#oh boy these two are fun

[queen-scribbles]

Keeping Warm

Welp, wotr!Trinne/Lann have fic now. We all know what that means: the brainrot is here to stay. :D ---

The grey clouds overhead looked like snow, the threat given extra weight by the chill air, making this a horrible time to be galivanting around, but needs must. It wasn't like the demons would hold off rampaging until the weather was nicer. At least this clearing was semi-protected from the wind, though Trinne still shivered as she approached the solitary figure sitting a ways off from the fire. She bit back a grin.

"I want a rematch," she announced without preamble, playfully twirling the quarterstaff she held.

Lann's head snapped up from the longbow balanced across his knees, the half of his expression she could read torn between amusement and surprise. "Really? Now?"

"And have you kick my ass again, in front of our friends this time?" Trinne laughed, flicking a wrist toward where Seelah and Sosiel chatted, the former keeping half an eye on dinner and the latter clearing the components from his protection ritual. "Not a chance. Mostly I just wanted to see what your face would do if I asked."

He chuckled. "Mostly?"

She leaned the quarterstaff against a nearby tree. "Also wondering what you're doin' over here," she plunked down next to him, squeezing in to the left despite the wider space on his other side, "When the campfire is over there."

Lann shifted to give her more room, the lizard side of his face unreadable as always, but she was pretty sure the other half was pinker than a minute ago. "I thought my bowstring looked a little frayed after fighting those cultists earlier, wanted to check it over to see if it needs replacing or just maintenance." He ran a small hunk of beeswax along the length of the string. "I think it's alright for now, but working too close to the fire would dry it out and it would just fray that much faster."

"Okay, well, you could've thrown on an extra cloak," Trinne said as she cast an admiring look at his handiwork. "Gods know we have plenty. Or, y'know, even just a real shirt," she teased, poking the bare center of his chest.

"I'm fine. Also, almost done," Lann countered. He was trying very hard not to let her see the other half of his face, which, really, meant she didn't need to see it to know what it would show. "I wanted to take care of it tonight so I'm actually useful tomorrow without worrying my bow's about to break and take my nose out with it."

"Yes, you're plenty dashing without the added charm of a broken nose," she laughed, scooting closer again rather than call out the goosebumps she could see on his right arm.

He snorted. "Charm. Right."

"Hey, some people find them attractive," Trinne said with a shrug. "Me, I'd rather you stay uninjured. I like your face the way it is."

She hadn't quite meant to say that last part out loud, and heat rose in her cheeks. Lann looked down at the bowstring, preventing her from reading his expression, and Trinne swallowed a curse.

"There's something I don't hear every day," he deadpanned. "Usually it's shrieks or mothers hissing at their kids that it's rude to stare. Most aren't a fan of the whole stitched together look."

Less competition for me, then. Trinne bit her lip and just managed to hold that one back. "Their loss," she said lightly, bumping her shoulder to his. And lack of taste. It was only because she happened to be looking at his arms(looking, not ogling, much as archery did wonderful things for your arms and, well. She had working eyes) that she caught the faint shiver. "Maybe we should do a rematch."

Now he did turn to shoot her a questioning look for the abrupt shift.

"Maybe hand to hand this time so your 'stunning warrior maiden' can pick up some tricks," she teased, despite knowing that would likely end with her on her ass even faster; at least with a quarterstaff she knew what she was doing. (though not as well as him, clearly.) "At the very least it'll get the blood flowing and be a good way to keep warm."

Lann shook his head and laughed. "Trinne, I told you, I'm fine."

"Well, maybe I'm cold," she countered. His scaled shoulder was cool against hers, even though their clothes. "Or maybe I don't believe you b'cause I saw you shiver, Lann."

"I'm also almost done," he reminded her, a flash of a teasing smile on his face, "or I was before getting distracted."

"Alright, I can take a hint," Trinne snickered. "Just... either throw on a damn cloak or hurry up an' finish so you can come sit by the fire. I think Seelah's almost done dinner. I'll save you a seat and some monster casserole." She leaned over to kiss his cheek before pushing to her feet and heading for the cheery campfire glow without looking back.

The wind was still chilly, the sky threating snow, but there was a warmth in her chest that made those much less of a problem than a few minutes ago.

