(no subject)
Let's see. I am such a whore for exposition what....
Mello's views on the hazards of camp!
Monsters
Zombies
Originally alarming, now sort of a nice way to pass the time by killing horribly. Mello's a reasonably elite marksman (no manga proof other than the guns everpresent in the colour pics which are identical each time, and hints that he can probably fight dual-pistol style, but that's the sort of skill I can considerably see Ls-to-be having to learn, and Mello was second only to Near in his classes, so *g*) and doesn't have much trouble picking the zombies off. Stabbing them in the gut helps him vent his rage and reduce menstrual cramps, he was horrified to have to learn.
Gorillas
Eh, Mello's player is really ... squicked by rape in general. Most of the time in CFUD it's dwelled upon briefly enough that it doesn't bother me, or taking it in a darkly funny light, but that doesn't mean I want it to happen to my character, so Mello's avoided the gorillas and will continue to avoid the gorillas.
Tentacle Monster
Likewise, but Mello's more likely to crack dry commentary about it because, DUH, you can avoid it if you AVOID THE LAKE. Never mind that Mello once went into the lake. He had a lightsaber. It worked out.
Mermaids
Mello intends never to go near the lake again, but on the other hand, they didn't hurt HIM. Mello doesn't like the creepy-ass mermaids but counts them a minor threat only.
Psychic Toucans
For some reason, the toucans like Mello enough to try to threaten or blackmail him into joining the Toucan Mafia as an advisor to the big boss toucan. They've stolen his crucifex, roughed Near up, and sent numerous letters. Mello publically professes disgust with the thought of ever joining them, but whenever things go wrong with the alphabet, he's deeply deeply tempted.
Goats
Whatever, shoot them.
Flying Monkeys
So far, Mello hasn't encountered any flying monkeys. But if he finds out that Ban has, he'd laugh really hard.
Living Cabins
Although they got off to a rocky start, Mello has a good relationship with Boys Cabin 1, which is one of the reasons he doesn't want to move out. He originally started trying to win it over (as it was attacking him, etc) by sweeping it, cleaning the walls, etc -- in other words, giving it a nice backrub, heh. It's sort of become a habit now and the cabin treats him pretty well; he suspects, but isn't sure, of whether or not that's why the cabin obliged them with helping separate out the HeadQuarters section.
Seikou the possessed suitcase
Upon arriving in camp, Mello's luggage went missing. A post by Kyou the next day revealed luggage matching the description that was stalking him, so Near and Mello went out to catch it. After it attempted to prove its dominance in the way of the wild, Mello kicked the everliving lining out of it, and Near took it in, naming it "Seikou", or "success". Because at that point Near and Mello were still both utter snots to each other, see.
The truth about Seikou is a kinda tricky one that I don't know if it'll ever come out ICly -- but, ah, Harle and I came to the realization we were writing Seikou as, well, Mello's feelings about himself. Most of the time, Seikou hates Mello and does everything it can to harrass, humiliate, and torture him. Because Mello? Is incredibly narcissistic and self-centered and, at the same time, incredibly undercutting of his own value and has an extreme inferiority complex, and the two things don't mesh well. When Mello's feeling good about himself -- usually around times when either Near or L are happy with/respectful of his intelligence -- Seikou starts acting much more friendly, even affectionate, to Mello. Yeah. XD Er, a transcript of parts of the conversation where we realized we'd set it up, July 3:
Haru: ....Seikou is totally the manifestation of Mello's feelings, isn't it.
Harle: ...elucidate? XD So I can make it behave moreso?
Haru: A combination of Mello's self-hate and attempts to sabotage himself ('his damn suitcase and seems to have forgotten this'), and his desire for Near to give him some positive attention and acknowledgement, with an air of self-destructive sexual aggression? XD
Haru: ...and threw Kaitou into hell when he touched Mello's chocolate. XD
Harle: ...XDDDDDDDDD YES.
Haru: Hell, it even gives Mello a good excuse to be jealous at, but depend on, Near. And it's not until TODAY that he started *demanding* his stuff be removed -- today after they reached a tiny bit more equilibrium, thus gaining a little less dependance in some ways
Haru: AND THE BEST PART? THIS MANIFESTATION/POSSESSION OF MELLO'S ISSUES? NEAR NAMED 'SUCCESS'!
