cha JOOYI

"Ah, darling I simply must ask... Is your backside jealous of the  coming out of your mouth?"

PERSONALITYTRAITS : (+) Loyal, Resolute,  Charming, Protective, Intelligent, Ambitious
(-) Manipulative, Deceitful, Prideful, Sly, Unforgiving, Judgmental

PERSONALITY :
✿ Evasive - It's nearly impossible to tell what Jooyi is thinking at any given moment. Her words and body language don’t quite match up, the mark of someone trying to keep her peers at arms' length. She is charming and well spoken, having proven on multiple occasions that she can navigate and guide a conversation to her whims. At the end of a conversation with Jooyi, others come to realize that they know very little about her—she dances around talking about important matters pertaining to herself, instead preferring to focus on the other person. She appears kind and attentive enough as a result, but keener individuals would peg her as distant, insincere, even deceitful, for she also seems distrusting... but it's true. It takes a decidedly opposite, sincere type of person to get close to Jooyi. Because of that, most of those closest to her tend to be the types that, not only she herself but most people in general, would want to protect or be loyal to.

✿ Ambitious - This trait generally results in an extremely competitive attitude, for she often compares herself to others to judge her own worth. For example, Jooyi played the cello briefly as a child, growing bored of it quickly. However, when her older brother also decided to learn to play, she immediately resumed her lessons and went on to master the instrument when it became clear that she was more naturally gifted with the string instrument than her older brother. Often, this combination of ambition and competitiveness moves her to bite off more than she can actually chew, but she stubbornly refuses to give in until she reaches her goal. It is honestly a bit of a toss up if this is a strength or weakness for the girl however. Outwardly, many of the other nobles see her as probably the least ambitious of the daughters of the high houses. Too calm, too soft-spoken, too… soft. But that could not be further from the truth. Jooyi has been raised to be the snake in the grass, the euphoria before a deadly overdose.

As a daughter of a high ranking Silver family, Jooyi was raised with the lofty goal of the Queen rank in mind. She begrudgingly acknowledged some time ago that the likelihood of her success was greatly diminished due to the clear favor Miyoon carried. Nonetheless, she has came to the realization that if she is going to bother putting forth the effort, she does not want to just be a Queen- she wants to be the Queen. It matters little to her if she has a prince or King at her side, in fact she would much prefer to not have to share the power at all if it came down to it. It’s bothersome needing to keep others in check when they have the potential to be just as gifted if not more so than herself in the first place. (Plus, she is technically a distant cousin of some sort to Baekhyun and she ain't about that life.) Arguably however, Jooyi could best be equated to the dog chasing cars- she wouldn’t know what to do with one if she caught one, she simply needs something to chase after, and right now the biggest challenge would be the throne that everyone is so convinced has been clinched by Miyoon. Her ambitions for power and the throne could fluidly (but not easily mind you. Jooyi is usually pretty resolute in her decisions.) shift to that of support of the rebellion, it’s destruction, or simple anarchy if she finds something or someone compelling enough to “justify” it to her. 

✿ Unforgiving - While Jooyi is often remembered as a tactful and otherwise surprisingly serene player on the political battlefield of association within the high ranking Silver Blood families, she still remains a product of an elitist and ruthless culture. The catch with her is that she is simply much better at disguising her cruelty and the less savory aspects of her personality than others. That is not to say that she sugar coats anything if she does choose to speak, quite the contrary, Jooyi can be quite forthcoming and direct with her cutting choice of words. As with herself, she measures other people by a particular standard, and does (generally) give everyone a fair chance at proving their worth or usefulness. Should someone fail her expectations though, she is quick to pass judgment and quickly lose interest. Why bother wasting time on someone unworthy after all when she could invest her effort onto someone or thing that will prove potentially fruitful in the future? On the sparse occasion where she may choose to… overlook a past transgression or wrong against her or someone with whom she cares about, she certainly does not forget. In the rare event that she feels she has failed herself, she will be incredibly hard on herself, often sulking for days while she works tenfold to make up for her deficiencies. Jooyi can seem quite severe because of this, but in the end, it's out of her desire to improve herself and others around her to maximize opportunities for advancement.

