Name: Koke Age: Older every time Contact:mercutios, PM Other Characters: Josias di Jaconissa Interests: The standard but also let's chuck an exorcist at all of Thedas' demon stuff, huh?
CHARACTER
Name: John Constantine Canon/OC: Constantine (2005) Canon Point: End of movie, before visiting Chas' grave Journal:ashing Age: 41
Canon World
The standard Earth-Except-Supernatural-Stuff-Is-Real. The film deals primarily with Judeo-Christian mythology (specifically Catholic), but there is implication of a wider net - mention of dragons and some other beasties, celtic amulets, runes. As such I play him as coming from much the same diverse supernatural landscape as his comics counterpart.
History
(CW: Suicide)
- John Constantine is born an American for some reason. He's also born able to see the true faces of the supernatural beasties that inhabit his world. This makes things quite difficult for him.
- His parents entirely reasonably consider this to be a mental health issue and try to get him treatment. Due to the time period this was happening during and the fact no treatment was ever going to help, John gets to experience some pretty shitty medical procedures.
- John commits suicide at 15. He's technically dead for two minutes before being resuscitated. While dead, he goes to Hell, and as time moves differently there, he's there for what feels like a lifetime. Due to this, he now knows his visions are real.
- Insert training montage. Okay so no actual details on what happens next but safe to say he takes this knowledge and starts to do research, find contacts, etc etc in order to become the exorcist/demonologist/magician/occultist/con-man we meet later.
- He's also aware that due to having committed the sin of suicide, his soul is now eternally damned to Hell. A lot of the cases he takes on are an attempt to essentially cancel this out and buy his way into Heaven.
- Some bad stuff happens. It's not explicitly stated that he goes through the same as his comics counterpart, especially when the girl-taken-to-hell incident doesn't need to happen for him to be damned, but there's mention of "the good old days" and implication that he's fairly washed up when we meet him. This seems to point to Something (or a fair few Somethings) having happened.
- Movie events. John is diagnosed with terminal lung cancer, vastly speeding up the deadline on him trying to get redemption.
- Is approached by Detective Angela Dodson regarding the suicide of her sister. Though he initially declines to help, he realises Angela is being targeted by demons and as such there is something worth looking into. Between the events surrounding her sister, as well as a thread he was already investigating independently, a plot to unleash Hell on Earth is revealed.
- Along the way, as attempts to prevent his involvement, two of John's long-time associates are murdered. As a key part of the ritual necessary, Angela is taken. Chas, John's apprentice, is killed during the attempt to rescue her. Gabriel, an angel John had considered an ally, is revealed to be behind the plot, a harsh betrayal.
- As a last resort, John commits suicide again, prompted Lucifer himself to arrive to take him to Hell. John points Lucifer towards what's going on, and he steps in to stop it. As 'reward', John asks for Angela's sister to be forgiven for the sin of suicide and allowed into Heaven. Due to this sacrifice, John himself is forgiven, and begins to ascend to Heaven - Lucifer prevents this by healing and reviving him, as well as removing his lung cancer so that he has more time to damn himself again.
John Constantine is an asshole. He's rude, selfish, bitterly cynical, sarcastic and irreverent. Born with a "gift" which has heavily shaped his life, along with the knowledge that both God and the Devil exist and are waging a proxy war over the souls of humanity, he has developed a dark view of the world which is rarely pierced by anything lighter to change his mind.
What friendships he has cultivated are often strained and tense, frayed over time both by his abrasive attitude and his selfishness. The weight of his Damnation often means that he acts as though his needs outweigh those of the people around him, or becomes myopic in pursuing a goal without giving due consideration to the risks.
It makes a vicious cycle. His desperation and recklessness has led to loss, friendships falling apart and people dying, which in turn feeds into the asshole attitude, keeping people at arm's length as an offensive-defensive armour against further hurt.
Unfortunately, John has a natural charisma that somehow balances all of this out. His irreverent attitude and wry sense of humour create an air of "cool", which, paired with his ability to understand people and his cunning intelligence, leaves him perfectly able to talk with people, persuade people, and gather allies and friends.
The problem for him is that he usually ends up caring more than he'd ever like to admit. It would be much easier if he could just use people, con people, or ignore those in need. Some of this feeds his asshole armour - fake it till it's real - as well as there being something of a fatalistic streak - he's already Damned, so why bother trying to be good and nice. But he can never quite stick the landing, and always, inevitably, ends up giving a shit.
This means that when he does get hurt, his reaction is some serious wrath-of-God anger. He is vengeful, cruel, and violent, and there is little chance of forgiveness. When he knows someone has done wrong, and especially if it has personally impacted him in some way, he will rain down fire.
Some of this is wrath at God, or the whole situation of the world, rage against the injustice of being some random pawn on a board he didn't choose, but there's also a big boatload of righteousness bundled in as well. When you know literal demons are real, of course you're going to consider yourself better than them - as well as anyone who parlays with them.
