Josephine
Josephine
josephine.jpg
Portrayed by Rachel Weisz
Statistics
Fullname Josephine Anastasia Kristina van den Bosch
Birthday 24-11-1973
Species Psychic
Age 31
Height 5'9"
Weight 65 kg
Eyes Green
Hair Dark brown
Occupation Foreign correspondent

Claim to Fame

Josephine 'Jo' van den Bosch is a foreign correspondent by trade, her name probably only slightly known in the Netherlands for reports she did on the desperate situation in Sudan and a few other war torn places in the world.


Biography

Born in 1973 to Abraham van den Bosch and Leonora van Tellingen in the Dutch town of Zeist. Two younger brothers were born a few years after, Vincent and Hugo. The most notable thing about their upbringing must have been Bram and Leonora's hippy approach to life. Bram could boast on a rather remote claim to nobility, which translated into a vehemenent interest in history and folklore, a passion he brought to family life in more ways then just stories, dragging the kids to folkdances, insisting on a life without modern day gadgets (tv, radio, and consoles) and trying to bring a little of those past noble glory days into the modern day world.

The flaky Leonora on her part imagined herself to be quite the wise woman of old, bringing to the household not only a 3 foot cast iron cauldron (in the basement, Bram wouldn't stand for it to be in the kitchen), but a little touch of magic every way she saw fit. What she believed anyway - it was never in her nature. The result was a strange mix of new agy paganism and eco-consciousness: all natural, old fashioned clothing (which the kids got teased with at school without end), a strict vegan diet and more talks about one's feelings then a person could possibly care for. Ever.

On the plus side, there were bonfires (with mom dancing and chanting, but hey, still fire), fancy dress up parties all year round and a sense of open mindedness which even stood out in Dutch society. And that last bit might have just been Jo's salvation, for though she started out just a normal girl, about the time she started to go to school her mother was the first to pick up on a rather unique talent of her daughter: the abilty to listen to other people's thoughts. Embracing this 'gift from the Great Mother' rather then scorning Jo over het ability, Leonora took it onto herself to guide Jo through these growing pains, teaching the girl how to ground, center and focus, how to tune into people (herself a willing victim) or to block (foremost her brothers' puberty era). Not that it was easy -to do and to live with- but with Leonora's relentless guidance, Jo learned to deal with it best way she could and keep up proper appearances to the outside world.

It didn't take all that long though before Jo's vision of a perfect little magical world was shattered crudely (despite her mother's insistent claim that all the world was 'good'), for starters by the constant judgements she picked up from classmates over her clothes, her hair, her behaviour… Teachers (especially the male variety) unwittingly didn't help either, pitying the flat chested girl while staring down the blouse of the voloptuous girl sitting next to her. Jo quickly learned that the world was just a giant messed up, twisted place revolving around forbidden fantasies and jealousy - everyone was just in it for their own interests.

Jo's life altered drastically when new neighbours moved in, specially when Leonora took an avid interest in the thirtysomething husband, father of two. It took them two nearly a year to keep their relationship hidden, before they took off, leaving Bram devastated. It took another year for Jo to move out of the house now drenched in sorrow and self pity, to study at the school for journalism, leaving behind all things magical and fantasy, to submerge herself in a world of factual current affairs - which came as an immense relieve. She vowed never again to get caught up in someone else's dream world.

Going through college, she graduately discovered that her talent could actually be of some use - rather then just be a sick joke from the universe in general. She could direct questions far more precisely then she ever could have without reading minds. Combined with a knack for writing, she graduated amongst the top of her class. Slowly but steadily, she got more at home in her own skin, learning to master the on and off-switch, even though her world view got more and more cynical.

With relationships out of the question, partly due to her mother, partly due to her own negative experiences with boys, Jo started to seek her highs in other places, never spitting in a glass of alcohol, able to lose the pressure of every day life on the dancefloor at times. She dabbled with drugs at certain times, but after one bad experience with cocaine, made it a rule never to use anything stronger then smoking the occasional joint.

Maybe it was this longing to feel alive that made her decide to travel the world for a bit, ending up in Africa foremost, where she took on a role of correspondent by accident every now and then when affairs in the continent got far enough out of hand to make the news back in Holland. She hooked up with a few doctors of Médecins Sans Frontières, ending up in Sudan and reporting from there for over half a year. Her reports made it to the news, but even though these 15 minutes of fame on tv paid nicely, she prefered and stil prefers the written medium, landing a more or less steady spot with a national news magazine. She's never been one for the scoops, rather likes to take her time to get an indepth background view of a situation and writing about that. In Sudan her optimism about a 'good' world crumbled to next to nothing, leaving her even more the cynic, bordering on jaded.

Longing for a less warzone filled asignment, she's now setting foot in Dallas for a series of articles on how the Americans deal with the coming out of the vampires a few years ago. She's been given the go ahead to stay for a few months initially, though her stay might be prolonged if the stories prove fruitful in upping the sales figures.


Character Details

They call it trade habit, the cynism of a journalist. It's hers alright, bordering on jaded. Still her profession requires her to be easy going, a good listener and well mannered and if the mood isn't spoiled, she's just that. Even so, her world view doesn't bask in optimism. Keeping her distance is something like second nature to her. She's 'here' to observe, to tell other people about it, not to participate, even when a situation is dire. Well, at least she'll try to stay out of a situation for as long as she can ethically convince herself to. She refuses to be a victim in this messed up world though, living her life according to her own rules, intend on being her own woman - and keeping it that way. She can be something of a work-a-holic, but at the same time is almost predictable in her yearning for some time off to forget about the world in general, usually with alcohol as a well known companion.


Family

Name Race Relation Notes
Vincent Human Brother Jo's younger brother by 2 years. The relationship is somewhat awkward, Vincent never much having loved his sister's ability to listen to his thoughts and Josephine not caring much for Vincent's religious doctrine kind of lifestyle.
Hugo Human Brother Jo's younger brother by 4 years. If there's a way he can tease, pester or provoke her, or make life more awkward, he won't hesitate. Josephine loves her little brother to bits (is sometimes jealous of the way he surfs through life), but shared childhood experiences have made her a bit cautious.

Character Gallery


Logs

Title IC Date OOC Date Quick Description
The interview 17-01-2005 17-01-2010 Braeden and Josephine have an appointment, but who's interviewing who.
All in the mind 03-02-2005 03-02-2010 Chloe and Josephine prove that being a mind reader doesn't mean you won't ever misunderstand people.
Glamour me this 11-02-2005 11-02-2010 Guy assists Josephine in a way only a vampire can, something that doesn't sit well with Raven, but gets Michael's approval.
Receipts 20-03-2005 20-03-2010 Jo asks Chloe to take something to the King of Texas.
Of branches and bunnies 24-03-2005 24-03-2010 The King of Texas attempts to teach the 80's princess proper etiquette. They run into Josephine to whom an olive branch is extended.
Some deals... 01-05-2005 01-05-2010 Braeden checks up on Josephine after one weird call. Who is going to regret that come morning?
Reunion 02-05-2005 02-05-2010 Hugo decides to surprise his big sister with a secret rendezvous at a fancy restaurant, but the surprise is on him when she shows up looking like a drowned rat and acting like a she's on a bad trip.
Sharing 20-05-2005 20-05-2010 Oliver and Josephine share pizza, drinks, smokes and a lot, lot more when they hook up again.

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