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Player Information
Name: Lin
Age: 26
Contact: Discord: linlin#4681, Plurk:
Other Characters: N/A
Character Information
Name: Jean Kirstein
Canon: Attack on Titan
Canon Point: End of Chapter 127
Age: 19
History: Life is hard.
Personality:
Please note that there will be manga spoilers for up to recent chapters.
Jean Kirstein has the misfortune of being an average man living in an extraordinarily miserable and violent world. From when he was 12, he's displayed traits that many people can relate to: selfishness, fear of suffering and pain, and a desire for a comfortable life. Though he first appeared in the story presented as an arrogant and oppositional figure toward our idealistic main character, his basic motivations have always been reasonable: Jean wants to live. He doesn't want to suffer. Being eaten by a giant is terrifying.
What set him apart from the average person back then, of course, was his willingness to brazenly proclaim his less-than-admirable aspirations to everyone around him. As a child, Jean was loud, haughty, and more than willing to start a fight. He wanted to join the Military Police for the promise of a safe and cushiony life far away from the threat of being eaten, and he was more than aware that training hard to fight titans in order to avoid them was hypocrisy. In a way, he saw himself as the guy who never puts up a farce - the guy who blurted out what everyone was actually thinking but were too ashamed to admit - and his crude honesty was his biggest pride back then. Even at 12 years of age, Jean didn't have an idealistic bone in his body -- none of that child-like wonder, or optimistic belief that humanity had a chance. He assessed the situation that their world was in, making remarkably depressing mental calculations about the chances of humanity's survival based on the number of casualties per titan kill, and decided everything futile, so he sought the safest route possible even if many would have called him 'spineless' for it. Back then, he believed that everyone thought the same way he did, that everyone was looking out only for themselves. That's why the existence of Eren - a boy spewing nonsense about obliterating titans when the stakes were so highly stacked against him, a boy with no regard for his own life - was an anomaly to him. Naturally, with their vastly differing ideologies, hot-headed, teenage bluster and propensity to throw hands, they fought constantly.
There were some hiccups during his training days, with Jean performing well from an objective standpoint but not always meeting his own expectations, but things were more or less without much issue (especially when put up against all the larger problems of their world). Jean may have had an arrogant attitude, but he also had some good skills, graduating at 6th place in his cohort. With his perceptive nature and ability to think quickly, taking in the surroundings and making immediate decisions came easily to him. This made him a natural at using Vertical Maneuvering Gear, a maneuvering system that's heavily dependent on the availability of tall structures in the surroundings to be effective. Jean's been seen assessing the surroundings before deciding the best possible time and location to shoot his wire and has even thought up his own little tricks to conserve gas. There was a time he simply coasted through the classes he did not find necessary (such as hand-to-hand combat), but his ongoing rivalry with Eren eventually spurred him on to work harder than he normally would have. That's one way to get a young boy motivated -- put their pride on the line.
It was at the Battle of Trost that Jean faced the horror of titans for the very first time and was forced into the realisation that the world was far crueler than he had imagined. Before that day - minutes before the attack, in fact - he already had a plan for the rest of his life. He had made it into the top 10 ranks, giving him eligibility to enter the Military Police, and was fully intent on doing so. It hadn't occurred to him that there were no real guarantees in the world; that everything could fall apart at any time, with no warning. Understandably, he was devastated at his shattered notion of safety. However, here's where we see the first sliver of resilience that's kept Jean going to this day. He was scared, and he did crumble for a moment, but he picked himself up and kept fighting because he wanted to live.
Here's also where we see the first example of Jean's budding leadership skills. As Marco had observed during their training days, Jean seemed to possess an aptitude for leadership, with his relatable weakness at heart and his capacity to make quick decisions after taking stock of a situation. He was a guy Marco felt people would follow because he wasn't an unreachable, hero-like presence. Jean was the layman, a coward afraid of death just like everyone else, and that meant that he could understand how the average person felt. While he couldn't see himself as a leader at all at the time, he shows this quality of himself at Trost, rallying the surviving recruits in a charge toward their headquarters. The rough charisma, energy, and decisive action he had displayed seemed to prove Marco's assessment correct.
