Aries Dungeon Crawl

[killerklowns]

WE'VE GOT FUN & GAMES

Who: The Visitors (Open Log)
Where: Scorpio, Cancer, Aquarius, and Taurus wards.
Summary: The Zodiac Monster Circus has arrived!
When: 19th of April, 11AC
Warnings: Evil clowns, body horror, terrifying circus-themed monstrosities.


It starts with four massive circus tents assembling in the four corners of the city. As strange clowns pour out of the tents, hooting and laughing with sadistic glee, a booming voice echoes out across Hinoto-Ri.

"LLLLLLLLLLLLAAAAAADIES ANNNNNNND GGGGGGGGGENTLEMEN! WELCOME TO THE GRRRRRRRRREATEST SHOW ON EARTH! IN THE SCORPIO DISTRICT: THE ARIES CARNIVAL'S WORLD-FAMOUS ANIMAL ACT! IN THE CANCER DISTRICT: THE HHHHOUSE OF MIRRRRRORRRS! IN TAURUS, THE UNUSUAL AND DISTRACTING FREEEEEEAKSHOW! AND LAST, BUT NOT LEAST, IN AQUARIUS, A CALVACADE OF WHIMSY AND DARING WITH A DUAL-BOOKED SHOW OF CLOWNS AND OUR VERY OWN HIGH WIRE ACT!"

The circus has come to town! Jolly fun for everyone*!


Disclaimer: fun may not actually be jolly.




(OOC: No set tagging order; just pick a thread, jump in, and replies will be made as necessary. Feel free to specify how creepy you want or don't want it to be.)

Comments

SCORPIO TENT - ANIMAL ACT

[killerklowns]

[phantom_envoy]

...Walking into a creepy circus's animal tent probably isn't one of the best decisions I'll ever make.

[Phantom Girl glances around briefly before stepping inside.]

[killerklowns]

Probably not! The crack of a whip greets Phantom Girl as an eerie blue glow suffuses the tent. The source of the light moves forward, revealing it to be a trio of spectral animals, their forms blurring together as each snaps and snarls at the other two, seeking dominance over their shared form.

[stringent]

Franziska was... wondering what these tents were as she wandered into one of them. They seemed wholly out of place with the architecture of the rest of the city and it showed. It was something that warranted further investigation. Unfortunately, the one she wandered into was the animal tent.

And she didn't even know the kind of danger she was in, as a newcomer.

[boxingemperor]

[If this is how all circuses are, Akihiko has no interest in visiting one again. Sure, animals and hay and smell are part of the experience, but the atmosphere in this tent can't be at any level of normal for the show.]

World famous, huh?

[We'll see about that.]

[helenchanted]

Besides, does that count if we're stuck in this city?

[On the other hand, did it mean that those clowns new a way out of it?]

[killerklowns]

A foul smell wafts out of a nearby cage, a closer look revealing it comes from the decomposing bodies of three different animals, all chained down. The bodies are thin and emaciated, with long, whiplike scars showing through where the fur has rotted off, and yet it's plainly obvious that none of them died of starvation or abuse - each animal is missing a limb of some kind. Even a cursory glance shows that they each bled to death after chewing off their own limbs in a bid to escape, their blood pooling together in the middle of the cage. Despite the fact that they've clearly been dead for a while, the blood has yet to dry.

In response to the sibling's conversation, the blood ripples, the maddened three-part specter of an Oh My rising out of it, the lion assuming control to roar in anger.

AQUARIUS TENT - CLOWNS & AERIALISTS

[killerklowns]

Open!

[swordsaintseta]

[It isn't so much that these things seem to have appeared out of nowhere than the chosen them for the occasion that strikes Soujirou as odd. It's a little surreal, but he supposes anything can happen in a place like this. It's with caution that he approaches the tent, hand resting over his weapon as he nears the entryway.]

At least it isn't during normal hours...

