#terrarium in drawer

[nature-nerd-sarah]

I'm reading Terrarium in Drawer, Ryoko Kui's old collection of oneshots, and I cannot say I was expecting this gag after a manga about teenage mecha pilots.

[piglii]

Chapter 4 of Ryoko Kui's, "Terrarium in Drawer," a collection of unrelated short stories.

[undeadtankietm]

No Context Ryoko Kui

[squarxism]

do you guys have any manga/comic recs that are similar to "Terrarium in Drawer" i just finished it and it leaves you wanting for real

[peerless-cucumber]

Terrarium in Drawer Ch. 30 - Drawer

[dunmeshistash]

Do you have the full art this is a part of?

That was the first time I hadn't seen the illustration!!!

But I found it

It's a collection of character's from kui works!!!!!

If you haven't yet, everyone should check out her other works!

The Dragon's School is on Top of the Mountain Seven Little Sons of the Dragon Terrarium in Drawer

Some of them explore for example what would happen after "the demon lord" is defeated in a fantasy world. How fantasy races/creatures would affect our world and be affected by it, plus other explorations of very interesting subjects. Her older art is really charming too in a different way from her current style! It's all so great!

[tisorridalamor]

Recently I’ve been reading Kui Ryoko’s fantasy short stories, and they’re all fantastic! Highly recommend that all Dungeon Meshi fans (and fantasy fans in general) check out her other works:

Terrarium in a Drawer

The Dragon’s School is on Top of the Mountain

The Works of Ryoko Kui: Seven Little Sons of the Dragon

[dracolizardlars]

...I just pulled a t shirt out of my drawer and a brown object tumbled out onto the carpet. I picked it up. It was a snail.

A juvenile Giant African Land Snail, not an albino, just a standard one with a brown shell and a grey body.

...Her name is Dora. I raised her from a day old hatchling. I cried when I got back from a week long holiday, three weeks ago, and she was gone.

I think she's still alive.

Holy fucking shit.

[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:

[mimikyufriend]

we keep collecting tanks we gotta stop keeping all these tanks

[shadowtraveled]

lots of “does she know” posts following the anime expo rkui interview re: laios autism and i feel like it is important for us to remember the “perfect communication” chapter of terrarium in a drawer and the fact that this is a question that was asked previously (i believe in korea) and was advised not to be answered, with people speculating the recommendation was made to avoid subjecting any autistic audience members or fans to ableist outbursts from other people in the audience (or online) resulting from either a confirmation or denial

the english-as-a-first-language world tends to think of everyone else as being fairly ignorant of/unfamiliar with the very concept of neurodivergent people or queer people or mental illness etc etc etc and that becomes a bit patronizing, especially given that that ignorance and unfamiliarity is frankly a global phenomenon brought on by the marginalization of people who are neurodivergent or queer or etc etc etc. i get this is jokes or whatever but i don’t think it’s really fair to be like “omg has she not heard of autism…” when this is an author who wrote a short story that straight up lists out traits associated with autism and what she said was effectively along the lines of “i think anyone can find something in this character to relate to and what those things are is up to you and the way you receive what you’ve read”

[twistmusings]

Character Analysis of the Twisted Wonderland Dorm Rooms - Octavinelle

Dorm Room Character Analysis Series

Heartslabyul | Savanaclaw | Octavinelle | Scarabia | Pomefiore | Ignihyde | Diasomnia

Azul Ashengrotto

Azul actually has a lot of little touches in his room that are very cute. For one thing, his general decor lends itself to the idea that Azul likes the finer things in life. Truthfully, all of the dorm rooms are have shown a lot of attention to the character's actual stylistic preferences in the Guest room and Azul is no exception.

Rather than having a bedside table, Azul has a second safe in his room in addition to the large one he has in his office. This is interesting because, well, that means that there's things that are likely more important to him than the contracts he kept in his vault in his office. I'm certainly curious about what sort of thing Azul would choose to keep in a personal vault - are they especially important contracts to him? Money? Or, perhaps, just other things that are especially special to him. I know the kneejerk reaction for a lot of folks is to be that it's where he stores his coin collection, however...

