Marlon O'Santos Jr.

## MJ O'Santos

**Marlon O'Santos Jr.**, better known as **MJ**, is a main character of *Gusy* and later an antagonist, serving as the primary antagonist of the episode "A Spark To Pierce The Dark". He is a fictionalized version of his portrayer, Niño O'Santos II.

MJ was a student at Eliza Sutton School, where he was the physical embodiment of toxic masculinity. He was a womanizer and a gymrat, stating that the only reason he worked out regularly was to get the female attention he so strongly craved, as his mother abandoned him when he was younger. He also had charm and a presence so charismatic, it got the attention of gay student Ron Barrington, who began crushing on him, in secret, for the next year.

After a year of hopelessly romanticizing, Ron decided to text MJ anonymously, saying that he wished that he would've become friends with MJ when he had the chance. However, MJ's toxic side would appear here, and he quickly recruited girlfriend Julie Javier and friend Jamie Salvador to text Ron's number back using Jamie's number and send hurtful messages, quickly severing the romantic attraction Ron had for him.

Heartbroken by this, Ron decided to investigate and find the owner of the number, where he found out shortly after that not only was the number owned by Jamie, it was also registered in an OnlyFans account, where it was revealed that Jamie would film videos of her and MJ having sex, which was unknown to Julie. Seeking revenge for the hurtful messages, Ron then acquired Julie's number and sent her the link of the account, before promptly blocking all three of them.

The next day, during the school's Christmas Party, Julie confronted MJ about the OnlyFans account and announced that she was breaking up with him. On the other hand, MJ stated that he never loved her and that he only used her as a way to get to Jamie, who he truly loves. He then storms off and hides in the boys' bathroom, which had faulty electrical wiring and would later start a massive fire, eventually causing his death by carbon monoxide poisoning.

After the blaze was extinguished, MJ remained missing and his death was initially unknown to most of the school community, until Julie was approached by Principal Cathy, who informed Julie about MJ's demise. A funeral was held for MJ a few days later, which staff and students alike attended to pay their last respects.

O'Santos was cast as a series regular and first appeared in the season 4 premiere, where he remained a regular until the season 5 finale. In season 6, O'Santos was demoted to a recurring guest star, appearing in 7 out of the season's 16 total episodes.

## Biography

### Post-Death

#### Season 6

In a flashback, MJ is seen talking to Jolene and Jenna regarding a groupwork. Ron approaches Jenna to talk to her about something else, but MJ smiles at Ron and gives him a high-five before wrapping up his conversation with Jolene and Jenna about the groupwork and leaves. Jenna asks what Ron wanted to talk about, but Ron says that it's not important. This is likely what first triggered Ron's crush on MJ.  ("The Gun Song")

In the present, MJ's funeral is attended by many of the main characters, as well as teachers Brent Elsie, Jhyn Napili, Jessie Garrido, and Jo Delay, while Julie and Jamie are noticeably absent. The priest presiding over the funeral mentions that MJ's cause of death was carbon monoxide poisoning.  ("The Gun Song")

## Notes and Trivia

* MJ is the second overall main character of *Gusy* to die, the first being Connie Soriano. He is also the first male main character to die.
	+ He is the first main character whose death wasn't by suicide, nor was it directly caused by another person.
	+ He is the first main character to die after they have already left the main cast, while credited as a guest star.
	+ He is the only character to die in season 6.
* MJ is the only known fatality of the 2023 Eliza Sutton School fire.
* MJ is one of many main characters who later become an antagonist.
* Ironically, MJ's role in the series was minimal while he was credited as a main cast member, as he was only ever there to provide comic relief. His first and only major storyline occurred once he left the regular cast, particularly in the latter half of season 6.
* MJ originally used an unknown Samsung phone before switching to an iPhone 14 Pro Max sometime before season 6.