#half feels like they want people to forget about it

[alesiaaa]

Tapestry of understanding

Geta is pissed off a whole day because of rumours, which results in hurt feelings and confessions of fears.

Warnings : none! It’s half fluff half angst-ish?..

First thing I post cause I forgot abt this blog haha!

1.2k words as it is kind of a drabble..

Today was a hard day.

For the senate, for you, and most importantly, for Geta.

There had been rumours that Geta and Caracalla was having trouble ruling the empire, that they weren’t capable of getting along. It was true, yes, but that didn’t have to reach the public eye. They had enough people around them to make sure nothing was going wrong.

Even if he knew everything was going good, Geta still stressed all day long. Every since that meeting with the senate, he had been on edge all day and whenever he got the chance to, he spoke words of admiration for Claudius, a former Emperor, or..his great-great grandfather.

Though, in the evening, when only you and him dined, as Caracalla didn't even bother showing up, Geta shouted at you. You had accidentally approached a more sensitive topic, and , as he was already pissed off by the events of the day, he shouted at you to keep your mouth shut, or he’d shut it himself. His words cut deeply, as he’d never spoken to you so roughly before. It wouldn’t have bothered you if you didn’t know that the words were genuine, but , as you saw the raw rage in his eyes, you know he meant every word.

As the two of you soon enough retreated to your bedchambers, his ramble started as soon as the two of you entered the hall, completely disregarding your feeling and seemingly forgetting about his actions from before.

The sound of his footsteps were loud against the cold marble floor of your chambers, as Geta walked from one side to another, rambling about the former Emperor that he admired. “ Claudius knew, he understood , everything! “ he exclaimed, as he continued on his pacing, while you simply listened. It isn’t like you were supposed to say anything, he was almost talking to himself.

Geta, with his body covered and marks and scars from long and dangerous battles, was most known by his strength, his rationality in battle. The people of Rome considered him a warrior, while he, seemingly, at least tonight, wanted to be known by the wise words he didn’t have. It wasn’t like he wasn’t wise, he just..didn’t express it properly, or at all.

He stopped in his tracks, slowly turning to face you, sat on your bed, looking at him with an odd expression. “ Why can’t I understand as he does? Why can’t I understand the- the fragility of Rome?..” he spoke, eyes fixed on you.

“ Geta..." you exhaled, letting out the breath you didn’t even know you were holding in. “ What is up with you tonight? Why tonight out of all days, are you not tired of everything today?”

Your words only resulted in a scoff, as she walked closer to the bed, till he was right in front of you. “ I am tired, but..” his breathing was slow, as he just stood there for a moment, thinking about his next words. “..there is this fear in me, solaris, and I mustn’t rest until I am at peace.” His expression was so..raw, so full of emotion, that you thought that was the most vulnerable you’d ever seen him before.

“ W-What?” You questioned quietly, your face filled with confusion that he seemed to mistake as judgement, which immediately made him shut down once more. He shook his head, sitting down aside you. “ It is nothing, rosa, forget I ever said anything.” His voice was a bit shakier than usual, yet still steady enough to not make you believe he shed tears.

His body inched closer to yours, before, he slowly laid on his back, his head resting on your lap. The moonlight made it possible for you to see the wetness in his eyes, as he looked up at you softly, his hands resting on his chest. “ My love..what bothers you so badly? I beg you, speak to me, because when you are not at peace, I am not as well.” You said quietly, your hands moving to cradle his face, leaning down to press a gentle kiss on his forehead.

Your acts of kindness and understanding only made tears escape his eyes, as he shut them swiftly , hoping you hadn’t noticed. Deep down, the way he’s acted to you the whole day also pained and stressed him. He felt as if he wasn’t deserving one bit of the kindness and love you were showing him.

“ I fear that centuries in the future, only thing that will be remembered of me is the battles I’ve fought, and not the man I am.” He spoke , exhaling as if a rock was taken off his heart, his voice seeming almost weak, hurt. It broke your heart to see him this way.

Despite his usual rough demeanor, when the two of you were alone, he softened each and every time. Every night, when you’d find yourselves laid on your bed , alone in the quiet of your bedchambers, he’d always tell you stories, from when he was a child, or, about how it was in the different zones he fought in, or just simply about his day. Perhaps, when praying before bed, he’d slip a few extra prayers for you as well, without ever realising it.

Your marriage had a rough start, but after so much time, the two of you grew to love and appreciate each other as if you had been married for decades, when you’ve been married for barely a year.

“ I- you don’t have to compare yourself to others, my dear,” you soothed, your fingers running slowly through his ginger hair , playing and tugging at the strands. “, I know you, and I know that you are truly a good man. And they know too, they understand. You aren’t the only Emperor to be known by strength, are you? I don’t believe it is wrong to be known as a strong man. Only jealous and incompetent people would consider you anything else but a capable Emperor.” Though your words didn’t seem to affect him much, he simply hummed with a small nod, opening his eyes to look at you.

A sigh escaped his lips, as his hands went to hold yours, pulling them on his chest. “ Dulcisa, will you forgive me? I acted so, so foolish today. It was wrong of me to take out my anger on you, my angel. You’re not at fault.” his words were reassuring, but it still hurt to know that he still meant those words.

Still, you didn’t complain, you didn’t respond negatively, you simply hummed, kissing his forehead once again, a gesture he took as a silent ‘I forgive you.’ He swiftly turned, so he’d be laid on his stomach, before he crawled over you, making you lay on the bed as well. Though his scope wasn’t to try any sexual act, and you knew that. He was tired of speaking, so just pushing you down to sleep was far easier.

