#kind of like how elves and dwarves are just like human+

[beanysprout]

Dorf but add bug?

weevils seem like a cool fit since they got little snouts for mining and theyre sort of pickaxe shaped! anyways, dwemlin!

[homunculus-argument]

Making every other fantasy race except for humans a monoculture isn't just lazy, but actively robbing yourself of a wealth of story depth. Give them cultures with distinct nuances about things a human would have no idea about. Elves whose invisible and extremely nuanced cultural cues are not only incredibly subtle, but vary from one elven line to another, so something that would be considered a remarkably tactful and delicate choice in one elven house would be an atrocious insult in another.

Goblin clan feuds about The Sacred Bug - they all agree that this specific species of beetle is sacred to the Goblin Gods, but the question is whether it is taboo to eat it, or whether it would be blasphemy to not eat this bug that was specifically gifted to goblinkind by the gods. Can You Eat The Bug -wars are torrid affairs that can last generations. There's a theory that there are two different goblin gods who appear as the same one, and have deliberately given their own respective clans contradictory instructions about the bug just to fuck with them. Everyone who has ever asked a goblin about this theory has been bit.

Dwarves who have different regional measures for different ground depths. There's a confusion within a construction crew digging a new tunnel with some of the foreign builders using words like "first cracks deep" for something that's not a measure that's in use in the dwarvish universal metric system. And then it turns out that different dwarves from different areas are used to different kinds of bedrock that cracks at different levels, and they also disagree with each other about how deep is "first cracks deep".

And the Mason Master of the projct throws his pickaxe in the tunnel wall in frustration and goes "alright the next one of you to say some utter fucking hillbilly bullshit gets their ass beat so bad that your mother's beard falls off."

[thechekhov]

Dungeon Meshi Quick Reacts: CH38

Rip to these promising mages. I assume they will not survive this massacre.

IS that where her lungs and kidneys are? Because like. She's huge. Her entire body is behind her. Do you really think she'd keep her vital organs in the little human bulb on the front?

I mean, he has a point. What are you going to do? Fight off more hoardes of dragons?

oh noooo, Kabru.... too bad. That's so unfortunate.... anyway.

It's curious that Laios only got knocked away. He was just as likely to have had his head squished like a grape.

Guys, this is absolutely not the time to be concerned for her privacy.

Yes, queen. Free the tiddy. Murder everyone in this dungeon. I support women's rights and women's wrongs.

.......that's. One way to do that. I guess.

.......what's that rock about.

Oh, I see. That's convenient.

This guy dungeons! Maybe he even dragons.

So we got north (tallmen? dwarves?) and then the easterners.... and now the elves of the west?

He's going to give her to the Americans?! ಠ_ಠ

To be fair, at least they HAD a plan. And they executed it. It's more than you did. I don't mean to point fingers but... at least they... ya know... did something.

Kabru's like 'no, no, hang on, I need to hear what batshit fucked up thing this dude is going to say next, this is important'

Laios is so stressed he broke character.

Then again, maybe it's healthy to let them slug it out a bit. Get it out of their system.

It's true. They wore fitbits and everything.

...hey, hold on a second.

Now hold on a minute.

Damn, this is. Kind of even worse because. I guess I could have guessed that Toshi was just pretending to be polite, like you do. Cultural differences.

But the painful thing is, Laios doesn't seem surprised. He just seems resigned. He's been told before that he's difficult to get along with. To the extent that he doesn't even consider Marcille and Chillchuck his friends? Even though they arguably both care about him? But because Toshiro didn't bother to be deadpan about him being a bit odd at times, Laios thought it meant that was fine.

And that kinda hurts. Like damn. Laios just wanted to make a true connection. And I can't really blame Toshiro either, he was just trying to keep the peace but. Damn.

Free her! Let her do her illegal magics! She deserves it! （︶^︶）

Thoughts:

Senshi just being annoyed about that one last harpy looking for scraps.... like "shoo, this ain't the time"

That gnome seems genuinely nice. I'm sorry Falin squished his pet undyne.

Kabru hugging his..... mage? Girlfriend???? Seems very...one sided. Kinda feel bad for her.

Laios and Toshiro still going at it, I see. Get it allout, boys.

Uhhhhhhhhhh ninja girls.

Aww, doggo.

Last question: Where did the cat go?

Senshi: I can fix that.

Are you all worried because he's finally making sense?!?!

Laios and he punched their singular braincells into several new ones, it seems.

F./....Falin... please give the caterpillar some privacy........

My man, maybe lead with that............

I can't believe Marcille was potentially more forward about her feelings.......

"his pupils are dilated" yes, thank you sherlock. You've finally realized what everyone else who meets Laios feels almost immediately. he's a monster freak club card carrying member. Welcome.

p.....pubby......

As long as he was also inside the dungeon with them.... yes.

The issue with Kabru isn't that he isn't trying his best. It's that Laios isn't trying at all.

On a scale of one to Kabru, how badly do you react to being offered a food you don't want to eat?

......oh no. He's so pathetic it's funny. He's growing on me.

Absolute morons, the pair of them. Immovable object meets unstoppable force. The funniest combination ever. Ghost type and normal type pokemon, forever throwing moves at each other that will never hit. Laios thinking he's made a friend. Kabru just barely stopping himself from killing Laios. Best comedy pair. Tom and Jerry in a can.

Anyway. What a great manga.

