#izutsumi keeps me alive

[annabellebuns]

And their pet cat…

[sabertoothwalrus]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[dunmeshistash]

seeing a glimpse of izutsumi's mom's appearance, really made me wish the story delves in more of izutsumi's unknown past. like are her parents still alive? and how exactly izutsumi became a beast man? who made her like that?

The story keeps focus on whats happening at the moment and there isn't many flashbacks, I think we don't know because Izutsumi doesn't know or remember.

By context it was probably some scumbag demi human seller that turned her into beastkin to sell her to a freakshow. How he got his hands on a human child we can only guess. She was turned when her human half was 6 and it says she was separated from her parents.

By that little description I don't think they sold her so perhaps she was kidnapped?

She wasn't originally from the Isle of Wa (the equivalent of japan in dunmeshi from what I understand) either. So she was taken from one of the other islands.

The wiki says her mother is wearing a Deel

Here's what wikipedia says "A deel (Mongolian: ᠳᠡᠪᠡᠯ /дээл [deːɮ]; Buryat: дэгэл [dɛɡɛɮ]) is an item of traditional clothing commonly worn by Mongols and Turkic and Tungusic peoples for centuries, and can be made from cotton, silk, wool, or brocade."

So yeah Izutsumi is a victim of human trafficking that was turned into a beastman to make money for her kidnappers.

[w1shb0n3z]

Alright, so hear me out

(this is another long one. Like. Seriously. It has 2.6k words.)

*yes, I edited this like 5 mins after I posted it just to add some more, oops

Post cannon Labru where Laios tries to help Kabru regain weight

TW: ED, Body Dysmorphia, Fat-phobia, Gender Dysphoria

It turns out to he a huge body image thing. Like Kabru develops a bit of an ED after he gains his weight back and tries to stay "the perfect weight" and major body dysmorphia. But! It's very sweet because hand feeding, of course, and self-acceptance.

I imagine Kabru's blue eyes get brought up when Laios is like "oh, you don't like that about yourself? :( you're so wonderful! What else could you possibly not like! Surely not those eyes ^^" or something

Plus! I'm 98% sure that Laios gains some weight post cannon, so his wrestler build gets softer, which, yay! We love that here! But this comes with its positives and negatives. (Dont he scared by how big the negative paragraph is)

Positive: Kabru has an example of having a healthy relationship with yourself and your body

Negatives (and hold on) TW btw: at a certain point of Kabru's weight gain/ body acceptance journey, where he gets obsessed with keeping "the perfect body" and does everything in his power not to gain anymore, his own twisted view of himself spills over to Laios. He starts to view Laios as a sort of slob or careless person because he gained weight after the dungeon and gained an extra 5-ish pounds while helping Kabru gain. Because Laios can and will encourage Kabru to eat by eating with him with a smile on his face.

What if someone finds out about Kabru's purging?

Yes, Kabru has purged a few times while he was at his lowest. And no, Laios doesn't catch him in the act. He doesn't know until someone tells him about it. Kabru just keeps it to himself with a tinge of guilt. Someone else finds out. I can't decide who yet, but if it were:

Chilchuck - he'd be familiar with his topic because one of his daughters went through the same thing. He keeps secret as per Kabru's request but gives to Kabru straight. He tells him vomiting hat much rots your teeth and only has negative impacts in the future. With Chil being big and tall for his race's standards and him canonically watching his own weight, he talks Kabru through this whole body image thing. Maybe not in the exact way Kabru wants, but in the way he needs

Senshi - he's SO against this. He tries to father Kabru, but his own lack of understanding for why Labru feels this way gets in the way of progress. He urges Kabru to eat and tells Laios what's goin on in hopes of figuring out what all of this is about, accidentally spilling the beans and leading to conflict between Laios and Kabru

Marcille - she doesn't really get the ED thing, but she gets not liking your body (since she never fit in with her "age group" while growing up and wished she physically presented like them). She also tells Kabru that throwing up rots his teeth and says it's bad for your mana and junk. Shes very offput by this whole thing, but she tries. She doesn't tell Laios...on purpose. (Falin also finds out becuase the guilt Marcille has from telling that secret ears her alive)

Falin - my girl does NOT understand. But she's here to empathize. She ends up being huge in Kabru's healing journey. She tries to check in on bim every now and then and uses her own transformation to promote body acceptance

Izutsumi - she doesn't know what to do. She's 17 goddamn it. So when she hears Kabru throwing up she just assumes he's sick, but when she keeps hearing it she gets a little stressed about him. She goes "he's just weird" and mentions it in conversation to someone else, most likely Marcille (which probably led to Marcille finding out in the earlier paragraph)

Mickbell...somehow - is like "dude wtf" and tells Rin about it since he knows there close. He's worried, yeah, but he doesn't think its really his problem. Especially since the two fo them aren't close like that.

