THE KAMPFF - Week One

[al2955]

the pygmalion. . . ONLINE LOGGING YOU IN . . . KAMPFF week one Once you manage to get into your room, you'll notice that AL-2955 is waiting for you. She appears in the corner, 'poured' from a statue much like she was in the meeting room. After making sure you saw the additional page on your tablet, she implores you to head towards the chapel, where four others await you. It's time to get to know your fellow Kampff. kampff rulebook taken info cards

Comments

[erythristic]

[why me? it was the same question she'd had during the meeting, the same feeling she had on reading the page in the device.

why not you, the voice in her head answered, as she follows the AI's instructions. it's not as though she has something better to do than listen to her, and she's still drinking in the details of the ship with her vision restored. this Kampff, these rules. this extra incentive. what and why?

into the chapel she goes. to meet these others. not sitting yet, preferring to instead investigate the stand in the middle of the room, glancing through the texts for the sake of something to do with her hands. of course, if someone enters, her head snaps up to see who it is, eyes immediately finding theirs, silently questioning them. who among them were the selected?

one thing she does pray for. may all the others in the Kampff be able to turn their hearts to stone, because she certainly can.]

[tayu]

[As soon as Grell's eyes snap to her when she enters, Tsukuyo blinks.

And raises a hand.]

Yo.

[STONE COLD KILLER HERE, CLEARLY.]

[erythristic]

[slowly, Grell raises a hand in return, exiting out of the texts, but doesn't say a thing yet. yo? is that really how you're greeting people in this serious of a situation?]

[refactor]

[ So far as Jack is concerned, this? This is perfect, so much as this weird situation could be perfect. Seeing that he has a title like Master Chief is obvious, because who else would get this kind of title? There's still a lot that he doesn't understand here, and even more that he doesn't trust in the slightest, but this is at least a step towards answers. Possibly. If nothing else, it sounds like a good time, but that part he'll actually (surprisingly) keep to himself. ]

Well, well, well. Looks like we won the friggin' lottery, huh?

[ aka, sup guys this is your master chief (unfortunately) ]

FINALLY I CAN TAG JACK

[erythristic]

If by "lottery", you mean "the chance to be the killers the others won't be."

[she says it dryly, pushing up her glasses to look at Jack. what a strange man already, but she can't be upset that he actually may be on board with this, without the moral quandary of should we or should we not.]

sparkles

[refactor]

That is ex-actly what I mean.

[ Jack definitely doesn't seem to be bothered by this prospect at all, but if you had overheard some of his conversations in the last few days, that might not be the biggest of surprises... He does give Grell a once over himself, but it's more to take in someone that he's going to— Well, working with, he guesses. ]

Whether it's a good or a bad thing, hell, it doesn't really matter, does it? It doesn't seem like our resident AI or whatever was inclined to ask. Or, well, I'm assuming.

[nowyewseeme]

Pffft!

[calisto covers her mouth with her hand, trying to hold back her laughter. mostly out of habit, since they're all in the same boat here - what are they going to do if they judge her to be too callous, kill her?]

I'd rather have won money than murder, but it's not like I'm not used to either!

[in a way it's almost a relief, getting to if not let her mask down at least show a few cracks.]

[refactor]

[ Jack raises an eyebrow as Calisto tries to hide her laughter, but considering it comes with a twist of his lips into a smile, it's probably easy to guess that Jack approves. ]

You know? I can't even lie, that's pretty fair. Since I mean, as someone rolling in both, the first one at least comes with fewer dry cleaning bills. Like, man, I have a whole budget set-aside for getting blood out of my clothes? Like, damn.

[ jack fucking chill for like five minutes, jesus ]

Aaanyways, no need to hold back on the laughter here, sweetheart. Pretty sure it's safe to say we're all in the same boat here, so go ahead, let loose.

[tayu]

[FANCY SEEING YOU HERE okay no she's not in the least surprised that he got picked to murder people, like.

That just.

Duh.]

Well, it can't be that surprising with what they know about us.

[Like in those info cards................... not that Tsukuyo's too ruffled by people calling her out on being an assassin once upon a time because that's just kind of her thing.]

