Bismarck's Report

[Bismarck 0]

Profile
Name: Jace Rose
Username: Bismarck
Age: 21
Gender: Male
Height: Approximately 6'2"

About
Jace Rose has always been a product of luxury and free time. Arguably too much free time. He was born in the heart of New York City, the child of two very successful parents. Their whole lives having been defined by hard work, they naturally attempted to instill a similarly strong work ethic into their child from a young age. An attempt that yielded mixed results. Jace is a naturally eager and friendly boy, traits that made him quite receptive to the idea of putting effort towards the things he wanted. However the things he wanted weren't always the things his parents wanted him to want. He was never too interested in the dull, repetitive work required by the public education system. Much more exciting were interacting with his fellow classmates, playing games, and learning about the things that interested him far more than the basics he was taught in school. This negatively impacted his grades all through his first decade of life. Not because he couldn't comprehend the material, but instead often because he didn't bother doing the work. The boy was always occupied with something else. Out playing with his friends in everything from outdoor sports to violent video games.

It wasn't until high school, when his grades became far more important, that Jace finally started being at least slightly responsible. That is to say he became a master of cramming. While his grades became consistent A's and B's, nothing really changed much about his overall work ethic. The only difference was that now he'd complete his assignments right before they were due rather than simply biting the bullet and taking the F. He became quite proud of this ability he'd developed, as he often did with things he was good at. Now he too had something to brag about when it came to academic achievement, citing the times he'd completed a week long assignment in an afternoon or prepared a speech mere minutes before he had to give it. The boy was no model student, but he was no longer a failure either. While he still had very little interest in school, Jace found his successes addictive. Who knew that work could feel so good? This channeled into his hobbies and even his self image. Before long the boy was feeding his friendly demeanor into confidence, his love of gaming into competition, and his fledgling historical interest into a martial hunger.

From Jace's years in high school all the way through to graduation he had always had more free time than most other young adults. The success of his parents meant he never really had to do actual work outside of school, so he commonly found himself alone with nothing to do. These are the times when he either read, listened, or thought. History, philosophy, politics, all manner of things that had struck his interest but which his school had never really delved into. Even history class never spent enough time on the aspects of history he was most excited by. They never spent enough time discussing the wars. Jace himself was never particularly interested in becoming a soldier, although he admired the idea of being an officer. He just wasn't willing to put his life on the line, nor did he want to have the responsibility of taking lives. However the idea of war itself was fascinating to him. The battles, the tactics, the weapons, the excitement of a life or death struggle. It became a passion of his to find ways to simulate mankind's greatest competition without actually putting himself in danger. Video games, martial arts, board games, airsoft, even LARP. Everything fulfilled some aspect of what he was looking for, but none ever did it all at once. Jace wound up with a chaotic mess of hobbies that alternated depending on what specific mood he was in. A mess made unsustainable as he moved on to university.

Unlike high school, college offered many detailed and interesting courses concerning subjects which Jace actually took interest in. While he certainly didn't abandon his habit of cramming, it gradually became a much less frequent event for him. Now the boy was actually paying attention, participating in class, and doing his work. This meant less time for his gaming, but he decided it was worthwhile. Many of the ideas he'd read, watched, or listened to were now presented and fleshed out in an academic setting. When he wasn't in class or playing games those ideas roiled about in his head, gradually forming into a decisive world view. A way of thinking about things that the young man found both satisfying and useful. It wasn't without holes, of course, but was far better than anything he'd dreamed up in high school. He had become an opinionated young man. A patriot who loved the individual, a militarist who despised death, a nihilist who failed to see the despair in a lack of meaning, and a compassionate friend even as he espoused the philosophy of Ayn Rand.

The process of growing up didn't mean he lost his interest in games, however. If anything that passion for simulated war only grew stronger as he learned more and more about the world. More about the real thing. Then SAO was announced. It wasn't so much the game itself that caught his interest, Jace had never been much of an MMO-RPG type, but instead it was the precedent that the game would be setting. A fully simulated virtual world? Perhaps with this technology finally hitting the public market he might one day be able to see the battlefield he's always wanted to set foot on. A war without all the things that made it terrible. The idea consumed his thoughts, exciting him like few things had done before. He couldn't wait for the right kind of game to come out, he had to witness the potential in person. Jace pre-ordered the game as soon as it was available. When it finally arrived he set aside the whole day to explore it, setting up the nerve gear and starting it up. "Link start!"

