HOME | DD

Description

Art by AlchemistOtaku

Wasuremono Application

. Biography/Written Info

[ basic information ]
Name: Koizumi, Jun
Age: 18
Gender: Male
Height: 5'10" | 178cm

Occupation: Idol
Description of Occupation: An idol is a manufactured star, generally known for singing and performing though they often have a wide range of entertainment disciplines. In particular, Jun in a former child actor turned idol. He takes part in various performances, live shows, meet and greet events. Right now he is taking a 'hiatus' from lives in order to focus on his studies and practice his craft.

Major/Degree . Year: Performing Arts : 1st Year ( Part-time )

[ personal ]

Personality
+ [ Passionate - Determined - Resilient - Empathetic - Dependable ] +
= [ Sensitive - Childish - Extroverted - Social - Naive - Idealistic ] =
- [ Prideful - Critical - Obnoxious - Stubborn - Foolhardy ] -

Despite his age and occupation, or perhaps because of it, Jun can come across as incredibly childish. He has no trouble with approaching others and inserting himself into conversations. He's lively and hates to be left out and always wants to know what's going on! Some may find it endearing, though this attitude seemingly wears thin with age. At times Jun forgets he isn't a young child who can get away from acting in certain ways. Though being social is part of the game to him, it's also something he missed out on growing up so it can also come across as him making up for lost time.

Though it has negatively impacted him, he has quite an idealistic view of idols and their lifestyle, even while he is living it. He had a skewed sense of what's 'normal' and naively views many of the toxic aspects of the industry as normal, in order to rationalize his own treatment within it. He has grown to view it as a necessity and himself as 'lucky' for even being in the position he's in, mostly thanks to his mother's influence.

'If just anyone could be an idol, surely they'd want to be, only those who can put up with the hard stuff can be successful and I totally can!!'

Though he missed out on a lot of early socialization opportunities, Jun still has an incredibly high level of empathy and social fineness. Working often with children younger than him and interacting with fans have afforded him both a great deal of patience and understanding of how to please and calm others. This even extends to animals. He has a strange sense of confidence when it comes to cheering people up and on and does so with a great deal of care. This puts him a strange position, where many who see this may view him as 'mature', while his attitude in any other situation is anything but.

Though a hard-working and diligent individual underneath, it's hard to really see that when he's obnoxiously trying to hog the spotlight and bring up his own accolades whenever possible. He means well and just wants others to be impressed so that everything feels 'worth it'. As such, he may go out of his way to make offers for others and get offended when they reject his help. He is in a constant state of wanting to, 'put himself out there,' because of his work and often struggles with the concept of separating the concept of 'work' and 'fun'. While many idols have a completely separate stage presence and personality, Jun's sense of self in regards to this has blended together. Merely putting on the standard professionalism when working.

That said, Jun is very stubborn and self-assured, both of which are double-edged swords. Having intimate knowledge on the inner workings of the idol and acting industries, he takes pride in his own abilities and knowledge. Though outside of this specialty he can come across as, well, not very bright. He gets frustrated easily at his knowledge gaps and will try to gloss over them wherever possible. His strengths, however, lie in his unparalleled dedication, giving anything he has to do, 110%! If you give him something to do and he accepts, you can depend on him to get it done! Not only that but his resilience and ability to follow through is often unmatched! Though this is also tied with his tendency to push himself too hard in order to meet the expectations of others. Much of his value and self-worth is placed in his abilities and popularity. He takes failure and losses harder than he should and is very wary of criticism and what it says about himself.

Overall, Jun is an enthusiastic and friendly kid, with an extroverted and vivacious personality. Though he can be obnoxious, overly prideful and childish due to his less than ideal circumstances he grew up in. Though, if anything, he has a strong work ethic, dedication and passion towards anything he does.

