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Application for Hearts and Minds
Dec. 11th, 2011 06:49 pmCharacter Info
Character: Jennifer “JJ” Jareau
Fandom: Criminal Minds
Point of Entry: Season six, after episode 18 but before her next appearance in episode 24
Media: TV show
Character Journal:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
likemy_role
Voicemail Link: Here
Phone Number: 555-CARE
Background: Jennifer ‘JJ’ Jareau was born in a town in Pennsylvania ‘so small it didn’t have a bowling alley.’ She was the youngest of three children and the second girl, looking up to both of her siblings but especially her sister Alice. Her childhood was typical of a girl raised in a small town; school and Girl Scouts, camping trips and slumber parties with friends. She started playing soccer at a young age, at first on a rec level but when she got older that would change.
When JJ was eleven her sister came into her bedroom one rainy Sunday afternoon, gifting her little sister with her favorite necklace and telling her that ‘no matter what happened’ she would always love JJ. The necklace was the one Alice always wore, and though she tried to say no JJ had always wanted one just like it. She wore it, and hugged her sister. That was the last time she ever talked to Alice, the last time she saw her alive. That night JJ’s sister committed suicide.
JJ’s family was different after that. Todd, a junior in college, rarely came home for even a visit. JJ’s mom drew into herself, paying little attention to the child she had left at home, or her own care, leaving everything up to JJ’s father. It took three years for Mrs. Jareau to actually move out, but JJ lost her mother as well as her sister that wet Sunday. Other then her father all she had was school and soccer. She threw herself into both, making varsity her sophomore year of high school, and team captain her senior year. More then anything she wanted to get our of rural Pennsylvania, and she knew an athletic scholarship was her best bet. Her hard word paid off, earning her a full ride to Pittsburgh. More determination got her a transfer to Georgetown.
Despite her drive to succeed in college she didn’t know what she was going to do once she graduated. Not until one night when she was in the bookstore and a guest author was reading passages from his book about his real life experiences working for the FBI, catching serial killers. The man was David Rossi, one of the founding members of the Behavioral Analysis Unit, who would eventually be her coworker. She bought his book that night, had it signed, and that fall after graduation applied to the FBI Academy.
After a few years working her way up through the ranks JJ became a member of the BAU, their liaison between the team and everyone else, interacting with the media, local law enforcement, and dealing with red tape. For the first time since her childhood she found a true family in Hotch, Garcia, Morgan, Spence, Gideon, Elle, Emily and Rossi. Though she does go out on a single date with Spencer Reid there is no overt romance with any member of the team. She would do anything for her family, and this includes killing the man who shot Garcia and threatened her team.
Her family grew again while on a case in New Orleans when she met a detective named Will LaMontagne Jr. After secretly dating for a year she tells the team that she’s seeing him. Not long after that she discovers that she’s pregnant. An elated Will proposes; she turns him down though they do move in together. He doesn’t love her job, which is a bone of contention between them. He does, however leave his home and job so they can raise the baby together. Henry is born the following November; JJ names Reid and Garcia godparents.
It’s not easy juggling motherhood and her job, but she does it. She loves Henry and she loves her job, both giving her fulfilment in their own way, both letting her make the world a better place. She’s too good at her job, though, earning her recognition and a job offer (more of a demand) to work for the Justice department. She’s only given a few days warning before having to leave the BAU. Working for Justice allows her more normal working hours and weekends off, but she’s a spin doctor, making other people look good, not actually doing anything that helps people. She misses her BAU family and the fulfilment of her work.
Personality: “You do what it takes to protect your family.” That’s JJ’s answer after Penelope mourns the fact that her friend had to kill a man. JJ, though visibly shaken, said she didn’t even blink. Battle had shot, and almost killed, Penelope and two more family members, Hotch and Rossi, were in danger. Family is the most important thing to JJ. Perhaps it’s because she lost her sister at a young age, or perhaps it always would have been true, but JJ’s main focus is on taking care of her family.
Garcia and Reid she seems to view as younger siblings. As Reid points out she’s the only one who calls him Spence, an affectionate nick name. She’s the one, too, that arranges for there to be cake for Reid’s birthday, and an embarrassing hat, because he never had birthday parties as a kid. She hugs him when he needs reassurance, and when he’s kidnapped she’s guilty, scared, and visibly shaken. She respects and even teases him about his intelligence, but unlike many who seem to see only that she sees the whole person. She teases Garcia about her conspiracies, worries about her, and makes her Henry’s godparent, along with Reid. They go shopping together, go to bars, confide in each other. Though she takes care of all of her team, Garcia and Reid are the ones she is the most protective of.
