found this while going through the trenches of amaranth's freak notebook. drawn by @shipselfing feat its chilchuck fictive. theyre married your honor.......
Heeeyy, so when answering me in that music reblog game, you mentioned that you might talk about your own Dungeon Meshi s/i more… I am looking forward to that, but I am impatient. So I thought that I might just ask and therefore give you an external motivation to do it.
So, what is you dunmeshi s/i like? What is the main idea for the character? Do they appear in the main plot of the manga, or do they exist off-screen (off-page?..)? Do they even go to the dungeons? What is their relationship with Chilchuck like?
I tried searching through your blog, but couldn’t find that much information, which is a shame. Because I like knowing everything. I will probably be asking you a lot of questions, if you won’t mind.
(Ah. Also, and this is a bit awkward, but. Can you tell me how exactly does one use "xe" pronouns? I tried looking it up in google, but got so many different and contradictory answers that I decided that it would be easier to just ask you directly how you use it)
- villain-in-love
thank you sm for asking! i'm actually a pretty private person and have trouble posting about myself online so i don't have lore for most of my s/is online. but!! my new years resolution is to try and put myself out there more so i really appreciate the interest!!
quick aside about my pronouns, thank you so much for asking respectfully! here's how i use them, but if people mess them up i don't really nitpick about it. as long as someone tries their best :]
Xe is such a weirdo. Xir type in f/os is always strange, esoteric women. I wonder what's up with xem.
so anyways, heres a big ole infodump about amaranth:
so full transparency, I haven't finished dungeon meshi! my husband @shipselfing got super into it a few years ago, and i watched about half of the anime with it. i was super into baldur's gate 3 at the time, so i made a big ole BG3/dunmeshi AU since I'm real big into dnd. Amaranth is a dark elf, but I modeled xem after drow elves since I have a personal bias.
art by @shipselfing and crowesn on picrew
quick heads up! i know you selfship with thistle and he's a bit of a villain in amaranth's story, but i absolutely have no character hate for him. i think he's a really interesting character so i wanted to weave him into my backstory is all.
Amaranth is a "dark elf", who lives in a tower in the depths of the dungeon. Amaranth is only a dark elf in DNA alone, as xe is actually a biological clone of Thistle, who xe views more as a "creator" than a clone. Thistle attempted to create a homunculus to rule over the dungeon to take his place, just in case something were to happen. Amaranth turned out half-baked, uninterested in magic, and a total absolute waste of Thistle's time. So, Thistle abandoned xem in a tower in some hidden away, irrelevant part of the dungeon to rot.
The tower Amaranth resided in was full of books, which xe spent all of xir time reading, and ended up finding a passion for alchemy and potion-making. Xe even developed a skill for glass-blowing to make xir own siphons and beakers for experiments.
Thistle would come by from time to time, mainly to make attempts at teaching Amaranth magic as a last ditch attempt to try and make his creation useful. Amaranth has a lot of significant mental delays (like how I do irl!) and struggles with magic. Thistle would get incredibly frustrated and lash out at Amaranth, which leads them to have an incredibly tense relationship. Amaranth had never met anyone else before, and was convinced that Thistle was the only other person on the planet, and wanted to keep him happy so xe could have someone to talk to. Unfortunately, Amaranth lacks a lot of the social awareness to know how to navigate Thistle's relationship with xem and ends up enabling Thistle's behavior. Amaranth ends up developing a serious phobia of magic over the years because of their relationship.
Years down the line, when the main cast is going through the Dungeon, Amaranth has honed xir craft, and is content reading books and doing experiments. Xe has been long abandoned by Thistle for a matter of years after a particularly bad fight, and hasn't heard from a single soul. On an absolute whim, the main party finds Amaranth's tower deep in the dungeon, and who else unlocks the door but Chilchuck? Overcome with emotions, and xir only point of reference for human connection being Thistle and weird romance books stashed in xir tower, Amaranth falls in love at first sight. Amaranth rushes him, and absolutely lights up. Xe starts talking and talking and Chilchuck has absolutely none of it. He shoos Amaranth away, and turns to leave. The other party members hear Amaranth out, and after about hearing about xir ties to Thistle, and offers Amaranth to join their party as their chemist. Chilchuck is less than thrilled that this creep is coming with them, especially with xir weird fixation on him.
The new dynamic in the party is a bit strange. Laios and Amaranth get along, as Amaranth has a lot to learn about the world and Laios has a lot to share. Senshi is incredibly surprised to hear that Amaranth doesn't have to eat due to being a homunculus and enjoys sharing the concept of food with someone who's entirely unfamiliar with it. Marcille and Amaranth absolutely despise eachother, with Amaranth regularly freaking out most times magic is absolutely necessary for an encounter, and refuses healing magic entirely. I didn't get far enough in the series to meet Izutsumi so who knows how they'd end up.
Amaranth ends up making a reliable stash of healing potions, poisons, and various "buff and debuff" type of potions. Xe ends up making xir own grenades in a custom blown-glass beaker that explode on impact. Xe also uses xir glass-blowing knowledge to make various dishes for Senshi to serve his food on.
Amaranth's romance with Chilchuck is unconventional, and ends up blossoming slowly on Chilchuck's side. Amaranth just adores him, often following him around and being unable to recognize when Chilchuck wants personal space. Amaranth even carries around a notebook and takes notes about Chilchuck. Xe means well, but comes off as a total freak. Chilchuck is slowly worn down, and "puts up" with Amaranth after awhile. It all culminates in a night, alone at the fire. Everyone else is asleep aside from Chilchuck and Amaranth, and Chilchuck finally asks what Amaranth's deal is with him.
Amaranth takes a slow breath in and explains that Chilchuck fascinates him. Xe was trapped so long, and it only took one person with the right knowledge to free xem, and xe had no idea. Xe has become comforted by the idea any lock could be picked, and there was no way to be truly locked away like that ever again. Xe views Chilchuck as the person who figuratively and literally opened the door to xir new life. Amaranth feels a deep, intense life debt to Chilchuck, and wants to make it up to him no matter what. Even if xe doesn't really know how to go about it. Xe also admits to thinking Chilchuck is handsome, and admires his skills in both lockpicking and his intellect. Amaranth expresses wanting to work together on some sort of contraption or project together and become closer. Chilchuck doesn't really know how to feel about any of this, or what to do, and sits with it. Over the next few weeks, Chilchuck complains about Amaranth less, and tries to engage with xir projects. They end up bonding over trap design and engineering a little pet project together. Chilchuck slowly warms up to Amaranth and they end up dating.
I do keep it canon that Chilchuck has kids, and because of this, Amaranth and Chilchuck are the only selfship I have where I've made a fankid! Her name is Pitterpeck and she's even more sarcastic and dry than her father. She shares the same note-taking habit as Amaranth and is a lockpick prodigy. She's closest with Chilchuck's oldest, Meijack, who watches her while her parents are in dungeons. Unfortunately the only times I drew her, my tremors were recently developing in my hands and I hadn't gotten used to drawing with them quite yet. I take really heavy inspiration from people who draw half-foots kinda like Snufkin from The Moomins with more animalistic features cuz I think it makes Chilchuck look cute.
