[application] ; dramadramaduck

[brutalcartography]

Player nickname: Switch
Player LJ: rhizomatic
Way to contact you:
Email: deka.gadget@gmail.com
AIM: positronicswitch
Other: plurk; nerdorific
Are you at least 15?: Y!
Current Characters: N/A.

Character: Milton Dammers
Fandom: The Frighteners
Character Notes:

Warning: this information section contains sensitive material.

History:

A special agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) whose specialty is within the field of paranormal psychology (parapsychology), Milton has over 20-years of experience infiltrating numerous cults as well as provocative sexual activity. Unfortunately for him, there has been no period for him to get any psychological therapy help to de-program all of those intense experiences. Like, we are talking about dancing with the likes of the Mason family going undercover as a sex-slave for 6-months and there was no one couch-side to walk him through it. As a result, Milton is a little unwell in the head.

But let’s fast-forward a little bit to see why he is all up in Frank Bannister’s business. A series of murders have been going down in the Fairwater, California starting in 1990 where Frank’s wife, Debra was killed. Apparently it all started from a squabble Frank and Debra were having because Frank decided to build a new basketball court instead of a new garden like he promised her. Their fight continues on from the basketball court to their car ride until they slide off of the road. When Frank finally regains consciousness, he finds Debra dead outside from the car with the number ‘13’ carved on her forehead. And ever since that day, Frank gained this odd psychic ability to see and talk to ghosts who have not passed on.

You see, it’s not the death of Debra that catches the FBI’s eye. It’s what happens a few years after the fact when there is a strange string of murders happening in Fairwater. All of the victims so far have died because someone is out there crushing their hearts. I know, it sounds a little hard to believe. There is no possible way for someone to reach down into a person and crush someone’s heart with their own bare hands with no signs of chest intrusion. Even if it was the work of some drug, there is absolutely no trace of it inside the victims. But the truth of it all is that there is an apparition disguised as the Grim Reaper who is going around town and crushing the victim's hearts with their bare hands. [Spoilers: Later in the movie, the Grim Reaper is revealed to be Johnny Bartlett who, along with his lover Patricia, killed 12 people in a hospital, aiming to hit the world record of most serial victims.] It’s all too stranger than fiction. So this is where the FBI sends in Milton to investigate.

This is the canon point I will be taking him from; when the film first introduces him at the police precinct to question Dr. Lucy Lynskey about the murder that occurred in the restaurant. A quick recap on how Frank is acquainted with Lucy is because he 1.) Ghost busted her house for a ridiculous fee (spoilers: there was no ghost haunting the place.) and 2.) He goes to the funeral of Lucy’s dead husband, Ray Lynskey (also one of the Fairwater victims). And Milton has done his homework on the place, even scoring extra-credit points for looking for similar murder incidents prior to the serial killings in Fairwater. And all traces lead to Frank Bannister. But I know what you’re thinking. You’re probably asking yourself: “But Switch, This is just all coincidental happenstance. I haven’t read anything forensics-wise that ties Frank to the murder!” Doesn't matter. Let me introduce you to a woman named, Nina Kulagina.

Yes, the same Russian housewife from World War II who can move things with the power of her mind. What does this have to do with the case? Well, Milton is convinced that Frank has the same kind of psychic power that is capable of killing an entire town. So now it's pretty much a race to see which one closes the case first. Frank is trying to catch the true culprit, the 'Grim Reaper' murderer and Milton is chasing down who he thinks to be the true culprit, Frank. Needless to say, it doesn't end well for one of them.

Personality :

Take a chihuahua and shave its’ fur off. Now take the newly nude canine out in the cold next to “Kicked Puppy Alleyway”. Months passed and you decide to see how its’ fairing out in the urban jungle. When you return to the chihuahua, it no longer yips and barks back at a human face. Instead, it looks away from you and quivers in the corner. You try to get close to it but it snarls and backs away from you. That’s pretty much how someone might describe the plight of this one FBI Special Agent. At first glance, you might see a man who is a just a weird asshole. You might also see a man who has completely lost all of his marbles; from his odd mannerisms to his erratic way of speech. But Milton Dammers is a misunderstood fellow.

Under that small, meek, greasy exterior is a man who believes he is an agent of justice. Nothing that he does is in the wrong. But when you spend over 20 years investigating the strange and the grotesque behaviors of cult activity without any therapeutic rest in-between, it starts to get to you. Those experiences as a sex-slave or a participant in ritualistic cannibalism carry on with him from day-to-day and they will never go away. So Milton’s only light at the end of that dark, twisted tunnel is justice. He is merely serving his country, to protect them from the world’s madness. So to an alleged suspect like Frank Bannister, he is part of that plague that is disrupting society’s order. In this world, there are just some people that have to be eradicated and Frank is one of them. Even if, federal jurisdiction be damned, that meant taking him head on with an Uzi.

The two main personality traits to highlight here are his neuroticism and paranoia. They both go hand-in-hand with each other as he is too invested in the line of work he does. Even when the characters of Sheriff Perry and Lucy meet him for the first time, Milton cuts the meet’n’greet bullshit and gets straight into questioning Lucy. Details are of upmost importance, from using excessive amounts of table salt to whether a person is left or right-handed. Milton will even take proper precautions to a whole new level. We’re talking about wearing a lead breastplate and packing a fully loaded Uzi to protect himself from the so-called “sociopathic” psychic mind of Frank.

