#like who would that male character even be??? laios?????

[lesbiansanemi]

Just saw a post of someone complaining that falin was fridged…. Man you people really will just say things huh

[officialspec]

can you pleeeeease post your dm sexuality/gender hcs on here.... 🥺 i don't have a twitter but i wanna know. it's like a pandora's box to me now i'm like scratching at the door. let me in

heres the link 2 the thread (mild spoilers btw) ill post a transcript under the cut for ppl who dont have twitter

first off i think laios relationship to sex is super removed for like 50 reasons without even getting into his actual sexuality

he grew up in a place with very repressed ideas about sex and has a lot of fear about asserting his presence in situations

his special interest takes precedent over any social interactions he has and the level of closeness he feels towards people

he has a hard time figuring out his feelings towards other people both bc hes autistic and bc he has freaky deviantart fetishes that make sex in his mind a very abstract concept <- this one is me projecting mostly

that aside, i feel like gender-wise hes attracted to ppl so infrequently it may as well be entirely case-by-case

the idea of him being gay appeals to me from the 'raised with traditional values he Does Not fit into/hasnt begun to question it yet' perspective, i lauve characters who put a lot of stock into performing a role thats expected of them and fail miserably for unknown (gay) reasons

from his perspective tho i dont think he would ever really label himself anything. hes going to pride parades in the shirt+shorts Ally Fit to clap for his friends

hes also 'cis by indifference' imo... i love tmasc laios hcs it just doesnt mesh w his personal history to me. i do think hes got some kind of therian gender thing going on (not trans or nb but a secret third thing) but i cant see him changing anything abt his appearance/pronouns to accommodate that post-canon. hes just doin his thang

falin is in a similar boat for gender. i LOOVE tfem falin but the village repression thing has been bugging at me so i dont think i subscribe to it anymore (canon purist sorry) BUT if u hold that hc i am clapping and cheering regardless

instead i was propagandised to a while back and i LOVEEE the idea that being fused w a male dragon and the residual traits she has after being revived have given her a type of gender euphoria she didnt realise she was missing. a little boygirl swagger if u will

sexuality-wise i also dont think she would care to label herself, shes a lesbian by virtue of only being interested in One woman and zero other people. without marcille i do think shes still exclusively attracted to women, and i like to imagine she might experiment around a bit during her travels post-canon (pre-relationship). hearing abt it might put marcille on the news though

marcille is very simple That is a transfem lesbian. she cant get pregnant, shes obsessed w being femme and all that combined w her half-tallman struggles to be seen as 'properly feminine' by elf standards reads very transfeminine to Me. also her bookboy crush REEKS of comphet its not subtle

i think a more comfortable marcy might have the space to experiment w being elf butch like her manga boys but thats mainly self indulgence for me. utena could have saved her

senshi is gay his whole thing is abt not being able to perform dwarven masculinity to a proper standard (soft hearted, not as strong or rugged as his peers) which is like gaycoding 101. also hes a bear. homosexuality be damned by boy can work a grill

adding onto this i rly think senshi got some type of euphoria from being an elf in the changeling chapters. he was feeling himself so much i think he was using it as an outlet to have fun being a little fem and fruity without needing to justify it. do u understand

i dont have any particular opinions abt him gender-wise beyond that. his bulge is an essential part of his character design but i also saw a transmasc senshi a couple days ago that made me nod my head thoughtfully so i could go either way

chilchuck is cis and bisexual this is just canon. not even just his old man crush on senshi altho i do think thats very funny but they put his ass on a cover themed like hes in a dating sim with all the men and women in the cast and then slapped it in front of a chapter called "bicorn". i simply cant pass up that kind of overt signaling. its so fucking funny what else is there to say truly

izu to ME is a transmasc aroace lesbian (this one has the least basis in canon i just know it to be true) shes a little genderfluid with it nd uses he/she i think. i like to imagine she consistently uses masculine personal pronouns to refer to herself either way tho (boku, ore)

i think izutsumis gender/sexuality is entirely secondary in priorities to her body dysphoria. she has a lot of learning and acceptance 2 do before that kind of self discovery is on the docket and in my mind eschewing gender on some level is part of that. get sillay

shuro is cishet but at least he feels bad about it. next listen listen to me i dont think he would ever actually examine this but i need u to put on ur tin foil hat with me for one second. i think estrogen could have saved her. i have more thoughts on this but im not gonna propagandise too much on this post just know that im right

kabru is a transmasc bisexual this is also practically text. his whole thing of being treated like a doll by milsiril to put in pretty dresses, plus i think it would be pretty easy for him to stealth in the west since tallmen are seen as inherently more masculine than elves

(i also think changing genders is just more common for elves. theyre androgynous enough that it wouldnt be hard and like who in their right miiiiind would be the same gender for 500 years. dwarves too)

i think he started presenting as male socially in the west but didnt need to consider medical transition until he moved to a more mixed culture where other races might see him as a woman

i dont have to explain the bisexual part. have u seen him

namari is a butch bisexual this is just canon straight up. shes not transmasc but i think the default settings for dwarven women is like 4 years of T regardless. shes a hit at all the local cruising spots despite her renfaire nerdisms i know this

and just bc im thinking abt em kiki and kaka are identical and kiki is tfem :} theyre both attracted to women but kaka is a sub so i forgive him

THATS ALL 4 NOW theres a lot of characters so i cant have thoughts abt all of them at once but i hope this was good. im right about everything forever as per usual

[yarrayora]

i like how falin being a maiden to be saved, a reward to be coveted, isn't a point to criticize in dungeon meshi. because we have various other female characters who are written as having their own agency

we have marcille, of course, whose story can be observed since chapter 1. how she's not depicted as the "girl team member" but "part of the team". when you're writing a protagonist group where there's only one female character among the male cast, you can always feel this sense of alienation in the writing, like she doesn't belong in the group as the story focuses on the rest of the boys. the way masashi kishimoto writes team 7 is a major example

but marcille is still allowed to be a "typical girl" who doesn't want to eat gross things and enjoy feminine clothing without forgetting the fact that she's a multifaceted person. she's a researcher who isn't afraid to get dirty when it's something relevant to magic and her goal, even though she's also grossed out at the idea of feces being used as fertilizer for crops

and when falin comes back as a monster who can't speak, it's still not a point to criticize. oftentimes stories involving female characters losing their speech (or, well, becoming disabled in some way) is meant to make her vulnerable, a fragile 'something' to be protected. but this is not an argument about how chimera falin is super strong, because that's a shallow way of thinking that ignores the fact that being a Girlboss doesn't ensure your female character is written as a fully realized person. this is about the fact that almost right after that Izutsumi joins Laios' party.

