Can’t Fight the Moonlight: Yagami Raito/Mikami Teru (Death Note)
Title: Can’t Fight the Moonlight
Author: nakatani_yuushi
Fandom: Death Note
Pairing: Yagami Raito x Mikami Teru
Spoilers: for pretty much the entire series. Be careful.
E-mail: crazynidhogg @ gmail.com
Notes: So - this is my essay; it's April 4 in my country already, so I decided to post it. I hope I managed to cover all the necessary points; not all traditional manifesto aspects get their own separate sections, but... yes, they ARE there, heh. This manifesto describes a non-canon romantic relationship between two men, so please ignore it if homosexuality makes you feel uncomfortable. There are images inside. Most of them are from the TOWNL manga scanlations (as well as the translated quotes). The essay is around 2600 words long (according to MS Word).
Can’t Fight the Moonlight
My Thoughts on Yaoi: Yagami Raito x Mikami Teru
This is my interpretation of a certain Death Note fanon pairing: I find this ship extremely fascinating, I’ve been a Raito x Teru fan for about a year already, and I would like to share my feelings and some meta about this pairing with the Death Note community. Please keep in mind the fact that my personal interpretation and reasons to love a pairing might be highly individual and thus different from yours; you might find Raito x Teru disturbing, but I, for instance, like it BECAUSE it’s so disturbing - and so on and so forth. Thanks in advance!
YAGAMI RAITO
he is my master
Birth date: February 28, 1986
Age: 17 (as of chapter 1), almost 24 (as of chapter 107)
Family: father (deceased), mother, younger sister
Yagami Raito is the central character of Death Note, an exceptionally bright high school student who finds a mysterious notebook dropped by Ryuk, a bored Death God (shinigami). Raito soon discovers that it is possible to kill people by writing their names into this notebook - and he decides to build a perfect world of absolute justice by killing criminals and other evil people with the help of this unusual object. And of course Raito wants to see himself as the God of this flawless new world - Kira, as people call him… Naturally, not everyone agrees with his radical ideas - and L, a great detective, is among those who want to stop his crusade - and a great battle of intellects begins soon after that.
Since Raito is the main character, his story is too long and complex to retell in just a couple of paragraphs, so I’ll skip right to the point that matters most for this particular manifesto: his relationship with Mikami Teru. In the second half of the story (chapter 81, to be more exact) Raito decides to pass the Death Note to someone else in order to drive the detectives’ suspicion away (since he’s in a somewhat dangerous situation during that period), and he picks a ‘successor’ among Kira’s followers, of which there are many; as some might’ve guessed, Teru is that successor. It’s hard to tell why exactly does Raito pick him from a whole crowd of Kira fans, but apparently he feels that Teru might be a good supporter - and he’s almost right…
Raito is a calculating individual who likes to control everyone and everything around himself, and one can’t help but feel that he loves power - absolute power, in fact; why else would he want to become God and enjoy his influence this much, after all? Raito looks quite satisfied when people express their admiration of Kira - and extreme loyalty delights him even more: a smirk forms on his lips when he hears Teru’s first greeting during their phone conversation. On top of that, Raito is very much aware of his talents, abilities and intelligence; his self-esteem is anything but low, he holds himself in high regard and tends to look down on others - doesn’t that sound quite suitable for a dictator?
And dictators need faithful servants.
MIKAMI TERU
the mad dog
Birth date: June 7, 1982
Age: 27 (as of chapter 81)
Family: mother (deceased)
Mikami Teru was a boy with an extremely strong sense of justice and the main - no, probably only - protector of his weaker classmates. The class bullies hated him and the bullies’ victims were thankful, but in the end, Teru was the one who received no protection at all, and even his mother only really wanted him to stop his crusade for justice. But when his school enemies and his ‘lukewarm’ mother died in a car crash, a sudden realization hit the boy…
When we meet Teru for the first time in the story, he’s a 27 year old public prosecutor and a Kira supporter who doesn’t really hide his views from anyone. Eventually, he receives the Death Note from Raito himself, teams up with Takada Kiyomi and begins his own battle - for the sake of justice and his God. Just like Raito, Teru believes that all criminals are to be executed (his classmates’ accidental deaths were the first proof), and he’s quite ready to do it with his own powers. His last task in the story is to kill Near (a young detective who dares to stand against Raito) and his team, but Near manages to prevent Teru from doing so due to Teru’s own mistake; worse yet, Raito rejects Teru in front of the enemies while trying to defend himself. Disillusioned and desperate, Teru yells that Raito is not God; after that, he gets arrested and dies in jail (the exact reasons of his death remain unknown, but there are several theories).