[rui-drawsbox]

olba x dumenshi lets goo

little ramble about the worldbuilding cuz it my favorite thing abt dumenshi jkdsfh

besides Ruri and Cove, everyone meets as adults. Derek meets them when Cove s 16-17, Terri and Randy when he's 19-20 and Baxter comes into picture when he's 23

Yeah i'm using Cove's age as the standard lmao, i also made Ruri a half gnome so they could grow up together like in the game lol (i mean at least that's the case with half elves but i just assumed it was something universal haha)

dwarves aaaare super hairy but i wasnt sure about giving derek a full-beard so lets just say he shaves (?)

since baxter meets the gang once he's an adult, to me he spent half his lifetime with the olnf cast but went to the elves continent with his parents and since he didn't liked how dismissive they were toward others races (specially his parents, istg theyre like peak traditionalists lol) he ran off and joined our little group yay

cove is like laios but the "sea creaures" autism instead of the "all kind of monsters" autism

Ruri (and mom, shes also a gnome to me) teached a little magic to Cove, specifically water and healing spells

since gnome magic and elf magic is different, sometimes Ruri and Baxter teach magic to each other haha

dont ask me about their roles in the dungeon i dont play dnd

to me. baxter was this super classy elf, and he shows that classy-ness with expensive elf-like delicate outfits lol

Ma is a drawf (mabye?) and Mom is a gnome, which makes Lee also a gnome! Liz is still a human/tallman. Intentionally didn't make anyone a halfoot bc of their super short lifespan (mabye shiloh or jeremy)

cove suffers when they have to kill mermaids

[meanbossart]

Hey! I was thinking of trying to write something for you about DU Drow but after a trying to gather stuff about him via your page I’m struggling to get something substantial for his personality- like I get it mostly (I think?) but it’s hard to put into words (which makes it easier for me) so if it’s not too much to ask; how would you explain DU Drows personality and maybe some of his values? - if you don’t mind! I love your art BTW!

Man, this is a tough ask and I MADE the guy. The fic is definitely the best place to see his personality in action, but it is also 20 chapters long so far - and I'm a fairly reasonable man.

Before I get to any descriptions, there's two important things to note: A) Overwhelmingly, his looks do not match his demeanor. and B) DU drow is extremely hedonistic in practice. He might claim to have certain beliefs or standards but hardly ever practices them.

Anyways, I present to you: The guy, more-or-less summarized to the best of my abilities.

BEHAVIOR: Purposefully standoffish. He wants to be noticed, but he does not want to be bothered. He's a little bit stiff with his body language and mostly makes use of head/neck gestures to assert his sentences and signal his level of interest. On that note, me makes it extremely obvious for the socially-versed individual to tell what he thinks of them - he hardly ever tries to hide if he's disinterested, annoyed, or having a laugh at your expense. He expresses emotion through his face a normal amount, but his default look is eerily bland, and subtle emotions might go unnoticed because of his eye-color and thin brows.

As it is with most people, the more uncomfortable he is with a situation the more stiff and inexpressive he becomes, and vice versa.

SPEECH: DU drow is very much well spoken, and simultaneously very blunt. He abides by most conversational formalities (definitely more formal than you would assume him to be) and basic etiquette. He will greet you and he will say please and thank you even if clearly not meaning it or feeling like you're unworthy of the gesture. Sometimes, he does it just to be patronizing.

With all of that in mind, he has a tendency to use violent turns of phrase and analogies to express himself, this applies to both negative and positive feelings. That being said he's aware of social norma and knows full well when things are or aren't appropriate, even if sometimes he chooses to ignore that and be weird anyway - usually with the purpose of intimidation.

He is the most earnest and sincere with very close friends (quite literally only Astarion and Shadowheart) and rather curt with everyone else unless you catch him in a particularly good mood. He's a little chummier with dwarves and duergar (he finds them amusing and fun to hang out with) and reserves a slight bit more tenderness and kindness for children and mothers, especially if they're elves. He's also fond of animals. He is dismissive of gnomes, goblins, bugbears, half/full orcs and hobgoblins. He despises githyanki and drow. He treats humans fairly respectfully but thinks they are a far lesser race than pretty much all others.

He has a very dark/offensive sense of humor and a tendency to make well crafted, but cruel jokes or quips about sensitive topics. This goes for everybody, including people he's on good terms with.

VALUES: Here's where things get tricky. DU drow is both a hypocrite and a unreliable narrator of his own story, not to mention deeply unfamiliar with his own inner-workings and feelings. Politically, he would be the guy who doesn't vote, doesn't want to pay taxes and dreams of living off the grid, who thinks everybody should pull themselves up by the bootstraps and that it's a dog-eats-dog world. He hates systems of government, authority figures, hierarchical structures and archaic customs. He believes it would a chaotic but functional world if people governed themselves.

In practice, he doesn't stand for anything and gladly overlooks injustices and things that don't align with his supposed values as long as they favor him, or just don't get in his way, and easily makes exceptions for things on a whim. He's indifferent to slavery; unless it's Astarion's. - He thinks humans are a worthless pet-race, except for his dearest and nearest friend, the half-elf Shadowheart. He thinks Half-orcs are intellectually inferior, but he will gladly be chummy with them if they amuse him and make for good-company during a night-out.

INNER WORLD AND INTIMACY: DU drow is extremely unfamiliar with his own emotions and very often comes up empty when he has to justify or explain anything that is based on feeling, while simultaneously operating on impulse and instinct for the vast majority of the time. He is subject to fear, resentment, and insecurity as much as anyone else, but carries a deep shame in acknowledging his own vulnerability at all. He is very intense when it comes to love, however, and shows no reluctance in expressing it through his words and actions towards the people he cares about. He does care for the levels of comfort of those dearest to him though, and doesn't bombard them with it unless the moment is right, or if overwhelmed into doing so. The same applies to physical affection - he's extremely comfortable with it, but cares deeply for respecting the boundaries of his loved ones. When it comes to strangers, he only touches them outside of combat if there is some kind of power-game at play.

A couple of other things that might be of note:

-He likes creature comforts, but is also fine with going without them and won't ever complain about having to live, sleep, or survive in less-than-ideal circumstances as long as he feels in control of the situation. -He can be enticed by valuables and gold because they make the immediate future easier, but he doesn't seek a life of vast riches. -He is not an alcoholic but probably has a binge-drinking problem. -While he is fond and respectful of animals, he has no issues killing them if the situation calls for it. -He pretty much always believes himself to be the most impressive person in the room. -He is not a vain man, but very much likes the way that he looks and to have it be acknowledged by his partner. -He believes faith, religion, and gods to be a waste of time.

[michaels-reality]

Diversity talk around Dungeon meshi makes me feel insane because all that was done is drawing normal looking white people. I can count the people of color on one hand and most of them are ambiguously brown, and on the other hand I can count the fat characters and most of them are specific fantasy races.

