pennyblossom-meta

[pennyblossom-meta]

Excellent analysis about how to handle Original Characters in a relationship with L (Death Note). A must read for everyone interested in writing (or reading) fanfiction.

[Vent] Comparative Analysis of My OC and Other OCs Observed in L/f!oc fics

*Excuse my English. This post has not been revised by AI for grammar and flow.*

Introduction

Why am I writing this instead of concentrating on my own fic? Answer to myself, it's because there were plenty of doubts while writing. The fear of writing her as not likable, not logical, not complex enough, not human enough, and not acting aligns with those who have trauma, and the last, the fear of accidentally writing her as Mary Sue. Several times I was reading someone else's fanfic and their OC were very popular? Likable? Interesting- in some sort of way, in a way that I find amusing, yet the characterization is never to become my own OC's personality. And with good reason. This post is for myself, to remind me why I write her as she is and why not she is the kind of OC that I imagine modern readers would like (I want to be welcomed by readers, too, yet sadly, I cannot make my OC more loving) Or to put it in another way, this post is me being very self-aware, or convincing myself that it's okay to write her like this. This is me analyzing my own OC.

Basic Description of My WIP F!oc

Nanami Miru (七海咲来) born in England, Japanese family. Abusive parents died in a fire, then entered Wammy's House, given alias "Meredith". Only close people would call her "Meri". Different alias were taken by her in various stages of life and situations, the most used would be Meredith/Saotome Rin (早乙女凜), Later taking the code name "M", carries out Watari's assignments. For more detail, please refer to Far Side of the Moon (AO3)

Varies kinds of OCs Observed in L/F!OC fics

It seemed that categorizing OCs into these kinds was not really fair for the fics I've read, but I won't list them out specifically, so I think sorting my own observations wouldn't hurt, I think. It is noted that these OC traits can appear combined.

Mommy OCs (sometimes this can be a tag) The girl that would take care of other children in Wammy's House if she were a Wammy child. If she is not a Wammy child, then it would be shown in later chapters that when she has contact with the Kira task force, she will take care of everyone and, of course, including L. Very good at taking care of others, physically and emotionally, a motherly like persona. She may also be a great assistant to Watari.

Sassy/wild/badass girl OCs (this is also a tag) The not-obedient girl that would argue and fight L. Maybe fight Watari. Maybe fight everyone. She would teach all of them a lesson, and let them know who's in charge of this story (?) Most of these OCs can be the tough kind, but it does not necessarily mean that she doesn't have her vulnerabilities. Giving enemies to lovers trope more, instead of friends to lovers, even if the fic stated that they are "friends" (or working partners)

Outgoing OC Had to write this separately from the previous category. Outgoing girl to contrast the gloomy vibe of L's. The contrast of their personality would give an interesting take on how they view things. Mostly this kind of outgoing girl is also loved by many others, and including L in most scenarios. Not necessarily sassy wild or not obedient. Frankly speaking, it would be more like this OC is an extrovert, in contrast to L's introversion.

Practical Realistic OCs (more cerebral) <-I'm currently aiming for this, more. I think most OCs I read do have this trait, but also combined with other mentioned traits. OC being intelligent and maybe participating in the Kira case, and giving out her advice to L and Watari, or maybe conducting some missions that Watari or L handed her.

Analysis: M and the OCs mentioned previously

As I do not consider myself to read enough L/OC fics, maybe just pause here on the categorization. Now, I would apply the above-mentioned OC types to my OC and see why she doesn't/does not correspond to these popular traits.

Mommy OC I could see M sometimes being watchful to other children in Wammy's House, but rarely. It's more of an act of being nice to others, but nothing more. Without receiving much affection and love from her original family, it would be hard for her to know how to take care of others, especially those who didn't have much to do with her. (If you have not received love, then how do you give love to others) She kept herself quite distant from peers as well, and maybe the only person that she spent time with was Watari, the first person to give her kindness closer to a fatherly figure, and her first emotional dependence was mostly on Watari. Later, with L. But as L himself is also quite distant and isolates himself from others, it would be reasonable when M spends most of her time with L, and only L. It wasn't until after L left Wammy's House that she would have the chance to have contact with others more, and in my current WIP, with a boy named "Adam". What she did was not take care of Adam, but only have some contact and help him with some assignments of his current courses, as she is a few years older than Adam.

Since then, Adam would continue to learn some more music theory from Meredith, and sometimes would ask for her help on the assignments that the instructors assigned to him. It was then Meredith realized how difficult subjects Adam was learning, much more challenging than what she was learning when she was his age. What he was learning maybe two years ahead of his peers, she estimated.

If M had to take care of anyone, it would only be L and Watari. But I don't think that she needs to take care of L? Like, L has Watari beside him, so why need another being to take care of him if he already has a great butler who would even dress him on a daily basis (see, L: One Day) But I've always considered the concept of a "motherly" person has to start with some kind of love that she received before, maybe in her childhood. It was never the case for M. She may know how to serve, clean, and cook (but not baking, as she sucks at baking) from learning later in life, but it only means that she knows how and not necessarily giving the motherly feeling. I've always wanted to write a story that conveyed that being a mother and knowing how to be a mother is definitely acquired and not born with it. Yes, of course, some have an instant love for their child or young children, and maternal love is in the blood, but not all women apply to this. When accepted maternal love is acquired and needed to be learned instead of born with it, I suppose many woman could be relieved from the society's emotional blackmails of "you are the mother and you should do xxx for your child".