✿ Proud - Over Jooyi's short lifetime, she has accumulated quite a bit to be proud of, be it her impeccable, beautiful appearance, her finessed Silver skill, her high ranking status in general, etc. Success lends her confidence, and it's evident in the way she carries herself. There's no doubt that she deserves to be proud of her accomplishments, but in her youth she frequently used to take it a bit too far. Physical maintenance became vanity, and her confidence spilled invariably over into hubris and she started to overestimate her own competence and capabilities. She got quite the wake up call when she realized that her power did not make her invincible against her fellow Silver Blooded peers, and much less to the Reds who did not rely on such powers at all. Although Jooyi has made some headway on coming back down to earth, she'll still never admit aloud when she's been wrong—she'll only acknowledge it to herself quietly and to her deceased little sister when she makes her fairly frequent visits to her grave. Jooyi has since learned to be only as outwardly prideful as one would expect her to be- gone are her days of gloating, replaced now with the quiet riptide currents of pride that still threaten to drag her under on occasion.

✿ Resolute - It is no easy task to change Jooyi's mind, because she takes painstaking steps to qualify each of her decisions and opinions. Jooyi is guided by her own twisted sense of “justice” within her own mind that is more or less guided through her perceptions and resulting justifications. Political, religious, and land ties have little meaning to her despite her blood status, because she believes they are determined by tradition or “obligation,” rather than by logic and reason. Because she chooses associations and actions through deliberation though, it is rather hard to also change her perspective of someone once she has dedicated herself or a positive opinion upon them. I suppose this could be categorized as loyalty if one squints hard enough, though it bleeds more into a touch possessive than anything else.

Make no mistake however, Jooyi is no stickler or poster child for justice. She is more than willing to kill anyone she doesn't like- though notably, she does believe herself to be above those Silver Bloods who simply kill the impoverished Reds due to sheer boredom. Jooyi tends to like to draw out the suffering of those who particularly vex or offend her- and generally manipulates the circumstances so that she only gets involved near the end of their suffering after having been pulling the strings from behind the scenes. So when she finally does decide to kill them, both the victims and witnesses believe her to be the merciful one- all the while with a lovely smile on her rosebud lips and a serene clarity in her eyes. Basically, if you with her, you’ll be sorry. You with her family? She’ll be ambivalent, but familial pride will eventually still more or less guarantees that you’ll be sorry. You with her friends? You’ll live for the moment- thinking you’ve gotten away with slighting a Silverblood. It will only be later, once you’re wondering how everything could have gone so wrong, that you will realize and rue your mistake. Then- then you will truly be sorry.

BACKGROUND : Cha Jooyi was born on the cusp of the transition between the Summer and Fall seasons, welcomed into a family with one existing son already. Her birth, while not fully intentionally planned, did come at a rather opportune time in the eyes of both her parents considering how it had been roughly a year since the crown prince, Baekhyun, had been born. Jooyi was born into a purpose, it was of little secret that she would be the intended representative and candidate for the eventual Queenstriel that would occur once Baekhyun came of age.

While rigorous and structured, as is often the case for the training of young Silver Blood elites, most of Jooyi’s childhood was by no means cruel or unpleasant. She took to the standard etiquette and protocol classes and began training early with her father and elder brother to fine tune and hone her Silencing abilities. Her childhood may have been otherwise predictable and generally unpleasant up to this point, but the universe decided to throw a curve ball with the birth of another daughter to the Cha family. Joohyun was a quiet little thing, even as an infant she was a blessing in comparison to her two older siblings before her. She became the little gem of the Cha family pretty much overnight, and that didn’t change even as the little girl grew older.”