One of Near’s teammates calls Teru a neat freak, and that’s quite possibly the most accurate description of the man’s personality: he wants order and perfection in everything. Teru is incredibly meticulous, most likely hard-working (he used to be an excellent school and university student) and enthusiastic when it comes to his job - and on top of that, he also wants the society - the whole world around him - to be perfectly clean, and that’s why he is so willing to execute criminals. And that is also why he admires Kira so much - because Kira represents this perfection, or so Teru thinks. Kira is a powerful being who proves that Teru’s views are right; Kira possesses the incredible power to punish those who are evil; perhaps - just perhaps - Teru also believes, deep inside, that Kira is the one who can protect him, the one who faced so much cruelty in childhood? That’s what makes him seek God’s attention, and that’s what fuels his devotion. Kira is the only one who fits Teru’s high standards.
Right?
TOGETHER
kindred spirits
As most Death Note (Arc II) fans know, Raito and Teru are not a canon couple in the truest sense of the word: their interest in each other is not romantic (nothing in the manga really indicates that, unless you’re willing to view Teru’s fervent devotion and excitement in a sexual way; besides, Shounen Jump manga in general are not strictly famous for their canon gay love stories), and their first - and last - ‘physical’ encounter (as opposed to their first phone conversation and other kinds of long-distance interaction) ends in a disaster.
Does that make them impossible to ship?
Of course not. We’re talking about attractive fictional guys here.
All jokes aside, I honestly do think that this pairing has terrific potential (especially if you’re into ‘alternate universe’ - or AU - fanfiction, because gentle canon tweaking helps a lot if you are a Raito x Teru fan) and interesting canon basis. Why exactly do I like them? Here are several personal reasons for you all to ponder about.
01. SIMILAR IDEALS: even though Teru is slightly more radical than Raito, their general views on justice are fairly similar, and while that might be bad in the grand scheme of things, it does help to bring them closer together. I personally have a soft spot for characters who unite through their dreams and ideals (however creepy and insane said ideals might be), and Raito x Teru is a nearly perfect example.
02. INTELLIGENCE: both Teru and Raito are very bright and talented, and it’s not just a random fanbook fact - their exceptional skills play a large role in the story (since Death Note is all about genius-VS-genius battles), and Raito actually praises Teru’s intelligence in chapter 88 (Good! He’s more than I expected… to be able to think this sharply. - chapter 88, page 14). Is Raito simply a nice guy who’s ready to compliment anyone with more than two brain cells? Probably not. His compliments are something you must earn, and Teru manages to do that. They can understand each other because they speak the same language, to put it metaphorically, and that, I believe, is a good thing.
03. HIERARCHY: both men seem to be quite happy with their positions. As we all know, Raito’s biggest wish is to be the almighty God of the new world, and Teru doesn’t seem to have anything against the role of a servant (Then from now on… it’ll be as you wish. - chapter 88, page 15); in other words, we are not likely to see a struggle for power.
04. EMOTIONS: this is mostly true for Teru and not Raito (because Raito is not the most passionate man out there when it comes to personal relationship), but I still feel the need to mention this, as it is a very important part of the ship’s somewhat limited canon basis: Teru looks rather… flustered whenever there is a chance to interact with God, and Raito seems to be quite aware of that; he hardly ever doubts Teru’s extreme devotion, even when they lose their great battle with Near’s team.
05. APPRECIATION: Teru’s admiration is obvious enough, so I don’t think I need to explain that. My favorite Raito’s line, however, is the following: It’s you who will write them [the names] down, Mikami… You are useful. From now on, I’ll let only you live, as my eyes. - chapter 100, page 14. Naturally, I’m not telling you to interpret this as a love confession or a display of any other kind of deep feeling (friendship, etc.); it’s as cynical as any other line uttered by Raito. But it’s also a canon fact that Raito actually wants to work together with Teru, and that gives their relationship even more great potential.
Now - we all remember how this beautiful plan ends, of course. It doesn’t work, Teru gets a very rude awakening, and then both God and his servant die. But is it a law of fiction that all interesting, complex relationships must have happy endings? - no, of course not. Even if this pair has no future, they have several fantastic, emotionally intense moments, good - if somewhat limited - canon basis (for a strictly non-canon Shounen Jump gay pairing) and a whole ton of delicious psychological issues that a talented fanfiction writer can work with. Raito x Teru is both oddly harmonious (I’ve already listed the most basic reasons above) and undoubtedly dark: they are kindred spirits aiming for limitless tyranny. Raito is a cold-hearted sociopath who desires God’s status; Teru is an unbalanced, traumatized individual who wants absolute justice - and God’s appreciation and protection - and one can’t help but feel that they can satisfy each other’s biggest wishes in a twisted, macabre way. In the end, that’s what attracts me to this pairing: Raito and Teru seem to be practically made for each other - or rather, for the sake of each other’s insane desires - but that’s exactly what makes their relationship so hopeless and tragic: because both men are anything but normal. So wrong, yet so right is probably the best way to describe those two: they have everything to make each other somewhat happy (Raito’s power and Teru’s devotion), but they also have everything to destroy each other (Raito’s cold deceptiveness and Teru’s recklessness).
