Jon Swann

Devilshire Character Sheet
Qualities	; Swann Family (+5) +1 Doctor ; Contacts: 1 ; Hard to Kill: 2 ; Nerves of Steel ; Situational Awareness ; Brainiac (+4) +2 Intelligence ; +2 Computers ; +1 Perception ; +1 Knowledge ; +1 Science ; Empathy (+2) ; Photographic Memory (+2) ; Resources: Middle Class (+2)
Drawbacks	; Swann Family (0) Adversary: Devlins (-2) ; Mental Problem: Delusion - Mistrust of Magic (-1) ; Obligation: Swann Family (-1) ; Brainiac (0) Obsession: Latest Project (-2) ; Bad Luck (-1) ; Emotional Problem: Dependency (-1) ; Impaired Sense: Sight (-1) ; Mental Problem: Phobia - Claustrophobia (-2) ; Misfit (-2)

Jon Swann
	; James Spader as Jon Swann
First appearance	-
Last appearance	-
Statistics
Name	Jonathan Swann
Status	Alive
Birthday	-
Age	33
Species	Human
Affiliation	-
Powers	-
Themesong	-
Quote	-
Portrayed by	James Spader
App Status	Active

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Background

IN THE BEGINNING...

There was Jon and JD. Jon was only four years old when JD was born, so he has a vague recollection of a time before the arrival of the gregarious, hyperactive child. Really, Jon can't imagine what life would be like without JD. In spite of his occasional complaints, he's loved his brother from the first time he saw him, tiny and pink and wrapped up in a baby blanket.

Jon was well aware of the family dynamic from an early age. Jon was the brains, and JD was the brawn. Jon was shy and elusive, and JD was friendly and gregarious. Although both brothers were clearly intelligent, JD never seemed to develop any obvious talents. He was generally left to his own devices, especially since he showed an interest in weaponry and martial arts that made training him somewhat more pleasant. By contrast, Jon was quite obviously unsuited to combat from an early age. He was as likely to KO himself as his sparring partner, and the first time he shot a gun, the noise and kickback nearly made him pass out. On the other hand, he showed a great deal of intelligence, not quite hidden by his shy and retreating nature. He was much happier behind a book than behind a gun. As a consequence, he was encouraged by his parents to pursue academics almost to the exclusion of anything but the most basic of defensive training. When he showed an interest in biology, he was encouraged in the study. When he showed a vague interest in veterinary medicine, he was encouraged to become a doctor. Being something of a pushover, it was pretty easy to guide him in the direction they felt he needed to go.

From the beginning, Jon had very powerfully protective feelings toward JD. It has always galled him a bit that even though he was the big brother, JD was the one who usually got to come to the rescue. He tried as much as possible to hide from JD how often he was the victim of the Devlin kids' pranks. Nevertheless, JD almost always caught wind of things, there was generally hell to pay...first for the kids who had picked on Jon, and then for JD when they turned him in to the principal for attacking them "for no reason."

JD, YOU'RE NOT SUPERMAN, OKAY?

Clearly, Jon was more the nurturer and brains of the duo. Whenever JD got himself into trouble, Jon was there to help out. Or at least to listen and offer sage advice. On the other hand, JD's trouble also had a tendency to spill over onto Jon, since he couldn't possibly think of going on an adventure without dragging along his "best buddy." Jon generally knew these "adventures" were bad ideas, but could never bring himself to say so because...well, JD could be persuasive when he set his mind to it, and Jon was just so easy to manipulate. Besides, JD was always so enthusiastic and excited about his newest idea, Jon never quite had the heart to point out the obvious flaws. As he got older, Jon began trying his best to keep out of things, he would always somehow end up roped into the "fun." As a consequence, he usually got in trouble right alongside JD. Secretly, these are some of his best memories from childhood. But he might very well die before admitting it.

