Feel the Fate
Characters/Pairings: Raito, L
Warnings: Masterbation, mind games
Summary: Raito acts like an ordinary teenage boy, as the game continues.
Comments: THis fic just nails Raito’s characterization. Unutterably creepy, manipulative, and no morals whatsoever. For some reason, the bit about his father was my favorite part. Either because I can read it as Raito being so into his game with L that he completely forgot about his father, or he’s using his father as an added layer of shielding. And either is pretty interesting.
One-shot, complete.

Something You Want
Characters/Pairings: Mello/Near. But very Mello-centric.
Warnings: None
Summary: For his entire life, Mello has always been second.
Comments: A very nicely-done fic that I think did a very good job of capturing Mello. His first meeting with Near was perfect.
   ”Mello hated Near.
   From the first time he watched him work, slow and deliberate and exact, it made the blonde want to scream. His process was perfect. Coldly perfect and it pissed Mello off to no end.
   Mello could come to the same conclusion at the same time, but his would never be as praised, as revered. His work had scratches and tests and abandoned hypothesizes. It was right, but somehow not good enough, and he hated it.”
One-shot, complete.

Five Things Near Wouldn’t Admit To Under Torture”
Characters/Pairings: Near. Mentions of Mello and L, but in the context of Near characterization, mostly.
Warnings: A little violence.
Summary: See title.
Comments: Harukami’s fics never fail to make me absolutely sparkle with glee, and this is no exception. This is just a wonderful, wonderful, wonderful Near fic, and each one of the five parts just made me sparkle and go all fangirly. My favorite was perhaps the first, with the way Near understands Mello better than anyone, and can’t help but know him, and I find awkwardness charming in fics. And I am just absolutely fascinated by the way Harukami portrays the Near/Mello relationship.
One-shot, complete.

The One Who Knows You Best
Characters/Pairings: Light/L, Near, Mello
Warnings: Sexual content
Summary: L and Light’s game of cat and mouse continues, as L tries a new tactic.
Comments: Oddly, I enjoyed the L and Light portions of the fic more than the Near and Mello portions. The Near and Mello portions worked as insight into the L and Light portions, but they felt almost tacked on, for some reason. That aside, it’s still a very good fic. The way that even a simple admission of being gay turns into a trap for Light, and how even in the middle of sex, Light is still thinking about how L is thinking how Kira would act, and taking care to act differently. And I like the way that it seems like Mello has more insight into L and that line from Mello completely changed how I was reading the fic and it’s just nicely, nicely done. And I should not try to write recs less than half an hour after I get up, because I’m babbling aren’t I?
One-shot? Complete.

Waiting is Wasting - based on Camp Fuck You Die, though it is non-canon for that. Alas.
Characters/Pairings: Near/Mello
Warnings: Graphic sex. Underage gay male sex.
Summary: Mello is about to die, and Near and Mello both know it.
Notes: I think this is the first time I’ve recced a CFUD fic. And before you read it, what you need to know is that Misa has just arrived, and she saw Mello’s face. Mello and Near know that she has the eyes, and know that the owner of the Death Note can control the victim up to twenty days before the death. So, since Mello knows a lot of really confidential stuff, obviously they need to tie him up and gag him. On a bed. In his usual clothes. Near and Mello are in a relationship, but haven’t had sex due to the fact that CFUD has rules against sex, and neither of them are stupid enough to break the rules against sex laid down by a psychopathic bitch who takes a positive delight in messing with the campers, so UST galore. Now RST galore, I suppose.
(And good god, the DN threads at CFUD have to be my favorite DN fic in the fandom. Where else can I see L die, come back as an amnesiac Shinigami due to previously using the Death Note, give a random bystander who was beginning a relationship with Raito his Death Note, have said bystander realize that Raito might kill her for that, while Near and Mello are busily covering up the fact that Near temporarily murdered the bystander’s adopted son, and allying with her to survive Raito, while having massive stress due to the fact that L is dead, but back as an amnesiac Shinigami who likes annoying them. …It makes more sense if you’ve been reading it I promise)
Comments: A magnificently written, hot little smut fic that resolves the sexual tension that has been building to the point of explosion between Near and Mello for the past…what, month? Two months? Something like that. Harukami manages to capture the intensity of the emotion of the situation - their conviction of Mello’s impending demise, their weirdly dysfunctional relationship and fascination with chains (oh, come on. Kinkiness with chains is practically canon in Death Note. ) And it’s just very, very well done.
One-shot, complete.

