#but surely marcille and falin would notice something's up! where are they!

[elany]

Yk what I want? I want a very early stages post canon labrumisu, but from Chilchuck's POV.

Imagine mister 'interparty romance is the devil' visiting court just to see these three circling each other like a pack of uniquely unhinged cats. And of course he sees it immediately, he's nothing if not perceptive and he's seen this happen so, so many times before. Kabru is hardly subtle in his fascination with Laios, who trusts him in turn more than nearly anybody else. He can see how close Mithrun and Kabru still are, even when there's little reason for the former captain to even stay in Melini. He can see where this is going. And he can see the disaster it's gonna end up in.

So he's just staring at them in horror, trying to figure out what in the world the dynamic here even is and glaring daggers at Kabru all the while for seemingly being the linchpin of this entire bullshit situation. King, his adviser and a fucking foreign noble?? Who thought THAT was a good idea! Is nobody else seeing this?? (no lol) Why is nobody objecting to this politically unsound love triangle that could literally ruin the kingdom they've only just established??

The anger! The distress! The despair when he first sees Laios getting all giddy when Mithrun so much as talks to him. Because hell, now he can't even blame the entire situation on one pretty boy insisting on having fingers in every possible pie, on political and personal level both!

And then they just. Quietly get together. All three of them. And Chil's just watching from the sidelines in complete bafflement because he's invented infinite worst case scenarios for how this will implode in all of their faces and destroy their friend group and topple the entire country and--

Instead they do. This. He'd be relieved if he wasn't so goddamn mad that he's spent months worrying about this shit just for them to resolve it in the least dramatic way possible.

Fuck this, he's taking a holiday.

[bitternanami]

something i think is really interesting about dungeon meshi is the cast's respective views on food as the story progresses. the way many adventurers get through the dungeon is to eat when they Must, but mostly rely on healing magic to keep going when they're tired or beaten down. death is something you can buy your way out of, here.

having these lower stakes when it comes to running yourself too hard has made a lot of people in this setting kind of devalue food and what it does for you.

im not all the way through the manga yet, but so far i really like how it goes about debunking that mindset.

long post under the cut, cw explicit discussion of disordered eating. textual depiction of unhealthy methods of dealing with it. please be cautious!

it seems like to most folks, food is either a decadent luxury, like when the governor offers mr tance a feast as a show of power and wealth, (although he is the only one who actually eats in that scene as he talks about his ambitions);

[id: the governor and mr. tance talk politics and hierarchies, while the governor eats from a bowl. mr. tance's meal is not visible behind a speech bubble.

"so you believe the sorceror is an elf?" he asks.

"i can't say with absolute certainty," mr. tance replies, "but the spells are not ones dwarves and humans typically use." /end id]

like the painted-royal feasts laios tries to partake in that never actually nourish him...

[id: laios, fresh out of the living painting feast, surprisedly holding his grumbling stomach /end id]

or, to the working class, it's pretty much exclusively fuel. i'm thinking about the scene where kabru's party, ostensibly intended to be our view into how adventuring Typically goes for most people, is shown preparing to go to the dungeon by like. walking up to someone and ordering 'a weeks' worth of rations.' purely functional.

[id: kabru enters a store, and the merchant says "welcome!"

kabru says "i need a week's worth of rations for six, and two days' worth of water."

"sure thing." the merchant then reaches behind him and grabs a large cube-shaped package, wrapped in nondescript cloth and tied in place. it thumps onto the counter in front of them both. /end id]

when kabru hands mickbell his food for the trip, he complains about how heavy it is on his back. it's a necessary liability.

we also see chilchuck, in an early chapter where there isn't much food to go around, grumbling about how he used to be better at not noticing when he was hungry. he's frustrated that he's more attuned to his bodily needs, now that he's starting to fill them with regularity.

[id: chilchuck, the only one awake, sits in his bedroll and glares at the timekeeping-candle burning down in front of him while he listens to his stomach growl. moving to find his canteen and fill himself with water instead, he thinks to himself, "my stomach has gotten weaker. i used to be able to go two days without food." /end id]

(like im not even gonna lie this is a big mood. the healing process is really really annoying)

even laios, early on, working out the logistics of going back for falin, considers his expenses and ultimately the thing he decides to save money on is their food supply. like, even the guy most invested in eating as an experience kind of just assumes he will Figure It Out. its what hes eating, not how hes eating it that matters to him at that point.

[id: marcille looks down at the ingredients they've gathered, the walking mushroom and the scorpion in an unappetizing heap on the ground, and asks laios "so how exactly do we eat them?"

he responds "let's just cook them, like normal." /end id]

but its here that senshi introduces the idea of food as art and as healing. its exciting and its fascinating for laios, getting to taste the creatures hes been reading about and fighting, but i dont think it would ever really help him feel full if not for this.

[id: three panels of laios tasting the scorpion hotpot, looking stunned, and then excitedly telling senshi "delicious!"

senshi matches his energy, asking "isn't it? isn't it?" /end id]

pictured: guy who had resigned himself to kind of just doing his best rediscovers the joy in something tasting really fucking good

what they did last time isnt going to work. falin is gone, and constantly anesthetizing their pain and healing through their weakness is no longer a realistic option for the party. in order to make it through they must all relearn how to eat well, one by one and as a group over and over again, because its either that or nothing.

one of my favorite depictions of this idea thus far is when marcille is seriously low on health and mana, and both of these problems are mitigated by taking care of herself, and trying to get iron and protein

[id: marcille, looking sickly, wakes to laios saying, "marcille, marcille, can you sit up? we've got something nice for you."

she watches senshi grill pieces of kelpie liver on a low fire, while laios ties a bib around her neck. /end id]

and drinking a bunch of dead water spirits. she gets the idea, she's supposed to get in nutrients and it'll help her feel better, but in aiming for the quick, inefficient fix, namely chugging that shit down like she heard it was good to Stay Hydrated and decided that would be the thing that fixes her,

[id: marcille throws back a cup of boiled undine-water, her face red. laios asks, "do you really need to drink it that fast?"

she gasps out "...the magical energy stored in nature spirits is actually quite hard to absorb. even if you drink a lot, the majority of it is excreted without being absorbed," and takes another drink. "that's why i need to drink as much as i can."

laios says weakly "you'll get water poisoning," but marcille only stops when senshi puts a hand on her shoulder and says,

"it's easier to absorb nutrients if ye digest them with food. that's a fundamental rule of nutrition."

marcille says, "senshi..." contemplative

and he holds out a bowl of tentuclus and a thumbs up. "let's get cooking!" /end id]

she doesn't immediately realize the answer is that she needs more than that. she's been working hard. she needs care, and she needs nourishment.

once she gets that, though, she makes her boiled water into a stew, and she works to make that stew as good as she can, and everyone can have some.

because in dungeon meshi, to feed yourself or allow yourself to be fed is treated as performing a kindness for yourself. food is what propels you, but there is also an art and a joy inherent to the process of making it; in the way you feel when you've had enough to eat.

