Free Hugs, anyone~?

[voiceofserenity.livejournal.com]

Too much doom and gloom on the ship? Easily fixed, if you ask this mechanic.

There is a table in the mess hall, carefully set up just inside one of the doors, with a small sign on top reading, "Free Hugs!" Next to the sign, looking as smiley as she possibly can, sits Kaylee, ready to hug anyone and everyone who walks through the door.

Non-huggers beware, even you are in danger of some cheering up today.

Comments

[morphitudinous]

Being a man of words, the first thing Billy notices inside the mess hall is a sign. A sign that reads "Free Hugs".

Free...hugs? What's that about?

He stares at this sign for approximately twenty seconds before finding the person it most likely originated with. Kaylee, of course. Bright as ever---had she found some old friends in the pod release? Befriended someone new?

"What brought this on?"

[voiceofserenity.livejournal.com]

It's hard not to be entertained by Billy's reaction to the sign. Kaylee gives him the time to stare, grinning bright the entire time.

"Figured people could use a little pick-me-up, what with all that's been goin'."

[governorkang]

Another day, another training session over. It wasn't just the students who were walking away sore, but the instructors as well; during the hand-to-hand portion, one of them had managed to flip him onto his back so hard that if he didn't have scales, there would have been a bruise visible.

...free hugs?

Oh. Of course it was Kaylee. That girl was certainly something else.

"Why am I not surprised?"

[voiceofserenity.livejournal.com]

Kang looked just as worn as some of the other folks she had seen pass through.

"Should you be?" she laughed, bouncing off the chair. "Crew needed some hugs, and since most folks don't like askin' for 'em, I figured I'd just give 'em out."

[changelingdude.livejournal.com]

Beastboy was doing his best to remain upbeat...difficult when he kept running into people who were lamenting over blown up worlds.

Don't misunderstand he was sad at the idea that his world was gone...but he was holding out hope that it could be restored.

In the meantime he was looking for that slop that Robin had mentioned to him and...oh free hugs!

Cute girl!

Score!

The green skinned pointy eared hero trotted over to the table, "I'll trade you a hug for a hug?" He offered putting on a flirty tone.

[voiceofserenity.livejournal.com]

The slop was another reason the Mess Hall was a good place to station the Free Hugs stand. People were depressed enough about worlds and memories, but the food? The food could break your heart completely.

She was grateful enough for the friendly--if flirty--tone, and smiled back to the approaching teen. "I think that's a trade I can agree with."

And cue open arms.

[starlightace]

Nanoha can't help but giggle at the sign. "I can't believe neither of us thought of this sooner. That's a great idea, Kaylee!"

[voiceofserenity.livejournal.com]

"Kinda regret not thinkin' it up before now," Kaylee agrees. "Might just end up makin' it a monthly thing. Biweekly, even."

[is-the-ultimate.livejournal.com]

Shadow stopped and noticed the sign. Free hugs?

Then he noticed Kaylee sitting there.

And he blinked. He should probably run right now.

[voiceofserenity.livejournal.com]

Kaylee wasn't going to force anyone into a hug, really, but she also wasn't about to let anyone just pass by without at least a chance to feel better.

"If you like, I could just give ya an encouragin' word instead of a hug."

[i-saw-myself.livejournal.com]

"I have," said a young man walking by her table and stopping, "no idea who you are, but this food alone is enough that I almost want to take you up on your offer, because I think I need a hug. It's bland and tasteless--well, okay, it's not really that different than the food back home, in that case, but--"

Off subject off subject, he's been doing that a lot since he got here.

"Anyway, what's with the hug thing?"

The young Viking looked mildly confused and very amused by it. Vikings don't usually advertise, you know, hugs. Or hug anyone...ever. Broish hand-clasping is more the in-thing.

And while he didn't have the horned helmet thing going on, Kaylee would likely be able to tell he was from some time long, long ago, what with the fur vest and the peg leg that would likely make the engineer in her cringe.

[voiceofserenity.livejournal.com]

Daily complaint about the food? Check.

"Take it you just popped, yeah? Been here some amount of months now myself, and it makes me a little sad to say that it don't get better with time." Kaylee grinned, and settled a little more on the bench, eying the peg leg all the while. "You make that yourself?"

Ah, the hugs. "The hugs are for anybody wantin' 'em. Place needed a bit of sunshine, y'know? Folks've been on the down side lately, and a hug or two never hurt anybody."

Food for the Soul...If You Have One.

[bluebrassmonkey.livejournal.com]

The oddity had actually come to the Mess Hall to obtain another sample of...what he calls Stacygoop. Why? Simply put, he uses it in every one of his cooking enterprises. Good food is one thing but good-for-you food just makes it that much better in his mind.

