Jaydin Eversnow
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Jaydin Rayleigh Eversnow is an adult snow leopard with a coarse personality, and not much of a clue as to what to do with his life. He lives alone at the Onyx Mountain Apartment Complex in the City of Overcast, where he slogs through a complicated relation to his landlord and mother. Jaydin spends the majority of his free time purposefully avoiding her, either staying willingly cooped up in his studio apartment, or keeping away from the complex by hanging out with one or two of his few close friends.
Sometime in late 2206, Jaydin was the subject of a correctional conscription, meaning that he was lifted from his civilian life and legally forced to enlist in the Antarctic State Military, after having been convicted of multiple arguably minor crimes. Jaydin later proved to be the kind of person that does not adjust well to military culture.
Biography
Childhood
Jaydin was born as the first child of two well-off parents; Sylvia Bullow, his mother, and Garland Eversnow, his father. Past unresolved differences between those two parents resurfaced soon after he was born, and a young Jaydin was frequently subjected to overhearing them yell and argue on and off in the household. They commonly disagreed and argued about Jaydin's future and how to 'properly' raise him, among other more petty instigations. Though Jay was less than four years old at the time, living with the two was filled with mixed signals and emotions throughout, as both of his parents would be nice enough face-to-face with him, but would generally fuss with each other when he wasn't near. In school, Jay would often show early signs of depressive moods, which his teachers picked up on, yet could not do much to solve.
By the time Jaydin was four years old, his parents had a second child, and their bickering continued, if not worse than before. Jaydin's parents began to seriously contemplate divorce, which created even more tension and out-of-wack emotions in the household. Just before Jay's fifth birthday, the divorce was finalized, and the verdict was that Jaydin would be put in custody of his mother, and his practically newborn sibling was legally given to his father. Jay's mother swiftly sold and moved out of their then-residence, without the consent of the father. The father, essentially kicked out of his own home, soon fled with the second child in-hand to a military base via invitation from a colleague. Jaydin was taken by his mother, and moved far and away from the father.
Now that Jay was alone with his mother, she began to raise him in the manner in which his father had passionately objected to; a very close-minded manner. The still-young cat was consistently indoctrinated with homophobic viewpoints, and strong-armed into following a stereotypically 'manly' lifestyle. The public school system tended to teach him views that went against his mother's, leading to further mixed signals in his life. Though, school also tended to reinforce his mother's push for him to 'be a man'. Jay had at one point expressed the fact that he thought the school system's views had made more sense than his mother's, which immediately resulted in Jaydin's regular verbal punishment, and even lit the fuse for physical abuse, which his mother maintained was better described as necessary discipline.
Simply knowing that he had to live at home with his mother weighed heavily on the young cat's mind, yet he was too afraid and embarrassed to tell his friends about it, let alone adults. Jay continued to be scolded and at times even beaten whenever he went against his mother's harsh rules, orders, and curfews, to the point where he completely stopped letting her know about himself and his life, instead bottling up his emotions behind a grumpy and sarcastic exterior, and inadvertently letting them eat away at him from the inside.
High School Life
It wasn't until high school that Jaydin became acquainted with a friend that he kept for longer than a school year. A striped hyena by the name of Akira Takeuchi kept him company since the start of 8th grade. They were the same age, and always took the same bus ride to and from school, due to the fact that they lived relatively close to one another. Even though they became close friends, Jaydin still kept his home life hidden from Akira, and avoided conversation around it up until the 10th grade, at the age of sixteen, where Akira half-jokingly bothered him until he would spill the beans. Jaydin had quite the emotional waterfall when he was finally able to tell somebody about the way he's been treated for twelve out of his sixteen years. Akira did well in comforting Jaydin throughout the situation, and continued to do so for the rest of grade school, though the two were common troublemakers.
During high school, Jaydin got into various bad habits, including smoking, which calmed his nerves; skipping curfew, which he used to visit Akira even though it subjected him to more punishment; and sexual exploration with classmates, which while technically legal at 16 and up, would have been frowned upon by wiser adults if they found out. Jaydin even tried drinking at one point, but didn't do much before he realized he hated the taste of unmixed alcohol.
Around his sixteenth birthday, Jaydin's mother pestered him daily to get a job; any kind of job. Eventually he landed one as a gas station attendant; as a worker who would stand outside in the cold by a gas station pump and fill up the tanks of paying customers, and get them anything else they needed from station building. A habit of casually stealing small items and food items from the gas station as well as other stores found its way into Jay's life, not because of a lack of funds, but because he liked to see what he could get away with.