His arm wrapped tightly around your waist, his head leaned on your arm. It wasn’t the usually position you went to sleep in, it was uncomfortable and irritating, but you didn’t say a thing and shut your eyes, breathing steadying as the two of you, soon enough, fell into a deep sleep.

[bigassmoth]

Tokyo Debunker x Reader: Food Delivery Headcanons

2nd person, sfw, various characters make sure reader is fed after learning about their less than stellar eating habits (this is written from the perspective of someone who forgets to eat so it will be biased towards that interpretation)

Haru: You are now one of the critters under his care- he would prefer to personally make sure you are fed but will also send Ren or Towa to deliver your meals when he is too busy. He especially enjoys having you over for meals at the Jabberwock dorm because you can (help him babysit--) get some animal therapy while you eat. The stuff he brings you is basic but homemade and good on the go- sandwiches, onigiri, waffles. If he finds out you missed a meal he scolds you for not paying attention to your health and does a lot of ranting about how important it is to eat so you have the energy to go about your day. He always has snacks on him so if you are in the middle of the day and feel yourself suddenly becoming lethargic, he is a good person to bump into. Has mixed up your people food with animal food before-- oopsie daisy. "Dont'cha worry! I have them all labeled now, see?", the kind of guy to have no sense of 'indirect kiss' and will fully share food, utensils, and straws with you. Kaito lets out an ungodly shriek the first time he sees Haru pass you his water bottle and you take a drink without blinking.

Yuri: In disbelief at first, "What? You just, don't eat?" he can't judge seeing as he also skips meals/eats poorly but that's different! He is too busy with his research to spend time with something as trivial as food. But you are one of his patients and he isn't going to allow his patient to decline over something so trivial. Floods your phone with texts three times a day reminding you to eat and refusing to let up until you confirm that you have/are eating. If you lie to him about it and he finds out, he will start demanding pictures. Ironically this means his own eating habits also improve because reminding YOU reminds him (or rather, he complains about it to Jiro who goes "oh yeah" and reheats him some pasta or something). Yuri is now fully incentivized to give you surprise checkups whenever he sees you, pulling you aside in the hallway to bark out questions "Are you tired? How much water have you had today? You are down 200 calories from where you SHOULD be at 1pm."

Sho and Hyde: These two are a pair because Sho only learns about your habits from Hyde, who is half-concerned and half "lol the honor student is eating soup for the 6th day in a row". After hearing this, Sho can't look at you without feeling the compulsion to fill you up like he's a grandma who survived a famine by eating leather shoes. You can't just eat soup- your diet won't be balanced. You need more meat on your bones, you need more protein to grow and retain muscle. You aren't processing your vitamins you need more fat in your diet. It annoys him more than Leo. When Hyde decides to bother his sweet baby brother, Sho puts him to work delivering food to you. "I bet that idiot hasn't even had lunch yet. Why don't you try being a respectable teacher for once and do something?". Bonus points, because of your habits Hyde takes to 'rewarding' students in class for answering questions by throwing packets of food at them (think granola bars, fruit gummies, etc).

Rui: At first he thought it would be romantic. Coming to your side with food, your surprise and gratitude at how considerate he is. He quickly stopped being sappy and started being concerned. "I know a good place for a romantic meal! Unless you have somewhere else you want to go?<3 huh? you already ate? It's 7am when could you have eate- what the fuck are you doing up at 4am!?" Ed is not helpful. "Oh do humans need to eat everyday? Ah...such a delicate species you a-COUGHCOUGHCOU--". But by fussing over you he realizes how bad he is at taking care of himself- sure a ghoul is more durable than a human and can go a while without feeling the effects of hunger but that doesn't mean he should neglect his health. He has taken to making little bentos at his bar for himself and you- using lots of flower and heart shaped cutters. The meals are small and modest but it gives the perfect energy boost you need to get through evening missions.

[royalcommunistthor]

#thor ragnarok#it does kind of fascinate me that thor is so generally unwilling to admit to a mistake and will try to brazen it out instead.#i think part of the 'stupid thor' impression people get is just that we see his mistakes (mostly just lack of local cultural knowledge)#whereas i think loki has taught himself never to touch anything in case he does this because he'd be too humiliated to recover.#you KNOW the mind stone was used to make people forget the fact they saw avengers era loki make a typo or spill food on his clothes.#whereas thor approaches the world with a certain easygoing simplicity that convinces people he himself is simple#but the fact he allows that to happen intrigues me.#and yes i do suspect this is partly because nobody back home ever said 'yes thor is the clever one he's the one you need to watch out for.'#they said 'don't touch that thor you'll break it. can't you be more like your brother he never touches anything. the sneaky little shit.'

@nostalgia-tblr i'm so sorry. i HAD to make a post with your tags cos i LOVE them and i didn't want to hijack OP's whole gifset.

anyways YES.

what i find interesting is how thor admits to BIG FUCK UPS™ very openly- i mean that's practically his entire arc; fucks up, desperately tries to atone for it, feels guilty about everything forever etc - but has absolutely no issue bulldozing through embarrassments (which tbh has to be one of my favourite traits of his). i think it's because small, harmless mistakes just don't really matter all that much in the grand scheme of things - but i do find it interesting that because he does breeze over a faux pas people seem to think he's unaware of the fact he's made one and he's happy to allow it. after all how would you go about dispelling that without making it ten times more awkward for everyone involved and coming across as a major twat. plus, as you said, it's not exactly like thor's got the reputation as the 'clever one' to salvage. if nothing else, people underestimating him does often play out in his favour.

loki, on the other hand? MORTIFIED and -if anyone as much as notices/speaks on said blunder - CATATONIC. at least HALF of his beef with heimdall is for that very reason, volstagg's "silver tongue turn to lead" IMMEDIATELY puts him on loki's hit list, you know eric selvig's brain wouldn't have been *THIS* scrambled had he not seen loki spill soup down his shirt.

