Christopher James Thomas || CJ (the name most people know him by) || 20 || Softmore in College || Heterosexual || Fine Arts
Department
Fine Arts
Specialty
CJ has been gifted in the arts of sketching and painting. However, the two classic versions of the art bore him, and so he finds himself working on video game art and design. Being an ultimately creative person, CJ is able to create characters, monsters, and locations off of the top of his head. From various internships, he has only handled one department for the video games he helps create. (For example, he will only work on one certain character or one specific location for the game) That being said, CJ dreams to go bigger, and aspires to be a talented concept artist for a game.
Likes
- Video games (obviously. He prefers classics to new releases. His favorite game franchise of all time is Mega Man.)
-Anime
-Conventions
-The internet
-Fantasy and Sci-fi
-Comic books
-8-bit music (He also prefers the electronic, rock, and alternative genres of music)
-Brownies and cake
-His bass guitar (A classic red fender bass)
Dislikes
-Coffee, soda, and any kind of highly-caffeinated or energy-inducing drinks
-Traffic
-Nails on a chalk-board
-The infamous Red Ring of Death on his Xbox
-Admitting his own flaws
-Mind-games and manipulation
-Hipsters
Skills
Of course, as a video game artist, CJ is a master and guru at video games himself. His most notable achievements are his titles in various gaming tournaments, including those for Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, Tetris, Galaga, Call of Duty, and Pokemon battles. One time, he won a whopping $5,000 for winning a prestigious Halo 3 competition. Besides having a vast knowledge in video games, CJ has considerable skills in filming/editing, journalism, and photography. He can also play bass guitar, but obviously isn't as good as the performing arts kids at the academy when it comes to music.
Weaknesses/Fears
Most think CJ's main weakness is his endurance and poor strength. Although he is lanky and lacks muscle tone, CJ is ultimately capable at physical activities, and is even noted to have more than amateur skill in basketball. The biggest weakness he possesses is his forgetfulness and laziness. He tends to skim over important and crucial details that come back to haunt him later on. He's also really, really, REALLY bad at math. There's nothing he hates more than confusing numbers and formulas.
As for fears, the twenty-year-old has a terrible apprehension of falling through thin ice. He did it once when he was a kid, and it has left him with a severe case of PTSD. (Post-traumatic stress disorder) He is also terrified of snakes because of a bad experience during childhood when his family owned a pet snake. The snake bit him, and the wound he acquired was so bad that he had to get stitches.
Personality
CJ is the classic geek, but he's a cool one to say the least. He's goofy, and is not afraid to embarrass himself in public. Most people see him as the quirky and good-natured guy with a unique sense of humor. His humor, however, is more his stupidity and awkwardness rather than jokes and sarcasm. With this being said, CJ is in no way an idiot. In fact, his ineptness is the reason why some girls view him as being "cute and adorkable". He's rather cunning when he wants to be, and is good at manipulation in times of desperation. Like most people in the academy, his determination and adaptability in his talents have made him quite successful.
The twenty-year-old is proudly adventurous and curious. However, it can get the best of him at times, as he can go to great lengths to achieve his intellectual pursuits. For example, sometimes he stalks people instead of asking them questions, just because he doesn't want to be the one to start the conversation. (It's strange, but CJ IS a little bit of a weirdo...) He is loyal to his closest friends and to those he cares about. He is very protective, and although he isn't intimidating or full of brute strength, he will become slightly pugnacious when someone threatens his friends. He is sensitive, and can occasionally give good advice. OCASSIONALLY.
CJ is a fairly average student. He is proficient in all the subjects and is particularly good at history. However, his one true weakness is math. He can't do math for his life. He even sucks at basic adding and subtracting. One can blame it on the poor education he received in grade school, but in reality, CJ does not try to overcome his math inability. He is so bad at math, that restaurants where he has worked have BANNED him from using the cash register. However, where he fails, he also succeeds. For some stark unexplainable reason, the artist is skilled at geometry. Shapes are obviously second nature to him. Geometry is the only math where CJ excels.
