BASICS.
FULL NAME: Jude Hugo Lawrence. He wasn’t named for the meaning as much as the sound, though his middle name has been passed through the Lawrence family for generations. NICKNAME: Jude does not have a nickname, though he wouldn’t be opposed to a close family member or friend making one up for him . . . So long as it isn’t an embarrassing one, of course. AGE AND BIRTHDAY: Jude is thirty eight and was born October 31st, 1944. Since discovering his powers he’s found it all very ironic that he was born on Halloween. That among other things has got him thinking about fate quite a lot these days, he’s not sure free will really exists. SEXUALITY: Jude would call himself straight if anyone asked, given the times and the importance of his reputation but he has had several discreet affairs with other gentlemen. ABILITY: He’s a medium, meaning he has the ability to see/hear/communicate with spirits of the deceased. It’s not something he ever would have wanted for himself and he’d give it up in a heartbeat if someone told him how. He struggles to differentiate spirits from living people and can occasionally be caught speaking to someone nobody else sees, unaware they’re a ghost, as well as ignoring someone that is very much alive when he assumes incorrectly that they’re not. Fortunately, that isn’t an everyday occurrence, a lot of spirits are pretty obvious. He’s not very well practiced with his abilities but were he to gain a higher degree of control, he’d also be able to channel spirits, allowing them to temporarily possess his body. His gift scares and annoys him so he hasn’t done much work to learn more about it. CLASS: Jude is registered as Class C. It’s fairly accurate, at least as long as he doesn’t cross paths with a spirit that has sensitive information like national secrets. That hasn’t happened yet and it’s unlikely, there are a lot of ghosts out there. When he realized he was gifted and not insane he went immediately to get himself classified, not wanting to deal with the nightmare of others finding out and thinking he had a reason to keep it secret. Being both wealthy and only Class C, he hasn’t experienced too much trouble for being registered, although there are frequent comments from others of similar wealth turning up their noses at him.
PHYSICAL.
SCARS: He has a scar from his appendectomy when he was fourteen, otherwise none! TATTOOS: Jude has no tattoos though he wouldn’t be opposed to getting one somewhere hidden. The only reason he hasn’t is because he doesn’t have any ideas for one. STYLE: He dresses like old money. When he’s at an event that requires him to dress up he shows up in a well tailored suit, one that isn’t flashy. When he’s dressing down he still wears clothes that are more expensive, clothes from high-fashion labels but they blend into the crowd. He doesn’t try to flaunt his wealth so he doesn’t wear clothes that make him stand out, only clothes that are “respectable” and well made. Others of a similar class of society are likely to recognize the brands since old-money is all about covert high-fashion but most wont. WALK AND POSTURE: His back is straight, his chin is held high, he’ll pass a smile if he catches someone’s eye and strut around as if he’s never been told no. He’s not obnoxious but he certainly walks with a degree of importance, taking long strides with his shoulders pushed back. SPEECH: Jude rarely curses and his voice is pleasant to listen to. He very rarely raises it, speaking at a confident, easy to hear volume without being noisy. He has “no accent” or rather, a very generic American accent.
PHILOSOPHY.
SPIRITUALITY: He was raised nominally Catholic, meaning they went to mass for Christmas, Easter, funerals, and weddings but not much else. These days he doesn’t know what it is that he believes. If there is a god he doubts it’s the Christian god and he doubts that he’s good. One thing he does believe in are ghosts, considering his ability, but that’s the only certainty he has. MORALS: Jude’s philosophy is very up in the air these days. In the past he’d have had an answer about what made something right and what made something wrong but now he’s not so sure. He enjoys trying different philosophies on for size and seeing what he thinks but none have stuck. He wants to be a good person, he’s just not been very proactive about making that a reality. VICES: Jude is cunning. He will do what he needs to not only to survive but to thrive, no matter how many go down because of it. He’s not violent but he’d certainly pull a string or two to secure what he wants, even if that means someone else has to suffer or go down for it. WRONGDOINGS: He’ll tolerate being a con, a cheat, a narc, whatever a shark has to be but he isn’t one for violence. If it comes up he’ll defend himself without hesitation but he considers it immature and ineffective. There are better ways to get what you want when your coffers are full. PICK ONE OF EACH: HERO or VILLAIN / RETRIBUTION or REHABILITATION / GRUDGE or FORGIVENESS / PASSIONATE or APATHETIC
EDUCATION.
