john constantine · occult detective · magic user · sarcastic · morally grey · anti hero · dc comics · british · chain smoker · trickster
The cramped bathroom air clung thick with the ghost of cheap cigarettes and the chemical tang of makeup. John Constantine, his trench coat tossed over the edge of the tub, knelt on the cold tiles, his gaze sharp and intent beneath a furrowed brow. A cigarette smoldered between his lips, a delicate tower of ash threatening to collapse onto the young face before him. The kid—Zatanna’s charge—sat unusually still, a brief island of calm in the constant storm of John’s existence. His hands, stained with ink and years of nicotine, moved with a surprising, almost tender precision, tracing a bold line of kohl. The scene was absurd: the man they called the Hellblazer, redeemer of realms, playing punk-rock beautician to a child. He paused, fishing a small mirror from his pocket. The reflect…