A Change of Plans
Characters/Pairings: Near/Mello
Warnings: Sex. Kink. Really fucked up relationships.
Spoilers: For chapter 73.
Summary: When Near manages to capture Mello, mindgames ensue. Up close and personal.
Comments: There are not enough words in the English language to express my love for Harukami’s portrayal of Near and Mello. I have a fondness for really amazingly dysfunctional relationships that kind of work, nonetheless.
One-shot, complete.

Rags to Riches
Characters/Pairings: L, Watari
Warnings: None
Spoilers: Watari is known by his real name in this fic. If you care about this, consider it a spoiler. Also Watari-background spoilers.
Summary: The beginning of L. And Watari.
Comments: L is just… He’s what I imagine a young, but fully developed L without his current resources would be. If that makes sense. And Watari’s reaction upon meeting him - that respect and “He can be great” …actually makes me think of Raito and L cross comparisons. Huh. But I rarely see fics that nail L’s characterization so perfectly, and this is just wonderfully, wonderfully done.
One-shot, complete.

Second Place
The Silence of Prayer
Inside the Castle Walls
A Wish for Happy Returns
Hanged On Bent Nails
The Influence of Rain
Born Again, the Virgin Bleeds
And the Truth Comes Out
In the Jagged Edges
Characters/Pairings: Near/Mello. L/Near/Mello.
Warnings: Sex. Sex. All but one or two of these have graphic underage gay sex. The first has graphic underage gay threesome sex with an authority figure. “And the Truth Comes Out” has semi-graphic torture.
Summary: Near and Mello train to succeed L together. AU from chapter 58.
Comments: I still can’t quite bring myself to go back to DN after chapter 58 and continue reading, but god, Harukami writes Near and Mello beautifully. These are two very fucked up teenagers, with a very untraditional upbringing and a very complex relationship, and dear god I want to hug them and tell them that they don’t have to be fucked up. And god, I love her Mello. (Not that I’m obsessively stalking her Mello at CFUD *cough* The DN cast there is great. So’s the Bleach, and the Allen from D.Greyman forced me to download and read that series, and the Anthy is magnificent and I’ll stop fangirling now befoer I get totally sidetracked). Oddly, by far my favorite fic in the series is “And the Truth Comes Out”. With no sex whatsoever. But the way they work together perfectly even while they’re completely misunderstanding each other, and the total and utter fucked-upness of it all is sheer love.
Edited to add Born Again, the Virgin Bleeds July 31, 2005
Edited to add In the Jagged Edges August 16, 2005
Series of one-shots.

Kira’s Greatest Success
Characters/Pairings: L/Light
Warnings: Crack. Crack. Crack. Chapter 58 will never be the same.
Spoilers: Chapter 58!
Summary: How to summarize this without spoiling chapter 58? A line from the fic: “Of course, the only people in the room were his father and the idiot detectives, so a subtle act could not succeed — he needed histrionics! Drama! The worst over-acting he could manage.”
Comments: This is just the most wonderfully perfect, twisted version of chapter 58 ever. The histrionics, the impromptu slash, the accidental heart attacks - what else could a poor crack fan desire?
One-shot, complete.

Best Laid Plans
Characters/Pairings: Near/Mello
Warnings: Sexual content
Summary: When Near catches Mello with the Death Note, Mello thinks quickly.
Comments: Funny and cute and just cracked me up. After all, hell, if you’re going to be caught by your favorite fantasy lust-object, why not take advantage of it? Especially since Near seems to have absolutely no problems with it.
One-shot, complete.

Let Him Eat Cake
Characters/Pairings: L/Light
Warnings: Graphic sex. Yaoi.
Summary: L and Light have sex for the first time.
Comments: Okay, this is my least favorite genre of fanfic (PWP), but Harukami’s absolutely wonderful characterization skills won me over and convinced me to love it. It’s the details that make this fic for me - the way L just announces that Light will be his first before they’ve even officially decided they’re going to have sex. The way L decides to get some more cake immediately after they finish. THe way L licks the strawberry-flavored condom to analyze the flavor.
…Oddly, from my comments, I’m usually much more of a Light fan than I am an L fan. But Harukami’s L just sparkles in this.
Notes: I have had the world’s shittiest week, that started with the laundry machine flooding the house three inches deep in places and hasn’t gotten a great deal better since then. I haven’t been reccing because I haven’t had the bloody time.
One-shot, complere.

