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arimiaromage · 6 months ago

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Strange house - DGM doujin fangame scenario A

So this weekend I reached the true ending for the 1st scenario / route in Strange house, a doujin LaviYuu game I found made by MOONLIGHT CAFE. you can see the entire guidebook for it as well as more details here.

and now I'm going to show it off to you!

I finished scenario / route 1, titled "Dolly". in visual novels, when it has multiple endings or ways the story can play out, those are typically called routes. in Strange house it has 4 main routes with multiple endings for each route, though every route is still about Lavi x Kanda.

this is the route in the guidebook, where they give you a brief glimpse at some of the CGs (cutscene artworks) for the route and which choices you need to pick in order to get the true ending.

basically, the route starts by you (playing as Lavi) out on a mission with Kanda and Toma.

after you wrap up, Lavi says that it's too far to travel back to headquarters that night (this game set sometime right after Allen sets up the Ark doors for travel as the 14th but before Lavi is captured by the Noah) and insists you find shelter in the nearby town (because he wants more time outside the Order with Kanda).

in town, Toma hears there's a mansion nearby that will provide shelter to them, so they head there and are greeted by its owner, Ralph (ラルフ).

one of the main choices for this route is...... whether you introduce Kanda to Ralpha as Kanda or Yu??? I went with Yu for my first playthrough (I didn't consult the guidebook, I just wanted to play it naturally) and that apparently locked me out of the true ending. there's several endings if you called him Yu, but you can only get the true ending by calling him Kanda.

Ralph shows them to their rooms with some small chat - Ralph lives alone in this mansion after the passing of his parents and then his sister. Lavi and Kanda stay in adjoining bedrooms and try to get some sleep.

however.... a ghost has other plans.

the vision of a ghostly woman wakes Lavi up. he goes to Kanda's room to tell him about it only to find that Kanda isn't there anymore. his bags are there, and the bed looked slept in, but Kanda was missing.

at this point you return to Lavi's room and can either investigate on your own some or immediately call Ralph in. regardless, you have to call Ralph to investigate.

when Lavi investigates on his own, he finds a bloodied and town fabric, which definitely doesn't sit well with him. he informs Toma that Kanda is missing and tells him to sit tight, that he'll solve this.

after Lavi calls Ralph to inform him that Kanda is missing, Ralph is initially skeptical (maybe he went to the bathroom? out for a walk?) but agrees to help Lavi.

the two search the mansion but come up empty. the only location inside the manor they haven't searched is the attic which has been locked up since Ralph's sister died.

Lavi is surprised it's in such a nice shape despite Ralph claiming he hasn't been in there for at least months and the mansion doesn't have any maids/butlers. there's also a portrait on the wall that Lavi notices looks similar to the ghostly woman he saw earlier that night.

you have 2 options, either inspect the portrait on your own while Ralph opens up the attic window or ask Ralph directly about the portrait. if you inspect it before asking about it, the game continues. if you ask Ralph about it, he immediately shoots Lavi in the face.

I believe this is the first bad end in the route. Lavi later wakes up at the Order with only partial memories of what happened. apparently, Kanda found him bleeding out and managed to get him back there before it was too late, though he was heavily injured. however, Ralph had escaped by that point and Kanda refuses to talk about the night at all.

if we inspect the portrait, Lavi thinks how similar it looks to the ghost he saw but before he can remark out loud, Ralph calls him over to the window.

(yeah, they just took the front of the manor and skewed the image to simulate Lavi looking downwards from the attic)

Ralph says there's something outside, to which Lavi looks out but sees nothing. Ralph then pushes Lavi out the window but he's saved by extending his hammer. once he hits the ground unscathed, Ralph opens fire on him. at this point Lavi is very confused and runs off to the forest.

Ralph follows him there but Lavi knocks him out. there's the sounds of something rustling nearby, to which Lavi can either inspect it or take the unconscious Ralph back to the manor to search for Kanda.

if he searches for the sound, he finds it's a group of akuma waiting for an ambush. Lavi easily destroys them.

when Lavi comes back from fighting, Ralph is gone. Lavi goes to the basement and finds a dying Kanda sitting with a doll that looks just like the ghost he saw. however, this is another bad end - Kanda slowly wakes up but the two go home without fully understanding events.

what you're supposed to do is ignore the sounds and immediately take Ralph back inside. Lavi heads to the basement with him where they find a dying Kanda sitting with a "doll".

because Ralph is here, he freaks out and runs away at seeing the doll. Lavi stays by Kanda's side until he's able to move. once he regains consciousness, the two leave to chase after Ralph one more time.

Kanda is still injured, but they both know he should be fine thanks to his recovery speed. Kanda thinks Ralph thought he was dead and couldn't believe he was still alive. Lavi knows Kanda was dead from those injuries but his recovery abilities saved him.

Kanda goes on to explain that Ralph is a broker for the Earl and that the woman who saved him was Ralph's sister, Lyra (ライラ). he had heard a knocking on his window and saw the woman. she told him her name and that her brother was a broker. he had wanted to sell his soul and his sister's soul to revive their parents when they died, but she was so against the plan she locked herself in the attic.

depending on if you introduced Kanda as Yu or Kanda (yep remember that choice at the beginning?) determines if you get the final bad end or the true end.

if you called him Yu, then the two run around the mansion but find Ralph dead. akuma have already found him and killed him. Lavi and Kanda destroy the remaining akuma but still go home unsatisfied as they don't fully understand what happened to Lyra.

if you called him Kanda, then the two immediately run to Ralph's study where they find him about to make a phone call. they pull him out and force him to confess.

Ralph admits to being a broker, but there's one problem - his sister is dead. he swears he wasn't lying about that, saying that she killed herself when he was adamant that they revive their parents. so who saved Kanda...? at this point, even Lavi is confused.

they go back to the basement to see a lifeless doll there, covered in Kanda's blood. Ralph confesses the rest.

this is the true end for Dolly.

Lavi and Kanda take turns staying up to make sure no more akuma attack (and that Ralph doesn't escape) and Kanda brings out the—grape juice.

cue makeout session.

the next day, they hand off the manor to a group of finders to secure it and head off back to the Order. Lavi says he's sad he didn't get to see Kanda's sleeping face (Kanda woke up before he did that morning) and hopes he gets to see it at the Order.

still, Kanda brings him in for one more kiss before they go home.

and that's only one scenario / route out of the entire game! each route was written by a different person with different CG artists.

here's the ending credits as well.

this was pretty nice! it felt like one of the side story episodes from the original anime - they venture into a creepy but ultimately inconspicuous manor at night only to find it's connected to akuma, with its own broker and ghost story. this route was probably only around 2~ hours of playtime but took me much longer as it's in JP.

also, most of the character sprites are slightly animated and it's really cute, like Lavi's blushing happy sprite when he realizes Kanda wants to drink with him.

I'll be playing through the rest of the routes at some point and sharing that as well.

#dgm #dgrayman #laviyuu #d gray man #lavi bookman #yu kanda #kanda yuu #dgm fangame #fangame #fangames #doujin fangame #doujin fangames #moonlight cafe #this game was not made by me but instead moonlight cafe!#I'm just documenting it here for archival reasons

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fylavi · 1 year ago

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DGM Fanevent Nov 05. Translations & Updates

Provided from 椿/Tsubaki (@Paruuu75) on Twitter) / (@ponkotsubluuues on Tumblr).

Lavi appearing next year or in two years, but "maybe not in the form that everyone wished for."

Cross Marian is not Cross' real name.

In DGM, broken things don't go back to normal, so Tim won't come back.

When Kanda said "I thank you, Allen Walker", it was 80% his old self speaking, and not Kanda.

Road has good grades at school because she has lived for a long time.

Jasdevi don't wear underwears.

Even during the hiatus, the editors never thought about discontinuing DGM.

Kanda started to eat soba because of Alma.

The bodies used for the Second exorcist project are abandoned male babies.

Allen had a bad mouth when he was a child because of his education/environment. Kanda has a bad mouth because of his personality.

Allen's type of girls are the ones who can cook + who can make him feel at home, family atmosphere.

Cross uses his own shampoo he made himself.

Cross will appear in the story, but probably after Lavi.

Kanda hates the CROWS so he won't eat what Link would cook.

Road knew from the moment she met Allen he was the host.

Kanda won't probably call Allen by his name (like in the Alma arc).

Hoshino Sensei think we are around half of the story, when asked by a fan how many volumes DGM will have, ahe answered "maybe around 50?"

#dgm updates #dgm spoilers #d. gray man #ponkotsubluuues

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michirusagi · 27 days ago

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cupid's girl

shoot you down with an arrow like, doom doom doom!

Black Order quintet + being down bad. Pretty self explanatory. Implied fem reader.

