Guardian Angels - Characters - Jesse B. Black (Jesiah Blanche)

Jesse B. Black (Jesiah Blanche)

Age: 34
Gender: male
Birthplace: Etrenank, Solaris

Height: 5'11"
Weight: 170lbs.
Chest: ?
Waist: ?
Clothing size: ?
Shoe size: ?
Ring size: ?

Weapon: guns
Gear: Buntline

Jesse is the oldest of the former Elements at age thirty-four. He was born in Solaris as Jesiah Blanche, a first class citizen and, later, one of Jugend's top students. Raquel and Stein were his classmates. Soon after his graduation - or perhaps a bit before? - he married Raquel in a hurry, and Billy was born immediately after.

While at school, Jesse also met underclassman Ramsus, who shared his dissatisfaction with Solaris's policies for advancement, and together they created the elite team called "the Elements," and recruited Hyuga and Sigurd. This in itself was a huge departure from the norm; until their rebellion against the system, promotion in Solaris was completely dependent on bloodline. Raquel encouraged him to make this change, insisting he experience the truth of the discrimination the lower classes lived with.

Jesiah was expected to be the next commander of Gebler, but the closer he got to central power, the more he learned about the nature of the government, and the M Plan, he became convinced of the need to remove his family from Solaris. Once they were established in Aquavy, Jesiah's first target for information was Maria Balthasar, whose escape he learned about in his research back home. He met Gaspar and fought against Solaris during the Third Invasion, helping Shevat's guerrilla forces attack a Solarian surface base and stealing Buntline in the process.

After the Invasion, Jesiah arranged his disappearance in secret with his wife so his family wouldn't be targeted by the agents he was sure Solaris would send after him. During this period he met operative Joshua Black, who agreed to guide him to Shevat. Unfortunately, he was wounded while they fled Solarian agents, and before dying he suggested Jesiah take on his features, fingerprints, and name to continue his work. Jesiah did this, also presumably taking his surname (Black), and continued his search.

Three years later, Jesse returned to the house vastly changed, and received a very cold reception from Billy. Primera recognizes him as her father and loves him, but Billy is unwilling to trust him. Jesse causes them no end of trouble with his disruptive behavior and distrust of the Ethos.

Perfect Works notes:
It's worth saying that Jesiah is supposed to have at least ten guns hidden on his person-- maybe more. His marksmanship is praised as miraculous, god-like, and so forth. Also, while his personality is said to have changed drastically since his disappearance, it isn't clear what he was like beforehand. From hints in the game script (eg. painting faces on their stomachs and dancing around), it sounds like he was already "wild."

Guardian Angels notes:
The PW doesn't comment on the contrast between the names Jesse and his family take - Blanche (white) and Black - but the duality stands out. For example, it could reflect the stark difference in his personality before the Third Invasion and after, it could be an ironic contrast to the moral gray area Jesse seems to work in, and of course it could also imply the differences between himself and his son, or the change of heart that led him to Aquavy. His views on god and religion are also very much in the middle ground. There's a lot of potential the book never went into.

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