How do you a Death Note memory loss Light would react to Ryuk?
I think the emotions would be positive. But also that Light would probably be weirded about by meeting Ryuk and instantly feeling comfortable/relieved/familiar/happy/whatever emotion etc, particularly if he's meeting Ryuk in a context where other people are also seeing the Shinigami and freaking out.
The real unhappiness would be whenever Light puts together 'familiarity with a death god' and gets 'I'm probably Kira' unless he's in deep denial about it.
Do you think they could pull of schemes like this? Either planned pre memory shuffle or improvised?
Oh this is such an interesting question, thank you! Answer behind a cut because this got hecking long:
Light and Ryuk, though? Oh, I think that would be very different. Because from their very first meeting, Light has trusted Ryuk like he trusts nobody else, ever. He lets Ryuk see him genuinely afraid, angry, tired, stressed, worried, doubting himself - all states of mind that he tries to mask from everyone else. Sure, he gets superficially annoyed with Ryuk at times, but he never, ever tells Ryuk to go away, leave him alone, or get out of his business (people write him doing it all the time in fanfic, but in the manga canon it just doesn't happen). Also, he's completely fearless of Ryuk, to the point that Ryuk even comments on it.
~~~
I think the answer to this has to key off what we know of Death Note memory erasure, which is that you forget your conscious memory of the Death Note, and you forget your shinigami, but - as Rem very explicitly warns Misa, and as you mention above - you will still keep your feelings. Specifically in Misa's case her love for Light, which very much turns out to be true, so I think we can say this is definitely how it works. Whatever you feel for someone when you have your memories intact, you'll still feel for them with your memories gone. This is why I find the Yotsuba bathroom scene with Rem and Misa so heartbreaking. Misa apparently never held any real love or trust for Rem, because she reacts with unqualified terror and revulsion when Rem appears to her. She only calms down once Rem explains the situation; and even then she's still quick to declare that she "doesn't want to be loved by a shinigami" and only shows appreciation for Rem insofar as Rem is being helpful to Light and Misa. Rem's love left no mark on Misa and no echo in her soul - Misa's default feelings for her are still only fear and disgust. ;_;
And significantly, Light expresses appreciation for Ryuk's honesty - in response to Ryuk saying that not talking to Light would be even harder than going without apples. We consider it a meaningful gesture of will and devotion when a human places a loved one above an addiction; so, IMO, we shouldn't see it as any less when a shinigami does the same. That's the depth of Ryuk's emotional bond to Light, and Light, while he doesn't offer a confession of his own in reply, nonetheless thanks Ryuk for telling him as much. That moment honestly reminds me of nothing so much as the famous Star Wars "I love you." "I know."
So yeah. I think Light knows, in both his head and heart, how deeply Ryuk is attached to him; and he returns that attachment, unspoken, in how he lets Ryuk fully into his life without any pushback. I think he trusts Ryuk and feels safe with him; feels seen by him, but in a way that's comforting and validating and supportive, rather than threatening. (Since Ryuk is always very quick to praise, admire and encourage Light, especially when Light is doing things that other humans would not be so ready to appreciate...)
So, to return to the actual question you asked: I think that's all what would come to the surface, if Light without his memories met Ryuk again somehow. I think he'd immediately feel like Ryuk is someone safe, someone he can trust, even with no idea of why. How this would play out, though... well, obviously it would depend partly on what Ryuk actually said or did, but you make a good point about whether Light would realise he was Kira based on the apparent connection between himself and a shinigami. It would be a logical thought to have - and Yotsuba Light is already halfway to figuring it out at times anyway, so Ryuk's appearance might be enough of a nudge for him to get the rest of the way.
But Light's "I meant to do that" game is unmatched, so I suspect he'd probably be okay with that realisation faster than you might expect. One thing about Light that doesn't change at all, whether he's got the Death Note or not, is that he thinks he can be trusted to be an exception to the rules that bind everyone else. So I think he might actually be relieved, in a weird way, to find out that he'd been the original Kira - because if it was him, then at least the original Kira is now a known variable who can be trusted to do only things that Light himself would think are a good idea. XD (Not to mention that I think Kira!Light must have considered the possibility that his memoryless self would somehow learn the truth, and had faith in that version of himself to cope with that knowledge if it happened...)
As for whether Light and Ryuk could still pull off some kind of scheme if Light didn't have his memories: 100% yes. No doubt in my mind at all. The two of them are so drift compatible that I can't see it being a problem for Light to improvise around Ryuk even without his memories, and Ryuk is a lot smarter than he usually pretends - notice that while he often asks Light to explain things, he never needs Light to explain twice. Once he's seen how the trick is done, he always gets it. And in part 2, when he's with the taskforce, we see that he's quite capable of saying the right things to keep a scheme working even when he's put on the spot by someone else and Light can't prompt him.