Even reluctant leadership requires the making of decisions, and the making of decisions come with them a responsibility. Jean gets his first taste of the many moral dilemmas he will face throughout his life at Trost. In order to save himself and the recruits following him, he had to make the painful decision of sacrificing others, letting a few recruits be eaten as he used their plight as a distraction to bypass the titans. It was a decision made after the conclusion that there was no other choice, as swooping in to save them only meant more casualties. Still, he took the responsibility for their gruesome deaths on himself, as if it was him who had killed them, and the pressure weighed heavy on him. Here's where we start to see glimpses of the Jean behind the rough exterior: just a kind boy with far more empathy than he wants to have.
It's that empathy that had shattered his dream for a safe and comfortable life and keeps it out of his reach to this day. Somewhere along the line, even if he joined the military for self-serving purposes, he started to care. He started to care too much about the people around him -- the annoying duo Sasha and Connie, the strong and beautiful Mikasa, the kind and smart Armin, his gentle best friend Marco, and even that irritatingly tenacious Eren, whom he fights with. Marco's death dealt Jean the biggest blow in his life. It was a traumatising event that still upsets him, and not only did it mark the biggest change in Jean's personality, but it still continues to drive many of his actions.
There's a lot to unpack on his feelings about Marco's passing and how they shaped his subsequent motivations. Marco died unseen by others (at least, to Jean's knowledge at the time), with no one able to tell Jean how his last moments had went. His body was burned in a large stack of other bodies and he was put to rest a pile of nameless ashes. There was simply no time for Jean to do any grieving and no grave for Jean to place flowers on in Marco's memory. He had no way of getting closure. All he had of Marco left were some ashes he had picked up from the pyre - ashes he did not know were even Marco's - and the image of holding those ashes is one he continues to hang on to, both as his last memory of Marco and a reminder of what he absolutely does not want to go through again. Given Jean's empathetic nature, the thought of dying in such a gruesome way then having your corpse mass-torched alongside others to the point of anonymity is a tragedy, both for the one who had died and the ones grieving them. It was not something he wanted for anyone, especially not the remaining people he cared for. The shocking impact of Marco's death forced him to accept the reality that this would be the fate of the rest of humanity, and the only option was to fight back. Eren was right from the very beginning. It's a bitter pill to swallow because Jean's nothing like Eren. He's still coming in with all the fears and pessimism he had in childhood. He's choosing to fight a battle a part of him thinks might be fruitless, but now, his fear of losing others has started to outweigh his fear of losing his life. That's a remarkable sign of kindness.
The imagery of Marco's ashes acts as his conscience, almost, forcing him to choose the moral thing whenever his self-preserving nature tempts him with the safer route. They represent the harrowing fate in store for everyone he cares for if he does not fight; the tragedy he doesn't want anyone to go through. In his own words, he also doesn't want to 'disappoint' those ashes; to let down that sweet and gentle boy who was the first person to believe in him. With much reluctance, Jean dedicated his heart to humanity. Against his best wishes, he joined the Survey Corps.
While he's discarded the broken record-like spiels of pessimism and brazen selfishness he used to give in the early years (there's no point talking about how much he wants the easy life now; he's on the front lines), Jean's jaded worldview continues to persist. Now, however, his realism shifts into something more of an asset than an obnoxious trait. Jean possesses perceptive eyes, a sharp intelligence, and a tendency to appraise the world in the most objective manner possible. This makes it easy for him to read between the lines, to pick out what might actually be going on behind the scenes.