Thus, the oddity crawls in as yet unaware of the "Free Hug" thing and...well, Billy, be glad he has not picked your scent out yet.

Who really knows...

[voiceofserenity.livejournal.com]

Kaylee's sitting quite peacefully at the table now, stirring around a bowl of her own goop between hugs. Her head goes up as the little guy passes by, though.

"How's it goin', Renne? Been stayin' outta trouble?"

[angel-ofthe.livejournal.com]

Castiel ... well, he's hung-over. So hung-over he might still be drunk. After their marathon drinking session, he'd passed out at Dean's quarters last night. But Cas is not used to sleeping, so he woke up long before Dean did, and now he's stumbling around, looking for something to assuage the pounding in his head.

He stumbles into the mess hall, stopping to squint blearily at Kaylee's sign. "Free ... hugs?"

[voiceofserenity.livejournal.com]

Ah, Kaylee knows that look quite well, and it takes all the self-control she has not to start laughing.

"For the purposes of cheerin' people up," she replies, offering up a bowl of slop to him. "Tastes like zao gao, but it might help with the after effects of you're little adventure last night."

[riseupnchargem.livejournal.com]

Jamie's wandering through the mess hall for his daily dose of slop when he spots the sign. Warily he flicks a glance at the person behind it, his expression somewhere between "what the hell" and "oh god oh god avoid eye contact."

[voiceofserenity.livejournal.com]

Another one not so sure about the idea of free hugs. Kaylee offers him a smile, and nods to the bench next to her. "If you ain't so keen on free hugs, I'd be happy to provide a lunch-time chat. If you're up for one, that is."

[bonnypiperlad]

Sign? What sign? Jamie doesn't even notice it, when he enters the mess hall. However, he does spot the redhead sitting next to it, and his face lights up in a very happy smile.

Granted, Kaylee has been known to have that effect on him before, but there's something extra in it today. The cheer patrol can take a well-deserved break, because it's not needed at the moment. Jamie is probably as happy - possibly happier - as he has been in a long, long time.

"Kaylee! He's awake!!!!" He knows she knows who he means. At least, he hopes she knows.

[voiceofserenity.livejournal.com]

Well, if Kaylee hadn't been happy before, the grin on Jamie's face would have been enough to put her in a good mood. It's nice to see him looking so cheerful and excited.

'Course, she's almost as excited for him as he is for the presence of the Doctor. "Jamie, there you are! Been tryin' to find you on and off since pop--met him myself, your Doctor! Right shiny gentleman!!"

[imperious_lex]

It was often that Lex dined with the rest of the crew. Almost never actually, with food stores running low, he had to make some sacrifices to stretch supplies.

Of course, upon seeing the sign, he couldn't help but smirk.

"Oh, come now," he said to Kaylee as he approached, "it can't be that hard for such a pretty girl to get a hug."

[voiceofserenity.livejournal.com]

Well, there was a face she hadn't seen in a few weeks (maybe it was weeks? Long enough).

Kaylee laughed in turn. "I dunno, some of our crew members are pretty stubborn when it comes to the idea of smilin' and huggin' somebody."

[metalbent.livejournal.com]

Toph scoffed as she passed the sign.

"Pff. I don't need a hug."

Rawr. She's such a manly man, Toph is.

[voiceofserenity.livejournal.com]

Kaylee shrugged from her bench, and offered Toph a smile as she passed. "Not everybody does. If you change your mind, though, I'll still be here."

[thirdeyeclosed.livejournal.com]

There's a girl standing next to your table, Kaylee, staring curiously at you and your sign.

"What're you doing?"

[voiceofserenity.livejournal.com]

And the mechanic just smiles. "Offerin' hugs to people, to make 'em feel better. A lot of people've been sad lately, so I wanna help cheer 'em up."

[greennotgold]

Wandering into the mess hall for lunch, Fletcher immediately sees Kaylee's table and its sign. "Free hugs?" he repeats, confused. Not that he minds hugs, mind you; it's just not something you see every day.

[voiceofserenity.livejournal.com]

"Free hugs," Kaylee replies, beaming at Fletcher. "Figured it'd be a nice way to boost morale a bit on the ship if everybody's feelin' better from a nice hug."

[psi-cookware.livejournal.com]

Paula almost stepped right past the table before the sign caught her eye. She paused and stared at it before a bright smile lit up her face.

"Do you need any help with that?"

She was good at the whole giving hugs thing.

[voiceofserenity.livejournal.com]

It was nice, when only the sight of the sign made people grin. Kaylee glanced back at the sign, and nodded to the girl.

"I think I could definitely use a helper. You good at givin' hugs to people who really need 'em?"

