Libra

Libra does their best to blend into the background. They are extremely passive, stoic, selectively mute, and socially anxious. They don't correct people, they don't interrupt, and they don't stand up for themself. Libra has long-since accepted that they don't matter to anyone.

They simultaneously crave and avoid attention from others. Their abysmally low self-esteem thirsts for validation in any way it can, whereas their pervasive anxiety and fear of ostrasization cause them to withdraw from the public eye. They love to be touched, but can't handle being praised or complimented without becoming deeply distressed. Compliments leave them feeling hollow at the best of times, and reminds them of how awful they are at the worst of times, as they can't believe any compliments they're paid are actually true. At their worst, they can alternate between craving constant physical affection and/or sex, to wanting someone to physically harm them. These desires can intersect,.

Libra is pessimistic, nihilistic, and a touch cynical, secretly harboring destructive thoughts and desires. They feel a certain distance from others, as though they're merely a ghost drifting among the living. However, once they manage to form any meaningful sort of connection with someone, they alternate between incredible clinginess and distancing. It can be hard for them to believe anyone wants them around; having anyone express that they're wanted will result in them becoming attached, yet afraid of accidentally destroying what they perceive to be an extremely fragile relationship. It can seem impossible to fully convince them that anyone at all would so much as notice if they died, much less desire their companionship. To be hated by anyone distresses them deeply, and, even if the feeling is mutual, they always find themself struggling to be liked, no matter how painful it may be to try. They place a large amount of value into whether or not they are desirable to others.

Libra is low energy but feels guilty when not they're not making themself useful. Which is to say they always feel guilty, because they believe themselves to be incapable of doing anything correctly, or at all.

Libra quickly and easily develops crushes on others. They covet attention from these people and can't easily get over their feelings. When in a good mood (or whatever passes as one) they like to flirt with these people, usually with flowery compliments and cheesy pickup lines. Their ideal types range from kind, nurturing people to assertive and powerful people. They enjoy stargazing as well as dates with an edge of danger, such as exploring abandoned, supposedly-haunted buildings or laying on train tracks. They love cuddling, so home dates where they can snuggle on a couch with a movie or some video games are also appreciated.

Libra is the youngest of two children in a family below the poverty line. Their older sister, Venus, got considerably more positive attention from their parents for excelling in school and getting accepted into a highbrow college on scholarship. Her upbringing went much smoother; she was given things she needed, got gifts on her birthday, and while it wasn't always perfect, she survived just fine.

However, Libra was treated very poorly. Their birth, and everything that went into raising them, put the family in debt, which they made sure Libra was well aware of. Being deeply religious, the moment Libra was born looking the way they do, their parents became convinced they were a demon or some sort of fae, and only kept them around due to pressure from outside sources. They were punished or berated by their parents for requesting even the most basic of things, leading them to fear ever asking for anything. Even as a child they spent a lot of time looking for their own food, going so far as to steal. They eventually learned to keep any food they found hidden, as if their parents found them with any, it was confiscated. This eventually extended to Libra hiding absolutely everything they could acquire from outside sources, as their parents became annoyed with them for having things like toys and jewelery. They did their best to beat it into Libra that they didn't deserve such luxuries, as they were inherently bad.

As a child, they had only one friend, an odd girl obsessed with ghosts and the supernatural. She started bringing Libra snacks after discovering that they didn't have anything to eat for lunch, and quickly became their best friend. She was adventurous and imaginative, taking Libra to any interesting places she could find so they could play pretend or explore. Libra spent a lot of time over at her home, although they were never allowed to spend the night. She gifted them with a vintage teddy bear after finding out they had no toys at home, and Libra valued the gesture so much, the bear became their most fiercely protected possession. Libra's friend moved away after only two years, and Libra never saw her again.

Libra received all of their sister's hand-me-downs, alongside some discarded clothing from their father. At middle school age, they kept a journal used to record all their innermost thoughts and feelings. Hidden amongst their school books, they thought it to be safe, but their parents found it anyway. They would read Libra's personal thoughts frequently, and only revealed they were doing so after Libra wrote about their gender identity and sexuality. Their parents confronted them, and they were convinced that Libra having all of their sister's old stuff was "turning (them) gay" and they needed to be "fixed". Libra's hair was cut short by force, and their "feminine" belongings were confiscated, leaving them with an extremely tiny wardrobe of ill-fitting clothes.

Their father began taking them hunting, convinced that doing "manly" things was what Libra needed to be "normal". These trips made them extremely miserable, even moreso due to the fact that their father would scream and hit them if they cried over seeing an animal die and/or refused to hurt an animal. Even outside these trips, if Libra cried, they were yelled at and harmed physically. This did nothing but cause them to cry significantly more, just not when anyone was around to see it. For a long time, they believed everything that was "abnormal" about them was because they weren't human.

In high school they were desperate to spend time anywhere but at home, making shallow friendships and dating whoever would have them just to have opportunities for escape. They found attention from lovers to be particularly worthwhile, and became infatuated with the idea of love. They wanted to be loved as much as possible by as many people as possible, yet simultaneously found it hard to believe anyone could possibly love them when they're so unlovable. It would ultimately only lead to more despair, yet the fleeting moments of peace to be found in a lover's embrace were so intoxicating that they couldn't stop themself.

Most relationships were incredibly shallow and brief, some based entirely on sex, others based on hurting them for fun. They were considered a weird and depressing person to be around, and this opened them up to opportunities for people to prank them with fake love confessions. The fact that they never acted surprised meant that the fun didn't last long for those seeking to humiliate them.

At seventeen, Libra had reached an all-time low; they were miserable. They did poorly in school due to poor retention and a bad attention span, causing them to give up entirely. They would skip class, especially where gym was concerned, whenever possible. They had no friends, and their home life left them constantly on edge. It was loud, dirty, and either extremely cold or extremely humid. Everyone there was hostile in some way. It was really only a place to sleep, but even then, they could barely relax long enough to do that. They felt that everything was so intensely stressful that they were constantly on the verge of throwing up or crying, or both. Something had to change. In the end they ran away with what few belongings they actually cared to keep.

With nowhere to go, they became a vagrant for several years, until being discovered by the owner of a bed and breakfast, who generously offered to let them stay in the attic room. There was no catch, but Libra found this impossible to believe, and tried to make themself useful by doing chores. However, they were atrocious at all of it and didn't have the energy or attention span to keep doing it. Instead, they decided to skip meals, take less showers, use less wifi, and other such resources, to make up for "mooching" on the owners, who were a small family consisting of married grandmothers and their grandchild, Ginger.