#WHAT WILL YOU HAVE IN 50 YEARS - marcille

[saltycoughdrop]

“THINK LAIOS THINK”

[sabertoothwalrus]

I'm going to think out loud about the dungeon meshi ages for a sec

I'm going to preface this by saying that this is based on my existing knowledge, and fact checking is difficult because there is A LOT of contentious research out there.

First of all, I think a lot of people come at this from a modern lens, forgetting the context that this is fantasy medieval era. this is fiction. on top of that, this is specifically Ryoko Kui's understanding of medieval era aging. plus fantasy. So before anyone comes at me with a bunch of 'ermmmm actualy's just consider that I don't really care and also it might not matter in this context lol

as far as the "age of maturity" assigned for each race, something I don't see many people talk about is that "teenagers" are a fairly recent concept. For a long time, you were either considered A Kid or Not A Kid. but this doesn't necessarily mean kids were more/less developed then, just our cultural expectations for certain age groups have changed.

Laios says the age of maturity for tallmen is 16. I don't think that means 16 year olds in the dungeon meshi universe are necessarily "more mature" than modern 16 year olds, but moreso that they have more responsibilities. However, things like medicine, smoking, drinking, sun exposure, physical activity, etc all affect age, so it's possible that developmentally they're closer to modern 18 year olds? Izutsumi is 17 (less than two weeks from turning 18, actually), and very much acts like a modern 17 year old.

The age of maturity for half-foots is 14. Chilchuck was 13 when he got married and had his first two children. Even though, at age 29, he's the equivalent of a modern 50 year old, I don't think he was That much more developed at 13 than a tallman. I think if half-foot 14 is equal to tallman 16, then Chilchuck was Pretty Damn Young for a parent LMAO. Even if you're generous and say tallman 16 is a modern 18, he still would've been younger than that.

The long-lived races are interesting. Marcille is obviously a unique case, and not a lot of this applies to her. We do know what Senshi was like as a minor (miner, lol), and he seemed like a modern 15ish, considering he was 36 and dwarf maturity is 40. I think it'd be really interesting to delve into how a culture functions with people being developmentally adolescent for soooooo long. Imagine middle school lasting 20 years. that would fucking suck. I suppose it makes sense why long-lived races are so patronizing.

Moving onto lifespans, I want to emphasize that they're average lifespans. Even in the manga, they say some half-foots live to 100, it's just rare. So it's less that a tallman 60 year old is "older" than a modern 60 year old, it's that it's easier to keep people alive for longer nowadays. Modern medicine is a BIG contributor. Dental health as well, considering how much your health is affected by your diet (and how much the action of chewing alone aids in digestion). Curious to know what the FUCK elven dentistry is like.

It also makes me wonder if half-foots would have a longer average lifespan if they weren't like, used for bait and treated so poorly, but half-foot 29 does seem to be middle-aged for half-foots. so who knows!

In that vein, I don't know if I can see Mithrun quite making it to 400 😬 like, his experience as a dungeon lord took a lot out of him quite literally, and he's doing exceptionally well despite it! I imagine he'd eventually start to develop a lot of heart problems if he doesn't have them already. Perhaps early-onset dementia. His memory seems still quite intact (he corrects Kabru on his story's accuracy) and he doesn't act like, lobotomized. He doesn't seem forgetful or confused, and he has a sense of humor/sarcasm still. It's mostly his task initiation that's been affected.

I almost want to say that mana affinity could affect long-lived races' lifespans, except dwarves have very poor tolerance for mana, so it's probably not that.

okay anyway I didn't really have a point to this post so I'm just gonna end my rambling here

[yarrayora]

On Adulthood in Dungeon Meshi Universe

i've seen multiple people use math to convert the ages of fantasy races in dunmeshi into a Normal Human Age, or in this case, a tallman's, as a metric of adulthood

i feel like that's obviously an unreliable way to go about it, especially since a half-elf like marcille exists, her growth is far too slow compared to the short-lived races, and we still don't know how that compares to an actual elf. and that's when you only consider the physical aspects of it.

we have chilchuck who became a dad at age 13, a year before he could be considered of age in half-foot community. maybe with that we could assume 14 in half-foot is like 18 in tallman and do the math from there? except 16 is considered the age of maturity for tallmen in-universe. and we also have to consider whether the concept of legal age exists in dunmeshi universe, because the term of "age of maturity" used in adventurer's bible could very well refers to puberty and not what the society at large consider to be adulthood.

hell, do we even know if different cultures in different continents agree on what age is considered 'adult' even when they're of the same race? probably not! the cultures in dunmeshi universe are pretty clearly insular

for example, back in the touden siblings' hometown, being a gravekeeper is considered an ill-omen, but marcille talked about it as a respectable job falin could have taken if she didn't run off to go dungeon diving with laios

people at the island don't know that rice is a staple food in the eastern continent. and so on and so forth.

so how do we figure out whether someone is an adult or not in dungeon meshi? by figuring out their role in society

let's go back to chilchuck

it could be because adventuring is really dangerous that he retires early, but considering the reasoning provided was "in terms of age" it's more likely 26 is middle-aged or older for half-foots. although since we already find out that he's already a father of three grown adults, nobody would argue against this.

the most controversial topic regarding this whole subject seems to be marcille. was she a child when she was in magic school? was she an adult? surely because she's more of an elf than a human she's actually still a child at the age of 50! especially when an elf's age of maturity is at 80 years old!

we don't really see a lot of children getting their own roles in dungeon meshi universe, but what little we see in canon paints a picture of how children are treated there. let's focus on the orcs

orc is considered an adult at 14, Leed is 14 and she leads her own hunts. and despite their pride as a warrior race, just like every other community they don't make their young hunt for their own food.

so what we got from here is that despite only reaching adulthood recently, Zon considers his sister competent enough to be in charge.

if we use that as a metric of adulthood, then Marcille who was a teaching assistant at the magic school, has reached adulthood for quite a while now. especially when her main job involved researching illnesses, a responsibility you wouldn't hand over to a child

don't forget that a lot of those who came from long-lived races are biased against short-lived ones and dismissing their metric of adulthood

southern continent where the magic school is situated is mostly populated by gnomes and dwarves, so clearly even to them marcille is already considered an adult

even in the real world the concept of adulthood changes depending on the eras and the culture. there were times in history when it was common for 14 years old children to shoulder the responsibility of a working adult in 21st century, and that includes marriage. in japan the legal age used to be 20, and only recently changed to 18 during 2016. but that's not their age of consent either, that's their legal age for being eligible to vote

maybe centuries later when comfort and leisure become much more common in the dungeon meshi universe people will balk at the idea of a 14 years old orc being considered a full-pledged adult, but as of the standard of the year 514, marcille is an adult, and her role in society proves that

[saiscribbles]

Lily seeing the painting in The SU Movie: What’s this Oedipal, Freudian, Jungian, Narcissistic painting?!?! (Despite the panting being a normal cherub painting and misusing a psychology term… again)

Lily seeing the Marcille and Fallon bathe together: This is just fan service! They’re naked and therefore it’s there to appeal to weebs!!! (Despite that bathing/ being in a hot spring with friends is a common thing in Japan and other countries as well)

Lily with “A place farther than the universe”: Oh yeah the high school age girls shake their boobs in front of older men but you can easily skip that part the rest of the anime is so wholesome!

Yes and Lily conveniently didn't mention the two scenes of teenage girls bathing together in her Antarctica anime.

Cause after all if Falin and Marcille bathing together in Dungeon Meshi is a "fanservice bath scene" then these must be too right?

Lily also censored the scene of Hinata bouncing her boobs at Kimari while the girls are all encouraging each other to seduce grown men to get on the Antarctica expedition because "we're high school girls, after all". Which just makes it look even worse.

Have I mentioned this show was entirely written by a then 50 year old man Jukki Hanada? Who was also a writer on Re:Zero? Which Lily makes fun of at the beginning of the video?

