#i can make whatever laios i want if you think that one i draw is top of my headcanoning ability like

[nwarrior777]

"fat!amputee!fem!laios" bro just make an OC instead. that's no longer laios

well i made one

this oc and laios inspecting each others bodies in ways which i am afraid person bitching about jpegs can't handle

[felixcloud6288]

Dungeon Meshi Chapter 84

I really respect Kui's commitment to the bit. It's the end of the world and everyone is armed with cooking utensils.

The Canaries got wiped and Lycion is about to be killed, but he's saved by a strange group of walking mushrooms.

This one is noticeably thicker than normal.

This was totally Laios's idea. No one else would think of doing this. And of course Izutsumi refused to wear a disguise. She was probably complaining the entire time that this wouldn't work and at this point, she's probably thinking "How did that work?"

Izutsumi's scarf isn't tied into a bow anymore.

Marcille is not very observant. At least the monsters noticed the odd figures in their ranks.

This reminds me of a scene from Doctor Who. The Master turned all of humanity into clones of himself and the doctor managed to sneak past the Master's security by wearing a face-covering guard uniform. The Doctor points out that it only worked because the Master and his clones were too stupid to notice one of the guards, who all look the same, was taller than everyone else.

Where is Laios's armor? Was it too stinky to wear?

Reminder that Shuro FUCKING ABANDONED IZUTSUMI TO DIE.

Laios is always the last one to realize things.

I had to double-check to make sure Kabru did actually tell Laios about the demons in chapter 76. He managed to say that the dungeons trap demons but Laios wasn't really paying attention. Lycion had just revealed that Kabru didn't like eating monsters so Laios was trying to get away from Kabru because he felt awkward about misunderstanding someone's feelings again. He only listened to Kabru when Kabru said he wanted to be Laios's friend and punched him in the face.

Once again, Lycion feels like he fits perfectly with the main crew. Mithrun is the "major character" in the Canaries, but Lycion has had the most casual interactions with everyone. At this point, he probably realized that Laios is just a harmless weirdo.

This looks like something I'd expect Laios to draw.

Laios is an unconventional thinker and he doesn't dwell on all the details when deciding what to do. At this moment where he doesn't know what to do and there's so much to consider and realize, Namari decided the best thing to do was snap him out of it and tell him to do whatever comes to mind. It's what has gotten him this far.

I think this could work if they could get past the lion. But since the demons slowly eat and alter their lord's desires, they probably programs a failsafe that causes the dungeon lord to actively try to restore their lordship if it should be taken from them.

When you think big, powerful monsters, you think of dragons. And when Marcille thinks of dragons, she thinks of the monster that nearly killed them all, ate Falin, and that they started this entire journey hunting.

The orcs are able to bring their wargs into this battle. I guess wargs aren't proper dungeon monsters.

Looks like one of the dragons didn't have waterwalk applied to it.

Oh yeah. I forgot the lion modified Kensuke so it could act through it.

So the lion wants to swallow the world into itself and trap everyone in a lotus-eater scenario to feed on their desires forever. I can understand why Marcille's wish helps it out, but why does it want Laios to become a lord? His wishes and desires feel hyper counter-productive the the lion's goals.

The lion's mane looks like Kensuke's appendages. Maybe the lion controlling Kensuke is supposed to evoke an appearance of getting tangled in the lion's mane?

Cheesecake is Laios's favorite food!? I couldn't find any moments of him eating it.

Chilchuck's favorite food is a type of beer. I think he's having some in the chapter 27 title image.

Senshi's favorite is hippogriff soup. He spent decades trying to recreate it and it's tied to his best and worst memories.

No wonder Izutsumi ate that barometz so ravenously. It tasted like her favorite food.

That's Laios's parents.

I wanted to say this is Chilchuck and his wife, but the face doesn't quite match. The ears are too small.

So that's what happened to Yaad.

I think the lion also misunderstands how Laios thinks. Yes, Laios likes to sympathize and understand the inhuman, but I'm going to give him more credit that he understands why siding with the lion is a bad thing.

The lion's desire sounds like the antithesis of what Senshi has frequently told the party about not taking more than you need. The lion wants to eat and eat and eat until there's nothing left.