Mild nsfw text

When faced with infatuation, Allen Walker gets anxious as hell. What if you don't like him? What if you do like him? Everything scares the crap out of him. Still, he makes no effort to avoid you. He acts relatively normal until you get too close to him, then he turns red and hides his face. He says it's because he doesn't like contact, but you know better. Even if he's afraid, he treats you like a princess. Treats you to nice meals, insists on paying for things for you, even cooks for you--or, well, he tries to. He helps you with anything he can get away with, shows off foolishly during training. It's rather out of character for him to be falling over himself like this, but the fear in his heart adds to it! If it gets too real, he'll walk away from the situation without a word but give you longing looks from across the room. He's kinda stupid about it. Eventually you'll have to confront him, which will result in some arguing and pulling your hair out. He's surprisingly stubborn. But eventually, he'll cave. He just can't stay away.

Lenalee Lee doesn't end up stupid over someone easily. She's got a lot to focus on, and besides, her brother would be such a hassle if she were to fall in love. But this isn't exactly love, she knows that. Nor is it a crush. It's more than that; it's soul-crushing devotion that borders on obsession. She holds herself back the most out of the group, I think. Really she wants to jump your bones, sleep in your bed, be on you all the time. She'd let you treat her horribly if it came down to it, because she's down that bad. But she can see that maybe those feelings are a bit...much. So she pulls back and maintains your friendship. Will probably kiss your pretty head off if it gets to be too much for her, though.

Lavi Bookman has crushes easily, on many women--like, five per day. But this, this is different. You could step on him and he'd thank you. It's immediate, too; the day you enter headquarters, he knows he's in for it because you're beautiful and sexy and charismatic and sweet, it's just too much for him. So naturally, he never speaks to you (not that he even could). There's no way. He actively avoids you for fear of um. Humiliating himself, let's just say that. He's actually unusually cold with you and you wonder why, which in turn gets you infatuated with him. At that point, you're both in trouble. You both lose sleep, and not in a good way.

Howard Link is probably the quietest about his little obsession with you. It wouldn't take much effort for him to act normal, because I think he's dealt with things like this before. He's a very intense man and is no stranger to passion. So, when he finally realizes yeah, he'd let you stab him and probably enjoy it, he doesn't really react to those feelings. He acts completely normal, in fact, until you start grumbling about your dating life. You complain that no man wants you, it seems, that they all ditch you eventually over some arbitrary thing. At that point, he's seething. Who would reject you? Really now, while he's thinking about you in bed? How rude of those guys. Doesn't say so right away but will eventually approach you and, rather smoothly, tells you he can give you whatever it is you want without question. A relationship, just sex, whatever. He's down. Needless to say, you wake up in his bed the next morning.

Kanda Yuu has actually never experienced any kind of romantic (or sexual) anything that didn't make him want to claw his eyes out. His only experience with love is Alma, and he doesn't like to talk about that. So when he finds himself into you, he doesn't know what to do with himself at all. Sexual awakening, ngl. He has dreams about you that he wouldn't even confess to at gunpoint. Even when his thoughts are wholesome, he's so horribly embarrassed he can't even look at you. Meanwhile, you keep poking and prodding at his tough exterior, attempting to find a crack in his armor. He wonders if this means you want him the way he wants you, but won't dare find out. Eventually you'll have to pin him to a wall and flutter your eyelashes at him to make him get the idea, at which point he kinda goes feral. You'll wake up covered in marks. While this will continue for some time, he probably won't come to terms with his feelings for you fully or tell you he loves you until after he gets closure with Alma.

#d gray man #dgm #d gray man x reader #dgm x reader #allen walker #allen walker x reader #lenalee lee #lenalee lee x reader #lavi bookman #lavi bookman x reader #howard link #howard link x reader #kanda yuu #kanda yuu x reader #🩷.archive

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rokishimizu4 · 6 months ago

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The Heart of a Clock

(I ship so many different characters with Miranda Lotto, so if you had a specific ship in mind.. Please put in a request and I’ll write it for Tumblr~! Otherwise all the ships I’ll be writing are on my AO3)

(AU: If Miranda’s innocent evolved further after a mission that almost ended in her death. Her innocence’s bonded with her, it would do anything to keep her alive. Even making a deal with life and death themselves.)

A soft white light covers the fallen bodies of her comrades as she tries desperately to rewind their time, to bring them back. Even for a little while.

“Please, please! Wake up! WAKE UP!” She screams as tears flow down her eyes as she pushes herself beyond the limits the Black Order put her on after another mission gone wrong.

Her vision blurs as the light from the giant clock above her becomes almost too bright to gaze upon by anyone besides Miranda. It spreads farther and farther as she begs desperately for her innocence to save those fallen finders that gave their all, even though they were no match to the level 4 Akumas and the Noah family.

Her vision becomes dark as a piercing pain spreads throughout her body, from a Akuma’s claw through her stomach.

Her screams echo throughout the battlefield as the clock above glows red and purple, indicating it’s rage.

