#it’s also a metaphor

[shmaptainwrote]

there’s something so personal in describing black women as angelic

[atissi]

i don't really like when people say dungeon meshi is accidentally good autistic representation, because while i understand not wanting to make conclusions without explicit confirmation from the author, there's always the weird assumption that non-western authors somehow don't know about things like neurodivergency/queerness/etc. (on top of the assumptions that east asian authors are somehow more naive or oblivious to "western" social issues).

given that dungeon meshi started being published in 2014, it's not really a "work belonging to its times"—it's as contemporary as any other media we discuss on this site, which means it should be fair to assume it engages with contemporary topics (and at the very least, you shouldn't say that the representation is accidental with so much confidence)

but anyways, the chapter "perfect communication" in ryoko kui's "terrarium in a drawer" is some of the most straightforward autistic representation I've seen, and from now on I'm going to assume that laios's character writing is absolutely intentional in that regard:

[cracklewink]

My Mane 6 Redesigns all together! I was going to post them separately but ended up finishing them all before I got around to it lol

[tanjir0se]

Disclaimer these are just a small sampling of some possible writer traits I’ve noticed either in myself or in fics I read. Also consider a rb for sample size !

[akanemnon]

Bad time for custody battles

FIRST - PREVIOUS - NEXT

MASTERPOST (for the full series / FAQ / reference sheets)

[mynnthia]

was talking with a friend about how some of dunmeshi fаndom misunderstands kabru's initial feelings towards laios.

to sum up kabru's situation via a self-contained modernized metaphor:

kabru is like a guy who lost his entire family in a highly traumatic car accident. years later he joins a discord server and takes note of laios, another server member who seems interesting, so they start chatting. then laios reveals his special interest and favorite movie of all time is David Cronenberg's Crash (1996), and invites kabru to go watch a demolition derby with him

[toodrunktofindaurl]

"Death's child"

twitter | bluesky | insta | 🔞 patre*n

[descendant-of-truth]

I think the other reason I don't really get into ships as portrayed by fandom culture is that it seems like the mindset is more like. "I want these characters to be in a Romantic Relationship(TM)" instead of "I want these characters' relationship to be romantic"

What I mean here is that, so often I see pairings enacting romance tropes to the point of heavily altering or downright replacing their original dynamic - as if the people behind it only understand romance as a series of checklists to tick off. Couples like to kiss and sleep in the same bed and flirt with each other, so it doesn't matter who the characters are, if they're a couple then naturally they'll do those things, right??

And that's where the whole thing starts to lose me, because I would assume that the appeal of shipping characters is, y'know... the characters? Rather than just, the idea of a couple? If I'm thinking about how it'd be cool for them to be in love, my first thought is always "so how would they show it," because just like everything else about a person, the answer is going to be different on a case-by-case basis.

Maybe the characters involved aren't really into kissing, but they like arranging date activities. Maybe they aren't committed to the structure of dating at all, and just want to be around each other whenever they can. And even if they are the types to like doing traditionally romantic things, that doesn't suddenly erase whatever else they had going on before they started adding that on top of it.

I'm not saying that the more typical romance tropes and activities are bad, just that they're applied kind of excessively, regardless of whether or not they actually work for the characters involved. I want to see my favorite characters having relationships that are true to who they are, not what the stock depiction of a couple says they should be.

[mark-the-snark]

The reward for the quickest a media made me do fanart goes to these guys ☝️☝️☝️

Also if it's hard to tell what's happening, the kitty made him a new tail. U may not believe it, but I almost cried drawing this 😔

[chalkrub]

dinosaur in a lab coat - would you trust her with operating the centrifuge

[secretmellowart]

“Give to this dog son of a wolf a human face, and the result will be Javert.”

I think a lot about the folkloric story that Victor Hugo describes (or invents) in Les Mis, that uses dogs/wolves as a metaphor for that way that Inspector Javert betrays his own social class. It feels very fairytale-like, so here’s a Lotte-Reiniger style adaptation. Many thoughts, many emotions. I may animate this eventually. (And thanks to @valvertweek for the motivation!)

[lucabyte]

even dogs pass the mirror test

[werewolfoffeverswamp]

REMEMBER WHO YOU ARE!

[oyabun-draws]

reupload bc i just noticed that i uploaded a version with the scar layer hidden IM SORRY POOKIES!!!

[duraante]

so thrice dante has killed him. first, above temen-ni-gru. then, at mallet island.

and now a third time. it is the ultimate homicide: he has slaughtered vergil’s character, his very spirit.

[zipsunz]

don't ruin the captain's surprise!!! 🍫🍓