#and laios goes But thats not-

[lokh]

WAIT SHUROS DAD SAID HE WANTED HIM TO BRING SOMETHING BACK INTERESTING.... AND WHO IS MORE INTERESTING THAN LAIOS....

[lemongogo]

heeyylol

[ace-lemonade]

marcille i love you but you have just recreated worm on a string

[thereallycoolmonsterithoughtup]

marcille overcomes her internalized homophobia with the power of friendship

[holmsister]

Kinda gets me when people age them down in AUs and stuff because to me those characters wouldn't be half as interesting if Chilchuck, Senshi and Mithrun were the tallman equivalent of in their twenties

[kyshwo]

idk why but I can see laios being the type of guy who would get wings tattood on his back.

[5-htagonist]

l@imari has a place in my heart fr

[autisticlittleguy]

People have been bringing up how Laios probably appreciates Marcille being direct about her emotions. I would like to add my take on what Marcille appreciates about Laios.

Marcille is fucking crazy. Her first solution to any problem is to cast Blow Its Head Off, her second solution if that didnt work is to rocket jump away (Undine) or rocket jump Laios into it (Red Dragon). Laios' reaction to being revived for the first time was being traumatized by and scared of living armor for a while. The first time Marcille gets drowned and comes back her reaction is "holy smokes!! this is just like what i studied in grad school!!! Do you have a spot in your party?" Then theres the infamous "hey Laios, would you mind if I blaspheme against nature by using a dark blood ritual to bring my girlfriend back to life by reconstructing her out of the carcass of the beast that killed her"

And you know what? Laios doesnt go "wtf thats taboo." He goes: "Okay! Lets sort the bones 👍"

Marcille is fucking insane and while she would never admit to it im sure she appreciates the touden sibling for their ability to look past her unhingedness because theyre also unhinged.

[dunmeshistash]

Does anyone else feel like they portrayal Kabru "cooler" in the anime than he is in the manga?

There's so many tiny differences that I feel like add up to a lack of the complex characterization he has in the manga. Small stuff like his facial expressions in certain scenes that to me reveal who he actually is behind his façade.

One of the ones that bothered me the most was this as he realizes Laios' true nature of a monster lover

In the anime he feels analytical/ thoughtful during this part but in the manga he's clearly more thrown off/disappointed with the realization.

And worst of all from the episode when he says bye to Laios

This is what we see of him as he says goodbye, his side profile from not too close and his EAR

And then he says "don't forget it next time" while posing and leaving as if it's an afterthought and not the main point he was making

This is how this interaction goes in the manga

His expression as he thinks about asking

His expression as he asks him to remember

He makes sure of it before even moving onto the exit. "Don't forget it next time, okay?" It's important for him and to me all these small expressions are important to realize that, it isnt some cool exiting phrase he just says, I thought thats what it felt like in the anime 🤔

And now on today's episode

Isn't this framed as Shuro seeing him as someone sinister? While in the manga this is framed as something lame edit: unhinged about him not something mysterious (Kabru looking at him moving away from Kabru vs Kabru moving away showing his back to shuro)

I might be thinking way too much into this but all these little details add up to me and make me feel sad that part of the complexity I love about Kabru is being lost. I was wondering if anyone else that read the manga felt similarly.

[hegoeshardasfuck]

Laois X Reader Headcanons

monsterfucker in the streets... still wants to fuck monsters in the sheets

a high stamina kind of guy who will be going for a few rounds (where the stamina originates, he shant say.)

very easy to get him into the "the good boy mindset" whether he realizes it or not

but he can be such a good boy for you, the best boy. he'll do whatever you ask him to do just for you

its not perfectly obedience based the entire time though

he knows too much about anatomy to realize when something is off, and then he fixes it on his own

"they aren't, they haven't orgasmed yet," he thinks in his dazed, praise riddled, state of mind

and then hes back on you all over again

his build is painfully average all around

no special features either, just, human. no pointy ears, or fangs, or any hyper senses

that doesn't stop him from getting the job and doing a damn good job of it

don't bother trying to get him off without expecting getting anything in return, in greater than or equivalent exchange, whether thats good or not is up to you

if you get him going intensely enough he'll end up with you short of breath and begging for with him between your thighs

bite him, scratch him, make non-humanoid noises- do something unexpected and intriguing!

