you're gonna go far, kid

BASICS

Name: Jacqueline Andrea Kelly

Nickname(s): Jack

Pronouns: They/Them

Age: 41

Date of Birth: April 10th

Gender: Nonbinary

Sexual Preference: Queer

Occupation: Artist / Bartender

APPEARANCE

Hair Color: Brunet

Eye Color: Brown

Height: 5'7"

Piercings: just ears

Scars: tbd

Tattoos: tbd

PERSONALITY

Positive

hardworking

charismatic

creative

Negative

hard-headed

self-destructive

jaded

FAMILY

Parents

Father (deceased): Andrew Kelly

Mother (Estranged): Victoria Sutton

Sibling

Twin Sister: Elizabeth Sutton

PAST

triggers: death

Jack Kelly was born the oldest of two, by five minutes, to an unhappily married couple. Andrew and Victoria Kelly would split no more than two years after the birth of their twin children. The deal was simple. They’d each have full custody of one twin and go their separate ways. Which, is exactly what they did. For a few years, Andrew remained in London, but between citizenship issues and a desire to return home, by the time Jack was five, they’d moved to New York.

Growing up for Jack was rough. Andrew didn’t have a lot of money and while he worked hard, they didn’t always have enough money for food or rent. He did his best by Jack, but the pair ended up homeless for most of Jack’s childhood, living out of a car or hotel, whatever they could. And that only got worse as Jack entered their teen years, as Andrew become ill. By the time Jack was sixteen, their father had passed away. Being sixteen, and already working multiple jobs, Jack chose to drop out of high school and simply work full time to support themself. It didn’t particularly get them far, they were still often homeless, but they did everything they could to support themself and further their art.

Around the time Jack was 21, they’d started looking into their mother, trying to locate any information on the woman in an attempt to reconnect with her. They first located their twin sister, Elizabeth, and while the woman warned Jack that Victoria wasn’t liable to want anything to do with them, she definitely did. And Elizabeth was right, Victoria wanted nothing to do with Jack, even after hearing about the hardships they’d faced growing up. However, they struck up a strong bond with Elizabeth and she helped them out when she could, as Victoria had married into a rather wealthy family and Elizabeth had more money than she needed. Though, over the years, Jack was always hesitant to take the money offered to them by their sister.

See, I’m very much the plan first type; I have most of my Halloween costumes sorted out by the end of November, and then the next eleven months are spent getting them together and making sure everything is how I want it. Though there have been a few years where I just throw out one or two of my plans for one reason or another and then come up with something on the fly from what I have to hand and can get made in the meantime. 

I’ve only been in a few costume contests, but I did win one, and the prize for that was my first trip out of the US; I got to go to Transylvania. Best Halloween Treat EVER!

With planning like that you’d make an excellent professional cosplayer.

Yes, but, at the same time, making up a life that is not exactly theirs is what brings them money.

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You’re not wrong, but it can’t be easy. Always lying like that.

Hummm… I was scared too. And for a long time, I bullied the person I loved and ran away from her. But look at us now. We are married. So, if your ex is the one for you, I am sure they will come back.

Oh, I guess we all work for different reasons, doesn’t mean one is less important than the other, I guess.

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I ended a nearly decade long relationship, with the only person I’ve ever loved, by ghosting them, because I let my own anxiety and insecurities get the better of me. We were practically engaged and I just up and ran one day. Told  myself it was easier to run than to risk losing them any other way. There’s no coming back from that. There’s no way to fix that. I’m better off alone and nothing will ever convince me otherwise. And, as I said, I don’t see them coming back, I don’t see us ever fixing it.

Sounds familiar. Do you ever have trouble picking which ones to take with you, or is it more a matter of deciding what you plan to dress up as, and then finding/making the costume to match?

But that is the worse part. Having to practice. 

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Agreed, but it’s usually worth it.

When my agent tells me to ‘sell myself’ online, I always show my true self. I mean, lies, before I had to pretend to be in a relationship with one of my friends, and it was a mess.

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Yeah, but a lot of influencers definitely lie at every turn and I don’t get it. I don’t see a point in pretending you’re something, or someone, that you’re not. Like you said, it’s messy.

I know, and you are right. But if you think about the influencers, that is what they do.

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Which I do not understand the point of. There are infinitely better ways to sell yourself on the internet, without having to be fake all the time.

Wait, is it really an ability? I don’t know, looks like I am terrible at it, then.

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Oh, for sure. And, like anything, it takes practice.

Makes sense.

And just out of curiosity, from one costume fan to another, how many cosplays do you have handy?

Oh, you are single? I thought you had someone. But never say no to love, it will surprise you when you less expect. You really sound like me. My family always told me that I had to be the best of the best, so, I end up overworking to try to be the best of the best.

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Nah, very single. Honestly, given how things ended with my ex it’s probably best I don’t bother. I was stupid, got scared of the commitment after years together, as things got even more serious. I don’t think there’s anyone else out there for me besides them but I don’t see myself getting back with them, either.

For me it’s not about being the best it’s about surviving, keeping a roof over my head. And more than that, I wouldn’t know what to do if I wasn’t working, if I didn’t have things I needed to do every day.