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Feb 24, 2017 01:15AM
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⁅⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯S A Y A K A
The daughter of a photographer and a professional ballerina, Sayaka has always dreamed of finding a way to reach a higher caste. It's not like her life is bad — her parents are successful for people from the fifth caste, and she has little to complain about.
But the fact of the matter is that Sayaka is awful at nearly all things artistic — she can pass for a model, maybe, because that doesn't involve as much coordination. Or rhythm, which she lacks entirely. It's true that her sense of photography is decent, because she's learned tricks from her father — but really, Sayaka's interests are elsewhere.
Dancing, singing, all that stuff — it's nice. It's good. There's a place for it, and Sayaka certainly can appreciate it. But she's never really felt like she belonged with the other members of her caste (which probably has a lot to do with her two left feet and the fact that she can't carry a tune to save her life). And for most of her life, she felt like she had no direction.
But then, when she was ten, her life changed. Her older sister — Nari, a sixteen-year-old girl fit for the theater if there ever had been one — had suffered from a respiratory condition her entire life. And when it seemed that she wouldn't be able to make it, when they seemed to have run out of hope, she received a double lung transplant. It saved her life — gave her a chance to live her life fully — and gave Sayaka a new dream: to become a surgeon.
This, of course, isn't exactly a realistic dream for Sayaka — at least while she's in the fifth caste. But the Selection — that has the opportunity to change everything. She'll come out of this whole ordeal as a member of the third caste — and have the privilege of following the path that she's wanted so badly for so long.
Thea is a girl that one might consider lucky — born into the highest caste besides royalty, smarter than enough, and pretty to boot. She lives an enviable life — modeling surrounded by her fellow model girlfriends, hanging off a new guy's elbow at every event, a luxurious home with the latest of everything. And really, given everything, it's surprising that she didn't turn out worse.
It's not that Thea isn't nice. She's nice enough — smiles when she needs to, polite like her parents taught her, able to carry on a decent conversation. But, yeah, she lives a life of privilege and though she realizes it, it's a lot harder to not let it affect how she thinks and acts. There's a certain level of naivety that comes with being sheltered by riches, and Thea has it.
But at the same time, everything that Thea has, she was born with — she was born into the right caste, born with the right looks, born with a brain that's ensured that she's never had to think too hard. But nothing she has is something that she's earned. She's certain that she can do something more — something. Something all by herself, something that pushes her to her limits until she's ready to break. It's out there, she's just... waiting for it.
And maybe she'll find it because of the Selection. She has nothing else to gain from this; it's not like she's interested in the prince. It's nothing personal — he's just not her type. Nor is any other man, for that matter.
Too young — he's inexperienced. Too pretty — he'll just be a workplace distraction. Too lucky — he needs how to learn to work harder. Everyone in Jefferson's life has told him that he's too this, too that, that the only reason that he's where he is is Daddy and Mommy's money. And it's true that he probably wouldn't have gotten this far if he weren't from one of Illea's wealthiest families — but he's worked damn hard to get here, thank you very much. He got into one of the top business schools in the nation on his own merit. He secured his jobs on his own. And now he's managing PR for the Selection for a reason — because he's good at his job, no matter what his subordinates twice his age have to say.
Jefferson — don't you dare try a nickname on him — has always been good with damage control. He's a nice guy, but he's also an observant guy. He's always been able to talk his way — and his friends' ways — out of trouble with a smile and some carefully chosen words. So really, it's only natural that he would end up in PR.
And he has his work cut out for him, because as much as he'd like them to be, God knows that the girls from the lower castes won't be as conscious about their public images as those from Two and Three. But then again, if they were, he wouldn't have a job, now, would he?
They say that the American Revolution — in years long past, ages gone by — could not have happened without the combined work of the General, the armed forces, with the work of the scholars, the writers, the lawyers, the great thinkers of the land. This is something that Christopher Paine believes to be true. No — he knows it is. There is no way that weak colonies could usurp their government without the effort on both sides.
He also knows that for revolution in Illea, they will need both again.
Chris is a student, a scholar, an actor; he is many things, but for Illea, he wants to be but one — the spark that ignites a new revolution. You see, he's spent his life studying history — empires, revolutions, the rises and falls, the successes and failures. And he knows Illean history. He knows what it is built upon, and he knows what this land once was — a land that didn't want a king, and a man who could have taken it all for himself, but refused to. A society built on differences and independence. Progress made by finding the best solution between differing perspectives. It was never meant to become this shitshow, where a king and queen reign and force girls into competing to win their heir's marriage.
This is not how it was supposed to be. This is not how it should be.
And Chris, he — he can change that. He's smart. He's read all the books, studied all the revolutions. And he knows that it all goes back to a spark. And sure, he's not some secret military genius. But he's a leader nonetheless: an idealist, who sees all that could be. All that should be.
He's blended in for this long. To the public, he's no more than just another brainiac who sped through the track to a doctorate. A smart guy. A good enough professor. A great writer — and that's the power of the written word. It takes you far. With just the right presence, the right articles, the right academic journal entries — it gets you places. It plants the seed of an idea in people's mind... makes them doubt what they do have... makes them want what they should have...
And that's how it all begins...
Riesza has never dared to dream big — as nothing more than a lowly maid from the sixth caste, that is not a luxury she can afford. She has things to do — dresses to mend, people to serve... she needs to do her job. That's more important than anything. She would never dare step out of line — she needs this job. It's one of the only things supporting her single father and two younger siblings.
But that's just the way of life for those in the sixth caste.
It's hard, though — pragmatic, sensible, reliable. Those are the things that Riesza has trained herself to be. And yet there's the part of herself that yearns to reach a little farther, dream a little bigger, even when her mind is telling her it's all for naught.
As the son of a palace guard and a maid, it only makes sense that Will would grow up helping out around the castle. It's in his nature to help out — he can't stand just sitting around and doing nothing. He likes to find ways to make himself useful, to lift the burden from others a little bit. It might be silly for him to busy himself with such mundane tasks all the time — when he's not on guard duty, he can easily be found helping in the kitchen... or mending uniforms... or cleaning out the stables...
The thing is, Will can't say no. His joy in life comes from helping people, from making their lives a little easier for them, and well, if they need help, and he's capable, then why wouldn't he help them?
In that way, Will is quite simple-minded. He sees something that needs to be done, and he does it. He's not about the frills. He's not about the glory. He just wants to do what needs to be done, and do it effectively.
By the same token, it can be difficult for Will to see others' perspectives. His view of the world is very simplistic, very black-and-white, and he struggles to understand things done as he sees frivolous — that are, in actuality, simply for pleasure or enjoyment. He's not into self-indulgence and strives to help others, but sometimes fails to recognize people's need to take time for themselves.
❝ ᴛʜɪs will all be yours someday." So Daisy's been told. She'll grow up and be nothing but a lowly caste five shop owner, carving cameos out of shells she finds and living in a tiny, off-the-map town in Northeast Illea that barely survives off of its meager amount of tourism.
Don't get her wrong — Daisy loves her home. She loves her family. She loves the water and the smell of salt in the air, she loves seeing the families out at sea fishing. She loves all of it. But she wants more, she dreams bigger — for a life where they can run the shop and craft the cameos because they want to, where her little brother Ryan takes over the shop because he loves it more than anything else... where she can support them. That's why Daisy applied to be in the Selection.
And yes, she's in it to win. She's always been a hardworking girl. She's got that humble, down-to-earth charm that comes when you only know a quaint small town. She's not stupid — sure, her school had less than a hundred kids, but it was an education nonetheless. She can adapt. She can win. She knows she can, because she's never let herself lower to any other standard.
