Jean Kirstien (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
angewiesen) wrote2019-10-12 05:02 pm
angewiesen) wrote2019-10-12 05:02 pm
Entry tags:
Victory Road App
Player
Name: Otter
E-mail: themodestotter(at)gmail(dot)com
Preferred Contact: Discord: #7416 themodestotter
Timezone: US Central
Current Characters in Victory Road: Kazuki Hihara @forsaintcecilia
Character
Name: Jean Kirstein
Series: Attack on Titan
Timeline: Taken shortly before the Raid on Libero begins.
Canon Resource Links: Jean’s page on the Attack on Titan Wikia.
Original Character Background: N/A
Personality: Once in an interview, the author of Attack on Titan said that Jean was his favorite character, and it shows in canon. Out of the entire cast, Jean is undeniably the most dynamic. He is the everyman; the observes the world around him from the point of view of someone who lies outside of the extraordinary, and through his own conclusions rises to the call, growing and developing from a child to a man. And we get to see it all happen firsthand.
Jean is introduced to the narrative almost as an antagonist. During the first role call for the 104th cadets’ squad, he makes his aims blatantly clear: He’s going to graduate in the top ten of the class and join the Military Police, a luxurious position in a section of the military that is well known for its corruption. Graduating in the top ten is no mean feat, it requires diligence and hard work on top of aptitude, but his confidence never wavers. When his face is literally smashed into the dirt by the instructor, he spits the gravel out from in-between his teeth and gets right back up again.
During the very early parts of canon, he stands as an obvious foil to Eren, Mikasa, and Armin. He is arrogant, rude, and has no qualms about his own unsavory aspirations. He is selfish to the point of refusing to help others during training, and constantly preens over his own talents. He makes it clear he thinks all the cadets who are aiming to join the Recon Corps are crazy, and that the “normal” thing to do is to stay as far away from the front lines, and Titans, as possible. Throughout their training, he and Eren violently butt heads as their ideals clash. Neither of them back down… That is, until they’re both forced to learn harsh lessons.
Trost is the major turning point for Jean’s character. When Wall Rose is breached and the cadet squad is forced into premature battle, Jean curses his luck. If things had held together just one day more, he would have been able to join the Police, and avoid real battle altogether. Eren confronts him for his cowardice, and Jean, for the first time, has no sharp-witted retort for him.
Despite his claims of wanting an easy life, Jean performs admirably on the battlefield. His skill as a top ten graduate can’t be denied. When the remnants of the cadets gather together, low on supplies and lower on spirits, he picks up on a cue from Mikasa and rallies the troops to make a Hail Mary for the storehouse. Under his first command, several soldiers die. He feels the weight of sacrifice for the first time, but when he confesses regret to his friend, Marco tells him that his point of view is valuable, because he knows what it’s like to be weak and afraid, and that makes him a good leader.
After the raid ends, and Jean sees firsthand how courage and determination can actually turn the tides, he experiences a life changing loss. While cleaning up the carnage of the aftermath, Jean finds Marco dead, half eaten by a Titan. He had no idea that he had died, and in such a horrific fashion.
With his only real friend, perhaps the only person that saw any good in him gone, Jean had to face uncomfortable truths about the life he had chosen for himself. Mostly, that Eren was right; that as long as the strong, talented recruits continued to turn away from the front lines, tragedies like the one he just felt would only continue to happen. In response, he shocks everyone (himself included) by deciding to join the Recon Corps.
This is where his growth truly begins. Jean never truly loses his biting tone and skeptical nature, but these traits become strengths instead of faults as he employs them in a more productive manner. Because he never trusts anything at first glance, he often sees truths otherwise hidden, and his harshness motivates others to do their best, even if it is sometimes out of spite. Marco’s old observation holds true; Jean is a good leader because his is, compared to the people that surround him, average. He has a good sense for motivating others by doing what he thinks would motivate himself. He has an eye for evaluating both allies and enemies and employing their strengths appropriately.
During the Female Titan arc, he proves himself to be a dutiful soldier as he obeys all his commands, even when he realizes that there’s was element to the operation that his higher ups were keeping from him. He gets his first taste of betrayal when he finds out that the Annie was the Female Titan, and reacts with anger, followed by bitter resignation. He’s mainly out of the spotlight during the Clash of the Titans arc, but during the final chase after Reiner, he shows pain at once again being betrayed by people he trusted with his life.
