#Mana's ramblings

[falling-star-cygnus]

Can you do a Billy Kid story where he catches a computer virus that causes him to simulate the symptoms of the common cold?

YES I CAN <333

@purplewillowsofthemist had a similar request, so I hope this is to both your tastes!!

...ugh..

Why do my limbs feel so heavy...?

The waking world came like a flashbang to his senses, with all the colors stabbing through his video processors like needles. Did someone mess with his settings again..? Turn them up too high?

It hurt to think.

And yet... it seemed to be the only thing that Billy was capable of at the moment. The effort it was taking to come back online scared him a little- a lot, actually. Was his battery dying? Was he dying!?

What happened? Where am I..? Wasn't I.. on a mission?

The mission!

Bits and pieces of his last waking hours begin to filter through, each snapshot sending painful waves through his circuits like one of Nicole's scolding hits.

Entering the Hollow with their client..

The Ethereals being easier to fight off for some reason.

Celebrating... suspicion..

Anby's swords fizzling out..

Nothing.

P a i n.

"...e.. omin- line?" …they sounded familiar. Worried, though, they shouldn't sound worried. None of his friends should sound like that ever.

"...ot su..."

Small, cold hands gently touched his face. Familiar hands, with chewed fingernails and callouses.

"Ther- ..aw.. low!"

This time, Billy could vaguely feel clawed fingertips clutching onto his jacket. It still hurt to even consider fighting through the static that seemed intent on blanketing him..

But if his friends were worried...

"Bi-..y!" "...-ly!" "Billy?"

The final nail in his coffin of awareness comes in the form of a manicured hand threading through synthetic hair and guiding his aching head up on something soft, "Billy ...-ake up, right now!"

He finally manages to crack his eyes open, and keep them open, as he takes in the blurry forms around him.

Nekomata was clutching at his arm, probably causing little tears in the leather of his jacket- not that he minded too much, it could be fixed- Anby was practically nose to nose with him, her amber eyes tracking... something.. and Nicole was...

Letting him rest on her lap?

Oh Starlight Knights, he really was dying, wasn't he?

The manicured hand in his hair smacks him- but, gently. More like a tap, if anything.

"Don't even joke about that! You're not dying, Billy."

Oh! That was nice to know. Boss wouldn't lie to him.

"...he's really out of it, huh? Meow.."

Those calloused hands on his face pat his forehead consolingly and Billy's foggy brain finally connects them to Anby. It was sort of nice to be touched like this, actually, even if he was in pain. It'd been a while since he'd had a hug.

"Billy..."

The hands on him twitch slightly, like a flinch, before pressing closer. More solidly establishing their presence.

Was he talking out loud?

"Oh... yeah, yeah you are, Billy." Oh. Wait- Manager!?

The static in his head spikes suddenly, and it makes it impossible to catch any of the following conversation. He can barely even question when Phaethon had shown up. Or- the siblings went by a different name now, didn't they?

"-r... t's- ourse."

It was getting harder to catch words, again..

"...recover.. f- ..ays."

Something cold presses against his forehead, the too bright too hazy surroundings dim. Was he powering off again..? He didn't want to be alone...

"It's ok... " It was?

"We'll be- ..ere.. wh- ..wake up."

...promise?

"Promise."

ok... Billy's eyes slip shut.

The Boss wouldn't lie to him, after all.

———-—————————————————————-

lmk if you liked it!! and what should i do next :D

[scarapanna]

Doodles!!!

Im on that au brainrot grind, and made a small change to pewpaw and the possum's eyes. Now they get the outline all the others get!! My creachures..../silly

+ a silly wip hehe

Last instance of IO!pv's hair being tidied up and having a mostly normal sleep pattern/silly

[arimiaromage]

I really can only view Nea's story as self sacrifice.

Nea realized his fate was to become the Earl and destroy the world. He didn't have any options, because he wasn't just a Noah, he was the Earl.

So he made a new option.

If him being a Noah and the Earl would lead to the world being destroyed, then all he had to do was destroy that first. He (begrudgingly) accepted help from Allen and Cross because he realized he couldn't do it all on his own, especially when it came to the ark.

And then there was Mana.

He did all of it—killing the other Noah, working with Cross & Allen, even knowing he was the Earl...—he did it all for Mana.

This is where we get into the theory section.