Other monsters
Mello has a bad luck with seeing Silent Hill-style monsters around camp (saw one of those fat cancerous ones from SH3 in his intro post, seen the nurses, seen the dogs), which is partly because I think that few monster designs are quite so.... normal-but-horrifying as Silent Hill monsters, and partly because he's got one of those tormented psyches that would get him into Silent Hill (and probably make him end up meat for the protagonist when he cracks and turns into a monster himself but that's not the point). He made Heather REALLY HAPPY when he said he also saw them as monsters (since in the game itself one of the characters implied they were humans and Heather was seeing them otherwise in order to handle what she was doing to them -- "They look like monsters to you?"). In retrospect, seeing the Silent Hill-style monsters may be less Heather and more Mello, mind. *g* He was really, really freaked out by the dogs with the split faces, though I'm not entirely sure why at this point -- it was partly surprise and partly revulsion, more than at most monsters. I really want to probe and find out more, heh.
Most things, Mello has a shoot-or-run policy. If he can't shoot it successfully, he runs.
Diseases
Chibi
So far, Mello's missed this one. He finds it a bit boring -- really, so, they're tiny! And otherwise perfectly healthy! -- but that doesn't mean he wants to GET it.
Genderswitch
Mello's got hit with this one twice and doesn't like it. Basically, although he's often teased for his "looking/acting like a woman" (though, uh, I think I play him pretty damn masculine-minded, though stop me if I'm wrong about this. XD; ) ... I'm playing him with a really strong gender-identity as male. He's very, very attached to his gender for more than just physical reasons, and being in a female body makes him extremely -- almost absurdly -- uncomfortable with his personal identity. His emotions and mind, though both strong, have always been unstable; his body/gender/physical identity is one thing he's had confidence in and, well, here in camp, even that will change. The first time (July 26, 2005) he tried to endure it but was clearly under a lot of pressure and, when pushed a little, started shouting at people/throwing a fit, etc. Part of it was PMS and influx of hormones he wasn't used to handling, but a lot of it was just his pure gender identity under seige. When Near went, he wasn't disgusted/horrified, but he was deeply *offended* -- not by Near him/herself, but by ... well, God, life as he knew it, whatever. Because not only was he a girl so was his boyfriend (as Near and Mello had just made up and started to push their relationship in that direction at that point, basically). It felt to him like insult to injury. But he got ... kinda disdained for that, by both L and Near (the two people whose opinions matter to him), who felt he was pitching a fit over nothing.
So the next time he got hit by it (August 25, 2005) he made a huge effort to seem very ho-hum whatever about it. He was still deeply shaken and upset by being changed to female but he's acknowledged it's likely to happen again and hell, there's a lot of worse things that can happen (this being after L's death and all). He even groped Near's breasts and got groped in return a bit, and it (open response) 'was kinda fun'/(internal response) 'wasn't that bad'. He still feels deeply violated by the genderswitch virus but is determined not to ever let that show again. And so far, he's done a pretty good job. If he gets hit by it again, he may even convince himself!
Not Diseases, but still things that spread through camp
The Pimp Incident
He doesn't remember turning into an Enforcer. He DOES remember trying to help Taro and is on some level still moderately annoyed that people assumed he was handcuffing Taro to rape him, especially given camp rules and the fact that he's saved Taro's life before, but he's mostly let that go Other than the deep simmering resentment he never lets go of. He DOES remember coming back to himself with Near on top of him to pin him down -- and that Near came this close to breaking the rules with grinding against him. Mello sort of resents that Near stopped, even though he'd been telling him to, but at the same time, really really understands.
Shouta
They missed the first batch, but got caught in the second when someone pranked them with shoutaloupe-spiked tea in a bucket over the door. Frankly, Mello doesn't give a fuck. He lived through childhood once already, and it wasn't that bad, and this time, he got hugs and attention and called cute and actually got to play with Ban again, during a time when Ban had mostly been ignoring him otherwise, heh. He DIDN'T like revisiting Near's absolute scorn of him -- and worries a little that Near-of-today still feels all that scorn but isn't saying it aloud -- but at the same time, he knows he got away with more as a kid than he could ever justify as an, er, 'adult'. So.
The Biblical Plagues
Eh, Mello doesn't care all that much. He's a bit nervous about the last one (slated to happen tonight) but also pretty blase -- whatever happens, happens. One might say he's hot but strangely cold about it. He figures he's done all he can and that he and Near and L will probably survive and pick up the pieces one way or the other. The earlier ones were just annoyances, as well.
