#what hes learned about monsters in the dungeon and build on it in ways he wouldnt have looked at prior

[gothmods]

Maybe its because for most of the story senshi thinks chilchuck is a child maybe its because chilchuck's divorce is not as cut and dry as them no longer loving each other or even disliking each other

But i cant get into the senshi/chilchuck ship....

There is just no wind in the sails so to speak

[mayasaura]

It really dawned on me watching episode 17, just how important this sequence of events is to Kabru and Laios' relationship, and how. Well. That's for a different post. I want to keep this one free of spoilers. (Certified Safe For Anime Only™)(There are spoilers for episode 17, tho. Obviously.)

Kabru's main concern has been, at least in part, revealed. He wants to figure out if Laios is capable of defeating the dungeon, and, if so, if Laios can be trusted with the power that might confer. The answer to his first question is simple. Yes. If anyone can defeat the dungeon, it's Laios.

The second question is where things get interesting. Can Laios be trusted with power?

In the aftermath of Laios' first fight with Toshiro, Kabru learns that while Laios has no particular respect for the law or conventional wisdom, he does have the humility to consider that his judgment might be flawed if he encounters conflict with someone he respects.

That is the face of a man taking notes, and I think he's making a cautious mark in Laios' favor. Laios doesn't really understand Toshiro's opinion, but he's listening.

Then, in the fight with the Falin-Dragon chimera, Kabru voices dissent—disgust, even—with Laios and Marcille's priorities.

You can practically see the Dragon Age style approval rating drop. Kabru disapproves. Minus fifteen hearts. If it had ended like this, I think Kabru would have lost all interest in Laios. Someone who would sacrifice a dozen lives out of sentiment can't be trusted.

Laios' response, and the way it builds on Kabru's earlier observation, is crucial.

He listened. And even better, he didn't listen blindly. He applied critical thought to Kabru's argument. What Kabru hears from him isn't just "I'm sorry, you were right," but also, "I understand and respect your position and priorities, and here's a very good argument for why killing what I still consider to be my sister is not in our best interest."

He processed Kabru's criticism and came to his own conclusions, and he did it fast. Not only that, but he's right. Kabru hadn't considered the potential consequences of killing the chimera.

Laios proved in this one exchange that he 1) isn't blinded by either his pride or his prejudice, 2) has the strength of character to not just fall back and surrender to someone else's judgment when he's uncertain, and 3) is smart enough to tactically outhink Kabru.

This is why Kabru is so invested in Laios liking him that he forces himself to eat the harpy omlette. This is why Kabru takes Laios' hand and makes sure he knows he wants to see him again. He doesn't understand Laios, and he still has strong reservations about him. Laios' interest in monsters scares him. But Laios has proved to Kabru that he might be capable of being the person Kabru needs him to be.

Top Ten Pictures Of The Moment He Won You Over (Taken Just Before Disaster).

[britcision]

Some motherFUCKER called Marcille’s practical magic skills questionable and Tumblr refreshed before I could finish reading the goddamn post

(Very good points otherwise about Laios’ general party makeup and Kabru’s interpretations of this I wanna see the rest 👀)

And listen

LISTEN

Full graduate of magic academy, renowned researcher, Learned Every Single Spell She Ever Used For The Dungeon Overnight, WENT TOE TO TOE WITH THE LITERAL DUNGEON LORD ON SPELLS NO ONE HAS SEEN BEFORE WHILE SAID DUNGEON LORD IS ACTIVELY CONNECTED TO INFINITE MAGIC Marcille Donato

Marcille Donato did fucking nothing to deserve being questioned like this

Her practical DUNGEON skills are a little questionable (she did die her first time out) but that’s because she’s still running the standard rulebook everyone Except Laios and Senshi have been using like “bring own rations” and “do not worry for health and safety of monsters”

She’s even better at explaining magic to Laios specifically, because Falin tried and failed at that preseries and Marcille gives him a single lesson and he can do healing spells

She doesn’t perform support and healing the same way Falin does because she’s a combat caster, not a support, and her main job is Explosions and DPS - that’s why they have two casters in the same group, they have different specialties and yeah, she’s being treated as interchangeable by her party because she can also cast the spells outside of her specialty

(Also the way Falin does her healing spells is actually super unsafe so it’s not even that Marcille can’t heal the same way it’s an intentional choice not to)

Marcille UNDERSELLS her competence significantly but because literally no one else in the current party understands magic even a little

(And before that only Falin ever did understand)

They just assume she’s bragging instead

She’s literally in the process of planning to build her own dungeon From Scratch as a fucking experiment to see what makes the immortality magic work

Not a tiny sprite dungeon. Full thing.

This is literally the problem with her practical dungeon skills, she thinks of all the monsters and threats of the dungeon as configurable challenges; she’s playing Rollercoaster Tycoon but the show is playing Slime Rancher

Tbh I think she and Shuro are the two highest levelled characters from the old party, and they’re both at least 5-10 levels above the others - Shuro is always the kill shot, Marcille is the nuke

[chamomilewrittingblock]

Solo Leveling Brainrots

Fellow Jinwoo Simps I need your thoughts and opinion!! Also MASSIVE brainrot warning!!!

QUESTION: How do you think Jinwoo would react to his partner questioning his taste in lovers? (ie. Being interested in Reader themselves)

How id imagine the confession would go: Jinwoo, pre-awakening: I like you *holds bouquet of flowers Reader, confused: um! *looks around to see if he's talking to someone behind them before pointing at themselves confused*... me? Jinwoo: Yes, You. Reader, Shocked: oh! Um... I like you too... but *hesitates* are you sure? About me??

The feeling is mutual!!! It's just his lover doesn't have alot of confidence in themselves. Or any confidence into getting a romance with anyone, let alone Jinwoo!! Reader feels like they have ZERO RIZZ (reader has enough rizz to woo Jinwoo so...).

Like would he hype them up???? Mayhaps but in subtle ways though I'd imagine🤔🤔. You think he'd be extra affectionate when reader gets shy??? Would this differ pre and post awakening?? (I imagine Jinwoo and reader wouldn't want the relationship public due to safety since hes a hunter and all)

AND WHAT ABOUT HIS POST AWAKENING GLOWUP AND THE FANS!!! READERS ALREADY SHY BUT THE TABLOID EVENTUALLY CHIPS AT THE SLOWLY BUILT CONFIDENCE JINWOO HELPED BUILD.

OHMYGOSH WHAT ABOUT THE TABLOIDS WITH CHA HAE-IN???? WOULD HE GET WORRIED SINCE READER MIGHT GET INSECURE OR JUST KINDA SAD???

WHAT IF READER TELLS HIM THAT HE DESERVES BETTER, BELIVJNG THAT READWR DOESNT DESERVE HIS LOVE?? AAAA OUCHHHH.. I GUESS HE HAS TO STAY WITH READER AND REMIND THEM OF HIS UNWAVERING LOVE WITH CUDDLES AND QUALITY TIME DJBDBFIDN

(reader is Jinwoo's ride-or-die, the monarch of his heart and soul, the love reader gives him is like comfort of warm soup at the end of the day, the kind that soothes even the deepest of wounds. Reader's love is also a drug, one that he cant get enough of. If he loses reader, Jinwoo would go insane.)

AUDBUDBDIBD HOLY!!!! WOULD HE GET PISSED ABOUT IT AND ENDS UP GETTING CLINGY IF CRAZY SHIPPERS TRYING TO PUT READER IN DANGER IE. SENDING A MONSTER READER'S WAY BECAUSE OF THEM BEING A "THREAT" TO THEIR SHIP (HIM AND CHA HAE-IN)??? I MEAN LIKE GUIDE THE MONSTER SPECIFICALLY AWAY FROM THE DUNGEON TO READERS LOCATION TOO. (TO THE EXTENT THAT ITS CLEARLY FOUL PLAY)

LIKE THANK THE MONARCHS THAT READER HAD SHADOWS ASSIGNED AND MAYBE WAS DECENTLY RANKED AFTER AWAKENING BUT IT COULD HAVE ENDED AWFUL IF THE FATES WERENT ON READERS SIDE!!

WOULD HIS ARMY GET PROTECTIVE TOO?? IGRIS??? BERU??? LIKE HOW DARE THESE FOOLS HARM THEIR MONARCHS BELOVED?!?!?!? 😡😡EVEN WORSE IS IF READER WORMED THEIR WAY INTI THEIR HEARTS BY GENUINELY GETTING TO KNOW THEM SO ITS PERSONAL NOW TOO!!

Reader has to calm down not only a PISSED jinwoo but his Shadows too (mainly Jinwoo though)!! And maybe being the only reason Jinwoo hadn't gone on a rampage after everything setted. Was he bribed with a heated makout session and plenty of cuddles afterwards to temper his rage and soothe his anxiety, yes. Did it work??? Probably. If it did??That's none of our buisness.

Id imagie Cha Hae-in would feel bad™ if they found out about Jinwoo and reader (just assuming the two being best friends)?? Being like "oh shit someone, a civilian no less, almost died because of her fans" Even worse if later on she learns that they're together aaaaa

But like seriously, what a messed up reminder of the power S-Rank Hunter have on the media. Yes, they know about their celebrity status affecting what they can or can't do but like this??? A whole different level, because yes, people targeting other?? Awful? Yes, but its fine. Using a MONSTER FROM A DUNGEON to target a CIVILIAN?? This is a whole new level of messed up.