Sassy/wild/badass girl OCs This is more like a choice, choosing what kind of personality that one's OC would have. And I did not choose this kind. If I have to give a reason, then it would also stem from the original family that M had. Suppressed feelings and hiding your thoughts from others was what she was educated on, and with the trauma that she experienced, one of the reactions I really wanted to write about was fawning. She is desperate to cling to someone who could provide her love. Therefore, she would not have the personality to be a badass girl, I suppose. She is too afraid to be unseen, to be ignored by those whom she cares about the most, to be rejected, and therefore, she doesn't really have the courage to be disobedient. To my own interpretation of this OC, it would be harder for her to stand up to Watari than fight L, as to her she may have a more horizontal relationship with L, but never with Watari. It would definitely be vertical. M struggled for praise when she was younger and even after entering Wammy's House. Watari needed patience to make her more open, and that's why the little girl likes the inventor and sees him as the fatherly figure that she did not have in her childhood. Watari was more like a father when he was around M than L. Out of my own agenda, I wanted M to be the soft spot of Watari, but it does not mean that Watari would prioritize M more than L. Watari wanted to change the world. And L was his hope to accomplish that. It was also my attempt to subtly show Watari's obsession with L's success and later to pursuit the goal of world peace, the reason for the successor's program. I know that in Another Note (AN) Watari was portrayed like the mad scientist that wanted to copy L's success, and disregard the well-being of Wammy children, but this is really different from the relationship that Watari shared with M. In later chapters, I did have an attempt to explain and adjust the reasons provided by AN, and I do hope the narrative is logical and in an ingenious way that does not go too far from canon but still maintains the warmth Watari expressed to M, and to other children of Wammy's House. I think I'm carrying away too much in this passage.

Outgoing OC This is also by choice more than reason. Couples in my own experiences mostly share similar personalities than those who had totally different personalities. L and M both are quiet introverts that only open up more when they are around people they are familiar with- well, maybe we can't really see that in L in canon, but he definitely is not an outgoing guy. There was a scene in anime when L knew that it would be his death day, and he went to Watari, with Watari asking him "What's wrong" but he remained silence. I think it was the few moments that we could see L seeking for some kind of emotional comfort from Watari, or maybe wanting to take one last look at the man that raised him, but didn't know what to say or express. L felt strange to tell Watari that he hear the bells. It was not him. It was not logical. And even he did tell Watari, Watari may not understand what he meant (It's really metaphysics, to say.) But judging from this scene, I do think that L would open up, very slightly, to those who he trusts the most. But never to others, colleagues (task force), or mere friends, let alone potential rivals (Yagami) Where am I? Ah yes, outgoing OCs. So it's only really my own preference to write a love interest of L's sharing similar personalities like him. Communication and opening up would be easier for this kind of couple, in my experience. And with M also not the outgoing girl, I could maintain that very nuanced emotional flow between the two of them. Everything is very subtle and indirect. And that is the kind of story I wanted to tell.

Practical Realistic OCs (more cerebral) So this part the thing I wanted to point out is that I do want my OC to be practical and realistic. The part that I am not going to write is OC engaging in L's investigations or career. I know that to showcase an OC's intelligent and make L approve her is to make her work with him in some cases, or even the Kira case, but it just boggled me that if L really cherished another person, then would he let her engage in what he is doing? First, he knew that his career is never the kind that considered safe. Especially the Kira case is the most dangerous and difficult case for him; in my own understanding of L, he would be well aware of the danger and would not want his love interest to risk her life in such matters. Second, L has some sort of pride. Ego. this is his domain. Solving cases, whether it was a game for him or fighting for justice, gave him a sense of accomplishment and relieved the boredom he experienced as the top. Handling the case on his own would suit him more like L; he would again prove to others that he is the top and greatest of all. Even if L didn't have this thought, L is a man who has boundaries and needs ultimate freedom when he works. He would need assistance from the task force and Watari, but he dislikes to be distracted, as evident from canon.

I can't stand it when people's cellphones are ringing while I'm trying to talk. Let me start by saying nobody takes notes on anything that's said in these meetings. That means when we leave headquarters, any information we need is committed to memory. Please, make yourselves comfortable. (L, Death Note-Unraveling)

So how to show OC's intelligence and respect for L's boundaries? My answer in my story is, she has her own career, her own assignments given by Watari. L would only seek for her advice if he really needed it. But both of them would not trespass into each other's domain. By doing so it could maintain the boundaries of L's, giving him maximum freedom in investigation without having to worry about his love interest risking.

