bakerstreet | welcome to the greatest show unearthed

welcome to the greatest show unearthed

Cirque de la Nuit

Cirque de la Nuit is famous across the multiverse for its spectacular cast, each exquisite to behold as they perform feats of daring and wonder before enthralled audiences. Any privileged to attend a performance will never forget, for each show is filled with magic and splendor.

Literally.

For the secret of the Cirque de la Nuit is that each performer is kidnapped, modified, and enslaved by the one who runs it, a mysterious figure known only as The Ringmaster. He draws the most promising, the most beautiful, and the most talented from any dimension to which he has access, then with a combination of magic and medicine transforms each into their fullest potential, a shining jewel to play their parts like marionettes on strings of his manufacture.

Will you be a part of the circus? Or are you one of the lucky few who's managed to procure a ticket? Step right up, then, and see what it has to offer....

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The kidnappings come without warning or a chance at escape: those summoned by The Ringmaster suddenly find themselves in the circus, so wound about by bindings both physical and magical they can hardly move, much less think of escape. Most are unconscious for the process of alterations, which could be considered a mercy considering how long and painful it is. The Ringmaster works with the careful precision of a master sculptor, and each of his creations bears a symbol of his craftsmanship that also serves to keep them under his unfaltering control.

As the symbol can only be removed by another person at the cost of their life, almost no one has ever even tried to escape the circus, and even if they did there would be the small issue of getting away from where it exists, suspended between dimensions. Most don't even realize they're being controlled, however, for the compulsions holding their imposed personae in place are subtle in their strength.

The best of The Ringmaster's creations, those who perhaps already possessed innate talent or beauty, or who simply adapted to the changes better than most, are fortunate enough to take their places in the First Circle. These are the most privileged and pampered, and each wears a tiny jewel in their ear to mark their rank.

1) Beast Tamer
Merciless and deadly, the Beast Tamer can subdue the most unruly animal with will and whip. They seek to dominate and control, no matter how meek or cowardly they might have once been.

2) Tightrope Walker
The Tightrope Walkers are the most exquisite jewels of the circus, delicate and graceful of form and movement and often breathtakingly lovely of face, able to dance butterfly-light on the finest of wires. They are also, however, often the most passive, the most controlled, like puppets crafted of fragile china.

3) Acrobats
Whether they are skilled as trapeze artists, hoop dancers, or tumblers, the Acrobats are all agile and quick of body-- and mind. Something about the changes made to allow their feats of skill also tends to make them more sly and cunning, more apt to lie or cheat to get ahead of the rest.

4) Strong (Wo)Man
These performers were enhanced for strength-- some were given added bulk and others simple toning, but all are significantly stronger than any unaltered human. Alas, they often lose some of their mental acuity in exchange for the physical enhancements, but none will ask a performer balancing an anvil to perform calculus.

Those without special skills or who did not adapt quite so well are still given places in the circus ranks, however, being placed in the Second Circle. Members of this group bear an unobtrusive bracelet around one wrist as a sign of their rank.

5) Clowns
Many a flaw can be hidden with makeup, and those who did not quite meet The Ringmaster's exacting standards of beauty must hide behind makeup and costume. Many are failed Acrobats, and as they are quite aware that only a small mischance prevented their admission to the First Circle, they spent much of their time plotting the downfall of those more privileged.

6) Sideshow Performers
These can include jugglers, fire-breathers, or knife-throwers, daredevils or magicians, those with clever hands and nimble tongues who can amuse the guests before the main show. Some failed Trapeze Artists are veiled and costumed and put to work in a side tent as exotic dancers, while former Strong Men discourage the guests from getting too close (though rumor says they can be bribed, at times).

7) Beasts
The Beast Tamers must have creatures with which to perform, after all. Those who already wore the forms of beasts are enhanced, whether to look more beautiful or more deadly (or perhaps both), while some others are transformed entirely into lions or tigers or other fierce beasts to share in the main performance. Some of these unfortunates manage to retain their intelligence after the change, but others find themselves slipping away and becoming as mindless as the creatures whose forms they wear.

8) Sideshow Exhibit
The displays in the sideshow tent include those whose alterations fail, those who become trapped halfway between humanoid and beast form, or those who began in such an inhuman shape that they could never fit into the First Circle even with all The Ringmaster can do. Their existence is barely better than those of the animals, for they almost always remain caged, subject to the stares and giggles of the crowd. These again are guarded by former Strong Men, but they cannot be everywhere, and occasionally the mocking and stares of the guests devolve into worse.

The worst off of the circus denizens are those who inhabit the Third Circle. These unfortunates wear a plain leather collar as a sign of their rank, though none are likely to mistake them for a member of one of the other Circles.