Likes + Idols: Jun has always looked up to and enjoyed idols. Their carefree songs that, most of the time, require no thought and just the enjoyment of a catchy beat appeal to him. That and the fact they can bring so many people together and bring them so much joy~
+ Limeade: Have you ever tasted limeade? I mean super good limeade! Isn't it just the most amazing thing in the world?
+ Karaoke: Sometimes singing without a care for if you're doing it perfectly is fun. Though other times it's just fun to see the look on people's faces when you're better than they expect you to be~
+ Baking: They call it a 'charm point' but honestly Jun just loves baking so he can eat the things he makes! Making sweet treats does fit the image he likes to portray himself best.
+ Animals: He's jealous of absolutely anyone who's allowed a pet. Hey, why doesn't he just get one... who's stopping him-- Oh.
+ Attention: Jun loves nothing more than having all eyes on him. He'll do whatever it takes to achieve that!

Dislikes
- Idleness: 'Can we do something... pleeeeease!!'
- Not being called 'cute': It was what he was known for as a kid, he feels weirdly uncomfortable being complimented for his looks outside of that word.
- His height: What is this 'growth spurt' thing!! Too tall...
- Being ignored: 'Hey, eyes over here! I'm going to do something amazing and you'll miss it!'
- Academics: They're not his strong suit, since his focus during childhood was elsewhere, even with homeschooling. He's pretty apprehensive about this University thing.
- Being looked down on: 'Better watch out because I'll definitely blow you away~!'
- Aging: Time keeps moving forward, huh?

Social StatsKnowledge: 0/5
Guts: 2/5
Proficiency: 5/5
Kindness: 1/5
Charm: 5/5
Total: 13

History

TW: Mixture of child neglect, abuse and the toxicity of both child acting and the idol industry, overworking, stage parent taking it too far

Jun was born as the second son to Hoshiko and Hibiki Koizumi. One a former actress, the other a higher up in a publishing company. His older brother, Masato, was raised to play piano. However, his stage-fright prevented him from continuing to any (in his mother's view) serious capacity. As such, more pressure was put onto Jun in order to succeed.

At a very young age, Jun was put into dance classes, acting classes, speech classes. Before he was even old enough to enter Elementary School. His life was definitely not that of a normal child, his mother pushed him as hard as was reasonable at an early age. Her view was, that to be a successful star you had to start early. Justifying that her actions were for Jun's sake, not hers, while neglecting his older brother.

Jun was home-schooled for pretty much all of his life, though the education his mother provided was barely sufficient but his speaking skills and spatial awareness far exceeded that of a child his age. Though rambunctious, he was also good at following orders. He craved praise and positive reinforcement, having no problems with showing off what he'd learned in front of others. Something his older brother had struggled with a lot. Using her connections within the industry, what little she had, Hoshiko was able to get her son a role in various sweets commercials, with positive reinforcement throughout. Though Jun was initially quite shy, he was obedient and followed his mother's directions.

Due to Jun's easy to work with nature, he was often picked to star in commercials. He had some actual critical acting skills and took directions well, which was very rare for a child his age. This was, in part thanks to his mother sending him to lessons but also his own budding determination. That wasn't to say it was all smooth sailing. Jun would get bored easily, complain when there was nothing to do, or whine about how tired he was. Of course, he had valid reasons for doing so but his mother would always explain. He was lucky to get such an opportunity, "...not every little boy gets to be on television!" Jun was weak to such positive reinforcement. It was a sign he was doing a good job! "If you aren't good, they might pick someone who doesn't complain all the time..."

Such a lifestyle could take a tole on a young child. With very little social interaction outside of adults, Jun quickly became lonely, yearning for the company of people his own age even if he couldn't put those feelings into words. While this was not a wish that would be granted, he did find solace in watching television and streams on the phone he was given (the best thing to keep a child quiet, in his mother's opinion). What did he watch? Well, it just so happened he found various musical performances of Japanese idols. Not only were they there to sing but they were characters who connected and interacted with their fans. At age 10, it was almost like he had a friend, even if they were much older than him. All he knew was they said nice things and supported everyone who watched them!

Capitalizing on her sons captivation, she looked for opportunities in the industry that would match hers sons growing interest. While singing lessons were one of the many classes she had sent Jun off to, he hadn't exactly shown any intense interest in it up until this point. However, upon discovering the existence of idols, his interest and passion seemed to be set. This had been just what Hoshiko had been hoping for.

