Innokentiy "Ina" Tsoy
Posted: Mon Mar 31, 2025 12:51 am
Name: Innokentiy “Ina” Tsoy
Gender: Male
Age: 17
Grade: Senior
School: Southwest Red Rock High School
Hobbies and Interests: Food culture, Go, board games, Russian music, singing, sociolinguistics, folklore studies
Appearance: Ina stands at 5’8”, or 177 cms, and weighs 121 lbs, or 55 kgs, which makes him look a little fragile for his age. He is ectomorphic — his arms and legs are long, while his fingers are thin. His skin is a pale and cool beige tone. While he tries to keep a straight back, Ina’s posture often makes him look shorter than he really is. He keeps his dark, jet black hair short, with a messy fringe reaching his eyebrows. His eyes are brown and look weary, the circles underneath them a noticeable purple shade. Ina’s nose is straight and a little small. His skin lacks blemishes and is very smooth. Whenever he smiles, noticeable, but small dimples appear on his cheeks. Ina usually speaks softly and quietly, but his voice is actually a deep bass.
Ina tends to dress for comfort, usually preferring oversized, plain T-shirts, or T-shirts with band logos, and long-sleeves underneath. In colder weather, he wears hoodies. He likes baggy pants and trousers, with flared hems. He often wears clothes of colder colors, such as black or white, usually monochrome. At home and, at times, when going out, he wears T-shirts that he finds a little amusing, such as ones that profess a love for fishing or beer. He wears thin-framed, round glasses, their frame being a neutral grey color.
Biography: Innokentiy Tsoy, often referred to as Ina, was born on May 18, 2007, into a family of Russian Koreans, or more specifically Koryo-saram, in California. His mother, Anna Tsoy, works as a research assistant in the field of historical linguistics, while his father, Mikhail Tsoy, works as a back-end developer. Ina is the middle child in the family — his elder sister, Valentina, was born four years before him, and his younger sister, Nadezhda, was born four years after him. Their family is supported by their relatives, especially Ina’s grandparents, and has resulted in a closed cluster. He grew up bilingual, often speaking Russian at home, while learning English from his mother and at school.
Being the middle child in the family, Ina wasn’t pressured by many expectations or standards, but was nonetheless cared for and loved by his parents. There was little sibling rivalry between him and his sisters, aside from some daily quarrels. However, his parents struggled to pay equal attention to all of their children, and Ina, as a result, was looked after the most by his maternal grandmother and grandfather, with whom he developed a very close relationship. His grandmother told him many stories of their life outside of the USA and California and the many cultural differences and quirks, while his grandfather introduced him to games such as Go and backgammon; both grandparents played an important role in his later interest in folklore studies and board games.
Ina grew up as a reserved, diplomatic child, often regarded as bright and wise for his age. However, as he grew older, Ina felt that his sisters were slowly overtaking him in the family cluster, being praised and relied upon. As his grandparents held more traditional views of gender roles, he felt as if he was disappointing them, believing that they had certain expectations for him. This led him to feel bitter over his abilities, considering himself average in comparison, and he resented himself for his “weaknesses” and felt wronged by his siblings. His relationship with his sisters was, for a time, strained, especially in middle school, due to his newfound competitiveness — Valentina found him to be overly self-conscious and abrasive, while Nadezhda felt disheartened at him turning away from her.
Ina’s struggle with his cultural identity started in seventh grade, although he had been questioning it since elementary school. He didn’t know Korean and didn’t identify himself with a lot of popular South Korean culture, and as a result felt that he wasn’t part of the widespread culture, despite the fact that he was born in a family with some traditional values and ideas of Korea. Ina also didn’t understand whether he should call himself American or Russian, as the countries seemed to be polar opposites, his perception of the drift between them being more acutely felt at an early, formative age. This resulted in him becoming more irritable and reserved, as he was trying to find a place in the world that seemed to look at him as an alien.
