#kira deserves more turns with the brain cell

[uhhhhyandere]

heheheehehehe 

no wedding yet. I really do be messing with the plot a lot, and making it when i shouldn’t but... i can’t help myself. ;p 

it’s totally true that light can be the sweetest person in order to convince anyone, and i exploit that like a bitch. as always, writing for fun, not perfection!! 

word count: 5.4k

 “I’ve been seeing you a lot more.” Rose mixed her drink with the spoon, but her eyes were happily trained on you. “It’s a good thing! Don’t get me wrong. You surprised me when you called to meet up. Usually, it’s me, then you say we’ll see, then you call me back later. It’s a nice change of pace when you call, but I know you’re busy with wedding planning and being happy.” You crossed your legs, slipping your hands under your thighs to warm them up from the ice of your own drink.  

“I think it’s probably because when the amount of stress in my life tripled is when I realized I need a break,” is what you said, and what Light told you to say if you were ever questioned on why you were suddenly so social after he allowed you the freedom to leave without permission. Perhaps he was finally tired of the calls throughout the day while he was working, or maybe there was a semblance of trust beginning to form. That, or he finally noticed that you were beginning to fester in the confines of your home and wants your spirit to lift once more, which is all the more amusing to you that he may think that would be feasible.

“Well, I don’t know how much I can do to help. I mean, I’m sure Light’s doing his part, right?” You laughed.

“Plenty.”

“Then, do you need anything at all? From me? Or mom?” As pins and needles in your hands began to spread, you removed them and stretched them out on top of your thighs.

“Can you tell me about your life?”

“Huh?”

“Your life. You know. Sato, your new apartment. Your sex life. I don’t care. Anything. Everything. I just need to look into someone’s life that isn’t my own,” because frankly, you were worried Light had something up his sleeve, and you knew, you knew, you would only bring yourself more misery if you drowned yourself in your thoughts. Your sister leaned back in the cushion and smiled to herself.

“Well, it was our three months last week. Nothing compared to you, but it was nice. I’ve never been the one for… commitment, really, but—I don’t know—seeing you and Light, it makes me think that ‘Yeah I want that,’ and it’s a nice change to hookups.” She cut herself off. Her eyes stuck on a crack in the wall below the window. With her lips parted, she sighed, and a sudden sadness fell onto her face. Her fingers played with the wood of the table for a few moments before she opened her mouth to speak again. “Sorry, I was just thinking about Oliver. Reminds me of him.”

“What does, specifically?”

“Commitment. He slept around so much in college, but, when he settled back in the US and met his partner, it was like he changed. That connection, he felt it immediately, and, right when he was brave enough to take the next step…” Rose wiped beneath her eyes, being careful to avoid the mascara on her bottom lashes. It seemed that her eyes were only watering though. “Well, you know.” Yes, you did. “I’m scared. What if I find that and then it’s just… taken away from me? It’s easy when there’s no feelings involved.” She shook her head and hid her mouth behind her hand. “Sorry. I’m supposed to be distracting you from the stress, but I’m just adding to it.”

You allowed the table to fall into silence. Every time you’ve seen Rose since Light gifted your freedom, there was a small, small voice in the back of your mind that told you to tell Rose the truth. Sometimes just parts of it, but you knew that you couldn’t unwrap a small piece without, over time, exposing it all. Even so, what harm could Rose really do with that information? She’s never ceased her devotion to Kira, and you remember it was a defining factor in Sato when she started talking to him. Would she see Kira different knowing he is not some omnipotent god descended from wherever to distribute justice on the human world? Losing her belief was too much of a risk in exchange for information she didn’t need to know.

Information she deserved to know.

“Double date.”

“What?”

“Why don’t you and Sato and me and Light just go for dinner or something? I don’t know him well, and it might be a good idea to try. I mean, when I get stuck up in the past, I try to appreciate the present by doing something. I think it’s what they all would want.” Lying comes too easy. Little did she know the dead you thought of most likely wanted you as dead as them, and, wherever Misa was, you were sure she wanted the same.

“They all?”

“Huh?”

“You said they all, as in plural.” You shook your head.

“Oh, yeah. Well, Light’s dad, coworkers he’s had who have passed, Oliver.” She folded her hands over mouth.

“I completely forgot. I—you’re right. We should set that up. Soon, and I mean soon. As in this weekend or the next? I know Light’s schedule is insane, and yours, too, with the wedding. Oh, and I’ll tell Sato that Light is okay with our beliefs, so there’s no issue there. You know, with Kira.” You shook your head.

“No, no, it’s fine. It was my idea. He makes his own schedule most of the time unless something particularly nasty comes up. I’m sure that he’ll be free. He tries for weekends off but… he’s a workaholic.” Rose laughed into the brim of her cup.

“Sounds like him. I’m sure Sato will be free too.”

“What does he do, if I may ask?”

“Oh, he’s a lawyer. He used to be a public defender, but now he’s moved to elder law since Kira first appeared.” She paused. “You know, I think that he could use it too. His stepbrother died a while back, and he looked up to him like they were blood brothers.” You nodded. “Speaking of which,” she raised her wrist, “I told Sato that I would meet him after his appointment to go to that—um—botanical garden, I think? I don’t know. I’m excited.” You watched her hurry to collect herself. “Are you coming?” You shook your head.

“No, I think I’ll stay for a bit,” you checked your own watch, “Light won’t be home for a little while anyway. You go have fun. Let this chained old hag stay here.” Rose scoffed.

“’Chained old hag’, my younger sister who is planning the best day of her life says. Call me when you talk to Light and we can set up that date. Bye! Love you!” By the time she was wishing you well, she was halfway towards the door. You smiled to yourself. No, you would keep her in blissful ignorance despite what she deserves. It only added to your list of shit deeds. Nothing new.

You dug into your back pocket and pulled out your cell phone you turned off for the duration of your coffee date and decided you would leave it that way. You could people-watch for the next half hour. Hell, you probably could for the next five hours and not even know. You could hardly remember the last time you had watched the passersby with no worries, or at least, with all of your worries suppressed to normalcy.

With each one that passed, you grew more and more envious. Though every person had problems, stressors, issues, you were sure that you would trade anything to have the struggles they are having, so blissfully unaware of the reality that is around them. How easy it was for them to simply perish from this world in forty seconds, and they didn’t even know. Too busy worrying about exams and deadlines to even care. You released a shaky breath and thought about how you would do anything to have calculus be your biggest problem.

Too little, too late. The time for self-pity has long passed. Still, you permitted yourself some time to wallow for the sake of “self-care.” To cry against the headrest of the coffee shop chair until it was three minutes passed the time you wanted to leave was a fine enough method. It gave you enough time to fix yourself so Light would never know the difference.

Though, he was nowhere to be found as you walked into your house. The only indication he was home was the muffled movement from the floor above. Before you moved to go up the stairs, the number of objects on your kitchen counter drew your attention. Multiple white binders with swatches of silk sticking out from the edges, different plastic flowers, multiple—.

“Oh my fucking god,” you muttered, dread dropping into your core like an anchor. You had a fucking meeting with your wedding planner today. You ripped your phone from your pocket a finally turned it on. Fifteen text messages. Eight calls. You were dead. You dropped the device onto the counter in order to cup your face with your hands and groan.

“Oh, nice of you to come home.”

“Light, I am—I don’t—I don’t know—.” He shushed you with an open palm. Your hands linked on the edge of the counter behind your back. Biting your lip, you kept your eyes on him, ready to take whatever he was planning to give. Light sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Stop looking at me like a wounded dog. I haven’t even said anything yet. When I allowed you your freedom, I didn’t mean to free your head from your brain either. I looked like a fool with her after calling you eight times. She asked me if everything was okay between us, if we were fighting. Do you know how annoying and more importantly embarrassing for me it was? Have you ever, for once, used your brain for anything outside of what is in front of you? Where were you, anyway? With your sister, again?” Light scoffed. “No wonder your head isn’t working as well as it used to.”

“Rose is not stupid.”

“She’s certainly not intelligent. Why have you sought her out so much, anyway? If there’s something wrong, you should be talking to me. She may be your sister, and she may think she knows what may be going on, but she never will. Rose can never bring you any comfort when she’s so in the dark. The only person who knows, who can bring you a semblance of peace, is me.” You clenched your teeth.

“Then why not tell her, then? Everything.” He scowled and a single brow rose in challenge. “She deserves to know at least how our brother and father died.” Your throat clenched, but you remained steadfast. They always say tears is how you convince someone of anything, but tears were only a sign of weakness to Light. He sighed, shoulders falling. Closing the space in between you, he brought his hand to delicately cup your jaw.

