Jax Garrett

JAX GARRETT

 

 NICKNAME ?

 AGE 17
 BIRTHDAY ?

 SPECIES Genie
 ETHNICITY ?

 GENDER Male
 SEXUALITY ?

 DORM Lyra

 POWER Jax is a genie. As such, he possesses the magic of one. This mostly comes in the form of conjuring; he is able to create objects from nothing. This is a much more complex ability than it appears to be, though. To explain, I will break it up into two parts: Jax will, at all times, be either free or claimed. If he is free, he does not have a master. He is not bound to anybody and has no obligation to work magic on anybody else's request. His magic is all his own, but it has extreme limits. He can only conjure small, relatively insignificant items and travel through smoke. When he travels this way, he will appear to turn into nothing but a puff of white smoke and reappear somewhere else, but he can only travel places that smoke would be able to travel--meaning, mostly where there is open air. He cannot go from a room in one building to a room in another building unless there is an opening outside from both through a window, door, cracks in the walls, etc. Being a white genie, a genie with no tie to good or evil, his element is smoke, and this is why he can do this.

When Jax is claimed, he has a master who he is bound to. He can only be claimed if somebody finds his bottle and declares them his master. They will remain his master until either his bottle is no longer in their possession or he has worked magic three times on their request, whichever is first. Contrary to popular belief, the request or command does not have the start with the phrase "I wish", though Jax does refer to them as wishes. A person can only be his master once. When he is claimed his magic is much more powerful; he is able to conjure larger things and manipulate both the memories and emotions of other people--but only if his master asks him to. Otherwise he has the same abilities as when he is free. He has a few limits to what his master can ask of him: he cannot alter life, death, or love. This includes killing people, creating new life, making people fall in or out of love, making one immortal (and thereby altering their future death), etc. He also cannot alter 'rules' of his claiming (including adding extra 'wishes') or the inhuman abilities of anybody, including himself and his master. He can, however, temporarily alter their memories of their powers. I must emphasize that all emotional and memory manipulations he does are temporary and will wear off either at his master's request, when the person finds out that they have been manipulated, or when Jax is once again free.

 APPEARANCE Jax is generally considered fairly average in the department of looks. He is not incredibly attractive, nor unattractive. He is tall and lanky, standing at just a little over six feet tall and with a skinny build. Physically he is weak compared to most people. His skin is fair but not pale, and generally blemish-free. He has a mess of shaggy black hair that often falls in his eyes and he is forever pushing out of the way, though despite this annoyance he has yet to cut it. Whether or not he will finally get fed up with it and do so is yet to be determined. His face is, again, nothing special; he does not have particularly strong features, but has a thin, straight nose and lips that forever seem to play at a smirk. His eyes are likely his most striking feature: they are a deep, ocean blue rimmed with heavy lashes. He uses them almost as weapons at times, knowing that they combined with his skill with words is enough to pull many people into whatever he wants of them.

Despite his odd life and nature, Jax chooses to make himself appear almost unidentifiable as a genie. He dresses casually, almost exclusively in jeans and t-shirts, and prefers to be barefoot rather than wear shoes, a fact even he cannot explain but just shrugs off as a quirk. He has two identical tattoos, one around each wrist: a circle of chains. They serve to remind him that he must never again forget what he is, or that even when he is without a master he is not free. He has no piercings and wears only one piece of jewelry, a small metal bottle hung on a leather band, the object that his magic is bound to. He keeps it on his person at all times and almost always hidden beneath his shirt, and effort to keep it from falling into anybody's hands.

 PERSONALITY On the surface, Jax is a sarcastic, witty, fun-loving character who can eventually charm almost anybody into liking him, but beware of diving below, for what he allows others to see is nothing more than a carefully constructed mask. 

