To become a celebrity is like being enchanted. Beautiful makeup I'll never be able to apply by myself, and really cute clothing. For there to be such a spotlight on you it's blinding, for the stadium to be so hot you feel a bit lightheaded… but I can do variety shows and dramas just fine, too! Because the me that I "play" is - whether I wanted to be that me or couldn't be that me - all parts of one single ME.
I don't have to be told each time what to do, to be adored: how to talk, how to act, how to walk, how do I hold my hands? Keep my eyes open wide and bright, look them straight in their eyes and - averting that gaze just a little - give a short pause and say, "Hey… how do you really feel, about me?"
"Risette" was continuously exposed to everyone's view, even if she wasn't standing in any actual limelight, as if she was always basking in the spotlight. Regardless of the fact that, hidden by that proudly blossoming flower, the leaves and stem are doomed to wither away unnoticed.
B A S I C ღ I N F O
Name: Kujikawa Rise - 久慈川 りせ
Nickname: Risette, Pigtails (shut it, Kaede)
Gender: Female ♀
Birthday: June 1, 1995
Zodiac: Gemini ♊
Age: 16 (physically aged to 18 in Zodion, currently 19)
Blood-type: AB. Apparently, "People with blood type AB are hard to categorize. They can have characteristics on both ends of the spectrum at the same time. For instance, they are both shy and outgoing. They easily switch from one opposite to another." Which is Rise to a T. The site also says AB is considered the worst blood-type, as they're loose cannons.
Occupation: Idol, though when she's in Inaba, she helps her grandmother with her shop, Marukyu Tofu
Height: 155 cm (5'1")
Weight: 45 kg (90 lbs)
Arcana: Lovers ♥
L I K E S ღ D I S L I K E S
Her favorite food is the Hagakure-don at the Hagakure restaurant in Iwatodai; she also has a preference for spicy food.
She dislikes myouga and zenmai. In other words, Rise isn't much into vegetables.
She's very much a fan of traditional Japanese sweets, thanks to her grandmother's influence, so she loves things like manjuu and youkan.
Dislikes indecisive people. As Rise claims that "you can't rely on them at all", this may also have to do with why she herself becomes more confident in her choices later on. If you say you're going to do something, commit to it.
Likes all small and adorable furry animals, her favorite part being their eyes. She has a partiality to cats, Inaba being full of strays and being around her grandma's cat.
Favorite movies are the romantic ones, but there also a few action flicks that she's really gotten into.
Not a big fan of coffee, though she does drink it iced; her job is high energy and her schedule is packed, so she needs the caffeine.
Though she advertised Calorie Magic, she really doesn't like the taste.
If it's between going out to eat or ordering takeout, Rise will always choose the former. The atmosphere is important to her, and the opportunity to eat out with friends has been a rare one until recently.
Her favorite colors are pink and orange.
She liked violet until her dungeon, and is slowly working her way towards liking it again, but it still makes her feel a little ill.
A fan of most pop music, she has a secret fondness for traditional Japanese folk songs, like "Misaki Meguri". Other than that, if it's got a beat she can dance to, you can pretty much assume that Rise will like it.
F A M I L Y ღ
An only child; her parents live in Tokyo, which is also where Rise works.
Born in Yasoinaba and spent a few years there until her father got a job requiring that they move to the city. Rise still visited Inaba often, where her grandmother still lives, but her idol work kept her away for almost two years.
Not particularly close to either of her parents. Both of them were strict, restricting Rise from going out all that often and hanging out with friends, and constantly keeping her on the straight and narrow. She got in trouble for coming home late after a particularly bad bullying session in elementary, and then decided not to speak of it at all. They don't exactly approve of her career now, but she is being diligent about it and she sends money back home, so it isn't something they actively speak of.
She's the closest to her grandmother. Her tastes have been developed traditionally, thanks to her influence, and she's always helped her out with her tofu whenever she was in Inaba. The sports festival has a farmer's market that Rise and her grandma sold tofu at until her grandma's health made doing so too difficult. All the same, Rise highly looks up to her and thinks of her as a strong woman-- who still calls the paparazzi "Papa rats".
Despite both parents having dark brown hair, her hair color is completely natural, and she's fussy about maintaining it, refusing dye, bleaches, and any other sort of coloring. She gets it from her grandfather.
Her cousin, a girl close to Rise's age, was the one who entered her into the idol audition without Rise's knowledge. Though she promised she'd be her ally, no matter what, when Rise won and became an idol, the two girls grew apart and now Rise hardly sees her. Nonetheless, she still thinks of her fondly.
