Bruno Pegul's Questionnaire

New York, New York! Greatest City in the World!!!! My apartment is nothin' too special. My capo set me up in a rent controlled, cause he knew a guy that was datin some girl who's grandpa died but the girl had the contract moved to her name a few years earlier to handle the finances. Anyway it's fine, and I've got a couple loose floorboards I can move to stash some extra nades I brough home after a job. It's just a one bedroom, but I got a few boys to help me load up a massive flat screen into the main room. It almost takes up the whole wall, it's sick!! Great for watching the fights!

I work for the family, so they pay me. [Intimidation, murder, and protection for a mafia crime family] It feels like all my money goes to booze and chicks. Every sunday I'm strapped for cash again, even when Capo gives me a stack on friday. For big things, I just tell Capo what I want. And a while later he calls me to send me to pick it up sometimes with the help of some associates. [Boss withholds some salary from the weekly cash to save up for the big expense.] The best was this awesome TV, it takes up the entire wall.

I failed to protect my charges. The whole family was killed just because they were vampires. I saw them greet the sun as I drove up for my guard shift. I can't save them, or all the other people that will be killed just because they're different or "scary". But I can sure as shit avenge them, by killing those bastards hunting them. How could I not kill while doing this? And I don't see any other way this ends than in my death, unless I just live forever.

[Bruno doesn't care about killing monsters in his way either. If the contract is kill this monster, then that's just another job. The ambition is specifically around avenging monsters killed just because they were monsters. It's the xenophobic killings that he wants to avenge.]

Going out partying with Marcus. It was my first weekend guarding the vamps, and I was on edge all week. Everyone's heard all the stories about vampires, so I was worried they'd go berserk if there was any blood around or the just got hungry or didn't like me or whatever. Marcus was going out though, and the other new guy asked me to go with them as backup. I went and after a bit started partyin too since I wasn't working. Spending that night goin wild with Marcus, I realized he's just a normal guy, it doesn't matter that he's a vampire or anything. He's just a person. That changed my entire view on the vamp family, and I quickly grew to know the people they actually were instead of the monsters I assumed they would be. Now I know all society's "monsters" are actually just people.

Capo Demetri Como is my capo in the family. He pays me, gives me jobs, and generally coordinates most of the stuff going on in my life. He's real busy, so I don't see him or chat too much, but he's real helpful.

Umberto "Bert" Adamo is my best friend. He's another soldier in the family working for Demetri. He got added to guard duty for the vamps a few months after I did, so I introduced him and showed him the ropes. Since then we hit it off, and have asked Demetri to assign us to work together when possible. He's a solid guy, about as big as I am, and incredibly loyal.

Mama Irma Galli is my gramma. She seems to still think I'm 12 and has no clue what I actually do for work. It can be a nice change of pace to visit her and chat and pretend I'm just a stupid kid.

My early life was pretty normal. I grew up in a large Italian family. My mom and dad had some boring office jobs. They'd occasionally point out the building they worked in, but it never seemed that important to me. My extended family was large, but it always felt like they never quite understood me.

I went to a standard public school. If we'd lived somewhere else I woulda played football, but as it was the mafia family immediately pulled me into their orbit as a large intimidating Italian kid. I always fit in there because they wanted me to feel like I was part of the family. After my sophomore year that was basically no question of what I would do with my life. I was clearly going to be an associate with the mafia until I was made, then just work on rising up the ranks. I never really noticed or paid attention to the other kids outside of this circle.

Pfft no, who would actually be in love? What's the point? I dated some in highschool, but I eventually realized you don't actually need to do all that relationship stuff. You can just hook up with random chicks. Now I just go out with Bert and the boys whenever we have a day off. Going to bars and clubs, playin pong, dancing, and trying to hook up.

The longest talk I had with Capo was about this too. He said not to worry about relationships and just live right now. When I pointed out that he was married, he said to wait until I was at least 35 before trying to settle down.

My biggest fears are failing the family and being exiled. I've seen death and been threatened and attacked. I don't fear death. But being cast out of the family and alone with no one is terrifying. I'd still have Mama Irma, but she barely knows how old I am. I don't know where I'd go, or what I'd do without the family to have my back.

Another related fear is that I'm also not sure what would happen to me if I ever got caught by the law and jailed. If the family couldn't get me out of trouble, I'd probably be stuck and cast out, so I couldn't drag anyone else down with me, not that I ever would. I definitely can't be captured by the cops, I'd rather go out in a blaze of glory to live on forever in the stories than quietly rot away in a cell.