Ryoko Kui has a remarkable art style and everyone is drawn with love and I really admire it, but I feel like it shouldn't be the pinnacle of diversity for some of you. Falin isn't fat, she's just a big normal looking lady. Laios also isn't fat, he just has a regular looking muscular build without the dehydration six pack. The fat characters we do see are dwarves and orcs, which seem to make it look like the only way you can be fat is to a specific fantasy race. That may sound like a reach and may actually be a reach, but it is a little sus to me </3.

Characters like leed, namari, and senshi mean a lot to me but I wish we saw more fat humans or elves or etc. I know Ryoko Kui does explore more body types for different races in the art books but I'm a little disappointed it wasn't in the actual manga.

Not to mention the lack of black people 😭 Like I'm usually not expecting to see black people in anime and manga, I know that I can't always be asking all that from this kind of stuff, but seeing Kui actually draw black people in some of her studies in the art books and not seeing them present in the manga made me a little sad 😭. Like the brown characters we do have are KiKi, KaKa, Thistle, Kabru, and Cithis (plus a few extras that show up for like 2 seconds). Most of them are ambiguous, talking about the elves. Like we have brown elves but also we have pitch black elves, that makes me think they are only brown cus they are dark elves.

People like to argue like "Oh but it's fantasy and these are fantasy races so what do you expect?" but I think there is something to be said how it's always white people in these fantasy settings and brown and black people taking a backseat. I love dungeon meshi, I really do, but it is in no way revolutionary, it is just the standard.

IN MY OPINION ANYWAYS!

[edges-of-night]

I just found your post and im in loove with your writing so o wanted to know if i could ask this.

What would the characters react if a Modern!reader has a scar or something from her childhood ( of theyre wild child like me) and would they though someone hurted her?

Kudos from Brasiil

Thank you, I’m glad you like the blog! Enjoy your post!

This one doesn’t have that huge bunch of gifs I’ve been using before – let me know what you like better, if you have a preference.

･ﾟ✧ Aragorn.

Aragorn would treat your scars with great respect and never ask any questions about them, knowing they could potentially hurt you. It is no great deal for him though; he doesn’t think less of you for having scars!

･ﾟ✧ Arwen.

Arwen would have a silent fascination for your scars, as Elvish healing powers make it impossible for Elves to develop scars. She’d let her fingers ghost over them if you let her but never speak of them, unless you want to.

･ﾟ✧ Boromir.

Boromir bonds over your shared scars. He’d tell you battle stories for every one of his. In turn, you could tell him yours. He’d find it charming to hear you’d been a wild child like he!

･ﾟ✧ Elrond.

Elrond does not talk about your scars or even look at them, until you would initiate a conversation about them. He just accepts you have them, possibly thinking of the wounds they once were and how he would’ve treated them.

･ﾟ✧ Éomer.

Éomer would worship your scars, no matter how you got them – through work, fun, or battle. I like to imagine scars carry a deep meaning in Rohirrim culture. Éomer would go on and on about how Human they make you, as opposed to an Elf with healing powers. He would be sensitive if someone had hurt you, causing the scar.

･ﾟ✧ Éowyn.

Just like her brother, Éowyn would show great respect and admiration for your scars. But unlike him, she wouldn’t push the topic, knowing that you could have potentially emotional memories to them. If someone had caused you a scar by hurting you, she’d curse that person.

･ﾟ✧ Faramir.

Faramir is the kind of person to place deliberate kisses on your scars. He knows how insecure they can make one feel about their body, and he will have none of it with you – you’re gorgeous just the way you are ♡

･ﾟ✧ Frodo.

Frodo has a very casual attitude toward scars. He accepts that you have them and doesn’t pull the attention onto them. He would probably ask you about them, after a long night you’ve had at the Green Dragon, but he’d always stay respectful and considerate – he’s a gentleman after all!

･ﾟ✧ Galadriel.

I imagine Galadriel having an almost morbid curiosity about scars and their place in the Human system of healing and mortality. She’d ask if she can take a closer look at them, talking about them, and even has clothing or headwear made for you that shows them off.

･ﾟ✧ Gandalf.

Gandalf would casually ask you where you got your scars from, as an attempt to normalise conversation about them. If you signal him that you would rather not talk about it, he’d let it be, but otherwise, you could have a deep conversation about them with him. Should you wish to have it removed, he would cook up a spell that could do that.

･ﾟ✧ Gimli.

Dwarves think highly of scars, as they symbolise both brashness and hard work. Gimli is no different. Should you ever feel insecure about your scars, he’d happily show you his and assure you that there is nothing shameful about them, with a big grin!

･ﾟ✧ Haldir.

Haldir avoids even glancing at your scars. He is both polite enough to not stare and troubled about the implications – Humans cannot heal the way Elves do. He could lose you to a wound that wouldn’t even be an issue to an Elf, and he cannot stand that thought. He also wracks his brains about someone having hurt you, as opposed to simply asking about it.

･ﾟ✧ Legolas.

Legolas would take the issue of your scars very lightly. That also means he could potentially bring up hurtful memories, since the concept is so new to him. However, if you told him that, he’d immediately apologise and distance himself from the subject.

･ﾟ✧ Merry.

Merry thinks your scars are super cool! He’d be the first in line to say things like, “They make you look adventurous!” Depending on how sensitive you are about them, he’d tone it down, of course. Still, he’d rather have you with them than without.

･ﾟ✧ Pippin.

Pippin probably has a bunch of scars himself, being both clumsy and a troublemaker. He’d ask you about your scars in a way that turns into a ‘ping pong’ game, with you taking turns with the stories you want to share with the other.

･ﾟ✧ Sam.

Sam has a big scar himself that he is rather insecure about. Bonding with you helps him accept that part of his body – though he would still blush how he got it, having defended Rosie Cotton from some ruffian at the Green Dragon.

