The Games Tent
Oblina has always been the Teacher's Pet; a model monster. So it was only natural she be selected to test Dr. Buzz Kott's prototype human suit so that she could spy on humankind. Yet she found herself woefully underprepared for all she would experience... and even after seemingly being cured of her newfound attachment to humanity, there is still unfinished business to attend to...
The Games Tent explores the events and the aftermath of the Aaahh!!! Real Monsters episode "The Monster Who Came in From the Cold". In particular, it expands upon her relationship—or rather, the initial lack thereof—with Ickis' Secret Keeper Bradley. All the while, it builds towards a massive scare Oblina was planning to pull off on Halloween...
- Adaptation Expansion: Takes the original episode and adds in events leading up to it, as well as dealing with the aftermath.
- All Hallow's Eve
- Becoming the Mask
- Broken Pedestal: Bradley goes through this with Professor Henley.
- Corrupt Corporate Executive: The Silts.
- Foil: Oblina and Bradley become this to one another as the story explores the parallels between them and they try to find common ground.
- Great Big Book of Everything: Played with: Oblina holds her Monster Manual in high regard; when she wishes to learn more about humanity, she seeks out the Human Manual, because surely they must have an exact analogue, right...?
- Hannibal Lecture: Henley gives one of these to Bradley, causing a ripple effect where Bradley turns right around and gives a similar one to Oblina.
- Heel Face Turn: After getting scared by Oblina, Jack makes a clumsy attempt at this. Ultimately, he succeeds.
- Humans Are the Real Monsters/Humans Are Special: Both viewpoints are explored, before settling on Humans Are Flawed.
- Humans Are Cthulhu: How monsters are taught to view humankind.
- Jack Attack: Jack Silt.
- Loads and Loads of Characters: In addition to the main cast, there's the Silts and their son, Professor Henley, the friends Oblina made while she was disguised, a group of actors hired for the Silt's Halloween Murder Mystery, and several other minor monster and human characters.
- Nothing Is Scarier: Invoked, considered and exploited by Exposa, who briefly weighs the pros and cons of investigating what's causing a commotion before deciding it'd be scarier to leave it up to her audiences' imagination.
- Paparazzi: Exposa Vertoy, who is also given shades of Intrepid Reporter. According to the epilogue, she eventully becomes a geniune Intrepid Reporter.
- Secret Keeper: Bradley's status as this is explored, Deconstructed and Reconstructed.
- Sequel Hook: Though parts of the afterword hint at the possibility for another story, it never surfaced.
- This Is Reality:
Exposa: Why can't life be timed more like cinema?
- Where Are They Now? Epilogue: The afterword briefly sums up what became of most of the major players, along with a "But that's another story" tease for the main trio.