Section oo1 : PROFILE

BIRTHNAME: tsui hoiyeung 徐凱楊
NICKNAMES:
♛ xu kaiyang 徐凯杨 his official birthname in simplified chinese, though people in hong kong do not call him in this mandarin pinyin and often resorts to the cantonese pronounciation of his name instead. people in the usa are more familiar with this name of his as it's easier to pronounce.
♛ karter the official english name he uses. there's not a specific reason why he decided to use it. people in the us and back in hong kong alike know and call him by this name. 
♛ kai what some of his closest friends call him by. since they know his simplfied chinese birthname, they shortened his name by only calling him "kai". seth, kallie, chanel (who agrees with karter that "kai" is better than "hoi") and ari call him this he's fine with being called "kai" because it sounds pretty cool and anyways, who'd want to be called "hoi"?
♛ firecracker what he calls himself as a subtle way to describe himself as a crackhead. his friends would always clap him for his self-confidence whenever the nickname comes out of his own mouth but karter likes the sound of the nickname. it was actually seth who first called him this but he was too drunk to remember so he always says that it was he himself who created the nickname. he thinks of it as his persona. 

BIRTHPLACE: kowloon tong, hong kong
HOMETOWN: sha tin district, new territories

NATIONALITY: hong kong
ETHNICITY: chinese

LANGUAGES:
♛ cantonese 100% his native tongue.
♛ english 75% as it is the other official language in hong kong and was a mandatory language in school, he's able to speak english with a slight hong kong accent.
♛ chinese (mandarin) 40% knows how to tell the difference between simplified and traditional chinese and it was a part of his education. he's not skilled in the language verbally and avoids using the language, resorting to english instead of mandarin when possible.

FACECLAIM: jackson wang of got7
HEIGHT AND WEIGHT: 176 cm and 59 kg

STYLE: 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08

Section oo2 : ALL ABOUT

PERSONALITY:

     pragmatic, rational, optimistic, energetic
      istp-a, assertive virtuoso, gryffindor
stubborn, reserved, insensitive, non-committal

an extroverted at heart but an introvert in mind, karter is optimistic in any given situation and carries himself with high spirits and is good-natured to his surroundings. he makes it a point to be deeply focused in his works and doesn't stress out much, preferring to go with the flow and to focus on the present. being optimistic doesn't mean his head is in the clouds because karter keeps his head and feet on the ground, taking realistic approaches to a problem and provides solutions based on real circumstances and facts. he's always working to maximize what he's got and can always maintain his energy for when it's most needed. he has the ability to adapt to new situations with little effort, which is the main reason why he is who he is during his time at usc. karter comes in handy during crisis situations as he's not afraid to get his hands dirty to work with the tools available in that moment. his practical skills are useful in his field as such technical skills will become his asset in the information technology industry.    

as much as he goes with the flow and is able to adapt, he's rather unapologetic in the way he does what he does and when responding to criticism, he's not afraid to be blunt about his displeasure. his stances are firm and difficult to sway. it's not rare for him to say things that lack empathy and emotional sensitivity as his mind is heavily programmed to stay true to logic and the truth. his words are not sugar-coatted so there's bound to be people who will be triggered. although he acts like an extrovert, he keeps his personal feelings to himself. opposite to the way he parties and knows a lot of different crowds in usc, karter is actually difficult to get to know deeply. he panics inside whenever there's a need to hold a conversation to secure commitment as it's so terrifying for karter to find out that there's no way or alternative way out. to karter, commitments happen as a natural progression of day-to-day decisions, in his own pace.

BACKGROUND:
♛ karter is an international student from hong kong who comes from an upper middle class family. his father an information technology manager and his mother a systems engineer, it's as if the road ahead of him was already determined. as much as he wants to become a filial son to his parents, he initially didn't want to pursue his current major but it was when he was in middle school that he was inspired to do so after being exposed to the field his parents worked in. it seemed cool, with all the computers and technology. it somehow excited him and his mother would whisper that he'd be able to make a lot of money in the future as demands in the industry increases.

