application for sirenspull
Character Information
General
Canon Source: Dogs: Bullets & Carnage
Canon Format: manga
Character's Name: Giovanni (Giovanni Rammsteiner)
Character's Age: unknown (his appearance would put him in his early to mid twenties)
What form will your character's NV take? Some totally sweet sleek phone with the usual functions
Abilities
Character's Canon Abilities:
Giovanni was part of the Cerberus Experiments, an effort to create an army of super soldiers. Not many specifics are known about the experiments themselves, save that all tests subjects were left with certain abilities: impossibly fast reflexes, super speed, extraordinary regenerative abilities, and a spinal "collar" (a full on physical collar in the beginning stages of the experiment; later a bolt and plate around the back of the neck).
What does all of this mean? Well, in short,he's unstoppable. Heine states that destroying the brain of a Cerberus test subject will kill them--but later on in canon, Giovanni survives a bullet to the brain without much trouble at all. His injuries do take time to heal, but not very much time (like Heine, he’s shown as taking a fatal shot and recovering without being too inhibited), and every injury sustained will inevitably heal. If it’s a severe or crippling injury (like if you completely sever his hand, let’s say), it will mend itself, but it might take some time, and it will slow him down. Still, all things considered, this regenerative ability renders Giovanni virtually indestructible. He can fight hundreds of dudes at once without wrinkling his fine linen suits--though he usually doesn't bother. After all, his primary focus is on his dear older brother Heine.
Like all DOGS fighter-types, Giovanni is also acrobatic. He can bend and twist in weird ways, and he's often depicted on a roof somewhere, just watching the action happen. Leaping buildings in a single bound doesn't seem to be too great of a feat for him. Jumping off of buildings is of equally relative ease for him (and looks pretty sweet when he's making a dramatic exit).
Giovanni also has occasionally shown the ability to appear in places where he isn't--some sort of astral projection. He appears, but he isn't really there. It's unclear if this ability is one that he can use on everyone, or if it only affects Heine--perhaps due to the connection that they share as "siblings" (the Cerberus spine). Heine is surprised by these intrusions, but only for their suddenness--it would seem that Giovanni has done this in the past to his brother. And it isn't just his "image" that is projected--it seems that with Heine, at least, he has some sort of physical manipulation ability as well--at least in this instance. The first time in the manga that Heine sees Giovanni (projected), he finds that he's not able to move. Since every other appearance of Giovanni has Heine literally leaping for his guns, it can be assumed that this freezing ability was either 1. a one-time thing, 2. a result of fear from Heine, or 3. can only be used when Giovanni isn't actually present (a manipulation of mind, perhaps).
Since this ability isn't canonically specified, I will not use it to what could be its full potential. The ability will be limited--he will not be up in anyone's head, appearing frequently in places where he isn't, etc. He will only be able to use astral projection on Heine, and perhaps--in extreme circumstances--on other NPCs or, possibly, characters (with permission, naturally). It will also be limited to image projection only--no random freezings or anything--and it will be draining for him to use, even with Heine. Sorry, Gio.
Weapons: Giovanni's coming to your city with his dual Walther P38 pistols ooo baby watch out.
History/Personality/Plans/etc.
Character History:
Giovanni is Haine’s younger “brother”, and one of the Rammsteiner series of experiments performed by Angelica Einstürzen. A child raised in a "psychotic kindergarten", in underground facility...
Oh, sorry, let's first take a trip to the Department of Backstory. Lemme lay it out for you straight: at some point, the world ended. The Apocalypse came and went; the sky went gray and the world lost its seasons. All of it brought about by humankind--but humanity didn't die out. They rebuilt their cities, and they lived in the dark and cold world that they'd created.
There are several levels to the city where the story of DOGS takes place--an upper "surface" level, a mid level, and then the Underground, the lowest level. It was in this Underground that Professor Einstürzen began the Cerberus experiments. Einstürzen acquired several series of children and altered them, giving them the "Cerberus spine". It is this spine that gives the Cerberus subjects (Einstürzen's "Dogs") their regenerative abilities. All subjects bear a collar around their necks in these opening stages--a metal ring that complete encircles their throats.