ʏᴏᴜʀ dad loves him. Your girlfriend loves him. Hell, your boyfriend probably loves him, too. Everyone seems to have been charmed by the gold-en boy of Illea's baseball scene. Drafted by the major league as one of the top picks right out of college, Luke is only a rookie in the world of professional baseball. He has, however, had a more than stellar season with a previously underdog team — It's just hometown and family pride, he says humbly in the interviews, I used to always go with my Ma to see Dad play, and we'd get some brats, you know, and, well, I think I wanted to be an Eagle since I first sat in those stands. — as shortstop and cleanup hitter. It came as a surprise, then — and to some outrage — that Luke was drafted to be a guard. Even with a season over, it was time off that could throw a wrench in his fledgling career.
(It's all good! Luke dimples at the interviewer before adding, I'm more than happy to be serving my country. And don't worry; you'll be seeing me on the field again soon.)
Although seemingly happy-go-lucky and optimistic, Luke isn't stupid. Sure, he's no genius — but he's where he is for a reason, and that's because he loves baseball, and he's pretty damn good at it. He doesn't lack common sense, and his instincts and intuition are strong. He knows that there are dangers in being a guard, and maybe if he was any other guy, he would have paid his way out of his job. But this is his duty, even if there's the danger of rebel attacks. He knows his physical prowess could be useful against any dangers.
Of course, there's the other danger of him being at the castle. Because, well, to put it simply, Luke plays for the other team.
Which could be okay. He knows he could get a guy flowers, you know, treat him right. But it's something that he's struggled to come to terms with. Of course it is — it's illegal. He's illegal because he exists and lives and loves. He could be killed for it. It's hard not to be afraid, and Luke is terrified out of the few wits he has. And to leave the protection of his team and family and media coverage and distraction... he doesn't know that he can do it. He's scared of it, honestly. If they find out... he loses everything. The Eagles lose everything. Dad and Ma lose everything. And he can't... he can't.
ᴇᴠᴇʀʏᴏɴᴇ knows of the Iscariot Scandal. Also known as the time when two of the most important people in the country — Ambassador Richard Iscariot and his wife, Treasurer Uma Stephens Iscariot — were exposed for not only embezzling from government funds, but sending them in support of the Southern Rebels. It was only natural, then, that the treasonous couple would be executed for their crimes.
No one ever talks about the boy it left behind.
Young Adam Iscariot — only nine at the time — was taken in by one of the housemaids, who was married to a Seven. Hence, Adam's caste dropped from Two to Seven in a matter of days, and he began to live a life of poverty. It hasn't been a horrible life. He loves his adoptive family, and they love him. It's hard work, a lot of manual labor, taking all the jobs that he can get — but it is what it is. He'd rather be a respectable bricklayer than an outcast from society for his parents' crimes... but then again, he's both, now.
But he's thankful that he was drafted to become a guard — it gives him the chance to prove his loyalty. That he's not his parents. It's not even that he likes the royal family — he just wants some sort of redemption, but it seems like maybe there is no absolution for the Iscariots.
ʟɪғᴇ on a farm is nothing short of ordinary for Ian Lastinger. It's not a bad life by any means — the Lastingers run a successful farm, and Ian certainly can't complain about that. But it's a simple life. A humble one. A certain one which ensures that he will never do anything but work a farm in his life. Which he might be okay with, if he were to be the one who actually inherits the farm.
But, of course, when his parents die, the farm goes to Jacob, his oldest brother. And then Jacob's kids. And if something were to go wrong, it would go to Fred next, then Beck, then Sam, then Peter. And then, finally, to Ian. That's right — Ian has five older brothers (and two younger ones, Ryan and Blake). And it's hard to do anything spectacular when you're in the middle of eight siblings.
He loves the farm. He loves his family. But he's always wanted to do something more than settle down with a nice local girl and help work the farm with a litter of at least half a dozen children.
So he welcomed the draft — it gives him a chance to do something important. Make a name for himself that doesn't disappear in the shadow of five perfect older brothers. He just wants something more, and. Well. Maybe he'll find it.
Listen, my friend. When your last name is de Cock, you've gotta have a sense of humor to survive. And you know? Matt rolls with it. You wanna make the dick jokes? Sure! He's been over it for a long time, and he's old enough to laugh at how funny it actually is. Besides that, he's always been the type to laugh with people rather than at them. Because laughing at people? Well... that's kind of shitty, you know.
Because look — Matt's always had to look out for his family, okay? His dad walked out after they realized Matt's little brother had special needs and his mom works as hard as she can, but... there's only so much she can do. Which is why Matt works as a cashier at In-N-Out. Because hey, fast food isn't the best job, but at least they give good benefits. And it's not like he has many other options.
You see, Matt is probably the least talented person in the world. Things that click for other people just don't for him. He can't memorize facts for a history test or know how or when to use mathematic formulas. He's not stupid, he's just... painfully average. Which is really hard, when it seems like everyone else has their something that they're good at. Matt? He can make puns.
▬ A L E X A N D R O
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ EIGHTEEN ▬ SENIOR ▬ VOLLEYBALL CAPTAIN ▬
One would expect the captain of a varsity league champion team to be some charismatic little number. But Alex (and it is just Alex; only his mama calls him Alexandro) prefers to let his actions do the speaking. He is — to put it simply — a little gruff for an eighteen-year-old. But it's not that he's shy or apathetic — no, he's just quiet. Observant. His words are few but they are chosen carefully, and his team and his friends know that they have his support without him having to say it out loud.
He's a diligent worker; on the court, in school, with his friends. And that's a good thing. Alex has high standards for himself. He also, however, holds everyone else to those same standards. His team likes to joke that they're only league champs because Alex was a slave driver even before he became captain, but, well. No one ever got anywhere by sitting idly.
Here's the short version: Jon's father is a minister. Jon's mother is staunchly against same-sex marriage. Jon's older brother is a vicar with a pretty wife, a house with a picket fence, and six (yes, six) pretty little children. And Jon? Is very much gay. So you see his problem.
As a result of this lovely situation, Jonathan is so far in the closet that he's not sure which way the door is anymore. And not everything is bad, of course — he has his place at school, he has his friends. Well — even that's uncertain, these days. After everything that went down after (rin's character)'s party... after he gave David the key, even after promising that he wouldn't... he wouldn't surprised if he lost everything, now.
Once upon a time, Michi had it all — she was one of the top high school softball players in the country, had a great travel ball team, and committed to her top choice during her sophomore year. It all ended junior year — it was only a meniscus tear, one that should have been fine if she had taken some time off, but it was during state finals — but instead, it got worse and worse, and a slide gone terribly wrong ensured that she wouldn't be playing again. It hurt. It hurt a lot, more than any physical wound. She didn't just lose her team, she lost her purpose in life, not to mention her ticket to college.
It would have been far too painful to help out with the softball team. She knew that. But when the captain of the baseball team suggested she become their new manager after their old one graduated, she took him up on the offer. The sting is still here. It is. But at least now she doesn't feel like she's just drifting without belonging.
Valerie (or, to her friends, simply Val) has always relied on her deeds to speak for her. It's a quiet sort of passion that she has, one shown through action rather than word; and she is unlikely to ever actually talk about the things causing her stress in life. She prefers to try to push through it without casting her burdens onto anyone else's back. Her distance from people and general seriousness is often mistaken for lack of caring or dislike or disinterest, and it would be a rare occasion for her to do something to correct it. At the same time, she makes her care for her friends known through the little things she'll do for them — a coffee on the morning of an exam, an extra water bottle always. (If you ever need anything, she probably has it in her backpack, somewhere underneath the first aid kit and sunscreen bottle.)