Who writes a ton of these moé Cute Girls Doing Cute Things shows which are generally aimed at grown men with the appeal being how simple-minded, bubbly, uncomplicated, pure and cute the girls are. Generally paired with highly niche male autist interests, you know such as big ice breaking ships.

Non-sexual objectification is still objectification. Yes sorry I'm gonna be one of those feminists ruining your anime.

By the way these screenshots are from a cut I put together of things Lily would normally complain about in any other show:

I watched it in Japanese subtitled because that's the only thing available on Crunchyroll. The dub is only available on the Blu-rays which I doubt Lily actually bought. Which means I have officially supported this show more than she has lol.

Needless to say I'm not doing a react to her video on it and this mini react is enough. The show is a boring paint by numbers affair about teenage girls and grown women all wanting to go to Antarctica for no real reason other than the plot demands it because that's the premise. Like Shirase's missing mother wasn't even a scientist or an engineer or anything she and her two friends also just spontaneously decided to go to Antarctica, one of the most dangerous places on Earth, cause it sounded fun.

The writing is lazy and contrived at every angle because it's just in service of watching moé anime girls be around highly detailed machinery. Also there's no lesbians Lily is lying to you.

[iwriteandiamnosy]

Why Farcille isn't canon (and it is not a bad thing) part 1

CONTAINS SPOILER FROM THE MANGA AND ANIME

I love the ship so much, I want them to end up together ,but I don't think the ship is canon yet, at least in the main story that we see (is probably canon in the events post story). The lesbians have to work a lot before they can be together.

Let's start with Marcille; she is lovesick, we can see that she read a looong romance series, she is interested in Chilchuck's love life, but at the same time, she doesn't experience romance attraction.

What about her Succubus? I like to think that Succubus are likely to see not only sexual desires, but longing one (Itzusumi saw her mother).

Marcille saw a character from a story book, that she reminds her of herself, or maybe that's what she is aspiring to be, or it is just a silly teenage crush, and it's okay.

We can see that Chilchuck's Succubus kiss him on the lips (kids friendly, am I right?) but Marcille is kissed on the palm of her hand.

Yeah, romantic, but also kinda distant to Marcille, at least physically. I don't want bi erasure, but I don't think Marcille is attracted to him, but to the romantic idea of him, and what he represents. It is easier to be attracted to someone you never met, because you don't know their flaws, or what they are like truly (I also think that being attracted to fictional man is a very lesbian experience, but not my point). At the same time, it is okay to have a type but to be in love with a totally different kind of person :)

Her parents met and courted for 17 years, so she is in love with love, with a long courting and passion, she has a good example of it, but can't imagine herself in actual romance for her fear of death, and excapes in a fictional one because it meets her expectation (we can see how much she loves her dad and her mom, I think she loves their love too, their long story, and fiction meets Marcille's imagination).

At the same time, in 50 years she hasn't fall in love with anyone? We aren't mentioned a crush. I know that her life has been mostly a solitary one, because she is afraid of getting attached just to let go due the difference in lifespan, and because she has a growth spurt different from anyone. But in the last year before the events occur, she joins the party and has 0 attraction for anyone (at least that we are shown, and the Succubus confirm this). Why?

Because she can't let herself fall for anyone (at least consciously) because she is scared of eventually letting them go. It is easier to minding other business to something you can't have, and at the same time, longing for it, instead of working about your insecurities, and understanding that you have to let go at some point (I don't blame her, but she can't excape forever, if she wants to live a good life).

The offspring of mixed raced people, have a vital cicle completely different from one another, so Marcille doesn't know how many years she has, and it is scary for her. So she is not willing to let someone in, for many reasons, but her insecurity about her lifetime is one of them and the main one.

Now we pass to Marcille attraction to Falin (kinda gay).

First of all, we see how easily Marcille has let Falin in her inner circle, even if she is scared of intimacy (even a friendly one). In the academy, marcille is considered a prodigy, and left alone, admired but from far away (and this is Marcille's comfort zone, so she doesn't get attached). Falin enters in her life and gives her a new point of view, a refreshing one.

Marcille is so attracted and in love with Falin, but she doesn't recognize it. She "sees" or prefers to see Falin as a kid (and Falin is aware of this), because in that way you create distance between yourself and the person you love (self sabotaging at its peakest), and it is easier to rationalize her feelings. Notice how she belittles Falin's speech about her being a grown up, because in Marcille's mind, Falin being a kid is a comfort zone, she doesn't think of Falin as a grown up because she would be closer to death, and because she could be a person Marcille feels attraction to.

Also, noticed how Marcille says "You're still a little kid to me" and in the freaking next panel she looks at Falin as if she's the love of her life and they will grow old together.

Notice how in the anime they look even MORE in love.... dungeon yuri, aaaah dungeon yuri

I am going to write a part 2 :) sorry for any errors, English is not my first language. The images are not my own and are taken online, they are from the manga/anime or official books :)

Part 2

(Part 3)

[tanoraqui]

Dungeon Meshi Liveblog: I THINK BEING A NECROMANCER WOULD FIX ME, TOO

HOLD THE FUCKING PHONE, ARE WE GOING TO EAT HIM?!

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I think my boy Laios just headbutted a phoenix?

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He's so fucking clever under stress, I love him so much!!!

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/laughing

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Dad energy.

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Book's awake!

You: What?

Me, loading a gun to go kill this motherfucker before it messes with Marcille and to a lesser extent Laios: Book's awake.

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This is normal sibling behavior on Falin's part, actually.

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holy shit I'm about to meet the rabbits everyone was :)ing about. The rabbits that haunt Chilchuck's concept of monsters. THE Rabbits.

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oh my god the rabbits

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MARCILLE NO! (MARCILLE YES!)

(Chilchuck is going to be so. pissed. when he finds out about this.)

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MOVE ASIDE, CHIMERA GIRL, I'M MARRYING THIS WOMAN!

what a line, too. Oh my god I really do want to play a Necromancer wizard sometime...

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I'm laughing hysterically. This is the best. I'm just going to keep some of the best panels but oh my god they're all the best.

I'm getting strong Candace Flynn (Phineas & Ferb) "Squirrels In My Pants" x "Queen of Mars" vibes?!?

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SHOUTOUT TO IZUTSUMI FOR KILLING A DUNGEON RABBIT WITH HER BARE TEETH!! And also for enduring this, uh, zombie nightmare. Necromancers amiright.

(/sobs - I wanna play a necromancer wizard in a long-plot D&D game SO BAD...)

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IT WORKED, THOUGH! Marcille, it worked. You did it. Laios had total faith in you (Laios had total faith in a friend again and he was right again), and you did it. You saved them all. And you're going to make a stew for Falin, which is the language of love and life-giving, and save her, too.

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And! the fact that this is all happening in this room where Thistle has been desperately trying to retain a masquerade of life just as grotesque, though slightly more pretty, as Marcille's mass animation there! Except it wasn't really more pretty at all, because absolutely everything was a mess - our heroes were the ones who made it nice enough to actually live in. But everyone is still just as dead ("alive" but un-hungering, even when conscious) as Laios, Senshi, Chilchuck, Izutsumi and these rabbits - mimicking the motions of life, of walking and moving or of growing crops, raising farm animals and sitting down to eat... Thistle is in blind denial; Marcille is weeping.

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ohhh my god she's not just taking measures to avoid personal loss, or to prevent anyone else from avoiding personal loss... She, too, is aware of the interracial politics... (And it's lifespans specifically to which she doesn't want to lose anyone ever again. That's why the monster appeared in the background when Chilchuck told her that halffeet lifespans are 50 years, that's why Laios was specifically dying of old age in her nightmare... It really was SPECIFICALLY old age that terrifies her... Death by monster or murder or whatnot is one thing, but she Does Not Want to outlive anyone she loves, and she doesn't want anyone else to have to do it either.)

eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes

[miscellaneousrenaissant]

Below are some compilations of Shuro/Toshiro (26), Laios' and Falin's dad (~30*), and Marcille's dad (~late 40s to late 50s**):

Please compare them to tall-man!Chilchuck:

(My rationale for Touden's and Donato's ages is under the cut, along with some miscellaneous info)

*In Chapter 42, Laios mentions he hasn't seen his parents in over a decade. From the Adventurer's Bible, Falin estimates her parents were about 30 years old a decade ago. Touden's appearances were in either flashbacks of Laios' and Falin's childhoods or from Laios' nightmare, which was relying on his memories. Touden's current appearance in his 40s has not been shown.