[letters-to-rosie]

Rosie!!!! Ep 7 had me pointing at the screen like that Leo DiCaprio gif when Jinx lit the match to blow up the bar and during the sweet Timebomb moment on the roof!!! I was like JUST LIKE ROSIE SAID AAAAHHHHHHH even timebomb only being possible in an AU is in line with that i think. AND you are giving us the revolution plot the show didn't!!

lol timebomb and roofs name a more iconic duo

the funny thing about the parallel is that Jinx is doing this tearful goodbye to a place that's been a home to her for so long and was owned by two successive fathers whose deaths she had a hand in and feels responsible for. and revolution!Powder is like "Ekko pissed me off" lmao. not to trivialize her feelings, because it's certainly more than that, but she didn't come there to destroy it initially. it's this explosion of all this pain and anger that then is released when she and Ekko fight in the alley. it's so much less deliberate than Jinx in the show. it was interesting for me to watch too lol I was like heyyyyyy I wrote something vaguely like that

I do wish the show hadn't given us the feeling that timebomb was only possible in an AU, just because it also explicitly shows us that Jinx heals when she has people to care for. I think Isha's death is to suggest that she'll never be anyone's true protector, but it really shouldn't have to be that way. because Jinx keeps saving people all throughout the season. Ekko even says her inventions change the world. and there's so much work to do in rebuilding Zaun and making it its own thing that Jinx could be a big part of. work that Ekko himself is going to be doing. this is all to say that we should've gotten Firelight Jinx lol. we kinda did with the final teamup, but we didn't get to see it, and that's a shame. I think that would have been a very natural ending for her, to hide away and then live amongst the people who have become her people. but noooooo we can't have nice things lol

and that kinda segues into the business of the revolution. I did figure that the two sides of the city would have to team up to fight off Ambessa, though I couldn't have seen her alliance with Viktor coming (though it makes sense given Singed's lore, in a convoluted way). really not a fan of how at the end of the show most of the problems that were present at the beginning as far as class and inequality go are left intact. the only real difference is that Zaun has some leverage, but not much. but this does align with my critiques of the first season having some pretty neoliberal underpinnings. the second season just doubles down on that super hard in a frustrating way

for me, a big part of why I wanted to do the fic is because the show gave me a world in which it was really easy to talk about a lot of issues I'm very serious about, and because I could see Jinx/Powder turning into a leader, even if not in a conventional sense, through traits that were evident even before season 2's direction was revealed to us. it's kinda crazy how it's so easy to forget that Ambessa only had such an easy in because of the oppression Piltover had been perpetuating against its poorer half the whole time. it's a good example of how oppression is dangerous for the oppressor as well (very Pedagogy of the Oppressed-core of me but it's me lol)

this got long anyway hope you're doing well!! we should talk soon!

fic we're discussing is here if anyone wants it

[rita-repulsa-ke]

Death Waits

Then there’s Rio. Rio, who laughs like a hyena, sulks whenever Agatha is cruel, loves puppet shows, sleeping in, bad puns, watching people die and for some indeterminate reason, Agatha.

Agatha and Rio in their dating period. Agatha realizes how much Rio would like to personally kill her.

Death is relentless, implacable, everywhere and nowhere. She comes for everyone, stands at bedsides and roadsides, watches them all grapple with the circumstances of their own ends. Sometimes Agatha really sees Her, larger than life, too big for even Agatha to comprehend, one of the sacred mysteries of the universe.

Then there’s Rio. Rio, who laughs like a hyena, sulks whenever Agatha is cruel, loves puppet shows, sleeping in, bad puns, watching people die and for some indeterminate reason, Agatha.

Of course, she isn’t any good at being human, not really. Agatha catches it, in all the little ways and the big. How Rio forgets to breathe, enjoys half-rotten food that she doesn’t always chew and has no understanding at all of what it’s like to be afraid of dying, the latter of which Agatha happily uses to her own advantage, because the most convenient way Rio isn’t human is that she’s not going to die and leave Agatha behind.

Still, sometimes Agatha finds herself watching Rio, sprawled on her stomach, observing a butterfly with apparent fascination and she’s slightly amused that there’s an immortal part of the balance in there somewhere.

She crawls over on top of Rio, murmurs in her ear, ”Drop the mask?”

Death turns her head unnaturally far to look at her, skeletal, noseless, a thousand endings in her eyes, small deaths and big ones, the end of a life, the end of a civilization, the end of a solar system. All hers.

“Why?” she asks and Agatha shrugs, caught, entranced.

“Sometimes I just like to see,” she admits.

“You aren’t afraid?”

“Of course I am,” Agatha says. They both know how much Agatha Harkness fears her own end. “You’re still beautiful.”

Those bottomless eyes change, and now they are not many deaths across all scales, but one death in many ways and Agatha finds herself affixed, frozen, watching herself die over and over again. At the stake, by the sword, of disease, of drowning, in a strange vehicle, to a falling ceiling, to Death hers—

The mask snaps back into place. Rio blinks and then tries an imitation of a human smile while Agatha grapples to understand everything she just saw. “Was one of those you killing me?”