its not like he doesnt enjoy sex with humanoids, but he also loves it when things get spiced up

both considerate but also able to vicious manhandle the sitaution if needed

the time of month depends on the aggression and what species he's deepdiving this time around

you're probably learned more about non human mating rituals from Laios' pleasure riddled mouth than books

although hes still rarely a mindless babbler

he goes dead silent instead, nothing but animistic, desperate, sounds come out

comes down from the rush slow and easy and holds you close all the while

very heavy on aftercare if he isn't in the good boy mindset

but in the making sure you're not dehydrated or hungry, you can fall asleep sticky for all he cares

he'll make sure you're wellfed, he'll fall asleep with the remnants of sex still clinging to both of you for all he cares

(and while im here. consider checking the dumeshi prompt meme on Ao3 https://archiveofourown.org/collections/dunmeshi_ao3_promptmeme/profile)

[chilpilled]

one of the things i love most about the relationship between chilchuck and laios is that though they have vastly different outlooks, they still respect and engage with the others opinion. their relationship is one formed on the basis of deep mutual trust and respect. chilchuck doesnt hesitate to tell laios whats on his mind, and laios values his opinion and knows that chilchuck will be honest and blunt with him!! its easy to play it off as chilchuck being mean or a hater, but hes shown to really do care and be willing to actually engage with laios‘ ideas, like when he actually started second guessing himself about the mermaids. most of chilchucks criticisms are valid and laios knows that! thats why he trusts him and follows his advice.

laios doesnt understand why eating fishmen would be wrong, and though chilchuck cant really articulate it, laios immediately accepts it when he says its just a matter of feelings, while on the other hand, chilchuck actually does end up second guessing those feelings that he had, too. he kept quiet for marcilles benefit but he also ate the eggs himself and reconsidered his own stance. hes genuinely willing to engage with laios‘ ideas even if they go against his instincts! (as is shown in basically every single chapter)

especially considering the impact the shuro situation had on laios and how much he struggles with people lying to him and only pretending to understand, i think its nice that he has someone he can rely on to be honest with him and just tell him what he thinks. thats what laios asks of chilchuck when he goes to confront the demon, too. he wants chilchuck to bring him back to his senses, because he trusts him, and he knows that chilchuck will be the one person who would know what to say. and they didnt get the opportunity to actually try this plan, but i think the scene where chilchuck convinces laios to go back up to the surface again is all you need to know about why the winged lion isolated him.

[m4g0hun]

in stars and time x dungeon meshi

(extra thoughts and ideas below!)

closeups!!

so this is more of a isat in dungeon meshi kinda au than the opposite, the idea is that the King is the dungeon lord/mad mage, his desire being to be able to freeze the dungeon and the country in time

The change belief still exists, and Mirabelle is still a housemaiden destined to save the counrty, so she goes to seek out companions who can help her on her journey

Everyone's reasoning to join is still the same as it was in the game

Also this isn't a redesign of them, more like a dungeon meshified version of their clothes + colors so they could fit in better (imo!!)

ok now onto some design notes!

Siffrin

originally he was just gonna be a half-foot, but i realized his wish to be able to stay with everyone would hit harder if he would outlive them, so i made them a half elf- halffoot

i removed his hat purely for aesthetic reasons lol, i think he would stand out too much in the dungeon meshi universe with it, but i suppose its true for ingame too so maybe ill give ut back to him if he behaves well

i also wanted to remove his hat so i could see the top if his beatifiul head

his poncho is a bit different, just a few small details so it would better in universe i think

he lost his eye in one of the previous dungeons they were going through

Mirabelle

she's still part of the change religion

i felt like her being an elf is pretty much perfect, no notes on that

i did have marcille in my mind while designing her outfit, and also theyre kinda similar overall i think?? idk but i love both of them

i gave her braids because its canon in the dungeon meshi universe that taking good care if your hair+unique hairstyles strengthen your magic and also i think its cute

Bonnie - the senshi of the group!!!

