I Enjoy This So Very Much Because I’ve Already Been Making Jokes That Allen Is Somehow His Own Father

reading dgm truly is An Experience (tm)

Allen, on the verge of death again: I’m tired of this Crowned Clown

Crowned Clown: That’s too damn bad! You keep going!

with the knowledge that innocence is an parasitic entity that basically eats misery, I want someone to know that I think of Crowned Clown refusing to let Allen be killed/die or be separated as a kid throwing a tantrum because someone took away their candy.

like Apocryphos is desperately trying to get this piece of candy away because “it’s not good for you!” and Crowned Crown is kicking screaming crying about losing this food.

me, starting d gray man and seeing Allen: what a nice, polite young man :)

me, seeing Allen gamble: what a… nice?… polite young man :)

me, seeing Allen get into arguments and fight with Kanda and Cross: what a… nice?… polite?… young man :)

me, finding out more about the 14th situation: what a… nice?… polite?… young?… man :)

paranormal investigator but the ghosts are the clients

personally, I’m not the biggest fan of modern aus (the more distance from real life the better lmao), but in particular the significant traumas of the characters don’t always translate well (which… maybe the point actually). But seeing how the author does is always interesting! that said, here’s how the closest I can think of for a dgm modern au:

Allen: if you cut out the whole past self and possession situation, up until the Order, it’s pretty one to one. As a child, he had a limb difference and was trafficked. He met Mana and Allen the dog, the dog died, the place he was trafficked to burns(? maybe attacked and he was spared out of pity?) Due to the trauma of the incident, Mana gets worse, thinks Allen is Allen the dog and then they live on the streets until Mana’s death. Occasionally Mana mistakes him for Nea to keep that aspect of the trauma. Allen is attacked shortly after, survives, and is eventually taken in by Cross (and his debts). He gets a few stalkers or already has them and finds out later.

Lenalee: once again, the fighting is a bit tricky for a plain old modern au, but I can make some things work! After her parents died in an attack, she was adopted out of China into England to an abusive family. Eventually Komui was able to get custody of her… I’m unsure/doubtful he would actually be able to do this with the systems in place, so maybe foster care would work better?

Kanda: A cult??? I guess? And Alma died setting a fire maybe? Unless you want unethical government experiments in your modern au!

Lavi: … I don’t know about this one. A very emotionally distant family that shamed any expression of emotion or connection as weakness? But it doesn’t have quite the same implications, I think.

Miranda: Pretty easy! She’s still miserable and can’t keep a job. Poor Miranda.

Alistar: A bigoted, isolated small town? Very tough on this one. Maybe such a small town that superstition still runs strong and he was run out of town during a series of disappearances (actually caused by his girlfriend, Eliade).

Timothy: Pretty much the same. Abusive father who was eventually jailed for thieving, the orphanage where he lived had money trouble and he started stealing himself. Not sure where the trauma from the orphanage being attacked could fit in.

Mana: A crime family/mafia?? His brother (for reasons we aren’t sure of yet) went on a rampage and managed to take out most of the family, forcing Mana to kill him.

Link: he and his siblings/friends from the streets are adopted by a corrupt government official.

everyone (but especially Cross and Mother) watching Allen Walker

Xena: Gabrielle and I are courting!

Aphrodite: We already knew that?

Gabrielle: But we started courting two days ago?

Aphrodite: What the fuck were you doing before then?

now, I know that cale henituse and bruce wayne have similarities. They both have an adoption problem, are cunning strategists, terrible at communicating, and are filthy rich. but I think on a fundamental level they would not get along. Bruce has (admittedly kind of necessary due to frequent mind control situations) contingency plans for friends and family. Cale would Not Vibe with that at all. He would rather die than do that shit.

plus bruce’s no-killing policy (again, valid reasons for this), and while bruce does various other brutal acts short of killing, I think this would cause some problems. cale might understand it on a moral level. But if they had to work together? They would be butting heads like nobody’s business. honestly, if they did have to team up to take down an enemy, I think there would be a confrontation a la “Ruthlessness” from EPIC the musical

Tragic Villain Rant (ig???)

so, this is my first post (no idea what I’m doing), but I just kinda want to vent/rant about tragic/sympathetic villains.

obviously, when looking at villains and analyzing, taking into account motivations and past traumas that lead up to their current actions is vital! It can change the message behind a story, the impact on characters within the narrative itself, etc. And there’s nothing wrong with liking a villain (regardless of redeemable qualities) and finding aspects sympathetic!

that being said, I just get so frustrated sometimes when all I see about a villain is their tragic backstory. What about the implications and consequences? The aftermath? I know people who like these characters usually don’t actually ignore/excuse the terrible things they do, but still.

might get some hate (if anyone sees this, which is doubtful), but this is somewhat specifically about Sephiroth and Shen Jiu, though there are others

*actively attempting murder*: his compassionate nature and aura of tragedy have captivated me