[id: senshi watches as chilchuck and marcille eat and excitedly hash out plans.

"i've got a good feeling about this! maybe it'll work out!" chilchuck says

marcille responds, "well it's easier to feel optimistic on a full stomach!"

senshi smiles, proud. /end id]

^^^ i want to put this image on my wall

when you're working through disordered eating habits, you really do have to keep learning this shit. (in my experience, learning about cooking is one of the best ways to do so.)

i'll have to see if my thesis holds up as i continue, but i think one of the reasons the portrayal here resonates with me so hard is that ryoko kui puts most of her characters at eye level with me on this. they're all working at it, too. the text and i are both commiserating, and encouraging each other, 'have some more, you'll feel better.'

[sunflower-ozzy-online]

Depths of the Heart

This was supposed to be your last excursion with the party and now you're trapped with Laios. What will be revealed while Chilchuck takes his sweet time helping you out?

Miscommunication? sorta both Laios and the reader are oblivious to their feelings. I did give the reader some anxiety so there's that <3

ダンジョン飯 | Dungeon Meshi | Delicious in Dungeon

Relationship: Laios Touden/Reader

Characters: Namari, Chilchuck Tims, Falin Touden, Marcille Donato, Shuro | Nakamoto Toshiro, Laios Touden

Additional Tags: Fluff and Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Anxiety

As you walk on the stone floors your footsteps echo alongside your parties. The third floor was known for having hidden doorways and traps from floor to ceiling so Chilchuck was leading the group. His senses worked on overdrive making sure the path was safe. 

You had already been in the dungeon for two days so the conversation was light. Marcille and Falin were chatting quietly, probably about spells or their years in the academy. Laios was sticking by Shuros side, like a puppy following a stray cat, asking questions about monsters in the east. Namari and you brought up the rear, protecting the rest of the party from possible attacks. Namari wasn't much of a conversationalist, other than when it came to weapons, so you two walked in a fairly comfortable silence. 

Your mind drifted to your conversation with her before you entered the dungeon a few weeks ago. The party was out to dinner while going over the last excursion. You had wanted to get her input about your thoughts on possibly leaving the party.

“Why!? I mean, not that there aren’t any valid reasons to leave and find a different party, or employer but I thought you and Laios… Got along well. And you like the rest of the party too. You seem happy enough with the progress and payment?” her eyes looking over to where the rest of the party ate in the meal hall. 

“I did, I do. It’s just lately I find myself making mistakes and not feeling like I fit in. The vibes have changed you know? Plus I got an offer for room and board and a paying position in another party on the island. And I know you were thinking about leaving for a little while so I thought I’d get your thoughts.”

She took in your words for a beat and then responded, “I have been getting offers from other parties as well, and they are pretty enticing. Especially when Laios can be a less-than-great leader in the social aspects of leading. Though it would take something pretty impactful to make me just get up and leave.” 

You nod along as she talks. 

“But that’s me. What's important is that if you feel like staying in the party is not for you then that's what you feel. Before you leave you should talk to Laios, see if maybe this is something you could ya know, work out together.”

Your face grows hot at her suggestion, that was the opposite of what you wanted to do. Recently just being around Laios made you self-conscious and kinda clumsy, which is not what you wanted when in a life or death situation “Maybe. I’ll give it some thought. Thanks, Namari.” 

When you had gone to Namari you had expected her to agree with you and support your decision to leave. It would make sense given that she was always voicing her displeasure with the financial situation. It seemed strange that she would encourage you to try and talk through your issues. Walking on the third floor you think about the resignation letter you had in your pack for after the end of this crawl. You hadn't told anyone yet, not wanting to ruin your last adventure together. Though most of the party members had noticed your emotional distance, besides Laios. He would still tell you monster facts about the monsters you had just taken down, even repeating ones he had told you before. Earlier on you would grin and comment on them, or even offer some of your own. Now however it makes you feel uneasy when his smiling face and positive energy are directed towards you. You simply acknowledged his words and continued. 

You can't blame him for not noticing. You were trying to not let him know how strange you felt, and you were not about to tell him and make him concerned. And what if he got mad at you when you told him, you couldn't handle that? It would be easier to just take it on yourself and remove yourself from the equation. You had been in your mind so much you hadn't noticed that there was an odd stone in your path. Though Laios had. 

“(Y/N!)” he shouted while rushing back towards you. You looked at him right as your foot stepped down. His body collided with you as the section of floor you were standing on gave out beneath you. 

~~~

“Damn it!” you exclaimed after you had landed properly on your bottom with Laios’ body over top of yours. “I can’t believe I was dumb enough to step on that pressure plate! I should have been paying attention.” 

“We all make mistakes,” Laios said while standing up and dusting himself off. “Plus Chilchuck should be able to find the release mechanism up above. Then Marcille or Falin can help us out.” He starts looking around, the temporary holding place having a few torches for light. “At least it wasn’t a spike pit.” 

“We shouldn't try to escape without Chilchuck. We may get ourselves into even more trouble if we press the wrong thing. Plus neither of us specialize in things like this.” you tell him, worried as he walks along the perimeter of the room.

He nods along, “You’re right, looks like we’ll just have to wait it out.”  

Your heart beats loudly in your chest. Not only were you trapped due to your airheadedness you also had brought Laios down with you.  Mistakes like this were exactly why you needed to leave. You were becoming a danger to yourself and others. Whenever Laios was around or on your mind you just could not focus. Why had you decided on one last trip? You had already agreed to the new job?  You knew you couldn't be trusted but you just had to follow along. But when Laios told you about the plans for this trek you just agreed, without a second thought. And now, you could die in this stupid room and no corpse retriever would be able to find you. No, you try to tell yourself, you're only on the third floor and you trust your party. As long as you stayed where you were and did not move there would be no way you could mess it up anymore.

“Well while we're here we may as well make lunch.” 

“Yeah I guess.” you're an idiot

~~~

Laios went through his rations finding some dried meat and barley rice. He didn’t have enough water to soak the barley rice in. 

