Kannagara application.
PLAYER INFO
Name/Nickname: Cookie
Age: 22
Journal: azriaz
AIM/MSN/IM: aim: noonerly
Email: disclaimer_girl[at]hotmail[dot]com
CHARACTER INFO
Character Name: Mihael "Mello" Keehl
Canon: Death Note
Point taken from canon: Post canon
Previous Game: Dramadramaduck
Age: 20
Gender: Male
Preferred Village: Yomisato
Appearance: Standing 171cm or 5'6" tall and weighing a mere 52 kg, Mello is slim bordering on skinny. His skin is pale, though a large burn scar is visible on the left side of his face and shoulder, down his left arm and parts of his back. (And there's another scar on his right shoulder, left by a blade. Must have been a pretty deep cut but gets more shallow over the collarbone.) Dirty blond hair hangs to his shoulders, bangs nearly obscuring his eyes. While he can keep a calm exterior, his face tends to be very expressive and displays a wide range of emotions, seemingly intensified by the scarring.
His usual attire consists of form fitting leather (though he'll wear other things so long as they have style), and he habitually wears gloves. A penchant for crosses has him walking around with a rosary, garnet beads and sterling silver, but that's another matter entirely. Mello usually carries a gun, a few bars of chocolate and a pair of sunglasses.
Canon Background: http://deathnote.wikia.com/wiki/Mello
Game Background: Mello spent a little more than a year linked to the community Dramadramaduck. Notable first contacts include Xanxus, Michael Trinity, Minato Arisato and Mariya Shidou. Shortly after him, his friend Matt was connected as well. Doing his research through the community he saw posts of a previous version of both himself and Matt, thus finding out about their fate. It goes without saying that he resolved to do his best not to let it happen.
After several amusing ventures, such as a survival trip to Jurassic Park and a canon-move, effectively 4th walling himself and a few other people, encountering both L and Light Yagami over the (timeline resistent) community, Matt left the community. Only to return again with no memories of what had went down. Well. Rinse, repeat. Mello, being the social butterfly he is, made connections with people like Vermouth (Detective Conan), Eris (Goddess of Discord), V (V for Vendetta), Bruce Wayne (Batman), Issei Ryudo (Fate/Stay Night), Naoto Shirogane (Persona 4), Kamina (TTGL), Renji Abarai (Bleach), The Doctor (Doctor Who) and many many others.
During one event in particular he was given memories of being married to Naoto, in fact, and after that wore off it resulted in plenty of awkward. In the end, they saw each others more as siblings than anything else.
His canon scarring incident happened a little differently here. Due to the ordeal being partially broadcast to, well, half the multiverse, not only Matt but also another friend insisted on helping him. Michael Trinity had him carted off to another world and treated, though it didn't do much for the scars. Only for the recovery time.
It was somewhere around that time that he ran into Gilbert Beilschmidt (APH) over the community. Somewhat kindred spirits in knowing of their own supposed demise, they bonded quite quickly. The community and its events helped turning that into something far more intimate than anyone had intended, but, once again, after the effects had worn off and the awkwardness faded, they turned out to be friends more than anything. And the incident was never to be spoken of again.
Then came more fun ventures. A zombie outbreak came and went, which him and Matt survived extraordinarily well, Naoto, by now adopted little sisterbrother to the both of them, managed through canon. People came and went, V died, only to return to the community with his timeline rewound. Mello, alongside one Arthur Kirkland (APH) resolved not to let him die a second time. Sora (KH) was turned into a heartless and came after him, but with help from Nate Grey (X-Men) and Tim Wayne (Batman) he was restrained before he could harm anybody.
The next notable thing was his birthday, for which he was given a pocketwatch by Naoto, with a portrait of her etched into the inside of the lid, and a prussian military uniform by Gilbert. He carries the saber and the watch to this day. Then came the Highschool event. This was, essentially, a Highschool AU for the entire community. More relationships were forged, Mello learned how to play soccer, and people went on about their lives once it was over. Shortly after, happy times came to a close - Mello realized he had a lot less time left to plan his and Matt's escape from certain death than he'd anticipated, and had a brief chat with Death (Sandman), during which he learned that she really, honestly didn't care. In the friendliest of ways. If he wanted to live, he was free to.