The nature of the Cerberus experiment is simple. Einstürzen wanted to create super soldiers--"dogs", as she called them--that would serve her faithfully and without question. A certain amount of super strength was also required, and the "Dogs" were bred to both cause and sustain significant damage. The exact purpose for the creation of these Dogs is unknown at this time, but they are certainly bred to cause destruction.
The experiments began when the subjects were quite young. It's hinted that there were subjects before the Rammsteiner series, of which both Heine and Giovanni were a part. Most of the early series were failures, by all accounts--big and stupid, unresponsive to orders--and that's all that is known about them. This particular series seems to have been conducted differently. The subjects were all small children, dressed in identical uniforms and wearing nametags. They were all named, but they seem to share the collective surname of "Rammsteiner"--not a surname at all, of course, but the name of their experiment. They woke up without any memories: no memory of how they had come to be there, what their names were, or how they had all acquired steel rings around their necks. These rings weren't shackles or collars--they were bolted in.
It's not known if the lack of memories indicates that they were kidnapped and subjected to tests and surgeries, or if they were raised Underground from the start. There is some insinuation that they were all test tube babies in an early chapter, but this idea is not pursued. Later evidence seems to indicate that Einstürzen's unnamed organization is in the habit of kidnapping children from above ground and bringing them Underground (which would clearly support the former theory).
But how the children came to be be there isn't necessarily important. What is important is what happened to them next.
After waking up that first time, the children milled around a little, chatting, trying to work out what had happened to them. Then a door opened, and a huge monster came hulking into the room. He seized one of the children and just straight up tore his arm off.
The monster was closely followed by a woman with long hair--Professor Einstürzen herself. She introduced herself to the children as their "physician", and proceeded to tell them that they had been purposefully outfitted with the neck rings (the spinal collars), and were a part of a test that she was conducting.
After simpering at them a little and referring to herself as their mother, Einstürzen ordered the monster to attack the children. It tore them all to pieces.
Despite their serious injuries, however, the children did not die. Their arms regrew, their legs came back, their bodies knitted together--they all healed, only to be attacked again and again by Einstürzen's monster. The professor herself goaded the children on, urging them to attack, insulting them, trying to get them to another level--the level of the "Mad Dog" that Heine later sports above ground. It seems that the rings that she had give them would not only keep the children alive under extreme circumstances, but would give them the strength and the drive to kill anything that got in their way.
Eventually, Heine and Lily, a young girl, rise to this further level. They both tear the monsters to bits using whatever they can--teeth, hands, fingernails--anything, wearing terrible grins. After the dust has settled, both are filled with fear and mortified shock, but this does not prevent them from acting out the same berserker rage the next time a monster is released into the room.
It's not known exactly when Giovanni was a part of these experiments, but as a child, he was also fitted with a neck ring and forced to run the gauntlet of monsters at some point. He appears quite young in the flashback chapters--younger and smaller than Heine, perhaps--and is a far cry from his future self. Diminutive, mousy, crouching in corners, Giovanni is depicted with crayons and a coloring book, uninterested in the other children. He cries when he sees the monsters, and hides in a small alcove with his hands over his ears. There is also a brief scene of Einstürzen approaching Giovanni, much as she did the young Heine--but rather than encouraging him with praise, she calls him "trash".
Giovanni was in the same group as Lily and Heine, at least for a time, but whether or not he arrived with them initially or was added to the experiment later is a mystery. What we do know is that he observed Lily and Heine at work, and he later observed Heine "killing" all the other "students" and "professors"--including Lily, to Heine's great despair. Again, canon is extremely unspecific as to when this incident took place, or why, or how exactly Heine was able to kill so many of the others--and why so many of them, like Lily, stayed dead.
It was during this time at the "psychotic kindergarten" that Giovanni began his fixation on Heine. At some point, again under unspecified circumstances but presumably after like slaughtering everyone barehanded, Heine escaped the Underground and made it to the surface level. Giovanni is left behind, still entrapped in Einstürzen's experiments.