Despite his struggles, Ina kept a close relationship with his parents and grandparents. His problems with forming a self-concept were allayed by their combined efforts. His mother introduced him to basic ideas about language, and her descriptivist attitude ended up serving as more material for his interest in folklife. His father listened to Russian music with him — his foray into it was Viktor Tsoi, a popular Koryo-saram singer, and his rock band Kino. Later on, Ina found himself listening to Russian rock, punk, and indie, such as Dayte tank (!), Grazhdanskaya Oborona, Korol i Shut, and Samoe Bolshoe Prostoe Chislo, to name a few.
While the end of middle school seemed to be more hopeful, as Ina amended his relationship with his sisters, he found himself feeling truly lost after the loss of his grandparents, due to natural causes. After this, Ina struggled academically and personally, falling into states of disassociation and having problems with his short-term memory. Thanks to his parents’ and relatives’ collective efforts, which consisted of getting Ina into therapy and consoling him as best as they could, this severe period didn’t last for too long, and he was able to come to a light closure. However, Ina became much more reserved and melancholic.
Ina’s immediate family moved to Las Vegas in 2022, save for Valentina, who stayed in California for work. He was admitted to Southwest Red Rock High School. He felt a little uneasy at the move, but eventually eased into the new environment — no major changes happened in his life after the move, though he continued struggling with and coming to terms with his developing identity.
Ina lives with his parents and his younger sister in Skyline Heights. He still feels weak, unfit, and unsure in his capabilities — because of this, he leads a more secluded life, feeling a little ashamed of his perceived lack of abilities. Despite this, he is academically successful, while not exemplary, thanks to his feeling of independence and the need to always push himself further.
At school, Ina mostly excels in the humanities, such as English and Social Studies, but believes that he is falling a little behind on Mathematics. He would like to study at MIT, UCLA or Berkeley, but has so far only applied to UNR and UNLV, aiming for in-state tuition. As his first choice is MIT, Ina is trying to study more and prepare himself for exams, before he feels ready to apply.
Despite his reserved nature, Ina tends to be polite or friendly to his classmates. He is open to conversation, but tends not to go out of his way to find it, unless it is about music or folklore. He doesn't tend to show interest or smile, but despite this doesn't mind listening or chatting. Ina's nature forces him to distance himself from people that he finds "too good" for him, to avoid burdening them and feeling hurt; for the most part, however, he doesn't show his jealousy, whenever he feels any.
His love and interest for food culture comes from participating in the distinct Koryo-saram culinary sphere, which is unlike Russian or South Korean food. Homemade food brings him joy and a feeling of serenity, and he finds himself very curious about what other people in this world experience when eating “good food”. In a way, this is connected to his interest in folklore studies.
Ina has a deep interest in board games, especially Go. Among others, he plays backgammon, shogi, Xiangqi, mahjong, and chess. As intimate as this hobby is, this is also a field which brings him the most frustration, as Ina feels that he isn’t at all capable of becoming “good” at these games, and they can make him feel inferior. Love for Go was nurtured in him by his late grandfather, and the Go table and stones passed down to him is currently his most prized possession.
While Ina is interested in a range of music, the music closest to his heart is Soviet and Russian, especially Kino. He can’t play guitar, but in his spare time, he goes to karaoke or sings by himself in his room to practice. Ina loves talking to others about music, and it is one of the parts of his life in which he prefers being social.
Being a part of an ethnical minority and struggling with cultural identity, Ina has developed an interest in the lives of people and how language interacts with them. He is highly interested in the ways various groups of people lead their lives, why they speak like they do and why we have such a relationship with language. He wants to major in linguistics after high school. He borrows most of the literature he tries to read from his mother’s library, despite her being specialized in a different field.
Advantages: Ina is diplomatic and compromising and is always ready to put in effort to solve problems. He is reserved and tends to avoid conflict. He has a calculating look on everything and plans well due to his love of strategic board games.
Disadvantages: Ina is not fit or tough — travelling long distances or rough paths may be hard for him, and he is more susceptible to injuries. He can be very passive in certain situations, not taking immediate action. Too much pressure will lead him to become disassociated from reality for a short period.