The Porn 'Virus'
Mello doesn't actually care, as long as it doesn't post any vital files. He finds it amusing. And it might post something that would make him use the 'you'd better be kidding me' face, but he still wouldn't be offended. Witness -- L/Shigure porn. He was startled and a bit WTF about stumbling over it, but not actually offended, and he'd far prefer L/Shigure to L/Raito -- though L and Shigure's developing relationship makes him more curious about the Jyuunishi than he would be otherwise. He's pretty sure the Sohmas are hiding something, he just doesn't know what, and he would be RELIEVED to find out that it's just something stupid like "They turn into animals" rather than "I've secretly killed over a thousand people using a magical murder tool". XD He's worried it's a darker secret, and that he might have to start breaking kneecaps.
Camp Food
Mello's mostly been avoiding eating as much as he can and survive. He eats cereal and jerky, and chocolate -- more now that they've found the well -- but is currently severely deprived of vital nutrients and it doesn't help he's also depriving himself of sleep. That said, he's functioning well enough, and it's not like he's EVER eaten particularly well.
Sleeping Arrangements
They've varied. Start to finish:
- On the floor, which stopped when things started to come through the floor to attack him.
- Sharing a very small duffle with Near. This was during the hate period, and the era of retarded flirting, which made it very uncomfortable. The duffle has since been cleaned and surrendered for Chisame (and Chizuru's) use, though it's still full of Near's stuff.
- Sharing L's bed with L
- Sharing L's bed WITHOUT L what with him dead
- Sharing L's bed without L because L took over the bed Raito had. <--- where they're currently at.
Other aspects of Mello's personality being discovered at camp, but not really related to the camp.
Mello's sexuality
Mello claims he's probably bisexual, given his age and how recently he's developed hormonal feelings at all, but just hadn't encountered women he can be attracted to yet. He says he's claiming this because it could save him on horrifying paradigm shifts later in life. Most people assume he's gay as christmas, and he tends to agree, or at least, not argue, and has called himself gay before. That said, he probably IS mildly bisexual, but just hasn't discovered those sides of himself yet -- and then mildly. It'd probably be a case where he can certainly sleep with women, but won't enjoy it as much/will be a lot more detatched from the proceedings than sex with men, but he'd still be able to perform.
That said, for very obvious reasons, he's not had sex yet. He desperately, desperately wants to, but not enough to challenge camp rules. So far, he's reserved himself to fast and quiet masturbation when nobody else is around or when he's in the camp showers. Which means he doesn't get off even a tenth as much as his body's demanding, either. *g*
So what's this about cats? KITTENS, Haru? You think Mello likes KITTENS?
Heh. XD This is one of those things that came up as a joke -- I don't remember the exact circumstances, but Chisame and Mello were talking and were basically being utter heartless hard-asses at each other about things, and then started talking about how, well, kittens were cute, though. EVERYONE likes KITTENS! And awwwwwww their little whiskers, awww, lookit their tiny ears, awwwwwwww! Because, hell, it was funny at the time.
And then, a month, month and a half later, Mello was mourning L and Chisame was worried about him and he tried to make her laugh/stop worrying by linking kittenbreak at her.
And then I stumbled across a lovely japanese fanart of a young Mello, sitting on a stone wall with a cat, and both of them yowling away happily.
And then Ying got a kitten and offered to bring it over and I caved and decided that Mello is a creepy psychopath, yes, but he loooooooves kittens. Because, well, KITTENS! Everyone loves kittens! And their tiny toes! Awwwwww!
And then Near got Mello a kitten for them, despite the fact that Near himself clearly doesn't like kittens. And Mello melted. Because it played into about ten of his postive hotbuttons at once (including the big red one labelled "MAKE NEAR PAY ATTENTION TO ME") and also, kitten. Its name is Habeas Corpeus, it's orange with a brown stripe on its forehead, and it's a lazy kitty.
Near doing things just for Mello
Near's ... done a few of these that Mello just can't figure out an ulterior motive for -- Getting Mello's cross back from the toucans, getting the chocolate from the well for Mello, getting Mello the kitten. And he's sort of strangely torn about this -- on the one hand, he desperately craves the attention and is always left deliriously happy when Near shows that he's paying attention to Mello because of *Mello*, not for any other reason. But at the same time, it makes him a little nervous, because ... well, he's waiting for the other shoe to drop, or for the ulterior motive to become apparant, and they're just not particularly people raised to not be suspicious of uncharacteristic activities. So, well, he's suspicious, he can't help it.
He's also really really happy, and being that happy scares him a little too.
