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 Posted: Mon Apr 06, 2015 10:31 pm
In memoriam
In a moment of tact, America refrained from mentioning that she'd thought Spock was the guy from Heroes. Instead she simply placed a hand on Dawson's back and stayed respectfully silent.
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Posted: Mon Apr 06, 2015 10:35 pm
Clawsplay
Every creature that looked too convincing had to be checked, and it was a sore test of their combined subtlety to manage. "Accidentally" boxing in a something that could be an Avatar cosplay but also could be some weird a** catsmurf monster, America let Dawson distract them while she took a Fear reading.
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Posted: Mon Apr 06, 2015 10:41 pm
hotel room service Quietly, America finished her plate then put down her fork. "I was hit with Red Eyes really bad." Swirling a finger in the remaining sauce, she went on, "I'm still not over it and I don't like what happens when I try to eat meat, since." A pause, and then, voice low, "You know what Red Eyes does, Dawson Grace?"
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Posted: Fri Apr 10, 2015 1:19 am
In memoriam
Later on, he thought it was a great idea to catch himself up on what he had missed since being stuck in a pod, and that was when he found out that Robin Williams too had passed away. There was nothing America could say or do to smooth that over. Spock was one thing, but Genie, Teddy Roosevelt, Mrs. Doubtfire, John Keating, Adrian Cronauer, Peter Banning, Dr. Malcolm Sayer, Patch Adams--the man Dawson admired growing up was just gone.
He found himself a bench, pocketed his phone, and bunched into himself as he wept as quietly as he could.
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Posted: Fri Apr 10, 2015 1:33 am
Clawsplay
America was treated to quite a few sights, including but not limited to:
a confused conversation in which he didn't understand that the Avatar group also had an Avatar: The Last Bender cosplayer among them whom kept denying that the movie didn't happen (but it did, he insisted, entirely missing the nuances of the Tai Lee cosplayer's willful ignorance and increasingly frustrated when her group began snickering; there is no Avatar movie, there is no war in Ba Sing Se); some oggling when they came across a pair of gorgeous women dressed up as Mystique and Storm whom were most definitely a couple if their handsy posture meant anything (he didn't quite understand why anyone would ship them together especially with Black Panther around, but he most definitely checked them out because what if they were like reapers America); a completely excited photoshoot with a very good Avengers cosplay group where he didn't mind that his fanboying came off a bit strong because it was just so ******** cool to get a whole group do it and do it well okay; a small alert where he swore he spotted Jennifer Morrison but no false alarm damn; a larger alert where he swore a zombie hoard had actually invaded, but it turned out to be an amazing makeup plus group coordination cosplay of The Walking Dead who had gathered similarly dressed people to join the rove (though to be honest he was still sure one or two actual ones had snuck in, the smell was just awful; wait, that was just the con in general); several gentlemen who were not particularly impressed with either of their costumes and who had taken meticulous care to explaining why they had superior The Hobbit cosplays because they were true fans who had actually read the books and also Tauriel is a stupid and unnecessary addition and you should be ashamed; and a very chatty girl dressed up as her Dragon Age: Inquisition character, with armor so realistic he had to ask permission to touch it just in case because damn cosplayers were hardcore, and whom was particularly vocal about her headcanon trash ship involving Commander Cullen and Samson.
It was hard to tell if he was a good distractor because America had asked him to or because he would have naturally been all about talking to people anyway. What was clear, however, was that he had enjoyed every second of it, even though some of those seconds had been used barely restraining himself from punching some dicks' lights out.
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Posted: Fri Apr 10, 2015 1:39 am
hotel room service
Ah, okay. Bad Things. Dawson quickly finished off his burger, eager to get rid of any sign of meat. "No, ma'am," he replied just as quietly. The name alone was enough to make him want to hunch his shoulders.
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Posted: Fri Apr 10, 2015 1:44 am
In memoriam
Sitting down beside him, America pulled Dawson in to lean on her shoulder. Death was not as particularly moving to her as the suffering of the living, though few truly understood that about her. Wasn't something to advertise. She waited patiently, and then, when his shoulders grew more still and breath began to steady, she said, "C'mon, we got work to do."
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Posted: Fri Apr 10, 2015 1:54 am
Clawsplay
She smiled a lot, and was interested in the costumes, but let Dawson take the lead. Most people there thought they were some kind of couple, and that was fine beyond the minor annoyance of being accused by someone of indeterminate gender and species of faking it to get a boyfriend when Dawson was out of hearing range. Incredulous her only answer was to gesture emphatically at her everything, a point that was hard to argue with.
There were a few requests for pictures with them, and between that and Dawson's fanboying her phone collected a lot of photos that day. The readings were never too alarming beyond the low level signifiers that something had been there recently.