[The mafia has purposefully limited Bruno's social circle and experience to only include other members of the mafia. Making their social circles and approval the only worthwhile social experiences for him. He's been fully pyschologically manipulated into counting the family as the sole source of meaning and validation in his life.]

My massive flat screen TV. Because it's awesome and fucking huge! It was also a blast trying to get it up the stairs and into the apartment. I don't know how we actually managed any of it, but Bert, me, and a few other random associates carried this thing up 8 flights of stairs then wedged it through all the building doorways. I don't even know how that's possible since I think it's taller than the door. Maybe Capo got me a magic TV, but it fit somehow and still fills up the entire wall of my apartment. Bert and I yelled at those fuckin associates all afternoon to not damage the TV, then when we finally got it up and mounted we pretended we were kicking them out before we could watch anything on it, just to mess with them.

It's also wild that I just have grenades and C4, but I haven't ever actually had to use them.

My biggest problem right now is that I don't have someone to give me a good direction. I know what I want to do. Kill asshole monster hunters that murder people because they're "monsters". What I don't know is how to find them and more importantly hunt them down without leaving a trail or being caught. I can handle everything in the moment. My problem is the planning and setup and prep work before hand. I should probably work with capo more to see if he'll help me with this. Hopefully he'll just take over doing this work for me, but I guess he could teach me how to do it. I really don't want to have to learn more shit. It's so hard to figure new shit out. I guess I just need to check with capo to make sure I use the police database correctly without messing anything up.

First off, I sleep in as long as I can. Usually until 11 if capo didn't tell me to get up early. I usually have pretty late nights out partying with the boys, so I got into the habit of downing loads of water in the morning to get rid of the hangovers. When I wake up, I start drinking lots of fluids and prep a big breakfast of eggs, sausage, and bacon. Then I get dressed in workout gear, and head to the gym for a morning workout. Afterwards I make a protein shake and bring it into the shower to prep for work after working out. Out of the shower, I get dressed in my standard polo and khakis for the day. I'll head out to work or the MMA gym with my bag, and grab a breakfast sandwich or bagel on the way out to eat on the subway.

I would absolutely get a new suit tailored. I can't really go to a normal store to get a suit. Nothing they have fits me right. After the tailor I would have probably slowed down on my MMA workouts and sparring, but I guess now that's not really a problem either. I can fix any injuries I get as soon as I want. I would pick a classic black suit with some dark red accents. I've been practicing on disguising my lashing veins as a fancy GenWyld belt, so having the tailor highlight and or just deal with that would be key. Depending on where the event is I would also want an extra pocket or two for flasks. A buddy told me one of the fancy parties he snuck into was watering down their drinks, so none of the wealthy snobs would "make a seen". I don't need to spend forever getting ready. Just put the suit on and go.

Oh damn it will be massive. The boys are gonna take me to Vegas for the whole weekend. They said we could go the entire weekend without sleeping. Casinos for the afternoon and free pre gaming. Then head to the clubs all night. In the morning, get the most massive brunch, then go out to drive monster trucks. And repeat until we're all broke or the weekend is over. I don't know if we'll need to change any plans since these new jobs seem to be ramping up, but for now that's the plan. And it will be fucking awesome.

My greatest regret is not being able to save the vamps. I know it was not my fault. I know I probably couldn't have actually made a difference when the house was stormed. I still feel terrible every time I remember how they burnt to ash in the sun. That's why I decided to avenge them. Mike wants to protect and prevent, but I have already seen what happens when that fails. I have lived through it. It's terrible. I won't do it again. I can't save people. I certainly can't save everyone or the people I care about. I can certainly hunt people down though. So yeah, my greatest regret is not being able to save them, and that that taught me the pointlessness of trying to save others. I wish I could still believe that protecting others was worthwhile. There's no way to be everywhere at once though, so someone can sneak through.

[Bruno's gifts are a novel interaction with harbinger magic and Bruno's exposure to vampiric ash. Before his first contract Bruno was working as a bodyguard for a family of vampires with connections to the Mafia. One day the Sons of Salem invaded the house and incapacitated the vampires. As Bruno was showing up to his work the sun was rising and the Sons were using the sun to execute the vampires. Bruno ran up and inhaled some of the ash trying to figure out what was happening. 

Bruno often willingly donated blood to the vamps while working for them as well. The combination of repeated blood donations to vampires and the inhaled vampiric ashes have primed Bruno's body and blood to contain and shape the harbingers magic. 

Bruno is not aware of how his powers work or manifest. He thought the harbingers might've be scamming him at first, since his first few powers were passive/subtle/unused.]

