ext_97164 (![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png)
leafyaki.livejournal.com) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
ship_manifesto2009-11-08 11:11 pm
leafyaki.livejournal.com) wrote in ship_manifesto2009-11-08 11:11 pm
Entry tags:
Light Up The Sky: An Allen/Lavi Ship Manifesto
Title: Light Up The Sky - An Allen/Lavi Ship Manifesto
Fandom: D.Gray-man
Pairing: Allen Walker and Lavi
Length: 8,000 words or thereabouts
Spoilers: Up to Chapter 184 (manga).
Credits:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
pliashfor conversing with me for a mad long time on Allen and Lavi, metisketfor kindly helping to analyze Allen, everyone who participated in these two posts, the authors and artists recommended here, OneManga for scans, and the mods for bearing with me for deadline extensions and HTML problems.
Notes: I hope you all enjoy this essay. Allen/Lavi shippers, this is for you (:
The World And Premise Of D.Gray-man
Taking place in a fictional 19th Century, Allen Walker carries the weight of defeating the Millennium Earl, who creates machines called Akuma and, like all good villains, is attempting to take over the world. The way he creates these machines is a disturbingly interesting story too. First, he finds people who lost their loved one, and cajoles them into reviving that person via the highly dubious means of calling out the name of whoever they lost, and convinces them that the soul will find their way into a creepy skeleton. Following that, the creepy skeleton with the soul in it will usually curse a storm at the one who brought them back, and proceed (by orders of the Earl) to kill that person, and literally force itself into the mangled body through the mouth, complete with bone-shattering creaks and gore.
Of course, Allen, only ten years or so at that time, would not know that. Having been abandoned by his parents because of his deformed left arm, he was picked up and unofficially adopted by Mana Walker. Allen loved Mana very much, they travelled a lot together until he was ten, and was highly distraught when Mana died by means unknown to readers as of yet. The Earl paid a visit and Allen believed the dead could be brought back. But Mana did not kill him. He cursed Allen to be able to see the souls in Akuma for…reasons as of yet unknown. Faced with an Akuma, the Innocence in Allen’s left arm activated and killed Mana, thereby setting the soul free. For reasons unknown in the deranged villain’s mind, the Earl left Allen alive.
Innocence is the term for the anti-Akuma weapons in this world, and Allen is stuck with a parasitic Innocence that lived dormant in his left arm for the first ten, relatively peaceful years of his life. Basically, it kills Akuma and sets the souls free, and with this Innocence Allen has the potential to become an Exorcist, a job with a record-breaking low life expectancy.
Fortunately for us (and unfortunately for him), a sadistic General by the name of Marian Cross picked him up and trained him for about four years to become an Exorcist. No one knows how Allen survived under him. This, dear readers, is where our story begins.
Allen Walker, The Character
This is what Allen seems like. He seems kind, maybe exceedingly so. His use of polite language, his dressing and his mannerisms (I haven’t seen it, but he probably belongs to the extinct species of men that open doors for ladies) make him out to be a young and devastatingly cute gentleman.
He is a martyr. He literally throws himself into every battle if he believes it helps the cause, to the point of getting in the way of Akuma shooting deadly bullets. Why, you ask, is that so?
Allen takes to heart what Mana told him, to "keep on walking". When Allen saw Mana die by his own hands, it must have broken him, seeing someone he loves die because of him. For Mana, however, he will "keep on walking". And for himself, he will also fight for the Akuma, to free their souls, as a justification for why he killed Mana, as a justification for why his left eye was cursed. Remember his advice to Krory when Krory was unable to move on? Allen had a startled, and determined expression in his eyes, because he had been there before and like Krory, he had to find a reason to continue moving on, at least until he finds another better reason to live for. Freeing Akuma souls is his way of moving forward, and he would throw himself into every battle if he believes it helps his cause.
However, it probably doesn’t always remain this pessimistic. Allen learns to love the people that he is with, the people who love him. Remember that he cried over a dog who licked his cursed arm, and who was beaten to death the next day? Allen is a compassionate kid, but because of Mana being torn from him, he might be trying to protect himself from loving too much again. However, he has seen how these people want to help him and protect him, and if he could, he wouldn't want to see them die, just like how he saw Mana die. Result? Throwing himself into battle, again.
If this isn’t enough to show how he is a seriously screwed up kid, consider this. He was abandoned by his birth parents, saw his adopted father die twice (once by his own hands), trained under a tough General, and, in India, was sent to find the Black Order in far away England all alone and disoriented, having been knocked out by Cross with a hammer to his head.
So, how does this reconcile with him being sweet and polite and kind and gentle? It doesn’t. Not entirely anyway.
Yes, he probably is kind. Yes, he probably treats ladies with respect. And yes, it’s probably at least partly a mask. Johnny once even wondered if his gentlemanly ways were honed for the purpose of information gathering. Oh, he doesn’t know how right he is.
Oh, that sweet smile? Look at those mad card skills. That is Black Allen showing himself, as Lavi dubs it. Masking everything under a sweet smile, Allen happily cheats and lo and behold, it apparently was a staple in his life with Cross, to pay off the debts his sweet and kind Master acquired from drinking, womanizing, destroying property and borrowing money from dubious creditors (which finances all the aforementioned activities). He used that smile to seduce a robot. He is fully aware of the devastating effect his beautiful smile has.
And the kid has spunk. He constantly picks a fight with Kanda and holds his own against him, all while using that deceptively polite language. He head bangs Timcanpy at Cross and does not hesitate to argue with Cross. Probably two of the most intimidating characters in this series, and Allen dares to go head to head with them. So there you have it, he is every bit as screwed up as every other teenager on earth, just that he has an accompanying martyr side.
However, to round this all up, I would also say that Allen is also an honest-to-god young and scared boy. Despite all the bravado of throwing himself in the way of Akuma and his fiery spunk when dealing with Cross and Kanda, Allen cried when he faced death and came out of it alive. He has compassion for Suman, a person he barely knew, and a dog who licked his deformed left arm. He is a teenager who is thrown for more loops than anybody else on earth, and he comes out of it still walking.
So, Allen. It’s nearly impossible to sum him up. Whatever I just said might only cover ten percent of him, and I would say that none of us readers or fans can understand him as well as we wish we can.
Allen - Past, Present, Future
Lavi, His Story
Now, Lavi is an interesting character. Like Allen, we know only the bare bones of his past. Actually, scratch that, we know even less.
True facts. Lavi has been on the road to becoming a Bookman since he was six. He is the Bookman’s successor, a group of people masked in more secrecy than the Holy Grail. Bookmen seem to have impeccable memory skills, and have seen more battles than any human alive can claim to have seen.
Second, we do not know his actual name. Lavi is his 49th alias, and Deak/Dick was his 48th. I doubt Hoshino will ever give us his first 47 aliases, and we can only cross our fingers and hope that she will give us his original.
Third, nobody knows the deal behind his right eyepatch except Bookman. Ask and Lavi will probably give you that creepy smile of his.
And from there, we learn that Lavi has an arsenal of creepy smiles that we can attempt to categorize. There is his “I want to know what you’re up to” smile he uses on the scientists. Scientists, being what they are, are suitably wary of him and can read that smile from a mile off. Then there is his “I’m hiding something but I won’t tell you, sucker” smile which he with alarming frequency uses on his fellow exorcists. Then there is his “let’s get along since you probably won’t live long enough anyway” smile which, unfortunately, is extremely appropriate in their world. The problem with him is that his smiles, too, are more obviously masks than Allen’s are, and they are more in sheer quantity. And you think Allen is bad.
In fact, it comes as a relief when Lavi is serious, only it’s still creepy. Lavi has a tendency to suspect human nature, which he claims is natural with all exorcists because unlike Allen, all of them cannot see which is an Akuma, and which a human being. Don’t be surprised if he attacks somebody just for approaching him. And, to take it beyond suspecting human nature, Lavi comes out right and says that he thinks humans are stupid, because they only launch battles, battles, and more battles than he cares to write about. Jaded, much?
Yet, is there a reason for his cynicism that we can begin to guess at? To start off, I don’t believe that Lavi is completely jaded to begin with. In a lovely conversationpliashand I had, we came to the conclusion that Lavi starts out as a rather hopeful child, seeing only the positive side of being a Bookman – being able to see things only a Bookman can. It’s like joining an exclusive club, almost every child is excited at that. However, the reason why he says all humans are stupid later on is likely due to the wars he saw – it completely dashed his hopes that being a Bookman is a possibly fun yet meaningful occupation, and his faith in humankind has been diminished. Is it completely lost? Perhaps not, because in his internal battle during Road’s dream attack, when he talks to a child-like him, something in him still seems to hold hope for humankind, a hope that has been revived after he joins the Exorcists and sees how those people are fighting for some kind of hope, some kind of future, and he can’t help but feel for them and perhaps even want to fight for them too.
Lavi may be jaded, but he is serious when it comes to analyzing his friends, and more often than not when analyzing Allen. He openly admits to Komui that he feels the world that Allen is living in is a hell. When he witnesses Allen’s strength after the revival of his Innocence, he thinks Allen is like a shining beacon, a light that can disappear from them anytime soon. I know, I know, sappiness and corniness aside…ah heck, sappiness and corniness included, Lavi admires his friends. I would say that despite the pretences he puts on, this is one of Lavi’s admirable qualities, that he can admire the strengths in others.
The crux is here though – as Bookmen, they aren’t supposed to interfere in the affairs of history, to only stand aside and observe, observe, and write until their hands are bloody with ink. Lavi knows this, is forcibly reminded by Bookman in Edo because of his angst over Allen, and is thus thrown into a journey to find his True Self. This includes angsting, angsting, getting his mind raped by Road, more angst, and wondering to himself whether his actions are propelled because of his Bookman Apprentice job, or because he is concerned for his friends. It really doesn’t help that he actually does like books and history and the nerdy side of becoming a Bookman.
So what happens in the end? In the end, Lavi is still unsure as to whether he treasures being a Bookman more than he treasures having friends, psychotic and unhinged though they all are. He seems to have been greatly swayed in the battle with Road, and is thus on a journey to figure out what he really wants to do with his life.
So ladies and gentlemen, I present to you Bookman Junior, who wears more masks than Allen has in his wardrobe, and whose weapon is not his giant hammer and his ginormous brain but his veiled smiles.
Lavi - Choosing a Path
Canon or Subtext Evidence
Pot of tea ready? Awesome.
1. Their Meeting and the Foundations of their Relationship
Allen and Lavi - Dubious First Impressions?
Fandom: D.Gray-man
Pairing: Allen Walker and Lavi
Length: 8,000 words or thereabouts
Spoilers: Up to Chapter 184 (manga).
Credits:
pliashfor conversing with me for a mad long time on Allen and Lavi, metisketfor kindly helping to analyze Allen, everyone who participated in these two posts, the authors and artists recommended here, OneManga for scans, and the mods for bearing with me for deadline extensions and HTML problems. Notes: I hope you all enjoy this essay. Allen/Lavi shippers, this is for you (:
The World And Premise Of D.Gray-man
Taking place in a fictional 19th Century, Allen Walker carries the weight of defeating the Millennium Earl, who creates machines called Akuma and, like all good villains, is attempting to take over the world. The way he creates these machines is a disturbingly interesting story too. First, he finds people who lost their loved one, and cajoles them into reviving that person via the highly dubious means of calling out the name of whoever they lost, and convinces them that the soul will find their way into a creepy skeleton. Following that, the creepy skeleton with the soul in it will usually curse a storm at the one who brought them back, and proceed (by orders of the Earl) to kill that person, and literally force itself into the mangled body through the mouth, complete with bone-shattering creaks and gore.
Of course, Allen, only ten years or so at that time, would not know that. Having been abandoned by his parents because of his deformed left arm, he was picked up and unofficially adopted by Mana Walker. Allen loved Mana very much, they travelled a lot together until he was ten, and was highly distraught when Mana died by means unknown to readers as of yet. The Earl paid a visit and Allen believed the dead could be brought back. But Mana did not kill him. He cursed Allen to be able to see the souls in Akuma for…reasons as of yet unknown. Faced with an Akuma, the Innocence in Allen’s left arm activated and killed Mana, thereby setting the soul free. For reasons unknown in the deranged villain’s mind, the Earl left Allen alive.
Innocence is the term for the anti-Akuma weapons in this world, and Allen is stuck with a parasitic Innocence that lived dormant in his left arm for the first ten, relatively peaceful years of his life. Basically, it kills Akuma and sets the souls free, and with this Innocence Allen has the potential to become an Exorcist, a job with a record-breaking low life expectancy.
Fortunately for us (and unfortunately for him), a sadistic General by the name of Marian Cross picked him up and trained him for about four years to become an Exorcist. No one knows how Allen survived under him. This, dear readers, is where our story begins.
Allen Walker, The Character
This is what Allen seems like. He seems kind, maybe exceedingly so. His use of polite language, his dressing and his mannerisms (I haven’t seen it, but he probably belongs to the extinct species of men that open doors for ladies) make him out to be a young and devastatingly cute gentleman.
He is a martyr. He literally throws himself into every battle if he believes it helps the cause, to the point of getting in the way of Akuma shooting deadly bullets. Why, you ask, is that so?
Allen takes to heart what Mana told him, to "keep on walking". When Allen saw Mana die by his own hands, it must have broken him, seeing someone he loves die because of him. For Mana, however, he will "keep on walking". And for himself, he will also fight for the Akuma, to free their souls, as a justification for why he killed Mana, as a justification for why his left eye was cursed. Remember his advice to Krory when Krory was unable to move on? Allen had a startled, and determined expression in his eyes, because he had been there before and like Krory, he had to find a reason to continue moving on, at least until he finds another better reason to live for. Freeing Akuma souls is his way of moving forward, and he would throw himself into every battle if he believes it helps his cause.
