app ] [ deadwood
Player Information
Name/Nickname: Christina
Current characters in Deadwood: None (applying for Jo Harvelle and Trixie)
Character Information
Name: Joanna Beth "Jo" Harvelle
Livejournal Username: huntersdaughter
Fandom (if applicable): Supernatural
Age/Appearance: 24 - Jo is by no means a skinny blonde thing. She stands about 5'4" and weighs around 125. She's slender, but she has a strong frame to her and a good build. She can keep her stance when she fires a shotgun, easily. She can throw a punch, so there's good balance in there too. Dirty blonde hair and brown eyes, with a strong nose set off her features. She can pull off the damsel in distress look, but by no means is she helpless. (She's also got an ass that won't quit.)
History: The AU Loose Terms Version:
The Harvelle Family has strong roots in the Nebraska Territory. A few generations ago they immigrated, but for now they're pretty settled into the life and location. Bill Harvelle, Jo's father, was a scout along the trails to and from the Nebraska Territory. Trying to help people keep clear of the Indians that were still laying claim to "their" lands. He knew the trails like the back of his hand and was a damn good frontiersman.
The family home was above the family business a small outpost/bar that mostly had a reputation for being the place to go if you were looking to get anywhere with the best company. They had information for the travelers and a good spot to rest for those just passing through. Jo was raised around those that traveled the trails and idolized her father, planning on taking the same path for her life. Once she was old enough to go with her father on the shorter runs across the territory she did so. Learning all the tricks her father could teach her along with some good hunting skills.
While Bill was out on a hired job, something went wrong. With the lack of proper communication being what it was, Ellen got his letter four months after he'd gone missing. (OOC NOTE: In case someone ever wants to write Bill Harvelle, I'm leaving it Vague to the circumstances around his vanishing. If they can figure out their own thing, I will gladly alter my own history. But having him go missing on the trail, seemed the best choice)
Jo, determined to prove the letter a falsity and something to drive her family to sell the business, set out to find her father. She spent most of her time on the trails back and forth between the Nebraska territory and anywhere her father had a job lined up to travel to. She became a well-skilled scout and frontierwoman - one to make her father proud.
Now she's hitting Deadwood looking for information on her father and hoping to start a local outpost stop for her family's business so that for the longer trips, she has one camp to stop at that can offer her more than just the shade from a tree.
Canon point: Season Five - Post 5x02 Good God, Y'all.
Personality:
The first thing to consider about Jo is that she's stubborn. She's the type of girl who'd rather shove you out of the way to do something, since she clearly knows how to do it better and faster. That stubborn streak is something that raises its head almost constantly. It’s in her confidence, in her sense of humor, it’s in her ability to fall for someone and in her tendency to let them go. That one trait is laced around her so tight, that there’s hardly a single thing she can do that doesn’t get tainted by that put-her-foot-down attitude.
Still, even with that stubborn streak threatening to get her into trouble all the time, she’s got a lot more to offer. For starters she’s loyal to the nth degree. She’ll stick by your side if she thinks you’re right -- or if she believes that you think you’re right. Of course, she’s also quick to tell you that you’re an idiot when she knows your wrong. She can be a brat that wants to get her way and doesn’t see things your way -- no matter how right you might be. She’ll call you on your bullshit and smile while she does it.
She’ll see something through to the end, no matter the cost or risk because she doesn’t like to leave things unfinished. Jo is selfless in that she’ll put the needs and safety of others before her own. In her own right though, she can be selfish too. Most of her selfish tendencies come from personal relationships though, not really material things. She’d rather have the time spent and the memories earned, than the trinket from the journey.
She’s organized and good at keeping things put together. She’s quick on her feet and easily adapts to her environment. She’s the type of girl that’ll fit into any bar across the USA quite easily and no one’ll doubt that she doesn’t belong in there.
She was raised by her mother, so she has a great deal of respect for family and for strong women. However, there was a time when Jo wasn’t exactly keen on sticking with her family. She’s well aware of how secrets can poison a relationship, which is why for the most part she tries to be open and honest. Her relationship with her mother was strained because of that lack of trust and once they regained that level of a connection, Jo made sure to maintain it.
