(matthew daddario, male, he/him) —— oh, look! it’s our favorite camper, JESSE COSTELLO. their file says they are TWENTY years old and reside in the ARES cabin. i hear they’re actually HELPFUL and PERCEPTIVE, but they can get kinda WITHDRAWN and VOLATILE. rumor has it THEY HAVE BEEN A WAR PHOTOGRAPHER SINCE THEY TURNED EIGHTEEN. but hey, what do you expect? it’s in their blood.
so an ares kid. lover of war, kind of a dick. you know his dad--- i would say it’s hereditary if they had genes. he’s been at the camp on and off for roughly eight years but became less frequent once he turned eighteen and began flying overseas, following the war.
he has a complicated relationship with war in general. i’ll save super details for those ~emotional conversations~ but in addition to some of his abilities being linked to the actual intuition of battle, he’s also super into history. he loves reading books on great wars throughout world history and could lowkey get his phd in this shit if he was dedicated enough to it.
before he was claimed, he lived a.... less than simple life. not like ~trauma~ but his mom was a bartender in a bad neighborhood in los angeles. a place where the crowd was rough and the drinks were strong. ares loved hanging out there for the same reasons jess would have--- the place was steeped in chaos. you know the classic trope im going for here. guy in a bar meets bartender, they have a one night stand and she’s left with an empty bed and a full uterus.
he was constantly getting in fights in school. he was always beating up the bullies who were hurting other kids. i wish i could say his intentions were pure and he genuinely cared about the little ppl. but honestly, his motives were corroded. he just liked beating the toughest guy. it was never about taking down the opposition as much as beating the opposition if that makes sense.
he once influenced a school-wide food fight by pitting two boys against each other over a cheerleader.
it was anarchy.
and he watched on the sidelines feeling accomplished and the school was put on lock-down. it was all fun and games until someone who got a little too much spaghetti sauce on himself pulled out a knife and stabbed a kid.
which was actually around the time hades came an claimed him tbh and told him there was a place where he could learn how to do this shit beyond his amateur ass
as much as he will talk shit on coming to the camp, it gave him such purpose and understanding and structure about who he is and how he works in this world. he’s incredibly well organized and almost always has a book in his hands or in his back pocket. he reads when the world is quiet and needs someone else’s chaos to be immersed in.
he met a girl at camp. fell in love with said girl. but girl was like him and couldn’t keep her feet in one place. it’s what he loved about her, but also played a huge role in why they split when they turned 18. they loved each other and understood that insatiable drive to be on the move, to chase thrills and danger. their paths wouldn’t intertwine much despite moving at the same pace. she was the one that made jess realize love and war are not on opposing ends of the scale. you’re terrified, you’re vulnerable and they’re the only two things worth fighting for.
which is why!!!!! it sucks that he didn’t fight more!!!! but he was 18. let him live
he is a war photographer now, travelling the world and immersing himself into the frontlines of human battles. he’s made something so devastating and soul-crushing into art. he’s probably one of the only people on the planet who can find beauty in explosions, dismembered bodies and dead children. when he tells people he’s a photographer, the general population automatically wants to see pics. don’t worry, he has two piles. the pg-13 pics that make you ooh and ah and the pics that make your love for humanity diminish with each shot. he doesn’t act like the latter option exists unless you’re close to him. they don’t need that trauma too.
he’s an alcoholic.
not a fan of women-abusers. (ask him ‘bout the time he killed his mom’s bf. jk, plz don’t.)
likes the color burgundy.
has a motorcycle that he ironically called his chariot until ppl started legitimately referring to it as that and then he panicked and never did it again. kicks bike when angry.
says “look at the time” a lot but never seems to have a watch on when looking at his wrist.
abilities.
skilled fighter: i mean hi. weapon or no weapon, he’s one of the most skilled fighters at the camp. he’s also willing to train youngin’s if they come to him. he loves to teach ppl who are dedicated and actually want to learn. hand to hand combat but also knives. he’ll teach you how to square up without a gun.
battle precognition: one of my favorites, probably. he has such a sixth sense about the inner workings of war and can usually sense the oppositions next move if he’s focused. it’s not as powerful as his dad’s, but he’s working on it and leveled up during his time as a photographer (which also plays a role in how he knows how to get perf pics but that’s another story) he’s also an impeccable strategist because of this. can’t plan a party, but a battle? no probs.
weapon conjuration: he has the ability to turn any weapon he’s holding into a different weapon. while he’s typically a fan of knives, he’s been known to like steel bats or crowbars.
wanted connections.
LET HIM TRAIN YOU. be a dedicated person who genuinely wants to better yourself and is able to take abuse (or isn’t able to and cries, we can work things out) and he’ll fucking dedicate so much time to working with you on training you in all forms of fighting,. he wants to make sure everyone is the best strong soldier they can be and wants them to be braver than any u.s. marine kbye
an anti-war nut who always has to fight him like. plz it would be so fun.
a revolutionary pal. someone who feels the same way he is about an impending war and is wanting to start doing underground work to prepare the youth for the war. i hope it’s someone who fought in a war with him previously and hopefully someone he doesn’t get along with? like i want the dynamic of we dont like each other but we remember the bloodshed from last time and want to prepare.
