Johnny is so intriguing. What's his actual story? Is it written out somewhere? Is he mostly just vibes? Really curious <3
hello! I'm sorry it took me an entire week to answer this, life just got really busy all of a sudden haha. but so excited you asked!!
his story isn't written out anywhere yet, although there is a pretty solid overview of him on my artfight profile. this basics are this:
johnny was originally based off the central protagonist (johnny) of the song the devil went down to georgia by the charlie daniels band. I grew up hearing it all the time on the radio as a kid and loved it to death. that was a long time ago, though, and now johnny's story is very different (the fragments that exist, at least)
as it stands currently: johnny was born in '39, grew up in rural part of georgia, and at around age twenty ('59) found himself living in nashville with a small band of friends after making a deal with the devil (what for? that remains to be seen). johnny loves dropping jokes about his deal with the devil, which everyone assumes is just that—simply a dumb joke
he works in a diner during the day to save money, and moonlights as the lead singer of his band (name tbd). in between, he can often be found running odd jobs and errands for people around town or getting kicked out of various honky tonks & dives
the world moves a bit strangely around him. johnny's got a knack of always showing up at the right place at the right time, or having on hand exactly what you need. what's that about?
johnny's biggest op (atm—he has many lol) is a chronically-cynical music journalist named ezra, who recently transferred from NYC to his magazine's satellite office in nashville. ezra is absolutely convinced there is something fishy about johnny (correct!) and is also grappling with his own personal history. but they might have more in common than they suspect...
there is a big, running theme throughout the story of love for humanity, and the way there's something a bit religious in the way that people create—whether that's stories, or art, or bonds, etc
there's a lot more to his story, but i'm going to keep the rest close to my chest for now, in case I ever get the chance to develop it. I'd hate to give away some of the twists ; ) i'm also not sure how far I want to lean into the horror of it all—southern gothic has been a big influence (think ethel cain) and obviously, the story is naturally going to be influenced by southern protestantism even as it parodies it somewhat (the story's central event is making a deal with the devil, after all), but nothing is settled. really, johnny and his story are my love letter to the region I love, not always despite, but in many ways because all of its paradoxes and complexities <3
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