InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Venta"

Jesse Custer (cowboy_god) wrote in we_coexist,
@ 2012-05-25 19:42:00

Entry tags:

jesse custer, lois lane

A few questions (Lois)
Jesse was still overclocking himself. Only taking the one day off for the dinner with Dinah and Dean, the time spent since then had been continuing his deeds. Even with the City streets back on their regular routine, he felt like he was needed. Maybe it was because he'd already been doing it for so long, now everything felt kind of natural. It certainly wasn't because he'd changed his mind about responsibility.

What it all came down to in the end was that he was tired. Exhausted, really. He was back to falling asleep on Zoe. But the sleep wasn't the best. He woke up at odd hours and never seemed to reach that state of deep slumber that assured a really good rest. He was thinking too much about things, and never felt like the work was finished.

It was a growing problem, and he knew that he had to find a way to stop, or at the very least, cut back. The City was providing again. He'd made sure of that. Sending the City back the way it was supposed to be had been easy. All of it was easy, really. Just a toll on his energy. He wasn't so sure it should be so simple, any of it. Just making a decision and going with it.

Jesse was sitting in the park, half watching a game of soccer and half just thinking about these things.

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i_changelanes
2012-05-31 01:11 am UTC (link)

Lois nodded. She could only imagine what it might feel like to know someone was suffering and to be able to help them. If she'd had the ability to change things, she wasn't sure if she would be able to be impartial when it came to the people she loved. If she could, she would probably move Heaven and Earth and to hell with the consequences.

Since she'd asked a bit of a heavier question, she figured she'd direct the interview back to a slightly lighter topic. This was usually the rhythm of her interviews. She didn't constantly stick to the tough questions because that would eventually cause the person you were questioning to shut down. But she also didn't skate around the tricky topics. If she wanted answers, she went for them.

"So what about your down time? Assuming you have any down time. What does a man with Godlike powers do on his days off?"

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cowboy_god
2012-05-31 03:52 am UTC (link)

Jesse had no illusions that Lois wouldn't come back around for the deep stuff. He knew that there was too much he'd opened up and very little he'd actually closed up for her. She was a good reporter. He'd seen as much in the comics and in real life. Or... whatever being in this City was.

"It was all just one big fuckin day off until the City got messed up. Then I started helpin people, and I just ain't been able to stop. But before that, booze. John Wayne movies. Smokin. Women." He tilted his head a bit. "That changed fairly recently, too. Only one woman now. She'd kick my ass if I were tryin to see anyone besides her. She could do it, too."

Jesse sat back, enjoying the cigarette. "Just meetin people and wanderin around, mainly. Helpin a little here and there. Becomin a mutt when there was that werewolf thing. That was kinda fun. Got bit by a polar bear."

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	i_changelanes 2012-06-01 05:11 pm UTC (link)
	"A polar bear?" Lois repeated. She hadn't been around for the werecreatures thing, which had made it hard to wrap her mind around everything that had been running through the City at the time. "So you didn't start helping people until the City stopped moving?" she asked. That was interesting. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

cowboy_god
2012-06-02 12:30 am UTC (link)

Jesse nodded. "Yep. Polar bear. Was swimmin down at the docks. He could kinda talk a little. Nice guy."

He was careful not to mention Hank by name, because that was unfair. Lois was here to interview Jesse and Jesse didn't need to set her on the trail of somebody who might not want their private business out in the papers. He didn't know how others felt about their time as animals. He'd loved it.

"Was fun bein a dog. I didn't have to let it happen. You know, what with the powers. But I wanted to see what it'd be like. What it'd turn me into. Since there weren't no pattern to it."

Jesse scratched his chin, letting her move on to the next question. "Not like I am now. Here and there I'd help. Do things for people every once in a while. But when the City stopped and the panic started, when the folk who were born here didn't know where to turn or what to do, I felt like I couldn't just let them suffer. So I stepped in. Since the City's been back to normal, I've been tryin to slow down, but it's like... I dunno. Hard. I got used to doin it."