“I think I have some backup in my pack, you can check. Oh, also I brought some seasonings along if you would grab those too” You were busy using your limited magical knowledge to start a fire. 

“Thanks.”  No matter what was cooked he would always stomach it with enthusiasm if it came from you but you did pride yourself on being able to make the rations a bit better with seasonings and some oil. Some people, Chilchuck, thought it was an unnecessary weight but you liked it. Plus you could tell he liked it better when you were on cooking duty. 

Rummaging sounds came from Laios as he looked through your pack for the ingredients. Your fire was done and you placed the pan over the fire to start heating up. 

“Here.” he handed you the water and your spice pouch. 

“Thank you Laios,” you added the water to the pan and let it come to heat as you prepared the barley rice. 

After a while the food was ready. You and Laios ate together. It may have been your anxiety but he seemed suspiciously quiet. Laios was rarely this quiet for this long, always filling the air with his thoughts on monsters or the dungeon, freely asking questions about his party members' lives. To be fair you were quieter lately, though he had not seemed to notice, he would have brought it up. Or would he? He wasn't very keen on social cues so you hadn't seen him confront anyone about it before. 

“When are you leaving?” 

“Huh?” 

“I saw your notice in your bag, signed and everything.” 

“Oh,” You forgot you had it in your bag when you told him to look for the ingredients. “I was planning on leaving after this crawl.” 

“I… I thought you liked it, you know, with us.” 

“I do.” 

“Then why are you leaving, is it finances? I know we're a little down right now but if there was a problem why didn’t you come to me?” 

“It’s not the money, I mean it didn’t help but that’s not it.” 

“Did someone say something? Did they make you feel unwelcome or uncomfortable?” he looked worried now “Is it me?” 

You had paused long enough for Laios to pick up on it. 

“It is, isn't it? What was it?  I…  thought we got along well. That we were friends!”

“We were, or are.” You shook your head “It’s not you, you haven’t changed or done anything wrong. I just, I’ve been off and I can’t figure it out.” your heart was beating even faster, you were shaking. This was exactly the conversation you wanted to avoid. 

His head tilted “Off? Like sick?”

“No, more like clumsy. My thoughts keep wandering and I make silly mistakes like getting us trapped here or like during our last crawl. Do you remember when I got sucked into that living painting and Shuro had to jump in to get me? I had zoned out looking right at it and didn't notice it moving! I could have gotten Shuro hurt.” 

Laios is looking at you like you're a hurt puppy

“I’ve become a burden on the rest of the party. It’s not fair to you guys for me to stay so I accepted an offer from another party. They're giving me room and board too, so that’s nice.”

Laios seems to be thinking over your words, looking down at his now-forgotten food.

“But if you are leaving cause you’re distracted how will that be fixed by leaving? Won’t you just be distracted in a new setting? That seems even more dangerous! You don’t know if you can trust your new party members. At least with us you know we will always have your back.” 

“I didn't even want to have this conversation. It would have been so much easier if we had a successful crawl and then I would tell the party I was leaving and said our goodbyes. Simple and nice. People change parties all the time Laios!” 

“That doesn't answer my question.”

You sigh and look away from him, looking towards the torch on the wall. They are always lit yet they never burn out. Must be tiring “I know.” He doesn't take his eyes off of you. “I guess it’s because it usually only happens when I'm with this party. Well mostly.” You can't bring yourself to fully look at him. 

“Oh.” 

You breathed in, hoping he would just drop it. Hoping he would come to some kind of understanding in his head. 

“But why?” 

Of course not. 

You buried your face in your hands. “I don't know.” 

“If we can work this out then I want to try. You shouldn’t leave.”  

“It’s not like I want to leave! I just, I can’t justify putting you and the others at risk because I’m afraid to lose my friendships. I just know that when I’m around the party I get self-conscious or I keep thinking weird things and I make avoidable mistakes.” 

“Self-Conscious?”

“Yeah … like if I look okay, or if I’m fighting well or not. If i'm being too loud or talking too much or not enough. As if I was an adolescent again trying to make the cool kids like me.”

He takes some time to weigh your words in his head.  

“Well I don’t know much about romance but that kind of seems like maybe you have a crush? Maybe? Marcille has talked to me about some of the books she read, and one of the characters acts like that around the character they want to court.”

Your heart seems to stop. 

“I think the next step is to figure out who it is and then tell them. You should ask Marcille though she really likes this kind of stuff. She's been talking about it to me more lately so she must really want someone to talk about it with.”

“Oh god.” of course it’s just a crush you feel so silly. “I guess that makes sense.” But who? 

Oh. Oh no. 

“Maybe it’s Shuro? He is pretty cool, and strong. Or Marcille, I know some people really find elves attractive, plus she's also good at magic.” 

Of course it's Him. It could never have been anyone else. 

“Or Namari, you two do seem pretty close.” 

Before you started having trouble your thoughts were always filled with ‘What does Laios think about this’ and ‘I wonder if Laios would be interested in that’, you had just thought he was a good friend. It was right around the time he had carried you away from an attacking dryad after it had pierced your thigh that you became more distant. He was always so careful with you and attentive. But he had never shown you any interest, not romantically. You weren't sure if he was even interested in those kinds of things. If leaving the group was bad, being rejected by Laios would be even worse. There was no way you could tell him now.

“Never mind. It’s probably best for me to leave. I wonder when Chilchuck will figure this damned trap out huh?” 

“Y/N?” 

“It’s already been like 30 minutes at least right?” you got up abruptly.

“Y/N.” 

“Maybe we should try and figure out a way to escape. They could have been ambushed.” you were now walking around the room looking for switches.

“I don’t think so, and even if they had been they would have taken care of any monsters we were only on the third floor. Why don’t you want to talk about this?”  He was still sitting on the ground

“I’m feeling restless.” your hands ran against the wall, looking intently at the grooves.

“But if we work it out then you may not have to leave? You just have to tell them.” He sounds a little breathless.

“They don’t like me, Laios. Not like that.” Your fingers find a loose piece of stone

“You figured out who it was?” He’s almost hopeful

“Yes.” you pick at the small rock

“But you won't tell them?” confused

“No.” you let it fall from the wall

“So you're still going to leave?” 

