[ WOLFGANG NOVOGRATZ, CIS MALE, HE/HIM ] shh ! JASON “ JACE ” ALEXANDER SULLIVAN, the TWENTY-ONE year old SECOND year BUSINESS major from QUEENS, NEW YORK, is known as an ONYX around here. HE was invited to join because OF HIS WILDLY SUCCESSFUL SOCIAL NETWORKING APP, and now, they’re here to stay. HE reminds me of A GENEROUS TIP SLID COVERTLY BENEATH A COASTER, INITIALS STITCHED INTO THE LINING OF ONE’S JACKET, MULTIPLE CONVERSATIONS HELD IN TANDEM.
hi friends ! i’m sam, i’m 27, i use she/her pronouns and currently Exist™ in est ! i’m so so so excited to be here and to introduce y’all to big sexy aka super - nerd himself mister jace sullivan. read on for the basics, or if you’re feelin’ really spicey, follow the source link to a google doc with his full bio ! last but not least, please like this or give me a shout if you’d like to plot !
disc.ord: no thoughts head empty#3655
background :
not unlike our boy peter parker, jace ( then jason ) is a new york city native, born and raised by his wonderful adopted parents in queens. the sullivans were very much lower-middle class, franklin a plumber and carol an eighth-grade science teacher, but despite their blue collar budget, they did everything in their power to give their son the life he deserved. an extremely bright kid from the start, jace felt immensely unchallenged by the curriculum at the local public schools he would attend, causing him to act out in the classroom.
by the time he reached adolescence, his parents caught on to his behavior and used carol’s connections to earn him a spot at bronx high school of science, a magnet school for kids with similar aptitude. while jace thrived academically at bronx science, his social skills still left much to be deserved. he was painfully awkward, struggling to stay afloat in a sea full of geniuses.
knowme began as a simple school project, never meant to actually become anything. but very early on, jace stumbled upon the perfect algorithm, and knew he’d be amiss not to see his vision through. the app launched to the public the day of his high school graduation, and thus, tech tycoon jace sullivan was born.
in the years to come, knowme would go from a prosperous start up ( jace will tell you it’s 20% intellect and 80% timing ) to a bicoastal corporation, boasting over 5,000 employees and locations in manhattan and silicon valley --- and at the helm of it all was its dashing young founder and ceo, miles away from the socially-inept computer geek he’d been just a few years prior.
the decision to put the company on hold and attend strathmore was a direct result of circumstance. a chilling visit from a woman claiming to be his biological mother and a half-million dollar payout had him shaking in his boots, not to mention the pressure applied from greedy investors to come up with the next big thing. all it took was a five minute phone call to the dean of admissions to secure a last-minute spot at one of the most prestigious universities in the world. with an interim ceo running the show back at hq, jace jetted off to england, eager to sink his teeth into a new challenge.
now a few months into his second year at strathmore, jace finds himself flying back stateside nearly every other weekend to put out fires at work. with a full course-load and the added addition of the secret society he’s working diligently to win over, he’s become the master of multi-tasking --- knowing full well it’ll all be worth it in the end.
knowme :
knowme is essentially a social network and information database rolled into one. with all the expected features of a social media application ( photo-sharing, status updates, direct messaging, etc ), what makes it unique is its top secret all-knowing algorithm. registered users are able to link accounts from over 30 different sites, from which knowme data-mines information to be stored in one, handy interface. because of the abundant wealth of intel available at one’s fingertips, knowme is wildly popular in both professional and social circles alike.
over time, jace has developed a sort of love-hate relationship with his brainchild. yes, it’s gotten him to where he is today, but he no longer finds satisfaction in the work or data-mining aspect. truth is, knowing everything takes the mystery out of life. while he still uses its standard sharing features, he prefers to get to know people organically rather than scour their profiles for conversation starters. the only time he’ll go down a knowme rabbit hole is for his own personal gain --- namely to help him impress the opals.
