Ran Nagisa | 乱 凪砂 (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
paradiseunboxed) wrote2022-07-11 06:13 pm
paradiseunboxed) wrote2022-07-11 06:13 pm
Entry tags:
Imeeji: App
Player name: Cheshire
Over 18?: Y
Contact: ivoryandhorn#9758 (ivoryandhorn @ gmail, plurk)
Character name: Ran Nagisa
Character canon: Ensemble Stars!! (chronologically Ch. 3 of the main story, but post-Conquest in terms of event order)
Canon Summary: Once upon a time, there was a super idol, beloved and famous. Eventually, he retired from the spotlight and became the hidden God and ruler of the entertainment industry, referred to as the Godfather. After struggling to find a successor, the Godfather decided to make one, adopting Nagisa for this purpose. To mold Nagisa into his idea of the perfect super idol, he raised Nagisa in secret, keeping him in a hidden room with almost no human contact or stimulation. The Godfather passed away when Nagisa was about 12, at which point Nagisa's existence was discovered. He was temporarily taken in by the Tomoe family, where he became fast friends with the family's second son, Hiyori.
Though Nagisa was formally adopted by another family, he and Hiyori soon reunited at Yumenosaki Private Academy's idol course. At that time, the idol course was in a bad state, as students had gotten used to riding on the coattails of Yumenosaki's reputation as a prestigious idol-training school and hence put little effort into their actual training. As part of his plan to fix this, their classmate Eichi recruited Nagisa and Hiyori to join his unit, fine, with which he planned to scapegoat and crush Yumenosaki's eccentric genius performers, while implementing a system of competitive live performances to force the remaining students to get good or be kicked out. Despite their misgivings about Eichi's ruthless tactics, Nagisa and Hiyori ultimately joined Eichi in his quest, even signing a contract to ensure their cooperation to the bitter end. On the day of their last victorious performance as fine, Nagisa and Hiyori left Yumenosaki, both of them exhausted and heartsick over the cruelty of their actions as fine, even though they'd agreed with Eichi's cause.
Nagisa then took some time off to travel the world. However, he eventually returned to Japan at Hiyori's request, enrolling in Shuuetsu Academy, a prestigious idol-training school and rival to Yumenosaki. There, under the agency Cosmic Productions, Nagisa joined the unit Adam with Saegusa Ibara, and let Ibara take over managing much of his daily life. As part of Adam (and the super unit Eden, composed of Adam and its companion unit Eve), Nagisa crossed paths with the next generation of Yumenosaki's idols in the form of Trickstar. Eden and Trickstar eventually faced off in the SS, the most important idol competition of all. Eden lost, though they were able to remove many corrupt executives from Cosmic Productions in the process.
After graduating from Shuuetsu Academy, Nagisa continued his idol activities at the newly established Ensemble Square facility, where Cosmic Productions had set up shop along with several other prominent agencies. As graduation forced Nagisa into a state of greater independence, Nagisa began developing his sense of self through his interactions with the idols around him, preparing to face the new challenges of the idol industry as it raced toward an uncertain future.
Character in Canon: The thing that has probably most profoundly impacted Nagisa's personality and outlook is the fact that he was raised in near-total isolation for the first 12 years of his life, in a room that he describes as being white and lacking in stimulation. During those years, he mainly interacted with the Godfather, who he refers to as his father. Perhaps as a result of this, he still loves his father dearly, even though he acknowledges that his father committed many wicked deeds on his way to world--or at least, entertainment industry--domination.
However, the near-total isolation means that Nagisa was poorly socialized, not learning how to speak, read, write or literally anything else about human interaction until his father died and he was brought out of the room in which he'd been raised. Even now, years later, Nagisa tends to emote very little, and tends to speak in a deliberate manner with a quiet, even tone. This, combined with his cold and placid demeanor, along with his still-developing interpersonal communication skills, can make him come across as a remote, even otherworldly figure. His reputation as the leader of Eden, one of the Top 3 units in Ensemble Square, doesn't help this impression. Many of the things he says come across as cryptic or simply odd as he struggles to express his thoughts. The exception is when Nagisa is asked to act or take on a specific role. While he finds constantly performing a different persona to be tiring, he's also a frighteningly good actor, easily able to take on any role requested of him as long as he has a script and directions to work from. He's also begun to explore developing roles for himself, and in so doing, improving his understanding of the world and his avenues for communication and expression.