SCHOOL: He has a bachelor’s in business administration from Harvard and was a decent student all through high school and college. Whenever he struggled with a subject his parents were quick to hire a private tutor. He went to a private boarding school for his junior and senior year of high school and prior to that he attended a private school in Boston. His favorite subject has always been art and his least favorite is math. TALENTS: Jude is a phenomenal cook. He didn’t need to learn due to any necessity but he picked it up on a whim when he was in middle school. Now that he’s in charge of the family’s finances he doesn’t even have a private chef working full time for him! Wild! He does hire one when he’s hosting any sort of event but otherwise, he enjoys making his own meals. Aside from cooking, he’s also very well educated when it comes to the arts. He loves all of it and will gladly ramble on about art history if given the chance. LANGUAGES: Jude started taking French in high school and continued to study it as his foreign language requirement in college. He loves visiting Paris and although he still has an American accent when speaking French, he communicates well enough that he’s not immediately shut down.
RELATIONSHIPS.
FRIENDSHIPS: He has a lot of friends that he’d abandon in a heartbeat if it suited him and who would do the same to him. Most of them are wealthy, most of them are old money though a few are from new money, he doesn’t mind. He also has a few friends that aren’t rich at all and these ones he is much less cunning towards. They’re artists that he met while at Harvard or at various shows, gala’s, and the like. He enjoys being around creatives and would absolutely consider himself a patron of Boston’s art community. When you’re friends with Jude, whether that’s a genuine friendship or a useful connection to him really just depends. He’s not great at forming deep connections with others though it isn’t due to a reluctance so much as his own ambition makes that difficult. He’d like to meet someone he can be entirely himself around, and he does have that in his brother, he just doesn’t know how to create it outside of his family. FAMILY: Jude was always very close to his family, especially his mother and brother. His mother was his biggest fan growing up and saw to it that he never wanted for anything while his brother became his best friend later on in life, once he stopped finding him annoying for being younger. Jude and his father have a decent relationship, though it isn’t as close, mostly because his father has always had very high expectations for Jude. He does still love his father quite a lot and knows that he is loved in return. ROMANTIC: Jude had several girlfriends in high school, though all of those relationships fizzled out after a few months. He had a girlfriend in college which lasted a bit longer, only for him to get bored of being in a relationship after a few years and end things with her, too. He’s also had multiple dalliances with other men which began in his college years but none were serious and they all ran its course. Jude can be flighty in a relationship, finding it difficult to balance a love life with everything else that he wants to do; he will always prioritize himself. He’s not opposed to being in another relationship but he also enjoys being single, he’s in no rush. ENEMIES: Most of Jude’s enemies considered him an enemy, first. As mentioned, Jude will prioritize himself at the cost of others but that doesn’t mean he has ill will towards those people . . . It just so happens that those people usually have ill will towards him afterwards. When he does genuinely dislike someone he’s cold towards them, he has mastered the art of backhanded remarks and isolating people from his circle of friends. If he’s furious, depending on the other person’s station in life and amount of power they wield, he’ll quite easily ruin their lives. An artist he once considered a friend humiliated him? Very well, he knows most of the gallery owners in Boston, at least the ones that matter, how does it feel having your work blocked from the art world? Things like that.
PERSONALITY.