Jax is not one for polite introductions or getting-to-know-you games. When he meets a person he's immediately energetic, adventurous Jax, almost always wanting to drag them into something right away whether they want to or not. He doesn't shy away from people and he usually doesn't seem think before speaking or acting, which means getting himself into trouble often. He's very outgoing and once he decides he likes someone there's not much changing his mind and he'll stand by them to the death. He's loyal to the bone and only the most extreme of betrayals will shake him off; otherwise, he will do anything to maintain a friendship. In truth he is quite lonely and the friends he makes are worth everything to him--of course, he would never say this aloud, and it would take a very skilled observer who knows him very well to bring this truth to light. With friends he is adventurous and energetic, and loves a good battle of wits. He's incredibly sarcastic at pretty much all times and is always ready with a snappy comment. This can sometimes make him come across as a jerk, especially when he hasn't yet decided if he likes somebody or not, but he usually means well. His way of talking to people is probably the easiest way to tell if he likes them or not, though it can be subtle: he teases people he likes, but with people he doesn't his comments have a bit snarkier than loving edge. One of the first things people often learn about him, aside from his skill in sarcasm, is that he has a sweet tooth, specifically for peppermint candy. Winter is his favorite season purely because it goes along with peppermint, and he can usually be seen with some sort of peppermint sweets, be it peppermint kisses, candy canes, peppermint hot chocolate, or something else. The best way to get on Jax's good side is to feed his "addiction".

Though most don't expect it upon meeting him, Jax is actually a shockingly intelligent guy. He's quick and clever, and a master with words when he wants to be. He takes note of what comments make people tick and what ones make them melt, all so he can use them if he needs to. He has the capability to excel in academics but his grades and work make it clear when he cares to put his intelligence to use and when he doesn't. He's stubborn enough that convincing him to put in the work when he doesn't want to is not an easy task by any means--and neither is talking him out of anything he's decided on, for the record.

Despite how he comes across, those few who get to know Jax well and manage to get past his wall that doesn't appear to be a wall at all will find him to be the opposite of how he lets other see him. Below the surface Jax is dark and quiet, only putting up a front of grins and jokes to hide his true self in the belief that nobody could ever truly accept him. His past has made him wary of letting people past this barrier and has taught him that he is nothing more than a slave. He will always be bound, either by a master or by his own nature, and he hates himself for it. Because he's afraid of being abandoned should others find this out, or of projecting his pain onto those he cares about, he's become very, very good at keeping this part of himself locked away where nobody can find it. Many who come close to it may be led back to a safe distance by his casual insistence that of course he's perfectly fine, and what do they think could possibly be wrong? It would take a truly special person as stubborn and clever as he is to bring out his true self, and even more so to keep him from running off and locking himself back up again.

 WEAKNESSES Jax's main weaknesses can be categorized under his lack of physical strength and ability, the limitations on his power, and his distrust and fear of people.

Being a scrawny guy with something of an addiction to peppermint candy, Jax is certainly lacking in the physical abilities department. Not because he is overweight, but because he doesn't care to put in the work to build up the muscle mass or endurance needed to physically strong or fast. This means that in situations where he cannot use his magic he is next to useless.

Possibly the biggest weakness he has is the limitations on his power. These have been described the "Powers" section already, but they include the fact that he cannot conjure anything but small items for himself, he can only use powerful magic under the command of a master, he cannot effectively travel as smoke if cut off from open air, and he cannot alter life, death, love, or inhuman abilities.

When it comes to other people, Jax's fears of rejection and hurting others keep him from connecting with people in the way he wants. He wants nothing more than for somebody to understand what he is and the life that he feels he was cursed with, but is too afraid to give anybody the chance. This often leads to him pushing away people who get too close, hating himself for it, and wanting and fearing this connection even more, a vicious and self-destructive cycle.

 STRENGTHS Jax's main strengths are his intelligence, his ability to charm and manipulate people without magic, and his power's 'loophole'.

Being highly intelligent and clever, Jax can often get around his physical weaknesses with his mind. He can think fast enough on his feet that even in dire situations he can often come up with complex solutions. If he bothers to apply himself, he can also excel in many academic pursuits.

Because Jax has such a knack with words and the limitations on his power have made it impossible for him to rely on magic to get what he wants from people, he has become very skilled with manipulating and charming people simply with words. He doesn't do this often, but when he feels he has a reason to he's very good at it.

