I am the NERDLORD

Next chapter is up. I'm feeling like this arc might be a bit messier than the last.

Which if you're like me and love messy characters, that's fucking great! Enjoy!

hm..well..yk..I could always help..yk..like the cool guy I am..

Sorry for being late, guys. I really needed some rest this week. Lots of stuff happened and I've wound up writing and re-writing this chapter more times than I expected. Even wound up throwing out a big part of the story in favor of an idea that popped into my head literally hours ago!

But I think I made the point I'm trying to make and that's honestly more than any piece of juicy lore or action packed fight scene could have done, so I'm happy.

Petsitting is hard work. I'm tired, sweaty, and probably smell like wet dog. Ugh, I'm gonna go take a shower and try to get some rest before this big mutt tries cuddling (smothering) me again.

And like I'm not Japanese but I do know about how bad Japanese Work Culture is and I don't think Toshiro was picked to be the one made an example of in this way by chance, Ryoko Kui's work does seem to be coming from a perspective that is very informed by her background and she's clearly not afraid of putting social commentary and critique into her stories. But even aside from that I know as an American we also get that "kill yourself for your job I'll sleep when I'm dead hustle culture" shit poured into our brains from day one, so legit having a story be like "hey bro actually you refusing to take care of yourself in the pursuit of this goal is kneecapping your ability to actually reach it and you need to take a nap and eat some bread" is also pretty fantastic.

Plus, in a lot of activist circles these days I see a lot of people convinced that you must always be on all the time regardless of how badly it's hurting you, which is so toxic because again, if you are traumatizing and exhausting yourself you CAN'T HELP PEOPLE. Exposing yourself to hell 24/7 so you're a good ally is making you a worse one. You cannot help people with their oxygen masks until you put on your own, you need to rest and take care of yourself so you can help others.

Also like, as a disabled person it's also nice to see rest being treated as necessary. Disabled people get so much flack for being "lazy" and it's very easy to internalize the idea that you must be productive to be worthy of life, but Dungeon Meshi is very pro "you can't do anything if you aren't giving yourself breaks and rest when you need it" and it's really validating!

All around the focus put in rest and nourishment being necessary not just for life but for being a force of positive action in the world is something I think a lot of us could use to hear from media. I love a good "you're beaten and bloody and exhausted but you're gonna keep fighting even if it kills you" dramatic moment as much as the next person but there is still so much to explore in a story that tells you to calm the fuck down and eat something so you can actually do the work that needs doing. It's compassionate and reassuring but also a bit of a wake up call.