ship_manifesto

Title: Unspoken
Author:

tara_d
Fandom: Resident Evil
Pairing: Chris Redfield/Jill Valentine
Spoilers: Most of the series, although mainly the first game and its direct aftereffects.
Author's Notes: Many thanks to

ungratefulwench and my C/J partner in crime

neve_cretina for beta-ing for me.

Introduction

Almost ten years ago Resident Evil (or Biohazard, as it's called in Japan) first made its stamp on the world, becoming an instant hit with its then stunning graphics and extensive storyline. One of the first games that actually took longer than an hour to complete, it was filled with twists and turns, and almost single handedly kick started the survival horror genre. 15 or so games later and the franchise is still going strong, with books, comics and even movies.

In the first game we are introduced to what will become the staples of the series; the Special Tactics and Rescue Squad (better known as S.T.A.R.S.), Raccoon City, and the deadly T-Virus, a virus that turns anything (yes, anything, plants, worms, dogs, you name it) into horrifying undead creatures with a taste for warm human flesh.

Two of our S.T.A.R.S., and our playable characters for the first game are Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine. The first real 'couple' of the Resident Evil series.

Chris Redfield

Age: 25 (now 31)
Place of Birth: New York, USA
Blood Type: O
Height: 181cm
Weight: 80.5kg
Affiliation: R.P.D. S.T.A.R.S. (Alpha Unit)
Position: Marksman
Appears In: Resident Evil, Resident Evil: Code Veronica

Before joining the R.P.D. S.T.A.R.S., Chris Redfield was a pilot with the United States Airforce. He was a damn good pilot, and a damn good soldier, but he had one flaw; his inability to obey orders when he felt they weren't morally right.

Chris is a hothead. He has a fiery temper and often flies off the handle with violent reactions. One such case brought to our attention is when, after the events of the first game, he punches a fellow officer in the face for simply spilling coffee on him. At this point in time he is highly strung, yes, but it still seems a bit of an overreaction.

In any case, it is this attitude that eventually found him kicked out of the airforce. He consistently butted heads with his superior officers to the point where they discharged him. Unsure what to do with his life, Chris became a drifter. It wasn't until much later that an old comrade, Barry Burton, recruited him for the new S.T.A.R.S. unit being formed in Raccoon City. Here, in a small city environment with a small yet specialised unit he could put his skills to good use.

Jill Valentine

Age: 23 (now 29)
Place of Birth: ?, USA
Blood Type: B
Height: 166cm
Weight: 50.4kg
Affiliation: R.P.D. S.T.A.R.S. (Alpha Unit)
Position: Rear Security
Appears In: Resident Evil, Resident Evil 3: Nemesis

The infamous 'master of unlocking'. Jill's life before joining the S.T.A.R.S. still remains quite a mystery. There were rumours of Jill training with the Delta Force for a while, but even with all the child prodigies running around the Resident Evil universe this still seems a little far fetched.

Whatever Jill did before being transferred to Raccoon City, it is here that she specialises in disarming explosives and has a special aptitude for mechanical devices. She's also a skilled piano player, which in the Resident Evil universe is always a good thing.

Personality wise Jill is very moral and upright, she stands up for what she believes in until the bitter end and will sacrifice herself to help others out of a jam, even if she doesn't know them from a bar of soap. Jill loves the people of Raccoon City. It's just a shame that, for the most part, they don't love her back.

Complications

The first Resident Evil game is a strange beast. It exists in about ten different forms, all released at various points over the years. There are two main versions of it, from which point on I'll refer to as 'classic' (the original game that was first released) and 'remake' (the remake of said game, released about six years later with supreme upgrades in every department). For the most part these two games are the same, but when such a difference occurs that requires stating, I'll make sure to note it.

It's also strange in that it's really the only Resident Evil game that doesn't have a 'true' ending. Classic has six endings, Remake eight, yet none of these are what really happened. Why? Four characters survive the first game; Chris, Jill, Rebecca and Barry. No matter what ending you get, you can never save all four. We're also never told whose version of events is real, as both Chris and Jill play the same scenario with only minor differences.

