Characterization meme
Pick a character I write, and I will give you the top five ideas/concepts/other I keep in mind while writing that character that I believe are essential to depicting them accurately. Includes both fandom and original characters.
Jill requested by tao_empress.
1) She's strong. She's a soldier. She's been to hell and back more than once, some instances worse than others, but she's always found the strength to pull through. In that regard, she's not easily broken -- in a thread once, I said something along the lines of that she believes there are two types of people: those who use trying circumstances to become better individuals, and those who get steamrolled by those circumstances. She's only ever known to be the former: she's a survivor. I understand that she doesn't come through without scars -- you know I play on those, lol -- but ultimately, they don't hold her down. I've seen some people describe her as "paranoid" after what Wesker did to her -- pre-5, even -- but that is just bullcrap. I'm sorry, but I have to say it: THEY ARE DOING IT WRONG. Jill's stubborn and independent -- she's not going to let bad experiences alter her into something she's not. On that same note, she's more likely to hold her problems in than burden someone else with them if it can be helped. She's not fragile. She doesn't easily or willingly break down.
2) She's strong, but she's also human. For all that she is on the field, she's still very much a woman beneath it -- a woman with emotions and bonds and losses and memories, who's doing what she does at least partly because she lost people close to her through Umbrella and terrorism and wants to stop that from happening to anyone else. What Wesker did to her from 2006 to 2009 was, simply put, absolutely horrible. It was the worst thing he could do to someone like Jill, and even she couldn't remain a rock through all of it. I do believe that after a certain point, she was desperate enough to contradict her survivor instinct and wanted to die -- if it would save lives and free her from her enslavement (which I personally think most people completely underestimate in terms of how awful it must have been; it wasn't just being forced to serve a selfish bastard, and it was more than killing innocent people, even -- three. Years. Of not being in control of yourself, of only watching things go by and unable to do so much as breathe on your own. That's an effing long time. That's not even taking into account what Wesker could have likely subjected her to while she was conscious and unable to resist. Weaker wills would have broken, but she pulled through, which was evident as soon as she was freed. But I digress.). So while she pulled through something a lot of people wouldn't, it's still going to stick with her for the rest of her life. She'll never forget it, and it's inevitably a huge part of who she is now -- but because she's strong (lol going back to #1), she won't let it weaken her. It still hurts -- it always will -- but she'll shoulder it regardless and keep on going.
3) She's a hardass. Or at least the hardass beween Chris and herself. She's down-to-earth, she's realistic, she holds grudges, and fighting and killing have become all but second nature (which doesn't imply she's jaded, which she isn't; just, again, realistic, and experienced and very well trained). Generally speaking, she doesn't often act on emotion -- she's mission-oriented and professional, and this sometimes crosses into her personal life: namely, where Wesker's concerned, since he's been very personal to her for a long time now. Similarly, though, he's a case of bringing emotion into what should be her professional life. Thus leading into the next point--
4) Wesker is inevitably a huge part of her life. Whether going by canon, in which he's dead, or by RP Land, where it's possible for him to be alive again, he still haunts her. But more than his betrayal, even more than what he did to her, the most domineering thing about his role in their relationship is the control he still has over her, in a sense. I do think KC (Wesker-mun at TP) put it rather accurately: all he has to do is breathe to get under Jill's skin. She loathes him more than she ever thought was even possible in hating a person, and with good reason -- she hates the memories of him, she hates his presence, she hates his voice and his touch (and the fact that she's become so used to the latter that she's almost numb to it) and his ability to always hit her where it hurts psychologically and she hates that he still sees her as belonging to him, the fact that she owes him her life -- and she has to deal with these truths every time she runs into him because it's Wesker and he doesn't let her forget. Even if he doesn't do or say a thing, she only has to see him for her mood to plummet and the flashbacks to start. He's the one special case in which she'll act on emotion in a heartbeat -- those emotions being anger, hatred, and bitterness, primarily.
5) Wesker-bitterness and professionalism aside, Jill is warm-hearted and very much a people person. She's social, outspoken, and will generally trust people before she distrusts them. She gets along with just about anyone, so long as they're not jackasses, terrorists, or jackass terrorists. She works to protect the population, and she's eager to be every bit a part of it as much as she stands guard over it.