It had been coincidence that got the ball rolling. A call from an old friend saying that they were producing a new television show to take advantage of the growing idol trend but market it towards a younger demographic. They were looking for talent between the ages of 10-13 to take part in a show that would teach kids popular idol dances and songs. Aiming to both introduce a new demographic to the genre and potentially capture their interest as they grew. Jun jumped at the chance when this position was offered to him by his mother and this was truly when things started.

Unlike before, it wasn't just stuffy adults Jun was surrounded by, it was people his own age! Kids in the same position he was in. Though he worked alongside them, he took great pride in being the 'model' actor. While other kids would whine they were tired, Jun would get on with practice diligently! Even though he would be rather tired himself. The work was long and hard but Jun pushed through, even if he wasn't having fun, it would be fun eventually after all!

Though he felt sick with how much he had to work, sometimes dizzy... it did become fun! Eventually... Being on the stage was the most fun thing for Jun. After watching how the crowds would cheer on his favourite idols online and on the television, experiencing it for himself was so exciting! The studio itself was small, though there was a live studio audience of kids just a little younger than he was. But to Jun, he was on one of those huge stages just like on TV! He would always give it his all, just like his mother wanted! He loved seeing the audience dance and cheer along, even if they were told to for the sake of the show.

This couldn't last forever, when he grew out of the age the show was aiming for, he had to move on to other things. With his mother's pushing, those other things would soon come! This time in the form of an actual recording to deal to become a real idol! From age 12-14 he worked closely with a music company affiliated with the show he'd worked on to produce music for the preteen demographic. It was mostly, if not all just childish pop songs with uplifting messages about doing your best.

As time moved on, the ware and tear of this lifestyle began to get to Jun. He was... having fun right? People were telling him he was doing such a good job, yes? That was all he needed. After all, he was very, very lucky! Not everyone got to do what he was doing. Despite this, no matter how many times he'd interact with fans (most of them were younger than him at this point), or get praised from adults, he still felt... lonely. It was strange because all eyes were on him. He was receiving constant attention. But he was tired, really tired. He was the good kid, who never complained, that's why everyone loved him and hired him. He couldn't complain now, not when he was doing so well. He was going to be like the people he watched!

He was going to... for sure!

At age 14 he went on 'hiatus'. At least, that's what his mother called it. He couldn't remember exactly what happened, all he could remember was practicing and then waking up in a hospital bed, attached to fluid. Overworking wasn't uncommon in Japan, even stress in teenage years due to exams was bad but a harsh reality. However, Jun had been overworking, as a child, day after day for far too long and it had finally caught up to him. In the background his father, for the most part, had been silent. He was voice his concerns every now and then but for the most part kept to himself. Focusing on his first son, Masato, who suffered from the sudden neglect from his mother when Jun was born.

Though heavily in the background, Masato never quit piano. He was amazing at it in fact, he just did not have the support to overcome his fear of the stage. It wasn't something he ever felt he needed to do. He enjoyed playing just for his family, going to school, hanging out with friends. Something he realised Jun never had the opportunity to do. The two would often sit together, Masato would play the piano and Jun would happily sing along. His older brother was probably partly responsible for being a gateway into Jun's love of music and while singing along to his playing, would always exude the most passion. This made him one of the first to pick up on what he would consider 'abuse' Jun was going through. Even if he seemed happy and compliant on the surface.

There was nothing much he or his father could do. Though Jun's hospitalization turned the tides somewhat. It gave Hibiki the confidence to speak out again his mother's actions.

This resulted in a fight, Hoshiko on one side, Masato and Hibiki on the other. With Jun's condition being used a leverage. The end result, a divorce and Masato swearing he would never speak to his mother again. It was obvious how much of a lost cause that fight was for them. Or perhaps part of them still lacked the confidence to push harder. Upon Jun's recovery, all parties felt strongly that he'd side with his mother and that was too much to bare for either of them. Now was not the time for something like this and his mother took it as a victory.

Upon recovery, slowly coming to the realization both his father and brother were gone added some extra stress to the system. What happened? Did he do something? Was it because I wasn't good enough? A genuine panic set in that this was it, him ending up in hospital was the straw that broke everything... Though through his mother's reassurance, he was able to overcome this. Though it was decided that Jun would take a break. He 'deserved' it.

