#so forgive me if i butcher anything i don't mind being corrected!

[streetslost]

@tapalslegacy

       IF INQUIRY ABOUT HOW she had come to find herself in her current situation was given, cat would have stayed silent. not out of any sense of obedience or concern but because she couldn't begin to wrap her head around the ordeal. most days it was a SURVIVAL tactic so far as she could surmise; accept the proposition in order to live. to not get tossed into a prison and sentenced to draw her last breaths. had she b e e n a criminal worth charging so harshly? perhaps, perhaps not. in the grand scheme, she was never part of a rebellion, never an agent against the government.

            her loyalties had fallen nowhere, she had been her own piece in a dejarik game. one without rules or color, the guidelines entirely her own and the goal simple. outlast. the fall of one side was not to her benefit. in the end, she would take whatever would keep her going. credits, sacrifice, second chances, forgiveness, food, a place to sleep, the few promises she could depend on. the position she tackled in that time was b e y o n d the sort of deal she could have ever dreamed up nor considered. an elderly being agreeing to let her crash for a few nights but the grand inquisitor?

     cat was quite certain she didn't even know what that meant.

                 the war's complexities had never made itself truly known to her. priorities had never led her to doorsteps where she felt inclined to swing wide the entryway. the former thief had taken what she NEEDED and then fled before anything further could come. recruitment, requests, barrages of speeches about who was right and who was wrong... how she had hid from it all in desperate attempt to not get pulled into a situation that would only lead to death. now look at her.

     not that she was a target - she was an unknown. someone to be left alone but also an oddity. she followed but strayed, and her presence left most unnerved, curious, or perhaps enraged. one didn't need to talk of policy and behavior to stir frustrations.

                yet, now, in that fleeting moment of travel between destinations, following with tightened shoulders that ached and feet that threatened to blister, her gritted teeth revealed as much to the words she dared to speak to her companion. "this is fucking boring. when do i get t'use one of the blasters or something-" there was no chance on a SABER, and no inclination in her to request. the force wasn't within her grasp, and there was doubt it would ever be. the brunette didn't need it to aim well, and the idea of lacking her own natural talents left her disgusted.

          she ought to have lowered her voice, "or a'the very least, can we get something to eat?"

[purplink8]

Hate hate HATE what the anime did to the way Sayu's kidnapping was handled (specifically by Light). The anime just wants to show how utterly devoid of love anime!Light (coz no manga!Light would never seriously consider killing Sayu oh my god) is even towards his family at the face of his Kira goals.

Contrary to the manga (which i prefer who would've guessed) in which Light is shown very genuinely caring for his family! And you know just who wanted to save Sayu more? Or who was more active in saving her between Light & Soichiro?

It was Light (at least manga!Light coz idk what the hell was going on in anime!Light's mind during that episode). Yeah, I know. It might be surprising to those who haven't read the manga but this protective brother of Sayu's? Cares for her deeply.

And the anime just had to fuck that up, hadn't it? 🤦🏻‍♀️

I hate episode 28 (titled 'Impatience') of the anime with a burning passion. So much so that I'll compare it with how the plot ACTUALLY transpires in the Manga.

This post is...long: I've tried my hardest to not go overboard with my negative(?) rant against the anime but it was an impossible task imo /o\

If any of the points mentioned in this post are good, they are due to tumblr user casuistor's post which I read on a regular basis. (Go check it out!! It's much much better than anything I could've written in my whole life. Yes, I'm a fan :)

If there are any mistakes, it would be entirely correct to attribute them to me.

I admit I hadn't paid much attention to the manga the first time I had read it but holy shit even then I had picked up on how close the Yagami siblings were!

I couldn't make much sense of the plot of the 2nd arc (I wasn't completely over L's death so forgive me for being in a daze) and yet I was absolutely sure of the fact that Light had done everything in his power to save Sayu. Even if you were not following the plot closely, you'd still understand that fact (which the anime did much worse than deliberately ignoring it). Why?

Because Ryuk kindly summarizes the plot/points this out:

Honestly, I don't even need to go on at this point now, do I? Ryuk, who never fails to call out Light (for example, saying that Light will be the only bad guy left if he kills every 'bad' guy out there in chapter 1), has just confirmed what thoughtful manga readers already knew: Light has a soft spot for his sister.

