Rip van Winkle

Applicant Info

◎ Name: Zoan
◎ Journal: electroniclover
◎ Contact: AIM: PacifistQueen Plurk: ZoanTanis
◎ Current Character(s): N/A

Character Info

◎ Character's Name: First Lieutenant Rip van Winkle
◎ Character's Canon: Hellsing Ultimate
◎ Character's Age: 80's?
◎ Canon Point: Moments before her death
◎ Background/History: Rip van Winkle's Story
◎ Is the character a hacker and/or do they have a sixth-sense?

Hacker, no. However, she has displayed a sixth-sense like ability in the context of awareness of her targets and opponents.

◎ Personality:

There are several facets to Rip's personality that are displayed in the short time we get to know the huntress before her death: she is childish, brutal, unhinged, manipulative, and determined to defy her fate, all the while accomplishing the task she has set out to do.

When we first meet Rip van Winkle, she is singing to herself and loading a gun. She seems to be the very image of a soldier going off to war and anticipating the fight that is to come, while displaying confidence mixed with talent, exhibiting remarkable skills. She even seems to be relaxed, despite knowing she has a very real responsibility to the mission. After all, who is going to trap the devil? Rip has been wanting another chance at Alucard since their very first encounter during the previous war. This is why she became a vampire! It was to hone her skills, and became such a formidable sniper amongst the ranks of the Letztes Battalion. Rip is yearning to prove herself against the biggest monster in existence. She wants to do this for a chance to defy the fate she fears awaits her.

The Huntress is aware that on some level she will fail and fears that failure and what it may mean for her own personal goals. You see, The Major compared her to a character within a German Opera that had made a deal with the devil and then tried to slither his way out of it. The Hunter in the Opera died at the Devil's hands. Rip took this comparison to heart and like her 'fictional' counterpart, made a deal to gain power so she could triumph where she failed before. Only this drove her determination to defy suffering the same fate. This determination shines through for a brief flickering moment at the end of her fight with Alucard when she fights back her panic and her fear, the very things that are preventing her from doing what she's dreamed of! In that brief moment she attacks, displaying all her pent up anger and aggression for not being taken seriously and tries to maim the Dark Hunter! Ultimately, she fails and in doing so suffers the very ending she was running from. Though, even if she did fail her personal goals, her mission goals were full filled, something that earned her a warriors death instead of being set on fire like the others. Rip's one of the very few that get this honor with in Millennium. After all, her entire goal was to trap Alucard on the ship, and that... was very successful.

Because of her time in the military, and potentially some of the things she's seen during wartime, or perhaps it was always there to begin with... Rip is well versed in tactics to take down her prey such as simple manipulation with her words and even her looks. She is more than happy to use this to throw people off kilter just so she can get them just the way she wants them, unaware and easy to take down. To her it is a wonderfully bloody game that she plays to toy with them. Case in point, how she handled the remaining British Soldiers on the HMS Eagle when she landed. She asked them a simple question after congratualting them on their victory. 'What was it like to damn your fellow soldiers to eternal damnation and to walk the Earth as rotting corpses?" To hear someone asking that while smiling moments after praising you would throw anyone off and she knew it. To her, it was a perfect set up for what she wanted to do next... to kill the traitorous limey bastards. Such a game gives her great pleasure! After all, it's not often she can hunt such despicable prey and enjoy a little bloodshed. Why, it's her very duty as a loyal member of Millennium!

There is no denying that she is brutal with her killings, almost predatory with the way she loves to toy and dispatch anyone that comes in sight of her musket, even helicopters that many would argue are too far away for such a shot. But, Rip derives pleasure from the destruction of her enemies, even becoming artistic in her approach at times and simply revels in it. What she's doing doesn't bother her in the slightest. It feeds the bloodlust that all vampires have which is something she and all of Millennium embrace.

Then there is the side of her that comes out while she waits. When there is no fighting or a need to punish others, Rip can appear to be calm. She may even appear to be pleasant and sometimes childish with the people she interacts with. She can be seen waiting patiently for the right time to begin her attack, and even calm on the helicopter ride over to the Adler. You could say it's her in-between state when there aren't intense emotions to motivate her actions. In this particular state, she can be almost rational just as long as something doesn't set her spiraling into something else, whether it be a need to kill or perhaps just pure joy from listening to a favorite song.

When she is excited and happy, she can be found humming and singing-- especially when the excitement finally starts! She begins to dance and toss her musket around like a baton once she fires her shot, dazzled by the mayhem. This display would almost seem innocent and child-like if it were it not for the explosions, or the weapon being tossed around. In this state, she is her most unpredictable. One moment she may be singing the next she may be tearing someone apart or aiming her musket at her next target. It's at this point that she is most alive and lost in the moment until it passes. This moment she appears youthful, almost innocent in a childish way and unlike most of the other members of Millennium, with the exception of Schrodinger.

As for her likes, you could say they are simplistic. Rip enjoys music, especially operas. There is something in the music that calls to her, helping her express the purity of emotions one could otherwise not attain. At the same time, she enjoys her crafts in hunting. As an accomplished sniper, it's not hard to imagine that she is rather good at hunting down wildlife and enjoys slaughtering them just as much as she does humans. Perhaps in more creative ways, to spare the parts of the creature she wishes to keep for herself.

Now her fears. When Rip experiences any emotion, it's intense. Fear is no different. In fact, the sheer volume in which she expresses her fears can freeze her in her tracks, rob her of her confidence, and leave her a crying, trembling little girl, unsure of what to do. This initially happens when she meets Alucard on the Adler. She felt his massive presence and panics as he slaughters her entire crew. It takes her a bit to regain her determination and fight back, but when that fails, she falls back into an intense fearful state that leaves her helpless to the devil's actions, resulting in her painful death. Rip fears being powerless to a monster more powerful than herself. She fears her death by his hand, but because of the intensity of this fear, she ends up causing the very thing she fought to avoid. It's this reason that her death seems to be the most tragic out of the main Millennium's officers.

