#dgm makes me so sad

[saint-end]

i am being soooo normal about them

[simply-m-a-d]

✨stickers✨(inspired from that one wonho photoshoot)

[poppystheories]

Christian religious imagery is everywhere in DGM, and by far its biggest victim is Allen, who is the very picture of an angel right until you reach the scar on his face.

Allen the hypocrite^

He takes the advice others give him to ease his anxieties, and shares it freely with others. He may not entirely believe it himself, or apply it consistently, but he knows it can help.

Still though... Hoshino once pointed out that Allen's smile is a difficult thing, because a good portion of the time, his smiles are fake. This smile was certainly fake, but when it fades...

There's a bit of honesty left behind. This side of Allen is entirely real. That bottom panel? That doesn't look so much like "Allen" anymore, does it? Instead, we see the real person peeking through the mask.

The worse things got back at the circus, the more Red refused to accept it. He didn't have any happy things to think about, but he kept on telling himself that someday, he'd get out. Even though things seemed inescapable, he refused to give up back then, and he refuses to give up now.

It always makes me sad when I see other fans acting like Allen's going to be erased by Nea, especially willingly. Is that really what they imagine to be a satisfying end for this character? If that's how Allen's story ended, I'd have to disavow DGM completely...

Isn't this who the protagonist is? Under his demure mask, he's defiant to a fault. Truthfully, I can't see this person surrendering to Nea, who snapped the neck of one of Allen's friends like it was nothing...

[allenkross]

I can't keep my feelings to myself, so I'll write about them here. I’ve already told my bf as much as I can, but I’m already scared to say anything more.

The Allen/Lavi couple is one of my favorites. When I say "couple" I mean any kind of relationship, these two will make it work

I'll start with the manga panels. Unfortunately, Allen and Lavi don't have much time together( Crowley's arc, the beginning of the arc about the search for Cross and travel to Japan, then the ark arc and the "destruction" of the Black Order), but where they do, they create perfect synergy

the following are arts from Hoshino-sensei's insta. I don’t have much to say here, I’m just glad they’re together :D

The sweetest thing! The official art where Lavi NEEDS to be in body contact with Allen 🥺

And two of my favorites👇

knowing what a brutal childhood Allen and knowing the cruel rule of the Bookman it's very sad, but nevertheless pleasant to look at these kids together. As if there is nothing bad in their world

And here only Lavi looks at Allen and, again, touches him

In the end I want to note a few points from the plot.

The first is a reaction to Allen's death and his playing card. When he and Lenalee came to the place of Allen's "death", the redhead was extremely calm, as if he didn't want to believe it. He picked up Allen's card and didn't tell anyone about it, keeping it as a memory. At the moment when Lenalee angered him with her detachment, he finally showed that he was also in pain, but he was holding on. 🚩This is purely my view of the situation🚩 I see Allen as Lavi's first true friend; yes, there is Kanda, but he is too angry to express anything other than insults; yes, there is Lenalee, but she is more like a fragile younger sister who needs to be protected with all your might; but with Allen he can joke and play (as can be seen in one of the official art, but I didn’t add it here), they have the same fear of the supernatural, pretense in behavior with others. This leads to different reactions to the “death” of Allen and the “death” (read loss) of Lenalee when she fell into the sea. In the situation with Allen, he understands that he couldn't do anything, but Lenalee could be saved. Plus, it’s possible that he really wants to atone for Allen’s “death” by saving Lenalee

very powerful moment when Allen calms down Chaoji. Allen, who has already come a long and difficult way, is now in another terrible situation, but a calm smile and eyes burning with faith in a calm tomorrow calm Chaoji. And the light of Allen's soul amazes and frightens Lavi at the same time. The fire of your ambition can burn you

in general, I really love these two. I've been in the DGM fandom for 9 years now and I'm waiting for Lavi's return. Every New Year I ask Santa to give me a manga page where Allen hugs Lavi after separation 🥲

Love and peace 🧡🩶✌️

P.s. English is not my native language so there are definitely mistakes here. Forgive me, and if you want, point them out to me, I will be grateful🙇‍♀️

[onomatopagu-et-cie]

Some (too many) mental notes & questions about D. Gray-man!

(SPOILERS UP TO CH. 247 & sorry if the terms used are awkward esp. the localization of the manga, I read it in french!)

I recently re-read DGM as the new chapter came out. I stopped catching up after volume 22 years ago and I am so glad I re-read the series!

If it was already beautifully sad and cruel, the volumes 23 to 27 hooked me even more. Like other manga (eg. Witch Hat Atelier, Berserk), the panel composition was already beautiful in the previous volumes but I was fascinated through my reading. The attention given to hands in these volumes (like MHA) was mind-blowing!

The Allen-Kanda-Johnny-Link group (and now Tiedoll) works really well, I didn’t expect that at all! Oh, and the character development/decline of every character is great, especially Allen & Neah, Kanda & Link (and Cross and Road in those flashbacks?????).

