"I’d rather be partly great than entirely useless."
— Neal Shusterman, Unwind
— Neal Shusterman, Unwind
{ Name }
John Joseph Toranzo
{ Nicknames/Alias }
John
{ Age }
17
{ Gender }
Male
{ Sexuality }
Heterosexual
{ Date/Place of Birth }
New York, NY
February 23rd, 1997
{ Nationality }
American
{ Label }
The People Pleaser
John Joseph Toranzo
{ Nicknames/Alias }
John
{ Age }
17
{ Gender }
Male
{ Sexuality }
Heterosexual
{ Date/Place of Birth }
New York, NY
February 23rd, 1997
{ Nationality }
American
{ Label }
The People Pleaser
{ Childhood/Family Life }
John is the second and youngest child of Marcus and Hope Toranzo. He has one older sister, Josie, who he has a stable relationship with but is currently away at college. Because of his parents' wealth, John had a lot of opportunities as a child that other children didn't. He went on lavish vacations, met important people and always had the latest toys on his shelf.
Both of his parents love him and Josie but even now, twenty two years after they married, John is still unsure if they truly love each other. He knows that every couple is destined to fight but his parents seem to fight a lot more than seems healthy and he's even seen his father hit his mother after a few drinks. It's something that all four of the Toranzo's are aware of but would never bring up. There was one occasion when John brought it up to his sister but she quickly shut him up, telling him that it was none of their business and that their parents loved each other.
The most traumatic part of his childhood was when he was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia at age four. It was caught early on and two months after starting treatment, he was in remission and when it didn't return for ten years, he was officially labeled as being cured.
{ High School Career }
John is probably one of the worst students at Saint Jude's. It's not that he isn't intelligent because compared to the national average, he probably has the grades of a typical student or maybe a bit higher, but compared to his peers who are striving to get into the Ivy's, John is definitely lacking. He's so used to putting others before himself that he never put much work into his own success. Besides that, John isn't sure if he wants to attend Yale University, the school that his father insists he goes to because he is an alumni.
John is the second and youngest child of Marcus and Hope Toranzo. He has one older sister, Josie, who he has a stable relationship with but is currently away at college. Because of his parents' wealth, John had a lot of opportunities as a child that other children didn't. He went on lavish vacations, met important people and always had the latest toys on his shelf.
Both of his parents love him and Josie but even now, twenty two years after they married, John is still unsure if they truly love each other. He knows that every couple is destined to fight but his parents seem to fight a lot more than seems healthy and he's even seen his father hit his mother after a few drinks. It's something that all four of the Toranzo's are aware of but would never bring up. There was one occasion when John brought it up to his sister but she quickly shut him up, telling him that it was none of their business and that their parents loved each other.
The most traumatic part of his childhood was when he was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia at age four. It was caught early on and two months after starting treatment, he was in remission and when it didn't return for ten years, he was officially labeled as being cured.
{ High School Career }
John is probably one of the worst students at Saint Jude's. It's not that he isn't intelligent because compared to the national average, he probably has the grades of a typical student or maybe a bit higher, but compared to his peers who are striving to get into the Ivy's, John is definitely lacking. He's so used to putting others before himself that he never put much work into his own success. Besides that, John isn't sure if he wants to attend Yale University, the school that his father insists he goes to because he is an alumni.
{ Good personality traits }
Generous, relaxed, flexible, personable
{ Bad personality traits }
Passive, indifferent, allows himself to be taken advantage of, seen as lacking moxie and a backbone
{ Personality }
John has the reputation for being a people pleaser because he tends to go out of his way to do things for people even if he doesn't want to. It's a behavior that was probably developed during his childhood. His parents constantly used him as a pawn to advance themselves. Whether it was his mother exploiting his plight against childhood cancer or his father forcing him to befriend other children because their parents were "important people", John learned early on that it was easier to just do what people wanted than to decline and upset them.
Although essentially being a human doormat sounds like a useless life to live, John has grown used to it. He developed a passive and relaxed demeanor where he rarely takes a strong stance against anything. He's flexible and even if he wanted to do one thing over another, he'll agree to do what the people around him want to do simply because it's easier than resisting. Sure, he has his own desires and opinions but he rarely voices them around most people. Unless it's something extremely important to him, John usually allows people to say and do whatever they want in his presence. Not only does he feel like it's not his business to correct or stand up to people doing wrong, but most of the time, he simply doesn't care. While he would never admit it to his parents, the whole luxurious, materialistic and reputation-obsessed lifestyle that he has grown up to him is so unappealing that he finds most of the people in it to be pathetic and almost comical. The life that he and his friends were blessed to live is so disconnected from the real world that if him lending money to people he knows will never pay him back, or allowing people to throw parties in his family's apartment will get them to stop bitching about their fake problems, he'll do it.
Those who know John well will see that he is down to earth and easy to talk to. He prefers to live a simple life but indulges in luxuries simply to appease his parents and peers. He's relaxed, flexible and tends to be indifferent about most things, but when he's around people he feels comfortable with, he grows a bolder personality and will engage in conversation and even make jokes.
{ Greatest joys in life }
Helping others, being high, being in the wilderness
{ Greatest fears }
Disappointing his father, rejection, living an unfulfilled life
{ Life philosophy }
"I will not set fire to myself to keep you warm.”
