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Janette Blog Entry |
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December 6, 2024, 12:00:31 AM 12/6/24: r/SketchDaily theme, "Free Draw Friday." This week's character from my anthro WWII storyline is Janette (last name never given). She's a reclaimed character from the old character list, previously a nurse with the Trench Rats, yet now I believe she's going to be with the resistance and helps Sgt. Camo after his escape. Still developing her. There'll be more about her later in my art Tumblr and Toyhou.se. Regarding her design, she has quite long hair so it doesn't all show up here. I drew the part a bit odd, oh well. TUMBLR EDIT: Here's the original (2002) character list description of "Nurse Janette": JANETTE: Nurse serving Burgundy in the hospital ward. Also the target of most of Gold's unwanted attentions; tolerates him for the most part, but isn't averse to slapping him across the face. Is attracted to Mahogany, as Gold suspects, yet neither of them is willing to admit it at first. Calm and coolheaded, yet turns out to have a friskier side. Current storyline Janette, from my vague recollection, was originally an American nurse who served with the Trench Rats but technically wasn't one. This is a complication, given the Rats' obsessive secrecy regarding Headquarters, whose location is revealed only to Rats, at least until this information is compromised by Anna Julian and HQ is attacked by the Germans. Even then they seem to still abide by blindfolding everyone they transport there, until very late in the story near the war's end. (A big exception to all this is French partisan Papillon, who discovers the location of HQ while scouting--he's a bat--and reveals it to Champere, but they never share this info.) How would it work for Janette to live at HQ yet not know where she is? It's possible, just not that feasible. I let her character fall by the wayside and placed more emphasis on actual Trench Rats serving in the medical ward, including Lyndsey Skye (herself originally not intended to be a Rat), Indigo, and Amaranth, with Skye taking on a lot of Janette's characteristics (including being the focus of Gold's attention--you can see this in what little of the story was written). (Brief aside to add that there was yet another female Rat who was mentioned in the ORIGINAL existing written version of the story (quoted partially in Anna Julian's entry), it's iffy whether she was an official Rat or not, but anyway...ugh, here goes...her working name was "Mam Rat" and she was literally just an updated version of Mammy from Gone With The Wind. Urgh God I hate typing this. She was pretty much a servant type who cooked and cleaned and occasionally served in the medical ward, because I guess the male Rats were too inept to do their own chores. As you can see, even back in 2002 I must have known how problematic such a character was, as, like Nightstalker, Deserta, and Woofwoof Hitler (though for different reasons), she never even made the character list. THANK GOD. Sorry, Mam, hardly knew ye, it's for the best. Anyway, I believe Janette may have dated to roughly the same time but she was allowed to remain on the list. I could be wrong though, there's a slight chance she was intended to replace Mam's character. Mam will NOT be resurrected for this reboot. Maybe someday I'll dedicate an "abandoned character" page to her and the others. Nightstalker and Deserta--possible unintentional prototypes of Gunter Hesse and Theodor Schulte--were kinda fun and should not be forgotten.) In light of this newest reboot, Janette's character is being heavily modified. This is still highly a WIP and much info is unknown or contradicts previous material given in this blog, particularly the account given in Camo Rat's entry. But hey, that's just how this goes. So here's what little has developed so far. Janette is now French; she's still a "nurse" (not official, she just provides medical aid like one), not associated with the Trench Rats, but with the resistance. As neither Champere's French forces nor Didrika's mixed forces allow women (the lone exceptions being Jade, who passes herself off as a man, and Didrika herself), this--and the previous version of Camo's writeup--indicate that she's in the Diamond Network. The Diamond Network is kind of downplayed on the rodent side of this story, as Josef Diamant is a canine character, and Champere's and Didrika's groups appear solely in the rodent side of the story, yet it does appear in limited form, for example, the Wolfsteins and Noah Kirchheimer are involved in it. The Network operates mostly in an urban environment while the other groups are in the country, though there are exceptions, such as the Network's operations in the Junker homes. Janette appears to serve in a rural part of the Network and so likely has lots of interaction with the partisans; this leaves room for her services to cross over and for her to function as a sort of go-between when necessary. She seems to do a lot of work on her own, which is unusual for a woman in such a hostile environment, so obviously she's not easily frightened, and has lots of interpersonal skills. She offers aid to whoever she encounters and so I assume this is why almost nobody is interested in harming her, and that includes the Germans (for the most part). This leaves the potential for lots of interesting interactions, not just