The rock sits still in the place it fell

“Yes.” 

“Will you look at me?” 

“No.” 

A beat passes 

“We don’t want you to leave.”

“You don’t know that. I’m sure you can find another decent party member to take my place.” 

“I don’t want you to leave.” 

“Maybe a Kobold, that would be cool.” 

“I don't want a Kobold, I want you.” 

“No you don’t.” 

“Don’t tell me what I want. I don't want another party member, it’s not even about losing a party member. I just want you. Don’t leave.” 

“You don’t want me Laios.” 

“I do.” 

“No, you don’t!” you whip around to look in his direction unable to fully look at him, tears have been collecting in your water line for a while now. “You don’t want me!” A tear finally spills, you take a deep breath in and look away “Not like I want you. So just… let me go. I will be fine, Laios.” you don't want to yell at him, you don’t want to be crying.  “God what is taking them so long.” putting your focus on the ceiling where you fell from. 

Calloused yet soft hands touch your face, you don't know how he got so close to you so fast. Or quietly for that matter with all that armor on. 

“Look at me, please.” 

You sniffled, letting your eyes turn down to meet his. He, noticeably, was not crying. He was smiling, softly, a blush adorned his cheeks. His eyes took in your face and a huff of breath escaped his lips. 

“It’s not funny, Laios.” scolding him. You had just basically confessed and now he was what? Amused by the fact you were crying?

“It kind of is. You see I have just realized we are probably two of the stupidest people in our party.” 

“You’re not stupid.” 

“No, I am. Because I have had you in front of me for how long? And I am just now realizing how much I like you. Marcille didn’t want to talk about her books. She was trying to make me realize my feelings for you. Chilchuck has been complaining about in party romances more lately, And Namari told me you were thinking about leaving and yet I couldn’t even let myself fathom being without you that I let you pull away from us, from me.” 

“What?” 

“And you’re stupid if you think I wouldn't reciprocate your feelings. You are so stunning and clever, well usually. You let me ramble about monsters and you always light up when you talk about cooking or other interests. Anyone would be lucky to be on the receiving side of your affection.”

“But you've never even shown the slightest interest in anything romantic before.”  

He nods while wiping at your tear stained cheeks with his thumb.

“It is rare, but it has happened before. Though it was never reciprocated, after that I kind of gave up. I focused on being a soldier, and being a good brother to Falin. It seemed like I would never have a chance to love, much less be loved like that.” he looked down and away but just for a second. “I’m sorry I made you feel unwanted.” 

“I can’t believe I didn't realize what it was before we fell in this stupid hole.” you giggled slightly

“I’m glad you did, otherwise I wouldn't have gotten to do this.” 

“Hmm?” 

He softly placed his lips on yours. It was tentative, and unmoving. You pushed back lightly, letting your lips slot in with his.  

Above you the ceiling opened up, grabbing both of your attentions. 