♛ karter's fraternal grandfather used to be an asian championships gold medalist in sabre fencing. under the encouragement and guidance of said grandfather, he started fencing training at the age of eight and went on to win several competitions as a part of the hong kong national fencing team. he rarely brings it up to his friends, but his most outstanding performance was his gold medals at the asian junior and cadet fencing championships when he was around sixteen or seventeen. his career ended when he entered the last year of high school to focus on enrolling in the university most suitable for him as his parents valued education. he was pushed to study abroad as the experiences that come with an international degree willl give him an advantage at impressing future employers.

♛ he enrolled in usc as an international student as he found out that they were highly rated for their 'intelligence and cyber operations' bachelor degree. in addition to that, usc had quite the vibrant and bustling school life with the parties, clubs and diverse student body so why would karter possibly reject that balance? karter did a summer internship at procter and gamble last year in cyber security and has accepted a full-time job at their office in cincinnati, ohio. he's trying to make the best of his time in usc before graduating and moving to cincinnati, ohio. he's not sure what's next after experiencing a few years working at procter and gamble. though, he's probably going to return to hong kong to work in the information technology industry just as his parents have done so far.       

Section oo3 : life at usc

MAJOR: intelligence and cyber operations

CLUBS AND SOCIETIES: since freshman year, karter has been a member of three clubs or societies. he's just a part of the hong kong student association and focuses his passion in the cyber security & forensics organization, and the trojan fencing club.

COLLEGE LIFE:
♛ mondays

 11:00AM-12:20PM  — Asian Security Issues (IR 384)

 5:00PM-8:50PM  — Web Application Security (ITP 425)

♛ tuesdays

 11:00AM-12:20PM  — Human Security and Humanitarian Intervention (IR 319)

 2:00PM-3:20PM  — The Global Finance and Monetary Regime (IR 329)

♛ wednesdays

 11:00AM-12:20PM  — Asian Security Issues (IR 384)

♛ thursdays

 11:00AM-12:20PM  — Human Security and Humanitarian Intervention (IR 319)

 2:00PM-3:20PM  — The Global Finance and Monetary Regime (IR 329)

he thanks the heavens that all of his classes start later in the day than others. he can peacefully wake up at 9am every day and if forced, can stay awake until 3am. on mondays, before his second class, he makes sure to eat and is able to work on his assignments at a nearby cafe or on campus. on tuesdays and thursdays, he's going to work on his assignments for the rest of the day. after his one class on wednesday, he'll try and work on his tasks in advance until 5pm before he stops and does whatever.

fridays and the weekends are for fun. he's down to getting dragged to parties and prefers to drinking away his post-graduation worries than staying at home. he doesn't even know what time he closes his eyes on the weekends and can only assume that he's awake until 3am. he'd only stay at home if it's raining. when that happens, he'd be relieving his stress or sleeping.   

ACCOMODATION: karter is currently seth park's roomate in the double bedroom as they currently live off-campus in a three-bedroom unit in city park apartments.

Section oo4 : TRIVIA

Section oo5 : RELATIONSHIPS

SETH PARK, 22: roommate

perhaps it was fated in the heavens that he and seth park would become friends. they were each other's roomates during freshman year and they just had to get along somehow. though they initially distanced themselves from each other before a few drunken nights and parties brought them closer together. life just flowed afterwards and next thing you know, they were best friends who ended up becoming roommates yet again for senior year. the two know a lot about each other and have a mutual understanding after having experienced rooming together. they exchange a lot of jokes and would be more than willing to exchange each other's secrets. deep down, both seth and karter value their friendship and karter, especially, is very saddened to part ways with seth after graduation.
 

RUSSELL "RUSS/RUSTY" LEE, 23: strangers

karter is set to meet russell when the group gathers for the trip. though russell insists that they've bumped into each other at parties, karter recalls no such encounters. they'll bond a lot over the extreme agendas russell has for the trip and it's guaranteed that they'd get high on weed together eventually. initially addressing him as "russell lee", karter may grow to address russell the way nellie or nessie call him by "russ" or "rusty". though, karter will definitely snap at the taller male the second he decides to blast on his rock or heavy metal music on the stereo.
 

