Kaori Akiyama: 500KMascotEntry

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┃┃• Intro

┃┃• General

┃┃• Quirk

┃┃• Stats

┃┃• Role

┃┃• Background

┃┃• Concepts

┃┃• Conclusion

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Art: Flo

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Hello; welcome to our entry post for Sun. All of us contributed as artists/designers and Flo was also our writer.

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⁣The character we created is Kaori Akiyama, a sound-quirked pro hero. Messages, comments, and voice chats are all important forms of social connection in Amino so we thought it would be great to create a char that could represent Amino’s communication systems. His personality is also constructed with different groups and the staff team in mind; being a hero and figure with a ionate will to lead, Kaori serves as an organizer to connect agencies around him. Small voices can be broadcasted and featured with his sound-altering power, sharing them with the world.

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Art: Moe

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>> BASIC >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Name ⇨ Kaori Akiyama

➥ His first name, Kaori, means Strong, while his surname, Akiyama, means Mountain.

Hero Name ⇨ Recordwave

Gender ⇨ Male

Sexuality ⇨ Bisexual

Age ⇨ 26

Birthday ⇨ Aug 19th

Dominant Hand ⇨ Left

>> APPEARANCE >>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Height ⇨ 5’8”

Hair Color ⇨ A dark, desaturated blue with a few orange streaks in the front

Eye Color ⇨ Left: Orange, Right: Green

Scars ⇨ An array of scars running from his left hand to the arm, with two smaller cuts under his left eye. These are the results of an accident in which an overpressured glass jar exploded in his hand.

Casual Outfit ⇨ Lighter, looser clothes. Kaori often enjoys jackets with large pockets to contain spare bottles. He often carries a single small bottle charm as well; unopened for many years, it is unknown what sound it contains or if it contains anything at all.

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Art: Moe

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>> PERSONALITY >>>>>>>>>>>>>>

General Personality ⇨ ionate, extroverted, cheeky, confident

Kaori has a huge will to lead; coming from a large family with many smaller siblings, he’s urged to take on a leadership role and build up those around him. With that being said, he may often go overboard with his up top attitude, feeling unsatisfied when others disagree with his plans or direct a group over him. He will often also take dramatic offense when others mock his assertive behavior, much to the amusement of many.

Likes ⇨ Music, bustling crowds, making elaborate plans, feelings of accomplishment, organization

Dislikes ⇨ White noise, silence, being mocked, octopi

⁣Habits ⇨ Fiddling with bottles, unconscious light rubbing of his scars

Fears ⇨ Failure, glass shards

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Art: Sun

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Quirk ⇨ Soundwave

➥ Can sense sound waves around him

➥ Can temporarily grasp and alter sound waves when they reach him

➥ Can store sound waves into containers

The blasts of sound that approaches Kaori during battle can either be “reflected” by being caught then released back in a direction, or contained by being compressed into a container for later use. Although Kaori cannot hold them for very long before the sound energy dissipates, he can quickly expand or flatten their frequencies to change their volume.

⁣Because his quirk is based on sensory rather than hearing, even if he became deaf he would still be able to detect the frequency and volume of soundwaves around him.

It should also be noted that he cannot alter sound waves carelessly; turning up the volume of a wave to extreme levels will harm his own hearing too when releasing it. Additionally, some waves may have frequencies too high to be compressed into a container, thus shattering it.

Now one of the most major aspects of his quirk is knowing how to express and illustrate it. It can be simply be drawn as text bubbles or as colored waves of energy. Because sound energy is invisible, when visually expressing Kaori’s quirk in color, we decided to use streaks of vibrant colors as representations of different frequencies and sounds. Which color goes with which sound is all up to a viewer’s interpretation, since everybody has a different view on sound.

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Art: Sun

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Color classifications for noise already exists, where white noise is a mixture of many different sounds, and black noise is identified as silence. This presents a drawback for Kaori; the high frequency of white noise will often block out other ones, making it difficult to sense things over static.

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Art: Moe

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On a scale of one to ten, with 10 being the highest.