She joins late in the game, so it'll be easy for her to only be tacked on as an afterthought. A notable example would be Okumura Haru from Persona 5, where her character gets overshadowed a lot by the other party members' more colorful personalities, as if the writer wasn't sure how to integrate her into the already developed dynamic.

there's also how she's written as a sweet and shy girl yet the way her school uniform is designed betrays that image. it's heavily customized even compared to the trendy girl like ann which means it's impossible for her outfit to not go against school regulation. not something an obedient girl would have done. which makes me wonder if they couldn't decide on her writing until last minute.

but Izutsumi is different. her involvement and her own personal story arc eventually intertwines to the overarching plot. she hates having her options limited. she hates having responsibilities to uphold. she hates eating veggies! she hates that people expects her to do things their way! she wants freedom to do whatever she wants!

but in the end she learns that to have the freedom to choose, she has to uphold her responsibilities. starting from the simple things like taking care of her health by eating balanced meals, not just the ones she enjoy. she has to do work to get enough money for her food and travels. and she has to learn how society works so she can live independently. she has to learn which desire she has to prioritize that she can balance out with her responsibility as a living being.

her own self-realization culminates into her giving advice to laios that leads to him steeling his resolves to become king.

so you have Falin, who gets turned into a monster that cant communicate her desire and needs while under the mad sorcerer's control, and in exchange you get Izutsumi, the 'beastman' who knows exactly what she wants and throws a tantrum about it without shame, not understanding that what you want isn't always what you need. i think it's a really cool parallel!

this is a prime example of how tropes that get associated with misogynistic writing can be used as a proper tool that serves a narrative when you have more than multiple female characters having their own character arcs

in fact, you can apply this to pretty much every other things. when you're writing gay characters, having only one of them and they act camp can make people raise an eyebrow at whether this is meant to be a caricature of gay people or not. having two of them and one acts camp and one acts normie can be read as a bias against gay people expressing themselves. writing multiple gay characters, all with different personalities and desires will avoid accidental stereotyping.

even the minor female characters, be it the canaries or namari, help show that the way the narrative treats Falin isn't born from thinking that women are an alien breed compared to men. that her lack of agency means something for the themes involved.

[malewifesband]

sure you can do what you want with your trans headcanons but dont you want to explore the themes of the work. dont you want to see characters who actually have experiences like yours be the ones who are like you. laios' experience is simply not a transmasculine one, but it is a very, very transfeminine one

laios feels rejected by other men, bullied relentlessly by then as a child in all-male settings, and seems to feel safer with women BUT also feels innately like a predator around them (always keeping physical distance, terrified that others would even THINK he was attracted to marcille). he does everything in his power to seem safer and smaller and models much of his body language after like cute girls (i dont have the panel on hand, but the way he plays with the rim of his plate and then shyly looks up while pouting his lip when asking marcille if she wanted to stay on the island instead of go to jail is one example, but theres a lot. a lot.). hes envious of and idolizes his sister, sees her as more deserving of life than him. all these themes together are a very transfeminine themed character: the desire to become a monster (and even more his desire to become a dog) speaks to a desire to shed more his manhood than humanity outright. being a man specifically seems to limit him

there are a number of characters with more transmaculine themes. senshis desire to be a man in his own way, without the need for 'iron in his veins' (also very gay). chilchucks (and all halffoots) adoption of toxic masculine traits in order to 'pass' as a grown man when people refuse to see him as such, despite the damage it does to himself and to the women he loves. Kabrus feeling that he's just his foster mother's doll + the thing where a little girl who looks just like him sees the dungeon opening. falins tendency to go with whatever others want for her until she is fused with a (male) dragon and suddenly finding that she knows what she wants and is willing to assert herself to get it. lycions whole allegorical transition and the very firm assertion that he is a man in the adventurers bible despite being quite manly for an elf already. izutsumi reads the same both transmaculinely and transfemininely. otta, tbh. wont get into that one.

laios i think only makes sense as a transfeminine character

[loriache]

honestly i'm kind of interested in the idea of laios in an arranged marriage. because obviously straight-up inherited monarchies are ...bad, to say the least! but it's what the characters are familiar with (even laios' father's extremely local, extremely minor leadership role is inherited, presumably through the male line). and it isn't just about what they think the best way to run melini is; in terms of ensuring that the other longed-lived nations respect melini's continued sovereignty, having it passed down in a manner that's close enough to their own ways for them to understand it and respect it is important. And it seems like most of the other nations have leadership through inheritance - thought that isn't confirmed for certain except with the elves.

Also, a marriage carries the potential to establish foreign allies - something melini is certainly lacking. A marriage could come with resources they'll badly need, treaties of mutual defence, money, legitimacy and political capital... not that these things can't be worked around, but if laios isn't strongly opposed, there are a lot of advantages! and i don't think he would be, because that's the framework for marriage (conferring practical advantages, building intracommunity relationships and providing a partner to do important work that he can't do) that he had grown up with. he isn't exactly a romantic and I doubt he's holding out for any sort of relationship of that nature.

Like, I don't think it's impossible that they would go with this path, because it's the most obvious and it carries a lot of advantages and it's what almost all the decision-making characters would consider normal and not objectionable. and it could be so interesting.

I think Laios would have major hangups if expected (i.e., by Marcille) to establish a genuine, romantic interest in a woman. Whether because of his sexual or romantic orientation, or just his own deep-seated trauma about rejection and being inherently disgusting and scary. And I think he'd hate the idea of having kids, too, and be very frightened of being like his father. But I don't think he'd refuse on that basis; he could cope with a marriage contract, with clearly laid-out expectations and responsibilities. And when it came to having a kid, I think he'd be reluctant to express that he doesn't want to do it, because he isn't naive and he understood when he agreed to be king it would carry responsibilities like this. It's clear from his nightmare that he already felt pressure from his parents to have children, probably magnified by the fact his father has got a position, responsibilities and wealth to pass on. Obviously he isn't a perfect martyr, so he might struggle when it comes to actually going through with it - but I don't think he'd actually, outright refuse. I think he might do it even though he doesn't want to, and I think that could be really messy in a way that appeals to me.

I don't know, there's something about negotiating these kinds of complicated situations that's interesting to me. and i love a platonic marriage. If they find a woman who has an interest in education, for example, and can work with marcille on setting up schools and universities. she'd ideally be politically savvy enough to be an able partner to laios: even though kabru can and would continue to do a lot of that, there are different spheres that a queen and a prime minister can work within!

how would their relationship work? maybe she finds laios' perspective on the world, and his frankness, unexpectedly liberating after an extremely controlled, cloistered upbringing. maybe she had a rebellious phase, has magic, or something else which makes her a relatively unpopular candidate for marriage - even as melini grows in power, i doubt that they'd be getting offers for the cream of the crop in terms of perceived value on the marriage market, because laios' relationship is a bit too ambivalent/monstrous for that, and melini too new. maybe she's a widow! an older woman, wouldn't that be cool - though they'd want her young enough that she could definitely still have kids.

certainly i think he'd be happy for her to pursue other relationships, though ideally in a manner that couldn't produce illegitimate kids. with other relationships in play, that's even more interesting. like, both kabru and toshiro have complicated emotions relating to infidelity. i think kabru would actually find it quite cathartic to be in the kind of high-status environment that rejected his mother for perceived infidelity, pursuing an affair that all parties consent to, though he'd likely be incredibly aware of the public image - since "image" is what he was rejected for. toshiro... i just really really love the way he'd feel about being the "other woman" in laios' marriage, considering his feelings about his father and maizuru. especially given how much closer he is to maizuru than his mother, being in her position...! his emotions would be so complex, it's incredibly tasty. i bet he'd make a bunch of assumptions about how laios' wife feels about it and be totally wrong, and that's so interesting. also, i think laios' wife should fuck marcille (she and falin have an open relationship).