DGM wouldn’t be DGM if the mysteries didn’t keep growing even more cryptic as the story unfolds, so I guess here are some notes and questions I’ll come back to one day to see if they are answered!

► Now that we know the D. in DGM stands for ‘Dear’ (I already sense the tragedy in the title for both Allen and Mana aaaaa), I don’t know if this was intentional, but Mana in front of the mirror strongly reminded me of The Picture of Dorian Gray, especially the end (I shouldn’t have read this scene late at night, I was spooked haha). The characters of Allen and Neah, shrouded in mystery, also encapture the elusive personality of Dorian Gray.

► Paying extra attention to all the parallels between the Ghost of Mater & the Artificial Exorcists Arcs was Pure Pain. I’m always amazed how far the details go and make (even more or a whole new) sense later on.

► Lenalee and Komui’s story touched me once more aaaaaa ► Miranda’s power is really cruel, I wish we could see more of her someday ;;

► Road used for super-human the word ‘choujin’, which also seems to refer to the concept of übermensch in japanese ie. the ideal superior man of the future who could rise above conventional Christian morality to create and impose his own values... NOW THAT IS INTERESTING.

Especially regarding Road and Cross meeting & Allen’s prophecy as the ‘Destroyer of Time’ (the fact he could ‘sense’ Lenalee’s dream and interact with it, Cross ‘death’ by Apocryphos hands, past!Allen’s mystery over his rejuvenated body, Apocryphos observation on ‘Allen’s’ long existence as a parasite, and so on …)?????????????

And could she have a link to Allen and Lenalee’s dream of the future?

► The overarching theme of humans, akuma, Noahs and even the Earl at God’s/The Heart’s mercy manifests in many little plot points eg. the Ghost of Mater (that could even foreshadow the whole Cross/Road meeting), Road dressing Lenalee as a doll, Lenalee and Miranda taking their suffering as the Innocence testing them, Link turned into a puppet, Crown Clown and so on …

► Could this be Campbell’s mansion Allen will visit in the next chapters… ?

► Reever’s devotion to Komui ;;;;;;;;

► Fascinating how everyone except Allen is at risk of becoming a Fallen One, despite everything he does ‘against’ the Order, God and the Innocence: it could be explained by the role he was given by the Heart now that we have a bigger picture And it is foreshadowed since the Suman Dark Arc:

-> When Allen says Suman betrayed ‘God’, the kanji for god is used (kami), but the furigana read as Innocence:

And Allen even says later the Innocence punishes sinners as God itself, devuring Suman from the inside like a worm ……….

-> While Komui says he has betrayed God and the furigana read as God this time:

I love the word plays in the original versions with the furigana (I wonder if this has a name?), another example:

The kanji for family, kazoku, is read as the english « home », which we always saw used to describe the Order as a comforting place to return to: the Order was never Suman’s home, he always longed for his family

► Will this ever be explained? That, and Cross's special bond to God or the Heart!

Also this????????

AND ALSO CROSS HATRED FOR TIMCAMPY???????????

► Could Cross be a Bookman?

Neah’s flashback mentioned an ‘excentric uncle’, so it could also be Cross, given how he remembers Mana’s smile from his childhood, I am Confused Or he could be their childhood friend, as his appearance in the flashbacks suggests he would've had the same age past!Allen, Neah and Mana would have, around 35yo? Idek anymore! Either way, he has an obvious hold over his age like past!Allen, maybe through magic or their nature?

Was the unknown language Bookman spoke when the Ark was disappearing in the sky the same Mana taught Allen? In Komui’s corner, we learn Bookman knew in advance they would synchronize with an Innocence when their mission began???????? Do they somehow have links to the Heart or Apocryphos? Are they from the doomed world Road told Cross, as some sort of witnesses of the Noah's struggles on behalf of God?

► Tyki’s nature is hinted at by Road even as early as ch. 93, and the confrontation with Neah in the volume 26 makes me really think he’s some sort of copy of him

► This panel is Pain:

► I love Lenalee and Lavi’s relationship so much!! Lavi’s arc was gripping, and took Lenalee’s words on the boat (‘am I still in this world?’) to a whole new context

► About Luberrier :

How in hell was he aware of the 14th without even Cross telling him? His dialogue with Zuu before saving Link strongly suggests he knew the 3rd gen. project would cause the Noah attack on the laboratory and the 14th awakening, isolating Allen, as though he made a deal with a Noah or sb else. The ch150 (Hevlaska and Luberrier’s past) is haunting me, I’m really curious to see where this is going!