[Were there civilians around it would just make things more difficult. While the young samurai isn't one for these sorts of events, he's pretty sure there were people that did enjoy such, for...whatever reasons. Thinking about it, Soujirou realizes the most he's seen of things like this himself have probably been from TV or manga...]

[virtualbirdwatching]

[Atoli feels much the same way - the clowns that she saw on the way here looked really creepy, but she'd never been to a circus of any kind before... or seen or read about one.

She again opted to just go out in her normal Cleric outfit.

It's with some hesitancy she approaches the door - even though Lukahn and Innis' new form were very powerful, this was far from ordinary, so she'd prefer to have backup.]

CANCER TENT - HOUSE OF MIRRORS

[killerklowns]

ota!

[jonathandammit]

[god, what the fuck

In any case, Jonathan has decided to venture into this... abnormality. His Persona, Samson, is already out, as well as his demon Pallas Athena. The 'clowns' seem to be a strange kind of humanoid demons, which he's been taking care to avoid. It might be better to investigate before throwing himself into a fight.

...He's seen mirrors before, so at least, that eases the shock of suddenly seeing hundreds of himself peer back. That is... a lot of mirrors.]

How can one even navigate through this...? The effect is positively dizzying...

[...If anyone is around, he's gonna approach them to ask if they have any idea what the hell is happening.]

[killerklowns]

One of the reflections doesn't resemble Jonathan in the slightest, but rather than being a different person, it's a Klown. The Klown honks its bulbous red nose at Jonathan in contempt as it places one hand on the mirror, which begins to absorb the demon to the accompaniment of a multitude of honks, beeps, and growls.

Once the Klown is fully within the mirror, the reflections closest to Jonathan show it, rather than him. It's struggling feebly within the mirrors as its form begins to warp and distort until it resembles nothing human anymore - simply an elongated meat puppet, flailing about drunkenly on long, fleshy tendrils, idiot groans coming from its distended face as it slowly pulls itself out of the mirror.

Maddened even more by its own transformation, it flails at Jonathan, whiplike, with its upper pair of tendrils.

tent raiding crew go

[thirdarrow]

The dash to the Cancer tent is mostly uneventful. It was a good thing that Takakage was close to the ward to begin with - he needed to conserve energy to fight. However, the tent itself is mystifying. Almost creepy. A house of mirrors...

.. well, at least the trail of wreckage is a good lead.

Takakage stood before the entrance, suddenly unsure. He tried to contact Jonathan again.

We're coming in. Please try to persevere.

"Jonathan should be inside somewhere. Shall we?"

He hoped the woman would still follow him.

[whyshouldyoucare]

"But of course," MiRa said in response. She wasn't just going to leave this guy alone in the middle of what was essentially an enemy spawn base. She followed close behind him. "Getting any more communications from him?" Warily, she took a look at some of the mirrors. Things seemed normal-ish for now, but she was ready for it all to go to hell at any moment...

TAURUS TENT - FREAKSHOW

[killerklowns]

OPEN

[pretty_pink_ribbon]

[Yuzu has come out to investigate the strange circus before it does any real damage. As dumb as it sounds, the city had given her that special permit to go wherever she wanted because she had rescued people from demons during that mess before. So she's got sort of weird sense of responsibility. And this circus is obviously bad news. She has a feeling it's going to eat innocent people for breakfast. But as she stares at the tent housing the freak show, she's already wondering whether she can handle this alone.]


Ugh. This is already the grossest thing ever, and I'm not even inside yet.


[The posters promise such wondrous sights as Spidora the spider woman, a captive mermaid, and a half snake, half man. Plus all of the usual deformed animals, disgusting preserved specimens, and sword swallowers that one could expect from an old fashioned side show. Except the ones in this show might not be hoaxes. Yuzu is already clutching her comp, ready to summon her demons.]

[killerklowns]

As the tent flaps spread open, a man covered in tattoos can be seen lounging indolently by the entrance, idly carving a flower on his lower thigh with a paint-smeared knife. Glancing up at Yuzu, he grins broadly before rising smoothly to his feet and vanishing inside the tent, shaking off his knife as he does so.

