the basics.

name » Soda Marie

nickname(s) » Rie - close friends and her brother call her this. Kiwoong and some of her groupmates (both Pop Girls and former Iz*One) might also refer to her as this.

birthplace & birthday » Tokyo, Japan, February 21, 2002

hometown » Tokyo

ethnicity » Japanese

language »

Japanese - Native

Korean - Near Fluent (sometimes gets some words confused, but can carry conversations very well)
English - Conversational - obvious reasons as the companies really, really want her to be popular internationally, so study study study.
 

face claim » Billlie - Tsuki

backup face claim » Cherry Bullet - Remi

appearance » Cute. happy, energtic face over a little raincloud interior!

style » Generally doesn't have a much of a say on what she wants to wear. She is typically put in "cuter" outfits, ones that empahsize youthfulness in some cases despite no longer being a teenager. Given the choice, she'd probably just have a plain skirt/short/pants and a white/black top. It's easy.

the GIRL.

personality » Reticent, Irresolute, Amicable, Anxious, Affectionate, Sensible, Even-Tempered

Picture this: you're watching a program. It doesn't matter if it's Korean or Japanese, you're seeing the same girl on screen. She might be an adolescent, she might be a teenager. She's sweet and cute, giggling coyly behind her hand like you'd imagine a heroine from a highschool manhwa might be. She's perfectly put together by editing and training to be relatable on so many levels. She's both the underdog and main character. This is Marie: beloved girl next door type.

You'd be forgiven if this was where you left your impression when you finally turned off the program. Most people do. It's by design on so many levels. That's what Soda Marie feels like deep down: a well designed persona, manufactured to be what her company and parents want her to be. 

"Sit up straight, sweetie, the camera is on."
"Smile a little more. You'd look so much prettier with a smile."
"Don't scowl, it's unattractive."
"Make sure you make lots of eye contact. All your fans, young and old, like it."

The mask of the public Marie is so ingrained in her daily life now, Marie doesn't really know how to take it off sometimes. She wouldn't say her poise or grace is false. Marie really does have a long fuse: it takes a lot to anger or upset her in most circumstances, and she has the clarity and presence of mind to keep her head straight when things get a little too chaotic or awful around her. Hell, it's how she's surived all these years of being in front of cameras and being bombarded with so many people shouting instructions to her. It's how she survived being in a jpop group with so many other girls to contend with. It's how she kept her cool on Produce. Marie knows how to pause and breathe to keep the persona on when all else fails. But is she just this poised polite young lady?

Peel the mask back one layer though. Marie is easy-going and friendly. She welcomes new and old alike with the same soft smile and eagerness. She's not prone to fighting at all. In fact, she is more likely to concede to someone else over fighting for her wants as much since conflict makes her really, really uncomfortable. She is so used to being told what to do and how to be, that fighting for her own wants is of little meaning at times. But what she lacks in ferocity, she maks up for in amicability and affection. She is quick to shower someone with compliments and praise, give someone a hug or cuddle when asked or needed. When it comes to speaking of her loved ones, Marie is so comfortable doing so. She just seems terribly sweet. Just a placid sweetheart really!... But then, sometimes, people roll their eyes and ask her to show some passion for 's sake. Where is her fire???

Peel back another layer. Marie's smile has faded and now she is biting her lip anxiously. She's glancing around, feeling like the people talking around her have become nothing more than white noise. Marie has to breathe. She has to focus on her breathing. In front of the camera, in front of an audience, Marie has been feeling more and more of this dread overtaking her. It's becoming so hard for her to be in front of these things she should be so used to by now. Every year that goes by in spotlight has made her dread it more and more. What if she slips up? Why is she even here? Does she even know anymore??? It's harder and harde to focus, there's too many people and-!

Breathe, Marie. BREATHE. 