**Assuming Marcille didn't enroll in magic school until after her father died at age 82, the youngest he could have been when she was born was 47. He looks similar in memories from when Marcille was a baby and a small child, so late 40s to late 50s seems a safe estimate for his age as he appears in Chapters 79-81.

Miscellaneous Notes:

Chilchuck is canonically underweight.

Shuro's pics were from Chapters 33, 36, and 38 when he wasn't eating or resting properly.

Touden's pics were from Chapters 26 and 42 and the latest edition of the Adventurer's Bible. There is a change in art style between Ch 26 and Ch 42, but he is estimated 30yo in both appearances.

Donato's pics were from Chapters 79, 80, and 81. Technically most of the pics are of a Doppelganger, but it based its appearance on Marcille's memories, and it looks similar to Donato from the flashbacks to Marcille's early childhood.

[gothiethefairy]

got bored, decided to make a list of how each dunmeshi character are around babies/toddlers/children (not gonna do EVERY character tho)

laios: actually, he's pretty good around children. he's careful with babies, and patient with toddlers and children. (maybe even more patient than falin.) he's also fun to play with! kids get him and he gets kids!

falin: it's pretty much canon that falin is a very good caretaker when it comes to babies and toddlers. children however, she tends to be a pushover. she doesn't want to upset them! she learns overtime, you do need to be a little bit more strict with them. also, just because she's a good caretaker, it doesn't mean she herself wants to be a mother. she's still figuring herself out.

marcille: honestly, she's 50/50 when it comes to babies/toddlers/children. oh sure, they're cute and adorable! until they do something gross or even worse, start crying. marcille wouldn't know what to do, and probably make the situation worse. falin ends up taking over.

senshi: he's the fun uncle. the grandmother who wants to feed you. it's shown he's patient with children, and is even willing to teach them the importance of a good meal. however, his long explanations tend to fall flat to children's ears, especially if they're a picky eater. overall, not that bad around them.

chilchuck: he's a dad, he already knows the ropes when it comes to babies/toddlers/children. he's way more stricter though, and does not tolerate being talked back to. but he's a softie at heart, so if there's anyone you can trust your kids with, it's chilchuck.

itzutsumi: nope, she does not care for them. babies are too smelly, toddlers are too loud and children are too grabby. she'd probably ditch them the first moment that she can.

namari: babysitting is not her forte. she wouldn't know what to do with a baby/toddler/child. she would be protective of them though, but this is way too out of her element.

shuro (toshiro): he also would be in the dark. he's not the friendliest of people and kids can pick his awkward energy up a mile away. not to say he wouldn't try, but once a baby starts crying, he would have maizuru take over.

kabru: while he is protective of children as a whole, kabru would not know what to do around them. babies make him nervous as they are small human beings and are very fragile. toddlers are confusing because you can never pin point what a toddler wants. children can be this way too. you can have kabru deal with a four-year old for an hour and the four-year old is one questioning everything about everything to kabru, and he just has the worst headache ever.

[powerpolyculeshowdown]

Idk if you know but Izutsumi is actually 17. It's not stated in canon but it's in the adventures guide so

oh huh i had no idea... i know falin must be 20 cause laios said hes 23 and im p sure they are 3 years apart, and laios said tallmen/humans however u wanna call them reach adulthood at 16 but idk if he meant his country or the race as a whole, so im not sure if that makes izutsumi a minor or not? also idk if it changes due to her being beastkin?

i mean ofc from our perspective she would be, but this is a fantasy setting w different ages of maturity, for example chilchuck said halflings reach adulthood at 14, due to their shorter lifespans, im just curious if for izutsumi adulthood would also be 16 like laios or if maybe eastern standards in the world of dunmeshi is different?

If it's the same, while she's not a minor that is still a three year age gap for izutsumi and falin, with izutsumi barely being an adult, add to that the fact idk how old marcille is or when she wouldve reached adulthood, i can see ur concern.

ill leave them out due to the blurred lines there, but in general i think its important to remember fantasy people dont necessarily age the same way we do, if beastkin age anywhere as fast as halflings, at 17 izutsumi would be older than a 17y/o tallman. thats all hypothetical ofc, and not really an attempt to justify the age difference, more so genuine curiosity about how ages work for her since idk if thats established? im still shocked a 29y/o halfling is old enough to have 3 adult kids for example, but then again they live an average of 50 years so it makes sense? I think the differences are really interesting! because despite only being 6 years apart, chilchuck is inherently a lot older than laios due to their racial traits and customs. Laios is a young adult and chilchuck is more like a middle aged man. Meanwhile, to Senshi and Marcille, 29 sounds like a baby, which means a 29y/o elf or dwarf would probaably be perceived by their own race as younger than even laios is to other tallmen, if that makes sense? at 30 smth senshi was treated like a kid by an older dwarf, maybe thats equivalent to their teens?

Now im just rambling though, i know that's not what the ask was about, it just had me wondering. In a context like this age can be more than a number due to racial traits and lifespans, but since izutsumi is probably closer to a human and idk if beastkin age differently or not, i'd agree that shes quite young especially compared to marcille who's probably a bit older than falin herself (well shes a lot older by literal decades but i imagine only a bit older if you consider elves probably reach adulthood a lot later which likely means marcille is a young adult herself?)

i also havent finished the manga so its difficult to form more concrete opinions on the matter but i hope i explained myself well? i do very much think a 17 year old in real life is a child, i was just rambling about this fantasy world and wondering how different things might be. if their 16 is our 18 then their 17 is our 19 and their 20 is our 22. I dont remember how mature I was at 19 but as a 22y/o i dont think id have felt comfortable dating someone 3 years younger personally? i still dont tbh

oh wow i scrolled back and realized i rambled too much im sorry about that its just my brain is full of dunmeshi!! still, let me know if i misunderstood the age mechanics of this story! Regardless, ill leave them out, thanks for letting me know!

[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

[xaracosmia]

ꕥ — WELCOME TO MARE COSMIA, MARCILLE DONATO. 🌗

ꕥ — OOC INFORMATION;

name / alias: clara age: 31 pronouns: any pronouns ooc contact: blackring004 @ twt and malvosia @ tumblr other characters in xc: zoya (path to nowhere), maki zenin (jujutsu kaisen), hella (path to nowhere) & rahu (path to nowhere)

ꕥ — IC INFORMATION;

name: marcille donato age: 50 pronouns: she/her series: delicious in dungeon canon point: chapter 74

app triggers: parental death, animal death, cosmic horror & cannibalism themes. um hi.

personality:

marcille is someone who has labored diligently to be seen as nothing other than the absolute bastion of reliability. no doubt a dedicated person, there's no matching her focus when her curiosity is piqued, something that easily shows in the magic expertise she accumulated throughout the years. for those who have earned her friendship, she will go to any lengths to be the dependable shoulder you can lean on, the one who'll take the fall so you can keep going.

while brilliant in scenarios where she's in control of, she can easily become overwhelmed the moment she is pushed beyond her comfort zone. her insecurities quickly jump out, and will seek the best way to feel as though she isn't a burden to others or end up in a situation where she's left alone, ultimately escalating a situation that could have been resolved more straightforwardly.

something your muse struggles with: letting go. your muse’s greatest strength: ambition.

history / background:

( !! spoilers up until chapter 74 !! )

it wasn't until after her father's last breath that marcille finally learned something fundamental about herself: she runs at a different pace than everyone else.

fated to witness the passing of everyone she loves, she had to find a way to bridge the gap between disparate lifespans based on race. and so, marcille grasped early on what her purpose in life should be. with that goal in mind, the half-elf dedicated herself to studying and amassing spells, resolved to handle everything independently. It was only later, when she learned from a kind soul that books couldn't impart every piece of knowledge there is, she decided on joining that same soul's party in their dungeoning quest.

the quest, initially driven by marcille's self-interest as she sought answers using the group to help her into the dungeon, ultimately transformed into a genuine bond with the people who became most important to her. to this end, when they came to fail in the of danger and lose one of the party members, is when marcille realized once again that she had to confront death in a way where she was powerless to intervene. though the party unraveled at the ends, the few that remained shared the same desire to go back and retrieve the one that saved them all.

cut into the beast's bell; all bones which were puzzled together. not nearly enough to bring someone back to life. a difficult question: what do you want to do, laios?

