[IC] 🦄 The Paradoxical Emendation - Merged With T.S.

[Natsu]

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Bartholomew Rosecliff

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Location: Outside room 107 -> Room 101
Skills:N/a

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Bart smiled back at the large man, waving his hand nervously as he did so. He didn't say anything yet, instead closely paying attention to the people around him, trying to get a bead on who exactly each of them were. He followed them into the sitting room slowly, a little shaky as he did so. He normally wouldn't ever be this standoffish, and he was sure he'd get better with time, but God, this transition was as abrupt as could be, and he just wasn't ready to be social yet. He placed his hands at his sides, and drummed lightly on his calf, when a woman said his name.

His head snapped towards her, temporarily surprised by the fact that she knew his name, but reasoned that, given a room had been prepared for him, and they seemed to somewhat be expecting his arrival, them knowing who he was was the least surprising thing that had happened to him today. He cleared his throat and hurried forward to a seat. He kept his eyes on the lady as she introduced herself as The Dice. He recalled Alicia describing The Dice before, and he was quite intrigued by what he heard. She would be of particular interest to him, since her existence meant randomness was, well, real, if he was to believe Alicia. His eyes trailed for a moment onto The Hat as Eve introduced him, who was apparently the giant who led them in here.

There was a lot to unpack in that short introduction. The Hat, or Gilbert as he was apparently also called, was some kind of warrior from how Bart understood it. That of course, lead him to the question, why did they need a warrior, to the point of introducing him as such? This worried a part of Bartholomew, since he personally was by no means a fighter, and was concerned that this could somehow mean they expected him to fight for them in some capacity. If anything, he preferred to do work from the side lines, but even then, he didn't want to hurt anybody. He packed these feelings away momentarily, deciding to hear her out these "Emendators" completely before jumping into questions or objections. Bart returned his gaze to Miss Lucas, and gave her a nod when she asked if they were ready to get some answers. The only thing he wished for now, was pen and paper to take notes, but he was fine with committing things to memory if he had to.

[mnkee]

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Alexandra Andonova

You’re lookin’ crazy, you’re lookin’ wrong
It looks like we’re gonna get along

- "Pretty Little Psycho" by Porcelain Black

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Location: Room 107 (Outside passageway)  Room 101 (Sitting Room)
Skills: N/A

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Upon the sound of the man giant Gilbert “The Hat” Summers addressing her specifically, Alexandra’s head swung to the side. She batted her eyelashes in an overdramatic fashion as her dark eyes traveled up the man’s tall form. “Yes, sweet father of giants,” she teased. It was almost endearing. Almost. She couldn’t help it as the corner of her mouth turned up into a sly smirk that nearly matched his own. She always liked to start a good banter, even if the likelihood of the other reciprocating in kind was often slim to none. They could catch the bone, so to speak, that she throws, or not. In the end it didn’t really matter, she would always make the most of whatever kind of response she got.

Her eyes widened at the rest of what “The Hat” had to say to her. “Oh?” she remarked in surprise. He knew several Great Bazhoolis?! Her wide-eyed gaze then turned to James followed by her mouth falling agape. “You too?!” she exclaimed in an almost shrill voice. She stood there for a moment looking all kinds of—psycho? It was kind of up to interpretation.

She finally picked her jaw up off the floor and straightened up her posture to something more appropriately resembling a sophisticated woman in a dress. Well, sort of. After all, she was still clutching her heels in her hand instead of wearing them. But, I mean, no one’s perfect. Especially not her. “Huh,” she commented lamely. She rested her handful of shoes back on her shoulder, before slowly following along with the assembled group.

A slight weariness began to creep into Alexandra’s demeanor as all the information she had learned in the last hour or so of consciousness whorled inside her head. It was all just so much to take in. Her gaze only half took in the interiors of the rooms they passed through before finally arriving in the sitting room. She chose to sit next to Sophia. It wasn’t that she had any qualms about sitting next to someone she hadn’t already met. It was just the closest chair. She let out a small sigh as she sat down and set her heels down onto the floor.

Her head popped back up when Eve entered the room. She glanced over at Sophia, arching a brow in question, before looking back at the interesting newcomer. She tried not to fidget as the woman began her spiel, but she was kind of finding it hard to just sit there, let alone to shove anymore information into her already overfilled brain.

[Morose]

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Nancy Parker

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Location: Ville au Camp: Main House (Room 202)
Skills: None

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Nancy continued to shuffle her cards, musing over Gio's words. Well, some of them. While she would have enjoyed a rousing battle of semantics over the current status of the time loop and how to properly discuss it in language (mostly since getting a bit of a rise out of Giouse could be amusing at times), she wasn't quite in the mood for it. The second reading about the coroner had been a lot clearer and more easily determined in her mind. She shuffled the cards again and again, cutting the deck and shuffling them all once more without thinking.

And while Giouse didn't voice his doubts that the first reading applied to Ville au Camp, Nancy had them as well. While she never admitted it and refused to speak about it with those who suspected it (mostly Alicia), she was still grieving over the loss of a close friend. Did she see destruction in the cards because it really lurked around the corner? Or was it her own emotions coloring the reading? At any rate, it was vague. "Of course I have a better grasp on the cards, they're in my hand," Nancy quipped, shaking her cards a bit to further accentuate her pun.

She had gone back to shuffling the cards, letting them then cascade down from one hand to another. "We can leave it for now - until I see something a little more specific and clear," Nancy decided. "D'you think we still have enough time for the prank? If all the new Paradoxes have arrived by now, it'd be hard to blend in Ashley." She didn't want their effort to go the waste - but she also didn't want it to be ruined by poor timing.

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Andromeda Aldrich

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Location: Ville au Camp: Main House (Receiving --> Sitting Room )
Skills: None

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Andromeda nearly jumped as she heard footsteps approaching, before spotting a rather prim and proper woman, practically dressed from head to toe in blue. As she recalled the descriptions Alicia had given her, she realized this was her - the Dice. She was the one who had brought them to Louisiana - though it was more than just Louisiana. Ville au Camp reminded her of supposedly haunted locations she had toured when she was alive, only it was still filled with life. Spirits had yet to make their home here.

"A Crypt? Oh...Thank you," Andromeda said, deciding to take it as a compliment. She'd never encountered that strange family in her lifetime. She shook Lady Lucas' hand, returning the firm grip with one of her own. "It's nice to meet you as well, Evelina." She had 21st century mannerisms, after all. And when someone used your first name in address, Andromeda tended to view it as the intention to refer to them similarly. She was about to ask Evelina a question about Ville au Camp when the Dice took out her pocket watch and guided them through the house. Andromeda noted the other girl that was with Evelina - a blonde. She made a mental note that she wasn't one of the Emendators Alicia had instructed her to watch out for.

Her mind was running at a trillion miles a second as they went through the house and entered the sitting room. The rather large man - Andromeda assumed that he had to be the Hat. He wasn't a dark haired and dark eyed woman and nor was he an old man. Process of elimination served her well, as Lady Lucas confirmed her thought process. Andromeda's eyes swept around the room, attempting to see if there were any familiar faces. She was relieved to not see Eudora or Walter in the small gathering. Perhaps they were fine, then, and she had nothing to worry about.

The Cards and the Watch were planning the activities? Weren't those the two that Alicia had warned her about? She raised a bit of an eyebrow before deciding to just accept it at face value for now. She took a seat across the room from Sophia and Alexandra - not because she was unsocial. She couldn't tell who already knew each other, if at all, and she figured it was best not to intrude by accident. And it would feel a little awkward, anyways, to take a seat next to a stranger when other options were available. She was American, after all - and from the North. She didn't have Southern hospitality and values.

[Lady Absinthia]

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Gilbert Summers

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Location: Ville au Camp - Main House (Sitting Room)
Skills: N/A

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The eyebrow arch that came from Gilbert, while not quite legendary, likely exerted physical force capable of slapping the cap off of a bottle of sarsaparilla. Of course, this was mostly due to the utterly blatant and dramatic manner in which the Russian Paradox hurled herself suggestively at him. If allowed to go much further, the statuesque Emendator wouldn't have been surprised in the least if the metaphorical hurling turned into a much more literal event. The eyebrow stood at attention, paired with a slight backward tilt of his head for just a moment before returning to something more relaxed.