[shippofuri]

Thoughts on Lycion's identity, species, gender. (CW: mentions of internalized transphobia)

as someone who is trans and has species dysphoria (and whose transness is intrinsically linked to species dysphoria, the human female form being too exaggeratedly human to feel comfortable in) it feels a bit odd when people exclusively discuss Lycion's body dysmorphia as exclusively a trans allegory (which is a perfectly reasonable read! but it can be more than that...) seemingly without much awareness that people who are like him, and especially trans people who are like him in a more literal sense exist... So I figure, as one of those people, I might give some observations on Lycion, along with some anecdotes of my own experience and how it parallels it, how his characterization reflects real-world struggles- both literally and as a trans narrative, and why I appreciate characters like him so much.

What is fascinating (but also so relatable!) to me, both when viewed in a literal sense and as a trans allegory, is that Lycion does not actually have a particular affinity to another species, but rather feels a visceral discomfort with his own elven body.

We even see in his raceswap portraits, Lycion is visibly happier as anything but an elf. Unlike Laios, who wants to become a monster, Lycion doesn't want to become anything in particular, he simply wants to stop being an elf.

Most depictions of transgender characters in media are focused on the idea of wanting to become something. Feeling in your heart you were always meant to be a boy or a girl or perhaps some secret third thing. Having a specific goal. What is less often depicted is the experience of I don't want to be what i was born as, I'd rather be anything else but this. anything is better than this. And, in both my struggles with gender and with my own humanity, this has been my experience!

Of course, there are a great many creatures I look at and think "I would be much happier if i were one of them", but those feelings are broader and less pressing than the overwhelming discomfort with my own body, and the desire to be less human. I aspired to masculinity and ultimately pursued transition not out of a particular affinity with any idea of maleness, but because masculine human features, to me, appear more animalistic, less of a strange naked thing that sticks out like a sore thumb in the grand scheme of things. And so too did Lycion pursue becoming a beastman, not because he felt a particular affinity with being a wolf, but because it would make him less of an elf.

And after pursuing it, even though he still has to spend much of his time as an elf, Lycion is far more comfortable, no longer nihilistic and self-destructive. He's confident, prideful even! He has a body that doesn't feel wrong, even if he can only wear it sometimes.

And, myself having been on HRT for nearly four years now, i have to say my experience has been much the same! Even though, of course, I'm still human, my dysphoria has essentially been eliminated, I feel comfortable in my body, and I genuinely like the way I look. I admire my reflection and find joy even in the changes that i was merely indifferent to the possibility of when beginning my treatment, and it even eased some issues completely unrelated to gender...!

Finally, Laios' dismissal of Lycion's identity here feels very reminiscent of people casting doubt on a trans (most often nonbinary) individual's identity due to transitioning for what they view as "the wrong reason", even at times arguing that only people who meet their personal standard for transness should be allowed access to transition. And like with Laios, who himself wishes to become a monster, these arguments are often coming from within, from others in the trans community.

Is someone who identifies as male because they don't want to be female less justified in their desire to pursue transition than someone who doesn't want to be female because they identify as male...? Should people be denied the right to feel comfortable in their own skin because they are seeking to escape something, rather than reaching for something specific...? Of course, you know what my answer is, but I digress.

[asukafigure]

i have a pretty major gripe with portrayals of kabru as a twink or even certain transmasc portrayals (mostly because they tend to play into the idea of him being a twink), because hes not really a twink. people think hes so feminine in comparison to laios and other male character in the series, but hes pretty generically masculine. this is, in part, why im not the biggest fan of certain labru content (dont kill me).

but thats not all of it. sure, some of his portrayal as a twink is because he's not as masculine in comparison, but thats not it.

much of this is because he's brown. people expect hypermasculinity from brown people and characters, so when kabru doesn't give them that, they perceive him as the exact opposite: the twinkiest mfer to ever exist. if kabru was a white* character, this wouldnt happen as much (it would still happen, thats how fandom is, but it would still be less often). if he was a white* character, he would be perceived as some generically masculine dude-bro who's oddly charming and chillin'. but because he's brown, people catch onto his lack of hypermasculinity and decide to call him a twink when he is objectively not.

making kabru into a twink, not only plays into the expectation that brown men need to be hypermasculine, but it also tends to make him into an accessory for the leading white* characters that he is often shipped with (laios and mithrun).

* since it is a fantasy setting, they very likely have a different view of race. im using the term "white" because that is how the characters are perceived by the (english) fan base.

[opinated-user]

Why does Lily act like Laios is a like spawn of the devil or something? And I ask this as a person who would not call myself a fan of Dungeon Meshi. Like, it's a nice anime but that's it, I don't really feel strongly about it either way. But the way she talked about Laios confuses me. Like she makes him sound so awful and rude etc, as if Laios was a Draco Malfoy or something. But Laios is not like that? Like, I'm quite indifferent towards Laios as a character but the way Lily talks about Laios makes me think if we are even watching the same anime. And yeah, Laios' reaction seeing Farcille as a chimera is a bit weird, like he should be worried for his sister but dude loves monsters and sometimes our hyperfixations get the best of us and I saw it as a way of also showcasing that Laios would still love and accept his sister, not matter what form she would take.

i have a couple of reasons that i think are likely: 1. laois is a light skinned (no idea what ethnicity he is supposed to be) cis male character who, as one of the protagonists, receives attention in the narrative and LO by default thinks that is always a bad thing. see her constant whining about hunter in TOH for reference.

2. the kind of autism that laois represents is not the kind of autism that LO likes, which, indeed, is extremely ableist and just generally messed up. i think this is might also be an issue of LO herself being autistic and just missing the most subtle aspect of his writing because of it. he is not blatantly telling to the audience every thought and concern that he has, so LO just completely misses what he thinks or is concerned about. we all know that woman has a nack to miss the point. 3. adding to the first point, because he being an important part of the plot probably takes away from the cute women that LO absolutely does not have already a folder on NSFW fanart about.