It wasn't long after moving to the United States that she realized that the general American public couldn't pronounce, let alone spell, Nadezhda. So since her family immigrated when she was in junior high school, she has been known as Tatiana by her peers.
When her family left Ukraine in pursuit of a better life in America, she knew very little English. Her father, a businessman, was fluent; her mother knew nothing. So, needing to learn the language to survive in her new home, Tatiana began reading relentlessly. It went from low-level books to ones meant for kids who were actually her age, and understanding of reading turned into hearing and then, with some (a lot) more effort, into writing and speaking. Though she has become fluent, she has retained her accent — something that people still find ways to tease her for — and she has not stopped reading. Which is why she has become something of a walking library to her friends: you need a book, she probably has it.
There's still that need to fit in, to make something of herself here. And some would criticize her for what they consider assimilation, but as far as she's concerned, her parents came here to pursue that American Dream, and so did she. So she'll take it in stride. She'll speak Russian with her parents at home, eat her traditional food. But she also refuses to look back, because there's too much left to learn.
Mika Aizawa: five feet and a quarter of an inch of pure intimidation. Or so she would like to think. In reality, she's anything but an imposing figure. Everyone always tells her how cute she is (and yes, she's been told that she's kawaii by a white person before... thanks...), how innocent she looks... and really, they couldn't be more wrong. Because sure, Mika's cute-looking enough. But that personality? Let's say that there's a reason she's in charge of the advertising for yearbook, and that's because she's really just pure savagery wrapped up in a cute little package.
She bides her time with her biting sarcasm, waiting for a moment where it'll make more impact. There's kind of an art to it. Because she's not going to give herself away right away, no; it's about waiting, watching. Selling yourself in different ways, ways to get what you want. And feelings? Pfft. The only person Mika cares about is her sister. That's it. A cold little heart, that's what she has. It's not like she cares. At all. She's so above that.She totally cares too much.
▬ D A N I E L
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ EIGHTEEN ▬ SENIOR ▬ EMOTIONALLY CONSTIPATED ▬
Most people's parents drive them away from the humanities and toward STEM fields. Daniel's parents? The exact opposite. Though that shouldn't be surprising, considering that his father was the speechwriter for the last president and that his mother is a bestselling author and motivational speaker. It's not like Daniel would do anything otherwise; he's not talented at anything. So he's always focused on words — how to understand them, how to tell what is not being said through them, how to wield them as a weapon.
He's charismatic, but in that calculated sort of way. There's nothing natural to it. It's a nod here, a smile there. Leaning forward. Eye contact. All those little things that make people feel like he is theirs, and theirs entirely, when they speak with him.
It's something of an act. He's careful with images; he grew up in Washington, D.C., you know, and how others perceive you means a lot. And so he's always made that a priority. He hides the other Daniel — the one who edits essays for underclassmen, who volunteers at the library, relaxes around his friends, helps the exchange student practice her English — underneath the picture-perfect mask of a politician's son.
▬ L Y A N N A
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ EIGHTEEN ▬ SENIOR ▬ HETEROSEXUAL ▬
Lyanna Rose was born to Dr. Edward Wilkinson, head anesthesiologist at the nearby hospital, and Fallon Esling-Wilkinson, S.J.D., on a sunny June afternoon, and has never been in need or want since. It's not that she's spoiled (okay, maybe she is, but just a little) or that she thinks she's better than anyone else... but there's a certain lack of understanding that comes with having the sort of privilege that her family does. She means well — she does. But it's just hard to understand everything when you've never had to get a job, or do chores, or clean your own bathroom.
Even so, Lyanna isn't a bad person. She tries to help out where she can, and she's a good and loyal friend. But, then again, she also tends to spend her time around people in the same boat as her. She's been making an effort to expand her horizons, kind of. It's a work in progress.
▬ E Z R A
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ I'M A TRUST FUND, BABY, YOU CAN TRUST ME ▬
Ezra Iain Dalton III has made quite a reputation for himself at Richard M. Nixon High School. So much of a reputation, indeed, that he is fondly (or not so fondly) referred to as his peers as Tricky Dick (...in honor of the school's namesake, of course). But these people? They exaggerate things. They're all teenagers; melodrama runs rampant as AIDS in the '80s.
Here's the sitch: Ezra's not a bad guy. He likes sex, and he likes good sex. It's not his fault if people think that he's willing to give more than that. He's never said he would, and that's all based on assumption. He enjoys people's company, and sure, a few dates are fine. But he's not the relationship type. Will he flirt? Sure. He'll flatter his way into someone's pants. But lie to them? Nope. Ezra might be a lot of things, but he's not a liar.
▬ L U K E
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ EIGHTEEN ▬ SENIOR ▬ HETEROSEXUAL ▬
Fostering children is a good thing. Luke knows that. And he does love his foster siblings, he really does. But it doesn't take a genius to figure out that Mr. and Dr. Knightley are fostering children only because they already lost their oldest daughter. And really? Luke knows that part of them is trying to replace Sara, to act like things are okay when they're not really. To be honest, he's not really sure why they're trying to atone for Sarah's death when it wasn't anyone's fault.
At the same time, Luke lives with the weight of his sister's death. It was hard on all of them. But he's moved on, he thinks; maybe not completely, but he hasn't stopped living because of it. He has good friends at school, nice friends. He goes on dates often. He has a nice time, he does well in school. Of course he does — nothing, no amount of social life, is going to get in the way of his goal, which is, of course, to become a researching doctor and eventually find the cure to cancer. Unrealistic? Perhaps. But he's not going to give up, because even though Sarah lost her battle to cancer, that childlike idealism still lives within Luke.
▬ J U N E
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ SEVENTEEN ▬ JUNIOR ▬ HEAD SET DESIGNER ▬
June has always had a go get em! attitude. Where there is a will, there is a way, or so she believes. That's why, since her freshman year, she's been working as a set designer for the theater department, and has been made the head one as a junior. She's committed to working hard for the theater department — and she's also committed to having fun while doing it.
Yeah, she has an artistic eye, and she should enjoy it. Some of the people in the clique are so serious about everything (cough, Iryna), but really? June's here to have fun. And do her job well, of course. She'd never settle for anything less.
To many, George seems like the perfect poster child for an Asian American family. He does well in school, respects authorities, plays the piano. Everything that he does fits the mold perfectly. Except that that's exactly it — it's what he does, not who he is. And that's not entirely a bad thing, because he loves what he does.
But sometimes it's just not enough. Because he wants more — he wants it all. He wants to be able to pursue music education because it's what he loves, he wants to be able to go to the school he wants to go to, he wants to liberate the sense of duty to his parents' expectations that he's inflicted upon himself. He wants to stop limiting himself, to let himself reach his potential and exceed it. But he doesn't know how.
⸢ ♕ ⸥ Adriana Candelaria ─────────────────────────────────────
────────── luna ♡ eighteen ♢ twelve (scouted) ♤ hero ♧ light absorption
──────────── + can absorb, and thus remove, light from her surroundings
can overheat if she absorbs too much light - ───────────────────────
It isn't easy growing up as the daughter of one of the top superheroes in the country — this, Ana knows from experience. From when she was born, there was always something that set her apart from her family. While the rest of her family brought light and life to the world — her father, whose family was a line of fire-related quirks, and her mother, from a family of light-emitters — she took it away.