...and so he did. They both did. But that comes later.
Before that happened? Mello fell unconcious for three whole days. As did about a dozen other members on the community. And while they weren't going anywhere physically, their minds were off somewhere in an abandoned, run-down amusement park in a battle royale-esque game in which they were told, the existence of their entire world was on the line. The whole ordeal was broadcast for the rest of the community to see. They had no way of knowing it wasn't real. Mello killed Kasumi Tendou (Ranma 1/2) in more or less cold blood, and was killed himself by Terra (Final fantasy 4, I think?) about a day later. Matt and Gilbert watched over him and more or less got him over his trauma after he woke up.
But on to more canon matters.
Mello borrowed a car from a friend of his (Saguru Hakuba; Magic Kaito) which had been magically enhanced to be able to cross through worlds- thus Matt pulled a vanishing act at the end of the car chase, and lived. Himself, he really hadn't put much thought into, but some surprise fairy magic disappeared him from his world before the Death Note could take effect. He didn't keep count, but there were a number of people threatening to kill him should he not find a way to save himself. ...Yeah, it sounded that absurd the first time around too.
Essentially Matt and Mello crashed at Naoto's family's mansion for a while after that, eventually making contact with the Elric brothers (FMA). Mello and Ed in particular got along very well. Within weeks, they were close enough to consider each other family, and Mello decided if he was going to keep his little brother somewhat out of trouble, he would need a way to world-hop himself. So, in a bargain with the resident chaos goddess, he gave up his rosary to turn his pocket watch into something magical. Later, he would recieve a different rosary from Gilbert - but not wanting to risk breaking the contract, he had the pendant changed significantly.
In the meantime, for lack of something better to do, Mello signed up to work at the bar Xanxus had set up for the community members. Him and Matt moved to KHR-verse, Italy, to be off Naoto's back and to be closer to his work. Another AU event later, during which Mello learned and used alchemy only to find out he no longer could after it was over, made him increasingly frustrated with learning things concerning other worlds.
Because even Gods need entertainment apparently, Eris decided to rope a few community members into a little game of hers. Deciding to either give people powers or turn them into monsters, and then having them fight one another, Mello, for a few short days, gained the same immunity to injury as Achilles, along with muscle memory of fighting experience far beyond what he had. He was pitted against Xanxus, turned into an Ifrit, and while he did win, he quickly noticed that there was a catch to the power he'd been granted. Even if he wasn't injured, he still felt the pain. So he earned a favor from her, which he never did call in.
Edward, who also participated in the game, was severely injured. Mello barely managed to save his life during his fight with the Hydra.
Some time after that, a small difference in opinion between Xanxus and Shi-long Lang (Ace Attorney), an Interpol agent, escalated into a small-scale war. The community was effectively divided by its morals, and while Mello would have much preferred to stay on the sidelines, he was, naturally, roped into the mess because he already worked for Xanxus. This ended in him having to fight Naoto, and while he succeeded, she also gave him a deep gash in his right shoulder that left yet another nasty scar. And a quiet loathing for Xanxus. Things with Naoto and his other siblings Ed and Al (who were reasonably angry that he'd hurt her, albeit more emotionally than physically) were sorted out quickly, and he quit his job.
Matt and Mello moved to Megatokyo, (Bubblegum Crisis Tokyo 2040) as Mello had become good friends with Priss Asagiri of that same world. A few months after that, he died, still in Megatokyo, leaving a goodbye message and directions to where he suspected his grave would be to a devastated little family and many many friends.
Canon Personality: (I will cheat and more or less c/p from my application to Dramadramaduck, as I'd be hard pressed trying to rephrase it all anyway, but there'll be more to read in the Game Development section.) If I had to describe Mello's personality in one word, I would say he's driven. Driven by his pride and his ambition to bring down Kira, and more importantly, to defeat Near. Driven by his will and his stubbornness bordering on megalomania. He doesn't care about very many human beings apart from himself. A dozen people might be dying around him and he doesn't even spare them a thought so long as his plan doesn't fail. It can be canonically said that the only people Mello ever cared about were Matt, L, and Near. Even though his relationship with Near is a complicated one, a story of polar oposites, bitter rivalry and struggle.
