Session #00 ♠ Glass of Water

[ofganymede]

Character

Name: Jet Black
Fandom: Cowboy Bebop
Gender: Male
Age: 36
Time Period: post-series.

History: Wiki segment.
And an episode list for reference.

Personality: A lot of Jet's personality got a solid formation during his days as an officer for the ISSP. He's got a set of morals that he won't compromise and an incredible tenacity. His nickname on the force was “the Black Dog,” because once he 'bit' he didn't let go. This holds true throughout the years- Jet has the capability to be ridiculously stubborn and set in his ways, and if there's something he really wants, he'll do all he can to get it. He also apparently didn't have much trouble making friends back in the day- years later, Jet's seen meeting old buddies and getting inside information through his connections. Jet had a tendency to be overprotective in romantic relationships, too, according to his ex-girlfriend, Alisa. She left him because he decided everything and didn't give her chances to act on her own: something she desperately wanted to be able to do, even if it were making a big mistake.

This actually had quite an impact on him, and was something he had a tendency to dwell on until they would meet again down the road. A part of him was frozen in that memory, even though time continued moving with or without him being entirely aware of it. It could also contribute somewhat to the very carefully crafted indifference he tries to treat future companions with; pretending you don't care and trying not to get attached are two of the most likely choices a person will make to avoid being hurt in the future.

He has a lot of distaste for corrupt systems. The ISSP's rather ambiguous morality combined with the loss of his arm in an apprehension had him leaving to pursue life as a freelance bounty hunter.

Jet, after putting a few years of bounty-hunting experience under his belt, didn't change radically but subtly. He's not afraid to use all the resources available to him to nail a bounty- though with the addition of Spike (and later Faye) to the team, more of his time was spent aboard the Bebop playing the strategist of a situation. He can keep his cool in a stressful situation, which has come in handy. And those ramrod morals are ones he's a little more willing to bend around. Sure, he might not use the most upstanding means, but it means repairs for the ship and food on the table, so it balances out. His ability to be ruthless remained fully intact- he's seen in an episode forcing information out of someone who was in pursuit of him and his companion- a man who gave that information and insisted it was all he knew. Jet crushed his neck regardless. At the same time, when it comes to day-to-day life, Jet seemed to mellow out a bit. He didn't have to know where his comrades on the ship were at any given minute of any given day (though taking off for a week or two without sending word at all managed to piss him off fantastically). They came and went and he was surprisingly okay with it nine times out of ten.

Along with his more relaxed sides came a couple of hobbies and interests. He professes a love of blues and jazz music (hence his ship's own name), cooked meals for everybody and was a very meticulate caretaker of bonsai trees. He has a distinct distaste for being considered old. Jet also has the ability to suck it up and make very friendly conversation with people he can't stand, for the sake of bagging a bounty. Smoking is a long-standing habit of his, too.

Jet Black believes in remembering the lessons that life teaches him, painful as they may be. He keeps his cybernetic left arm even though reconstructive surgery is possible and not all that expensive in his time- a reminder not to rush into things with guns blazing, that nobody is immortal. When faced with a stranger, Jet's more likely to be wary than not (though he's more than capable of being friendly, and wants to believe the best of people even when he knows he really can't always. It's a trait that stuck around). Considering he found out that he lost that arm because his partner of years was on the payroll of the Syndicate, it isn't entirely surprising that he has a few issues with trust.

Still, whether he thinks he's not old enough for the title or not, over the course of the series Jet firmly established himself as Bebop's Team Dad. He cooked for everyone, he did the laundry, he repaired damages to the ships, fixed the hot water when it went out and patched up injuries. Sure, he put on a lot of airs about not caring whether any of them stayed or went, but at the end of the day he cared a lot. He even showed concern about whether or not Faye and Ed were getting enough meat in their diet at one point. If someone was needlessly reckless, he scolded them. He called Spike and Faye on their bullshit, tried to make people take responsibility for their own actions, but at the end of the day he'd still be around to cover someone's ass. In fact, Jet was possibly one of the most stable characters in the entire series. While Spike, Faye and Ed (and Ein) could make a habit of disappearing for days at a time without word, Jet was always there when and if they came back- with with food and bandages and a place to sleep. Jet values stability and loyalty, doing the right thing by the people you care about at the end of the day, no matter how jaded life tends to make a person. He didn't always understand the strays he found himself taking in, but he understood enough not to turn his back on them.