Family is the team, and it’s Will and Henry, but it’s more then that. When asked by the mother of a missing teen, before she had Henry, if she was a mother JJ said no, but that they (the team) look at all the children they search of as their own. Every one they save is part of her family. She agonizes over the case files, and it’s the ones she doesn’t chose that haunt her more then anything else in her life, with the possible exception of her sister’s death. It’s especially cases that involve young women, missing or dead, that she finds hardest to deal with.
Losing a member of her family, be it her team, her son, or her father, and making the wrong choice about which cases to focus on are JJ’s greatest fears. She also has a phobia about the woods, with seeming no logical reason behind it despite the tall tale she once told Morgan. For the most part, however, JJ is a positive person. She is composed, able to handle press conferences and reporters without a problem. When a serial killer tries to come onto her during an interview she is able to coolly tell him that he isn’t her friend, and he can call her Jennifer, not JJ. She is warm, offering hug to team members and victims, holding hands with grieving parents, drinking imaginary tea with half-orphaned little girls.
JJ is the heart of the BAU team, the ‘glue that holds them together’ according to Garcia. On a practical level she is the one that decides where the team goes most of the time, arranges for the plane to be ready, for hotels, liaisons with the local law enforcement. On a less visible but equally important way she finds ways to build up her team when the cases make them question themselves. When Prentis worries about an orphaned girl JJ says that she found the aunt, and she seems very nice, though someday she believes Emily will be a good mother. When Rossi wonders if his books do more harm then good after a girl who attended one of his readings is killed JJ tells him about attending one of his readings and how the experience brought her to the FBI. When the whole team has a bad case while she’s on maternity leave she shows up at the office when they’re expected to return, hoping that seeing her sweet innocent son will remind them of the good side of things.
Hotch remarks once that JJ would make a good profiler. She reads people, understands them. When a police officer seems reluctant to show Hotch files she plays the helpless ‘help me impress my boss’ card, winking over her shoulder as she’s lead to the files. When a young girl has trouble talking about being kidnapped and forced to kill a friend she finds a common bond, soccer and living in a small town, and gets her to open up. She works seamlessly with the team, knowing what they’re looking for, helping to limit suspect pools and find clues. Hotch suggests she take the classes, mostly a formality since she’s already an equal member of the team. She shakes her head. She likes her role, and doesn’t want to change it. She doesn’t want to change jobs, either. Money is not important. Making a difference and being with her family is what she needs.
Physical Description: JJ stands at just over five and a half feet. She’s thin but not unhealthily so; though she does watch what she eats and forgets to eat sometimes while working it’s mainly exercise that keeps her muscles honed and extra weight off. She doesn’t play much soccer like she used to but she runs a lot. JJ’s hair is long, straight and blond. She doesn’t tend to do anything with it most of the time. Her clothing tends towards slacks and blouses or long sleeved shirts. One thing she always wears is a silver ring with a topaz, her son’s birthstone. She also often wears a simple necklace with a heart hanging off a chain. It belonged to her sister.
Does your pup have any special powers/abilities/gifts that we should be aware of? Nope. Nothing out of the ordinary, though she is in great physical condition and an expert marksman.
What brings your character to the village? What does he need to learn/achieve, etc? Leaving the BAU was not JJ’s choice. While it has given her more time with her son and boyfriend it’s taken away the sense of purpose and accomplishment the job gave her. She also misses seeing her friends more than once a week. The job security and lack of danger does not feel like it’s making up for the fact that she’s not doing anything important anymore. JJ needs to figure out where her life is headed. Does she stay where she is? Find a new job (or go back to an old one) an idea that her boyfriend is less then pleased with. While she’s at it she needs to figure out where things stand with Will; he’s proposed many times and she hasn’t ever felt right saying yes.
Why do you want to play this character? JJ is very different then many of the characters I play. She’s female, for one. She’s a parent. She’s extroverted where most of my muses are introverts (as am I). She has her own problems but she’s much better adjusted them most of my muses as well. I love playing character that make me stretch, or picking up characters to get inside of their heads and figure out why they do things the way they do, as opposed to the way I would do them. I love figuring out how JJ balances work and home, how her relationships with her team work. I want to play her in Hearts and Minds both for the fact that she has canon mates and because I want to stretch her by building relationships with people outside of her canon.