the opal society :
the moment he was courted by the opal society, jace knew he’d stop at nothing until he was among their ranks. while there’s no shortage of praise being sent his way, somehow, being deemed worthy by the society’s shadowed elite felt more profound than all of his achievements combined. though well aware he has plenty to offer the society in return ( knowme is a valuable vetting asset, and he of all people knows how to work the system to his advantage ), he has no qualms with taking extraneous measures to ensure the spot is his --- even if it means engaging in a game of i’ll scratch your back, you scratch mine with his would-be predecessor. after all he’s been through, he knows better than to leave anything to chance. jace is determined to impress the opals, holding them in high regard and treating them with the utmost respect. he takes his prodigal duties very seriously and refuses to partake in anything that might jeopardize his hard work.
personality :
jace very much tailors his personality to whomever he is around at the time. he sees people as puzzles to be solved, and whether he’s stoic or amiable around someone fully depends on how he’s come to know them. ambitious above all else, jace cannot resist an intellectual challenge or opportunity to prove himself. he is a fierce competitor and logical thinker, a collector of facts, hobbies, and passion projects. jace is never not doing something --- in fact, he’s usually doing several somethings at once.
alejandra: hi . it's alejandra. i know you might not want to talk , and that's okay.
alejandra: noah is a complete drunken asshat.
alejandra: and whilst i don't understand exactly why you're so upset , i don't need to , because your emotions are valid and you deserve to feel them .
alejandra: please let me know if there is any way or anything i can do to help .
THE NIGHT WAS just getting started, and rose was elated to be sharing the evening with hollis. being together, even if it wasn’t official yet, felt so easy. she was on cloud nine simply from exchanging simple glances with the garnet, or feeling his hand on the small of her back as he helped guide her through a crowd. it was exciting and easy and fun, and rose was happy. however, it was hard to miss chloe and jace, who looked like royalty among a sea of strathmore students. she hadn’t known much about the relationship between the two prodigies, but she was fond of them both, and as she approached jace when he had a moment alone, she could tell his goofy joyful grin matched her own. “ someone looks awfully comfortable holding hands with miss davies, ” rose teased with a hand on his shoulder, an easy smile on her lips. “ are you going to give me details or am i going to have to whip out the old photos of you ? ” ( @onyxinc )
with the exception of a sad pr stunt that was over long before it began and a half - dozen appearances with a strictly platonic evelyn at his side, jace had never shown up to any sort of function with a date — much less someone he intended to leave with at the end of the night. it was an evening of firsts all around, from the tailored suit on his back to the theme of the event itself. masquerade. he could imagine it was a novel idea to those who didn’t shuffle through a series of personas just to make it through the day, but for jace . . . well, he’d never been one for parties. after two laps of the ballroom, he excused himself to find drinks just as pippa sidled up. yes, chloe looked stunning in her frost - colored gown, but did she have to be so loud about it ? as he leans against the bar waiting on his order, a wistful smile plays upon his lips. she did look beautiful, didn’t she ? and she was all his.
a hand grazes his shoulder and he flinches like a kid with his hand in the cookie jar. rose — thank god. of all the people to potentially catch him in a moment of giddiness, he was glad it was her. “ save the blackmail material for another time. i’ll tell you anything you want to know. ” jace values his privacy almost as much as his iphone, but a grim reminder of the last time they spoke claws at the nape of his neck. if he could swap that image of him ( battered and broken, hanging on by a thread ) for that of his best self, the self he was with chloe; he certainly wasn’t going to pass up the chance. “ it looks good on you, by the way — happy. i’m no detective, but it’s written all over your face. ”
the annual masquerade brings with it the start of the festive season. and he’s been spending the first part of the evening getting into the christmas spirit. or, as it’s also known, candy cane flavoured gin. “i really don’t understand why they only market babybel to kids. just because i’m an ‘adult’ now doesn’t mean i suddenly want to… stuff my face with an entire cheese wheel.” he looks forlornly at the cubed piece of cheese in his hand, as if it’s lacking the signature red shell that coats it.“and they’re so bloody cute. it’s like… they wear these little red tuxedos and honestly… if i’m being really honest… it feels a little… risqué when you strip them off.” he shifts his elbow on the small table he’s been propped against, only stopping in his movement to look at the large tower of champagne behind him — as if noticing it for the first time. “sorry…” for what it’s worth, he looks incredibly apologetic for the tangent he’s gone on … despite the fact it’s obscured behind his mask. “were you looking to get at the champagne?”
