#Namari doesn’t know what’s going on and doesn’t care

[sorrbet]

//long text post sorry

Whenever I think about Chilaios like both of them falling in love to me they’re the dynamic of one fell first and the other fell harder. Chilchuck being the one who fell harder.

But I’m thinking how would Laios be like when in love cause Chilchuck is a special case who knows his insanity but isn’t the most fond of it.

And my thought is that to anyone who knows his mannerisms well and how he acts could easily decipher the affections he shows to Chilchuck which are very minor things. But to anyone else they’d be like “that’s a stretch” but it isn’t.

So it would be only like Falin who’s like “I see you flirty Mac flirty pants” to Laios Just passing the salt to Chilchuck and they’re both like giddy about even the slightest moment he has near him.

And Chilchuck is going insane cause of the absurdity of being in love with Laios but also the absurdity of know he has to contain it but something just something tells him Laios is flirting which he can catch for some reason.

So any time Laios does slightly nice Chilchuck is playing 3rd chess trying to decipher what is and isn’t flirting, while Laios and Falin are giggling to themselves since both of their ways of flirting never got past the third grade and letting someone use your crayons.

[fumifooms]

Namalin

Namari x Falin

Easy short rarepair spotlight post for prosperity~ This one I didn’t think of on my own for once, I don’t know if it’s just I forgot the decided-on ship name or what but I remember seeing really nice art and a couple posts about it that I can’t find again 💔 Namalin warrior you are out there and not forgotten ty for making me see the light

I like that Namari’s critical of Falin! I have a whole character analysis on Falin if you’re interested, but it’s generally well noticed that people around Falin idealize her a lot. Laios, Marcille and Toshiro all put her on a pedestral of ultimate goodness in the world, a saintess if nothing short of perfection. Sounds like Chilchuck felt sort of creeped out by her vibes, uncomfortable because he couldn’t read her, so unlike Namari it seems he preferred steering clear of her rather than debate opposed ideologies like he usually does. Makes sense if unlike Namari his issue is with her cryptic aura rather than the stances she does show. "… The dungeon is no place for soft hearts" my ultimate namalin scene <333 It’s fun because while this scene is there to show us a lot of things, mostly to establish Falin’s characters better as it’s the first flashback of her we get, the conflict in it is more than anything else Falin vs Namari in how they contrast and clash and approach situations differently. Namari wants security in swift effective violence and thinks Falin too soft for her own good when she prefers a pacifist approach and promotes compassion even for the "undeserving" in Namari’s eyes. Falin steps between the battle ready Namari and the ghost, fearless. Falin effortlessly gently exorcises the ghost without one step back, quickly. Falin proves someone wrong. Falin proves someone wrong.

I love thinking of Namari being surprised when she learns new aspects of Falin. I like Falin having the power to shape people’s views on her. With Falin ships the most fun part for me is usually that point where Falin/the relationship becomes a clean slate: the person realizes they haven’t been seeing all of her, realizes there’s more of her they hadn’t noticed or that she hadn’t shown, that there’s change, a shift in the views on each other and the dynamic a bit.

Namari often feels like an external view looking in to me… I need to make a proper analysis on her but like. I made a lamari post once (analytic more than personally invested rip sorry) and I go with the same Namari take here, I think she’s someone who tends to have an outsider view on people and relationships if that makes sense, she’s a coworker before anything else and she’s content staying at a distance, she’s not objective per se but she tries to keep feelings out of her choices and how she sees people (her lil arc on not staying to save Falin despite the existing camaderie but in the end asking to work for the Flokes more because she wants to stay with them). She’s serious no nonsense on the job but friendly off the job and likes having casual friends, but she’s not… She doesn’t really feel connected to the group. She’s so focused on doing her job, even if she does get impulsive and passionate and too assertive for her bosses’ tastes, so focused on working her reputation and life from the ground up that that professionalism and attitude limits her social life. It doesn’t help that her reputation makes her widely judged, so she probably enters social spaces on the derensive. The closest person she was to pre-canon as far as we knew was Chilchuck and even they have a very "coworker I get along with" dynamic more than friends, with a similar sense of boundaries, humor and world view. Also like canon says a few time, the party didn’t really try to get to know each other well pre-canon, didn’t hang out after work often no one knew where Marcille was from and no one thought that was weird (also how no one had the instinct to ask about Senshi’s past) etc, the notable exception is we’re shown Namari and Chilchuck hitting taverns together and having a grand time. Everyone’s fine with things as they are, they get along decent even if not everyone considers each other friends exactly. Where I’m getting at is that to me, it feels like she tries keeping emotional distance. Emotional distance from people in general being something which in my interpretation of Falin is also present, which would make it a theme and common thread interesting to explore imo. But yes like, Namari looking at Falin, and how everyone treats her, and being more skeptical, seeing her for what she is a little more, maybe even uncharitable. "Why is everyone treating her like she’s all that? She’s gentle sure but seems like a doormat to me" and then one day she comes running up with her mace ready to cave in someone’s face to protect Laios. So yeah… Keeping her distance but one day Falin offering her some gentleness that feels very too personal for someone who’s not used to being genuine and simply showing that they care… Them talking a bit which leaves her stumped and mindblown in a quiet way when Falin defies her expectations. Namari growing on Falin when she stays and decides to open herself up more, or when Falin ends up reading her really well like she’s shown to do with her parents and Marcille’s worries. She’s very attuned to worrying and why and when different people do it especially when it comes to when they worry for others, perhaps because she does a lot of that too, so I think she’d nail down how Namari does care for the rest of the party and it’d make Namari feel seen both in a warm validating way and in a scared naked way.

We see in the tentacles chapter that she’s someone’s who’s very protective and looks out for her peers in a tough love way. She’s overbearing but it’s because she wants everyone to have the best chances. I like that she’s very confrontational and somewhat pushy and rude, but it’s tough love, it’s protective care: asserting herself to better protect and defend. The opposite of Falin’s type of care, quiet and self-sacrificial devotion. They’re barbarian x healer but they’re also bodyguard x bodyguard in their attitude and role. … What I want for them is slow burn slice of life of being coworkers and slowly getting to know each other better, pretty fluffy, but god, put this way they’d have the potential to be such a hot layered mess of insanely mutually devoted codependence… Falin taking a hit for Namari and Namari being scarred by it forever, lots of arguments about it, my god.

I like that she’s the fighter to Falin’s healer. I looove thinking of scenes of Falin healing Namari, necessitating touch and like, a moment of slowing down and sitting together in silence, too intimate, the perfect opportunity to connect that neither truly want to take until one day they do. I love how onesided I imagine the relationship would be at first. Again, as per my interpretation of Falin, I think Namari would have all these little observations and opinions on Falin meanwhile Falin really doesn’t think of Namari much at first. So Namari thinks a lot about Falin and thinks she’s got her pinned down but hasn’t (not that she’s fully wrong, she’d have credit and confront Falin on some of her flaws like the doormat thing), while Falin is very passive about Namari and doesn’t think deeply about her or anything but she read Namari’s insecurities and logic well. Not unlike how Laios was the one who seemed to understand Namari’s way of care the best in the party in the tentacles episode, and how he was very understanding of her choice and reasons. In Falin’s case it’s more like, the objectivity of passivity… She cares about Namari less than Laios who generally seeks to form bonds, so her lack of investment allows her a neutral perspective. In that way another parallel with Namari that I’m drawing, except Namari lets feelings from her opinions seeps in more… Onesided beef my beloved. I’m going insane save me this post was a mistake. I think Falin takes the crumbs of friendship and love where she can without expecting or asking for anything more than what’s offered, and I think her relationship with Namari (or anyone really) would start out the way it did with Marcille: the other takes the initiative and they end up spending time together, Falin is friendly but unattached until the bond gets gradually and wordlessly strenghtened through regularly spending moments together. So! I think Namari would need to take a lot of the first steps, which since again she’s confrontational & argumentative and doesn’t hold herself back on that front that could spark a lot of conversations I think. Ooor since Falin cares about Namari less than Laios and Marcille she allows herself to be bolder herself lol. Or also circumstances force them to spend time together like dungeon party getting separated shenanigans.

I think their personalities match cutely, I think falin would try to protect namari like she does others but also Namari simply doesn’t need protection, just support. And I think they’re complementary in that way that Namari’s friendly but also won’t sugarcoat things, and I think if she takes an interest in Falin it could go from there and she could develop some understanding of her and idk like an intrigued crush….

Namari wants stability & security & to, like, not be judged and rejected and exiled lol, to find her nest her pack the place where she feels good and wanted in. I think having a fitting partner would help in that (similarly to how the found family with the Flokes seemed to. Oh another parallel, Falin’s top priority is protecting Laios her brother and what Namari are a family figure) and I think Falin would fulfill that cozy protection and that warm ‘being seen and not judged’ feeling. But also Namari would run up to her and yell about her trying to sacrifice herself ever.

Another fun thread to explore: post-canon guilt for not having gone to save her. Sure, they weren’t close, but they had some nice memories, didn’t they? Namari cares, and it stings despite herself when it feels like people think she doesn’t. Oh it wasn’t a lost cause after all, oh it’d have worked out, oh I could have stayed loyal and it wouldn’t have compromised myself in the end. Wanting to apologize to Falin, or just ahnging out with her and sharing a moment after she wakes up. And tangent but that’s interesting to think about… Narratively, I think the purpose of Namari and Toshiro in the story, beyond strenghtening the theme of "seek to understand what is different from you and promote unity despite them" and fleshing the cast and worldbuilding, is Toshiro’s purpose was being a foil & tool in Laios’ arc (trouble connecting with people) while Namari’s was being and a foil & tool in Marcille’s arc (standing up for ideals without being out of touch with harsh realities and needs). They are the conflict that push our protagonists to grow— and they explore different ways of dealing with a situation or topic, different ways of growing into themselves on that end: Laios needing to listen to others more and Toshiro needing to focus on voicing himself more to be able to connect, Marcille needing to learn ideals sometimes cost too much and Namari needing to internalize that ideals are sometimes worth risks (not only to be able to find a reasonable but fulfilling life balance, but also to get in touch with their compassion: Namari restricts her own too much and Marcille is too harsh on people she deems to be breaking values, like Namari not risking her life and career for a friend with no promise of success, or even like how Namari is harsh on Falin’s way of doing things : too gentle, too soft, too idealistic) (similarly to Chilchuck’s arc with Marcille too, and he also plays a hand in advancing that arc in the Namari chapters). We are getting far from namalin sorry ummm preview for future analyses like Toshiro’s contrasting approach to grief and accepting loss.

More post-canon namalin! Thinking about a timeline where… Namari is fond of Falin finding herself and going off to do her thing. "Finally!" she thinks. If she’s still for hire, maybe Falin would want her to come along, either as guide or bodyguard <3, she knows Namari has a lot of good avice on a lot of things to give, plus they’ve worked together before. She hires Namari and they travel for a bit. Travel would do Namari good too I think, even if her end goal is to settle and I think Falin’s would be too eventually. Seeing sights that light her wonder for the world and going places where people don’t know her story, don’t recognize her face or her name. Them, feeling free. Finding a companionship that feels uplifting instead of stifling or charged. Namari having been too in her head about reputation and social games and money that they hit the roads and spend time in nature and it’s like, woah. I’ve been living in a small world with made up rules.

Ahh yes romance, Namari and Falin kissing after 3 years of not really knowing each other despite seeing each other every day then 2 months of wanting to spend more and more time together until they’re an inseparable duo! Workwives. I want them to stand next to each other during campire time and Namari cracks little jokes and Namari laughs. I want Namari to gift Falin a bug caught in amber and for it to be their wedding/promised to each other thing.

TLDR

Rowdy but levelheaded barbarian x gentle healer that will also cave your face in with a mace I like it…… They’re an interesting duo of mixed stuff. Protection being your purpose and what you’re worth for, literally being a meat shield (Laios, Tansu), finding your individuality recognized and validated through a growing bond with the other. Sticking around as a love language. Also bug immortalized in amber and it being beautiful.

Nevermind this wasn’t short. Um! Anyways.

[tagasaing]

i have to get this out of the way, re: dungeon meshi discussions

major spoilers ahead, obviously.

you know for a series that focuses so much on platonic and familial relationships it’s weird that dungeon meshi has attracted so much useless ship wars though. the most important driving force in the story is two sibling relationships (laios’s search for falin, thistle’s search for delgal) and one of the central themes is how loving others way too much can lead to your downfall (thistle’s desperate attempt to keep his loved ones leads to his mental state deteriorating so much he starts torturing people he claims to protect, marcille’s fear of losing her friends leads to her being easily manipulated by the main antagonist)

even with regards to falin. thistle wants to bring the ‘brother’ he raised back at all costs, he saw a young human woman as nothing more than a dragon, his tool. marcille wants to bring falin back at all costs, she didn’t care about the repercussions of using monster meat instead of animal meat even though she was an expert at ancient magic and should know why it’s such a dangerous practice.

each and every single one of the major characters has some form of tragedy with their family one way or another: the toudens, marcille and her dad. chilchuck and his wife. senshi’s entire backstory. izutsumi’s hidden desire for a mother. namari’s father. shuro and his family. kabru and his mother(both tallman and elf). mithrun and his brother. thistle and the melinis.

even some of the minor characters: flamela and her dead twin sister. the twins and the floke couple. kuro being the closest mickbell has to a family. etc etc

as someone who has reread this manga several times by now, i wonder if people just… read it once as fast as they could and act like they’re some sort of authority on fan discussion. i’ve seen people brag about reading the entire thing in one sitting as if it’s something to be proud of. this manga isn’t meant to be read that fast, that’s how you get people claiming that laios doesn’t reaaally love falin as much as marcille does.

to these people, laios just gets in the way, as if it wasn’t his idea to go down the dungeon in the first place, it wasn’t him who said his pain doesn’t matter because falin suffered more than him, it wasn’t him who felt immense guilt for leaving falin behind, it wasn’t him who found her skull, it wasn’t him who killed her to save her from her chimera form. i feel like people forget about the ‘too’ part when marcille said “i miss falin too”

marcille knows how much falin and laios love each other. that’s why she asked him if she’s allowed to resurrect her and didn’t act on her own. that’s why when both times a shapeshifting monster copied marcille to trick laios, it was what she looked like at the time she was reviving falin.

as someone who DOES ship farcille, none of the romance is canon. this isn’t meant to be anti-farcille. one of the post-canon comics is about falin gently turning down shuro because she wants to travel the world, “you can’t tie a dragon down” after all. she wants to travel the world and find herself because she doesn’t know who she is outside of marcille and laios. even marcille, who was hoping she’d reject him, tears up because of how beautiful and tragic it was.

there are a lot of ship teases because what author doesn’t like a good ship tease. but to say that dungeon meshi is a romantic love more than it is a story about family(both real and found) is a great misinterpretation of the text.

[starberryfarms]

may we have a short laios x reader fic where he gets a concussion and lets slip in the midst of his delirium that he sometimes feels like meeting the reader was only just a dream? and that kinda scares him.

thank you for the request, and apologies for the delay! i hope you like it <3 !!

𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐬: 𝐟𝐥𝐮𝐟𝐟, 𝐠𝐧!𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫, 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐬𝐦𝐨𝐨𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬

a/n: if this isn't giving gn!reader please let me know and it will be changed!

“Laios!” 

Without thinking you're lurching towards his body as he falls to the ground. It’s like time stopped as everyone watches Laios hit the ground. Marcille and Chilchuck try to hold you back, but you break away from them. Your body burns as you push it past its limits as you try to get to him without the Undine locking on you. 

He hits the ground roughly, and he lays there still and unmoving. The fear in your chest intensifies as you desperately try to get him. Shouts of your name were thrown out as the Undine shot at you, though you knew you couldn’t stop. 

As you reach his body your hands urgently run over him to check him for any severe injuries. You couldn’t lose him, not now when you were so close to finding Falin. He groans as you softly run your thumb over his cheek. A shaky breath is released when you see his eyes open, though they were a little unfocused. He blinks slowly as he looks up at you confused.  