"please, bring falin back to life."

as natural as it should be, their shared desire to see her again, fueled by forbidden magic.

she lives and breathes, as if she had never spent a day inside the dragon's belly. relief washes over the party, their journey is over. but as their peered so shamelessly into the infinity for falin, it looks right back at them, starving, staring right back at their desires.

the magic had shaken the dungeon to its core, attracting the lord of the dungeon's attention who, in turn, plucked falin away from them. the group was hardly shaken by the fact, and pressed on in order to retrieve her as they did before.

this time around it was as though the dungeon had an ear alongside their innermost desires; a safe haven. granted. for food. granted. everything their hearts prayed in a moment of need would suddenly be there, beckoning them, making their path deeper into the dungeon a little easier.

infinity, generous as ever, only comes knocking on their door for one thing: a feast.

powers / abilities: HEALING MAGIC — while effective and precise, marcille's healing isn't without its drawbacks. not one to tamper with people's sense of pain, she opts to let things naturally happen while healing people, which is… quite painful. sorry. ( 5 spell slots ) PROTECTION SPELL — a spell that protects its target from general harm, ranging from fire to spirits. this only works to some degree, and doesn't completely nullify all the taken damage. ( 5 spell slots ) WATER-WALK — allows the target to walk on water surfaces. ( 5 spell slots ) STUNNING FLASH — stuns all nearby targets by releasing a powerful flash, rendering them immobile for a few seconds. ( 3 spell slots ) ENCHANTING / DISPELLING — allows marcille to undo another mage's spell, as seen when she blasted the shit out of those ancient familiars by swinging ambrosia around like a mad woman. hello? ( 6 spell slots if full mana / 3 spell slots if low on mana ) EXPLOSION SPELLS — FIRE BALL EXPLOSION LETS LFGGGG. no for real, that's it. she explodes things, it's her go to spell every time there's a minor inconvenience in the party's way. ( 5 spell slots ) NECROMANCY — part of her forbidden repertoire, this spell allows her to control bodies and make them copy her movements. ( 4 spell slots ) SUMMONING FAMILIARS — given she has the resources to craft one, marcille is capable of controlling her creations as if they are an extension of herself. ( 5 spell slots )

inherent abilities: MAGIC KNOWLEDGE — ranging from simple to complex to absolutely unhinged and forbidden spells, marcille has dedicated her life to studying magic. she's always happy to talk about magic and learn more no matter what. COOKING SKILLS — thanks to senshi, she did retain some cooking skills in their quest! though she'll most likely cook you normal things with normal ingredients. you're welcome. HEAD SPIN — head spin.

items / weapons: AMBROSIA — a staff she's crafted herself by using special tree to maximize her magic potential.

starting ability: summoning familiars starting item: ambrosia

extra:

mean to ants when she was 13

actually a hopeless romantic. favorite book genre is romance!

loves dancing, but gets a little too into it and ends up looking straight-up funny

dear god i wrote this app at 3 am my time i'll send an amendment eventually

discord id: cursespell

[readymades2002]

wrt to that post you made on dunmeshi and marcille's wish - it feels very much like she's oversimplifying the prejudice she's aiming to solve imo, which is well established in the text (especially with how half-foots, ogres, and so-called "demi-humans" like kobolds and orcs are treated). she's wrapping up her personal fears and rather unique experiences as a half-elf with her idealism and over-ambition to create a nice easy "solution" for the world's problems, without giving anyone else a say in whether that's the solution they want. laois is very right to call her out for forcing such change onto people without consultation. hell, people in the room are vocally opposed to the idea. in her arrogance, she's falling into the same prejudice she's trying to fix - of COURSE everyone wants to live as long as marcille, why wouldn't they, isn't it more desirable and better to live as long as possible? i think combined with the world-building, her proposal comes across similarly to the sort of 'assimilation not liberation' activism that comes from privileged people not letting the marginalised speak for their wants and needs. for me, it'd be like the equivalent of wishing that everyone would speak common - and in the process, not considering how that might devalue other languages that come with history, culture etc. marcille devalues a half-foots 50 years of life by insisting they must all long for 1000

this is a really really brilliant take! i hadn't even put together marcille calling thistle on "elves always assume everyone wants to be like them" while doing the same thing! the power of dungeon master (for this specific dungeon at least, i think mithrun's goals are different in a way) is wrapped up in someone believing they can do what's best for everyone, which, when handling it alone, always comes with the asterisk of believing they Know what's best for everyone. and of COURSE that goes perfectly with the position of elves in this world, because that kind of...i don't have a great vocabulary when talking about these dynamics so i'm sorry if i word it clumsily but that kind of Paternal?? the. the thing where someone sees other cultures as less developed than they are and thus in need of protection and guidance. that bullshit! that's what elves in dunmeshi do all the time as a class so thistle and marcille continuing to do that as individuals is an extension of that

the comparison to assimilation activism is one i wouldn't have thought of! that's really interesting! marcille using her proximity to elven...ness...to perpetuate the same behavior the canaries do feels like it works with that really well to me? that very..."girlboss" move, where she's proving that even a half-elf can do the same things that elves do. something to that effect? that makes a lot of sense. that's really good. her solution being to simply bring everyone into the fold of Being Like An Elf and exercising power Like An Elf and not to think about why it is so important to her that everyone is Like An Elf or why the balance of power should remain in a place that is only accessible to people that are Like Elves. hmmm. this thought is still baking in my head i think. i’m gonna leave it in the oven a bit longer and see if i come out with something edible lol

what you said about marcille devaluing other lifespans is so interesting, too. she doesn't wish for a shorter lifespan, she wants everyone else's to be longer. i guess if you're expecting to live that long then cutting it off by hundreds of years would be kind of scary, but extending a lifespan by that long is ALSO scary! she's oversimplifying things, like you said, wrapping it up in the idea that a longer lifespan would fix it, when it wouldn't. it would help her in her experience with her lifespan, but she's just not thinking about what it means for anyone else and what could possibly be bad about it. and then she doesn't listen when people are upset or just so unable to CONCEPTUALIZE what she means that they laugh it off! its like. aghhh i don't wanna say its like reviving falin, where she did whatever she needed to to reach the solution she wanted without thinking of the consequences, but it also is a LITTLE BIT like that? maybe its more like throwing a pot of boiling water without checking that there isn't an undine around. she does what's convenient for her, she has all the time in the world* and rushes anyway, and she misses a lot in the process. or, really, she ignores a lot in the process. if she just works hard enough she can make it work for her, right?

(*she's going after falin with some urgency of course. i can't think of a better way to put this thought rn ^_^;;)

[salvatoreschool]

Every The Vampire Diaries, The Originals, and Legacies Ship Ranked

53. Daroline (Damon Salvatore and Caroline Forbes)

Our first ship is our worst ship because we can't find literally anything nice to say about Daroline. Consent issues, mind-control, and death threats are not exactly the stuff of great romance, and Damon should thank his lucky stars Caroline forgave him for this abominable period when they were together.

