This is a re-upload. I wrote this years back, and I posted it on this site in 014 -along with the other parts of the manifesto. But sadly, I was editing my blog, and accidentally deleted this section. So I am re-uploading it.
I make a few “Hoshino said” references in my writings. They’re from an interview she did on the top 10 DGM characters in the Charagray fanbook. Cross was #10.
Link to the interview for Cross. This should be read first, then there’s no confusion.
I have done other writings on Cross’ character -found in my blog. Anyone interested, please give a read.
Intro
For new readers, this is my rundown on Cross, and his reputation as a misogynist womanizer. I notice it tons on this site, and fanfics how Cross seems to have acquired this reputation. Basically, he has no respect for women, mistreats them, and either doesn’t consider them humans with feelings -or doesn’t care. At best, Anita will be written as the 1 exception.
Idk where this started, and why. Because it was never shown in the manga that he hated, dismissed, or mistreated, women. And Hoshino has never gone out of her way to show that. So, this entry covers this aspect of his character. And why I feel it makes no sense for so many to have this idea.
Now on to the the meat of things.
Word of God
First off, Hoshino, herself, debunks Cross being a misogynist in official character into. One of his likes in his character info is “good women.” That already tells us he’s not a misogynist. Because they, by definition, do not like women.
A misogynist may use a woman for his own personal gain now and again, but he does not care anything for them. Such as sex. They want and like sex, because it pleases them, but they don’t care about the woman. Or in case of abusers, they like power and control / domination, rather than the woman -in most cases.
If this was the case with Cross, I doubt Hoshino would state that he liked nice women. She’d probably write that one of his likes was “sex” or “domination.”
Here’s a JUMP page with the character profiles. And once again, Cross stated to like women (and wine).
http://jumpsq.shueisha.co.jp/rensai/d-greyman/
So again, THE MAN LIKES WOMEN. In which case, I doubt he’s intentionally mistreating women, or dehumanizing them.
The official info pretty much debunks this idea of woman-hater Cross, and the rest of this essay is not needed. But just to cover the actual manga, and what we do see.
Sad News + Reaction
First off, lets observe how he handles Anita’s death. We seem a look of sorrow as he finds she’s passed away.
Now, Anita is Cross’ only shown lover in canon. She was his most recent one, and important as she gives his whereabouts, and a ship to go to him regarding his current mission.
He was sad about Anita’s death, I feel he would react the same to finding out any other lover of his had passed away. However, Anita was killed by an Akuma, while looking for him. So, that probably was a harder blow, as Cross may feel somewhat responsible, and thus guilty. I don’t think he wants any of his lovers dying because of him.
He cared a good deal for her. But I do not agree that his feelings of care were limited strictly to Anita, and “to hell with the other sluts” -as it seems to be commonly thought.
Anita’s Feelings!
We meet one of his lovers, and it seems she has nothing but fond thoughts of him. So, apparently, he was a good lover, and treated her well.
She was moved to tears when hearing he may be alive.
And Mahoja mentions how her world crashed when she heard cross was dead.
This doesn’t seem to be showing us a horrible man with no redeeming qualities.
Now, you could say “He loved her specifically.” So, he cared about her to be good to her.”
But, later, on the ship, Anita tells Len, and us readers, that Cross had a relationship with her mother as well.
Anita says her mother fell hard for Cross when she saw him. She even became a supporter of the Order for him.
Apparently, after getting involved with him, she thought he was a wonderful man, and apparently wonderful enough to want to support an organization, just because it was something he believed in (far as they knew).
Anita continues to support, even after her mother’s death. Above, she says that she supports The Order just because she wants to do something for Cross -like her mother did before her.
The fanbook states Anita likes Romance + Cross, and that she dislikes Cowardly Mean people.
Going on her dislike of mean people, Mahoja seems to show that. She appearsto be a bouncer for Anita’s brothel.
Note that Anita has a woman for security of her establishment, and not a man. So may hint at some caution she has with men given her profession. Anita’s probably run into many misogynistic men before. So highly likely she has no tolerance for such. Mahoja, she can fully trust around her brothel, and to deal with any men who wanna cause trouble.
Now, going on her likes, Cross is a man she likes specifically, and apparently, he wasn’t mean or disgusting, to her, or her mother. I think Anita would know about his behavior toward her mother, since they lived together.
She’s known Cross for years, She was 27 upon her death, and her mother died before she turned 18 -as she tells Lenalee when explaining the origin of her hair clips.
So, being 17 at the oldest upon her mother’s death, Anita has known Cross at least 10 years. If Cross mistreated women -like her mother, would Anita be so crazy about him? I think not, since she clearly has no respect for mean people. A misogynistic abuser probably goes into the “mean” category.
A woman like her being so taken with Cross humanizes him. We see there’s other sides to him that are in fact lovable. But rather than see the humanization, people just twist it into “Cross is still a misogynist, Anita was just the one woman who had his respect.”
