Name: L Lawliet Aliases: Eraldo Coil, Danuve, Ryuuzaki, Hideki Ryuuga, et al. Fandom: Death Note Date of Birth: 31 October 1979 Age: 25 Occupation: Detective Room: S-608 Roommate:Jack Russell
APPEARANCE
Height: around 5'10.5". Appears a few inches shorter due to a habitual stoop. Weight: Canon is 110 (est.), but 130-140 is a more realistic estimate. Skin: Pale, sallow: that of an insomniac who doesn't get out much. Hair: Black. Thick, shoulder-length, and a bit messy. Health: Surprisingly good, with decent stamina, considering his sleep debt. Ethnicity: Mixed. 3/4 Anglo-European, 1/4 Japanese, identifies as English. Features: Large dark eyes with dark circles, pointed chin, high, full cheekbones, thin lips, fine nose. Clothing: Long-sleeved, loose white tee with an open neck; baggy jeans. Does not wear socks or shoes if possible. If shoes are necessary, then old sneakers.
PERSONALITY
L is a peculiar mix of self-denial and self-indulgence. He loves his work enough that little attention is paid to the sort of distractions that might derail someone else. Where other people might read or watch a film, he'll study case files and news sources. Where they might listen to music, he would prefer not to be distracted. Relationships? He's too busy, and even if he weren't, other people aren't that interesting in and of themselves. He finds his work intensely fulfilling.
In other words, he's a workaholic: his career IS his life, absent most normal human ties, and taking time off isn't enjoyable for long. He fell into his calling at an early age, as a child prodigy. He is competitive, and he loves puzzles: he sees his work as an interesting hobby.
He rewards himself for his hard work by eating whatever he wants -- a diet of desserts and fruit -- and staying in the best hotels, which have largely been his home for over a decade. Otherwise, though his skills have made him wealthy, he is not materialistic. He has few personal effects, past the equipment he uses in his work.
He picks and chooses cases. It isn't about defending the weak or balancing the scales of justice, though he finds that reputation convenient -- and maybe sometimes it is about those things, but he probably wouldn't admit that to himself. Instead, he pursues what interests him, an interest that is strengthened if the case has stumped other investigators.
He will take daring action to solve a case, sometimes doing things that others would consider beyond the pale (illegal surveillance, mild torture in interrogation, etc: the placement of surveillance devices and the actual torture are delegated, but he observes). However, he will not take pre-emptive action in a case until a crisis point. An air-tight closure to his case is more important than saving lives.
For reasons of personal safety, and possibly also to protect his image, L has lived in some form of hiding or other for 12 years. Few people know him as L.
Emotional expression: He has the whole gamut of normal emotions, but is not usually performative of them. If he does express an emotion like surprise or fear or embarrassment, he will almost always cover it quickly. Outwardly, he seems aloof, sometimes dry and sarcastic, with a flat affect.
Speaking style: Usually calm, educated, and slightly formal: he occasionally says very impolite things in a polite tone.
Languages: English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Russian, Mandarin, and Japanese, though he is not fluent in all of them: he knows what he needs to know.
Best qualities: Intelligence. He's good at making connections, working through things, mentally processing available evidence. He can keep calm in the face of a crisis; in fact, he does some of his best work under pressure. He's also creative and imaginative. He has an extraordinary work ethic.
Worst qualities: L is manipulative and paranoid, a skilled liar, and in the day-to-day, he doesn't care very much about most other people.
This is a detached, clinical indifference, not cruelty or sadism: he does care if someone is alive or dead, but he isn't someone you'd want to come to with the problems of everyday life. The solution to your dilemma is obvious to him, and you're wasting his time; please concentrate on more important matters.
That said, he may listen, in an unemotional and uninvolved way, and even give good advice, if he thinks he stands to gain something from it (your trust? dirt on you? etc). But unless you make it onto the very short list of people he actually cares about, he has no genuine interest in anything as unimportant as your feelings (or, usually, his own). They aren't relevant unless they'll help him with his work.
He is a sore loser. The flip side of his work ethic is obsessive tendencies.
On that note, he tends to second-guess himself. He is intellectually arrogant, but maybe not as much so as he lets on; he possesses a degree of humility. Like other INTPs, he wants data to fit a hypothesis perfectly, and worries about missing a piece that will change the bigger picture. (In Death Note canon, especially the manga, this second-guessing costs him his life.)
RELATIONSHIPS
RESOURCES
"RYUUZAKI"
other aliases: L, Hideki Ryuuga, etc. gender & age: M/25 blurb: That will be enough for now. ★
