PERSONALITY
Jesse Custer is not always a nice man. He has a mean streak, and he is not only manipulative, but destructive. He would just as soon bash your head than give you the time of day, depending on his mood. At the same time, he's a preacher, so he can fake the niceties as needed.Jesse was initially raised by a single father. His dad believed in physical punishment and making an example out of Jesse. At the tender age of ten, Jesse prayed for his father to die because he was angry at him after he had whipped Jesse in front of his classmates. When Jesse's father was murdered in front of him, Jesse made a promise to be "one of the good guys" because "there's so many of the bad".
His prayer asking for his father's death was the first of Jesse prayers that came true, but it was also a nightmare. Kidnapped by his maternal grandmother, Jesse showed a strong defiance against her, proving he was made of grit and determination. He was eventually broken, though, and conceded to his grandmother's wishes and became her right hand man for a time. But his grandma had killed his mother, and his father, and Jesse was just biding his time until he could get out from under her.
Jesse is a man who will do what he has to do to survive. He can and will sacrifice his own beliefs in order to fake it until he makes it, so to speak. He has a strong backbone, not easily broken, but it is easily bent and swayed. He quite likes living, though, and will do whatever it takes to survive another day.
Jesse is not the most loyal. In fact, his loyalties change with the wind. That said, when he loves, he loves deeply and completely. The same is true of his hate, though, and most people fall somewhere in between.
When in possession of Genesis, giving him the power to make others do as he says, Jesse constantly abused his power despite the dangers of doing so. Knowing the Saint of Killers can track him when he uses it, he continues to use it recklessly in order to get what he wants. He's someone you don't want to piss off, but being a friend isn't easy either. He will fight you, friend or foe, if it suits him to so do. He is conflicted in his heart and it shows in his day to day behaviors and how he treats others.
TRAITS
POSITIVE
- Calm in crisis
- Well read
- Logical
NEUTRAL
- Enigmatic
- Observant
- Adventurous
NEGATIVE
- Conflicted
- Arrogant
- Can be violent
ABILITIES
Sleight Of HandHaving spent his teen years at Angelville, Jesse is quite skilled at illusion and sleight of hand. He does not use this often.Combat
Jesse ran with a tough crowd, and committed several robberies in his younger days. As a result, he is well trained in both hand to hand combat, and in the use of weapons. He is an excellent marksman.Genesis
The offspring of an angel and a demon, known as Genesis, went through several hosts unable to contain it before finding Jesse. Having Genesis inside him, Jesse is able to force anyone with a soul to do whatever he commands them to do just by commanding it. He has been known to abuse this power, but he is also able to use restraint. (Obviously, in game, there would be communication and permissions given before Jesse would use Genesis!)
HEADCANONS
His promiseYanked from his home in the middle of the night at the tender age of ten, to see his father murdered by his grandmother's henchmen, Jesse made a promise to his father that he would be one of the good guys because there were so many of the bad. Jesse felt trapped by this promise his entire life. Time and again he tried to make his dad proud only to fall back into old ways and patterns. When he eventually decided to become a preacher, he did so to try and apologise to his dad, because by then he knew he was never going to succeed in being one of the good guys. He just wasn't cut out for it, though he could argue that he wasn't exactly one of the bad either. He was just a man, trying to survive, willing to do whatever he had to do to make it another sunrise.Sending Eugene to Hell
Jesse felt genuine remorse for sending Eugene to hell, but at the same time, he felt like maybe he deserved it. This was just another internal conflict that Jesse had to wrestle with in his life. He couldn't bring Eugene back, and once he realised that, he was able to move on because honestly, Eugene got what he deserved. Jesse's remorse was short lived.His love for Tulip
Jesse's love for Tulip is genuine, but it isn't total. He loved her, but he's more in love with the idea of being in love with her. They have been through a lot together. He genuinely cares for her, but he is entirely too self absorbed to love her completely. Love is a huge source of conflict for him, because he doesn't really know what it means to love someone. He would do anything for Tulip, that is true, but is that love? Until he can love himself, he can't love her "until the end of time".