John Constantine (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
laughingmage) wrote2013-08-20 11:08 am
laughingmage) wrote2013-08-20 11:08 am
(no subject)
JUST THE FACTS, MA'AM
Name: John Constantine
Age and/or birthday: May 10, 1953 -- so why does he look 30?
Fandom/Media/OC?: DC Comics / Vertigo
Programmed Possession: Cigarette Lighter
Arrival date: August 2013
I am...: a right bastard. And a magician. But mostly a bastard.
BODY OF EVIDENCE
Describe your character physically. John appears in his early 30s, with sandy blonde hair, perennial scruff, and more scars than you can shake a stick at. He's got a fairly average build, more muscle than would be expected, but a bit of a beer gut with it.
What does your character wear? John can usually be found wearing a collared shirt, usually solid color (white, most often), with a black tie, and sometimes a black vest. He wears blue jeans everywhere, with a pair of heavy brown boots. He's almost never without his tan trenchcoat, which goes down to his knees.
That covers what they look like. What do they sound like? John's voice is gruff from the tobacco, and from years of abuse. To be so gruff, though, he's a remarkably smooth talker. His voice might trigger both an erotic dream and a bad nightmare all at once. He has a heavy British (Liverpool) accent--working class, not the Queen's English.
Running down the list of the five senses.... smell? John smells like alcohol, tobacco (Silk Cuts to be exact), and a little bit like death. Particularly keen folks may pick up a slight hint of brimstone, or more like the memory of what brimstone should smell like.
Touch & Taste. John's skin is rough and callused, especially his hands. Taste? He's not sure, he doesn't lick himself very often. Probably a bit like salt and vinegar--or quite delicious, according to the number of demons trying to get a bite of his soul.
The fine, fine details: John looks considerably younger than he acts. He's almost 70, but looks barely over 30. He's one of those people someone attuned--or just pretending--might say has "an old soul." His eyes are blue, and surprisingly deep. He's pretty average in height. He's quite scarred as well.
PB differences? Objects in the pictures are younger (or maybe older) than they appear.
BENEATH LE SURFACE
A history of me: John Constantine was born in Liverpool, England. His mother died during birth, the result of a forced abortion from his alcoholic brother. His twin brother was killed in the process. He and his sister, Cheryl, fled their father early as they could, living with various family. John's first spell was as a child--he locked his childhood innocence in a box to keep it safe, so he could deal with the life before him.
He grew quite in love with punk rock in the 1970s, and formed a band called "Mucous Membrane" with his best friend, Chas (Chandler). While trying to get money for the band from a club owner and fellow magician, John and the band discovered the aftermath of a ritual where a young girl had been sexually abused, and called a demon forth to protect her. The demon refused to leave, and John summoned a demon himself to fight against it. This remains one of his greatest sources of guilt--the demons ripped the girl apart and escaped with her soul, and Nergal, the demon John summoned, has haunted John ever since.
Accused of her murder, John was locked in an asylum and tortured by the guards for years, until he was freed by a crime boss who wanted John to bring his dead son back to life.
After he was freed, John got his old band back together to help him investigate the dealings of a strange cult. His girlfriend at the time, Emma, came along--and was killed along with everyone else. Only John and Chas survived, and the ghosts of those killed that day appear to John quite frequently.
John can't die--after diagnosed with lung cancer, he sold his soul to three lords of hell without any catching on. Though eager to claim their prize, to do so would start an all-out war in Hell, and none of the demon lords want that. So instead, they've cursed John to be unable to die until the sales have been resolved.
Since then, he's wandered the UK and US, trying to stay out of trouble while equally trying to thwart the plans of both Heaven and Hell, and he's constantly on both of their shit lists. More details can be found here.
Who matters? Emma, his niece and sometimes-apprentice. Cheryl, his sister. Ellie, a former lover (and succubus) and sometimes enemy. More than anyone, though, is Chas, his longest surviving friend. Epiphany, his wife, though it seems he doesn't always remember her.
Personality & Psychology: John is a bastard at first, and then at second, and then pretty much every other time you meet him. Very few people know a different John Constantine. His innate snarkness and hard life certainly fuel a portion of his misanthropic nature, though how much of it is his own attempts to protect others, even he doesn't know. People close to John Constantine die, and they die quite often, and quite horribly. Sometimes it's better to just not let anyone be close to you.
He's never without a smartass remark or cheap barb, though if you're someone he does care about, he tries to be nicer. He's extremely self-deprecating--he's the first to make a hateful remark about himself, and he doesn't seem to value his own life much (until he's fighting to the death to protect it).
Skills, Powers, Weaknesses, and et cetera: John is clever. Clever may not even be the right word. He can outwit and outdeal the harshest demons of Hell, and has done so with regularity for most of his life. He's even pulled the wool over the eyes of God once or twice. It's very rare for John to not have two to three contingency plans, and to manipulate someone else into exactly what he needs.
