#Thoughts on the Thistle

[the-busy-ghost]

My new least favourite phrase is ‘indigenous Scottish people’ and yet the people who use it are always so well-meaning and not intentionally using it in that horrid blood and soil ethno-nationalist way, it’s just awkward

#Define an indigenous Scottish person #And even if you can find one I am willing to bet that they don't differ all that much from the English biologically #I know it can be hard to understand but the reason that a lot of Scots feel they are a separate *nation* #is not because they were oppressed wholesale for being a different race or because they have one distinct ethnicity #(though certainly sometimes racist rhetoric has been used) #But because we have been thinking of ourselves as a nation in some form or another for at least seven hundred years #And because we were a separate state (made up of several 'nations' in the earlier mediaeval sense of the word) for near500 years before that #It has a lot less to do with a common genetic ancestry or even a shared language or fixed culture #And a lot more to do with the Concept of Scotland TM which has existed for centuries #Even back when the country was a lot more linguistically and culturally diverse even than it is now #The idea of Scotland if you will which was a reality for over 800 years #And so after only three hundred years of union and a stunning lack of progress in building a single 'British' identity #Scotland still lingers #Thoughts on the Thistle

[ski-ip]

insatiable

#dungeon meshi spoiler #delicious in dungeon spoiler #dungeon meshi #dungeon meshi fanart #laios touden #thistle #sissel #marcille donato #mithrun #had a thought #dunmeshi spoilers #dm spoilers

[pollyanna-nana]

Imagine you’re Delgal. Imagine you were raised from birth alongside the court jester. You do everything together. You look up to him, being so much older. He seems wise and responsible, and always encouraging you and caring for you, more than your own busy parents are able to. In every sense of the word, he is your brother, despite how different you look and the distance of your station. The people around you tell you that he is an elf, the tone of their voice implying that’s something scary or even dangerous. But you disagree. That’s Thistle, your big brother.

But… as you age, things become confusing. You get taller, smarter, stronger, and Thistle is there for you through it all. Only… he never seems to change. In your entire journey to adulthood, he hardly seems to have aged a few years, if that. It’s amusing when you first grow taller than him, then grow facial hair, while Thistle’s short stature and youthful face remains the same. Still, you love him, love his music and his wit and even the bold-faced honesty that gets him in trouble if you’re not around to diffuse the situation. You wonder why such a person has been relegated to the inglorious job of jester, and your father tells you very simply that the magic elves wield is too powerful and dangerous to belong to any other position. But you think that’s nonsense, you’ve trusted Thistle from the day you were born and would do so until the day you die.

It isn’t until what should’ve been the happiest day of your life that you truly start to understand just how different Thistle is from you. Kneeling over your father’s cooling corpse, you take in the elf’s panicked face. He’s so young, so unchanged, and in that moment he seems nearly immortal to you. You’ve heard the stories of elf magic, how their spells could be used to heal wounds and raise the dead, but Thistle can’t do any of that. He hasn’t been allowed to. There’s nothing that either of you can do but watch your father slowly die in front of you.

You never want this to happen again, not when there’s something that can stop it. You make Thistle the court sorcerer, even as your advisors warn against it. But you’re the king, goddamn it, and you trust him. But more than that, you want what he can give to you. A power greater than any tallman could achieve. You become busier and busier, only checking up occasionally on his studies. He’s become incredibly proficient in a short amount of time, but your thoughts are elsewhere. Enemies knock on your door, famine chokes the population, and worst of all your beloved son has fallen ill. It’s just like the day of your wedding, but this time, you have something that can defy that fate. Thistle.

But still, it’s not enough. It seems that even elf magic has its limits, and you can’t help but become angry with him. He reacts like a scorned child— is a scorned child, as you’ve come to realize— and you apologize. But he tells you he has something secret to show you, something he’s been searching for, researching for these past few years. The idea unsettles you, but you’ve become desperate, and you can see that he has, too. So you follow him into the dungeon, watch him smash the statue of your kingdom’s guardian and pull the book from the rubble that would decide your and your people’s fate.

Your son is healed, your enemies repelled, and your people fed and taken care of. You’re happy, and so Thistle is, too. You recognize, vaguely, that despite this achievement the familial bonds between the two of you have never been thinner. But you don’t dwell on it. He did what you needed him to do, and now you no longer had to fear the indignity of death or strife.

But of course, things do not remain sweet forever. Thistle has only grown more attached to you, more loyal, and his behavior has become erratic and strange. He keeps you all cooped up in the dungeon, insisting that the outside world is too dangerous. There’s a hardness to his still-youthful features that you never saw throughout all those years growing up alongside him. Slowly but surely the person in your memory is replaced by something frightening, almost repulsive, after he strips your own son’s soul from his body. He seems so unaffected by it all, so… inhuman.

