#✒️ katwrites

[mysillyside]

Domestic Lawlight is so funny to me these two would be the most annoying insufferable argumentative difficult couple ever.

Here's how I imagine a "Light asks L to help with basic chores" conversation going (they've been married for years):

Light: Hey L, take out the trash today.

L: I don't want to.

Light: Ok? I fail to see how that's relevant. I didn't want to spend my entire morning cleaning your smelly roach infested room, but I did anyway. Would it kill you to at least not throw your candy wrappers on the floor? You have a bin you know. Two bins.

L: I was planning to pick up the wrappers later today but you beat me to it.

Light: You always say that and then never end up doing it.

L: Just because Light-kun is too impatient to wait, doesn't mean I'm lying. You can't prove I wouldn't have picked up the wrappers had you waited, so this is a baseless accusation.

Light: So I'm the problem. For cleaning your mess.

L: I like how my room looks. Perhaps Light-kun should stop being judgemental of people with different lifestyles.

Light: Do I need to keep stressing that your room had a roach infestation problem.

L: The roaches are my friends.

Light: You are being unbelievably difficult. Is it that hard to take out the trash?

L: I don't want to.

Light: "I DoNT wAnT TO". Why do we have to have this conversation every time I ask you to help me with chores.

L: If Light doesn't like doing the chores I will just get Watari to do them.

Light: L. Watari will not be able to do your chores forever.

L: 20%.

Light: ??? I cannot believe you. I can't believe you are insinuating I would kill my father-in-law because I'm reasonably angry with you for throwing a tantrum every time I ask you to help with basic chores. Will my Kira-relapse percentage rise if I demand you do the dishes today too?

L: 30%.

Light: You are insufferable. Like actually insufferable. You know Watari's gonna die one day, right? He's already really old. I won't be here forever either. Who's gonna take care of you when that happens? Might as well start learning to be an adult now at 30. Better late than never.

L: I wouldn't worry. Light-kun is younger than me and I'm the one in actual threat of dying while doing my detective work. Besides, I'm married to Kira-kun. It's a miracle I haven't ended up dead yet. In any case, Light-kun will most certainly outlive me.

Light: ...I'll make you regret this, L.

Light: *angrily storms off with the garbage bag fuming with rage, already starting to craft a detailed extremely elaborate step-by-step plan to fake his own death so he can teach L a lesson about the importance of doing his goddamn household chores*

[mysillyside]

What if Death Note was shown to us from L's perspective?

Imagine a version of Death Note where we the audience didn't know with certainty that Light is Kira. Could we fully trust L's deduction if we weren't shown Light's actions or given access to Light's thoughts?

We'd have to figure it out slowly, as L does. And I'd think the story would make us doubt L's theory during many points. This might sound strange but hear me out. In the actual story, we know Light is Kira, as we follow his point-of-view, and therefor it feels silly when the task force denies something that seems so glaringly obvious to us.

But when you really think about it, from their perspective- there are many holes in L's theory, and to believe that Light is Kira, they'd have to blindly believe what is essentially mostly a hunch of their (self-admitted) stubborn, childish boss who hates losing and being wrong. No wonder they aren't completely onboard.

In short, it would have not only been different viewing experience, but more importantly- a different emotional experience.

Had the story been told this way, I think it would have worked better as a mystery thriller, and in my opinion, been waaay more chilling to watch.

Though, I do think the story would lose a lot of its appeal and entertainment value. It definately wouldn't have been nearly as popular, that's for sure. So I'm not saying it would have been better at all, I don't even think that! But it would have been different and interesting in its own way.

So lets talk about how the plot would unravel had our point-of-view character been switched from Light to L:

Suddenly, seemingly out of the blue, criminals all over the world start dying, getting mysterious heart attacks. Nobody knows the cause, who is behind this if anyone at all. Perhaps it is some sort of divine punishment.

L, the world's greatest detective, and our protagonist/pov-character, starts investigating immediately. It's been awhile since he was this interested in solving a case. We would learn that L isn't someone invested in justice from the getgo. To him, this atrocious act of mass murder is an exciting challenge to solve. We would get non-stop insight into his internal thoughts on everything. Learn that L is a childish person, a very stubborn man that hates losing and being wrong. We'd also see how willing he is to go against basic human decency and moral code in the persuit of his investigation from the get-go.

I cannot stress how different emotionally it would have been to watch L, essentially go into a seemingly unsolvable case blind. And bit by bit, get a clearer picture of what's happening. Scenes like the Lind L. Tailor TV stunt or the To-Oh Entrance Ceramony would have been chilling, had we been following his perspective.

