I don't know what happened to me. But I will find who did it. And I will make them regret it.
A longtime academic and scientist, Akello is a middle aged adjunct professor who teaches a variety of sciences (mostly in biochem). One night, while he was driving home with his adult son, Marcel, he lost control of the car and they careened off the streets and into a canal. Marcel died in the crash and Raath took advantage of Akello's desperation to trap him in a demon deal in exchange for his son's life.
Thickset and tall, Akello's a large man with a somewhat imposing stature. A frequent shopper in the Big & Tall section, Akello's sheer size is kind of tempered by his lax posture and typically mellow attitude. His laid back, rock-solid stability makes him come across as particularly resilient. Akello favors long locs, though he's only recently begun to experiment with ombre color at the suggestion of his long term barber- just to mix things up a bit. He used to have multiple piercings but has since fallen out of the habit of wearing a lot of jewelry, though he is partial to a gold chain and sometimes a nice watch. Akello is stylish while still staying practical and a lot of his fashion is influenced by the Black & Latin American communities of Miami, where he spent most of his undergrad.
One of Akello's most prominent physical features is the deep cleft on the right side of his upper lip. It was a birth defect but since it was deemed harmless in both size and depth, plus didn't inhibit his speech development, his parents decided to forego surgical correction.
Akello is like a large body of water- chill, fun to be around, a constant and dependable presence in any social circle. But like any force of nature, Akello's got powerful side that spells trouble for his enemies. It takes a lot to piss Akello off- he's great at banter and doesn't mind trading insults or jabs as a way to blow off steam without actually hurting each other's feelings but when he finally gets mad, watch out. He can get loud and in your face if he's really upset about something and if he feels someone he cares about is being put in emotional or physical danger, he will respond swiftly. His goal with confrontation is to send a warning to the other aggressor less than it's actually about beating them in a fight- Akello wants them to go away and/or leave his friends alone immediately, or else.
Akello lived a dream life, for the most part. Sure, there was the divorce about a year ago but that ended on as civil of terms as was possible and in the long run, he and his wife both knew the relationship was functionally over now that their son, Marcel, was leaving for college. Before that Akello was a doctorate student teaching in an adjuct capacity at two of the region's colleges covering biology, botany, and chemistry courses and was generally well liked by both his students and his coworkers. He's the first person in his family to pursue post-grad education and also held a corporate position as a research scientest at a huge agricultural/food production company. Akello especially hated the corporate life and cutting back to just teaching gave him more time with his family, however as the divorce would imply, his wife found this to be too little, too late.
Akello had just started to bounce back from the divorce and seperation when a freak accident- unknowingly caused by Raath- ends up in a deadly car crash that kills Marcel and traps Akello in his car. Raath, a demon of particular sadism and power, offers to cut Akello a bargain: save Marcel in exchange for Akello's humanity and loyalty. Without options, time to consider, and desperate, Akello takes the deal. Much to his horror, the bargain turns Akello into a virulent slime demon with an amorphous form that's incredibly difficult to control. Raath keeps his end of the deal by saving Marcel but fixes it so that Akello's announced dead at the scene and Marcel believes his father was killed in the crash. Ashamed of his new form and desperate to understand the finer points of what happened, Akello rents an inner-city apartment and spends the next six months experimenting and investigating, letting his family, friends, and job believe that he is indeed dead.
Akello's adult son and spitting image. Marcel loves his father and they've always been close, making Akello's sudden 'death' difficult for him to deal with. Because of his intense job requirements, Akello's time with a younger Marcel was limited which prompted him to be more lenient and prone to spoiling him. Marcel's mother believed that Akello got to unfairly be the "fun" parent while she had to take on the role of homemaker and disciplinarian with Marcel, which eventually came the core reason of their divorce. Akello's greatest fear is that Marcel will make the same poor choices / party animal habits Akello picked up during his undergrad years.
Shadow, sadistic asshole who has it out for Akello. When bargain terms enough aren't getting the results he wants, Raath visibly puts himself into Marcel's path to light a fire under Akello's ass and perhaps spark some more obedient actions. To Raath's impressed delight, however, this only solidifies Akello's rebellion more and prompts several violent scuffles to their occassional meetings. Raath wants to make use of Akello's raw power as he was unintentionally given an incredibly useful demon form, but so far they've yet to find common ground to work from and Akello very much considers him an enemy.
Akello was born to an upper-middle class family in the southeastern United States where he was raised by not only his biological mother and father, but also his paternal grandparents. Akello has no siblings but many cousins and he grew up well cared for and has many happy memories of his childhood.
Akello was a good student and early on, his guardians emphasized the importance of taking his education very seriously. Akello grew up hearing about how other family members didn't have the opportunities he had and that his forebearers fought to give him the chance at achieving something with his endeavors.
Akello graduated high school with distinction, being not only a popular, high performing member of the football team (who had won state championships both years Akello played) but he was also Valedictorian and Vice Captain of the Academic Decathalon team (who also won state championships with special awards for debate and rhetoric). He was accepted into his first choice of University and admitted into a prestigious STEM undergraduate program. This, of course, has Akello leaving his family to move north where he lives on his own for the first time.
Akello meets Myrna. Grandfather dies of heart complications. Akello recommits himself to enjoying life as much as possible while he can.
Akello completes his Bachelor's early and applies for a postgraduate program. Once again, he graduated with honors and has no problem gaining the attention of his preferred programs. Stops playing football, at least at a collegiate level. He and Myrna start seeing each other in a more serious sense.
Akello gets into agricultural science and botany. Spends the first 3 years of his program finishing up required classes and attending lab. By this point he's already submitted and published technical papers and is applied to research almost 100% of the time.