I can't help but feel that he knew they were both the Earl. I feel like sometime after he awakened as a Noah, Nea began regaining Adam's memories- not his Noah memories, but Adam's memories of being at the Campbell manor and such. He realized him and Mana weren't twins and that he himself wasn't just a Noah, he was the Noah. And with that, an inkling that Mana was the same.

And yet, despite knowing that they weren't actually brothers, that if he wanted to prevent the Earl—himself—from destroying the world he would have to die and most likely kill his beloved brother as well—he still stayed with him. He never left Mana's side and Mana never left his.

...So much so that those visuals are still imprinted on Earl!Mana's memories.

Nea's fate was to destroy the world as the Earl. But just like how your path isn't set until you make your own footprints in the ground, Nea forged his own path. A hard, lonely path that involved becoming a murderer and leading to his own murder-suicide.

I really feel like that was Nea's plan- kill the Noah, kill Mana, and then kill himself once he became the only living fragment of the Earl. After all, this is his last journey.

Nea decided to kill Mana after killing the Noah, but Road stopped him before he crossed that line. I really feel like that's what was happening in the flashback of Road holding Mana.

Nea knew he and Mana were both the Earl and that's what led him to killing the other Noah and eventually trying to kill Mana.

It's all a self-sacrifice but it's all a sacrifice for Mana's sake. Nea was the one to decide to become a murderer, to decide to kill Mana before he becomes the Earl. And now because of this path he's chosen, he's alone.

Nea is quick to shut out any outside help now that he realizes he is truly alone- Mana is still mostly consumed by the Earl, Cross is "dead", and Allen has no memory of him. Allen was alone when he fled the order but he still had friends searching for him and eventually helping him. Nea has none of that now. But that's the life he chose.

It's both a self-sacrifice in the physical sense, that he plans on killing the last fragment of the Earl (himself) and a more mental sense as he takes on the burden of the world onto himself and refuses to let anyone else help.

Just like Allen and Mana have developed "masks" to hide their pain from others, Nea has one to shield his pain as well. It would be so easy for him to try to help Allen regain his memories, but instead he has to keep up the tough guy act and pretend he doesn't care.

He has tried to throw away everything including his emotions with his self-sacrificial journey but at the end of the day he is still a human trying to mask his pain because he knows the path he's chosen is nothing but tragedy.

The only path left for Nea now is to kill Mana (and probably himself) and Nea is determined to not let anyone get close to him again as he sets out on his path of destruction again.

It's so wildly self-destructive but also such an interesting foil to Allen's self-sacrificial tendencies—Allen throws himself in danger to protect others from the pain he's experienced all while pretending to be someone he's not, but Nea never had the luxury of choosing to protect people like that. The best way Nea can protect the people he loves is if he's dead.

There is no doubt in my mind that Nea (still) loves Mana and Mana (still) loves Nea (and even further, that the pieces of Earl!Mana that are so attached to Nea are pieces of Mana that are still alive).

I really see Nea's whole story as being an entirely self-sacrificial path to try to save his beloved brother from becoming a monster and shoving the entire weight of the world ending on his own shoulders, not letting others close enough to take off the burden. Except Allen.

Allen somehow got close enough to Nea to not only become the person he trusted with the ark, the Earl's prized device for fighting and creating akuma, but to take some of that burden off of Nea's shoulders. Just like we're seeing Allen's mask fall off as he's surrounded by allies again, I hope we'll see the same with Nea as he realizes he can trust Allen once more—one final time for one final journey.

-------------------------------------

yeah that was some rambling / my own theory on Nea's goals and why he acts That Way. at the end of the day he's a pissy catboy who really wants attention from the people he loves most but can't because he's also trying to kill them </3

[lanternliighting]

"stop talking about malice mizer for two fucking seconds"

no. MANA SAMA.

[etlu-yume]

"Weekend" they said. "Free time"

And my brain proceeded to know absolutely NO chill this weekend.

(Okay technically most of "Can't hold me down 'cause you know I'm a fighter" was done last weekend, but it was still Outstanding™ and had to be finished. The rest were all done in the time since Friday afternoon.)

[ethereance]

Aʅϝυʂισɳ  αυ

Where shapeshifting isn’t the only trick up alteans’ sleeves.

Basically, this is an au where, among their other abilities, alteans can fuse SU style. They’re a diplomatic species, and so as well as being able to fuse amongst themselves, they can do so with those from other planets. It’s just easier to both initiate and hold when they’re both altean. 

