Nancy, Faith, and Bart
Location: Ville au Camp - the Swamp
Skills: History (General Human History), Acting, Mimic, Photography
Nancy was throwing stones into the swamp, just waiting for her pupils to arrive. It would be a nice change of pace, getting a new set, after her few months working with Pasty. After a certain point, they came to get a read on your personality and expect certain twists and surprises. But these two were fresh and Nancy hadn't been able to sleep much the night before, eagerly coming up with more and more ideas - most of them inspired by Faith, but she had made sure to throw in a few things to purposefully catch Bart off guard as well.
"It's a small world after all," Nancy sang under her breath. She didn't really care if they showed up on time or not. In fact, she'd be mildly irritated with them if they did arrive right on the dot.
Faith woke up a bit later than normal, despite the alarm. Having been training with the Hat for a while, she had gotten used to her body being sore and fatigued, but it didn't make it any easier. Still, she was thankful for the sessions, even if she had to be paired with Bart for them. She was sure Evelina had a hand in that and paired them on purpose. Faith woke up and glanced at the door, seeing the familiar note. She read it and dropped it instantly.
"The swamp?!?" Of all the places to train at, she had to be at a swamp? And she wasn't with Evelina this time around either. Faith moved slowly around her room, getting dressed and grabbing her knife and sheathing it, before she stumbled out the door and made her way, hesitantly, to the swamp.
Bartholomew woke, saw the note under his door, and nodded, getting dressed. Once he was ready to head out, he bent down, picke dup the note, and read it. Oh fun, it'd be Nancy, finally time for him to get to know her. They'd be working in the swamp, which he didn't really mind. He'd run by there enough that he actually kind of liked it. Excited, he headed out the door. Working with the Hat wasn't bad horrible, but he didn't at all mind taking a break from combat training. He did wonder what Nancy might have in store for him. He hurried towards the swamp, and wondered if he'd still be working along side Faith. Best he could tell, she wasn't here to make friends, to say the least, which made her less than fun to spend time with. Reaching the Swamp, he waved at The Cards, "
Good Morning!" He said, smiling, trying to put his best foot forward with her. "
How's your morning going?"
"Are you always this happy so early in the morning?" Nancy couldn't help but ask, raising an eyebrow as she looked at Bart. She had a sudden craving for sweets so she pulled a caramel chew out of her pocket and popped it into her mouth, before throwing one to Faith and another to Bart. She wasn't going to make them sit in a swamp, early in the morning, and just watch her eat candy. She then walked onto a fallen log in the swamp, balancing on it with her arms out.
"To start...Faith, right? I want you to put Bartholomew on your shoulders and carry him." "Which reminds me....What would you two like to be called? I ask because let's be honest, some of the names Paradoxes are stuck with are quite awful." Faith made her way over just in time to see Bart already there. So it seemed she would be paired up with him again. Faith caught the candy in her hand and looked at it. She wasn't a big fan of caramel, but she ate the good anyway. For all she knew, this was part of the test. It wasn't until Nancy actually placed her task in front of her that Faith finally came to attention.
"I'm sorry. What?" She wanted her to carry him? Not only was that probably not going to happen, but she would soon lick off caramel from the swampy log.
"You want me to carry him? I'll drop him for sure, either on purpose or accidentally. And I prefer Faith. It's my name, after all." Bart caught the chew, and cocked his head in surprise as Nancy's initial question, having just tried to put his best foot forward. He was a bout to answer as Faith appeared, at which point Nancy asked her to pick him up. He gave The Cards a curious look. "
Pardon me?" He asked in a mix of surprise and confusion. He turned his head to Faith and shot her a look at the mention of dropping him on purpose. Recomposing himself, he continued, "
I prefer Bart, if that's alright. And um, why do you want Faith to carry me? I can walk fine." He popped the chew into his mouth, letting it melt on his tongue as he waited for some kind of explanation.
"Yes, of course. I want you to carry him. Put him on your shoulders. Haven't you two seen Star Wars? It's like that, when Luke carries Yoda. Except Faith will be Luke and Bart, you'll be Yoda," Nancy replied matter of factly. She popped another piece of candy into her mouth as she waited for them to do it. She didn't care if Faith dropped him, on purpose or accidentally.