► About Link : We know so little about his past, how he became a Crow, how his devotion was built by the Administration (Link’s flashback with Luberrier after recovering was scary, how easily he gave in & Luberrier’s whole behavior was ugh)! Komui’s corner mentions the two red dots on the Crow’s forehead are scars left by the operation that made them sorcerers against their will + Allen tried to touch it, which made him mad GAHHHHHH I NEED MORE CONTEXT

Ch247 hurts even more considering Neah used the same words as Allen to greet Link but rang false aaaaaaa

Link’s profile is cut from the Central Administration’s organization chart from volume 25 (when he admits feeling conflicted over Allen’s fate), before his profile was included in the same box:

Komui’s corner once mentioned comforting food thanks to the emotional value they hold eg. Allen and Cross’s porridge. Link says he had something similar so I wonder if this will ever be showed in the manga!

► About past!Allen: This might be a reach, but ch221’s flashback made me think Atuuda’s magic (its symbol in particular) can be linked to past!Allen with the whole spiral of life theory (+ the fact his body rejuvenated by some miracle):

There are also many parallels with other dynamics in the manga: -> Neah-Cross & Mana — he was set on eliminating anything else that draws near Mana, as a promise he made to Neah -> Luberrier-Link & Neah-Allen — Luberrier needs Link in order to protect and save them from anyone -> past!Allen & Neah — he promised Neah he would protect his memory from anyone (-> Kanda & Alma — he was the only one that could save Alma)

(I don’t want to think about Link potentially becoming another host for Neah, sacrificing himself for Allen for example aaaaaa)

I saw Hoshino’s sister loves Link’s character and what happens next to him will potentially be pure pain, I get her because his potential is skyrocketing and I’m definitely not ready aaaaaaaa

► What was even going on between Neah and past!Allen???????????????

► Allen’s past was really devastating. Mana’s words by the sunset ;;;;;

► In ch216, Cornelia’s wood destroys Timcampy in a similar way Red is bound eyes and ears from the scene when the Earl comes back in the circus in the recent chapters (with those little black hands)

► The parallels & oppositions btw Kanda & Link (the potential of the trio Kanda-Allen-Link!!!!!) : -> both presented in a negative light at the beginning -> both now deem themselves unworthy to be a part of Allen’s life: Kanda is glad Johnny is there to support him, Link says he will disappear from Allen’s life if he defeats the 14th (and also That Panel when he saw Allen come back to his senses and save Johnny). Both have feelings they suppress when it comes to Allen, in a stark contrast with Johnny’s honesty -> both were objects of experimentation/intensive training but Kanda feels no loyalty to the Order, while Link does strongly to Luberrier -> both wound up with a shortened lifespan they hide atm (Kanda as a Fallen One & Link with Atuuda) -> both were targeted by Apocryphos and had their memories rewritten -> Kanda wants to kill the 14th, Link is ordered to aid him -> hands shown as holding dominion over them both (the Innocence, Luberrier and the Heart)

► Predictions for the next chapters: Since Johnny is going along with Allen & Link, there’s a chance : 1) Link will drive Johnny away so Neah wakes up ; 2) Neah will do it since he sees everything through Allen’s eyes and even challenges Link’s ‘loyalty’ 1) would be logical as everyone in Allen’s group feared it while Allen accepted the risk but given the whole arc, Link seems VERY conflicted over the whole matter (and their shoujo-esque reunion damn, that and volume 25 whole vibes) Also Road seems to have led Allen to the mansion through his dream because she thought he was dangerous (????) AND a ‘bookman’ was there, so a lot will happen!

Have a nice week-end!

[gaywizardzone]

deliriously in love with your dgm fanart. i stumbled into a full course buffet. exquisite, splendid, 10/10 no notes. do you have any DGM fic recs, bc i have suitcases full of DGM recs,

ok first of all thank you so much!! dgm is i think the thing i've drawn the most fanart for in my life cumulatively? in many bursts of insanity over the years. lol. so i have a lot of fun drawing it and i'm very honored that you like what i've made so much. also re: your other ask my worstie and collaborator ozwuv and i are working on it together since you sent it to both of us (we made a joint google doc to combine our perspectives lol) so the answer might not come from me but you'll get one!

second of all i am kind of an old livejournal era hag in terms of my taste in fanfiction in general and my history with this series in particular, so there are exactly three things in here that are less than a decade old and two of them are from 2016. naturally this means that a lot of it is now divergent with some details of how the plot and characterization and etc has actually gone (sorry to everyone back in the day who thought kanda was looking for some missing sister or something. one truly could not have possibly seen all of that coming). that said they still hold up to me in terms of general character dynamics and being fun and well written and such. recommendations also depend on what you like! i will generally not put that much shipping in here because there aren't that many of those i've read and would recommend in the first place (no hate to our strong and beautiful yaoi warriors, i used to read nearly anything back in the day, it's just that not too much of it has stuck with me) but there are some things that are so iconic to me that i could not in good conscience not include them. lots of this is kanda-centric because i like him :) putting it all below the cut