[chilaios-bi]

Title: The Wonder Under Your Skin

Author: Lilmia_Casand

Rating: Teen & Up

No Archive Warnings Apply

M/M

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

Relationships: Chilchuck Tims/Laios Touden, Minor Marcille Donato/Falin Touden

Characters: Chilchuck Tims, Laios Touden, Touden Party Members

Tags: Alternate Universe - Selkies, Selkie Laios Touden, Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Mild Angst, canon universe but with selkies, No Spoilers

Language: English

Words: 1422

Chapters: 1/1

fic under the cut

Laios’s mother was a selkie who had chosen to live a boring life on land.  She locked away her coat and married Laios’s father and had a grand time being a normal human wife.

The problems came when Laios was born with his own coat, male selkies weren’t particularly common, and his mother didn’t like the reminder that she wasn’t human.  She locked his coat away and swore he’d never know what he was.

Falin was also born with a coat, Laios was young, but when he saw his mother locking away the coat, he snuck into the room where she kept them and—

Laios held onto Falin’s coat until she was old enough to hide it herself, and he kept his wrapped around his chest under his shirt.

Laios dreamed of monsters, he didn’t know how to transform, but he dreamed sometimes, of not being stuck as a human.

…

Exploring the dungeon was dangerous but it was amazing.

Until the dragon.

On the surface Laios knew Falin was dead.  Her coat was folded neatly next to him in the grass, and it was cold to the touch.

Laios couldn’t let himself cry, not now, not when he could still save her.

…

He wrapped Falin in her coat, the blood washing away where the coat brushed, Marcille eyed the coat with confusion, but Falin grasped it tightly, and it was warm to the touch.

After, after it all, Falin had left her coat as a blanket over Marcille’s shoulders.

Laios knew she was still alive because Marcille commented on how warm the coat was, when she asked Laios about it he deflected, Falin should have been the one to tell her.

“It’s Falin’s, as long as it’s still warm she’s still alive.” he admitted, “And she gave it to you, so it’s up to you to protect it.”

Marcille wore it under her dress, reassured by its warmth that Falin was still alive.

And Laios held the tears at bay even as they fought the chimera with his sister’s face.

He knew she was being controlled somehow, or that in some way it wasn’t her, because while she didn’t hurt Marcille, the sight of her coat didn’t cause any reaction.

…

As they entered the freezing snow, Laios pulled his coat out from under his armor and passed it to Chilchuck.

“I don’t get that cold.” Chilchuck huffed, and lied because half-foots didn’t do well in colder temperatures.

“It’ll stay warm, it’s magic.” Laios explained.

Chilchuck blinked, “Thanks.” he grumbled as he wrapped it around himself.

Laios grinned, he could feel the reassuring knowledge that Chilchuck was safe, that his coat was wrapped around his vital organs as an impenetrable shield.  So long as Laios was alive, Chilchuck would be warm and nothing would be able to cut through Laios’s coat to hurt him.

Chilchuck blushed as he looked up at Laios.

Laios couldn’t help but smile at him, reaching down to adjust the coat so it was more secure.  Chilchuck didn’t attempt to squirm away, only grumbling under his breath as Laios finished.  Laios beamed and Chilchuck looked away, his whole face bright red.

This wasn’t the first time Laios had given Chilchuck his coat, but those times had always been so fleeting, Chilchuck would return it within a day or two if not within the hour, as soon as he felt like the cold wasn’t an issue anymore.

Chilchuck knew the coat, that was more like a pelt or blanket really, was important to Laios, and being trusted with it made something in his chest go soft and mushy against his will.

Marcille had narrowed her eyes at the sight of Laios’s coat wrapped around Chilchuck, but she didn’t say anything, instead looking down at the coat that Falin had left her, her brow furrowed as she started to piece something together.

The four started into the snow, the cold wind biting at them.

Chilchuck made a worried noise as he lost sight of the party, his ears were little help with the way the wind howled through the tunnels.

And then he heard Laios’s voice, and the warmth around his shoulders seemed to almost squeeze for a moment, Chilchuck fought against the wind, reaching out his hand and—

Laios held him entirely, his hand wrapped around Chilchuck’s completely, relief flooded through him, Laios wouldn’t let him get lost in the snow.

…

Determining the fake Laioses was easy enough, and soon there were only two of everyone else.

Laios closed his eyes and focused, the call of his coat rang clearly in his head, he walked slowly, eyes still closed, until he reached out and felt the warmth of Chilchuck’s shoulder under his coat.

He opened his eyes and smiled down at the half-foot.

“This one’s the real Chilchuck.” he announced.

“How do you know!?” the Marcilles exclaimed.

“They look identical.” one of the Senshis commented.

“Easy, he’s wearing my coat.” Laios explained like it was obvious.

One of the Marcilles gasped, “No way.” she hissed, her hand flying to the bit of Falin’s coat that peaked above the collar of her dress.

…

Chilchuck glanced at the Marcille that had spoken.

“You and Falin are selkies!?” she exclaimed.

It took a second for Chilchuck to put it together, the warm weight of the coat on his shoulders suddenly felt heavier than the sky.

He ran a hand along the warm coat, the seal skin.  It was impossibly soft under his fingers still.  Laios seemed to be frozen in place, having turned to look at Marcille.

Of course Laios was a selkie, he loved eating monsters, he seemed so out of tune with humanity, his teeth were often the first weapon he thought of instead of his sword.  It all made sense.  A painful amount of sense.  And this wasn’t the first time Chilchuck had been given this coat from Laios’s large and gentle hands.

“Have you been fucking proposing to me!?” Chilchuck shouted as he turned to face Laios, which, fuck, had not been what he’d meant to say.

More something along the lines of, ‘why would you give me your coat?’, to ‘you idiot stop giving your coat away someone could take advantage of that!’, to ‘and you never told anyone!?’.

Laios blinked, seeming to suddenly realize something, “Oh!  No!  I mean!  Maybe?  The stories all say coats are proposals but it doesn’t seem to actually affect me or Falin’s behavior, so I’m pretty sure it’s just a cultural thing and obviously we didn’t grow up in the culture, neither of us even knows how to transform—”

Chilchuck let out a breath he didn’t even know he’d been holding as Laios started rambling about selkies and what he knew vs. what he experienced.

“Laios,” Chilchuck cut him off, “Why did you give me your coat?”

Laios lit up like a firework, “Well, so long as I’m alive the coat is warm, and indestructible!  So if you’re wearing it, it’s light, but safer than any armor.”

“You gave me your coat, which could count as a proposal, because it would keep me safe?”

“Yeah.” Laios said simply, his gaze so focused on Chilchuck’s that it was like he was the only thing in the whole world, “We need to figure out the real and fake Marcille and Senshi.” he said suddenly.

Chilchuck was left reeling.

And his heart wouldn’t listen when he told it to stop trying to escape his chest, and make a new home inside of Laios’s.

…

A long time later, Chilchuck and Laios were sitting together in the relative privacy of Laios’s room.

Chilchuck still had Laios’s coat wrapped around his shoulders.

“You’re so stupid, you know?” Chilchuck started.

Laios smiled faintly, “You’ve told me.”

“I’m not ready to get married yet.” he continued, “But… I kept your coat.”

