Rain Yu

Also known as Yu Lei (余雷), an auspicious beast of luck and prosperity who can neither gather any for himself nor catch a fucking break.

• 6', tall and slender, much stronger than he looks
• Black hair, fluffy when styled, worn a bit longer
• Black-brown eyes, often deadpan or just dead
• A collection of scars scattered across his body, some innocent, some not; generally all can be covered with clothes
• A magical mark consisting of a line of Chinese characters down his spine in yellow (土金水火木)
• Dresses simply but stylishly, mostly neutrals with an occasional pop of color; his ears are pierced but often unadorned
• Will occasionally wear tasteful, minimalist jewelry, but more often than not it's because someone put it on him and he will eventually eat it; the exception to this is a plain gold ring worn on the thumb of his left hand at all times
• Maintains a vigorous gym routine; his body is a tool and a worthless object that he doesn't even own, but he's still determined to exert as much control over it as he's able to

• Laconic and generally seems impassive, regardless of what's going on underneath
• Blunt and practical, sees no point in speculating about the future and prefers to focus on what he can do in the now
• Cynical, apathetic, and nihilistic, or at least he tries to stay in that pocket of numbness as much as possible; self-medicates with alcohol
• In truth cares deeply for those he's close to, and has a rebellious, defiant streak that's been tamped down to a dim ember
• Very mistrustful with walls a mile thick, but once his defenses are breached he's ride or die
• Extremely conscious of power dynamics and avoids being vulnerable in any way if he can help it
• Since he has very little control over his life, he's a bit obsessive about maintaining what control he does have, over himself and his surroundings; as a result he won't do anything he doesn't want to if he has even a modicum of a choice, regardless of if it seems rude or selfish or otherwise breaks social mores
• Tries to feel as little as possible, in part because his feelings tend to be big and intense
• Stubborn, and holds to his own beliefs despite what he actually does or has to do
• Will perform when he has to, but on his own is often quite perfunctory, especially in terms of sex and social niceties
• His self-esteem has been worn down to nothing over the years; he doesn't believe in 'deserving' or 'not deserving' anything, but considers himself and his body as basically worthless
• At his core, Rain is a ravening black hole; he craves love, attention, affection, everything that comes with these, but only on his own terms; because that does not seem possible in his current situation or any reasonable time in the future, Rain transmutes this longing into materialism. He collects the trappings of wealth not because he specifically wants them, but to try to fill the emptiness inside of him

• Pixiu form; a large creature with a lion's body, a dragon-like head, a single antler, sharp fangs and claws, a bifurcated tail, and feathered wings. Capable of flight.
• Battle prowess; in either form, Rain is a fearsome fighter
• Luck accumulation; being in Rain's presence will slowly increase an individual's luck over time; however once something 'lucky' happens to them, big or small, it resets to zero and starts over
• Wealth attraction; the holder of Rain's pledge of loyalty will find it easier to amass wealth over time, and luck will be in their favor in financial matters. This effect increases the more treasure he is fed
• Protective charm; the holder of his pledge is protected from evil spirits, demons, disease, and general harm. This effect increases the more treasure he is fed
• Rain's powers do not work on or benefit himself. The only exception to this is that he is unlikely to get sick and will generally remain physically healthy
• Excessive touching of Rain's face, most particularly his mouth and eyes, will eventually impair his abilities until he can be spiritually cleansed; this risk increases when touched by anyone who is not his pledge holder
• Rain craves gold, silver, and jewels, and requires regular feeding, even if in small amounts. His good fortune blessings become more powerful the more he is fed
• The hallmark abilities Rain's species is known for only benefit one person — the one who holds his pledge of loyalty. Once given, Rain cannot repudiate this pledge on his own without great effort, including regurgitating all treasure his pledge owner has fed him. Rain does not currently know how to do this and believes he is trapped in his pledge for life
• Wuxing abilities: All Wuxing members can share their senses when they have sufficient reserves of energy, but as a baseline Rain is able to share his sense of touch with the others and feel what they are touching. He is also able to cause anything the other members are eating to taste sweet

