J. R. Jefferson

**Jonah Randall "J. R." Jefferson** is a Brujah elder, red-listed criminal, and the disputed Baron of Anaheim in the Spectre chronicle. As Baron, his chosen Elysium is the New England Pawnbroker's Association.

## Appearance

Jonah is a rather tall and thin man, not appearing extremely underweight, but rather sporting a lean physique. His medium-length dark brown hair is often wetted down on top to maintain its style under the top hat he usually wears. His dress sense often includes a long wine-red overcoat with a tartan waistcoat and dress shirt underneath, complimented by a cravat and tartan dress pants to match his waistcoat. He takes quite good care of the iconic mustache adorned on his upper lip, and his nose appears to have been broken at least once while he was alive.

J. R.'s vocal chords are worn and hoarse from what one can only assume was a lifetime of raising his voice and when he speaks his voice often cracks involuntarily, though somehow he is able to make this trait charming.

## Personality

Jonah himself has proven to be a merciless killer who justifies his actions as a way of combating the corruption of the Free Baronies and other kindred institutions. Despite his brutal ways, Jonah is clearly an educated man and genuinely believes in the ideology he espouses rather than acting out of greed or self-interest. His individualistic and anti-government idealism, combined with his natural charisma, attracted a following of kindred who were unable to fit in under other regimes and sects. Several members of his entourage are thin-bloods, criminals, or other outcasts of the world who believed they had no purpose until they joined him. This created a strong sense of unity within Anaheim and an even greater sense of personal loyalty to J. R. himself.

Despite being rather brutal in his methods, he often jokes around with his fellow men and has a kind, charming disposition. He often makes motivational speeches to encourage Anaheim to come together during times of hardship, preaching that loyalty and faith were the highest and most honorable tenets. He displays genuine compassion for those who follow him and treats them as family members in a way that makes them feel appreciated. He complimented them on their resilience and their ability, seeing to it that they were fed, sheltered and happy. His generosity endears him to prospective members, many of whom have known little but hardship, pain, and struggle.

Although he demands that members give loyalty and do their share for the gang as a whole, he also encourages them to be themselves as well as to make use of their free time to optimize their own talents and skill sets. At his best, Jonah commands a balanced brand of leadership that not only requires followers to have structure and discipline but also allows them to express freedom and individuality. At his worst, he takes his valuing of loyalty to extreme levels, branding anyone who questions him as a doubter and losing opinion of those who do not agree with his decisions.

He views the United States of America as the greatest invention in the world as, in his eyes, it grants freedom to those Americans who are bold enough to pursue it. To Jonah, being 'an American' is not decided by where you were born, who your parents are, or the color of your skin, but by the conviction in one's heart to live freely and to enjoy that freedom with other Americans. Some call his belief system into question for the many flaws it has inherently, along with his treatment of those he considers to be 'un-American'.

## Biography

J. R. was the leader of the failed eleventh Barony of Anaheim. As a charismatic and almost cultlike leader he established his territory populated by those fiercely loyal to him. This project officially lasted only twelve days before kindred from the nearby Barony of East Los Angeles reported aggressive expansionism and constant propaganda campaigns waged against Salvador Garcia, the then-Baron of East Los Angeles, for his un-American treatment of the common kindred in his territory. When an investigation was conducted into the structure and direction of the eleventh Barony it was clear that Jefferson intended to expand his influence militaristically into other regions and upset the balance of the Los Angeles (which had already been heavily destabilised by the addition of the new eleventh Barony and the actions of Edgar Hearst). In a unanimous agreement from the other leaders of the Free Baronies, the Barony of Anaheim was unilaterally declared to be unrecognized and J. R. Jefferson was to submit himself before the Barons to offer an explanation. The diplomats sent to collect him were brutally slain and body parts belonging to them were delivered to Jeremy MacNeil in a box, and Jefferson has been on the Red List ever since.

To this day he still largely operates out of Anaheim and Orange County, declaring the Eleventh Barony as the true inheritor of the Anarch Movement's ideals. Every so often a brave group of kindred attempt to apprehend the Yankee or even to outright slay him, but such attempts are becoming less and less common as it is made increasingly clear how difficult of a task stopping him will be. Despite this, Jonah does not become careless in the precautions he takes against the 'un-American Anarch Movement' and those they send after him. Uniquely, his Elysium, the New England Pawnbroker's Association, is a business rather than a single building. Every so often, usually between ten and fourteen days, his followers will pack up the pawn shop they've set up as the Elysium and move it somewhere else in Anaheim or Orange County. Through channels and disclosure methods known only to followers of the twelve day Baron it is easily communicable where the current Elysium is located, whereas by the time outsiders have located the true location the Elysium has either moved away entirely or, at the very least, the populace of the eleventh Barony will be aware that kindred have been snooping around and asking questions.