His humanity takes center stage during the Uprising Arc, as he finds he has no stomach for taking human lives. When held at gunpoint, he hesitates, and nearly gets himself killed for it. He declares later that he’ll never hesitate like that again, but throughout the series, he continues to view human death as a final option, not a first reaction.
When forced to face Reiner and Bertholt again during Return to Shiganshina, Connie and Sasha show hesitation in battle, and grief at having to kill those they once trusted, Jean stands firm and keeps the mission going. He takes command when Armin hesitates and keep everyone alive long enough for him to think of a new plan. Yet, when Reiner is in their grasp, Jean keeps Hange from killing him outright, speculating that they can use him to revive someone with the Titan Serum and obtain the Armored Titan. But when Reiner gets away with Pieck and Zeke, he beats himself up for making such a critical mistake out of what he reveals through his actions to be sentimentality.
He doesn’t get much screen time during the timeskip between the Return to Shiganshina Arc and the Marley Arc. His rivalry with Eren stays strong, and his prickly nature still shows through, but he also shows maturity and responsibility through various actions. One that comes to mind is his offer (which is more like a threat) to take Eren’s Titan after he dies, even though he knows that Shifters bear a curse that causes them to die after 13 years.
And while this is technically after the point I’m taking him from, during the Raid on Libero, he prioritizes minimizing collateral damage, and becomes extremely upset with Eren for putting so many innocent civilians in danger. He’s devastated when Sasha dies, yet he shows mercy and compassion towards her killer, Gabi, by purposefully missing a shot to kill her when he has the chance.
In summary: Slowly, he evolves into a more admirable person, and his explosive attitude cools down over with time. He rises in the ranks and becomes a commanding officer in the Corps. He becomes respected and in turn is more respectful of others. But he never loses his Jean-ness, his slightly wild nature, his sharp tongue and crass words. He just learns how to apply them more selectively, and productively. His humanity stays strong despite the trials he’s put through, and he never becomes cold or loses heart.
Pokémon Information
Affiliation: Trainer
Starter: Blitzle
Password: Atomic Fireball
Samples
RP Sample: Here is one outside of the VR canon, but it’s a bit past the required freshness, so here’s another I did outside the Test Drive.
Victory Road Sample: Here’s the whole shebang I did at the Test Drive!
Name: Otter
E-mail: themodestotter(at)gmail(dot)com
Preferred Contact: Discord: #7416 themodestotter
Timezone: US Central
Current Characters in Victory Road: Kazuki Hihara @
forsaintceciliaCharacter
Name: Jean Kirstein
Series: Attack on Titan
Timeline: Taken shortly before the Raid on Libero begins.
Canon Resource Links: Jean’s page on the Attack on Titan Wikia.
Original Character Background: N/A
Personality: Once in an interview, the author of Attack on Titan said that Jean was his favorite character, and it shows in canon. Out of the entire cast, Jean is undeniably the most dynamic. He is the everyman; the observes the world around him from the point of view of someone who lies outside of the extraordinary, and through his own conclusions rises to the call, growing and developing from a child to a man. And we get to see it all happen firsthand.
Jean is introduced to the narrative almost as an antagonist. During the first role call for the 104th cadets’ squad, he makes his aims blatantly clear: He’s going to graduate in the top ten of the class and join the Military Police, a luxurious position in a section of the military that is well known for its corruption. Graduating in the top ten is no mean feat, it requires diligence and hard work on top of aptitude, but his confidence never wavers. When his face is literally smashed into the dirt by the instructor, he spits the gravel out from in-between his teeth and gets right back up again.
During the very early parts of canon, he stands as an obvious foil to Eren, Mikasa, and Armin. He is arrogant, rude, and has no qualms about his own unsavory aspirations. He is selfish to the point of refusing to help others during training, and constantly preens over his own talents. He makes it clear he thinks all the cadets who are aiming to join the Recon Corps are crazy, and that the “normal” thing to do is to stay as far away from the front lines, and Titans, as possible. Throughout their training, he and Eren violently butt heads as their ideals clash. Neither of them back down… That is, until they’re both forced to learn harsh lessons.
Trost is the major turning point for Jean’s character. When Wall Rose is breached and the cadet squad is forced into premature battle, Jean curses his luck. If things had held together just one day more, he would have been able to join the Police, and avoid real battle altogether. Eren confronts him for his cowardice, and Jean, for the first time, has no sharp-witted retort for him.