On the other hand, the one thoroughly negative experience of his childhood grew out of a brilliant idea that JD had... to play superheroes. JD had decided that Jon should "pretend" to get stuck in an abandoned well, so that JD could be Superman and "rescue" him. As generally happened with JD's grand schemes, things didn't go exactly according to plan. It turned out that JD wasn't quite as good at rescuing as he had previously believed... But every time Jon suggested that /now/ might be a good time to go get help, JD would respond with, "Not yet! I can do this, I know it!" Jon spent several hours in the well, waiting for JD to realize he just wasn't strong enough to pull his older brother out of the well. To this day, Jon suffers from some claustrophobia, though he does his best not to show it.

Pushed to a fast track through high school, Jon graduated a year earlier than any of his classmates, and as far as he was concerned, it was just as well. He never did understand the complicated social dance of high school, and the crowded and loud halls were a torment to the sensitive child. Loathe to leave the familiarity of Devilshire (and his brother, for all the trouble JD got him into), he applied and was accepted to Devilshire University. Animals had always been a secret passion, and though he was technically on the pre-med track, he was given a lot of freedom in his choice of major. Consequently, he decided to study Zoology.

PARTY LIKE IT'S 1999

Both Jon and JD's typical patterns of behavior continued throughout Jon's years at Devilshire University. Even Jon is not quite sure how he managed to maintain his GPA while helping JD through high school trigonometry. Not to mention dealing with JD's frequent brilliant plans to get Jon "laid" that generally ended in at least embarrassment, and even brief incarcerations on one or two occasions for particularly ill-conceived plans. At least until JD managed to charm the officers into releasing them.

Somehow, through all this, he did manage to graduate, and his GPA was not entirely unimpressive, especially to those who knew any of the details of his relationship with JD. With his undergraduate finished, Jon was under a lot of pressure from the family to get into med school. After all, a doctor (particularly one as gifted as Jon seemed to be) can do a lot of very good work both for the town and for the family when it comes time to fight the supernatural. As usual, he did not disappoint. Before long, he was accepted into DevU's medical school, and was hard at work. JD went off to the coast guard academy the next year, and for the first time in his life Jon was alone with his work.

For the first time in his life, Jon actually had time to think about what he was doing, without the distractions offered by JD's frequent "brilliant" plans. It was the first time in his life that he really had time to step back and realize that he actually... really.... truly... REALLY hated the field of medicine. Not that he didn't like the idea of helping people. But there was so much of it that involved dealing with people, and in particular, dealing with people who are sick and in pain and inclined to be loud and obnoxious about it. Unfortunately, he also wasn't brave enough to stand up to all those who were so very vocal about how proud they were of him...

WHEN JON MET SALLY

Sally may have been the best thing that ever happened to him, though his family probably wouldn't agree. She was 5 feet and 5 inches of energy and sass. Blonde haired, blue-eyed, and brilliant. As a fellow med-student, she was at least as talented as Jon, and certainly more willing to flaunt her abilities. In fact, she was pretty used to getting whatever she wanted out of life. And since Jon was a hard-working med student, clearly on a track for success, and just as clearly easily manipulated, she decided that she wanted Jon. Of course, he fell helplessly and hopelessly in love with her.

It was Sally that first suggested to Jon that maybe, just /maybe/, if he wasn't happy, he should try pursuing a career that would actually make him happy, instead of just pleasing his family. She was mostly joking, but the seed was planted. Halfway through his second grueling year, he worked up the courage to quit med school. And what was the dream niggling at the back of his brain? He wanted to work with animals. He wanted to travel to exotic places, away from the chaos and confusion of human civilization, and surround himself with the animal world that he'd always understood so much better than the intricacies of silly social rituals. He never quite voiced this dream to Sally, but always thought she knew. After all, she'd always seemed able to read his thoughts before, so why not this time?

