.♛Mello♛.

Personality

As a person, Mello often comes off as melancholy and shy. He's the quiet and introspective sort, usually feeling quite content observing situations rather than getting directly involved. He's not one for grand public appearances or large social gatherings if he can help it. If he goes anywhere, he often tries to attract as little attention as possible. Even when he is put into social situations, he's prone to silence. It's somewhat of a rarity to hear him speak when there's many people around. He has a sort of cryptid-esque energy to him, as many people who see him put it. Encountering him can seem like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of sorts. How people react to said opportunity is very much up for debate. His gloomy and distant demeanor often make him appear quite cold to strangers. He's hard to read, coming off as aloof, though he's far from emotionless. He leads a very private life, hardly ever letting anyone in on more than surface-level details about him. He's good at keeping secrets, and this mysterious nature can make him seem quite ominous. With all these factors combined, he has a habit of being very off-putting to others. Many people who cross his path are intimidated by him on sight. He's garnered plenty of rumors both in and out of Stormbringer. Most are terrified of associating with him in just about any way.

Despite this reputation, Mello is actually a very sweet man. He almost always maintains a calm, polite demeanor when he speaks. He's gentle, easygoing, and patient, and is actually quite pleasant to talk to if you're able to strike up a conversation with him. Even if you can't get him to talk, he'll always make you feel heard. The timid energy he gives off isn't entirely wrong; while he can speak up for himself just fine, he's no stranger to becoming flustered over even the smallest and simplest things. Positive attention like compliments or flirting (ESPECIALLY flirting) will cause him to short-circuit, in a way, though he's working on this. He's a rational thinker, one who is skilled in conflict mediation and giving advice. He can easily command a room if given the chance, though this may just be because people are too intimidated to interrupt him should he actually start speaking. As expected of his intelligence-related position, he is somewhat of a genius. He's good at problem-solving, and knows just how to use information and logic to get around. Coupling his intelligence with his kind demeanor, he is naturally skilled at being very persuasive. If he wanted to, he could very easily get just about anything he desired simply by saying the right words. He's well aware of this, and will often use it to his advantage in his work. He's the very mature and respectful sort. He cares greatly for the lives of others, seeing just about everyone around him as his equal. He goes to great lengths to ensure those around him don't suffer. This sympathy extends even to his enemies; he often feels remorse for any harm he has to cause, and will often do all he can to avoid doing as such. He doesn't take particular delight in his work in Stormbringer, nor in the power of his position. Being at a high rank doesn't mean much to him. Of course he's thankful for the accommodations and benefits that come with it, but it's just another job to him. While he's the patient and sweet sort, he does have his limits. As many people will tell you, you NEVER want to test those limits. Plenty of rumors have circulated about just how scary he can get if he's pushed too far, and no one wants to confirm those for themselves.

Combat

While a true sweetheart, Mello is still a part of Stormbringer. He is INCREDIBLY strong, and will fight if needed. He mainly relies on his ice powers to do this. These commonly appear as an "ice aura" of sorts, which looks like cracked ice and snowflakes. He tends to be surrounded by this power in one way or another at all times, even if not visibly. He's always cold, something he's prone to complaining about. He always has to wear winter clothes and plenty of layers at an attempt to keep warm. His breath is often visible, and resembles his ice aura in appearance. This cold radiates out from him as well. When he enters a room, those around him will often report feeling as though a freezing draft just blew in. Using his ability, he's able to freeze anything he touches. This includes organic matter. If he keeps contact for long enough, he can freeze a person solid. He's also able to manipulate the ice aura in various ways by breathing it out and shaping it into what he needs. He's devastatingly powerful when he goes all out. However, there's a caveat to his ability. If he uses it too much, he'll start freezing himself. His hair will turn fully white (like the light streak in his bangs) and his body will start developing frost, eventually turning to full-on ice. If he goes too far, he will freeze to death. Once he stops using his power these effects will start reverting, though the amount of time it takes for him to go back to normal gets longer the further he pushes himself.

While he knows how to use other weapons, he has a strong distaste for them. They simply aren't his style, especially when he has access to his powers. Having said that, he does still carry a gun on him for emergency use. Very few people have seen it, as it's incredibly rare to see him draw it. It's gathered about as many rumors surrounding it as he has. In truth, it's simply an engraved revolver. It's elegant and classy, and seems to hold great significance to him. Perhaps someone important to him once owned it before he did?

History

Many people have speculated on Mello’s reasons for joining Stormbringer, and how a man like him could rise to such a high rank. It’s information that he keeps close to his chest, and not even those he could consider friends in the organization have figured it out. He is a man shrouded in mystery, and for very good reason. If anyone were to find out his true intentions and leak them to the wrong people, he would surely be killed.