[critterbitter]

How did Elesa get a Blitzle as a starter if she's from Sinnoh? (hang on this is ironic she could've learned about warden ingo in school back there)

Blitzle Elesa backstory under cut!

Blitzle was gifted to Elesa so she has an “easier time” integrating into Nimbasa by her well meaning dad. This is not the greatest move, since the two feel they are more obligated to stick together then, you know, actually choose each other. Blitzle’s meant to be a utility mon— he helps charge elesa’s hearing aid batteries and basically serves as an emotional support when things get rough. He’s… not the biggest fan. (I like to imagine Blitzle was originally part of a battle track, but his IVs aren’t the greatest so they shuffled him out. He’s a bit bitter about that.)

Inciting incident where they actually start taking the proper steps to becoming partners is when Elesa takes a tumble down a hill and Blitzle twists his foreleg going after her. (Local child eats shit! More at 11.)

They’re just kids, and they’re still learning.

(When Elesa decides to challenge the gyms, Blitzle’s so excited he accidentally trips their house’s circuits.)

((As for Elesa hearing about Warden Ingo, well… that’ll be a future issue.))

((DIRECTLY INSPIRED BY THIS ASK!! TY @scarftale-bryan ))

Yes. YES.

MASTERLIST FOR POKEMON CONTENT:

[greeniegaes]

Thank you @ace-shenanigans for letting me color the Lei Jing/Xiu Ya line art! I love our shiny boys!

A special boy btw (I got distracted by brushes)

[teethlordd]

Putting some guys in some fancy outfits

[idliketobeatree]

dead boy detectives contrapuntal poems — 2 — (1) (3) (4)

[daily-castiel]

Day 14

[fireyartccoon]

For Wednesday, you get some Boxtrolls AU Dadnic

[corpusdiem-seizethedead]

Alastor: Did it hurt?

Lucifer: *rolls eyes* Let me guess, when I fell from heaven.

Alastor: Noooooo

Lucifer: *raises eyebrow*

Alastor: *grins wider* Did it hurt when you fell for me?

[perksofbeingpoet]

new headcanons!

☆ THE POETS AT THE CINEMA ☆

(this got really long bc i love them so much aahhhh i hope you enjoy these headcanons as much as i do-)

CHARLIE: his favourite genre is comedy, plus movies about outlaws and teen rebels, says "so me" all through the film. oh yeah he doesn't shut up ever, talks the whole time until someone tells him to please stop talking because the movie's more interesting than how he'd dress as a pirate. every time there's a kissing scene, he turns to the poet sitting next to him and wiggles his eyebrows with a smirk. a nightmare to clean up after, his popcorn ends up all over the floor and himself. BUT all this doesn't apply to emotional movies. if a movie is sad, charlie is silent the entire time, doesn't crack a joke once and comes out of it with half his popcorn left.

KNOX: cries when watching romance, tells the poets he's not crying!! just the dry air of the cinema getting to him. insists on taking pictures of them in front of the movie poster. has accidentally thrown his ticket away instead of the receipt on several occasions. if there are cardboard cut-outs of characters at the cinema, he needs to take pics with all of them. eats a strange mixture of snacks, popcorn, pretzels and ice cream. asks "whAT?" at least five times through the movie bc he can't follow the plot. really fun to watch a movie with because he'll audibly gasp at every plot twist. idk him at the cinema is really cute guys i swear.

PITTS: needs a toilet break three times throughout the movie (tall guy small bladder king). his legs get cramps from the rows being too narrow but he doesn't care, pittsie LOVES going to the cinema. will most often go with knox and meeks, they're the best film trio. knows loads of lore about all sci-fi movies they watch, and acts annoyed at people asking questions because OF COURSE ni-bo64 has to destroy Leobor. eats salty snacks and always chooses the biggest cup of soda (meeks points this out every time pittsie has to squeeze around him to go to the toilet). loudly shouts "YES" when something he approves of happens. is the best sport about charlie's smirks in kissing scenes, he just like puts his hand on charlie's thigh really slowly and mouths 'hi'.

