#casuistor

[teruraito-blog]

Artist: @matrioshka For: @casuistor Prompt: Mikami is trying to be professional on the phone while Light is kissing his neck Comment: thank you for hosting the exchange! maybe I’ve been looking at this too long but their ties pressed together looks a bit lewd.

[sugurushimura]

@casuistor yes, absolutely, you are Very Valid.

[mikami]

Mello wouldn't know what good fashion sense was if it hit him in the face

strongly agree | agree | neutral | disagree | strongly disagree

Definitely.

I mean, neither would I, so I definitely cannot judge him, but his aesthetic is uh... some kind of aesthetic alright. I hope it makes him happy, lmao.

[secretshinigami]

Artist: @zenthisoror For: @casuistor Prompt: Light as a geisha/maiko Artist’s notes: I took a slight liberty and re-imagined this as a kabuki AU with Light as a kabuki onnagata, acting as a geisha, although in this instance I used references for the costume for the Maid of the Wisterias, Unfortunately, I couldn’t quite get it to look like Light without his hair, so the wig didn’t happen. Thank you for the prompt - I certainly enjoyed it!

[teruraito-blog]

If

Author: Cas / @casuistor For: Lev / @masahikokida  Prompt: No Kira AU Light undercover interacts with Teru Comments: Hrm I was a fool, and somehow missed the “No-Kira” part of this AU until way too late into writing this, but I hope the fact that neither of them are Kira even though Kira exists technically ended up ok, orz. Enjoy!

As Light takes his seat amongst the crowd present at the live broadcasting of Kira’s Kingdom, he tries to keep his expression perfectly neutral. Despite his protests that Kira surely would not be so foolish as to make a personal appearance at Sakura TV, he had to admit he didn’t exactly have a better plan than keeping a close eye on Demegawa and his inner circle. With Japan officially declaring its open support for Kira several years ago, the original Taskforce the NPA put together had been forced to disband, leaving only a spattering of of individuals still committed to bringing a beloved mass murderer to justice. As the youngest member of what was left of the task force, Light was deemed the least likely to arouse suspicion in a crowd of overexcitable zealots; he’d tried not to be offended by this assessment.

To be as diplomatic as possible, Kira supporters were an interesting bunch. After a full month of trying to get closer to Demegawa’s inner circle , Light feels he’s more than earned the right to judge. After all, most of the people gathered appeared only to be here for the pomp and circumstance. Demegawa arrives on set dressed in white robes, brandishing a gaudy baton in his right hand. That’s new. Light observes, uncertain of whether he’s amused or dead on the inside. If he didn’t know any better, he’d have guessed it was a moon scepter from a popular magical girl show spray painted over in gold. Beside him, a familiar face scowls with poorly veiled contempt.

 “This is an insult to Kira,” the prosecutor mutters under his breath. 

“You don’t approve of Demegawa-san’s…ah… enthusiasm.”

“No.” His tone is curt and glacial. Light can only suppress a desire to laugh as he joins in the others more raucous applause with two polite, sarcastic claps of his own. Teru’s hands remain defiantly folded on his lap.

“Unfortunately, one of the more logical explanations for Demegawa-san’s continued existence is that Kira would disagree with you.”

Teru adjusts his glasses, his lips still curved downwards in displeasure. “Disagrees with us, you mean. Surely you don’t approve of this farce yourself, Asahi-san.”

“Correct, I don’t.” Light nods, turning his face forward. Demegawa raises a microphone to his lips, beginning the taping with the usual tired platitudes about Kira’s glory and Kira’s fight for justice. He transitions seamlessly into talks of donation drives. 

“Then why distance yourself from your opinion?” Teru’s tone is measured and over the period of time in which Light has become acquainted with the prosecutor, it’s become increasingly obvious that it’s the tone Teru uses when he’s shielding exactly how interested he is in the answer.

“A habit, I’m afraid. Though Kira may be embraced by society, I was raised to speak wisely.” Though he doesn’t shrug, though it’s almost audible. “Demegawa-san does have a connection to Kira after all, and he has many followers in the audience.” 