Second Place
Characters/Pairings: L/Mello/Near
Warnings: Sex. Mello and Near feel like kids to me compared to L, so some warning there, too.
Summary: L evaluates his successors.
Comments: It’s Harukami, so you know it’s good.. It’s dark, complex, with lots of issues for a one-shot, and intriguing insights into characters I don’t know much about. (Since I stopped reading Death Note at chapter 58,. I can’t tell you how IC they are, but Harukami’s usually good about keeping characters IC in the strangest of situations, so I’m assuming they’re in character.
One-shot, complete.

Captain, My Captain
Pairings: None
Warnings: None
Summary: When Yukimura enters junior high, he meets his idol. The first and last person you would expect to be captain of Rikkaidai’s tennis club.
Comments: I have been waiting for this day since the first time I read the famous tennis scene in Death Note. Light is sexy when playing tennis, and it actually works so amazingly well to have him as the captain. And it’s not like he isn’t as gay as any of the Tenipuri boys anyway.
One-shot, complete.

Office Politics
Pairings: L/Raito
Warnings: ….I’d call it an R rating despite the fact that there’s only mentions of sex. And psychosis. Well, it’s not like L/Raito ever really have a healthy relationship
Summary: When L and Raito’s relationship begins to interfere with the case, L takes steps. Sexually-frustrated supergeniuses are never a good thing.
Comments: Dude, the ending line just killed me. “L still thinks Raito is a serial killer and Raito still wants to find out L’s real name so Raito can add L to his list of victims, but it’s all done in a way that’s kind of sweet, when you ignore the rising body count.” The entire fic is like that, with the sort of black humor that I love. And I just kept cracking up at it.
Side notes: Wednesdays suck. Yes, yes they do. I leave the house at 8:20, and don’t come back til a bit after nine. Except for runs home between classes to keep my pets from lapsing into complete hysteria.
One-shot, complete.

Amenuensis
Pairings: …Mentions of some, yes. Anything more would spoil the joke.
Warnings: Mentions of gay porn, yes.
Summary: When Light’s latest plan fails and leaves L handicapped, L forces Light to do his manual work for him.
Comments: I cracked up at the last bit. I was so totally not expecting it. And L and Light’s rivalry is, as always, entertaining.
One-shot, complete.

Lovely Boy
Pairings: Light/L
Warnings: Very dark. Very disturbing. Slight sexual content, that’s vaguely NCS-ish. Dark!L
Summary: It’s Light’s birthday.
Comments: This is just dark and disturbing and holy fucking crap I’m going to be remembering this. The author has a knack for very…vivid detail. And I am so very very disturbed right now. My main complaint is that L is OOC, but really, that’s not the point of this fic. Have I mentioned that I’m disturbed yet?
One-shot, complete. If she turns it into a multichapter, don’t tell me. Please.

Bitter
Pairings: None
Warnings: None
Summary: Light receives lots of chocolate on Valentines Day. Being the practical person he is, he gives it to L. L notices something revealing about the chocolate.
Comments: I tend to adore fics that manage to combine two completely contrasting feelings in one. This manages to be both cute and ominous, as the lightness of the Valentines chocolate giving contrasts with the sociopath Light really is.
One-shot, complete.

Between
Pairings: Vague Misa/Raito/L
Warnings: Vague threesomeness
Poilers: Chapter 37
Summary: A look at the relationship between Raito, Misa, and L after the handcuffs.
Comments: This is not a pairing I had ever thought of before reading this fic. But it an odd sort of way, it almost does work. And Raito and L are as interesting as always, and even Misa is interesting. My favorite drabble is definitely L’s though.

Intermission
Pairings: …Raito/Kira?
Warnings: Some sexual content, not graphic. But NCS overtones.
Spoilers:Up to 53
Summary: In his dreams, Raito meets Kira
Comments: A nice little fanfic. Short, IC, and just…you get the contrast between Raito before he was Kira and afterwards. And the way Raito was always to some degree a control freak, but not to the extent of Kira and how…look, just read it, okay?
One-shot, complete.

Methods of Interrogation
Pairings: Canonical ones
Warnings: L uses some interrogation techniques that may slide into torture from some points of view. It remains fairly tame, but if you are very easily squicked by anything reminiscent of torture - don’t. It doesn’t have anything to do with whips or knives or sex though. That would be too crude for L and Light.
Spoilers: Set during chapter 35 of the manga
Summary: As the days slide on, and Light begins to deteriorate, the game of wits goes on.
Comments: This is, um, wow. It has everything I loved in the original - the contest of wits, the manipulation, the way that L can be almost as ruthless as Light in trying to catch Kira - um, yeah. It’s everything that I loved about the original series, and just…wow.
One-shot, complete.