-The first people Allura sees fuse are her parents. The dance is magnetising, effortlessly elegant, so different from the stiff dances from Altea she’s used to, such a departure from tradition. It comes straight from the heart, from their very being, their quintessence aligning perfectly to form a person so wholly new, yet familiar, those eyes loving and kind in the way she had known her parents to be. 

-She decides, right then and there, she will find herself a bond like that, someone who will dance with her and make sparks fly across the dance floor. She wants what her parents have, a fusion like Melfor, born of love and trust. 

-Then she sees Coran fuse with Alfor, a dance somewhat more traditional, but no less loving, that unconditional trust in those eyes there as Alran forms. As Allura will later learn, any fusion Coran’s part of will include a moustache. Always. No exception. Even when Allura eventually fuses with him, a boundless rush of energy in her veins, popping and crackling, their fusion is not exempt from this rule.

-Coran has fused with both Melenor and Alfor at the same time. They are the ultimate parent to Allura.

-Coran and Allura fuse into Cora after cryosleep, when the paladins have retrieved the lions and they are alone and bound by their grief. It doesn’t last long, and the unfuse when they realise what is happening. It’s doubly crushing, but with it, what sticks with them is the small sense of comfort, knowing that they have each other.

-Coran has so many tales to tell about his past fusions (they’re all gone now. Will never exist again). 

-Coran doesn’t really fuse anymore. But if he did, you just know a fusion between him Pidge and Hunk would be an engineering wizard. 

-Fusions speak a medley of whatever languages are in their brains. You don’t notice it with the universal translators on though.

-They also gain their own accent.

-They can also wield their normal paladin weapons + their own special fusion one.

-The first paladin Allura fuses with is Shiro. (Lance has a sexuality crisis when he first looks at Shallura but that’s neither here nor there). She’s known the paladins for a while at this point and is steadily warming up to them, steadily gaining hope and trust in them. They’re not much yet, but one day they will be. Hopefully. At least Shiro seems dependable. 

-Their fusion feels strong, a true leader, the only responsible one in the room ™. 

-Still only one flesh arm.

-Shallura also has a bottomless well of material for their gallows humour. Please don’t let them participate in standup comedy.

-So much PTSD from the galra.

-Most likely of the fusions to give a lecture.

-They’re the first fusion the team meet, and for a second Keith goes through all the stages of grief thinking they’ve lost Shiro again. “What have you done with Shiro?!”

“Keith, I’m right here. Kind of.”

-Hunk, Pidge and Lance absolutely want a turn afterwards. Pidge is interested because science ™ and Lance for reasons his two friends will tease him about.

-Pidge is very younger sibling in Shallura’s eyes. Shiro’s protectiveness over Matt’s sister and Allura’s want to become closer to the only other girl on the team meshes. Pidge gets free piggybacks (she acts like a disgruntled cat about this).

-Keith has no idea how to act around them. Sometimes he starts treating them like Shiro, then catches himself. It makes Shallura feel a little put out, having known Keith for so long, so much trust built up there (well, with Shiro anyway). They just want him to be comfortable around them. 

-Knowing Keith the way Shiro has helps soften the revelation of Keith being part galra (also by fusing with Keith herself later on).

-When fusing with Kuron, something feels so unimaginably off, though Allura can’t quite place it. It leaves her with a slight headache in her head afterwards, almost like someone was whispering to her. Kura (Kuron and Allura) fusion doesn’t happen many times, and those fusions don’t last. Kuron is hesitant to fuse, but doesn’t know why.

-Bayard form is a rapier. Because why not (the reason I’ll use for all bayard forms I give). Or maybe just another form of sword. 

-Hunk, ever friendly Hunk, is Allura’s next fusion. He’s determined to create a dish that reminds her of home, only with their limited ingredients at the time he’s struggling to even make food that tastes like his own home. He’s unfamiliar with what is out here, so far out in space. But, eventually, he gains an eye for picking out ones that are edible and won’t give you a nasty space rash. And, with the help of coran, makes a flan that somewhat tastes like altea as it once was. It’s not exact, but the dish is filled with so much heart, so much flavour, that she’s thankful nonetheless. 

-They fuse as she hugs him in thanks.

-Ank or Hura??? Is somehow more disney princess than Allura. They will give those little guys as many baths as their heart desires. They are also the first fusion out of the paladins that gets photographed because they love taking silly selfies with the mice.

-Has made the mice blanket burritos because they’re cute.

