[attr="class","header2"]APPEARANCE

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Jouma Joukou has the humblest of origins: at the very bottom of the socioeconomic ladder. His mother was a frail being that almost died in childbirth, and his father was an offshore underwater welder who had a mean streak a mile long. One might ask why his father didn't spend his money to lift his family out of the projects and be proper middle-class people. And the answer was simple: debt. A lot of debt. The elder Joukou had gambling debts, credit debts, debts to loan sharks, and medical debt due to Jouma's birth and his mother's complications. Jouma's parents weren't even married, but his father stuck around due to some misguided sense of responsibility. Which was muddled as what little money they had left after the collectors took their share the man spent on alcohol.

Needless to say, Jouma was beaten a lot in his childhood. He took the brunt of a lot of abuse because that same sense of deluded honor prevented the father from beating the mother. The only problem with this was Jouma inherited his father's temperament, unwilling to put up with things such as this, which resulted in even harder beatings. This cycle continued until Jouma, five years old and skinny as a rail, stood up for himself during one of these encounters and accidentally removed a portion of his father's arm. This manifestation of his quirk, not to mention what he had just done, created a whole slew of problems that ended up getting him removed from that home. Both adults were left to an unknown fate, but it was a life that was soon to be left behind.

After receiving counseling for his quirk and how to control it, Jouma was entered into the system where he bounced from home to home. Despite better living accommodations, he had picked up enough bad habits and attitude to be a delinquent. At least, one that was mostly harmless. With the years of abuse he had endured, he hyperfixated on what the ideal man should be: what he should look like, dress like, sound like, and this resulted in a tumultuous primary and middle school years for him. It wasn't until high school that he started to solidify himself into his ideal self, but at the insistence of the school they required him to pick a career that wasn't drenched in beer and testosterone. Initially, Jouma considered arm wrestling the councilor over his decision but didn't find that appealing enough to get his way. It was during this time he learned of a new pro hero breaking into the scene: Vox!

Jouma saw his debut, and initially dismissed it. That guy was short, and skinny, and was not masculine at all! But something about the presentation bothered him, poking and prodding that after a few days he revisited the debut on a borrowed computer, reassessing his thoughts. He was stylish, he was outgoing, he was brave, bold, and ready to prove himself! What he didn't realize was he was so critical because he himself wanted to be that hero, out in the world proving himself and showing the world just how manly he was! It was like a mirror, and any critiques he had was what he said to himself at the end of each day before going to sleep, things he needed to do better with! With his mind made up, he presented his findings to his councilor, and began training for the entrance exams. UAU was going to be his new goal.