While both Jooyi’s mother and father clearly loved and were proud of their two eldest, Jooyoung and Jooyi, the baby of the family was coddled and babied with clear favor. A large majority of Yerim’s, Jooyi’s mother, softer and more maternal side seemed to come out more strongly when it came to Joohyun. Honestly, Jooyi did resent the clear difference between how her mother was with her versus her younger sister, but she adored her baby sister as well- and the feeling was mutual if the delighted peals of laughter were anything to go by whenever she got to hold her sister as an infant up through her toddler years. As the years went by, little Joohyun grew into a sweet and painfully naive little girl who easily won the hearts of those she met quite quickly. Her personality did not quite line up with the generalized loft ideals of the high born Silver Bloods, but the Cha family couldn’t bring themselves to be too worried at the time. The girl was still young after all- just having turned six around when the Royal Court and the entourage had traveled to Summerton for the summer months. It happened near the end of that summer, mere weeks before the return to Archeon and a short time before Jooyi’s fourteenth birthday.

The family’s Red servant and nanny to all of the Cha children, had been tasked with taking a trip out to the market to pick up various household goods. One specifically being a birthday gift for Jooyi from her younger sister. Joohyun had insisted upon coming along as well to pick it out, and after consulting with the Lord and Lady of the house, the errand trip was permitted. Hours later, the nanny returned to the Hall of Sun, hysterical. Joohyun was missing, lost in the press and bustle of the market. At first the family maintained their calm. Joohyun was a highborn child, clearly a Silverblood. Surely she would turn up safely, perhaps return to the castle with an acquaintance who recognized the lost child. It was only after almost 32 hours of nothing when the body of a small child was discovered some ways down the Capital River from Summerton that any family’s worst fear was realized. By the time she was found, it was much too late for even the most skilled of Skin Healers to do anything about it.

Much of the light from the Cha house seemed to dissipate overnight. Most notably, Byun Yerim, the wife of the Head of the Cha clan seemed to have frozen over. After several weeks of mourning, she threw herself into projects, goals, and for the first time true serious training. While it was clear that Joohyun had drowned, it lit a fire within the mother and she became insistent upon more thorough and rigorous training for her two surviving children. Jooyi’s father, though equally as affected over the loss, had a better time of keeping a level head. He acknowledged that as powerful as their family ability could be, there were no attack or offensive perks of being a Silence. he resolved to get both of his children training, even more extensive than what was considered standard. He didn’t want to lose another child. Jooyoung proved to be a godsend in concerns to helping Jooyi in the following years. Joohyun’s death had hit her hard. The two siblings had never been that close previously, but in the aftermath of their little sister, he stepped up and set the true foundations for the rock solid relationship that they grow into. He figured out that his sister responded better to him as a rival versus as a mentor, and took full advantage of that to steer his younger sister back onto track. He ended up gaining the help and support from a new friend that Jooyi ended up making in a Silk named Moonbyul who ended up endearing herself to the Cha siblings quite quickly.

The years pass, and things have fallen into a rather predictable routine. Silence training with her father, brother, and a handful of their clan’s soldiers in the morning, a brief time for tea and brunch with her mother and Moonbyul from time to time which tends to shift into “Whisper Exposure” as her mother is so fond of calling their time where the older woman tears into her own daughter’s thoughts like tissue paper as “training”. The afternoon is then usually dedicated to some time training in combat. Jooyi will usually employ the assistance of Moonbyul due to the younger girl being a Silk and also that the other was always up for some training to polish up on her skills during her first year in the ranks of the Palace Guard. It’s terribly tedious, even if Jooyi is accustomed to it now, but then again, it takes quite a bit to intrigue or truly engage her these days.

TRIVIA :

