– WHO WE ARE
Was that [ LIAM HEMSWORTH ] I just saw? No, that’s [ JUDE BARNETT ]. He is [ 24 ] and known as [ LABEL. ] He is in his [ FRESHMAN ] year at Hillside University, currently living [ ON ] campus while studying [ ARCHITECTURE ]. I’ve heard they can be [ LOYAL ] & [ DEDICATED ], but can be [ PESSIMISTIC ] & [ ISOLATED ] if you catch them on a bad day. The best way to describe them would have to be [ WORN DEMIN, THE SMELL OF SAWDUST, HEARING THUNDER BEFORE YOU SEE RAIN ]. [ MOUSE / 24 / CST / SHE/HER ]
– WHERE WE’VE BEEN
Jude Barnett was born to two working class parents in New Orleans, who provided for him but didn’t seem to care what he spent his time doing. He fell into the habit of wandering the city, listening to music and staring at the beautiful old buildings New Orleans boasts, and before long was pointed by a teacher towards art and architecture by a teacher, who had seen his clumsy doodles in the margin of his papers and taken the time to ask him about it. His passion directed, Jude did all he could to achieve his dream with his eyes on a Ph.D from M.I.T, working construction because it helped him learn more about buildings and because they were willing to hire a fifteen year old and pay him under the table, paying tutors with his wages and saving the rest for college, and doing as much charity work possible to line his transcript.
It was while he was spending time tutoring middle schoolers that he met Eleanor Dubois, who firmly insisted he call her Elle. They bonded over their shared Beatles names and love for art- though she worked with digital media and paint, while he only really dabbled in photography and sketching- and only really as mediums to convey the buildings he dreamed up. They were dating within a month of meeting, and less than a year later Jude found himself holding a sobbing Elle while he shakily stared at a positive pregnancy test.
Ever the pragmatist, Jude didn’t waste too much time before he was making plans- she would go to school, as he had enough construction experience to earn himself a job that would support them both, then she could return the favor. The reality of course, was much less cut and dry than his original plan. They were constantly broke, Elle’s pregnancy was a difficult one, working long hours made Jude exhausted and cranky, and Elle’s graphic design classes began stacking large amounts of debt of her shoulders, so that Jude began to dread that he would never get the chance to pursue his dreams. They grieved the opportunities they’d lost out on, and so they resented each other. By the time their daughter Lucille (Lucy- keeping with the Beatles trend) was born, he couldn’t stand to be around the person he’d once been so in love with, and Elle for her part hung around for barely six months of sleep deprivation and postpartum before Jude came home to find her waiting with a suitcase and an apology.
Jude spent the next two years paying off the medical debt he’d accumulated in Lucy’s first year of doctor’s appointments, and the credit card debt he’d gotten just trying to keep them afloat. He let himself think of little except his daughter and keeping the wolves from the door, pouring money into daycare and seeing no end in sight until he was old and gray, until he saw an ad for Hillside, boasting their new child care program. He applied less than a month later, and moved as soon as his lease was up. To Jude, it felt like a second chance, one he wasn’t willing to miss out on, and this time he won’t let himself get distracted.
This determination was only made more urgent to him after he was attacked from behind and left for dead by the Hillside vandals- he was in the hospital for several days after with a severe concussion, several stitches, and a large third degree burn on his back and shoulders that made it hard for him to lift his arms over his head for months after. Luckily his boss Jonathan Dove and his wife felt terrible about his injuries, and agreed to watch Lucy until he was released. While he was never a very social person before, he’s been almost isolated ever since.
Jude lives in THE CORRIDOR, where he got an excellent deal on rent after agreeing to be the landlord’s SUPER, something he finds generally easy work- though he couldn’t say the same for dealing with the- rambunctious residents. He still works at the LITTLE DOVE DINER as a SHORT ORDER COOK, and somehow finds time to attend CARDIO CLUB, PHOTOGRAPHY CLUB, and BOXING, despite normally having to take Lucy along.
