#Loyalty & Light

[woman-respecter]

ok ive been keeping my mouth shut on the topic bc im a coward but it is seriously seriously concerning how many people feel comfortable gleefully being mask-off antisemites at the first possible opportunity, and even more concerning how many of said people are very popular tumblr users whose thousands and thousands of followers at best cannot recognize antisemitism and at worst condone or even encourage it. and yeah some of these people have had at least somewhat concerning politics for a while (not naming names but iykyk) but some of them have seemed mostly normal or even positioned themselves as allies to the jewish community. so uh please excuse me feeling very distrustful and scared rn

#BEFORE YOU KILL ME IM NOT SAYING REGULAR DEGULAR ANTIZIONISM IS ANTISEMITSM #its the dual loyalty and blood libel and rootless cosmopolitan tropes and light holocaust denial etc etc #jumblr #antisemitism

[imminent-danger-came]

WHAT WAS HE GOING TO SAY. WHAT WAS HE GOING TO SAY! WHAT WAS HE-

Sun Wukong: "Kid—new armor isn't going to cut it! We have to hit Azure with everything we've got! You can't just, ignore this whole part of your power because it scares you!"

MK: "I-"

-

LITERALLY WHAT. WHAT WAS IT. MK HONEY SWEETIE DARLING WHAT WERE YOU GOING TO TELL WUKONG HERE

#look at MK's FACE #HE IS SO DISTRAUGHT #Scenes I lay awake thinking about #Like we all know Wukong encouraging MK to use his monkey form is going to bite them in the ass #But HOW #Like SWK knows whatever the fuck MK is but MK knows something about his Monkey Form that we (including SWK) don't #''Well alright then.'' terrible. terrible. ''Oh—there's nothing mindless about me friend!'' TERRIBLE. #Hm guess I'm just having another breakdown about the special. #the light is no mystery #<- new Wukong an MK tag I wanna be emo #anyways #imp tag #lmk #lego monkie kid #monkie kid #lmk MK #Hello I am re-remembering Wukong's absolute faith in MK and how this is both a virtue and a vice #(aka oops if MK loses control SWK will be completely blindsided by it) #I am also remembering how MK's undying loyalty to SWK is also both a virtue and a vice! #(Aka if MK learns SWK did anything he can't justify that will shatter him) #These two would basically do anything for each other—but in like the fucked up way! So: haha we are in danger

[mlobsters]

see the danger, always danger endless talking, life rebuilding don't walk away

digital painting, 10 hours - drawing video below

song: atmosphere by joy division

my other spn art

kim manners et al were all about the light through the slats in this episode. i painted another scene from this ep that also had this type of lighting - when john is telling sam and dean he has to leave without them. different location, same kind of light. i feel it though, it's good stuff. i'm also a sucker for it. hence drawing it twice!

#supernatural #myart #spn fanart #supernatural fanart #digital painting #spn 1x16 #sam winchester #photorealism #drawing videos #art process #words from atmosphere by joy division as well #blood #spnart #spn #this is the scene where meg has them tied up and there is a line that i like but it was too clunky because meg says it #aka the reason i'm doing this is same as you: loyalty. love. #forever taking liberties with sam's eyes and adding the different colors that i know are there but only show up in brighter lighting :p #looking like he's gonna cry neon green tears SURE WHY NOT!

[maxsix]

#tw: flashing gif #tw: flashing lights #song mingi #mingi #ateez #ateez gif #mingi gif #maxsixgif #kpop sure does love the strobe lighting #employ me Mingi #i understand what you were trying to achieve here #let me storyboard for you #my rates are reasonable my talent is limited but my loyalty to you is unwavering #from the Tunnel mv

[hawkogurl]