CHANEL"NELLIE" WONG, 20: fellow hong konger, close friends, his mui mui

the moment karter saw chanel at a party, he knew she and him shared similar frequencies. then, he heard her swear in cantonese under the dim lights and electronic dance music. he didn't hesitate to approach her, "i think i heard you swear in cantonese, you from hong kong?" the girl beamed as she said yes and that was the start of their bond. platonic, of course. karter adores nellie and calls her his "mui mui (little sister)". though he's only going to see her for the five months of her exchange, he's already planned out what they'd do when they see each other in hong kong for when karter returns to visit his hometown once in a while. nellie is definitely the little sister he's never had.
 

LEON CHOI, 22: somehow well acquainted

karter is no longer surprised when he sees seth's pregame gang at the apartment, those times have long passed.  among that gang was the so-called "lone wolf" leon choi.  a new face among the same old guys, karter managed to exchange several words with leon. he had this mysterious air to him so karter only managed to befriend him during a party where he unintentionally kept offering leon shots. several more drunken nights and they became well acquainted with each other to be able to hold various conversations. on the trip, karter has a secret mission to figure out if he could get leon drunk and to decipher the chemistry of leon and nessie.
 

VANESSA "NESSIE" TAN, 21: knows each other

the first time nellie dragged vanessa to a party in usc was the first time  karter got introduced to vanessa through nellie. that was it, honestly. karter didn't really get a memorable impression of nessie but then, he watched vanessa in her natural element. "wow, you sure have a duality, i thought you were the decaf coffee here," karter calmly said before vanessa jokingly slapped his arm. he's very comfortable with vanessa, despite perhaps conveying the opposite. though not many know of his love life, vanessa does and during the trip, she may be tempted to expose it for all to hear. sometimes, in his tipsy state, he'll ask vanessa to help him find a tinder date.
 

ARIADNA "ARI" SARAY ÁVILA JIMÉNEZ, 20: on-again, off-again fling
(fc: ester expósito)

ah yes, ariadna, the spanish international student. better known as "ari", karter and her have quite the history. it was just the usual party scene for karter until ari walked into the room. she was stunning, to say the least. he was never a flirt but when ari was sending him signals from across the room, he naturally walked up to her and the night was different. several shots, tipsy flirting and giggles led to them going back to ari's dorm room and well, that night a year ago started their fling. things were great, at first and they enjoyed having no strings attached (not to mention, the ) but they started to be on-again, off-again after a few arguments and sometimes, they were too busy to contact each other. now, with karter set to graduate, the two of them are complicating what they feel about each other as they consider external factors. ari seems to have caught feelings for him and honestly, karter thinks he has too. anyone other than the two of them know that if they actually start talking to each other seriously for once, things wouldn't be complicated. karter knows it too deep down but currently, ari isn't returning his calls. she says she needs some space for the time being.  
 

NAME, AGE: relation

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Section oo6 : their beloved

NAME: kallie liao
NICKNAMES:
♛ kale it was in freshman year when karter woke up with a hangover one morning after a crazy party and walked out to see kallie visiting. in his drunken slur, he greeted her in a mix of english and mandarin as he always did to her "zǎo (good morning), kale". since then, he naturally kept calling her "kale" to which kallie calls him "kai" even if she's called "kai li" back at her home. 
♛ lil k what only he and seth call her. though there are taller guys than both him and seth, it's always hilarious when kallie has to tip toe every time the three of them want to take pictures. karter suddenly blurted out, "come on, lil k, use your tippy toes!" to tease kallie and that was the birth of the nickname.  

BIRTHDATE: april 15, 1998 
BIRTHPLACE: chicago, illainois, usa
HOMETOWN: los angeles, california, usa

NATIONALITY: american
ETHNICITY: chinese

FACECLAIM: zhou jieqiong

CURRENT STATUS: close platonic friends

OUR STORY:

STEP O1 — MEET EACH OTHER: they met naturally during their freshman year through seth, considering the fact that kallie and seth have been best friends since the freshman year of high school. it was when seth and karter were roommates and kallie came over to check on seth as well as to rant about her concerns. they saw each other and seth was like, "that's karter, my roommate." kallie and karter exchanged names and that was the beginning.  

STEP O2 — BECOME CLOSE PLATONIC FRIENDS: as kallie appeared often in the middle of seth and karter's interactions, the three of them naturally started to hang out together. though he and kallie will never become as close as she is with seth, they consider each other close friends. there are several things kallie doesn't talk about with karter, which karter respects. he never crosses the line between them. kallie can always trust karter to show her a good time whenever possible. karter is like a happy virus to kallie, able to cheer her up when she's down. she's able to gain some realistic opinions from karter. he's different from seth so she's always amused at their interactions.