"I have confirmed that Kira is a student." L paused, bringing his thumb to his lips before continuing, "I'm just trying to gather more clues." M peered at the screens and flashed a smile. "Looks like the schedule of a third-year high school student." L inquired, "How so?" "If it were a first or second-year student, they would have club activities after school," M gestured towards the time on the screen, "but third-year students are busy preparing for university entrance exams and are not required to participate in clubs. Unless Kira didn't participate in any clubs, which is uncommon for Japanese students, it must be a senior student." (Far Side of the Moon, Chapter 2)

So here, what M only did was give a comment on L's current case but never participate in the investigations. I want to show that L respects her career, and she, too, respects his boundaries, even if she wants to help. Of course, if she ever did, I imagine with both of their intelligence, the Kira case would be solved maybe much faster (hehe), and maybe we would have an alive L. But no, for my story. I want to aim for the story that was not presented in canon. The scenes of L's private life that did not show in canon but happened simultaneously. Not really canon compliant, but aim to.

Conclusion: Write what you want to write.

Yeah. As I mentioned before, this post is a reminder for myself. Believe in yourself. Trust the plot. Trust the story. Trust how much you invested yourself in this story, and readers could feel that you put a lot of effort into the story and did your homework. There's a lot more I wanted to explore in my current WIP, other than DNverse. Feminism, society issues in Japan, mental health issues, trauma experiences, longing, relationships...etc. Trying to combine them all. And hope for the best.

#death note #fanfiction #l lawliet #ocs #lxoc

[pennyblossom-meta]

⋆⋅☆ Gale's illusions ☆⋅⋆

I've been wanting for some time to make a list identifying the spells that Gale uses during his cutscenes.

There are two spells in this list that most players will be familiar with, Minor Illusion and Mirror Image, because some of the spellcaster can learn them in the game, but most of them are things that Larian didn't include and you won't know about them unless you check D&D spells.

Long post under the cut.

───── Minor Illusion ─────

- Level: cantrip - Casting time: 1 action - Range/Area: 30 ft / 5 ft cube - Components: S M (A bit of fleece) - Duration: 1 minute - School: Illusion - Available for: Bard, Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard You create a sound or an image of an object within range that lasts for the duration. The illusion also ends if you dismiss it as an action or cast this spell again. If you create a sound, its volume can range from a whisper to a scream. It can be your voice, someone else’s voice, a lion’s roar, a beating of drums, or any other sound you choose. The sound continues unabated throughout the duration, or you can make discrete sounds at different times before the spell ends. If you create an image of an object—such as a chair, muddy footprints, or a small chest—it must be no larger than a 5-foot cube. The image can’t create sound, light, smell, or any other sensory effect. Physical interaction with the image reveals it to be an illusion, because things can pass through it. If a creature uses its action to examine the sound or image, the creature can determine that it is an illusion with a successful Intelligence (Investigation) check against your spell save DC. If a creature discerns the illusion for what it is, the illusion becomes faint to the creature.

This one is easy to guess. A small image that doesn't move or make sounds, no point in wasting a spell slot when you can just achieve the same result with a cantrip.

───── Mirror Image ─────

- Level: 2nd - Casting Time: 1 action - Range/Area: Self - Components: V S - Duration: 1 minute - Available for: Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard Three illusory duplicates of yourself appear in your space. Until the spell ends, the duplicates move with you and mimic your actions, shifting position so it’s impossible to track which image is real. You can use your action to dismiss the illusory duplicates. Each time a creature targets you with an attack during the spell’s duration, roll a d20 to determine whether the attack instead targets one of your duplicates. If you have three duplicates, you must roll a 6 or higher to change the attack’s target to a duplicate. With two duplicates, you must roll an 8 or higher. With one duplicate, you must roll an 11 or higher. A duplicate’s AC equals 10 + your Dexterity modifier. If an attack hits a duplicate, the duplicate is destroyed. A duplicate can be destroyed only by an attack that hits it. It ignores all other damage and effects. The spell ends when all three duplicates are destroyed. A creature is unaffected by this spell if it can’t see, if it relies on senses other than sight, such as blindsight, or if it can perceive illusions as false, as with truesight.

An illusion that looks and acts like the caster and stands close to them. The spell creates 3 copies initially, but they can be dismissed.

─── Programmed Illusion ───

- Level: 6th - Casting time: 1 action - Range/Area: 120 ft / 30 ft - Components: V S M (A bit of fleece and jade dust worth at least 25 GP) - Duration: Until dispelled - School: Illusion - Available for: Bard, Wizard You create an illusion of an object, a creature, or some other visible phenomenon within range that activates when a specific condition occurs. The illusion is imperceptible until then. It must be no larger than a 30-foot cube, and you decide when you cast the spell how the illusion behaves and what sounds it makes. This scripted performance can last up to 5 minutes. When the condition you specify occurs, the illusion springs into existence and performs in the manner you described. Once the illusion finishes performing, it disappears and remains dormant for 10 minutes. After this time, the illusion can be activated again. The triggering condition can be as general or as detailed as you like, though it must be based on visual or audible conditions that occur within 30 feet of the area. For example, you could create an illusion of yourself to appear and warn off others who attempt to open a trapped door, or you could set the illusion to trigger only when a creature says the correct word or phrase. Physical interaction with the image reveals it to be an illusion, because things can pass through it. A creature that uses its action to examine the image can determine that it is an illusion with a successful Intelligence (Investigation) check against your spell save DC. If a creature discerns the illusion for what it is, the creature can see through the image, and any noise it makes sounds hollow to the creature.

