Cirque de la Lune

[omggirlonthenet]

Cirque de la Lune 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 Lune 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....


HOW IT WORKS:
♦ Leave a comment with your character's name and fandom in the subject. You can either select an option and set the scene, or fill brief want/do not want for other commenters. Please note that this meme is open to both sexual and non-sexual content, and may contain potential triggers.
♦ Tag another character. If they haven't already selected an option, you can RNG it, or just pick your poison.
♦ Play out the results and respect others' preferences.
♦ Have fun!

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 Tightrope Walkers 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) Menials
Someone has to do the work of running the circus, after all. This group is unique in that not all of them were brought here involuntarily: some became lost and elected to remain, some sought employment, and some came seeking their missing friends and loved ones and chose to linger nearby in the vain hope that their memories might return. Most, however, are simply those too ordinary or unskilled to fit anywhere else, and they can be found just about anywhere in the circus, doing chores or maintenance, tending the animals, or selling concessions to the guests. They go everywhere, they see everything, but they do little of consequence, even if they aren't kept under as much control as the rest of the circus folk.

10) 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 laborers in whatever manner The Ringmaster or the members of the First Circle might desire. (Rumors say the former prima Tightrope Walker 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?

11) 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...

(originally by enthymeme)

Comments

need a beast tamer?

[headspacedad]

[They call him when they find her cage empty.

They always call him.

Shiro isn't the usual beast tamer. He still dominates, he doesn't allow challenges to his authority. He demands absolute control of the situation in the ring and in the cages. He's been known to put challengers, human and animal, down and violently. But once a beast is his - its his. Which means no one is allowed to touch it, no one is allowed to frighten or harm it, no one is allowed to force it to do anything. A beast that's Shiro's is his alone and he doesn't allow interference.

Which is why he's the one moving through the tents and train cars, following a psychic thread he seems to have with every creature he's claimed, not hurried, just ineluctable. Calmly tracking down his wandering wolf.]

I love it

[doorofarch]

That particular day she was trailing a pair of guests, slipping in and out of the shadows as she tracked the two gentlemen, one of them was not tall and the other was not short, and they both looked vaguely Victorian, but only vaguely.

They hadn't seen her yet, or rather they had, but hadn't recognized her, but she knew, somehow, that it was only a matter of time until they did, and when they did, all hell was going to break loose.

Which was clearly why it was up to her to keep an eye on them. As she was doing, not exactly calm, but unhurried and mostly unconcerned and near silent as she moved.

[headspacedad]

He finds her soon enough. The eternal twilight that hangs over the circus is always full of shadows and sparks of light and more than a few of them move. It's only a matter of time and patience before Shiro finds the right one.

He doesn't interfere right away though. For as often as she enjoys getting out and giving guests from Outside a scare, she's one of his gentler creatures and if she's trailing someone, she has a reason for it. He won't break her hunt entirely until he knows the reason.

But he expects to find out what the reason is before he lets it continue. Standing in the shadows himself, near the flap of one of the open tents, out of the flow of foot traffic, he snaps his fingers. The metal of his prosthetic arm clicks, a crack of a sound. It's a signal, an expectation of immediate response. She's been found and until she gives him an explanation of what her game is, it should be considered on hold.

[doorofarch]

Any other time she might have been annoyed at her game being interrupted, but not today, today it was different, too important to be bothered by, and more than that, he might know what to do where she couldn't do much of anything.

She emerged from the shadows once more, settling at his side with a soft whine, leaning against his leg just briefly before pointing out the pair who had stopped at a souvenir stand, one selling figurines made of crackle glass and cheap porcelain. They didn't look any more out of place than any of the other guests, but something about them clearly had her hackles up.

Of course, there was also the chance that she was just being paranoid, as she occasionally was, and the pair were not, in fact, the late messieurs Croup and Vandemar. But she couldn't be sure.

[headspacedad]

His hand moves automatically to find the top of her head when she joins him and his thumb rubs soothing between her brows when she whines and leans. She's not the kind to do damage for the sake of doing damage and she's got a sharp mind he's learned to trust and rely on. He may be the tamer and psychically altered thanks to his time here and the things that have been done to him since he arrived but the drive to shelter and protect, as well as to trust what he sees as part of his team, is too core, too strong inside him for even the Ringmaster to take away. If something is bothering her, he's not going to ignore it.

So he goes to one knee next to her, arm across her shoulders above the point where her wings start and watches with her, unnatural eyes sharpening as he picks up the duo that are bothering her.

One of them likes talking, if what his ears can pick up is any indication. Careful, Shiro studies them, inhales to see if even from this distance he can get a scent, watches how they move. The circus is full of things that aren't what they look like on the outside. You don't stay here long without learning to watch for the signs. Shiro - senses animal under the human forms but not exactly. His voice is low and for Door alone.

"From your past? Do you remember?"

[doorofarch]

That wasn't a question she'd been expecting, she never did, because there wasn't any 'past', there was only the Circus. Except that sometimes, once in a while, she remembered things that weren't the Circus. She shook her head, finally, hard enough that her ears flapped. It wasn't a denial, really, it was just confusion, because even as sure as she'd been when she'd first seen the pair, she'd begun to doubt herself.

