#I just wanted to watch more Delicious in Dungeon

[breadraccoon]

Netflix is just kicking me while I’m already down. I got kicked off my parents subscription. Guess it’s time to sail the seven seas

#fuck netflix #I just wanted to watch more Delicious in Dungeon #Netflix will never take my money #netflix

[theostrophywife]

focus on me.

pairing: mattheo riddle x reader request: I NEED MATHEO OR THEODORE X FEM READER AND SHE JUST LOVES HIS HANDS AND ARM VIENS AND SHE WALKS INTO HIS DORM AND IS GOBSMAKED TO SEE HIS ABS AND SHE WANTS TO RIDE THEM AND SHES JUST SO OBSESSED AND THINKS HES THE HOTTEST MAN IN THE PLANET- AND SHE FOLDS LIKE A PRETZEL WHEN HE GIVES HER THOSE EYES- JESUS IM A CATHOLIC BUT THEO AND MATTHEO COULD BE MY NEW RELIGION- author's note: big thanks to @writingsbychlo for listening to me rant about this man in her inbox. posting this now so she can wake up to her mans. the way that i would fold for mattheo so fast (theo look away). anyways, enjoy this purely smutty fic 😮‍💨

You were supposed to be studying. 

When you came into his dorm, you specifically told Mattheo not to interrupt you under any circumstances. Usually, you preferred the library but some prat had accidentally set off a dung bomb, which meant closure until further notice. 

You tried studying in your dorm, but your fellow housemates decided that there was no better time to throw a back to school bash in the common room than the night before your Ancient Runes exam. Harry and Ron, who shared the same class, appeared completely unbothered as they chugged firewhisky straight from the bottle. 

Your roommate Hermione was long gone. Probably holed up somewhere in the dungeons with Draco. You followed your friend’s cue and snuck into your boyfriend’s dorm, narrowly avoiding Filch. It never seemed fair that the Slytherins got individual rooms, but tonight you had never been more thankful for it. 

Mattheo had set up a whole battle station for you on his desk. There were fresh ink pots, newly sharpened quills, and blank parchment waiting for you when you arrived. After kissing your sweet and considerate boyfriend, you went straight to work. 

By the time midnight struck, the parchment was filled with glowing runes, making your ink stained hands cramp from drawing out the symbols over and over again. To Mattheo’s credit, he kept to himself and read quietly on his bed while you studied. 

You were so engrossed in the material that you barely registered him kissing you on the cheek before leaving to take a shower. That little mistake cost you because as soon as he walked back into his dorm with nothing but a towel on, you nearly spilled fresh ink all over yourself. 

Water trickled down Mattheo’s chest, the little droplets snaking through his perfectly chiseled abs only to disappear beyond his v lines, which pointed like an arrow to what you knew was hiding underneath that towel. 

The fabric hung dangerously low on his hips as he walked over to his dresser to pick out something to wear. You watched with rapt attention as he braced himself against the wood, those delicious, juicy veins protruding from his forearms and nearly making you dizzy with desire. 

Finally, Mattheo turned. The silence had caught his attention and he smirked when he saw you ogling him. 

“See something you like, pretty girl?”

You flushed. “Just got a little distracted.”

Mattheo’s grin grew. He sauntered over to you, leaning over so that he had you caged against the desk. 

“Oh?” he asked, his voice low and husky and absolutely fucking sexy. “Maybe it’s time for a break then. You’ve been such a good girl studying so hard all night. I think you deserve a reward, my love.” 

Your breath hitched as Mattheo’s lips grazed yours. He tilted your chin up, giving you a perfect view of those brown eyes. Then he gave you the look and you knew you were done for. 

It was a look that said he wanted to devour every inch of you until you couldn’t even recall your own name. You gave in. Of course you gave in. How could you not?

“Maybe for a second…”

Mattheo took the opening. One arm snaked around your waist, bringing you up with him as he pressed you against the desk. His other arm crept up your back until he reached the nape of your neck, fisting your hair through his fingers as he kissed you roughly. 

“Do you even know how fucking sexy you are, princess? My smart schoolgirl in her tiny little skirt.” 

Mattheo carefully moved your studying materials aside before picking you up and setting you down on the table. He gripped the top of your thighs and brought you to the edge while sliding his tongue against yours. You whimpered as he grinded against you, showing you exactly how hard he was underneath the towel.

“Been thinking about bending you over this table all night,” Mattheo whispered in your ear. His hand climbed higher up your thigh and you felt your body instantly respond to his touch. “Bet you’re soaking wet for me already, aren’t you angel?”

You moaned as he toyed with the waistband of your panties. “Matty, please.” 

Your boyfriend smiled at your nickname for him, knowing that he had you right where he wanted you. “What is it that you want, darling?”

“Touch me. Please.” 

Mattheo smirked as he tugged your panties off. His lust filled gaze drank you in as he dragged two fingers through your slick folds. 

“Fuck. You’re so wet. Is this all for me, princess?”

“Mhm,” you mumbled, nipping at his neck. “It’s not fair. You play dirty, Matty. You can’t just walk in here with nothing but a towel on.” 

“Why not, angel?”

You sighed, tracing the hard planes of his chest. His muscles flexed under your fingertips as you gently raked your nails against his six pack. “Because you’re sexy and I can’t help myself.” 

Mattheo chuckled darkly, plunging two fingers in your pussy. You bucked against his hand, watching in stunned silence as he withdrew it only to stick his middle and pointer finger into his mouth. His eyes rolled to the back of his head as he tasted you on him. 

“This is exactly what I mean,” you whined. “For Godric’s fucking sake, how am I supposed to concentrate after that?”

“Maybe we can compromise, angel.” He shuffled through your parchments and stuck one to the wall. “I’m going to trace the runes inside of you and if you get them all right, then I’ll give you your reward.”

You swallowed thickly and nodded. Mattheo grinned before giving you a quick peck. “Pay attention, sweetheart.” 

His fingers dipped through your folds once more and you gripped his arm, fighting the moan from escaping your lips. Mattheo curled his fingers inside of you, drawing a familiar shape. 

“Urus,” you said in a breathy voice. “It means strength.”

“That’s right, angel.” He shifted as you ran your hands down his arms. You could feel his veins throbbing underneath your palm as he fingered you. “Don’t get distracted now. I know how much you love my hands. I promise they’ll be wrapped around your throat by the end of the night if you get all these right. Now focus.”

You nodded, eyes fluttering close as he traced another rune. “Algiz,” you answered. “For protection.” 

“Hot and smart,” Mattheo announced proudly. “How’d I get so lucky?”

His lips grazed yours and you willingly parted for him, fluttering around his fingers as his tongue slid into your mouth. He pumped his digits inside of you, teasing and taunting. 

“Let’s try something harder, princess.” 

Mattheo’s skillful fingers prodded against your walls, sketching a complicated shape. You closed your eyes and focused. It was a tricky one, but you remembered the cris cross pattern. 

“Inguz,” you said decidedly. “Fertility.” 

“That’s right,” Mattheo said with a smile. “You're doing so well, sweetheart. One more and you can have anything you want.” 

“Anything?” you asked with a small smile.

“Whatever that devious little mind of yours desires, my love.” 

“Okay,” you replied. “I’m ready, then.”

Your boyfriend nodded, staring right into your eyes as he marked the last and final rune. It was an effort not to get lost in those warm, brown eyes. But you steeled yourself, determined to claim your prize.

“Rerth. For luck.”

“Good girl,” Mattheo said with a smirk. “Fitting since you’re getting lucky tonight, angel. Where should we start?” 

You bit your lip, cocking your head at him. It was nearly an impossible choice. You wanted to kiss him. Bite him. Lick him. All of the above and more. 

But there was one thing that stood out from all the other deliciously sinful choices. You pressed your palm against his abs and grinned. 

“I want to ride your abs.”

Mattheo’s eyes widened. He hadn’t expected it, but fuck he was so down. He would’ve given you anything with the way you were looking at him right now. 

“You never fail to surprise me,” he said fondly. “Well come on then, let’s make your filthy little fantasy a reality.” 

In one smooth move, he lifted you off the table and deposited you on top of his bed. Mattheo reclined against the headboard and watched with hungry eyes as you straddled his stomach. He smiled as you slipped the tie off your neck and looped it around him. 

It was a simple move, but so fucking sexy and possessive at the same time. You were claiming him. Mattheo was yours and you were his. You belonged to one another—mind, body, and soul. 

Mattheo trailed kisses down your neck and throat, leaving marks on your skin as his deft fingers made quick work of the first few buttons on your blouse. He leaned back and admired his work, his hands gripping your hips while you grinded your soaking wet sex against his muscles. 

He didn’t think it would feel this good. There was something about you using his body to get yourself off that fucking turned him on like no other. Mattheo lifted your skirt up, fisting the fabric in his hands and watching as you coated him with your arousal. 

The little whimpers you were making sounded like music to his ears. “My good little slut,” he said, squeezing your tits as you rode him with reckless abandon. “You’re so fucking filthy, baby. Using me to get yourself off. I’m just your fuck toy aren’t I princess?”

“So good,” you murmured. “You feel so good, Matty.”

The desperation in your voice set him off. He gripped your hips hard enough to bruise and bucked forward, smirking in satisfaction when you moaned. The ridges of his abs rubbed against your clit, providing the perfect amount of pressure to the sensitive area. 

“Keep riding me,” he said in a low, rough voice. “Just like that, angel. Such a good girl for me.”

You closed your eyes, lost to the waves of pleasure coursing through your body. Mattheo gripped your chin, his voice rough around the edges as he spoke. “Open your eyes, darling. I want to watch you cum.”

His rich brown eyes pinned you in place, drinking in every detail. That sexy smirk curved against his lips as he hooked his arms behind his head, admiring the view of his girl riding him. 

“Look at you, baby. You’re making such a fucking mess. Such an innocent face, but you turn into a filthy whore when you’re with me.” 

“Only for you, Mattheo.” 

“Damn fucking right,” he said, sliding his hands under your skirt to rub at your clit. 

You bucked against him, riding out the high. Heat exploded in your core and seeped into your veins. Mattheo kissed you roughly, staking his claim on you as he devoured your moans. 

“That’s it, princess. Cum for me, pretty girl.”

The orgasm felt like a lightning strike. It hit you all at once, making your walls spasm as you came all over Mattheo’s abs. He cursed when he felt you soaking him through, utterly turned on by the mess that you’ve made. Mattheo had never been harder in his life. 

Your boyfriend peppered kisses on your face, pulling you taut to him as you came down from the high. Mattheo brushed a lock of hair behind your ear, tilting your chin up so he could press his lips against yours. He groaned and held your hips down, grinding his boner against your ass. 

“I’m not done making you cum, princess. You’ve got one more in you, don’t you angel?” 

As sensitive as you were, your pussy throbbed at his words. When it came to Mattheo, you could never really get enough. 

“I thought I only got one reward. You’re spoiling me, Matty.” 

“There’s no question about it. You’re my spoiled rotten little princess. But this reward isn’t for you, it’s for me.” He smacked your ass, gesturing for you to get up. “Now come on, angel. I was serious about that desk.” 

He smirked as he walked you back to his desk, his hands disappearing underneath your skirt as he massaged your ass. Mattheo kissed you roughly before he flipped you over, bending you on the desk so you were face down and ass up. He flipped your skirt up, hissing when he found you soaking wet again.

“You just can’t help yourself can you, princess?” He pumped himself in his hand before sliding the tip of his cock along your folds. “Gods, you’re fucking wet. Are you ready, baby?” 

You whimpered, rocking your hips against him for more friction. Mattheo held you in place, fisting your hair in his hands. 

“Use your words, darling. I want to hear you beg like the good little slut that you are.” 

“Please, Matty,” you whined. “I need you so badly that it hurts.” 

He kissed the base of your spine, grinning as he eased his length inside of you. Still sensitive from your last orgasm, you gripped the edges of the table as Mattheo buried his cock within your walls. Your legs felt like they were going to give out any minute, but he kept you upright, cursing when he felt how wet and tight you were. 

“Fuck,” he grunted as he thrust into you slowly. Mattheo gripped you from behind, picking up the pace. Your pussy clenched around him like a vice. “Gods, pussy’s so good baby. You’re doing so well. Taking all of me like my perfect little whore.” 

Mattheo fucking adored the way you blushed at his filthy words. He leaned over, capturing your lips in a sloppy kiss as he fucked you into the table. He thought he was going to pass the fuck out when you grinded back into him, meeting his movements to take more and more of him. Mattheo leaned over and shielded your head from the wall, making sure you were protected as the table shook underneath you. 

The sound of skin slapping against skin mixed with your breathy little moans was enough to send him over the edge, but he wanted to make good on his promise. Mattheo always put his girl first. The boys were right. He might be just a little bit pussy whipped. 

Even without the sex, you could’ve asked Mattheo to kill for you and he would’ve done so without question. 

“I fucking love you, darling. I’d kill for you. I’d die for you,” he said, every word laced with conviction. “Forever and always.” 

“I love you too, Matty. Forever and always.” 

He kissed your cheek, the action surprisingly soft compared to how rough the sex was. You felt like you could’ve melted onto the floor. 

“Cum with me, my love.” 

