Hello! I go by Orange or Citrus! My DN hyperfixation reoccurs roughly every few years so i figured I'd make a blog for it.
Near is my favourite, and my OTP for him is Meronia, but I also multiship him with just about everyone, including Matt, L, Light, BB, Minoru (if there's anyone around who ships that other than me lol) etc
Not keen on lawlight but its not a trigger and I can tolerate it so long as it's not the focus of a post/fic/etc.
Currently only an anime watcher (and dub truther, sorry) but maybe I'll eventually get around to the manga and live actions like I've been meaning to for years
This is a sideblog so if you leave me stuff in the notes know that i do see you and im not ignoring you! I just cant reply w/o coming on main lol
Is a male misa and female Light cursed? How do you think they will turn out?
Funnily enough i actually do ship misalight (yagamane? I think its yagamane). Are they toxic for each other, absolutely, do i still like it, yes! Light absolutely didn't return any affections in canon, but i like my version where he did return a twisted sense of affection. Misa reminds me of myself in a lot of ways, willing to utterly sacrifice herself for someone who wouldn't do the same for her.
But i digress.
I think their relationship would be very different. Part of Misa's strength is her being a woman, especially a pretty woman. People around her are going to treat her a little more kindly because they percieve her as less of a threat. Her behaviour and attitude towards Light would no longer become "annoying" and would instead be percieved as threatening. Misa is quite agressive in her pursuit of Light, and that agression wouldn't translate very kindly if she were a man. (I suppose one reason Misa isn't percieved as very threatening is also her petite stature- she's very small. Physically, she doesn't pose a threat... which, to be fair, is something she uses to her advantage.)
Male!Misa stalking fem!Light, confronting her in the street alone, clinging onto her physically when she expresses explicit discomfort... these are definitely actions that (at the time anyway) would be percieved more harshly coming from a man towards a woman, than a woman towards a man. However, Light doesn't seem the type to care about that... in the first place, either version of Light would use Misa as a tool the best they could regardless.
I can actually see fem!Light using male!Misa's affections even more to her advantage. She would definitely play up her 'love' for Misa a lot more, I think.
Ok so tumblr would not let me edit my draft out of nowhere so i had to post it early. Continuing here!
I also didnt get to add this into the original post but if this all seems a bit of a very extreme black/white and even a little bioessentialist view on gender/sex, then in my defense, the series DOES engage with gender/sex in this way. We all know the treatment of female characters in DN erm.. leaves a lot to be desired- but also its a good look into that time period and culture generally. I'll yap more about this later but how women are presented in death note ans handled by the narrative is a good reflection of how female characters and women irl were treated back then (and honestly to an extent still today).
But yes, continuing.
Fem!Light would deffo play up affections towards male!Misa, especially to get some heat off her back. She would see the advantages in keeping a man close to her, especially romantically. Male!Light is considered a bit of a womaniser, but fem!Light wouldnt be a..
Uh. Idk what the equivalent is. Man-eater?
Whatever the equivalent is.
This is because flirtatious and charming women are viewed very differently to flirtatious and charming men- with men being praised for it and women scorned. I can see her charming men a little bit, but not enough to be considered 'slutty' or 'teasing'. She'd be a bit more like Takada, I think, the sexy but sophisticated type, with a mature feel to her, but also knowing when to play up a faux sense of 'womanly naivete'.
So in this sense, she'd appear less reluctant to hang about Misa, even playing up a sense of demure about their relationship, acting as though she was hesitant to talk about it out of shyness over her first boyfriend rather than just... not being that into Misa lmao. Look, i love original Light and all, but he definitely could have pretended to have feelings for Misa a bit better! He was NOT convincing enough imo lmaooo. Hes lucky the kira taskforce were.. um............ not the most observant in matters of the heart, shall we say.
I think especially because everyone in the KTF would be a lot less patient with Misa. Not to entirely dismiss them, but I think Misa got a LOT of leeway over being a cute and pretty presence to the team. Yes i know that was largely comedic effect, but its true that to some extent they most definitely gave her more grace than they would to a male!Misa. Again, which is why a fem!Light would have to make the relationship more believable, so Misa would come across more like a doting and clingy boyfriend and not... a creep pestering her.
The time skip is also interesting to consider... for one, Light being the breadwinner of the family as a woman would most definitely be quite the obstacle. It's not exactly something that was common to see at all. And whilst I dont mean to generalise, this is an Asian country in the early 2000s.. it would definitely be seen as iffy. There would be pressure on Light to marry and have children. Luckily the KTF seems to be working relatively independently at that point, but even so. Theres also the issue with Misa's career as an idol, and being in a relationship... though iirc she just became a regular actress and no longer continued her idol career (correct me if im wrong). In the first place, their relationship is certainly an odd one, a former idol turned actress and a police officer...