I didn’t wanna drag down pacing much, so I wrote a bit more on my thoughts on Cross x Anita in a separate entry. Can be found in my blog. I keep my writings reblogged to the top so they’re found quickly.
It’s more of a small vent -so no manga panels for back-up, because the bigger things were covered here.
Lenalee
Let me bring in Lenalee. She’s the one we’ve seen him with the most. Cross was very protective, but still flirtatious, with her.
When he’s on the ark, waiting on Allen to stop the download, Cross holds Lenalee close to protect her.
He, later, tells her she has become a beautiful woman, and has gotten better at expressing herself than before.
So, clearly he’s had an eye on her for a while, and paid enough attention to know she hid her emotions. He was familiar with the fact she had problems and was repressed. Cross has emotional intelligence. He saw her as a person, not just a walking toy.
A big thing next, we know Cross hates the Order. He’s been in hiding for 4 years, and was going to run off the instant he was brought back.
But, what keeps him there?
He stayed, and went to a meeting, underwent interrogation, inspection, house arrest, guarded, and I think, confined to a desk job.
All this because, Lenalee begged him not to leave again.
That’s a lot of hassle, and annoyance, to endure for a girl you’re not even involved with.
He hates the Order, and didn’t feel like dealing them, plus what he knows is extra trouble for his disappearance and disregard of the rules.
But, even though he hates the organization, he couldn’t bring himself to ignore Lenalee’s request. And Allen even theorizes that Komui put Lenalee on Cross’ team for that very reason.
That doesn’t seem like the actions of a man whom the author intended as a woman-hater who is cruel or dismissive to women.
Also note that after Miranda becomes an Exorcist, she’s sent in the direction of Cross’ team. So Komui wasn’t shy putting some women on Cross’ team to keep him from running.
Other
Allen says, when he traveled with Cross, he lived with, and off of lovers.
Apparently, his lovers welcome him with open arms, house him of their own accord, and give him money.
He forms bonds with them. He doesn’t just hit and run…..unless said women has a boyfriend or husband who just came home. XD
If Cross was a misogynist who mistreated them, would he have so many lovers willing to put up with him?
Even if they’re brothel maidens, they are just obligated to sleep with him -should he have the money, but they don’t have to house or actually date him.
After throwing Allen away from him, Cross yells at Lavi to stay away as well because they’re filthy, and he hates being around filth. However, he doesn’t mind a filthy woman.
Again, if Cross didn’t care about women at all, or outside of sex, then why put up with a woman that’s filthy? He just seems very accepting of women.
Once again, his official character profile says he likes “good women.” Now, if he only thinks women are good for sex, then what’s a “good” one from a “bad” one. What difference would it make?
He wouldn’t be around long enough to see or care about the kind of woman it was.
For Cross, Anita was a “good woman.” And given how Anita respect and emulates her mother, she was probably the same -another lover of Cross.
And as great as Anita was, she still didn’t know if she’d lived up to her mother, as she asks silently when she dies.
So, it seems he likes nice women. Anita was a prostitute, which isn’t the most respectable thing, but, Cross didn’t think badly of her.
Cross knows a lot of bitter things in this war, as stated by Hoshino, and it may make him feel better to be with women. His lovers probably genuinely make him happy, or as happy as he can be.
He says Klaud is “always a nice woman” in his quote to her on the relationship chart of Charagray. Klaud, like Anita, is caring, compassionate, and kind. Evidently, she’s a real people-person.
Klaud doesn’t seem to care for Cross’ advances, and is a bit cold around him-being put-off by his antics. But, even though she’s not warm and cozy with him, he still seems to think fondly of her. He knows, recognizes, and likes, that she’s a nice woman -even though she’s not nice to him.
Cross shows interest in Lenalee as well. She’s kind, and compassionate-a bit. Her affinity is very high, scoring a perfect 5.
So, I think “good” is referencing to the actual woman herself -her persona. A nice woman he can have a good time with. And if they let him hang around, he probably appreciates that, and a nice relationship with them. And the feeling is mutual.
But no 100% exclusivity, as he does leave after a while. And there are, and will be, other women he likes.
Allen
We also have this scene during chapter 169 -after the Akuma insults Miranda.
This seems like some of Cross’ influence. Notice how this takes place after Cross is believed to be killed, and possibly after Allen already listened to his message.
He took Allen in at the age of 10. So, I think anything Allen learned about women, or how to behave around women, came from Cross.
Before Mana died, Allen was more gruff. Mana was polite to everyone. He wouldn’t address anyone in a rude manner -women & men alike. He stepped in to stop Allen from attacking Cosmov, who didn’t deserve protection.
Then you have Cross who is more gruff and sometimes plain rude. However, we see him show a softer tone with girls. And that seems to mirror what Allen is displaying in this particular scene above.