The famous spectral messenger that appears the 1st time Gale dies in act 1 or in the epilogue if he sacrificed himself. A spell with a condition to trigger on his death, casted while he was still alive.

───── Project Image ─────

- Level: 7th - Casting Time: 1 action - Range/Area: 500 miles - Target: Any location within range that you have seen before - Components: V S M (A small replica of you made from materials worth at least 5 gp) - Duration: Up to 1 day - Concentration - Available for: Bard, Wizard You create an illusory copy of yourself that lasts for the duration. The copy can appear at any location within range that you have seen before, regardless of intervening obstacles. The illusion looks and sounds like you but is intangible. If the illusion takes any damage, it disappears, and the spell ends. You can use your action to move this illusion up to twice your speed, and make it gesture, speak, and behave in whatever way you choose. It mimics your mannerisms perfectly. You can see through its eyes and hear through its ears as if you were in its space. On your turn as a bonus action, you can switch from using its senses to using your own, or back again. While you are using its senses, you are blinded and deafened in regard to your own surroundings. Physical interaction with the image reveals it to be an illusion, because things can pass through it. A creature that uses its action to examine the image can determine that it is an illusion with a successful Intelligence (Investigation) check against your spell save DC. If a creature discerns the illusion for what it is, the creature can see through the image, and any noise it makes sounds hollow to the creature.

The illusory Gale that guides you to his act 2 main scene. It could be another Programmed Illusion, but I've chosen Project Image instead because this one's eyes don't glow like the other's, which makes me think they were created with different spells. Also because the copies of Lorroakan and Rolan in Sorcerous Sundries are confirmed Projected Images and they look and act similar to Gale's.

I know it's labeled as "Gale's Mirror Image", but it can't be a Mirror Image because illusions made with that spell stay close to the caster and imitate them, but this one is standing there on its own and having a full conversation with the player while Gale prepares the next spell on this list.

───── Mirage Arcane ─────

- Level: 7th - Casting time: 10 minutes - Range/Area: Sight / 1 mile - Components: V S - Duration: 10 days - Available for: Bard, Druid, Wizard You make terrain in an area up to 1 mile square look, sound, smell, and even feel like some other sort of terrain. The terrain’s general shape remains the same, however. Open fields or a road could be made to resemble a swamp, hill, crevasse, or some other difficult or impassable terrain. A pond can be made to seem like a grassy meadow, a precipice like a gentle slope, or a rock-strewn gully like a wide and smooth road. Similarly, you can alter the appearance of structures, or add them where none are present. The spell doesn’t disguise, conceal, or add creatures. The illusion includes audible, visual, tactile, and olfactory elements, so it can turn clear ground into difficult terrain (or vice versa) or otherwise impede movement through the area. Any piece of the illusory terrain (such as a rock or stick) that is removed from the spell’s area disappears immediately. Creatures with truesight can see through the illusion to the terrain’s true form; however, all other elements of the illusion remain, so while the creature is aware of the illusion’s presence, the creature can still physically interact with the illusion.

In his act 2 main scene Gale veils the shadow-cursed sky with an aurora borealis.

The Waterdeep scene that follows in the astral variant of the romance path could also be part of this spell if we bend the rules a bit and let him have the Malleable Illusions feature that only Wizards from the School of Illusion get.

Malleable Illusions: starting at 6th level, when you cast an illusion spell that has a duration of 1 minute or longer, you can use your action to change the nature of that illusion (using the spell's normal parameters for the illusion), provided that you can see the illusion.

As for the Astral sex part and the boat scene, I think those are something else. The closest I've found is the next spell, from the School of Necromancy.

──── Astral Projection ? ────

- Level: 9th - Casting Time: 1 hour - Range/Area: 10 feet - Target: You and up to eight willing creatures within range - Components: V S M (For each creature you affect with this spell, you must provide one jacinth worth at least 1,000 gp and one ornately carved bar of silver worth at least 100 gp, all of which the spell consumes) - Duration: Special - Available for: Cleric, Warlock, Wizard You and up to eight willing creatures within range project your astral bodies into the Astral Plane (the spell fails and the casting is wasted if you are already on that plane). The material body you leave behind is unconscious and in a state of suspended animation; it doesn’t need food or air and doesn’t age. Your astral body resembles your mortal form in almost every way, replicating your game statistics and possessions. The principal difference is the addition of a silvery cord that extends from between your shoulder blades and trails behind you, fading to invisibility after 1 foot. This cord is your tether to your material body. As long as the tether remains intact, you can find your way home. If the cord is cut—something that can happen only when an effect specifically states that it does—your soul and body are separated, killing you instantly. Your astral form can freely travel through the Astral Plane and can pass through portals there leading to any other plane. If you enter a new plane or return to the plane you were on when casting this spell, your body and possessions are transported along the silver cord, allowing you to re-enter your body as you enter the new plane. Your astral form is a separate incarnation. Any damage or other effects that apply to it have no effect on your physical body, nor do they persist when you return to it. The spell ends for you and your companions when you use your action to dismiss it. When the spell ends, the affected creature returns to its physical body, and it awakens. The spell might also end early for you or one of your companions. A successful dispel magic spell used against an astral or physical body ends the spell for that creature. If a creature’s original body or its astral form drops to 0 hit points, the spell ends for that creature. If the spell ends and the silver cord is intact, the cord pulls the creature’s astral form back to its body, ending its state of suspended animation. If you are returned to your body prematurely, your companions remain in their astral forms and must find their own way back to their bodies, usually by dropping to 0 hit points.