I know all about Jesus and shit. I don't really go to church or anything though. Unless Gramma Irma is asking then I always go, and sometimes she drags me to go with her so I can't get out of it. Some of the other guys are more religious, but it mostly seems to just hold them back. They refuse to take some of the jobs from capo to avoid the deadly sins. I've heard capo grumbling about it, so I can tell they're getting the worse jobs on purpose and less pay. I guess there could be an afterlife or something given all the crazy shit in the world. For some reason having "angels" and "demons" running around in he real world makes the afterlife seem less likely. Also who cares? I have to die for the afterlife to matter and I'm not ever gonna die! So what does religion matter when it's all about what happens after you die?

What? These jobs have mostly just shown that I'm right. The real monsters in these jobs have consistently been just humans. Once I realized that the so called "monsters" were basically just normal people trying to live their lives, I also realized that all those ass hats calling other people monsters or evil or whatever were the real monsters.

I guess I had some pretty large personal doubts about my life. Kissing Greg opened a whole new can of worms that I didn't even know existed. Since then I've been trying to look into what all the different sexuality and gender things are. It is way more complicated than I thought. That's probably the biggest thing all these jobs have shown me. People can be way more complicated than I thought they could be. I guess that means I can be too, so now I have to figure out what I am.

Vel seems to show up every so often. They are incredibly nonviolent and seem like the just want to help people. Weirdly they also don't seem to mind a lot of stuff other people find weird, gross, or disturbing. Maybe it's a doctor thing. They seem to know their shit and have good ideas, so I'm happy following their lead until shit pops off. Even then, I'll usually try not to kill people for them.

Edith. Shotgun!! It'd been awhile since I saw Edith, then she showed up out of the blue on a job again. She still had her shotgun and used it well. She seems big into hunting, but I suspect she isn't just hunting deer.

Eden was in a couple recent contracts. He has some crazy gadgets. Last time we were together, he decided to light himself on fire. He didn't seem to really mind the napalm and the light source did seem to save us all.

Super comfy couch, a massive wide screen tv, and a playstation would be a pretty perfect room. Oh, and maybe one of those sushi conveyor belt things to bring snacks. Or just a robot butler. It could bring drinks and snacks! Or just have a minifridge built into the couch! I would also need a phone charger in the couch to keep my phone charged and ready to go.

And no Karen neighbors always filing noise complaints and shit, lame. I guess maybe just super good sound proofing would fix the room.

I might need somewhere to work out too, so maybe a bench press or heavy bag to wail on. I'd also want a large window with a great view outside.

I think I might be best at hurting people. I tried to protect people and be a good body guard and stuff like that, but it feels like it is just so much harder. I want to be helpful and good and keep people safe, but it is just so easy to hurt people. It is hard to stop other people from hurting who I am supposed to protect. It feels much easier to strike first and hard or just take revenge ... if you are too late.

I have always been strong, but now I am even stronger. I do not really feel pain the same way, and I can just replace any parts that do break. Now it is mostly a question of us or them. Will I be strong and fast enough to hurt them before they can hurt us? So far the answer has always been yes.

(This needs too much introspection to be written as Bruno)

Bruno is concerned about what others do to him and how they treat him. All of his limits require other people to put him into situations he does not want. Bruno is capable of justifying any and all of his actions, so he has no limits on his own actions or behavior. 

Bruno can't really choose to break his own limits, other than willingly submitting to capture or torture. I don't think anything would lead him to do that though. He might not mind torture at this point, since he has become fairly desensitized to injuries and pain. He might also allow himself to be captured as collateral or a hostage to help his team or protectee. He's much more likely to try some stupid plan with explosives before getting into a scenario where willingly give himself up is the best or clearest option.

Dirty - Grandson : This weirdly might be the song that best represents Bruno. He's willing to get his hands dirty to "make the world a better place." Unfortunately he's been heavily influenced by the New York mafia, so his understanding of what would make the world better is incredibly skewed.

Eye of the Tiger - Survivor : This song rocks. It was my intro song when I was doing the MMA competitions. It's all about me. The thrill of the fight, the will to survive, just unstoppable.

I can only count to 4 - Psychostick : Fucking Georgio got this song stuck in my head. He kept singing it to make fun of how bad I am at guessing the size of crowds. The music rocks but every time I hear it I just think of that dick Georgio.

Back in Black - AC DC : This was my song for the boys in the family before all these contracts. Everyone kept thinking I'd get caught and go down for something. Well, some people thought I'd blow myself up with the explosives Capo gave me. But every time I'd come in and say I'm back, so this song eventually became mine.

