Stefani "Annie" Kammerer's Questionnaire

Annie doesn't live anywhere in particular. She is running away from her past and has no real steady form of income to speak of. As such she lives in the back of an old van. It is a black, beat-up, old, panel van. If it were white, people would probably expect it to have a "Free Candy" sign on the back. It's still unsettling but gives her room to sleep and store her stuff. Plus it gives her the mobility to "get the hell out of Dodge" when things get rough or there's simply nothing that feeds her focused interest going on where she is. She finds solace in the simplicity of her nomadic life, embracing uncertainty as freedom in disguise.

Annie's financial circumstances have drastically shifted from her affluent past to a state of desperation. She now relies on unconventional means to acquire money, resorting to panhandling and even resorting to theft from those she perceives as victimizers or Contract targets. This reflects the stark contrast between her previous life of privilege and her current struggle for survival.

As for how she spends her money, Annie's expenses are dictated by the immediate necessities of her transient lifestyle. With limited resources at her disposal, she prioritizes basic needs such as food, shelter, and transportation. However, the unpredictable nature of her income sources means that her spending habits are often dictated by urgency and survival instincts rather than long-term planning. Additionally, any surplus funds may be allocated towards maintaining her van, purchasing essential items, such as basic weapons and ammunition, or occasionally indulging in small comforts to alleviate the harsh realities of her existence.

Annie's ultimate ambition is the literal extinction of Slashers as a supernatural threat to the world at large. Every Contract she takes, every lead she follows, it all (either directly or indirectly) is motivated by that desire. She sees Slashers as the ultimate embodiment of prejudicial hatred of people with different values than those enacting such hate. She does not have a known limit as to how far she would go to see this goal achieved save for the death of the very people she is trying to protect. She can and has killed Slashers in the past but with their supernatural gifts and her (current) lack of any, she knows it is only a matter of time before she meets her untimely doom. This scares her more than anything, not only because death is scary, or she wouldn't succeed in her ultimate goal, but also because she fears that like her mother (who was the first Slasher she ever put to their ultimate end) she will become one after death.

When Stefani Kammerer was 16 years old, her mother murdered her father and subsequently committed suicide rather than be apprehended by the police. Not long afterward, she was bullied by her affluent classmates until they started turning up similarly murdered and on rather grisly display. That was when Stefani knew somehow that her mother had returned, but this time a supernatural, undead Slasher. Through a combination of luck and her undying mother's unwillingness to murder her own daughter, Stefani managed to kill her own mother instead. After that Stefani went running from her past. She fled, haunted by the shadows of her past, seeking solace in anonymity.

Tim: Her brother who dealt with the death of their parents and the subsequent return of their mother by cracking mentally and embracing both their mother's ideals and methodology, but also his supernatural gifts. He has gone on a supernatural serial killing spree and is thus far the only Slasher to have survived multiple encounters with his sister.

Grandfather: The possible mastermind behind everything in Annie's life. The owner of the shady medical corporation that provided for the Kammerer's wealth. The person who engineered the supernatural grafts within the wealthy and elite to prolong and enhance their lives (his daughter, Stefani/Annie's mother included). The sole individual most responsible for Annie being hunted to this day, and the real reason she's so... different.

Carnifex: A strange, disfigured, and sheltered man who Annie originally mistook for a Slasher as well until she realized that while brutish in form he was simply hunting the same Slasher she was who murdered his father figure. They now travel together and occasionally even work together.

Stefani Kammerer was born to an affluent family, but there was always a secret looming over the family that she was unaware of at the time. You see her grandfather ran a medical pharmacuetical company that had a prosperous side business selling surgical modifications to the wealthy elite to "enhance and prolong" their lives, what these customers donot know is that these enhancements come from the organs and tissue of supernatural creatures. He hadeven had such procedures done to his own children immediately following birth. Much to his surprise, when he was goingto do the same to Stefani and her brother, much of these supernatural grafts were already naturally occuring. His children had adopted the grafts into their DNA and were passing these mutations onto their children.

