Pines Application

[ishisstrength]

PLAYER

NAME: Ami
CONTACT: mizuyoko
OTHER CHARACTERS IN THE PINES: Clary Fray/Fairchild

CHARACTER

NAME: Justine
CANON: The Dresden Files
CANON-POINT: Just after being rescued in Grave Peril

DOSSIER

HISTORY: WIKI HERE

WHAT ARE YOUR CHARACTER'S STRENGTHS?:
Justine has a good intuition when it comes to judging people and is observant of her surroundings. This is the side of herself that Justine considers her true self. Justine's extreme emotions make it difficult for her to be herself.

Her story begins when Thomas saves her from being a puppet of the red court and Bianca. From this point she has to face a dependency and starting a new life. It’s at this time she figures out who she is and who she wants to be. She can only do this when her thoughts are clear.

Justine is selfish by nature. The reason I hadn't put this in as a weakness is because it doesn't seem to affect her as one. She's selfish but she isn’t unkind or mean. She's nice to people and sweet, but the motivations for her politeness are selfish. She doesn't do so out of benevolence, but out of a means by which to establish a bond should she need to use someone to some end later. She does this to Harry constantly throughout the series and, while he’s wary of Justine after a while, he doesn't think poorly of her. She has a way of using people so they don’t realize that's what she's doing. It all seems accidental. She'll keep fighting at others sides or rush in to help people but she'll also pick the right moment to duck out and keep herself or Thomas safe. In the way that it's presented it's more of a strength than a weakness.

Justine is able to see past peoples masks and into who they truly are. She has been able to reliably use her intuition to quickly get a sense of how people will act in a given scenario and is able to take risks on these judgements. She uses everything she has to her advantage; her beauty and her mind. She uses this talent to navigate the social circles of the Courts. She is able to use her mind as a weapon, appearing weak, frail and underestimated. The best way to explain this is with an example. In White Night, Justine leads Harry to a good hiding place during the White Court Conclave. At the time she seems disconnected. It’s only later in the book that Thomas tells Harry that she’s working with Lara, his sister, to get small bits of information about the white courts plans to Thomas and later to Harry. The reason that she seems odd and disconnected at the cave is because she's pretending to be a puppet. She isn’t the only good liar and her lies aren’t infallible but she knows how to appear so that she’s trusted or disregarded.

Justine refuses to see the world with rose colored glasses. She is open-minded when facing new people and new challenges. She is very understanding and accepting of her situation with Thomas. The situation is that she's seen in the eyes of the court and those around her as food. Even Harry claims that Thomas is just using her but Justine doesn't see it that way. If Thomas wanted too he could control Justine. It's part of his skills as a white court vampire but he doesn’t. Its small things like this that are not apparent to those looking at her situation from the out side. She is food and considered property, but there is more to it than that.

Justine is very accepting of what Thomas is able to offer her. What's more, she's happy and at times eager to feed him in return. Thomas wrestles with his demon, hates it and wants to protect Justine from it; however, the hungrier he gets, the less he’s able to control his demon. Justine will see this and offer herself to him to ease his torment in a similar way that feeding on her eases her own. In that, they have a symbiotic relationship but the situation isn't ideal since the act of Thomas feeding on Justine develops a psychological addiction.

WHAT ARE YOUR CHARACTER'S WEAKNESSES?:
Outside of the presence of Thomas, or another of the white court, Justine’s mood swings and her inability to control her emotions will eventually overwhelm her. Extreme emotional outbursts wear at her mind and can end in her passing out or becoming too mentally exhausted to feel. She can be violent during these times, and will lash out at those close to her. She is feral and intense and while the extreme state will pass with time she has been known to resort to drugs to cope with them. Even with Thomas and her other forms of self-medication Justine sometimes struggles with control over her emotions.

When Justine's mind is clear, she’s very good at controlling her thoughts and functioning in a normal capacity; however, she continues to face this illness which at times defeats her control. Her near-constant control of her logical thoughts is due to her vigilance, an effort to control her emotions, though, while her control is greater than the average person's it sometimes isn’t enough and she slips. It’s sort of like holding your breath. She might be able to hold it longer, but once she needs air, she still needs to rise to the surface to breathe.

Note: While at the beginning of canon she depends completely on Thomas, later in the canon she takes regular medication which helps her function. She will be coming in from an earlier canon point and this dependency on Thomas will become a weakness, with or without a Thomas in game. She finds it easy to be strong for him but from her current canon point she also uses him as a crutch.

Justine’s condition is indicated in the canon material as a mental disorder though a specific type isn’t mentioned. When Thomas sees Justine in Side Job’s she’s being used as Lara’s messenger and is perfectly articulate without the effect of Thomas calming her. It’s implied that she’s taken medication and that her condition is being taken care of medically at that point, per Lara’s promise to Thomas to keep Justine safe.