-Will kill you with kindness.

-Ultimate diplomat. Not only will they win you over with words, but also food. 

-(After Allura becomes a paladin) They’re two legs!!! Team leg!

-The mix of Allura’s tastebuds and Hunk’s gives them a strange palette. Yes, they know logically that space chocolate should never be mixed with space mustard and argleberries and yellolian pie. But wouldn’t it be interesting to try?

-Ank won’t let anyone try those dishes though. They know that would be considered a disgrace to cooking.

-They get on well with Pidge and end up helping her through the altean language simulator once they realise she has an interest in learning. 

-When unfusing with Allura, Hunk eventually realises that a few altean words do stay in his brain even without the universal translators.

-As comforting as the fusion is, being Ank does heighten insecurities about winning this war. It’s best to fuse when neither of them are in a downwards spiral.

-Has a very, very large fear of loneliness.

-As Allura’s relationship with Lance ends up improving, it reflects in his friendship with Ank. “It’s like having two best friends in one!”

-Bayard form is some sort of grenade launcher. 

-Pidge has had less walls up for a fair while now that the secret of her identity is out, so, though a little hesitant, she really wants to try this fusion thing. She knows she’s not the best at people, which is another reason why she’s interested in this. It’s like a shortcut, a hack into the system. Instant bonding. Only they don’t fuse right away, that ridiculous dance seeming like it was all for nothing. 

-But you can’t force a fusion. Like bonding with a lion, it requires trust.

-Eventually Allura and Pidge bond over talking about family. Allura becomes even more determined to help find Pidge’s brother and dad. If Allura can’t have her family anymore, at least she can help Pidge find hers.

-Pallura is incredibly smart, and whilst Pidge’s understanding of altean tech is way above average, fusing with Allura gives Pallura that extra edge.

-Sometimes the need to see her family is debilitating. 

-She’s pretty insane about Monsters & Mana.

-Bayard form is a chakram. Or perhaps a flail?

-Give her a crossword or space puzzle cube any day.

-Matt is so confused when he first meets her. 

-Palunk/Hillura/Hida (think I like Hillura more?) is Allura’s first three person fusion and they don’t stay fused for long because of it. 

-Kallura first fuse when they both try and run away to stop Zarkon tracking the team. 

-The team finds out when on that call.

-“You fused with Allura before me?!!!”  - Lance

-Lance is upset about Kallura having a mullet. “You’re better than this!” He’s very conflicted on how to interact with them. On one hand, they’re Keith. On the other, they’re Allura. But they are also both and neither.

-Their bayard is a rope dart.

-Kallura has a lot of suppressed anger from grief. Bottling up and compartmentalising works for them until it doesn’t. They feel things so intensely.  

-they feel like a ticking time bomb at times but do not want others to see that. -They just end up unfusing if that happens.

-Nevertheless, Keith appreciates the fusion, finding it difficult to connect with people, so it’s meaningful when he does. 

-Keith and Allura end up with a stronger bond because of this. 

-Stick them in bubblewrap and save them from themselves. They are prone to self sacrifice. Please stop.

-Later, upon that revelation ™ , Allura doesn’t know how to feel about fusing with someone who is part galra.

-But Keith is Keith.

-Their fusion’s thoughts were genuine. So maybe, just maybe, Keith’s are too. 

-Lotor and her can never quite fuse. They almost get it, both driven by an aligning desire to connect with the lost culture of Altea, and Lotor wants to fuse, he does, it’s something he’d learned of during his research, though he himself couldn’t on his own, but even together it never quite works. Lotor has too many secrets, too many things he keeps hidden to open up enough for a fusion to work.

-Then, as Allura hurls him across the room, she’s ultimately glad they never did (but she has to wonder, what would she have seen, have felt? Would there have been love there, or endless lies?). 

(Heads up for romantic allurance)

-Lallura eventually fuses sometime during s3. 

-Lance grew on Allura after he shielded Coran, but they never really click until they make an effort to do so around the time of the lion swap.

-Lallura is hot and they know it.

-:3

-Also very good with people. Lance’s natural peopleing charisma shines through into Lallura. Allura wonders, if she had fused into Lallura earlier on, it would have helped with that outsider feeling when trying to connect to the other paladins. 

-Great at parties. You want Lallura at your social gathering. This skill comes in handy when the paladins need to dress up fancy and interact with diplomats.