i wasn't sure what race i should make them at first because they're a kid so theres no point in chosing a shorter race to show their size i thought, but then i remember how cute gnomes are in the verse with their big ol ears so thats what they are haha

their design is probably my favorite out if anyone as well

i imagined they would join pretty much the same way senshi did

Odile

her race was also pretty much immediately decided

her clothes were the biggest struggle for me, not only figuring out how to make them look a bit more medieval-like but also the colors

i decided a while ago in my head that odiles color palette would be blue but it was still a struggle making her coat not look like a lab coat lol

maybe that was the intention but i really just wanted her to appear like a normal adventurer

Isabeau

as you can see on the page i have the least amount of ideas for him lol

i pretty much just had laios in my head while i was designing him

i do feel a bit bad for taking away his stripes and silly looking belt thingy but i felt its a bit too much for the dunmeshi verse

thats pretty much it i think!! not sure if i will draw more of this au, i just mainly wanted to get it out ot my head cus its been rotating in it since i played the game

[laikabu]

saw someone who hc kabru as aromantic bisexual. thats actually kinda good. i dont necessarily subscribe to it but i could see it. not fully aro but in the spectrum i guess

im now just going to ramble about how i think this would work in my head. also labru bc this is my page

he sees flirting more as a game n marriage as something convenient than something he aspires to achieve w the one he loves

flirting n dating is more of a tool to make friends. he isn’t interested in getting serious so that usually turns them off, so he gets labeled as a ‘player’

he doesn’t return rin’s feelings even though he finds her physically attractive, because he genuinely values her friendship and the way he views romance is incompatible with hers and would just break her heart

ok labru territory turn away now sorry im pulling shit out of my ass atp

laios would fit right in with his preferences, because their relationship would be boiled down to “best friends who have sex” like, the easiest way for them to explain their thing

even if they go on dates, they’d be more interested in talking about a current topic or something they need to do, than super sappy stuff. they still do it! but kabru would kinda get uncomfortable with saying sappy stuff, it’s different from flirting. once laios recognizes this, he tells him he doesnt have to do that

it works out because while laios is kinda sentimental, he isn’t really a romantic person. when they were still figuring stuff out, laios just goes “x is mad at me because they think not doing y makes me a bad partner” but really, kabru doesn’t care whether he does it or not

if laios is saying this about a different partner, kabru would chastise him, but since it’s him, he’s totally fine with none of that happening

when it comes to them becoming spouses, they would rather forgo a real wedding and just do the paperwork to make it happen. marcille takes offense to this n thinks its an “affront to romance” esp since kabru wants to plan HER wedding, but neither of them think it’s a big deal

laios has a very hard time distinguishing his platonic feelings to his romantic feelings. he’s just very happy kabru that wouldn’t leave him or get bored of him. getting to kiss him and have sex with him is just a nice bonus.

kissing and cuddling is more of an emotional recharge or comfort etc for kabru than a romantic activity. his friends don’t get it at all.

even in my stupid baby universe its just “kabru wants to have a baby with me for the kingdom? he’s such a nice guy. he told me he wants utaya to live on too… thats so thoughtful.” their relationship is ‘blunt’ and ‘convenient’. the marriage was just to legitimize the heir and otherwise it was just a regular wednesday.

they love each other, but kabru expresses it to the extent that he could, and that works out for laios.

tl;dr basically someone who views romance as a performance than something ingrained w him x someone who struggles w romance. its totally fine if you dont see kabru on the aromantic spectrum, i don’t necessarily see it that way either! i just want to think about how it would work in my fanworks. what do u think. i should add more but im just going off at the top of my head LOL

[dunmeshi-darlings]

I know the race bios say ages of maturity but is that actually when they arw adults or is that just when they can do things on there own?

that is a valid question, and one im happy to answer. MAJOR DUNGEON MESHI SPOILERS AHEAD! PLEASE DO NOT LOOK IF YOU DO NOT WANT SPOILERS Lets use half-foots for example

Here we see that the half foot age of maturity is 14 years old, Now like you said this could just be when they can start being responsible like adults. However i am going to point towards this scene in the daydream hour which takes place after the end of the manga

Here we see Chilchucks daughters wanting to preparefor the dinner party marcille invites them too once laios has become king. Here his daughter Flertom says "but won't it embarass you, dad? To have Three adult daughters who are unmarried?"

