Post by Deleted on Jul 25, 2014 18:14:19 GMT -8
| Eduard von Bock <p>Turning around your life and succeeding takes a lot of work, but with enough effort and motivation, happiness will come to you. Even if you fall short achieving something, you'll still get the benefit of the achievement. Thus, move forwards and don't look back. Keep in perspective what you can do to help aid the future without worrying about the have beens. </p> <p>Also, add me on Skype. Male. Single. </p> | |
| CODE NAME: Huge Nerd |
| Male | 24 | Questioning |
| Estonian | IT Intern | Researcher |
| Physical |
| 179 cm | 67 kg | Dirty Blonde |
| Green | Very Light | Lean; light build |
| Personal |
As an aspiring graduate student at the prestigious Imperial College in London, Eduard is a diligent, hardworking young man who rarely slacks off. He views school as a privilege and not a right and thus, treats every assignment with the same level of enthusiasm and accuracy. Because of this, most of his professors adore him and surprisingly encourage him to take some more time off from schoolwork and relax a little. It’s a strange notion really, because Eduard actually quite adores his schoolwork. With a major in information technology, the beautiful concepts of syntax and semantics and the complex algorithms that accompany them are dreamier than a cup of coffee with some woman he talked to like twice. Relating to that, Eduard is rather awkward around people. He is well accompanied by the simple notion of “bad timing” and often times either dominates a conversation or rarely speaks at all. Instead, the boy finds comfort in chat rooms, forums, and blogs due to the convenience of being able to read what he wants to “say” before he says it. His web-friends from these locations and from his recent passion with online gaming are quite close to him and he grows rather sad when one of them becomes less active. To take note of his computer in specific, he views it as a mother would a child. He had reprogrammed the entire machine from scratch and views it as one of his greatest accomplishments. To stabilize the setting of his computer work station, Eduard keeps an expensive cooling pad underneath his “baby” to prevent it from overheating and frequently updates all of his antivirus software to prevent even the slightest chance of a mishap. As he developed such a close bond with his computer, he dubbed it “Kerli” after his childhood friend and refers to it as if it were a living, sentient creature. He addresses her as a “she” even when he is seriously addressed by potential employers and fellow tech savvies and has had to end several relationships when girlfriends made him choose between them or the computer. After all, his computer was based on the real Kerli and not a single girl could have competed with her. Despite his devotion however, he has been involved in a few relationships. Eduard likes them to some extent. The snuggling together while watching some new movies he illegally downloaded, the times they’d drag him out of his house or the lab or the university and walk through the forest, when they’d take his glasses off of his face and try them on to the amusement of them both…. It’s just the fact that they often became…. physical. Sex makes Eduard rather uncomfortable. To avoid the fact that he might hurt her or himself, he’d push her away if she got too close. Even kisses were difficult. He’d stop any sort of physical advance and go and make dinner or mess with Kerli to push any sort of sexual thought out of his head. The company of partners was nice but he habitually broke off almost all of his relationships as soon as they got physical. Fictional girls and tissues were useful for that kind of thing. In terms of his abilities, Eduard takes great pride in his hacking ability. Given time, there have been no codes given to him that he couldn’t crack to date. It was like a game to him, really. It would eat away at him if he backed down from a challenge in this regard so he would spend many a restless night trying to decipher complicated codes, a graphing calculator nestled nicely beside him and endless sticky notes and written up scratch paper littered around his bedroom. The second he that he had cracked it, Eduard would grab a coffee to go, sprint to his crappy, old car and run to whoever or whatever gave him the challenge. A laptop gripped in his hand and the coffee in the other, his shirt hanging out and huge bags under his eyes, he would proudly present his solution. The awestruck faces of his teachers and employers were all that Eduard needed to confirm the fact that his days of plugging in numbers and jotting down sequences were not in vain. He would drive home with his head held high and crash on his couch for the next twelve hours. Outside of his little “challenges,” Eduard greatly values and prides in his hygiene. He shaves regularly and showers nearly every day. He makes sure that his shirt is tucked in before leaving his apartment and that, if he is wearing a tie, that it is as straight as can be. The only pair of jeans that he owns are far too small for him as he rarely wears them anyways. A man could be proud of his khakis, sweatpants, sweaters, collared shirts, and suits. He keeps his hair trimmed, but the actual layout of his apartment is that of an organized mess. While Kerli’s station remains neat and tidy, the rest of his living space is littered with his junk. His attempts to tidy up before guests arrive is often ended in frustrating failure, so he just hurls everything into the closet and further adds to the problem. He forgets things like wallets and keys frequently when he needs them most and has more than once had to leave a restaurant as soon as he arrived to retrieve his wallet from the car. It should be noted that he virtually blind without his glasses. The single time that he did not them, during his freshman year at the University of Tartu, he had to call a friend to find them for him. An “oh-so-funny” roommate had taken them and hidden them under his bed while he had been sleeping. Eduard called out said roommate’s girlfriend for being “such an accomplished and admirable tart” and then both of them went their separate ways. |
