OOC † Character Notes
Name: (that other) Rae
LJ: aircrash
Contact: AIM (shut up near) or LJ message works fine.
Other Characters Played: N/A
Are you 18 or over? Yep!
Series: Death Note (manga version)
Character: Mello (Mihael Keehl)
Timeline: Just after chapter 77
Personality: The first thing you should probably know about Mello is that he’s a legitimate genius. He’s brilliant - quick to think and act, a cunning strategist - and he spent a good part of his early years in training as a potential successor to the great detective L, so he’s highly adept at critical thinking, problem solving, logical reasoning, and strategic planning. He wasn’t one of the final two candidates selected to succeed L for nothing.
He isn’t necessarily an unkind person, but Mello can be downright ruthless if it’s to his advantage - and it often is. One doesn’t rise through the ranks of the Mafia by being a doormat, after all. He’s declared his intent to win, no matter the cost; all manner of illegal activity, even murder, is an acceptable means to that end. He knows his way around a good number of firearms and explosives, and while Mello may not present the most physically intimidating presence, he’s definitely not weak. However, he isn’t completely heartless, either - during their face-off, he admits to Soichiro Yagami that he didn’t actually intend to kill him, in direct contradiction of his threats. Toward the end of the manga, he shows genuine remorse for his involvement in his friend Matt’s death, and even a measure of basic respect for Kiyomi Takada, whom he kidnaps and forces to disrobe in order to ensure no tracking devices are in operation, though not before providing her a blanket for modesty. This simple kindness later ensures his downfall, as the blanket allowed Takada to conceal and retain the piece of the Death Note she had hidden on her person, which she then used to kill Mello.
Mello is passionate, incredibly driven; his ambition is perhaps one of his greatest strengths. However, that ambition is tainted somewhat because Mello suffers from a vicious inferiority complex. He’s obsessed with being the best, and if he has one fatal personality flaw, it’s that he sometimes allows his emotions to cloud his judgment. Mello is by no means a loose cannon, though; he does not explode with emotional outbursts at the slightest provocation. Mello is also neither a sadist, sociopath, nor a psychopath - he does adhere to a certain moral code, albeit one that is quite a bit skewed. Justice is what he wants, after all - revenge for his mentor’s death, but a certain kind of justice all the same.
Background: We have no canon information about Mello’s early years, before he was brought to the Wammy’s House orphanage in Winchester, England, to train as a potential successor to the great detective L. We can infer, however, that he was orphaned as a young child and somehow showed enough potential in foster care to be recruited by Wammy’s House to participate in the training program. There, his birth name - Mihael Keehl - is abandoned, and he takes on the moniker Mello instead.
When we see Mello at age 14, shortly after L’s death, he’s at the top of the rankings, though not placed at the top - not number one, a fact that has persistently haunted him his entire life (and will continue to do so throughout). Mello stands in second place behind another boy, Near; since L had been killed before he was able to make a final selection, both Mello and Near are jointly offered the title of L. Mello refuses, citing his hatred and utter incompatibility with the other boy. Instead, he announces his departure from Wammy’s to set out on his own, make his own name, live his own life - and defeat Kira first.
Cut to five years later. Mello is headquartered in Los Angeles, and has worked to build a reputation in the underground to the point where he has the Mafia under his thumb. True to his word, he’s still in pursuit of Kira, and using both his underworld connections and some rather unscrupulous means to reach his end. Mello correctly deduces the NPA is in possession of one of two “murder notebooks,” and orchestrates the kidnappings of first the NPA director, then Soichiro Yagami’s daughter, Sayu, in a bid to get his hands on the Death Note in the NPA’s custody.
This venture is a successful one for Mello - he is able to obtain the notebook, study it in action, and learn more about the mechanics of it from its true owner, a shinigami named Sidoh - but it comes at a later cost when the NPA (with assistance from Kira - Light Yagami, who is, conveniently enough, also a member of the NPA) ambushes Mello’s hideout. Kira and the NPA kill almost all of his associates, and the attack forces Mello’s hand into blowing up his own hideout in order to make a getaway. Mello survives the explosion, though not unscathed - the left side of his face (and, presumably, neck, shoulder, arm, etc.) is badly scarred in the fire. His pride is equally damaged, and he is left to continue his quest to defeat Kira - before Near can - alone, without the resources he’s built up over the years, and in even more danger than before, thanks to Soichiro Yagami uncovering his true name - one of the two key pieces of information needed in order to use the Death Note to kill.
Mello resurfaces in New York eight days later and forces his way into SPK headquarters to meet with Near under the pretense of retrieving a photograph of himself as a child that Near had retained. In exchange, he provides Near with a important scrap of information - that at least one of the rules written in the Death Note is fake - and leaves, after asserting once again that he has no intention of working together with Near to defeat Kira. Mello still intends to win this race against Near, against time, against the odds, and the setbacks he’s suffered means he’s more than simply driven, at this point - he’s perhaps even a little desperate.
Abilities/Additional Notes: Mello’s got genius-level intellect on his side, as well as a healthy working knowledge of firearms and explosives. He does exhibit some leadership qualities, and his ambition levels (for whatever he sets his sights on, really) are just about off the charts.