The next time Giovanni is seen, he works for Einstürzen herself. He seems to hold a position of some authority, though there are several who outrank him (Frühling, most notably, refers to him as "little Giovanni"). Einstürzen seems to have a certain level of confidence in him, as he's given several important assignments. The first that is canonically seen is his sojourn to find Heine. He first appears to his "older brother" in the form of an astral projection, briefly taunting him about his new life and lack of focus. It seems that this has happened in an unpictured past, because Heine--though shocked by Giovanni's sudden reappearance--does not seem shocked but the nature of the appearance, or in Giovanni's sudden dissipation. That's right--after showing up to briefly taunt Heine about killing Lily and talk about how much their "mother" misses him, Giovanni simply fades away.
At a point earlier to this incident, Heine and his occasional partner in crime, Badou Nails, were involved in a heist where they killed and humiliated several mafioso dudes. After his brief appearance to Heine in the crowd, Giovanni appears to gladly hand over information to these mafia fellows, in order to see Heine cornered and forced to fight for his life. As Heine does battle with a sea of mafia underlings in an empty warehouse, Giovanni crouches on the roof, watching the spectacle through a skylight. He's joined by the "Hardcore Twins", Luki and Noki, a pair of nearly identical young girls. They refer to Giovanni as their "big bro Gio", and seem to have at some point been the subject of the Cerberus tests themselves (or some similar form). Giovanni expresses disappointment in Heine's behavior, saying that he prefers it when Heine is "biting people". He dispatches the twins to take care of the fleeing mafia boss, while he descends into the warehouse to provoke Heine.
Upon his arrival on the scene, Giovanni shoots Heine. It's a very casual act, and he compounds the cruelty by seizing Heine by the throat. As he holds Heine in this grip, Giovanni begins to talk to him, calling him brother, saying that he is "too spoiled", and adding, "You were the best... You are the best." He wants, he says, to drag the Dog out of Heine--to release the wild side of him, to bring it out to play.
And, as Heine slips into temporary death, it seems that Giovanni's efforts will have been for nothing. But when Heine wakes up again, he is briefly possessed by the Dog--much to Giovanni's apparent delight. A furious battle begins. The two of them chase each other around the warehouse, shooting frantically, throwing doors at each other, hiding in corners and jumping out suddenly. Heine does seem to come back to his normal self at some point, but this does not meant that the battle ends. The contrast between them couldn't be more plain in these moments: where Heine is cold and furious, Giovanni is smiling, clearly thrilled by the turn of events.
In the midst of this battle, Giovanni reveals his purpose: he is here to bring Heine "home", back to the Underground. "I was told to bring you back," he says. "You were always the best one. The one who survived the most damage.... She wants to see you again." He is, of course, referring to Professor Einstürzen. Heine quickly insults Giovanni, referring to him as Einstürzen's faithful dog "who invites tears"--and the battle is joined once again, at an even more furious pace. Giovanni calls for "an end" to it, and there is--Heine finally snakes forward and gets in a kill shot, pressing the muzzle of his gun right up against his "little brother" and firing.
It seems that Giovanni will fall--but, of course, he does not. The wound knits itself, and Giovanni is left complaining only of a ruined shirt and jacket, all smiles again. Heine seems slightly surprised--"So it's finally happened," he says. "Your thing started for you too." Giovanni only grins and pulls down his shirt collar to reveal what is left of the collars of their childhood: a bolt and a plate in his neck. After this little reveal, he turns to leave, saying that he's going home. "It was fun," he dismisses, and then jumps straight off the building.
Giovanni's next appearances are slight, for the most part, until the end begins to loom closer. It's mentioned that he has been organizing the kidnapping of children on behalf of Einstürzen, though this is never proven. We see him chastised for not keeping a better watch on Luki and Noki; we see him talking quite civilly with Professor Einstürzen--but the whole time, it seems that Giovanni has Heine on his mind. He does not seem very interested when Einstürzen dispatches a group of Dogs (all wearing masks, all armed to the teeth) up to the surface world to kill a great deal of people, though he does accompany them as a sort of commander. He is the one who gives the order to fire the missals into the city--obeying orders, yet again.
