#most of this is me projecting onto marcille

[buniix3]

[mxauthor]

Beginning of More

Summary: Two best friends in a dungeon. They might kiss.

Word Count: 2,147

Warnings: fluff, secret mutual pining, brief mention of dead husband, mention of kids, Chilchuck and Reader being besties, sneak peak into matchmaker Marcille

A/N: I was thinking of making this into a little mini series or adding the other parts to this draft when I have them. Let me know what you think and enjoy!

Y/n and Chilchuck have been best friends since forever.  

Having grown up in the same village, the two of them spent most of their time together while they were young. And as they grew older, so did their friendship, they had been either best man/maid of honor at each other's wedding, first ones there after the birth of their children and became the god parents. They moved away from home and started the half-foot union together and began adventuring. It was very unusual for adventuring parties to get one without the other.

The two were thick as thieves. Always there for each other. 

So when Chilchuck had been introduced to Laios’ forming party, it was no surprise when Y/n also signed a contract with them as well. Starting together and ending together, that is the way both half-foots worked. Always going where the other leads. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Marcille’s favorite genre of books are romance. Where a princess gets swept off her feet by a prince and they fall madly in love. Or when two people are forced to go on an adventure together only to realize that they began to fall in love during the journey. She couldn’t get enough of them, which had caused her to strongly lightly project onto others, specifically the two half-foot party members that seem to be insanely close with one another. 

It wasn’t hard to see the natural pull the two of them had with each other, or the instinct of making sure that one is safe after a battle with a monster within the dungeon. Marcille would catch glimpses of the two of them leaving when it came to getting water or heading off to the bathroom. Just always making sure the other is safe. 

She knew they were friends beforehand, it wasn't hard to keep track of the infamous half-foot duo despite her not being the most well kept with rumors. She knew that they have history before forming the party. And watching them now, after deciding to go and rescue Falin, she knew it was much deeper than just friendship. 

Marcille’s main focus is reducing Falin. But if she said getting the two together wasn’t a separate focus on its own, then she’d be lying to herself. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chilchuck sat irritably on his bed roll, gaze locked onto the door for night watch. After spotting the mimic in the room over he knew something was going to happen. Mimics have never brought them luck before and it sure as hell wasn’t going to bring them luck now. 

With an irritated huff, Chilchuck felt his stomach growl with hunger. “My stomach’s gone soft on me. I used to go two days without eating.” He reached for his water skin only to find it empty.

Chilchuck huffed to himself, before instinctively reaching for Y/n’s water skin, knowing she wouldn’t mind. He lifted it up to drink but only a few drops came out, “We need more water.”

He rose to his feet with the water skins in his hands. He turned towards Y/n, calling out her name. She groaned lightly, only turning slightly in the direction his voice is, Chilchuck huffed before reaching over and shaking her. Y/n groaned at the forced movement of her body. 

She turned her head, inhaling and exhaling deeply before speaking, “What is it hon’?” 

Her words came out muffled and they were laced with sleep. But it still rang loud and clear in Chilchuck’s ears. The softness of her voice and the endearing name was enough to make his face blush red. He’s heard her call her late husband that or her kids or even his kids, but never has it been directed towards him. And not once did he feel like it needed to be, but his heart still fluttered. 

 His face still flushed. He still stumbled over his words. “I-I’m going to get some more water.” Only a simple sentence and yet it was still hard to get out, her half lid eyes, seemed to be drawing him in. Almost like she wanted him to stay. 

“Want me to come?” Y/n asked, lifting herself onto her elbows. Sleep clinging to her eyes, Chilchuck watched her fight it. But it looked like she was going to lose. 

“Nah, I’ll be alright. It’s only in the next room.” He reassured, standing to complete his task. Gently he nudged her head, giving the indication for her to lay back down, “I’ll be back. Go to sleep.” 

“Yell if you need, I’ll hear.” She replied, before laying back down. Chilchuck watched as her breathing went even. He stepped out of the room, a single thought on his mind. 