Would the other S-ranks and National-ranked hunters feel like kinda bad too once they hear about it??

what the fuck??? For the following reasons:

No one deserves that

Its a civilian going against fans that are most likely hunters, the very individuals hunters are ment to protect from monsters ever since the dungeons appeared

THE HUNTERS USED A HIGH RANKED MONSTER TO TARGET A CIVILIAN (the mutual enemy internationally)

this was all done because PEOPLE BEING ENTITLMENT OF THE RELATIONSHIPS OF THE S-RANK HUNTERS.

This is furthur solidified and makes the WHOLE DEBACHLE worse because only EXPERIENCED hunters would have the knowledge and experince to be able to lure a monster from a dungeon break to a specific location, especially if reader wasn't even near the dungeon in the first place.

(For anyone who's read this all the way, thanks for reading my silly thoughts!)

[loriache]

Thistle & Senshi: Missed Connections

continuing my thistleposting... here is my manifesto for thistle and senshi: friends. In another life 😥

For one thing, they've been unknowing cohabitants for most of senshi's life. thistle doesn't think much of the non-golden kingdom residents of the dungeon, of course - he considers them trespassers and thieves! but there is a difference between trespassers and thieves who mind their own business, and even help keep other adventurers out (he obviously knew about and tolerated the orcs), and trespassers and thieves who make a mess of his dungeon (hateful, to be killed).

which I can't blame him for!

Based on what it looks like when marcille became the dungeon lord, we could assume that creating a dungeon is super easy - just rely on the winged lion for everything! But we see in thistle's flashbacks, that isn't how he did it.

Thistle did a lot of the work of building the dungeon manually. Perhaps because he was trying to build a sustainable dungeon, that could support a large population of living people - who he was invested in surviving themselves, not being replaced by puppets by the demon. They need a functioning ecosystem!

Of course, this is all pragmatic. After working on it for so long, I am sure Thistle is attached to the dungeon and its ecosystem, but more as a means to an end than for its own sake. As we see from the way that Laois defeats him, Thistle isn't really interested in monsters, and doesn't really understand the value of food...

Though I think he once did, and the fact he doesn't anymore is more down to the lion's interference than anything.

Senshi is attached to the dungeon's ecosystem. It's his home, even though he lost his family there, and he's come to care about it in its own right.

There are aspects of it he finds distasteful or dislikes, such as the immortality spell. But overall, if he had a chance to talk to Thistle about his hard work building up and maintaining the dungeon, he'd be greatly appreciative of it - this is his home, and it's a place that Thistle made to be a home.

In fact, Senshi (and the orcs) have been willingly living in the dungeon. Whereas the people that Thistle created the dungeon for have to be kept there by force. I doubt it's something he'd be easily appreciative of, but it's something, isn't it?

I also think it's incredibly cute that they both keep diaries.

Senshi's diaries have drawing, Thistle's have poems... they're both artists! Thistle with his music & Senshi with his cooking, they both have arts that they share with others to make them happy, and art that they keep to themselves.

Based on the diaries, including the ones in the complete Adventurers Bible..... it doesn't seem like Senshi ever learned Thistle's name! This makes sense since they really don't have much interaction - mostly Thistle talks to Laios or Marcille.

I don't think it should have gone any other way, since they're the protagonists and foils, but I do think in a more chilled out setting, Senshi and Thistle could get on.

Like Izutsumi, Thistle's a bit of a brat.

(I love him)

He probably had good table manners once upon a time, but I reckon he is very out of practice.

And we see he isn't in the habit of sharing:

Senshi would disapprove!

Senshi's desire to get everyone living well can be a bit overbearing. He already cleaned Thistle's kitchen for him!

But like Izutsumi, Thistle is another character that Senshi's habit of assuming non-dwarves to be children would be appropriate for. He's much older than Senshi, yeah, but his maturity levels seem to have stagnated along with his physical form in some ways. I doubt that anyone has treated him like a kid since way before he became a dungeon lord. The humans around him didn't understand his age, we can see that from the responsibility Delgal puts on him!

I think it would be good for him to have a person in his life who treats him like a kid, after he's had to be an adult so early and have so much responsibility for so long. And I'd like him to sit down and eat a delicious meal.

Sometimes that does happen! But Senshi would have done better </3

Thistle's ending is sad, but it's cathartic and makes sense. After being consumed by the winged lion, I doubt he'd be able to persist for a little longer, like Yaad - why would he even want to?

But I do think it would be nice if he could have met new people, formed new desires outside of his codependency with Delgal, and eaten a meal together with new people. Senshi could have helped him with that, if he had had the opportunity.

[prismatoxic]

one day I hope kui releases a mini comic that finalizes chilchucks and his wifes separation (ie like she did with shuro/falin whole marriage thing) cause honestly they're better off apart but still amicable. and plus like 4-years is a long time and people change, I feel the opportunity to 'fix' things has been long shut. so leave that woman alone and let HER be at the club!

honestly like... my biggest issue with the ship (and this is not a moral issue, nor me saying people cannot ship it) is i feel it goes against the themes of the story

dungeon meshi is often about being changed in ways you cannot revert, and learning to live your new life rather than fight to go back to how you once were

i do think chilchuck talks to her. i think he takes marcille's advice to heart. but i also think it's too late, and she's moved on, and he will too. maybe it's more for closure than anything. "i'm sorry i hurt you; i hope life finds you well."

laios can't interact with the monsters he so loves anymore, but with all he's learned from the situation, he can build a nation where people never go hungry. senshi can never change what happened to his friends, but he did eventually stumble into new ones who helped to heal what ailed him most about the loss. izutsumi cannot ever separate her merged souls, but she's learned how to be the person she is now. marcille will never again desire to care for her hair the way she once did, but her loved ones have stepped in to do it for her. falin will never be fully human again, but honestly, she seems pretty stoked about the changes. mithrun will never regain the desires he used to have, but he will learn how to form new ones. kabru cannot retroactively save utaya, but he now helps rule a kingdom built on the ashes of what destroyed utaya.

so, following that thread down to chilchuck... chilchuck can't ever regain the life he had with his wife, but he can build a new life with his friends and his daughters.

genuinely, people can interpret the text however they want and ship whatever they want, but to me... chilchuck not being able to return to how his life was before is part of what makes dungeon meshi the story that it is.

so... yeah actually some canon confirmation would be cool, but i'm also content with it never being addressed, at this point.

[tearsofthekingdomcountup]

28 Days until Tears of the Kingdom Release!!!!!!! I've spent hours talking with several of my friends about yesterday's trailer. I have so many theories and questions but since I can't have any of them answered until the game comes out, I'll share some of them with you. Instead of posting all of the analysis at once, however, I'll do it in smaller chunks over the next few days. Spoilers below if you wanna avoid trailer stuff.

I mean the first thing I noticed was the Chu-chu (my friend said they are called Slimes in German) fighting the construct. I find it fascinating that these constructs fight other mobs. Did the Zonai build them just to fight monsters or all intruders? What do they register Link as? An invader? I wonder if there is a game mechanic that convinces the constructs not to attack Link or maybe only sentry constructs attack Link and all other constructs must be triggered in a combat trial or something.

This robot is chopping down a tree. I noticed that some of the constructs in the gameplay trailer ignored Link. I'm guessing that these are specifically worker constructs. They remind me of the mining robots in Skyward Sword.

After this I enjoyed the music and Link's awesome dive through the air. I don't have much to say about that except my friend wondered why Link isn't constantly cold all the time if he's that high up. I'm chalking it up to Sky Island magic.

Mushrooms in Hateno. I think some of them are real and others are just decorations. Gives me Minish cap vibes. I wonder if their is a specific mushroom shop or maybe there is a festival going on? Idk maybe the towns people just wanted some color.

TENTS. The way I almost screamed because they are rebuilding. It makes me so emotional to see that the people of Hyrule were rebuilding from the Calamity. To see the Guardians and malice gone from the courtyard is just ugh my heart. My friend hopes that Nintendo lets us explore some of rebuilt Hyrule before things go to shit again and Ganondorf wrecks everything and I agree. However, I have a feeling that Nintendo will not let us explore the half built castle as part of a tutorial before waking up the angry mummy in the basement. I can dream though.

Another look at that spiral shrine thing. I really really want to know what those are. Also lmao looks like a sky island fell and got wedged sideways. I guess its something interesting to look at for the people in Kakariko.

Alright so this structure rising out of the ground in the desert is probably in the Arbiters ground area. I'm not gonna say dungeons confirmed but I've absolutely heard other people say it. I thought it might be related to the structures in Twilight Princess (cough maybe the Twili) but my friend suggested the dungeon in Skyward Sword which also rises from the ground. Either way I'm excited to explore it.

We've seen many shots of the castle rising but I really appreciate seeing the Sheikah here reacting to it as well. It makes the world feel more real and the trailer of course did a great job at including NPCs. I do still wonder what exactly the falling rocks are and why they continue to fall throughout the game.

This figure looks so much like Demise. It's tempting to think that this is Ganondorf considering we see him later in the trailer. However, I'm gonna stick to the idea that we might be seeing both characters. Although, maybe Demise will only be in flashbacks/visions of the past. It would be fun if Ganondorf in the final fight morphs into more of a Demise form.