At some point in his high school years, his mother would occasionally teach him how to drive in her car, and even volunteered him to be put in a driver's ed high school class. Jaydin later secured his own driver's license with the help of his mother before school ended, though he would generally just use public transportation from that point on due to a lack of owning a car of his own at the time.
Adult Civilian Life
When he graduated high school at eighteen, Jaydin's mother nearly booted him from her house in the process of demanding he support himself on his own. When he protested on the grounds that he wouldn't be able to support himself on a minimum wage part-time job, his mother eventually secured him a studio apartment at the Onyx Mountain Apartment Complex, of which she was the landlord. On top of that, Jaydin was given a hefty discount on rent, provided that he maintains a job, and adheres to a number of other house rules similar to the ones he grew up with. One of those rules involved Jay staying away from having any homosexual relationships.
Jaydin's high school friend, Akira, offered to try helping Jay get a job at the electronics store that he worked at. Jay agreed and put in an application, which was eventually accepted, and he was given an above-minimum wage part-time job as a cashier at first. Akira worked as a delivery and installation associate, which Jay figured would be a lot more fun and rewarding. After about a year at his cashier job, Jaydin was finally able to transfer from the customer service department to the technical service department, with Akira's help once again. For the next few years, he kept that job with his high school friend, making deliveries to and installing things for customers at homes and businesses.
Jaydin had to take the subway metro trains to and from work each workday. He liked how easy and cheap it was, but he hated how he had to stand or sit in a cramped space the whole time. Around the time of his third job, the delivery one, Jaydin's mother generously handed down to him her compact car soon after she got herself a new SUV. She gave the compact to him completely free of charge, though he would now have to pay registration and insurance for it himself, which he was okay with.
Back at home, Jaydin genuinely enjoyed finally being alone and at peace in his own place for once, even if it were in a tiny 196 ft2 (18 m2) 'luxury' studio apartment. He enjoyed the small silent space, which reminded him of sitting in his room all day, and most of all, he enjoyed being away from his mother. Despite preferring to be alone most of the time, Jaydin would often leave his apartment in order to visit his friends' places to hang out, or would wander the city with them. All of Jaydin's friends, even Akira, had punkish personalities much like his own; the common traits being self-deprecation, brash sarcasm and rudeness, and solidarity and strength in numbers. Many of them are bad influences on each other, and Jaydin was no different.
Akira and co. inspired and encouraged Jay to get several piercings over the years, especially facial and ear piercings. At one point, Jay went a step further and had his tongue permanently split by a mutual friend of theirs who happened to be a body mod professional. Jaydin's mother disapproved of every new body modification that she spotted on Jay, among other antics that she would rarely find out about, but accused him of nonetheless; however, her punishments were getting less physical, less effective, and all around softer ever since he moved out. Jay caught onto this, which only encouraged him to go out and/or entertain his bad habits behind her back. That is to say, he started to feel slightly better about what he would do with his free time and friends.
Sometime around the age of 23, Jaydin was introduced to another friend of Akira's, a dobermann and mechanic by the name of Vincent Ackermann. Akira brought the two together because Jaydin's car needed an oil change, which Vincent agreed to do soon after they met in-person. This was soon followed by Jaydin being affably extended an open invitation into Vincent's home whenever the cat wanted. Jay kept it in mind, and indeed visited Vincent occasionally, just like he would visit Akira or any of his other friends. Vincent showed an interest in Jay due to how he eventually caught a glimpse through Jaydin's course exterior, and later questioned him about what was ailing him. This was the second and final time Jaydin felt comfortable enough to talk to somebody about how his mother used to treat him and arguably still treats him. Just like before with Akira, Jaydin told Vincent a snippet of how he felt like his mother didn't love him, and Vincent did well to calmly listen.
Even though he was personally held to homophobic ground rules at the apartment complex, Jaydin would often engage in casually intimate and sexual relations with many of his male-identifying friends, especially with Akira. Within the tight-knit group, Jay became known to be exceedingly interested in fetishes that brought harm upon his psyche and person. Jaydin came to realize that his punishment-seeking behavior was really just a form of self-harm in which he experienced catharsis from being verbally, mentally, and especially physically abused by someone other than himself. This had been an integral part of Jaydin's personality long before the point at which he became aware of it; however once he discovered it in himself, it became his own secret escape mechanism or otherwise a source of deep relief, particularly whenever he felt strong spell of depressive emotion. In general, Jaydin felt that he 'deserved it'. Though, there were only a select few acquaintances of his who were actually okay with hurting him to the extent that he wanted to be hurt.