“The guilt is eating at you again. Y/N, if you decided to tell her that, you would need to tell her everything. You would risk losing all connection with her, just as your brother did when you told him.” He leaned in so his lips began to trail up your jaw, across your cheek, and towards your ear. “Not to mention the potential obstacle it could pose to me, and you know I don’t hesitate when it comes to anything that could stand in my way.” He placed a small kiss behind your ear. “Is that something you are willing to risk in order to alleviate your guilt? Is it really worth it?” His hand that was on your jaw traced up your cheek, fingernails lightly dragging across your skin. He tucked your hair behind your ear and moved his face, so he was looking directly into your eyes again. “I won’t waste my breath telling you what to do. By now, you should already know, which is why you have this freedom in the first place because you know better.” With a sigh, he retracted, leaving only his hand in your hair. “Still, should you decide to do something stupid, I won’t think twice before cleaning up your mess. Decide if you’re ready to go through that again.

He took his hand back and walked around to begin to stifle through the binders. Turning around, you helped him spread them all across the counter and the table.

“What did I miss?” Your voice was quiet, still nervous to tempt out a side of him you didn’t want to see. Light’s eyes jumped around the binders.

“You’re lucky we didn’t need to make any decisions today. I brought home everything. Color swatches, food options, flowers, music, venues, cake, everything,” You sighed. “Not to mention dresses.”

“Please don’t even mention it. I’ve always been more of a jumpsuit kind of person.” He met your eyes briefly. “I-I mean in general! No, I’ll be wearing the big, whitey giant. Just don’t even know where to start, and not just that, with everything. It’s so much. Do we even have a budget in mind yet?” He shook his head.

“Money shouldn’t be a problem.” You furrowed your brows, but he said it as easy as someone who was talking about the weather. “What? Don’t look so mystified. As long as we don’t decide to make this a royal wedding and invite the Queen, we don’t have any foreseeable problems.” In your time since you quit your job, you realized that you haven’t thought about money at all. It wasn’t really an issue that was… “in front of your face.” You scowled as Light’s statement replayed in your head. You used his card if you went anywhere or bought anything, and yet you haven’t even thought to check the bank statement.

By god, you were turning into a trophy wife. Maybe, if you knew what that really was. Whatever you were turning into, it didn’t settle right in your stomach.

“Then we should decide the vibe.”

“The… vibe,” he repeated skeptically.

“Yeah. Do we want it to be rustic, or classy and formal? Or modern? Minimalistic? Classic? I don’t know. Then we could decide colors to go along with the theme, and then flowers would follow. We work from the outside in. We just need to figure out the attendance before picking a venue. Then the date. Then—yikes, this is a lot.” You ran a hand through your hair. “Do you care?”

“What do you mean, ‘do I care?’”

“I mean, I don’t know. Sometimes guys are like ‘I don’t care,’ and—I don’t know I watch a lot of TLC and HGTV.” Light brought a hand to your waist and pulled you into his side. He rolled his head in your direction.

“Do you really think I am anything like those guys on TV?” You pushed his head away.

“Yeah, sorry. Stupid question. So, what about—.”

“Formal.”

“Huh?”

“The ‘vibe.’ Formal.” His fingers drummed against your hip. You shouldn’t be too surprised he would want it to be professional and classy given he’s been dressing for his job since high school. Though, if you wanted to pose an argument, could you? Not that you minded the formal idea, but maybe your freedom has given you some of your courage back to test your limits.

“What about rustic? Like country-side.”

“You expect me to be married in a barn?”

“Rustic does not mean getting married in a barn,” you laughed. “It’s what I’ve always imagined my wedding would look like. Maybe a sunflower field or horses. Outside under a huge oak tree on a summer day.” A smile grew on your face picturing it, but as Light remained silent, it fell into a pensive frown. Your brother would have walked you up the aisle. “Though, I guess nothing has really turned out as I’ve imagined.” Whatever moment of courage flared in you moments before died. “Formal is fine. Then the colors should coincide.”

“Gold and black.” You grinned quietly.

“Yeah, that’s—um—on theme. It’s-it’s good. I’m going to go get a pen and paper to write this all down. I think there are notebooks in the drawer in the closet.” You tore away from his side and sped to the closet. Shutting the door behind you, you released your wet and shaking breaths in the darkness of the small space. Warm tears spilled down your cheeks, and you laughed because you had no idea why you were even crying. Still, you wrapped your arms around yourself and silently squeezed your eyes shut to push them all out. The door opened behind you, flooding the closet with light. “I’m sorry. I s-swear I’m not crying. I’m not I’m—.”

Arms wrapped around your own. Gently, he guided you to move them to allow his own to take their place. He nudges his head to slot between your neck and shoulder, but he, for once, does not say anything. He need not to. This was to comfort you, sure, but you knew better to think it was a sign of care. He had to do this. To be his true, ugly self all the time would simply eradicate the pretty picture he paints that distracts you from reality. Light had to convince you that there was something there that was not twisted, raw possession. Maybe there was a time it would have genuinely worked too, but the time has long passed. All there was left to do was believe in the known lie that this was love.

And that went both ways. What you felt towards him… you called it love, but even that would be too simple. Fear. Hate. Loneliness. Were they parts of love as well? If so, then maybe love was the right word. It had to be. You couldn’t be marrying a man you hated, that you feared. You had to love him. That was the only… it was the truth. All those years, you did. You’ve loved him all this time. It was the truth.  You loved him. You would pledge the rest of your life to him. That was the truth. It was. It was it was it was it was it was it was it was—.

“I love you, Light.” A kiss to your neck was your only answer.  

  No more planning was done that day. Once your tears dried, Light led you to the bathroom upstairs by hand in silence. You followed his footsteps as he brushed his teeth, washed his face, and stepped back into the space of the bedroom. Your eyes followed his form as he opened the drawer in the dresser and placed yours and his pajamas on top. He changed himself first, unbothered by your shameless staring. Then, he turned to you.

With unmatched gentility, he gripped the hem of your shirt and slowly brought it up to your abdomen. You rose your arms to help him disrobe it. He walked around you and unsnapped your bra, throwing it alongside your shirt. Back in your view, Light motioned for you to raise your arms, and he slid your long pajama shirt down your body. Before moving to your lower body, you stepped back and discarded them yourselves and put on your own bottoms. There was a small smile on Light’s face as you turned back to him.

Despite it being the early evening, you both settled in next to each other on the bed. Light reached for the remote and began playing a movie you both had already saw from a time far different. You did not question a single thing as you nuzzled into his embrace. The warmth of his body was no lie even if the lips that sought yours were. The kisses were long. They were short. They were deep. They were shallow. They were consuming. They were fluttering. They were right. With his hand behind your head, Light devoured you, but he did no more. He did not move to your neck. His hands did not deviate below your shoulders. His show was… real. It was. When he would push far, he would filter back to shallow. When his teeth nipped too hard, his tongue would follow to soothe the pain. It was all him. His taste. His scent.  

He did not do this to Misa, to Takada. This was for you. You were his. No one else could have ever said so and told the truth. You smiled into the next kiss, turning your head to take him deeper. For all the fighting, the confidence those women had that he was theirs, and where are they now? Where has their confidence gotten them? Burned. Removed. Gone, yet here you were, alive. In a game you never wanted to play but was the front runner, you won. They got themselves killed or wherever they are. It was the truth. It was. Lips parting from his for air, you let yourself immerse into the brown of his eyes. Chests rising and falling together, breaths intermingled, this was right. It was. This was the God of the New World, and this was Light Yagami.

It was. 

“Gold and black,” you said. “With hints of purple.”

  “A double date?” You stared up at him the next morning, head nestled into the cusp of his arm and shoulder. “With your sister and her boyfriend?” You nodded.

“Impulsive idea, but it’ll look good when she tells my cousins and everyone. PR, you know? Not that you don’t already have a lot with my family who hasn’t even met you, but she talks to them a lot. Might help the day of. Might not, but… I would appreciate it. Her boyfriend is a lawyer.”

“Oh?” You nodded.

“His step-brother was too, but he died. We think. He’s missing, but he thinks that he’s dead. Well, that’s what Rose told me, anyway.” You fiddled with the fabric of his shirt that lied over his chest.

“What is his name?”

“Sato.” When you look back up again, Light was hyper-focused on the ceiling. “Do you know him?” He scoffed, moving his hand that was near your back to come forth and flick you in the forehead. You lost your head cushion in the process as he moves to get up. “She wants to set it up this or next weekend, if you’re free.” Light’s muscles flex as he stretches.

“Saturday is fine.”

“Oh, okay. I’ll call Rose, then.”

  The restaurant was one you had heard of many times but haven’t had the chance to go to yet. It was a more casual setting, but it was packed. However, Light used his magic to get a booth in the far corner. You slid next to him. “I don’t know how you do this.”