9) Slaves
These are the fallen, the failed, the grotesque, those who are too deformed to exhibit, too ugly or ungainly to be allowed to perform, or those who tried to escape and are now in disgrace. They remain hidden from the view of guests, serving as menial laborers in whatever manner The Ringmaster or the members of the First Circle might desire. (Rumors say the former prima Trapeze Artist attempted to run away from the circus, and now bent and disfigured from her punishment, cleans the quarters of the current prima.)

And what would a circus be without an audience?

10) Guests
It is difficult indeed to obtain a ticket to the circus, for most do not even known of its existence. Only the rich, the powerful, those who are well versed in dimensional travel, or somehow privileged to be given a ticket by The Ringmaster himself in return for some service are ever allowed into the circus grounds. Some say that anyone who can provide The Ringmaster with a particularly good candidate will earn a lifetime's pass in return....

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After he was no longer useful to the lawfirm that bled him dry, tapped his soul right out, he was practically given to this circus of nightmares. He tried to escape soon upon arrival, of course he tried, and he was caught, broken more thoroughly than even the law firm of Evil had done to him, so he now serves the First Circle as their slave.

He cleans, does their menial labor, and, sometimes, in whatever they demand. After all, he still retained his pretty face.

As they were getting a new beast master today (the last one got eaten by his beasts), Lindsey was directed to spend his upcoming days helping the man settle in. He was cleaning the man's room in nothing but a loincloth and his enchanted collar was a permanent fixture to his neck.

Eliot stumbled into the room. Every part of him ached. He might have been fortunate enough to have been unconscious for the entire operation, but recovery still hurt. He growled angrily under his breath. He froze as he saw the collared, mostly naked man in the room. No, he couldn't be here.

"Lindsey..."

Lindsey's head shot up in startled fear at the way the new tamer was calling his name. His eyes widened in shock at the other's face. Even with the man's long hair and harder expression, there was no mistaking those features as being the same as his own.

"What... what is this?"

But realizing that he was staring, Lindsey quickly dropped his gaze again. There was recognition of the face, but Lindsey never recognized the man who wore it. That, along with a lot of his fight, had been taking from him.

"Is there something you want, sir?"

"Lindsey, it's... It's me."

Eliot took off his shirt and nearly ran forward to drape it around his older brother's shoulders. He cupped a hand against Lindsey's cheek.

"Damn it, Linds. What'd they do to you?"

Lindsey started when Eliot touched him, flinching back away from the touch as if afraid that the larger man will hurt him. But it was only to drape a shirt over his shoulders, and slowly his pounding heart calmed.

"I don't... I don't know you.... sir." Invited to, he looked up at that familiar face in confusion.

Did he know this man? They looked so alike, and at the back of his mind, something tugged softly. "I can't recall..."

"Linds, I'm your brother. I'm Eliot."

He sighed and rubbed his face with his free hand. He knew they'd done... something to him. Sometimes, it almost felt like he wasn't himself. He hated it. But they couldn't selectively destroy someone's mind, could they?

"What did they do to you?!"

"Brother?" The word had a strange ring to it, like it was something from a dream long ago that slipped away if he tried too hard to recall it.

"I have a brother?" He raised his hand to his head, trying to clear the fog from it but everything still felt awkward, weird, like he was viewing his thoughts through distorted glass.

"I tried to escape. I..." Suddenly frightened, he looked down and groveled. "I'm sorry, I'll never try to escape again. Please, I promise."

"Don't promise me that!" Eliot grabbed his brother's shoulders and gently steered him toward the bed. "You don't belong here. Not that any of us do, but you... You're too good for this place."

He sighed heavily and took in his brother's worn features. "Get some sleep. I'll do... whatever. You look like you're about to drop."

Lindsey whimpered, scared by Eliot's loud voice. Had he upset this man who looked like him and claimed to be his brother? This was the new beast tamer, he knew that as well as his own name, which meant he was to serve him.

"I'm sorry... please don't be mad at me. Don't send me away! They'll think I did something wrong and... " He blinked when he found himself seated on the bed instead. Oh.

Believing Eliot wanted what some of the first circle performers sometimes wanted with him, he removed his loincloth and turned around, spreading his legs.

Eliot froze at Lindsey's gesture. He hovered between the urge to vomit and the need to rip the head off of whatever son of a bitch reduced his mouthy, smartass, big brother to this. He threw a blanket over his brother before sitting beside him and stroking his hair soothingly. "I ain't ever sendin' ya away, Linds. Ya don't have to... do that to stay, either. You're m'brother. I..." His lip trembled as he tried to hold back the tears. "I ain't lettin' them hurt ya anymore."

Eliot wouldn't be able to rip the heads off all of them, for it was a long time in the making before they finally got him to submit this far. They had to take away most of his identity, which was why he couldn't remember Eliot in the first place.