The way Rio shudders under her is slightly unnerving, she knows the other woman well enough to recognize excitement. “That’s almost never allowed,” she says, and yes, that’s definitely excitement in her voice.

“But you want to.”

Rio hesitates, scans her face, then nods. “Yes, Agatha, I want to. I really—yes.”

Agatha has been aware for some time that her death excites her lover. Still, she isn’t sure how she feels about knowing that Rio wants to do it personally.

“Creepy,” she murmurs and there is a flash of real concern in Rio’s eyes. She sits up, spills Agatha off and wraps her arms around her.

“I don’t want it to bother you,” she says.

“You don’t want me to be bothered by the fact that you want to kill me?”

Rio nods. “Right.”

Agatha can’t stop herself from laughing, a small, snorting laugh. “Well, if you don’t want it…”

“Agatha.” Something serious in that tone, something that is going to end in sulking and knives unless Agatha picks another tactic.

Agatha gathers up her lover, warm and soft, smelling not unpleasantly of dirt and growing things, currently remembering to breathe. “It’s fine, it’s fine, it doesn’t bother me.”

“Really?” Rio sounds genuinely uncertain, as uncomfortable as Agatha has ever seen her.

“I do wish you would tell me what happens after,” Agatha murmurs against her ear, always desperate to learn the mysteries of what happens after death. It would just be comforting to have a map. “Who knows, maybe I’d let you.”

She’s on her back with a knife to her throat on the last syllable, too fast to understand what’s happening. Rio’s eyes hold the kind of wild, electric excitement that happens whenever Agatha manages to be something like romantic. That normally ends with Agatha being dragged to bed for hours on end, hardly the worst fate.

Agatha isn’t as sure how this one ends. Her breathing has caught, her pulse is racing and she's staring up at her girlfriend, who is currently looking even more deadly than normal. “Rio…”

“Say it again,” Rio begs. “Ags, say it again.”

“Uh. If I do.”

“Yes,” Rio says, promises, the knife pressing in. “Agatha, come on, come with me, come see what’s behind the veil.”

“Okay, how about we calm down a little first…”

Rio growls, a guttural, echoing sound. Around them, plants have started to sprout, flowers and vines and small trees, the small, flat clearing transforming into a jungle.

“Hey, hey, Rio,” Agatha says, overly aware of the knife scraping skin when she speaks and the way her lover is staring down at her, impatient, hungry, a very, very familiar look. It is the same way Rio watches her when she kills other witches.

Agatha swallows, feels the knife, lets a tremor of real emotion sneak into her voice and says something she hates, “Rio, please, you’re scaring me.”

That breaks it or at least gets the knife to disappear and Rio to collapse on top of her, holding her tight.

Agatha notes that her lover has once again stopped breathing.

“Sorry. Got too excited,” Rio murmurs. “Don’t be. Ags, don’t be scared.

“I’m not,” Agatha says, with her normal brazen contempt for the idea of fear. “I did want you to drop the knife, though.”

Rio pulls back, studies her. “Really?”

Agatha snorts. “Me? Scared of you?”

Rio cuddles tighter against her. “…Good. I don’t want—you can be scared of death. Don’t be scared of me.”

“Of course not,” Agatha says, kissing her hair. “Who could be scared of you? You get distracted by butterflies and cry if I say anything even slightly mean.”

“…I like butterflies, they don’t live very long. And I don’t think I even know how to cry.”

Agatha shrugs. “My point is, knife aside, you’re very unintimidating.”

”Sure, Agatha.” She can hear the smile in Rio’s voice. “…You’re being nice about it. Thanks.”

Agatha cuddles the woman who loves her, the woman she loves so much that it scares her more than Death ever could, who definitely wants to kill her personally. The same woman who laughs at her jokes, puts up with her many personality flaws, lets Agatha drag her from place to place. The gorgeous, compelling, inhuman woman who surprises and delights her, shares her bed and her life, promises never to leave, the one person in the world Agatha has started to believe it just might be safe to love.

”…As far as flaws go, wanting to kill me isn’t that bad,” she decides.

“No?”

“Could be worse. Imagine if you were boring.”

Rio’s shrill laugh against her ear. “Truly terrible. You either, Agatha. You’re never boring. Never entirely what I expect.”

“That’s flattering. You’ve known a lot of people.”

“Not for very long.”

“Still.”

“…You really don’t mind?” Rio asks, still sounding slightly uncertain.

And now Agatha is beginning to see her favorite thing, the angle. “No. Though…you know, I don’t know if I’ve ever seen you feel guilty.”

Rio groans with a mix of affection and exasperation. “Oh no. Agatha Harkness has found a weakness to exploit.”

Agatha gasps in mock-offense, a skit she's done a hundred times before. “Would I do that?”

“Always. You know, I do still have a knife.”

“I know. The one you want to kill me with.”

“…You’re going to use this for a long time, huh?”

“Probably. It does seem like me. But you love me anyway, right?”

Rio sighs against her skin, a whisper of warm air. “More than you will ever know.”

"And that's why you want to kill me?"

Rio snickers. "Yes, Agatha. That is why I want to kill you." There is something longing in her voice and her hands on Agatha are starting to move more purposefully, unlacing the back of Agatha's dress.

"But also why you won't?" Agatha murmurs, pressing feathery kisses against Rio's cheeks, the corner of her lips.

"I won't because I'm not allowed," Rio says, even as Agatha's attentions elicit a soft whine from the end of all things.

Agatha kisses her lover, soft and sweet, a caress, an adoration, an act of worship. "But also because you love me. And you know I'm not ready to stop yet."