Jax claims that the only thing he likes about his power is what he calls the 'loophole'. Because he is capable of enormous conjurings or wide-scale, complex manipulations at the command of a master, he is capable of incredible power under certain circumstances. Though usually when he has a master their 'wishes' are for their own gain and Jax's opinion of them means nothing to them, if a master is willing and they can come to terms on an agreed use of his magic, he can be very strong. As anything that doesn't fall under the limitations described is possible for him to do, he has a huge range. For example, if he needed to fight an enemy, it would be difficult for him to do it on his own, being physically weak and having limited magic. But if he allowed somebody else to become his master and this master worked with him, he could be a deadly combatant. He would only do this under extreme circumstances, due to the possibility of the master turning on him; it is a gamble he would only take if necessary.

 HISTORY Jax was born with his powers but with one particular difference: he was unable to use magic for himself at all. Like when he is claimed now, his magic responded to the requests of others. As a child he thought of this as a simple fact of who he was and nothing more, and it was only when he was older that he learned what it could lead to.

The first five years of his life were good to him. He was born on Christmas of 1998, a fact that he thought was great when he was young but has since learned to gloss over when people ask. His parents, Jordan and Seline Garrett, were young and recently married, and delighted at the arrival of their first child, no matter his strange nature. They adapted and committed to raising him with the belief that it changed nothing. When he was two his younger sister Athalia was born and Jax was closer to her than anybody, promising to protect her always. They were by no means impressively well-off, but they were happy. These are some of the best memories of his life and few know the details of them. He holds them very close and doesn't speak of his family often--usually only if asked, and even then it tends to be just enough to answer the question. 

It was just after his fifth birthday, on New Year's Eve, that his world was shattered beyond repair. He and three-year-old Athalia had spent the evening at a daycare event for children whose parents wanted to go out and it had been a wonderful night of movies, games, and art projects, and though Athalia had long since fallen asleep Jax was still awake after midnight with a few of the elementary-school-age children, and so was awake when the daycare was contacted. His parents' taxi had been hit by a drunk driver, killing his father and leaving his mother in critical condition. With no other family Jax and Athalia stayed with their daycare teacher while things were sorted out, and when their mother passed away four days later were placed into foster care. This was when Jax went from a happy, confident boy to withdrawn and difficult. They passed through five foster families before they found one who stuck it out, when Athalia was six and Jax eight. The couple had an older boy of their own, twelve at the time, who despite Jax's efforts to keep his powers hidden figured out his secret. He took advantage of it, working Jax's magic to exhaustion and bullying him whenever his parents' backs were turned. At school Jax had long since learned that people were more accepting of somebody who seemed happy and friendly than one who was obviously unhappy and so had gotten good at covering up his true feelings, which led to the way he is now and meant that his foster parents hardly noticed anything was wrong. This continued for three years until, at eleven, Jax finally came up with a word for what he was--a genie, a slave--and in a desperate attempt to get rid of his powers for good went to a local psychic who turned out to be a true witch. At his request she worked a spell that was meant to give him control of his own magic but was only able to turn it into what it is now, giving him more freedom than before but still not enough. This was also what tied his magic to his bottle, the necklace he wears now.

Things improved after that, much to Jax's surprise. When Jax's foster brother realized he could no longer take advantage of him he began claiming himself a victim to Jax's bullying and soon afterwards both Jax and Athalia were placed in another foster family, this time the only children and being taken care of by a kind elderly couple. This move led Jax to meet Ava, a classmate he befriended. They became close over the next two years, her providing a reprieve for him when he changed foster homes yet again when his foster parents became unable to handle young children. Afraid of her reaction, Jax kept his powers secret from her until an accidental mix-up caused Ava to become his first master. He was shocked for her to immediately return his bottle, giving up her chance to get anything she wanted from his magic on his behalf. Ava was entirely accepting of him and had no desire to use his magic for herself, something he hadn't experienced since his parents' death nine years before, and she became the first--and, to date, only--person he opened up to. It was because of Ava that Jax was happy again through middle school, but when he entered high school his life turned around yet again, the final series of events that brought him here.