I'm still petty at the anime so I won't stop at this point. I'll first explain how it goes in the manga, then how the anime butchered it. Let's gooo!

To understand the circumstances surrounding Sayu's kidnapping, we need to note that the NPA director Takimura is kidnapped by Mello first for the exchange of the notebook. Soichiro notifies every bureau of the NPA. And Light, of course, doesn't hesitate for a minute to kill Takimura (obviously, the priority of Death Note >>> the life of Takimura, to Light).

This is supposed to happen behind the scenes in the manga compared to the anime which makes Light killing Takimura much more obvious:

-episode 27: Abduction

Anyways, it's part of Light's plan to let the kidnappers take the fall for Takimura's death (so that Kira won't be blamed for his murder. And since only the kidnappers and the NPA know about the kidnapping: it won't be assumed that Kira has any link to the NPA).

Light seriously doubts that the kidnappers would just drop the issue due to Takimura's death and he's right. Sayu is kidnapped.

Mello is taking full responsibility for Takimura's death just like Light intended him to. However, this time, rather than any person whom Light could've easily disposed of (like Takimura) to avoid letting the notebook fall into the kidnappers' hands, Sayu- the sister for whom Light cares deeply- is kidnapped instead.

Not only that, Mello expects Soichiro to keep this a secret from the rest of the NPA personnel otherwise as he threatens, he'll kill Sayu. Now, we know that during Takimura's kidnapping, rest of the NPA were notified of the fact (Yes, the circumstances are quite different- there wasn't a threat to Takimura's life for letting the others know of his kidnapping), Ide points this out:

Ide is apparently okay with Sayu's death and appeals to (read: pressures) 'duty/justice above my family' side of Soichiro Yagami to send word to every NPA department even if that means Sayu will be killed. And you know what? Soichiro actually agrees to do so!

I would like you to see Light's reaction here, these panels come directly after the above one:

Light wastes no time to completely change his plan to have everyone assume that it was the kidnappers who killed Takimura to -> Kira did it. This was Light's previous plan before Sayu got involved:

"It's part of Light's plan to let the kidnappers take the fall for Takimura's death (so that Kira won't be blamed for his murder. And since only the kidnappers and the NPA know about the kidnapping: it won't be assumed that Kira has any link to the NPA)."

This changing of plans that Light does immediately is actively detrimental to Light's Kira's cause (in other words, disadvantageous to Kira's goals). Look at Light digging a hole for himself just to save his sister:

Light argues to not notify the other NPA departments otherwise Kira would know about the kidnapping and kill Sayu (and they wouldn't get a chance to investigate the kidnappers if Kira kills Sayu before they can negotiate with them). So their best bet is to keep quiet about it so that Kira doesn't know; meanwhile they can, as Ide says, try and catch the culprit while negotiating the exchange.

Back to how this is in no way an advantage to Light (as Kira):

Telling the task force that Kira was behind Takimura's murder whose kidnapping was known only to the NPA personnel suggests that Kira has a link to NPA info and may lead to doubt against those in NPA being Kira (the NPA that Light is now the part of) so obviously not a win for Kira/Light.

Light is in now a very bad position if he needs to kill Sayu in the future to avoid the Note falling to the kidnappers' hands. Because now he can't blame Kira for her death, can he? He is the one who stopped them from sending word to rest of the NPA so Kira has (according to Light) theoretically no way of knowing about the exchange with Sayu situation (unless if Kira were in the task force itself thus narrowing down the list of Kira suspects); ergo Kira won't kill her.

So why the hell is Light okay with these disadvantages instead of his previous, practically/pragmatically (for Kira's cause) better plan? Better yet, why not did he kill Sayu himself without a moment of hesitation like he did with Takimura when he had the chance to do so before suggesting that it was Kira who killed Takimura, the kidnappers could've been framed for Sayu's death? Or just allow notifying the NPA personnel so that they made a move and let the kidnappers do the dirty work?

Because, as Ryuk says, Light has a soft spot for his sister:

Note that: Light doesn't even try to deny it in his thoughts ("...that's not all" anyone?). We're talking about the guy who rationalizes his way out of his feelings, who views emotions as the reason 'why most idiots screw up' and he does NOT DENY THAT HE CARES FOR HIS SISTER.