However, it probably doesn’t always remain this pessimistic. Allen learns to love the people that he is with, the people who love him. Remember that he cried over a dog who licked his cursed arm, and who was beaten to death the next day? Allen is a compassionate kid, but because of Mana being torn from him, he might be trying to protect himself from loving too much again. However, he has seen how these people want to help him and protect him, and if he could, he wouldn't want to see them die, just like how he saw Mana die. Result? Throwing himself into battle, again.
If this isn’t enough to show how he is a seriously screwed up kid, consider this. He was abandoned by his birth parents, saw his adopted father die twice (once by his own hands), trained under a tough General, and, in India, was sent to find the Black Order in far away England all alone and disoriented, having been knocked out by Cross with a hammer to his head.
So, how does this reconcile with him being sweet and polite and kind and gentle? It doesn’t. Not entirely anyway.
Yes, he probably is kind. Yes, he probably treats ladies with respect. And yes, it’s probably at least partly a mask. Johnny once even wondered if his gentlemanly ways were honed for the purpose of information gathering. Oh, he doesn’t know how right he is.
Oh, that sweet smile? Look at those mad card skills. That is Black Allen showing himself, as Lavi dubs it. Masking everything under a sweet smile, Allen happily cheats and lo and behold, it apparently was a staple in his life with Cross, to pay off the debts his sweet and kind Master acquired from drinking, womanizing, destroying property and borrowing money from dubious creditors (which finances all the aforementioned activities). He used that smile to seduce a robot. He is fully aware of the devastating effect his beautiful smile has.
And the kid has spunk. He constantly picks a fight with Kanda and holds his own against him, all while using that deceptively polite language. He head bangs Timcanpy at Cross and does not hesitate to argue with Cross. Probably two of the most intimidating characters in this series, and Allen dares to go head to head with them. So there you have it, he is every bit as screwed up as every other teenager on earth, just that he has an accompanying martyr side.
However, to round this all up, I would also say that Allen is also an honest-to-god young and scared boy. Despite all the bravado of throwing himself in the way of Akuma and his fiery spunk when dealing with Cross and Kanda, Allen cried when he faced death and came out of it alive. He has compassion for Suman, a person he barely knew, and a dog who licked his deformed left arm. He is a teenager who is thrown for more loops than anybody else on earth, and he comes out of it still walking.
So, Allen. It’s nearly impossible to sum him up. Whatever I just said might only cover ten percent of him, and I would say that none of us readers or fans can understand him as well as we wish we can.
Allen - Past, Present, Future
Lavi, His Story
Now, Lavi is an interesting character. Like Allen, we know only the bare bones of his past. Actually, scratch that, we know even less.
True facts. Lavi has been on the road to becoming a Bookman since he was six. He is the Bookman’s successor, a group of people masked in more secrecy than the Holy Grail. Bookmen seem to have impeccable memory skills, and have seen more battles than any human alive can claim to have seen.
Second, we do not know his actual name. Lavi is his 49th alias, and Deak/Dick was his 48th. I doubt Hoshino will ever give us his first 47 aliases, and we can only cross our fingers and hope that she will give us his original.
Third, nobody knows the deal behind his right eyepatch except Bookman. Ask and Lavi will probably give you that creepy smile of his.
And from there, we learn that Lavi has an arsenal of creepy smiles that we can attempt to categorize. There is his “I want to know what you’re up to” smile he uses on the scientists. Scientists, being what they are, are suitably wary of him and can read that smile from a mile off. Then there is his “I’m hiding something but I won’t tell you, sucker” smile which he with alarming frequency uses on his fellow exorcists. Then there is his “let’s get along since you probably won’t live long enough anyway” smile which, unfortunately, is extremely appropriate in their world. The problem with him is that his smiles, too, are more obviously masks than Allen’s are, and they are more in sheer quantity. And you think Allen is bad.
In fact, it comes as a relief when Lavi is serious, only it’s still creepy. Lavi has a tendency to suspect human nature, which he claims is natural with all exorcists because unlike Allen, all of them cannot see which is an Akuma, and which a human being. Don’t be surprised if he attacks somebody just for approaching him. And, to take it beyond suspecting human nature, Lavi comes out right and says that he thinks humans are stupid, because they only launch battles, battles, and more battles than he cares to write about. Jaded, much?
Yet, is there a reason for his cynicism that we can begin to guess at? To start off, I don’t believe that Lavi is completely jaded to begin with. In a lovely conversation
pliashand I had, we came to the conclusion that Lavi starts out as a rather hopeful child, seeing only the positive side of being a Bookman – being able to see things only a Bookman can. It’s like joining an exclusive club, almost every child is excited at that. However, the reason why he says all humans are stupid later on is likely due to the wars he saw – it completely dashed his hopes that being a Bookman is a possibly fun yet meaningful occupation, and his faith in humankind has been diminished. Is it completely lost? Perhaps not, because in his internal battle during Road’s dream attack, when he talks to a child-like him, something in him still seems to hold hope for humankind, a hope that has been revived after he joins the Exorcists and sees how those people are fighting for some kind of hope, some kind of future, and he can’t help but feel for them and perhaps even want to fight for them too. Lavi may be jaded, but he is serious when it comes to analyzing his friends, and more often than not when analyzing Allen. He openly admits to Komui that he feels the world that Allen is living in is a hell. When he witnesses Allen’s strength after the revival of his Innocence, he thinks Allen is like a shining beacon, a light that can disappear from them anytime soon. I know, I know, sappiness and corniness aside…ah heck, sappiness and corniness included, Lavi admires his friends. I would say that despite the pretences he puts on, this is one of Lavi’s admirable qualities, that he can admire the strengths in others.
The crux is here though – as Bookmen, they aren’t supposed to interfere in the affairs of history, to only stand aside and observe, observe, and write until their hands are bloody with ink. Lavi knows this, is forcibly reminded by Bookman in Edo because of his angst over Allen, and is thus thrown into a journey to find his True Self. This includes angsting, angsting, getting his mind raped by Road, more angst, and wondering to himself whether his actions are propelled because of his Bookman Apprentice job, or because he is concerned for his friends. It really doesn’t help that he actually does like books and history and the nerdy side of becoming a Bookman.
So what happens in the end? In the end, Lavi is still unsure as to whether he treasures being a Bookman more than he treasures having friends, psychotic and unhinged though they all are. He seems to have been greatly swayed in the battle with Road, and is thus on a journey to figure out what he really wants to do with his life.
So ladies and gentlemen, I present to you Bookman Junior, who wears more masks than Allen has in his wardrobe, and whose weapon is not his giant hammer and his ginormous brain but his veiled smiles.
Lavi - Choosing a Path
Canon or Subtext Evidence
Pot of tea ready? Awesome.
1. Their Meeting and the Foundations of their Relationship
Allen and Lavi - Dubious First Impressions?
Let’s start with their meeting. At the end of the Rewinding Town Arc, Lavi nonchalantly leans on the doorframe of Allen’s room and, with his typical happy-go-lucky smile (Allen isn’t fooled) says hi. But why, you ask, is this important?
Recall how Allen interacted with Lenalee and Kanda when they first met? Well, he didn’t exactly have the best first meeting with Kanda ever. Still, even after that, he offered a hand to shake and Kanda, well, Kanda snubbed him. With Lenalee, they had a pretty normal meeting with proper introductions and smiles and all. Now, Lavi can be said to have been friendly, and if Allen faced Kanda with a hesitant smile and a hand to shake, why doesn’t he do the same for Lavi, who is at first glance probably tons nicer than Kanda? Because I believe Allen is wary of Lavi. Kanda, despite how unpleasant he is, makes no qualms in establishing that he doesn’t like Allen. Lavi, on the other hand, always seems to be hiding something underneath his smile, and Allen catches onto that because he has been there, done that. So Allen has met a worthy opponent in the Art of Smiles. Here, I find it really interesting that Allen and Lavi immediately begin sizing each other up from their first meeting – they probably see something of themselves in each other.
Moving on, they meet in the courtyard, adorableness ensues as they build snowmen together, Allen stalks off over existentialist angst, and being the concerned friend that he is, Lavi stalks Allen and comes to his rescue when the Akuma attack in force. Here, Lavi explains that everyone he sees could be an Akuma, including someone he knew yesterday as a human, and so he has no choice but to attack first and ask questions later and hope that he is doing the right thing. Allen is jolted awake, and realizes what the other exorcists have to go through, just as he does at that moment with the lack of his left eye. It is important to note here that it is Lavi’s words that jolt Allen awake and he matures, at least a little bit more. Allen becomes less wary of Lavi after that, likely because he sees the solemnity that Lavi hides beneath his smile, and he accepts that. So maybe, just maybe, Lavi can fit the lecturing big brother type after all.
That is all revoked when romance ensues after this as they enjoy a fast-paced hammer-induced ride back to the hospital together.
But all jokes aside, these few chapters are extremely important in establishing the foundations of this ship – they establish a friendly, perhaps even brotherly relationship within a short amount of time, despite the initial wariness they had about each other. Let us see if we can take this one step further.
2. Learning to Get Along – A Hint of Something More
After this, they are sent on their proper long term mission to find Cross, Allen’s worst nightmare come true. On the way, Allen is forcibly kidnapped by people in a town, who beg him to save them from a vampire, because they recognize the rosary cross on his chest and decide that he’s their saviour. Lavi is sent to save him and is captured as well. So much for prince charming. They fight Krory, Lavi gets seduced by an Akuma in a beautiful body, Allen gets jealous, they get horribly injured, Allen’s eye recovers, they are nearly eaten by carnivorous flowers, Lavi realizes (with the power of Allen’s recent eye upgrade v2.5) that the world Allen sees is hell, Krory finally awakens and defeats the Akuma himself, and all’s well that ends well. Most important point of this interaction – Allen gets jealous when Lavi swoons over femininity.
*Avoids bullets* Right, I kid, I kid. Most important point – Lavi gets some light shed as Allen convinces Krory to fight and, failing that, to find a reason to fight, and Lavi realizes that is eerily reminiscent to something that people would say to convince themselves, and not others. Observe, please, his shrewd eye as he looks at Allen. And later, Lavi gives the soul-shattering admission to Komui that Allen lives in hell. Lavi here is highly disturbed by the things Allen must have been seeing for five years already, and he might be feeling pity, admiration, sorrow, or a combination of all three for the boy. We don’t know, but we know that he is being serious here when he talks about Allen. This is the first clue we get that perhaps, just perhaps, there is some subtext we can read into this about a possible relationship between Lavi and Allen.
On the way to meet Lenalee and Bookman, the important poker scene occurs. Lavi learns of the existence of Allen’s Black side (and as far as I know is the only one who knows full well of it), and they see a Noah get stripped to his underwear. This is more crackish than anything, but it does show how Lavi knows about Allen’s other, darker side.
With this sweet, happy development, Hoshino introduces Suman, perhaps the most tragic figure in this whole series. He has Fallen and causes horrible destruction. Allen, separated from the rest, tries to save him but doesn’t manage to. Tyki wanders along and destroys Allen’s left arm. In a dramatic flourish, a deck of poker cards is scattered all over Allen’s body. Fou, bless her guardian heart, rescues him and leaves the Ace of Spades behind, like a clue, a la Cinderella’s shoe. And Lavi happens to pick it up with a disturbingly emotionless face and voice.
Now, people react to distress in all sorts of different ways. Lenalee cries. Bookman remains emotionless, believing Allen won’t die just yet. Lavi? Lavi gets mad.
He shouts at Lenalee to get the hell over it. And it might be a trick of the light, but there seems to be a hint of tears in his eye. Bookman is alarmed and has to remind Lavi that they are here as Bookmen, and not as God’s Apostles. See how Bookman has to forcibly remind Lavi of this, just because Allen’s violent encounter triggers Lavi?
Then, just as we think Lavi might be getting back to normal, he looks at the card and emos over it on the ship, angsting over the need for a Bookman to remain emotionless (because he obviously feels something over Allen’s “death”). He starts to be shaken from his Bookman path here, as he seriously wonders if it is worth it to give up his humanity in exchange for a lifetime of knowledge.
Has Allen become Lavi's source of strength?
A hope that Lavi wants to believe in
(From Right to Left) Physical affection...at the most inconvenient time possible. But it's intense and intimate all the same.
The Crushing Guilt
Doing the simple things together
Allen/Lavi Fanclub on D.Gray-Divinity Forums
2. Official Art
I kid you not, there is lovely official art that put them together :D Do read romantic undertones to it if you’d like.
Trading Card Game: A treasure trove for Allen/Lavi art. How about a childhood picture? Or maybe one with both of them world-weary, in their third uniforms? Making mochi and becoming detectives are also fun stuff. Just click on the link and have fun looking through the cards, the art is beautiful even if you don’t ship them (:
3. Fanfiction Recommendations:
We are really lucky to have fantastic writers in this ship. If you are a shipper, or you’re intending to find out more about this pairing (a hearty welcome on board if you do :D), in alphabetical order;
Apapazukamori: Porn with plot and deeper, darker issues? You’ve got it here :D I love her no title Lavi/Allen multipart story, very sweet.
CherrySpringer: As happens in every fandom, there are always different interpretations of the pairing, and suffice it to say this author has her own quirky and fun interpretation of Allen/Lavi. Do check out Fate, her longest ongoing work.
Demented Inu: Resolution made my heart wrench. WRENCH. Her works are a little darker but absolutely gorgeous. Must.check.out.
Dhampir72: Most Allen/Lavi shippers would have heard of this lady in one form or another. My favourite work of hers is The Lake House. 100 is an ongoing collection of one-shots with varying interpretations of the pairing according to the theme, definitely a fun read.
Kalanikamori: I really adore Over A Cup Of Tea. It’s subtle, but breathtaking, and paints a tragic picture of Lavi post-war.
Lala to the power of 2: There are definite hints of Allen/Lavi, especially towards the end. The October Affair is a hilarious account of what happens if the Black Order puts up a play. And fear not, it is not Romeo & Juliet. Starring almost every major character in the Order, this is absolutely hilarious and takes an interesting, viable interpretation of the characters’ personalities and their interactions, no less Allen’s and Lavi’s. And just for fun, The Fox, The Bird and The Frog and After A Hard Day’s Work.