So yeah there's a ton of options for stuff that could happen between them, and I think a lot of it could be fun. I do actually have a fic knocking around in my drafts that's Yotsuba-arc Terraito smut, even - based on the premise that if they'd had a previous sexual relationship, Light's subconscious reaction to Ryuk would, shall we say, reflect those emotions as well. XD I don't know if I'll finish/post that one as it's deeply self indulgent, but it was definitely fun to play with; particularly Light being confused and dismayed by finding himself attracted to a monster, but giving in anyway because somehow he's certain it's a good idea. (Also I love playing around with sexual initiation and corruption as kink material, so getting to have what amounts to two first times with the same lover because you lost your memories inbetween? Oh heck yes. 🔥)
Anyway, thank you very much for asking this and making me think about it! I hope this ramble of a reply was satisfactory. XD
Trying to work out how Light'd get Ryuk but not his memories... only thing I can think of is him going 'wait, WHAT did I bury in that orchard?' and digging Gelus' note up. Surprise Ryuk. Well then.
I miss when ads were a single click and then they’re gone. Now every ad has a minimum of three phases where you watch a video, exit the still frame of fake gameplay, and then exit the app download. That doesn’t even touch on the ones that forcibly take you to another app after opening a tab in safari without you ever touching the screen.
I hate advertising. I hate that you can’t do anything without companies jumping down your throat with mostly bullshit ads. I hate that billboards exist. I hate that every company unanimously decided to make their ads longer and longer. I hate that ad blockers try to charge you money and there are in app purchases to remove ads. I hate that my attention has become commodified. I hate that there’s nothing I can do about it.
Still one of the best animations I've ever done. Took just under a week and was equal parts fun and challenging. So here are some process passes! The full version had too many colors so I had to do some compression T0T
Look, it’s a weird hill to die on, especially when I don’t really explain, but children deserve to experience fear, disgust, and discomfort in safe scenarios where they can process those sensations.
Media for children used to be scary and that’s important.
“Since it is so likely that (children) will meet cruel enemies, let them at least have heard of brave knights and heroic courage. Otherwise you are making their destiny not brighter but darker.”
― C.S. Lewis
So much of paleontology is "what did this beaked thing eat?" And then your best guess for years turns out to be so so so wrong.
Like Gastornis was thought to be a carnivore for decades and then carbon isotopes were like, "nah this thing was basically a giant goose honk honk".
Art by Ja Chirinos
Oviraptor was thought to be an egg eater, then much ink was spilled about whether it ate mollusks, and now it's thought to be an omnivore, but mostly a fruit/seed eater like a parrot.
Somehow this Adobe Stock image is the only art of an Oviraptor eating plants I can find. How is that?
And even birds with some teeth are getting in on these dietary mysteries.
Longipteryx was first thought to be a kingfisher-like hunter of aquatic prey, but it has since been found with seed contents in its guts, making it another surprise frugivore.
Don’t get me wrong. Light is objectively right about Misa. But what he applies to others, he should apply to himself first, which he doesn’t. Either it speaks volumes about his capacity for denial, or it shows how gratuitously cruel he can be, or it shows how deep his scorn for criminals and outlaws is (to the point he doesn’t hesitate to rub salt in Misa’s deepest wound… a woman who only wanted to help him in his killings). Your interpretation.
Well, first of all, anyone who tries to stop Light is automatically no longer innocent in his eyes (because to side against Kira is to side with evil, duh!) so, there’s that factor in play. Light can readily no-true-Scotsman his way into believing that anyone he kills deserved it, but he doesn’t automatically extend that benefit of the doubt to anyone else (see also his whole “only I can do it” thing).
Also, yes, Light is trying to be cruel to Misa here - trying to hurt her and make her doubt herself, because he needs to bring her in line and gain some control over the shitshow she’s created for him. She’s harmed Kira’s public reputation and messed up his narrative, she’s thrown a wrench in his strategy of baiting L, she’s killed people he didn’t want dead, she’s risked exposing him to his family, and she’s trying to pressure him into unwanted romantic or potentially even sexual intimacy, which would frankly be enough reason on its own for him to treat her as an enemy.
Given this, whatever he says to her doesn’t have to reflect any beliefs he holds or feelings he has, or even the truth of reality; it just has to make the impact he wants on her. Manipulators’ words don’t have to match their own beliefs - that’s the whole point of manipulation. You say what will work on the other person, not what you think is the truth, and you certainly don’t start acknowledging nuance if doing so would weaken your position.
Light is a liar and a manipulator, and he has every reason not to concede any moral ground to Misa, so IMO it’s consistent with his goals here that he says what he does. I’m not denying that his words are hypocritical, but here he’s dealing with someone he’s justifiably pissed off with and doesn’t owe honesty to. I definitely don’t think you can prove he’s in denial or lying to himself, just from the fact that he’s consciously manipulating Misa.
This may be controversial, but I'm going to say that no, he couldn't solve it and wouldn't survive. The strengths which served him so well in his original story, are mostly irrelevant for going up against Kira. Which doesn't say anything BAD about him, just like camels aren't failures for not being polar apex predators; it's simply a different niche, that he doesn't fill.