“She looked really pretty.” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Golly!” 

Y/n shot up from her bed roll, the sound of a voice waking her from her sleep. She scanned the room only to find Chilchuck still gone. Panic swelled, Y/n quickly making her way towards the door. In her haste, Marcille had woken up. She watched as Y/n swung open the door and took down the hall. Marcille noticed the missing Chilchuck and quickly woke up Laios to come and help. 

Y/n heard the loud thump of a box hitting the ground behind her. She turned and saw the previously opened room was locked with bars. Turning around, Y/n raced towards the room only to see Chilchuck pressing the last brick before the gate opened itself. 

In his panic, Chilchuck didn’t register that Y/n was standing right in front of him nor did he slow his pace when he ran straight for her. Before Chilchuck could fully collide with Y/n, she quickly pulled the man into her, once he was within reach, giving a wider gap between the mimic and himself. 

Y/n watched as the metal bars slammed down onto the mimic's body, killing it. Y/n held tightly to the panting Chilchuck, just relieved that he was okay. She pulled back to assess him of any major damage, only to see the slight gash on his cheek. 

“I told you to yell if you needed help.”

“I had it under control.” Chilchuck laughed, knowing if he was patient enough, Y/n would’ve come running. Y/n smiled warmly, knowing that he would figure out a trap like that in no time. 

The door to the room opened to reveal a sleepy Laios being dragged out by Marcille, her panicked expression matching the one Y/n had on seconds before. 

“I saw her run out like something was wrong! And Chilchuck isn’t in the room! He must be in trouble!” The small group looked over and saw the two half-foots converting, Y/n pulling the pouch on her leg off to reveal a couple of needles and thread, Chilchuck following suit.

Laios and Senshi stared at the dead mimic on the ground. “Whoa! You bagged a mimic! Nice going!” 

Chilchuck groaned, sitting back as Marcille gave him a once over with her healing magic. “Thank you.” 

Y/n shook her head in disbelief before assisting his green neck warmer. Seeing how much she can sew right now, before having to add more fabric to it. “I can sew most of it, but I’ll have to add some of the spare fabric I have.” 

“Thanks, you’re a lifesaver.” Chilchuck commended, happy he could keep it for one more day. 

Seeing his happy smile caused Y/n to share a smile of her own, his relaxed nature making her heart flutter. Knowing he was only this level of relaxed with the two of them, their small bubble yet to pop even with the rest of the party around them. 

Even with the small trickle of blood on his face, Y/n couldn’t stop the thought that passed through her head. 

“He looks so pretty.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Marcille silently observed the interaction between the two half-feet. She always had a leading suspicion that they held some sort of feelings for each other, but seeing the way they’re acting almost like it was only the two of them within the dungeon, Marcille knew it was her imagination. 

She could see that the two of them held the other close to their hearts, but seeing how close would be the fun part. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Y/n watched as everyone settled around, ready to eat the dinner provided for them. She was a couple stitches away before Chilchuck’s neck warmer was finished. Which was about the time everyone's portions began to be served. Chilchuck sat next to her, holding the other end of the neck warmer so she could sew it more easily. 

Marcille continued to munch on her piece of the mimic before turning towards the duo, questioning them. “If you knew the mimic was in there, why didn’t you tell us?” 

“Because I’ve had nothing but bad experiences with them. The last thing I wanted to do is deal with another one.” Chilchuck grumbled. He flicked his gaze towards Y/n only to see she had finished mending the fabric and is folding it up to place it next to his pillow. “Anyways, I made a lot of bad decisions.” 

Y/n hummed in agreement, eating a piece of mimic as Chilchuck continued to talk. “The first was panicking thinking the mimic would eat the treasure insect.” 

“But mimics don’t eat treasure insects. Treasure insects eat mimics.” Laios announced. His small explanation going over the irritated Chilchuck’s and the amused Y/n’s head. Chilchuck grumbled as Marcille tried to pat his head, only for Y/n to slap her hand away. 

