application for anteceded

[nebenmond]

PLAYER

NAME: Seiko
LJ USERNAME: gearcheim
AIM/MSN: seiko in a box
EMAIL: seikobox[at]gmail

CHARACTER

NAME: Heine Rammsteiner
SERIES: Dogs: Bullets & Carnage
TIMELINE: Chapter 48+
BACKGROUND: Small Wiki Section
ELABORATION (OF/IN ADDITION/"CONTINUATION" OF WIKI)
Part of the Rammsteiner series of the Kerebos project, designed specifically as infiltration units, Heine's "career" with the Underground ended with him deserting them (presumably shortly after Lily's Death), although currently when he did exactly is unknown. He was picked up by a man going by the name of "Bishop" and eventually became "partners" with a man named Badou Nails, becoming a "gun-for-hire" of sorts. He doesn't always work with Badou on missions, as the two of them go their separate ways at times, but when they're partners they tend to look out for each other and play off each other's strengths-all the while bickering like a married couple would through the entire scenario.

Heine meets Nill by chance on the streets when he is out one night by himself. She runs by him with men in pursuit of her and at first doesn't care to get involved even when she's caught, only taking an interest in her and her situation because he notices the wings genetically modified on her back. He saves her from being sold into a life of prostitution and manages to find comfort in her presence despite her reminding him of Lily. In fact, she is the only female since Lily that he's comfortable being close to, even being able to physically touch her and be touched by her. While Heine watches out for her, Bishop is responsible for her when Heine isn't around (and uses it as a perfect opportunity to dress her in various lolita dresses from his supposedly amassed collection). Which, so far in DOGs canon, seems to be most of the time.

Eventually, Heine meets a young woman by the name of Naoto Fuyumine, who is searching for a past that he himself is trying to forget. Between her, seeking information on the Underground, and his "brother", Giovanni, trying to recruit him back to the Underground, he's pulled into the world he was hoping to never see again.

ABILITIES: dual-gun proficiency. Pretty self explanatory, he's exceptionally talented in the use of his two weapons in a fight, being (like most of the gun wielding characters other than the bad guys) a really good shot. It's safe to say while he's not unmatched or anything ridiculous like that, his skill with guns and using two of them, in particular, in battle, is a mastery.
supernatural

rapid healing. Due to the genetic manipulations, one of his abilities is to rapidly heal from wounds of all kinds and to have a very high tolerance threshold for pain and damage to his own body. It's normal for his battles with Giovanni to end with them both covered in holes, but despite the ability to withstand more than the average human, he's not invincible. Any direct shots to the head are more than likely fatal and he can't regenerate body parts (...as far as I know).
heightened abilities. Pretty much all of his senses and abilities are "above average" for a human.
"cerberus"/berserker rage. Not really an "ability" but worth noting somewhere, due to the collar fused to his spine there is a berserker mode (the "dog" personality described) where he becomes dulled to just about everything other than the desire for a killing frenzy. His abilities, in general, from speed to strength to stamina seem to increase, all senses heightening not unlike a dog in comparison to a human. Heine seems to have trouble remembering details from while he's in this mode, and does everything he can to suppress it. Unfortunately for him, it's been shown it's not all that hard to unleash this rage if you can corner him and threaten his well-being successfully enough. Or the well-being of another he's close to.


30% limitations for Anteceded:
He has no magical powers so the only thing that could be affected is his spine, which would mainly be his rapid healing ability, strength/speed, and high resistance to bullets. I'm figuring he'd be easier to kill with his healing ability lowered in particular and perhaps the "dog" in Heine will be less influential if the spine is negatively affected. That said, I'm also all for flipping it the other way around where Heine has less control over himself because of it, but I think I'll leave this for the mods if it's ok :[ Sorry.