-Has a strong sense of homesickness. Both for homes they have never been to (and yet they have).

-Vast majority of the time they’re pretty confident. Mutual belief in each others’ abilities makes for a fusion that knows how to believe in themselves to a healthy degree.

-Though they have caught themselves a few times going into a downwards spiral of imposter syndrome and worry about their capabilities as a leader/paladin. But it doesn’t last long.

-Gives good pep talks. 

-They’re a magpie. Love shinies.

-Don’t talk to them about Lotor. Just. Don’t.

-Through Lallura Lance gets the chance to fly in blue again. 

-Their joint bayard form would either be a grappling hook (Pidge would claim her bayard does it better) or bayonet or maybe bow and arrow like Valayun had??? A crossbow??? I do not know

-They’re Coran’s favourite of the fusions.

-They love tying their hair up the way they used to for their sisters (not sisters. But also are?). 

-Spa day is a very serious matter. Don’t interrupt it.

-Will sleep in if given the opportunity.

-Rachel (Lance’s sister) manages to get a matching jacket with them. They have no idea how when this jacket exists because of fusion.

-Nadia and Sylvio (Lance’s brother’s kids), upon meeting the fusion, request that Allura princessifies them too.

-Allura doesn’t comment on it, but she does start to feel some of the affection Lance feels for her when they fuse, especially as the seasons progress. It takes her aback, its intensity, but it also comforts her. But she’s also conflicted because of her growing crush on Lotor. She also has no idea if what she’s starting to feel for Lance is because of that fusion (it’s not).

-Lance is still very much in denial about Allura liking him back. If they do fuse over the time period of Allura starting to realise her feelings, he will still interpret it as Allura just being her usual caring self. It’s not like he has fused with anyone else to tell the difference.

-The first allurance kiss under that tree ends in them turning into Lallura again. The euphoria of that is short lived, however, once they find out what happened to Luca.

-After Allura sacrifices herself, Honerva tells her she shouldn’t pay for her mistakes with her life. So after aiding Honerva with her alchemy, Honerva immediately sends Allura back to her own universe, right after the sacrifice. 

-Lallura fuse in space, with Lance immediately jumping out of red after her (+ the rest of the team in their respective lions). After almost losing each other like that, it’ll be a very long time until either of them want to unfuse again. As a long term fusion for the meantime, they start going by the name Lure.

-Lance’s family are a little thrown at first, but they adore Lure. They’re basically a bonus family member. 

-Romellura fusion first happens during s7. Rora???? Rura????

-Romelle is the first altean (other than Coran) Allura has seen in a long, long time. Of course these two are bonding quickly.

-And as is this au’s way, they fuse.

-And are overwhelmed with a wave of emotions, happy, sad. The colony, all those alteans, their people still alive. Bandor, the other colony.

-It’s a lot. They lean on each other to process this grief.

-Without the translators, this fusion is a mess of old and new altean colloquialisms.

-She has a rich person accent. Lance loves it.

-A double altean fusion like this bolsters Allura’s alchemical abilities.

-She’s usually seen wearing a hair bun mixed with a plait

-If you thought bringing up Lotor around Lure was bad, well. Definitely, definitely don’t bring him up around her.

-Kallurance would have been pretty unstable had they first fused earlier on. Kurance? Lalith? Laeira? (I think I like the last one).

-But as it is, they make a really good team.

-Pray you never meet an entire team fusion. They won’t last long, too unstable for that (but more stable than you think. Used to working in unison for Voltron), but they don’t need long.

[misteria247]

I love female characters who are super adorable and cutesy and yet can 110% kill a man with her bare hands. 10/10 the best type of gal in my opinion.

[lulue-xie]

Oh to be a cat on a little cushion

[boothillesque]

my tumblr likes are deadpool and wolverine, deadpool and wolverine, ah, jaibo ! deadpool and wolverine, deadpool and wolverine, mana sama ! ! deadpool and wolverine, deadpool and wolverine, hello zera !

[i-am-a-fan]

TIP: You can summon me during an attack by using the “@“ Button!