“When will they be here? I don’t like to wait for people.” Thoughts of your forgotten wedding planning appointment sail through your mind.

“Rose is always late, but she’ll show.” Light hummed in response and pulled at his jacket sleeves. It was only five minutes before you saw your sister happily heading towards your table, a stressed man of her age following behind. You and Light rose to greet her with a hug that you knew Light hated.

“Hi, Y/N. Light! It’s been so long. How are you?”

“I’m alright. How are you?”

“Amazing. Anyway, Y/N, Light, this is Sato.” You did a double-take at Light’s expression but shook it off as you greeted him. “I’ve told him a lot so, don’t be surprised of how much he knows of you two.”

“All good things,” Sato reassured. The four of you sat at the booth, and the waiter was immediately present to ask for drinks. “Though, it is great to meet the brilliant Light Yagami. Your work on that missing persons case was astounding. Who would have thought to connect the sister to the missing luggage and the misplaced car? I read over the case file.” Light smiled and laughed.

“Thank you. I try not to talk too much work outside of it, but that was a nasty case.” Rose groaned.

“We get it. You’re smart, Light. We know.” The waiter returned briefly with the beverages. “You’re lucky that you’re nice, or else I would have beat you up in college.”

“College?”

“Light, Y/N, and I are all alumni of To-Oh, though they’re both a few years younger than me.” Sato looked impressed at the three of you. “It’s where their love blossomed.” You shook your head and hid your face behind your sleeve. “Don’t get embarrassed, Y/N! It’s true. Anyway, Light, what are you up to these days anyway? I haven’t seen you in a while.”

“Wedding planning. Work. Nothing unusual, except maybe the wedding planning. That’s not really usual, is it?” Light laughed. Silence followed as you all scrutinized the menu. Light leaned over to you. “Do you want to split this?” Your normal answer would be absolutely not, but the gleam in his eye was unmistakable. Without even looking at the menu item, you nodded. “Alright.” The waiter returned to take the orders before leaving once again. “So, you’re a lawyer?”

“Yes! I used to be a criminal lawyer and did public defense here and there, but I’ve moved to elder law. A lot less stressful for the most part.” Your fiancé leaned forward, placing his chin in his palm.

“I see. Why the switch, if I may ask?”

“Oh, it’s no big deal. Criminals are dealt with without much help from lawyers. There’s a bigger force than judges and courts casting justice. Staying in the business is just financial suicide, especially with crime down the way it is.” Sato’s face fell. “My step-brother too. He was a criminal lawyer, but he disappeared a while ago. He was my biggest influence growing up. Couldn’t get a case without it reminding me of him, so I switched as well.” Light’s eyes did not move from his own.

“That’s a shame. I’m sorry. I lost my father as well, and Y/N and Rose lost their brother, but that’s why we’re here, isn’t it? The dead wouldn’t want us to cease our lives because of them. I know my father wouldn’t, at least.” Sato nodded.

“Same for Mikami.”

…What?

Light leaned back in the booth. It was nothing to Rose and Sato, but to you, it said mission accomplished. He crossed his arms and gave you only a second-long glance before focusing back on the company. You, though, you were choking on air and frozen to your seat. Though you’ve never met Mikami, having only seen him outside of the warehouse that… day, Light told you about him, and about he was almost the reason for his death should your father and you not been involved.

“…Y/N. Y/N!” Rose’s shrill voice cut you from your thoughts. “Thought we lost you there. Something on your mind?” You shook your head and laughed nervously. Tucking a strand of hair behind your ear, you dared not look at Light.

“No, sorry. Wedding things. What were we talking about?”

“I was talking about my step-brother and Light’s dad. Both of them were men of justice. I could see where you get your motivation and talent from then. Having your father as chief of police must have been a strong pull in the criminal justice path.”

“And your brother. He sounded like a good man.” Sato shrugged, scratching his nose with the crook of his finger.

“Yes, he was. He’s one of the main reasons I believe in what I believe in today. He loved Kira. Worshipped him, and when he died, I started to think the same. There was foul play in my brother’s disappearance, and I just hope that Kira has brought them to justice.” Your fists clenched under the table. Light placed a soft hand on your shaking fist and tightened his grip as you refused to loosen yours. “There’s simply no evidence. He was doing nothing different. Acting the same. Then one day he moved plans because he had somewhere he had to be. Then he was just gone.”  Light’s hand was at the point of hurting your own, so you finally loosened your fist. He still did not let go.

“I’m sorry that happened to you, Sato.”

“Has it crossed your desk, Light?” Rose asked. “Sorry. You’re with the NPA, so I thought maybe you would have seen it.” Light shook his head.

“When was this again?”

“January. A little more than a year ago.”

“It must have been around the time… something happened.” Oh, around the time you watched his brother and all your ‘friends’ die? Light must have sensed your discomfort and moved his hand from yours to grasp your thigh and rub back and forth. “It was a rough patch for me. I took off a lot of time then.”

“Oh, I had no idea. I’m so sorry. I remember I didn’t see either of you until the funeral, and even after…”

“Please, forget we said anything.” Sato finished for her. Light smiled and waved him off with his free hand.  

“It’s fine. You didn’t know. Still, I can look into your brother and see what I can pull. If I can help you find closure, then I’ll do my best.” With an earnest voice and an award-winning smile, he even had this man he just met looking at him like he had a halo and wings.

“I… really appreciate it. I can’t believe you’re actually as nice as they say. You know, sometimes highly accredited detectives can be… dicks. Thank you,” Sato’s gaze turned to you, “and congratulations to you both! I forgot to say before.” You grinned politely but could not speak.

“Ah, thank you. We’re still in early planning process, but we’re getting there.” He nudged you with his shoulder, and once again you grinned politely. “Anyway, how did you two meet? I hate to just talk about ourselves, though I can go on forever…”

You hardly spoke through the dinner, only responding when you were directly addressed. It was a good thing Light and you split a meal, as you couldn’t stomach more than a few bites. Light would squeeze your thigh when you had to respond. For the rest of the time, you were zoned out, focused on the cracks in the table, the movement of the servers, and anything else but the interaction between Light and everyone’s brother’s murderer. When it was getting too obvious your attention was purposely away from the table, you played with Light’s fingers that were on your thigh until Light offered to handle the bill and you were on your feet wishing your goodbyes.

“Are you okay?” Rose whispered as you hugged. Wordlessly, you nodded. “How are you, really?” You sighed.

“I’m fine. I promise.” You glanced to her boyfriend and your fiancé who both waited for the two of you. “Light will take care of me. Don’t worry.” Reluctant, she nodded and followed the men outside of the restaurant where you went your separate ways. You watched Rose lean happily into Sato, hands interlocked, while Light had a simple hand on your hip with his back poised and straight.

“You knew.”

“Of course, I knew.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“You found out, didn’t you?” You exhaled through your nose.

“Was it because of what I said? About telling her?” Light did not respond. Parting from you and entering the driver’s seat, he did not regard you until he put the car into drive.

“Telling her was out of the question in the first place. The rest was a problem that solved itself. You know now, at least, of what would happen the moment you tell her a single thing. Risking her happiness, her and his life.”

“But not mine.” It slipped before you could even think about the words you just said. Light pondered them, eyes narrowing in thought as he weaved through traffic.

“But not yours. Never yours.” You did not know whether his words were the truth or more pretty lies, but you opted for the former. It brought you comfort, after all. 

“Do you like the idea of dark flowers with gold details?”  

[thatonekawaiigirl13]

Who Said Death Was Easy? [Death Note] Chapter Thirty

Chapter Thirty: Frustration

Day 8 of Surveillance

Keiko’s POV:

Keiko gave an exasperated sigh as she recalled her little conversation the other night with the world’s greatest detective. She thought a more appropriate name for him would be the world’s most frustrating detective. After all, he always managed to somehow get under her skin. Even worse, his haunting words from the other night had yet to leave her mind. Actually, no matter what, she couldn’t get them out. It was as though his words were stuck on an almost endless loop inside her head.

“If you have no intention of leaving, then face the truth; Light Yagami is Kira, and he’s been stringing you along all this time.”

Was there really any truth to L’s words? Unfortunately, Keiko had to say yes. It appeared that she could no longer ignore the glaringly obvious fact that Light Yagami was probably, no...it appeared that that he was more than most likely Kira, the worst mass murderer that the world had ever seen.

Keiko had been thinking about the detective’s words all night. Now that Light was so close to being convicted of Kira, it made her sick to her stomach thinking of how easily manipulated by him she had been. She had fallen right into his dangerous trap countless times. He had reeled her in, played her a fool.