Kuro - he finds out and tells Rin as well, he also tells Kabru that he looks fine. He mentions it to Mickbell, yeah, but in a "Will he be okay? :(" way

Rin - devastated. She initially gives Kabru a hard talk...which makes him worse, but hey! She tried. Rin then thinks its becuase of the shame of dying many times and tries to comfort Kabru again. Doesn't work. She tries to get him to eat the things he likes. He eats them, but she can sense the guilt from Kabru. They then have a heart to heart becuase Rin can't stand to see her best friend suffer like this and assures him that he looks fine as often as he needs

Holm - he takes a simular approach as Falin but gets a little more involved. He understands it on paper, but can't image what actually having these issues is like. Yes, he also informs Rin and is the one that told her to try to speak to Kabru in a less...prickly manner about this touchy subject

Daya - She doesnt realise what Kabru was trying to achieve by puking. So she just advises him not to do so and tells Rin about the strange behavior.

How does this affect non-platonic Labru?

Easy!

Well for starters! If they were boning before, they aren't now LMAO

Partly because of Kabru's own body image being trash and his attraction to Laios (temporarily) going to shit after Laios gained some weight to encourage Kabru. Damn that internalized fat-phobia. Neither one of them seems to have a clue what's going on. Let word, seems.

Kabru knows his view of Laios just isn't the same, but he doesn't let it be known that he's aware of this.

Does he feel bad? Yeah. But he only feels bad because he doesn't feel bad. He feels as though he's a shitty boyfriend for harboring such disgust for his partner's figure

Laios catches Kabru stealing glances at himself in the mirror. Staring just a little too long. Laios deduces that Kabru's feeling a little self-conscious after some hard thought.

So, of course, he makes sure to be extra careful about his words. He'd totally be like that one meme (which I can't find) that goes: "damn girl, that ass is wide" "what??" "I didn't want to say fat and trigger your eating disorders :/"

Plus, on the not boning thing, they're busy. You got a king and his advisor, they're not gonna be cranking it up every night! They simply sleep together, in a literal sense most nights anyways, so more sleep isn't anything bad

Additionally, I don't believe Laios has a high sex drive at all. (I personally think he's on the asexual spectrum, maybe because I'm ace, but still)

Kabru won't initiate a thing at the moment, it's up to Laio's sporadic desires to get things going. (It never gets going)

What if Laios discovers Kabru's feelings towards him and the purging?

He's hurt, simply put. He can't understand why Kabru dislikes his body, Laios can't understand why his own body would be such a turn off now.

In the non-platonic vers Laios tries to become "sexy" again. ....He fails horribly and ends up making a fool out if himself. At first he's like, "well monsters do this to attract mates" right after he feels as though he needs to inprove upon himself. Then he goes "no... Kabru isnt a monster, and im not either (unfortunately)"

He pushes that silly thought aside and tries to find out *why* Kabru is turned off by his looks now. His face? No.. His hair? Just got it cut. His figure? ...but why?

Laios goes right up to Kabru and confronts him about it. Kabru being the slippery bitch that he is denies it and goes "lol wtf haha! I luv u bae and there's nothing wrong with u!! ur so sexy and hot haha..."

This, inevitably, confused the shit out of Laios and he asks for honesty. Kabrus actions aren't exactly aligning with his words, and something needs to he done.

[Okay, let's be real here. If Kabru didn't want Laios to know how he felt, Laios' ass would NOT know lmao. This is just for the bit]

Now the purging? Laios is like "dude what? :(" he doesn't understand it. Nope. Not at all. He tires to he supportive, but he really doesn't know what to do with this. It's not like there's a bulimia monster, so he has no real frame of reference.

He's all "but you look fine how you are :(" and "I like the weight on you!" or even "did you know that [this species of monster] finds fat attractive? ,:D"

He means so so well, and Karbu knows it. Laios really is just a dog of a man.

Laios also tries to get Kabru to promise to stop. We know how that went. Karbu agreeing just to do it behind Laios' back because he knows Laios won't find out. He'll cut back on it, yeah, but he has his weak moments.

Eventually, Laios makes sure to only have Kabru serve his favorite meals. That should keep him from puking it up! And Karbu stops after a while. But only because his health is on the decline.

What else?

Two words: hand. feeding.

Kabru throws up? He gets his favorite meals so he won't. Kabru keeps checking his figure? Less mirrors in the caslte and more compliments. Kabru not eating enough or skipping meals? Simple. Laios makes sure he eats.

And how? A little less of Laios sensually slipping a fork full of decedent chocolate cake past Kabru's lips and a little more than a simple "here comes the airplane"

It starts off as Laios seeing Kabru taking smaller bites and being like "oh! Let me show you how to fill your fork! ^^" and then him taking Kabru's fork, impaling a bunch of assorted foods onto said fork, then handing it back to Kabru.

Then it sort of devolved (...evolved?) Into Kabru begrudgingly letting Laios feed him like a toddler while no one else ot looking. My boy Kabru does NOT know how to say no to this autistic man properly.

Laios was like "would it help if I just fed you?" And karbu replied something like "haha! It just might!" And of course Laios did not pick up on that God level sarcasm and went "cool, Let's try it then" and Kabru, wanting to appease Laios said "cool!". Bro was punching air.