"Go on then, we don't have all day." Faith gave the Cards another look. This bitch had to be on crack or something. She could understand going back in time to see some Civil War battle, but to carry some loser on her shoulders for no clear reason? And in a swamp?!? This was insane. But far be it from her to not make an effort in this crazy time. She looked over to Bart and shook her head.
"Fine. Get on then. Don't touch my hair or so help me..." She knelt down to allow the boy to climb on her shoulders, but she would drop his ass if he so much as did anything other than sit there.
Okay, maybe Nancy wasn't all there. Not seeing a good way out of this situation, Bart sighed, and nodded at Faith, "
I won't touch your
hair if you don't drop me..." He said, stepping behind her, and climbing carefully onto her shoulders, actively trying to avoid touching her hair. He sat himself down on her shoulders, and looked towards the Cards, completely lost as to what in the hell this was all about. He was mostly focusing on keeping his balance at this point, but managed to get out. "
Alright... what now?" He said, moving the Caramel chew to one side in his mouth.
Nancy pulled out her
camera, a Leica III and positioned it perfectly, taking photographs of Faith and Bart. She was trying her best not to laugh too much. The lighting was good and she did enjoy taking pictures of the Paradoxes - especially since sometimes, they did seem to last longer.
"Beautiful. Now if you'll walk through that portal, we'll be on our way," Nancy said and she stepped to the side, as a portal appeared.
"And if you do decide to drop him on purpose, let me know so I can get a candid shot of the look on his face, Faith." Faith glared at the woman. What the hell did she think she was doing? Taking pictures like she's some circus animal and making her carry this sack of worthlessness? She had half a mind to drop Bart then and there, but decided against it. This had to be a trick of some sort. She had to keep carrying him. She wouldn't give her the satisfaction.
"Hold on, loser. Here we go!" Faith quickly followed her into the portal, holding on to Bart as best she could.
Bart blinked at the flash, and swayed a little, trying to keep his balance. He gave an annoyed look down at Faith, did she have to be so rude? He didn't really understand people like that. He knew she was from undead world, so maybe that hardened her? He didn't know. He felt the ground move beneath him as Faith carried him, which made him feel quite silly. He peered forward as they made their way through the portal, curious to see what would be on the other side.
Disneyland ~ April 2014
Nancy was positively beaming as she brought her charges to the true site of their lesson - the Haunted Mansion ride. Of course, the fact that they had gotten to change out of 1940's attire and into fashion from the early 21st century also put a smile on her face.
"So here is where we'll be having our first lesson," Nancy explained, as she got into line for the ride and motioned for them to follow her. It was about the middle of the day and the sun was beating down, but the lines weren't too terribly long.
"Rule number one - don't use your powers unless you are in a life and death situation," Nancy instructed.
"And I'd give you more rules but honestly, the rest are sort of guidelines," she mused.
"But at any rate, I doubt either of you will have any trouble with blending into this time period - even if it doesn't come with the usual heaping of undead that you're accustomed to, Faith. Instead, your job is to find out a personal secret from whomever you sit with on the ride. This ride has been having some problems lately and will break down while we're on it - so you should have a good period for a chat with them. If you can get them to give up this information, then you're a damn good actor and as a treat, I'll let you pick the next ride we go on - and that'll be just for fun, no lessons involved." Faith exited the portal and instantly recognized where she was. Even if she hadn't been there before, it was easy to put two and two together. The sights, the smells, and the sounds instantly took her back. She hadn't been here in years and the apocalypse kind of put this further down the list of desired locales. Though, she did often wonder what happened to Disneyland after. She also enjoyed being out of her 1940's attire, as fashionable as she looked in them.
'Ok, get down now." Bart should appreciate the fact she didn't just drop him, but she let him down and prepared to queue up. She was excited for this task. Sitting and talking to someone, finding out secrets, this was easy, especially if they were stuck on a ride.