This one was just cruel. Link is gonna be so devastated at having failed to catch/protect Zelda and he tried so hard. I hope he quickly learns that Zelda isn't dead because he's gonna be racked with guilt either way.

For as much as Nintendo loves showing that they dropped Zelda off a cliff, I'm glad that they showed the yellow glow. Since her hand is glowing I'm wondering if her triforce powers saved her which is certainly a possibility. However, there is another possibility. Zelda looks like she's holding something in her hand. I think that she found the little golden recall stone/tear and when she fell it activated. Time travel is looking very possible.

But that's it for today. Thank you for reading.

[albentelisa]

Hi! So what if Claire was Morgana's daughter but still meets Jim in Arcadia Oaks somehow? She works at the bookstore along with Douxie since he made it a neutral zone for Wizards.

Wow! That's another interesting scenario.

So, in this AU Claire was born in Camelot. She was 13 during the Killahead Bridge battle.

She is not only Morgana's daughter but her apprentice as well. In this AU she has a vambrace like Douxie with her own set of spells. Claire started her apprenticeship rather early, so by the age of 13 she was rather proficient with her magic. Morgana is proud of her daughter and claims she is more talented than her mother.

Claire obviously loves her mother greatly and also shares her views that all magical beings should live freely without being persecuted. She is also more proactive about her views, frequently sabotaging monster hunts and freeing prisoners from her uncle's dungeons. Claire is friends with many non-humans and learned their languages to communicate with them freely.

She had a strained relationship with her uncle as he is cold and distant and unfairly abuses magical creatures. She is also not a big fan of Camelot knights.

Claire openly dislikes Merlin, who is hostile towards her mother, and criticizes Claire herself for sticking to the shadow magic. She finds him arrogant and unlikable. However, Claire likes Douxie a lot because he's kind and funny. She's also one of those rare people who genuinely enjoys his music. Douxie is pretty much her older brother in this AU.

When Morgana changes sides, Claire doesn't believe in her mother's betrayal. She thinks that her uncle and Merlin framed Morgana or perhaps, there was some misunderstanding. She goes to investigate for herself, walking in during the fight and ending on the crossfire. Both Merlin and Morgana think they have killed her, but the clash of magic has actually transported her into the future. Morgana is enraged and even Merlin is regretful (obviously, he doesn't care about Claire but not to the point of being able to kill her just because).

Centuries after and around three years before the beginning of the canon events, Douxie finds Claire in modern Arcadia where she ended after the magic blast. She is lost, greatly confused, and scared, so seeing the familiar face is such a relief for her. Claire settles with Douxie. She asks him what happened to Morgana, but Douxie has no way to know all the details (as he wasn't present).

Initially, she is homeschooled by Douxie, Archie, and Zoe as there's a lot for her to catch up on. Claire is a quick learner so she adjusts to the modern world rather fast, taking some liking to the theatre, punk style, and music. Douxie decides to enroll her in the proper school for some socialization. She befriends Mary and Darci soon enough and joins the school theatre per their suggestion.

Claire is more closed to people in this AU, so she keeps her contacts to min and tells nothing about her magic to her friends. She is also unaware of Jim's existence at first (even though much like in the canon he has a crush on her. Poor Jimbo).

Despite living with Douxie, Claire disagrees with him about a lot of stuff. For example, she refuses to accept that her mother was a villain, and instead blames Merlin and Arthur for everything. She also hopes to find Morgana or at least learn if her mother is still alive.

Meanwhile, Morgana herself is aware that her daughter is alive and somehow has reappeared in the modern era as her shadow magic allows her to sense her. However, she keeps blocking Claire from sensing her - Morgana has already lived through the horror of losing her beloved child, and she will never push her luck again. Her plan is to reunite with Claire once she is free and has managed to build a perfect world for all the magical creatures.

Claire's search for her mother's presence leads her to Jim who has recently found the amulet (as that one contains some of Morgana's essence). Initially, she isn't that nice to him because a)he's a knight wannabe and Claire has a bias about knights and b)he fights for 'the glory of Merlin' which sounds like an insult to her ears. However, Claire understands soon enough that Jim cares about both humans and non-humans unlike her uncle and Merlin, and warms up towards him (up to eventual romance).

Claire gets in some trouble in this AU, because she's a firm defender of changelings even while those are still Gunmar's allies. She was there when Morgana thought out the concept of changeling which was the way for trolls to escape the persecution from humans. Yes, Claire realizes that modern changelings are on the enemy's side, but she insists they had no other choice. She also can tell the changeling apart from a regular human right away, meaning she knows that Strickler and Nomura are one.

Angor Rot is more of Claire's enemy in this AU. He realizes that she is his tormentor's daughter right away. Initially, he thinks that Claire might be able to liberate him, but Claire refuses to acknowledge that her mother took away his soul, thinking that there could be some excuse or explanation. Later, she'll come to terms with the fact that Morgana had actually committed some atrocities, but that will take time and before that, she manages to make Angor her mortal enemy deadset on getting rid of her.

Claire will recover the Shadow staff but will be reluctant to use it at first as she sees it as her mother's weapon and will prefer getting her own. She will resort to using it only when she realizes that her own powers are not enough and her stupid stubbornness actually endangers her friends. While using the staff she gets a momentary glimpse of her mother's presence, but Morgana quickly blocks it. Still, Claire knows that her mom is alive and seemingly rather close.

Claire will be against reawakening Merlin and once he's around she will be barely able to tolerate him. She will find his list of ingredients extremely suspicious (as she knows enough of potions herself to question what exactly he tries to achieve with that one). Merlin, for once, tells her the whole truth (as he feels that he owes her at least something for blasting her into the future). While Claire agrees that Jim needs a power-up, she is vehemently against ruining his everyday life as she knows how much it means for him. Claire is even ready to go against her own hate and cooperate with Merlin to find a different solution, but Merlin refuses because Claire is just 'an incompetent apprentice' and a shadowmancer.

Merlin still tries to manipulate Jim, but Claire barges in, teleporting Jim away. They have a talk without Merlin and Jim isn't sure he can win without sacrificing his regular life. That is where Claire reveals that she has made an elixir of her own, which will allow him to switch between forms, but his troll form will most likely be weaker than the one Merlin's elixir will give him. Still, Claire respects Jim and gives him the choice between her solution and Merlin's (or even picking none). She would hate forcing Jim to do anything and will stay by his side in any case. Jim takes her proposal.

Claire goes to face her mother, hoping to reason with her, but Morgana is bitter and angry, trapping her daughter with shadow magic until everything ends. Claire breaks out in the end and now goes to fight her mom, hoping to beat some common sense into her head. Morgana ends listening and finally realizes that she might have turned no different from her teacher and brother in her methods and releases the Eternal Night spell.

[shamera]

top manhwa reccs this month

So this month I seem to have thrown myself into manhwa, and oh boy I sure read a lot to calm myself down through the holidays. I find that my favourite stories are always the ones that really immerse you, and make you love the characters a lot. So here's the top 3 stories I could not put down until I got to the latest update!

A Stepmother's Märchen

The story of a 16 year old girl who finds herself a widowed stepmother of four with a story spanning across two timelines. In one timeline Shuri von Neuschwanstein grows and struggles to connect with her stepchildren for a decade and ultimately thinks herself a failure when she's told her eldest son doesn't want her at his wedding, only for her to be murdered on the celebratory day. She wakes to find herself eight years in the past newly widowed, determined to this time connect with the children so they won't exclude her from their lives.

Top of the list because I genuinely could not put this down while reading. It's beautiful and emotional and really delves into how family is what you make of it. The characters are all so good and genuinely feel like kids who are struggling on their path to growing up. They are imperfect, immature, make all the wrong decisions, but so very wise at random moments and the misunderstandings (that break my heart) all feel realistic and not at all forced. Gave me Fruits Basket vibes!

2. The Player Who Can't Level Up

Kim Gigyu thought he finally had the chance to give his mother and sister a better life when he became a player with a unique ability... only to spend the next five years struggling to take down the simplest of dungeon monsters, unable to get above lvl1. He chose instead to guide other players so they can get strong, until one day he steps to take the first test of the tower and encounters an Ego for the first time: a sentient sword who will be his partner and level in his stead. With his unique ability 'partner of Egos', he sets out to find other pieces of Ego and unravel the mystery of the tower and just why it appeared in the world.

Normally for this genre I have to read over 100 chapters before they start hinting at the mystery of the world. This one started in chapter 12. It's also refreshing as it has a good balance between fighting and building character relationships as there are plenty of chapters where Gigyu spends time with his family and friends. Also there are great positive male friendships! There are lots of badass girls! The main character talks to other people about his traumas and his worries!! The growth feels plausible and I-- I have a weak spot for the Egos. They are now part of his family, I don't make the rules.