(Yes, Laios said stuff like "good job buddy!" "You're doing so well!" "Its tasty, right?" Almost every bite)

In the non-platonic world, Laios would have Karbu sit ever so close to him as he was fed, maybe even in his lap. And of course Karbu would get a peck on the cheek after every bite. And the whole process may or may not turn Laios on. Especially when they're dining on monster. Whoops.

....anything else?

This all ties in with the absurd standards that was set for Karbu and the insecurities he hides within himself.

The whole blue-eye-spawn-of-a-demon thing was already enough for him. But being raised by that moody ass elf was a whole nother thing.

Milsiril, his adoptive elf mom, raises children like she has a monopoly in daycares. She's a serial foster fr. All them damn kids. Raising them like pets becuase you want something to love and depend on you. (I love Milsiril btw)

Anyways.

Kabru was his mom's favorite since his features were unique. Im talkin big bright blue eyes contrasting with rich dark skin, in particular. Plus, he was so sociable! All of his siblings looked up to him in one way or another. He was the star child.

And, you know that thing about elves being twinks, right? When ever Milsiril would check up on Karbu's health, she would use this old elven chart depicting the "average/desirable/suggested" height, weight, and muscle tone for diffrent short-lived races at diffrent ages/stages of life.

Safe to say these charts and texts were based off of elven standards, so everyone was thought to be slimmer, lighter, and more toned than normal. Plus, they're old lol. Instead of updating her charts and buying some from the diffrent cultures and races, she keeps her old one becuase she legit just forgets to replace it and hasn't had any "major problems" while raising her kids with that information so she doesn't think to change it.

What in trying to say is!

Kabru was raised with unrealistic body goals, and when he used to deviate from those arbitrary statistics during childhood he'd be put on diets and stuff.

Also, What if Kabru was transmasc?

Especially when he was a teen, even gaining a little wait made him go nuts. He couldn't get the words "unhealthy" out of his head and started associating it with the word "fat". His mind likes to play tricks on him when he's in the mirror. Exaggerating his figure and making him panic.

So! When he was sick and tired after that weird ass dungeon trip that changed his whole world and he came back to find himself thin as a pin, he tweaked.

He logically hated it because it was unhealthy, but a part of him was satisfied. With the added stress of becoming a Kings advisor, he started to crack under the pressure, manifesting in an obsession with himself. When he started to gain weight back he was brought right back to those check ups he had with Milsiril and those 2, maybe 3 times he was put onto diets in his youth. He really feared he was getting fat and he would just stare into the mirror and feel his flesh beneath his fingertips, searching for some sort of confirmation. All he felt was a bit of a squish, a bit of a give, and that's all he needed.

It was too much for him. His body was wrecked in his eyes. He's supposed to he fit and lean and thin and perfect. How could that be perfect? He looks in the mirror in his private study, wasting the time he could've been spending planning new city infrastructure or working out the kinks in trade. But no. He's here, in his dimly lit room, looking at how imperfect he's become in his eyes. How unhealthy he is his mom's eyes. How disgusting he is in his birth mothers eyes.

He had to fix it. The wound rubs deep, dar past the dermis. And, I guess, much like other wounds that cut a chasm into the skin, you don't really feel it once it severs your nerves. You don't really notice until you see the big, gaping, bleeding, notch where you used to be.

Lol anyways

Whoo boy. He is in hell. He feels like gaining weight makes him look "softer" and more feminine. He hates it, yes. But he tries his best not to let it effect his wardrobe. This whole weight journey really rehydrated his gender dysphoria.

He's used to looking a little androgynous, but with his new weight going to his stomach, hips, and thighs, he just feels as though his silhouette is becoming more girly.

Kabru is found training and working out more. Anything to get his body more boxy again.

He spends more time making sure he looks presentable. Even waking up a little earlier to ensure he vouge cover ready. (Well, I mean, as vouge ready as perpetual business casual can be)

And how does it end?

It takes some time, but Kabru heals. He's 10 pounds heavier than when we were first introduced to him, but he doesn't mind anymore.

It was a long journey full of all sorts of denail and shame, but he got there.

He's still the Light Yagami coded perfect chivalrous boy. He always has been. And Laios loves him all the same. Platonically or not.

Laios was essential in Karbu learning to let go of those impossible ideal and unreachable standards. Laios does not give a fuck afterall, he thinks all human bodies are unintresting beautiful! That dude does not judge. Rember him talking about the orc women in one of the monster tidbit sections? He's about body acceptance and neutrality.

Kabru grew to love his body, not just tolderate it or like it because someone else does. And if it tickles you, he liked the extra pounds Laios gained in the end, too. And if you're here for non-platonic Labru, then Laios may have became a bit of a feeder and has a tiiiiny food kink. Plus, Laios is a huge fan of the squish and Kabru likes how warm Laios is.