[pinacoladamatata]

I am once again thinking about Solas and how his potential arc this game could go regarding the Veil being up or down and I'm gnawing at the bars of my enclosure [spoilers obviously] I don't like being intelligent/thoughtful on here I prefer to be stupid but here we go

In [yet another] article that came out, idk? today? Mark Darrah says the story "allows us to, hopefully, give a good conclusion to all the varied attitudes toward Solas that are going to be coming from people who love Solas, who agree with Solas, who hate Solas, people who want to kick Solas off of a building – I think that we give you the opportunity to bring that to a close, but then tell a greater story about The Veilguard and about the world as a whole."

and I don't know what to fucking think about this? They obviously know people's opinions are varied and I think it should be obvious that this is not a case where 'one ending fits all'

Because like, he is such a tragic character and I know there's gonna be an option to kill him, calm down, before you start in my inbox with "I WANT TO KILL HIM" like, you will be able to, that's kind of...almost a certainty. Especially for low approval Inquisitor/swore to stop him at all costs. Because if he Won't agree to stop trying to tear down the veil and causing mass destruction, (even after dealing with Elgarnan and Ghilly) then you'll have to kill him. Even trapping him forever isn't really an option because he created the fucking veil, man's crafty, he'd eventually find a way out. Like, If he will not and cannot see reason, then you, the protagonist, will have to end him.

It's the OTHER option that has me spinning because, you could, maybe, potentially, hopefully, talk him out of it. And if you did that, either as a romanced or friendly Inquisitor, or apparenty? Rook? based on this new info that Solas and Rook are going to have a lot of interaction, then he doesn't NEED to die. If he stops wanting to tear down the veil, he could potentially just disappear and do whatever he wants, like nerd out over magic.

And honestly, having him die on both paths is such a slap in the face for "your choices matter" because like clearly they do not if that happens; like what was the point of making me choose at the end of trespasser? If the only difference is 'stop Solas at all costs' leads to a boss fight where you kill him and 'redeem Solas' leads to ? him dying anyway somehow? Like I'm sorry but that is lazy and boring. His redemption should not end in death, he should have to live and deal with the consequences, because that could be so much more interesting.

[because I'll be real, I don't think they're going to let us have the option to tear down the veil/side with him AND have the option to keep the veil up. I think it will be one or the other no matter your choices; Simply because there is too much of a massive difference between world states of 'killed Solas to prevent him taking down the veil Thedas remains status quo' VS 'let Solas take down the veil, Thedas is now fundamentally different in an almost inconceivable way'. Like the setting for any future games depend on this; you would have to create 2 very different games. There has to be some uniformness to the world state, like; the veil remains, but it's thinned or whatever and the people of Thedas are living life more or less as usual if they ever want to make DA5. Would be wild of them do go the route of no matter what you do the veil comes down anyway. Which would be annoying if you swore to stop Solas at all costs and he just... succeeds anyway, even if he dies? Of course, there is Sandals prophecy, which I think is about the events of DA4. And devs have said in the past they had 'something' planned since Origins. "One day the magic will come back - all of it. Everyone will be just like they were" - The veil coming down and everyone gaining magic? Not just elves but humans, dwarves and qunari too? "The shadows will part and the skies will open wide" - Talking about the veil coming down?? Do shadows represent the abyss? "When he rises, everyone will see" - I'm actually convinced this is about Elgar'nan, or, something even worse; like the 'thing' that Mythal locked away, that the "evanuris in their greed could unleash" that "would destroy us all". So I think the end of DA:TV will be either the veil stays in place no matter what, or the veil comes down no matter what, which is, idk, interesting? Because again, they can't have both- that just gets too messy for the setting for the next game. They could have the veil come down no matter what, but, you would need to have a "better option" as Varric and Solas put it. Which, let's say for narrative purposes, this option exists and we tell it to Solas and he goes "Okay let's do that instead" and it results in a world state where the veil is 'down' but not in a catastrophic mega-calamity way. Even then though, some players are just not going to pick that and also if the veil comes down; what the fuck are we guarding it for???? I think it might come down temporarily. Maybe we have to make a new one? a better one? we have our fade tamagotchi fen'harel who happens to be the only fucker who knows how to make a veil too. Could this 'better veil' alleviate some of the problems Solas had with the old one? If there was like a set door way that allowed people and spirits to pass safely? One that didn't cause so much discord between spirits/people? Is our Veilguard a Fade TSA? I can dream. But who knows. Either way, I think we're only getting one endgame worldstate regarding the veil.

So; OK, back to Solas and how the fuck that could end. Harking back to that Varric/Solas conversation about the old man living alone. Solas is clearly speaking as though he is the old man, and he can't fathom just living a quiet life when there are literal world ending gods waiting for a weak moment to bust free. He Will not, Cannot stand by and do nothing while he knows his prison is failing. He HAS to at least deal with the 2 evanuris before tearing down the veil bc he doesn't want them to cause harm. He didn't want that before (hence locking them away) and he doesn't want it now, even for modern day Thedas (hence him helping Rook). He's got such a fucking heart under all that armor. He cares about people, he demonstrates it again and again. But my god what if, he finally *sees* that the veil may not have been a mistake, it doesn't need to be torn down, (maybe it has to be remade, better?or just altered?) and then us the protag, no longer has to kill him to stop him from tearing it down?

Like, I am very partial to the "what if love changes everything" trope especially for such a tragic character. Bc he's got death flags left and right; "I walk the dinanshiral" "there is only death on this journey" "this does not end in my downfall" his "dying alone" fear tombstone, and he's lonely he's miserable he's afraid. I'm so worried they'll kill him off anyway bc 'he was always doomed' trope and it would be easier to write, but motherfuck it would just, be SO so satisfying if, instead, there was a path where he wasn't doomed; whether it's bc of Rook or the Inquisitor or a combo of both. I feel like what if, either platonic or romantic; if there was just at least one path where love changes everything.

ofc this is massive amounts of copium and I don't expect bioware to give me anything so cool as "the veil starts to come down anyway and you, Rook, have to rebuild it with Solas' and the Inquisitor's help and at the end you can either kill him or convince him that this world is worth living in"

but hey, i can dream ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[alpaca-clouds]

High Fantasy Conundrums: The Diversity Paradox

I have some thoughts on High Fantasy and the way it currently is shifting in terms of the mainstream depictions. Meaning: No, this is not about books that much. It is more about the big franchises. The stuff with money behind it. Because those have stuff in common right now. I am talking about Dungeons & Dragons, The Witcher, Dragon Age, The Rings of Power and other more budget heavy fantasy.

Many words have been written, said, and screamed into the void of the internet about how these days you will usually see diversity in those. Most notably people that are not white.

