[app] the pines

[handsomefoil]

PLAYER

NAME: hanshi
CONTACT: hanshi
OTHER CHARACTERS IN THE PINES: Nawp.

CHARACTER

NAME: Henry Cooldown
CANON: No More Heroes
CANON-POINT: Post-NMH2

DOSSIER

HISTORY: you're a disgrace

WHAT ARE YOUR CHARACTER'S STRENGTHS?:
As his last name entails, he's a master of keeping his cool when it matters the most. Perhaps it has something to do with his lifestyle as an assassin, or maybe his role as a foil to a hot-blooded protagonist is what compels him, but whatever it is, he's extremely level-headed. Perhaps to a fault. Sometimes he seems too pleasant in the face of danger. His adaptability to any situation, to steer any suspicious questions about his personal life and occupation away from him, are also tools at his disposal as he talks a lot about himself, and yet reveals very little. Putting on a guise of normalcy to live among the non-murdering folk comes almost naturally to him, but even he's not so foolish to think that the guise will last for long. He keeps his interactions brief, and dances around touchy subjects, but all with a practiced grace of a professional liar. He almost seems normal and he almost seems to get away with it.

WHAT ARE YOUR CHARACTER'S WEAKNESSES?:
That being said, he's also very bad at opening up to others and being completely genuine about himself...at least, to most people. It might not be very apparent in the game since his interactions are mostly with Travis, who he knows to be his only living blood relative. He's only human, so there are instances where he does let his guard down. Usually at the worst moments, it seems, as something obviously distracted him long enough to get his ass handed to by an opponent he had no problems facing in the first game (granted, the first time he killed the assassin Letz Shake was a surprise attack from above, sort of a cheap shot). He's prideful, and cares a lot about his image and appearance, so there's a lot of things he doesn't allow himself to associate with when it comes to his overall physical presentation. Whether it's something as deep as how strong and put-together he wants to appear in front of others (and his twin brother) even when he's not feeling it, or as shallow as looking as bad-ass as possible when fighting a boss that gets on your level, he stakes a lot on his appearances.

WHAT EVENTS OR CIRCUMSTANCES IN YOUR CHARACTER'S PAST HAVE IMPACTED THEM THE MOST?:
★ɪᴛ's ʙᴇᴇɴ ᴛᴡᴇɴᴛʏ-sᴇᴠᴇɴ ʏᴇᴀʀs...★

Note: No More Heroes is extremely meta, and constantly breaks the fourth wall. So in this case, Henry realizes that meeting his twin brother for the first time in 27 years is very important to him as a character. He's the mysterious foil, and he realizes his place, the role he plays in his brother's story (life). His opposite, yet they're very much the same. Despite his obvious disappointment in realizing Travis doesn't know who he is, he still presses on... even if it means dueling him at the last minute of the game.

★sᴛᴏɴᴇ ᴄᴏʟᴅ★

During the off-screen second fight (NMH2) against Dr. Letz Shake, Henry is defeated and entombed in carbonite a la Han Solo. Nearing death by suffocation, Travis inadvertently rescues him (he calls Henry "collateral damage" how rude) and is kinda forced to let Henry recover in his room from the thawing since Sylvia had dumped him there. He awakens to find that Travis had basically taken care of him... like, uh, taking his triple combo shirt/vest/tie/possible undershirt off? Probably from all the fever sweat, yeah. That'd be one more problem for Travis to deal with if Henry woke up sick and then remained stuck in Travis's care even longer. YEP. :') ANyway, Henry finds this to be his turning point, saying there's no honor in being rescued by his Baby Brother. This is where his issue with appearances kick in, as he proceeds to leave Travis a long voice message about how he did him a good ol' solid by killing off three of his next targets and taunting him. Ah yes, classic Henry.

★ᴏᴛʜᴇʀs ᴛʜᴀᴛ ᴅɪᴅɴ'ᴛ ᴍᴀᴋᴇ ᴛʜᴇ ᴄᴜᴛ★

Sylvia, the woman that helps Travis get into the United Assassin's Association in the first place, is Henry's ex-wife as we learn at the very end of the first game. They divorce some time after the first game and before the second, which is three years later, so somewhere within the three years they were divorced. Henry was pretty distraught when Travis insinuated that Sylvia was unfaithful (does that kiss in the cut-scene after killing Harvey count?), so maybe this came as a shock to him? Or maybe it was inevitable? Maybe his state of mind had something to do with how he got defeated by such a lame-brain (heh) boss? We'll never know, which is why I don't necessarily feel like it applies to this section but felt it was worth describing anyway.

His fight with Mimmy also seems to shed quite a bit of light onto Henry's state of mind, but the cut-scene is so infuriatingly vague that it doesn't offer much in terms of his characterization. It's all speculation/extrapolation/head-canon at this point.