I just want to add this in here, also hecuase ive seen it before and i agree, but Laios seems like the type to give dutch ovens. He shows love like a big brother and its horrible (affectionate). This passes Karbu off SO BAD and it's hilarious. He has to sit down and have a very direct and serious talk about "getting too comfortable". And Laios would sit there the entire time like a sad dog and nod along.

Kabru and Laios also wrestle. No debate. They do it to spar, Laios does it for fun, Kabru does it to make Laios shut up. It's great!

Sorry this took so long lmao,, I legit just kept forgetting to write this

This was just word vomit. I've lost the plot somewhere along the way, I fear

[sangrefae]

saw @athina-blaine's ask abt a labru gamer AU so let me present my split second dunmeshi minecraft server thoughts

• thistle: created the server. Refuses to budge on the rules he put in place on day one, except for like 2 notable exceptions. Barely plays but always memorable when he does, builds the weirdest shit and then logs off for months at a time

• delgal: notable exception #1, he asked thistle to make it normal survival mode instead of hardcore bc it was too high stress. used to play very frequently until he got a new PC and moved on to other games. thistle has forbidden the other players from destroying the castle he made

• senshi: has taken it upon himself to do all of the farming and cooking in the game, has figured out the best ways to make the most efficient farms, is wildly talented w redstone but only in terms of making it easier to grow crops and breed friendly mobs. eagerly awaits new food recipes with each update

• laios: has made it his personal goal to capture each of the hostile mobs and keep it in his base as a personal monster showcase. Goes on hour-long mining excursions to fortify his base because the blazes and ghasts keep destroying their enclosures. Wants to find an ender portal but just to get shulker boxes, determined to figure out how to defeat the ender dragon without killing it

• falin: notable exception #2, she asked thistle to turn on keep inventory because she kept exploring and getting too lost but she didn't want to die and lose all of her stuff. has heard stories about the limits of the world borders and the farlands and is determined to find them. Good at avoiding hostile mobs but not at keeping herself alive so she tends to die from starvation or falls, senshi's most frequent visitor when she stocks up for her next excursion

• chilchuck: started playing to understand the game better when his daughters got into it, now it's developed into a guilty pleasure. The one who supplies the rest of the gang with materials as needed, loves the grind of collecting a billion stacks of cobblestone and dirt. Goes to the end w laios just to collect endstone, same w the nether. Also responsible for keeping the chests meticulously organized, he gives everyone hell if they mess up his system

• marcille: not usually one for survival games but got hooked when falin showed her the redstone systems and potion making. Has made a machine for everything she possibly could, is currently figuring out a fast travel system in the nether so falin can go further than she normally can in the overworld. Relies on chilchuck to fund all of her projects bc she's deathly afraid of mining and getting blown up by creepers. Goes to the end w laios to see if she can expand on the teleportation mechanics of ender pearls (is very disappointed when she can't)

• kabru: joined at laios's request, secretly hated minecraft and preferred the sims but still plays because he found out that you can make your own collection of villagers to trade with and consequently became obsessed. Didn't know about the pillagers and almost rage quit when they killed his villagers and destroyed his progress while laios just tried to catch the ravager to add to his monster zoo. Now recruits laios whenever pillagers show up bc he doesn't want to deal with the raids

• izutsumi: banned for griefing when she lured a creeper into a wing of delgal's castle where she'd put a bunch of tnt

[maychorian]

Dungeon Meshi has fully consumed me, especially a certain tiny union man, and I want to ramble about Chilchuck's traumatic backstory for a bit. Mild manga spoilers under the cut.

The first time I read the manga I missed this bit, since I was reading an online version that didn't have all the extras included. Since I've come across this litte omake, though, I haven't been able to stop thinking about it. It just explains so much about why Chilchuck is the way he is.

First, at a surface level, it's interesting that this backstory only comes out in the framework of talking about a monster. Chilchuck is offering basically an anecdote about succubi, adding to the conversation he and his party are having about a monster species. It's all very casual and offhand. No one even remarks on what that experience would have meant to Chilchuck on a personal level, and he doesn't dwell on it, either. You have to wonder if Chilchuck would have ever mentioned it at all if they weren't specifically talking about succubi.

But holy heck, just think about this for a moment. On one of Chilchuck's first outings as an adventurer, possibly the first time he joined a party, his fellow adventurers were planning to feed him to a monster. He's only alive now because he had the instinct that something was wrong and had the speed, wisdom, and stealth to run away. He could have died. He could have been murdered. And it's implied that this happens to half-foots frequently in this world.

How traumatizing would that have been for a young adventurer? The people he should have been able to trust to have his back were literally planning his death, all for monetary gain. He was treated as disposable, a resource to be exploited, not a person. Not only is there the trauma of narrowly escaping death here, there's also the trauma of being mistreated and abused by other thinking, intelligent beings.

No freaking wonder he has trust issues. He's been working with Laios and his party for three years at this point and he's never shared a single solitary personal detail about his life, not even his age. He can't bear to allow any vulnerability to show, because he can't allow himself to be taken advantage of again. No wonder he's so prickly and wary. No wonder he's so sensitive to being viewed as anything other than a capable, skilled, fully realized and autonomous adult. No wonder he shies away from affection and any hint of closeness, especially in the early chapters of the manga.