MEEKS: really likes movies with a hidden message, is the only one charlie will watch emotional movies with. but also just a huge nerd, him and pittsie watch sci-fi stuff together and then talk about every plot point for an hour. ORANGE SODA. really big fan of good film music. can't sit still and always steals the arm rest. doesn't talk but says "WHAT??" way too loud when a plothole occurs or a thing he was hoping for doesn't happen. is the one to buy the tickets.

NEIL: loves the comfy velvet seats. always has half a breakdown about "omg maybe i should go into film instead of stage acting??" after seeing a movie he really likes. is a little movie nerd, especially for superhero movies! loves the moment of stepping out of the cinema into the fresh night air. his snack is sweet popcorn or gummy bears. gets so excited when something cool is about to happen, he's waving his arms and being like "oh- ooohhhh- oooohhhhhh" until the cool thing actually happens. makes sure everyone has their tickets (goes into airport dad mode). laughs a lot and looks around at all the poets like "did you see that??" as if they're not all watching the same movie.

TODD: too anxious to complain about sitting behind a tall person, he'll often try to sit on top of his balled-up jacket to be a bit taller and see enough of the screen. pitts notices after a while and is like "hey todd, could we swap seats? i'd love to sit next to knox". todd only realises what that was about a few hours later and is silently soo grateful for pitts not embarrassing him. likes artsy movies where not a lot happens, and LOVES reruns bc then he already knows the plot and can relax. doesn't ever talk throughout the movie but laughs SO MUCH. mouths the lines when he already knows a movie. when there's a kissing scene he'll get embarrassed. doesn't buy snacks cos they're "too loud" and then eats all the other poets' snacks. every time. likes watching the ads before the movie.

CAMERON: asks "does anyone need to go to the bathroom before the movie starts" like fifty times before they watch the movie. hates sitting next to strangers during the movie because then he's always hyper aware of his behaviour and can't really focus on the film. likes historical movies and will watch them with todd (no one can tell me todd/cameron friendship isn't real, it makes so much sense). salty popcorn kinda guy. knows the names of all the actors and actresses.

[yasmeensh]

Story update

I got to write a good chunk of the opening these past two days. Excited to get more work done over March break. And I can't wait to get to writing more about my daughter T-T But she comes in a bit later in the story. Still in the first act, though.

Some more character design doodles:

[spacegirlsgang]

DBD x Met Gala (1/4): Edwin Payne and Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination (2018)

[broareweabouttoviberightnow]

Hello loves!! This was a request by Sammy over on ao3!! Fic under the cut love y'all!!

Two-Bit was used to a lot of things. One of them was drinkin' too much. The other was wakin' up to people mad at him. It sorta came with the territory. Go out huntin' action. Have a drink. Have another. Meet up with some buddies. Have two more. And then a pack. Black out somewhere between the sixth 'n the eleventh. Wake up to someone mad.

Mostly Darry.

Now what he was not used to was wakin' up the next mornin' to a hangover that could have killed a racehorse, the sound of door slammin' so hard it nearly came straight off the hinges, 'n Dallas Winston ready to spit nails. Mostly Dallas. Not the hangover. That was to be expected.

"Where the fuck is Two-Bit?" Ah. Well. That couldn't bode well. Two scrapes himself off the bed, Darry's, which also couldn't be a great sign considerin' he had no memory of how he got there, 'n tilts his head so he can hear better.

"What's goin' on?" Pony pries 'n Two chuckles to himself 'n then groans. Damn, his head hurt.

"Pone, stay out of it." Dallas stomps down the hall, bangin' open doors 'n rattlin' the picture frames. If his head wasn't poundin' so hard Two might've thought about the implications of that more but right now he just wants to bury under a pillow 'n go back to bed.

"Why don't you stay out of it you're in my house." Pony grumbles but retreats back into the living room. Two only has half a second to force himself up before Darry's bedroom door slams against the wall.

Dallas looks pissed. Not aggravated or irked or hacked off. Pissed.

"You fuckin' asshole." Two throws his hands up 'n grins.

"Nice to see ya too, Dally." Dallas sneers, silver tooth catchin' the light dangerously. He's across the room before Two can blink, fist balled up in the front of his shirt, yankin' him close. Two suddenly feels deeply nauseous.

