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Nina Blog Entry |
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March 14, 2025, 12:00:25 AM 3/14/25: r/SketchDaily theme, "Free Draw Friday." This week's characters from my anthro WWII storyline are Nina and Frieda (last name never given). They're the daughters of the widowed Inge. They have a half-sister by Lt. Hesse but I haven't come up with her yet. There'll be more about them later in my art Tumblr and Toyhou.se. Regarding their design, they're blue Doberman pinschers; like their mother, I'm iffy on the hair. I think Nina is around seven and Frieda is maybe four. TUMBLR EDIT: The newly named Nina and Frieda appear so far only in an adult WIP backstory, featuring General Immerwahr's Waffen-SS unit stopping by Inge's farm for a rest. Inge is newly widowed and caring for the small farm and her family on her own. Spotting the men approaching from afar, and having already heard rumors about how SS soldiers sometimes act toward the women isolated in the countryside, she has her two young girls hide away in the cellar while she goes to meet the men, basically deciding it's better to offer herself if things go in that unpleasant direction, as long as the girls remain safe. Fortunately, Immerwahr's unit, while they do surely participate in war crimes, is no Dirlewanger Brigade, and turns out they're just tired and hungry and want a place to sleep and plan their next moves. Immerwahr, with a tall, gaunt, exhausted-looking lieutenant standing silently at his side, negotiates with Inge for access to her home for about a week; she cautiously agrees to shelter and provide them with basic meals. The men enter the house and crash in the large parlor while Inge fetches water, as it's evening and she explains there's no food ready to eat right now; Immerwahr accepts this, though one of the other soldiers confronts her in the kitchen, demanding food. He grows pushy enough that she feels threatened, yet stands her ground, as she'd need to go to the cellar, where her girls are hiding. The soldier starts yelling and even grabs her blouse when suddenly something cuffs him in the side of the head, making him let go; Inge watches as the lieutenant from earlier thrashes the other guy soundly, threatening to write him up if he doesn't leave the kitchen right now. The two depart, still arguing, and Inge shakily hands out the water to the others. Immerwahr apologizes shortly after and promises such a thing won't happen again; she realizes that the lieutenant must have reported the miscreant. He asks her name, but she declines to give it, so he and the others decide to refer to her simply as "Sie" (you). Then--"Mama...?" She stiffens when the men all look behind her curiously; Nina has come out of the cellar, Frieda clinging to her. They're thirsty and tired and wondering what's going on, and now all the soldiers know they're there, too. Inge quickly and quietly sends them to their room. The men talk for a while before deciding to turn in for the night. Most of them just fall asleep where they are; Inge shows Immerwahr to a guest room, and decides to have the lieutenant sleep on the floor of her daughters' room; she doesn't want them being on their own in a house full of strangers, and figures the lieutenant is the safest option. She heads to her own room as he's laying out his bedding, and the house goes dark and silent. Inge can't sleep. So she notices when footsteps and a shadow go by her door. She recognizes the lieutenant as he's the only one in that part of the house; she hears him head outside and so figures he's going out to relieve himself. A few moments later she hears him come back in, and slips out of bed and to her door. When he passes by on his way back to bed she reaches out and grasps his arm, startling him so he says, "Sie--?" Inge pulls him into her room and shuts the door. The next morning when Inge wakes she checks her daughters' room, finds him back sleeping on the floor, yet Frieda has gotten out of bed with a blanket and curled up on the floor not far from him. Inge goes to the kitchen to start preparing breakfast for the men. After a while the lieutenant appears, mentions how the smaller girl got out of bed at some point, and says he put her back in her bed; he insists nothing inappropriate happened. Inge says she does this sometimes, she misses her father. The lieutenant says he's stepping outside for some air; she offers to join him, and they head out together. She asks his name; he tells her it's Gunter. When she says her name is Inge, he seems startled. She eventually learns of another woman he loves, named Inga, but he says Inga isn't his woman to have. He asks about her husband; she says he passed away about half a year ago. She makes an offer: For at least the brief time that his unit is staying there, she can be his Inga, and he can be her husband; they can both be what the other needs, before he has to move on. This is how it begins, though soon, they see no need pretending, and he simply calls her Inge and she calls him Gunter. After a week of the men making plans during the day and he and Inge spending their time together at night, the unit heads back