Profile
JEAN ASHER-DEAN
ABOUT
THE Barcode Boy.
Jean's the glue of many relationships and always strives to make sure the needs of his loved ones are met, regardless of himself. He's a loyal friend to have and even a nice person to pass on the street. He's always been a good person despite his criminal record. He tends to give from his glass until he has nothing left, and that's when all hell breaks loose.
MISC.
- All of his peers call him Asher, except for Carter. "Jean" doesn't sound cool enough but it sounds nice coming from him. Other than that, no one outside his family calls him by his first name
- His love language is giving gifts but since he's often broke, they're usually handmade
- Absolutely loves joining Carter on his motorcycle adventures and attemping to mingle with his friends at the biker bar
- Can't speak a lick of Italian
- Fears marriage, burdening others (often by asking for help), and becoming his father
- Remembers the smallest, most forgettable "fun facts" about people
- He has his dad's terrible anger issues but he often buries his feelings which only makes them worse
- Had crazy internalized homophobia in high school which greatly contributed to his meltdown
- Hasn't seen his dad since he was 5 and walked out on him. His dad recently gave him money but Jean still doesn't know if he wants to hug him or punch him
- As a kid, his mom called him "Jean Dean Green Bean" because he loved green beans when he was little, but always made a mess when eating them. The nickname has been shortened to "Jean Bean"
- He's been prescribed medical marijuana for his temper and sedation side effects
- He loves Roger more than he has words for, but he feels weird admitting it to him. Thankfully, Rog has been around his nephew long enough to get the subtext through his subtle phrases or actions
- Lost his virginity to Carter. He's never been with anyone else but he doesn't really care
- He doesn't have any kinks but enjoys having sex outside and/or in cars (away from other people, of course). He likes the fresh air and overall enjoys a change of scenery from a bed or couch. It's not a priority, but if he gets in the mood in public, he'll find a way to pursue it
BARCODE
He has an abnormally low body temperature (which shows up as hypothermic when measured), can transform inorganic objects into glass, and his eye color changes based on emotion. It appears grey is the default, red is anger, yellow is happy/excited, green is sickness, blue is sadness, purple is jealousy, and pink is love/embarrassment. When he feels too many things at once or buries his emotions for too long, the colors change rapidly and give him migraines. As of now, he can control what he turns into glass, especially since it relies on his hands being cold. However, when he has terrible migraines, he can't focus enough to prevent transforming random objects or leaving glass shards everywhere..
DESIGN NOTES
- Only has freckles on his face and shoulders
- Has a barcode on the left side of his neck but he tries to cover it with his hair. However, he mainly wears his hair down because of how much Carter likes it
- Always wears a black pair ring on his left ring finger that matches Carter's. They got them for their one-month anniversary
- Has a tribal tattoo on his right bicep that also matches Carter's. They got matching tattoos for Carter's 21st birthday
- His eyes change color based on his emotions but they defualt to grey now (his eyes were previously hazel). Whenever he's with Carter, they're usually pink
- He'll wear pretty much anything and despite always being cold, he likes showing skin. He likes this one purple off-shoulder shirt he found in Carter's room and a denim jacket he's been covering with patches
PLAYLIST
- "Tongue Tied" - Grouplove
- "The Nights" - Avicii
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"To My Enemies" - Saint Motel
(Jean and Carter)
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"Sandals" - Khai Dreams
(Jean and Carter)
HOBBIES
PERSONALITY
SUMMARY
Jean has lived in Chesterbrook for his entire life. He grew up with his younger brother, Lloyd, his mom, and for a short period, his dad. Jean was the cause of a shotgun wedding since his mother’s family would’ve had a riot if she had a baby unmarried. His childhood was smooth until he became a toddler and witnessed his parents frequently fighting with each other. His father was a hothead and felt burdened by parenthood after Jean was no longer a baby. He tended to disappear without warning, return home late, and waste the family’s money, all while keeping his own paycheck for himself.