Her grandmother has a cat who's been in the family for three years. He's a large, lazy classic brown tabby with white socks and is named Mabo. He likes to flop across whatever comfy surface is nearby-- usually that surface is a person who needs to give him attention. He enjoys sleeping on Rise's bed.
Has extensive tofu knowledge, thanks to her grandmother, and is very particular about keeping the taste traditional.
Has always wanted to be a big sister.
A C A D E M I C S ღ
The last time she got 100 was in second grade. She has a hard time taking decent notes without getting distracted.
Her worst subject is English, and she absolutely detests it. In her opinion, she sees no need for it, as she can just ask for a translator.
Manages to consistently get ten points above Kanji in things like Math and Japanese Literature... which isn't really saying much. It doesn't stop her from teasing him about it.
She's also bad at Composition, but at least with that one, she's trying even harder now.
Responds better with a male tutor, but Naoto has also made helped her study more than once.
Was constantly bullied at school, from primary to middle, until she became an idol. She grew used to having tacks in her shoes, mud ON her shoes, getting shoved around behind the school, etc.
Finished up middle school via a tutor; she no longer had time to attend it, and the same will be said for her second year of high school and possibly beyond that. She doesn't have that many friends because she hasn't been around, nor is she comfortable with people wanting to befriend her because of her idol status.
Her first year at Yasogami made her really miss the going to school with friends experience, though. She's keeping the uniforms.
She's a smart girl with a knack for memorization, but she doesn't really hold an interest in her studies; she'll be taking over the family tofu business eventually and doesn't see a need to learn things that she won't need to use in the long run.
That does, however, mean that if she CAN use it, she remembers it, and this is why she's able to discuss things like calcium sulfate, magnesium chloride, and gluconolactone-- because they all have something to do with tofu. Coagulants and the like.
She was never in any clubs or on any teams; she lacked the time and the interest, and her parents didn't like her staying too late after school.
W O R K ღ
She's been an idol for under two years, and only became very popular recently. Due to that, she only has a CM song out, and two photo albums. She's done shows before, but has no CDs yet, and is in fact currently working on composing songs for a redebut CD once she returns.
The agency purposely had her act a certain way - suggestively ditzy - to the point where they even had her increase her bust size on her profile because they thought it would increase her appeal. Even her interview answers were pre-scripted, and therefore not how Rise really felt. She wasn't that happy about any of it, though she never spoke up about it either.
Rise's real reason for accepting the offer to become an idol had nothing to do with it being her dream or liking to perform. She thought, "If I appeared on TV, I could make friends" and that is virtually the only reason she went through with it. She does love showbiz now, however.
When Rise's out in public and doesn't want to be noticed, she does the whole hat/sunglasses/hair down thing and adopts a different attitude and manner of moving so as not to draw attention to herself. Even when she was in uniform at the tofu store, she was able to act so quiet and nonassuming that most people mistook her for her grandmother and had no idea it was Rise instead.
She tries to write back to all of her fans herself, though with increasing popularity comes a shit-ton of letters, so sometimes all she can manage is a little blurb in response and her signature. There's a certain girl who reminds her strongly of herself, however, and Rise has managed to keep up on replies to her.
She did a public campaign against bullying, the first thing that Rise herself opted to do, and it's the first thing she was proud of.
Inoue-san, her manager, has a daughter Rise's age, so tends to treat her like his own. Though they keep it a secret, they sometimes have movie nights and he always makes sure she doesn't stay up too late when she's got to be in early the next day.
Most of what she's done have been variety shows and dramas. She's an actress through and through, and is (according to Inoue) "genuinely brilliant" at what she does.
Her manager doesn't tend to praise her unless he feels as though he needs to say it. Hence, when Rise tells him that she isn't coming back, he tells her that "you learned fast, adapted well to new situations, had a smile that could be as strong or weak as you needed... and those acting skills of yours! You were like an old pro." In the end, he cast more doubt on Rise's tentative decision and made her ponder on the situation more until she decided on what she needed to do. He never really tells her things outright, claiming that this helps her to grow, and it's what he'd do for his own daughter. Though sometimes he comes off as a bit of a jerk.
She's had three instances of really persistent stalkers, and she gets unnerved by the really devoted fans, but humors them anyway until they get SERIOUSLY CREEPY.
The agency has quite a few idols that Rise's worked with, one of them being Kanami Mashita, a younger idol and Rise's replacement when she left. She's still somewhat jealous of her, mainly upon hearing herself called 'fake' when Kanami was also acting a certain way. All of the idols there tend to be a bit competitive with each other.