As for her parents, father was engrossed in the lifestyle of C-Suite business management and the wealth and power associated, her mother was a woman of leisure and home manager (the servants did the actual homemaking.) That was until her dad got caught with one of his daliances and his wife murdered them both in a fit of pique.

Stefani and her brother attended wealthy private schools before this incident and were both quite popular at the time. Their wealth and power earned from having the wealthy owe you beyond money afforded the children anything they could ever want...

But all of that is past now.

No. Annie's actually a virgin. In essence Annie's celibacy isn't rooted in religious beliefs or a desire to preserve herself for marriage. Her inclinations lean towards intimacy with those who share her style, interests, and gender. However, her fear of physical intimacy stems from a profound source: the knowledge that Slashers target those deemed "sinners" by society, including those engaged in lustful acts. This fear intertwines with her aversion to emotional connections that often precede such encounters. It's a complex mix of apprehension and self-preservation, woven into the fabric of her identity, shaping her relationships and choices in a world fraught with supernatural dangers.

Death, but Annie's fear of death is not rooted in the conventional sense of mortality but rather in the haunting prospect of what may follow. It's not the cessation of life itself that terrifies her, but the ominous specter of transformation into the very creatures she battles tirelessly against. She harbors a deep-seated dread of succumbing to the same fate as those she seeks to protect humanity from—transforming into a Slasher, the epitome of horror and malevolence. This fear gnaws at the edges of her psyche, a constant reminder of the high stakes of her crusade against supernatural threats. For Annie, death isn't just an end; it's the gateway to a fate she perceives as far worse than mere oblivion.

Another fear that Annie harbors is the fear of failure. Given the weighty responsibility she shoulders in her quest to protect others from supernatural threats, she may grapple with the constant pressure to succeed. The thought of being unable to prevent harm or save innocent lives could torment her, driving her to push herself to her limits and beyond. This fear could manifest as a relentless drive for perfection, leading her to take extreme risks and make personal sacrifices in pursuit of her goals. It could also fuel her determination to constantly improve her skills and strategies, never allowing herself to become complacent in the face of danger.

Well, here her most necessary possession is, frankly, disposable. The standard wooden baseball bat with the words "KISS IT" engraved onto it has come and gone more than once. Her vehicle is also her and her friend Carnifex's living space, but they would gladly trade in the van for an actual place to live and reliable transportation if they could. Sadly, her most treasured item is already lost to her, buried beneath the weight of memories she can no longer hold. It's a simple locket, worn and weathered from years of wear, containing faded photographs of her family—her parents smiling, her brother Tim goofing off, and herself as a child, full of innocence and hope. Each time Annie's fingers brushed against its cold metal surface, she felt a fleeting connection to a past that seemed like a distant dream. When she left her home after ending her mother's unlife, she was unable to find it in what little time she had to leave. It wasn't where she always left it... The locket was a tangible reminder of the love and warmth she once knew, now forever lost in the shadows of her tumultuous existence.

The biggest problem in Annie's life right now comes from her original name; Stefani Kammerer. Specifically, it's the looming threat of her Grandfather and his company finding her to do God knows what. She doesn't know what company he's involved with but she suspects he's on the board of Prometheus Ventures, or maybe Gen-Wyld (but she's leaning towards the former, but both is possible.) Of late she has hoped that just being out of the country has been enough to keep her family and their business out of hers. Less of a problem in reality, but not in her mind is the fact that she hasn't been devoting as much time to her pursuit of Slashers. Sometimes she wonders how many people could have been saved hunting Slashers that didn't get saved over the past few months because of her other activities. Finally, there is one Slasher in particular who has been hunting her down but has lost her trail recently with her being frequently out of the country; her brother Tim. 

