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shadowtraveled · 1 month

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"mithrun is the only real monsterfucker in dungeon meshi" is objectively the funniest bit you can get out of his everything, but in all seriousness i think his attraction to his love interest is deliberately overstated—and that makes sense, because romantic jealousy is a classic and digestible motive, which is explicitly what kabru was aiming for in condensing mithrun's backstory, and also because until chapter 94, mithrun wasn't willing to admit to the true nature of his desires.

but because romantic envy is both classic and digestible, it probably isn’t a unique enough or complicated enough desire to tempt a demon’s appetite. mithrun’s wish, as far as we can figure from kabru’s reduced retelling, was to have a life in which he had never become one of the canaries, and that carries like 3857 implications and desires within it. that’s delicious. his love interest acts as sort of a red herring to his motivation for making it, though. (side note: i'm saying "love interest" here because, keeping in mind that i barely speak japanese on a good day anymore, "想い人" is something i'd usually take as just kind of an old-fashioned and romantic way to refer to a lover, but in context i wonder if both the connotation of yearning and the vagueness are intentional, and i think this phrasing gets those aspects of it more effectively. anyway.)

mithrun considered his love interest to be untrustworthy. there was a minute where i thought that comment might be about a similar-looking elf (yugin, one of his squad members), but comparing the two…

the "sketchy" arrow is definitely referring to the elf we know as his love interest—the bangs go toward her right, she only has the one forehead ornament, and, most notably, her ears aren't notched.

every time she’s given a full-body depiction in his dungeon, she’s drawn as a chimera, with the body of a snake from the waist down. (side note: the “what if a dungeon has chimeras before reaching level 4?”/“then the dungeon lord is unstable” exchange just being mithrun grilling his past self alive is so funny. he’s so. but anyway) there are a couple things about this.

first, the snake part of the chimera appears to be modeled after some species of coral snake mimic

which, in the biology-for-fun manga, i… doubt is a coincidence, especially with the added context of the “untrustworthy” comment. the dungeon’s conjured illusion of mithrun’s love interest was a harmless copycat of a venomous original. for whatever reason, he felt this person was a threat and made up a "safe" version of her to be in a relationship with, and while it’s definitely possible to be attracted to or even love someone you find to be toxic and/or intimidating, when you take that into consideration alongside the configuration of her body, you get some interesting implications.

which brings us to our second point: if we assume that mithrun was not in fact fucking a snake, then sexual attraction, at least, was so far removed from his idea of a relationship with this person that he did not even bother to keep her dungeon copy human enough to maintain the illusion of the option of a sexual relationship. this is somewhat echoed in the depictions of their interactions, which also imply a frankly unexpected romantic distance. she kisses his cheek and he doesn't seem to react; she's at the edge of a narrow bed with only one set of pillows, on top of his blankets while he's underneath them.

the kiss is particularly interesting because it seems to contrast the text. kabru's narration tells us this was everything mithrun could have asked for, but mithrun is there looking unreadable to pensive, likely because this is right before the panel that makes it clear things in the dungeon are beginning to go wrong.

walking through this backwards for a minute, we have the physical barrier of his bedding and the spatial separation inherent in a bed made for one person, the emotional barrier of his mounting anxiety getting in the way of his ability to enjoy the affection he sought, and... the snake, which historically carries the connotation of temptation, yes, but also mistrust, barring physical intimacy. okay. ok. if a dungeon reflects the mentality of its lord, all of this might suggest that mithrun was not able to have any real desire for a relationship with this person. his unwillingness to be vulnerable or let another person in was insurmountable. but in that case, why was she such a focal point that she remained to the end, after his dungeon had stopped creating iterations of his friends to come and visit him? why would he get so upset over her meeting with his brother that he became lord of a dungeon about it?

well. mithrun's brother was also interested in her, probably genuinely. and mithrun had to win.

you have an older brother who your parents completely ignore, probably in part because he is chronically ill/disabled and almost definitely in part because he received a ton of recessive traits that resulted in rumors that he was an illegitimate child. you are aware, most likely because those same parents fucking told you, that you actually are an illegitimate child. but they keep you around because you had the good fortune of looking just like your mother. what can that possibly teach you but that you, like your brother, are disposable?

