Joshua Bernstein

[Josh Bernstein]

The Basics

Name: Joshua Oren Bernstein
Nicknames: Josh, Slim (Sean)
Age: 59 (April 12, 1960)
Pronouns: he/him
Orientation: Gay
Desired Rank/Job: Mayor (Civil Rights Lawyer)
Powers: Non-Powered
Play By: Jamie Lidell

The Details

Hair Color: Dark Brown
Eye Color: Blue
Height: 5' 11"
Any Piercings? Nope
Any Tattoos? Yes, he has the phrase "אין סומכין על הנס" (don't rely on miracles) tattooed on his left bicep. This is fortunately easy to cover up.
Any Scars? Just the usual scrapes that come from life.
General Appearance: Josh is slightly taller than your average man, with a waist that's spread as age has taken it's toll. He's lacking in the gray hair or too obvious wrinkles that have begun to claim the skin of other men his age and so he's often asked if he's younger; people have assumed he was younger than his age for nearly his entire life. In his youth this meant people didn't always take him seriously, but now that he's approaching his sixth decade he's grateful. His most striking feature are his eyes, a bright blue behind thick glasses he's only worn since he was in his forties. He doesn't wear contacts because they scare him, but wearing his glasses for too long a stretch at a time causes headaches and so if he doesn't need to read anything or go anywhere he sometimes takes them off. 

He doesn't easily grow facial hair, which is a source of discontent. He wants to be able to have a decent beard, but the most he can manage is a slightly scruffy five o clock shadow. The hair on his head has begun to recede although not noticeably unless one is particularly observant. He keeps his hair in a short, conservative cut that hides some of the thinning. 

At work he dresses in suits and tie, respectable enough despite his known liberal side. Even casual his outfits accentuate his nerdiness more than any coolness. He wears button ups more often than t-shirts even in the privacy of his own home, and wears khakis more often than jeans. He likes cardigans in cool weather between the two extremes of summer and winter, and has been known to wear them around his shoulders like some sort of 80s prep school boy. In the winter he wears cabled sweaters and sweater vests along with woolen coats. If he's feeling particularly whimsical he'll add in a rabbit pattern somewhere, and if he's feeling pride in his heritage then the star of David or simply a lot of blue and cream might make an appearance. 

Personality: Josh is an energetic people person with an idealistic streak a mile wide. Encroaching age has slowed him down but only those who knew him in his youth would know that. He takes to people immediately, speeding past all the typical stages of befriending someone to go straight for "friends". A combination of charisma and obliviousness allow him to get away with this more often than is perhaps healthy as he's been known to cross boundaries while socializing, ignoring that people might want him to go away until they give up and just accept his friendship as an inevitability. This isn't really an intentional violation on his part; he simply doesn't pick up on a lot of subtle expressions of either interest or disinterest, and he projects - and as someone who desperately hates being alone, he has difficulty conceiving that anyone has a different preference. 


He has a big heart, generous with the money he's saved up from his decades working with a big firm and generous also with his time. If a friend or loved one needs him he'll be there to lend an ear. His advice might be questionable and his understanding of whatever he's told might be muddled, but he'll be there. Likewise he's there for the fun times, bringing the sunshine and a sense of adventure a mile wide. He's always up for games and activities, whether meeting up at a bar or dressing up or cycling in a group to traveling together to a protest to sailing. Rest assured that whatever the activity he's bringing booze and dessert. He tends to be pretty good at remembering favorite desserts, favorite cookies, favorite booze, and birthdays and might surprise you with some combination of those things. 

One thing that people don't always realize is that Josh suffers from anxiety as well as PTSD. The anxiety has been a long running issue, not social but rather related to his sense of self-worth. He's not necessarily aware of his own failings so much as he pulls minor issues about himself out of proportion. Actual flaws are less likely to be addressed, but that doesn't stop him from crying to himself in private that he's a horrible person. He tries very hard to make up for this perception, to become the good person he wants to be. 