That answer has been in flux since she took her first Contract before she would wake up aching in the back of a van and start looking at CryptoLeaks and for suspicious articles and forum boards that might lead to a Slasher. Nowadays, she's waking up in exotic countries in which even she doesn't know the language (except France, she does know French.) Between France, Russia, and her recent trip to Brazil, and the fact that each one was for different reasons, what she does in the morning now depends on that. While she was in France, things were rather relaxing. She helped plant topiaries and other plants, recovered from her back injury, performed exercises to keep her back limber as it healed, and enjoyed the culture and food. During her brief stay in Russia, she woke up in a chilly motel and dreaded going out into the cold world. Luckily that stay was only overnight. Going to Rio de Janeiro was another thing entirely, every night and every morning was a different experience. Cassio did not lie, but how things will be in future mornings, is anybody's guess.

Before the last contract Annie never had the occasion, and would have avoided it anyway. But now if Annie were preparing for a special occasion where she wanted to look her best, she would go through a meticulous preparation routine, something she rarely indulged in before her recent windfall. First, she would spend considerable time deliberating over her outfit, sifting through her newfound collection of clothes that she's eager to showcase. Drawing inspiration from both modern e-girl street fashion and high couture, she'd carefully select pieces that exude confidence and style. Once she's settled on the perfect ensemble, she'd devote several hours to applying makeup, a process she used to avoid but now embraces as part of her transformation. With precision and artistry, she'd enhance her features, creating a look that is both captivating and alluring. This meticulous process could take anywhere from four to six hours if she's aiming to make a lasting impression. But the result would undoubtedly be stunning, as she emerges looking fabulous and ready to command attention wherever she goes.

It is coming up in mid-April (the 13th), so Annie does need to think about it. Right now she feels like she got all her gifts early, new clothes, new makeup, and a vacation to an exotic location... So what does she want to do? Probably get back to what she knows and does best, kill a fucking slasher. She feels like she's lost track of her calling recently and Carnifex is getting worried about it too. Annie senses a restless energy within, a call to return to her purpose. Despite the allure of new experiences, she feels the pull of her duty, the need to confront the darkness lurking within her world. With Carnifex's concern echoing her own, she will prepare to face the shadows once more.

When her mother was grafted with supernatural boons at the tender age of literally newborn, a funny thing occurred. She assimilated it into her DNA, which allowed not only her to pass on traits to her son and daughter, but also allowed them to develop variant traits. Which they did, now as a Contractor these grafts are growing and developing and adapting at a much higher rate than even her Grandfather is likely to have expected. (That is if he's keeping her under close enough tabs, his disappointment in her seems to have led him to underestimate her.) So far her Gifts seem to be of a garden variety "super soldier" type, but there is a wide potential of possibilities in the future that could lead down very different paths. But all of that is also dependent on her succeeding in her contracts, which to be fair she's five for five on currently, but she's seen them go south and have to be course-corrected. It's easy to see that they could go bad in the future.

Annie understands that there is a factual basis behind some mythos and supposes that means that spirituality has some justification, but mostly sees religion as a means of psychotically trying to control the masses. Cults like Christianity breed even more cultish behavior and evil factions like the Sons of Salem and she has taken a special hatred of them. So anything like them is heavily distrusted by her, plus she has always felt like religious "moral values" are just a means by which people justify hate and judgemental beliefs against others. This sometimes turns into the same hatred that fuels serial-killer behavior, which leads to slashers, and that's something she wants wiped from the face of the Earth. So you can imagine how much she distrusts ALL religion. What she believes mainly comes down to what she sees. She's seen slashers, pocket dimensions, zombies, firebirds and phoenixes, dragons, and more, so she believes in them. Why complicate by making your own myths to add onto to explain them?

Annie's worldview does not conflict with her contracts, it adapts to them. She already had been confronted by undead serial killers and their abilities, everything else she has learned has only expanded her "truth", not contradicted it. Zombies? She already knew there were undead, zombies are passe comparatively. Firebirds? At least it was appropriately named, title was bullshit. Pocket dream dimensions? Weird, but Freddy would be worse than Sweet Fun. Mind-control Aliens? More concerned with the human threat. Dragons? The corporate scumbags were worse. Phoenixes? Impressive to be sure, the true King of All Birds, but not outside her realm of possibility. She takes what she finds, and adapts, it's as simple as that. Maybe one day something will break her mind, or truly expand her consciousness to new possibilities, but right now nothing's done that yet. So she keeps moving on, setting them up, knocking them down. Nothing breaks her stride... yet.