But slowly, he's coming to terms with the fact that maaaaaaaaybe that's okay.
Pairings cropping up in camp and Mello's feelings on them
- Chisame/Chizuru = He likes this. He'd like it more if Chizuru didn't cat around, but if Chisame's okay with it, so's he.
- L/Raito = He HATES this. He won't say as much, but he HATES it. Raito's given him an almost dopey impression and although he's *aware* of Raito's abilities, he hasn't seen any of what had drawn L to Raito in the first place. While he will admit that he'd be a hypocrite for being critical of anyone's attraction to brilliant criminal behaviour, he also finds it horribly biasing and inappropriate that L would be so attached to Raito -- he arrived right before L's big moping period when Raito ran off, and, well, it left an impression on him partly of fear that L could feel that strongly over Raito/Kira, and disgust that Raito could 'harm' L so much just by his presence. That said, he is also bizarrely offended that Raito's not paying attention to L -- mostly because Mello knows all the previous casework, if not intimately, and knows that Raito has been very intent to thwart L back in their world; the recent apathy/distaste makes him uneasy.
- L/Shigure = He doesn't think it'll last, but as long as Shigure's secret isn't a horrible one, he doesn't mind approving it. It's not a bad rebound relationship, it's an okay way to celebrate being alive, and Shigure seems like the type of guy who'd want to stay friends even after a breakup. All in all, Mello thinks Shigure's not a bad choice, even though he doesn't know him personally (and although he doesn't actually CARE to -- Shigure doesn't 'register' to him -- he's making an effort to anyway, because Shigure's become important to L). Basically, it's not something he's supporting wholeheartedly, but he thinks L could have -- and has done -- worse.
- Raito/Ying = Mello HATES this with a PASSION. He's lost a lot of respect for Ying over this -- not because it's 'betraying' her husband who'd 'want her to be happy' --- he doesn't know the culture of her time period well and hey, if she believe sit, maybe it's true -- but because he thinks Ying has to suspect there's something up with Raito and is completely ignoring it. And because Ying resumed the relationship with Raito even when she KNEW things (had the Death Note) and -- well, mello takes it a tiny bit personally because he was the one who talked to her about it and she agreed to keep a distance but not an unhealthy distance from Raito, and then he was tied up because Raito's girlfriend -- who Ying provoked into stealing a Death Note to kill her -- had his name (or so he thought). From catching up on things after the fact, Mello knows Ying KNOWS Mello was tied up to prevent himself from spilling vital secrets, and she still behaved the way she did to Misa. His initial statement was that she was brave, insane, or stupid (I believe) and he's sticking to both bravery and stupidity at this point. Given Raito's history with manipulating girls (which L only had theories on, but which were part of the data handed down) Mello also doesn't trust the apparent genuine nature of Raito's feelings for Ying. He also thinks Misa won't tolerate being a third wheel for long, expecially because Ying really isn't the type to hide her feelings and Ying and Raito keep interacting as lovers in open forums. XD He thinks -- a bit resignedly -- that the problem might well resolve itself for good soon; he doesn't think Misa will stay quiet, and he thinks that whatever she does the next time will be a lot more subtle than her attempt to steal the Death Note from Ying. He'd never admit it to anyone, but he almost wishes her luck in breaking Ying and Raito up -- mostly because all the data they have on the two Kiras will be difficult to work with if she can't or doesn't, but also because of his distaste for Ying and Raito's relationship. (The player does of course disagree with Mello's feeling here, but. XD) Mello will remain polite to Ying, but that in itself is a sign; Mello uses politeness to gain distance from people.
- L/Near, L/Mello, L/Mello/Near = Mello is deeply attracted to L, and is deeply aroused by Near's attraction to L (in both cases, the L he remembers and the L he's beginning to see signs of again, not the L who disappointed him). It's not a healthy attraction entirely -- a lot of it's an identity issue (Of wanting "L", not wanting L), but a lot of it's pure sexual desire and a deep adoration of L's mental powers. At the same time, he doesn't think any sexual relationship they start will actually last -- their relationship as one that works (both boys to L, that is) requires too much distance-flavoured-with-personal-attachment rather than actual personal attachment for a long-lasting relationship, Mello thinks. But he thinks it'll be enjoyable in the meantime, and he thinks that it's not LIKELY to break off suddenly -- basically, he thinks it's more likely to be a messy breakup if it's the less-emotionally-sound L he's seen here and there, and more likely to be a gentle growing-apart-and-strengthening experience if it's the L he knows and adores.