Kabru doesn't have much high ground to stand on when talking about con-men. Kabru's been lying to pretty much everyone this entire story. I don't think he's being honest here either. He's just saying what he hopes will convince Laios to not side with the lion.

I love when everyone puts aside their differences to work together. Special shoutout to Doni and Fionil joining the cause. Those two have a lot of courage.

Lycion isn't the only beastman in the Canaries ranks. And it looks like the familiar conjurors were healed.

Those newbie Canaries are also going to join in...eventually. They're too nervous to just jump into the fight, especially since someone faceplanted in front of them when they jumped down. Looks like the one who was part of the Familiar squad isn't here though.

The dungeon responds to desires and in chapter 45, Kabru said the dungeon was going through a growth spurt and needed nourishment. He warned that relying on numbers would create another Utaya.

Even if they didn't want to, the lion has forced everyone to fight to push back its forces. And this is creating a feedback loop where the more they push back, the more the lion is able to summon stronger forces.

Namari is such a jobber. She always seems to get herself into danger.

Go Doni! Show those mushrooms who's boss!

I mentioned in chapter 24 how the red dragon closed its mouth to stop itself from breathing fire. The dragon about to attack Kabru hadn't opened its mouth yet so it didn't need to smother any imminent flames.

In an alternate timeline where the lion wasn't a sinister being, this would be the triumphant moment where we know the true king has arrived to save the world. Whoever defeated the magician inherits the kingdom, so Laios has earned the right to be king and this is the first moment he walks as if he were one.

In an alternate timeline, Laios would have gained the power to become a king of not just men but monsters as well. This story would end with him bringing the monsters under his control and having them fight alongside mankind against some great threat. And then he'd establish his kingdom where all are equal and humans and monsters live in peace.

But that is not this timeline, and that is not what this scene is. The lion is dangling Laios's desires in front of him as it invites him in.

Really guys?

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[holmsister]

The labru chess meme but like serious: why Kabru bets on Laios and wins

If you're like me (mentally ill (I can say that I'm diagnosed) about labru) you have seen several variations on this meme:

With Kabru and Laios. (To see a small collection of them, please click on the "labru chess meme" tag on this post). Would you like me to hyperanalyse this aspect of their dynamic to death and not even in a shippy manner, therefore sucking all of the fun out of the meme? Keep reading!

Spoilers for the whole manga ahead. Contains also a quantity of Winged Lion.

First of all: as noted several times, it's not that Laios is eating the pieces to win at chess, it's that he's hungry, chess pieces are available, and he thinks Kabru is a fellow chess piece eater as well. Because he offered him a chess piece. And kabru ate it. While still trying to play chess because he thinks Laios is playing chess in some novel way he wants to understand better. If you think I'm beating this metaphor to death now you haven't seen anything yet.

The thing is. Kabru's whole thing is about finding someone who can defeat the dungeon, whatever shape that takes. And Kabru knows he cannot do it. He lacks what it takes, again, whatever exactly that is. And at some point, he makes the call that Laios has that something.

What's that something? Well. He's eating the chess pieces.

In another post I have already talked about the parallels between Kabru and the Winged Lion. Without going into it again: I think that all things aside, those two have very similar types of intelligence. They're fascinated by people and finding out what motivates them. They can be manipulative and even cruel in the quest for what they believe to be the "good ending". And they both think their end can be achieved through Laios.

See, *those two* are playing chess. Have you ever played? It's a very ancient and noble game, you know, very storied.

Two opponents, Black and White, take turns moving pieces on a checkerboard according to rules that depend on the piece itself (Towers move only horizontally but of as many squares as they please, Pawns only of one square at a time and only move towards the opposite side of the board, Bishops move only diagonally, etc etc). Players can only move one piece per turn, once per turn. Two pieces cannot be in one square. When a player moves a piece in a square that is already taken by a piece of the opposing colour, the piece that was there already is "captured" and removed from the board. The rules are actually much more complicated but this is the barest bones.

I hear sometimes the win condition in chess being described as "capturing the King". That's not entirely it. The win condition in chess is putting the opposing King piece in checkmate, that is, in a position in which the King will be captured by the opposing player by the next turn no matter what moves either of them makes.

