#she's still falin of course. still mostly falin but that's not all she is. not anymore

[aphel1on]

succumbed to writing thistle fic and tripped sideways into post-canon falin character study

[lunahearts]

Okay I'm doing it. I'm chapter 96 posting.

This is not meant to be a big analysis post this is mostly just me sharing all the little moments that Marcille & Laios show their care for each other because they are SO beloved to me. Join me on the journey if you wish.

(but also the above statement may be a lie. I do have a point here, it turns out, and the point gets at some of my Big Feelings of what Dungeon Meshi has to say about the nature of friendship & living in the world)

So, first of all, the conversation about Laios being king at the start of the chapter. Just in general Laios insisting on presenting himself in his own way here is so good. Character development!!

Before the events of the story he hadn't shared his inner world with anyone but Falin. Now he's like Actually I'm gonna dress up in the discarded remains of my monstersona and that's just how it is.

And even though there are a LOT of parts of the story and bits of character growth that go into this, I think it specifically highlights some interactions from a few chapters ago.

After all, his initial reaction to having been in that monster form & coming out of it was trying to hide from everyone.

And I think everyone helping him put things in perspective here contributes to how he is able to present himself as king. They assure him that he is accepted, despite having just been seen by EVERYONE at his Peak "Weird Monster Guy" mode.

Highlighting what Marcille says here especially:

Going out to "face them with a smile" is EXACTLY what he does. Not right away. He's still pretty stressed in the following scene in this chapter. But he is able to face the crowds with a smile, eventually...

As king. Dressed in the memory of his most vulnerable moments, the most honest expression of his desire.

BUT I'M GETTING A LITTLE AHEAD OF MYSELF. Before the King Laios speech, there's a little moment with Marcille I want to highlight, because...

Did y'all know that by the end of the manga, Marcille isn't like... grossed out by eating monsters any more? Or at least, she's definitely changed her reaction to it. It's Namari who makes the "yeah it smells good despite what it is" comment, not Marcille.

We even get shots later of Tansu, Shuro, and Kabru being kinda grossed out by - but still going ahead and eating - the different Falin foods. Chilchuck also throws out a line about it being surprised that it's good.

But there's no disparaging comment from Marcille, despite the Everything of the situation. I just think that's also a nice little detail. She may not be as far in the monster eating game as Laios, but she's more willing to roll with the weirdness.

So after this little moment, this is when Laios comes out in his new regal outfit. And first of all...

This is such a good contrast to the moment when the group goes to save Marcille in chapter 84. The monsters had stopped attacking, and everyone's reactions to Laios and the others framed him as unsettling. Creepy. Maybe even traitors.

They even use some of the same labels (lord of the monsters/lord of the dungeon, dark lord/demon king)., but the context is that they are disgusted. The parallels in this manga....

Have a tendency to destroy me. What a difference in reception.

Anyway, after this moment, Laios stops to talk to the group... and I'd like to point out again: MARCILLE ISN'T FLIPPANT HERE EITHER!!

Chilchuck is still Chilchuck, of course, and I want to be clear I love that, too. Chilchuck is who he is to his core. His little jabs are very affectionate in this chapter.

But Marcille... Marcille only points to the Winged Lion symbol as being weird, not the monster bits. And like, considering what she's just been through with the lion, being skeptical of that part is... fair.

(don't get me wrong, her "that's fine and all" isn't exactly excitement. BUT the point I'm trying to make is less about her completely changing her feelings & preferences. It's more about how she expresses them, and how she treats Laios and HIS feelings & preferences)

And she continues to be so encouraging!! Wah!! Like, despite, all four of these people definitely caring about Laios, it's Marcille specifically who tells him to relax and just be honest. And you know what? I think that's what Falin would have said, too.

Please also note how cute everyone's little faces are in the crowd:

(see, Chilchuck loves him too!! Look at that fond face, and the cheer. and Senshi! and Namari! They really are such a family)

Laios' short speech actually has a little bit I'd like to highlight as well, since I think it is a nice little reflection of his choice to keep the lion insignia on his new outfit:

"Eat to your heart's content," he says. Not just "enjoy," or "let's eat."

Dunmeshi does such a wonderful job of framing so much about the Winged Lion with nuance, and this is a good example of that. Desire is not bad! Craving and consuming is beautiful. As Laios says when explaining the lion insignia...

It's not just something to get rid of.

So then... on to the feast!

And not only does Marcille not express any grossed out feelings, as I mentioned before... she even helps to gross out Chilchuck!!

Her weird girl powers are only just in their infancy. She will only grow more powerful in time...

As the feast goes on of course we get the group's realization about her hair, and I'd like to point out:

I really feel like they have such similar reactions to finding out about how the other has been affected by the Winged Lion

Just... the quiet concern. Not making a huge fuss, but... worried. Understanding. A little heartbroken for each other.

SPEAKING OF HEARTBROKEN REACTIONS THOUGH. WHAT COMES NEXT REALLY GETS ME.

After Chilchuck braids Marcille's hair for her, the topic of her needing to leave everyone comes up and...

God, these expressions. Every Time I see these panels I think about about what Laios saw in her nightmare. Her fears. The weight of inevitable loneliness, and the way it has marked her. As much as Marcille tries to keep things light when talking about it, he knows what this means to her. And it HURTS.

So he doesn't accept it. But do you notice how he frames this. Do you see. Not "do you want me to fix this." Not "hey I have an idea."

"Would you be willing to stay."

He doesn't know whether she will accept. Whether she will hate the idea, actually, of staying here with him. He's putting himself out there fully prepared for rejection & dismissal, as he has faced many times before.

But his pitch, his proposal to her, it's not JUST an excuse to ask her to stay, either. He's put thought into this. Into what Marcille could mean and do here. Not just to and for him, but for the people of this area. The place he has taken responsibility for.

He's also thinking about Falin. And about all the other little girls, the people of all sorts, just like her. He's thinking about the people who have been killed (burned at the stake???), hurt, shunned. About the people who have been abandoned. The people who are still alone.

He's not just offering Marcille an out from her isolation, he's offering her a new purpose. A new way to continue her work, to do the things she cares about. He SEES her! he understands her.

BUT ALSO HE'S SO NERVOUS OUGH. FIDDLING WITH THE PLATE. UNSURE IF SHE WILL CARE. UNSURE IF HE HAS IT RIGHT.

HE'S NOT GOOD WITH PEOPLE HE'S NOT GOOD AT THIS.

BUT THEY UNDERSTAND EACH OTHER. AND SHE WANTS THIS LIFE HE'S OFFERING HER.

Still... it's not that simple for her, even if for a moment she is swept up in how much she wants this.

Again here, Marcille is working so hard to be chill about the whole 'going west with the elves' thing. She looks absolutely devastated in the first panel, but puts on a smile in the second.

Maybe she doesn't want to bring down the mood. Maybe she doesn't want to burden everyone with what seems like the only option she has. Maybe she had already accepted the cost that might come with bringing Falin back. Maybe after everything with the Winged Lion, she doesn't want to risk letting herself fight for her desires too hard.

But hey. Desires aren't always bad. They aren't something to just get rid of.

A small bit of visual storytelling here... I love that Marcille is confined by the panel, but Laios is stepping outside of it. He's literally pulling her outside of the box she feels trapped in.