Two things happened over the next two years that changed his life: he lost both his sister and Ava. Though Jax had done his best to make sure Athalia was always as happy as possible, bouncing from foster home to foster home was difficult on her as much as him. She became depressed and was no longer the adoring little sister he'd known. No matter what he tried she distanced herself from him and he began to down-spiral, blaming himself for not protecting her as he had promised to. This affected his relationship with Ava; having entered high school and found more friends, Ava began being pulled into parties and drinking, a social life she desperately wanted Jax to be a part of but that he had no interest in as he became more and more worried about his sister. After a year of this thirteen-year-old Athalia hung herself in her bedroom, where Jax found her one morning when asked to wake her up for school. Her suicide shocked Ava into once again becoming Jax's escape and seemed to restore their close bond for a short time, but after a few months she realized Jax may never fully recover from the incident and slowly returned to her party-girl self. Jax began putting up his happy front once again, now that his true happiness was shattered, and withdrew further and further back into himself, sure that he was responsible for Athalia's death and Ava's abandonment, though all the while a part of him was sure Ava hadn't truly left him. He stopped attending school, instead skipping to find quiet places where he could hide out as long as possible and lying to his foster parents. His once-stellar grades plummeted and when people asked if he was alright his skill at hiding his pain left them sure that he was. It was a year ago that he was last truly happy, though it was brief and quickly ruined. He and Ava made plans to catch up, Jax believing that things would perhaps get better once again, but Jax soon found himself drinking with her and her friends. On a dare a drunk Jax gave Ava his bottle, not realizing she had told her friends already about his magic, and spent the night helpless as they passed it around, taking turns binding him and commanding various things of his magic for entertainment and greed. That was the last day he went to school, and the next day, exhausted, hungover, and angry, he got the tattoos he has now, to remind himself that he will always be bound and will never be accepted by others. He left home and survived on the streets until he found his way here, hoping for a new life but determined not to make the mistakes of his last one.

 IN CHARACTER SAMPLE The snow was pristine. A pure, polished white, like millions upon millions of tiny, glittering crystals, unmarred by a single footprint. It floated through the air and stung where it touched skin, betraying its fierce nature. Jax inhaled slowly, the cold winter air burning his throat, and watched his breath cloud up in front of him and float away. And then he stepped out of the street and onto the blanket of snow, crushing its beauty beneath his feet.

It crunched and cracked as he walked, the top layer frozen to a thin crust by the cold. Even with the field buried he knew exactly where he was going; he didn't need to skim each dark, frosted surface for a name or memorize any directions or landmarks. His feet knew the path without conscious thought. And there it was, beautiful and empty and stone-cold. It was nothing but a marker; Athalia wasn't here. But still he came, like every Tuesday. But this Tuesday was different.

"Happy birthday, Thali," he whispered to his sister's grave. His fingers, red from the cold, traced the letters of her name engraved in hard stone: Athalia Marie Garrett. Three words that meant nothing to anybody but him, sitting above a handful of numbers, and that was all. She got no inspiring quotes, no Bible verses that attempted to justify her death or even a simple "Beloved Daughter, Sister, and Friend". And why would she? She was just another dead girl--and one who had done it to herself, at that.

Fifteen. She should have been fifteen years old today. She should have been spending her time with her friends, or doing homework, or teasing him for being her protective big brother. But instead she was in the ground and he was alone with the cold and silence.

"I have news." His voice sounded too loud in the crisp winter air, but he didn't care. "I'm going away. I know it sounds insane but I think it'll work out. I hope it does. So I'm not just here for your birthday, I'm here to say goodbye." Of course there was no answer; he hadn't expected one, but it was still disappointing in a way. Speaking to a gravestone was too different from speaking to her. But he continued anyway. "I don't know if I'll come back, but if I do I'll come see you, I promise. I should go now." He stood and pulled two candies from his jacket pocket, white chocolate kisses in shiny, candy-cane-striped wrappers. He placed one atop the gravestone, nestled among the snow, and carefully unwrapped the other. "Goodbye, Thali," he said before popping the chocolate into his mouth and walking away.

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