Additionally, we can goof on the taskforce for not picking up the fact Light is obviously Kira, but from their perspective, it does seem a little sketchy and absurd. Light is a 17-18 year old college student by the time L starts suspecting him. By everyone's accounts, he's a hard working, extremely intelligent, upstanding, polite and friendly young man. A good son, brother, student and friend.

But L has a hunch this young man in specific is Kira. Can he prove it? Well there's weight to his theory. Light often seems to be in the center of several key events pertaining to the investigation. His father works on the task force for the case, the fiancee of the FBI agent who was investigating him seems to have gone completely missing. He is also perfect. Too perfect, he almost doesn't seem real.

But is this really enough? L from the getgo seems immedietly drawn into this idea that Light is Kira, as soon as he lays his eyes on him. As said before, L hates being wrong and is known to be stubborn. Everyone around him is telling him he's being absurd.

We the audience would obviously be on L's side, don't get me wrong. L is the greatest detective who never failed to solve a case, besides we have no other useful suspects besides Light.

But what would happen when there'd seemingly be holes in L's theory? When Light was being monitored on camera in his house, he was doing homework and not watching TV while criminals who's names and faces were broadcasted started dying. If Light is Kira, how is he able to do something like that? In canon, L never learned how Light pulled this trick off, therefor, had we been watching this from L's point-of-view, we wouldn't have known either.

Thankfully then Misa would appear, and once we learn that her DNA is on the tapes sent by the second Kira, this would strengthen our hunch that L is right.

But then Light would even turn himself in, saying that "maybe I'm Kira but unaware of it", and the solitary confinement would begin. After a few days, this young man starts panicking and saying he must have made a mistake and that he is clearly not Kira. He seems incredibly genuine, even L is taken aback.

A little bit into solitary confinement, criminals start dying again. But L still refuses to let Light and Misa go. L imprisoned two teenagers, one of whom has barely any proof he has any connection to Kira, and the other is detained in a questionable way, making her scared and believe a perverted stalker has kidnapped her. All this, while L is still insisting to keep them confined against all reason. Only allowing the confinement to end if Light's father pretends to shoot him, just so L can test out his theory.

In short, L would be extremely unlikable during so many points in the story. The only reason why many ppl currently can't process the fact that L is a very immoral character, is due to us knowing that Light is guilty. But had the story been told like this, we'd have to consider the possibility that L could be wrong, and that he's essentially traumatizing two innocent young ppl over nothing.

During the Yotsuba arc, we finally get to see what Light is like. And it appears people's descriptions of him were right. He's an upstanding, caring young man with a strong moral compass and sense of justice.

He's been put through hell and back, 50 days of solitary confinement, having to live through the horror of having his own father pretend to shoot him and now being chained 24/7 to the same detective who made him go through all that. And he is still doing his best to be being patient and understanding. While L is moping over the fact his deduction could be wrong. No, actually he's moping over the fact that he has no way of proving his deduction is right, and is refusing to let go of his innitial theory, even though people are dying!

Throughout the arc, L and Light interract and Light consistently has the moral highground. And by the time the Yotsuba group appears and is comfirmed to have involvement with Kira in some way, I do think the audience would start genuienly doubting L.

Perhaps Light really was just at the wrong place at the wrong time, perhaps everything really had just been a coincidence and Light really was an innocent young man who didn't deserve to go through any of this.

When Higuchi is caught, I think it really would have felt like a triumphant moment.

I know that L lied through his teeth when he called Light his best friend. I do not think he considers Light a friend. But he definately considers Light someone he respects in many ways, both on an intellectual level but also personal intrigue. Light always intrigued L, from the moment the man heard him speak.

I don't think L doubted his hunch that Light is Kira for a second. I also don't think L wanted Light to be anything but Kira.

But I do think L (at least anime L), felt like he lost something when Light reverted back to Kira.

Light was never his friend, but he could have been. Losing a human connection you had that could have potentially become a real genuine friendship with someone you relate to, find interesting and consider your equal, would be upsetting to anyone. (Don't get me wrong though, if Light wasn't Kira, L would have thrown a pissy-fit, but two things can be true at once) I know L is a person who doesn't crave or desire emotional connections or any connections really, but he's still a person at the end of the day.

Finally they uncover the murder weapon. A Death Note, a small black notebook that can apparently kill people. After L gets hold of it, he sees the monster attached to the notebook, a shinigami. They are real after all.

Finally, Light gets his hands on it. And screams louder than anyone else.

And in that moment, L realized that Light is once again Kira.

