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Kinti was son of a controlling and abusive father and a passive mother. Chafing against the ways of his father brought them to altercations many times, mostly not in Kinti's favor and at around eleven years of age, he ran away from home and lived the life of one forced to live hand to mouth.

It wasn't terrible in the end, however. He found support and made allies in other homeless and in the kind actions of strangers who gave him temporary shelter until the threat of being returned to his parents forced him to leave, though his story truly brightened when the Swirling Sands were discovered by outsiders and the outside world by them. Though he was far past freshling age by this point, he was still young enough for the Academy and attended it gladly.

He's greatly enjoyed his education very much, and while he struggles to choose a major it's only because he wants to be the best in the field he chooses. His father had always called him useless and stupid, and even with those words decades old, Kinti still intends to prove him wrong.

Though he didn't even know geists existed before the Academy, he could pass for one lived among the less scrupulous among them with his skills of thievery honed by necessity during his young life. Though he had learned at the Academy that he didn't need to steal to survive, he continued to hone his skills and does even still out of both fear of losing everything he's gained and a subconscious compulsion that continuing the habits that kept him alive on the street was all that kept him safe now, though if he would say he did it for fun if asked.

Charming and witty, but also cynical and sarcastic, he isn't easy to get close to. Those lucky few who get to see who he is underneath get to see a damaged man who is still, after all these years, trying to figure out what it means to trust.

He holds no general resentment against his own kind, but he remembers individuals who were either cruel or kind and holds grudges toward them this day. No one, not even him, knows what might happen if he ever saw his father again, for Kinti hates him most of all.


Strengths:

Self-aware: Kinti is very aware of what he is and is not capable of, and he's capable of a lot. Though he can come off as arrogant, it's only because he knows his limits and tends not to test the boundaries too strictly if he doesn't have to, especially if he's talking about his skills.
Romantic: He doesn't seem to act the part very well, but deep down inside he's a sucker for romantic gestures and even if he doesn't intend a relationship to last in the long term, if he's dating someone he's sure to do his part to make them feel special while they're with him.
Perceptive: Being able to read people and one's surroundings was critical in his childhood, both at home and outside of it, and it's a skill Kinti has definitely taken care not to lose. It's always a good idea to notice when a situation is about to go bad.

Faults:

Moody: He broods often. His cynicism as expected as his eye color. Even when he's in a good mood, he probably isn't really. He suffered some emotional damage in his younger years, and the scars run deep. Being functional doesn't mean not being bitter.
Hedonistic: While he can certainly be sincere in his affections, most people who he might hang around are nothing to him but means to an end. If they can provide him with something he wants, they're of use to him and his relationship with them begins and ends there.
Isolated: As was said above, he has very few actual friends and it can be pretty lonely. Even knowing he does it to himself doesn't change the fact that he feels alone quite often, even when with those few sincere friends. They wouldn't want to be his friends if they knew what kind of person he was with others, after all.

Kinti loves milk as much as others might love alcohol, which might be stereotypical except that he doesn't care. It's his beverage of choice. When it comes to food he's less picky, just cut the feet off, show it the fire, then slap it down in front of him and he's happy. Also anything black, especially clothing. He might joke that if he wore any other color it might just kill him.

Of dislikes, among them are sudden loud noises and being restrained. His definition of 'restraint' can be something as simple as a hug, causing a response so visceral that it would be better to cause it a phobia. He is extremely averse to touch in general, at best shying away from it, and at worse lashing out violently in a preemptive attempt to defend himself against a perceived threat.

Ironically perhaps, he prefers cramped spaces to open ones, possibly because he can sandwich himself tightly within and ensure no one can come up out of his line of sight. Of slightly more mundane things, he dislikes bright colors, on him or anyone else and steers especially clear of anyone who's coloration itself is bright as opposed to just their choice of fashion. In spite of loving warmth as much as any other bakeneko, sunlight as well ranks up there with his dislikes and sunglasses are a common sight over his eyes whenever he's outside. This is also done to hide his eyes, since he inherited the color from his father and it's hard for him to accept people's generally positive comments on them, as something of his father's could hardly be considered 'good' in his opinion.

In Kinti's free time, he has several hobbies. He might play around on his computer, trying to find weaknesses in coding and websites he can exploit. He might be out and about, filching wallets and then leaving them or even returning them fatter than he found them, depending on the contents found within. For more legal activities, he reads, writes poetry and short stories, and flirts with anyone he thinks ought to be graced by his attention to perhaps predictably mixed results.

First off: I'm so, so, so sorry you had to wait! This was on my list of things to do in early Dec and it just slipped through the cracks. That said, I'll cut right to the chase.

Though first... I full up love the Yuugiou aesthetic here, and don't try to deny it. I'm onto you.

OKAY! Moving right along.

How old was Kinti when he first ran away? I'm worried it's not feasible for freshling to survive on their own, without anyone looking after them.

In what ways did Kinti not get along with his father? He clearly has strong feelings on the matter (especially if it drove him to run away from home) and it's important to him!

Why does Kinti continue to steal?

Those are the main points! I do have two nitpicky things though that you might consider:

Would you say Kinti is averse to touch?

How does he feel about his eye colour, given that it's pretty bright?

And that's all I got!

I know you don't have access to your main account atm, but if you could copy the main part of your app into a new post and add that new information, that would be great! <3

Kinti mostly doesn't like being touched when he doesn't expect it, or by someone he doesn't know well, so if it was someone he was in a relationship with or had a strong friendship with he would handle it better. If he was with his beloved and they were in a private space, he would probably not even show most of his issues at all unless they forgot themselves and grabbed him suddenly, but if they were say, watching a film and they started cuddling, that wouldn't likely freak him out. By 'restraints' I meant if his arms were pinned or a sudden tight hug.

His hypothetical touchy-feely lover would just need to be patient with him, not startle him with suddenly grabbing him and be willing to be on the bottom in situations that would arise in intimate settings.

Kinti is very much the opposite of asexual! He is averse to being touched, but he still wants the intimacy (ahh, the frustration!). It's an ongoing issue he's actively working on recovering from. He's actually a very carnal person himself when he's able to be in that situation. Perhaps it would be a hypothetical touchy-feely person who would help him to get past the abuse in the first place, help to well establish good associations with touch.