Meet -- Akihiro Nishida (although everyone calls him Aki)
╰─•𖣂•─ Surprise surprise, my Mystery Friend, [REDACTED] drew this at my request!! I added the LiuAki thought bubble but literally who cares sksjsl /lh -- I'm omw to funding their whole future, lorddd
Having undiagnosed ADHD, Akihiro grew up without much support from his parents, due to a language/cultural/age barrier between their ingrained Japanese mindset and Akihiro growing up in an English-speaking environment -- this led to conflicts and strain that pushed Akihiro to become self-reliant.
However, he didn't really know where to start on that. A lot of his self-taught skills grew from humiliating failures, and there are lots of things he still doesn't know how to do (he insists on paying for everything with cash, as he doesn't know how to use his cards and is too embarrassed to ask people) -- he also had to learn how to navigate friendships the hard way, learning from experience how certain behaviours can really hurt people around him.
Akihiro was a hyper lil kid!! Fastest in his class, a lil demon in P.E., "talking back" at teachers and asking questions about things they've just explained. Some kids rolled their eyes whenever he spoke up. Teachers weren't surprised to find him in detentions.
But after accumulating a bunch of moral wounds from failed friendships by the time he reached high school, he mellowed out a bit. Or rather, he started suppressing himself, a method that he considered to be "safe" after reflecting on all the times he acted shamefully. There are times when his excitement and passion would shine through the cracks, but most of the time, he comes off as awkward but well-meaning guy who's still getting a hang of social etiquette, even though his residual pride kind of hinders that journey from time to time.
He absolutely treasures his friends though. He still suppresses himself around them, but he's working towards opening up in time. He loooves lots of things!! Akihiro has favorite bands, hobbies that he wants to try, subjects he wants to study, clubs he wants to join -- but he feels uneasy "being himself" while he still lives with his parents, and thus he mostly keeps his interests to himself. He expresses himself in small ways though, like dyeing his hair (though making sure not to go TOO crazy) and crafting pins and badges and stuff in his room!!
In creating his "Aki" persona, he wanted to incorporate his childhood silliness into a safe space where no real people would be affected by him, but would still allow him to vicariously goof around and cause chaos to his heart's content. He misses his more-outgoing childhood self, and he's still trying to find his place in the world as a university student, so he always envies/admires "whimsical"-type characters who are freely silly and passionate about what they love doing. Enter Liu, stage left.
I think Akihiro would kind of. Idolise Liu at first, just for how he appears on the surface -- as this mysterious and nonsensical character with an ethereal vibe to him. Then Akihiro would have to gradually recognise that,, Liu is still a person with worries and flaws and conflicting behaviours. Akihiro has done a LOT of self-reflection, so he's fairly good at putting his feelings into words, whereas Liu isn't anything like that. So I think Akihiro would see this character that he cares so deeply about and -- feel compelled to help him, yk? Especially since he recognises the helpless part of himself within Liu, in that regard. Idk. Liu is his blorbo!!
