You come across the Death Note today. What do you do with it?
For anyone that doesn't know about Death Note it's a fictional notebook from a death god. If you write someone's name in it while picturing thier face they die. You can also manipulate thier actions and method of death to some extent.
You leave Bill Gates alone
Edit: I was going to delete it, but I'll let it stand.
I agree there are no good billionaires, but he's mild in comparison.
My thought is his death doesn't really change anything. Dude retired AGES ago and doesn't have his hand in anything.
I don't care how much positive press he buys, he's on the list. There are no good billionaires.
At least 95% of this wealth is going to donations when he dies and he's not hoarding it like a dragon or burning the world down.
Hoarding it until he dies is still hoarding it.
There are no ethical billionaires because the act of hoarding a billion dollars is inherently unethical. Giving only some of it to charity is not enough to justify how much more damage was done in the first place.
There's an old Indian story about a rich man who gives every beggar he sees a coin, until he has no more coins and is a beggar himself.
How much good did that man do by frittering away his wealth? You're surely familiar with the adage, "It takes money to make money."
Would you have a man like Gates blast out all his wealth, and then be unable to produce more to continue his philanthropy? Would you have him shut down his disease eradication and vaccination programs so as to not be an evil billionaire? Would that somehow clear his conscience? Or would it merely make you feel better?
Some of you have the financial sophistication of sophomores. And by "some", I mean you ![email protected].
How many people did he have to step on to hoard a billion dollars in the first place? I would rather he never have become a billionaire.
There are no ethical billionaires. Full stop.
The problem is he's only making money, even his "charitable" actions are made in the interest of creating an entire environment that is more exploitative by his investments.
He did an AMA on reddit a few years ago, and when asked about his charitable ventures and investments, he mostly just made reference to teams of financiers doing "what they thought was best".
Maybe he's doing what he thinks is best... but that doesn't necessarily mean it is what's best for most people.
Frankly, his money would be best spent lobbying for progressive policies and funding candidates who fight for the working class. Everything else is a staying action at best, and "moral exploitation" at the least.
A billionaire would need to give a coin every second of his life for millions of years to deplete their fortune. The rich man of the story wasn’t rich enough, or was giving much more than a coin.
If that's possible nobody should be able to be rich, because it depends on everyone else being poor. I do agree that if you take care of yourself you can do more good in the world, but the relentless flow of money upward and industry set up to exploit the poor need to be dismantled.
At best he gets 30 days warning.
Well death note only operates within 23 days time period. Which is weak sauce.
Are you talking about definite pedophile bill gates by chance?
Lol. He knows how to get off of the list. If anyone can donate fast enough to outrun a make believe magic book, he can.
You leave Gabe alone
Donald J. Trump - Death by french fry asphyxiation on live TV
DJ Vance - Killed by a falling piece of furniture
Elon Musk - Hit by a Cybertruck in a freak accident
Pete Hegseth - Alcohol poisoning
Robert F Kennedy Jr. - Brain aneurysm live on TV
Kash Patel - shot by an unknown professional hitman
Christy Noem - Hit by a speeding dump truck
Pam Bondi - Electrocuted by a faulty power line near her podium (live, of course)
Linda McMahon - Stone Cold Stunner by a J6'er
Marco Rubio - Smashes face through a plate glass window
Elise Stefanik - Falls out a window
Vladimir Putin - Poisoned by comrade
Benjamin Netanyahu - Islamic extremist knife attack
Kim Jong-un - Slips and falls down some stairs, breaking his neck
Xi Jinpeng - Exposure to toxic honey
I could go on and on, you get the idea...
Strongly disagree with the Netanyahu one. It would make him a martyr and create more problems than it fixes.
Just replace islamic with zionist and you're good
You know, you're absolutely right.
They'd still try to blame Islamic people somehow. Like how all the Jan 6ers were somehow antifa
I'd put Putin and Netanyahu above Trump. Let the hard right see it coming. They would believe it was a coincidence, continue on with Musk. Let them see the circle tighten. Hit Kim Jong-un and Xi to let them know it's not a Western thing.