The mental disorder isn’t classified in the story, however, after researching her behavior through the books as well as her triggers it appears to be Borderline Personality Disorder. The clinic definition is "a serious mental disorder marked by a pattern of ongoing instability in moods, behavior, self-image, and functioning. These experiences often result in impulsive actions and unstable relationships. A person with BPD may experience intense episodes of anger, depression, and anxiety that may last from only a few hours to days." source. This is seen in a few clear cases. Jim Butcher states that Justine appears like an animal when Harry goes to save her. At this point she’s manacled to the floor and she’s described as having ‘ranting emotions’. Late, when Justine describes her relationship with Thomas to Harry she says that Thomas ‘makes it quieter’. This implies that feeding has the same affect of mental drugs.

At her current canon point she is not medicated. In the test drive I specifically have her lashing out when she wakes up, in a panic, and then the nurses giving her something to calm her down. I had the staff at the hospital prescribe her medication. If left unchecked in game Justine will experience harsh mood swings with different triggers setting her off; waking up in a hospital with no memory is one example. These triggers with start as significant events but slowly become smaller and smaller instances until she can’t control her emotions at all.

In Side Job’s, she is taking medication. This medication is given to her daily by Lara. It forces her, in a way, to return back to Lara at the white court and is a way that the white court controls Justine. Justine wants to feel normal. It’s evident when she sees Thomas again that she’s more confident and contained than before. While she is in love with Thomas she doesn’t throw herself at him but keeps things professional, doing her job first.

The reason that one person can help Justine in early canon is directly tied to what Thomas is. He has two parts of himself and one of those parts is the demon that makes him a white court vampire. It’s described in one of the books when he’s looking through a mirror with himself on one side and the demon on the other. This demon is also what makes him beautiful and attract both sexes like he’s some sort of drug. More details on Thomas’s demon and the white court vampires are located here as well as how it works on quieting Justine’s emotions. It is a release, like going for a run after a stressful day, in this case Justine releases these emotions to Thomas through sex and his demon feeds off of them. What the demon eats is described in the books as a 'cup' that he drinks from. When Thomas is a hair dresser he describes it as taking sips but this 'cup' is naturally refilled in the average person.

WHAT EVENTS OR CIRCUMSTANCES IN YOUR CHARACTER'S PAST HAVE IMPACTED THEM THE MOST?: When Bianca, the head of the red court vampires in Chicago, wanted to make Justine one of her whores. Thomas stepped in and claimed Justine as property of the white court vampires. While this action might seem selfish, he protected Justine and she sees it as a debt. This provided her with the motivation to face her mental handicaps in order for her to become useful to Thomas and repay her debt.

There was a lot of uncertainty for Justine at first. There wasn’t anything she could do about the situation but in it she found the calm of the white court vampires. Despite the fact that Thomas is dislike within the white court, they accepted Justine as theirs because they wanted to feed off her emotions. This was the first time that Justine began to feel normal and like herself because she didn’t have the constant battle going on in her mind. This clarity helped her find who she was and because of that she didn’t think she could ever repay Thomas back. He most likely didn’t understand the full extent to his impact at the time but, as Justine explains to Harry, there is so much more to their situation. She chooses to stand by him and not just for the demon inside of him. She doesn’t expect Harry or anyone to understand and she doesn’t force him too but she’s happy with her life as it is because of this moment.

WHAT MOTIVATES YOUR CHARACTER?: Thomas. At first it’s because she feels as if she owes him. Over time, Justine begins to understand Thomas and she begins to fall in love with him.

Throughout Justine’s development, her motivation is always Thomas. When she isn’t acting in his interests, Justine can be extremely selfish. As she will act in a manner to maintain her mood and her health. She is able to function on her own, make her own decisions but she’ll often have him in the back of her mind. Justine thinks ahead, like with any plan, to see what might best further her own situation, as well as Thomas’. She doesn’t need to be near him and doesn’t pine after him. He makes her strong and despite the complicated nature of their relationship.

Their relationship takes a lot of turns, starting out as a crutch for Justine and then turning into a union of support, respect, trust and affection. At her current canon point her relationship with Thomas doesn’t appear healthy. However they have a lot of respect for each other and it is stated by the author in a panel interview that after everything they’ve been through they are both very happy. Of course the serious is at book 14 and Justine in this context is being taken from book 3. Thomas is a little bit of a nerd. He’s mentioned as being a hard core Buffy fan as well as playing D&D and loving Lord of the Rings. It’s implied, specifically in Changes just before Thomas helps Harry that he’s shared these parts of himself with Justine. Their relationship isn’t just feeding or property but they’re friends too. They share interests and Thomas is a goof ball who makes her laugh.

It’s shown that later in canon she is able to grow past her dependency on him. When Justine is saved by Thomas she is very young, it’s mentioned that she’s in her teens but an exact age is never given, I’ve come to the conclusion that; given her age now, how long she’s been with Thomas and how she is described in canon, she had been 16 when Thomas saved her and she’s about 24 at her current canon point in Grave Peril. This is 8 years of her coming to rely on Thomas. The part that changes this and helps her develop is when Thomas almost kills her. This wasn’t mentioned in the application because it hasn’t yet happened.