Gender: Male
Age: 17
Grade: Senior
School: Southwest Red Rock High School
Hobbies and Interests: Food culture, Go, board games, Russian music, singing, sociolinguistics, folklore studies
Appearance: Ina stands at 5’8”, or 177 cms, and weighs 121 lbs, or 55 kgs, which makes him look a little fragile for his age. He is ectomorphic — his arms and legs are long, while his fingers are thin. His skin is a pale and cool beige tone. While he tries to keep a straight back, Ina’s posture often makes him look shorter than he really is. He keeps his dark, jet black hair short, with a messy fringe reaching his eyebrows. His eyes are brown and look weary, the circles underneath them a noticeable purple shade. Ina’s nose is straight and a little small. His skin lacks blemishes and is very smooth. Whenever he smiles, noticeable, but small dimples appear on his cheeks. Ina usually speaks softly and quietly, but his voice is actually a deep bass.
Ina tends to dress for comfort, usually preferring oversized, plain T-shirts, or T-shirts with band logos, and long-sleeves underneath. In colder weather, he wears hoodies. He likes baggy pants and trousers, with flared hems. He often wears clothes of colder colors, such as black or white, usually monochrome. At home and, at times, when going out, he wears T-shirts that he finds a little amusing, such as ones that profess a love for fishing or beer. He wears thin-framed, round glasses, their frame being a neutral grey color.
Biography: Innokentiy Tsoy, often referred to as Ina, was born on May 18, 2007, into a family of Russian Koreans, or more specifically Koryo-saram, in California. His mother, Anna Tsoy, works as a research assistant in the field of historical linguistics, while his father, Mikhail Tsoy, works as a back-end developer. Ina is the middle child in the family — his elder sister, Valentina, was born four years before him, and his younger sister, Nadezhda, was born four years after him. Their family is supported by their relatives, especially Ina’s grandparents, and has resulted in a closed cluster. He grew up bilingual, often speaking Russian at home, while learning English from his mother and at school.
Being the middle child in the family, Ina wasn’t pressured by many expectations or standards, but was nonetheless cared for and loved by his parents. There was little sibling rivalry between him and his sisters, aside from some daily quarrels. However, his parents struggled to pay equal attention to all of their children, and Ina, as a result, was looked after the most by his maternal grandmother and grandfather, with whom he developed a very close relationship. His grandmother told him many stories of their life outside of the USA and California and the many cultural differences and quirks, while his grandfather introduced him to games such as Go and backgammon; both grandparents played an important role in his later interest in folklore studies and board games.
Ina grew up as a reserved, diplomatic child, often regarded as bright and wise for his age. However, as he grew older, Ina felt that his sisters were slowly overtaking him in the family cluster, being praised and relied upon. As his grandparents held more traditional views of gender roles, he felt as if he was disappointing them, believing that they had certain expectations for him. This led him to feel bitter over his abilities, considering himself average in comparison, and he resented himself for his “weaknesses” and felt wronged by his siblings. His relationship with his sisters was, for a time, strained, especially in middle school, due to his newfound competitiveness — Valentina found him to be overly self-conscious and abrasive, while Nadezhda felt disheartened at him turning away from her.
Ina’s struggle with his cultural identity started in seventh grade, although he had been questioning it since elementary school. He didn’t know Korean and didn’t identify himself with a lot of popular South Korean culture, and as a result felt that he wasn’t part of the widespread culture, despite the fact that he was born in a family with some traditional values and ideas of Korea. Ina also didn’t understand whether he should call himself American or Russian, as the countries seemed to be polar opposites, his perception of the drift between them being more acutely felt at an early, formative age. This resulted in him becoming more irritable and reserved, as he was trying to find a place in the world that seemed to look at him as an alien.