I'm amazed that Chilchuck had the strength and fortitude to stay in the business at all. He considered his options and took steps to keep himself safe, including only accepting pay in advance and starting a union to protect himself and other half-foots. (Another tidbit you don't get at first in the story--Chilchuck is not just a member of a union or the leader, he started the whole dang thing to begin with.)

But what's so lovely, and wonderful, what makes this story take over my brain so completely and utterly, is that Chilchuck doesn't stay this way. Over the course of the manga, he opens up more and more. He allows himself to be emotionally vulnerable; he shares more and more details of his life. He treats Marcille and Izutsumi like daughters, Laios and Senshi like brothers. He loves them and allows himself to be loved in return.

And that's one of many reasons that Dungeon Meshi is one of the best found-family stories I've come across in a long, long time.

[tanoraqui]

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

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

.

I think my boy Laios just headbutted a phoenix?

.

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

.

/laughing

.

Dad energy.

.

Book's awake!

You: What?

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

.

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

.

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

.

.

oh my god the rabbits

.

MARCILLE NO! (MARCILLE YES!)

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

.

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

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

.

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

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

.

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

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

.

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

.

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

.

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

eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes

[auroras-void]

I love Izutsumi dungeon meshi sm.

Like she's a catgirl so obv she was always going to instantly become my favorite character, but also I just relate to her a lot I think. It helps that she looks a lot like me irl but also it's deeper than that, and it's also a little odd because I think I relate her to my past far more than my present.

Like is it weird that this catgirl is actually just straight up replacing my memories of my pre transition self?

I hate past me bc they were a miserable bitch who was kinda a jerk to everyone, but now instead I just imagine past me as Izutsumi instead and I feel so much better about myself.

Like, yea she's immature and rude but it's just because because she's young and a little stupid, and so few people have tried to engage with her on an emotional level with compassion, and tried to understand her personal needs and idiosyncrasies.

And she hides because she's been taught to hide. She got given a name that pleased someone else instead of her, no ones ever really wanted her to be herself.

She lashes out at affection but it's because she doesn't know how to communicate her boundaries or advocate for herself yet, but deep down she still craves it like anyone else, maybe even more than most. She's not trying to be mean, she doesn't actually want to be like that, she's just scared and overwhelmed with the world and doesn't want to admit that she doesn't know how to do anything else.

Plus like, she's just a cat.

You can't honestly stay mad at a cat. They lash out sometimes yeah, they bite you, they scratch you, they hide from you, they built different from you, they got different needs and boundaries, and you'll get bit even more if you don't respect it, but like, they just do that, and you don't even need to understand why to know that they aren't any less worthy of love for being like that. You just do anyways, because just intuitively you already know deep down that all cats deserve love.

Like, honestly it's let me come to terms with my past and be so much gentler with myself for my failures. It softens the scorn I have for myself with all my childhood memories because I don't see that miserable little boy being a jerk anymore, I see this young catgirl who's trying her best but still just struggling with the lack of validation and understanding she's received, who still deserves that love and acceptance not just in spite of her angsty reactions, but *because* of them.

Not to mention how gender affirming it is to have someone else to imagine instead of myself. Like it helps a lot I think, because I get to see my past self for who she was on the inside all along instead of what others decided I was based on how they interpreted what they saw at my surface.

That boy in my memories doesn't exist to me anymore I think, it doesn't benefit me to keep that interpretation of me alive, and Izutsumi is the perfect replacement for him I think. In my mind I'll have always just been a catgirl like I am today.

And all cats deserve love.

[wintergrofyuri]

sometimes i think too hard about marcille and her friends' descendants. like chilchuck's great great great granddaughter calling her auntie. izutsumi's friend's nephew learning magic from her. a random kid senshi picked up one day becoming one of her closest confidants. a royal hound is born one day that looks almost exactly like the first one. the countless heirs to the throne and royal advisors in training listening to stories of the old days, when the golden kingdom was still underground and she was just a bright eyed youngin. marcille keeping her loved ones alive, determined to never let the world forget them for as long as she lives.

and if you rlly want to indulge me, thistle being right there with her through everything. im not entirely sure how everything wld work, but he Was only like. 14 in human years when he stopped aging. if his aging Did just start back up like nothing happened, he'd live for Years. but even if it did get cut a bit, he'd still stick around a while longer.

the royal family being a mess of actual blood relatives and adoptive siblings and close friends and royal staff and marcille and thistle being a constant in it for years to come. but no matter who sits on the throne, all of those fuckers are on fantasy antidepressants. every single one.

[detectivereads]

Delicious in Dungeon vol 7 by Ryoko Kui

#$!@/5 (my heart was ripped out; the volume is great.)

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

This volume is thicc! Dungeon Meshi Thursday!!!!!!