52. Calaric (Caroline Forbes and Alaric Saltzman)

Ew. Gross. No. Kill it with fire. We've got no idea what The Vampire Diaries was trying to do with this ship, but we hated every second of it, and we're not ashamed to say it. We don't care that years had passed since Caroline was his student or that there were weirder ages gaps on the show, trying to ship a student-teacher relationship feels wrong no matter which way you slice it.

51. Klenevieve (Klaus Mikaelson and Genevieve)

Klenevieve was a blink and you'll miss it kind of ship on The Originals, but it still technically counts. Ultimately though, Klaus and Genevieve's connection was mostly physical, and there were far too many double-crosses and manipulations on both sides of this relationship to give it much credit.

50. Parkwood (Liv Park and Tyler Lockwood)

Liv and Tyler's love story kind of flew under the radar on The Vampire Diaries, but that's probably just because there were like 18 insane storylines happening at once in Season 6. This ship was actually pretty cute, and the only thing keeping it from a better ranking is the fact that Tyler, you know, killed her with his bare hands to activate his werewolf curse.

49. Malaric (Meredith Fell and Alaric Saltzman)

Talk about ships that flew under the radar. Alaric and Meredith Fell shared a brief tryst in Seasons 3 and 4 of The Vampire Diaries, but this relationship always felt like it was built to move the plot forward instead of the other way around. Kind of too snooze-worthy to deserve a good ranking.

48. Menny (Matt Donovan and Penny Ares)

We're not going to pretend like we cared even a little about Matt and Penny's romance on The Vampire Diaries. However, we're also not going to pretend like the scene where Matt hallucinates her ghost and begs her to take him with her after his car crash was anything other than devastating emotional torture that came out of nowhere and has stayed with us to this day.

47. Jolaric (Jo Parker and Alaric Saltzman)

Jo and Alaric really got the rough end of the stick as far as TVD ships go. They'd only just started to find their groove when Jo found out she was pregnant with twins, forcing them into a shotgun wedding that ended in tragedy. If these two had been given the time to start their family together the way they should have, we have no doubt they could have become one of the show's best duos ever. We'll have to settle for them creating one of the best duos ever -- Josie and Lizzie Saltzman!

46. Rizzie (Rafael Waithe and Lizzie Saltzman)

It's hard not to ship all of the Legacies kids with each other considering the great chemistry that cast has, but Rizzie is one we just never loved. Lizzie seems too intense for Rafael, and Raf doesn't exactly seem like the kind of guy that would give her the level of attention and devotion she requires. This ship was kind of a flop in Sesason 1, and we'd prefer it stay that way.

45. Debekah (Damon Salvatore and Rebekah Mikaelson)

Damon and Rebekah shared one night of tearing ballgowns and tuxes off each other, and then it was never really spoken of again. It's hard to properly rank a ship that basically came down to "that one time we had hate sex," but hookups like this were what The Vampire Diaries was built on.

44. Haylijah (Hayley Marshall and Elijah Mikaelson)

We really wanted to rank Haylijah higher on this list, but all the passion and angst in the world can't distract us from the cold hard truth: Hayley and Elijah had issues. Major issues. Not the least of which being that he killed her in the final season of the show. Whether you consider their love story to be one of the best or worst this shared universe ever created, at least you can comfort yourself with the knowledge that they gave it all they had.

43. Klaurora (Klaus Mikaelson and Aurora de Martel)

For as long as we've known Klaus, he was always teetering on the brink of insanity, which is kind of what we loved most about him. Aurora, on the other hand, has been batshit crazy her whole life and it's so not a good look on her. This weird, obsessive, "let's see who can out-crazy the other" romance was not to our taste at all.

42. KymG (Kym and MG)

We can't claim to be huge fans of the romance between Kim and MG on Legacies, though their names fit together so perfectly for a ship name that we almost demand they be endgame based only on that. Unfortunately, the show never really gave them the screen time they needed to get us invested in their love story before Kym decided she'd had enough superantural shenanigans and left Mystic Falls.

41. Elijah Mikaelson and Antoinette Sienna

On every TV show, there are ships that just make us shrug, and Elijah and Antoniette are definitely one of those. They don't even have a ship name, that's forgettable this tryst was. Even with memory loss, hidden pasts, and romantic pinao duets, this couple was kind of just meh.

40. Sizzie (Sebastian and Lizzie Saltzman)

Sebastian and Lizzie may have had potential, but in the end it turned out to be wasted. Their chemistry was off the charts, but like many teenagers swept up in romance, they never really took the time to connect or learn about each other. Maybe that's why they ended on such a sour note. Still, at least Sebastian went out a hero?

39. Jicki (Jeremy Gilbert and Vicki Donovan)

You know, we were really rooting for Jeremy and Vicki when The Vampire Diaries first started. They had that whole, rebels who are too cool for school, but not too cool for love thing going on. Ultimately though, we don't think Vicki would have ever calmed down enough for Jeremy, who was really only pretending to be a wild child to deal with his parents' deaths. This ship just wasn't to be.

38. Maroline (Matt Donovan and Caroline Forbes)

You know those Season 1 ships that you know are never going to make it, but every time you look back on them they make you nostalgic? That's what Maroline is for us. A cute relationship between two characters we love dearly that just never quite fit perfectly together. That being said, if there had been no vampires or life-or-death scenarios in Mystic Falls, Maroline absolutely would have been endgame material.

37. Stalerie (Stefan Salvatore and Valerie Tulle)

Stefan and Valerie had one of the weirdest love stories we've ever seen, but there was still a small part of us that was rooting for them. In a world not besieged by curses and vampire hunters and prison worlds, these two could have really been something! Sadly, Stefan has like five more appealing ships, which is probably why they never really made it that far.

36. Hafael (Hope Mikaelson and Rafael Waithe)

Legacies made a solid attempt to recreate another brotherly love triangle, but we weren't really feeling it with Rafael, Hope, and Landon. Raf and Hope have a great friendship going, but it's probably best left there considering how much more fans seem to prefer her relationship with Landon.

35. Marcille (Marcel Gerard and Camille O'Connell)

Remember when Marcel and Camille were a thing for a hot minute? Neither do we! Sorry to Marcille fans, but though these two had decent chemistry, they just never got a lot of attention as a couple, and so their love story kind of faded into obscurity.

34. Jasie (Jade and Josie Saltzman)

The Vampire Diaries universe sure does love its enemies to lovers ships, doesn't it? Josie and Jade started off on opposing sides in Kai's prison world, but after Jade turned her humanity back on, things started to change between them. At least the sex dreams they started having about each other did. Jade and Josie might be perfect for one another, seeing as they both understand having a dark side that's hard to deny.

33. Carenzo (Caroline Forbes and Enzo St. John)

While Caroline and Enzo never made it past the friendzone, we wouldn't have hated it if they'd had a thing. There was a lack of "epic love story" vibes between them, and when Enzo was at his worst, Caroline brought out the light-hearted, carefree side of him. Plus, all things considered, he really was her type - morally scrupulous Brit, who would burn the world down for the people he loves -- why does that sound familiar?

32. Mizzie (M.G. and Lizzie Saltzman)

Every day we go back and forth on whether MG and Lizzie are soulmates or whether they're the perfect best friend duo of all time. Could they possibly be both? Sure, Lizzie takes MG for granted sometimes, and MG can be a little thoughtless sometimes, but that doesn't mean these two aren't connected in a deep, meaningful way that most people can only dream of.

31. Noralise (Nora and Mary-Louise)

Though we only got them for one season, Nora and Mary-Louise had us from the moment they said hello. We do love a bad girl, and two bad girls together? We're toast! Our favorite thing about this ship is that while it was clear Nora and Mary-Louise didn't care about much in this world, they cared about each other, and that was more than enough for them.