Arrests and Military Correction
When Jaydin was 22 years old, he was involved in his first arrest when he and two coworker friends of his were caught trespassing in a construction zone at night; at a building that was in the process of a teardown and rebuild, though the building project had been paused at the time. The three had made started a campfire and were eating canned food in a large, empty, and dark room when they were confronted by policemen who were called to the location to investigate suspicious behavior. All three were handcuffed and escorted to a local police station holding cell. They were only allowed to leave after being questioned and then issued fines to pay. Jaydin's mother never found out about this arrest until he was arrested a second time.
At the age of 24, Jaydin's second arrest was much more severe. A day after a borderline hostile breakup between himself and a particular love interest of his at the time, Jaydin still had a mix of depression and other seething emotions welled up inside himself when he went to work. At the open lost-and-found desk where only employees could access, he managed to swipe a ring of keys that a customer had recently misplaced in the store. With them, Jay went into the parking lot and located the car that one of the keys went to. Jay then proceeded to take the car on a top-speed joyride, weaving aimlessly through the streets and freeways of his hometown, using the adrenaline rush to forget about the pain. Later that day, Jaydin and stolen car were ultimately found by policemen. Jaydin had actually been found far and away from his home and familiar areas, asleep in the backseat of the stolen car with the engine and heater on. Once spotted, Jaydin was promptly ordered out of the vehicle, handcuffed and brought to a police station for questioning. Jaydin admitted to stealing the car and taking it on a joyride because he wanted to feel better again, and that he stayed in the car because he knew he would be caught regardless of leaving it somewhere. The authorities reviewed freeway surveillance footage and humorously commented on how 'safe' he was in using his turning signals and avoiding cutting other drivers off during the joyride.
Jaydin was eventually brought before a court judge; indicted on motor vehicle theft and reckless driving charges. Upon reading through his motives on file, reviewing footage, and seeing that no injuries or not-insignificant damage was caused, the judge gave the young cat a choice between being incarcerated for a lengthy amount of time, or serving a term of six years in the state military with two strikes already racked up against his name towards potential further administrative punishment within said military. Jay took the latter option, and was soon shipped off to a military base within the city to begin his entrance processing, basic training and term. Interestingly, Jaydin was allowed to keep his driver's license after the sentence.
Personality and Traits
Jaydin has a few layers to his persona. On the outside, he naturally shows himself to be rough around the edges; showing a grumpy, cranky expression on his face most of the time, and following a lazy lifestyle comparable to that of a delinquent punk who's never done any good in the world. Strangers could easily view him as a young adult who never grew out of the high school teenage culture. On the inside, Jaydin is a mess of many different emotions the likes of anger, frustration, jealousy, sadness and even longing for forgiveness and love.
In some ways, he became just like his mother, in that they both show a grumpy exterior while having ulterior feelings and motives beyond that exterior. Jaydin's own disconnect between his surface self and his inner self started when he had to put up with his mother's heavy-handed approach to raising a child by herself, coupled with her insistence that he 'man up' and show less weakness. Jaydin put up a shield to deal with whatever was thrown his way; not a facade, but a thin barrier of natural resilience.
Similarly, due to living with his single mother all his life, it became second nature for Jaydin to believe that he deserved to be punished whenever a problem comes up. This in turn brought out masochistic tendencies in him in his early adult life and beyond. Jaydin would often get into bad habits not just because he enjoyed breaking rules, but because he was subconsciously driven to do things that could specifically result in him getting punished, especially if it meant feeling the familiar physical punishment.
Jaydin's own personal explaination for his aloofness and all around grumpy snark and sarcasm would tell that he only felt happy and respectful as a young child, and that he 'grew out' of it later on with the events of his life. It is for this reason that he finds it 'fake' and 'childish' to do, or see people do, a number of things that he once did as an innocent soul; like small talk, white lies, and generally just being kind to begin with. In his words, it just doesn't feel real anymore.