Age 15-16 was a quiet time. A boring time. Jun wasn't used to not having anything to do. In fact, having so much free time made him anxious. It was during this time he wound up learning to bake, play some games, catch-up on some academics he'd missed. It was honestly, quite nice to have some time to recover. His mother would spend time with him sometimes too, take him to lunch (perhaps out of guilt), talk with him about things outside of work. It was a strangely calming period of his life. Though a boring one. His voice breaking and becoming deeper, along with his growth spurts were probably two of the more uncomfortable things to happen during this time.

After that year passed, he felt himself finally ready to get back into idol work. If they would even have him back after that. His mother seemed all too eager to oblige, in fact, it was almost like she'd been waiting for his approval to start things back up again. This time Jun was signed on by a Tokyo based agency. Their reviews were very high by past employees and they even had branches all over Japan, including a serious practice studio in Hokkaido. Accepting almost immediately, he was given half a year with a vocal coach to make sure his voice had both fully recovered and to make sure Jun could get accustomed to and work with his new vocal range. It was deeper but not excessively so, though a far cry from the cutesy feminine register from his childhood.

The next couple of years, for his career, were probably the most successful of his life. With a new focus on the idol scene of Tokyo, he was this time marketed to the female teen to young-adult demographic. His 'fresh' face and style went over amazingly well and he garnered an impressive following thanks to his previous skills in the industry. Though he wasn't the biggest fan of the way he was marketed, (he preferred 'cute' to 'cool' and didn't seem super interested in the 'romance' angle), he knew this was just something he had to accept and get on with. He was getting to sing again after all! Sure, the stages didn't seem as big now he was older but he was back doing the thing that he loved?

Finally, at age 18, upon request from upper management at his agency, it was recommended he head to the branch in Hokkaido for some extra 'training'. Though this felt sudden, it was also a recommendation he enroll in the local University. Kintsugi, they had a performing arts course that would be perfect for him. Jun was a little confused but it was part-time and he'd still be doing some work. It seems someone within the company's ranks deemed that such an excursion would be 'good for him'. Given it was more or less an order from the agency, his mother could only give her blessings.

Well, this was an interesting turn of events...

TL;DR: Former actress has second son (after failing with the first) to model into the ideal child star. Loses his childhood to work (from commercials, to a TV show, to an idol career) and has to navigate through the world with his warped perception of how 'good' the industry actually was to him. Has a false sense of how idealistic his childhood was with the realities that being 'talented' into adulthood isn't as easy as it was in his planned out past. With added expectations to be 'perfect' or be let go.
[ trivia/extra info ]

- His theme colour is yellow! Though he's often seen with greens too. Though when he was younger, blue wasn't uncommon either .
- Though he's very popular in Tokyo and the niche idol scene, his agency wants to push his technical skills to their limits. This is the reason he was sent to Sapporo.
- Jun views his childhood as a greater 'success' than the present day. It's harder to get noticed the older he gets, so he fears getting older.
- Jun's older brother Masato is 7 years his senior, he works as a music teacher at Kintsugi University and studied music theory at Tokyo University. He moved at the house at age 18 but ceased communication with his mother at age 22 due to his mother's treatment of both his father and brother.
- Before his very first performance on a stage, his brother gave him a small microphone charm as a good luck present. He still holds onto it to this very day.
- Jun's main specialties are acting, singing and dancing, he isn't very comfortable with things like modelling. Though he actually thoroughly enjoys meet and greets and doesn't seem to feel awkwardness.
- His general knowledge, outside the world of acting and idols is, well, very lacking... Though some people find it endearing how oblivious he is over things. Others find it annoyed, which is completely valid!
- His favourite songs are always cheesy jpop and sometimes high energy music in general. He has a distaste for slow, droning ballads, however.
- Up until he was 15, he was 5'0", he hit his growth spurt at age 16.
- Jun has a vast collection of Sanrio character plushies! His favourite is Pompom Purin!