Joseph Kingston was a single-victory contractor when Annie got her first mission and was there for her second as well. He was pretty vital for both and she learned that telekinesis is incredibly useful as a result. Without him, she doesn't believe that either mission would have done as well. He also introduced her to the first contractor to ever heal a major wound of hers, in her first contract she got a spinal injury that Yvon healed on a trip to France that he even paid for when she was poverty-stricken. It's a shame she hasn't heard from him in quite a while, especially since their last mission together went so poorly for him.

Alex White when she met Alex in Russia it was on a mission Annie didn't think she'd survive. They got attacked by wild animals and Alex lost an arm. This was the same mission Joseph lost a leg and his nose, amazingly everyone survived. If only barely. Annie didn't think she'd see her again but she made sure she got her in touch with Yvon after so that she'd be healed as afterward Joseph did not, Annie thinks that mission changed him. However, she was pleasantly surprised when Alex showed up at her next mission with new animated dolls that helped in much the same way as Joseph's telekinesis as they could fly, and hold a surprising amount of weight while doing so. She has lost contact with Alex but hopes to see her again, she did check on her recently.

Cássio Rosário she met on her third mission, the second with Alex. Annie and Cássio bounded over a moment where they both tried to sacrifice themselves to save the other and through teamwork saved both of themselves. After that and Cássio's moment of vulnerability in which he spoke of his wife, something he rarely ever does, they bonded. They kept in touch afterward, Annie learned his native tongue, Cássio helped her hunt down her brother, and they both knew Luck (whom Annie harbored an unrequited crush for). They eventually went on another mission together which brought them even closer together as true friends, where they discussed those who had passed and the future. I expect this one will continue to last as long as they both are alive, which may be surprisingly long for contractors after that last mission together.

Black walls, curtains, furniture, the works, electric candlelight, wrought iron candelabras, Victorian-style display cases featuring pieces of her hunting equipment, mementos of the people she's saved, reminders of those she couldn't and what she has already faced, horror movie posters, horror movie paraphernalia, gothic-themed artwork, a computer to do online research and investigations, a state-of-the-art stereo system playing a mix of darkwave and pop music, a reading area with a comfy chair, a table, and bookshelves with criminology, true crime, and even some occult literature, her wardrobe with all her clothes, probably a spacious attached closet, her vanity with all of her makeup, a TV with all the streaming services, her comfortable bed, and her friends; Carnifex and Cássio. Also, no signs of her family anywhere.

Annie has a lot of capabilities, she is incredible with a baseball bat, she's become a very capable infiltrator (not always with the social aspect), she's tough, she's fast on her feet, she's incredibly capable of defending herself, she can even block bullets with her bat, and even hear where things are located all around her or through walls and floors. But the thing she's truly best at is surviving.

Annie survives jumping off cliffs and out of planes, attacks by giant monsters, crazed serial killers, the undead, ambushes, the environment, as well as anything else that the contract has thrown at her. She survives so well that she has made sure that every team member she's ever had also survived, at the risk of her survival sometimes, and she still manages to do so. She may rarely excel at any individual contract, but her survival has made sure she at least gets the win she needs to get better every time.

Survive. It's just what she does.

The biggest one is her sense of justice. It is mainly tied to heinous and violent crimes, property and financial crimes don't bother her, but if you commit violent acts against someone and it's not in defense of yourself or someone else she's liable to attack you immediately unless there's an immediate way to take you to the authorities available. This goes double if attacking those who are innocent or unable to defend themselves, heaven help you if it's both. She vowed "never again."

Her hatred of atrocities against other people reinforces her sense of justice. It also keeps her in check from crossing the line in the sand she drew.

She values life, but her reluctance to murder has its limits, and those limits are in essence a sense of triage. If you're causing more harm than you are repairing, you need to be taken out of the equation.