“We should get our stuff.” you say. Slowly you pull away from each other and pick up your back packs. Hiding your flushed faces from view. 

~~~

It took a little bit of time but with some rope and climbing you were both able to get out of the hole. It seemed that the rest of the party also had lunch while you were in the trap. A part of you wanted to cuss them out for leaving you down there so long. The other part was grateful because now you had Laios and you got yourself back. Shuro was avoiding looking at the both of you but Chilchuck and Marcille seemed pretty smug.  

Smiling, Chilchuck finally spoke up “Sorry it took me so long, it was a very complicated mechanism.” Asshole. You glared at him as Laios spoke up.

“No it’s fine, but we did loose quite a bit of time we should probably move on if we want to make it to the fourth floor.” 

Everyone agreed and started to pack up and head out. While everyone was busy Laios grabbed your hand and gave it a slight squeeze. You would have to talk later but for now you felt lighter than you had in a while. You reminded yourself that you needed to rip up that notice and send out a letter to the other party. This one suited you just fine.

Masterlist

[dykemithrun]

generally any kind of oblivious kabru takes bother me since hes like the guy who dissects social interactions/dynamics to death like i feel like in most situations generally He Has A Pretty Good Idea whats going on at least but there is one very specific instance i have floating around in my head that i would accept bc i think its funny in which kabru and mithrun are spending a lot of time together starting a bit after the ending of the manga just generally trying to build a friendship with a foundation thats not centered around making sure the other doesnt die in a dungeon but also its just really painfully clear they have feelings for each other that go deeper than that in a way thats not subtle and people are noticing it including marcille and since shes kind of romancepilled and cant mind her business (SAID WITH LOVE) she takes it upon herself to do something about that so she catches kabru when hes by himself like hey. do you want to hear some gossip. and kabru is like yes. 🙂 and marcilles like ok. so My Friend is in this situation where [proceeds to describe the exact thing kabru and mithrun are doing where theyre spending a lot of time together doing date like activities and theyre very friendly and touch each other a lot etc etc but theyre still just friends] so anyway. if YOU were in this situation what do you think youd do? should My Friend make a move or. and in kabrus head hes like ok. shes clearly talking about herself and falin but doesnt want to ask for advice directly. bc coincidentally her and falin are also in a friendship where both clearly have feelings for each other type phase at this point (only reason why this whole thing even works out btw). so kabru is like Well clearly the second party is interested. and it sounds like theyre practically already in a relationship. if i was your friend i would just go for it! and then marcille is like thats what i was thinking too :)... By the way. it seems like youve been spending a lot of time with mithrun lately. and hes been pretty friendly with you. do you think maybe possibly potentially he could possibly um. be interested in you? and kabru is kneejerk like well thats completely different. hes just being nice :/ well anyway i need to go now me and mithrun are meeting up to cook dinner together at his place tonight bye marcille :) and marcilles just standing there

[felixcloud6288]

Dungeon Meshi Chapter 96

The chapter where Laios gets his first taste of kingship.

I think this would add even more to the legendary epic Kabru is trying to make. King Laios, devourer of demons, who commanded the fealty of man and monster, living and dead.

They ALWAYS bring up the sorbet incident.

Namari made gratin!!

All the Faligon dishes we've seen have lower or lopsided nutrition charts compared to what Senshi has made through their adventures. It's not an issue here though since these are all part of a giant meal.

This is an impressively put-together venue.

It really feels like a festival because of how everything was improvised. My favorite detail is one of the tables has a missing leg and they used a log to hold it up.

What's she laughing about?

He nailed it!!

Laios is a hero king. Fancy clothes and a shiny crown aren't what would show why everyone chose him as a king. Those are for people who claim kingship through birthright or wealth.

Namari is all doki-doki blushy-crushy.

She is mad about that parasite attack Laios launched on her giant bird familiar.

The lion cursed Laios so that his greatest desire would never come true. I assume it has to do with his desire to be a monster or make a kingdom with monsters in it.

Part of me feels like this bit of Laios's monster form falling off in such a way that it makes an excellent cloak is a bit of the lion mocking Laios to remind him that he can only dress like a monster but never be one.

Another part of me feels like the lion left it behind as its own way to endorse Laios. As Laios explains, he kept the lion as part of his royal raiment because wants the lion to keep watching over and protecting them. Laios has the heart to try appreciating even what humanity doesn't. So even if it will not let Laios be a king of monsters, it may support letting him be a king of humans.

I think Fleki was booing Laios. And Pattadol squeezed her fairy so hard that it passed out.

This was a great opportunity for Kui to show off her skill at making distinct faces.

There are several people who have only made small appearances throughout the series. Zon is standing next to one of his wives who appeared in MMT2, the gnome bar hostess is behind Kaka and Kiki, there's a woman behind Mikbell who was on the chapter 76 title image, and that scumbag gold digger is in the top-right corner.

Of additional note, there are some gnomes in the top-left corner, the corpse retrievers Kabru killed are in the crowd, Izutsumi's ears are hurting because of all the noise, there are three ghosts in the crowd and Maizuru seems to be the only one who noticed, and that one elf girl is jeering at Laios.

Laios didn't say much. He just told them he didn't want to let the food get cold and to eat their fill. He didn't ask to be king, everyone else decided and agreed to it. He just wanted to share a meal with everyone. And I guess everyone is cheering because they feel like they chose right to make him king. His first concern is making sure they enjoy themselves rather than putting on royal airs.

What is that? Some sort of meat jelly pie?

Kabru is doing everything he can to put off eating dragon meat. And Mikbell is not goign to let him get away with it.

Falin would be bummed out that she didn't get to have any.

I had so much fun talking about Marcille's various hairstyles through the series. It hits harder knowing that the lion took that away.

That's such a petty thing for the lion to have done. Marcille enjoyed taking care of her hair and styling it in all sorts of ways. It probably tasted good because it was something she loved. But also, it just shows more how the demon's actions naturally lead the lords to eventually go mad and seek death and destruction. The demon would strip away the ability to find happiness in even small things.

Since Marcille forgot how to take care of her hair, maybe she can relearn how to and even relearn how to enjoy doing it. Much of the aftereffects of being a dungeon lord seems similar to an extreme form of long-term clinical depression. And sometimes, you have to relearn to love the things you loved before. Mithrun is learning to enjoy living again, I'm sure he and Marcille could both eventually recover everything they lost.

The ribbon ties are mismatched. The one on Marcille's right is the ribbon she normally used to tie loops or ponytails behind her head. The other was one of the bands she normally uses for her braids.

I don't know if Laios was aware that Marcille was being arrested or if he was initially okay with it because Marcille agreed to it. But he definitely decided to oppose the elves because he saw how upset Marcille was about possibly having to cut her hair short.

That elf girl is all "Ew. It's him. What's he doing here?"

Mithrun doesn't care that Laios is defying the elves. He just wants to eat his kebab.

Thistle stirred awake when he heard people saying "Your Majesty." He lost everything else, but he still recognizes Delgal.

This is two-for-two where it turns out there was something left over after the demon ate someone. Maybe it leaves behind desires that are impossible for it to fulfill. Everything Thistle did was to help Delgal. Delgal was afraid of many things, especially after his father was assassinated during his wedding. One of Thistle's deepest desires which may have kept him going for 1,000 years was the desire to hear Delgal was no longer afraid.