Roll on with the AfD actors, Nazis be damned. Still not cluing in? Start with the remainder of your list, roll.
Can we do a mass hit on the January 6th rebels? No? OK. Start with Henry “Enrique” Tarrio, 39, of Miami, Florida. And never stop until... Every. Last. Motherfucking. One. Of. Them. Is. Dead.
Spare Trump. Leave him shaking in his high-heeled loafers. Let him live in FEAR.
Haha, this was in no particular order. I mean, if I had Dragonball powers, I'd be razing the entire fucking planet right now.
This guy death notes
Except for the names he spelled wrong. Some unrelated people will die.
Not if they’re picturing the correct person. Writing the wrong name but picturing the correct person will result in no death so as to keep the innocent or same-name people alive. It’s in the rules.
It needs to be his legal name. That’s also addressed in Death Note, where the lead investigator goes by a moniker “L” and can’t be targeted by the Death Note until after Light learns L’s real legal name. Nicknames or incomplete names aren’t enough.
Think you need to have the person face in your mind when writing it so even if people share the name only the one you think about would die.
I see someone read the rules correctly!
This is beautiful.
This list, but everything would be "spontaneous combustion" and happen at the same time.
Let it be an event to behold.
Yeah, to actually affect any real change, it needs to send a message. While freak accidents would make for great memes, they don’t send the “this is a warning; nobody is untouchable. You could be next if you don’t clean up your act” message that will actually cause lasting change.
Freak accidents can be hand waved away. Conspiracy theorists would go wild, but the ruling elites wouldn’t actually change anything. You want something that can’t be explained away as anything but a targeted and coordinated attack.
If you want to send a message, maybe have them all simultaneously choke on a 50 cent coin. It’s common enough that anyone can get their hands on one, but uncommon enough that you basically need to seek them out. That would at least send a “money bad” message. But be sure it’s something consistent, to ensure the message is actually received.
You're hired!
For some unknowable reason, I am reminded of this exchange in an X-Files episode about a psychic who could supposedly predict people's deaths.
Psychic: You know, there are worse ways to go, but I can't think of a more undignified one than autoerotic asphyxiation.
Mulder: Why are you telling me that?
He just got the wrong David, and was thinking of Carradine.
This is absolutely a terrible one.
He should go by polio.
By Death Note rules, it could take too long and revert to a heart attack.
This DJ Vance guy sounds dope. Which clubs is he at?
RIP DJ Vance, poor innocent bystander got got for no reason
Interesting that only one item on your list would start a war. Guess you didn't see enough photos of dead children last year.
Care to elaborate which of these murderers you're referring to? Besides, I'm making a global omelette here. Expect broken eggs.
This is quite psychotic.
Elon Musk, death from asphyxiation being up Trumps ass for too long.
Followed by Trump, death from rectal bleeding.
It would all be on live television.
Followed by RFKJ with a juxtaposition of TB, polio, measles, smallpox, and food poisoning from raw milk.
"How did he die?"
"Believe it or not, every single preventable illness you can imagine. It's the damnedest thing."
The reverse Monty Burns
Performative art. They would be on stage at the next clan rally and say look at this and both be willing participants in the head up ass shoving process.
Write Kissinger's name in it, just to be sure
The first name I write down is my own. For I know what I will do with it, and I know that while I would start with the notion of doing only what i feel must I know i will grow corrupt. On the first page I will write detailed instructions disposing of this book, and then I will sign it, knowing I have literally signed my own death warrant, hoping that my will would be carried out that the book would be encased in a block of cement and buried deep.
Then I will start writing names.
And keep writing names.
Until that last day.
There are many in this world I would see removed from it For my niece's sake. For all our sakes...
There would be no statements. No declarations. There would simply be. Murder, for that is what this is. me deciding that others should be denied their lives. Maybe the world improves with them removed from it. Hard to say. I clearly believe so given what I would be doing.
🫡
You don’t need to hide the book right before you die. The shinigami it belongs to will take it back and presumably leave. They might stick around to give it to someone else but that’s their choice and nothing to worry about in your upcoming purgatory. Even if you did cement it and bury it where no human will ever find it, the shinigami can just phase through and grab it any time.
