Come in

I like these guys

when the sunbeam hits JUST right

If Flertom had long hair as a child…

patchwork chil

Kabru’s confession

After learning that Kabru had lied about being interested in monster cuisine in order to get closer to him, Kabru apologizes to Laios for lying (something we’d never seen him do before), and Laios in turn is regretful that he had made him uncomfortable. On the surface they don’t seem like big transgressions, but they had unintentionally hurt each other in ways that actually affected them very deeply (Kabru hadn’t known about Laios having had trouble making friends his whole life, and Laios hadn’t known about Kabru’s monster trauma when he so eagerly gave him monster food).

Shortly afterwards, Kabru simultaneously admits and realizes why he had truly wanted to get close to Laios:

In this moment, Kabru has reached a point where he’s desperate enough that, instead of another clever lie, he ends up blurting out the truth. And it’s a piece of information about himself that he wasn’t even aware of - he had become so good at lying that he didn’t even know his own true feelings anymore.

And how do we know it’s the truth? Because Kabru has done and said all sorts of things way wilder than this in order to get closer to achieving his goals, without ever reacting this way afterwards. He’s never been shocked or embarrassed at hearing himself come up with all sorts of lies before, it was just a means to an end, and he had been willing to do whatever it took to put an end to the cycle of dungeons and the destruction they caused.

(continued under the cut)

Thinking about a certain scene in Dungeon Meshi that completely encapsulates the Autistic experience of making friends as an adult and how hard it is to try and navigate it without ending up getting hurt.

Like IDK about y'all, but this is a common problem ALOT of Autistic Adults face when trying to make friends with other people, because unlike children who aren't good at keeping their opinions to themselves, Adults ARE. In society, we're even encouraged to "keep the peace" "be polite" and etc, which commonly leads to awful scenarios as shown above when Laois finds out his buddy has come to resent who Laois is without actually telling him. All too often the friends that we love to hang out with, people that we're so happy to spend time with, don't feel the same way and in many cases, come to blame us for our social cues or lack thereof.

And when/if we do eventually find out how our friend feels, Dungeon Meshi hits us with another painful panel of how that usually ends up playing out.

It's hard for Adults with Autism to make friends, and even harder to maintain them because alot of the ways Neurotypicals tell other Neurotypicals that they don't like a certain behavior is by quietly disengaging. Whether that involves having one sentence answers, going quiet, or having a certain tone in their voice, all those things signal annoyance or disapproval, but for the Neurodivergents, those subtle cues are completely missed.

And yet when we inevitably discover we DID do something, it is natural to ask "well why didn't you tell me?" because in our minds, it should've been the next step in the equation. However for the Neurotypicals, that's NOT something to bring up. Its important to be SUBTLE about the issue at hand and rely on signals to tell the other person. Blame is placed on us for not noticing the "obvious" signs of disapproval rather than the idea of talking it out as such things are uncomfortable and harder to do. Alot of the time what ends up happening is resentment due to the idea that it was "obvious" and the fact one didn't notice indicates a deliberate ignorance rather than a complete unawareness. It ends up calling into question our quality as a person and our sincerity. We get called "fake" or "malicious" or even "stupid" for failing social cues rather than questioning the decision to be indirect and vague.

For a manga about exploring the dungeon, it seems that the artist would rather explore very real and prevalent dynamics in society with the adventuring premise as a backdrop. I felt VERY seen in these panels, and many others, because it happens so suddenly and dare I say it, plainly. There's no dramatic build-up or spectacle made and in essence, it just Happens.

I think that's what makes the scene hit even harder. It seemingly comes out of nowhere for Laois, like how it always comes out of nowhere for alot of people, and it's never a dramatic twist either. It's always mundane and hurtful. A sudden unforeseen bump in the road that ends up calling into question one's entire friendship with someone and consequent other friendships. It asks "what if other friends feel the same. What if the people that I really like actually hate me and I don't know it?" Or at least that's what I came away with after reading the chapter. I've been where Laois was and the only reason I'm not there now is because I lost the naivete I had and doubt everyone else's sincerity.

thanks dungeonmeshi

This is fucking haunting holy shit. Oh my god. What the fuck.

do you think she remembers him

I turn to Ares.

⚔️ If you want to read some queer retelling of arturian legends have a look at my webtoon

little scene from If I Please You by @moorishflower done with traditional inks then scanned and colored :)

inks under cut!

modern au but set in brisbane. is this anything

I love the variety of looks between members of the same race that is displayed in Dungeon Meshi. THIS IS HOW IT SHOULD BE DONE!

Edit (17.02.2024):

HOLY SHIT I FORGOT ABOUT DWARVEN CHART! I have no idea how I did because I'm pretty sure I saved all charts on my desktop before posting them. I guess tumblr didn't process the image and it got lost.

I love dwarves, how could I forget about them? D:

girldad + trzy z requestów proste małe portrety bo było ich dużo xd

lesbian(s)

kabru the homewrecker