[hr][hr][center][img]https://i.postimg.cc/SR52k84p/54b4e63d635603b22d80f72a4ba2be54.png[/img][hr][img]https://neworleanscitybusiness.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2025/01/2.-MAIN-Bourbon-St-Depositphotos_258972442_XL.jpg[/img][hr][@BlueSky44][@Nallore][@Trainerblue192][@Achronum][@PatientBean][@Forsythe][@Blizz][@Kirah][@Natsu][hr][h3][color=AC3EFF][b]3:20 PM - Sun. December 12th, 2038 - New Orleans, Louisiana[/b][/color][/h3][/center][hr][@PatientBean]: 

	The wallpaper had seen a few too many suitcases bang up against it, large tears and fraying corners marked with black, gritty streaks marring the strange beige. A crooked painting revealed a bare patch where they'd cut out some where guests usually wouldn't see and plastered it somewhere else in the hotel. The cheap wood laminate peeled up off the doors where stops and shoes had banged against them. The building was old and the mustiness of the carpet, buckling and cracked, spoke volumes to its lack of maintenance. Water damage, creeping in at the edge of one of the lights, spoke to a recent leak and shoddy patch job. Still, another poor unfortunate soul stepped out of a room just past Sabine's. [url=https://img.roleplayerguild.com/prod/users/cddabffa-6a55-421e-b57d-ad3d9bc9123f.jpg] She[/url] barely glanced up from her phone, clearly in a hurry, but a roll in the carpet caught her foot and she went stumbling, slamming face first into Sabine, her phone fumbling, and she hit the ground hard with a sickening thud. 

	“Cái quái gì vậy?! What fucking gi-” The woman, her shadow dancing up along the walls, paused her irritation as she stared up at Sabine. Instead, a pleased curl rolled at the corner of her lip. “My bad, my bad, but I gotta ask. What's a gorgeous thing like you doing in this shithole?”

[@BlueSky44][@Nallore][@Natsu]:

	Gideon blinked twice, as Diana calmly informed her that someone had died. "The goldfish... Oh! [i]Oh[/i]. Shit... I mean he was hella old, right? That's kinda what old people do? They die?" 

	The Vision studied Mary Sue carefully for a moment, a thousand algorithms or more computing in his head. She was a child. He took no issue with answering the questions of children, and a quick analysis of her body language shed great insight into how she was feeling. "There are many ways to answer that question," Vision began gently. "The first is factual. Your teacher, and for some of you in this room, your coach, has passed away. His death has required Lady Nimue to return to Otherworld, meaning the coach for you, as well as others present, is similarly absent. This is information you deserve to have the day before you compete, as they will not be there to guide you."

	"Certainly, I could have deceived you. I might have told you that Ser Nemo was very ill, and that Lady Nimue had to go to be with him. This, however, would not be acceptable. As Seneca the Younger noted, 'grief is better conquered, not deceived.' In fact, leading child psychologists similarly recommend against such things, citing that it may lead to greater confusion and anxiety. It is paramount that you are allowed the opportunity to grieve, and that you are not deprived of it."

	"Consider for me, if you would, how would you have reacted if we had engaged in such practices - if we had informed you tomorrow morning that Ser Nemo had passed, would that have been more palatable? Had we waited until the end of the contest, would you genuinely have preferred that? Or perhaps we might have never told you at all, and simply explained that he retired - would that have been right?"

	"And lastly, Ms. Sullivan, I must ask - are you disappointed in my breaking this news because that is genuinely how you are feeling? Or is it an attempt to focus on an emotional reaction to me, rather than begin to process the loss you have experienced?" Vision proposed. "Are you upset with me for bearing this news? Or you simply hiding from your grief?"

	Of course, not everyone was paying rapt attention to the Vision. For instance, Wiccan's jaw had dropped as he recognized two people in a small group enter the hotel, and he audibly gasped, before quickly pulling on Teddy's arm hissing: [i]"It's him!! And her!!"[/i] Nemo's death wasn't affecting him so hard that he couldn't fangirl out for a moment over two of his favorite singers randomly walking into the shitty hotel they'd booked for the contest.