Also, I love that his first acts as king are:

1) welcome everyone to a big feast

2) stand by his friend and help her find happiness

It's great stuff and it's so Laios.

In addition to that, I love how this whole act actually plays out. I love that, while getting the elves to let Marcille go, he gets to be extremely cool and protective...

but also like. Not THAT cool and protective.

No really, I mean it! I think it's important! It's important that cool 'suave king guy Laios' is a front he puts up when he needs to deal with these strangers, and one that he completely drops once it's just him and Marcille.

He's not trying to impress her, or convince her he's cool and suave. Why would he? He trusts that she's okay with the messy, often unimpressive, sometimes kinda gross reality of who he is.

And isn't that what Dungeon Meshi is all about? Messy, unimpressive, gross reality. And how beautiful, how wonderful, how very precious it is

Especially when you get to share it with your friends.

[ultimateumbreon33]

ahh, i wish i liked the arknights dungeon meshi collab more. its got plenty of fun moments, i much prefer having this over nothing or a smaller event like luo xiaohei got (though, that story was more cohesive from what i recall…).

it feels like an early draft. rather choppy, even in terms of a story structure that tends to feel that way for the sake of showing a wider variety of experiences, in making the party go across terra. details that go in and out of relevance, some lack of detail (no struggles in the cold weather without their gear, also marcille mentions nightmares in a voice line even though they hadnt fought the red dragon yet so she didnt know to check her pillow), missed potential with the painting story especially.

how were they cooking all the previous meals in the end? did rhodes really have originium slug acid on hand- no way they gave senshi seaborn specimens. ill accept the party being fine after the collapsal and seaborn food cause theyre not terran, but those parts of the story lacked focus imo. also, why was there no indication of laios’ fascination with terran biology until after he gets to rhodes, that was jarring. yeah, there were often more pressing matters out in the wilds, but he saw so many people.

anyway its mostly nit-picks, but they add up. the rainbow six events were waaay better, and i had never engaged w that series. maybe they really wanted to differentiate from past crossovers, where some characters drop in and spend a while in one place, getting to know it. i get that it may be repetitive, but its still fun to me.

still, i see potential for a second collab, if they dig more into the lore. i wonder how marcille is even getting any mana, and if the winged lion can have any influence on terra. is he seeing the world through kensuke? also, the idea of resurrection would shake up a lot of people, especially sarkaz- as seen briefly in the sami section. that and the topic of lifespans, like w the sui, could go far.

this is maybe the most silly collab in terms of like.. time scale, for the characters. based on dialogue, they hadnt reached the red dragon, so they still think falin is being digested through alll of this time? and since the party arrived, big bob had gotten to meet with mudrock, got business going, got arrested, left prison, and started business in sami. when it comes to a sequel, im not sure how things could be tied back in with the canon that the party came from lol. i wonder who would become operators- of course izutsumi. probably kabru. they couldnt add his whole party though, so idk who else. namari would be pisssed if she were dragged in.

its interesting to note how.. limited the characters feel, with how it is written. like, in order to avoid serious spoilers, they are being withheld depth to an extent. theyre all very ‘pre red dragon,’ like someone just watched the first half of the anime.

anywayyyy i had fun. but it could have been more

[holmsister]

As for Shuro/Toshiro... lemme see if I can put this coherently. The long and short of it is, this is Ryoko Kui doing the thing she does in which she uses the dungeon as a neutral background in which characters with different ideas can clash and come to terms with each other. We're not supposed to side with Toshiro, but we are not supposed to side with Laios, really, mostly because there is no "right" and "wrong" here.

A character who is heavily coded as autistic and comes from a northern europe coded culture (low-context - information is supposed to be conveyed in the most straightforward and clear way possible, even when said way is considered rude) meets another character who is extremely shy and comes from a japan coded culture (high context - info is supposed to be inferred by a mix of behaviour and conversational allusion, maintaining peaceful interpersonal relationships takes precedent over efficiency).

Neither of them are inherently wrong in the way they approach the other. Yes, Toshiro shouldve said something, but he doesn't know how. He was not taught how to handle someone like Laios. Conversely, Laios was not taught how to read between the lines and understand what a person is trying to convey if they are not speaking directly.

Since Laios is the main protagonist and we see most of the story from his POV, and also since most people on this website are American (low context culture), its easy for people to assume we are supposed to side with him. But I don't think that's the author's intention at all. Remember - Kui is Japanese writing for a primarily Japanese audience. From THEIR POV Toshiro's behaviour is perfectly understandable. It's also worth noting that there is a lot of extra material that gives further context to the Toshiro/Laios relationship.

One of the main points, for example, is how Laios gets Toshiro's name wrong. When they first met, Toshiro is immediately an object of curiosity to Laios BECAUSE he is a foreigner from a faraway land. Laios immediately invites himself to become his friend and starts asking question after question. When he finally remembers he's supposed to ask for Toshiro's name, he misunderstands it as Shuro, and Toshiro is too shy to correct him. "Renaming" the foreign side character for the benefit of the Western main character is an extremely loaded symbolic choice from Robinson Crusoe's Friday onward. I am not aware of the particular history of this trope in Japanese literature, but other elements of Toshiro's story suggest that renaming in his culture is something that is often done to slaves. Ryoko Kui is generally very deliberate about details like these. I highly doubt this is a random choice.

Of course Laios does not do it on purpose and Toshiro understands this and decides to let it slide, but its still something hurtful that Laios does to another person without even realising that hes doing it. This is a type of mistake he does often and he will do again across the story.

Again. Not saying Toshiro is perfectly right either, but there is a reason why they finish the meeting on relatively decent terms - because they BOTH recognise how they went wrong.

Toshiro realises that he needs to be more direct and determined about what he wants, but this is a reality check for Laios as well. He has been able to coast by so far in the dungeon without giving much thought to other people's wants and needs, thanks to the help of friends who care for him and are willing to follow him, but the story is changing pace and scale. Soon he might have to make some difficult decisions that involve the life and death of others. He needs to learn to listen.

This is why the Toshiro confrontation happens in the same span where we see Chimera!Falin going on a rampage, and Kabru trying to establish a friendship with Laios to assess what kind of person he is. Several narrative threads are coming to a head - the conflict with Toshiro is the tangible result of the tensions we saw around Laios' uncaring attitude from the beginning.

[sugarcoatednightshade]

I haven’t thought of Lily Orchard in years, but she just made a video on dungeon meshi and I wanted to hear what she had to say. I couldn’t even finish it.

It’s clear she hates anime as a genre and is pissed about having to review something she didn’t want to watch, and that anger permeates the whole* review. On top of that, it’s so fucking disingenuous to review a show that’s not even halfway over and then claim it’s thematically disjointed - like 1. Of course it’ll seem that way if you’ve only seen the first quarter of a piece of work, we’re still in the setting up stage, these themes haven’t had time to fully commingle and resolve and 2. Even considering that, dungeon meshi does actually know what it is/where it’s going, and at this point it’s fairly obvious how all the themes/mixed genera’s are gonna fit together.**

*to be fair, I haven’t seen the entire review, so maybe she calms down partway through. I don’t make a habit of watching things I know will upset me, and watching someone make bad faith criticism of something I like would literally ruin my week

Post chapter 65 spoilers below:

**Granted, cookings prominence in the show, while cute*** on its own, didn’t really seem plot relevant to me until around chapter 65 when it was revealed that in order to save falin they would have to eat her dragon half. Y’all, I went fucking feral over that reveal.