3. Dungeon Reset

Jung Daeun was thought dead after he fell into a death trap, and when others cleared the dungeon floor and moved on to the next, he was still stuck when the floor reset to respawn all the defeated monsters. He had no fighting skills, and instead decided to survive by building a shelter and figuring out a food source. He soon figures out that because players are all moved out of the dungeon when it reset, he's now a glitch in the system with partial immunity to the worst things, but also without the benefits that other players get. After accidentally affiliating with the Dragon of Life, Daeun starts running the dungeon his own way-- by building and farming and learning how to not just survive in a dungeon, but live in it.

aka the one where a Minecraft player is hacking a dungeon Death Game? So fun. It's a pinch of Dr. Stone mixed into a good food anime and dropped onto the dangerous dungeon trope. It's got characters who all end up so human and a main character who is absolutely a little shit doing what he wants aka sure he wants to pass the Dungeon Game and go home, but he's not going to live like an animal while he's doing so. He's going to make good food and have a good bed and take baths and develop hobbies while he's at it. He's going to make friends and learn new things and show that winning isn't all about fighting, but about perseverance and adaptability. Sometimes you don't have to win the fight-- you just have to survive it.

Honorary Mentions (aka I read through it! It was pretty good!):

Trash of the Count's Family

SSS-Class Suicide Hunter

Solo Farming in the Tower

The Lone Necromancer

Return of the Frozen Player

Solo Max-Level Newbie

And then there are series I've read but didn't finish as it didn't appeal to me personally:

My Daughter Is the Final Boss

Leviathan

SSS-Class Gacha Hunter

Tomb Raider King

The World After the Fall

The Beginning After the End

[adamwatchesmovies]

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023)

We’ve come a long way from 2000’s Dungeons & Dragons. Not only in terms of special effects but also in terms of performances, storytelling and most importantly, fun. Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is a blast. There’s humor, memorable characters brought to life by a great cast and an energy that makes you feel like the people on-screen are part of your circle of friends. It truly captures the feeling of a session played with your buddies.

After escaping from prison, bard Edgin Darvis (Chris Pine) and barbarian Holga Kilgore (Michelle Rodriguez) set out to find Edgin’s daughter, Kira (Chloe Coleman). She’s been deceived into believing her father has abandoned her. To prove he was imprisoned for “the right reasons”, Edgin has to retrieve a Tablet of Reawakening - trying and failing to steal one is what landed him in prison. With the tablet, he can bring his late wife back to life and his family will truly be whole. The nearest tablet is in a vault in Neverwinter. To get it, Edgin and Holga need to assemble a team.

This film’s got a great cast. Some names, you’ll recognize. Some, you won’t. Hugh Grant plays Forge Fitzwilliam, an ambitious con artist/rogue, Bradley Cooper has a small role as Holga’s ex-husband and Justice Smith is Simon Aumar, a half-elf sorcerer whose magical skills… are hit-and-miss. You probably won't be familiar with Sophia Lillis, who plays Doric, a tiefling shapeshifter, but she'll have your attention after this. It’s a pretty steep competition for who wears this campaign the best but I’m going to hand the award not to the ever charismatic Chris Pine or to Hugh Grant (equally charming) but to Michelle Rodriguez. Most recently, we've been seeing her in the “Fast & Furious” films, where the theme of "family" is emphasized endlessly. What that franchise built over 10 films, “Honor Among Thieves” manages to do in one. Holga and Edgin are not romantically involved but she’s basically Kira’s surrogate mother. Although she never says how much the little girl means to her (that would be very un-barbarian-like), you feel it, particularly during the film’s conclusion. This movie makes you care about its characters effortlessly. Think about that. This movie has all sorts of races and half-races, wild monsters, crazy locations, spells and other things that make it as different from our world as possible. Yet, the characters feel like real people, the kind you’d be delighted to follow on another adventure once this one wraps up.

The screenplay by Jonathan Goldstein, John Francis Daley and Michael Gilio (the first two also serve as the picture’s directors) has an episodic feel. I mean that in a good way. For our heroes to accomplish their main quest, they have to complete a bunch of smaller side quests, each leading into the next while revealing a conspiracy brewing in Neverwinter. The stakes build atop each other as the team learns to work as a unit and their tactics become increasingly inventive. There are plenty of jokes along the way but the film still takes itself seriously. By this, I mean that “Dungeons & Dragons” doesn’t make fun of itself or its audience. The humor comes from the world and its citizens. To them, all of this is normal. A magical spell allowing you to talk to the dead is neat but not mind-blowing, so it’s easy to take for granted. If you or I got a hand on that spell, we’d be super careful not to waste it. Them? Nah.

We’ve seen many movies over the years that have felt like a long campaign someone played and thought was so great it deserved to be turned into a movie. Rarely have any of them felt like an adventure you wanted to be involved with. This quest? by the time it’s over, you’ll feel like you were part of the ride all along. As a heist movie, it’s great. As a comedy, it has laughs to spare. As a fantasy film, it's got cool creatures, engaging lore and a smart take on its mythology. At the box office, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves" didn’t make nearly enough money to earn itself a sequel, which is a real shame. For now, I guess I’ll settle for the after-credit scene. (August 19, 2023)

[nopenototdaysatan]

Me just over here wondering to myself I wonder what would happen if my lalafell warrior of light met the links from Linked universe....

Chaos insued:

First thought on my mind is size. My "this is the tallest I can make for his race" lalafell is probably four size. I can only wonder at them seeing someone older than four who is still four's size. It would really put into perspective his shortness.

Second thought: If my wol dance partnered four and then four used the four sword to split, what would happen? I've determined that that 2 minute buff window would become more like an 8 minute buff window. But also what if the dance partner attribute almost keeps four from splitting as if the ability doesn't want to have more than one user and will keep you from that to the best of it's ability.

Third thought: Time and legend looking at the dark Knight lore as if the dark Knight power source makes the most sense and in some way they want it.

Fourth thought: Everyone freaks out when Scholar!wol summons Eos or Selene. You cannot tell me that all of them wouldn't be somewhat concerned by a fairy appearing out of nowhere from someone not of their world. They then become very concerned when it's revealed where we place our fairies in battle. (Death comes to any who place a fairy under the boss while with the chain)

Fifth thought: Hyrule and a wol vibing together from having friends who were "sleeping" for hundreds of years.

Sixth thought: wild and the wol vibing over exploring new places.

Seventh thought: I wonder what would happen if you just let the chain fuck around with your soul crystals(changes your job in FFXIV).

Addendum kinda wanna give fun and interesting classes to them all. This is less about their abilities and more about the chain having fun.

Legend- Red mage: legend should absolutely be given the right to both sword and magic. He would also look perfect in the red mage's armor.

On the other hand a black mage who refuses to use thunder is hilarious. Everyone else in a dungeon gets pissed off legend won't use his dot.

Hyrule: Blue mage- Chaos time! Let Hyrule both heal and cause massive damage. Also, why wouldn't I give him the job that requires you to learn spells from monsters. It's probably where he learned most of his skills from.

Twilight: monk- kinda boring but his fists are rated teen for violence. Beast master: we don't have this job yet but it is coming so that could be my second option. Would friend every animal and then be confused when they have violence in their eyes when anything tries to attack him.

Time: Dark knight: this man would absolutely use his trauma to become better at saving people. Am I wrong????

Warriors: Paladin- but let's make it fun and make him self sacrifice by having him always use cover (takes 100% of damage from a chosen party member) on his party members...even when they are already using their own shields.

Sky: Warrior- I never wanna see this man pissed off. On a more vibe aspect: Bard- just let him play his harp till the enemies stop coming.

Wind: Ninja- shut up, I know he's pirate themed and I should give him a gun but who else but wind could have a bunny of "you missed up your mudras" and make that look cool. Plus I wanna let him go fast.( Ninja's have the highest speed.)

Wild: Blue mage: Again, the monsters taught him how to fight after waking up again. Second option: Gunbreaker- fusing. Enough said. (Gunbreaker also has the highest damage ceiling of all tanks. Of course I'm giving one of the best dpsing tanks to the link who takes on lynels for fun.)

Four: machinist- no one else fits the machinist's goal of creating new and better weaponry than four. All of the different mechanisms you use to fight as a machinist just fit fours need to build and create.

Addendum for colors:

Green: viper- wanted to give him a sword plus it looks fairly swooshy from the trailer (secondary option dragoon: let my second wimdy boi fly with those jumps)

Red: black mage- fire only. Everyone keeps telling him to use ice but he refuses especially when playing with blue. Second option: Pictomancy! - let red draw his way to victory.

Blue: Warrior- he deserves to have a big axe and this way he can use his anger to help bolster his damage.

Vio: Bard- but not your stereotypical bard no, Vio is singing or reciting old takes of wars and myths. He'll use all the darkest old tales to win a fight.

(Shadow[I just wanna give him a pretty weapon.]: Dark knight: emotionally he fits it very well but Reaper: a play style that has the coolest movement ability and lots of cool effects. He likes acting like he's actually death coming for people.

Kinda wanna do all the Zelda's......)

Either thought: if the chain played FFXIV what would happen? Legend would get every class as soon as he could and then level them all to Max first. He's also on the grind to get every single achievement. May his soul rest in peace.

Sky would spend so much time crafting. Main quest? No. Side quest? No. Carpentry class quest? Yes. (He also is one of those players who stands in one of the city states and plays music for others.)

Time and twilight have their fishing class at mat lvl and regularly do ocean fishing to relax.

Wild does ultimates for fun. He also has the best glams (don't tell wars) out of the chain.

Hyrule has all of the sight seeing locations done for every expansion. He likes to go and get lost in the new locations of every expansion. It takes him at least a week longer than everyone else to finish the main content due to this.

