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✧ Birth Name: Hiraya Laforteza

✧ Nicknames: Hira, Aya, Baby Star, Glitter Girl, Raya

✧ Stage Name: Hope

✧ Birthday: December 31, 2002

✧ Orientation: Bisexual, Male Lean

✧ Status: Single

✧ Group: Bittersweet (Debut 2025) under NLC America

✧ Talents: vocals 9/10, dancing 8/10, rapping 8/10, songwriting 7/10

✧ Skills: cooking 10/10, flexibility 8/10, drawing 8/10, languages 6/10

✧ Spoken Languages: English (C2 Fluent), Tagalog (C2 Native), Korean (B2 Upper Intermediate)

✧ Socials: bittersweet_hope

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✧ Hiraya is the kind of person who shines without trying to be the loudest in the room. She's gentle, genuine, and endlessly encouraging, with a quiet confidence forged through years of hard work and perseverance. Her fans adore her because she feels authentic. She's someone who never forgot where she came from, even after finding success. Behind her soft demeanor is someone incredibly determined, proving time and again that kindness and ambition can exist hand in hand.

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Hiraya Laforteza was born in the Philippines, where she spent the first few years of her childhood surrounded by a large, loving extended family. Though she was an only child, she never truly felt alone. Her parents remained happily together, working hard to provide her with everything she needed while encouraging her creativity every step of the way. When Hiraya was six years old, her family made the life-changing decision to move to California in search of new opportunities. While adjusting to a new country, language, and culture wasn't always easy, her parents did everything they could to make the transition feel like an adventure rather than a hardship.

For her sixth birthday shortly after settling into their new home, her parents surprised her with something she would never forget: her very own art room. The walls were lined with oversized sheets of canvas paper that they would replace whenever they became filled with colorful scribbles, marker sketches, crayon masterpieces, and splashes of paint. The floors were covered in protective plastic so she could create freely without worrying about making a mess. It became her favorite place in the world, a sanctuary where her imagination could run wild and where countless dreams first began to take shape.

As Hiraya grew older, her love for the arts expanded beyond drawing and painting. She discovered a passion for singing and dancing that quickly became just as important to her as the paintbrushes she had grown up with. She consistently earned above-average grades in school, and as a reward for her dedication, her parents enrolled her in singing and dance classes at a local studio. There, she began sharpening the skills that would eventually lead her toward her greatest dream of becoming an idol.

At thirteen, Hiraya gathered the courage to attend her very first audition. She walked in filled with excitement and hope, only to leave with disappointment after not making the cut. The rejection hurt more than she expected, and unfortunately, it wasn't the last. She faced several more unsuccessful auditions, each one testing her confidence and determination. Despite the setbacks, her parents never stopped believing in her. They reminded her that failure was simply another step toward success and encouraged her to keep chasing the dream she loved so dearly.

Determined not to let rejection define her, Hiraya found another way to share her gift with the world. At fourteen, she began posting singing covers on TikTok and YouTube, hoping to gain experience and build confidence while continuing to train. What started as a simple hobby quickly blossomed into something far greater than she had ever imagined. Her heartfelt performances, warm personality, and undeniable talent resonated with viewers across the globe. Before long, her videos were reaching millions, and she amassed a large, devoted following who eagerly anticipated every new cover she uploaded. The support from her growing online community reignited her confidence and only strengthened her determination to pursue music professionally.

After countless hours practicing in local studios, pushing through frustration, shedding tears, and refusing to give up, Hiraya auditioned for Nova Lux Corp., the entertainment company behind the global survival show Starstruck Global. By then, many of the judges were already familiar with her name thanks to the impressive online audience she had cultivated through her singing videos. Her talent, perseverance, and unwavering passion earned her a coveted spot on the competition, where she competed alongside aspiring idols from around the world. Week after week, Hiraya continued to captivate both the judges and viewers with her powerful vocals, charismatic stage presence, and genuine personality. When the finale arrived, all of her hard work paid off as she secured her place in the final lineup, debuting as a member of the girl group Bittersweet under Nova Lux Corp. She made her family, friends, mentors, and millions of supporters incredibly proud, but above all, she proved to herself that every setback had been worth it. Though debuting with Bittersweet marked the realization of her lifelong dream, Hiraya knows her journey is only just beginning. The only way to go from here is up.

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♥ Likes:

✧ Musical theater
✧ Karaoke nights
✧ Glittery makeup looks

✧ Her duality
✧ Strawberry lemonade
✧ Applause after performances
✧ Romantic movies
✧ Dancing in crowded rooms

✗ Dislikes:

✧ Being underestimated
✧ Early morning classes
✧ Feeling ignored
✧ Boring routines
✧ Rejection at auditions
✧ Seeing her friends upset
✧ Burnout and exhaustion

☁ Habits:

✧ Singing under her breath constantly
✧ Talking with her hands
✧ Practicing expressions in mirrors
✧ Staying up way too late
✧ Taking blurry photos on nights out
✧ Quoting musicals randomly
✧ Overcommitting herself
✧ Humming while getting ready
✧ Fixing her hair when nervous

☽ Hobbies:

✧ Cooking
✧ Singing
✧ Dancing
✧ Watching old Broadway performances
✧ Making playlists for different moods

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✧ "Say you'll share with me one love, one lifetime. Let me lead you from your solitude. Say you need me with you, here beside you. Anywhere you go, let me go too." — The Phantom of the Opera

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✧ POV: 3rd is preferred, but I'll accept 1st

✧ Please do not poke me unless it has been a week since I replied.

✧ If something comes up, I always try to reach out to my rp partners to let them know.

✧ I am not my characters. So, if my character has a problem with yours, please understand that it does /not/ reflect my personal feelings for you as a person.

✧ If we have issues OOC, please refrain from unnecessary IC drama. If you prefer to completely stay away from each other, that's fine; however, please remain cordial, otherwise. I'll do the same.

✧ I prefer to plot over winging it - or at least give me a base to start with.

✧ Anything to do with threesomes (or more), poly, etc are not welcome. I have trauma from poly, and I just have no interest in the rest. So, please do not include my characters.

✧ Making friends throughout rp has always been a goal of mine, so if you are interested, let's be friends! :)