***cute meaning: it’s used mostly for worldbuilding at first. That’s really cool if you’re into it, and an integral part of the story ryoko kui is telling, but not technically necessary in every story. There are plenty of storys who spend needless time expositing about the world instead of focusing on the interesting bits, and if you’re only a quarter of the way into DM, I can see how you might think that this is one of those cases.

But obviously, as time passes, the worldbuilding aspects become more important, because the entire show is about worldbuilding. Or more accurately, it’s a deconstruction of the fantasy genera. It spends time setting up familiar tropes and then examines how those tropes would actually play out in a realistic world, setting up and then questioning our expectations for the world in a really nuanced way.

My favorite example of this is how dungeon meshi treats dark/ancient magic.

1. The words ‘dark magic’ and ‘dark elf’ have negative but vague connotations in traditional fantasy. “The thing is bad because it is bad.” It’s a fact we’re primed to believe, but shallow and easy to question

2. We learn that marcille uses dark magic, but that she’s using it for good. “Actually dark magic is forbidden because the people in power were afraid of The Plebs and want to restrict the populaces access to knowledge” is also a common fantasy trope.

3. As we learn more about dungeons and how they intertwine with dark magic, we learn that it does truly have the power to end the world. Not by itself, but because the dimension it pulls power from is populated by beings who would use that bridge of power to enter our world and cause havoc. Holy shit, we think, black magic is actually dangerous and was banned for a reason. Naming it ‘black’ was part of a smear campaign intended to save the public by dissuading them from using it

4. And then we learn that the so called catastrophe scenario has never happened, no demon has ever escaped a dungeon and successfully ended the world. Is this because of the work of the Canaries and ppl like them, or are demons perhaps not as much of a threat as they are made out to be?

And it’s great because there is no one correct answer. We learn things through the characters, whose perspectives are limited and realistic and based on their own life experience. Nobody knows the whole story, and neither do we.

[felixcloud6288]

Dungeon Meshi Adventurer's Bible Characters Part 7

Extra stuff

Rooms

We saw a glimpse of Laios and Falin's room in the chapter 76 title image from a different angle. Kui managed to keep everything amazingly consistent, including the various items on the shelf.

Of particular note to me is the top of the shelf has a quill, books, a satchel, a bug nest, a dagger, and a rope placed in the same spots on both images. The only difference is the title image had three books instead of two.

Laios's dresser has some monster bones and what I think is either a scale or geode of some kind on it. Falin's dresser has a snake skin and some acorns on it. There's also a wheat or barley stalk on the floor. Laios does not keep his clothes as tidy as Falin does.

Marcille's room here is the one from the magic academy rather than whatever room she uses on the Island. The third row of books on her bookshelf is The Daltian Clan, and there are indeed 24 volumes.

There are two staffs in her room. One would have to be Ambrosia but still incomplete. The other is probably a pre-made staff she used until she finished Ambrosia.

She has a journal on her nightstand. Maybe it would later become her grimoire?

Chilchuck's room was shown in the chapter 21 title image and it similarly has a lot of consistency between shots. Actually, I'd say these two images happen within a few minutes of each other. Chilchuck's working on opening that box and then he takes a break to eat that bread and coffee(?) sitting on the staircase.

Senshi's tent is really similar to what the Orc houses look like. He spent a long time with them so it makes sense. They probably also deal with Dungeon Cleaners regularly so they can't have permanent settlements in the dungeon.

Kabru lives in the tavern basement. He's essentially living in a storage room.

His bed is really messy.

He has a winged lion wall decoration on his table. Maybe he's trying to study the ancient kingdom to figure out something about dungeons.

Is that a whip?

I'd like to know what the book means when it says "When Fleki and Lycion get noisy". I'd assume noisy is a natural state of being for Fleki. She's either loud or high on mushrooms.

And I love how messy her bed is. She's been eating, writing, and brushing her hair in that bed. She's probably just super bored and can't sit still.

And Lycion of course has a wolf pelt on his bed.

Does this world have something akin to a French deck of playing cards? Do they play poker?

Mithrun's room has nothing of interest in it. Fitting.

Izutsumi's room reuses the chapter 45 title image. Looking at it again, a bird probably flew in through the window above Izutsumi and she caught it. There's a few feathers floating around and Benichidori is upset to see what happened.

Along with how messy Izutsumi's futon is, there's a lot of scratch marks in it.

The Complete edition comes with two final pages in the character section. The first details the Canaries organization structure. Mithrun is the captain and leader of the first squad. Flamela is the vice captain and leader of the second squad. Each squad includes a leader, assistant, and two prisoners assigned to each of them.

Flamela's relation to the queen is a bit more detailed. The queen is Flamela's half-great aunt. Her great-grandmother is Hemea's mother but Hemea's father is a different man from Flamela's great grandfather.

It's the newbie Canaries. One's family recently came into fortune and is trying to bring prestige to his family. One is from a fallen noble house and is trying to regain her family's status, and one is just a distant relative with no opportunities for himself within the clan.

I thought they were all girls.

I didn't find a translation for the second page, but it appears to be mostly about physical differences between Tall-men and Half-foots.

The two fathers holding each others baby is cute. They're both struggling to figure out how to hold a child of such different size.

The complete edition included an extra line at the end of everyone's bios about what they're doing after the story and I found a translation of them.

Laios: Being king

Marcille: Is Laios's royal advisor

Chilchuck: running a shop in Kahka Brud

Senshi: Continues to experiment with monster cuisine

Izutsumi: Is traveling and sometimes visits Merini

Falin: Is traveling on her own

Shuro: Returned home and became head of his clan

Shuro's retainers: Returned home with Shuro. Tade worries about Izutsumi

Namari: Continued working for Tansu and eventually paid off her father's debts

Tansu and Yarn: Tansu serves as an advisor to the lord of Kahka Brud

Kaka: Helping Tansu in Kahka Brud

Kiki: Left to work in trade

Kabru: studying politics under Yaad

Mickbell and Kuro: Running a general store

Daya: Married and working with her husband in the lumber industry

Holm: Works as a spirit specialist

Rin: Stayed in Merini with Kabru. Works as a pharmacist

Mithrun: Stationed in Merini by the queen (No word on if he opened a noodle shop)

Pattadol: is a diplomat to Merini

canary Prisoners: Prison sentences were reduced

Milsiril: Continues to seclude herself

Yaad: Acts as Prime Minister to King Laios

Zon: Lives in Merini as orc chief

Leed: Works as a guard

Fionil: Lives in Merini with Doni. Is a teacher

Doni: Lives in Merini with Fionil. Is a farmer

back

[chuckeroo777]

Dungeon Meshi Volume 14 Part 3

Eat or be eaten. There is no hierarchy. Eating is, quite simply, the exclusive privilege of the living.

Come on, it's time to eat! What shall we have today?

I think the real takeaway from Dungeon Meshi is that cannibalism is a firm "maybe".

Slurp!

I remember seeing a post a while ago about Dungeon Meshi being fatphobic, and while I kinda see where they're coming from, I don't really agree. It's not exactly controversial to advocate for healthy eating and moderate exercise. While the body types could be a bit more diverse, especially in the main cast, Kui clearly has respect for people of various body types. Have you seen some of the daydream hour stuff?