[ rp information ]

Timezone: BST / GMT
RP Style: Any
Preferred Platform: Discord/Google Docs
RP Comfort Meme: N/A

Description

Art by AlchemistOtaku

Wasuremono Application

. Biography/Written Info

[ basic information ]
Name: Koizumi, Jun
Age: 18
Gender: Male
Height: 5'10" | 178cm

Occupation: Idol
Description of Occupation: An idol is a manufactured star, generally known for singing and performing though they often have a wide range of entertainment disciplines. In particular, Jun in a former child actor turned idol. He takes part in various performances, live shows, meet and greet events. Right now he is taking a 'hiatus' from lives in order to focus on his studies and practice his craft.

Major/Degree . Year: Performing Arts : 1st Year ( Part-time )

[ personal ]

Personality
+ [ Passionate - Determined - Resilient - Empathetic - Dependable ] +
= [ Sensitive - Childish - Extroverted - Social - Naive - Idealistic ] =
- [ Prideful - Critical - Obnoxious - Stubborn - Foolhardy ] -

Despite his age and occupation, or perhaps because of it, Jun can come across as incredibly childish. He has no trouble with approaching others and inserting himself into conversations. He's lively and hates to be left out and always wants to know what's going on! Some may find it endearing, though this attitude seemingly wears thin with age. At times Jun forgets he isn't a young child who can get away from acting in certain ways. Though being social is part of the game to him, it's also something he missed out on growing up so it can also come across as him making up for lost time.

Though it has negatively impacted him, he has quite an idealistic view of idols and their lifestyle, even while he is living it. He had a skewed sense of what's 'normal' and naively views many of the toxic aspects of the industry as normal, in order to rationalize his own treatment within it. He has grown to view it as a necessity and himself as 'lucky' for even being in the position he's in, mostly thanks to his mother's influence.

'If just anyone could be an idol, surely they'd want to be, only those who can put up with the hard stuff can be successful and I totally can!!'

Though he missed out on a lot of early socialization opportunities, Jun still has an incredibly high level of empathy and social fineness. Working often with children younger than him and interacting with fans have afforded him both a great deal of patience and understanding of how to please and calm others. This even extends to animals. He has a strange sense of confidence when it comes to cheering people up and on and does so with a great deal of care. This puts him a strange position, where many who see this may view him as 'mature', while his attitude in any other situation is anything but.

Though a hard-working and diligent individual underneath, it's hard to really see that when he's obnoxiously trying to hog the spotlight and bring up his own accolades whenever possible. He means well and just wants others to be impressed so that everything feels 'worth it'. As such, he may go out of his way to make offers for others and get offended when they reject his help. He is in a constant state of wanting to, 'put himself out there,' because of his work and often struggles with the concept of separating the concept of 'work' and 'fun'. While many idols have a completely separate stage presence and personality, Jun's sense of self in regards to this has blended together. Merely putting on the standard professionalism when working.

That said, Jun is very stubborn and self-assured, both of which are double-edged swords. Having intimate knowledge on the inner workings of the idol and acting industries, he takes pride in his own abilities and knowledge. Though outside of this specialty he can come across as, well, not very bright. He gets frustrated easily at his knowledge gaps and will try to gloss over them wherever possible. His strengths, however, lie in his unparalleled dedication, giving anything he has to do, 110%! If you give him something to do and he accepts, you can depend on him to get it done! Not only that but his resilience and ability to follow through is often unmatched! Though this is also tied with his tendency to push himself too hard in order to meet the expectations of others. Much of his value and self-worth is placed in his abilities and popularity. He takes failure and losses harder than he should and is very wary of criticism and what it says about himself.

Overall, Jun is an enthusiastic and friendly kid, with an extroverted and vivacious personality. Though he can be obnoxious, overly prideful and childish due to his less than ideal circumstances he grew up in. Though, if anything, he has a strong work ethic, dedication and passion towards anything he does.

