"In the summer silence, I was gettin violent"

Appearance

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Menta is of a tall, slim build. She keeps deep purple shoulder-length hair, usually tied back into a low ponytail aside from her bangs. She typically wears swirly circular sunglasses in tandem with a mask that covers her lower face and neck. Under her eyes are two dark lines, giving the appearance of eyeliner.

She typically wears a long-sleeved collared crop top sweater with puffy sleeves and large holes where her shoulders are. The rest of her outfit consists of shorts, striped thigh high socks, half palm gloves, and flats. Small peppermints appear on the vamps of her flats and the waistband of her shorts.

Before her initiation in Passione, her hair was much shorter and tied back with a bandanna, the mask still present.

Personality

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Menta is a cheery and kindhearted but often detached individual.

Upon first joining Passione, Menta was a quiet and patient extension of the mafia, eager to follow orders and please both her higher ups and mentor, Rishon. While she is more than willing to put herself in danger to test the limits of her stand, she values strategy and careful planning above reckless violence, mostly due to the creative lengths she must go through to use her stand offensively. She prefers operating alone, and will often turn down help that is offered to her. Despite this, she is extremely protective of both Sardina and Tiramisu, both within and outside of fights.

Despite the gritty work she does under Passione, she follows her own set of virtures. She strays away from missions involving murder, as her first successful assassination left her deeply traumatized, although she refuses to discuss it.

Menta cares deeply about those close to her, even if she knows those bonds are bound to hurt her in this line of work. Although not the most sociable, she is polite to those she meets, even going as far as extending a hand to Tiramisu and giving him a place to stay at her apartment after relating to his situation.

Stand

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Glass Animals, obtained via Polpo during Menta's initiation into Passione, takes upon three ACTs which Menta can manifest alternatively.

ACT 1

Appearance: ACT 1 resembles a small, nymph-like animal. Their lower half is a long, segmented tail fanning out into a flat fins made of a translucent and flexible glass-like material. This same material makes up their hands and the spheres above their hips. On their head, ACT 1 possesses a faceplate that curves upwards to form two small horns, marked by round discs on either side of their face. They have a small beak and short lines under their eyes, mirroring Menta.

Abilities: ACT 1 possesses the ability to manipulate silica within a 15-20 meter radius from Menta. This is utilized most commonly by forming masses of sand or creating projectiles with glass, although it is far more percise with glass than with sand. Menta has a very slight feeling of when sand within her range is interacted with, allowing her to locate people nearby.

Personality: Although exhibiting some kind of awareness and reaction to their surroundings, ACT 1 is not sentient. They only respond outside of Menta's wishes after being directly interacted with, such as avoiding obstacles Menta can not see.

ACT 2

Appearance: ACT 2 is a medium sized bipedal stand. They're structured similarly to a faun, with long digitigrade legs and hooves. ACT 2 possesses the same glass-like material as ACT 1, their tail now much shorter and made entirely of this material. Additionally, there are sections of sharp glass present on their legs. ACT 2's chestplate is more defined, with longer shoulder guards and a belt. Their faceplate is also altered, with two longer horns that curve backwards and accompanied by a furnace-like mask that emits smoke when performing their ability. The face discs are more cone-shaped in appearance.

Abilities: ACT 2 continues to build upon the abilities of ACT 1, allowing for the manipulation of sand and glass combined with the ability to superheat silica they come into contact with, converting sand into glass or reshaping glass into new forms. Their range is shortened to around 10 meters, making them more apt for closer range fights. There is a slight delay in the process of heating sand into glass, however glass created by ACT 2 possesses anomalous properties, staying molten for much longer than it would had it been made by other means. Menta cannot be harmed by glass molded by her stand, but heated glass gathered from the environment can still burn her.

Personality: ACT 2, while nonverbal, displays a higher sentience in comparison to ACT 1. When not in use, they will behave idly, freely interacting with friendly stands and manifesting themself without being called upon. They reflect Menta's emotions, usually in a much more exaggerated manner than their user.

Backstory

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Menta was born into a lower-middle class family in Langfang, China. Her childhood was fairly standard; she did well in school and had a distant yet loving relationship with her parents. At the age of 13, however, Menta's father was involved in an altercation with a mugger and succumbed to his wounds shortly after. His absence caused Menta and her mother to become estranged, with Menta's mother struggling to find additional work and Menta left to pick up where her parents no longer could. The stress placed upon Menta only grew over the months, until she was driven to pack her things and run from home. She remained in Langfang for a few weeks, planning her next steps before catching a one way train to Beijing in hopes of starting her life anew.

Menta survived on the streets, shoplifting from markets and seeking under-the-counter work at nearby establishments. It was then that she came across an underground market that dealt with illegal trade, particually in luxury items and exotic pets. While navigating the vendors, she came across a Japanese showcat smuggled into China by the name of Iwashi, caged and listed at a hefty price for his popularity back in his home country. Menta, feeling sympathy for the cat that was stranded so far from home, stole him from the display and absconded. It wasn't longer after she acquired Iwashi that she came across a hotel that decided to take her in and provide her a room in exchange for her work.

Her first brush with Passione occurred just four months after she settled into her new life, in the form of walking in on an assassination in one of the presumably vacant rooms of the hotel. The assassination was carried out by Unita Speciale Soldato Rishon Affogato, who took a slight interest in her -- he made it a point to visit her during his missions in Asia, the two quickly becoming good friends. When Menta turned 16, Rishon offered to take her on as an apprentice in the mafia, which Menta easily accepted.

Moving into a small apartment in Naples and changing her name within the following weeks, Menta underwent Polpo's test, manifesting Glass Animals. It was only after gaining her stand that she realized Iwashi, now named Sardina, was a born stand user. In the present, Menta carries out primarily solo missions given to her from the Boss through Rishon. Menta and him are somewhat roommates, with Rishon staying at her apartment on the occasions that he isn't traveling for missions.

Trivia

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• Glass Animals' design is inspired from a frog life cycle, with ACT 1's tail eventually becoming ACT 3's second pair of arms.
• Menta's favorite foods are pan-fried dumplings & tiramisu.
• As a child, Menta was an adept violin player, and picked up the hobby once more after joining Passione.
• The lines under her eyes aren't makeup, but markings she was born with.