"You're way over the fuckin' line." Dallas jars him back 'n forth 'n Two's not focused on anythin' but keepin' the contents of his stomach down 'n off of Dallas' jacket. Somehow he doubts that'll improve his mood. Dallas takes one good look at Two 'n scowls. "Do you even fuckin' remember?"

Last night... last night... Nothin'. Dallas drops him. "Oh my God you don't even remember."

"Well, you sure know how to jog a guy's memory." Dallas glares at him like he's seriously considerin' knockin' his lights out. 'N Two knows Dallas. He will. "What happened?"

Dallas rolls his eyes, leans back against the wall. "So now I gotta play twenty fuckin' questions with you just so I can knock your teeth in?"

"Hey, give a man some credit. I bet I can get it in nineteen." Dallas shoves himself off the wall 'n Two instinctively kicks a foot out. Dallas just rolls his eyes 'n boots him in the ankle, steppin' over it. Two yelps 'n Dallas elbows him in the side to get him to move, droppin' down on the bed.

"Well, I ain't kickin' your ass until you can well 'n good remember why."

"Jesus, this is not kickin' my ass? Don't get too generous now." Two rubs at his ribs, sticks out his bottom lip in a passable imitation of Pony.

"Don't start that shit on me- I can hardly stomach it when Pony does it." There's an indignant sound from somewhere in the hall 'n Dallas scowls, gets up, 'n disappears out the door. Two can vaguely hear Dallas manhandlin' the kid out into the living room to Pony's great displeasure.

"Stop. Bein'. Nosy." Two takes the chance to fully untangle himself from the sheets. There's a glass of water on the bedside that Two guesses Darry left. God, he was real good to them sometimes. Most times. He'd have to think of a way to make it up to him. Maybe stop bein' such a little shit.

"That's rich comin' from you-AGH!" There's a distinct sound of Dallas jumpin' on Pony 'n Two snorts. After all, Darry had his hands full in that department.

"Dallas, conserve some of that ass-kickin' energy for me, I'm gettin' jealous in here!"

"Fuck off!" Dallas shouts back but Two can also hear him slam the kid down on the couch 'n retreat back down the hall.

"Look out, Two, he's in a mood." Pony hollers 'n Dallas damn near spins on his heel to give the kid part two.

"C'mon, Dal. You're gonna wear yourself out before you even get to bust my head in." Dallas pauses, shoots him a glare, but stomps back into the room.

"God, now I get why Darry's always got a stick up his ass. Between the two of you I could get a fuckin' ulcer."

"Damn, now you really sound like ol' Dar. You gonna go grey, too?" Dal socks him in the ribs 'n Two groans.

"I don't think you got any goddamn room to talk. I hear Darry had to scrape you off the drive-in pavement." A brief memory of Darry's face as he marched toward him 'n hauled him up flashes through his mind. He's got the impression he had something real funny. Man, he wishes he could remember that.

"Is that what you're pissed about? Man, I don't know what Darry's been puttin' in your Wheaties. He slidin' you a little extra cash so you get to knock my teeth out instead of him? Or are you payin' him for that privilege?" Two throws a guess at the wall 'n Dallas glowers.

"Darry can beat you to a pulp all on his lonesome. Fuckin' think."

"I'm tryin', I'm tryin'." Last night. Last night. C'mon. "I dunno, man." He was startin' to get nervous 'n Dallas' mood was not improvin'. Two felt suddenly like he was about to be told off 'n read his goddamn rights by the way Dallas' face darkened.

"Well, let me jog you're fuckin' memory. You started with about a pack 'n a half of Bud's which, by the way, Darry almost kicked my ass for 'cause he thought I had walked off with 'em." Two hisses in sympathy 'n Dallas narrows his eyes. "'N then you beat it outta here to go cruise some fuckin' action at the Dingo already pissed out of your fuckin' mind."

Look. Two knew he drank too much. He knew he should probably lay off it a bit. Or a bunch. But Dallas wasn't exactly a pillar of good behavior or nothin'. He was startin' to get deja vu for the well-tread you need to shape up conversation Darry gave him once a month. Two would argue that was improvement. They used to have it once a week.

But Dallas didn't give a shit about bad habits unless it came to Pony. Or Johnny. Or shit, he had that weird thing with that Shepard kid, too. Didn't like none of 'em doin' anythin' too hard.