Mello's views on the hazards of camp!
Monsters
Zombies
Originally alarming, now sort of a nice way to pass the time by killing horribly. Mello's a reasonably elite marksman (no manga proof other than the guns everpresent in the colour pics which are identical each time, and hints that he can probably fight dual-pistol style, but that's the sort of skill I can considerably see Ls-to-be having to learn, and Mello was second only to Near in his classes, so *g*) and doesn't have much trouble picking the zombies off. Stabbing them in the gut helps him vent his rage and reduce menstrual cramps, he was horrified to have to learn.
Gorillas
Eh, Mello's player is really ... squicked by rape in general. Most of the time in CFUD it's dwelled upon briefly enough that it doesn't bother me, or taking it in a darkly funny light, but that doesn't mean I want it to happen to my character, so Mello's avoided the gorillas and will continue to avoid the gorillas.
Tentacle Monster
Likewise, but Mello's more likely to crack dry commentary about it because, DUH, you can avoid it if you AVOID THE LAKE. Never mind that Mello once went into the lake. He had a lightsaber. It worked out.
Mermaids
Mello intends never to go near the lake again, but on the other hand, they didn't hurt HIM. Mello doesn't like the creepy-ass mermaids but counts them a minor threat only.
Psychic Toucans
For some reason, the toucans like Mello enough to try to threaten or blackmail him into joining the Toucan Mafia as an advisor to the big boss toucan. They've stolen his crucifex, roughed Near up, and sent numerous letters. Mello publically professes disgust with the thought of ever joining them, but whenever things go wrong with the alphabet, he's deeply deeply tempted.
Goats
Whatever, shoot them.
Flying Monkeys
So far, Mello hasn't encountered any flying monkeys. But if he finds out that Ban has, he'd laugh really hard.
Living Cabins
Although they got off to a rocky start, Mello has a good relationship with Boys Cabin 1, which is one of the reasons he doesn't want to move out. He originally started trying to win it over (as it was attacking him, etc) by sweeping it, cleaning the walls, etc -- in other words, giving it a nice backrub, heh. It's sort of become a habit now and the cabin treats him pretty well; he suspects, but isn't sure, of whether or not that's why the cabin obliged them with helping separate out the HeadQuarters section.
Seikou the possessed suitcase
Upon arriving in camp, Mello's luggage went missing. A post by Kyou the next day revealed luggage matching the description that was stalking him, so Near and Mello went out to catch it. After it attempted to prove its dominance in the way of the wild, Mello kicked the everliving lining out of it, and Near took it in, naming it "Seikou", or "success". Because at that point Near and Mello were still both utter snots to each other, see.
The truth about Seikou is a kinda tricky one that I don't know if it'll ever come out ICly -- but, ah, Harle and I came to the realization we were writing Seikou as, well, Mello's feelings about himself. Most of the time, Seikou hates Mello and does everything it can to harrass, humiliate, and torture him. Because Mello? Is incredibly narcissistic and self-centered and, at the same time, incredibly undercutting of his own value and has an extreme inferiority complex, and the two things don't mesh well. When Mello's feeling good about himself -- usually around times when either Near or L are happy with/respectful of his intelligence -- Seikou starts acting much more friendly, even affectionate, to Mello. Yeah. XD Er, a transcript of parts of the conversation where we realized we'd set it up, July 3:
Haru: ....Seikou is totally the manifestation of Mello's feelings, isn't it.
Harle: ...elucidate? XD So I can make it behave moreso?
Haru: A combination of Mello's self-hate and attempts to sabotage himself ('his damn suitcase and seems to have forgotten this'), and his desire for Near to give him some positive attention and acknowledgement, with an air of self-destructive sexual aggression? XD
Haru: ...and threw Kaitou into hell when he touched Mello's chocolate. XD
Harle: ...XDDDDDDDDD YES.
Haru: Hell, it even gives Mello a good excuse to be jealous at, but depend on, Near. And it's not until TODAY that he started *demanding* his stuff be removed -- today after they reached a tiny bit more equilibrium, thus gaining a little less dependance in some ways
Haru: AND THE BEST PART? THIS MANIFESTATION/POSSESSION OF MELLO'S ISSUES? NEAR NAMED 'SUCCESS'!