Despite his struggles, Ina kept a close relationship with his parents and grandparents. His problems with forming a self-concept were allayed by their combined efforts. His mother introduced him to basic ideas about language, and her descriptivist attitude ended up serving as more material for his interest in folklife. His father listened to Russian music with him — his foray into it was Viktor Tsoi, a popular Koryo-saram singer, and his rock band Kino. Later on, Ina found himself listening to Russian rock, punk, and indie, such as Dayte tank (!), Grazhdanskaya Oborona, Korol i Shut, and Samoe Bolshoe Prostoe Chislo, to name a few.
While the end of middle school seemed to be more hopeful, as Ina amended his relationship with his sisters, he found himself feeling truly lost after the loss of his grandparents, due to natural causes. After this, Ina struggled academically and personally, falling into states of disassociation and having problems with his short-term memory. Thanks to his parents’ and relatives’ collective efforts, which consisted of getting Ina into therapy and consoling him as best as they could, this severe period didn’t last for too long, and he was able to come to a light closure. However, Ina became much more reserved and melancholic.
Ina’s immediate family moved to Las Vegas in 2022, save for Valentina, who stayed in California for work. He was admitted to Southwest Red Rock High School. He felt a little uneasy at the move, but eventually eased into the new environment — no major changes happened in his life after the move, though he continued struggling with and coming to terms with his developing identity.
Ina lives with his parents and his younger sister in Skyline Heights. He still feels weak, unfit, and unsure in his capabilities — because of this, he leads a more secluded life, feeling a little ashamed of his perceived lack of abilities. Despite this, he is academically successful, while not exemplary, thanks to his feeling of independence and the need to always push himself further.
At school, Ina mostly excels in the humanities, such as English and Social Studies, but believes that he is falling a little behind on Mathematics. He would like to study at MIT, UCLA or Berkeley, but has so far only applied to UNR and UNLV, aiming for in-state tuition. As his first choice is MIT, Ina is trying to study more and prepare himself for exams, before he feels ready to apply.
Despite his reserved nature, Ina tends to be polite or friendly to his classmates. He is open to conversation, but tends not to go out of his way to find it, unless it is about music or folklore. He doesn't tend to show interest or smile, but despite this doesn't mind listening or chatting. Ina's nature forces him to distance himself from people that he finds "too good" for him, to avoid burdening them and feeling hurt; for the most part, however, he doesn't show his jealousy, whenever he feels any.
His love and interest for food culture comes from participating in the distinct Koryo-saram culinary sphere, which is unlike Russian or South Korean food. Homemade food brings him joy and a feeling of serenity, and he finds himself very curious about what other people in this world experience when eating “good food”. In a way, this is connected to his interest in folklore studies.
Ina has a deep interest in board games, especially Go. Among others, he plays backgammon, shogi, Xiangqi, mahjong, and chess. As intimate as this hobby is, this is also a field which brings him the most frustration, as Ina feels that he isn’t at all capable of becoming “good” at these games, and they can make him feel inferior. Love for Go was nurtured in him by his late grandfather, and the Go table and stones passed down to him is currently his most prized possession.
While Ina is interested in a range of music, the music closest to his heart is Soviet and Russian, especially Kino. He can’t play guitar, but in his spare time, he goes to karaoke or sings by himself in his room to practice. Ina loves talking to others about music, and it is one of the parts of his life in which he prefers being social.
Being a part of an ethnical minority and struggling with cultural identity, Ina has developed an interest in the lives of people and how language interacts with them. He is highly interested in the ways various groups of people lead their lives, why they speak like they do and why we have such a relationship with language. He wants to major in linguistics after high school. He borrows most of the literature he tries to read from his mother’s library, despite her being specialized in a different field.
Advantages: Ina is diplomatic and compromising and is always ready to put in effort to solve problems. He is reserved and tends to avoid conflict. He has a calculating look on everything and plans well due to his love of strategic board games.
Disadvantages: Ina is not fit or tough — travelling long distances or rough paths may be hard for him, and he is more susceptible to injuries. He can be very passive in certain situations, not taking immediate action. Too much pressure will lead him to become disassociated from reality for a short period.