Azul actually displays his coin collection in a frame! He has them mounted in velvet.

Several of the other characters have featured a feather pen and ink bottles in their room, however a cute touch is that Azul's pen is actually fish bones. This is a cute little insight into what they may use for pens underneath the Coral Sea. Or, perhaps, Azul just has a flare for the dramatic.

Azul has a trunk and several potion bottles on top of his wardrobe. The fact that Azul has these out in the open on top of the trunk likely means that all of the items in the trunk were potion bottles, and then because they were stored up so high, he placed the ones he commonly uses on top, rather than storing them back inside the trunk. Azul is otherwise very organized, so it would make logical sense that if he's not putting these away, they're likely out because he knows he's going to reach for them again.

This is honestly probably my favorite detail in Azul's room because these are terrariums. Azul never mentions having any interest in Terrariums, but Jade does, meaning that these are likely terrariums that Jade made for Azul and gave him as gifts. This is actually really cute, because though the Leech twins joke about leaving Azul as soon as he becomes boring in canon, this shows that Jade at the very least thinks of Azul in his free time when he's not at work or around Azul by obligation, enough to have given him gifts. it's also worth noting that Azul has these displayed, which means that they aren't a gift that's rotting away in a drawer or stowed away somewhere. It's also worth mentioning that the ones that have plants in them are alive, which requires at least some level of attention to them in order to maintain the environment inside. Little things like this show how much the characters actually care about each other.

Azul's hidden Mickey is next to his shelf of terrariums.

Jade Leech

Jade is an interesting case because he, like Ruggie and Trey, doesn't actually have much displayed in his room in terms of decoration. That being said, what he does have displayed are his terrariums. Jade being the sole member of the Mountain Lover's club, it seems like he probably spends a lot of his free time out and tending to either his plants in the greenhouse or actually hiking.

This isn't likely directly because of Jade, however it seems like Octavinelle as a whole have coat hangers and hat racks that are themed around octopi, which is possibly the cutest thing I've ever seen.

Jade is notably organized - he has his shoes on his shoe rack, his hat and scarf hung up, and his bed made. This will become more important when you see Floyd's half of the room.

There is also this object. While I'm not certain and it doesn't seem to be mentioned in any of Jade's vignettes outright, I suspect this may be a jewelry box. It's a little hard to tell in comparison to a lot of the items in the student rooms, though, so if anyone has any additional input, please let me know! Neither of the other two from Octavinelle have an object like this one in their rooms.

Jade's Hidden Mickey is on one of his terrariums.

Fun fact, Jade AND Floyd both have errors in their Night 2 versions of their backgrounds, as they are both missing the hidden Mickey.

Floyd Leech

Oh, Floyd, sweetheart, you live like this?

Jokes aside, Floyd actually has some things of note! While his side of his and Jade's room (canonically they share a room) is messy, he's messy in a different fashion than someone like Leona. Where Leona doesn't hang his clothes - Floyd does. Or at the very least, it seems like someone does it for him. (Given the haphazard hanging of his jacket, though, I would guess that he probably does it himself.) What does that tell us? Well, more than likely, Floyd gets small bursts of motivation to clean certain aspects of his room, and then grows bored and gives them up. To be quite honest, for those who know of or experience it, Floyd's organization style reminds me a lot of how ADHD folks tend to struggle with forming sustainable cleaning habits, as it's often easier to put something down rather than to put it away.

Snacks, literally everywhere. Floyd has snacks on his desk as well as on the shelf above his bed. It would seem that Floyd has a serious sweet-tooth, given the amount of sweets that we see in his room.

For the life of me, I could not tell you if this is a trash bin or not, but if it is, it looks like whatever Floyd put in there has teeth marks on it.

Another thing of note about Floyd's room, while there's a lot of things that are strewn around, there's not actually all that much trash around. He has a single empty container on his desk, but otherwise his floors are clean, and it seems like things that need to end up disposed are. Again, whether or not that's Jade intervening because they share a room, it's hard to say.

Floyd's hidden Mickey is on his pillow.