STEP O3 — SUDDENLY GO ON A GROUP TRIP TOGETHER: it was seth who encouraged him to go on the trip to break his mellow "thinking-of-ariadna-24/7" mood. initially, he rejected since he doesn't want to admit that he's constantly thinking about ari. but then, chanel and kallie came to him with an invite. of course, karter could always say no to seth but not to chanel. he changed his mind. he's trying to convince himself that he's going on the trip as his last hurrah in college. so, all of a sudden, kallie and karter will be going on a road trip across the west coast without seth. the day before they start the trip, karter texted kallie, "looks like you're stuck without seth for the trip but don't make it an excuse to kill me" to which kallie replied with one skull emoji. 

STEP O4 — TRY TO STAY PLATONIC: without seth as their middle man, they'll rediscover each other and really bond with each other. kallie will realize that karter has a lot of different sides to him while karter will get to know kallie as more than just the best friend of his roommate. it's all due to the late night conversations, the way they take care of each other, the fun facts they never knew about each other. kallie will tell him, "i'm actually grateful to get to know you more, kai," to which he replied back, "it's strange how little you'd know about someone you see almost every day, right? it's been an experience."

STEP O5 — SOMEHOW FAIL: eventually, kallie will realize what a great guy karter is. they never bluntly defined their friendship as platonic as they both thought it was only obvious that it'd be platonic but then, karter started to look differently in her eyes. she feels fluffy whenever karter does simple actions to take care of her, like making sure she doesn't eat anything with nuts, making sure the air conditioner isn't cold, playing the songs she likes and staying up to keep her company. that's when she started to question. kallie never thought for herself to easily catch feelings especially towards a friend, seeing as she and seth have been best friends since high school. to kallie, karter definitely had something to him that attracted her so there she was, giving meaning to his actions.

on the other hand, karter would've never imagined that kallie liao has caught feelings for him so he's going to be oblivious until further events. he's only doing what he's always done to his female friends. currently, karter has never told anyone other than seth about ari and their on-again, off-again fling. he's trying to distract himself from thinking about her and for once in a long time, he's feeling like he's made up his mind about how he feels and what he plans to do to talk to ari. he misses her a lot and wants to make amends before graduating from usc but keeps the thoughts to himself.

since he's on the trip for a good time, karter doesn't want to be too touchy about his feelings as he worries that it's only going to ruin the mood of the group. he will slowly share about it to the group, though he will avoid specifically dropping ari's name. seeing as this can be interpreted as a window of opportunity, nellie and nessie will definitely add oil to the fire when they start to ship karter and kallie and in support of kallie, subtly trying to ignite some romantic between the two. things will only start to get a bit messy from then on.

ENDING: up for plot twists but esentially, kallie will definitely get hurt along the trip after catching feelings for karter who may ultimately decide he doesn't reciprocate her feelings as he tells her, "sorry, kale, i think my feelings for ari are stronger than i thought." yiKES.

Section oo7 : INTERVIEW

Section oo8 : FINISHING TOUCH

SIRIUS-, SILVI, SEVEN UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE

password: zion canyon, paso robles

COMMENTS: surprise, surprise! i created another character because i feel like i had another idea pop up and figured that i shouldn't hold back since there's not much apps i have to do at the moment. i thought it'd be fun if there's at least one person whose using the trip to get away from an ex/relationship/commitment. though, by the time i finished this, i'm not sure if his personality makes sense ; ^ ;
♛ song playing: call on me by kim cesarion 

here's another major shoutout to co-author emily since i asked her help again to arrange a timetable for my dude <3

SCENE REQUESTS:
♛ if they end up going to a beach or lake or anywhere with water, maybe play a game to decide who to throw into the water lol 
♛ a possibly high and drunk karter encouraging some of the group to try weed 
♛ some nellie and karter interactions
♛ karter going on and on about the importance of cyber security 
♛ seth, kallie and karter trio chemistry
♛ possibly encountering ari during the trip (like maybe somewhere in nevada or san fransisco) and things get dramatic
♛ i honestly need him to suddenly spill the tea about him and ari to see how everyone else reacts to the story