This event occurs because Thomas is injured and unable to control his demon. Then Lara, his sister, feeds Justine to him. Thomas manages to stop the starving demon inside of him but Justine becomes physically crippled and for a few months she’s confined to a wheelchair. At this point Justine is forced to start over, Thomas is kicked out of the white court and they are separated. She’s able to develop differently from this point and more of her base personality shines through. She doesn’t stop loving Thomas but she’s herself with her own wants and desires. It’s after this point that she’s able to separate her dependence on him for her love for him. It shows that it’s possible and given how Pines Memories can affect things, I plan to use this possibility and character trait when creating this alternate persona.

WHAT IMPRESSION DO OTHERS TEND TO HAVE OF YOUR CHARACTER?: Justine tries to be nice and sweet. It's this way that she builds ties and networks that she can use to her advantage.

She relay's on the compassion of others but also rumors and information that she’s gathered. For example, Harry Dresden is known for helping women and children above all else. She uses his very nature, something she does with non-humans as well, having a general understanding of the supernatural world. This attitude also leads to her being underestimated and at times forgotten about. Thomas uses this ability of hers to spy on the other white court vampires, as they only see Justine as food, or as seen later in canon, clueless and nonthreatening.

It is clear to those who get to know Justine that she is always trying her best. She's trying to be herself, fight her mental disability and figure who where she stands in the world. She knows what she wants, which is always for Thomas to be happy, but she has to figure out how to get there.

IN WHAT WAYS DOES THAT IMPRESSION DIFFER FROM WHO YOUR CHARACTER REALLY IS?: Justine is significantly more aware and intelligent than the impression she chooses to give people. In reality she's smart and interested in many different topics. This is noticeable around Thomas who is more flamboyant with his interests. It's hard for Justine to really open up and trust people which is why she will usually appear as sweet to those who just meet her.

Justine doesn't want the world to know about her mental illness. She thinks that people will use her weaknesses against her. The white court does this often, using Justine as a weapon against Thomas or as a spy. Lara does this later in the stories to get Thomas to do what she wants. It's most clearly demonstrated in Side Jobs where Lara forces Thomas on a mission for the white court, using Justine as the messenger. This is her biggest secret and a part of her personality she tries to keep hidden.

HOW DOES YOUR CHARACTER HANDLE CRISIS OR ADVERSITY?: How she handles crisis really depends on the situation. She is logical and will try to think of the best way to handle a situation however Justine can only do this to a point. She can be quick to assess the situation and see each part of it like it's a puzzle that needs to be pieced together. This means thinking quickly and acting on her plan. When there is a crisis that she can't handle Justine will experiance harsh mood swings due to her mental illness.

For example, when attending the red court’s party she notices when the human guests begin to become more promiscuous and enthralled. As the party’s mood changes she realizes that herself and a few other guest will very nearly be trapped by the schemes of the red court’s mistress, Bianca. While Thomas is presenting the white court’s gift to Bianca, Justine stands next to Harry and convinces him to let her and Thomas escape with him. She does this without Thomas knowing and without his permission. Justine realizes that this is the best way for the pair of them to make their exit without insulting the red court or implicating the white court. Later in this same book she's kidnapped by the red court, as her plan hadn't gone perfectly, and this is when her mental illness is first introduced. When Harry rescues Justine he describes her as feral and she claws at his face.

These are two opposite reactions to a problem. While she tries to keep her thoughts straight, Justine can only do this for so long. Once she reaches the point where she can't keep her composure it takes someone else to bring her back.

WHICH 5 THINGS WILL YOUR CHARACTER REMEMBER UPON ARRIVAL, AND WHY DID YOU CHOOSE THEM?:
The three vampire courts: red, black and white.
She was rescued by a man who she can't remember the name of
The man who rescued her is her family
She's supposed to keep the supernatural world a secret
She was leaving a costume party

These are all selected in order to give her a foundation as well as cause to move forward. Knowing that there is more to the world and that she shouldn't talk about it will entice her to make alliances she might not otherwise make. Leaving the costume party is a detail that will help ground her in Wayward Pines and mess with her. The search for the stranger she remembers will keep her going and if a Thomas does come into the game it will also have the same effect. Due to her close relationship with that character I do plan to have open communication with any Thomas who applies and adjust her memories such that we can both have fun. That is why they are kept vague but also specific in some regards.

IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE YOU FEEL WE NEED TO KNOW ABOUT YOUR CHARACTER?: Nope.


SKILLS, ABILITIES, & PHYSICAL WEAKNESSES: Justine is 100% human and has all human limitations and weaknesses.

In an effort to be more useful to Thomas, and to keep him safe from the vultures who want him gone from various courts, not just his own, Justine has learned to read lips, and to see and retain subtle information to be gathered by working a room at a party and does so silently by hiding in plain sight, using a drugged-up, hazy, and oblivious demeanor to appear unobtrusive.

SKILLS
First-Aid
Crochet
Moderate skill level with swords.

INVENTORY: Only what she's wearing.

SAMPLES

PROSE-HEAVY: COS Game Thread - Rated R towards it's end.
DIALOGUE-HEAVY: Pines Test Drive - Mostly text threads.