Mattheo wrapped his arms around you as that familiar heat spread burned in your core. He held you as the orgasm rocked through your body, sharing in the euphoric high while the two of you finished together. His grip around you only tightened, hugging you from behind while he slowly pulled out. You were barely keeping upright as it was, your legs threatening to give out under you. 

Without a word, your boyfriend scooped you into his arms and brought you back to bed. He cradled you against him, whispering praises and encouragement while stroking your hair. 

“You did so well, baby. I’m so proud of you for remembering all those runes. You’re gonna ace your exam tomorrow.” 

“You really think so, Matty?” You snuggled against him, burying your head in the crook of his neck. Mattheo stroked your back and placed a kiss on your temple. 

“I know so, darling. You have no idea how proud I am for having such a smart girlfriend. I love bragging about you to our friends.” 

You flushed. “Well, I couldn’t have done it all on my own. I had some help from my smart, sweet, and sexy study partner.

Mattheo grinned and kissed you gently. “Glad to be of service, my love.” 

taglist: @annaisabookworm @marina468

please let me know if you'd like to be added.

#FERAL FOR THIS MAN #THE DELULU IS THE SOLULU #mattheo riddle #mattheo riddle x reader #mattheo riddle x you #mattheo riddle smut #mattheo riddle fluff #mattheo riddle x y/n #mattheo x you #benjamin wadsworth

[lightfeltmemories]

dungeon meshi | delicious in dungeon; reactions to reader having a crush on them / having a crush on reader

dungeon meshi various x gender neutral reader

note: hey everyone, please be mindful that this is the very first time writing for these characters, i have watched every available episode but i am still reading the manga (though i do have a general idea about the setting and the characters backstories and personalities) so if any characters are ooc to you my apologies, don't be harsh im new here lol. sorry some of them are shorter than others i kind of ran out of ideas when it came to certain characters :p let me know in the comments or reblogs or more preferably in my ask box if you want me to do any other character.

characters: laois, falin, chilchuck, marcille, senshi, namari, shuro, izutsumi (i'm adding her here because feels weird leaving her out when i've added former members of the party, also this is purely sfw so nothing weird will be aimed towards her.)

trigger warnings: nothing out of the ordinary but just read the manga or watch the anime before reading this.

if you like this and my other fanfics, please be considerate to reblog my work, it not only helps reach a broader audience but it also motivates me to make more content like this!

laois touden

reader's crush: when laois finds out that you have a crush on him, his reaction is.. well, how do we put it this way? is he flattered? yes and no, he doesn't see himself as ugly but also doesn't look at himself as the most handsome guy in the world, but someone straight up having a crush on him is kind of new, he doesn't really care much for relationships at the very moment but has thought about settling down with someone he likes, will it be you?

laois' crush: when it comes to having a crush, he tries to be his normal self around you, but sometimes can't help but be a little nervous especially when the two of you are alone, sooner or later he comes to the conclusion of realizing the he indeed, likes you, but confessing is the hard part, he's never thought much about rejection, it is a normal part of life after all, but when it comes to you? it's an entirely different ball game.

falin touden

reader's crush: falin already has someone chasing after her; shuro, theres a 50/50 chance of her reaction to reader's crush being the same as shuro's, but could there be a different reaction this time?

falin's reaction: surprisingly less shy than her brother, when she comes to this conclusion she'll build up the right time to actually confess, not wanting to rush things, just watch out for shuro i guess.

chilchuck tims

reader's crush: chilchuck learning about reader's crush is a bit sad, though he's no stranger to romance as he not only had a wife but also three whole kids, he's not really good with emotions so he's kind of scared you'll leave him just like his wife did, so, if reader confesses, there's gonna be a high chance that you'll be rejected, just give it some time.

chilchuck's crush: this weird feeling in his chest whenever he see's you will confuse him at first.. there's no way he has a crush on you?? after his wife leaving him he didn't really have any interest in romance, he might as well just focus on his work at the moment, one of these days he'll bring up the courage to confess, just not right now.

marcille donato

reader's crush: she can't really decide on whether she'll return the feelings or not, definitely flattered is what i'll say.

marcille's crush: she's similar to falin, she'll build up a better relationship with you for the right time to confess, she tries to make it seem as if she's not into you but it's quite obvious to the other party members.

senshi of izganda

reader's crush: out of everyone, he'll definitely be the most flattered, someone having a crush on him wasn't something he put much thought into, not to mention romance kind of isn't his thing, nor does he think he have the time for a significant other.

senshi's crush: i don't think this is the very first time he's ever had feelings for someone, but it's definitely a special feeling, he's not nervous of confessing his feelings at all actually, and he's not that sensitive to rejection.

namari

reader's crush: namari wouldn't really know how to react, honestly, she's never given the idea of someone having a crush on her much thought, she won't care much about rejecting the reader, at least she's honest.

namari's crush: her crush will be a bit hard to spot but when it comes to you, there will be a notable soft spot, she treats you like everyone else and isn't afraid to scold you if you do something wrong.

shuro | toshiro nakamoto

reader's crush: in an au where he still has feelings for falin, he immediately rejects you, telling you boldly that his heart is for falin and falin alone, but lets go to an au where he either loses interest in her or doesn't like her at all; definitely flattered, someone liking him (back) isn't unheard of but it is... nice?

shuro's crush: just look at what he does with falin, he will propose to you at some point, of course when time goes by and he starts to fall for you harder and harder, until he just can't contain it anymore.

izutsumi

reader's crush: very, very strange, someone having a crush on her is.. almost unheard of, or she doesn't pay much attention, anywho, she doesn't know... how to react? she knows what to do if she doesn't return the feelings but... someone liking her is just weird lmao.

izutsumi's crush: she won't make it obvious.... or try to at least, she accepts affection from you much more than she does from the others and sticks by your side more.

#dungeon meshi #delicious in dungeon #laois touden #falin touden #marcille donato #chilchuk tims #senshi of izganda #namari of kahka brud #shuro dungeon meshi #izutsumi #dungeon meshi x reader #laois touden x reader #falin touden x reader #marcille donato x reader #chilchuck tims x reader #senshi x reader #namari x reader #shuro x reader #izutsumi x reader

[andthebeanstalk]

Me: I don't like when shows queerbait me.

Other Fans: Well then just watch other shows, dummy!!!!

Me: 👍👍👍 wow what a tidy way to dismiss and invalidate a legitimate reaction to homophobic story tropes! 👍👍👍

The "just leave then" response to people wanting more inclusivity from the stories they love is not just emotionally invalidating - it is also one of the things that keeps storytellers from feeling that they need to improve in the future by making fans feel stupid for demanding better representation in the first place.

This kind of response doesn't just make you sound like a conservative (since this is a VERY popular response that conservatives have when confronted with leftist media criticism), it also fundamentally ignores the fact that there may not BE an equivalent story with good rep to go to after leaving the queerbait-y one behind.

Delicious in Dungeon is special and unique; that's why I genuinely love it. It is that love that makes me want it to do better.

When I see that Shuro is allowed to openly express romantic love for Falin, but Marcille/Falin is relegated to mere implication, it makes me really sad. It may not be a romance manga, but there ARE straight couples, and hetero desire IS on display - which makes the lack of open queerness all the more noticeable.

So when people say "just go watch something else" in response to my genuine sadness and irritation that a beloved story is excluding people like me..... Are you telling me there's a nearly identical queer show - with a similarly active fandom - all about found family learning to cook beautiful foods in a dungeon? Is my favorite-guy-ever Senshi going to be there? Is there actually a place for me to go to??

OR is there only one Delicious in Dungeon, and that's what makes it great?

I think actually folks who respond this way just want me to leave, and they don't really care where I go, so long as their favorite thing doesn't have to stand up to criticism.

Because I don't want lesbian media elsewhere. I want it here, with my friend Marcille. Here, where the seeds of queer romance were purposely planted to hook my attention. What's so wrong with being disappointed if those seeds never grow to bear fruit??

We can like good art and still demand it does better. And we can validate people who are sad it isn't doing better without getting defensive. Critical analysis is healthy and important. It's how good and bad stories are fully understood, and it's how better stories get made.

And while I will try to enjoy the plentiful delicious crumbs I am being served (since it is more than most shows give me), just because I CAN squish a bunch of crumbs together into the approximate shape of a muffin, that doesn't mean I've been served a meal.

#original #i love the show i am loving the manga but this is queer baiting plain and simple. i don't want to leave i want better rep. #I know they're not going to give it to me but how about you don't invalidate me when I say that makes me sad and they should do better?? #dunmeshi #dungeon meshi #falin x marcille #marcille x falin #marcille donato #falin touden #queerbait #queerbaiting #falin dungeon meshi #dunmeshi falin #marcille dungeon meshi #marcille dunmeshi #delicious in dungeon marcille #delicious in dungeon #listen i adore marcille and I'm angry on her behalf that she is not allowed to truly be the romantic heroine she is set up as #not without layers of obstrusion and vaguery.

[misc-obeyme]

If you're doing requests, can I get Solomon headcanons, theme "sightseeing in Devildom/Human World", genre is fluff or author's choice if easier.

Hello there, my friend!

Ahhh yes this is definitely fluff. And honestly I think that's the best genre for this prompt! Because imagine what a silly guy Solomon would be, taking you all over the place just to see you smile.

Thank you for participating!

COZY COMFORTS EVENT

GN!MC x Solomon sightseeing in the Devildom/human world

Warnings: none

When you tell Solomon that you want to do some sightseeing, you quickly find out that there are a lot of places an immortal sorcerer can take you. Across worlds, he knows all the best places to see and things to do. If you need him to tell you where he's taking you, he will. But left to his own devices, he'll keep every destination a secret. He loves to see the look of surprise on your face when he teleports you somewhere new.

In the human world, he takes you to famous places. He insists on selfies at the Eiffel Tower and the Great Wall of China. But he also takes you to quiet, out of the way places. He shows you a field where he found a rare flower needed for magical potions. He brings you to the hill with a view of what was once his hometown. Solomon shares these pieces of his long life with you, from a time before he knew who you were.

Solomon takes you to some of his favorite restaurants in the human world, too. You're blown away by the delicious food. You're also unsurprised when one spot kicks you both out the minute the chef catches sight of Solomon. Apparently, he once tried to show them how they could improve one of their dishes and ended up making the oven explode. You let out a long suffering sigh while Solomon just takes your hand and runs, laughing the whole time.

He shows you places in the bright sunlight, but he also takes you to locations better experienced at night. Have you ever seen the aurora, MC? He knows the perfect arctic spot to huddle together and watch the bright colors on display in the sky. You may be freezing, but he keeps you warm with his own body and a little bit of magic. He can't resist adding a little magical flare of his own to the aurora's display.

Although he's spent a lot of his life in the human world, Solomon has spent considerable time in the Devildom as well. He will tell you stories about his journey through the rings of the Underworld, though he will insist that you needn't walk through them yourself. He can teleport you to any place of interest. He's more likely to take you to hidden marketplaces and tiny magic shops. You find a plethora of cursed objects and spell books. You try to talk him out of buying you an item that makes your eyes sparkle when you look at it, but it's useless. Nothing you could say will dissuade him.

Solomon shows you places in the Devildom that you never knew existed, but he also takes you to places you may have heard about already. He sneaks you into the Demon Lord's Castle in an attempt to get past Barbatos long enough to show you the rumored torture dungeon. Once again you find yourself laughing as Solomon is promptly kicked out. You're pretty sure Barbatos pretended not to notice you for a short time because you got farther in that you expected.

Although he is no fan of the ocean, Solomon also takes you to a hidden beach within the Devildom. The water is black beneath the moon and starlight. Solomon holds your hand, keeping you close as you stand upon the shore, his eyes out far across the sea. And then, slowly, small lights appear. They begin to pop up more rapidly until the edge of the water is full of bright blue and purple lights. They glimmer gently as they ripple along the waves. Solomon tells you about a Devildom sea creature that only shows up at certain times. You're so entranced, you're barely listening. But Solomon turns you to look at him in the soft light. The way it plays in his silver hair makes your breath catch.

Solomon will take you anywhere you want to go. Just say the word and he'll make it happen, whether in the Devildom or the human world. He loves to see you full of awe and wonder, the way you look at him with delight brightening your features. As long as he can stay beside you, Solomon will go wherever you might lead him.

cozy comforts | masterlist | Thank you for reading!

#obey me #obey me shall we date #obey me nightbringer #omnb #omswd #obey me solomon #om solomon #solomon obey me #obey me solomon x reader #om solomon x reader #solomon obey me x reader #obey me x reader #obey me solomon x mc #obey me headcanons #obey me solomon headcanons #misc cozy comforts #misc writes

[ladyloveandjustice]

Winter 2024 Anime Overview: Dungeon Meshi (Delicious in Dungeon)

Premise: Laios is the leader of an adventuring party, and his sister, Falin, got eaten by a dragon while sacrificing herself to save the team. Fortunately, in the dungeon they were exploring, people can be resurrected with magic. Unfortunately, if the dragon fully digests Falin, they probably can’t resurrect her. They have no time to resupply and must traverse many levels of the dungeon filled with monsters to find the dragon. Laios declares that since they can’t get food, they’ll eat the monsters in the dungeon instead-- and as a huge monster fanatic. he's unsettlingly excited about this. He’s accompanied by elf mage Marcille and hafling rogue Chilchuck in his quest, who are much more reluctant about monster-eating. They run into a dwarf, Senshi, who is an expert at cooking monsters, and the delicious race against time to save Falin begins!