If he hasn't yet come into possession of the Ring, then he's basically an ordinary hobbit, without any especial investigative or deceptive skills. His best hope is to not be seen as a threat, but I think he's in the unfortunate range where he's smart enough to be considered "potentially dangerous" but not smart enough to have a reasonable chance of finding Kira.
WITH the Ring in his possession, I'd say he's actually in even MORE danger, because the Ring is actively trying to get him killed so it can pass to someone more easily swayed. (I'm willing to argue that the Ring COULD make someone immune to the Note if it so wished; but it very much does not wish that here.) He might be able to vaguely sense Ryuk's presence, and he could certainly SEE Ryuk while wearing the Ring, but that just makes him more of a threat.
AFTER the whole Ring Shenanigans... the boy has Seen Some Shit, so I can picture him intuiting how the Note works, but he's also suffering a depression debuff, and still hasn't developed investigative skills.
...Actually. There are TWO different options for him surviving, I just realized. One is if he avoids being considered a threat, which I'd give overall a bit worse than even odds.
The other is if hobbits somehow slipped through the cracks when the Death Notes were being made, and thus can't actually be targeted by that. I don't think this is necessarily LIKELY, but it WOULD be incredibly thematic for Lord of the Rings, "insignificant creatures we don't need to account for, oh shit what's that they're doing now".
I used to use Google docs, but the white mode only was really annoying me (tires my eyes), so I swapped to Ellipsus (which I genuinely love and recommend), but it was bothering me a bit that I need wifi in order to use it, so now I switched to LibreOffice Writer, which I do like.
It very much has a Microsoft Word feel, but is open source and you need no accounts to use it. It's local on your device, so no AI can scan it, and no wifi is needed.
I still wish it had the Google Docs cards, because, bitch, that thing is so good for easy organizing.
Notepad (wdym what's wrong with me?) on my PC, and OldSchool Editor (beloved) on my phone. Both save in .txt format so no compatibility issues, and it's not like it's hard to just type *like this* when I want to flag planned italics. Tbh literally all I ask of my writing software is that it gives me the closest possible experience to a physical notebook and pen, with the bonus of being able to write faster.
Scrivener, which is awesome. I've used LibreOffice writer, which is basically slightly-wobbly free Word and highly acceptable.
Pages is not for writing. Pages is for presentation of an already-written document. I used TextEdit for writing rather than Pages, and when I needed something more powerful, I got Scrivener. It contains many tools.
10. In a gaudy temple. The fee was exorbitant for something most acolytes can do, but time was of the essence. The higher quality oil they anoint your face and shoulders with smells nice and the sun shines through a stained glass window that has your favorite color.
9. An inn where you've been sweating into the sheets of a rented bed for a few days. The revelry downstairs makes it difficult to hear what the old woman that freed you told your friends. But they look relieved to have you back and you're relieved to be back.
8. Out in a field, where the wild grasses still benefit from the blood that spilled there a lifetime ago. A spirit that looks like you, in a uniform you never wore, grasps your shoulders. You're told to hold tight as the spirit goes to find aid. They never return. You never tell what happened once the others notice your return.
7. Stuck in the middle of a crowd awaiting an execution. The conflict you felt about the punishment disappeared when the blade met the wood beneath. Around you, others blink and shake their heads as if just awaking, feeling the same release as you.
6. On a slab in a morgue. Your returned breath caused the mortuary assistant to drop her tools. The resulting clatter woke you up. She screamed, you fought to remove the sheet covering your face, and the mortician laughed at the both of you when they made it down the steps.
6. In the space that was once your childhood bedroom. It's not a room anymore, the walls fell away to nature or some other force. The metal skeleton of a bedframe gives a support structure to vining plants that drape around a stone carving of a rabbit. You forget what exactly you placed in front of the carving as you try to find your way back to the road.
5. On the field of combat, sounds of pain, exertion, and metal impacting leather and wood finally breaking through the ringing that's been drowning you for ages. The person you were preparing to swing your weapon at has an open hand extended to you. You take it and help them up.
4. At midnight, sitting in the dust of a rural crossroads intersection. Next to you sits an older man in a wrinkled suit. He glances over at you and smiles, like you're a pleasant surprise. With a chuckle, he claps your shoulder and uses it to push himself up to his feet. By the time you think to ask any questions, he's long gone.
3. In the arms of a stranger on a busy festival dance floor. You return to yourself for the first time you can recall as someone whose name you don't remember teaches you the steps to a dance you'll never forget. Music and laughter and spices and frying batter. The person that stumbles home in your shoes later that night is someone you've never been yet.
2. In the early hours before dawn, sitting in front of a headstone. It's not yours but it could have been. The person who rests under it still owes you money. You are finally realizing that you no longer feel like you would give up the rest of your possessions to bring them back. You can feel them laughing at you for taking so long to get to this point. You didn't bring flowers, but the small pile of plucked grass blades you made while talking to the headstone counts in the only way that matters.