[hider=Team Assignments]Excelsior, with coach Ser Nemo[list][*]April
[*]Danni
[*]Dorian
[*]Zelda
[*]Sabine
[*]Mads[/list]

Uncanny Avengers, with coach Lady Nimue[list][*]Percy
[*]Zari
[*]Andy
[*]Diana
[*]Leah
[*]Mary Sue
[*]Gideon[/list]

The Young Avengers, with coach Vision [list][*]Billy
[*]Tommy
[*]Teddy
[*]Eli
[*]America
[*]Cassie
[*]Kate[/list][/hider]

[hider=Housing Arrangements]Sorcerer's Inn: [list][*]Room 1 - Billy, Tommy, Teddy, and Eli 
[*]Room 2 - Cassie, Kate, and America 
[*]Room 3 - Sabine, Leah, and April 
[*]Room 4 - Diana, Zelda, Mary Sue, and Gideon[/list]

Kingston-Gray Residence: [i]room assignments will be given out by the NPCs[/i][list][*]Andy
[*]Danni
[*]Dorian
[*]Percy
[*]Zari 
[*]Mads
[*]Vicky[/list][/hider][hr][hr][center][h3][b][color=42A9FF]April Flynn[/color][/b][/h3][img]https://i.pinimg.com/originals/d6/92/80/d6928017c3826e20629dcdf0dfe3641c.gif[/img][hr][b][color=42A9FF]Location:[/color][/b] Bourbon Street, New Orleans - the Sorcerer's Inn
[b][color=42A9FF]Skills:[/color][/b] N/A
[b][color=42A9FF]Outfit:[/color][/b] [url=https://img.i-scmp.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2024/06/07/56dd11b6-7b39-4a99-b4a8-058c18f4a3fc_7390c88c.jpg]Khaki-Colored Work Jacket + Grey Tank + Light Wash Jeans + Combat Boots[/url]
[hr][hr][/center]	Through the bathroom door, as April heard Danni and Dorian shuffling on the other side of the voice, she heard her ex-girlfriend's voice. It wasn't Sabine, of course. Sabine had made her feelings about her abundantly clear on the plane trip. She had no idea how they were going to function on a team together for the contest when Sabine wouldn't even speak to her. They'd said they would stay friends, but... That didn't seem to be the case. She couldn't blame her, though. Who would want to be friends with someone's whose life was falling apart at the seams?

	[color=42A9FF]"Th-thanks, Leah..."[/color] April sniffled. [color=42A9FF]"I-I'm on the phone, s-so I can go talk to you later, but... That means a lot. That you're still here. No one else in this group is - not even Sabine, after... Sorry. I'll - I'll talk with you later, I promise,"[/color] she said, all of this audible to Leah, as well as those on the other end of the call. She dried her eyes on the back of her coat sleeve, before staring again at the phone in her hand, hidden away from the world still, at least for now, in the hotel bathroom. 

	[color=42A9FF]"Y-y-yeah. He - he had a heart attack, Viz said,"[/color] April repeated again. [color=42A9FF]"I-I-I guess he was really old and like... like that stuff happens but... But I... I-I don't know if I'd be alive if it wasn't for him and he - and he's dead now and..."[/color] she choked back a fresh wave of tears. [color=42A9FF]"Sorry, I don't - I don't want to make this all about me, you two knew h-him so much more and like... You deserved to know, I don't - I don't really know anything else about what happened. But, um, yeah. He's - he's gone."[/color]
	
	How were they supposed to do the contest now?

	Even without Nemo's death, a third of her team hated her. Maybe - maybe it would have been better if she'd stayed behind, if she hadn't left CAGE. She could feel that she was one good sob away from her control completely slipping, and the ancient pipes in this hotel bursting. And if she were gone, Sabine and Zelda would be happier - and maybe Excelsior would stand a chance at winning without her in the picture. 

