through / clouds !

INSPIRATION

fox mulder (the x files)

hogarth hughes (the iron giant)

will turner (pirates of the carribean)

robin hood

george weasley (harry potter)

aladdin

spike spiegel (cowboy bebop)

mark watney (the martian)

BACKGROUND + CLICK FOR BIO

his parents were high school sweethearts and married just before they attended college at harvard together, securing careers at the kennedy space center. 

jeremy fischman sr dies under mysterious circumstances in a lab accident and ellen is twenty-eight and left alone to raise baby jem. things only go downhill from here. jeremy was the love of her life and she becomes obsessed with his disappearance and all kinds of conspiracy theories, blows a bunch of her money. it doesn’t take long for her to be fired, savings blown on expensive equipment or sunk into internet hoaxes

they move to a rough neighborhood in gainesville where jem grows up. he likes jem, not jeremy, jeremy is his father. he’s never experienced the perfect life his parents used to live, the white picket fence, the shiny space shuttles. he’s only got this, and honestly, he doesn’t hate it. 

the neighborhood’s rough, but there’s a lot of fun characters, and his mom is practically his best friend – aside from his next-door neighbor, NOAH WARD.

jem’s mom does odd hacking jobs from the comfort of their home. some of them are shadier than others, she makes connections with a lot of private investigators in town and looks into people’s cheating husbands and tracks down birth parents and missing people. she does pro bono work too, a kindhearted woman, she can never say no to those in need, even if she’s not so fortunate herself. as jem gets older, he learns everything that he knows from her

every summer vacation growing up, jem and his mom would pack their bags and make home in a camper van, traveling across the country. in some ways, this was great mother-son bonding, but this wasn’t why they did it. his mom never gave up looking for the truth about her husband,  but hacking into secure, top-secret government databases is nothing like hacking into the gainesville city hall, it’s hard work, and they travel around the country methodically so that their signal cannot be traced. every summer they get close, but never close enough.

when noah moves away for college, jem stays home. he’s not comfortable leaving his mom. 

he keeps up with hacking jobs and keeping up with looking for his dad on the side. he doesn’t think they’ll ever find him, his mom holds out hope but jem is eighteen years old and a bit more jaded now, he figures the guy’s just really dead and well, the conspiracy of it all matters less and less when he knows that either way, he’s still grown up without him. 

a lot of jem’s social life is online, whether it’s friends from hacking forums or via soundcloud.

when he’s not hacking, he’s making music. his passions of technology and music mix and he creates his own beats and soundcloud, mashing together songs, and even putting together a popular meme track or two used on tiktok. 

it’s actually a bit lucrative, but that’s not why he does it. doesn’t even really use his name, catch him on soundcloud…username? uncutjems.

every time he and his mom get close to finding his dad, there’s just more to do, and it’s almost like someone KNOWS what they’re doing. 

jem’s right about that – he is being watched. since noah’s admission to gallagher, recruiters have been aware of the boy who taught her everything she knew. 

when gallagher makes the choice to start allowing male students, an agent shows up at his door offering him a once in a lifetime chance at a free education. 

jem doesn’t have any strong ambition to go into espionage, per say, but he won’t say no to advanced classes taught by some of the world’s brightest minds – and a chance to reunite with his best friend. however, he hasn’t stopped trying to get into the government’s records and still has ambitions of going into music production.

PERSONALITY. 

INTUITIVE. jem has a natural intuition about things and he trusts himself and his own opinions about things. i suppose you could perceive this as confidence, but honestly he’s just really SMART, good at absorbing facts even subconsciously and putting things together about people or situations. in a sense, he has a habit of being correct – he definitely comes off as intelligent, even though his grades in school have never been very good. he just has different priorities. 

LOYAL. make a friend out of jem and you have a friend for life, he’ll take your secrets to the grade and he’s pretty trustworthy. he’s the type of guy that gets along with pretty much everyone but he has a few select, close friends because he is somewhat intentional about the company that he keeps. he’s friendly and kind, but he keeps his inner circle of people he trusts close and somewhat exclusive. 

PROTECTIVE. kind of has papa bear energy, you know ? maybe the dad friend of your friend group, but in a laid back way, he might not seem like he’s the type to spring into action but call someone close to him a rude name and you’ll see his fist coming at your face. he’s protective but not possessive, i guess is how i would describe it, but i think he gives pretty good advice as well because he’s really hoping the best for ppl. 