Delgal is dead, and the lion cannot resurrect the dead. It could never satisfy that desire even if it wanted to, so it left that desire behind. But Yaad managed to pass Delgal's message to Thistle and let him know he can finally stop.

One speculation I made is partially correct. The long-lived races fought over the land, but the short-lived races didn't force any peace; they were just given the land instead.

And another speculation I made way back in chapter 22 when the island was first shown was 100% correct.

The kingdom began to rise shortly after Thistle understood he could stop. At the core of everything he did, he just wanted to keep Delgal safe. Now that he's relieved of that responsibility, the lost kingdom can return.

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[chuckeroo777]

Dungeon Meshi Volume 9 Part 2

Welcome back! Getting into the real meat of the volume now.

This episode sponsored by Sir Not Appearing in this Season.

Curious that they put this chart on the chapter titled "The Winged Lion." Hmmm. I'm sure it means nothing.

This is just, a really funny visual.

I like how this fake Marcille looks just like the fake Marcille created by the shapeshifter. This is just how Laios sees her, newly acquired bangs be damned.

Why would Senshi be upset? Anyway, I suspect the Succubi's thought process was something like, okay, let's grab his wildest sexual fantasy. What? He doesn't have any? Okay, how about a family member? No, he hates his parents, and he's too smart to fall for a fake Falin. Ummm... I guess I'll become his closest friend and hope for the best?

But seriously, how advanced is this telepathy? Not only does it manage to use Laios' monster facts to free itself, but it's able to pick up on his much more complex, deep-set desires. Oh, also I guess this dispels my musing about succubi only shapeshifting occasionally. This one does it again right away.

It's honestly really sweet how both times he's being offered his deepest desire, he only goes for it as long as his friends are safe.

As opposed to my own expensive tricks.

In Laios' dream, Marcille and Falin are acting like an old married couple. That's adorable. And more evidence that Laios doesn't have a crush on Marcille.

I love how this assumption is solely based on what he heard in chapter 17. Marcille's been studying this stuff. Of course she'd be good at it! Then when Marcille actually gets the chance to control a dungeon, it's a complete disaster.

Yeah, I'm calling bull. If that was all you were, why did Thistle lock you away? Honestly, it's really funny how just two chapters later, we'll learn exactly how full of shit this guy really is.

Finally, something Laios thinks is gross.

This is poignant and all, but it's undercut a little when we learn that elf cake is kinda dogshit.

Why does this happen? Did Cithis hit him with something when I didn't notice? Or does the lack of desires make Mithrun oddly boring?

Kabru's people fixation is so funny. He's known Mithrun for like an hour, and the fake is already indistinguishable. Oh! Maybe that's why he's uninterested. He's already gleaned everything he can from a surface level.

Please don't eat that. You don't know where it's been.

Kabru's nightmare is just beginning.

Yeah, don't forget. Until Senshi showed up, Laios was kinda bad at cooking monsters. Enthusiastic, but bad.

Of course he can. Bold of you to assume he will.

Lol, evil Laios here doesn't even plan to attack humans or anything.

Wishes are always bad news. Seriously, I'm struggling to think of a story where wishes have no strings attached.

What do you know. He IS capable of emoting.

We'll look at Mithrun's tragic backstory next time!

[wasabi-gumdrop]

//edit//

manga spoilers!

giving in to my delusions and drawing parallels between this interaction and the party’s first encounter with succubi.

we know a few things about succubus from chapter 59-60. the first and most obvious is that they can take on a form that is the most sexually appealing to a person (as we see with Marcille and Chilchuck’s succubi).

but sometimes, it reflects something deeper in the subconscious.

the text in this description says that a succubus “mimics an idealized subject imagined by their victim.” so it’s not always a subject of sexual desire. we see that in the case of izutsumi when the succubus takes on the form of her mother (sick and twisted btw!!)

so in chp 60, when we see the Marcille succubus, we might be able to infer two things:

one, it’s possible that Laios, on an observational level, sees that Marcille is an attractive young woman (enough that the succubus can draw on that information for the mimicry). but he’s clearly startled by the monster’s intimate approach and more importantly the thought of his party misunderstanding the situation is a pretty big concern to him.

so i think what’s more likely is that the succubus has drawn on Laios’s idealized image of Marcille. which we’ve already seen! in the shapeshifter chapter:

his memory of her resurrecting Falin is what persists most strongly in his memory and subconscious. Marcille shapeshifter’s eyes and hair are the same as Marcille succubus. and you could say that Laios doesn’t really remember her hair very well — but he does remember it better at this point. in the panel where he’s worried about his party misunderstanding, the Marcille in his mind’s eye has the specific braided half up style that the real one is currently wearing. so the similarities of the succubus and shapeshifter seem to be an intentional choice for visual storytelling.

so yeah we could say there’s some recognition of Marcille’s attractiveness in Laios’s mind. but since it’s Laios, i would favour the reasoning going much deeper. to him, she has strong ideal qualities, tied to who she is as a talented spell caster, a loyal friend, someone that he and his family can count on.

and how could this parallel to his reunion with Kabru in the dungeon? well from our point of view, we know that this is the real Kabru. but Laios has every reason to have his guard up. to him, anything is possible at this point, but this being a real person seems the least likely.

Kabru shows up alone in one of the deepest dungeon levels — not a feat you can accomplish by yourself. so Laois is suspicious.

but. if there was even a slight risk of this Kabru being a monster, why does Laios immediately reach out for a handshake? his first reaction is to welcome the physical contact — and then assess the threat level?? this strikes me as more than a little bit careless. Laios loves monsters but he also deeply respects them and is always aware of their potential to be dangerous.

so then … what is actually happening here lol.

Kabru grasps his hand in both of his. he notices this is odd. perhaps too familiar? too forward or affectionate? doesn’t seem like monster mimicry but he’s still not entirely sure at that point. and his first guess is: could be a succubus. his very first guess. BUT he doesn’t react the way he does with the Marcille succubus.

now this interaction is taking place in the span of seconds — so i’ll be the first to admit there’s not a lot to go off here. especially when Laios makes some very quick deductions right after: not a succubus, not a slime, not a shapeshifter — ah so you’re real. therefore you got here with the help of other people, even if I can’t see them right now. and he ends up being right.

but those very few seconds of hesitation can mean the difference between life and death in the dungeon, especially at their current level.

so why would Laios take that risk?

we know his instincts are very good, so perhaps deep down he’s aware that this is the real Kabru. but anything short of absolute certainty means unnecessary risk taking.

based on Laios’s previous experience with the succubus, we can observe two crucial things. 1) he doesn’t react with embarrassment the way he did with the Marcille succubus, so to him it doesn’t seem far fetched or unreasonable for a succubus to take Kabru’s form. 2) and this is probably the strongest evidence of something deeper here: he has his suspicions when meeting Kabru but he drops his guard anyway, during a moment of very high stakes. his party is counting on him to assess the danger and had Kabru been an actual monster, this could have led to a very troublesome error.

so, real or not, Laios foregoes self preservation and takes Kabru’s hand.

now i don’t really know what that could truly mean. but it’s too big of a tactical misstep for Laios especially. your guess is as good as mine, but it could be several things stirring in his subconscious because that’s the only way he’d go against his own instincts.