Even in the later chapters, Einstürzen's motives for creating the Dogs is not necessarily clear. She seems to desire to take over the above ground levels, but this is never explicitly stated. Rather, the Dogs are released to cause chaos. The explosions from the subway car cause widespread destruction throughout the city, and the Dogs finish off the rest, shooting anyone who gets in their way. Giovanni, meanwhile, stands on a statue above the action, watching, and makes mention to a want to "enjoy" this--with, of course, Heine.
In the midst of Heine's battle with the Dogs, Giovanni shows up to mock him. The two jump at each other right away--Heine, of course, with more anger, Giovanni just wearing that grin of his. They fight even in the midst of the Dogs, completely ignoring everything around them. Their only interest is in each other--but they are evenly matched. Each bullet is met with an answering bullet. Eventually, they stop their assult, both agreeing that the "same routine is getting boring"--and that they should end this, once and for all.
A final shot each--Giovanni shoots Heine in the chest, and Heine gets a bullet in Giovanni's head, breaking his glasses. Giovanni falls to the ground, seemingly dead--but a second later, he raises his arm and shoots Heine two more times.
"You shot me again," he says, climbing to his feet with a serious case of crazyeyes going on. "You killed me again, Heine."
The stage is being set for a bigger confrontation--one beyond Giovanni and Heine, one beyond simple motives of conquering a city. Einstürzen wants to bring "him" out. "Him"--Einstürzen's nameless rival, her former partner in the Cerberus experiments, the "Father" to her "Mother". That is what the stage is being set for, and as the Dogs explode, dentonating all over the city, human bombs--the real show begins.
Point in Canon:
After talking with Einstürzen in Chapter 34, Giovanni leaves the room after requesting time off to "visit" Heine. He accompanies Einstürzen's Dogs on the dark subway car, gives the order to fire into the city--and that's when he feels the Pull!
Character Personality:
Giovanni is a difficult character, mostly because his motives are largely unknown. He works faithfully for Einstürzen, and obeys her orders without question. He is one of her best dogs, and always completes his work. The way he really feels about Einstürzen is not exactly known. He is loyal, and refers to Einstürzen as "mother" when in the company of Heine. But there are certain flashes of subtle irritation as well. At times, he is reduced to menial chores--fetching Luki and Noki when they stray, for instance. Einstürzen does not chastise him, but nor does she exactly praise him for any of his efforts. The memory of her referring to him as "trash" also complicates their relationship. It isn't healthy, by any means. Einstürzen controls Giovanni in so many ways--and while he doesn't loudly protest this treatment, he does not seem exactly pleased at all times. He isn't vocal about this displeasure, and the only indication of such that we receive are his occasional frowns.
A great deal of Giovanni's character is a certain level of boredom. He is an observer a large part of the time, crouching on rooftops and watching Heine work, waiting on the sidelines, sitting in phone booths and awaiting his next order. He does not get involved in things unless ordered to do so. He does what Einstürzen tells him to, and he taunts Heine. Those seem to be his two primary focuses in life. He has limited interactions with other people outside of those who have some experience with the Cerberus experiments, but in the few that we see, he is either polite and cool or slightly mocking. He does not seem to think very much of people, possibly because he is quite aware of his own superiority.
He is violent, but only when there is a point. Most of this involves Heine, of course, since through violence he can potentially pull out the Dog. Giovanni doesn't shy away from violence in others, but nor does he seek it out for himself without provocation.
His primary focus is on Heine, and Heine alone. He seems almost obsessed with his "older brother" and with bringing out the Dog in him. Giovanni seems almost to live to taunt Heine. He frequently brings up Lily, knowing full well what this mention will do to Heine's psyche. Again, this is an attempt to bring out the Dog, since Lily's name is one of the triggers that is able to drive Heine into madness.
There isn't ever a reason given for Giovanni's want to induce Heine's berserker rage, but a reason can be deduced from the rest of Giovanni's nature. He wants Heine to return to their mother, to become the successful experiment that he was meant to be. He wants his brother back, in a sense, and Heine is closest to the thing that he was made to be when the Dog is out. It's also implied that Giovanni enjoys these fights with Heine, must as Luki and Noki enjoy fighting and killing others. It's a childish sort of glee that he takes in it, and his grins always get a little bigger and a little creepier when the chance to fight Heine presents itself.