Bart gasped as they appeared in Disneyland. He'd
never been able to go here as a kid! They were always too poor, and even though he would have loved to go. His face lit up, and any apprehension he might of felt about Nancy dissolved in a moment. This put her in his good books for sure. He listened to what the goal of their lesson would be, and quickly got down off of Faith's shoulders and onto the ground. He gave a hum, and said, "
Could we get a little advice?" He asked, cocking his head. He'd never quite done anything like that, and while he mightbe able to come up with a few ideas, this wouldn't be his forte.
"Personality mirroring will endear you to some," Nancy mused, as the line moved up some more. They were almost at the very front now.
"But others hate a yes-man with a vengeance. Of course, know that only lies have details and that unless you're dealing with someone from a criminal past or organization - which is quite possible in this timeline and location - people generally enjoy talking about themselves. My biggest recommendation? Have fun. You'll know what to do, I'm sure. And if you don't, I'll send you on It's a Small World to do the same exercise until you do." Faith didn't want to toot her own horn, but she was fairly confident she would succeed in this task. She loved talking, especially about herself. If anything, if she opened up, others would too. She just hoped she wouldn't be paired with some loser or something whose deepest secret was that they wet the bed until they were 20. She would NOT be put on that ride either. She would sooner kill herself (again) than have to listen to that fucking song on repeeat.
"No, I got this. I'm excited!" Bart gave a mock shiver at Nancy's threat. "
The horror." He said playfully. He'd never been on it, but he had heard the song on the ride was a little repetitive. He nodded at her advice though, and started planning. The hard part would be getting somebody comfortable enough on one ride. Maybe he could give, or pretend to give some secret of his own, show vulnerability, and get them to mirror it. Yeah, that could work. He'd either go with that, or try "personality mirroring", as Nancy called it. He'd have to see if he could insight the type of person he was next to.
Nancy gave them a smile as they were ushered into the room. "Everyone, please head to the dead center of the room," one of the workers announced.
The Haunted Mansion ride always began the same way, and Nancy enjoyed every single bit of it. It reminded her in some ways of one of her favorite movies from this time period - Beetlejuice. Once the introduction was finished and they were ushered down the halls, Nancy climbed into a doombuggy all by herself.
"See you two on the other side," Nancy called out.
Faith entered the attraction, ignoring the spiel. She had heard it before and it got tiresome. She looked forward to the down time, if one could call it that. She got to relax on a ride and complete a fairly easy task. She looked at the potentials in the room with her, hoping to land an easy one, but was that the point? Soon, they got on and she saw Nancy enter alone. She got up to her own cart and sat down, waiting to see who would sit with her.
Much to her dismay, a heavy-set, middle-aged woman in full Disneyland get-up joined her. She gave Faith a warm grin. "Sorry dear. Husband and son got the other cart to themselves. We'll just have some good girl time, yeah?" The woman's accent screamed Minnesota and Faith fought the urge to stab her eardrums. She had to remember the task at hand.
"It's no trouble at all! I love what your wearing by the way. Very cute." The woman sat down and turned to face Faith before they got moving. "Thanks dear. So nice to sit next to such a kind, pretty girl." Faith rolled her eyes out of view as the ride started. Soon they were moving through the ride and Faith counted what she saw, waiting for the time for the ride to break. Soon, it happened, just as Nancy said it would. The woman next to her sighed. "Oh dear, this is the 5th time this has happened to us. We must be cursed. Sorry dear, I am sure this will pick back up soon." Faith nodded, but she already knew she had a time frame.
"You may be right, ma'am. How about we have some girl talk before they get it working?" The woman chuckled, "Oh dear, I doubt an old woman like myself has much to talk about with a young thing like you."
Faith thought a moment. This woman had to have a secret, as stupid as it may be. She had to cater to her. What would a married, older woman keep secret? Soon, Faith mustered up some tears, letting them fall.