Ok, I know the manga and anime diverge during episode 25. The anime adds a lot more extra content to the story that wasn't present in the manga. But I adore episode 25 (it's just a hauntingly beautiful episode, I love how it's directed, even if it's clearly different from the rest of the show), so I will go with what happens in the anime version.

Kira is back.

There's only two things that can happen from here.

Either Light is going to be arrested, or L is going to die.

L is acting irrationally this episode. Perhaps he's afraid to die. Perhaps he's afraid of what will happen when Light is arrested, and what emotions that might stir in the detective. Either option is scary on its own. His ears are ringing from the bell. A bell only he is able to hear it seems.

Light finds him on the rooftop in the rain. In a last ditch attempt to form any sort of human connection, L rambles to him nonsensically, finally asking Light if he's capable of being truthful.

Light lies again. He always lies. L smiles to that. They are both lying monsters.

They go inside to wipe themselves clean. And have a suprisingly gentle, human moment. We don't know what's going through their minds, just like in the original. But this care and tenderness shown between them, we can buy it being genuine.

Perhaps Light really isn't Kira. Maybe L's paranoia and suspicion have rubbed off on us.

The moment is interrupted when Watari calls L informing him that the plans to test out the Death Note have been made. If this is done, there's a possibility Light's innocence will once again be called into question.

L announces his plan in front of the taskforce.

And suddenly everything goes red. L is calling out to Watari, not able to reach him as the old man is withering in pain.

In an instant, all the computer screens around them change, spelling out the words: "ALL DATA DELETION".

Watari is dead.

L tries to give out orders and suddenly a sharp pain pierces his chest. He drops the spoon he's been using to eat with, as he falls from his chair.

Light catches him, gently holding him in his arms as L stares into the young man's face.

A face that distorts into a mocking sadistic grin.

All this time. He had been right. He was right all along.

His eyes close and the show ends.

[mysillyside]

(The first arc of the Death Note anime takes place in 2006-2007, around the time LOLcats became a thing. So I had a vision.)

Task Force Groupchat

L: gentlemen

L: this cat. is literally me

Matsuda: HAHAHAHAHA that's so funny Ryuzaki!!! :-) That cat is so cute!!!

Soichiro: I DON'T UNDERSTAND. MATSUDA-SAN CAN YOU PLEASE EXPLAIN WHAT THIS MEANS.

Matsuda: It's a LOLcat! They are these funny images of cats people post on the internet. :-)

Aizawa: Ryuzaki can you not use the Task Force groupchat to send pictures of these "LOLcats". It's not professional.

Soichiro: I HAVE TO AGREE WITH AIZAWA-SAN. WE SHOULD FOCUS ON THE INVESTIGATION. DOES ANYONE KNOW HOW TO MAKE THE LETTERS LOWERCASE.

Mogi: *is typing*

L: i look like this now good job

Light: You're a grown man.

L: maybe light-kun should try having fun for once in his life. he currently lacks a sense of humor i'm afraid

Light: I have fun when it's appopriate. I fail to see how me finding your cat pictures juvenile during a police investigation where I'm being falsely accussed of mass murderer is me "lacking a sense of humor".

L: light-kun reminds me of this cat

*Light has left the chat*

[mysillyside]

Ik they were trying to imply that Simon was being childish and needed the lesson spoonfeed to him by Betty literally transporting him into a child's body- but this could have been achieved so much better. Like I get the idea? It's a fine idea on its own. But why... Shermy and Beth?? Gonna be real it feels more like the writers wanted to include them somehow to hint at another spinoff then them being an actual narrative choice to have Simon learn from.

How to have Simon confront his flaws, and the flaws of his and Betty's relationship?

Transport him into a reality where he does put on the crown and become Ice King again. And have him talk to that version of himself. Let Simon and Ice King finally interact. (continue reading below:)

Make him see what a painful effect this has on his loved ones. How Marceline feels, how Finn feels, how literally most of OOO's citizens (especially the princesses) feel. And most of all, show him how this version of him is dealing with it. "Being Ice King was easier because I didn't realize how screwed up my life was" Simon said this at the very start of the show, so having him confront the fact that Ice King is literally the embodiment of his depression and misery would have been so powerful. Ice King is sad by nature but doesn't even understand why- making it impossible for him to find real happiness.

Ice King is also a reflection of all of Simon's negative traits, amped-up to 11. It's pretty clear throughout the show that not only did Simon hate being Ice King, but he also just like. Hates Ice King himself. He finds him embarrassing and best, vile at worst.

So what better way to show Simon how childish his quest to become Ice King again is than to like... just have him interact with Ice King. A personification of all he hates about himself, a caricature of his personality, motives and feelings.

