Death Weapon Meister Academy: Headmaster, Teachers, and Staff | Students (Crescent Moon, Half Moon, NOT) | Affiliates (Vladingham Family)
Novus Partus: Novus Partus (Project Omega, Anria)
Miscellaneous: Gangs | Other Antagonists
Gangs in Soul Eater: Troubled Souls play a pivotal role in the fourth Story Arc (Chicago Gang Arc). Gangs are coalitions of criminals, ranging from a small ragtag group to lucrative underground empires. As most gangs are made of normal humans, they technically fall outside the jurisdiction of Death Weapon Meister Academy and therefore are handled by normal police departments. However, that can all change depending on who gangs affiliate with or what business they dabble in.
Beware of unmarked spoilers.
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Chicago Underground Association
Also known as the "Chicago Gang," they are the titular gang of the fourth Story Arc and importantly linked to several major characters, including the Arc Villain. The Chicago Gang is one of the most powerful gangs. Also, the Chicago Gang contains the smaller de Niro family. As of Act 1, the Chicago Gang has been disbanded with most of its members, including their bosses, being killed or arrested in their last battle.
General
- Altar Diplomacy/Marriage of Convenience: Portis and Morgan used to be leaders of two entirely different gangs. Portis headed the Chicago Underground Association, a large and thriving gang that was full of inexperienced members despite its prestige and power. Morgan was the matriarch of the de Niro family, a very small gang full of tenacious and experienced veterans. To solve both of their problems, they married. The de Niro family assimilated into the Chicago Gang, and both leaders now hold equal authority.
- Badass Family: The de Niro family, a faction of the bigger Chicago Gang. This gang was apparently badass enough to fend off their much larger opposition despite being small and scrappy.
- Brainwashed and Crazy: Walena uses Voodoo masks to put most of the gang under her control. Whoever wasn't either died from Cancer's attack, was arrested, or was extremely lucky to get out and people in that last camp can be counted on one hand.
- End of an Era: With both leaders dead,, Marcellus turning his back to his past, Left and right M.I.A., its property desolated, and almost all of its members dead or in jail, the Chicago Underground Association, one of the most decorated criminal empires, is gone for good.
- Gangland Drive-By: During a hit on Morgan and Marcellus, a set of members of the Other Side Gang chill at cross-section to gather themselves after they escape. Once Portis commands the Chicago Gang to retaliate following Morgan's demise, this same set is brutally gunned by a group of Chicago Gang members blazing by in cars.
- The Mafia: The Chicago Gang has distinct, mafia-like undertones, being an organized industry with a don and a matriarch at the helm. The members are also rather formal, and there is a heavy emphasis on business and related practices. Their headquarters is even a stylish villa. Portis, the head, is also called a don.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: The blue to the Other Side's red. Color-Coded for Your Convenience because that's their main colors.
- Roaring Rampage of Revenge: They rally after Morgan's death at the orders of an equally emotional Portis, attacking the Other Side Gang in the streets of Chicago in old-fashioned, violent gang warfare.
- Undefeatable Little Village: The de Niro Family was a small community of tough, hardened gangsters that managed to fend off their much bigger competition. They've since bled into the Chicago Gang.
Don Portis Ardsen
- "Gang is a such heavy word with a negative connotation. The word 'gang' is a construct of social media and the law meant to stigmatize those branded with it. It implies we are a gathering of classless ruffians and hoodlums. I, on the other hand, prefer to call my 'gang' a criminal empire. A criminal organization. I instill discipline even to those of the lowest rank. We do not go around, callously shoot down innocent people, and subsequently rob them just for sport. No, we have a business to run. And, in business, you have competition, most of whom do not see it like I do. A prime example would be the Other Side Gang. Now that epitomizes the word 'gang.'"
The don of the Chicago Underground Association, one of the most powerful gangs, and the father of Marcellus Ardsen. A businessman at heart in spite of his shady profession, Portis serves as a major character in Act 1.
- Asskicking Leads to Leadership: Make no mistake, Portis can throw down as well. He singlehandedly protects Marcellus from Walena's masked minions until he himself goes down in the ensuring fight.
- The Don: But of course. It's in the name.
- Early-Bird Cameo: Possibly overlaps with Chekhov's Gunman. Portis debuts in Act 1 Chapter 14, a whole story arc before he actually takes the stage.
- Insistent Terminology: It is not "Chicago Gang" to him, it is the "Chicago Underground Association". Doubles as a Berserk Button, as the name can really make him lose his cool.
- Large and in Charge: Described as tall and muscular, befitting his position of power. Rightfully, as not only can he fist-fight, but Portis is extremely good at doing his job and exerting his authority. Marlon and Miyuki found out one should never cross the boss.
- Man of Wealth and Taste: Portis is rich and powerful, a successful businessman and don in his own right, and makes sure his organization reflects such. The hub of his territory is an expansive villa, his gangsters have a uniform code and a distinct way of carrying themselves, and he is focused solely on money and furtherance.