It pulses the blinding red and purple lights across the battlefield, knocking both enemies and allies alike, causing them to suffer the same pain that its friend, it’s sister had suffered.

~~~~Small time skip~~~~

“Oh my, what an interesting sight.” A gentle voice rouse Miranda back to the waking world, but a warm hand covers her closed eyes before she could try to open them.

“Keep them closed, my dear sweet Time Keeper. You still need to heal.” A warm voice, like the rising sun on a cool summer day, shushes her until she feels her body relax without her say so.

“Such power for such a small, skinny, little thing. The Master of Time must see you as something special for Them to ask for our help.” Another voice whispers, cold and distant much like a withering flower in the snow.

“Please…,” she whispers as she tries to understand, “please save them.”

“Such a sacrificial little lamb. Thinking of others before yourself. Very well little Time Keeper. We will save them.”

“But in return, you must keep a secret. No one must know of your new purpose, Little Time Keeper. Your heart is pure and true, do not let it be swayed by the matters of others.”

Miranda tried to open her mouth, to thank whoever was going to save her friends, when she suddenly wakes up in a panic on a hospital bed.

“Miss Miranda! You’re awake!” A small group of Finders gasp in relief as one of two rush out of the hospital room, off to find a nurse or doctor more than likely.

She opens her mouth to ask a question, but the sound of running footsteps breaks her off of her rambling before she could begin.

“Miranda!! You’re awake! Thank God!” Voices, familiar and so welcoming, scream so loudly from down the hall and the group of her friends rushing into her hospital room fills her with so much joy and relief that she begins to cry.

Allen and Leelaa rush into her open arms, hugging her like their lives depend on it, and maybe they did in some way.

Time passes in a blur as Miranda is filled in with what happened after she passed out, and questions are fired off which she tries to answer while keeping her promise to whoever saved her friends.

‘Thank you,’ she thinks to herself as she listens to Lavi, Allen and Kanda argue over this and that, ‘thank you for this gift. I promise to keep your secret. Just please give me the strength to keep my friends safe.’

She lets out a few sniffles as her eyes go from person to person, until her eyes meet the cold and warm eyes of two people in robes that silently disappear like the mist on a cold day heated by the rising sun.

Neither her nor her friends notice the small key to her Grandfather clock glow with faint words marking it with the deal between two very powerful innocences.

#d gray man #miranda lotto #allen walker #lavi bookman #kanda yuu #lenalee lee #komui lee #arystar krory #d gray man hallow #level 4 Akuma #noah family #D Gray man innocences #Miranda is the heart (theory)#D Gray Man cosplay

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onomatopagu-et-cie · 2 years ago

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Some other theories and observations, part 3

First impressions after re-reading DGM Some theories and observations, part 2 Notes on Link, part 1 & part 2

Again have a nice week!!

(SPOILERS UP TO CH248!!!!)

▶ Allen's curse

Will the manga elaborate more on Allen’s curse? The pentacle reappeared on volume 28’s cover again and D is an integral part of the title. (Btw, I can’t wait to read the copy I got of volume 28 as it’s now out in France! The cover is so beautiful, Hoshino outdoes herself every time with the new format, the back cover is pretty!!!)

This is the only piece of information we’ve got on it, apart from its evolving abilities. How can Komui be 100% sure a curse can only be inflicted on humans? Given how the majority of the Order didn’t know about the Noah and Apocryphos, I wouldn’t be surprised this could be false too.

▶ Allen/Neah’s (?) hidden ability

(thisoneislongsorryyyy)

Note: I wrote this BEFORE ch248 came out in July: it revealed the Allen we know was entirely remade by Apocryphos, and this could finally explain Neah, Road and Wisely’s confusion over Allen’s strange powers ; however, this doesn’t explain Apocryphos’s own confusion over Allen when he first encountered him nor exactly to what extent Allen was 'remade', so I kept these notes as is since we still don’t know more!

At the beginning of the volume 25, Wisely addresses Road as his brethren, probably because of the similarities of their powers. Wisely worries over Neah’s powers because he can’t read his mind somehow. At the end of the volume, after saying « Allen » is dangerous to Neah and them, Road states that she can’t connect her dream realm to his at will for some reason.

The two scenes mentioned sort of answer each other: both take place in Wisely/Road’s realm, one is at the beginning and the other at the end of the volume. And while Wisely thinks it’s Neah that outweighs his power, Road believes « Allen » (edit after reading ch248: Allen as he's remade by Apocryphos) the true danger instead.

Road’s inability to do as she wants might then involve a power we have not been officially introduced to when it comes to (past?)Allen besides his Innocence. And I don’t believe it’s about Neah at all, since she deems Allen dangerous (and also other people/things she refers to as ‘they’), and wants to warn Neah. If it was about Neah’s ability, this scene wouldn’t even happen and Road wouldn’t have questioned it since she knows him fairly well (while the other Noahs don’t because of the memory gap Neah caused).

In this chapter, Road also says « they’re using us », suggesting they could be the reason Allen is that threatening. She uses 奴ら (yatsura, plural) to refer to ‘them’: 奴 (yatsu, singular) is a derogatory/familiar pronoun.

EDIT: It's actually Cross, not Road, who says this specific part ('Allen is dangerous', 'They're using us.')!!!! She only speaks in the next page in her mini form, about her dream realm! This also means Cross and Road might've been communicating (and it's not only Road one-sidedly using him like I thought initially eg. manipulating him to lead Allen to the mansion), working together because they share some common goal (eg. protecting Mana and Neah)!

The only subjects triggering that pronoun and hatred from the Noahs (essentially, their memory crying out ‘I won’t forgive/I hate’) so far were:

→ Innocence (eg. Skinn Boric’s awakening as a Noah) → the exorcists (eg. the Earl when the Ark was saved by Allen) → Neah (eg. Wisely as he talks to Road) → the Pillar (eg. as Cross mentions it to Road)

Maybe Allen’s power is something close to what both Wisely and Road have since that sort of power can equal theirs to the point that both can’t stay omnipotent against that, just as they usually are eg. Wisely with supposedly all the Noahs (and also when he forced Alma’s memories with Allen and Kanda) or Road with Lavi.

And we have already seen (but without any real explanation yet) that Allen experiences « visions » (夢, yume, which we usually associate with Road, the Noah of dreams, can also mean vision):

→ Lenalee and Allen's respective apocalyptic dreams

→ Allen sensing Lenalee is drowning while facing the akuma Eshi

→ having a kind of out of body experience and seeing Krory and the ghost after being KO’ed in the Destruction of the Black Order Arc

→ his second dream in which what we now know as the Pillar talks to him ; Mana calls out to him in the original version by « ••• » (which is weird in itself since Neah is supposed to have no Noah memory??? Since Mana and Neah were two « halves » of the Earl, and we don’t know exactly what each half covers, could there have been some sort of mix-up between the two along the way?)

→ a glimpse of Kanda’s past when Marie talked about it

→ witnessing Cross’s ‘death’ through Apocryphos

→ whatever was happening when Allen and the Earl shared the same vision of Road protecting Mana in volume 24 was never explained (I put it here but it simply could be because Mana and Neah were revealed as the two halves of the Earl in the next volume)

→ seeing Johnny reaching out to him in the inn when we know it was Neah who sleep-talked after having a dream about the Campbells and woke up (idk if I should count this in bc it could just be Allen’s semi-consciousness fighting Neah)

But when Allen saw Cross’s ‘death’ through Apocryphos, he called that a consequence of the « parasitic » influence over « Allen ». According to him, it went on for many years. He then proceeded to merge with Allen in order to « erase that influence and suppress the 14th’s memory »: this might suggest that Apocryphos deemed Neah as the parasite of the exorcist Allen.

If he’s really talking about Neah, what Apocryphos says could contradict Road’s assumption that this power comes from Allen, not Neah. So, between Apocryphos and Road, who is right? ????????

Let’s consider for a moment that whatever is going on is due to Allen’s ‘long’ experience with a ‘parasitic’ Innocence and that Apocryphos never meant Neah when he talked about a parasite. But we know from Cross that Red’s arm didn’t show any sign of activating at all. Moreover, Neah wouldn’t have been shocked by the Innocence’s influence over past!Allen’s arm after awakening 35 years later if the latter synchronized with it when they knew each other, it wouldn’t make sense. So where does this long influence fit in? Are we talking about the parasitic-type Innocence or is Apocryphos referring to something entirely different?

It doesn’t help that the type of Innocence Allen has is called a ‘parasite-type’ in the original version and the English localization.

It helps even less that Apocryphos uses the same terminology as Komui when he first introduced the parasite-type: 寄生型. Except for Komui the furigana reads 型 as the loanword ‘type’ (kisei-taipu) and for Apocryphos it reads ‘kata’ (kiseigata) as the kanji should be pronounced.

Note: in French they chose to call this type of Innocence a ‘symbiotic-type’: it emphasizes the close association between the accommodator and the Innocence more and suggests the bond is mutually beneficial, but we know after all these chapters that it’s a totally one-sided control led by the Innocence over the accommodator’s body. It’s anything but mutual in retrospect. Parasite suits the Innocence more!

Interestingly, the word used for Allen’s role as a host is 宿主 (shukushu). I didn’t know the word ‘host’ could refer to the organism affected by a parasite!

Both Neah and the Innocence are parasites hosted by Allen. The imagery is also carried by the Fallen Ones’s design. When Allen witnesses Suman’s suffering, he uses the verb 蝕む, ‘mushibamu’:

What looks like giant worms pierce his body and tinier worms gnaw at his heart:

And also, I never considered it but 寄生, kisei, ‘parasite’ almost sounds like 犠牲, gisei, ‘sacrifice’ with just one letter difference: if intentional, these paronyms ironically bring out Allen’s sacrificial role even more. Ch240’s cover illustrates this dimension even more:

I might be missing something or this doesn’t really add up.

It’s also interesting to note that ch222 is titled « Hypokrisis ». Cross calls out Allen’s selflessness once again:

The noun ὑπόκρισις (hypokrisis) meant 1) answer & 2) role (on the theater scene, the masked actor was called an ὑποκριτής, hypokritès, separate from the chorus) in ancient greek. But its meaning became morally (and religiously) loaded, now suggesting a duplicity in someone’s behavior (their personality, qualities, principles, opinions, …).

This chapter shows Allen in a dream staged by Road that leads him to the Campbell mansion. Facing Cross offering him to stop his search for the truth, he gives his definite answer to once again fulfill his vow to Mana and « keep walking » even at the cost of his own existence and the bond to his home. It’s also a call back to « Mana’s mask » during the Phantom Thief G arc.

Behind the scene, Road now understands she made a mistake she should have realized sooner: she’s being manipulated herself (along with Neah and perhaps the other Noahs) by someone else and Allen is dangerous, a reality that was concealed to her eyes until now.

The phrasing also parallels Cross’s late realization:

Were they making the same mistake on Allen’s true nature? After Red’s flashback, at least we know one mistake Cross made: Red didn’t say he was « Allen » (thinking Cross asked about the dog) ➾ even though he didn’t want the Innocence close to Mana (as it could 1) destroy him, being a Noah and 2) call forth the Earl, I guess), Cross didn’t monitor Red enough to see the influence of Apocryphos ➾ Red synchronized with an Innocence and the Earl was called back.

So far, Road (and the other Noah) benefits from these consequences: she wanted the Earl’s awakening to destroy the present world in order to take revenge of the Pillar. So either Cross and Road talk about two different things or there’s more to it than that to the point that even Road considers this a mistake despite the advantages at first glance.

At least, I guess it’s (kinda?) safe to assume Allen’s body = past!Allen as Neah knew him. Allen wouldn’t have been able to move the Ark otherwise:

Another lead to whoever past!Allen was might be linked to THIS in volume 27:

????? Who was this? And also what kind of situation were they in? It looks like the mystery person held past!Allen right before parting (before he lost his memory maybe?)/dying. They look as though they’re stuck in a tricky situation: their clothes look torn to shreds, and particles in the air look the same whenever there’s action in the manga? OH. Perhaps the transfer of Neah’s memory into past!Allen would be successful if and only if the memory of his past self was erased? Because two memories maybe can’t safely coexist in one body: we know even the Noahs, described as « superhumans », struggle with their memory and it threatens their sanity if they don’t suppress it. So this could be worse should a human unrelated to the Noah experiment the same thing.

But could one erase their memory in the universe of DGM? It doesn’t seem that far-fetched since:

Neah’s memory was successfully transferred in Allen,

magic is a thing in this universe,

Skulls can ‘reprogram’ a human’s brain to transform them and Apocryphos can easily rewrite memories,

in ch209, when Johnny was searching for Allen, Crows (who use sorcery) coerced him into drinking a drug that would supposedly erase his memories of the Order??? (now I know it could be a lie and it was poison instead since the Central and the Crows’ methods are rather radical):

Heck, past!Allen could even be from another timeline/from the previous/future world destroyed by the Pillar! Which could explain Allen’s recent dream of the Pillar? It could even be linked to « ••• » in this dream eg. his ‘real’ name or role (since the syllables don’t even match Neah’s even though it triggered Neah’s awakening once he woke up)??

▶ Road and Apocryphos

It’s more apparent in the original version but Apocryphos wavered, looking almost surprised/bothered to face Road as it’s accentuated with the ツ. Compared to his confidence in taking down Tyki, calling himself their Reaper and so on, this looks like Road could be a bigger threat than the other Noahs. (Perhaps it’s only random but Road stabbed Apocryphos in the left eye, just as she did to Allen in the rewinding city!)

It’s also interesting to note he recognized Road as the 9th Noah only once Tyki shouted her name. It could mean:

Road took another appearance we don’t know of 7000 years ago, and it’s confirmed in the manga: she’s stayed like this for 35+ years. We know that since Wisely awakened as a Noah and met them.

Either Apocryphos didn’t meet her since she took on this appearance (so in this 35+ year span)

Or he did meet her but didn’t recognize her as the 9th Noah

If he only recognized her after his punch, how could it have badly hurt Road? I thought you had to know her true ‘identity’ to harm her, which was why Allen couldn’t hit her with his sword.

Allen could harm Tyki but not Road, and only Apocryphos could???? Since he was present 7000 years ago and most likely was responsible in whatever happened then, it’s safe to say he should know about the Noah and the world they lived in enough to be able to harm Road.

▶ Chapter 219: Butterflies, the souls and the Earl

(thisoneisevenlongersorryyyyy)

When the Earl vanished before Katerina and split into Mana and Neah in ch219, two butterflies are seen flying above them.

My best guess would be they’re respectively male and female white cabbage butterflies (pieris rapae, or the great white butterfly, pieris brassicae, a close relative to this species), pretty common butterflies:

I also found that pieridae caterpillars often PARASITE cruciferous plants (they often eat cabbages, broccoli, kale, mustard) ie. plants with flowers that have CROSS-arranged petals (yes, it’s a detail that’s probably irrelevant but it was fun to find that randomly, I live in overthinking and reach-land haha).

In Japan, butterflies often symbolize the souls of the living and the dead. It’s also a symbol of spirituality (the cycle of life, birth, death, metamorphosis, reincarnation, immortality), as the cycle of a butterfly embodies it in its four stages (egg, caterpillar, chrysalis, butterfly).

As the later part of the manga focuses on helix magic and its principles (the body, the soul and the spiral of life), the ‘death’ of the Earl makes way for Neah and Mana, a ‘rebirth’ of some sort. Which makes me believe that what we saw as the Earl against Allen in volumes 24-25 (and perhaps even the rest of his appearances in the manga with the suit) was actually his ‘body’, which takes the shape of his suit (we even see the costume ripping in half with what looks like a zipper). According to past!Allen, a body is merely a vessel that needs a soul for life to exist. The costume of the Earl might be in desperate search of its lost soul (Mana + Neah), which is why it endlessly devours human souls (through perhaps the making of akuma?): Hoshino said there’s a reason why she draws the Earl plump, it’s just a theory for posterity haha! Is this the same mechanism that turns Timcampy this big?

Note (see the end of this point for more on golems and DGM!): I read on Twitter that at the exhibition held in honor of DGM, it was explained that Adam was the name of the ’skin of the Millenium Earl’ and Adam was the first golem (just like in the Bible, Adam was made of the dust of the earth and was animated by God’s breath)! (With their poison, Akuma turn humans to dust………… Timcampy also turned to dust once touched by Cornelia’s bark…………. Innocence also turns to dust, just like Mugen when Kanda left with Alma or just like Allen’s did at the Asian branch…………)

This is pure speculation, but perhaps the Earl decided to forsake his tragic millenium role once he finally witnessed the beauty of this world (be it his meeting with Katerina and/or something else). After all, according to Neah’s words: « Seven thousand years of life… yet the Earl’s heart is stuck in that scenery. » Maybe he realized the Three days of Darkness were meaningless, that they would feed an endless cycle of atonement, hatred and vengeance? It could also be why he gave life to Neah and Mana. Neah holds the power to destroy the Noah while Mana seems to be able to devour the Noah: perhaps the Earl intended Mana to first devour all the Noah in order for Neah to finally destroy them all and put an end to this all?

However, something ruined this project: the Noahs probably disagreed, determined to see their vengeance through (by sacrificing the Earl, summoning the Earl and destroying ‘this world’ they created). It could also be the Heart, or both the Noahs and the Heart working with each other. In one way or another, they managed to persuade/compel Mana to devour Neah (perhaps that’s where Joyd played a significant role in all this?).

On the subject of the souls, since Neah describes Atuuda’s power as the opposite of Mana devouring him (and we now know the Earl feeds on human souls), it certainly works as the partial transfer of the owner’s soul to another to ‘heal’ them (or is it something like ‘rewinding’ their state to before they got injured? Does this have something to do with whatever rejuvenated past!Allen and aged up Mana’s appearance??). Before Link healed Neah in ch221, Allen’s jacket was pierced ; Atuuda mended his injury and the hole in the jacket was also gone.

Zuu only described it as Atuuda exhausting his own ‘life-force’ to transfer it to someone else, he was not specific in his explanation so it’s only guesses here.

Design-wise (and reachland-wise haha), the six spots on the female white butterfly could be a recurring motif related to the soul, like the six dots on Link’s tattoo 8D

(Also noticing just now but dude Link must have a lot of gloves in stock, he came back with a glove when he saved Neah haha)

I can’t decipher what Zuu wrote to summon Atuuda but they’re replacing the dots here. Atuuda also has three spheres on each mustache-thingy!

I found a retelling of a Japanese legend of a white butterfly (in Myths & Legends of Japan, by Frederick Hadland Davis). I found it narrated on Japanese Folktales: The Butterfly Soul – Under the influence! if you want to check it out! A white butterfly visits an old man at his deathbed. It was the soul of his beloved that died when they were young, the old man never left her alone and would keep tending to her grave. The butterfly didn't leave until his soul left with her.