She specifically uses the word adult when referencing her and her sisters. The sisters ages are as follow from left to right

Puckpatti is the youngest at 14 Flertom is the middle child at 16 And finally meijack who is also 16, however she must be older than flertom as she is refered to as "big sis". Even at there youngest we see puckpatti, who is 14, is called an adult. Because thats what the age of maturity is in the bios, this is when they are considered adults for there race. If a half foot at 14 is an adult who can pursue romantic and sexual relationships (unless your chilchuck in which case its 13), than it stands to reason the same goes for all the races? We also see them planning to try and romance laios, showing that they are able and willing to pursue romantic and sexual relationship with other races (specifically laios who is 26 and possibly older at this time) . Because they are adults, at 14 half foots are fully grown adults. Just like how at 14 Orcs are fully grown adults for their race. its sad seeing people attack each other because they cant understand that because a character is 14 doesnt mean they are a child, because in the story that is fully grown adult for their kind. But people just arnt realizing it, its why i answer asks like these and make posts like these because people dont seem to understand that there ages arnt the same as us because they arnt humans in the real world. Ive also seen People argue that the tallmen are humans so their aging goes the same way as ours in the real world, and while i do understand that mindset it just isnt right. If we look in the average lifespan slot of the races we see (human, and either short-lived race or long-lived race)

Because human is a classification of the races that arnt demihuman, even the ogre's fall under the "human" umbrella. If the tallmen race was meant to represent humans like me and you, they would just be called humans. Its not like kui wouldnt call them humans if they are the same as you and me. Also if tallmen are just humans than the other non demihuman races wouldnt be in the "human" category with how large the differences are.

So yes, Age of maturity in dungeon meshi is when an individual of the race is considered a full grown adult and no, tallmen arnt just "human but fantasy", they are distinct and different than a regular human.

[alphaketoglutaricacid]

shuro notes

upon rereading some of dungeon meshi, I got a better grasp on his role in the story and why hes in the main supporting cast along w kabru (main protag of the suporting cast), namari, and mithrun (main antag of the supp cast) . Contrary to most of the characters disliking eating monsters, he seems to dislike eating, period. In his first appearance he refuses to eat maizurus cooking (with maybe some mermaid eggs sprinkled in..?). His refusal to eat ties into his extreme passivity. He seems to dislike how his father does what he pleases with no regard to how it affects others, and his fear of doing the same seems to play a huge role in how he lets other ppl walk all over him. He ignores his own desires, including his own hunger, because consuming means taking another life. To live means something else has to die, so to desire is to want to take from others. To try to live up to the image of an impassive leader he tries to not participate in this process at all! But bc hes a human being he has to eat, so instead of never taking from others, he starves.

With Falin, I think he realizes there is a way forward where he could be himself and face the ugly realities of what it means to want. To be unabashedly yourself while not hurting everyone in your life. His love comes from a deep place of admiration! I think part of the reason why he's so dead set on saving her is bc he wants to be her equal—she saved him from his nightmares without a second thought, and part of it is to repay her kindness and to be able to reciprocate it. I think he foils nicely w marcille bc he proposes to her (asks her to choose her future) while marcille doesnt want her to move on from the time they were both children. I think this plays a huge part in why marcille hates him, bc its a reminder of how the time will pass and also he aims to take falin away from her. Interestingly, she also became fairly distant and withdrawn after falin left and they both formed their relationship w her bc dirt and bugs r cool. They both are the party members in Laios squad that fly off the handle the most. Socioeconomically, they both seem to be in the least dire straits and kinda prissy abt things as a result. On re-read something else clicked into place.

After his fight w laios that starts w legit grievances and devolves into him hitting all of laios’ insecurities like a game of whack-a-mole, shuro says he’s returning to his home country and after that he would never see any of these ppl again. Even before falin got eaten, he knew he was going to have to leave the party but couldnt bring himself to tell them. The way the convo goes, it seems part of the reason why he proposed to her so suddenly is bc he wants to take a part of his time on the island back home with him—i.e. that hes not ready to say goodbye. That the prospect was taken from him so suddenly is why this is the first thing hes asked for or wanted for himself. Interesting parallels to how marcille is not ready to live the rest of her 1000 year life without her friends now, and how falins death is a catalyst that brings her fear to the surface—that for both of them, theyll live the rest of their lives never seeing the ppl they love from this island again. I think part of the reason he is so nasty to laios in particular is bc his entire worldview falls apart at laios' actions