Chess matches between masters are notorious for being impossibly long. Some last YEARS. Not only that, it's possible to draw in chess - when none of the pieces on the board have legal moves left but nobody is in check. This condition is called a stalemate.

Since the pieces can move in limited ways, mathematically, it's possible to calculate a most efficient way to move them. In 1997, the AI (real AI, not the stuff that passes for AI nowadays) Deep Blue beat then chess world champion Garry Kasparov for the first time in what is considered a milestone achievement.

It's a complicated game with very set rules and almost infinite yet calculable possibilities, is what I'm getting at. It's why it's a favourite mental exercise for mathematicians and people with similar minds. It's a problem to solve in a certain number of steps according to certain rules. There's a solidity in chess reasoning - even when you're trying to guess your opponent strategy, you still know there are things they are NOT going to do. Like eating the pieces. That's why the meme is funny. I think. I've lost sight of what normal people find funny years ago.

This is the game Kabru and the Winged Lion are both in. They are both positioned to move in checkmate (conquering the dungeon/escaping the dungeon), but they have both reached a point in which they cannot move further on their own power. They're in stalemate and they know it. They both need Laios to move them out of the stalemate.

The difference is what they choose to do.

The Winged Lion treats Laios as another check piece. An important one for sure (the Queen, even. That's a chess joke AND a gay joke). But a piece he can manipulate, that moves around in predictable ways.

Kabru, however, has spent enough time chewing on chess pieces to realise thats not where Laios' potential really lies. What he does is step aside and leave the board to Laios. He says "OK, dude. Eat the damn pieces if you must. I trust you know what you're doing."

You see. There's no rule in chess about eating the pieces. I think. Maybe they added one. But still. Most people when teaching someone to play chess would not think to add "and don't eat the pieces!" There at the end because they will assume that goes without saying. It's an unspoken rule that when you are playing a game involving pieces on a board, the pieces are not for eating.

Laios, our beloved autism knight, needs his rules spoken. Otherwise he's just gonna do whatever comes to mind. And that's what he has that Kabru lacks, and what leads him to outsmarting the Winged Lion. Because he does not think in terms of rules and limits. He does not try to guess what's the catch. He does not go after the King.

When Laios figures out what the primary motivation of the Winged Lion is (wanting to eat wishes), he does not wonder about his wider plan. He stops and thinks. That makes human wishes sound so tasty, he thinks, that a creature so powerful can give up on its life of perfect bliss and immortality on another dimension to taste them. I wonder if I could eat them too. I wonder if I could eat away the Lion's desire to eat desires - I could kill two birds with one stone!

He doesn't know or care what the aim of the game is according to the rules. *His* aim now is to eat the Winged Lion's desire. Because it would solve things, because he wants to know how it tastes like, who knows, who cares. The point is: what's the fastest way to get at his aim?

Well. The Lion promises to turn him into his ideal monster... the same one he wrote about in his book. Maybe he can add a line about the monster being able to eat desires. That would work, right?

It's such a stupidly simple plan that almost has no right to work. Neither Kabru nor the WL think about it. Because of a variety of reasons, but most importantly, because *that's not in the rules*. The rules are: Laios makes a wish, the WL realises that wish, in exchange he gets Laios' body. Laios' wish: to be turned into his ultimate monster that he wrote about in his book. It goes without saying that he can't just go ahead and add whatever to the book description. Right?

Kabru would not have thought to add a line in the book in a MILLION years. The WL does not think to check if Laios added any strange condition. It's like using one wish of the genie to wish for infinite wishes - I mean yeah nobody SAID you couldnt do that but it's obvious right? It's basically cheating... Who does that? ...what's this? Laios, what are you eating? Spit the King out!

Ps: in Italian, the word for "capture" on a chessboard and the word for "eating" are one and the same.

[bomber-grl]

Laois Touden x Monster! Enthusiast

Pairing(s): Laois x Gn!Reader (platonic)

Art Creds ~ @/toothwormfactory, @/shigeoreum

Req: OMG bless you for having a platonic option, I love some friend-shipping. Can I please request some platonic HCs for Laios from Dungeon Meshi meeting another monster enthusiast, who dungeon crawls in order to sketch monsters. They later make/sell illustrations for dungeon guide books or just as art, but want to create their own comprehensive guide some day.