It wasn't the first time that a Paradox had come onto Gilbert. This was perhaps the most pressing reason that Evelina strenuously insisted that he wear a shirt. Well, the joke was on her! He was wearing a shirt and a vest, and some recently dead (to her point of view, anyway) lady was still eye-molesting him. Was he wearing pants this time? Sometimes he didn't... Yup, pants and everything. Ok, upon personal reflection, this was most assuredly not his fault this time, which is precisely what he intended to tell The Dice when the inevitable conversation came up later on today. And it would. There was no escaping it.

As if his thoughts were made manifest, Evelina chose precisely that moment to make her appearance. She was speaking in older Greek, as well. Generally, this was not good for him, as her tendency to do so often coincided with moderate annoyance at him. Luckily for Gilbert, her commentary and observations could be responded to with a fairly laid back, "Not a problem at all, Evie. It's what I do." The next exchange (this time in modern English) was not taken quite as well. Gilbert knew of that gambit in chess, if it was the one he suspected it might be. There was a counter, but that particular bud needed to be nipped within the next couple of moves, before it became much more expensive in terms of sacrificed pieces. He smiled, considering his next move (which he did not mention immediately).

Chess would have to wait, though, as would questions for just a moment. The Dice lived up to her name, rolling an ornate polyhedron across a flat surface to reveal the runed facet that showed on top when the die came to a rest. Gilbert knew this mark. He exhaled and shook his head slightly. "Well, it looks like a matter beyond our consideration now. We've got a spirited group of guests to make feel welcome, so let's, ah... well, let's talk some." He gave a relaxed smile and leaned back in his chair, truly a comfortable piece of furniture that wholly belonged in a room reserved especially for Sitting.

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James Grady

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Location: Ville au Camp - Main House (Sitting Room)
Skills: N/A

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Well, so far Q & A raised more Qs than As. James figured that something like this would be the norm until he got his bearings, if he could decide what concepts such as "norm" and "bearings" meant in this place. For instance, one of his best friends in the world just rattled off an impressive string of what he assumed involved a fair amount of swearing in Spanish, a language that he never really got an amazing opportunity to learn outside of a few key phrases from popular eateries and the occasional colorful metaphor.

Then there was the kid. He wasn't really a kid, but James figured that he had a couple decades of worldly experience on the guy. Of course, what did age mean anymore? Or experience? They seemed to just be ideas of ever-growing abstractness to him now, and he was rarely the fuzzy and introspective type. Especially now though, with James feeling a sort of emptiness deep within his brain. What caused it? And why did he feel like a part of himself had been bled away? But his mental digression away, the kid didn't seem to blink in the slightest when we made his presence known in the form of a harsh, bug-eyed, anachronistic whisper directed in an attempt of situational levity. Well, "the more things change", as the saying goes.

@Sigil

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Faith Masters

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Location: Ville au Camp - Main House (Sitting Room)
Skills: N/A

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Faith didn't know what to make of the woman's words. Her mind was all over the place, though. Hell, she was still wrapping her head around the fact she was alive and in the past in a different state when Eve gathered her along to follow her. Hopefully, answers would be given soon. As the two of them walked along the hallway, Eve called out to another woman who appeared and Faith had to suppress a ton of comments she had.

The woman was pale as pale could be. She expected her to be the Walking Dead, or a ghost, or something. She was in desperate need of a suntan. Still, Eve gathered her too as they entered another room where more people were gathered. She didn't recognize any of them and hoped introductions would be in order. She got her answer as some of the Emendators were introduced with objects rather than names. That was peculiar, but questions had to wait until the end. She had a lot to ask.

@FantasyChic

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Sophia Harris

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Location: Sitting Room
Skills: N/A

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Sophia sat in her seat as she turned her head to see three other women, one of them introducing themselves as The Dice the Emendator that Alicia had mentioned earlier when she was being shown to her room. And then a really pale woman who looked like she spent most of her life in a cave her skin looked so incredibly white, then there was a blonde woman as well. She gave them a friendly smile as she leaned back as she gave The Dice her attention, hearing her speaking in Greek she assumed but she didn't understand it. Then she pulled out something from her pocket watching the object falling down onto the table, she didn't know what it meant, but she remained quiet about it for now.

Sophia had quiet a lot of questions to ask, as she started to wonder exactly what she should even ask and wasn't sure who would like to speak up first for the most part everyone else seemed to be pretty quiet. "I do have a question, well a lot actually." Sophia said looking towards James probably the only person that she knew out of the entire group. "I am truly grateful not being dead and everything. But why all of us, what is our purpose here other then having a second chance at a new life?" She asked looking between both Gilbert and Evelina.

@Nallore

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Evelina Lucas

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Location: Ville au Camp - Main House (Sitting Room)
Skills: Administration, Diplomacy, Memory Training, History

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When Gilbert spoke Evelina craned her head slightly. The Dice couldn't quiet agree with his assessment of the situation. A death out in the world beyond Ville au Camp might had been beyond his consideration but it wasn't beyond hers. In fact, this was the time when it became all about her consideration. Not every death that occurred out in the world in the course of human existence was caused by the fall of her dice. If it were she would be doing nothing but spending her time sitting at a desk and dropping dice after dice after dice. No, instead when a series of event occurred... That train of thought stopped as one of their new arrivals spoke.

Evelina quirked a brow as she glanced over towards Sophia. Taking a step forward, away from the desk, and towards Sophia she glanced down at her. "In such a hurry. I just requested that you hold your questions until I have have an opportunity to speak. Please, do listen and pay attention to what I have to say, as well what occurs around you now. There are things far worse than the Dead Walking out there that you will face, and things far worse than death or being bit." As Evelina spoke her voice was calm and even. In fact, while her words could be taken as blunt and harsh her intonation was kind and understanding.

Turning she went back to the matter at hand. "Yet that is not a bad place to start. So we shall. I am The Dice. Some refer to me as Lady Luck. Others the Grim Reaper. One of the Fates. Depending on the time, the place, the people, I go by many names. In the end I am responsible for you being here," she said as she turned back around as she reached her desk once again. Lacing her fingers together she let her hands drop in front of her and gave a melancholy look towards the newest arrivals.

"The fall of my dice is what caused your death."

She let those words hand in the air for a moment. Let it sink in. She was the reason they died. One could see her breathing inward and holding it for a moment. The look remained on her features for a moment before she continued. This is where she would clarify. "But no, I didn't kill you." She needed to say that, she had to remind herself of that each time her dice came up with the death rune. As much as it wasn't her fault that they died she still bored the weight of it every day of her life. It was a lot of weight after all these years and at times she wondered if she should perhaps change her name to Atlas.

"Nor am I responsible for every death that occurs. For whatever reason, I came into being. When I did, when I became aware, when I learned of my abilities and the compelling tingle that causes the dice to drop I began to hold certain fates in my hand. Some deaths cannot be avoided. Illness, a series of choices, and more, all lead up to a persons death. It is supposed to happen. Not because someone deserved to die but because life lead them to that point. Yet every so often something happens. A wrench gets thrown into the works of the universe. A ripple in the should have that hits me. At this moment I roll the dice... As you watched me just a moment ago. That was another death. I do not control The Dice, I am but their executioner. It could have come up that they had another chance but not this time. The Dice spoke, and that is the end. That explains why you died. It is chance, a luck of the draw. Something went wrong in your timeline that disrupted when your natural death should have occurred. The Dice are tossed and give you a chance to escape it. You didn't."

As Evelina spoke she walked around the room, taking time to look at each of them. Look them in the eye, let them know in a way that even though she was speaking to all of them she had not forgotten that each of them was an individual. She conducted herself as if she was the combination of a CEO running a multi-billion dollar company that was speaking to the board of Trusties right then, a mother trying to explain to a toddler why they shouldn't touch the stove, and a something more. She had an air about her that could make her seem intimidating at one moment and as soft as a teddy bear the next. While the way she held herself never changed, little drops or rises in her voice showed so much. More than that, it was the simple truthful look in her eyes that shown through.

"Yet the more pressing question rattling around in your minds is how you got here if you died? That is as simple, and complicated, as your death was. I brought you here. It is an ability I have and have possessed since my moment of consciousness. That occurred in the 9th Century B.C., in the city of Carthage. Back then I was known as Dido." The last word slipped from her lips and she sat herself down behind the desk in the room, having walked there during the last little bit of speech. Many would not know who she had been, some though might. It might tickle the back of their minds. Either way, if it did or didn't really didn't concern her. It was a simple way to lay the date down. It meant she had been at this for nearly three thousand years.