out. General Immerwahr thanks her for her hospitality; the lieutenant casts her one last glance as they march off toward the front. She stands staring after them until long after they're out of sight, then returns to her daughters, who already wonder where "Herr Gunter" has gone. Lt. Hesse returns to the front, is wounded, returns to his life at the Dobermann estate. Adelina and Inga are both happy to see him, though there's a distinct sense of distance between them now; he finds that the old longing for a life and a family of his own has reared its head. He eventually meets Sophie Sommer in a nightclub, and although he never stops loving Inga, he hopes to make his life, start a family, with Sophie...this doesn't end up happening. Inge, too, goes on with her life. She falls ill, worrying her daughters, though she knows it isn't any kind of illness that kills you, she's felt it before. Twice. She has mixed feelings; she's on her own trying to make ends meet and care for two young children, how can she handle a third? Yet she can't bear to be rid of it, either...part of her carries the faint hope he'll come back to her. She often stands where she last saw him, straining her eyes for any sign, retiring inside after every vigil. Eventually she cradles a newborn daughter against herself as she watches. Gunter never returns; she never even finds out if he's still alive, or dead. His daughter, along with Nina and Frieda, grow up without him. When Sophie learns she's pregnant, she asks Hesse if he wants a son or a daughter. He says it doesn't matter, though when pressed, he pauses, then wistfully says he'd prefer a daughter. Sophie is surprised; she figured he'd want a son to carry on his name. That isn't important to him. Rather, he thinks of Adelina, the time he spent looking after her, almost as if she were his own. That's what he wants, all he longs for. Though as I already said, sadly, it never has a chance to happen. I can imagine an alternate version of events, another life Hesse lives, possibly in the "In Heaven" section of the story. A version where, for some reason, after his wounding he decides not to transfer to the Allgemeine-SS to continue his career, but instead leaves military life, and the Dobermann estate. Where he tells Inga and a tearful Adelina goodbye (promising he'll visit) and hitches a ride in a military truck headed further out east. Where he ends up back at the isolated farm; Inge comes out to watch the truck's approach rather uneasily, her anxiety dissipating when she sees who steps out, limping with a crutch. Where the two approach and look at each other with hesitant hope. Inge: "You came back." Hesse: *silent* Inge: "How long are you staying...?" Hesse: "As long as you'll have me." Inge's mouth quivers a little, the verge of a smile, though not quite there yet, as it's an idea they're both still getting used to. She reaches up and places her hand to the side of Hesse's face. As if by instinct, he places his hand over hers. The truck honks, startling them both a little; his duffel bag is still in it, and the driver needs to get going. "Let me help you," Inge says; he wishes to do it himself, but his injury is still pretty bad, he'll need a little help for now. The difference is that this time, it's not Inga, someone else's woman, helping him; it's Inge, and she's here with no one but her daughters, who come out to meet them as the truck drives away and they approach the house. Little Frieda, who once crawled out of bed to sleep on the floor next to him, comes jogging forward with a big smile and arms outspread; she remembers him. The more serious and reserved Nina doesn't run but walks; she's carrying something. As the adults draw close it becomes clear it's a baby. Hesse blinks, turns to look at Inge, Inge looks back. ...I won't go further for now, as one alternate life entails alternate other lives and events, since everything is intricately connected, and actions ripple outward indefinitely. If Hesse leaves the SS, if he leaves the Dobermann estate, he's not there to take part in faking Inga's death, in downplaying the investigation, in unknowingly helping Dobermann continue to aid the resistance in her place. He's not there to become resistance leader Josef Diamant's primary foe and motivation for doing what he does. He's not there to hide Dr. Schäfer whenever authorities arrive, to work alongside Wozniak, to help promote Schulte, to meet Sophie, to mentor Gerhardt, to lead the Heidenreich investigation, to arrest Eva and Arzt, to learn the truth of things from Delbrück, to play his part in the showdown at the Dobermann estate and ultimately save the family's lives...so who knows how all of that, all those other lives, would have turned out without him in them? It's ripples spreading out in every direction, touching and changing each other, interacting in ways impossible to summarize in just one blog entry, going on possibly forever. Hesse's life with Inge and Nina and Frieda is one that never happens. His daughter happens, though. If she does earn her own artwork, and name, it'll be for another entry. Please see also her sister Frieda's entry. [Nina 2025 [Friday, March 14, 2025, 12:00:25 AM]] |