M I S C E L L A N E O U S ღ
She isn't very good with puzzles, despite her insight, and inevitably ends up frustrated when she fails at solving them. Naoto coming up with problems for her to solve (that are nearly unsolvable) made that frustration even worse.
She possesses the ability to read people/the atmosphere, able to tell when to humor people, when to be encouraging, when to snap at someone, how to act, how a person feels, etc. She's a very perceptive girl.
Rise owns a keyboard and has enough proficiency with it to work on song composing. She plays no other instruments, and uses the keyboard mainly to aid her with voice practice.
She took carving classes in Okina; her favorite thing to make is bangles, and she'd like to learn how to make more complex patterns and designs, but isn't sure if she has the time to take more classes now.
Broke her wrist when she was eight, and had to write with her left hand. She's not quite ambidextrous, as her writing was just barely legible, but she's better at using that left hand now.
Her reflexes are noted as amazing (aim included), and she's very much a dancer, able to find and stick to a rhythm. She's also quick to respond. Despite this, she doesn't think of herself as athletic, nor does she hold much interest in sports.
Now becomes very unnerved in cavalry battles because of Hanako being an unstoppable trampling force of destruction.
Uses the first name basis with people she deems as friends, whether they like it or not, even if she shows proper respect to certain people, like adults. It's Rise's way of showing that she's comfortable with someone.
Her uppercut is surprisingly powerful. However, she's not much of a physical fighter, and prefers to find a different solution out of a situation if she can.
Rise has an excellent sense of taste, believe it or not. This comes about from interviews and meetings and celebrations at five-star restaurants, so she's had time to train her tastebuds. If she thinks something tastes good, her judgment is generally sound. If, however, the food is blood-red, do not touch it unless you enjoy food of magma proportions.
Growing up surrounded by mild Japanese food and with her parents not being the type to season meals all that much, Rise once took a bottle of tabasco sauce to her meal, out of sheer curiosity. She wanted spice in some part of her life, and was surprised to find that she actually liked spicy food after years of eating anything but.
DO NOT EAT HER COOKING. She judges it based on color, rather than taste, and the darker red it is, the better (to her, not to the poor soul eating it).
She didn't wear her hair in pigtails until after she became an idol; her stylist was the one who suggested it, who was also the one who told her to "wear the cute clothes you want and enjoy being a girl."
Rarely lets her hair down, unless she's trying to blend in with a crowd or she's getting ready for bed. She feels more vulnerable about letting it flow free, as it reminds her of her middle-school days, though she's silently decided to wear it down more often as she gains true confidence in herself and her abilities.
The pink earrings are a staple; Rise didn't get her ears pierced until some time after she became an idol. They were originally a gift from her cousin, who bought them for Rise after coaxing her to get her ears pierced. Realizing her parents would be furious, though, Rise ultimately backed out of it at the last minute. When she did pierce her ears at the agency's recommendation, the earrings were the first ones she wore after the initial studs.
Rise is very easily intoxicated, even if it's just the atmosphere of non-alcoholic drinks. While prone to being even more affectionate and grumbling like a kid, she will never remember anything the next day.
She has the habit of wandering off without saying a word, but if you know her well enough, you can usually find her outside in a quiet spot, just enjoying a nice view or listening to the river.
When she's trying to concentrate and she's alone, Rise tends to end up in the seiza position. This was cultivated from a childhood spent mainly with her grandmother, and she'll joke about it if asked, but it's ultimately calming for her.
Still keeps her glasses in a pocket or anywhere on her, though she doesn't usually wear them unless it's a very foggy day and even then, it's just to make sure it's normal fog. She can't bring herself to retire the glasses for good.
Rain makes her listless and nervous and she actively searches for people and distractions until it ends. Not that this stops her from checking TVs at midnight to see if the Midnight Channel's returned.
Rise sleeps on her side and is the type to instinctively seek out sources of warmth. If you share a sleeping space with her, you'll inevitably wake up to find her cuddling against you.
On that note, she usually sleeps in pajamas-- short-sleeved in the summer. She likes her clothes to fit and flatter, so she doesn't own any oversized nightshirts.
She is the type who'd wear a boyfriend's shirt or sweatshirt around the house, though.
She will try almost everything at least once.
Has a very deep aversion to pole-dancing and strip clubs, for understandable reasons.
Because of her upbringing, she knows her manners and the proper way to conduct herself around others. This doesn't stop her from wanting to at least try things that she probably shouldn't (i.e. fire alarms), even if she's also usually the one to talk herself out of it because it's not the proper behavior expected of her. But all she really needs is an enabler.
Highly ticklish, especially her stomach. Of course, she doesn't broadcast it.
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