I am a fool...aren’t I? If my ex-boyfriend really is Kira, then I can’t deny that. I trusted him. I played right into his hands. He got me right where he wanted me…not only did he toy with my emotions, he controlled them.

Keiko shivered, despite the fact that she was wearing a rather warm wool sweater.

No...I let him control me.

Look back at her history with him, Keiko deduced that things with Light Yagami officially started after she had ran into him at the convenience store on that fateful night. That was the start of their friendship, the start of their soon to be romantic relationship. Before then, they had only been rank one and rank two in school, classmates that weren’t particularly close but were still civil to one another.

The fact that the man on the motorcycle, who had been leering and chasing a woman only moments before, had died was now way too suspicious for her to overlook. It was especially suspicious when considering right after that night heart attack victims became more and more common. Keiko hadn’t really thought much about the night at the convenience store, mostly because she just wanted to block it out. It wasn’t like she wanted to remember watching a man die, at least with the bus jacking incident she had looked away when it happened. Keiko shifted slightly on the bed she was sitting on, crossing her arms in front of her chest defensively as she thought back on the night she had run into him.

And, to think, Light had the audacity to walk me home that night!

Looking back also made her realize that she had once used Light Yagami as well. Keiko shuddered. She was thinking that,because she had kissed him that day to get simple revenge on her ex-boyfriend, she had also invited him to use her in return.

If I had never kissed Light Yagami that day, I probably wouldn’t even be in this mess right now...although, now that I think about it, out of all the girls in our class, I was probably the one closest to his type. After all, he and I were the top two students in the grade...meaning that he probably would have asked me out anyway, so perhaps there really was no way to avoid this fate. Well, even if I could have avoided it…it’s useless now. What’s done is done, unfortunately…

Light Yagami had shamelessly used her, not once, not twice, but multiple times. He had used her for months. There was no going back now.

Keiko thought about her first attempt at a date with Light Yagami, and the bus jacking that had gone along with it.

The bus jacking was no mere accident...he had used that bus jacking in order to retrieve that innocent FBI agent’s name. He had then tortured him to somehow get everyone else’s name and face, only to dispose of them all in the end…twelve innocent lives were lost thanks to him. Twelve, and there could have been more that I don’t even know about. After all, L didn’t recruit me for the investigation right away. He waited a while first.

Keiko let out a soft sigh, her mind was now running through all of the other times she had been with Light Yagami. There had been quite a few study dates to make up for their lack of an official first date. Those study dates had easily turned into kissing sessions that had left her slowly wanting even more of him. However, thinking back on that now only made Keiko feel dirty, both physically and emotionally.

After all, those study sessions had paved the way for Light to ask her to officially be his girlfriend. Or, rather, to officially be his puppet, and his asking her out had subsequently led Keiko to fall for him.

And I can’t believe that he used me as a cover up that whole time...how cruel. Once I fell for him, there was no going back. I was lost, no matter how many times L tried to warn me. I didn’t listen....what a fool. Had any of it been real? Did Light really feel anything for me? I suppose it’s possible, but if he’s Kira, then I highly doubt it. As L said, he had to have been just stringing me along. There’s no way that his love for me was real. In fact, now that I think about it, the two of us never said those three little words, ‘I love you’ to one another...

Her stomach, which already had been in knots for a while, gave a sudden lurch. She was seriously worried for a moment that she would actually vomit. Keiko covered her mouth, drawing in a deep and slow breath to help her recover.

It was then that another thought struck her. A thought that she had tucked away in the depths of her brain for a while. At the time, she had deemed it unimportant. In fact, it probably was unimportant, but still, she had to be certain. Keiko didn’t want to be fooled any longer, and she wanted to investigate everything having to do with Light Yagami.

She reached into the pockets of her sweatpants, digging around for her cell phone. Aside from his dad, no one from the Yagami family knew that Keiko and Light had broken up. Light’s father had told Keiko it was because Light didn’t want to raise any more questions, because to him, being interrogated by L and the rest of the Task Force was enough.

Keiko figured that, since his family thought that the two of them were still together, it wouldn’t be weird for her to text his little sister. However, she knew she had to be crafty in order to get the details she wanted out of Sayu Yagami. Luckily it didn’t take Keiko long to think of a plan.

To: Sayu-chan:3

From: Keiko Kagami

Hi, Sayu-chan! It’s Keiko. I was wondering...do you remember the name of the girl that Light-kun was tutoring a while ago? He and I need to fill out applications in order to take a certain class in our study abroad program, and on the application we have to include the names of all people we tutored. But…Light doesn’t remember her name and his phone is dead, so he can’t text you himself.

Okay, Keiko had to admit that her plan perhaps wasn’t the greatest, but it was the best that she could come up with on such short notice. The fact that Light Yagami had a girl come over so soon after the two had met Misa Amane was now suspicious to Keiko. At the time, she hadn’t thought much of it, but looking back, Keiko had a strong suspicion that the girl had been Misa. If Light was Kira, then that would for sure meant that Misa Amane was the Second Kira, and Light hadn’t been tutoring her, but been conspiring with her in secret.

Keiko’s leg bounced in anticipation. Considering the fact that Sayu Yagami was glued to her phone, she figured it wouldn’t take long for her to respond, but at the moment, every moment felt like hours.

Finally, after a long two minutes passed, Keiko received her response. A response that made her heart skip a beat and her blood run cold.

To: Keiko Kagami

From: Sayu-chan:3

Oh, hi, Keiko-chan! It’s been boring here without you and Light around! I can’t believe I’m saying this but I miss you both! (don’t tell my brother I said that though, I’d never live that down!) Anyway, that girl looked like she stepped out of an old horror movie, so of course I remember her name! Her name was Misa Amane. Is there anything else you have to ask me for Light’s application? I hope he gets into that class, he deserves it!

The phone trembled in Keiko’s hands, and she fought hard to catch her breath. She felt like the wind had just been knocked out of her. Her fingers struggled to type up a proper response to Sayu’s question.

To: Sayu-chan:3

From: Keiko Kagami

No, Sayu-chan, all Light needed to know for the application was her name, so there are no further questions…thank you, you were a big help.

Keiko’s phone beeped yet again a moment later, signaling that Sayu had responded, but she didn’t bother to open it up. She didn’t even think she had the strength to open up the text message. In fact, what little strength she had left had dwindled away as soon as she read Sayu’s text message. The name Sayu had given her, Misa Amane, had more than confirmed her suspicions. She set her cell phone back into her pocket.

This could seriously mean that Light Yagami is Kira...and that Misa Amane is his Second Kira....if that’s true, then the two of them are the worst mass murderers that the world’s ever seen…and I was blind to that fact the whole entire time…

Unfortunately, her little discovery had caused her to lose her composure for good. Keiko was soon unable to stop the sobs from wracking her body.

If it’s true then I can’t believe I fell for it...L was right, I really am naive.

She was glad that she was hiding out in the spare bedroom of L’s hotel suite, as she was sure that she looked like an absolute wreck. There were tears streaming down her face and circles starting to develop under her eyes due to increased lack of sleep.

Not only that, but she had also started to pay less attention to her clothing choices since moving into the hotel, opting for comfort rather than fashion. She figured her current clothing choice, an oversized wool sweater paired with sweatpants, probably only made her look like worse.

“Keiko-chan!”

The sound of Matsuda’s voice made Keiko freeze. There was no way she wanted him to see her like this. Hell, she didn’t want anyone to see her like this. She hated people seeing her cry. The fact that Matsuda had seen her cry when she was at her father’s grave unnerved her...and here he was about to witness her crying yet again!

Keiko sighed, quickly attempting to pat her wet face dry. She knew it was in vain, because one look at her puffy eyes would lead Matsuda to conclude that she had been crying, but she had to do something in order to try and regain her dignity.

She could hear Matsuda’s footsteps getting louder and louder, and soon, she knew that he had entered the spare room.

“K-Keiko-chan,” she heard Matsuda quietly whisper. “You’re thinking about Light-kun, aren’t you?”

Keiko meekly lifted her head up to face the young dark haired policeman at the mention of Light’s name. She could see the worry written in his eyes as he stepped forward and slowly sat down on the bed next to her. His concerned gaze made her feel even more vulnerable.

She didn’t have the strength to speak, so she just nodded her head, and attempted to keep up her cool composure.

It didn’t last very long. Matsuda mentioning Light’s name out loud had only made her feel even more upset, and she was unable to stop a lone tear from escaping her eye. Unfortunately for her, that tear had caused the formation of even more tears, and soon, she was full on crying once again.

Keiko closed her eyes, thinking that it would somehow stop the tears from flowing down her face. Her heart was hammering away in her chest.

Damn it! I keep letting myself get so emotional.

