Asa Rosen

Name: Asa Rosen
Gender: Male
Age: 17
School: Davison Secondary School
Hobbies and Interests: Computers, Graphic Design, Web Design, Blogging and Social Networking, Criticism

Appearance: Asa is 5'2” tall and weighs 155 pounds. Because of this, he has a round stomach and is considered overweight. He has pale skin and acne on his face, particularly on his forehead and chin. He has a small nose and large forehead, which is normally covered by messy bangs. He has dark brown hair that falls slightly past his shoulders. He washes his hair when he can, but doesn't really put much care into it, causing it to be shaggy and have a few split ends. He has a brown beard, one that he hasn't shaved in weeks, causing it to be a bit shaggy as well. He does keep it trimmed so that it goes from sideburn to sideburn, but without a mustache. He doesn't like it to be too long, so he usually makes sure it is only half an inch long. Asa is nearsighted, meaning he wears small, round glasses over his small brown eyes. He doesn't like wearing contacts, so he always wears his glasses.

Asa doesn't really put much effort into dressing himself. He usually wears sweatshirts and hoodies, usually depicting series and movies he's into. He almost always wears jeans, usually wearing one pair of jeans for several days depending on if they get smelly or stained. He also prefers to wear black sneakers and carry a messenger bag.

Asa rosen 1 — CJ3: Asa Rosen, by Laurels

On Casting Day, Asa was wearing a dill green hoodie, a Star Wars t-shirt underneath, blue jeans, and black sneakers. He was also wearing a small digital watch on his left wrist and a small brass ring on his left middle finger.

Biography: Asa Josiah Rosen was born on March 11th to Abraham and Alana Rosen. Asa would not be the only child of the Rosens, as he would be joined by two younger sisters: Annie (three years younger), and Addison (four years younger). Asa's father works for a software company as a programmer while his mother is a stay-at-home mother who likes to paint at home. His parents are both Jewish, although Asa isn't as devout as they are.

From a young age, Asa was a reserved and quiet child. He often got caught up in various projects and activities that appealed to him. He got into painting from his mother, although he soon preferred a pencil and pen as his tools instead of a brush. When he got older, he began to learn about programming from his father and began to research more into computers, learning how to write code. This introduced him to web design, allowing Asa to merge his interests in computers and art into designing websites and blogs.

Asa didn't have many friends growing up. He didn't like to talk to other kids, usually preferring to focus on his projects. As a result, he became slightly introverted from his peers, something that wasn't helped by his weight. Asa did not enjoy physical activity and would choose to stay indoors, causing him to be poor at running and lacking in physical strength.

To deal with students that harassed him, Asa began to learn how to talk back. He began to find ways to insult back, usually through whatever descriptive or creative way he could think of. This led to him becoming very critical of his peers and surroundings, causing him to find faults with many things in his life. He doesn't have many friends as a result of this mentality, although he does tend to find himself drawn to students who tend to be into the same interests as him and who do not criticize him too much.

All of this would spread into his life in high school. When he entered Davison Secondary School, Asa began to focus more of his efforts into a blog he created called “Garden of Thorns.” Posting under the moniker “Ace of Roses,” Asa began to write essays and dissections of various subjects. He would write about his school and home life. Asa also began studying various subjects to be as informed as possible when debating. Despite this, some subjects he isn't as informed in as he'd like to due to not being particularly interested in, such as sports. He mostly finds himself drawn to writing about new media and social issues. He also joined the Davison Debate Team in order to work on his public speaking and ability to prove his points.

Asa also began to work more on his blog. He began to get involved in more forms of social media and tried to branch his blog out further. He doesn't have too many followers and readers, but Asa is hoping to become successful enough to qualify for ad space and make some money off his postings. He likes to continually update his blog with content and design, usually working with different programs to do so. He is skilled in Photoshop and other design software.

Asa also began to get involved in forum sites. He joined several boards, usually pertaining to a variety of subjects, and posts regularly on them. This has allowed him to get involved in discussions on various subjects. One board Asa follows is an SOTF-TV board, which has allowed him to become versed in the culture of the show. He makes sure to watch it when it airs and find old clips so he can be informed if he needs to discuss the show. He personally enjoys the show, finding it exciting to watch, but focuses more on how each season compares to the previous and the presence of the students competing.

Asa's home life is fairly decent. He gets along with his parents when he needs to, although he often stays out of their way and chooses to spend his time in his room on his computer. He is fairly indifferent to his sisters, often finding them annoying, so he doesn't have the best relationship with them.

After high school, Asa hopes to go to a technical college and major in Computer Science and Web Design. He also hopes to take some journalism classes so he can try to write professionally. He doesn't have many plans before then, as he would prefer to focus on his blog and other projects. His grades are somewhat decent, although Asa isn't a big fan of studying or doing schoolwork. He prefers to do as much as possible to pass, but still look good enough for colleges.

Advantages: Asa has studied SOTF-TV and knows a bit about the show. His skills in debate and criticism could help him gain allies or talk down other students.
Disadvantages: Asa is in poor health, having almost no physical strength or cardio skills. His attitude towards other students may also make it difficult for him to talk to others or help in a debate. He is also nearsighted, something that could be an issue if he loses his glasses.

Designated Number: Cobalt Jellyfish 3 (CJ3).

