June Hovick

June Hovick is a red-band Beta with the power to create and control pyrokinetic animals. A curvy girl with a sharp mind and a tendency to mouth off, her abilities manifested later than most. The Academy has given her an opportunity for a fresh start - a chance to leave the mean, self-loathing "Old June" behind and to become a person that she likes. For the third block of training, she has been partnered with Ernest Wright, with whom she has developed a close relationship.
==Biography==
===Early life===
June tested positive as a poster when she was born, but her mother Marcy never told June or her father, having decided that it was a discussion that they could have after June started developing powers. When June passed the age of thirteen without showing any obvious sign of posthuman abilities, Marcy thought she was out of the woods - until a power outage during a storm caused June to panic and, wishing for some light, manifest a firefly made out of fire.Origins, Issue #2, p. 81
Before she came to Maillardet's Academy, June was not at ease with herself or her body. She wore too-big clothes to hide her curvy figure and used her biting sarcasm to drive others away. She was unhappy and resentful of the world at large.Things To Know About June Hovick She attended a number of exclusive boarding schools, and was expelled from at least one.Origins, Issue #7, p. 316
After June's powers manifested, Marcy applied for her to be accepted into Maillardet's, the premiere training academy for posthumans in the United States. Money was not an issue for Marcy, but what cemented June's placement was her mother's interview with Amira bint Balqis. After describing June's personality flaws and past boarding school exploits in detail, Marcy took Amira's hand and pleaded with her to accept June, if she thought the school could help: "Look, my Junie has been hell on wheels since day one, but she’s not a bad kid. She’s my kid, and it kind of kills me to see her like this. ... Please. Maybe she wouldn’t be so angry if she felt normal."Origins, Issue #7, p. 317
===At the Academy===
At fifteen, June is a year older than most of the other third-block students. She arrived in Foundation determined to leave trouble-making "Old June" behind and start over as a "New June" she could be proud to be. On the campus tour, she meets fellow new student Maks Petrov, and makes a strong impression on legacy poster and tour leader Ernest Wright when she refuses to hand over her candy bar, challenging him to fight her for it.Origins, Issue #1, p. 15 This leads Ernest to ask his father, the Commander, to pull some strings with the board, in order to have him partnered with June for the third block.Origins, Issue #1, pp. 21-22
==Personality==
Before she came to the Academy, June was not comfortable with herself or her body. She wore too-big clothes to hide her ample curves, and used her biting words to drive people away, having not yet mastered the "fine line between sarcastic wit and reflexive meanness". She didn't like the person she was, but she didn't want to change herself to appease others, either.
Since discovering her posterpowers and being accepted into Maillardet's, June's taken the opportunity to make a fresh start and redefine herself. She wanted to become "a new June. A June that wasn't as mean or bitter. A June that liked herself. A June that was a superhero."
June enjoys fashion design, and makes from scratch most of the burlesque-inspired outfits she wears. This, combined with her fondness of conjuring flaming tigers, led her to adopt the moniker of Ringmaster. She taught herself to sew fairly young, mostly because her body started developing early and she wanted to wear nice things that made her feel confident out of her figure. Over time, this grew into a passion for costume design, which she takes as a year-long elective at the Academy. She ends up designing costumes not only for herself, but for most of the people she likes.quipquipquip: "I'm hoping to cosplay June..."
In addition to fashion, June's interests include Russian literature, military history and debate.
June is extremely intelligent, with a mind for strategy — the Queen regards her as a strategic genius.Origins, Issue #7, p. 318
She has a talent for picking fights. Being "cute and chubby", she is frequently underestimated; June counters this by "aggressively [topping] everyone and everything" to demonstrate that she isn't one to cross.quipquipquip: "I've been thinking about June's costume..." She has never been a fan of the social jockeying that goes on in boarding schools, finding their labeling limiting and pedantic: "If she has to get involved in a social network, she dominates it and goes home."
==Physical appearance==
June is 5'5",[http://quipquipquip.tumblr.com/post/49889039448/hey-kitty-i-know-youre-probably-swamped-on-asks-but quipquipquip: "How tall are the kids?" with brown hair and blue eyes. She is large and curvy, with an "exaggerated hourglass figure and soft belly", although she has gained some tone and strength since starting at the Academy.quipquipquip: "Trying not to gush but I also like how June didn't magically lose all her weight in one year." She makes most of her own clothing, wearing outfits that flatter her body shape.Origins, Issue #2, p. 72 Her style is influenced by burlesque and vintage fashion. She is one of the only students at the Academy who refuses to stick to the dress code: while most of the others wear training duds and t-shirts with their names printed on the back, June can almost always be found in heels, fashionable clothing and red lipstick.Grinder
One of the main problems June has encountered in designing costumes for herself is the paucity of attractive, fireproof fabrics. Until she finds a good alternative, she has settled for avoiding long-sleeved shirts, since the fire she creates comes from her hands.quipquipquip: "How do June's clothes not catch on fire?" She has multiple costumes, all of which tend to be red and gold, fiery, 40s or 50s-inspired, and circus ringmaster-themed.quipquipquip: "Does June have a costume that's a little less lingerie like?"
