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Konrad Helmstadt Blog Entry |
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November 11, 2022, 3:05:10 AM November 11, 2022, 3:05:22 AM 11/11/22: r/SketchDaily theme, "Tarot Card/Free Draw Friday." I did Free Draw Friday. This week's character from my anthro WWII storyline is Oberschütze (PFC) Konrad Helmstadt, sans cap (top drawing) and with cap (bottom drawing). He's...kind of a jerk. There'll be more about him later in my art Tumblr and Toyhou.se. Regarding his design, he's a red German pinscher. I'm not entirely satisfied with him but I guess he'll do for now. I drew a tarot card back in August, actually. TUMBLR EDIT: You're going to get a rare, awful treat in this entry. 😃 But first things first. Private (or more accurately PFC) Konrad Helmstadt is more of a tertiary character throughout most of the series--you really AREN'T supposed to know him well--so I don't actually know much about him. Most details are newer developments since he's changed VERY greatly from his original, circa-2000 incarnation. Let me see if a description of him from the old character list still exists... Haha, yes, it does! Here it is: KONRAD HELMSTADT: Pvt.; another soldier, newly recruited, serving Dobermann along with Gerhardt. Naive and wide eyed but eager to please. Very loyal and dependable, yet not certain where his loyalty should lie; tries to serve Dobermann and protects his daughter by default, yet finds himself swayed by her argument that their part in the war is wrong. Still, isn't quite willing to give up his position. Oh my God wow. Okay, now COMPLETELY wipe that from your mind. Similar to Hesse, Helmstadt underwent an extreme personality change for the reboot, though just HOW extreme isn't revealed until the "epilogue" of the series, Ultima Thule. In his current incarnation, he's a young Junker from a rather disgraced family which is deep in debt; I don't know all the details, but Helmstadt joins the Wehrmacht as part of some sort of arrangement to help pay off this debt somehow. He never sees combat; rather, he proves to be skilled at clerical and organizational things, so he's posted at the Dobermann estate, when Inspector Louis Dobermann requests Wehrmacht troops who are not members of the Nazi Party to help guard his property. Dobermann is a Junker himself and so knows Helmstadt's family in passing even though they don't live in the same area; he's not fond of them, to put it simply--he views their problems as being self-inflicted, which they basically are. Helmstadt's parents are rather profligate and don't always make good choices. Helmstadt, however, is the apple that did fall far from the tree: He's much more like Dobermann in values and personality, believing in extreme self-discipline and self-reliance. Result, he and Dobermann get along quite well, and although neither one of them is the emotional sort, he comes across as almost like the son Dobermann never had. There are even some short-lived rumors that he might forge a relationship with Dobermann's daughter, Adelina, though neither one of them ever expresses the slightest romantic interest in the other. Rather, he occasionally ends up playing the role of protective brother when he's assigned to keep watch over her on her rare social outings (such as when she and the others visit the Heidenreich estate). Most of the time, though, he remains at the Dobermann estate, where he basically plays the role of majordomo, overseeing everyone else and making sure everything runs smoothly. He's known for his bossy, short-tempered, haughty attitude; the lower-class staff ridicule him behind his back, though he finds himself above being upset about such things. As irritating as he can be, he really is good at what he does, especially at keeping pushy Nazis from pestering Dobermann too much for the usage of his estate. His attitude makes it clear he doesn't think too highly of them; he criticizes the SS especially, and he and Lt. Hesse get into verbal sparring matches more than once. Another, more recent development is Helmstadt's ongoing relationship with fellow Wehrmacht guard 2nd Lt. Senta Werner. Senta's story has been given already; a bit similar to Helmstadt, she's been posted at the Dobermann estate as she's not suited for combat, since she's female. (Back when she was created, I did not know female Wehrmacht members weren't really a thing, so I had to retcon the explanation that it's an honorary rank paid for by her father and she's not allowed to actually DO anything with it.) Unlike Helmstadt, she's good at fighting, and she could probably kick his a**. Instead, she drags him into an empty room one day and ahm, well, he's startled and protests at first, but not very much. The two of them make a semi-regular habit of sneaking off together to go at it. It's not tender, it's not romantic, it's not loving. It's always just quick and aggressive and then they