"It's just...my boyfriend broke up with me. We were supposed to be here together! He left me for my best friend and just..." Faith cried, letting her fake emotion come over her. The woman soon had an arm around her. "Oh dear, there there. Pretty thing like yourself will find someone else, I'm sure. He sounds like an idiot." Faith laughed,
"Yeah. It's just, seeing you with your husband and son, got me thinking about marriage. How wonderful it must be. Being together for years. During your best and worst times. And it got me thinking of the future. Your life must be so great!" Faith looked over to the woman, seeing if her line hit a snag. The woman sighed, "I tell ya dear, it's not all its cracked up to be. You should enjoy your youth. There's a big world out there. I only wish I spent my days looking at it. Got married too young dear. My father even told me I shouldn't marry Hank. Said he had a bad feeling about him, but did I listen? No, and now I am 30 years invested with only stretch marks and credit card debts out my eyeballs." The woman gasped, "Oh dear, I never told anyone that! You just seem like such a peach to talk to." Faith wiped her wet eyes,
"Thank you, ma'am. That helped." More than the woman would ever know.
Bartholomew scanned up and down the ride, if he picked a seat with somebody already in it, that'd help ensure he'd be able to get the information he wanted. He saw a teenage boy sitting on his own, and thought for a moment. Quickly, he had a plan, and smiled to himself, ever impressed with his own cleverness. He approached the seat, and sat down. The boy gave him a look, and he shrugged, "
Seat was open and I needed one, all good?" He asked coolly. "Yeah, I guess..." The boy said, evidently a little annoyed that he wouldn't be on his own. Bartholomew rested his arms on his own legs. The kid didn't seem too happy at the moment, which was odd for the "The happiest place on Earth". As the ride started up, he initiated step one, getting him talking. "
So, what brings you here? Vacation?" The teen scoffed at Bartholomew. "Why do you care?" Bart shrugged, "
Guess I don't kid."
That surprised the boy, and he practically glared at Bartholomew. "Asshole." He grumbled, at which point Bart looked at him and smirked as the ride started up, "
I'm just not very interested in talking to bratty teenagers. Take your angst somewhere else." That should do it, he figured. The goal was to get him angry enough. People loved to talk, and given the opportunity, they'd say almost anything. Police commonly used this, get a potential suspect talking, and let them talk and talk, and they'd end up slipping up and sharing something they didn't want to. Now all he had to do what shut up. The teenager looks pissed as could be, and just as Bart hoped, started talking. "Alright, yeah, sure, just assume." He said, Bart gave him a sideways look, but remained otherwise silent. "People like you are the actual worst, you think you know me after five seconds?" Bart visibly rolled his eyes, things going swimmingly. He focused on not smiling, or giving any positive cue to him. "Why? Why do you think it's okay to treat people like this? Tell Me!" The teenager's voice was quiet, but it was also harsh, with notes of sadness.
With Bart's continued silence, he said, "Whatever. I'll forget it all tonight. You're what weed's for." Bart exhaled. That counted, as far as he was concerned. So the kid liked the Devil's Lettuce. Not earth shattering, but no way in hell his parents knew. He looked back over at the kid, "
Listen, I'm sure High School's hard, and nothing's wrong with smoking on occasion." He said, carefully, "
But trust me. Don't use it as a coping mechanism." The kid rolled his eyes, and looked away, not talking to Bart anymore. He sighed, and shrugged. He couldn't fix people, and he figured that he kind of had to toe a line here. Interfering too much would put him in hot water, and he didn't need that in his life.
Once Faith and Bart exited the ride, they'd see Nancy wearing a pair of Nightmare Before Christmas Mickey Mouse Ears, eating some cotton candy as she waited for them. Nancy was a bit curious to see if they'd had managed to complete the task - and if they hadn't, she hoped they'd lie to her and convince her that they had. It would be a good enough test of acting if they'd be able to pull that off.
"So? How was it? Anything good for the Burn Book?" Nancy asked, referencing another popular film from this era. She loved the movies. She then held out the cotton candy to Faith and Bart, in case they wanted to partake in some.
Faith walked out jollier than she had originally been. She even took some of the cotton candy Nancy offered her.
