Come one, Come all!

Welcome to the show of a lifetime RP Blog for fusion of Snatcher and DJ Grooves AHiT Greatest Show AU We follow back through our respective blogs subconspirit and curious-corvidae

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Now its time for you to pay the price,        Welcome back                         To the Greatest Show Unearthed!

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legally-a-raptor‌:

“Grooves is nae my ‘buddy’,” the owl huffed. “I may not hate him as much as he thinks I do, but we are no where near friends.” The Conductor crossed his arms and began tapping his foot as he thought. Grumbling a bit more to himself, the adds, “Half the bloody studio is in the Peck Neck’s name. I’m nae going to get stuck with half the studio and all the bills to to pay.”

The Conductor didn’t put much stock into the answers Charlie was giving him. But with out harder evidence There wasn’t much the Conductor could do. Well, one option would be to actually go in and get a look around. But that didn’t seem like it would go over well. He’d already kicked up some fuss with Charlie and there was a good possibility that the little cockatiels would talk to one another.

There was also the possibility of speaking with the plush bird’s boss. Though there wasn’t a guarantee that the peck neck would be any clearer with answers.

Not wanting to just leave things alone, the owl spoke up again. “That boss of yers. He open to a conversation?”

Conductor was right on one thing, word spreads fast, and it was likely that all the cockatiel workers were aware of his presence by now, opting not to enter was a wise choice on his part. Not that they’d do anything, but still. Charlie hummed softly, not really a tune, moreso just a thoughtful sound, they were about to answer with a yes- but seems an answer wouldn’t be necessary…

From behind the little carnie, the shadows seem to lift off of the ground in a massive, yet quiet pillar of dark-colored flame. After a moment or two, the fire seems to take on a vaguely humanoid shape, and a pair of eyes seem to open from within, followed by a wide, illuminated smile. Out of this fire walks The Ringmaster in all his glory: a towering nighthawk, his form becoming more defined as he walks forward to carefully scoop up the cockatiel and regard his visitor.

“Hello there friend, a little birdy says that you’d like to have a word with me~”

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legally-a-raptor‌:

The Conductor huffed a slight laugh, and leaned back to stand straight himself. “Got some fight in ye, laddie,” the owl stated with the corner of his beak ever so slightly twitching upward. “What a’m doing, is asking questions. There’s a wee bit of a mystery involving the co-owner of the studio, and I’d like some answers.”

He folded his wings behind his back. And while his eyes were still locked on the smaller bird, the owl’s body language had relaxed the slightest bit. “Yer really telling me that yer boss is a dramatic peck neck, has the name of the circus have some relation to stars, and has a bunch of… staff? That are not only birds – albeit plush looking birds – but birds with black and white feathers. Like, oh I don’t know, A Pecking Penguin?”

“I’ve got more than enough fight to not be some pushover. Don’t know what’s up with the co-owner buddy of yours though. Not sure you’ll find answers here but whatever, I’ll humor you“

The cockatiel worker made a soft huffing sound, hard to tell how, but honestly the fact that it’s basically a giant living, talking plushie should explain enough on its own.

“Either way Boss chose our colors. The black and white makes our colorful outfits stand out and pop. Contrast or something like that. It’s likely just a weird coincidence or something. Not sure his reasoning behind the circus name though, but eh doesn’t matter too much on our end so we don’t find much reason to ask.“

Charlie gave a sort of indifferent shrug. Just... Give this guy vague answers and maybe he’ll leave... Though if all else fails maybe they’ll just... Have to get Ringmaster himself. Surely 15 feet of ghost bird would get the Conductor to back off. Grooves alone wasn’t that tall, nor was he a ghost.

“Besides do you expect ANYONE running a circus to not be dramatic? Really, I think that’s just part of the job“

[themustachemenace]

The Show of a Lifetime

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themustachemenace‌:

10 pons for entry AND a possible gift… And perfectly themed for the season, too. It’s not really a bad or impossible price for her (though, she’d rather save the money for buying a couple of meals instead. It’s no secret that things like this are basically wallet trap when it game to the little purchases while you’re there). The main issue, though? She isn’t usually the paying type of gal anyway and had half a mind to just waltz on in from some other angle and fish a ticket out of another attendee’s ticket.