Kali Cephirot (or![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
intentationem): My goodness, I love all of her Allen/Lavi works. There’s usually an underlying dark current, but they’re still breathtakingly beautiful. Find them all here.
Kay Willow (orfigment_tree): What happens if Lavi leaves the Black Order in the midst of the war? Something that people had been puzzling over, and something to which this lady gives an answer to that is filled with Allen/Lavi goodness - Phoenix. And if the 14th were to awaken…start with His Borrowed Toys for this intriguing arc.
Metisket: Just to clear this up, she is NOT an Allen/Lavi writer, but I’m putting her here because I learnt a lot from her writings, no less about Allen and Lavi. I highly recommend her fic about Cross and Allen’s travels, from which I gained a lot of insight about possible interpretations of Allen’s character. Pretty much anything written by her is worth a read. For Allen and Lavi interaction, please read her circus fic.
P.A.Lovas: Alas, wonderful writers sometimes go on unfortunate hiatuses. But Campaigning for Heretics is a mind-blowing read despite it being only two chapters for now. Deals very realistically with how Allen copes with Link following him everywhere, and Lavi attempting to help him out of it despite personal issues plaguing him.
Ritachi: It is a must to check out her Kiss! Kiss! Love You, Baby! which promises to be Allen/Lavi in the future chapters. As it is, it has wonderful characterization, a fun storyline and mysterious pasts. Kanda fans won’t be disappointed either.
Sirbartonslady (or![[info]](https://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif)
blueshimmer): According to her, a simple idea sprouted off a chain of fics that revolve around the development of Allen’s and Lavi’s relationship. Astoundingly realistic, she doesn’t shy away from the more painful aspects of a relationship. Start with Lost Reason and work your way to Canta Libre.
Recall how Allen interacted with Lenalee and Kanda when they first met? Well, he didn’t exactly have the best first meeting with Kanda ever. Still, even after that, he offered a hand to shake and Kanda, well, Kanda snubbed him. With Lenalee, they had a pretty normal meeting with proper introductions and smiles and all. Now, Lavi can be said to have been friendly, and if Allen faced Kanda with a hesitant smile and a hand to shake, why doesn’t he do the same for Lavi, who is at first glance probably tons nicer than Kanda? Because I believe Allen is wary of Lavi. Kanda, despite how unpleasant he is, makes no qualms in establishing that he doesn’t like Allen. Lavi, on the other hand, always seems to be hiding something underneath his smile, and Allen catches onto that because he has been there, done that. So Allen has met a worthy opponent in the Art of Smiles. Here, I find it really interesting that Allen and Lavi immediately begin sizing each other up from their first meeting – they probably see something of themselves in each other.
Moving on, they meet in the courtyard, adorableness ensues as they build snowmen together, Allen stalks off over existentialist angst, and being the concerned friend that he is, Lavi stalks Allen and comes to his rescue when the Akuma attack in force. Here, Lavi explains that everyone he sees could be an Akuma, including someone he knew yesterday as a human, and so he has no choice but to attack first and ask questions later and hope that he is doing the right thing. Allen is jolted awake, and realizes what the other exorcists have to go through, just as he does at that moment with the lack of his left eye. It is important to note here that it is Lavi’s words that jolt Allen awake and he matures, at least a little bit more. Allen becomes less wary of Lavi after that, likely because he sees the solemnity that Lavi hides beneath his smile, and he accepts that. So maybe, just maybe, Lavi can fit the lecturing big brother type after all.
That is all revoked when romance ensues after this as they enjoy a fast-paced hammer-induced ride back to the hospital together.
But all jokes aside, these few chapters are extremely important in establishing the foundations of this ship – they establish a friendly, perhaps even brotherly relationship within a short amount of time, despite the initial wariness they had about each other. Let us see if we can take this one step further.
2. Learning to Get Along – A Hint of Something More
After this, they are sent on their proper long term mission to find Cross, Allen’s worst nightmare come true. On the way, Allen is forcibly kidnapped by people in a town, who beg him to save them from a vampire, because they recognize the rosary cross on his chest and decide that he’s their saviour. Lavi is sent to save him and is captured as well. So much for prince charming. They fight Krory, Lavi gets seduced by an Akuma in a beautiful body, Allen gets jealous, they get horribly injured, Allen’s eye recovers, they are nearly eaten by carnivorous flowers, Lavi realizes (with the power of Allen’s recent eye upgrade v2.5) that the world Allen sees is hell, Krory finally awakens and defeats the Akuma himself, and all’s well that ends well. Most important point of this interaction – Allen gets jealous when Lavi swoons over femininity.
*Avoids bullets* Right, I kid, I kid. Most important point – Lavi gets some light shed as Allen convinces Krory to fight and, failing that, to find a reason to fight, and Lavi realizes that is eerily reminiscent to something that people would say to convince themselves, and not others. Observe, please, his shrewd eye as he looks at Allen. And later, Lavi gives the soul-shattering admission to Komui that Allen lives in hell. Lavi here is highly disturbed by the things Allen must have been seeing for five years already, and he might be feeling pity, admiration, sorrow, or a combination of all three for the boy. We don’t know, but we know that he is being serious here when he talks about Allen. This is the first clue we get that perhaps, just perhaps, there is some subtext we can read into this about a possible relationship between Lavi and Allen.
On the way to meet Lenalee and Bookman, the important poker scene occurs. Lavi learns of the existence of Allen’s Black side (and as far as I know is the only one who knows full well of it), and they see a Noah get stripped to his underwear. This is more crackish than anything, but it does show how Lavi knows about Allen’s other, darker side.
With this sweet, happy development, Hoshino introduces Suman, perhaps the most tragic figure in this whole series. He has Fallen and causes horrible destruction. Allen, separated from the rest, tries to save him but doesn’t manage to. Tyki wanders along and destroys Allen’s left arm. In a dramatic flourish, a deck of poker cards is scattered all over Allen’s body. Fou, bless her guardian heart, rescues him and leaves the Ace of Spades behind, like a clue, a la Cinderella’s shoe. And Lavi happens to pick it up with a disturbingly emotionless face and voice.
Now, people react to distress in all sorts of different ways. Lenalee cries. Bookman remains emotionless, believing Allen won’t die just yet. Lavi? Lavi gets mad.
He shouts at Lenalee to get the hell over it. And it might be a trick of the light, but there seems to be a hint of tears in his eye. Bookman is alarmed and has to remind Lavi that they are here as Bookmen, and not as God’s Apostles. See how Bookman has to forcibly remind Lavi of this, just because Allen’s violent encounter triggers Lavi?
Then, just as we think Lavi might be getting back to normal, he looks at the card and emos over it on the ship, angsting over the need for a Bookman to remain emotionless (because he obviously feels something over Allen’s “death”). He starts to be shaken from his Bookman path here, as he seriously wonders if it is worth it to give up his humanity in exchange for a lifetime of knowledge.
Has Allen become Lavi's source of strength?
Then, just as they arrive in Edo, Tyki appears. Lavi now gets REALLY mad. He angrily challenges Tyki to a duel, absolutely refuses to let anyone else besides him fight Tyki, and gets increasingly agitated as Tyki prods him knowingly. He couldn’t come up with any good comebacks, by the by, only shouting “shut up” in a crescendo. Obviously he is angry and insensible over Allen’s death, and because of that, Lavi basically invited himself to a death trap willingly, all for a boy he has known for only, what, two weeks?
That is really some friendship, and I’m really not being sarcastic this time. Lavi is not quite the Bookman material, isn’t he, if he gets attached to someone this strongly within two weeks of acquainting themselves. This progression of events is very important here in establishing subtext for this pairing – within about two weeks, Lavi starts to seriously consider his Bookman path – the feelings might have built up over two years, and he might have been able to ignore it, but he can no longer do so with Allen’s disappearance. And he ignores all common sense just to seek revenge for Allen’s “death”, something he shouldn’t have done as a cool-headed Bookman. As far as I see, Allen is the first to have affected him so much, even Bookman seems shocked by it and has to make him regain his senses.
3. The Ark – A Stressful, Turbulent, and Revealing Arc
Let’s keep that in mind and move on for now. After a touching reunion which consists of Allen and Kanda barking at each other like mad dogs, they fall into the Ark. Notice how the first thing Lavi shouts as Allen falls in after Lenalee is “Allen!” Right, so it could be because Allen is the one next to him and hence most immediate name he calls, but it could also very well mean a panic not to lose him just so quickly after they met again. He dives in after Allen. In the Ark, notice Lavi’s position just as Allen opens the door. Right.behind.him. To catch Allen as he falls. There is absolutely no need to do that (Kanda stands quite a distance away, and Lenalee and Chaoji aren’t in that panel in the first place), so yeah, quite an amount of concern shown there, isn’t it?
But of course, the evidence does not stop there. Fighting Jasdevi is an interesting development. Remember how barely after meeting, when going to Krory’s castle, they instinctively stand back to back when they feel a sudden chill? To me, that shows that they trust each other implicitly as fighters. Fighting is a strange thing, it requires a balance of independence and support and trust. At that time, even after separating to fight their own battles in the castle, they trust each other enough to take care of things. Here, fighting Jasdevi, Allen trusts Lavi to find the key in the quickest time possible, and they even try to ease the atmosphere by joking about it. Definitely, shipping argument aside, there is a trust between fighters shown here, and a familiarity deep enough that they can joke in a tense situation.
Making their way to the top after they leave Krory to defeat the evil twins, the all-important you-are-my-light scene occurs, as Allen states his determination and even Lero, sentient little umbrella thing, is stunned. Lavi muses on the light that Allen is and literally, a light envelops Allen and blinds both Lavi and the readers. Here, I’d say that Lavi has a natural attraction to this light he sees in Allen, someone so strong and determined it seems as though nothing would break him, perhaps even a natural inclination to want to be bathed in that light, possibly because his cynicism as a Bookman Apprentice doesn’t allow himself to be that optimistic.
That is really some friendship, and I’m really not being sarcastic this time. Lavi is not quite the Bookman material, isn’t he, if he gets attached to someone this strongly within two weeks of acquainting themselves. This progression of events is very important here in establishing subtext for this pairing – within about two weeks, Lavi starts to seriously consider his Bookman path – the feelings might have built up over two years, and he might have been able to ignore it, but he can no longer do so with Allen’s disappearance. And he ignores all common sense just to seek revenge for Allen’s “death”, something he shouldn’t have done as a cool-headed Bookman. As far as I see, Allen is the first to have affected him so much, even Bookman seems shocked by it and has to make him regain his senses.
3. The Ark – A Stressful, Turbulent, and Revealing Arc
Let’s keep that in mind and move on for now. After a touching reunion which consists of Allen and Kanda barking at each other like mad dogs, they fall into the Ark. Notice how the first thing Lavi shouts as Allen falls in after Lenalee is “Allen!” Right, so it could be because Allen is the one next to him and hence most immediate name he calls, but it could also very well mean a panic not to lose him just so quickly after they met again. He dives in after Allen. In the Ark, notice Lavi’s position just as Allen opens the door. Right.behind.him. To catch Allen as he falls. There is absolutely no need to do that (Kanda stands quite a distance away, and Lenalee and Chaoji aren’t in that panel in the first place), so yeah, quite an amount of concern shown there, isn’t it?
But of course, the evidence does not stop there. Fighting Jasdevi is an interesting development. Remember how barely after meeting, when going to Krory’s castle, they instinctively stand back to back when they feel a sudden chill? To me, that shows that they trust each other implicitly as fighters. Fighting is a strange thing, it requires a balance of independence and support and trust. At that time, even after separating to fight their own battles in the castle, they trust each other enough to take care of things. Here, fighting Jasdevi, Allen trusts Lavi to find the key in the quickest time possible, and they even try to ease the atmosphere by joking about it. Definitely, shipping argument aside, there is a trust between fighters shown here, and a familiarity deep enough that they can joke in a tense situation.
Making their way to the top after they leave Krory to defeat the evil twins, the all-important you-are-my-light scene occurs, as Allen states his determination and even Lero, sentient little umbrella thing, is stunned. Lavi muses on the light that Allen is and literally, a light envelops Allen and blinds both Lavi and the readers. Here, I’d say that Lavi has a natural attraction to this light he sees in Allen, someone so strong and determined it seems as though nothing would break him, perhaps even a natural inclination to want to be bathed in that light, possibly because his cynicism as a Bookman Apprentice doesn’t allow himself to be that optimistic.
A hope that Lavi wants to believe in
Do we then see here how Lavi admires Allen quite a lot, from the part where he realizes the world Allen sees is hell to here where he admires Allen for his strength?
After that romantic scene, Allen’s (first, maybe?) kiss is abruptly stolen. Thankfully, Allen appears as devastated as Lavi is, maybe even more so. And note, too, how we don’t see Lenalee’s and Chaoji’s immediate reactions, only Lavi’s (possibly jealous) one. Past that, Tyki invites them to a beautiful candlelit dinner for five, talks and talks, pisses Allen off, and the epic battle between Tyki and Allen, Road and Lavi begins.
Here, I will concentrate on Lavi’s battle and bring you step by step through it, because this battle is important. Road chooses to launch a mental battle. Lavi, in his mind, is brought through a symbolic boat ride and encounters “Bookman Junior”, who we can assume to be either his base personality or a representation of the teachings Bookman is trying to instill in Lavi. Junior taunts him about not being able to remain objective, and sends Lenalee in a coffin bed along to Lavi to prove his point. Lavi is alarmed and very soon, he is surrounded by coffins and dead comrades. At this moment, Allen hasn’t yet appeared in Lavi’s battle. As Lavi attempts to fight his way out of this illusion, he is reminded painfully of his Bookman duties, and how he is straying away from objectivity, such that he no longer knew which of his smiles were faked. The crunch arrives in the form of Allen. Dropping the Ace of Spades which Lavi has “held all this time”, the illusion Allen walks towards him and picks it up, looking appreciative that Lavi has held it all this time and even deliberately hid it from Bookman. Junior appears and bashes Allen’s head in. Lavi shouts in alarm, is restrained by more of his illusion comrades, watches as the ink on the card slowly drips away, until it is completely clean, and he loses his mind.