Offense ⇨ 6

➥ His quirk can’t do large scale damage without hurting civilians or shattering glass, so he narrows and focuses high frequencies on target villains

Defense ⇨ 2

Reflexes ⇨ 9

➥ Learning how to catch sound waves requires him to be fast when sensing things approach

Speed ⇨ 4

Agility ⇨ 4

Stamina ⇨ 5

Quirk Control ⇨ 8

Intelligence ⇨ 6

Experience ⇨ 7

Cooperation ⇨ 7

➥ He works extremely well if those that work with him follow his plans

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Art: Flo

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⁣Role(s) ⇨ Pro Hero + Public Figure

Aspirations ⇨ Representing his family, building a character with the correct aspects of a hero, improving a sense of community

Although Kaori originally wanted to become a full-time pro hero to bring honor to his family and small community, discovering that everyone had different aspirations in becoming one (such as money, fame, etc.) pushes Kaori to realize there’s so many immoral motives behind the job. Becoming a hero suddenly wasn’t just “I wanna save the world,” there were way more conflicting pointers behind it. Because of this, Kaori begins pursuing the role of a public figure as well. He wishes to connect people more rather than simply decreasing crime, and becoming a bridge between agencies does just that.

>> PRO-HERO >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Hero Outfit ⇨ Jacket and tool straps over a bodysuit. While slimmed down to give him some speed, flashes of the dual colors on his suit boost his flair as he moves to redirect sound. He has about 15 sound bottles on his suit, 3/4 of which contain previously prepared sounds. The remaining empty ones are open for new noises and Kaori is constantly replacing the bottles’ inhabitants throughout battle.

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Art: Sun

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➥ Glass is a great material for echoing, thus being the reason why it was chosen to contain Kaori’s collected sound. On the other hand, the containers need to be small so they don’t slow Kaori down, and their miniature size means soundwaves become harder to contain as they could shatter the glass if there is too much pressure. Because of this, a special type of material called Laminated Glass was chosen; known to be soundproof and firm, this glass can contain higher frequencies of sound and will often crack as a warning rather than fully shattering.

➥ Because speed is highly important in sound control, the bottles have a simple cap that can be used by simply flicking up or pressing down. A tether keeps the cap and bottle in one piece — no uncorking or screwing a lid required.

➥ Mufflers prevent sound from harming Kaori when he increases their volume. Additionally, by decreasing the amount of noises and distractions that goes through his ears, Kaori has more room to sense soundwaves with his quirk.

➥ Although the bottles are firm and well made, accidents with over-pressured shattered glass throughout his childhood convinces Kaori to wear puncture-resistant gloves as well. Because there’s no time to fumble with the bottles, the gloves are quite flexible as well.

>> PUBLIC FIGURE >>>>>>>>>>>

Jobs ⇨ Host/attend events, visit schools, train interns, handle the media, host tours, assist in agency management

Formal Outfit ⇨ White suit and hat with dark blue cape and gold linings. Meant to give off an effect of regalness, Kaori wears this outfit at all events related to his job. Although the outfit is unsuited for pro-hero work, Kaori greatly enjoys the design since it presents him as a mighty leader.

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Art: Sun

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Born into a large middle-class family, Kaori had many siblings and learned the importance of unity and communication quickly. No one in his family had pursued the path of a hero, so as he grows and attains his quirk, he gains the will to represent his moderately middle-class family in the hero world, to share his family’s ideals.

Fully sensing soundwaves and being able to catch these high speed blasts of energy would be quite difficult; Kaori could not grasp his quirk perfectly upon first receiving it. It was a gradual growth in power as he trained and focused himself.

>> TIMELINE >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Age 4 ⇨ First discovery of quirk

➥ Able to identify small sound waves around him

Age 5-7 ⇨ Increased awareness of sound, learned how to snag the waves for a quick second when they reach him

➥ His reflexes are still far too slow at this stage to grab sound when he wants, so most times him catching them is on accident

➥ Knowing there’s more to his quirk than just enhanced sound awareness gives him hope that he could be a hero

Age 8-13 ⇨ Learned how to sense approaching sound waves quickly enough to grab them on time, begins trying to compress and expand them, discovered the ability to store sound

➥ Lots of experimenting to test the limits of his quirk

➥ Learned how to store sound in containers

➥ Scar accident; he didn’t consider the drawbacks of his quirk and an over-pressured jar exploded in his hand

➥ Fully set on becoming a hero after the jar accident

Age 14-18 ⇨ More quirk development and learned how to use it in an offensive way

➥ Went to a hero high school

➥ Received hero costume and items that would assist him

➥ High school stress and everyone’s different motives in being a hero pushes him to realize this path does not fully cover his goal of linking community

➥ Dyed his hair

Age 18-26 ⇨ Began his job as a sidekick in an agency, then went on to build his own after gaining experience

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Art: Moe

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>> STORY >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Author: Flo

”Kaori!” A young man said in a hurry, bolting across the courtyard. “You forgot your textbooks!”