“L-Laios…” You whisper as you lift his upper body to elevate him on your lap. As you peer down at him you see water droplets fall onto his forehead. Your hands reach up to touch your face, they wipe away the tears you hadn’t realized were falling. Sometimes you were sure Laios would be the death of you, he could be so impulsive. Tentative hands clean the salty droplets from his cheeks as you look him over.

He moves his mouth to speak, but you stop him. Shushing him to calm him, and even more so yourself. Your trembling hands run softly through his hair, he still has that distant look in his eyes.  He tries to move to sit up, but you grab him to keep him still.

“Laios, please stay still. I think you have a concussion, you hit your head pretty hard.” With a nervous huff, your hands reach behind his head to feel for a bump. When your fingers graze the swollen mound, Laios whimpers, you give him an apologetic smile. 

“Sorry,” you mumble softly.

“I-Is it… Is the Undine gone?” He groans out as he looks up at you. You search around to see if the Undine had indeed been taken care of. Senshi and Namari are struggling as they place the pot on the heat circle. Everyone is yelling and shouting as they try and keep it down, the lid rattling sporadically.

Marcille looks in your direction and shouts, but you don’t hear anything as your attention is drawn back to Laios. 

“It’s gone Laios, you can relax now. Just take it easy.”

He winces when some light hits his eye, and you reach out to quickly cover them. He smiles softly and his hand twitches and tries to move and grab your own. Your hand reaches out to grab his and you lean down to kiss his head softly. 

“I’m just glad you’re okay.” He mumbles as he looks up at you. Even in moments of pain, Laios always found a way to make sure you were okay. You smile softly as you look down at him, your fear lessening the more he seemed like his normal self. Well as much as you could with a head injury, his speech was still slurred. 

“You should be more worried about yourself…” You didn’t know what to do, but you hoped what you were doing was enough. Yes, people could go as far as dying in the dungeon and be okay. Doesn’t mean you want to see that happen to Laios. In or out of the dungeon, life wouldn’t be right without him in it. 

“I should’ve taken Marcille up on those healing lessons.” You mutter as you rummage through your sack hoping to find something to help Laios while you both wait on Marcille. You feel his eyes burning into you, lately you’ve caught him looking at you with a weird look in his eyes. Though when asked about it he says it’s nothing. 

“Laios, I can feel you staring.” You continue to look through your bag, sparing a glance or two back at him as he smiles dopely at you. He mumbles something, but it sounds like a bunch of gibberish to you. He grunts when you move too abruptly as you grab a cloth and your waterskin. While dousing the cloth in the cool water, you’re careful not to wet it too much. A sigh of relief is released as you lay it over his forehead, he mutters something softly again.

“What was that Laios?” “You’re so amazing..”

You laugh at that, you were far from amazing. Though it was sweet of him to say that, despite how far from the truth it actually was. Laios always knew what to say to make you feel appreciated, especially on your worst days.  The cloth starts to feel warm so you wring out the excess water and pour some fresh water over the cloth again.

“Where’s all this coming from.” As you wipe his forehead and rest the cloth over his head again. He grabs your hand, looking up at you with those spacey brown eyes. He has this intense look adorned on his face, silently demanding your attention. 

“You’re so good to me… You never judge me about my monster ‘obsession’, you even intently listen to all my little facts.” Now he’s looking away from you as his face flushes.

“I always feel safe around you.  Sometimes I’m scared you’re just something I made up. That one day I’ll wake up in this dungeon and you won’t be there smiling at me.” A solemn look takes over his usually cheerful features. You never knew Laios felt like this, he was always so cheery and positive. Even during the worst of it, he never let that stop him from doing what he believed was right. Tears slowly fall again as you take in his words.

“Oh Laios, I’ll be around as long as you want me to.” A smile tugs at the corner of your mouth as you lean closer to him. You kiss him softly on his forehead once more, and rest yours lightly against his own. Laios’s hand comes up to brush against your cheek, his rough fingers soothing you.

Marcille calls for you and you look up to see her running towards the both of you, wailing her sincere apologies for the delay. You chuckle as you watch her flail about as she gets closer to the both of you. Once she’s near, she does a quick healing spell on Laios, he groans from the pain but soon relaxes once the initial sting wears off. 

Marcille helps you get Laios back to camp where he can properly rest and heal. You sit next to him and read him little facts from his monster book, hoping that helps him fall asleep. Deft fingers run through his hair as he looks up at you with that look again. 

“Laios, I don’t plan on going anywhere, not without you. Now relax and get some rest.” 

“Good.” He murmurs as he finally dozes off. 

𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 <3 !

© starberryfarms 2024 [ plagiarism is a violation of moral rights ! ]

[toxycodone]

genital headcannons for :

Falin

Laios

Chilchuck

Toshiro

Namari

Venery

Thistle

Falin definitely has a penis, I think hers is probably the biggest out of Laios' party? Namari definitely packs, I would let her peg me for hours omg..... she could ruin me. Ermmm.. Chilchuck probably has a big cock for a halfling, he's fucking TALL !!!! bro has to be packing something. Also shaved or not shaved... Namari body hair everywhere OMG I need her to shove my face into her bush I need to smell her. Sorry I'm being a little too straight (? I am a man but this feels gay idk) ... anyway chil, Namari, and Falin are unshaved, full bush down there. I feel like Toshiro at his best keeps everything trimmed !! but when he can't even shave his face when he's at his lowest... bro wouldn't have the energy to take care of it. Hmm and then Laios could be either way..?? We know he shaves his face and keeps his hair short bc he doesn't wanna look like his dad, but would he even think of shaving his pubes????? Idk. Wait is this a weird thing to think about? Oh wait do elves grow body hair??? I feel like thistle would have some body hair if it's possible, I feel like they can't... unless my DND 5e knowledge is getting mixed with uhmmm. What is it called... DUNGEON MESHI I think I'm starting to dissociate I'm going to stop typing lmfao

FALIN - GIRLCOCK. Whether you are a trans!Falin fan or what, in my eyes after the red dragon thing. She gets girl cock. I can see this as either like, a penis or like T-dick. Whatever you decide. But whatever it is her situation is definitely unique. Also she got a bush frfr

Laios - COCK. (I am also a trans!Laios fan so like. He can have anything in his pants it don’t matter imma eat it but usually when I write him it’s cock). His dick is as painfully average as he is. Not crazy length wise but he got some girth to it. I’m thinking like. 5 inches frfr. Maybe 6 but that’s generous imo. No manscaping just vibes he’s full bush down there. And body hair on his chest/legs/arms and around his groin

Chilchuck - OKAY. His dick is probably like more similar to an average tallman penis. Which is remarkable considering he’s like half their size. I’m gonna give him four inches and he’s breaking other halflings in half with it but with other races. He’s learned how to use it. Chilchuck is a real one. Light on body hair, but would keep it tidy when he’s not in the dungeon (I think he likes to manscape and like. Appreciate himself in the mirror lol)

Toshiro - He is ALL length and so embarrassed about it. (Def afraid he’s gonna hurt you.) He could learn to love it with a supportive partner though. I think for a while he’s rocking bush because like, yknow. That stuff isn’t really talked about…but he figured it out for himself that when he takes his time and shaves and stuff after a anything or whatever he’ll do some trimming down there because he likes the neatness. I like to think he grows body hair but it’s not super dark for some reason (besides on his face people get jealous at the beard he can grow)

Namari - SHE IS JUST LIKE ME I GET HER VIBE SO WHAT IM SAYING HERE IS CANON: SHE HAS CRAZY PUSS BUT IS ALWAYS ROCKING THE STRAP. Namari doesn’t let anyone fuck her hole unless they’re in a committed relationship (she does not play about that either if you insert anything in her sex is over). Insane with the strap too. She’s someone I can genuinely see breaking the bed with her strokes. Also she’s got body hair for days. Like other Dwarf women she can grow a beard too but she usually shaves. (Namari with stubble…I’m bout to go feral.)

Venery - Started off with a human vagina. Now it’s some weird mix between that + hyena + dragon cock. I think he’s canonically intersex due to the ancient magic. But he’s happy about it. Also UHHHHHH…..HE LAYS EGGS. JS.

Thistle - Okay Thistle is so trans to me I think he gives himself top surgery when he’s getting older with ancient magic. He leaves the downstairs area alone because he’s fine with just presenting masc that’s good enough for him. Very low body hair he just sits in the middle of gender ambiguous for REAL.

[ladyloveandjustice]

Hungry Kisses and No Regrets

Decided to channel my stress into finally writing the Kiki/Namari fic. This is post-series, and has slight references to unofficially translated post series material.

Namari stared into her tankard, watching the beer’s foam drop down the sides. The tavern was full of lively chatter, loud toasts, whooping and yelling…normally she would be right in the thick of it. But right now it was all distant, muffled, nothing but a meaningless buzzing.

  Then a smooth voice cut through that noise. “You’ve had that booze for a whole minute and the glass is still full. Something must be wrong”.

   Kiki was towering over her. Namari turned slowly, her eyes traveling up those long, shapely legs, from the perfect curve of her calves all the way up to her well toned thighs. Namari’s breath hitched and the back of her neck heated up. She focused instead on Kiki’s face, like she should have done from the beginning, but that only made her heart race more. Kiki had her hair down, a rarity, and it fell in beautiful black coils, slightly wavy at the ends. Kiki looked down at her with bright warm eyes and a mischievous smirk (she’d probably noticed Namari checking out her legs). As always, it melted all of Namari’s defenses.

“I’m just…lost in thought.”

Kiki sat across from her, resting her chin on steepled hands. “Want to talk about it?”

Weirdly, she did. When it was with Kiki, she could talk about anything.

“It’s…Falin.”

Kiki raised her eyebrows. “Did she get turned into a monster again?”

“No! It’s…well,I told you now that my father’s debt is almost paid off, I want to strike out and set up a blacksmithing business right?”

Kiki nodded.

Namari took a small sip of beer and sighed.

“Well, Falin’s recovery is taking…longer than expected. She’s having a little bit of trouble adjusting to her new body. She doesn’t have a lot of stamina and gets exhausted easily, Marcille says she’s been restless at night, growling and snarling and having weird dreams. Even Marcille has a hard time shaking her out of them. I know Falin was planning to travel, to get to know her new self and see new places, and it must be so frustrating…so I don’t think I can leave until she gets better.”

Kiki wrinkled her brow. “Why? It doesn’t sound life threatening. She has her brother and Marcille taking care of her, right? And Chilchuck and Senshi are sticking around a bit longer too. I’m sure she’ll get well soon."

“I know, but… it’s hard to see Falin like this. She’s usually so warm and full of life, you know? She could make anyone feel better just by being there. It’s easy to see why Marcille and Shuro fell for her…”

Kiki’s eyes narrowed. Was that…jealousy?

“Not that I ever had any feelings for her, I’m just saying she’s always been so strong and kind,” Namari amended hastily. “So it’s hard to see her so listless. …And I feel like I should…well, if she can’t travel right now, I shouldn’t get to go gallivanting off somewhere.”

“You’re acting like you’re responsible for her. Are you feeling guilty about leaving?”

Kiki sure cut to the quick. "I don’t regret my choice," Namari said forcefully. "I did what I had to do. But.. I wonder sometimes. If I had been there, would they have been able to get to the dragon before it digested her? Would it have saved her from going through all that hell? Seeing what happened to her, how she’s struggling now, it rattled me. I wonder if she resents me."

Namari lowered her eyes, drawing a circle in the condensation on the table with her index finger. She couldn't look st Kiki. The last thing she wanted to see was her pity.

            “From the brief time I met her—and from how you all describe her—it doesn’t seem like she’d resent you.” Kiki’s voice was the same as ever, a ripple in a calm lake. Namari looked at her and saw her expression wasn’t pitying or annoyed. She just looked like she was mulling it all over.

            “No…none of them seen to resent me, even Marcille. But still…Falin knows I abandoned her. She might understand and accept it, but I wonder if it hurts her, deep down…” She trailed off. She new she was being pathetic she was being pathetic,

            Kiki studied Namari's face, her eyes searching

“Remember when Kaka and I told you about how our clan abandoned us at an inn when we were children?”

Namari blinked at the sudden topic change, but said, “Yes, of course”

            “Kaka resents them for that. But I don’t. I’m honestly grateful.”   

            “Huh?”  As always, Namari couldn’t figure out if Kiki was joking or not.

            Kiki’s mouth quirked and she tilted her head. A bit of hair fell over her eye in a way that made Namari's heart flutter.

            “I remembered how they looked, their cheeks hollowed, their eyes sunken. They were starving, yet they always tried to give Kaka and me a good meal. So I was grateful that they left us. If they hadn’t, I would have had to watch them suffer, watch them die. I hated being a burden.” Kiki’s smiled disappeared, and Namari saw her hands shake ever so slightly against the table. She wanted so badly to reach out and hold that hand, to tell her it was all okay. But she knew Kiki wouldn’t appreciate being interrupted.

            Kiki breathed in deeply. “But by leaving us at the inn, they gave us a chance. A chance for something better. Because they did that, I had a chance to meet Grandma and Grandpa. And that’s what I’m the most grateful for.” Her expression softened, the warmth returning to her face.

            Namari smiled. She loved how Kiki looked at even the darkest moments with love and empathy. It made her want to let go of her cynicism.

`           ”So,” Kika said, tossing her hair. “If Falin’s really the person you say she is, I’m sure she feels the same way. She’s grateful that you didn’t drown in debt for her sake, she’s grateful she didn’t didn't have to see you suffer and lose everything for her. She doesn’t want to be your burden.”

Namari’s eyes burned. Falin had said something like that—“I’m so glad you were able to find such a great party to work for, Namari. You seem so happy! And you helped my brother and the rest a lot, from what I hear! Thank you!"But Namari had been sure she was just forcing her real feelings down. But hearing it from Kiki…for some reason, that made her believe it.

“And also…” Kiki leaned forward, her face so close to Namari’s that her hot breath tickled Namari’s nose. “I’m personally very grateful you left the party. Because that’s how I got to meet you. And I wouldn’t trade that for anything.”

Namari swallowed. She was sure her face was as red as a tomato. But she wasn’t going to let that stop her. It was time to say it.

“There’s actually another reason I’ve been procrastinating on leaving. It’s…because I don’t want to leave you behind.”

“Oh, don’t worry about that,” Kiki said casually. “I’ve decided to leave the family business and strike out on my own. And I’d love to travel with you.”

“You…what?’

“I’ve been thinking of it for a while and talking about it with the family. I told them all yesterday. I want to try new things, see what I can do on my own. Kaka’s going to stay with them, he’s never been interested leaving out grandparents. It’s going to be…really hard being separated from him. We’ve been together our whole lives. But I think that’s why I need to do this.I want to find out who I am without him. Take my own path. Grandpa and Grandma were very supportive. I’ll miss all of them, but it’s not like I can’t visit…”

All of this tumbled out of Kiki’s mouth in a rush, so it took a second for Namari to process it. But when she finally did, her heart burst with joy. Her face lit up with what she was sure was the dopiest smile, but she did her best to keep her voice even.

“Do you know what you want to do?”

“I did a short apprenticeship of a trading company when I was younger, and I loved meeting different people from all over, so maybe that. But one thing I really want to do is…be by your side at least a little bit longer.” She looked down nervously, eyelashes fluttering.

Namari reached out and took Kiki’s hand at last. It was soft and smooth, so much smaller than hers, but still strong. “I want that too,” Namari murmured. “And I also want to kiss you until you’re as dizzy as I am.”

At that invitation, Kiki threw herself across the table. She barely avoided knocking Namari’s beer over as she swung her legs around to sit on her lap. Namari put her arms around her, she bent down, and they kissed hungrily, ceaselessly, with bottomless desire. Kiki tugged at Namari's wrist and Namari gladly accepted the invitation, running her hand greedily up Kiki's thigh, feeling the strong muscle underneath, gripping it harder as their kiss deepened.