"Power" – Kanye West : I mean, I've got super powers now, so I've got all the power.

Rise - Glitch Mob : This song keeps going through my head on all these jobs. Rise up, push through, and get more power. Win or Die. Those are the only options on the jobs, so I keep rising up, chasing the power.

The Only thing they fear is you - Doom Eternal/Mick Gordon : RIP AND TEAR. This has become my new workout song since I've gotten my powers. I'm too strong for MMA competitions, so now I just have to lift. I've started throwing tires around, but it still takes awhile to tire me out.

I'll keep going after bigger and bigger fish. It would be nice to be able to protect rather than avenge, but I still don't think that's possible. How would I be able to find and stop the violence against "monsters" before it happens? I guess I could retire if everyone stops hunting monsters, but I don't think that'll happen. Welp, I guess that means I'll be going to the inevitable end whatever that may be.

//There's a chance Bruno's ambition evolves to become more inclusive. It's less of a function of gaining power and more of him gaining awareness of other forms of discrimination. He's witnessed first hand discrimination against monsters, but he's removed from most other forms of discrimination and hate especially violent hate. He's been convinced that those are exaggerated or a vocal minority rather than the large scale problems they actually are. If someone is able to 

People making fun of me is the worst. I hate it when people make fun of me. It's worse when they call me stupid. I'm not stupid. Sure I didn't do well in school or classes, but so what. I still got a job, even though those assholes said I wouldn't. And now I have a second job that gives me super powers. So fuck those assholes. They're the stupid ones. They don't even know what they're talking about. I probably would have done better in school too, if I didn't keep getting suspended for fighting. I don't know why they'd call me stupid if they didn't want me to fight them though. So really it's their fault. ... I think this might bother me so much because I worry they might be right. I don't think I'm stupid, but I've heard it a lot from different people. What if I am stupid? What do I do then? Does that change anything?

After that the thing that makes me most angry is people attacking "monsters." They hate and kill other people just because they label them monsters. The monster doesn't even do anything bad. They are just different and "scary", so they get attacked. It's not fair and it's terrible. I'm going to avenge them all. Everyone who kills a monster just because they are a monster will need to watch their back. It's just so pointless. There's so many normal reasons to kill someone why would people do it just because they're different.

Is it weird that I've killed monsters? Like the werewolf thing that came after me, and the weird mouth things. But it's not like I killed them because they were monsters. I just killed them because they came at me. Or because it was part of the job. Not because of who or what they were.

I have lots of secrets I guess. Capo says I'm not supposed to tell people I work for him. I'm also not supposed to tell anyone about the bombs he gave me. I don't think the other people on the jobs count for that one. I'm not supposed to use my powers on camera, so that's a secret I guess. I definitely don't want anyone to know I started getting powers while competing in MMA. I didn't really notice the powers at first though and stopped when sparring got too easy.

The secret I try hardest to keep I guess; is that I'm actually not that smart. I got through most of school just blowing off class like it didn't matter. I didn't want anyone to know that I was actually trying at first and just couldn't understand some of the stuff. I had enough help that I could blow it off and fake it. Luckily now no one really seems to care or notice anymore.

I'm not sure exactly what name I would go by. I could steal the name Carnage. That feels a bit bad though, maybe something about protection or vengeance. Avenger and Punisher are already taken too. I think the name I'd go by would be The Slayer. It hits that Doom reference and my general brutality.

I would run Contracts to investigate attacks on supernaturals. Some might even be about protecting or escorting a cryptid to a new home. Another type of contract could be exploration contracts. I've heard of a place called the Mystery Flesh Pit National Park. As a harbinger, I would encourage contractors to enter and explore the national park. I'm curious if they would be able to learn more about the Mystery Flesh Pit. Either finding other uses for the flesh and organs of the pit, or finding a way to reawaken or reactivate the Mystery Flesh Pit.

At first I'd try to bring them back. I am pretty tough, and I think my blood is a big part of that. There might be a way to bring someone back using my blood in some way. I haven't figured it out yet, but I think there might be a way to do it. I can already swap out parts by ripping and tearing. Someday I'll be able to bring them back if I need to. Hopefully I can protect the other Contractors on my Contract, so I won't need to bring them back. If I can't, and I can't bring them back, then I would loot them and take whatever I could or needed from them. They won't need it any more, and why should I let anyone else take it either. I haven't thought of a memorial before, but I don't know why I would start one. I might take their phone and let their contacts know though.