But… It DID seem like there were a lot of these little guys around. one of them already saw her, too. And, although it’s not in her plan to ever get caught in anything, she doesn’t really want to risk disappointing a bunch of innocent and cute (albeit slightly unnerving) little creatures if it does happen.

“Well… I GUESS I do have a bit of time.”

Just as she reached into her belongings to gather the funds, she stops her hand for just a moment and looks up at the toylike avian in front of her before continuing to look at the various tents and attractions. This all really is rather extravagant, isn’t it? 

“Interesting how I’ve never heard of you lot yet, though… How long HAVE you been open? For such a big event with all these impressive attractions, it’s weird how we haven’t heard of you just yet…”

Come to think of it... how long had they been doing this now? The little cockatiel taps their chin for a moment in thought. They weren’t sure they remembered the exact amount. Time sort of flies when you have a lot to do, and setting up a circus while getting used to being two people is definitely a little more of a workload than they were normally used to.

“Well, we’ve only had the circus for a few months now, so we’re still a little new! We travel from place to place, setting up in a different spot each night and packing up in the morning. I can’t remember if we’ve set up here before today. Maybe that’s why you haven’t heard about us before!”

The little bird bounces in place as they speak, carefree and more than happy to answer these nice, simple sorts of questions. Better these than the more suspicion fueled ones the girl’s tone and expression seemed to imply. But! No need to get nervous just yet, right?

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devilish-digital-imp‌:

 - starter for @spectral-spectacle - 

The small purple creature with messy and matted fur stirred from its spot on the ground. It was weak and shaking, and judging from the dried trails coming from its eyes, had been crying. The imp hadn’t a clue where it had ended up, nothing looked remotely familiar. Then again, that’s the point of running away, wasn’t it? Abandon the known and risk the new. That’s how it always had been, right?

The widespread crisis had only compounded the imp’s need to run. How could anywhere be safe when an innocent little In-Training could warp digivolve to a rampaging Machinedramon with no warning? Its anxiety of crowds had grown to paranoia in the short time this problem has been about in the Digital World. So scared even that the imp had taken to tying two odd little symbols to its ears, one orange the other yellow. And both seemed to be depicting a sun.

Despite a foggy mind and drained body, the creature got up to wander. Staying in one place for too long unnerved it and there was no guarantee it’s luck would persist if it chose to stay there for longer. No. It was better to keep moving. Stick to the shadows. Stay away from any and all other digimon.

This was still the Digital World, right? That little fall was just in a delirious dream. Well now it was in the waking world, and the virus was hungry. At the first whiff of food, the digimon followed. It could chance a quick run in so long as there was food. Just really quick. Grab the food and run. Simple. Right?

That’s what it thought anyway. And then it saw the tents. This likely wasn’t going to be as easy a task as the imp had hoped.

It certainly doesn’t look like an easy task. While the general crowds and bustle around the food stalls seem to provide enough cover to sneak over and get away, getting to the stalls is another story entirely.

A gate that almost looks to be made of thorns surrounds all but the front entrance, and around the ticket booths at the entrance are five plush cockatiels, each sporting accents of a different, bright color. Two of them call out to the public, waving flyers and advertising the events within the tents to passerby. One seems to be handling ticket sales, and a small ways behind them are the other two, checking the lines of people approaching for tickets and stamping the backs of hands (or whatever else constitutes) of the people that have them in a faintly glowing ink before letting them in the gate. 

Thanks to staying in the shadows, it doesn’t seem the staff has spotted the little imp just yet.

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legally-a-raptor‌:

Sharp brown eyes stayed locked on the poor small plush. It didn’t look like he bought the act, but the Conductor said nothing on the subject and chose to stay quiet. The normally screeching owl being so calm and visibly leering would have likely sent an Express Owl into a full panic attack pretty quickly.

