Johanne

[Johanne]

Basics. Name: Johanne Verkir Gender: Female Age: Twenty four Birthday: 23rd Winter, 490AV Physical Description. Johanne is waif-like, too tall and lanky, all collarbones and wrists. She towers over many of the other girls she meets, standing tall at 5'10. She's too thin, elbows and ribs jutting out, her hands spindly and creaking. Her eyes are a deep chocolate brown, contrasting to her pale pink lips and gentle freckles dancing their way over her nose. Her hair is mousy brown and down to her clavicle, always tangled, like she's just jumped out of bed and barely given her appearance another thought. Her lips are cracked, the skin of her pale lips chewed in absent minded thought, and her gaze will always be slightly distracted by the realm of possibility. She is unremarkably pretty, which gains her no accolades or attention. She is simply tall and passably fair. She walks with a slow, aimless gait, floating through the world and taking down stories in her mind. All over her forearms are scars and cuts, though they're an art--scarred on herself are flowers and knotworks, beautiful dreaming circles lazing up to her elbows. She has self inflicted an artwork upon her skin. While thus far her scars only travel to her mid-bicep, who knows how far Johanne will carve into her skin? Will she one day have no more flesh to spare? Character Concept. Johanne is a girl who is fascinated with the insides of things. She likes knowing what you're thinking, where you're going, who you love and why you live. She loves finding out the nuances of speech, seeing how different people react to things, how different people love and different people die. Her love of knowing the intricacies of human existence has lead to her adoration of writing, specifically, the writing of poetry and fiction which explores the 'human' condition. Johanne can often be found with ink marks stained over her long fingers, and scraps of paper shoved down her bodice - evidence of harried thoughts and stories and lines of verse found in the hidden corners of her body. Johanne mainly crafts her own paper to write on, so that her experience of writing is wholly hers. Despite her desire to know more about the world so that she may spin that knowledge into books and stories, Johanne is a quiet girl. This is not due to a certain shyness, or lack of self esteem. Johanne simply prefers to observe, to watch from the sidelines without her interference. She finds it difficult to press another for details of their life; for fear that they should pressure her into divulging her inner thoughts as well. She seems to find that it is easier to write stories when you are observing, rather than in the thick of things. As such, Johanne prefers to live a quiet life, unobtrusive and unassuming, revelling in the simple pleasures while she looks out for adventures that others are having. She wants to know other people, without them having known herself. Johanne adores stories and poems, but she also loves the other side of art - that is, the visual representation of emotion. Johanne never really saw simply drawing as something attractive, seeing it as dull, boring, not very exciting. Instead, Johanne began to watch tattoo artists through the windows of their studios in Denval, her home loving seeing the colour spread through human flesh and become something permanent to live through the individual's life with them, forever. She has turned her tattooing into both a creative outlet and a way of garnering income. It is here that she lets her emotion show; she feels deeply, and yet shows very little of this emotion to anyone but the most dear and close. Johanne carves art into her own skin. Spreading up her forearms and creeping past her elbows are scars that she has inflicted upon herself with a stiletto. She does not do this as a form of self-harm, of self-loathing. Instead, she carves flowers and seaside scenes into herself, so that she herself in her own body is a living, breathing, work of art. She does not do this to shock or offend, but rather, so that she may feel as beautiful as the most cherished of artworks in rich lavish houses. Johanne's carved flesh is an artwork, and she takes it as a deep offence if one should insult it. It is because of this emotional outlet and form of creativity that she is able to keep the torrent of emotions inside of her. Character History. Johanne was born to a large (and very loud) family in Denval, on the 23rd of Winter, 490AV. She was the only child in a family of three sons, along with her domineering mother, Elenna, and her very quiet father. She grew up simply, running chores for her elder brothers who were builders and workers for the Denvali ports, and learning the domestic roles her mother expected her to grow up and fulfill. Johanne, though, was