personality
aries sun, cancer moon, istp, chaotic neutral
Although Joey often talks in a cynical way, he is surprisingly optimistic. He is confident in his ability to make sure everything turns out just fine; he just isn’t open about his plans. Joey holds the superstition that if you talk about your plans then they won’t come true.
Joey is very sensitive, and he holds grudges. Sometimes he becomes too caught up in his past, thinking about what he could have or should have done, forgetting that he has things to worry about in the present, too! Basically, he lacks the emotional maturity to deal with his personal flaws. But this immaturity also contributes to his childlike charm. When you first meet him, he is kind of like a prickly porcupine - standoffish and very, very private. But once you get to know him you will realize that he is actually very playful. Some just see this as him being too restless, though.
Joey is too unpredictable for some people. He loves going on impromptu adventures, and he definitely values having the freedom to do so. His impulsive nature is a bit off-putting to people who would prefer to plan ahead, but he at least knows how to prioritize. He is also prone to mood swings, which is frustrating for both him and the people around him. Joey feels like he doesn’t understand himself. But the thought of having to dive into his own psyche and figure out whatever is hiding is too overwhelming for him, so he usually ignores his feelings and tends towards feigned coldness.
Joey's presence always commands attention, and people will notice him as soon as he walks into the room. Everyone knows that Joey is ambitious, and he is hell-bent on achieving his dreams with his own power. There is something about him that is provocative. You either respect his self-confidence, or you think he is an arrogant . There really is no in-between with him.
Joey's life in America
Joey grew up in Irvine in a bilingual household (English and Mandarin). He thrived off of outdoor malls and boba runs, and had a fairly easy going lifestyle. However, he did hold a bit of resentment towards his parents who were always working. They left early in the morning before he'd even wake up and come home late in the night, too tired to do anything except go to bed and repeat the same schedule. His parents were Taiwanese immigrants who moved to America a few years before his older brother was born. Joey admired his older brother who practically raised him. Consequently, Joey is a bit immature because he was spoiled by him. When he was around six years old, his parents developed a social media app that blew up all around the world (think of how Snapchat blew up very suddenly).
Joey's parents wanted to move back to Taiwan but he absolutely refused to. Eventually, his parents relented - partially because he was so adamant about staying and partially because they felt guilty for neglecting him - and instead they moved to a huge house in Malibu when he was nine years old.
When they moved to Malibu instead of going back to Taiwan, his older brother revealed to Joey that he regretted spoiling him as a child. But Joey just didn’t like how fast things were changing. He missed his friends in Irvine. He was suddenly going to a new school and he didn’t like how stuck-up the kids were. He started acting out in little ways - he refused to do his homework, skipped class, and would hang out with “friends” past his curfew. Despite all this, his parents let it slide. Joey hated them for this. Deep down he just wanted their assurance that even though they got rich all of a sudden, they were still his parents. But he did not have the emotional capacity to actually tell them this. His older brother would yell at him all the time, and their relationship became strained.
Joey's life at IPA
Eventually, due to his older brother’s pleading, Joey’s parents realized that they were being too complacent with him. By his older brother’s suggestion, they made Joey apply to attend IPA. He entered at sixth grade and he. hated. it! Everyone was fake. Everybody was spoiled. He had no idea how to adapt. He didn’t like the weird complex social spiderweb that he couldn’t get out of. He felt trapped. He missed his home.
But what he hated the most was how the other students looked down on him. It wasn't like he wanted to be there, either! All the weird rules he had to follow there made him miss his parents. He realized his mistake in resenting them. They gave him the freedom that he always wanted, and he just couldn’t see it. He also realized how useless it was to do badly at IPA. Whatever he did would reflect badly on his parents, and the last thing he wanted was for the world to think that his parents were deadbeats. He may act like a prickly porcupine to everybody else, but he loved his family.
Joey's regret towards his bad behavior in Malibu and during his first year at IPA still haunts him today, no matter how many times his parents have told him it's okay.