Her eyes snapped open as soon as she felt Matsuda wrap his arms around her back, bringing her up to his chest so that he could envelop her in an awkward hug.

What the…? Oh...he’s probably trying to comfort me...

Normally, she would have brushed her tears back, she would have gently pushed away from his touch. However, this time Keiko didn’t have the will to somehow force a smile onto her face. She didn’t even have the strength to move or be prideful and attempt to save face. It was far too late for any of that.

Seeing no reason to fight her emotions, she let herself relax in Matsuda’s arms, softly continuing to cry as he awkwardly patted her back in an effort to calm her down. She knew that Matsuda wasn’t a threat to her, the young policeman had quickly become a friendly face on the task force. While he sometimes wasn’t the brightest, he was dependable. He was a friend that she knew she could trust.

Keiko wasn’t sure how much time had passed. After all, she felt like once her tears started, they would never stop flowing. However, unbeknownst to them, their little show had an audience.

L’s POV:

Hmm...what’s taking him so long? While he’s not the brightest, it’s not like Matsuda-san to dawdle on a task like this...whenever I ask him to do me a favor, he usually tries to impress me by getting it done rather quickly...it really shouldn’t be taking him this long to go and wake up Keiko though.

L let out a deep sigh, deciding that he had, once again, had enough of waiting for Matsuda to do his job. He stood up from his chair, walking through the living room towards the spare bedroom, which was where Keiko had ventured off to a couple hours ago to go take a ‘quick’ nap.

If Matsuda’s going to just take his sweet time, I might as well go and get Keiko myself. After all, Light’s been in confinement for over a week now...and I’d really like to know what she’s thinking now about the situation. She spent all of this time thinking that her boyfriend couldn’t be Kira, no, even after they broke up, she still refused to believe it. But now, I’m getting all the proof I need to convict him.

The detective stopped dead in his tracks as soon as he heard light sobs emitting from the direction of the spare bedroom.

Well, I suppose I now have my answer...I have to admit, I’m not that surprised. It was only a matter of time before her emotions got to her.

The sobs, though slightly muffled, got a little louder as he took a couple steps forward. He peered into the room from the doorway. He saw Keiko sitting on the bed. She was huddled towards Matsuda, who was gently patting her back.

So that’s what he’s been up to.

L had been feeling fine before, but all of the sudden, his heart gave a slight pang. If he hadn’t locked Light and Misa up eight days ago, he would have sworn that it was either Kira or the Second Kira finally attempting to kill him.

If this isn’t a heart attack then what is this?

The detective brought his thumb up to his mouth, staring at the two sitting on the bed. He knew there was another possible explanation for the way he was now feeling, but he refused to accept it.

I don’t allow myself to feel such things, as they just get in the way...so it can’t be...there’s just no way…is there?  

Day 9 of Surveillance

Light’s POV:

“I-I just can’t take it anymore!” Ryuk pitifully groaned, “I’m serious, you know! I’m really about to reach my limit over here! I swear...if...if I don’t get an apple soon...there’s no telling what’ll happen to me!”

Light couldn’t see him from where he was sitting on his bed, but he was sure that the shinigami was contorting his body into all sorts of weird shapes once again.

He raised an eyebrow, a determined look on his face, and ignored the shinigami’s dramatic behavior. It had now been nine days since the start of his confinement. He was sure that L would attempt to interrogate him once more. After all, he was only giving him more proof of his guilt.

Well, not for too much longer, L...soon you’ll see that I’m innocent. Once that happens, you’ll have no choice but to release me.

“Light-kun,” L’s voice came in over the loudspeaker in the corner, interrupting him from his thoughts, “you’ve only been in there for a little over a week, but I’m sure it can’t be easy for you...are you feeling alright?”

The corner’s of Light’s mouth slightly curved upwards into a smirk. He was glad that L currently was unable to see his face because of the angle he was sitting at.

I’m feeling great, L, heh… and hmm...now that I think about it, I’ve come pretty far...it’s probably about time to put part two of my plan into action!

“Yeah, I’m sure I probably don’t look so good...but it’s this useless pride of mine that’s keeping me in here…” Light started, finally looking up in the direction of the camera, “...I suppose I’ll have to just try to…get rid of it!”

“H-huh?” Ryuk questioned, taking a moment to fully process Light’s words. He peered over at the light brown haired human sitting on the bed, “o-oh, yeah. I gotcha, hyuk. Well, looks like I’ll be able to get some more apples soon. That being said, I’ll see you for now, Light Yagami. It’s been fun…”

With that, Ryuk waved his hand in the air over Light’s head, watching as Light closed his eyes, probably waiting for the memories of the death note to fade. Once the shinigami was finished, he flapped his wings, and disappeared from the cell.

Light opened his eyes once more, looking around his cell and blinking slowly. For some reason, he felt a little disoriented. He gave a little sigh of frustration, figuring that it was probably because he was starting to feel the effects of being locked up for so long.

Dammit, why am I even doing this?! It’s pointless, I don’t belong in here; I’m not Kira, I know that! We’re only wasting precious investigation time!

“Ryuzaki-san,” Light started, staring up at the camera once more. His voice was pleading, “I realize that I was the one pushing for confinement in the first place, and I even asked you to put me in here...but I just realized something important! This whole thing is completely pointless because I’m not Kira! You have to get me out of here!”

L’s POV:

L could hear the gasps from the members of the task force behind him, notably Mogi and Matsuda. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Keiko shifting slightly in her chair, she clearly was looking rather uncomfortable with the current situation. He figured she was probably trying to get a grip on her emotions.

The detective, however, didn’t let their reactions distract him. Instead, he narrowed his eyes at the suspect sitting in the cell on the monitor in front of him.

“I’m afraid I can’t do that, Light-kun,” L responded, “if you recall, I promised you that, no matter what you did or said, I wouldn’t let you out until I was personally convinced that you are not Kira.”

“Please, Ryuzaki-san!” Light responded, desperation in his voice, “I wasn’t thinking clearly! Besides, do you honestly think that a serial killer like Kira could commit those crimes without being aware of them?! If I have no memory of killing anyone then it should be pretty clear that I’m not him!”

L let out a soft sigh, “while I’ve never been able to accept this idea that Kira has been killing without self awareness all this time, that doesn’t change the fact that all of the evidence points to you as being Kira...and, since we imprisoned you, Kira hasn’t committed a single murder.”

“Listen, just hear me out...I swear to you that I’m not lying!” Light’s eyes got huge as he looked into the camera, “do these eyes look guilty to you?! You have to believe me; I’m not Kira! I...I must have been framed...that’s the only explanation for this!”

L carefully studied Light’s brown eyes, looking for anything suspicious.

What’s wrong with you, Light Yagami? What you’re saying is completely absurd...but, for some reason, it feels real to me...it feels genuine.

“Hurry up, Ryuzaki-san!” Light continued on, “you have to let me out of here! We’re wasting precious time!”

“What the…” the detective heard Keiko mutter beside him. He glanced at her, watching as her face scrunched up a little, “oh Light-kun…”

“This isn’t like Light at all!” Aizawa grumbled, “this doesn’t make any sense to me, he’s contradicting himself...not only that, he’s getting emotional.”

“I’m sure anyone would be emotional in that condition,” Matsuda responded, “but we can’t release him now, not with the murders suddenly stopping...at this point, it doesn’t matter what he says, even I understand that much.”

Aizawa chuckled darkly, “yeah...I don’t care what anyone else says, as far as I’m concerned, we have all the proof we need to convict him...Light Yagami is Kira, that’s the end of it.”

“Hmm,” L rested his thumb by his mouth, “at this rate, Aizawa-san is right...if things continue on like this, that’s the only conclusion that we can come to...but I suppose that it’s still a little too early to tell for sure...we’ll have to just continue watching him for the time being.”

/timeskip/

Keiko’s POV:

Keiko ran her fingers through her hair and let out a soft sigh, staring at the monitors in front of her. All the other members of the task force had called it a night and left, leaving Keiko and L alone in the hotel room.

It appeared that Light had calmed down from his outburst earlier, as he had actually fallen asleep on the bed. She watched the rise and fall of his chest, thinking over his sudden pleading from earlier on that day.

“Listen, just hear me out...I swear to you that I’m not lying! Do these eyes look guilty to you?! You have to believe me; I’m not Kira! I...I must have been framed...that’s the only explanation for this!”

Given the evidence against him, Light’s words make no sense...however, he seemed genuine...and for a moment, it was like I had a glimpse of my ex-boyfriend. Of course, I obviously don’t want to believe that he was only fooling me again, but…something about it seemed…so real.

Keiko’s heart gave a lurch in her chest.

He really did look innocent...did I make a mistake in choosing to no longer trust him? Perhaps I gave up my faith in him too quickly...