Rio nods reluctantly. "…Yes, Agatha, all right. Have it your way." A smile curls her lips, and it isn't a nice smile, too sharp, too big, an inevitable promise. "I can wait for you as long as you need me to. But let me do it, all right? When the time comes?"

Agatha, even Agatha, can't help but suppress a shudder. "Sure," she agrees. "But when I'm ready, okay? Until then," her hand cups Rio's cheek. "Wait for me."

She never fails to be delighted at the how she can make Death tremble. "As long as I have to, beloved."

That will be forever, if Agatha has her way. She can't imagine wanting to stop, wanting any of this to end. On the off chance it ever has to, though, on possibility that she someday changes her mind, well, she supposes Rio will have earned it. Agatha Harkness isn't an easy prize. She can make even Death wait.

Want to read something else? Try Agatha Sleeps for Rio being a good secret second parent or check out the master list for more

[dimension-20-every-introduction]

There are no new Introductions in Dimension 20′s The Ravening War episode 6 (finale).

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Bonus 7: Time moves sideways

[First] Prev <–-> Next

[fumifooms]

do you happen to have that page that talks about the beauty standards of each race?

Yeah sure. While scavenging pics for this I found this neat reddit compilation & chart & theory talk too. I had um, way more to say than I anticipated (I know you only wanted the one page. I have nothing to say for myself. Like most topics in Dunmeshi things snowball because they’re so interconnected. Mercy…) so, many races and observations are only mentioned near the bottom.

Beauty standards and race in Dungeon Meshi

Not pictured there’s also how elven society is harsh on visibly disabled people, and how the demon took away Mithrun’s silver eyes and ears to take away his pride. There’s also how Senshi might have fit in with the orcs more easily because of the dwarven wide body shape, and how they tend to have more body hair too I suppose. In the extra on orcs we see Senshi living with the orcs and he gets judged because of the hierarchy rather than his looks.

What is fashionable also differs from culture to culture, and there’s how tattoos only seem common with elves, though dwarves and others do also sometimes have some. They seem to not raise much brows, which makes sense since for many essentially they’re for professional (magical) purposes especially with elves. Gender roles also differ in type and importance, but generally they are similar to irl ones for the races we see. Elven society seems to be the least gendered, which would be an unsurprising logical outcome of having lesser sexual dimorphism aka they look more androgynous. Comparing fashions and gender roles and how they affect beauty standards would be a whole other compilation and conversation. Kui has great worldbuilding partially because she’s got such a good grasp on sociopolitics and geopolitics. History affects cultures and beauty standards greatly. Kui’s oneshot Distant Utopia was very eye opening on her way to worldbuild and the consideration she gives these things, I do really recommend reading it.

Out of the big 5, we know the least about gnomes, but their sheet does say both culture and region are similar to dwarves’ and they end up being confused together often, so we can imagine the beauty standards are similar to dwarves’ as well.

I wanted to touch on this in a post eventually, but how one daydream hour page said half-foots tended to be curvaceous like in the artwork below puzzled me for a long time, all the half-foot characters we see during canon are rather slender and lanky after all, Chil’s succubi also being more curvy than plump. Economics are for sure a factor in that I imagine, the half-foots characters we see are all implied to be some flavor of poor or malnourished, as are half-foots depicted as empoverished oppressed minorities in general. Even comparing the artwork with the half-foot sheet’s depicted average half-foot, the ones on the left seem bigger. Wouldn’t it make sense though, if unlike dwarves half-foots don’t have similar naturally wide bodies, yet due to idolizing dwarves they work towards having a similar body shape/type to emulate them?

It’s said half-foots tend to stick to pretty ethnically homogeneous regions (aka half-foots-only communities) unless they move to the big city with ambition to try and make it big (like Chilchuck and his wife & kids did), and that’s interesting imo because then that would mean that in a ton of half-foot communities, they rarely see or interact with dwarves whom they try to emulate. Of course, one thing about beauty standards is that when they get adopted, at one point it stops being "this is how dwarves look and so this is how half-foots should look" and just becomes "this is how half-foots should look", most people feel as though beauty standards aren’t learned but innate, so I figure the half-foots wouldn’t have any problem still seeking dwarvish traits when there are no dwarves around.

There’s also stuff you can glean here and there if you want to extrapolate more. Like how in the race swap artworks, Mickbell is only smiling in the dwarf portrait, and Rin’s elven portrait looks very close to her elven one- Rin who is stated to be beautiful in her profile blurb. Benichidori’s extra does teach us tallmen can definitely have harsh beauty standards, but also since the text portrays her as very dysmorphic that’s likely reflected in her thoughts to a much more intense degree than is common, not an accurate strict baseline to go off. Ah, Kabru’s blue eyes are also why he and his mother lived a rough life in Kabru’s hometown, but that seems to be regional. Good post here on the topic of Kabru’s blue eyes and ties to irl history. There’s a lot to be said about Kabru being a man that in many ways is close to elven beauty standards, and how that might have affected or been affected by his upbringing with elves + his persona as someone that can effortlessly charm most people. Marcille’s section here in this essay also goes into Marcille’s struggles to fit in with the ideal image of an elf.

Looking human

Also notable are beastkins and demihumans: Demihumans are all dehumanized which makes people treat them worse. So if you differ from the visual idea of "human" (an in-world subjective categorization just as much as demihuman is) most people do judge you negatively. Elves and dwarves get to fight about which type of human is considered the prettiest, but demihumans are below tallmen and half-foots, they are considered as simply below the beauty contest, incompatible with it.

