I Want To Talk About Why I Think This Is The One Of The Most Important Falin Panels:

I want to talk about why I think this is the one of the most important Falin panels:

So, Falin is really nice, right? It's one of the first things we really learn about her. She's kind even to the monsters of the dungeon - choosing to ward the party rather than fight spirits and cause them needless harm.

In the above early flashback in chapter 11, we see Marcille fawning over Falin's kindness, calling her an angel. Namari calls her soft-hearted. We see Falin choose not to fight even when a zombie attacks - instead she resolves the confrontation with a hug. After the flashback, the first thing Senshi says is that Falin "sounds like quite the person," which Marcille strongly affirms.

At this point in the story, all we have seen of Falin are these impressions; she is a healer, an angel, a caretaker with an infinite well of kindness towards everyone she meets - both friend and foe.

And honestly, that remains most of what we have to go by to understand her. The only times we get to see Falin on the page, alive and just herself, are in the opening and closing pages of the story and in the brief period of time after she is resurrected.

Nonetheless, we do have some more details to work with. For one, there is the scene that The Panel is from - a short memory in chapter 75, when Marcille flashes back to while she's dying. In that scene, Falin prepares to teleport them all out, and says that she's sorry "if there is a person at [their] destination." And that's when we get The Panel.

If you teleport someone or something into another person, the person teleported into is likely to be, at minimum, severely injured. They could die.

We can see a lovely little horrifying example of exactly why in one of the Daydream Hour doodles:

So, hmm. That's not... that's not SUPER nice. Certainly not displaying the same "kindness to all, friend and foe included" we saw represented earlier. On a basic level, this adds some nuance to Falin's kindness. We see it break a little, when pushed to the limit. We see her chose to protect the people she loves above all else.

Which makes sense! As Laios says when the Winged Lion accuses him of similarly being motivated more by his friends' safety than everyone else in the dungeon, "...most people, aside from virtuous do-gooders, would feel the same way."

So, we can take The Panel as simply showing a moment of weakness for Falin. A time when she was pushed to her limits, and that "most people" selfish side of her shone through.

However... I think there's a little more going on with Falin than just her being an angel 99% of the time, except just that once. I love The Panel because I think it helps us understand that Falin isn't just motivated by kindness - she also has a desire to avoid seeing people in pain.

Isn't that the same thing?

No, no it very much is not.

Let's look at a short comic from the Falin section of the Adventurer's Bible, because I think it illustrates this point perfectly. The group is complaining about how much Marcille's healing hurts, and comparing it to Falin's, which "doesn't hurt a bit." Marcille retorts with the following:

Now, the punchline of this comic is that, despite Marcille's sentimental assertion that she's "thinking of [them]" by letting her healing magic hurt, they all still prefer to be healed by Falin.

But hey, this wouldn't be the first time that Dungeon Meshi hides a very real character beat or insight in a gag, so let's think about this somewhat seriously.

If Marcille is right (and she knows a fair bit about magic, so we can assume that she has at least somewhat of a point), then what Falin is doing isn't kind. I suppose if someone specifically requested to not feel the pain, it could be kind, but that's not really what happened here. She is the one who felt badly about the others being in pain, and she is the one who decided, without telling them or giving them a choice in the matter, to take away that pain.

Both Marcille and Falin are healing the party, but Marcille is doing it in a way that accomplishes the task in the most straight forward way, without any additional interference. Falin is going out of her way to perform the healing in a way she is more comfortable with. A way that avoids pain.

Going back the The Panel, I don't think its a coincidence that the only time we see Falin (well, non-chimera Falin) willing to do something that could hurt someone is when any potential pain will be far away from her. If she got someone hurt or killed by teleporting the party to the surface? Not only would it be far out of her sight, but she'd be dead before she had to deal with any consequences of that action.

Falin is not a confrontational person. She doesn't push when Marcille won't tell her the truth about the resurrection, and she comforts Laios about her own death - both of those things happening in the only full chapter she is alive and conscious in the whole story.

We also know that she considered accepting Shuro's proposal, despite not having any special feelings towards him, and that Falin never explained to Marcille that she wanted them to share a meal together. When she brought Marcille various foods at the academy, she just accepted Marcille's confused rejection and gave up.

And lastly, we know that she is still in contact with her parents, despite the neglect and abuse she suffered at their hands. Although the way someone chooses to handle contact with abusive or bad family is a complicated topic, which I don't want to overly simplify, I do I think this fact gets at the heart of how she handles conflict.