“Keiko-chan.”

She looked up, watching as the detective scooted his chair closer to hers, closing the gap between the two of them.

“Y-yes?” Keiko responded, tucking a strand of hair behind her ears. She had been hoping that L would leave her alone for the night, but after seeing him stare her down, she figured that wouldn’t be the case.

He’s going to rile me up again somehow, isn’t he…?

Her suspicions were confirmed as soon as L opened his mouth to speak once more. His dark eyes were piercing hers, “I know what you’re thinking...but you shouldn’t let his little act fool you…”

“Can you really be sure that’s it’s just an act?” Keiko retorted, crossing her arms at him. She honestly wasn’t sure herself but she didn’t like the way L was making her feel. He had a way of exposing her true emotions, of making her feel vulnerable, “I mean, you saw the look in his eyes…do you really know for sure he’s guilty? It could be as he says.”

The corners of the detective’s mouth lifted slightly, and she felt as though he were taunting her somehow. She supposed he was, it was what he seemed to do best.

“Hmm. Right now, I can’t be too sure but the evidence against him is rather compelling...however…that's not my point, I’m more concerned about you at the moment,” L leaned forward in his chair so that he was face to face with her. He was close, so close that Keiko could feel his warm break on her cheek as he spoke, “are you really sure that you want to trust Light Yagami again? After all, whether he meant to or not, he already broke your heart once before…do you really want to make that twice?”

“R-Ryuzaki-san,” Keiko stuttered out, unable to properly speak. All she could focus on was L’s close proximity to her. His face was getting ever so close to her own, and they were now only mere inches apart from one another. Keiko could feel her heart pounding like crazy in her chest, she felt like she was about to lose control, and she knew she had to get away from him. And quickly, otherwise there was no telling what she’d do. There was no way that Keiko could allow herself to get lost in the detective’s eyes.

She attempted to turn her head to look away from him, but he gently placed his hand on her chin to stop her.

“I guess what I’m getting at, Keiko-chan, is...will you let your feelings for Light-kun get in the way of things again? Or will you finally be strong enough to get over him?”

Before Keiko could reply, or even register what was going on, she felt L’s lips brush over her cheek, teasing her skin ever so slightly. He was gentle, maybe even a little hesitant. Meanwhile, Keiko’s heart now felt like it was about to leap out her chest at his touch, and her brain was going haywire.

The detective’s lips went even lower, tickling her skin as they slowly neared her own lips. The closer he got, the more her body trembled, causing all thoughts of her ex-boyfriend to leave her mind. All she could think about was the fact that L’s lips were dangerously close to meeting her own, but somehow the prospect of a kiss didn’t quite alarm her.

In fact, she had to admit, in that moment, a part of her was almost curious as to how it would feel to kiss the world’s greatest detective. It would have been a nice distraction from reality, and she would be lying to herself if she said that L wasn’t in any way attractive. He was vastly different from Light, yes. L was odd, blunt to a fault, and had a thing for sweets.

However, there was just something about him that drew her in. A part of her wanted a taste, just to see what it would be like. Besides, it wasn't like a kiss would hurt her. She was already heartbroken from Light.

Keiko finally gave in, letting him take control. Her eyes fluttered closed, waiting in anticipation.

“H-hello?” the sudden voice from the doorway of the hotel room caused Keiko’s eyes to snap open. She pushed the detective away from her, and she could feel her face flaming as Matsuda stepped into the hotel room.

“I forgot my…” the words died on the young police man’s lips. Keiko could only imagine how she and L looked to him. Her face was a deep shade of crimson and, because of the sudden intrusion, the detective’s eyes went wide. Although Matsuda had no way of knowing what had been going on, she was still sure that he was sure that he could feel the tension hidden between the two of them.

“I-I forgot my w-watch,” Matsuda finally stammered out after a long moment, reaching out to grab the item from the coffee table. He watched, probably uncomfortable, as both L and Keiko stared at him, “b-but Ryuzaki-san, Kagami-san, what’s going on, did something big happen? Perhaps...did Kira kill again?!”

Keiko awkwardly shook her head as L spoke up beside her, “no. No new criminals have been killed yet...and if you’re sure you have everything, you’re free to go…”

“Oh, alright then,” Matsuda replied, looking as confused as ever. He stood there a moment, glancing between the two of them. It was clear that he was trying to figure out what else, if anything, he could have missed.

“I-I’m, uh, going to go to bed,” Keiko stuttered out. She normally would have stayed with L deep into the night to investigate, but at the moment she was too embarrassed to stay at task force headquarters. The only thing she could focus on was the fact that the great detective had almost kissed her, and she would have let him.

W-what’s wrong with me? There's no way I could like him, after all, I barely know anything about him! So why did I let him get so close to me then? It was almost like I was in a trance. It was almost like...I wanted it to happen...

“Sleeping so soon? What a pity,” L responded.

Keiko didn’t miss the hint of amusement in his voice. She could feel her face flaming again as she  stood up from her chair, heading towards the door that led to her hotel room suite. As she walked, she couldn’t be bothered to force herself to look at either of the guys in the room. Keiko needed to get to her room, and quickly. Not only that, she needed to try and figure out what exactly had just happened between the two of them.

Wait a moment...even if Matsuda hadn’t walked in, would he have really kissed me? Or was that all just an act? With him, there’s no way of knowing for sure...perhaps he just wanted to see how I’d react? ...but it’s not like him to get that close to me, not that close at least! This is all too confusing!

“Have a good night, Keiko-chan!” Matsuda cheerfully called out as she opened the door.

All she could muster back was a short wave in his direction before she closed the door behind her.

Chapter Twenty-nine

Chapter Thirty-one

[hellpug]

Too much Note, not enough Death

SPOILERS (If you give a shit)

Death Note review: Overall rating: 3 Dafoes out 10 

Movie cliche count: 15 ( I am sure I am missing some, there was a lot)