Onis are perhaps the demihuman people we know of with the least cultural influence on the dunmeshi world, and with the least intensely different appearance than other demihumans—they seem to be technically categorized as human to people not from the eastern archipelago?— but even them are treated as lesser than human, treated as beasts to slain for reputation points or useful strength to have around and command. It’s said their "magnificient horns" and fangs are often shaven off when the oni lives in tallman towns, so you could easily make the argument that onis are denied the right to have their own beauty standards, having to conform to other people’s and going through mutilation to take away features they might otherwise have taken pride in. Inutade was bought by the Nakamotos from a dangerous sumo fighting ring that got one of Inutade’s tooth broken on her first and only fight, and kept as a low ranking servant ever since. Remember when I said different fashions existed in dunmeshi and how those could also affect beauty standards? Like the elves, if you look at the portraits pages which include a lot of characters that aren’t in the story you can see distinct cultures within the same races, for example one young elf is bald which is in sharp contrast with the usual elven long luscious hairstyles, and that’s especially true for onis I think. Maybe not only from different regions but different eras as well… They have a bit of population in the very north of the western continent, so I like to think some of the ogres live in very cold, maybe even subarctic or arctic conditions. The point I’m getting at here is that within a race, culture/ethnicity like with Kabru will also influence them it isn’t just tallmen as a whole, different communities will have differing beauty standards. The oni history blurb and third row first collumn portrait remind me of Mongolia (which historically was a lot of different nomadic communities with different cultural identities as well. Something something, the oni empire experienced a decline and then tallmen overpowered them, and now they’re governed and split apart by stronger social classes & slavers and the richness of culture was hurt for it especially if they have no real community left of their own), but obviously many of them are dressed and look rather japanese, makes sense considering living in/close to Wa, and first row second collumn portrait reminds me of ainus which again would be logical considering geographical placement, though I’m far from an expert. Interestingly, ainus are indigenous people both in Japan and Russia- Perhaps the northern western continent ogres are meant to be closer to Russia than Canada like I imagined? Ok tangent over.

The kobold sheet says they’re especially sought after as slaves because they’re "adorable", but locally in the western continent they’re repeatedly said to be seen more as ferocious and dangerous. The dehumanization is most apparent in the first comic below. The language barrier and conflicts no doubt worsen this by a lot, but I think it’d be hard to deny that their canine appearance makes the dehumanization worse. "They’re ferocious beasts, they’re demihumans, they can’t be communicated with". Most characters in Dungeon Meshi’s world are desensitized to slavery and most characters are prejudiced one way or another. Point being, kobolds are fully removed from human beauty standards, but no doubt for kobolds, other kobolds are more beautiful than humans are. They’re assumed to be an uncivilized bunch, but just like any other people they like to adorn themselves with nice clothes and jewelry and keep themselves clean and groomed; they too take care of their appearance and take pride in it.

And the orcs! This one we have the most contact with in canon, with not only there being foreigner characters from the ethnicity or hearsay of their homelands and culture but full on contact with a community. We get to see up close what they’re like and what they think, and of course in turn they’re our introduction to how demihumans are harshly looked down upon and seen as inferior, less human and thus less worth valuing and less dignified. It’s text that orcs are ugly to most humans and humans are ugly to most orcs. Since I judged they didn’t need accompanying explanation the pictures showing this are in the pictures dump at the top.

God forbid you sell vegetables to orcs my god- but then again they do basically mandate adventurers to kill any orcs they come across so yeah the world isn’t above that even a little bit.

So yes, my main point here is simply that orcs are yet another evidence of the physical ideal of "human" being an important beauty standard for human societies globally.

Izutsumi is our glimpse at how beastkins are treated in the world, and in Wa at least that’s ending up being caged and mistreated as part of a freak show. Izutsumi hates her appearance and wishes she could leave the feline part of herself behind to only be human. Interestingly, not that we have a lot of info on them so this is very much a take with a grain of salt situation, but there seems to be less stigma around artificial beastmen, those who can shapeshift at will. The main difference is of course appearance, that most of the time they simply look like average tattooed humans. Artificially creating humans is an illegal practice, and no doubt it’s not well regarded, but being able to hide that makes them less likely to be discriminated at any moment, or even just discriminated less intensely. Again, looking human is important, not only for belonging but for safety’s sake. Beauty standards rule the world with harsh hands.

Mermaids and fishmen

Ok we’re done now right? Right-! But wait… Wait…! Mermaids and fishmen are said to be demihumans too, special separate cases to the main three demihuman species however, which is also represented by how mermaids and fishmen both are in the Adventurer’s Bible chapter Monsters meanwhile ogres, kobolds and orcs are in the chapter World. They’re an interesting topic because they directly tackle this topic, not only in a meta way for the readers but also making characters themselves struggle to quantify their humanity with the goal of knowing wether they should be eaten or not, especially Chilchuck. Chilchuck’s "is it really just a matter of feelings?" mini arc.

The party asking themselves "Should we eat this?" is very common, and often they end up playing a little loose on morality, like eating the red dragon’s meat despite it having digested Falin. Not unsimilarly Marcille freaks out a little over the vegetables they harvested having been grown with fertilizer, aka largely human poo. Half of the motivation of "should we eat this perhaps sentient creature" is out of consideration and compassion, but more strongly and more often, the characters struggle with a sense of taboo at eating something too closely related to humans. Even, feel uncomfortable because of the deepseated impression that eating it would dirty them in some way. Cannibalism is an interesting and relevant topic in many ways, but what I want to mention is how there’s the more or less universal belief that committing cannibalism inherently taints you as a person and turns you more monstrous, morally but also literally depending on some myths such as w*ndigos and onis in some cases, like in Touge Oni. Marcille and Izutsumi both express a fear of eating monsters turning them monstrous. Maybe this is part of what Laios was hoping for, honestly. There are two fears here, if eating a demihuman monster constitutes as cannibalism or not, and so, will eating it taint you because it’s a human, or will eating it taint you because it’s a monster? You are what you eat, until it’s a little too literal. You morally are the means by which you get your food, and you physically are the result of your nutrition. Dungeon meshi manages to mix an exploration of humanity with the theme of food because our relationship to food is very deep and complex, psychological as much as physiological.