The butterfly in ancient greek was ψυχή (psyche), which holds several meanings: the wind blow or breath and by extension life force or breath, life, soul, butterfly and Psyche (essentially known from the myth of her love with Eros/Cupid and its trials). Interestingly, « psyché » in French also refers to a piece of furniture with a window-frame in which a great mirror was mounted. It was a great Art Deco symbol and was a motif depicted in paintings. It reflected its owner from head to foot, just as the mirror reflected Mana, Neah and the Earl’s souls in volume 25.

It’s also a symbol of (tragic) love sometimes eg. the chinese legend of the butterfly lovers.

Final note on golems: the word ‘golem’ was used once in the Book of Psalms to refer to Adam when he was what was translated as a shapeless mass, an embryo out of clay lacking a soul. The Talmud sometimes calls Adam a ‘golem’ when referring to the first twelve hours of his life: it was still only an inanimate body without God’s breath of life.

Golems also have a mystical origin, created by magic spells. The methods of creation and destruction vary from a tale to another eg. dancing and chanting the hebrew alphabet in different combinations ; using a pure mass of dust, water, sand, earth or flour ; prayers, fasts, purifications ; engraving ‘emet’ (truth, God’s seal) on its forehead and erasing the first letter alef to call its death (met means death).

In ashkenazi hassidic traditions in the 15th century, the golem became a real creature, serving its masters and fulfilling the tasks it was given. This tradition became really popular in the 17th century, and was linked to the ancient belief in the possibility to resurrect the dead by putting in their mouth (or on their arm) a piece of parchment marked with the tetragram. Following this belief, it could turn into an evil being that had to be destroyed to prevent terror and death from spreading.

The golems embody both the figure of a protector/servant but also of a creature of destruction:

→ Golem | Jewish Museum Berlin « A golem is a creature formed out of a lifeless substance such as dust or earth that is brought to life by ritual incantations and sequences of Hebrew letters. The golem, brought into being by a human creator, becomes a helper, a companion, or a rescuer of an imperiled Jewish community. In many golem stories, the creature runs amok and the golem itself becomes a threat to its creator. (…) Originally, creating a golem was a way for medieval Jewish mystics to come closer to God. »

I don’t know why, but these two pages of ch231 comes to my mind when I read the last sentence:

I wanted to know more about golems in general, and I came across this conference of Ada Ackerman, an art history specialist that dedicated a great part of her works on the golem and its representations through time (religion, myths, books, cinema): YouTube

She quoted a yiddish play excerpt and it was really reminiscent of the creation of Akuma. The golem in the play pleads with a voice (which is unusual, since it is mainly represented without a voice and genderless) its creator to not create them. It is already conscious of its potential for destruction, and asks to remain into nothingness:

I tried to translate it very roughly: « I have a voice that is not yet a voice. I have a heart that is not yet a heart. (…) I will say it again and I warn you, please do not create me! See those stars dying! And so will the light of every eye laying on me. My footprint will only leave desolation, and from what my hand touches only ashes and dust will be left. »

Interestingly, גּוֹלֶם in modern hebrew designates both the pupa and the golem, as well as a dummy, a mould or a fool.

▶ Chapter 219: Poppies, puppets and myths

Flowers also grow at the foot of the tree Cornelia. When the Earl disappeared, Katerina was plucking those flowers. It could be poppies, that often bloom in wheat fields. These flowers are also on the chapter’s cover.

In hanakotoba, poppies can symbolize peace of mind, sympathy, presentiment of love, sorrow of parting, comfort or consolation, rest or relief. This is pure speculation, but like I said above, this could fit with Katerina and the Earl meeting and whatever he found in the mansion, making the latter realize his war against the world is meaningless.

Poppies in Japanese are 芥子, keshi. I remember seeing on her ig account that Hoshino wanted to emphasize the meaning of flowers in her story. For example, the lotus held a heartbreaking significance to Kanda and Alma’s arc. She also focuses a LOT on the puppet/staging/dramatic imagery in DGM (Lala, the exorcists controlled by the Innocence and Apocryphos and the Noahs by their memories, Crown Clown, the circus, …)

And funnily enough, poppies can be phonetically associated to a kind of japanese traditional wooden dolls, こけし, kokeshi. Kokeshi doesn’t have a kanji writing people generally agreed on: I read that before an exhibition in the 20th century, dolls were referred to by many names. Artisans and collectors agreed on ‘kokeshi’ in hiragana only.

Therefore, you could have various combinations to write kokeshi:

→ the ‘ko’ in kokeshi could refer to ‘child’, ‘small’ or ‘wood’ (then deriving from 'ki') → the ‘keshi’ in kokeshi could refer to the verb ‘chisel’ (削る, kezuru: kokeshi are wooden pieces chiseled on a lathe). It could also correspond to ‘poppy’. But most interestingly in DGM’s story, it could be linked to another verb, ‘erase’ (消す, kesu eg. an eraser is a 消しゴム, keshigomu): Neah said the Earl disappeared only once off the face of this earth, Mana ‘devoured’ Neah, and Allen is now facing the risk of disappearing himself.

Kokeshi can be made with cherry wood, japanese maple, but also dogwood. Dogwood’s variety is also known as cornus in latin, that Cornelia’s name could also originate from aside from cornix (raven).

One of the kokeshi features is sometimes the lack of limbs, just like the Innocence and the Fallen Ones.

Note: Poppies and crops (just like the Campbell mansion landscape) are also symbols of Demeter, the greek goddess of the harvest, the fertility of the earth. These flowers are also associated to Nyx, the goddess of the Night, Hypnos, the god of dreams and sleep, and Thanatos, a minor god of death, who are her sons. The abduction of Demeter’s daughter, Persephone, by Hades also involves poppies. In some tales, as the poppy was cultivated for the sleep-inducing and anesthetic properties from its sap, it is said that Hypnos gifted Demeter the flower to find sleep as she grew desperate at her daughter’s disappearance and left the earth barren. Other tales explain that poppies would grow to announce Persephone’s return to Earth, symbolizing the nature and Demeter’s rejoice.

▶ Mana or the Earl’s destruction?

I’ve been wondering about this since Allen’s escape from Apocryphos & Cross’s involvement with the plot: what real difference does it make whether Mana/the Earl is destroyed by Neah or the Heart?

Ch237 introduces these two paths clearly as opposites in Cross’s pov: « Right now, Mana has forgotten that he is the Millenium Earl. For the Innocence… The Heart, this is an opportunity like no other to destroy the Millenium Earl. Neah must be the one to destroy Mana. I have wandered this world for decades for that very reason. Searching for Neah’s host. Anything else that draws near Mana, I eliminate. And by that, I mean anything. Anything at all. »

Dude was hellbent on this mission to the point of 1) killing a kid should he come too close to Mana & 2) making a deal with Luberrier to ‘protect’ Neah (and eventually use him as a weapon)??? And THIS makes me wonder (when I read the trivia on his wikia character page):

What was his relationship with Neah? He was dragged in this mission by him. Which is interesting since Cross was introduced in the story as Neah’s supporter by outsiders ; we now get to see a more nuanced relationship. I wonder what differs from his relationship with Mana.

So, in addition to what it carries emotionally (to have Neah destroy Mana to save him from his misery), the consequences must be different depending on who (Neah or the Heart) kills who (Mana or the Earl) somehow. It must be the same consequences for Allen as overcoming Neah’s memories by himself and letting Apocryphos fuse with Allen to get rid of Neah. In ch236, Apocryphos witnesses Mana and Red embracing each other, saying Red will destroy the Earl so that the Heart will be reborn????? (First of all, it is a loophole in the Heart’s description by the Order: it is an Innocence that presumably holds an absolute power over the others, its destruction by the Noah would be fatal to the Order. Since it will be reborn, how come the rest of the Innocence still exist, eg. Cross’s Judgement and Maria were both seen, idem for the exorcists experimented on for the 2nd gen. project before that alleged rebirth?)

What if (see my theory in the previous points): → the Heart destroys the Earl (after destroying Neah) ➾ perpetuation of the cycle, the Pillar is again summoned since the end of the world is also « God’s » will: the Earl must forever be God’s sacrifice in atonement of his past sins. The manga suggests → Neah destroys Mana ➾ the end of the Noahs, set free from their vengeance and the Pillar

At this point I’m even starting to believe the Heart is a Noah haha (I was thinking about Road but what if it was Joyd 8D? He was perhaps not yet ‘reborn’ when Apocryphos changed Mana and Red’s fate because Neah killed him, and he was the only Noah seen destroying Innocence in the manga when he destroyed Allen’s)

In volume 25, we learn through Neah the Earl disappeared only once, dividing into Mana and Neah (so prior to the Heart’s rebirth). After Apocryphos mingled with Red and Mana’s fate, we see one of its direct consequences is the Earl’s awakening. And in ch202, we learn the Earl (or a piece of Mana’s consciousness) asked the Noah to protect Neah from the Heart even at the cost of their lives?????

The first time we learn of the Heart’s existence is from the Order’s point of view. With the search for the Heart from the Order's perspective, we take it for granted that the Heart is a single human being synchronizing with this special Innocence. Since the story revolves around the possibility it might be told by an unreliable narrator (the existence of Apocryphos and its ability to rewrite entire pans of memories, Innocence — a false ‘God’ the Order is fighting for, Noah’s hidden truth, the other side of the war …), who is to say the Heart comes in a shape no one expects?