part ways; they never even spend a night together. Helmstadt, being prudish despite this, does lay a few ground rules, though they're broken on occasion, for example after Senta pulls him into a storage closet, he goes along, but afterward rebukes her, insisting they use a bed next time since it's "proper" and he's not "uncivilized." For obvious reasons, this arrangement doesn't continue past the climax of Reunion. As I mentioned, throughout the series Helmstadt pretty much just does his job and minds his business and keeps things running safely. He defers to Dobermann on everything (he doesn't even protest the presence of Tobias Schäfer, a deaf Jewish doctor, on the property), though Dobermann doesn't tend to give orders. It's obvious he highly respects Dobermann, and can barely stand Hesse or the other Nazis who visit the estate, which is why his actions at the story's height, when Dobermann's supposedly dead wife Inga returns, are so startling. Sgt. Gerhardt, a Jewish American spy also stationed on the property to suss out Dobermann's exact allegiances, comes into frequent contact with Helmstadt as he's new to the place and needs to answer to him directly (Helmstadt is short and rather pissy with him, as he hates new and unexpected developments); so he learns a lot about what's going on from him. The explanations sometimes lack a little, though. For example, after Gerhardt suffers a minor injury, the help staff call Schäfer to come check on him, and the entire time Schäfer's checking Gerhardt out, Gerhardt stares at the yellow Star of David badge on his jacket. After Schäfer leaves, Gerhardt follows Helmstadt, trying to figure out WTF just happened. Gerhardt: "Ahm..." Helmstadt: "He says you're good to go, you're good to go. You wanted a post here, no waffling about now." Gerhardt: "Nein, I'm just...ah...(long pause)...that...doctor..." Helmstadt: "Doctor Schäfer." Gerhardt: "Schäfer. He...he was wearing a Judenstern." Helmstadt: "That's because he's a Jew." Gerhardt (flustered): "Perhaps I've been gone longer than I thought, but I was under the impression Jews aren't allowed to practice medicine--?" Helmstadt: "An exception was made." And that's pretty much all the explanation Gerhardt gets, at that point. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Helmstadt, like Dobermann, tends to use as few words as necessary to make his point, though he's somewhat more blunt and speaks his mind rather than biting his tongue. When the topic of Inga Dobermann's death comes up--she was shot, after which she shot and killed a Nazi trespassing on the property late one night--Helmstadt as usual doesn't mince words: "Stupid f**k had it coming." He never expresses as much loyalty to Inga as he does to Dobermann (likely because she's not a Junker, at least not by birth), though her connection to her husband seems enough to ensure Helmstadt respects her and her authority in the household; he never has a harsh word for any of the Dobermanns, while being highly critical of the Nazi officials who are always pestering them--not even the loyal Hesse is exempt. (Hesse could easily get Helmstadt in trouble by reporting him to the SS, but he's just too much in disbelief over Helmstadt's nerve in freely speaking against him to ever do anything about it. More often than not, Helmstadt's rebukes leave him speechless. Also he's smart enough to realize Helmstadt is necessary to keep things running smoothly.) Anyway, Inga suddenly reappears at the Dobermann estate in the company of Josef Diamant, the Jewish leader of the resistance Diamond Network (where she was taken into hiding during her absence), and Dobermann himself welcomes her back by embracing her--making it clear he was in on the plot to fake her death. This, and his previous association with Diamant, proves to Gerhardt where his allegiances lie. Everyone who wasn't in on the plot to fake Inga's death is of course caught offguard--this includes Hesse and Helmstadt. Hesse, being both a Nazi and a member of the SS (belonging to the division in charge of enforcing the race laws, no less), is considered the biggest threat to deal with in the Dobermann household--but he's a longtime friend of the family, secretly in love with Inga, and he practically raised daughter Adelina from birth. He's more bewildered than angry about anything, and even though he manages to muster enough sense to hold the Dobermanns at gunpoint and tell them he has to arrest them, and will shoot if he has to, he falters when Adelina jumps into his line of fire--it's almost certain he could never shoot "his little Lina." This is a surprising enough development in itself, that Adelina could so easily nullify the Allies' biggest threat within the household. Helmstadt's reaction, however, is completely off the rails. He pulls his pistol and starts SCREAMING--at Inspector Dobermann himself. The gist of it is that he's served Dobermann and his family with blind