#oh? you’re characters in a three part iconic series that came out in the mid 2000’s #and one of you is a wealthy abused child with heavily symbolic burns scars who undergoes a redemption arc that concludes in the third part #of the franchise who’s villainy is defined by an attachment to an abusive father and a need to please him despite him not at all deserving #your loyalty and your redemption is internally motivated by your own experiences and defined by a moment where you realize who you want to #actually be? and you’re connected to a lot of shipping drama despite honestly seeming gay as fuck? #and a consistently heroic male lead with romantic drama including a brief relationship with a light haired woman that you have regrets about #and a lighter haired woman who majorly influences your character arc and you can tell is cool as fuck because men hate her? and your arc #revolves around maturing and going through various circumstances that basically function as a mini coming of age story in a piece of fiction #not of that genre? and you have baggage related to family members who you feel responsible for the fates of? and you put an intense amount #of personal pressure on yourself because you see yourself as a protector and if you can’t do that you’ve failed? #and you’re emotionally superglued to each other despite lots of disasterous first interactions? #atla #avatar the last airbender #sokka #atla sokka #zuko #prince zuko #harryposting #harry osborn #raimiverse #raimi trilogy #spider man #spiderman #peter parker #parksborn #zukka

[wyvernquill]

I'm rewatching Anastasia and this convo would really fit in your AU

Hob: look, Murphy, I'm just trying to help Murphy: do you really think I'm an Endless, Hob?

Hob: you know I do.

Murphy: then stop bossing me around

I'm sorry, this ask is already over a year old, but I finally got around to writing a scene based on it! (Plus some Murphy&Gil bits I wanted to put in somewhere, anyway.) Hope you enjoy!

[Mild warning for contemplation of one's potential death, and having once lost the will to life - I wouldn't call it suicidal ideation, it doesn't quite go there, but I figured I'd better be safe than sorry.]

Link to Anastasia AU Masterpost!

(Tag list, let me know if you want to be added or taken off: @10moonymhrivertam @martybaker @globglobglobglobob @anonymoustitans @sunshines-fabulous-legs @dreamsofapiratelife @malice-royaume @kcsandmanfan @acedragontype @okilokiwithpurpose @tharkuun @silver-dream89 @i-write-stories-not-sins-bitch)

“Hob.” Murphy interrupts, eyes flashing with frustration.

(Today’s how-to-be-a-Dream-Lord lessons are not going well - not that any of them have, but this one is a particular catastrophe. Gil has already given up on their contrary charge for the evening, and with the way Murphy’s shoulders are up and tension bristles between them, Hob is unlikely to make much more headway tonight.)

“Tell me. Do you truly believe I am him? The Prince of Stories? The Dream King?”

“Yes,” Hob lies, easily, unflinchingly, and with a smile on his face. A good lie has to be treated like the truth, and maybe, one day, it’ll actually turn into one. They’ve been trying so very hard to teach Murphy this, he should know it by now. “Of course.”

“Then, perhaps,” Murphy spits, and despite his feral arrogance, despite the way he holds his head high and squares his slender shoulders, it’s not the regal indignation of a King, but the helpless tantrum of an angry child who’s failing in class. “You ought to finally treat me with the fucking deference an Endless is owed, Hob Gadling!”

(There are tears in his pale-blueish eyes, Hob can see them, can hear the crack in Murphy’s hoarse voice.

Nobody has treated this man with respect in all the years he remembers, that much is obvious. Nobody but his birds. And he knows, they all know, that he’s no prince, that his blood runs red, not blue - runs at all, come to think of it. Endless don’t bleed.

But he wants to be. He wishes he was. Murphy is not Dream of the Endless, but he is ravenous for the spoils of such a role. Desperate to be respected, to be worshipped and revered, desperate to be owed the sort of treatment he has never received.

Hob ought to be ashamed of himself for taking advantage of that helpless hunger for kindness and decency… and he will be. For the rest of his immortal life, he’ll live with the shame of what he did to cheat Death, and still not regret it.)

Hob plasters a smile over his impatience and opens his mouth, gentle, calming words already on the tip of his tongue. Murphy is lonely and frightened and frustrated, that much is obvious. Fine. Hob knew it wouldn’t be easy, to teach their false Dream all he needs to know, and this is not an insurmountable roadblock. If Hob can only reassure him, earn his trust, be his friend, even, it will make everything much easier. Poor thing, lashing out like an injured animal. But Hob can surely coax him into-

Murphy recoils. Flinches back from the admittedly-half-faked warmth, his face, his entire bearing collapsing into itself like a heavy portcullis rattling shut.