In ch111, Lavi states the Heart should only be one. But should it, really? The original version of this panel puts accent on ‘one’:

For example, the Heart could be two halves forming a whole, just like … Mana and Neah form the Earl … Mana and Red were also needed for Apocryphos’s plan to succeed … I don’t believe the Heart is the Earl, at least not alone (why would it first want the awakening of the Earl and then his destruction?), there must be more to it than that.

▶ Joyd

I never paid attention to this bit in ch226:

I get the feeling that whatever made Mana ‘eat’ Neah was also urged by Joyd. Especially because Joyd appeared grinning as soon as Tyki set out on destroying Neah’s bond with the Earl, the obvious bad blood between Neah and Joyd (+ the fact he reincarnated with an uncanny resemblance to Neah, and his peculiar existence apart from other Noahs was hinted at by Road since ch93) and these panels:

Mana sounds helpless here, overwhelmed by whatever made him do this.

#dgm spoilers #dgm meta #d gray man #allen walker #mana walker #neah campbell #road kamelot #tyki mikk #link howard

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childofredmarigolds · 8 months ago

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Just some old art of Allen I did a few years ago. ^^ I got some of Lavi too that I'll probably post tomorrow. I never managed to get to Kanda and Lenalee tho. >.> lol my energy poofed since i did these in 2 days I think. Idk. It was a while. Lol

Maybe I'll draw the two of them later.

#d gray man #dgrayman #allen walker #allen #crown clown #dgm #dgm allen

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chaoticace2005 · 2 years ago

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DGM: Noah Competency Analysis

It is 2 am and I have work at 6:30 am and am making the amazing decision to stay up and analyze these bastards because my friend got me into this series and now it has taken over my life (thanks Koala.)

For the Noah, many seem to be pretty bad at their jobs: from the "kill the generals" arc where everyone failed to whatever the hell was up with the ark arc to Wisely/Tyki LOSING the Earl. So, being the autistic individual I am who recently took a stats class, I decided to analyze all the Noah in some kind of mathematical way to look at just how incompetent these losers are.

Note: statistical analysis is not completely representative of the Noah since it is only looking at information revealed in the manga/assumed as of June 2023- it is entirely possible that this information will change.

But now to it... (spoilers)

First, I wanted to establish some kind of system to accurately grade the Noah based on their accomplishments. Originally I was putting down all their activities and noting if they failed/succeeded- giving +1 points to successes and 0 for failures and then averaging it out based on total # of activities, but this led to the problem where some Noah were shown more than other so there was more data (like Mercyma or Tryde) and as a result their competency was put very high despite the fact we have little information on them, so this idea was scrapped.

Ultimately, I made it so each Noah started out with a 5/10 ranking, and then points were added and lost depending on their successes/failures and to what degree they were.

The "successes/failures" only looks at specific missions assigned to the Noah by the Earl- so for instance Tyki going around and killing extra exorcists like Daisya and Suman were not counted, as he was specifically ordered to kill Allen at the time and did this as an "extracurricular." Points were also deducted if the Noah did something that went against the Earl/hurt the Noah (more on this later.)

Points Awarded:

+0.5= Succeed at easy mission

+1.0= Succeed at mission

+1.5= Succeed at hard mission

-0.5= Fail at hard mission/ not a total loss

-1.0= Fail at mission

-1.5= Fail at easy mission/ make things worse

With this established onto the grading!

2nd Apostle: Tryde/Toraido (Judge)

-1.5: Stop traitors of Noah- failed with Nea (they all pretty much died as result)

+0.5: Be in Russia with Jasdevi for Alma Arc- succeed (kinda just stood there)

Total Competence: 4/10 (very limited amount of data but fairly okay, maybe don't trust with your life but can trust to not set house on fire)

3rd Apostle: Tyki Mikk (Pleasure)

+1.0: Kill Yeegar- succeed

-1.5: Kill Allen/Innocence- failed both and actually increased Allen’s power

-1.0: Kill exorcists in Edo- failed

-0.5: Kill Cross- mission given by Earl but never really attempted (Joyd did when awoken but failed)

+0.5: Bring Allen to North America branch- succeed

+1.0: Rescue Allen from Apocryphos- succeed

-0.5: Kill Apocryphos- failed

-1.0: Recruit Allen- failed

-1.0: Protect Road- failed

-1.5: Babysit Earl- failed

Extra: Responsible for Ark Arc, resulting in death of fellow Noah Skinn, permanent injury to Jasdevi along with himself, and Allen/the Order gaining access to the Ark (which later led to Egg being destroyed): -4.0

Total Competence: -3.5/10 (do NOT give this guy anything to do, if you asked him for milk he’d leave, kill someone in a Chuck E Cheese, and bring the dead body home (WITHOUT THE MILK))

4th Apostle: Sheril/Cheryl (Desires)

+1.5: Cause wars- succeed

+1.0: Take control of North America branch- succeed

+0.5: Help capture Apocryphos- succeed (didn’t appear to do much)

Extra: Did go behind Earl’s back to capture Bookman/Lavi and torture for information about Nea: -1.0

Total Competence: 7/10 (can trust to this guy to do most things, but if it threatens his or Road's life all bets are off)

5th Apostle: Wisely/Waizuri (Wisdom)

+1.0: Unite Alma and Kanda to awaken 14th- succeed

-1.5: Babysit Earl- failed

Extra: With Bookman/Lavi, tried to read minds but failed? So he was incompetent but in a way that supported the Earl: -0.5

Total Competence: 4/10 (if you leave a plant with him the plant will likely die)

Note: Alma Arc may have been a fluke but he seems to have lost competence after this- maybe Allen bonking Kanda in the head and giving Wisely a migraine had lasting effects? Maybe Sheryl had a point here:

6th Apostle: Feedler/Fiedla/Fiidora (Corrosion)

+1.5: Fights exorcists in China/infects exorcist- succeed, now have spy in order

-1.5: Babysit Earl- failed

+1.0: Act as communication for Noah- succeed, ranked as “1.0” since it is his ability specific

Extra: Did help Cheryl torture Bookman/Lavi, going against Earl: -0.5

Total Competence: 5.5/10 (can trust to not burn house down when cooking dinner, although food may be meh)

7th Apostle: Mercym/Maushyma (Pity)

+1.0: Occupy Madaroa- succeed

+0.5: Capture Apocryphos- succeed (didn’t appear to do much)

Total Competence: 6.5/10 (can be trusted to babysit kids)

8th Apostle: Skinn (Wrath) (Note: PRETTY DEAD)

-1.0: Kill Tiedoll- failed

-1.5: Kill Tiedoll unit- failed, dying as a result

Total Competence: 2.5/10 (very likely to get into a car accident due to road rage if allowed to borrow a car)

9th Apostle: Road (Dreams)

+0.5: Acquire Skinn when he was woken- succeed

-1.0: Retrieve Miranda Innocence- failed

+1.0: Kill Yeegar- succeed

+1.5: Copy Ark- succeed

+1.0: Help with Alma Karma arc- succeed

+1.5: Rescue Allen- succeed, went beyond to protect him

-0.5: Kill Apocryphos- failed

-0.5: Recruit Allen- failed (gets a bit of slack cause she was kinda fading away)

Extra: Responsible for Ark Arc, resulting in death of fellow Noah Skinn, permanent injury to Jasdevi/Tyki , and Allen/the Order gaining access to the Ark (which later led to Egg being destroyed): -4.0

HOWEVER she wasn’t killed by Nea so +3.0 points.

Total Competence: 7.5/10 (likely to complete a group project, but it was likely done by her forcing someone else to do it by candle-point- work smarter not harder)

10th/11th Apostles: Jasdevi (Bonds)

-1.5: Kill Cross- failed badly, acquiring debt in process

+0.5: Be in Russia with Tryde for Alma Arc- succeed

+1.5: Capture Apocryphos- succeed

Total Competence: 5.5/10 (surprisingly high) (if left to bake a cake the kitchen may be a disaster and the sink may be on fire but there will be a surprisingly okay cake) (about 2.75/10 each)

Note: Competence seems to have increased following encounter with Krory, did a reverse Wisely and actually got MORE competent over time.

12th Apostle: Lulu Bell (Lust)

-1.0: Retrieve egg- failed (egg destroyed but Order able to use some of egg to make Thirds)

+0.5: Be in Greece for Alma Arc- succeed

Total Competence: 4.5/10 (considered competent due to loyalty but fairly lazy, if told to do the dishes she would find someone else to do it for her and that person would do a subpar job)

13th Apostle: Mightra/Maitora (Ability)

+0.5: Make cool outfits- succeed

+1.0: Make skulls- succeed

+1.5: Do other magic related stuff with Ark/Akuma- succeed

Total Competence: 8/10 (can be trusted to house sit for a week without issue)

Also, just for fun:

The Fourteenth/Nea D. Campbell

+1.5: Kill Noah- mostly succeeded and damaged memories so kudos to him

+1.5: Restrict Ark- succeeded

-0.5: Kill Earl- failed

+1.0: Reincarnate- succeed

-1.5: Kill Johnny- failed

-1.0: Trick Kanda- failed

-1.0: Trick Link- failed

-0.5: Kill Earl (Part 2 Electric Boogaloo)- failed

+0.5: Reveal past to Earl- sorta? He certainly monologued but who knows if the Earl was all there

-1.0: Take over Allen completely- failed

Total Competence: 4/10

So... all in all (excluding Nea from calculations):

Mightra: 8/10

Road: 7.5/10

Cheryl: 7/10

Mercym: 6.5/10

Feedler: 5.5/10

Jasdevi: 5.5/10

Lulu Bell: 4.5/10

Tryde: 4/10

Wisely: 4/10

Skinn: 2.5/10

Tyki: -3.5/10

With the average competency of the Noah being around 4.68/10 and the median being 5.5/10.

I would also like to take the time to point out just how incompetent Tyki is compared to his fellow Noah:

Tyki is literally graphed as a fucking outlier and even without the 4.0 points he lost because of the Arc Ark, he would still be at a 0.5/10, still the lowest of all the Noah. In fact, if we were to take this data and assume that the Noah are a representative sample for all of humanity, he would have be in the bottom 0.6% for competency (using Z-score to determine this.)

Without Tyki, the Noah's competency would be up to 5.5/10, which I feel like is great evidence of the fact that Tyki is so goddamn stupid and his real Noah ability is the power to lower the intelligence/competence of everyone around him. Why did Wisely lose competence after Alma arc? Because he had to be around Tyki all the time. Why did Jasdevi gain competence? Because they started being babysat by Mercym and Tryde instead of Tyki. They purposely left Tyki to watch over the Earl because they thought there was no way he could mess up watching over their delusional grandfather while the twins/Mercym/Sheryl caught Apocryphos and he still did. Honestly maybe if the Noah want the Order to lose they should just sneak Tyki into the organization and let him just lower the competence of everyone there so the organization eventually collapses in on itself and combusts.

