( PLAYER ★ INFORMATION )

NAME: hanshi
AGE: 28
CONTACT: hanshi(plurk)
CURRENT CHARACTERS & LATEST AC: n/a

( CHARACTER ★ INFORMATION )

NAME & AGE: Henry Cooldown (30)
CANON & CANON POINT: Post NMH2, after he leaves Travis to his own devices against the final boss battle.
CANON INFORMATION: [wiki link]

PERSONALITY: headcanon bolded
At first glance, Henry is a mild-mannered professional assassin: down-to-earth, polite, relatively intelligent, with a hint of sass. He has an air of haughtiness about him, something he's acquired from studying abroad in the UK and France for long periods of his life although he was raised in Ireland. Family back home call him a Shoneen, an Irishman who imitated English ways since his mannerisms mirrored them more than his Irish counterparts. It's more than likely he was physically born in the United States, but there's no canon proof of where Travis and Henry were born. Strict parents (most likely foster parents) taught him the ways of becoming an assassin- but he learned most of his mannerisms and own style of professionalism when he studied/went to college in the UK , though it's not far-fetched to say that his upbringing helped shape and mold his principles to this day. While his parents were very strict and demanded a certain kind of presentation from him, they weren't completely put-off by his slightly condescending attitude. It was his way of rebelling against his parents, and he holds pride in his successful attempts to develop his own identity.

It was speculated that Henry was in on the killing game with Sylvia in their early years together; A honeymoon stage for them, as morbid and twisted as it may sound to others. He wasn't and still isn't blind to her behaviour, but back then to a 17 year old, it probably seemed like a good way to get quick cash in huge amounts and also grant him some recognition in the assassin biz. He knew her tendency to spend money like it's nothing would require some unsavory methods, but it wasn't so difficult to accept in the beginning. He realized as time went on that he actually did have a conscience, and while still married to Sylvia, he technically went rogue, giving up his #1 spot in the game and leaving it for whoever happened to be next. This shows that despite his grey-area morals, he still has a limit to how much bad he can do, unlike his ex-wife.

While he realizes murdering people is "bad", he actually enjoys his job and is not at all squeamish. It's more due to the fact that assassinations are turned into a spectator's sport where assassins were just killing each other instead of doing their actual jobs. Taking out another assassin isn't wrong per se when the time calls for it, but when it was just assassins against other assassins in a gladiator style death-match over and over again, so what's the point in calling one's self an assassin? One could even say the job works on a "Need-To-Kill" basis, not a wanton parade of thrills and kills. There's a bit of nuance that Henry takes pride in, and he hates what the UAA (United Assassins Association) has turned the profession into.

He keeps his cool most of the time, but like the Irishman he is, has a bit of a temper if provoked enough. Being thrown into an unknown situation against his will (ie. his subconscious, fighting against Mimmy), realizing his wife cheated on him with his twin brother Travis Touchdown, and generally having to deal with wacky shit that he feels is a waste of his time (ie. the boss battle against Jasper Batt Jr). It's funny that he thinks this way since he's kind of a strange character himself. It's probably because he doesn't believe he's as ridiculous as some of the characters that are encountered that he sees himself as better or above them. This shows in his actions, as he does whatever the hell he wants, whether it's blatantly fourth-walling or interfering with Travis's fights or breaking out of the assassin game that he and his ex had set up in the first place, only to enter back in as a secret boss when it's convenient for him. The fact that he's even able to (or allowed, from the game creator's perspective) do any of these things gives him a greater - if false - sense of power, making him come off a bit cocky. He's completely aware of his lack of actual control or power over his life though, which he's come to terms with, and powers through it all with dry humor and violence.

Being reminded of any weaknesses or troubles in his past are very unwelcome, however, something he responds to with bitter resentment or anger. Emotional or physical weakness was something his family looked down upon. If you had a weakness, you either kept it hidden or you overcame it, and this way of thinking is one of the few things that were ingrained into him since childhood. Any reminders of his own weaknesses are rarely elaborated upon, but it's easy to assume that he hates it. Anything involving his relationship with Sylvia and his daughter are touchy subjects, for he doesn't get to see his daughter much. After the divorce between the first and second game, it's likely that Sylvia won custody of their young daughter Jeane. During a cutscene in Henry's subconscious, he's confronted by a rainy scene in front of a house, and while there's absolutely no information regarding this scene whatsoever, it can be one of couple things: the house he grew up in or the house that he, Sylvia, and Jeane lived in, and it dredges up some unpleasant or melancholy emotions in either situation.