But of course, as the series tends to go, Jet's also pretty dysfunctional when it comes to emotional attachment. It would take a hell of a lot to get him to openly admit to caring about a person. He's a pretty good fit for the term 'tsundere.' Any kind of affection is only shown in a roundabout way, the kind of thing meant to be assumed because he's still feeding a person or lending them his couch. If a person hurts him, he'll be damned if he shows it, instead opting to be angry or pretend not to care at all. He may even storm off claiming to want nothing to do with them- nine times out of ten, though, that's a backless bluff. Jet can be passive-aggressive like that. The first time Spike ran off to chase after Julia, he made a big show of not caring, even going so far as to say that he wouldn't have a place on the ship anymore if he went.

Spike went anyway, of course. Jet was the one to call him later saying he'd “let him back on” if he brought in a bounty- another example of very roundabout kindness, his version of an apology. Spike didn't bring any bounties in with him when he returned, either. You can guess what wound up happening in spite of that, probably. It's a sign of Jet being faithful, yes, and it's a sign that he cares whether or not the people he knows disappear on him. And it's also a sign that he doesn't want them to disappear: Jet's a parental figure to those guys, but he's also a human being who knows what it's like to be alone and doesn't want to be. He could tell himself that he keeps someone around for their own good, but a part of any relationship has a fraction of selfishness to go with it. So he's willing to accept that people will do as they will- he's learned to accept when it's truly time to let a person go, and he'll do it. Even if they're heading off to their death to settle the past. Even if everything selfish and lonely and caring was telling him to keep his odd little family together where he could watch over them.

But he'll always let them come back in, too.

Strengths:
Physical strength is one of Jet's most obvious attributes, not that this is entirely surprising, considering he's a six-foot-three, well-built guy who chases down bounties for a living; not to mention the cybernetic arm that can take bullets for him and change things from a headlock to a broken neck in a matter of seconds. He's proficient in hand-to-hand combat and relatively sturdy when it comes to taking blunt force trauma, and he's a pretty good shot with firearms to boot. And Jet is a very capable mechanic- often the one seen working on whatever ship it was that took damage in an episode, and always the one called for when something went awry aboard the Bebop.

Mentally, he's got a decent bit of intelligence on his side. In their partnership, Jet was the one on the Bebop running the strategy while Spike was out catching the bounties more than a few times. He knows how to use his connections with the ISSP to his advantage to get inside info, and he's not afraid to do it. Jet's a skilled pilot, too- with both the Bebop and his smaller ship dubbed the Hammerhead. He's shown maneuvering the latter through rapid-fire in the episode “Black Dog Serenade,” though the ship does take a couple of hits. He's also a pretty good hand at first aid, at the very least knowledgeable enough to make a tourniquet when he's shot in the leg towards the end of the series.

Emotionally, one of Jet's biggest strengths is that he's stable, especially when it came to the other members of the Bebop's crew (as it were). Sometimes more likely to get angry at a person than anything, but ready to put an extra plate out or patch someone up if they wandered back in after disappearing for a few days. He's also able to be very stubborn; it's said several times in the series that his nickname during his ISSP days was “the black dog,” because once he sank his teeth into something he didn't let go. He's got determination when he needs it and he knows who he is.

Weaknesses:
Physically, Jet's biggest weakness is the fact that he's just human. Canon's shown time and time again that he can be injured, and that an injury serious enough will put him out of action. His cybernetic arm is even standing proof of the fact that he can be hurt badly. That arm can also be a weakness itself- being able to take a bullet doesn't equal deflecting one, and I imagine taking too many would render it beyond repair. He also tends to rely more on strength and the direct approach when he's in a brawl; outmaneuvering him might not be very difficult as a result.

Mentally, he's just as susceptible to assault and 'shroom trips as anybody else. There are no outstanding defenses or measures to take into consideration for him.

His emotional weaknesses are probably some of his most obvious ones. Jet's not all that hard to get riled up, and he tends to hang onto the past (though this is a trait he's been evolving out of, really). If someone does something that genuinely hurts him, he immediately covers it up with feigned indifference and possibly even anger- fighting hurt with hurt, for lack of a better term. He might even storm off claiming to want nothing more to do with the person- though, of course, that's more of a bluff. His stubbornness has a downside of not always working for him, too.