MBTI: ENTJ - The Commander “Commanders are true powerhouses, and they cultivate an image of being larger than life – and often enough they are. Commander personalities have a particular skill in recognizing the talents of others, and this helps in both their team-building efforts, and to keep Commanders from displaying too much arrogance and condescension. However, they also have a particular skill in calling out others’ failures with a chilling degree of insensitivity, and this is where Commanders really start to run into trouble. Emotional expression isn’t the strong suit of any Analyst type, but Commanders’ distance from their emotions is especially public, and felt directly by a much broader swath of people. Especially in a professional environment, Commanders will simply crush the sensitivities of those they view as inefficient, incompetent or lazy. Commanders will do well to remember that they absolutely depend on having a functioning team, not just to achieve their goals, but for their validation and feedback as well, something Commanders are, curiously, very sensitive to.” THE GOOD: Jude is incredibly dedicated and loyal to his family. He wants to be the perfect son, to fill the shoes of his father, and he works hard to do so. It’s not a want that he leaves on the backburner, he’s proactive about it. He’s also open minded, although he can be ruthless and cunning, he’s not evil. He means well, you just can’t get in his way. He doesn’t discriminate based on someone’s wealth and he’s happy to meet people from all walks of life and importantly, he’s happy to learn. He’s also a joy to be around, he’s witty and charming, he doesn’t make others feel small unless he needs to or they made him feel small first. He’s a great person to sit next to at a dinner or to meet at a gallery and a powerful connection to have. THE BAD: His ugly side is contained. Most will never meet it aside from catching him when he’s especially stressed, when he tends to be much more dismissive and cold. The few who have met the full extent of how ruthless he can be will regret having met him, as detailed already, he will do what he thinks he needs to without apology to those he hurts. FIRST GLANCE: Jude is fantastic at first impressions. Upon meeting him you are likely to walk away feeling charmed and like you just met an incredibly intelligent, driven, charismatic fellow. He’s good at getting people to warm up to him and making them feel welcome, really, he’s a marvelous host. If he were to rub someone the wrong way it’s probably due to his own ignorance to what life looks like outside of the bubble he’s in, though he’s good at smoothing over interactions if he thinks he misstepped. TEMPERAMENT: Jude is a people pleaser as long as it suits him to be. He doesn’t anger quickly but he is often stressed out and is liable to take that stress out on those around him. With new people, he’s a fun guy to be around, but once you get closer to him you’ll start to see his mask slip and get a whiff of just how tightly wound he really is.
MOTIVATIONS.
GOALS: Jude wants to make his father proud, even if he knows he won’t see it. He needs to feel like he did something unique, something important with his life and with his company. He doesn’t just want to be status quo for Lawrence Diamonds, he wants to elevate it somehow, he wants to leave his mark. Truth be told, if he weren’t from the family he’s from, he’d probably want to be a curator for an art museum, which would fulfill him much more than living in the shadows of his family. The heart of his goal, moving past the way he’s superficially trying to get to it, is just to feel like he’s doing something that matters. To feel like he deserves all that he’s had given to him, that his life has meaning beyond carrying on his family’s legacy while still being a credit to it. OBSTACLES: Jude is doing all that he can as far as reaching what he thinks his goal is; to fill his father’s shoes and make Lawrence Diamonds even more successful than it already is. He’s very proactive in that regard but again, it’s not the heart of what he wants, though he’s yet to realize that for himself. His biggest obstacle is that self awareness factor, as well as the fear of failing. Lawrence Diamonds seems to him like the most important thing in his life, he’d need a pretty good push to realize that he can do and be more than that. ADVANTAGES: Once Jude realizes what he really wants and musters up the courage to go for it, he’ll be set. He has wealth and connections so if you need a guy to pull strings, he’s your man. What will help him is probably someone spoon feeding it to him, someone pointing out that clearly, Lawrence Diamonds is not bringing him joy or fulfillment and that if he’s always saying “after this next thing” then it never will. Once he realizes that, he’s going to need another push, likely from his brother though potentially his father if he’s lucid; he needs to be told it’s okay to live for something other than his family. FEARS: Ironically and very unluckily, ghosts scare Jude. he’s certainly gotten more used to it since they became a regular part of his life but the moment he sees none he dreads the moment when he will again. REGRETS: Jude is not very self aware, to put it simply. He lives his life unapologetically. Sure, he’s aware he’s done some ruthless things but it’s what needed to happen so he doesn’t regret it. He’s always been loyal to his family and that’s what matters.
