John

OOC:

PLAYER NAME: Sofie, Sofo

EMAIL: anna.edeen@gmail.com

AIM (optional): sakuraofrureo

IC:

CHARACTER NAME: John H. --s (His real name has been redacted from his personnel files for a long, long time)

DISPLAY NAME: John Reese

CANON: Person of Interest

CANON POINT: Season 2, somewhere around ep 3, Masquerade.

AGE: 43

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: Like most things to do with John Reese, his physical appearance is not as straightforward as it seems. To paraphrase Donkey, from Shrek - he's like an onion. He has layers.

On the surface, John is a fairly average looking guy in his early-mid forties. He dresses like a businessman, always in a black suit and white shirt. He's 6' and a couple inches, he weighs more than he seems to - years of tough training mixed with a tendency towards processed foods (high carbs, high fat, don't know when you'll eat next-mentality): a high muscle mass meets middle age, and a few extra pounds clinging to his middle.

On the one hand, he could be a high school quarterback who grew up to be a broker, or a real estate agent, or something similarly harmless. On the other hand, he moves like a man with a purpose - like a military man taking in the room in a few seconds, and every look is calculated. Every move is efficient, no-frills, getting the job done. Some might think he moves like one of the big cats of Asia or Africa. He may not look like a vicious killer, but there's something in the way he moves that makes you think twice about getting off on the wrong foot with him.

On a more specific level, John is a Caucasian male of unknown descent, fair skin that tans easily, with dark, clear blue eyes and salt-and-pepper hair which he keeps short and neat. He has a near constant five o'clock shadow (more salt than pepper, there) despite shaving every day, and his cheekbones could cut you if you get too close.

When stressed, he looks gaunt, drawn, as if he just ate a boatload of lemons (why make lemonade when you can eat the damn things), and when he smiles he either plans to kill you or he's genuinely happy. He doesn't smile often, but if he does, look for the crows' feet. If there's crows' feet, he's a happy kitten. If he's grinning like the devil, you'll probably want to convince him you're a good guy, and fast.

His hands bear the marks of a long career in the armed forces, with scarred knuckles and old combat wounds. He has multiple gun shot wounds on his torso and legs, all healed up nicely, some more recent than others.

The thing that maybe stands out most about him is the distinct lack of distinguishing features. No tattoos, no pierced anythings, no accessories aside from the occasional wristwatch. He might as well fit in anywhere he goes - and that's the whole point.

He's not prone to gesturing, though his face is the most animated bit of him, if you get close enough that he'll banter and tease. He has a quiet, whiskey-rough voice that can turn deadly in a second.

HISTORY: John is, at his core, a man who wants to do good. He was born and raised in Puyallup, Washington, was adopted, never knowing his biological parents, into a loving, military family. Unfortunately he lost his adoptive father at an early age. His adoptive mother did what she could to support them - you don't get very far on a military pension after all. She got a job, found them a house close to her relatives, and basically made things work for them. She died when John was still a young man. He loved his parents, and had a good relationship with both of them, but acted out as a teenager, and got in one too many violent fights. At sixteen he stood in front of a judge, and was given a choice: Army or jailtime.

He picked the army.

By September of 2001, 31 years old, he had served his country several times over and grown into a good guy who did good things for the right reasons. He had a girlfriend he was going to propose to, they'd make a life together, a good life, and he'd get the family he'd always wanted for himself. Then September 11th happened, and their future crumbled to pieces. The entire world changed. John went to Iraq, to once again fight for his country. To do good.

After his tours, he was offered a job with the CIA. He spent the following years on covert ops, working infiltration or security, or, a lot of the times, eliminating targets - the simple reason being he was good at killing people.

John's time with the CIA didn't end well. John made a very narrow escape from a mission gone wrong and somehow made it back to the US, where he went to ground. Off-grid, missing and presumed dead for a long time, John lived as a vagrant. Homeless, coping very badly with civilian life, John took to drinking.

He'd lost his purpose, his direction, and at the hands of an organization he believed in. To make matters worse, his ex girlfriend, Jessica, died under mysterious circumstances while he was away. He blames himself for her death, and his tendency for guilt is only exacerbated by his PTSD.

