“ I know you have a lot going on with the podcast and the paper and everything, but you have to at least attempt the reading. Professor Stevens will know if I give you all the answers, and I’m trying to get back on track this semester too so … think you could help me out? ” Ava throws him a supplicating look to help strengthen her plea. “ It’ll be much easier for both of us, and quicker too. You won’t have to be stuck with me as long. I'd call that a win. ”
"hey, don't be so hard on yourself. you're not so bad," jasper insisted, his selective hearing out in full force that afternoon. had he been able to read between the lines, he may have realized that ava wanted to be free of him, rather than the other way around. instead, he offered what he felt was a confidence boost to the girl... and a careful deflection from her insistence that he study.
"the rumors aren't true - i'm not illiterate, so i will do the reading. but i didn't know you were a fan of the pod. any thoughts on episode one?"
estela blinked, caught between surprise and annoyance, then let out a soft scoff as recognition settled in. “jasper,” she said with a sigh, like his name was both a memory and a migraine. “if i wanted to ruin lives anonymously, you’d be on the front page, babe. full spread. color photos.” there was a flash of a grin, wicked and fleeting, before she softened, just a little. and then, like she couldn’t help herself, “why are you here? lurking outside the girls’ bathroom”
"good luck with that, gossip girl," he shot back, keeping any hint of a real challenge out of his voice.
of course, he never would've allowed a hit piece on himself to be published in the school paper, and his parents could prevent anything from running nationally. there would not, in fact, be a full spread with color photos the next time he was canceled. but on social media, estela could probably take down anyone she chose. and therefore jasper was treading lightly, careful to not be too annoying.
"that's creep behavior estela, and i don't appreciate the insinuation. as you can see, we're steps away from the men's bathroom. which was, in fact, my destination. before you mentioned the flyers, at least. have any theories on who it actually is?"
ophelia was beginning to think that the energy on campus may never properly restore to what it once was. yes, it hadn't been long since the party but with the weight that lizzie's murder was adding to everyones shoulders, especially with whatever loser weirdo is trying to blackmail everyone online, everyone is on edge. "can i say something lowkey morbid? and one a little less so but may be seen as insensitive? not that i mean to be insensitive but it might fix the vibes?" the brunette asked aloud, not really paying attention to who was within earshot to potentially answer. though it didn't quite matter who heard as she wasn't planning on waiting for a reply, "do you think some, like, true crime influencer is gonna leech onto this for content? like any day now we could be scrolling on tik tok and some chick just goes 'let's dive in to the lizzie harrington case'. and with that list the blog posted would we all be mentioned?" the words tumbled from her mouth at the speed of light. it was an unnerving thought when lizzie's body hadn't even been cold a month now but a totally possible situation given the serious media attention it's gotten. "oh also we should have another bye lizzie party, i feel like helped distract everyone from the storm cloud that is our lives right now." finally turning her attention to the person beside her she hummed a light "what do you think?"
truthfully, jasper hadn't been paying any attention to the conversation nearby until the words true crime influencer broke through and piqued his interested.
leech. was that what he was? because the true crime content he was peddling (episode one out now!) wasn't necessarily coming from a bad place. he was simply a boy trying to figure out what had happened to his friend, working through what they all seemed to be caught up in... and also trying to get un-canceled.
he really should have just let it go, focused on editing the new episode in front of him, but by the time ophelia finished her thought it was entirely too late. he was already standing, ready to set the record straight.
"oh, i plan on it," he snapped his laptop shut, wandering over and wedging himself between the girl and the person she'd been speaking to. jasper had a habit of not minding his own business, butting in where he was not wanted and overstaying his welcome, but when someone was discussing the basis for his podcast, how could he not insert himself in the conversation?
"it's my journalistic duty to record what's happening. the people deserve to know. and don't you want to know? i mean, we still have no clue who killed her or why. and that list? and the secrets? give them the details of the case and the true crime community could solve this whole thing for us."
𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 : langley library, sometime after 2 pm
𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐬 : 1/3 [ open ]
the first time estela saw one of the flyers, it was taped crooked over the mirror in the second floor girls' bathroom, like someone wanted her to read it while reapplying lip gloss or spiraling mid breakdown. she paused, longer than she meant to, eyes flicking between the headline and her own reflection, “how classy,” she muttered under her breath, yanking it down and stuffing it into her back pocket. she gave herself one last look, smoothed down her hair, and pushed the door open, only to nearly collide with someone waiting outside. “if this is about the flyers, i swear it wasn’t me.” she said, more defensive than she meant to, before even bothering to see who it was.
it wasn't often that he had impeccable timing, but as jasper narrowly avoided a collision with estela outside of the girls' bathroom, he had to admit that his luck seemed to be turning.
in many ways, they were two sides of the same coin. they grew up not far from each other, both finding their way to social media stardom. but where jasper had faltered, crashing and burning for the world to see, estela's star had only continued to rise. therefore, he needed her help.
he couldn't ask for it outright, though.
"the lady doth protest too much, methinks," he joked instead as he took a few steps back, a curious tilt of the head the only indication that he perhaps was not 100% convinced by her sudden strong denial. "you mean to tell me you don't know everyone's secrets and you haven't decided to use them in the most dramatic fashion possible?"