“Don’t you dare,” he growls, pointing one of his stick-thin fingers at Hob’s face, “don’t you DARE! I have no need for your false pity, and I want no part of it! I want-” the white of his eyes is bloodshot, and in his terror, in his fury, in his desperation, awash in unshed tears “-I want out. This deal is off. Find some other poor sucker to teach how to play Endless, I won’t do it! I’ve had enough!”

And before Hob can say as much as a single word, Murphy has snatched up his coat and slipped out onto the rainy street, Matthew following - but not after awarding Hob with a colder glare than he would’ve thought a mere raven capable of.

Murphy does not manage to flee very far.

He is in an unfamiliar town, with no money, no valuables besides the clothes on his back that are now slightly finer than he used to be; and the winter is cold and deep and stifling. He gets no further than a handful of streets until he slows halfway across a bridge, shaking with cold more than anger, snowflakes dancing around him. It is a quiet, windless night - and it has always calmed him, to stand underneath the dark sky at night, and know that most of the city lies asleep around him.

Matthew settles on the bridge’s parapet, caws. Hops closer, cocks his head to one side. There is a clear question in his bearing, a what now? glinting in his eyes. Birds are open and honest - unlike humans. Liars and hypocrites all.

“...I do not know, Matthew.” Murphy admits quietly. He has taken the coat, but forgotten the scarf in his haste, so he tugs at his collar, to keep the cold air from trickling down his spine. “I truly don’t.”

He does not have the means to return to London on his own - and at the same time, does not have much desire to do so. He had nothing and no-one there, but for the birds. Pockets can be picked anywhere - he could make a new start in this nameless town.

…if only it weren’t winter.

Murphy shivers, feeling his bones rattle with it. The night is calm, but bitterly cold, and it will not end well for him, sitting in the snow until morning. In the dark of winter, he cannot afford a night without shelter, a day without a sure way to come by some food to keep his strengths up. In London, he would have known where to go. Here, he is helpless.

Damn Hob Gadling, and may Destruction take him! Murphy will have no other choice but to crawl back to him, and hope he’ll be kept on as Endless-impersonator. Hope, because Murphy’s made a right pig’s ear of it so far, slow and clumsy to learn, and outright refusing to play at nobility. He will always be a gutter rat, Murphy knows it. They can’t fashion him into a Dream King, and perhaps this flare of temper will prove to Hob once and for all that there is no point in trying.

There is no point in trying.

Murphy gives up on his collar, and rests his hands on the parapet. Matthew caws, and presses his head against his arm, a far better reassurance than Hob’s false smiles. It comforts Murphy, at least a little. He’s not alone, never alone - no matter how lonely he might feel.

Underneath them, a foreign river flows just fast enough to avoid the freeze. The water does not reflect any stars, but the snow dancing over the surface makes it almost look as if. His own reflection wavers and breaks across the waves.

(Some nights, he dreams of a darkened shore and a sea stretching far past the horizon, black waters that fold up into the night sky, indistinguishable from each other. Of a wooden pier, and galaxies swirling underneath.

Whenever he leans out too far, the reflected eyes he meets are not his own, and he wakes with a scream lodged in his throat.)

Murphy shivers again, and savours the last remnants of his pride, before it, too, will have to be cast into the dirt and abandoned.

“I believe you forgot this, young friend.”

Murphy’s head snaps up.

Dreams and nightmares approach without a whisper, perfectly silent at night if they choose to be. Gilbert is no exception; and if Murphy were to pay attention to anything but his heart racing like a startled hare, he would perhaps be a little distressed by the fact that there are no fresh footprints in the snow beside his own.

But it’s only Gilbert, kind-eyed and not-human, holding out Murphy’s scarf like a peace offering.

Murphy does not take it.

“Did Gadling send you?” he asks, wary.