“You know he doesn’t like to be coddled.” She said simply. “It makes him feel like a kid.” She finished her plate of food and placed it down for it to be washed later. Marcille ignored her  words and turned her attention towards Chilchuck. 

“Tell me how old you are and I’ll never do it again.” Marcille compromised, “What happened to you today only happened because you wanted to be so secretive. Now come on and tell me how old you are.” 

“Fine.” He grumbled out. Hoping she’ll keep her word. Marcille’s eyes sparkled, before turning towards Y/n. Her face held an expecting look, almost like she was waiting for her to share the same details.

“What? You never asked my age. I would’ve told you if you just asked.” Y/n answers simply. It was true. She never hid anything about herself, like Chilchuck did. Just no one was interested enough to ask, or they didn’t think to ask since Chilchuck always refused to share anything and everyone always assumed that she was the same way. 

“I’m turning 29 this year.” Chilchuck grumbled out, seeing Marcille’s eyes land on him expectantly. 

Marcille groaned at the information, expecting to hear an age older than the one she got. “Man you’re just a kid after all.” 

“I thought you were way older than that.” Senshi said. Y/n laughed at their reactions, knowing that other races don’t fully understand half-feet life expectancy. Especially races with longer lives. 

Marcille watched Y/n chuckle at the scene in front of her, before lighting up herself, “What about you Y/n? How old are you?” Marcille asked. Excited that she’ll get the answers to some of her questions. 

“Me? I’m 30.” Y/n answered casually. Watching Marcille’s excitement withered slightly. 

“Really? You guys are so young.” Marcille huffed, leaning back onto her hands looking at the ceiling. 

“Okay then! How old are you guys! All other races look like kids to you races with long lives!!” Chilchuck shouted. Y/n laughed at Chilchuck’s faux anger. Knowing he was more irritated than actually upset. 

“There, there, Chil, those lifers will never understand our day to day struggle.” Y/n joked, watching as Chilchuck fumed silently sitting down and crossing his arms. Steam almost pouring out of his ears. “Come on guys, we should rest a little more before we start moving again. Especially since not everyone got a chance to sleep.” 

Marcille watched closely as Chilchuck’s body seemed to instantly relax once Y/n began patting his shoulder. And how Y/n’s touch lingered for a second more before she moved and began reassembling her bed roll closer to the new circle the group had formed. 

The party grumbled in agreement before dimming down the fire and getting back into their bed rolls. Most falling asleep almost instantly. Y/n turned over, her now face to face with Chilchuck. She reached out slightly and tapped his arm with her fist. 

Not enough to hurt, but enough to convey her displeasure with him, “Don’t go anywhere without me next time, got it?” 

“Yeah I got it.” Chilchuck replied, tapping her arm in return.

They two adults shared a smile before dozing off. Resting until they woke up naturally to continue moving down.

[topoillogical]

Dunmeshi sexuality headcanons letsgo

Laios: Aroace

If I remember correctly, he was upset at the idea that he would settle down and have a family if he were to have been a girl? Super aromatic coded. And his succubus was non-sexual and non-romantic, just like Izutsumi's, who is arguably the only canon aroace character (she explicitly stated that she is not attracted to anyone).

Marcille: Bisexual

I ship Farcille, but her succubus was a dude.

Chilchuck: Bisexual

Obviously he's into women. But... look the amount of handsomeness he sees in Senshi and him projecting onto his daughters that they'd all be into him... kinda sus chilchuck ngl

Senshi: Gay

I don't have any strong feelings about this. I just like gay Senshi.

Izutsumi: Aroace

She outright said that she wasn't attracted to anyone, and imo her succubus confirmed this. One of like... two(?) canon LGBT characters (Otta is a lesbian).

Falin: Lesbian

This in my mind is such a synergistic solution. Sorry for corporate-speak but like. Her almost accepting Shuro's proposal... I think a natural interpretation of this is that she saw him as a safe choice and knew she wouldn't have to worry about marrying anyone else. And then further, this can be interpreted as her being lesbian, so she knows she can't marry for love anyway... Ok that's super angsty but. She didn't end up going with him sooooo.