As was mentioned in Jade's section, both Floyd and Jade's Night 2 versions of their backgrounds are missing the hidden Mickey. Floyd's background has an additional error however!

Floyd's box of cookies is actually missing the box in his Night 2 artwork. If I had to guess, since I have experience with digital art, more than likely, the layer containing these details was accidentally deleted when making the edits for the Night 2 cards, resulting in these things disappearing when the background were published. It's a minor error, all things considered, and gave me a little giggle because now it just looks like Floyd has haunted cookies floating in his room.

Addendum

Excellent catch by @twistedminutia that Azul's fish bone pen is likely in reference to the pen Ariel signs her contract with in the original movie! (To be quite honest, and I know this is ironic given that this blog has such a heavy octavinelle theming, but the little mermaid was my least favorite Disney movie growing up, so I never would have caught this myself!)

[brainlessrot]

Penguin Pebbling

Involves collecting and giving small objects, like pebbles, as gifts to people you care about.

because i do penguin pebbling very often and i wanted to indulge myself a lil bit 🤭

also sorry for disapearing for like... 5 months!!! requests are now open again <3

Characters ;; All of the students (grim included)

Contents ;; could be seen as either platonic or romantic (except ortho's and grim's!), GN!reader, no beta read‼️around 1200 words total, 50~ words per character

Riddle ;; i think he would see it as weird and although he would keep it he doesn't think it to be sentimental, for him its just some random rock you randomly gave him, may give you some trinkets (no rocks :( ) as payback (prolly roses or rose themed stuff)

Trey ;; he wouldn't understand why you chose to give him a... rock? probably put it in some drawer in his room and forgot about it unless you explain why

Cater ;; doesn't understand but will keep the rock in his bedside table, may understand that its a sentimental gift from you and if its pretty enough he will post a pic of it!!!

Ace ;; throws it away. Nah but hes similar to trey, confused abt why would you give him?? a rock you found somewhere on the floor?? would prolly make fun of you if you told him why (but the way his face lowkey matches his hair is proof that hes gettin flustered)

Deuce ;; HE GETS YOU!!! will absolubtely cherish the lil rock AND give you some in return, you two may start a rock gifting competition to see which one of you gives the prettiest one to the other

Leona ;; "...what is this". will throw it away (this time fr) unless you specifically tell him its a sentimental gift, then he will throw it in a drawer and forgets abt it (man does NOT care abt a rock sorry :/) but if you are especially close to him and the rock is pretty he may send it back to his brother for it to be made into some jewelry... but DO NOT mention it if he wears it

Ruggie ;; if its pretty enough he will display it in his room, if not, he still puts it carefully in a box with other trinkets, may also find you one for yourself (my man gets it!!) and may even give you some dandelions he was saving for a quick snack if he finds you while out (doing Leona's work) walking

Jack ;; super confused but lowkey touched, will put it with his (many) cactai, if you do it multiple times, he will start giving you some he found on a run that he thought you would like

Azul ;; if he likes you hes giggling and kicking his feet, will put it in his desk at the VIP room, no matter if its just a broken brick or a cute crystal you found, the tweels make fun of him for this

Jade ;; probably has gifted you some by himself that he found on his lil mountain treks, may put whatever you give him in one of his terrariums as decor

Floyd ;; loves it a normal (crazy) amount, cherishes the rock SO much, probably gives it a small hat and face and brings it around the school, will loose it and demand you find another one for him... he might throw it at you to get your attention

Kalim ;; definition of !!!!YIPPIEEE!!! puts it on his bedside table and stares at it while giggling before going to sleep, beware, you will find boxes of gemstones (not the cheap ones!!!) in front of your room at any moment now

Jamil ;; may try to hide it but he finds it cute, covers his face before accepting the rock, leaves it on his desk for when he goes back to his room to give him a small boost in mood, doesn't reciprocate the rock giving but isn't against receiving more from you

Vil ;; what. what the hell is this. unless its throughly clean and has some interesting colors/design/it's pretty he will throw it away woops, doesn't understand the appeal but if youre sad he threw it away hell ask you for "the prettiest rock for him, the prettiest person you've seen"