I'm not sure about this one for many things: the absence of the silver cord, the hight cost (2200 gp total), the 9th level (max spell level, learned at 17th+ character level), the ability to go anywhere in the Astral Plane and even use portals... I don't know, seems a little too much.

Also the two scenes are different from one another despite both sharing the Astral Plane scenery:

On the Astral sex scene Gale and the PC are ethereal figures and there's no verbal component, the glyph in the book seems to be what activates it.

On the Astral sea scene only the boat is ethereal and there's a verbal component, "Astra Navigamus" (we sail the stars). We also know from Gale's words that it requires to maintain concentration, but Astral Projection doesn't.

Gale: Find me later, and I will show you something truly divine. I will show you what a crown like this could mean for both of us. PC: Can't you just tell me now? Gale: Afraid not. What I have to show you requires us to be its only witness, and our minds to share in the most exquisite concentration.

Maybe there's no real equivalent and they're simply homebrew creations.

────── Simulacrum ──────

- Casting Time: 12 hours - Range/Area: Touch - Target: One beast or humanoid that is within range for the entire casting time of the spell - Components: V S M (Snow or ice in quantities sufficient to made a life-size copy of the duplicated creature; some hair, fingernail clippings, or other piece of that creature’s body placed inside the snow or ice; and powdered ruby worth 1,500 gp, sprinkled over the duplicate and consumed by the spell) - Duration: Until dispelled - Available for: Wizard You shape an illusory duplicate of one beast or humanoid that is within range for the entire casting time of the spell. The duplicate is a creature, partially real and formed from ice or snow, and it can take actions and otherwise be affected as a normal creature. It appears to be the same as the original, but it has half the creature’s hit point maximum and is formed without any equipment. Otherwise, the illusion uses all the statistics of the creature it duplicates. The simulacrum is friendly to you and creatures you designate. It obeys your spoken commands, moving and acting in accordance with your wishes and acting on your turn in combat. The simulacrum lacks the ability to learn or become more powerful, so it never increases its level or other abilities, nor can it regain expended spell slots. If the simulacrum is damaged, you can repair it in an alchemical laboratory, using rare herbs and minerals worth 100 gp per hit point it regains. The simulacrum lasts until it drops to 0 hit points, at which point it reverts to snow and melts instantly. If you cast this spell again, any currently active duplicates you created with this spell are instantly destroyed.

Despite popular belief, none of the Gale duplicates that we see in the game is a Simulacrum, they don't fit the criteria:

They are translucent and their voice sounds hollow, as if there had been an invisible successful investigation check.

When you destroy them they disappear with puff of magic lights instead of transforming back into ice/snow and melt.

Notice that Simulacra clones are tangible, unlike the others from before. They are basically glamoured and animated life size ice/snowmen. They're also quite expensive and elaborate, not something you'd want to cast for a short single use (unless you're super rich I suppose).

That doesn't mean that there isn't any use of this spell in the game, there's in fact one example:

That's right, the Elminster we encounter isn't the real one, but a construct made with Simulacrum. All that complaining about a long and extenuous journey, worn boots, and hunger is an act, an imitation of the real Elminster's mannerism. Makes you wonder what happened to all that cheese and wine that he "ate"...

───────────────────

Bear in mind that the devs have taken some creative liberties and there are lore inconsistencies. More than half of these spells are a higher level than what's possible to learn at that point, most aren't even in Gale's spellbook and, by the Wizard class rules, he' s only allowed to cast the spells that are written on his book and memorized during a long rest. So unless he secretly has with him the spellbook that he used when he was an Archmage or a scroll version of them, it shouldn't be possible to use most of these.

Oh well, sometimes is necessary to change things a bit because they don't translate well to videogame mechanics and it would make things more tedious and not as enjoyable.

And that's it. If you've made it this far, thank you for reading!

#bg3 #gale dekarios #gale of waterdeep

[pennyblossom-meta]

quote by Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy

#baldur's gate 3

[pennyblossom-meta]

Ooooh, I had no idea! My crush on Kenichi just returned tenfold, lol

There's a wholeass Matsuda spin-off set in the L Change the World movie and we literally have L calling Matsuda "baka~" (affectionate)

y'all why am I only discovering all this

#death note #matsuda touta #l lawliet #L change the world #kenichi matsuyama

[pennyblossom-meta]

Ah, the horrible path by which Anna and L meet.