“Robert informed me what had transpired between you two.” Gilbert admits. “But rest assured, I am here on nobody’s behalf but my own - and, well, yours. Frightfully nippy tonight, wouldn’t you say?”

Murphy does not say. He trusts Gil as little as Hob, perhaps even less. A dream attempting to betray the memory of his master seems hardly like a paragon of virtue, and is perhaps even more suspicious than a deceitful human.

(He does, however, take the scarf now. It’s too cold to be stubborn, and when he winds it around his neck, it smells of sunshine on a summer meadow, warm and comforting.)

“And if you truly wish to leave… dear boy, I won’t stop you.” Murphy does not like the way Gilbert looks at him, as if trying to see someone else beneath his skin. He does not meet Murphy’s eyes, if he can help it. “In fact I would send you off with well-earned compensation for your time, and travel fare. Unless…”

Gil steps up to the parapet beside him.

“...unless I can convince you to stay…?”

“Why would you?” Murphy mutters, instead of why would I, if you’re offering to pay me off? “It should be perfectly obvious that I’ll never pass muster.”

“Ironically,” Gilbert smiles, but only at the man he pretends to see whenever he looks at Murphy, “it is well known among the former denizens of the Dreaming that His Lordship was often prone to very similar bouts of pessimism. I have faith in you, Murphy - and so does Robert Gadling. Please, do not leave. I rather doubt we will succeed without you.”

"You…" Murphy struggles with the words, the sentiment behind them lodging uncomfortably in his throat. "You have great respect, even love, for Dream of the Endless' memory. So why do you pretend? Why try to fool his siblings that I am him?"

For a moment, Gilbert seems ready to insist, as always, that Murphy is, or at least might be - but, to his credit, he does not play Murphy for a fool, in the end. Not this time. Not like Hob always, always does.

"You are quite correct. I loved His Lordship deeply, in a way that could never be understood by anyone but a dream and their creator." Gilbert sighs, his soft meadow-green eyes gazing far into the distance of better days, lined by old grief. "He made me to be the Heart of the Dreaming, and he was the Dreaming, so I knew his heart and self better than any other. The loss, when he… you cannot imagine it, young friend. I thought I would wither away and die. I thought that would be a mercy. To live as a dream in a universe that does not contain Dream of the Endless seemed entirely unthinkable, and to be quite frank, I did not think I would survive longer than a year at most in the Waking."

"I understand," says Murphy, quietly, and he does. He is no stranger to the feeling of being so untethered, only floating along with the end looming over him, death - not Death, no longer, the Endless have been cast from their domains - only biding its time.

(In the first year he can remember, Murphy did not think he would see another, either.)

"And yet, the year passed. And I lived." Gilbert smiles, faintly, taking off his glasses to polish them. "I suspect it was humanity which saved me, for all that they robbed me of my home and Lord, as well. I found… such joy, in this world. In my human form, wandering among them. Calling a few select individuals friends, even. Young Robert's companionship was a particular blessing, and I owe him more than he can ever know."

He sets the glasses back on his nose.

"Lord Morpheus is dead." Says Gilbert. Says it like fact, like something too absolute for the sort of dream-creature born of hypotheticals he is, like an unshakeable truth he has resigned himself to. His voice only barely breaks over the words. "And I shall grieve him for all the rest of my days… but I must live to mourn him. Life goes on, young friend, and we must all move along with it. And, well. I cannot speak for Robert's motivations, but the true reason why I have agreed to this mad scheme…"

Gilbert takes Murphy's freezing hands in his own. His fingertips are not lined quite right, they would not leave prints that look even remotely like those of a human - but aside from that, his grip is warm, avuncular, firm, reassuring.

"I fear that his siblings will not be able to live on without him." Gilbert confesses, quietly. "They are not made to accept change and move on from a loss as monumental as what humanity has wrought upon them. To have you… not him, not entirely, but perhaps enough… it is my most solemn hope that it might give them some form of closure at long last."

"So that's what it is?" Murphy laughs, bitterly. "Charitable concern for the well-being of personifications of abstract concepts!?"

"No." Gilbert corrects mildly. "Love. For my creator's family."