the first and safest guess is that Kabru has some ideal qualities that Laios admires and is very drawn to. it’s definitely not his skills in monster combat (lol sorry Kabru). it could be his people skills but Laios hasn’t really seen much of that (at least in terms of Kabru’s wider influence on the narrative). his core experience with Kabru so far has been very personal: Kabru’s willingness to connect to him based on his passion for monsters. so for Laios to even think that a succubus could take his form, well, Kabru’s show of enthusiasm must have left a pretty strong impression. but is that enough for Laios to drop his guard?

the other possibility is that Kabru’s charm actually does work on Laios. real or not, it’s enough to disarm him even for a few seconds.

with someone like Laios, charm registers very differently. it’s not a conscious thought. he’s probably not thinking ‘oh handsome guy i need to make a good impression and not be rude, i should greet him like a normal person.’ nope. Laios fully drops his guard, no thoughts, just takes his hand. you fool, what if he had actually been a monster??

Laios just wouldn’t prioritize the need for polite appearances over his own safety. so reaching for Kabru’s hand definitely wasn’t out of politeness or obligation.

anyway this response has clearly run away from me atp. so we’ll conclude with this:

Shipping Goggles Off - Reason Succubus Might Look Like Kabru: Laios admires some ideal quality of his, probably related to the personable impression he left during their first meeting

Shipping Goggles Fully On, Resident of Delulu Nation - Reason Succubus Might Look Like Kabru: Kabru Hot. worth risking it all. sure i’ll take the sexy guy’s hand, if i die then i guess i die

Aw what a sweet reunion! Both are so happy to see each other and--wait. Hold on a second lemme just look a little closer...

Does that say...

LAIOS WHY DID SUCCUBUS COME TO MIND AT ALL WHATSOEVER???? Like yeah, you were crossing off monsters on a list that might be him, but succubus was on that list? Even if it was very fleeting, you considered it???

Laios.

I know what you are.

[felixcloud6288]

Dungeon Meshi Chapter 32

It's still them.

The travel rations look so dull and wrong compared to all the things Laios's party have eaten over the series.

All the food in the rations are things that do not spoil easily and can be eaten without any prep work. It provides both quick and long-term energy for travel, but the low vitamin value definitely has me worried. Even if it's good, this isn't something that would keep morale up during long journeys.

Whatever Senshi cooks up at the end of the day is always a major highlight of each chapter, and in-universe it's probably the main highlight of each day the party travels. Despite the purpose of their journey, Laios's party has managed to find enjoyment on their quest to save Falin because they got to experience all sorts of foods along the way. If they had to eat this every day, their journey would have a far less cheerful mood.

I like this little detail that Kabru took off his glove before eating.

Those adventurers from chapter 3 are named. I wonder how they're doing.

Rin hit the nail on the head. Marcille is indeed an honor student and does everything by the book.

It's not the first time "Touden" has been said, but I'm pretty sure this is the first time it's been used as their family name.

I love how Kabru's party was speculating about what happened to the Touden party and what would lead them to stealing their food and jewels. It's awesome because everything they're saying makes perfect sense with the given information they have but it's completely wrong due to what they don't know.

It's a good example of the difference between valid and sound logical arguments. A valid argument is one where the conclusion is true if we assume the premises are true. A sound argument is one where the conclusion and the premises are true.

Kabru did correctly determine that something happened to one of the Touden siblings. And he did correctly determine that some of their party members left them. And he did correctly determine that they have a new dwarf in their party. However, he falsely assumes the party is using the same supply methods Kabru's party is using and are therefore acting out of desperation. And he falsely assumes the reason people left the party is because of infighting.

So Kabru's argument is valid since he came to a reasonable conclusion based on assuming all his premises about the Touden party's situation were true. But it's not a sound argument because he's basing it on premises that are completely false.

There's a minor running gag through this series that Senshi is really stinky.

Some background details of the Touden party is given, though we have to take some things with a grain of salt since Kabru's party doesn't think highly of them. Namari's father once embezzled money from the Lord of the Island, which is probably why she's dealing with financial problems. Shuro is from the east and came with several people before joining the Touden party, and the gold-peelers Laios and Falin used to work with have been working in the black market.

I said to take everything Kabru's party says about the Touden party with a grain of salt, but I think we should unscrew the lid and dump the entire pile of salt over what Mikbell says about Chilchuck, especially since he's quite manipulative over Kuro.

I noticed the bottom of Rin's skirt has tears in it. I checked earlier chapters and they've been there since she first appeared in chapter 10.

Again, everything about Kabru's fighting style implies he's a trained assassin. He doesn't seem to have the first idea about how to fight the sea serpent they encountered.

Yo! It's Shuro! He looks like he's had a rough time.

Gonna try to match Shuro's team to the group from earlier this chapter.

Shuro is the one in the middle of the group. Tade is the tall one in the back. Those two ninja girls are the ones on the right with the one that saved Kabru being the furthest right. To the far left is that one fully-cloaked person and next to them is that super dotting woman.

I want to know where the island is in relation to everything. Laios and Falin are northerners, Shuro is an easterner, and there are western elves. Are we talking literal north, east, and west of the island or is this just a term relative to where they come from.

Those ninja girls are too easily flustered. Kabru simple had to introduce himself and ask their names and they're all blushy-crushy.

With the pace things are going, I think it's safe to assume this is happening around the same time Laios's party is fighting the red dragon. It will take maybe two days for Shuro and Kabru to catch up to where Laios's party was, and they're probably making their way back up at this point.

Looking forward to Kabru's party picking a fight with Laios and Laios having to explain to Shuro what's happened to Falin.

And what's with Kuro?

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[felixcloud6288]

Dungeon Meshi Chapter 50

I remember people having a lot of fun talking about this chapter when it was animated. Now I get to enjoy it.

The party's sleeping spots changed in relation to each other between panels. Personally, I think Kui doesn't concern herself with making sure euclidean space is absolutely consistent between panels, but this could be handwaved away as an effect from the dungeon shifting overnight. If Thistle was a prankster (and he was originally a jester so he just might be), he would probably gaslight adventurers by moving things around very slightly to disorient them.

And now we get into the opening premise of the arc. The consequences of their actions last chapter have come to bite them and everyone has been changed into a different race.

Love that the title image is a remake of the volume 1 cover.

Some comments I want to make on seeing their initial transformations:

I hope Laios found some extra clothes when they recovered their things cause I'm pretty sure he doesn't have any spare clothes after Falin destroyed his other shirt.

Maybe it's because she's a half-foot, but Marcille seems far younger now. I'd guess she's equivalent to 20-25 in Tallman age, but she looks like she's 8-10 as a Half-foot. And the first thing she noticed when she transformed is she's now flat-chested.

There was a post I read one time where someone pointed out that Senshi's mannerisms never actually changed when he became an elf. He just now looks like a traditionally pretty man when he's doing them. First thing I've noticed is he has a far more expressive face since we can see his mouth and eyebrows.