And the self-proclaimed "conservatives" (who are actually white supremacists) will cry about how those are "medieval European worlds" and that hence there should not be Black or Asian people run around in them. Ignoring, of course, how there were Black and Asian people running around in medieval Europe.

And there will be leftists, that will defend any decision in this regard, on pure principle.

I will count myself among the second kind no doubt. I think it is good and important to see non-white characters in those big franchises. And frankly, I couldn't give less of a fuck whether or not whatever writer originally wrote a book that stuff was based on did imagine the world to be inhabited by people who did not have cheese-skin. I really don't.

Especially as the entire "realism" and "historically accurate" argument falls apart rather quickly if you consider one very important fact: There were no elves in medieval Europe. There were no dragons in medieval Europe. And there sure as hell was no actual magic in medieval Europe. So... Yeah, somehow I actually do think that Black and Asian characters inhabiting those fantasy worlds is less of an issue, when it comes to stuff being "historically accurate".

And yet...

There is something about this, that still very much irks me. Especially when it comes to some recent franchise stuff, like most of what Wizards of the Coasts did in regards of Dungeons & Dragons 5e in terms of lore - and something I am starting to expect from Dragon Age: The Veilguard.

And that is the lack of any actually non-white cultures within the world - and the lack of worldbuilding in this regard.

See... High Fantasy has generally speaking one big struggle in regards of the worldbuilding. A struggle that can be found in high fantasy world after high fantasy world: For the most part, the cultural worldbuilding is often lacking. While humans are often allowed to have a couple of different cultures, everyone else is usually treated like this: "This is dwarven culture", "this is elven culture", and "this is halfling culture". There is no variation in it. The dwarves in the high north have still the same culture, as the dwarves living in the south of the continent. And while humans do have a bit more in terms of different cultures, it usually also goes in broad strokes. Like: "This is the horse culture, this is the very noble culture, and this is the peasant culture". Am I saying I am blaming Tolkien? Yeah, maybe a bit.

This is one of the reasons I fell so in love with Dungeon Meshi. Because Dungeon Meshi literally is the first time I have seen that someone actually came up with differences between different elven and half-foot cultures and stuff. And I love it.

But Kui is the one writer I can think of, that really did that.

So... Let me talk about DnD, because I know my DnD Lore and I can tell you a bit of why this is bothering me here.

See: Dungeons & Dragons has this whole ass world in the Forgotten Realms as the main setting: Toril. Toril has a variety of continents. Just as you can see:

Now, originally half of those continents did not exist, I might add. Most of them were added during 2e and 3e. Especailly 3e and 3.5e did some worldbuilding in regards of those other continents. Even though, yes, if we are honest those continents are very much: Fantasy Asia, Fantasy North America, Fantasy Middle America, Fantasy Africa, Fantasy Arabia, and Fantasy Australia (about which, I might note, we know next to nothing).

But while 3e and 4e did make some use of those other settings, 5e did something else. 5e very much reverted back to focusing on Faerûn and the Sword Coast once more. But because by the time 5e released it was 2014 in the real world, they knew they could not make Faerûn this super white world. So Faerûn became diverse. There are Black and Asian and Brown people living there now. But... culturally it stay in the "generic fantasy Europe" sphere.

And that is my issue: The lack of different cultures.

I will talk a bit more about the issues with the High Fantasy "Medieval Europe" culture tomorrow, but today let me say this: Even these days, when non-white characters will be included into those fantasy worlds, they still will only be allowed to exist within a supposedly white cultural context. They are not allowed to have a non-white culture.

While this makes some sense in prescribed worlds - so worlds based on books that never had any intent on depicting anything but their "white" pseudo-European culture (like Lord of the Rings and The Wheel of Time with their respective Amazon Prime adaptions), this is less the truth for worlds that are designed around whatever they represent today.

Wizards of the Coast absolutely could put some effort into creating those other continents as good, lived in settings - and allow folks from those other continents who live in Faerûn to bring parts of their own culture with them. They could pay some PoC to actually do that worldbuilding Own Voice style. You know?

And the same is true with Bioware and Dragon Age. While I am by far not as familiar with the worldbuilding of DA, as I am with the worldbuilding of DnD, I am under the impression that there is not a lot going on in terms of non-white cultures from other continents. There are non-white people hanging around in the main plot and what not, but it does not seem as if there is a lot going on in terms of them having cultures of origin. Correct me if I am wrong. Some of those cultures seem to have names, but that is where the worldbuilding ends.

And that... You know, that is an issue. Because diversity, especially ethical diversity, is not just about the skin color. It is about culture. And somehow the culture aspect of it gets ignored a lot. Doesn't it?

[superb-fox]

I wanna talk about how Sousou no Frieren treats heroes and demons, because in my opinion it's masterfully done.

We really only learn about one hero, Himmel. Sure there's the Hero of the South but what do we really know about him besides he had future sight and he died? I'll focus on Himmel. I think what sets Himmel apart is how he acts, in typical hero stories they're portrayed as kind, strong, willing to do what's right, all that nice stuff and while I do think those are good traits for a hero, Himmel is shown differently. We almost never see him fight, every time we see him it is in relation to an action he took that influenced people for the better. He takes on countless detours and quests because he can't turn down people in need, every where he goes he's doing good, when people talk about him they never talk about how strong he was or how cool he was it's always about how his act(s) of kindness changed their lives. They're happier, better people because he came through their town. He changes everywhere he goes for the better because of who he is and how he acts. He quite literally changed the world not because he killed the demon king, but because everywhere he went he improved people's lives, and those people because they are better change more people's lives and it spreads and spreads and spreads until the world is better. From random towns people to our main characters, everyone is better because of him. Look at Frieren for example, a complete stoic who before Himmel just was living her life in the woods doing whatever. But after? She takes on an apprentice, travels from place to place continuing the good Himmel did, she learned so much kindness from him in the relatively short time they spent together. Pre-hero party Frieren would have gone to a town, blended into the background, and moved on. But now? She's taking on quests, helping people, and making lives brighter. Why? In her own words it's what Himmel would have done. Fern owes her life to Himmel despite never meeting him because Heiter took her in because that's what Himmel would have done. Frieren looks after her after Heiter's passing because that's what Himmel would have done. Think of all the good she's doing traveling with Frieren just because of that! It ripples outward forever because of a great hero's influence. In other words, he's not a hero because of his great feats or his power, it's because of who he was and that's how you write a truly great hero. 