[qundercover]

[Bull doesn't seem all that concerned - maybe not happy about the situation, but certainly not all that upset either. Rather relaxed, really. Murder, intrigue, weird companions? Part of the job.]

Lottery? Nah. Lottery is random, this group right here is skill set. And good looks.

[nowyewseeme]

[for a defense attorney, calisto doesn't seem that bothered about being chosen to be a killer. she takes a seat on the couch immediately, pulling out the powder compact she'd found in her room and readjusting her make-up. at first glance, it's easy to assume that she really doesn't care about anything that's happening right now...but a more observant person might notice that the compact mirror she's focusing so intently on is being adjusted to reflect someone in the room at all times.

without glancing up from where she's applying a new coat of gloss, she offhandedly remarks:]

Odd that they think a group like us needs to exist at all, isn't it? Are there really so few people willing to kill on this ship that they need to build their own?

[tayu]

[There are more bothersome things than being chosen for a group of killers when you're, you know, raised by an assassin. Tsukuyo doesn't have any strong attachments to anyone on this ship yet, so it's very kanyeshrug.gif right now.

Her arms are crossed, and she's leaning against a wall, but it's close enough that she can hear that remark, and she shrugs vaguely.]

It'd be a bit much to expect most people could kill right off the bat without being desperate. [She supposes....

Unless the situation makes them desperate, in which case they will totally not be necessary at all.]

[qundercover]

[ Bull doesn't really seem all that surprised he's been scouted for Murder Gang, it really is up his alley. I mean, secret identities, killing people for fun and profit, the fact that every criminal gang needs a big guy to make them seem intimidating. Obviously you'd pick Bull. They all just want him for his body. ]

A guy can only start adding so many layers of identity before shit starts getting weird, you know.

[Luckily you hired a professional.]

[tayu]

How many you got?

[You can't say something like that without making her curious!!]

[nowyewseeme]

Really?

[she sounds fascinated, actually snapping her compact shut so she can look iron bull in the eye...or more like in the pecs.]

I wouldn't think someone of your...stature would be able to pull off a disguise that well.

[al2955]

[Once everyone has gathered and gotten introductions out of the way, AL-2955 will appear.]

Welcome, Kampff. If you would please open your datapads now, you will see the extra incentive you will attain should you successfully pull off a murder and get away with it.

[On every datapad, a video begins to play. These are biolocked to the Kampff group in general, meaning that while no one outside of the group will ever be able to access the video or know that it exists, everyone here can see and hear it just fine. The images and sound from the video are so true to life that even the most cynical or tech-savvy of you can see no way it could possibly be faked.

Handsome Jack's video shows him back in his office on Helios and in the flesh body he has now. The door opens and a young woman walks in, beaming with delight. She runs up to Jack and throws her arms around him in a tearful embrace, saying "Dad, you're my hero!". Together, they look out over Pandora through the window as the camera pans to Jack's trophy case, now significantly more full with various items collected from the corpses of the Vault Hunters who've plagued him so often.

Tsukuyo's video shows her back home safely in Yoshiwara. The city looks to be far brighter and in a better state than when she left it; the sun shines down cheerfully, the streets and buildings are clean, and the courtesans walk together happily in broad daylight with no traces of fear in their eyes. Perhaps most surprisingly, a familiar young woman walks on her own two feet at Tsukuyo's side, her hand at Tsukuyo's arm and her face shining with happiness.

Iron Bull's video shows Seheron - but far, far different than the one he remembers. Instead of a war-torn hell, this Seheron is completely at peace and clearly satisfied being under the Qun. Qunari and natives alike walk among the jungle, nodding to each other amicably without any hint of hostility. Children of all species play with each other out in the open, their tamassarans keeping a watchful eye on them. There is no sign of Tevinter presence or Fade rifts anywhere on the island.

Calisto Yew's video shows a young woman infiltrating a building. It may have been a while since she last saw that face, but Calisto will recognize it as her own, before all the disguises and different identities and pretense. A few minutes later, the woman walks out with her stolen loot in hand and straight past two older men, neither of whom seem to recognize her at all.

