad to see her in the manga. (can't wait to see her more in the anime too!!!)

mithrun - SON BOY. i'm obsessed with him. that post about him having a traumatic brain injury lives rent free in my head. i really, genuinely fucking love how well he and his disability are portrayed. it does exhaust me a little when the fandom is happy to make him "better" post-canon... or when they claim kabumisu is problematic bc kabru takes care of him, lmao. he's so fucking cool and the fact that he's a real threat and a driving part of the plot while also needing a caretaker and being notably handicapped by his trauma is just... awesome. neither side diminishes the other. he's disabled, but he's a badass. i love him so much.

dandan - he's a neat little guy and i love how many times he actually shows up in canon, even though he's usually a bg character when he does. i like to think he's important to the guild, like he's someone chilchuck trusts with a lot of things. obviously that wasn't the case when he first joined up, but i like the idea of him proving himself to be really good with managing things, and chilchuck leaves things in his hands when he's down in the dungeon. all headcanons but it's fun for me.

[uncleasriel]

via @poorly-drawn-mdzs-mdzs

#dungeon meshi#kabru#laios touden#falin touden#Happy Thistle Thursday once again. Have I been holding on to this comic for several weeks? Sure have!#I forgot how long it takes for Chimera Falin to come into play.#I still really love my 'better drawn' art of her - unfortunately it was several weeks too early for the anime only folks.#Slowly getting the hang of drawing Laios. I don't know why I struggle so much but I am getting...somewhere.#Meta time: God damn I love how the chimera shows off the expertise and gap between Kabru and Laios.#The truth is: they are both *right* and they are both *wrong*.#This creature is a combination of monster and human and they only have the skillset to deal with one of those.#Kabru goes for all the human vitals - but she isn't human.#Laios tries to approach her as a monster and is struck down by the humanity he sees in her.#She is something new that defies what they *both* understand about the world. And that makes her such a perfect antagonist.#The damsel was the dragon all along!#...She is really so cute though. Terrifying! But adorable. I am so excited to see the boom of fanart for her.

This is why, I think, people shipped Laios and Kabru together. They both have a solid understanding of exactly half of this world's key elements - people and monsters - and their initial...friction? At odds-ness?... that was holding them back from being able to Solve The Problems they were faced. If they could learn from one anther's skillsets, or at least learn to work together... they'd be literally unstoppable.

Expertise can't help you here.

[awwishfulthinking]

More Dungeon Meshi/Delicious in Dungeon thoughts after reading volumes 7 through 9! (spoilers ahead)

-More and more I'm growing way too attached to Laios oh god

-Love that pretty much everyone imagines Laios with a deranged smiling face whenever they're thinking of him

-Seeing everyone's backstories... ough my heart

-got to the chapter with the changeling mushrooms... uh why is everyone apparently nude when they wake up after changing back to their regular form......

-why is half-foot Senshi so adorable

-the succubus arc oh my god

-Izutsumi is the real MVP

-man this series is really ship-teasing Laios and Marcille huh

-love that Laios doesn't fall for the succubus' tricks until he sees uh. Furry Marcille.

-I know the last few chapters of vol 9 essentially tell us that the winged lion is a Not Good dude, but the dreamworld with Laios was surprisingly heartwarming...? The dude just wants to live a simple life with his best friends, let him be happy D:

-Wasn't expecting Mithrun to be so interesting. Also wasn't expecting Kabru to be so funny when paired with Mithrun either.