▸ Rather fond of tea and citrus juices, but detests coffee.
▸ Is capable of folding paper into various forms- she is most familiar with cranes and dragons. They were favorites of Joohyun.
▸ The cello is something of a guilty pleasure for her- she utilizes it as a sort of stress relief.
▸ Fast moving or deep water is one of the greatest fears Jooyi has- this is in part due to her sister having been found drowned downriver while the court and her family were in Summerton.
▸ Jooyi typically goes into most interactions with other Silvers already on guard and ready to nullify the powers of anyone and everyone in her immediate vicinity as the drop of a hat. A bit paranoid? She prefers to think of it as "being prepared".
▸ Jooyi is perfectly capable of wielding a collection of weapons ranging from firearms to daggers, however her specialty is hand to hand combat- specifically defensive and disarming techniques.
▸ Jooyi views her friend Moonbyul like a little sister figure of sorts. Even if she is one of the lower ranked members of her clan, Moonbyul is actually pretty well liked by most of the Cha family- with it's patriarch being the exception. (she reminds him too much of his lost daughter)
▸ Joohyun, Jooyi's younger deceased sister, used to pick flowers and insist on braiding them in her big sister's hair- often declaring that Jooyi was "absolutely the prettiest with flowers in her hair." With the help of her nanny, Joohyun managed to get a small handful of floral/botanical hair ornaments for her big sister before she met with her untimely and ill fated death.
▸ Her younger sister's gravestone is in the land of the Cha Clan Estate in Archaeon, but the little girl is actually buried in Summerton. Jooyi regularly visits both graves depending on where the court is located.
▸ She hasn't admitted this to anyone, but Jooyi feels partially responsible for her sister's death. The entire reason Joohyun wanted to go out that day was because of her after all.
▸ She likes to project a whimsical but otherwise apathetic image, but in reality Jooyi could quite easily be brought to her knees. Kill her loved ones, and it will destroy her. 
▸ Jooyi has refined much of her public image through the direction of her mother & (begrudginly) by the example of Baekhyun himself. As such, the two can sometimes say or do things which may seem a bit eerily similar to one another- especially in concerns to their barbed speech and intelligently manipulative manner of thinking.

"choosing to make an enemy of the house of silence was... foolish. it is not a mistake you will live to repeat."

RELATIONSHIPS : 

▸ Father — Cha Hyunshik (54) / House Head / Silver - Silence / Analytical, Eloquent, Stubborn/ 5
Jooyi's father is the head of the House that commands the Silence ability. Besides being the leader of one of the noble houses, he is also one of the high ranking officers within the Kingdom's prison/imprisonment system. He is a quiet man who commands the respect of his family and a good number of other Silver Bloods if for no other reason than the Silver ability that he wields. Jooyi is no exception, and she holds her father in rather high regard. He is very proud and protective of his only remaining daughter, but despite that the father and daughter do not share very much of a close bond beyond the typical respect and loyalty expected to one's house. 

▸ Mother — Byun Yerim (49) / Noble / Silver - Whisper / Competitive, Composed, Merciless/ 6
Byun Yerim is the fairly distant younger cousin of the former King, Baekhyun's father. She hailed from one of the lower ends of the highborn branch of the Byun family- or as low as one could be while still hailing from the ruling family of Norta in any case. From birth, Yerim viewed Jooyi as a tool in the political game she had been embroiled in since the moment she was born. The softer, more maternal sentiments from her were reserved later for her youngest daughter, Joohyun whereas Jooyi mostly experienced very little besides expectations and harsh lessons. Yerim introduced her daughter to her family's "gifts" early, at an earlier age than even her first born son. She was the one who pushed and conditioned Jooyi to the edge of and then beyond  when it came to her daughter's training- both etiquette based and battle. Now that Jooyi has surpassed the point where Yerim can continue to push and nag as a mother, the older woman has somewhat distanced herself to reserved expressions of pride for her daughter on occasion. Jooyi on her part knows her mother as a passionate woman despite the composed and ruthless woman that most people recognize Byun Yerim as, and can see how the older woman struggles to display overt affection- even to her own husband and two children. Similarly to her father, Jooyi holds her mother in high regard, but otherwise has no exceedingly deep or animated bond with the woman.

▸ Brother — Cha Jooyoung (25) / House Heir / Silver - Silence / Calculating, Driven, Loyal/ 8
Jooyi and her elder brother were not always as close as they are now, but to an outside viewer, that would not be readily apparent. The siblings have an easy rapport between of the two of them with a dash of spice provided by their dual competitive natures. For much of their youth, it was Jooyi playing catch up in Jooyoung's shadow, and their parents merely encouraged the competitive spirit in their children. Jooyoung figured out that the best incentive with his little sister was competition, and even if there were subjects or things that were not necessarily befitting a boy like him to learn, he would go out of his way to at least pretend to take an interest in the subject to more or less kickstart Jooyi into them. (The cello being one example, another being the stuffy etiquette lessons) More currently, Jooyoung has been busy slowly learning the ropes of running the clan, but he still supports his sister. (loudly as well. he has been one of the most vocal in his encouragement in regards to Jooyi.)