In the message, Cross tells Allen to stop wearing the Mask of Mana. He encourages Allen being his old / true self. Then Lenalee and Johnny notice how Allen’s speech has changed and he’s less formal -somewhat closer to how he used to be.
So while going back a bit to the old Allen -like Cross wanted, we see him bring up how you’re not supposed to address women.
So Allen is getting his more gruff self back, yet still believes in being more respectful towards women.
That seems like Cross. Because again, Mana was basically a pushover. He was extra nice and meek towards everyone.
The real Allen was not like that. And Cross was mostly gruff, but with a softness toward women, and possibly kids (Allen). So he probably would encourage that with Allen, especially if they traveled together and were around his lovers. “Be yourself, but respectful toward the ladies.”
*Anita’s Death / Moving On
Some may be skeptical on everything I have said about Cross given how quickly he seems to handle, and get over, Anita’s death -flirting with Klaud + Lenalee.
I am going to use Anita, herself as an example, as she did something similar. She’s a kind, loving, nurturing, compassionate woman, right?
Keeping that in mind, she says her mother was in love with Cross, and had a relationship, with him.
Her mother died, then she slept with Cross too. Would her mother be happy that her daughter started up a sexual relationship with the man she loved?
Anita’s character is shown as a very kind woman -regardless. I see many fans use that for a strike against Cross. “He did her mother, now he’s doing her too.”
Anita and her mother are 2 different women. He liked them both. If it’s not bad on Anita, then it shouldn’t be bad on Cross either.
I don’t think there should be fault with Cross for engaging in the company of different women when he’s constantly in different places, wanted by many enemies in a war, and is probably used to losing people.
It’s not like he has the kind of life where he can settle down and get married.
Even Cross needs nice company every now and again, because I am sure, despite how he comes off, he’s a very conflicted and hurt guy.
He’s human-he has feelings. If anything, he’s similar to an adult version of Kanda -whom everyone loves.
Cross visits brothels quite a bit. Anita was a whore, along with other lovers of his, I am sure. So, it’s not like they don’t, or won’t, sleep with other men.
Anita is the owner of the best brothel on a port.
Anita & her mother met Cross in a brothel. So I doubt either of them got the idea he was a virgin or a man who’s never looked at, or slept with, other women.
I don’t think him flirting with Klaud or Lenalee diminishes Cross’ feelings for her. I believe he still cares a great deal for her. But now that he knows she’s dead, he may try hard not to think about her, or doesn’t want to -along with anybody he’s lost.
Hoshino stated he’s a man who lives hiding many bitter things. And Cross’ character quote says that Sake is good medicine, which tells us Cross drowns his sorrows.
Cross, to help himself feel better and get through it, tries directing his attention to the good women that are still alive, whom he can actually be with, rather than grieve the losses that probably pile on to the bitter thoughts in his head already. This is covered more in Part 2: Not So Heartless. Found in my blog. Go to my Archives, and it’ll be in the top.
Conclusion
Cross seems Polyamorous -if I had to give a name. Poly is the practice of ethical non-monogamy. People who engage in romantic relations with different partners, and it’s genuine. It’s the belief that you can be happy with, and like, more than 1 person.
The manga is all about bring gray -where hardly anyone is completely good or bad, and that there is an in-between. Cross’ relations with women seem to go to that aspect, like other parts of his character. I think people having a black and white view on sex caused this rift with Cross. So many think a man who sleeps around is automatically a misogynist that doesn’t respect or have attachment to women -and that is not true across the board, and certainly doesn’t appear to be true with Cross.
Cross in not monogamous. Nobody argues that. But non-monogamy isn’t a black and white deal where it automatically means you don’t care about your any partners.
Cross is said to have gifts given to him from his lovers that he hangs on to, and keeps in his room at his church. That is covered more in Part 2: Not so Heartless. I thought it’d go better there, but it was a tricky call.
This is a re-upload. I wrote this years back, and I posted it on this site in 014 -along with the other parts of the manifesto. But sadly, I was editing my blog, accidentally deleted this section. So I am re-uploading it.
For new readers, this is my rundown on Cross, and his reputation as a “womanizer.” I notice it tons on this site, in posts, RPs, and fanfics how Cross seems to have acquired this reputation as a misogynist. Where he basically, he has no respect for women, mistreats them, and either doesn’t consider them humans with feelings -or doesn’t care about their feelings. Women are just something to sexually please him and get lost. However, at best Anita will be written as the 1 exception where he only sees her as human and worthy to be free of his abuse.
Idk where this started, and why. Because it was never shown in the manga that he hated, dismissed, looked down on, or mistreated, women. And Hoshino has never gone out of her way to show that was ever the case. So, this entry covers this aspect of his character. And why I feel it makes no sense.
I make a few "Hoshino said" references in my writings. They're from an interview she did on the top 10 DGM characters in the Charagray fanbook. Cross was #10.