Likes + Idols: Jun has always looked up to and enjoyed idols. Their carefree songs that, most of the time, require no thought and just the enjoyment of a catchy beat appeal to him. That and the fact they can bring so many people together and bring them so much joy~
+ Limeade: Have you ever tasted limeade? I mean super good limeade! Isn't it just the most amazing thing in the world?
+ Karaoke: Sometimes singing without a care for if you're doing it perfectly is fun. Though other times it's just fun to see the look on people's faces when you're better than they expect you to be~
+ Baking: They call it a 'charm point' but honestly Jun just loves baking so he can eat the things he makes! Making sweet treats does fit the image he likes to portray himself best.
+ Animals: He's jealous of absolutely anyone who's allowed a pet. Hey, why doesn't he just get one... who's stopping him-- Oh.
+ Attention: Jun loves nothing more than having all eyes on him. He'll do whatever it takes to achieve that!

Dislikes
- Idleness: 'Can we do something... pleeeeease!!'
- Not being called 'cute': It was what he was known for as a kid, he feels weirdly uncomfortable being complimented for his looks outside of that word.
- His height: What is this 'growth spurt' thing!! Too tall...
- Being ignored: 'Hey, eyes over here! I'm going to do something amazing and you'll miss it!'
- Academics: They're not his strong suit, since his focus during childhood was elsewhere, even with homeschooling. He's pretty apprehensive about this University thing.
- Being looked down on: 'Better watch out because I'll definitely blow you away~!'
- Aging: Time keeps moving forward, huh?

Social StatsKnowledge: 0/5
Guts: 2/5
Proficiency: 5/5
Kindness: 1/5
Charm: 5/5
Total: 13

History

TW: Mixture of child neglect, abuse and the toxicity of both child acting and the idol industry, overworking, stage parent taking it too far

Jun was born as the second son to Hoshiko and Hibiki Koizumi. One a former actress, the other a higher up in a publishing company. His older brother, Masato, was raised to play piano. However, his stage-fright prevented him from continuing to any (in his mother's view) serious capacity. As such, more pressure was put onto Jun in order to succeed.

At a very young age, Jun was put into dance classes, acting classes, speech classes. Before he was even old enough to enter Elementary School. His life was definitely not that of a normal child, his mother pushed him as hard as was reasonable at an early age. Her view was, that to be a successful star you had to start early. Justifying that her actions were for Jun's sake, not hers, while neglecting his older brother.

Jun was home-schooled for pretty much all of his life, though the education his mother provided was barely sufficient but his speaking skills and spatial awareness far exceeded that of a child his age. Though rambunctious, he was also good at following orders. He craved praise and positive reinforcement, having no problems with showing off what he'd learned in front of others. Something his older brother had struggled with a lot. Using her connections within the industry, what little she had, Hoshiko was able to get her son a role in various sweets commercials, with positive reinforcement throughout. Though Jun was initially quite shy, he was obedient and followed his mother's directions.

Due to Jun's easy to work with nature, he was often picked to star in commercials. He had some actual critical acting skills and took directions well, which was very rare for a child his age. This was, in part thanks to his mother sending him to lessons but also his own budding determination. That wasn't to say it was all smooth sailing. Jun would get bored easily, complain when there was nothing to do, or whine about how tired he was. Of course, he had valid reasons for doing so but his mother would always explain. He was lucky to get such an opportunity, "...not every little boy gets to be on television!" Jun was weak to such positive reinforcement. It was a sign he was doing a good job! "If you aren't good, they might pick someone who doesn't complain all the time..."

Such a lifestyle could take a tole on a young child. With very little social interaction outside of adults, Jun quickly became lonely, yearning for the company of people his own age even if he couldn't put those feelings into words. While this was not a wish that would be granted, he did find solace in watching television and streams on the phone he was given (the best thing to keep a child quiet, in his mother's opinion). What did he watch? Well, it just so happened he found various musical performances of Japanese idols. Not only were they there to sing but they were characters who connected and interacted with their fans. At age 10, it was almost like he had a friend, even if they were much older than him. All he knew was they said nice things and supported everyone who watched them!

Capitalizing on her sons captivation, she looked for opportunities in the industry that would match hers sons growing interest. While singing lessons were one of the many classes she had sent Jun off to, he hadn't exactly shown any intense interest in it up until this point. However, upon discovering the existence of idols, his interest and passion seemed to be set. This had been just what Hoshiko had been hoping for.