Four: most recent crafting recipes and island sanctuary (he's here to make cool shit and relax) I could see him also enjoying the tribal quests as well.

Warrior: the most mentor to mentor out of all mentors. He does the mentor roulette for fun the poor bastard.

Wind: rps with his friends. They have a rp going on in Limsa about a land flooded by the gods.

(I think that's all of my FFXIV x Linked universe hyperfixation, for now at least. CX

[bbunnybirdd]

You post a lot about Dungeon Meshi and I was wondering if you'd recommend it and what the plot is? It looks interesting ^-^

Oh definetly!! Dungeon meshi is mayhaps my favourite manga. Not to mention the soon coming anime!! Excited!!!! This is an advertizement essay now.

The start is very lighthearted (minus like the starting premise being that the protag's sister gets eaten by the dragon and that's why they have to rush back down to the dungeon to save her since resurrection is a thing) but it will get uhm. It will go to places. And on their way back to the lower levels of the dungeon they will cook various meals of monsters that they come across (since they didn't have time to get new resources)! That's where the manga's name comes from. (haha going in for funny monster food comedy oh oops THAT'S KIND OF A LOT GOING ON HUH)

So what I've gathered so far, I've seen many turn down reading by just seeing Laios and being like "oh boring protag man" but nope. He's a living monster encylopedia and yearns for info about the monsters all the way to their taste. He can imitate a dog perfectly. He thought a man who hated him was his best friend. I love him so much.

Marcille first seems very soft uwu babey but no, we casually learn that she knows magic like,, actual necromancy. Not just resurrection. :) and she's actually quite unhinged. Also she's girl best friends with Falin (the sister of Laios I mentioned earlier) and wants to save her very much.

Chilchuck is there to just do his work but gets attached to rest of the party. Also the fact that he's a half-foot and other races tend to mistake him for tall-man child when he's actually almost 29, has 3 children and his wife left him. Epic divorce man.

(for comparison half-foot live to be around 50 when elves can live to hundreds and this is important plot wise later on but would also be a spoiler so)

Senshi is the "parent" of the group helping rest of the party to go to lower levels + is mainly the one teaching them about cooking (also we learn through his backstory that there's an extremely heart wrenching reason why he feels the need to keep everyone fed) He's also the fanservice of the series and the only character we've seen pantyshots of.

Izutsumi joins the party way later and she has a cat soul bound with her own and she wants to break the curse that made this so. However later on we get hints that she's becoming more okay with having two souls. Also she's. A cat girl. Like not the usual depiction of just having ears and tail, her behaviours are very affected by the second soul.

Izutsumi sensing a ghostie:

Falin is Laios' sister and very loved and to describe her,, she would show you a cool bug she found. I can't tell too much about her without spoiling major plot points :-)

Oops my hand slipped.

+++ Ryoko Kui's art is very distinct in itself, her character design is pretty much always mentioned when talking about dunmeshi!! And the world building!!!

Also people are being horny over the winged lion..,,

This is not only my blog's desktop version's background but also my actual desktop image (tinified for tumblr):

Heartwarming moments ;_;

+ special mention to characters I didn't even mention but you get to meet by reading!

So I might really like this series.

Bonus, this super cute comic set in our world from the mangaka's blog (izutsumi is a picky eater):

[spirit-tracks]

Some things I would have changed about totk's Memories and how they affected gameplay! I loved the story, but I thought the memories didn't impact the Present day as much as they could have. So, here's my thoughts. Warning, spoilers for the endgame!

So for starters, I would have had the memories take place in certain locations that have, in Link's era, been raised to the Sky.

So, by watching the memories, you'll be able to find and visit each place from each memory in the Sky and find important story hints that lead you to dungeons and stuff. They could mention the chancellor creating the Ring Ruins, so you know what they are when you get to Kakariko. That way it's essential to gather the past memories for the present story, learning new neat things that connect the past and present. Also, it would make the Sky WAY more interesting because there are buildings you recognize from the memories up there that you can explore and retrace Zelda's footsteps. Maybe she left something behind for you to find, giving hints to solve puzzles that reveal them (like the torches in Hyrule Castle). These gifts should include armors or other collectibles, not smaller rewards like rupees or weapons. That makes it so that the memories are more desirable to hunt down, because the rewards are higher.

Also, they should be part of the Present's dungeons. Say you go to Hebra to help take care of the snowstorm problem. However, there's no way to get into the blizzard. The locals mention this has only happened once before, in the ancient past. So, you go to the geoglyph in the area and watch the memory. The memory not only shows Zelda's story in the past but also tells you how to enter the blizzard, as they're facing that blizzard for the first time in the ancient past.

I would also make it so that the important memories that have huge plot points aren't immediately accessible (leading to potentially coming across MASSIVE spoiler drops in the early game, *cough cough memory 11*) but they rather appear one at a time. So the ones that are connected to each dungeon are there already, able to be watched in any order, but the plot heavy ones are a separate scavenger hunt that show up one by one and in order as you collect them. (I'd like the Puppet Zelda memory to be brought up after the chase through Hyrule Castle if possible.)

Lastly, I would have made multiple endings depending on how much story you completed. If you go straight to Ganon with no idea who Sonia is or what Ganondorf did or what happened to Zelda then you get a very basic ending where you defeat the Demon King and he has like 5 very difficult phases but doesn't actually become a dragon. So when he's defeated, he explodes into shadow or something while laughing like Demise did. (One more thing; I would actually not include the Seized Construct in the boss rush so the player isn't spoiled about Mineru's dungeon. That dungeon is supposed to be a surprise after all!)

Getting the four regional sages means you don't have to do the boss rush, just the monster army and then Ganondorf and his 5 phases.

If you did get memories up to knowing about swallowing secret stones to become a dragon, then Ganondorf's 5 phases become the normal two + the Dragondorf phase. The Light Dragon does NOT come to your aid but rather there's gusts of wind that keep you airborne. (The memory that mentions becoming an immortal dragon would only be included in Mineru's dungeon, so you'd have to get up to her dungeon to get this ending. It should be noted that actually FINDING her dungeon should also be alluded to in the Memories instead of randomly brought up by Purah.)

If you learn about the Master Sword being in the Light Dragon's head (learned by clearing the Deku Tree gloom), the Light Dragon will come to your aid in the Dragondorf ending, mainly so players who didn't have the stamina to get the sword before now can draw it before fighting Dragondorf. However you do NOT turn the Light Dragon back in the end. You won't be able to turn the Light Dragon back at all in any ending unless it's the true ending.

The true ending is getting all the memories and learning that the Light Dragon is Zelda, which is in the last memory. ONLY THEN will you be able to turn the Light Dragon back into Zelda at the end. I feel like turning Zelda back should be the ultimate reward, because it's such a big deal. So you need all the memories and all the dungeons to get this ending.

So, what do you think?

[hellfirenacht]

I've been having thoughts I thought you'd like. Eddie is a DM, right? We don't really get to see him actually play dnd. So, how do you think he'd react to being a player? Would he try to break the game or get wayyy to involved? What class would he be? I would love to know your take lol

Okay so I have THOUGHTS about this. I actually cracked open my Advanced Dungeons and Dragons Player's Handbook for this. So this is all based off of my personal HCs combined with the original AD&D information that was available in 1986 (1st edition!)

So, all I can think of is when Eddie says to Steve in the Upside Down "Outside of D&D, I am no hero". Eddie WANTS to be a hero, he WANTS to do good without compromising who he is as a person. I feel like he'd build a character to reflect that.

So for race, I feel like he plays either a Dwarf or a Half-Orc. Dwarfs are non-magic and great fighters and I really don't see Eddie as being a magic based player. For Half-Orc I can see him relating a lot to being seen as an outcast so I think he'd like a monster that- Ah, shit. That's just Shrek.

My point still stands.

For class, there is no Bard in AD&D, fun fact there. And also that's too easy. I really lean into the idea of his class being a Fighter or a Thief, or even a multi-class. I feel like for Fighter he'd sub-class as a ranger, personally because in AD&D, all paladins HAVE to be Lawful Good. (This is going off the assumption that Eddie is cooking by the book here. I do feel like he sticks to the rules as close as he can, unless he can be convinced otherwise.)

So, for my answer, Eddie as a Dwarven Fighter/Thief makes sense to me.

As for how he plays....

As someone who is also a Forever DM, Eddie lives for the chaos and drama of being a player. He doesn't get to often, but when he does he is coming up with the most bat shit plans that he probably hoped his players would do in his own campaigns. He absolutely pushes the DM to their limit.

Especially in Hellfire Club, if one of the other members wants to run a one-shot it is at their own risk because I feel like Eddie toes the line between nightmare player and best player. He'll challenge you as a DM, but it is so worth it. Of course, he wants everyone to have fun and isn't going to steal the spotlight but he's always passing notes between everyone just to make the DM nervous about what he's going to do next. 95% of the time it's harmless. The other 5% is the DM needing a 10 minute break to reassess what the fuck just happened and come up with a new plan.

Eddie has learned to reel it in a little bit, knowing how frustrating it is to constantly be derailed and having to pause every half hour to figure out where to go from here isn't fun for anyone. But he's still Eddie and he will find a way to Cause Problems On Purpose during game.