Also worthy of note is how quickly he decides to tell the task force that Kira killed Takimura. Usually, we get a long wall of text of Light planning his every move. Not in this case. I believe it's because this decision was fueled by emotion rather than reason- the emotion being brotherly love ofc.

["A totally emotional decision is typically very fast. This is because it takes time (at least 0.1 seconds) for the rational cortex to get going. This is the reactive (and largely subconscious) decision-making that you encounter in heated arguments or when faced with immediate danger.

Common emotional decisions may use some logic, but the main driving force is emotion, which either overrides logic or uses a pseudo-logic to support emotional choices (this is extremely common)." (as a bonus have this research by Damasio)]

Once, Light has time to think, he goes 'well even if in the worst case scenario (the kidnappers get the note) I have Misa's eyes so I'm still at an advantage eh...?'

He is, instead of contemplating a way to kill Sayu so that the note is safe, thinking (however briefly) of how it won't be muuuuuuuch of a problem if Mello does gets his hands on the note. Idk about you guys but man that rlly gives us an idea of Light's priorities (Sayu>>>>>>Death Note).

Here's instance #2 demonstrating Light's priorities (when Soichiro asks Light to just save Sayu as the former doesn't care if he loses his life. And Light responds by saying don't be a fool etc etc):

#Sayu matters more than the Death Note

Now we come to the scene which the anime seems to have taken to heart to entirely without the context. When Soichiro goes underground for the exchange, we have Near taunting Light (as L number 2)

This is not Light seriously deciding to kill Sayu (remember when he had the time to think over his decision, killing Sayu was not even an option but handing over the note to Mello was, in the worst case (even if he has Misa's eyes, it doesn't mean the idea is any less ridiculous)).

This is him, so stressed that he's coming up with so rubbish ideas that even he goes 'wtf am i thinking??' Because at this point, killing Sayu would be announcing that Kira is among the task force as only they know of Sayu's kidnapping + her name & face, which is again bad for Kira's cause. And the one responsible for this predicament is Light himself as he was the one who told the task force not to alert the NPA personnel.

If Light really had been meaning to kill Sayu, he had plenty of time & opportunity to do so (without the suspicion falling on him) before suggesting that Kira killed Takimura. Light essentially ran in the opposite direction when he was faced with the perfect chance of killing Sayu (just let the others notify the departments of NPA -> kill Sayu -> Blame Kira for it, foolproof. but he did Not take this route as he Loves his sister) and now when it is absolutely NOT AN OPTION (for obvious reasons) he's thinking it since he's stressed to the point of irrationality.

Yes, he's seen thinking this:

...aaaand he can't bring himself to finish the thought because he knows that he did the opposite since he loves Sayu & Soichiro dearly and couldn't bring himself to kill them.

Also look how concerned Light is over the well-being of Sayu & Soichiro that he calls his dad to ask if they're okay:

I hope at this point you believe me when I say that manga!Light never seriously considers killing Sayu. He loves his sister too much for that.

______________________________________________________________

Now we move on to how the anime (fucked it all up) adapted this. I'm not particularly happy with it (understatement of the year) so I'm gonna rant about how inferior it is compared to the manga. Let's gooo!

The plot goes pretty similarly: Takimura is kidnapped ->Light kills him -> Sayu is kidnapped -> Mello demands them not to notify the NPA personnel lest they kill Sayu.

But the change in episode 27 is that they remove the discussion (mainly Ide pressuring Soichiro) around whether to notify the NPA personnel. Soichiro deciding to send word to all departments of NPA is cut so we don't get to see Light swooping in to protect Sayu.

Still, anime!Light does reveal that it was Kira who killed Takimura. And advises the task force to keep Sayu's kidnapping a secret. However, anime!Ryuk doesn't call anime!Light out on him having a soft spot for his sister (coz as far as the anime is concerned, they really REALLY wanna sell the idea that Light doesn't care for Sayu).

It's a lot harder, therefore, to make sense of anime!Light's motivations in changing his plan from having the kidnappers framed for Takimura's murder to admitting that Kira did it. It appears that it happens just because ???

