One of the most tragic and compelling aspects of Dunmeshi, to me, is that we’ll probably never know (unless Kui tells us lol) how Delgal actually felt about Thistle. I’ve seen people say that he genuinely cared for him as a brother and his journey to the surface was to save him from his madness as much as it was his people. I’ve seen people say that he saw Thistle as nothing more than a fancy accessory or tool that ended up going astray. Others I’ve seen (and personally agree with) say that the truth lies somewhere in the middle. But honestly, I think any one of these interpretations has the potential to be correct… and that’s just heartbreaking.
After all, Delgal is dead. Like, dead-dead. The very first chapter of the manga starts with his spirit leaving this mortal coil, taking that answer with him. And…
How he talks about Thistle here… it’s interesting. He does not ask for him to be talked down, or captured or imprisoned, but instead “defeated”. Which Mithrun interprets as asking for his death… which is reasonable, because that’s likely how the vast majority of adventurers interpreted his words, too. Obviously as he was crumbling to dust he probably didn’t have the capacity to be particularly verbose or explain the complex backstory to how the kingdom ended up this way, but the effect is the same no matter how he may have felt with it. He asked for Thistle to be killed.
But… even in situations where he wasn’t under any such time limit to explain what was going on, he still seemed not to. Most glaringly:
Yaad seemingly has no idea that it was Delgal’s fault that Thistle sought the demon’s power. Obviously he couldn’t talk to him about it because Thistle was, uh, a little out there by that point, but why didn’t Delgal explain? Was he embarrassed? Mournful? Couldn’t find the words?
Delgal was scared of dying. He wanted prosperity at any cost, and how could Thistle possibly refuse? Did he even realize that what he was the one who pushed his own brother— One who basically helped raise him despite being a child himself, and in many ways is still a child— down this path? Or was it like watching an overzealous employee misinterpret directions?
The way Yaad describes things here makes it sound like Thistle simply dug too deep in his studies and fell into madness, but we know that’s not true. Delgal didn’t “suggest” he learn magic, he wanted a mage who could help himself and his people defy death, which he admits to Thistle openly:
So, why? Why not tell his grandson, at least, the truth of the matter? Did he worry it might make the remaining residents more likely to upset Thistle, and therefore suffer the consequences? Did he just not care? For what it’s worth though, Yaad does suspect the truth from Delgal’s behavior.
He “always blamed himself” for his descent into the dark arts. This is just Yaad’s observation, and that’s without knowing that it was quite literally Delgal’s fault Thistle went down this path. So, why? Why was it all kept a secret?
Of course, this made things ripe for the winged lion to manipulate to its advantage. Clearly despite knowing he’d pushed him into using it, Delgal still thought the lion was a force of good that was misused by Thistle as a result of his madness. His face in that last panel is particularly haunting. He looks terrible, gaunt and pale with overgrown hair and missing teeth. Had he gone mad, with grief and sorrow, as well?
Could he no longer see Thistle the way he did when they were younger? No one can ask him, because he died long before the story even began.
To go back to the original question, well, how did Delgal see Thistle? None of the previous points make a definitive answer any clearer, and I think that’s just brilliant. And so, so tragic.
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Mistletoe Kiss
Art I commissioned from @rosenkranz-does-things
WHAT IF I STARTED CRYING. WHAT THEN. LOOK AT THEM THEY'RE SO PERFECT. UGHHH, the dress Vastra is wearing is so perfect, and the lil stars sprinkled all over! The matching necklace and earrings for them! Their scrunkly blushing faces! They're so close, HUAHHHHH! HAVE I MENTIONED JENNY'S HAIR!!! Gosh it's so fucking gorgeous, Roz! It's so bouncy and looks so soft <3 Vastra's scales!!!! Holy fuck, the level of detail in themmmmm! Also the blue of Jenny's waistcoat and the red of Vastra's dress!? Mwah <3 Also. Mistletoe. Mistletoe kiss. I am such a sucker for it, yes it's cliché, no I don't care. it's GORGEOUSSSS! I love everything about this and I am sobbing I love it T_T Thank you so much, Roz! (also, go commission them, they're like. really, really skilled. As you can see. They're amazingggg)
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“When the show started, Kieran could do two alternate lines, and he would panic. He can now do five pages. It’s been a great privilege in many, many ways to see him come into his own, and how much this has meant to him. It’s harder for him to finish this show than it is for me because I’ve done this many times. This is a very important career point in his life and I wish him all the best and I wish him to go on, because I think he’s an extremely gifted young man.” - Brian Cox
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