The Park, Sunday Evening

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As dusk approached, the carnival began to thin out. Acts vanished. Music died down.

Mr. Dark peered through the folds of his tent and frowned. This was not working according to his intentions. Perhaps... perhaps he should confront some of these Fandom folk in person.

[[ finale time! use this space for your remaining huggings, as well as all the finale-y bits. wait for the ocd... ]]

Comments

Around the Carnival

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Some acts had not yet been saved. They required... attention.

[[ catch-all ocd for any remaining huggings! feel free to play them out or link 'em here. ]]

Re: Around the Carnival

[nookiepowered]

In the Temple of Temptation, there was only one dancer left -- the others had succumbed to embraces from locals quickly enough, wandering off toward the causeway afterward, dazed but regaining their memory of self with every jingly, completely unmusical step.

Hugging the girl with the glowy eyes who could control you into dancing yourself -- and then dancing right out of the tent, sorry Tiny, hope nobody got that on video -- the moment you touched her bare skin? That had proven to be a problem for most.

Re: Around the Carnival

[fjordicswagger]

Tamsin hadn't wanted to come here. Or do anything about the crazy... whatever was going on here. That was other people's headache - she just did her job.

Except she noticed this thing - the thing where more and more people were leaving the carnival, and yet there was no trace of a certain succubus. "Oh, fuck me," she muttered, when the sun finally started to set.

She pushed aside the flaps of the tent and stepped into the Temple of Temptation. It was a lot quieter than last time she was here.

Her hand drifted to her gun.

Re: Around the Carnival

[nookiepowered]

"I knew you'd come back." Ching-ching-a-boom from the coins. "They always come back."

The second Bo was herself, she was gargling with Lysol or possibly All-Temperature Cheer, just to get the taste of this dialogue out of her mouth.

The Ringleaders

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Not everyone part of the carnival was a former student. There were others, too...

The Bearded Lady

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She had been watching for a long time, but now no one new came to sample her wares. The bearded lady frowned.

She grabbed a few sticks remaining from her cotton candy. She would defend herself.

[[ for those who know who they are! ]]

Re: The Bearded Lady

[bigdamnprincipal]

This was not at all how Zoe wanted to spend her Sunday, in case anyone was wondering. As tempting as it was to just shoot the weird bearded lady, hugging seemed to be the key to the day. When she was done, she had some bruises and smelled faintly of cotton candy, but the bearded lady was back to... well, as normal as she could be under the circumstances. Zoe promised to get her back home safely, wherever home might end up being, and considered her hug quota for the rest of the month used up.

The Fortune Teller

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But the fortune teller hadn't moved from her tent. She would wait here. New victims could be created, after all. The future was undecided.

[[ for those who know who they are! ]]

Re: The Fortune Teller

[kenselvren]

Jalian had been listening to the local radio since Jono had given her the small music computer; after all the news about this "carnival", whatever that was, she had decided to come and see what it was about.

With all her knives. She wasn't stupid.

She heard the woman yelling about hugs, and...well, she supposed that a full-body hold was at least good at keeping them out of the way, even if it didn't work. This place was very strange.

This woman here seemed a likely candidate. It was better than hugging a male, anyway. So she was cautiously stalking her.

The Shooting Gallery Booth

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The last of them was a confrontational sort. He snagged the rifle from his own booth and began loading it. No one would make it past his booth.

[[ for those who know who they are! ]]

Re: The Shooting Gallery Booth

[trigons_child]

Hugging was the solution? Ironically, ordinarily Raven would've been all over it. But she hadn't managed to fully control her anger yet, so she still more than a little agitated as she stalked through the carnival, part of her a lot more inclined to violence rather than her usual methods of trying to defuse a situation.

She was looking for Jono, of course, or any other Fandom resident who had been taken in by the carnival. But when she passed the shooting gallery and saw the man loading his rifle there, she wasn't about to leave that threat ignored.

"Hello," she said, trying to appear non-threatening as she approached (despite the red in her eyes). "You seem upset. Are you expecting trouble?"

The Finale

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.