it's utterly unsurprising that mithrun, under these circumstances, developed a pathological need to be better than everyone around him. people don't keep you otherwise. i'd argue this is also why he says he looked down on everyone he knew while milsiril claims his dungeon reeked of feelings of inferiority—he sought out people's worst traits and prioritized them in his mind to protect his already extremely fragile sense of self-worth, and all the while he tried to be as likable and high-performing as he possibly could be. his parents disposed of him anyway, but even then he tried to keep up the performance. he was kind to everyone. he never once lost to a dungeon.

when he saw his "love interest" meeting up with his brother, what he saw was himself being replaced by a person his parents had always treated as worthless, and if that was what they thought of the child they'd kept, what value could anyone possibly see in the bastard they'd given away to die? mithrun and kabru tell the story like he wanted to win this unnamed elf's heart, but it was never about being with her. it was about cementing his worth, proving that he didn't deserve to be thrown away.

and so it's particularly cruel that his demon discarded him, too. but maybe it's also particularly gentle that, in the end, there was someone who refused to even consider giving up on him.

kui laid it out in three panels better than i could hope to.

yeah. it's love. you wanted to be loved, even when the only way you were able to understand it was through the desire to be wanted, and you wanted that so badly that the idea of being consumed felt like the promise of finally mattering to someone.

#dungeon meshi spoilers #mithrun #dungeon meshi #this has been rotating for a while but i wanted to check my evidence before getting into it thanks user angelspenance for posting that meme #half of this is just the text and the other half i'm sure has been said before but it's making my brain [radio static] so here this is #someone did for sure mention this but i do find it very cute that in his fucked up conjured world meant to portray his ideal reality #his teammates came to visit him. like part of the fantasy was then explicitly that they cared about him and were his friends. even though #he says he tried to see the worst in them.#hm it does feel important to note that i do also believe 100% in mithrun suicidality--his desire to be eaten does seem to focus a lot on #wanting it to be Over. wanting not to be left incomplete and empty anymore.#but that loops back around a bit to the hole in your heart that appears when you feel unloved. it's many things and the same thing at once #snakes #long post #severe problems #meshy

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mj-skyair-star · 11 months

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█🕹️👾🎮Chapter 4: Stalked░▒▓█

March 29th, 2036, Saturday morning, 5:15 a.m. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Five minutes later.

Winter and I stopped when we heard some kind of voice... or voices, really.

My whole body froze. I thought I was hearing things but it seems like Winter can hear them too...

"What was that..? It sounds like there are six different voices..." I couldn't work out what they were saying...

I'm trying to remain calm. We can just pretend it's nothing... Despite that, my dog wasn't able to do that. He did the 'security mode' thing for the third time now, only this time growling. Luckily, I managed to quiet him down before anyone could hear him...

Soon I notice that Winter starts to freak out all of a sudden... Still remaining 'calm' I want to reassure him that everything is ok...

"It's ok. There's no one there. Relax," I gently told him, kneeling down to his height and pat his fluffy head. Thankfully, it worked but he still acted protectively around me. I don't mind at all since I felt unsettled in the first place, it's just we don't have time for coming across trouble. I got up and got back on my skateboard. "L-Let's just keep mov-,"

CRANK! CRUSH! WAAHH!!

That scared the living crap out of me!

Winter's fur puffed up like it was caused by a blow-dryer and froze in place.

I fell off my skateboard which caused me to land on my back on the rough concrete while the skateboard rolled away.

I was so frightened that I got up and ran.

"WINTER RUN!" I yelled in terror and grabbed my board with Winter trailing behind me. That was when I heard clanking sounds like footsteps... not just one, but multiple footsteps in our vicinity! I feel my heart pounding faster in a race. My blood rushes from weak to high, high to weak as anxiety kicks in. I looked around to find somewhere to hide. That's when I spotted a very dark alleyway. "Winter! This way!" I dared to run in there.

I was expecting a way out on the other side... Turns out to be a dead end, great.

Taking a couple of deep breaths during a panic attack thinking I'LL BE KIDNAPPED OR WORSE!! We stood there, staring at the dead-end... It's really dark, messy and smelly, with an awful smell that nearly made me vomit. The clanking sound grew louder and louder.