Now let's talk about demons. People with third grade reading comprehension have made the comparison to real life peoples. That the text is saying that demons being just an irredeemable evil race is racist and compare it to how in real life people do that to justify genocide, but this cannot be further from the truth. Demons in this world are an offshoot of humans like elves and dwarves are. They're similar enough to look like humans, speak like humans, their magic is something special to them but similar enough that with study humans can use it just as well. However demons are truly the farthest thing from humanity you could be. The best way to describe them is how when you see two animals that look so similar but they're in entirely different evolutionary families. How a rabbit and a hare look similar but are so SO very different. Demons are closer to animals in that they do what they can to survive. They trick, they deceive, they hunt. These are not evil things, this is nature. A lion is not evil for hunting in packs to eat one antelope, a bird is not evil for walking a certain way to imitate rain and attract a worm. However when it's applied to something that looks and acts so incredibly human it can be seen that way. The lion ganging up on someone is not a fair fight, the bird is lying to and tricking the worm, these are absurd statements. Demons are a divergent evolution of humanity that cannot comprehend the traits that make us human but will use them to hunt us. They do not understand malice or bonds or guilt or love, they are solitary beings that understand power and magic. They biologically cannot understand it, them learning these emotions is like if a cat suddenly sprouted tentacles, it just can't happen. But because they lack the very traits that make us human while looking so human, they appear evil to us. How could something so human-like act so inhuman? Perform such evil acts without a seconds thought? But they're not evil, they can't even understand evil. Them using maternal love to have someone drop their guard and become easy prey is such a basic thing like waking up in the morning they cannot comprehend why people think it's bad. The problem isn't that one is evil and one is good, it's that evolution set these two species on such polar opposite courses that they truly can never understand each other. Yet they're still so close that there's always that feeling of that things could be worked out, that these two peoples can co-exist, but it is just biologically impossible. And that's tragic, that's heart breaking, for one species to exist peacefully the other must die. These beings so close to us yet so far must die. There's no way around it, no negotiating, no compromise, evolution and nature have played this sick dance to pit these two brothers against each other and it absolutely should hurt your soul, but it must happen.

[eri-pl]

Lack of redemption arcs in the Legendarium

Surprisingly, I can't find many, if any at all.

I mean real redemption arcs ie character is evil / has done done serious evil at the start and they put actual work and things happen and at the end they're less evil and do less evil (or none at all).

(And ideally, they don't die at the completion of the arc but separately later or not at all.)

I don't mean things like "did evil things out of trauma it ignorance" (therapy or education is a different thing from redemption. All are great, but different people need different of those.) or "did one very minor thing and is sorry" (it's not an arc, it's something smaller). I mean the real deal.

There are implied redemption arcs (elves in Mandos in general), something that feels like a referenced arc but never described (Osse), a heavy edited story that at one point kind of feels like a redemption arc (Galadriel), failed attempts (all the baddies especially Smeagol and Mairon)...

I don't remember book Boromir well, maybe he... But he's not evil, just a little weak. He does very little wrong. He's more serious than makes bad choices.

Elu Thingol sort of has an arc on "don't be racist against humans" but then dies partially at being racist against dwarves so I'm not sure that counts either.

Lobelia Sackville-Baggins, whose greatest crime is being a mean relative. I guess this counts?

Even in Numenor, nobody gets it.

I know it's a modern trend to give everyone redemption arcs, but I would expect, with all the talk about mercy and pity, to see some actual results, more results than "yay, we got the evil defeated because we were good to the bad guy". With all due respect. That's a big result too. But anyway.

I suppose Tolkien just didn't vibe with bad people. He survived the war and I guess it needed more... How to call it? More thinking on terms of "if you cross this line, you're lost". I know theoretically he didn't see it like this. But in practice, you may only go so far (and it's not far) until you're beyond repair.

I don't like it. It's not how the world works. I went further.

Also, another thing that irks me tremendously, but it's an observable rule in all Legendarium:

When your aesthetic is dark or wrong, you are beyond salvation.

You like industry? Bye. You don't like light? Bye! You look ugly (not plain, just ugly)? There might be a few exceptions of Elves who went through Angband, but generally: bye. You don't laugh and feel uneasy in company? Out to the void with you, go join Morgoth. You are depressed and not in a nice (Frodo) way, but in a cold way that makes you feel cynical? Bye. You live at the East and like sun more than noon? You're probably evil too.

I may be oversimplifying a bit, but not by much. It is a thing.

That's not how things work!!!

Seriously. I was there. I was all those things. I am dinner if then still and don't consider it a problem.

I hate this in the books. I love Tolkien's work and what he tried to do, but I feel like I'm some places he failed at it dramatically and the general feel it's not faithful to his intentions.

I hope this rambling is understandable enough, I'm bad at English, especially when ranting.

Luckily, there are fanfics

[toskarin]

So elves are angels?

if you're going off my description, which I largely lifted from tolkien, the answer is "not especially"

tolkien style elves are beholden to the concepts of fate and prophecy, but that's not a trait unique to them. they're just kind of especially fateful guys

as a fair warning, you've triggered a fantasy infodump here and I've quarantined it below the readmore

this is all going off of like... loose memories of a time where I was more fresh off of reading tolkien when I was younger, so I'm abridging a lot here. don't cite me to anyone or you'll probably be wrong. also how literally this is intended to be understood depends on whether you take the elves' word for how the elves came into being.

which you might.

men* and elves are the children of ilúvatar, more properly eru ilúvatar, who you can here understand as the closest thing in the legendarium to the christian god