This glee also seems to be derived from the pleasure of playing. Heine and Giovanni are fairly evenly matched. They are able to fight each other as equals. A member of the Rammsteiner series rarely would meet an equal, so the chance to fight Heine would be a rare pleasure indeed for someone like Giovanni. Again, it can be compared to the glee that Luki and Noki take in playing with their "big bros"--but on a more sophisticated level, of course (less giggling, more menacing psychotic laughter).
Giovanni's physical appearance suggests something about him that isn't necessarily ever referred to canonically. Where the rest of the DOGS cast dresses in gritty city leathers and boots, Giovanni appears refined, neatly turned out. He always wears a suit and tie, and he bitches when Heine fills his jacket full of holes. From this, the reader gets the sense that Giovanni has a certain appreciation for fine things in life. It's an interesting aspect to his personality, and gives him a bit of a creepy edge.
There are other sides to Giovanni as well, though far more subtle than the rest of his personality. If Heine is haunted by memories of his Underground childhood, then Giovanni is haunted as well. Perhaps he isn't as affected as Heine is, but his memories in the flashback scenes indicate that he was one terrified child. They present him as a more sympathetic character. Surely some of these fears carried over into adulthood, even if he isn't clear and obvious about them. It isn't that Giovanni is completely subhuman and unafraid--it's just that he is much, much better about concealing these flaws--at least, when compared with Heine.
And it isn't just a desire to taunt or hurt Heine that drives him to seek out his "older brother". I think that there might be a slight amount of tarnished idolization in the Giovanni-Heine relationship. As children, Giovanni is depicted as quietly observing Heine much as he does when they're older. But as a child, Giovanni is quiet, mousy, hiding in corners. Heine is the strong one at this time, marching around, killing the monsters. It would only be natural for the young Giovanni to idolize this figure, to want to emulate him. After Heine's flight into the aboveground world, Giovanni must have felt betrayed, slightly, abandoned by a figure who he looked up to. "You were the best," he tells Heine, "you are the best." He is not shy in acknowledging Heine's superioirity--but superiority only if he allows the Dog some freedom. Heine will not be his superior if he is chained to grief and shame, unable to live up to his full potential as the solider he was created to be. Towards the middle of the series, Giovanni asks Einstürzen for some "inactive time". "I want to see him," he says. The reader is left to assume that he is referring to Heine. This isn't his usual grinning request--there is something quieter about him, something implacable, and I think that it goes right back to his idolization.
But the complexities don't end there. While he idolizes Heine to some degree, Giovanni is also intensely superior to him--and intensely aware of his superioirty. He is better because he remained behind--because he is complete and whole, where Heine is nothing more than a mad barking dog. He doesn't hesitate to remind Heine of this fact, mocking him for all his failings. He is held back by "burdens"--by his guilt at killing Lily, by Nill, by all the contacts that he has made while he has lived above ground. By contrast, Giovanni is free and fully confident of his abilities. He is not afraid of what he is, and in this, he is better than Heine.
Character Plans:
The dystopian Siren's Port will not be too large a change for Giovanni. It's quite similar to his own world and he'll adjust to it fairly quickly. Einstürzen would require him to reign Noki in, so he'll do his best to keep a handle on her, performing his usual babysitting duties with as much patience as he can manage. At the same time, though, he'll be able to use her to achieve his ends. As Giovanni isn't the type to needlessly get his hands dirty, he'll look around for bounties that they can claim, and send Noki off to take care of things. He'll hang around to observe and make sure she doesn't lose control, but he won't participate very much unless there's a very good reason to. After all, he's not the type to dirty his suit--unless it's with Heine's blood.