"With each time The Dice must be tossed, for each time the Death Rune presents itself, I am given a moment of consideration. Do I or do I not bring that person back?" she said as she continued and gave a glance over towards Gilbert. It had come full circle. This was where she had disagreed with him. It was beyond his consideration at the moment of death. Yet when The Dice were tossed, when that moment came and a life was claimed, that was when her moment of consideration was most important. It was the moment it began.

"I weight things carefully and decide if I will bring you back. Those of you sitting here I chose to return to the world of the living, as it were. Why you in particular? That I will not answer, ever. That is my reason and my reason alone." For the first time since she had begun speaking her tone turned harsh and steely. This was not something she would budge on. She never had and never would explain why she chose one soul over another. They would just have to live with that.

Letting the cold look that had over come her features fade away she smiled slightly. "Anyways, what does it matter what I think? You are here now and what happens now is up to you. Though we do have some rules. The first and greatest is that you are not allowed to ever return to your old life. If you were and they saw you die... Imagine how that would affect those you left behind? Could they truly accept that you came back from the dead? Would that not drive them insane? It could create a greater ripple in time that could bring about the death of many many more. It is not allowed and those that break the code will face the wrath of the Emendators. So please, if any of you are having thoughts of such, put it out of your mind. Let the world you knew grieve for you and move on."

Reaching over the desk she picked up her pipe, it still smoldering slightly as she did. After a few short puffs it came back to life and she inhaled deeply before she continued. The wisps of smoke trailing up and around her features. "One the good side there are many advantages to living this life. One is that you will not grow older. You will remain this age for as long as you remain here. Normal things will not cause you death to come about again. Illness, age. Things you need not worry about. No more flus or sniffles. No more periods," she added at the tail end of that little bit and smiles over towards the women. "Which trust me, was one of the grandest moments. Sadly no children but the men can't reproduce either. You all are dead after all."

Puffing again she held the pipe between her lips for a minute as she tapped the nails of her free hand on the desk. "Also, you will begin to manifest abilities. Each of you were reborn with two. They will come about and no two of you have the same. Each is unique. Myself, I hold The Dice and what I refer to as Disrupt Death. Those you have experienced first hand by dying and being brought back. Gilbert here has some interesting ones. If you would. Please give them a demonstration. How about something with a Viking Flair?" she said with a grin gently tugging at the corner of her lips. It was his turn to be part of this little introduction to the Afterlife.

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Alicia Gonzalez

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Location: Ville au Camp - Kitchen House
Skills: Psychology

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The water splashed as Alicia dropped a spoon, it slipping out of her hands and splattering down the front of her shirt. "Fucking hell..." she griped as she let out a huff and stomped her foot somewhat. She would need to go change her shirt in a moment but she figured she could wait on that for now. She was still washing dishes and if she went to change now and it happened again she would just need to change her clothing again. Fuck that. She would just do it when she finished and limit herself to one damp shirt. Granted she did have an apron on but she had splashed enough water so far on herself that the apron was soaked and it went through to the clothing underneath. A housewife she was not. Then again she hadn't been in the life before this one, on either time line. So why start now?

Gilbert hadn't cleaned up his plates either, so she was handling both of them. She smirked to herself. She would get him back for this one. Not that he had meant to cause her more work it... It was still the perfect excuse for her to pull a little prank of her own. She couldn't let Gio and Nancy have all the fun today. She fully intended to have a bit of fun herself and get a few laughs in. Gilbert being one of her victims just was how things worked out. It had to the The Dice. She would chalk it up to that.

Laughing to herself she finished up the dishes and peeled the apron from her. Stepping out the back door of the kitchen house she started to twist the apron. Wringing it out and letting the water drop to the ground off to the side of the back door. She kept twisting and wringing until her knuckles went white and no more water could fall from the cloth. It wasn't dry now by any stretch of the imagination but it was far better than it had been and frankly right then it was much drier than the rest of her. Snapping it out, it unrolled itself. Turning she made her way back inside and hung it up as she glanced around the room. Dishes were done, breakfast was cleaned up, apron was handing. It was time for her to head back to her room and get changed, and then head off to take care of a few things of her own. The mischievous smile only grew on her lips.

@Lady Amalthea

[mnkee]

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Alexandra Andonova

Hey, look! Hot mess over here!

- "Hot Mess" by Cobra Starship

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Location: Room 101 (Sitting Room)
Skills: N/A

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Alexandra absentmindedly jiggled her leg, which was crossed over the other in the most ladylike manner she could manage. Sitting in a dress was no easy task. That's one of many reasons why she preferred wearing pants. What were these people thinking putting her in a dress?! I mean she looked mighty fine in it no doubt--but still. This was just a disaster waiting to happen. She let out a small nearly imperceptible sigh. She tilted her head slightly to the side as she twirled a loose strand of her dark brunette hair between her fingertips. She looked a tad bored as she listened to the dice woman speak. Enough with the droll formalities, she was ready to get down to the nitty-gritty aspects of this new existence.

Her gaze suddenly whipped to the side when Sophia piped up, interrupting the rather formidable emendator that was the Lady Evelina Lucas. Alexandra gave the one-handed woman a look that said gurl. Sure, she herself was being a bit of an airhead right now, but she still caught the dice woman expressly stating not to ask questions until the end of the "orientation." When Eve quickly reprimanded Sophia, a told-you-so look crossed Alexandra's features as she shook her head lightly.

Eve's warning about there being worse things than the dead walking made Alexandra quirk a brow. What did she mean by that? Was she referencing Soulless, or something else? Did this place in the future still have a massive Soulless problem? One would hope they would have nipped that problem in the butt by now. Hmmm, food for thought. She pursed her lips as she waited for The Dice to resume her spiel. Of course, things only got more messed up and mindboggling from thereon. Alexandra rubbed her temple as if a headache was bound to come on at any second. This was all a lot to take in.

[Natsu]

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Bartholomew Rosecliff

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Location: Room 101
Skills:N/a

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Bartholomew nodded along carefully as Evelina spoke. So far, these were all things he'd heard from Alicia, that this lady was responsible for their death by some, at least to Bart, incomprehensible means. She also insisted that she was over two thousand years old, which made Bart gawk at her with a look of disbelief and shock. His preconceptions about the possible and impossible seemed to be under constant assault today. He did the only thing he could do, and roll with the punches. Bart took care to match the gaze of Miss Lucas when it landed squarely on him, and tried to keep a neutral, if puzzled, look on his face. He felt some kind of ...fear? No, that wasn't the word. Respect, the more he looked at her. Whatever was going on here, she not only believed to to be totally true, but she took personal responsibility in it.

He was quite intrigued when she said that she was directly responsible for bringing them all back to life. Of course, his head was immediately flooded with questions of why him, out of the countless people that must exist between the apparently multiple time lines. What made him special, entitled to a second chance? These questions were about to break through, and ring out to her, as she shot down any hope of him getting an answer. This made him angry, not because his curiosity was denied, but because she apparently either didn't care, or see how her choice to bring him back to life was very intimately his business.

As she went on about the rules and benefits of their new life, Bart found this anger in him building. He gritted his teeth as he was reminded that he could never return home to his old life. He averted his eyes when she spoke of how torturous it would be to his loved ones to do that to them. As much as he wanted to go back, he understood the world wasn't ready for people returning from the dead. The last time that apparently happened, a worldwide religion started. That thought almost distracted him for a second and made him pause, but he shook it off, knowing it wasn't the time. He didn't allow himself to be distracted by talk of how he wouldn't have to age or get sick any more, though that sounded great. He was just so angry that Evelina thought it was at all okay not to share her reasoning for making him alive, and putting him here. He wanted to call her out on this, and was about to, when she shifted the conversation to "abilities" and called up Gilbert for some kind of demonstration. Taking one look over at him, he lost his nerve. He didn't want to piss off this man, and decided he would need to settle for the tactful option, and wait his turn to question her on this.