Hard Living by metisket - the aforementioned ship fic that's too iconic not to include. changed my brain chemistry when i first read it many many years ago. i seriously considered making it the only thing i put on here for a second just for the bit. To Me this is actually such a classic that it transcends shipping. the humor is very sharp and funny and i'm so in love with the concept of dying young for them meaning getting old early first and having to deal with it all together. they're so damn hilarious. it should happen to them. it does in my dreams. it never will but in my head there will always be a world where it does <3 i love to draw fanart of them as old decrepit men at 35 and maybe i'll post some of it someday. obviously it was written pre-alma so you just have to accept that it's wildly inaccurate in that regard. anyway pretty much anything this author has written for dgm is really good, i will put a few more metisket favorites on this list but check it all out even if i didn't include it. also this particular one is the inspiration for my most favoritest kanda fic <3 below

Blooming From the Mud by zarinthel - this is not just me shilling fic by someone i know. i am an absolute kanda diehard and this is really THE fic for me in terms of like hitting all the things i love about him. zar number one kanda understander. incredibly funny and compelling i don't care if you don't know anything about bleach (i don't either i haven't read it since middle school) or that you haven't read the fic it's inspired by (though you should) or that it's unfinished. you all should and in fact must read it. kanda's life is both so sad and so hilarious because of how sad it is and his pov here is just so excellently funny because he really is such a funny individual. also not a slash fic though it does really highlight how close and kind of insane his and allen's relationship is in a way that i find extremely delightful and accurate and just wonderful. they make me sick (positive). really good. so if you're a non shipper but you care about them you should read it and if you're a shipper you will also certainly enjoy it anyway so you should read it. truly for everyone!

Chimera Obscurant by moonsheen - i tend to struggle with most kanda/alma fix-it fanwork i've encountered despite loving them dearly because i rarely feel like anyone evokes the way their relationship is both strong and a bit unsettling (at least to me) without swinging around into being too edgy (i fully admit i have not explored super deeply because i get frustrated easily so i'm sure there are things that would appeal to me that i'm missing). this is one of the very few things i've read for them that i've been like yes i think this is beginning to get at the kind of atmosphere i want to see. if i remember correctly this was written before kanda came back to drag allen into accepting support and friendship so i'm just like "oh whatever" about its incompatibility with that. fanwork for ongoing stuff truly creates divergent timelines in my head. anyway this is the most nsfw thing that will end up in here and it's not particularly explicit, but heads up that it is there in case you're averse to that

In his Heart by harukami - another kanda/alma but just kanda technically. i read this and was so delighted that i made a :D face in real life. i've assimilated this into my worldview like i think this is something he would do. he's crazy like that.

Economies of Scale by liketolaugh - last kanda and alma one but this one's here less for the romantic aspect and more because i'm so endeared by the idea of fresh out of the lab kanda being so angry and miserable but also completely blindsided by all the stuff there is in the world. ten year old who is learning about so many new animals. really funny and cute and sad.

siblings, probably by scarlet666 - this one's for the kanda and lenalee enthusiasts. the best friends lovers. i love them so dearly i put the level of energy people usually put into shipping into their bestie-isms so naturally this was for me. huge shoutout to this person for writing 20k words about them if nobody else in the world has my back i know they do. i have the memory of a goldfish and this is long enough that i can't really scan quickly to refresh my memory and make more detailed comments but i know it deserves a spot on here. my note from when i bookmarked it just reads AUGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH but i never leave a comment in that field at all usually so that speaks volumes i think. life is so beautiful sometimes. peace and love on planet earth <3

Welcome Home by metisket - for the rest of this list i am about to hit you with the metisket beam. the author whose work i most fondly remember from my youth by far, which means that's what's stuck with me and what half of my recs will be. i love this one dearly because i love a normal person perspective in insane anime settings type of fic and reever is so delightfully normal and longsuffering and also funny as hell. love how his relationship with komui is in this. not a ship fic and am not recommending it as such but it did make me in the back of my head go "komui/reever is almost like roy/riza without the war crimes for people who are cringefail mad scientist enthusiasts." sane responsible second in command type slash babysitter who is devotedly loyal to crazy irresponsible boss but also wants to kill him a little bit. they're so great to me

Growing Up by Accident by metisket - just so kanda and allen and the way their relationship is. having the exact same feelings about something but approaching it so differently that they want to attack each other. love them 4ever. the way metisket writes allen's internal voice is also delightful to me (like not JUST here but in general). he's so jaded and funny. probably my favorite allen to read out of anyone who writes him ever. and kanda is always just so...kanda.......<3

Sand Castle by metisket - (smiles and blood leaks from the side of my mouth) i love you allen walker. i love this look at allen's growth pre-series from cross' perspective and how he managed to become the hilarious twisted convoluted wonderful little freak that he is. allen is so.....everything to me truly i would never have it any other way. really kind of darkly funny but also like agonizingly emotional. delightful