I don't know that Giovanni will align with either of the factions independently. He only works for Einstürzen, so he wouldn't take kindly to orders from anyone else. If and when Einstürzen makes her way into the city, he'll follow along with her lead. The likeliest affiliation for them would be SERO, since they're already accustomed to human/genetic experimentation. And Giovanni will want to get home, too, especially in the absence of Einstürzen and Heine. He will possibly work towards trying to figure out a way out of the city, though I doubt that he would align his work with very many people--if any at all.
And boy oh boy will he be thrilled if Heine ever comes to the city.
Appearance/PB:
Giovanni, bugeyed. He's traditionally been given blond hair, and I will be playing him as such.
Writing Samples
First Person Sample
[The audio engages with a long silence, just a burst of static. Eventually--quietly, very quietly, a voice:]
You're not here, are you.
[A brief pause; a quiet laugh. Then the voice gets a bit louder, addressing a whole:]
A carpet is a telling piece of history. Looking at the floor, you consider the feet that have crossed it, the shoes that have smudged it, the dirt that has marred it. How many residents reside in this city? How many new arrivals have walked the floor that I am standing on? Something is always left behind. A footprint. A stray hair. A scent, perhaps--or nothing more than the lingering impression of a well-known presence.
A good dog knows how to track, based on these leavings. But when the prey is not present, what does the good dog track? And the prey is gone. Or never was, here.
Haa, I am not making sense, am I? Never mind, it isn't important. Just a meditation on the brevity of life. And life here is interesting to all of you, isn't it? The daily grind, the long shuffle off the mortal coil. From one prison to the next; the frying pan, to the fire. A slew of colloquialisms. Hmm, and a strong sense of irony, above all else.
[Private // fairly easy to hack]
[A pause before he speaks. This is inevitable.]
Noki.
Third Person Sample
He isn't here.
Giovanni cradles his chin in the palm of his hand, his long finger caging over his lips. He's smiling, vaguely, his eyes playing over the streets below him--but it's an idle gaze. This city is much like any other. A city is not not so unique so as to have caught his interest.
Giovanni is interested in his brother.
He can always feel Heine Rammsteiner; he could pick his brother out of a crowd, the heat and intensity of him, and the Dog panting just below the surface like boiling lead, waiting, slavering. Heine's movements twinge at Giovanni's consciousness like tremors on a spider's web. The fly moves freely, but his moving stirs the tender fibers and catches the spider's attention. Waiting is important. Wait, and it comes to you.
But not here. Here, there are no tremors. There is only emptiness, and city streets, and concrete, and the longest wait, and a thousand meaningless people.
A thousand meaningless not-Heine-Rammnsteiners. From here, they look distant, like the pinpricks of tiny towns on a map, like pebbles on a game board. Meaningless.
Giovanni tips his head up towards the gray sky, his smile broadening slightly. The clouds look yellow from behind his glasses, sickly, jaundiced.
The irony of Einstürzen's faithful dog being caged here--the irony of a leash tighter than a collar--Giovanni laughs, softly. It's a good joke. Giovanni can appreciate it for its humor, even if he doesn't like it, even if he doesn't like where he is. Unless this is her doing. Unless Einstürzen has sent him here.
She wouldn't.
There is little that Giovanni can say that he "likes", and none of it is present in this city. He has been observing for a few days now, allowing himself time to adjust.
Even the adjustment is strange. It isn't like him to feel ill, but he had felt the sickening pitch of his stomach upon his arrival here, and that had confused him. He had not been made to feel illness. There is something at work here that he does not quite understand, something looming larger than him, than anything. And that feeling is the most unsettling of them all--because all that has ever loomed in Giovanni's life has been Professor Einstürzen and Heine, two mountains. And here, in this flat land--a mountain larger than either. A force stronger. It should be impossible.
Reflexively, Giovanni touches a hand against his neck. The coldness of his collar is evident even through the expensive weave of his shirt. It twinges slightly and he shudders, just a little, drops his hand as quickly as if he has been stung.
There is nothing stronger.
And now is the time.
Involvement might be necessary. At the least, he will have to recover Noki. It is what she would want--their Mother.
Heine Rammsteiner will come. They are magnets. They pull to each other.
So. Enter stage right. Giovanni rises from his crouch and looks down on the city. His smile slides back into place and he slips his hands into his pockets.