As Nagisa still finds many practical aspects of the world to be difficult to understand, such as commerce and other people, he much prefers to let other people handle such matters. He also feels like his sense of self and identity is lacking, which troubles him, and feels most comfortable when he has a script or strict instructions on what to do or say. As a result, he can come across as overly passive and submissive due to letting his unitmate, Ibara, run his life, down to determining his diet and training regimen, to the point of onlookers being concerned that Nagisa's being taken advantage of due to his lack of understanding of the world. However, his obedience to Ibara's directions is very much a choice, and Nagisa is more than willing to deviate from the script he's been given if he disagrees with it. He follows Ibara's directions because it's convenient for Nagisa and because he generally trusts Ibara's judgment.
Nagisa's love for his father has resulted in a strong desire to understand his father and inherit all that belonged to him, even the songs that his father sang during his own heyday as a super idol. As such, Nagisa has a great love for and desire to understand idols, as his father loved idols more than anything in the world, and aspires to be a top idol himself. By understanding his father, Nagisa hopes to answer the question of who he himself is as a person and why he's alive.
In pursuit of his goal to understand himself, Nagisa is extremely curious, reading voraciously and seeking out new skills and experiences to incorporate into himself on his quest to become a more perfect being. He's also curious about people, both the people in his immediate surroundings as well as humanity as a whole, seeking to develop his friendships with other idols even though he still struggles with communication in general. He's especially interested in history and archaeology as well, since these are things which reveal the deep roots of the events that have shaped humanity as a whole.
Overall, Nagisa has a complex relationship with the world. Due to his isolated upbringing, there are many aspects of it that puzzle him, some of which he prefers to just let someone else handle. He dislikes the darker aspects of the world and idol industry, even as he acknowledges them as part and parcel of the world as it exists, since the world is not an ideal place. At the same time, he's very curious about the world, especially other people.
Despite his, or perhaps because of, his curiosity about people, Nagisa continues to find communicating with other people to be imperfect and difficult, especially when he doesn't have a script to guide him on what to say. He's aware that social conventions exist and often expresses some anxiety about whether he's responding appropriately and being understood by other people. Even so, Nagisa deeply values the friendships he's formed, especially with the other members of his unit, Eden, and tries to act in their best interest and to convey the depth of his care for them (especially Ibara, who is very resistant to being cared about). Hiyori, in particular, remains extremely dear to him, as the person who first taught him about the world outside the empty room in which he was raised.
In terms of moral direction, Nagisa could be described as neutral. He, personally, is kind at heart and doesn't want to hurt others unnecessarily. He's motivated to be an idol because he feels that idols exist to bring happiness to the people around them, and he finds that to be a worthwhile reason to be alive. At the same time, he finds Ibara in full scheming villain mode to be "adorable" and is even quite proud of Ibara's skill in that area. He feels no need or right to criticize Ibara's scheming way of life, though he's not above expressing Opinions about it, such as when Ibara targets someone Nagisa considers to be off limits. As Nagisa's developed more and more of a mischievous or rebellious streak, he's exhibited his own tendencies to manipulate other people in order to achieve his desired results--though his desired results are still generally benevolent (i.e. forcing Ibara to participate in a variety show in order to point out flaws in Ibara's approach to life and also remind him that he has friends that care him).
Because Nagisa's sense of self is lacking, he has relatively low ego despite being considered something of a genius when it comes to acting and performing as an idol. He's not bothered by Ibara treating him as something to be used for Ibara's own ends at all. Even when someone does manage to provoke negative feelings such as anger or irritation in him, his reactions tend to be fairly mild, and he seems to view his own emotional responses as a new experience for him to incorporate into his knowledge of the world. The only thing that seems to truly upset Nagisa to the point of losing his cool is when he feels that someone has impugned the memory or legacy of his father.
Nagisa was introduced near the end of Ensemble Stars! and the sequel, Ensemble Stars!! is still ongoing, with only three chapters of the main story released in the English version so far. While there hasn't been much space for Nagisa to have an arc yet, so far the general thrust of it seems to be "self-actualization into a real boy." In Ensemble Stars!, Nagisa seemed to prefer withdrawing from the world as much as possible. He expressed his desire to be an idol as akin to wanting to be a hermit or saint, living a life of quiet, solitary study except for the rare occasions when he descended to bestow happiness or smiles upon the masses. In Ensemble Stars!!, though, he's developed a greater interest in people and the world around him, and greater willingness to engage with those things in his quest for knowledge about himself and the legacy of his father. Nagisa will likely continue to develop dynamically, especially as Eden seems set to take on a more central role in Ensemble Stars!!'s main story, due to his and Ibara's connection to the Godfather.