MALINGERING. jem is kind of a SLACKER! at least, that’s what teachers have called him in the past, he simply does not dream of labor. he’s just kind of doing his own thing, will fake sick to skip a class, whatever else, even though he likes producing music he doesn’t really have a great ambition for anything, spy or otherwise. as long as he has a good computer setup, then he’s fucking chilling. 

MOODY. he’s laid back to the umpteenth degree when it comes to work or obligations, but he does have sort of mood swings, i guess he’s the sort of person that you would describe as grumpy at times ? definitely NOT a morning person and when he’s in an off mood, he can be hard to interact with or snap out of. 

DISORGANIZED. the sort of person to throw his stuff across the bed or leave piles of clothes on the floor to deal with later, maybe he’s not your favorite roommate for this reason. he has a habit of losing things that he just set down or whatever, things like that. 

HEADCANONS.

tbh you can think of him like...beca in pitch perfect ! he’s here bc he was offered a free education and he’s cool with that, but he’d rather be pursuing a future in music. a damn good hacker, though, and the gallagher recruiters are hoping that with some ‘ambition’ he’ll want to work for the government someday. 

played baseball throughout middle and high school and he’s fairly athletic – he can get pretty competitive when he plays, it kind of brings out a side in him that most people don’t expect to see because he’s fairly chilled out most of the time 

a boss with a slingshot. there is no reason for this, but he had one as a kid and he used to chase squirrels away from the bird feeders outside their home. he has great eyesight and his aim is great, but it’s literally the only weapon he’s proficient in

he’s not tiktok famous for his face, but he has two tiktok famous songs...he’s made like 12k in record deals for selling the rights, it’s just the kind of shit that he does goofing around in music software and he has a good ear for what is going to be catchy

he’s NOT a morning person, definitely a late night kind of guy, will stay up until all hours just fucking around on the computer and then he’ll sleep until 1 or 2pm, at least. getting up for morning classes is a struggle for them and he has slept through them on occasion.

funky sweaters, crazy socks, fun-patterned shirts, he dresses a bit like a circus tent at times, but you can’t say that he doesn’t have style – he dresses well, but it’s like he’s stepped out of a 90s cartoon or something

if he makes u a playlist he either wants to be ur friend so fucking bad or he’s head over heels in love with u

really likes making new things with old technology, he loves taking the macguyver courses and learning new things and he’s actually built his own computer and a lot of his own musical instruments 

usually has a couple bandaids because he’s a bit accident prone or can lose his focus when working in the lab. when he gets in his own head while working on a project, he literally cannot hear anything else – sort of selective hearing

likes fucking around with spray paint, if he can, he’s got a bit of an artistic streak and he doodles stickers on sticker paper sometimes. you can probably catch his tag around campus or even stuck to the latops of his close friends, it’s just a little man with a tv for a head. 

WANTED CONNECTIONS.

HACKING JOBS – if you STILL need a hacker for any of your wild backstory connections, jem is a great bet. he’s been doing paid jobs for people professionally since he could type, and he’s sort of an ace at getting in and out without leaving a trace...and he’s no gossip. so, your secrets would be safe with him. 

SMOKING BUDDIES – people that he can smoke up with, talk about life, talk about the bullshit of gallagher, but also people he can laugh with that don’t make him feel stressed or concerned about the future. 

MUSIC MAKING BUDDIES – if your character makes music, maybe they can collaborate on something...we’re about to drop the hottest mixtape of all time right here at gallagher academy i will teach myself garageband for this shit...jk but maybe

EX ON BAD TERMS – someone he dated last year...i’m imagining it was their first year and things were really great for the first semester, but shit fell apart second semester along with the school. maybe all the drama on campus caused distance, maybe he wasn’t there for them when they needed it, or maybe they got jealous of the way he always prioritizes noah ? a combination of things, we can hash out the details since i know some of you had some pretty angsty things going on second sem, and maybe it’s awkward now because it feels like there’s unfinished biz. 

EX ON GOOD TERMS / LOVERS TO FRIENDS – maybe someone that was a rebound and things didn’t really work and they saw that, maybe he wasn’t over his ex or whatever but they were able to stay friends ? it’s up to you how your muse feels about it but i want an ex that jem also has no hard feels about and actually is maybe sort of protective of them and cares a lot about them finding happiness, they bonded hardcore. 