Link to the interview for Cross. This should be read first, then there’s no confusion.
First off, Hoshino debunks Cross being a misogynist in official character into. One of his likes in his character info is “good women.” That already tells us he’s not a misogynist. Because a misogynist, by definition, does not like women.
A misogynist may use a woman for his own personal gain now and again, but he does not care anything for her. Such as having sex with them. But that’s because they want and like SEX, not the woman they have it with. And after that’s done, he has no further use or want, for her. If this was the case with Cross, I doubt Hoshino would state that he liked nice women. It may be written instead that one of his likes was “sex”, instead of “good women.”
Here’s a JUMP page with the character profiles. And once again, Cross stated to like women (and wine).
http://jumpsq.shueisha.co.jp/rensai/d-greyman/
Now, lets move on to observing what we see in the manga.
First off, lets observe how he handles Anita’s death. We seem a look of sorrow as he finds she's passed away.
Now, Anita is Cross' only shown lover, canonly. She was his most recent one, and important as she gives his whereabouts, and a ship to go to him regarding his current, and very important mission.
He was sad about Anita's death, I feel he would react the same to finding out any other lover of his had passed away.
However, Anita was killed by an Akuma, while looking for him.
So, that probably was a harder blow, as Cross may feel somewhat responsible / guilty, even though he told her not to come. I don't think he wants any of his lovers dying, or risking themselves for him.
He cared a good deal for her. I just don't think his feelings of care were limited strictly to Anita, and "to hell with the other sluts" -as that’s one of the things I see in Fanon Profiles, RPs and Fanfics. He’s a misogynist, but Anita is made to be the only woman he sees as a human being, while abusing and disrespecting every other women he’s come in contact with.
*Anita’s Feelings!
I think Hoshino killed 2 birds with one stone with Anita. Cross is shown to have an eye for the ladies.
Now, we meet one of his lovers, and it seems she has nothing but fond thoughts of him. So, apparently, he was a good lover, and treated her well.
Now, you could say "That just meant he loved her specifically." So, he cared about her to be good to her.
But, later, on the ship, Anita tells Len, and us readers, that Cross had a relationship with her mother as well.
Anita says her mother fell hard for Cross when she saw him. She even became a supporter of the Order for him.
Apparently, after getting involved with him, she thought he was a wonderful man, and apparently wonderful enough to want to financially support an unknown organization just because he's in it.
Anita continues to support, even after her mother's death. Above, she says that she supports the Order just because she wants to do something for Cross -like her mother did before her.
In Anita’s character info -stated in official fanbooks, she likes Romance and Cross. She dislikes Cowardly Mean People.
Going on her dislike of mean people, Mahoja seems to show that a bit. She seems to be a bouncer for Anita’s brothel.
Note that Anita has a woman for security, and not a man. So may hint at some caution she has with men given her profession. She’s probably run into many misogynistic / bad men before. So highly likely she has no respect for such men.
Now, going on her likes, Cross is a man she likes specifically, and apparently, he wasn't mean or disgusting, to her, nor her mother. I think Anita would know about his behavior toward her mother, since they lived together.
She's known Cross for years, She was 27 upon her death, and her mother died before she turned 18 -as she tells Lenalee when explaining the origin of her hair clips.
So, being 17 at the oldest upon her mother's death, Anita has known Cross at least 10 years.
If Cross mistreated women -like her mother, would Anita be so crazy about him?
Just sad, and clueless, that so many think a lady like Anita would fall in love with a misogynist when it’s been written as canon that she dislikes mean people. A misogynist being mean is a HUGE understatement.
*Lenalee:
Let me bring in Lenalee. She's the one we've seen him with the most. Cross was very protective, but still flirtatious, with her.
When he's on the ark, waiting on Allen to stop the download, Cross holds Lenalee close to protect her.
He, later, tells her she has become a beautiful woman, and has gotten better at expressing herself than before.
So, clearly he's had an eye on her for a while, and paid enough attention to know she hid her emotions.
My point, with this that Cross actually pays attention to her as a person. He wasn't just walking around looking at her as a walking sex toy. He actually saw her persona, and conflict.
Cross seems attracted to Lenalee. But, he is aware of some of her issues as well. His brain doesn’t shut down on being attracted where the women are just a bunch of holes for his long John.
A big thing here, we know Cross hates the Order. He's been in hiding for 4 years, and was going to run off the instant he was brought back.
But, what keeps him there?
He stayed, and went to a meeting, underwent interrogation, inspection, house arrest, and I think, confined to a desk job.
All this because, Lenalee begged him not to leave again.
That's a lot of hassle, and annoyance, to endure for a girl you're not even involved with.
He hates the Order, and didn't feel like dealing them, plus what he knows is extra trouble for his disappearance and disregard of the rules.