They know him so well. Chilchuck in particular I think understands best. After all, his succubus becomes what he most desires, but it isn't what he wants.

I love this grumpy old gnome who spits nothing but facts.

This whole sequence is very nice.

So, I know this isn't literal, but do you think Falin would have been able to fully expel the dragon's soul? But even if she could, she chose kindness instead. And that's really nice.

I wonder what the demon thinks about all this. Has it actually learned any sort of lesson from all this? Either way, it at least seems to be taking its defeat as graciously as one would hope.

A precious image. It's all been leading up to this.

So, all the changes I've noticed. First, she has feathers covering most of her body. Some haven't grown in yet, but the coverage seems to match her chimera form, leaving her hands, feet, head, and tummy bare. She has large canines. She might have enhanced strength, though she was known for bashing heads in before her transformation too, so it's hard to tell. She also has normal eyesight, as opposed to her previous nearsightedness.

God, she is just like me.

WHO ARE YOU PEOPLE?!?!

Everyone loves pizza.

I still say familiars are the best solution. He can both make his own monsters, and observe real monsters through the eyes of his creations.

Oh, quit your bellyaching. A quick detox spell will have you right as rain.

An adorable image, and a fitting ending for an amazing manga.

Of course, it isn't quite over yet.

Glad to see she's doing well. Cat's would totally do this if they could talk.

This is so cute. Just like when you were in school!

Was it ever established what the heck living armor eats? Most shelled mollusks rely mostly on filter feeding, but that doesn't work so well in a terrestrial environment. Then again, we know monsters can supplement their diet with mana, and the mana in this dungeon awakens Kensuke later, so maybe they're super efficient to the point that they only need mana. And iron.

I love these dumbasses.

An important image.

Have I mentioned I love the dynamic these guys have?

One final precious image to end things off. What are the odds his wife is just off-screen?

Thanks to everyone who joined me for this tasty journey. I still have some other stuff cooking, so stay tuned! The Laios Got Eaten AU might be a bit. I'm struggling to figure out how they defeat Thistle or the Demon without Laios. I also have another AU I might write involving an OC. We'll see.

Have a great day, and may all your Meshi be Dungeon.

[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.

[musicfeedsmysoul12]

Oo! Or Naruto meets Dungeon Meshi!

Okay, so like some spoilers ahead for Meshi, so under the cut.

Demons in Meshi are located at the bottom of the dungeons and are responsible for their formation. The Elemental Nations are a place that figured out how to seal demons inside people. So we're doing away with like half the lore in Naruto now.

There are still ninjas, and Obito is being manipulated by a Dungeon Lord who was still alive because his demon had been sealed into a tree. The connection is allowing the Dungeon Lord to work on unsealing the demon.

It's a Tallmen-only country, despite the elves trying, because thanks to how they handle their demons, the Tallmen's powers aren't exactly the same as magic, so they can fight back pretty well.

Anyway, Naruto mostly happens canon, except for the Goddess thing and all that, and... I'm sorry ,but Kurama follows demon rules of Meshi now. No friendship between Naruto and him.

However, Naruto hates the idea of anyone else being treated as he was. The actions of him, Gaara and Bee changed some opinions, but the civilians still heavily dislike them. He still is refused service, still sneered at and called an abomination. So, Naruto decides to leave. His death outside the Elemental Nations will cause the demon inside him to escape, but a dungeon will form around him instead.

Naruto isn't alone, though. Sakura follows, as do Kakashi and Shikamaru. Rock Lee, Ino, Chouji, Tenten, Iruka and Gai are only a few steps behind as well. (There is some drama with Naruto not getting with Hinata because 'she waited so long for you' but he isn't interested in her even if she's nice. It's why Kiba and Shino don't follow too.)

Sasuke, Karin, Juugo and Suigestu also go, but they don't follow the others. Too much bad blood. They keep in touch through summons and letters. It's enough.

Naruto and his younger friends form a large adventuring party to earn money, while Iruka, Gai, and Kakashi more or less retire to run a business of sorts. This way, they end up running into Laios and his party. They become friends.

I imagine that Naruto's large party often breaks up so that it's more fun for them to. When Falin is eaten by a Dragon, Namari alerts Naruto when she sees him after she accepts a new party. Naruto was alone at the time as he'd taken a small break from adventuring, but ran right to Laios to help out.

Small nerfing of the Ninja powers will have to happen to make things consistent, though, as otherwise it wouldn't be an interesting read. Naruto, as well, would realize no one knows what causes dungeons to form, and would have to come to the difficult choice to tell them about why. Including his theory about the Winged Lion.

Pairing ideas: I'm kinda feeling Sakura/Rock Lee, Chouji/Ino, Kakashi/Gai, Aro-Ace Iruka, Tenten meets a pretty girl, Shikmaru/Naruto... Marcille/Falin of course and Chilaois!

[fumifooms]

Toshiro's nightmare is sooo interesting to think about.

I think it might have happened before Marcille joined their party, otherwise Marcoulle would probably have already known about nightmares already I feel- she doesn't seem to be familiar with them at the end of chapter, but who knows.

Like what would it be about? My first instinct is to say it for sure has something to do with his father. His beef and sentiment of inferiority with him is even the main point Kui highlights on his adventurer’s bible profile, it’s at the center of a lot of his issues….. Maybe he fails at something in his dream or everyone tells him he sucks or such… Kinda like Laios parallels! Ohhh ohh you're letting the family down Toshiro!! Orrr, people die when he was supposed to protect them I could see too— maybe even something to do with the heirdom.

But my favorite? If his nightmare was only a slightly harsher version of his daily life at home. Just him going along doing his routine, training, meeting with his father for extra stress, eating alone a meal that tastes bland, all while Maizuru and others nitpick at all of his little imperfections in his demeanor and choices and acts. Constantly being criticized on every little thing he does wrong... Hold your chopsticks more neatly young master, walk straighter and don’t stare young master, land that blow more cleanly young master, you have to go meet with your father young master. Never taking too long of a break because he still remembers the time one of Maizuru's spirits chased him with a knife.

Living your nightmare... Nightmare that’s just blasé routine you constantly go through, so even though it’s your most hated most dreaded most feared situation you just act as if everything’s normal because to you it is, it is your normal, and he doesn’t even let a crack show.

And like Falin getting to see what it was like for him back home would be so good too. Helping him through it and "Hey, this isn't real, come back to reality with us"... I wonder if it happened before he fell for falin or after... I like to think it happened before. Maybe even early on near when Toshiro joined them, especially since he mostly stayed in the party for her... And listen I have a soft spot for Maizuru, but I do bet if she'd seen his nightmare she would have found ways to judge it whatever it was, maybe throuh coddling her precious baby boy a bit, but if it was the routine theory then I bet she'd would just have been like "yes, of course that's the correct way to raise him. what is nightmarish about this?" Cough cough, the HAG BABYSITTER SPIRIT!!

which is worse: a nightmare where an active enemy is aggressively threatening you, or what appears to be a perfectly normal daily life.

[bi-hop]

faliiiiinnnnnnnn

Falin!