In the end, the characters sort of shrug and accept that they’ll never quite understand the world of mermaids and fishmen and how they operate, and what that means about them. Laios is the one always challenging these notions other characters take for granted, it’s not obvious to Laios why people are softer on mammals than other animals and plants, it’s not obvious to Laios why people would be afraid of eating a monster just because it’s a monster, it’s not obvious to Laios why some food is gross to Marcille but not fish testicles, it’s not obvious to Laios why you should immediately regard orcs and kobolds badly.

"Cows are probably closer to humans [aka closer to being human] than fishmen, though they’re clearly intelligent", dehumanization to lessen empathy towards them to be able to eat them. Meanwhile, mermaids seemingly have a less noticeable "civilization" or intelligence, they hunt in groups like fishmen, but they don’t use tools and such, they feel more primal and similarly instinct driven, and yet… Do they attract sympathy more? Mammals, humans, is it because of their nature or because of their appearance?

Both the nature and appearance of fish are ones people don’t typically sympathize with. "Fish don’t feel pain", "goldfish only have 5 seconds of memory", "it’s okay to keep fish in completely empty bowls too small for them until they die from it", so many lies and misconceptions exist that make people less considerate of them. The average lifespan of a goldfish is 10-15 years, the record is 43, but they’re not seen as lives that really matter, so a lot of goldfish die in a few weeks of bad aquarium conditions. There’s a lot of research on animals evolving to look cute and appealing to make some predators want to kill them less and parents want to care for them more, including humans. First good google research result gave me this credible short article on the topic. In Chilchuck’s weighing wether a fishman is far enough from being human or not to eat, "face is 100% fish" is his biggest argument for it being more acceptable. The face, the most important thing for empathy and recognition. The face, the decapitated fishman one that falls into his hands next chapter.

To quote @room-surprise: "Chilchuck can't explain why it's wrong to eat the merpeople, even though it's NOT complicated. But the problem is Chilchuck would have to accept and acknowledge that the merpeople might be people? And that's outside of the worldview he passively believes, so he can't just say that, because he doesn't think that's true. But that IS why he "feels" it's wrong. And it's all you'd need to say for Laios to understand! But it would require acknowledging that maybe the way they're treating and talking about the merpeople is wrong."

The idea of Chil not being able to grapple with how maybe some monsters are more humans than they seem, him who had been an advocate of half-foots rights, half-foots who get undermined and treated as inconsequential sacrifices… Grappling with how he could relate to the merpeople’s situation almost, and pulling away because it’s so existentially horrifying. I do not want to see myself into an hostile fish-faced warrior I can’t communicate with. In a way this also relates to Chilchuck being the only party member who doesn’t see Izutsumi as a cat in the relationship chart, the only one to treat her with full human dignity. He knows the struggle to be taken seriously, he knows being infantilized and he knows what it’s like to be treated as less than human.

Below, you will see Chilchuck draws the line of where they become not okay to eat as when "they already look like mermaids". Above, there’s speculation that the algae hair is partly to mimic "the mermaids’ beautiful female form". Is it because mermaids are their enemies and the ambiguity might give them extra seconds to attack or flee? Is it to trick adventurers instead? It’s striking to me that this is what works, with the adventurers. Sure the fishmen are intelligent, but explicitly here, what makes them no longer acceptable prey to Chilchuck is that they look close enough to a mermaid, close enough to human. Mermaids who of course themselves have this form to entice and seduce and charm the adventurers they prey on. Chilchuck considers the intelligence due to the tridents, but most of his internal debate centers around their appearance, and the image of a fishman skewered sickens him. The power of mimicry… Mimic being a beautiful human woman. Mimic being cute, babies being wired to make us feel protective and softened. Half-foots, sometimes pretending to be children for scams or help or avoiding trouble.

The mermaids are only concerned by their differences and not their similarities, and have no trouble treating the fishmen as food rather than peers. To an outside perspective like us, the audience, all these categorization of "more human" and "less human" between onis and orcs and elves and tallmen etc seem stupid and unfounded, but to the people living in Dungeon Meshi’s world, elves may as well be mermaids while onis are fishmen, not alike at all, unworthy of empathy and thus fine to eat.

Ultimately, Dungeon Meshi promotes unity. It’s about seeking to understand the unknown and the misunderstood, the dehumanized and the inhuman. It shows the good that comes from seeking to understand what you do not, even when that’s one another.

[faaun]

my research partner and i are huddled in a blanket in paddington waiting for a too-late train i already miss you and you and you

[spotaus]

Thinking about Orchid and her connection to my take on Gender (because this was meant to be about her and the Crew but it just devolved into a character analysis kinda??? More trauma-dumping maybe???) This is very much an oc/personal rant so feel free to ignore it 🫡

So, Orchid started off as a character I didn't really think much of (hear me out this is going to be relevant) because I wanted to add a 'girl' character but didn't know what to *do* with her, y'know? She was always going to be the strongest one there, she had the odds stacked in her favor with her parents. She was always going to be the gloomy side-character to match Reset's energy. But I think she's gone through every stage of Generic Woman I could possibly find.