Please list all your pups: N/A
Have you been active in the last 8 weeks with ALL of your pups, if not - why and which pups? N/A
Character based writing sample: One Phone Call (Can Change Anything)
Character: Jennifer “JJ” Jareau
Fandom: Criminal Minds
Point of Entry: Season six, after episode 18 but before her next appearance in episode 24
Media: TV show
Character Journal:
likemy_roleVoicemail Link: Here
Phone Number: 555-CARE
Background: Jennifer ‘JJ’ Jareau was born in a town in Pennsylvania ‘so small it didn’t have a bowling alley.’ She was the youngest of three children and the second girl, looking up to both of her siblings but especially her sister Alice. Her childhood was typical of a girl raised in a small town; school and Girl Scouts, camping trips and slumber parties with friends. She started playing soccer at a young age, at first on a rec level but when she got older that would change.
When JJ was eleven her sister came into her bedroom one rainy Sunday afternoon, gifting her little sister with her favorite necklace and telling her that ‘no matter what happened’ she would always love JJ. The necklace was the one Alice always wore, and though she tried to say no JJ had always wanted one just like it. She wore it, and hugged her sister. That was the last time she ever talked to Alice, the last time she saw her alive. That night JJ’s sister committed suicide.
JJ’s family was different after that. Todd, a junior in college, rarely came home for even a visit. JJ’s mom drew into herself, paying little attention to the child she had left at home, or her own care, leaving everything up to JJ’s father. It took three years for Mrs. Jareau to actually move out, but JJ lost her mother as well as her sister that wet Sunday. Other then her father all she had was school and soccer. She threw herself into both, making varsity her sophomore year of high school, and team captain her senior year. More then anything she wanted to get our of rural Pennsylvania, and she knew an athletic scholarship was her best bet. Her hard word paid off, earning her a full ride to Pittsburgh. More determination got her a transfer to Georgetown.
Despite her drive to succeed in college she didn’t know what she was going to do once she graduated. Not until one night when she was in the bookstore and a guest author was reading passages from his book about his real life experiences working for the FBI, catching serial killers. The man was David Rossi, one of the founding members of the Behavioral Analysis Unit, who would eventually be her coworker. She bought his book that night, had it signed, and that fall after graduation applied to the FBI Academy.
After a few years working her way up through the ranks JJ became a member of the BAU, their liaison between the team and everyone else, interacting with the media, local law enforcement, and dealing with red tape. For the first time since her childhood she found a true family in Hotch, Garcia, Morgan, Spence, Gideon, Elle, Emily and Rossi. Though she does go out on a single date with Spencer Reid there is no overt romance with any member of the team. She would do anything for her family, and this includes killing the man who shot Garcia and threatened her team.
Her family grew again while on a case in New Orleans when she met a detective named Will LaMontagne Jr. After secretly dating for a year she tells the team that she’s seeing him. Not long after that she discovers that she’s pregnant. An elated Will proposes; she turns him down though they do move in together. He doesn’t love her job, which is a bone of contention between them. He does, however leave his home and job so they can raise the baby together. Henry is born the following November; JJ names Reid and Garcia godparents.
It’s not easy juggling motherhood and her job, but she does it. She loves Henry and she loves her job, both giving her fulfilment in their own way, both letting her make the world a better place. She’s too good at her job, though, earning her recognition and a job offer (more of a demand) to work for the Justice department. She’s only given a few days warning before having to leave the BAU. Working for Justice allows her more normal working hours and weekends off, but she’s a spin doctor, making other people look good, not actually doing anything that helps people. She misses her BAU family and the fulfilment of her work.
Personality: “You do what it takes to protect your family.” That’s JJ’s answer after Penelope mourns the fact that her friend had to kill a man. JJ, though visibly shaken, said she didn’t even blink. Battle had shot, and almost killed, Penelope and two more family members, Hotch and Rossi, were in danger. Family is the most important thing to JJ. Perhaps it’s because she lost her sister at a young age, or perhaps it always would have been true, but JJ’s main focus is on taking care of her family.
Garcia and Reid she seems to view as younger siblings. As Reid points out she’s the only one who calls him Spence, an affectionate nick name. She’s the one, too, that arranges for there to be cake for Reid’s birthday, and an embarrassing hat, because he never had birthday parties as a kid. She hugs him when he needs reassurance, and when he’s kidnapped she’s guilty, scared, and visibly shaken. She respects and even teases him about his intelligence, but unlike many who seem to see only that she sees the whole person. She teases Garcia about her conspiracies, worries about her, and makes her Henry’s godparent, along with Reid. They go shopping together, go to bars, confide in each other. Though she takes care of all of her team, Garcia and Reid are the ones she is the most protective of.