He's a mage, and quite a powerful one, though you'll almost never see him cast any spell. Magic, for John, isn't about being flashy and shooting sparkles from your fingers. Magic is blood, life, and willpower. Magic is getting the right person in the right place at the right time, and using them and the other party to get what you need. Magic is knowing just what a demon lord of Hell is willing to do, is capable of doing, and what persuasion is necessary. Magic is knowing how to travel, how to hide, how to be seen, and how to be. John is so full of magic that he doesn't know how to be anything else--though he never seems it, compared to what most think of magic, John is almost never not using some sort of magical power. It's literally the core of his being.
Sexytiems: John is bisexual, though he doesn't often get close enough to anyone to have sex. He's also quite manipulate, and his bisexuality may be more about how to use someone than anything else--even if he's just using them to blow off some steam. Sex is just another tool in his arsenal. He does have a preference for women, but he's slept with his fair share of men as well.
Best way to meet this character: Go to the bar. Get targeted by a demon or a cult. Spin three times and write "Bloody Mary" in your bathroom mirror in the dark, and then he'll come investigate your corpse. John tends to be where he's needed, so if you let me know OOC that you want him involved, he can be there without much motivation--he tends to always be exactly where he should be.
PERMISSIONS
THE MIND: John's mind is chaotic, and quite insane--reading it may be dangerous to your health, and it even includes a surgeon general's warning. He tends to lock his mind down quite a bit, partly for his own well-being, and partly for yours. A strong telepath or mage might be able to break through his wall, or even sneak past it, but don't be surprised if he shows up to give you a guided tour. Do you really want to see the things he's seen?
THE BODY: John's body has seen quite a bit of abuse over the years, and will likely see much more of it. The demon blood in his veins, and general inability to die proper, means he heals faster than most, though he's hardly got a mutant-healing-factor. It just means that something fatal won't necessarily kill him--the broken arm still needs time to heal.
FUNKY STUFF: Powers rooted in magic can be used on John, though his own defenses will kick in, and he's likely to fuck with you the whole time you're trying. He's headstrong to a tee, and knows enough about manipulation to tell when it's happening to him--especially since he assumes it always is. The easiest way to get John? Make him a deal.
PRIVACY: Go right ahead. Posts locked down are locked for a reason, and are inaccessible, but anything public is fair game. John's presence on the map is pretty well known, until he doesn't want it to be.
SURPRISE!: John's hard to sneak up on, just because he's likely to tell through someone's energy when they've approached. It's not impossible, and just because he knows someone is there doesn't mean he knows who, unless he knows you well. Crowds are good places to sneak on John, since he can get overwhelmed by the amount of energy around him.
METANOTES: Adding here instead of a new post, but a little bit of background about how I'm handling Constantine.
Sit down children, and let Steven tell you a tale. Once upon a time, there was a critically successful comic book series called Hellblazer. Hellblazer took the character of John Constantine, a rather popular side character who first appeared in Swamp Thing, and gave him his own title. John is your classic Allan Moore creation--misanthropic, magical, and stolen from Allan Moore's cold dead hands by DC Comics. The comic was darker than most of DC's fare, and during a particularly dark and nasty run, DC started a new comic imprint called Vertigo. Hellblazer became one of Vertigo's most famous titles, and got even darker without the trappings of DC vanilla. John was a problem character for DC for a while--in DC comic fandom, there exists what is called the "Iron Curtain," which divides DC from Vertigo. Except characters like John Constantine, or the Endless of Sandman fame, appeared in DC first, then switched over. Still, Hellblazer was successful.
The comic lasted years, never going more than a few months without an issue, from 1988 to 2013. However, there were problems in paradise, as there always are. DC wanted to bring John Constantine back into its clutches. Nostalgia set in--during the Brightest Day event, John appeared with the Swamp Thing. Since then, he was a featuring character in Justice League Dark (an all-magic team), and has been given his own title called Constantine.
In true comic book fan way, I am not pleased with this turn of events. That said, it gives my wicked brain new ways to torture the poor man. So, here's the scoop:
While John has always looked younger than his 66 years (demon-blood in his veins), it's worse now. He looks right at 30, perhaps slightly younger. His memories are fuzzy--he primarily remembers the events of his Vertigo title, but he also remembers his time with Justice League Dark. Though married in the Vertigo title, his memories of his wife come and go--like much of his memories from either world.
In-canon, he has no idea why this is, and most of the time can't remember it happening enough to try and resolve out. Meta, this is because comic books are confusing and the Taxon aliens pulled both Hellblazer and Constantine at the same time. So John's dealing with basically being two different characters, but the same person, and yeah. Conflicting memories and selves.