▸ Sister — Cha Joohyun (6 upon her death) / n/a / Silver - Silence / Naive, Earnest, Curious/ 8
Joohyun was the little darling of the family once she was born. It was apparent from almost right off the bat that the youngest little lady of the Cha family was not quite like the others. The girl grew up soft and sheltered, adored by her two older siblings. She was a curious little thing and painfully naive- way too trusting for her own good even as she got older and her parents began attempting to mold her into a model Silver Blood high born. 

▸ Friend — Yong Moonbyul (20) / Palace Guard / Silver - Silk / Earnest, Observant, Cheerful / 8
The first time Jooyi met Moonbyul, or "Moonstar" as she affectionately refers to the younger as, the young Silk had been haggling with a Red merchant over a rather attractive dagger that had caught Jooyi's own attention. Jooyi and Moonbyul proceeded to get into a rather heated verbal exchange about who should get the right to purchase the dagger, so much so that the two don't even notice when some hot shot Strongarm came right by them and bought it while they were bickering. And that, ladies and gentlemen, was the beginning of the great friendship between "Jujube" and "Moonstar". In retrospect, Jooyi has noticed that Moonbyul is quite a bit similar to her deceased sister in personality- almost like a representation of what Joohyun could have one day matured into had she gotten the opportunity. Perhaps that is why, despite Moonbyul needing no protection with her Silver born skills of her own, Jooyi still finds herself protective of the younger girl. Moonyul on her own behalf is rather playful with Jooyi, and also on similarly friendly terms with the Cha heir, Jooyoung as well.

▸ Future King — Byun Baekhyun (23) / Prince (soon to be King) / Silver- Whisper / Manipulative, Intelligent, Merciless / 6
Jooyi has absolutely zero romantic interest in Baekhyun, if it wasn't for the royal title he was going to inherit, she would likely have zero political interest as well. He reminds her heavily of her own mother, which is not entirely too surprising all things considered, but that also hardly adds to any appeal. She rather respects him and his power, and despite the invasive nature of his Whisper abilities, it is something familiar- almost welcomed by Jooyi due to her having grown up with her own mother constantly having exposed her to it. (and having shown the loopholes and weaknesses of the skill as well.) Baekhyun is aware of his distant cousin's ambitions for the throne, but has yet to sense any real bloodlust or conviction for a violent takeover from her so he remains civil, even if he does keep his eye on her and her family. To an uninformed bystander, it would almost seem as if these two almost got along.

"i do not understand those who create their own storms and then get upset when it rains."

THOUGHTS ON THE BREWING REBELLION AND WHY? (CAN BE AS SIMPLE AS HATE IT COS THEY'RE SILVER TBH, KNOWING THOSE SIMPLE MINDED PIGS):

▸ "It is.... fascinating." she mused, her mannerisms and countenance nonchalant and unbothered. "It would be a lie to say that I find the existence of it surprising... though at current time this rebellion seems more of a nuisance than anything else." Her tone was casual, it is clear that her feelings on the subject are tepid at best. "Perhaps in time, the group may prove to be a promising tool to look into utilizing, but for now they remain shadowy figures from over told and out of proportion hearsay around the royal court." Her interest appears to be waning, and the young woman's gaze is idly wandering now. "As far as I am aware, the only thing I know for sure is that one of their numbers has made quite the monster of the Kang household's daughter."