Teru makes a noncommittal noise in response. “None of those people truly understand Kira. In time, they’ll expose themselves as frauds and Kira will select a new person to help lead the way.”

“Nominating yourself then?” Light jokes, raising an eyebrow. There isn’t a single part of him that doubts that Mikami Teru, if he were recognized by Kira, would be an excellent choice in being an assistant to murder. The man is sharp and efficient, able to distinguish between what was necessary and what wasn’t with a degree of competence that others either lacked entirely or were too polite to act on.

The two lock eyes briefly, and Light’s heart beats just a little faster. Not everyone can say they’ve met.a man who, in another place and time, could and would kill without a shred of remorse. Perhaps he ought to have been frightened or unnerved, but there was something almost intriguing about this minor deviation to the norm of his life. 

“No. I lack the charisma needed for such an important task. I am more suited to supporting god from behind the scenes. You would be a better candidate for the role, Asahi-san.”

Surprised Light stares for a moment too long, and then clears his throat. “Coming from you that’s high praise, though considering how low the bar has been set….” He glances down at Demegawa seated on a golden throne. “One way or another I suspect we’d make quite the effective team, Mikami-san.”

[secretshinigami]

Hyoid

Author: casuistor For: mklt Pairings/Characters: Light Yagami, Teru Mikami Rating/Warnings: General  Prompt: “Mikami/Light , walking home together” Author’s notes: This is a post-canon divergent AU where both Light and Teru survive the events of the warehouse and find themselves sharing a cell for the indefinite future. Teru does not have memories of using the death note because Near burned the notes at the end. Light has his memories intact because I’m assuming he was able to switch the death note in the Task Force’s possession out for a fake one. Given that I wanted this to be more based in canon I did end up interpret “walking home together” a bit uh.. liberally. You did specify a preference for hateships after all :P Anyway, I really hope you enjoy!)

Compared to the average Japanese, Mikami Teru has a strong sense of right and wrong. What was “good” and what was “evil” did not require an explanation. His sense of justice was innate, and like a compass unerringly led to a path of righteousness. Teru had no need for anything else – he was just because he did not know how else to live, and his way of living was just because that was the only way his way of life could be. It was a convenient tautology that could have been taken from the pages of any logic textbook as an example of fallacy, but he’d never acknowledged it as such. Some things in life were simply true by definition.

Even as he became a prisoner hidden behind locked doors somewhere in the bowels of Tokyo, he was still desperate to find ways to make the narrative of what occurred at Daikoku Wharf, if not clean of any personal culpability, then at the very least more palatable. It simply doesn’t make sense that an unremarkable (albeit unusually unscheduled) visit to the bank on the 26th of January could play an instrumental role in the end of an era of divine justice.

Suppressing a violent shudder, Teru clasps his hands together tightly as he sits on the edge of his narrow cot and tries not to breathe too loudly. On the inside, he hasn’t stopped screaming.

The smell of chlorhexidine soap coming from the man sharing his cell fills Teru’s nostrils, but there are no chemicals potent enough to make him forget how the scent of that man’s blood had made the back of his throat burn with vomit.

The cell is small for one person as it is, and Teru no longer knows why he expected to be detained privately. This is, by design, surely meant to be a personal hell. Not just for him, but for that man too. In a way, he supposes he’s relieved that he left his glasses at home for some peculiar reason this morning. No need to look at the imposter in crisp resolution.

Hours pass in silence as Teru cycles between the need to claw at the walls of his new home and willing himself to fossilize on the spot in anticipation of an inevitable confrontation. For years he’d yearned for the god’s arrival, and every day since his dearest hopes became reality, he’d dreamed giddily of one day walking alongside his god. Metaphorically speaking.

God never had a face in those innocent fantasies. God was protean and immutable, unknowable and familiar all at once and nothing made Teru happier. Even when it became increasingly clear that god was indeed a person rather than a truly divine force of will, Teru had simply recalibrated. God wasn’t defined by a physical form.

