no what you guys don't understand is that Katniss and Carl are the same.
both of these franchises talk about the same thing: the wealthy and privileged using their means to make vulnerable people an entertainment source.
The Capitol uses the Hunger Games not only as a way to control the population by fear, but also to keep their citizens desensitized to the horrors.
They do this by making the Tributes kill eachother and televise it, making them esentially a prop for their own narrative. And the Tributes don't have a say in it.
In the end, the Tributes are simply following orders. Orders that sometimes are explicit, and sometimes they're implicit "either do or die".
As explained by Katniss in Mockingjay:
Then, there's this parallel with Carl
Carl also recognizes that he's part of this TV show where his entire class is being wiped out. And the viewers love it. The only difference is that (in most cases) the crawlers don't kill each other, but they die facing the Dungeon (and even that changes from time to time, when the showrunners push for a certain narrative too).
What I'm saying is that Suzane Collins and Matt Dinniman are making the same point here:
When the wealthy are too wealthy to understand that people aren't toys, we must rise and remind them that we're not pawns.
Instead of easily being able to find a Tutorial Guild Crawlers’ first “Quest” is to find a Guide.
They’re all ex-crawlers and they’re all held in stasis between crawls, and they all have different circumstances that allow for them to be “activated”.
Carl and Donut don’t realise how lucky they are that they arrive in an area without other crawlers to fight for a guide.
They’re also lucky that their guide is a simple enough wakening: All Carl has to do is go up to the statue and put a piece of jewellery on the strange creature with its outstretched hand.
He takes off a simple metal band, his mother’s wedding ring, off the chain he wears with his dog tags, and slides it onto the first finger he can find.
New Achievement! Married At First Sight!
Congratulations, Crawler! You have found a Game Guide! You have also completed the steps necessary to awaken him! Unfortunately for you the method you have chosen to awaken him went… well, a step too far, really. You could have put that ring on any finger. Hell, those dog tags of yours count as jewellry as well, you coulda given the guy that! Instead you stuck that ring right on his left ring finger.
Reward: You are now contractually bound to Guildmaster Mordecai (Level 50 Fire Mage Arcanist Changeling). If you two are not partied together at the collapse of each floor he will be entitled to half of your assets! If you die over the course of this Dungeon he will be entitled to all of your assets! That doesn’t sound like a super compelling reason to be invested in your continued survival if you ask me.
I keep seeing people talk about their fan casting for the DCC live action series and in correlation how they find it hard to think of Carl as 27/late 20's. And I get it to an extent, because yeah, he does seem to have a much more mature mindset at times. But I feel like we're also forgetting that this "very mature seemingly older" guy's first solution to most things is "can I make a bomb for this?" And most of the time (at least up until book 5, I'm not beyond that yet), any time that we learn about Carl's life before the dungeon from Donut, it's mostly him sitting at his gaming desk in, you guessed it, boxers. If that doesn't read mid to late 20's male, I don't know what does. Not to mention, I think it's also important to look at Bea's character when discussing his age as that's who he was seeing before it all happened, and Bea as a character reads very young and immature, and also in her 20's. And I know guys date younger sometimes, but I just think there's too many factors to consider outside of the dungeon that appoints to Carl's age.
if y'all are gonna ignore one of the first paragraphs, in the first book of the whole damn series then this shit is never gonna work guys.
also, it's ridiculous that some people can't see him as a 27 y/o. like, have you guys ever met a 27 y/o? or are you saying that because you just... don't know anybody past 22?
believe when i tell you people in their late 20s are every bit as inmature as rampant teenagers. you know when that becomes more evident and heightened? when those people, as teens, had traumatic events.
is actually very normal for a person that went through hard stuff in their teens, to be "extra" immature and child-like in their 20s. why? because you didn't experience what other teens did, and now that you have the power, you want to.