with allies but with "enemies" such as Ratdog and Klemper, and Himmel and Jäger. Yes, somebody could always theoretically capture and interrogate her for info on the Network, but she's useful as she is, and there's likely an additional reason why they let her be...maybe a superstitious one, like with Didrika. She probably has also earned a nickname like Didrika (die Scharlachrote Zigeunerin, the Scarlet Gypsy--Nazi terminology, not mine, Didrika is Romani), though I'm not sure yet what it would be; maybe die Nachtigall, the Nightingale, after Florence Nightingale? *shrugs* In any case, she seems most active in the woods that open up well outside the unnamed city, and I believe this is where she meets Sgt. Camo Rat. In the previous version of Camo's story...he escapes Nazi custody in Project Doomsday (with the unknown, to him, aid of project supervisor Capt. Otto Himmel, who's sabotaging the project from the inside) by breaking out of the complex; he disguises himself (as he's wearing very distinctive stripes, and a red triangle marking him as a Sonderhäftling, a political prisoner of war and special detainee) and, using some old info, manages to locate a Diamond Network checkpoint where he's retrieved by allies and transported to safety. I didn't really care for this exact version of events because it's a bit iffy; how did the Trench Rats, who struggle to make connections at first with the various resistance groups, obtain the info about the checkpoint in the first place? And why? Their connection to the Diamond Network, in particular, is quite weak, and is mostly represented by Jakob Wolfstein and Helena Urbach, the latter of whom is actually recruited by the former, and both of whom come into contact with the battalion only after Camo's capture. So they aren't the source of the info. Despite their alliances, the various resistance factions are all rather leery of the Rats for a long while, and it's hard to imagine a Network member passing off such info so early on. Camo's introduction to the Network is likely more coincidental. There's another complication here I haven't made much mention of yet: Camo is a morphine addict, and without the supply Dr. Kammler pushed on him in the project, during his escape he almost certainly goes into withdrawal. He still breaks out of project headquarters, still probably steals a coat to cover himself a little, yet doesn't reach a Network checkpoint. Similar to Wolfstein and Silver Rat much later on, he manages to escape into the countryside, though by the time he reaches the woods he's in rather bad shape. He finally manages to drag himself into a small hollow at the base of a tree, covers himself with some leaves and debris, and curls up in a ball of pain and nausea, dozing fitfully. He comes to--somewhat--who knows how long later, shaking violently, sweating and freezing; there's a silhouette peering down at him. It speaks in a woman's voice, but he doesn't understand it. After a pause it moves nearer and starts checking him over; pulls open his coat, sees his red badge, presses a hand to his forehead, feels his ribs and limbs, checks his pulse and his eyes. Upon doing this last thing the silhouette murmurs, lets go of his eyelid, pulls up his sleeve. Murmurs again upon seeing the bruise where an IV had been recently. It--she--sits back on her haunches and digs around in a bag before pulling something out and shaking him a little to get his attention. She holds something small in front of his face; he blinks blearily and manages to focus. It's a tiny syrette; Camo recognizes it immediately. The small morphine doses are often included in first aid kits. He feels terribly torn--he doesn't want it, but he needs it. And that much must be obvious, if this stranger was able to figure it out. He hesitates long enough that she at last says something--again, he doesn't understand--and finally administers the dose herself while he shuts his eyes and turns his head away. His shaking abates after a while, and after another while he's able to slowly push himself upright without throwing up. He's still pretty weak and unsteady; the woman holds something out--a canteen--and he takes a long drink. She hands him a small chocolate bar which he eats; not exactly nutritious but better than nothing. The sugar wakes him a little, the woman says something, and finally he gets why he can't understand her; she's speaking French. He understands enough to know she's asking if he speaks French; he shakes his head. "Sprechen Sie Deutsch?" she says next, and he shakes his head: "I don't speak German." "Anglais," she says, in an "Of course" voice, to which Camo says, "American." She shrugs and although he doesn't speak French he's pretty sure she's saying, British, American, it doesn't matter, she doesn't speak English. So, here we are. He gets a better look at her now that his head isn't so fogged with pain. She's young and pretty, not that he's interested, and what he'd thought was a hooded jacket is in fact her hair. Women around here usually wear their hair in buns or braids or at least keep it cut shorter, so hers stands out. She's carrying a makeshift medical bag and has an improvised arm band with a red cross; "Medic?" he inquires, pointing at it, and she shakes her head; "Infirmière," she says, then, to his blank look, "Krankenschwester...?" A very long silence; finally she says, "Hmmmm...nurse?" Camo nods. She offers him the canteen