...Oh what the hell, I'll say it. FINALLY, some good fucking food.

Memes aside, I love this story so much that writing a review of Delicious in Dungeon/Dungeon Meshi is daunting, because I really want to get across how great it is. But are there enough words in the English language to convey this? We can only try.

Dungeon Meshi combines cooking and adventure animanga expertly, humorously treating eating monsters with the complexity of actual recipes (and indeed, the recipes for the monsters are based off real life recipes). You can experience the warmth and contentment of sharing a meal and enjoy the way the story goes in depth about the biology of the monsters and ecology of classic RPG style dungeon. But at the same time these characters are on a classic fantasy quest and there’s lot’s of excitement as they work together overcome monsters, obstacles and their own weaknesses to save Falin.

The first thing that stands out about Dungeon Meshi is that it’s immediately entertaining and funny. A lot of humor is mined out of Marcille’s complete disgust at eating monsters (and Chilchuck’s more measured reluctance) contrasted with Laios and Senshi’s bizarre enthusiasm for it. The face game of the series is on point, especially Marcille’s.

The characters play off each other very well, have a hilarious dynamic and tons of quirks. They're immediately lovable. They're eccentric weirdos who push each other's buttons, misfits who just happen to fit together, and that's always the best.

I've seen some first time anime viewers complained about that how the early episodes are supposed to be race to save Falin, but there isn't much urgency as the characters have adventures and meals on the way. I can see that as a criticism (though it didn’t stick out to me much in the manga) but this is because we’re mostly seeing them in between the times they’re traveling, when they need downtime and mealtime. The fact that people should never neglect eating and rest if they want to succeed is a pretty important message of the show. You’ve got to let the series cook (forgive the pun). As it goes on, the urgency and tension increases ramps way up. the plot truly takes form and we see a lot of the world building from early parts pay off.

Phenomenal, intricate worldbuilding is the next big thing that stands out about Dunmeshi. Any viewers paying attention will notice it pretty quickly. Ryoko Kui doesn’t dump her complex world or her character’s detailed backstories on the viewer all at once, instead she lets it unfold bit by bit, so the viewer/reader can watch the world expand as the journey goes on, as if we are truly living this world and exploring it along with the characters.

 Everything is carefully thought out, from the structure of the societies, the cultural nuances and physiology of the different magical races, the conflicts between said races and the ways they integrate, the ecosystem and the different monsters and how they function…I could go on forever. And best of all, Dunmeshi's worldbuilding is never to the detriment of it’s incredibly rich story and characters, all of which are also developed wonderfully.

After all, Dugeon Meshi isn’t simply a story about making food and eating monsters—it’s about the ways we consume and ARE consumed, it’s about the endless cycle of life and death and the pain of struggling against that cycle. It’s about the endless hunger that drives us all and the ways we try to fill ourselves up. It’s about the ways we can find both solace and terror in the monstrous, about our struggle to accept not just monsters, but anyone who's different from us. It’s not just about natural ecosystems, but social and societal ecosystems and the ways they both hurt and help us. It’s about all the things that make good meal, one that can draw people together and help us find essential humanity that connects us.

These strong themes are all expressed through the world and the journeys of the characters. And god, do I love these characters.

Even from the start, the characters overturn RPG/fantasy archetypes. (We have an elf who’s not that into nature and dwarf who LOVES nature and doesn’t like blacksmithing)… but the most special thing about these characters is how they deepen, becoming more and more complex and fascinating as the series unfolds. None of them are quite who you think they are while also being exactly how they appear.

Marcille is one of my favorite characters in anything ever. She’s just an absolute disaster, while also being terrifyingly powerful. She’s a magic honors student who buried herself in theory but doesn’t have a lot of experience with the real world and gets upset it doesn’t work like school (I feel that). Her pride and generally high strung nature can lead to blunders that make her very funny to watch. She’s a total nerd in a way that’s so relatable, she has intelligence in spades, but not a lot of wisdom.

 But on the other hand, she’s an aching wounded soul who’s struggling under the surface, dealing with grief and loss constantly. She's obsessed with control in a world that uncontrollable. She’s incredibly driven and unnervingly dedicated to her goals. She’s also scarily devoted to the people she loves and will cross any moral line, break any taboo, and cover herself in blood and sin to save them. She refuses to let silly things like “laws” and “rules” stifle her research or get in her way .And while she's a neat freak who's grossed out by monsters, she's the first person to dive into the blood and guts and horror when shit gets real.

The contrast between her being a sweet, silly, dorky lovable nerd who flails around and being a powerful badass who has complex motivations, an intricate arc, and sometimes questionable morals is so great. Get you a girl who can do both. She's basically everything I love in a character.

Marcille’s love for Falin and infinite devotion is also key to the story, and it’s so refreshing to see a well-written relationship between women be so central to a fantasy anime like this. And yes, by love for Falin, I mean in a gay way. It’s not technically canon (Dunmeshi is not into confirming romantic relationships for any of it’s characters really) but it’s hard to interpret their relationship as anything else, and honestly it’s one of the best wlw ships I’ve seen in a while. It’s got everything, the softness, the sweet and sensual intimacy, the angst, the tragedy, the raw unbearable yearning, tearing the world apart and defying even the laws of nature for her, crawling through hell and soaking your hands in blood and not letting anything get in your way...yeah, it’s good.

While Marcille is my #1, all the characters in this story are fantastic and I love them all. They all have incredible depth and similarly complex backstories and arcs, and are all fun to watch. For instance, Laios may look like generic human fighter but he’s just the weirdest dude, a wonderfully unhinged man who absolutely has a monstersona. But then we also discover he's someone who struggles socially in a way that many neurodivergent people can relate to, who had a troubled childhood, who grapples with survivor’s guilt, and who, like Marcille, would do anything for his sister and the people he cares about. Chilchuck and Senshi and Falin and all the others the same, really interesting characters who deepen and grow. Everyone's relationships also develop wonderfully.

And on top of all that, it's a show with really well-realized and well-written female characters…who even have diverse body types! We have stocky dwarf ladies with muscles! Huge orc and oni women! They’re allowed to be messy and complicated, badass and vulnerable, and that’s definitely a part of my affection for the series. (and famously, most of the fanservice of the series is focused on Senshi’s endless pant shots (loincloth, if we’re being specific)) and while there are moments with the female characters that make me fan myself, it’s not the obnoxious anime unsexy bullshit way that treats women like objects.

And specifically for the anime, Trigger is doing great work with it. There’s so much cool and vivid animation. There are some small moments from the manga that I really miss and wish they had kept, but it’s been a largely faithful adaptation that understands what makes the story great, and I can’t ask for much more. The English simuldub is also genuinely good with all of the VA’s turning in great performances (and Prozd plays Senshi!)

Dungeon Meshi is honestly one to the best stories in recent years, and it’s easy to let it take over your brain. So come along with me and enjoy the funny jokes, the splendid storytelling, the endearing and endlessly fascinating characters and the delectable world. You don’t want to miss out on this delicious meal.

#dungeon meshi #delicious in dungeon #anime overview #winter 2024 anime #marcille #marcille donato #laios touden #falin touden #anime #ryoko kui

[fallloverfic]

Me: I read/watch Delicious in Dungeon for The Plot The Plot (spoilers for S01E17: Harpy/Chimera; CW blood and injury):

And this episode we have the absolute best problem: THERE'S SO MUCH OF IT alkdjaljda

I always loved this bit in the manga, with Kabru using logic to point out that Toshiro's frustration, while valid from a legal standpoint (and debatably from an ethical one), doesn't make any sense because he'd have done the same thing in Laios' shoes. Kabru defending Laios :3

Kabru being supportive of Laios more T-T The soft looks. Love them so much.

There's just something very compelling about how Toshiro is holding his hips in this shot alkjdlajda

I know Toshiro was miserable during this but they are really cute together T-T Poor Laios wanting to be friends and being very bad at it, which is a total mood.

Kabru protecc :3333 I just love seeing so much of Kabru's strategic mind at work this episode. He's always thinking and planning something and I love it.

This shot was just really fucking good. In the manga, Kabru's slightly cropped out of the panel, but the way Trigger like fully defines his musculature is nice. Poor Falin :( Is okay, she gets her revenge and kills him back roflmao

Blessed Plot TM.

Just Them TM. Themmmm. So good.

Couples counseling goes swimmingly alkdjaldja Also I know that Toshiro is holding Laios' leg so that Laios stops kicking his hip/ass but also that leg grab alkdjaldjalj

MEANWHILE THE BABIESSS. Just love them T-T Kabru just being like -very modest about his own abilities-, learning for future combat situations, and also, "This man is insane and dangerous." aalkdjaldj

I want it noted that this is Kabru looking at Laios, and while obviously the idea is to focus on Laios' obsession with monsters and the danger that poses were he to become lord of the dungeon, I keep think about that slo-mo pan-up shot and how beautifully Laios is posed here. Just Labru thoughts.

So soft for each other, these two. Frustration, aggravation, annoyance, pain, but also envy and softness. Toshiro's little, "That's the part of you that I envy." just kills me. Lots of Toshiro softness this episode. His Japanese VA did an excellent job showing his softness for Falin. Also Laios' constant YOU NEED TO EAT SOMETHING kept getting to me alkdjaldja

THEMMMMMMM They end meeeee T-T "I'm glad we got to chat" just ahhhhhh

I don't think Laios is going to forget you any time soon Kabru aldkjaldjalj Bless the animation of Kabru he is so beautiful and just ahhh

This episode was so fucking good. Looking forward to next week :3

Other delicious Plot:

The Plot in Episode 3

The Plot in Episode 7

The Plot in Episode 9

The Plot in Episode 11

The Plot in Episode 13

The Plot in Episode 14

The Plot in Episode 15

The Plot in Episode 16

The Plot in Episode 17 (you are here)

The Plot in Episode 18

The Plot in Episode 20

#ダンジョン飯 #delicious in dungeon #dungeon meshi #dungeon meshi spoilers #delicious in dungeon spoilers #fallfthoughts #laios touden #falin touden #labru #kabru of utaya #toshiro nakamoto #delicious episode

[iliveforyouilongforyouvesuvia]

Could I get an Hc for how the M6 would react to an Mc that finds out they used to eat a lot of weird creatures and monsters.

I may be obsessed with delicious in dungeon, but like maybe Mc got to try dragon meat and realized that despite it being an 'exotic' food, it tastes familiar. Only gets more surprised. The more weirder foods they end up trying that rnd up tasting familiar.

The Arcana HCs: M6 when MC eats monsters

Julian

From a scholarly point of view, he's actually quite interested in learning more and documenting your finds as medical research

Who knows what medicinal properties these creatures might contain that have gone previously ignored? You could find some miraculous cure or random medicine if you keep snacking your way through the monstrous ecosystem!

Then again, he'd be lying if he said that practice was just as easy as theory. He's pretty well traveled himself, but some of the things you seem so eager to dig into are just ... so ... off-putting

He'll push through with most things but he will draw the line at anything resembling a plague beetle. He was force-fed one of those once and he never wants to experience that again

(he'd never try to keep you from making your own decisions, but to say that watching you eat things resembling plague beetles doesn't turn his stomach and make him anxious would be a lie)

Still one of the best researchers you could have helping you

He's got the background to understand physical nutrients and the importance of a diverse diet - and he's plenty dedicated to you

Asra

They are even more enthusiastic than you are

Sometimes you wish you knew what his limits were, because if things keep going at the rate that they are you might find out that he doesn't even have any

Faust is not helping either - she can and will help distract you if you've finally come across something you're hesitant to try so Asra can sneak a mouthful without being caught

On the plus side, they've tried so many different cuisines already that they have plenty of ideas when it comes to figuring out how to cook something new - and spice combinations you wouldn't dare dream of on your own

He also happens to have plenty of tried-and-true remedies for food poisoning as well (wonder why he learned all of those ...) and is more than happy to share with you if things go south

Absurdly creative with the whole cooking process in general

Keeps trying to incorporate magic. This does occasionally backfire when the beast being cooked is also magical by nature, and the two don't mix as intended

Nadia

She's politely unconvinced, but still mildly invested

Is she personally interested in trying all manner of unconventional dishes? Sure, if it's a well-established recipe from a trustworthy source and contributes to her cultural education

Your recipes, darling MC, do not cleanly fit into that category

She'll still try some, but only after you've been able to replicate the dish multiple times to the point that it's reliably delicious and safe to eat. Otherwise, she'll happily pass her portion to you

However, once you do find a creature that can be reliably cooked as part of a nutritious diet, she is all ears

Do you know what the state of Vesuvia is right now? Any new food source is a welcome food source, especially if it's a resource that isn't being tapped into otherwise. Tell her more about its properties

Will work with you and other nutritionists, chefs, and civil engineers to find a way to introduce it to the populace so they can take advantage of it

Who knows? Maybe if it's popular enough, it can be purposefully cultivated and turned into a major food export ...

Muriel

Not remotely surprised by your habits, for multiple reasons

For starters, he spent his teens living with Asra. In the woods. Who do you think came up with all those natural remedies for food poisoning??? Not the kid picking every mushroom they saw!