Both desire wise and literally, Shuro is starving. And like a starving person getting his first meal in a long time, I think he gets a little greedy—when he gives Laios the bell, he says if the party somehow makes it past thistle, to ring it so they can all escape to the East--where he's headed. Likewise marcilles solution is to bring everyone with her to the 1000 year lifespan. Thats surprisingly childish of both of them! Also not a solution to the problem that suits anyone but themselves. Theres so many solutions to this. He could write. He could call. He could communicate view morse code using that bell instead of attempting to blink in morse code to communicate to laios how he doesnt want to be here. Falin voice: I’ll go visit you, okay? He could set foot on the island again. Honestly. This is so embarrassing for him.

But I think it gets at a core theme of the work. Marcille, Laios, and Shuro all say their greatest desire is to save Falin, but once u get down to it, theyre pretty basic-to not be left alone, to be w monsters who u feel a kinship with, to not have to leave. Namari says she left bc of money but later on goes u must never let go of your fear. Kabru says he wants to get to know laios to prevent utaya from happening again but its much simpler-he wants to be his friend. Our base desires are petty, but they are what keep us going day to day, just like how every living being has to hunger and eat to achieve the goals they set out for.

Lets talk abt his relationship w his retainers.

Hein- theyre childhood friends that have drifted apart in adulthood. By the familiar way she talks about him when hes not around, I think she wants to be close to him again. I think the distance between them is probably intentionally imposed by Shuro bc hes afraid theyll turn out like maizuru and his father. She thinks hes unreliable in a way i think u can only rlly get when u know someone for that long. I wonder if some of that I thought wed always end up together and I want him to like me even tho I dont like him back is wanting that closeness in friendship again

Maizuru- Good god whats happening here. she loves him but also treats him like a child even tho hes a 26 year old man. I think its got fun connections to how kabrus adoptive mom treats him like a child, how marcilles not ready to see falin n herself as adults, thistles relationship w degal. Now these are all relationships where differences in lifespan come into play, but w maizuru n shuro i think u see something real banal in why these elves cant let the ppl in their lives go. She coddles him bc she loves him and tells him at the end he doesn't have to eat the dragon if he doesn't want to, but he rebukes her and says he has to eat it to accept his own failures. So like he doesn't need to be coddled he needs ppl in his life to challenge him so he can grow. And at the end he realizes it tastes good--that even tho his journey had so much conflict and in the end he failed to save falin he made friends! He grew as a person! He starts reaching out to his retainers again! He got to harrass the elf cops and give them migraines! Ties a lot into laios speech to marcille that if falin didnt die they wouldn't have met all these ppl and gotten to eat all this food.

Its wild she put that hag curse on him. Poor kid cant even take a shit in peace. Actually the fact that he couldnt even have that time for himself n grew up constantly feeling watched explains a lot. I think the fact his father nonchalently burnt it and then roasted mochi over it without giving him any explaination made him think oh this is just what everyone goes through and im the weird one for being frightened. And it takes him 20 years to find out that no, its not normal to be haunted by a ghost that chases you with a knife. Pretty apt metaphor for how rules have defined his life without him fully understanding why they're in place. I'll give it a crack tho--it seems like the time period his homelands based on the sengoku period bc its a period of heavy civil war where ppl below upsurped the ppl above them. The strict hierarchy is probably an attempt to exercise social control in an extremely precarious situation.

Also side note: kinda impressive he can do magic when he was six. Probs a combination of maizuru being a talented teacher and his own skill. The fire cast… close but no cigar. Also interesting is how the magic he casts seems more elf-y in nature vs maizurus gnomic spirit magic. I wonder if hes his partys black mage- the occupation his party is pointedly missing vs the toudens missing their white mage and kabrus party being well rounded at all points. If so thats hilarious that when the toudens lost their previous mage and everyone was panicking he was like well… im just not gonna say anything #OnBrand. I do wonder if the bell he gives laios is his own magic tho.

