Light's end has always bothered me for multiple reasons (the biggest of which is it not actually being his fault that he lost therefore robbing me of a greater poetic justice but you can't win 'em all), but I think one nobody really talks about is that,,,Light wasn't afraid to die.
Well—he WAS, at the beginning, but part of the reason I'm so obsessed with his relationship with Ryuk is because Ryuk's existence was a constant threat to Light's life. And yet Light never once seemed afraid of him, or tried to cozy up to him, or even attempted manipulate Ryuk into doing things for him. Sure, he bribed him sometimes into going along with his plans, but he was friends with Ryuk. Or—as close to friends as I assume a Light Yagami and a Shinigami can get.
But before Light meets Ryuk, he 100% believes that he's going to die. His frenzy those first few days can be attributed not to any moral righteousness, but to a desperate sort of resignation. Light thinks that he's sold his soul after killing those first two men, so instead of destroying the Death Note, he immediately sets out to make as big of an impact as possible. He wants to go out with a bang! He wants to be remembered! Light is afraid of death in those first days—but he also comes to terms with it somewhere between killing Otoharada and Ryuk showing up. He was ready to go with Ryuk quietly if he was there to take his life or his soul.
But then—he learns that he's not going to die.
The face of a boy excited and relieved.
Light learns that there are no consequences to using the Death Note.
THIS is when he starts getting cocky, when he starts to actually convince himself of all that moral stuff he spouts.
But he's still not afraid of death.
Oh he's afraid of being caught, for sure, and after L humiliated him on live television, he might've even been afraid of execution. Because he'd seen firsthand just how quickly L could turn the tables on him, how he could make Kira look foolish. And Light definitely does not want to be remembered as foolish.
I don't think Light was afraid of actually DYING though, because when Ryuk says "You know I could just kill you", Light laughs. Literally laughing in the face of death. Light KNOWS that Ryuk will eventually kill him, but as long as he goes down the way he wants—on HIS terms—it's fine. Ryuk claiming that he'd be the one to finally end Light might've even been a relief, considering how Light's mind works. A god can only be killed by another god, etc. etc. 'Killed By A Real-life Shinigami' sounds metal as FUCK. Top-tier way to die if you're as much of a gloryhound as Light.
And one thing that irks me is that—the five year gap kind of,,,,takes that, from Light. Light spends so long on top of the world with no real challenge that by the time that Near and Mello show up, he's far more arrogant than he was when he was up against L. Light is, once more, afraid of death. He's lost that tolerance he built up in those pivotal first few days, and he goes out, not in a blaze of glory like he wanted, but clawing and pleading to live like a dog.
Light lost his recklessness, his impatience, his acceptance of the inevitable because he believed that he could now change the inevitable—all somewhere in that five year time skip.
This makes him less likely to get caught, yes, but it also takes away that—that teenage dauntlessness that he had at the beginning. Pre-skip Light feared L and L alone. Only the idea of being caught by someone who could truly tear him down frightened him. Not even death compared.
And I suppose that Light's spiralling at the end is a sort of poetic justice in this case?? But it's not the one I wanted.
I wanted Light's recklessness to blow up in his face. I wanted his carefully curated plans ruined by his own impatient hand. I wanted him to go down much as he probably first intended—in a blaze of glory. I wanted his fall to be explosive and terrifying to the audience. A moral of the story that shoots you right in the chest and really makes you think.
Instead he was reduced to just,,,,another criminal, begging for his life.
Which, yes, I suppose, is also a message in and of itself (all evil figures throughout history have only ever been human, have only ever been men that bleed red at the end of the day, and nothing they've ever done or said will change that), but I also find that....exceedingly boring.
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im sure you've talked about this before but what are your opinions on hilbert
hilbert is... a fascinating character. he's an archetype disguised as another archetype, concealing a real person with understandable motivations and sincerely held ambitions. in a way, that's very reflective of how his work has been hollowed out and warped with each iteration of himself he becomes to continue it. hilbert is an insidious type of evil, because his goals are noble and he doesn't enjoy hurting people, but he will carry out orders and rationalize his actions "for the greater good." which makes him an excellent foil for eiffel; hilbert is nothing if not a Big Picture thinker. "you talk about helping people, but what about the real, live people around you?" / "increasingly, i find them to be of negligible importance." etc.
i think it says a lot about wolf 359's character writing philosophy that hilbert's betrayal and big reveal is really kind of his first character moment. he's there for two seasons after that, but he's never redeemed, and his goals never change. what makes hilbert more complex, more real, more understandable, is entirely perspective.