It's possible he didn't plan on ever going back to the Order. But, in any case, he didn't plan to stay that time. Now, he's stuck there, if even for a while, putting up with them when he could be off doing just about anything else.
So, even though he hates the organization, he couldn't bring himself to ignore Lenalee's request. And Allen even theorizes that Komui put Lenalee on Cross’ team for that very reason. That doesn't seem like the actions of a man who the author intended as a misogynist -with Anita as a sole exception.
From a story standpoint, Hoshino had to get Cross to the Order, have him investigated etc to set some plot points in Order. However, she made a point to show Cross isn't a loyal Order member.
But what did she do to keep him there? She had him stay at the request / favor of a girl. Doesn't seem Hoshino thinks Cross dismissive of women outside of sex.
Also note that after Miranda becomes an Exorcist, she’s sent in the direction of Cross’ team. So Komui wasn’t shy putting some women on his team to keep him from running.
*Other:
Allen says, when he traveled with Cross, he lived with, and off of lovers.
Apparently, his lovers welcome him with open arms, house him of their own accord, and give him money.
He forms bonds with them. He doesn't just hit and run.....unless said women has a boyfriend or husband who just came home. XD
If Cross was a misogynist who mistreated them, would he have so many lovers willing to put up with him?
Even if they're brothel maidens, they are just obligated to sleep with him -should he have the money, but they don't have to house or actually date him.
After throwing Allen away from him, Cross yells at Lavi to stay away as well because they're filthy, and he hates being around filth. However, he doesn't mind a filthy woman.
Again, if Cross didn't care about women at all, or outside of sex, then why put up with a woman that's unkempt?
He just seems very accepting of women.
Once again, his official character profile says he likes "good women." Now, if he only thinks women are good for sex, then what's a "good" one from a "bad" one. What difference would it make?
He wouldn't be around long enough to see much of, or care about, her personality.
For Cross, Anita was a "good woman." Well, what was she like? She was kind, compassionate, strong-willed giving, nurturing, and optimistic. And given how Anita respect and emulates her mother, she was probably the same-another lover of Cross.
And as great as Anita was, she still didn't know if she'd lived up to her mother, as she asks silently when she dies.
So, I think he likes a women that he can freely speak to, and he can be comfortable around. So, he likes nice women. Anita was a prostitute, which isn't the most respectable thing, but, Cross didn't think badly of her.
Cross knows a lot of bitter things in this war, as stated by Hoshino, and it may make him feel better to be with women. His lovers probably genuinely make him happy, or as happy as he can be.
He says Klaud is "always a nice woman" in the relationship chart of Charagray. He flirts with her, and is interested. Klaud, like Anita, is caring, compassionate, and kind. Evidently, she has good people skills, and people take kindly to her, as she has a 4 / 5 in affinity in her character stats.
Also, Klaud doesn't seem to care for Cross' advances, and is a bit cold around him-being put-off by his antics. But, even though she's not warm and cozy with him, he still seems to think fondly of her. He knows, recognizes, and likes, that she's a nice woman -even though she’s not nice to him.
Cross shows interest in Lenalee as well. She's kind, and compassionate-a bit. Her affinity is very high, scoring a perfect 5. (Though I have reservations on that lol)
So, I think "good" is referencing to the actual woman herself-her persona. A nice woman he can have a good time with. And if they let him hang around, he probably appreciates that, and a nice relationship with them.
But no 100% exclusivity, as he does leave after a while, and he does have other women he likes.
Allen vs. Akuma
We also have this scene during chapter 169 -after the Akuma insults Miranda.
This seems like Cross -and notice how this takes place after Cross is believed to be killed, and possibly after Allen already listened to his message. He took Allen in at the age of 10. So, I think anything Allen learned about women, or how to behave around women, came from Cross.
Before Mana died, Allen was more gruff. Mana was polite to everyone. He wouldn’t address anyone in a rude manner. Then you have Cross who is more gruff and sometimes plain rude. However, we see him show kindness and softness toward girls. And that seems to mirror what Allen is displaying in this particular scene.
In the message, Cross tells Allen to stop wearing the mask of Mana. He encourages Allen being his old self. Then Lenalee and Johnny notice how Allen’s speech has changed and he’s less formal -somewhat closer to how he used to be.
So while going back a bit to the old Allen like Cross wanted, we see him bring up how you’re not supposed to address women. So Allen is getting his more gruff self back, yet still believes in being more respectful towards women.
*Anita's Death/Moving On
Some may be skeptical on everything I have said about Cross given how quickly he seems to handle, and get over, Anita's death. He flirts with Lenalee on the ark, then after finding out Anita died, he still ogles Lenalee, and flirts with Klaud later.
I can see how that looks bad, but I don't think Cross means any harm, spite, or indifference to Anita.
I am going to use Anita, herself as an example, as she did something similar. She's a kind, loving, nurturing, compassionate woman, right? I don't think she has ill will toward anyone. I don't even think she has any haters in the fandom.