Some of those flaws he doesn't recognize in himself include his inability to perceive subtle gestures such that he's been known to miss other people's language of caring, and doesn't always respond in kind. Those big gestures of his are nice, but sometimes it's the small things that count more. Not for Josh; he simply doesn't realize that this might be a problem. He's also prone to freezing people out when he's feeling bad. This happens more often in the fall now, a result of the PTSD. But therapy has been helping with that. 

Despite his inattentive nature he's actually very smart; it's simply that he is, to put it bluntly, a nerd. He loves to read, particularly non-fiction involving history or other fields related to people and how they interact. He was always a quick study in school and he does well at his job. Politics is in some ways a perfect match for him, the marriage of his effusive personality and his brains. 

Your Vices

Likes:
+Sailing
+C-Span
+NPR
+Rabbits
+Human Rights
+Pimento cheese sandwiches
+Feeling productive (this may or may not include actually being productive)
+Roman history
+Country and alt-folk music
+The idea of the government
+Youtube
+Reading
+Yuengling
+Cycling
+Black coffee
Dislikes:
-Inequality
-Soda
-Misplacing his glasses
-The unfortunate shifting of the Overton window 
-Right wing politics 
-Not being taken seriously 
-How the Left often glosses over anti-Semitism 
-Being too deep in the woods 
-Exercise that isn't cycling 
-Filing paperwork (this is what interns are for, right?)
-Rejection of his friendship 
-Being alone 
-That his trauma still has him nervous around Gestalt twins sometimes 
-When a necessary baking ingredient is MIA 
-When the cake won't set 
Strengths: 
+ Passionate 
+ Energetic 
+ Friendly 
+J.S.D. admitted to state and federal practice
+Baking 
Weaknesses: 
-Still doesn't know how to drive
-Oblivious 
-Overbearing 
-Anxious 
-Hypertension 

Family Ties

Father: Robert "Bobby" Bernstein (deceased)

Mother: Charlotte "Charlie" Bernstein (deceased)
Siblings: Matthew "Matt" Bernstein (62) and Talia Berelowitz nee Bernstein (54)

Spouse/Partner: Dr. Sean Neville

Any Other Important People:
In-laws: Michelle Bernstein (56), David Berelowitz (56)
Nieces and Nephews: Noah Bernstein (25), Jeremiah Bernstein (23)
Abigail Berelowitz (22), Tomer Berelowitz (20), Rivka Berelowitz(19)
Pet rabbit: Mopsy

History

Josh grew up in Manhattan, the middle child of Charlotte and Robert Bernstein. The Bernstein family were loving, although without the massive extended family of some of his peers - his father's family had all been murdered in Germany. Bobby never talked much about them, and all Josh has are a few photographs with names written on the back. As a child he was gregarious and troublesome, prone to wandering all over the apartment complex without supervision. Kindergarten and the birth of his younger sister coincided, upending his comfortable life as the baby of the family. This was an adjustment, and he considered the baby his rival for parental attention. Fortunately he took to school better than he did to being a big brother. He quickly made friends and he enjoyed learning, proudly showing off his knowledge to anyone who would stand still long enough to listen. 

Both Bernstein parents were politically engaged and often brought their children along to protests, and politics were a common topic at dinner. Activism was in his blood, and he began young arguing with classmates who were racist or sexist. While other children could name favorite athletes or actors, Josh could name favorite judges and politicians. That the politicians he favored were often losers, considered too rabidly to the left by the less engaged, didn't discourage him although it did occasionally make him rage internally, or to sympathetic friends. 

In middle school Josh came to the uncomfortable realization he was gay.  This was one area his mother wasn't particularly enlightened on; she had a lot of ideas about gay men and wasn't afraid to speak her mind. Josh opted to say nothing to his family and to bury those feelings. He dated a girl in his class, although their relationship was extremely platonic. She was beautiful and popular, but had no interest in more than hand holding, which suited Josh fine. After graduation he heard she'd come out as lesbian.