PERSONALITY:

Heine is a little bit simple and a little bit complicated all meshed together in one. On the surface, he is a rather typical "anti-hero" character stereotype:
A loner: Heine doesn't play all that nice with others, often preferring to be alone and keep things to himself. The one small exception to this personality trait is his ability to work exceedingly well with others when it's necessary, and although he does prefer to fight alone (and in general, just be alone) he isn't so dense that he can't function with assistance. He is able to feed well off other people's abilities, even when their personalities clash. His partnership with Badou is a prime example of this as while they never see eye to eye and are often bickering with one another while on a job, they're able to still work together to get the job. He is similar with Naoto and although the two of them suffer from a tension much different than Badou and Heine do, they make an exceptional team together.
A tough guy: He's very confident and cocky, always getting his job done and immune to intimidation. In fact, Heine despite his appearance is rather good at his own intimidation techniques even when seemingly on the losing end of things (biting people's faces does tend to freak them out a little). He always gets the job done and like others who fall into this category has no issues with killing and killing some more.
Someone who doesn't care about the world other than in regards to themselves: Heine displays a very disinterested attitude towards most if not all aspects of life upon first meeting. He doesn't involve himself in other people's businesses, even when a normal "upstanding" person may such as when Nill was being pursued by her captors. Until he saw her wings and made a mental connection to her (they're the same in some way because both of them suffer from being victims to experimentation), he was fine with accepting the way his world works, that people use other people, even young girls for prostitution and that it's none of his business to go about changing it. Once he is able to relate to her, however, Heine's sense of "caring" takes a rather sharp turn. If anything, his lack of interest in others and their well-being is only skin deep, but he's pretty thick-skinned all the same.

The truth is, he is simply all that but with a bit of a complex twist. The first and most important thing to know is that no matter how he comes off, simplistic or complex in his personality, is that he's just a little bit crazy. He's a little bit crazy in that unstable type way, when someone's lost their sanity to their circumstances but is still holding onto something (somehow) that keeps him from being a constant nutcase on the outside. Due to genetic manipulations as a child (although never stated explicitly, heavily implied!), Heine seems to suffer from a rather severe case of Dissociative Identity Disorder: his "normal" or "calm" personality and his destructive "dog" personality.

default personality

His "normal"/"calm" personality is all the things listed above, and despite all those things, is pretty decent when he wants to be. It's not often, and he's done his fair share of not nice things (Naoto hates his lack of honor/fairness/restraint in the way he fights even without his second personality taking over), but when he can relate to someone or chooses to relate to them, he's not a bad guy. Heine needs a reason to not be, a reason to care about anything and anyone. It's not that he's impossible to become friends with or for him to give a shit about someone/something; it's more likely that he avoids connections at all costs because of the failures that haunt him most. Lily's death is hinted at being the driving force in his desire to stay detached, but it's probably also what makes him hold on the tightest when he does. His most important person is Nill, and while not proved in canon, is most likely out of her indirect resemblance to Lily. Heine has a strong desire to protect (Nill, of course, but in general, too, which is seen in later chapters) but its hinted that there's a very distinct fear of being unable to do so (and it's easy to assume this is because of his past). However, it's important to note that Nill is very much her own person to Heine and he doesn't seem to have much trouble seeing that when interacting with her.

Heine also suffers from gynophobia, most likely due to the events where he killed Lily (it's heavily implied but never directly stated in canon if this is the reason, it may also have to do with his "mother", Angelika Einstürzen). The "severity" seems to vary depending on the female in question, ranging from being so nervous at the thought of coming in contact with them (in one instance, he is with Badou and Kiri, the owner of the place, comes up beside Heine's seat and he slides his chair over to practically sit himself on top of Badou) to nothing at all (Nill is the only female he can touch and be touched by without it sending him into some sort of panic, although he is shown to be able touch Naoto on some level as well... even if he does drop her to the ground after catching her fall in the end. Regardless, he has shown little issue being within close proximity of her, able to fight alongside her and have conversations at close distances.). **To be honest, I'm not sure if this variation is because his gynophobia is special circumstance and more selective than we are originally intended to believe or if the author simply can't make up his mind. I usually play him as being fine with females unless they invade personal space or he has to touch them. My elaboration/reasoning for how I play him with his gynophobia isn't proven canon (we don't know exactly why he has it and what from, just fan assumptions and I play him... having it quite different than most, I think. So I'll just include it in case it's necessary (or you can skip it. it's all in gray!):**