Laios shrugged, “You did try to give it back several times.”

Chilchuck scowled, “That’s not the point!  I— I just…” he paused, “I like you, it’s stupid and you’re stupid and I don’t want to spend another day without you.”

Laios slowly smiled, a real smile, big and brilliant.

“So I’m going to keep your coat and we’re going to spend every day together, and maybe eventually we’ll get married.  If you want.”

Laios made a noise of excitement that was particularly inhuman, and then he kissed Chilchuck, eager and giving.  Chilchuck closed his eyes and kissed back fiercely, grabbing Laios’s shoulders, his nails digging into the tall-man’s skin.

…

The coat stayed with Chichuck, a warm layer of protection.

[5-htagonist]

dunmesh genderswap au thoughts...

so kabrus backstory remains essentially the same in my au, when taken by milsiril and assimilated into elven culture she is dressed more femininely than she was before thus incurring gender awakening. i dont think it would be a huge struggle for her except for being infantilized, but that happens with my canon compliant trans kabru hc as well. i hc it as a small part of why he left home-- to pursue gender affirmation magic/surgery/whatever without being told You cant know what you want youre baby. so tfem kabru also leaves to become an adventurer etcetcetc.

fem laios is where stuff differs. i REALLY REALLY like the idea of her being a single, possibly teen mom. i think she would still be super close with falin, still be horrified at how he was treated. but i dont think falin would be sent away. as a boy, he would have the agency to Leave rather than be sent away.

i imagine the attempts to beat the magic out of falin would be replaced by manual labor or something at first, due to the maleness. to me, the story about falin and her persecution are very very very much connected with womanhood-- women cant know too much, be too powerful, or theyre a witch. i think its possible boyfalin would instead be coveted for his magic, and leave because of this. a large part of falins character is lacking agency, and i think this would manifest for boyfalin with the village using him for his magic at a point. i think its possible they might idolize and demonize him at the same time, the autism is still there. everyone probably thinks hes weird and could blow the whole village up if they piss him off, which they would always be scared of due to falin being very calm. they would think hes just hiding that Male Rage or whatever. i think without a proper teacher, maybe some sort of mishap happens that pushes falin to leave. i dont know if it would regard laios, but maybe falin hurts her or feels hes at risk of hurting her/their family/the village so he leaves to avoid that. i think hed probably leave before laios has her baby-- maybe falin leaves for magic school when hes 12 to parallel canon laios...

more paragraphs Below!

laios, being a girl, would have a significant lack of agency comparatively. she would Not be able to just leave to join the army. so i think she would get arranged for a marriage, possibly have a child (heretofore known as laiosito) fairly young (im thinking 15 or 16 which is tragic but. realistic for a sort of "red neck"ish village...). laios would still be Weird and quiet, so the husband that was picked would probably be someone who is also at least a little weird and definitely detached, but ultimately he and laios wouldnt be close at all. lots of going thru the motions. i think shed be A Great Mom (learned what Not to do from her parents) about half the time, and the other half shed be burnt out and bedridden. shed be constantly masking the best she knows how (shutting up) on top of having to be Lady Like around others, so shed be pretty reclusive.

i think she might get sick of it all, maybe laiosito says something super profound (as kids often do without meaning to, and i just know laios isnt the type to dismiss someone just because theyre a kid) or maybe something happens to her husband, maybe he mistreats her or laiosito somehow, maybe laiosito is magically gifted and laios gets scared theyll be used and demonized like falin, idk. but she leaves, and i think shed go thru a similar path as canon-- laiosito would be as well cared for as possible, but shed be in the same state as she was in canon when she reunited with falin. falin would be so happy to be an uncle and help laios with her kid and laios would feel Super Fucking Guilty because falin didnt even KNOW she had a kid, and now laiosito is old enough to have real conversations... but ofc falin is there for her big sister....

maybe instead of leaving that night and looking for work and shelter, laios and laiosito crash in marcille and falins dorm. falin wouldnt want to take a kid to look for work without some recoup time from the trip...

i am a little stuck here, at the part where falin and laios in canon join the caravan and then try to form a party. however they end up at the island, whenever they do, the thing that draws them into the dungeon is other than curiosity is providing for laiosito. i think laiosito has heard stuff about dungeons and monsters, thru laios, then thru falin. being a kid, they dont know the actual danger. maybe falin is looking after laiosito and they run off at some point into the dungeon. he would find laiosito safe in like a 1st floor market or something being looked after by kind strangers (maybe kabrus party? then he would get berated for being a shitty dad LOL (falin thoughts: "...but im their uncle.... and i didnt even know they existed until this year...")

i think falin would tell laios about this and maybeee that would trigger something in laios. though i dont think theyd go dungeoning for a few years. its mostly falin taking odd jobs, but they would take turns looking after laiosito until the kid is older. maybe laiosito makes friends with one chilchucks kids and he babysits the kid.... chils kids would be 14, so definitely old enough to babysit)

so they form their party pretty similar to canon, but laiosito would be 11 by the start of canon. almost old enough to join the army... falin gets eated, laios sends mail to whomever is babysitting laiosito updating on the situation and why she wont be back for a while. laios isnt happy to not see her baby for an indeterminate amount of time, but shes confident theyll at least live... but laiosito sees the letter and goes Oh Shit.... I Have To Help Save Uncle Falin..... so laiosito runs off to the dungeon. i think they would be magically gifted like falin, and i think falin would have given them some tutoring. they are not scared of the dungeon, its just their mom and uncles cool job to them despite laios and falins best efforts to emphasize the danger.

now.... i think laiosito would run into kabrus party. theyre always having to start over, so maybe the kid saw them on the first level a couple years ago, that first time they saw the dungeon. i think they would have left a strong impression-- especially kabru (for her eyes) and kuro (doggy). they care for laiosito, because kabru knows this is laios' kid (knew she had a kid and laiosito looks just like her), and also because laiosito refuses to give her any info that could interrupt their mission of Help Save Falin. they tried dropping the kid in town at a playground or other Kid Gathering Grounds and laiosito just comes back. so. they keep them around plus they are a really strong mage for a kid. kabru of course sees this as the perfect opportunity to get close to laios, plus as weird and antisocial as laios kind of seems kabru is ECSTATIC to meet her kid LOL. laiosito ends up really liking kabru even if shes kind of weird and scary sometimes. rin scares them but they are friends. they get along excellently with kuro and probably picks up on her language, at least a little bit.

so they would make SURE laiosito knows healing magic, and that they know to heal holm and rin FIRST!! laiosito is precocious and smart and already figured that out though, and with falins tutoring they are a great healer already. so kabrus party doesnt die like they did as much, but.... they still do. laiosito is usually able to escape, though... but i do think they would have at least 1 death with kabrus party. would it phase them? well. maybe. but i think they would feel invincible, and this isnt a good thing.