Over 18?: Y
Contact: ivoryandhorn#9758 (ivoryandhorn @ gmail, plurk)
Character name: Ran Nagisa
Character canon: Ensemble Stars!! (chronologically Ch. 3 of the main story, but post-Conquest in terms of event order)
Canon Summary: Once upon a time, there was a super idol, beloved and famous. Eventually, he retired from the spotlight and became the hidden God and ruler of the entertainment industry, referred to as the Godfather. After struggling to find a successor, the Godfather decided to make one, adopting Nagisa for this purpose. To mold Nagisa into his idea of the perfect super idol, he raised Nagisa in secret, keeping him in a hidden room with almost no human contact or stimulation. The Godfather passed away when Nagisa was about 12, at which point Nagisa's existence was discovered. He was temporarily taken in by the Tomoe family, where he became fast friends with the family's second son, Hiyori.
Though Nagisa was formally adopted by another family, he and Hiyori soon reunited at Yumenosaki Private Academy's idol course. At that time, the idol course was in a bad state, as students had gotten used to riding on the coattails of Yumenosaki's reputation as a prestigious idol-training school and hence put little effort into their actual training. As part of his plan to fix this, their classmate Eichi recruited Nagisa and Hiyori to join his unit, fine, with which he planned to scapegoat and crush Yumenosaki's eccentric genius performers, while implementing a system of competitive live performances to force the remaining students to get good or be kicked out. Despite their misgivings about Eichi's ruthless tactics, Nagisa and Hiyori ultimately joined Eichi in his quest, even signing a contract to ensure their cooperation to the bitter end. On the day of their last victorious performance as fine, Nagisa and Hiyori left Yumenosaki, both of them exhausted and heartsick over the cruelty of their actions as fine, even though they'd agreed with Eichi's cause.
Nagisa then took some time off to travel the world. However, he eventually returned to Japan at Hiyori's request, enrolling in Shuuetsu Academy, a prestigious idol-training school and rival to Yumenosaki. There, under the agency Cosmic Productions, Nagisa joined the unit Adam with Saegusa Ibara, and let Ibara take over managing much of his daily life. As part of Adam (and the super unit Eden, composed of Adam and its companion unit Eve), Nagisa crossed paths with the next generation of Yumenosaki's idols in the form of Trickstar. Eden and Trickstar eventually faced off in the SS, the most important idol competition of all. Eden lost, though they were able to remove many corrupt executives from Cosmic Productions in the process.
After graduating from Shuuetsu Academy, Nagisa continued his idol activities at the newly established Ensemble Square facility, where Cosmic Productions had set up shop along with several other prominent agencies. As graduation forced Nagisa into a state of greater independence, Nagisa began developing his sense of self through his interactions with the idols around him, preparing to face the new challenges of the idol industry as it raced toward an uncertain future.
Character in Canon: The thing that has probably most profoundly impacted Nagisa's personality and outlook is the fact that he was raised in near-total isolation for the first 12 years of his life, in a room that he describes as being white and lacking in stimulation. During those years, he mainly interacted with the Godfather, who he refers to as his father. Perhaps as a result of this, he still loves his father dearly, even though he acknowledges that his father committed many wicked deeds on his way to world--or at least, entertainment industry--domination.
However, the near-total isolation means that Nagisa was poorly socialized, not learning how to speak, read, write or literally anything else about human interaction until his father died and he was brought out of the room in which he'd been raised. Even now, years later, Nagisa tends to emote very little, and tends to speak in a deliberate manner with a quiet, even tone. This, combined with his cold and placid demeanor, along with his still-developing interpersonal communication skills, can make him come across as a remote, even otherworldly figure. His reputation as the leader of Eden, one of the Top 3 units in Ensemble Square, doesn't help this impression. Many of the things he says come across as cryptic or simply odd as he struggles to express his thoughts. The exception is when Nagisa is asked to act or take on a specific role. While he finds constantly performing a different persona to be tiring, he's also a frighteningly good actor, easily able to take on any role requested of him as long as he has a script and directions to work from. He's also begun to explore developing roles for himself, and in so doing, improving his understanding of the world and his avenues for communication and expression.