It's not something that John has done a good job living by yet, but it's something that he tries to remeber. Even though it's easier to let people take advantage of him, he knows that at some point he's going to need to do what he wants and what will benefit him, regardless of whether it clashes with what others want of him.
Generous, relaxed, flexible, personable
{ Bad personality traits }
Passive, indifferent, allows himself to be taken advantage of, seen as lacking moxie and a backbone
{ Personality }
John has the reputation for being a people pleaser because he tends to go out of his way to do things for people even if he doesn't want to. It's a behavior that was probably developed during his childhood. His parents constantly used him as a pawn to advance themselves. Whether it was his mother exploiting his plight against childhood cancer or his father forcing him to befriend other children because their parents were "important people", John learned early on that it was easier to just do what people wanted than to decline and upset them.
Although essentially being a human doormat sounds like a useless life to live, John has grown used to it. He developed a passive and relaxed demeanor where he rarely takes a strong stance against anything. He's flexible and even if he wanted to do one thing over another, he'll agree to do what the people around him want to do simply because it's easier than resisting. Sure, he has his own desires and opinions but he rarely voices them around most people. Unless it's something extremely important to him, John usually allows people to say and do whatever they want in his presence. Not only does he feel like it's not his business to correct or stand up to people doing wrong, but most of the time, he simply doesn't care. While he would never admit it to his parents, the whole luxurious, materialistic and reputation-obsessed lifestyle that he has grown up to him is so unappealing that he finds most of the people in it to be pathetic and almost comical. The life that he and his friends were blessed to live is so disconnected from the real world that if him lending money to people he knows will never pay him back, or allowing people to throw parties in his family's apartment will get them to stop bitching about their fake problems, he'll do it.
Those who know John well will see that he is down to earth and easy to talk to. He prefers to live a simple life but indulges in luxuries simply to appease his parents and peers. He's relaxed, flexible and tends to be indifferent about most things, but when he's around people he feels comfortable with, he grows a bolder personality and will engage in conversation and even make jokes.
{ Greatest joys in life }
Helping others, being high, being in the wilderness
{ Greatest fears }
Disappointing his father, rejection, living an unfulfilled life
{ Life philosophy }
"I will not set fire to myself to keep you warm.”
It's not something that John has done a good job living by yet, but it's something that he tries to remeber. Even though it's easier to let people take advantage of him, he knows that at some point he's going to need to do what he wants and what will benefit him, regardless of whether it clashes with what others want of him.
❤Hiking
❤Marijuana
❤Road trips
❤Pleasing and impressing his parents
❤Being alone
❤Italian Food
❤Strangers - they expect nothing of him
✘The Upper East Side lifestyle
✘Kettle corn
✘Farms
✘Summer heat
✘Dinner parties
✘Classism
✘Lifetime movies
{ Parents }
Marc Toranzo | Age 46 | Father
Marc owns a large accounting firm based in Manhattan. He claims to be John's biggest fan but he has unknowingly put an overwhelming amount of pressure on him to be the perfect son. He had John's life planned out for him before he was even a year old and since then, he has expected John to follow "the game plan" to a T, and John has done a pretty good job at doing so so far. However, he is conflicted with whether pleasing his dad is worth sacrificing his own life plans for.
Hope Toranzo | Age 44 | Mother
Hope is a morning talk show host and former sitcom actress. She is obsessed with living a posh life and wouldn't expect anything less of her husband and two children either. She's different from John in that aspect but is similar to him in the sense that she is also very passive when it comes to what Marc wants.
{ Siblings }
Josephine "Josie" Toranzo | Age 21 | Sister
Josie is John's only sibling. She is one of the few people who he feels completely comfortable around but is currently at Northwestern University in Illinois.
Marc Toranzo | Age 46 | Father
Marc owns a large accounting firm based in Manhattan. He claims to be John's biggest fan but he has unknowingly put an overwhelming amount of pressure on him to be the perfect son. He had John's life planned out for him before he was even a year old and since then, he has expected John to follow "the game plan" to a T, and John has done a pretty good job at doing so so far. However, he is conflicted with whether pleasing his dad is worth sacrificing his own life plans for.
Hope Toranzo | Age 44 | Mother
Hope is a morning talk show host and former sitcom actress. She is obsessed with living a posh life and wouldn't expect anything less of her husband and two children either. She's different from John in that aspect but is similar to him in the sense that she is also very passive when it comes to what Marc wants.
{ Siblings }
Josephine "Josie" Toranzo | Age 21 | Sister
Josie is John's only sibling. She is one of the few people who he feels completely comfortable around but is currently at Northwestern University in Illinois.
{ Build }
5'8"
145 lbs
{ Hair Colour }
Brown
{ Eye Colour }
Brown
{ Distinguishable Markings }
N/A
{ Personal Style }
If John had a say in his life, which he rarely does, he would wear casual clothes every day. He likes beanies in the winter and simple sweatshirts, jeans and sneakers or boots. However, in order to appease his parents, he does make an effort to dress in nicer clothes.
5'8"
145 lbs
{ Hair Colour }
Brown
{ Eye Colour }
Brown
{ Distinguishable Markings }
N/A
{ Personal Style }
If John had a say in his life, which he rarely does, he would wear casual clothes every day. He likes beanies in the winter and simple sweatshirts, jeans and sneakers or boots. However, in order to appease his parents, he does make an effort to dress in nicer clothes.
