One of the many interpretations of Jenny Everywhere
"The character of Jenny Everywhere is available for use by anyone, with only one condition. This paragraph must be included in any publication involving Jenny Everywhere, in order that others may use this property as they wish. All rights reversed."
— The license for Jenny Everywhere
Jenny Everywhere
is the world's first open-source fictional character. Although she appears mainly in webcomics, Jenny is freely available for use in other media, and must remain so.
Jenny has no official Web site (the closest thing would be The Shifter Archive), publication or Back Story. Jenny has the power to shift between parallel universes, or she exists in every universe, or both. Her appearance varies, but the creator has this as a general description which writers honor to varying degrees:
She has short, dark hair. She usually wears aviation goggles on top of her head and a scarf around her neck. Otherwise, she dresses in comfortable clothes. She is average size and has a good body image. She has loads of confidence and charisma. She appears to be Asian or Native American. She has a ready smile.
Additionally, her common depiction by writers has her as enthusiastic, kind, generally angst-free, and eager for adventure and toast.
Jenny was created by Canadian cartoonist Steven Wintle on the loosely Grant Morrison-centric counterculture forum Barbelith, where she appeared in a bunch of comics. Eventually interest in her died out there, but she's gone on to appear in many, many other webcomics and stories.
This character has appeared in the following works:
- Hottie 5: Fifty Shades of Epic
- Atop the Fourth Wall: Jenny makes a cameo as one of the contestants in the 1049th Contest of Champions same as Linkara. Though, all we've seen of her so far is her name climbing through the brackets.
- Arthur, King of Time and Space here.
- The Bare Pit
- Change Of Plans
- The Crossoverlord
- Crossoverkill
- Crowns of the Kingdom
- The Easy Breather
- The Gods Are Bastards
- A number of stories on Ficly
- Heroes Alliance
- I.M. Hip
- The Infinite Loops
- Kazas Mate Gwenna: Shows up to meet her contractual obligations, then leaves before she'd have to join the main cast.
- Left Beyond in which she ends up helping keep Cendrillon safe through the Tribulation and, after another dimensional jaunt that lands her 900 years later in that timeline, being mistaken for an avatar of the goddess Hekate.
- Life and Death
- Lightning Made of Owls here.
- Scandal Sheet
- Shelterville Shuffle: Vouches for the wayward tricksters to the Shelterville Sheriff, then, shows up later to give them a ride out of town.
- Super Milestone Wars 2
- The ISOT'd House: One Woman Goes from 2012 to 1952: And her Villainous Counterpart, as well.
- Times Like This: Two appearances:
- She's at a nightclub talking trash about her ex-boyfriend... a guy who plans to exact revenge for the breakup by making a song out of her phone number. Yes, she's that Jenny.
- She's now got a revenue stream, thanks to Cassie Retconing her into becoming one of the founders of Jenn-Air.
- She's at a nightclub
- Touhou Nekokayou: Scarlet Weather Archive in Japanese Red
- Union of Heroes
- Jenny Everywhere's Infinite: Quark Time
- The Genesis of Jenny Everywhere, an (as yet unfinished) attempt at creating a backstory for one incarnation of Jenny.
- Shattered Skies: The Morning Lights : Jenny makes a cameo appearance in "The Non-Canonical Lunatic Crack Chapter", alongside many other Dimensional Travelers.
Tropes:
- Alternate Self: Has an infinite number of them in every possible reality. These can take on many different forms (see below).
- Author Appeal: Naturally, different versions of Jenny tend to reflect their interests. In some of the Barbelith stories, she spent a lot of time clubbing and obsessing over music. In the nudist webcomic Loxie and Zoot/The Bare Pit, she got naked (thankfully that was done by someone who can actually draw). In 'The Easy Breather, she inspires Samantha by showing her a DVD.
- Ambiguously Brown: Her creator merely says that "she appears to be Asian or Native American."
- Depending on the Writer:
- Actively encouraged, the nature of Jenny's character means that her various incarnations often vary wildly between stories, though her base personality stays generally true to the brief, by and large. This even goes for the nature of her powers.
- Her Evil Counterpart, Jenny Nowhere, also an open source character, is even more so. The Shifter Archive FAQ suggests that "in each universe there's a Jenny Everywhere who's recognizably Jenny Everywhere in name, character and appearance... and somewhere in each universe there's a Jenny Nowhere who's recognizably Jenny Nowhere In Name Only."
- The same can be said for her clone Jenny Somewhere, also open source. Her origins and who created her are intentionally vague according to Jennyeverywhere.net, "Though, who did this and why matters little, in terms of the character herself. She does have powers similar to Jenny Everywhere, but absolutely no control over them."
- Depending on the Artist: As above, Jenny's specific appearance is deliberately vague so as to give freedom to the creators.
- Dimensional Traveler: She has the ability to "shift" between universes, hence her nickname.
- Flash Sideways: Her ability to share thoughts and memories with her alternate selves.
- Goggles Do Nothing: One story hints that Jenny inherited them from her mother, who was an aviator.
- Interpretative Character: Pretty much her entire shtick.
- Manic Pixie Dream Girl: Jenny verges on this sometimes.
- Meaningful Name: She is supposed to exist in all possible realities, and is thus pretty much "everywhere". Also her power to "shift" between realities gives her the title/nickname "The Shifter".
- Public-Domain Character: Specifically created for this very purpose.
- Scarf Of Asskicking: Along with the goggles, it's a part of her stock outfit
- Trademark Favorite Food: Toast
- Walking the Earth: Walking The Multiverse...