The final layer, now that Marie can breathe again, is a solemn, neutral girl who doesn't even know anymore what she wants out of her life. Maybe this Marie has the spark of sass and snark once in a while when she can come up to breathe. This Marie just wants to paise and slow down, maybe appreciate the more creative things. Yes, maybe this Marie just wants to create something of her own instead of being told, "this is what you have." The happy Marie, the calm and sensible Marie, the anxious Marie: they're all real. It's just beneath it all is someone looking for something. The love of it all? It feels so distant now. How does she articulate her uncertainty? How does she tell anyone, "Maybe I don't want to keep doing this anymore..."? The answer is she doesn't know how. And because of that, she swallows it down further. No, no, no, she really is fine with all of this. Up goes the anxious mask. Up goes the easy-going mask. Up goes the professional mask. 

And then the smile for the camera, ignoring the sound of her heart pounding in her ears.

trivias » 

❀ Her favorite food is apple. Anything apple is love by her. Apple candy, apple soda, apple cereal, fresh apples, baked apples, just give the girl apple and she is completely happy.
❀ She loves spiders and is absolutely fascinated by them. She would legitimately have a pet tarantula if they'd let her. She loves other pets too, but a tarantula would be so neat.
❀ Likes videogames. Legitimately during ISAC when they introduced gaming as a competition, she does extremely well. She gets excited for new game releases despite not being able to play them as often as she wishes she could. 
❀ Dislikes swimming and going to places like the ocean or on a lake. Not the beach. She loves the beach and sound of the waves; but if Marie could never step foot in deep water, she'd be very happy. Deep water makes her feel unsafe and queasy.
❀ She honestly dislikes chocolate. She would rather have sour or fruitier snacks, but doesn't mind white chocolate.
❀ She actually really hates watching videos of herself. She just really dislikes seeing what others see on camera and in media. Again, it makes her anxious and uneasy. It takes some close encouragement to make her okay with it (like if the group watches one of their MVs, you will usually notice someone has their arm linked with hers). 
❀ Habit? Pacing. So much pacing. If there is any nervous habit she has, it's pacing. On a call? Paces. Waiting for her turn? Paces around. Small space without proper room to pace a line? Paces a small circle. She has to get her nervous energy out somehow, you know? Drives people nuts sometimes though.
❀ Hobbies include gaming and origami. She started doing origami as a way to calm her mind when she gets more anxious. Her space in the dorm or her bed or room (or whatever their living situation is) tends to have pieces she made all around. She even made Chaewon a little mobile of origami flowers too hang. If you get a letter or card or note from Marie, it's probably folded up prettily or cutely.
❀ She rarely visits home in Japan anymore since her parents have always told her to stay put and work on being a good idol. 
❀ Her BTS bias is Suga if she has to pick one. Generally she didn't follow boygroups until coming to Korea, and even now just has mostly cursory knowledge of them. But she thinks he, along with other BTS members, are very talented.
❀ She knows SNSD dances and songs so very well. Into the New World is her karoake song of choice and she can throwdown and random dance their songs. 
❀ She was also a big fan of Gfriend and joining Source was a dream for a hot minute until Gfriend was disbanded. If she got to meet either former Gfriend members or SNSD or even Kara, she'd probably die of happiness.

❀ Her true ranking in Produce is not known to her, but it's actually closer to the top 4 than bottom of the pack. She still agonizes sometimes over how maybe she cost someone else a chance to debut.

THE Story.

background » Marie has been an idol since she was 10 years old. Her parents always wanted her to be famous. Hell, THEY wanted to be famous and were themselves failed actors and singers. Instead, they now live vicariously through their daughter who has proven at a young age to be talented and capable of keeping the spotlight on her. When Marie was old enough to walk, they took her to auditions and soon she was part of commericials and modeling children's clothing. It made sense for them to then have her audition for AK48. Why shouldn't they? 

At first, being accepted and becoming an idol like the ones she sees on tv was a dream. Her parent were happy and everyone was giving her attention. That is, until it stopped being quite so fun. Long hours, tedious photo shoots, image management, it began to stack up on young Marie. But that was okay! She was young and passionate! She would be the best idol she could be! But over the next couple of years, the limelight began to feel suffocating to her. She never really got to make her own decisions. If it wasn't a coordinator or manager, it was her parents. Failure and imperfection was not an option for anyone around here. So, Marie persevered. Even if she felt weird when doing the swimsuit spreads or performing for "uncle" fans who took a little too much interest in her.