*: understood to mean humans, including hobbits for the sake of this explanation, although that's left a bit vague because hobbits are thematically the most normal guys possible. they don't even feel much of a drive to give themselves a creation myth

elves were given immortality, ethereal beauty, really good memory, and incredible talents for creation. they were the first type of incarnate, from the time when the stars were coming into being

men didn't come around for a while after that. men are mortal, but will inherit the earth and can break away from prophecy and fate, specifically as it pertains to the music of the ainur, which is kind of hard to summarise without just saying "it's the scheme of how things unfold that was laid out from the moment everything was created, destiny itself"

to skip over a bunch of more complicated details, this means that elves are a union of body and soul, like men. they're intimately bound to the workings of the world, but most things that aren't men are also bound to it, and being bound to it doesn't necessarily mean you're aligned with it

there are entities that directly serve the god figure on a few different tiers. the god figure's first spirit creations were ainur*, and then the ainur who descended into the song of creation became lower forms of divinity called the valar and maiar, with the maiar being the lower-ranked spirits that assisted the valar

*: same ones mentioned in the context of the song of the ainur, since they wove the world more or less as proxies for ilúvatar

the valar take the roles of sort-of-proxy gods, while the maiar work to assist them and occasionally incarnate into mortal form when something needs REALLY fine tuning. the valar and maiar are much closer to what you're looking for, as far as angels go! (assuming I understood the question correctly of course, which I might not have lmao)

elves and men are two different kinds of incarnate, with dwarves being a third. in some way, they all contain echoes of divinity, and while some are more beholden to the framework of its designs than others, everything in tolkien's writing is echoing out from divinity, carrying divinity within itself

[bloedewir]

I failed to remember but instead I decided to recreate the "dream" theory (it was done once so presumably I can do it again).

The main point was: the only difference between modern elves and an ancient elvhen is a spirit.

(It does make sense in a way it possibly can explain the power of magic, knowledge now lost and forgotten, and longtime life close to immortality).

Some doubtful arguments:

If ancient elvhen have a connection with spirits it can explain why Cole isn't surprise to meet Fen'Harel and didn't ask any questions. It's not strange but quite normal to him and needs no explanations. In fact, Cole is far more excited about Cassandra: "Oh. That makes more sense. ... I'm a spirit that touched a body, you're a body that touched a spirit. We're the same but backwards!" because it isn't a common thing among humans.

Breach feels different for the elves. It affected them more than humans, dwarves or qunari.

One of Sera's comments is:"It just feels like I've seen this. Exactly this. It happens" and then: "Have we been here? I mean right here, doing exactly this? It feels weird" and Cole responded: "Yes. But not how you mean. In the soft thin places, spirits push with memories that didn't happen. Or did. Or might".

Another dialogue with Solas about the colour of the sky, Sera answers with: "Greenish? Then clear a long ways, and kind of...felt like falling".

Cole also said: "Pushing through (the Veil) makes you be yourself. You can hold onto the you. Being pulled through means you don't have enough you. You become what batters you, bruises your being".

And with Solas': "You are the furthest from what you were meant to be" it can be trancrypted as 'spirit whose purpose was perverted'.

Not so convincing is it? Could be a coincidence.

Enough of Sera. What about other elves?

City elves are more far from their roots than dalish. But dalish have vallaslin, so as ancient elvhen had.

Vallaslin is the blood writing. For what purposes does blood magic exist among others? Summoning demons.

Cassandra' comment: "I knew demons and spirits were similar". Solas' respond: "Not similar, Seeker. The same. ... The nature is, and always has been, grey. A spirit is a purpose. A demon is that purpose perverted".

Vallaslin is the blood mark, carved into a flesh permanently. But not in a rage or desperation and by different purposes. Dalish think it's a privilege and a tradition, Solas said it's a slave markings, but what if there's another meaning?

Could it be possible that a certain vallaslin represents a certain group of spirits? A noticeable enter sign so to speak?

Also Tevinter Imperium (famous stealers of elvhen culture and advanced enthusiasts of blood magic) using spirits as servants. Dorian asked: "Do you use spirits as servants, Solas? You'd have no trouble capturing them". Solas: "No. They are intelligent, living creatures. Binding them against their will is reprehensible". Where did Tevinter learn how to capture spirits? I suppose it could be another ancient elvhen technique they discovered once.

If vallaslin is for summoning a certain type of spirits, it presumably means each evanuris had their own type of servants depending on their goals or purpose. (Solas/Pride or Abelas/Sorrow)

We've seen Mythal. Let she be an example. The Great Protector who also can be vengeful. So.. justice and vengeance. Sound familiar.

Once again, Cassandra: "I knew demons and spirits were similar". Solas: "Not similar, Seeker. The same. ... The nature is, and always has been, grey. A spirit is a purpose. A demon is that purpose perverted".

In that case each evanuris could be a manifestation of a strongest idea/feeling. And such things as Hunger, Fear, Justice, Desire, etc can't be just removed from the world because the idea itself is strong enough. You can't just delete Fear once and for all.

Solas: "You met Mythal, did you not? The first of my people do not die so easily".

So, if the elvhen "gods" are some kind of a strongest ideas it would explain: their immortality; invincibility; the fact they didn't actually die during the time they were trapped in the Fade; their need for slaves/admirers to keep the original idea strong.

Yet Fen'Harel raised against them. As a guess, because they became too perverted from an original purpose. Went too far from the balance and it isn't supposed to be that way.

And the Veil is some kind of a try to bring the balance back. Instead, the world became a "tranquil" as Solas sees it because strong 'feelings' are gone, trapped behind the Veil and Thedas gets just an echoes of those 'feelings'.

And if the Veil will be off elves can bring back their original essence and become they meant to be. A vessels for a strong feelings/ideas having understanding and knowledge. A purpose.

So by that Solas can fulfil his original purpose: "[I believe in] cause and effect. Wisdom as its own reward, and the inherent right of all free willed people to exist".

If so there's almost zero chance to talk him down, because, firstly, he won't allow to pervert his purpose (and disapproves when Inquisitor 'perverted' Cole's purpose by making him more human), and secondly, "While the world may exert a pull in one direction or another, the choice is ultimately yours" (dialogue with Cole).

I don't know if I'm right on something or utterly wrong but anyways it was an interesting topic to speculate with.

[thechekhov]

Dungeon Meshi Quick Reacts: CH.22

It's time to maybe hit the first plot milestone? While wearing some silly costumes, of course!

Maybe it's just been a while but I AM a little bit confused. They were down in the dungeon and then they were about 4 floors deep and went DEEPER and now there's... an island? That belonged to the dwarves, elves and humans? (Humans being different from tall-men? Or... is this another translation thing?) But if it's that deep, how did it belong to anyone before the dungeon was discovered?? I need history books up in here.