again since obviously they will not be engaging in conversation, though--"Camo," he says, putting a hand to his chest; she follows suit, replying, "Janette." They can assume a few things about each other just by looking. She knows by his striped shirt and red badge that he must have escaped from a camp or something similar; "Sonderhäftling," she says, and although Camo doesn't speak German, Dr. Kammler taught him that particular word very well. He can safely assume she's somehow associated with the partisans, though when he mentions Champere and Didrika, she indicates that she knows them both, but doesn't work for them. "Le Réseau Diamantaire," she says, and makes a diamond shape with her hands, so Camo nods; he's not nearly as familiar with the Diamond Network as the partisans, but you'd have to be living under a rock to have never heard of them. (Heheh...my translation efforts are Google based and may sometimes suck. I tried to make sure I had the correct French word for a resistance network, as opposed to, well, any alternate meaning of network, you know? And Googling the word "réseau," after consulting Google Translate, brought up this: "1. a network or grid" (meh...no, not what I meant :/ ) and "2. a spy or intelligence network, especially in the French resistance movement during the German occupation in World War II" (well...huh!--there we go).) Janette waits for Camo to compose himself before gesturing that she wants them to get moving, though he doesn't know where. He tries to explain that he's the Trench Rat sergeant and wants to get back to Headquarters; she doesn't seem to understand him, though when he gets up and tries to leave on his own, she forcibly stops him, exclaiming, "Non!" Her increasingly frustrated gesturing convinces him she does in fact understand his plan--she even uses a stick to gouge in the earth, a miniature trench. And she shakes her head. "It isn't safe yet?" he says, not understanding her refusal to let him go back; she shrugs, then takes his arm, waves him to follow. Taps her armband--she'd like him to get more medical care--and makes the diamond sign. Camo furrows his brow; "Le...le res..." he says, "Le Réseau Diamantaire," she says, nods, gestures. He suppresses a sigh; he really wants to get back to his men--if any are even left, Dr. Kammler insisted the Rats had been annihilated but the Nazis are well known for their demoralizing lies--yet Janette is insistent that he accompany her, and without knowing WHY she thinks he shouldn't return to HQ yet, he's resigned to following her to her fellow operatives, instead. He isn't even sure how long he can hold out physically, to be honest. So he shrugs himself, waves at her; she pauses, then relaxes, gestures, shoulders her medical bag, and they head into the woods. I already said the Diamond Network doesn't have a strong presence in the countryside, though they have rare small outposts. The partisans don't exactly trust them a whole lot, but they do manage to collaborate, mostly by exchanging goods and services. Janette is on good terms with pretty much everyone, though Camo has no real way to know that. When he gestures in the direction of Didrika's camp--he starts recognizing his surroundings--and traces an eye shape on his hand (Didrika has such a tattoo), Janette again shakes her head, so he pushes down another sigh although he's annoyed. They finally reach a small temporary encampment, an old military truck with some bedrolls on the ground around a fire pit; a few men pop to their feet with guns drawn but Janette waves at them and points out Camo's red badge to allay their fears. She starts gesticulating and talking in rapid-fire French, only for one of the men to brusquely cut her off, earning an irked look; he tells her something, then speaks in English: "I know who you are. The Germans have been telling everyone you and your corporal are dead." Camo takes a breath. Feels his knees nearly buckle, and Janette hurries to take his arm. Murmuring in French, she guides him over to the fire pit and helps him sit; the leader instructs the other men and they warm up a meal for him. Dr. Kammler was careful to make sure he was better fed than most prisoners, but he was still fed like a prisoner, so he really does need the food; still, Janette has to coax him into eating it. In between bites, Camo asks for more information. The leader describes how the devastating news of the attack on Trench Rat Headquarters reached everyone, how the partisans were too late to help in the fight itself but showed up in the aftermath; Didrika's men were first to arrive and provide aid to the surviving Rats, and yes, there were survivors--while Alpha and Bravo Companies (both present in HQ) were largely decimated, Delta and Echo Companies (outside HQ) survived largely intact, and Charlie Company (on patrol in the woods) escaped harm completely, apparently avoiding an ambush before heading back to HQ to assist. Champere's partisans arrived after Didrika's, offering supplies and medical attention; there was some contention between the two factions, with Didrika almost needing to be physically restrained from attacking Champere, battering him with a stream of invective instead over how long it took his party to respond, while Champere retorted by calling her hysterical in return; despite this, they managed to set their dispute aside long enough to help provide aid and start the cleanup process. The