It's a little bit of a downer when your ability is to take the light from things, and even moreso when you can't exactly control it well. Ana isn't lacking in power — her town had been dark for days when her mother was killed — but control? Yes.
Which is just fantastic because it seems that everyone else is dead set on telling her just about how amazing her father was when he was her age. Precise. Accurate. Perfect. Yeah, well. He's not perfect. They might have seen Jupiter, #2 Hero, on their TV screens, but she knows her father isn't that shining, glowing superhero that he once was.
And besides — she's her own person. But it seems that people keep forgetting that.
⸢ ♕ ⸥ Mina Hwan ──────────────────────────────────────────
──────────── cardinal ♡ seventeen ♢ eleven ♤ management ♧ compute
──────────── + can mentally compute complex mathematical equations
prone to episodes of migranes - ──────────────────────────────
Numbers are something that has always come easily to Mina. The rest of life? ...Not so much. It's not that she's not nice, or that she's antisocial. It's just that she's introverted. Very introverted. Not in the crawls-into-bed-and-stays-in-all-day-like-a-fucking-hermit way, mind you.
Just in the talk-to-her-and-she'll-get-anxious-and-insult-you way.
But that's the thing — she's good with numbers. Concrete things, reliable things. Things that won't change. She doesn't need to worry about them; two plus two is always four, and the square root of one-hundred-and-forty-four is always twelve. Things make sense — they're not going change on her, betray her — and that's the way she likes it.
⸢ ♕ ⸥ Azalea Nam ──────────────────────────────────────────
──────────── nightshade ♡ seventeen ♢ twelve ♤ heroes ♧ kiss of death
─────────────── + any living thing she kisses will begin to rapidly decay
severe emotional trauma, prone to chapped lips - ───────────────────
There's a certain amount of irony in that her mother named her Azalea. Just like the flower — a beautiful poison. The one that, in fact, killed her mother. She hadn't known any better — how could she? All she had wanted to do was be a normal child, show her mother her love — and she killed her. It's not your fault, it's not your fault, everyone tells her, and, yeah. She knows that she had no way of knowing what was happening. But it was still her.
So she's not going to repeat it. She's made it into U.A. on her own merit, no genetic pool required. She's an excellent fighter — well-versed with weapons and martial arts — and, well, that gymnastics when she was young did help. She's going to be a hero, save lives, her own way, and she's not going to hurt anyone else.
And that's why she pushes people away — really, it's better for everyone this way. If everyone stays very, very far away from her and her lips, then no one's going to rapidly decay before their own eyes. And it saves Azalea the emotional trauma. It's just — better. It's better. And if some of her classmates have taken to calling her ice queen, then so be it. She'd rather be a bitch than a murderer.
There are a lot of things that Yoomi is at U.A. for, and not one of them is to take shit from people. She has a simple policy in life: Enjoy it. Is she going to do things she probably shouldn't? Hell yes. She's not afraid of making mistakes; she'll just learn how to work it out along the way.
Make no mistake: Yoomi is not stupid. Flippant? Sure. A little impractical? Yeah. But she's not dumb. She knows the science behind her quirk, she knows how people and systems work — she just doesn't always care. And there's some virtue to that, wouldn't you agree?
K W A N G M I N
The model son: charitable, poised, polite, and respectful. A firm handshake, a perfectly whitened smile. Kwangmin has it down to a T. And it's not an act. It never has been; it's how he was raised, and it's who he is. He's not some lost soul trapped inside the body of the vice president's son; he has no secret dream for something bigger or better. Kwangmin isn't stupid — the opposite, actually. He's educated — clearly; the vice president's eldest son isn't going to settle for less than the finest — and he's watched the political game for long enough that he understands things. Things like you should be cautious, and don't say anything that could endanger MOTHER/FATHER'S reputation, and smile graciously even if speaking with this woman makes you want to rip every hair on your body out individually. It has never occurred to him to do anything otherwise, because to do otherwise would be, quite frankly, stupid. He has everything — and he will do what it takes to not lose any of it.
It would be foolish to think that someone so rooted in the nation's political center has no idea about the situation in the southernmost region of the Arvan Republic. He knows about the skirmishes. He knows that people are losing their homes, that people are getting killed. It's not that Kwangmin doesn't care. He does care. But that doesn't mean he's going to do anything about it. It's distant from him. It doesn't affect him. There are plenty of other things he could be worrying about... like doing damage control for his siblings.
When one grows up in a political world, they become accustomed to observing people. Kwangmin is no exception. By no means is he some political monster; heaven knows he's not going to be following in his MOTHER/FATHER'S footsteps. But he does know how to work with people so as to put him in their favor, rather than put himself in danger. It's a sort of self-preservation, his way of surviving. Of protecting his family. And by no means is his family perfect; he knows this, and he cares for them all the same. Are they all close? No. But as one of the eldest he knows he has an example to set for five younger siblings. He's looking out for them, whether they like it or not. Younger kids these days can be rash, thoughtless — speaking their mind whenever they feel like it. It is that which is exactly the kind of thing that could hurt their family, and that alone is all the reason Kwangmin needs to look over them.
And in order to protect himself, and to protect his family, Kwangmin is able to overlook things. He knows about the exchanges that go on in the capitol; he isn't blind. The people of the south are ailing. He wishes that the government weren't corrupt. He wishes that the people weren't starving. But that is how it is, and who is he to change it? He's not some hero. He never has been and he never will be. He's surviving, just like everyone else — except that he's not just surviving, he's thriving. And frankly, he's not going to risk losing that to help people who he doesn't even know. It's nothing personal, though.
For as long as he has been alive, Kwangmin Moon has never been in want or need.
Christine is just your average business student. Or, at least, she would be, if it weren't for these ghosts doing their best to fuck up her life. Yeah, she can see them. Yay. It must be some novel thing to ghosts, to find someone who can see them. Well, it's just dandy that Roger (died 1953 in a sledding accident) and Isabella (died 1837 of cholera) and Felix (died 1992 in a car accident because he wasn't wearing a seatbelt and Susan remarried, can you believe that, Christie?) all are around to get their little ghost selves a higher education, but could they just shut the fuck up? She's here to learn about business calculus, not their life stories.prettyum, gorgeous
The people—or, more accurately, souls—she's met at college have given her a wealth of knowledge. Things like, Hey Christine, did you know that ghosts never have to take a shit? Hey Christine, did you know that ghosts can walk through people? Didn't that feel cool? Hey Christine, did you know that once ghosts realize you can see them they're never fucking going to shut up? It's hell. Actual hell. Is there such thing as past lives? Christine must've really fucking fucked up in her past one, because they're driving her fucking crazy. Once, when she was driving to Target, Suzanne from the second floor restroom showed up in her car screaming and Christine almost drove into a tree. A total stranger turned her last karaoke outing into a duet. The late past tenant of her apartment wakes her up with glass-shattering screaming if she hits the snooze button on her alarm in the morning.
Seriously. What did she do to deserve this?
Hyeri can. And isn't that reason enough to do anything? You're a smart girl, Hyeri, you can do it. You're not a child anymore, Hyeri, grow up and get over it. You're a good girl, Hyeri, you'll make us proud. It's true. She's smart. She can make it through medical school. She's an adult. She has to stop doubting her decisions and stressing over everything. She's a good daughter. She'll make her parents proud. They'll be proud of her, they will be, she knows, even if she's... miserable.