Whoops and cheers explored around them. When they finally separated, they saw several tavern patrons were watching them. And the table was a little wobbly. Oops.

“Let’s get out of here before we break something. We can do that in my bedroom instead.” Namari murmured.

“Sounds good. And if we stop by my house first, I can bring some leg pouches to put on in front of you,” Kiki teased.

“You really are the perfect woman,” Namari breathed, trembling with anticipation.

So they walked off arm and arm into the night, Namari leaving behind her worries and fears. There was no point in looking back anymore. She and Kiki had just started a new journey together.

[szalnyshko]

(•Д•), Dunmeshi is over taking me!! [spoilers ahead!]

So, I’ve already finished the manga and I’m now waiting for the new episode but during the gap I’ve been consuming fandom content, as per use. Now, the character that I’ve been consuming the most fandom content is Laios cause he’s so jdjdjsjs, and this idea has been fluttering round my head because I’ve only seen THREE actual posts/works about this. Two being fics and one being a tumblr post.

The specific idea is a sibling swap, Falin and Laios, and I’m suffering from lack of content from it!! Only two fics and one tumblr post [ТдТ] One of the fics is Laios and making his desire to be to swap with Falin, and what he thinks will happen. The other is Falin going through the dungeon to save Laios and it’s specific the episode that’s coming out this Thursday, so chapter 27/28 in manga I think.

Like this concept really gets me going cause it changed the whole dynamic of how things would play out. Laios being there meant they met Senshi because Laios was interested in eating monsters. Falin, although she does have an interest, would not have that strong of an interest in eating monsters. I also feel she may not realise it’s hunger that caused them to fail because she was focused on protecting her brother and the party, literally letting herself get eaten to save her brother. She also would not have intimate knowledge of monsters so the party may have a harder time killing monsters.

I think Marcille and Chilchuck would still be in the party. Marcille doesn’t seem to have a deep connection with Laios at the start, with her clashing with Laios and his monster eating habits. Plus the prior encounter where she wanted to kill him for taking Falin away from magic school. This bond deepens between them as they go down the dungeon and she obviously cares for the rest of the party, feeling betrayed that Namari and Shuro [I keep forget your actual name] left. But I feel if it were Lauos to get eaten she wouldn’t be as motivated as she is with Falin [Lesbian icon!] because she doesn’t get to connect with him. This then brings into question, would she revive Laios and risk being jailed by the elves?

She probably would because it’s Falin who asked but there would be more hesitation. Especially with Chilchuck who is against it no matter what.

Talking about Chilchuck, I feel he would stay out of obligation. The same reason he stayed with Laios originally. I think his dynamic wouldn’t change that much but maybe he’d see Falin and Marcill closer to his daughters [?] or maybe he’d have a gripe cause of their relationship as we already know he doesn’t do inter party relationships.

Namari would still leave but I think Shuro would be more hesitant, his love for Falin possibly making him stay for a little bit.

Of course we have the problem with money and food but I think Falin has enough people skills to gather some things. But, because she lived with Laios for some time and heard about his monster fantasies, maybe she’d consider eating monsters. I feel people would be more likely to listen to her rather than Laios [sorry buddy] but still question it. However, Shuro did have a whole crew so maybe he’d help with that and we’d have a whole different crew dynamic.

Talking about that, I wonder how Kabru and his party would interact with Falin’s party. How’d the Namari reunion go? What would Falin’s desire be? How would the finale fight be? Would Laios have a cool chimera bod like Falin?

So many questions for my tiny brain….

[detectivereads]

Delicious in the Dungeon vol 3 by Ryoko Kui

5/5

This post is for fan entertainment, I’m not being paid.

To see vol 2 post of Delicious in Dungeon click here

To see vol 4 post of Delicious in Dungeon click here

Something I notice in this manga it seems very Marcille focused, with her past at magic school and how she cares for Falin.

We also have a new team that is being introduced, with a ex-member of Laios’s team. Karbu’s team also appears in this volume as well. Unfortunately, they don’t seem to have the best luck when it comes to adventuring because they do get their butts kicked by the fish people.

Laios is also showing some amazing monster hunting (I ‘m not sure what you would call it) skills, he handles the mermaids and also shows that Senshi is not the only one who knows how to cook.

Marcille is the real MVP in this volume, with how she helps the group with the kraken with her spell slinging. However, when we got to her fight with the Undine, I did question her with her magical knowledge that she has and understanding that she is in a magic dungeon that she should have been more careful when dumping boiling hot water in a body of water.

Now I wanted to rant a bit about the ex-member, Namari’s, new group find them, granted I’m not too upset with Namari leaving the group, I understand that people need to make money and going on a quest to slay a dragon to rescue doesn’t seem profitable and I do wish Marcille understood that and not try to guilt trip Namari back to the group. However, I think that Namari needed to use some tact when talking about the dragon and Falin. (I mean Falin’s brother is right there.)

My issue is with Namari new group: Mr. Tansu. I want to know how freaking much gold he is paying Namari in order to use her as a dwarven meat shield. Granted Mrs. Tansu and their kids Kaka & Kiki seem like great party members. I did like when Kiki did get taken by the vines Mr. Tansu did show some emotion when a party member was attacked.

Now one of the big things I did like, Senshi was the first dwarf that we got to know a lot more, when the manga first started out, we did see glimpses of Namari and Daya. But Senshi did paint my view that dwarves are stubborn, and they will do what they want.

But seeing Namari and Senshi interact was a little refreshing to see, because comparing the two you get the vibes that Namari is a classic dwarf, likes making weapons and knows a good weapon when she sees it. While Senshi likes cooking and farming.

When I read the ending chapter…. all I thought was of D&D pet frog Owain. I did like the chapter because Chilchuck was the MVP in that fight. But seeing the frogs dying I was thinking “noooo not the frogs.”

I did feel bad for Marcille and her clothes.

[britcision]

Ugh your mind is beautiful OP I must join the riff 👀

Spoilers below the cut

So there’s a couple things I wanna pull out and pick apart:

1) the Demon, Kabru, Shuro, and Namari all come to the same conclusion about Laios, though Kabru’s our most obvious human analog; he also guides the Canaries’ impressions and is the captain of team “We Gotta Kill This Man”

The assumption they’re all making is actually a little more complicated though; all of them actually have all of the evidence to see that Laios cares about humans right in front of their faces

The Winged Lion hears him say it to its face in the dream

Kabru has been saved and protected by Laios twice this week in situations where he was completely helpless, and would never have known if Laios had just passed them by except that he might not have woken up at all

(Unconscious/paralysed on the Spirit Possession Level, dead on the water level with a Water Walk that will time out)

Shuro and Namari have travelled with him the longest and know full well that whenever it comes to it, Laios kills the monsters to protect his human companions

But they all assume that because Laios understands the monsters so much better than humans, that must be all he cares about

And to their credit, Shuro, Namari, and Kabru all do hesitate over that conclusion, and do have the sense that Laios wouldn’t want to hurt anyone; they just assume he won’t care not to, because he’s socially awkward

Because he does actually hurt humans pretty often by his “carelessness” and utter inability to understand social rules (hurt feelings, defo same scale as cheerfully killing monsters)

But he understands the monsters so well, that they assume that if he cared, he’d understand humans the same way

(Kabru especially because his Special Interest is people in the literal exact same way Laios’ is monsters)

So the Winged Lion is doomed to failure by its own inherent ableism, while Shuro, Namari, and Kabru all come to the same conclusion in the end; that yeah, Laios is inept and he sure as hell doesn’t understand human society, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t care, or that he’d let anything bad happen to people

2) the succubus fucking casting shade at Laios the entire time. Just

“Of course I’m not a succubus, if I was a succubus you’d just look at me and be immobilised, which is how it’s supposed to work, what succubus would put up with having to do this much bullshit”

Laios’ own understanding of the monsters is what persuades him to let his guard down; he perceives them as operating under immutable rules, so when the succubus behaves in a slightly different way than he expects he’s completely caught off guard

Because yeah, the succubus’ trick works on most people! Given the sass, we can guess that while this is a problem they can handle, it’s not one they deal with often. They’re even adaptable to the two hearts of beastkin, although it doesn’t actually work

Laios makes a valid assumption based on the information he has - and as we see all series long, that information is usually complete enough that he’s very rarely wrong

As we see when he’s freaking out over the winged lion in particular, Laios prefers monsters and understands them better because he can get a grasp of their instincts, drives, and needs - which to his mind, makes them predictable

He has his own baby breakdown over this which is much less dramatic than Marcille and Kabru’s later on, but when you actually look at it…

These are mostly the same problems Laios has with people. That last panel especially; he can’t tell what drives their actions, can’t predict what they’re going to do next, and doesn’t understand what to do about them

When the succubus behaves in a way he can’t predict, he’s instantly entrapped; it doesn’t occur to him that he might just be the exception to the rule (which, to be fair, it’s kinda hard to definitively know you just plain don’t have a “type”, especially in your early 20s; I didn’t work it out til the mid-lates)

When the demon doesn’t have the kinds of basic drives he’s used to, he’s completely stalled out on what to do about it… until it gives its own little spiel about what it wants and plants the seeds of its own defeat

I've been thinking about Laios' succubus lately. Mulling it over a bit.

Because I've seen these pages brought up a fair bit, but almost entirely in the context of shipping (on all sides, really). And I really want to understand what they are doing for the story beyond that.

When I went back to reread the scene and section, a few things caught my interest: the way Laios responds to both forms of his succubus, the themes of the volume the chapter is found in, and the other events of the chapter itself.

So let's dive into those three things, and what I think they say about the succubus scene's purpose.

Laios is never fully frozen by the succubus

So. If you compare Marcille and Chilchuck's reactions...

to Laios':

-

There is a difference. Sure, the basics may look the same once it turns into Scylla Marcille, but even then, it functions differently.

Chilchuck and Marcille are completely frozen once they catch sight of their succubus. Izutsumi, as well, isn't able to look away, and completely freezes up once her 'mom' starts talking to her. As Chilchuck describes, "just looking at them makes you unable to move."

And yet, Scylla Marcille has to actively convince Laios to comply. He even looks away from her at one point!

Laios accepts this succubus, but he is never actually helpless to it in the same way. Taken in? Convinced? Sure, at least enough to let things happen that he probably should question more than he does. But magically compelled? Not really. Not the same way as everyone else is. So that's interesting. But let's move on for now.

2. Volume 9 is all about drive and desire

I don't often look at chapters within the context of the volume they are included in, but I think there's some really fun things to be found with that perspective in mind.

For one, volume 9 starts with an exploration of what desire brought Laios to the dungeon:

And ends with a question of what desire brought Laios to the dungeon:

It's also very concerned in general with questions of why people do what they do. Why they are in the dungeon, why they are with the people they are with, why they stay, what they fight for.

In addition to Laios, we see it with Marcille...

Izutsumi

Kabru

and Mithrun

Hell, we even get it for the demon!

It's certainly not the only volume concerned with desires and motives, but it is particularly focused on these ideas.

The succubus scene fits quite well into the ongoing question about desires, especially Laios' desires. It is even placed at an interesting spot within the volume. The volume is six chapters long, and the scene takes place at the start of the 4th chapter. It's almost smack-dab in the middle.

With all this in mind, it is interesting that, with both versions of the succubus Marcille, it's not totally clear which parts of her Laios is rejecting.

The first version of Marcille looks human, but Laios attacks when he identifies her as a monster. The second Marcille looks like a monster, but he seems to believe that she is the real (human)(ish) person that he knows. So is he rejecting the monster at first, and then accepting the person? Or is he rejecting humanity and only interested in the monstrous?

Something to consider as we look at the next point...

3. the rest of the chapter is a seduction, too

This is one of those things that might not be apparent on a first reading, but is crystal clear on a revisit. We see the succubus try and charm Laios over 7 pages, and then see the Winged Lion do the same thing for the next 19.

Much like the succubus, it offers the mingling of monsters and humans. Much like the succubus, it offers belonging.

(and this is the point where I absolutely must also link this post by fumifooms on the succubus, which has some great ideas on how the scene is informed by Laios' trauma and desire for acceptance!!!)

But, back to the point. The Winged Lion wants to feed on Laios just as much as the succubus did, and it uses similar strategies to try and make that happen. Though this chapter isn't really the turning point for the next Lord of the Dungeon (it is Marcille who will, eventually, become the Lion's next victim), it certainly behaves like it is.

Laios is convinced. The succubus gets its meal. By the end of the volume, the reader begins to understand how concerning his desires are. Together, it is all very good at building up that sense of dread and pending disaster, as we see exactly how and why Laios might just fall into the Lion's open arms and bring about the end of the world.

-

So that's the three things I noticed. But there's still something I want to touch on by looking at the way these observations overlap, and what they reveal, together.

As I said, by the end of the volume, you can feel the tension growing. Just as Kabru and Mithrun do, you look back for an answer to the questions that have been built, chapter by chapter: why is Laios here? Where will his loyalties fall? This chapter, and scene, seem to prove the inevitable truth: he will choose the monster, of course. He will choose the seductive, easy power of the Winged Lion.

But the details of what actually happens tell different story: one in which the Lion is wrong.

First, as a reminder - even in Scylla Marcille mode, the succubus never fully entrances Laios. It convinces him, but it doesn't have him completely under its thrall.

Similarly, in the dream, the Lion does convince Laios to embrace the world he is offering. But even within that dream, Laios continues to ask questions that will be vital to him later. It is because of those questions that Laios comes to a new understanding about Thistle.

And it's this realization that he cites later as part of his reason for refusing the Lion's offer.

He is thinking through things the entire time, just like he continues to question the succubus even after it turns into Scylla Marcille.

Laios also expresses an interesting reason for why he wants to see the future of this world. He's not just invested because it would mean people liking what he likes, or him getting to spend time with monsters. The thought that comes immediately before his acceptance is about what he wants for monsters and people.

I don't think it's a coincidence that this statement - "we're living beings that share the same world, but all we can do is keep killing each other" - can apply to the various humans races just as much as it does to humans and monsters. The thing he is thinking about here isn't just a matter of his personal daydreams. It's an idea that underpins every conflict in the story.

Laios caring about how people as well as monsters in this manner is something that the Lion gets wrong every time. Even at the end, he still frames Laios' desires entirely around hating people and loving monsters.

The Lion has heard him express an opinion about the future of the world! It happened right there in the dream, right in front of him! He just didn't take it seriously, and didn't view it through any lens other than "Laios likes monsters more".

He's convinced that he understands how to get to Laios. Maybe the Lion can't truly see everything, or maybe his vision into everyone's deepest desires has made it hard for him to realize how much choice still matters. That people can, and do, choose which desires to act on, and how to act on them.

Whatever the case, he's wrong about Laios, and the story shows us this over and over again.

After all, look at how the succubus interaction plays out:

A monster uses Marcille to appeal to Laios...

He realizes that something about the situation is wrong, and rejects her.

It changes strategies, and makes new offer: to turn him into a monster.

It also assures him that his friends are, or will be, taken care of.

He accepts. Or rather, allows the monster to have its way with him.

But Laios is not as helpless as he initially appears, and what the Lion thinks is a successful seduction also contains the seed of an idea that will allow Laios to later resist him.

We even get to see Izutsumi playing a similar role in both instances, as the one person fully able to take action in the face to the illusion.

The story lays out what is going happen, and then explicitly tells us that the demon and the succubus are thematically related.

The chapter performs a great sleight of hand here - everything about it seems to indicate that Laios is doomed give in to the option to have his deepest desires realized. But if you look closer, it also contains the evidence that he won't. There's a lot more going on for him.

Yes, he still falls for obvious tricks. He is still extremely into monsters, and he still doesn't feel like he fits in with other people. He may, deep down, crave to surrender to the monstrous - to let it absorb him. But he questions more than he seems to. He considers more than people realize. He cares so much more than anyone gives him credit for.

And I think this is part of why we see the succubus called back to so many times, especially with the wolf head addition to his Monster Form, which he specifically added due to his encounter with the Scylla Marcille.