As Nagisa still finds many practical aspects of the world to be difficult to understand, such as commerce and other people, he much prefers to let other people handle such matters. He also feels like his sense of self and identity is lacking, which troubles him, and feels most comfortable when he has a script or strict instructions on what to do or say. As a result, he can come across as overly passive and submissive due to letting his unitmate, Ibara, run his life, down to determining his diet and training regimen, to the point of onlookers being concerned that Nagisa's being taken advantage of due to his lack of understanding of the world. However, his obedience to Ibara's directions is very much a choice, and Nagisa is more than willing to deviate from the script he's been given if he disagrees with it. He follows Ibara's directions because it's convenient for Nagisa and because he generally trusts Ibara's judgment.
Nagisa's love for his father has resulted in a strong desire to understand his father and inherit all that belonged to him, even the songs that his father sang during his own heyday as a super idol. As such, Nagisa has a great love for and desire to understand idols, as his father loved idols more than anything in the world, and aspires to be a top idol himself. By understanding his father, Nagisa hopes to answer the question of who he himself is as a person and why he's alive.
In pursuit of his goal to understand himself, Nagisa is extremely curious, reading voraciously and seeking out new skills and experiences to incorporate into himself on his quest to become a more perfect being. He's also curious about people, both the people in his immediate surroundings as well as humanity as a whole, seeking to develop his friendships with other idols even though he still struggles with communication in general. He's especially interested in history and archaeology as well, since these are things which reveal the deep roots of the events that have shaped humanity as a whole.
Overall, Nagisa has a complex relationship with the world. Due to his isolated upbringing, there are many aspects of it that puzzle him, some of which he prefers to just let someone else handle. He dislikes the darker aspects of the world and idol industry, even as he acknowledges them as part and parcel of the world as it exists, since the world is not an ideal place. At the same time, he's very curious about the world, especially other people.
Despite his, or perhaps because of, his curiosity about people, Nagisa continues to find communicating with other people to be imperfect and difficult, especially when he doesn't have a script to guide him on what to say. He's aware that social conventions exist and often expresses some anxiety about whether he's responding appropriately and being understood by other people. Even so, Nagisa deeply values the friendships he's formed, especially with the other members of his unit, Eden, and tries to act in their best interest and to convey the depth of his care for them (especially Ibara, who is very resistant to being cared about). Hiyori, in particular, remains extremely dear to him, as the person who first taught him about the world outside the empty room in which he was raised.
In terms of moral direction, Nagisa could be described as neutral. He, personally, is kind at heart and doesn't want to hurt others unnecessarily. He's motivated to be an idol because he feels that idols exist to bring happiness to the people around them, and he finds that to be a worthwhile reason to be alive. At the same time, he finds Ibara in full scheming villain mode to be "adorable" and is even quite proud of Ibara's skill in that area. He feels no need or right to criticize Ibara's scheming way of life, though he's not above expressing Opinions about it, such as when Ibara targets someone Nagisa considers to be off limits. As Nagisa's developed more and more of a mischievous or rebellious streak, he's exhibited his own tendencies to manipulate other people in order to achieve his desired results--though his desired results are still generally benevolent (i.e. forcing Ibara to participate in a variety show in order to point out flaws in Ibara's approach to life and also remind him that he has friends that care him).
Because Nagisa's sense of self is lacking, he has relatively low ego despite being considered something of a genius when it comes to acting and performing as an idol. He's not bothered by Ibara treating him as something to be used for Ibara's own ends at all. Even when someone does manage to provoke negative feelings such as anger or irritation in him, his reactions tend to be fairly mild, and he seems to view his own emotional responses as a new experience for him to incorporate into his knowledge of the world. The only thing that seems to truly upset Nagisa to the point of losing his cool is when he feels that someone has impugned the memory or legacy of his father.
Nagisa was introduced near the end of Ensemble Stars! and the sequel, Ensemble Stars!! is still ongoing, with only three chapters of the main story released in the English version so far. While there hasn't been much space for Nagisa to have an arc yet, so far the general thrust of it seems to be "self-actualization into a real boy." In Ensemble Stars!, Nagisa seemed to prefer withdrawing from the world as much as possible. He expressed his desire to be an idol as akin to wanting to be a hermit or saint, living a life of quiet, solitary study except for the rare occasions when he descended to bestow happiness or smiles upon the masses. In Ensemble Stars!!, though, he's developed a greater interest in people and the world around him, and greater willingness to engage with those things in his quest for knowledge about himself and the legacy of his father. Nagisa will likely continue to develop dynamically, especially as Eden seems set to take on a more central role in Ensemble Stars!!'s main story, due to his and Ibara's connection to the Godfather.