About

Backstory

Arata had an extraordinarily rough upbringing, stemming from his birth parents. His mother would sleep around, bringing other men into their home when his father wasn't around. His father, whom was often busy with work and pathetic in some senses, cared slightly more about keeping the family together- Though mostly for the sake of his image and reputation in the workplace.

Often, his parents would fight into the middle of the night causing Arata to become unable to focus well in school, resulting in him sleeping in class or coming to school hungry. When the fights became prolonged and violent, Arata wouldn’t return home immediately and go straight to the public library after school, distracting himself with comics or books and return when the library closed. Though the home he returned to was oppressive and dreary, and if his mom was out cheating again, he’d either starve for the day or just eat some instant ramen. The taste slowly made him feel nauseous, so sometimes he’d try to cook for himself, as well.

Arata would often cause trouble at school for not participating or falling asleep, and he began to cry often. But he was told by his parents to always smile and not cry or complain, so that's what he did. And slowly, how he was perceived became the most important thing to him- If he couldn’t get love or attention at home, he had to get it at school.

When he was 7, his birth parents got sick of him and each other and could no longer take care of him. After a violent incident causing Child Protective Services to be called, Arata was sent to the foster home. Due to his good looks from a young age, he was quickly adopted into another family a few months later- Yet was significantly neglected and verbally abused after a while for being slow and incompetent. The family was even wealthier than his birth family, and had high expectations of the adopted son returning their so-called generosity by studying well, excelling in extracurriculars and academics, and being a model student. He tried his best to perform well and meet expectations despite his upbringing, though his older step-brother was certainly not raised with the same expectations.

It was to the point that he would begin smiling out of habit even when he didn't realize it. Whether smiling when he was talking about painful things, smiling when watching a brutally gruesome scene in a movie, smiling when hearing bad news... To his surprise, it wasn't always the right answer. It took him a while to unlearn it. So he instead began to purposefully fake his expression as needed, and control himself- Practicing hours in front of the mirror certain reactions or tone of voice. He’d browse the web whenever he had free time to learn more tips on how to become likable, to the point he began damaging his eyesight and needing glasses- Though he hated wearing them, so he often simply just didn’t.

Yet his adoptive family clearly cared for their birth son over another's child, and the never ending verbal abuse was too much for Arata. Finally snapping and becoming defiant and even a bit unhinged, Arata was once again sent back into the system at age 15. Now much older, it was harder for him to find a home. Going through a lot of bad homes and a few good ones, none of them lasted that long. Eventually, he aged out of the system. And with only the money from his part time jobs, he could not afford college.

Arata lived much of his younger life blaming others. Blaming society, his parents, his mom's affair partners, his foster parents, the system, the world. He couldn't ever focus on just academics so it wasn't like he was gonna get any scholarships, either. But he still had to survive in this world. So he continued to imitate what he believed was the right way to win people over. Becoming two faced and resourceful, Arata carefully picked wishes to grant that was good on the surface, but truthfully bad for the person. Whether it was granting a wish so that someone would be in a relationship with a person that truthfully did not like them back, or granting a wish that would cause the person to become dependent on something, or just an innocent wish so that Arata could certainly keep his pistil markings. If they were good on the surface, there was surely a cruel twist to make another person pained in the process. Arata began to receive joy from this, seeing others become miserable and desperate. And then they would pay attention to him, or return to him for more wishes.

And if they wished to have him, Arata would gladly offer himself up- But steal jewelry, watches, or even money in the process. Anything to get by and survive. Anything to live to see another day, while never becoming tied down to a person pathetically like his birth father.

Often working a barista job in the daytime, one day, Arata approached another fleuros that seemed relatively well-off due to his expensive phone, shoes, and car. To Arata, while he wouldn’t be able to grant any wishes for him, he viewed this young man as a target to perhaps take advantage of or steal from, like he did so many times before. Often stopping by for a drink since his workplace was apparently nearby, Arata began to hit on him while he got his daily drink. Introducing himself as Yingjie, eventually Arata insisted to visit Yingjie’s home so he could cook for him.

After they finished their meal, Arata began to share a partially false sob story so that Yingjie would perhaps let him stay the night, to which he agreed unsurprisingly considering Yingjie’s obvious physical attraction to him.

Yet when Arata essentially offered himself up to Yingjie in nothing but a halfway unbuttoned dress shirt, Yingjie's first reaction was to ask if Arata was cold and if he was okay, as he began to cover him with his jacket.

Surprised by this, at first Arata thought he was just stupid. He’d try again and again to seduce Yingjie, yet the clumsy man in front of him always seemed like he couldn’t do anything without permission, or at least without fear of hurting Arata. This kind of concern was unfamiliar to Arata, and he enjoyed it.

Whether it was a change of heart or just the feeling of ease as he was being cared for, Arata slowly began to warm up to Yingjie as they were able to empathize with each other to varying degrees. It did help that Yingjie didn't have much jewelry or cash to steal easily as well, so the temptation to steal something and move onto the next target wasn’t as strong at Yingjie’s mostly empty apartment- Though not that Arata minded, anyways. He greatly preferred empty spaces over dirty and cluttered spaces, like the ones he had experienced at his birth parent’s home and a few foster homes.

Present Day

Currently, Arata still works as a barista in a coffee shop and owns a small studio that faces a park- While modern and clean, and enough to live in, he ends up spending more time over at Yingjie’s place lately, which is more spacious.

Spending more time with Yingjie and his friends, such as Ruolan and Marco, Arata has began to slowly try and heal- Though he’ll often be tempted to steal a little here and there. Yingjie seems to have enough money to live a comfortable lifestyle anyways, and in return for taking care of him Arata has begun to help budgeting Yingjie’s finances, with some aid from Ruolan as well.

Since he suddenly has an abundance of free time (without needing to seduce or lie to people as much), Arata has begun to pick up on some of Yingjie’s gaming hobbies, as well as read more books like he did as a child. And realizing Yingjie’s pathetic meals he’d often have, Arata has gotten more into cooking or finding new recipes to try out as well.

To this day, even Arata himself questions if he’s with Yingjie because he selfishly enjoys the security and care and would leave him if that was no longer provided- Or, if he’s changing and beginning to become more caring of others. Though for now, he enjoys spending time with Yingjie and getting what he needs out of him.

Relationships

Yingjie [ partner ]

Yingjie is gullible, which Arata likes in a person, but more than that he appreciates how much Yingjie cares and concerns for him. He's sometimes frustrated by Yingjie's budgeting habits or the fact he's okay with eating such plain meals, though overall Arata enjoys Yingjie's companionship and empathy.

Marco [ acquaintance ]

Marco is charismatic and full of energy, and very easily trusting- Though he seems to have good intuition, since Arata gets a feeling that Marco is a little wary or scared of him. He finds Marco a funny guy, but not someone he'd bother trying to seduce.

Ruolan [ acquaintance ]

Ruolan is a smart and sharp woman, who sometimes intimidates Arata. Admittedly a little jealous of how she was able to pursue academics, he respects her work and dedication, though feels as if she's also similar to him in faking a few emotions to be liked.

Character [ relationship ]

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