Rook ;; now youre inexplicably finding rocks EVERYWHERE, your pillow is lumpy? rock! you wanted cereals for breakfast? filled with rocks! went to put on your socks? why is there a rock?! he may even throw them at you from afar!! (believe him he didn't actually think it through he just wanted to surprise you)

Epel ;; kinda gets you!! may not reciprocate the rock giving at first (he prefers personally carving you some apples as a gift) but will if you explain to him the sentimentality behind it!! will save any rock you give him and maybe even send one back to his meemaw if he deems it cool enough

Idia ;; Doesn't really?? get it at first?? but when he was (forced to be) outside he saw a cool rock on the sidewalk and went "oh hey they would like this one!... Oh damn." a light bulb went off of his head at that moment, he wont really give you any rock bc he simply doesn't go outside, but will put the rocks you give him between his idol merch and figurines

Ortho ;; the epitome of just there for the vibes, doesn't understand jackshit of why youre doing it but if youre happy he's happy!! will test the rocks to see what compound or kind they are and tell you funfacts about them

Malleus ;; OH LORDDDDD hes kneeling down and holding his chest the moment you open up your hand and present him with the rock, A GIFT??? FOR HIM?? FROM YOUUU???? hes a very shinnies boy so be prepared to find anything gold anywhere in your dorm/room, he actually gets you from the start and is so happy, like straight up giddy, cackling in his room as he makes a small altar for the rock (half joking)

Lillia ;; also very giggly and understands the act of gifting rocks as a show of friendship (or more) will also leave small trinkets on your way (some of them are hundreds of years old... be careful)

Silver ;; hes used to small animals also giving him offerings and trinkets, so he understands the sentimentality behind the little rock, will also give you some shinny stone he found while resting in the forest, look it has the shape of a chipmunk!!

Sebek ;; he doesn't understand, he doesn't care. nah but seriously he really doesn't get why even if you explain it to him, no "it reminded me of you", "i though you would like it", "its pretty tho!!"s will make him understand, but please do ignore how close he set it to his Malleus' altar

Grim ;; acts like he doesn't want it and might even throw it away in your face, but the moment you turn around hes running back and searching desperately for it, he wont ask for any but if you give him more he aint complaining, hes like the

+"do you like it?

-"no"

+"then ill take it"

-"BACK OFF, NO WAY!"

[olderthannetfic]

Pssst, Dungeon meshi fans; Ryoko Kui did actually write a manga about autism apparently? Terrarium in Drawer. It's really odd that she calls Laios a 'normal person' when she has written autistic characters and literally nobody in the entire manga thinks Laios is normal in any way shape or form. I've never understood less what's going on in a writer's mind.

--

[elsewhereuniversity]

(pinned up with small slivers of wood instead of thumbtacks. address and contact number is water damaged.)

Space open for roommate of any gender!

Single private bedroom (furnished with 4 drawer dresser, 70" built-in bookcase, single drawer nightstand with lamp, and XL twin bed. there is space to fit a queen bed or equivalent).

Shared living space, pantry, kitchen, and patio with 3 other roommates (one shared room and one other private room). Property last updated 14 year contract with brownies in 2022.

Lycanthropy vaccine strongly recommended as property backs up to woods and the apartment is on the ground level. (Lycanthropes undergoing treatment are welcome to apply).

Please no vampires!

MUST bring own jackets, coats, etc. There is NO sharing of outerwear.

Terrarium pets such as spider, snakes, lizards, mice etc. are allowed. Cats and dogs tend to go missing (see above point about the woods).

The roommates tend to keep to themselves. We do eat a LOT of fish.

oh, also

NO THEATRE MAJORS. (covid wrecked my nose so we no longer have a good failsafe for if your imposter shows up acting weird and claiming its "for the bit". Found that one out the hard way)

.

[peerless-cucumber]

if you need more ryoko kui fantasy I highly recommend her one shot collections!!! In order: Terrarium in Drawer, The Dragon's School is on Top of the Mountain, Seven Little Sons of the Dragon