People you recognize from other things : 4

TL;DR: Too much Note, not enough Death

Overall, it isn't boring. I will give it that. Some ambient music choices were good. However, much like the main character, this movie didn't have a fucking plan. Someone gave the source material to someone who said fuck it and skimmed through. This results in a lot of shit unexplained. I tried watching this from the point of view of someone who hadn't read the manga. I'm not a fan of the anime either due to the fact Death Note is a story that really is best as written fiction/a comic. Because it's initially a suspense/thriller that involves a smart ass high school student internal monologuing. There's also so much to explain that one movie cannot. So to I will give that the movie decided to remedy that by putting actual action in it, rather than action packed eating of snacks. But of course, because there is so much and not a good plan on to how to summarize this story, there's a lot of dumb cherry picking. Ryuk eats a lot of apples, they spend a lot of time on the apple motif. Perhaps they're relying on Western audience's familiarity with Eden/original sin and will make an apple connection with that. But otherwise it's a quirk and one that is emphasized for no reason. Death Note rules could have been shortened to the extension of the movie itself for the sake of clarity and consistency. The writers clearly tripped themselves up over the rules and even put that frustration into the writing by having Light Turner occasionally spit out "SO MANY RULES." If they had kept it to 5-10 and followed the movies plot using those 10, you would've gotten a much better movie. So instead, it feels like the movie is making up shit as it goes along. Which it is essentially. The movie's world doesn't feel consistent, even with real world rules. Kenny Doyle, the first "so deserves it" victim, is such a strawman it's ridiculous. He's a student held back so long that he's apparently of adult age, which in real world rules, would make it that he would be in continuing education, NOT STILL IN HIGH SCHOOL. This point is important Light threatens him with this fact. This of course, changes nothing. Light, despite supposed to be brilliant,  is a goddamn moron who carries all the homework he got paid to do in his bag, so instead of addressing the assault when he wakes up, he's getting detention (not suspended or expelled) and nothing is done about the 15 students they have evidence on. He's placed in detention in a generic classroom that is also part candy and toy store it seems. I'm not kidding. Ryuk makes his appearance by knocking over some marbles and eating Light's apple. Light does the most hilarious spaz out, which makes it clear why these random ass shelves of whatever are in this classroom in the first place. So he can spasm all over the place in a comical fashion. Also not joking. The place is not even more of a mess and looks like the fucking Kool-Aid man tore through it. After Light is done freaking out, slapping himself to assure that he is not in a dream, the Green Goblin gets right to it. Kill Kenny. Kill 'em. Look, he's beating up a chick with his buddy. Kill 'em dude. So he casually writes decapitation, resulting in some final destination bullshit. Kenny gets decapitated with a ladder, it's gorey and hilarious. It's after it's first three deaths, the movie decided it's not going to be a Final Destination rip off it shifts into romance, with killing. After sharing the secret of the notebook with Misa Mi-I mean Mia, the cheerleader who's allowed to smoke on school grounds with anyone giving a shit, they of course fall in love. They roll around and giggle as they off more people. Cliche "gonna love you" type music plays. It's a bizarre teen love and death montage. Also MisaMis-Mia looks like Kirsten Stuart but isn't Kirsten Stuart. Oh, and Light picks the name Kira (In the manga, this name is given to him by the public). It's not something the masses comes up. Despite acting like he's oh so innocent and moral, dude has a fucking ego. He goes over with Kirsten Misa Misa over the name he has chosen. Kira means other shit in Russian and other languages, but it's also "sort of means" killer in Japanese!!! SO SUGOI! So part of the rules of the Death Note is that you can partially control PEOPLE for up to two days until their death. That capitalization is important for later. So prisoners that he's murdered have written his name in perfect Japanese, despite never have spoken the language. People start cults and shit. At some point, Light's dad is brought on the case, Light has another tantrum. Light has a lot of those. I should include a tantrum counter on this review as well. This also brings me to another point. It seems there are two ways of writing suspense with intelligent characters. One, you write in depth characters with clear motivations (in that not confusing or dumb) and with actual fucking brain cells. The other is to simply write stupid as fuck characters, with the genius being the one who has a couple more brain cells than the rest. Guess which one this movie was. Holy fucking shit, I could've figured out who Kira was. Anyone could have. Light was a subtle as someone wearing a purple sequin nightgown, shaking maracas at 3 am through a field of tin garbage cans. Dad says he can tell when he's sitting across a guy who's apparently murdered like 400 people. You can tell a killer just by looking. This is supposed to give us the impression that Light Turner is some sort of mastermind, as he shifts around uncomfortably in the guiltiest fashion possible. So we meet L, who is black, because you can't be accused of whitewashing is you make one of the characters black. Watari is the only remaining Japanese character, necessary to dispense ancient Asian wisdom to L. Watari is apparently his entire fucking name and NOONE THOUGHT TO TELL HIM NOT GIVE OUT HIS BUSINESS CARD WITH HIS NAME IN ALL CAPS. Or even hide his face. Even though L does this. Watari gets owned and is controlled long enough to get the location and name of the super secret detective school which tortures children but not long enough to get the name. A plot foil of excessive records is what foils him. The super secret school, which is abandoned, just left all that shit there. Oh, and Light Turner never attempts at it again. I guess that avenue is completely exhausted. L goes fucking nuts, eats candy, reveals his face like whatever. Yells at Light Turner everytime he eats (once before Watari dies at a restaurant and then at Light Turner's house.). L begins throwing tantrums and has the house raided. Don't worry though, Misa Stuart is somehow completely forgotten about by the ace detective and she sneaks the Death Note out in her Calculus book. It's also prom, because yeah. They go to prom, L is getting CLOSER! (Not really) There is this feeling of tension and then really kind of nothing. It seems like they were gonna do bait and switch at prom but Mia Mia took the page out of the book that Light Turner was gonna burn so Watari wouldn't die but you only get one, so Misa Mia ripped it out, kept it. GUESS WHY? CUZ SHE WROTE LIGHT TURNER'S NAME IN THERE. GENIUS. She wants the book to continue what they started because she's not gonna punk out. I feel like they swapped the personalities of Misa Misa and Light Yagami in this movie. Kirsten Stuart doesn't give a fuck. Kirsten Stuart will bang you for your killer notebook. Also, Ryuk even likes her better. She gets 10/10 green goblins. Light Turner panics, runs away from prom, goes to the computer room. He goes to the Kira worship site which he earlier said was a bad idea to take names from cuz "rumours" and uses it for his ELABORATE PLAN. L, like Batman, does not like killing people or using weapons they are bad. Like Batman in Dark Knight, L resolves to using a fancy ass gun. During Light Turner's night on the town to do things and stuff, he is cornered in an alley. Light is all like "You can't stop it if you don't know man!" L doesn't shoot, stupidly tells the cook from the restaurant who has come out into the alley that this is Kira. Cook knocks out L with a convenient 4x4 and lets Light Turner escape. Light Turner and Mia Mia meet at the ferris wheel. This is where CONTROL OF PEOPLE clause becomes important. He issues an ultimatum. If she really loves him, she won't take the Death Note. Otherwise, she will never see him again. She's all like "Yeah I love you babe" then when he's looking out the ferris wheel, she snatches it. He's all like NNNNNOOOOOOOO. Turns out he wrote "When Mia accepts the Death Note, ferris wheel will start to lose its shit, she will fall to her death. Light will fall into the water. A rapist doctor will give him cpr (Retrieved from that website). A pedo (website) will find the Death Note, use it in order to keep up appearances that Kira is active while Light Turner is in the hospital. Oh, and the page with Light Turner's death on it? IT WILL BURN. I wasn't aware the Death Note page was a person. See, I could've bought that it accidentally got burned, but they had to add that, because it makes Light Turner look smart. But that's not what the Death Note does. Sure, objects will fail in order to ensure an individual's death but I doubt to prevent them as well. Given that they are saying Ryuk is actually executing the deaths (but they have to write the names what?) I GUESS HE BURNED IT MAYBE. Except he didn't. So Light Turner lives, BUT HE FORGOT ONE THING. MISA STUART'S PAGE! L, who has been disgraced forgetting owned by a 4x4 and seemingly attempting to kill a minor, realizes that he forgot about Misa Mia. He breaks into her house, gets the calculus book and we are left on the cliffhanger ending of will he kill Light Turner or not. Also, his dad figures out it was him all along because a stupid newspaper clipping was missing. Not anything else obvious.

[nofomoartworld]

Day 2 of HYBRID MATTERs symposium: Root brain, post-fossil culture & why we need to stick with our mess

Kristina Lindström and Åsa Ståhl, Plastic Imaginaries, 2016. Photo: Anna Autio

Finally! A few notes from what might very well have been the most exciting and eye-opening conference of 2016: the HYBRID MATTERs symposium that took place in Helsinki over a month ago. As Erich Berger (an artist, curator and the director of the Bioartsociety) explains in the video below, the symposium was the conclusion of a 2 year project that used artistic and scientific research to look at the material conditions and transformative power of human activity over the environment.

This research focused on hybrid ecologies, the convergence of our environment with technology and essentially the intentional and unintentional transformation of our planet through human activity. Hybrid ecologies unfold through complex interactions between actors and elements: human, non-human, biological, mineral, robotic, artificial, etc. There has always been some forms of interaction between humans and their immediate biological environment (through agriculture, bee keeping, fermentation techniques, etc.) but contemporary science is speeding up the synergies and frictions. To the point that the biological itself becomes technological and technologically-altered and the result begins to feedback in the environment.

HYBRID MATTERs not only registered these interactions but also questioned their meaning and implications. The program also attempted to delineate the position of mankind in these new ecologies. Should we keep on thinking of nature as something independent from us and from our activities? Or should we recognize that we drive much of this process and need take responsibility for it?

HYBRID MATTERs by Erich Berger on 25 November 2016

What made the event so interesting for me was that it suggested a new perspective on the Anthropocene discourse. It looked beyond the usual (and of course justified) alarmist attitude and proposed other approaches to this new geological age.

Not only are we starting to realize that we can’t fully control the planet but we also have to come to terms with the fact that the life that we’ve created (almost) from scratch is being slowly released into the world, interacting with the environment in sometimes unpredictable ways and becoming an integral part of it. We need to start thinking about how we, the humans, can co-evolve in a more sympathetic and mutually beneficial way with other living entities and global phenomena.

The symposium also reminded us that the environment is not just a passive victim of human greed and foolishness, it is also a sophisticated assemblage of interconnected, highly adaptive systems and entities that can work for us, with us but also without us. Maybe the time has come for us to broaden our definition of the environment and accept that nature cannot be contained into a romantic ideal of a pristine, untouched, virginal world.

The most inspiring day of the short symposium was Day 2, the panel day. Artists, researchers, curators, biologists, bioroboticists, archaeologists got together and discussed passionately about how we should start developing a language to visualize, narrate and understand eclectic but interconnected topics that range from plant awareness to big bacteria, from autistic conception of the economy to plastic trash on beaches, from de-extinction to tulipomania.

The videos of the whole symposium are online so my notes are not going to cover everything that was said. Instead, i’m going to adopt a very subjective approach, recording few key ideas and concepts, a few artworks and research practices that i believe deserve to be highlighted.