[notadamnangel.livejournal.com]

Dean also had a hangover but he was more used to them than his friend Cas was. He wandered into the mess hall, and blearily stared at the sign. Free hugs? Huh?

Obviously the news last night was really bad with how dull his green eyes seemed now. He also seemed too old and too young at the same time.

[voiceofserenity.livejournal.com]

It was always a hard look to see one someone's face, especially someone as full of life as Dean normally was. Kaylee chewed on the inside of her lip for all of three seconds before she was up off the bench and wrapping her arms around Dean.

Yeah, those people without a choice in the hugging? You're one of them, Dean.

[buddyofchrist.livejournal.com]

The kilted Aramaic man stomps past, stops to read the sign, and looks at Kaylee with consideration.

"At the risk of getting slapped, what else is free?"

He waggles his eyebrows suggestively.

[voiceofserenity.livejournal.com]

Luckily for him, Kaylee isn't as easily offended as some when it comes to attempted pick-ups. She shrugs her shoulders and laughs.

"'Fraid hugs're all I'm givin' out today, though I was thinkin' about opening a kissin' booth sometime next week..."

I don't know what I'm doing. He's a hologram outside the Sensoriums. And he'll probably offend you.

[mustbemade.livejournal.com]

Adrastos frowns at the sign, confused. "Do people normally pay for hugs?" he asks Kaylee.

Baah, that's hard to do unless you're insulting her crew or ship.

[voiceofserenity.livejournal.com]

"Not normally, no," Kaylee replies, "but most people don't like askin' for 'em either. Makes it a little easier on 'em if I make the first move."

[ayasofia.livejournal.com]

Sofia grinned. "Free hugs? That's a great idea. I wish I had thought of it."

[voiceofserenity.livejournal.com]

Kaylee grinned proudly back. "Never too late to jump in and help out!!"

[chosenfamily]

Oh, hey. There's another blurry-eyed Winchester stumbling through the door. And like Castiel and Dean, he really wasn't looking all that great. Or feeling all that great.

[voiceofserenity.livejournal.com]

After her conversation with Dean, Kaylee could at least somewhat understand what might have been going through Sam's head. "Need some slop?" Kaylee asked, doing her best to offer an encouraging smile. "Givin' out hugs too, if you want."

[genociding.livejournal.com]

Euphie takes note of the curious sign when she enters the mess hall for the first time. She hadn't been expecting anything like that. "Free hugs...?"

[voiceofserenity.livejournal.com]

"Mmhm! Not that there'd be any charge for 'em normally, but..." Kaylee glances at the sign. "People ain't so good at realizin' that."

HI I'M LATE

[doc-pompous.livejournal.com]

The little sign was small, but hard to miss and even harder to ignore.

How very...Kaylee.

Simon couldn't say he'd been having a terrible time lately, obvious circumstances aside, but Kaylee's perpetual optimism was always a welcome sight.

"This is quite the operation."

HELLO LATE oh this is gonna be awkward.

[voiceofserenity.livejournal.com]

Her heart skipped a little as Simon walked in. Even with Dean, she couldn't help the attraction to the doctor, nor the happiness it gave her that someone from home was here, and that it was Simon.

Kaylee offered him a bright smile, swinging around with her hands in her pockets to observe the sign and table. "Workin' out better than I thought it would, too," she replied proudly.

[comedownthisroad]

Tay is still trying to get used to this whole... spaceship thing. She's okay with the weird plantsuit, even if she misses her cargo pants and jacket and various concealed weapons, but it's comforting to know that there's nothing a potential attacker could get ahold of in a fight.

She's pondering whether or not she should try to see if Stacy has more of her weapons (or her jacket - she liked that jacket) when she wanders into the mess hall. She notices Kaylee and her sign, but dismisses both almost immediately. A nearly 6-foot-tall almost-angel doesn't need to worry about weird girls giving away hugs.

[voiceofserenity.livejournal.com]

Of course she does--that's what most people did when they walked through, it seems--but Kaylee at least offers up a smile.

"Enjoy your lunch," she says, and oddly enough she's completely sincere.

[needs-release.livejournal.com]

Sam spotted the table on his way in. Sure the glop kept the hunger at bay, and he couldn't help but notice that his was pinker than others', but there was something dissatisfying about it. But whatever kept him from becoming a bloodthirsty monster was a good thing.

"Free hugs?" he read aloud, a bit of a smile on his face. It was a really nice gesture given the current atmosphere.

[voiceofserenity.livejournal.com]

The mess hall, it seemed, was a great place to have chosen for this particular day of hug-giving. Plenty of customers.

"Free as free can get," Kaylee replied. "Care for one?"