- Redemption Equals Death: After Tsuji defeats Walena, Marcellus and Portis are able to have a heartfelt conversation, but his accumulated injuries have taken their toll on him. Father and son settle their differences, and Portis is able to pass on peacefully and awaits Morgan in the afterlife.
Left and Right
Miyuki
For more information, see "Walena Devilana" here.
de Niro Family
Master Morgan Ardsen
- “Oh, Lord Death, you and I both know that’s a lie. A lie that our parents and guardians feed our impressionable minds as children to get our hopes up. Reality is so much more different than that. You try to pursue your dream and nothing happens but rejection and heartbreak. You are brought down to the mire because of it. Like my husband says, desperate times call for desperate measures.”
The ringleader of the de Niro Family, the wife of Don Portis, and the matriarch of the Chicago Gang.
- Action Mom: Illness will not prevent her from protecting her child. As long as she has her trusty sidearm, she'll do her best.
- Apron Matron: Checks off most of the marks. She's called a matriarch of the Chicago Gang and is referred by the title of "master". Even when ill, she's quick on the draw and a great shooter. It helps she runs it alongside Portis; she's also definitely this to the de Niro family.
- Dying Moment of Awesome: Performs her Heroic Sacrifice by shooting gasline that causes the whole building she's in to erupt violently.
- Mama Bear: When she realizes herself and Marcellus are in danger, keeping her son safe is one of her main priorities.
- Mysterious Past: We do know that Morgan used to run her own, separate gang — the de Niro Family that Marlon comes from. They had their fair shade of trials, but what she don't know is that what her life was outside the gang. The top quotes implies Morgan that had a rough life of rejection and heartbreak, but the details are left vague.
- Heroic Sacrifice: When she and Marcellus are trapped in a warehouse hounded by Soriano and Kujira, Morgan convinces Marcellus to leave her behind. She's well aware her time is coming to an end and wants to bring the enemies down with her. She does in a blaze of glory.
- Incurable Cough of Death: She tries to be active to fight against her sickness, but that mask and those coughing fits aren't a good sign.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Delivers a poignant one to Soriano even when he's the aggressor in Act 1 Chapter 43, calling him, among other things, a coward and scumbag while criticizing his beliefs.
- Senseless Sacrifice: It is heartbreaking to see that Morgan blew herself up All for Nothing; Cancer had saved both Soriano and Kujira using a water faucet that had gotten turned on in the scuffle. Even worse, those two are making a recovery as of Act 1's last chapter.
- She Is the King: Called the masculine "Master Morgan" by her underlings in respect.
- Shown Their Work: It may sound contrived, but the author did his research. The flu and pneumonia in combination can cause death,
but that's not what does Morgan in.
Marlon
- Ascended Extra: Marlon is character introduced in a flashback who essentially allows Mifune to meet Angela. In this fic, his boss is the true leader of the De Niro Family, Morgan Ardsen, the wife of the Chicago Gang don, Portis. His assignments are to track down Marcellus and Angela.
Clarke
- Villain Ball: He scores a free shot on Tsuji. That should have been game for him right then and there, but no; Clarke wants Tsuji to suffer for breaking and entering his home turf. Even worse, he successfully shoots Tsuji a second time just to prove a point. That last one is so bad even a colleague asks Why Don't You Just Shoot Him?
The Other Side Gang
The rivals to the Chicago Underground Association and equally powerful. They are portrayed as their morally looser counterparts. As of Act 1, the Other Side Gang is in an official alliance with Novus Partus, ensuring they have relevance in the future as antagonists — at the cost of location displacement and a severe loss of her members.
General
- From Nobody to Nightmare: According to Soriano, the Other Side Gang was a complete pushover of a gang. Under his leadership, they rose to become one of the most powerful gangs in the world, even owning an intentional smuggling ring.
- Red and Black and Evil All Over: Their signature color is red, though many of its members also wear black. This trope is in play because they're held as the more antagonistic of the Chicago Gang's. Even more because of their affiliation with Novus Partus.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: The red to the Other Side's blue. Color-Coded for Your Convenience because that's their main colors.
- The Rival: To the Chicago Underground Association, or "CGs" as they call them. They want them gone badly so they can rule as the best.
- The Syndicate: Whereas their rival, the Chicago Gang, functions like The Mafia, the Other Side Gang is this trope instead. They are a mysterious criminal empire that works like a unit (even knowingly employing a witch) and tend toward the shadier aspects of gang lifestyle, typically going around in hoods and coats, and are somewhat informal in nature compared to the more organized Chicago Gang.
Soriano Mouradian
- “Morgan de Niro, you of all people should know this is the real world. The real world doesn’t care about character! Just your worth and what you can contribute! I’ll be that scumbag if it means I get to live a life of luxury, power, and safety. I’m never gonna stop doing what I do best: lie, steal, cheat, and SURVIVE!”
A man with no family, and the charismatic boss of the Other Side Gang. Soriano Mouradian used to be a self-respecting, clean-cut officer of the law. An FBI agent, in fact, with money and prestige. One day, his supervisor tasked him to break an intentional smuggling ring commanded by the most powerful of criminals by myself. Concerned more with survival and power, Soriano disobeyed this order. As a result, he was stripped of his rank for not performing his duty. To show his former employers they made the wrong decision, and to spite them, Soriano left and took up crime as a new occupation. He started from the bottom of the Other Side Gang hierarchy and worked his way up, becoming his leader and transforming the fledgling organization into a powerful one.