"Oh hey! I didn't expect to see you. Thanks for coming by. How have you been?" The Sustainability Club was hosting a pop-up exhibition at the gallery today. They did a few times a year to help promote some environmentally friendly initiatives on campus. The art majors created some amazing recyclable art pieces available for purchase, the fashion majors ran a clothing swap booth, and the culinary majors did some cooking demos with local produce and ingredients from the campus greenhouse. "You should grab yourself some of the zucchini fritters. It's to die for."
a valid greeting, jasper had to admit, given their setting.
unfortunately, he didn't really care about the environment. paper straws? stupid. having to hold onto an empty bottle until you can find a recycling bin? who has the time or patience! but a man can only take getting canceled so many times in his young life, and so he'd decided to make an appearance at the sustainability club event.
...technically, he was also covering it for the paper. but like with almost everything he did, he had a mix of intentions. and so, with the hope of finding an angle for the piece through conversation, he ignored zora's questions in favor of his own. "sounds like something my mom would've asked the chef to make as an hors d'oeuvre," he shrugged, making a mental note to grab some before he left. "did you organize this whole thing, or?"
Noah had been feeling overwhelmed lately. The blog had become more frustrating and unnerving with each passing day. The more they could not pinpoint who was the conspirator of it all, the worse things were seemingly going to get. Lizzie was many things, and whoever was trying to create chaos from the situation was surely winning. Secrets were being spilled. The game was now officially on. He wondered who from the group was fraternizing with a cop. How did this person gain access to such sensitive information? Did Lizzie share a secret that somehow made its way to the Harrington, or had she documented what people confided in her for future blackmail? Who knows? With his third drink of the night in hand, he spotted a familiar face at the bar. "So, who do you think is sleeping with a cop?" he asked, knowing their name was on the list. Was it them?
a mysterious blog had been terrorizing montclair for just about a week, and somehow jasper st. james was not the one behind it.
a man who considered himself to be at the center of the rumor mill, it hadn't been surprising when his name had appeared on the list in week one. but what followed? he only wished he'd though of it first. the intrigue! the suspense! at first he'd found the whole thing amusing, but now (consumed by jealousy) each reminder of the thing stealing the attention of his most loyal readers was grating.
thus, the bar. a great spot for gossip, and a nice way to forget one's troubles. jasper was two drinks in already when one of his frat brothers made his presence known, and through the grace of god (and whiskey) he was able to keep a neutral expression on his face at the mention of the cop secret.
"my man," he nodded in acknowledgment, a raised glass accompanying his words. "what a great question. and one I'm keenly interested in getting to the bottom of. i'm guessing it's not you?"
all while, in the kitchen, damien west and jasper st. james are doing body shots off sara nowak, who is sprawled across the marble counter, laughing between each round. what a dynamic trio.
[ rudy pankow. cis man. he/him. subplot 16. ] welcome back to montclair university, jasper jesse st. james ! according to your student file you're a twenty-three year old junior, studying journalism, and funny enough you were voted most likely to get canceled your senior year of high school back home in austin, texas. i can totally see it with your insightful, determined, and irresponsible personality ! but enough about that — i heard you were lizzie harrington's unlikely friend. makes sense when you take into consideration your status as a legacy student… and the fact that you're hiding [redacted]. you're often seen at the rialto cinema, and you kind of embody endless scrolling on your fyp, the ad break in the middle of a true crime podcast, stacks of money can make any problem go away, & here for a good time, not a long time … not to mention people always seem to hum donttrustme by 3oh!3 when you're around, but you'll always be known on campus as the asshole who enjoys gossiping and has 7.3M instagram followers… good luck this semester ! [ 📍 pinterest. 🎵 playlist. ]
basics.
full name: jasper jesse st. james
nickname(s): n/a
birthday / age: august 5 / twenty-three
zodiac: leo
gender & pronouns: cis man, he/him
sexual orientation: heterosexual
relationship status: in a relationship
hometown: austin, texas
languages: english
family: henry st. james (father), caroline st. james née kennedy (mother)
reference characters: schmidt (new girl), chad dylan cooper (sonny with a chance), logan echolls (veronica mars), shane madej (buzzfeed unsolved)
history.
once upon a time, jasper st. james was a shy, quiet kid with scary high intelligence and (1) best friend (his mom). he had zero extracurriculars, zero interest in making friends in the cafeteria, and zero interest in the rumor mill.
but then he discovered the power of youtube. and it was all downhill from there.
one would not expect a kid from a small town outside of austin, texas to be an influencer. but what started as a stupid movie review account (do you really want to hear what a 12-year-old thinks of the dark knight or inception?) spiraled into something much, much worse. he went from youtube to vine back to youtube and then to tiktok, amassing followers for pranks, daily vlogging, comedy (questionable), tea reports, ranking content, and light gaming.
even though his family had enough money for him to have plenty of options, jasper was so sure that it was his ticket out of town that he put all of his eggs into the one basket. by the time he graduated from high school, he had millions of followers, a squad of friends that may or may not have mostly tolerated him for the clout, and only one college acceptance. he hadn’t even bothered to apply - his mom had done it for him.