Also shuros mother is mad at maizuru for being shuros dads mistress but gives her her children to raise…. Lets unpack this contradiction. Incidentally my tin foil hat theory is Shuros a bastard child. maizuru n his dad have been fucking since 4ever -> one of these children is not legitiment -> probs the one w a strange distance from the rest -> whys shuro succeeding his dad so up in the air when his competitions a 14 and an 8 year old. It's not important tho.

izutsumi + inutade: the fact that he doesnt speak up is his defining moment of moral cowardice. Its tied to his passivity! Hes scared of saying or doing the wrong thing bc hes afraid of hurting others, and he does basically attempt to torch his relationship w laios like it was contaminated w anthrax. Like the first time he tries to be active it went horribly, but his involvement moves the plot forward enormously—with him kabru would not have run into Laios, izutsumi would probably not have been able to run away, he raises the stakes of the journey by indicating they probs cant return to the surface so they have to keep going. And even tho its messy, ugly, and embarassing, he can still pick up the pieces afterwards. Nothing he does is as harmful as his passivity on inutade and izutsumis situations which unequivically, he knows is wrong.

Also w all the references to buying people, I looked it up bc i was like.... like slavery...? it seems to be a reference to retainership as a social caste where people buy your services and as a result you owe the estate your service. You get paid and you have rights, but it seems like you are bound to your station, but depending on the time period japan is supposed to reference, some ppl took on these positions for the sake of social advancement. Regardless, it seems the caste system is also less rigid than stated and ppl can move amongst the positions. There doesn't seem to be an exact cultural equivelent to this, but I think the closest concept is like, being a vassal. I was like if this is slavery this narrative portrays izutsumis time w the nakamotos too ambivenlently and hien going don't you feel any gratefulness for them taking you in makes no sense. But I still think theres something pretty rotten going on here.

Allegedly, as a ninja, you ascend the ranks based on your skill. And yet izutsumi and inutade are at the bottom, and hien, the person that was born into this role, is at the top! Izutsumi and Inutade aren't even considered human in the island of wa--this distinction is given to tall-men only. Theyre both from positions where I feel like the other characters are like they should be grateful they got from one horrible situation to this one thats a system based on merit and skill, but like out of everyone, theyre in the least position of power to say no, to even appreciate what other options there are for them in the world. Like its deeply coercive and wrong. Whats up w shuros father collecting ppl like theyre trophies man. So we can see a system allegedy based on merit is not one at all. Also I feel theres undertones of japanese imperialism with izutsumi being from the equivelent of central asia and having a soul of a child stuffed into her like some kinda of science experiment. Maizurus constantly trying to "civilize" her by teaching her ettiquite such as using your chopsticks. Like the rhetoric of the elves ape pretty directly to imperialistic sentiments, it would not surprise me if theres intentional commentary about japanese imperialism in how izutsumis treated bc japans kinda known in the east for their imperialism... theyve just done it so many times like my parents were like we left our families, our culture, everything we knew behind to go to america.... but we kept our death grudge against japan tho!! #lmfao. Honestly fair. anyways i think theres intentional parallels between how izutsumi is treated as both as a child and a feral animal by maizuru and how the elves treate other races as children that need toys taken away from them. But also how fundementaly, maizurus unsuited to take care of izutsumi bc the tools she has are not suited to izutsumis needs! She has no understanding of izutsumis life. Her hag curse turns from a highly questionable child rearing tactic on shuro to outright a slave collar on izutsumi. Teaching shuro ettiquate and being able to fight gives him the tools to survive in the postion he was born in but is erasing the culture izutsumi grew up in and has been taken away from before she even knew what it meant. Bc she was treated like a circus freak she never got to choose for herself! Tho providing the basic comforts to shuro is a privilage, it's not to izutsumi bc shes never been able to choose what she wants in life. It's why shes set up as shuros narrative foil like so:

This is his pensive look btw its a consistant tic that he lookes like hes glaring when hes deep in thought. Maizurus is both these people's strange mother figure who feeds them in liu of their actual mother. She smothers shuro in love and doesn't let him face actual challenges in life while she intensely disciplines izutsumi. Shuro reacts to this by aquiessing and never making demands of his own while izutsumi constantly refuses to conform. This is probably why he doens't get her.