loyalty all these years (well, several years, to be honest), when all that Dobermann is is a "dirty race traitor." Yep--Helmstadt may not be a member of the Nazi Party itself, he might even think the Nazis are idiots who deserve what they get--but he's still a plain old bigot and antisemite. The thing is that there are worse things, in his opinion, than the Jews. He despises Inga for being Jewish--he despises Addy for being half Jewish. But he despises Dobermann most of all, for betraying the Aryan race. Jews at least didn't choose to be who they are, but Dobermann definitely chose to break the race laws and take a non-Aryan woman as his wife. That, to Helmstadt, is the worse of the two offenses, and one of the most reprehensible things anyone can do. So yes, he feels personally betrayed and deceived by Dobermann, and so targets him to unload all his rage on. The look on Hesse's face makes it clear that even he had no idea about the depths of Helmstadt's hatred, but nobody gets to ponder it long. The confrontation leaves Sgt. Volker (another Nazi, though he's sided with the Dobermanns) wounded, and both Hesse and Helmstadt dead, so Gerhardt, Diamant, and the Dobermanns (and Schäfer, whom they quickly fetch) have to flee, leaving behind Volker, Sgt. Holt, and Senta to guard the household. They go to the mountains to wait out the end of the war as the Allies take over the city and crush the Nazi forces. The Nazis aren't completely done for, however, and a year or so later Diamant, Gerhardt, and the Dobermanns head deeper into the mountains to the Alpine Fortress to investigate what they're up to; it turns out to be the continuation of a medical project previously focused on creating a "super soldier" with increased strength and intelligence, and now focused on creating immortality itself. Hesse and Helmstadt turn out to be two unwitting subjects of this experiment, having been resurrected and brainwashed to defend the Fortress and kill the intruders; the Allies discover an "anti-serum" that counters the brainwashing to bring the two back to their senses, and use it on them. Hesse regains his memories and is devastated to learn of the collapse of the Third Reich and the death of everyone close to him; his reaction is to give up, as he has no more interest in living. Helmstadt regains his memories; his reaction is to continue attacking, utterly fixated on the Nazis' new goal of creating a Fourth Reich. He never displays any reluctance or remorse whatsoever--if anything, he's gotten even MORE fanatical. While the Allies are eventually able to convince Hesse to help them terminate the experiment, they never get through to Helmstadt in the least, and Hesse ends up fighting against him directly. When Hesse refuses to join forces with him when Helmstadt attempts persuasion--Hesse even insisting that they (Hesse and Helmstadt) are the "Untermenschen" now--Helmstadt is infuriated, and just redoubles his efforts; Hesse manages to fend him off long enough to let the others set explosives and escape, though he and Helmstadt are both killed in the process, crushed to death by tons of ice and rock. (Dobermann was killed previously in a fall.) Hesse, the ACTUAL Nazi, tries to redeem himself at least a little bit; but Helmstadt is completely unrepentant up to the end. ...And now, here I present a horrible treat: The entirety of Chapter 12 of The Trench Rats (technically, Reborn), the attempted reboot from the early 2000s, where Helmstadt makes what is, I believe, his first ever appearance. I haven't gone over the existing chapters to make sure, but I think this is also Dobermann's initial appearance in this particular version of the story (his character's been around a lot longer than Helmstadt), so there's a bonus treat--when this version was written, I was still under the impression that Dobermann was some kind of bad guy, or at least an antihero. This was intended as a key scene to illustrate how capricious and murderous he could be. NEEDLESS TO SAY, this ENTIRE chapter is now obsolete. THIS DOES NOT HAPPEN. It's also likely to be even more inaccurate than the current story in regards to period-specific things; I mean wow, I was SUPER ignorant. Not that I'm much better now, but I was REALLY awful back then. (There's lots of incorrect terminology too, I won't bother pointing it all out.) I haven't read this in years, so I shall be experiencing the cringe right along with you. ;_; And here we go...enjoy! *grimaces* The Trench Rats, Part 12: Helmstadt RAIN BEGAN PELTING the windshield as the car turned and pulled up to the gate. The soldier standing there pulled the gate open and waved the vehicle through. It made its way up the driveway, picking up speed until one of the tires slipped and splashed down into a pothole, bringing the car to an immediate halt. It backed up and out of the hole while the soldier from the front gate came jogging forward, then made its way toward the house