Keeping that in mind, she says her mother was in love with Cross, and had a relationship, with him. Her mother died, then she slept with Cross too. Would her mother be happy that the man she loved went and slept with her daughter after she was gone?
Anita's character is shown in a very respectable, and a very kind woman. So, I doubt Hoshino wanted us to think Anita was a heartless slut that goes after her mom's men when she's not around.
I see many fans use that for a strike against Cross. "He did her mother, now he's doing her too." Anita and her mother are 2 different women. He liked them both. If it doesn't reflect badly on Anita, I fail to see how or why it's damning for Cross.
It's just her mother is gone, thus her & Cross' time is up. I apply the same to Cross x Anita. They cared about one another, and had a very close relationship.
Now, Anita is dead. I believe he does still have feelings for her. But, she's gone, and all he can do is move on in life, which includes other lovers, ones he may've had before her, and the ones he may have after.
Again, not to spite, the lovers who are gone. But, their time together is up, while he's still alive, fighting in a war, and constantly on the move with tons of enemies. Knowing this, I don't think there should be fault with him for engaging in the company of different women when he's constantly in different places.
Even Cross needs nice company every now and again, because I am sure, despite how he comes off, he's a very conflicted and hurt guy. He's human-he has feelings. Hoshino has even stated Cross lives keeping many bitter things he knows to himself, and that he’s “closest to the truth.”
Even if he leaves a lover to travel, they're still alive, and he meets another woman, be it a new woman, or an old flame. Him getting involved, or resuming, with them, doesn't say anything about the last woman he just parted ways with, other than they're not together currently.
Cross visits brothels quite a bit. Anita was a brothel maiden, along with other lovers of his, I am sure. So, it's not like they don't, or won't, sleep with other men.
Anita is the owner of the best brothel on a port.
So, I am sure she gets tons of men.
The guy at the stand says Cross was a "new" lover of Anita. So, she had other men aside from, and before, him.
Cross doesn't seem to care, and stated that he sees Anita as a good woman.
Anita & her mother met Cross in a brothel. So I doubt either of them got the idea he was a virgin or a man who’s never looked at, or slept with, other women aside from them.
So, with Cross and his women, they do care about one another, and are happy when they're together. But when they're not, they each do their own thing, and have their own lives away from each other, which may include other lovers.
I just get the vibe from the manga that Cross cares for, and has an off-and-on relationship with, his lovers. He doesn't stay forever. But, he doesn't leave forever either. I think he sees them again if he's in the area.
#1: Conclusion
Cross seems Polyamorous -if I had to give a name. Poly is the practice of ethical non-monogamy. People who engage in romantic relations with different partners, and it's genuine. Nobody is being played. It’s the belief that you can be happy with, and like, more than 1 person.
The relationships don’t have to be less genuine just because there are other people involved. And I think people having a black and white view on sex caused this rift with Cross. So many think a man who sleeps around is automatically a misogynist that doesn’t respect or have attachment to the women -and that is not true across the board.
Cross has been called a “womanizer” by Lavi or Kanda. But Hoshino has shown that he’s not disrespectful of women. Plus, how would Allen’s friends know what Cross does with his lovers? They just know he’s a huge flirt. So them calling him a womanizer should be taken with a grain of salt. Because according to Anita, and hints Hoshino gave us regarding other lovers, Cross isn’t mistreating the ladies he’s with, and they do genuinely like one another. Cross is shown to have gifts given to him from his lovers that he hangs on to. That is covered in Par 2: Not so Heartless. Give that a read as well, if you’d like.
But it made the post so lengthy. The prior post started as a chapter review, but I got going and covered a lot of things. lol So I had to split and make the chapter review separate.
This covers my interpretation of Cross’ actions in the past chapter, plus his relationship with Allen. I can see some left the chapter with more sour taste on Cross. And I was disappointed, since I thought the chapter showed a deeper and softer side to Cross. So my interpretation, on a more positive note.
I covered in my manifesto Cross’ care for Allen. This chapter, I read him as caring so much for Allen, that he didn’t want to see him suffer. And he openly admits that to him upon first appearing. Some are saying it’s terrible that Cross wants Allen to give up and disappear, and still saying so even after seeing Allen’s resolve.
But I see that as human. Sometimes our care for people can make us behave in selfish ways, which humans naturally are. Being selfless is an effort. Sometimes, our 1st thoughts are what we think and how we feel, even if we’re not trying to be selfish.
Cross doesn't want Allen to disappear, which he mentions. But there is nothing anyone can do, far as we know. So Cross just wants Allen to sleep peacefully and enjoy himself in a peaceful world during his final days. Almost like the IT of Naruto Shippuden. I definitely did not get that he was trying to manipulate Allen to get him to die so he could be rid of him.
