dva
are you even trying?
j a c k r o s e w o o d
age ; 23 - born on june 11th
gender ; male - he/him
mark time ; (tbd? are we supposed to have matching mark times?)
occupation ; a university student and employed at a law office
personality ; jack is a mischievous, playful young man who has a way with words. being the prude class flirt that he was, he has always been known for sending mixed messages. he loves tricking and pranking others, but also enjoys being played himself. he prides himself in being an excellent hacker, which is what got him a job working with intelligence bases at the law’s every beck and call. jack has never been the type to nuzzle up and be buddy-buddy with someone too quick. of course, he can be very extroverted and act as if he’s known someone his whole life, but he is very superficial. when asked about things about himself that are breaking the ice a bit, he smiles and changes the subject. for a living he bypasses firewalls and proxies, but he’s built a strong barrier for himself that no one can break through with ease.
the boy has never been able to face his own emotions. because of this, he has strong mood swings that come in waves or all at once. during these periods he commits himself to his work, rarely speaking to anyone in hopes to distance himself. if someone would approach him during these times, he would turn cold and bitter at the flip of a coin. his words hit one like acid and lingers like a wasp’s sting - he says twisted and acerbic things just to try to make the person go away. his ability to focus on his work is the only thing that takes his mind off of whatever bothers him during such mood swings, so he occupies himself with his computer.
when the storm tires itself, jack is typically defeated and emotionally drained. his wrath turns into grief, as he feels guilty for the people he may have hurt, but hopeless because he knows something of the same nature will happen again. the instances where he has somehow ruined a friendship or something of the sort have influenced self-loathing. he truly doesn’t believe he deserves someone to be close to him, hence him pushing people away and not letting anyone break his ice. he never wants to hurt anyone, but he does what he thinks is necessary to “save” others from himself: that is, attempting to convince them that he is not one who is qualified to have close friends.
biography ; jack came from a family that should have broken long before it actually did.
he has one sibling: a younger brother named tanner. his brother taught him responsibility at a young age, as their mother was a drunk. she was either out with friends or unconscious on the dining room table. because of her inability to take care of tanner, jack had taken care of him ever since the youngest turned 4.
the boys were inseparable because of this. jack always took tanner to school and back, helped him with homework, and cooked him whatever they could buy at the convenience store with the money that jack took from his sleeping mothers’ purse. when jack turned 14, and tanner 10, their mother had gotten herself a boyfriend who moved into the rosewoods’ home. he declared himself the patriarch of the household (which jack would later protest about). under his influence, the boys’ mother added meth and heroine to the list of her addictions. jack would always hide his brother from their high and unresponsive bodies, and take him to parks or to a friend’s house, secretly hoping that when they returned that one of the two adults would be dead.
it was around this time that jack had won an engineering competition in his school. the prize was a big computer that someone with years of experience would consider buying - this is what started the boy’s fascination with computers. after his brother was fed and their homework had been completed, he would log into his computer and research more and more about engineering until he had discovered articles about cyber warfare. this subject turned into his passion.
it wasn’t until jack turned 17 that his soon-to-be step-father got busted for possessing heroine. in the home, the investigators found that his mother was also a druggie, and that jack had taken care of his brother ever since he was 8. social workers took the siblings away from the home and put them both in foster care. tanner found a home in no time. he, however, did not leave his brother so easily. he wanted to stay with the boy who had raised him his whole life - he wanted jack to live with his new family. however, jack knew that that wasn’t a possibility after speaking to his social worker and learning that tanner finding a family so quickly was a miracle, and that the family couldn’t fit jack into their household. as much as it broke his heart, jack understood. he was turning 18 the next summer, and knew that it was much more difficult to suddenly pay for an 18-year-old than a 13-year-old. tanner, though, didn’t see the problem. he cried and cried in the meeting room, shaking his head and throwing a tantrum in grief. jack tried to assure him that it was going to be okay, and that they would definitely see each other, just not all of the time. tanner wouldn’t have any of it. “please, please bring jack with us … please …” the boy sobbed. jack’s heart was being ripped in two. “i don’t want to be with you … unless you bring jack,”
this sent jack into a panic. his brother being chosen so fast was a miracle, right? so if he turned down this family … would he be stuck in here for the rest of his teenage years? or with jack when he turns 18, barely able to find money to take care of himself? jack didn’t know what to do with his distraught brother sitting across from him at the meeting table. his neck arched so his hair covered his eyes. “go,” jack mumbled lowly. this stopped tanner’s cries. “w-what?” the younger whispered in disbelief. jack’s head snapped up to look at his brother. “you think that i want to live with you? i’ve been taking care of you ever since i knew how to multiply.” he muttered through his teeth. “…go. go to your new family.” this stunned his brother. silent tears began to fall from tanner’s cheeks. “n-no… i … but i don’t want to leave you-“ “but i want you to leave me,” jack’s voice was wavering, but strong. “leave, tanner. leave. leave … me … alone,” jack faced his own lap, not wanting tanner to see him as his eyes stung with tears. he listened to tanner’s chair squeak as he pushed it backwards, and tanner's new mother’s voice whisper for him to come with them. the door shut after the silent footsteps, and jack burst into tears. his own social worker put his hand on the boy’s shoulder as he cried. “you … you did good,” she said through tears. “i’m proud of you. i’m so, so proud of you,” her voice choked. “i’m … going to try my hardest to get you a family, okay? i’ll start that right now,” she took out her phone, and was almost immediately on a call. jack wept silently, raising his hand to his aching chest.
not long after the promise, jack had been taken in by a forensic dna analyst who worked in the sexual abuse department of the local law offices. being in such a position, along with her husband who was an ultrasound specialist, they were more than able to pay for an adult-to-be’s education and all of the milestones that came with becoming an adult. embracing their new son’s passion for computers, his new mother helped him get a job at one of the offices that let jack take his skills about 10 jumps forward: hacking. he hacks into suspects’ phone records and their personal files on their computers to aide in the prosecuting process. this aspect of computers was perfectly fitting for the prankster. the immature, playful young man thrived at such a job, and earned new responsibilities such as monitoring suspects and what they do online or on the phone.
he still lives comfortably with his new family, but is burdened with guilt over what he has done to his brother. he doesn’t know if tanner’s doing well at school, or if he hates him … he contacts his social worker to ask how he is coming along, but is too sheepish to contact tanner himself.
mentality ; jack is burdened with guilt and self-loathing from time-to-time, so sometimes his thought process is pessimistic. he would normally feel the need to stay at a distance from others, since he feels as if he does nothing but bring grief and hurting with his malicious words to those who want to care for him. he thinks about his brother daily. he wishes he could have thought of a better way to convince his brother to go with the family - a way that didn't involve jack being a terrible human being. however, to him, that is what he is, and that is why he isn't worthy of friends.
themes ; i've been trying to fix my pride but that shit's broken / i'm gonna pick your brain and get to know your thoughts so i can read your mind when you don't want to talk
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