Eventually he decides to give you what you said you wanted all those years ago: to no longer fear death. To become immortal. But it is not what you had hoped for— every day seems to drag into infinity, with joy and mirth seeping rapidly from the unsettled townsfolk as decades, then centuries pass. Thistle has become entirely unapproachable, spending all his time fortifying the dungeon and watching obsessively for any signs of traitors that might challenge the throne. You feel hopeless in it all. No matter how you beg, he never seems to hear you. His power is overwhelming and you fear how he might react to more direct commands. The guilt is intense… you know you pushed him into this, pushed him to find a way to achieve everlasting peace at any cost. But this cost is too much. How could he not see that?

1000 years. 1000 years of this torture, and the population of your kingdom has dwindled to almost nothing. In your dreams you see the vision of a golden lion in chains, its wings pinned as it pleads with you to save it. To save your kingdom, to put the remaining souls to rest. You know what needs to be done, it’s told you the best way. You tell the mad mage that you wish to have dinner together with the whole ‘family’— just like the olden days— and the way his face lights up is almost enough to make you reconsider. Almost.

It was a lie, of course. While he’s distracted you take your son’s empty body, making your way to the surface as fast as your legs can carry you. You know what’s about to happen. You’ll become nothing but dust, but you’ll be free. And with any luck, soon everyone else will be, too. Breaching the surface you get the first rays of sun on your face in a millennium, take your last breaths of fresh air as you tell the story that will free your kingdom.

As you crumble away to nothing, a last thought enters your mind. Perhaps they were all right. Perhaps it was a mistake to trust an elf.

#polly speaks #dungeon meshi #dunmeshi #dungeon meshi spoilers #thistle dungeon meshi #Delgal #dungeon meta #thistle posting #anyway. how we doin #I think Delgal’s so interesting as a character bc I kind of hate him but also have no idea how to feel abt him #so. potential character thought study

[bonkingcat]

might be a bit odd or a stretch and written poorly by me (sorry if its rambly basically) but mithrun has such interesting but devastating symbolism and importance for a message in dunmeshi.

(TW SA/ABUSE MENTIONS)

the goat (demon) being an abusive relationship that to you who is in it only sees a nice perfect person doing anything for you, only for things to slowly get worse and worse… leading to SA (it’s not actual SA but the imagery has subtle implications of it) and other forms of physical and psychological abuse.

this leaving mithrun in an intense state of depression, ptsd and other issues like getting mana sickness really easily, which is also connected to the physical disabilities he got from said abuse. and due to these states he finds he can not desire anything anymore, he can only feel empty, not even a desire to get help and only feels a strong anger to the person and tries to prevent anyone else from going through the same.

but he’s not a lost cause.

“so.. even vegetable scraps have their uses, huh?”

he blames himself for his trauma, he sees himself as worthless and not one to be desired anymore because of what he went through. and realizing this, realizing that he actually has grown a desire to BE desired even just in a simple way to be needed (helping with falin) he finally can crack through that depression. the ptsd is still there, the physical disabilities are still there, but through surrounding himself with community of people with different views and trauma has helped him realize he is not broken and shouldn’t be blaming himself for something that was out of his control.

he wants to do new things, he wants to live now and it’s so beautiful to see.

plus, as kabru says here how the desires being eaten is not what it seems like is such an interesting fact. sure the demon ate his desires he had in that moment, making him believe he could never desire again but in fact he could get new desires (change/grow/heal) plus, traveling with kabru, he did show desires whether they be small or not.

in this moment he showed full horror about this memory. now if he was loss of desire, then he shouldn’t even desire to feel fear about this right? shouldn’t he only feel anger due to the revenge? which once again, shows his whole healing journey.

he’s such a great character with so much representation, and in turn is also a character that can show hope for someone like thistle who now is going through similar things and is practically hospitalized.

there is hope, you will heal, you are gonna be okay and your trauma is real but it does not shape you as a person, you are safe now.

dunmeshi is such a great depiction of that

#sorry if this makes no sense #please share your thoughts #dungeon meshi spoilers #delicious in dungeon #dungeon meshi #dunmeshi #mithrun dungeon meshi #mithrun #thistle dungeon meshi #dungeon meshi senshi #senshi #anime and manga #kui ryoko #ryoko kui #bladie blog

[mysterycubes]

college elf thistle thursday. please look at this in full view i worked hard on all of these after swearing that i wouldn't

#dungeon meshi #thistle #sissel #fanart #thistle bean is still haunting my every waking thought

[fumifooms]

There’s something so viscerally sad about Thistle devoting his whole life body and soul to the family who bought him and put him in a clown costume

#Every time you sit at the dinner table further down from the REAL family you push down the self-doubts. You belong. You belong.You earned it #You are worthy #and like he does! Or does he really… They love him but just how do they see him? #Does he have to play the luth in the corner of the room to be able to spend time with his baby nephew? Entertainer or advisor or brother? #Ehem #dungeon meshi #thistle #spoilers #dungeon meshi manga spoilers #I have a theory though that the jester costume is a false perception of how tallmen thought elves dressed. #So then bc a bunch of courts want an elf it became a ‘dress the elf up in their cultural attire!’ thing tm and jester outfits became a thin #A touch of elven inspiration and just a load of bs and bad tailoring decisions

[sualne]

'I can't stand him'

[image description: a digital illustration of characters from dungeon meshi. shuro embraces laios, who slouches into him. kabru and namari reach to support laios as well. kabru and shuro have looks of concern.]