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Designated Weapon: Fiskars Brush Axe

Mentor Comment: "Not seein' it, man, sorry. Gotta find your own deal before you go tearing at everyone else's. Throw that perfect game before you throw down the gauntlet. I've done that all before, of course. Least he's got a nice sting at his side. We're doing that here, right?"

Evaluations[]

Handled By: Laurels

Kills: None

Killed By: Jewel Evans

Collected Weapons: Fiskars Brush Axe (designated weapon), rondel dagger (from Genevieve Cordova)

Allies: Dee Dixon

Enemies: Corin Albanesi, Gene Steward, Alice Young, Jewel Evans

Mid-game Evaluation:

Post-Game Evaluation:

Memorable Quotes:

Other/Trivia[]

Threads[]

Below is a list of threads that contain Asa, in chronological order

Sandbox:

SOTF-TV:

Your Thoughts[]

Whether you were a fellow handler in SOTF or just an avid reader of the site, we'd like to know what you thought about Asa. What did you like, or dislike, about the character? Let us know here!

Asa was a cool take on the anti-SOTF type that pops up in TV-verse, especially since that wasn't the original focus of his character in pregame. In some ways, I feel like the way he goes that route is more realistic; he's angry at his situation and the people that put him in it, and logically he knows that there's no way he's making it out to get any kind of revenge other than what he can through his in-game actions. Throughout his story, Asa has a strong voice and interesting interactions with other characters through the lens of someone refusing to play the game on his own terms, and that makes for a cool read. His death post is probably my favorite in all of TV2, and is something that I don't think could work for any other character, which goes to show just how important his inner characterization was to his story, informing his actions just as much as, if not more so, than his external interactions. I'd say Asa is some of Laurels's best work on SOTF so far, and I highly recommend him as a strong character in TV2. - backslash
It's pretty rare that a character makes me go "Dang, I wish I'd thought of that!" but Asa is absolutely that character, and a very strong contender for my favorite character in TV2. That's doubly remarkable to me because I feel like Asa's time in Sandbox is decent-to-good but not particularly exceptional in his interactions with others. His chat with Lucy establishes his somewhat haughty demeanor and his affection for the written word, and his role in the food fight in his final thread is minor but amusing. The meat of Asa's Sandbox, though, is the two blog posts that are actually shared with the audience, as they offer a rare (and hard to pull off) unvarnished look into Asa as he likes to present himself when given complete control. I've commented before that Laurels skews towards artistic characters, and Asa's mode of self-representation is a real step in the maturation of these themes. I do have some gripes about Asa's interaction with another of his handler's characters; I think it falls into some of the typical pitfalls of trying to balance multiple perspectives and indirect characterization, and it gave me some serious pause my first time reading it. In some ways, though, that's good, because it let my expectations be so thoroughly exceeded come game start.

Asa starts out his game in a comedic vein similar to what we saw in Sandbox. Through his first thread, Asa remains more punchline than comedian, lacking the narrative sympathy and empathy that become so key to his later development, but I think that's a point of progression more than a flaw; had Asa ended in this state, he'd be something of a footnote, but as a starting point it allows his journey to really shine. And shine it does. As Asa moves on, he transforms into a somewhat twisted straight man, the guy who rains on everyone else's parade but is actually right, and that instantly endears him to me. TV2's early game was full of weirdness and absurdity that often didn't land well, and Asa was the character who called it like he saw it. He also cultivates some real scorn for the audience, and it's his pushing in this direction that is particularly innovative. Asa sets out to screw up the show as best he can in protest, and even though few of his initial plans of petty vandalism go anywhere, that he comes up with them tells us a great deal about him. He wants to be unsatisfying to watch, to cause trouble and damage whatever property he can reach, but it's not wholly an idealistic thing. There's hurt and anger at play here, lashing out at what he can reach to grapple with his fear. He even admits to having causally followed the show beforehand, but then says that now that he's on it he's a lot less friendly towards the whole concept.

Asa manages to navigate a partnership with Dee Dixonin a way that elevates both of them, has repeated encounters with Brendan O'Toole in odd little places, and rubs elbows with Corin and Gene. And, finally, he lays everything out in a manifesto detailing his strategy. Asa hopes to be the worst possible winner, by means of sabotage, the elimination of everyone vaguely interesting to the audience, and general refusal to cooperate. It's an incredibly inspired response, and it guides Asa through further threads that find him taking on a variety of antagonistic roles, from the creep menacing Alice to the cynic trying to drive a wedge between Lily and Dougie to the attempted assassin of one of the game's major players. And yet, throughout, I can't hate Asa. I can't even dislike him. His motivations are clear, and any flaws feel natural and human and intentional on the part of his handler. Asa's doing the best he knows how, and sometimes it's not very good but that's what makes it all so great. I'm left rooting for him at almost every turn, and even now, years later, I'm seriously saddened that he didn't get saved (though nobody did from that point on). Asa's not a good character—he's a great one, one who I feel is pretty essential reading for TV as a universe and one who demonstrates one of the quickest and highest leaps in quality and inspiration of a handler in SOTF history. Seriously, check him out. He's not perfect (no character is) but he engages with the universe and the game in insightful, fresh, and fascinating ways while always remaining a sympathetic and intriguing read on a character level. - MurderWeasel

Asa Rosen

Contents

Evaluations[]

Other/Trivia[]

Threads[]

Your Thoughts[]

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