In the early points of the story, shuro either says leave izutsumi for dead or leave her so she can pursue her freedom. The ambiguity is intentional, because i think in this part of the story we are not supposed to have a good read on him. But it's also because because of his passivity he doesn't do shit for her! So he loses out on having any type of relationship w her even tho they were tormented by the same curse. But crucially he may have learned from this w inutade, who he explicitly aknowledges how her situation is fucked up and her worship of his father is due to an insane power imbalance even tho he has no clue how to talk to her about this. And at the very end of the manga, he gets into an eating contest with her at her prodding as equals. So maybe there's hope he can do better. But I think its important that his relationship w izutsumi is non-existent as a consequence of his passivity despite the things they have in common bc theres no excuse for it. Thier relationship probs deserves its own post.

benichidori - very funny amongst all these complicated relationships these two just straight up dont know each other n r too shy to do so. Is what I was going to say but then I realized benichidori has taken shuros place as hiens closet friend and I wonder if theres any jealousy abt that. But also she shares a lot of traits w shuro and isnt that just interesting:

but even more interesting is her comic:

this is beat for beat shuros conflict w laios.

We only care about one thing: the crushing opinion of everyone in the universe.

I didnt get this on my first read even tho laios was like hes smart but he is incredibly sharp. Hes good at making useful deductions when things dont add up. It rlly reminds u hes trained in espionage.

He keeps kabru on his toes! interesting for such a smooth talker.

He gets kabru to open up about his motivations here and how it affected him and kabru actually shares some of his own feelings on the manner when usually hes holding ppl at arms length. I think him getting a chance to recite this helps prep him to talk to the caneries where notably, hes a lot more clinical about it.

Its nice all three of these ppl can challenge each other and support each other. I think it would be funny if kabru hits em up in the future like do u wanna start some shit for old times sake

able to tell chilchuck was not a child

is afraid of marcille which tbh fantastic call

Everyone else horrified marcille just killed a man but he's like yeah #tracks.

Other things that reminded me hes basically a fixer:

Spends his screentime evading the elf cops.

Refuses to talk to the canaries even under threat of being interegated for 50 years despite threatening laios party multiple times that hes gonna tell on them. instead spends his time going tbh i've never known anything in my life. I'm stupid like that :pensive emoji:

Incredible bit of manipulation on his part-he pretends to be thinking out loud to cast doubt on the canaries judgement to appeal to the ppl in the dungeon that are not motivated by the goodness of their hearts. Reminds me of namaris relatively selfish reasons for leaving the party--needing to get paid, which is a need she was ignoring for far too long and also laios was also not paying proper attn too when namaris in dire straits, and how she says she left the party after the dragon bc she remembered to never forget your fear. That selfishness must also drive you forward. Then he uses that doubt to twist the situation to say all their information could be false so maaaybe the situation is not as dire as they claim and they have other motives (social control). And he pretends hes talking to the caneries but this is directed to everyone else. He and namari pretend to pick a fight so the leader's distracted and everyone else uses this opening to scatter, which causes enough chaos that it breaks the control the elves have. Which is wild bc shuro knows the dungeon is dangerous bc kabru told him about utaya. He also knows laios party can be dangerous w the amount of collateral they cause w the dragon. He puts a lot of ppl in danger that do not need to be even though multiple times he worries about people getting hurt. At his core, tho, I think he wants to see laios and his party again and that selfish desire trumps everything else in this moment. Namari and shuro are so ride or die TBH.

He never shares any of this when not prompted. Except notably at the end he interrupts when ppl think laios might be dead. Which as an aside I think its interesting his biggest contribution to saving falin is not thru his fighting prowess, but through the simple fact he reached out to laios. His compassions his greatest strength. Laios frestrautes him and kabru, and they both punch him and complain that theyll never understand him, but I think they dont have to. Love requires compromise—it requires eating things you really dont want to, you clash and you hurt each other, but what matters most is that you keep reaching out to one another, that you keep on trying to understand each other. Living requires you to hurt and be hurt, to give and take.

Once again stuck in the middle of an insane and ancient beef

low key funny that he remembered the last time he was here and he was like u know what.... ill just sit this one out....

If my son told me he spent the last week pissing off the elf cops, Id be like yeah thats what the nakamotos are all about TBH

Theres pretty juicy stuff abt how laios is interested in shuro because hes exotic like a monster and his own relationship with being othered by ppl and the fact that shuro is constantly referred to as a foreighner even to ppl hes known and has risked his life for for two years + how to laios monsterhood is a type of freedom while being othered is a type of dehumanization for shuro + how hes trying to show some kind of solidarity to shuro but hes microagressing him thru his attemps + how laios just is being explicitly saying the racist beliefs everyone else implicitly holds just like how mithrun says other races are inferior races which horrifies the rest of the elves but its honestly what they believe but I'm tired and need to think abt it a bit more.