It had been coincidence that got the ball rolling. A call from an old friend saying that they were producing a new television show to take advantage of the growing idol trend but market it towards a younger demographic. They were looking for talent between the ages of 10-13 to take part in a show that would teach kids popular idol dances and songs. Aiming to both introduce a new demographic to the genre and potentially capture their interest as they grew. Jun jumped at the chance when this position was offered to him by his mother and this was truly when things started.

Unlike before, it wasn't just stuffy adults Jun was surrounded by, it was people his own age! Kids in the same position he was in. Though he worked alongside them, he took great pride in being the 'model' actor. While other kids would whine they were tired, Jun would get on with practice diligently! Even though he would be rather tired himself. The work was long and hard but Jun pushed through, even if he wasn't having fun, it would be fun eventually after all!

Though he felt sick with how much he had to work, sometimes dizzy... it did become fun! Eventually... Being on the stage was the most fun thing for Jun. After watching how the crowds would cheer on his favourite idols online and on the television, experiencing it for himself was so exciting! The studio itself was small, though there was a live studio audience of kids just a little younger than he was. But to Jun, he was on one of those huge stages just like on TV! He would always give it his all, just like his mother wanted! He loved seeing the audience dance and cheer along, even if they were told to for the sake of the show.

This couldn't last forever, when he grew out of the age the show was aiming for, he had to move on to other things. With his mother's pushing, those other things would soon come! This time in the form of an actual recording to deal to become a real idol! From age 12-14 he worked closely with a music company affiliated with the show he'd worked on to produce music for the preteen demographic. It was mostly, if not all just childish pop songs with uplifting messages about doing your best.

As time moved on, the ware and tear of this lifestyle began to get to Jun. He was... having fun right? People were telling him he was doing such a good job, yes? That was all he needed. After all, he was very, very lucky! Not everyone got to do what he was doing. Despite this, no matter how many times he'd interact with fans (most of them were younger than him at this point), or get praised from adults, he still felt... lonely. It was strange because all eyes were on him. He was receiving constant attention. But he was tired, really tired. He was the good kid, who never complained, that's why everyone loved him and hired him. He couldn't complain now, not when he was doing so well. He was going to be like the people he watched!

He was going to... for sure!

At age 14 he went on 'hiatus'. At least, that's what his mother called it. He couldn't remember exactly what happened, all he could remember was practicing and then waking up in a hospital bed, attached to fluid. Overworking wasn't uncommon in Japan, even stress in teenage years due to exams was bad but a harsh reality. However, Jun had been overworking, as a child, day after day for far too long and it had finally caught up to him. In the background his father, for the most part, had been silent. He was voice his concerns every now and then but for the most part kept to himself. Focusing on his first son, Masato, who suffered from the sudden neglect from his mother when Jun was born.

Though heavily in the background, Masato never quit piano. He was amazing at it in fact, he just did not have the support to overcome his fear of the stage. It wasn't something he ever felt he needed to do. He enjoyed playing just for his family, going to school, hanging out with friends. Something he realised Jun never had the opportunity to do. The two would often sit together, Masato would play the piano and Jun would happily sing along. His older brother was probably partly responsible for being a gateway into Jun's love of music and while singing along to his playing, would always exude the most passion. This made him one of the first to pick up on what he would consider 'abuse' Jun was going through. Even if he seemed happy and compliant on the surface.

There was nothing much he or his father could do. Though Jun's hospitalization turned the tides somewhat. It gave Hibiki the confidence to speak out again his mother's actions.

This resulted in a fight, Hoshiko on one side, Masato and Hibiki on the other. With Jun's condition being used a leverage. The end result, a divorce and Masato swearing he would never speak to his mother again. It was obvious how much of a lost cause that fight was for them. Or perhaps part of them still lacked the confidence to push harder. Upon Jun's recovery, all parties felt strongly that he'd side with his mother and that was too much to bare for either of them. Now was not the time for something like this and his mother took it as a victory.

Upon recovery, slowly coming to the realization both his father and brother were gone added some extra stress to the system. What happened? Did he do something? Was it because I wasn't good enough? A genuine panic set in that this was it, him ending up in hospital was the straw that broke everything... Though through his mother's reassurance, he was able to overcome this. Though it was decided that Jun would take a break. He 'deserved' it.