So many people that Falin loves have hurt her. There are understandable hurts, like Laios leaving the village, or Marcille not understanding the food. And there are bigger, far less justifiable hurts - like her parents neglecting her throughout her childhood, and sending her away to be alone at the magic academy.

It doesn't seem like Falin has ever confronted any of it directly.

And the unhealthy aspects of this kind of avoidance of pain and confrontation is one of the things that the story of Dungeon Meshi is all about. We see Laios grapple with it before he goes to kill Falin, and we see Marcille acknowledge it at the end of the story, when she tells Laios that she has come to terms with Falin's death:

Eating is a part of life. Consuming other living things is a part of life. It isn't really possible to avoid that pain - you can only hide from the truth of it. You have to be selfish everyday. You have to eat - to choose to live. To choose to take up space.

And this is something Falin embraces, too. She comes back to life, after all.

We see her choose to come back to life.

And how does she make that choice? She eats. She consumes, and then she is asked a question by the manifestation of hunger itself:

Do you want to eat more?

There is a double meaning in the Winged Lion's final words on the next page.

When I first read this, I took it as him saying: life is cruel. You will suffer. You will feel more pain.

But perhaps, especially for Falin, this also means: you are choosing a path where you must cause pain. Where you must consume. Where you must take, and must be selfish. Because eating is the special privilege of the living, and it is their burden, too. In order to stay alive, she will need to keep eating.

And she chooses that. Chooses to be selfish. It's why her resurrection scene is so important, and it's why The Panel is so important. Because Falin coming back isn't the ultimate reward for all of the party's hard work.

It's her choice. Just like it was her choice that started everything in the first place. But this time, she doesn't choose to accept causing pain for the sake of Marcille and Laios. She does it for her own sake.

More Posts from Mewtski and Others

mewtski

1 year ago

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mewtski

1 year ago

this panel from the world guide of falin being surrounded by other girls while laios is all alone kills me because. that's it. that's the key difference in their journeys.

as laios states himself, he left the village in order to create a home for him and falin elsewhere. a home that won't collapse due to others' hatred and fears like their old home did, a home where they are loved and accepted unconditionally. but as he soon found out, even before earning money, or having walls surrounding him and a roof above his head- what he so earnestly desired was to meet other people who will accept him for who he is as well. instead, he kept being tormented by those around him, shunned and sneered at. his loneliness quickly became all-consuming until he truly had nothing left except for the monsters in the pages of his book, but even that became a target of mockery and destroyed. that's why ever since the day he left the village, he never felt that he truly made the right choice. so he kept running away: unable to resist and unable to accpet.

and an ocean away from him there was his sister, who never managed to fully fit in herself. but unlike him, she met a person who became a home to her and learned what a true friendship was for the first time in her life. and laios clearly realizes that too when he finally sees falin and marcille together, he can tell his sister obtained the greatest treasure there is on her own- the exact thing he never managed to find anywhere himself, thus coming back empty-handed to the sister he left the village for.

but when you read this part of the manga, laios's focus is on falin's loneliness, not his own. he talks about how it hurts thinking about all those moments she had to spend alone because he wasn't there for her, so it almost sounds like he's the one who couldn't bear her suffering and therefore decided to not let her go again. but we do get a glimpse of their first meeting after that almost-decade long separation in the manga, and then we see more of that in the world guide and daydream hour- and it becomes abundantly clear that it was falin who was trying to protect and save him from this pit of loneliness and depression he was in.

so instead of just doing his best to atone for leaving her behind in the village and making sure she is never lonely again, it might also be that laios was desperately clinging to the one person in the world he felt that accepted and loved him unconditionally. those words he used to describe his motivation to stay by falin's side are the exact words she would've used as well; she couldn't bear leaving him behind in this state. in a sense, they were each other's shackles.

but then she did. she died for him and their friends, and ironically enough, it was by leaving him alone like this that he was finally able to stand on his own and put his full trust in others. to have the courage to reveal who he is and give others the opportunity to accept him after such a long time of hiding. it was a long journey, but his hiding finally came to an end when he faced the others after shedding his monster form. and i love that the person who was falin's "home" all those years away from laios, marcille, became just as meaningful to him during their time separated from falin- the first one to find him and show him that he isn't alone anymore. just as he did for her.

so at the end of the story when falin talks about all the places she would like to go, it's not just that she wants to pursue her own dreams- but that she actually feels free to do so and go anywhere she desires. and one of the main reasons for that is that her brother finally found new people he wants to be with; his own home.