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	i_changelanes 2012-06-03 03:02 am UTC (link)
	Lois nodded her understanding. She knew that once you started doing something that seemed like it was helping people, it was hard to just stop doing it. Helping was something that you just wanted to do more of once you've had that first taste of doing something good. "So are there side effects to using your power?" she asked. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

cowboy_god
2012-06-05 03:21 am UTC (link)

"Side effects?" Jesse shook his head. "I think of side effects bein like bad things. While I might be runnin myself ragged right now, I'm helping people, so that ain't bad. I've learned to control what I know 'bout people, learned not to look into the future or nothin like that."

He smiled at Lois. "I suppose after I've had a few more years to think on it, I might come up with somethin, but right now, everything's pretty positive."

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i_changelanes
2012-06-05 09:53 pm UTC (link)

Lois returned the smile, though she wasn't so sure about the idea of someone having all of those powers without any sort of side effects. As far as she knew, power like that always had a downside. Since Jesse seemed genuinely interested in using his powers to help, she hoped that she was wrong in this case.

"So the woman you were raised by-Marie-was she your mother?" she asked.

She didn't think so, judging by the way that Jesse had talked about her, but it was possible. Whatever the case, she was curious about his parents.

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cowboy_god
2012-06-06 12:50 am UTC (link)

"No. My grandmother. From my mom's side. My mom was Christine L'Angelle, my daddy was John Custer. He fought in Vietnam."

Jesse showed her the silver lighter he'd been holding. A zippo with the words fuck communism across the front. He looked at it himself, then.

"Was given to him by The Duke himself. He met my mom when he was comin home from there. She spit on him. Cause she was protesting the war, you see. Or, said she was to the hippies that gave her a ride. What she was really doin was runnin away from Marie. Funny though, they fell in love. Got to live together for a good long while, too. But Marie's boys eventually found em. Took em back to Angelville. It's here, you know. Angelville. Out in the swamp nearby where that motel is. Bates. I don't go there. Anyway. Neither of them wanted me to grow up to be what Marie wanted. My mom taught me what she could."

Jesse looked down at his hands. He hadn't talked about this in a long time. A very very long time. It still hurt. He guessed that it always would, even if he did end up living forever.

"My daddy thought to escape. But they caught him. They caught him and shot him, and made me watch. Later, when Jody killed my dog and Marie heard me curse, she put me in the coffin." He shook his head. "This punishment she devised. Coffin is sealed tight and has an air tube attached. They put it at the bottom of the swamp and left me there. That's when they killed my mama. While I was down there."

Jesse looked at Lois again. "She came here, too. Marie did. She's dead now. I made goddamned sure of that."

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i_changelanes
2012-06-11 07:09 pm UTC (link)

Lois sucked in a breath. She was used to prying information out of people, but it wasn't often that someone opened up quite this much. The tragedies that Jesse had experienced... offering condolences seemed a bit trite.

All the same, it was the best she could do.

"I'm sorry. About your parents, I mean."

She had more questions. She always did, but she didn't feel right pressing for any more information right now. He had given her more than enough for an article and some of the things he'd shared might not make it to print out of respect for the man who seemed to want nothing more than to help people with his powers.

"I think that should do for now. Would you mind if I contacted you with any follow-up questions I might have in the future?"

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cowboy_god
2012-06-12 03:58 am UTC (link)

"Done already?" Jesse smiled. "You can call anytime. I don't mind."

He pulled a pen and a wayward napkin out of a coat pocket and scribbled down his number. Handing it over, he wondered if it would appear in Lois' contact list without her having to do anything. If the City was still doing things like that.

"Yanno, you can use the phone, or just... call. I can hear it when people call for me."

He made a bit of a circle with his finger. "Helps with all this helpin whatnot." A new cigarette was already in his mouth.

"An' just so ya know, it don't hurt me none, talkin 'bout where I come from. Just didn't think anybody'd be interested in hearin it."

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i_changelanes
2012-06-12 09:37 pm UTC (link)

Of course he could hear people. Lois realized that she shouldn't have been surprised by that, but she was all the same. She did her best not to gape in response to the statement but instead managed a smile.

"I'll keep that in mind. Could come in handy. Especially since I seem to sometimes find myself in tight spots every so often," she said with a laugh.

She stood and nodded to Jesse.

"Thanks again. I think you'll find that people find your life story more interesting than you might think."

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