Kabru: Bisexual

Another one I don't have reasoning for, I just like. I mean, I ship kabumisu (Kabru/Mithrun) which incentivizes me to make him attracted to men. He kissed Rin but I'm pretty sure that that was canonically not romantic (on his end). I just like bi!Kabru.

Mithrun: Gay, grey-ace, greyromantic.

Mithrun, pre-dungeon: Bisexual

Okay this one is a little high concept. I like the idea of Mithrun as a bisexual man who, due to culture, grew up believing that he was straight -- or if not, at least not actively engaging with his desires for men. Him not having well-developed desires for men means that the demon couldn't have eaten them, so, as the joke goes, "I'm gay now because the demon ate my heterosexuality". But make it kinda serious. He's grey-ace and greyromantic because a lot of his generic romantic and sexual desires were stolen from him, but he still retains some.

I feel like there's 100% a leviathan of discourse underneath me here (referring to someone as grey-ace when that is caused by a neurological condition as opposed to their natural orientation) but when I consider this, honestly this seems to me the most respectful language. He IS greyromantic, even though he wasn't born that way. I feel like accepting him as he is with his disability and all is better than acting as if his disability is something Other and so his sexuality isn't Really That. But I'm also open to other opinions on this.

There are so many other characters but I'm leaving this here for now

[properlyunaware]

actually i have thoughts. disclaimer i'm anime-only so far.

dungeon meshi to me is about the party learning to work together, and specifically to work with each other's abrasive autistic traits. they're shaped by their pasts, but in a lot of ways also read as autistic character features.

there's a lot of posts about laois' autism but i relate a lot to the others. these traits that clash with other people, neurotypical or not, and the way you're expected to change.

because they can suck for other people.

if you don't agree with marcille, a lot of the time arguing is not going to benefit you. she's stubborn and deeply convinced of her beliefs.

chilchuck is not going to reciprocate what you project onto him. he's hard to get to know and he's hesitant to open up in a meaningful way.

senshi is interested in one specific thing and lacks patience for most other things. if you can't get down with food and cooking and eating monsters, it'll be hard to connect with him if at all.

izutsumi wants to do her own thing. she doesn't like orders. if she doesn't want to do your thing, she'll be mean about it. she will resist it. she'll have a meltdown before she comes around to it, if she does.

in the anime so far, for the most part they don't change. but they learn about individuality and relationships and boundaries and themselves. the party learns how to function as a group.

in real life, a lot of people won't stick around. and that isn't necessarily their fault. these traits are hard to deal with. but when you do meet these people that learn to work with you, and that are fine with you, and that give you the opportunity to grow while staying true to yourself, that's important.

[ame-to-ame]

How ironic that literally the moral of dm is that to live is to consume and to have desires is a proof of living and so wanting is not bad!!! Wanting is not bad!!! But every waking hour I repress myself from wanting that I don't even know really how I feel or what I want anymore

Which is kinda why I have like mixed feelings Abt falin bc I like falin I do she just reminds me of someone and she reminds me of the part of myself I thought I was growing out of but recently I've been falling back into

To not have any dislikes. To not want to hurt anyone. To be nonconfrontational. To forgive and say nothing about your family who cast you out and your brother who left you. To not have any complaints about the injustice of the world enacted upon you for being just a little different, but not really different from anyone at all because like everyone else you were just a kid trying to survive in a world that was new to you.

Falin was most alive to me when she said that she was willing to hurt others to ensure the survival and wellbeing of marcille and laios. Because in that moment she wasn't just someone who would go along with anything who was okay with everything--She wanted her brother and friend to be well. She wanted something!! And I think it's kinda implied with the whole message of the manga that falin was most alive in the end when she does choose to live. She chooses to live by consuming. She wants to live!! She wants to eat! And the lion says that it's the more painful path or something like that. But nonetheless she does it because she wants to. Want. Desire. You have to want something to have any force of will, any proof of living in this world, because how else will you change anything if you're okay with everything and let it change you?