Raito x Teru is probably not for those who prefer cute stress-free romance: it has its own strange hidden harmony, but it’s also a horror story of cruelty and fanaticism.
Now - how can I not like that?...
FANDOM
what they say
Raito x Teru is obviously not the most popular Death Note fanon couple, but Raito is the one whom Teru gets paired up with systematically; other pairings like Teru x Kiyomi, Gevanni x Teru or Near x Teru get even less attention. Even though I do think that Raito x Teru is great for fanfiction writers looking for something dark and twisted, I can’t really recommend any fanfics, mostly because I don’t read too much Death Note-based fiction these days; however, I’d like to make a quick overview of my favorite Japanese art sites.
Although Raito x Teru is quite a tragic pairing, Japanese fanartists like to portray them with a good dose of humor (not that I have anything against that). Their Teru is often a somewhat hyperactive, emotional, insanely devoted Kira fanboy - er, supporter who sometimes wants to make his relationship with God a bit more intimate, and Raito usually considers him slightly annoying, creepy or cute in a strange way. Another interesting trait of those parody comics and pictures is that Teru is sometimes portrayed with dog ears and/or tail - that, I suppose, is meant to symbolize his dog-like devotion and also the fact that he was born in the year of the Dog (according to the Eastern calendar). Many artists make Teru blush a lot in Raito’s presence and act like a servant (quite literally - several comics turn Teru into Raito’s maid or something of that kind) or even an obedient wife. Another portion of Japanese fan creations tries to fix their personal problems and describes their reunion in the afterlife, where they discuss their fiasco in a slightly more calm atmosphere and make up; while this scenario does sound a bit too fluffy for my own tastes (I honestly don’t believe that Teru, a 100% perfectionist, can possibly get over the nasty events from the final chapters), some stories are just too sweet and beautiful. Some artists feel that there are just not enough canon Raito x Teru moments and invent their own AU (parallel) plots that give the couple a chance to have a more successful (if twisted) relationship.
SevenS [ http://sevens.sakura.ne.jp/ ] - Definitely the most beautiful site focused on this pairing! The gallery is not too large, but you really need to check it out as it hosts a number of gorgeous illustrations - the one drawn for Teru’s birthday is my personal favorite.
Another God [ http://anothergod.sakura.ne.jp/ ] - The owner is a very creative artist who also likes to portray Teru as a little kitty (and trust me, it’s the cutest thing ever, even if serial killers aren’t supposed to be that sweet), but she also has several ‘serious’ romantic illustrations.
AYUMI [ http://www9.ocn.ne.jp/~e.-mc2/ ] - This is a multi-pairing site (it features L x Raito, Teru x Raito and Ryuk x Raito), but there are enough materials for a Raito x Teru fan. Most pictures and comics dedicated to this pairing are rather romantic, and there are many AU plots (in fact, I’d say AYUMI is largely AU in general).
Ame no Chihare [ http://kururinryuka.fc2web.com/ ] - This site is not strictly Raito x Teru-centric (the owner seems to prefer Mello, Near, L and Matt), but there are several fantastic pictures that a Raito x Teru fan simply can’t miss.
Kedamonodamono [ http://www1.parkcity.ne.jp/itoh0326/hp/main.html ] - Just a really sweet page, mostly with fluffy romantic images.
Satorio [ http://shs.vivian.jp/satorio/top.html ] - The owner seems to be a rather prolific doujinshi artist; unfortunately, I don’t own any of her works (yet), but some fragments available at her site are absolutely hysterical; her Teru is a fanboy if I ever saw one.
Lucky Wakame [ http://luckywakame.sakura.ne.jp/ ] - Yet another talented artist.
The list of Raito x Teru (or Teru x Raito, as the Japanese fans seem to prefer this order) fansites isn’t limited to the ones mentioned above, but these are my personal favorites, and I really do think that they deserve your attention as well - if only because they’re gorgeous and sometimes funny. Personally, I’m quite happy to know that my favorite Death Note pairing gets this kind of attention among talented artists and hope to see much, much more of their works.