~ Jerboa Helga Reeves ~
Jerboa is the current manager - and occasional bartender - of the Lucky Thomas, a saloon located in her home town of Dunce Dump. To help out her family, she was passed down the saloon so the initial owner, Granny Hilda, could retire and Jerboa could drown herself in work, making herself useful to the family instead of wallowing in her room over the recent broken relationship that led her to return to her hometown. While the past relationships may haunt her, she has built herself a safe space here; surrounded by the people she loves, she can truly live the life she wants to pursure, dreaming of star-crossed lovers all the while.
This section was written by our dearest Yura!
Jerboa barely remembers the events leading up to being taken in by her "family". All she remembers is that she was left behind on the doorsteps of a brothel in Dunce Dump. Despite the town's worn out state and poor population they were happy. She was taken in by Granny Hilda, who at that time owned both the saloon and brothel, alongside the prostitutes who were also under granny's watchful eye.
Beside her were her two closest companions, Samir and Jamie: the three of them were inseparable from the beginning. They loved to roam abandoned halls of buildings and often hung out in the saloon, helping whenever they could with chores. She gained a deep love for fantasy worlds, true loves, and fated kinship because of fairytales: the few she had access to were loved classics. She can't quite remember where they came from, but they were around. There was a time when Hilda scraped up enough money to send her and Samir to a better school in July, including their friend Jamie. Samir got taken out of school because of severe bullying. Not long after him, Jerboa too was removed so they could be homeschooled.
At 19, Jerboa moved got a job in July to support her family. Along the way she found love, but the love turned sour. After she landed a job at a local bakery, she fell in love with Paul Stilskin. He worked at the nearby "Thomas and Worms Butchery". Jeroba constantly bought meat from him and brought baked goods in order to get closer to him. As the days passed and piled up, she had fallen for him.
One day she watched Paul murder someone. Using her obvious crush on him, he had asked if she wanted to help him hide the bodies. Her, being too willing and head over heels, complied and became an accomplice. Although she knew it could get her in trouble, she felt like she was doing the right thing, and wanted to help the person she loved. Paul would continue to manipulate and use her to his advantage, and continued to murder people. They disposed of the bodies by grinding the meat and using it to fill the meat pastries Jerboa sells. Thinking about it now makes her want to vomit knowing she sold human meat, unwillingly making her customers cannibals.
Eventually Paul got caught and was on the run for the time being. Jerboa hid him for days until he begged her to kill him. He wept to her, not wanting to face the consequences, and claimed death was a better option than rotting in a cell. She was worried that the cops would come after her, but he claimed that she could easily run away from her crimes unlike him. With shaky hands and tears streaming down her face, she done what she was asked. Just like every other body, she ground up her lovers body and made him into tasty baked goods. Jeroba impulsively eats one of the pastries filled with Paul, sobbing and crying hysterically at what she's done. How she'll never be innocent or clean ever again.
...
... On an eventful day, Samir visited July out of worry. With no hesitation, she moved back to her home town in the middle of nowhere, full of establishments obscured by tall mountains and few buildings sprouting from the dry sandy ground. To help out her family, she was passed down the saloon so Granny Hilda could retire and Jerboa could drown herself in work making herself useful to the family instead of wallowing in her room. Granny has returned to permanently uplifting and protecting the girls of the brothel house.
While the past of Paul may haunt Jerboa, despite her doing everything possible to ignore it, she has built herself a safe space. She avoids all of her issues in hopes that the consequences won't reach her. Surrounded by the people she loves, she can truly live the life she wants to pursue while still dreaming of star crossed lovers.
Nowadays, she resides in the bar at Deuce Dump, having taken over the establishment from Hilda, burying her troubles with work.