"I wish we could have met another way" "This is the only way we could have met" are such raw lines that go so fucking hard you'd think they're from some heartbreaking forbidden romance drama but no, it's Death Note (2015)

#death note #l lawliet #fanfiction

[pennyblossom-meta]

"Tressyms are exceptionally intuitive. And also, you wear your emotions like a very garish cravat."

(pretty Tara reference photos)

#bg3 #gale dekarios #gale of waterdeep #tara the tressym

[pennyblossom-meta]

L - words

Loneliness. Just another L - word.

It is raining again, November descending heavy upon the world like an omen - good or bad, such a thing was not for mere mortals to decide. Just like the oh-so-many Novembers that slithered their serpentinely long days over the lives of men.

...There it is, the familiar whirring of the computer fans, the blue gleam of the screens in the semi-obscurity of the otherwise austere room, the rhythmical clatter as his fingers run over the keyboard, his mind waging its endless war against the famished darkness of injustice. There he is, my beloved L.

It is no longer just a game for him, not after almost twenty years. If I'm to be honest, I don't believe it was ever that simple, no matter how many times I've heard it, from him, from Near, from Mello - it still hurts to think of Mello, and i guess it always will. That is not a wound L will ever heal from.

He is still gorgeous to me. It's like time barely touched him at all, if not for the little smattering of grey at his temples and the glasses he's still pretending to forget. His posture is less rigid in front of the computers - the orthopedic pillows I bought him seem to be doing their job.

"Maeve?" he calls out to me, his voice the same low monotone. "Could you please bring me some warm tea, if you can?"

He holds his favorite cup out to me, barely glancing at me for one second - he knows I'm here. Sometimes I wonder if I shouldn't feel more...taken for granted, the way he's only emerging from his cocoon in his own good time. But when he does emerge, there's so much warmth and care he clads me in, that I'm never left wondering about what's in his heart.

"Thank you," he smiles, as his fingers close around mine after I bring his...sugar with tea - yet another thing that has remained the same.

"Will you be long tonight?" I ask him, my hand warm on his still hunched shoulders.

He just hums in response, taking a long sip of his tea. "Just...reflecting."

I know what he's reflecting on. It's not like, tonight of all nights, the thought would be far from my mind as well. But it's him I need, his closeness as an antidote against the crimson speckles of fear neither of us was quite able to shake.

"Reflecting on....Kira?" I ask, the name leaving its familiar vitriol taste in my mouth.

"Amongst other things" L admits. "It feels like a lifetime ago, yet the shadows it cast..."

"...they linger." I finish his sentence. There's a tremor in my voice that I don't even try to hide - I swore never to hide from him anyway. "It's been almost twenty years and I still...I still hear that damned teaspoon falling...."

In less than a blink, L swivels towards me and buries his face against my body, his arms wrapping around me with a sort of childlike desperation. "I still...dream about him looking down on me as I..." his voice cracks and breaks, and I have to keep my heart from doing the same. I hold him close, my fingers tracing soothing patterns over his back and shoulders.

"I know..." I bury my face in his hair. "I can hear you some nights... But we won, L. In the end, you were the light. You still are."

He breaks away, allowing me to slide in the soft plush chair he always keeps as his side, for me, and his hand casually reaching for a green macaron (his favorite) tells me that his inner world has almost shifted back on its rightful axis.

"I never imagined I'd be grateful to Light, you know," he mutters, amused at the way my eyes have surely narrowed on instinct. "Of course, not for the horrors, but..." he trails off.

"But it brought us together." As always, it falls on me to form the words to the thoughts he cannot express. "Which means we won twice, eh?"

He smiles again. "Remind me to never place you in undercover work," he snickers. "Unless you'd actually be supposed to impersonate someone Canadian, that is," he continues apologizingly, making me laugh as I steal one of his cookies in mock revenge.

......And in this brief moment in the grand scheme of things, all is well.

Life. Laughter. Love. All so many beautiful L - words.

#L Lawliet #death note #beautiful and soothing

[pennyblossom-meta]

Excellent headcanons for fanfiction research

L Lawliet - dating headcanons

ʚ𖦹ɞ: Keeps you in the dark a lot. most of the time it's for obvious reasons, but sometimes it's just out of habit. Has hidden his stack of sweets and other random stuff for no good reason twice.

ʚ𖦹ɞ: Has some weird habits he can't quite shake, especially obvious if you two live together, which would take a whole lot of trust from him. It usually consists of weird sleep habits, eating habits, the way he sits, and the fact he just randomly stares at you whilst you do random things.

ʚ𖦹ɞ: You do notice he observes your behavior a lot, though he does loosen up as time goes on. If you ask him why, he'll honestly tell you that's he's better safe than sorry, and it's just to make sure you're not intending to do anything bad with him.

ʚ𖦹ɞ: Doesn't go out for dates with you often, but when he does he really prefers cafes, bakeries or other places that sell sweets.

ʚ𖦹ɞ: Likes laying his head on your lap. Sometimes you're casually sitting on the couch and he just comes up and lays down without saying a word.

ʚ𖦹ɞ: Has slept with his eyes wide open once whilst facing you and freaked you out.

ʚ𖦹ɞ: Not into physical affection a lot, but sometimes he'll hold your hand and give it a small squeeze. It's endearing but his hands are ice cold.