Jean’s father was primarily verbally abusive. His parents never planned to get married and start a family—they just enjoyed fooling around—so Ezekiel quickly became bothered by Jean’s existence. He liked caring for a baby and showing him all his interests, but he got bored. He didn’t wanna be tied down by some kid that wasn’t supposed to exist in the first place. Most of his parents’ arguments centered around Millie being responsible for Jean since she refused to get rid of him. Ezekiel never asked for a kid, so once all the infant nonsense was over, why did he have to keep involving himself? Hence, when Millie got knocked up again, Ezekiel called it quits, especially since he couldn’t convince her to get an abortion.
What Ezekiel originally liked about their relationship was how freeing it was. They’d do what they wanted, go where they wanted, and spend money how they wanted. They could fool around whenever they felt the urge and never had to consider how it affected those around them. Jean’s parents were both fucked up. They loved each other and couldn’t give two shits about their family or friends. They prioritized themselves always, hence why Ezekiel had such a hard time putting Jean first.
He and his dad often got into small arguments since Jean was also a hothead, but he only ever spoke up to protect his mom. He was sad when his dad disappeared for the last time since he had countless good memories of him, but he was also thankful for the peace. Unlike most abused individuals who grow to become abusers, Jean went the opposite way. He knew how it felt to be bullied at home and didn’t want anyone else to experience that. Everyone deserved a friend.
He went on to befriend everyone in the neighborhood—kids, adults, dogs, postmen—everyone knew the little freckled boy who lived on the corner. They often gave him gifts since he always offered to help them, but it quickly came back to bite him in the ass. When Lloyd was born, his mom had a hard time caring for him and going to work at the same time. Even once Lloyd became independent, Jean was still stuck taking care of him because no one else was around. Despite being an elementary schooler, he lost much of his childhood by filling in as the second adult of the household. Hence, when Carter came around, he finally had a distraction and a true way to be a kid again. Even if he was taking care of Lloyd or doing countless chores around the house, he had company that he cherished.
Jean underwent way too much stress starting at a young age, and growing into a people-pleaser only made it worse. He didn’t care for himself—he just wanted to see others happy. He always threw his needs to the side, deeming them unimportant, dumb, or overdramatic. Admitting he loved Carter back in middle school and after being bailed out of jail was the only time he prioritized himself. While his mother was the more civilized parent, Jean was still like neither of his parents. His mom was always busy trying to support her two sons and never noticed Jean acting odd and draining himself. The only two who noticed were Carter and Roger.
Since Jean kept so many secrets back then, Carter never knew the full story, but even in middle school, the brunet only appeared relaxed at Carter’s place. His bubbliness was authentic, and he could sleep without being shaken awake by his thoughts, which explains why he never wanted to leave. Before and after dating him, Carter’s house always felt more like a home than his own. In his own house, he always felt like there was something better he could be doing or that his mom would yell at him to be productive, even if she wasn’t home. Roger already knew that Jean had a few too many similarities to Ezekiel, but he tried to help the best he could. Roger and Carter were his only escapes from his stressful household. He slept the best at their places, ate enough food, and could finally clear his head. If it weren’t for the two of them, he likely would’ve blown up a bit sooner.
RELATIONSHIPS
Carter is Jean’s partner-in-crime when it comes to anything. They bicker like siblings and have been best friends since age 11, and while they’re complete opposites, they blend perfectly. They refer to each other as “bro” and “dude” constantly, so most people think they’re only close friends.
Despite being an extrovert and knowing almost everyone in his grade, Carter became Jean’s closest friend. Everyone knew him, and they shared similar interests, but it was never to a point where they would visit each other or plan to hang out after school. They were all friends in the classroom and would only meet outside by coincidence. Jean loved that a boy his age finally moved into his neighborhood since it was primarily young girls and senior citizens. Knowing Jean, he still befriended them, but it wasn't the same.