In truth, Hyeri has never been more unhappy. But it's never been about happy. It doesn't matter what she wants. This is what she's chosen for herself. She may not love it, but she loves her parents, and this is what they want for her, so this is what she wants for herself—maybe. She doesn't know what she wants anymore, if she even wants anything anymore.
The truth is that Hyeri isn't okay. She might be, someday, but right now, it feels like she's never going to be okay again. She hates this—coming home to an empty apartment, having no one to nag about washing the dishes, having her future plans shattered before her eyes. She hates living a life without Moon Taeil, because the plan was together and forever. Maybe she should have taken more things for herself along the way, because now, without him, she just feels lost and empty.
Kang Jaehyun is a born leader. This is not due to a natural command of the room, or an instinct to guide; it is because his family would accept nothing less. Expectation does wonders on results, you see, and Jaehyun—by fighting tooth and nail—has lived up to his mother's. His father was something of a prodigy, and since he can remember, people have been expecting the same of Jaehyun.
For his part, Jaehyun has taken the challenge. He's made it this far, hasn't he? It's his final year at the International Space Academy, and he's been made the commander of the first battalion. That isn't something that legacy can secure, regardless of whether his father was a graduate of INSA. He has trained, and he has learned, and he has put his knowledge to work.
And work, of course, has always been Jaehyun's first priority. He takes on one goal at a time, doing what it takes to complete the task at hand. It's determination, and perhaps stubbornness, which allows him to do this. For him, it's not about glory, it's about getting the job done. Sacrifices will need to be made. What matters is the big picture, and he acknowledges that. He has a duty, and he takes his responsibility very seriously. When his battalion messes around or gets distracted, he's the one there to call them back to attention. Even so, he is close with his battalion—and they are, perhaps, the only ones in the world to know that he has a sense of humor, no matter how lame they may tell him that it is.
His battalion is—although he would never admit it—the exception to his work only rule. It's hard, really, to look at everything objectively. He desperately fears being put into a situation in which he would have to choose between his duty and his friends—because he knows what he should do as a commander, and he knows what he should do as a human, and he knows, deep in his heart, whichever he were to choose, he would not leave without regrets.
Twenty-two years ago, when Jaehyun was but an infant, Kang Donghyuk died heroically while in active duty. It was a raid—a simple one, really, one that Jaehyun now has been trained to defend against—and Donghyuk's squadron should have all made it out alive. And they did, excepting Commander Kang himself, who had lagged behind to help a civilian to safety, and took a bullet in the back as a consequence.
Perhaps Jaehyun should feel like a large part of his life is missing without his father. And to some degree, he does. But his mother has raised him well, and, quite frankly, his father might as well being alive, because everyone keeps talking to Jaehyun as if he needs to impress his late father.
And he does want to—did want to. Somewhere along the line, this became less of what everyone wants and more of a passion for leadership that lights a fire beneath him.
The human hand is an incredible thing. Comprised of twenty-seven bones, moved by thirty-four muscles, containing nearly fifty nerves. Hands have the ability to make ideas into reality, using their dexterity and fine motor skills to transform nothing into everything. That is, in Ivy's mind, a true miracle of this world—that humans are capable of so much.
And Ivy wants to reach her fullest potential. She wants to create, and heal, and help—and, quite frankly, she has neither the natural talent nor drive to become a doctor or anything along those lines. So instead of helping people directly, she helps their ships. It's a win-win, really. Everyone benefits, and Ivy can sleep at night knowing that the ship she worked on is safe for flight.
It all started because Ivy wanted to do arts and crafts. Ever since she was young, Ivy was cutting things apart, putting them back together. It went from blocks to play-dough, and play-dough to paper, and paper to sewing, and from there, she realized that it was more than just a hobby.
So she got to work—building and fixing and tearing apart to build again. And then she applied for the International Space Academy, and this is where she's going to pursue her vocation.
Milwaukee isn't stupid, okay? He's just kind of dumb. And he's good enough at the things he needs to be in order to be a pilot, which is why he actually made it into INSA and Squadron C. So it doesn't matter that he can't do quantum mechanic calculus-based thermodynamic chemiphysics or whatever it is that the kids in the Stephenson sector can. He doesn't need to.
And the thing is, Milwaukee really is a good guy. It's pretty impossible to hate the guy who's essentially the human version of a golden retriever. Is he easy to manipulate? Sure. Can you take advantage of him? Gladly. He's kind of (read: very) naive that way, because he's innately trusting. But for goodness' sake, he's a navigator, not a war strategist. He's fine for what he does. Probably. If he can pass the exam.
When Insik and a very pregnant Jiyeon came to the United States, they noticed a trend. Cities as names—now that is what they thought a good idea. Hence the birth of Milwaukee Jung. It was easy to not be made fun of for his name—when you're the wealthiest kid at your already-wealthy private school, the other kids want to be your friend, not your enemy.
You could say that Milwaukee's parent's money is the reason why he's come as far as he has. You would probably be correct in that. But it's not just money, or a matter of can—it's also about want, and Milwaukee has wanted this for himself ever since he was six years old and his mother first told him what would become his favorite bedtime story, Milky Way Milwaukee.
In any case, he's worked hard to survive at INSA. Because getting in is one thing, and not flunking out is another. He nearly flunked out of kindergarten, and he's sworn never to stoop that low again. So he works hard, and earnestly. That's how to do it right. (Right?)
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▬▬▬ ғᴇᴍᴀʟᴇ ▬ 28 ▬ ʜᴇᴛᴇʀᴏsᴇxᴜᴀʟ ▬ ᴡᴀʀ ᴛᴇᴀᴄʜᴇʀ ▬ ᴛᴀᴏ ᴏᴋᴀᴍᴏᴛᴏ ▬▬▬
Asai Tsubasa is a realist. A pessimist? No. And believe it or not, there is a difference. Once, she dreamed. But she has learned, the hard way, that even when your dreams take flight, there is a chance that they will come crashing down to earth again. That even when you have the skill, you have the passion, everything — that, even then, you are still human, and you are not invincible.
She still dares to dream, sometimes. She puts her faith in the future, which is why she returned to the International Space Academy to teach. She believes in them, but she also knows better — that not all of them are going to get what they want. And even if they do, who's to guarantee that it's theirs to keep?
So she educates — she teaches them about the things that have happened in the past, a tool for the future and also a warning: do not take this for granted.
The girl with everything. That was Asai Tsubasa. Come from one of the wealthiest families in all Japan and a prodigy among her peers, Tsubasa made the cut for the first battalion in her second year at the International Space Academy. What she lacked in height and build she made up for in speed and agility, and she was ranked first in her class for sharpshooters with near-pinpoint accuracy. There was, of course, a catch, which is that her kind of innate talent does not come without arrogance.
She may not have been liked by her classmates back then, but as far as she was concerned, she didn't need to; why would she care when she was a better fighter than them anyway? Besides, she was going to get out of there and into the work force, and she was going to fight her way to the top out there.
And then she became a paraplegic.
It was never part of the plan. Of course it wasn't — no one fucking plans on becoming paralyzed from the waist down. But their ship to earth had been intercepted, and though she was one of only a few to survive the crash, it had not been without cost. Of course, she could have continued on as a cyborg — but that was virtually worthless, seeing as the connections to the mechanical appendages only function when the nerves are intact enough. But no, the doctors said. Too much damage to the nervous system already, the doctors said. It would only make it worse.