LJ: aircrash
Contact: AIM (shut up near) or LJ message works fine.
Other Characters Played: N/A
Are you 18 or over? Yep!
Series: Death Note (manga version)
Character: Mello (Mihael Keehl)
Timeline: Just after chapter 77
Personality: The first thing you should probably know about Mello is that he’s a legitimate genius. He’s brilliant - quick to think and act, a cunning strategist - and he spent a good part of his early years in training as a potential successor to the great detective L, so he’s highly adept at critical thinking, problem solving, logical reasoning, and strategic planning. He wasn’t one of the final two candidates selected to succeed L for nothing.
He isn’t necessarily an unkind person, but Mello can be downright ruthless if it’s to his advantage - and it often is. One doesn’t rise through the ranks of the Mafia by being a doormat, after all. He’s declared his intent to win, no matter the cost; all manner of illegal activity, even murder, is an acceptable means to that end. He knows his way around a good number of firearms and explosives, and while Mello may not present the most physically intimidating presence, he’s definitely not weak. However, he isn’t completely heartless, either - during their face-off, he admits to Soichiro Yagami that he didn’t actually intend to kill him, in direct contradiction of his threats. Toward the end of the manga, he shows genuine remorse for his involvement in his friend Matt’s death, and even a measure of basic respect for Kiyomi Takada, whom he kidnaps and forces to disrobe in order to ensure no tracking devices are in operation, though not before providing her a blanket for modesty. This simple kindness later ensures his downfall, as the blanket allowed Takada to conceal and retain the piece of the Death Note she had hidden on her person, which she then used to kill Mello.
Mello is passionate, incredibly driven; his ambition is perhaps one of his greatest strengths. However, that ambition is tainted somewhat because Mello suffers from a vicious inferiority complex. He’s obsessed with being the best, and if he has one fatal personality flaw, it’s that he sometimes allows his emotions to cloud his judgment. Mello is by no means a loose cannon, though; he does not explode with emotional outbursts at the slightest provocation. Mello is also neither a sadist, sociopath, nor a psychopath - he does adhere to a certain moral code, albeit one that is quite a bit skewed. Justice is what he wants, after all - revenge for his mentor’s death, but a certain kind of justice all the same.
Background: We have no canon information about Mello’s early years, before he was brought to the Wammy’s House orphanage in Winchester, England, to train as a potential successor to the great detective L. We can infer, however, that he was orphaned as a young child and somehow showed enough potential in foster care to be recruited by Wammy’s House to participate in the training program. There, his birth name - Mihael Keehl - is abandoned, and he takes on the moniker Mello instead.
When we see Mello at age 14, shortly after L’s death, he’s at the top of the rankings, though not placed at the top - not number one, a fact that has persistently haunted him his entire life (and will continue to do so throughout). Mello stands in second place behind another boy, Near; since L had been killed before he was able to make a final selection, both Mello and Near are jointly offered the title of L. Mello refuses, citing his hatred and utter incompatibility with the other boy. Instead, he announces his departure from Wammy’s to set out on his own, make his own name, live his own life - and defeat Kira first.
Cut to five years later. Mello is headquartered in Los Angeles, and has worked to build a reputation in the underground to the point where he has the Mafia under his thumb. True to his word, he’s still in pursuit of Kira, and using both his underworld connections and some rather unscrupulous means to reach his end. Mello correctly deduces the NPA is in possession of one of two “murder notebooks,” and orchestrates the kidnappings of first the NPA director, then Soichiro Yagami’s daughter, Sayu, in a bid to get his hands on the Death Note in the NPA’s custody.
This venture is a successful one for Mello - he is able to obtain the notebook, study it in action, and learn more about the mechanics of it from its true owner, a shinigami named Sidoh - but it comes at a later cost when the NPA (with assistance from Kira - Light Yagami, who is, conveniently enough, also a member of the NPA) ambushes Mello’s hideout. Kira and the NPA kill almost all of his associates, and the attack forces Mello’s hand into blowing up his own hideout in order to make a getaway. Mello survives the explosion, though not unscathed - the left side of his face (and, presumably, neck, shoulder, arm, etc.) is badly scarred in the fire. His pride is equally damaged, and he is left to continue his quest to defeat Kira - before Near can - alone, without the resources he’s built up over the years, and in even more danger than before, thanks to Soichiro Yagami uncovering his true name - one of the two key pieces of information needed in order to use the Death Note to kill.
Mello resurfaces in New York eight days later and forces his way into SPK headquarters to meet with Near under the pretense of retrieving a photograph of himself as a child that Near had retained. In exchange, he provides Near with a important scrap of information - that at least one of the rules written in the Death Note is fake - and leaves, after asserting once again that he has no intention of working together with Near to defeat Kira. Mello still intends to win this race against Near, against time, against the odds, and the setbacks he’s suffered means he’s more than simply driven, at this point - he’s perhaps even a little desperate.
Abilities/Additional Notes: Mello’s got genius-level intellect on his side, as well as a healthy working knowledge of firearms and explosives. He does exhibit some leadership qualities, and his ambition levels (for whatever he sets his sights on, really) are just about off the charts.