I can see them actually getting married. Light isnt too old when he dies, only 23... but typically that was when most people got engaged or married. I cant speak for japanese culture, but in broader asian culture i can vouch that 20-30 years ago, that was around the age when most women were marrying. My gen x aunt married at 19!
Saw someone mention that fem!Light would just kill off male!Misa after L's death, but i disagree. Not out of a sense of affection, just i think she'd still want to use Misa. Again, it would be convenient to have a boyfriend/husband to use as an excuse/explanation at times.
Is a male misa and female Light cursed? How do you think they will turn out?
Funnily enough i actually do ship misalight (yagamane? I think its yagamane). Are they toxic for each other, absolutely, do i still like it, yes! Light absolutely didn't return any affections in canon, but i like my version where he did return a twisted sense of affection. Misa reminds me of myself in a lot of ways, willing to utterly sacrifice herself for someone who wouldn't do the same for her.
But i digress.
I think their relationship would be very different. Part of Misa's strength is her being a woman, especially a pretty woman. People around her are going to treat her a little more kindly because they percieve her as less of a threat. Her behaviour and attitude towards Light would no longer become "annoying" and would instead be percieved as threatening. Misa is quite agressive in her pursuit of Light, and that agression wouldn't translate very kindly if she were a man. (I suppose one reason Misa isn't percieved as very threatening is also her petite stature- she's very small. Physically, she doesn't pose a threat... which, to be fair, is something she uses to her advantage.)
Male!Misa stalking fem!Light, confronting her in the street alone, clinging onto her physically when she expresses explicit discomfort... these are definitely actions that (at the time anyway) would be percieved more harshly coming from a man towards a woman, than a woman towards a man. However, Light doesn't seem the type to care about that... in the first place, either version of Light would use Misa as a tool the best they could regardless.
I can actually see fem!Light using male!Misa's affections even more to her advantage. She would definitely play up her 'love' for Misa a lot more, I think.
Like i WANT to like the ship, i just dont 😭 its funny bc it ticks all the boxes i usually like in a ship, it just doesnt click for me. I obvs have nothing against lawl1ght or its shippers i just feel kinda sad sometimes like I WANT TO JOIN IN THE HYPE GRRR
you can love someone and still murder them in cold blood without remorse btw!!! the two are not mutually exclusive and to suggest otherwise is a very heteronormative point of view!!!!
Do you think mello missed spending christmas at wammy's. Even if they werent affiliated with any religion, i assume they celebrated christmas for the sake of the kids (an excuse for decorating the place and baking treats and hot chocolate and GIVING GIFTS??? Yes pls). And in mello's case, he would have had a religious tie to the holiday as well, even if for most of the kids it was more about the aforementioned presents and sweet treats and time off school.
I wonder what those christmases away from wammy's were like. I wonder if he looked out of the window of his hideout, glass frosted over, at the snow falling over the city. I wonder if the white expanse made him think of the boy he left behind. Even later, the sounds of matt fiddling with his gameboy in the background, the crackle of the pathetic little space heater in the centre of the dismal motel room- would he trace an 'N' in the corner of the glass, gloved finger squeaking against the cool surface. Would he think of that boy, with the snow-white hair and clothes, the pale skin, the small, delicate fingers, how easily they could have slotted into the spaces in between his own-
And he would scowl, erasing the letter he traced, wiping it away with the ease of someone who could walk away from the place he called home for so many years without a second though, impulse burning in him as bright and fierce as the flames that almost melted off half his face. He'd push it all to the side, the memories, the regrets, the wants- he'd bury it away, tuck it deep inside his heart like he was tucking a particularly precious gift under the tree, one that wouldn't be discovered until much, much later.
He would deal with it later.
It wasn't like he ever expected this Christmas to be his last.
I started a draft on the answer but i guess it didnt save or tumblr sent it to the void 😔
But i'll type out again and hope I didnt forget anything-
OH and before I forget
This post by @huyandere is what inspired this idea and I must state the artwork in this post is theirs, not mine!
(Major spoilers for both series)
I think Near and Makoto are surprisingly similar, in ways you wouldn't expect at first glance! Both are kind of the heroes of their story (yes i know it was mainly L, but it switched to Near for the second half, and Mello was sort of an anti-hero), and both are the ones to take down their respective big bad (Light for Near, Junko for Makoto).
There's also the fact that both prefer more peaceful, or at least non-violent solutions. Makoto is a pacifist, and Near would rather solve the Kira case and bring Light to justice that way, even though the easiest and quickest way to get rid of Kira would be to just kill him (something Near even admits to).