The Conductor knew there was something going on with this bizarre circus from nowhere. Something that was being covered up. And somehow the penguins’ vanishing act was tied into it.

The barn owl leaned in some and finally spoke up again, “Oh yeah? That’s funny. Because Charlie, ye seem tae have ‘bout the same level of acting skills as them. Which is peck all.”

Oh peck oh no- Why did the Conductor have to be legitimately terrifying? He was far less terrifying when yelling. The cockatiel took a step back, clearly intimidated and extremely unsettled. Honestly if it wasn’t for half of them trying to remain some semblance of calm, Charlie would have probably bolted and only made things even MORE suspicious than their failed attempts to play things off. If only boss were here... Maybe he’d know what to say...

“Hey! I can act... You’re just being weird and unnerving. Finally meet you in person and you’re doing.... Whatever this is. Besides! I don’t work here for my acting skills!“

The cockatiel, although much smaller tried to stand up straighter and hide their fear, terrified? Yes. But you know what, part of them had seen FAR scarier than this mass of  feathers! Honestly this probably seemed like an odd slight shift in demeanor. The nerves appeared to melt away, far better hidden than before. You ain’t getting shit outta them featherbrain!

“What’s your problem anyways?“

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legally-a-raptor‌:

The Conductor watched the plush cockatiel start to bounce. In the raptor’s experience whenever someone started to fidget like that around him they wanted to leave. The Express Owls certainly got like that. He should probably continue on home at this point. The plushie bird likely had to get back to work as well.

“Sounds like yer boss is a dramatic peck nec-” The Conductor cut himself off and thought. This whole situation was just bizarre. So many little things that just don’t quiet add up. It couldn’t hurt to ask could it? Truth be told, the Conductor was a bit worried about the other director. “Aw rite. Just got one more question before I’m heading home.”

The Conductor narrowed his eyes on the cockatiel and surprisingly calm and quiet he continued “Since ye travel around so frequently, ye haven’t seen any moon penguins have ye?”

“Boss can be a bit dramatic yeah“

Wait oh peck oh no- Why did he have to ask about Moon Penguins. He’s picking up on things, isn’t he? This was just a horrible time all around. 'Charlie’ honestly just wants to fizzle out of existence. Don’t hesitate, don’t sound like an idiot... Just play it cool, play it smooth. 

“Moon penguins? Nah, can’t say I have“

Good enough.

[themustachemenace]

The Show of a Lifetime

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themustachemenace‌:

Having been trying to take in the sights, Mu was caught off-guard by the sudden voice directed to her… Which, didn’t really subside as she saw who it came from.

A… doll? Several dolls, it looked like. The felt, soft-looking stuffies moving about and speaking weren’t ugly or anything. Quite the opposite, it was a cute little creature! The urge to hug it was only just barely stopped by a strange unsettling feeling. It was way too lifelike for it to be a robot… Its movements were smooth and their speech was quite clear, yet there was no question that its eyes were sewn-on buttons.

Whatever it was, it seemed pretty insistent on trying to sell her a ticket for this whole event…

Cautiously, she takes the pamphlet in her hand, patting the cockatiel on its head.

“Uhh… Thanks, guy.” 

Let’s see what this thing has to say…

There’s a quiet, unmistakably toy-esque squeak as she pats the little cockatiel’s head, and while their face doesn’t emote any, their body language is clearly happy. They rock on their heels, satisfied that they have the girl’s attention.

“Of course! Like I said, tickets are half off for the next hour! Normally, adult tickets are 30 pons, and kids’ 20; for you to get in now, it’d only take 10! It’s a real steal! Each person who buys a ticket gets entered into a raffle for a special prize at the end of the night, courtesy of the Ringmaster himself! If you’re super duper lucky, you could even win a special prize just by buying a ticket!”

The pamphlet details the event as a ‘fusion of the traditional circus and carnival with a spooky flair’, and details a plethora of different rides, games, and the like. Next to a section mentioning a big show at the end of the night is a stylized picture of what could only be the ringmaster of the whole circus; a well-dressed, shadowy nighthawk gestures grandly to the passage with a wink and grin.