And so he applied to a Master's program to study Ethology out of state. In spite of this sudden switch, his grades and impressive references got him into a decent program. Once settled, he was delighted to find that he was studying a subject that actually interested him, and he breezed through the program with relative ease. Sure, it was work, but it was nothing like the slogging he had done trying to get through med school. Even the unfamiliar surroundings didn't bother him quite so much, and pretty soon he'd settled into an apartment and made it feel just like home.

YOU CAN'T HAVE EVERYTHING

After his Master's degree, Jon landed an internship at the Jane Goodall Institute in Tanzania. He had never been happier. He studied chimpanzees, and ran errands... He did charity work with the locals in his free time, and quickly picked up enough Swahili to communicate effectively. His relationship with Sally suffered slightly during the six-month separation, but Jon's feelings never wavered, and he was more than eager to pick up where they left off when he returned to the States to begin a doctoral degree.

As Jon neared graduation, he realized that he would soon need gainful employment, and he knew in his heart what he wanted most of all... So he quietly applied to the most remote and distant programs he could find. He applied for anything that he was even remotely qualified for that would take him deep into the wilds and away from civilization. Even he probably was unaware that he was running as much from the sense of family obligation as from people in general.

The night of his graduation, Jon finally proposed to Sally. He even got down on one knee, causing her to blush and half-heartedly scold him for his "old-fashioned" ways. For two weeks everything was bliss. Then Jon received notice that he had been accepted in a position on a research team in Sumatra in an effort to help boost the population of the endangered Sumatran Orangutans.

Sally was livid. Moving to the jungle and away from anything she had ever known was not what she had in mind when she agreed to marry him. She had always assumed that with Jon she'd have a nice comfortable life in a little yellow house with a white picket fence and a dog in the yard. It was the biggest argument Jon ever had with another human being, and possibly the only time in his life that he actually stood up for himself without backing down. And there wasn't even yelling involved. Somehow, the fear of giving up his dream after risking so much to achieve it was even worse than the fear of standing up to someone he loved so much. Unfortunately, it was also the only time in Sally's life that anyone had failed to cave to her demands. In the end, she left him, and Jon was devastated.

SERIOUSLY, JD. NOT SUPERMAN.

At loose ends, Jon retreated from the world for a time. He wasn't due to leave for Sumatra, and he had finished his coursework, so he was free to hide out in his apartment and wallow in his grief. He would probably have spent the entire time quietly being miserable and emo, if it weren't for his brother showing up to "rescue" him from this fate.

There were all of two quiet days in which JD gently tried to poke, prod, and cajole Jon out of his self-imposed isolation. And then Hurricane Katrina hit. As they watched the news stories unfold, and saw the devastation in New Orleans, JD could not be content to sit idly by. Jon tried to convince him that maybe sending money might be a better plan...but as usual, JD already had the bit in his mouth and took off before

Jon had much chance to do anything but hold on and try to enjoy the ride. The details of the ensuing event are a bit fuzzy. Jon refers to it as the "Jetski Incident", but the jet ski's really were only part of the horror. The worse was the water demon. Only JD could set out on a humanitarian mission and end up fighting a demon while riding a jet ski... Jon doesn't really like to talk about it, other than occasional cryptic references when JD has a particularly awful idea.

HANGING WITH THE MONKEYS

Once they had both somewhat recovered from the experience (at least physically), Jon and JD went their separate ways. Jon headed to Sumatra, still aching from the loss of Sally. However, the next few years in the jungle provided the perfect healing balm for his broken heart. He buried himself in his work. The only contact he had with the outside world were letters to and from JD, and much more seldom letters to his parents.

Then one day, JD showed up in the jungle, entirely out of the blue. It wasn't quite as random as it seemed. This time, it was JD's turn to suffer a heart break. Jon could no more turn away JD than stab himself in the face, so he took him in at the makeshift hut he called 'home'. He offered what condolences he could, and tried to keep him away from the orangutans... He really didn't pay a lot of attention to what JD was doing, aside from a vague appreciation as his brother once again took the role of self-appointed Jon-bodyguard. This was the first Jon learned that JD was dependent on medication to keep what sanity he had left, so in turn Jon took it upon himself to make sure he took it regularly and on time.