laiosito is awestruck when they see faligon until they realize he isnt in full control of himself. then theyre horrified and freeze and have to be protected. kabru is horrified that she let a kid into this situation (she didnt. that kid would have dungeoned no matter what, and because laiosito desired to see their mom and uncle, as well as see the dungeon, they would have always ended up at that nexus). laios is horrified she left her kid and didnt even consider they might have followed, and that she prioritized anything over her kid, even if said priority was falin.

at this point, laiosito would join back with laios' party. marcille and chilchuck would ream laios over leaving her kid (with that girls party??? the one thats always dying????). poor laios. senshi is the only one that really hears her out on her situation. laiosito LOOOOOVESSSS senshi!! and chilchuck and marcille too but they kind of scare them bc of how they talk to laios lol.

my thoughts are still baking on this....

my 3 alt routes for fem laios are:

teen mom, runs away with her kid when theyre is old enough to speak and walk well (like, 6 or 7 maybe. she would run away in her early 20s) (laios rough timeline: 12: engagement and marriage shortly after. 15: falin leaves before she finds out shes pregante. 22: abandons marriage and goes to falins school. 24: starts trying to form party)

teen mom, leaves her kid with her parents or husband as an older teen

teen mom, leaves before pregnancy is too far along (maybe seeking an abortion?) 15 or 16

leaves when pushed to have a baby (this could be her as a teen or her early 20s)

[plagues02]

Party of Five

Summary: Laios and a lone tall man defeat a monster together, and the party offer to share a meal with him. Characters: Wash(Oc), Laios Touden, Marcille Donato, Chilchuck Tims, Senshi Word Count: 1183

“How much further are we going to walk today?” Marcille whined, leaning against her staff.

The deeper they got into the dungeon, the longer the days seemed, the more monsters they faced and ate. Today felt especially long after a chance encounter with a hoard of scorpions, followed by a swarm of treasure insects.

Senshi looked back at her, “There’s an opening we can camp at close.”

Close meant another twenty minute walk. By the time Senshi mentioned they were almost there, everyone was hungry and tired of this day. Even Laios wasn’t as parky as he usually was.

Turning the corner, they were startled to see a battle in progress. An armored tallman jumped back, getting out of the way of the snake side of a basilisk, followed by a swing of his blade. The basilisk hissed, snapping at him again.

The shock disappeared fast as Laios pulled his own sword out, joining the battle. The other tallman saw him out of the corner of his eyes, changing his battle plans. Laios went right so the man went left. Without words, the two knew what the other was doing, and when there was an opening, they attacked both sides, ending the monster.

With the battle over, the party got a better look at the newcomer. He was short for a male tallman and very rough looking. Long blonde hair, pulled back out of his face, but his face was still covered with a beard. His tired blue eyes were framed in glasses. The man looked at them.

“Are you okay?” Laios is the first to speak.

The man hesitated before nodding. “Yes,, thank you. These guys are hard to face alone,” he replied sheathed his sword.

The fellow tall man chuckled, “Yeah, well, where’s your team? They must be worried about you right now.”

The silence that followed spoke volumes.

“Whaaaat? You came this far alone?!” Marcille exclaimed in surprise. “What are you doing this far alone?!”

The man rubbed the back of his neck, unable to look at her. “I was, um, well, trying to go deeper. Last I heard from my siblings, they were somewhere in the dungeon, and um, I’m looking for them.”

“Alone?! Are you crazy?!”

“Woah, Marcille, calm down,” the half foot turned to face her, despite sharing her opinion on the matter. “I think you’re scaring him.”

A clap from the dwarf caught their attention. They turned to look at the man as he walked towards the dead monster. “You helped kill this basilisk, care to join us for a meal?”

The tallman opened and closed his mother, not finding the right words. He turned to the others while pointing at the monster with a raised eyebrow; their nods confirmed his thoughts. He took a moment to process before his thoughts were cut off by the growl of his stomach.

“You know what? I have nothing to lose.”

The tall man helped with cooking by chopping a few vegetables the party had leftover while Senshi got the water ready for soup. Laiios was busy preparing the meat, and Marcille and Chilchuck worked on setting up their camp. It was quiet as they worked before the newcomer suddenly jolted up, causing all eyes on him.

“Oh! I never introduced myself,” he realized. “I’m Wash.”

“Marcille,” the elf said. “I can’t believe a child like you would come in here without anyone.”

“I’m 36-”

“Give it a break, Marcille,” the half foot said. “We all agree he’s dumb for that.” He turned to the tallman. “I’m Chilchuck.”

“Senshi, it means seeker in dwarvish,” the dwarf replied, taking the vegetables to add them to the broth.

The tall man turned to the other tallman, who was staring at him. The two stared at each other for a while; Wash glanced around at the others who were also confused by the silence. Until finally,

“I know you.”

“Huh?”

“Oh! I’m Laios, do you remember me?!” His demeanor changed to excitement.

The room fell to silence minus the sound of Senshi’s cooking; the small of the basilisk soup filled their nostrils and made their mouths water. Their stomachs also began to growl. Wash started to feel awkward with the eyes of Laios on him before it finally clicked.

“Oh wait, you were stationed under me,” Wash said. “Right?”

“Stationed under you?” Chilchuck questioned.

The older tall man smiled a little, eyes softening. “Back in the army. I was a general, up until recently. Laios was a soldier under me. Surprised that you recognized me, kid.”

“So am I.” “Yeah” Marcile and Chilchuck whisper to each other.

Laios laughed. “Almost didn’t! You…” his voice trailed off, but Wash knew what he was going to say. His appearance wasn’t as well kept as he once was.

“Dinner’s ready!” Senshi cut into their conversation.

“Have you really not eaten in almost two days?” Marcile asked with wide eyes, staring at the tall man who was on his third bowl of soup.

“Yup.”

“You need to eat properly in a dungeon! Bad things happen when you go around hungry!” Senshi exclaimed; the look on the others’ faces showed they knew this well.

“Yeah, how have you survived this long on your own?” Chilchuck stared in shock.

Wash rubbed the back of his neck, placing the bowl on the ground. “Well, I guess I just did. When I got to the Island, my mind was and still is just on the dungeon and finding my siblings; it took forever to just get to the dungeon.”

“Are you sure your siblings are here?” Laios asked.

The older one nodded. “Allison sent me a letter, telling me she found Leo, and that they were hiding in a lower level. I,, I have to find them; it’s hard to explain.”

Laid rubbed his chin in thought as he nodded. Wash went back to the soup; it felt like no matter how much he ate, he was still hungry. Curse his stupid body and oversized stomach.

“Come with us.”

“Huh?/What?” The elf and half foot turned to look at Laios with wide eyes as Wash looked up at him mid bite.

“Think about it, we’re going deeper, he needs to go deeper, and he’ll be an extra fighter,” Laios explained his reasoning.

Wash placed the spoon down in his bowl. “And why are you going deeper?”

The group fell silent for a few seconds before Laios spoke again, “Do you remember Fali? My sister I used to talk about? She was eaten by a dragon; we need to get to her before she’s digested.”

