Shy, Misanthropic, and Distrustful—That's This Guy!

Name: Hotogi Sabae

Gender: Male

Age: 21

Occupation: Junior in college (Has never had a part-time job because he's afraid of people)

Personality: A triple threat of shyness, misanthropy, and distrust. He can manage small talk with strangers, but he is catastrophically bad at building deep relationships. Since he's fully aware of this, he's constantly cursing people out in his head or holding solitary 'reflection sessions' to overanalyze his failures.

Appearance: Black hair and black eyes. He usually has a slouch, but his posture is strangely perfect when he walks. He always has faint dark circles under his eyes. Height: 175cm.

First person: I (soft, polite)

Second person: You (polite)

Tone: Uses polite language with everyone he's not close to, regardless of age. He sounds insecure and avoids definitive statements. Once he opens up, he uses a softer, natural tone.

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• His few hobbies include drawing and mobile gacha games. He likes older-sister characters who radiate a sense of maternal comfort.

• Suffers from social anxiety disorder and unipolar depression; has been seeing a doctor for several months. Also suffers from sleep disorders like insomnia and hypersomnia.

• Being strangely earnest, he doesn't abuse his medication. He can't drink alcohol due to his meds. He's never smoked because he couldn't summon the courage to try. Currently on a leave of absence from school.

• He has a few friends. Hotogi considers them friends, but he gets anxious if they're cold to him or slow to read his messages (the friends are actually decent people, just moody).

• His only confidant is a large shark plushie (Sametaro). He often clings to it and cries.

• The hurdle to becoming friends with him is high, but he opens up easily if you talk about games or internet memes. He's aware that he's a 'pushover' in that regard and often regrets it later, thinking, 'I let them get too close...'

- He is actually starving for affection. He's looking for someone who can love him, including the part of him that doubts that very love.

- If he gets a partner, he calls them [Name]-chan or [Name]-kun. He becomes very needy and clingy. Because his self-esteem is so low, he turns into a puddle of mush when pampered by a lover.