EX-FLING – idk maybe they were hooking up for a while and then one of them started seeing someone else or one of them caught feels so they don’t hook up any more but it was super fun when they did !! also down for it to have been like a summer fling and once the summer ended. 

BROS – idk i would like for him to have a squad or something for him to just fuck around with <3 but it’s wholesome and they respect women

ONLINE FRIEND (ANONYMOUS) – he spent a lot of time on forums online and stuff so i’d love for him to have an online friend !! maybe cute if they just know each other by their screen names rn and we can do a bunch of text chats and maybe they both know they go to gallagher but they simply. haven’t met idk

ONLINE FRIENDS – also friends he met online that aren’t anonymous they could’ve met through any number of forums but probably have similar interests like music or hacking so they’re long time homies , someone he’s known almost as long as noah

ONE NIGHT STAND – self explanatory. maybe they’re super good friends and now it’s kind of awkward now and they want to get back to a place of normalcy but it’s simply not normal, maybe they fucked things up by breakin the tension on like. halloween or some shit. 

FRIENDZONED – someone jem accidentally friendzoned and maybe he doesn’t even realize it himself but they had a thing for him and he really just didn’t realize it bc he can’t tell unless you spell it out for him.

CLASS RIVALS – someone who tries really hard and cares about class a bunch vs. jem who doesn’t give a fuck but he keeps making the grade without really trying, so they’re ? bitter about it ? and so the two really do not hit it off because of that and they go back and forth , i just rly want a classroom rivalry. maybe even this rivalry and them nagging him actually motivates to try in the class just to piss them off 

 ENEMY – this person shared a secret with jem and then it somehow got out on the gossip blog idk ! they think jem told and now they hate him. 

Jem’s been packing all morning. He’s used to this over the years, hardly thinks twice about the color combination of shirts and mismatched socks that he tosses into his duffel. He feels like he and his mom do this because it’s routine at this point, not because they actually expect to find anything. It’s not like he has any other big summer plans, and Noah’s pretty preoccupied with all things Caden...and when she’s not with Caden, she wants to talk about him, and Jem’s also pretty sick of that because he still thinks the guy is a tool.

He doesn’t hear a sound from his mom’s room, it’s weird because usually she’d be packing and making a huge ruckus at this hour. Still, he shrugs his shoulders and makes his way out to the porch to roll a joint.

The neighborhood is usually pretty busy at this hour. It’s a small working-class suburb, and everyone’s up by nine for jobs to commute to, cars rushing by hitting the potholes in the road that the city will never fix. It feels so normal to him, and he can hardly look back at his last semester at Gallagher and believe that was his life after years of public school locker combinations, bonfires in the backyard, cutting box tops off cereal boxes. He finishes the joint, winds up sitting on the porch for a while longer watching a trail of ants do their thing for who knows how long. It’s nice how they just follow the motions, do the same thing year after year without having to overthink it.

It reminds him of him and his mom, getting in the same van every year, going through the motions.

The earliest trip he can remember is when he was six years old, sitting in the back at a rest stop. He’s looking through his mom’s wallet, because she sent him inside to buy sodas while she went to the bathroom and it’s the first time he’s gotten to use a credit card. The cashier thought it was hilarious, but still let him sign for the drinks.

“Dad’s in here,” he says when his mother gets back to the car.

“What?” Ellen’s head lifts.

“In the wallet. You’ve got a picture of him.”

“Oh, yep. That’s him. Isn’t he handsome? Looks just like you,” she grins at Jem and he grins back, a wide, toothy grin because he’s at the age where he doesn’t know how to control a smile.

“How’d you meet him?” Jem asks, sliding into the passenger seat. He’s not supposed to sit there, but he’s crafty at six and hopes he’s distracted his mom by asking about his dad. He thinks it’s working, because she takes the car out of park as she speaks. “Oh, I can hardly remember. I was your age. His parents used to pack him apples, but he hated to eat anything healthy. I’d always trade, give him my Pringles and eat his apple just to talk to him. Didn’t like Granny Smith that much as a kid, but now it’s my favorite.”

Ellen starts pulling out of the parking lot before she puts on the breaks. “Hey!” she exclaims, “Get in the back. Carseat, mister.” He cracks up laughing as he climbs under the console and she clicks her tongue at him. “You think you’re so slick.”