With how he usually expects the worst, he also doesn't allow his comrades to fall into baseless idealistic notions, calling things out as they are and telling hard truths when they are needed. He shows this stern new side of him immediately after joining the Survey Corps, approaching Eren to grill him about his actions as a titan and how much control he actually had over his ability. At that time, Eren had very minimal control and the outlook was looking bleak. Jean had called attention to this because he wanted his fellow recruits to be completely aware of the situation they were in, that their lives were likely going to be sacrificed for a hope that was still uncertain, so that his comrades could choose for themselves if it was a cause worth backing. Perhaps, he also wanted Eren to feel the responsibility now resting on his shoulders so that he would always take things seriously. He continues to show this stern attitude to his friends, his blunt words now coming out of a place of caring than some childish need to showboat himself. Several times throughout the series, he continues to remind Eren to stop being reckless, to call Mikasa out when she's excusing Eren's actions at the expense of herself, and to shake Armin out of his insecurity.
He's still rough around the edges, but Jean has changed so much for the better because of that one traumatic event that it's even picked up on by others. After knowing the pain of losing someone, his compassion seems to have grown tenfold, stamping out his self-preserving urges. We see this too many times in the series from here on: Jean facing his fears and risking his life over and over for the safety of his friends and the betterment of mankind. We see this already in their very first mission, where he's devising a strategy that puts himself at risk but limits the casualties and aids the objective. We see this in the many times he's dived right into the face of a titan. We see this when he offers himself up to inherit Eren's titan years later (a certainty that he would die young), just to spare his friends that burden and let them live long lives. Though he remains self-serving in the sense that he doesn't want to die without meaning, he now absolutely puts others first and even feels guilty about it when his self-serving urges tempt him to consider otherwise. It seems his conviction not to witness another mass cremation has helped him develop courage.
In Attack on Titan, there are different viewpoints on what is right and wrong. Some characters believe that the ends justify the means while others believe that what is morally wrong will always be wrong. Jean sits in the latter camp. Given his ability to empathize with the weak, he places much value on human life, and we see this in his pained expression whenever he sees a fellow soldier perish. His priorities are made most apparent after the battle of Liberio. While Floch and some other Survey Corps members celebrated their victorious ambush against the country of Marley, Jean was despondent, mourning the loss of his six comrades instead. Taking a human life was an act he struggled greatly with for some time in the series. It was one he was adamant against in the beginning because he had joined the cause to save humanity and not kill other humans. He only came around to the idea after Armin was forced to make his kill for him, dirtying his hands for Jean's sake. In a laughable contradiction, it was Jean's good heart that gave him the conviction (albeit weak) to start killing. He did not want his hesitation to endanger others again. Though he's dirtied his hands at this point, it's an act he continues to abhor. He keeps it to a minimum - only adult soldiers - and hesitates when he's forced to murder children or innocent civilians. Even with the anguish he felt after Sasha's death, he was still unable to throw her assailant - a child - to their death. Just like how he had wanted a safe life away from titans many years ago, the Jean of recent years just wants a peaceful life where he doesn't have to kill.
Empathy and compassion are a pivotal aspect of Jean's character, and the more he grows, the more he shows it. Even outside of life and death situations, Jean shows his care toward his friends by worrying about them and offering his support when they're feeling down. After Armin's case of sexual assault, he was seen offering his friend gentle assistance and reassurance. There have been numerous times Jean has also rushed to his friends' sides to check on them out of concern during a battle. While Jean may not be a very affectionate person, he at times finds roundabout ways to show he cares. He's like this most with Eren, sometimes goading him into their old habit of fighting in an attempt to bring that spark of life back out of his gradually despondent friend. Attachments are also something difficult for him to throw away once formed. Though he had contributed to (what they thought was) Reiner's death, he still ended up shedding tears for his old friend -- despite the knowledge that Reiner was partially responsible for the pain and suffering of the people of Paradis. Even in recent canon points, where the gang's off to stop Eren from committing genocide, the thought of having to kill off Eren brings Jean some anguish. He's just a man with a lot of love for his friends.