But anyway. Yeah. I saw a post that ended like. I am crude at piano, crude at life, and full of wants (by onenhillion on tt) about being scared of wanting things for fear of rejection and fear of loss but coming to accept it. And imo with my own meaning projected onto it, accepting wanting bc it's such an integral part of being alive. You have to be okay with wanting things and have to be okay with rejection and loss.

Anyway all it is to say that I don't want to have lived a life where I only did things that other people wanted from me. Things other people told me to do. Things other people thought I should do. I want to have at least tried to do the things I wanted and be the person I want to be and even if I fail on the way I will have felt better knowing that I at least tried.

I guess that's why I always try to take the initiative and try to be open and make the first move and whatnot because. Well. Life is too short to be scared or to wait for a better time or to doubt myself. But even then I'm too aware that I'm still not brave enough sometimes that I'm still too scared sometimes. But at least the times I've tried I can be proud of. It's a work in progress. Progress isn't linear. I just have to be more sure and more certain in myself.

God it's my life and I'm the only one responsible for it so. I better be taking the wheel back soon lol.

[sleepyburito]

IM SO GLAD UR ENJOYING DUNMESHI SO FAR RAHHHH

who's ur fav character so far🤨me personally i always have a hard time picking between marcille, laios, and chilchuck cuz theyre all super silly and i relate to them all in different ways

you were very correct when you said these people are NOT neurotypical at ALL and once u watch the most recent episode (ep 17) you'll see it wayyy harder

also ur so real about the fairytale vibes???? i never thought about it before but thats exactly the vibe it gives (im this close to deciding to finish fairytale I CANT RN)

ANYWAY ur very real about getting hungry while watching it the food literally looks delicious like damn girl gimme those monsters omomom

So!

So far the favourite is Laios because oh god mood but Marcille is the most relatable

cant wait to see who I can project onto the most with later ep’s

hi yes I watched Fairy Tail in 20…13 I believe? Like before the sequel series was even a thing (pls pls pls message me I wanna scream about Fairy Tail so bad it’s a never ending favourite of mine)

I had an apple lattice with me thankfully so I had food-

[yuri-puppies]

@malewifesband asking the good questions 🤔🤔🤔

the shotgun wedding is the shenanigans and misunderstandings option for sure, so it appeals more to me, but the grand royal-adjacent wedding and family planning is more in line with my vision of a canon-compliant future

either way, other than the additional embarrassment and stress of a shotgun wedding, labru and falin would react fairly similarly in both cases

kabru is having an amazing time planning and scheming, it's great enrichment for him, and he's normal amounts of excited and nervous and absolutely not acknowledging any feelings this might bring up about his body, his capacity to nurture it, his gender, his eyes, his birth family, his foster mother, or anything else

laios has never had a complex emotion he wasn't willing to project onto his sister, so he genuinely wouldn't be jealous, but he might fall too hard into that particular coping mechanism and start thinking of the baby as falin's to avoid dealing with the fear of turning into his father. hey, it helps sell the story! he'd probably be very focused on the practical and logistical side of pregnancy/childbirth/infant care. absolutely no one is surprised by how much time he's spending in kabru and falin's rooms/residence; everyone knows he dotes on his sister.

falin would be down because she loves her brother and has a mischievous streak, especially once they promise her naming rights and figure out a custody arrangement that would let her keep traveling. she'd probably be caught by surprise by just how stir-crazy she'd get.

marcille, tho. marcille would have a similar emotional reaction in both cases but express it differently. either way she'd be over the moon about planning falin's wedding in that pushy hyperfemenine way of hers, and deeply hurt and jealous that falin is marrying someone else, let alone to the most beautiful man in the world. (the ending of your sex change mushrooms fic lives rent free in my head)

the shotgun wedding scenario would actually be better for her bc then she'd have a reasonable excuse to be angry, might bring that elven superiority in to scold them, screaming matches would ensue, etc, but she'd be able to process her feelings. but in the family planning option she won't really have any logical objections, plus the daltian clan of it all would genuinely appeal to her, so she'd let it fester

either way i don't think it'd click for her emotionally until the baby is born, that if her partner and her brother and her best friend are all having a baby, for all intents and purposes she is also having a baby. a 100% tallman baby with a tallman life span.