In all due respect for this though, Mello is probably the only major character within Death Note canon who does, in fact, have a friend - and that is Matt. So he is, at least, capable of caring. His priorities are just set differently than other people's.
He is very strong-willed and hot headed, something that makes him, above all else, human, and thus, dangerous. Very much in accordance to the Bible, he is either hot or cold, but never lukewarm. Though he may be moody, he knows perfectly well how and when to keep himself in check, the only possible exceptions are when people he cares about are involved. He is an inteligent and cunning individual, not afraid to get into action and do his own dirty work to accomplish his goals. He is also somewhat materialistic - seen in his very specific taste for clothing, for instance, as well as his being rather particular about the brand of chocolate he's eating.
Mello is canonically always shown wearing a rosary. This shows off his religious roots, and hints at an intact moral code, at least somewhere in there - Mello knows that what he's doing (and has done) is wrong. However, the environment he was raised in was an incredibly competetive one. His desire to be at the top is much, much more important to him than the values his religion would like him to have, and at the same time he can't bring himself to let it go. All the same, he's hell-bent on doing things his way with no compromises until the end.
The explosion of the Mafia headquarters does have quite an impact on him however. It rather darkens his personality, making him a lot more serious, even grimm. Little as he cared about the mob, he now rather prefers to work completely by himself. He does not become any less reckless, but a lot less easygoing - his whole borderline hyperactive energy now focused solely on his goal. The most aparent thing though? He is much more openly angry now, after the humiliation he suffered from having to use his last resort. And he won't be letting that happen again.
Personality Game Development (Optional): Oh he's changed a great deal due to his involvement in DDD. A key issue is that he found something like a family, he formed deep bonds with people which he avoided before. He's a bit more reluctant to use people at this point simply because of the ones who kept insisting he was, in fact, a good person. Especially his "little siblings", Naoto Shirogane as well as Edward and Alphonse Elric. However rather than functioning as a concience, they were people he cared about, and ultimately would have gone to any lengths to protect. This is an entirely new development for Mello, who didn't so much as display a protective urge in canon.
There is also the issue of religion. He went into the community as a faithful christian. He encountered the Goddess of Chaos, who was much more real and much more interested in him than he would've liked, proving beyond the shadow of a doubt that what is largely considered greek mythology is, in fact, the truth. Or at least that its deities were nothing like fictional. ...then did he not only ask the Shinigami Shidou, but even went to the point of fourthwalling himself only to find out that his world literally doesn't have an afterlife. That it simply makes no difference what you do and don't do in life. And that the faith he had was completely made up and ridiculous. Consequently, he gave it his best shot to turn his back on that faith, giving up his rosary for the ability to travel between worlds.
Ultimately, Gilbert gave him another, but Edward helped him transform the pendant into a symbol of his choice: A plain silver cross with the broader iron cross behind it, and a snake winding around the whole thing.
Making the decision never to return to his world essentially uprooted him. Post canon he found himself without aim or purpose, readily throwing himself into research and varying projects, but to no avail. It was terrible not to have anyone to antagonize effectively, to have no goal and no enemy. Mello made do, but the thought that he should have simply died with his case crossed his mind more than once. He became reckless, and the only thing that really held him back was his family who needed him around.
Of course the events that brought about fake memories took their toll on his mental state. In time, he learned to constantly question his reality. More than once he picked up on the effects of the community before they wore off, but it only fueled his paranoia - if you can't trust your memory, if you can't trust your friends' memory either, then what can you trust? Not what you see or hear or think or feel. He will retain the alternate memories to an extent, the time he was married to Naoto, his life as a normal highschool student, the one as an Amestrian soldier, and the one living as a woman in Megatokyo. At one point it was all real to him, and needless to say, not all of his marbles are in his possession anymore. Or. Well. Less than he had in canon, anyway.