Murphy scoffs. His chest aches with it.

"What you, hmm. What you must understand, about Lord Morpheus…" Gilbert seems to be choosing his words very carefully. "...is that, for all that he was often harsh and commanding, he was so very loving, always. My Lord loved with all his self, even if he would attempt to turn a cold shoulder to the world - and I think you are much like him in temperament, young Murphy.”

Murphy does not acknowledge that. He doesn't think he can.

“He loved his family, and he loved the Dreaming, and all the beings in it. I was his heart, or near as, you must recall, I knew the truth at the core of him.

Memories or not, love as he did, and you will be a credit to his name, and a comfort to all who knew him."

(Murphy does not have it in himself to love like Dream of the Endless did. He already struggles to love at all.

But perhaps, for the sake of the entity whose memory he will dishonour, he can try.)

“So. Will you come back and resume your lessons?” Gil asks, very gently. “You may leave, now or any other time, of course you may. But it would be to your benefit, as well as to that of many others, if you did not.”

“I’ll stay,” Murphy forces out. He could blame the way his hands shake on the cold. “For now.”

“Thank you, dear child. Thank you.” This time, when Gilbert smiles, it very nearly feels like it is directed at him, after all. “Now, let’s get you out of this cold, hm? And Matthew as well.”

Murphy lets Gilbert herd him back to their inn, sits through Hob Gadling’s apology and wonders if it was sincere - he can never tell, with this infuriating man - and continues to learn as much as possible about the life of Dream of the Endless.

But he’s slowly realising, if anything will convince the Endless siblings, then it certainly won’t be the trivia. He’ll have to learn to love like the Lord of Stories, for their deception to have a snowflake’s chance in hell.

(Oh, wonderful. As if this wasn’t difficult enough already…)

#WyWrites #dreamling #the sandman #anastasia dreamling au #thank you for the ask and sorry it took so long! #maybe at some point i'll go back and also write hob successfully recruiting murphy #but i was a little stuck on that so i skipped the recruitment and wrote this instead #fiddler's green's role in this au is just very interesting to dig into #deception and manipulation is not in his nature and the closest he gets to selfishness is just wanting to live a human life #so why would he agree to help hob with this scheme? #i'm quite pleased with the way i spun it - he really does it out of love and thinks it's ultimately for a good cause #and subconsciously the assurance that gil is doing it out of loyalty rather than as betrayal is very (suspiciously) important to murphy #also very light 1889 meeting parallels with hob and murphy's fight at the start!

[spacedlexi]

speaking of fucked up overly hated female twdg characters i find it Super Interesting how people will say carver was the best villain in the whole series, but when lilly is literally just a successful carver (iron fist leader of a community turning children into soldiers) suddenly shes a bad/lame villain for some reason 🤔

#twdg #hmm im sure this has nothing to do with the fact shes a woman (a woman that a lot of people hated since S1) #AND they gave her a giant boat? thats funny #LIKE if they did originally plan to have kenny be carver in S2 she is LITERALLY JUST THAT IDEA but the woman version of it #also i find it interesting that her speech about larry and the lights is reminiscent of that first convo between shane and rick in the show #i happened to like S1 lilly for the most part and felt her evolution in S4 made perfect sense #she hated being questioned. wanted total authority. ex military and so used to dealing with military types. family/loyalty important to her #which is why her and clem meeting again and clashing heads is so narratively interesting #is this person your family? can you bring them to your side? are they even the same person? when do you let go? #so many themes in S4 mmm yummy #a theme vi/minnie share too #and mitch brings up the sentiment while burning ms martin #but yeah im in the 'lilly was actually the best villain in the whole series' camp i wonder whos in here with me. is it quiet in here #it wouldve been nice to see more of the delta... unfortunately if things needed to be cut its understandable why it was #you dont NEED to know more about the delta than whats been told #but i would like to 😔 #like could we have been given more fleshing out of her character? sure. do we actually NEED it? no #it speaks

[brightpinkpeppercorn]

So everyone just gave up, got a makeover and new wardrobe, and went off to their own lives while the MC was gone for a year?