Cross is trying to get Allen to accept finding inner peace in final moments, rather than try to continue fighting, and end up suffering and torturing himself for nothing, because he’ll be swallowed up anyhow.
Again, that comes off as selfish and unsupportive, but sometimes your care for loved ones can make you a bit selfish. Even when they do something they seem to want to do, you don't want to watch them get hurt, so you try to convince them to rethink things.
And Cross seems to fit that bill. In his message, he encouraged Allen to keep walking and create his own path, and stop wearing the Mana mask. He also mentioned he was not trying to force him to take a certain road. But now, with Nea being awake and things looking more grim, he's trying to encourage Allen to just take it easy and not suffer anymore, or worse by fighting.
So his statement about wishing him to disappear, to me, seems to just mean he wished Allen wasn't set on taking the road with more suffering and hardship, and wished he'd have picked the lesser evil and more easy route. Plus it may be lost in translation. Sometimes English isn't very graceful. And stuff said in 1 language isn't as offensive in another.
Now, Cross was going to stay there with Allen in the dream world.
This was a very selfless and possibly difficult thing for him. Again, Hoshi has mentioned that Cross didn’t want to get attached to, or empathize with, Allen. Possibly because Allen is a sacrifice to be lost one day, and Cross possibly already feels guilty that it’s a kid that has the fate, but even worse if he came to care for him, knowing he’s going to die soon, in addition to his life being shortened by nature due to the Parasitic innocence.
But, despite the fact Cross doesn’t want Allen to disappear, he offered to stay there, and thus put himself in the position where he’d have to watch Allen disappear in-person. But it wasn’t about him when he offered that. He was staying as a comfort to Allen.
Atmosphere
And it’s important to look at the atmosphere while Cross is talking to Allen. Notice how they look when this takes place.
Both of them look like they did when Allen 1st officially became Cross’ apprentice, after he was well and they could begin their journey.
Then when Allen firmly tells Cross that he will not just roll over, everything changes. Now Allen is a young man again. And Cross is wearing his clothes from 166-168.
This seems symbolic. Allen is not a little kid anymore. He is not the same brat that Cross picked up years ago.
We see with this, Cross seems to have a habit of thinking Allen is still his little helpless apprentice.
He did the same in chapter 167. When Allen is upset about Mana, Cross looks down on him and sees little Allen again.
Then he kneels down to him, just like at the grave all those years ago.
So, similar to a parent that has trouble letting go, Cross can’t help but still see Allen as a child (his child), and the apprentice who still needs him.
So when he appears to him, he holds out his hand for Allen to take, and it seems he may wish to relive “the good old days.”
The days when Allen was an innocent kid who didn’t know he was destined to die, and hadn’t been exposed fully to the horrors of war, darkness of The Order, and back when he needed Cross more and could be somewhat protected. The days where Allen was the apprentice, who still needed his master. He even says “I am your master, no matter what.” With this, we may be seeing that Cross actually enjoyed the days when he and Allen traveled together.
But with Allen’s new found resolve, it seems to symbolize that Allen is not a kid anymore, and possibly that Cross has fulfilled his role as the master, which he (Cross) is coming to realize. Allen does not seem to need Cross trying to protect him anymore. He has grown up. But up until that point, it seems Cross still saw him as the cute apprentice.
Off-note, Hoshi says Cross thinks Allen is cute in chapter 167. Anyhow, now he’s seeing Allen has fully grown and is ready to fight and understand the hardships and darkness of the war.
So, the good old days are gone, and even in a dream world, they won’t be relived. So, Allen’s rejection probably may have been difficult on a few levels. One, because Allen is planning to fight and suffer more. And two, because he’s probably come to terms with how much Allen has grown and changed.
After all, Cross’ expression seems to show Allen has struck a cord in him.
Here, he looks surprised, and a bit upset, possibly hurt.
And we see a close-up of his eye, just before Allen reverts to his current self, with little Allen disappearing.
And there seems to be a slight change in his eye here, where he’s seeing Allen is all grown up.
And that can explain why Cross tells Allen to go forward alone.
Not because he was pissed, and not because he didn’t care. But because Allen doesn’t need him as much anymore and they both have their own separate missions when they wake up. So that may have been his own Cross-farewell, as a master to Allen before giving him one last bit of info.
Allen’s Feelings
Notice Allen’s expression. he doesn’t seem mad, or hurt. He seems to have a smile that shows he understands his master, and how he is.
He then goes on to say he was happy to see him again. Apparently seeing Cross did give Allen some comfort.
I doubt Allen would care anything about Cross if he was as evil as fanon says. Allen was abused in the circus, by Cosmov who beat him regularly.. He also killed Mana’s dog, which young Allen was distraught by. He also tried to attack Cosmov at one point. Then there was the abusive Ring Master, who locked Allen in a cage with a lion -thankfully Cross and Tim showed up, and the latter saved Allen.