He misses his daughter and probably has a hint of regret of doing what he does for a living, possibly because he just wants to settle down and live a normal life as a father, but it's not as if he can just sulk and cling to the past so he covers his weaknesses and deals with it. Mimmy says an interesting thing during their encounter in Henry's subconscious, claiming that he "did not wish to go back [to the conscious world]" and that he called out to her. Mimmy seemed to be a parasite in his mind, an embodiment of his childish desires (she looks like a young anime child with gigantic robot arms) and wanted to keep him in his comatose state because he secretly wishes to stay in the scenery of his old house, but the strength of his willpower to shut down any weaknesses allows him to ignore her tempting offer and eradicates her existence completely.

Travis, being his only living blood, holds a special (if slightly confusing) spot in his heart. They start off as rivals, then as awkward strangers trying to deal with each other, then sorta rival-brothers again. Henry sees himself as the responsible one, who has to steer Travis onto the right path and open his eyes to the ridiculous world around him, and takes it upon himself to exert the older brother role as often as he can. It doesn't help that they're twins. He likes to tease Travis constantly, finding him an easy target for it, but there is still something genuine about the things he does and says. He was even willing to kill Travis to teach him his lessons- and seeing as he had little to no real emotional connection with him in the beginning, it wasn't too hard. If Travis died in a fight against him, he probably wasn't worth being either 1st Rank or his brother to begin with. However in the second game, Henry is rescued from becoming a carbonite statue (yes, like Star Wars) by Travis, which forces him to stick around for the remainder of the game to pay him back. He doesn't like owing people anything, so his way of payback is to kill the next three targets that Travis had to kill. Such a nice big brother, eh?

In conclusion: While Henry is a strong individual with good manners, a solid foundation of principles and occasional homicidal tendencies, he does had a slightly unhealthy method of keeping up his clean-cut image.

COURT ALLIANCE & REASONING:
Garnet: While he isn't power hungry, he values strength very highly. He's always trying to one-up his brother, fight his way out of impossible situations (even of the mind), and he's proud to showcase his strength in ways that are different from just in the physical sense. He's not exactly very big, or muscular, but his strengths lie in his cunning and wit. Well aware of what he lacks, he does all he can to make up for it in different ways.
Angelite: He is very much a busy body, a working man, who spends most of his time on the job than anything. So if he experiences stagnation in any form, he gets incredibly antsy. He's always looking for things to keep his mind and body busy, loves the rush and thrill of the kill, and the aspect of "killing for the sake of killing" sort of fits him to a T. He's not a revolutionary of any kind, as he sort of rolls with the punches when it comes to political stances, nor does he have any particular sympathy for the oppressed (he doesn't really have an opinion on anything that doesn't directly effect him) but he's very much a neutral observer type. He likes to see how things pan out, and if he has a hand in guiding that change, then it's all the more fascinating to him.

ABILITIES:
Swordsmanship, athletics/acrobatics- he's very light on his feet, powerful, and graceful in his fighting style. My headcanon is he has his roots in fencing, and over the years he gradually developed his own style after learning different swordsmanship styles. Inhuman speed and strength, like any video game assassin. He's not fast/strong to the point of being overpowered, though, but definitely superhuman. He is capable of performing Meteor Moves, and crashing through the window of an office at 30-stories, that ridiculous sort of thing.

INVENTORY:
His clothes- white french-cuffed dress shirt, cuff links, black tie secured by a silver skull-shaped tie pin, dark gray vest, a small chain attached to his vest button and to something sitting inside his vest pocket (could be a watch or a locket of sorts), gray slacks, ornate belt, two long chains attached to his belt loops on the side and connected in the back onto one loop, black knee-high lace-up boots, black leather gloves, and a long gray duster.

His cross saber- a metallic handle that can be manually turned on/off with a switch, has a fail-safe mechanism that turns the saber off automatically when not in his hand. The guard is only apparent when turned on, creating a cross-shaped barrier of lasers.

Things he carries in his pockets are probably his cellphone, wallet, and a pack of cigarettes.

( WRITING ★ SAMPLES )

NETWORK SAMPLE: [audio]

[ The usually even-temped assassin with a voice that can range from a flat and uninterested tone to a more airy and intelligent brogue is currently irritated and a bit dour. There's a lot of things Henry can put up with, and adjust to, but there's just one thing he cannot be comfortable without. ]

With the unfortunate loss of a technological aspect to this environment as a whole, I've found myself in a position that I have never been in before. Certain measures can be taken, for this I'm bloody sure, and while it pains me greatly to resort to after asking for such a request...

[ A suffering sigh, slightly over-dramatic considering the none-too-dire nature of what is about to come out next: ]

...I am in need of a new sword. Perhaps a spada da lato would suffice. Proper direction to a network or group or...guild [ The world almost sounds disdainful, like a closet nerd who doesn't wish to be outed being forced to play DnD and use their terminology ], I suppose, of blacksmiths or swordsmen would be most helpful.


LOG SAMPLE: musebox