This all stays with Laios. It doesn't just foreshadow the path of the story, it is fundamental to how and why he walks that path. It's not about him choosing monsters, and it's not about him choosing people. It's about how he considers both, and cares about both.

And it's about the forces that think they already know his answer. Mithrun and Kabru. The Winged Lion. The succubus.

It's about how they are wrong.

[fumifooms]

Falin who cares too much and too little - analysis

Been stewing on Falin thoughts for a while, I know I have an interpetation on her that differs from many but I’m jumping into the fray. I think there’s a lot to be said about what we do see of Falin. This shorter Falin analysis I made is heavily encouraged prior reading. This analysis mainly explores her complex relationship with caring and so it’s sort of structured in two halves, with Faligon at the crux of it all.

Falin cares too little :

A lot of people assign Falin a people pleasing mindset and I… Don’t agree. We never see her care at all about people in her town or at the academy not liking her.

We do see her worrying about what people think of her… ONCE. And Laios comforted her, told her they didn’t matter and she should be proud of herself. She latched onto that hard. That’s why this scene was so important to be included during the dragon fight, relationship-defining; it’s always been them against the world. She grew to not care what others thought, to only focus on her close loved ones. No one else matters.

Laios’ words were her world. Her older brother who taught her how to feel comfortable with herself, who told her, you’re great, others are the ones in the wrong to not see that, I’ll always be with you, always be there for you. Older brother who always made great plans, who always knew more, who was better at wrestling to name the dogs, who she has always idolized. Laios who always spoke of traveling the world, to which she always said she wanted to follow. And she would, she’d follow him even if it meant leaving the academy and all she knew behind, she’d follow him to the ends of the world, and that’s what she did.

She didn’t care about showing to her classes or keeping up such appearances, she doesn’t even think of toning down her jumping into bushes when Marcille recoils, etc. She acts like an obedient pawn often, to her parent’s directives and then following Laios around no matter what he decides to do, but I don’t think the motivation is people pleasing, rather it’s being with & caring for her loved ones, and her go-with-the-flow attitude enhances the impression. Not that it’s as simple as that, mind you, but let’s talk about this for now.

Falin is perceived as selfless because we, the audience, have our perspectives revolving around the main people in her life (Laios, Marcille). They’re the ones she’s devoted to and people who care about her back a lot too, but to people like her classmates or the towspeople she probably must have seemed like someone who didn’t care about the people around her or her surroundings a lot, who just went on alone and did her own thing.

What matters to Falin? From what place does her kindness come from? Is a part of her keeping up appearances? And I think that’s the point, the horror of Faligon as well, that we can’t tell just how in control Falin the person is as the chimera (because we are shown that she’s in there, we just don’t know at what degree), that we don’t know her enough to be able to tell when she’s at her most genuine, her most raw. That even if you do settle on none of her being present as Faligon, we have to at least consider it, consider that she may be able to do something like this and have a part in it, brutal and uncaring. That even the lenses we see her through, the people who love her, may be unreliable.

And this is what’s very interesting about her too, she truly is so idealized by people around her as a saint. She’s so good and kind and caring to everyone etc etc etc. Laios, Toshiro and Marcille all see her as the paragon of goodness in the world. More cynical characters like Namari and Chilchuck have more layered opinions on her, the latter finding her somewhat unnerving because he can’t read her well. But then with that one flashback scene we see that… Her priorities are intensely focused on Laios and Marcille, she doesn’t care all that deeply about anyone other than them (+ maybe her parents). The rest of the party is in the same danger here but only Laios and Marcille who she’s speaking to get the special ,ention, and if they don’t cross her mind then of course she’d be ready to sacrifice strangers through a risky teleportation. That doesn’t make her not kind or caring!! Just that greater good isn’t exactly her priority. Any means is alright if the end result is her loved ones safe, it usually takes the form of healing and caring, but we see she’s ready to fight and make dangerous calls too. To me there’s this aspect to her that she isn’t as pure and magnanimous as everyone thinks she is, both in-world and interestingly enough meta wise as well, and there’s something interesting to that.

People pleasing implies a need to be liked, needs for the motivation to be that. A yes-man, etc. But if we analyze Falin, her general kind, smiling demeanor is more a matter of passivity I yhonk. Conflict avoidance is easier, so she’s friendly and hopefully things’ll be smooth sailing. It’s easy to be kind to classmates even if they act wary and rude if you don’t care about what they think either way. Of course she prefers good things happening to people over bad things, she is genuinely kind, but I think people tend to assign her a very grand altruistic way of life when to her the motivation is pretty self-centered. She doesn’t do what she does because she loves them, but because she loves them.

One situation that’s interesting to dig into for her way of thinking, and what I’m trying to get at, is Shuro’s proposal to her. I’ve seen people saying she hesitated because she didn’t feel comfortable saying no even though she wanted to, "I can’t say no, I don’t want to hurt him", something that sounds sensible and familiar, but it’s actually canon in the Adventurer’s Bible that the reverse was the case, that she didn’t feel comfortable saying yes. Because the offer was tempting, but it’d have been a loveless agreement on her end. And it makes sense she’d want to say yes too, like we see with the Toudens, marriage is very much a political strategical economical thing in their village, there’s even a bit on it on Laios’ Adventurer’s Bible profile about dowries, and both siblings were engaged very early. They lived poorly for a long time, it’s an enticing idea to marry rich, to have not only yours but your brother’s needs met forevermore easily, which at one point in their careers was their main worry and goal. Why shouldn’t she accept a life of leisure and wealth handed to her by a lovely friend?

So her hesitance was "yeah that’s convenient for me, but where it’s everything to him and heartfelt I’m able to be detached because I don’t care about it that much… Can I do that? I’m not reciprocating, not saying yes in the way that matters. Can I do that to him?" Very caring even though it’s not what you’d expect, isn’t it?

And central to my analysis, where I’m going with this is, I feel like that’s the thing with her character, that she doesn’t feel as strongly as she "should" sometimes, or feels a different way than she "should", or at least that she feels that way and others say she does. She didn’t mind suddenly leaving the academy, leaving Marcille behind and not seeing her for 4 years. She acted like it was no big deal that she sacrificed herself after getting resurrected after the red dragon fight. And in both those cases it upset the people around her greatly that she didn’t seem to get why it was such a big deal, didn’t seem to care about how they’d experienced her choices.

So it’s a tendency… And it’s not that she doesn’t care, it’s just that the way she measures what’s good for the ones she loves isn’t the same as what they themselves think it is (like Laios and Marcille not wanting to be apart from her). It’s an overt but quiet kind of care, it’s doing things like following them around and making sure they bathe and have a meal, even if that means she has to be dragged into misery too.

So yes she probably would know "not caring enough/the right way" is one of her perceived flaws, and that informs how she tries to handle her response to Shuro’s proposal. Her not wanting to accept like her first gut instinct, is because she’s thinking about reciprocity, about if it’d be right to go into this knowing that they have different priorities and she might not be able to keep up with the type and amount of emotions he wants/expects from her. And that’s a big part of her character isn’t it, having expectations pushed onto her. Her trying her best, but in her own way that may seem odd or even unfeeling. Not unlike when she exorcised the ghost as a kid too, unblinking and matter-of-factly, and not seeming to understand why people stared the way they did.

Even though she answered his proposal only post-canon, she’d been pondering it for a while even pre-canon and the Adventurer’s Bible explanation was released midstory, so I’m hesitant to assign her much growth about her hesitation and what I went on above, since she still didn’t react "right" with Laios after the red dragon fight (even if she apparently doesn’t remember sacrificing herself) and put herself in that situation in the first place. She hasn’t finished her arc on that flaw of hers is what I’m saying, she for sure still has it, but I certainly think her thoughts on Shuro’s proposal shows awareness, both of herself and social.

And awareness is a big analysis key word with Falin, especially here it can be hard not to conflate not caring with not knowing. How socially aware is she? It’s rather layered, because canonically she wasn’t aware of her ostracization in her hometown at all, and we’re not sure if she knew Shuro was interested in her before he proposed, but she generally seems more socially aware than Laios. She tags along on his caravan job to make sure he isn’t being mistreated (though doesn’t ask he get a salary), she catches social faux-pas more easily like in the genderbend magic mirror omake with Shuro, and interestingly enough she’s very good at empathizing with her parents and understanding their perspective. We see when she’s worried about Marcille coming that she does know about propriety and how appearances shape impressions. Being a chief’s daughter must at least have taught her a thing or two on that front.

She never stands up for herself, but when it comes to defending others she worries, strategizes and explains.

And this sort of understanding is part of why I think she’d notice the expectations pushed onto her like I was saying earlier, notice how she makes people feel when she’s careless. But if she changes anything about herself in response to noticing is for her to choose, and generally I think it’s a sort of inbetween of yes and no: that she becomes more complacent but also more reserved, complying but by hiding more of herself passively. She’s not sure wether to accept or reject Shuro’s proposal, doesn’t want to lead him on? She’ll just be taking a while to silently consider it, try to keep things as they are for the time being. The third, less conflicting option. She doesn’t feel heard by Marcille who keeps infantilizing her? Just bear with it. Retract yourself emotionally. Settle for it.

We see that when she was young she had a tendency to not read a room, and I think that’s here too. She doesn’t get why her nonchalance upset others but that doesn’t change that she doesn’t want them upset or hurt, so she tries, albeit in maybe a roundabout way. She always had a hard time deeply connecting with people, often keeping herself some amount of emotionally distant: erasing herself from the equation, from the two-way trade that relationships are and making it a onesided thing instead, where all their needs and emotions are directed towards her but she only lets out a bit of her own show. She takes everything upon her and deals with it and tries not to give others this same burden, though not on a conscious level, it’s just that she’s learned growing up that she doesn’t have much agency.

Like I went into with my analysis linked at the beginning, I think Falin is used to just taking what she can get and not asking for more, when it comes to social bonds. She’ll take spending time with her mother no matter what it is they do, she’ll follow Laios to the graveyards and stick by him even when he’s pushing her away (because he doesn’t want her borrowing his book or "No copying!" or such). Her father was always distant, cold and uncommunicative, her mother was considered sick from anxiety and the exorcism attempts were the main way they spent time together, at dinner tables there were only her and Laios. The dogs picked on her too even if she loved them— And so did the townspeople, maybe that being normal to her at home is why she didn’t notice the ostracization she suffered.

She’s always been the last to be asked about decisions or what she wants, never asked to play with at recess, neither her father or Laios asked before sending her to the academy or leaving the village. At home, in the hierarchy she was considered to be below the dogs by the dogs themselves, as someone they can disrespect. Dogs learn from example and behavior, so this means Falin must have been pushed around a lot, and that the family didn’t try hard to rectify the dogs’ misconception, likely worsened by Laios regularly wrestling with her as a competition.

So for example when Falin showed Marcille food, it was her way to implicitly ask to have lunch with her without voicing that question, without daring to take up space. Someone’s presence isn’t something you ask for, it’s something that’s bestowed upon you, you can follow them around but you can’t ask them to stay or to come with.

She’s used to her needs and wants not being listened to, so she’s learned to have less wants. Caring less about herself, caring less about other people beyond her safe zone, was a defense mechanism in part. She has a sense of learned helplessness too, like how when Marcille came to take her away from Laios, even though she didn’t want to leave with Marcille it felt so determined and unshakable to her that whatever Marcille decided Falin would have to comply with.

And still, it’s the "marrying you would be awfully convenient if it wasn’t that I’d feel guilty for not loving you back, the way you wanted me to when you proposed to me" and the "I don’t regret leaving the academy and leaving you behind without goodbyes but I’m sorry that you’re so much more upset about it than me". It’s the guilt of not loving people back the way they want to be, with the same intensity or fervor.

It’s the autism it’s the aroace of it all, it’s the emotional stunting and confusion but the pit in your stomach telling you you did something wrong again. The no object permanence even for people you love even for 4 years, it’s the feeling like you’re somehow at fault for someone having fallen for you and not knowing what to do with any of it. I’m not joking btw it isn’t uncommon for autistic people to not see their close friends for a long while, not having missed them all that much and for that to be really hurtful for the other if they notice/ask about it. "Hiii bestie! Oh umm you’re uh more emotional about this than I expected, hopefully you won’t feel alienated by me not feeling as intensely about it…"

So… Yeah. I think she thinks of things and relationships in a different way than most people, and beyond "good things happening to people is good" I don’t think she actually cares about people all that much. I’d argue that Laios shows more desire to connect with others and make relationships. And just like with Laios and his own issues with humans, that doesn’t mean her kindness is a lie or ungenuine or worthless! It just means that like, well it’s pretty straightforward really, she’s not all that social and doesn’t see casual bonds as meaning all that much and whatnot. She does want to see people happy, but it’s not as much like… A conviction or goal. She’s too laser focused on a select few people. "It’s not that they’re bad people, they just aren’t interested in humans."

And sometimes it feels like people get defensive about Falin in a meta way too, like if you ever so much as imply Marcille isn’t her whole world or that she isn’t the kindest soul out there then you’re saying she doesn’t care at all or she’s evil. And that’s actualy exactly the sort of vibe I wanted to get through with my analysis above here actually haha, that she does care and she is kind but it’s not in a way that’s quantified or understood in a way that makes people feel comfortable. In a way, that makes people feel insecure because they don’t have the same logic as her, don’t show love the same. And I think this is another stellar depiction of autism, of parts of it that feels unpalatable to many, if I’m making sense. The fandom idealizes her as well, which isn’t uncommon or surprising for the character embodying the trope of the perfect beloved to rescue.

And disclaimer, as I said in the tags I feel like the details of Falin are pretty vibe based when it comes to analysis, there’s absolutely a valid angle where she does super care about everyone always, feel free to disagree with me on the overarching angle of my analysis. There’s enough supporting evidence to tip the balance either way I think, and the reason I’ve chosen this angle is I feel it’s more compelling for the themes in Dunmeshi of idealization and being different, of desires vs wants, and because I think it neatly ties up Falin’s character arc as I’ll go over throughout the next section…

So.

Not feeling as much as she should. And……. Is this not Faligon pushed to the max?

You can’t tie down a dragon. As the chimera, she gets to just not care about everyone else and be on her merry way.

Part of it I think is finding comfort and freedom in the mindlessness, in not having the burden of feelings and connections and a consciousness (despite still ending up seeking those in a stranger, Thistle). Like when she’s dead in the purgatory as well, she gets to just… Hang around and do whatever. Similarly to when she played in the forest instead of going to class in her academy days. That’s what freedom and peace of mind looks like to her. Why she decides to roam post-canon, if only now with the goal to find herself instead, with her mind in tow and somewhere to go back home to.

There’s excellent analytic framing out there about how of course, Dungeon Meshi has a big theme of grief and letting go, and… Falin was always a symbol narratively, idealized by characters and often underconsidered by them despite their love. It was Falin’s choice to sacrifice herself for Laios, she thought it was worth it, knowing that it would be her end. Her resurrection and the process of it intertwining her soul with a dragon’s wasn’t done with her consent, and the subsequent opening it gave her to become a chimera puppet. She’s stripped of her agency consistently, and so… It’s very noteworthy that the final choice, of wether to go back to life or to stay dead, in that purgatory scene, was up to her. And she chooses life, but I do think about her in those fields and how at home she seemed there. Peaceful, by herself in a vast calm expanse she could explore, free.

Personally, I think freedom is Falin’s own subconscious selfish desire. And though to us becoming the chimera is obviously a shackle, I think it felt like freedom to her somewhat, too.

And if you think I’m going wildly off the rails here I want to talk about Laios’ wish of becoming a monster. And to be clear before getting into it, being mentally a monster is absolutely a big part of the appeal for Laios, it’s something that’s consistently referred to, something especially pointed out in the werewolf monster tidbit with Lycion. Right panel is from that, but left panel is from the extra with Izutsumi where Lycion talks about suppressing souls in a beastkin body, the human or the beast soul.

Finding comfort and freedom in being mindless, less sentient, less aware? While being unaware in her hometown might have saved Falin a lot of heartache although perhaps stunted her emotional growth, it’s always been Laios’ curse.