Second of all, he lives off of the land himself. The reason his grocery list is so short is because he's learned to find most of his sustenance in the woods around him. You're just doing the same

Third of all (and most importantly) - if it's food, it's food. It's that simple

Will eat anything you hand him as soon as he knows it won't poison him, no hesitation in sight and no further questions asked

His only concern about the whole thing is sustainability. He knows firsthand what happens when something throws the delicate balance of an ecosystem out of whack and he wants to make sure that doesn't happen on accident because you're new to it

Never really stops to appreciate any of the good flavors at first, but eventually develops a palette for the different spices

Insanely good at assessing what kind of nutrients it'll have

Portia

Being an excellent chef herself, she doesn't see much point in eating mostly monster food once the initial excitement has worn off. It was fun for several meals, but now she wants bread

This does not change her general fascination with monsters or magical beasts in general, though, or her overall interest in helping you on your special monster cuisine endeavors

Share the monster facts - all the monster facts

Will work with you on putting together notebooks full of information on monster behaviors, nutritional values, hunting and preparation methods, and ideal flavor profiles

Unrivaled at giving good cooking advice. The meat's good to eat, but too tough? Marinate it in something acidic

It's too spongy to be a starch, but too starchy to be a vegetable? Try roasting or grilling it plain and putting sauce on top

Knows all about how to maximize the "scraps" so that nothing edible goes wasted, and knows how to do it in a way that still tastes good and fills you up

Curious enough to try most of it, smart enough to avoid poisoning

Lucio

Okay, okay, so he'll admit it - he does get squeamish (just a little bit) at the thought of eating the monsters that tried to kill him earlier and he's not particularly fond of revisiting the "eat or be eaten" mentality that was instilled in him as a small child

That said, he is curious

And he very much enjoys all the hunting (and bounties!) involved

You're telling him that he gets to chase down a rare beast, enjoy the thrill of conquering it and the bragging rights that entails, get paid for disposing of it, and then get a free meal after he forgets about it for a couple hours? Sign him up!

Just, uh. Just don't remind him what exactly he's eating if it's from one of the grosser monsters. Devouring a deadly ancient boar? Awesome! Devouring a worm monster? ... yeah, don't ruin it

Has no issues with putting more resources into what you're trying to do. It means free food, bragging rights about killing and eating monsters, and dinner not getting dull and boring

Will not-so-subtly feed anything he doesn't like to Mercedes and Melchior when he thinks you can't see him

#ask arcana brainrot #the arcana #the arcana headcanons #the arcana hc #the arcana game #asra the arcana #julian the arcana #nadia the arcana #muriel the arcana #portia the arcana #lucio the arcana #asra alnazar #julian devorak #nadia satrinava #muriel of the kokhuri #portia devorak #lucio morgasson

[ohbo-ohno]

omgomgomgomggggg u mentioned reader locked in a cage watching her stuffed bear through the bars and my mind immediately started racing. do u think when they have her locked up they sit just outside the bars teasing her with her stuffed bear shaking him around just outside her reach? taunting her and cooing when tears slide down her cheeks😭they throw a blanket over ur cage and leave u there for “puppy’s nap time” i’m actually shaking

oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my

this is a little long one because both of these concepts have killed me and i lost control of myself

im shaking. hyperventilating. quivering. i am an unrecognizable person after reading these asks.

forced into a cage fucking GETS ME!!! noncon puppy play you will always be famous. both of my noncon/dubcon ghostsoap puppyplay things (say that five times fast) have johnny falling into a type of subspace really quickly so i haven't actually gotten to write a lot of a forced puppy reacting badly and i want to so MUCH!!! might do it with ghostsoap in a follow up to the thing i just posted honestly. it's so fucking delicious

but anyways. in this au the cage you get shoved in isn't johnny's cage, it's one they made for you so you can keep them company during their murderous free time. that means the cage is small, you-sized :( you can't sit up straight in it, can't stretch your legs out the whole way, can't even really kneel straight up. a tiny little space for a tiny little girl oh im going to be SICK

i like the idea of reader having a little nest of her own in their cabin, filled with soft things for her to relax into (and, of course, a hook for them to leash her to) so i feel like her cage in the basement is probably a little ugly. probably no blankets or pillows, shoved in the middle of the room somewhere so there's no place where you can hide (aka press yourself against the wall), leaves you exposed and vulnerable and cold. poor little puppy :( crying and sniffling and begging them not to force you in, but they just chuckle and ruffle your hair a bit, force you to your knees.

all that being said: your little bear johnny and bear simon are in the bad cage with you <3

the stuffy (im calling it a bear but fill in an animal if you'd like) is a total comfort object for you, something that has gone through every bad thing right by your side. when they fuck you, you almost always have the bear in your arms. when they force you to their torture dungeon, the bear is either in your arms or in your eyeline. maybe one of the times they hunt you simon slips the little bear into your arms while johnny is fucking you in the dirt, smirks a little when you thank him and hold it tight to your chest.

if you get really worked up from what they're doing one of them throws an old blanket over your cage. it makes everything so much worse - you can't see anything, you're left alone in this cold dark space, and you can still hear every sound of pain and the tools your kidnappers are using. but for some reason you feel more vulnerable in the dark (like a bird lol) so you go quiet, hunch down real low and squeeze your eyes shut so you can't see the bloodstains on the blanket. simon on johnny think they're helping you cause you don't sound nearly as scared when you can't see anything <3 gives them horrible ideas involving blindfolds but that's another thing

johnny keeping your bear from you. it's like the two of you want me dead. “do you wanna come out now?🥺” “you want your bear??🥺” “are you gonna be a good girl now???🥺🥺” and "teasing her with her stuffed bear shaking him around just outside her reach? taunting her and cooing when tears slide down her cheeks" like im so fucking GONE it's actually not even funny.

you get real puppy-like when they make you beg for your bear. little paws held out, eyes all big and teary, panting and wiggling around cause you want your toy so badly. simon telling you to take the stuffy with your teeth, and you whine because you don't want to bite your bear!!!! but he says johnny and i bite you all the time, puppy, if you can take it so can your bear so you finally lean forward, get a little loose hold on the stuffy's leg where johnny's holds it out

but he's so mean, because he doesn't let it go :( just smiles real big at the sight of you on your knees, little puppy toy between your teeth. go on, he'd say take it, lass. and you try!!! you tug it a little, shake your head a bit, but he won't let go!! he won't give you your bear!!!

until simon tells him to, a gruff that's enough tug o' war, johnny, she's been a good girl. hand it over. and then the stuffy is yours again, finally. you'd tuck it up right in your arms, hold it close to your chest and bury you nose in the soft fur with your eyes squeezed shut. you ignore the little coos from above you, fully throw yourself into loving on your bear

#asks and answers #serial killer ghoap x reader #favorites #if only for those fucking ASKS jfc #off topic but ghoap locking you in the Bad Cage (tm) as punishment and leaving you alone with the corpses. hm. #🧸 anon

[teshamerkel]

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Seekers of Soul

[Chapter 53]

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AO3 Link

-

After a tense conversation in the cafeteria, Nia and Tobias make plans with Team Evergreen for a team-up mission.

-

Conversation bubbles up naturally between Team Scarlet and Team Shellshock as they head down the Lexym Tree in search of food. Nia is delighted when Tobias even joins the conversation of his own volition, bantering with Xander about nearly taking him down with dragon rage during their joint training session. When the group stops by the nursery to grab Xander’s siblings to join them, the shinx cubs tackle first Xander and then Tobias with shrieks of excitement, rubbing their faces against the two with loud purrs.

On the cafeteria floor, Xander’s team splits off to the far end of the room to join the other food line, calling that they’ll grab a table. Nia and Tobias enter the closer line, picking up trays and stepping into the queue behind a weasel-like Pokemon balancing on two paws. Her long fur is tan with streaks of darker brown, and her blue eyes are sharp. The Pokemon scowls at Nia as she gets into line, muzzle twitching, before looking forward again.

Nia tries not to let the brief look bother her, but lowers her voice as Tobias plots how to beat Kry the next time the two of them spar. As the two of them chat, the line slowly moves, Nia holding out her tray to accept food from the grass type behind the counter. She hasn’t noticed the fiery chicken Pokemon working as a chef since the first time she ate here. Maybe they were just working here temporarily? Tobias is still the only fire type she sees regularly around the Haven.

The humanoid Pokemon behind the counter today has olives in her hair (or maybe they are her hair?), and plops two large spoonfuls of something onto Nia’s tray. Usually, Nia doesn’t even question the guild’s meals anymore since the cooking is always delicious, but the food today throws her. Rice, paired with what looks like veggies or berries in an orange-brown sauce.

“Is this…curry?” Nia whispers, just loud enough for Tobias to hear. She pulls her tray closer to eye it. The rich smell of the sauce makes her mouth water.

Tobias squints at his own serving, then shrugs. “Dunno. Smells good.”

Nia hums, fascinated, and shuffles sideways to keep up with the line. “Any idea what it’s made of? The smell kind of reminds me of—"

She’s so distracted that she bumps into the weasel Pokemon in front of her.

Before she can apologize, the weasel bares her teeth in a snarl. “Watch it!”

Nia jumps back a step, startled by the animosity in the other Pokemon’s voice. “S-Sorry! Sorry. I didn’t mean to bump into you. I wasn’t paying attention—”

“Clearly!”

“Sorry! I was just, um. I’ll be sure to look out better in the future so I don’t bump into anyone. I mean, I wasn’t trying to right now, of course, but—"

“Just watch where you’re walking, human.”

Human. While Nia is long since used to eager Pokemon running up to ask if she really used to be human, this feels…different. This feels like Ghatha. Like Fort Asra. Maybe there’s a reason why this Pokemon seemed to drop into a foul mood as soon as Nia stepped into line.

“Lay off,” Tobias says, tuning into the conversation. “She already apologized.”

“I wasn’t talking to you, wisp!”

There’s a notable drop in volume from the voices around them.

…Wisp?

Tobias’ expression darkens further. “Oh, so it’s gonna be like that. You really want—"

“I-I’ll be more careful!” Nia cuts in, ready for this conversation to be over. “I’m really sorry again.”

“Stop apologizing!” Tobias hisses. “You didn’t do anything wrong!”

“Her being here is wrong,” the weasel snaps. “And if you’re really sorry you’ll go back where you came from and leave us alone.”

Nia takes another panicked step back, nearly toppling both her and Tobias.

“That’s it,” Tobias says, a bit louder. He shoves his tray towards Nia. “Nia, hold my tray.”

“What?! No!”

She doesn’t want this to escalate. Already Nia can hear the quiet murmurs around them growing louder, can feel a tension building in the air as the weasel’s striped fur spikes. So Nia panics and backs out of line, pulling Tobias with her despite his protests. They’re only missing dessert, anyways.

Even if that is her favorite.

The weasel snorts something that sounds suspiciously like coward before continuing forward in line like nothing happened. Nia's eyes stay glued to the weasel’s back as she moves away. Her heart beats loud and nervous in her ears.

She…wasn’t ready for that. Wasn’t ready to for that kind of hostility in the guild. Sure, it was from someone who clearly wanted a fight, but still. The weasel had decided that Nia being human was enough to make her a target. That because she's human, she's allowed to be a target.

Nia thought it was safe here.

They've ran into scared Pokemon taking their fear out on humans a couple of times now, namely in Ghatha and Asra. But not here, where everyone has been neutral towards her humanity at worst. She heard August, she knows the sentiment has been spreading, but…

It isn’t even our fault, Nia thinks, hollowly. Now that she’s talked to Giratina, now that she knows it isn’t anything the humans have done, knows that their displacement is just an unfortunate side-effect of the dimension’s borders breaking down, the accusations hurt even more. They aren’t doing anything wrong. They’re just existing. Trying to fit in and find somewhere to belong until they can go home.

Nia sniffs, blinking back tears. Her throat is tight. She stares down at her tray and the cooling curry. She isn’t so hungry anymore.

Tobias, who had been grumbling insults at the weasel’s back, turns to Nia. “C’mon, you can’t take anything that idiot says to heart. She was a jerk to both of us so she probably walks around everywhere with that terrible attitude.”

That does remind Nia of a beat in the conversation that had confused her more than it had upset her.

She frowns at Tobias. “You mean when she called you…wisp? Is that bad?”

Tobias' expression twists. “Maybe don’t say that too loud. It doesn’t bother me anymore, but it’s, uh…kind of an insult for fire types. Like…saying that we’re so weak our fire got snuffed out.”

Nia’s eyes widen. “That’s horrible! B-But Azami calls you Spitfire. And Andyn calls you flame-brain and stuff—are those..?”

Tobias snorts a laugh and shakes his head. “Nah, those are fine.”

Nia knows she looks as unsure as she feels. Tobias elaborates.

“Seriously, Nia. You’d know if they were actually insulting me. It’s more…playful than that, I guess? They poke at me being a fire type, sure, but they aren’t really implying anything…bad with it.”

“Flame-brain doesn’t sound very nice.”

“Neither does ‘kindling,’ but Arceus themself will not stop me from calling your stupid deerling friend that. It’s not any worse than us just calling each other dummy. Wisp just has…a different tone to it.”