ʚ𖦹ɞ: He either sleeps on the other side of the bed or clings to you like his life depends on it.

ʚ𖦹ɞ: Even though he seems like a massive weirdo, he is incredibly attentive about your feelings, immediately notices any changes, no matter how subtle.

ʚ𖦹ɞ: "Are you alright, your shoulders are slouching."

ʚ𖦹ɞ: He does try everything in his power to comfort you, by letting you cry on his shoulder and patting your back. Sometimes he'll say something that cheers you up too.

ʚ𖦹ɞ: Gets you things on the most random occasions, it's always random stuff too.

ʚ𖦹ɞ: Super awkward but overall a very nice boyfriend, even though he'll sometimes lie to you. But whenever he keeps you in the dark it's to keep you away from Kira.

#death note #death note meta #l lawliet

[pennyblossom-meta]

I sometimes venture in the for you tab and I get those how [character - mostly the wammy’s boys and L] would be if/with [something] and like... do you really believe that L wouldn't adjust to your needs? This is not a hate post or whatever to the person who wrote it, but L built entire floors for people he works with, do you really think he wouldn't go above and beyond for you? I actually believe that if you were to mention even by accident that something is bothering you or you were to act slightly off in a situation without saying anything, he would order Watari to deal with it immediately. behind your back of course, because that's the way he does things. And you would start to get annoyed by it, because sometimes it may be trivial things that didn't really need to be changed while other times it would steal your independency to deal with them on your own accord. so if there is something that L would need to work on, it's this aspect of him. this is something I truly believe in. he doesn't follow some social norms but he isn't oblivious to people's needs/wants/feelings. he just chooses when and if to consider them, and trust me, for a person he loves, he would do anything to make them feel comfortable. besides, he is a detective and must be good at reading people. it just doesn't make any sense to me that he wouldn't be aware of or try to understand his partner's needs/wants/feelings. and if he chooses to ignore them, well... that means he doesn't love them.

#death note #l lawliet #l x reader #l lawliet x reader #death note meta

[pennyblossom-meta]

#l lawliet #death note fanart #death note musical

[pennyblossom-meta]

Mortal Astarion X F! Human Tav. Ummm, angst.👀

For decades, this manor offered him a place to call home in the truest sense. 

The hallway was a sacred gallery, adorned with paintings that were not mere canvases, but tangible echoes of their life together. Each brushstroke, lovingly rendered by her hand, captured the essence of cherished memories.

Whenever he opened the door at the end of the hallway, he was greeted by the radiant smile of his beloved, and the hearth beckoned him to surrender to its comforting embrace. Yet, it was the vast window next to it that held the greatest significance. The tender caress of sunlight danced across his skin as he lost himself in the pages of a book beside her. It was here, bathed in the golden rays, that he could truly revel in the miracle she had bestowed upon him – the cure to his vampiric curse, a gift of life, a reminder of the depths of her love and the power it held to transcend even the most insurmountable of boundaries.

Here at home, he had found everything his heart desired.

But nothing is ever truly perfect. Life simply doesn't work that way.  Even the mightiest of fortresses cannot withstand the relentless march of time.

He thought he was ready for it, but not like this.

Never like this.

_________

The poem cited is "When You Are Old" BY W.B. Yeats. One of my favorites.❤️

Alright, thanks for reading the second installment of my "this did not really happen to my couple". After delving into the mortality of my Tav, Amaara, I found myself confronting a fear more profound than death itself – the fear of morbidity, of life's vibrancy fading before its inevitable end. So I decided to yank my CP around this theme. Self-indulgence at its finest.😊

#astarion comic #astarion romance #astarion fanart #bg3 fanart #baldur's gate 3 #bg3

[pennyblossom-meta]

Trust and kindness would be to L like a lifeline. A genuine person who truly cares about him would be far more important to him than a genius, or someone close to his level of deductive skill; like Light, Mello or Near.

I would argue they do L a disservice by pulling him further from his human side and feeding his worst qualities. Whereas sincere love is something he would want - but doesn't know he needs until he's confronted with it.

what kind of qualities would make L romantically attracted to a person rather than just sort of liking them platonically?

Sincerity is the big one. It’s less a matter of living unapologetically than it is a matter of living honestly. You don’t have to be a good person. You don’t even have to be a nice person. He finds people inherently interesting; you don’t need to be exciting or bold or fierce or whatever else. But he would need to be able to trust you, and in order for him to trust you, he needs to know that you are not afraid to practice what you preach. That’s a quality not often found amongst the people he associates with. But it’s a quality he needs in a partner.

#death note #death note x reader #death note x you #death note x y/n #l lawliet #death note lawliet #lawliet x reader #l death note #death note meta

[pennyblossom-meta]

August 2, 2004:

· The first big fight between Light Yagami and L.

· Misa Amane garners first place in Eighteen magazine fan voting.