and turned to park near the side. The soldier caught up, stopping momentarily to catch his breath before opening the car door. An officer immediately brushed out, pushing the saluting soldier aside and glancing around him disdainfully. He stepped to the ground and walked to the front of the vehicle, bending down to look at the tire. "Good morning, Sir," the soldier called. "Hardly," the officer snapped. He stood and sniffed, nodding at the tire. "Take a look, one jolt and the thing is ruined. Have you any idea how much this type of car costs? Now ruined. Of all things, a pothole. This is beyond ridiculous." "I apologize, Sir--but I'm not in command of who fixes the driveways--" "Don't get snippy with me, Private. I have enough on my plate to deal with without the attitude." He took his case and slipped it under his arm. "No attitude intended, Sir...but I thought you should know--" "I came here on another matter," the officer said. He glanced around him again, then made his way for the entrance to the giant house, which more closely resembled a manor. "But I think I'll take this up with him as well. With as much money as he has, you'd think he could get someone to fill in a damned pothole." The private jogged to catch up with him again. "Sir, I--" "Truly, how much is he worth now? Of course, the place does seem to be falling into disrepair--and he hardly keeps any servants around--" "I don't think you'll be able to--" "--though why they would want to stay around is beyond me." "He's still--" "I'll see to it he doesn't have the money left to keep even them around," the officer groused, knocking on the huge front doors until they were opened, then pushing his way inside, the private following. "Ruining my car like that because he's too cheap to fix his drive properly." "Sir!..." They made their way into the parlor, the officer looking around. "Parlor," however, implied a small size...whereas the room that greeted them was practically cavernous. "Good God!" the officer exclaimed. "You could outfit a fleet of ships with the drapes in here!" "Sir, please keep your voice--" "What is this, a footstool or a table?" He kicked at the leg of a long winding table in the middle of the room. The floor was carpeted in a luscious wine color, and the drapes reflected that same hue. Everything seemed to be in shades of wine and red and cream. A fireplace loomed off to the side, a large painting above it; the officer gravitated toward this, then walked along beside the walls, scanning the rest of the artwork hanging around them. "He collects these? Or does he steal them? Are these even originals? Probably not, knowing him..." "If you'd come back ano--" "Good GOD!" The private cringed as the officer's voice echoed through the room. He'd just discovered the stairway, off to the right on entering the parlor. "How many steps are ON that thing?" he yelled, walking to the bottom and peering up. The marble steps ascended in a graceful curve to reach a landing overlooking the parlor far below. The private approached and tugged on his sleeve, putting a finger to his mouth. "Sir, please. You must be able to think of a better time to come around." "Better time? What for? I have some papers I need him to look at." As if just remembering his mission, he pulled the case out from under his arm and, inexplicably, shoved it under the other self-importantly. "I will hardly leave before he does so." "Sir, the inspector's occupied right now. It's best if you--" "Occupied? With what? Has he got a woman up there?" "He hasn't awoken yet, Sir. If--" "Not AWAKE yet?" His shrill voice nevertheless managed to boom off the ceiling. "It's after nine in the morning, and you tell me he's not awake yet? Does he have a woman up there? What's your name, anyway? Do you even know who you're talking to?" "Private Konrad Helmstadt, Sir. I know who you are. Which is why I think you should--" "What room is he in? I'll hunt him down and wake him up myself if I have to!" He put his hand on the bannister and started jogging up the steps. Helmstadt grew alarmed. "Sir!" He hurried to catch up. "Sir, this isn't a good idea," he continued when the officer reached the second floor and started down the long hallway, footsteps echoing too loudly off the walls. Windows lined the right wall, facing the side yard of the house, and the woods. The officer ignored the view, but once in a while glanced at yet another painting upon the wall, grimacing with disgust at each new discovery as if the sheer opulence of the place made him want to gag. "Why not? I was promised he would look at these papers. This is important, Private Hammerstadt." "Helmstadt, Sir." "Whatever. We're in a war, in case you haven't noticed." "I have noticed, Sir, but when he's busy, you shouldn't--" "Ah, jump off the balcony, Private, or find someone who's concerned to tell. I have to speak to the inspector." And he muttered just loud enough for Helmstadt to hear, "Why