### Season 1

When the coterie crashed their car into a construction site in Anaheim on October 30th they unknowingly wandered into the current position of Jonah's Elysium, the New England Pawnbroker's Association. Pushing their way through the tarpaulin "walls" they were able to spot Jonah sitting at his desk among the crowd attending the evening's celebrations. Not long after they had arrived he rose from his desk and called out that it was time for the night's entertainment and that they were hosting a few guests tonight, prompting the partygoers to trail their way outside to what had been referred to as "the pit". Though having to be escorted there by Lefty Mancini after Vittoria attempted to flee, they eventually made their way down into the pit, an oversized pothole in the site that had been arranged as some makeshift colosseum. Just as the group were protesting their placement in such a situation Jonah entered the ring and brought with him a rolled-up bedsheet containing all manner of weaponry to be used in the upcoming fight, which he explained -- very theatrically -- would be the perfect way for the 110%ers to get to know their new friends, the coterie. Pulling a meat cleaver and bayonet from his waistband Jonah invited the coterie to make the first strike which they all did, firing a volley of revolver rounds into his body which he proceeded to shrug off. Kamila and Joseph endured the brunt of the blows with Vittoria scarcely being touched by the 'Eleventh Baron' despite all of them doing their best to weaken him. The fight took a turn when Jonah used his meat cleaver to slice the lower half of Joseph's left arm away at the elbow, and when he turned to face Vittoria, quipping about how she hadn't received much attention yet, she broke down into tears about receiving scars from the fight. This moment of weakness from his opponent put to rest any sporting enjoyment he might have taken from prolonging the battle any further and he declared an end to the bout.

After congratulating the three on their spirit he invited them to dine personally with him as he assumes they didn't go to all the trouble of finding the place for no reason, unaware that their presence here was a complete accident. Bringing them into the repurposed foreman's office he allows Joseph the most comfortable seat, clearly reserved for himself under normal circumstances, to ease some of the pain he's currently in. Jonah has Lefty bring in a cooler filled with blood bags as well as several (clearly drunk) men and women to feed from, with the assurance that they won't remember anything that happens to them by the time they leave. After having to make some amendments to accommodate Joseph's feeding restrictions and the coterie all drink their fill they begin to heal some of the wounds they sustained in the friendly duel. When Joseph agonizes over the pain and discomfort of a lost arm, wondering if it can even be reattached, Jonah cuts his own hand off right in front of the three of them before reattaching it a few seconds later without so much as flinching. With that unpleasantness out of the way the four of them begin to discuss some of the pressing matters concerning the theatre diableries. Jonah levels with the three of them that he does indeed know a fair amount about the case, but as someone in his unfortunate position he is forced to take any opportunities that he can. He tells them that he's willing to give them information on this topic in return for a favor later down the line. The coterie agrees and Jonah shares all the information he knows, revealing the full name of the culprit -- Marvin Zavala -- as well as the fact that he's to perform a Halloween show in Anaheim tomorrow night. That moment, Lefty bursts into the office saying that Sanchez is going to die and that they have him outside in the main room. Jonah immediately rushes out to see what all the fuss is, arriving to see a splayed-out young man riddled with shotgun wounds on a now-clear table. Saoirse tells Jonah that there's nothing that can be done anymore and that he was caught out by some members of the Midnight Animals Motorcycle Club at Uncle Ricky's bar. Jonah laments the fact that there has never been any issue with the Midnight Animals before and how it seems clear that they were looking for kindred. He knelt down to speak to Sanchez in his final moments, reassuring him that it's okay and he did good. As Sanchez passes Jonah calls out to Lefty, saying he has a good singing voice, and appealing to everyone else in the room to sing along if they know the words as they're going to send off Sanchez's soul the Anaheim way to help him be at rest in the sun. Lefty began to sing a rendition of *'California'* by Stan Rogers along with the rest of the room as Jonah wept slightly, singing along with them.

## Trivia

* He first appeared in *Pancho and Lefty*.
* J. R. occupies the sixth spot on the Free Baronies Red List and was immediately placed on the list after his termination as Baron of Anaheim.
* His followers are known as the 110%ers, taken from part of a speech he gave about how every kindred in Anaheim gives 110% to their cause, to keeping each other safe, to building a better world for everyone around them. He also stated during this speech that with the 10 existing Free Baronies they may feel complete, but that with Anaheim the Free Baronies would "be 110%" too if only they'd allow it.

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