more content to lie on her back and look up at the sky than to learn just how to cook the right dish for her future husband. Her mother spent most of her childhood frustrated at her dreamer daughter, whilst her father kept quiet. Johanne was very similar to her father, Perte, but they never spoke enough to realise it. They both simply imagined from afar. Johanne would always be missing as a child, and the sounds of her mother calling out for her wayward daughter was a sound very common in their area. She was always looking at the horizon, wondering what lay over it, what stories other people were living that were greater than her own dissatisfaction in her ordinary life. Johanne would inevitably be found at the docks, dangling her feet against the murky blue waters, shivering against the ocean breezes. She'd wait here all day if she had to, watching the horizon. When a visitor sailed into Denval on those rare occasions (though they increased as she grew older), she'd listen closely while they rested at the Stranger's Inn, finding out all that she could about the outside world. Gradually, as she grew older, she found the courage to ask several quiet questions, to use in her stories. "So we have a future traveller, here!" they'd chuckle, ruffling her long brown hair. "No," she'd always reply, quietly, and yet convicted. "I just need to know what to put in my stories, sir." And they'd look twice at her, before shaking her head as she ran back home to carefully put down the letters her father had taught her without her mother knowing. Her father taught her Common alongside Denvali, and Johanne could never help but write in the elegant exotic script they'd written before they'd been blocked in all those years ago. Johanne never grew up with delusions of grandeur, adventure and excitement. All she wanted to do was write the perfect book. But her mother had never approved of her only daughter pursuing such a fanciful dream. Their arguments about the stacks of paper and spilt ink in Johanne's tiny room at the back of their house had escalated, until one day when Johanne was just twelve, she'd come home to find her mother had torn up all her stories on the paper she'd carefully made herself, and burnt all the poems in the notebooks she'd pained herself over. She cried and screamed, and begged for the words to come back, but her mother steadfastly held her daughter back and pushed her into the kitchen to prepare dinner. Their relationship never improved, always remaining cold, frosty and never quite understanding the other. Johanne had of course attended The Academy with the other Denvali children from the ages of five to thirteen, but she had opted out of military training from when she was thirteen to fifteen. Her mother pushed and pushed, and nagged her father, demanding that Johanne go out and gain an apprenticeship, to something 'useful' with herself, something to earn the family a little income. Johanne, always the dreamer, acquiesced but could not help irritating her mother just that little bit further - the apprenticeship she gained was that of one to a tattoo artist in town, who spread ink through sailor's skin, and scarred the willing. Her mother demanded she quit the very first day when Johanne told her parents, but her father spoke up - something he very rarely did. "Let the girl make her art," he murmured, and his quiet tone carried further than her mother's screeching one. Johanne continued her apprenticeship, and through hard work and dedication, she grew in talent and adeptness. She never stopped writing, though she made sure to hide the paper she still made away from her mother. She was not as prolific as she would like, but she had her tattooing to console her, and a new dangerous form of art that made her mother thin lipped and quiet. (You can read this story in full here.) One day, when Johanne was seventeen, she saw a sailor from Zeltiva at the docks. She still came here when she needed to think, or to escape for a little while from her controlling insufferable mother. She watched the small Denvali boats row out to the bigger deeper travelling ship, and bring in the sailors bearing stories, goods and strange accents. As the tired troop struggled past her, dirty and grungy and smelling like they'd been on a ship for too long, she saw a young man, no more than twenty, twenty five, straggling along the end of the line. He was thin, quiet with pursed lips, and scarred all over his body. It was not the scarring of ink and tattoos as Johanne was so used to, but rather the scarring of knife wounds and pain. This scarring was obviously deliberate. The sailor had carved patterns and shapes into his skin, travelling up past his shoulders and his neck and cheeks. He caught Johanne's eye and smirked, before they all traipsed to