[ 𝕊𝕃𝕁𝕂 ]　▸　 #81 tori 　▸ #sns | #ffebf3 #fc8781 #66555c

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birthname　Victoria Min
birthdate　Aug. 3, 1997
birthplace　Charleston, South Carolina, USA
hometown　Seoul, South Korea
ethnicity Korean

faceclaim Doyeon (Weki Meki)
backup Chaewon (IzOne), Lua (Weki Meki)
height　173 cm
weight　50 kg

languages　

△ English (100%) ; English is obviously Tori’s native language, and one she speaks fluently. She maintains that fluency by speaking with Tyler, other English-speaking members of SNS and MLSM, and dance instructor Sam Lee.

△ Korean (90%) ; Though technically Tori’s other native language, until the family’s move to Korea, Tori’s fluency in Korean wasn’t quite as good as Tyler’s simply because she spoke more English at home and didn’t take as much of a chance to practice Korean as Tyler did. Immersion in the language helped a lot though, as did becoming a trainee, because she was forced to pick up more vocabulary and refine her conversation skills. At the time of SNS’s debut, she’s pretty close to fluent in Korean.

△ Japanese (45%) ; While Tyler grew up on anime and manga, Tori’s interest in Japanese didn’t really hit her until the family’s move to Los Angeles, where she was exposed to Little Tokyo. Initially, she learned Japanese out of a combination of necessity and spite -- she wanted to order food, and some of the clerks were jerks and refused to speak English to her because she was obviously Asian. So yeah, she took offense, and she learned phrases and pronounciation just to spite them. But it dodn’t take long for Tori to develop a fondness for Japanese. It was pretty, and it had a pretty sound to it, and seeing the reactions of those around her as she ordered in perfect Japanese? That was a major confidence booster. So she did some research, watched videos, read books, all of it on her own. After moving to Korean, her learning did take a pause, at least until signing as a trainee udner SM Ent. Then her Japanese lessons resumed, this time as actual lessons. At the time of debut, Tori can hold a casual conversation, knows several fun fan friendly phrases, and is generally the one left to order food when they’re in Japan or Japanese restaurants.

other names

△ Min Taeri ; this is Tori’s Korean name -- her government name, she jokingly calls it -- and she answers to it only like 5% of the time. She’ll usually at least respond and correct the speaker with Tori, but. Hey, at leats she answers.

△ Victoria ; Tori’s actual name, her English name, and one she answers to when she knows she’s in trouble. Still, not the preferred name.

△ Tori ; the name Tori actually likes, prefers, and uses regularly; also her stage name. she’s worked from the beginning to make everyone try to use this name, as it’s the one she’s most comfortable with (and, really, it’s harder for non-English speakers to butcher)

△ Vic ; used more by the family, Sam, and occasionally other English speaking trainees, much to Tori’s frustration. She’s not a big fan of Vix, simply because she doesn’t like the sound of ot and she doesn’t want to encourage the use of “Vicky”

△ T, Toria/Toriah ; less common nicknames, but still pulled from Tori/Victoria by mostly English speakers. They’re not Tori’s favorites, but she answers to them. ...mostly

△ here

Victoria Min | 빅토리아 민 | Tori

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personality

ESTP-A, Firebender, Gryffindor, Candor, Valor
Chaotic Good

sociable, charismatic, hard-working, athletic, confident
direct, independent, tencious, daring, competitive, bold
blunt, messy, extreme, secretive, stoic

sociable, charismatic

Tori is an incredibly social and charming young woman. She’s not as exhuberantly cheerful as her brother or her younger siblings, but she is sociable enough to get along well on her own in social situations. She’s also good at making small talk and mingling, making those around her comfortable and pulling them into conversations. That friendly, approachable, charismatic energy works well for Tori on stage and when she’s performing as well, lending to an overall charm as a female artist and idol.