• Born in New York City to a pixiu mother, Song Linyu, and huyao father, Yu Leming
• Far from the charming suitor he had been, Leming was violent and demanding as a husband and a father, an incurable gambler who leveraged his wife's abilities by feeding her large quantities of gold and jewels to accelerate his earnings, becoming abusive at any sign of resistance
• When Rain was two, his mother repudiated her pledge to his father, which left her greatly weakened, and ran away with him
• They moved around frequently for the next year or so before settling in Chicago
• Despite having a pixiu's naturally strong constitution, Linyu was often ill due to the repudiation and not having treasure to eat to offset it, in addition to working long hours, and they struggled to get by; she did not tell Rain about his supernatural family heritage in hopes of him never experiencing what she had
• His father tracked them down when Rain was six; sensing his approaching presence but not having enough time to run, his mother hid Rain in a magically concealed closet with strict instructions not to come out or make a sound no matter what he saw
• When Linyu would not renew her pledge of loyalty to him, nor reveal Rain's location, Leming killed her and ate her heart
• Rain was later found by neighbors, crying next to his mother's body and covered in blood; the police did not put much stock in his statement since he insisted “the tiger man did it”.
• With no next of kin on record, Rain was put into the child welfare system, and spent the next few months at a group home in an intensive therapy program that he would continue to participate in until he was nine
• He was then placed with foster parents Anthony and Eleanor Kim, alongside Lucas Sin and Jasper Yong
• Small for his age, and unused to having siblings, Rain was initially withdrawn and easily frightened but slowly came out of his shell over the next year
• Became something of a clingy crybaby, greedy for the attention and affection of his new family
• Unfortunately, Eleanor was diagnosed with cancer when Rain was ten and the children were removed from the home
• He spent the next several years bouncing between different group and foster homes but became wary of getting too attached to anyone, despite his need for closeness
• Leming retrieved him when Rain was sixteen and his pixiu abilities began manifesting, despite Rain's vehement opposition to the arrangement
• Back in New York, his father attempted to coerce Rain into giving his pledge of loyalty to him; when various methods of punitive physical 'persuasion' failed, Rain was locked in a windowless room and told he was to remain there until he changed his mind
• After multiple suicide attempts, Leming placed magical bonds preventing self-harm on Rain in addition to his physical confinement. When Rain stopped eating, his father simply force fed him. Throughout, he continued to use violence to try to get what he wanted
• With mounting debt and Rain's continued insistence that he would rather die than pledge loyalty to him, Leming ultimately sold Rain to the Hellfire Club to avoid bondage himself when Rain was nineteen
• He was not on the market for long before he was acquired by Mizukami Hana and Wang Zhanyuan ( also known as Jon Wang) for their Wuxing project, a magically bound collection of five individuals, each corresponding to a Wuxing element, for their sexual use
• Initially, Rain was quite defiant despite the magical punishment, inured to suffering after years of abuse at the hands of his father, but this has been worn down into nihilistic acceptance of his circumstances over the years
• When Hana first demanded his pledge, he refused, and continued to refuse for the first couple years of his bondage, but was eventually coerced into giving it to her after she began threatening other Wuxing members rather than Rain himself
• Currently, Rain feels hopeless about his situation and the only thing that really matters to him is the well-being of those he cares about, namely his fellow Wuxing members

• Yu Leming (余乐明): Father; a cunning and charismatic huyao (tiger demon) who charmed Rain's mother into marriage and giving him her pledge of loyalty. Once he had it, it quickly became clear he was after her ability to attract wealth because he was an inveterate gambler with a violent temper. Rain hates him passionately and would kill him given the chance
• Song Linyu (宋灵雨): Mother; a pixiu who was deceived by Rain's father. Gentle and a little naive but fiercely protective of Rain. Murdered when Rain was six, and he misses her everyday
• Lucas Sin: Foster brother, on good terms
• Jasper Yong: Foster brother; Rain allows Jasper to treat him as a younger brother despite actually being six months older
• Wang Zhanyuan: One of his 'owners'. Rain has only negative feelings about him but can't do anything about it
• Mizukami Hana: His other 'owner' and the current holder of his pledge of loyalty. Thinks she's cruel and capricious, amongst other things, but trapped under her thumb