#Death Note #DeathNote #manga #anime #episode 18 #Light Yagami #L Death Note #L Lawliet #Ryuzaki

[pennyblossom-meta]

Gale Dekarios sketchy sketch 💜

#gale dekarios #gale of waterdeep #bg3 gale #bg3 fanart #bg3 #tim downie #traditional art #sketch

[pennyblossom-meta]

Love playing a wild magic sorcerer and romancing Gale. They're both annoying.

#gale #other tavs #art #woaaaahhh #gale dekarios #gale of waterdeep

[pennyblossom-meta]

See the thing is I think a fundemental thing about Gale Dekarios is that if he didn’t have a love interest to talk him down he would claim the crown every time. Because I don’t think he would even stop to think about whether it’s a good idea or not, just like he didn’t stop to think about the orb the forst time. Did he learn his lesson that time? Sort of. He’s going to be super careful about rebuilding the crown. No mistakes! No research undone! He learned his lesson in the sense that now he thinks he was being too hasty and not thinking it through with all the facts… but he has all the facts now. And Karsus’ own book! I think that’s such a fundemental part of his character. Also, he’s impulsive! He dies and says things without thinking all the time! Like yes he does it in a charming way and the way Tim plays him leads you to believe he’s jokingly doing it but I’m not so sure. His impulsivity, despite what Larian try and make you believe in scenes like the Blood of Lathander, has only marginally improved from when he discovered the orb. In fact, he’s been lovked in a tower for a year, if anything that made it worse now that there’s so much to see and do again.

“But his friends!” I hear you say. Well, disembodied voice that represents my imaginary audience, to that I say- he had friends before. Supposedly. And I have this feeling that he’d think no matter how good of a friendship he has with someone, they’ll leave at the drop of a hat if he does anything wrong ever. Maybe- MAYBE- one of the others could convince him not to do it (I’m thinking Wyll probably) but idk how much sway that would hold with him given his past with people like Elminster and I assume his other collegues. And another very prominent characteristic of his is that he is very romantically motivated. Even one of his wishes if you talk to that mirror is some shit about a tower being a refuge for him and his sweetheart or whatever (I love this sap of a man). I think more than a lot of the others, he is really looking for a deep connection, a deep companionship, and in the absence of something like that I think he’ll settle for the best revenge against Mystra he can concieve of which is wresting her magic from her or becoming better than her. (Granted it doesnt exactly work out that way but that is the groundwork of his plan)

So I think, in conclusion, if there are a hundred alternate universes Gale would persue the crown of karsus in 98 of them. The two other possibilities being he has a romantic partner that does not share his ambitions or think they will harm him and thus talks him out of it, or he does for some reason listen to a voice of reason which he has come to trust as much as his own (the only companion I can concieve of this as being is Wyll or an unromanced Tav/Durge)

#gale of waterdeep #gale dekarios #bg3 #baldur’s gate 3 #bg3 gale #gale bg3 #bg3 meta

[pennyblossom-meta]

Interesting answer, especially if we consider Spiraling Trap

hey! i love the way u write L. it feels very true to character. i was wondering how u think he would show love/affection to his s/o!!!

Hi. Thank you for the compliment; glad to hear I’m not bastardizing him. But anyways.

In regards to your question, a lot of the stuff that he goes for is more of a lowering of boundaries than anything. He allows himself to not psycho-analyze your every word or make the effort to look deeper into what you say. He eats things that you say he should eat (even if he hasn’t had them before), he trusts that whatever you’re telling him is as close to reality as you can reasonably give him, he’ll actually sleep around you, things like that. As an incredibly paranoid guy, he gets pretty used to just constantly being in work mode, so he ultimate sign that he’s attached to you would probably be his ability or willingness to shut his brain off and just be when you’re around.

I can also see him trying his best to sort of cram all the things he thinks a boyfriend should be doing into what little time he has with you. He’ll insist on paying for everything and letting you make decisions about food and movies and things like that so that he isn’t making himself a burden. If you hear something go bump in the night, he’ll be the one to go check whatever it is out for you. Don’t expect him to make many first moves, though; he’ll do something traditionally romantic if you’ve dropped hints that it’s something you’d appreciate but he considers whatever relationship you two have to be precarious at best so he makes an effort not to push it.

Further into the relationship, I think he’d be very into physical affection. He would prefer not to initiate it at first for fear of scaring you off, but if that’s something history proves you enjoy, he’ll get real clingy real quick, playing with your hair and your clothes and your hands and whatever else is in reach to keep his hands busy.

Not a big terms of affection guy. Occasionally he’ll say something, but when it comes to this sort of thing he’s not the best at putting things in a very palatable way, so his attempts at that is a bit stiff, which is by no means intentional— he sincerely is trying his best to be romantic— but something he is at least somewhat conscious of as soon of the words leave his mouth. “You don’t poison me, which I appreciate.” “I can be very annoying; thank you for not smothering me in my sleep.” “I find you very attractive.” It’s not the most graceful thing in the world, but once in a blue moon he’ll try. The unfortunate thing is that, if he were in a work environment, he absolutely could flirt, but because he’s used to relaxing around you he just sort of forgets how. People are hard anyways; if he can get the point across, that’s what matters.

#death note #death note x reader #death note x you #death note x y/n #l lawliet #lawliet x reader #death note meta