Grell Sutcliffe's video shows her onstage, gorgeously bedecked in crimson red gown and giving the performance of a lifetime as the leading lady. When her performance ends, the audience jumps to their feet in rapturous applause. As she takes a bow, her costar - a handsome young man, who she won't recognize but has the same green sheen in his eyes as hers and who she will feel an instant connection to - embraces her with a look of complete adoration on his face and gives her a gentle kiss on the cheek.

When the videos end, AL-2955 will speak up once more.]

Of course, this is not the only incentive we will be providing you. Should you break the rules, attempt to defect from the group or avoid killing, or fail to kill when required of you, you will find the following fates awaiting you even if you do manage to return home.

[New videos begin playing on each datapad, these just as realistic as the last.

Handsome Jack's video shows him on a generic Pandora wasteland and back in his holographic body. However, Rhys is nowhere to be seen...though the brutally mangled and unrecognizable corpse on the ground a may explain that. In front of him, a group of Vault Hunters he recognizes talk among themselves before a redheaded woman detaches herself from them and walks up to Jack with a smirk. She holds up a familiar Echo-Eye in front of his face tauntingly, the bloodstains still visible on it, before it bursts into flame in her hand. Jack lunges at her furiously to no avail, his body glitching and spluttering in and out of existence, a seemingly torturous experience for him even for a hologram that can supposedly feel no pain. As the eye begins to melt down, she smiles and blows a kiss at him right before he vanishes for good.

Tsukuyo's video still shows her in Yoshiwara, but this time it's in flames. Assassins and thugs alike run through the streets, killing every courtesan they see without hesitation or mercy. The corpses of her Hyakka lie scattered at her feet, empty eyes staring up at her accusingly. As she runs frantically through her city, looking desperately for people to rescue, she trips over a dead body facedown with familiar brown hair. The video ends on Tsukuyo shakingly bending down to flip the body over, revealing Hiwako's dead face.

Iron Bull's video now shows Par Vollen, though it may be hard to tell due to the smoking wreck it's become. The sky above it is a sickly green, demons pouring out of too many rifts to count and lunging towards the first person they see as Tevinter magisters and Venatori unite to fling magic into the screaming populace. The Antaam attempt to fight back, but it's clear both their numbers and morale have been severely reduced, many of them torn down where they stand by demons or magic. Children and civilians, possessed by demons, turn into abominations and massacre their own loved ones. The last image the video shows is the area behind a building, where the corpses of all of the Chargers lie fallen in their final fight.

Calisto Yew's video shows herself again, but now in a disguise she won't recognize. A bead of sweat drips down her face as she argues furiously with young prosecutor, but it's clear the gig is up. Her expression darkens and she reaches into her clothes, but before she can bring out her weapon, a shot rings through the air and she cries out in pain as blood blossoms from her shoulder. As the rugged detective from before cuffs her, her gasps of pain turn into a despairing and maniacal laugh.

Grelle Sutcliffe's video now shows her running through a bloodstained building, chainsaw out and a furious expression on her face. As she runs, it becomes clear where she is - the Reaper Headquarters, though it's near unrecognizable now thanks to the bloodsoaked walls and the massive number of Reaper corpses fallen everywhere. Two of them in particular are in incredibly mangled shape, their deaths clearly painful and brutal. When she turns the corner, a silver-haired man with green eyes suddenly appears in front of her, easily blocking her chainsaw's strike. His cheerful smile is the last thing she sees before his scythe sinks deep into her chest.

The videos end, though they can all be replayed on your datapad at any point. AL-2955 will give you a few minutes to react before she speaks again.]

If you have any questions, I am available to take them now.

[refactor]

[ Jack starts watching his video warily, and at first, his expression turns to shock and then a very vicious anger as Angel appears. He glances up to AL-2955 briefly to give that scathing look, but he's very quickly drawn back to watching what's on his screen. And honestly? It's not what he was expecting at all. He had expected the opposite of this, because Jack was so fiercely protective of Angel that he knew it was a weakness. The moment someone tried to twist his arm about her? He would have to bend. He couldn't let someone do anything to his baby girl.

He expects blackmail, and that's where that immediate flash of white-hot anger comes from, but as the video continues, his expression softens further and further until it settles into an expression that looks surprisingly soft, but also sad. Jack touches the screen lightly as if it would allow him to reach out and comfort her. ]

Sweetheart...