Yet it is in Chris' game that we get most of the hints towards Chris and Jill's relationship, so for the most part it is his version that will largely be referred to from here on in.

Origins

The first time we meet Chris and Jill they are working, searching for their compatriots from Bravo team, who we're told “disappeared during the middle of their mission”. Strange things have been happening in the Arklay Forest region just outside Raccoon City, so the S.T.A.R.S. have been sent in to investigate.

Not long after landing the Alpha team are attacked by rabid dogs. They flee, losing one of their own and then losing their transport as resident chicken and team pilot flies off with their helicopter. Classic sees a direct run for a nearby mansion, but remake vamps up the tension by having Chris save Jill from a close call with the dogs, and then almost sacrifice himself so she can get away. Our first hints.

Upon entering the house, our main character is almost immediately split from everyone else. They must then explore the spooky, zombie infested mansion by themselves with only occasional help from a support character (Rebecca if you play as Chris, Barry if you play as Jill).

However, it's towards the end of the game that things start to ramp up. In both versions of the game, if you proceed to fight the Tyrant and then head to save Jill from her jail cell afterwards, we're presented with a beautiful hug scene that is entirely inappropriate for 'just teammates'.

The hug in classic is aww-worthy in its pixel blockiness, but in remake it's charged with such sexual tension and physical palpability that the 'omg awkward moment!' that oozes from both Chris and Jill can be felt like a direct hit to the heart. Jill runs from her bed, throwing her arms around Chris' neck while his hands go to her waist. Both hold the hug for just too long, their faces lingering in a near kiss before they remember their environment and slowly pull back to deal with the business at hand. There's no one, Chris/Jill fan or not, that can deny the sexual tension in that singular scene.

Another option, less favourable if you're really after the C/J action, is to visit Jill's jail cell before fighting the Tyrant. In remake we're presented with a rare show of emotion from Chris as he realises he can't get Jill out; anger. The entire game we see Chris soley as a passive, perpetually confused figure. Teammates are endlessly dying around him yet he never shows any emotion. He may as well be reading the TV Guide for all we're concerned. Yet presented with Jill in a jail cell that he can't get her out of and his face takes on a scary, determined, angry scowl.

After escaping the jail cell, our heroes get the call that Brad is going to do one last check before leaving the area for good. All is well! However, we know that's never the case in the horror genre, and the sound of approaching monsters halts their escape. In Jill's version of events (classic) we get a lovely cheesy scene of Chris asking Jill to “let me play the nice guy for once.” Ever the classic hero, ready to sacrifice himself for the lovely lady to escape first.

Then, of course, comes the classic ending. No matter which ending, which game, so long as you have Chris and Jill together, Jill will always lean her head on Chris' shoulder to rest as the other character is forced to ponder things by themselves on the other side of the helicopter. Classic even takes this one step further, with Jill resting her hand on the inside of Chris' thigh, while he grasps it tightly. All things considered, these aren't the actions of two people who just consider each other teammates. Why doesn't Rebecca get any love? Or Barry?

Then of course there is Jill's ending with just Barry. As Barry is happy and gloats over his family, he realises how rude he is and apologises to Jill. But she tells him not to worry, as she's sure 'he' is still alive out there. 'He' being one Christopher Redfield. At this point even Barry knows there's something special going on between the two.

No, it's clear no matter what game you play, what version you play, which character you play as, Chris and Jill were intended to be the game's very, very brief attempt at a love story. It is, after all, first and foremost a horror game, with this little bit of character interaction added in solely as an extra to spice things up.

Outbreak

Although this is the first and only time we actually get to see both Chris and Jill on screen together, it's by far not the end of their relationship. On the contrary, we get many more mentions of it, this time from Jill's side of things.