confident, hard-working

Tori’s time as a trainee did wonders for an already unflappable confidence. Growing up overseas, constantly on the go and making waves as an athlete in her local community, she learned to walk tall, exuding and oozing confidence. In Korea, that confidence was often real, but sometimes she faked it, too, particularly when she wasn’t as confident as she knew she should have been. Still, as a trainee, that confidence worked wonders for Tori, providing her with a layer of protection against those that would drag her down. Coming from nothing forced Tori to work hard and build herself fromt he ground up. She got a later start in music than many of her fellow trainees. She started dance late, and really only started to rap a year or so before becoming a trainee. Still, it was hard work, a lot of late nights and red-eyed dedication, for her to be able to reach the level she stands at currently. She’s not the best. She knows she has room to grow. But Tori’s also confident that she can get there, and she won’t stop until she hits that level.

athletic, active

Tori’s youth in Charleston and Los Angeles led to a lot of outdoor activities, and lended to the way Tori grew up like she did. And during all that time outdoors, she became incredibly sporty. Surfing and swimming, running, jogging, exercise in general. She loves anything with the water the most, but she grew up active, and aside from helping her later to maintain better dance routines, it gave Tori the energy and ability to keep up with the extra demands of the SLJK program as well as the members of the group. Over the years, she maintains a level of activity outside of the program. Morning runs, working out, extra dance practices with some of the dance-oriented kids. It given the opportunity, Tori is more prone to being up and active, motion from start to finish, than lazing about and avoiding the work.

competitive, tenacious

The SLJK program is incredibly competitive, more so than even a regular trainee program, and it’s a place where Tori thrives. She’s not one to stoop so low as to satbotage other in order to be better, but she’s deifnitely the sort to use failure or a second best ranking to motivate herself to be that much better the next time. That competitive edge stems from her youth, as does the tenacity that goes hand in hand with it. Failure is not an option -- at least, it’s not an option for Tori. Failure is just a call for her to do better, be better, and she takes it to heart. She won’t stop until she’s where she thinks she needs to be, whether it’s a small step, like learning all of the footwork for one song, or something larger, like convincing the members of SNS to go to bed early or eat breakfast, or somehting larger, like convincing the managers to let them have a day of rest.

independent, secretive, stoic

Tori is an incresibly independent individual. Growing up in America with a sitter and her siblings as her parents worked extra hours to provide was one thing. Even teaching herself to swim and surf, taking trial and error and failure and using it as motivation, that’s one thing. But moving to Korea with her father and brother while her mother and siblings stayed in America, moving to an entirely new country with a language she’s not quite as fluent in, that’s another thing. And being so independent has made her more secretive and stoic, keeping her true thoughts and emotions closer to her chest than she initially realizes or desires. As a captain, keeping her concerns private isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but that secrecy and her independence can lead to issues with Tori overworking herself, unwilling to lay down the burden of leadership and risk the trouble of asking for help. (Usually, Tyler sees it before she does, and he’ll ask one of the other SNS girls to approach Tori about it. Usually. Not always.)

daring, bold, extreme

Tori is very much the individial that hypes up the “dare to dream” motto. She dares, and she dreams, and she dares to be big and bold and larger than life about it. She toes the line as a rapper within the company, pushing the envelope a s afemale rapper because she dares to aim higher than other female rappers at SM Ent. And she’s not quiet about it, either. Tori is confident in herself, and she takes the necessary risks to not just get her individual point across, but to take the biggest strides she can. Tori has a “go big or go home” attitude, and while she’s prone to going to the extreme as an artist and individual, she’s careful to curtail herself around the members of SNS, to be more responsible with them and only push the line when she knows they can get away with it.

blunt, direct

Tori’s not the sort of person to beat around the bush. She’s honest, though not quite to a fault -- she understands lies can be necessary -- though she also won’t lie just to get her way or to make someone happy. She’s straight to the point about it, giving the necessary and pertinent information to make her point, and she takes that approach as a leader as well in order to offer the girls as much time as she can give them to get things done. It means she’s not always the best for touchy feely heart to hearts. You’re homesick? Tori’s probably not the person to go to. She’ll just pat your back and ask you if you want to quit, then remind you why you’re in the program and what you’re working toward, not so much denying that feeling of missing, but reminding you why you have it and what you’re working toward.

messy

Unfortunately, like Tyler, Tori’s a bit messy. She has her own system of organization, and can find anything in her possession despite the messy. But...well, she’s not the best roommate because she tends to leave a mess in her wake and only clean up on the weekends or free days, much to the chagrin of the others. (In her defense, it’s not that Tori wants to be messy. She just had other things that require he rattention first, and cleaning tends to fall pretty low on that list.)

background

[ 1997 - 2002 : the beginning ]

Victoria Taeri Min is born August, 3 1997 to Min Hongseok and Min Taeyeon. She’s the first child of the pair, but certainly not the last. Living in Charleston, South Carolina, Victoria grows up in the sun and surf. Her parents are busy during the week, hard at work, but on the weekends, the family spends their days on the beach and in the sun.