He's got a sudden wheedlin' feelin' this has somethin' to do with one of 'em.

"Earth to fuckin' Two-Bit." Dallas snaps a hand in front of his face.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm thinkin'." He does actually remember that. He'd caught the end of a movie 'n some action in the form of some little fistfight. Nothin' real tough. Just enough to get his blood pumpin'. Now that he was thinkin' about it, he swore he'd run into someone. Glory, who was it?

"Any fuckin' day now." Dallas doesn't seem to be workin' himself down any. If anythin' he's gettin' real pissed again. "I'm about to stop worryin' about you rememberin' why I'm cavin' your skull in."

"Glory, I'm gettin' to it. Maybe I should have let you put Pony on his ass so I could have a minute to get my head on straight."

"You couldn't get your head on straight if I beat Pony to a bloody pulp for the next week 'n a half." He gets another picture of a memory. Pony sittin' at the table when he headed out, diligently workin' on a project he was supposed to have finished last week before Darry came home 'n beat his ass.

So Pony was out.

"I ran into someone, right? Man, I can almost remember. That's what this is about, right?" Dallas glares at him, white blonde hair fallin' in his eyes. "Right, no twenty questions."

And Johnny, too. Johnny was with Pony 'cause Darry had been strong armin' him into stayin' at the Curtis' since his parents had been on a real bender lately.

"Glory God all-fuckin'- mighty. It was-"

Oh. Wait. He shakes his head hard. Fuck. He remembers who. 'N that bode deeply ill for him.

"Curly. Curly Shepard, yeah?"

Dallas' eyes darken 'n he slides off the bed 'n gets to his feet. Bad sign. "Ding ding ding."

Ah. Well. Shit.

So here's the thing. Dallas liked to pretend like he didn't give a shit. 'N most of them were inclined to pretend they believed him. When he pulled the odd stunt 'n then turned around 'n acted like he couldn't care if any of 'em lived or died they all nodded along 'n, behind closed doors, knew better.

Like that time he'd taken Two's rap for bustin' the school windows or went down for those stolen hubcaps they all knew Steve had lifted or told Darry it was him that put the dent in his bumper when Soda had accidentally backed into a pole.

Sometimes, when he wasn't bein' a fuckin' hood, Dallas was a real good guy.

Now the problem was he also had no problem takin' it out of your ass when he thought you'd been a dick. By his standards. He'd jumped Steve once for pushin' Pony too hard 'n makin' the kid cry 'n whaled the tar outta Soda that time he'd talked Johnny into ridin' in a rodeo 'n the kid had damn near killed himself 'n had no problem hollerin' at Darry when he was bein' unreasonable. However rare it was. The first time Two had let Pony try a beer Dallas had nearly blown a fuckin' gasket.

"You remember what happened?" Dallas rolls his shoulders back, shakes his rings off.

"I'm workin' on it." Two eyes him. It's right there. Just at his fingertips. He'd said somethin' to the kid. Most have been somethin' fucked.

"Tim told me it had the kid real fucked up. He was gonna come down here 'n kick your ass but I figured Darry might beat him into the ground for that so I'm doin' him the favor."

'N Two realizes somethin'.

"Wait a minute. You don't know what the hell I said either!" Dallas shrugs his jacket off, rolls his eyes.

"Whatever it was must've been fucked up to upset Curly." He shoots him a glare, narrows his eyes. "Don't fuckin' tell anyone that, by the way. Or I'll kick your ass again. Now, c'mon."

"Wait, wait, wait. I think I remember- I do remember!" The rest of the night suddenly crashes into his head like a thunderbolt. He throws a hand up to bat away Dallas as he goes to grab him. "I said-

God, Two howls a laugh 'n Curly scowls even deeper. Any more 'n it'd be permanent. Two knew he hated it but he really did look like Tim in miniature. He also looked like-

Curly, kid, you look like if they greased up a wet cat, you know that?

Dallas drops his grip on Two-Bit 'n blinks. Once. Twice. Oh, Jesus here we go. Two should have just kept his mouth shut.

Then he slaps a hand to his mouth 'n cackles to himself so hard he has to grab the doorway. "That's it? Man, the bitch fit Curly had thrown had me thinkin' you'd said somethin' vile man. God that's funny."