The older man stirred the soup, thinking about it. “,, I suppose this would benefit us all, but only if everyone agrees, I’ll tag along. If anyone doesn’t want me to, I won’t.”

Laios looked at the rest of the team with begging eyes. Any disagreement fell on deaf ears, and before they knew it, the party of four became a party of five.

[utilitycaster]

Off the top of my head Genshin Impact and Honkai Star Rail, in both games female characters heavily outnumber male characters and there are several canon and subtext heavy F/F ships, while some of the most popular M/M ships the characters never even interact. In HSR the main plot driving ship is F/F and it's the 10th most popular ship behind 9 M/M ships of varying degrees of dubiousness.

The last time I really saw this discourse was about Dungeon Meshi, when anime only fics about Kabru/Laios began rapidly outpacing Falin/Marcille despite Kabru and Laios not even meeting yet. That example is less valid now that the characters have actually met in the anime, but it was what kicked off the discourse the last time I remember this thing happening.

Finally, Beau/Yasha didn't overtake Caleb/Molly until 2022. I would also argue Caleb/Molly has always been an M/M ship that's sanded down to tropey archetypes.

so two things:

re examples, fair enough, I don't watch anime and it sounds like it might be specifically a genre where this is a problem; I'll try to clarify which areas of fandom I'm talking about in the future since actual play/fantasy spaces I've been in tends not to have this issue.

second, in the post that kicked this off I tried to be clear that there is a difference between "has fewer" than "is IMMENSELY far outstripped by a ship between two minor characters who haven't met". Like, to be clear, I think Beauyasha is great and I think Wido/mauk has essentially zero basis in canon and is actively bad, but it's not like Beauyasha was ever ignored or unpopular, and these are both between major characters. If you are bean counting the precise number of fics, frankly, that sounds miserable and you'll be happier not doing that. Caleb and Jester still have more fics as a romantic pairing than Fjord and Jester on ao3, and yet which wedding am I going to go see live in New York in October 2025.

I also feel like Caleb and Molly was given a similar treatment as Caleb and Essek? like idk it feels like M/M ships (good or bad) still get bespoke stupid tropes, whereas F/F (good or bad) often really get like. one of the two tropes I mentioned, actually, now that I think of it. To be clear, the point I am making is I think fandoms in general are more reductive of F/F ships even when they're popular and even when they're good in canon; I would rather have something that is better (in both canon and fanon) but less popular. wash garbage it's still garbage and so forth.

[carrotsnake]

dungeon meshi fandom rant

i usually stay away from fictional autism headcanons or indulging in them wholesale because i'm more on the 'characters are constructs' side of things. some may exhibit traits we relate to but placing real-world diagnostic labels on walking metaphors makes things too nebulous. however laios touden is an exception to me since autism allegories (despite no authorial intent) are pretty hard-wired into both his arc and dungeon meshi's core themes about being an outsider. so for once the fandom autism memes feel genuine to me lol. it doesn't feel as fanon-heavy or platitudinous, actually it's pretty uplifting. i appreciate the positivity.

that being said the most dogshit dunmesh take i've seen lately is the assertion that laios and falin show us autistic men are villified for things autistic women are accepted for. the fuck are you people smoking? some rebranded MRA-pilled bullshit? log off tumblr and go outside, then point and show me where this is the truth. i don't know if you guys are all living in a feminist utopia that i'm not privy too, but if so send me the address because things couldn't be less like that everywhere i've ever been.

countless times i've been told 'oh you're exactly like a female copy of [socially anxious male friend/co-worker/family member who shares my personality] and then i gotta watch them get special treatment as i get left behind and scolded for not being normal enough. him being blunt is rebellious & brutally honest, me being blunt is just being a b*tch with no filter. how many times do you see autistic women reaching high positions of power and being revered as a misunderstood genius.

how about everyone reminding us to 'be nice' to the supposedly harmless awkward guy who keeps making sexual comments & invading our boundaries because he can't help it apparently. but strangely enough, i have gone my whole life without creeping on others. only to be called creepy and off-putting by these same social equality preachers for not applying makeup or styling my hair right. autistic women are more likely to be sexually harrassed and/or abused than neurotypical women and no one gaf (let's b real they don't care when it happens to neurotypical women either if the man has a good enough sob story.) shit like walking strangely, having a speech impediment and talking too much about esoteric topics was enough to be outcasted for us. once more, with feeling: what are you people smoking?

and critically, falin is pretty. she's conventionally pure, self-sacrificial, beautiful with hollywood curves, soft-spoken, and never questions anyone nor asserts herself over others when her needs aren't being met. her dislikes in the adventurer's bible are 'nothing in particular', she never spoke out against her village's bullying even when she had it worse than laios, quickly forgives her parents for exiling her, and never shows any opinion on marcille's use of dark magic. she's a paragon of femininity. anything less than that, and she would probably invoke similar if not more disgust from her peers than laios through the audacity of not conforming to gender expectations. but she likes holding bugs or whatever so...whoa! she's so feral and subversive amiright guys. but crucially she looks cute while doing it so we're not too uncomfortable to stan.

i love laios so much, he's in my newest blorbo collection for sure but calling the female characters who don't like him judgemental is not a good look. we as the readers who have been inside the main chara's head know he's a good guy - but in the context of dungeon meshi's world, where sexism is as prevalent as stranger danger, it's fair for them to assume bad intent and keep their distance. they're looking out for their own safety and you're mad about that because, what, it makes your 2D nigel sad? cry about it.

so quit using anime characters as fodder for your thinly-veiled 'everyday men milk themselves' preaches. the touden siblings are not a good example of this. if you unironically agree with that take: it's time to go talk to some real women broski.

[yarrayora]

Idk how to explain properly, but I’m a really big fan of the dynamic you portray between Marcille and Falin. I’ve always loved . idk how to say.. divorce? trouble-in-paradise? arcs/portrayals that look at problems in otp, and yours is super interesting. Sorry if this is weird just wanted to say :)

not weird at all! im flattered, thanks!

i wasnt really into farcille at first, mostly i was just impressed an f/f ship managed to be the fandom's no1, basically proving that when two female characters in a mostly male dominated cast are allowed to bond with each others and be their own characters people will latch on to them

mostly though aro touden siblings is still my no1 and even back then i didnt care about shipping because any type of romantic relationship in dunmeshi is less interesting than the potential of political intrigue the worldbuilding set up (yes, even chilchuck's failing marriage is less interesting to me than how living in the dungeon was safer for the orcs than being neighbors to human civilization) (shocking, i know)

but it all changed when i saw the daydream hour about marcille thinking falin looks cute in feminine clothing while falin herself is obviously uncomfortable with it

i can't sleep. i have to think about this. i have to think about how it's their first love and their first relationship and one is going in blind while the other set up her expectations based on a harlequin romance novel. they are NOT in the same wavelength at all and neither of them are particularly good at communicating their intention, with falin who grew up a convenient kid because she thought it was the least she could do for her family and marcille who frankly speaking was used to being treated as someone superior back at the magic school

thank god kabru exists because who else is going to give them a real advice for their very real relationship? chilchuck will be like "okay just break up" while not seeing the mirror to his own relationship with his runaway wife. senshi, wise as he is, is never in a romantic relationship. laios would be like :((( you guys are fighting? and gets stressed out on his own which makes it even more stressful to the girls. namari is like. "i, uh, please talk to kabru."

