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Oskar Ettlinger Blog Entry |
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December 15, 2023, 3:00:06 AM December 15, 2023, 3:00:34 AM 12/15/23: r/SketchDaily theme, "Free Draw Friday." This week's character from my anthro WWII storyline is Hauptsturmführer (Captain) Oskar Ettlinger, sans cap (top drawing) and with cap (bottom drawing). As things currently stand he appears only briefly in the main story; he's actually a secondary sidestory character who ended up developing more backstory than intended. There'll be more about him later in my art Tumblr and Toyhou.se. Regarding his design, he's a German shorthaired pointer with black and white patched/ticked fur. TUMBLR EDIT: As said, Capt. Ettlinger hardly appears in the main story, at least, unless I decide in the meantime to give him a bigger role for some reason. The only scene I know for sure he appears in is when Lt. Gunter Hesse (accompanied by Lt. Paul Wozniak) confronts Capt. Erich Arzt over his role in the assassination of the chief of Allgemeine-SS intelligence, Col. Rupprecht Heidenreich. He has to go to Gen. Vincenz Immerwahr's mansion in the literal middle of the city (it overlooks the city square) and to the balcony where Immerwahr is relaxing and drinking with Arzt and Ettlinger. It's a perfectly normal-looking situation, at least until Hesse accuses Arzt (who once saved his life, plus helped get him a recommendation to join Heidenreich's division) of conspiring to murder Heidenreich. Arzt denies involvement until Hesse shows him a watch gear used in the bomb, traced back to a watch Arzt owned; he then confesses and surrenders, and Wozniak leads him away. Hesse asks Immerwahr and Ettlinger if they truly didn't know anything about this; Ettlinger is too bewildered to say anything, while Immerwahr quietly--and sincerely--replies, "I had no idea." (Arzt then takes some concealed cyanide and commits suicide on the drive back, but that's covered elsewhere.) So, yep; that's Ettlinger's big scene. He'll likely appear once or twice in other minor scenes, but so far he's not intended as an important character. He takes on a bigger role in the sidestory where he initially appears...an adult scene that took on a life of its own in ANOTHER adult sidestory (featuring Hesse as the main character), so will likely be split off on its own. (This is weird, I know, but my adult scenes get VERY heavy on the plot and characterization and often serve as fodder for the main plot--it was an adult scene that resparked my interest in the Trench Rats in the first place.) The side-sidestory focuses on Immerwahr and Ettlinger, and Arzt shows up later on. So that there is the explanation for Hesse meeting them all seated on the balcony together: Immerwahr, Arzt, and Ettlinger have a thing going on. Immerwahr's proclivities are well known in the main story: Prior to the main plot, he makes a move on Hesse when Hesse is in his unit in the Waffen-SS, Hesse turns him down, and Immerwahr backs off. Next thing Immerwahr knows, the Allgemeine-SS is paying him a visit, investigating a complaint that's been filed against him for inappropriate and deviant behavior toward a subordinate. The investigating officer declines to name the complainant when Immerwahr asks, but his questions are brief and desultory, and he pretty much makes it plain that the Allgemeine-SS considers the complaint a frivolous one, of course Immerwahr is innocent of the accusation. Immerwahr answers his vague questions (none of which incriminate him), the officer assures him there's nothing to worry about and to have a nice day, then leaves. Immerwahr ponders a moment. The only conclusion he can reach is that Hesse didn't handle their encounter as well as he'd thought, and he's the one who filed the complaint. Immerwahr isn't even angry or upset; he knows he's important enough that nothing will come of it, nothing ever has. He's just a little puzzled why Hesse decided to blow it out of proportion. He shrugs it off and moves on. Meanwhile, the Allgemeine-SS informs a dismayed Hesse that they've completed their investigation, found no fault with Immerwahr, and the case is closed. Hesse is highly disillusioned; he distances himself from Immerwahr as much as he can, and while recovering from an injury decides to transfer to...the Allgemeine-SS. Who puts this idea in his head? Arzt, while tending to his injury (Arzt is an SS physician). Hesse is skeptical, but really wants away from the humiliating situation, plus he isn't fit for active duty anymore, so asks what he needs. Arzt tells him he needs a recommendation from his commanding officer. Hesse would laugh if the entire situation wasn't so frustrating. Arzt offers to go to Immerwahr himself to request the recommendation, and does so. This is the first time he and Immerwahr meet. Immerwahr is puzzled by the unexpected visit but thinks damn, this doctor is hot. When he learns why Arzt is there, he does laugh--like Hesse, he sees how ludicrous it all is--but unlike Hesse, he's not offended in the least. He has to admire Hesse for having the chutzpah--for lack of a better word--to even make this request, and tells Arzt to wait while he writes up the recommendation. And he recommends Hesse for a Knight's Cross (he's already a 2x Iron Cross recipient) at the same time. When Immerwahr hands the letters to Arzt, he asks