"Glad to give you all the facts before you come down like a hammer on my poor ass." Two tries to look put out 'n doesn't manage it at all. Dallas raises an eyebrow at him 'n suddenly they're both howlin'.

"Well, shit. I already promised I'd put a fuckin' pop knot on your head for that shit." They're both still gigglin' intermittently, Pony havin' appeared in the doorway at some point only to have the door slammed in his face for bein' so goddamn nosy. I'll tell you later, glory God.

"Look, I'll stand still for it. I feel kinda bad for upsettin' the kid anyway. Even if he did deserve it." Dallas raises an eyebrow incredulously but shrugs a shoulder.

"Fine. I'm gonna pop you in the eye so Tim can see it, dig? I'll try not to break anythin'."

"Hey, for my sake? Try real hard." Two's got a couple inches on Dallas so he plops back on the bed, lettin' Dal grab him by the shoulders 'n line up his punch.

"Ready?"

"As ever."

Dallas lets his fist fly at the same time the door slams open again.

"Dallas Tucker Winston 'n Keith Mathews." 'N Two's actually grateful he can't see anythin'. "Why can't I ever leave this house without comin' back to a brawl?"

Dallas glances down at Two as he presses a hand over his eye. They both last three seconds before they're both howlin'.

"Would it make a difference if I said he asked for it?"

[allpromarlo]

crying at how one of aglaea’s and phainon’s canon interactions is her taking one look at his clothes and going ‘your fit is NOT hard TAKE THAT SHIT OFF’

[skitskatdacat63]

Cannot stop thinking about how Fernando was the first one to hug Seb after Monza 2008:

[hellofastudysession]

am i rlly going to write a death note literary analysis when i could be doing other things

about the discourse going on in the tag abt "death note is acab and thats why the characters couldnt better the world with the note (/written in somewhat jokey matter)" vs "death note is trying to say we all have potential for evil, especially if you get a chance to insta-hurt ppl without repercussions, and it doesnt matter if youre a cop or not", i personally feel like it ignores the things that i like abt death note, which is "both of these things are true", and simultaneously "both of these things do not matter". the first part of this is dedicated to the first point, the latter to the last.

first point. i think its an important part of the message and themes (unintentional or not, and i lean on the former because... come on, can you really say the author intended you to not think of the cops as good people, at least compared to light and l) that light is a cops son, and that almost everyone who gets the death note is cop adjacent/thinks like a cop and is already corrupt/powerful when they get it (mello raised to think hed be just like l, yotsuba group is self explanatory; you cannot look me in the eyes and tell me teru "churchill" mikami, who was hand selected by light out of a bunch of rabid kira supporters, is a normal citizen). i appreciated the cop post bc its rlly important to not gloss over that aspect.

all of this would be an argument for "only someone like them would do something like this, and i am not like them, so im above them and immune to thinking about what id do with it", but... misa is the MOST important outlier in all of this bc her murders are solely selfish in nature and shes not doing any of this for "the greater good"!!! her nature of being an exception and still a very very bad person is really really important...

or it would be if death note gave a shit about her character at all!!! im not talking about her tragic side, im talking about exploring the ramifications of her killing people the way lights murders are (somewhat) explored. that would strengthen the message greatly! but shes dismissed and that weakens it overall. firstly, she's dismissed by the characters when l only sees her as a way to get to kira and basically shelves her the rest of the time. secondly, shes dismissed by the narrative when her character is gradually ground down to a stump and (not to sound perilously close to the bad takes ppl meme about) she never faces repercussions for her actions. every other character using the death note is treated relatively seriously, but misa just dies bc her love is dead. im not saying this isnt a... fitting punishment or that it isnt in character, but it doesnt fit snugly into the theme other people are talking about of "you reap what you sow" at all.

we do have something of an equivalent to misa's grayscale motives. surprise surprise, its light yagami. first is light's characterization in the musical (i will also note that misa never kills anyone in the musical). light's thinking is coplike, yes — he literally starts his first song by talking about "throw[ing] away the key" — but also, oddly enough, could be read as progressive and therefore sympathetic to tumblr ("let the corporations make the regulations / and hold no one accountable when everything gets wrong / let the rich and famous get away with murder / every time a high-priced mouthpiece starts to talk, his client gets to walk"). compare to the anime and manga, where his bigotry and pride and disgust come from a place of lukewarm dissatisfaction and boredom. the musical has much less time to play around with lights character, so it gives the audience something to immediately hook on. more on how that actually plays out later.