1. "Runaway" by Aurora
   This song captures a deep sense of longing and the desire to escape, reflecting Annie’s tumultuous life and her need to stay away from her dangerous family and her inability to do so given the supernatural oath she gave without knowing its full consequences. The haunting melody and poignant lyrics resonate with Annie. Aurora's ethereal voice adds a layer of otherworldliness that mirrors Annie's mystical experiences and her journey through the supernatural. The line "I was running far away, would I run off the world someday?" encapsulates Annie's ongoing flight from her past and her family's legacy.

2. "Bury a Friend" by Billie Eilish
   The dark, intense nature of this song perfectly mirrors the dangerous and often sinister world Annie navigates as a Contractor and the loss of her best friend Carnifex. The song’s eerie atmosphere and unsettling lyrics reflect the constant threats and horrors she faces in her line of work. The repetitive, almost hypnotic beats convey a sense of being trapped in a never-ending cycle of violence and fear, much like Annie's life. The lyrics "Why aren't you scared of me? Why do you care for me?" resonate with her internal conflict and the duality of her existence—being both the hunter and the hunted.

3. "Control" by Halsey
   This track speaks to Annie’s struggle with her inner demons and her fight to assert control over her life. The powerful lyrics and intense energy of the song reflect her determination to overcome the chaos of her past and the oppressive influence of her family. Halsey's raw and emotive delivery captures the essence of Annie's battles, both internal and external. The lines "I’m bigger than my body, I’m colder than this home" echo Annie's feelings of being constrained by her circumstances and her desperate need to break free but also her confidence and power held within.

4. "Fighter" by Christina Aguilera
   A powerful anthem of resilience and empowerment, perfectly encapsulating Annie's journey from a troubled past to a fierce, independent warrior. The song's intense energy and defiant lyrics mirror Annie's determination to rise above her adversities and fight for her beliefs, no matter the cost. The opening lines, "After all you put me through, you’d think I’d despise you," reflect Annie's tumultuous relationship with her family and the betrayal she feels from them. Her family's dark legacy and involvement in sinister activities have only fueled her desire to carve out her own path and seek justice on her terms.

5. "You Don't Get Me High Anymore" by Phantogram
   This song's themes of disillusionment and change reflect Annie's evolving perspective on her life and mission. The sense of dissatisfaction and yearning for something more resonates with her growing discontent with her current path and her desire for a deeper sense of purpose. The lyrics "I don't like staying up, staying up all night, thinking about everything that isn't right" capture her internal struggles and her quest for meaning beyond the superficial thrills of hunting Slashers or The Contract.

6. "Heavy" by Linkin Park (feat. Kiiara)
   This song delves into feelings of being overwhelmed and struggling with inner battles, which mirrors Annie's internal conflicts and the weight of her past. The collaboration between Linkin Park and Kiiara brings a raw, emotional intensity that reflects Annie’s own turbulent emotions. The lyrics "I'm holding on, why is everything so heavy?" resonate with her constant fight to keep her head above water amidst the chaos of her life.

7. "Zombie" by The Cranberries
   The intense and haunting tone of "Zombie" reflects the brutal reality of Annie’s life as a Contractor. The song's powerful commentary on violence and conflict mirrors the battles Annie faces both in the real and within herself. The iconic chorus, "In your head, in your head, zombie, zombie, zombie," captures the relentless nature of her mission and the way it consumes her thoughts and actions. This song serves as a reminder of the heavy toll her lifestyle takes on her psyche and the resilience she needs to keep fighting for justice. Also, she has occasionally even fought zombies.

Her ambition has already evolved, to be honest, and it will continue to do so because she has become confronted with the reality that the more immediate threat to her is The Sons of Salem and her Grandfather. This must be dealt with before she can ever handle the threat of supernatural slashers, and it's going to take some time. She has to depose, and possibly dispose of, her Grandfather and take over the company, expose its connections to The Sons of Salem, strike a blow against them and remove the connection between the two, find a way permanently out of the oath she gave to her Grandfather and The Sons of Salem, and break up and sell the company or shelve it. Even if she survives all of that she will have to then move on to expose and ending the threat of all slashers. No, retirement is probably not in the cards for Stefani "Annie" Kammerer.