Conviction is a theme that pops up every now and then in Jean's story. Because he's weak and afraid of dying, he cannot charge headfirst into what might be his death without having something to hang on to -- without feeling like what he's doing has meaning. Given his awareness of his weakness, he also expects himself to hesitate when he doesn't feel like the cause he's fighting for is worth his own life. In a cruel world like theirs, a moment's hesitation spells death. This is why Jean is especially stern about others knowing exactly what they're fighting and possibly dying for, and is more than happy to spell out the depressing situation for them so that they can make informed choices. When Marlowe expresses interest in joining the Survey Corps, for example, Jean tests his conviction and ability to put his trust in him by pretending to attack him. Those were the two requisites he felt were pivotal to joining the Corps. Enlisting a person who faltered too easily only spelled that person's death when they go outside facing titans. Jean also believes that choices involving life and death should be made 'on your own', without outside influence; in other words, choices made with a personal conviction. He called joining the Survey Corps a decision 'you can only make on your own' and continued to hang on to his own conviction for most of the series.
It's only after the time skip, when things start to get messy and confusing and flipped around, that Jean starts to falter in his conviction. Back when he was 15, he only had to fight off the titans. That made sense; it wasn't easy, but it was a straightforward goal to work toward. Now, they're in a situation where Eren is destroying the world for their sake. The moral part of him knows that it's wrong, but the old self-serving part of him - expanded now so he's not only looking out for his own interests but that of his friends and country - tempts him with the benefits of being complacent. By doing nothing, he could enjoy the life he had wanted from the very beginning: a life of safety, comfort, and domestic bliss within the interior. Of course, this comes at the expense of the men, women, and children of the rest of the world. By doing something, he gives up that life and potentially puts his country at risk of war, but he saves millions of innocents from genocide. It's an impossible choice. For some time he pretended not to hear Hange's call to action. Eventually, his morality - under the guise of Marco's compelling ashes - wins over his self-serving nature, and he finds himself on the grind once again. It's difficult to stay focused this time, of course. He hesitates and falters on occasion, especially when he thinks about what would happen to his country if he stops Eren. It's simply difficult for Jean, however, not to do the right thing in the end.
He's just a guy plagued by his own kindness, and it never lets him take the easy way out.
Abilities & Skills:
Vertical Maneuvering Equipment: Jean is proficient at using both regular three-dimensional vertical maneuvering equipment (designed for fighting titans) and anti-personnel vertical maneuvering equipment (designed for fighting humans; new version is useful for fighting both humans and titans). He is said to be a natural talent at using the gear. This is owed to his ability to assess surroundings quickly and make decisive actions. A user of 3DMG has to be able to take in the surroundings and decide in an instant where to shoot their wire so it gets them where they want to go. Miscalculating timing or aim can be fatal, especially in a fight. Jean is able to perform advanced 3DMG skills such as fighting in open terrain and making abrupt changes in direction mid-air. After the timeskip, he's pretty much an expert at in-air combat using 3DMG.
Weaponry: Jean has had training in using both a rifle and semiautomatic pistol, and he appears to have good aim. He's also had training in using titan-exterminating weapons such as blades and Thunder Spears (explosive rods that can be shot at a target then detonated).
Hand-to-hand combat: Being a soldier, Jean has had training in hand-to-hand combat. He's about as good as an above-average soldier, probably.
Intelligence/Leadership Qualities: Jean possesses a logical mind and keen observation skills. His greatest strength is his ability to take in a situation at a glance and make quick decisions, usually in the form of short-term tactical strategies. This, his rough charisma, and his relatable layman personality are an oddball bag of characteristics that have earned him a position as a Commanding Officer in the Survey Corps. He's generally quite reluctant about leadership and will only take it on if asked to, though.
Eldian race: Jean is of the Eldian race, a race of people who turn into titans when the spinal fluid of a titan gets into their bodies. This doesn't really count as an ability because he's currently completely human, but it is a Thing.
Inventory/Companions:
- 1 set casual clothes (white button-up, pants, shoes)
- 1 set of 3DMG
- 1 set of blades + 1 automatic pistol
Choice: Witch
Reason: Jean's role in the story is that of the 'everyday man' so it's in my interest to pick the most 'normal' option available. Witch is the best option because I'm not interested in making him any stronger/faster/hardier than he is as a human.
Sample: 4th wall event top level + overflow, network sample 1 and network sample 2.