[yersina]

Mmmm... When i learned that their are Riding Skills in TSCTIR, my mind just went to your recent fic with Yoojin with a Beast Tamer Skill. then i played FGO then its like a bulb lightup in my mind. Yoojin with a Skill that basically a Beast Tamer and Beast Riding skill, with riding skill working on all type of monsters. the description is like "Able to Tame and Ride Beast Rank S and Below"

[part 1]

(if the ending of this looks familiar, it's bc i posted part of it here!)

~

In the months and years after dungeons first started appearing in the world, what the media always, always chooses to gloss over is how much none of them have any idea what they’re doing. It’s always a ‘heroic struggle’ or ‘fierce battle’ or ‘close call’ and never ‘Lee Kijeong learned right then and there that his skill could do that thing’. 

See, it seems easy on the surface. Once the statistics are assessed and demographic data released, it’s revealed that the vast majority of people who Awakened are in their twenties to thirties. Young enough to know about the once-fictional concept of virtual reality gaming. Young enough to have read the fantasy stories and manhwa and recognize the Awakened interface for its game design. Young enough to want to play it like a game.

Yoojin knows plenty of other Hunters who do treat it like a game, shouting out their attacks like they’re in an anime. It’s hard not to. He gets it. There’s just something easier about accepting that you can create giant pillars of ice while shouting the skill name than fully assimilating it as a part of reality. 

But the thing is: it’s not a game. It’s their actual, real lives, and real life is never as simple as that. 

Yoojin whistles and learns that he can control the creatures that burst out from dungeon gates.

He talks and learns that he can order them to do what he wants.

He’s summoned to a dungeon break near the edge of the Han River and learns that none of this is fail-proof.

A sharp whistle and a desperate yell of “Stop!” manages to bring everything within a ten meter radius to a standstill, but it’s still not enough. Ten meters is hardly a blip on the scale of a dungeon break. But he does his job, herding a shaking family and several unlucky business people towards the evacuation route and ordering the pale, icy lion-creatures under his control to protect them on their way. The Hunters assisting with evacuation eye his tamed creatures with distrust, but begrudgingly accept their help. Hopefully it ends up speeding things along.

“Hunter Han Yoojin!” Yoojin doesn’t pause and immediately heads in the direction of the shout. 

When he jogs a block over, he skids to a stop before he’s even really registering what’s in front of him. “Wh—”

Gongryongie, the pterosaur from his first dungeon break that he could never quite let go, is grappling with a huge white mass of fur. ‘Grappling’ is generous—it’s more like Gongryongie is clinging on for dear life while the mass of fur—is that a tiger?—tries to shake it off like an annoying bug. 

The tiger is massive. It’s hunched in on itself and is still almost the height of a single story.

“Gongryongie,” he croaks, and feels the knot of worry in his chest unwind a little when his pterosaur obediently lets go and flies higher to perch on the roof of a building instead. “What—” He bites off the end of his question and turns to the hunter who called him over, who’s currently doing his best to hide behind a fragment of crumbled wall. He’s technically ranked higher in stats than Yoojin, if he remembers correctly, but doesn’t have the personality or temperament for this job. Hardly older than Yoohyun, probably, Yoojin thinks with a pang when he sees the other hunter’s white-knuckled grip on a piece of concrete. 

“I think that’s the boss of the dungeon,” the hunter answers tremulously, eyes glued to where the possible dungeon boss is still crouched in a lethal coil on the street.

“Where’s everyone else?”

“Doing their jobs in a place that’s not here.” Both of them know that there’s no one to blame here. Just everyone and everything being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Yoojin has never tried taming anything higher than B-Rank. This creature looks to be A-Rank at the very least. 

Well, there’s no time like the present.

“If things look like they’re going south, run away,” Yoojin advises, and doesn’t bother to listen to the panicked sputtering before letting out an ear-splitting whistle. “Stop!”

The tiger-creature immediately swings bright blue eyes in his direction, pinning him under the gaze of a predator. Oh fuck, Yoojin thinks fervently. He takes a hesitant step closer and is somehow not instantly killed for it. He badly wants to check his skill menu and see if it’s been updated, but he’s unwaveringly certain that if he takes his eyes off the tiger, he’s going to die.

“Hi there,” he murmurs, going for the low, gentle tone that’s better for wild, wary animals. The tiger, encouragingly, growls like it would love nothing better than to tear Yoojin to pieces. “I’m going to walk closer, okay?”

He keeps inching closer, keeps getting growled at, and impossibly, keeps staying alive. “Hey,” he says to the other hunter once he’s closed about half of the distance, still keeping his eyes on the tiger. “Hey,” he tries again when he doesn’t receive a response. “You. Hunter.”

“M-me?”

“I have this under control.” Or, at least, he prays that he does. “Go.”

“Hunter Han Yoojin—”

“Go. You’re needed elsewhere.” And then, thankfully, footsteps receding into the distance. “Hey, Gongryongie.” To his right, the click of a beak. In front of him, the tiger’s eyes are very, very blue. “Make sure he gets somewhere safe for me?” Gongryongie’s chitter is decidedly scolding. “Please.” 

And then they’re alone.

“Will you listen to me?” he muses, shuffling another step closer. The growl had trailed off to a mumble while he was directing the other hunter and Gongryongie, but now it starts up again. The longer this stretches, the more convinced Yoojin is that the only thing keeping him alive right now is his previous order to stop. “Back up,” he says curiously. 

The tiger’s growl increases to a hair-raising volume, but it takes a step back. Yoojin smiles wryly. “Don’t like that, huh?” 

He’s not so reckless as to approach it and lay a hand on its fur, but he does take a seat on the ground just slightly out of swiping reach. He stays there, quietly watching the tiger, until it finally seems to grow tired of waiting and tries to lunge. “Stop,” he says again, heart in his throat, and is rewarded with a deafening snarl. 

They repeat this cycle until a gust of air against his sweaty forehead warns him of Gongryongie’s approach. It sizes up the tiger with a look that Yoojin might call disdain if he saw it on a human, and snaps its beak when the tiger roars at it. “Don’t be stupid,” Yoojin says tiredly, mustering up a smile for his loyal pterosaur. “It could kill you with half a thought.”

Gongryongie ruffles its wings in discontent and settles into a gangly pile of limbs next to Yoojin. “Hey, what if there are people out there still?” Yoojin protests. “At least one of us needs to be doing work.” Gongryongie doesn’t budge. He tries to word it as a command instead. “If there are people who need it, go save them.” When Gongryongie still doesn’t move, he gives it up as a lost cause. Hopefully the other hunters can handle everything without him. 

They stay like that, Yoojin renewing his order to ‘stop’ every few minutes, until he’s found hours later once everything else has been cleaned up. Towards the end, he can almost trick himself into thinking that the tiger’s not fighting the control as much anymore.

He’s warned of a person approaching even before he hears shoes crunching on gravel because the tiger deigns to snap its gaze to a point over Yoojin’s shoulder for once. Yoojin doesn’t think for a second this means that its attention has really wavered from him. “Hunter Han Yoojin,” comes the young hunter’s voice. “Um. How are things going?”

“Well, I’m not dead.”

“R-right.” The footsteps stop at the entrance of the street. “I’ve been told to inform you that we probably don’t have anyone ranked high enough to defeat the boss.”

Just Yoojin’s luck. It means that the responsibility falls to Yoojin, as tenuous as his control is. “That means you’ll be joining me on my farm,” Yoojin says to the tiger. ‘Farm’ is a generous term for the unplowed plot of land and tiny building that the Association oh-so-generously purchased on his behalf for Gongryongie to live on. The tiger, predictably, growls at him. “And the other creatures that I tamed?”

“They were, uh, killed after the evacuation was completed.”

Yoojin sighs. He knows that that was an inevitable conclusion. He knows. Because as much as those creatures are his now, he has no room to keep all of them. And if he can’t keep them, then they must die.

Knowing that doesn’t stop the pang of regret.

“I’ll call you Baekho, I think,” he tells the tiger, and braces himself for the combined headache of getting Baekho to the farm and explaining to the Association why he needs to do so. “You’re about to cause me so much paperwork.”

-

Baekho does not like obeying him. There’s no other way that Yoojin can put it. The tiger finds some kind of sadistic joy in following Yoojin’s orders to the letter and only to the letter.

“Come here,” he’ll say, and Baekho takes three steps before stopping.

“Sit,” he’ll say, and Baekho will wander halfway across the field before sitting down. 

He knows Baekho is tamed—his menu proudly declares King Ice Tiger [A-Rank] when he checks it—but if it weren’t for his continued survival, he wouldn’t have been able to tell. That only highlights his problem, though: he doesn’t know what ‘tamed’ means. Apparently he’d lucked out with Gongryongie’s temperament, because it certainly doesn’t mean unconditional obedience. 

“You’re giving me such a headache,” he tells it, and Baekho licks one paw daintily.

-

They settle into an uneasy truce, where Baekho ignores Yoojin for the most part and Yoojin puts up with it. He’s wary of bringing Baekho out with him on assignments because of this, but he’s not sure there’s any safer option for either Baekho or the general public. It’s not as if Yoojin can leave it completely unsupervised while he’s out helping with a dungeon break or forced into clearing a dungeon.

However, Yoojin isn’t sure his current situation is any better.