For me, it is significant that Lavi loses his mind immediately after the ink drips away. Not only is it significant symbolically, as it shows his state of mind being wiped clean, or history’s ink being cleaned away, or what have you, it also shows him losing his mind from the slow disintegration of a physical item of Allen’s that he held. Being confronted with Lenalee’s, Kanda’s, Krory’s, everyone’s corpses drives him slowly to the brink, but Allen’s “death” breaks him, he cannot stand seeing the broken form of Allen painfully whispering his name, the evidence of Allen’s existence disappearing before his eye. By now, I think we can safely establish that Allen is rather obviously a very important person to him.
However, the mental battle does not end there. With a cold Bookman Junior taking control, he fights Allen and the INFAMOUS hug scene occurs.
After that romantic scene, Allen’s (first, maybe?) kiss is abruptly stolen. Thankfully, Allen appears as devastated as Lavi is, maybe even more so. And note, too, how we don’t see Lenalee’s and Chaoji’s immediate reactions, only Lavi’s (possibly jealous) one. Past that, Tyki invites them to a beautiful candlelit dinner for five, talks and talks, pisses Allen off, and the epic battle between Tyki and Allen, Road and Lavi begins.
Here, I will concentrate on Lavi’s battle and bring you step by step through it, because this battle is important. Road chooses to launch a mental battle. Lavi, in his mind, is brought through a symbolic boat ride and encounters “Bookman Junior”, who we can assume to be either his base personality or a representation of the teachings Bookman is trying to instill in Lavi. Junior taunts him about not being able to remain objective, and sends Lenalee in a coffin bed along to Lavi to prove his point. Lavi is alarmed and very soon, he is surrounded by coffins and dead comrades. At this moment, Allen hasn’t yet appeared in Lavi’s battle. As Lavi attempts to fight his way out of this illusion, he is reminded painfully of his Bookman duties, and how he is straying away from objectivity, such that he no longer knew which of his smiles were faked. The crunch arrives in the form of Allen. Dropping the Ace of Spades which Lavi has “held all this time”, the illusion Allen walks towards him and picks it up, looking appreciative that Lavi has held it all this time and even deliberately hid it from Bookman. Junior appears and bashes Allen’s head in. Lavi shouts in alarm, is restrained by more of his illusion comrades, watches as the ink on the card slowly drips away, until it is completely clean, and he loses his mind.
For me, it is significant that Lavi loses his mind immediately after the ink drips away. Not only is it significant symbolically, as it shows his state of mind being wiped clean, or history’s ink being cleaned away, or what have you, it also shows him losing his mind from the slow disintegration of a physical item of Allen’s that he held. Being confronted with Lenalee’s, Kanda’s, Krory’s, everyone’s corpses drives him slowly to the brink, but Allen’s “death” breaks him, he cannot stand seeing the broken form of Allen painfully whispering his name, the evidence of Allen’s existence disappearing before his eye. By now, I think we can safely establish that Allen is rather obviously a very important person to him.
However, the mental battle does not end there. With a cold Bookman Junior taking control, he fights Allen and the INFAMOUS hug scene occurs.
(From Right to Left) Physical affection...at the most inconvenient time possible. But it's intense and intimate all the same.
Yes, Allen hugs Lavi and tries to get him to regain his senses. Lavi might be a touchy-feely person, but Allen not so much. But in this case, he actively hugs Lavi to try and get Lavi back to his senses, because I think he knows that touch triggers Lavi. Accompanying the infamous hug are the infamous words “Lavi, can’t you hear my voice?” So we see how Allen appeals to Lavi’s emotions and begs for Lavi to remember his voice – I don’t see it as a stretch to imagine that this is more affectionate than boys (in a platonic friendship) usually are to each other.
However, for his sweet words, he gets beaten back and forth. Allen tries, he really, really does, and even out of breath and in pain he whispers Lavi’s name painfully, almost in a prayer, and then he gets swallowed up by a fiery snake. But he is not hurt at all. From the reader’s omniscient view, we can witness Lavi, now in control of his body, berating and fully unleashing his fiery attack on himself. Allen swears really loudly and jumps into the flames, injuries be damned, to save Lavi, all the while calling Lavi’s name as loudly as he can.
Note too, here, how Allen might have lost the will and strength to fight Lavi just before he got swallowed up in Lavi’s fire snake, but instantly recovers in order to save someone he cares for.
In the fascinatingly messed up place of Lavi’s mind, Bookman Junior takes the form of a child and starts crying, wondering why “Lavi” is so different from the other 48 aliases, causing him so much pain, and wondering why “Lavi” hates being a Bookman so much. “Lavi” gently tells Bookman Junior that the one who’s started to change isn’t him, but Bookman Junior, himself, the true him. Confusing, isn’t it? They are all one person, so essentially, Bookman Junior, whom we affectionately know as Lavi, is confronting his own sway from objectivity and slowly accepting the fact that he might not be all that sure about being a Bookman and a humanity-embracing Exorcist all at the same time, but goddamn, he needs to stay alive to find out, doesn’t he? And the trigger comes, again, in the form of Allen. Bookman Junior jerks his head up when he hears Allen calling “LAVI!”, sees the empty Ace of Spades card next to him, smiles (and I think it’s a true, if weak and uncertain smile), and vanishes through the watery depths of Road’s psychotic world.
And finally, finally, Lavi and Allen emerge from the ashes cursing each other and laughing, glad to be alive. That’s adorableness right there.
Cutting out all the jokes, Lavi just went through probably one of the most crucial battles of his life. He confronted his own indecisiveness and, while he does not have any conclusions as of yet, he is going to face it this time, instead of going for denial or escapism. Crucially, both times (losing his mind and winning the battle), Allen is the important trigger for them. This battle is where all the subtext and hints fall into place – Lavi very obviously cares for Allen, enough such that he is deeply affected by Allen’s false death, and enough such that he is willing to question his Bookman path because of this friendship (and perhaps even potential relationship).
And, it isn’t just one way. For now, first keep in mind the way that Allen tries to get Lavi back to his senses.
Now, Allen has defeated Tyki already and expects him to remain defeated. Transforming into martyr mode, Allen decides to save Tyki because his Noah side has supposedly disappeared. Tyki chooses that moment to revive, and Allen disappears into a whirlwind of tentacles. Allen, weakened, collapses for a while and Lavi is there, supporting him. Remember the balance in fighters? This time, they go into support mode beautifully. They are both knocked out unfortunately, but they also both revive at the exact same moment, panting and resolved to fight. This part shows fighter’s spirit and how they affect one another – presumably, one fighter’s spirit and strength to recover can affect the other’s, no matter how weakened they are.
Fighting the revived and newly insane Tyki, the top part of the floor is nearly completely destroyed when Cross arrives, looking like a grand saviour and a top grade bastard. He protects the kids (well, he does do his job), and fights Tyki, as well as the Earl who appears just at the right moment, too. Unfortunately, while fighting, more of the floor disappears. Lavi and Chaoji fall. Using his hammer, Lavi tries to get both of them up. However, his hammer is in a fragile state from the fight with insane Tyki and it breaks before Allen could pull them up.
Allen’s expression says it all.
However, for his sweet words, he gets beaten back and forth. Allen tries, he really, really does, and even out of breath and in pain he whispers Lavi’s name painfully, almost in a prayer, and then he gets swallowed up by a fiery snake. But he is not hurt at all. From the reader’s omniscient view, we can witness Lavi, now in control of his body, berating and fully unleashing his fiery attack on himself. Allen swears really loudly and jumps into the flames, injuries be damned, to save Lavi, all the while calling Lavi’s name as loudly as he can.
Note too, here, how Allen might have lost the will and strength to fight Lavi just before he got swallowed up in Lavi’s fire snake, but instantly recovers in order to save someone he cares for.
In the fascinatingly messed up place of Lavi’s mind, Bookman Junior takes the form of a child and starts crying, wondering why “Lavi” is so different from the other 48 aliases, causing him so much pain, and wondering why “Lavi” hates being a Bookman so much. “Lavi” gently tells Bookman Junior that the one who’s started to change isn’t him, but Bookman Junior, himself, the true him. Confusing, isn’t it? They are all one person, so essentially, Bookman Junior, whom we affectionately know as Lavi, is confronting his own sway from objectivity and slowly accepting the fact that he might not be all that sure about being a Bookman and a humanity-embracing Exorcist all at the same time, but goddamn, he needs to stay alive to find out, doesn’t he? And the trigger comes, again, in the form of Allen. Bookman Junior jerks his head up when he hears Allen calling “LAVI!”, sees the empty Ace of Spades card next to him, smiles (and I think it’s a true, if weak and uncertain smile), and vanishes through the watery depths of Road’s psychotic world.
And finally, finally, Lavi and Allen emerge from the ashes cursing each other and laughing, glad to be alive. That’s adorableness right there.
Cutting out all the jokes, Lavi just went through probably one of the most crucial battles of his life. He confronted his own indecisiveness and, while he does not have any conclusions as of yet, he is going to face it this time, instead of going for denial or escapism. Crucially, both times (losing his mind and winning the battle), Allen is the important trigger for them. This battle is where all the subtext and hints fall into place – Lavi very obviously cares for Allen, enough such that he is deeply affected by Allen’s false death, and enough such that he is willing to question his Bookman path because of this friendship (and perhaps even potential relationship).
And, it isn’t just one way. For now, first keep in mind the way that Allen tries to get Lavi back to his senses.
Now, Allen has defeated Tyki already and expects him to remain defeated. Transforming into martyr mode, Allen decides to save Tyki because his Noah side has supposedly disappeared. Tyki chooses that moment to revive, and Allen disappears into a whirlwind of tentacles. Allen, weakened, collapses for a while and Lavi is there, supporting him. Remember the balance in fighters? This time, they go into support mode beautifully. They are both knocked out unfortunately, but they also both revive at the exact same moment, panting and resolved to fight. This part shows fighter’s spirit and how they affect one another – presumably, one fighter’s spirit and strength to recover can affect the other’s, no matter how weakened they are.
Fighting the revived and newly insane Tyki, the top part of the floor is nearly completely destroyed when Cross arrives, looking like a grand saviour and a top grade bastard. He protects the kids (well, he does do his job), and fights Tyki, as well as the Earl who appears just at the right moment, too. Unfortunately, while fighting, more of the floor disappears. Lavi and Chaoji fall. Using his hammer, Lavi tries to get both of them up. However, his hammer is in a fragile state from the fight with insane Tyki and it breaks before Allen could pull them up.
Allen’s expression says it all.
The Crushing Guilt
The kid is in shock. Remember how Lavi in dream world is slowly pushed to the brink and the breaking point comes in the form of Allen? Here, Allen is slowly pushed to the brink with first the loss of Kanda, then Krory, and now, Lavi and Chaoji? Add in the fact that he is probably blaming himself for Lavi’s and Chaoji’s death, because his grip broke the hammer. Remember that he has a complex in which he blames himself for people who inadvertently die by his own hands, starting with Mana. Basically, Allen loses it and springs against the Earl in rage. This time, Cross has to be the restraining power to remind Allen that he simply cannot fight against the Earl in rage. Add in the fact that he is being rather selfish at this time, because he still has Lenalee with him, and by all rights he should be protecting and helping her. What can I say, like Lavi when faced with Allen’s “murderer”, Allen loses all common sense.
Amazing, isn’t it, that they care about each other enough to be each other’s breaking points? I think it is very important to note here that while it is perhaps not as obvious as Lavi’s care for Allen, Allen himself is highly affected by the loss of his comrades. Like a martyr, he cares not a whit about himself to save Lavi from the flames. More importantly, he knows how to appeal to Lavi’s emotions to try and get him back to his senses.
4. Getting to Know Each Other (And A Simple Roundup)
But of course, we can’t stop there, let’s see what else we can find after this crucial episode. Past the rage, Allen is put in control of the Ark and everyone is revived. Guess what Lavi does to find Allen? Food, glorious food! He sure knows the boy well. All types of monstrosities are screamed from the top of his lungs and Allen reacts angrily, then in relief, and finally, finally, they head home.
Peace.
…hah, didn’t think that would last, did you?
The Vatican decide that Allen is wholly suspicious, so they send an Inspector Howard Link who has to supervise Allen 24/7. Nobody is happy about this (except maybe Link and Lveille) and when Allen is bogged down with work, Lavi eagerly offers his company. Even in the morning, before breakfast, Lavi and Allen stick together and run around Headquarters. I find it utterly sweet that these boys are so…boyish with each other, they want to hang out and eat together and all. Of course, it can certainly be argued that they want to spend time with each other because of a maybe more than platonic relationship.
Amazing, isn’t it, that they care about each other enough to be each other’s breaking points? I think it is very important to note here that while it is perhaps not as obvious as Lavi’s care for Allen, Allen himself is highly affected by the loss of his comrades. Like a martyr, he cares not a whit about himself to save Lavi from the flames. More importantly, he knows how to appeal to Lavi’s emotions to try and get him back to his senses.
4. Getting to Know Each Other (And A Simple Roundup)
But of course, we can’t stop there, let’s see what else we can find after this crucial episode. Past the rage, Allen is put in control of the Ark and everyone is revived. Guess what Lavi does to find Allen? Food, glorious food! He sure knows the boy well. All types of monstrosities are screamed from the top of his lungs and Allen reacts angrily, then in relief, and finally, finally, they head home.
Peace.
…hah, didn’t think that would last, did you?