Jean instantly fell in love with Carter’s curly blond afro, turquoise eyes, quiet demeanor, and constantly flushed face. He went out of his way to get closer to him, hoping that Carter would eventually relax and enjoy the next chapter of his life. They quickly grew closer and appeared as if they’d known each other since birth. Jean eventually found himself falling for him, and by the end of middle school, he finally admitted it by mistake. Carter was badgering Jean with questions about relationships, crushes, and sexualities, and while he mistakenly admitted he was bi, he also said he loved him. He assumed he had said it before, but from Carter’s expression, it was clear that wasn’t the case.
They proceeded to date for the summer before freshman year when they claimed the past three months were just an experiment. It was a phase only for a season, and now they could return to their basic friendship. Their love for each other was still prevalent since they had always been touchy, but they acted as if nothing was there. They just wanted to seem normal, which was actually going pretty well until the summer before their junior year. Jean joined Carter’s family on a trip to Colorado. When the two got lost on a hike and took a break at the top of the mountain, Jean kissed him. He was trying not to do anything, but the view was romantic, and the more he looked at Carter, who was staring into the distance, he realized how much he still loved him. Jean fell in love with him all over again up on that mountain and finally acted on it, but when Carter asked if he still liked him, Jean lied. Clearly, if Carter hadn’t felt the same way, he wouldn’t have let Jean kiss him, but Jean still feared that his feelings would somehow cause a problem.
As he does, Jean blocked out what happened on the trip and tried to shove his feelings down. He kept trying to convince himself that just being friends with Carter was enough. However, when Carter started dating Maya and his girlfriend tried to split them apart, the suppression worsened. Of course, Jean eventually blew up over trying to support his family, putting too many people before himself, experiencing blurry lines between childhood and adulthood, and keeping secrets from the person he loved the most.
PERSONAL LIFE
This section thoroughly explains Jean's personal life and experiences before his arrest, which were briefly touched upon in the story. There are also many mentions of his love for Carter because...we all love Carter. I actually have no clue. I have way too much lore that's important but I have no idea where the fuck to put it. Some of it's reduandant across character bios but like, shut up.Both of Jean’s parents had long hair and Millie’s was known to be fluffier, thus Jean’s gravity defying hair. Despite his father having tons of facial hair, it must’ve skipped a generation because Jean can barely grow peach fuzz, and his large quantity of hair is on his head instead. However, Jean hates photos of his dad and people comparing the two because he hates how much he looks like his father. He got his pointy nose and thick eyebrows from his dad, along with his anger issues and his tendency to be cold. They also shared the same eye color until Jean got arrested and they became clear and multicolored.
Until the day when Jean vented to Carter about his past, he was terribly self-conscious about being like his dad. He didn’t want to resemble him through his looks or actions and tried to deny it, but he knew it was inevitable. But despite being Ezekiel’s flesh and blood, Jean grew to believe that he was better than him, because it was true.
Sure, Jean got arrested thanks to his anger issues, but it was because he was so selfless towards his mom and Lloyd that he practically threw away his free time to support the family since his father wasn’t present. Despite being bullied by his dad and watching him treat his mom the same way, he didn’t want to take his anger out on others. Instead, he wanted to find and befriend the kids who had been tossed aside and made fun of, and make them feel welcome and loved because he knew what they felt like thanks to the environment he lived in. Thing is, Jean didn’t want anything in return other than to see his friends happy, which is what Carter had trouble understanding at first when they were kids.
Jean, being an extrovert, made it super easy for him to befriend everyone, and once he got older, he forgot his real intentions behind making conversation with people. He didn’t think much about being bullied as a kid—he just wanted to see people happy. He never really noticed it until he got into a disagreement with Carter about their friendship. Jean feels awful when people do things for him, whether it’s paying for things for him or, in Carter’s case, saving his life. He had gotten really fixated on trying to make it up to him, but the blond didn’t want him to. Jean had spent the majority of their childhood helping him and didn’t want anything in return, but while Carter was thankful, he felt a little bad too. However, he claimed that true friends don’t keep tabs on each other. They help one another in their time of need and if it’s huge, so be it. Unless someone outright says, “You better pay me back for this one,” let it go and don’t worry about it.