Mask and Mirror by metisket - love this take on what the inside of lavi's head is like, and also the way all the character dynamics shine through even in such a short thing, they're all so wonderfully cute and funny. the sense of humor is really great. lenalee didn't even make a real appearance but even the brief mention of how she and kanda are had me giggling.

in the circus series by metisket - certified classic. i love timcanpy pov and this whole thing is just so emblematic of my fond memories of old dgm fanworks. i love anything that highlights the way they're all just so immensely fucked up to the point that it's actually incredibly absurd and funny. i'm pretty sure metisket's LJ has more mini outtakes from this series but i'm too lazy to dig through the dgm tag right now so i'll just link it so you can do it yourself if you're interested.

lastly if you're looking for someone to share your recs with you're free to! i am on a personal level picky as hell and my taste in styles and approaches to fanwork was forged in the livejournal mines and has not evolved with the times LOL but i also don't judge <3

[icharchivist]

your tags on the yulma post made me so emotional, thank you for sharing ;; it’s honestly disheartening to see their representation either get completely dismissed or met with absolute ignorance,, i do think the fandom has come a long way since then even tho there’s still discourse around how “valid” it is but if people dug more deep, it’s honestly undeniable no matter how u look at it

aaah glad it was a worthwhile read then 🥺

and yeah definitely :( fandom changes and there's been a lot of changes in the last twenty years in the way an audience can accept a queer narrative, and while it's for the better, it does also mean that sometimes there's people who aren't going to see what was the big deal or how it was groundbreaking. They often approach their dynamic by modern standards of queer representation that i think can sometimes be a disservice to how huge it was in 2010 when it came out.

I remember talking about this story with a friend once and they were like "so it's queer because one of them is actually a woman in a man's body. that seems cowardly to me" and it frustrated me a little both on the angle of what it means for Alma to be in this situation to start with (if Alma is in a situation where they can accept the change to their body or not, and how no matter how you look at it Alma is fundamentally genderqueer), but also on how i remember the anger against "Kanda being gay" to start with

And i think about how Hoshino had to work for this to start with, having to set up that Kanda was looking for someone very early on, someone implied to be a lover, and then build the Alma arc in such a way where Alma=Person Kanda Was (Romantically) Looking For became unavoidable and no editor could go back on what she wanted to say. It was huge at the time, and i hope we can remember it like that.

but between the way lots of fans abandonned the manga then, the hiatus following afterward, and the new anime not really being beginner friendly, dgm's legacy in term of queer representation ended up kinda buried under it all and difficult to get new people to see.

and now i sometimes see a lot of scrutiny on the Kanda/Alma storyline on "can we even consider it queer" that makes me sad in the sense of, sometimes it circles back to similar argument i've heard at the time to cut down the ship, which also have people say "but if this argument can be made then it means it wasn't obvious enough", while no, it's obvious, people just were seeing it in bad faith because they were looking for their own confirmation basis, but in the end those specific people ended up leaving because even if they wanted to make up excuse to erase the queerness, it was too late, the queerness was here to stay.

like idk i'm just rambling but i so vividly remember how people reacted then that i can't buy into any "it's not queer enough" complains from the modern perspective. It was groundbreaking at the time and it was the real first popular Shounen i personally read where one of the main character was confirmed to be in a queer love story that is the important focus of a full arc, and tbh i haven't truly seen that much ever since (but i also don't keep a close look at modern Shounen so that's on me)

but yeah and in the end i really come back to the feeling of "if they're not queer enough why did homophobes get this mad about it when it happened" yaknow

anyway thank you for the ask and i'm glad the perspective was a nice read <3

i just hope one day people can really realize just how special dgm was at the time for that.

[poupeesdecirque]

Travel Blog: Leipzig Bookfair Sunday

or: Merch, improvising and Good Byes

4th and last day of the fair. I have to say the last two days went by so fast it's kind of sad how fast. The 4th day was premiering the Ch 249 outfit but as i forgot half of it at home I had to improvise... like doll bag, breakfast jar for Tim, different pants. At least my Road Plushy was with me.

The day started with sadly one of my friends still being sick, we had to left her behind for the day :C I'm still sad about this.

Other than that... if you saw an Allen Walker loading their car that was me lol.

At least it was not raining that day and we were able to get inside pretty quick.

Schu told me he had seen a booth with a box of D.Ggray-man Merch and I checked it out as soon as the vendor hall opened and ...

Con prices are horrible but I needed them. I later swapped the Lavi though as I looked up photos and noticed I already had this variant, I now have a different one (con haul pic at the end of the entry).

The whole day was running around trying to find my DGM Mutuals as they wanted to see the blue coat, it took us a while but we found them. I managed to ... not take any photos with them. :') just one super quick one with Alice but they were very busy with filming stuff, that's alright, it's so nice to see people loving cosplay and having fun.