Actively, through his choices, he seeks to grow closer to people, to form deeper bonds, to understand and be undertood, but… On a deep seated level, what he desires is to leave humanity and civilization behind. He has an irrational hatred for humans, born from the trauma of ostracization, being different, being beaten up and rejected consistently through his life. Running away from problems is easier. He wants to be free from being a social animal from a social species who has deemed him the black sheep, he thinks it’d be simpler to just leave it all behind, people and his own humanity. At its core, to Laios becoming a monster is a power fantasy, a coping daydream of "if only I could be strong enough to never be hurt again, the power to destroy anything I want, the power to go somewhere better, if only it was possible for me to never feel hurt again. If only I could be someone, something, that can never be hurt". "If there’s someone you don’t like, you can gobble ‘em up in one bite. If you could fly, you’d be able to leave this village right now." It’s a childhood fantasy, from a deep sense of being misplaced and a desire to be able to stand fearless, thinly covering up resentment that Laios represses.

But you’ll notice, when the Winged Lion is enticing him in the last page, even now with his lifelong wish of becoming a monster on a silver plate, he still cares about his friends. He still has that sense of responsibility to his friends, doesn’t want to leave knowing they’ll be in danger and alone. The offer that his friends may be left unharmed is already good, but Laios also visibly flinches when the Winged Lion offers to specifically care after Marcille and rid her of her biggest fear. Laios’ care runs that deep. Not unlike with the succubus, he resists temptation until he gets reassured that everyone will be okay. But see, what he desires isn’t to stand alongside Marcille until her last days, it isn’t to stay and see how well his friends will live, it’s to go. It’s to leave. It’s to fly away, a monster both in body and mind. He wants to be free from caring here, wants to not have to worry about his friends, wants to just go do his own thing, but for that he needs to feel safe in the belief that said friends will be safe even without him being there to see it, because despite everything else he cares, he does. It’s again that dichotomy about caring and wishing you didn’t, or not caring and wishing you did.

In the end, it’s Falin who achieves that wish. Both by becoming a chimera during canon, and by going traveling post-canon. In the latter, being both free of human relationships as something chaining you while still being uplifted by them, by the knowledge that there are people out there you love and that love you. It’s a theme that can also be connected with Marcille, because she gets anxious over people she loves getting out of her sight, worrying they’ll get themselves killed, that time is passing while they’re away from her. But before she can get to the point where she can both have her freedom and being uplifted by her social bonds, regaining both her individuality and her connections, she has to get a taste of just one at a time. Before they can find balance in her life, she has to see what it’s like to have what she’s never had on its own. Unapologetic freedom, and power.

No one can blame you for not caring enough or caring right if you’re a fricking dragon!!!! You make the rules when you’re a beast and you can just… Fly away. From anywhere, from anything. And if a dog bites you you can just crush it. Instead of being pushed around by the dogs because you’re at the bottom of the hierarchy, you’re now at the top, the one with the power to be heard and do what you want without consequences.

I think she’s on autopilot. I think she’s on autopilot a lot of the time, even before being a chimera, and it’s partly why her will is so weak compared to regular dragons. (Again, read my shorter analysis.) It’s familiar to slip back into the role of following someone around unquestioningly. And that’s what is weaponized when she’s a chimera, that instinct she’s been nursing all her life to unconditionally support, defend and follow someone. Only now, that someone doesn’t matter in itself, only the symbol of it. She doesn’t mind, either way is fine. Her will is weak after all, because she’s trained it to take as little place as it could.

Falin cares too much

She spends all her time caring for Laios and Marcille alternating that none of her care and emotional energy is left for others, including herself. So she had to get relieved of all of that for a bit, becoming the chimera so she could reset and recenter and remember that she, too, indeed, is there and an important part of her own life.

So you’re probably seeing the duality I’m talking about here, Falin is very self-sacrificial but for specific people in ways that they often don’t recognize or appreciate. She cares but selectively, both in people, putting all her eggs in the same baskets, and in the ways she cares after them. She doesn’t care a lot, but when she does she cares a lot. Falin doesn't have a lot of earthly attachments, but when she does, they're her world.

In canon her arc, especially post-canon, is to grow beyond Marcille and Laios. Her caring for her close loved ones held her back from looking after her own self-fulfillment needs. And this is what I mean when I say she cares too much; she could gain from caring more about the world besides Laios and Marcille, both lands wise and people wise. She cares too little, but her arc centers her flaw around caring too much instead. Her pitfalls that Kui highlight over the course of the story, while of course her selflessness is appreciated for how she saved Laios and everyone, on a personal level is shown to be self-effacing and damaging. She’s undermined by Marcille, without the courage to voice her thoughts and wants, she would dedicate her whole life to Laios. And I mean, it’s text, in the response to Shuro’s proposal extra no less. And she’s so laser focused on her most loved people that she’s fine with being callous and risking others’ lives, even.

Post-canon, she needs to leave to find herself, away from them.

Herself. What if she wants to just be with herself for a while.

And this is me reaching but I feel like, not unlike Izutsumi who learns to feel this sense of never being alone, always having someone on your side what with having two souls, the dragon in her would make her consider herself more. She finds it easier to care after other people after all, and in the purgatory fields sequence she takes care to bring the bit of dragon left with her… Not unlike with Izutsumi, having two souls forces you to think about your identity and figure yourself out. Besides being this sort of duo now, where if she wants to care after herself she can channel it to that other side of her too… In meta dragons are symbols of greed, and I think the bit of dragon would push her to want more and listen more to her desires, primal and self-serving as they might be. The dragon soul which warped her human body with feathers and draconic features, her image of perfection marred, her weirdness externalized in a way that’s not palatable. But she doesn’t care, about if her appearance is palatable for most people, she hasn’t for a while now, and that’s great.

Notes & nuance

I’m struggling with the structure of this post, making my points organized, concise and strong at once. It’s difficult to make any statement without going "things are generally like this, but there’s this time that this contradicting thing happened too" or "it’s ambiguous enough that you should just follow my interpretation for the time of this analysis" haha, so this is the pit where I put all the stuff that wouldn’t fit well in other places but are interesting for Falin’s character. This section is pretty separate from the main thesis of the post, it’s just more Falin observations. The post has reached the 30 pics limit so I can’t just pull it up whenever it’s relevant but I really encourage scrolling up to read the stuff I highlighted in her Adventurer’s Bible profile if you haven’t already.

I think with the shy-looking loner type autistic kid archetype, and knowing she didn’t seem to mind others ostracizing her, it’s easy to lose sight of how she was by no means an unemotional child. In all the bits we see of her as a kid she’s bursting with energy and emotions. Canon confirms Laios leaving the village did affect her and make her lonely and she cried a lot, too. She may not be social in the traditional sense, but she was clingy with her brother, and she also never was all that shy about who she was, wearing her heart on her sleeve.And okay. Okay okay okay. Speaking of appearances. About what I said of her not caring about what people think of her, even seeming defiant with the caravan leader… There’s one istanxe of her caring actually, and it’s about how her face blushes easily. I remembered it as being because Laios’ said it and as I rambled Laios’ words are her world, but actually it’s ambiguous. It’s only Marcille imagining up this scenario where Laios says Falin looks weird because of it, there’s no evidence Laios said or thought that at any point. And on the other hand…

Her Adventurer’s Bible says: "5, Lovely Skin. She isn't particularly careful with it, but Falin's skin is fair and beautiful. Possibly as a result, her cheeks seem to flush easily. Marcille's always saying she's cute, and she secretly has a sizable complex about it." The phrasing makes me think the complex she has over her blushing might have developed because of Marcille more than Laios. "Marcille's always saying she's cute, and she secretly has a sizable complex about it." It could be related to how Marcille gets swept away and infantilizes her, calling her cute wanting her to wear cute feminine outfits etc. Again this feels like it relates to Falin’s struggle to be seen for who she is and what she wants to be seen as, her struggle to be recognized, having ideals and perspectives pushed onto her. Here Falin is insecure over her blushing implicitly because she doesn’t like being called cute over it, but that’s not how she wants people to see her. She doesn’t want Marcille to always see her as her 10 years old adorable friend. Like if your friend said you had puppy energy, it can be flattering, but it can also make you insecure.

Here’s a link to what I mentioned about her being uncomfortable wearing feminine outfits. It does seem to be more about comfort than the aesthetic perse, to me. Interestingly the shirt & shorts don’t seem like they show much more skin than her beach outfit, so maybe it’s more about the shirt and shorts being tight-fitting. Like the skirts and heels they feel stifling. Again a bit with themes of freedom and not wanting an aesthetic pushed onto her. So yes just to reiterate, I think this is more about self-affirmation and how her identity and self-image gets shown to others, rather than wishing to hide parts of her body like her blushing etc for people pleasing reasons. Makeup was a way for her to appear how she wants to and feel more confident. It was a way to take control over her own image. She didn’t keep doing it, the narrator stating the process to be ‘troublesome’. Ultimately she still prioritizes her comfort, and it was a lot of recurring efforts to go through.

And on the topic of appearances… A friend once asked me: "Does she really hide herself or not? I keep thinking about "falin is herself first and foremost" (in her Adventurer’s Bible profile) it’s just so. Hmmmmmmmm... I just keep seeing people say she hides her real self from people when I feel like the issue is more about her charitable traits straying too far into becoming flaws but people around her dont realize that..."

Imo the thing is, I don’t think she hides her identity, but I do think she suppresses her individuality for others’ sakes if that makes sense. In the way that only post-canon does she allows herself to go see what the world is like, but that’s not personality wise it’s needs and wants wise. And I do feel like that’s the closest interpretation of canon, she says it herself she doesn’t know what she wants because everything she’s done was always about Laios or Marcille, but she doesn’t change her demeanor or personality for others. But she *will*, like, not ask for things she wants directly, like sharing lunches with Marcille at the academy, she suppresses her wants, doesn’t ask things from people and doesn’t hope for more, hope for better. I don’t think we ever see her actively repress her personality, except like what, being more laidback than enthusiastic but I do feel like unlike Laios with her it’s less ‘appearing stoic to fit in more’ and more ‘yeah i’ll just chill until I’m needed or something activates my enthusiasm’. To which said friend quoted: "to feel like you belong you need to be useful. when you can’t be useful the next best thing is being convenient."

And speaking of passivity… I want to speculate about Shuro’s proposal some more. Shuro and her got along well though we don’t know how much, or how often they hung out, she even saved him from a nightmare. Why did she take so long answering Shuro’s proposal? Was it an effort to preserve or was she really just that conflicted? Procrastination probably yes, but what is the core motivation of itl Considering she ended up saying no to travel the world instead, I don’t think it was as simple as ‘she wanted to say yes for convenience’. Logically it’s what would have been best, but it’s not what she wanted for herself, but it was and still is hard for her to even know what she wants. Probably, since like she states it was a great offer and she doesn’t think she’ll get proposed to again, it’s that self-effacing tendency that yes it’d be convenient and logical, and that makes her want to say yes even if her spirit isn’t in it, because if it’s convenient then that’s more important than her feelings on the matter. Man also… Obviously Marcille is very vocal about how she shouldn’t get with Shuro, but imagine how Falin’s whole perspective on marriage must have felt when her only friend ever is a Romantic with a capital R who gushes about idealized romances and grand gestures and True Love and doing things with fully pure feelings all the time.

AND speaking of passivity!!! How much Falin is "there" as the chimera, just how much she’s master of her actions, is left ambiguous and intentionally so imo, but she’s for sure there & influencing the dragon’s action to some degree. Having a dragon’s foot on her in purgatory that keeps her from moving for sure visualizes how it must have been like, but there’s Falin calling out to her brother Laios, there’s the kind attentions towards Thistle that are so Falin-like, and most explicitly there’s the Adventurer’s Bible stating "Even after becoming a chimera, she has a soul that's as kind as ever", which I honestly dislike, a fantranslation puts it as "Even as the chimera, her caring nature remains" and either way to me it feels like confirmation that it’s her giving those berries to Thistle. Now, wether or not she has the mental capacity of a chicken or something closer to human Falin, no clue, there has to at least be some kind of mind bond between monsters and the dungeon lord, compelling or forcing them to go along with orders, or calling her to him in distress like with the fight on the first floor. But yes, it’s interesting to wonder what it is that a Falin, with her kind soul but without her human mind, would willingly do. On her profile, she’s described as Thistle’s guardian and servant. The power dynamic between the two are very interesting, I already went into how it might have felt like freedom to her while being fake so I’ll reign myself in and just mention it again. She’s still at the heel of someone, only now it’s someone who doesn’t care about her back. Going from being cared for so strongly that it’s suffocating and they would defy death and the world for you, to being devoted to someone who has not one feeling about you besides your utility as a paw . She has all this care to give and to focus onto others and he has none to send back to her and I think that’s part of it. In a way, being left with only her own feelings and a void, without expectations or feelings or ideals pushed onto her, it might have been soothing in itself, and eye opening. But yes the way I think of it, her care for Thistle isn’t unlike the care she gives the ghosts.

Interestingly, the care she extends for the ghosts is sending their soul to a peaceful death, freeing them, of life and any earthly attachment. Take that as you will with the themes of freedom and burden of life and mind, immortality and becoming a warped version of who you were, and such and such.

But going back on the topic of connections and bonds for a bit, I think academy days Falin & Marcille is super interesting bc we’ve never really see Falin form a connection besides with Marcille and even that is kept pretty ambiguous. When was the point that Falin started seeing Marcille as a friend and seeking her out? When was the "I’ll lay down my life for you" point? I’m so fascinated by how she wanted to share lunches with Marcille but never truly asked, only made little "hey want this? I found it isn’t it cool?" gestures of showing things to her… It’s the only way she knows to ask, or maybe it’s the only way she feels comfortable to. In all the scenes of young Falin and Marcille Falin seems comfortable in her friendship with Marcille, but at the same time… I think we see Falin at her most insecure around Marcille, because she really does care about Marcille and what she thinks of her so much, and while Marcille is a bit of an unstoppable force tornado style (affectionate) Falin is something of a doormat. I’d usually say showing her berries was her earnest way to connect and be like "Hey bestie look at this! :]" , but there’s a real possibility that she was self-conscious and holding herself back.

Friendship and Marcille! Involving Laios into this too but, again with the autism thing of not showing you care in ways that others understand, Marcille being very overtly affectionate and clingy was so so soo important… Marcille keeping on hanging out with Falin and caring after her, and being undeterred/unbothered by Falin not always seeming like she cares all that much back in the conventional way, as in Falin acts nonchalant and a bit like she didn’t mind wether she was there with her or not during her outings to the cave dungeon. Caring and being clingy and so affectionate despite that in such a classic Marcille way is soo needed, because so often people will get discouraged by say, their friend not keeping in contact regularly/well, seeming disaffected or as happy-go-lucky as ever even if you haven’t seen each other in a while or when they’re alone, and yes there’s potential for a strong friendship there but someone like Falin won’t be committed enough to reciprocating attention the same way… I hope I’m making sense but yes this angle in particular strongly correlates to autism. And the way Marcille always initiates physical affection, both Toudens being awkward about initiating touch because they don’t know if that’s allowed, if they’re going about the social interaction the right way, if they’re allowed to ask that out of someone…

Another fun observation to make is about the 4 years Falin and Marcille spent apart. Marcille despite being of a long-lived race treated these 4 years of separation with more gravity than Falin did. Falin brushed it off very dismissively to say the least. But then you remember that the amount of time Falin and Laios didn’t see each other after he left the village was 8 years. Double the years, double the time. And that reminder makes Falin’s actions so starkingly understandable. Of course she wouldn’t see 4 years of separation as a long time if 8 years of separation with her beloved brother is her point of comparison. Of course she’d see it as worth it to leave Marcille for 4 years if it meant ending those 8 years instead, especially if she was worried about him (the reason why she followed him into his caravan job).

A friend always says that while Falin is the center of Marcille’s world, Laios’ is at the center of Falin’s, and I tend to agree.