Well that is their affair. I am simply ensuri ng people can't get to it between now and then.
This wouldn't stop future assholes.
No, but there is a limit to what any mortal man could do. I could become a tyrant, but as kira learned. that has limits and i do not live in a world where people would fall over themselves to make mistakes in my favor.
I would do what I could, and then stare the shinigami in the eye as the hourglass runs out.
I would also do what i could but i find it depressing that, honestly, this is what we (humans) are. Greed is deep in our core and i don't think we will ever beat it.
A man will betray a thousand of his own kin to get ahead of everyone else and another would do the same just to lick his boots.
Nice try FBI
Pull an epic prank and make it look like a guest book somewhere.
Dozens of people die
"It's just a prank, bro!"
My b. "Social Experiment"
Write my name in it so I don’t forget it’s mine
A lot of people in the comments here are taking the high ground. "I wouldn't use it. I'm not a killer. I'm better than that."
But by not using it you are even more of a killer. This is a trolley problem. If you pull the right switch one evil psychopathic murderer dies, if you don't pull the switch thousands of their innocent victims die. If you have the power to make that decision then the responsibility for the deaths falls on your shoulders, whether it's one death or thousands.
So yeah, I'd use it. I'd start at the top of the psychopathic killer list and move down. I doubt I'd have to wonder when to stop. There are so many. But once they got the message I'd be more moderate and only use it when necessary.
I don't fully disagree but that was exactly Kira's thinking lol (at least at the start)
Kira/Light was thinking small. Targeting criminals already in jail is just vengeance. With a death note you have the power to reshape global politics and even all of society. Psychopaths/sociopaths often rise to top positions in business and government because they are good at deception, ruthless, and can shield themselves from the consequences of their actions. And from there their capacity to do harm to others can be immense. Luigi not only understood this, he had the courage of his convictions.
Heh, maybe I'd give the death note to Luigi.
This is one response I was looking for. Someone put some thought behind it.
The deaths would need some spectacle and consistency to send a message. That could probably be arranged but I wonder what method would be the most effective.
Maybe if you used "electrocuted by a bolt of lightning" or "turned into a pillar of salt" or some other widely recognized form of divine retribution. That may be enough to distract investigators and throw them off your scent. But if not you are just revealing information that will lead the investigators right to you.
I think it would be a pretty strong message if Trump's plane crashed as a direct result of his attacks on DEI stuff
This is a smooth brain take. We are not omniscient. Admitting we cannot know the consequences of our actions and refusing to kill people extra judicially is not murder or evil.
What do you think of the police response to the Uvalde school shooting? Was it justified for them to stand around and wait while Salvador Ramos was killing other students inside? Maybe they should have just asked him nicely to stop? What about Steven Paddock in Las Vegas? Or Omar Mateen in Orlando? Would you have stood by and watched while they were shooting people? Would you have thought "I can't know how this will turn out so I'm going to let them continue." Or, assuming it's the only way to stop them, would you have killed them to save a large number of innocent lives?
To make it even more clear, Omar Mateen started the trolley rolling. Would you pull the track switch so it runs over Omar Mateen? Or would you stand by and watch as it runs over 50 innocent people?
This is a hypothetical question unrelated to whether you could do anything about it with a 'death note' book. I'm just curious to hear your thoughts.
And just so you know, you can make your point without insulting someone.
Police attacking active shooters is obviously different than vigilante justice.
I wonder how many names you have to write before you're at the top of the psychopathic killer list
"Kolanaki. Death by snu-snu."
Failed. Not possible to fulfill.
Dies of heart attack.
TIL I am impervious to rough sex. Bring it on lads and ladies. 😤
Dude. Bro's saying you're never getting laid.
Refresh. I threw him a bone.
You forgot the details!!
Kolanaki goes to a bar. There's a group of young attractive women having a "girls night out." Two women notice him. They both discuss who's taking him home for a fun night. Decide to make him choose blatantly.
Women approach. "If you had to pick one of us to turn inside out tonight who'd you pick?"