	She hanged her head for a moment, fighting the impulse to say that she had to go, to end the call. [hr][hr][center][h3][b][color=ed1c24]Percy Novikov[/color][/b][/h3][img]https://i.scdn.co/image/ab676161000051748a415cc649022ca4d5582ed8[/img][hr][b][color=ed1c24]Location:[/color][/b] New Orleans - Kingston-Gray Residence 
[b][color=ed1c24]Skills:[/color][/b] N/A
[b][color=ed1c24]Outfit:[/color][/b] [url=https://img.roleplayerguild.com/prod/users/0d589277-9f3d-4fdd-9f52-2e1e122326d2.jpg]Dorian Approved Outfit #2 - Sunglasses, Flannel, Skinny Jeans[/url]
[hr][hr][/center]	Percy did his very best not to flinch as Mr. Gray put a hand on his shoulder. He knew that it was supposed to be comforting. He knew that there wasn't malicious intent behind it. However, with the hangover overwhelming him, his knees buckled a bit at Mr. Gray's touch, and he quickly stumbled somewhat backwards to enforce some distance. His only luck was that the wizard was exceptionally busy, and quickly moved on to chat with Vicky, leaving Percy free from further contact... for the moment. He let his shoulders relax slightly, although it did nothing for the spike of anxiety that had gone through him, not really. Another drink would have helped - he should have considered that earlier, and made a switch from coffee to another shot of bourbon before leaving. It would have relaxed him, calmed him. 

	But his reprieve from interacting with Dorian's fathers was short lived - as another one stepped up. James Kingston. He held out his hand for Percy to shake, and Percy stared at it, the entire world around him feeling like it was lurching, like it was rocking, as his vision contracted and tunneled. It was like he wasn't in control of his body, just watching from another person's perspective as Percy forced himself to reach out, to clasp James' hand in his own. Somehow, it hadn't occurred to him that Dorian's parents would want to keep making physical contact with him. His own mothers rarely did, and Diana knew not to as well. It wasn't something he'd really discussed with his boyfriend, as physical contact with him was fine - welcome, even. It was abnormal, unusual - and not the sort of impression he wanted to leave on Dorian's family. So Percy made himself shake James' hand, and then suddenly... The hangover vanished. 

	Like it had never happened. 

	The exhaustion of a sleepless night remained, but the headache, the nausea, the way the lights glared in his eyes? All of it was gone. [color=ed1c24]"... It's nice to meet you, Mr. Kingston,"[/color] Percy said, stunned. But the hangover symptoms were quickly replaced with fear - [i]Even if you can't figure it out, [b]I can.[/b][/i] His eyes darted over nervously towards Dorian, but his boyfriend was running off to his brother, leaving Percy standing there alone, shocked. He didn't know what to do. 

	He didn't know what [i]James[/i] would do. 

	Meanwhile, Selene in her carrier was screaming as loud as she could, despite the fact that her doll-prison had terrible acoustics. "[i]YOU'RE [/i]GIVING ME TO [i]HIM?!?!?!?![/i]" Selene shrieked. "MY OWN FLESH AND BLOOD, BETRAYING ME?!??!?!" There was a sound of a [i]pop[/i], as one of the doll's eyes shot out, hitting the door of the carrier harmlessly. "A curse on you, daughter dear!! May you wander alone for eternity, never knowing love or sanctuary!!"

	Casper didn't retain much of what Andy told him, despite it having only been moments. Half of his attention was on her, a third of it was on Selene's hissy fit, a tenth was on a [i]Snikt![/i] he had seen earlier that morning, and the rest was vaguely aware that his husband was approaching. [color=DBA1DE]"If it makes you feel any better, Andy, I'm forty nine and I [i]still[/i] don't know what I'm doing,"[/color] he said seriously, maintaining eye contact with her. [color=DBA1DE]"People like us, sometimes it takes us a [i]while[/i] to figure it out. The secret is to find a type A spouse. That and rehab. But you need an addiction to go to rehab and I dooooon't really see drug use for you, bb. I mean you have the aesthetic for, like, cigarettes but anything harder than that? Nah. I don't see it."[/color]

	[color=DBA1DE]"Oooor actually, you might even be ahead of me, I'd [i]love[/i] to shove my dad inside a cat carrier and shake him around a bit like a babysitter with their least favorite baby!"[/color]

	Firestar was frozen for a moment, just processing everything that was happening, before she sighed slightly, collecting her thoughts. She kept her voice low, as she whispered: "I was just told that their coach, Ser Nemo, died from a heart attack this morning in Otherworld..." She then hesitated, clearly looking towards Max for direction on what to do - and then, seconds later, her jaw dropped as she heard Dorian and Danni scream that someone was dead. 

	Ben immediately made a beeline over to his kids, seeing them huddled together on the phone. He'd heard what they'd screamed. Someone was dead? He really hoped it was just a fictional character in a show or something, and he hovered near them, somewhat protectively. [color=silver]"Boys... What happened?"[/color]