It’s fun to think of how her career dreams had always been shaped by Laios, even when they were kids. Of course there’s how traveling the world began as a dream they talked about and shared, but there’s how he reassures her by listing cool jobs she could do like traveling exorcist, etc. And then of course, she gave up on her magic academy and career path to follow him and do odd jobs, etc etc.

I should go into the violence of Faligon more tbh, because I think there’s an interesting parallel to how she has no problem wacking things with a mace, wether a ghost when she was a kid or a walking mushroom as an adult. Something that often surprises fans when they remember, I don’t really want to get into the whole " Falin hates violence and hates seeing people in pain to an intense degree. ‘If you die do it somewhere where I can’t see’ style’ interpretation, it has some weight but on the whole I don’t vibe with the theory she has a particular aversion to violence, she seems to be fine resorting to it as much as any other adventurer as long as it isn’t needlessly against ghosts. And Falin’s sudden mace hits are fun to me too because it’s not her becoming a berserker when the need arises as much as her becoming active because something she cares about is threatened, and that brings her out of her passivity from 99% of the rest of the time. Thistle included. Falin always could be violent, she just dislikes senseless carnage. The Shuro party vs chimera fight is a bit ambiguous on it, because you can argue she only attached after being provoked, presumably offscreen as well while the ninjas went off to fight the harpies. Falin becomes the most active when she needs to protect someone, she has no qualms doing whatever’s needed for that, wether it be leaving the academy & Marcille without notice no matter the consequences or what her parents think, or teleporting the party, etc.

I’m working on a post specifically pointing out all the differences between Falin and Laios, but yes I think both of them selfishly desire freedom in different yet similar ways. Falin’s dark secret is "Ethics and risks are optional if it means I can protect those I love" like the teleportation, and Laios’ is "Ethics and risks are optional if I can be free of all this bullshit" aka humanity aka his wish with the winged lion.

Conclusion

Flighted birds have hollow bones. With freedom and wings there comes risks and sacrifices.

Tldr: Falin doesn’t care all that much, she’s very go with the flow. For example if someone hates her she doesn’t really care because that’d require her caring about what they think of her in the first place, and she only cares about her loved ones. She smiles, but it’s more a state of being rather than out of active goodness: she’s canonically very genuinely kind, but it’s more out of a general want for pleasantness than active care itself. She’s passive, and softspoken because that’s just how she seems, but she has no problem hopping into bushes or getting heated if something calls to her enthusiasm or calls for action and a hit of the ol’ mace. Her loved ones needing tending or protective is what makes her go from passive to active. That familiar autopilot mode of making someone the center of her world and following their every move is what made her so easy to be controlled as the chimera, even ferociously defending him with her life. Faligon is most interesting to me with the theme of freedom. She’s shackled to Thistle and out of her mind, but there’s also a sense of empowerment and freedom from expectations and society. She spends all her time caring for Laios and Marcille alternating that none of her care and emotional energy is left for others, including herself. So she had to get relieved of all of that for a bit, becoming the chimera so she could reset and recenter and remember that she, too, indeed, is there and an important part of her own life. There’s a way of caring after others that can be selfish, not unlike Marcille being overly coddling and not listening to Falin. In Falin’s case, I think it was so selfless that it ended up looping back around to erasing her sense of self. In losing sight of herself, that devotion becoming neither quite selfish or selfless but a fact of life and a state of nature, muddled by its lack of direction.

She’s sooo used to never being able to ask things out of others, you get the crumbs of affection and approval that others offer to you unprompted and that’s it don’t hope for more don’t ask for more. (Also reflected in how she follows her loved ones around without complain or personal opinions and how she’s not willing to rock the boat and affirm herself in her relationships like with Marcille during canon)

Falin cares so much, so much and so laser focused on her few loved ones that it blinds her and she loses sight of everything else, she ends up neglecting herself and the rest of the world. As Kui puts it, Falin is herself first and foremost. She just had to remember the importance of that.

-

I see her as an enneagram 9, which can be surprisingly accurate and fun to research through the lense of Falin. Excerpt below from this book, but like my god, good way to put it

That’s it, ty for reading. Even if it’s a bit of a mess, hopefully you’ll have gained a thing or two from it. Falin is a character hard to pin down, but it is very gratifying when you find the way that the puzzle pieces fit together right for your own understanding of the story. Fantranslation of the shuro proposal comic by @/thatsmimi here.

Here’s my spotify playlist for her if you’d like

Sometimes love is about letting go, a lesson a lot of the cast needed to learn. Self-love’s important too, and just like with diets we need a healthy balance.

[tikki-tok]

Ngl I think Raya and the last dragon got some stuff right, but its message on trust at the end really doesn’t work. At the end, the movie’s moral on trust is that “you should always trust that the other person will do the right thing, even if in the past they haven’t shown you that they will” which is what Raya was condemned for not doing when Namari shot Sisu.

The whole movie was highlighting the difference between Sisu and Raya’s views on the world and capacity for trust, and how both of them are right about some things and wrong about others.

Sisu is right to believe that a world where people trust each other is a better one, and that deep down we all care about each other and want the world to be a better place. Sisu is wrong though to always trust that others won’t take advantage of her and to blindly give her trust away to anyone who asks. This comes from her having her siblings trust her to save the world and not having seen how human selfishness destroyed the world in the aftermath.

Raya is right to be cautious of how others can take advantage of her and to know that the world won’t always play fair. Raya is wrong though to believe that others are always trying to betray her and that she can never open up or put her trust in others. This comes from her experience being betrayed by Namari and seeing the kingdoms’ greed destroy her home. (Also, I’m not here to argue about whether or not Namari was an abuser. She was like 10 and frankly it’s not the point of the movie. She learned better and earned back Raya’s trust in the end, and Raya accepted her apology and attempts to change and that’s enough tbh)

The thing is that you can’t go through life with a black or white mentality with trust. You have to realize that trust is worth giving, that others are worth reaching out to and offering help to, and that the world is better when we work together. But at the same time you also have to realize that trust can’t be given blindly, and you have to recognize when others are taking advantage of it and not trust those who have betrayed you and made no effort to change.

At the end, they did really well showing Raya put her trust in Namari, and had Namari proven to Raya somehow that she had changed and could be trusted again, then the moment would have been perfect. The problem is that the movie expected Raya to put her trust in someone who had proven that she would take advantage of it. Namari never showed Raya why she could trust her again.

Raya was RIGHT to try to reach out to Namari and ask for her help. Sisu saw that Namari just wanted to do what’s best for everyone and that she was just misguided, and trust forms when we take the first step like that. BUT at the same time, when Namari pulled out her crossbow, she proved that she still wasn’t willing to change. Raya was right for trying to stop Sisu there.

The problem is that in the end, Raya and Sisu’s ideologies should have met in the middle- realizing that you can trust others while not doing so blindly and without reason- but instead the movie reinforced that Sisu’s ideology was right, and that Raya was wrong to be cautious of people like Namari who have taken advantage of her trust.

I still liked the movie! It’s just a moral I worry about showing to children, because I don’t want kids to learn that they should always trust those that are willing to hurt them. As an adult I can see where this belief should have its limits and apply it responsibly to how I view others, but kids aren’t very good at that.

[shannaraisles]

The Rose In The Crown - Chapter 4

Summerday is always a day of joy, a day of marriages made and love affirmed. And for Ferelden, this Summerday is one to be remembered. King Alistair, ten years a king with no heir in sight, will finally marry his chosen bride.

The last chapter of the romance between Alistair and Felicita. Featuring Marguerite Dujardin and Namari Lavellan, courtesy of @puddle--wonderful and @savvylittleminx!

[Read on AO3]

Chapter Four

"To the King! To the Queen!"

Cups were raised, smiles were shared, and Alistair could have sworn he had never been happier than he was today. The feasting hall in the palace was livelier, happier, than he had ever seen it. Not even the celebration after the archdemon's death had been so bright as this, with nobles he could have sworn didn't actually approve of him at all bowing and raising their cups in cheerful toasts to the long future of his marriage. And for once he didn't care that their congratulations might not be wholly genuine. He was happy, for the first time in years. That made all the difference.

Beside him, Fabs was bright and shining, her hand curled into his even as she spoke with Anora. Both women were animated in their discussion, a sight that warmed his heart. He was glad to see that his wife - and how he loved to just think those words - that his wife had good friends among the Fereldan nobles already. She was so beautiful. I am a lucky man, he thought to himself, smiling as he absently raised her hand to his lips.

The kiss drew her attention back to him, her body leaning toward his in their carven seats as she smiled. Those soft eyes of hers were so warm, touched with a playful tenderness he could hardly believe was for him.

"Yes, mi amor?"

"Oh, nothing," Alistair said breezily, grinning at the soft laugh she gave him for humming those words against her fingers. "Just reflecting on the day."

Something wicked flickered in her gaze as she leaned closer, touching a kiss to the corner of his mouth that seemed to burn for a moment.

"Perhaps you should be reflecting on the night to come," she murmured, winking at him with impish mischief.

Well, Zevran had warned him that Antivan noblewomen weren't sent into marriage with their eyes closed. He hadn't expected his Fabs to be able to summon up quite that level of innocently wicked teasing with just a few words and a look, however. Alistair cleared his throat, shifting awkwardly in his chair under her smile. Surely she doesn't actually know what that look does to me?

"Are you uncomfortable, your majesty?" Fab asked softly, pressing her smile to his palm in an unexpectedly open-mouthed kiss.

Alistair's eyes narrowed. "You're a sly minx, your majesty," he informed her, leaning close to let his breath play against her ear as he whispered. "And you will enjoy being punished for it later."

To his delight, his wife blushed, displaying a rather sweet innocence in the same breath as a husky laugh for his ears alone. Sweet Maker, I am not going to survive my own wedding night. But he was grinning, pressing a gentle kiss to the dimple in her left cheek before drawing away.

"So, would this be a bad time to ask if I may dance with the beautiful queen?"

Alistair felt his grin fade just a little at the sound of Zevran's familiarly honeyed tones. There, in the back of his mind, was that annoying insecurity that quietly feared the affect the charming, confident assassin would have on his new wife. It wasn't that he didn't trust Fabs, not at all. It was more that a lifetime of being the second thought, at best, made him question why she would choose him over a man like Zevran.

Fabs, on the other hand, seemed utterly oblivious to these unnecessary worries racing through his mind, turning her eyes to Alistair with a hopeful smile. He forced himself to answer her smile, tilting her chin toward him to claim a slow kiss.

"Of course you may dance with him, sweetheart," he promised her, rewarded with a gentle nuzzle of her nose to his.

"I may dance with him, but it is you I love," she murmured in answer, her thumb stroking his cheek as he flushed.

Not so oblivious, after all, he mused, nodding to Zevran as the Crow whisked Fabs away to the cleared space before the musicians. Alistair wasn't sure whether he should be pleased or alarmed that she had noted his insecurity, finally choosing to be pleased as he watched her laugh and dance among others in the hall to the beat of an old Antivan tune.

She was lovely, though he was clearly biased. The music was given over to a fiery tempo and sultry movement, but the dancers themselves were laughing and talking as they whirled about the floor. Alistair had to admit, Zevran was a good partner for Fabs in those moments, graceful and lithe, and swift enough to catch her as she whirled past. He wasn't entirely sure he would ever be able to partner her in a dance like that - at least, not in public. He might try it in privacy, if she was inclined to teach him.

"Your majesty."

He tore his eyes from the dancers, smiling to find Lady Marguerite Dujardin curtsying to him. One hand rose, waving away the formal pleasantries.

"There's no need for that," Alistair declared, waving her toward Fabs' empty seat. "Please, my lady, sit. Be comfortable."

Marguerite's gaze flickered to the seat he indicated, an amused denial of a smile touching her expression.

"With respect, your majesty, I will not sit in the queen's chair, and certainly not on her wedding day."

Alistair blinked, glancing at the chair itself for a moment before comprehension dawned.

"Oh, yes ... fair point." He offered up a sheepish grin, watching as she slipped to his other side to sit down. "Fabs is very happy to have you here, you know. I hope you'll visit us again."

"Oh, I should be delighted to visit whenever you feel you have time for me, your majesty," Marguerite assured him through her smile. "But I wished to thank you."

The shadow of confusion crossed his face, his head tilting curiously toward her.

"Thank me?"

"Yes." Marguerite's smile warmed as she spoke. "I have known your wife through letters and gifts for almost a decade. I have been privileged to be privy to her innermost thoughts and emotions. Yet I have never known her to be so open, so happy, as she is in your company. You have uplifted her heart just as she was losing any hope of a happy ending, and for that, Alistair, you will forever have my undying friendship."

As gratifying as her words were, Alistair found himself focusing on one part in particular.

"Losing hope?" he queried, glancing at the dancers with concern that faded into a grin at the sight of his wife and queen laughing with Zevran.

The Orlesian lady's smile softened as she followed his gaze.

"Indeed, yes. For a royal princess in Antiva to survive to her age and not be wed is nothing short of a miracle," she explained in a gentle tone. "If she had returned to Antiva, she would have been married off to one of the older merchant princes by now, whether she wished it or not. Such a marriage would be the only way to keep her from coming to the sharp end of her brother's ambitions for the throne."

Alistair stared at her in shock. "Her brother would have had her killed?"

"Not willingly, I do not think," Marguerite mused. "They are close, I believe. Felicita saved his life once, when she was young. But she is known to be her father's favorite child, and to be popular with the merchant princes as well. Her mere existence was a threat to his ambition ... up to the moment when you married her. Now he can be her brother once again, and not fear her being elected to the crown when their father dies."

"She did say something about not wanting to be the queen of Antiva," Alistair murmured, only now tying together all the disparate hints and clues peppered in Fabs' behavior and speech. She had been trying to tell him all this without stating it outright. "I should learn to pay closer attention when she is being cryptic."

Marguerite laughed, patting his arm. "I am sure she will delight in being a riddle for you to solve at such times," she promised him. "But perhaps it is time for you to claim your wife for a dance before she retires for the night? You cannot allow Master Arainai to have all the fun, surely?"

Alistair blinked in surprise, glancing out through the tall window to take a look at the moon high over Denerim. It's that late already. I never even noticed. He grinned to himself as Marguerite curtsied and moved away. Not long now before I'm well and truly married. But the Orlesian lady was absolutely right - it was time he danced with his wife before they slipped away to their bedchamber to celebrate alone.

Rising to his feet, he felt the familiar tug of quiet embarrassment as the music stopped abruptly with the king's movement. The whole court revolved around what he was doing during festivities; it could be excruciating at times. Yet at this moment, he found it easy to set the embarrassment aside, his eyes fixing on the delicately flushed smile that adorned his bride's face as he approached her.

"Terribly sorry, old chap," Alistair told Zevran in an off-hand manner, "but I'm claiming my wife for our last dance of the evening."

Zevran chuckled at the deliberate display of nonchalance, only too happy to give up the queen's hand to her husband's grasp.

"Oh, I doubt this is your last dance of the evening, Alistair," the Crow murmured teasingly as Alistair drew Fabs into his side with a smile. "But certainly the last with curious eyes to watch it."

Alistair cleared his throat as Fabs laughed, rolling his eyes at his friend.

"Yes, thank you for pointing that out," he muttered, raising his head to nod to the musicians. "A pavane, if you please, for my wife."

A smattering of applause crossed the hall as the music began, as the king and queen took their places alone in the middle of the milling group to dance the slow processional in celebration of their own marriage. Alistair could feel Fabs giggling under his arm as they began, lowering his lips to her ear with a smile.

"If you keep laughing, Anora's going to accuse me of not knowing how to please a woman again," he warned, which only served to make Fabs laugh harder.

"Cariño, why did you choose a pavane?" she managed, sobering as she passed in front of him.

"What, you don't think my clumsy charms are graceful enough for it?" he asked with a grin, knowing perfectly well that graceful was not a word that could easily be applied to him.

She drew in a breath, pausing as her own smile lifted into a grin. "I think that Lady is more graceful than you when it comes to slow dances," she informed him.