At first she was angry and abrasive (think Fell!Sans) where every other word was a curse and she was likely to throw the first punch then laugh as she kicks her enemy while they're down. This was when Reset was a cartoonishly self-centered villain whose goal was simply to prove others wrong. Then Orchid became a sort of sisterly figure. This was short-lived, but she was the one comforting people who Reset would torment, but would ultimately follow his orders, because at this point he was actually a danger and sadistic. And then there was the phase where the story mellowed out and she became the token Goth Girl who, yes she was strong, but was heavy on the 'whatever' energy. Then there was her Era of deep self-loathing and anxiety about her worth that held her back and made her a much more timid and meek character who would only lash out on occasion.

Now, Orchid is the best of those iterations I've written yet. She's calm, level-headed, and a natural leader. Her father raised those traits into her. But she's very reactive, and can be silly, and when she's comfortable it's likely that air of importance transforms into something more comfortable and familiar. She laughs loudly and grins wide, she likes loud video-games but loves to read in the quiet. She's extremely disciplined, and normally no one can get through her tough exterior besides her best friend, Reset. She does what she does for her own enjoyment, sure, but she's thought of every angle and makes her choice to help Reset and control the others with her whole chest. She still worries she won't live up to her invisible expectations, and that and her loyalty are her two driving forces.

I know that Orchid is important to me because she's the longest-running female oc I've had. I have a rough relationship with womanhood/girlhood and I know looking back that Orchid recieved every ounce of my distaste for being a woman that I could shovel into her. That never made her less of a character, she was actually always one of my favorites, and rarely was she a 'punching bag oc'. I just... projected onto her a lot. And she's a good sign of how I've learned who I am. I've decided that my own femininity is something I could live without. I'd rather not associate myself with it, and I'd like to leave it in my past, focusing on a future where I'm not tied down with any gender roles or expectations. That won't happen, but I've come to terms with it myself. Orchid though? I figured out through her that I don't have to hate women characters. My own distaste for my circumstances doesn't mean I have to push it onto my characters (on God I've never expressed anything rude to actual people, that'd be rude as hell and uncalled for, but I have a bad habit of disliking fictional women in media). So, Orchid is a well-roubded character finally. She has motivations abd goals and a *lot* more depth than I ever expected her to. She's happy with being a woman, she's content. She's not treated differently for it in unfair ways by those she cares about, so she doesn't mind it. She likes to wear pretty outfits and lets Reset add bows to her ribbons. She doesn't let being a woman hold her back in the slightest.

So, yeah. Orchid is one of my babies. If I ever leave this Fandom behind for good, she's one that's coming with (Ichor, Orchid, and Pretender all have human designs I can use elsewhere lol-) but in the meantime I'll just rotate her around in my brain for a while longer.

If I'm right, she's been with me for nearly 5-6 years and I went through a *lot* with her as an outlet. So, she's kinda just like an old stuffed animal. A lil ripped, matted fur, maybe a stain or two, but there's a story there and that makes it important beyond belief.

[lia404]

"Ai, living has no answer."

"When we're in pain, we search for an answer to feel better. A concise, absolute answer. But if you really want an answer… it's that there is no answer. There are no absolute in this world. Even if we think there is, in the end, it'll only make us feel better for a moment.

If there are no absolute, then what's left?

Bonds. Bonds between individuals. Bonds between one another. That's all there is.

That also changes with time. A huge trigger can cause a huge change. Bonds may be severed. But new bonds can also be formed. So living is a series of bonds.

That's what life is.

I have to do that forever?

Yes.

That's a lot of work.

Yeah.

I'd need to be so strong.

That's why people become stronger. That occasionally leads to conflicts. But even if that happens, we have to keep fighting. Keep searching for bonds, even if there's no answer.

You can't rush living."

So I saw on MyFigureCollection that October 13 was maybe possibly Yusaku's birthday, although I couldn't find any reliable source for this. I'd have loved to do something nice and light-hearted for the occasion, but I'm still feeling too strongly about it all. So here you are instead: Happy (maybe) Birthday, Yusaku! Please have some trauma to go with your trauma. Here's to another year of fending off expectations and looking for your own life and its non-answers with eyes wide open and always filled with hope.

[californiaquail]

told my gynecologist how bad my job is and she told me to apply at that hospital and put her down as a reference. we do stan

[smimon]

:( how long does it take to heal a broken heart?

[lunarharp]

wip thing...

of my bg3 avatar hellebore. i also did some casual nude studies of my 3 characters which i'll put under a cut... rather unlike me after all. (so WARNING for abrupt non-sexual full Artistic nudity lol...,,,,) (< won't be making a habit of this)

they mean the world to me

[fadeintoyou1993]

having to explain to people things like. if i have to go out to do something and run errands i need to have it all mapped out and planned w like. at least a week in advance. and if i go out that day i cannot do anything else because That will be it. if i have multiple commitments that cannot be put on the same day i need one full day in between those commitments so i can rest and be recharged for that next thing otherwise i might have a breakdown in the middle of the street (again) and then That will render me unable to function for like a whole three days. and then people look at me like i choose to live like this?

[penisbilt]

the bittersweet but absolute flood of relief that comes from admitting defeat at living independently, to have to move back in with parents. we tried! we gave it our best shot for almost 3 years! but living like this (being on our own) is just not possible for us at this time of our lives. we've finally proved it to ourselves that we can't do it. it'll be okay to let ourselves rest now