How I feel about this character: it's actually kinda funny upon further reflection that she's one of my favorite characters. because I reread dungeon meshi a lot (just random chapters) to try and absorb the dialogue and she's barely present? Obviously, she haunts the text, and chimera!Falin shows up pretty regularly, but her herself? barely there! mostly post-canon! she rocks though to be clear.

I think what I like most about her is how the person viewing her subtly shapes what we expect from her. I remember being somewhat surprised she was so cordial with her parents still, as Marcille was, because even though Laios acknowledged the possibility of her not being as strongly affected by their upbringing, I didn't actually believe that would be the case. I enjoy that all of her loved ones have these lens on that mean you do get to see Falin, but almost always through these curtains of bias first. I don't know what it means for me that part of why I like her is because of getting to peel back that curtain every so often. LMAO

All the people I ship romantically with this character: Farcille, for starters, which I won't dwell on. basically everyone loves it. LET'S TALK OTHER STUFF!!!!

if I had a nickel for every time I wrote Asivia falling for a lady despite being at Laios' court in post-canon presumably to 'try again', I'd have two nickels. this is becoming a funny trend. anyway won't mention the other fic but I have this general idea for Asivia having an interest in dragoness Falin that no one really picks up on because I like mess. I still don't really know if I want the interest to be reciprocated or not. but I think Asivia is neat. I support women trying to get money out of guys, even if said guy is my fave. enough about Laios though. in terms of attraction, I think it's mostly a matter of beauty and power as the starting point. that might sound not genuine, but I think the draw of the power part of Falin is a fascination with the freedom she now represents and embodies. I dunno though, I've basically invented Asivia in my head.

there's also Rin, which I can only express this way

no one sees my vision though

My non-romantic OTP for this character: Laios (I wish good big brothers were real) of course. Marcille also. I think those are the main ones. That isn't to diminish her bond with any other character, just OTP is a big weighty term to me and those are the dynamics I've dwelled on the most. I should change that though bc Chilchuck calling her strange (if I recall right) in his relationship map (or hers?) was funny to me. you did all that for a girl you think is weird? aight, grump grump

My unpopular opinion about this character: she should have killed more people actually-

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: my dream... my sole dream... is a random ass bonus thing that's 'Falin's traveling journal' a la Senshi's journal and we get to see countries in the dungeon meshi world that weren't named and life is good. life is so good. my final message. gootbye

[yurisorcerer]

For the second time this week, I tried to turn my notes on an anime episode into an actual article for my site but couldn't get it to cohere well enough. So you guys get it instead, hopefully you enjoy it regardless.

Usually when I talk about the inherent pacing differences between an anime and a manga, it's to complain, but this episode is a pretty astounding example of an anime production intentionally exploiting those differences to make certain emotional beats hit harder.

To recap; in a manga, you are able to read at your own pace. Some people breeze through manga, some people go out of their way to savor every page, but because you're restricted to your visual senses and their interpretation of ink-on-paper, there's a lot of imaginative work going on on your end. Anime, just by its nature, inherently eases that burden a little bit. You've got an aural component to soak in (not present in a manga), and the visuals move with motion and color, something also absent in the still page. This is the entire artistic reason that anime adaptations of manga exist at all. Done well, they can selectively enhance certain emotional currents of the work. If done very well, they can do so without displacing the original work itself. That's what the Dungeon Meshi anime accomplishes here. Anything else aside, that's pretty impressive.

Seeing Marcille and Laios assemble the grim puzzle of Falin's blood-soaked and half-digested skeleton is one thing on the printed page. Those pages are very effective in their original format, but the scene is transformed here, because we really have no choice but to stew in it. The medium forces us to slow down and really focus on what they're doing; clicking bones together piece by piece, soaking their hands in dragonblood and gore. In Marcille's case, her actual spellcasting is brought into a deep crimson technicolor. The anime's presentation really makes it hit home; she is bleeding onto the ground, chanting ancient, forbidden magic in a desperate bid to bring Falin back from the grave. Laios' emotional state shouldn't be undersold either, as fascinated as he is by the actual act of assembling the skeletons, the moment Falin finally does return to life, she and her older brother share a genuinely very sweet embrace, even as Falin herself is still quite confused as to what's going on.

About that; in the area of scenes altered by the simple fact of being in an anime, we have to talk about the bath scene. In the manga, the bath scene is full of a fair amount of ambiguity, something I'm far from the first person to take note of. The anime, of course, can't replicate that precisely, so it has to pick and choose what emotional undertones to access and which to discard. All told, I'd say the scene is adapted pretty fantastically; it's tender, full of soft colors, and it preserves the push-and-pull dynamic of Marcille and Falin's conversation pretty well. About all that can't be said is that it's a straight improvement, which, really, when you're working with source material as good as Dungeon Meshi, is not a bad thing. I think the bath scene in particular is a good locus for what works about this episode; managing such a delicate scene so well is unimaginably tough, but the team working on the series pulled it off admirably. (As a Lesbian Side Note; both Marcille and Falin look amazing here, as you'd probably expect.) There are a few notable differences; things that seem obvious but pop out if you know what you're looking for. I'm mostly thinking how Marcille's facial expressions are a lot more obviously-flustered here as opposed to the somewhat more ambiguous ones in the manga. But again, an anime has to pick what emotional currents it's going to emphasize.

There are other points to hit on; the obligate dragon-cooking scene is as great as you'd expect, and there are some great character moments between Falin and the rest of the cast. Obviously, with her brother (where he does a very Elder Brother thing by mussing her hair), but also Marcille and even Senshi. (The only one who doesn't really get in on the action is unfortunately Chilchuck.)

[scribomaniac]

The Woes of Having Neighbors, Chapter 11: New Year’s Eve Part 1

Aelin could not wait for tonight’s party. It was gonna be the party that ended all parties. It was New Year’s Eve and everyone was coming. All her closest friends, acquaintances from work, frenemies, and then some.  They’d all be here in just a few short hours.  

Just a few short hours, shit they had their work cut out for them. She’d tasked Lysandra and Aedion with procuring food and snacks for tonight; Aedion to carry it, and Lysandra to keep them on task.  Technically Aedion could’ve done it by himself, but lord knew what trouble that boy could get into unsupervised.  He’d probably blow all the money on pinatas or something.

Elide, Manon, and Asterin were in charge of cooking the food once it arrived. Or, well, Elide would cook, and Asterin and Manon would taste test and offer any necessary moral support. Why the dark eyed girl needed moral support, Aelin wasn’t entirely sure … she assumed it had to do with Lorcan, but last she’d heard, Elide had all but cussed the man out.

Lorcan Salvaterre. He’d gotten an invitation just by being Rowan’s friend, but if he were anyone else’s he’d be celebrating the night elsewhere. Aelin didn’t know the dark haired man all that well, or at all, really, but from what she’d heard from Elide and the rest of Rowan’s cadre, she didn’t like the sound of him one bit. She hoped he and Maeve would live unhappily ever after somewhere far, far away. Hell, they could even live happily together, just so long as they left Rifthold.

It’d taken a long time for Aelin to feel safe in this city, to feel comfortable, and to stop looking over her shoulder every five feet. She’d gone to great lengths to rid Rifthold of its dangers, of its nefarious underbelly. She didn’t want to have to start all over again thanks to the couple from hell.  Maeve might not seem all too dangerous, not on the outside, but Aelin knew better than to be lulled into a false sense of security because of some pretty face.