In fact, they were just falling into a routine when word came from Devilshire. Great Big Evil. Swanns being called home in two and threes... Jon struggled to ignore the summons. He had already bucked tradition as much as his meek nature really allowed, but... He also wanted nothing more than to live out his days, doing exactly what he'd been doing for the past few years, out in the jungle.

It was JD that finally convinced him, as he had always been able to, that it was time to return home. That he had a duty to answer the call. And so home he went, though with great reluctance.

JON'S PLAN SO FAR

Step 1... Apply for a teaching position at Devilshire University. CHECK.

Step 2... Reconcile with the parents, if possible. Or at least apologize for disappearing into the jungle for years. MAYBE CHECK.

Step 3... Keep JD from getting himself killed. Or from forgetting his meds and losing his mind. Or from any number of other scenarios. JD, being much more creative, will probably come up with something Jon can't possibly predict. NEVERENDING, SO NEVER CHECK.

Step 4... Possibly finish med school one or two classes at a time, if he is allowed. With JD always running into the thick of things, having an M.D. might not be such a bad thing. Even if he doesn't use it for anything else.

Personality

Jon has always been...sensitive. And not in the good way that kind of makes some guys more attractive. He's quiet, shy, jumpy, nervous, and when he feels confronted he devolves into a terrible stammer. Growing up in Devilshire, he was known for being painfully shy, and a frequent victim of pranks that he endured with apparent good humor, even as his brother was outraged. Having traveled the world, one would think he could leave the past behind, but he's still quiet and ridiculously easy to push around, much to his brother's dismay. The biggest difference is that somewhere along the way, he has lost his sense of humor about the whole thing.

Powers and Abilities

Jon is smart. Seriously smart. He has the kind of intelligence that makes people uncomfortable when they realize it. On the other hand, he is so socially backward that very few people realize it. Overall, that's probably a good thing.

People

Family

JD - Jon is kind of useless without JD around to defend him. But it's just as well, since JD has a habit of going off half-cocked if Jon isn't there to make him think, first. When it comes right down to it, JD's probably the only person Jon would stand up to or for. JD is also the only person capable of teasing Jon out of the funks he falls into without just making things worse. They've been through a lot together.

Bob - Bob makes JD nervous, though that's not terribly unusual. Jon is also secretly envious of his attitude. Not that he'd ever let that be said out loud.

Uncle Cyrus - Terrifying. Jon will never forget getting yelled at for not stopping JD from one of his more ludicrous plans. He prefers to avoid Cyrus, if possible, though JD makes that difficult.

Friends(?) and Acquaintances

Wentworth - Immature and annoying. Also kind of mean. Another person Jon would much rather avoid.

Marley - Also very mean. He'd rather JD stop hitting on her. She seems like the kind who might hit back someday. Only with her fists.

Rick - A strange man who could be intellectually challenged, but also possibly homicidal. Jon feels bad for hurting his feelings by saying he was 'special'. Maybe he just has a learning disability?

Zhou - A quiet girl. They had a nice time at a scavenger hunt. Possibly the only person he's felt a moment of comfort around since leaving Indonesia, which is decidedly odd, all things considered.

Emma - A nice librarian that Jon met at the laundromat. He gave her quarters and asked her out on a date, though she may not realize it was intended as a date.

Recent Events

The Swann Family
Patriarch	Cyrus Swann Jr.
Second Generation	Bob • Cyrus Jr. • David • Phillip
Third Generation	Elijah • Charity • Charlie • Claire • Holden • Hope • JD • Jon • Katie • Lucy • Shoshana • Trip • Zack
The Demon Hunter Files	Major Family Relations • Swann-Devlin Conflict • The Penalty Box