Ok there is a lot of tension between Chilchuck and Izutsumi, I am hoping in the future they will get along better but for now I can see them butting heads more. But during the fight with the Ice Golem, they do know how to put their differences aside and work together to get the job done.

At first, I felt sorry for Izutsumi, they wanted to be change back to their normal form. Also, I was reading more in The Adventurer’s Bible, understanding their back story a bit more, and I was shocked on what I found out on the part of who placed the curse on Izutsumi. (I will do a separate post on The Adventurer’s Bible; I highly recommend the book.)

Izutsumi seems to have a hard life that leads to major trust issues and will only help if it benefits her and her goals. But she has the pallet of a child that refuses to try new things and will throw a fit if she doesn’t get what she wants.

It also makes me wonder what her life was when she was with Shuro’s group, I mean we do see Izutsumi and the other ladies interact and it does seem that Izutsumi pushes stuff she doesn’t want to do/want on too Tade (even though when Tade fell off the roof, no one asked her to go up and do that chore, she just wanted to be useful.)

Now some of the middle chapters, I am now greatly worried about the group The Canaries. This group seems to have an impressive resume that even Kabru knows and has deeply affected him.

This whole group is elves, and from previous volumes they are looking for the secret of eternal life. That it seems that elves take over dungeons when they get out of hand, and from what Tansu has said that the elves want this dungeon back.

When I got the village part of the volume, I was surprised to see how a village managed to survive in this dungeon for so long. (I know that it’s Sissel magic that is keeping them alive.) But I pity them when they just farm to farm and do not really enjoy the product of their work. Like their sense of taste is so dull and with magic they have no reason to eat.

(Good lord if I couldn’t taste food I would be devastated, I love food and seeing something that you love like sushi or pizza and not being able to taste the cheese sauce and crust and spices, I would be beyond depressed.)

With that aside, these chapters we got a lot of information about Sissel, how he came to Degal kingdom, how he got into magic. How dedicated he is to try to find King Degal.

When Laois’s group got into the village, we meet Yaad, the grandson of King Degal and he is ruling the village they are in currently. Ever since Degal left for the surface, there has been a rift between the surviving Degal family and Sissel.

Yaad explains a prophecy about a person with a winged sword who would come and stop the mad mage and become the ruler of the dungeon. However, they need the help of a winged lion (that is their god that Degal’s people worshipped). But, Sissel has it locked away in the lower levels of the dungeon.

So, Laois has a choice to make.

At end of this chapter after Yaad helps the group leave, we see Sissel asking in a very scary way who was Yaad talking too.

This part makes me worried for Yaad.

The last chapters of the book…. *cue hysterical crying* POOOR SENSHI!!!!!!!!!!!! *uncontrollable sobbing* Oh lord his back story!!! His fear!!!! My god this must have tortured him for so long!!!!

You never see Senshi cry!!!!

Now (*Dries tears*) I do have some conflicted feelings with Laois in this chapter.

I can see where he is coming from, (and maybe its just me being overprotective of Senshi) but when discussing the death of Senshi’s old group, I do wish both Chilchuck and Laois exercised some tact, like talking in private out of ear shot of Senshi.

Laois is thinking is hard to follow sometimes, let’s eat the griffin and see if it tasted like the one from your past, if does yay you didn’t eat your teammates or oh no this doesn’t taste like that meal so that means I ate a team-mate.

However, I did like what Chilchuck said to Laois, that he really needs to stop. This was what I was talking about in my last post with Shuro and communication skills.

Chilchuck has good communication skills, he will not hesitate to call Laois on things that are delicate.

Though when re-reading the chapter again, I am glad that Senshi had such a great teammate to put Senshi who was at the time the youngest in the group. 

DON’T MAKE SENSHI CRY!!!!!!! My poor heart can’t take it!!!!!!!!

[madraleen]

Delicious in Dungeon - Ryōko Kui Vol.12-14: A commentary wherein the word "sweet" is said one too many times.

-"marcille, mushrooms don't have flowers!!" ahaha laios <3

-oooh, the demons share memories, that's why lion knows mithrun, okay

-nice, nice, i like how laios is reacting to marcille, "forcing the whole world to eat a menu you designed"

-marcille in her villainess outfit

-i can't be mad at marcille for hurting mithrun 'cause in her view he did the same to her, but like... be careful, guys, okay? let's not go too far.

-marcille blew mithrun's head off?? ffs, where are our healers. but she's effectively killed someone, still.

-no she's killing ALL of the canaries, omg, marcille

-hello, flamela, th... that's a lot of canaries, wow

-IS ANYONE HEALING AROUND HERE!

-"if the red dragon hadn't eaten falin back then, we would never have had such a great adventure!" that is so true and so sad

-CAPTAIN MITHRUN IS BAAACK

-NO GUYS! WE JUST SAID THE DEMON CAN'T BE DEFEATED WITH WEAPONS, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! DON'T BELIEVE THAT, THAT'S NOT LAIOS KILLING THE LION!

-clever girl, izutsumi. clever girl.