So, there’s a good chance, Allen doesn’t care about or miss Cosmov or the ring master. But Cross is different.
And Allen of all people would be able to see that after being subject to actual abuse. Thus, I doubt Allen’s feeling for Cross are any kind of Stockhome Syndrome.
He possibly came to understand Cross better after he was gone, and after the message. Notice how, since then, Allen hasn’t had anything bad to say about Cross. Also, given his reaction to Apocryphos, he doesn’t take kindly to anyone else badmouthing Cross either.
Allen cares for him. We have seen it a good bit.
We see his expression when he sees Cross’ blood in his room
This doesn’t appear to be the look of someone who doesn’t care about their master.
He goes to fetch Tim, and finds Lvellie in Cross’ room.
Allen does not seem happy that Lvellie is lounging in the room his master was attacked in, and eating cake.
Lvellie, in a moment of asshole-ness, asks Allen if he was the one who murdered Cross. And Allen seems greatly enraged by that accusation.
So apparently Allen would never think of actually killing his master, so he doesn’t hate Cross.
The Earl is an example of someone Allen has hatred for, and would like to kill. And he is insulted that someone could suspect him of murdering his master.
Later we see how Allen reacts when he sees the truth about what happened to Cross.
He is horrified for several panels.And in complete shock. it takes him a min. to calm down and notice Road there.
Again, not the reaction of a boy who hates, or has no love for, his master.
Then when he snaps out of the shock, he is furious and attacks Apocryphos in rage.
This is a rage similar to what he shows The Earl, with regards to Mana.
So now that he knows what happened, Apocryphos seems to be in the same category as The Earl now - beings that Allen hates.
He lost Mana. Then Apocryphos took Cross away as well. He then goes on to state he wants to puke at the thought of merging with the one who killed Cross.
Conclusion
All of these moments don’t seem to point to Hoshino building Cross up as this abuser. If Cross were a heartless villain, w/o layers, then Hoshino probably wouldn’t go through the effort of showing Allen caring for him. Or having Anita love him. Having her mother love him. And having Mother think so highly of him, even though she doesn’t support Nea.
Cross’ “abusive” moments with Allen seem intended as slapstick comedy, or a showing of immaturity at best. No different than any Tsundere around. Hoshino doesn’t treat it with any genuine seriousness to illustrate that Cross is supposed to be inhuman.
Cross is FLAWED like a regular human. He’s not a psychopath. Sokaro, and Sheryl are closer to that. lol
So I was very happy with this chapter. I was confused when I first read it. But after re-reading, I understand more. But I never thought this chapter showed that Cross was heartless. And I especially never got that it was saying he didn’t care about Allen. I got the complete opposite where we see more layers with Cross and Allen.
But when it comes to Cross, it seems many jump to the negative. “He’s an asshole for wanting Allen to disappear.” There are hints and callbacks throughout the chapter that show that was not the point.
For the compliment *smiles* Ugh. Tough times. I wish you luck. Whew. I know it sucks!!
Nice Cross has a good dream for change. Good he finally came around to enjoying the holiday. And darn Allen had to ruin it by refusing Cross' kindness for the buffet! XD
Also nice to see the Cross x Miranda RP still going. Anticipation is heaviest for me on that. Because Cross already went through heck with Allen's Mun.....So, with more drama with Miranda....I hope he doesn't go crazy and destroy anything lol
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outoffucks: Thanks~ And I know! It wasn't one where everything lovely and then you wake up and it's painful to realise it was all a dream, it was just sort of nice and peaceful and raining. Oh, but he hasn't ruined it-- when I get to that draft, Cross will drag Allen to the buffet, force-feed him if necessary 'til he's begging for him to stop, then drag him home again and basically put him to bed. XD
Ah, apparently not destruction... but an awful lot of swearing!
to hear your holiday went well. And glad to her you're feeling better. Nothing worse than just feeling sick, or down in the dumps. And we women are sure to feel that least once a month lol
I miss you when you don't rp. But real life comes first. So, I just have to wait. lol Gives me something to look forward to. I like a good fic or rp.
My Xmas was ok. All I cared for on Xmas was the my family was good. I didn't get many gifts, but I didn't need anything, so I didn't care. I got shoes, and a new aquarium for my fish. So, I was good.
Tsk. Cross is so hopeless. Least he was stocked up on wine. Hopefully he could get good & drunk lol That will get him through the days stuck in HQ, with their cheap wine lol
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outoffucks: Oh don't even I am due on rn ugh and I can't believe how much of a sweetheart you are~ I just wanna cuddle you!!
Heh, everyone was giving him things and wishing him a Happy Christmas, even people he didn't know! He resorted to having Maria sing him to sleep on Christmas Eve, only to wake up refreshed after a pleasant dream and went 'yknow what? merry bloody christmas' and just made an attempt to have a good day 'cause he felt so great XD