Kolanaki says "Both." With a smirk full of confidence. The women both glace at each other and smirk back.
He never wakes up from that night.
HA. Love it.
So in other words the post is, "Who would you kill if you could totally get away with it?"
If that's how you want to see it.
I was browsing popular anime and saw Death Note and just felt like seeing what people respond with.
I have my own thoughts and expectations of myself but wanted to see what others would do.
So far only one person would kill for direct personal gain. Most would kill for "betterment" of a nation. The greater good so to speak.
Murder is still murder.
What about killing in a war? Is that murder?
What about killing to stop/prevent war?
Where do people draw the line. It seems like anonymous strangers here are more willing to end a life to "save lives."
When people work out their anger issues with violent fantasies they want to feel the noble glow of an Avenging Angel of Justice. [cue sunbeams and choir]
Is it murder though, just wishing someone would die?
If you know for certain it's going to come true do you still wish it?
Nothing. I'm already murdering the exact amount of people I want to which is none.
Sounds like your job is done!
I’d destroy it (if possible; I haven’t read all the rules), probably by burning. Such power would inevitably corrupt me, and the temptation to use it could become so great that merely hiding it (but keeping it intact) wouldn’t be sufficient. I’d also worry about it falling into worse hands than mine.
Just don't get high in thinking it's your power and gloat. That was Light's problem he was too full of himself and wanted the world to know he is in control. It's not the ring and actively whispers you into bad decisions making.
The death note cannot be destroyed, not even by burning. It can only be relinquished willingly or by the owner dying.
I don't know anything about this 'death note'. All I know is that people drown in their own bath tubs every day. Even rich and powerful people.
Also they added me to their will for some reason... Weird.
Let’s just say “death by spiders in butthole” would be a very common thing for the next few days.
Make my claim on the notebook by writing my name on the first page
Dies of heart attack in 6 minutes.
Many who live deserve death. Many who have died deserve life. Can you give it to them? Do not be so eager to deal out death in judgment.
I'd put it in a box and drop it in a river.
"Some ask what right do i have kill them, those that know their nature will ask, what right do I have to let them live?"
Some people are just legit evil. Ever see drowning Moana? Whole town celebrated her death.
Throwing that away would risk someone unhinged like Light gets it. Better someone who isn't getting off to being a god on borrowed powers.
Yeah but I'm also pretty sure Gandalf was down with killing Sauron
Don't do that. Don't give me hope.
Question, do you have to write a person's legal name or do you think it'll understand "Crypto Hitler"?
You have to use the target's real name. This is why Light couldn't just kill "L", being known only by a pseudonym kept him safe.
Also why he couldn't kill Columbo
Per the rules as written I'm going to say no. A person would have to go by a written name at the very least.
Has to be their real name. In the case of those who had their names legally changed that's something I'm not sure if the rules addressed.
Eh fuck it. "*". Kill everyone I can picture people so idk worth a shot?
Death by lightning strike would be a lot more common.
Step 1: Anonymous blackmail of oil companies ceos. Step 2: Profit
Ohh and probably take out Putin and Xi.
How. Post public messages via tor. And demand payment to a Monero address.
Then all u gotta do is not get flagged for living above your means.
Put it on the shelf with the other one
I've got some research to do and some very thoughtful application of this powerful, dangerous tool. I know where I'm starting though. In Minecraft.
Nice try, officer
Burn it. Sure there are people that need to die but I don't want any risk anyone else gets access to this even at the expense of letting evil people live.
Nice try, NSA
Didn't this exact question get asked somewhat recently? I'd hang out with a cool ghost.
Go to a casino and have him help with blackjack or poker. Pay him with apples.
The world could legitimately be made so much better
Just don't lose sight of the goals. Light was a cautionary tale.
I would pull that lever so fucking hard. That amount of responsibility would basically take over and ruin my life, even if they never caught me
I go on with my life. Death note has no power over me.
Mosquito
i'll offer random people a chance to write a name to it as a form of anger- / hatred- / stress-relief. not much details will be discussed apart from this one chance to write the name of someone you think deserves some ill-fated luck. most likely cause of death here will be sleep-induced.