There was a single panel in chapter 43 where Laios had nipples and then the rest of the chapter was nipple-less. Chilchuck had none at all. But now he has them as a Tallman. Chilchuck also looks kind of thin. Hopefully transforming into something twice as tall as himself isn't going to cause any physical complications.

Marcille's new hairstyle went for the full child look. Her sidelocks are loose and resting in the front. Meanwhile the back of her hair is in a pair of twin braided tails. And she's keeping the left-side bangs over her forehead now.

This panel really bugs me. I think Laios is opening and closing his palm. I can't tell where his pinky finger is at all.

It goes to show how experienced the party is at exploring that they were able to quickly adapt to the strengths of their new bodies. Marcille was not overwhelmed by her improved hearing and was able to alert the party to any danger she sensed. Senshi is in a body with a much higher center of gravity, but his balance is excellent to the point that he knows how to safely jump over pits he wouldn't have been able to cross in his normal body.

After they avoided that first trap, you can see Chilchuck getting nervous about how little he can actually notice now.

I think some of Senshi's mannerisms are because he doesn't know what to do with his hands right now. Normally, he grabs the straps of his pack to help carry it. But his arms are much longer now and he cannot carry as much as he used to. Also, since he isn't wearing his helmet, his hair is loose and getting in his face.

Where's Senshi's helmet? It's not something I think they can pack in their bags and I haven't seen it at all since he woke up.

Yeah, I think the dungeon IS aggressively fighting the party whenever they want to backtrack. They killed a dragon and got on Thistle's bad side so now the dungeon will not let them leave. It will only let them go forward.

Haven't seen (or at least, haven't noticed) anything with this kind of pattern to it yet. If this were part of the original castle town design, I'd expect to see wings. On the other side is dwarf-made infrastructure. So the door itself might predate the dungeon.

If someone else has been here, that's got to be a big deal. Laios's party is one of the few even capable of getting this far.

I have no idea what happened but did Kensuke get transformed by the Changlings too? It is a living creature after all. Maybe Kensuke turned into a tentacle?

I don't think Yaad is in a position to help.

The fight with the gargoyles is supposed to be a bad situation but it's honestly just funny because of how inept the party discovers they are at fighting with their new bodies. Turns out racial bonuses with certain classes are strictly enforced in this world.

Marcille suggested Chilchuck learn magic in chapter 34. After her performance this chapter, it might actually be impractical for half-foots to use magic since they have lower mana reserves.

Marcille is doing her best Megumin Konosuba impression.

Dwarfs having less stamina is surprising. Maybe the reason Senshi and Namari prefer axes is because they can put more force into each individual swing so they burn less stamina overall. How do dwarf mining operations work? Is the stamina not much of an issue since they don't need to move much while mining the wall?

It's been at least four days since Laios's party parted ways with Kabru and Shuro, and last we saw them, they were joining the western elves on an expedition to the dungeon. I wonder how far they are right now.

Izutsumi did indeed fetch the bell and she's holding it later.

I like that the story doesn't handwave that Laios had a rolling pin on him. He probably picked it up among the pipes lying around.

This is the first time Izutsumi has helped with food prep and she got hair in all her dumplings. It's definitely worse right now since she's a koblod, but she probably would have gotten hair in them in her normal form as well since she definitely has fur over her whole body.

I'd love to know the history of these ruins. The dwarfs built an underground fortification that has an elaborate series of pipes and at some point a Tallman city and castle was built on top of it. Did that elf/dwarf war happen before the Kingdom existed, or was the kingdom allied with the dwarfs in the war? And does any of this connect back to the castle town?

Well, something in here is likely the reason Chilchuck's compass doesn't work.

Why's Marcille so nervous when Chilchuck asks her if she has any connections? Was she lying about that?

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[felixcloud6288]

Dungeon Meshi Chapter 47

We're finally getting some details on the Magician this chapter.

I guess Chilchuck is Izutsumi's second-favorite since she likes sleeping on top of him.

I wonder how long it took to get Izutsumi to sit at the table. She's probably eating her food by shoving her face in the bowl since Marcille had to wipe her mouth at one point.

Between this chapter's release and now, we were dealing with the covid pandemic, and one of the symptoms of covid is a weakened sense of smell and taste.

It kind of keeps me from agreeing with Senshi when he talks about needing to exercise your taste to keep it from withering.

Yaad fills the party in on the magician's backstory. I'm aware his name is supposed to be "Thistle" but the manga translated it to "Sissel". I'm going to stick with Thistle when talking about him.

Thistle is also correctly gendered at this point with Laios making the correction as well. Not sure if the misgendering was intentional or the English translation is just trying to fix a mistake.

There's definitely got to be more to why Thistle created the dungeon and made everyone immortal beyond "He studied black magic, went mad, and decided to do it." He was taken in by Delgal's father, was there when he was assassinated, and was raised as if he was a brother to Delgal. Yaad also mentioned his parents but we've not seen them, so maybe something happened to them before Thistle made the dungeon.

I wanna guess that Thistle might have that same underlying fear Marcille has about outliving everyone around him. And Yaad's parents died to sickness or assassination or something and it drove Thistle to make everyone immortal.

The party now has a potential means of how to face Thistle. Get to the depths of the dungeon, free the winged lion, and they can take away the magician's power.

In chapter 1, Delgal said his country had been sealed away, not his castle. So even though the castle town is the actual explorable dungeon, the surrounding area is also part of it, but it's not connected to the main dungeon in a euclidean sense.

Since the sixth floor is the underground waterways, the way back in is through a drain in the wall. I bet if they went through the front door of the gate, they'd end up back in the fifth floor instead. And maybe that's how the villagers manage to contact the orcs.

I don't think Yaad will be in a good state the next time we see him.

Marcille's new hairstyle features the hair in the front of her head in a pair of braids hanging in the front, the hair on her sides pulled to the back, spun in a loop, and tied with a ribbon, and the hair on the back of her head left loose.

If Chilchuck's compass doesn't work, then that means something nearby is emitting a magnetic field. Maybe those giant pillars are actually giant electric rods. Hopefully the gold plating that's been stripped off wasn't important. Gold is an excellent electric conductor.

At first, it was funny seeing Izutsumi freak out when she remembered what happened, but it's clear she's traumatized by the experience. She looks like she's about to cry when she calms down.

She wants to get rid of the beast soul in her and be fully human. Being reduced to and treated like an animal and having her humanity stripped away is the most horrific thing that could be done to her.

Kinda curious about what the dwarf symbols mean. Maybe they work similar to how structural pillars are all marked to denote where they are in relation to each other. If so, the dwarf symbols would include cardinal directions.

Even before the reveal, I could tell those weren't Falin's footprints, but rather some large hawk or eagle-like bird. Her feet are far wider, she mostly stands on her toes when walking so her prints should not have the full foot, and the toes are an ananisodactyly arrangement while Falin's toes are in a pamprodactyly arrangement.

Once again, Laios shows us that he sucks at noticing human details but pours over every detail of monsters.

There's likely a proper reason for it, but I like to imagine Senshi's terror over a griffin is a dwarf thing. Like, his burrowing animal instincts are telling him to be terrified that there's a flying predator around, and dwarfs build underground societies to avoid getting snatched by them.

Welp. We lost him. It was nice knowing you Senshi.

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