-IS FLAMELA KICKING MITHRUN TO STOP HIM FROM BITCH-SLAPPING KABRU EVEN MORE? ahahaha. although, i mean, in an inappropriate mithrun-way, him bitch-slapping kabru shows he actually pays attention to kabru...? because otherwise he wouldn't bother. he hasn't been bothered to personally interact with anyone in particular during the battle, aside from giving orders.

-this image of infinitely spawning laioses might just be kabru's nightmare, i think. too bad he's not seeing it

-THISTLEEE, lil bb is back. on yaad's back.

-the only person in this entire story that knows how to treat mithrun is kabru. the one person.

-awww, mithrun grabbed kabru's hand, got up and said "okay" to eating, resting and searching for a new desire, bless. aww, the canaries are happy about it, bless them too.

-bb mithrun is crying :( and of course it's kabru that sees it <3

-oh bless senshi and his vegetable scraps assist. and mithrun's smiling now :) oh no he's actually laughing. SHUT UP, HE'S CRYING-LAUGHING, "that's... good to hear," I LOVE HIM

-laios said "feel free to keep eating" and mithrun took it to heart, bless. eat your faligon, bb, attaboy

-'scuse you. did thistle just die? NOOo! well, he got his happy ending i guess. his wish to see delgan. and “delgan” took his burden off of him and thanked him, allowing to go peacefully. I GUESS! it makes sense, but ARGH, THISTLE, MY LIL BB ELF WHYYY :'( why did he have to be the one casualty :'( i know, i know. the lion had taken too much out of him, he'd twisted himself too much into who he had to become to protect the kingdom, he was spent and so on. still. THISTLE! :"( a sweet send-off though. with a little smile. peaceful.

-aww, it's sweet how laios leaves kensuke and his armor in a dungeon

-OH YAY, a year later yaad and his people are alive and all!

-aah, everyone meeting chil's daughters!!

-okay, so defeating the lion demon defeated all demons of all dungeons, right? and now there's only natural dungeons?

-a sweet ending for sure. it wraps things up nicely, with no significant loose ties to speak of.

-i like that people weren't left unscathed and came out changed, either emotionally like mithrun, kabru or marcille, or physically like falin, or both like laios. i would have liked to see marcille's reaction at thistle dying, considering she'd said she wanted to thank him for saving her life. i’d also have liked to see a reaction from marcille at having killed the canaries that one time.

-the fun part is going along on an adventure with a diverse cast in a cool world. that adventure vibe comes off so deliciously (hehe).

-the addictive part for me is mithrun and kabru, mostly when they're together. a kabumisu shipper, obv.

-now that all's said and done i can safely say, my faves are mithrun, thistle and kabru. i also have a soft spot for pattadol; she's sweet, she tries. i have soft spots for the canaries in general, they're fascinating.

[staenless]

I know we don't love Maizuru for putting that curse on Izutsumi but in her defense her situationship/boss showed up drunk one evening and just handed her this fucking cat child thing. What the hell was she supposed to do with it? And like Izutsumi in cannon was prone to running away, not doing her fucking job so like honestly I'd death curse her ass too that sounds like the worst task to give the woman who's full time job is keeping this noble family alive. "Izutsumi was a slave" yeah and it was Toshiros dad who bought her so there. You just hate women when they don't conform to patriarchal motherly roles, unlike me. Apologise to the beautiful mean lady.

[llycaons]

thursday again? no probl- oh no that was yesterday. anyway dunmeshi

god DAMN was laois the mvp of this episode. what a hero! p1

why you got no shirt baby senshi

if he was with me I also would be calmer. dude radiates chill

mentioned this seperately bc it struck me so hard but senshi named the kelpie after the horse he and his companions were forced to eat!!!

gillin's calming and kind support is probably who senshi models his adult behavior after - he's so understanding to younger characters like izutsumi or (he thinks) chilchuk. and getting the younger ones fed has been a consistent motivation for him 🥺

insane situation to be in. two dwarves have an argument and then you hear screaming and one of them comes out and says they both got attacked but the other dwarf and the monster that attacked them are both dead. brings you some meat. dies soon after. bears a wound not likely to be inflicted by that monster. no corpses. what the fuck did you eat

love this bit. senshi and the orcs respecting each other and the dungeon >>>>

😭😭😭😭

HE'S RIGHT THO. he's clumsy but he's RIGHT

the gears are TURNING!!!!

SIMURGH? HELLO??? I'm not a furry but uhmmm 😳😳😳😳😳😳

he's so smart I love him

even in the despair of believing he ate a fellow dwarf, senshi is practical and grateful. he knows gillin did what he did to keep him alive

😭😭😭😭

HE'S SO SMART!!!!!

literally correct on all counts he's like a detective

MAYBE I CRIED A LITTLE...

most of the scenes from the manga hit harder for me but this one I felt much stronger in the anime adaptation. nice work, anime team!!!