Luckily, the Constantine movie has been well and truly forgotten by the annals of time. ¬.¬ For now, at least.
Name: John Constantine
Age and/or birthday: May 10, 1953 -- so why does he look 30?
Fandom/Media/OC?: DC Comics / Vertigo
Programmed Possession: Cigarette Lighter
Arrival date: August 2013
I am...: a right bastard. And a magician. But mostly a bastard.
BODY OF EVIDENCE
Describe your character physically. John appears in his early 30s, with sandy blonde hair, perennial scruff, and more scars than you can shake a stick at. He's got a fairly average build, more muscle than would be expected, but a bit of a beer gut with it.
What does your character wear? John can usually be found wearing a collared shirt, usually solid color (white, most often), with a black tie, and sometimes a black vest. He wears blue jeans everywhere, with a pair of heavy brown boots. He's almost never without his tan trenchcoat, which goes down to his knees.
That covers what they look like. What do they sound like? John's voice is gruff from the tobacco, and from years of abuse. To be so gruff, though, he's a remarkably smooth talker. His voice might trigger both an erotic dream and a bad nightmare all at once. He has a heavy British (Liverpool) accent--working class, not the Queen's English.
Running down the list of the five senses.... smell? John smells like alcohol, tobacco (Silk Cuts to be exact), and a little bit like death. Particularly keen folks may pick up a slight hint of brimstone, or more like the memory of what brimstone should smell like.
Touch & Taste. John's skin is rough and callused, especially his hands. Taste? He's not sure, he doesn't lick himself very often. Probably a bit like salt and vinegar--or quite delicious, according to the number of demons trying to get a bite of his soul.
The fine, fine details: John looks considerably younger than he acts. He's almost 70, but looks barely over 30. He's one of those people someone attuned--or just pretending--might say has "an old soul." His eyes are blue, and surprisingly deep. He's pretty average in height. He's quite scarred as well.
PB differences? Objects in the pictures are younger (or maybe older) than they appear.
BENEATH LE SURFACE
A history of me: John Constantine was born in Liverpool, England. His mother died during birth, the result of a forced abortion from his alcoholic brother. His twin brother was killed in the process. He and his sister, Cheryl, fled their father early as they could, living with various family. John's first spell was as a child--he locked his childhood innocence in a box to keep it safe, so he could deal with the life before him.
He grew quite in love with punk rock in the 1970s, and formed a band called "Mucous Membrane" with his best friend, Chas (Chandler). While trying to get money for the band from a club owner and fellow magician, John and the band discovered the aftermath of a ritual where a young girl had been sexually abused, and called a demon forth to protect her. The demon refused to leave, and John summoned a demon himself to fight against it. This remains one of his greatest sources of guilt--the demons ripped the girl apart and escaped with her soul, and Nergal, the demon John summoned, has haunted John ever since.
Accused of her murder, John was locked in an asylum and tortured by the guards for years, until he was freed by a crime boss who wanted John to bring his dead son back to life.
After he was freed, John got his old band back together to help him investigate the dealings of a strange cult. His girlfriend at the time, Emma, came along--and was killed along with everyone else. Only John and Chas survived, and the ghosts of those killed that day appear to John quite frequently.
John can't die--after diagnosed with lung cancer, he sold his soul to three lords of hell without any catching on. Though eager to claim their prize, to do so would start an all-out war in Hell, and none of the demon lords want that. So instead, they've cursed John to be unable to die until the sales have been resolved.
Since then, he's wandered the UK and US, trying to stay out of trouble while equally trying to thwart the plans of both Heaven and Hell, and he's constantly on both of their shit lists. More details can be found here.
Who matters? Emma, his niece and sometimes-apprentice. Cheryl, his sister. Ellie, a former lover (and succubus) and sometimes enemy. More than anyone, though, is Chas, his longest surviving friend. Epiphany, his wife, though it seems he doesn't always remember her.
Personality & Psychology: John is a bastard at first, and then at second, and then pretty much every other time you meet him. Very few people know a different John Constantine. His innate snarkness and hard life certainly fuel a portion of his misanthropic nature, though how much of it is his own attempts to protect others, even he doesn't know. People close to John Constantine die, and they die quite often, and quite horribly. Sometimes it's better to just not let anyone be close to you.
He's never without a smartass remark or cheap barb, though if you're someone he does care about, he tries to be nicer. He's extremely self-deprecating--he's the first to make a hateful remark about himself, and he doesn't seem to value his own life much (until he's fighting to the death to protect it).
Skills, Powers, Weaknesses, and et cetera: John is clever. Clever may not even be the right word. He can outwit and outdeal the harshest demons of Hell, and has done so with regularity for most of his life. He's even pulled the wool over the eyes of God once or twice. It's very rare for John to not have two to three contingency plans, and to manipulate someone else into exactly what he needs.