Further worth mentioning is that he found someone else to look up to besides L. Ironically, it had to be another person with a single letter alias. V, (though also Gilbert Beilschmidt and Arthur Kirkland to an extent), became someone he actually admired for his vigilante ways, his intelligence, his courage and his ruthlessness.
Abilities/Strengths: While Mello is physically fit, he's no warrior. His strengths lie in his mind and mindset, as he's very intelligent, ruthless, and socially capable. He absorbs knowledge like a sponge, is always curious, and only very selectively cares about people. Mello also has a strong will, an innate stubbornness and confidence that empowers him to always make the best of any given situation. He is, however, a rather skilled marksman.
He gained a lot of knowledge in-game, but abilities, not so much. He's had military training, now, but doesn't remember all of it, so he has at least basic survival and self defense skills. He knows alchemy, but has never been able to use it after the event had ended. He's got plenty of knowledge about current and further advanced technology, but that'll do him precious little good in Kannagara. While he's had some swordfighting lessons he's decent, but not remarkable. The ability to travel from one world to another was magic instilled in a pocket watch given to him by his little sister, and never really his own, so I'm assuming it won't apply here, anyway.
Weaknesses: His pride and his temper are his key weaknesses in canon. While his temper has become a bit more tame due to game canon events, he's become rather jaded instead, occasionally plain weary of life. This can put a big dent in his usual motivation, hence proving as quite the hindrance. And while Mello never has been the sanest person one might imagine, being fucked over that often took its toll on his mind. He's more paranoid, and just plain and simple broken in some places. Losing most all of the people he knew and cared about isn't going to help with that.
Defining Quote(s): Classic, canon quote: "I'm not a tool for you to use to solve the puzzle!"
game canon:
"If there isn't a way, we'll make one."
"You'd be disappointed if I didn't put up a fight, wouldn't you?"
Other: I'd like him to keep a few presents that he got from people in-game on top of his canon stuff, if that's alright. That would be the pocketwatch he got from Naoto, which contains a portrait of her in the lid, his changed pendant on the new rosary, a prussian saber (obviously a gift from Gilbert) and a long knife Edward made for him. I don't think it'll make a terribly big difference ICly.
Significant Logs/Threads:
http://gonnabe1st.livejournal.com/ Just about every post on his journal contained some bonding or character development. Most of his threads with Michael are there, but it'd be tons of work sifting through it all to see which is important and which isn't, I'll just link there in case you want to look at it.
http://gonnabe1st.livejournal.com/8714.html That's his goodbye post though, which contains a display of how far he's come as a character from where he started out in canon.
http://truthinfortune.livejournal.com/22263.html?thread=2050551#t2050551 key moment of Naoto and Mello bonding
http://truthinfortune.livejournal.com/23931.html fight between Naoto and Mello
(http://quicksavensmoke.livejournal.com/4621.html aftermath of the fight, with Matt)
(http://community.livejournal.com/dramadramaduck/4119095.html) This is where canonically, death would have been.
http://community.livejournal.com/dramadramaduck/4081668.html after the assassination event.
http://community.livejournal.com/dramadramaduck/3777870.html canon move. Explosions, and people who care.
(http://community.livejournal.com/dramadramaduck/3724167.html) Zombie apocalypse. Not important for character development really, but still awesome.
http://community.livejournal.com/dramadramaduck/3106741.html First post, first connections.
http://truthinfortune.livejournal.com/11100.html?thread=1060444#t1060444 (Naoto) first time caring.
http://truthinfortune.livejournal.com/3243.html?thread=133547#t133547 (Naoto) first time talking
http://cyberelric.livejournal.com/7997.html?thread=267069#t267069 (Ed) We dislike hospitals.
http://community.livejournal.com/dramadramaduck/4509040.html (Ed) elder brother to the rescue
http://cyberelric.livejournal.com/3808.html?thread=76768#t76768 (Ed) Is he ever not in the hospital?
http://cyberelric.livejournal.com/2109.html?thread=64061#t64061 (Ed and Al) family matters, better off not caring.
http://cyberelric.livejournal.com/1752.html (Ed and Al) first blood
http://community.livejournal.com/dramadramaduck/4142422.html?thread=310302806#t310302806 (Ed) first meeting
http://community.livejournal.com/dramadramaduck/4095530.html?thread=306881322#t306881322 (Gilbert) something to believe in.
http://community.livejournal.com/dramadramaduck/3801749.html?thread=282358677#t282358677 (Gilbert) Fuck You History
http://community.livejournal.com/dramadramaduck/3888461.html?thread=289147213#t289147213 (v)
....I'm going to leave it at that. Uhm. Unless you really want more examples.