Though, while Jean turned Carter’s whole life around for the better, just because Carter was shyer and quieter, didn’t mean he didn’t ever help Jean out. They were both smart, but Carter was more of a STEM nerd and would help him with homework occasionally. While they had a ton of things in common, they had their separate strengths and weaknesses, so they were always unknowingly doing favors for one another. The biggest thing being money.
Jean was the most well-known kid in school. He got along with everyone, would snap the necks of bullies, always had the cutest smile plastered across his face, and was kind to everyone he met. However, he kept a lot to himself mainly because he was such a selfless people-pleaser. And though it’s a bit weird, Jean didn’t want to come clean to Carter about his feelings in high school in fear of ruining their friendship, making him uncomfortable, or messing up the relationship with his girlfriend. Cleary, he was thinking more about Carter than himself which took a negative toll on the both of them in the long run, but Jean couldn’t help it because he loved him so much.
However, besides his sexuality and feelings towards Carter and his fucked-up childhood, the biggest thing Jean kept from the public was his financial situation. Surely some people were able to figure it out, but he didn’t want his friends to feel obligated to buy him things. However, some days he’d come to school without food, and then Carter would always give him his lunch. He was always fashionable, but no one knew that most of his clothes were either hand-me-downs, or gifts from his relatives. His mother would buy him clothes once every season, and it was often from the clearance section.
The thing is, Jean’s relatives, instead of giving money to support Millie who was a single mom, would instead give Jean and Lloyd tons of gifts. Sure, having several outfits was nice, but they needed money for food and to keep a roof over their heads. Everyone in the family really liked Jean and couldn’t help but give him things. However, for obvious reasons, everyone on Ezekiel’s side wanted nothing to do with them. Except for one guy.
Millie’s older brother Roger, despite being part of her family, was best friends with Ezekiel. They were always together, similar to Jean and Carter, and he often would spend most of his time gambling and playing cards. He had a minor crush on Ezekiel, but not only did he disappear from his wife with no warning, but he left his best friend behind.
Roger had been pretty pissed at Millie ever since their relationship fell apart and Millie hated how her brother valued his relationship with her abusive ex more than how they were siblings. They practically hated each other, but Roger at least grew to love Jean. He liked the resemblance to his friend but was also just pleased with how much of a good kid Jean was in comparison to his father. Jean’s uncle was a pretty shady guy, but his hustling aside, he had an idea of the issues Jean would face in relation to Ezekiel being his father. Roger used to smoke cigarettes and Jean got him to quit, though they’ll occasionally get high together. After being introduced to Carter, Roger grew to love him too because he always wanted to date his best friend and values their relationship, and they often go to him for advice.
Back in the day, because high school was when Jean started hiding his resurfacing feelings for Carter, he was growing more irritable and sensitive along with his tasks around the house. Jean’s uncle owned a small building in the hood where he would spray-paint and do graffiti. He would often hang out with his other pals there, since no one knew where Ezekiel ran off to. He eventually introduced the place to Jean and allowed him to spray paint there as a way to get his feelings out. His uncle really didn’t know what he was going through, but all he knew was that Jean needed an anger outlet and a place to be alone.
When Jean would have really bad days, he’d disappear there for hours, covering the walls and ceilings in his artwork. Sometimes he’d play music or cry, or he’d spend the entire time talking to himself without painting at all. Some of his art is really gory in an abstract sort of way, and others are bright and angelic. There are tons of paintings of Carter where he’s the brightest piece since Jean has always thought of him as the main source of light in his life.