By the time of Resident Evil 3, a few months have passed since the 'Spencer Mansion' incident. Obviously the S.T.A.R.S. reports of zombies didn't go down too well and most of the team ended up quitting in disgust. Chris continued his research into Umbrella in quiet, working day and night until he discovered they were working on yet another virus; this time the G-Virus.

Calling Jill up in the middle of the night, he urged her to come around to his place and he revealed this info to her. We're given a few mentions here and there about how Chris only seems to let Jill in, despite the fact he's close friends with Barry and spent most of his time at the mansion with Rebecca. He reveals to her his plans to go to Europe, but Jill decides to remain in Raccoon to continue their research there.

Of course, things don't go to plan, and Jill spends the entirety of the third game avoiding a new monster called the Nemesis, a Tyrant designed specifically to destroy S.T.A.R.S. She manages to escape the city just before it's destroyed by missiles, and instantly the first thing on her agenda is to find Chris. However, when she arrives at his hideout he's nowhere to be seen. But, as we're told, Jill won't give up, not until she finds him.

Although we see Chris once more after this event, no mention is made of Jill or whether she did find him. In fact, there isn't much mention made of anything Chris got up to in the time from when he left Raccoon until the point he arrives to rescue his sister in the Antarctic. This is still one of the blurry points in Resident Evil fandom; just what did all the S.T.A.R.S. get up to after leaving Raccoon City? But that's a story for another time.

Fandom

All things considered, Chris and Jill aren't that hugely popular in the Resident Evil fandom. Of course, they are more often than not paired up with each other (the most common exceptions being Jill/Carlos and, my personal least favourite, Chris/Wesker), but other more 'obvious' relationships tend to take the forefront. Such as Leon/Ada and even Claire/Steve.

There do tend to be some trends that are common across the board however when it comes to depictions of Chris/Jill. For one, it's usually Jill, not Chris who is the 'man'. Of course, this is entirely understandable. The Jill we've come to know is one tough woman, she doesn't take any shit and, particularly in remake, she's often very butch and very rough. Whereas Chris, who started out very manly and tough, has been almost sensatised over the years, to the point where in remake he just seems to be going along with the flow, only occasionally breaking out into an emotion that doesn't involve a blank stare.

It's rare to find fics where it's Chris who makes the first move, because from what we're given in canon, it's very likely he wouldn't. Chris is extremely passive when it comes to his feelings towards others. Only two people seem to raise any sort of emotion in him; Wesker, his mortal enemy, and Jill Valentine. Generally he holds his emotions behind a barrier like a good little soldier and just does the job at hand. It's always Jill who has to initiate first.

Reasons

So why do I like Chris/Jill if they've only been together in one game, and aren't even officially stated as being a couple? Well, lots of reasons, most of which are discussed above. From a purely shallow point of view, they are a beautiful couple, especially in remake. Chris is a handsome man, Jill is a gorgeous woman. But it's their interactions and all the subtle things that drew me in.

Chris and Jill have an intricate, unspoken relationship. There's no declarations of love or grand gestures of romance. They are beautifully understated, so human, so real. They don't need any words, everything is conveyed in gestures, facial expressions, actions. From a simple wink at work to a comforting hand on the inside of one's thigh, there's an undeniable bond that hasn't gone unnoticed by those around them.

If an actual moment has to be picked, it's undoubtedly the hug from remake. While the classic one is cute, the remake hug is full of such emotion and tension, you can almost see the electricity flying around them. Chris' hands caress Jill's back and move to sit on her waist, as he stares at her lips so close to his own, Jill realising a moment too late what she's just done (literally fly into his arms) and breaking the contact to continue on with the mission at hand. There's a single moment that even non-Resident Evil fans catch where the thin line is almost crossed, a line that clearly both would not have been able to resist once that initial contact had been made.

Recommendations

Websites
- Made in Heaven (Chris Redfield)
- Nightmare (Jill Valentine)
- Unspoken (Chris/Jill)

Fanfic
- Chris Redfield Archive
- FF.Net C/J Community

LJ Communities
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redfieldfan
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