Joy

Full Name: Jyoti "Joy" Verwey
Pronunciation: Jyoh-tee Ver-wee
Nickname/Alias: Joy
Gender: Male
Age: 28
Birthday: January 10
Zodiac: Capricorn
Ethnicity: South African/Indian
Birth Place: Cape Town, South Africa
Current Residence: Santa Fe, NM
Species: Caracal (Flat face, no muzzle)
Orientation: Homosexual
Marital Status: Involved with Parry Bisset
Preferred Hand: Left
Occupation: Carpenter/Architect
Education: Columbia University (Architecture); Santa Fe Community College (Woodworking)
Eye Color: Turquoise
Hair Color: Dark brown, almost black
Hairstyle: Meticulously groomed. Long, undercut, sometimes with designs shaved in. Styles vary from buns, to ponies, to styled like a long mohawk.
Body Type: Ectomorph
Build: Lean but solid
Height: 5'8'' (WITH Ears)
Distinguishing Features: Long tufted ears, white banding around eyes
Religion: Agnostic Hindu
Memory: Sharp as a tack (Eidetic memory)
Senses: Keen
Allergies: None
Phobias: Unnerved by moths
Addictions: Mild gambling addiction.

Immediate Family: Amala (née Bhasin) Verwey (Mother; Alive); Masozi Verwey (Father; Alive)
Upbringing: Parents are both scholars who are very much in love with each other and their work. Jyoti was named for the extra joy he brought to their life through the sole miracle of being born. He has never known anything but love and validation.
Skills/Talents: Counts cards (eidetic memory), good with hands/building, good visualization skills, good listener, charmer
Likes: Potjiekos, Koeksisters, gambling, socializing, architecture, wood working, chess, D&D, MtG, LARPing, SCA
Dislikes: Thinking too much about his own problems, guilt trips, passive aggression, lack of boundaries
Sense of Humor: He has one and employs it often
Superstitions/Beliefs: Cutting hair/nails on Saturdays brings bad luck; Crow shit brings luck in money; The mourning family of a dead person should not cook food until shraddha
Quirks: Collecting trinkets; Everything has a place and there is a place for everything; Is likely to punch first and ask questions later at ears being touched/pulled.
Languages: Afrikkans (Fluent), Hindi (Fluent, native tongue), English (Fluent). Usually defaults to Hindi curses/terms of affection. Knows bits and pieces of other languages common in India, though not enough to hold a real conversation in. Can have a passable conversation in Dutch. High school Spanish.

Extended
Joy was born in Cape Town, South Africa. The family moved to India when he was two, and lived there until he was twelve. His uncle had moved to the US years before and told his father about the position open at Columbia for a professor of world history. Once he got the posting and they got their visas, family emigrated to the United States and settled in New York that summer.

He went to a nice public school, did well, and graduated with honors. Went to Columbia and didn't have to pay for it due to his father's tenured position and graduated from their school of Architecture. He then decided, instead of doing the planning of buildings, he was going to build his own business and woodwork instead. Joy recently finished getting his second degree in woodworking at Santa Fe Community college and is on his way to having a successful, thriving company where he makes customized pieces for renovations and new build houses.


Jyoti has a mind like a trap. It is constantly working on some problem, somewhere and it is unsurprising that he is always seeking the next thrill. He learned early on that keeping track of things was a skill of his and employed it in counting cards. Gambling eventually turned into somewhat of an addiction and while he is very good at it, it is not always good to him. Winning too much often leads to cockiness and Jyoti is not above that emotion. When cockiness becomes too high, one must fall, and so his pattern with gambling follows highs and lows. It's about 50/50 whether he owes money to someone or not.

At the crux, Jyoti is a kind person. He lives to experience joy wherever he can. He is tenacious, resourceful, ambitious, and constant. He enjoys looking at things from all the angles he can and because of this he often gives great advice. Not that he follows his own.

He has a strong sense of community and framework and feels best when he is contributing positively to the community that he is in. He needs to be useful. Everyone has their place, after all. He will feel most secure when he feels he is doing his part. If he feels as though he is not doing enough, he will just...do more. And if someone doesn't tell him that he is doing enough, he can try to bite off more than he can chew. It's not uncommon to see him with too many projects on his plate.

Jyoti is a good, loyal friend and someone you want on your side in a bind. If you need something done, it is this steadfastness that he possesses that makes him the best to go to. It'll get done, if possible, and it will get done well.

Other Notes

• Pacifist
• Can get possessive of people he cares for
• Can bluff his way into and out of most situations
• Impulsive, sometimes to a reckless degree
• Joy has a love of learning and will listen for hours to anything that interests him.
• Sarcasm is an often used tool in his belt when he's upset
• Prone to absentmindedly taking things apart when anxious.
• Picks up language easily when his mind is set to it.
• Gives great hugs, apparently.
• At least twice weekly calls to his mother. His relationship with his parents is still extremely close
• Huge nerd, owns many graphic tees though doesn't wear them often.
• Member of the SCA, frequents Renaissance Faires. Plays MtG and D&D whenever he can. Enjoys other TTRPGs and Console RPGs. Particularly fond of Skyrim. Fell down the World of Warcraft rabbithole for a while (For The Horde!)
• Won many a chess tournament in school. Was local grand champion for a while.