Nia slowly nods, brow knitting. So it’s something about the social context that makes it different. Makes one worse than the others. She supposes human slang is equally confusing, if she really thinks about it.

“C’mon,” Tobias says with a jerk of his head. “We still need to eat.”

Nia takes a breath and nods. Not like they can do much about the weasel right now anyways. They could go tell Maggie or August, she supposes, and August did say long ago to let him know if anyone gave her trouble, but…

“Should we tell August about this?” Nia asks.

Tobias shakes his head immediately. “No. August means well, but all that would do is make that linoone angrier. Much as I’d love to set her stupid pelt on fire, we don’t need to be dealing with a fight on top of everything else.”

“But he could tell her to stop, right?”

“Trust me. When I was younger, telling only made them get better at doing stuff like this quietly.”

And isn’t that a loaded statement. Nia stares at Tobias for a moment, suddenly far more upset about how easily he brushes off any insults thrown his way. It speaks of practice.

She thinks of his aura earlier, of how desperately he wanted to hide it away from her, afraid she would hate him. Does he even realize how much his isolation from the rest of the guild these past eight years has affected how he sees himself?

Tobias raises a brow at her, so Nia gives a weak smile and gestures for him to lead the way. She’d been so excited to come down here to eat with everyone, and now it feels like her heart is hanging heavy in her chest. But they might as well join their friends.

Tobias takes the lead and Nia trails after the charmander to the table, where Xander’s team and the shinx kids are already sitting with their food, talking as they eat. Tobias moves around the table to sit by Laine, giving the cub a noogie as he sits that makes her shriek and duck away.

Nia heads for the empty spot on the closer side, next to Felix. The wartortle is seated oddly on the wooden bench, one short leg thrown over it so he’s perched sideways as if he’d been about to get up. He meets Nia’s gaze as she approaches, his usual jovial expression subdued.

Felix leans closer as she sits, brow furrowed. “You all right?”

Nia blinks, surprised. Is it that obvious that she’s still upset?

“Heard what happened in line,” Felix whispers. His fluffy ears wiggle. “These aren’t just for show. So. You okay?”

The concern make Nia smile a bit more genuinely, some of the tightness wound up in her gut loosening. There may be rude people even here in the guild, but at least there are also sweethearts like Felix.

“I’m all right,” she murmurs. “Thanks for checking in. It just…caught me off-guard, you know? I’m used to the guild being a place I don’t need to worry about that. It’s getting worse, I guess.”

Felix returns her smile, though there’s a crook to his brow that belies his lingering worry. “Well, let us know if anyone starts giving you trouble. Xander and I would be happy to put them in their place—" He winks. “—and I have a feeling we could do it a bit more subtly than your partner.”

Nia laughs and nods. Felix turns back to his food, but Nia sees him send Tobias a covert look, as if to check on the charmander while knowing he wouldn’t want to be fussed over. Nia smiles, warmed by the concern, as she starts picking at her meal—the curry is good, even if it takes her a moment to get used to the soft texture.

Soon enough, both Nia and Tobias are swept into the conversation at the table. Kry is slamming a fist against the wood, the fraxure arguing that yache berries are objectively better than nanab berries, and Avery is fighting an uphill battle against her. The kirlia offers up well-worded reasoning for why nanab berries are superior, but Kry shoots down each argument with counterpoints of, “But they’re pink!” and “They taste like rotten river water!”

Avery stops pointing out that those are subjective opinions after the fourth rebuttal, changing strategies instead to point out the physical benefits of each berry. Xander gives Kry a scolding look (that she promptly ignores) after the third table-rattling slam of her fist, and the shinx cubs laugh and laugh as Felix jumps in to suggest mago berries are actually the best choice, making both Avery and Kry turn to him with offended expressions.

Throughout the lively debate, Nia glances at Tobias to try checking in on him. He seems all right, although Nia can’t help noticing that he isn’t using his flames to cook his berries like he sometimes does. Maybe he just isn’t feeling like cooked berries today, or maybe that Pokemon’s comment got to him more than he wanted to admit.

Eventually, Felix moves the conversation on to regaling both the shinx kids and Nia and Tobias with the daring tale of Team Shellshock’s latest dungeon crawl. Nia has a feeling a few embellishments were made to make their team sound extra cool—Xander rolling his eyes and Kry’s snort all but confirm it—but she enjoys it all the same.

“I wish we could go exploring already,” Laine sighs when the story is done.

“We’ll be a team soon too!” Luca says, little paws on the table so he can stand up in his seat. “Me ‘n you, Lainey!”

“Oh? What about Leor?” Avery asks.

As all eyes turn to the shyest shinx cub, Leor squeaks and huddles down on the bench, wide gold eyes peering over the table.

“He’s gonna be a medic,” Luca says, chin tilted proudly.

“Like Fen!” Laine adds.

Xander looks as surprised about this news as Nia is, leaning down to meet his younger brother's eyes. “This true?”

Leor looks nervous, but glances over at Tobias before giving the barest nod.

Xander grins, one giant paw squeezing the cub closer. “That’s great, Lee! You would be a fantastic medic.”

“Really?” Leor asks, looking unsure.

“Of course! You three can do whatever you set your minds to. And I’m not just saying that because I’m your brother.”

Luca and Laine cheer while Leor leans into Xander’s side. The luxio purrs and nuzzles the top of his little brother’s head.

It’s a sweet moment, but Nia can see the instant Leor’s eyes crack open and he registers most of the table watching the exchange. He squeaks and wriggles free of Xander’s hold. Xander laughs and lets him go, and the cub almost tumbles himself right off the bench.

“Leor’s gonna train under Fen, and Laine and I are gonna make a Seekers team together!” Luca says, little tail lashing. “Team Thunderspark! And we’re gonna be stronger than any other team!”

“Even ours?” Felix goads, grinning.

“Duh!” Laine says. “You’re a water type! You won’t stand a chance!”

Felix laughs, then tilts his head towards Kry. “True, but our team’s also got the meanest ‘mon this side of the continent.”

Kry looks torn between taking that as a compliment and an insult, and eventually just flicks a piece of rice at the wartortle as punishment.

“You’re going to be great Seekers,” Xander agrees, popping a berry into his mouth. “When you’re old enough.”

Laine and Luca whine in unison, the latter plopping his chin down onto his tray.

“Do we have to wait that long? We’re already strong!” Laine protests.

“Yeah! We should be able to make our own decisions by now,” Luca grumbles, batting a berry around his tray.

“Those are the rules,” Xander says, giving them both a stern look. “It’s only a few more years. If you two can stay out of trouble and stop tormenting poor Arlo, that is.”

The kids groan again, and Nia bites back a smile as she chews. Xander is sweet with his siblings. Sometimes he acts more like a father to them than a brother, but Nia supposes that’s to be expected, between how they were brought here and raised in the nursery their whole lives, plus Xander’s protective nature. It reminds her of her own brother, in a bittersweet way.

Nia feels lighter by the time they finish eating and part ways with Xander’s team. Both Avery and Xander give her a hug before leaving, and Felix offers a fist bump and an easy grin. Kry lightly smacks Nia’s legs with her tail as she passes, and outright punches Tobias in the arm. He glares at her back, but Nia thinks the exchange is a friendly one, somehow.

After the stressful morning talking to Maggie and August, aura training with Val, and the moment in the cafeteria—not to mention the exhaustion still present from their journey—Nia is ready for a nap when they finally make it back to their room. Tobias starts unpacking their bag and taking inventory of their items, so Nia forces herself to write back to Hazel before crashing. She thanks the raichu for the offered discount on a human bed, but explains that they’re pretty busy right now and need to save on money. She’ll absolutely be buying one in the future, though! She also mentions meeting up with Beck and asks her to tell the floatzel and his crew hi.

By the time Nia is finished, her letter sealed up and placed back into the mailbox with the flag up, she's practically asleep on her feet. Tobias has moved over to the window, leafy curtain pulled high to let fresh air and sunlight flood the room. He’s propped against the wall and framed by blue sky, guitar in hand as he starts plucking at scales.

Nia yawns. “I’m gonna take a nap.”

Tobias spares her a glance. “I’ll wake you for supper.”

Nia hums her thanks and moves to their nests to flop down, wiggling to get comfortable on the bed of moss and straw. It’s soft enough, not scratchy at all with her fur as a barrier, and her muscles relax.

Quiet falls over the room, save for Tobias’ playing and the whistle of the wind. A gust blows directly through the window and skims over Nia’s side, making her skin prickle with goosebumps. It’s a little chilly, with fall in full swing and winter fast approaching. Over the past few weeks, even sleeping outside hasn’t been a problem, but…well. Usually Tobias is sleeping at her side, and he gives off heat like a little campfire.

Whining, Nia picks up her head and looks at Tobias, squinting against the bright light of the window. Normally she would be more hesitant about being so needy, but she’s tired and she’s cold so she pushes herself to her feet and stumbles over to him, rubbing her arms. It’s even chillier by the window with the wind wrapping around her.

Tobias stops his playing, looking up.

Nia shifts on her feet. Her brain is mushy with fatigue and tantalizing snatches of sleep. All she manages to say is, “Cold.”

Tobias snorts. He glances at the window. “Want me to close the curtain?”

He doesn’t sound upset about the prospect, but Nia can guess that he likes the chill of the breeze combined with the heat of the sun. His orange scales glow in the light, like embers. Even with her fur, Nia just isn’t built to stay warm like a fire type is.

Nia’s mouth presses into a line. “Can I just sleep by you?”

Tobias blinks, and a flush rises to his cheeks. They usually sleep next to each other nowadays, and Nia hasn’t made it a secret that she enjoys the warmth he puts off, but she admittedly doesn’t usually…ask. Out loud. Somehow putting it into words does make it sound more embarrassing.

But she’s tired, dang it!

After a moment, Tobias wordlessly flicks his tail over to make room. Nia doesn’t let herself hesitate before sinking into the empty spot, curling heavily into his side. Immediately, heat seeps into her fur to warm her up.

“Sure, just make yourself comfy,” Tobias grumbles, no bite to his voice even as she accidentally elbows him in the ribs.

Finally, she settles, melted against his side with a happy hum. It’s like falling asleep cuddling a heater. Even lying closer to the window, she’s immediately warmer.

“Why don’t you guys use blankets?” She mumbles. “We had blankets in Asra. I miss blankets.”

Tobias snorts. “We do use blankets. We just keep them in storage until the end of fall when they’re actually needed.”

Nia picks up her head to give Tobias a despairing look. “I could’ve had blankets this whole time?!”

Tobias visibly bites back a smile. Jerk. “We’ll get you a blanket later if you’re that upset about it, you big baby. I didn’t realize it was a problem.”

“Stupid warm fire types,” Nia gripes, flopping back against Tobias. She’s absolutely getting herself a blanket. For now, Tobias’ heat will suffice.

Slowly, sleep washes over her brain like bathwater, soothing and inviting. Before she slips under completely, she hears Tobias start playing his guitar again, shifting his posture just enough to accommodate her. The cords he picks at are slow and gentle.

She’s asleep in seconds.

She feels like she’s only been asleep for seconds when the door to their room slams open with a bang. A harsh note from the guitar follows, as well as a yell of, “Nia!”

Nia bolts up. She blinks away the haze of sleep, cringing at the late-afternoon sunlight painting their room in bright tones and deep shadows. She must’ve been asleep longer than she thought.

“Ever hear of knocking?” Tobias hisses.

Nia rubs at her eyes, following his voice to look at the doorway, where Andyn, Ezra and Jaz are frozen in the middle of what looks like a grand entrance. The sneasel and stufful seem remorseful despite their comically stiff poses. The deerling, on the other hand, seems strangely flustered, gaze flicking from Nia to Tobias.

“Sorry,” Jaz finally says. “Are we, uh…interrupting?”

“Nia was asleep, you idiots,” Tobias says, sitting back and clutching his guitar close.

Nia yawns. “‘S okay. I shouldn’t nap too long or I won’t sleep tonight.”

The trio that makes up team Evergreen still seem oddly hesitant to enter the room. Nia laughs at the shy behavior and waves them in.

Finally, slowly, they do, sitting down in front of the window as well and getting comfortable.

Ezra’s ruby eyes land on Tobias’ guitar and stay there, going wide. “Whoa, you play guitar?!”

“No,” Tobias lies, removing the instrument from his lap and tucking it behind himself.

“Aw, c’mon!”

“I think it’s great to have a hobby outside of Seeker duties,” Jaz says, meeting Tobias’ sour expression with a smile.

Andyn just looks weirded out, although Nia can’t tell if it’s from the idea of Tobias playing an instrument or something to do with how she keeps looking suspiciously between Nia and Tobias.

Tobias crosses his arms. “What do you want?”

Ezra and Jaz turn to Andyn. The deerling jolts. With a stomp of her delicate hoof, she says, “Right! Since someone didn’t even bother to tell us she was back—honestly, Nia, I had to find out from Kry of all ‘mon—we decided we’d come see you instead!”

“We haven’t even been back a day,” Tobias huffs.

Nia shrugs with an apologetic smile. “I figured you'd still be on a mission."

Andyn narrows her eyes, then lifts her nose into the air with a dainty hmph. “Fine. You’re forgiven.”

“Forgiven?” Tobias says, annoyed. “For what? Not checking in? You’re not our mom.”

