#put down the tomatoes

[ambrosiagourmet]

In chapter 28, Marcille lays out why the journey she's been on has been worth the pain: because they were able to bring Falin back. The injuries, the indignity, and the mess of it all - they are tolerable primarily in context of destination she believes she's reached at this point.

In truth, of course, the story is far from finished. In fact, I would argue that this is actually where hers really starts. This scene holds the seed of the very thing the Winged Lion will exploit to lead Marcille to become the Lord of the Dungeon. After all, with a desire as far reaching and deeply held as Marcille's, if the only acceptable outcome is success, what other choice does she have but to bargain with the infinite?

So let's talk about this idea - where it leads her, how Laios' path intersects with it, and how they both help each other move forward in the face of failure.

First though, I want to step back and talk about something else: the shapeshifter chapters.

With these chapters recently covered by the anime, there has, of course, come plenty of fun discussions about which version of each character belongs which other character's perceptions, and what that means.

One thing I've seen pointed out a few times is the fact that both Laios and Marcille's impressions of each other are based around Falin. Marcille's version of Laios is larger and more masculine, because those are the traits that stuck out to her in contrast to Falin. Laios' version of Marcille was directly inspired by her appearance and demeanor when resurrecting Falin.

So why is this important to a discussion about Marcille being focused on success? Well, it shows us where Laios and Marcille's relationship starts: built primarily around their shared love for Falin. It's from that shared beginning that they begin to learn about each other on their own terms.

And this is true for the whole group, to be clear. They are united by circumstance - love for a lost companion, a sense of responsibility, a desire for freedom - but they all grow and help each other beyond that circumstance. They help Senshi bury the ghosts of his past and eat some Hippogriff stew. They help Izutsumi open up to mutual love and friendship. And they learn so much about each other: about Chilchuck's family and Laios' love of monsters and Marcille's desires to live life alongside others.

In the particular case of Marcille and Laios, understanding each other is what lets them save each other. It is not through Falin that Laios talks Marcille down from the edge the Lion has brought her to, nor is it through her that Marcille comforts Laios after the demon is defeated, when it is still unclear how everything will work out.

In fact, it is very specifically the unknown fate of Falin that Marcille comforts him about.

She is willing to accept the outcome - willing, now, to embrace the journey itself, rather than only accepting it as a means to an end.

This is a lesson she learns from Laios, and it's a lesson we watch Laios learn, too.

Just before making her deal with the Lion, Marcille recalls everything that led her to that moment. She lingers on the pain, recalling the worst of their journey:

She only pushes through by remembering her goals: saving Falin, and equalizing the lifespans of her friends to match her own.

And yet, 10 chapters later, when reflecting on why she actually wants to see her goals through, it is the good parts of that very same journey that shine through.

There's an inherent contradiction here, one which Marcille doesn't know how to face. How can the suffering that she tolerates also be the love that drives her forward? How can the loss that she's worked so hard to reverse also be the very circumstance that created a world she, now, cannot stand to give up?

And Laios confronts her with the truth. Because it just is.

Losing Falin forced him to open up to others in a way he never had. It forced him to choose what he cares about, and in making that choice, it gave him the opportunity to be seen. To connect with others.

He has already had to come to terms with the fact that Falin's death has given him something - he would not have been able to kill her again if he hadn't.

There is something here that is fundamental to Dungeon Meshi's understanding of what life even is. Like, I don't think it's a coincidence that part of Laios' speech to Marcille in chapter 85 is actually first seen in the chapter where they fight off ghosts.

In 'Sorbet,' while possessed , Laios thinks that it would have been better if the dragon had eaten him, instead of Falin. The ghosts make people lose their will to live - they are dragged away from life.

When he's pulled back from that brink, Laios realizes that he can't move forward without accepting that she is gone. He even compares the way he was holding on to her to being possessed: it pulled him away from life, from the present moment.

To carry on, he must accept what has been lost, and focus on protecting the life that they still have.

Like Marcille, he has to accept the contradictions of their journey. That life means eating, and eating requires death. That sometimes one must be selfish in order to be kind, and that selflessness can easily be twisted into to cruelty.

That loss will, inevitably, lead you to find happiness that you may not have found otherwise.

This is how he gets through to Marcille. And I think part of the reason he reaches her with these specific ideas is because those contradictions are baked so thoroughly into their relationship.

Marcille only met Falin after she had been left behind by Laios. Laios was able to reconnect with Falin because she left Marcille. They both met each other through Falin, and yet they only really got to know and care for one another after she died.