Rats have since started rebuilding their damaged HQ, as well as contacted their British allies to get in touch with the American military for new recruits. Kammler had gloated to Camo that almost all of his battalion was wiped out, so it's a relief to learn how many of them survived--including all the company leaders, Copper, Indigo, and Silver, along with the surgeon, Burgundy, and the chief engineer, Doomsday--even though he still grieves the immense losses. He hates needing to report that his corporal, Drake, while still alive, is also still in German custody, and he was forced to leave him behind (Drake insisted at least one of them needed to escape, better than no one); the other corporal, Anna Julian, was executed by an SS officer (Himmel). He asks for their help in contacting HQ and getting back to them so he can resume leadership; to which the Diamond Network guy responds, "I don't believe that's a wise idea." Camo is stumped; how could it not be?? His men need him, and he needs to do his job. The leader explains that the Trench Rats acted quickly, and have already sent out a request for a sergeant and corporal to assume leadership--Camo and Drake are about to be replaced. Their roles aren't staying vacant for long. Camo doesn't have any sentimental feelings about this, of course the Rats would promptly request replacement leadership, especially if they thought he and Drake were dead. He can still go back and help whether he's in charge or not. Still, the leader insists this is his chance to do something else: Everyone thinks he's dead, and that the Trench Rats are demoralized. Why not take advantage of this? Camo furrows his brow; what good can he do away from the Rats? The leader reminds him of the tactic the Rats originally used when they first came to Germany: For a brief time, they succeeded in convincing the superstitious German soldiers that they were ghosts from the Great War, what with their unusual uniforms and actions. Of course this ruse fell apart rather quickly, but it helped them out long enough to gain a foothold in the area and establish their HQ. Well...rather than head straight back to HQ and reveal that just one Rat made it back alive--leaving the other behind--why not play into the belief that he's dead, and become a ghost? Not just any ghost, either, but one who collects information. The plan comes together only gradually, as Camo needs to strongly be persuaded that he can serve the Rats better from afar, and might actually endanger them right now, if the rest of the German army learns that not only did he survive the initial attack, but he escaped their custody as well--Drake is in an especially tenuous position. The Network can leave behind a dead German soldier dressed in Camo's clothes for the Wehrmacht to find and report back to Kammler; this could help buy time for Drake. Whereas if Camo is known to still be alive, Kammler will surely use this information to torture Drake further and probably end up liquidating him. If Camo comes back as a ghost, he can spy and collect information for the Network and keep a closer eye on German activities than he could back with the Rats, who are about to get another sergeant anyway. He just needs his own contacts to report back to, and a few tweaks to his look. Janette, what with her itinerant routine, would make a good go-between for Camo and the Network (she can also keep him supplied with morphine); she volunteers, despite them being unable to understand each other. The leader decides upon them sharing a code which will add a layer of security to their communications. She and Camo can exchange information and in addition he can point her in the direction of any wounded he comes across. The Network designs a new outfit for him, similar to the Trench Rats' original German-style uniforms; a gas mask will conceal his face. For he'll need to use this ruse to keep his fellow Rats as in the dark as the Germans. Most should catch on soon enough that he's not really a ghost, but the hope is that the mystery surrounding him will continue to trigger the Germans' superstitions anyway; for example, their near-supernatural fear of Silver Rat and Didrika. Time is allowed to pass after the Germans find their own dead soldier--his body just badly burned enough to conceal his identity, though his red Sonderhäftling badge remains visible--and report this back to leadership, before Camo is given his new uniform, drops his name, dons his mask, and heads off into the woods for his new job as a spy for the Diamond Network. He keeps in frequent touch with Janette to pass coded messages along; ironically, he spies on his own guys about as much as the enemy, this time on the outside looking in. It's a strange experience, and rather bittersweet, seeing what should be his own life but no longer is, while hoping he gets the chance to go back and retrieve Drake--and, possibly, kill Himmel--sometime. Despite his new job, his end goal remains the same as that of the Trench Rats: To put an end to Project Doomsday, somehow. I haven't yet determined Janette's past, how this French woman ended up in Germany, aiding the resistance; there's also the matter of what becomes of her after Camo's identity is revealed to Corporal Gold and Mahogany--does she still express interest in the latter?--and how does it go? These might be further developed at some future point. [Janette 2024 [Friday, December 6, 2024, 12:00:31 AM]] |