Andyn gives him an acidic look. “That attitude is why Nia is forgiven and you are not.”

“You have to be trying to pick a fight. Is Kry kicking your tail on the daily not enough for you, you masochistic little—"

Nia claps her hands together with a single sharp sound. “No fighting until I’m awake enough to deal with it!”

Her voice is firm, but she’s more amused than irritated now that she knows Tobias enjoys the bickering on some level. Andyn has to enjoy it too, considering how often she instigates.

“We didn’t come here for Andyn to pick a fight, believe it or not,” Jaz sighs.

“We wanted to see you as soon as you got back!” Ezra adds. “I feel like you two travel a lot more than most low-level Seekers.”

There’s a question in that sentence, subtle enough to decide whether they want to answer it or not. And for a moment, Nia wants to share everything, just like she wanted to with Xander and Avery in the training hall. It would take some weight off her shoulders, to be able to vent about it. To get her friends’ reassurances.

But those same fears hold Nia back. She doesn’t want to be the reason these three lose that playful spark of adventure they bring to every room they enter. She doesn’t want them to feel weighed down as heavily as she does every time she recalls Giratina’s words.

So Nia just smiles and says, “I-I like getting to see more of the Pokemon world, that's all. You know, since I’m not very familiar with it.”

Which isn’t strictly untrue, but the words still leave a bitter taste in her mouth.

“Are you planning on heading out again soon?” Jaz asks, either not catching onto the half-truth or choosing not to call her out.

Andyn sticks her lip out in a pout and drops her ears, giving Nia the most pitiful baby deer expression possible. Oh no. She’s like Bambi but even sadder. How can you be sadder than Bambi?

“We are,” Tobias says, totally unaffected by the face. “We plan to stick around for a few days and do some missions. Then we’re heading back east.”

Andyn’s pout drops for a genuinely worried expression. “Ghatha again?”

Ezra shifts uncomfortably. “Didn’t you two get caught up in that fire last time you were there?”

“Not Ghatha,” Nia says. “We’re going to find Will. The yamask I told you about? We’re hoping he can help us with something. Um. Human stuff.”

Andyn’s gaze slides to Tobias, as if expecting him to protest. He’s too busy glancing over his shoulder to notice, probably debating whether or not to get his guitar back out even with their current company. Nia knows he’s been trying to get comfortable with the basics again and he hates leaving things unfinished.

“Safe travels,” Jaz finally says. “Especially over the sea. The winds have been rough lately.”

“What hasn’t been rough lately?” Andyn groans. “The world’s unhappy and she’s letting us know it.”

Nia swallows against the lump in her throat. “We'll be careful. But enough about us! What’s going on with you three? What have you been up to?”

Ezra sighs. “We've been even busier than usual. Since more and more disasters and dungeons are popping up, it feels like we're constantly on the go.”

Nia gives the sneasel a sympathetic look.

“We’re racking up Seeker points, though,” Ezra adds with a grin. “And cash.”

“We would have more than enough points to reach C-rank if we could just get another team mission finished,” Jaz says, her dark little eyes trained on Andyn.

The deerling looks away, frowning.

“Oh!” Ezra sits up, feathery red ear flicking. “Right! Remember what we talked about last time you were home? While you’re around, you guys should do a team-up mission with us! I know you’re only E-Rank, but you still need both of your team-ups, right?”

“D-Rank, actually,” Tobias corrects, smug.

“What?!” Andyn’s jaw drops, outraged. “You’re already D-rank? How?!”

“Got an upgrade from the second-in-command in Ghatha,” Tobias says, clearly enjoying every second of this exchange. “For helping in the fire.”

Andyn glares at him, looking like she wants to snap something rude. Then her gaze flicks to Nia and she backs down, huffing.

“Well, congratulations then,” Jaz says, giving her teammate an amused glance. “That’s impressive, considering how recently you formed your team.”

“This means you definitely need to do a team-up with us!” Ezra says, leaning forward. “Since we’re the same rank now we don’t need to worry about trying to find a mission ranked somewhere in the middle!”

“We do need to do our team-up missions at some point,” Tobias grumbles, clearly reluctant. “Cordelia wasn’t impressed by our rank and most other ‘mon won’t be either. We need to keep rising so we don’t get turned away from anything important.”

“Awesome!” Ezra says. “We could—"

“I didn’t say we’d do it with you,” Tobias growls.

“Yeah, Ez,” Andyn agrees. “I mean…technically they’re D-rank but they’re still pretty new, so—"

Uh-oh.

Tobias straightens up at Nia’s side. “You think we can’t keep up with you?”

Andyn scoffs. “I didn’t say that, but if you’re thinking it—"

“You didn’t say it but you sure meant it—"

“Stop,” Nia and Jaz say at the same time, exasperated. Tobias and Andyn shut their mouths.

“Are you really worried we won’t be able to carry our weight?” Nia asks, a little hurt. “I know we’re new, but we are still the same rank as you guys.”

Not to mention Nia and Tobias been through a lot more than most other Seekers their rank. At least from what Tobias has said.

Ezra and Jaz look to Andyn, clearly the one taking issue with the idea. The deerling winces, posture uncharacteristically small.

“It’s not…I do want you there, but it’s just…”

Ezra speaks up. “Andyn’s parents are a bit, uh…tough on her. High expectations. If we ever mess up a mission, then…”

All three members of Team Evergreen shudder.

Nia blinks at them, surprised. “Your…parents?” Honestly, Nia had never given them any thought before.

Andyn nods, looking miserable but trying to hide it. “Yeah. They’re great, really! Just, um. They’re really high-rank Seekers so they kind of expect me to uphold their legacy, you know?”

“Who are your parents?” Tobias asks, brow furrowed. “I’ve been here eight years and I don’t think I’ve ever seen them.”

“You have,” Andyn sighs. “Just…not often. And probably not, um. With me. They’re both sawsbuck so they kind of blend in with all the grass types. They’re Team Sequoia.”

The name doesn’t ring any bells for Nia, but Tobias’ brows lift. He almost looks impressed.

“Yeah,” Ezra laughs. “Big prints to fill. They’re pretty strict, too, so we have to make sure we do our missions well or Andyn gets an earful. Sometimes all of us get it.”

Andyn shoots Ezra a look that clearly says to shut up, so he does.

“That…seems like a lot of pressure,” Nia murmurs, doubly glad now that she didn’t tell Andyn anything about Giratina or the dying world. The deerling clearly doesn’t need more things to worry about.

Andyn suddenly seems to register the gloomy atmosphere and Nia’s concerned expression, because she sits up with a strained laugh. “Sure, but it’s really cool, too! Everyone knows my mom and dad since they’re such amazing Seekers.”

Nia frowns.

“But since they’re so great and they expect me to be great too,” Andyn adds. “That means you two have to keep up with us if you’re going to join us on a mission. Got it?”

Nia wants to push, but Andyn is clearly trying to move the conversation along, so eventually she just nods. Tobias rolls his eyes and finally pulls the guitar out to settle in his lap again, but he doesn’t argue. He refuses to look up from his tuning as he asks, “What kind of things do you even do for a team-up mission?”

“Pretty much anything,” Jaz answers. “At least for D to C rank. It can be dungeon work, cleanup, construction, escort missions, foraging, even guild tasks. As long as both teams do the mission together, it counts.”

Tobias gives her a doubtful look. “That seems...”

“Too easy?” Ezra laughs. “That’s what I said. But I guess they save combat missions as a team-up requirement for B to A rank. This is just getting teams used to working with other ‘mon they usually don’t.”

“That makes sense,” Nia says, purposefully not looking at Tobias as he starts plucking at the guitar strings in a scale. Ezra didn’t get the memo and is watching Tobias’ hands like a transfixed cat, his claws twitching like he wants to try it too. “What kind of mission should we do, then?”

“Easier missions would be, well. Easier. But my parents wouldn’t be impressed.”

Something about that sentiment rubs Nia the wrong way, but she doesn’t interrupt as Andyn goes on.

“And a dungeon would look good but that’s a bit of a risk if we aren’t already familiar with each other’s fighting styles. I don’t trust flame-brain here not to char me to a crisp.”

Tobias stops playing long enough to shoot Andyn a glare.

“So something in the middle,” Nia surmises.

“I guess that would work,” Andyn hedges.

“One average mission will be fine, Anne,” Jaz says. “We don’t need to take on the most difficult mission on the board every single day. Even with your parents.”

Andyn visibly stops herself from retorting, probably with something sharp. She sighs. “Fine. Just don’t be late! Meet us at the job boards at dawn, okay?”

Nia snorts. “I wish I could make Tobias sleep in past dawn. He’s a morning person.”

Ezra’s face screws up. “Gross. So is Andyn. Must be a grass and fire-type thing.”

Andyn and Tobias look disgruntled about being on the same side of something for once. Nia laughs.

With their plan in place, Team Evergreen heads out soon after for an early supper. Nia, now wide awake but not yet hungry enough to eat, turns to Tobias with her best puppy dog eyes.

“What?”

“Blankets?” She says, hopeful.

Tobias seems unimpressed by her pleading expression, but after a moment he sighs and puts his guitar aside to get up. “Fine, fine. Come on. We’ll have to go down to storage to pick ‘em up.”

Nia cheers and hurries to follow him out of the room. They're only halfway down the hall when a thought occurs to her, and she steps up to his side to better see his face.

“Hey, storage is on a lower floor, right? Could we stop stop by the archives on the way back? I bet they have some music books you could check out."

Tobias has been figuring out the basics of his guitar-playing pretty quickly, and she can only imagine he'll want to move on to more actual melodies soon. He just looks so content when he plays that she can't help wanting to encourage the renewed hobby, even with the world teetering on the brink of destruction. Maybe especially because of that. She wants to make sure he takes the time to check out some books before they have to leave again.

Tobias looks thoughtful at the suggestion. Hesitant, but definitely interested. "We could.”

Nia beams.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

That night, Nia wakes to the ground rumbling beneath her.

For a split-second, she thinks she’s back in Asra, the desert town cracking like broken porcelain beneath her and bringing buildings down with it. She scrambles to free herself from the net of her blanket. Out of the corner of her eye she sees Tobias doing the same from the wild movement of his tail flame.

But no—the sliver of moonlight peeking out from the bottom of the curtain isn’t right. The room smells of forest instead of dusty desert. The sound is different, too—a distant rumble, a loud creaking, muted cries of alarm from next door that are higher than Granite and Takeo’s voices.

It takes Nia a few seconds while her brain rattles around inside her skull to realize that they’re at the guild, in the Lexym Tree. It takes a beat longer for her to register that the slowing vibrations are, however, still an earthquake.

Slowly, so slowly it’s hard to tell if it has actually stopped, the earthquake stills. Nia, heart racing, looks wide-eyed at Tobias. The charmander stares back in the dim light of his tail, brow furrowed and expression cautious.

“You okay?” He whispers.

She nods. “You?”

“Yeah.”

Voices start up, quietly, in the hall. Wordlessly, Nia and Tobias stumble to unsteady feet and poke their heads out the door.

Many of the Seekers who live on the floor are standing in the hallway, talking to one another. Some have shaken expressions, while others just look quietly concerned. Nia picks out a few sentences amidst the babble.

“—earthquakes now. I thought the winds were bad enough. How—"

“Do you think there’ll be any aftershocks? What if some ‘mon were down in the tunnels? I don’t—”

“—I’ll be all right. Just scared me, mostly. Terran bumped his head but—"

“What if they get worse? I can’t—"

Nia tunes out the conversations then, everyone else’s nerves and uncertainty only piling onto her own. It looks like in this hall at least there weren’t any serious injuries, but what about everywhere else?

“What should we do?” Nia whispers to Tobias. “Seekers…help, right? Are we supposed to go check on everyone?”

“I don’t know,” Tobias admits. “Nothing like this has happened at the guild before. At least that I can remember.”

The reminder of the increasing number of natural disasters makes Nia’s stomach sink. The linoone’s words from earlier echo in her head. It’s not her fault. It’s not any of the humans’ fault.

(But the other Pokemon don’t know that, do they?)

“Can we go check on Xander and Andyn’s teams?” Nia whispers. “A-And maybe Maggie?”

She won’t be able to sleep if they don’t.

Tobias nods, then leads the way out the door and down the hall. Nia can’t tell if she’s imagining the way some of the other Pokemon send her wary looks as they spot her. She steps closer to Tobias regardless.

Thankfully, everyone seems to be physically fine, save for Felix startling himself right into Team Shellshock's cabinet and knocking off some knick-knacks. The rest of Xander’s team—down one luxio after he ran off to check on his siblings—is unusually quiet and pensive. Andyn, Ezra and Jaz seem equally rattled, trying to cover up their unease with light tones and jokes that fall painfully flat. The tight hug and comforting smile Maggie gives Nia and Tobias helps a little, but not enough.

Eventually, Nia and Tobias try to get a few more hours of sleep before dawn. Their floor of lower-level Seekers was assured by Verene a few minutes prior that the higher ranking ‘mon would take care of checking on the Haven for now. Lower ranks will take the dawn shift.

Nia almost wishes they were asked to head out now. She can’t seem to get her mind to settle despite the exhaustion tugging at her fur and the soft warmth of the blanket around her. From the way Tobias shifts throughout the night at her side, she doesn’t think he gets much rest either.