Carl didn't get to play COD in his teens because he was too busy sharing a room with 6 other kids at the orphanage. of course he's gonna play for hours with Sam. that's not weird. it's actually one of the most normal things he does ever.
also he has all this built up rage because he didn't get to tell his father off, he didn't get to release his anger in therapy because he never went. of fcking course he wants to blow up the galaxy. he's been wanting to since he was 13.
carl who has done so many insane and dangerous and brutal things but who was red in the face with nerves about singing karaoke in a bar. carl who literally ripped off a man's arm with his bare hands and had the message passed along that that was just a deposit, but who said florin was intense when he first met him. i love him so much
You'd think Dennis would find this funny, wouldn't you?
Housesitting for your boss, when one day a dirty magazine arrives in the mail. Oh how hilarious. Now Dr Robby not only owes him a favour, but Dennis now has something funny to tease him over too. Fantastic. Trinity will piss herself laughing.
But that's not what happens.
Dennis immediately drops the thing out of shock, shouting "shit shit shit shit shit-" in a progressively panicked tone.
Because this, this, is the magazine that, back when he was extremely desperate for money, he did a boudoir style shoot for.
He never thought about those photos again after they took them. Until now obviously. But now all he can think about is that his boss/friend/crush might have seen him like that.
Arms above his head, with his jumper riding up, and his nipple peaking out.
Oh god Dr Robby might have seen his nipple.
He also tries to shove down the unhelpfully hopeful thought about how Robby is subscribed to this magazine. This magazine that this is very much targeted towards men who are attracted to other men. Dennis has to actively stomp down that giddy internal monologue squealing "I have a chance!"
Because that is ridiculous. No matter what this subscription might suggest, there is no way someone like Robby would want a relationship with him.
As far as he could tell, from overhearing Princess and Perlah's gossip, all Robby's previous 'relationships' had been with women. All the ones serious enough to be known about at work anyway. This must just be some fun that the man enjoys privately? Right?
The thoughts become even harder to shut down when Robby starts casually phoning him at his rest stops.
"To check how things are going."
That's what his attending says he's doing anyway. But over time the calls have morphed more into friendly chats than practical discussions about the house.
Asking more about what music Dennis likes and what it was like growing up in Nebraska, than about if he remembered to take the bins out or if any of the neighbours had asked after him.
These chats flowed both ways obviously. Dennis learned a lot about Robby too. From how he liked his eggs cooked, to how he sung and played bass in a very shortly lived rock band in medical school.
Robby was momentarily horrified when Dennis managed to find a grainy camcorder video on YouTube of "The Flu Fighters" performing in a crowded bar sometime in the 90s. He also blushed when his resident complimented how good the performance sounded. And laughed when Dennis screeched out "IS THAT DR ABBOT?!" mid way through watching the clip.
It was, the night shift resident was on vocals, and at one point had his leg (not yet a prosthetic) propped up boldly on one of the amps, strutting like a peacock at someone in the front row of the crowd.
So given how 'close' they had gotten, it only felt natural when eventually these chats turned into video calls.
Their talks usually took place after Dennis' shift, so this way he could make himself some dinner, without the need to sandwich his phone between his shoulder and the side of his face. It was much easier just propping 'Robby' up on the worktop so the older man could watch Dennis potter around the kitchen prepping and cooking a stir fry while they shared details about their day.
It makes the house feel less big and empty. And good lord Dennis definitely notices the difference on the days the Motel's lack of wifi stops Robby from calling.
Robby jokes skeptically on one of these calls that Dennis "probably hasn't managed to keep any of the houseplants alive". That he was expecting to come back in just over a week to "a barren wasteland in colourful pots".
To which the younger man became very mock offended. Because as he pointed out, he is "an excellent plant foster dad, thank you". Proving his point by taking Robby on a tour of the luscious, green, and thriving beauties.
Though when he goes to show off the Monstera by the front door that was now actually starting to flower, Robby suddenly goes white as a sheet. Dennis taps his phone at first, thinking the feed must have frozen given how still and silent his boss had gone.
He scans the room for what may have panicked Robby.
Oh god. Did he fuck up somehow?
Did he trek mud in on his boots?
Did Trinity leave a liquor bottle laying somewhere?