So after a year of rehabilitation — both physically and mentally — she took to the sky again. Or, rather, space. She never wanted to return to the school, never planned on it. But then again, if she's learned anything in her life, it's that things don't always go according to plan.
Amy Chung has only one mode: go. There's no off or slow down. She lacks self-discipline that way — she has goals, and once she does, she works for them without rest. It's a sort of reckless ambition that dictates her life. While it's the reason she's made it as far as she has, she also just doesn't know when — or how — to stop.
At the same time, she's able to channel this into her work and efficiency. Because she wants to do well — integrity is such an important quality to her, and she wants to be the best and she wants to get there the right way.
Soldiers: villains to some, heroes to others. To Amy Chung, they were idols. Ever since she can remember, her dream was to attend the International Space Academy and learn how to fight. The Sun sector — surely it was named that for a reason, because in Amy's mind, it was them who shined the brightest. Defending the earth — truly a noble cause.
So she worked. She worked in school, she joined every sports team they would allow her to. She built her stamina and speed and every ability she could think of that would help her application to be accepted. And then the unimaginable: it actually was accepted.
Of course, a wrench was thrown in her plans when she actually got there, because, as she was reminded, she was too much of a wuss to actually fight. They had to use guns and blasters and hit each other and Amy... was not cut out for that kind of thing. But then again, one of the things that she had discovered during her ambition-fueled academic rampage was her natural affinity for physics, and, well — now she's an engineering student at a very comfortable proximity, far from any fist fights.
Born genius. Innate talent. Gifted. That's what Matthew Park has been told his entire life. That God, for some reason or another, looked down at him and decided to give him the brain of a hero — except that that's not true at all. If there's one thing that Matthew has learned since beginning his education at the International Space Academy, it's that he's nothing great. In fact, he's not even close. For someone who was never even arrogant to start with, it certainly has been a humbling experience.
In all truth, it's been exhausting. He's tired of seeing people surpass him in every possible way. There's always someone better — someone more intelligent, someone more imaginative, someone more innovative, someone more, more, more. More than once, Matthew's considered dropping out. He's tired of being the guppy in a pond full of sharks.
But at the same time, there's a fire inside of him. A burning desire to be the best, even if it takes him his entire life to get there. Maybe it's his parent's delusions, or maybe it's a realistic hope, but part of him still believes, however desperately, that maybe he really can be the genius everyone wanted him to be.george park ━━━━━━━━━━━ father
mother ━━━━━━━━━━━ irene park
elizabeth park ━━━━━━━━━━ sister
brother ━━━━━━━━━ jonathan park
Matthew always was, in his parents' minds, someone of genius. It's a heavy burden to carry when you're the eldest child in the family, always needed somewhere, always busy, always responsible for whatever happens. A heavy burden when you're your parents' pride, and they have so much faith in you that the look of disappointment on their faces when you don't meet their expectations is crushing.
When he applied for the International Space Academy, it was their dream for him. Their dream for their eldest son, their little man, to go to the most prestigious academy in the universe. When he was accepted, it was his little midwestern town's pride and hope on the line. And so when he started, the only thing Matthew could think was I can't let them down.
But it was hard, harder than Matthew had ever imagined it could be. It was difficult and frustrating and everything he did was wrong; his drafts would come back littered in red pen marks while the other students would receive theirs with gold stars. But he couldn't just give up, as much as he wanted to. There was too much at stake. Too much fear of disappointing everyone.
But how hard do you push? What's the limit? How far can one human go? Matthew's life was consumed by a hysterical single-minded work ethic, one of do, revise, do, revise, do, do, do, do, do. A ruthless cycle without rest. There was no end in sight, and all he could do was keep pushing himself until maybe, maybe he could see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Between nights with no sleep,
Matthew lost part of himself. After waking up alone in the infirmary, having collapsed in the middle of his end-of-year evaluation presentation, he realized he wanted — needed — things to change. Do. Revise. Change the plan. Revise. Change the plan. Revise until it works. So, perhaps out of newfound maturity, or perhaps out of sheer desperation, he changed. More hours of sleep. More collaborative work. More trying to break his pattern.
But the question burns in the back of his mind: are you proud of me still?
Daniel was blessed with his birth into a wealthy family. He was not, however, blessed with any natural talent. Instead, he's had to work hard to improve. Countless hours of practice in the simulation room. Begging his instructors to review his technique and give him more tips. He's always wanted to prove himself to be more than the rich kid.
That hasn't exactly worked out for him. Well, it did, and then it didn't. But he hasn't given up. He's going to make a name for himself, Daniel Song — not the son of anybody, or the failure of any squadron. He's going to be Daniel Song, and one day, a little boy is going to look at him and say, I want to fly a spaceship.richard song ━━━━━━━━━━━ father
mother ━━━━━━━━━ sooyoung song
He's only here because of his father's money, they said, and Daniel resolved to prove them wrong. At seventeen years old, bright-eyed Daniel Song, son of Richard Song, CEO and founder of multi-media empire Song of Songs, Inc., began attending his dream school: the International Space Academy. From childhood, he wanted to be an astronaut; and entering his teen years, he realized that he didn't want to deal with stars like the ones his father worked with — he wanted to soar through the milky way.
It was hard to prove himself — he had no innate skills; everything he earned he had fought hard for. But slowly, the corporate heir-turned-space pilot rose his way through the ranks. From Squadron D to Squadron C, then to Squadron B — and then, at the beginning of his fourth year, he was promoted to Squadron A. In truth, it was a dream come true.
And then he came crashing back down to earth.
It was one mistake. Daniel is a human, and humans make mistakes. But there are times when one mistake alone crosses the line, and Daniel was unlucky (unprepared, unequipped, unobservant, unworthy of being there). He should have spotted it on the radar, should have been watching more carefully — but he didn't, and the ship was wrecked. And although everyone made it out alive (thankfully), their fearless leader, their lead pilot who was making preparations for his wedding after graduation, lost his legs. And in a world full of cyborgs, things could be worse. They could be worse.
They could be worse.
He's only here because of his father's money, they say, and Daniel knows it to be true. The guilt worries away at him every day. He shouldn't be there, and if he were anyone but Richard Song's son, he would have been expelled, not simply demoted to Squadron D. At the same time, he's determined to prove himself again — he can't give up, not now. He has to make things right again. He can't — he can't let it all be in vain.
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The right thing. Even now, Hyeri isn't quite sure what that means — what really is the right thing to be doing? To follow her parents' dreams? To follow her own? She's always wanted to do the right thing, to do good, and to do it well. But the question still lingers in the back of her mind — is she doing what's right for her? Will she even be happy, ten years from now? Does that even matter?
Nothing that Hyeri has ever loved has been the safe option. At the same time, she's too afraid of the unknown to step out of her comfort zone. She's caught in limbo between passion and security, practicality, responsibility.
So she pushes on anyway, because she's already this far in, and she doesn't believe in doing things halfway. Besides, it's not like she's unhappy. (She is.) She doesn't have to love it now; she can learn to, and besides that, there are things, people, she can find joy in until then. She just has to stick with it long enough. Fake it until you make it, right?
i get to know ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ the bitter taste of coffee .hwang jinyoung ━━━━━━━━ father
mother ━━━━━━━━━ hwang siwon
Hwang Hyeri has had a remarkably normal life, and that's the way she likes it. She's a follower, not a leader, and she'd rather be predictable and cautious than spontaneous... which is how she ended up here, hurtling through space in order to complete her higher education.