The Vatican decide that Allen is wholly suspicious, so they send an Inspector Howard Link who has to supervise Allen 24/7. Nobody is happy about this (except maybe Link and Lveille) and when Allen is bogged down with work, Lavi eagerly offers his company. Even in the morning, before breakfast, Lavi and Allen stick together and run around Headquarters. I find it utterly sweet that these boys are so…boyish with each other, they want to hang out and eat together and all. Of course, it can certainly be argued that they want to spend time with each other because of a maybe more than platonic relationship.
Doing the simple things together
But Allen having a Vatican stalker isn’t the worst of it. Level 4 happens. The world very nearly ends. After saving the world again, Allen meets Cross under supervision and finds that he has the soul of the 14th Noah in him. He breaks down. Lavi is there to witness it and he has a truly beautiful and sincere expression of “WTF?” And this is where the serious canonical bits end for now.
What I find lovely about all this is that Lavi is nearly the only one to witness the life-changing revelations that Allen receives. He is one of the two who knows what the world through Allen’s left eye is truly like, he is the only one who we can see analyzing Allen so closely and intently, and here, he is the only one who knows the full details of what Cross told Allen, and to see his crumpled expression, rather than the stoic one that he wears before all the other exorcists when Komui breaks the news. I don’t think there is anyone else in the manga who would know Allen better than what Allen would like others to see. With all this then, will the foundation of their friendship, their care for each other, and at least on Lavi’s part, his understanding of Allen bring them to a romantic relationship? I am rather sure that it is possible.
Throughout this journey, we can see that the boys have established a firm friendship within the short span of about two months, and this is significant, because how many people do we see that can be so close within such a short time, and be so comfortable with each other as these two are? I believe this might be the first time that Lavi seriously confronts his emotions, instead of hiding it. Allen matures after Lavi’s little pep talk, and would risk his own life to save Lavi like a really silly martyr does. They do learn from each other. They have sized each other up and they have recognized in each other an equal they can be comfortable with. With these canon interactions, romantic or not, serious or not, I do believe that there is plenty of canon evidence to suggest that Allen/Lavi is really not impossible to ship (:
Interpretation Time and Reasons to Ship Them
In the end, it comes down to personality match and dynamics that made me absolutely fall in love with this ship.
I think that I first got into this pairing at the hug scene. Mostly, I think it’s the intimacy of the scene, of Allen’s overwhelming care, and the extremely gripping battle that Lavi was fighting in his mind. It sort of registered in my mind “ahhh that’s sweet” and then I was simply trying to follow the plot. Then I had plenty of time to leisurely read through, allow my brain to process all the canonical evidence bits, and go “wait a minute there’s something there” and voila, a new OTP is born.
Following that and further analysis, Lavi and Allen are two extremely interesting characters. Not only are their pasts mostly shrouded, they are also constantly developing in the series. Allen, from what I see, is not just the gentleman that almost everyone in the Black Order views him as. He has spunk, he has character, he is feisty, he is almost annoying at times. Lavi grabbed me by his varied smiles, and by the cold glassy reflection of his eye when he first appears. His mysterious eyepatch is a major plus. Despite being Bookman’s successor, we see an obvious struggle occurring, and that struggle develops too. The exorcists grow in skill and maturity and sometimes, that’s the point isn’t it? Not the bloody battlegrounds that surround them, but them, their personalities.
So we have two wonderfully complex characters, and a fantastic foundation to build on. As mentioned, within about five weeks, they have already developed a working relationship, enough that they can support and trust each other in battle. Lavi takes on the role of the teasing big brother, constantly calling Allen a “beansprout” and Allen retaliates. They are boys, they interact in the way of teasing and laughter and getting through the battles together. They have a brotherly affection, and they have a comradely affection.
Can we bring that one step further? Definitely.
As mentioned in the canon evidence section, Allen affects Lavi in ways that Allen himself might not know about, and Lavi knows Allen maybe even more than what Allen might be comfortable with. I think they would be good for each other, even if the good might involve more struggle than what people would be accustomed to.
Most importantly, even if they look unrealistically hot, their characters are realistically imperfect, and I think that’s what their relationship would be like too.
Being highly solitary characters their whole life, having been left to fend for themselves, without much of a normal childhood, they would have to learn how to adapt to thinking of someone else, and caring for that someone else. I’m definitely not saying that they don’t care, but there’s a difference between passive care and active care. Allen and Lavi are people who react as the temporal situation commands, and cannot be said to have received all-encompassing and permanent love, and from there learn to really actively care for someone else.
Allen, for the first ten years of his life, lost his birth parents who are supposed to care for him, and lost Mana who really cared for him, and whom he cared for. The next five are not an easy piece of cake because even if I don’t doubt that Cross trained him well, I don’t think he gave him much paternal love. As such, I don’t believe that Allen completely understands love in its various forms – for one thing, he hasn’t seen that love can be permanent. For another, he does love the Akuma and wishes to free their souls, and he fought for them for so long. Yet, asmetisketwisely pointed out, he loves the Akuma and loves to help them partly because they can’t hurt him, and he can safely love them from behind an emotional wall. Only recently, through the battles, he has come to love the humans that surround him and now he wishes to protect them. However, while he might love others Allen might subconsciously try to protect himself from receiving love and getting hurt, because for most of his life he did not receive love, and when he did he had it torn away from him brutally. He is truly messed up, in other words, and this scheming and manipulative, yet at the same time honestly young, scared character in need of care, would go through an interesting romantic relationship to say the least.
Lavi, interestingly, in essence shares almost the same past. Having been raised by Bookman most of his life, he probably shares some sort of affection with his mentor, going by the nicknames he gives to the dear old panda, and how they immediately seek each other out to see if they are alright in a battle. However, he has also been raised to stay on the objective side of life, to interfere as little as possible and to not let his heart get in the way of things, as Bookman brutally reminded him on the ship. Yet, despite the objectivity that is supposed to be instilled in him, Lavi can and wants to love, and he might even be more capable of loving than Allen is. For one thing, he is honestly confronting his Bookman side since the last few volumes, and that is something very personal, since he has to see whether he treasures his friends more or his Bookman obligations. We can compare this to how Allen has been thrown with more loops than he can handle. Losing his Innocence, entering the Ark, finding out about the 14th, being tailed by a Vatican dog, fighting a Level 4, and having the Noah gradually awakening in him? That is almost enough to drive anyone insane, let alone have him thinking about his friends, and his feelings for them. Hence, I would say that in my view, Lavi is slowly shedding the solitary life that he has been leading in his heart and mind, and growing to love and care for the people he has met.
This makes for interesting dynamics. A boy with more issues than he can handle, and a boy with an identity crisis. Don’t know which is which? That is because these are two boys who are more similar than you might think at first glance. I think that is how they can understand each other and take a step towards a romantic relationship, because they can understand, they have been through it, they might not have a solution but they can support each other and confront their fears together. Will the relationship be screwed up? Maybe. Will it be romantic and sweet? Possibly. Will it be realistic? I sure hope so. Will it be interesting? Holy hell, yeah.
Perhaps you can even see it as a one-sided romance at the beginning, and that is certainly a very viable point, what with us seeing mostly Lavi’s feelings and thoughts about Allen than the other way round. I think that is another way to view this ship – it’s highly realistic, and there’s so much that can be developed from there. There’s no saying that Allen cannot return his feelings, but how this will be done will be up to the minds of the shippers.
So, to end this on a proper note, I am joking when I say that you must follow them. Because they are such interesting characters, and they make for a very dynamic, possible messed up, and complex relationship, I personally can’t help but ship them. However, if you don’t, I do hope you see that they have a strong bond between each other, platonic or otherwise, sibling-like or otherwise.
And I hope that if nothing else, you are interested in the various personality defects and complexities of Allen and Lavi by the end of this.
A Guide to A Wonderful Ship
1. LJ Community:allen_rabi
What I find lovely about all this is that Lavi is nearly the only one to witness the life-changing revelations that Allen receives. He is one of the two who knows what the world through Allen’s left eye is truly like, he is the only one who we can see analyzing Allen so closely and intently, and here, he is the only one who knows the full details of what Cross told Allen, and to see his crumpled expression, rather than the stoic one that he wears before all the other exorcists when Komui breaks the news. I don’t think there is anyone else in the manga who would know Allen better than what Allen would like others to see. With all this then, will the foundation of their friendship, their care for each other, and at least on Lavi’s part, his understanding of Allen bring them to a romantic relationship? I am rather sure that it is possible.
Throughout this journey, we can see that the boys have established a firm friendship within the short span of about two months, and this is significant, because how many people do we see that can be so close within such a short time, and be so comfortable with each other as these two are? I believe this might be the first time that Lavi seriously confronts his emotions, instead of hiding it. Allen matures after Lavi’s little pep talk, and would risk his own life to save Lavi like a really silly martyr does. They do learn from each other. They have sized each other up and they have recognized in each other an equal they can be comfortable with. With these canon interactions, romantic or not, serious or not, I do believe that there is plenty of canon evidence to suggest that Allen/Lavi is really not impossible to ship (:
Interpretation Time and Reasons to Ship Them
In the end, it comes down to personality match and dynamics that made me absolutely fall in love with this ship.
I think that I first got into this pairing at the hug scene. Mostly, I think it’s the intimacy of the scene, of Allen’s overwhelming care, and the extremely gripping battle that Lavi was fighting in his mind. It sort of registered in my mind “ahhh that’s sweet” and then I was simply trying to follow the plot. Then I had plenty of time to leisurely read through, allow my brain to process all the canonical evidence bits, and go “wait a minute there’s something there” and voila, a new OTP is born.
Following that and further analysis, Lavi and Allen are two extremely interesting characters. Not only are their pasts mostly shrouded, they are also constantly developing in the series. Allen, from what I see, is not just the gentleman that almost everyone in the Black Order views him as. He has spunk, he has character, he is feisty, he is almost annoying at times. Lavi grabbed me by his varied smiles, and by the cold glassy reflection of his eye when he first appears. His mysterious eyepatch is a major plus. Despite being Bookman’s successor, we see an obvious struggle occurring, and that struggle develops too. The exorcists grow in skill and maturity and sometimes, that’s the point isn’t it? Not the bloody battlegrounds that surround them, but them, their personalities.
So we have two wonderfully complex characters, and a fantastic foundation to build on. As mentioned, within about five weeks, they have already developed a working relationship, enough that they can support and trust each other in battle. Lavi takes on the role of the teasing big brother, constantly calling Allen a “beansprout” and Allen retaliates. They are boys, they interact in the way of teasing and laughter and getting through the battles together. They have a brotherly affection, and they have a comradely affection.
Can we bring that one step further? Definitely.
As mentioned in the canon evidence section, Allen affects Lavi in ways that Allen himself might not know about, and Lavi knows Allen maybe even more than what Allen might be comfortable with. I think they would be good for each other, even if the good might involve more struggle than what people would be accustomed to.
Most importantly, even if they look unrealistically hot, their characters are realistically imperfect, and I think that’s what their relationship would be like too.
Being highly solitary characters their whole life, having been left to fend for themselves, without much of a normal childhood, they would have to learn how to adapt to thinking of someone else, and caring for that someone else. I’m definitely not saying that they don’t care, but there’s a difference between passive care and active care. Allen and Lavi are people who react as the temporal situation commands, and cannot be said to have received all-encompassing and permanent love, and from there learn to really actively care for someone else.
Allen, for the first ten years of his life, lost his birth parents who are supposed to care for him, and lost Mana who really cared for him, and whom he cared for. The next five are not an easy piece of cake because even if I don’t doubt that Cross trained him well, I don’t think he gave him much paternal love. As such, I don’t believe that Allen completely understands love in its various forms – for one thing, he hasn’t seen that love can be permanent. For another, he does love the Akuma and wishes to free their souls, and he fought for them for so long. Yet, as
metisketwisely pointed out, he loves the Akuma and loves to help them partly because they can’t hurt him, and he can safely love them from behind an emotional wall. Only recently, through the battles, he has come to love the humans that surround him and now he wishes to protect them. However, while he might love others Allen might subconsciously try to protect himself from receiving love and getting hurt, because for most of his life he did not receive love, and when he did he had it torn away from him brutally. He is truly messed up, in other words, and this scheming and manipulative, yet at the same time honestly young, scared character in need of care, would go through an interesting romantic relationship to say the least. Lavi, interestingly, in essence shares almost the same past. Having been raised by Bookman most of his life, he probably shares some sort of affection with his mentor, going by the nicknames he gives to the dear old panda, and how they immediately seek each other out to see if they are alright in a battle. However, he has also been raised to stay on the objective side of life, to interfere as little as possible and to not let his heart get in the way of things, as Bookman brutally reminded him on the ship. Yet, despite the objectivity that is supposed to be instilled in him, Lavi can and wants to love, and he might even be more capable of loving than Allen is. For one thing, he is honestly confronting his Bookman side since the last few volumes, and that is something very personal, since he has to see whether he treasures his friends more or his Bookman obligations. We can compare this to how Allen has been thrown with more loops than he can handle. Losing his Innocence, entering the Ark, finding out about the 14th, being tailed by a Vatican dog, fighting a Level 4, and having the Noah gradually awakening in him? That is almost enough to drive anyone insane, let alone have him thinking about his friends, and his feelings for them. Hence, I would say that in my view, Lavi is slowly shedding the solitary life that he has been leading in his heart and mind, and growing to love and care for the people he has met.
This makes for interesting dynamics. A boy with more issues than he can handle, and a boy with an identity crisis. Don’t know which is which? That is because these are two boys who are more similar than you might think at first glance. I think that is how they can understand each other and take a step towards a romantic relationship, because they can understand, they have been through it, they might not have a solution but they can support each other and confront their fears together. Will the relationship be screwed up? Maybe. Will it be romantic and sweet? Possibly. Will it be realistic? I sure hope so. Will it be interesting? Holy hell, yeah.
Perhaps you can even see it as a one-sided romance at the beginning, and that is certainly a very viable point, what with us seeing mostly Lavi’s feelings and thoughts about Allen than the other way round. I think that is another way to view this ship – it’s highly realistic, and there’s so much that can be developed from there. There’s no saying that Allen cannot return his feelings, but how this will be done will be up to the minds of the shippers.