Then came Produce 48. Marie was familiar with kpop. She rather liked the Japanese releases from groups like SNSD and Kara. She'd even listened to the boy groups and had silly crushes on them like other young girls her age typically did. So Produce was a moment of awe for her. She was going to have a chance to do something different. She was going to be in a different spotlight, a different sort of idol industry.

And, deep down, she hated it so much. The long practices were back. The critiques. The competing against other girls to be at the top. Even in AK48, it always felt like a competition. And now she was in an actual one. That spark of passion and hope she had? Oh, it as so quickly smothered out as production went on. But despite her inner turmoil, what was she to do? So, as usual, Marie held her head up, smiled, and acted cute and approachable to the camera. They say she was fairly popular, but who even knew? There were always whispers of rigging, so she didn't really expect much of it. Hell, maybe after this, she would talk with her parents and maybe she could graduate from AK48 and move on? All the easier if she bombed Produce. She'd go out with a last hurrah!

And would't you know it, it was not meant to be so. She was actually doing well in the rankings for a while. Not like Sakura level amazing, but people seemed to like her. Despite her reservations, Marie was too good at putting on the mask and image of being eager and cute in front of the camera. Behind the scenes she was far more reserved, and a select few were aware of her true feelings. But that's not what people get to see is it? So, despite falling in ranking to a point where some assumed she wouldn't be part of the final lineup, she was announced as rank 11. (a/n: for her lineup in IZ*ONE, she takes the place of Nako and I modified the ranking for this background, but feel free to modify it or adjust!)

Okay, okay, let's give the kpop side of things a shot! Marie told herself this. She was a fan of SNSD and Kara. Maybe this was the real life she wanted!

Nah. It wasn't. Or at least, it wasn't as grand or super different as she had hoped. She arguably did enjoy being IZ*ONE more that AK48. She got along well with the others, its was a smaller group, and she felt she could shine a bit more. So maybe being in the group did help her learn to love the spotlight again...but it still didn't really last. Despite meeting new people, making new relationships, and feeling a little bit more like a star, it was still a lot more of the same things she also disliked. So Marie beared it, smiled, and decided this would only last through the end of IZ*ONE. Besides, she wasn't that well liked anyways, right? But then, the scandal of the rigging of IZ*ONE and all the Produce series. So now, did she even deserve to be here? More doubts began rushing through her mind as their hiatus continued. 

She had decided this was it. Back to Japan and then she'd quit all of this...maybe. But what would she do? Maybe go to university, study abroad, maybe- but then Iz*One didn't disband. Promotions started again, and Marie smiled and nodded along. She wasn't about to be a downer about it all now when they hada chance, and they were as good as ever despite the controversy. 

Finally, FINALLY, it was over. It would be time to go back to Japan and maybe, just maybe, try something different.

Only when she got home to her parents, she was met with a scout offering for her to join Source Music. 

The cycle began again as soon enough, on the downlow, she left Japan once more three months after the end of Iz*One to begin her idol journey again in Korea. She'll never admit that she cried a bit in the airplan bathroom on her way back in frustration.

relationships » 
Soda Mutski and Hongo Memi - Parents - While both of them are well off (her dad is a marketing executive and her mother a stay at home wife, and one time manager for Marie), they both had dreams of being something bigger. Mutski wanted to be a singer, Memi a model. If you dig back into their pasts, you'd see they had a little bit of small time success as these things, but as it happens to so many, real stardom would foever ellude them. So when they realized their cute daughter had some star power? You bet your they monetized that and lived vicarously through her. Besides, they have a son who can be their more traditional child and carry on their name. Thus, they came to expect Marie to be their showpiece. Frankly, they are so absorbed into their dream of their daughter's fame, they miss out on a lot of things, and are definitely stage parents when allowed to have some control of their daughter. They're not outright malicious, but their presence in Marie's life is definitely not a good thing. It's no surprise to anyone who knows them actually that Marie rarely visits them. (If there ever was a case of going low contact, its with these folks).