College was a life changing experience for him. He'd been accepted into NYU, close enough to home that he could easily visit for Shabbat but not so close that he felt stifled. While there he befriended another gregarious activist, a senior by the name of Greg. Greg dragged him to meet some of the other members of the self proclaimed Radicals. It was here that Josh first fell in love. 

He'd had crushes before, but always on people inaccessible through celebrity. A real person he interacted with was a different matter altogether, and he wasn't entirely sure what to do about it beyond follow Sean around basking in his glory. He wasn't out to his friends, not even with Greg being a loud and proud gay man, but everyone was aware of his crush on Sean. 

More surprising was that Sean reciprocated. After months of tension between the two they kissed, and this acknowledgment of their feelings towards one another lead to a period of intensity that Josh simultaneously misses and has no desire to return to. He and Sean were nigh inseparable, only classes coming between them. Josh had always been an A student, but Sean proved too much of a distraction for him to handle. Studying went by the wayside in favor of making out, and his grades began to suffer accordingly. Josh's emotional health, too, began to decline. He wanted desperately to be with Sean, and at the same time he felt stifled, trapped in a way he hated. He didn't know how to go about fixing this, and after a conversation with his older brother he broke things off with Sean. 

Rebuilding himself after this period of codependency was more challenging than he'd anticipated, particularly as he felt sick with guilt. Worse, he still had feelings for Sean, and as they continued to be friends that flame never flickered out. Instead they wound up in bed together again and again in between relationships. Josh always slunk away in the morning hating himself a little more, but that didn't prevent it from happening. 

Josh poured himself into school and work rather than dating; he only had three boyfriends after Sean, and he kept his emotional distance with all of them, terrified of repeating the suffocating fires that had dominated his time with Sean. And so, of course, those relationships all failed. He told himself that he didn't care, but of course he did. Meanwhile Sean had a constant string of relationships, every single one of whom Josh was painfully jealous of. He hated when Sean wanted him to meet his newest lover, even though he knew he ought to be willing because he and Sean were still best friends. 

But he didn't want to have anything to do with them. He felt excluded from Sean's life when lovers entered the picture, even when that wasn't remotely the case. Sean always made time for him. He just didn't feel it. 

He graduated at 30, single and ready to go to bat for justice as a civil rights lawyer. He worked at a large firm and pulled in a pretty unusually hefty salary given his preferred focus, and eventually in his loneliness he ended up getting a pet rabbit. Pets were better than boyfriends, anyway, and rabbits weren't as demanding as dogs. 

Two decades after graduation he moved to Pilot Ridge. His father had dementia, and his mother was no longer able to care for him alone. The communities in Manhattan were too expensive for what savings they had, and after looking around Josh was able to find one in Burlington, Vermont. This allowed him to finally be closer to Sean than he had been in years. His friend helped him move in, and Josh started up his own firm. It wasn't as busy as working in Manhattan, but it sufficed. He was able to adjust his schedule as necessary for his parents, which was a bonus. 

Shortly after moving he was assaulted by a gestalt pair while taking a walk on his lunch break. Therapy has helped with some of the PTSD, but he doesn't always cope as well as he would like. Sean nursed him through his recovery, a fact he remains grateful for. Then later Sean was in the hospital, although Josh to this day doesn't know exactly what happened that so many of Hammel's faculty were hospitalized at once. 

Things came to a head when Josh's jealousy and heightened emotional response got the best of him, sparking an epic fight between himself and his best friend. But this was apparently what was needed to clear the air; they resolved to try again at romance. Josh moved in with Sean shortly after, and several years later they were married. 

Josh ran a failed campaign for city council, and then was elected to mayor in a turn of fortune that he still can't quite believe. 

Player Information

Name: Oreo
Age: old
Player Pronouns: she/her

How Did You Find Us? been here
Other Characters: Junior Coley, Glenn Traupel, Orlando Pareja, James Fawcett