So, to end this on a proper note, I am joking when I say that you must follow them. Because they are such interesting characters, and they make for a very dynamic, possible messed up, and complex relationship, I personally can’t help but ship them. However, if you don’t, I do hope you see that they have a strong bond between each other, platonic or otherwise, sibling-like or otherwise.
And I hope that if nothing else, you are interested in the various personality defects and complexities of Allen and Lavi by the end of this.
A Guide to A Wonderful Ship
1. LJ Community:
allen_rabiAllen/Lavi Fanclub on D.Gray-Divinity Forums
2. Official Art
I kid you not, there is lovely official art that put them together :D Do read romantic undertones to it if you’d like.
Trading Card Game: A treasure trove for Allen/Lavi art. How about a childhood picture? Or maybe one with both of them world-weary, in their third uniforms? Making mochi and becoming detectives are also fun stuff. Just click on the link and have fun looking through the cards, the art is beautiful even if you don’t ship them (:
3. Fanfiction Recommendations:
We are really lucky to have fantastic writers in this ship. If you are a shipper, or you’re intending to find out more about this pairing (a hearty welcome on board if you do :D), in alphabetical order;
Apapazukamori: Porn with plot and deeper, darker issues? You’ve got it here :D I love her no title Lavi/Allen multipart story, very sweet.
CherrySpringer: As happens in every fandom, there are always different interpretations of the pairing, and suffice it to say this author has her own quirky and fun interpretation of Allen/Lavi. Do check out Fate, her longest ongoing work.
Demented Inu: Resolution made my heart wrench. WRENCH. Her works are a little darker but absolutely gorgeous. Must.check.out.
Dhampir72: Most Allen/Lavi shippers would have heard of this lady in one form or another. My favourite work of hers is The Lake House. 100 is an ongoing collection of one-shots with varying interpretations of the pairing according to the theme, definitely a fun read.
Kalanikamori: I really adore Over A Cup Of Tea. It’s subtle, but breathtaking, and paints a tragic picture of Lavi post-war.
Lala to the power of 2: There are definite hints of Allen/Lavi, especially towards the end. The October Affair is a hilarious account of what happens if the Black Order puts up a play. And fear not, it is not Romeo & Juliet. Starring almost every major character in the Order, this is absolutely hilarious and takes an interesting, viable interpretation of the characters’ personalities and their interactions, no less Allen’s and Lavi’s. And just for fun, The Fox, The Bird and The Frog and After A Hard Day’s Work.
Kali Cephirot (or
intentationem): My goodness, I love all of her Allen/Lavi works. There’s usually an underlying dark current, but they’re still breathtakingly beautiful. Find them all here. Kay Willow (or
figment_tree): What happens if Lavi leaves the Black Order in the midst of the war? Something that people had been puzzling over, and something to which this lady gives an answer to that is filled with Allen/Lavi goodness - Phoenix. And if the 14th were to awaken…start with His Borrowed Toys for this intriguing arc. Metisket: Just to clear this up, she is NOT an Allen/Lavi writer, but I’m putting her here because I learnt a lot from her writings, no less about Allen and Lavi. I highly recommend her fic about Cross and Allen’s travels, from which I gained a lot of insight about possible interpretations of Allen’s character. Pretty much anything written by her is worth a read. For Allen and Lavi interaction, please read her circus fic.
P.A.Lovas: Alas, wonderful writers sometimes go on unfortunate hiatuses. But Campaigning for Heretics is a mind-blowing read despite it being only two chapters for now. Deals very realistically with how Allen copes with Link following him everywhere, and Lavi attempting to help him out of it despite personal issues plaguing him.
Ritachi: It is a must to check out her Kiss! Kiss! Love You, Baby! which promises to be Allen/Lavi in the future chapters. As it is, it has wonderful characterization, a fun storyline and mysterious pasts. Kanda fans won’t be disappointed either.
Sirbartonslady (or
blueshimmer): According to her, a simple idea sprouted off a chain of fics that revolve around the development of Allen’s and Lavi’s relationship. Astoundingly realistic, she doesn’t shy away from the more painful aspects of a relationship. Start with Lost Reason and work your way to Canta Libre. 4. Fanart Recommendations:
Another thing that’s wonderful about this ship, we have excellent artists. On the Japanese fanart side (many many thanks and love topao_8d andpliash for these links!);
Alpha Plus
Ciel
Dear Fellows
Kain
Maki
Puko
SCRAPs
Sku
On deviantart;
Inma
Nannerl
Nairchan
Punyaaan
Tealgeezus
If you feel I have missed out on absolutely wonderful works, please point them out to me so I can check them out, and so others can too!
A great thank you for reading till here, have a happy discovery!
no subject
This manifesto really cements this pairing in my view (and ha, it's sort of weird how in one of the pics you showed of the Noah ship thing, there's an exchange between Allen and Kanda that's something like "That's so like you" and then "Let's go". You know you're a Kanda/Allen fan when that's what you focus on instead of the Lavi/Allen...). There's so many things I just, well, plain did not notice. In fact, while I've been subconsiously noticing that these two work so well together, I've never sat down and just poured through the manga and found all the little things that I picked up and pieced together. Thank you for this, really. :)
The thing that really connected with me is that, yes, Lavi has doubts about being the Bookman, and it's all Allen's fault. He's finally found the beauty of humanity in Allen, when nobody has shown him this throughout the countless wars and battles he's witnessed. Allen made the world something that's worth caring about to Lavi, and that's why this pairing makes me so goddamn happy and optimistic, even through the blood and tears and gore.
Very nicely written manifesto. Thanks for sharing!
no subject
You know, that fic sounds familiar, but I can't for the life of me figure out who wrote it D: Will have to search.
(Hee I think I kinda remember that, in the Noah's Ark, is it? Though what I remember is along the lines of someone threatening to dismember the other *is an obvious Allen/Lavi fan and misses all other signs*) I'm really glad though that you liked looking through this and seeing all the pieces fall into place :D It was a joy doing that, even if finding weblinks was tedious *is more of a manga volume reader herself, rather than an online reader*
♥ ♥ ♥ And I love you for the last bit. The beauty of humanity, YES. Allen might be screwed up and all, but there's no doubt that there's something very real, very imperfect, but very human and even noble in him, what with his self-sacrificing and fighting for the world thing going on. Lavi, to me, has always secretly sought some optimism in the world, and Allen is able to bring that to him. Well, in my shippy mind anyway :D
Thank YOU for your lovely, detailed comment, I'm glad you enjoyed the manifesto! ♥
no subject
Because of the long hatius and the odd storyline recently, I dropped out of fandom, but...your manifesto reminded me of what I loved about this pairing ♥ How they become friends so easily, how they came to learn things about each other (well, or how Lavi learned about Allen, mostly) and came to care about each other on a very deep (I was going to say soul-deep, but...that sounded lame? xD) level. Right now, I'm still confused about where the mangaka wants the series to go, but here's to hoping that the series goes on well ^_^
Thanks for a wonderful read. I rarely comment to anything these days, but I just had to compliment such nice work. Splendid take on their relationship ♥♥
no subject
And wow, you've been in fandom long :D I only properly joined in, ummm...May of this year, I think, much respect to those who followed it from the beginning through the hiatuses. Allen/Lavi is an easy ship to spot, isn't it? *g* AND YES, I get what you mean, from Krory's castle. I always found it interesting that Lavi is observing Allen so closely (possibly as part of his job) but some of his words are very personal, like when he tells Komui that the world the boy sees is hell. That, to me, stood out. What really cemented it for me though is the hug scene :D Interesting, isn't it, that people ship them at different stages of the manga?
Hee, soul-deep isn't that lame, but maybe overused in fandom XD I can't quite say they are at that stage yet, but I think in terms of potential they can definitely go there ♥ It's what the fans make out of them after all :D I'm hoping the series will continue in an interesting vein! I guess for now she's revealing more and more (Kanda's backstory, haha) so...perhaps she's working to some...big...revelation? *is confused too*
Thank YOU for such a wonderful comment! I'm very flattered you commented on this, I'm glad you enjoyed the manifesto! ♥
no subject
Oh, also, good manifesto.
*too busy dancing in joy to remember why she liked it*
no subject
Haha, well, thanks anyway! XD I'm glad you liked it!
no subject
I’m also really glad that you chose to focus on their character development throughout the series as opposed to going off and just listing all the cute/squee-inducing/zomg they touched! moments. It often feels like D. Gray-Man is just filled to the brim with borderline yaoi fanservice, but really, Huggiez! =/= True Epic Love.
Allen affects Lavi in ways that Allen himself might not know about, and Lavi knows Allen maybe even more than what Allen might be comfortable with. I think they would be good for each other, even if the good might involve more struggle than what people would be accustomed to.
THIS. A thousand times this. I feel that, among all of the characters, these two are unique in that they would truly be able to understand one another. This of course could end up as being either a bad thing or a good thing (though of course as a shipper I would hope for good). I think you summed it up perfectly.
Also, yay for all the recs! There are so many I hadn’t seen or heard of before. I’ll be getting on that right about now.^^
Thanks again, and sorry for sounding so gushy. <_<;;
no subject
I'm glad you like the writing style~ I was going for the exact tone you mentioned, wanting to provide an explanation to those who ask "why Allen/Lavi?" but not forcing it down their throats at the same time, I'm glad it worked! Haha manga links are my sort of...evidence/citation per se, to help illuminate the points, glad you like it and got a chance to re-read bits of the manga at the same time ♥
Well, they do have one such squee-inducing TOUCH moment which is THE HUG :D But yup, the character development comes through in the little words they say/what they think about each other ♥ The funny thing is, D.Gray-man the manga itself isn't filled with that much fanservice (though I suspect the whole zombie arc is fanservice itself, but the rest is all on plot and stuff). All the fanservice come from the extra things like the Trading Card Games, the drama CDs and all, so the manga itself is up to our interpretation :D And that's why we have manifestos!
*squee* Thank you! I hope it's for good! Well, in a realistic fashion, it will be rather uncomfortable/awkward for them at first, but hopefully it works out :D
Am very glad the recs help :D Fanwork is one of the best part of fandom and shippers squealing over pairings, fantastic things are created out of it ♥
And no, not at all, don't ever be sorry for sounding gushy, it makes me happy to see that you enjoyed this so much *g* Thank you dear! ♥
no subject
I agree that The Hug really is an *extremely* important moment, which contrasts with the more fanservice-y stuff. I guess I was actually thinking more of the anime/art/etc when I wrote that. There’s just so much touchy-feeliness, I feel like the artists are toying with me sometimes. (Why, Self? Why can’t you just sit back and enjoy the beautiful Llaven filler? >.<)
But er, yeah, before I start babbling incoherently, I just wanted to say I’m glad you did such a great job parsing out the significant details in the manga from the “fluff” so to speak. I hate the stereotype of “dumb yaoi fangirl squeeing at bishies” and reading this essay made me feel really vindicated.^^
no subject
Imagine, if I put in the anime as well, the manifesto will explode out of the posting limits *_* And I don't think I can do any justice to the anime actually, seeing as I only watched bits and parts of it XD Although, when a friend and I had a discussion, she threw out anime evidence and I threw out manga evidence and it's kinda fun to see where the similarities and differences are. /babbling
I actually have written out some huge chunks on why the novel stories contribute to the pairing but, eh, no space to fit it in ;__; As it is this essay barely passed posting size. Maybe another time on
Babble away please, seeing as I've already done it ♥ I'm glad you feel vindicated! Adding analysis to anime/manga also gives me a reason to show it to my mum and somehow argue that I'm participating in an intellectually rigorous activity *g* Thank you once again~
no subject
Ah yes, I can see how going through the whole anime would be rather…daunting, lol. I haven’t read much of the novels myself, though, and I don’t think there’s enough discussion about them. I would totally love to read the other stuff you’ve written sometime! (And yes,
D. Gray-Man as a series isn’t even over yet so…maybe there’ll be cause for sequel to this in the future? ^_~
no subject
I have an impatience for fillers (even the 'Leaf of Revival' one, though I admit to laughing over the Allen/Lavi parts) so yep, it would be daunting indeed XD Although the episodes of Lavi's mind battle with Road was mad EXCITING :D And somebody actually went to count the number of times Allen said Lavi's name in those few episodes (in panic, in pleading, in anger etc) and came up to, I don't know, 20 plus or something. In two episodes. WIN. As for the novels, I found Lavi's story to be the most interesting, plus it gives a lot of material for analysing his character. So yes, we shall have more discussion about that!
(Do you need links to the novel translations? The links are collected here (http://www.dgraydivinity.net/forum/kandas-second-dojo/892-novel-translation-other-info.html). For Lavi's story, Part 1 (http://community.livejournal.com/dgray_man/658324.html), 2 (http://community.livejournal.com/dgray_man/712246.html), 3 (http://community.livejournal.com/dgray_man/741850.html), 4 (http://community.livejournal.com/dgrayman/34225.html), 5 (http://community.livejournal.com/dgrayman/91995.html). If you already have the links, well, uh, here's to prodding you into reading it XD)
Yup, I might make a post during the holidays in
no subject
Really 20+ times?!? Oh wow, that’s…that’s an awful lot. *g* I think it’s time to go
squee atwatch those eps again. XDMy friend sent me a link to the novels once, but I somehow never got around to reading. (yes I fail) Thank you so much! I just read Lavi’s story and just, well, gahhhh, Laviiiiii T_T Poor guy. The angst in this pairing is just through the roof.
An additional Allen/Lavi discussion with more interpretive stuff sounds awesome. (lol, is it bad that I love reading discussion as much as fanfic? I feel like the nerdiest of the nerdy. =x)
I think all I want for Christmas is more subtext. :D
no subject
*g* At least, if I didn't remember wrongly! Haha those are the few episodes that I would watch over (and over, and over) again. The sound effects, music and all were really rather spectacular. That's the non-biased bit. On the shippy side, well, it's self-explanatory ♥
It's okay, now you've read Lavi's story! :D It's just heartbreaking ;__; And totally makes me ship Doug/Lavi as sort of a secondary pairing XD But um, I got some of my interpretation of Lavi from how he interacted with Doug :D And from there how he later viewed Allen, so that's kinda fun, even if heartbreaking. I swear, his story is the most fleshed out of all the characters who got a story in the novels. Allen's one was alright, but not that interesting/exciting as Lavi's.