He doesn’t know where the rest of the dungeoning team went—somewhere between the first wave of Lava Lizards and the giant Fire Tusked Black Bear that went trampling through the middle of their party, he got separated from the rest of them. Now, after defeating the boss, it’s just him and his two companions, more than shaken by the Herculean effort of fighting back to the dungeon gate on their own. 

“Gongryongie, can you fly?” he murmurs to his dinosaur, who gives a mournful cry. It’s a moot question, really. He can see plain as day the gash in Gongryongie’s wing, and even if it could wing its way out of here, there’s no way it could support the weight of Yoojin’s badly sprained ankle and probable concussion and ribs that may or may not be bruised. 

Still, it nudges its head under Yoojin’s elbow and tugs on his sleeve whenever his feet start dragging. At one point, it even tries to grasp an arm and take off with him, but it goes down in a tangle of feathers before Yoojin can even begin to be tugged in a certain direction.

“Stop, stop,” he pleads, running a hand over Gongryongie’s head feathers. “It doesn’t help either of us to over-exert yourself. Just focus on keeping yourself safe, okay?”

Gongryongie gives him a reassuring chirp, running its beak through his hair fondly, and the next beat of Yoojin’s heart hurts for it. “I’m supposed to be the one comforting you,” he murmurs in protest, but Gongryongie has already shifted its attention, snapping irritably at Baekho. 

Yoojin sighs, following its gaze. The tiger is lingering a short distance away, slinking alongside them as they make their way back to the dungeon gate. Every now and then, Yoojin can see it shake its pelt vigorously like a dog, clouds of dark ash rising from its white fur. Baekho wasn’t meant for the heat, he thinks, and even without participating in the battle like Yoojin and Gongryongie did, it’s still probably close to overheating. Still, it’s certainly the least injured of the three of them, and as much as he doesn’t want to, he understands where Gongryongie’s frustration is coming from. 

Part of him wants to order Baekho to come over and help him walk out of the dungeon. If he could figure out a way to clamber onto its back, that’d be even better, but at this point he’ll settle for just having something solid to lean against for support. 

But Baekho still watches him with wary eyes, even when surrounded by a hostile environment and even more hostile enemies, and Yoojin can’t bring himself to force it as an order. “C’mon,” he mutters, straightening up and wincing at the way his back pops and his ankle twinges. “The sooner we get out of this place, the better.”

Walking on a sprained ankle is slow. It’s slow and painful, and not even ten minutes later, Yoojin is on the verge of being frustrated to tears by his lack of progress. “Okay, change of plans,” he decides, because if he has to force himself to do this for the length of the rest of the dungeon, he might just go insane. “Gongryongie, you can still fly, right? You and Baekho should leave the dungeon and find someone who can help me.” He’s terrified that someone will see his creatures and immediately declare a dungeon break, but he’s a registered participant in the dungeon, and the color of the gate should still be fine, and—he’s not going to overthink this. He’s not. “I’ll wait here. It’ll be faster.”

Gongryongie shakes its head, a habit that it's picked up since being tamed. No.

“Gongryongie—” He cuts himself off with a growl of frustration. The way his head is spinning is starting to make him nauseous, and he’s not sure how much longer he can hold on. “Fine. Baekho—”

He turns to find his tiger, to see if he can properly order Baekho to find its way out of here and seek help, and instead feels horror flooding his body as he spots a Lava Lizard—if he sees Changhoon again after this, he’s going to punch that guy in the face, clearing the Lava Lizards was his job—poised mid-air to pounce on the tiger.

He doesn’t think about regret in that moment. He doesn’t think about what he could’ve-should’ve-would’ve done differently if only he had more time to think. He screams, “Get out of the way,” at Baekho and realizes in the next second that the tiger was standing between him and the lizard, and now, as the lizard arcs downwards, he’s the sitting duck in its way. 

He almost wants to laugh at his luck.

He still doesn’t regret it, even when the claws catch on his armor (‘experimental’, made from the hide of a creature in a dungeon that had been cleared two weeks ago), even when he falls backwards and darkness blooms across his vision when he hits his head. Even when he doesn’t blink back into awareness until the sound of a roar is shaking the very ground he’s lying on and a blue status window is hovering in front of him, words swimming in and out of focus.

Hunter Han Yoojin has reached Level 10, he thinks it says, which is funny because he’s only ever gotten experience when he or Gongryongie defeats a creature, and Gongryongie is in no shape to fight right now. 

“Good job, Baekho,” he wheezes, staring up at a collection of ashy stalactites. He can feel a wet patch growing on his chest, which probably doesn’t bode well. “Never would’ve thought you’d bother.”

The last thing he sees before he blacks out is a pair of bright blue eyes. 

-

When Yoojin wakes up, woozy and in pain and wishing that he were anywhere other than the hard, gravely ground that he currently feels underneath him, the first thing he sees is white striped fur. 

“Baekho…?” he mutters, confused, and reaches out until his fingers can tangle in the fur. He doesn’t know why he does it, he fully expects Baekho to shake it off like it always does, but instead it crowds back against Yoojin—protectively? His brain still refuses to understand—and lets out a growl.

“Hyung!”

Yoojin blinks, instantly more awake at the sound of Yoohyun’s voice. “Yoohyun?”

“Hyung!” For a moment, he spots Yoohyun’s face between Baekho’s legs, craned almost upside down in the only space that they can see each other, but in the next moment, Baekho shifts to block his view. “Hyung, you need to call off your monst—creature. Pet. I’ve got a medic here, but it won’t let us pass to reach you.”

The longer Yoojin is awake, the more confused he gets. Baekho wouldn’t do that for him. Gongryongie, he might expect, but not Baekho. His grip on Baekho’s fur tightens when he’s reminded of his dinosaur’s absence, but he smooths it into a pet and gentle push. “Baekho, I need you to move,” he says as calmly as possible. Baekho growls, but begrudgingly shifts to the side when Yoojin pushes at it more insistently. 

Not even a second later, Yoohyun is at his side, hands fluttering in the air around him like he isn’t sure where or if he can touch. “Hyung, you…”

“It looks worse than it is.” Yoojin hopes that that isn’t actually true. It already hurts a lot—he can’t imagine it looking worse.

Between Yoohyun and the medic he’d dragged over, they manage to get Yoojin out of the corner where the dungeon gate had appeared and into an ambulance so he can be taken to the nearest hospital. 

“Baekho.” Yoojin struggles against two medics as he’s packaged into the back of the ambulance. His tiger rumbles threateningly, hackles beginning to rise up. “No, no,” he says, wondering what could possibly have gotten into Baekho between him falling unconscious in the dungeon and waking up outside. “Can you get home? Can you make sure it gets back okay?” he asks one of the Hunters milling around.

“Uh,” is what he gets in response, along with wide eyes. Yoojin gives him up as a lost cause.

“Go home,” he tells Baekho. Hopefully ‘home’ will have Gongryongie, nursing its wounds. And soon, hopefully, Yoojin nursing his own wounds as well. 

Before he can check to see if Baekho follows his orders, Yoohyun drags him into the back of the ambulance and closes the doors. “Rest,” he snaps, pushing Yoojin onto the stretcher, and watches impassively as the EMTs start to hook him up to various machines.

“What happened?” Yoojin asks as something gets attached to his finger, trying to ignore how bereft he feels without Gongryongie or Baekho by his side. “How did I get out of the dungeon?”

Yoohyun furrows his brow. “You don’t remember?”

“I remember the end of the dungeon,” Yoojin offers. At that point, though, he was mostly trying his best to ignore the pain. “Gongryongie was injured, so it couldn’t carry me.” He remembers trying to convince his pterosaur—who could barely support its own weight—that it shouldn’t be trying so hard to drag Yoojin as well as itself. “I was trying to make it to the gate. I don’t remember how I actually got out.”

“I didn’t actually see you until I was called to deal with your tiger.” Yoohyun crosses his arms, tapping a finger in agitation. “Your bird-dinosaur thing flew off before anyone could get to it.” Yoojin breathes a quiet sigh of relief. At least it was strong enough to do that. “Someone mentioned that your tiger carried you out on its back.”

“Baekho did?” Yoojin frowns. “Are you sure?”

“I didn’t see it myself.”

Baekho—would never. 

“You’re sure you didn’t order it to bring you out before you lost consciousness inside?” Yoohyun asks, taking in Yoojin’s confusion. “You can do that, right?”

He can, but he didn’t, and that doesn’t explain why Baekho would stand guard over him after. “I can, but that’s not in its personality,” he explains helplessly. “Baekho isn’t the same as Gongryongie.”

Out of habit, he checks his status window, skimming over most of the information. He vaguely remembers seeing an alert pop up as he was finishing the dungeon, but most of the details were lost on him as he was trying to reach the gate. Most of it is largely the same, with a few stat increases—from leveling up, he’s assuming—but his eyes catch on a particular detail halfway down the window.

[Awakened Han Yoojin has reached Level 10.

Monster Tamer (S) Title Upgrade

Additional Skills

Tame Monster (S): Use of keyword will tame any dungeon creature of S-Rank or lower.

Ride Monster (S): Any tamed creatures can be ridden regardless of creature type.]

Oh. Oh.

“Hey, Yoohyun,” he says weakly, still staring at the change to his title. “Have you reached level ten yet?”