- Ax-Crazy: A subdued example. He may not seem like it, but he actively enjoys causing pain. He has a blatant disregard for human life, and let's not forget he gleefully hounded the ill, aged Morgan with intent to kill just to spite Portis.
- Benevolent Boss: He's got a pretty cordial and honest relationship with his underlings. A time he shows any slight concern for any life other than his own is when Kujira gets shot in the by Ruby. He's furious to learn what happened to them after he recovers from a bad injury. At the same time, he also has little patience for dumb decisions and will say it was nice knowing you without a second thought if that happens.
- Card-Carrying Villain: He will proudly be a scumbag schemer if it means wealth, power, and security.
- The Chessmaster: He knows good and well how to scheme. To make it clearer, he even has a chessboard that he changes accordingly depending on the moves taken in real life. His shining moment is when he attacked a target out of nowhere on their home turf without a shred of worry.
- Damn, It Feels Good to Be a Gangster!: Soriano clearly loves his job and all the dirty business it entails.
- Dirty Coward: Morgan accuses him of being one. She uses his backstory as an example. Soriano was an FBI agent charged to sent to break an intentional smuggling ring commanded by the most powerful of criminals alone. Calling himself a survivor, he opted out. Morgan claims he didn’t even try to accomplish the mission.
- Evil Counterpart:
- To Marcellus. Both are men who understand the Morality Kitchen Sink that is life itself. They, however, took different directions in their life based on their experiences. Marcellus was born into a gang but left and joined the DWMA while Soriano used to be an FBI agent that left and joined a gang. Marcellus is morally sound enough to understand heroism is necessary in the world. Soriano is motivated by survival and materialism, and nothing more, with little regard to anything else. Finally, Marcellus has a Hidden Heart of Gold, Soriano is Faux Affably Evil.
- To Portis. The two are at the top of the criminal underground world heading two of its most powerful gangs. Portis is a family man concerned about them first and foremost. Soriano has no family and appreciates a material lifestyle and his job above others.
- Evil Is Petty: One of the reasons he's a gangster now? To spite the law.
- Faux Affably Evil: Sugarcoats his nature as a ruthless crime lord by adopting a relatively polite, gentlemanly manner that just barely lapses when he's annoyed. And then, when somebody really irks him, completely drops. Just ask Cancer.
- Know When to Fold 'Em: He's good at what he does, but he knows better than to overstep some boundaries.Soriano: I may be a gambling man, but even I know that there are some bets you just don't take. There are two kinds of people in this world. Those who think they can accomplish the impossible, and those who aren’t smart enough to know some things are unavoidable.
- Light Is Not Good: Switches out his black and red overjacket and for a pure white coat, even wearing a white fedora, when he decides to personally kill Morgan and Marcellus.
- Opt Out: As an FBI agent in the past, Soriano was tasked to break up a powerful international crime ring all by himself. He had other plans.
- Pragmatic Villainy: Pissing off the police? All apart of the game. Pissing off Death Weapon Meister Academy? Oh, hell no.
- Pyrrhic Victory: Soriano gets what he desperately craved, the destruction of the Chicago Gang... at the cost of his own gang losing a bunch of members through death or arrest, their hideout quarantined by the police, and the shreds left stuck in Bermuda.
- Scary Black Man: For reasons that involve his cunning intelligence, willingness to cross boundaries, and unapologetic attitude.
- Self-Made Man: Unlike the Chicago Gang where leadership is kept in the family, the Other Side Gang has no lineage and, thus, the chair he holds is merit-based. Soriano started at the bottom, worked his way up, and became the boss. Then, Soriano used his wealth to turn the Other Side Gang into one of the most powerful gangs in the world.
- Shotguns Are Just Better: His favorite weapon.
- Silly Rabbit, Idealism Is for Kids!: The top quote is an angry rant to Morgan.
- Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: His relationship with Cancer actually started out pretty well. Then he found out she's opposing the Academy directly. Then he finds out she has a bigger Lack of Empathy than himself that can and will get his own guys hurt. Now, it's not so eye-to-eye.
- Tempting Fate: Just after finishing his rant to Morgan about survival, he gets shot and stuck inside a building that blew up. Ultimately subverted because of Cancer.
- Terms of Endangerment: Calls Morgan "Pumpkin". Marcellus is relieved to hear it refers to her hair color.
- There Are Two Kinds of People in the World: His Catchphrase; insight towards his character and ideology is revealed through these comparisons.
- Villainous Breakdown: Soriano flies into a ranting rage, even striking Morgan, when she repeatedly shows defiance. In the Act 1 epilogue, he's even more enraged at Cancer when he finds out about the sorry state of his gang.
- Villainous Friendship: He legitimately cares about his Number Two, Kujira.
Kujira Marshall
For more information, see here.
Myke
