[TrisakAminawn]

I've told you, Zero, don't be simpleminded, now. L is not extraordinarily good, but he didn't think like Light. What Light did would not have seemed like the appropriate course to him. His modus operandi was 'bring things to light,' you know? If he was like Light, he could have gotten rid of him as soon as he thought he was Kira. Saved himself (and he knew he was in danger) and protected the world, etc. He had the money and connections to quietly hire a hit man. Of course, that was largely for his own satisfaction, because he can't live with himself if he doesn't solve puzzles really properly, but it still shows how different he was from Light. If nothing else, remember that he doesn't act until he's sure he's right, and you can't kill on the scale Light did if you always make sure to ascertain guilt in every instance.

And he wouldn't kill people who are already convicted and imprisoned, because that would be a waste of time. Also note he was not drawn to power on the same scale Light was, because if he had wanted to he could have been controlling a lot of people for quite a long time, with his recognized brilliance. Where Light wants 'to rule,' L wants 'to be independent.' You need a certain measure of power for that, and sometimes to get the job done you need to add subordinates or associates, but it's not the same kind of domination Light prefers.

Besides, he doesn't like it when people die. He was really sad about the FBI agents. He shook all over when Ukita got himself killed (well, Misa murdered him, really) in volume three. He gets over these things fairly quickly, but he doesn't forget about them. He takes death more seriously than Light.

The only reason Light could do what he did was that the lives he was taking weren't real to him, and he felt himself more important than anyone else. L's psyche is fairly childish in some ways, but never that bad.

[dia_de_luz]

He might want to but I don't think L is like that.

[ZERO PHOENIX]

Unlike Trisak, I would like to look at an aspect of L. L, Light, Penler's Fiance, and other characters have noted that there are many similarities between L and Light. Also, there is just something about the DEATH NOTE, something about power that draws people to use it.

In that episode where L and the rest of the investigators were speaking to Rem, L wanted to test the DEATH NOTE after they were discussing the rules. Granted he said that it was to see whether or not the 13 day rule was valid. Granted, that could be the truth but it can also be his excuse to use the power and to kill. I just want us all to think about this.

Most are willing to bash Light because his goal of creating a new world, or using the DEATH NOTE might be selfish right? Perhaps. But it would be the same with L. L might use the DEATH NOTE first to "test" the validity of the rules but really, that will only be a lie. Some might be getting ready to grab their torches and storm my abode so let me add this then. L might indeed be testing the DN, but eventually, it would "take" hold of him and he would be just as corrupt as Light. No doubt certain members still have their torches ready, but to the majority of you I just want us to understand this. The DN changes people. Power changes people.

Since you are so quick to target me Trisak, let me see you argue this. Ryuk has stated that every human who has come into contact with the DN has met an unfortunate end. Now then, there is no telling how many humans have gotten their hands on the DN throughout the ages but nothing good every comes from the DN being dropped into the human world. So before you get ready to hold L as a saint, do you think his case would be any different?

Sorry for my brief detour everyone but that is what I am trying to stress. Some might think that I am bashing L and defending Light but I am trying to keep things in perspective. Power corrupts the weak. In addition, there have never been any happy endings for those who have used the DN and Ryuk attests to this. So if L did get his hands on the note, we would see the roles reversed. Light would be the "good guy" trying to stop L and L would be the one some would be bashing.

That is part of the symbolism in the opening. When L and Light are facing off, both are atop these sky-scraping looking structures. Both L and Light are capable of falling a great distance into utter destuction. All factors can be manipulated by one single element; the DEATH NOTE. There are many similarities between L and Light, the only real difference is the DN which, by being an extension of power, brings out the worst of the weak. If L had the DN, he would be no different than Light is now.

[TrisakAminawn]

Hah, Zero, calm yourself. You keep proving that you don't read my posts very carefully. I know you're in love with Light, but don't assume anyone who isn't adores L. I said he would use it as a weapon. He would certainly use it. He isn't a saint. He isn't even nice. But he does have a purpose in life. Light didn't.

Remember what else Ryuk said? No one else has ever before done what Light did. It is not an obvious course just because you are brilliant and selfish. Why would L do that? Mount a bloody crusade with none of the evidence he likes so well? Here's a more likely course for his destruction, should he be destroyed: after he at first just used it in crisis situations. Like the hostage situation Light started with. Then, fairly gradually, he started using it more and more often, to get people he had made sure were guilty but couldn't nail. Not as fast as Light, because he likes solving things and proving them and catching people by his own efforts, and unlike Light he has a chance to, but fairly steadily. Then people his evidence wasn't enough to convict in court. Then more people, until it became a habit, and he stopped solving his puzzles properly because there was, after all, the Note. So after a number of years, he would have stopped being himself, and he would feel it. For all I know, he might well kill himself.