PERSONALITY: GYNOPHOBIA [EXTENDED + ASSUMPTIONS FROM CANON MATERIAL]

Kiri might resemble Einstürzen due to her age and nature of being kind. While Einstürzen and Kiri act nothing alike, Einstürzen seems to have always used very affectionate words and physical care (hugs, etc.) with Heine while basically speak words the exact opposite of what her body language suggests. Since he doesn't know Kiri and actually almost slams Badou and himself off their chairs in sliding quickly away from her when he stands next to her, it's fair to say something triggers in him when he's within reaching distance.

Naoto probably would resemble Frühling, and his standoffish bitchy nature may suggest his feelings towards the "caretaker". Frühling is very independent and capable and not really one to take any shit. It's pretty easy to assume Heine with his personality would butt heads with such authority and Naoto is very headstrong and engages with him in bickering. I just think Naoto's presence/katana/qualities unconsciously remind him of Frühling/what Frühling basically represented while he was in the Underground (maybe restraint and inability to escape, not to mention possible abductor if reaching for straws with Naoto's background story, who knows...).

Nill is obviously a reminder of Lily. Someone he couldn't protect/was the big brother figure of. Judging by Chapter 52, Heine seemed to keep the balance/peace and "take care" of his two siblings during all this. He seems more confident and in control than either of them, but he's also the one who in the end who rips them apart. Considering we see Heine as very uncaring about others (even children, as seen in an early mission with Badou, he just does what he does and saves them because it's a job, no real concern for them like a general person may be for a little kid being a victim to kidnapping.

Noki and Luki are actually the... last set of female influence in his life, and he has no issues whatsoever with touching them and breaking them in half if they get too annoying. So, since it's so unclear, with all this in mind, I usually play him with a slightly different mindset. He's "afraid" of women in general because, let's face it, every single person that has made him helpless or miserable or a monster he doesn't want to be are all women. Men are nonexistent in his situation, it seems so far, until Bishop picks him up off the street and takes him in. With Heine how he was and how he is now, I don't feel he has a problem with women in general so much as women have made very VERY distinct influences on his traumatizing past. He might feel he can't trust them or something, but I guess I assume it like this:
He's afraid of women that can trigger a reminder of Einstürzen. She is, afterall, the one who had complete control over him and fucked everything up. It's really because of her he ended up killing Lily. Funnily enough, as gruesome as Einsturzen is in morales and purpose, she is extremely gentle and motherly in both appearance and choice of words with him. Thus, someone like Kiri, a woman who would probably be fair to say could be in Einstürzen's physical age range who is kind and good natured to people but has a bossy side, too (with Mihai), probably is what makes him freak out when she gets near him. He can't help it, Einstürzen always seemed to do her worst damage by being close and caring to him (hugging him, being a motherly figure, whatever. )

He hates women who have a sense of "power"/"authority" like Frühling. If we assume from Naoto's story that Heine was picked up off the streets the same way/by the same person as who killed her family and left her to die, it's fair to say he loathes Frühling for bringing him there in the first place and being able to "keep" him there. It's resentment, it's pretty typical even when bad things don't happen with people who don't want to be controlled, and Heine even has pretty good reasons to add to his already "fuck you i do what i want" nature. His personality is slowly starting to change towards Naoto the better they get to know each other and the more he starts to... uh, see she's not quite as "in charge" of things as she initially comes off as in their initial meeting (she has a lot of nerve to be stalking him around and expect to get information out of him, afterall... he's not anyone's dog, but it's possible that Frühling was able to get him to be and thus there's a lot of hate and resentment for someone oddly familiar just coming into his life randomly all demanding to give information he hasn't told her before. So, he's naturally irritated from the start and while is aware she isn't Frühling and probably hasn't/will never make a connection to the two, he's unconsciously defensive towards anyone who even reminds him of what could have been part of his life back in the Underground.