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mewtski

1 month ago

Baby Azul cookie!! :D I wanna do baby jade and floyd too but I don't have any ideas for the flavor (put ur ideas in the comments if u got any 👀)

Also I turned him into a pin for my friend @blueberryjim's b-day :D hehe lil guy

more photos below cut

I do think I over-glazed him but if u think he looks better before dont tell me lol I'll be sad 😢

bonus jade sticker sheet I also made for my friends b-day

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mewtski

1 year ago

OH MY GOD IT'S LOVE—😭💗💖💗💖💞

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mewtski

1 year ago

Azul Ashengrotto - Platinum Jacket (Voice Lines)

Following is my translation of the voice lines for Azul's Platinum Jacket card.

Spoilers after the cut.

Azul Ashengrotto - Platinum Jacket (Voice Lines)

Summon

🐙: What a phenomenal art collection - priceless works as far as the eye can see… This is the perfect opportunity to refine one's eye for beauty, wouldn't you say?

🐙: Appreciating the arts is the best way to strengthen one's imagination. Let us study well, and have a wonderful time today.

Home Lines

🐙: A hundred year anniversary, eh. That's simply amazing.

🐙: Floyd is as freewheeling as ever in museums. Though an eel he may be, he's nothing at all like the pair that served the Sea Witch.

🐙: I came across Vil admiring a piece of artwork very intently. When I inquired with him, he said he was simply studying the beautiful pose. I wouldn't expect anything less from a professional such as him.

🐙: It feels great to learn a piece you've had your eye on has increased in value. It's confirmation that your intuition was correct.

🐙: If there's a piece you're interested in, please don't hesitate to ask me about it. I've been studying the fine arts as part of my education, and am sure I could offer you at least a simple explanation.

🐙: Jamil-san appears to have a sharp eye for fine art, and I'll be glad to continue our acquaintanceship.

🐙: The King of the Underworld was said to be skilled in the art of negotiation. I'd love to read more about it - more so in detailed accounts, rather than just anecdotes.

🐙: Amongst those in the managerial profession, many have hobbies related to the fine arts. Being well-versed in art, music, and literature comes in great use when talking business.

🐙: I presume Ortho-san can identify counterfeits quite easily using his sensors… Perhaps if the opportunity arises, I'll inquire with him about it.

🐙: I wonder just how many merfolk the Sea Witch assisted throughout her life. She was such a mighty mage it could've been hundreds… perhaps even thousands.

🐙: This corsage was designed based on the shell the Sea Witch would wear on her necklace. It's lovely, isn't it?

🐙: Oh, my. That glimmer in your eyes… If you've taken a liking to that piece, I'd be happy to procure a reproduction for you - and I'll throw in a special discount for you, of course.

Groovy

🐙: Love is a wonderful thing. One's troubles never end when one has fallen in love, and it's a marvelous boon for those of us in the consultation business.

DUO

🐙: I could certainly use some assistance here, Jamil-san.

🐍: Well you certainly don't look it, Azul.

You can read my summary of this card's vignette over here on my twitter.

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mewtski

7 months ago

SR Jade Leech - Nightmare Suit Voice Lines

Due to event restrictions, Groovy related lines are locked until the event has been cleared. I will update once these are unlocked.

Summon: This is Halloween! I'm sure this will be a frightful night. Aahh, I cannot stop trembling from anticipation.

Groovification: --LOCKED--

Home: I'm thrilled to see what may happen.

Home Transition 1: A screaming pumpkin... I would love to decorate the Mostro Lounge with one. I'm sure it would provide our customers with a lovely scare.

Home Transition 2: The more unperturbed someone seems to be by what goes on around them, the more I yearn to startle them by any means possible. For example... Someone like Malleus-san.

Home Transition 3: How befitting of his crown. I'm sure Jack-san has done his fair share of delightful... Ah, I mean wicked tricks.

Home Transition - Login: --LOCKED--

Home Transition - Groovy: --LOCKED--

Home Tap 1: This town is filled with individually peculiar people, including the mayor. I would love nothing more than to carry on a deep conversation with all of them over a spot of tea.

Home Tap 2: I've heard that those who live in Halloween Town spend the whole year thinking towards Halloween. I would not be able to do that.

Home Tap 3: I wonder what that could possibly be over there...? Ah, no, don't mind me. I was merely curious, as I saw Riddle-san's shoulders perk back in fright after peering under the stairs.

Home Tap 4: Worm's Wort and Frog's Breath, hm... Those could be very useful potionology ingredients. I saw Epel-kun jotting that down.

Home Tap 5: Oh my, is my forehead distracting? I know I've an upswept style right now, but please don't poke at it.

Home Tap - Groovy: --LOCKED--