in the animanga, none of this is justified from the start. animanga light could say he was just killing people to make humanity way, way worse, and that wouldnt matter, because at the root of it, it was always his boredom that made him pick up the note. of course he actually believes in justice and believes hes doing the right thing (no, he believes he's doing the wrong thing, for the sake of the world... the right thing, because he is god...), but it was boredom at the start. all animanga light says about justice and righteousness and the law is a front in the end, bc he is exactly like l and misa — amoral. selfish. searching for entertainment. hedonistic. we know this. he kills naomi misora*. he kills lind l. turner. everything hes saying deserves to be dismissed from the beginning.

"but doesnt that mean you agree with the discourse post you wrote this post to argue against?" like i said, i agree with both of them! but i... still think its not right to reduce death note to the message of "the power to kill people is bad". because that is not exactly what the story is saying, even though that's literally its whole plot and therefore reaching that conclusion is self explanatory (lmao). let's look at the concept of mu. nothingness. "there's no heaven or hell". The Real Slay The Princess (Death Note Essay) Starts Here.

in light's final moments in the death note manga, while screaming about not wanting to die, he remembers that the first day they met, ryuk told light that "there's no heaven or hell. no matter what they do in life, all people go to the same place. all humans are equal in death". it is retroactively revealed that light knew this the whole time, operated under this knowledge for all the years we watched him — the knowledge that nothing he does is actually bad, that nothing any human does is actually bad, that shinigami are not "evil", that the universe does not care. that no one cares except humans. this oblivion absolutely terrifies him more than anything anyone could ever do to him. its what he thinks of before anything else as he flails there, screaming, dying. one could say everything he does after that day is him trying to escape that fact, or wrest control over it. but it doesnt work.

here are the lyrics of requiem, the musical's final song, sung over the bodies of l and musical light, a light who was at least somewhat good-intentioned at first: "sleep now, here among your choices / then fade away / hear how the world rejoices / shades of gray / gone who was right or wrong / who was weak or strong / nothing left to learn". this is the final message the death note musical and the manga chose to leave us with. there is no judgement. even after all that acknowledged hurt, after all the damage done, there is no judgement.

in the manga and anime alike, the world is just as fucked when light picks up the death note as when he dies. sure, we as readers can guess otherwise logically (and be optimistic, believing the world was never fucked regardless), but that's not what death note wants you to think. it ends with matsuda and another member of the task force noting how the world is worse again even though they killed kira (matsuda is clearly much worse for wear, but still determined), we see the shitty motorcycle band again, it ends with misa and a whole kira cult on a mountain even though kira died a long time ago...

its extremely important that light is never killed by any human or any aspect of the law. he is always killed by ryuk: a chaotic force completely detached from human sensibilities, one that does not care about good and evil. same with l; in the anime, manga, and musical, he is always killed by rems senseless, morally gray love (and you could argue in the kdrama that hes killed by love there too lol). justice is just a set dressing.

this is not just because death note is a tragedy, because good and evil can still matter in a tragedy. the theme of "nothingness" and "good and evil doesnt matter here" is also shown in a situation relatively unrelated to light winning or losing, or being good or bad. and its in fucking lawlight of all things. we all know ls not a good person. we know lights not a good person. this is tip of the iceberg death note knowledge. but the moment they start to interact, none of that starts to matter. textually, their relationship becomes more important than the people theyve killed and hurt. and the thing is? the thing is? THAT WORKS STORY-WISE. THAT'S ENTERTAINING. AND IT'S NEVER TEXTUALLY CALLED OUT IN A LASTING WAY. l and lights relationship, no matter how much i meme it, is genuinely important to the themes and "mu" because it makes it clear that despite all the pretensions, despite everything, this was never about good and evil. and it still works in the story. this is why death note is simultaneously a comedy — isn't the battle of good and evil supposed to matter more? well, fine, i'll keep watching this anyway. that suspension of disbelief comes crashing down the moment l dies, though, and a relationship built on nothingness (the "mu" sort, meaninglessness, not "character development" nothingness, theres plenty of character development) gives way to just nothingness (again, "mu", not light's post-l depression nothingness), forever.