They're both also misunderstood by their fandoms- both got a lot of criticism for being "bland" or "two-dimensional", and Near especially gets criticism for being "emotionaless" (not true lol). They're seen as not as good as their 'counterpart'- Mello is usually more liked than Near, and Hinata more liked than Makoto (in an Danganronpa AU i can actually see Mello being a mix between Hinata and Komaeda but thats for another day).
There's also the fact that both take on the leadership role of their respective teams- the Future Foundation/DR1 survivors for Makoto, and Near for the SPK. They're also both not very well liked by their allies LOL- the Future Foundation seems to be working more against Makoto then with him in dr3, and the Kira Taskforce aren't exactly fond of Near, though they do work with him more amicably then the FF does with Makoto LOL.
They also take on a title/legacy- Near becoming 'L', and Makoto becoming the 'Ultimate Hope'. They also have a predecessor- Near and L, and Makoto with Kyoko's father (I mostly ignore dr3 but i suppose if u like the headmaster Makoto thing that applies here).
This one's more aesthetic but similar heights (5'2 and 5'0) + short floofy hair lol.
(Largely its also just that both are my favourite, LOL. I also saw this fanart by and was like yeah ok make it happen people)
Onto Mello and Nagito!
This one's a bit harder, because, as I said, I actually see Mello as being a bit more of a mix of Hinata and Komaeda (+ I suppose Near is more like a mix of Makoto and Kyoko as well).
The main reason is just that I like meronia and komaegi, so i was like "yeah put em together), but there's also a reason why Mello reminds me of Komaeda too.
One, is the theme of explosions/fire with them. Mello has both an explosive personality, and is often associated with fire/explosions. He gets a zuko-esque scar in an explosion he triggered, and then also his body is burned in a fire set off by Takada. On the flip side, Nagito also has these kinds of moments. There's the bomb he sets off in chapter 5(?), and the others he has hidden around the Island. Then there's also the fire he sets off for his death.
Going off of that, the two essentially act as elements of chaos in their stories. They are both the 'wildcards', unpredictable, intelligent, but acting in ways that are not only violent/result in violence, but often shake things up. That's another thing- they both push the story along. They're the "do-ers". They both take an extremely active role, and push the other characters into acting when they otherwise wouldn't. Mello's hand forces Kira/Light to make a move. Nagito incited the first murder. They're both unique characters in their story, often very different to the other characters- Nagito is the stand-out character in his game without a doubt, and Mello, whilst not as popular as L or Light, is incredibly unique to other main characters, being the anti-hero (unless you count Light as one, which I don't).
That's another thing- they're antiheroes.
(Just look at them... chaos incarnate)
Both are antagonistic to the hero of the story (I'm saying hero and not protagonist, 1) because Near isnt the protagonist and 2) because Light isn't a hero), and actively cause problems and act as obstacles to the heroes... whilst at the same time, opposing the actual villain. They walk the line between black and white, good and bad- both are working towards admirable goals (catching a mass murderer, ending a killing game/ending despair) but their methods are extreme and they also have an element of selfishness to them- they want to test their protagonist/rival, and have no plans of making it easy for them.
There's also the fact that both want to become what they admire- with Nagito secretly desiring nothing more than to become Hope, and Mello wanting nothing more than to become/surpass L. In the end, both are willing to die to achieve this, and sacrifice themselves.
That brings me to my next point- stepping stones. Nagito often claims he's a "stepping stone" for hope, and his ultimate motive throughout is always to see hope prevail, no matter what- even if that means engineering situations of despair, so that an even greater hope will arise from the ashes. He even sacrificed his life in an attempt to bring the Remnants down. Deep down, he actually wants to BE hope (hence his request at the end- 'Call me... the Ultimate Hope'). In a similar sense, Mello also ends up being somewhat of a stepping stone for Near- it's his sacrifice that not only saves Near from death at the hands of Mikami, but points Near to the last bit of evidence he needs to close the case. It's through Mello's aid and co-operation that boosts Near into the position he needs to be to surpass their mentor. In death, Mello becomes L, or the other half of L, alongside Near, finally letting go of his complex.
On that note- insecurity and an inferiority/superiority complex. Both characters are heavily insecure. Both feel inferior, Nagito to all Ultimates, and Mello to Near. At the same time, both have superiority complexes too. Nagito believes himself above those without talent (even if by, like 1%)- and believes all those without talent to be useless. He even looks down upon other Ultimates, when they let him down- and especially when he discovers the truth about the Remnants. Similarly, Mello also looks down upon others, especially Near. He's both jealous of, and judgemental of him.
I guess lack of co-operation is another thing- both can be lone wolves.