Why do shuro and his party from an island primarily composed of humans and other ppl sometimes not classified as humans but have similair lifespan bc of sociopolitical reasons imitate so many interracial dynamics despite being of the same race? It's to show how marcilles wrong about how the inequality between races exists bc of lifespan differences. Her own fears due to fantastical reasons of being a half-elf and unable to relate any of her insecurities to other ppl are not exclusive to her! Tall-men - Tall-men relationships run along the same lines and have the same conflicts. All the things she fears are things that make her human, that other people have also felt.

in conclusion:

think abt the messiest person u know. Its a man

jk its marcille #feminism

[delicious-in-imagines]

Sitting down for a meal with Chilchuck, Kabru, and Senshi? 👀

Your wish is my command! (Also, yay! My first request!)

Chilchuck Tims

Traveling with him inside of dungeons along with the rest of the Laios crew means, you guessed it: monster parts.

As much as he gnashes his teeth about some of the things that they eat, he's always gonna take a bite before you.

Like, will swat your spoon/fork out of your hand if you try to taste it before he does.

He doesn't know what's gonna happen! So, he'd rather eat it first before you.

On rare occasions, if he's really against what you guys are eating, and you take the first bite, he'll begrudgingly follow your lead, more often than not being pleasantly surprised.

He'll take your cutlery and plate/bowl from you to clean it, even if he isn't the one on dish duty for that meal.

If you guys are outside of the dungeon however, he likes to take you out on nice dinners.

(He's definitely not trying to make up for being a less than stellar husband, wdym?)

If you're eager to try something new, he'll also indulge with you, but he's not above ordering the classics just to be safe.

More often than not, dinner is chased with a nice bottle of wine between the two of you. Of course he's gonna share!

He can drink most of the bottle and feel fine afterwards, so usually he's relegated to corralling you home at the end of the night, trying to keep you out of trouble.

Kabru of Utaya

Travelling with Kabru's party usually means pretty standard rations inside of the dungeon.

Kabru is always looking to pick up on small details, and will usually take what you don't like and offer you whatever of his that you like instead!

If he's divying up portions for everyone, he keeps this in mind - and usually serves you first, which Mickbell usually heckles him about. (He means well.)

Will check up on you throughout the meal, seeing how you're feeling after the day in the dungeon, knowing that it can be pretty rough on people's bodies and their energy.

Depending on how you feel, he may offer up the last bit of his food to you - think of it as a little pick me up!

Outside of dungeons, he likes to take you to places you mention to him in passing, whether thats a quaint little hole in the wall, or a well known bakery that you always sigh longingly about when you smell their pastries.

He's the kind of guy that could absolutely order for you and nail it every time, even down to the small modifications. Same goes for when you wanna try something new; he always manages to pick something that you end up really liking.

He'll imbibe on occasion, especially after a successful dungeon crawl - but that's usually with the rest of the party in tow. Otherwise, he'll settle for something mild if he's just spending time with you.

Senshi of Izganda

Just like with the others, he's very particular about making sure that you have a balanced diet!

If there's anything you dislike, he tries different applications or styles to try and see if you'll like it some other way. If you don't, he doesn't fault you! There's even some stuff that he's not super fond of either.

He likes to have you help out with the golems on occasion, asking what the two of you should plant for the next time you get to harvest them!

On occasion, he likes to make something that maybe isn't completion nutritious, just to watch the way your face lights up - he just can't help but spoil you sometimes!

Instead of going out to eat, he likes to go for a walk through the marketplace with you to pick out something to cook together!

He'll usually insist on picking the cut of meat if you eat meat, though he'll check what kind of protein you're thinking about for dinner.

Otherwise, he leaves it up to you, enjoying the challenge of making something out of random ingredients that you may throw his way!

I honestly don't see him as a super huge drinker, so like Kabru, he may indulge with you in something pretty mild, maybe a cider if he's feeling like it will pair well with the meal.