By the end of the movie, though, John's left in a different spot. Forgiven, tight deadline removed, he's no longer an animal caught in a trap, trying - and failing - to gnaw its own leg off to get free. He opts against vengeance with Gabriel, and quits smoking, both attempts to stay clean both spiritually and physically. But how long that will hold out after a lifetime of bad habits is hard to tell.
Strengths & Weaknesses
Strengths - Psychic. Naturally able to see the true forms of supernatural beings and do Zener Card level stuff. With correct equipment can astral project into other realms or "surf the ether" - see the connections between events/places/items and possibly the future. - Magician. He never takes the title in his particular canon, but John is shown to have extensive knowledge of and use a variety of rituals, symbols, incantations and objects to have certain effects. Some of these are literally tattooed on him. - Con-man. Fairly good at talking himself into and out of situations. Opportunistic, cunning, and thinks fast on his feet. - Detective. Able to piece together puzzles and follow the threads of connections. Has the understanding and experience of how people - and other beings - behave in order to tell when something is significant or not, as well as predict movements and hunt motives.
Weaknesses - Just human. Squishy, mortal, relies on weapons and other items to give him any kind of advantage. Can manage a fist-fight well enough but is not professionally trained or anything fancy. - Myopic and judgemental. Knowing the big truth of the world for so long has left him pretty bad at listening to anything that doesn't immediately fit in that sphere. - Melancholic. He skews depressive, low mood, and self-destructive (disguised in socially acceptable types such as smoking, alcohol, casual sex). It's best not to leave him alone with his thoughts too much. - Asshole. His entire personality section. - Nicotine addiction.
Suggested Nerfs
The "magic" system in the movie, and the different characters which use it, implies that it isn't necessarily the person who carries power, but that power is in the world and can be tapped into with the right knowledge. I'd leave it to mod discretion whether John's 'magical' knowledge of rituals and similar will work in Thedas' natural magic-scape.
I would prefer that his psychic "sight" remains intact, though I'm not actually sure when it would be relevant.
Arrival Inventory
- His usual outfit - Lighter - Various amulets and little useful relics - A copy of the bible - One pack of nicotine gum
Humanization
N/A
Fit
John's here to give me another rifter to vicariously live through as I attempt to keep learning about Thedas. He's also here to get neck-deep in the magic stuff and especially to bring his perspective of demons and related matters to smash against Thedas' theological landscape.
JOHN CONSTANTINE | CONSTANTINE (2005) | RIFTER
Name: Koke
Age: Older every time
Contact:
Other Characters: Josias di Jaconissa
Interests: The standard but also let's chuck an exorcist at all of Thedas' demon stuff, huh?
Name: John Constantine
Canon/OC: Constantine (2005)
Canon Point: End of movie, before visiting Chas' grave
Journal:
Age: 41
Canon World
The standard Earth-Except-Supernatural-Stuff-Is-Real. The film deals primarily with Judeo-Christian mythology (specifically Catholic), but there is implication of a wider net - mention of dragons and some other beasties, celtic amulets, runes. As such I play him as coming from much the same diverse supernatural landscape as his comics counterpart.
History
(CW: Suicide)
- John Constantine is born an American for some reason. He's also born able to see the true faces of the supernatural beasties that inhabit his world. This makes things quite difficult for him.
- His parents entirely reasonably consider this to be a mental health issue and try to get him treatment. Due to the time period this was happening during and the fact no treatment was ever going to help, John gets to experience some pretty shitty medical procedures.
- John commits suicide at 15. He's technically dead for two minutes before being resuscitated. While dead, he goes to Hell, and as time moves differently there, he's there for what feels like a lifetime. Due to this, he now knows his visions are real.
- Insert training montage. Okay so no actual details on what happens next but safe to say he takes this knowledge and starts to do research, find contacts, etc etc in order to become the exorcist/demonologist/magician/occultist/con-man we meet later.
- He's also aware that due to having committed the sin of suicide, his soul is now eternally damned to Hell. A lot of the cases he takes on are an attempt to essentially cancel this out and buy his way into Heaven.
- Some bad stuff happens. It's not explicitly stated that he goes through the same as his comics counterpart, especially when the girl-taken-to-hell incident doesn't need to happen for him to be damned, but there's mention of "the good old days" and implication that he's fairly washed up when we meet him. This seems to point to Something (or a fair few Somethings) having happened.
- Movie events. John is diagnosed with terminal lung cancer, vastly speeding up the deadline on him trying to get redemption.
- Is approached by Detective Angela Dodson regarding the suicide of her sister. Though he initially declines to help, he realises Angela is being targeted by demons and as such there is something worth looking into. Between the events surrounding her sister, as well as a thread he was already investigating independently, a plot to unleash Hell on Earth is revealed.
- Along the way, as attempts to prevent his involvement, two of John's long-time associates are murdered. As a key part of the ritual necessary, Angela is taken. Chas, John's apprentice, is killed during the attempt to rescue her. Gabriel, an angel John had considered an ally, is revealed to be behind the plot, a harsh betrayal.