anyway theres also the bonus comic about falin inviting marcille to watch daltian clan's opera adaptation and while there is something to say about marcille thinking the humans playing elves doesn't fit her aesthetic (and the difference of societal expectations of dressing up as a different race in dunmeshi universe compared to in ours) all i can think of is that in modern day au where daltian clan has a movie adaptation marcille has a tumblr blog where she posts Hate on the daltian clan movie tag and calling it criticism which it is but also not the place, girl, go to rotten tomatoes for that

falin also has a tumblr and she and marcille had no idea the other is a tumblr user. falin made a post like "just watched daltian clan with my gf i get why shes really obsessed with it now" and marcille, against her better judgement replies to the post like "really sorry that you were misled by your girlfriend like that, you should read the novels instead, it's way better."

laios who sees falin looking shocked at her phone asks whats up and then after receiving the answer says "wow sounds like a real jerk! just block them"

anyway thats my modern day farcille when there's no high fantasy problems involved

[rabbityshen]

i was thinking about this last night and one thing that's stuck out to me for a while is the omake with the vision of rule 63 laios as a wife and mother who never left her home village

presumably laios as a cis woman would be no less autistic or interested in the world outside of her village. however being a cis woman in a patriarchal society and the eldest of the family (with no special or alienating skills like falin) means her opportunities were significantly more limited. not only that, she managed to modify her behaviors (a common experience for many autistic women) in order to be an acceptable enough wife for someone, even if it's not something she particularly desired. (i dont interpret her expression as particularly happy or sad there, just kind of blank and resigned. plus laios is pretty horrified by the idea of never leaving.)

i think laios is very appealing to ppl (including me) as a male character whose personality doesn't fall into toxic masculinity tropes, but that doesn't make him free from benefiting from societal biases or systemic bigotry such as the patriarchy and misogyny. this in turn can cultivate certain behaviors and levels of awareness/obliviousness. even if he is aware of of his own awkwardness and social shortcomings (which he is!) and is even ostracized for his autism, that doesn't mean he doesn't act in ways that indicate entitlement or privilege. (and esp notable since infantilizing men is such a common response to men, including nd men, acting inappropriately to women and girls.)

i've been debating on whether to post about this but what the hell, it's relevant both to today's episode and the topic of people trying to smooth over the flaws of Dungeon Meshi characters.... so, uh, remember what i said yesterday about Laios forgetting the basics of human decency when interacting with Izutsumi

i was intially worried about people reading this scene in uhh certain ways but was thankful to see most fans were chill with it... before i realized that. uh. maybe people were being a little too chill

okay............ so,

1. for the record: i believe that it is clear from what we know about him and what we know about the entire series as a whole that, yes, Laios didn't have "untoward" intentions towards Izutsumi in this scene. there's even an aside in Izutsumi's profile in the Adventurer's Bible that says as much. he likely saw it in basically the same way Falin did when she was observing the reproductive organs of the caterpillar in that one scene. FOR THE RECORD this excuse would basically never fly in real life, but for Laios, it actually honestly makes sense... he has a habit of ignoring people's boundaries, he gets ahead of himself when it comes to learning about monsters... he didn't have bad intentions, no, but it doesn't change the fact that he's an adult man (not a [my face contorts with a great pain] "curious boy") who was being really invasive about a teenage girl's body. it was weird. it was 100% weird, lmao, i don't think fans are "lacking media literacy" by saying "uh yeah that was kind of creepy and inappropriate of Laios"

2. and i also don't think it's villifying ND people to say that. if i were to be honest, i would argue the whole "he's just a curious boy :(" thing is a lot more offensive to neurodivergent people. Laios clearly knows about the concept of bodily autonomy- he felt weird and bad about touching Marcille and Senshi in "intimate" ways just to heal them. literally one scene after this one he expresses embarassment about accidentally touching the leg of (who he thinks to be) Marcille. he very obviously possesses the capacity to understand why it would be inappropriate to observe a stranger's body like they were an animal. i can accept the explanation that his monster curiosity temporarily overpowered his "oh actually maybe i shouldn't try to get up close and person with this teenager who i literally just met," but that doesn't change that he had to be restrained from doing that. i'm not even saying he's a "bad person" or anything because of this scene- i just am baffled at the idea of fans being presented with the slightest bit of messiness (he was creepy to a young girl, however unintentionally) and jumping to try and "justify" it (he's just silly, he's socially awkward, he's autistic, he's a Curious Boy) and even mock others who rightfully point out that that was uncomfortable behavior. Laios was creepy to Izutsumi. he didn't mean to, but he did (and to be quite frank he was lucky to get off with a smack from Chilchuck and a blindfold)

3. "I would also ask" excuse me?

[r1verst1x]

when it comes to characters that i see myself in/desire to be or full blown think "literally me", they tend to never be male characters. women? yes. nb? yes. transmasc? sometimes yes. I can't really find myself attaching to cis male characters in the way that i attach to characters whom have those queer gender identities, simply cause its just hard to see myself in a character who represents an identity i want to disown. Not to say I don't latch onto any male characters Ever but its not out of being able to find them affirming on a personal level.

For example, Laios from Dungeon Meshi is awesome and cute and i can very much relate to his autistic ass nature, but i couldn't see him as a character that represents me simply because he's a man. Doesn't mean i don't adore him to bits though, lovely man.... i need him... but even though I relate to the way he acts in many ways, I couldn't look at him and say "Literally me" in a whole-spirited sense.

However, among all the cis male characters in media... there is one silly exception: Jake the Dog. Jake has to be one of the most 'Guy' characters I know in media, so much so that i can't even convince myself with a head-canon that he's anything other than a cis man. Not only he's a man, but i can't really name things i have in common with him to call Jake a notably relatable character. Yet, somehow whenever i see him i... Feel Like Him.. in a way. Like some sort of weird spirit animal he's helped me know myself more, as if watching him grow is peering into a reflection from the future. I wish i could explain where that feeling comes from, especially since i basically said that Jake would be a character i could never see myself in; even if he's one of my favorite characters ever.

Im not really sure what it is. Maybe it's his worldview, or his lifestyle, or that hes really really funny. Maybe this is just the AT hyperfixation making it all up, I dont know!!! but what i do know is Whenever im thinking to myself, whether it be a random thought about the world, or a hypothetical conversation. sometimes my inner monologue will say something that has me thinking

"huh... thats something Jake would say...".

STILL WISH I WAS MARCELINE DOE