◎ Powers/Abilities:

Ability-wise, Rip is an expert marksman which helps with her profession as a sniper. Those same skills can also be applied to hunting her prey, whether they be animal or human. She prides herself on the fact that she can take down seemingly impossible targets, such as shooting planes out of the sky with a musket ball. Which leads into expertise using a long barrel flint lock musket: it can be reasoned she's skilled with most, if not all, firearms, but she has a strong preference for muskets.

Another ability she has displayed happens to be that of an expert pilot. She is seen piloting a helicopter with her feet while she loads up her musket on her approach of the HMS Eagle. This demonstration speaks of years of practice with aerial vehicles.

As for her power to control her shots, it's never explicitly stated whether it is actually her ability or technological in nature. Leaving one to speculate that it could be the talent she gained when she became a vampire and honed to perfection, much like Alhambra's card tricks or Zorin's illusions-- or even Luke Valentine's speed.

Rip can also sing, and loves to do so frequently to express her excitement for battle, or just to express herself in general. Her singing can be comparable to operatic level talent [Whether practiced or natural is unknown] since she enjoys listening to and singing operas, along with old war songs.

She is agile and strong, able to easily take the recoil of her musket, and has expressed an intimate familiarity with her weapon of choice while loading the gun without having to look, showcasing years of practice.

The huntress has also expressed a limited awareness to the presence of others, even going into a panicked state once she senses Alucard approaching from above. The closer and more oppressive his aura became, the more she senses and begins to panic.

It can also be reasoned that Rip potentially knows how to speak three languages: German (her native language), English (which she has learned as a second language), and potentially Portuguese (since Millennium spent 50 years hiding in Brazil). Of these three languages, German and Portuguese would be her strongest, considering she's had the most exposure to those two as opposed to English. Though when it comes to reading, it can be assumed English would be her weakest due to a lack of English reading materials.

◎ Weapons & Other Special Inventory:

A flint-lock long musket, gunpowder and lead bullets, and a German Shepard mix dog she acquired in Ruby City (if that's okay?)

CEREALIA-Specific

◎ Element: Fire
◎ Sense:

Hearing would probably be considered her strongest, taking into account that without her glasses, Rip is more or less blind. Hearing would allow her to locate and track down her prey even without her sight, quickly followed by her sense of smell for second strongest.

◎ Seven Character Traits:

+ Resilient
+ Manipulative
+ Persistent

- Fear of failing
- Bloodlust/ viciousness
- Short-sighted
+/- Predatory

Samples

◎ First-Person Sample: Rip at the TDM!
◎ Third-Person Sample:

Go play this thing they said. They promised she could take her time and brutally kill anything she wanted in this so called game. Rip still wasn't sure what to think of this thing. Sure, she paid attention when they explained it, but that was a different matter entirely! They couldn't expect a huntress like her, one who was an accomplished sniper and skilled hunter to understand their strange bits of technology.

Still. Rip wanted to kill things and it was either this... virtual reality thing or take her chances killing someone just to see that wonderful red liquid coat the wall. After she drank her fill of course. It was moments like this when she missed the forests and their wonderful prey...The sound of a deer dropping after the crack of her beloved musket. Now that was hunting! Rip pouted a little as she reigned herself back in and moments later she was strapped into... this... whatever it was. She sighed softly and waited. So far, she wasn't impressed in the slightest. How could something like this beat the real thing?

Before she could contemplate things further, the darkness around her sprang to life! Rip blinked and glanced around, noting that for something that was supposedly fake, it did a good job imitating nature. She took a hesitant step forward and then another. Soon she was walking and exploring the forest she found herself in, even reaching for the tree to touch it. It felt.. real? She was surprised and slowly she started to relax. The sounds of her surroundings washed over her and she sighed softly. There were monsters to kill. She closed her eyes and focused, her hearing picking up small details around her as her senses began to direct her. There.. she grinned. The beasts were coming to her. Within moments she heard the sound of something large coming through the brush and Rip was ready.

The short time she had allowed the huntress to relocate herself high in a tree, her faithful musket in her hands, loaded and aimed. Her entire body was still as stone as she sat there unwavering and waiting. Almost within sight. The creature was big, something she had never seen before nor had a name for! How exciting~. A fang filled grin graced her features as she waited for the right moment... THERE. Her shot rang out and the bullet left her musket. The creature screamed as the bullet pierced through its lower back, severing the spine while the bullet blasted through with a spray of blood and then arched around to burrow through the monstrous creatures gut!

By the time it burst through a second time, Rip was already out of the tree and had a hunting knife in hand and ready to engage the wounded creature. Blood sprayed as she tore in, knife sliding through flesh to slit the beasts throat as Rip started humming and destroying her prey until there was no doubt that it was dead. For something so digital, the blood felt real on her skin and the smell.. Rip drew in a deep breath and sighed happily. This was what it was to be alive! The thrill of the hunt, the smell of death! Such a wonderful symphony.. it made her heart leap with joy every single time.

◎ Is your character retaining any previous game memories?

Yes! Rip has spent nearly the past 2 years in Ruby City. During that time, she has had to struggle with finding a sense of purpose now that her mission has been completed, and struggling to find some sort of self-control over her destructive tenancies as a means to keep from being killed by self-righteous members of the City.

It's a very fine line she's walking right now. Occasionally, she falls back into her old habits by murdering other residents or the local wildlife. When she's not slipping up, she can be found falling into more of a Huntress role, killing and bring back her prey to process at her leather shop.