ᴸᵒᵃᵈᶦⁿᵍ ᵗᶦᵐᵉ ᵐᵃʸ ᵛᵃʳʸ ᵇᵉᵗʷᵉᵉⁿ ᵖˡᵃʸᵉʳˢ

[wasabi-gumdrop]

the elden ring dlc story trailer just dropped so just letting you guys know that i’m gonna find a way to integrate elden ring lore into dunmeshi somehow because i need both stories like i need air to breathe

[falling-star-cygnus]

Here's something I noticed

His tone of voice and his expression in this cutscene kinda feels like his sympathizing with the Ethereal

he's imitating one of those battle 'it's not you, it's me' comic book scenes :D or more likely, a monologue in Starlight Knights

i do feel like, somewhere, he does genuinely feel a little bad for the things- but Billy's also genuinely doesn't give a fuck about anybody outside his circle -> Billy's a sweetheart, we know this, buuut i feel like we all forget he was entirely willing to turn Phaethon into Pubsec FIRST CHANCE he got

it's difficult to explain the dichotomy of his character, because he's not rude like most characters of the archetype are. He's willing to sell people out for the Hares, sure, zero qualms about that-

but he's sweet. Like the type to walk next to the road when he's out with someone and catch you when you trip -> and then shoot you if Nicole asked him to

it's really easy to forget he was built as a point and click war machine

[indihome-suck]

if i make a lokal dunmesh au what then. masbro kabru… menyala abangku…. aaaaaaaaa

LOCAL DUNMESH AU FOR THE WIN!!!

[arimiaromage]

Mana's "Death" Theory

Full spoilers for DGM up to chapter 244, brief mention of 245. Here's a crack theory I haven't seen around, despite new evidence.

Mana died and Allen brought him back as an akuma. Except Mana is also the Earl, both as his vessel and the doppelganger of the original/previous Earl. And the current Earl!Mana is changing emotionally, as if he still has memories from being Mana submerged deep under being the "Earl", despite his memories being wiped by Innocence in chapter 242.

I don't think it's a huge stretch to say that Mana, in some form, is still alive. Not only is he a pivotal character but given how much Earl!Mana currently has shifted his goals to want to be with Nea (something the actual Earl should not want), I wouldn't be surprised if we see Mana return in some way eventually.

Okay, but let's get back to Allen turning him into an akuma, cause that totally happened, right?

We also (much later) have the Earl remember something similar to this...

Let's note some things here, if this scene happened just as Allen & the Earl remember it:

Mana died in some way

Allen was able to bury him and buy a tombstone

Despite being 6 feet under, the Earl was able to appear to Allen

Allen called for Mana, bringing his soul into an akuma shell

Mana curses Allen- both an actual curse upon him and general yelling at him for doing such a thing

Allen invokes his innocence and destroys Mana

Earl leaves

Only Allen and the Earl / Mana were present for this (Cross appears afterwards, it's unknown if he witnessed it)

...With everything we know now, this sequence of events is kind of ridiculous, right??

For one, Mana died. We don't know how tough he is as a human, but the Mana that Allen knew was already the Earl for some time. It's safe to say he still had his Noah abilities that awakened around Nea's death.

Being a Noah isn't something you can just turn off for good- even if you don't look like a Noah, you are still a Noah.

As Wisely says- "Noah are Noah. You cannot escape."

Earl!Mana can get shot in the face several times and laugh it off but amnesiac Mana can just die off screen? Okay, sure...

I'm gonna skip over the idea that a broke orphan was able to properly bury and get a tombstone for someone. We'll let that pass since there's more damning stuff here.

In Allen's memory, the Earl was essentially in 2 places at once. He was both 6 feet under, in the grave, and standing behind him, by the tombstone. Of course, Allen didn't know they were the same person, but still- how is he there twice?

Well, he already has been in the same place twice... Or has he?

At the circus, the Earl that appears is a shell. It doesn't say anything, it can only command akuma. Cross specifically refers to it as something akin to a shell or a husk.

But the Earl that Allen meets is not an empty husk. It speaks to him, it encourages him to call on Mana like the Earl does to every grieving person.

Let's say that the Earl that Allen met was Earl!Mana, who, after dying, turned into the Earl and... escaped... somehow... idk maybe they buried an empty coffin or he just dug his way up.

If the Earl can essentially possess a dead body, why didn't he posses Nea when he died? Mana returned to his senses as Nea was dying- he had awakened as a Noah but he was himself for a brief time. If Mana had somehow overpowered the Earl to reclaim his senses, then why didn't the Earl try to possess Nea once he died?

There's a few more things I could nitpick, like how out of character akuma!Mana acts, but I think you get the point. Even if we accept that some things will have changed in the vision over the past almost 2 decades since Hoshino illustrated the scene of Mana's "death", there's still a lot of discrepancies...