Shaking her head, Aelin dispersed those thoughts and returned to the present. Looking around the living room of her apartment, she saw Dorian and Chaol dutifully moving sleeping bags, blankets, and pillows into her guest bedroom for the guests who planned on spending the night. After they finished that task, Aelin would have them set up some cheap folding tables she’d rented and they could start setting out the snacks once Lysandra and Aedion returned.

Looking at her watch–only three hours until the party was due to start–Aelin hoped that’d be soon. She also hoped Evangeline and Nehemia returned from walking Fleetfoot before her cousin and friend. Lysandra had a nasty protective streak when it came to her younger sister, and even though she knew the young girl could take care of herself, and that Nehemia was with her–Nehemia, proud owner of a brown belt in karate–if Evangeline wasn’t back before her, the dark haired beauty would call in the national guard while simultaneously chewing Aelin’s ear out.

Just as she was about to pull her phone out and call her long time friend, Nehemia and Evangeline walked through the door following a bouncing and barking Fleetfoot. “Oh good, you’re back!”

Nehemia narrowed her eyes at Aelin, crossing her toned arms over her chest, “You weren’t worried, were you?” Suspicion coated her tone, and Aelin had to hold back a wince. Nehemia could take care of herself. Aelin knew that. Nehemia knew that Aelin knew that. But if the dark skinned woman thought Aelin was worried about her, her pride would be hurt and she’d be pissed. And a pissed Nehemia was just as bad a protective Lysandra.

God, why did she have so many willful friends?

Hands up in a classic ’don’t shoot’ fashion, Aelin gave her friend a sharp grin and reassured her. “Never,” she said, feeling some tension in her shoulders fade away when Nehemia’s smile mirrored her own. Rolling her eyes and putting her hands down, she joked, “If anything, I was worried you two had kidnapped my dog.”

Fleetfoot barked and came up to lean against her owner, silently begging for affection. Smile softening, Aelin reached down and scratched the dog behind her ears.

“One of these days, Aelin,” Evangeline called from the couch, a terribly gleeful smile on her face. “One of these days.”

Laughing, Aelin shook her head and said, “Hellion.” The young girl’s smile widened with pride before she turned and focused her attention on the TV.

“All right,” Aelin said, mostly to herself, and clapped her hands as she tried to refocus her thoughts. “What next?” The apartment was almost finished, it just needed a few more touch ups here or there, Elide would start the food once Lysandra and Aedion arrived, then there was …

“Well,” Nehemia’s voice, dryer than any desert, cut through her mind’s ramblings, “You should probably start getting ready.”

Aelin blinked at her friend once. Twice. Thrice. “What?”

Raising a brow, Nehemia’s brown eyes gave Aelin a once over. “Party’s going to start soon,” she hedged. Then with a smirk asked, “Were you really planning on wearing stained jeans and a holey t-shirt to the party?”

Aelin looked down at her clothes. Yes, they were shoddy, but they were her pre-party clothes! She’d change, obviously. She double checked her watch. She still had plenty of time. “I’ll get ready soon, it won’t take long.”

Snorting, Nehemia cocked her head to the side and asked, “Really, Aelin? Remember the last time you said that? I think it was junior year, and–”

A blush with the heat to rival the fire of Brannon, Aelin squawked and headed for her room, “Okay, fine! You win! I’m going!”

Turned out, Nehemia had been right to send Aelin off to get ready. Although she hadn’t taken the full three hours to prepare, it had been a close thing. She always underestimated how long she needed to shower, pick and outfit, do her hair and makeup, pick a new outfit, touch up her makeup, and then decide on accessories. It happened everytime, and every time she was taken by surprise.

Thank god she had such willful friends.

When she finally re-entered the living room, she saw that several people had already arrived. Those that had never heard the term ’fashionably late’ apparently. Amongst the early birds were a few of Manon’s friends, Sorrel, Vesta, and Imogen. If those three were here, then eight more women would be arriving within the hour. Manon called them her Thirteen, which Aelin thought was a little unoriginal but still sounded pretty cool. They were Manon’s closest–read, only–friends. Besides Elide, of course, but that was different.

Ansel, Ilias, and Mikhail were here, too, which didn’t surprise Aelin, since they never stayed late and made up for it by always arriving early.

Emrys and Malakai were just walking in, Luca trailing not too far behind, holding a bottle of wine. That was awfully nice of them, Aelin would have to personally thank them later.

“Aelin!” A voice giggled from behind her. Turning around, Aelin found Asterin smiling gleefully at her, a glass of rum and coke in her hand and a haze over her eyes. Aelin would’ve rolled her eyes if it had been anyone but Asterin. Everyone knew the girl liked to party and had perfected the art of maintaining a light buzz. “Girl you look hot!”

Smirking, Aelin looked down at herself. She was wearing a tight black dress that hugged all her curves and left nothing to the imagination. Hell, it was so tight she couldn’t even wear underwear with it.

She’d bought the dress ages ago and had never gotten around to wearing it. She probably never would have, either, if it hadn’t been for Rowan. He’d spotted it a few weeks ago and stared at it until Aelin had finally asked if he liked it.

“Wear this for me,” he’d whispered in response, his voice hoarse and weak. “Please.”

Well how could she say no to that?

It wasn’t anything too special, especially with its jewel neckline or its long sleeves, but the back, that’s what made it. Or, well, the lack of it did. Where there should have been fabric, there was only skin all the way down, ending just before the swell of her ass.

She’d done her hair up, too, so everyone would have a view of the scarred and tattooed flesh of her back, and the only jewelry she wore were her golden, dangling earrings, crafted to look like dragons. Add a pair of black pumps, and she looked like hell in heels.

“I know,” she told Asterin confidently, making her laugh.

Leaning in to touch one of the dragon earrings, the other blonde whispered conspiratorially, “If things don’t work out with Rowan, give me a call yeah?”

Chuckling, Aelin nodded, “Will do.”

Puckering her lips and giving Aelin an air kiss, Asterin took her leave.

Soon party guests began showing up in earnest. First was Dorian’s cousin, Roland, with two of the Thirteen–Faline and Fallon, if Aelin wasn’t mistaken–which made Manon go into mama bear mode. Lovely.

Then there were Kharis and Deji, Nehemia’s younger brothers.  They were mostly invited so Evangeline wouldn’t be the only minor in the group.

Next were Kaltain Rompier, Aelin’s former arch-nemesis turned begrudging friend, along with her latest loser of a beau.

Nesryn came followed by a gaggle of people Aelin had never met before, but she shrugged that off. Faliq was a shrewd woman, if she liked these people enough to bring them to Aelin’s home, then they must be all right.

Finally, an hour after the party officially began Rowan walked through her door along with the rest of his cadre.  

His green eyes immediately found hers and then widened as he took in what she was wearing. Freezing in the middle of the living room, his eyes traced her every movement as strode towards him. Heart thumping almost painfully in her chest, Aelin smiled, her face shining like a confident, golden sun, and she performed a graceful twirl, giving him a peek at her back, before kissing his cheek.

“Like what you see?” She asked, her mouth right next to his ear. She was pressed so close against him, she could feel the tremor her words sent down his body.

Groaning lowly, his hands came up to rest on her hips. “Aelin,” he let out a short laugh, his warm breath fanning against her neck as he asked, “are you trying to kill me?”