Watch Death Note, and do whatever the main character doesn't because I'm pretty sure he gets caught
Netanyahu. Executed for crimes against humanity.
I wouldn't use it. It feels like cheating, moreso if I cause anything undesirable like the death of the wrong person or the downfall of a beneficial organization because the dead individual had some major unsung good they contributed.
Interesting response for someone with your username
But I agree. I would probably use it as voluntary euthanasia tool for painful incurable disease/condition.
Isn't the method of death of victims of the Death Note a heart attack? That sounds rather uncomfortable for a form a euthanasia.
IIRC, heart attack is the "default" way if the cause of death is not specified, so supposedly I can write that Jane Doe dies peacefully in her sleep.
Kira's downfall was his ego. So the user of the Death Note should be a selfless person, thinking about what the impact of this tool is on humanity and whether it can be used (and if so, how) for the betterment of humanity.
There are a number of ways...
You didn't answer the question.
You find the death note. What do you do next?
I never said I was free from a flawed ego. I might test out the name of a personal enemy, someone whose death I would hear about but not someone who would be on the news. Then, from there, it'd be easy to wield a strong sense of justice against those who have committed irrevocable harms and have gotten away with it.
Burn it. I'd like a Life Note though. To write a few names there just in case. Not decided if mine will be among them.
That's pretty fucked up considering you'd probably write about someone you know but wouldn't wish harm on.
The rules are on the inside cover so I'd assume most people would check there for ownership and see its a death thing.
That’s exactly what Light did in the anime. But anyone who touches the Death Note gains the ability to see the gods of death that normally hold the book. So Light believed it was a joke or a prop until the god of death introduced himself.
Well that's a fresh take.
Find nice bound notebook with good paper. Random RP inside. Keep cool book. Use as diary...
How many people die before you realise? I'm guessing two or three.
Write my name in the book. You're welcome world!
remember you get to say how you die and I always wanted to be sexed to death by a group of beautiful women.
Death by snu-snu got taken
The Death Note doesn't control the actions of anybody except the people named in the note, and if the condition cannot be fulfilled then they simply die of a heart attack.
So you'd have to be a truly terrible person to make that one happen.
I mean even if the note did control people wouldn't you still be a truly terrible person?
Idk. A magic death god notebook is pretty high concept
You can write yourself into the state of doing it man, you can write that you think of nothing but this goal for months on end before you finally figure out the means.
I guess you could then infer my comment to mean that they were the type of person who wouldn't be able to achieve such a goal, even with your conditions.
Certainly I wouldn't be the sort to write such a comment!
BTW IIRC, the Death Note can only control people's actions for a limited time. Something like 20 or 24 days.
Idk, some of the planning when light kills the FBI agents seemed to be pretty elaborate, I'm sure there's a time limit, but I don't remember how long.
Write everyone at works name in it except me>even my brothers> Owner will have no choice but to promote me>profit
You realize you can pick a target, make them withdraw all the cash they can from their bank accounts and load up a duffle bag at a drop site for you to grab. Then go home and die in their sleep... Or a car accident.
Didn't need to take out your own brother for a promotion.
Nah I'd rather take him out
Ol' Dorky D has principals, I suppose.
Nothing. Anyone who uses the Death note cannot go to heaven or hell. That would basically confirm the existence of heaven and hell. My understanding is that heaven is infinite. Nothing in this finite world would be worth risking infinity in paradise. I would take it, chat with a god of death, ask many questions, and then decline.
::: spoiler Death Note ending spoilers The real reason the Death Note user can't go to heaven or hell is because there is no heaven or hell to begin with. Ryuk was just trolling Light when he told him that's the price to use the Death Note.
So not using it won't actually save your soul, because all souls become nothingness in the end no matter what. :::
Then do what? You still have it in your hands.
take it to the bathroom and read it while taking a shit and then tear out pages to wipe my ass
I will do "The Perfect Sucide" but after writing some rich person name.
Backpack full of C4 blows up while skydiving over the ocean? Nice
Naah, mass killing of everyone who know my existence. Now, including you ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡° )
Wie my own name in it.
Kill you