She tries not to think about it too much. She's grateful for the opportunity to be here — she has a lot to be thankful for. And her parents are so happy about it; this is what they always dreamed of for her. Because this is the best there is, and they've only ever wanted the best for their girl. This why she's doing it — because she knows it's the right choice.
Really, Hyeri just needs to learn to separate what she wants from what she needs. She can have both, she can make it work. She can make it work.
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Jiyeon is pretty. That much is evident to anybody—she's pretty, and she has resources, and that's enough for most people. But it's not enough for her. Her parents are incredibly successful, and they got there through hard work. Jiyeon is just as determined to make a life for herself through her own achievements, her own blood, sweat, and tears. It might not be what's expected of her, it might not be what her parents want, but it's what she wants, and isn't that enough?
It's not that she looks down on models and fashion designers. It's not that she doesn't like the girly things her parents have always wanted her to conform to—it's that those things aren't Jiyeon. Last time she wore stilettos to one of her mother's events, she sprained her ankle, and her mother forbade her from ever wearing skirts and dresses again since that time those Very Important Colleagues were over and she sat with her legs open.
When she's working on a ship—that's when Jiyeon feels at home. It feels right, working on something physical and getting her hands dirty and being able to see the real, tangible product of her hard work. It makes her feel happy, and useful, and alive, and she knows she's disappointing her family, she knows it's not the easiest path, but... she loves it, and she refuses to apologize for that.
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Born to an award-winning film director and an internationally famed supermodel-turned-fashion designer, it might be a given for Nam Jiyeon to go into the entertainment industry. And it's true: that's what everyone expected, that's what her parents wanted. She was popularized among the public after a child modeling career and a series of drugstore-brand makeup advertisements ( "perhaps she's born with it, perhaps it's prettyface!" ).
That would be too easy, though. And Jiyeon has never taken the easy path. She's been told her entire life about her parents both, in their own right, rose from poverty and ill fortune and fought their way to a world of success. She wants the same for herself—because she can, she knows she can, if only she's given the chance.
So she took her chance. Instead of applying for universities like her parents wanted, she sent out one application, and it was for the International Space Academy. Because she's Nam Jiyeon, and she wants to. And yeah, her parents are that close to cutting her off. But she's only doing this because she knows she can do it. Her parents always told her that she could do anything she set her mind to—anything, that is, except for the things they didn't envision for her. Well, she can do this, and she's going to do it, and one day she's going to be so damn good at it that they'll have to be proud.
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❛❛ J A E ❜❜ ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ kim jae-seop ▬ eighteen ▬ male ▬ senior
Jae Kim, according to his peers: Dumbass. Lazy ass. Has a great ass. Because the thing is, Jae has everything, so he doesn't want to do anything. What is there left for him to gain? He was born into enough money that he never has to lift a finger for as long as he lives, he's smart enough without studying, and, quite frankly, he doesn't want to work. There are better ways for him to spend his time, like playing video games.
It's not like Jae is here to learn. I mean, technically, yeah, he is. But that's not his goal. He just wants to have fun — you know, play games, get drunk, kiss a few girls, live life. Because whether he likes it or not, come graduation, he's going off to be a business student and inherit the company his father and grandfather have groomed for him. What more could a boy want?
America's Golden Girl: that's Justine Emerson's identity to the public. The wholesome, humble girl-next-door whose home just so happens to be the White House. And wouldn't that be nice? Except that Justine's no saint. She's no better than anyone else. But she's also no worse.
Because it's a lot of pressure, okay? People want her to be perfect and she's not, she's not, she never was and she never will be. So yeah, maybe sometimes she wants to have sex and get drunk, sometimes at the same time, and that shouldn't be anyone's business but her own. Can't people just mind their own business? Is that too much to ask?
Risa didn't ask to come here. She didn't pay to come here, either. Nope. She's here because her father works maintenance at a company where one of Ivysdale's board members is vice president, and he “overheard Teruo talking about his daughter's accomplishments” and “knew she would be the perfect fit for Ivysdale” and “have you ever considered studying abroad, Risa?” It's not as if Risa's tuition is the price it takes to keep a secret. No; as far as anyone knows, she's here because of her intelligence, her hard work, her intellectual potential.
And truly, she is grateful for this opportunity. It's a good one, to learn more, become more worldly. To meet people of higher society than the country dwellers in Iiyama. Because her parents want a better life for her. Because she wants more from life than making soba. Ivysdale is undeniably nicer than her hokey old high school where the doors were near falling off their hinges.
But at the same time — who in their right mind would think Risa is a good fit for Ivysdale? She's different, for sure. And she's not ashamed or embarrassed. She's just... bewildered. By her roommate's Louis Vuitton collection, by the Maseratis parked next to Aston Martins in the parking lot, by the extravagant lifestyles which these people just grew up with. Honestly, these people... are they even human? Is this a hidden camera scenario? Risa doesn't even know.
For some reason, people are intimidated by Min-kyung. Something about her eyes or her RBF makes her 'scary' to some people — particularly freshmen — but it couldn't be farther from the truth. In reality, Min-kyung is perhaps the softest person ever. She's the type of person who cries and is about three seconds away from donating to ASPCA every time she sees the In the Arms of an Angel commercial (thank you, Min-seok, for preventing her from spending her entire savings account to save the animals).
She just — she has a lot of heart, okay? She tries hard and does her best and okay, she's not brilliant, and she probably won't ever be, but she's out there giving it the most, because she doesn't know how to give anything less. Because Min-kyung is a people-pleaser, okay? She grew up going to social events where she had to make a good impression as a reflection of her parents. She wants people to look at her with love and pride. Min-kyung doesn't want to put herself first. She's afraid of being selfish, because she doesn't want to be selfish, because being selfish is a bad thing. Is she a pushover?Probably.Definitely. Sure, she lets people walk all over her and take advantage of her kindness and generosity, but really, no one's taking advantage of it, she wanted to give that favor, to lend them that thing, to give them her time and energy and care. And she does manage to convince herself of this — then again, if it's what you want, that's really all it takes for Min-kyung to tell herself that that's what she wants, too.
Because it's better to smile and do things for people and be a good person than to make waves, right? Min-kyung doesn't want to get involved with any conflict. Is it hurting her? Maybe. But she'd rather stay passive than actually confront her problems.
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▬▬ junior ▬ 17 ▬▬ an mmm whatcha say remix of that video went viral ▬▬
Liang Jiaying is the cutest, sweetest, most adorablest girl in all Hong Kong, okay? Not just Hong Kong — in Asia. On planet earth. In the entire fucking universe. She's Hong Kong's little sister, okay? No one can take that title away from here. They can try, and oh, do they try. They try. But they'll never succeed, because Liang Jiaying is never giving up her place, not yesterday, not today, not when the planet is consumed by famine and plague. Liang. Jiaying. Is. Hong. Kong's. Little. Sister.
It's a hard-earned title, you know. It started with those little baby food advertisements when she was too young to know she was destined to be a star. She's always been a child actress. It's innate. Her vocation. And the people loved her! They still do. They love her, their little sister, the girl next door, Hong Kong's sweetheart.
And then fucking Wang Ju came along.
Let's be clear: Wang Ju is not Hong Kong's little sister. She isn't, she never was, and she never will be. If Rachel goes down, she's dragging sweet little Wang Ju with her. Wang Ju is not even near Rachel's level. It doesn't matter what the press says, it doesn't matter if Rachel's agency dropped her, it doesn't matter if that video —
Okay. Yeah. That video.