Huh, interesting. Is this a permanent gate? Or one that only opens when the spell is cast from the other side?

Absolutely intrigued with these Vex/Vax knockoffs. What is their deal? They haven't said that much, but their facial expressions intrigue me.

Hmmm.. I suppose in terms of economics, the dungeon must seem like a goldmine indeed. And if you can exploit whatever you can get from it...... Though in the end, is it a sustainable source of resources? Especially given how many people die there.

I reiterate: would love a history book that gives a more detailed explanation of how the sociopolitical map of the region is laid out, and how the discovery of the dungeon played into whatever conflicts they had.

Ah yes, a classic. That one spell with no karmic repercussions, I'm sure.

This gnome complained about how the Dungeon makes people too much money, but it turns out that his REAL issue is that it's the money that this dungeon-era CEO is concerned about. He wants to go HARDER on the evil power control scheme. He's disappointed with the lack of commitment to the villainy!

Or..... is this some sort of 4D chess play to get adventurers more resources...? What is his end goal here?

Maybe it's just the paranoia, but even this interaction feels weird. This woman clearly acts kind, and does all the right things, but what are HER motivations? Does she actually like Namari?

Don't mind the escorts...........

Hold up, is she looking for Falin?!! Falin got eaten by the Dragon, no??

Fuckin hell that's a bit. Dark. But understandable I guess.

1/13th huh...... So for an average 70kg human, that would be approximately 5kg of meat... so about a turkey size? oof.

NEW FEAR/DND IDEA UNLOCKED HOLY SHIT.

They say they're 20, but they didn't really react to Namari warning them about the dungeon. And they didn't really say specifically that they needed to get resurrected, just that they have Mr. Tance (Tansu?) if need be. Makes me wonder if they're some sort of weird Revenant or Homonculi.

She's too good for this world.... too pure.

[chernabogs]

i really like the concept of the draconias being cursed with their love, although love is a curse and heart is a heavy burden in itself,,, it's still a fun subject to talk about. your fic in maleficia pov is such an eye opener for this 🥺 id love to see more of your insights w that trope lol

Ouagh idk if you're aiming to let me just yap away about this, but that's precisely what I'm going to do because the prospect of bloodline curses/hereditary curses is one of my FAV things in folklore. This isn't a theory as much as it is me talking about just some things I've noticed and how I interpret it

To preface this, this has absolutely no hold in canon LMAO. This is just what I've noted when taking a step back and looking at the Draconia family—which is that they have a shitty track history with things happening to them. As a secondary point, I have no idea what Yana is pulling from for her background of fae information. Myths of fae come from all over the world; you got them in Europe, in Scandinavian countries, Oceania, Africa, etc (like really, they're all over). I do know her bits and bops about Malleus loving ice cream/dairy items falls more in line with European interpretations, so I'm rolling that she's drawing somewhat from that.

Which kind of leads me to noting the poor luck the Draconia's seem to have. In a lot of European folklore, fae love to curse (most often piseóg)—be it humans, dwarves, elves, or even their own kind (this really fantastic thesis digs right into that concept via an analysis of european folk stories). One story I like a lot is The Two Sisters and The Curse, a lovely tale of pride and fae. One sister brags that her sister has a fae lover, failing to follow the stipulation that she's never to tell anyone about that fae lover. The result is tragic, as expected, but the line 'If a fay-being has power, revenge will be taken though it may be on your descendants.' really sticks out in this.

Hereditary curses are curses passed through a bloodline that, understandably, can only be broken when certain stipulations are met; the ancient Greeks especially loved them. Some might think them as geas (a curse/gift, which is kind of what Meleanor put on Malleus before he was hatched; humans would fear him, fae would adore him, etc.). A lot of piseóg in European folklore are hereditary curses intent on really fucking with a family.

In my opinion, it kind of feels like the Draconia's either have the worst luck streak on record with how many things happen to them, or they have a curse. We don't know what happened to Maleficia's husband, but the assumption is that he's probably dead. Meleanor's husband went MIA in the middle of a war that her family and her people were also dragged into. Then, Meleanor died, robbing Maleficia of her only daughter. Upon her death, Maleficia was unsuccessful at hatching Malleus' egg because he began to reject her magic; if Lilia hadn't existed or had declined to help, Malleus would have died too, leaving Maleficia.

In addition, Malleus (due to his nature as sole heir and only family) was raised in an incredibly contained environment his entire life. Hell, he was chronically alone since he was in an egg. Even now he still holds this belief in his mind that he has no one except for the same 4 people he's known his entire life, and even then, one of them (Lilia) who he cares for a lot is also about to die. Silver will die before him. Sebek will die before him. His grandmother will die before him.

Really, it looks bad when you step back. This is kind of why I focused the Maleficia fic on the concept of a curse. I wrote it like she had an inkling someone in her family line had crossed the wrong person and it resulted in a piseóg, and she just doesn't know how to break or stop it.

Frankly, I love the trope to bits. I love the tragedy, I love the many ways it can happen (pissing off fae, pissing off a tenant, evicting a fairy king from your farm because you're just tryna do your harvest, etc.), and I love when one person finally manages to figure out the niche needed to break the curse. I imagine the relief of freedom from generations of tragedy is immense.

I kind of hope that happens with the Draconia's, or at least their luck turns around with Malleus. I feel like the whole family has been dragged through the mud enough LMAO.

[homunculus-argument]

Making the non-human races in fantasy be all uniform is such boring worldbuilding. Like yeah even humans having different cultures from each other is an achievement for some authors, but why would you do that and then make all dwarves know everything about the One Singular Culture of Dwarves?

What about a story where the only elf present will tell you everything there is to know about all the races of elves - the elves of this region don't know how to cultivate plants, elves of that area make art that makes you want to blind and deafen yourself if you see their sculptures or hear their music, and the elves from over there are cannibals.

And then they encounter other elves, who are performing some kind of a ritual, and when the party ask their own elf what it is, the answer is something along the lines of "the fuck if I know." It turns out they don't actually know anything real about the other tribes of elves, they've just been repeating the hearsay they've heard or occasionally just making shit up, because this particular elf just happens to be massively racist.