Nowadays, Jaydin usually wants to be alone with his thoughts, which is especially evident in his tendency to keep his business to himself when interacted with by most people. But at the same time, he needs someone close at hand to occasionally remind him that he's acknowledged as a valid friend. Though, there are times where he can't even enjoy himself with gentle affection. In these situations, he commonly finds more pleasure and relief in being abused, even severely. This carnal desire of his is kept secret however, since the majority of his acquaintances are not nearly as eager to abuse him as he would like, which frequently leads to compounding frustration in the form of unmet needs.
Jay struggles with the fact that he doesn't have a plan for his future, to the point where it's a depressing thought for him to think about, resulting in him avoiding it altogether and simply living in the present. Sometimes, he wishes he could be sixteen in high school again, where despite all the discipline, it was a simpler time where he didn't have to worry about as many things. Despite the fact that he comes off as an unhelpful jerk, Jaydin is actually knowledgeable in a wide range of topics, one of his best being mathematics. It is only a matter of stumbling upon an opportunity to present his strengths in a meaningful way.
Connections
Familial Relationships
- Garland Eversnow
- Jaydin's biological father. Jaydin's father never contacted Jay's mother again after the divorce, mostly because the mother told him never to do so. Jay barely knows his father because of this. The father, despite deeply wanting to contact his eldest son, has no way to do so, since they were separated at a time where Jay didn't have any contact information. Jaydin doesn't hate his father nor does he even dislike them. At times, the young man wants to connect with his distant father, but at the same time, he is also scared to, because Jaydin feels partly responsible for the divorce.
- Sylvia Bullow
- Jaydin's mother and landlord. As his landlord, Sylvia privately supplies Jay with a discount on rent, so long as Jay lives alone. Jaydin's personal relationship with his mother is quite complicated. On one hand she often criticizes him under suspicions of having homosexual relationships among other things, and on the other hand she genuinely cares for him because he is her only son and feels that she's only doing what's right for his best interests. Sylvia's caring is rarely obvious to Jay and other bystanders. Indeed, it is quite subtle and only he understands what he has between him and his mother.
Personal Relationships
- Akira Takeuchi
- Jay's closest friend since high school. Akira and Jaydin are definitely bad influences on each other. They both got into countless shenanigans both during and after high school, including smoking and stealing (the two are well-known by some to steal junk foods). After high school, Akira gained the better-paying job out of the two, as a delivery boy and serviceman at an electronics store. Akira eventually helped Jay get into the same job at the same location by recommending him. Jay and Akira frequently spend free time with each other outside of work, though the two individually live apart and alone. It can also be said that they are casual lovers, due to the fact that they often confide in each other and share intimacy.
- Gabriel Herrera e Ybarra
- Gabriel was hired as a cashier the same electronics store that Jay worked at. Jaydin quickly took interest in Gabriel just because he was a handsome tiger, and with the help of Akira, they coaxed Gabriel into hanging out with them and other friends. Gabriel began to like Jaydin and they carefully became close to one another, while at the same time, Gabriel gradually became more and more aware of Jay's propensity towards non-closed relationships. Gabriel saw the good in Jaydin through the veil of negativity, and wanted to help Jay feel more positive in general. However, Gabriel was uncomfortable with being in a polyamorous relationship, and so Gabriel rather forwardly rejected Jaydin's advances after the latter was caught trying to cover up the other intimate relationships.
- Samuel Redford
- Another of Jay's co-worker friends. Sometimes accompanies Jay and others on hangouts. Sam often tries to invite Jay and other mutual friends to restaurants or to do other things. Jay has somewhat indifferent feelings about Samuel and is slightly annoyed by their energetic nature, but nevertheless considers Sam as a trustworthy friend.
- Vincent Ackermann
- A friend of Jaydin's and also a bit of a role model to him. The two met when Jaydin needed repairs for a car which he didn't have the proper tools for. Jay enjoys being around Vincent quite a bit, and even came to see Vince as a sort of father figure, especially since Jay's biological father was absent most of his life. Vincent became good influence on Jaydin, and even became a casual lover to him, largely due to Jay's frequent visits to Vincent's otherwise lonely home where Vincent is the only one living there.
Eversnow Family Tree
| Jeremiah Bullow | Maria Bullow | Bérenger Eversnow | Vega Eversnow | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sylvia Bullow | Garland Eversnow | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Jaydin Eversnow | Keydin Eversnow | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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