| Likes | Dislikes |
•Computers, specifically his own. As if this couldn’t be more obvious! Even outside of Kerli, his passion for them is what inspired him to push towards it as a career. He fumbles with them for fun and takes extensive time to relish in the sheer craftsmanship and complexity of them. When his friends or coworkers have problems with their own personal models, he’s usually the first one they call. Even without programming, all of his social networking sites and games are accessed through computers. Eduard is thoroughly convinced that he could not function without them. Besides! Skype was born in his home country! Computers allowed for the Homeland to be noticed! •Video Games. They are a great joy to him and provide a sense of escapism. He rather enjoys most types but puzzle and role-playing are easily his favorites. There is something fulfilling in the completion of a puzzle or in enacting a person completely different in which Eduard relishes on. Despite his passion for them however, a good ninety percent of the games he “owns” are illegally downloaded. •Math. From early on in life, Eduard realized how easily math came to him. He often found himself bored to death of the basic algebra and geometry courses until he reached college. From there, he understood how infatuated he was with numbers to the point of choosing mathematics as his minor. His love has not waned at all in graduate school and as the number of students enrolled in his math courses grow fewer and fewer, his interest only grows more. •Spas. And any sort of thing like it really. They provide an excessive amount of great things after all: access to easy socialization, cleaning, relaxation, therapy… How could anyone not become infatuated with spas? Unfortunately, he tends to overspend on such activities- dropping whatever money he doesn’t spend on college or food to get a nice massage or relax in a sauna. He admits that it’s too much but doesn’t really do anything to change it. •Festivals, music ones in specific. Though not one for one-on-one coffee dates, Eduard attends all the festivals that he can make it to, especially those in his own country if he can afford the trip. He has a passion for music already, but being able to go out and listen to groups live beats an ipod any day. The culture of it all is really nice to take in and experience. Eating outside with some once-a-year booth food, music playing wherever he walks, buying little knick-knacks here and there—there’s nothing that he could find more exciting in the “real world.” •Cooking. He doesn’t communicate it often but he’s not that bad with pots and pans. He wouldn’t call himself a chef, but he can at least make a presentable, hot meal that earns enough compliments with family. That being said, one would have to adore sour cream to really enjoy his cooking. He has an unhealthy passion for it. •Timeliness. He’s only been late once in his life and he doesn’t aim to increase that number anytime soon. •Coffee. He needs a cup to actually function at any point in the day. On many days, he pretty much lives strictly off of it. Singing. Despite his other interests, Eduard has a very nice singing voice but is often too shy to express it alone. He sings in the showers or in choruses with others for sporting events and such. | •People who mess with his things. Eduard values privacy and thinks that others should as well. Common sense would state for someone to not go through another’s briefcase or closet, but history has pointed out that it happens. He’ll only get mildly annoyed if you shuffle his (neatly stacked) papers too much and kindly ask for you to stop, but if you touch something like Kerli… well, you better hope that he never gets a hold of your phone. •People screwing up his nationality. It’s just kind of upsetting when some well-meaning London girl comments on his lovely “Russian” accent. He gets over it quick enough after educating people about his homeland, but it is still bothersome enough to gnaw away at him for a good hour after an incident. •Spicy Foods. He can’t handle any level of spice at all. Even those deceiving “medium-spicy” things are far too much. He stays away from most Asian and South American cuisines to save himself from being forced to down seven glasses of water when out to dinner. When someone offers, he declines or tries to talk them into going someplace else. •Excessive physical contact. Every person has their own personal space. Eduard greatly values his to no end. While some is alright in the proper context, sexual things or excessive touching with people he isn’t as familiar with makes him feel really uncomfortable. He tries to leave these sorts of situations as soon as absolutely possible. •Modern Art. Well, it’s not like he hates it… it’s just that he doesn’t get it at all. His best friend from childhood adored art of all sorts and he could just never understand what she saw in blobs of paint on a canvas. It never made any sense at all to him no matter how he looked at it and it still doesn’t. There’s no beauty or depth in cubes and squares on a canvas. Kerli had always joked about “if he was such a math nerd then he should love these kinds of things” but he just found them to be rather stupid. •Backstabbing. Why do people do that to each other? Why would you pretend to be someone’s friend if you are gonna talk crap about them as soon as they’re gone anyways? Eduard admits that he rarely does anything about it besides keep quiet though so he can’t really complain too much. |
