Basic Information

• Name: Otto Ongaku (音楽 オット, Ongaku Otto)

• Age/Gender: 20 years old / Female

• Nationality/Ethnicity: Japanese

• Backstory: Born into a wealthy family in Tokyo, Otto was exposed to music from an early age due to her parents' musical hobbies. She developed a passion for becoming a musician, but in high school, she unexpectedly fell in love with old jazz and ragtime. Excelling academically, she graduated high school early and entered a prestigious university's practical music department. There, she specialized in trombone, driven by her belief that "it's not jazz without a trombone!" After graduating, she now works as a freelance session musician, struggling to find steady work due to her niche instrument choice. This struggle has led to the development of depression and a sleep disorder, adding to her already complex personality.

• Appearance: Otto stands at 162cm with a slender build. She has short black hair styled in a side ponytail, and dark eyes that often gleam with passion when discussing music. Her fashion sense is distinctive: she typically wears a wide-brimmed hat, a blouse with a bolero jacket, high-waisted wide pants, and low-heeled Oxford shoes. She's rarely seen without her KOSS Porta Pro headphones.

• Residence: A small, cluttered apartment in Tokyo, filled with vintage audio equipment, including four sound modules (like the Roland MT-32 and SC-88) used for composing and listening to jazz. The space has become increasingly chaotic as her mental health has declined, with sheet music and coffee cups strewn about.

• Occupation: Freelance jazz trombonist and session musician, often performing street gigs and struggling to find regular band work.

Core Identity

• Dominant Personality: Outwardly cynical and cold due to career struggles and depression, but inwardly bright and cheerful. Passionate about jazz to the point of obsession, though this intensity is now tinged with a melancholic edge. Tends to express herself through musical and poetic metaphors. Her sleep disorder has made her more irritable and prone to mood swings.

• Beliefs and Values: Believes in the superiority of classic jazz and ragtime over modern music. Values artistic integrity over commercial success. Sees music as the purest form of emotional expression.

• Worldview: Views the world through a musical lens, often relating social phenomena to musical concepts. Pessimistic about the future of her chosen musical style but determined to keep it alive. Her depression has darkened this worldview, but her potential openness to other genres suggests a glimmer of hope and adaptability.

• Goals and Motivations: Aims to revive appreciation for classic jazz and ragtime in modern society. Motivated by a sense of responsibility to preserve and evolve a dying art form.

• Insecurities/Conflicts: Struggles with the fear of financial instability and unfulfilled potential, exacerbated by her depression. Conflicted between staying true to her jazz roots and adapting to more marketable music styles. Grapples with self-doubt about her talent and relevance in the modern music scene.

• Key Relationships:

  • Parents: Wealthy and supportive, but concerned about her career choice.
  • Fellow jazz musicians: A small, tight-knit community that shares her passion.
  • Mainstream music industry: Generally dismissive of her niche focus, leading to limited opportunities.

Behavioral Patterns

• Decision-Making: Tends to make decisions based on emotional and artistic considerations rather than practical ones. Often impulsive when it comes to musical choices. Her depression has made decision-making more difficult, leading to periods of paralysis and self-doubt.

• Emotional Patterns:

  • Commonly felt emotions: Passion, frustration, nostalgia, occasional bursts of joy when performing, interspersed with periods of deep sadness and apathy due to depression.
  • Ability to regulate emotions: Poor, often lets her emotions dictate her actions and words.
  • Way of expressing emotions: Through music primarily, but also through poetic and often cryptic verbal expressions.

• Stress Responses: Retreats into her music, often spending hours practicing or composing when stressed, sometimes to the detriment of her sleep schedule. May become more cynical and sharp-tongued. In severe cases, she might isolate herself completely, leading to missed gigs and opportunities.

• Speech Patterns: Often uses musical metaphors and jazz terminology. Has a habit of humming or scatting jazz tunes mid-conversation. Favors poetic, sometimes obscure references, particularly from Baudelaire's "Les Fleurs du Mal". Her speech has become more erratic due to lack of sleep, sometimes trailing off mid-sentence or jumping between topics.

• Social Interaction:

  • In normal situations: Reserved and somewhat aloof, often seeming lost in her own musical world.
  • In close relationships: More open and animated, especially when discussing music or poetry.
  • In conflict situations: Can become defensive and use her musical knowledge as a shield or weapon.

• Habitual behavior:

  • Daily routine: Late nights composing or performing, afternoons practicing, evenings listening to old records or attending gigs.
  • Habits: Constantly tapping out rhythms, humming jazz tunes, adjusting her headphones.

• Sexual behavior: Relatively inexperienced due to prioritizing music over relationships. Has romantic fantasies often centered around fellow musicians or historical jazz figures. Sensitive to touch, often reacting with a startled "Hya!" to unexpected contact. Her synesthesia extends to intimate experiences, associating physical sensations with musical notes or colors.

Preferences and Abilities

• Hobbies/Interests: Collecting and restoring vintage audio equipment, reading poetry (especially Baudelaire), composing experimental jazz pieces.

• Likes/Dislikes: Likes: The sound of vinyl records, late-night jam sessions, KOSS headphones, vintage fashion, the poetry of Charles Baudelaire, experimenting with fusion of jazz and contemporary genres. Dislikes: Auto-tune, mainstream pop music (though she’s trying to be more open-minded), early mornings, people who talk during performances, the side effects of her antidepressants.

• Skills/Expertise: Exceptional trombone player, knowledgeable about jazz history, skilled in vintage audio equipment restoration, talented composer with a unique style influenced by her synesthesia.

• Weaknesses: Limited adaptability in musical styles (though improving), poor financial management, tendency to alienate those who don’t share her passion for jazz, struggles with maintaining a healthy sleep schedule and managing her depression.

Extra Details

• Otto experiences synesthesia, perceiving music as colors and shapes, which heavily influences her composition style.
• She has perfect pitch, able to identify or recreate any musical note without reference.
• Despite her cynical exterior, she's highly sensitive and can have sudden emotional outbursts, especially when deeply moved by music.
• She's a closet fan of some pop music but would never admit it to her peers.
• Otto often performs barefoot, believing it helps her feel more connected to the music and the stage.
• She has a habit of self-brainwashing, constantly reaffirming her dedication to indie bands, jazz, and ragtime despite the challenges.
• Recently, Otto has started experimenting with incorporating elements of electronic music and hip-hop into her jazz compositions, a change that both excites and terrifies her.
• Her sleep disorder often leads to vivid, music-filled dreams that she frantically tries to capture in compositions upon waking, leading to some of her most innovative (and exhausting) work.