InsaneJournal

{personality.

Jesse isn't really a fan of religion. Organized religion, anyway. After being raised by his father, who drilled it into his head since he was small, it's left a rather bad taste in his mouth. He likes to believe that there's Someone watching out for him, it helps him to not feel so alone. And since he only speaks to one member of his family anymore, he values whatever small comfort that feeling can give him.

In his everyday life, he's every bit the charming Southern boy, down to the smile and soft Cajun accent. It took him a while to just talk to people without waiting to be judged, but once he realized not everyone was his father and his old community, he started to loosen up a little bit more. He tends to be more of the one-night stand variety, because for a long time, his lifestyle was too nomadic for anything else. Even now, after four years in New York (which, for him, is almost like putting down roots), he's found that some habits are hard to break.

Despite his past, and what he left behind, he's really not a dour guy. His smile comes quick and wide when he's amused, and he'll throw back his head and laugh when the time is right. He's finally far enough away from his home, in both miles and years, where he can relax and feel some sort of peace. It's still a little tenuous, but it's better than anything he thought he'd ever have, and so he clings to it fiercely with both hands. No one is taking away this new life that he's built for himself.

{abilities+skills.

-Loves to dismantle bikes and put them back together, just to prove he can
-Is actually a great cook, he's just lazy
-Speaks both Creole and French, and tends to lose his grasp of English when he's tired or drunk
-He's a dirty fighter, using tricks he picked up living on the streets
-Can drink just about anyone under the table

{history.

At the risk of sounding like a cliche, Jesse literally is the son of a preacher man, the oldest of four boys born to Richard & Denise Delacroix. His parents raised them all to be deeply religious, to do right by their fellow men and to be respectful. But even early on, his father's fire and brimestone style of preaching made Jesse uncomfortable, and he always dreaded going to church. By the time he was 16, he stopped going altogether, to his father's extreme displeasure.

His mother passed away when he was 12, and it was one of the worst days of his life, laying her to rest in the family masoleum. His father was suddenly left with 4 boys, all under 13, and he took a hardline approach to their education, behavior, and religious upbringing. He punished them harshly for minor infractions, and Jesse never took it well. He rebelled against his father's rules and ways, lashing out and breaking every rule he could think of. He bought his first motorcycle from a neighbor when he was 16, something that made his father almost apoplectic. Jesse didn't give a damn, he fixed it up with the neighbor's help, and took to riding it all over town. He liked the stares it drew from the young people his age, and that bike got him more than one date. He became known as the bad boy, the preacher's rebellious oldest son, and he rose to fully embrace the title.

When he was 17, the summer after he'd graduated high school, he met Nicholas Rowland, a boy from New Orleans, and the two of them had a brief fling. Jesse's father found out about it, and to say that he was Not Pleased would be a vast understatement. He had no tolerance for homosexuality or what he called 'deviant behavior', especially not in his son. He gave Jesse an hour to pack up his things and get out, and told him he was no longer welcome under his roof.

"Should've named you 'Jabez', he said as he threw him out. "Because you are this family's sorrow. I'm just glad your mother isn't alive to see what you've become." To this day, Jesse still hasn't forgiven him for saying that.

Jesse now had nowhere to call home, and only the possessions he could strap to the back of his bike. He'd saved up a little over $1500, but that would run out quicker than he could blink, and he couldn't stay in Louisiana, he knew that. And more to the point, he didn't want to. So he said goodbye to his brothers and hit the road, traveling up and down the East Coast on his bike, doing odd jobs, waiting tables, working as a chef, basically whatever would put some money in his pocket.

After four years, he got tired of being a nomad, and he made his way to New York City. Eight million people already lived there, he figured they had enough room to accomodate one more. He got a job working on motorcycles, and managed to find a tiny apartment that he could just about afford. He tried contacting his brothers, but only Jayden would pick up the phone. It broke his heart a little, that a huge chunk of his family still wouldn't talk to him, but Jayden's calls, texts, and emails helped to cheer him up.

{notes.

-The only drug he does habitually is nicotine, everything else is recreational, or when he's under a lot of stress
-Hates the taste of gin
-Refuses to give up without a fight, often exhausting himself in the process
-Hates having anyone have their hands anywhere near his neck
-Refuses to set foot inside another church