[Dragoknighte]

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Nancy Parker & Giosue Zino

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Location: Ville au Camp: Main House (Room 202)
Skills: None

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"Remember, they don't know all that we know. There could be more paradoxes coming in any moment now, and they have yet to see either of us yet. While we still possess the element of surprise, we can make this work." An optimistic way of looking at things, yes, but also not inaccurate as far as Gio was concerned. The emendators had been through many, many rounds of paradoxes, this was the Paradoxes' first time being brought back from the dead. They certainly held the edge in level of experience and intelligence in that the newcomers didn't know how hard they were about to be pranked. These facts were enough to give Gio the confidence that their plan would still work out.

Nancy mulled it over, twirling a card absentmindedly between her fingers. Gio wasn't wrong - they did have an edge when it came to experience. However, she couldn't help but think that the plan would still need some sort of modification to work. They hadn't brought Alicia in on this prank, as it was something the two of them had worked rather hard on. Yet Nancy had to admit, Alicia's help would be useful at the moment. She'd be able to lend credibility to Nancy's Paradox persona, whether they passed her off as a new Paradox or an old one. "Mmm, alright," Nancy said, popping a caramel chew into her mouth. She then grinned broadly a moment later after she had swallowed. "Let's get Alicia in on this. The new Paradoxes probably trust her, since I doubt she did too horrible of a job...The house hasn't burned down, at least...Y'know, that would potentially explain the ominous reading - maybe Alicia was just awful at her job and would end up being replaced later on by someone else."

"She can lend us credibility, at any rate," Nancy pointed out. "It's either that or we start our Halloween fun early. I've been dying to let loose a little bit." Of course, the irony was lost on Nancy. She was the Emendator that practically lived for letting loose and doing whatever suited her fancy at the time. For Nancy to want to let caution go to the wind and chaos run free...Well, it must have been another level of mayhem entirely.

Gio put his fist under his chin and contemplated Nancy's proposal. It was indeed true that Alicia would lend a significant amount of credence to Ashley's story; however things were not so clear cut. She could just decide to not help for whatever reason and they'd lose one of their two big edges. Alternatively, she could ruin the whole charade by not being to act properly, dispelling the illusion with obvious fake acting. Last, and worst she could pretend to help, then betray them at a crucial junction and turn the prank on the two emendators.

"Are you sure we'd be able to trust Alicia with this, so late into the plan? Surely if she were to be part of the plan, we had plenty of time to include her before now. We'd be opening ourselves to considerable risk by doing so." He didn't bother to list all the new ways adding a conspirator could cock up a plan even by virtue of added complexity. It would be unnecessarily long-winded, and they were already cutting time short as it was.

Giouse was right - there was a good deal of risk associated with letting Alicia in on the plan. It'd be a bit like playing Russian roulette - a game which Nancy would have eagerly played if Emendators were truly immortal. For every chance there was that Alicia would improve the prank, there was another chance that she would jeopardize it. In fact, Nancy was not blind to the fact that Alicia fancied herself an equal contestant in the centuries long prank war that she and Giouse had waged - though at the moment, she and Giouse were united against a common foe. A wicked grin then came to her face. "Unrelated idea - we switch out all of Alicia's clothes with proper 17th century wear for the Ton. She'd go ballistic," Nancy snickered.

It took her a good thirty seconds to get the image of Alicia in a ridiculously large gown out of her head. "Mm, but new Paradoxes aren't stupid - gullible, naive, bit annoying at times...Wait till they find out about the readings and the requests will last for days. Really need to write the Handbook for the Recently Deceased at some point - but they aren't stupid. If you think we can trick them without Alicia, then let's go for it. If we fail, we go to the Bahamas and I change my name to Sally so I can sell seashells by the seashore."

"Well some of them are stupid." Gio pointed out, more to be contrarian rather than as a serious counterpoint to Nancy's assertion. They had gotten their share of stupid Paradoxes, but they tended not to last too long. While there was a real chance there was an idiot in this lot, they hadn't the chance to actually observe whether this was the case or not. Nor could they hinge their plan on the collection of greenhorns having a low amount of mental horsepower.

"But now that you're starting to make me doubt us, I can't say for certain that we'd be successful as-is. For the record," Giosue went on, as he grabbed the script once again along with a fountain pen, "I don't believe we can trust Alicia to not try to turn this around for her own benefit. If she does try to betray us, then we change out her wardrobe." As he said this, he wrote down his words as spoken onto the back of the script, officially recording it. One thing that did disappoint him was that the kinds of dresses they'd switch out were more or less impossible to put on by yourself, so they probably wouldn't get to see Alicia in one of the truly ridiculous gowns they'd seen on their adventures. Unless they happened to need to go to a pre-revolution French banquet.

Nancy cracked a smile as Giouse recorded the decision on the back of the script. He was very much like Eve in some ways, with a penchant for order and timeliness. He tended to balance out Nancy's own chaotic nature. Before she had met Giouse, she wandered almost like a gypsy, using her ability like a parlor trick on occasions in order to get by. More often than not, however, the readings she "conducted" were nothing more than nonsense. Yet no one there knew that she couldn't use a crystal ball or pretend to read a palm. It was a chaotic lifestyle, one where she constantly moved from place to place as suited her sense of whimsy. She had become slightly more stationary and less nomadic since they met in Denmark.

"Maybe the answer is to preemptively prank Alicia," Nancy mused. "Pranking her after the fact isn't going to keep her from ruining things. And if you don't trust her Gio....Oh! What if you volunteered to take the Paradoxes on an outing? Then they'll bump into Ashley and they won't be none the wiser."

"Yes, yes that might just work. How about you take a trip to the Regency for the clothes, whilst I take our esteemed guests on a field trip so you can prepare for the festivities?" He was pretty sure Nancy threw out her wardrobe any time they moved to a new time period that would permit her to do as such, so if they were going to swap out Alicia's wardrobe they'd have to acquire the proper apparels first.

Nancy lit up at the prospect of taking a trip. With the Glasses gone, she was the most adventurous and nomadic of the Emendators. The thought of leaving Ville au Camp, even just for a short trip to get prank supplies, was definitely enticing - even if she didn't really care for that era of history. Corsets ruined the 19th century for her. The Regency version wasn't too terrible - but she had indeed thrown those clothes out as soon as she could. On one occasion, she had even set her old clothing aflame. Maybe once the timeline suited her fashion sense a bit more she'd keep them, but even that seemed unlikely. Her eyes were always on the horizon, rather than on what was right in front of her.

"It has been some time since I went by Ailith Lyall," Nancy mused. She had lived in Scotland at the time with the other Emendators. "But I think you misunderstood me, Gio. I'd run into you all as Ashley while you're on the outing. I suppose we could ask Gilbert for some clothing..." She tapped her fingers against a card absentmindedly. She had an unusual relationship with Gilbert. When she had come into consciousness, she had been a citizen of Uruk named Inanna (the Sumerian goddess had been her namesake). Gilbert hailed from Uruk as well, from Sumeria. He was a constant reminder of the grim circumstances under which she learned who she was. Yet at times, the pair of them could be friendly even, with Gilbert acting like a big brother to Nancy.

"Oh, I see." Gio said, as he barely stopped himself from crossing out some of the notes he'd written in the script. "Yes, yes. That could work. I would need to separate the Paradoxes from Eve and probably Gilbert as well, but that should be doable. As for asking him for clothes, he'd probably ask what you would need them for, so you'd need a believable cover story if you wanted to try going for that." The Watch jotted down a rough outline of a plan on the back of the script.

"So when you determine where we need to take our Paradoxes, I'll send you there first before I escort our new friends there as well. In the meantime, we need to make sure you're not seen prematurely, or this will all be for naught."

"Does this really warrant a reading, Gio?" Nancy asked, with an eyebrow raised. While she could take a glimpse into the future to optimize this, she didn't see much of a point in it. They had lived at Ville au Camp for some time and had grown accustomed to the routine everything followed. She didn't need to take a reading to know what the ordinaries in town would be up to this evening. "Just pick a place at random - it'll be more fun that way, anyways. And then while you check that the coast is clear, I'll slip on out."

"Well I was thinking about this from an efficiency point of view. Accomplish some business that the others would approve of as well as the prank," Gio retorted, looking up from the script. As annoying as proceeding forward without a clear plan in place was, they didn't really have the time to put everything into place. He'd just have to improvise and make things work. "but I suppose that won't be how we'll be doing this. Well if we're to choose a time and place. How... about... May 23rd 1848, California? The Wild West, poor Ashley's just escaped from a mission gone wrong and freed herself from the county jail. A fine enough setup for you?"