After the incident and when he and Carter started dating, Jean eventually showed him all of his artwork. Carter thought his art was the coolest thing ever and encouraged him to start selling some of his work, which allowed Jean to have another source of income since he works at a skate shop and is working towards becoming a trainer at the gym he goes to. Jean’s favorite piece depicts Carter as some sort of deity, where he has a crown/halo, and his hair is glowing gold as he looks up at the sky. It’s Carter’s favorite as well so Jean replicated it on a canvas and gifted it to him.
Jean personally loves giving Carter gifts or doing anything that makes him smile. However, he always feels restrained by his financial situation, since now he has college tuition to pay. His mom tries to help as much as she can, but luckily his uncle paid off a giant chunk and his other relatives are helping as well since they really like him. Of course, Jean feels really bad and wants to be responsible for his own tuition, but he’s broke so there’s nothing he can really do.
Though, at times he cares more about money when it comes to Carter in comparison to himself. Whenever he goes out with friends, he always walks past jewelry stores and gets really bummed. He always thinks about proposing to Carter in the future but fears that he’ll never have enough money to buy a ring since he doesn’t right now. He couldn’t put an engagement ring on layaway because he’d end up paying it off for the next 20 years, therefore defeating the purpose and letting the window pass. He knows you can’t buy love, but an engagement ring is completely different.
Jean feels a bit obligated to spend money on Carter and Lloyd, even though Carter has more money. But with Lloyd, Jean knows that their relatives favor him over Lloyd, and therefore when his time comes around for college, he’ll be in an even worse financial situation than his brother. So, when Jean has free time, he likes going shopping and hanging out with Lloyd since they don’t live together anymore, and because Millie won’t let him waste money on things other than necessities.
BARCODE BOYS?
Why do they have barcodes on their necks, why aren't there more of them, and what's up with all the sedation side effects? Boy, do I have news for you. Payne mentions this in the story, but here's what he was really getting at:PROJECT: IRENIC
From 2000 to 2010, the government insisted that states on the west coast sedate criminals for a year before sending them to prison as a way to research them and test medicines. Most experiments the convicts endured shortened their lifespans. Then they were released to state prisons where many died years later. This was known as Wave 1.
Starting up again in 2015, states on the east coast took up the experiments, however the process had been finalized. Instead, felons were given the choice to go under or go directly to jail, but most chose the medical route. Death was a possible side effect, but it was marketed as if it wasn’t the main goal. Unknown to the public, it had become a way to execute felons without the whole process of death row. This was known as Wave 2.
The government was trying lower the crime rate by preventing potential teenage threats with undeveloped minds from harming everyday people. Instead of funding and emphasizing the importance of mental healthcare, they would inconspicuously execute and shorten the lifespans of those who seemed threatening. While unethical, it was quick and easy. Those who were tested on were all aged 18-25. They were marked with barcode tattoos on the left side of their neck which revealed their name, offense, inmate number, and assigned prison and medical facility.
Those in Wave 1 were eventually released from prison and went on to live their normal lives, unaware that they’d likely die in their 30s or 40s. However, 1 in 5 people ended up with bizarre abilities as a result of the testing. However, half of those with abilities died from the side effects, leaving a remaining 10% with drug-induced abnormalities behind. Those in Wave 2 were never sent to prison and instead were tested on for the length of their sentence. Most never made it out alive, especially those stationed in Rhode Island’s facility. In 2019, the hospital was bombed and only 7% of the inmates detained made it out alive due to the fact that most were in drug-induced comas.
After Rhode Island’s facility was demolished, news about the Waves and their intentions were made public. Thousands of lawsuits were filed, doctors and law enforcers were imprisoned, and anyone who supported the process was punished in some way. Instead of searching for remaining fugitives, the focus was on holding the feds and doctors accountable.
Jean and Payne were both part of the small percentage of survivors in their waves. Jean has an abnormally low body temperature, eye colors that act as mood rings, and the ability to transform inorganic objects into glass. Payne has the ability to painlessly maneuver, remove, and create marks on his body such as scars, moles, or tattoos.
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