A honking sound rings through the air as a Klown scampers out of the tent, crouching over the small puddle of blood and paint left behind before licking it up with a long, pointed tongue.

If Yuzu wants to stop the Tattooed Man, she'll have to fight the Klown to get in.

Re: TAURUS TENT - FREAKSHOW

[thatsasecret]

[Freaky clowns, crazy oddball shows that look like something you'd see on one of those horror movies, monsters being more frequent than usual -- what's not to investigate about today? Well, to Hiyono Yuizaki, everything about this circus is a scoop, just waiting to be pilfered for all the information it holds! All the craziness, all the insanity, all the creepiness for good measure...she has to. There's no buts about it!

With that said, she's going off by her lonesome -- though definitely not unfollowed -- straight into the freakier tent, passing by what looks to be an unconscious klown that's out front (did someone get here before her? Hopefully they aren't someone she'd have to keep tabs on...) and trying to get inside for the real meat of today's investigation.

...Though not without cringing at the immediate sight just a tad.]

...Ewwww...are circuses always this freaky?

[killerklowns]

A chattering laugh greets her observation as a rotund man with a Glasgow Smile steps out of the tent's darkness and postures aggressively. Drawing a dagger out from a pocket, he opens his mouth as wide as possible and swallows the dagger whole. Sideways.

This is followed by pointing at Hiyono, and then at his belly.

The message seems fairly clear.

CITY IN GENERAL - KILLER KLOWNS

[killerklowns]

Open!

[whyshouldyoucare]

[Who's going around flinging a barrage of lasers every which way in order to thin out the ranks of the clowns? MiRa The Blood Red Rider, that's who! She hasn't quite made it to any of the tents yet, though she probably should go to one of the tents. Perhaps disabling one of the acts will also disable the flow of Klowns through the city. But she's not there yet, so all she can do is fling lasers and use her Persona when necessary.]

[thirdarrow]

[ This was definitely demonic work.

Takakage usually stayed in his apartment during the Thirteenth Hour, but the announcer's auditory blast managed to draw him out. It seemed to be a full-scale invasion of demons - eerie human-like forms paraded through the streets. Perhaps a little too human for comfort. There were no civilians being attacked in the immediate area, but that did not exclude the possibility of harm done somewhere else.

Plus, the voice mentioned tents. These could be reasonably deduced to be the source of these demons. And as Jonathan informed him on the day of his arrival... he was called here to aid the city in times like these.

He called out Koppa Tengu, just to be safe. Though... as he traversed the city's streets, there was a noticeable lack of demons in one area. Following its trail, he came upon a woman dressed in angular clothing. At least, he assumed it was a woman - she was firing energy beams left and right, fending off demons which charged from all sides.

Well... assistance was customary, at this point.

Closing his eyes, he extended his awareness outwards. There was an underground water pool nearby - it was called a drain, if her called correctly - though its contents were not very hygienic, only water responded to his mental persuasion, so it would not be a problem. It would be enough.

A few seconds later a torrent of water erupted through the drain grilles, rising in a fluid arc and circling Takakage like a barrier. With a flick of his wrist he brought the water whip forcefully down on a group of demons nearby - which were sliced clean in half. Best to keep them at a distance, now - there was no telling what harm they could do if they came too close. ]

[the_tv_is_a_lie]

[...At least it isn't anything too far out of the ordinary considering the manner of strange shit he's run into. Though the mass of clowns and the amount of aggression on display is very worrisome. It's reason enough for him to take Izanagi and Black Frost into the thick of things, focusing mainly on Izanagi due to what he's sure is a new level of strength he'd love to fully unlock.]

[killerklowns]

As Souji rushes in, he'll be greeted with a fairly gruesome scene: a single Klown, riding on a unicycle, is juggling several small, round objects while more Klowns stagger about, falling over things.

A closer look reveals that none of the staggering Klowns have eyes, primarily because they're what the one on the unicycle is juggling.