30. Klayley (Klaus Mikaelson and Hayley Marshall)

When The Originals first premiered, we were sure Klaus and Hayley would eventually fall in love and live happily ever after with their precious loophole baby, but ultimately these two just weren't meant to be anything more than one really hot night. That being said, watching them as co-parents just proves that not all ships need to be romantic to work.

29. Rope (Roman Sienna and Hope Mikaelson)

Roman and Hope's sweet, timid flirtation on The Originals was like a breath of fresh air after some of the intense, life-changing, epic love stories we'd been getting for five straight years. Rope -- whoever came up with that ship name was having too much fun that day -- would have ranked higher if the whole relationship wasn't just Roman's ploy to get close to Hope's family.

28. Stebekah (Stefan Salvatore and Rebekah Mikaelson)

The Vampire Diaries had the best flashbacks on TV, hands down, partially because when your characters have lived for centuries, you can really mix things up. One of said mix-ups was the revelation that Stefan and Rebekah had been an item back in the 1920s, and while their romance is probably best left in the age of prohibition, it was always one of our favorites.

27. Hizzie (Hope Mikaelson and Lizzie Saltzman)

Hope and Lizzie would definitely have that whole "enemies to lovers" thing going for them if they ever decided to take the plunge together. The bond we've seen these two develop over the course of Legacies has been so wonderful to watch, and while at the moment we prefer them as badass besties, we wouldn't hate to see them head towards romantic territory someday.

26. Janna (Jeremy Gilbert and Anna Zhu)

When The Vampire Diaries first paired Jeremy and Anna together, we thought our little vampire-loving hearts would give out. They were both so damaged and dark and alone in the world that they somehow fit perfectly together. Not even multiple deaths could keep them apart! Losing this one was hard, but at least ghost Anna came back to hang out occasionally.

25. Datherine (Damon Salvatore and Katherine Pierce)

Call us crazy, but even through all the craziness and manipulation, there seemed to be a spark of something between Damon and Katherine that was just undeniable. Maybe it was the fact that they both put up a dark and diabolical front to mask their real feelings about the way their lives turned out. This wasn't a ship for the ages, but it certainly was a pairing we'll remember forever.

24. Kennett (Kol Mikaelson and Bonnie Bennett)

You know a fandom is strong when it can build a ship of dreams out of like 2 episodes and 10 lines of dialogue, but that's about all Bonnie Bennett and Kol Mikaelson ever shared. And yet somehow, Kennett is always going to feel like the one that got away in terms of ships that totally should've happened but never did.

23. Klamille (Klaus Mikaelson and Camille O'Connell)

Despite their messy ending, Klaus and Camille's relationship showed us sides of each character that we otherwise would never have seen. Though it was missing some of the passion usually found in The Vampire Diaries and The Originals ships, it was still absolutely heartbreaking to watch Klaus lose a woman who meant so much to him when Cami died.

22. Jandon (Josie Saltzman and Landon Kirby)

This short-lived romance between Josie and Landon may not have been super popular with fans, but it was perfectly in character for both these self-sacrificing loners to find their way to one another. It may not have been a romance for the ages, but it was an age-appropriate and utterly endearing one, and that's good enough for us!

21. Kolvina (Kol Mikaelson and Davina Claire)

As one of the few ships that managed to make it out of The Originals series finale alive, we have to give Kol and Davina props. Their love story survived multiple deaths, body-swaps, and that pesky problem of Kol accidentally murdering Davina that one time. We want nothing more than peace and happiness for eternity for these two crazy kids.

20. Jalaric (Jenna Sommers and Alaric Saltzman)

While some believe Alaric's love life is cursed, those of us who watched the early years of The Vampire Diaries know better. Alaric will simply never find someone as perfect for him as Jenna Sommers, which means he's destined to fall in and out of subpar ships forever. Poor guy, it's rough when your soulmate dies so early on in the first of three sequential shows.

19. Klefan (Klaus Mikaelson and Stefan Salvatore)

This one's another ship was never technically canon, but as far as we're concerned that was a GRAVE mistake. Klaus and Stefan had chemistry coming out of their ears, and you're seriously trying to tell us that nothing happened between these two during their days of debauchery in the 1920s? Yeah right, you're not fooling us!

18. Jayley (Jackson Kenner and Hayley Marshall)

Jackson and Hayley may not have had the passion and the fire that some of the best TVD ships boasted, but they had something that very few other pairings had: A rock-solid friendship built on trust and understanding that grew organically into true love. Considering how crazy their world was, they both needed a relationship like this to keep them sane, which is maybe why we ended up loving it so much?

17. Kalijah (Katherine Pierce and Elijah Mikaelson)

Katherine and Elijah only shared maybe a handful of scenes together over the entire course of The Vampire Diaries, but they're somehow one of three ships we would have watched an entire spin-off about. Their love stood the test of time and somehow overcame hybrid-sized grudges, and that's about as romantic as it gets.

16. Rebel (Rebekah Mikaelson and Marcel Gerard)

Though we love Marcel and Rebekah (especially when we think about the day they both take the cure and grow old together), this couple had one major problem... One of them wasn't on the show all that often, which meant their romance faded to the background every time Rebekah left town -- which was a lot. We'll put this in the category of ships that were done dirty by logistical, behind-the-scenes stuff.

15. Bamon (Bonnie Bennett and Damon Salvatore)

The Bamon saga was one of the most topsy-turvey things to follow on The Vampire Diaries, but we loved every minute of it. From shipping them a little bit in Season 1 to hating everything about it in Season 3, to watching them grow into best buds in Season 6, Bonnie and Damon went on a journey unparalleled by any other ship in the TVDu. Do we kind of wish they'd given romance a try? Sure. Are we going to let that invalidate how awesome their story was? No way.

14. Gialijah (Gia and Elijah Mikaelson

We're probably going to get some hate for this, but if we had to pick between all of Elijah's ships, Gialijah would probably win out. Sure, they weren't star-crossed lovers or centuries-old flames, but if you're looking for a healthy dynamic (of which Elijah was sorely lacking) with great chemistry and some awesome scenes, Gialijah is the ship for you.

13. Handon (Hope Mikaelson and Landon Kirby)

Hope and Landon are kind of the Stelena of Legacies. Not a pairing that we think will be endgame (no matter how heartbroken that will leave us), but integral to the DNA of the series nonetheless. We're content to enjoy this sweet couple strive for their happy ending, and we'll even root for them most of the time as they grow up together and figure out this crazy supernatural world.

12. Jaiden (Josh Rosza and Aiden)

Oh, Josh and Aiden... the ship that was too pure for this world. Literally. Though both these characters bit the dust before all was said and done on The Originals, their love story was super sweet, and, hey, at least we got to see them reunite in the afterlife!

11. Beremy (Bonnie and Jeremy)

If any of you ever had a crush on your older brother or sister's friends, you'll understand our undying love for Beremy. There was something so cathartic about watching Bonnie realize that Jeremy had grown up to be a sweet, sexy, utterly dateable guy instead of Elena's annoying little brother. Even though the didn't end up together, they deserve a high ranking in this list of epic ships.

10. Posie (Penelope Park and Josie Saltzman)

Considering how few episodes of Legacies Penelope was in before she bounced, it's remarkable that so many people fell so deep in love with the Posie ship. We guess there's just something intoxicating about a bad girl who will do bad things for the girl she loves. If you come for Josie, Penelope will come for you!

9. Steferine (Stefan Salvatore and Katherine Pierce)

Is it weird that we always kind of thought Stefan and Katherine would end up together when all was said and done? Don't get us wrong, that relationship was toxic at best, but when they were on screen together, you just couldn't pull your eyes away from them. It was like watching a really sexy, complicated train wreck in action.

8. Forwood (Caroline Forbes and Tyler Lockwood)

Considering how often Caroline and Tyler were separated (by distance, evil hybrids, or opposing loyalties), it's pretty impressive that they were still one of the most memorable ships from The Vampire Diaries. It some mixed the sweetness of Maroline with the passion of Klaroline, creating a happy middle ground for fans to enjoy.