First of all, Rachel was totally set up. There she was, giving nice little Wang Ju some advice as a company senior. The kid needs to have thick skin, okay? If she's going to cry every time someone yells at her she's never going to make it. And for the record, Rachel was picking a thread out of her hair, not yanking on it. Liang Jiaying does not yank, thank you very much. It was totally set up and how dare they record a private conversation and ruin Jiaying's entire fucking career so badly that she had to go hide away at some school going by Rachel.
But it's fine. It's fine, because Rachel never did anything wrong, and she's going to bide her time and get a fucking high school diploma, and then she's going to go back home and make Wang Ju wish she was never born.
❛❛ Born to the country's finest—if not the world's finest—neurosurgeon and a supermodel-turned-socialite-philanthropist, Ahn Si-yeon has never been in want or need. Some might call her spoiled (please, she drives a Aston Martin, not a Lamborghini) or self-centered (when she chose her English name she chose Rose because roses are the prettiest flower and I'm the prettiest girl and say what you want, but no one has ever proven her wrong), and she would not refute those claims. But honestly, at this school? It's not like everyone else isn't the exact same, and it's not like she goes to school to sit around a campfire and sing kumbaya.
Really, Rose's problem is that she's bored. She may have a 4.4 GPA but she's tired of working, and she may have friends but it's only so much fun when they're just as vapid and superficial as she is. That's the problem with being a self-proclaimed trendsetter. She's ready for something bigger, better, more exciting—why can't anyone ever keep up with her?
→ Her most embarrassing moment is whenever Harry Kim is in the same vicinity as her.
People say that Kim Yu-jin stopped being wanted for jobs, that she gained too much weight and was dropped by her agency, that her chilly demeanor was too difficult to work with and photographers couldn't take anymore. That Kim Yu-jin did something wrong, and her modeling career paid the price for it. And Yu-jin holds her head high and says cooly, no, that's not what happened, turns on her Louboutin heel, and walks away. She can't control whether or not people believe the truth when she tells them. She's pretty, and she's not nice, and people aren't inclined to favor her side of the story when the other option is juicy gossip.
It started like this: Kim Yu-jin was a girl with no friends. She was too quiet, too shy, too isolated in every possible way. So her parents said, why don't you try acting?, so she did. And she found that she was an absolutely terrible actress, and an even worse singer. But she had the face, and she was photogenic, so she started modeling. And she was up-and-coming — on her way to becoming a supermodel. It was great at first, because Yu-jin treats her body like a temple; she always ate well, always exercised well, always took care of herself, and it showed. But there was the constant try this diet, the nagging take these pills, the disdainful why are you eating so much?
Something none of the media outlets mentioned was that before she terminated her contract with her agency, Yu-jin was hospitalized. Nothing permanent, sure. Nothing irreversible. But everyone has a limit, and Yu-jin had reached both her physical and mental limit. And that was that. She quit, and instead of continuing her online classes, she enrolled in a proper school, one far away from work. She's going to take her classes, work hard, get a proper diploma — and then she's going to get her cute little ass into a university so she can research safe ways to lose weight.
┏Look. Yu-jin's a model, and that means she has a good body — a great body, if you ask her. And when she was at her most active, she had work all the time. There was bound to be an underwear ad or two in there somewhere. And that would be fine. It would really be fine. Yu-jin isn't ashamed. People can see that. But there was that one campaign, the one for the Victoria's Secret X Hello Kitty collaboration, the one where the bra had dear old Hello Kitty's eyes and ears and the panties had the — you know what? She doesn't need to even tell you. You've probably already seen it.┗
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Some are born beautiful, some achieve beauty, and some have beauty thrust upon them. Luke Ryu likes to think he's beautiful enough to qualify for all three categories. He was a good looking kid, never went through an awkward phase, and — have you seen what puberty did to him? Blessed. Truly. And who could say no to that face? Apparently not many, because Luke Ryu is something of a serial dater.
Of course, he's not a heartbreaker. That's not his style. Anyone knows going in that it's not serious. Just some nice, casual, not-so-clean fun. He's not the type to deprive himself of things he enjoys. Honestly, though, it's a little questionable whether it's the girls he likes or the rest of the situation, but hey. No one's ever complained to him afterward.Okay that's a lie like half the girls he's had sex with complained but you don't need to know that.
In any case, Luke is one of those guys who lives easy. He's not fussy, he's not stressed, and no, he's not high, but the numbers in his bank account are, and that's basically the same thing, isn't it? Sure, he's not the nicest guy out there, but he's not a bad guy. And here's the thing — when you act like the guy who's such an open book, no one looks for what you have to hide.
┏There was that one time when he got a little too tipsy at a party and decided to prove to everyone that yes, he does in fact know the entire lyrics and choreography to every SNSD title track ever released and what the fuck are you talking about of course I can dance it, I can dance better than Hyoyeon, fucking watch me. Unfortunately for his image, it's been immortalized in video form. Fortunately, no one has ever doubted his Sone status since. So there. Who's the real winner here, huh?
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A real Prince Charming. That's Daniel Kim. Born to a Korean father and American-raised mother, Daniel grew up speaking both language. However, despite this, as well as the several other languages he's working on, his primary vernacular is spectacularly cheesy pick-up lines. With those looks and that honey-sweet tongue? Daniel sure lives up to the prince image. Is he being ridiculous? Sure. He knows it. No normal person in their right mind would ever actually use these lines. Daniel does, of course, but then, those acquainted with him might not categorize him as normal person in his right mind. At the same time, though, he's not some serial dater; he's not going to dump you after two weeks nor is he going to buy you a car. Nope: Daniel Kim just flirts. In fact, people expect his flirtatious tone to the point where Daniel finds it difficult to be taken seriously when there's an actual important matter at hand.m.e.m. × those charming prince-like lines that he uses so much? Yeah, he's used to saying them all the time. So used to it, in fact, that he doesn't even think about it anymore, it's just the first thing that comes out of his mouth when he's talking to someone. Even if that someone is his ninety-year-old World War II veteran physics teacher. Yep. Turns out he doesn't have everyone under his spell after all.
In any case, it's a fun time. And he likes that. He likes it when girls laugh and smile when he flatters them, he likes it when guys laugh at him (because yes, despite common belief, he does realize how utterly ridiculous he's being), he likes it when his best friend rolls her eyes at him even though he's sure she's laughing internally (probably). It lightens the mood. People laugh, whether it's with him or at him. And sure, maybe it started because he read a few too many shoujo manga, but now? It's the reason he stands in social circles and makes new friends. Maybe he's not the prince; maybe he's the fairy godmother, after all.
Stephen Gong — better known to some by the understated 민호 which serves as his sleek display name — has upwards of thirteen thousand followers on Instagram. His page, a simple but apt @stephengmh, is something that he's worked hard to cultivate over the past few years. You can call him vain, narcissistic, plain old stupid for making it a priority — but quite frankly, what else is there for him to do? He can get good grades without having to try, so of course he's not going to put his effort into school. He has a good life, so he might as well show it of. Clearly 13,000 people seem to enjoy seeing pictures of him, of the Irish scenery, of him, of his dates to free-trade independent coffee shops an hour out of the way with Emma, of him.
And the thing is, Stephen isn't a bad guy. Sure, he's probably not winning any awards for kindest person ever, but it's not like he's an asshole. He's not. He's pretentious, sure, and filthy rich, sure, but he isn't mean — and honestly that's mostly because he's far too lazy to put the energy into thinking of witty mean things to say. He's just a teenager living his life — not everything has to be so hard, after all.