Kaori stopped dead in his tracks, looking over his shoulder at the boy who was racing towards him. He groaned, “Ugh, don’t remind me.” He already had piles of homework to attend to. The last thing he wanted was more studying.

The young man caught up to him, holding Kaori’s bookbag.

”You forget your bag all the time nowadays. At this point I think you’re just trying to get out of studying.” He said, shoving the bag into Kaori’s chest.

”Nice observation.” Kaori grinned and raised an eyebrow, “Why does it matter to you, anyways? It’s not like I need to know all this stuff to become a hero.” He slung the bag over his shoulder. “It’s a waste of time. Even you know that, Hajime.”

Hajime raised his eyebrows in surprise at Kaori. “A waste of time?”

”Well, I mean, yeah. I’m not going to be doing math all my life, am I?”

Hajime studied Kaori’s face, seeming to question if he was being serious or not. “Really?”

”What?”

He laughed, “Are you expecting to walk into UA with no knowledge or experience?”

”I mean-“

”Nah, save it.” Hajime started walking ahead, a loud sigh escaping his lips. “You’re not gonna get very far with just a flashy quirk. I hope you know that.”

”Of course I do!” Kaori exclaimed in defense. “That’s why I’ve been training!”

”Training? You’re what, thirteen? Train later. Right now, your job is to just be a thirteen year old boy.” Hajime grinned, “Enjoy it while it lasts. It’s hard to be normal again.”

Kaori trotted up to him, now walking beside him. “But everyone says normal is boring.”

Hajime shook his head, “Nah, not really. Sometimes it can be a blessing.”

”So what are you trying to say?” Kaori asked, tilting his head to the side.

”I’m trying to say that you should study like everyone else, you dork.” Hajime ruffled up Kaori’s hair, a bright smile still on his face. “You might regret it one day.”

Kaori batted at Hajime’s hand before trying to fix his hair. “Regret studying? I’d never.”

”Yeah, yeah, whatever you say.” Hajime shook his head, still smiling. “Let’s just go home.”

”Fine.” Kaori said, slugging his shoulders. His eyes then widened, “Oh, wait! Go ahead without me, I just ed I gotta do something!”

Hajime was surprised when his little brother suddenly burst out, but he decided not to question it. That was something he had learned over the years; not to question his brother. It wasn’t worth the fight. He just gave a nod of confirmation before continuing to walk home.

Kaori took off as soon as Hajime nodded, dashing back inside the school building. It was still cleaning time, so students were in the building.

He ran up several flights of stairs before making it into a classroom, glad to see that his friends were still there. “Haha, sorry for being late.” He panted, straightening himself up a bit.

”It’s fine!” A boy said. “Did you bring it?” He asked, his eyes widening with excitement.

”Uhhh, yeah, hold on-“ Kaori said, opening up his school bag and rummaging around in it. He then fished out a jar, pulling it out. “Got it!” He announced, showing it to the small group of boys.

”What’s in it?” Another boy asked.

”Well, nothing at the moment...” Kaori said, opening the jar up and peering inside. “But I’m gonna put something in it!”

”Have you done this before?” A voice asked.

”A few times.” Kaori nodded. “I just figured it out yesterday, so I’m still sorta new to it. But I think it’ll be really useful!”

”Just show us already! We wanna see!” Another voice exclaimed.

⁣”Okay, okay!” Kaori said, a grin plastered on his face. He was glad he could show off for once. His quirk wasn’t always the most eye-catching, and now that he had an opportunity to show it off in front of an audience, he was super excited.

He took a deep breath before singing a monotone note. He could feel it leave his mouth and escape into the air, in which he immediately jumped up to grab it. It was always an odd sensation — as if he was pinching a piece of paper. But he had caught the soundwave.

”I got it now.” Kaori explained, knowing that it looked like he was just holding onto air. “And if I stretch it-“ He trailed off, his two hands now tugging at the air. “I can make it a whole lot louder!”

”That’s really cool!” One of his friends said. “Can you put it in the jar?” He said impatiently.

”Yeah, I should be able to.” Kaori said, holding the soundwave with one hand now. He picked up the tiny jar, peering into it. He then shoved the soundwave into the jar, proving to be a bit of a struggle. He then quickly grabbed the lid of the jar and screwed it on. “See?”

