PROLEGOMENON

Jesse Lakatos (not to be confused with Reverie) is a young human living in UV-00282 Oregon.

They have thick, curly black hair that they wear in a long afro behind their head, usually poking out from under their signature teal-colored beanie they always wear. Their skin is dark brown, and their eyes are a few tones lighter than that, though they always have a tired expression on their face. Jesse's got a big build, though it definitely isn't intimidating - they look like they'd be good to nap with.

Their online handle is 'ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ', a kaomoji of a bear. This matches their icon, which is also the head of a bear wearing a striped bow-tie. They type with little punctuation, and rarely send messages, preferring to lurk in the chat.

When their friend group play a mobile game to celebrate a birthday, they decide to join their friends in this game session, starting the events of PROLEGOMENON. Jesse is one of the few players who voted against playing the game at first, though they're pressured into playing anyways.

PERSONALITY

Jesse is very reserved, even in the Internet sphere, preferring not to send messages to the group chat and instead just lurking in these spaces. They don't mind their very small role in their friend group, as they still have some bonds they do maintain somewhat, sitting in DMs with their select few special people and talking to them all night. These people are really only Yua Matsuo, their crush, Isabelle Davis, their closest childhood friend, and Aldrich Montgomery, a longtime Internet friend they used to play games with back in the day. Jesse is a big daydreamer, and has a bad habit of dozing off when they do find a comfortable spot to sit and snooze in. They keep a dream journal, which is their most valued item, and they only let Yua see the entries.

They play guitar in their spare time, although they don't think they're very talented at it. They go to Isabelle, who's a fellow musician, for advice about improvement when they feel they've hit a creative roadblock. However, they don't really push themself to practice their hobbies beyond a point of being satisfied and happy. Jesse believes that the moment a hobby turns into a chore, it's been ruined - and they really like guitar, so they'd rather not lose that.

Jesse has autism, and they're nonverbal as a result, using an AAC on their phone to communicate as needed. A lot of their habits and mannerisms are also influenced by their autism. For example, a significant symbol for Jesse is a teddy bear - this is because they have a special interest in bears, which extends to stuffed bears as well. They base a lot of their presentation around bears, and dedicate a lot of their time to collecting little bear figurines.

TIMELINE

In late February, at the turn of the century, Jesse is born in the Pacific Northwest. At first, their parents had planned to have a few more kids, but as time went on and Jesse needed more dedicated attention and care to live happily, their parents abandoned this idea to focus on ensuring Jesse was comfortable and safe. They follow directions on how to care for them, while checking to confirm that Jesse was okay with every step they took in raising them.

Jesse's doing well enough to attend public school, so that's where they're sent through elementary and middle school. During this time, they take part in a pen-pal program that matches kids to others overseas, and they meet Isabelle through this. Around the same time, they're introduced to an MMORPG by their older cousin, which hooks their interest pretty fast. Jesse winds up meeting Aldrich and Dina Becher through this game, and the three become good friends.

When Jesse reaches high school, they find themselves struggling again, and the stress causes them to lose their speech again. They're doing better now since they were removed from school and put in a program that helped them learn a different way. Jesse still lives with their parents at the start of PROLEGOMENON, and they dream of being a famous singer and guitar player.

RELATIONSHIPS

Upon being introduced not long ago, Jesse and Yua hit it off immediately, and they finally felt like they'd found somebody who understood them. Jesse admires Yua, finding her to be the most wonderful thing in the world, and believing she would never mislead them - not on purpose nor accident. She's never been mean to them, and they're pretty head-over-heels for her.

After the events of Episode 3, Jesse - obviously - sides with Yua, and speaks more than they'd ever spoken in the group chat in her defense during heated discussions. They know she feels guilty about the issues her decision has caused, but they don't think she's in the wrong.

When they spawned into the game, Jesse met Olivia - their guide in the world. As the game goes on, Olivia spends much more time with Jesse casually, and this leads to them growing feelings for Olivia. They think Olivia is smart, and likes to listen to what Olivia has to say, though they understand that Olivia's also a listener.

They feel bad they can't really give Olivia many words to listen to, but they know Olivia doesn't mind.

During a stressful time, Isabelle came into Jesse's life and acted as a good, solid anchor for them to latch on to. They'll forever be grateful to Isabelle for their support and warmth, which Jesse still feels even to this day. They're not sure where they'd be without Isabelle in their life.

Jesse finds them inspiring, and hopes someday they'll make music as interesting and fun as Isabelle's.

They met in an MMORPG, and Jesse still has many fond memories of late nights in that digital world. Jesse thinks Aldrich is funny, and - in another life - would even have a crush on them, though to think of that now is pretty silly to them. They love to listen to Aldrich talk about their fantasy worlds and magic systems - the more complicated, the better.

A rift forms between the two after the events of Episode 3, as Jesse is the most outspoken defender of Yua and Aldrich winds up romantically involved with Diego Suaviter. They do make up before the end of the comic's events, though their relationship is still strained.

Alongside Aldrich, Dina was another player on that online game Jesse got latched on to. They didn't really feel like spending much time alone with Dina, finding it to be a little obscene for their tastes, though they did enjoy the late nights with it a lot. Jesse thinks Dina's very strong, and they wish they had the stubborn heart that it shows to the world.

Jesse believes that Dina's able to accomplish its goals without their help, and they stay out of its way.

Due to their reserved nature, Jesse doesn't talk to other members of the group chat - either directly in DMs or indirectly in the group chat itself - very often. Usually when they do, it's strictly when prompted to or for important information to pass along. They don't have any bad opinions of any other players, though they don't really care too deeply for the rest either.

Jesse's definitive siding with Yua after Sofia Suaviter's death causes them to lose some positive opinions about other players, particularly Amada Trejo and Rhett Miller.

TRIVIA

Jesse's the only player outside of the Big U's control or influence due to their powers.

Jesse isn't very attentive to their surroundings because they're usually peeking into other universes in their daydreams.

PROLEGOMENON

JESSE LAKATOS

PERSONALITY

TIMELINE

RELATIONSHIPS

TRIVIA