matt; app info
[ CHARACTER INFORMATION ]
Name: Matt; his real name is Mail Jeevas, but he never uses it and actively keeps it secret
Age: 19 (note: he died 5 days before his birthday in canon, so he'll be 20 shortly after entering the game)
Gender: male
Fandom: Death Note (manga only; though I will use the colour scheme for him presented in the official animé guidebook - blue eyes, dark brown hair, and a red-and-black striped shirt - as his colour scheme was never given in the manga)
Timeline: I am pulling him from the moment of his death, at the start of Volume 12, during the Takada Kidnapping arc.
History: (links will open in new windows)
Matt's entry on the Death Note Wiki
Wammy's House entry on the Death Note Wiki to give a clearer image of what type of environment Matt was raised in
Detailed Matt History written for a previous game, including any snippets of headcanon I might use to fill in the blanks
Character Personality: Matt is a pretty minor character in the series he's in, so there's not a lot of very strong indication of what sort of person he is. Most of this comes from strong hints in the parts of the manga he's in, as well as the creator opinions about the character in the supplementary info book, "How to Read." To round it out a bit, I also took what traits seemed to fit him from his sun sign and blood type meanings, as they were listed in the info book as well.
There are two major points that we know about Matt's personality - he's a loner by nature, and he loves video games. Matt was described by the creator as someone who loves gaming and doesn't care much about the world. He seems to be quite inwardly focussed, and prefers his own company to that of others. While he's not a complete hermit, and does seem to be capable of friendly interactions, and is listed as having slightly higher social skills than the other kids from Wammy's House, he still seems to be pretty awkward socially and prefers to keep to himself. He sometimes overcompensates for his social awkwardness in uncomfortable situations by being overly polite. Matt has a more than slight obsession with video games, nearly constantly playing with handheld consoles, and seems to be quite technologically savvy, since he's shown in the comic at one point surrounded by laptop computers with complicated bugging systems set up. It's pretty likely he set these up himself, since his partner-in-crime Mello was never shown with that kind of equipment set up before, and for someone as obsessed with video games as Matt is, I imagine technological know-how would come in handy for setting up systems and likely keeping a home computer optimized so he could play the latest games.
When Matt was in Wammy's House, he was ranked as the third most intelligent student there, though he wasn't considered as a successor to L because it seems he didn't have the disposition to be chosen. Also, considering his stats and how they rank among the other characters, I'm guessing the gap between his intelligence and the successors to L that were chosen was a pretty big gap. He is slightly more intelligent than the average person, with quick wits and lots of book learning, but judging by his preference for staying in rather than going out and his low social skills, it seems pretty likely he doesn't have a lot of 'street smarts.' He also seems to be a bit more comfortable taking orders, though he knows when to volunteer important information without having to report every little thing. He also seems to be quite a composed person, generally remaining calm and without a lot of expression even in bad situations, his rating for emotional strength sits around the same level as the older police officers in the series, so he has quite a bit of control over his emotions, but is still able to be broken. The one exception to this emotional strength is his cockiness and overconfidence. This is fully demonstrated in his death scene - he thinks he knows what the bodyguards surrounding him are going to do, and starts telling them his opinion, but he is mistaken and ends up paying for that miscalculation with his life. A bit of recklessness and a lower strategic knowledge is also shown in the way he goes on a car chase, allowing himself to get trapped in a relatively short period of time by cars coming around front of him.
Matt seems to be a bit lazy, and a bit messy, since in the comic his personal space while carrying out surveillance was littered with snack wrappers and other rubbish, as well as a very-full ashtray with cigarette butts. He seems to subsist mostly on snack foods like chips and candies, and what tidiness he does have seems to be dedicated to his computers and games. He seems to be quite casual, and has a very short attention span, claiming to be bored with watching something that never changes. Similar, again, to other former Wammy's residents, he has a high ability to split his attention - at one point he's shown talking on a cell phone, smoking a cigarette, playing a video game, and keeping an eye on multiple surveillance screens seemingly with little effort on his part. He also seems to have a pretty addictive personality, a common thing among the people who came from Wammy's House, and it's notable that he's one of very few characters in the series that's portrayed with a smoking habit - and judging from that full ashtray, it's a pretty mean smoking habit.