Although he holds a great sense of morals, CJ can be considered unintelligent, irresponsible, and immature. Although these traits can only be regarded to a certain extent, he tends to show his defects around close friends rather than strangers. Most of his bad characteristics come from his fast-paced nature. He gets bored easily, and likes to "wing it" instead of drawing up elaborate plans. That being said, he is branded as being impatient. However, but he doesn't take his impatience out on others. CJ is a renowned freeloader, and asks favors of others often due to his own laziness. He also has tragically awful forgetfulness problems, and is said to have short-term memory-loss. Most of his forgetfulness comes in part to his energetic, vibrant, and easily-distracted nature. It always seems to be a cycle with him. Despite all of his flaws, he does learn from his mistakes, its just that he doesn't do it very often.
CJ Thomas is notably outgoing, and has a wide range of close friends and acquaintances. He may be picked on often because of his inability to be a normal human being, but he isn't viewed as entirely useless or weird. He's never in the loop when it comes to gossip and rumors, and although many people know of him, he is in no way considered popular. He tends to make a fool of himself around others, but he cannot be entirely described as clumsy. He loves parties and social gatherings. It's rare to not find him in a guest-list. Although he's good at talking to most people, he's incredibly awkward around people he finds intimidating, as well as women he finds attractive.
Last but certainly not least, CJ is a dreamer. It's evident by his talent in the art field that he has an immense and overflowing creativity. Sometimes, he confuses events and people he comes up with in his mind to real-life situations. The young adult always carries a pen with him and is known to keep a tape-recorder next to his bed in case he gets brilliant ideas while he is asleep. He has written and illustrated numerous graphic-novels and comics, but is too afraid to publish them. He is, however, a video-game journalist for a website known as Maru Mari, (translates to "Morph Ball" in Japanese) and writes articles for them every week or so. Because of the fantasy-like world inside his head, CJ considers himself to be the protagonist of his own life story.
History
CJ Thomas's life has been fairly normal. His mom worked at a school office, while his dad fixed computers. He had two brothers and a sister, so the family couldn't live in the most lavish place in Seattle, Washington. Although CJ lived a poor life, he didn't live a depressing one. During his early childhood, CJ was heavily influenced by his two older brothers. Despite their constant teasing, he would beg to join them in baseball, bike riding, and most notably, video games. Of course, his brothers never let him play with them, so while everyone was asleep, he would sneak downstairs and play video games until the early morning. The family thought he had sleep problems because he was always so tired in the morning.
CJ went through elementary school like any other little boy would. He was one to try many things during the school year. He played football, tennis, soccer, and baseball. Of course, he wasn't good at any of these sports. Although he was never really interested in the field, people always complimented him about his achievements in the performing arts. Instead of acting and dancing on the stage, CJ traded in his script for a paintbrush, and found designing sets to be his one true talent. He then got more intensely devoted to the fine arts, and started to work with watercolors and charcoals. Once he became skilled at the two, CJ took his talents in the realism genre of art and combined them with his love for video games. He started to draw and paint his favorite video game characters, and then hung them up on the walls in his room. At the time, he never thought anything of them.
High school was the point where everything started to change. CJ started to send in his work to various video game magazines. He started to become noticed, and every other month, his pictures were being featured in the "art" sections of the magazines. One magazine even got him over the phone so that they could interview him for an article. While his career in art was taking off, so was his love life. In freshman year, he met a girl who shared similar interests like him when it came to music. The two made a remarkable couple. CJ showed the girl the world of video games, while she taught CJ how to play basketball. The two then started to make plans to start a band. They recruited a couple of musicians, and CJ practiced on his bass while his girlfriend vowed to learn the drums. Unfortunately, she never got to learn the drums. Her father worked in the navy, and so the adolescent girl was constantly moving from place to place. Without the girl, CJ's band ultimately failed, and the memories of his lover faded away as he entered the business of his new life...
His artwork was introduced to video game companies all over the world, and soon, a gaming studio close by sent him a message. They asked for him to do the artwork on a new project, and in a heartbeat, the boy agreed. One internship led to another, and soon, CJ found himself practically having a job. It was a dream come true, and the money he earned was enough to afford tuition in college. Instead of going to a well-known school, he handed in an application and supplied his portfolio to Yost Academy, and made it in. There, he made many new friends, and people to help him on his art-career journey.
Theme Song
Drones in the Sky-Cage the Elephant
Misc
One thing only his closest friends know is that him and Riss Nivans, the pessimist and star basketball player of Yost Academy, used to actually DATE in high school. Riss eventually moved away, and, unfortunately, their relationship ended. They currently have no romantic affiliations, but the two are still great friends.