This is because, in truth, Mello has no true loyalty to Stormbringer as a whole. He’s simply been an infiltrator of the group, spying on them for years. He is actually a spy for a vast government organization, one he’s been a part of for years. They have branches worldwide, though their largest and most powerful is in Europe, which is where he was particularly stationed. The organization’s purpose is to deal in matters relating to powers. This includes gathering information to keep a database on the powers existing in the world, keeping tabs on how said powers are being used, and putting a stop to organizations who use such abilities for malicious purposes, among other things. They are known to recruit those with particularly strong or dangerous abilities into their ranks, both to keep an eye on them and to build good defenses against the various conflicts they often end up being a part of.

Mello was originally scouted out for the organization when he was just a child. He was recognized for his incredible intelligence, shown through his academic achievements at the time, alongside the powers he had had since birth. He was taken out of regular schooling and put into their training academy at around ten years old. He was trained in how to hone and refine his power, alongside all the skills he would need to be a good intelligence officer. It was during this training program that he met the man who would later end up being his lover, Sebastian Delacroix. Despite Mello’s shy nature, the two hit it off almost immediately. They worked in perfect synergy with one another, becoming fast friends. Mello developed a crush on Sebastian back then, though he was too shy to act on it. The organization noticed how the two got along, and once both had graduated from the training program and been introduced into the organization proper, they were assigned to be partners. The two conducted all of their missions together, and even outside of work they became roommates. This new level of closeness gave Mello the courage he needed to express the crush he had been harboring for years, and the two became romantic partners as well. If not for their busy schedule and need for privacy, the two would have easily gotten married. They quickly rose to become the organization’s most talented duo. They were involved in plenty of high-profile missions together, and were well-known in the organization for their successes. However, one mission would prove to be their undoing.

After years of successes together, Mello and Sebastian were tasked with a mission overseas in America. Word had spread about a criminal group known as Stormbringer, said to be composed almost entirely of people with various powers. The leader in particular was said to have a devastatingly powerful ability, though no one had lived to tell the tale of exactly what it was. The two of them were tasked with infiltrating the group together. They were to join Stormbringer’s ranks undercover, and attempt to find out the leader’s ability in order to devise a counter-strategy and take the group down for good. The two set out to the states to do exactly that. They began to rise the ranks together, slowly gaining the organization’s trust. They were able to get to sub-executive levels together after a few years, nearing the point of a promotion to chief executive thanks to their efforts. All the while, they were reporting information they discovered back to their original organization. However, one day Sebastian was found out by the leader. This turned suspicions on both him and Mello, due to their relationship. Sebastian, not wanting to risk Mello’s safety and wanting at least one of them to continue on with their mission, took the blame for everything. He did all he could to protect Mello’s innocence. However, word of mouth wasn’t enough for the leader. In order to prove Mello’s loyalty, he was handed a gun and forced to kill the traitor himself. Mello was devastated. This was his closest friend, the man he had been in love with for years. He didn’t care about the mission anymore, he just didn’t want to lose the most important person in his life. However, Sebastian wouldn’t have that. He didn’t want his lover to lose his life either. They still didn’t have a strategy against the leader’s ability, not to mention they would have a whole organization against them alongside whatever threat the leader posed. It was a losing battle, regardless of their own abilities. He was willing to sacrifice himself if it meant Mello would be safe and able to finish what they started. He made the first move to make things more believable, firing the first shot and forcing Mello to act. The two had a gunfight, one which Sebastian lost on purpose, taking a fatal shot from Mello. The leader was satisfied with this, leaving Mello alone with Sebastian in his final moments. Mello tried to save him, but it was too late. Sebastian gifted Mello his gun, easily his most prized possession, alongside what was meant to be his engagement ring, essentially proposing on his deathbed. Then, the two were forced to part.

Following this, Mello was quickly given his promotion as a reward for his loyalty. Word began to spread through the organization about what happened, albeit twisted from the truth. Mello was construed as a cold, terrifying man. It was rumored that he had killed Sebastian in cold blood after realizing he was a traitor. Combined with previous rumors already swirling around about him, this gave him the intimidating reputation he’s known for to this day. Mello, however, was far from cold. He was grief-stricken, something he still has yet to recover from. He has complicated feelings about what happened, feelings that he hasn’t been able to convey to anyone around him. However, he's kept up the mission Sebastian entrusted to him, still using his position to gather information after all this time. Though he now has a much more personal reason for wanting to see Stormbringer burn to the ground than a simple mission.