Izoopsoupi.

In celebration of Izustumi making her proper anime debut yesterday, I present a fic that posits "what if her backstory is actually way worse than it sounds?"

Inspired by this post by @n7punk

so i have made Entirely too many dungeon meshi playlists. please enjoy. they are my children. any discussion you wish to engage in around them will delight me beyond measure.

these were made with the whole manga in mind, so there is a possibility of a vague spoiler from a song choice, ymmv:

laios // falin // marcille // senshi // chilchuck // izutsumi // kabru // mithrun // winged lion // thistle

labru // farcille // touden siblings // laios's party

Imagine utilizing this app to actually post anything instead of mindlessly scrolling through feeds and tags couldn't possibly be me bwahahahahaha >:]

i have not watched or read any dunmeshi and will not do so but i really really really really really love izutsumi. so shes minnesotan now sorry

There’s just something extremely touching about watching Izutsumi work through a wide range of emotions when she sees Marcille cry for the first time.

She’s sleeping on Marcille’s lap when it happens—something she hadn’t willingly done since her human consciousness was subdued in the Golden Country.

Izutsumi was initially very embarrassed when she remembered showing Marcille such unbridled affection when her monster (cat) side had full control in Melini. But now, shortly after, she did it again without any fuss, seemingly over this embarrassment.

But when she notices Marcille crying—not crying expressive tears over a situation with low stakes, but tears of real sorrow and loss—Izutsumi physically recoils.

She reacts with the childlike fear and panic that one feels when someone they heavily rely on and trust (like a parent or teacher) shows vulnerability, doubt, or weakness. She lashes out, trying to use words of reproach to get Marcille to stop crying. Or, in childlike terms, to try to force Marcille’s pain go away.

When that doesn’t work, we see her physically struggle as she tries to sit by and wait it out. But Izutsumi can’t do it.

Marcille’s pain causes her so much intense distress that Izutsumi immediately offers physical affection as a response—something she has not done for anyone up to this point.

When Senshi told the party about his traumatic backstory, Izutsumi did not touch him. She did support him, tried to offer words of comfort, but she did not embrace him like the others did. Maybe she didn’t know how; maybe she didn’t have a proper example on what comforting someone looked like. But she saw all three of them reach for Senshi, she saw them hold him in their arms, and anchor him as he cried.

This is the first time another party member has cried out of sadness since that moment. It’s possible that she saw how the others helped Senshi, and maybe, subconsciously, she saw that it worked. That it made him feel better.

She is clearly unused to it, and has her own rollercoaster of emotions as Marcille gratefully accepts the comfort Izutsumi is offering her. But it helps. It helps Marcille immediately, and Izutsumi knows this.

These acts of vulnerability are foreign to her, and thus make her feel uncomfortable, but she lets Marcille lean on her afterwards anyway. She wanted Marcille to be okay, wanted it so badly, that she accidentally overcame an emotional obstacle she never even knew she had.

Lil bat doodle for your troubles

I REMEMBERED HOW TO DRAW DRAGONS AAAAAAAAAAA

Look at this handsome boy :]

I figured out how to draw my sona in a way I actually enjoy LETS GOOO >:]

Do you guys think Izutsumi does teenager talk and chilchuck is the only one who can understand her? No? Aw man ☹️

Idk how to draw senshi if you can’t tell

Here's your yearly reminder NOT to purchase bat taxidermy products.

Because of their size, bats are notoriously difficult to find deceased from natural causes, and by the time they are found, the bodies have often already decomposed beyond value.

As sad as it is, it's true — As holidays approach, I know many people with an interest in these critters have the potential to receive gifts that are very unethical for the creatures they care about. Bats are killed for the sole purpose of displays like this as a soulless cash grab. Already, there are dozens of bat species that are threatened or endangered. It is not fair to them to support an industry that is actively trying to extinguish their life for decoration.

You can read more about this crisis here and here.

Photo provided by Denley Photography on Unsplash.

Reblogs on this post are encouraged.