Same concept as someone getting automatically defensive when asked a question about their actions that *could* lead to a situation they've experienced once or many times before that they dislike. It's the preemptive strike to try and intimidate others off that possible track. Think twice. It's not the person asking the question's fault or any fear/wariness of the person themselves asking the question so much as it is over the situation that could develop from there.

With Nill and Lily, I don't think Lily made him so much afraid of women as much as feeling a phobia of women that remind him of what happened/that he wasn't able to protect her. He holds a lot of guilt for the situation, but it's at this point hard to say that just killing her is the sole reason. (In Chapter 52, it's seen he and Giovanni are on relatively good terns as well, he looks out for both of them and is harsh with Giovanni, but protects him from Lily when she goes crazy and tries to choke him.) He's the big brother, the protector, and an earlier flashback of his past in the Underground has a Lily who was just moments ago berserk and ripping a monster into pieces scared and unsure of what was happening and crying on him and clinging for support. Lily is obviously crazy and she's telling Heine she's scared and seeking comfort. Giovanni when they were all younger was very timid and unsure of himself, always doing things that could get him killed. Both of them are unable to protect themselves (or protect others from themselves such as with lily unable to keep her dog personality in check) and Heine's the one they're depending on to do it for them.

And Heine is for a while. He seems the most stable and confident and quite in control of his berserker mode (or resistant to it affecting him negatively, maybe) and he's the one who keeps them in check. Actually, for whatever reason, Lily seems to be able to regain control of herself because of Heine. Now, one day they're all pitted against each other and, well, if Heine was as we see him in Chapter 52, it's safe to say that he would have been able to potentially stop a carnage between the three of them. For whatever reason, though, he snaps. And suddenly, when he comes to his senses, he's ripped his sister to pieces and severely injured Giovanni. It's the first time he loses control, it seems, and unlike Lily there's no one to calm him. And his one mistake ruins everything he was protecting/looking out for. It's not even failure to help at a point, it's more likely the realization that the dog isn't something he can control and he's just like Lily was. He's powerless and not only can he no longer protect those who look to him like he has the ability, but he's the one who ends up killing them both. The one who was in control, the protector, the one keeping them all alive despite.

Yeah, that's a little shitty to come to terms with. With Nill, he might simply be afraid of her touching him at first because of what he did to Lily, but when he realizes he has control around her and can interact with her without flipping his shit, he becomes quite protective and brotherly to her. She's almost like a second chance to put himself in denial about the existence of the monster inside him. She's not a trigger concerning his past, she's a comfort and gives him a little bit of purpose again. However, unlike with Lily and Giovanni, he mostly protects Nill by making sure she is safe away from everything. He puts trust into others to protect her perhaps more than he does himself, often leaving her with Bishop while he goes about business and even letting Naoto take on the active protector role (perhaps trusts her stability more than his own in a high tension situation.)

Finally, Noki and Luki are pretty much just representative of the rest of his opinion towards people. Doesn't care, doesn't want to be bothered, and christ if you keep busting his balls he just might turn around snap your neck. Same concept as someone getting automatically defensive when asked a question about their actions that *could* lead to a situation they've experienced once or many times before that they dislike. It's the preemptive strike to try and intimidate others off that possible track. Think twice. It's not the person asking the question's fault or any fear/wariness of the person themselves asking the question so much as it is over the situation that could develop from there.

With Nill and Lily, I don't think Lily made him so much afraid of women as much as feeling like he wasn't able to protect her. He holds a lot of guilt for the situation, but it's at this point hard to say that just killing her is the sole reason. (In Chapter 52, it's seen he and Giovanni are on relatively good turns as well, he looks out for both of them and is harsh with Giovanni, but protects him from Lily when she goes crazy and tries to choke him.) He's the big brother, the protector, and an earlier flashback of his past in the Underground has a Lily who was just moments ago berserk and ripping a monster into pieces scared and unsure of what was happening and crying on him and clinging for support. Lily is obviously crazy and she's telling Heine she's scared and seeking comfort. Giovanni when they were all younger was very timid and unsure of himself, always doing things that could get him killed. Both of them are unable to protect themselves (or protect others from themselves such as with lily unable to keep her dog personality in check) and Heine's the one they're depending on to do it for them. And Heine is for a while. He seems the most stable and confident and quite in control of his berserker mode (or resistant to it affecting him negatively, maybe) and he's the one who keeps them in check. Actually, for whatever reason, Lily seems to be able to regain control of herself because of Heine.