Jill requested by tao_empress.
1) She's strong. She's a soldier. She's been to hell and back more than once, some instances worse than others, but she's always found the strength to pull through. In that regard, she's not easily broken -- in a thread once, I said something along the lines of that she believes there are two types of people: those who use trying circumstances to become better individuals, and those who get steamrolled by those circumstances. She's only ever known to be the former: she's a survivor. I understand that she doesn't come through without scars -- you know I play on those, lol -- but ultimately, they don't hold her down. I've seen some people describe her as "paranoid" after what Wesker did to her -- pre-5, even -- but that is just bullcrap. I'm sorry, but I have to say it: THEY ARE DOING IT WRONG. Jill's stubborn and independent -- she's not going to let bad experiences alter her into something she's not. On that same note, she's more likely to hold her problems in than burden someone else with them if it can be helped. She's not fragile. She doesn't easily or willingly break down.
2) She's strong, but she's also human. For all that she is on the field, she's still very much a woman beneath it -- a woman with emotions and bonds and losses and memories, who's doing what she does at least partly because she lost people close to her through Umbrella and terrorism and wants to stop that from happening to anyone else. What Wesker did to her from 2006 to 2009 was, simply put, absolutely horrible. It was the worst thing he could do to someone like Jill, and even she couldn't remain a rock through all of it. I do believe that after a certain point, she was desperate enough to contradict her survivor instinct and wanted to die -- if it would save lives and free her from her enslavement (which I personally think most people completely underestimate in terms of how awful it must have been; it wasn't just being forced to serve a selfish bastard, and it was more than killing innocent people, even -- three. Years. Of not being in control of yourself, of only watching things go by and unable to do so much as breathe on your own. That's an effing long time. That's not even taking into account what Wesker could have likely subjected her to while she was conscious and unable to resist. Weaker wills would have broken, but she pulled through, which was evident as soon as she was freed. But I digress.). So while she pulled through something a lot of people wouldn't, it's still going to stick with her for the rest of her life. She'll never forget it, and it's inevitably a huge part of who she is now -- but because she's strong (lol going back to #1), she won't let it weaken her. It still hurts -- it always will -- but she'll shoulder it regardless and keep on going.
3) She's a hardass. Or at least the hardass beween Chris and herself. She's down-to-earth, she's realistic, she holds grudges, and fighting and killing have become all but second nature (which doesn't imply she's jaded, which she isn't; just, again, realistic, and experienced and very well trained). Generally speaking, she doesn't often act on emotion -- she's mission-oriented and professional, and this sometimes crosses into her personal life: namely, where Wesker's concerned, since he's been very personal to her for a long time now. Similarly, though, he's a case of bringing emotion into what should be her professional life. Thus leading into the next point--
4) Wesker is inevitably a huge part of her life. Whether going by canon, in which he's dead, or by RP Land, where it's possible for him to be alive again, he still haunts her. But more than his betrayal, even more than what he did to her, the most domineering thing about his role in their relationship is the control he still has over her, in a sense. I do think KC (Wesker-mun at TP) put it rather accurately: all he has to do is breathe to get under Jill's skin. She loathes him more than she ever thought was even possible in hating a person, and with good reason -- she hates the memories of him, she hates his presence, she hates his voice and his touch (and the fact that she's become so used to the latter that she's almost numb to it) and his ability to always hit her where it hurts psychologically and she hates that he still sees her as belonging to him, the fact that she owes him her life -- and she has to deal with these truths every time she runs into him because it's Wesker and he doesn't let her forget. Even if he doesn't do or say a thing, she only has to see him for her mood to plummet and the flashbacks to start. He's the one special case in which she'll act on emotion in a heartbeat -- those emotions being anger, hatred, and bitterness, primarily.
5) Wesker-bitterness and professionalism aside, Jill is warm-hearted and very much a people person. She's social, outspoken, and will generally trust people before she distrusts them. She gets along with just about anyone, so long as they're not jackasses, terrorists, or jackass terrorists. She works to protect the population, and she's eager to be every bit a part of it as much as she stands guard over it.