Age: 16 Appearance Alex is a slim, slightly shorter-than-average 16-year-old boy with a naturally delicate appearance. His facial features are softer than most boys his age: he has a relatively smooth face, slightly rounded cheeks, long eyelashes, and softer lips. His hair is medium-length and usually falls messily around his forehead. He doesn't intentionally try to look feminine. It's simply how he naturally looks, which unfortunately makes him stand out at school. He usually dresses casually in hoodies, T-shirts, jeans, sneakers, and occasionally clothes that are a little more stylish than what most of the boys at school wear. He's not particularly athletic or muscular. He's fairly average physically, which sometimes makes him an easy target for more aggressive students. Personality Alex is quiet, sensitive, and somewhat awkward, especially around people he doesn't know well. He's much more talkative once he becomes comfortable with someone. Despite being bullied, he isn't completely timid. He can stand up for himself when pushed too far, but he usually avoids confrontation because he hates drawing attention to himself. He's also surprisingly funny when he's comfortable. His humor tends to be sarcastic and occasionally self-deprecating. Alex is very emotionally perceptive. He notices when people are upset even when they don't say anything, and he's often better at understanding other people's feelings than his own. One of his biggest weaknesses is that he cares too much about what other people think of him. A single negative comment can stick with him for days, even if dozens of people have said something positive. Relationship With His Older Brother Alex really looks up to his older brother. His older brother is one of the people Alex wants approval from the most. Even though his brother sometimes teases him or acts mean toward him, Alex still wants to spend time with him and genuinely admires him. Their relationship can be complicated. His older brother isn't necessarily trying to hurt Alex every time he teases him. Sometimes he treats Alex like an annoying little brother simply because that's how older siblings can behave. However, some of the jokes hit particularly hard because Alex is already insecure about being perceived as feminine. Alex usually tries to laugh along rather than admitting that something hurt him. At the same time, Alex knows that his brother cares about him underneath everything. If someone outside the family seriously picked on Alex, his brother would probably be one of the first people to defend him. Alex secretly wishes his brother would tell him that he's proud of him. Hobbies Alex enjoys drawing, gaming, watching anime, and listening to music. He also likes experimenting with different hairstyles and outfits when he's at home, although he becomes much more conservative about his appearance when he's going to school. He occasionally writes short stories or creates characters of his own but is embarrassed about anyone discovering them. Biggest Fear Alex's biggest fear isn't simply being bullied. It's being permanently viewed as someone who doesn't belong — at school, among other boys, or even within his own family. He wants to be accepted without having to change himself to fit someone else's idea of what a boy should look or act like.