ID written by @kallistoi, thank you so much!

#dungeon meshi spoilers #dungeon meshi #my art #incorrect ish quotes btw. just. 'i never thought of you as a friend and you're annoying' and 'this guy is a danger' and im emo yknow #also chilchuck checking for horns. dad behavior. and yaado and thistle and and !!!! im actually even more worried after this chapter. laios #didnt look alright at all smth up. maybe its feelings maybe its smth else. meanwhile: their hugging

[u3pxx]

#dungeon meshi #delicious in dungeon #senshi #laios touden #falin touden #chilchuck tims #izutsumi #kabru #marcille donato #mithrun #thistle #starry sent a version of this to me and i just had to expand on it gfdgd #the toudens can be 'minecraft' and 'minecraft as well' btw #but i thought it was funny if the two dungeon masters were it GFGHF

[vibigalbya]

Dungeon Meshi as LPS

#I thought long and hard about this and personally I think I'm right but #feel free to say something if you think any of my choices don't match the characters #dungeon meshi #izutsumi #laios touden #falin touden #marcille donato #senshi #chilchuk tims #mithrun #delgal #thistle dungeon meshi

[the-busy-ghost]

The only REAL indigenous Scots

(x)

#birds #Scotland #Scottish crossbill #Thoughts on the Thistle #A nation not a race #Birb #Imagine being the ornithologists who looked at a finch and thought 'That bird's got a Scottish accent' though #Living the dream or what

[pollyannawog]

Dunmeshi AU where they actually defeat the red dragon the first time yayyyyy! But then the Winged Lion gets his hands on Marcille oh nooooooo

#polly draws #dungeon meshi #dunmeshi #dungeon meshi spoilers #delicious in dungeon #dungeon meshi au #marcille donato #falin touden #laios touden #winged lion #chilchuck tims #thistle dungeon meshi #I call it the dungeon lord marcille au #quick fax (I need to leave soon) marcille sent them back to the first floor but kept falin teehee #thistle joins the party and no one is happy about it (including him) #he definitely doesnt bond with them at all (PSYCH get found familied against your will nerd.) #Marcille is getting worse :) #dungeon is fucked up #senshi is there as normal but i didnt draw him #extremely annoying abt getting thistle to eat properly. as he would be #Lots of other thoughts but no time so byeeeeeee ttyl

[skunkes]

YESSIRREEE

#THOUGHT ABOUT KILLIN MYSELF! *DING* #HIS JPNESE VOICE SOOOOOO CUTE AND SOFT....NEED TO LISTEN TO IT IN ENGLISH ONCE I FINISH EP #talkys #EVERYBODY STAND THE FUCK UP!!! #ARE WE READY FOR THISTLE THURSDAY NEXT WEEK BTW !

[thereallycoolmonsterithoughtup]

dungeon meshi as cool images i found on pinterest

the images ^

#dunmeshi #really cool art i thought up #kabru of utaya #thistle dungeon meshi #laios touden #i could have done more for the last image but i was in a rush cause im always on that GRIND #(i didnt have time to make it look decebt) #also maybe someday i'll post the not horribly compressed thistle but today is not that day.

[kabru-of-utaya]

ive somehow lived in my own delusional mind long enough that i genuinely forget it’s not canon that thistle is falin and laios’s little brother. every time i see them, im like…. yeah, obviously, thats their found family adopted little brother who hates them both so much (affectionate, would do anything for them, they saved his life, angsty teenager way) . i will never go back now, and i dont want to, they adopted him post canon, they adopted him in every world and every universe

#touden siblings includes thistle ‼️ #thistle #thistle dunmeshi #thistle dungeon meshi #laios #laios touden #falin #falin touden #dungeon meshi #delicious in dungeon #dunmeshi #my thoughts

[savaralyn2]

#dungeon meshi #delicious in dungeon #meshi #dm #thistle #honest i thought he was wearing thigh high boots not gay little shoe pants but okay #ryoko kui #jester boy! #translation

[mikamanga]

why would he do this? is he stupid?

#at the end the that chapter i thought he was fucking with laois #havent read the next one but man #delicious in dungeon spoiler #dunmeshi spoilers #dungeon meshi spoiler #dungeon meshi #dunmeshi #delicious in dungeon #thistle dungeon meshi #laois touden #laois dungeon meshi