Action Writing Sample:
[Cynicism is thick in the young man's voice as his voice picks up. In the background, distantly, the sounds of a marketplace.]
Well... this is ironic. I thought I'd be gone for good, and now I find myself here. [He sobers up a little before continuing, adapting a dry tone of voice. He almost sounds bored.] Judging from the other posts on this network, I'm far from the only one.
[Finally, curiously] I wonder if there's anyone out there who recognizes my voice. Unlikely, but then... [he trails off, and the feed ends.]
Third Person Writing Sample: He feels concrete underneath him, and his eyes snap open. Concrete, he remembers, isn't what he went to sleep on, but as his eyes adjust to the bright, daytime outdoors, he's only more confused than before. There's no-one around so far as he can see or hear, so he straightens, stands, eyes scanning the surroundings.
A tinny, nerve-wreckingly cheerful voice makes a PSA over the speakers all over just as the fact that he is in a place he doesn't recognize beyond the fact that it's an abandoned amusement park starts sinking in. He checks his pocket for the photograph of the person he's expected to kill, a woman, asian, dark hair. She looks kind, soft, almost motherly. He's heard her name before, but more importantly-- that's when the headache kicks in, and the nausea, and with resigned indifference you watch the young man that you were crumple to the ground as his brain isn't allowed to draw any conclusions. You've seen this a hundred times before, the scenes replaying over and over as you try to figure out if there's anything you could have done differently, and whether or not there's anything that needs forgiving here.
You know the whole story, so you play the scenes in fast forward. She, the woman on the photograph approaches the young man who is once more down on the concrete. He doesn't realize, his fever is high, and in her naivety, in her foolish desire to do something she finds familiar, she helps him. Helps him to shelter, some abandoned shack, it's blurry even in your memory. Hours pass. He gets better. Asks her name, and while she can't see it, you can see the shock on his face as the realization hits home. When she leaves, dress and apron and wavy brown hair blurring out of sight, you see him, as he slowly, slowly picks himself up. He knows he has to do this, because if he doesn't his whole world is going to die. His best friend and his rival and his enemy, they'll all die and he will die too and his entire life will be meaningless. Whether that's the fever shining in his eyes or madness, or despair, or determination, you really can't be certain. But what you're certain of is the memory of her coming back, like a lamb to the slaughter, and a clean shot to the head, her body collapsing to the floor with that surprised look on her face.
You watch him as he stares for a moment before he lowers his gun, steps close to the body despite the friend of hers who's screaming at him, yelling, but it's an indistinct sound to you and to him both before the guy darts out the door. Probably afraid he'll shoot him, too. But he just unclenches his hand and lets the crumpled up picture of her fall to the ground next to her body. Outwardly, he's calm. He knows all he has to do is survive for another couple of days. He knows someone out there has his picture, with his name, but he's not as careless as she was.
And yet you already know that karma, or whatever the hell it is, catches up with him. A day or so later, there he is again, crouching, hiding, sticking to shadows and dark places. No food and nearly no rest have taken its toll but he's still alive. However, so is the girl hiding behind the trash cans. You can see her clearly, and when he sees her he bolts, and only speeds up when she follows. There's nearly no fear in him, you know, but the adrenaline helps him focus when he realizes he's not going to lose her running. When he turns another corner he stops, takes aim, but he didn't notice that she has a sword and he's standing too close, and before either of them knows it they're both bleeding to death on the ground. You stand over him as you watch a dark red pool form on the ground around them. Slowly, your world, also, turns dark.
"You're not a bad person." Someone's voice. A female one. A young woman, more frail than she'd like to admit, but just as naive and easy to break as the one you shot. In the darkness, all you can hear in reply is your own laughter.