| George Dawson | |
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| Portrayed By | Matt Damon |
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| Gender | Male |
| Date of Birth | June 1, 1973 |
| Age | 34 |
| Zodiac Sign | Gemini |
| Aliases | None |
| Place of Birth | Waco, TX, USA |
| Current Location | New York City, NY, USA |
| Occupation | Political aide (working for Nathan Petrelli) |
| Known Relatives | Michael (father), Julie (mother), Michelle (sister) |
| Significant Other | Working on it… |
| Known Abilities | Tychokinesis |
| First Appearance | The Lost Cat |
Born in Texas, started his career in Louisiana, recently moved to New York. He's a lucky guy, depending on who you ask.
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Table of Contents
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History
Suppress one sense, so the old adage goes, and the others become sharper. Deny an appetite and it grows. So what happens to a would-be people person trapped in a suburban backwater?
Growing up in the outskirts of Waco, Texas, George made the best of it while he could. Personable, intelligent, keeping company in high school with his fellow honor students but still trying to connect with those who were just marking time; ambitious but patient, having seen a few too many people burn out early.
After a handful of summer jobs - computer filing, cold-calling, stocking shelves - he was accepted at nearby Baylor University, planning to finish out a political science degree there before moving on. That all changed when the Branch Davidian siege went down, midway through his sophomore year; he became certain, though he couldn't yet tell you exactly why, that the need to leave had become imminent.
He transferred to Tulane in New Orleans for his last two years, then hired on with a venture capital firm, learning the real ropes of the business world while helping organize publicity events for the firm's charitable arm, working in conjunction with St. Vincent de Paul and the like. Now he's come to New York to pursue his original field of interest, starting by getting a foot in the door with Nathan Petrelli's senatorial campaign: a controversial move, but there's no denying that that's where the action is around here.
All that, he'll freely share if asked; he has none of the conventional skeletons in his closet. What he doesn't mention, for fear of being tagged a Kool-Aid cultist and blowing his emerging career all to hell, is his relatively newfound ability to pull at the strings of fate, to literally make certain things go his way - dangerous if misused, but too useful to avoid entirely. After all, his particular Certain Things are going to be the big ones.
Timeline
- June 2007:
- Knowingly encounters fellow Evolved (Portia and Kitty) for the first time since coming to New York. Also meets McAlister for the first time. (Invisible Pizza)
- July 2007: In which the city is crime-ridden
- Runs into McAlister again, this time on the tail end of a mugging, and helps Erin get her back to her place to recover. (Den of Thieves)
- The darkest event of the month is followed in short order by the most surreal. (Hell Train, Simply An Accident)
- Meets Aileen. They hit it off well. On the way out, violence is attempted once again, but for once he's able to thwart it. (Drinks and Darts) This brings them closer still, for a short time (Bonding and Breakfast), and might have continued to do so if someone else hadn't already wormed their way into his subconscious. Later on, she fills him in on the basics of Activating Evolution, which seems to be awfully popular in some circles.
- Yet another would-be thief is frustrated by multiple witnesses and a vehicular near miss. (A Thief, a Cab, and a Stratus)
- A man falls to his death. (Thirty Minutes or Less)
- A woman tries to steal a cell phone in Central Park. Later on, she runs across some of the witnesses at a bar, and becomes a victim herself. (I Told You New York Had Some Odd People In It, Rightfully Accused)
- A profound trust is shared. (Goin' Down?)
- August 2007:
- The cell phone thief shows up for an impromptu bout of soccer at Central Park. This goes exactly as well as you'd expect. (Exhaustion)
- Convinces Ali to try jogging. They promptly overdo it. (Watch Out For That--)
- Goes shopping for a bit of artwork to spruce up the apartment. Meets Missy, who's shopping for an apartment. (I Have an Annoying Cousin)
- September 2007:
- A nearby apartment complex burns down. A couple of bystanders are insanely brave and go haul people out of it. George is sorta insanely brave and helps prevent it from spreading very far through his own high-rise. (Lucky Stars)
- Gets caught in a road accident involving a shared cab. (Taxi Damages Local Church, News At 11)
- Leads a band of corporate pirates in a hostile acquisition. Having watched Mardi Gras in New Orleans, he does have some sense of epic. (Talk Like a Pirate Rave)
- November 2007:
- Puts his foot in his mouth in Ophelia's eyes while discussing the Brawlers HQ. (Spreading the Word)
Relationships
Abilities
George can create good and/or bad luck for himself and those around him. He can't change what things are possible, only how probable they are. He also can't change things too drastically without incurring some sort of opposing effect, possibly an even greater one - and even if nothing else bad happens, there's always the risk that someone will figure out what's going on.
- Minor Boon. On a roll of Good or better, something moderately advantageous and moderately likely happens to George, with no significant harmful effects to go along with it.
- Minor Bane. On a roll of Great or beter, something moderately disadvantageous and moderately likely happens to someone else, with no significant helpful effects to go along with it.
- Karma Loan. On a roll of Good or better, something significantly advantageous and possibly rather unlikely happens to George, but something almost as equally disadvantageous happens to him later.
- Karma Deposit. Sometimes you want to get the lumps out of the way ahead of time. On a roll of Good or better, something bad happens to George now, but something good happens to him later to make up for it.
- Helping Hand. Whether by removing obstacles and distractions, or simply helping someone to find their own groove, George can boost someone else's roll by one level at Great, two levels at Fantastic. Attempting to target another Evolved ability in this way invariably incurs significant backlash in the very near future.
- Twice Is Coincidence. When you spend enough time messing with fate, sometimes you wind up doing it unintentionally. This one only requires Average or better, and causes something unusual but not necessarily helpful to happen, like two people reaching for something at the same time.
Personality
The trouble with growing up in an inward-looking small town is that, while he wants to be a people person, he got a late start on actually doing it. When it comes to dealing with people outside his own demographic, he's not awkward, but he does have to work at it. Similarly, he's made some major dating mistakes in the past, and is still working to get a handle on things.
Quotes
- "You can't take a subway car to Miami!"
- "Well, it depends what they were doing with the rope."
- "And what's a gimlet, anyway? Sounds like something you'd use to pry open an engine block."
- "Watch the rock!"
- "Hey, since when does New York have barbeque?"
Trivia
- Is not:
- Has a light Southern accent, but does a good job playing it heavier for comic effect.
- Does not deal well with needles. (Vaso-vagal trypanophobia.) Use some nitrous first, please.
- Personally identifies as a Blue Dog Democrat.
- Fluent in shorthand.