“I’m probably close, but no. You’re in the field more than I am, hyung.” The knot between Yoohyun’s eyebrows tells Yoojin what he thinks of that, but Yoojin can hardly spare a thought beyond the implications of his status window at the moment.

This is a game, he thinks half-hysterically. He’s received a power up at level ten. Is Baekho more obedient because his title got upgraded to S-Rank? Is he going to get another one of these at level twenty? Will the title become SS-Rank?

Yoojin lies back against the stretcher and finally lets his mind go blank, utterly overwhelmed.

What the fuck is happening? 

[eclipsebyler]

Mike Wheeler and his love for D&D (ST Comics Thoughts + Long Analysis)

Note: The comics aren't written by the Duffer Bros themselves so we can't say they're fully canon. However, the D&D Issue comic is very canon to me. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it especially bcs it gave us a Mike POV and it's interesting that it makes so much sense for how he acts in the show. So, I made an unnecessarily dramatic analysis about it. Take it with a grain of salt.

—

Contrary to popular belief, Will Byers isn't the biggest nerd and lover of Dungeons & Dragons among the party. Mike Wheeler is.

In the comics, it's Mike (along with Lucas) who first discovered this fantasy board game in an isolated library. They excitedly talked about this with Will, who then shared their enthusiasm about the game and the three of them made it their goal to save up and trade books in exchange for the complete set of D&D. They met Dustin along the way because of it too, and the core four party was born.

(Look how cute they are. The party even helped in the final touches of Castle Byers in the comics.)

Among the four of them, it becomes clear that Mike is the most invested. He enjoyed being the Dungeon Master — learning about the game's mechanics and creating imaginative adventures for the party's campaigns (and we can see that in the show, too. It's the very first scene we get with the party being established as the dorky nerds: a game of D&D, and Mike as their enthusiastic DM. Mike even gets frustrated when Karen calls him up because their game got cut off.)

And considering how Mike's career goal is being a writer — it's easy to connect it with his love for world building in this game. A lot of his childhood traces back to his memories with the party and D&D. It's a comfort game to him.

However, that changes after the tragic night happened. After S1's Upside Down fiasco, he started harbouring negative feelings about it; worrying if it's still worth playing at all for numerous reasons.

For the party, especially for Mike — D&D isn't just a game. It became a way to navigate and decode the world around them.

Teamwork, bravery, and empathy are some of the values in-game that bled through the party's real life dynamics. It brought them closer together.

D&D empowered Mike to be a brave, courageous hero not just in game, but also in real life too. He became less scared and slowly learned to stand up to the bullies. To protect his friends in his own ways. To be the leader— someone who comes up with a plan and inspires the party into action. Just like he does as the Dungeon Master.

So for this same game that only held good memories to suddenly be replaced by the worst ones — ones that involve real supernatural monsters, his friends being put real danger, and an interdimensional world that turned their lives into a nightmare — it's easy to see why Mike starts despising it.

Most especially because the two week planned campaign of his, the one they played before Will bid him goodbye — it had all turned to reality.

The Demogorgon got Will. He vanished. He almost died. He lost his best friend.

And while they got Will back in their lives, a part of him died in the Upside Down. Mike knows and sees it, and it upsets him.

To some extent — Mike might have blamed himself for what happened. As the Dungeon Master who came up with the failed campaign that became a little too real; what if the next stories he writes lead to a traumatic real life experience again? What if he loses Will again? What if he wasn't really a good DM at all? What if they didn't play that night? What if he asked Will to stay? If only...

As much as Mike loves playing again, he feels like everyone doesn't want to anymore. This game isn't worth it, after everything that happened.

Because what is the point of playing adventures that spoke of bravery and heroes saving the day — when he couldn't do that in reality? It's stupid. Mike feels stupid.

And yet, he couldn't let go of it completely. If anything, these feelings pushed him to write a perfect next campaign for the party.

Maybe he just needed to fix their last failed session, to make things better. Maybe he could bring back the party together in their favorite game and lead them to victory. Somehow, he feels like the party's dynamics is at stake in this next game so he puts his all to it.

He hated how things were changing. He longed for things to be normal again.

He beat himself up over writing the best campaign story to the point Nancy had to check on him in the basement and tried to help him out despite not knowing about D&D. 

(One of my favorite moments in this issue. Nancy indulging Mike on his interests and comforting him? I need more of the Wheeler siblings in S5.)

What struck me the most was how much Mike cares about Will and how considerate he was in everything (even with his character in the game). He wanted Will the Wise to be the one to kill the monster and bring them victory. He needs him to win, unlike last time.

"He needs to be a hero, not a victim."

He wanted to create a special and perfect campaign for the party, but most especially for Will. This campaign is for Will.

Mike is scared of repeating the last failed campaign. He's scared of having to worry about their fantasy game turning into reality. He's scared of how everything changed after that night.

He wants to go back to the old times, before Will had gone missing. He wants the old, carefree and happy party back. He wants to have Will back.

“Dungeons & Dragons kept you guys together, Mike. Isn’t that worth celebrating?”

This game brought the party close together. But it’s also the same game that reminds Mike of bad memories: like his campaign that caused them to be separated to Will. He has mixed feelings about it.

Eventually, he finishes writing the campaign and plays it with the party. As a desired outcome, Will was able to kill the monster— the Thessalhydra, and wins this time.

It's the same campaign we saw the party playing at the end of S1. (And the last campaign we saw them playing as a party. The last we see of Mike as the Dungeon Master).

Their last D&D session was a special campaign he wrote especially for Will.

Considering all of Mike’s POV in the comics into the canon universe, it makes so much sense as to why he started drifting away and repressing his want to play it. Because just when things are getting back to normal again -- he loses Will again to the Upside Down in S2. To a creature that is reminiscent to one of D&D’s monsters again. The Mind Flayer.

He watched Will get haunted by the Upside Down and being stuck in two worlds. He watched him get possessed, slowly lose his memories and turn into a different person. He watched him thrash in pain and suffer to an almost death.  And add to that - El coming back, he finds out she’s still alive and he’d been lied to, only for her to leave again and Mike could only watch. 

He could only watch and hope that they are both still alive. And at the end of the day, Mike is still just a kid. It’s easy to feel hopeless, powerless, and for trauma and fear to consume him. It’s easy to see why his insecurity grows and for him to feel like he isn’t doing anything worthwhile for anyone.

And seeing as how Mike spent Season 3 focusing on his relationship with El instead, to impress the girl that has taken interest in him and doing the traditional heteronormative couple behaviors - it makes so much sense. This is Mike trying to grow up. Trying to do things differently rather than reverting back to the old habits like playing games -- especially a game that surrounds him with complicated feelings, no matter how much he loves it. Repressing his interests. 

“What did you think, really? We’re just gonna sit in my basement all day and play games for the rest of our lives?” 

This is definitely him projecting. This is what he wants but he’s trying to let it go. Him dismissing Will’s campaign because it’s scary to play D&D with the party again, especially with Will. He’d lost Will two times already.

But clearly, he hasn’t let go of his love for D&D just yet. He reacts when Will donates his book. He worries that Will wants to join another party. And when the Byers-Hopper moved to Lenora, he joined a D&D club in S4: The Hellfire. He enjoys playing again - in a larger party, and with another skilled Dungeon Master. This is the first time we see him as one of the players, and not a DM. He’s slowly going back to his old habits, but not quite fully. He’s still trying to be normal. He still wants to seem like he’s growing up. 

And weirdly, he only shows this repressed side of him to El and Will. The two people he keeps losing and gaining back. But evidently we see him doing this with Will the most.

He has no problem being a nerd with Lucas and Dustin and Max. He has never really shown El this side of him.

But why Will? Who has known him since he was a kid, who knows and accepts this side of him and yet he refuses to play with him again. Because of his trauma, probably. Or there's something more to it.

“We could just play D&D and Nintendo for the rest of our lives.”

“Yeah. Totally.”

The way Mike responds to this is as if he’s dismissing it. As if it’s an idea he didn’t want to do. And yet the next moment, we see his face lighting up with a huge smile when Will gives him a painting - a D&D painting - an imagery of his character in the game and Will telling him that he’s exactly just that in real life too. Everyone needs him. He’s their leader. He’s the heart. It’s Mike being reminded of who he truly is - of who he’s trying to repress within himself, and Will is telling him -- he is loved and worth it for just exactly who he is. And that means the world to Mike.

It's clear how much this speech meant to him because it's what pushes him to say I love you to El. (That godforsaken monologue which there's so much to unpack from. That's for another conversation.)

—

In conclusion to this long analysis of Mike Wheeler from both comics and the show — D&D is a big part of the party's lives but most especially Mike Wheeler's. And his mixed feelings about it mostly centers on one person: Will. The night Will vanished was the night everything went to hell, the night of Mike's campaign that turned to a hellish reality.

D&D reminds him of what he gained and what he lost time and time again. D&D reminds him of what he hates and what he loves. D&D reminds him of who he is and who he wants to be.

Mike Wheeler is a huge nerd. He badly wants to repress it for several reasons but he'll always fall back to where he's always meant to be. One day, he would be able to play games for the rest of his life without having to worry about losing someone again.

One day, he's going to truly have Will back in his life and he would stay with him, and then home will be the same again.