==Powers and abilities==
June has the power to conjure and control animals made entirely of fire. These creations have limited sentience, and look and behave like the animals they resemble. June's mental state during the act of making each construct determines its personality.quipquipquip: "Will there be any pyrokinetic characters?"
To activate her powers, June needs to feel warm, and to concentrate on that feeling of warmth until she can shape it to her will. A sense of heat pools in her chest, and she pushes it down into her hands, causing fire to flow from her fingertips. By picturing an animal and focusing on the features that define it, she is able to form fiery animal constructs. The most difficult part is to keep herself calm, to prevent volatile emotions from leaking into her animal creations.Origins, Issue #3, p. 126
When her powers are active, June can touch any heat source below 2500° Fahrenheit without any ill effects. She is susceptible to burns when her powers are inactive, although she is more comfortable in heat than most baseliners.quipquipquip: "Can June touch any fire without getting hurt?"
June knows some limited Russian (mostly curse words), because "she wanted to be able to wallow properly in her favorite depressing Russian literature."quipquipquip: "Does Maks know any Russian?"
==Relationships==
===Ernest Wright===
June was initially displeased at being paired with Ernest, whose niceness she believed had to be at least mostly act. He was the son of a living legend, and June was sure that he had long ago been coached in maintaining his squeaky-clean public image.Origins, Issue #2, p. 76 As she got to know him, however, she realized that there was no ulterior motive to his kindness, and that in fact Ernest was "one of the most painfully genuine people she'd ever met".Origins, Issue #4, pp. 188-189 Over the course of their first year together, their partnership develops into a real friendship and a budding attraction. The two finally start dating around Christmas.Origins, Issue #7, p. 362
June sees flashes of a true hero in Ernest, recognizing in him a capacity to inspire others. However, she also sees that he is going to need help to get there or, shy and sheltered as he is, the real world will eat him alive.Origins, Issue #7, p. 319Origins, Issue #3, p. 134 When the Queen offers to tutor June privately, preparing her to lead and guide Ernest as the Queen herself has done for the Commander, June readily accepts, with Ernest's enthusiastic blessing.Origins, Issue #7, p. 376
===Maks Petrov===
June's first impression of Maks is a poor one; she believes he is trying to chat her up and takes his story of fending off a tiger attack at the circus as an attempt at showing off his machismo. She quickly finds she is mistaken — in fact, the tiger episode is not something Maks is proud of at all — and she is forced to reassess her opinion of him.Origins, Issue #3, p. 138
As they see more of each other, the two develop a strong rapport. Maks loves "tickling the hornet's nest" that is June, and June enjoys ragging on him in return (which is, Ernest observes, her way of expressing affection).Origins, Issue #5, p. 197 By the end of their first year at the Academy, they are close friends.
===Marcy Hovick===
June and her mother are such polar opposites in terms of personality and interests that they often struggle to understand each other. Marcy genuinely cares for her daughter and wants her to be happy, but June feels that they get along with each other best when there is a couple of hundred miles between them.Origins, Issue #7, p. 325 June describes their relationship as being "built on mild resentment, mutual disappointment, and the unfortunate fact that once upon a time, I fell out of Marcy’s vagina."Origins, Issue #7, p. 316
===Amira bint Balqis===
==Trivia==
*June has severe pollen allergies.Origins, Issue #1
*Marcy, who in June's words "worships at the altar of High Art", named her Juniper after Leonardo da Vinci's Ginevra de' Benci. June hates being called by her full name - Ernest observes that she reacts to it "the way a bull [responds] to the color red". She prefers to be called June, as one of her inspirations, Gypsy Rose Lee, originally went by the name June Hovick.Origins, Issue #7, p. 314
*June is Jewish, albeit non-practising.quipquipquip: "Are there any Jewish characters?
*June's bra size is 38 DDD.quipquipquip: "What size bra does June wear?"
*Had Ernest not pulled strings to be made June's partner, she would have ended up with Bice Cortadino. This would most likely have ended badly as "Bee would have brought out June's mean, competitive side like none other".quipquipquip: "So if Ernest had never swapped partners, who would June have ended up with?
*June's favorite color is red.quiqpquipquip: "What are the kids' favorite colors?"
*June is a terrible cook; she burns everything even when she doesn't mean to. When Ernest tried to teach her how to make pancakes, the Wright house smelled like smoke for a week.quipquipquip: "June: cooking"
*June lost her virginity when she was fourteen: "She was tired of hearing how nobody would ever want to be with her because she was fat, so she decided to have evidence to the contrary." To her, the most important thing was that she was the one that was in control of the situation. The experience itself wasn't great, and she took the lack of sparks as evidence that love does not exist, a conclusion she is now considering revising.quipquipquip: "June: sex"
*If June were at Hogwarts, she'd be a Slytherin.quipquipquip: "Hogwarts houses"
==Appearances==
*Origins (POV character)
*Grinder
*Target Practice
==References==
Category:Characters
Category:Red-bands
Category:Betas
Category:Origins characters
Category:Grinder characters