Did the mail pile look too mess--
Oh shit
The magazine. It was clearly visible on the entry way table right next to the plant.
Dennis hadn't known what to do with it, so he'd just sort of left it there hoping it would disappear like a bad dream. But if the thing arriving here in the first place was a bad dream, then this was a nightmare.
Just as Dennis is about to start a frantic diversion onto another topic, Robby waterfalled out a thousand apologies.
"Fuck! Shit Dennis I'm so fucking sorry. Shit fuck I thought I cancelled the damn- "
"Robby?"
"-fucking hell- Dennis I cannot apologise enough, this was a total overstep-"
"Robby."
"-of boundaries and I completely understand if you want to swap shifts or-"
"ROBBY!" He shouted. Which finally made his attending stop babbling, didn't make him look any less frantic though. "I-It's fine, honestly! You have nothing to be ashamed of. There's no need for me to swap-"
"Nothing to be ashamed of?!" Robby cutted in again, "Dennis I don't know how stringent HR laws are in Nebraska, but an attending subscribing to a magazine because they saw a picture of their resident in an issue of it is so far beyond the realms of-" Robby cut himself off as he realised what he'd let slip. The chief hid his face behind his hands and let out a long sigh turned despairing groan.
"W-what- you- how did-" stuttered Dennis
Robby sighed much lighter this time. "Jack bought me one copy of it. As a joke. A 'funny' Christmas present after I came out to him as bisexual"
"Oh.. I, didn't know you were bi,"
"Honestly? It's a fairly recent thing. Well, recent in proportion to the rest of my life, I guess..." Even over a video call it was clear Robby was looking anywhere but him. All this talk of sexuality very clearly still made him a bit nervous.
"Well that's, ok? You know?" Dennis tried his best to be comforting. He hadn't exactly had many positive coming out experiences to base this chat off though. "There's no timeline for these things"
"I didn't even know I was on a timeline. I've only ever liked women. I'd never even looked twice at a man like that until I met-" Robby cut himself off and shook his head
"Until.. you met..?"
Those deep brown eyes returned to Dennis.
"You."
It felt like time stood still. Surely he can't be hearing this right, could he? That's impossible.
"Why would you say that?" Replied Robby with a furrowed brow
Oops, Dennis had said that last part out loud it seemed.
"Dennis, you're... you're amazing. You're smart, and you're funny. And you're somehow both handsome and adorable... How could I not start to like you?" His attending's kicked puppy expression returned. "I can only apologise that you've been saddled with an old man fawning over you like this..."
"You're not old! Well, you are- I mean, you're not that old, er, I don't mind that you're old? Or the fawning. Because I am too! The fawning that is, not the uh, old... Yeah"
Robby's face was a mix of shocked eyes and a tiny hopeful smile.
Meanwhile Dennis tried his very best to be brave. "So maybe when you, uh, get back, we could? Fawn? Together?"
The attending smirks at the unintelligible waffle of cuteness "Whittaker. Are you asking me on a date?"
"Yes. I think so. If you want to. Or er, would like that or- something."
"I would like that."
"That's great!" He shouted, unable to curb his enthusiasm. "Ah- yeah that, erm that would be cool" Great save Whitaker, flawless.
Neither of them spoke for a while beyond beaming like smitten teenagers and playfully telling the other to "piss off".
I completely forgot to post these designs I made at the beginning of November last year. The final versions you see here were finished in March of this year and… I lost the folder. How shameful. How predictable. How… human.
Presenting Carl, Donut, and Mongo from Dungeon Crawler Carl, one of my favorite book series.
REWARD: You get to look at this artwork for as long as you want. It grants no EXP, no loot, and absolutely no tactical advantage. But maybe it’ll give you epilepsy. Lucky you!
And yeah, there's more. Much more. I designed several characters from the books, and I'll be sharing them in future posts.
NEW ACHIEVEMENT: THE LOST FOLDER.
You found artwork several months after it had been finished. +1 Organization. (That's a lie. You're exactly the same.)
You found artwork several months after it had been finished. +1 Organization. (That's a lie. You're exactly the same.)
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