But you? You’re not god. You can’t be god. God would never fail. God would never have let this happen. God would never–

And so his thoughts continued, until Yagami Light made a benign noise – a cough, a sniffle or a shiver – and startle Teru so badly that he’d forget that he’d been adhering to a sensible policy of staring pointedly at his own hands and feet.

Yagami Light is very human and very much in pain. Lying in a cot with the thin blanket pulled up to his nose, brow furrowed and eyes squeezed shut, Yagami looks no older than a teenager fresh out of high school. A sickly, pale boy like that couldn’t have been the leader of a movement to change the world – alleged magical notebooks and shinigami be damned.

Teru can only suppose that it’s physical pain that’s keeping Yagami’s mouth shut for the time being. When Yagami Light had been carted away in an ambulance, there’d been nobody in the world that Teru had wanted answers from more. Now that they’re prisoners together, every second is leeching years off his life. Arguably that can only be a good thing. He closes his eyes and buries his face in his hands.

Perhaps beyond these walls, Kira was still carrying out judgments and Yagami Light’s true purpose was to serve as a decoy for god, and Yagami Light had dutifully deceived everyone at the warehouse. Perjaps Teru himself was merely the sacrificial lamb of a sacrificial lamb. The fact that he’s even entertaining something this ridiculous ought to be reason to stop, but a bitter ‘God could have cut out the middleman’ is all he can manage to think through the band of pressure squeezing his head.

A bodily gnawing pain grows in intensity and his breath gets sourer and sourer, but when a tray of food is pushed through a slot in the door, Teru ignores it. He’d been so excited this morning that he’d rushed through his breakfast. And for what? I don’t deserve this, I want –

A lawyer. One phone call. He could leave a message for Nakajima; she was a reliable sort.

Nakajima-san, I’ve been abducted and am currently being held prisoner somewhere in Tokyo. Please promptly inform the chief of why I will not be at work for the foreseeable future and then request a police investigation on my behalf, thank you.

The futility of such desires threatens to swallow Teru whole. Save me. Help me. I want to go home. God…

Rather foolishly, Teru steals a glance at the man across the room.

Misa! Takada! Mikami, what are you doing? Hury up and write down their names!! Teru’s throat constricts with sudden outrage. You can’t save me, you couldn’t even save yourself. You’re not god. This is all your fault.

“Mikami.”

Immediately Teru gets to his feet, fists balled. He has half a mind to correct the man speaking to him, but feeling too tired to bother with a pointless argument, resigns himself to leading by example.

“Yagami-san.”

Teru’s palms are coated with a thin film of sweat. He wouldn’t have dared call a true god by name without permission, but he does so now. And we both know why. Truthfully, he’s a little proud of his defiance, but the sentiment is undercut by the fact that Yagami doesn’t have the decency to acknowledge the disrespect as a proper insult.

“I’ve evaluated the situation and I’ve determined that the only way that everything makes sense is to assume that your name was written in the note.”

When it’s clear that the remark was meant to provoke a reaction other than ’you can’t be so dim as to miss the fact that I’m alive’ Teru replies with dry contempt. “I see.” Say something useful, damn you.

Yagami sits up slowly, gingerly moving one leg over the side of his cot after another  His discomfort is obvious, but Teru can’t help but feel he thoroughly deserves it.

“Sit.”

It’s unquestionably an order, and one that Yagami clearly expects compliance with. Teru isn’t a man who is contrary for the sake of being contrary, but this… He opens his mouth to fire a retort.

“Or stand if you prefer. It makes no difference to me,” Yagami finishes with an audible shrug.

Teru narrows his eyes. “I’ll do that without your permission, thank you,” he says coolly. Strained civility isn’t particularly satisfying, but he can’t seem to marshal his thoughts without it.

Yagami raises an eyebrow incredulously, and Teru’s fists tighten.

“As you wish. But as it appears that we’ll be imprisoned together for now, don’t you think hostility is wasted energy? I’d rather not provide our captors with entertainment.”

