Dan has his hands in his pockets, his glasses settled in place on his nose. He never liked going to the beach much when he was little; too much sand, too much sun, it was hard to read the book he had with him. He liked the seagulls, but his mother never let him get close enough to watch them. When he grew up it was school and then crimefighting, no time for a vacation. Since the explosion, he's had too much freetime. Now that he's here he feels like that all over again, stagnant and listless.
He walks idly on the beach, unsure of what to do with himself, and when he glances up from where he was watching his feet sink into the wet sand, he's startled to see the same bum he's seen a million times at home, with the same sign.
... oh. He bites his lip, finding it strange to be near Rorschach -- Walter? -- when he's out of costume. He'd never seen that before, until it was plastered all over the news. When he saw Rorschach's face that first time, splattered on his television screen, his first reaction was, No -- that isn't Rorschach.
( ... )
He raises his eyebrows, making a sound that's more of a cough than an actual laugh, but it's as close as Rorschach gets to humour.
"Hello, Daniel," he murmurs, his voice a little less rough without his mask to muffle the sound. "Enjoying the sun?" It's more sun than Rorschach's seen in ages, and he can already feel his freckles start to shift and meld together to form a sunburn.
"Hello." He doesn't want to ask for a name and instead he settles down on the sad beside Rorschach, setting his shoes down beside him. "Kind of. It's hard to get back into retirement, or vacation, whatever this is. I liked being Nite Owl again," he sighs, lowering his voice. "I didn't want to go back."
"Never wanted to go back. Still don't. Still not. Never compromise, Daniel," he says, glancing over at his partner with a faint smirk. "Could still be Nite Owl. Don't have to give it up. So-called heroes here not doing much good. There will always be evil and sin in the world. Always be something to fight." Though he doesn't sound as convinced of his point as he usually does.
He'll strenuously deny that he's doing it to lose weight, but Eric Cartman's been walking on the beach. And by walking, we mean wobbling up and down the dunes, occasionally getting his feet wet and swearing at the ocean. Eventually he wanders up to the weird homeless guy on the beach, regarding him thoughtfully. Yeah, he could jump this guy on a skateboard.
"Dude," he says, pointing to Rorschach's sign. "You know you've got three years, right?"
Rorschach raises an eyebrow, regarding the small, fat child with mild disdain. "Three? Sooner than that. Much sooner. Tomorrow, maybe today. Maybe already happened. Maybe this is it."
"No." As always, Cartman is completely confident in his beliefs, and he crosses his arms over his chest. "The world's going to end on December 21, 2012. Everyone knows that."
"Doesn't matter. Everybody dies someday. Only man who might know isn't here. Probably doesn't care." He drapes his arms over his knees, looking back out at the ocean. "Why then?"
Batman's out checking up on things -- it passes for a patrol, anyway, even if it does feel odd to be out in the daylight. (Odd without Robin, too, he'd grown used to patrolling with a partner, since Dick arrived.) He notices the man on the beach, but doesn't say anything, instead preferring to watch from a distance.
Years of walking the streets, looking for crime, catching the badguys, have sharpened Rorschach's perception. He senses someone lurking, watching him, and his body tenses for a fight.
Let them approach first. Make the first move. Rorschach will counter attack, if need be.
Laurie's wandering -- she hasn't found much else to do, around here, and she's still exploring. She heads out to the beach, intending to enjoy the sun a little, and stops when she notices someone familiar on the beach. It takes her a minute, but she heads over and stands, not really sure what to say. She knows it's Rorschach, but she's never seen him without his mask, not in real life. So she settles on a quiet "Hey," and sits nearby.
Rorschach grunts in response, not looking at her. They never got along too well, not that Rorschach really gets along with anyone, and he resented the trust that Dan had placed in her. It made him feel... replaced. Laurie was just a cheap substitute for the partnership he and Dan had, back in the day, as far as he was concerned.
"Didn't know you were here," he finally mutters in a quiet, rough voice.
Dick still isn't himself. Not really. Alfred managed to pump him with some antidote and most of the immediate terror went away. His mental health is still up for debate, though, and paranoia still lurks in the back of his mind, making him flinch at shadows on the wall or a creak in the floor.
He's taken to wandering now, fidgeting and twitching and trying to remain unnoticed. His feet take him out to the beach and he pauses when he sees a man on the beach. Cautiously he shuffles his bare feet through the sand towards him and stands there. Just watching.
People say Rorschach's paranoid, these days. People say a lot of things. When Dick approaches him, he glances over at him, eying him curiously. He seems innocent enough. Or at the very least, not likely to attack.
Rorschach nods, but says nothing else. The boy will talk, if he wants to.
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He walks idly on the beach, unsure of what to do with himself, and when he glances up from where he was watching his feet sink into the wet sand, he's startled to see the same bum he's seen a million times at home, with the same sign.
... oh. He bites his lip, finding it strange to be near Rorschach -- Walter? -- when he's out of costume. He'd never seen that before, until it was plastered all over the news. When he saw Rorschach's face that first time, splattered on his television screen, his first reaction was, No -- that isn't Rorschach. ( ... )
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"Hello, Daniel," he murmurs, his voice a little less rough without his mask to muffle the sound. "Enjoying the sun?" It's more sun than Rorschach's seen in ages, and he can already feel his freckles start to shift and meld together to form a sunburn.
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"Dude," he says, pointing to Rorschach's sign. "You know you've got three years, right?"
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Let them approach first. Make the first move. Rorschach will counter attack, if need be.
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Rorschach grunts in response, not looking at her. They never got along too well, not that Rorschach really gets along with anyone, and he resented the trust that Dan had placed in her. It made him feel... replaced. Laurie was just a cheap substitute for the partnership he and Dan had, back in the day, as far as he was concerned.
"Didn't know you were here," he finally mutters in a quiet, rough voice.
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He's taken to wandering now, fidgeting and twitching and trying to remain unnoticed. His feet take him out to the beach and he pauses when he sees a man on the beach. Cautiously he shuffles his bare feet through the sand towards him and stands there. Just watching.
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Rorschach nods, but says nothing else. The boy will talk, if he wants to.
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