So let's assume the Earl can't possess a dead body. That the Earl needs Mana or Nea to be willing to let him take over, at least somewhat. There's still one major part we haven't picked at yet.

Allen and Mana were the only ones there that day.

We've seen how, ah, hand selected Allen's recounting of his past can be. I don't think it's unfair to call him an unreliable narrator- that's not a bad thing, a most of why he glosses over or changes some details is because of his traumatic history.

We've also seen how easily the Earl can rewrite his own memories to accommodate "facts"- when the 14th is first mentioned, the Earl hated him. When the 14th is shown to be alive, the Earl can't live without him. When Mana fully awakened as the Earl, he couldn't be "Mana" anymore- the Earl was a 7000 year old sorcerer, not a 17 year old human, so Mana and Nea never existed in his mind.

And what better way to alter their memories than the antagonist roaming around following them who has been known to fully alter people's memories??

Apocryphos can alter memories. He knew where Allen and Mana were and was actively following them. He's been shown to be aggressive towards Allen and Mana and doesn't care about their memories- he erased Mana's memories of Nea already.

But what did Apocryphos erase?

OKAY HERE WE ARE FINALLY CRACK THEORY TIME. BUCKLE UP

The Earl can't possess Mana or Nea just whenever. We saw this most prominently at the circus. But there's one thing that Cross said to the Earl that stuck with me.

"You may have been summoned by Mana's grief, but it's not like he's fallen into despair."

"So long as Mana remains unwilling..."

In an earlier scene at the circus, Mana thinks something along the same lines:

The Earl is summoned when people grieve. But for Mana and Nea, their grieving is a gateway for the Earl to take over them.

If they are willing and they are grieving, the Earl can possess them.

So how did Mana become the Earl again?

Theory: Mana did not die, but Allen did.

Specifically, Mana didn't die, but Allen either died or became extremely injured to where Mana thought he died. I've seen some people speculate as to Allen being dead/an akuma or such, but I'd like to posit this newer evidence.

I imagine the scene could have played out something like this:

Allen and Mana travel to that town and get separated briefly. Something happens to Allen- either he dies or becomes badly injured. Mana finds him. Mana is overcome with so much grief he inadvertently summons the Earl. Mana's memories have been erased so he doesn't know to fear the Earl, and willingly lets him take over. The Earl curses Allen and leaves when his Innocence invokes on its own and attacks him. Allen later wakes up, healed from possibly being a Noah, his Innocence reviving him again, a passerby patching him up, something. Cross finds him.

This sequence of events could provide answers for:

Why did Mana curse Allen? It was Earl!Mana, not Mana

How did Mana, a Noah, die? He didn't

How did Allen summon Mana into the akuma shell when his body was already there? He didn't

Why did Apocryphos go out of his way to erase Mana's memories at the circus rather than kill him? So Mana wouldn't fear the Earl and would be more likely to return to him

I feel the weakest part of this is Allen somehow reviving/being healed, but we've seen his Innocence revive him before so I feel it's not that much of a stretch that something would heal him, especially compared to the amount of leaps in logic the current sequence of events has.

To reiterate my evidence:

Not once but TWICE it has been explicitly shown in the past 10ish chapters that when Mana grieves, the Earl shows up, and is even further elaborated that the Earl cannot possess Mana without his consent.

Several parts of the "Allen turned Mana into an akuma" scene don't make sense with what we know now, even giving Hoshino some leniency that she changed some stuff over the past 2 decades

Apocryphos was following Allen and Mana. He can not only change memories but he's already done so at least once with Mana

What killed Mana, a Noah????

The sequence of events I've laid out is just an idea of how things could have played out- I doubt it'll be exactly what we see in the story. However, I do believe that Allen's memories have been altered or at least the way he's presented the akuma scene is not how it actually happened.

so yeah that's my crack theory on why my favorite character surely can't be dead ♥ if you read all of this wow, have a happy Allen & Mana for your time

[ethereance]

Allurance Monsters and Mana actors social media au part 2

<part 1

Part 3>

[moonlight-at-dawn]

Ryza had a little bit of everything going on. Absolute zone. Huge cans. Thighs bursting out of their socks. Exposed armpits. Nape of neck. Booty shorts.

Yumia is for the ass lovers. Oh, her chest is ample, but that girl's hip measurement is practically double her H cups, I swear.