Dressed up like a million dollar trouper... Super duper.

[thewalkin_dude]

It's Randall Flagg's last rally before election day, which keeps getting pushed back for various reasons. The CLF has taken out vital political people. It's all working into Flagg's ultimate plan, however. He is still on the hunt for someone. It's not clear to him who she is yet, but he will know her when he sees her

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[ohsogrounded]

Amber's been spending too much time doing nothing. She's been more or less homeschooling herself, trying to get caught up on everything she's missed so she can go to a real school for her senior year. Real school, real graduation... It's an exciting thought. And then comes college... It's not big or important like some of the things other people are doing, but it's what she has. She doesn't know how to fight the CLF, doesn't know how to help her friends... And that's why she's here.

Because Mr. Flagg says things that make sense. He's talking about peaceful solutions, and even if she can't keep anyone safe, she can at least support someone who will. No, she's not old enough to vote, but she doesn't have to be in order to help out. If there's someone there she can talk to about volunteering before the election, that'll be enough. She can wave signs, photocopy flyers, make phone calls -- you don't have to be old enough to vote to do any of that. And the last few days before an election can still be important, right

[thewalkin_dude]

Flagg noticed her through the crowded street, and it was love at first sight. A pretty, little virgin. This time there was no chance of a near miss like there had been with Nadine. This girl didn't seem to be interested in that at all. He would change that. It doesn't seem to matter that the last time he tried this it ended with his 'wife' stepping off the balcony to her death.

If at first you don't succeed, try, try, again.

He did not walk over to her immediately. Flagg made his way through the crowd, shaking every hand outstretched toward him and answering any question. He was collected and charming. Never without a smile and a witty word to keep them laughing in these dark times.

And then only a few people separate them. He steps in front of her, and it's as if she's the only person on the street.

Baby."Thank you for coming out to the rally today, for showing me your support." Flagg stretches his hand out his hand to her, with that charming, ever present smile. "It's always a real joy to see young people get involved in

[ohsogrounded]

God, his eyes are... Wow.

Amber shakes his hand, trying not to look too nervous, and when he she touches him, it's like...

It's like there's no one else. No one else in all the world. Just him.

She doesn't even register the attraction as sexual in any way... She can appreciate a cute guy with the best of them, but she's never really been interested in sex. And it's not that she's gay, either... She thought she might be, but pretty girls are just... pretty. So whatever's drawing her to Flagg is just brushed off as a natural reaction to a politician she can really believe in.

After a moment, she realizes that he's talking to her, and she should probably say something.

"Um. Yeah. I just... I want to help. Is there someone I can talk to, to volunteer?" She doesn't want to take up any more of his time than she has to, but if he can just tell her who to talk to, she'll totally get out of his hair.

...She should probably let go of his hand, too. Yeah. She pulls away, smiling sheepishly, and oh God, he probably thinks she's just some

[thewalkin_dude]

He actually thinks he likes the way her lips move when she smiles like that. Flagg will enjoy every part of her. His pretty, little virgin.

He's a righteous man. Baby, can you dig-

"Volunteering? You're really getting involved, aren't you?" Flagg winks, smiling down at her. It would be impossible for anyone to tell, but his gaze swings down further to get a good look at her hips. He has to make certain her body can bear the burden. "Of course, there is. Here, let me point you in the right direction."

Flagg turns and places his hand against her back, pointing in the direction of a blond woman standing some distance away. She notices him pointing and waves. He nods in her direction.

"That is Susan Cross. The best volunteer manager a candidate could ask for. She'll get you all taken care of." He slides his hand away, again, with such stealth to make it hard to tell if it had been there at all, or if it wasn't just imagined in the heat of the moment.

He wants to twist her around his finger and never let go. She is it. He can feel

[cyfor]

Cy is watching Randall move down the line, human again for the first time since she went with Adam. She's wearing her trench coat, of course, which someone was kind enough to clean--but she herself is dirt-smutched, thin, tangled-haired and very wary. She knows more about him than the ever wanted to. She knows where he's going, what he's looking for, and has seen--for once with absolute clarity, or as near absolute clarity as these things ever get--how it ends for him, and what comes after.

Why she's here, she's not even sure. But she is. And not because she has to be--she needs to be. She's two steps shy of being broken again, and two steps shy of being free.

[thewalkin_dude]

Flagg knows Cy, too. He knows of her, at the very least, from Adam. He's the devil so maybe he even knows that she knows.