We took a ton of photos that day, the light was awful on some locations, but there are some very pretty shots! Also featuring the shirt I made as I love the poofy sleeves.

The day ended around 4 this time as my friends went back to their place to pick up the sick friend and leave on time and I had to travel back home as well.

No DGM Cosplayers I found that day but I was told several times that it's great to see DGM Cosplayer around and I was complimented for the amount of details I put into my costumes and props ;w;

But I have to say I somehow did not manage to see the whole fair this time?! Like I didn't get to visit the children's book department, I didn't check for new books there, the fantasy one was a very brief visit, we didn't came to the vintage book museum, the cook book isle was just mere 20 minutes and wow q_q how can 4 days pass so darn fast?! I already miss it.

Here is my Convention haul, mostly DGM, I am surprised! Also the sadness my new bowls are... I am aiming to fix the bigger one later on with a gold repair kit.

The new figurines moved into the cabinet the day after.

AND I HANGED THE PANTS TO THE COAT. Same for the bag. And put the jar of Tim into my make up bag as I don't want to forget the half of a costume again OTL

I really enjoyed the convention, I missed attending them. I'm glad the break is over now and I will hopefully see my friends more often again.

The next event I will attend will be a concert though. Then the Burgfest will follow, another concert and mid May a new Convention is on the list. A smaller one.

There is overall 1500 photos (incl photo snaps) I have to get through, i sorted out a bunch while I looked up photos to feature in the blog entries as this was my priority. I hope to narrow them down, edit and put them into the queue later this week. And then to put them into a photobook before I jump at working on the next project.

[looniecartooni]

Owl House/D Gray Man Theory: Was one of the inspirations for the Owl House DGM?

Warning: Clunky theory with possible grammatical errors and spoilers ahead for the anime/manga series D Gray Man and the Disney show The Owl House including its finale. If any DGM and/or TOH may have noticed something I might have missed, feel free to (nicely) add on or argue against what I suggest. Also the pictures I use are not all that good and I kept a lot of DGM stuff private to keep any potentially new fans from being spoiled. Also also- it’s a lot longer than I thought it would be- so be warned!

So Owl House and D Gray Man have been near and dear to my heart and the most active fandoms I’ve been a part of for many years.While I’m sad to see the Owl house end and understand it takes time for D Gray Man to update (though it does feel like it may end soon), I’d like to somewhat bring attention what I thought might be DGM referances or inspirations in TOH.

First off- I am going to start off with the idea of brothers kinda Caine and Able-ing eachother for the greater good (yep jumping right into the dark stuff). So in DGM, it is revealed that Mana and Nea were “twins” involved inside a rather secret part of the 100-year exorcist war against The Millenium Earl. Long, confusing, spoiler-free story short, Mana started becoming the next Millenium Earl and Nea believes it is his destiny to destroy him and take his place in order to save him.

Phillip/Belos was also someone who believed he was liberating his brother Caleb from the witches that he thought took his brother from him and actually successfully unalived him according to flashback pictures (which I do not have on me a this second).

Nea’s memory also possesses the main character Allen Walker who is a poor boy that has been through so much trauma and devastation he did not deserve. Oh and since Mana adopted him, that technically makes Nea his uncle. (Allen might also be the reincarnation or something of another Allen- but as of now that has not been confirmed). Allen also has a scar on his eye.

In the Owl House, Hunter- the boy who is a clone/grimwalker of Caleb who has a scar on his cheek and way too much trauma from his Uncle Belos also gets possessed at one point. 

Both of Allen and Hunter also tragically lose their little companions that had originally belonged to someone else in the past (Flapjack belonged to Caleb and Timcanpy belonged to Nea and technically Allen’s alcoholic mentor). 

As for less tragic stuff/ TOH finale spoilers, here’s what DGM things I thought I noticed ...

When Luz was ripping Belos from the Heart, a bunch of tiny hands come out from behind to attack her.

Tiny hands also appear quite often in D Gray Man both by the power of the exorcists and that of the Millenium Earl’s clan.

Ironically- all the exorcists’ weapons (known as Innocence) originates from something called The Heart of Innocence which the Millenium Earl wants in order to destroy humanity (and possibly save it? It’s still a mystery.

And finally- we have these weird blob things that Belos also tried to use to attack King, Raine, and Eda.

They reminded me a lot of Jasdevi’s hatred.

There’s also a lot of immortal children, darker undertones than realized, ect. but it’s past midnight and this post is long enough so I’m going to say that this is all I could find.

If Dana Terrance was at all inspired by D Gray Man at all- I think that would be awesome. I enjoyed watching the show and I enjoy D Gray Man even though I don’t post about it as often as I used to. Thank you Owl House crew for such a wonderful show for all of us to enjoy and also thank you Hoshino Katsura for the amazing series D Gray Man. 

