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The Park, Most of Sunday

Had the carnival changed? Retreated? No, but perhaps it had filled up even worse over the past twenty-four hours or so.

The look on that mustached man's face certainly exuded a certain amount of triumph as the lights went on again early on Sunday morning. He stabbed the ground with his cane and watched; if experience counted for anything, then there would be yet more pouring into his carnival today.

The feeding was good, here.

That scent of cotton candy rolled over the island once more, and the carnival's music touched what it could not.

It's a new day, Fandom. Come, enjoy it.

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Great. A firebreather. The symbiote had two weaknesses and there was a guy who could actually breathe one of them.

Still, this kind of danger was something Flash wasn't ready to let other people handle.

"So, you breathe fire?" Flash asked as he approached. Get him talking and send a tendril across the floor to sneak up on the guy for a sneak attack hug if necessary. That should work, right?

[OOC: Just about to take off. I should be home in about an hour. I just wanted to ping in and get started.]

"As advertised on the tin," Jonothon replied, smirking and exhaling a small puff of flame by way of demonstration. "None of this 'spitting ethanol onto a torch' nonsense, either. What you see in this carnival is authentic, mate."

Didn't that make you feel so much better about your life choices, Flash?

[OOC: No worries! I'll be here all day!]

"Is it dangerous?" Flash asked, stepping closer cautiously as the tendril worked its way deeper into the dark corner. "To spectators, I mean."

"Exceptionally," Jonothon replied, tilting his head curiously at the man who was approaching. "Fire is fire, after all. Were you hoping for a demonstration?"

Because that could be arranged.

The tendril continued to go unnoticed. Black symbiote against black stage floor in the dark wasn't exactly the most visible combination.

"Not really. I was really hoping to avoid one, actually," Flash said. The tendril worked its way into position right behind Jono, ready to strike. "It's National Hug Day, and I just wanted to do my part to spread that around."

Good one, Thompson. That was probably a thing a psychotic carnie might go for, right? Yeah, probably not, but it was worth a shot on 1st and 10.

Jono's eyebrow twitched up a little at that. Really?

"Are you bloody serious, mate?" He shook his head and laughed, wisps of fire curling up from his lips with every exhale. "You must think I was born yesterday if you figure something like that is going to work."

Well, he hadn't been born yesterday. But he'd certainly come into his own as a murderous firebreathing carnie sometime around then. That had to almost count.

"I just wanted to try to keep things from getting out of hand," Flash said. "But I have to insist on the hug. You're getting one whether you want one or not."

"That so? And you and which army, exactly, is going to make me?"

Jonothon was pulling in a deep breath, then. The exhale was probably not going to be pretty.

Well. Unless you were into that sort of thing, Cheryl.

Flash raised a fist and fired a web at Jono's mouth, figuring that might cause a backfire, so to speak. And just in case it didn't, the tendril behind Jono sprung forward, aiming a punch to the back of his head. All at the same time, Venom's mask formed over Flash's face as he charged in a zig zag pattern.

"They send Agent Venom in when an army is too messy!" Venom taunted.

Jono's hands flew to his face as the web hit, sealing his mouth shut, and the intended exhale came as twin gouts of flame from his nostrils instead. The punch to the back of his head had him stumbling forward, barely managing to catch himself before looking up with narrowed eyes at the man who was incoming, fast.

//Was that a quip? Are you quipping at me?//

Yes, Jonothon was going to be incredulous and cranky telepathically now, since his mouth was otherwise occupied. He was also going to attempt to dodge to the side himself, though he still hadn't entirely managed to find his footing again. Everything was still a little shaky, after that blow to the head.

Flash dove past the nose-fire in an attempt to tackle-hug Jono, using the symbiote to try to wrap him up even tighter. "I know I'm not the most clever jokester, but I get points for trying!"

//That's up for debate, mate,// Jono shot back, attempting to writhe free. It was difficult to pull in a deep breath now, with his mouth covered and arms and tendrils all wrapping him up tight, but that wasn't going to stop him from making the attempt. //Stop it! Let me go, you bloody-- There, we've hugged, this is all very touching, now could you please... please, just...//

He strained against Flash's arms, eyes narrowed, for a moment more, and then seemed to slump a little into the hug, little glowing spiderweb cracks appearing in what was still exposed of the bottom of his face and chest.

//Just... stop...? Don't take me from this, I belong here.//

"Sorry, buddy," Venom said, holding on tight. "But this carnival isn't doing you or anyone else any good. I'm just here to help you out and maybe make things awkward the next time we see each other at the Perk or something."

//The Perk? I don't--// He didn't what? Didn't remember any place called that? That wasn't right. He did, didn't he?

Pieces of Jonothon were drifting away then, ashes floating free from where the cracks had started to form. There was something about the Perk, something that was right on the tip of his tongue.

Psionic flame curled up to frame his face, burning bright, but not at all hot. His eyes flared white, threw off a few sparks, and then faded to a normal chestnut brown.

//-don't... go there. I don't have any reason to go to a coffee shop.//

"Well, that's different," Venom said as the changes became apparent. The symbiote retreated away from the flame, leaving Flash's bare arms holding Jono by the waist. "You still think you're part of a psycho carnival, buddy?"

Jono was silent for a moment, and still as the grave. No chest meant no lungs meant no breathing, and all of the fight was out of him now. There was just fire, and... a Spider of some sort clinging to him, he had no bloody clue these days which was which.

He closed his eyes, and finally shook his head a little.

//I run the record shop,// he managed. //Here on the island. I'm actually not terribly inclined to let myself be paraded around as part of a sideshow. Not my idea of a great time. They broke into my head, didn't they?//

He wanted to be sick at the thought. Of course he couldn't.

"Pretty much," Venom said, letting go of the hug. The symbiotic mask slid down to reveal Flash's face as he started to get up, then he held a hand out to help Jono up. "It feels like they got about half the town wrapped up in this. And the cure is hugs, believe it or not."

Jono stared quietly at the offered hand for a moment before nodding and reluctantly taking it, pulling himself back to his feet.

//Hugs,// he echoed. //Of course it is. Around here, I really shouldn't even be surprised.//

He didn't sound too shocked, at least. Mostly just tired.

"Really? Then I think I'll be surprised enough for the both of us," Flash said. "The important thing is that we seem to be getting things under control. If you're up for hug duty, there's plenty more people who could use one, but you should be able to rest if you think you could use it." Judging by his voice. His psionic voice. That was weird. How did thoughts sound so tired?

Thoughts and emotions all wrapped up into one tended to do that. Especially since Jono was feeling more emotionally wrung-out than anything. He nodded a little.

//I'll take a look around for anybody in desperate need of one. No sense taking off at a run if there are still people not in their right minds.// His psionic voice was about to sound a little shamefaced, in fact, as he added, //Thank you.//

For the, you know, hugging. And such.

"Comes with the job. Not often, but every once in a while," Flash said as the mask came back over his face. "Give a yell if you need anything else. Otherwise, I've apparently got more people to hug." He lifted a fist and shot a web at a nearly rooftop. There were more people to find. More hugs to give. WTF.

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The Park, Most of Sunday

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