with a scholar’s eye, he finds himself sizing up the champagne tower with morbid interest. perhaps it’s his own natural skepticism to blame, but he’s astounded by the level of faith put in the hands of his peers, most of whom had likely been pre - gaming since noon. surely a calligraphed note urging partygoers to take from the top would’ve been worth the aesthetic sacrifice, but whoever assembled the admittedly impressive dreamscape must have ranked fashion over function. jace could only hope he’d be far from the splash zone when the tower inevitably met its jenga - esque demise. a stranger’s voice draws him from his trance and his features warm, but the shame dissipates when he realizes it’s not a stranger at all. the inky teal stitching of his jacket, the wisps of sandy hair peeking out from beneath an ornate mask — and, of course, the painfully polite way in which eliot rivera offers his apologies. “ don’t be — i feel the same way about string cheese. there’s something kind of vulgar about peeling it apart. like i should be offering to buy it dinner first. ” as if on cue, his stomach gives an unceremonious growl and he makes quick work of silencing it with a speared hunk of gouda. “ not that i’m complaining, but shouldn’t you be saving the dairy - related anecdotes for your date ? or am i just the guinea pig ? ”
grace decided to compile a scrapbook full of photos that she’s taken (and been given by others) to gift to the prodigies when they are accepted into the society. she has handwritten advice, stories, inside jokes, and little notes for each member. she is extremely excited to be able to give it to them and only a few prodigies know it exists. there’s a few opals she’s told about the project but she wants it to be a surprise for everyone in the family.
“I’m lonely,” he says aloud, and the silence of the apartment absorbs the words like blood soaking into cotton.
He is so lonely that he sometimes feels it physically, a sodden clump of dirty laundry pressing against his chest. He cannot unlearn the feeling.
A Little Life, Hanya Yanagihara (via juderagnarsson)
joining the ranks of style icons and davies devotees daniel craig and david beckham, tech mogul jace sullivan turned heads friday night while attending the strathmore annual masquerade ball in a stunning davies tuxedo. blue velvet was quite the unexpected choice for sullivan, who’s known to keep his formal looks on the classic and, dare we say, safe side, and we can’t help but wonder if this style evolution has anything to do with his date for the evening --- none other than chloe davies, fellow strathmore student and heir apparent to the london - based menswear empire. everybody say thank you, chloe!
noah: passive and inconsistent doesn't equate to carelessness – what you may view as passivity and inconsistency i've always viewed as survival.
noah: i think we both know that arah is more than capable of handling anything that comes across her life. if i'm negative energy, she'll do exactly what she needs to do with me.
noah: i'm not looking for an apology and i don't expect one.
jace: i said it's hard to imagine you caring, not that you don't care. i've read enough thinkpieces to recognize a defense mechanism when i see it.
jace: but i digress - i don't care about your coping strategies. i simply ask that whatever inner turmoil you're going through, to leave arah out of it.
jace: not to mention i was under the impression you were interested in josie, so why you'd choose to attend the ball with someone else is beyond me.
jace: like i said, don't care about your intent. only how your actions impact the people i care about.
chloe: it's okay. you don't need to apologize. i [ she takes pause, getting irritated herself ] i definitely get it. i don't trust noah either and the sort of access he's had to the opals from the start of all this, what with his access to the manor pool whenever he wants ... it just makes me wonder about him.
chloe: of course, you prat. you'll look very pretty on my arm, how could i say no?
jace: i am . . . relieved you feel that way. [ a weight's been lifted off his chest - you can hear it in his voice ] yeah, i've always had my doubts about him, but lately he's become more and more unpredictable. i don't abide people who can say one thing and do the other.
jace: speaking of looking pretty . . . i'm having trouble getting in touch with renaldo. he's recently taken on another high profile client and - [ he clears his throat ] well, i fear i won't be able to pin him down on such short notice.