Other monsters
Mello has a bad luck with seeing Silent Hill-style monsters around camp (saw one of those fat cancerous ones from SH3 in his intro post, seen the nurses, seen the dogs), which is partly because I think that few monster designs are quite so.... normal-but-horrifying as Silent Hill monsters, and partly because he's got one of those tormented psyches that would get him into Silent Hill (and probably make him end up meat for the protagonist when he cracks and turns into a monster himself but that's not the point). He made Heather REALLY HAPPY when he said he also saw them as monsters (since in the game itself one of the characters implied they were humans and Heather was seeing them otherwise in order to handle what she was doing to them -- "They look like monsters to you?"). In retrospect, seeing the Silent Hill-style monsters may be less Heather and more Mello, mind. *g* He was really, really freaked out by the dogs with the split faces, though I'm not entirely sure why at this point -- it was partly surprise and partly revulsion, more than at most monsters. I really want to probe and find out more, heh.
Most things, Mello has a shoot-or-run policy. If he can't shoot it successfully, he runs.
Diseases
Chibi
So far, Mello's missed this one. He finds it a bit boring -- really, so, they're tiny! And otherwise perfectly healthy! -- but that doesn't mean he wants to GET it.
Genderswitch
Mello's got hit with this one twice and doesn't like it. Basically, although he's often teased for his "looking/acting like a woman" (though, uh, I think I play him pretty damn masculine-minded, though stop me if I'm wrong about this. XD; ) ... I'm playing him with a really strong gender-identity as male. He's very, very attached to his gender for more than just physical reasons, and being in a female body makes him extremely -- almost absurdly -- uncomfortable with his personal identity. His emotions and mind, though both strong, have always been unstable; his body/gender/physical identity is one thing he's had confidence in and, well, here in camp, even that will change. The first time (July 26, 2005) he tried to endure it but was clearly under a lot of pressure and, when pushed a little, started shouting at people/throwing a fit, etc. Part of it was PMS and influx of hormones he wasn't used to handling, but a lot of it was just his pure gender identity under seige. When Near went, he wasn't disgusted/horrified, but he was deeply *offended* -- not by Near him/herself, but by ... well, God, life as he knew it, whatever. Because not only was he a girl so was his boyfriend (as Near and Mello had just made up and started to push their relationship in that direction at that point, basically). It felt to him like insult to injury. But he got ... kinda disdained for that, by both L and Near (the two people whose opinions matter to him), who felt he was pitching a fit over nothing.
So the next time he got hit by it (August 25, 2005) he made a huge effort to seem very ho-hum whatever about it. He was still deeply shaken and upset by being changed to female but he's acknowledged it's likely to happen again and hell, there's a lot of worse things that can happen (this being after L's death and all). He even groped Near's breasts and got groped in return a bit, and it (open response) 'was kinda fun'/(internal response) 'wasn't that bad'. He still feels deeply violated by the genderswitch virus but is determined not to ever let that show again. And so far, he's done a pretty good job. If he gets hit by it again, he may even convince himself!
Not Diseases, but still things that spread through camp
The Pimp Incident
He doesn't remember turning into an Enforcer. He DOES remember trying to help Taro and is on some level still moderately annoyed that people assumed he was handcuffing Taro to rape him, especially given camp rules and the fact that he's saved Taro's life before, but he's mostly let that go Other than the deep simmering resentment he never lets go of. He DOES remember coming back to himself with Near on top of him to pin him down -- and that Near came this close to breaking the rules with grinding against him. Mello sort of resents that Near stopped, even though he'd been telling him to, but at the same time, really really understands.
Shouta
They missed the first batch, but got caught in the second when someone pranked them with shoutaloupe-spiked tea in a bucket over the door. Frankly, Mello doesn't give a fuck. He lived through childhood once already, and it wasn't that bad, and this time, he got hugs and attention and called cute and actually got to play with Ban again, during a time when Ban had mostly been ignoring him otherwise, heh. He DIDN'T like revisiting Near's absolute scorn of him -- and worries a little that Near-of-today still feels all that scorn but isn't saying it aloud -- but at the same time, he knows he got away with more as a kid than he could ever justify as an, er, 'adult'. So.
The Biblical Plagues
Eh, Mello doesn't care all that much. He's a bit nervous about the last one (slated to happen tonight) but also pretty blase -- whatever happens, happens. One might say he's hot but strangely cold about it. He figures he's done all he can and that he and Near and L will probably survive and pick up the pieces one way or the other. The earlier ones were just annoyances, as well.
