#i’m so normal about this actually

[snoopyracing]

oscar and lando after the 2024 austrian sprint race

[precinct57]

Kisses, kisses, kisses.

[me1-atonin]

SO YOURE TELLING ME THAT EMPIRES 1 SAUSAGE DIDNT DIE DURING THE SACRIFICE AND SPENT HIS ENTIRE LIFE TRYING TO BRING PEARL BACK BUT HE DIED WITH HER BRINGING HIM TO THE AFTERLIFE AND EVENTUALLY SENDING HIM TO ALSMP AND THEN BRINGING HIM TO HER AFTER HIS TEN LIVES WER UP AND THEN SENDING HIM TO EMPIRES 2 WITH NO MEMORY OF ALL OF THAT AND HE PROBABLY HAS MEMORY FRAGMENTS OF HER BEING AN ANGEL WHICH IS WHY HE DEIFIES HER

[mangozic]

archivist be upon ye

[acetier]

i'm So Normal about him

((close ups under cut bc idk he's pretty asdsfksdf))

[shepscapades]

Your highness… I don’t feel so good

[pollyanna-nana]

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.

[k1tty5]

another design for the au i’m working on (cough cough thinking about)

[insomniac-dormouse]

Their descent into madness is everything to me actually

I love him so fucking much

[greendraws]

and no matter what anyone thinks about it, he never gets to hurt anybody ever again!!!!!!

[kotdish]

I’ve always been a blu scout has freckles truther✊

[precinct57]

Sea, swallow me.

First post, woohoo!

[luminarai]

Attempting to get the beast used to a dental hygiene routine is… well, it’s going.

(She stayed that way for a solid 8 seconds despite hating being held belly up so I think it’s safe to say that Mim is not beating the ‘tiny speaker playing elevator music instead of a brain’ allegations any time soon.)

[ricky-mortis]

Hnnnnnng… long hair Ted

[acearchivist359]

[theaceofshovels]

I regret to inform you that after finishing the show + dr in just over 2 months, I don’t think my brainrot for this series is going away any time soon 😔