[chrisemrysfics]

I forgot to check for a long while but as lately I've been thinking a bit more about my DGM ideas&fics, I decided to check for new chapters and there's two I haven't read.

And my heart ;; I'm only just into the, what, fifth page? And I'm putting the rest under read more to avoid spoiling anyone who like me hasn't checked in a while.

So listen: we never knew how Mana died and for my fics I worked with the idea that Mana died protecting Allen (pushed him away from a carriage's path) and Allen was in shock for the burying (which wasn't anything fancy since no one knew them and Allen was too in shock). Though I don't think any fic of mine touched that topic much yet so who knows, maybe I'll go with canon. I don't know yet.

But yes! Canon is destroying me because it's just... so peaceful yet so sad. Because sure, nothing happened like what I imagined (also I can't recall if it's a random idea or based on stuff from the novels), but that whole way Allen not only blame himself from Mana loosing his memories, but then had to watch Mana die bit by bit and then one day wake up to see him gone, and Allen thinking "I destroyed him"?

I am Not Okay and also fck Apo he's the one who made Allen do this!! Please someone let Allen know!!! I don't doubt he might still feel like its his hands that did this, but he also didn't mean to do it! And it wasn't random! Apo caused it!!

And also I already HCed CC as angry with Apo for how CC is "stuck" obeying if he's too close (because CC loves Allen and doesn't like being force to go against Allen wishes), now I'm like, CC is very much very angry because CC knows, unlike Allen, that Apo is behind that tragedy.

But ouch, Hoshino keeps delivering on the hurt, hope there's comfort eventually ;;

For context: Allen explains that Mana continued to deteriorate after they left the circus, and one day he just. passed away in his sleep.

(Also ouch, the next page, I had to make this post right away, but editing to add: ouch. Allen is saying, "And I called the Earl, of all things. I destroyed Mana twice". MY HEART

[ihateyukanda]

Having the most insane high school AU cooking in my brain is such a curse because like it makes all the sad parts of DGM so funny to me

The Alma Karma arc is the worst victim of this btw. I cannot explain it.

[x-authorship-x]

Anon what did you make me remember saying Shisui/Lavi

Now I'm sad again thinking of the fact that I've been following the D.Gray-Man manga since it started in 2004 and it's still not finished and there's only a chapter every like 4 months or so

Also damn, now I wanna write a Naruto/DGM crossover...

Oh thats a shame, anon 🥺🥺 but on the brightside, you can always fix it with fanfic~ a crossover sounds like a lovely way to, ah, keep the spirit alive if you know what I mean 🤭✨

[userlaylivia]

okay so the plan was to watch tsc today but idk if I will because I have a headache and feel a little sick to my stomach but I might watch it later but I'll definitely watch in the morning!! because of my feels for this show I like to be in the right state of mind to watch it because it makes me so sad because it deserved better and should've had a s2 especially because the last 4-5 episodes were so good and really set up s2 so well and all the cliffhangers dgms ugh but yeah if not today then I'll definitely watch in the morning!! there's also the fact cw seed messes up on me sometimes so lmao

[witchcraftandburialdirt]

12, 22 and 28

SHIPPING QUESTIONS FOR THE MUN - SFW EDITION!

12. do you ship any rarepair?

Do our ships count JIDGKJFNFKJ I'm actually not that big into shipping things and when I do its mostly between characters that have a good chemistry so its usually a more popular one. I really love Kanda x Allen from DGM because I've been following the series since its inception and its one of the most interesting complex relationships I've seen in a series. The two have developed SO much and I doubt Hoshino will go through with it but I really have a hard time reading it as....something, idek if its strictly romantic? Soul mates? That. Sure.

22. is there any ship you will likely never play? (apart from the obvious in/cest, pe/dophilia etc)

So...being not that big into shipping things I can guarantee you that most ships will most likely never be played unless I get into them. I don't mind a majority of types of shipping and will explore them if I like the mun and the muses have chemistry but I often don't think about it. I think the one I really won't is like....abuse..? Probably? One sided. Mutual "ruining eachothers lives" is different than it being one sided, it just makes me feel yucky.

28. would you play a “bitter exes” relationship?

Yeah I'll open up a Vittorio blog just for you--- I'd be willing to try! I think it all depends on how it plays out and the characters dynamic before and after their breakup? I think it could possibly make me a lil sad bc I'm a soft boiled egg who enjoys romance and gentle connections but I'll try it!

[embossross]

You've been too productive lately, the wait between the next chapters is going to be hard to bear ahah !

Now, what can I say, except THIS SUSPENSE 😱 ????!!!! You're spending too much time writing Rindu, you're becoming as sadistic as him.

Anyway, a little review because I'm trying to control myself for once, lol.

Firstly, I'm quite impressed that Rin makes phone calls in Yasuko's presence, bonten is so covered that he can afford it. It makes me feel a little sad for her, a million miles away from thinking that her wonderful lover is importing drugs. I still can't wait for her to learn the truth, even though I know she might suffer.