HMs panel on Plant subjectivities, assemblies and assemblages with Kira O’Reilly, Laura Beloff, Jens Hauser, Monika Bakke. 25 November 2016

The panel on plant subjectivities was composed of artist and leader of the MA in Ecology and Contemporary Performance at the Theatre Academy of the University of the Arts Helsinki Kira O’Reilly, artist and researcher Laura Beloff, art curator and media studies scholar Jens Hauser as well as writer and editor Monika Bakke from the Adam Mickiewicz University, in Poznań.

Together, the panelists discussed the natural and post-natural hybridity of plants.

Monika Bakke talked about plantoids, plant farming in space, plant sexuality but i was especially fascinated by her brief introduction to plant intelligence. In 1880 already, Charles and his son Francis Darwin were talking about a ‘root-brain’. Contemporary research confirms the existence of this root brain, it is a decentralized communicative network that enables plants to behave as multitude and manifest a kind of swarm intelligence. They also exhibit a certain awareness of the world around them.

Cunninghamia, one of the Eocene trees, growing in Oliver Kellhammer’s garden on Cortes Island. Image: Daniel J. Pierce. Photo: motherboard

Another remarkable feature of plants is that they are more resilient to events leading to extinction than animals. Artist Oliver Kellhammer is looking at this resilience. His project Neo-Eocene focuses on plant species that have survived through multiple geological periods. Charles Darwin called them living fossils. The artist is trying to recreate forests made of living fossils trees in Canada. These trees used to be native to the area and they thus connect distant geological epochs with a future significantly modified by global warming. The future after all may belong to those species that have already proved to be able to overcome extraordinary climate conditions.

I bloody love that project, by the way!

Jens Hauser talked about microperformativity, a term he has been using since 2010 to describe a shift in scale towards molecules, cells, proteins, bacteria, viruses, etc. This shift away from the human body redefines what we consider to be a body and can also be interpreted as a blow to human narcissism.

Yann Marussich, Bleu Remix, 2007. Photo by Isabelle Meister

Petr Stembera Graft, Graft, 1975. “In a manner customary in fruit-farming, I grafted a branch taken from a shrub to my arm”. Photo: Kontakt

Hauser also discussed plantamorphization, another ‘bioart trend’ which consists in adopting characteristics of the vegetative at large, shifting the attention from movement to growth. An example of this type of practice is Yann Marussich’s iconic performance Bleu Remix. I was less familiar with the work of Petr Stembera who, in the 1970s, grafted a bush sprig into his arm.

Titled Survival of the Prettiest, Laura Beloff‘s talk explored evolution: from natural selection to artificial selection and towards aesthetic selection. More precisely how biological organisms are being designed and selected based on aesthetic criteria that are deeply intertwined with our capitalistic world. An early example of that is the 17th century tulipomania in The Netherlands.

DSM SalmoFan™. Image via Quartz

A contemporary occurrence of this new spin on evolution is farmed salmon. Clients visiting a farm are invited to selected their ideal salmon colour flesh from a DSM SalmoFan™, a colour card specially developed by a pharmaceutical company for Salmonids. Depending on the precise hue the clients want the flesh to be, the farmer will adjust the colouring added to the food given to the fish which, in turn, will determine how orange or red the salmon will be.

HMs panel Hybrid Growth with Jonas Jørgensen, Merja Penttilä, Paavo Jarvensivu and Maarja Kruusmaa. 25 November 2016

The Hybrid Growth panel explored the hybrid nature of the term growth and its meaning in nature, technology and economics.

In her talk Living Factories: Synthetic Biology for a Sustainable World, research biologist Merja Penttilä explained how synthetic biology could enable us to replace petrochemicals with renewable raw material, while retaining biodiversity and genetic diversity and using contained production systems.

Post-doc researcher in economic culture and member of Mustarinda (a collective currently focusing on post-fossil fuel culture) Paavo Jarvensivu believes that we need to get rid of the current abstract, narrow and autistic conception of the economy. Currently, society has to match economic indicators (inflation, budget deficit, employment rate, etc.) and this is wrong.

We seem to think that there is lack of money but no limit of resources. What would happen if we took things upside down and assumed that there is unlimited money but limited resources?

Professor of biorobotics Maarja Kruusmaa looked at Growth and Information Technology. It was brilliant and often funny. The growth the title of her talk alludes to is the growth in data. From people who don’t seem to get tired of measuring themselves (a trend called quantified self) to robots (‘they are just sensors with hands and legs’), data multiplies fast.

Growth in data means bigger and bigger server farms and other heavy material infrastructure to preserve it.

Kruusmaa (half-jokingly) suggested that maybe people are going start thinking of saving energy by creating less data or by being more creative with the way they produce this data. For example, by taking black & white pictures rather than colour ones as they are less pixel-hungry and thus consume less bits and bytes.

HMs panel In the Aftermath with Kristina Lindström, Åsa Ståhl, Thora Petursdottir, Björn Wallsten. 25 November 2016

The panel In the Aftermath was another brilliant one. It invited us to look at technological development under a new perspective. Not the prevalent one that champions ideas of progress and novelty but one that considers processes of decay, erosion, breakdown and mouldering. I’ve already written about Björn Wallsten‘s introduction to the world of urks and i mentioned Kristina Lindström and Åsa Ståhl exploration of plastiglomerates and styrofoam-eating worms in my review of the Hybrid Matters exhibition. I still had to talk about the equally fascinating work of Þóra Pétursdóttir.

Drift Matter. Photo: object matters

Drift Matter. Photo: Þóra Pétursdóttir via CAS Oslo

Pétursdóttir, a postdoctoral researcher at the Arctic University of Norway, is an archaeologist from a branch of archaeology that looks at the recent past and the contemporary.

An interesting point that she made was that archaeology has always been about the anthropocene. It is completely reliant on our footprint, on our pollution.

A particular focus of her research is the phenomenon of “the drift beach“, the marine debris that drift and cluster along the Arctic coastlines. Drift matter is a one of the most urgent environmental problems across the world. It is particularly interesting to study its history and meaning in Northern Norway and Iceland. Both have a long heritage of using this material and until recently, this drift matter was considered a natural resource and also a part of the environment. It used to include a lot of wood which was collected and used by the inhabitants as these regions are sparsely forested. The composition of the material has changed drastically over the last century and so has the attitude towards the drift material and the drift beach. It is now regarded as a hazard, an intrusion on the environment.

Marine debris is an environmental problem but, Pétursdóttir argues, it is also part of the environment, it cannot be eliminated from it. This material has never been considered of archaeological interest because it evades the kind of logic that archaeologists expect from their material: they are only interested in waste that has been intentionally deposited, that relates to specific culture or group of people, waste that is traceable, that construct a progressive human history. The drift material doesn’t comply with this nice, linear history.

The interest of drift material is that it suggests unexpected alliances and other notions of environment. It endlessly wanders, gathers and bonds outside our control and may thus contribute to a less anthropocentric and more ecological heritage conception.

HYBRID MATTERs Response to the day by Oron Catts. 25 November 2016

Oron Catts is an artist, researcher and curator. He is the director of SymbioticA. Together with Ionat Zurr, he is also a visiting professor of Contestable Design at the Royal College of Art in London (head to this video if you’re curious about Contestable Design.) Catts wrapped up the discussions of the HYBRID MATTERs symposium. His closing remarks were incisive, and appropriately provocative. I’ll just point to a couple of them:

“We try to rationalize things but we are totally irrational ourselves so how could we design rational independently autonomous system without fucking it up? We can’t!”

“Any attempt to try and assert control over autonomous system is a violent act. And we are all engaged in this violence.”

“Hybrid might not be right metaphor. Maybe parasite would be a more appropriate one.”

“Europe is increasingly scary. The kind of funding that is currently given to artists to engage in crossover between living systems, technology systems, society and culture are neoliberal and driven by bankrupt political systems.”

At that point, he also mentioned that a few art and technology festivals look more like trade shows than art events. I just wanted to jump on the stage and hug him!

“Maybe we need less white people. The world has been repeatedly fucked over by middle aged, middle class white men. I’m one of them so maybe you should listen to other people.”

The HYBRID MATTERs symposium was a collaboration between the Bioartsociety and the MA in Ecology and Contemporary Performance, Theatre Academy of the University of the Arts Helsinki.

The event was part of the HYBRID MATTERs Nordic art&science network program which investigates the convergence of our environment with technology and essentially the intentional and unintentional transformation of our planet through human activity. The program took the form of a series of researches, encounters, art commissions, exhibitions and a symposium.

Previously: From animal sensors to Monet as a painter of the anthropocene. 9 things i learnt on the opening day of the HYBRID MATTERs symposium, HYBRID MATTERs exhibition: when biological and technological entities escape our control and transform the planet, Albedo Dreams. Experiments in DIY climate manipulation, HYBRID MATTERs: The urks lurking beneath our feet and The Christmas tree, your typical postnatural organism.

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