[biggie-chcese]

TOP 5 DUNMESHI!!!!!!

ohh this one's hard because i genuinely cant really pick a fav. the characters in dunmeshi are so fucking good that it fluctuates for me. so im not putting these in any specific order methinks

Kabru because he's fucked up and also hilarious. how do you become this obsessed with a white guy. i mean, i get it. that white guy is incredibly interesting. i also love kabru's backstory. his motivations were so hard to parse when i first read the manga and to discover the truth in the end was just as shocking to me as laios. i almost didnt believe him. but it's true. god what a freak <3

Izutsumi <333 because this is the most well-written catgirl i have ever seen. genuinely incredible. that is definitely a cat that is a girl. i also like how her arc essentially marks a new beginning at the very end of the manga. she stayed consistent yet interesting all throughout

Chilchuck. funni union man. i can empathize with the half-foots because i, too, look very young and am never treated seriously for it. he appeals to me in a very specific, relatable way. except i dont have kids nor am i divorced. my soul is tho. my soul is... i do love people treating him like arataka reigen and making cunty art and edits of him. please keep it up

Senshi. genuinely amazing character. just like many others, he inspires me to eat healthy. i also love the message he gives through his character, that to survive, one must have the knowledge and respect for the environment theyre in. and when you do, it pays back in dividends. to eat together is to grow together is to love. yknow? im yapping sorry

Mithrun. i mean. a guy who lost all desires slowly realizing that he still has some? that he can gain more? that he has a reason to keep going and that there's still a way to feel alive? bro his arc makes me crazy

[happyk44]

[ID: Edited memes featuring Dungeon Meshi characters

1: Falin: Professor: you are failing this course

The rat living in my shoulder bag who I spent time training instead of doing the course work: *pops head out and plays sad wah wah wah wah noise on trombone*

2: Izutsumi: Nobody cares

Thistle: @/bigboy be silent, keep your forked tongue behind its teeth, I have not passed through fire and death to exchange words with a witless worm

Izutsumi: @/sean rankln jr blow me

3: Edited text change with a couple panels form the Dungeon Meshi manga added to the right. The text associated with Laios has been blurred out but the messages take up most of the image. In the Dungeon Meshi panels, Laios is the one talking.

Laios: You know, the spiders' silk is so strong, they can sometimes even catch small dragons.

Laios: I heard that in west they have the technology to spin the silk into fabric-

Kabru: Damn that's crazy

4: Laios: what's your biggest fear

Marcille: Being forgotten

Laios: damn that's deep

Laios: mine is the kool aid man but I feel kinda stupid about it now

5: Tweet from noel jon lovitz @/nbadag: me [peeling a banana] may I take ur jacket lol

coworker also in the break room: do you thin other people can't hear you

Laios's image is placed beside the "me" part of the tweet and Chilchuck's image is placed beside the "coworker" part of the tweet.

6: Cropped tweet reads: When we both fall asleep [sleep emoji] [scream emoji] [two heart emoji] [sparkle heart emoji]

Picture of two people sleeping. Only their faces are visible.

Reply tweet from Isaac Whittemore @/6ixice: so the bed bugs takin the photos

Falin and Marcille's images are placed beside the first tweet, indicating that they are the people in the first image, and Izutsumi's image is placed beside the second tweet.

7: Cropped text that indicates the other person's message was read yesterday.

Kabru today at 13:54pm: Oops I didn't read this until now [flushed emoji]

8: Marcille: Love this site, I can read all the animorphs boobs, thanks!

Chilchuck: It is spelled 'books', dunbass

9: Kabru: do people actually preheat their ovens

Senshi: this is the worst post I have ever fucking seen

10: Laios, wearing a crown: I'm wearing $1.4k in clothing rn...what a time to be alive [sleeping emoji]

Mickbell: aye that's cool man, yo, uh...turn ya location on

11: Mrs. Tansu, texting: Answer your phone

Kiki: Gimme a minute. I can't find my phone

Mrs. Tansu: Ok

Mrs. Tansu: You are an awful child. You know you're killing me. You're killing your mother

12: Thistle: whatever *becomes an enemy of the state*

13: Tweet from brent @/murrman5: [me telling my story how I survived a plane crash and lived on a deserted island for a year] it was crazy

[friend who once got a text from me where I accidentally called the grinch the grink] was the grink there?

Lycion's picture is beside the "me" part of the tweet and Fleki's picture is beside the "friend" part of the tweet.

14: Tumblr post from @/doomsneigh: friend: I wish someone loved me

me about to tell my friend that i love them: oh, you haven't heard?

Mithrun's picture is beside the "friend" part of the post, and Kabru's picture is next to the "me" part of the post.

15: Zon: everything can be solved with violence

Marcille: Except stupidity and ignorance

Zon: turn your location on

16: Laios: u like to play bug game?

Kabru: Which one?

Laios: bug game is where you look for bugs on the ground and you find as many as possible

Laios: me and my sister Complete

17: Laios: What movie is this

Toshiro: I love you man

Laios: I love you too, but seriously what's the movie called

Toshiro, in all caps: I LOVE YOU MAN

Laios, in all caps: I LOVE YOU TOO BRO

/end ID]

dunmeshi meme texts pt.3