| Dreams | Fears |
| •Big dogs. He’s been terrified of them since he was a little boy. He had a run-in at his aunt’s farm with their lab and he hasn’t gone near one at all costs since. They’re just so huge! Like bears! And they have big teeth- what if one just decides to bite your head off and call it a day? Actually, Eduard has never heard of that happening but… he’s just scared of them, okay? There’s not really any reason why he should be now, but every person is allowed a single, little, irrational fear, right? Right. •Failure. The only “C” he’s gotten in life was in an introductory shop class in high school. He never wants to deal with the horrible feeling associated with falling short academically ever again. Who would, right? He never understood how the ne’er-do-wells all around him could purposefully ignore the fact that they were failing everything around them. He aimed to never fall short again and thus, put all of his time and effort that he could into school. Sure, a lot of titles of “teacher’s pet” and “suck up” came with it, but a few negative comments from the peanut gallery were not worth the crippling devastation that came with a bad grade or a trip to an employer’s office. •Public Speaking. Eduard’s shy and public speaking just sucks. There’s something about standing in front of a crowd and just… talking that makes him incredibly nervous. He knows that it’s a common fear and that he’s not alone, but that didn’t prevent him from trying to bail on the demonstrations and presentations he has had to do. He admits to getting really sweaty and red in the face during the actual event and, even if well-prepared, is stuck swallowing down the fear of messing up and getting laughed at. When he tested his thesis relating to the shapes of models to further the development of a model 3-D printer, he prepared the entire presentation by Powerpoint so that he would not be required to speak. He uses powerpoints and slideshows to this day as avoidance techniques. |
| Background |
Eduard von Bock was born into a small, working class family that lived on the shoreline in Lääne County, Estonia. He didn’t have many friends growing up, but loved the smell of the sea and his mother’s potato dishes more than anything else. He may never have had the nicest clothes or the coolest toys, but that didn’t matter because he had one, dear friend who made all the difference. Kerli was everything he wasn’t: beautiful, strong, talkative, a joy to be around… and she was the best friend he could have ever had. The two of them wasted away their childhoods together. Kerli would draw pictures of rabbits and the sea for him and he, in return, would help her with her times tables. She’d always tell him, “You gotta take your hands off the handlebars sometimes or you’ll never know what it feels like.” “What if I get hurt?” He’d always say. Kerli would just put her hand on her chin in a mock thinking pose and respond with a quick, “Guess you won’t know ‘till you try,” and smile one of those nice, big Kerli smiles. She was probably the key to him coming out of his shell and embracing the world. She let his world grow and for that, he would forever be grateful. People grow up and things happen though. When Eduard was twelve, Kerli’s father, a businessman, found work overseas in America. He remembered her running up the cobbled road to his house and giving him a little wooden chest. “This is my personal treasure box,” she said, “It’s got all the great stuff I collected over the years! Cool, shiny rocks, some drawings, and even a rabbit’s foot!” Eduard hadn’t realized that he had started crying. She left on a humid, August day as a queen would--- with big gestured waves and blown kisses to the crowd. That was the last he had ever seen of her face-to-face. Thank God for his country’s invention of Skype nowadays. Eduard struggled with some bullying problems in secondary school without Kerli to defend him, but he excelled at school and his teachers loved him. He easily got admitted to Tartu University, the best college in the country. With a lot of scholarships under his wing, his parents let him go. He loved college. It opened a lot of doors for him and allowed for him to form some really close bonds with classmates and professors alike. He got back in contact with Kerli and emailed her frequently, had a few relationships; all was right with the world. He went back to his hometown whenever he could and visited his family. He’d bring back little trinkets he’d been working on and explained what he was programming. He knew his parents had no clue what he was talking about, but he was content that they had the ear to listen. One day, during his senior year, he had brought up going abroad for school and his parents had laughed