Plug a lil weird but he chill

Once you inevitably join the party (which was just you meeting them and then getting kidnapped pulled in) he looks out for you like he would any other member

Don’t get me wrong, he will make conversation and yap excessively so but ultimately he is unaware you’re interested in monsters the same way he is

It’s not until he’s done devouring whatever rations you guys had that he notices you’re not eating

(This takes place before Falin disappears in the Dungeon)

Despite it being uncharacteristic for him to get up and go elsewhere while he’s feasting, he notices the fact and goes to ask why/ask you to join

You’re too busy sketching away on your notepad to notice and that’s when he sees it

The most delicious, delectable drawing he’s seen of a harpy

He isn’t one to draw humanoid monsters (in fact he’s terrible at it) but the way you draw the monster parts really has him admiring it fr

That’s when you notice his presence and get surprised that he’s there

That’s his cue to bombard you with compliments and then ask you about why you were drawing it

Almost waiting for you to fess up that you like monsters too

Which you inevitably do

I mean the party at the point isn’t all that personal with eachother (especially Shuro and his attitude with Laois)

It’s only once Laois sees your drawings does he get more nosy and curious about why you’re even in the dungeon to begin with

That’s when you explain that the only reason (or atleast main one) you dungeon crawl is to sketch monsters

The other party members are listening and all they can think of is how stupid that is considering you could get seriously hurt depending on how down you go

Laois agrees with that of course- but during the rest of your time with them he gets more into your business and even tries to help you sketch monsters by bringing them up to you in odd ways

As much as Laois might seem as pestering- he’s also really great to yap to

He’ll just listen especially if it’s about monsters (which it always is) and will even add his little tidbits here and there

You genuinely become one of his go to people to yap to and vise versa

He is pretty sad when you decide to leave the party to pursue something elsewhere (which you won’t disclose with him) but he accepts it

(This occurs before Shuro and Namari leave too)

Timeskip to more recent times where they venture back into the dungeon in order to rescue/find falin, this time with Senshi in tow and bump into you

You were battling a monster and they arrived just in time to witness the aftermath

They all light up (especially Laois) and start chatting with you + you meet Senshi

Eventually you end up joining the party again because it’s just inevitable at this point and after a particularly tasty meal made by Senshi -Laois sits by your side, pulls a book out of his ass, and asks if you drew the illustration in the guide he was now presenting to you

He gives an explanation as to why he’s asking which is just, “I recognized your technique/art style” and then continues looking at you expectantly

Not even a millisecond after you nod your head is he so happy and going on about how he knows a celebrity and even how he loves your drawing and how they’re anatomically correct and how-

Yea.

That’s sort of your cue to explain why you let tint he first place

Aka the fact that you only did so because you wanted to pursue something more while making a living out of it

You also admit- although a bit shyly- that you’d want to make your own guide someday

And he’s absolutely supporting you

Especially since you’re like the few people that enjoy monsters and share the same sentiments as him

[ph-cutie]

3, 13, 16 for the choose violence asks 👀👀

LETS GO 3 (screenshot or description of the worst take you've seen on tumblr): hdb being some kind of master manipulator who pulled the wool over everyone's eyes to get his way except with jean who can See Through It due to having been closest to his trickery for uncountable ages (2 years of working together) or whatever the fuck. I try not to dwell too much on jean apologia takes sorry cause I don't wanna remember names 13 (worst blorboficiation): tbh im not too sure what blorboficiation means here ? I don't wanna go with jv again but precinct 41 as a whole gets so cutesy fandom steamrolled... actually you know what, it's trant. i'm not mad about shipping but while h/k or even h/j and k/j fans lean a little into the actual material facts of these characters, every trant thing ive seen makes him such a placeholder nicey character... I personally found him a pleasant presence but don't think he's a purely nice guy, I think he's weird (in a bad way) about hdb and the city's misfortune And if you want to draw him fucking people you need to grapple with that ! 16 (you can't understand why so many people like this thing (characterization, trope, headcanon etc)). Ok gonna be less serious with these ones um I do nott understand bodyswap fanfics ive tried to read one for something I wasn't even really into and I just couldn't, the concept is insanely stressful to me😭 Like even as a kid I couldn't watch cartoon episodes about this. Also out of all pre-made fanon archetypes, the one I least understand the hype for is himbos... I've briefly seen people do this with laios and I just don't get the appeal ? I think the possibilities of a character who's smart in their own weird way are always going to be more engaging than the same passé 2020 haha head empty golden retriever jokes.