Soda Yamato and Tanaka Asahi - Brother and sister-in-law - Her older brother of five years who is a lawyer and also successful in his field. Yamato cares for his whole family and often finds himself at odds with his parents over Marie. He lives in Osaka, and if Marie ever visits Japan, she tends to go to his home and be with him and his wife Asahi. They are both well mannered and considerate people who often keep in contact with Marie and cheer her own when they can.

Kim Kisoo - Vocal Teacher - Kisoo remembers all of the girls now in HYBE that were in produce. But perhaps he is mos surprised to see Marie here. Truth be told, Kisoo always assumed Marie would end up leaving entertainment eventually. He'd said it during the filming of Produce, though it was edited out, but Marie didn't seem to have it in her to keep going despite her popularity. 

Chaewon and Sakura - Le Sserafim Members and former IZ*ONE groupmates and Labelmates - Marie was friendly enough with most of the IZ*ONE ladies. She was particularly close to the Japanese line, but grew close ot Chaewon as well, and they kept in contact after disbandment. Imagine their surprise when Marie was revealed to be joining HYBE too. Imagine their surprise when the plan was for Marie to be in Le Sserafim. Imagine the disappoinment when Marie was pulled to be in Pop Girls instead. 

Stray Kids (especially 3Racha) - Friends (and one crush) - Some during IZone promotions and after her 'breakup' with Kiwoong, Marie befriended this group. She in particular got to know 3racha. There was nothing special to the meeting honestly. They happened to have some promos around the same time and ran into each other. Truthfully, Marie had not become a fan yet but did make an effort to listen to them after the initial meeting. She then inquired with them on some of their music and lo and behold she gained a genuine interest in their work. Fast forward to the present and she is still in contact with them, and often gets sneak peaks on upcoming releases and singles. They've become good friends at this point, even if they don't always see each other. Marie may also have a slight crush on Bang Chan, though she doesn't do anything with this...though you can bet Kiwoong, when he figures it out, gets terrible jealous. If Marie ever gets more into actual music making, she will probably rely on them a bit for advice.

THE POP.

PLOTLINE » Open! (mostly because I really didn't know if she was more Transfer or High Profile)
 

POSITION » Lead dancer, Vocal (up for change depending on what you need!)
 

Stage name » Just Marie. She was known this back in IZ*ONE, so she will remain it.

VOCAL » Marie's voice is pleasant. It's not a power vocal by any means, but she can hold a tone as long as she isn't forcing herself out of range. Ask her to sing a high note though, and it will not be pretty. Her vocal skills were praised as being stable, evne if not powerful, during Produce especially when it felt like her fellow Japanese trainees were lagging comparatively behind. 
 

DANCE » If Marie bloomed at anything during her Produce days, it was during dance. Much like her vocals, she, nor anyone else, would claim she is the best dancer. But she is a solid technical dancer who knows how to "feel it" when the time comes.
 

RAP » HAHAHAHAno. There's a clip of her trying to do a Miryo rap and it's hilariously bad.
 

sTRENGTHS » The approachable image. Marie excels at being disarming and sweet when needed. She makes the group feel more grounded in some ways. She's not otherworldly beautiful or elegant, so its not like she's completely unattainable. Arguably her dancing is also solid and she can take a side line position or center without too much issue: ie - you don't have to worry about her outshining the current center by any means.

WEAKNESSES » Love and passion for the work maybe? Or maybe it's the stage presense when she is not actively working on it. In non-performing sets, Marie can stand out just fine, but when she's performing it's easy for her to kind of fade into the background. She doesn't have as much performance charisma or power, so its easy to forget about her being there until she comes more center or is instructed to "stand out" in some way. (I really liken to to Tsuki's actual stage presence. She does fine, but during Gingamingayo when she finally worked on her expressions, tat's when she finally stood out more during performances).

TRAINEE YEARS » Marie has been a Jpop idol for a long time, starting officially at 13 with AK48. After Produce an Iz*One, she would then join Source music with the aim of her being part of Le Sserafim, only to be pulled early to join Pop Girls instead. 