(an aside: there is no one to root for in death note, and the only things to root for are either interesting character relationships, convoluted plots, or complete and total destruction: for everything to end so no more damage is done.)

not to say that death note does not encourage its readers to consider what damage they might do with the death note (obviously.), or that its characters never do. look at matsuda, a much easier heroic figure to latch on to than soichiro because of his unique place in the cast dynamic and because he's willing to consider both sides of the situation and kill light instantly for all he's done. its just that the story's own stance on the subject is... complicated by the existence of shinigami worldviews and by its own insistence that the world cannot change for the better.

also, this is not to say that this is executed well by the death note manga at all. it is a very strong tool, artistically, to establish and then violently remove any emotional connections between characters and make your story only about the exceedingly convoluted lengths characters go to to survive and catch each other so the reader can realize how ultimately pointless all of this is, but like... is that a good story choice if that's all you do? i would say not really. add in a good dollop of misogyny that destroys the second-to-last character who might actually be an interesting contrast to the rest of the cast's dull one-track focus on winning and justice, and youve got yourself a shitty story that... honestly still achieves what it went out to do, just not in a way id ever want to replicate.

anyway, back to the parts death note's actually trying to say. no matter what any human does in their life, no matter how they try to hurt or help the world, they all die in the end. hey, light, they all die in the end. once dead, they can never come back to life. and the seasons turn. and the world rejoices. and you say "goodbye"...

that's all.

no analysis of death notes overarching theme would be complete without nears final monologue, the definitive roast of light, the "you're just a murderer" speech: "what is right from wrong? what is good from evil? nobody can truly distinguish between them. even if there is a god." if we take this as talking about the actual god in the room (ryuk) as well as light, then near admits that humans will never be able to withstand these overwhelming forces and that, using justice and happiness and selfishness, they are just scrabbling to find meaning in things they ultimately have no control over.

but of course, near does not stop there. "[...] even then i'd stop and think for myself. i'd decide for myself whether his teachings are right and wrong." nears alright with not having control over everything, because near can still control nears own actions. these forces can and do exist, but they have no sway over nears own humanity — unlike light, who caved.

one of the creators of death note said they believe its message is "life is short, so everyone should do their best". the first time i learned this, i was like, thats... nice and optimistic, but an awful reading of the story! "life is short, so everyone should be desperate and striving like light yagami", who literally cut off other ppls lives for his own life? what character in death note are we supposed to strive towards when we "do our best"? they all do awful things with their lives! honestly, maybe they shouldnt have tried their best, if this is what their best is!

but with the view of "mu"... it makes a bit more sense. just a little. maybe.

there is no good and evil. there is only what humans think, and no matter what we do, we all die in the end. it is easy to be crushed and terrified by this in the same way light is, but what is more important than justice and righteousness and finding meaning is... doing your best. not being a person that hurts others too much. not letting yourself get swallowed up by an ideal. not going too far. and simultaneously, trusting yourself.

it leaves a few questions, though... was the currently dead l even a little bit right about his blatantly amoral approach, then? was there a point to this pain, and me slogging through this dumbass manga, and all the people that have lost their lives to a selfish teenage cop's son and the whims of everyone chasing after him? was there a point to any of this...?

the manga** never answers this. it stays clinically impartial until the very end. the musical is anything but clinically impartial (and i love it so much for that), and its ryuk that has the last word.

"there's no point at all."

of course theres no point. none of this was ever supposed to happen. that is what matters more than all the hurt and the crimes and the pain.

and that's... actually okay, because it's over now.

yes, death note has many really important themes present in its story, but its viewpoint is nihilism first and foremost. thats why its so fun and easy to play around with all the other messages, because no matter what fun or torment or awful things or righteous justice or absolute nothingness or sentimentality happens in between, there is always an end.

there is always the end.

[kirishwima]

ok WHY has no one told me bout homicipher before like. excuse me?? horror game where you get to romance horrid creatures AND decipher language via visual recognition while doing so???? HELLO?????