"They had the gall to call me a snake in the grass and then acted surprised when i bared my proverbial fangs. "

"WILL YOU JOIN THE GUARD?" : 

▸ Delicate eyebrows raise at the blunt question. "Would a better question not be if the Scarlet Guard  would even freely welcome a Silverblood into their ranks at the moment?" Despite the serious line of inquiry, there is a clear spark of amusement in her eyes as she responds to one question with one of her own. "I suppose given my abilities, the possibility does exist... though may I remind you that I am still one of the very individuals with whom their members seem to hold such scathing regard for. On top of the most obvious issue before us, it also remains to be seen that I could still definitely be a potential threat to their new... ah, 'Newbloods' is what they're calling them yes?" A kittenish smile has formed on her lips now as she chuckles softy. "Will I join them? Well... it may be most politically favorable for me to staunchly deny it, but I suppose we will need to just wait and see."

"WHAT ARE YOU FIGHTING FOR?" : 

▸ "What I am fighting for hm..?"  Her head cants to the side in consideration, the movement elegant and measured. "What do you think my answer to this is?" Her lips pull up into an easy close-mouthed smile, eyes crinkling gently at the outer corners from the deceptively soft smile on her face. "Is it not already plainly obvious?" She questioned softly, voice almost teasing at a purr now. "For myself. And of course my interests, silly little mouse." Her tone sounds almost affectionate, despite contrasting greatly with the clearly mocking content of her statement. 

"I LOVE YOU." : 

▸ "Ah..." Her lovely smiles seems frozen for several stretching moments, her grey eyes widening minutely, before she seems to collect herself once more. "Thank you, I am quite flattered." 

Lady Jooyi of House Cha sounds earnest and her serene smile remains but her eyes are cold, as turbulent as a storm. "I do admit that I am a bit surprised... After all, the only people I generally hear that from are obligated to do so because they are family or kin. You on the other hand..." her words trail off as her gaze flickers shamelessly up and down the other's form, her half moon smile sliding easily into an almost playful quirk of her lips. "... you most certainly are neither of those."

"NOW A QUESTION FOR THE CREATOR OF THE CHARACTER; WOULD YOU MIND HORRIBLY IF YOUR CHARACTER SUFFERS A HORRIFYING BUT TOTALLY JUSTIFIED DEATH?" : 

▸ I wouldn't mind at all- to be entirely honest, the more I worked on Joo, the more convinced I became that even if she was chosen the likelihood of her surviving would be slim. Her abilities are too "convenient" for the Silvers and Reds alike, which would make her a target. Plus I like making my own characters suffer LMAO.

KUPURITAMA : ASH

LAST WORDS : sighs i had a strong idea for her in the beginning but by the end I was struggling to find her voice and portray her like I envisioned. ;; Also, I tried pretty dang hard to not make Jooyi too similar to any one of the characters from the book itself because I did end up reading the first book after discovering the story. Hopefully I managed to pull that off if nothing else. lol- ;;

In retrospect I realize how much I have interspersed the term "House" and "Clan" quite a bit and I'm dumb and sorry I wasn't consistent with my terminology. OTL;;

PASSWORD? : "Goddamn right, you should be scared of me"
 

SCENE REQUESTS : 

▸ After an attack from the Scarlet Guard, Jooyi prioritizing trying to find Moonbyul to ensure her friend is safe.
▸ Use one of the quotes in the app as dialogue from Jooyi is she's chosen- or hell even if she isn't. 
▸ Have someone (Besides Moonstar/Moonbyul) call Jooyi, "Jujube".
▸ Yo, deliver on your promise pls. LOL.
▸ someone making the poor mistake of thinking that Jooyi would be an easy target because she was displaying no attack oriented powers/they realized she was merely a silence. She proceeds to slaughter them. (preferably in a agonizing manner and in front of plenty of witnesses to see her trademark coy half moon smile as she guts her opponent.)
▸ Jooyi is all about trying to surprise others when they think they have her defined and figured out.  She definitely usually has her own agendas behind her actions, but i kind of want her to go out of her way to help someone- preferably a non silver or maybe even a new blood for "intel gathering"  or one of her more common "for funsies" justified purposes, but leaving with a much stronger and/or deeper impression of the other individual than she had wanted or had been anticipating. 
((Yes I know i requested a scene of her murdering someone with a smile and followed that with a request for her helping someone. But part of Jooyi is her duality.))
 

turn in : story : cheatsheet