I have to speak to him, I have no idea." Helmstadt dared to speak up again. "Perhaps then if you don't know you should wait until a better--" "Look," the officer snapped, whirling on him and practically shoving the case in his face. "I took the time to come out here. I bothered driving out to this horrid estate. I even damaged my car in the drive! I'll hardly leave now just because the inspector needs his beauty sleep!" Helmstadt stared at him in silence, then stepped aside. The officer gave him one final glare before making his way to a door near the end of the hall. He waved at it. "Is this the room? God knows the place is full enough of the damned things!" Helmstadt nodded. "Yes, Sir." "I suppose he gets lost every so often and you have to go looking for him," the officer muttered, and reached out to knock on the door. It pulled open before his knuckles had a chance to strike it. Helmstadt snapped to attention and the officer just frowned with some surprise. The man who stared back at him wore a pristine uniform that was not of the Nazi party, but was comparable. He looked quite far from having allegedly just been asleep; rather, it looked as if he had been anything but. The look on his face was neutral; even his eyes told the officer nothing, but the way that icy blue stared at him made him want to start squirming, if only because he couldn't tell what the stare meant. He bit the inside of his mouth instead and offered a halfhearted salute, his former insistence gone. "Inspector." He opened his mouth to continue but the inspector turned his head to look at Helmstadt. Helmstadt stood at attention again. "Sir. I tried to tell him you were occupied..." The inspector nodded once, silencing him, and turned back to the officer. The officer coughed into his hand and attempted to draw himself together. "Inspector. I was informed that you should peruse some documents I have on hand. They need to be signed later on today, but apparently...for some reason...my superiors felt you should look at them first." Helmstadt shot him a look from the corner of his eye, a silent warning. He ignored it. "I thought I should also tell you," he continued, finally gathering himself, "of the horrid state of your main drive. Do you have any idea how hideous the thing is? On driving in here my automobile fell into a pothole. There is obvious damage. This car cost much money, and it would be nice to know that someone responsible will pay for it. I am hardly responsible for the deplorable state of your property." "Sir," Helmstadt murmured between his teeth. The inspector lowered his head a little bit but appeared more aloof--or amused, even--than insulted or angry. The officer went on, his voice rising. "For years I had hoped to obtain such a car, and now I'll be lucky if I can even replace the tire--not to mention what other damage has been done! All because you cannot simply pay someone to fix your drive. I took time out of my busy schedule to come here and see you, and you could at least acknowledge my presence aside from giving me that look." He shook the case. "The papers you need to see are in here. Though I hardly see why your approval is so very important. You're not even one of us! How do we know where you truly stand? If it were not the will of my superiors, I would not even have wasted my time bringing you this--" A sharp cracking sound cut him off abruptly. Helmstadt jumped. The officer stared at the inspector with surprised eyes. Helmstadt turned to look at him and his own eyes widened when he saw the dark red spot flowering in the middle of his chest. The officer looked down at it and touched his hand to the blood, pulling his hand away and staring at it with some confusion. He swayed a little. The gun in the inspector's hand was still smoking. Helmstadt continued staring at the officer, who looked back up at the inspector for a moment before his eyes rolled back and he went limp. He collapsed to the floor, red seeping out into the wood beneath him. His fingers still clutched the handle of the small case, even as he let out one last gurgling breath and fell still. Helmstadt swallowed convulsively. Inspector Dobermann lowered the gun and turned back to his room. He stopped before entering and his eyes met Helmstadt's. The private drew himself up straight. "Private," he said, voice perfectly neutral, "please make certain I'm not disturbed again." Helmstadt clicked his heels together. "Yes Sir." Without giving him--or the officer's body--another look, the inspector turned and went back into his room, quietly shutting the door behind him. Private Helmstadt was left trying not to stare at the body lying on the floor, and wondering which was more important--keeping on the inspector's good side, or finding someone to clean up the mess he'd left behind. [Konrad Helmstadt 2022 [Friday, November 11, 2022, 3:05:10 AM]] [Konrad Helmstadt 2022 2 [Friday, November 11, 2022, 3:05:22 AM]] |