Summary: The characters enjoy their beloved snacks and contemplate why they like them. Featuring moments of Light and potato crisps, Ryuk and apples, Mello and chocolate, and L and various sweets.
Rating: General Audiences
Genres: Um…slight character analyses? Crack drabbles?
Disclaimer: The characters and their food addictions are not mine.
Relationships with Food in Death Note
Light Yagami (alias Kira) and Potato Chips
Light Yagami preferred to present himself to the world as a clean-cut role model, but in private he didn't mind getting his hands dirty. He stuck his hand into the bag, unworried about the grainy residue that clung to his fingers as pulled out a morsel; he could wash them afterwards to remove evidence of his messy vice.
Slowly and methodically, the brunet took one potato chip at a time, biting it in half to enjoy the sound of it snapping helplessly between his teeth before finishing and getting another. The genius couldn't enjoy anything that was too easy, thus he relished how the food fought back: Salt dehydrated his body, seasoning burned his lips, and sharp edges of half-eaten crisps jabbed the soft cheeks inside of his mouth. In the end, Light emerged victorious and devoured his prey.
Once Light's appetite was satisfied, he grew bored and crumpled the bag to cast it into the trash, heedless of whatever crisps remained because they were no longer of use to him. He could acquire more when desire struck him. Kira always got what he wanted.
L Lawliet (alias Ryuzaki) and Sweets
As a child, L couldn't relate to his peers. Their simple hobbies held no appeal for him. He could, however, understand the way they coveted the consumption of any sugary food. Ensuring he tried all desserts meant he had something of mutual interest to discuss with his cohorts. Solving cases removed L from other children even further. The young detective was pleased his mind was finally engaged, but felt lonely. Additionally, the crimes he worked on tended to be vicious and dark. Sweet and brightly-decorated treats were comforting, familiar company.
The eccentric played with edibles as if they were friends. He individually examined each one, holding and sniffing, to appreciate their unique properties of scent, flavor, and consistency. He toyed with them by arranging them in stacks and teased them by tickling them with the tip of his tongue. L was an equal opportunist. There was merit to the way ice cream gradually melted as it grew warmer on his tongue, soft donuts squished between his fingers, brittle pocky crunched against his teeth, sticky gummies slithered down his throat, and sugar-filled tea swished around to fill every recess of his mouth with warmth.
Of course, even the most unbiased, logical minds have preferences and L was no exception. He liked strawberry shortcake best because the seeming innocence of the light, fluffy pastry contrasted sharply with the tartness of the berry. It wasn't predictable and its layers kept L intrigued.
Ryuk and Apples
Shinigami were Gods of Death, hence they existed without being truly alive themselves. The entities' absence of life meant their Realm lacked life as well. There was no color, music, or tang. Everything was dull and barren. Boring, as Ryuk was wont to say.
The Human World burst with living creatures and stimuli. Ryuk's sensory-deprived body easily became enthralled and dependent on aspects of it; apples were the most prominent of these addictions. Their crimson skin gleamed in the light and their fruity aroma wafted in the breeze. Ryuk sank sharp teeth into them without hesitation, producing a crunch which signaled successfully breaking through to the softer, paler flesh beneath the crispy scarlet layer. Juice exploded from the wounded area and oozed into the Shinigami's eagerly waiting orifice. Ryuk knew little of humans' concepts of Heaven, but found the sweet saturation to be divine after centuries of dryness within the Shinigami Realm.
Not knowing when he would be forced to depart from the interesting Human World again, Ryuk devoured apples rapidly and greedily whenever he got his clawed hands on one. His gluttonous appetite was never satisfied. Ryuk always wanted more.
Mihael Keehl (alias Mello) and Chocolate
There were pleasant things in the world, Mello admitted to himself, including driving motorcycles too fast and friends who played too many video games. Unfortunately, the few good experiences Mello had only succeeded in making him more aware of how cruelly unfair the world tended to be the majority of the time. Munching dark chocolate gave Mello an excuse for the bitter taste of dissatisfaction which constantly remained in his mouth.
The rebel bit into chocolate bars savagely, taking pleasure in the resultant snap, like the sound of a bone breaking. He could pretend the noise belonged to the neck of those who prevented his him from having the life he deserved: The parents who gave him away to an orphanage, the child who effortlessly bested him academically no matter how hard he studied, the serial murderer who continuously evaded his detection. Chomping chocolatey shards aggressively until they fully disintegrated was loud inside Mello's head, blotting out irksome chatter of the less intelligent people around him.
Mello teased his tongue along the jagged edge of the bitten bar, savoring the near-danger of his vulnerable muscle touching something sharp. The blond never rationed his bittersweet snacks; he did not concern himself with his health. The adolescent felt fear on rare occasion, but thrill in the face of perilous possibility far exceeded anxiety. Anyone who lived by abstaining from risks and denying themselves things they enjoyed in hopes of simply avoiding death as long as possible were not truly living. Mello did not necessarily love his life, but he always took out big bites to experience it to its fullest.