By 2011, he is depressed, on the verge of suicidal, and numb. He doesn't care what happens to him: he stays hidden or he's found out, he lives or he dies.

Contrary to expectations, it's being found out that saves his life. Harold Finch intercepts his path towards self destruction, and it's like being hit by a live wire. All of a sudden, his life has meaning again. He has a purpose. He does things, both good and bad, to do good. He helps people, whether by saving them from themselves, or from outside forces. Every life saved brings John one step closer to redemption.

He isn't sure he believes in the existence of a God anymore - or Gods, plural - but...redemption is a nice idea.


PERSONALITY: Reese is one of those characters that seem straightforward enough: he's a US Army (Special Forces) veteran, and a former CIA operative. He likes kids and animals, and he shows signs of PTSD and difficulty adjusting to civilian life. In that sense, he isn't all that different from Rambo, of First Blood. He's a broken hero who only wants to mind his own business and survive in a world he doesn't recognize as his own.

But where Rambo is a hero who becomes the victim of brutality, John has a much darker side. He shows sociopathic tendencies, going to extreme lengths to extract information, or punish people whom he views as 'bad' - he'll aim grenade launchers at bad guys' cars, regardless of whether innocent bystanders are in the car at the time. He'll beat people senseless to get info. He will kill people to stop them from hurting other people, with zero remorse - and that is John in a nutshell. He is so focused on helping innocent people that he can't see the forest for all the trees. Everyone is a bad guy in his book, until proven otherwise - and by that time it may already be too late. He isn't a sociopath by any definition of the word: he has a very strong sense of right and wrong, for instance, and he empathizes with people to a degree that is often a bit too much. He can and will manipulate people to get what he wants (intel, information), and he is very skilled at it - but getting inventive with charm and manipulation does not a sociopath make. Feeling little to no remorse for collateral damage is another thing entirely. He is an insensitive bastard to a lot of people, but it is entirely depending on context.

He feels too much, for good and bad, and he thinks too much, and he takes in too much information in any given situation, leaving him a burned out wreck if he doesn't have something to keep him focused on the bigger picture. This also means he is prone to moments of intense emotion - choked up, bright eyed feels. Also known as God why does the world hurt so damn much.

Most of the time, where he is in his 'arc' in season 2, he's coping. He is much more balanced as a person than he was at the beginning of the show, and he will often ask questions before he shoots you in the knee (metaphorically or literally speaking). He's dry-witted, doesn't talk much, but listens like a champ. If you need a guard dog, he'll be the best goddamned guard dog you'll ever find.

ABILITIES: Evasive maneuvers on foot and by car (yes, car chases are a Thing he can do). He can expertly handle a wide variety of firearms including sniper rifles and grenade launchers. Tactical assault. Hand-to-hand combat, including knives and staff like weapons. Improvised weapons = thing of beauty. Lock-picking. Grand theft auto. There is very little he can't do, physically speaking - but he is no athlete, no gymnast. Just...a former CIA field agent with a lot more training under his belt than the average guy.

He's a bit of a geeky sponge - soaks everything up in case he can use it for later, for one of his cover identities or legends. Which of course doesn't mean he has a photographic memory of any kind, but he's shock full of useless knowledge. Never know when it might come in handy, is all.

He has an aptitude for linguistics - he has been abroad for most of his career in the military and the CIA, and has had to learn, out of necessity as well as a keen interest.

He has no super-human powers, but he's resilient, trained to motor through even the worst injuries. He once suffered through 16 hours of electrical torture, and all the perpetrators wanted to know was his name - he never said a word. He is of a very stubborn mind, given the right circumstances, if not a sound one. He does not quit. He doesn't know how.

POSSESSIONS: John wears his ubiquitous black suit with white shirt, and a 9mm gun tucked into the waistband at the small of his back. His rather more significant item is the key to his loft apartment at 810 Baxter St. in NYC. It's very special to him.

ANYTHING ELSE: He's Mr. Inappropriate Emotions. Just don't call him that to his face. ;)