defensemechanisms | Entries tagged with warning: mental health

SUMMARY
→ran away at 16 (right bastard of a father)
→got into a lot of bad shit (mostly drugs)
→developed a coke habit (not anymore)
→fell in with a lot of bad people (dealers mostly)
→made a lot of mistakes (got someone killed)
→got caught doing it (using his powers)
→got to choose between prison or service (he'd choose prison if he could do it over)
→served his time fighting someone else's battles (without pushing back)
→contemplated suicide (too much of a coward)
→checked into a nuthouse instead (doesn't like to talk about it)
→met his best friend outside smoking a cigarette (he wasn't a patient)
→turned his life around, mostly (channels things into sculpture art)
→just trying to be better (questionable success)

→the J stands for Jaskulski but don't bother nobody knows how to spell it right

ADDITIONAL DETAILS
○ born in Manchester, subtle accent toned own through years spent in America
○ mother moved there to be with his father; father lost his job due to a drinking habit
○ relocated to Chicago to be with mother's family until father got back on his feet
○ age 14 when they moved
○ father never got back on his feet; rampant alcoholism
○ cheated on his mother, several half-siblings strewn about
○ ran away at 16 after a particularly bad physical altercation with his father
○ couch-surfed with some friends for weeks, then friends of friends
○ then the dealers of friends of friends, selling and doing coke
○ intermittent homelessness in between shacking up with friends/partners/dealers/drug houses
○ couldn't hold down a real job, didn't feel the need to
○ did some petty cons (name was actually connor but friends started spelling it conner as a joke, it stuck)
○ other petty crimes
○ things got pretty serious when he was about 21, started selling for a pretty dangerous crew
○ joined a gang to be quite honest, even if that's not what they called it
○ some of them knew about his power, made him a necessary person when getting into altercations
○ somebody owed them money & made off with a ton of product
○ went with two other guys to break in and collect
○ things got heated; the guy ran, conner chased him
○ blew through the back door of a bodega; shots fired, used his power to stop the bullets, chaos
○ sudden movement in the corner of his eye, high and terrified, pulled the trigger
○ it was just a girl
○ he ran; doesn't matter, cops were called well before & it was all caught on tape
○ sat in an interrogation room in somewhere decidedly not a police station
○ you killed that girl; you also have 3 outstanding warrants and there are drugs on your person
○ you could go away for a long time, or you could work for us
○ seven year contract, age 22-29 working for a paramilitary organization with a strict NDA
○ the kind of organization where the government looks the other way; LAND - Learning and National Defense
○ ops ranged from shutting down black market weapons manufacturing to eliminating "terror threats" to capturing other powered individuals for undisclosed reasons
○ thinks he knows what those reasons were, still dreams about breaking up families and hearing them beg
○ the contract ended and he didn't know what to do with himself after he walked out
○ decided he'd rather die than go back to being what he was
○ refuses to answer the phone for any of his old team or even older crew
○ contemplated suicide, started spiraling out, drinking too much, almost pulled the trigger
○ checked himself into a mental health facility instead
○ met the best friend he's ever had while smoking a cigarette outside of it
○ worked through things with over a year of therapy and anti-depressants
○ went back to school for welding
○ started channeling his energy into welding sculpture art on the side & selling pieces
○ tentatively has his life together at 33, good welding job, decent at art, still regularly attends therapy
○ no drugs, minimal alcohol, not an addict
○ would literally die for his best friend

FUN FACTS
• recreational artist; liked to draw growing up
• dislikes sushi (it's the texture)
• will get rowdy-drunk if you play Shipping Up to Boston
• thought he was in love with someone on his team; he was wrong
• likes watching HGN, those shows where they remodel houses
• still smokes sometimes - cigarettes and marijuana
• on anti-depressants & anti-anxiety meds

MUSICAL AESTHETIC

Watch on YouTube