"There is no way we can escape! These people are fast!" I grabbed Winter's leash and led him down in front of the dumpster (if the mysterious group saw us enter here they probably wouldn't see us behind the dumpster... I hope).

In order to feel secure, I kneel down to hold my pet closely. I hold him like it's my comfort plushie so he doesn't flip off and attack them. That would be risky. Especially if it's a group.

"Stay very quiet... please. For the love of gosh..." I whispered to him just as we heard walking slow down RIGHT where we were.

"OH, GOD! PLEASE DON'T FIND US! PLEASE DON'T FIND US! PLEASE DON'T FIND US!!!!"

"Are you sure she went that way?" An old male voice was heard... He sounds... robotic... and pretty wise.

"Formative, I saw her D-O-G go in there. Meaning she went in there as well!" Another male voice that sounds not too high but more in the middle pitch, and also sounds robotic too.

Pretty goofy.

"If she is in there then someone has to go in and check," another male voice was heard, a deeper voice this time, but not as deep as Corpse Husband's, and robotic as well... Maybe the group didn't want their real voice recognised? Even though it sounds strongly familiar... "Scrap Metal, go check to see if she is in there,"

"AHAHAHA! WiTh PlEaSUrE! Hehehe!" Another male spoke up.

He sounds pretty insane judging by the laugh.

A bit weird that his voice is broken...

"Ha, ha, Scrap Metal? What kind of parents name their child-" Snapped in reality, I instantly recognised that name anywhere-!

CRAP!

HE'S COMING!

The sound of his metal footsteps echoed throughout the alleyway of darkness.

I freak out since I know damn well who I'M dealing with!

My silent breathing started to shake as if I was cold until it became heavy. Quickly, I covered my mouth. I can't let him hear me!

Clunk... clunk... clunk...

"Hehehe, AiRiS, wHeRe ArE yOu~..?"

"THEY KNOW MY NAME TOO!?!? HOW MANY CHARACTERS ARE THERE!? What Crowby is saying... He's telling the truth! THIS IS ALL REAL?!? NO FRICKING WAY!" Millions of questions ran through my head out of madness. "I think I really am losing it!" The voices I heard, the footsteps, the conversations- They are a group that works for Artron.

They are called 'The Slayer'.

The six members were a twisted group when I first saw them in 'War of Time.'

The first one that spoke is Sark. He's the original leader of the group but retired from leading because of his age... I think he's 167... Anyway, even though he retired, that doesn't mean he left. He stayed to help out his son (who will be mentioned shortly) with leadership until he 'dies'. He was also a tricky boss fighter to beat.

Moving on to the second voice, Drillbit... he's the... dumb one in the group... that's all I'm gonna say, other than he's... What's the word that doesn't sound too hurtful..? Chubby.

Next is Sark's son I mentioned, Slaytrap. The leader of the group is a bit emotionless with thoughts of blood and slaughter in his head: quote on quote 'destroying bots'. He has a hot temper (easily crackable). Fair warning: Never mess with the leader.

Of course, you heard Scrap Metal was mentioned. Unlike Crowby, Scrap is a bit of a punk-crazy bully type (but not as creepy as Crowby). He doesn't always follow Slaytrap's orders, which is how he gets into trouble. If you mess with him too much, he will go on a legit, maniacal rampage- no joke, that guy is very much insane. Oh, and his voice box is a bit damaged after the first boss fight with him.

The other two that haven't been mentioned (since they didn't say anything) are Cybel and Ugiz-zo. Twins but not identical.

Cybel is the only female in the group. She isn't just pretty, but she is also a drama queen, and her brother Ugiz-zo is... Well, kinda depressed or just emotionless... At least the creators do not depict him as an emo! Even though he's a very sorrowful robot with deep dark side thoughts...

Back to what's happening now.

I didn't dare to look because I knew Scrap would spot me instantly if I do...

As I looked to the side- I swear to God, I became a statue- SCRAP'S HEAD POKE OUT RIGHT IN FRONT OF US BUT SOMEHOW DIDN'T SEE US!!! OH MY FRICKING GOD I'M MENTALLY DYING ON THE INSIDE RIGHT NOW!! It frightens the living crap out of me! I'm scared that he's gonna turn his head and spot us! As I close my hazel eyes, I tighten my grip on my dog.

I waited for something to happen...

BANG!