and the tragedy of hilbert, i suppose, is that he sacrificed everything for what he believed was right, sold his soul to the devil for it, and then... wasn't even particularly good at it. he's a big fish in a very small pond, as far as wolf 359 antagonists go. his death virus was never going to be anything but a death virus, and cutter figured that out (and found another use for it) ages ago. in change of mind, he was so certain he had the right answer - of course it was the scientist, his work was threatened - and they wouldn't have made it out if not for fourier, who realized it was really about human relationships. in am i alone now? hilbert's part is the only one where no one else speaks. before he dies, jacobi cuts his comms line, and his final words are a cut off "can anybody hear-?"
so, again... hilbert is a narratively and thematically significant character. this is barely even scratching the surface of that. but do i like him? hell no. absolutely not. he tried to murder hera and then said "tell me you're not mourning that appliance" so i think it's fine that he died, actually. that's how i judge all wolf 359 characters.
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And here's one with Weak for Fuuta and Amane, for anon! I've recently been going crazy over some ideas from posts about Fuuta and food and he and Amane's relationship, and they came together perfectly with the prompt -- thank you for the request 👀👀👀
“Can you be quiet for one minute?”
Fuuta spun around from where he’d been complaining loudly about the food, with his mouth full of it, to find Amane glaring from beside him.
“I’ll do whatever the hell I want,” he said through bites. He paused to swallow, though. And take a sip of his drink. And then forgot was he was talking about anyway.
Amane returned to mouthing a blessing over her food. The annoyance in her expression melted away to serenity as she brought her hands together. Fuuta watched as she drew herself up. Then she ate calmly. He could have crumbled in shame, right then, at the thought of this tiny kid holding up better than himself.
She, too, had experienced the punishments that came with their verdict. Restraints pulled so tight it’s hard to breathe. Long nights of maddening voices and watchful eyes. The smaller meal portions leading to shaky limbs. Fuuta spent every meal inhaling as much as he could as soon as he could -- and here Amane sat as if she had a perfectly content stomach. Through everything, she maintained her strong gaze and commanding voice.
Fuuta reminded himself she did have a few advantages over him. She still had all her eyes and ribs intact, for one. It was difficult to give someone a convincing stinkeye with only one eye.
While he continued shoveling down his meal, he noticed her separating things on her plate. The meat in the corner went completely untouched.
The aforementioned treatment had made him irritable -- more irritable than usual, that is -- and he jabbed his utensils at her. “Hey, we talked about this. Eat your fucking meat. I’ve been eating my vegetables, yeah?” Not that he wanted to. He would have eaten just about anything they put in front of him if it kept the gnawing hunger at bay.
“It’s against my beliefs,” she said simply.
“I thought suicide was, too.”
She raised her chin. “I’ve known plenty who have fasted and become stronger for it. This is nothing drastic.”
Fuuta grit his teeth. He’d witnessed his fair share of internet-goers who acted cruel about another’s religion. He wasn’t about to join them in being some piece of shit who forced her to do something that was against her code. But there was no way he was going to sit around and watch her starve herself, either.
He couldn’t blame Amane for how harshly she’d refused help from the others -- they coddled her, encouraging her with sweet talk, or tried an insufferable stern parental tone. Fuuta wasn’t cut out for any of those methods, anyway. What he did know how to do, however, was make threats.
Even if Amane didn’t fear death, he knew there was one situation she would do absolutely anything to avoid.
“Oi, if you get any weaker, Shidou’s gonna step in.” Her frown twitched. “He’s already harassed me and Mahiru about our meals. He saw my hand shake one time and hasn't stopped hounding me about it since. The minute he can tell you’re not eating enough, he’ll be all over you. And let me tell you, you’re not very subtle about it.”
The final statement came out with more bite than intended. Maybe he was bitter that she was at least more subtle than him. Maybe he thought it was fucked up the way she, too, had grown visibly weaker. Maybe he was just hungry and tired of talking. He attacked another mouthful of food.
Amane was searching her plate as if the answer could be found there. There was a long silence as she contemplated. Fuuta had thought he’d won until she shook her head. “No. I can’t.”
He rolled his eyes and head in an over dramatic show of exasperation. “So stubborn!” When he was done chewing, he picked up his plate. “Fine.” He gathered up all that was left, dumping it onto hers with a flick.
A fire ignited in her gaze. She shoved the dish away. “I’m not some weak child to be pitied.”
“Wha–? It’s not pity!”
“You think I’m weak.”
“I think you’re hungry!”
“You don’t know anything!”
Mikoto passed by, chuckling as they raised their voices. “Look at you two hotheaded kids. Do I need to break it up?”
“Go away!” they chorused.
“Alright, sheesh…” He kept walking, leaving the pair to stew in silence.