The Porn 'Virus'
Mello doesn't actually care, as long as it doesn't post any vital files. He finds it amusing. And it might post something that would make him use the 'you'd better be kidding me' face, but he still wouldn't be offended. Witness -- L/Shigure porn. He was startled and a bit WTF about stumbling over it, but not actually offended, and he'd far prefer L/Shigure to L/Raito -- though L and Shigure's developing relationship makes him more curious about the Jyuunishi than he would be otherwise. He's pretty sure the Sohmas are hiding something, he just doesn't know what, and he would be RELIEVED to find out that it's just something stupid like "They turn into animals" rather than "I've secretly killed over a thousand people using a magical murder tool". XD He's worried it's a darker secret, and that he might have to start breaking kneecaps.
Camp Food
Mello's mostly been avoiding eating as much as he can and survive. He eats cereal and jerky, and chocolate -- more now that they've found the well -- but is currently severely deprived of vital nutrients and it doesn't help he's also depriving himself of sleep. That said, he's functioning well enough, and it's not like he's EVER eaten particularly well.
Sleeping Arrangements
They've varied. Start to finish:
- On the floor, which stopped when things started to come through the floor to attack him.
- Sharing a very small duffle with Near. This was during the hate period, and the era of retarded flirting, which made it very uncomfortable. The duffle has since been cleaned and surrendered for Chisame (and Chizuru's) use, though it's still full of Near's stuff.
- Sharing L's bed with L
- Sharing L's bed WITHOUT L what with him dead
- Sharing L's bed without L because L took over the bed Raito had. <--- where they're currently at.
Other aspects of Mello's personality being discovered at camp, but not really related to the camp.
Mello's sexuality
Mello claims he's probably bisexual, given his age and how recently he's developed hormonal feelings at all, but just hadn't encountered women he can be attracted to yet. He says he's claiming this because it could save him on horrifying paradigm shifts later in life. Most people assume he's gay as christmas, and he tends to agree, or at least, not argue, and has called himself gay before. That said, he probably IS mildly bisexual, but just hasn't discovered those sides of himself yet -- and then mildly. It'd probably be a case where he can certainly sleep with women, but won't enjoy it as much/will be a lot more detatched from the proceedings than sex with men, but he'd still be able to perform.
That said, for very obvious reasons, he's not had sex yet. He desperately, desperately wants to, but not enough to challenge camp rules. So far, he's reserved himself to fast and quiet masturbation when nobody else is around or when he's in the camp showers. Which means he doesn't get off even a tenth as much as his body's demanding, either. *g*
So what's this about cats? KITTENS, Haru? You think Mello likes KITTENS?
Heh. XD This is one of those things that came up as a joke -- I don't remember the exact circumstances, but Chisame and Mello were talking and were basically being utter heartless hard-asses at each other about things, and then started talking about how, well, kittens were cute, though. EVERYONE likes KITTENS! And awwwwwww their little whiskers, awww, lookit their tiny ears, awwwwwwww! Because, hell, it was funny at the time.
And then, a month, month and a half later, Mello was mourning L and Chisame was worried about him and he tried to make her laugh/stop worrying by linking kittenbreak at her.
And then I stumbled across a lovely japanese fanart of a young Mello, sitting on a stone wall with a cat, and both of them yowling away happily.
And then Ying got a kitten and offered to bring it over and I caved and decided that Mello is a creepy psychopath, yes, but he loooooooves kittens. Because, well, KITTENS! Everyone loves kittens! And their tiny toes! Awwwwww!
And then Near got Mello a kitten for them, despite the fact that Near himself clearly doesn't like kittens. And Mello melted. Because it played into about ten of his postive hotbuttons at once (including the big red one labelled "MAKE NEAR PAY ATTENTION TO ME") and also, kitten. Its name is Habeas Corpeus, it's orange with a brown stripe on its forehead, and it's a lazy kitty.
Near doing things just for Mello
Near's ... done a few of these that Mello just can't figure out an ulterior motive for -- Getting Mello's cross back from the toucans, getting the chocolate from the well for Mello, getting Mello the kitten. And he's sort of strangely torn about this -- on the one hand, he desperately craves the attention and is always left deliriously happy when Near shows that he's paying attention to Mello because of *Mello*, not for any other reason. But at the same time, it makes him a little nervous, because ... well, he's waiting for the other shoe to drop, or for the ulterior motive to become apparant, and they're just not particularly people raised to not be suspicious of uncharacteristic activities. So, well, he's suspicious, he can't help it.
He's also really really happy, and being that happy scares him a little too.
But slowly, he's coming to terms with the fact that maaaaaaaaybe that's okay.