Dawson was good to work with here, relaxed and gregarious and able to blend with sincerity. She could see why they'd picked him for this mission. At the end of the long day, on the way to their room, she slapped him on the back with a tiered grin, "You did well out there today."
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Posted: Fri Apr 10, 2015 2:08 am
hotel room serviceSitting back, she began undoing her braid, combing her fingers through the waves and tangle as she spoke. "It's just a pair of red eyes in the darkness, and I don't know if it starts because you seem them or they see you, but once you see it, things are over and just starting. All at once." With a wry smile, she glanced up at him and then back to her hands. "The first time, it's like it's not even you. It's just...violence. You want to kill the Other. But the longer it's with you, the worse it gets. You want to kill them, but you want it to be slow. You want to hurt them in every way you can. You wanna show off." Reaching up, she ran a hand through loose waves of hair and got up, suddenly needing to move, settling for going over the contents of her bag one more time. "And then, when you've been under a good long while, well, there's bound to be a body or two laying around. And you want to keep hurting them, you want to reach into them and feel around, pull the insides to the outsides and roll around in it. You want eat them, you want to bite down and chew on all the ******** up things you've done." A moment, "That's Red Eyes. Someone cracks your shield enough, it'll jar you out of it. You see someone with red eyes, even if they're a friend? Hit them until they can't move. Especially if they're a friend. "
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Posted: Fri Apr 10, 2015 12:40 pm
In memoriam
He croaked, "M'sawry," at the touch and multiple times more and hoped he hadn't made a scene. Wiping his face on his shirt, Dawson gave a great sniffle. "Not perfeshnal. I'll go clean up."
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Posted: Fri Apr 10, 2015 12:57 pm
Clawsplay
(He was very, very glad Taym wasn't there to watch people make such a silly mistake.)
"Ya think so?" he asked, grinning hopefully back. His feet ached something awful, but meeting so many people, moving through all these different booths, exposing himself to something vivid and alive and products of a love for a story—Dawson seemed to be lit up by something from within despite his growing tiredness. "Did I distract 'em good? 'Cause I like talkin' n' listenin' t'people, y'know, they got innerestin' stories. I never got t'do somethin' like this before—I mean we had Dragon*Con in the fall over in Atlanta, but I never got the time."
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Posted: Fri Apr 10, 2015 1:07 pm
hotel room serviceHe wished he could move about too, but Dawson felt rooted to the spot, heavy as an anvil. Stuck with greasy fingers and a stomach turning green and a tightness in his chest that not even the Gordian Knot could rival. He felt sick, shuddered, and broke into a cold sweat as his overactive imagination cursed him with both realities and projections. "What happened?" he asked in a frail voice, his gaze following her feet. "Where was it? I-Is it a disease, do only hunters get it...?" Objectively he knew it was Impolite to keep prodding, that he should have offered some sort of comfort because that was Important when talking about Bad Things, but now he had to know, now he had to understand, because if this was it, if this was what had caused his mess in the first place—
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Posted: Fri Apr 10, 2015 10:34 pm
Clawsplay
"Yeah, you were perfect, hun."
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Posted: Fri Apr 10, 2015 10:51 pm
hotel room service "It hits all over the world, far as I know. Usually shows up in hunter bases, but I've seen civs get it too. My first time I was checking on a base with Peyton n'she nearly killed me before I got her pendant'd out. Turn around," she said quietly, gripping the bottom of her shirt to change into her preferred working clothes. "Was sent to a base on Russia a bit later, and the red eyes hit a group of us. We worked together to kill the ones that didn't get it, tricked my own Sun there and held him down to be tortured. But I guess the more you get hit with it, the more of you shows up in flickers. I was myself when I killed him, and on good days is was a mercy killing," voice low and calm, she didn't detail the bad days. "I was myself more often than the others so I ran, but it wasn't just gone, you understand? It was there with us, constantly trying to pull me under while I hid and they hunted. It's a sort of king of the mountain game, everyone wants to win it, be the last hunter standing on the pile of bodies." America sounded wistful as she spoke, "I was myself too, when I killed the other Sun. He came to himself and couldn't handle what he'd done so he kept fighting me. You can turn around." She was braiding her hair again, hands busy, eyes focused half a year back. "I didn't eat him," the girl reassures Dawson, almost offhand, "but it feels like I failed something important. And every time I try to eat meat, it's there. Everything's right there and I can't handle it. The others ate their kills. The others are fine." Abruptly, she stood up, "I'm going to go walk the perimeter. Be checking in every ten."
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Posted: Sat Apr 11, 2015 12:44 pm
Clawsplay
That was enough to stop him from ranting on. Dawson beamed until his dimples seemed to take up a quarter of his round face.
For once, perfect didn't sound so bad.
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