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poupeesdecirque · 2 months ago

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We continue with the sketches here, as mentioned before these are based on the dolls I have and I think this post here will conclude the sketches I made in 2024 (maybe finished them in 2025 but the sketches were from before).

We have lots of Exorcists, Noah and ofc Allen. And some pumpkins inbetween.

Ally (AU) - Before the reveal of Bookman Jr this was how we all imagined past Allen to look like. In my AU he will forever look like this, I adore this doll and the character I created around it. He has actually the most expensive wig I ever made because the fiber alone was 70 bucks and I was kinda stressed not to waste any of it while I worked on it. From the Allen dolls he's the one I don't take on trips as I am super scared to scratch the face up or lose the glasses.

Road - It took forever to find a doll I liked for Road. I am super picky with girls, she is a bit out of scale with the other Noah due her big head but overall I really adore her. I think she is one of my overall favorite female dolls.

Wisely - Wisely is actually one of the Noah I like the most. His outfit consists of way too many parts and I would make it different by now ... he lacks photos, be blamed onto the fact other characters get more screen time and somehow he always falls through. He's kinda in the same place as Tyki T.T

Kanda - Kanda was not even planned to be honest. But as Little Monica went out of business (I know they are back now) I really wanted to get the last two heads I was eyeing for a while. One was the base for Kanda. He and Lenalee arrived as I wasn't home and it took me very long to get their bodies. I have to admit I didn't like Kanda much. I even skipped the Alma Arc as I first read it because it was too Kanda centered for my taste. But I think he's one of the best Dolls I customized, he climbed up the ranking for sure.

Lenalee - Same as Kanda she wasn't planned. And she gave me a huge headache, sewing for her and painting her was a pita. She's the only got who got TWO uniforms sewn, I kinda made my peace with her. But her body being horrible to start with didn't help much. From the two dgm girls she clearly can't stand a chance against Road.

Allen Campbell (AU) - As I had Ally I had a mighty need to get another doll from the AU as well. And I picked my Allen. It's a long story but let's say Allen gets kinda reborn and the Earl&Ally raise him then. I referenced the Design to Allen's canon outfit when he traveled with Mana but with a more sophisticated twist.

Sokrates - Another doll I got for the Pumpkin head... little did I know it would take 1,5 years to get the heads. I even pushed back getting a body for him as I was just fed up with everything. I will eventually learn to like him in the future.

Gomez - A little find on etsy, he follows the naming theme of my pumpkins to be inspired by halloween media. His name is taken from the Addams Family.

Adam - He's a mixture of what we see of Adam and my AU Variant of the 'healed' Millennium Earl, to make the cycle complete. All forms of the Earl so far have joined the crew.

Eddie - I snagged this cutie from his creator HallowChii as she parted from the few prints she had, I think it's maybe 5 of them out there? Eddie is Edwards grandchild and loves to listen to his stories.

Bookman - Weirdly Bookman grew on me as character and as the sculpt was released it screamed OLD MAN to me.. so I decided to create Bookman as a doll.

Eishi - Eishi is (while I write this) still a doll in progress. He's the former shell of Lavi I decided to keep but I made the promise to myself that I won't buy new resin without having an idea for the old shell if I reshell... I was lacking a level 3 Akuma, so, here we go.

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liketolaugh-writes · 3 months ago

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hihi! due to the new DGM chapter I was rereading Cosmic Composite and man, it's still SUCH a good fic. I've two questions for you.

1) have you caught up with the madness of the newest revelations?

2) since you're into a DC kick, if cosmic composite happened at DC universe instead of Marvel, who do you think would get which kid?

I can so easily see batfam!Kanda.....

I’m not caught up on DGM, I’m sorry, I haven’t touched it since... approximately Allen’s weird dream in the wheat field lmao.

Let’s see... well, to be honest, the whole thing would be way less weird in DC. DC is way more off-the-wall than Marvel is, which is not something I realized for quite a while. But on who would go where-

Lenalee would absolutely be in the League of Assassins somewhere, and she and Damian are familiar with each other. How did she get there? Unclear.

Allen feels like a Gotham kid to me. He’s the only one who’s the exact right brand of fucked up to live in Crime Alley. I imagine he meets Matches Malone and they’re familiar with each other. However, Allen dodges attempts at adoption (forgot that he likes to be loved) and mostly acts as an informant unless further interaction is instigated by Plot Events.

It would be fun for Kanda to be Cass’ twin maybe. (I haven’t done the relative age calculations for any of these, don’t look too hard lmao.) The vibe of her upbringing is very Kanda-like, Cass just dealt with it better. And I think they’d get along. <3

Lavi is absolutely related to a reporter. Lois, maybe, or hell, maybe just someone that Clark happens to share an office with. Jimmy Olsen or someone.

Miranda is related to Hal’s girlfriend, maybe - her niece or something. I just feel like Hal would be surprisingly sweet with her.

Alma is adrift in the foster system, probably. Maybe she knows Billy, maybe she doesn’t. (She’s still a trans girl though.)

(My Batman bias is showing, I swear it wasn’t intentional.)

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sammayrin · 4 months ago

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do I think these dgm characters would survive the wilderness (barring immortality lmao)

Allen: of course. I’m almost sure he’s had to do it before (cross *cough cough*)

Link: no? The streets sure, but the true wilderness? Probably not, unless the crows get that kind of training

Kanda: no. He’ll survive a fight, but he’s not going to be able to scavenge or he’ll eat something poisonous lmao. If the order had wilderness survival training, he probably did everything wrong on purpose

Lenalee: no. She’ll also survive a fight, but she doesn’t strike me as someone who was taught those skills. If anything, I think the order would have intentionally kept her vulnerable in that way to further prevent any running

Lavi: probably. The bookman clan has to have training for that.

Miranda: FUCK no lmao (I’m so sorry, my love)

Alistar: Nope

Timothy: no, sadly. Any education he was given on the subject went in one ear and out the other.

Cross: Yes.

Mother: Yes, she gives old woman who mysteriously survives everything vibes

Klaud: yes… even though she seems like a lady accustomed to finer things

Tiedoll: no… maybe? He seems like a prepared man.

Road: yes. She’s older than she looks, and I think she figured it out because she was bored.

Tyki: yeah, but not because of any actual skill. He survives as a comedy gag.

Sheryl: no, richboy

Apocryphos: unfortunately, yes.

the Earl/Adam: yes. That is one OLD motherfucker.

Mana (no, I’m not explaining): he’s either like Tyki or he absolutely thrives. You go looking for him, and you find him with a fully functional cabin and a garden. It’s been only two days. He didn’t make either, nor did he find them.

Neah: I feel like the answer is no.

#utter nonsense #I’m not tagging all these characters LMAO #dgm #d gray man #allen walker

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arimiaromage · 3 months ago

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Strange house - DGM doujin fangame scenario B

I finished another ending in Strange house, the doujin LaviYuu fangame made by MOONLIGHT CAFE circle in Japanese in 2010! this route was called "Coming Home" and was 1 of 4 story routes in the game. (yes, I played these slightly out of order)

game guidebook scenario a - Dolly scenario c - Love Affair Trap: A Suspicious Bracelet

to briefly summarize Strange house, it's a visual novel where you play as Lavi while he, Kanda, and Toma are out on a mission. while returning back to the Order, you have the option of making various choices to either take detours, explore new missions, and more. depending on the first 2 choices you make determines which scenario (or “route”) you go down, with each focused on Lavi x Kanda.

here's a scan of the official guidebook for the game which shows a brief overview of this route as well as exactly how to get the true ending - every route has multiple endings, but only one good / true ending with the rest being bad endings or dead endings.

the route starts by Lavi saying they should find a place to stay and end up staying in the town nearby. Toma is able to secure them a place to spend the night - but rumor has it that the manor is haunted. according to local legend, the daughter of a lord lived and died there while waiting on her husband to return home from war. now, everyone avoids the place.

the three of them arrive at the manor and as soon as Lavi and Kanda walk inside, the door slams shut behind them - even their innocence can't break down the door and all of the windows show no sign of letting them escape.

they tell Toma to sit tight and that they'll sleep the night in the manor and it'll hopefully be resolved by the morning (or they'll be able to sleuth out a solution in time).

after doing some more exploring and finding nothing too abnormal, they decide to call it a night - in separate rooms, despite already being a couple (or maybe just coworkers with benefits?). Kanda tells Lavi he'll come get him in a few hours. of course, Lavi can be impatient, and if you do then nothing really happens aside from Kanda yelling at Lavi.

once Lavi waits, he hears something and goes outside his room to investigate...

...and there's a strange-looking Kanda there! Lavi is confused but naturally lets him in his room. Kanda immediately gets close to Lavi, sitting right up next to him on his bed.