TRAINING PERIOD » Training was never something Marie loved or even remotely liked. That being said, she still gave it her all because, well, what else was she supposed to do? Besides, it was nice to interact with others. Thankfully, Marie was never seen as a "threat" to the others, so she was able to stay out of most trainee/idol intercompany drama. Prior to being in AK48, Marie was a child model for some fashion brands and on a few CFs. She never gained center position during her time with AK48, but was recognizable enough. 

Training during Produce 48 is when she really amped up to kpop standards. Essentially her kpop training was done live during the show and even during promotions where she became more well rounded. Her ranking was fairly consistent, rising to mid top 10 and falling just shy of it prior to announcing debut lineup.

While Marie always assumed she was "alright" at best. Except come to find out, her rankings were actually a lot better than shown for the show. It was just constantly manipulated to look like she did worse. This was a fact that HYBE picked up on. While not widely known, it was assumed she would be that low key star that would bring korean and japanese fans alike in a more subtle way unlike Sakura who was pure star power. Hence why in the end, she was put into Pop Girls - the potential there felt really untapped. Though how well it qctually goes is hard to say.

FUTURE ACTIVITIES » Marie...can't really say. She really does feel so tired and done with this idol business. She can't say she loves it like she used to. But finding ways to be more behind the camera and music is something she has found gives her some solace honestly. She begins having a strong interest in production: from song writing to the actual producing of music. Truth be told, thinking of BTS as the self producing group that came from Big Hit, now HYBE, may have drawn her in more than she might realize. 

In reality, she's probably going to be pulled into something and just go along with it, regardless.

SUB GROUPS » Really, Marie can do any of the concepts due to training, but is least suited for Pop Girl's Mix due to her being well trained and poised for the other groups more. That being said, that would be the one she'd want to be in the most: something about doing more experimental or new things actually sparks something in her.

the one and only.

love interest » Lee Kiwoong
Occupation » The 6th member of TXT

FACE CLAIM » Ateez Yunho

Age and date of birth » July 23, 2002 (20)

personality » The duality of Lee Kiwoong. Kiwoong pulls off a mature, kinda chic persona most times on camera (or tries to). He's that guy who is totally too cool sometimes with a resting face to match. Fans in particular sometimes paint him as the cold member. Well, this isnt completely true. He can't help his neutral face sometimes. His resting -face is on point, plus he knows how to activate it for the cameras when needed. Plus, he thinks being the cool guy is what makes him so alluring in the idol world (little does he know, fans love him equally for his cuter moments). Confidence is key, and Kiwoong is someone with plenty of it. He swanned into being an idol like it was a hobby and entered it with ease and grace that would make other trainees so envious. He really is just one of those people more naturally inclined to the spotlight. He's terribly comfortable in his own skin. Mentally he handles most things well, and the things he doesn't? He grits his teeth, smiles, and lets it go.

Though to be fair, letting it go is actually rather hard for him. Kiwoong, contrary to the image, is quite sensitive and a little tempermental. There are just as many images of him sulking or making a face as his "cool" image. He's still young and maturing into his emotional intelligence, so he can't help the slip ups. Plus he's a bit of an idiot with how he literally will say the first thing on his mind, then consider it gospel, only to find him sulking back and admitting he was wrong...but ONLY whilst sulking about it. Aside from that, he's funloving and rowdy, along with his groupmates, and they all often act like idiots together. He's a goofball, almost bubbly and happy, and while he gets into bad moods and can get his feelings hurt easily, he generally doesn't let it last terribly long...usually. Sometimes the prior image of his coldness can shine through and his cold silence is kind of offputting. But in general he gets along well with people and doesn't hold onto negative feelings too long.

For Kiwoong, if there't something he wants, he's ready and willing to go for it and make it happen. He's not neccessarily had it easy in life, but he's had natural advantages and had used them to be successful. As such, since he's almost always ready to take a challenge head on, the moment he CAN'T solve or fix something, he kind of has a mental shut down in some ways. He grows frustrated and overthinks it way too much. Sometimes, the boy need to learn to let things be...but leaving anything without a proper ending is so hard for him, even if he can't actually change it himself.
 

love story » Kiwoong hasa been a trainee with at the time Big Hit ever since BTS made it big in the West. He had a mission and would be damned if he got left behind in this new surge of kpop populairty with a company not of the Big 3. He was an amazing trainee and to no one's surprise, he debuted with TXT. He got along well with his groupmates (and future labelmates), and had ery little to complain about except being tired and a little overworked sometimes (as you do as an idol lbr). Debut, make it big. That was his two part plan. However...