Pairings cropping up in camp and Mello's feelings on them
- Chisame/Chizuru = He likes this. He'd like it more if Chizuru didn't cat around, but if Chisame's okay with it, so's he.
- L/Raito = He HATES this. He won't say as much, but he HATES it. Raito's given him an almost dopey impression and although he's *aware* of Raito's abilities, he hasn't seen any of what had drawn L to Raito in the first place. While he will admit that he'd be a hypocrite for being critical of anyone's attraction to brilliant criminal behaviour, he also finds it horribly biasing and inappropriate that L would be so attached to Raito -- he arrived right before L's big moping period when Raito ran off, and, well, it left an impression on him partly of fear that L could feel that strongly over Raito/Kira, and disgust that Raito could 'harm' L so much just by his presence. That said, he is also bizarrely offended that Raito's not paying attention to L -- mostly because Mello knows all the previous casework, if not intimately, and knows that Raito has been very intent to thwart L back in their world; the recent apathy/distaste makes him uneasy.
- L/Shigure = He doesn't think it'll last, but as long as Shigure's secret isn't a horrible one, he doesn't mind approving it. It's not a bad rebound relationship, it's an okay way to celebrate being alive, and Shigure seems like the type of guy who'd want to stay friends even after a breakup. All in all, Mello thinks Shigure's not a bad choice, even though he doesn't know him personally (and although he doesn't actually CARE to -- Shigure doesn't 'register' to him -- he's making an effort to anyway, because Shigure's become important to L). Basically, it's not something he's supporting wholeheartedly, but he thinks L could have -- and has done -- worse.
- Raito/Ying = Mello HATES this with a PASSION. He's lost a lot of respect for Ying over this -- not because it's 'betraying' her husband who'd 'want her to be happy' --- he doesn't know the culture of her time period well and hey, if she believe sit, maybe it's true -- but because he thinks Ying has to suspect there's something up with Raito and is completely ignoring it. And because Ying resumed the relationship with Raito even when she KNEW things (had the Death Note) and -- well, mello takes it a tiny bit personally because he was the one who talked to her about it and she agreed to keep a distance but not an unhealthy distance from Raito, and then he was tied up because Raito's girlfriend -- who Ying provoked into stealing a Death Note to kill her -- had his name (or so he thought). From catching up on things after the fact, Mello knows Ying KNOWS Mello was tied up to prevent himself from spilling vital secrets, and she still behaved the way she did to Misa. His initial statement was that she was brave, insane, or stupid (I believe) and he's sticking to both bravery and stupidity at this point. Given Raito's history with manipulating girls (which L only had theories on, but which were part of the data handed down) Mello also doesn't trust the apparent genuine nature of Raito's feelings for Ying. He also thinks Misa won't tolerate being a third wheel for long, expecially because Ying really isn't the type to hide her feelings and Ying and Raito keep interacting as lovers in open forums. XD He thinks -- a bit resignedly -- that the problem might well resolve itself for good soon; he doesn't think Misa will stay quiet, and he thinks that whatever she does the next time will be a lot more subtle than her attempt to steal the Death Note from Ying. He'd never admit it to anyone, but he almost wishes her luck in breaking Ying and Raito up -- mostly because all the data they have on the two Kiras will be difficult to work with if she can't or doesn't, but also because of his distaste for Ying and Raito's relationship. (The player does of course disagree with Mello's feeling here, but. XD) Mello will remain polite to Ying, but that in itself is a sign; Mello uses politeness to gain distance from people.
- L/Near, L/Mello, L/Mello/Near = Mello is deeply attracted to L, and is deeply aroused by Near's attraction to L (in both cases, the L he remembers and the L he's beginning to see signs of again, not the L who disappointed him). It's not a healthy attraction entirely -- a lot of it's an identity issue (Of wanting "L", not wanting L), but a lot of it's pure sexual desire and a deep adoration of L's mental powers. At the same time, he doesn't think any sexual relationship they start will actually last -- their relationship as one that works (both boys to L, that is) requires too much distance-flavoured-with-personal-attachment rather than actual personal attachment for a long-lasting relationship, Mello thinks. But he thinks it'll be enjoyable in the meantime, and he thinks that it's not LIKELY to break off suddenly -- basically, he thinks it's more likely to be a messy breakup if it's the less-emotionally-sound L he's seen here and there, and more likely to be a gentle growing-apart-and-strengthening experience if it's the L he knows and adores.