at him; told him to stay in country if he wanted to afford it. Determined to prove his parents wrong, he applied for many scholarships and, because of his academic success, got a free pass into the Imperial College of London. He was so stunned and happy that he had let out a ridiculous, girlish squeal for all the dorm to hear. He didn’t care. He was going to school in London after all! He had messaged Kerli immediately, who had just got out of college to become a preschool teacher, and told her about the news. She was ecstatic and joked about not eating the food. He finished his senior year with high spirits and a good attitude. Bidding a final farewell to everyone, he left in August for England. He had never been in a city so big! He couldn’t even imagine! He could barely locate the apartment he had rented on these crowded streets. He bumped into people a lot, quick apologies on his lips as he scurried past them. In a way, he never really properly adjusted to city life. The campus on the other hand--- most of his professors adored him. During the final semester of his freshman year, he delved into the subject of shape models in the progress of 3D printing. After presenting his findings, he was given a medal by the University for his outstanding discoveries in the field and sealed himself many potential employers. His sophomore year, in relation to jobs, he asked around for internship opportunities among the staff. Professor Im, who he only had one class ever with admittedly, had accepted his request for internship as his laboratory. To be frank, Eduard didn’t know too much of what Professor Im actually did when he started as an assistant researcher, but whatever their project was—it was only a matter of time before the whole campus heard of it. They were on good terms at least and Eduard was getting noticed by technology associates of all kinds. The attention pleased him; the fact that his work could help progress the world was no small feat at all. His never grew too proud though. He always took whatever time he could to visit his family back in Estonia and to spend time with Kerli while using “Kerli.” He made them all very proud and couldn’t be more overjoyed by that. However, his inevitable fear about taking a wrong turn still haunts him to this very day… |
| Role-Play Sample |
Eduard took a deep breath. The girl he was helping out was, in fact, helping him. He tried his best to suck up the notion of his broken phone and continued politely declining her offers. It was his carelessness that caused both of their downfalls after all. She attempted to pick up the change that he had spilled all over the place, but it just scattered again. It was plainly obvious that she was just as embarrassed as he was over this whole ordeal. After the money had been turned over, he turned to face her, hand shaking as he gave her back her muffin. “I…I’m sorry about everything.” Eduard scratched the back of his head and avoided making eye contact. The atmosphere was growing heavy very quickly with the growing silence. Eduard racked his brain through what Elise had said in order to try and relieve the tension. “Uh… you said that you didn’t get to enjoy the weather much because of work. Where do you work exactly?” He shook his head. “Not that I’m prodding or anything. If you don’t want to tell me, you don’t have to.” He walked beside her over to the refrigerated “deli” section of the convenience store and attempted to search for a sandwich of some sort. There was no question that he was going to pay for it himself, he would not allow any other possibility to flourish. But as he scanned the wares before him, Eduard noticed with a heavy heart that nothing looked particularly appetizing. Why on Earth did he end up here over a real restaurant anyways? He scratched the side of his face a bit. “I… nothing looks really good here. For me, I mean.” And for the first time, Eduard took note of Elise’s sub. It also didn’t look particularly delicious and from the lack of steam or anything rising from it, he would have to guess that the sandwich wasn’t even warm. “Hey. I just got paid. W…Why don’t I buy you something nicer than that.” He laughed a bit. “I ended up here because I couldn’t choose a restaurant.” The implications with treating someone to dinner popped into Eduard’s head a moment too late. “I… don’t mean to be shady or creepy by it. I just feel bad. I don’t like you!” That didn’t sound good either. He panicked and started mumbling. “NO! It’s not that I don’t like you it’s just, I don’t know you. At all.” Great. He really bombed this one. Eduard mentally slapped himself, wishing that he could take words back. Talking to people via IM or through email was so much easier. Even on the campus, Eduard had a set of appropriate dialogue set up before he entered a social situation. His mistakes were almost as bad as his destroyed phone. He didn’t know what he was doing anymore. Eduard just wanted to crawl under a rock and disappear; hiding his shame. He couldn’t even use the time as an excuse, he didn’t have any requirements for about another hour or so. This was a nightmare come true. |
| OOC Information |
| Maddie |
| Skype @ wetsuit-adventures; Tumblr @ pokemon-trainer-nate |
| So a Higgs Boson particle walks into a church, and the priest asks, "Why are you here?" Boson replies "You kiddin'? You can't have mass without me!" |
| If I were an enzyme, I'd be helicase so that I could unzip your genes. |
| made by CAPTAIN of BACK TO NEVERLAND |
