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Justin's interest in hair wasn't a planned aspect of his character. It was one of those things that evolved naturally as a result of certain events in the story, and naturally became a part of his character. The first incident of Justin's hair interest was in this comic: May 2nd, 2003. In that scene, I wanted to make as many jokes about how impractical the "fairy doll" spell truly is, and a joke about taking advantage of Nanase's lack of awareness and inability to defend herself while off somewhere as a fairy was only natural. There are only so many jokes that can be done about that sort of thing that aren't in poor taste, and playing with her hair seemed like an innocent thing a friend might do. It's not the sort of thing Elliot would do, leaving Justin as the only available culprit. Justin's a bit more playful than Elliot, so it fit his character to do something like that. The hair-aspect didn't necessarily fit, but joking around certainly did. The second instance was in this comic: June 10th, 2003. Once again, I wanted to do a joke about Justin doing something to her while Nanase was "away", and once again, the hair fit. At this point, it was recurring enough that it was fair to say that Justin had at least some interest in messing with people's hair. The third instance came during "Painted Black": January 20th, 2004. This time, I decided to embrace Justin's interest. I wanted to have something funny in the background, and I wanted them to be doing something to stay calm. Justin styling hair to remain calm shows that he truly does enjoy it and finds it soothing, so from that point on, Justin's interest in hair was strongly established. By the end of the story arc, I wanted to change Susan's hair and to do a joke calling back to the "AF04" NP comics, so Justin's interest came in handy. Why did I bother to catalog all of this? Because it's a common stereotype for gay men to have various interests in fashion, and I don't want people to think that's the motivation behind Justin's interest. It's a fun aspect of his character that evolved naturally as a result of the story and my sense of humor, and isn't meant to imply anything about homosexuals (or barbers) in general. I don't believe in limiting what a character can or can't do based on stereotypes, either by saying "they HAVE to do this because of this aspect of who they are" or "they CAN'T do this because of this aspect of who they are". Well, in regards to things other than their personalities, anyway; someone not eating a cow because being vegan is an aspect of who they are makes perfect sense, but hopefully what I meant was clear. I make no apologies for Justin having what could be considered by some people to be a stereotypical interest, and I will not apologize for it or change his character. The most I'll do is explain how the character trait came to be. I don't know when I'll do this, or how, but someday, I'll--wait, that's what this entire article was about. Nevermind, the deed is done. Good day to you all. |