Wretched confusion swam in clear blue eyes as Lindsey turned to the larger man seated beside him. There was a sense of familiarity when he stroked his hair, and whether it was just for the comfort or to seek more of that familiarity, he leaned into Eliot's touch.

"Are you really my brother? I can't remember you..... why can't I remember you?"

"Yeah, I'm really your brother." Eliot's voice was quiet, gentle. "I don't know exactly why you can't remember. They did something to ya. They did somethin' to all of us. I'm guessin' they made ya forget somehow. We'll... We'll find a way to fix it."

Eliot's voice soothed Lindsey and calmed him down. He didn't know if he was really his brother, but at the moment it didn't matter. Eliot wasn't hurting him.

"I want to remember... I can't remember anything before coming here."

"I'll figure somethin' out for ya, Linds. Let me remember for ya for now, all right?"

Subtly, he examined his brother's gaunt body. "When's the last time ya ate?"

Taking Eliot's advice, Lindsey took the blanket that was covering him and curled up more comfortably under it. It was a big liberty to take, but while he couldn't remember the man, he was remembering warmth and safety. On the edge of his memory, he could almost remember a man with his face standing protectively over him.

"Yesterday... I think? Slaves only get left overs... there weren't any this morning."

Eliot resisted the urge to growl at his brother's answer. No matter how angry he was, he didn't want to scare Lindsey further. At least he seemed to trust him. He glanced across the room toward the small kitchenette.

"You wait here. I'm gonna get ya somethin' to eat, all right? I'll be right back."

Lindsey looked up. He didn't want to contradict a first circle performer, but Eliot was new. His brother —strange that he was already thinking of this stranger as family already— didn't know the rules.

"I'm not... Slaves aren't allowed to steal food."

Eliot shook his head calmly, brushing his brother's hair out of his face. "It ain't stealin' if I give it to ya."

Lindsey looked up at Eliot, all fear and hope and trust. He trusted Eliot. Everything in him told him to. For a second, he thought he saw an image of the beast tamer, younger, shorter hair, grinning down at him from the same position.

"Can I stay here? If I stay in your room, the others won't look for me. They'll think you claimed me."

"I wouldn't want ya to stay anywhere else. And I'm only goin' across the room."

He squeezed Lindsey's shoulder before walking over to the small kitchenette. There wasn't a whole lot in the fridge. Clearly, it was only meant for if he had company or got hungry during the night. But there were eggs and there was butter. Soon, the scent of breakfast food drifted across the room.

Lindsey sniffed the aromas wafting out from across the room and felt his stomach growling. He was hungrier than he thought.

Getting up, he wrapped the blanket around himself and tried to approach Eliot slowly. "What are you making?" Anyone else he wouldn't dare to speak, much less ask a question and get up close.

Eliot shrugged, pulling a plate out of the small cabinet. "It's just scrambled eggs. It's not much, but hopefully it's light enough you'll be able to keep it down."

"It smells good," he said tentatively, as if he was unsure how his words would be received. He reached out over Eliot's shoulder and tried to pick some up with his bare hands.

"Not with your hands!" Eliot exclaimed as he grabbed Lindsey's hand. "You'll burn yourself. Let me grab ya a fork."

He rummaged through the drawers until he found one with the flatware. Lindsey's thoughtless action tugged at his heart. It was as if his brilliant big brother was now a child in a man's body. Quickly, he grabbed a fork and moved the eggs onto the plate before Lindsey could burn himself on the pan.

Chastised by the Brother, Lindsey instantly drew his hand back and held it tightly to his chest. A mix of guilt and trepidation began spreading across his features. He was like a child, an abused kid who feared everything and was reduced to his basest behavior.

"I'm sorry, brother," he murmured, using the term as a title, like master, than any form of familiarity. He watched the food hungrily but didn't reach to interrupt again.

Did someone call for a helping of angst?

I sure did

And angst is served.

Oh, these poor twins...

I'm sure eventually they'll raise Lindsey's status when they realize they have twins on their hands.

Ha, they'll move them both to second tier... And through them into something mutually humiliating.

Yeah, cause otherwise, a beast tamer's only companion would be a beast. Other thread, option 1 or 2?

Surprise me...

Alrighties. And I am so sorry... this will traumatize Eliot.

*whimper*

I might be slightly regretfl... maybe. If I think really hard about it.

For the record, you didn't traumatize Eliot. You sucker-punched him.

Oh, that's fine then. He can handle a few hits.

He can deal with being traumatized, too.

Do you want me to try to traumatize him? There's few things that can.

Feel free to... Although there's also the other thread... *hinthint*

I know, I keep trying to write it but I keep getting sidetracked.

I only have one answer to that:

I'm working on it. It's getting lengthy.... happens whenever I set scenes. :(

Sounds like it should give me a good bit to play with

I cut it a bit short, but it should be something.

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whimper

Feel free to... Although there's also the other thread... hinthint