Two years later, on June 8, 1999, Victoria’s younger brother, Tyler -- Taehyung -- is born. Due to the close gap in their ages and the fact that he’s the first, Victoria bonds quickly to Tyler, and the two remain close as they age and all through childhood.

On January 5, 2001, Harper -- Haeun -- is born. And on November 15, 2002, Hayden -- Hyunjin -- is born.

Despite their family having grown rapidly, Hongseok and Taeyeon take to the increased responsibility well, taking on extra hours and additional chances to make money. This means Taeyeon and Hongseok are often busy on the weekends as well, at least for a little while, leaving Victoria and the younger kids in the care of a babysitter. They end up on the beach more often than not, with the younger trio lingering around the sitter as Tori runs off to play in the ocean. Sometimes Tyler joins her. But more often than not, it’s Tori on her own, learning to swim and eventually surf, and diving to search for shells and fishes in the shallows.

[ 2002 - 2008 : sunny paradise ]

For the next couple years, things continue in that manner. The children spend much of their days on the beach, enjoying the sun, sand, and surf. When Tyler is big enough by Tori’s standards, he joins her in the waves. But where Tori had taken to surfing like a fish to water, Tyler takes to swimming and diving, and even tries his hand at kite surfing. The two spend more and more time in the water, with Tori entering some surf competitions and Tyler becoming more and more knowledgable and skilled with diving.

As their siblings age, they begin to join Tyler and Tori in the water, but they don’t take to it as easily and spend more of their time on land, walking the line between sand and surf, collecting shells and cheering their elder siblings on.

It’s during this time that Taeyeon and Hongseok begin spending more time at home with their kids, taking them on adventures through Charleston and the surrounding area of the state, visiting other beaches and hotspots, and going so far as to arrange a vacation for the family in late 2007.

The family take a vacation to Los Angeles, California, and despite the similarities between home and their vacation destination, the children immediately fall in love.

[ 2008 : the resettling ]

In 2008, Tori and the others discover that the vacation they’d gone on the year prior was not just a vacation. It was, in fact, their parents way of scouting the city in search of a home close to their new jobs.

In 2008, the children find out they’re moving.

Hongseok’s company has offered him a better paying position at their new location in California, with room to grow within the company. And while Taeyeon’s job won’t be able to relocate her, she does find a new job in California that’s only a short distance from her husband’s. They set a time table for themselves and get to work.

It’s not a quick affair. They have to keep their home otherwise spotless and routinely vacate the premises as an agent brings families to loong at their home in order to sell it. And in the meantime, the family packs what they want to keep and either donates or sells the rest as they wait for their offer on a new home to go through.

And as much as Tori lives the idea of moving to California, she hates moving, and all of her free time is spent at the beach, often with Tyler by her side, wandering and committing their childhood playground to memory.

Too soon, their parents’ bid on a home is accepted, and they pack their belongings and begin the cross-country drive to California. (When asked, Tori refuses to ever spend that long in a van ever again. Not with her whole family, any way. No more road trips, thank you very much.)

[ 2008 - 2011 : eternal summer ]

California is beautiful, and Tori dives into her new home, surrounding herself with more sand and surf. But unlike in Charleston, Tori has a new outlet to explore, and she does so with absolute glee. In Los Angeles, Koreatown is a thing that actually exists, entire blocks dedicated to Korean culture and cuisine. There’s Little Tokyo, too, and so many other places, and Tori is in love. She and Tyler often venture out into the city to explore, coming home with stories of their explorations.