Like there is no reason in manga!Light doing this apart from saving his sister but anime!Light cannot have any redeeming qualities like loving his family, he needs to be a 100% evil villain!! ...So we have zero explanation for anime!Light's actions.

The exchange between Light & Soichiro re: the whole 'I don't care if I die but please save Sayu' + 'You can't die in front of Sayu no matter what...You must make the right decisions so that both you and Sayu live.' occurs without change. But due to the succeeding added anime-only scenes (which I'll talk about later), this conversation sounds fake from Light's side while it is completely genuine in the manga.

Then the infamous scene (which I hate to death) of anime!Light SERIOUSLY considering to kill Sayu comes:

And Misa overhears him saying that in the bathroom coz why not?? make it worse??? :) :) :)

And anime!Light comes as close as to killing Sayu that he even has his watch opened with the piece of the notebook

...wow such an awful brother being a piece of shit >:(

Wait! Can brotherly affection save the day? Has anime!Light finally realized the error of his ways?

Nope. Anime!Light chooses not to kill Sayu not because he loves her but because it would be self-incriminating to do so. Yeah...what. an. asshole.

Light calling his dad to check up on how him & Sayu are doing is cut from the anime. Instead, take a look at how displeased anime!Light is after Sayu is rescued by sacrificing the notebook.

Damn.

...yeah, this is Not the face of someone who's happy with the way things happened (namely losing the Death Note to Mello in exchange for Sayu's life). It's clear where anime!Light's priorities actually lie (Death Note>>>>Family) He's so angry that he takes out his anger on Misa by slapping the drink she offers, out of her hands:

Oh and these scenes are nowhere in the manga, they're just in the anime to emphasize just how big of a jerk brother anime!Light is.

In conclusion! Manga!Light (who's the only Light that matters really imo) loves his sister, would never seriously consider killing her in contrast to anime!Light who is very ready to say 'Sayonara Sayu Yagami' via murder and would've done so if it wasn't self-incriminating.

As you can see manga!Light is far superior to anime!Light. If you've stuck around to read this post to the end (a) I love you & (b) I hope you have a fantabulous day!! <333

[theangrypokemaniac]

Baby Vulpix are born with a solitary white tail, which reddens and splits as it grows.

Given the conversion to Ice we must forgive the lack of colour, but the ends sticking together is inexplicable.

Perhaps it's tangled with perspiration, as a furry fox embellished with fluffy pouffes is not best equipped to deal with a simmering climate.

When Fire, and thus possessed of an inner furnace, such outer decoration is easily borne, but losing his type means it's nothing but a burden for these endless summer days.

If he became Ice to cope, why not shed such bothersome apparel? What benefit is there in retaining a fur coat?

Perhaps the transformation is yet to reach fruition, and we are witnessing merely a stage midway, before it drops off.

The correct crown plumage is three tight little curls above a small fringe, but here we find a most dishevelled appearance.

It smacks of a want of propriety.

Why any creature should don a toupee of albino pubes shall remain a mystery. Clearly they are no longer of sound mind.

I blame the diabolical influence of those wicked polyps sprouting from his ears.

Polyps grow in the cavities of a cat's head like the toadstools of Satan.

If they aren't removed they bore into its brain!

Are you blind? What's that there then?

I thought Ninetales had nine tails.

A matted bush with seven straggling ends wafting in the breeze.

The lack of separation is less of a concern when one realises the billowing quality equates to having no solid form.

He's lost his bloody tail bones, man! That bastard sun butchered him!

Like Parasect, the parasitic colonisation is complete, with polyps responsible for Ninetales's degradation from vindictive lunatic to feeble-fannied pacifist.

Remember Normal Ninetales? The regal reincarnation of nine noble saints who, were he offended, delivered eternal curses upon the perpetrator?

And it wasn't just a temporary punishment? It wasn't even for your lifetime?

It doomed generation after generation of your descendants, lasting ONE THOUSAND YEARS!!!

How does Alola Ninetales compete?

He'll douse you cold water.

No! The last thing I need is a cool down!

Well, if he's annoyed, if he's really, really, thoroughly ticked off, you'll be frozen.

And instantly thaw.

He's got that skin. Or fur even.

Meowth don't brown in sunlight. He greys. What was brown bleached to white.

