EGS: Justin
Apr. 20th, 2014 05:02 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
stoutfellowJustin Tolkiberry (the name is a portmanteau of Tolkien and Roddenberry, says Dan Shive) is one of the more neglected members of the core eight, but he showed up very early in the series and it's his turn.
Justin is gay. He realized this a couple of years ago, after a tentative date with a longtime friend named Melissa. He mentioned this to the wrong person and wound up involuntarily outed. The consequences were initially limited to taunting, until the day he was goaded into throwing the first punch, against a gang of three. He was on the ground being kicked when (of course) Elliot happened along. After driving the bullies away, he treated Justin's injuries, chastised him for getting into the fight in the first place, and invited him to come to the dojo where Elliot trained. There he met Nanase (who, unlike Elliot, goes to Moperville South), built up some strength and fighting ability, and learned some simple illusions. He is no longer troubled by bullies.
Instead, he is troubled by other things: he's in love with Elliot. (It's not clear who else knows this; the only one who definitely knows is Susan.) Elliot being relentlessly straight, Justin knows nothing will come of it, but la coeur a ses raisons.... It seems as if he doesn't know any other gay males. There are quite a few out gays at Moperville North, but the only other out gays at Moperville South (that I know of) are Nanase and Ellen, and nobody messes with them. (It's been suggested that Elliot's presence has made North something of a safe zone.)
In combat, Justin has always seen himself as inferior to Nanase and Elliot; however, there have been two recent incidents in which he's executed a devastatingly effective kick against monsters. (The first incident was caught on TV, and won him, briefly, a small gaggle of female admirers, despite his known orientation.) This caught him (and Elliot, who was on the scene as Cheerleadra) by surprise, as he'd never done anything like it in practice.
There may be more to this. Justin, probably unknowingly, has a Mark - a birthmark-like symbol, granted by an Immortal, providing a conduit for magical energy in a person who has not Awakened. (Apparently, if a person with a Mark Awakens, the Mark vanishes.) The Mark was almost certainly given him by the insane Immortal Pandora, in pursuit of her chaotic and irrational goals. What the effect of the Mark is has not been revealed.
For the most part, Justin has functioned as a subsidiary character. Apart from the incidents above, his most significant interactions have been with Susan - once, at Grace's birthday party, when she heard his confession and reassured him that he was not alone, and later when he helped her pull out of a serious crisis of confidence. However, the current storyline ("Squirrel Prophet") is supposed to focus on him, Tedd, and Grace, so he may finally get his due.
Justin is gay. He realized this a couple of years ago, after a tentative date with a longtime friend named Melissa. He mentioned this to the wrong person and wound up involuntarily outed. The consequences were initially limited to taunting, until the day he was goaded into throwing the first punch, against a gang of three. He was on the ground being kicked when (of course) Elliot happened along. After driving the bullies away, he treated Justin's injuries, chastised him for getting into the fight in the first place, and invited him to come to the dojo where Elliot trained. There he met Nanase (who, unlike Elliot, goes to Moperville South), built up some strength and fighting ability, and learned some simple illusions. He is no longer troubled by bullies.
Instead, he is troubled by other things: he's in love with Elliot. (It's not clear who else knows this; the only one who definitely knows is Susan.) Elliot being relentlessly straight, Justin knows nothing will come of it, but la coeur a ses raisons.... It seems as if he doesn't know any other gay males. There are quite a few out gays at Moperville North, but the only other out gays at Moperville South (that I know of) are Nanase and Ellen, and nobody messes with them. (It's been suggested that Elliot's presence has made North something of a safe zone.)
In combat, Justin has always seen himself as inferior to Nanase and Elliot; however, there have been two recent incidents in which he's executed a devastatingly effective kick against monsters. (The first incident was caught on TV, and won him, briefly, a small gaggle of female admirers, despite his known orientation.) This caught him (and Elliot, who was on the scene as Cheerleadra) by surprise, as he'd never done anything like it in practice.
There may be more to this. Justin, probably unknowingly, has a Mark - a birthmark-like symbol, granted by an Immortal, providing a conduit for magical energy in a person who has not Awakened. (Apparently, if a person with a Mark Awakens, the Mark vanishes.) The Mark was almost certainly given him by the insane Immortal Pandora, in pursuit of her chaotic and irrational goals. What the effect of the Mark is has not been revealed.
For the most part, Justin has functioned as a subsidiary character. Apart from the incidents above, his most significant interactions have been with Susan - once, at Grace's birthday party, when she heard his confession and reassured him that he was not alone, and later when he helped her pull out of a serious crisis of confidence. However, the current storyline ("Squirrel Prophet") is supposed to focus on him, Tedd, and Grace, so he may finally get his due.