Despite his claims of wanting an easy life, Jean performs admirably on the battlefield. His skill as a top ten graduate can’t be denied. When the remnants of the cadets gather together, low on supplies and lower on spirits, he picks up on a cue from Mikasa and rallies the troops to make a Hail Mary for the storehouse. Under his first command, several soldiers die. He feels the weight of sacrifice for the first time, but when he confesses regret to his friend, Marco tells him that his point of view is valuable, because he knows what it’s like to be weak and afraid, and that makes him a good leader.
After the raid ends, and Jean sees firsthand how courage and determination can actually turn the tides, he experiences a life changing loss. While cleaning up the carnage of the aftermath, Jean finds Marco dead, half eaten by a Titan. He had no idea that he had died, and in such a horrific fashion.
With his only real friend, perhaps the only person that saw any good in him gone, Jean had to face uncomfortable truths about the life he had chosen for himself. Mostly, that Eren was right; that as long as the strong, talented recruits continued to turn away from the front lines, tragedies like the one he just felt would only continue to happen. In response, he shocks everyone (himself included) by deciding to join the Recon Corps.
This is where his growth truly begins. Jean never truly loses his biting tone and skeptical nature, but these traits become strengths instead of faults as he employs them in a more productive manner. Because he never trusts anything at first glance, he often sees truths otherwise hidden, and his harshness motivates others to do their best, even if it is sometimes out of spite. Marco’s old observation holds true; Jean is a good leader because his is, compared to the people that surround him, average. He has a good sense for motivating others by doing what he thinks would motivate himself. He has an eye for evaluating both allies and enemies and employing their strengths appropriately.
During the Female Titan arc, he proves himself to be a dutiful soldier as he obeys all his commands, even when he realizes that there’s was element to the operation that his higher ups were keeping from him. He gets his first taste of betrayal when he finds out that the Annie was the Female Titan, and reacts with anger, followed by bitter resignation. He’s mainly out of the spotlight during the Clash of the Titans arc, but during the final chase after Reiner, he shows pain at once again being betrayed by people he trusted with his life.
His humanity takes center stage during the Uprising Arc, as he finds he has no stomach for taking human lives. When held at gunpoint, he hesitates, and nearly gets himself killed for it. He declares later that he’ll never hesitate like that again, but throughout the series, he continues to view human death as a final option, not a first reaction.
When forced to face Reiner and Bertholt again during Return to Shiganshina, Connie and Sasha show hesitation in battle, and grief at having to kill those they once trusted, Jean stands firm and keeps the mission going. He takes command when Armin hesitates and keep everyone alive long enough for him to think of a new plan. Yet, when Reiner is in their grasp, Jean keeps Hange from killing him outright, speculating that they can use him to revive someone with the Titan Serum and obtain the Armored Titan. But when Reiner gets away with Pieck and Zeke, he beats himself up for making such a critical mistake out of what he reveals through his actions to be sentimentality.
He doesn’t get much screen time during the timeskip between the Return to Shiganshina Arc and the Marley Arc. His rivalry with Eren stays strong, and his prickly nature still shows through, but he also shows maturity and responsibility through various actions. One that comes to mind is his offer (which is more like a threat) to take Eren’s Titan after he dies, even though he knows that Shifters bear a curse that causes them to die after 13 years.
And while this is technically after the point I’m taking him from, during the Raid on Libero, he prioritizes minimizing collateral damage, and becomes extremely upset with Eren for putting so many innocent civilians in danger. He’s devastated when Sasha dies, yet he shows mercy and compassion towards her killer, Gabi, by purposefully missing a shot to kill her when he has the chance.
In summary: Slowly, he evolves into a more admirable person, and his explosive attitude cools down over with time. He rises in the ranks and becomes a commanding officer in the Corps. He becomes respected and in turn is more respectful of others. But he never loses his Jean-ness, his slightly wild nature, his sharp tongue and crass words. He just learns how to apply them more selectively, and productively. His humanity stays strong despite the trials he’s put through, and he never becomes cold or loses heart.
Pokémon Information
Affiliation: Trainer
Starter: Blitzle
Password: Atomic Fireball
Samples
RP Sample: Here is one outside of the VR canon, but it’s a bit past the required freshness, so here’s another I did outside the Test Drive.
Victory Road Sample: Here’s the whole shebang I did at the Test Drive!