on the topic of arranged marriages in the post-canon, my dumbest and most inescapable headcanon is that falin and kabru get lavander married

partially out of my love of lavander marriages and the historical tradition of queer men arranging marriages between their lovers and their sisters

and partially because every time i see a labru baby fanart i think "the rumor mill believes that falin and kabru had an affair and the king legitimized his sister's bastard as his heir" and the comedy of errors that would result from trying to cover up kabru's pregnancy/fake falin's is hilarious to me

[doedipus]

dungeon meshi?

001 | Send me a fandom and I will tell you my:

Favorite character: the obvious answer is izutsumi, but I also really like chilchack, kabru, and misurn. just like,,, not as much as izutsumi lol

Least Favorite character: there aren’t really any characters I absolutely hate, but if I really had to pick, I’d probably say mr. tance. he’s just super crotchety and doesn’t really respect namari and the rest of his retainers much at all. also toshiro/sureau and most of his party come off as pretty unlikable. 

5 Favorite ships (canon or non-canon): izutsumi/marcille, farlyn/marcille, laius/kabru, I think there might be something in kabru/misurn and marcille/misurn too but I haven’t really thought about it further.

Character I find most attractive: basically all of the canaries are pretty hot. I think I unironically have marcille’s sense of taste lol. it’s not really the same thing, but izutsumi is another one of those characters that’s attractive in a way that I’d want to project onto them in a story or whatever 

Character I would marry: marcille or farlyn probably, maybe kabru if he transitioned

Character I would be best friends with: honestly most of the cast. chilchack seems like he’d be fun to go drinking with, and the thorden siblings seem like people I’d run into in a d&d group or online game lobby and immediately get sucked into their social circle forever

a random thought: I put all the touhou shit in my fanfic kind of as a joke originally, but after reading forbidden scrollery I feel like there’s actually a good bit of thematic overlap about like, the border between the human and the monstrous and symbiotic relationships between the two and stuff. also reimu would make a great canary.

An unpopular opinion: I think my “every elf is genderqueer” headcanon post is unpopular with straight fans lol, but outside of that corner of the fandom I guess maybe “senshi and farlyn are both kinda boring as-is and need more development” would do as a more generally unpopular opinion

my canon OTP: again, idk what the threshold for canonicity is, but marcille/farlyn is basically a reading comprehension exercise so I’m gonna go with that

Non-canon OTP: desperately hoping izutsumi/marcille graduates to canon at some point

most badass character: hard to say, there’s so many characters that are just super cool. misurn telefragging people owns, kabru’s party kicks ass when they actually get to fight stuff and don’t get instantly tpk’d, marcille is pretty badass during the resurrection scene and when she kills the griffon basically single-handedly, izutsumi taking on all the succubi by herself was awesome... I could go on. basically every character has gotten a couple scenes where they really get to shine and I love it.

pairing I am not a fan of: laius/marcille. arguably laius’ succubus implies that he’s into her, but I really just don’t see anything deeper than that tbh. not that they aren’t friends obviously, it just feels really forced to interpret that as romantic.

character I feel the writers screwed up (in one way or another): there hasn’t been anyone yet where like, their characterization just veers off in a stupid direction or anything, but like I mentioned already, I feel like senshi kinda ran out of stuff to do around when they got to the water level with the exception of the griffon arc, and farlyn still needs more characterization imo

favourite friendship: just generally laius’ party seem to get along really well and I love the dynamic they have

character I want to adopt or be adopted by: I think basically everyone except chilchack is about my age (or equivalent) give or take maybe 5 years so it’s hard to say. maybe the thorden siblings as kids? a lot of laius’ flashbacks about how they grew up seems pretty dismal, especially how farlyn was shunned and stuff

