Application ||Syndemic

[deneuve]

History

Born on October 31st, 1979, absolutely nothing is revealed about L’s life up until the point where he is ushered into an orphanage in Winchester, England by Quillish Wammy at a very young age. There is also nothing in canon which alludes to the explanation as to why he decided to become a detective or the initial actions and events that led to him eventually holding the title of the world’s greatest detective.

What is known is that by the time he is introduced, he has the ability to put forth the use of any and all investigative forces in the world. Three of his known aliases are Rue Ryuuzaki (first introduced in the event described below), Eraldo Coil, and Deneuve. It is mentioned by Mello that he acquired the latter aliases (also referred to as detective codes) by overcoming the individuals who originally held those names.

The first case that he takes on that is both revealed and explained in detail (documented by his successor, Mihael Keehl) is the Los Angeles BB Murder Case, (also referred to as the Wara Ningyo murders)in which he finds himself pinned against a former successor of his gone awry. He is said to officially have taken action on the case on August 14th, 2002, during which he employed the assistance of F.B.I. agent Naomi Misora in the task of overcoming his successor in what ended up being a game of cat and mouse, with Misora serving as L’s proxy.

The entire case only lasted about a span of a month, and came to a conclusion when, in an attempt to outwit him by destroying his own body, Beyond Birthday attempted suicide via fire and was subsequently captured by Misora.

Nothing is known of L’s activities between then and 2004, when he commenced his investigation on the Kira case, in which thousands of criminals, both incarcerated and awaiting trial, were mysteriously dying with no known physical contact. It was the first and only case which forced him to show his face. Before then, he was only a letter on a screen to both his employers and his suspects.

Early on in the investigation, he suspected one, Light Yagami, who he later invited to join the investigation team in order to keep a closer eye on him. Though the lack of physical evidence prevented him from making a conviction, it never wavered in his mind that Light was indeed Kira, the person responsible for the killings and global uproar which resulted from them.

It was later revealed that the killings were made possible by an item called the Death Note, which allowed the user to end someone’s life simply by writing their name in its pages. This was L’s first and only encounter with dealings of a supernatural nature.

Unfortunately, he was overcome by Kira at the pinnacle of his investigation, when he was only days away from testing a certain rule in the notebook that would have confirmed Yagami’s guilt. His name was written into the notebook by a Shinigami and L Lawliet died on November 5th, 2004, only six days after his 25th birthday.

On public record, he solved over 3,500 cases during his life.




Personality

If someone were going to describe L’s personality, dual explanations would be required. The first would be the ruse he puts on during the Kira investigation in the presence of officers and Light Yagami, his main suspect throughout the investigation. The case predominately took place in Japan, where he openly displayed habits that were considered “weird” by the Japanese. His posture was terrible, he mumbled when he spoke—basically came one step short of playing stupid, only because completely playing stupid would have discredited his abilities as a detective. He did, at times, do just that. And when he does decide to play dumb, he does it with such blatant obviousness that it can almost be considered done solely to mess with the other person. The signs of him doing this are obvious to anyone who studies him closely: he takes on a wide-eyed, curious stare. He touches his finger to his lip and exhibits obliviousness to the subject at hand that would only be acceptable for an uncultured, uneducated child.


L studies his audience before he acts. If he can find a way to throw them off: he will.

He likes to show pseudo-vulnerability in order to give certain people a false sense of security. (Such as telling Light he is the first friend he’s ever had in an attempt to not gain his trust, but taunt him. He even went so far as pretending to be a fan of Misa’s (The second Kira—his main target’s accomplice, who was a famous Japanese pop-idol.) This works to his advantage on more than one occasion and is a further example of his manipulative nature.


Everything that he displays publicly is the result of carefully studying human responses and seeking to emulate a compound of scenarios that would produce desired effects. It is very unlikely that he became not only the top, but the world’s top three detectives through the use of honesty and conventional methods.

He plays dirty. His moral high-ground exists as a self-serving device that he deviates from frequently. He is self-righteous, sometimes to a fault, gluttonous, spoiled to the point where he will become his version of ornery if something does not fit his specifications. This is usually shown via passive-aggressive methods and offhanded comments meant to insult in a condescending manner.


One of L’s main drives behind his persistence is that he is an extremely sore loser (which he admits to). This is shown time and time again when it appears that his opponent during the course of canon, Light Yagami, just might outsmart him. He puts his team in danger, though keeps them under the false assumption that they are protected (fake identities, etc.,) all to capture Kira, which he is not doing for the sake of the world, but for his own selfish conquest.

He also becomes annoyed when he grows bored, and will not hesitate to passively amuse himself at someone else’s expense via banter laden with challenges and insults. If someone calls him on his bullshit, he will innocently deny it without regard to whether or not the denial is believable. It’s something that he does well and often, though anyone with half of a mind should be able to see right through it. Just another form of taunting.


The fact that L only takes top-priority cases shows that he feels no obligation towards true justice, and leans more towards things that interest him. (Such as murder cases with a body count of ten or more, or if there is a million dollars or more at stake.) It can, at times appear otherwise due to his actions benefiting others who choose to employ him. It is arguable, however.





L is very skilled in deductive reasoning, employs his knowledge of various methodologies with everything he seeks to analyze and understand, and has an overwhelming curious nature that, if applied to certain situations, can come off as him being extremely nosy. He’s also a bit of a voyeur, in the purest sense.


The paranoia with which he approaches everything is both subtle and necessary, and is often disguised as the previously stated curiosity. If something interests L, he will ask a lot of questions, in order to have a broader line on which to judge the situation.

He comes across as very emotionally detached and this may be the case, but it is more likely that he is only studying the physical cues and emotional reactions of those around him in order to predict their potential reactions, that he may then act accordingly.

He tends to keep to himself, except when it suits him to be otherwise, and though it may appear that he is intently focusing on whatever task is consuming him, he is also most likely keenly aware of his surroundings.

He seeks to prove everything with concrete evidence, which is something that may hinder him, to an extent. All theories must be backed up and tested until they are proven as fact. He deals in percentages when speaking of possibilities, but his percentages are almost always wildly understated and complete bullshit.


Above all, he is extremely arrogant and condescending. If he chooses to employ a particular method, it is because he has weighed all of the possibilities and perceived outcomes and has deemed this method to be the most logical and effective. He does not like when his methods are challenged, especially by those he considers to be less intelligent than himself. (Which is pretty much everyone)


If you are lucky enough to gain L’s trust and respect, he will prove to be an invaluable ally. The opposite? Be prepared to engage with a relentless opponent. Or be completely ignored. It depends on how high someone ranks on his chart of current and potential importance.


Appearance/PB: http://deneuve.dreamwidth.org/icons <-

First Person Sample: http://scorched.livejournal.com/614473.html

(Diff journal name, but precedent_agent is my L over on LJ)

http://scorched.livejournal.com/643214.html

http://kannagara-net.livejournal.com/106678.html?thread=3871926#t3871926