Scarp banged the dumpster.

I was vehemently close to screaming.

"UGH! ShE's NoT hErE!" Scrap shouts frustratingly as he heads back to his group...

It doesn't end there, yet.

"WHAT!?" The rest of the group shouted.

I listen very carefully to what 'The Slayers' are talking about.

"I cHeCkEd. ShE's NoT tHeRe. I tHiNk DrIlLbIt'S vIsIoN aRe NoT wOrKiNg AgAiG,"

"Uh? Are you sure it's not the other way round?"

"No! I saw them go in there!" Drillbit rejected.

"You only said you saw the mutt in there, clearly it would only be the mutt," Cybel said, sounding pretty unconvinced by Drill.

"ThE dOg IsN't In ThErE eItHeR, tHaT's WhY I sAiD hIs ViSiOnS aRe NoT wOrKiNg,"

"Splendid job, Drillbit,"- Cybel said once again, in a harsh sarcastic tone this time- "We lost her!"

"What is the point of this human anyway?" Ugiz asked miserably. "Can't we just take over the whole human world instead of getting the girl? It seems so pointless,"

"We already talked about this, Ugiz-zo. We need her to stop the Cosmic Five from ruining our plans," Slaytrap snapped. "I do not wish to hear your 'forgetfulness' because of your pathetic doubts!" He's getting pretty irate but more vexed.

"Take it easy Slaytrap, you know that's how he is," Sark told him calmly.

There was a moment of silence for about a few seconds.

"You're right, father. We'll have to continue our search,"

"And figure out where this 'Church' is located,"

"... How the hell did- Shit! The Troyquake family will be in danger too!"

"Let's go," I heard them leaving where we were.

I knew they were gone.

Letting out a massive sigh of relief, my heart and blood pressure are pumping back to normal speed along with my breathing. I might be pale as snow thanks to Scrap Metal. Unwrapping my dog, I smiled happily that he didn't make a sound or start attacking 'The Slayers'. I am so proud of him.

"Good boy, Win! Now let's go! Before they figure out where it is," I told him.

We stood up, I laid my sunset skateboard on the ground, then held the hoop of Winter's leash and Winter started pulling me thereafter I got on the board.

***

Here we are.

We stopped at the front gate of the Church.

I got off my board just to hold on to it.

The entrance has a steep hill. Since I didn't want to risk falling and getting injured we walked down the hill instead.

I glance up at the building and the surrounding area.

The building looks nothing like an ordinary church, with its amazing, colourful glass windows showing Jesus, angels, or anything that is associated with Christianity. It looked more like a regular building where someone put a huge cross on it and just claimed it was a Church.

Winter and I walked past the car park up until we got to the front door of the Church, under shelter. I looked around to see if Oscar or anyone else was around...

... No sign of him or his family...

"I thought they would be here by now... I hope they're not kidnapped since the villain characters NOW EXIST!!"

Bark, bark!

Winter's bark snapped my thoughts away.

I looked over at my husky who was jumping up and down excitedly, causing me to glance over in the direction that Winter was barking.

That was when I heard the sound of a skateboard coming...

I smiled, knowing who it is.

It appeared to be a blonde-haired boy with light blue eyes, wearing a white shirt, a brown camping jacket, blue shorts and his camping bag on his back.

Upon noticing a few things, three to be exact, my smile soon faded.

His family are not with him, he's not wearing a helmet and he has a cricket bat with him. Why?

"Aren't you happy to see me, Iris?" He chuckled jokingly and stopped right in front of me and Winter.

Woof!

"Hello to you too Winter," Oscar smiled as he rubbed my pet's head.

"I am... But why aren't you wearing your helmet? And why did you bring a cricket bat? We're not here to play cricket, you know?" I asked him sternly with a hint of confusion in my tone too.

Oscar stopped patting my dog and smirked sneakily.

"I wasn't bothered to bring my helmet,"

"Oscar..." I frowned at him and rigidly crossed my arms.

"Chill. I know I'll be fine. I haven't fallen off a skateboard in a long time,"

"... Alright, just to warn you right now. You'll fall at any time,"

"Are you jinxing me?" He asked jokingly which caused me to giggle a bit.

"No, I'm just letting you know. I'll be right,"- I rolled my eyes- "And the cricket bat?"