And I have to confess I haven't read Kanda's one.(Hee, then what does it say about me who wrote this manifesto and am currently happily discussing it with you and anyone who's willing to discuss it? We're all nerds, happily so ♥ And it's entirely acceptable because we're discussing a lovely, lovely pairing ♥)
*joins you in begging for subtext* We don't even need them to be a pair in canon! We just need subtext!
(ACTUALLY, there's something I didn't mention [because again, no space, and also because it was more crackish than actually adding to the discussion] but chapter 184 does have some subtext. I mean, we'd think it's a chapter for Allen/Lenalee subtext, right? But there's something in there Allen says that is a little suspicious...) ♥ Shall I leave it to you to find out? :D
no subject
lol, Kanda. No one cares about him, anyway.j/k, j/k!! I'm glad I wasn't the only one shipping Doug/Lavi after reading that.^^;;I feel like wanting this pairing to become canon is like asking for the moon, so really, more subtext is all I think I can ask for. XD
I'm not totally caught up with the manga, so I haven't seen it yet, but wheee now I'm excited! Guess I know what I'll be doing this weekend. :D
no subject
or a manifesto, for that matterXDShh, Kanda fangirls will kill you! *hides you* Whew, I guess I'm not alone in not knowing how to read Kanda then? I mean, he's kinda mysterious, but I never found myself really interested in him D: And nopey, you're not the only one! Doug/Lavi is very easy to ship *g* Though Doug isn't given much screentime so it's not a surprise that not many people would actively ship them, haha XD
Fangirls can always hope and wish :D Hmm, I think Hoshino is aware of her Allen/Lenalee fanbase, so chances are it'll happen that way, or to keep all of her readership happy she'll make it pairing-less. I'm in favour of the latter, just so fans can have space to play with the characters in fandom :D
*g* Not having read it means you'll have SO MUCH to discover and squeal over. Go go go! And hopefully when you've caught up you'll want to jump into the speculation that everyone is throwing around for the latest chapter XD ♥
no subject
squee'dfound it amusing when they broke out of the rock and Allen was still holding on to Lavi.Ahd oh, thank you for the rec! ♥ It was unexpected and made my heart jolt ♥
no subject
squee'd toouh, found it extremely amusing when they were still clinging onto each other (even while cursing each other). *wants to re-watch those episodes*You deserve to be recced, my dear ♥ Over a Cup of Tea made me sniffle for a rather long time, and your Bookman Lavi is so well written, I adore it so much ♥
Thank you for reading this, I'm glad you enjoyed it!
no subject
Aaaah really, thank you! ♥ I feel like I should go back and edit a bunch of the flaws it has. ♥♥
no subject
Haha one of the things I was telling
You're very welcome, you deserve the praise ♥ Haha, I guess a writer is always harshest on himself/herself, so edit it to your heart's content! ♥
no subject
Ah I've been keeping up with the manga, so I think I may know what you're talking about. Could it be the part where Link is yelling at Lenalee for being in the room, and Allen says something like, "Yeah, what if it had been Lavi here instead?" ♥ Or did I miss something?
I will get to it sometime then :]
no subject
!!! YES! Exactly! ♥ I stopped and stared for a very long time. I mean, it isn't exactly difficult to say "if it had been anyone else", so why did Allen feel the need to name names? It somehow suggests that Lavi regularly barges into the room...yes yes? It's like he knows Link regularly chases Lavi out... ♥ I might be reading too much into it but damn, that was fun. *wants to squeeze it into the manifesto*
no subject
Yessss, I just read it! Snowman Lavi? So cute. And the chapter was crazy. I cracked up from Kanda stealing Road's ribbon.
Haha! True, true. The scary (amazing) thing is that Hoshino has created Lavi as a character who would totally do something like that, coming into Allen's room and bugging him constantly so that Link has to kick him out. (I think you should add it ♥) Ah, a fanfiction in the making!
[btw, I'm totally adding you. Because oh my word, I think I see that you ship Sirius/Remus too ♥♥]
no subject
YES Snowman/doll Lavi! ♥ I really really want an icon of snowman Lavi next to snowman Allen now! They were definitely snuggling in the sack ♥ Though it escapes my comprehension why snowman Allen has blond hair, it's still adorable nonetheless. OH, HAHA when I read the spoilers of Kanda stealing Road's ribbon I was so sure it's a false spoiler, when it actually happened I gaped for a long time. The chapter was crazy indeed...
the 14th is so hot.Hoshino is amazing/scary that way ♥ I think she knows what she's doing, totally. Lavi is such an interesting character, he would really do something like bug Allen constantly and then when Bookman entrusts Lavi to oversee Allen's meeting with Cross he can be so serious. By the by, when Bookman tells Lavi to do so he had to remind Lavi that they were there as Bookmen that night, almost like he knows Lavi is wavering from the Bookman path...or that Lavi might interfere unintentionally. Ah haha fangirl interpretation FTW. Methinks I should add it in too! Now it's just figuring out where I can cut words from to add a paragraph or two in... *stares at manifesto* *prods you into writing fanfiction*
[YAY ADDED YOU BACK ♥ Oh my is it from
no subject
I think so too! Their friendship is too adorable to be just friendship :D. Lenalee is the type of person that loves all of the people she gets close to too much, specifically her brother. Plus, the last I checked, Lavi's the only one who's been graced with Allen's hug. Lenalee always comes to him
HAHA! That picture is indeed adorable; I wouldn't mind an icon of it too. (... is the snowman on the end Lenalee or Road?) I love the unsmiley Link as well :D
Yes, this. Have you thought about 14th/Deak(Bookman!Lavi)? :DDThat's why Lavi has always been my favorite character. He has his two different sides, like light and dark, just like Allen, and has to struggle with which he'll decide on later. I am really anticipating the chapters when Hoshino decides that Lavi is an important character again, and has him make his decision. I can already see this knowing look on Bookman's face, as if saying, "I see you're just as human as the rest of them..."
(Ooh, I already have too many unfinished fanfics in my documents! I will keep the idea in mind, though)
[Oh, I didn't notice! Are you participating too? :DD ♥♥♥]
no subject
About Allen actively hugging Lavi *g* I KNOW, RIGHT? I nearly mentioned that here, comparing it with Allen's awkwardness in hugging other people, only that it might have been construed as evidence against another pairing in other to justify this pairing, which is a no-go in the rules, so I took that out in order not to risk it (: But that's where I got the feeling that Allen might not be so touchy-feely with people - but for Lavi he did it, it's like he knows Lavi is a very physical person by nature and he uses that to try to appeal to Lavi to regain his senses. Oh, boys ♥
Oh, the snowman on the end is Road, which is sweet, but actually I would have liked it if it was Lenalee. The poor girl is neglected! At least Lavi gets his appearance in the form of a snowman plushie. Hee Link is so adorable too *squishes him*
Oh my god *g* Now that you mention it...14th/Bookman!Lavi would be so...gosh, HOT. But also a little...hmm, hmm, unemotional? If it's Bookman!Lavi, that is. The 14th I'm not quite sure of his personality as of yet, but I get the feeling that the two of them will make hot, emotionless no strings attached sex, ah ha. There was a fanart that showed both the normal Allen/Lavi side and the 14th/Bookman side reflected in the water, I should dig it up and send it to you ♥ Oh, I did read the 14th/Lavi before though, Kay Willow did an excellent 14th/Lavi arc, it was wonderfully tragic and beautiful to read.
That one time I had a struggle between Allen and Lavi when my friend asked who my favourite character was *g* In the end I decided on Allen, but largely for the same reasons you mentioned - Allen is so complex, and I find him the hardest to read. Lavi will definitely have to come to that decision later, I have faith that Hoshino won't forget the Bookmen - she did say she will reveal the reason behind Lavi's eyepatch and the story behind the Bookmen! I do hope it will end such that Bookman realises Lavi cannot be committed to becoming a Bookman - at least, I hope that Lavi realises he loves his friends and wants to stay with them and can't give up his 49th name that easily (:
(Do do! Haha I have so many half finished fics too, I must get to them during this holiday period ♥)
[Ah, I'm not participating this year because the semester was too crazy for me to even attempt a fic this time round, but I'm happily reading and commenting on the fics and art! Are you participating? ♥ Looking forward to your fic if you are! :D]
no subject
Boys indeed! I think Allen really just wanted to hug him for the heck of it. ....... kidding! I'm kidding! That's what I'd like to think anyway. But really, that part was so emotional, and Allen looked so devastated when Lavi said they weren't friends ;_;
Oooh, I thought it was Road... but then I thought it might be Lenalee, because Allen, Lavi and Kanda are there as well. She has been, but I kinda like Road a bunch more.
Then I need to find and read that! And I would love to see that drawing :D. I can totally imagine that kind of scenario with them, in a story where maybe Lavi and Allen don't know quite how they feel about each other? So their other personalities... express their inner emotions. Or something. ... :D ♥!
The eyepatch! Yes, she still has not revealed that! She's focused on Kanda at the moment, so I understand, but... how I want to know more about Lavi's past, and the Bookmen! Like, who and where are the other Bookmen in the world? At least I think there are more, because they said they were a clan... I'm dying to know, so I'm hopeful too.
(I've actually always wanted to write a fic on how Lavi met Bookman in the first place... I think I'll get some of my stories done when holidays come too)
[Yup, I am, though it will probably appear later because I completely fail at posting html. Oh, and my gift is actually a series of drawings, kind of like a comic ♥ I wanted to write something too, but didn't have enough time]
no subject
It's such a huge cliffhanger! Hmm, I kinda don't want Allen to completely snap, though like you said if he does and Lavi is the one to pull him out of it... *fangirl squeal* Okay, if that's the case, I don't mind XD Now I think he's just gonna be wallowing in Kanda's memories for a while though D: And I have no idea how long she's gonna make that...Lavi will be a long time in coming, it seems ;__;
Ooooh, like, "might as well"? Hee I'd love to think that too ♥ It's like, once he figured out that the sword cannot exorcise anything since it's not an evil spirit lodged in Lavi or something, and since he didn't want to fight Lavi, the next best thing = hug + "can't you hear my voice?" Allen was so devastated - which is very interesting, because imagine, if they were to ever take a further step in their relationship this might actually be hanging over them. Or at least, hanging over Lavi - and Allen would want to find out what this all means anyway.
Also, it seems like Allen is the only one who caught the reference to maybe other people of the Bookmen group having been on the Noah's side before...okay, the translation on onemanga and mangafox for chapter 101 is not that accurate, but Devitt was supposed to say something along the lines of "hmm, so he's with the Bookmen - oh, so he's on your side now". Sooooo, the notions have already been planted into Allen's head - if they ever deal with the Bookmen issue it'll be fun to see how he and Lavi interacts ♥
Hee, Hoshino and her OT4 much? Yup, she did that for chapter 188, now with Link! Seems like Link is getting to be rather important in her books. Aww, Road as a plushie is a cutie - and kinda sinister too, the way she knows to push Kanda's buttons :O
Okay, found the drawing! Not sure who the artist is though...here (http://pics.livejournal.com/leafyaki/pic/0008wrky/s320x240) :D I love how it's depicted - through the water it's Allen's and Lavi's more sinister sides ♥ And the fics here in a trilogy - His Borrowed Toys (http://community.livejournal.com/figment_tree/56671.html), His Broken Remnants (http://community.livejournal.com/figment_tree/57655.html), and <a href="http://community.livejournal.com/figment_tree/60114.html>His Never Home</a>. Hope you enjoy these, it's incredibly lovely. Oh my, and you just planted a plot bunny into my head... *g* *crosses fingers* And Bookman and Cross know about the other side of the war! Is it what is being revealed to us now, or is it something more/something else? (Oh my, yes, do! I have some Lavi meeting Bookman fics I really like...I'll dig out the links again. Didn't link them in this manifesto cause they're gen stories XD Would love to read your version!) [AND HOMG DRAWINGS! ♥ That's so awesome! I'll love to see it, very much looking forward to it! ♥]
no subject
I have a feeling that there will be a point where Allen is completely gone (well, not completely, but in a sense); I've seen a bunch of manga with that "dark side" kind of thing with the main character... Syaoran from TRC, and not that I really like them, but Ichigo from Bleach, and Naruto from... yeah. They always pull through though! ♥
Haha! I love that; if fighting won't work... then I'll hug him! xD
It would seem like something that would loom over their relationship... maybe in the back of Lavi's mind, it does? Because when it was over, they were both like, "You're an idiot, you tried to kill yourself with fire," "No you're an idiot, you jumped into it!" It's so cute how they just got over that (at least on the outside) ♥♥
Ahhhhhhhh yeah! They are supposed to be very neutral group, so of course they'd think he was taking sides while with the Order... But that's interesting! I wonder what the other Bookmen think of that, and what they would do if they found out about Lavi's conflicting emotions. Could they be really strict, like the Order? I guess we'll have to wait and see...
I really like Link for some reason, so that's a plus for me :D ... Actually, I like just about every character in DGM :o They're all just so amazing ♥♥
I love that drawing-- wish it was bigger though. I'll read the fics when I have a bit more time (I still need to catch up with
Plot bunny? What plot bunny? :DD
(I've never come across one... I'd love to see them! The way I pictured it was Bookman traveling though some rural village, Lavi finding out about the Bookmen, and... begging him to be his apprentice xD Dunno if others are like that)
[Haaa I'm nervous. They're not colored, and it's so fluffy xD I hope everyone likes them ♥]
no subject
Oh, I see what you mean, when you made a reference to Syaoran from TRC - his was quite an interesting case though, the idea of a fake clone VS. real person thing. Allen is pretty much going through the same thing with the whole "who did Mana love?" and perhaps even whether his identity is really his, or whether it's partly the 14th...it will be very interesting if he were to break down from this, if the 14th is persuasive and powerful enough that his iron-will can no longer withstand the power of the 14th. *shivers* I have faith that Hoshino loves Allen well enough that he will pull through, though!