Family is the team, and it’s Will and Henry, but it’s more then that. When asked by the mother of a missing teen, before she had Henry, if she was a mother JJ said no, but that they (the team) look at all the children they search of as their own. Every one they save is part of her family. She agonizes over the case files, and it’s the ones she doesn’t chose that haunt her more then anything else in her life, with the possible exception of her sister’s death. It’s especially cases that involve young women, missing or dead, that she finds hardest to deal with.
Losing a member of her family, be it her team, her son, or her father, and making the wrong choice about which cases to focus on are JJ’s greatest fears. She also has a phobia about the woods, with seeming no logical reason behind it despite the tall tale she once told Morgan. For the most part, however, JJ is a positive person. She is composed, able to handle press conferences and reporters without a problem. When a serial killer tries to come onto her during an interview she is able to coolly tell him that he isn’t her friend, and he can call her Jennifer, not JJ. She is warm, offering hug to team members and victims, holding hands with grieving parents, drinking imaginary tea with half-orphaned little girls.
JJ is the heart of the BAU team, the ‘glue that holds them together’ according to Garcia. On a practical level she is the one that decides where the team goes most of the time, arranges for the plane to be ready, for hotels, liaisons with the local law enforcement. On a less visible but equally important way she finds ways to build up her team when the cases make them question themselves. When Prentis worries about an orphaned girl JJ says that she found the aunt, and she seems very nice, though someday she believes Emily will be a good mother. When Rossi wonders if his books do more harm then good after a girl who attended one of his readings is killed JJ tells him about attending one of his readings and how the experience brought her to the FBI. When the whole team has a bad case while she’s on maternity leave she shows up at the office when they’re expected to return, hoping that seeing her sweet innocent son will remind them of the good side of things.
Hotch remarks once that JJ would make a good profiler. She reads people, understands them. When a police officer seems reluctant to show Hotch files she plays the helpless ‘help me impress my boss’ card, winking over her shoulder as she’s lead to the files. When a young girl has trouble talking about being kidnapped and forced to kill a friend she finds a common bond, soccer and living in a small town, and gets her to open up. She works seamlessly with the team, knowing what they’re looking for, helping to limit suspect pools and find clues. Hotch suggests she take the classes, mostly a formality since she’s already an equal member of the team. She shakes her head. She likes her role, and doesn’t want to change it. She doesn’t want to change jobs, either. Money is not important. Making a difference and being with her family is what she needs.
Physical Description: JJ stands at just over five and a half feet. She’s thin but not unhealthily so; though she does watch what she eats and forgets to eat sometimes while working it’s mainly exercise that keeps her muscles honed and extra weight off. She doesn’t play much soccer like she used to but she runs a lot. JJ’s hair is long, straight and blond. She doesn’t tend to do anything with it most of the time. Her clothing tends towards slacks and blouses or long sleeved shirts. One thing she always wears is a silver ring with a topaz, her son’s birthstone. She also often wears a simple necklace with a heart hanging off a chain. It belonged to her sister.
Does your pup have any special powers/abilities/gifts that we should be aware of? Nope. Nothing out of the ordinary, though she is in great physical condition and an expert marksman.
What brings your character to the village? What does he need to learn/achieve, etc? Leaving the BAU was not JJ’s choice. While it has given her more time with her son and boyfriend it’s taken away the sense of purpose and accomplishment the job gave her. She also misses seeing her friends more than once a week. The job security and lack of danger does not feel like it’s making up for the fact that she’s not doing anything important anymore. JJ needs to figure out where her life is headed. Does she stay where she is? Find a new job (or go back to an old one) an idea that her boyfriend is less then pleased with. While she’s at it she needs to figure out where things stand with Will; he’s proposed many times and she hasn’t ever felt right saying yes.
Why do you want to play this character? JJ is very different then many of the characters I play. She’s female, for one. She’s a parent. She’s extroverted where most of my muses are introverts (as am I). She has her own problems but she’s much better adjusted them most of my muses as well. I love playing character that make me stretch, or picking up characters to get inside of their heads and figure out why they do things the way they do, as opposed to the way I would do them. I love figuring out how JJ balances work and home, how her relationships with her team work. I want to play her in Hearts and Minds both for the fact that she has canon mates and because I want to stretch her by building relationships with people outside of her canon.
Please list all your pups: N/A
Have you been active in the last 8 weeks with ALL of your pups, if not - why and which pups? N/A
Character based writing sample: One Phone Call (Can Change Anything)