On some level Teru sees a grain of truth in this, but that only makes Yagami all the more despicable. “You presume to lecture about dignity.” The vindication he gets when Yagami narrows his eyes is exhilarating enough that he’s able to sit down without feeling servile.

“No,” he says after a drawn out pause. “I was talking about a theory. You insisted on a more frivolous subject.”

Teru exhales forcefully as though punched in the gut. He’d never been one for laughter before, but with his face pressed into the rubble of the world as he’d always known it, all that’s left is unorganized, petrifying chaos with Yagami Light’s face.

“What could possibly be more frivolous than theories that don’t have meaning? Will that theory undo the irreparable damage you’ve done?”

Yagami’s jaw tightens, as they lock eyes. “Trusting you to understand a set of simple instructions was foolish.” A beat. “It must be convenient to simply forget your own oversight.”

Teru purses his lips, thoroughly disgusted that moments ago, he’d stretched the limits of his imagination to rebrand this man as a person who might be in a similar situation to himself.

“Assuming your knowledge of the powers of this ‘death note’ is complete and accurate, how would you know that your name wasn’t also written?”

The question doesn’t seem to faze Yagami. His tone is the most confident it has been all conversation. The SPK had taken his tie, as a “necessary precaution" but Teru is no longer sure who that was meant to protect.  

“Because writing my name in the note to force a confession would’ve been meaningless. You were merely a means to an end. You were the person I was relying on. Turning you against me would’ve been strategically optimal, though impossible given your beliefs. But you gave them an opening by killing Takada on your own. You led the SPK to the note by going to the bank and they’ve been controlling your actions ever since.”

An icy silence. Going from having too many words to know what to say to having none at all seems to rip open a vacuum. Teru doesn’t fully understand how the poison coming out of Yagami’s lips could possibly be true, but he stares with magnetized revulsion. The continued  insistence on an alternate reality that makes just a little too much sense to safely dismiss offhand numbs him from head to toe. If he’d been chosen by Kira, there’s no question that he would have dutifully and delightedly carried out god’s will. I wanted to be seen by Kira. I didn’t want this.

Somewhat anticlimactically, it’s Teru’s stomach that ends the standstill with a squelch of displeasure. “You have no proof.”

“Should you die within the next twenty-one days, that’ll be sufficient proof. The note can only control a person’s actions for twenty three days.”

Now fully aware that Yagami is actively waiting for him to drop dead, Teru turns his back on the despicable boy who might have been god. 

“I used to dream about walking by your side. They were nice dreams then.”

[mikami]

uo: B /not/ having the shinigami eyes is a viable interpretation of the character|

why you gotta put me on the spot like this

No, I do agree. 

It all just depends on how take the novel. If you view it from the standpoint that it’s entirely an IC document left behind by Mello, then it’s a very reasonable thought. The amount of information presented in the book is really not at all reconcilable with the realistic scope of Mello’s knowledge - so if you opt to read it as being all Mello then the logical conclusion is “Mello was making shit up”. He’d not be able to know Naomi’s thoughts, nor what B did on his own nor that B had the eyes which, by Mello’s own admission, he never told anybody.

Everything Mello writes is thus an educated guess at best and complete fiction for the sake of fiction at worst. While we can be sure the LABB case as a framework and thus B exist in Death Note world, all that Mello says about him is to be regarded with extreme caution in this case. The real, uh, ‘historical’ B would probably not have had a lot in common with Mello’s rendition.

So yeah, the view is textually viable in my opinion? It’s just kind of my personal choice to hate the option, haha. It’s taking out literally everything about Another Note that I enjoy and replacing it with “a document on Mello’s state of mind that doesn’t even seem consistent with his manga characterization to me”.That’s a.... pretty shitty bargain for my personal tastes so I will continue to opt against this viable but optional reading of the character, haha.