"Admittedly, I brought it so we could play- BUT! I also brought it to use as a weapon," Oscar proudly told me.

"He's probably not gonna survive when he meets 'The Slayers'... If he finds out... Please don't turn that into a jinx, universe,"

"If you say so,"- I shrugged- "Where are the rest of your family?" Silence took over.

Oscar didn't say a word. He suddenly lost his chill.

He held both of my shoulders and shook me a bit.

"He took them all! He took everyone!" I looked at him very strangely due to the sudden action, making my stomach twist because I understood why.

"Who is he?" I asked, afraid that he had already met Artron already.

"GOD!"

"Wha-" Never mind.

"HE TOOK EVERY GOOD PEOPLE THAT BELIEVES IN HIM AND CHILDREN UP TO HEAVEN LEAVING BAD PEOPLE THAT DO NOT BELIEVE IN HIM-!"

"Whoa! Whoa! WHOA! Calm down your farm! What on Earth are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about God taking everyone-!"

"No! I didn't mean that! I know what you're saying! I mean why do you think that?"

"Because yesterday I was at my nana's place. We watched a movie that was related to Christianity. The movie is called 'Left Behind' and I may have gotten scared of it since..." He started explaining what the movie was about. "Basically, it's about a dad and a daughter (probably around twenty-ish), and they're both not Christians, and there's also a mother who is Christian and a son who's about nine or ten, or probably younger than that. One unexpected day, all the good people and children disappeared. The reason for it was something to do with 'one day God will take them home'. The dad works as a pilot and noticed some people disappear in the plane due to the massive panic going on. His goal was to fly the passengers back to America for safety (he also had to avoid a great big storm too) with the help of his daughter. That's all I'm gonna say..." I stared at him dumbfoundedly, yet, I'm more upset with his nana since I am fully aware of what she was intending to try to do.

If he hadn't told me about her, I wouldn't know at all.

His nana might have regretted it afterwards.

"... Dude... Did you actually believe all of that?"

"... Well..."

"I know your nana is Christian and all, and I have total respect for people's religions. I didn't expect you guys to watch something that scared the living crap out of you,"

"My nana likes watching anything that involves Christianity..."

"Dude, I legit showed you a photo of a foot-print,"

"And?"

"And that person is still here, also, if you think about it, we're thirteen years old. God would have taken us as well, technically," Oscar's worries were replaced with realisation.

"... Oh... You're right... The photo of the footprint in your garden is obviously from a malicious person, however that last part... That's... a fair point..."

"Let me guess, you freaked out when you found out that your family is missing which made you believe that everything you watched yesterday with your nana is real, is that what happened?"

"... Yeah... Gosh, I'm such an idiot," he grew embarrassed as I (a wonderful friend) patted his shoulder to comfort him.

"It's ok, and you're not an idiot, you were just scared. I guess we'll have to stick together and wait until morning so we can ask someone for help,"

"Agree, but we're not just gonna sit outside of the Church early in the morning, right?"

"Obviously not, that's why we're going to my place," I smiled and playfully punched his arm, earning a chuckle from my friend.

"Good idea. Your neighbours could have been deep sleepers so maybe that's why they didn't wake up and didn't answer the door,"

"Maybe..." Thinking back about my neighbours and the whole 'The Slayers' group, and the other characters I met... I'm unsure if I should tell him about it... I mean... My brain has been fighting over whether what I saw was a dream/imagination or it's not, and it's driving me bonkers on whether it's real or not.

I felt even more anxious if I kept thinking, like, what if I really am starting to see things and someone else couldn't? That's the thing, I'm beginning to worry that Oscar doesn't believe me and thinks I'm highly peculiar.

That's why I'm deciding to keep it from him. From now on.

"Hey... Are you ok?"

"Huh?"

"You were looking worried and zoning out there,"

"Oh... uh... I'm fine," I told him, trying to 'fine' as possible even though Oscar seems like he knows something is up.

"Alright... if you say so..." Thank God he shrugged it off! Probably not completely, he would know that something is off and will eventually get me to spill if it's necessary. "Let's get going then," Oscar turned his skateboard around and skated off.

Placing my skateboard down, allowing my dog to pull me while riding the board. I can catch up with him so we can head back to my house. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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