It's also pretty notable that, since I'm pulling him from directly following his death, he'll remember dying and the consequences of being reckless - that particular personality trait will probably be a lot less pronounced, he'll be a lot more cautious, paranoid, and uncomfortable until he gets used to his new surroundings and starts to gain some confidence in his abilities as a Weapon.
Character Abilities: Matt has no superhuman abilities, magical abilities, or really any special normal human abilities. The major things he has going in his favour that others might not is that he is of slightly higher than average intelligence and is capable of splitting his attention in more directions than most people. For example, in the manga, he's once shown watching surveillance screens, carrying on a normal conversation on his cell phone, playing a video game, and smoking a cigarette all at the same time, and seeming relatively at ease doing so. Most characters from Wammy's House are highly trained in attention splitting, and Matt would likely be able to keep track of pretty much everything that goes on in the public computer forums. He's also shown to be a pretty decent driver in the manga, and is able to use and handle firearms, flare guns, and smoke bombs.
Also, cuz I'm really not sure where else this kind of thing would go, Matt seems to be canonically left-handed, which might come up as important in a fight.
Character Weaknesses: Matt has a few major weaknesses. He has a small build, being only 5'5" and 115 lbs, and has virtually no fighting skills, leaving him pretty vulnerable in a physical combat situation. Also, being a loner and a video game nerd, he's not got the best social skills and tends to be awkward and withdrawn around most people, meaning he will likely do most of his communicating via the computer and mostly in written form since other interaction can make him uncomfortable or out of his league. In the manga, Matt seems to lack the drive or tactical ability to be a leader, he has a pretty lazy attitude and doesn't care much about what's going on in the world around him, so he might have difficulty with the whole concept of Soul Campaign to start with. Finally, he's going to be pretty traumatized since I'm pulling him from just after his death, and will have traded in his recklessness for a bit more fear and a mild case of PTSD.
[ WEAPON SECTION ]
Why your character should be a Weapon: Matt is definitely not the fighter sort. If he was handed a weapon and told to fight, he'd have no idea what to do with it unless it was a gun. He's not in the best shape and isn't terribly strategically minded when it comes to something like a battle. Also, in his canon, Matt's function is, essentially, as a weapon or tool of Mello, someone who follows a plan set by someone else and carries out tasks someone else chooses for him while at the same time contributing himself to the outcome, it's a position he's comfortable with, and one that would likely suit a Weapon form more than a Meister.
What is your character's Weapon form?: Being a video game nerd and something of a geek, I thought that Matt's weapon form would probably lean to the type of impractical looking fantasy weapons you see in video games. Matt's weapon form is of a staff with a blade on it, about five and a half feet long (including the blade) with red and black wrappings around the handle and small tassels attached to the base of the blade. The butt end of the spear has a metal cap with rubber on the end for a counterbalance and for bracing it on the ground, and longish spikes that stick out in either direction for puncturing or balancing on with a foot. A rough reference sketch can be found here.
In his normal human form, Matt will be able to turn his left forearm into the shape of his blade.
[ SOUL INFORMATION ]
Soul Description: nerdy, supportive, intellectual, awkward, jocular, lethargic
Soul Appearance: Matt's soul is a sort of dark navy blue with little "hair spikes" at the back, "puffs" to symbolize the collar of his vest, and a bored or tired expression on his face. His soul form wears his goggles, as well. A rough drawing can be found here.
Note: I do not ship Matt/Mello, Mello/Matt, or any other interpretation thereof, nor am I generally interested in shipping within Death Note canon. I play Matt primarily straight, and love to play with a Mello who's a friend and with whom Matt can plot and joke. If you are contemplating apping Mello at soul_campaign please keep this in mind. Whether it's a warning or a reassurance...well, I'll leave that up to you. :)