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THISTLE!!!!!!! everyone like it NOW!

"hot girl summer" LAME. BRAT MAGE SUMMER!

brat mage summer!!! 🍏

(this edit also goes out to @sunsetdeathcity since they're like the biggest thistle fan and enjoyer I know)

If you also wanna support/check out the edit on TikTok: click here!!!

i will never forgive laios for making me crave monsters. where am i supposed to find treasure bugs. or a DRAGON.

Dungeon Meshi Volume 9 Part 3

Welcome back! Finishing up Volume 9!

What's with the random snake on the cover? There weren't even any snakes in this volu- wait.

Mithrun, that's rude.

And coming from someone like Kabru, that's saying something.

There's a really fun extra where Mithrun complains that Kabru cut out all the bits leading to the punchline. While it's partially true that Kabru simplified it so people would understand, I like to think Kabru cut out Mithrun's deeper motivations and desires to maintain his privacy. People don't need to know that. Even if Mithrun doesn't care, Kabru still treats him with basic respect.

It's rather heartwarming how much these two come to respect each other. I'm not sure if either of them has ever had anyone treat them as an equal.

See? He's laughing cause that very much isn't what was really going on. No need to air out Mithrun's struggles with superiority.

You say that, but... that look in his eyes doesn't look very happy to me.

Good for him. What? What are you readers giving me that look for?

I hate the demon. I really really hate it. It acts nice, and may do nice things, but at the end of the day, it's a groomer. And a r*pist. Seriously, it is really that awful.

Ah, I see the demon is also a gacha gamer. The most evil of hobbies.

Maybe I don't get how desires work, but I feel like you wouldn't want to turn into a mushroom, because it would prevent you from getting revenge? I dunno, the rules seem pretty fuzzy.

First, why were you sitting on the other side of the portal? Second, how malnourished was Mithrun that a single week of questionable food has him looking healthier? Third, please let Fleki sleep.

On the one hand, this is probably because Laios is a direct lead to finding the demon. On the other hand, it's because he and Kabru are friends now! :D

Also, I think I figured out why this volume is only six chapters. I haven't done page counts or anything, but chapter 62 feels twice as long as a typical chapter. So I guess that leaves the anime with 1 episode worth of wiggle room.

Plausible deniability at its finest.

I don't know how, but I really hope this makes it into the anime. It's a really important bit of Chilchuck characterization.

And that's it for volume 9! Hope you enjoyed, because next time we're headed right for the heart of the dungeon. With plenty of dramatic irony! We may want to rip the lion a new one, but our hapless heroes have no idea the danger they're in! See you!

my favourite son

If the dungeon master is tired and lonely the demon tries to act kind and cuddly and if the dungeon master is in the throes of paranoia the demon acts aggressive and creepy so the winged lion acting cunty gay and horny means laios is

I just realized I haven't shown off my Falin and Thistle shrine yet!! It's always growing and changing, and I still have so many plans for it :)

Hello!

Would you have a collection of the instances where they talk about Mithrun’s noodle shop?

As far as I know it is mentioned only twice, once when they're trying to cheer him up so he has a new dream and once when Cithis asks "weren't you gonna open a noodle shop" in the second life extra

Actually now that you mention the "shop" part wasn't said out loud, I guess it came from the visual in Laios' imagination? Lemme know if I forgot any!

Lmao my roommate just sent me this from the hotel he's staying at

Why is Chilchuk there? Why is he just standing by the pallets?

I wanted to ask you if there were any notable differences with Mithrun's dialogue in a few specific scenes, or anything of note when he says "Free yourself" to Thistle, the scene with Marcille where he says, "Do you have any idea how empty that will leave you", generally speaking, when he's trying to show care and compassion and empathy, like the therapy scene, and what he says to Marcille there about love, too. I guess I'm wondering if there's any difference with how they're displayed, because, for instance, I've seen people say that he's cruel to Thistle, and I see the ruthlessness easy, but I can also read the autistic sense of justice, which, although people laud this as a "good" thing, it can be really single-minded and actually pretty unconcerned with "right" or "wrong".

It sort of has a way, to me, as an autistic person, of mirroring Laios wanting Senshi to eat the griffin—to know and be free because that's the only way forward, just. Harsher.

Also, um. His interaction with Kabru, too! When he goes on to ask him what he wants to do, or really just that panel. Their interaction. And... um? When he says about Falin, "If she wants to, she will."

Anyway, besides that, it also screams "meltdown", on a further look. He's very restless and distressed and that seems clear. I think he's kind of trying to rush out the conclusion he wants, maybe mistakenly believing he's more cool-headed than he is, and people trust him, I think, because he seems capable, I see a lot of, "he just doesn't care", but he's not very tuned into his emotions, and I think not really caring about the consequences if he can get what he really wants. Some people see malice, but I think his care is genuine, though I sort of believe he's also wanting his conclusion to happen as fast as possible—trying to force it out, and really not as stable as he may seem.

People will say "He doesn't care at all", but then I feel like...? Why try, if you don't care? And I was wondering about that, I guess.

Sorry if this is a big ask. I have Thoughts™️.

if you're asking me about japanese version, i'm sorry to tell you that i'm not that good at it :D. the only noticeable difference i see from his usual way of talking is that mithrun puts a lot of emphasis in his speech when he's trying to persuade other dungeon lords (he ends almost every sentence with [だ], which is usually a sign on emotional speech). but it's already pretty obvious from the meaning of what he says. the one that looks interesting to me is this panel, his pleading face and the way he says [お前になわからないか] "don't you understand?" works so well, it feels like he's truly empathetic here.

when people say that he acted cruel and violent, i say: yeah, and that's the point! mithrun, while being in many ways a unique character, is also an example of very old and very very common character archetype: he's a desperate and angry broken person who wants revenge and literally destroys himself in the process. it's almost impossible to write a character like that without them being cruel or cold or uncaring to other people, would any kind of redemption and healing even be interesting to see if they were perfectly nice, well-adjusted person?

the only reason to even talk about this is to analyze the cycle of cruelty traumatized people often find themselves in. to see how horrible the impact truly is, because kui does a great job portraying this. mithrun didn't even start as a good person, he was already at a pretty bad place mentally before his trauma. and guess what, any form of mental illness and trauma doesn't usually make you a better person, even if it changes you. when you have no desires, it's already kinda difficult to have any love, patience or care for people. what kind of person anyone would be when they don't wanna have friends, to love, to be loved, to live, to do literally anything? while also being constantly dehumanized by everyone, even people who technically care about them? actually, we know, because it happens in real life all the time.

but here's a thing. surprisingly, mithrun tries to care. he tries to care about civilians, he doesn't even kill people who wanted to kill him (kabru did, for example. don't know why people forget about this, pretty easy comparison to make). he tries to care about his squad: he always does the most dangerous job himself. he tries to care about other dungeon lords, because he feels compassion towards them, so he always gives them a choice.

but i love that kui makes him stay true to his character: he's an asshole, he doesn't have desires anymore, he's depressed, but he tries to care... and he fails and gives up. all the time. and he ends up hurting people because he gave up. idk, i find it incredibly relatable. and i think it's kinda weird to "criticize" mithrun for that, he's just a character that we're clearly supposed to empathize with, and we all one day or another find ourselves in similarly dark place in life. and there's something hopeful in his story, he didn't ask to be loved, but people loved him anyway – and he learned to accept this love. doesn’t happen as often in real life, unfortunately.

poor thistle

another version