asgard eventide ♥ application
OOC Information;
Name; Doc
Personal Journal; masakados
Contact; aim: starlit roads
Other Characters; rabbitdere
IC Information;
Character Name; Rise Kujikawa
Canon; Persona 4 (link)
Canon Point; Post-True Ending
Age; 16
House; Freya
Power; Power Transfer
Personality; Generally speaking, Rise is a cheerful girl. She's fun, outgoing, and easy to get along with. She's confident in herself (confidence she gained from her idol career) and extremely bold about her feelings. Rise isn't easily embarrassed by most things. She openly talks about relationships, chest sizes, her own measurements, etc. She looks innocent, but she knows more about the adult business than one would expect (although she often is left out of adult games because she's "just a kid", something which she expresses annoyance at). She's flirtatious with boys, sometimes putting her acting skills to use in order to sway their hearts, so much that Chie calls her "dangerous." She has special affection for the protagonist especially, and tends to come on strongly whenever he's nearby. However, Rise also is rather feisty. If she doesn't like something, she'll let you know right away. If she's mad at you or thinks you could do better, you'll know that too (Kanji usually being her primary target- "Oh, just suck it up, Kanji!"). She has a clear idea of what she thinks is right or wrong. She can be very direct with what she says, and at times she won't waver in what she believes. Thus Rise can come off as being awfully childish and stubborn.
Despite all this, Rise is rather empathetic towards others. She is more perceptive about another's feelings than one might expect of her. She's also deeply in tune with her own feelings and has little trouble expressing what she really feels. She supports her friends, both in and out of battle. When it's getting tough, she tries to encourage them. However, she needs their support too. Rise needs her friends to help her do what she does. When her morale was low, she admitted at one point that Teddie's encouragements helped her do her best, even if he did nothing else. And her fans' support and letters always helped her pull through. Rise gives support, but she also thrives on it.
Rise's grandmother told her once that Rise was like tofu. It sounds like an odd statement, doesn't it? But it sums up Rise well. While she looks fragile and weak, she's actually pretty resilient. She stands out because she's unique, but she's able to get along with anyone (much like how tofu is capable of being paired with anything). Rise is a fast learner, able to adapt quickly to new situations. Her acting skills are like that of an old pro, able to show or repress as much emotion as needed. She's a natural.
Rise is a girl who once struggled with her identity. In her past, she was a shy, quiet girl who always stared at her feet. She was plain and gloomy. She had no self-confidence. She was lonely. It was only by chance that she won an Idol competition. When Rise became an idol, she hoped to change herself. She hoped to be popular and gain new friends. However, she was quickly dismayed to see that people only wanted to be her friend because she was "Risette the Idol", not "Rise". They didn't know who "Rise" was at all. Over time, Rise began to consider "Risette" as a fake personality, a fabricated self created by her company. It wasn't "really" her. It was just an act. This conflict of identity was a source of pain for Rise early on in the game. It got bad enough where she took an indefinite hiatus from her career, tired of putting on a show in front of people. She ran away from her Idol self by going back to her hometown, Inaba. She thought she had to find her "real self" by letting go of her career and living normally, as a normal girl in high school. When she was put into the TV world, she had to face her Shadow self, whom spoke of her desire to be truer to herself and her desire to discard her Idol personality. Rise was able to accept that there was no "real self"- she was only herself in the end.
Afterward, she tried to discard "Risette", her fabricated personality. When approached by fans, she tried to deny she was Risette flat-out. She didn't want to be someone she wasn't; she was determined to give up Risette and be truer to herself. But with the protagonist's help, she realized that "Risette" wasn't a creation after all. Risette was just another aspect of who she is. Deep down, she didn't really want to lose Risette because Risette is Rise, and Rise is Risette. They're not actually two different people, but different traits in one person. She realized she's been constantly chasing her "true self" throughout her life thus far. She picks a role for herself, but runs away from it when she's through, thinking she hasn't been "true" to herself. But really, all of her roles were "herself" all along. She's been searching for something that just doesn't exist. There's no such thing as a "real self" or a "fake self". Instead of running from her multiple aspects- her different "selves" (her plain and gloomy self, her Idol self, her Investigation Team self) - she'll embrace them as a "complete self". As Rise Kujikawa.
Instead of trying to change, Rise resolved to return to show biz in the spring and show everyone all of her "selves". She resolved to show that she's more than just Risette, but without denying Risette's existence. She's no longer trying to run away from her problems. She even told the protagonist that she'll write her own lyrics for her songs. She may have gotten a D in composition, but she's expressing how she truly feels!
Samples;
Network Sample; (reused thread from another game)
link: ( http://theloverscard.livejournal.com/656.html?thread=3216#t3216 )
Log Sample;
It had been half a year since her hiatus took place. After the initial wave of excitement- the buzz of an Idol coming to town- Rise was barely bothered when she walked through the streets. Sometimes there was the occasional fan, or someone looking for the thrill of meeting a celebrity, but otherwise it was fairly relaxed. Though she lessened the amount of makeup and toned down the clothing, she didn't really have to disguise herself like she used to. Everyone already moved onto the next big thing. It wasn't unexpected. She was sure her popularity would go down once she stopped showing up on TV, after all. That's just how it was. It couldn't be helped.
But.
Initially that was the idea, wasn't it? Because she'd been thinking of quitting, right? The hiatus was just an excuse she used to leave show biz entirely. So it didn't matter if the fans forgot about her. She wanted to be forgotten as Risette for a long, long time. She wanted people to forget a person like Risette even existed. Risette was just a mask to her back then, a facade to cover up her weak spots in the public eye.
Well.
Thinking about it afterwards, when the heat of summer cooled down into autumn wind, Rise wondered if she wasn't that far off. Risette was like a mask, but in the same manner that her Persona was a facade to face life's hardships. Risette represented her stronger aspects. The positive parts of herself to make up for her gloomier self from before her career took off. A shield to support her, much like how she supported the team in battle.
When she thought of it that way, having Risette around didn't sound so bad after all. This was her power. The power to support others with her own strength, manifested in a smile or a cheer. If that was real strength of heart, hey, she could do it too!
She already made arrangements for another producer to take her in, already had plans to resume vocal lessons in Okina. But she wouldn't have done it, wouldn't have imagined doing it, wouldn't have felt that encouraging push forward if it wasn't for her senpai's help.
Swinging a couple bags of clothing in her hands, Rise looked around for that aforementioned senpai. Now where did he go off to...?
"Seeeenpai, hey...!"