luckily it was to a school he had an interest in, and for journalism to boot. he didn’t know how much money his parents paid to ucla to get him in, but he was sure it was a pretty penny. he lasted one semester before he found his classes to not be worth his time.
immediately upon his withdrawal, he decided to stick around la to pursue… something. a spur of the moment and regrettable decision. his choice to move into a content creator house was potentially the worst judgment call he ever made.
some situations (ex: frat houses) lend themselves to a pack mentality, encouraging actions that one would normally never take via peer pressure. if everyone’s doing it, why should you not? if everyone’s pranks are becoming increasingly more daring, how do you stay on top? how far are you willing to go to keep your status? is it worth it?
reader, it was not worth it.
he didn’t know whose idea it had been to break into taylor swift’s place in beverly hills, but when the police arrived, he was standing outside with a camera and a whole lot of fear. he sold out his friends in seconds and got off easy because he hadn’t actually entered the house (the security cameras, his super expensive lawyer argued, made that clear). but it was too late. the damage was done.
audible and hellofresh pulled their sponsorships immediately.
and he officially began his canceled era.
jasper hid out in his hometown for a while after that, going completely dark on social media before posting an apology video that resulted in mixed reactions. and after a whole year of haunting his childhood home, a sad ghost of his former self, his parents gave him an ultimatum. finish college and graduate (no loopholes there) and all will be forgiven or… be disowned.
it wasn’t really a choice now, was it?
thanks to his parents donating a new building to the school, jasper’s been at montclair for just over three years now, continuing to hide out on his hiatus. in that time, he’s gotten his spark back and become the most annoying person at school. he’s the star reporter for the school paper. it’s a position acquired for him by his wealthy parents, who… now fund the paper. his sensationalist headlines and blind items sections have been key drivers in getting readership up, and he never lets anyone forget it. journalistic integrity? who needs that when you can publish statements you’ve heard through an extended game of telephone?
an eternal child who has never had to face the consequences of his actions before, jasper is just biding his time until he can stage his comeback. until then, he’s trying to make things more interesting during his final years of academic torture.
and lizzie?
jasper met lizzie at a party freshman year. they did NOT get along. however, through small interactions here and there, she was able to look past their differences and have actual conversations with him. it was through parties that they formed an unlikely friendship, and also that he discovered that she could be his number one source for gossip. it seemed like lizzie knew everything at montclair, and after a few drinks, sometimes she passed along an interesting tidbit about a person or two. small things that jasper could expand upon. he never would've thought that she was manipulating him, getting him to do her dirty work for her, but now that she's dead and people aren't quite sanctifying her, he is starting to wonder.
he is genuinely sad that she's been murdered, though. and so he's decided to be productive with that sadness. unfortunately for everyone, it involves a podcast.
headcanons.
truly lives by the saying “curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back” - super inquisitive, always wants to know everything and always has.
a Cinephile. a letterboxd user. he got his start reviewing movies, and his love for them has never wavered. though he doesn't always get them, he's an a24 lover.
though he says he got canceled because he caved to peer pressure / as a result of living in a content creator house, that hasn't kept him from doing a similar thing in college. to the surprise of absolutely no one, he's joined a frat.
athletic, but it's for the best that he's not doing team sports. he's very good at tennis.
a hopeless romantic & a surprisingly good boyfriend tbh.
he doesn’t particularly like himself, but he’s not really sure what to do with that. therapy was a part of his year of exile, but all he really learned during that time is that he has daddy issues.
he does have some sense of right and wrong, so his apology video for the t. swift incident wasn’t like… a ukulele tune or a tear filled deflection. he did own up to what he did and it’s still on his channel.
his aforementioned sense of right and wrong does blur sometimes though. so he will be creating a true crime podcast asap.
rich bitch.
plays drums and guitar and will be annoying to anyone in a band, trying to worm his way in.
his family owns a major multimedia conglomerate. they’re like the hearsts. it's why he's majoring in journalism, when he would've been way less annoying as a film major.
technically a transfer student, since he did a semester at ucla.
still chronically online - he has alt accounts to keep up with what everyone is saying/doing. he is close to staging his comeback on his main, though.
wanted connections.
secret relationship. in some ways it’s a secret even to her, since she doesn’t know that she’s dating him. their relationship started through a dating app, but jasper - fresh off of being canceled - wasn’t using his real name or photos. he’s had a thing for her for forever, though, so he had to try. and now… to make his web of lies more believable, irl he’s started to refer to her as his girlfriend who lives in canada.
true crime podcast co-host. yeah :/ he sucks, so he is going to create a true crime podcast about what's happening and he's open to a co-host.
tutor. he's very much not good at school, but he has to pass his classes in order to graduate. and he needs to graduate in order to not get disowned. he pays his tutor very well for everything they have to put up with.
haters. a good amount of his connections will likely be antagonistic and that's good! people he's spread rumors about, people who don't know why he's terrorizing montclair after his Crimes.
former roommate, frat brothers, The Boys, best friend, unlikely friend, ex, group project partner, etc.
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