[Morose]

---

---

Andromeda Aldrich

---

---

Location: Ville au Camp: Main House (Sitting Room )
Skills: None

---

Andromeda paid attention studiously. She had been a history major at university, only to become obsessed with the peculiar and the world's oddities after graduation. To say that this orientation was filled with practically everything that Andromeda found fascinating was an understatement. Her mind flickered through the various creatures she knew of when Lady Luck mentioned the dead walking. Perhaps she was referencing the Rakshasha, shapeshifters that fed on human flesh? Or perhaps vampires or the Quareen? Ghosts, the Buruburu, and demons also came to mind - yet Andromeda knew she had only began to scratch the surface of the necromantics that had existed in her world. Was that what the purpose of the Paradoxes was - to fight against the necromantics?

She paid close attention, yet her mind raced once more as Lady Lucas introduced herself as the Dice, the Grim Reaper, a member of the Fates. Her world had nearly been destroyed by a deity - she didn't find it odd that Evelina was, in Andromeda's mind, a deity as well. There were several cultures that had female death deities - Lady Luck may as well have been one of them. The explanation of their deaths did not shock Andromeda as well. Her mind flickered back to the damage that had been done to reality at Cirque Anomaly - with individuals from the past, present, and future all coming into one place, she felt that definitely qualified as a ripple. And from what she understood, that ripple had killed her.

She must have had more time left, then - from what Lady Luck had said, she wasn't meant to die in Coventry. Her thoughts flickered to her father - had the dice been rolled for him as well? Or was he meant to have been murdered by Mephistopheles? Had it been fate? Her eyebrows furrowed slightly at the mention of Dido - she recognized the name. Marlowe had written a play about Dido - the Queen of Carthage. Funnily enough, another Marlowe play had been hinted at before she died - Dr. Faustus. The demon that murdered her father shared the name with the demon Dr. Faustus sold his soul to in the play.

And yet, just as Eve mentioned that she would never tell them why they had been brought, Andromeda was filled with curiosity. She had been too busy with her thoughts on the others she had left behind that she had not questioned why she, over anyone else in the world, had been chosen for this. Was it her appreciation for the strange and unusual? Was it a second chance to achieve something with her life? Or had it been, just like the roll of the dice, randomly decided?

Andromeda nodded at Lady Lucas' warning that they could never return. She had seen the damage that could happen when time was distorted first hand. As ironic as it would have been, she did not want to be the reason to cause another to share her fate. All she could do was hope that wherever they were, her friends and allies were still alive - that they had managed to not just avenge her father, but survive as well.

She perked up slightly at the mention of abilities, finding herself in familiar territory. While she herself never had any deviances, she had read about them. In her world, sometimes people were born with strange gifts abilities - often small, yet sometimes powerful. Were these deviances that they were going to manifest? Or was it something more? She looked keenly over towards the Hat as Lady Luck prompted him to give a demonstration.

[Sigil]

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Gilbert Summers

---

Location: Ville au Camp - Main House (Sitting Room)
Skills: Alter Form

---

"Viking flair?" asked Gilbert, making an attempt at rhetorical confirmation. It was not every day that he was asked to use one of his abilities in full view of others. It made him feel just a bit exposed; humanity wasn't exactly known for being understanding nor forgiving when faved with the new or the unknown. Ot to mention that these people had been through a lot today. Gilbert remembered when he first became aware of what he was. It was not pleasant by any means, and this was long, long before the world was comfortable with fantastical stories that were not attributed to gods or spirits. This particular bandage had to be ripped off at some point, though. Might as well get it ober with.

Addressing all of the non-Emendators in the room, Gilbert led off with a reassuring voice. "Now, I'm going to ask that you do not react. You all are not in any danger. Just... Observe. Ready?"

A ripple seemed to fo over Gilbert as his bones and musculature shifted. It was mild in some places, but in others, particularly his face, it was a radical restructuring. The color of his hair and eyes began to alter, followed by a thousand tiny details that made the total transformation complete. Almost instantly, another man sat in the seat that Gilbert once occupied, smilong a similar, laid back smile to the man, but for all intents the very image of a Scandinavian warrior from hundreds of years ago.

With a voice that was not quite his own, Gilbert sppke, "We all have our little gifts. This one let me live many lives, flowing from one era to another seamlessly. Also, very helpful for getting away from people you owe money to." A little joke, hopefully to break any tension. Silently, he awaited the reactions of those around him. In his experience, it may be wildly unpredictable.

---

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James Grady

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Location: Ville au Camp - Main House (Sitting Room)
Skills: N/A

---

The statement that they had aome kind of abilities gave James a little pause. Considering he could not remember some pretty basic things he spent a lifetime practicing, he damn well hoped there would be something to compensate. He hadn't imagined that it would be something as grand as what this "Dice Lady" could do, determining deaths and pulling a few back with her.

Come to think of it, that seemed pretty damned insulting, doing something like that to a guy. He lived through some of the worst hell experienced by mankind. Survived. Thrived even, when he got a community behind him. Then some accident that Dice may or may not have been a part of... Even if totally blameless, it colored his opinion of her. At the same time, he did kind of pity the woman. It must be very lonely being her.

The mention of a demonstration of powers got James's attention, though. Not in the awe-inspiring way that it might havw others, more of a mild dread that there was even more oddness yet to come. Oh, but he did gasp when it happened. Sat back further in his chair with wide eyes, partially in shock over the whole display. James stared for what seemed a while, before using humor to diffuse his own mixed confusion about the current situation.

"Holy hell, son! If'n I could do that, my ass might be able to flag down a cab mo'often!" There was mirth in his voice and optimism in his face, neither of which he truly felt. If anything, James just wanted to find someplace quiet and process all of what had happened so far this morning. Hell, he wanted to cry. James glanced to Sophia, then wondered where Alicia had gone off to. He desperately wanted to find something familiar to latch onto right then.

[Nallore]

Sophia Harris

Location: Ville au Camp: Main House, Sitting Room
Skills: N/A

---

---

Sophia looked towards Evelina before rubbing the back of her neck slightly, feeling slightly embarrassed for already asking a question. "Sorry I didn't mean to be disrespectful." She said looking towards Alexandra seeing her giving her little looks, and gave her a 'what' look. She was really more wanting to get answers right away, she was still processing everything that was still going on, before Sophia turned her attention back towards The Dice. She raised an eyebrow slightly when she mentioned that there were much worse things then Walkers, or getting bit. Sophia listened to her as she fully introduced her name to everyone in the room, as she leaned forward to listen a little bit more.

She stopped when Sophia heard that the dice that she had was what caused everyone's deaths in the room, a lot was still going through her mind. Sophia wasn't sure if she should be upset or angry, but she didn't deliberately kill them, but she continued to listen there had to be a reason why but Evelina clearly said that it was her reason and her reason alone and wouldn't tell them. It just left her with more questions, but Sophia continued to listen in while occasionally looking over at the rest of the Paradoxes in the room wondering what was going through their minds right now.

Sophia was surprised to hear the exact age Evelina was three thousand years old, looking over towards Gilbert The Hat wondering how old he actually was as well. Then the rules, looking down, when she heard that she would never be able to go back she wouldn't see Niesha ever again or anyone else that she knew. Sophia thought about her own family as well, even though she knew that they would most likely have been dead since the outbreak. But she knew and understood why, even if she wasn't a scientist it would most likely hurt them and knowing that it probably would hurt Niesha way more.

Then The Dice started to mention about their newer perks of their new life now, not aging, getting sick or having periods anymore were all a big plus now which made her smile slightly. The thought of never having a kid again was bad, remembering the times she had discussed it with her husband before he died. But Sophia perked up slightly when she listened to Evelina as she started to mention certain abilities that they all would be getting. Wondering what she meant by that, Sophia looked towards Gilbert when she asked him for a demonstration for his.

She watched as The Hat started to change his appearance before her seeing his face, hair and eyes quickly changing shape and color before her. When she thought she had seen it all, the dead coming back to life, then dying and waking up here with a second chance at life, and then finding out about getting superpowers was now getting interesting to her as she laughed slightly towards James and gave the man a friendly smile at his sudden outburst.