“Not actively,” she said, then took his earlobe into her mouth, just for fun.

The hands on her hips trembled and tightened, his blunt fingernails digging through the fabric of her dress and into her skin. “Aelin,” he said, as softly as a prayer.  

Somewhere from the crowd came a harsh wolf whistle, making Aelin jump. She was going to kill Aedion.

Pulling away, she decided she’d deal with her cousin later and smiled up at Rowan, “Oops,” she stuck out her tongue, leaning against him as she said, “I guess we got a little carried away.”

Rowan huffed out a laugh and reached up to stroke his thumb against her cheek. “Maybe just a little.” This time it was him who leaned in to whisper into her ear, “Just wait until everyone leaves. I’ll carry you away all night long.”

“I’ll hold you to that, buzzard,” she responded. Turning her head, Aelin pressed a quick peck to his lips before stepping back. Taking his hand, and preening when he intertwined their fingers, she led him into the thick of the party.

It was a minute until midnight and the party had been a wonderful success. We’ll, almost. There had been a slight Lorcan issue–he’d invited Maeve, the dumbass–but it had been handled and dealt with almost an hour ago now, and there had been no drama since.

Aelin and Rowan stood by a window, watching as small white flakes fell to the ground. The snow most likely wouldn’t stick, but it was pretty all the same. And the drafty window provided a slight reprieve from the heat her guests were creating. Rowan stood behind her, his arms around her waist and his chin resting on her shoulder. Every now and again he’d place a kiss against the curve her her jaw, the line of her neck, the spot behind her ear, making Aelin would shiver and smile like a giddy child.

Soon the countdown would begin, and she’d turn around to kiss Rowan; bring in the year with him. She hadn’t had someone to kiss on New Year’s sincerely Sam, and that was … it felt like a lifetime ago.

Although part of her, a part that would always belong to Sam, twanged painfully at the thought of moving on, a bigger part knew he’d want her to do so, that he wanted her to be happy. Rowan kissed her neck again, and her heart soared, drowning out the small twang in its elation.

Twisting her neck to sneak a kiss to some unseen part of Rowan’s face, making him chuckle, she basked in the happiness he brought her.

The countdown was starting. Thirty seconds, twenty nine, twenty eight … “Aelin,” Rowan mumbled. She could feel every syllable his lips made against her skin, raising bumps along her neck. She hummed, letting him know she was listening.

“Aelin, I love you.” It was so quiet, Aelin almost missed it. Then thought she’d dreamed it.

Turning in his arms, she looked at him with wide eyes and slightly parted lips. Rowan stared back at her, a small smile on his lips. Leaning in until his lips were a hair’s breadth away from hers, he said it again, “I love you.” And kissed her.

If Aelin had thought she had dreamt it, the kiss proved her wrong. There was no way she could dream such a kiss. It was so light, so tender and chaste and full of love, it filled her up and made her feel like she could fly. No dream could ever do that kiss justice.

Rowan pulled away and Aelin gave chase, wrapping an arm around his neck so he couldn’t go far. Resting their foreheads together, she looked deep into his forest green eyes and smiled at him. “Rowan,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper. Pressing a brief kiss to his lips, she pulled back, “I,” she kissed him again, “love,” kiss, “you,” kiss, “too,” she kissed once more, addicted to his lips.

Then, feeling he needed to hear it all in one go, she said, “I love you, too.”

People around them began to cheer and holler as the countdown finished. Aelin didn’t care about any of that, though, the only thing she cared about was standing right before her, looking down at her like she was the most precious thing in the entire world.

Reaching up onto her tiptoes, Aelin pulled him down for another kiss, one worthy or bringing in the New Year.

Breaking away one last time, she smiled mischievously at him, “Rowan,” she said, oh so innocently. He hummed, his eyes glazed over with unspoken heat, “Did you know,” she leaned up to whisper into his ear, “that I’m not wearing any underwear?”

“Aelin.”

[samilovesyou-blog1]

(19-06-21) The Wicked Old Deer

Faithful Subjects,

Today has been an amazing day, dear critters, I found in myself the courage to consult the grass-snake today, a specialist in cures and healing, and I told him all about my curse. To my surprise, the grass-snake knew all about the curse already and assured me it could be easily be taken care of through a certain kind of magic. He also told me, in a less pleasing news, that this magical process wouldn’t go unnoticed by my parents, and that there will come a moment when I will not be able to hide from them anymore. This thought scares me, I must confess, and although I told the grass-snake I would come around and tell them of my curse, I also cannot imagine how I could possibly face them and expect them to accept my bane. My current state might confer me joy and comfort, but I wouldn’t expect them to understand or even find pride in me after they know, as they already love the soul I used them too, the son they wanted, and forcing them to tolerate a second soul in my body that isn’t their son could very well anger them, or worse even, disgust them.

Today also my mother’s parents visited us, which did not charmed me at all. See, my mother’s grandfather, which I have for a long time called the Wicked Old Deer, is an individual I have grown to despise. My grandfather is a liar and the most disloyal member of the royal family, and as for my grandmother, she has been emotionally abused by her husband which is why she never disrespects or objects him, and although I do not dislike her the slightest, her husband, the Wicked Old Deer, is already enough reasons for me to disdain their occasional visits.

The reason why I disdain my maternal grandfather is mostly because of an affair concerning my uncle, the Black Deer, the cruelest creature I have met in my life. A possessive and aggressive being, he locked away his daughter, my dear cousin, to prevent anyone but him from seeing her, and he starved my Aunt for she could remain thin although it almost killed her, all because my uncle only cares about himself. The Black Deer should have been a shame to the family, but the Wicked Old Deer only cared for his only son, and wouldn’t give a single care to his daughters. My mother in the past fled her home at adulthood to escape my grandfather’s immorality, and once again, when she learned my grandfather protected my uncle the Black Deer, and approved his cruelty, my mother refused to see them ever again, which is why I haven’t seen any of my cousins since we were fawns.

The reason why the Wicked Old Deer continues to visit, though, is only because recently, on one of Man’s hunts he was badly injured by a bullet, and the infection spreading, he probably realized he was a sad, old, despicable and lonely brute, and he reached out to my mother in search of forgiveness. To our dismay, we discovered that despite the years and his current state, he did not change even a bit, claiming that the Black Deer forced him to support him, which not only does not make sense, but is a ridiculous lie since we all remember his reaction back when we last saw him. We all know he is pretending to be a victim when he really only is a coward, and despite this, my mother continues to agree to see him. I cannot hide my feeling of betrayal when my mother accepted to allow him in our lives again, even after discovering he was the same man she fled years ago, but I had to accept my mother’s decision and, of course, the hope of seeing my dear cousin, who is still locked away by the Black Deer, is the only motivation I have to see them, that there might be a chance my uncle will allow me to see her again.

I always fill my head with thoughts of hatred whenever I see the Wicked Old Deer, hence why it is always a delight to be able to roam around Picturewoods at night, the perfect way to clear my thoughts after a hard day. Unfortunately, for the first time ever it rained in Picturewoods, and your careless Queen left her Bestiary in the open air! Why must I be so thoughtless! Now, the Bestiary is soaked and I must start all over again, which means I will not be able to add any new entries to the Bestiary until I fix it or find a new one, which absolutely irritates me, which is also a shame because I was just about to catch a very fine picture today, but now it’s meaningless, is it? Without a Bestiary this whole thing seems rather useless. It seems I will have to keep being satisfied with only sighting new treasures for a while.