Also, I noticed that Yasuko and Reader from FHMTH both have a few daddy and mommy issues, if they didn't, would things be different ? Would Yasuko be dating older men ? And Reader... do we really need to elaborate on the fact that you have to have a little problem to fuck Hanma, no matter how hot he is ? 😅 Anyway, I'm doing counter psychology (idk if the expression exists in English) and I hate it. I was originally going to talk about the parents because Yasuko's mom seems so protective of her daughter and it's kind of fun to be able to talk about her relationship with her without judging her. I like their relationship, even if their place in the family is not very balanced.

One last question I have and then I'll stop hihi, Rindou who puts his work in the background, is Mikey going to be totally ok with that ? I mean, we know from the beginning that he's not a workaholic, but, can there be consequences ?

That's it, I'm done, I'm really really really excited and impatient for the next chapter and I wanted to tell you that after a quick calculation, this story really in my top 2, I love it so much so thanks again for sharing it with us ❤️

the way your mind works, i swear, i'm always so excited to hear your thoughts on the chapters! like you just make such good connections! and i'm so flattered that you are loving the story so much. dgm has a special place in my heart too!

i'm going to do a read more so i can give this the attention it deserves!

poor reader really has no idea about rindou’s job and is so not ready for the truth. in that scene, rindou’s not saying anything directly incriminating, she doesn’t understand shipping enough to follow, AND rindou is intentionally keeping her distracted. she never stood a chance.

also poor Doc and her mommy/daddy issues ☹ I feel so bad for her tbh. you’re so right that her issues are a key reason she’s able to be with hanma. most people would run and not look back after the eye gouging and Russian roulette incidents, but the childhood abuse Doc experienced really inoculated her against that. and her unexpected reactions are what makes hanma interested in her in the first place.

whereas with yasuko, her father is really a nonentity to her. she doesn’t have issues about him. BUT because she had to fulfill an adult role from a young age because of her family’s poverty, she feels far more mature than her age. worth considering that she’s several years older than her friends in her university program (22 while they’re 18/19) and would have been much younger than most of her coworkers at the factory, so her dating just kind of works out that way.

great question about rindou’s work ethic! Rindou cannot afford to slack off fr bc drugs are bonten’s 2nd biggest revenue stream and kokoni would be up his ass. it would probably fall to takeomi to discipline rindou if he wasn’t doing his job, as takeomi’s like bonten’s chief of staff to koko’s chief revenue officer.

mikey probably wouldn’t get involved. he’s pretty checked out at this point in the story.

but, rindou knows what he can and can’t get away with. he can reschedule a meeting with suppliers for you, but he wouldn’t be ditching, say, a meeting with mikey just because you called upset. he does his job and nothing more, and that’s good enough. it just looks like a fantasy to yasuko who comes from a working class background.

[johannwolfgangvongoethe]

rereading DGM, thinking about grief

DGM is one of my all time favourite manga and sometimes i wonder whether i like smth bc i just happen to like it or bc being obsessed with DGM as a teen really really conditioned me to. (love clowns and playing card aesthetics btw.)

its a good manga!!!!!! so lately i gently persuaded my friends into reading it - one chapter each day. its been much fun (AND IM SO HAPPY THEY AGREED AND I GET TO TALK ABOUT IT) but also a great way to reconnect to a lot of the early story.

dgm as a story, objectively, is about grief first and foremost, i think.

more subjectively, to me, dgm’s main issues revolve a Lot around identity issues, toxic positivity/stretching yourself thin, and the fear of being alone.

i really really adore grief as a theme in stories, when its done well. not just a tragic death leaving a character sad but something that really influences a characters behaviour and outlook and the trajectory of their life. it is one of these things that everyone can relate to, almost everyone has felt before and is probably touched by all the time - whether its about the loss of a friend or family member or the loss of a relationship or enviroment or matrialistic thing.

and i think thats just dgms THING, you know? everything in dgm is so so deeply rooted in grief. allen is entirely grief motivated. the noa are grief motivated. kanda is grief motivated. lenalee is an orphan and theres the related yearning for a family and home. lavi.......... ok lavi might just have every other disease. i guess he is grieving for the person he could have been. he is pre-emptively grieving for the very temporary concept of “lavi”.

and even more than that, i am constantly thinking about how akuma as a concept rely on grief. i love the message that they are born out of despair and that leaving a grieving person without a support system will take yet another life. its so sad but strangely uplifting. the knowledge that you can overcome your current hurt but you will need support and love to do so.

AND THEN that really also ties into allen rejecting any help offered to him in the “the search for a. w.” arc. on one hand he wants to be a saviour, on the other he has trouble accepting that it sometimes means being vulnerable and the consequences of letting your own weakness fester instead of accepting support WILL make everything worse in the long run.

dgm my beloved