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legally-a-raptor‌:

“Right. I was getting more at, that’s a lot to set up and take down for a single night,” the owl clarified looking over the plushie bird with pink details. “Different medium than films, but wouldn’t ye benefit a bit more staying in one place for a bit longer? Either getting repeat business or business from would be patrons that otherwise couldn’t make one show? Not that I’m wanting this pecking thing to stick around me tracks for longer. But for in the future.”

The Conductor once more looked back to the circus behind the other. This time reading the sign bearing the circus’ name. ‘AstralThorn’? That sounded a bit like something Grooves would have in his nonsense sci-fi films. Then again, the owl could be looking too much into things since he and all the other moon penguins from the studio disappeared.

Regardless, the owl was curious about this strange circus that would apparently be gone by morning. “So who is yer boss?”

“Well uh, boss is the one that makes the calls for where we stay and set up at the end of the day, but who knows, maybe if we find a decent place with a lot of business we’ll set up longer!“

The cockatiel bounced around a bit, were they excited? Were they nervous? hard to tell. Maybe they just couldn’t hold still. They definitely wanted this conversation over though. Gotta be friendly and polite... Maybe this will be over soon. Hopefully.

“Our boss is the Ringmaster! He doesn’t go by anything else normally, keeps an air of mystery and excitement, y’know?“

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legally-a-raptor‌:

“Which peck neck thought setting up here was a good idea? Yer circus may not be a problem for the tracks, but whatever foot traffic ye get could.” The owl huffed and rubbed at his temple. “For pecks sake… whatever. If this really is just one night here, and there isn’t a bunch of rubbish left around the tracks from yer patrons then a’ll leave it be.”

The Conductor let out an exhausted sigh before glancing from Charlie the cockatiel to the circus behind them. He spotted the another cockatiel beyond the fence, but a moment later looked back to Charlie. “Quite a bit to set up for just one night.”

“Well uh, that was our boss, he decides where and when we set up. As I said, we travel a lot so  we come and go, y’know? Gotta have a big set up for people to have the best time! We’re out here keeping an eye on things anyways so don’t worry about people getting hurt sir! We don’t want bad things happening to our guests!”

Not nearly as nerve-wracking now that the conductor didn’t seem as mad, but still definitely not an ideal situation. Honestly 'Charlie’ just wanted this to be over and done with...

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legally-a-raptor‌:

“I’m going to stop ye right there, laddie.” the owl said holding up a wing to emphasize his point, “I don’t care what all this is. What I am curious about is where this all cam from and why it is set up so close to me tracks.”

Since the sun had gone down at this point, the Conductor had brushed some of the feathers normally covering his out of the way. Sharp brown eyes looked over the plush bird. There was something, vaguely familiar to the circus plush. But the owl was certain that he’d never spoke to anyone with pink button eyes, costume or otherwise.

Narrowing his gaze on the other the Conductor added, “And who, and or what are ye?”

“Well we tend to set things up for one night only, so you don’t need to worry about us being in the way sir! I promise that we’ll be out of your feathers by morning. We’re a traveling circus so we come and go, this location seemed pretty decent to set things up.“

If they weren’t basically an oversized animated plushie, the cockatiel would likely look visibly nervous about now. Thank goodness that button eyes make for the perfect poker face. But... Oh no, they didn’t have a proper name. Uh... uh... Name, they need a name... CHARLIE! Perfect, a perfectly normal name, better than just saying they don’t have one.... That would be suspicious.

“And well, I’m Charlie! A cockatiel! A bunch of us work here.“

From the other side of the fence, one of the other cockatiel workers caught sight of the conductor, yeah their boss would need to know about this...

[legally-a-raptor]

 - starter for @spectral-spectacle - 

The Conductor stood outside on the small platform attached to the last car of the Owl Express. Looking out over the rails to watch the nighttime landscape fade more and more into the horizon as new landmarks came into view. There were no other passengers aboard, leaving the barn owl alone with his thoughts.