#pmd #pokemon mystery dungeon #pokemon #deerling #sneasel #stufful #pmd seekers of soul #tesha writes #tesha draws #team evergreen

[redgoldsparks]

March Reading and Reviews by Maia Kobabe

I post my reviews throughout the month on Storygraph and Goodreads, and do roundups here and on patreon. Reviews below the cut.

Delicious in Dungeon vol 4 by Ryoko Kui

I'm reading these books so fast I can barely remember which parts of the plot happened in which volume but know that I am still having a great time!

Delicious in Dungeon vol 5 by Ryoko Kui

Oh, this story has taken a darker turn, and also just introduced a whole bunch more characters. Will I be able to keep track of them all? I hope so!

Dragon Keeper by Robin Hobb, read by Anne Flosnik 

Unfortunately, this is definitely the weakest Robin Hobb book I've read so far. I was expecting to like it less than the glorious, 5-star previous trilogy, but I actually think I'm going to skip the rest of the Rain Wild Chronicles and read summaries online to get to the next Fitz books. This book follows five main POV characters. This works fairly well for the first half, when the characters are all in different physical locations. However once all of the characters meet up, we start getting the same scene from multiple different POVs, which feels extremely repetitive. Also, almost EVERY SCENE includes a flashback, often a lengthy flashback, sometimes to something that happened only the previous day and could have been told as present-moment action. This writing choice baffled me. It's something I can't remember struggling with in any of Hobb's previous books, but by the end it was driving me up a wall. The book also moved very slowly; the stakes feel lower, and the character far less emotionally true than in the two Fitz trilogies. Disappointing, but I will keep moving forward towards the next part of the series I want to read.

Delicious in Dungeon vol 6 by Ryoko Kui

Damn, a lot of characters get murdered in this volume! Good thing almost everyone who dies in the dungeon can be revived. Also, very excited to finally meet the cat ninja I've been seeing fan art of since before I even started the series :3

Delicious in Dungeon vol 7 by Ryoko Kui

I am still completely caught up in this series. I love the glimpse of Senshi's past revealed in this volume, and the lore of the dungeon that is still being revealed. There was a line in here about how the dungeon leaves you alone if you don't ask much of it, but that if you have strong desires it throws even more obstacles into your way. Our heroes have such big goals right now, but they're marching ahead regardless!

School Trip by Jerry Craft 

A satisfying new installment in the New Kid series from funny, talented, charming Jerry Craft! I appreciated how this volume started to complicate some of the students who had been left a bit one-dimensional in previous books. Several people stood up to and called out a bully; new friendships were built; and Jordan Banks left Paris even more inspired than ever to follow his dreams of becoming an artist. This series has a lot of jokes, but also a lot of heart!

A Frog in Fall (and Later On) by Linnea Sterte 

Minor frog is less than a year old, and is dismayed when winter begins to steal all of the light and warmth from his world. Instead of bunking down safely with his mentor to wait for spring, he sets out on a journey with two vagabond toads passing by on a quest to make it all the way to the tropics. They tramp through the Japanese countryside, encountering tree spirits, new friends, dangers, and views the likes of which minor frog had never even imagined. This is a gorgeous book; every page worth pouring over, an economy of line and detail building a beautiful and mysterious world of talking animals and miniature packaged foods. Made me want to draw.

Dark Rise by CS Pacat read by Christian Coulson 

In 1820s London, orphaned Will tries to earn enough as a dockworker to survive- and evade the killers pursuing him. Violet dresses in her half-brother's clothes and sneaks onto a ship in the Thames to watch a man be branded with his master's mark. Katherine excitedly anticipates her engagement to one of London's richest and most mysterious lords; his gallantry nearly makes up for the fact that he's twice her age. And in the bowels of one of that lord's ships, James tortures a man for information. All of these characters are 16 or 17 years old, but all of them are tangled in an ancient conflict between the Light and the Dark which stretches back into an age of magic before history. This is CS Pacat's YA fantasy debut, and it contains a lot of tropes very familiar to both YA and high fantasy- there are shades of both Tolkien and Rowling in this. Its fast-paced and action-packed, but especially in the first third of the story, the characters all felt fairly thin. None of them have quirks, hobbies, career hopes, relationships outside of immediate family, school, or work; or much more than a brief sketch of past. It took until the mid-way point for what I consider Pacat's major strengths as a writer to emerge: intense, homoerotic interpersonal sparring between characters operating under major power imbalances. Every scene in which the seductive, manipulative, powerful evil gay faced off against the good boy chosen one crackled with energy. Unfortunately, there were only four of these scenes in the whole book. It ends on a cliff-hanger, because of course it does, with a tempting set up for book two; but that doesn't entirely excuse the fact that the first 50% felt like set up. I will definitely keep reading, but long-time Pacat fans should take note that this is toned down version of what I expected based on Captive Prince.

Feeding Ghosts by Tessa Hulls (re-read before event)

What an accomplishment! I savored every page of Feeding Ghosts, absolutely floored by the labor and courage that went into the writing of this book. The inking is gorgeous, the history is clear, digestible, and devastating. This book threads the line between honesty and compassion in a way that I appreciate so much in any memoir, but especially one dealing with family. Hulls lays out the story of three generations of women starting with her grandmother, Sun Yi, a Shanghai journalist who faced intense persecution during the rise of Communism in China, who penned a popular and scandalous memoir and then suffered a mental breakdown. This left her only daughter, Rose, a student at an elite boarding school with no parental figures and no other family to lean on. Eventually Rose earned a scholarship to an American university and in the end moved her mother into her California home. Sun Yi haunted that home during the author's own childhood. The unexamined trauma and codependency of Sun Yi and Rose drove the author to the extreme edges of the Earth, seeking freedom from their ghosts. But in the end, she stopped running from her family history and turned, instead, to face it. Shelve this book with Maus, Fun Home, Persepolis and The Best We Could Do. Re-read it for a second time and got even more out of it on a second pass.

Delicious in Dungeon vol 8 by Ryoko Kui

Laios and company realize that their encounter with changling mushroom rings had more consequences than they'd realized- its the body swap episode! This visual humor is contrasted against increasing dangers from both above and below, as nastier monsters and political machinations begin to close in on our heroic adventuring party. I'm now over halfway through this series and almost feel like I should start reading it more slowly to savor it, but I'll probably just keep devouring it instead.

Lunar New Year Love Story by Gene Luen Yang and Leuyen Pham

High school senior Val grew up knowing her family was unlucky in love; for generations, relationships in her family have ended in heartbreak. Her childhood love of Valentines Day ends with a shocking family revelation and what feels like the beginning of a curse. Then her Vietnamese grandmother sweeps her off to a Lunar New Year celebration in downtown Oakland and a pair of cute lion dancer boys catch her eye. Could one of them break the spell on her heart? This story offers a classic and satisfying rom-com, with Val torn between an outgoing, rich, but flaky boy and a broody, shy, loyal one. The story takes several kdrama style twists and includes ghosts, saints, red envelopes, confessions, fights, reunions, tears, and kisses. For a comic, its wordy; the pages are dense with small panels and thick with dialogue, but also illustrated with such warm, humor, and realism. I really liked that the story included as much of Val's relationship with her family and best friend as romance. And the lion dancing scenes practically leap off the page with color and energy!

Witch Hat Atelier vol 10 by Kamome Shirahama

This series remains as visually stunning as ever but I'm struggling with how every single book expands the cast. There are so many characters now that I don't care about that much, and have trouble remembering from volume to volume. I wish the story line would stick more closely to Coco, her classmates, and their main mentors!

Delicious in Dungeon vol 9 by Ryoko Kui

Oh the stories are all converging! The savior at the bottom of the dungeon is probably a demon! Ituzumi saves the day! I am still having a great time reading this series.

A Dowry of Blood by ST Gibson read by Abby Craden 

A short, very queer, very poly retelling of Dracula focusing on his coven of enthralled lovers. I liked the way the book breezed through history, as the dysfunctional little family moved from one major European city to the next, with snatched moments of glittering joy interwoven with violence and plague. The story is fairly simple, and has a happier ending than I expected, or honestly think the characters deserved.

City of Dragons by Robin Hobb

I DNFed the previous book in this series and just read a summary online before skipping ahead to this one. I think that was a very good choice for me. This third one was more engaging and a bit more action packed, with some cool discoveries about the city of Kelsingra and the nature of Elderlings. But the Rain Wild Chronicles as a whole do not stand up to the quality of the Farseer books. There are so many POV characters that a few of them get only two or three scenes in this whole book. I don't feel that I deeply know any of these characters; while at the same time watching Hobb pair them off at an extraordinary rate- in the last book five sets of characters got together and in this book an additional two couples are developing feelings for each other. Between this and a kidnapping, a birth, a murder, and a lot of blackmail, this series feels like a soap opera.

Delicious in Dungeon vol 10 by Ryoko Kui

Almost two TPKs in this volume, yikes!

Delicious in Dungeon vol 11 by Ryoko Kui

You know shit's getting serious when the character who has been the series main villain up until now is partially devoured by a different, worse villain. Exciting changes coming to this dungeon under it's new lord and master!

Squad by Maggie Tokuda-Hall and Lisa Sterle

When Becca gets invited to sit with the popular girl clique at her new high school, she's thrilled. But the friendship turns bloody and complicated when she learns that her new friends are actually werewolves who need to kill and feed on a human once a month. If she joins them, Becca will gain superhuman strength and a pack; she'll never have to fear a male predator again, because she will be a predator herself. I loved the queer rep and the twist on werewolf lore; I wish it had been a little longer and more developed. Give me multi-page transformations sequences!

Delicious in Dungeon vol 12 by Ryoko Kui

I love seeing all these plot lines come together! Building towards a wild climax.

Delicious in Dungeon vol 13 by Ryoko Kui

I went out and *bought* vol 13 of this series because my library didn't have it yet, that's how hooked I am. And now I have to wait until JULY for the final volume! (But also, thank goodness I didn't get into this series any sooner or I'd have a much longer wait).

#book reviews #books #reading #comics #manga

[animehouse-moe]

Delicious In Dungeon Episode 10: Preparations

With these last two episodes, it's been pretty clear that Trigger has been conserving their best efforts for episode 11. Larger KA lists, more outsourced staff, less experienced leads, sorta the whole 9 yards.

That's not a bad thing, though

I mean, just look at cuts like this one in the episode- the magic's still alive. We still see the quality that exists within the episode despite the relative inexperience of some of the staff.

Similarly, even though Munehiro Tomoyuki is a little experience and has some... questionable storyboard credits, they have some great ideas, like this cut of the Red Dragon. It really establishes the insane scale of the beast, as well as helping draw our attention towards the dragon's weak spot at the crook of its neck and chin.

(also shows off some of the great monster AD work in the episode)

There's really a lot to enjoy and appreciate with the episode, even if it isn't of the insane quality that some might wish it was, and I really enjoy talking about it, so if you want to read more of my thoughts you can find them in a full review of the episode here

#delicious in dungeon #dungeon meshi #ダンジョン飯 #marcille dungeon meshi #marcille donato #marcille dunmeshi #dunmeshi #dungeon meshi anime #laios touden #chilchuck #senshi dungeon meshi #anime #anime and manga #anime staff #studio trigger

[anonymooose]

==== Spoilers for Delicious in Dungeon/Dungeon Meshi! ====

Ok, so, I randomly saw a post by @corvidonia about Falin!Hypnos.

So, I thought to myself, y'know I just started watching too and this seems like a fun mini-project so I started it. Then I subsequently got way too into it and accidently made a whole rendered scene and au concept... welp! It's here now!

For this little crossover Au whatever you wanna call it I did this main drawing but also came up with a bit of background stuff.

In this Meg would be a tall-man paladin in a sort of Chilchuck situation where she's mostly here because it's her job (and bonus, Dusa's here) and she'd be a paladin. Paladin might be an odd choice (?) but I felt it made sense due to her dedication and none of the other martial classes really stuck out to me like paladin.

Zagreus would be the party's Laios of sorts and a fighter tall-man, I imagine that the reason why they went through all the trouble for Hypnos is 50% Zagreus being friends with him and 49% Than not wanting his brother dead and 1% pity. I don't know if there would still be the culinary focus in this Au, probably not, so maybe instead it'd be more about just general monster knowledge. Like Zag and the gang filling out the codex?

Dusa would be a Half-foot, probably the farthest from their Dungeon Meshi inspo character, Senshi, only really sharing the fact that they came into the party late. I imagine that she's kind of in an "I'm the only monster around that has any sentience or emotion??" type situation though I don't really have a worked out reason why. She's also friends with Meg prior to joining and comes because of her.