[ecliip]

weeellllll since two people seem to be interested... have a doodle page

featuring goursenshi, rivuchuck, marsaint, and laiosurvivor (as well as falonk, shuntero, and namartificer)

tumblr is gonna destroy the quality. ough

also- no spoilers for delicious in dungeon please, i am a showwatcher only

ramblings for this au under the cut!

so first things first, the reason why i didnt just make the characters into original rain world characters and instead fused them with slugcat counterparts is because i really enjoy assigning characters to characters from seperate medias to fill their roles. idk why, its just really fun. and also, the slugcats are all more like dolls to me than characters, barely any set personality traits makes it so i can just put them into whatever situations i like.

but, i did assign each character a slugcat based on how well their existing characterization and lore matches!!

Gourmand as Senshi is the most obvious. theyre both very smart in the ways of the world theyre in (no way Gourmand would be such a perfectly rotund creature if they were bad at surviving), theyre both large, protector/guardian types, and most importantly, they both have heavy food correlation. also, the idea of Gourmand carrying around a large lizard skull that they cook all their meals on is great. Gourmand and Senshi are both the type to own a 15-year-old cast iron skillet that they love dearly

Rivulet as Chilchuck took a bit of consideration. it moreso stemmed from the widespread "fanon" interpretation of Rivulet as a silly, head-empty, carefree speedster. and while i do enjoy this interpretation immensely, it also made me think of how a lot of people in the show see Chilchuck as just a kid and not, yknow, a grown ass middle-aged man. i thought it would be very fun to give Rivulet that tired, sick-of-everyones-shenanigans attitude, but still have a lot of others percieve them as some cute, grumpy little slugpup. besides, Rivulet and Chilichuck aren't fighters, instead using other skills to traverse their dangerous situations. and i got to draw Rivulet really short and thats a huge bonus

Saint as Marcille also took some thinking. as Saint is the only truly diet-restricted slugcat in the game (you can gain a quarter of a pip as a carnivorous slugcat when you eat non-meat food, however Saint literally spasms on the ground if you eat a batfly) i thought it would be funny to give Saint the role of pickiest eater. Marcille also has that dark magic stuff going on, which i think Saint's ascension powers correlates to nicely.

Survivor as Laios and Monk as Falin were the last ones i decided on. i knew i wanted his role to either be Survivor or Monk, since i'd be able to make them siblings, but i kept flipflopping between if i wanted him to be Survivor or Monk. i settled on Survivor because 1: basic-looking main character thats actually really interesting, 2: Falin is more gentle, which fits Monk more, while Laios is the parties main fighter- cant afford to have fewer spear damage when you're the main defense, and 3: Laios and Falin have the same attitude when it comes to monsters, so we could just project that onto Survivor and Monk, bam personality issue solved

Hunter and Arti are Shuro and Namari because i wanted to include them. when more episodes come out and we meet more characters i will give Spearmaster and Enot their deserved roles. same goes for the iterators

additional fun facts:

i wanted the red dragon to be a red lizard, but i felt like it wouldnt be quite as intimidating in the same way the dragon was, since its so low to the ground. a king vulture seemed like a better fit for the vibe it gave off, even if its less dragon-y. of course, this is all due to change!! nothings set in stone

the rain world cycle and the dungeons curse kind of intermingle? im not quiiite sure how it works but i think the "soul remains attached to the dead body" thing would be incorporated somehow- hence why they embark to save Monk instead of just throwing themselves into the rain and waking back up at their last shelter

i am heavily debating on whether magic should be, like, a thing here. like theres saints ascension fuckery, but besides that? i got no clue. if i decide magic is a no, saint becomes extraordinarily useless, but if i decide yes, it might be too much of a tonal change?... but whatever its my au i will do what i want with it

my friend kidnapped me sat me down and binged all the currently available delicious in dungeon episodes with me and now my minds racing with ideas for a rain world au of it