[ He's definitely still focused on Angel more than anything else, because while the temptation of realizing his dreams in the rest of this video is what he'll focus on later, for now he just feels the weight of how long it's been since he's seen her. As soon as he goes back, no matter what, he's sure— He has to go see her right away.

(Of course, this Jack doesn't know the truth. Angel is already dead. Even if he did return, his own obsessive "protection" of her meant that now there was no one left for him to go see.)

By the time the second video starts, Jack's expression turns stony and hard to read, but it's still not quite the outburst of anger that he might have felt otherwise. He gets it. He dies embarrassingly and painfully at the hands of the bitch that completely changed the course of his life. Again. As if he hadn't seen a million death threats way more creative than this (though not with this kind of production quality). But seeing Angel, seeing her embrace him like that? Like she did when she was a little girl? That's what really shakes him. There's actually a few moments where Jack is surprisingly quiet, and his voice is actually a much more reasonable volume and tone when he does speak. ]

Yeah, just one. Where did you get this footage?

[tayu]

No. Questions.

[It's gritted out through clenched teeth. The extra incentives had been bad enough, but seeing the punishment for failure... seeing Hinowa like that, and Yoshiwara in flames again, and how terribly everything could go, and the implication that again, she'd be helpless--

She can't accept that, and quite frankly, this is all bullshit.

And quite frankly, she's going to do it, she's going to kill someone over this, and she can't even bring herself to be upset over it, because she knows what's necessary and when. Killing one person for something like this... well, they won't deserve it, but even so...

Necessary.

And after she says her piece, she crosses her arms tightly and stalks away a few paces to lean against the wall, because it's time to Brood.

Seriously, what the fuck, guys.]

[erythristic]

[when her video is shown to her, she goes as still as a statue. doesn't move. barely breathes. it's not just the promise of acting, of being on that stage like she wants so badly - what the AI is showing her is something deeper. being acknowledged. respected. loved. for a passing moment, she looks as though she might cry - it has touched something in her she had accepted the need to let die.

death. that's what this all circled around, truly.

the second one leaves her pale, hand unconsciously coming up to touch the scar from that weapon's first strike. not them. they couldn't, wouldn't fall - but they could, couldn't they, if the right moment was there. if they were surprised. the deserter. this failure. the death of death, and the horror is in the number of bodies and what that means for everything else.

it can't happen. she can't allow this. no matter what this costs. without the reapers, who would look to the souls?

when Grell looks up to speak to the AI, her voice is flat, emotions restrained with effort.]

What guarantee do we have that these incentives will be upheld? To chase away any seeds of doubt that may seek to poison us.

[nowyewseeme]

[calisto frowns down at her video for a moment, then sits bolt upright when she realizes who she's looking at. how long has it been since she's seen that face and those mannerisms? long enough that it's like looking at a total stranger - and that is what the girl in the video's become, isn't it? a face thrown away, a name gone unspoken so long that it turns into dust in her mouth - that girl had been left behind long ago, before calisto yew had even existed, just as calisto yew herself will have to be discarded and forgotten once she returns home.

and now, across all the years and the lies and the blood she's spilled, it's being returned to her. more than returned - gifted, a way to cut the ties to both the smuggling ring and law enforcement, a future unfolding before her where she's finally free and beholden to no one, where she can finally stop running. where she can stay one person for the rest of her life.

it should make her feel hopeful. it should make her feel excited. instead, she feels nothing but a curl of cold fury in her stomach. she'd left that part of her behind long ago - how dare they dangle it in front of her again now? how dare they taunt her with a dream she'd finally given up for good, how dare they reawaken her desire for something she'd forgotten she'd even wanted?

compared to that, the second video is much more of an anticlimax, one that she watches with no emotion on her face save a slight trace of amusement. it's a bit humiliating to be caught by that rookie prosecutor, sure, but at least she only gets shot in the shoulder and arrested - a far lighter sentence than what she can tell most of her fellow killers are receiving from their videos. honestly, she's just surprised that badd didn't shoot her in the head. a disappointing end to her career, but a fitting one to be caught by those two, she feels.]