Meeting Mr. Dark

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Mr. Dark	Just off the general carnival grounds stood a tent. A small tent-- an elegant tent. It was blue and white and held a small plaque just above the entrance that simply read Manager. It had gone undisturbed all weekend. But now-- now the fabric by the door moved aside, and a man with a not-insignificant mustache stepped outside. "Ah, welcome, welcome!"
Aeryn	Aeryn reacted to welcoming maybe differently than other people, and she outright aimed a pulse pistol at him, because of course she did. Hello!
Eliot	Eliot eyed the pulse pistol distastefully -- ray guns? Really, Fandom? -- but didn't comment on it as he took up a supporting stance to one side of Aeryn and folded his arms over his chest. "This your sideshow, then?"
Rikku	"Can you give us our people back?" Rikku asked, her arms folded. "Because I'm not sure if you've noticed, but, like, your place is kind of making everyone into sicko zombie-types."
Navaan	"And your carnival sucks," Navaan added, unimpressed. "Where's all the sex? The swearing? The random drugs? I mean the acts with the attempted murder are okay, but the rest of it is really boring."
Mr. Dark	A rifle? How quaint. Mr. Dark did not shift from where he was standing. "Why would I give anyone back?" he said. "They dream grand dreams now, and we find succor in them - not in base pleasures."
Aeryn	"You'd give them back because we're asking nicely," said the woman who still had her gun pointed.
Eliot	"Also because I'm pretty sure that this woman really wants to shoot you," Eliot noted. "It's possibly her 'grand dream'."
Aeryn	Aeryn shrugged one shoulder. "It would at least improve my day."

Re: Meeting Mr. Dark

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Navaan	"Make her shoot you!" Navaan urged. "They said that if shooting you didn't work, I could try next! And I know all about how to get secrets!" Okay, so it was possible that they hadn't agreed on any such thing. So?
Rikku	"Okay, let's not shoot anybody until we know for sure if that's, like, gonna make this permanent," Rikku said. "But you keep pushing me, Mister, and I'm totally gonna let her do it." Yes. Because Rikku was entirely what was keeping Aeryn from shooting him, right now.
Mr. Dark	"Your weapons have no hold on me or my realm," Mr. Dark said. Funny. His expression hadn't changed at all through the would-be threatening. He gestured with his arm, stretching it out, revealing several tattoos. They were almost... were they shifting? Behind him, shadows glommed together, twisting themselves into familiar shape. "What is the rhyme? Ah, yes. Lions and tigers and bears-- oh my."
Aeryn	"Of course he's doing something," Aeryn sighed. She was tempted to shoot him just for that, whether it did any good or not. Shooting made her feel better.
Eliot	"That didn't even rhyme." Someone had to point out the obvious, okay? "Maybe I should just punch him." That was unfortunately not part of the plan.
Navaan	"How come nobody wants to use my idea?" Navaan complained. "There's a convenient tent there any everything." She could add 'sexy clown' to her repertoire!

ATTACK!

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They crept from every shadow and every crevice. Wooden animals with very-real claws and teeth, stepping up to defend their master.

They roared. They charged.

None would touch Mr. Dark.

Re: ATTACK!

[vdistinctive]

Oh great, wooden animals again. Eliot didn't miss the wooden animals. That was why he'd generally avoided this place all day yesterday.

Ah well. He'd just have to collect him some more wooden teeth.

Re: ATTACK!

[imnotgoodatnice.livejournal.com]

Yay, something to shoot!

Aeryn didn't really care about that 'you can't shoot me' thing, because she totally tried shooting at the animals anyway.

Re: ATTACK!

[doesdoctorstuff.livejournal.com]

"You're a trap!"

Navaan was more a lover than a fighter. But that didn't mean that she couldn't fight. In fact, she enjoyed it. Just not as much as sex.

But since there were things coming at her that looked like they'd rather chew off her face than offer a hug, Navaan knew it was time to fight.

As the sun vanished below the horizon, so did every trace of Navaan's cheerful, bubbly personality. What remained was something much closer to the vampires of the darker tales. Leaping up into the air, she landed in a clear spot. "C'mon!" she challenged.

And Then...