7. Freelin (Freya Mikaelson and Keelin Malraux)

Did we really understand the term OTP before Freelin existed? We doubt it. Freya and Keelin had their ups and downs on The Originals, to be sure, but through it all, there was never a doubt in our minds that these two strong, smart, sexy women were absolutely made for one another. Knowing they're living out their happily ever after in New Orleans with a cute little baby named Nik is the only thing that gets us through the day sometimes.

6. Steroline (Stefan Salvatore and Caroline Forbes)

Considering how many ships exist in this universe, it's shocking that Steroline is one of only a handful to make it down the aisle. Poor Stefan seemed doomed to be forever locked in a love triangle with his brother until Caroline Forbes entered his life. Not only did he no longer have to deal with love triangle BS, he got to marry his best friend, who he knew would support him through thick and thin. If only it hadn't taken them so long to figure out how awesome they could be together.

5. Benzo (Bonnie Bennett and Enzo St. John)

Sometimes it's hard to ship characters that are thrown together at the end of a series as opposed to the beginning, but that was not the case with Bonnie and Enzo. One minute they were two characters who'd never really interacted much, and the next they were epic loves who built a strong relationship built on trust, compassion, and a lot of laughter. Honestly, they fit so well together even we were surprised by it!

4. Stelena (Stefan Salvatore and Elena Gilbert)

Of all the ships to ever grace our screens over the years, there was something truly special about Stefan and Elena. Maybe it's because we associate their love story with some of the best years The Vampire Diaries ever had, or maybe their connection really was just too epic for words. Whatever the case, Stelena was one for the history books, and we dare you to say different.

3. Hosie (Hope Mikaelson and Josie Saltman)

It might seem weird to put a ship that's not, technically speaking, canon (yet!) so high on our list, but we absolutely won't apologize for it. Putting aside the obvious fact that these girls are definitely, majorly, into each other, Hope and Josie have proven over and over again that they not only understand each other on a deep, intimate level, they also care enough about one another to go to the ends of the earth to keep each other safe and happy. That kind of devotion when paired with a healthy, supportive dynamic is a killer combination.

2. Klaroline (Klaus Mikaelson and Caroline Forbes)

Klaus and Caroline never really got the timing right, but maybe that's what makes this ship one of the best in the history of The Vampire Diaries universe. They were enemies, they were lovers, and they were kind of even friends for a minute there, and the fact that they never really got a chance to be together only makes this ship more EPIC. Plus, it's kind of impossible not to swoon when a guy declares he'll be your last love.

1. Delena (Damon Salvatore and Elena Gilbert)

Was there ever any doubt that this list would end here? Whether you loved Delena or not, there's no denying this couple was iconic, and a large part of The Vampire Diaries' success was built on their love story. Sure, we would have preferred for them to not have different versions of the same fight for four seasons in a row, but that doesn't mean we don't still get major chills whenever we rewatch their first kiss or their series finale happily ever after.

[tabloidtoc]

Us, July 15

Cover: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s first family trip to Africa with baby Archie

Page 2: Red Carpet -- Michael Kors -- Zoe Saldana, Adriana Lima, Thandie Newton, Emily Blunt, Viola Davis 

Page 3: Regina King, Mandy Moore, Nicole Kidman, please don’t wear feathers because the birds needs them more than you do 

Page 4: Who Wore It Best? Maisie Williams vs. Hailey Bieber, Nina Agdal vs. Nicky Hilton Rothschild, Ginnifer Goodwin vs. Bryce Dallas Howard 

Page 6: Loose Talk -- Anthony Anderson, Aubrey Plaza, John Mayer, Tom Hanks, Matthew Koma 

Page 8: Contents 

Page 10: Hot Pics -- George and Amal Clooney 

Page 11: Ed Sheeran and his dad John and Matt Bellamy at a cricket match, Lizzo, Kim Kardashian and birthday girl La La Anthony 

Page 12: Tim Gunn and Heidi Klum, Colin Hanks and Thomas Sadoski and Zoe Lister-Jones film Life in Pieces in the Bahamas 

Page 13: Kate Middleton, Cardi B, Andy Cohen 

Page 14: Issa Rae, Venus Williams, Cristiano Ronaldo 

Page 15: Lady Gaga, Irina Shayk, Tom Holland and Jacob Batalon and Zendaya at the Empire State Building 

Page 16: Prince William, Antoni Porowski, Drew Barrymore 

Page 17: Padma Lakshmi, Chrissy Teigen and John Legend, Haylie Duff, Busy Philipps and Leslie Mann 

Page 18: Pete Davidson filming Judd Apatow’s new movie, Lin-Manuel Miranda shooting In the Heights, Chloe Grace Moretz on the set of Shadow in the Cloud 

Page 19: Bill Murray and Rashida Jones filming On the Rocks, Tituss Burgess shoots Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Kerry Washington and Reese Witherspoon tease their new miniseries Little Fires Everywhere 

Page 20: Animal Attraction -- Ashley Graham, Rebel Wilson with rescued lions, Ireland Baldwin, Lupita Nyong’o 

Page 21: Chris Hemsworth, Jamie Chung, Bindi Irwin and Chandler Powell, Gisele Bundchen, Jenni “JWoww” Farley 

Page 22: Stars They’re Just Like Us -- Liev Schreiber

Page 23: Daisy Ridley, Audrina Patridge, Nikki Bella 

Page 24: Hollywood Moms -- Miranda Kerr 

Page 25: For Halle Berry raising her kids to become open-minded adults is all about gentle guidance, Diane Kruger considers her family complete, Anne Hathaway is over the moon about joining the Sesame Street movie 

Page 26: Love Lives -- Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys have fun and support each other’s passions 

Page 27: Jerry and Jessica Seinfeld are always cracking up, DWTS alums Peta Murgatroyd and Maksim Chmerkovskiy can’t stay off the ballroom floor, even after 18 years Gary Janetti and Brad Goreski can’t get enough of each other 

Page 28: Euro Bells -- David Foster and Katharine McPhee got married in London while Zoe Kravitz and Karl Glusman and Joe Jonas and Sophie Turner got married in France 

Page 29: In Memoriam -- Beth Chapman, Preg-o-meter -- Karlie Kloss not, Catherine Giudici is, Eva Marcille having a boy, Christina Anstead preparing for her third child, Alexa PenaVega ready to get the last trimester over with 

Page 30: What’s in My Bag -- Sara Sampaio 

Page 31: Feud of the Week -- Kylie Jenner vs. Alex Rodriguez, Britney Spears has been getting additional privileges, VIP Scene -- Billy Porter, Lala Kent, LeBron James, Bradley Cooper and Carey Mulligan, Ne-Yo, Gal Gadot, Ciara and Russell Wilson, Kendall Jenner, Ryan Gosling 

Page 32: Woman Crush -- Kristin Cavallari 

Page 34: Cover Story -- As Prince Harry works to fulfill his late mother Princess Diana’s legacy he and Duchess Meghan are taking baby Archie back to Africa where their love affair began 

Page 38: Lea Michele opens up about her partnership with T.J. Maxx and her upcoming Christmas album and a potential Glee reunion 

Page 40: 20 years of the Beckhams 

Page 42: John Cena chats about hosting Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? and the acting job he’s excited to start 

Page 44: Jillian Michaels -- My Healthy Day 

Page 48: Beauty -- slick hairstyles -- Tessa Thompson, Kerry Washington, Sophia Richie, Cara Delevingne, Madison Beer 

Page 50: Fake a flawless body -- Joan Smalls 

Page 53: Style -- sandal season -- Kate Middleton 

Page 54: Us Musts -- Ahead of Revenge Body season 3 Khloe Kardashian reveals how she stays so fit 

Page 56: Arielle Vandenberg on Love Island, Chrissy Teigen on Bring the Funny 

Page 57: Movies -- this season’s sizzling leads -- Keanu Reeves, Naomi Scott, Tom Holland, Kaitlyn Dever, Ali Wong, Buzzzz-o-Meter -- Jhene Aiko, Hilary Duff 

Page 58: Fashion Police -- Ally Brooke, Olivia Wilde, Perez Hilton 

Page 59: Whitney Port, Lily James, Lottie Moss 

Page 60: 25 Things You Don’t Know About Me -- Machine Gun Kelly 

[shazzeaslightnovels]

February 2022

(Source: Urasekai Picnic | Artist: shirakaba)

No. of Reviews: 2

I may not have read many light novels this month but I did get back into manga. This is because I’m currently working in a place where things can get quiet and there’s a lot of breaks so I take the chance to read some manga when no one’s around. It’s too distracting of an environment for light novels but it’s perfect for manga so I thought I’d give some quick thoughts on the manga that I read this month.