My ideal version of "Simon realizes the flaws within himself and his relationship with Betty" would be Simon talking to Ice King.

You know how people say you learn the most from people who remind you of yourself and your own flaws? Have that happen.

And have Simon come to terms with the fact that Ice King is not this completely separate entity. He's a wounded, sad, lost version of himself. And idk. Having Simon accept that? Accept Ice King as someone who is and always has been linked to him.

And through seeing himself (Ice King) at his lowest point, the lesson can finally hit him in the face. No need to spell it out, explain it to the audience like we are being spoon-fed. Through this he realizes his own character flaws, and the fatal flaws in his and Betty's relationship, the sacrifices she made to help him reach peace.

We can still somehow tie the whole Casper and Nova characters into this. Maybe Ice King is crying (as he does), probably because he's so lonely, because he craves love and companionship so much, specifically seeking out romance, when all his attempts fail miserably.

And have Simon attempt to comfort him by telling him a story. Basically reminisce about his relationship with Betty and the choices they made, through random characters he makes up on the spot (which would be Casper and Nova).

The story starts out with Simon retelling his and Betty's love story through rose tinted glasses, but Ice King keeps asking questions. Like obliviously of course, without realizing, he pokes holes in the seemingly perfect love story. I feel like Ice King is usually like this?? He can't figure out what's wrong with him personally, but he is pretty good at determining other people's issues, but in a silly kinda oblivious way.

As this continues, at some point the story stops being about trying to comfort Ice King and devolves into Simon grieving over what he lost, the choices he made and how they hurt Betty. Basically doing what the actual episode 9 did, point out the flaws of the relationship. As Simon realizes how much Betty did for him and how willing he was to throw it all away. He ends the story on a sad note. There is no happy ending. He starts to cry finally god damn.

And then Ice King, in his Ice King way- attempts to comfort him. Basically telling him to calm down and that it's just a story. Simon bitterly looks away and Ice King just tells him. "But hey aren't you writing it? You can always change the ending if you don't like it! It doesn't have to end there! Keep going! You'll get better if you keep writing."

"But what if I can't change it? What if the book is already published?"

"There's never too late for a sequel! The great thing about writing is that it only ends when you want it to end!"

And with that just like. Make them hug. A symbolic gesture in which Simon accepts it all. That this is the story he wrote with his choices, he cannot take it back- but that he can keep moving forward. The story doesn't end until the author decides (holy shit it ties it back to the fact Fionna and Cake started out as a fanfiction! Author metaphors!!!).

By accepting Ice King as a part of himself, his ability to accept himself as a part of OOO makes more sense. He's a part of this world and he will keep going.

Anyhow then he has his big scene with Betty.

This is very rough I like- vomited it out just now because I needed closure (<- has not enjoyed the FaC finale even though she fundamentally agrees with the story/character conclusions and themes) so I wrote out this fanfic-esq post.

Idk I just thought the fact this whole show is about jumping through multiverses and not having there be a scene where Simon talks to Ice King and has a moment of self reflection/acceptance was a missed opportunity.

Anyhow ty for reading my silly fanfic post. Mby I'll make it into a real fanfiction idk.

Again this is very rough, and there's like a billion ways Simon's character arc could have concluded that would have left me more emotionally satisfied- but I might write about those some other time.

Hope you enjoyed the idea dump!

[mysillyside]

I think I finally figured out the solution to the Ice King and Simon Trolley Problem.

Short answer: Give Ice King autonomy. Allow him to come to the decision that he wants to be Simon again on his own accord.

Long answer that's totally not a fanfiction outline:

In the Elements miniseries, Betty briefly tries to make peace with the fact that she is unable to bring Simon back and attempts to accept Ice King as he is. She doesn't end up going through with this because it is too painful as she can't separate the two in her mind.

But imagine if she persevered. Imagine if she came to love Ice King for who he is as well.

I don't expect her to force herself to fall in love with Ice King. But instead, much like Marceline, just be a supportive presence in his life, ultimately leading him to be a healthier person.

I think this would be good for Betty's own journey. In the actual story she spends every waking moment trying to bring Simon back and this ends up destroying her. She feels like she needs Simon to function, she cannot imagine happiness without him.

I don't think she should have given up trying to cure Simon, but I also think she shouldn't have let it consume her. In a way, I think the healthiest thing she could have done is accepting Ice King. It would have given her time to breathe and rediscover who she is without Simon while still being there for him at his lowest.

When she described spending time with Ice King as looking at her old life through a funhouse mirror, it was because she was expecting him to be someone he's not while failing to recreate the relationship she shared with Simon, instead taking time to find out what relationship she has with Ice King.