the bar in town to regale the eager locals with stories of the world. Hesitating for a moment, Johanne got up and followed them, creaking open the Stranger's Welcome and looking through the inn to find the scarred sailor. As she looked, she tripped, and fell into the lap of the man she wanted to see. "You were looking at me earlier," he said, his Zeltivan accent thick. "Yes, I was," she said quietly. There was a pause between the pair, as they both waited for the other to speak next. "May I ask why?" he laughed, and it was a light laugh, beautiful, if a man can be so. "Only if you tell me why you did the same." It was rare for Johanne to be so forward, and yet here she was, in the lap of a strange man. "You're beautiful," he said, and her heart fluttered. It was the first time that anyone had said such, or thought her passingly fair. She looked down into her palms, at the smooth skin, a warm red blush spreading over her cheeks as a grin took over. He crooked his finger beneath her chin and kissed her, fiery, passionate, her first kiss ever. She sprung from his lap, and turned to run, but before she could: she said one more thing. "I have never seen anything more beautiful than those scars." He sprung up, kissed her hard on the lips, and gripped her cheeks hard. "Thank you," and his voice was quivering. She did the only thing she could think of. She ran out of the bar without saying a goodbye to the sailor. That night, she scarred herself with a stiletto knife she had taken from her brothers, carving on her forearm the image of Leth chasing Syna, something he had scared on his cheeks. The first of many images she cut into herself. She loved the sting, but she loved the scar more. These were more beautiful than a tattoo. From that moment on, her mother gazed at the scabs and scars on her arms, but never said a word. Johanne kept writing and tattooing and cutting into herself, drifting further away from her family, so simple as they were. Her father loved her more every day, silently, for being more and more herself. On her twentieth birthday in Winter 510AV, Johanne was suddenly struck with an idea. She would leave Denval in search of stories other places. What she'd said to the sailors when she was younger was true - she was not a traveller, but there were no stories in this quiet little town. She needed to leave Denval. And it was such that she sailed off for Lhavit on a small little boat, with a quiet goodbye to her family, not missing them at all. She's been in Lhavit since late Winter 510AV, and has been trying to find a way to gain access to the fabled Bharani Library since. All she wants to do is find stories, and lots of them. But in the meantime, Johanne is content to live quietly and watch the stars shine. Skills, Lore, Languages. Skills 59 Observation (Expert) 37 Socialising (Competent) 33 Tattooing (Competent) 21 Papermaking (Novice) 20 Rhetoric (Novice) 17 Writing (Novice) 6 Interrogation (Novice) 4 Philosophy (Novice) 2 Weapon: Stiletto (Novice) 2 Drawing (Novice) 2 Botany (Novice) 2 Teaching (Novice) 1 Negotiation (Novice) 1 Intimidation (Novice) 1 Persuasion (Novice) 1 Herbalism (Novice) 1 Singing (Novice) 1 Mountaineering (Novice) 1 Detection (Novice) 1 Reading (Novice) Acquisition : Observation: 59XP Socialising: 37XP Tattooing: 30SP, 3XP Papermaking: 20SP, 1XP Rhetoric: 20XP Writing: 15RB, 2XP Interrogation: 6XP Philosophy: 4XP Weapon: Stiletto: 2XP Drawing: 2XP Botany: 2XP Teaching: 2XP Negotiation: 1XP Intimidation: 1XP Persuasion: 1XP Herbalism: 1XP Singing: 1XP Mountaineering: 1XP Detection: 1XP Reading: 1XP Lores Using Tree Sap in Book Binding (SP) The Stiletto Knife in Scarification (SP) Joseph: A Man Scarred Into Memory Scarification: Basic Understanding Components of a Lhavitian Book Lore of Tanroa's Temple Lore of Tanroa's River How to Provide Excellent Customer Service How to Sketch a Tattoo How to Create Scar Tissue How to Sketch in Charcoal Drawing: Trial and Error The Tale of Kova Nivar Symkanta Vantha and the Storytelling Tradition Ethaefal, Advanced How to Write a Poem How an Ethaefal Transforms Lhavit: Kinell Hotsprings Auristics and it's Dangers Extracting the Flower's Stamen The Unique Art of Lampblacking How To Take Care of a New Tattoo The Price of a Small/Large Tattoo Denval: Temple of Nikali Market day in Wind Reach Location: The Enclave Misc Lores : To Be as Young and Old as Time Alas Denval, I Knew Her Well Lowering Your Sails: Jo's First Kiss The Quay: A Favourite Spot Scar: Leth Chasing Syna Lhavitian Bridges Can Be Daunting Dariel: The Ultimate Pragmatist The Touch of a Man The Fear of Being Loved How to Berate a God How to Keep Warm at Work The Art of a Lover’s Embrace Seleucus, The Somber Ethaefal Broaching a Delicate Subject How to Take a Punch Physical Characteristics of a Symenestra