Heaven’s Design Team 2 - I read the first volume a couple of years ago and didn’t care for it but the second volume was up for free on BookWalker and I wanted to give it another go after I enjoyed the anime so much. Sadly, it really just confirmed for me that the series works better for me in anime form. It’s not like it’s a bad series but it just doesn’t grab me in manga form.

Boys Run the Riot 1 - I’ve been wanting to read this one for a while. It’s about a high school trans boy who joins up with another misfit boy to create a clothing brand. I really enjoyed the first volume and I especially liked the protagonist and the way that their development was handled. I look forward to reading more.

Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun 7 & Maoujou de Oyasumi 7 - Lumping these series together because all I can say about them is that they were hilarious as per usual. One advantage to wearing a mask is that no one can see the goofy grin on my face as I read these series.

Vanitas no Carte 3 - It’s been a while since I read volume 2 but this is another series that I wanted to give another go after watching the anime and it’s another series that I prefer in anime form. Not that Mochizuki’s art is anything less than breathtakingly gorgeous but I just found the story to be more easily digestible in the anime. Still going to continue the manga though because again the art is gorgeous and I know I’m going to want to know what happens next after the second season finishes.

Shinmai Shimai no Futari Gohan 6 - I don’t know, I used to get relaxed reading this series but it’s started to lose it’s charm on me and I think that’s largely down to how annoying Sachi is. I was hoping she would have matured a bit by now but she’s still just super annoying and drags the series down. I still enjoy the cooking element and the relationship between the sisters that is the heart of the series but I’m not sure I’ll bother reading volume 7.

Nettaigyo wa Yuki ni Kogareru 6 - really good dramatic beats in this volume and I especially liked the regression of Konatsu and the fish symbolism. Definitely excited to get to volume 7.

Otoyomegatari 1 - I’ve read this series in English before but I bought it in Japanese to reread and I’m glad I did. The art is so heartwrenchingly detailed, the setting is fascinating, the characters are charming, and I’d count this among one of the few good age gap romances.

Dungeon Meshi 1 - Another Japanese reread. The charm of this series is definitely the nerdy way that it examines the usual RPG monsters and asks ‘what would this taste like?’ and ‘how would you make a meal out of it?’ and comes up with realistic answers. It’s good fun and I appreciate Marcille’s faces.

BL Metamorphosis 1 - Another one that I’ve wanted to read for a while. This series is about a high school girl and an old woman who bond through a shared love of a BL series. It’s cute and sweet and I love both of the leads. It’s pure joy to read and I can’t wait to read volume 2.

Onee to Suki na Onee-san to 1 - a yuri series about a girl who gets driven out of her apartment by a stalker so her sister arranges for her to stay with her kouhai. This kouhai is in love with the sister and is very pure about her love. This was such a cute and fluffy read and I loved seeing the two leads grow closer. It was adorable and I’m excited to continue it.

Yakusoku to Kotoba o Kimi to - a short (around 50 pages) spin-off of Ikemen Sugi desu Shiki-senpai, which I read a few years ago and really enjoyed, focusing on Rei and Hana. A little bit pricy for the contents but I can’t complain. It was cute and that was what I needed. Worth the read if you like Yuama.

List of Reviews:

Watanare 4

Urasekai Picnic 7

My goal next month is to read Reinou Tantei (Keishi Ayasato’s latest work from last year), the new volume of Kami wa Game, and Hatamaou 16. Slowly working my way through the backlog.

[thefirephilly]

Interview with New Zealand artist Graeme James!

Q: From your bio we see that most of your performances have been in New Zealand. Is this your first time playing in Philadelphia? If so, what have you heard about the city or what are most excited about for this performance?

A: Yes, this is my first time playing in Philadelphia, although it is not my first time in the city! When I was a child I lived with my family in The Netherlands and we came to visit some friends over here- it was the first place I ever visited in the United States! I acquired a Philadelphia Eagles cap on that trip (despite having no idea who they were!) and ended up wearing it for years afterwards.

Q: You’re joined by Alex Preston on this tour. How did you guys meet and have you ever combined music styles/collaborated with each other on stage?

A: Alex and I share the same booking agent- Jason Marcil at Ed Keane Associates, so it was he who put us together. I’m really stoked that he did! We have been having a great time on the road together, with lots of laughs. We’ve been jamming on stage together every night- I’ll usually get up and accompany him for a few of his songs on my violin.

Q: Starting the violin at the age of 7, did ever have any idea that this is what you would be doing? If not, what did you think you were going to be when you grew up?

A: Actually at the time, I dreamed of being a concert violinist. It was only after a wrist injury that I picked up the guitar for the first time and started writing my own songs- a serendipitous turn of events.

Q: How would you say your performing and original music have evolved since you first started making this your full time career?

A: I’ve grown a lot in being my own front man. It wasn’t always natural at first, but years of street performing has taught me to really engage with who is there and to tell stories. It was actually performing on the streets that was such an enabler in developing my sound too- there you have an opportunity to try songs out on people without the pressure of being in a club. You can tell if a song is going to stick, because people stay to listen or just keep walking- they didn’t pay to be there, so their actions are very honest.

Q: What was your favorite part about living and growing your craft in New Zealand? What similarities and differences do you see with the American music industry?

A: The size of New Zealand is pretty special for a performing artists- whilst the quality of music is exceptionally high, there just isn't the same number of people trying to “make it” as there is in the US. This has been a huge enabler for me- this tour for instance is funded by the New Zealand Music Commission, who cover 50% of the expenses of a NZ artist who is taking their music to an overseas market. Kiwis really support the arts. The size of the industry here can make it challenging for an artist to make it big, but the incredibly rich history of music here and it’s various different styles is truly inspiring.

Q: “The Times Are Changing” just came out Aug. 17th. What was the inspiration behind that single and what was the response like for it?

A: The response has been fantastic! I’ve really been enjoying people singing along at shows. The song was inspired by faded aerial photograph from the 1960’s that I found while on holiday in New Zealand in a place called Castlepoint, which is a small beach town on the rugged coast of the North Island. The lyrics are an attempt to capture the bittersweet emotion you feel when you look back and reflect on the changes both in and around you. It’s knowing that nothing will ever be the same, while realizing that this fact is the very thing that makes the present both meaningful and exciting.

Q: You’ve released 3 albums and 4 singles/eps so far. What can fans expect in terms of new music in the near future?

A: I’m excited to be releasing my second original album in January 2019! Before that I have a single coming out in a month’s time named “Reverie”.

Q: What can fans expect from tonight’s show?

A: A collection of foot stomping folk songs featuring electric violin, guitar, bass, ukulele, harmonica, mandolin, vocals and percussion- all through a loop pedal, and some good stories from the road. Opening the night will be Alex Preston, who just released an album last Friday named ‘A Work in Progress’. Alex has the voice of an angel and is an incredible songwriter, so you’ll be in for a treat!

Check out Graeme James on his website and Facebook page. Also check out Alex Preston on his Facebook page and website for more info!

Stay up-to-date on all The Fire news and events here: https://www.firephilly.com

By Jackie Karlsson