And of course, that's why Marcille uses the same ideas to comfort Laios, in the final chapter. It is because of Laios that she is able to accept the journey for itself, and not need the happy ending to justify its meaning to her.

Together, they help each other move forward, and accept that they may not be able to bring Falin back.

Which, if I'm being honest... I think this is the reason Falin can come back, narratively speaking, without the resurrection feeling like it takes away from the themes of the story.

After all, she doesn't do it for Marcille or Laios - she does it for her own sake. Her own hunger and her own desire to eat are the things that lead her back to life.

All three of them, together, end the story like this: not clinging to the things they are afraid to lose, but knowing they can choose to move forward together.

And, importantly, this happy ending is no longer the thing that gives the journey meaning. Rather, it is the privilege of the journey itself that is her happy ending: the chance to walk alongside others in the time they have, to get to know each other, and to eat well.

[multiseb21]

sometimes a babygirl is an almost 40 year old man who logs into his dog’s Instagram account to post a photo’s dumps congratulating’s himself’s

[drawbauchery]

Here it is! I'm sorry that it really isn't great- I haven't had much time to draw recently! I just really wanted to draw the sillies :) (weirdronpa)

!!!! THIS IS SO CUTE

[silentgrim]

couple arguments!

[butchharts]

anyone wanna have our tongues battle for dominance ☹️

[a-random-citrus]

This is really embarrassing to post (because I think this looks like SHIT) but ummm the funny song by sekai go listen to it or I'll cry (not really)

[das-a-kirby-blog]

girlies will not care if a wizard almost lost his life, went to hell and lost all of his powers but will comfort some dude who had metal implanted in his skin 🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄

[cringelordofchaos]

south park is wild cuz sometimes there are really simple messages like "being gay is ok" "parents should pay more attention to their kid's lives than what they watch on TV and shouldn't rely on it as a sole educator for their kids" "people need help sorting out their emotions sometimes instead of being given quick logical solutions" other times it's a deeper or a more personal message like "when you victimize yourself too much you can justify yourself being horrible instead of taking accountability and changing" other times its a more cynical or depressing message like "sometimes everything just becomes shit and you can't control how you perceive the world but others may leave you for it because they'd rather not get sucked into it as well" or "young girls get pressured by society to sexualize themselves and remove their imperfections because of toxic beauty standards imposed on them" and sometimes the episode is about peruvian flute bands being outlawed causing a giant guinea pig apocalypse which can only be stopped by a deadpan fourth grader.

[friitz-bee]

Ahem . AHEMEMEHERM. So. I have. TWO RARE PAIRS,,, shadowlotus and longnilla (shadow milk x lotus dragon & pure vanilla x longan dragon) . NOW I KNOW WHAT YOU'RE THINKING,,, "dayum this bitch insane !" BUT HEAR ME OUT FOR A QUICK SECOND.

both ships are yaouri. yuraoi even. Like. Aough??? How did they occur? good question. I just thought they were neat and so they consumed my braincells until funky gay fucks replaced the brain nessesities.

shadowlotus is enemies to lovers. Lotus couldn't STAND shadow milk's antics but he slowly found his tomfoolery tolerable,,, and then adorable,,, so on so forth. Definitely killed herself a few times over the thought of being in love,,, shamil on the other hand just ADORES pissing lotus off,, and when she found out lotus was romantically interested in him it progressively. got worse . Just a dragon and their fuckass jester I guess .

Longnilla however,,, uh. erm. one-sided at first. They met by chance. only kind of. (pssst. to be fair,,, I never really ah,,, concluded how they met teehee,,) longan slowly grew soft of PV as she was accidentally courting the dragon ! Like whoopsy daisy ! Whenever nilla got the chance he would talk to loni, give it gifts, compliment him,,, etc, etc,,, Longan too probably killed themself several times over the thought of being attracted to a COOKIE. A COOKIE ! great heavens . gays know no limits I guess .

[thepioden]

why do the most delicious fruits also make your mouth hurt :(

[inkykeiji]

you know u live in an italian town when this is one of the displays at the local grocery store ( ∩´͈ ᐜ `͈∩)

it’s all the equipment needed to do tomatoes!! aka make tomato sauce n jar it for the year :3

[kinnersonne]

Welp I spent twenty minutes digging for my old post of Silco headcanons, maybe tumblr ate it idk, so I guess I’ll just have to make a new post for the new ones:

• Light sleeper. Veeeeeery light sleeper. Any little disturbance makes his stupid cute rat face twitch. Mutters in his sleep a lot.