"First, solid reference. Love that movie. Second, I sure did. Sat next to some old lady who told me her father told her not to marry her husband. You could almost sense the regret. She poured it out once I let the water works run. It was almost too easy. That was...oddly enjoyable considering we were just in a swamp." Faith was almost tempted to buy her own Mickey Mouse ears, though she knew it would not last.
Bart stepped out of the ride, and calm and collected. He saw Faith and Nancy, and walked over to them. He didn't catch the reference, not being a Mean Girls aficionado. "
Story of the century, teenage boy does pot because he's bullied." He said dryly.
"People love the sound of their own voices, it turns out. Spilled the beans when I poked him in the right ways." Though he was proud of himself for getting it out of him the way he did, he couldn't help but feel a bit bad. "
It's kinda sad honestly." He clearly looked uncomfortable with what he'd just done.
Nancy looked at Bart, raising an eyebrow at that last comment.
"Of course it's sad. People's darkest secrets are always sad - same for Paradoxes and Emendators. There's a reason they don't tell people - to hide pain. But if you need something to help you sleep at night...acting and lying won't do it. The other Emendators can teach you to be heroes - I'm just going to teach you how to survive, how to slip through people's fingers that way you can be heroes if you wish, to stop the forces that would destroy us." Nancy then couldn't help but feel annoyed at herself for that bit of monologuing.
"As promised, you two can pick the ride we go on next. After that, it's back to work - this time you need to pick an accent you overhear here and try to mimic it." Faith rode her high of succeeding at her task all the way to one of her favorite rides in Disneyland.
"Space Mountain!" She didn't care if Bart wanted to or not, it was her favorite ride ever since she was a kid. She would ride the hell out of that and not think about the next task of mimicing an accent. Something she was sure she would fail at. Accents were hard to master, but she would give it her all, especially if the threat of Small World still hung over them. She woulds not ride that without someone dying.
Bart nodded at Nancy's words. Sure, he might have to lie to survive, but that doesn't mean he had to like it. In the mean time, he was in Disneyland for the first time in his life, and he was gonna take this as a small pleasure for himself. He thought he had a pretty good idea about who Nancy was, and said, "
On the other hand... We could do Small World anyway." He said, flashing a smile at the Emendator. This was two pronged, one, it might upset Faith, and she hasn't been too kind to him, so he was feeling admittedly spiteful, and two, he thought Nancy would appreciate the irony.
"Do you enjoy torture?" Nancy asked Bart with a laugh.
"If so, I can teach you all about how to cause someone pain in order to get information....But right now, I decide Faith wins and we're going to ride Space Mountain. Let's be real - that and Splash Mountain are the best two rides here, with the added benefit that Space Mountain isn't based on a racist story." The rest of the day was relatively uneventful, beyond Nancy working the occasional lesson about accent mimicry into the rides. However, by the time they had finally gotten to Splash Mountain, the Emendator was content to just let her charges enjoy Disney with her.
"So, I hope you two give me a five star rating, it will not have any impact whatsoever," Nancy joked, as they returned to Ville au Campe.
"If you got blisters while at Disney...Consider it a part of your souvenir. And honestly, it won't be the worst thing to happen to you two while you're here." Faith was happy she got to ride Space Mountain. It made her forget, even for a brief moment, she was dead and was about to take part in this thing that could mean the end of her forever. She also hadn't forgotten Bart's suggestion of going on Small World. She would pay him back later for even trying. However, during the exercise, Faith found it hard to grasp some accents. She managed Southern pretty well, but English could have used some work. Still, she got to ride rides, so it wasn't all bad.
"Definitely five stars. Useful tools and fun rides. Would have been complete if we got some of that mango Dole ice cream they sell here." Faith wasn't optimistic they would get that, but it was an enjoyable time overall as they made their way back to the portal.
Bart had an absolute blast on the ride, definitely the coolest coaster he'd ever ridden. The rest of the day went by with some difficulty, having never done any kind of accent work before. He tried his hand at French and English, but he knew that it wasn't very good. Southern was definitely the easiest, and was the only half convincing one. Once they were back at the camp, He cracked a smile at Nancy, "
Maybe four and a half, for that stunt at the beginning." He said playfully. This training was, at least, much more fun than working with Gil.
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