- As a last resort, John commits suicide again, prompted Lucifer himself to arrive to take him to Hell. John points Lucifer towards what's going on, and he steps in to stop it. As 'reward', John asks for Angela's sister to be forgiven for the sin of suicide and allowed into Heaven. Due to this sacrifice, John himself is forgiven, and begins to ascend to Heaven - Lucifer prevents this by healing and reviving him, as well as removing his lung cancer so that he has more time to damn himself again.
- John quits smoking.
Constantine (2005) on Wikipedia
Personality
John Constantine is an asshole. He's rude, selfish, bitterly cynical, sarcastic and irreverent. Born with a "gift" which has heavily shaped his life, along with the knowledge that both God and the Devil exist and are waging a proxy war over the souls of humanity, he has developed a dark view of the world which is rarely pierced by anything lighter to change his mind.
What friendships he has cultivated are often strained and tense, frayed over time both by his abrasive attitude and his selfishness. The weight of his Damnation often means that he acts as though his needs outweigh those of the people around him, or becomes myopic in pursuing a goal without giving due consideration to the risks.
It makes a vicious cycle. His desperation and recklessness has led to loss, friendships falling apart and people dying, which in turn feeds into the asshole attitude, keeping people at arm's length as an offensive-defensive armour against further hurt.
Unfortunately, John has a natural charisma that somehow balances all of this out. His irreverent attitude and wry sense of humour create an air of "cool", which, paired with his ability to understand people and his cunning intelligence, leaves him perfectly able to talk with people, persuade people, and gather allies and friends.
The problem for him is that he usually ends up caring more than he'd ever like to admit. It would be much easier if he could just use people, con people, or ignore those in need. Some of this feeds his asshole armour - fake it till it's real - as well as there being something of a fatalistic streak - he's already Damned, so why bother trying to be good and nice. But he can never quite stick the landing, and always, inevitably, ends up giving a shit.
This means that when he does get hurt, his reaction is some serious wrath-of-God anger. He is vengeful, cruel, and violent, and there is little chance of forgiveness. When he knows someone has done wrong, and especially if it has personally impacted him in some way, he will rain down fire.
Some of this is wrath at God, or the whole situation of the world, rage against the injustice of being some random pawn on a board he didn't choose, but there's also a big boatload of righteousness bundled in as well. When you know literal demons are real, of course you're going to consider yourself better than them - as well as anyone who parlays with them.
By the end of the movie, though, John's left in a different spot. Forgiven, tight deadline removed, he's no longer an animal caught in a trap, trying - and failing - to gnaw its own leg off to get free. He opts against vengeance with Gabriel, and quits smoking, both attempts to stay clean both spiritually and physically. But how long that will hold out after a lifetime of bad habits is hard to tell.
Strengths & Weaknesses
Strengths
- Psychic. Naturally able to see the true forms of supernatural beings and do Zener Card level stuff. With correct equipment can astral project into other realms or "surf the ether" - see the connections between events/places/items and possibly the future.
- Magician. He never takes the title in his particular canon, but John is shown to have extensive knowledge of and use a variety of rituals, symbols, incantations and objects to have certain effects. Some of these are literally tattooed on him.
- Con-man. Fairly good at talking himself into and out of situations. Opportunistic, cunning, and thinks fast on his feet.
- Detective. Able to piece together puzzles and follow the threads of connections. Has the understanding and experience of how people - and other beings - behave in order to tell when something is significant or not, as well as predict movements and hunt motives.
Weaknesses
- Just human. Squishy, mortal, relies on weapons and other items to give him any kind of advantage. Can manage a fist-fight well enough but is not professionally trained or anything fancy.
- Myopic and judgemental. Knowing the big truth of the world for so long has left him pretty bad at listening to anything that doesn't immediately fit in that sphere.
- Melancholic. He skews depressive, low mood, and self-destructive (disguised in socially acceptable types such as smoking, alcohol, casual sex). It's best not to leave him alone with his thoughts too much.
- Asshole. His entire personality section.
- Nicotine addiction.
Suggested Nerfs
The "magic" system in the movie, and the different characters which use it, implies that it isn't necessarily the person who carries power, but that power is in the world and can be tapped into with the right knowledge. I'd leave it to mod discretion whether John's 'magical' knowledge of rituals and similar will work in Thedas' natural magic-scape.
I would prefer that his psychic "sight" remains intact, though I'm not actually sure when it would be relevant.
Arrival Inventory
- His usual outfit
- Lighter
- Various amulets and little useful relics
- A copy of the bible
- One pack of nicotine gum
Humanization
N/A
Fit
John's here to give me another rifter to vicariously live through as I attempt to keep learning about Thedas. He's also here to get neck-deep in the magic stuff and especially to bring his perspective of demons and related matters to smash against Thedas' theological landscape.
TDM
An old fun and SFW post from Eudio
And here's a waaay older thing of him being Mad, to cover all bases.