Now, one day they're all pitted against each other and, well, if Heine was as we see him in Chapter 52, it's safe to say that he would have been able to potentially stop a carnage between the three of them. For whatever reason, though, he snaps. And suddenly, when he comes to his senses, he's ripped his sister to pieces and severely injured Giovanni. It's the first time he loses control, it seems, and unlike Lily there's no one to calm him. And his one mistake ruins everything he was protecting/looking out for. It's not even failure to help at a point, it's more likely the realization that the dog isn't something he can control and he's just like Lily was. He's powerless and not only can he no longer protect those who look to him like he has the ability, but he's the one who ends up killing them both. The one who was in control, the protector, the one keeping them all alive despite.

Yeah, that's a little shitty to come to terms with. With Nill, he might simply be afraid of her touching him at first because of what he did to Lily, but when he realizes he has control around her and can interact with her without flipping his shit, he becomes quite protective and brotherly to her. She's almost like a second chance to put himself in denial about the existence of the monster inside him. She's not a trigger concerning his past, she's a comfort and gives him a little bit of purpose again. However, unlike with Lily and Giovanni, he mostly protects Nill by making sure she is safe away from everything. He puts trust into others to protect her perhaps more than he does himself, often leaving her with Bishop while he goes about business and even letting Naoto take on the active protector role (perhaps trusts her stability more than his own in a high tension situation.)

Finally, Noki and Luki are pretty much just representative of the rest of his opinion towards people. Doesn't care, doesn't want to be bothered, and christ if you keep busting his balls he just might turn around snap your neck.

"alter ego"
The other side to Heine is the "dog", a destructive and aggressive bloodlusted personality that marks the results of the experiments he underwent as a child. The collar fused to the neck seems to be responsible for the second personality, originally the intention of the DOGS project being to create superior soldiers capable of aggressive and destructive behavior without human senses and thoughts to deter them. Etc. Etc., anyway, all subjects seem to have this split personality within them, although Heine's is particularly defined, often manifesting itself prominently enough for Heine to have mental battles with it over his own thoughts and actions. This personality takes over in tense situations, when Heine looses his control. The little bit of being crazy usually escalates into this aggressive personality, one entirely different from his own. It's never stated in canon as the personality doesn't last long enough, but assuming its comments to Heine about Naoto and its overall demeanor, it's safe to assume this personality doesn't have any of Heine's weaknesses. There's no 'special exceptions' here, considering it was this personality that killed Lily, although Naoto has been shown to be able to calm the "dog" inside Heine and allow his normal personality to regain control.

Despite these personalities being "different", they're both Heine's. Heine tries very hard to deny what he is to himself; something his "brother", Giovanni, often brings up in taunts in an effort to unleash the "dog" within him. It's probably why the personality is so prominent within his head, often talking to him as they were two separate entities. The "dog" personality is no more amused at being the same as Heine's default personality than the other, too, constantly berating Heine for his choices made and becoming too soft.

Heine, on a lighter note of personality, has a rather dry (and weird) sense of humor with a lot of sarcasm pushed around in there. He's not afraid to tell people what he thinks of them, or to kick them around if necessary (especially Badou), and respect is something earned, not given by default. He's not always serious business, either, preferring not to get involved with things unless he has to, so often having a nonchalant outlook. He can be a bit derpy, at times, even, although I don't focus on that personality quite as much when I rp him in serious games since it's a part of him that's more like comic relief.

It's important to note that Heine is a bit broody at times, as well, but not what one would consider angsty. He kind of looks like he could be an angst ridden character, but he's not. He just goes crazy from the trauma in his past, instead.

SAMPLES

[SIDE A]
➀ w/ Nill, Giovanni, Naoto, Frühling of DOGs
➁ w/ Giovanni of DOGs
➂ w/ Spike Spiegel of COWBOY BEBOP