Half the studio had been empty for the past few days. No moon penguins, no Grooves, no nothing. It was eerie. There wasn’t even a note left for the receptionist. They were all just… gone. Bickering with Grooves had become so common place, it was strange to not see him for so long.

Though the owl’s feelings towards the DJ were mixed, there was a tinge of worry. If Grooves wasn’t there to help the lass stop the Conductor after the award ceremony things could have played out so much worse. The Conductor was stubborn and not one to say it out loud, but once he got back to a clearer head space, he was grateful the moon penguin had stepped in.

The Conductor let out a sigh and left cool night air to head to the front of the train. He checked over the console once there, but something up ahead by the tracks caught his eye. He slowed the Owl Express down considerably, dropping down to a crawl as he neared the out of place… circus tent?

Curious, as well as irritated someone had set up so close to the tracks, the Conductor got the Owl Express braked and secure before stepping out. If there was anything wrong with the tracks due to whatever peck neck set up here, the owl was not going to be happy.

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Around the main tent there were some smaller ones and little stalls, various attractions and rides, all surrounded by a small fence with a ticket booth at the entrance. Fortunately the tracks themselves were untouched, was just a convenient location to be noticed. Over the ticket booth in very fancy letters were the words ‘AstralThorn Circus.’

Out front were a few strange plushie cockatiels advertising the place and greeting people, bouncing around excitedly as they did so. One in specific with pink accents all over its body, caught sight of the conductor, It paused for a moment as he approached, oh dear... Boss was going to need to know about this... The cockatiel waved in greeting. Gotta act normal.

“Hello there sir! Curious about the circus? We’ve got all kinds of exciting things within! Rides, games, things never before seen, and a show that'll keep you on your toes from start to finish!”

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A young girl looks around, curious, but wary. "Since when did this place have a circus...?"

‘AstralThorn Circus’… Indeed, this circus is absolutely new. From passerby, the girl could easily gather that these tents popped up almost instantaneously once twilight hit with little warning. Posters scattered around the mainland advertise it as ‘the best show you’ll ever see’…

If appearances meant anything, it certainly looked the part! The tents set up surrounding the main tent host countless games, and the smell of food wafts enticingly from the entrance. Already, people of all sorts are walking about inside, and more still form a line at the ticket booths.

Manning said booths are what appear to be several animate dolls of sorts, each sewn in the shape of a cockatiel with bright, softly glowing patches for cheeks. Several more of these dolls stand to the side, advertising in loud voices and handing out flyers. One such doll approaches the hooded child, holding out a wrinkle-free pamphlet and looking up at her with colorful button eyes.

“You there, miss! D’you fancy the most entertaining night of your life? We’ve got a special on tickets right now: half off! Tickets for folks under 18 are cheaper too, so that’s a real deal! What do you say?”

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Hello! What’s the show about?

“Why, hello there friend! We’re so glad you asked~”

The large, spectral bird grins down at you, placing a clawed hand on your shoulder and gesturing around with his cane at the carnival, stopping on the large tent in the center.

“What we have here is nothing less than the greatest show you’ll ever see in your lifetime. We’ve got it all! Action, suspense, drama… with a little bit of terror to keep you on your toes. Not just that, everyone who’s bought a ticket has a chance to win a once in a lifetime opportunity at the end of the show. Fancy giving it a watch?”

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“Ladies and gentlemen                       Boys and ghouls!                                                 Step right up. Behind this curtain lies a ghastly concoction of              Delight, Horror, Fantasy and terror. Your every wish is our command!             Your every whimsical desire brought to life. But I'm warning you,                               There's always a price. Welcome to the greatest show unearthed!”

Joint run RP/Ask blog for an exciting new AHiT AU! The Greatest Show AU, where Snatcher and DJ Grooves have fused into one being, creating an all new show of their own with the goal to be better than The Conductor ever could be. An eerie circus seemingly showed up overnight, and all trace of Grooves and his moon penguins are seemingly gone.

Welcome to the circus, the show is truly to die for.

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