That dress I'm wearing is pretty cute. I don't suppose there's any way I could get it without the whole getting shot and arrested part?

[despite the lighthearted reaction, there's very little amusement in her voice and the smile she turns on to the ai is vicious and sharp.]

You know, you could have just asked nicely.

[qundercover]

[ Par Vollen. That's an image he's seen before, imagined over and over in his head. The reason he joined the Inquisition in the first place. He didn't need a reminder of that threat. It's nothing new, and it's certainly not a stretch to know the consequences of his failures. The picture of the dead Chargers seems to just be insult to injury - almost to the point of absurdity. As if he wouldn't get the message loud and clear unless they destroy that part of his life too, that there is no escape even in the part of him that isn't tied to the Qun. It's almost funny. Almost.

The images of Seheron - dreamlike, idealized - are harder to watch, but he still plays it several times over. Silent, observing, trying to catch a glimpse of . . . something? Anything to prove it was real. That would tell him that it wasn't just some demon conjuring a picture it knew he wanted to see, something that had crawled inside his head and seen his dreams. Even if it was, it's already a little too late.

He looks up finally, voice even and calm. ]

Got anything physical? Concrete. Don't take a job without a down payment.

[ Dreams, illusions. You can conjure up images all you like. They don't really count. They don't feel real. ]

part 2 for JERKS

[al2955]

[Well, since most of you guys are all cynical JERKS who don't trust the poor sweet AI, AL-2955 will disappear for around half an hour. Feel free to just chat and bond over how much bullshit this is during this time, because she leaves the door locked and you won't be able to get out.

When she appears again, it's with four robots all holding dinner platters that they will present to specific people.

Jack gets a platter with a lock of Angel's hair and a bloodstained half-melted Echo-Eye. He can run whatever tests he wants on the hair, it'll come up definitively Angel's.

Iron Bull gets a Ben-Hassrath report in Qunlat about the success in pacifying and converting Seheron, and a shattered and bloodstained "bow" that he'll recognize as Dalish's. The report is exactly what he would expect, down to the smell and feel of it as well as the code they use, and chances are he can recognize the scent of the Chargers on the staff. Also, he might just recognize Krem's eye that's been stuck to the top of the broken crystal.

Grell gets a pamphlet advertising a play starring two of London's rising actors and hottest couple, engraved with a photograph of her and the man from her video. She also gets a bloodstained pruner that's been snapped in half that she'll recognize as William's. Caught in the pruner is a gouged-out bright green eye, still with traces of a black-framed pair of glasses embedded in it.

Calisto gets the dress she was wearing in the second video, complete with a bullet hole and bloodstain in the shoulder.

Tsukuyo gets nothing because she's not a jerk!!

The robots will collect all items back once they leave the room. Sorry, you don't get to keep your grisly AU mementos.]

[nowyewseeme]

[well! with the motives being revealed and gouged out eyes being given out like candy, this party's certainly gone downhill. may as well try to lighten things up a little with a change of subject.

so she'll raise a hand and flag down the AI, speaking loudly enough for everyone in the room to hear her.]

Hey robogirl, I've got an issue here - is master chief really the best title you can come up with for our esteemed leader here? I mean, it's a bit...overcompensating, isn't it? You might as well call him Sergeant Hugecock Manballs, pffft! Besides, as a modern-day professional working woman, I can't say I'm comfortable with three ladies being forced to call a guy master.

[then her lips twitch with barely suppressed laughter.]

Unless we can change it to Master Bates, pfffbbbthahahaha!

[refactor]

[ Wow? Wow. You're all supposed to adore and look up to him, not turn his title into a joke?? ]

Okay, firstly, hurtful. I'm totally not overcompensating? I didn't even pick the title. Christ.

[ And yet: ]

But that is. Legitimately hilarious. So at least an A for effort.

[ Jack sounds so reluctant to admit this, but at the same time, this is absolutely a joke he would make were the situations reversed. He's often a huge hypocrite, but man. It's funny? This is a big conflict?? ]

But I vote "no" and as Master Chief, I feel like my vote should count at least four times.

[al2955]

If you all agree that Master Bates is a preferable designation to Master Chief, I am capable of amending the rulebook to reflect this.

[ Calisto what have you done ]