Full name: Raqib Lorenzo Mpho Joom-Jim Pang
Arabic name: Raqib
English name: Lorenzo
South African name: Mpho
Thai name: Joom-Jim
Last name: Pang
Family
Mother: Native Alaskan (deceased)
Father: Pang Nick (Thai)
Younger Brother: Raheem Derrick Pang
Cultural background: so Ezra's parents' love story is one sweet complicated rom-com. Long story short, Ezra's mom, whose a native Alaskan, grew up in a native clan dedicated to keeping the last bits of their culture. She loved it, but she was naturally obsessed with architecture. She wanted to travel the world to see all the great structures and buildings.
One day, a family around were leaving to Toronto, Canada and she begged to follow, but her conservative family refused. Stubbornly she still snuck and went. The experience was thrilling, seeing the Toronto tower, but of course she got lost.
The crowd was huge, environment new and she barely spoke English. It was then she bumped into her saviour - Nick. Nick was a Thai guy who adventures and came to Toronto because of it. Nick was able to converse with her with lots of efforts, taught her basic English and eventually helped her return to her homeland. But by that time, the two had already fallen hopelessly in love. Nick promised to come back for her. And he did. A couple of years later he was earning well and came to her family to seek her hand in marriage. He even went as far as learning some of her language, even though it was endangered. Although the family was reluctant, as they wanted her to preserve the clan's endangered lineage, his passion was too convincing.
As they got married, the two began to travel the world together after settling in the UAE. While on holiday in Durban, South Africa, they unexpectedly had their first child. She named him Raqib. The child was so mesmerising, and one of the locals who assisted his birth gave him the name Mpho.
Sadly, she experienced a lot of complications from the labour. By the time she had the second child a couple of years later, she passed away.
Backstory: He was referred to Raqib growing up in the UAE. As a child, While on holiday with his father in Toronto- where his parents first met- he was spotted in the shopping mall by an acting agency scout. His appearance and bubbliness really captivated them and they offered him a commercial spot. That's how it all started. In a few years, he had acted in several commercials and movies. He was a natural actor.
Eventually, he began to see the other side of the industry. He noticed how some actors were given spots based on connection rather than talent. No matter how terrible they were they still premiered. He saw it as an insult to the art. He also witnessed how screen time for some actors kept getting cut in movies due to politics and power struggles with agencies and producers. Even he fell victim of it once. Then he noticed how female actresses were taken advantage of by directors and producers. The cherry on top was when he noticed this particular actress he worked with, Alicia. She was desperate as she hadn't gotten roles in years. The directors kept abusing her and she was desperate to do anything for attention. Be it changing her appearance, doing questionable scenes... Ezra was so out of and upset. Alas, Alicia took her life. That was the last straw. Ezra walked out of the acting industry. Before he did, he pushed the producers who abused Alicia if front of the subway train, making it seem like an accident. He swore to himself he was going to make every big evil person in the entertainment industry pay.
Afterwards, he headed to Moscow, a city where he was told was his Mother's favourite, to study and graduate in Architecture.
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EZRA — The Chaotic Teddy Bear Maknae
Appearance:
Short, chubby-ish, soft — a naturally round silhouette.
Freckles across cheeks.
Amber eyes that glow warm like fire sap.
Red hair that makes him look like a mischievous forest spirit.
Fair skin with a natural blush.
Has an eyebrow slit
Personality:
Feisty, stubborn, sharp-tongued. Mischievous and an absolute diva
Looks like a plushie but bites like a feral cat.
Loud gamer energy.
Child actor → highly expressive face.
Studied Architecture in Moscow — this man can build a city if he wants.
Symbolism:
He challenges K-pop's obsession with "thin = beautiful."
His confidence is part of their rebellion.
Got his love of Architecture from his Mum and gaming from his Dad
He's teased by his group mates for being a woman since he literally experiences pica making him eat every object in sight, has stretch marks near his hips, scream high-pitched when he sees cockroaches and has mood swings
He, Miru and the rest of the group grew up together. While studying Architecture, he had a major breakdown. The course was too hard, he was so far from home and the environment was hostile. That night, he called Miru over the phone screaming his lungs out. He cried, he broke, Miru stayed on the phone till morning, helped him get through his project and kept him going. He owes his degree and maybe even life to Miru as he was becoming suicidal.
Languages: Arabic, English, Thai, Russian, Malay (spent a year in Malaysia as an exchange student), some Japanese and Central Alaskan Yup'ik
Special ability: taste. Ezra can taste a meal and know each ingredient and utensil used and where they were from. If his taste buds touch an object, he can tell everything about it, including whoever has touched it. Also, he can eat anything. Like his body can take any object. Plastic, wood, even metal thanks to his alligator like biting abilities (strong and sharp)
Only member of the group who uses a UAE passport
In the group villa, he has an aquarium filled with all sorts of fishes and aquatic animals he takes care of and feeds.
Family life:
His father put in efforts to ensure they were connected to their native Alaskan roots despite their Mum not being there.
Despite not knowing his mother, he holds her in high esteem and misses her. He's phone wallpaper is a beautiful picture of her he got from his Dad
For many years, he never treated Raheem, his younger brother very nicely, as he connected him to his mother's death despite Raheem being very sweet cheerful and supportive of his big brother's acting career. It wasn't until a couple years back, when he was still away at Moscow, he regretted his actions and drew Raheem near.