Arzt if he'd like to visit again sometime so he can show him around his home; there's a very lovely view from the balcony. Just off his private quarters. Arzt looks at him for a moment before his mouth twitches and he says that'd be nice, set something up sometime, then he too leaves. So, Immerwahr scores himself the hot doctor, Hesse gets accepted into Heidenreich's division (and gets a Knight's Cross...he's terribly confused), and that's that. (It's weirdly awkward when Col. Heidenreich pops into Hesse's new office to greet him when he moves in; upon hearing Hesse's name he's like, wait, aren't you that guy who filed a report against Gen. Immerwahr? Hesse says yes, and Heidenreich enthusiastically praises him for it. "But...you refused to take up the complaint," Hesse protests, to which Heidenreich replies, "Ja, I know, it never had any hope of going anywhere, Kamerad; but just look! That you had the b*lls to even think it might go somewhere! Frankly, Kamerad Hesse, I need more men like you." And Hesse is just like...WTF is even going on anymore.) ...Anyway. This has little to do with Ettlinger aside from laying the groundwork of the company he ends up in. I'm not sure how he first meets Immerwahr, maybe it doesn't matter, but they become acquainted, and Immerwahr tries his classic line on him, how would you like to see the view from my balcony, the balcony just off my private quarters. He made a distinct misstep with Hesse but Immerwahr is usually good at telling who will be receptive or not. Ettlinger is receptive, though reluctant. He agrees to come by, though as the night goes on he grows more ill at ease. He finally explains why: He's married to a nice Aryan homemaker, they have a few nice Aryan kids, it's a nice Aryan family just like the Nazis insist men should have; Ettlinger loves his wife and she loves him, he loves his kids, it's a lovely dream family, everything a decent SS officer could want...except he's not attracted to her. He admits that he has to get sloshed just to be with her. And she knows how he feels. He feels awful about this, but it's not like he can change it. Immerwahr empathizes a bit, mentioning how he used to pass time with women before he'd fathered the requisite number of kids and then swore off that necessity. You can't fight your nature, he tells Ettlinger. Anyway, Ettlinger has the nice Aryan family the state calls for, he treats his wife decently, what REALLY does he have to feel bad about...? He did his part. Immerwahr, of course, doesn't say all this purely out of the kindness of his heart. It's in his best interests to keep his new conquest happy and in this case, this is what it takes. Ettlinger's looking for whatever helps him not feel so dreadfully guilty, and Immerwahr's comments do the trick. As long as he does his duty and cares for his family, it doesn't matter so much what he gets up to in his spare time. This flies right in the face of everything the SS teaches, of course, but...well, nothing is perfect, as Hesse found out. Immerwahr tosses in a complication when he invites Arzt into the equation. I quit work on the scene before it could reach this point, though Immerwahr is meant to have various things going on with various men--he isn't the monogamous type, and really neither is Arzt (he even has his fateful first meeting with Heidenreich's wife, Eva, at Immerwahr's place--Eva, BTW, is the OTHER party involved in the assassination plot)--and Ettlinger is one thing while Arzt is another. He invites Arzt over while Ettlinger is already there (nothing going on yet, just dinner and drinks), and the two other men catch on pretty fast what's intended. Arzt...being Arzt...is willing to try anything at least once. Ettlinger is the nervous one. Immerwahr expects to have to wheedle him into it, but it turns out Arzt is pretty convincing. I won't go into further detail. Just to say that while Immerwahr usually keeps his conquests separate, he, Ettlinger, and Arzt get pretty comfortable with each other, and all hang out at Immerwahr's place frequently enough that that's where Arzt and Eva first lock eyes and start to concoct their awful plot, and also where Hesse later meets Arzt to arrest him for the same. Immerwahr inadvertently brings Arzt and Eva together via his frequent parties (which Col. Heidenreich doesn't even like, but feels obligated to attend). Ettlinger is the sole innocent, uninvolved party in all this, though he does get to witness the unfortunate fallout. And it's a shame, really, because out of the three of them, he's the sole party who actually got emotionally invested in it all. Immerwahr's a promiscuous opportunist who collects boy toys, Arzt is a bored sociopath who collects unique experiences, but Ettlinger is just...a family guy in the closet. *shrugs* (I can't speak for what all he may have done in his time in the Waffen-SS, granted...) I already mentioned Arzt's fate--he bites a cyanide capsule and is dead well before the war even ends. Immerwahr survives, but is tried as a war criminal and hanged (the same fate Eva Heidenreich meets earlier) by the Allies. I don't know Ettlinger's fate for sure yet. But it'd be kind of amusing if he were the only one of the three who actually ends up surviving (albeit in hiding); who knows? [Oskar Ettlinger 2023 [Friday, December 15, 2023, 3:00:06 AM]] [Oskar Ettlinger 2023 2 [Friday, December 15, 2023, 3:00:34 AM]] |