• Cat person, ofc, though not the type to call himself such. Jinx just kinda brings them home and he begrudgingly feeds and pets them, knowing full well half of them will wind up dying as test subjects to Singed or Jinx

• This doesn’t matter to anybody except me because I’m a band/choir kid of like twelve years but the man is COMPLETELY tone deaf. All that sexyvoice goes out the window. Can’t even hum. It’s bad.

• I mentioned he’s a sad drunk, right?

• I’d say he’s the breed of sociopath to just? Eat tomatoes?? Like. Like raw tomatoes. No you don’t understand like. Like the way normal people eat apples. Just take a frickin bite out of it

[ohnoitspheo]

Ok so big news about Prismatic! 🎉

I’ve thought long and hard about it and the whole Angel and lizard thing doesn’t make any sense. So I’ve decided to make everyone human. 💃 Enjoy the new redesigns!

APRIL FOOLS!

P-please put the tomatoes down…

[someiicecube]

Do you think Solomon likes soup? If so what kind?

idk what prompted this ask, but it's so out of left field I had to answer.

Lots of soup mentioned below the cut.

Firstly, we have to establish whether or not Solomon would eat soup.

The simple answer? Yes, of course he would. If it was served to him at a fancy dinner as a side— yes, he would eat it. If you made it for him whilst he was sickly and bedridden? He would give the world back to you… or most likely he'd want to return the favor one day— huh, what do you mean you don't want him making anything? He feels better now! Hey, why are you pushing him out of the kitchen? :(

One cannot simply ask whether or not Solomon has a favorite soup or not.

Like any person, he has his preferences and whatnot. Solomon prefers the classic savory kinds of soup, as he sees the dish as more of a side or something simple you make when feeling under the weather. Sour and overtly spicy flavors are things he tends to avoid. And with his dislike of the ocean, he reads to me as someone who wouldn't be privy to having any fish or seafood in his soup. Meat or vegetable-based soups are preferred.

Though, the soup he's most caught eating would be those instant noodle packets (with an egg mixed in) that he's totally not making at three am cause he forgot to eat a while ago. Oops—

But what kind of soup specifically?

Something that reminds you of home, is a common answer. But, frankly speaking, that guy has a fucky memory, so what can he remember of home? Sure, he does remember that he did have a favorite soup in his youth, but the flavor of which was something that has been lost to time and his old man brain.

So, if Solomon no longer (or has since forgotten) a soup that reminds him of home, what could be put in place of that?

That would be something made by someone he loves dearly— now if you read that as being you or someone else in universe, I'll leave it up to reader interpretation.

Hey, if that man's childhood home is lost to time, that's life. Sure, it's a sad thing to witness, but it was bound to happen— that's just how human civilizations work, they're built up, people flourish, centuries pass by, and then a new one takes its place.

But back on the soup and Solomon calling you his new home— home is not always a place, it can be a person (actually it can be a place if you consider 'your heart' a valid location).

Something made by you (whether under duress; looking at Solomon's cooking here) is always something Solomon would like. Of course, he still takes in his own preferences, but he's lucky that you do as well.

Yes, he does tend to delegate soup to be a side dish, but at home he doesn't mind making it the main course. Perhaps it's just him, but there's just something about sharing a warm bowl of soup on a cold night and sharing that with your beloved that… strikes him, makes him feel soft in side, and has a smile spreading across his lips as he takes in the moment.

Maybe it's the homemade soup making him feel all warm inside. Maybe it's the private company he's sharing with meal with. He'll never know. What Solomon does know, however, is that, he doesn't mind having soup if it's made by you.

[tomat0esofalltomat0e]

Just want to share my hype for a moment IM LOOSING MY BALLS IM ACTUALLY GOING CRAZY it’s been a few hours now since steel wool released that BANGER TEASER. MY FELLOW FNAF FANS…THAT WAS CRAZY. I can’t be the only one who flipped the hell out when watching that I’m SO EXCITED. A PREQUEL‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 If you havnt seen the teaser already…it’s crazy. Me and some friends were freaking the hell out AAAA I can’t wait I can’t waitt there’s so much potential SO MUCH COULD HAPPEN WITH THIS GAME

My fellow fnaf friends we are EATING

[melon-sodaa]

hate being the kind of person thats like " ohh i wish i had more time at work to do my little tasks" like girl you need to clock out and go home