Milton is a social butterfly whose wings were clipped long ago. You have to have some sort of resilience towards the copious amount of mental and physical pain that is dished out on you on an almost annual basis. There is a bubble separates the agent from the rest of the world (a “territorial bubble” if you will). There is no aspiration to be liked or befriended by others, it’s either you accept who he is or you don’t. The guy is just a tormented soul. But if you think he is a complete pushover then guess again. He may not have an arsenal of witty retorts to snap back at you but he isn’t the kind of person to take flack from anyone.

It’s really the reason why you never see him ask help from anyone. His entire line of work has been done on his lonesome, without anyone to back him up. Some may say he is exemplifies qualities of a leader, taking the task head on with his own initiative but really, Milton is just one of those agents who is not a team player. Even when most of the officers (even the Sheriff) don’t believe that Frank is the murderer because there is no forensic evidence on him, it still doesn’t matter. Milton is absolutely certain that Frank Bannister did it with the power of his mind to crush the victim’s hearts, even going so far to accuse that he killed his own wife, Debra.

Overall, there are two sides to Milton: First is the agent in which nationalism runs fervent in his veins. His determination blinds him from the truth. It could even smack him across the face and it wouldn’t change his perspective. His resolve is just that deep. Then you have his other side, the person wearing the badge. When you watch the scene with him and Lucy at the cemetery, you start to see a little bit of his humane side. As usual, he has a nervous reaction to Lucy’s cries but when he accidently reveals a certain symbol on his left hand; he just lets it all out, telling his past experiences going undercover to infiltrate these cults. It is one of those few, rare moments Milton ever has to take some of the weight off his chest. And that's what he just needs. Someone to understand where he is coming from. But until then, he continues to walk this Earth in solitude.

Other:

† Milton doesn’t respond well to women yelling. It makes him feel rather ill and/or anxious. There is no actual explanation as to why but one can speculate it is part of the heavy mental trauma that he is forced to carry.

† He is unable to sit down properly due to a medical condition on his glutes (what it is exactly goes unexplained in the movie) so he carries around a medical pillow.

† Milton has numerous amounts of bodily mutilations from the cults he has infiltrated. Most of these are in the form of branding and flesh cuts on his chest. The original cut of the movie doesn’t show it but in the Director’s cut, it’s revealed that Milton does have a swastika tattooed on his hand. It’s the reason why he is always seen wearing his leather gloves.

Note: So we see how (most) of Milton’s background isn’t so family friendly. Keeping up with the game's Policy on Sensitive Material, I just want to state that I will make sure I consult with the other players in the game if we do get around such topics.

Additional Links:
The Frighteners @ Wikipedia

First Person (entry type):

[Note]: Inspired by the recent Valentine’s Day Event.

[ video ]

If you will...I would like a moment of your time:

First, has it occurred to anyone that these…cupcakes. These so-called innocent, baked goods aren’t so good at all. That maybe- just. maybe! What you are currently holding in your hands could be your very own accessory to a very quick and silent death? Have you all become that naive to actually believe that what has been left beside you is a sign of affection from a secret other. [ he scoffs. ] Don’t be so easily tricked. But if you’re so inclined on becoming this community’s sacrifice then by all means, take a bite. I do not have the jurisdiction to stop your immature act of desperation.

Not me. I will not partake in such sadistic filth! [ Throws his cupcake down. Fuck yo' cupcakes, DDD. ]

Third Person:

Making small talk with others was not his strong suit but it was still a facet of life he just had to get over with. The new agent that had just transferred from Albuquerque felt the need to shake everyone's hand. Milton sat by his desk and went over his file of the next investigation he was assigned to. His eyes bounced from the words on his file over to the new guy who enthusiastically went from agent to agent.

'He's coming' He said to himself. It made his leather-gloved hands shake a little. Not that he was nervous. He just preferred to keep contact with others to a minimum. There was sudden tension in the air when the new guy walked up to him. Milton could just feel the stares of the other agents. Yes, let Agent Dammers be your entertainment for the day. Let's see how he deals with the new agent. Ridiculous! Not even in the bureau could he have a moment of solitude.

"Hey there!" a voice shouted out.

There was something oddly nostalgic about that enthusiasm. It reminded Milton of his first day as an agent. Granted, he was not as chipper as the young man that stood before him. But it was the day where he could be his own man. He had the power the protect an entire nation all while redefine who he was.

Oh how funny that turned out.

Milton didn't bother to get up from his seat. He just wanted this to be done and over with so he can get back to work. They shook hands and exchanged names. But then the other agent went onto ask what field he was in. And so he obliged. He always told others he got the 'wacky cases'. It was supposed to be a joke but it never came out as so. Others would be too preoccupied on how odd he was. But this time it worked. It actually spurred a chuckle out of the guy.

And before he knew it, their little chat ended. As the new agent walked away, Milton's eyes drew onto the other agents who peered in his conversation. They all quickly withdrew back onto whatever work they had in front of them. He glowered but there was a small sense of satisfaction he got from it.

Small talk or being social in general was never his strong point but it did not make him a complete inept ogre of a human being. In and out. That's how he preferred it.