[FantasyChic]

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Faith Masters

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Location: Ville au Camp - Main House (Sitting Room)
Skills: N/A

---

Faith listened intently as the old woman (considering she was 3,000 years old, Faith felt secure in calling her that) spoke, making mental notes in her head. All this did was add more questions, but it did answer some of the burning questions she had. First off, why was she The Dice? She showcased that particular skill quite well. The other Emendators she would have to see for herself.

Sure enough, one of the other ones in the room showcased his talent by transforming into quite the handsome Viking. A handy skill, to be sure. She wondered what abilities she possessed. Could she feel them? Hopefully they were badass. She wouldn't settle for anything less.

One of her numbers spoke up and Faith turned to see him. An African American man was the voice and his words were probably meant to be a joke, but Faith didn't really understand it. It didn't matter though.

Faith had already determined her lack of a period which she concluded meant no snotty brats coming out of her whoosit. Another perk to add to the list. What struck Faith the most was that they weren't the first group. Evelina had mentioned others a few times. What became of them? Were they still out and about or were they....deader than dead? She was also pissed she wouldn't be allowed to go back. No, there would be a way. Whether ghost or physical, Faith would not let that bitch live another second.

[Lady Absinthia]

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Evelina Lucas

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Location: Ville au Camp - Main House (Sitting Room)
Skills: Administration, Diplomacy, Memory Training, History

---

Glancing over towards Sophia, Evelina gave Sophia a most understanding of looks and nodded her head slightly in her direction. She knew the young one didn't mean anything by speaking out when she did. She was full of questions and impatient. Most their age were, especially on arrival. Yet it was one reason that Evelina insisted on people refraining from questions until she had completed going over the initial information dump. Much of the time if she just let people ask questions things could get missed or repeated. It was more efficient to go about it this way, even if a bit cold and distant. Yet after so many years having to deal with this type of introduction to a second life, Evelina had a rather vast knowledge of what worked and what didn't on a grander scale.

Taking a place off to the side once she finished speaking, Evelina palmed the curve of pipe in one hand and rested four fingers on her other hand in her pocket. This was always an event she enjoyed witnessing. It was an obvious skill that did not harm others or cause so many questions. The look that Gilbert had picked filled the request she had made. His joke however did not, yet she wasn't going to make a deal out of it. He had a way of lightening the mood where she did not. "As you can see, Gilbert has demonstrated what is known as Alter Form. Each Emendator and Paradox present with two abilities. For us Emendators, we always come to consciousness during the first manifestation of our secondary skill, then come into our primary. Myself, it was Disrupt death. You being here is the example of that. My primary, where I obtained my name from, is the Dice itself.

Now, what skills will you present with?" she said as she nodded towards Gilbert, letting him know he was free to change back now if he needed or desired to. "That I do not know. You see, in the history of Emendators and Paradoxes we have never had the same skill present twice. Some are similar to others but never exactly the same. Currently we have Paradoxes that can turn into mist, levitate, grow claws out of their fingers, and even cause others to spontaneously combust," she added as she slowly drew her pipe out of her mouth and let the smoke billow up around her as she spoke. "Are you can speculate there are many different ones that have manifested in the past. The young lady which welcomed you can infiltrate dreams."

Taking a moment and letting that sink in, Eve made her way over to the couch and perched on the arm of it. Looking around the room and at those seated there. "Now, you may ask yourself why do you present with skills. As with all evolutionary matters, certain trains are developed for different reasons. Some develop due to environment, others for breeding. Which for you is not an issue. The main reason is self defense. You will need these skills to help defend yourself in one way or another for while the usual things such as illness and age will not longer be an issue for you, you can still die again."

Pulling out her pocket watch she glanced down at it and then gave a look over towards Gilbert. "Now would be a find time for a recess. Gilbert, would you be a dear and give our new arrivals a quick tour of the house, the grounds towards the front gate, and then over to the kitchen house? We can continue there, have a spot to eat for lunch, and then you can escort them around the rest of the grounds before this evenings festivities." The Dice knew she had dropped a lot on their plates right then. Some might want to know even more but she knew better than to continue. They had time to go over more. It was better to ensure that all minds had enough breaks to actually retain the information she was giving.

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Alicia Gonzalez

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Location: Ville au Camp - Main House (206) -> Pedestrian Corridor
Skills: Psychology

---

Closing the door to her room Alicia stripped out of her wet shirt and hung it over the edge of her bed. The woman had been the worst when it came to keeping her sleeping quarters in order when she was alive. More times than she could count someone had yelled at her, in both lives, over where she left her clothing. Which was usually on the floor. Yet since she had died and came back she had gotten better about it. Not really because she wanted to or even cared if her clothes were on the ground, over the side of her bed, or hanging from the rafters. It was more because she was tired of hearing Evelina give her three hour lectures on why things had a proper place to keep them in and that everything needed a proper place. So she caved and kept her room clean, well mostly. There was no clothing on the floor or in the rafters but plenty of it hanging over various pieces of furniture.

Snatching up another shirt, which had probably been laid there to dry out at one point and just always came back there now. Pulling it on she was glad she had her own wardrobe right then and was not stuck in wearing the clothing of the time period. Alicia never did do well in a skirt. She hadn't liked them before she had come there and then when she woke up she was in this pretty pink little frilly dress with white shoes and lace gloves. It was still hanging in the wardrobe. She had nearly stripped down naked in the first five minutes of her arrival.

Rolling her eyes to herself, she stepped out of her room and headed down the stairs. She could hear the others talking. Well Evelina speaking, mostly. She wasn't going to peek in, she had something on her mind and she wanted to take care of it. Before they were done. To do that she needed to get a move on. Stepping out of the back of the house she walked outside. Instead of heading back towards the Kitchen House or to the Oak tree she just kept going straight and hit the path that lead towards the back of the plantation grounds, passed the garages. A slight smirk coming to her lips and growing with each step she took. This was going to be fun.

[Morose]

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Nancy Parker

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Location: Ville au Camp: Main House (Room 202)
Skills: None

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Nancy raised an eyebrow at Giouse. He was attempting to argue efficiency with her? She was the Emendator who had once made a decision because it would be less efficient than the other choice. She enjoyed the spontaneity that a lack of efficiency could sometimes bring. She didn't want to just stop and smell the roses - she wanted to run through them and see where her whimsy led her. She then pondered his set up. She had been imagining that Giouse would just bring the Paradoxes out into town - but this was better, she had to admit.

"That's brilliant, Gio," Nancy said with a wide grin. "Costume won't need too many modifications as well - neither will the script. Little chance Alicia or one of the others could ruin it. Let's do that, then - I'll stay out of sight while you go convince Eve and Gilbert that the Paradoxes should go on an outing."

Drem would have loved this. She tried to shake the unwanted thought from her mind. She had been dying for a chance to leave the loop anyways. When a mission had been created to bring back the strayed Paradox, Nancy had been a bit jealous that she hadn't gotten to go as well. She had lived in that area for quite some time and she was confident she'd have little issues blending in. Sure, she did seem to be a bit on the young side - but with a little help from the Hat, she was usually able to pull off clothing that'd make her seem to be more in the early twenties than the late teens.

"The Wild West dialect, in my experience, isn't too different from out in the Black anyways," Nancy observed. "The Chinese makes all the difference between those two. It's entirely feasible that Ashley would have been the ideal Paradox for that mission - just with a bit of a primer on cursing."

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Andromeda Aldrich

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Location: Ville au Camp: Main House (Sitting Room )
Skills: None

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Andromeda leaned forward slightly, transfixed as the Hat changed forms. If this ability was called Alter Form, and the Dice's primary ability was called the Dice, she imagined that this had to be the Hat's secondary talent as well. What was the first, then? What ability would grant someone the nickname of the Hat? Or the Cards or the Watch for that matter? She had to bite down on her tongue slightly to remind herself not to ask these questions - not yet, at least.

All of the skills Lady Luck spoke about, however, reminded her of deviances - extreme deviances, however. In her world, deviances were subtle powers, though there were some cases where they were more powerful than normal. She arched an eyebrow at Lady Luck's listing of the Paradoxes and their capabilities. While those powers astonished her, it raised another question. Where were these other Paradoxes? She had only seen Alicia and the other new Paradoxes. Yet she couldn't resist the urge to speculate as to what her own skills could be. Andromeda looked down at her hands, as if there would be an answer there somehow.