Betty wants Simon. So she settles with Ice King. Ice King wants a girlfriend. So he settles with Betty.

It's a transactional relationship devoid of love. This is why they didn't work out. The sad irony of it all is that I believe if Betty and Ice King allowed themselves discover what kind of a relationship they share and tried to get to know each other as people instead of forcing a romance- I think they would have actually fallen in love.

After all, Ice King's favorite princess has always been PB, because he's subconsciously looking for Betty, his (Simon's) princess. While Betty if she gave Ice King a chance and treated him with love and understanding, would probably realized how similar he is to Simon, in his own goofy way.

Something about the idea of falling in love with the same person twice in a different way makes me very emotional.

Of course, it wouldn't be perfect. I feel like Betty would definitely still be in pain. Even if she loves him, Ice King is still insane and unable to recall who he even is, and Simon is still gone. I feel like she would feel guilty. Guilty that she's able to enjoy life while Simon is still cursed, and guilty that she still wants Ice King to be Simon.

Ice King is not the smartest or most observent person, but we do see he's capable of having emotional intelligence when he's in a good mental state and when someone he cares about is upset, even if his understanding of things is pretty childish. But I do believe he'd realize that Betty is unhappy deep down.

I think he'd tried to talk to her about it in his Ice King way. I feel like she wouldn't want to discuss it with him at first, because it's just less painful to think of him and Simon as two different people. But Ice King wants to know how to make her happy, because she makes him happy. Finally Betty blows up telling him there's nothing he can do, that he's not Simon and since he doesn't even remember being Simon, so he should just leave it.

You know how in Simon and Betty's relationship, Betty always did things for Simon, to a point of sacrificing stuff to make him happy?

Well it's about time that changed. Have Ice King decide that even though he doesn't remember anything about being this Simon guy, he wants to find a way to remember. It's gonna make Betty stop being sad so it's the least he can do.

All this to say, Ice King should have been the one to cure himself, it should have been his decision.

The crown has always been such a clear addiction metaphor, so to have the addict himself, at his lowest point, decide he wants to cure himself because he is sad to see how his addiction is hurting the people he cares about- it's not only realistic (as change comes from within, you can't force it) but also really powerful.

I love the canon story don't get me wrong, but I always felt super sad that it robbed Ice King of his autonomy. It makes me sad to see how much development he went through only for him to cease to exist.

So yeah through some Prismo shannanigans, Ice King makes a wish to regain the part of him he lost, aka his sanity and memories as Simon.

This ends with the result of having him be both Simon and Ice King as the same time. And it's not the Winter King situation either, because he didn't cure himself at the expense of someone, it was a selfless rather then a selfish act.

And with that I have solve the Simon and Ice King Trolley Problem! They both get to exist at the same time!

*gets on my knees* Fic writers... I beg... Someone make this a thing...

[mysillyside]

📁 Tag Directory

Forgive my excessive use of emojis. I don't even like that all that much, but visuals help me navigate things more easily! So! Here's how I tag things...

Basic tags:

💬 katposts -> text posts tag

🤪 sillygoofy -> meme/shitpost tag

Fandom specific tags:

my headcanons -> my headcanons tag

my AUs -> tag for AUs I come up with

my theories -> tag for theories I have for media that's ongoing

analyses & meta -> tag where I post my analyses, reviews, or even just meta things like fun-facts about whatever I'm discussing

Creative tags:

🎨 katdraws -> my art tag (⏳ old kat art -> my old art tag)

✒️ katwrites -> my writing tag (mostly just for idea dumps and drabbles)

Social tags:

👉👈 for me... -> tag for stuff people made for me (art, fics, posts etc.)

🤝 katcollabs -> tag for stuff I made in collaboration with others

🌈 friendlyposting -> tag for posts where I'm interracting with my mutuals and/or friends

📬 askbox -> tag where you can find my responses to asks I've received in my inbox

⭐masterposts -> tag for materposts I make on miscellaneous topics

Misc tags:

📌 resources -> useful resources on various miscellaneous things

❗❗ important -> tag for signal boosting posts, usually for spreading awareness about current events

📣 promo -> for promoting my friends and/or mutuals, their commissions/projects/etc.

👻 ghostwritten by my sis -> I often joke my sister ghostwrites my posts bc a lot of them are our inside jokes or stuff we came up with together, so this tag is my way of giving her credit XD

selfreblog -> tag for reblogging my own posts

Fandom tags (for fandoms I actively posted about on this blog):

Death Note

Higurashi

Umineko

Nevermore Webtoon

Black Butler

Adventure Time