And who knows, maybe with Lavi's help as you mentioned ♥♥♥Oh god, they were both so adorable! Allen was so pissed off at Lavi! Even with his polite speech and all we could all see that ♥ And I think the gaze Allen sent Lavi here (http://www.onemanga.com/D.Gray-Man/122/16/) (last panel) is very telling - he sort of knows that Lavi had some sort of mind battle which Bookman would not agree with, but he was just not going to pry then. So it'll definitely add more complexity to their relationship :D
If there were other Bookmen, it'd be rather interesting to study the clan as a whole...and whether Hoshino even lets us do that, that is! And then there's the whole issue of Lavi's right eye - some speculate it has something to do with his road to becoming a Bookman, which is interesting to say the least...all we have now are speculations and more speculations :X
Link is becoming awesome ♥ I was quite neutral to him at the beginning but now he's belongs in the level of awesome for me ♥ Oh Link, using his job as a cover-up for his anxiety and all that in chapter 189 ♥
Gah, and I was being an idiot when I posted that link, should have removed the resizing...here's (http://pics.livejournal.com/leafyaki/pic/0008wrky/) a better link! :D Apologies for the HTML fail in the previous post >_< And as for Lavi meeting Bookman, I currently found two, need to find the links of some others I recall reading...Dhampir72 is writing an epic called 'Bookman (http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3615690/1/Bookman)', which explores the idea of a Bookman clan. I hadn't caught up with her recent chapters though. For a one-shot, I absolutely adore Libek's 'Children Shouldn't (http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5145490/1/Children_Shouldnt)', which again is a very different take on how Lavi meets Bookman and which is absolutely chilling. Oh, and it does somewhat follow the way you pictured it - well, I'll leave it to you to find out how this fic was written! I hope you enjoy these! :D
Hee, the plot bunny you planted in me was of how Lavi met Bookman. I've never thought of how they met, but after reading these and thinking about it, it'd be fun to explore something like that... *notes it in list of fics to write*
Haha, I know what you mean! I'm barely keeping up with the fics everyday as it were - hope you enjoy them though, I've found all the gifts rather lovely! (And I'm sure yours will be fine ♥ The fact that you're doing an art piece is awesome in itself, I really do look forward to seeing it! Don't worry too much *hugs* ♥)
no subject
Haha... TRC was insane, what with all of the clones and everything. I got so confused at so many parts... -.- Have you read till the ending yet?
I can feel a breakdown coming soon... If he somehow gets out of the pickle with the Noah, and he's not taken with them, instead taken somewhere to be protected, I can see him being overwhelmed by the 14th (btw, I wonder what his real name is?).
Yes! She's "killed" Allen before and brought him back, so I think she loves him enough :D
Hmmm.... maybe all apprentice Bookmen have an "eye" that's covered, and can only take it off when they become Bookman. As for its significance, I have no idea what it does. Except maybe something to do with "seeing" better. :shrug:
I hope the story gets to them some time!
Same! Same! I thought he was kind of funny when he brought Allen a pie, but he was kinda "blah" in the beginning. He's really getting to be amazing ♥
AHHHH it's beautiful! And I read 'Children Shouldn't' (because it was short) and it WAS AMAZING. Wow. Haunting and slightly creepy, but sooo believable and interesting! I never would have thought of Lavi being such a morbid child xD 'Bookman' looks pretty long... so I'll get to it later :D
Yay! We can both write our own versions :DD :wants to search Bookman-Lavi fics now:
Yup, the gifts so far are great :3 Of the ones I've read so far, I lovelovelove 'Looking West' and 'Joy' ♥
(I hope so... aha.... [I should post more; my journal is pretty pathetic -_-;;] Thanks!! ♥♥♥)
no subject
The 14th might overpower him eventually, hmm. I had the feeling, in chapter 189, that while Allen might have been temporarily strong enough to push back the 14th, it might also have been partially the 14th giving in and backing away, sort of like...indulging in his host. Hmm. I don't know. But mindbreaking is very possible, only that Allen will not allow himself to break until he accidentally lets his guard down and then, goodbye Allen, hello 14th ;_; It will be super exciting indeed. I have read some fics where the 14th is nice, and some others where he's pretty evil, guess people will skew more toward the latter now? But I'm still not sure about that - just because he wants to be the next Earl doesn't mean he's evil, right? It's like, the Earl is not evil either, he has different motives from the Exorcists, true, but his values of family first is a valid value and it seems like he really wants the 14th back and all, so...
/ramblingActually, I lie, I always ramble >_<It's quite possible, the Bookman thing. There are quite a lot of theories floating around, and I think the one most people subscribe to is that the other eye is too powerful at recording stuff/memories, so maybe Lavi has to keep it covered till he can control it? Hoshino did say she has a story behind that, so it's probably not just blind/useless?
And I'm glad you read and liked 'Children Shouldn't'! It's awesome, isn't it? I couldn't stop gaping for the whole night after I read it. I still don't quite see it as canon though it is very well written and quite credible, but it's definitely something I'd recommend to anyone who's interested in Lavi and Bookman :]
'Looking West' was pretty brilliant ♥ I'm afraid I don't quite remember 'Joy' though. I do remember distinctly that the standard is pretty high this year, and I liked all the fics for different reasons, so kudos to all participants! (And yep, do post more in your journal ♥ I didn't know you draw, for one! A writer and artist in one, wow ♥)
no subject
Indulging in his host? Ooh, I like the sound of that. I don't think he's evil. A little creepy, but not evil. And the Earl is too funny to be completely evil. He's totally the coolest "the bad guy" character xD
Plus Lavi was telling himself that it's "slower working with one eye," when he was looking for that key in the Ark, so that must mean it's functioning for something, right?
I gaped twice, at two distinct parts of the story. I don't think it could be canon either, but... it could be something like it. Maybe his parents died in some similar, horrific way.
I've finally read all of them, and I have so many more to declare love to! 'Defense Tactics,' 'Crossroads,' and 'Christmas Past' were effing amazing. Augh wow. Makes me feel like new, awesome things can always be created for an old fandom.
(Aww thank you, I'm not all that good though. I am going to draw and write a bunch though over the break, so that should bulk it up a bit! ♥)
no subject
Enjoy ♥
no subject
no subject
I'm really remembered why I like this pairing so much. (But honestly, I started with the anime, and it manipulates you into liking it, I SWEAR! The fillers, the hug, the glomp! ^^ Eye-candy like woah!)
Huh, I’m certain that’s the longest thing I have ever written that doesn’t involve song lyrics. I’m pretty sure I love you for writing this. (The fact that you always comment on my FSTs does NOT help. And your Allen-and-Lavi-in-pink-rabbit-suits icon doesn’t either.^^) But alas, I think I should end this before I start to creep you out... :P
no subject
I'm flattered~ I'm not quite sure about the genius part, so maybe going with 'insane' is a better option ;) Anyway, thank you very much for your comment! I'm doubly flattered that you said this is the longest thing you wrote that doesn't involve lyrics ♥
I don’t think I ever realized how similar those two are, despite being my favorite characters in the series.
Yes, when I realized their similarities I was startled for a while, too. At least, they are similar enough in terms of their past and their methods of covering up their emotions that I think that's how they can connect with each other; but at the same time, they are different enough in terms of personality and thoughts that it makes their relationship interesting ♥ Yeah, Lavi seems like he can swing either way, doesn't he? :D
Ah heh, I'm actually hoping somebody would write an Allen/Kanda manifesto! At least it would explain to me why people ship them, even if I won't be entirely convinced XD
Oooh yeah I've heard some good things about the anime, especially the filler arc with Lavi giving Allen a piggy-back ride. I admit I watched that filler only for that purpose. And I definitely went to see how they did the HUG scene - I must say, the creators outdid themselves for those few episodes, I was very impressed. Still partial to the manga, but I do love catching episodes 88 and 89 from time to time ♥
And I love you for commenting on this! ♥ (Hee, the fact that you make awesome FSTs does NOT help either ;D) I don't believe you will creep me out though, I'm usually the one creeping other people out XD So I'd say, talk as much as you want, always happy to hear your comments!
no subject
Plus it's late and I'm half-dead. Maybe I'll come back at a later time and actually give you a decent response.But I love you for this. Forever. ♥
no subject
*snuggles you* Thank you, my dear! :D It's awesome that you like this!
Heh and hope you had a decent sleep!You know I love you too ♥
no subject
Personally I think that Lavi and Allen have a platonic relationship, but it's a wonderful, funny, adorable, angsty, awesome, interesting, so great it makes me fangirl kind of relationship, so I have no problem seeing it as something more in fandom. ;D Which, true, is how I feel about a lot of relationships in DGM, but they all make me fangirl in different ways/for different reasons. With Allen and Lavi they have such an understanding bond, and are such good friends, and so many other reasons, I love it so much~ <3
The hug scene, besides being so very fangirlable, is probably one of my favorite moments for them. You can just see how desperate Allen is, and I love the way the anime adapted it, the way the music stops for a moment when Allen puts his arm around Lavi and you can hear the gripping sound as he pulls him close and says "Can't you hear my voice?" and then the Lavi's Despair OST track starts playing and it's so incredibly angsty yet I love it. Wh-why are you looking at me like I have watched this scene and the rest of Lavi vs Road/himself/Allen a million time?
Which I totally haveIt's starts off so angsty and sad, but then ends on such a heart warming note, with the way Lavi regains control and Allen saves him and screams for him and "bookman junior" hears him inside of Road's world and says "you're me too" to the place where "Lavi" disappeared in the water. And there were a couple more things I wanted to say about how awesome the use of "Jean and Leo" and "Good News" from the OST are in those episodes, because I am a soundtrack geek like that. OH! After the bookman junior part, when Allen manages to reach Lavi, grab his hand, and Crown Clown wraps around them etc, Good News starts playing (I really did not expect it to have this name XD), and it's so epic. But more than that, when Allen grabs Lavi's hand, it has this feeling like "I'm here" and yadda yadda I could talk all day about how awesome those parts are. <3And I also love how after the Ark arc, they go around together so much; the idea (and many fanfics) of the two of them just wandering the Order and sometimes causing trouble is so fun to me. XD
It also fits into my OT4 crack wishes of Lavi and Allen teasing Kanda about having a ~girlfriend~ after this arc is over and Lenalee trying to stop him from hurting them. XD...I ramble OTL. Thank you for writing this, I never would have expected to find a ship manifesto for Allen/Lavi because....idk I just didn't think I would. XD You did a very great job, and I also now want to do a full re-read and re-watch of the manga and anime respectively, especially because I looked up the hug scene on youtube and am like OH YEAH THOSE SEXY VOICE ACTORS. THAT AWESOME OST. Must watch again....I think this is the longest LJ comment I've ever made. XD
no subject
It's perfectly wonderful to see them having a platonic relationship, especially since, like you said, their relationship is an interesting and fun one :D Allen/Lavi is definitely my choice of ship when it comes to light-hearted banter, they are just such, such boys, and that's why I enjoy reading and writing about them so much ♥ AND YES, I think you've got it spot-on *g* While it might take a bit of work, they understand or at least can come to understand each other, and that's always a lovely process to see in any relationship :D
Oh my god THE hug. I smile everytime I think of it. It unfortunately makes me look psychotic but, eh, yes, FANGIRL MATERIAL. You've analysed it better than I could ♥ The most I can say is "the music is AWESOME" but I never realized the track names that they're playing. IKR, the whole it's-angsty-and-yet-I-love-it feel the scene has to it. The part where Allen's eyes widen when Lavi says "I never treated you as my friend" and the way Allen
looks likeis begging when he puts his head against Lavi's shoulder. And the way Lavi's eye flickers when Allen spits out blood in the anime! Oh, someone else pointed this out to me: the way within two episodes Allen says Lavi's name at least fifteen to twenty times. Oh no, you're looking at me like I have read the scene in the manga countless times and actually counted the number of times Lavi's name was said...which I did *g*I adore the part where Lavi hears him, that was such an OTP moment. It was what made up his mind that "you're me too", that and the empty Ace of Spades card (which is THE OTP item for them, or something XD). Oh my, "Good News"? Excellent naming - and I love that you're a soundtrack fan because I'd never have noticed any of this on my own XD Oh gosh yes they're like the trust and reassurance pairing, the "I'm here" feeling and the whole we will get through this tone ♥
They love hanging out with each other, don't they? XD I'd expect Bookman to get suspicious, heh. I mean, Lavi liking to read books is no big news. But Lavi offering his company when Allen is stuck doing paperwork and getting all grrr over it when Link flatly refuses to let him follow? *fangirl senses tingling* And I might not have mentioned this, but I love how Lavi is always touching Allen in some way, arm around shoulder or hug or something.
It's not that crackish, I believe :P They'll be the perfect pair of troublemakers for Kanda :] And Lenalee, the poor girl, has to be damage control - I bet she'll whack them HARD over their heads with her trusty clipboard. And the cycle will just repeat itself.Thank you for reading this! I'm glad this manifesto came as a pleasant surprise ;) Your comment also made me want to re-read the manga, ahhhh, the hug scene. I'm very honoured to have prompted you to write a long comment~ It's lovely to read your thoughts, thank you for stopping by ♥
no subject
Lavi will propose to Allen with the Ace of Spades card y/y? ;D Okay that might not work because it's related to a lot of angst between them...wait why am I thinking about such a crack question seriously? XD
no subject
OMG!!! I agree with you on evrything!! you are amazing no... AWESOME for writing this!!! LAVEN FOREVER!!!
kh07gl~<3
no subject
Hope we get to see more Allen/Lavi interaction in the manga soon~