Fuuta didn’t have it in him to fight today. He was tired. He ached all over. If she wasn’t going to appreciate his help, so be it. He was starting to get used to his good intentions being taken the wrong way. It looked like he was just the weak one, after all. He grabbed his empty plate and stood to leave.
“Fuuta.” Amane took a deep breath. “I am hungry.” She gestured for him to come back. Then she moved the meat from her plate onto his.
He eyed the offering, hoping his expression didn’t betray how desperately he wanted to scoff it down. “I’m not some asshole who’s gonna take your food.”
“You’re not taking it. I’m giving it. I would have thrown it out otherwise.” Amane picked up some of the vegetables. “In return, I will eat this. We both must stay strong for the ordeals ahead.”
After a moment of hesitation, Fuuta sat back down. He took a bite. Neither said a proper thank you. Neither needed one.
He glanced to Amane with a smirk. “Good. This way, we’ll both keep that geezer Shidou away.”
It was only for a moment, but for the first time since the second trial began, Fuuta could have sworn her lips slipped into a small smile.
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Hello friend! I'm your person for the rwby exchange hosted by Zac.
Just wanted to say hi!
Also I wanna hear about your Ozpin Grim AU even if I don't use it. It sounds cool!
Hi there! It's good to hear from you :>
And boy you're asking me something here- I actually have *checks notes* 5 grimm oz au's. But for now I'll tell you the general gist of my main one, of which I also put down a prompt or two:
And tbh, there isn't all that much to it. Most things play out like they do in canon.
Oz is still headmaster of Beacon, and a powerful ally to humanity. Although he has had his moments in time where he was not.*
Salem and his curse are switched. Which means that Oz is immortal, and Salem reincarnates (she eventually reincarnates in Cinder).
Oz sought out the same possible solution of ending his curse that Salem did, resulting in him being Grimm.
“But why is it Ozpin and not Ozma” you ask? Well, I like Ozpin more, so there you have it lol-
Salem and Oz’s motives remain the same. Oz needs to reunite the world while Salem only seeks to end it.
Like I said earlier, instead of Oz, Salem reincarnates. She, unlike Oz creating the maidens, creates the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Who these Four Horsemen are at this point though, I haven't decided yet.
* Oz, in his long time on remnant, has tried many different methods to achieve his goal. Some of which more violent and/or extreme than the other, definitely deserving of the title of "villain". During his time on remnant, he has been the best and worst version of himself. Just as he's seen the world and humanity at its highest and lowest point. It would only make sense for his actions to reflect the current state of the world.
Oz took part in creating the huntsmen schools. He feels as though Beacon represents the best part of himself, and he would do everything in his power to preserve it.
As for clothing, he seems to be really fond of victorian gothic looks.
If you're interested, here's a link to his main design
And here's a link to a pinterest board of outfit inspiration, which is a general one for all of my Grimm Oz au's combined.
- Also, regarding my prompts for this exchange, feel free to switch around certain characters or ships for prompts! I think I forgot to mention that in my submitted form haha
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YOUR MALLEUS POST IS JUST!!!!! AGDKFFLSVFL!!!! WHO KNOWS HOW MANY TIMES I RE-READ THAT THING BUT IT WAS WORTH THE WAIT!!!! 😫😭👌🖤����
I'm so late to this but thank you so much Knight!! 🖤💚🖤💚 I'm so happy you enjoyed Blindfolded Malleus... I was so excited for you to read it, and I'm very happy it lived up to the hype and anticipation!!! Truly, I am so honored and grateful that you would re-read something so long 🥹 it amazes me how supportive you are!! I hope I can continue to write things that you enjoy! One day in the [regretfully] far future I swear to you that I will put out an Idia fic just for you hehehe. I'm so overwhelmed by the amount of things I am excited to write, but I guess that is a wonderful problem to have! I only wish I had more time in the day to write, but alas, such is life. Why the fUCk am I writing so formal right now daiohssadoi;hdSAO not me saying BUT ALAS. SUCH IS LIFE????? It is so.
I'm actually taking a TWELVE DAY vacation from work starting on the 22nd so I might actually do a little request event where people can send me like kink prompts or something. I think that'll be fun!
Okay and FINE I'll do some fluff prompts too for the fluff people but please don't judge my fluff too harshly, I'm still learning!!! For some reason smut just comes naturally dhaDSAHIDDASijdsan I'll start gathering some prompts and we will do a little ask game or something.
📣 By the way FELLOW HONEST THIGH RIDING ANON if you SEE this first of all, ONCE AGAIN: I wish to express my undying devotion to you and your exceptional thought process. I am positively frothing at the mouth over your request and I am PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE I am finally making good progress and it WILL be out soon. We WILL make him cum in his pants. We WILL make him cry, whimper, and moan.
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