Thursday, February 28, 2008

Thirteen Things We Love about Jesse and Gideon

Next week, the fifth book starring Jesse and Gideon, Chaos & Communion will be released. In celebration of this, we decided to do a chat to discuss our 13 favorite things about our favorite characters.



Pepper: 1. When I was making the iMix for "Chaos & Communion," I chose to end it with Louis Armstrong's "What a Wonderful World." I love that Jesse really believes that it is a wonderful world. Even after all the crap he's been through and everything he's seen.

Vivien: 2. Some people call it poor social skills. I like to think that Gideon doesn't feel the need to beat around the bush. Jesse has a secure job because he's better with people than Gideon is, but one of the things I love about Gideon is that he doesn't pretend what he doesn't feel. At the beginning of "Mosaic Moon," he's sitting in the back seat of Jesse's car while Ethan has come up to take Emma out on their date. He doesn't like Ethan, and he's a little cranky, so when Ethan asks how he's been, Gideon simply looks him in the eye and says, "I'm hungry." I love that.

Pepper: 3. Jesse is a very physical being. Some might call him a slut, but I maintain he is not a slut. He just enjoys physical sensations. He wants to experience everything from pain to pleasure, and he wants to go to the extremes where pain and pleasure blur and become indistinguishable. He loves the act of sex because of the sounds, smells, textures, and of course, it feels very good. But while sex can just be a very physical act for Jess, it's can also be something intensely emotional. He is willing to submit entirely to the ecstasy he finds in physical contact.

Vivien: 4. Even before he reformed, Gideon respected two things: talent and bravery. He was dangerous, yes, but when someone found an interesting way of standing up to him - like Mary staking him with a cross - he respected that. In a modern day setting, he gets along best with those he feels he can respect. Like Jesse, and Emma, and Derek. There's even a tattoo artist named Rae in "Chaos & Communion" that commands Gideon's respect.



Pepper: 5. Jesse and Gideon are best friends. Sometimes their lives are so insane, and their love so intense, that it's easy to lose sight of the fact they're friends. But they banter. They can have fun. Jesse teases Gideon a little, and Gideon likes it. They have an easy give and take. I don't think the romance would be as interesting if they weren't, first and foremost, friends.

Vivien: 6. Gideon would do anything for Jesse. Literally. He's willing to go to the darkest places, embrace his worst enemy, ignore his own fears, if that's what Jesse wants or needs. He can be selfless about other aspects of his life, but there's always a small sense of begrudging there. There isn't with Jesse.

Pepper: 7. Gideon is Jesse's hero. Gideon has faults. Even faults that Jesse can recognize and name. Jesse understands that Gideon has enemies, and he understands why. He knows that Gideon has a very dark past, and that darkness is always threatening, lurking in their lives. But he also knows that Gideon chose to turn his back on that darkness and make the world a better place. That fact will always make Gideon truly heroic in Jesse's eyes.

Vivien: 8. Speaking of Gideon's faults...he's vain. And a clothes hound. But he can be a real tightwad for things he doesn't think are important. He also revels in making people uncomfortable when he doesn't like them, just because he can. But he knows all this, and he knows how some of the things look to Jesse and Emma, and he works to not let those take command when they shouldn't. He might give Jesse a hard time about how much money he spends on books, but he would give him whatever money he needed to get them, just because he knows how much they mean to Jesse.

Pepper: 9. Jesse is a gregarious soul. He just loves people. He has a lot of friends. He even befriends people who aren't particularly friendly. He's interested in people. I think it's related to his interest in books, really. He's curious. He wants to know everything. Of course, the fact that he's gregarious annoys Gideon a bit. He's not much of a people person at the best of times, after all.

Vivien: 10. When all is well, Jesse's fearless. I think it comes back partially to his natural curiosity. He can't discover new things without taking a few risks. Part of it, too, is commitment to the good of the world. Where Gideon has to work every day to focus his mission, and probably dislikes it more often than he should, Jesse truly believes in justice, and he's prepared to do whatever it takes to make sure it wins.

Pepper: 11. Sometimes Gideon feels a little helpless when it comes to Jesse--especially in Chaos & Communion--but ultimately, he always knows what his boy needs. When Jesse is at his most insecure or confused, he just wants to know that he's Gideon's. Gideon never has any problem claiming him.

Vivien: 12. I don't think any list would be complete without mentioning the hot sex. There is nothing Jesse won't try, which is good for Gideon because when you've been around for as long as he is, you like to mix things up a bit. But the hot sex isn't necessarily just the hardcore BDSM stuff. Scenes where Jesse wakes Gideon with a blowjob throw a few logs on the fire just as easily.

Pepper: 13. Mentioned last, but certainly not least, I love Jesse and Gideon's capacity for love. Jesse has so much room in his heart, that he can devote himself completely to Gideon, and still love Emma with everything he has. I think his capacity for love is limitless, honestly. Almost as though the more he gives away, the more he has. And Emma loves Jesse so much, without taking anything away from her feelings for Gideon. Gideon, as Vivien already mentioned, would do anything for Jesse, and loves Emma deeply. The world they live in is scary and hard and bloody. Their lives aren't easy. I think the only thing that makes this dark world tolerable is that they can, and do, love with all they are.

2 comments:

Cathy M said...

What a great blog. Every story in this series is emotional, intense, and gives us another peek at the love they all feel for each other. I've been holding off picking up book 4, because I knew I was going to have a hard time with what happens to Jesse, but the upcoming release really looks good, and I think it's time to get caught up.

Jamie said...

Oh, I understand why you held off on #4. I had a hard time with what happened to Jesse, too. But we knew from the beginning that if we were going to hurt Jess like that, then we were not going to just wave it all away. We would have to work to fix it. I'm really happy with how #5 turned out. --Pepper