While exploring, Tori stumbles across a mall in Ktown that caters to the locals cuisine, beauty, and music tastes. It’s there that she discovers Kpop. 2009 is the year of f(x)’s debut, and one of the members, Amber, is actually from California. A local. And Krystal, another local from San Francisco, is also in the group. It’s an novel idea, music. Singing, dancing. But it’s not one that sticks. At least, not immediately.

It takes another year, and Tyler’s interest in kpop, before it sinks its teeth into Tori and refuses to let go.

In late 2010, she discovers Infinite and Teen Top, Miss A and Girls Day and Sistar. She also discovers Hyuna and IU and...okay, maybe she’s a little bit in love with the idea. Before, Tyler had been learning the dances and posting them alone. In 2010, Tori begins learning with him, an active participant in his videos...and in some of her own.

For the next year, things go pretty smoothly. Tori delves deeper into kpop with her brother, they begin taking dance lessons at a local studio, Tori and Tyler both begin expanding their horizons musically. And then at the start of summer in 2011, Hongseok drops a bomb on the family.

His job is expanding an existing branch overseas. They want Hongseok at the head of his own department. A pay increase, a really good one, awaits him if he accepts. the only catch? It’s in South Korea.

[ 2011 - 2014 : hello foreign soil ]

After much consideration by both Hongseok and Taeyeon, they agree that the job is for the best of the family. It’s not a move than be made immediately though, not by the entire family, but the job offer has an expiration date, pushing Hongseok and Taeyeon to strike a deal with themselves, and with their children.

In order to keep the job, and to search for housing for the entire family, Hongseok will go over first. Taeyeon will wait behind with the children, work on packing, and sell their home. Except Tori has an idea. And when she shares it with Tyler, they don’t see a reason to not at least try. They ask to join Hongseok in Korea when he moves.

Taeyeon isn’t exactly thrilled, but Hongseok finds their enthusiasm endearing, and it doesn’t take long before Tori and Tyler both have their passports and are preparing for the long flight to South Korea.

Landing in a foreign country for the first time is a little daunting, but no more so than the struggle to navigate to the hotel they’ll be living in until they find themselves new housing. Luckily, it’s summer, and while Hongseok is at work during the day, Tori and Tyler explore, wiling away the hours by looking into apartments for the family to look into with their father on the weekend. And in between apartment hunting, exposed to the rich, new culture and music straight from the source, Tori and Tyle dive right into music.

By the end of August, Taeyeon and the other children join the rest of the family in Korea. Tori and Tyler have also happily immersed themselves in music, convincing Hongseok to enroll them in a dance academy that they can walk to from home. Being in Korea also helps with their fluency, and it doesn’t take long at all for the duo to begin to flourish in their new surroundings.

By late 2013, at sixteen years old, Tori is pretty sure she knows what she wants to do with her life, and she beging chipping away at her parents’ resolve. And in early 2014, they finally decide to let her. After all, what’s the harm in it? Tori’s still just a child, and Tyler’s Korean is better than hers. No entertainment company will accept her.

Right?

[ 2015 - present : the big leagues ]

For an entire year, that’s true. For an entire year, Tori attends auditions and sends in auditions, and at every turn, she’s shot down. She’s a decent dancer, and she’s an okay vocalist, and rapping...well, she’s an okay rapper. But somehow it’s not enough, so she pours herself into dancing, into the online world, digging through videos and practicing to them. Girls groups are good for singing along to, but she’s not a big fan of singing. Her voice isn’t amazing. She needs to stand out more, be more visible, more present.

she takes to rapping along to the music, to learning the songs and the raps, to knowing them like she knows her own name and history. She works on pronounciation, enunciation, and delivery. She’ll never rap like a boy, she tells herself, but she can be a better rapper than most girls, and that’s enough of a goal to work toward.

In May of 2015, at an auditon at SM Entertainment that Tyler drags her to on a whim, an audition that Tori didn’t even entirely want to go to -- SM Entertainment isn’t exactly known for their rappers, much less their female rappers. SM Entertainment isn’t YG, or even AOMG or Big Hit. But on a whim, she auditions, and she makes it in.

Inexplicably, beyond all reason, they see her, a diamond in the rough with so much potential, and they want her.

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