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Mr. Dark	"How could this be?!" Mr. Dark had been so certain his minions would do their work - but not so, after all. Now the tent was at his back, its entrance several feet away... and as he backed up further, a tentpole pressed into his back. He pulled out a cane. "Stay back!"
Aeryn	Aeryn reminded herself that she'd done worse than this, and that she'd never backed away from anything that scared her. This was an enemy, and you had to do whatever necessary to defeat him. So with a cry, Aeryn ran at him... and hugged him as aggressively as possible.
Eliot	Eliot honestly hadn't really believed it was actually going to come down to this. The "hug him into submission" plan was just not typically in his wheelhouse. And yet, here they were. Hugging. "There's something wrong with this island," he grumbled. But, yes, he hugged, too. It was one of those half-hearted, arched back, looking like you smelled sour farts kind of hugs, but it was a hug. Dammit.
Rikku	"It's go time!" Rikku shouted, doing a happy wriggle. She'd never defeated an enemy by hugging it into submission. This was so freaking cool. She was going to tackleglomp Dark. And anyone near Dark, also attempting to hug Dark. Group hugs, okay?
Navaan	"You know what would help?" Navaan asked, wrapping his arms around Dark's back and snuggling close. "If we took our clothes off. Think of how much better he'd be with a naked hug!" And if they ended up doing something like a front crunt-knockling, he'd probably end up a saint.
Mr. Dark	Mr. Dark flailed his cane around ineffectively, trapped as it was under Rikku's arm and Navaan's-- he wasn't certain he wanted to know what of Navaan's it was trapped under. "Tasteless!" he shouted. "Tasteless!" But their firm grasp had rendered him immobile. "Creatures!" Surely there were some still waiting at his beck and call?
Aeryn	"Shut up and be hugged!" Aeryn ordered. This wasn't fun for any of them! Maybe Navaan. It was probably fun for Navaan.
Eliot	Eliot craned his head a bit while still throttling hugging Mr. Dark. If any creatures showed up, he was reasonably certain he could kick the crap out of them without actually stopping the hugging. "How long is this damned thing supposed to take?" He would be perfectly happy hugging about three of the four other people in this group. Mr. Dark was not one of those three.
Navaan	"Telling you, it's not gonna work unless we're naked." Navaan seemed adamant on this point. "Eliot, you can go first."

Re: And Then...

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Rikku	"Nudity is not really part of hugs," Rikku insisted with a chirp. "I mean, those are different kind of hugs, like the let's-have-an-orgy kind? These are wholesome, good, I-want-you-to-feel-better-so-you-stop-making-our-friends-into-weirdo-carnival-zombies hugs." Common type.
Mr. Dark	Mr. Dark seemed unconcerned with their argument. In fact, he seemed unconcerned with everything and anything. He had stilled in their grasp, and even his mouth was no longer spewing high-minded commentary. His eyes dulled and his body began to slump - like a puppet that had its strings cut. His hat tumbled onto the grass. Somebody chuckled, but who?
Aeryn	"I heard someone. Do we have to hug them too?" If Aeryn sounded like that was the last thing in the world that she wanted, well. It was up there.
Eliot	"I am not hugging anyone else," Eliot said. "Except maybe Navaan." He paused his keeping an eye out to shoot her a smile. "We can try the naked hug later."
Navaan	Oh, Navaan was only too happy to return that smile with a flirtatious grin of her own. He didn't mind fangs, right? "Look, whoever's out there laughing needs to come out and get hugged already!" she yelled. "I have plans for the evening!" Yeah, yeah, possessed students and coworkers was all important and everything, but now flang was on the line!
Rikku	"Okay, time for phase two or whatever stupid thing you're doing!" Rikku called out. "Because you can't just die, you have to suddenly grow six extra wings and regenerate all your health and attack all over again, like every OTHER stupid boss!"
Mr. Dark	"Now, now, must we be so insulting, when we've had such a marvelous time?" The voice flowing from Mr. Dark's mouth was most definitely not Mr. Dark's - and neither was the look on his face when he lifted his head again. "I do love coming back here," he said. "You're all so very entertaining."
Rikku	"Oh, great, it's the 'evil boss is secretly a different evil boss' thing instead," Rikku sighed. "I was wrong, you guys. Totally shoot him."

OOC

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Top thread's for everyone, middle thread's for a specific few, and the last one is for our finale team. Have fun!

Re: OOC

[demonbelthazor]

Oh, I see, it's Anakin's fault AGAIN.

Re: OOC

[sith_happened]

SHUT UP OKAY.

Re: OOC

[wildandbrave]

HOLY BDE CONTINUITY. STANDING FUCKING OVATION, YOU GUYS.

Re: OOC

[regretiz4suckas.livejournal.com]

Waaaaaait seriously? SERIOUSLY? Ahahahahah!