He's a mage, and quite a powerful one, though you'll almost never see him cast any spell. Magic, for John, isn't about being flashy and shooting sparkles from your fingers. Magic is blood, life, and willpower. Magic is getting the right person in the right place at the right time, and using them and the other party to get what you need. Magic is knowing just what a demon lord of Hell is willing to do, is capable of doing, and what persuasion is necessary. Magic is knowing how to travel, how to hide, how to be seen, and how to be. John is so full of magic that he doesn't know how to be anything else--though he never seems it, compared to what most think of magic, John is almost never not using some sort of magical power. It's literally the core of his being.
Sexytiems: John is bisexual, though he doesn't often get close enough to anyone to have sex. He's also quite manipulate, and his bisexuality may be more about how to use someone than anything else--even if he's just using them to blow off some steam. Sex is just another tool in his arsenal. He does have a preference for women, but he's slept with his fair share of men as well.
Best way to meet this character: Go to the bar. Get targeted by a demon or a cult. Spin three times and write "Bloody Mary" in your bathroom mirror in the dark, and then he'll come investigate your corpse. John tends to be where he's needed, so if you let me know OOC that you want him involved, he can be there without much motivation--he tends to always be exactly where he should be.
PERMISSIONS
THE MIND: John's mind is chaotic, and quite insane--reading it may be dangerous to your health, and it even includes a surgeon general's warning. He tends to lock his mind down quite a bit, partly for his own well-being, and partly for yours. A strong telepath or mage might be able to break through his wall, or even sneak past it, but don't be surprised if he shows up to give you a guided tour. Do you really want to see the things he's seen?
THE BODY: John's body has seen quite a bit of abuse over the years, and will likely see much more of it. The demon blood in his veins, and general inability to die proper, means he heals faster than most, though he's hardly got a mutant-healing-factor. It just means that something fatal won't necessarily kill him--the broken arm still needs time to heal.
FUNKY STUFF: Powers rooted in magic can be used on John, though his own defenses will kick in, and he's likely to fuck with you the whole time you're trying. He's headstrong to a tee, and knows enough about manipulation to tell when it's happening to him--especially since he assumes it always is. The easiest way to get John? Make him a deal.
PRIVACY: Go right ahead. Posts locked down are locked for a reason, and are inaccessible, but anything public is fair game. John's presence on the map is pretty well known, until he doesn't want it to be.
SURPRISE!: John's hard to sneak up on, just because he's likely to tell through someone's energy when they've approached. It's not impossible, and just because he knows someone is there doesn't mean he knows who, unless he knows you well. Crowds are good places to sneak on John, since he can get overwhelmed by the amount of energy around him.
METANOTES: Adding here instead of a new post, but a little bit of background about how I'm handling Constantine.
Sit down children, and let Steven tell you a tale. Once upon a time, there was a critically successful comic book series called Hellblazer. Hellblazer took the character of John Constantine, a rather popular side character who first appeared in Swamp Thing, and gave him his own title. John is your classic Allan Moore creation--misanthropic, magical, and stolen from Allan Moore's cold dead hands by DC Comics. The comic was darker than most of DC's fare, and during a particularly dark and nasty run, DC started a new comic imprint called Vertigo. Hellblazer became one of Vertigo's most famous titles, and got even darker without the trappings of DC vanilla. John was a problem character for DC for a while--in DC comic fandom, there exists what is called the "Iron Curtain," which divides DC from Vertigo. Except characters like John Constantine, or the Endless of Sandman fame, appeared in DC first, then switched over. Still, Hellblazer was successful.
The comic lasted years, never going more than a few months without an issue, from 1988 to 2013. However, there were problems in paradise, as there always are. DC wanted to bring John Constantine back into its clutches. Nostalgia set in--during the Brightest Day event, John appeared with the Swamp Thing. Since then, he was a featuring character in Justice League Dark (an all-magic team), and has been given his own title called Constantine.
In true comic book fan way, I am not pleased with this turn of events. That said, it gives my wicked brain new ways to torture the poor man. So, here's the scoop:
While John has always looked younger than his 66 years (demon-blood in his veins), it's worse now. He looks right at 30, perhaps slightly younger. His memories are fuzzy--he primarily remembers the events of his Vertigo title, but he also remembers his time with Justice League Dark. Though married in the Vertigo title, his memories of his wife come and go--like much of his memories from either world.
In-canon, he has no idea why this is, and most of the time can't remember it happening enough to try and resolve out. Meta, this is because comic books are confusing and the Taxon aliens pulled both Hellblazer and Constantine at the same time. So John's dealing with basically being two different characters, but the same person, and yeah. Conflicting memories and selves.
Luckily, the Constantine movie has been well and truly forgotten by the annals of time. ¬.¬ For now, at least.