So if doom is inevitable, that is how it would probably happen. The opposite direction from Light, in a way. The thing is, L keeps a much more careful eye than Light on his own motives and responses, so his insanity just couldn't be as dramatic. I don't think the Note has a curse worked into it against the bearer, though. I think the point is that it is only power, crude power, too crude to make anything better, but so vast that it's incredibly tempting, and with just that power any human there is will destroy themself. If there's a real curse on it, then most of the drama in Death Note loses its meaning, at least the meaning it had to me.

[halfdemonL]

Zero, I have to disagree. Yes, I will not deny that Light and L have many similarites, but there are still a few major differences between the two, one of which being their thought processes. L thought through things much more carefully and saw other options better than Light did. Also take into consideration that L's job, his life, was to bring criminals to justice. He lived responsibly and hated those who were unrighteous. He would never succumb to his own feelings and consider killing petty criminals just.

[ZERO PHOENIX]

HalfDemonL, you I must agree with in this case. You brought to light an interesting argument which reminded me of Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness. The two main characters (Marlow and Kurtz) are both more or less in the same situation but even the most minute differences in their personalities prevents Marlow from falling completely into darkness, unlike Kurtz who gave in completely to his savage nature. I agree with your argument.

[TrisakAminawn]

^^ Yay, Hanma. Love your avatar, by the way. You're quite right. I said some of that, and then some more that I think was equally valid, and in fact less complimentary toward L, so how do you get Zero to listen to you?

(PS, Zero, you called me out specifically, so can you at least reply to my post?)

[ZERO PHOENIX]

I'm about through with you. If you weren't such a pompous ass you would know that I am not dealing with your pettiness. If you are genuinely interested in what I have to say, then why don't you try asking me like a human being? Harsh words invite anger Trisak. I have no problem answering your posts or any questions you might have. But talk like you have some sense, ask as though you had humility. You would do well to acquire both. Everyone else, I do apologize for this ongoing silliness. Trisak will do as he or she will, I however will take the highroad. Let us all share in the philosophy, the experience of DEATH NOTE.

[TrisakAminawn]

Hehehehehehe...okay, oh-ji-sa-ma. Have it your way. Live happily along the river in Egypt.

I apologize too, of course, if anyone minds that I've addressed Zero directly. (Which is all I've done on this thread, as far as I know...Zero's frothing, but so far I've avoided it. I said some good stuff, too. Come on, give my posts some love? )

So, do you think you're up to respond to what I said about L, and about Light's motivations? If it won't be too much of an injustice upon your valuable time?

[WolvenLordSoulReaper]

Here's my take on the issue.

#1: l is far from infallible. Many times, by his own admission, we see him as petulant and selfish. And that is exactly why he would never have been driven down the exact same path as Light. Light was selfish too. The thing which separates them is the personal ambitions which drove them to the pinnacle of madness!!

Both men wanted desperately to use the DeathNote to achieve their selfish, self-serving ends. In Light's case, what started as a desire to see criminals severely punished and ended up becoming a quest to rule the world. He also could not admit that he was selfish n so doing. He essentially projected himself as 'guiltless among the guilty'. Pride, which 'goeth before destruction' was Light's Achilles Heel.

Somewhere along the line, I envision L as the type of kid who made a lot of mistakes. Just from a profiling P.O.V. it's about the only thing that explains his persistence in double checking himself, as well as those around him. This leads to L's extremely selfish Achilles Heel; L would have used the DeathNote in rare instances, to be sure... but as a tool it would be the least used item in his inventory, as it were. The reason for this is simple... L always has to be right!! And as powerful as the DeathNote is, the mere reliance thereupon would hamstring L's conceited pride. If the DeathNote is driving the car, l isn't and that galls the living tar out of him. Like Light, L is extremely arrogant; Light's bravado is extroverted, L's is introverted. Light needs an audience to display his magnitude, L seeks only his own approval, and thereby abides by his own rules.

Day/Night; Fire/Water; Yin/Yang. Each necessary for the existence of the other, each so dangerous when in close proximity to the other... the Clairvoyant Enigma of life, if you will... that is the secret of the DeathNote...

(And yes, more than likely the D.N. has an extremely corrupting influence, so does a loaded gun. But to me the difference between Light and L can best be summed up by the stereotypical duality presented in many A-Stereotypical gunslinger movies. Light is the brash cocky gunfighter who's always looking for that next shoot-out, whose finger is tempered enough to kill a man, but never tempered enough to keep the hammer from dropping in the first place. The one who wants to show up the experienced gunslinger , and get a trophy notch in his belt.

L is the worn weathered gunslinger who knows what's goin' on in the kid's head 'cause he used to be that kid, and tries to impart the pertinent knowledge of a life of regret onto the kid, so he don't make his mistakes. If he can't do that, then against all better judgment (i.e., his hand is forced, he's more than willing to give the kid a proper burial... with a gun in each hand.

And while L himself didn't quite get that chance, Light was defeated by yet another stereotypical Hollywood gunslinger model... the gun you carry is the one that takes you out!!:-) (My own. You like?:-)