gordon’s original southern gothic au iteration was a high school student possessed by an avatar of maitre carrefour, the patron loa of the crossroads, but i realized that’s kind of appropriating since gordon is still white in this au, soooooo reboot time.
real name is rené lejeune, which is how he’s known “professionally,” but otherwise goes by gordon young (lejeune = young in french, hah). gordon is 28, cajun, and a traiteur. from wikipedia:
“Medicine men and women, or healers, called traiteur/traiteuse in French, are still found throughout the state. During their rituals for healing, they use secret French prayers to God or saints for a speedy recovery. These healers are mostly Catholic and do not expect compensation or even thanks, as it is said that then, the cure will not work.”
gordon learned the trade from his mother (deceased, pancreatic cancer), since traiteurism is traditionally passed down from the “opposite” gender. in addition to the normal traiteur stuff, his family line specializes in one service in particular: sin-eating. also from wikipedia:
“A sin-eater is a person who, through a ritual meal, takes on the sins of a household, often because of a recent death, thus absolving the soul and allowing that person to rest in peace. In anthropology and the study of folklore, sin-eating is classified as apotropaic ritual and a form of religious magic.”
but since this is a supernatural au, gordon literally eats the sins out of people’s souls. once he consumes as much as his body can hold, he ritualistically pukes it out (for lack of a better description) to dispose of it. it’s a very unpleasant experience so he tries to hold out as long as possible in between, although this usually isn’t too much of a problem since traiteurism is A) a dying practice and B) a service that per tradition has to be requested, not offered, so he doesn’t get very steady work.
in this au gordon isn’t a smoker by choice, but necessity. he smokes cigarettes made from rosemary and rue, two powerful herbs associated with warding evil. the smoke keeps the sinful energy suppressed so it doesn’t just escape back into the world before he can dispose of it properly. he burns incense of a similar composition when he sleeps, so his apartment always reeks with herbal smoke. chews dried osha root (a type of parsley) in between expulsions to clear out his lungs, which is super bitter and contributes to his resting bitch face.
standard gordon traits apply in terms of height, build, permanent bed head, weird aqua eye color, crappy posture, etc. still a lefty but had to learn all his traiteur rituals right-handed because of old school catholic left = EVIL bullshit. struggles with depression. always kinda scruffy in this au, but will never let it reach actual beard status. his neck tattoo is the cross of st. benedict, which is associated with exorcism (the cross in the picture is the veve of maitre carrefour so that is no longer accurate).
born in lafayette. speaks english and cajun french, and also some “real” french but only in the context of certain prayers. french is actually his first and default language, while his english is a cajun accent mixed with a little “yat” from living in new orleans the past ten years.
raised super catholic but is about as far from a paragon of catholic behavior as possible. knows the shit out of his bibles though, also good at biology, anatomy, and holistic medicine. wanted to be a “real doctor” because real doctors actually make money, whereas traiteurs can’t even ask for payment, but he couldn’t afford college, much less med school.
crappy one-room apartment in a slummy area of new orleans. what little money he does take in goes mostly to rent and utilities (traiteurs are allowed accept gifts, so he ends up pawning most of those). sin sustains his body and psychosomatically fills his stomach so the fuller he is the less he needs/wants to eat. by that same token, after expelling sin he’s fucking ravenous. survives on the kindness of mona grace (mixed-race creole descent in this au, practices kitchen witchcraft), whose grandma, a hoodoo woman, knew gordon’s mom. she turned him on to the osha root and brings him his herbs, also food with lowkey spellwork cooked in to keep up his health etc. he really likes her and they’ve slept together a couple times but has nothing to offer her so he’s never entertained the idea of a real relationship.
he fucking loves boudin (type of sausage made from pork organ meat and rice, an iconic cajun food), pan fried and smothered in hot sauce.
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