Despite all of this, he doesn't feel threatened by her. He has lived practically forever. He has survived everything any world has thrown at him, and he is indestructible in his mind.

"You came," is all he says like he wasn't surprised, like he wanted her to and maybe he did. All the while he's smiling wide, with perfect, white teeth that promise death and destruction.

[cyfor]

She's not the sort of cat--or the sort of person--who refuses to admit that they're afraid. When she looks up at him, he scares her. Scares her like the Alchemist scared her, and she wishes Des or Harry or Daniel or someone who makes her feel safe like Tag was there. But she doesn't want him to see them, to know them.

Cy makes a quiet, nervous sound, somewhere between a chirp and a whimper. "You're going to die," she says. Very, very quietly, in a tone of complete seriousness. No cryptic mumbles, no alliterative riddles. It's some kind of quiet defiance. "Die, die, die."

[thewalkin_dude]

Flagg's smile shifts into something different. It's her fear that he enjoys, that could sustain him. Chaos and fear. It's the scent in the air that only the two of them can smell.

He doesn't believe her. It almost makes him laugh hearing her say it as if it could frighten it. If the nuke couldn't do it, nothing can. Even if he is 'killed' here, he will come back some place else.

"It's good to see you, too," he says as the smile on his face shifts back into political-charming even if the darkness doesn't quite leave his eyes yet. "Did you bring any friends with you today?"

[teenaged_twin]

Gabe had been out posting a few more Johnny Nemo fliers when he wound up in the right place to catch the last five or so minutes of the rally. Cheered him up a bit, actually. Which is why when he gets accidentally pushed into colliding with the guy who just got a handshake, his reaction is along the lines of:

"Oops. Sorry, man." Followed by a look and a grin. "Looking to redefine the phrase 'bumper sticker' there?"

If the attempt at humor doesn't convince you he's a (somewhat) okay guy, consider this - would a member of the CLF really be wearing a tshirt that says Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups?

[sensi_doctor]

JD blinks. He's still not altogether here, but someone's talking to him! He likes people talking to him. JD isn't even worried about the CLF at the moment. It doesn't occur to them that they would even be around.

"Hm? Yeah. Well. I don't have a car so I figure this is the next best option. Plus my ass is awesome. So any time the ladies go to check it out, they'll know that I think they should vote for Flagg!"

He smiles.

[duology]

Dev didn't really intend to go to the rally. He didn't know it was happening, for one, and he wasn't even in the general vicinity an hour ago. Somehow his feet took him here. He likes to wander, sure, but this is a little different. A bug drawn to the sparkling blue light.

But he's here now, watching from a distance, half because he's genuinely curious about this Flagg person, half because he feels that he should be here. That he should trust Flagg. This is far beyond Absinthe's charm and charisma. Flagg has...something else.

"Psychic attack," he mutters under his breath as he watches Flagg shake hands. "It really is a psychic attack, huh?"

{We should go. Dev. We should go.}

"Mm. Should go. Run, rabbit, run."

It's strange. This is the first time in a long time that Dev has been afraid.

[thewalkin_dude]

Flagg gets to their area and stops in front of Dev. He can sense fear. He loves the fear. Flagg knows too much in a matter of moments, but none of that knowledge appears on his face.

He is the devil after all, and the devil is many things, including a great actor and seducer.

I can give you everything you want.

Flagg stretches his hand out to Dev and smiles. "Thank you for coming out to the rally today. I appreciate your support."

[duology]

Dev feels himself smile, feels himself shake Flagg's, as if he is suddenly watching himself from a great distance. A spectator, like when Ace takes the reins only much farther.

"Mr. Flagg," he says.

He can feel it now. He's cracking, splitting down the middle like a coconut, and all at once he wants to put his whole life in Flagg's hands, wants to cut Flagg's throat right here and now and see it, see it, wants to trust him, and still Absinthe in the back of his mind, Absinthe's grin, Absinthe's rules, "trust no one, trust no one, trust no one."

Ace, in the back, is only getting part of the psychic attack, enough that she is figuratively keeping her head. She's fighting to get through it, get past the layers of influence, thick as molasses, to reach her Other. No way is she letting this happen. No way is she letting Dev shatter. Not now, not ever.

{Fuck it,} she finally says, and gives Dev a mental slap to the face

[thewalkin_dude]

"They will be," Flagg says, only loud enough for Dev (and in turn Ace) to hear. They'll be very interesting.

The majority of the humans support him, the votes support him. He's not really worried about what he says, because the fear surely comes from something.

He might as well enjoy it.