3rd In Game Year
How long had it been? How old was he? How long had it been since he'd last done something? Anything? How he'd been so eager back then, so hopeful for the bright future ahead. It was death that had made him this way. No, not his death. Just death. Just the threat. That looming specter of nothing, jaw outstretched to snuff him out. Jace didn't believe in the afterlife. He would stop existing when he died, and nothing was worse than that. He hated it. So often he heard tales about the frontlines. Heroes and martyrs, villains and betrayers. Great people who went out and did great things while he wasted away in the cities they'd freed. It would all have been wondrous were he not so painfully aware of his own relative insignificance. How it injured his pride to know that cowardice had shackled him to the sidelines. Was this worse than death? No, of course not. The people who threw themselves off the castle's side were delusional. Nothing was worse than death.

But it came close. Every time he heard about the frontliners, every time he saw a higher level player, the weight of all the time he'd wasted came crashing down on him. Every time was worse than the last. Yet he could never seem to break the cycle. He had been doing nothing for so long that nothing was all he knew. Days turned into weeks, weeks turned into months, and before he knew it the year was gone. Inaction had made him apathetic. Was it worse than death? No, of course not, but it came close.

He had to break the cycle before it broke him.

Virtues

Eager: Jace is an outgoing young man with a friendly demeanor, remaining positive in most situations that come his way. He's always eager to pursue whatever catches his interest. From idle hobbies, to competition, even to the occasional person who might prove fun. Things he would consider work aren't exempt from this either, as evident by his decade long history of cramming for deadlines. His enthusiastic attitude is very difficult to disrupt, especially once he's on a roll, although such a thing isn't impossible.

Intelligent: It wasn't luck that allowed Jace to so often ace his assignments at the last minute. In spite of his elementary school grades he is actually quite good at learning, both receptive and retentive to new information. So long as it's interesting enough for him to actually pay attention and memorize it. This goes beyond just learning as well, as his mind is naturally predisposed towards analytical thinking. Problem solving and planning are skills he's practiced at least since high school. Skills that aid him in everything from taking tests, to playing games, to arriving at his own world view. Indeed his own ideologies are ones supported by the many hours he's had to think about the things he's been taught.

Empathetic: Arguably the one thing Jace has the most experience with is that of interaction with other people. Even from a young age he's always gone out of his way to make friends, or at the very least find people to play with. Other people are the most fun, after all. They introduce an active element into an otherwise static world. Even the best crafted game world will eventually feel stale to him if there aren't other people to engage with. All this time spent with other people has taught him many things. In particular it's taught him, through no small amount of early mistakes, empathy. It made Jace good at understanding people, allowing him to better communicate with and relate to them.

Flaws

Proud: With intelligence, skill, and experience comes success. Jace knows what success tastes like, and he loves it. He finds quite a bit of pride in those successes. While it lends to his already substantial self-confidence, that pride also makes it hurt all the more when he fails. He hates it when he isn't performing as well as he thinks he should, and such failure often puts a damper on his bright personality until he can resolve it. Additionally it means he doesn't like to lean fully on others. Of course he loves teamwork, few things are more satisfying to him than a well coordinated team, but that's if he's pulling his own weight. He can't stand to be carried, or to lack a capability so greatly that someone else has to do it for him.

Nihilist: Jace's logical style of thought has led to him adopting two main philosophies for his worldview, the first of which is nihilism. Unlike the stereotypical nihilist, however, he isn't consumed by some great apathy in the face of meaninglessness. No, he's too positive for that. The real disadvantage of his nihilism is the effect it often has on thoughts about his personal existence. Particularly his fear of death. If there is no god, no afterlife, and no soul then death means he will cease to exist. Every living thing has a fear of death, it's only natural, but there is nothing to comfort Jace when he dwells on his own end. No thoughts of eternal bliss or reuniting with the people he values. It's an almost crippling fear, something he often has great difficulty overcoming.

Selfish: The second philosophy Jace has chosen to adopt is objectivism. An ideology that holds reasonable selfishness as the root unit of moral good. This of course stems from his own personal selfishness. That isn't to say he dislikes giving aid, far from it, but when push comes to shove he will put himself before another. Elevating himself at the expense of someone else isn't something he particularly likes or wants to do, but in his eyes it's better than sacrificing himself to elevate someone else.

Skills

Skill Point Total: 5
Curved Sword: Rank 1 (5 SP)

Inventory

(Starter Set A "Basic Package")
Current Col: 2,500
Gear

Spoiler

Weapons

• Dress Saber: Taunt

Armor

• Leather Buff Overcoat: +9 Mitigation

Consumables

Spoiler

(5) Starter Healing Potions (Heals 50 HP)

Materials

Spoiler

(10) Tier 1

Friends List
 

Roleplays

Edited November 27, 2018 by Bismarck

[Hazado 0]

Approved My good sir, May your proud self, show you the way of things and don't be a loner, friends are needed. Welcome to Aincrad.