and here you might notice, "wait, this is a different artist!" and you'd be right! it's not uncommon for visual novels to have a separate sprite artist and CG artist, but it is uncommon to have multiple CG artists (at least where they're each doing separate CGs rather than 1 artist doing sketches & lines and 1 artist doing the coloring). this route has several artists tackling CGs (and the most CGs in a route so far I believe?), which we'll see more of soon.

anyway, Lavi has 2 choices - denial ("this can't be Kanda!") or acceptance ("how could I deny my Kanda?"). if you accept Kanda's affection, he pulls Lavi close and pulls out a knife. the end.

I'm not sure if this is supposed to be a dead end or what - it just says he pulls out a knife and cuts to the title screen. and given what the true ending is, I'm not even sure what the point is here, but I digress.

Lavi has to deny Kanda twice, pushing back on him and saying he's an illusion. if he does this, the seductive Kanda disappears. Lavi hears something outside his door and finds the real Kanda there.

Kanda says he had a dream where Lavi was there, except something was wrong - he was really calm and competent, no matter how much Kanda yelled at him. Lavi takes the jab and avoids telling Kanda what he saw, instead saying it was a weak Kanda. the two decide to explore the manor some more now that things are really suspicious with Kanda pushing Lavi to get up. Lavi realizes this is definitely his Kanda, but he's still a little sad...

they find a sprawling corridor full of similar-looking rooms. the corridor goes on for seemingly forever - Lavi takes the initiative to investigate while Kanda gets increasingly frustrated. not long after, Lavi realizes Kanda isn't beside him anymore. he frantically tries opening doors, only to find....

...a woman who looks incredibly similar to Kanda. she asks him why he's disturbing her, to which he asks if she lives in this manor despite being told it was vacant. she doesn't answer and disappears behind a door. when Lavi follows her...

he finds himself back in the Order's dining hall. Lavi tries to correct himself that this is only a room that looks similar to the dining hall, since he's still investigating the manor, but someone calls his name.

Allen and Lenalee appear, much to Lavi's confusion. they tell him they're about to leave on a mission - just the 3 of them, though. Lavi asks about Kanda.

when Allen asks him who Yuu is, Lavi hopes it's a mean joke and asks Lenalee to correct him. but when she also says she doesn't know who Yuu is, Lavi starts freaking out internally. he calms himself by going back over everything and coming to the natural conclusion that this is another hallucination.

while he ponders if this is the work of akuma or innocence, the Order (along with Allen and Lenalee) fade away and he finds himself in a room at the manor. in front of him is the same woman once more.

Lavi tries asking her some questions like if she's the cause of the illusions but she remains silent, only staring at him sadly. when he asks if she knows where his partner is, she looks stern but points towards the door, fading away once more. Lavi hurries along.

except, when he finally finds Kanda, he's in a bit of a Mood. apparently Kanda has been fighting off illusions of Lavi and thinks this is just another one.

the two immediately start fighting.

Lavi tries talking Kanda out of it and proving he's the real Lavi but it doesn't work. he has a choice to counterattack, call Toma for help, or do nothing, but the end result is still the same. Lavi can either fight back or run away.

if Lavi fights back, the resulting fight is so explosive they destroy the ground and end up on the floor below them. they're able to walk it off, now agreeing that they're both the real person, but the ghost appears once more - and takes Lavi off into one more eternal dream. this is the last "dead" end of the route.

the real answer is to run away - he doesn't want to hurt Kanda but he also can't talk his way out of it, so Lavi runs. they end up on the floor below where the ghost girl appears in front of both of them.

she explains that she just wanted Lavi to stay home. when Kanda asks why she created illusions where Lavi was attacking him, she says she just wanted him to die. her name is Juno Moreta and this is her manor.

Lavi realizing that they won't be able to escape until they help Juno realize that she's dead. Juno has been waiting for a long time for her husband to come home and believes Lavi is him.

she admonishes Lavi for showing up at home with another partner, there's a mention about Kanda looking like a woman, and Kanda and Juno begin arguing. if Lavi tries to stop Kanda it results in a bad ending where Juno disappears, letting them escape but not resolving anything. if Lavi waits for them to resolve it themselves, the story continues.

(this is probably my favorite CG in the route, I really like this artist's style)

Lavi is unable to really say anything and just watches them resolve it themselves, saying it's kind of nice to watch them both argue since they look so similar. Juno admits she knew immediately Kanda was a man and apologizes for saying that. now that they're not at each other's throats, Lavi explains that he's not her husband. again, she admits she knew that in the bottom of her heart because her husband is much nicer. but she kept them here because she heard a voice in the back of her mind telling her that that was her husband and she needed to trap him here.

the voice was strongest when she's at the entrance to the house, which was where all of this mess started in the first place. the three of them head over there.

Lavi explains that they couldn't open the door, to which Juno easily opens it. the three of them step outside the manor and hear Toma's voice over the golem. he says that while they were stuck, he heard another rumor from the locals - the woman's husband did eventually return, but died on the front door step before being able to see her and was buried in a grave by the manor. Lavi and Kanda thank him before pulling Juno off to see it.

the name on the grave is Lavil Moreta (because of course it is). seeing her husband's grave is almost enough to bring Juno some peace - almost. she asks Lavi and Kanda to move him to be with her grave, admitting that she's had the feeling she was dead for quite some time. Lavi agrees and she disappears for the final time.

while digging up his grave, they find the cause of all this - a notebook with innocence. the notebook reads that Lavil is worried Juno will be lonely without him and that he hopes anyone who stops by will keep her company.

Lavi and Kanda reflect on the love Lavil and Juno had for each other and Lavi hopes he'll be able to spend more of these precious moments with Kanda.

and that's the end of scenario b!

overall I enjoyed it, as this was written by the author from the first scenario, Dolly. scenario a is still my overall favorite but this one is definitely second. it felt very close to the source material but did feel rather short and most of the dead endings don't make sense here.

for one, I wish some parts of it were a little longer. this route by far had the most artwork in it, as not only did it have 3 CG artists across 6 CGs but it also had artwork for Allen and Lenalee (who don't appear in scenarios A & C) but was only used for maybe 10 lines total. I hope scenario D ends up using those sprites, because as a VN dev and artist it feels like such a waste of good art!! this scenario also had at least 2 brand new music tracks which were very welcome changes - there's a really sweet but melancholic romantic piece that plays when Lavi first sees illusion Kanda. lots of assets went into this route so I wish it was a little longer to make better use of them. for example, it would've been fun to see Lavi get stuck in the illusion of the Order with fake Allen & Lenalee for more than a few seconds, have him reconsider if he was even on a mission, but see through the cracks of the illusion and find out some kind of information on Juno or Lavil in the process (maybe a book? a portrait?).

secondly, this scenario had several dead endings which didn't make complete sense to me. I can understand why Juno wanted to kill Kanda at first, but why does Lavi end up dying in parts? why does illusion Kanda stab (???) Lavi? if this was Juno keeping Lavi here forever, why the mention of a knife? maybe I'm misreading it but that felt like an odd detail that could've easily been rewritten to something like "and Lavi never woke up again".

it's pretty funny though that the basis of this scenario is basically an alternate Kanda & Lavi where they're a straight couple, given what we now know about Kanda & Alma... this game released in September 2010, so it was in development before (?) Alma's backstory was released. truly, soulmate stories are intrinsically d.gray-man...

I am very curious though on what went on while making this scenario - the other 2 scenarios I've played felt more confined but this one felt like the scope kept ballooning. 2 brand new sprites that are only used for 10~ lines, 2 brand new music tracks, 6 CGs by 3 different artists... in a way, this route feels more akin to what fan projects end up being like - a lot of "yes"s to ideas which keep increasing the scope because everyone is a fan and pitching in and the directors/producers/leaders don't want to say no to a good idea. let's have Allen and Lenalee show up for just a few lines and make out sprite artist draw 2 brand new sprites and 2 face sprites that won't be reused! let's have 2 new music tracks that aren't in the other routes!

still, it's a cause for celebration that any fangame sees the light of day. making a game is hard and making volunteer fangames might even be a touch harder, especially ones like this that received a physical release. that's why I'll keep documenting doujinge like this for my doujin blog!

I only have one more scenario / route to play of Strange house which makes me sad, as I've yet to find their other 2 d.gray-man fangames that are confirmed to have had physical releases - Infinite Melody unendliche Melodie and Secret Garden. if you can find these games IRL or online, please let me know!!!

game guidebook scenario a - Dolly scenario c - Love Affair Trap: A Suspicious Bracele

#dgm #dgrayman #laviyuu #lavi bookman #yuu kanda #kanda yuu #d gray man #fangame #doujin game #fangames #doujin games #dgm fangame #doujin fangame #doujin fangames #moonlight cafe #I did not make this game I'm just archiving it!

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