The start of Joey's plan
By the time the seventh grade came around, Joey had stopped acting out. Turns out he was pretty smart once he actually applied himself. He was doing well in all his classes. But at IPA his grades didn’t matter to the other students. They still thought he was from filthy new money… so Joey resolved that he would show them. He would show them all! What’s so special about having money from your mommy and daddy? He made a pact with himself. He would be just as good and even better than all these stupid students at IPA.
That was when he came up with a plan. How could he show the world he was better than everybody else? How could he make everybody jealous? Cue Bae Wooseong. Thus started their partnership. Joey knew a surprising amount of gossip because people didn’t bother keeping their mouths shut when he was around - the students at IPA kind of treated him like air, as if he wasn’t even there. He would hear quite a few juicy things when he would sit alone at lunch all the time. So Joey would provide Wooseong with valuable intel, and Wooseong would skilfully influence other students to hear bad things about Joey’s enemies and also hear good things about Joey. Joey has also made it his life’s mission to find out whoever is running Gazette Monster. One, so he can beat up whoever is spreading all this nonsense, and two, to try to force them to post good things about him.
When Joey first started at IPA, people treated him like he was trash on the side of the road, not paying attention to him and looking at him with disdain. Now, in his senior year, he still has lots of enemies, but people can’t help but begrudgingly notice that he is good at what he does.
Joey's relationships with plotline characters and others
Plotline Zero - Bae Wooseong:
The closest person Joey had as a friend before Nyima showed up. They’re both crafty so they clicked as soon as they met. Joey rationalizes their relationship as one with mutual interests, but it’s because neither of them refuse to admit that they really do just enjoy each other’s company.
Plotline One - Xu:
Joey doesn’t really interact with Xu, but he can tell that they are a lot smarter than they let on. He makes it a point to avoid them because he doesn’t want anybody getting in the way of his plans.
Plotline Two - Akamatsu:
Joey respects Akamatsu’s achievements and considers them as a rival that he needs to one-up.
Plotline Three - Van De Berg:
They don’t really talk. But then again, Joey just doesn’t really talk to anybody.
Roommate:
Joey's roommate is Oliver “Ollie” Thompson, son of the 7th Duke of Westminster (faceclaim: Matt Clavane). Ollie is basically the definition of everything Joey hates about IPA, so they hated each other at first. One day, though, Joey beat Ollie in a game of rugby and Ollie gained some respect for him. Now they get along, although Joey wouldn’t go so far as to call him his friend. (Ollie secretly wants to get to know Joey better.) Whenever the two of them are seen together, people can’t help but swoon over their looks, no matter how much they dislike Joey.
Lhatse Nyima:
Nyima is Joey’s best friend at IPA. They both come from new money, so Joey finally found someone he could relate to. He is very protective of her, even though she doesn’t need it. He has a crush on her but he doesn’t even know it himself because of his overall ignorance towards human relationships. He is also very dense when it comes to feelings in general.
Rumors about Joey on Gazette Monster (in order of appearance):
- Joey was a delinquent in California. (This is partially true. He was a bit rebellious at his school in Malibu, but the rumors exaggerated this and said that he would beat up kids so badly that they would end up in the hospital and that he smoked copious amounts of weed. Joey has gotten into fights before, but nothing too serious, and he has never smoked weed before.)
- Joey is prone to violence so if you even make eye contact with him, he will beat you up. (Joey has only beat up two people during his time at IPA: his roommate, Ollie, because he couldn’t take the verbal abuse he would receive from someone he freaking lived with, and the people that knocked down Nyima’s prayer flags - see Lhatse Nyima app.)
- Joey cheats during tests to make himself look better. (Joey would never cheat.)
- Joey seduced some guy’s girlfriend, which is why she broke up with him. (The girl did break up with her boyfriend because of Joey, but not because he actively seduced her; they shared the same class and she just thought he was really good-looking.)
- Joey is a serial arsonist. (Somebody spotted a lighter in his room, which is against school rules - him and Ollie use it to roast marshmallows.)
- Joey was spotted sneaking into a strip club. (Joey literally has no idea how this one started.)