[sugurushimura]

canI ask you how you feel the yotsubas characters were changed in the anime? I'm v. curious now

well, in general, it’s not so much that a ton was changed as it is that a lot was cut out… specifically, some moments which i see as some pretty telling moments about each of their characters, so most of their traits end up much more understated than in the manga (for example, shimura comes off as a lot less observational and doesn’t express nearly much discomfort with the situation), so they’re interpreted more as a group of businessmen with a couple differing traits and like two who stand out some, as opposed to in the manga where they’re more like individual characters who are also in a group together. if you get what i’m saying? 

(this isn’t super long bc drawn out thoughts aren’t exactly my thing but i’ll put it under the cut anyways jic?)

there are a few things that were just changed, though. the reactions to hatori’s outbursts are very different in the anime – whereas in the manga they seem to have varying reactions (higuchi tells hatori he fucked up, namikawa makes that ‘well at least we know hatori isn’t kira’ comment, ooi argues with namikawa and tells hatori that he’s kind of stuck in the whole kira business, shimura tries to convince everyone else not to kill poor hatori) and end up moving on like nothing happened, in the anime they ignore him like he isn’t there even when he tries to talk and pretty much shun him. it seems to me that this was in attempt to try to make one feel bad for hatori (or, more so than one would without this, i guess…) at the expense of making the others seem like assholes - even shimura, who notably stuck up for hatori in the manga (or, as close as he could come to it, at least).

the scene with higuchi and misa is also a, uh, lot more aggressive on higuchi’s part, what with the pinning her down to the seat and all - it’s definitely more uncomfortable than in the manga and seems kind of rape-y imo (and while manga higuchi was certainly always sleazy and gross, it never escalates to the point where it almost seems reminiscent of physical violence). shimura and hatori also come off as a lot more intimidating and cold when they’re talking to matsuda, where in the manga they just seem kind of confused but not hostile. 

as for what was cut out, there’s quite a bit, but there are a few in particular that stick out to me as things that were important to their characters:

pretty much every time shimura tries to speak out in any way to voice his suspicions or try to get kira to unmask himself (his first line in the manga is trying to protest this whole murder thing; that line is entirely cut from the anime and jumps straight to him saying that someone in the room is probably kira, a line that isn’t even specifically contributed to him in the manga, and there are several more line cuts later on)

quite a few of mido’s contributions, while not removed, are given to other characters

most of the phone call between kida and aiber, as well as the entire phone call between kida and ooi (this part says a lot about kida imo)

namikawa’s whole little speech about how kira thinks (rip poor reiji, unable to flaunt his superiority like in the manga :’^( )

the interaction between shimura and ooi near the end of chapter 43 (ties in with the first bullet point, but this also takes away from ooi’s character, imo - i feel like the missile line is pretty telling about him? lmao)

shimura’s ‘that’s all about hatori?’ when they move on from the topic of his death without a second thought - takahashi also seems more upset by hatori’s demise (or, namikawa’s comments about it) in the manga.

those are the biggest ones - there are quite a few more, but they’re smaller differences that i doubt would irk anyone else… of course i think most of these changes / cuts wouldn’t be noticeable to the majority of people but (probably since i’m The Yotsuba Enthusiast lmao) i’ve always felt like they’re extremely detracting? they’re just so much less of individuals in the anime imo, and a lot of the moments for each of the characters that stood out to me (especially for shimura but for pretty much all of them except maybe hatori or higuchi, the latter of which is changed in other ways) are either removed or shortened or handed to another character. the manga also makes it more clear that the majority of them really don’t want to be in this situation, between comments from light and the attitudes of certain members as a whole (shimura and takahashi most notably in the manga, even if takahashi is less verbal and shows it more in expressions and lack of verbosity later on - although i guess that’s more up for interpretation?). in the anime, i feel like the removal of some of that, along with some differences in expressions and the way certain lines are made to sound make them seem a lot more like Stereotypical Evil Money Grabbing Rich Assholes. 

yeah. i love my yotsus. i feel like the anime is a lot of the reason most people view them as all the same asshole character so maybe that is why i’m so bitter about it… orz