Name: Joseph Ross
Nickname: Joseph, Joe, That Guy Who Loves His Bike Too Much
Age: 19 20 21 22
Birthday: August 9th
Sign: Leo
Gemstone: Peridot
Blood Type: Fav. Food: Chicken Marinara, or just about anything Italian.
Hated Food: Salad, greens, cabbage. He’s not a veggie person, though he’ll stomach them when he has to, or when they’re combined in something (preferably with sauce).
School: DCU, Automotive Major – he also works part-time at an auto-repair place, though most of the time he’s stuck doing the books.
Hobbies: She ain’t a bike, she’s a lady (Motorcycle Enthusiast) – Chances are, if Joseph has free time, he’s likely spending it working on his bike – or doing a few repairs for friends, or just out riding for the sheer pleasure of it. His pride and joy is his personal bike, however – a 1960s era Harley that’s lovingly maintained with all the devotion a parent might afford their small child. That bike is his baby and he can get a little overprotective of it. No touching without permission! His small apartment gives away his interest – motorcycle parts and tools dot the studio room, and mechanical how-tos and biking magazines are scattered around the place.
That place is off-limits? Not in my books. (Urban Exploration) – This is a relatively recent hobby of Joseph’s, one that he picked up after high school and has delved more into since moving to Destiny City. The lure of the forbidden is something that’s long called to this redhead, and there’s something fascinating to him about abandoned, falling apart buildings. He is aware that it’s quasi-legal at best, and has made sure – thus far, at least – to limit his excursions to places that don’t forbid entry, although he’s beginning to get bolder and take more risks in his choice of location, particularly after awakening as a senshi.
Virtues: There's worse things (Mellow) – It’s pretty hard to upset Joseph. He’s the sort of person who takes most things in stride, and his temper is the slow-burn sort – it’s hard to set off and it takes a lot over a long period of time to make him even come close to exploding. This might be seen as patience, but it’s not, precisely – it’s not that he’s willing to endure things he dislikes for lengthy periods so much as things genuinely don’t bother him much. Most of life’s troubles tend to roll off of his back, and while he might get upset about situations or problems he sees other people having, he can take insults and demeaning treatment without getting bothered. When things do bother him, however, it becomes obvious that he’s not without a temper – it’s just the quiet sort of temper rather than the explosive kind.
Not something that scares me (Brave) – Joseph is aware that life is full of risks. Riding a motorcycle is a risk, working with machines is a risk… life itself is a risk. And because of that, he sees no reason to keep from doing anything. Caution is for those who are too afraid to try. Joseph gets afraid, same as anyone else, but he sees no point in wasting time with fear, not when he could potentially do something about it. Because of that, he’s one of the first to throw himself into the fray, and won’t hold back or regret taking the chance. Of course… bravery also has its downsides, and a willingness to go bungee-jumping doesn’t mean you shouldn’t check the cord before you go over…
To do better than fear (Disciplined) – Bravery alone is dangerous, but bravery coupled with discipline can make you strong. Joseph spent most of his school years in military school, and this drilled into him a discipline and order that tempers his bravery away from incautiousness. He knows the value and payoff of hard work, the importance of rules and order, and while he personally chose to shrug off much of the latter due to chafing under the restricted lifestyle his father preferred, he hung onto the personal discipline and self-control that he learned there, aware that it would be useful – and it has been. Joseph is rarely late to classes, barring extraneous factors, he hasn’t missed a test or an assignment yet, and his willingness to continue through with tasks or situations others might find unpleasant is one of his greatest strengths. It’s the one thing he’s grateful to have picked up from what was otherwise a tedious and unpleasant adolescence. That being said, his discipline is a learned trait rather than an inherent one, so while it rarely slips... when it does, it slips in an extreme fashion.
Flaws: I will not be told where to stand! (Bullheaded) – One thing anyone needs to know about Joseph if they’re going to spend any amount of time around him is that once he’s made up his mind, he’s made up his mind, and he won’t change it. This isn’t precisely like holding a grudge against someone – rather it’s a peculiar soft of view of the world that he developed growing up. It’s not exactly black and white, although that is a good way to define things. Not strictly along a line of Good or Evil, but rather along the lines of ‘Things I’m Okay With’ and ‘Things I’m Not Okay With’, and ne’er the twain shall meet. Joseph has a habit of categorizing everything into one of these two categories, and once that’s done, not even the most persuasive argument will get him to rethink his categorization – he will cling tight to his view and his beliefs in the face of all evidence to the contrary, with a sort of dogged determination that refuses to give in just for the sake of refusing to give in.
Not by you or by anyone (Independent) – Hand in hand with his stubborn streak, Joseph is also a ridiculously independent person. He can and will do anything on his own, in his own way, and tends to dislike authority with a passion. He stifled this trait somewhat while growing up, due to being enrolled in military school for most of his youth, courtesy of an Officer father who wanted to see his son following in the tradition. However, as soon as he hit eighteen and graduated, Joseph threw aside any false-willingness to go along with a pre-planned future and high-tailed it across country, enrolling in DCU and picking up a part-time job to help pay the bills. In short, while he can feign going along with another’s directions, even attempting this makes him twitchy and uncomfortable, and before long Joseph will attempt to take charge of things again, and not always in the safest of manners. He is at heart not a team player, at least if it means listening to someone else, and this can make it hard for him to work with or for others if there are no external circumstances (like school policy) enforcing such cooperation. His discipline does tend to temper this trait; however when that slips, his independence rears its head in full force and can lead to metaphorical explosions.
The places I wasn’t meant to be (Sneaky) – Joseph’s hobby of urban exploration wouldn’t be possible without this trait, but it’s something of a double-edged sword. Joseph is very good at getting into places and locales that he truly shouldn’t be anywhere near, and good at not getting caught – but it’s a habit that can put people off from associating with him. He’s the type of kid who would (and did) sneak into a bar at seventeen and invite another teen to come along – and then wonder why that person would stop wanting to associate with him. It was all in good fun after all, right? Between his habit of sneaking around forbidden locales and sneaking under peoples’ noses to get what he wants – the most prominent instance of this being how he got on a flight to Destiny City rather than the one he was supposed to get on, which would have taken him to New York and further military training) – he can give the impression that he’s running with the wrong kind of crowd. n everyday life, this tends to rear its head as little things like sneaking snacks into classrooms that forbid them (He is the self-proclaimed Snack Dealer of his computer science class), or taking shortcuts through blocked off property rather than go an extra fifteen minutes out of the way to his destination.
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION
Eyes: Green-gold – looking more green in some lights, more yellow in others.
Hair: Short and ginger, growing out (at last) from a military-school cut.
Face: Long and semi heart-shaped face that’s a bit on the thinner side, slightly-angular eyes.
Clothes: Biker-type clothing. He loves his leather jacket, okay? Okay.