During TXT's debut, he met and greeted Marie with the rest of Iz*One. It was a very polite and formal meeting at first, but Marie stumbled and Kiwoong caught her arm to help her up. It was literally one of those silly kdrama moments of eye contact and *insert sappy musical score and sparkles*. It wasn't long after that, despite the caution of his groupmates to not do it, he managed to slip his phone number to her with a note asking her if she would be willing to contact him.

They secretly dated for about 6 months eventually, but it was always hard because of schedules, managers, and other factors. Despite being a rookie idol, Kiwoong was always full of confidence in himself, so Marie liked being around him even if it was just a few moments alone in a car or van between rehersals or performances. It was hard to feel down when someone as upbeat as him was around. 

They broke up during the Produce scandals. Why? Marie was feeling the pressure and questioning things, internalizing and trying to figure out what this would all mean, and closed herself off. Kiwoong tried to check on her and offer support, but it was often met with silence as Marie didn't know how to explain it either. She grew annoyed at his constant asking, he was offended at her distance without communication and not seeming to care about his stress of being in the BTS little brother group and he didn't think it was appropriate to vent when she was troubled, he in turn spent less and less time with her, she stopped responding to invites to meet up because he started seeming like he didn't care anymore when she was ready to talk. And the cherry on top? She finally just told him,

"I'm going back to Japan after this."

"So...that's it? What if you come back to Korea later?"

"That ain't happening."

"What about us?"

"What us?"

And the call ended. No official break up or anything. Neither meant to be like that, but they were young and stressed. 

But! It wasn't like they never saw each other. Every music show, if they caught sight of each other, there were stares, attempts to not make eye contact, keeping as far from each other as possible when they could. It was all very messy. To the credit of their groupmates, they tried to keep them apart to make things easier. Of course, knetz and the internet didn't miss it. Small pockets of fandom LOVED finding these moments. The WHAT HAPPENED WHY DO THEY NOT LIKE EACH OTHER moments abounded! Most never took it seriously. Just fans finding things where nothing was...except for once, they were right.

So, Marie goes back to Japan and that would be it, right? WRONG. After being back for a hot minute, Marie is scouted and goes back to Korea to be part of Source and then Hybe's new girlgroup. Oh how the speculations begin with that pocket of fans again. Would it be the same??

Yep. Sure was. Even after a long time apart, both of them are awkward. Never keeping eye contact for very long, sometimes looking like they might be glaring at the other when they don't intend to. Oh how the netizens are being fed!

in reality, they are awkward. Both of them have grown up, new fears have developed, and honestly nothing was officially resolved between them before. There's simmering feels and resentment all at once. What does it end up meaning? Being snippy at each other, sometimes being super competitive in the silliest ways (No, I'LL get the door for YOU.) But there are feelings there still. With new perspective and some stability, maybe they can work it out. In the meantime, labelmates call their back and forth the most well lnown secret will they won't they of the company.

Kiwoong brings out, arguably, the worst and best in Marie. And vice versa. Around him, her politeness falls and the the petty emerges. She's more vocal at her displeasure. And its something she could stand to do more often. Kiwoong is forced to sit back and take off the rose glasses more often now. Nothing is simple and easy for everyone, even if he prefers it that way. If he wants this to work, it's going to take some maturity and willingness to work at it and communicate.

last words.

comments/suggestions » Does any of this make sense? This was supposed to be much darker and sad, but I don't know man, this is what came out and I have to accept it.

scene suggestions » Always ALWAYS will ask for spooky situations somehow!! Also, anything cute/drama-y with members and LIs

song suggestions » For teir experimental unit, I think any Dreamcatcher or Billlie songs would work really well. Likewise, for their more girl crush, going towards ITZY might work as well!