She’s an optimist, even against horrible odds and in the midst of an apocalypse. She’d rather believe that there’s a tomorrow to wake up to, over the thought being in the middle of a night that’lll be her last.
Her flirtatious side comes almost too naturally, having worked in bars for almost all of her life and having to put up with various ‘sorts’ of men. She won’t lead any of them on, but she has no problem with giving them a smile and a conversation worth those extra few bills on the table when they leave.
Jo is a good listener. She’ll listen to any story, even if she’s heard it a dozen times and often times she’ll do this just to make sure she’s retained the details from the last time. It’s another small part of her organizational skills and her ability to put together a case on her own.
She’s strongly independent and believes that she’s pretty sure she knows what’s best for herself. Making choices that impact herself, no matter how serious, aren’t things she’ll ask for help on. There aren’t any panicked phone calls letters/telegrams from daughter to mother asking if she’s doing the right thing. Jo’s headstrong and she’ll go through with it and ask for forgiveness (if needed) later.
In a way, she’s just like her mother and there was a time when she might’ve been upset by the comparison, but growing up has given her the perspective on her mother’s life that she’s more than just okay with people thinking that she’s just like her mom.
Reason for playing:
I'm a fan of Deadwood the series and in all my days of playing Jo Harvelle, she's always stuck out to me as the type of character that fits into the old-west way of thinking. She goes against the stereotype of the woman and their role, but in Supernatural Canon - Jo is a competent female hunter - which isn't so much rare as it is something to be admired. Her mother is a strong woman and her father was one of the best. Their story and family lineage just fits into the American Old West so easily that I couldn't have thought of a better person to slide into the game. I look forward to pushing her to her limits, making her get second-guessed by most every male character and hopefully get her some solid ground to stand on that makes her an asset to the camp instead of just another stubborn, loud, drunken female. (They already have Jane for that.)
Writing Samples
First-person sample:
[there was blood, sure, but there was also a girl trying her very hardest to pretend like the giant laceration across her side was nothing]
It's a scratch. [she argues with the nurse, who was trying to get a closer look at it]
Hardly anything. [glares at the nurse who is trying to be insistent... and failing, since Jo - well, she's very stubborn]
I just need gauze. You have gauze don't you? [yep, full-on-accusatory]
Third-person sample:
If anyone had asked her, she'd have told them that the pebble that had found its way into her boot had managed to do the opposite of wearing itself down. It'd gotten bigger; to the point that she just wanted to bore a hole into the bottom of her boot to get it out quicker than fishing around the bottom of it would solve.
Dropping off her horse, she pressed her hand to the saddle for balance and moved to attempt and shove her hand into her boot. Her fingertips brushed to the bottom of it but she couldn't find the damn stone. Shutting her eyes she grimaced and tugged the whole damn thing off. Jo was thankful that the rains hadn't come in a week. The ground was dry and her foot pressed easily to it as she shook the living daylights out the damn thing. Frustrated, she shoved her hand back into it, feeling around the inside for that damn boulder she was sure was in there. Instead her fingers found the nasty culprit, smaller than she'd imagined but still a hassle.
Flicking it across the fairway, she shifted her weight to rest against the side of her horse, tugging her boot back onto her foot before heading to the nearest bar.
"Trip was fuckin' long and I'm lookin' for more or less than the average drink."
Her arms rested to the bar, glancing around from beneath the brim of her hat, the man behind the bar just giving her a cautious look.
Jo studied him with an even gaze, "Got a problem?"
He stammered something, but Jo barely could make out the words. She decided to make it easy for the guy, speaking real clear and slow. "Glass. Whiskey. Pour it without spillin' it. Got it?"
The man nodded, setting the glass down and pouring her drink. She slid some money across the table, and gestured for the bottle to stay. Turning around she leaned against the bar, her elbows pressed to the wood, supporting her weight a bit off her feet. "So... this is Deadwood. Riden past it so often didn't think it'd be more than a speck at this point. I'm fuckin' pleasantly surprised to find myself mistaken."