Joey's plans after high school
Joey's dream is to attend Stanford University. He is also applying to the University of Oxford due to the influence of his roommate, Ollie. He wants to major in political science. His biggest goal is to combat corruption in the government.
trivia
- Joey's older brother, Calvin, is seven years older than him. When he left for IPA, they weren’t on speaking terms, but they get along better now.
- Joey watches the Rilakkuma show on Netflix. His roommate caught him watching it once and has not stopped teasing him about it since.
- Joey has a weakness for fluffy things.
- Joey is surprisingly good at cooking. His favorite dish to make is beef noodle soup. His favorite food to eat is soup dumplings.
- Joey ran for student government but ultimately wasn’t elected. Although he had excellent grades and recommendations from teachers, he just couldn’t win the popular vote. He cried alone in his room about it.
- A lot of students think Joey is a player because so many girls break up with their boyfriends over him. But he doesn’t even know these girls and he definitely doesn’t date them. In fact, Joey has never dated anyone before.
daily schedule
classes
modern world lit. seminar 8AM - 10AM
literature, track C
He shares this class with Wooseong.
europe in the 20th century 10AM - 11AM
history, track C
He is always sleeping in this class but the
teacher doesn't say anything anymore
because he aces every test.
free period/lunch 11AM - 12PM
german four 12PM - 1PM
language, track B
The language is hard but he stays up to
make sure he does well on the exams.
international relations 1PM - 3PM
social cience, track C
He is super engaged in this class and
studies super hard for the exams.
pre-calculus 3PM - 4PM
math, track A
This subject makes him want to die but he
goes through almost Spartan training to
keep his grades up.
after class
outdoor run/indoor workout 7PM - 9PM
shower 9PM - 10PM
clubs
mock trial
senior member
He has won every single case he was put
on.
model un
senior member
Joey is not very good at working with
other people, so these usually end badly,
but nobody can deny his impressive public
speaking skills.
the great debate
public speaking club, senior member
Joey is a vicious and calculative public
speaker. He wins every debate.
rugby
intramural
He plays with Ollie.
football
varsity
American soccer. He plays as the center
forward (offense) and is the ace of the
team, always scoring the most goals every
game. He is vicious on the field.
notable events
Joey's attitude towards events
He thinks of them as a nuisance but knows that they are useful for clout.
Events Joey has been to in the past
Joey doesn’t attend Cultural Holidays but he always makes sure to get all dressed up for Seasons Balls. It isn’t all that fun for him but he doesn’t want to not go and make his classmates think that they’ve scared him away. Plus, they are good opportunities to find out the latest gossip.
Senior Prom
Joey is trying to work up the courage to ask Nyima to go with him. Ollie says he wants to help him come up with some sort of elaborate “prom-posal.” Joey keeps telling him to stay out of it. He wants it to be low-key but incredibly thoughtful. But how the heck does he do that? He doesn’t even know who to ask about these kinds of things.
Honestly, the more he thinks about submitting to the mortifying ordeal of being known, the more he wants to just give up and go with one of the girls that have broken up with their boyfriends for him. After all, how ironic would that be? The people who made fun of him now want to date him... Taking one of them to prom and then dumping them would be the ultimate revenge. But would that actually make him happy? And what would Nyima think of him then?
Joey plans on sitting with Ollie and Ollie’s friends. He wants to sit with Nyima, too, but he hasn’t asked her anything prom-related yet because he freaks out every time it’s brought up. He also wants to sit with Wooseong but he hasn’t asked him yet. He figures that Wooseong has so many other friends that he could sit with instead of Joey the Social Outcast™.
He's going with the meat option.
The last thing Joey wants to be at prom is boring. Seriously, what is up with guys showing up to events in the same goddamned black suit and tie? He wants to surprise people. Joey thinks that everyone is expecting him to wear an all-black ensemble to prom because he is Goth™. So he’s decided to switch things up.
Outfit: This - Elie Saab Spring 2017 Couture - but with a masculine fit. And instead of the inside having a sweetheart neckline, he will wear a buttoned vest with the same embellishments.
Shoes: Saint Laurent Jonas Derby in Patent Leather (Porcelain).
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