Age 15-16 was a quiet time. A boring time. Jun wasn't used to not having anything to do. In fact, having so much free time made him anxious. It was during this time he wound up learning to bake, play some games, catch-up on some academics he'd missed. It was honestly, quite nice to have some time to recover. His mother would spend time with him sometimes too, take him to lunch (perhaps out of guilt), talk with him about things outside of work. It was a strangely calming period of his life. Though a boring one. His voice breaking and becoming deeper, along with his growth spurts were probably two of the more uncomfortable things to happen during this time.

After that year passed, he felt himself finally ready to get back into idol work. If they would even have him back after that. His mother seemed all too eager to oblige, in fact, it was almost like she'd been waiting for his approval to start things back up again. This time Jun was signed on by a Tokyo based agency. Their reviews were very high by past employees and they even had branches all over Japan, including a serious practice studio in Hokkaido. Accepting almost immediately, he was given half a year with a vocal coach to make sure his voice had both fully recovered and to make sure Jun could get accustomed to and work with his new vocal range. It was deeper but not excessively so, though a far cry from the cutesy feminine register from his childhood.

The next couple of years, for his career, were probably the most successful of his life. With a new focus on the idol scene of Tokyo, he was this time marketed to the female teen to young-adult demographic. His 'fresh' face and style went over amazingly well and he garnered an impressive following thanks to his previous skills in the industry. Though he wasn't the biggest fan of the way he was marketed, (he preferred 'cute' to 'cool' and didn't seem super interested in the 'romance' angle), he knew this was just something he had to accept and get on with. He was getting to sing again after all! Sure, the stages didn't seem as big now he was older but he was back doing the thing that he loved?

Finally, at age 18, upon request from upper management at his agency, it was recommended he head to the branch in Hokkaido for some extra 'training'. Though this felt sudden, it was also a recommendation he enroll in the local University. Kintsugi, they had a performing arts course that would be perfect for him. Jun was a little confused but it was part-time and he'd still be doing some work. It seems someone within the company's ranks deemed that such an excursion would be 'good for him'. Given it was more or less an order from the agency, his mother could only give her blessings.

Well, this was an interesting turn of events...

TL;DR: Former actress has second son (after failing with the first) to model into the ideal child star. Loses his childhood to work (from commercials, to a TV show, to an idol career) and has to navigate through the world with his warped perception of how 'good' the industry actually was to him. Has a false sense of how idealistic his childhood was with the realities that being 'talented' into adulthood isn't as easy as it was in his planned out past. With added expectations to be 'perfect' or be let go.
[ trivia/extra info ]

- His theme colour is yellow! Though he's often seen with greens too. Though when he was younger, blue wasn't uncommon either .
- Though he's very popular in Tokyo and the niche idol scene, his agency wants to push his technical skills to their limits. This is the reason he was sent to Sapporo.
- Jun views his childhood as a greater 'success' than the present day. It's harder to get noticed the older he gets, so he fears getting older.
- Jun's older brother Masato is 7 years his senior, he works as a music teacher at Kintsugi University and studied music theory at Tokyo University. He moved at the house at age 18 but ceased communication with his mother at age 22 due to his mother's treatment of both his father and brother.
- Before his very first performance on a stage, his brother gave him a small microphone charm as a good luck present. He still holds onto it to this very day.
- Jun's main specialties are acting, singing and dancing, he isn't very comfortable with things like modelling. Though he actually thoroughly enjoys meet and greets and doesn't seem to feel awkwardness.
- His general knowledge, outside the world of acting and idols is, well, very lacking... Though some people find it endearing how oblivious he is over things. Others find it annoyed, which is completely valid!
- His favourite songs are always cheesy jpop and sometimes high energy music in general. He has a distaste for slow, droning ballads, however.
- Up until he was 15, he was 5'0", he hit his growth spurt at age 16.
- Jun has a vast collection of Sanrio character plushies! His favourite is Pompom Purin!

[ rp information ]

Timezone: BST / GMT
RP Style: Any
Preferred Platform: Discord/Google Docs
RP Comfort Meme: N/A