I translated Thanatos and Hypnos' godhood into having a particular magical ability as elves, so they're elf twins. Than being a sorcerer rouge mostly for the vibes but also because sorcerer powers are innate to their being. Instead of a wand/staff I think he'd just use his scythe as a casting focus. I figure he'd be sort of like a mix of Chilchuck and Marcille, not bound to the party by a job but still kind of obligated to help Hypnos since they're family and all. I don't think he'd be thrilled about having to risk his life to save Hypnos from another screw up though, but he would and I do think he'd be relieved to have him back after the ordeal. (does Falin ever actually 100% come back? I've only watched the anime so idk actually, I like to think Hypnos would here though because I like my happy endings)

Hypnos is obviously the sort of Falin stand-in, but in a very different way I think. I do think he'd be a sort of magic prodigy like Falin but in more of an intuitive way compared to Than/Marcille's book smarts. I definitely think that the connection to the strange would remain but instead of ghosts it'd be personified dreams in the form of something like the Oneiroi. In this Au the starting incident with the monster would be the same but it'd probably be some sort of big bird/sheep to explain the bird/sheep design I went with for the Chimera design and it'd be Than in place of Laios. I also think that he'd be a cleric type situation like Falin sort of is, I like to think he'd excel at healing magic. I do kind of like the idea of Hypnos not being really encouraged to partake in adventuring due to his lack of physical ability but he'd go against that to spend time with Than and try to look out for him. As for Chimeros (As I've been calling it) I think it'd be accompanied by fog from Lethe rather than the harpies in the original and it'd have a similarly blank personality like Faligon (which'd be especially off-putting from him). Added angst potential, I figure his powerset would be very different from Faligon's and revolve around putting everyone to sleep (go figure) and memory erasure, so maybe the main party wouldn't even remember their first encounter with them?

I do actually have ideas for the remaining party, I'll keep it to one bullet though. I think Achille's would be a paladin/fighter or something like that and would be similar to Namari as a weapons expert, probably leaving for a different reason though maybe to join Pat's party? I don't have a particular idea for Shuro's stand-in, maybe switch the Shuro Falin romance thing to Charon Hypnos brotherhood thing and it could work? Idk though.

I did also make a full design for Hypnos as an elf/not Chimeros and here that is. The staff is inspired by actual myth where Hypnos sometimes has a wand dipped in Lethe to induce sleep.

Ramble over!! Congrats if you were able to push through my incessant yapping to actually get here. First Tumblr post btw, who would've thunk it'd be for this. If anyone is interested in using these designs or ideas for art/writing feel free, I'm probably not going to do anything else with this idea but if you want to I'd be very interested in seeing/hearing it! Also, really sorry if this isn't properly spoilered?? I'm not exactly sure what the proper spoiler etiquette is so I tried.

#hades game #hades #hypnos hades #I'm only tagging Hypnos because I'd feel bad tagging any of the others when they're just text snippets and the tops of their heads #I'm crazy #Why did I do this #Finals are coming up and THIS is how I spend my time #Y'know what though? No regrets

[britcision]

Not gonna lie, we’ve been watching YuYu Hakusho alongside the release of Delicious In Dungeon and uh

It’s been illuminating

Like on the one hand hoooooooboy you can taste the 90s animation techniques (and the Netflix version is somehow more strobey and seizure bait, and they’ve fucked random chunks of audio?? I have the dvds I can prove they’ve fucked around)

On the other hand… yeah, it really, really highlights what people have already been talking about with the Delicious In Dungeon - the pacing issues, especially with going shot for shot from the manga instead of embracing their own medium

Cuz I will stand by YuYu Hakusho being the best anime version of a manga I’ve ever seen. It’s true to the manga, but keeps up the pacing and fleshes things out by leaning more into the side characters, and particularly our audience surrogates, Koenma and George

The fights all pace well because we cut to the people watching them, so it’s not just repetitive punch punch punch shots (although we do get those)

Whereas this week’s episode of DunMeshi in particular…. Really suffered from skewed pacing on that fight

They had way too much time just standing around talking, both with the harpies and in between Falin’s attacks, and I’d bet even an anime-only fan could pick out which shots were literal panels in the anime because nothing moved to flow between them

Those shots of the separated groups especially; this is anime, not manga. Those people could have been moving, interacting, doing things instead of panning over a still

I get that it takes more time and money but this was a really significant fight and it does make me worry a little for season 2, because the red dragon fight also had some pacing problems (although to a much lesser degree) and season 2 is when the combat pops off

I really do appreciate them wanting to do a faithful interpretation of the manga and sticking close to Ryoko Kui’s vision, but anime is its own medium and by sticking too closely they’re not taking full advantage of that medium

You have more time to fill in an animated episode vs a manga chapter because your characters literally move and flow, and three panels of action happen in a second

They’ve been folding two or three chapters into each episode, but this week’s especially (ep 17) really played too close to that two chapter timeline, instead of taking out the important story beats and the time to fill and working out how to pace around that instead

(Funnily enough though, they actually nailed the exact same kinda pacing issue in the exact same episode for the Laios and Shuro fight; that one was fucking great, it was clear that action was ongoing even while we focused on other people, and it had good weight and emphasis despite being largely offscreen, just like the harpy fight should have been

I. Guess. They coulda put more work into that than the Falin fight? Cuz it’s a huge character moment but for fuck’s sake Chimera!Falin SHOULD be the bigger one! We the audience got hints but this was the REVEAL)

Honestly just… the 1000% disinterest in the harpy fight was jarring, and it leading immediately into the Falin fight that was basically stop motion without the time lapse didn’t help

Cutting to Marcille and Shuro on the shirt tear was fucking great though, chef’s kiss, someone out there is still watching over us, I just hope they work out a happy medium soon

I get that there’s lots of iconic and fantastic panels in the manga, I made a complete summary of every single chapter, but the anime shouldn’t be showing them as stills

The characters should be moving in between them, not snapping from one face to the next like a slide show

In a perfect world I’d also love some more little character asides and things a la YYH, but there just isn’t the same easy audience characters to cut to

But but but

Thistle reacting a la Koenma to some snippets of the bullshit in his dungeon would give me fucking LIFE he can’t be watching all the time for obvious plot reasons but I want him to find a veggie golem

I want him to see the kraken and find some leftovers and be searching for Delgal and plotting their dinner and wondering why he can smell something delicious and what is it and can he make that

Move the background stuff that got cut from the Tances’ episodes, cut to Namari and the twins hanging out and talking about leg guards, there’s SO MUCH supplemental material

It might be less one for one to the manga but it’d stop the weird dragging out and give us something more, something extra to appreciate the anime on its own merits

It’s nice to have an anime experience that is very close to reading the manga, but it’s something really special to have the anime shine and add to the experience on its own

Anyway next week is the shapeshifter and I’m so hype for that and wondering if they are gonna include just a smidge of meta knowledge since Kui did tell us whose impersonations are whose 👀

#dungeon meshi #delicious in dungeon #dungeon meshi spoilers #delicious in dungeon spoilers #yuyu hakusho #yu yu hakusho #dungeon meshi anime #spoilers for ep 17 of delicious in dungeon

[fanvoidkeith]

sooooo i may have. spent my day binge watching dungeon meshi and here are my Opinions, having never read the manga ever (very MINOR ANIME SPOILERS ahead! nothing too in-depth but, y'know, for laughs):

laios is my autistic blorbo son boy and i love him and i want him to be happy. go find your sister, dude, but also eat monsters for fun and research reasons. this is the one context where i would say "eat monsters" like... ever

laios is also 1,000 percent a freak for wanting to eat monsters and study them the way he does. absolutely insane man. stop trying to be a martyr, you dumbass, and also stop poisoning yourself. both of these opinions coexist at the same time and i don't know how to feel about it because feelings (and social cues) are difficult

marcille is a lady who is so so SO smart and cool, but has absolutely ZERO street smarts. (babygirl you are JUST like me, except for the whole "being a woman" thing.) she's a "gifted" kid who now has burnout and needs to feel useful or else she feels like a failure constantly kinda girlie. she doesn't want to be abandoned. relatable. i'm concerned at how much i relate to her. stop being so relatable, dammit!!

chilchuck is INCREDIBLY emotionally constipated. lmao. he also has chronic young-forever face, which means he probably gets mistaken for a twelve-to-sixteen-year-old constantly, which... same, dude, same. i've heard (from the manga readers) that he's divorced with several children, but i don't know if that's true. i hope it is. i really want that to be where part of his issues come from. i want more angsty moments with his character. he'll be my new emotional punching bag when i finish all those other unrelated one-shots i'm planning on writing :)

senshi is a sweet man who just wants to feed and protect his new friends. i think food and acts of service are his love languages. he has a really fuckin' strong pot and knife for some reason lmao

i love falin. she's kind of a freak too, but she knows social cues better than her brother from what i can tell. sure hope nothing bad happens to her- oh gods. well, i sure hope nothing ELSE bad happens to her- OH GODS OH FUCK-

uhhhh. i like that the kobolds in this anime are dog-people. i love dogs. dogs are cool. very cute. 12/10 decision honestly

this anime made me so hungry but i still forgot to eat for most of today. rip. the food in dungeon meshi looks goddamn delicious though, so it's fine

sometimes these characters act just like a D&D party would. like. damn. this is just like that ONE TIME in dungeons and dragons when our party did [X action] and then [Y consequences] happened-

oh my goddddddssss there's ECOSYSTEMS IN THE DUNGEONS??? DUDE I LOVE THAT. CRAZY CONCEPT. FUCKING LOVE THAT. ADVENTURERS AND MONSTERS AND CREATURES (and senshi, who is his own category) ARE PART OF AN ECOSYSTEM. I'M CLIMBING UP THE WALLS AND GOING INSANE RN

oooohhhh shit politics. oh shit background politics that our main characters ignored. no wonder they focused on this other party lol

OH SHIT OTHER CHARACTERS FROM THEIR BACKSTORIES RRRRRAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH

oh yeah i guess this is about whoever gets the big treasure at the bottom of the dungeon or whatever if they defeat the Big Bad or something? okay dude. it's only relevant to me when it's relevant to my New Blorbos honestly. but i WILL jot that down though :eyes emoji:

look. i am NOT calling it "delicious in dungeon". i KNOW that's the creator's intended english translation, but personally i think that title sucks. so DUNGEON MESHI it is, for me personally

PLEASE give me the second season right now i need MORE. i'm slurping up this show like soup and i'm fucking HOMGRY!!!

okay that's it that you for comjng to my ted talk

#void keith talks #dungeon meshi #dunmeshi #delicious in dungeon #dungeon meshi anime #delicious in dungeon anime #late night thoughts #late night rambling #void keith rambles #anime stuff #show stuff #tv show stuff

[jariten]

May-July 2023 roundup

Okay little by little preparing for regular posting on this blog to resume and thought I'd start with catching up on the roundups!

Midori no Uta by Taiwanese Yan Gao, who first garnered attention for illustrating the original Japanese edition of Haruki Murakami's Abandoning a Cat: Memories of my Father, tells the story of college student Lü after she moves to Taipei for university. There she spends less time on academic pursuits and more on music live shows. She then meets Nanjun, an amateur musician who shares his love of music with her. This leads her on a trip to Japan to look for the band Happy End's album Kazemachi Roman, which leads her to an instant love for Harumi Hosono and his music, and her first infatuation as she grows closer to Nanjun. This is maybe the first Taiwanese comic I've ever read and I loved every second of it. The Japanese translation was really great. Beautiful naturalistic cityscapes and I really adored how Lü's emotions were depicted. Everything Yan Gao was referencing was very interesting too. I love a college coming of age too. I really really hope someone takes the initiative to license it and that she gets another tankobon out soon.

Mermaid Scales and the Town of Sand by Yoko Komori was also a lovely little coming of age, although at an elementary school level. I really want even more understated but impactful stories like this on the english market and I'm really happy this one got licensed despite its age (it first came out in 2013). And speaking of more understated stories, Frieren by Kanehito Yamada and Tsukasa Abe is soooooo good. Def a worthy comparison to a series like Delicious in Dungeon with how it is an earnest fantasy that decides to approach the staples of the genre from a novel perspective, altho I love how the atmosphere and tempo is completely different, really recommend for anyone who likes more low energy or relaxing stories. And PLEASE anime fans please watch the adaption when it premieres this fall!!!

I also in this period really enjoyed reading Ai ga Areba Ii no da by Ikuemi Ryou. This year I've read so much text heavy manga so reading one with a lot of silent panels and textless sequences was so refreshing, and really moved Ikuemi up on my priority list, I'm really looking forward to reading more.

Yoko to Tora by Fuyuko Kurosaki was another fun surprise in the sense that honestly when I pick up 4-koma on a whim I don't expect too much (Making Azumanga Daioh my first kinda set the expectations too high), and its no Azumanga but I still found myself wanting to recommend it. Imagine if you will a world where cats are plushie shaped and have the general intelligence of a child meaning they can understand and make themselves understood to humans without speaking, they go to school, and have friends they like to hang out with. This is the world of Yoko and Tora and all of their friends. Much like Chiikawa its the little world building details that elevate it from just another cutesy comedy. But don't get me wrong it is a cutesy comedy.

On a whole other track, Keimusho no Naka by Kazuichi Hanawa (licensed as Doing Time back in 2004), was a really fascinating depiction of life in prison as told by a man who had to do time over illegal weapon possession charges. The vivid details of the interior of the prison and the oppressive routines they had to endure from the people who run it was very enlightening. Not to mention Hanawa's artistic talent is like, crazy to me.

I'm still not making promises but posting on here is something that I want to do, so I'd like to ask if there's a preference to consistent posting (queue running consistently over the span of weeks) or if occasional sporadic bursts (queue runs inconsistently or just for a couple of days at a time) is fine too

#recommendation corner #my scans #frieren cover i had to download bc i borrowed it from the library #long post