She looked up once more as Evelina mentioned a recess and she couldn't help but feel disappointed. She wanted to learn as much as she could as quickly as possible - it was in her nature to do so. But at least the break wouldn't be long - they'd be told more shortly. Her eyes then flickered over towards the Hat, awaiting instructions on where they were headed next.

[Natsu]

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Bartholomew Rosecliff

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Location: Room 101
Skills:N/a

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Bart's jaw dropped as Gilbert transformed, a gasp escaping his lips. "What... the fuck?" He said quietly, then quickly shutting his mouth again, remembering himself. He began to wonder about his own capabilities upon seeing the scope of Gilbert's. He didn't know what to think of the idea of him getting some kind of superpower. The concept excited him on one hand, since it was something that offered the chance to really be somebody that could make a difference, but with all the changes he's already seen today, he just felt like he was getting flung further and further way from the chance of ever having a normal life.

Bart considered this while Evelina took control of the conversation again, listing off examples of what other "Paradoxes" could do. He took particular note of Alicia's power to infiltrate dreams. If that was true, which he may as well assume it is at this point, he'd want to be careful. He did not want anybody in his head. He'd be sure to politely ask ALicia to stay the hell out the next time he saw her. He also noticed when Evelina said they'd be needing their powers for self defense, all but confirming his suspicion that there was some threat to them now, or that they'd be needing to fight something. This would be the center of any questions he asked when he was given the chance.

His eyes narrowed a bit when Evelina ended the "Q&A" session without accepting any questions. He held his hand at his side, tempted beyond temptation to raise and ask a question, but knowing it would be best to wait. He still had a lot to reflect on, ans wanted to know exactly what he was going to ask when it came time for him to ask questions. He looked towards the Hat, ready to follow him on the tour. Who knows, maybe he'd have a chance to suss out some more information from him as they walked. That, and getting know his new peers would be nice.

[Dragoknighte]

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Giosue Zino

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Location: Ville au Camp: Main House: Room 202
Skills: N/A

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If a well put together clock was anything, it was efficient, and Giosue was no exception. There was no way he'd let even a single sentence of effort be thrown out if he could help it. If he wasn't so orderly, there would be very little left to ground his flightier tendencies and it would more or less be up to Eve to keep the whole show running on time, and she was overworked enough as it was.

It never even came to mind that Nancy had been talking about an outing into town rather than a trip through time and space. He was so used to most of his time being spent elsewhere and elsewhen that the idea of just going outside the camp to the surrounding are flew right over him. Not that it mattered, because his plan had Nancy's full approval which was big green light for him.

"Before you go on ahead to your mission, Ashley we still need to do a couple last bits of preparation." Gio put down his pen and paper and picked up the previously unattended handcuffs. Since they would be going out into the "wild" he didn't want to take the chance that the ankle weight would prove itself to be a major hindrance to her in case something serious did come up whilst they were out. From his breast pocket he also produced one of two keys that opened up the restraints he'd prepared.

"Present to me your wrists, inmate," he demanded in his most official sounding voice. When she complied, he'd first hand her the key so she could put it somewhere safe in case she needed to free herself right now. Then he'd loosely put on the handcuffs and allow his companion to adjust them to a level that looked like they were actually effective, but she could be potentially comfortable wearing for an extended period of time.

[mnkee]

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Alexandra Andonova

I forgot what I was losing my mind about
I only wrote this down to make you press rewind

- "Young and Menace" by Fall Out Boy

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Location: Room 101 (Sitting Room)
Skills: N/A

---

Alexandra paused rubbing her temples to turn her attention lazily to Gilbert for whatever demonstration he had in store. Back in her timeline, in the Soulless infested world of the early 1800s, strange "abilities" were nothing new. All it really took was time and money and you too could have your own set of abilities for kicking undead ass. Once upon a time she herself had some rather unique abilities she learned while training under the Russian Imperial Circus. Want to play angry birds in real life? Use Vyzov to live your dream. These aren't the droids your looking for? The jedi powers of Tizirovat' are at your fingertips. Yet even those abilities seemed subpar to what Alexandra was about to witness.

Alexandra practically flew out of her chair onto her feet when Gilbert's entire form rippled and morphed until he looked like an entirely different person. "Святая мать России!" she exclaimed loudly in Russian. She then stood there for a while, just staring at the new, and not so improved, form of Gilbert with eyes that were wide like saucers. The shock eventually seemed to melt away to something more, I don't know, psychotic? A wide grin spread across her face, and she began to laugh hysterically, almost manically. "Wooo!! Do it again!!" she yelled, raising her fists into the air in an overly enthuastic manner. It would seem that this time she was the one to interrupt The Dice's speech. Oooh gurl.

Translation

Святая мать России! = Holy mother of Russia

[Sigil]

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Gilbert Summers, "The Hat"

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Location: Ville au Camp - Main House (Sitting Room)
Skills: Alter Form

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A variety of reactions greeted the elder Emendator, from humor to surprise to seeming apathy. It was a relief, having the generally expected range of emotions present themselves. Even shock or wide-eyed terror might have been acceptable, so long as it didn't turn to violence. That had happened before, more than once. Sometimes the human psyche refused to accept what it was being bombarded with and responded with more a primitive instinct designed around survival. He didn't blame these people when they did, either. Nobody asked for this. And they were given a lot to swallow all at once.

"It's not like I do this all the time, either." he stated, again in a voice slightly altered by his new jaw and nasal structure, not to mention a trace of Scandinavian accent. Leaning forward in his seat, Gilbert's features rippled again as the new form smoothed and bulged away, reverting the tall man back to the original visage of The Hat. "This is the face I wore first, a long time ago. I have been a lot of different people over the millennia. A lot. Some for decades at a time. I'll tell you though, I always liked this one best, even if some of the others were prettier." He flashed a big, disarming grin, continuing with, "You just can't beat a classic, right?"

Gilbert cleared his throat and adopted a more serious expression. "Miss Lucas is correct. Now is an excellent time to tour the house and grounds. I think the house will become the most familiar to you first. Most of you will be spending the brunt of your time in here, if the habits of prior Paradoxes are any indication. Anyway: house. I'll give you the nickel tour and then we can move on to the grounds. You all take a moment to process. When you're ready, I will be just outside."

He stood, made a token attempt to smooth his shirt, and set his fedora back onto his dignified head, and made for the door. Just before he exited, he left the group with a parting thought: "I don't know what abilities you have been gifted with, but I'll tell you - some of them make what I just did look like a parlor trick." He tipped his hat to the group and walked out, taking the door opposite the one from which they had all entered, leading to the front porch.

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James Grady

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Location: Ville au Camp - Main House (Sitting Room)
Skills: N/A

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This was a LOT to press into his brain all at once. I mean, it was a good piece of news that the perils of getting older would no longer be an issue, seeing as he was into his forties already and, while still able to do most of the things he could twenty years ago, well... He paid for it. And for a longer time, too. It would have been nice to have just a few years of hardship shaved off of his physical body, really, and he guessed that beggars couldn't be choosers. Also, the promise of superpowers was pretty cool, too. Or it would be, except for one concept that hung around his neck like a stone:

A world that has superheroes, by its very nature, is a world that desperately needs superheroes.

What the hell did he just fall into? No, no... The devil you know was starting to sound a hell of a lot better right now, even if the devil that James knew was a world ravaged by an uprising of the Dead. He had people he cared about there. He had a purpose. Hell, prior to his untimely death, he was on his way to make sure that his loved ones would be safe. It involved killing a lot of people, granted, but it was a very noble example of killing a lot of people. The were massive, massive asshats anyway. The kind that deserved to be executed by the rectal application of a cheese grater. Not that he wanted to be the guy nicking off parts of ass interior with a manual kitchen implement, mind you. He would have been equally satisfied to use a firearm or his woodaxe.

Basically, James was living the embodiment of "Too Much, Too Fast". When Gilbert left the room, he spoke up. "Yeah, look... I don't know 'bout y'all, but I'm givin' some serious thought at throwin' up right now. I could use one of them recesses that Dice Lady was talkin' 'bout, an' I'm hopeful they got a good hard drink to settle some nerves, ya get me?"