WHAT MOTIVATES YOUR CHARACTER?:
At first glance, it looks like Henry is more or less motivated by challenging Travis for the invisible thrown, the spot of #1. Then as the end of the first game approaches and the True Ending is revealed, Henry is clearly disappointed in Travis's scaling of the ranks and how he treats the lives he's taken. So, perhaps it's a familial drive to make Travis into a better person... or a more passion-motivated drive to make Travis a better assassin. It's hard to say, exactly. There's little evidence as to why Henry does what he does, but we can only assume he does it because he's his twin brother. There's always a special bond between siblings, even if they're still basically strangers to one another. Especially twin siblings.

Another possibility is that Henry is just bored and restless. He also has a daughter, though it's not explicitly mentioned as such. She's a small blonde child, who appears at the end of the NMH1's credits with Sylvia, looking up at a picture of Travis and Henry together. Whether she influences any of his actions is pure speculation, but I feel it's also worth mentioning.

Oh, and money is also a great motivator. He kills for that coin. 👌

WHAT IMPRESSION DO OTHERS TEND TO HAVE OF YOUR CHARACTER?:
As he puts up an impressive and aloof front, most characters think he's either extremely suave and classy, or a huge jerk. He does act a little stuck-up. It's probably that air of European superiority. Travis, for example, thought he was a dick, hence the nickname Mister Sir Henry Motherfucker.

IN WHAT WAYS DOES THAT IMPRESSION DIFFER FROM WHO YOUR CHARACTER REALLY IS?:
They're subtle differences for the most part, but he's a thrill junkie with a passion for the kill, so despite being quite suave, murder is hardly classy. The second part is pretty much true. He can be a dick.

HOW DOES YOUR CHARACTER HANDLE CRISIS OR ADVERSITY?:
With supposed ease. His ability to stay calm and focused during the most stressful of situations come in handy, even when facing against great odds. Ever since that fight against a prepubescent anime girl with robot arms in his subconscious (that might've possibly had real-life consequences) as his physical body is shivering in bed, not much phases him. He's both an instigator and passive fighter when needed and reacts accordingly, and although he's more active in his approach, he understands the benefits of waiting for the right time to strike.

WHICH 5 THINGS WILL YOUR CHARACTER REMEMBER UPON ARRIVAL, AND WHY DID YOU CHOOSE THEM?:
★ He will remember that he has an estranged twin brother named Travis (but not as an assassin), and that he'd met him for the first time when they were 27 (they're currently 30 years old). Travis's appearance in his life is still extremely new, and to have that stripped away makes him a Stranger. Which makes Henry more aloof and reserved around him. While that's not bad at all in the least in terms of characterization, it's not very fun for me. As for not remembering Travis's occupation (and in turn, his own), it makes for a subtle difference in how Henry acts/reacts around non-murdering folks VS the murder-biz folks.

★ He'll remember the time Travis tended to him after having a near-death experience. Even if the bloke was crass about it. It's one of their first baby steps towards acknowledging each other as family rather than straight-up rivals.

★ He had a wife and kid, but they divorced after ten years of marriage. She has custody of the child. This makes it so that if she is ever applied for in this game, it would still make sense and integrate easily into the game. I like the added family angst, and it's also funny that most people don't expect him to be a father. Albeit a shitty one.

★ At one point, he helped Travis out of a jam during a big fight. The details are fuzzy (OOC-wise, it's just such a bizarre situation that trying to justify what'd happened during that fight would be like trying to rationalize a weird dream).

★ He remembers training with a light saber for a good chunk of his life because he's a dweeb. He doesn't remember the real reasoning behind it, just that he really liked the aesthetic of it and was fond of swordsmanship.

IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE YOU FEEL WE NEED TO KNOW ABOUT YOUR CHARACTER?:
He also had a half-sister named Jeane (also the name of his daughter... coincidence?), but she's killed in the first game by Travis. It's unknown whether Henry knew about her relation to him. Their family is kinda messed up.

SKILLS, ABILITIES, & PHYSICAL WEAKNESSES:
Henry has exceptional skill with the light saber, and enhanced strength and durability (though this is seen as pretty normal in their canon). He doesn't appear to have any physical weaknesses, unless I assume that being nearly killed in carbonite has made him very claustrophobic. That's just me making stuff up, though.

INVENTORY:
Items on his person:
(1) cross saber
(1) cellphone

Items not on his person:
(1) wallet
(1) pack of cigarettes
(1) lighter

SAMPLES

PROSE-HEAVY: Top Level - Thread
DIALOGUE-HEAVY: Top Level - Thread