On the matter, I caught a glance of a fairly common picture called “I Am Mother” by Grant Sputore. Upon expecting the film, I was predicting something like “Ex Machina”, something smart and thoughtful, but I was disappointed with something less thought-provocative, and something that was barely even thrilling. In my own words, I would compare “I am Mother” to be a mix of “Ex Machina” and “10 Cloverfield Lane”, not only is the plot of “I Am Mother” a mix of the two, but it also mixes the pretty visuals of “Ex Machina” with the messy storyline of “10 Cloverfield Lane” that technically makes sense but doesn’t feel satisfactory. In “I Am Mother”, a human girl is birthed and raised by a robot named “Mother”, an A.I. with the duty of raising human children and repopulate Earth, to give humanity a second chance after everyone was killed by a toxic disease. As the daughter approaches adulthood, a human outsider who claims there wasn’t any disease and that droids were the one who hunted and killed humans enters her life. One of them is lying and the daughter has to find out who.

Visually, the picture looked very good, but the story wasn’t nearly as stunning. I was expecting something philosophical, or at least surprising, but here the twist ending is obvious from the start, and the film even lacks the ambiguity of not knowing who to believe, something “10 Cloverfield Lane” at least did well. I do not feel like I wasted my time but I will not seek to add this picture in the Bestiary in the future, and I am not only saying that because it is currently soaked wet.

Today is the summer solstice, and usually the month of the solstice I host the Film Festival in Picturewoods, but with the curse being on my mind all summer I did not prepare anything this year, which unfortunately means there won’t be a Film Festival. I hope I could do something today at least, but with the Bestiary ruined I am afraid I am quite lost. But let’s not mourn over the lack of a Festival this season, let’s look forward to the fall equinox next September, when there will be a Film Festival! I hope you critters are all looking forward to it.

On these words, till it be morrow, Faithful Subjects,

Your Queen,

Faline

[fumifooms]

I think Kui intended for Kuro's Touden party counterpart to be Toshiro, not Izutsumi as is commonly fanonized. Dia being the counterpart to Namari implies that Kabru's party are stunt doubles to the pre-dragon Toudens, not the new party comp, which shakes out Kuro = Shuro pretty easily. The Kabru/Kuro and Laios/Toshiro relationships invert pretty neatly too. Thoughts?

I do agree, but I think there’s stuff to be said about Kuro-Izu too. I think it’ll be fun eventually for me to try every way in which every party member parallels another in some way, but just casually spitballing for a bit here… With Kuro the first thing I notice when comparing to Toshiro is armor. The shape of the chestplate is pretty common, but the whole of it feels reminiscent, the silhouette, the pants... Also the way all three of them are similarly stanced up hah. Behavior wise, being quiet and stoic and devoted is a Toshiro thing. Kuro’s quite well spoken when in his native tongue and seems generally coolheaded, observant as well. He’s ferociously protective but otherwise very passive, friendly and gentle. He doesn’t seem to particularly care about morals, he bases what course of action he takes almost solely on Mick’s wants and needs.

Kuro is only there for Mickbell, up to a point Toshiro is mostly there for Falin (He did let himself get dragged in before he fell for her, and he’s searching for ways to prove he’s worthy to his father in the dungeons so). Quiet devoted guardian thing. Out of the three, Kuro is the only one without formal fighting training (assumedly), but he’s more of a warrior than a rogue I’d say.

Something else we can look at is their names. Kuro means black in japanese, in meta japanese is the original language of the work and is the "common" that the characters speak. Considering the backstory extra about him having lived in a cage, unable to speak common, I think Mick named him that. This does parallel more to Izutsumi, since she has a history of being given a name (Asebi) but then choosing her own for herself. Toshiro’s by comparison, but you could draw a parallel about the nickname Shuro, butchering his name. There’s a language barrier/culture clash theme for them two in particular. In any case, japanese is something they all share because of this. Kuro-shuro is also pretty close. If you want to dig at more into their name I recommend this paper, Izutsumi’s is particularly interesting.

Do they similarly struggle with identity? Eh. Compared to Izutsumi’s arc being about accepting her beastly half and herself as she is… Kuro is alienated from wider society by being a kobold yes but his character is more centered on unhealthy devotion which is closer to Toshiro 1) running himself ragged to save Falin and 2) being trapped in his noble role and duty to his household. ALTHOUGH you can argue that that’s the point, that Kuro and Izutsumi took that shared experience of being caged and kept as property and reacted in diametrically opposed ways to it: Izutsumi decided she never wants to rely on or get attached to anyone ever, meanwhile Kuro decided he just had to find the right person to follow unconditionally. Izutsumi has an arc but she ends it still being independent and she grew closer to the group in general, not just latching onto one person, so again I feel like this is more Shuro. But then the Laios-Kabru parties shadow doubles tend to both parallel and contrast a lot, so who knows what angle is more intended. It’s possible parallels to both are intentional, but then again parallels just tend to happen when you have a developed story.

Izu-Kuro wise the biggest thing is definitely their shared experience of poverty and slavery, and really yeah it’s less being poor and more being taken and treated as less than human & property. Being Servants. Having lived or grown up with the harsh bare minimum. They’re both barefoot. Cat & dog, black & white, etc etc. And then like we went into, obedience vs rebellion- obedience which is pretty Toshiro. So it’s truly a matter of well ok and now what do we do with these threads.

This can actually be a throughline: Characters from the Kabru party tend to contrast against their Laios party counterpart in weirdly specific symmetrical ways. Namari is more alike Dia than Senshi. Toshiro is alike Kuro whereas Izutsumi heavily contrasts against him. Holm is alike Falin. If we go by "the Kabru counterpart is alike the old Laios party member and dissimilar to the new one" I think that’s a fun angle. Dia’s the more ambiguous I think, I should make an analysis on her she’s so interesting…

Also, this scene is a direct parallel, and of course Toshiro isn’t around but Izu here is the Kuro to Chilchuck’s Mickbell.

And while we’re on the topics of Toshio and parallels, there are so many between Toshiro and the black haired half-elf Forva from Daltian Clan btw omg… Aka Marcille’s favorite character. Aka there’s so much we could dig into here. It’s interesting because general Hareus the character she simps for looks exactly like Mithrun and it 1000% has to be intentional, but it’s not like Marcille thinks of that when she sees him, so much like the Laios party-Kabru party parallels what it adds to the story is meta instead of in-world… And in this way it’s interesting to think of possible Daltian-rest of the cast parallels as well. Uriel the protagonist looks like Milsiril somewhat, she’s a bumpkin found to actually be from a noble house and becomes the protagonist at the heart of the romance political drama plot… A play on Milsiril being a recluse? Because if we go from Mithrun-Hareus parallels then to me the point of the parallels at all is to either joke about or do commentary on fiction vs reality, idealized vs real. Mithrun being part of the military like General Hagreus and having lost an eye like him but it’s not glamorous, it’s not chivalrous, Mithrun is not a figure to be idolized but one to look at and realise that ah, the elven military is a flawed system pushing people into unhealthy mindsets and death. So like with Toshiro-Forva… Similar case of "don’t meet your heroes"? Lonely doomed love hinorbound noble sad you can’t make this shit up……