”How do you know that it’s in there?” A voice asked. Five boys were now huddling around Kaori.

”Well, if I take off the lid, then the noise will play back.” Kaori explained. He reached for the lid, but before he could do that, he heard a frightening sound.

Crack.

Kaori’s eyes widened as a small sliver of a crack appeared on the glass jar. The jar started to shake violently in his hand, the large sound pushing at the walls and stirring within.

Time seemed to slow down as the glass jar started to break, every crack and dent starting to sound deafening as complete silence fell over all of the boys. Kaori didn’t know what to do, he didn’t know what was happening. And even if he did, there wasn’t any time to react. All he could do was just stand there and watch.

BOOM!

The jar had exploded in Kaori’s hand, glass shards flying everywhere in a horrific sequence of events. The sound escaped from the jar, screaming wretchedly in Kaori’s ears as glass shot into his skin. Voices and people around him screeched with the jar, but all Kaori could do was collapse to the ground and writhe in pain. Sharp glass had torn into his hand, causing the freshly cleaned floor to be stained with blood.

Kaori just laid there with tears streaming out of his eyes. He wanted to curl up in a ball, for the pain to go away, for the shame and humiliation to just consume him. Everything felt wrong. This wasn’t how a hero should act. He shouldn’t be sobbing on the floor until someone could pick him up.

But it was all he was able to do. He had never felt more useless in his life up until that moment. And as his friends shouted at him, he just wished he could be taken away from all of this. That he never had to live with this humiliation.

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”Kaori… Kaori… Kaori!”

Kaori’s eyes flew open, a blinding white filling them. His eyes had a hard time focusing for a bit, but after blinking a few times, they focused onto his brother. “Where am I..?”

”Hospital. You’re lucky that the glass didn’t cut that deep! You could have lost your eye if it hit any higher! What the hell were you thinking?!” Hajime exclaimed in frustration.

About half of those words were processed in Kaori’s head. His senses were all jacked up, still slightly high off of an anesthetic. And as Hajime ranted frantically, Kaori just gazed up at the hospital ceiling.

”—And I had to leave everyone by themselves to come pick you up because Mom isn’t off work yet and she’s going to be absolutely terrified when she realizes what happened! The school is so angry at you and I’m sure your friends and their parents are going to be pissed too!” Hajime continued, “You had me so worried and-“

”I’m gonna be a hero.” Kaori said, looking up at Hajime.

”What?” Hajime asked, bewildered at what he was saying.

”I said that I’m gonna be a hero. Screw it, I’m just gonna become a hero.” His words were all slurred together from just waking up, but he meant them.

”How did- what? Why?” Hajime stuttered.

”That way you and Mom don’t have to take care of me. And stuff like this won’t happen again.” Kaori sat up, looking down at his hand that was now stitched up.

Hajime blinked a few times, having trouble with comprehending what was even happening. “How did this get brought up?”

He giggled, still dazed. He then pointed at his face, two gashes running along it from the glass.

Kaori grinned. “Every hero needs a cool scar, don’t they?”

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Art: Sun

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>> CONCEPTS >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

The following are some fun ideas we considered while developing Kaori:

➥ As a teenager, Kaori illegally “ed” his favorite music into his jars

➥ Teen Kaori accidentally drops an open bottle while running and he’s like “oh shit” before a freaking huge scream just emerges from it

➥ Getting rickrolled by Kaori’s quirk in your water bottle

➥ Can’t say anything stupid around him because he often keeps extra bottles around and won’t hesitate to store your words for blackmail if needed

➥ As a kid, he would send nice messages to people in jars to practice his quirk

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Art: Moe

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Flo and Moe were absolutely the most epic people I’ve ever designed a character with before and I’m really thankful they let me slide in with their group. Seriously though, they both gave amazing ideas, with Flo coming up with Kaori’s quirk and Moe laying the groundwork for his physical design + personality. I’ve known them for not even two weeks but I feel like I’ve known them for months, don’t even get me started on how much I love their art styles—

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⁣There was a lot of thought that went into this design but a lot of undiscussed possibilities as well. If you have any questions about our boi Kaori, don’t be afraid to ask!

Sorry this post was so long, there’s just so much to elaborate on lmao; thank you if you made it this far, and thank you staff team for the opportunity! We hope you enjoyed this post.

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#Recordwave

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