Welcome to Vegas Quadrant Culture-Con!

[airlockedmods]

[After a hopefully restful night in the luxurious quarters of their suite, the hotel is abuzz with activity once again bright and early.

The Doctor and his group (Thomasin, Yurika, and Togami) found a lead that InterGal7 has a booth in the Dealer's hall, while Xander and his group (Jamie, Jane, and Natsuhi) have a lead to follow about a panel.

In scanning through the schedules and the TV advertisements, it becomes clear that while there are two separate "paths" to the scavenger hunt, in order to maximize the chances of winning both must be completed. The deadline is in the evening. It'll make the group as a whole a lot less conspicuous to split up, plus to maximize the chances of getting both paths completed.

With great Temerity, onward!]

Comments

[kingshaming]

[Onwards to the cosplay contest! Xander just prays they don't have to win to get the clue- because while they aren't ACTUALLY wearing hardlight cosplays, if they admit that they might be outed as the real thing.]

Be on the look out for a collaborator with flair. That may mean a con worker or a costumer.

[airlockedmods]

[Well, the cosplay meetup happens a little before the contest proper, just to give everybody a chance to get the pictures they want. That means there's more than a few hard-light projection cosplayers around, people who look exactly like dead and living characters alike.

This isn't to say they're all trying to be precisely the same. The Jamie, Bolton, and Max in magical girl outfits, for example. Just in case you were wondering how Bolton looked in heels. It's better than some, though, who seem to be pairing off into victim and culprit pairs (or trios) to take some truly unfortunately-posed pictures.

If anyone's taking charge around here, it may be the pirate Xander near the front of the room. He's got an organized line for photo ops. With a flashy coat like that, topped off with a pair of cat ears, who wouldn't want one?]

1/2

[kingshaming]

[ Dusk Dragon be a fence around me]

[kingshaming]

[ANYWAYS, that pirate Xander seems the best bet, as he fulfills both meanings of collaborator AND is very dandy indeed. Though the combo of the two costumes give Xander a odd mix of amusement and sadness he can't quite put a name to.

Either way, time to get in line]

[airlockedmods]

[You've got a few minutes to wait, but we'll just skip past that rather than describing the antics around you. Try not to pay attention to them, probably.]

Oh, hullo! [Pirate Xander smiles upon seeing Regular Xander.] Do you all want a shot? Rox can take it for you, if you want!

[A blonde woman nearby turns at the sound of her name.]

[kingshaming]

[He tries to rein in his usual speech patterns- doing so to 'another' Xander might come off like he was trying to show him up.]

Actually, you might be the fella we're looking for?

[he holds up his now empty cafe cup with the clue]

[airlockedmods]

[Pirate Xander does seem like he's definitely trying to do the Xander voice, though there's traces of some other lilting accent peeking through here and there.]

Oh! Yeah, yeah - are you gonna enter the contest?

[kingshaming]

Oh no... that isn't required for the clue, is it?

[airlockedmods]

Wellllllllll...

[He leans in a little.]

You're not wearin' hard-light, are you? 'Cause if you're not, you really oughta just go ahead and enter. It'll be a lotta fun - and don't worry, I'm not your competition!

[kingshaming]

... very well.

[it's up to the girls if they want to join in as well, but if not then Xander will take the bullet]

[airlockedmods]

Awesome! Gotta represent Xander for me, right? High-fives all around!

[High-five, bro]

[kingshaming]

[Huh...? Oh! High fives! He knows these!]

How long until the contest?

[airlockedmods]

[High five! His hand feels too warm to be human, and a little buzzy.]

Just in a minute, let me get up to the stage.

[And off he goes, in fact, him and the blonde human-looking woman from before.]

HELLO, everyone! Let's get started with the contest, shall we? Everyone who's participating, come and line up on stage for the judging! Remember, no hard-light projectors, and no skits!

[kingshaming]

[He's glad he dressed somewhat nice in his vest and boots- no gloves though, eh hasn't been able to stand them ever since they awoke. Still, hopefully that will be enough.

No skits...? Oh god do they normally do plays during these things? He is learning a lot today! Oh well, let's do this]

[unhappylittletrees]

[The things Jamie has seen on this day, at this photoshoot, should not be seen. He only has the vaguest idea what a magical girl is but he knows he could never pull off being one and his boyfriend and best friend shouldn't even try either.

He's standing his ground though, arms folded across his chest in his giant sweatshirt and glasses while he he scans the crowd for clues.]

[airlockedmods]

[At least you've determined that Magical Girl Bolton is not something you'd like to try in the bedroom later?

The Season One Magical Men are currently engaged in pretending to beat up a Xander - who very nearly passes as human except for the pale green skin and extra gills - while he curls up on the ground.]

[unhappylittletrees]

[...He should feel worse about this but he quickly hides a small smile behind his hand. This is Stupid but it's also almost adorable? Almost.]

[cyan_maid]

[Ex fuckin scuse me buster how dare you sneak out of the gift shop for this]

...Are you sure you want to be around for this stuff? I...have a really bad feeling about it.

[unhappylittletrees]

I... [To be honest he's really not sure but he's managing surprisingly well despite being him...and that sweet, sweet medication helping him function like a normal human being for the first time in almost two years.] I'm doing okay, Jane. Really.

[He does cast another somewhat sad glance at the cosplaying trio though.]

[cyan_maid]

[He really has been doing so much better since they got him back on the med regiment, but at the same time, she knows this isn't easy for anyone for multitudes of reasons. Heck, it's not easy for her. The awful accent is the one thing keeping her tethered to sanity and civilized behavior.]

I know, but...I don't trust anyone here not to do something oblivious and ignorant on their end and harmful on ours. And I-I promised I'd keep you safe. I did. And I take that seriously, you know? I had really hoped we'd just be running around outside and not in the actual convention environment...

[airlockedmods]

[The Season One Magical Men have joined hands and are performing some kind of group transformation dance.

It's extremely probable that we are actually looking at some alien teenage girls, and they are just utterly delighted by all of this.]

[unhappylittletrees]

[Oh, Jane, Jane honey, come here. Jamie reaches out and wraps an arm around her shoulders, pulling her over to his side and giving her a strong side-hug. He watches the teenagers for a moment longer before putting all his attention on Jane.]

I know, Jane, I know. You've been doing a good job and I appreciate it. But I don't want you to forget that I'm an adult and I know how to look after myself too. I mean, I should be the one making sure you're okay.

[...and if it makes her feel better he's doing his damndest to disguise his own northwestern accent with the best bastardized Texan he can muster.]

[cyan_maid]

[...It does, a little, and holds onto that arm giving the side hug, her touch gentle but firm as if to ask him to not leave her alone in this place. She snorts, but doesn't let loose that familiar hoo of a chuckle. Too dangerous.]

I won't forget.

[But she can't pretend she's more okay than she is without people to honestly want to look out for.]

[unhappylittletrees]

[He squeezes her shoulder, a silent promise not to up and sneak off again just because he was feeling a little useless just looking at eye patches in the gift shop.]

Good. [Xander is calling them over now but before they regroup Jamie lowers his voice and drops the accent to whisper to her:]

If everything goes alright we should get one of those Seth mask frisbees I've seen being tossed around before we leave.

[cyan_maid]

[She has to press her hand over her mouth not to burst out laughing.]

Oh my goodness, yes!