#damn where is the teamwork! #the loyalty! #choices #playchoices #blades of light and shadow

[thecabinsixwitch]

chb cabin aesthetics: 11/?

👑👰🏻‍♀️ Hera - Cabin 2 💍🦚

Whenever I’m alone with you / You make me feel like I am home again / Whenever I’m alone with you / You make me feel like I am whole again / However far away / I will always love you / However long I stay / I will always love you / Whatever words I say / I will always love you / I will always love you

“Lovesong” - The Cure

(feel free to send me moodboard requests!)

#hera #hera goddess #hera greek mythology #hera aesthetic #cabin two #cabin 2 #camp half blood #chb cabin aesthetic #percy jackson #percy jackson and the olympians #percy jackson & the olympians #pjo #pjo series #pjo hoo toa #percy jackson aesthetic #rick riordan #riordanverse #greek mythology #mythology aesthetic #marriage #motherhood #family #loyalty #queen #queen aesthetic #white and gold #light academia #light acadamia aesthetic #the cure #my moodboards

[blood-orange-juice]

Since I'm going all Lacanian on you anyway.

Every time I get asked whether I think that Childe is going to die, I think of this quote:

"I am not pessimistic. Nothing is going to happen. For the simple reason that man is a good-for-nothing, not even capable of destroying himself. "

In other words, I hope that our boy is so pathetic that he'll fail everything. He'll fail his heroic death. He'll fail bringing about the apocalypse.

He'll glitch through a corruption arc especially spectacularly and will continue to live his silly life none the wiser.

#childe #tartaglia #the abyss is just lacanian Real #if abyss be thy name I pledge to you my loyalty #not a shitpost #this is my genuine hope #he's someone who wanted to be a hero #and is failing to be a hero because life is more complicated than the meaning we try to impose on it #but that's also what will save him in the end #I want to see a story like that #there's a crack in everything #that's how the light gets in

[mwolf0epsilon]

Community Service

Rex, during the commute back to Coruscant: It's so quiet without the 105th troopers around... Jesse: You're saying that like it's a bad thing? Rex: Hm? Oh, no not at all. I just... Got used to expecting even more trouble than usual is all... Jesse: Well, once we get to Coruscant we'll know how they've been getting along with their 'community service' assignment. Rex: Yeah... Fox is keeping tabs on that while also keeping tabs on when we'll finally be able to pick up a massiff for them. I'm a little nervous to find out what the boys have been up to.

-Several Hours after Touch Down on Triple Zero-

Fox, via holocall: Still no word on the massiff pup, Rex. Rex: Oh, yeah I know. You'd leave a message if you had anything new on that front. I just uh, wanted to check on how the 105th veterans were dealing with their current assignment. Fox: ...Well they haven't set the Madam's brothel on fire, if that is what you're worried about. Rex: Fox: They're doing ok Rex. I have some of my boys keeping tabs on the 105th men, and they're excellent as security detail. Seem to be receptive to the Madam's crew, since they're the least threatening people on Coruscant. Rex: And they haven't been... Instigating fights? Fox: Negative. All is well... Although I do hope the 'breeder' comes through soon, because while they seem to be more comfortable with the Madam's crew, I've been informed that they still seem to have issues trusting each other. A pet project like training their own therapy animal should help them bond more readily. Rex: I hope so too... Vode that can't trust other vode are a risk to themselves and others. And after everything they've been through, they deserve to at least be able to trust that they have each other's backs. Fox, somewhat melancholic: Yeah...

#star wars #the clone wars #captain rex #arc trooper jesse #commander fox #this is from before jesse and fives picked up mutt from the shady alleyway #basically after their assessments are done the 105th veterans get assigned some community service to learn to better work with natborns #what better people to learn that than with Coruscant's red light district? the sex workers are in no place to judge nor have power over the #The Golden Ladybug's ladies treat them kindly and thus earn their respect and loyalty #sadly the 105th still has issues trusting each other so that's why muttley is sought out

[skyler10fic]

I would never choose to bring anybody into this.

You are not the only thing standing between this and the universe.