Nonetheless, he stood. A little shaky at first, but over the next seconds he became more sure of the next steps he would take. Looking at Sophia, he extended a hand to help her up if needed. "Hot dayum, this one wacky game show. Let's get this done, huh?"

[Nallore]

Sophia Harris

Location: Ville au Camp: Main House, Sitting Room
Skills: N/A

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Sophia listened to Evelina as she explained what their new abilities were used for defensive purposes, thinking about it for a moment they could have been useful back in her time against the walkers. But sadly there wasn't such a thing back when she was living other then in comics, movies, books and tv shows. Sophia's attention turned back towards Gilbert, she noted the change in voice and accent when he was in his new form which was interesting to her. Then she looked towards Bart and Alexandra who spoke out when Gilbert changed in front of them as well. Sophia watched Gilbert starting to change back to his true form giving him a slight nod if she had his ability she would just use her own form and change whenever needed.

Though Sophia wanted to ask more questions, but Evelina and Gilbert both suggested a recess for now which wasn't a bad idea and she had been wanting to explore the grounds and the house a bit more as well. And even getting a meal as well in the kitchen house, she was starting to get pretty hungry now as well. Sophia turned to James as he offered a hand for her, using her right hand and gave him a slight smile and accepted his help. "Thank you." Sophia watched as Gilbert proceeded to leave, and once they were ready to go they would get the tour started. She noted for a moment on what Gilbert had said, that their abilities could be more interesting than his which made her wonder what hers were now even more.

Sophia then started to readjust her dress, making sure that it was straight and neat, she still disliked wearing dresses and hated when it got wrinkled. "It is a lot to take in, definitely wouldn't mind getting a drink or two." Sophia said with a light smile, looking over at Bart and Andromeda, she didn't know them yet either and gave them a friendly nod. "I'm ready to learn more, and see the rest of the area as well."

[FantasyChic]

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Faith Masters

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Location: Ville au Camp - Main House (Sitting Room)
Skills: N/A

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Faith listened intently, chalking every question she had. She didn't know about the others, nor did she care all that much, but she wasn't about to be one of the past Paradoxes. She was eager to get started, but it seemed the others wanted a break. A break from what? They didn't do anything! Sure, they were just given a shit ton of information, but if you couldn't comprehend it and file it away, maybe you didn't deserve to be here.

Of course, that wasn't her decision. Still, she wanted the tour. She wanted to explore not only her surroundings but herself as well. She wanted to ask questions and learn. This was new to her too. Far was the "fight every day" mentality that was her existence with the Walking Dead. Now she was able to take a minute and read a book. Watch nature. It all sounded boring as hell, but she had the option!

"Why take a break? Nothing happened yet. I want to get on this tour as soon as possible. I've got questions and I want answers."

[Lady Absinthia]

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Evelina Lucas

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Location: Ville au Camp - Main House (Sitting Room -> Front Porch -> Gallery) -> Heading Towards The Oak Tree
Skills: Administration, Diplomacy, Memory Training, History

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It was not surprising to The Dice that the reactions were wide and varied. It wasn't every day that you were able to witness someone change their entire identity as Gilbert just had. Even the Emendators were not privilege to it often. Most skills were rarely used and when they were used, they were done with great caution. The only abilities that seemed to be of constant use was The Dice and The Cards. Those were ones that neither Evelina or Nancy could turn off. Evelina had tried at one point. Tried to resist the tickle in the back of her mind. Refusing to roll the dice knowing what could happen when she did. Yet every minute that had passed it became worse. Every second that ticked by it got worse. Pain began to set in. The woman had tried everything she could to take her mind off of it but it was of no use.

It had only been a total of three hours before she was ready to claw her brain out of her skull and gave in. The memory alone brought a twitch to her left eye. She would never deny the call again. One couldn't avoid the inevitable. They could only delay it a short time and in the end, a few moments meant nothing in the grand scheme of existence. "Yes, would not do well to do such abilities too often but we will get into that when we reconvene. And your questions will be answered then," Evelina said as she glanced around.

Turning she locked eyes with Gilbert for a moment. "Βεβαιωθείτε ότι δεν πάτε να εξηγήσετε τίποτα, δεν θέλω να επαναλαμβάνω τον εαυτό μου μόλις τελειώσετε μαζί τους. Ακριβώς η συνήθης περιοδεία θα είναι αρκετή και οι ερωτήσεις για τους λόγους. Δεξιότητες, σκοπός, και ούτω καθεξής θα μείνουν στον εαυτό μου σήμερα." The woman did know how to harp on a point. This wasn't the first time they had welcomed new comers to their family but every time they did Evelina went over everything, even with the Emendators, as if it was the first time they had ever done this. It was just how she was. A bit anal but she did keep things running so that others didn't have to, yet any of the Emendators were more than able to do the job she took it on herself and didn't split up the duties. Everyone had a job, everything had a place. Organization was key to the calmness on the grounds.

Looking over at Faith, Evelina picked up her pipe and stepped over to the woman. "To quote the team of Jagger and Richards.... 'You can't always get what you want'. You will be able to ask your questions when the time is right and you will get the answers that are provided on the terms that are already decided. Once that is complete you will be given a choice. Remain or leave." Turning on heels she began to step out of the door she had originally entered at the front of the house. Yet she stopped and turned sharply around before continuing. "And by leave I do mean that your second life ends and you go to meet whatever god you believe in," she added. As blunt as her words were, her voice wasn't cruel as she spoke. In fact it was oddly calm and as even as when she was speaking earlier. She had just wanted to make things perfectly clear; that she was not about to deviate from her schedule just because some younglings hadn't learned patience.

Pulling out her watch she checked the time. "I will meet you all in the Kitchen house in twenty minutes. Gilbert, do make this front of the ground tour a quick one," she said as she stepped over to Gilbert and looked out over the front of the grounds. Giving him a slight nod she stepped off the porch and made her way towards the gallery. Once there she turned left, went down it and passed both Alicia and Barts room before exiting the back of the house and heading towards the Oak Tree, the Kitchen House lay just on the other side.

Translation

Do make sure not go to explaining anything, I do not want to be repeating myself once you are done with them. Just the usual tour will suffice and questions on the grounds. Skills, purpose, and so forth will be left to myself today.

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Alicia Gonzalez

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Location: Ville au Camp - Pedestrian Corridor
Skills: Soft Martial Arts

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It wasn't that Alicia didn't enjoy her time at Ville au Camp. The grounds were beautiful and this time of year the weather was great. The Emendators had chosen the day well. It wasn't hot, it wasn't too cold. It was one of those rare southern days that didn't have tornadoes or 99% humidity hanging in the air and making you wish you were in a sauna because it would have been easier to breath in. No, it was the end of October. The colors were changing on the trees, the wind was blowing just enough to put the faintest chill in the air. The only clouds in the sky were just enough to keep the sun from being blinding. It was probably the best day of the year. And Alicia thought it sucked.

Granted it could have been worse but she had been born in San Antonio in the middle of July. Spent her summers in Mexico with family. She was used to 110% humidity (Yes, it is possible) and 115F weather. She was used to dry oven heat and heat where it felt like you were boiling. So this wasn't exactly her idea of a good time. It was pleasant but what she would have given to have an ice cold cerveza to chill her insides as her skin was slick with sweat after running for an hour and putting her cousin to shame on the futbol field. (Or her cousin kicking her ass, either way worked.)

Yet there was nothing to be done about it, that is except to fill ones time. Grinning to herself she went through her practiced motions of some of the forms that Gilbert had shown her. While she had her two reborn skills, she was learning others. This was what Gilbert had found fit her best. It was a surprise to her but she went with it. The man could probably come up with twenty five ways to kill her with his thumb. Yet that didn't frighten her. Again, that was Evelinas job it seemed. That woman was just... There wasn't a word for it.

Taking a breath as she finished one of the forms she looked around. It seemed the coast was clear. Minus a few peacocks roaming the area. A grin formed on her lips as she skipped towards the Mill. Hopefully she would have just enough time to finish up what she needed to do and then get a good seat for the show. As she walked she pulled her hair back and put it up in a pony tail, revealing the detailed sugarskull tattoo at the base of her skull. She had wanted to get more but when in the time loop it made it pointless. Maybe on her next mission? Could be a side trip. Maybe.