Laszlo, the Ethaefal Providing Aid to the Injured Suria Skyglow, the Enigmatic Storyteller The Unknown Lethaefal Fia Eaven, a True Denvali Sela of the Dusk Tower Thunder Bay: Pleasant, if you don't look too closely All Things Wild - Decorated by Nature Itself The Awkwardness of Nakedness Death As a Gift The Dreaded Mud Dwelling Bubbler Haeli: Baffling Bundle of Knowledge Haeli: Flower Connoisseur Haeli: Strange Yet Endearing Shopkeeper The Ramblings of Naked Wildlings Nari: The sound of spoken words A meteor shower Communication problems Location: The cherry grove Nari: Zintila’s tears Zintila: So close, but so far away Fraint: A story worth pursuing? Fraint: the man from Syliras Fraint: rode a Wind Eagle Zintila: Once powerful, now merely of the same rank of a demi-god Jasao weeds: undervalued beauty Akhtar: handsome stranger Eosi: seductress Wrenmae Sek: the storyteller The sound of haggling in Nari Hit with a mysterious illness Attempting to read in Nari Kane: Reads Nari, speaks Common Fluent: Common Basic: Denvali Possesions, Ledger. Possessions A dark forest green dress, laced up in the bodice, full length with long sleeves. A long brown cloak, worn from travelling. Knee high lace up boots. (SP) Waterskin, backpack. (SP) Toolkit (Tattooing) (SP) Stiletto (SP) Leatherbound notebook, filled with yellowing pages crafted by Johanne herself. The pages are clean - she cannot bring herself to write in the book she is most proud of creating. (Heirloom) Charcoal sticks Ink sticks A brown woollen scarf (The Tale of Fools) Johanne was employed as a tattoo artist at theLazuli Ink Tattoo Emporium in Lhavit until Spring 513AV. Johanne in Summer 513AV worked as a papermaker in the Craft Gallery of Wind Reach. From Winter 514AV Johanne is employed as a tattoo artist at the Equinox in Zeltiva. Housing Currently staying at the World's End Grotto in Zeltiva. (2sm/night) Ledger Current total: 836gm, 8sm, 5cm. Receipt : 100gm + 500gm (turned in housing) -25gm: Toolkit (Tattooing) -1gm: Stiletto -135gm: Common Living Conditions (Fall 512) -5gm: Solar Winds Apartment rent (Fall 512) -5cm: Charcoal Sticks -3gm: Ink Sticks -1sm: Woollen scarf -135gm: Common Living Conditions (Winter 512) -5gm: Solar Winds Apartment rent (Winter 512) +546gm: Winter Seasonal Wages -135gm: Common Living Conditions (Spring 513) -5gm: Solar Winds Apartment rent (Spring 513) +140p: Chiet pay (Summer 513) Note: was not IC active between Autumn 513 - Autumn 514 Thread List. Prayers # Tanroa. Winter 514AV # Entry to Zeltiva. 1st Winter. Solo. (Completed) # 'by the pricking of my thumbs.' 6th Winter. Alija. (In Progress) # 'A Missing Link.' 8th Winter. Quest. (In Progress) # 'Moral Support.' 16th Winter. Molly, Aira. (In Progress) # 'Call to Order.' 27th Winter. Open. (In Progress) # 'deja deja.' 34th Winter. Solo. (In Progress) # 'Behind All The Masks.' 42nd Winter. Estrellir Konrath. (In Progress) # 'The Watched Kettle.' 57th Winter. Open. (In Progress) # 'Scars.' 87th Winter. Fallon. (In Progress) Flashbacks : # 'Of Words and their Flavours.' 14th Fall. 505AV. Fia Eaven. (Graded) # 'A Thief and An Artist.' 22nd Spring, 506AV. Wrenmae. (Graded) # '"Thank you," and his voice was quivering.' 18th Fall, 507AV. Solo. (Featured Thread) # 'Mystic Sensuality.' 13th Spring, 508AV. Eosi. (Graded) Autumn 512AV : # 'The Tale of Fools.' 6th Fall. Albireo. (Graded) # 'A Bit of Wildness In The City.' Late Fall. Haeli. (Graded) # 'Sitting Books.' 90th Fall. Dariel. (Graded) Winter 512AV : # 'The Reflective White.' 3rd Winter. Dariel. (Graded) # 'Perfectly Aligned, Like The Stars.' 9th Winter. Nolan Elwood. (Graded) # 'Livid.' 10th Winter. Quiarinox. (Graded) # 'Racial Intolerance.' 11th Winter. Laszlo. (Graded) # 'I will find you in the River.' 22nd Winter. Solo. (Graded) # 'Fraint and the Koten Temple.' 25th Winter. Fraint. (Graded) # 'A Winter's Dip.' 29th Winter. Alses. (Graded) # 'Ink It Up.' 35th Winter. Quiarinox. (Graded) # 'Cups and Conversations.' 41st Winter. Seleucus. (Graded) # 'Deep Rivers Run Quiet.' 57th Winter. Natalia. (Graded) Spring 513AV : # 'Blue Lagoon.' 5th Spring. Open. (Graded) # 'Carnival of Words.' 15th Spring. Albireo, Eshara, Lu Gavima, Quiarinox. (Graded) # 'Call of the Wild.' 54th Spring. Lyall Gaius. (Graded) # 'Hold Tight.' 60th Spring. Phoenix. (VOID) Summer 513AV : # 'Troubles in Communication.' 16th Summer. Kane. (Abandoned) # 'Down at the Bay.' 25th Summer. Sira. (Graded) # 'The Meaning of a Wish.' 29th Summer. Eoin. (Graded) # 'Bring The Heat.' 33rd Summer. Aidara. (Abandoned) # 'Quavering Voices.' 37th Summer. Alori Sai. (Graded) # 'There's Always Time for Trouble.' 43rd Summer. Eilea, Aidara. (Abandoned) # 'Caverns of Safety.' 55th Summer. Raif. (Abandoned) # 'Market Mysteries.' 70th Summer. Open. (Abandoned) # 'Winding Words.' 81st Summer. Lavira. (Graded)