Alistair chuckled, kissing her hand as he turned. "Then I should think it really is just as well that I don't have to move much during this dance, don't you?"

It took a moment for that to sink in, a moment in which he got to watch the comprehension dawn in the form of one of the most adorably suspicious smiles he had ever seen. Fabs rolled her eyes at him, unable to retaliate except with a kiss to his chin as she twirled under his arm to his other side.

"Very sneaky, your majesty."

"I'm glad you liked it, your majesty."

As they processed around the room, sharing a smile that was entirely their own, Alistair could hear the commentary from the nobles and friends who were watching them. Nobles who had supported him from the start telling those who had only just chosen to support him to mind their manners was always entertaining; better was the sound of Divine Victoria informing King Fulgeno of Antiva that if any harm came to the new Queen of Ferelden, she would personally deal with it. Demelza, nodding in agreement; Zevran, raising his glass in a teasing toast to the newlywed couple as they passed him by. Catching sight of Fergus stealing a kiss from Ceri in the shadow of the hearth; Callista's wicked wink from where she was wrapped in her own wife's arms; Ciara and Anora smiling brightly in their own distinct ways. Then there was little Maria, half-asleep but determined to stay up at least until Queen Felicita retired, clinging to Namari Lavellan's hand and demanding a step-by-step explanation of what it was like when Dalish elves got married. The Dalish First didn't seem to mind that the little girl had decided to cling to her, thank goodness, but perhaps tomorrow Maria could be convinced not to smother their Dalish guest too much.

The music slowed and faded, and Alistair bowed over Fabs' hand, feeling a sudden rush of nervous excitement as she rose from her curtsy with a tempting promise in her eyes. She drew close, close enough that he could smell the lemon and rose scent of her hair and skin, feel the heat of her breath on his lips.

"Do not keep me waiting too long, cariño," she whispered, pressing a gentle, open-mouthed kiss to his knuckles.

Alistair groaned softly, fighting against the urge to drag her close and steal her breath with the hungry kisses that had always been kept in check in days past. She was sweet temptation, and she was his at long last.

"I love you," he whispered back to her, drawing callused fingertips along the line of her jaw for just one self-indulgent moment.

To his delight, he felt her face warm beneath his touch, watching the blush creep over her cheeks as she clung to his hand for a long moment. Then she flashed him a sweet smile, drawing back at the touch of Anora's hand at her back. The Teryna of Gwaren smiled mysteriously at Alistair over his wife's shoulder.

"It is time to excuse yourself, your majesties," she suggested. "Preferably before your lingering looks grow too intimate for such a public setting."

Alistair bit back a complaint, knowing perfectly well that Anora could and would smack his hand in front of all the nobles and guests if he grumbled about being sent to bed. And, if he was honest, he wasn't that upset about it. He would much rather spend what remained of the evening with his new wife than with the nobles who had known him far longer and still knew less about him than the smiling beauty on his arm.

"Well, in that case ..."

As Fabs kissed Anora's cheek, Alistair raised his hand for attention, smiling as the musicians stopped and every eye turned to him - eyes belonging to old friends, new friends, nobles and Wardens and elves and dwarves alike.

"Everyone, my wife and I ..." He trailed off, offering Felicita a rather goofy grin. "Actually, that's all I really wanted to say."

A ripple of indulgent laughter crossed over the hall, punctuated by a slightly dirtier laugh from the knot of Grey Wardens by one of the hearths. Alistair's grin deepened as Fabs leaned into his side, letting her hug his arm to her chest as she giggled.

"My wife and I are very pleased to have celebrated our marriage in the company of so many friends and allies," Alistair went on, taking a goblet from the servant who offered it. "I can honestly say that today has been one of the happiest of my life. And it's not over yet," he added in a smiling murmur to the young woman at his side, snickering as she pressed a kiss to his lips.

"Get on with it, cariño," vibrated into the kiss to the tune of her laughter, earning her a kiss to the tip of her adorable nose before he turned back to the company around them.

"That said," he declared, "as much as I like you all, you pale in comparison to the prospect of spending the evening alone with my wife. So make merry, and make a lot of noise, because we're leaving now."

It was Demelza's cackle of laughter that reached his ears first, swiftly joined by the laughter of everyone Alistair could confidently call friend. Then the Wardens, Fab's parents and friends, and finally the rest of the guests were offering chuckles - however forced in some cases - raising their hands to applaud as the King and Queen of Ferelden left the feasting hall arm in arm.

Fabs was still giggling when they reached the royal floor, the room that now belonged to them both.

"I cannot believe you said that," she declared in that warm laughing tone as Alistair pushed open the door, letting out a low squeak when he bent to lift her up into his arms.

"Wasn't I obvious enough?" he asked innocently. "Should I go back down and make it clearer?"

"No!"

Her denial came with a strong clutch of her arms about his shoulders, drawing another laugh from him as he kicked the door closed behind him. His nose touched hers, circled hers, breath mingling with hers as he felt her tremble just a little in his arms. The kiss seemed to last an eternity; a slow, tender exchange that brought him quite literally to his knees, setting her on the bed as he sank down.

"I love you, Felicita."

The words came without being bidden, murmured with absolute certainty, offered with almost disbelieving confidence that the sentiment was not only returned but embraced as fully as she physically embraced him. Her fingers teased through his hair, plucking the crown off his head to set it to one side, hers laid beside it a moment later. Then, and only then, did she draw him onto the bed with her, arching up to press a kiss to his lips that stole his breath in an instant. Her kiss, her hands, her arms ... Alistair had never felt anything so wonderful, so safe, so wholly wonderful, as being in the arms of the woman he loved.

For years, he had resented his place in the world, his title as king and the duty that came with it. For years, he had lived isolated among so many, a leader constantly afraid to make the wrong decision. He had grown to hate the gold that encircled his head, and yet, without it, he would not now have a wife who loved him. Fabs might never know it, but she had raised up far more than a lonely man's spirits in loving him.

Finally, there was a rose in the crown of Ferelden, and the promise of little buds to come.

[britcision]

… I’ll tell you what Shuro did differently than Namari or Chilchuck

He had a meltdown

Like that’s it

Chilchuck and Namari think about Laios being awkward but don’t really say it, but when he was physically and emotionally exhausted, half starved, and literally just watched the woman he loves kill his trusted companions because Laios reached her first

He snapped, yelled a bunch of hurtful shit that is almost certainly not the literal truth, and hit Laios back after Laios slapped him

People wanna call him ableist after this man, the absolute pinnacle of emotional repression restraint, failed to perform his emotions appropriately one time, so now he’s the bad guy

And yeah, I get this is a trigger for a lot of people, and extremely upsetting for a whole lot more, but y’all specifically are the ones that Ryoko Kui wrote this interaction and the entire rest of Laios and Shuro’s relationship for

Laios understands Toshiro is overwrought and at his worst, physically and mentally. He gives Shuro the one thing we all need; grace and understanding (which, given how many times he has desperately fucking needed those things and been denied? Bold of y’all to ignore)

He doesn’t hold it against him because again, Shuro is a fucking wreck right now, and they talk about the future.

The future, where Toshiro explicitly tells him “if you ever need me all you have to do is call.”

They don’t have a verbal affirmation “I’m sorry, I value your friendship more than that, I didn’t really mean I hated you”, because that would kill Toshiro in ways the dungeon magic could not fix, but they don’t have to

Because they’re still ride or die

Toshiro doesn’t take a single bite of food until after Laios has beaten him into the ground and we know for a fact he’s not been taking care of himself since three days before Falin was first eaten. Because that’s when they ran out of food, which caused the near TPK

He’s autistic as hell, drinks his fear respect women juice every day, and never once pushed Falin’s boundaries, and nor would he ever

That bell is not a trite reconciliation or throw away bit.

That bell, the trust, the friendship, the love between Laios and Toshiro, is going to change the entire fucking story. It got its own shot of just the bell and nothing else.

The message was never “Toshiro is an evil and bad person who just decided Laios is evil because he’s socially awkward!!!” (That’s Kabru’s story although he’s also not evil and bad because of that)

It was “your friendship can survive your worst days”

If Laios doesn’t have to be perfect 24/7, neither does Shuro. Now for the love of fuck someone please tell him that

The Shuro hate because of the latest episode is pouring in and I cannot even begin to tell you how upsetting it is to see someone who is so much like me be berated by people for being so called "ableist" and "misogynistic" and simply "the worst". He is a product of his environment (a different country, which means a different culture), and sure his love for Falin may be one-sided, but it is still love, and it's love enough he's risking hunger and sleeplessness and self care to find her. Even Chilchuck pointed out that him proposing spontaneously is just something people in his country do. He is not shallow with his love. The same can be seen with his frustration with Laios. It's borned out of miscommunication and cultural differences, and it is clear, very clear, at the end of the episode that he cares deeply for both Laios and Falin. He's envious of Laios's personable and straightforward nature, and he admitted to it. He gave Laios a way out (via the magic bell) and promised to give him his aid when Laios is in trouble. He is a complex and well-written character, and he deserves more than just people shallowly trashing on him.

Also Shuro is also autistic to me but in a different way Laios is ✌️ Come on: hyperfocusing at the cost of your health? Relying on social cues to predict how people think? Too awkward to correct Laios from the fact that he's been saying his name wrong the entire time (his real name is Toshiro)?

Edit: Honestly? Genuinely? I also think a lot of the hate that Shuro receives also borderlines antagonistic because he's "getting in the way of Farcille" (he has not shown any creepy attitude towards Falin) and racist. Genuinely I think a lot of American/Western fans are super racist towards Shuro. He's angry at Laios's mistakes the same way Chilchuck and Namari do (overstepping boundaries, being ignorant of cues, etc) but nobody thinks twice about giving Chilchuck and Namari the pass. How come this repressed man from the equivalent of fucking Feudal Japan gets the boot? Is it because he fought Laios out of fear and the trauma of seeing his team die and his love interest be made into a monster thanks to dark magic? Does his apology and offer to help not count? You people are hypocrites.

[houses-of-healing]

Greetings, I'd like to speak to an elf if that's alright. My name is Asphodel. I've been through too much shit these past three years to explain, but my current worry is my relationship. I'm pansexual and genderqueer, and was polyamorous for ages and still consider myself such at heart. I fell for a cishet monogamous man, and he for me. We've been together 7 months now and I'm considering marrying him. Itd be helpful since I'm going to university in another country where I have citizenship (1/3)

(Asphodel part 2/3) and so he’d have an easier time getting into the country and be able to pay domestic fees instead of international. I care for him, I think, but I’m scared. I’m not certain he can fulfill all my needs, but I know how he loves me and if it was between an open relationship and nothing he’d force himself to suffer through the first… He calls me his Luthien, and I call him my Beren. He’s so good to me about my gender and everything and would fight to protect me, but… I just..(Asphodel 3/3) Ive been in so many abusive relationships & I’m afraid of commitment & missing out on amazing people I might want to love & he just cant handle that & I would never force him to. Hed be devastated, likely to the point of self harm, if I left him, & well I don’t want to- I love him, but im not sure I can love ONLY him. He gets so jealous; he’s so afraid hes not good enough for me and I’ll leave. Id wait to marry him, but it seems I dont have long to decide.. I need advice. Namarie,

___

Mae g’ovannen Asphodel,

I’m so sorry that you’re under going a lot of stress related to your relationship. I’m very proud of you for being who you are–pansexual, genderqueer kickass friend!

It is very normal to feel scared of committing yourself to someone–whether it’s in a polyamorous relationship or a monogamous relationship. It’s hard to trust and feel okay with feeling vulnerable. It’s understandable. 

You deserve to love and be loved, my friend. Only yourself can decide whether or not you want to stay only with this person or if you want to consider other romantic partners. I’ve been alive for many, many years and I have been in my fair share of romantic relationships. I can say that I love Aragorn and only Aragorn–because that is who I am. It is in my nature to love this man–so much that I am okay with becoming human and not living forever and going into the Gray Lands with my kin. I can only say this with no hesitation, because I have no hesitation about my love for him and the future. Only you know what you want, how much love you can give to him and to others, how much effort and trust you’re willing to put into this relationship.

However, I will stress this: you must listen to your heart. 

I think it would be a good time to talk to your Beren, Asphodel. Tell him about your past, how you have hurt and how you are polyamorous at heart. He doesn’t have to understand fully, but if you want to have an open relationship and explore other people, I think it would be best if he was supportive. You can let him know that he’s your primary lover, but you want other romantic relationships as well. I think it would be unkind to both of you to harbor secrets that pain you. 

Jealousy is something I can understand as well. However, I believe that stems from trust issues–or self-esteem issues. You can only do so much to comfort him. I would be clear about your intentions and your feelings and perhaps you two can compromise. You can let him know that you trust him and that he can trust you through your actions, let him know that he is your primary partner and lover, but you want to love other people, too. Perhaps you two can come to an understanding and agreement, but you must talk to him in order to achieve that.

I wish you luck, friend Asphodel.

Aa’ menealle nauva calen ar’ malta,

Arwen

[stopidontgohere]

@blender-chan wanted the list of 100 questions answered for two of my ocs. It took forever, but I finally got it done.

1. How do they present themselves to others?


O: Onnie presents herself as someone who’s more confident than she really is. She can’t really hide how awkward she is though.

M: Moren presents themself as someone who’s witty and fun to be around.

2. Do they like animals?


Yes

3. How do they dress?


Already answered

4. How many languages do they know?


O: Two (then again she may have forgotten one of them)

M: Honestly????? idk

5. How big is their family?


O: She has two adoptive parents. I’m not sure about siblings.

M: You see, it’s really hard to talk about these things without spoiling my story, but most of this will probably be forgotten by the time it comes out, so whatever. I don’t think it’s possible for them to have a real family.

6. What is their purpose in the story?


O: Again, huge spoilers. She is given the task to find and stop the incondite, and her major purpose is to collect as much information as possible.

M: They are one of the Unusuals (a type of Synthetic). Their purpose in the Edifice is to manipulate how people perceive things. Not necessarily a bad thing though. They’re not the big Bad Guy of the story. Their purpose in the story is to help Onnie get more info.

7. Do they know how to fight?


O: Possibly, but she’s not very good at it.

M: Possibly, and they would be better at it than Onnie.

8. What is their back story?


SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS as in this literally isn’t revealed until the end of the story

O: Her father started the creation of the Edifice and wasn’t able to care for her, so she was adopted by the Aldachi family. Nineteen years later, he found and killed her to basically force her into joining the Edifice and becoming a Synthetic.

M: They were actually a friendly mischievous spirit/demon thing until something (what it is I really cannot say, since I want it to be 100% a secret to everyone until the game is released) took control of it. The Staff found them and made them a Synth, basically giving them a home.

9. Why is their name, their name?


O: Onnie is based on a gemsona I made years ago, named Black Lace Onyx

M: Started as a joke actually. My nickname is Less, and the opposite of less is more

10. Do they have any nick names?


O: Onnie is technically a nickname. Her real name is Oni Aldachi (or Kuan-Yin Namari)

M: Fritz? idk if that counts, since it was a fake name they made for themself

11. Do they have a romantic interest?


O: Yeah kinda. She takes an interest in Raech, but there isn’t a whole lot of flirting between them.

M: I don’t know if they know much about romance. They’re probably asexual but idk

12. How do they cope with struggles?


That’s one of the things I’m still trying to figure out while writing them.

13. Do they have anyone they can lean on?


They have the other Synths, but that’s probably not a good idea. At least Onnie has Raech, and Moren has Onnie, Izzy, and Kaster

14. How do they react to someone dying?


They’ve both died before so it’s more of a “been there done that” reaction.

15. Can you name 5 personality traits they have?


O: Determined, awkward, gay™, honest, stubborn

M: Energetic, loud, witty, supportive, depressed™

16. How did they become a character?


O: Had to think of a backstory for Onyx, somehow turned her into something completely different and made an entire story about it.

M: Started as a different character named Sketch, who was based on a character from a horror series which I will not name here.