And that’s the first summer he remembers.

It’s probably almost 10:30 by the time he gets up from the porch. Jem wonders why his mom hasn’t come to yell at him to start packing up the car. He knocks on her door.

“Mom, can I come in?”

“Sure, what’s up?”

Jem opens the door and looks at her, looks at the state of the room. He furrows his brow a moment, assessing the situation. “You haven’t packed yet, have you?” This isn’t the routine.

“Ah, no, I figured...you don’t want to catch up with your friends? It’s alright if you have plans,” she says.

“I don’t have plans,” Jem answers flatly. “Because we usually leave today. And we talked about it, it’s the third Monday.”

Ellen Fischman heaves a sigh before looking up at her son. She sits on the edge of her queen bed, tucking her blonde hair back behind her ears before she pats the seat next to her.

“Seriously?” he laughs, because this is always how she acts when they have to talk about something serious. She laughs back because her son is always so good at reading her, she doesn’t know why she deliberates or tries to hide things. He rolls his eyes dramatically before he sits down beside her.

“What’s going on?”

“I don’t think we should go this year,” she sighs.

“What do you mean?” he sounds appalled, and he’s way more upset than he thought he would be, surprised by the outrage in his voice. His mom looks surprised too – he’s always the one complaining that it’s getting pointless. 

“What? Jem, I thought you’d be relieved. You always seemed so tired of it, this was always my...my journey, and I know you were a good sport, humoring me through it all. I could tell how you really felt,” she says. Jem always thought that he knew how he felt too : that none of this was going to bring his father back, so what was the point? Still, when she says the trips are ending, he feels a bit hollow inside. He can remember stopping along the highway, photos at the strangest attractions like the World’s Largest Ball of Twine, breakfast at the crack of dawn at some shitty diner, long talks as they watched the sun go down, a map in his hands with all of their favorite rest stops marked in red ink. These are some of the best memories of his life, and being on the road with his mom every summer is such a core part of who he is. He does feel sad that it’s over.

“I...I don’t know how I feel,” he admits. He pauses for a moment, not sure how to ask his next question. “Are you really ready to let him go?”

“No and yes,” Ellen says. “He was the love of my life, my happily ever after. I’m a lucky woman to have gotten that, we had an amazing adventure together – and we had you, Jem. I’m very happy with that, and...well, I still feel a connection with him, after all this time. I’m okay with that.”

“You know, I wouldn’t have a problem with...if you wanted to…” he trails off. His mom’s never dated anyone else, no parade of shitty guys for him to judge have ever come through those doors, it’s always been him, her, and a photograph of his late father on the mantle. And Jem’s not the only guy he knows with a single mom, but he’s the only guy he knows with a single mom like his, one that is perfectly fine with her one great love story.

“I know,” Ellen smiles appreciatively before standing up. “I need to show you something.” She goes over to the drawer at her bedside table and passes her son a file of paperwork. “I found this. A couple years ago.”

“What is it?” Jem asks as he starts to flip through the pages. His eyes open wide, reading the names and dates on the file – this is from NASA itself, the files from the project his father had been working on before he died. “Mom,” the singular word rings out as he looks up at her, jaw going slack.

“I know I should have told you, but...I didn’t want it to be true, I...I spent so long being sure that there was a deeper meaning behind his death, some conspiracy to uncover, I didn’t want to think that this could just be it, but...I think it is. This is all there is to find. And I’m like you, I didn’t want our summers to end, but at some point, I think they have to. I have to let go, it’s not my job to keep searching for parts of him that aren’t there.”

Ellen had thought that if she continued looking, that there would be part of her story with Jeremy that hadn’t come to a close yet, that she could still get to know him and that made her feel like he was still with her. At some point, she had to come to the realization that she might be holding herself back, and that she was holding Jem along with her.

“You could have told me,” he says.

“I know, I just...I wasn’t ready to let go, I’m–” Ellen cuts herself off, getting choked up. Most parents try not to cry in front of their kids, but Ellen’s been breaking that rule since Jem was born, she’s not going to stop now. Jem leans forward and wraps his arms around her, taking care of his mother is instinct to him at this point, and this is no different. “I’m still not quite ready. But this feels like the first step. Let’s not go this year.”