#Very ready for this movie to emotionally fuck me up. Let's go feels! #MY HEART #monica rambeau #carol danvers #captain marvel #photon #auntie carol just wants to protect srgt trouble but bby is all grown up and a superhero in her own right now #AHHHHH #the rain the lighting the sadness the grief the loyalty! #the marvels

[purplink8]

Um...

...are you SURE about that, Misa?

#death note #misa amane #light yagami #Misa's lack of loyalty #mangacaps #musings #p

[bobbole]

I remember waiting for His return

(the Corinthian, "The Kindly Ones")

#before starting his “adventure” in the waking world #the Corinthian awaited the return of Dream #this on the one hand is slightly in contrast to what we see in Overture #on the other hand #it casts a little light on what were the Corinthian's feelings of loyalty and devotion to his Lord before the betrayal #the sandman #the corinthian #sandman comic spoilers

[xxrosebunny]

∘₊✧───♥︎───✧₊∘

#self love #self appreciation #self loyalty #self worth #i love me #self insert #daily affirmations #affirmyourlife #affirmations #affirms #light pink #soft pink #pink #self honesty #law of manifestation #spiritualgrowth #quoteoftheday #life quote #spiritual quotes #daily quotes #beautiful quote #book quote #be confident

[grimalkinmessor]

Ryuk and Light's relationship is so important to me, you don't understand—

I am a staunch 'Ryuk is aro/ace' believer, so it's not about that, but whatever they have is also not anything else more than the other. Like, they're not lovers, they're too close to be acquaintances, too vicious to be friends, too uncaring to be enemies, like,,,,I can't EXPLAIN it but I adore it, it has me by my whole neck.

The way that Light isn't afraid of Ryuk at all, the way that he patiently explains everything he's doing without putting up that Perfect facade of his—because Ryuk is the only one that Light has ever shown all of himself too. The only being that he's ever given bits of himself to freely.

Meanwhile Ryuk is possibly the only being that wouldn't shy away from Light as he truly is. (Barring L but that's a different story and this ain't about him). Light's a little fucking monster and every other person around him wouldn't just roll with it like Ryuk does. His family would either fear him or try to fix him, his peers would likely do the same, and Misa already got a glimpse of him and disregarded it in favor of seeing what she wanted to see—even Rem has reason to be wary of him because of her feelings for Misa (and also the fact that she likely has more humanity in her than Ryuk).

Ryuk sticks by Light's side through all of it. He cares for him, but not in any traditional or even tangible way—why else would he stick around for those five years between L dying and Near and Mello showing up? It HAD to have been boring at some point in those years, but Ryuk just chilled with Light through it instead of killing him/finding something more interesting.

There's a mutual respect there. Their personalities reflect each other enough that they understand each other while also being highly aware of what the other is capable of. There are no soft feelings between them, but they're there. They play video games together and have inside jokes and expect almost nothing from each other even as they play around for their own ends.

Their parallels—"This world is rotten." "I've been bored too."—make them able to intimately understand one another. They're like brothers, like twins, and yet nothing about them is familial.

I have absolutely no clue what their relationship is but it is fascinating.

#ryuk #yagami light #light yagami #death note #its romantic in the sense that it's absolutely not #i imagine this is what the relationship would be between people that grew up in a cult together #like 'idc if you die but i'll stick by you until you do' #there's no loyalty but also there IS do you feel me? #blood brothers or conjoined twins or a fucked up version of soulmates #i dont KNOW its great #character analysis #sorta #relationship analysis #more like a rant but eh #*puts them in a jar and shakes them* #WHAT ARE YOU #and yes im aware that most of this is due to ryuk being a metaphor for the audience #like paul in llamas with hats #but also #it creates SO many interesting situations #ryuk doesnt want light to die but he kills him #ryuk sees all of light and is fucking thrilled by how fucked up he is #light knows that ryuk will eventually kill him but stills plays and talks with him #they are so important to me #i honestly kinda ship them but IDK H O W TO WRITE THIS LIKE #HOW DO I PUT THIS INTO WORDS