The Des Anges Clan

"YOU ARE ALL COMING DOWN WITH US. ALL OF YOU."

- Des Anges family motto/warcry.

The Des Anges clan is a group of people who have been "adopted" by the Des Anges sisters, Derek/Delilah (she uses both equally) and Amelia. They're the ones this page is mainly about. Del Des Anges is an extremely gifted writer, artist, and comedian; her most notable works include the "Hamiltwins" collection and the Parlour Games duology. Amelia "Mill" Des Anges is also a writer, though she has only published short stories and then only rarely under her own name; she is also a roller derby player. Del lives in London, and Mill currently lives in Australia. Despite the use of the word "sister", there is some confusion as to exactly how much genetic material they share (it's a long story); they adopted the word as the most accurate representation of their relationship, and have been using it for a very long time. They have some Roma ancestry, their favourite animals are hyenas and octopuses, their politics are distinctly left-leaning, and they specialise in slightly disturbing fiction. The page quote refers to their habit of including various unusual sexual practices in their writing and their ambition to drag everyone else into the fun.

Their next project has been announced is now available here. Help: Twelve Tales of Healing is a Christmas fundraiser for Doctors Without Borders; a short story anthology, with twelve contributors including Amelia and several members of the clan, edited by Del and Megan Fennell, and published by House of D.

Other notable members of the clan include the singer Liza Kill. Tom Hardy has a standing invitation.

Tropes seen in the sisters Des Anges:
""If something might be a conspiracy or it might be a cockup... it's a cockup. Every time.""
 * Acrofatic
 * The Alcoholic: They've had some issues with addiction in the past.
 * Author Appeal: There are several common features of their stories, including bloody vengeance, gay couples, people with "doglike" personalities, incest, and teratophillia.
 * Aw, Look -- They Really Do Love Each Other
 * Berserk Button: Amelia dislikes the Rape Is Love trope.
 * They both dislike the use of the word gypsy, but don't really get berserk unless it is directed at them.
 * Don't tell them that they aren't "real" sisters, either.
 * Big Sister Instinct: Played straight and inverted. The sisters are very protective of each other.
 * Bi the Way
 * Black Comedy
 * Brilliant but Lazy
 * Cool Big Sis: Amelia views Derek this way.
 * Crazy Awesome: Heavy on both the crazy and the awesome.
 * Creator Breakdown: Occasionally witnessed.
 * Dark and Troubled Past: And how!
 * Depraved Bisexual: A staple of their self-parody; they list their sexual orientation as "pervert."
 * Dissonant Serenity: Amelia tends to laugh when in pain, which has been known to freak people out. Notably, she once injured herself at a derby bout, and didn't receive assistance until she actually crawled over to the paramedics and asked for it--they saw her laughing and assumed it wasn't that bad.
 * Domestic Abuse: Something both sisters have experienced.
 * Doing It for the Art
 * Driven to Suicide: Obviously their attempts were unsuccessful, but both sisters have tried it in the past.
 * Dysfunction Junction
 * Everything's Worse with Bees: Averted; Del considers bees to be "bros" and has mentioned plans to tattoo them on her skin. Wasps on the other hand... "Not bros! Not bros!"
 * Gender Blender Name: Del goes by Delilah and Derek equally.
 * Hanlon's Razor: One of their major philosophies.

""If I mention that this was the guy who got me hooked on meth, does that get me a free pass?""
 * Hilariously Abusive Childhood: The sisters tend to play their background for humour.
 * The Hyena: Quite appart from their association with the actual animal.
 * I Need a Freaking Drink: A common reaction to the world at large.
 * Les Yay: Hilariously often.
 * Mama Bear: To the rest of the clan.
 * Mood Whiplash: Often. Revealing some intimate or painful detail about their past is usually followed up with a Your Mum joke.
 * One of Us: They are huge nerds.
 * Psycho Ex-Girlfriend: The sisters have admitted that they have been these in the past, but they're a lot more stable these days. Also, many of the guys they dated were mutually psycho.

""Let me tell you, it is hard work being related to an awesome skater, writer, and gamer who is also a THUNDERING TWAT.""
 * Rape as Backstory: They had really crappy childhoods.
 * Rounded Character: A staple of their work; they hate flat characters with a passion and hold this up as a major flaw in the work. This is also sometimes referred to as the Des Anges First Law of Writing, coined by Mill: "Ask yourself "what would this character be like if they had never met the protagonist?" If you cannot answer this question, the character is 2D and boring, and should be reworked or scrapped immediately."
 * Running Gag: The sisters' desire to adopt Tom Hardy (they developed a fondness for him after Band of Brothers, which was cemented by Rock N Rolla.) Also, their propensity to have horrible thoughts and then force them on other people.
 * Sad Clown: Del's comedy often involves themes of coping through humour.
 * The Snark Knight: Derek has some great lines.
 * Suspiciously Specific Denial: Often, usually along the lines of "I am definitely not writing about [character] having sex with his dad."
 * Squick: A common feature of their work, but in a good way. Most obviously in The Other Daughter by Del, which features, among other things, two malformed slimey demons, but even the less disturbing work tends to have subtly disgusting elements. They've mentioned that they feel like failures if they don't make someone flinch at least every second chapter.
 * Tropes Will Ruin Your Life / Vocabulary: Amelia spends a lot of time on this very wiki and it really shows.
 * Vitriolic Best Buds: The sisters are a firm type two, with each other and with everyone else. They tend to express affection through cat noises, verbal abuse, and biting. "Fuckass" is a term of extreme endearment.


 * With Friends Like These...
 * The Woobie: The sisters both have hereditary mental illnesses, which were compounded by genuinely horrible childhoods. Suffice to say it is really not surprising that they have been suicidal.
 * Jerkass Woobie: At times.
 * Stoic Woobie