How to Cosplay as L.

Steps

1. The look
   • The eyes are one of the most important parts of being L. He has bags under his eyes from nights without sleep, but it's not recommended you stay up all night due to health hazards. Wearing some black eyeliner should work if you do it right. Aside from this, your eyes need to have almost a blank or stupid look to them and make you look a bit lost. Try not to let your emotions show through you eyes. It needs to look like you know something others don't.
   • If you have very long hair, cut it. The ends shouldn't be much longer than your neck. To add to the look, check and see whether the left side is longer than the right. If it is, you're doing pretty well so far. If it's not, that alright because most people wont notice. If you don't have black hair (if some one tells you he has blue hair, they're wrong. It was stated in 'Death note: Another Note' that he had naturally black hair), just dye it at home. Its a lot cheaper than going to a salon, if you don't want your hair to be black forever just use the temporary kind that washes out in the shower. If you have curly hair, just straighten it. Or if you'd prefer not to dye and cut your hair, another option is to buy a wig and cut and style that instead. It may cost a bit more, but you'll have it in case you ever choose be L again.
   • Your hair needs to look messy. Spike it if you really want to, but don't make it obvious that you did this on purpose. It should look like you've just gotten up from bed. Add a bit more hair to the left side of your head when styling if it isn't cut like that already and make everything look uneven. Hairspray helps. Fluff it up and put some hair over your eyes.
   • L's clothing is simple and cheap. Simple baggy blue jeans are a must, don't wear a belt with them. Try not to spend a lot of money on your outfit. $100 jeans aren't exactly L-esque. L's long sleeved plain white shirt is a little big for him, not to small, contrary to the contrary of the popular belief (aka, popular belief is right).
   • Do not wear any accessories. No shoes, socks, belts, glasses, or jewelry. If you must wear shoes, try wearing sneakers or white flip-flops. The more worn-out they are, the better. Do not wear any socks. Ever. That's the key to this part, no socks. L has never once been spotted in socks, even when he was in public. At Light's college he wore sneakers, but no socks.
2. The Mindset
   • If something or someone surprise, upsets, or insults you, don't allow your emotions to get the best of you. Stay calm. As an example, let's say someone's telling you that you're ugly. Don't begin to shout or insult them, just say something along the lines of 'Maybe.' or replay with a simple question in a calm voice. As seen in one episode, when being accused of being a pervert, L replies simply with "I'm...a pervert?"
   • When attaching a percentage to things, make sure you say the opposite of what you mean. When L says "I am 5% sure you are Kira." what he really means is that he is over 90% percent sure. L is a liar and will provide a significanly lower percentage than what he really means.
   • Do whatever you can to use aliases instead of your name. Use one of your initials or just choose a name you like. If you name is Mark you could say you're M or perhaps tell people your name is James.
   • Keep a clear mind and pay attention to everything around you and every small detail. Be meticulous about everything, like what you eat or how things are done. Getting good grades is a must if you want to be a lot like L. He is a super genius, so at least get B's.
3. How to Act It
   • Sit in a crouched position. Bend your knees so they come up in front of your face and directly in front of your chest. Rest your open hands on top of your knees or hug them. If you sit on the floor, you can sit Indian style with your fingers pointing inward, similar to the way one sits when meditating.
   • Try not to walk often. When you do walk, however, walk like an old man. That means you should slouch forward with your knees bent slightly. When examining a room trying crawling around instead of walking if you're up to it.
   • Act as if you are tired or just woke up.
   • When talking to people while standing, lean in toward them so your face is very close to theirs. Breath mints are recommended.
   • When holding things, use a maximum of three fingers and always use your index finger and thumb. This is similar to the way you hold a teacup, but with the rest of your fingers spread away from whatever it is you are holding as if it were dirty. Hold whatever it is away from your face, never hold anything directly in against it. Never pick up a phone normally, use this method. Use one hand when reading and turn the pages with a finger from the other hand. Also use only one hand when picking other things up if you can.
   • Never let yourself be seen sleeping. L has supposedly never been spotted asleep. If you do sleep, sleep in a comfy armchair sitting with your legs still against you as if your were awake. try learning to sleep with your eyes open.
   • When eating, keep to the rule of how to hold things. Use your index finger and thumb to hold spoons and forks and stuff the food into your mouth one spoon/forkful at a time. L is very particular about what he eats. He prefers sweets such as cake, strawberries, ice cream, candy, cookies, pastries, etc.. When drinking coffee or tea be sure to use as many sugar cubes or spoonfuls of sugar you can stand. Though this is an important part of being L, it's not recommended you eat as many sweets as him. You could gain a lot of weight, or worse, get a cavity. Try eating sweet fruits or berries instead.

Tips

• If you are not familiar with L try reading the manga or watching the anime Death Note.
• Use aliases as often as possible, L never gives his real name to just anyone. He goes by Ryuuzaki in the series.
• Your voice should sound tired or bored. To get more of an idea on how L speaks watch the Japanese version of the anime (this can be bought at WalMart and other stores).
• Always speak calmly. L only raises his voice in extremely bad and dangerous situations, like when he saw that the second Kira could kill with only a face or when they mentioned Shinigami in one of their messages. He didn't raise his voice when fighting Light because he knew they were evenly matched and police officers were watching.

Warnings

• Don't obsess on the sweets. This is reality and you are a real person, not an anime character. Unlike L, you can gain weight or get cavities from adopting his diet. Unless you brush your teeth a lot and have high metabolism.
• You may lose some friends, which is proven by the fact that L has very few to no friends of his own. He even says sadly at one point to Light Yagami that Yagami is his only real friend.
• Keep snacks handy at all times, L almost always has something sweet (doesn't have to be) nearby and handy.
• Unless you actually are a genius, do not attempt to solve crimes in your area.

Things You'll Need

• Black hair dye
• Black eyeshadow (optional)
• Black Eyeliner
• A plain, long sleeved white shirt
• Baggy blue jeans