17. Do they get along with others?


O: It’s hard for her to get to know others, but she tries to treat them well regardless. She loses her patience with strangers easily though.

M: It’s hard to know how they really feel about others. They often pretend to care to keep a good reputation, but the truth is that they tend to find others annoying.

18. What flaws do they have?


I’m tired so I’m not going to list all of them.

O: Despite wanting everyone to be happy, she tends to say how she really feels about someone. She can be very blunt and insulting, and an come off as rude.

M: They don’t like to ask for help, which can get them in a lot of trouble. When they have a problem, they either ignore it or refuse advice.

19. How do they influence the story?


Ok I’ll be honest, I’m not sure how to properly answer this question. They both influence the story more than any other characters though.

20. What do they look like?


O: Short, round face, short black hair, brown eyes, scar on face, light brown skin, maybe a little chubby?

M: Paper white skin with unnaturally green lips, white and green hair, probably has those little anime fangs

21. What are their hobbies?


Still trying to figure this out

22. What are their ticks?


I don’t understand this question

23. Do they like children?


O: She tolerates them

M: Yes, but considering recent circumstances I wouldn’t want them near any.

24. How do they react to being around wild animals?


They can both handle themselves. Onnie would probably know what to in that situation, and Moren would just be overly confident. Neither of the would do anything stupid, if the animal is dangerous.

25. If they were given the task to prank someone, who would it be, what would they do, and would the prank work?


O: Onnie would totally prank Moren, or possibly Raech. She would be too afraid to prank anyone else. idk what she’d do though.

M: Moren’s entire existence as a demon has been pranking people because they think it’s fun.

26. Do they have any survival skills?


O: No.

M: A few, not that they need any

27. Are they more book smart or street smart?


O: Book

M: A mix of both

28. How do they get out of a difficult situation?


Answered in 12 and 18

29. Do they use their body, mind, personality or force to get what they want?


O: Mind. She would use force but alas she is tiny and unintimidating.

M: Uh? Body and mind? It’s a little hard to explain, but it’s also an important plot point.

30. What music do they enjoy?


man idk shit about music

31. How do they overcome obstacles?


I feel like I’ve already answered this

32. When faced with a difficult decision do they get stronger or break?


O: Breaks at first, but then gets stronger

M: Just gets angry idk

33. Do they have any special powers?


O: She’s an Acquiring Synthetic. She’s able to store information in her brain like a computer.

M: They’re an Unusual Synthetic. They can shape shift.

34. How do they change throughout the story?


Still working on it

35. Do they have any friends? If so, are they close knit?


Friendship is kind of an odd thing in this story, since most of it takes place after everyone has died. There are now seven characters all living in one building, and most of them don’t even get along. That being said, Moren really likes hanging out with Izzy and Kaster, and used to be best friends with Onnie.

36. How is their family life?


O: Killed by her biological father, you tell me

M: Again, idk if demons can have families

37. Are they likable?


O: Yes, she’s a cutie.

M: WELL UH it depends, they’re very interesting. I think they start as unlikeable, but you start to love them more and more.

38. Are they the hero, or anti-hero?


O: Hero

M: Pretty much everyone who isn’t Onnie is an antagonist of some sort. Maybe anti-hero pre-possession.

39. Do they make questionable choices?


O: I think most of her actions are justified.

M: Oh, definitely

40. How do they become who they are?


I think that’ll depend on the player's actions.

41. How was their childhood?


O: Her adoptive family cared about her very much.

M: Again. Demon.

42. Are they close with anyone who is going to screw them over?


O: Yes

M: Possibly

43.How do they adapt to different situations? Do they adapt at all?


Still figuring it out

44. How do they speak? Examples - Are they soft spoken, hot heated, vulgar


O: A lot of stuttering

M: They can be pretty gruff and vulgar, but like in a fun way.

45. Are they opposed to violence? 


O: I feel like she’s the kind of person who thinks “I wanna fight it” at least daily, but knows she’s pretty much useless in a fight. So idk

M: They’re not opposed to it, but wouldn’t want to stress or strain themselves over something small.

46. When is their birthday?


idk

47. Are they quick to judge?


They both are, but they try not to.

48. Do they have anything they are trying to hide from others?


O: Nnnnot really?

M: Ha. Oh yeah. I think they told Kaster though.

49. Do they act different around different people?


O: She’s the same around everyone, mostly because she doesn’t think it’s worth putting up an act.

M: They’re the same around everyone because they’re confident in who they are.

50.Do they enjoy the arts?


I don’t see either of them as being incredibly artsy.

51. Do they like science?


O: Yes

M: Sort of

52. Are they more emotional or logical?


O: She tries to be both

M: EMOTIONAL

53. How do they deal with their emotions?


I’m probably not going to answer questions like this very well, because as an autistic it’s very hard to put these things into words. Like, I know how, but I cannot phrase it at all.

54. How do they cope with sadness?


See 53. Moren doesn’t cope with anything really.

55. What is something they care about?


O: Her memories got wiped at the beginning of the series, so her major care is just her mission,  until that character development kicks in.

M: They care about other people thinking like they do, and having fun.

56. Would they die for anyone/anything?


They’re already dead

57. What do they do when they are happy?


O: Like the stereotypical autistic happy stims: flapping, infodumping, etc.

M: They get a reaaalllly big smile and a huge contagious laugh.

58. How would they come across to other characters? Examples- messy, lazy, childish, caring ect


O: Clumsy and awkward, but determined. Some might find her childish but endearing.

M: A bit messy and rude, but alright. Maybe a bit intimidating.

59. Do they have a phrase they use over and over?


O: Not that I can think of

M: They say dude a lot

60. In a crowded room are they in the corners, sides, or in the middle?


O: Corners, chilling with Raech.

M: They’d be all over the place

61. Are they comfortable being in a crowded room?


O: Not really. She would be okay for a bit, but it would overwhelm her after a while.

M: Moreso than Onnie, but not as much as Evonne.

62. How do they relax?


O: Laying in bed. She doesn’t have a blog but I’m picturing her posting shit to a tech blog or something.

M: Cooking, otherwise idk

63. Have they ever harmed anyone and regretted it? Verbally or physically?


O: She can say some insensitive things, but immediately regrets it.

M: Kinda. There's an entire plot point about this lol

64. Do they like to dance?


O: Yes

M: Hell yes

65. How do they get around their environment? Examples - horses, bike, vehicle


Their only environment is the Edifice and it’s about the size of a small school.

66. What is their pet peeve(s)?


Man idk i hate answering questions like this

67. Do they have a disability?


O: She’s autistic

M: idk if being a demon possessed by an even worse demon counts as a disability

68. How do they react to getting flowers?


O: Shit.. ok call me cringey or whatever but there is a scene where Raech and Onnie make flower crowns because blah blah trying to think positive blah and it’s actually great she loves it!

M: They…. would be confused but appreciate the offer.

69. Would they ever wear a flower crown?


See above

70. Do they like themselves?


O: Not really, but she’s getting better

M: No

71. Who do they dislike?


O: She tries not to dislike anyone, but thinks Kaster and Evonne are kinda weird.

M: They dislike anyone who disagrees with them.

72. What is their motto?


O: Keep on the sunny side.

M: Do what you want.

73. Do they have any markings on their body?


O: She has a noticeable scar on her face.

M: SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS as the incondite they have markings, but as Moren and the demon they do not.

74. Have they ever been abused?


Touchy subject

75. What is their biggest fear?


O: Losing the trust of the other Synths, losing the people she cares about.

M: Being proven wrong, the [REDACTED BC OF SPOILERS]

76. What are their goals?

O: The find and stop the incondite, to gather as much info as possible.

M: To sway others into their way of thinking.

77. How do they go about achieving their goals?


Again I feel like I’ve answered this one.

78. Do they have a fight or flight response?


O: Wants to fight, but knows that flight is the safer option.

M: Fight, but let’s be real here they'd probably still want to flee.

79. Is there someone in their life that they care about more than themselves?


O: Mpossibly..

M: It’s up to interpretation :)

80. How would they fair in zombie apocalypse?


They’re both already kinda zombies in a way.

81. Do they have any tattoos? If so, are they significant?


Nope

82. Are they good at mental math?


O: Oh absolutely yes. She’s a savant.

M: Demons don’t give a shit about math (but yea they’re pretty good at it)

83. Do they get along with others?


I feel like I’ve answered this before. I apologize if I haven’t.

84 Are they lazy?


O: No

M: Depends

85. Are they self motivated?


O: Most of the time

M: Depends

86. How do they cope with anger?


Again I feel like I’ve answered this

87. Have they ever been in a situation where they were helpless?


O: Haha yeah

M: Haha YEAH

88. Are they organized or messy?


O: Both somehow

M: Messy

89. Can they remember a lot of information at once?


O: Yes, it’s literally her Synth ability

M: Depends on how important it is to them

90. What is their occupation?


O: Acquiring Synthetic with the ability to store information

M: Unusual Synthetic with the ability to shape shift

91. Do other characters respect your OC, if so, is it out of fear? Or do they respect your OC because they like them?


Like friendship, respect is an odd thing with the main 7. For the most part, they tolerate each other at best.

92. If they were given minutes to live, what would they do? Who would they want to see and say?


Again, the whole dead thing

93. How do they deal with stress?


Another question I cannot answer

94. Do they have a more submissive or dominant personality type?


O: A little bit of both

M: Dominant

95. Do they have a pet?


Pets aren’t allowed at the Edifice.

96. Do they have a stash of weapons?


O: I feel like after the story ends, she shares Raech’s stash of swords. They are the sword gays.

M: They don’t need a weapon.

97. Where do they live? Who do they live with?


They live at the Edifice with the other Synthetics.

98. How do they calm themselves down?


Can’t answer

99. Are they co-dependent?


O: Not sure yet. She tries to be independent.

M: Technically they can’t exist without [REDACTED LOL]

100. Are they a day, or night person?

O: She seems like she should be a night owl, but she gets cranky without her sleep.

M: Day person. Nights aren’t so great for them.

[britcision]

Hey I’m back to just throw this out here because the way it’s done in Marcille’s case especially is super clever and interesting

Spoilers below

So Marcille is a half elf, and this is a spoiler which is actually specifically the interesting thing; on the surface, this should be pretty straight forward

It’s a stock fantasy thing, half elf means you get prejudice from both sides, grow up with people who don’t understand you, classic edgy character backstory

But because of the way half elves work in Dungeon Meshi, it really highlights where the stock models fall down

Half elves don’t age in a linear fashion; Marcille could talk almost immediately, but couldn’t walk for years, and took 20 years to lose all her baby teeth. She wasn’t on the same developmental level as anyone else her age anywhere in the world except maybe, potentially another half elf, and even that could not continue

And it’s actually important to the story later on; we learn Marcille’s closest playmates to her own age where short lived adults like her father, that she couldn’t hang out with children in towns because they were growing so drastically differently

She’s also going to live twice as long as the elves, which you’d think would shake their superiority of “we live the longest” a little, but it’s not based in logic so that’s fine

Marcille is 50; most half elves definitely don’t reach 1000 because of sickness or injury (now quick apply that to the rest of your friends cuz you literally might die tomorrow Marcille I have seen your self preservation skills)

But conceivably, by lifespan angst math, for 450 years Marcille will outlive every single person who isn’t also a half elf, in the entire world. No question, every baby born will die before her for the next 450 years, and then those elves are gonna be pushing it

That’s 23 generations of humans/tallmen (a generation being every 20 years; it’s about 40 generations of halffoots like Chilchuck)

Marcille is othered in a literal, physical sense which is completely undeniable in two ways; her extended lifespan and inconsistent physical growth, and her infertility, with every single elf she meets assuming she wants to use the dungeon’s power to become a full elf, or be able to have kids

And that’s the actual real interesting thing about Marcille and the racism in Dungeon Meshi; we don’t even know she’s a half elf until Thistle brings it up

Marcille never bothers to mention it, and no one else can tell apparently (even Pattadol didn’t notice, so it’s not that every single elf ever has immediately clocked her… although it is only Pattadol that didn’t notice)

Marcille never mentions a single desire to become a full anything, or to have children, and doesn’t consider it worth bringing up to her party

The two major claims that are immediately whipped out at her every time the party run into elves (Thistle and then the Canaries) have so little to do with anything Marcille actually cares about that they come right out of left field

(I could be wrong, but I don’t think the demon ever bothers offering to give Marcille the ability to have kids. I don’t think Marcille ever mentions it herself except to confirm to Laios and Chilchuck “yeah Thistle was right that I can’t”)

And Marcille rebukes both claims every single time (and shoulda one-shotted Thistle with that “ugh elves are so embarrassing” if he wasn’t even more of an angsty teen)

She not only doesn’t think an extended lifespan makes her better than anyone else, she fully calls it embarrassing that anyone would ever think it could, but the only people who can identify her as a half elf all have extremely limited ideas about what she might want based on that information alone, and it explicitly fucks them over every time

Because she promptly dismisses them and gets irritated and untrusting, which Goes Great

And this is interesting because we’ve seen some explicit examples of racism already with Namari’s backstory and the dwarves on the island, and with the Canaries both in abstract and in person when they come sailing in to scoop the big scary dungeon away from all these short-lived babies

We’ve seen a bias against elves, because elves are biased against everyone else and people did not take kindly to that

There’s clearly a bias against half elves at least from the elven side, although apparently it’s hard enough to tell that most people throughout the story just assume she’s an elf

But none of the bullshit she immediately gets from said elves surprises Marcille

She responds with familiarity and contempt; we the reader have just been given brand new information about her literal species, and instantly shown a bias we have never even seen a hint of, and it is old news to Marcille

Because… yeah. You don’t recognise micro aggressions until you’re told what to look out for, but it being new to you doesn’t make it new to people who’ve been living with it their whole lives

(Laios and co promptly are good noodles and agree it’s ridiculous and support their friend that yeah, it doesn’t matter that it never came up before because it doesn’t change anything about their friendship, because again they are good noodles)

We started out with a pretty diverse party already (one dwarf, one elf, one halffoot, one tallman - and having an elf is rare enough to be identifying) and then we learn that Marcille is actually a second secret even smaller minority with Extra Bigotry, and y’know the very best part?

It’s fucking irrelevant

How Marcille grew up out of step with everyone else only comes up because they’re trying to get a doppleganger to tell them what kind of food she liked as a kid

Her Terrible Tragic Past As A Half Elf Who No One Can Understand adds an extra degree of poignancy to her goals, but they made sense without it

We didn’t question Marcille wanting to extend everyones’ lives when she was just an elf who’d live 500 years, because it’s still so much longer than her friends

It’s a gut punch, and oh the scene where she explains her mom told her she runs at a different pace from everyone else and will watch a lot of people fucking die is a kicker

(There’s a reason she has no siblings I’m just saying)

The half elf reveal adds spice, and depth, and tragedy to the story we already knew about Marcille, but it isn’t the most important or the only important thing about her

She’s a magical prodigy who decided that the world would be a better place if everyone got the same amount of time to live in it, and then set about making it happen

Antagonists can try and reduce her to “just another half elf, bet you want half elf things like Not Being A Half Elf and Babies”, but what she actually wants and who she actually is is so much more complex than that

Being in such a drastic minority is part of Marcille’s story, and it shapes her, but it isn’t all she is and that’s deadass proven in the text because we are not told she is one until we’re reaching the climax

Ryoko Kui isn’t just addressing and including racism in her world in incredible and well thought out ways, she directly challenged it in the core cast and it’s just incredible

(Oh and also that late stage reveal where we learned Chilchuck started his union because PEOPLE WERE USING HALFFOOTS AS MONSTER BAIT and he just Never Bothered To Mention This??????)

its a shame how ryoko kui managed to make a series with such a realistic portrayal of sistemic and internalized racism only for people to have it fly over their heads and go 'x character is racist!! how dare you like them!!!' when like. literally every single character has said something racist. your blorbo is racist. my blorbo is racist.

marcille hates orcs. kabru has dehumanized kobolds. mithrun said a slur. laios and falin treat mountain people like savages. analyse these traits meaningfully or perish