Appearance wise, there's not a lot LOL. I guess theyre both similar in height (5'9 and 5'7). Both wear long coats. OH- i guess they both have a physical 'deformity'- Mello with a large scar, and Nagito with his missing arm, which makes them both look SO badass.
Now, theres obviously differences- hence the hinata comment. I feel like Mello is someone who's a lot more understanding of emotions, like Hajime- or at least, more in touch with his emotions, and driven by them. Hes a heart over head kind of guy- hes still intellgent, but he reacts strongly to things, and he's not the endless well of patience that makoto was LOL. In contrast, Mello isn't as calm and cold as Nagito- Nagito thinks things ahead more, and is VERY cunning and calculative. He can keep his cool, and is a near-perfect actor. Mello is like Hajime in that regard, he's easy to read- whereas Nagito isn't, and keeps a lot of his feelings and intent behind that easygoing demeanour.
Near is like that too- his emotions aren't always clear unless you're paying close attention, and it's easy to miss the nuances of his character. When it comes to being driven by emotion, Makoto is definitely leagues ahead. In that aspect, Near shares a likeness to Kyoko- white hair, detective, 'cold' personality. I think he's more trusting than Kyoko though- certainly when it comes to his team, and Mello. I mean, Mello had a gun pointed at his head, and did he even turn around? No. He just trusted him that much, despite Mello killing his teammates earlier. Near is more co-operative, and a bit more honest too. To my memory, he's only lied to Light, when he said he didn't know what Mello looked like (i may be misremembering but I'm sure he said that at some point). Kyoko is more like L, I feel. More secretive and takes longer to warm up to those around her (at least in the first game). Near is VERY childish and playful, and people forget that.
Hes also sassy, as is Makoto. Wish more people realised that. Lol.
Anyway this has gotten insanely long, but yeah, that's my thoughts on it!
Okay, genuine question to all the Death Note connoisseurs:
How THE FUCK do you pronounce L’s last name????
Is it law-lee-eht? Law-lee-it? Law-light? Cuz it would be so funny if it was pronounced lawlight.
I’ve been going with law-lee-eht just so there’s a verbal distinction between L’s name and the ship name, but I also, I think lawlight sounds better and is more fun to say.
Ive heard it's supposed to be "low-light" but tbh i just stick with "law-lee-eht" because as dope as 'low-light' is it ive pronounced it law-lee-eht for years and im not stopping now
Ok. I have to say that I find the concept and mythology behind Death Note awesome.
I think some of the things about it are kind of silly and some of them are just... things that Only Make Sense in Japan.
One thing- Japanese cops have a much lower rate of murder to deal with and a much higher solve rate. Something like 90-95% of murders in Japan get solved, so there's an assumption that if you murder people in Japan you'll get caught. It's inevitable.
In the US, it's 40-60%.
No one would belive "magic weapon" as a murder weapon in a modern investigation and having an airtight alibai like "I was at the bank, check the cameras" to "I was at a doctors appointment in the office, in a tiny paper dress with my cheeks clapping to the wind" or "I was at the airport, lots of cameras" would make you not a suspect because you had an airtight alibi. If I had the Death Note I'd get a LOT of work done while in one of those locations, with cameras and people around.
There's the "smart person narrating how smart people think" but everyone thinks the exact same way thing that always kind of bugs me, as it assumes a LOT about how the other people all think.
If you know anything about medicine, there's a zillion ways bodies can just mess up and you die. Sure, suicide is always an option but frankly so's an embolism, heart just stops beating, aortic dissection (the aorta splits open in the back), lung cavity filling with fluid or blood, a stroke, a blood vessel in the wrong spot giving out, etc. No one is going to go "Oh, so-and-so the famous pedophile died today of an aneurism while on live television. This must have been a murder! Let's find someone who hasn't met them in person who has an airtight alibi who might have used MAGIC!
I mean if I, at the Target in Wisconsin buying sports bras, could write in my notebook that Vladimir Putin swallowed his own tongue and chokes to death, there's ZERO way that could be tracked back to me. And if I had the death note there'd be a solid stream of one to two evil motherfuckers going out, preferably during press conferences on live TV, every day.
I realize the point is the perfect crime detective story but I have a hard time buying into that when I know I could kill hundreds of the richest, most powerful motherfuckers on the planet and never, ever even be a suspect.
No cause of death written and it's a heart attack? Well most the evil people on my radar are older men. There'd be a wave of heart attacks in old evil dudes and even the best detectives on earth won't be able to do shit as I'm in business class drinking half a can of Diet Coke with an airtight alibi while people I've never even met face to face drop en masse.
So. DeathNote. Fun in concept anime but man the execution always left me a little irritated. There's just too much Deux Ex Machina to get L what he needs to figure things out and police need PHSYICAL CLUES and EVIDENCE and shit.