Last year, when Sadism and Masochism still ran, I was up to me teef in posts praising Velma's mutant pussy, because Team Rocket can do no wrong, apparently.

A creature of alien grey, with a smug, squashed mush and Betty Spaghetti limbs, carved from the rubberiest lump of Kraken ever washed up on the shores of Siberia, was treated like a treasure, a faultless jewel we are honoured to behold.

However, as the S & M sesssion finished, I discovered that approval of Alolan Meowth is an extreme minority view.

Well yer could've fooled me!

What did we learn?

A. T.A.P. is in the majority at last!

B. Tumblr gives a really skewed idea of the wider fandom.

This hot stuff's a bitch eh?

Soon as touching the innocuous cat, it dived in his back and reorganised his spinal column, bipedal abilities serving as such a fine defence against sunburn, which is why fat-headed Persian loses it again.

I hope Game Freak did remember that our Meowth is the exception, and the breed aren't meant to walk upright.

It's very sloppy record-keeping otherwise.

Forget silly notions of black felines browned by prolonged sunbathing, what really goes down is cream darkening to grey, whilst any ruby gemstones they may possess becomes royal blue, obviously.

Persian was drawn in an identical stance to the real one to assist identification. I can't say I'd know without that visual clue.

Grey and blue? Has Persian, playing by his own rules, developed hypothermia?

He's a maverick, man! Petty laws of nature are meaningless to this cool cat!

As for his unfortunate face, it has swelled to painful proportions in the sizzling environment, like a woman's lower extremities.

It shows why a certain representative of the race lashed out by beating up Litten, besides intentions to eat or mount Popplio.

His features group together under the gravitation pull of the Ultra Wormhole secreted inside his skull, caused no doubt by baleful polyps.

Yer gotta watch 'em!

Ah, and where is the ambulance service striving to cure every Persian of this double malady?

There isn't one, 'cause they don't care.

Yeah, well he'll have the last laugh. That loaf is still a-growing, and one day will explode, unleashing said cosmic damnation upon the heartless savages, atomising all before it.

Sandshrew mate, yer getting hefty.

And then they'll be sorry!

I'll have you know I'm retaining water to survive.

Retaining pies more like.

Sandshrew can't abide damp, choosing to reside in dry areas well away from any substantial precipitation.

How exactly it crossed the sea to small series of islands surrounded by more sea is a mystery, but happen it did.

A creature of such taste should head inland, far from the shore, to a dusty landscape, the sort found on Akala Island.

What did it do?

He clambered the peaks, where much moisture awaits, snow being water, and stayed until ice colonised his person.

And got ears like an igloo.

Makes total sense for a Pokémon with an aversion to anything cold and wet to rush straight for the source.

Plus, that girth suggests piling on the fat to cope with a habitat it selected.

Oh no, that's a coat of steel. Definitely not ice. It's just bluish white and shimmering, like ice.

On an Ice Pokémon. But no ice here.

Shivering in a blizzard compelled it to develop a thick metal hide? That'll be useful when Alola goes to war and needs ammunition for the cannons.

A freezing, inflexible suit of armour not only works wonders against frostbite, but Sandshrew will sweat to death should it descend to the places it used to live.

The eyes are partly on its old face, but now overlap onto the ridge, meaning his eyeballs are bent in half.

One does expect sand and sand-related features from a Sandslash, such as Ground powers.

But a pangolin's gotta avoid the Chinese somehow, and so up he went, climbing them thar hills, whereupon his spikes, previously a natural fibre, transformed into steel stalagmites, and over that came an icy epidermis.

Trap up there forever, and blind!

Roasting conditions suffice to make mischief by melting rocks, so what befalls types weak to heat?

If Sandslash goes to sea level, his back will vaporise in the first blast of said dread inferno, leaving him vulnerable, just as the wet markets like 'em.

Worse, his upper limbs are not affixed to his body. Via the flimsiest joint, they're glued to the ice thanks to its adhesive effects.

It's as one often sees when scamps, walking to school, lick a lamppost upon a winter morn.

And soon regret.

Whence comes the thaw, his arms is gonna fall off, and then what defence can be mustered against the People's Republic?

AND, given his head is also majority cone, as it breaks, his skull will crack open and his brains tip out!

No wonder they're goin' extinct!