[felixcloud6288]

Dungeon Meshi Chapter 78

They've forged a path with the meals they've eaten and touched hearts with the meals they've shared.

Seems like no one hanging around the underground graveyard expects to deal with combat seeing as how no one seems to have a weapon they can use. It's probably a general policy that you bring a weapon only if you intend to explore the dungeon.

The Canaries seem to be following that policy to the letter. Everyone in Mithrun's team either doesn't have a weapon (Mithrun, Lycion, Otta), can summon a weapon (Pattadol), or uses an unconventional skill that doesn't require a normal weapon (Fleki, Cithis).

To add to how disfunctional Shuro's makeshift team was, he didn't have his weapon when he fell down the pit. That sword he's using looks like the kind Flamela summons so he probably had to borrow it from her.

The more I see how Flamela operates, the more I don't like her. Pattadol is an uptight by-the-books follow-the-rules bureaucratic type but that means she's not going to arbitrarily decide she has license to do whatever she deems is necessary to get the job done.

It's that scumbag gold peeler! Kick him into the pit!

I'm charmed by these three.

They have unclipped ears so they're nobles who joined the Canaries as a civic duty. The rightmost one was one of the people staring curiously at Tade so they might not have much experience about the world.

This is probably their first assignment ever and they're realizing that they've ended up in a situation just like the nightmare scenario that was Utaya.

They're not even thinking of fleeing. They just want to say their goodbyes before they go to die in the line of duty.

I REALLY don't like how Flamela operates.

I wish we got a proper account of what happened in Utaya, but at this point we probably never will. Since everyone's comparing this situation to it, I'm going to guess that the Utaya dungeon also got a new lord who wished for something that necessitated the dungeon expanding into the world.

Kabru recounted in chapter 45 that the dead turned into monsters that attacked the living. Maybe the Utaya lord was what the Canaries think Laios is - a monster obsessed nutcase who wanted to turn everyone into monsters.

This is the one accusation about Laios as a dungeon lord I'm going to have to agree with. He definitely would try making new monsters for fun.

This elf has a fairy familiar so she is a guard.

As if I didn't need more reason to not like Flamela. She should have just let him die.

Our heroes everyone.

At this point, this plot thread has overtaken where we left off with Laios's party.

Back in MMT4, Laios said humans and orcs have different numbers of fingers and toes. Their hands clearly had the same number of fingers but there were never any good foot shots to confirm how many toes they have.

Well now I can confirm what Laios said. They have pig-like feet.

We're beginning to see Kabru's statement come to life. In chapter 32, he said "When all those separate actions are meshed together, it becomes a historic event involving lots and lots of people."

In chapter 3, Laios's party saved Doni and Fionil from a basilisk and cured Doni's poison. They could have just given him an antitoxin herb and been on their way, but they instead sat down to share a meal with the two and give them advice on how to improve themselves. This left such a strong impression that Doni was willing to stand up in Laios's defense when the only others willing to do that was the orcs.

If Doni hadn't spoken up, no one else might have. And the Canaries could just use the orcs' support for Laios as additional proof that he needs to be killed; they could argue he despises human society to the point that he would associate with orcs.

But now the Tansu and Shuro parties have decided to throw their hat in with Laios. Whoever conquers the dungeon inherits the Golden Kingdom. And everyone is deciding they'll make sure Laios is the one who does it.

I want to draw special attention to Fionil. During all this, she never said a word. All she did was stand by Doni and lower her hood. But that action said everything she needed to say.

She is showing the elves that she is a half-elf. She is saying "Look at me. I am a half-elf. I am someone who you look down upon as inferior. I am someone you think wishes was like you. I oppose you and your desires."

Behold the Joestar family's secret technique!!

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