It wasn't as if she'd ever seen them at the Circus before, they were just guests, not really any odder than any other pair of guests. But she'd been so certain that she knew them, and she couldn't shake that, even now when they seemed more or less harmless.

[headspacedad]

They all had a past that wasn't the Circus. Shiro didn't remember his at all, beyond the occasional nightmare that woke him screaming and left him shaking for hours afterward without remembering why. But he knew they all had a somewhere they'd been before here. Because each new arrival that showed up had come from somewhere. Sometimes something would jar a memory loose and one of them might remember a fragment of that past. Door's shake though tells him its not the case with her. He reaches up to rub one of her ears soothingly between his thumb and fingers.

Just because she doesn't remember doesn't mean she's wrong. He trusts his instincts. They know more than he does. Hers too. He doesn't like the feel of the two she's pointed out but he knows that's not enough information to go off of. A lot of evil drifts in and out of the Circus, enjoying the view as a guest before being left behind. A lot of predators. Shiro lets his hand fall back to rest against her side and frowns. The Circus plays by very specific rules and the rules about guests are fairly clear. They move outside his sphere of interest but also outside his sphere of influence. He can't do anything unless they do.

"Acrobats." He murmurs it low, voice like gravel. Her shoulder gets a pat and he stands up. "Let's see what the acrobats can find out about them."

[doorofarch]

She'd remembered when she'd first spotted them, remembered that they were dangerous and that they were looking for her and that it would end badly if they found her. But that remembrance had begun to slip as she'd followed them, as she'd watched. Of course, if either of them mentioned their wayward cousin Doreen, it might come back to her, but as it was she just pressed her head up into the touch.

She brightened considerably at the suggestion, wings shifting and tail swaying in something close to excitement. She liked the acrobats, and most of them liked her well enough, or at least tolerated her better than they did most of the beasts, and that was the same thing as far as Door was concerned.

She trundled easily to her feet again, folding her wings down carefully so that they didn't drag and didn't stick out to bump him while they walked, waiting for him to take the lead. She knew she was free to roam when she let herself out, before he caught up with her again, but he had done, which meant she was back to following instead.

[headspacedad]

They all play by the rules of the Circus. Even the guests, whether they want to or not. Shiro's tested those limits before in the past. Sometimes he still tests them. He knows they'll hold. The Circus has caught more powerful beings then himself in its web before.

They also play by their own personal rules too and Door knows them well. It's how she gets her freedom to wander. He knows she'll follow as he turns and heads back the way he came, deeper into the Circus and the parts of it that the guests never see, heading for the Acrobat tent where most of them will be practicing. He does drop down one hand though, resting it on her as they walk. He gets along with almost everyone but he prefers the company of his beasts and he has a soft spot he doesn't pretend not to have for Door.

The Acrobat tent is colorful and fluid, never seeming to be the same shape it was after each blink of the eye and tonight they've apparently gone for piebald colors, everything in black and white checkers and stripes. Shiro pushes aside one of the side flaps that will let them into the performer section of the tent and holds it aside for Door as well before letting it drop. The dressing room is empty and he heads for the center ring where he expects the majority to be before the tent opens to the public and the seats begin to fill.

"Come on. And don't let them paint your wings again. There's still glitter in the bathtub."

[doorofarch]

She followed easily at his side, near-silent and sometimes seeming to fade into the shadows. It was a habit and one that she hadn't yet learned to shake, if she ever even tried to.

The Acrobat tent always confused her a little, whether it was a full kaleidoscope of color or if it was the domino effect they had going on at the moment, but she didn't let that confusion bother her, though she did heave a sigh at the warning, looking dejected just for a moment before she was right back up again, wings still tucked down but tail going a mile a minute, not quite hard enough to send her back feet sliding, but nearly so.

She didn't bark to point his attention to one of the crowd-favorite acrobats -one of the ones who'd been there longer than Door had and who was, quite likely, their best bet as far as gathering information- but she did whuff happily, butting her head up under his hand to get his attention.

[headspacedad]

Watching her droop - and then pick right back up again, brings a fond smile to Shiro's face and he exhales something that might almost be a laugh. Her head gets another stroke and then he's searching the writhing crowd of performers.

He doesn't exactly trust any of the Acrobats. No one sensible would. But they play by their own set of rules too and he understands those enough that he can work with them. Door's nudge at his hand has him looking down at her and then frowning and following her direction.

She's not wrong.

One of her ears gets a gentle tug. He just hates owing favors.

But he heads over to talk to the Marquis all the same, because there's no one better for the job and if Shiro is going to do this he's not going to do it by half-measures. Door he leaves on her own to have fun with the other entertainers until he's done with working out a deal with the Marquis and by extension his troupe. He knows that Door likes company and he knows she and the rest of the Acrobats won't get into trouble while he's busy. At least not too much of it.

[doorofarch]

Not too much trouble at all, and she didn't get painted up or glittered in that time. She did, however, get May pole ribbons braided up both of her forepaws. They were subtly-shifting shades of blue, and whoever had braided them had left short streamers at her elbows that would flutter when she walked, and the weave was tight enough to stay in place without hindering her movement or her circulation.

Of course, she was also happy to show off her own tricks while the acrobats practicing did theirs. She turned herself in a circle, first one way and then the other, she joined a line of ribbon dancers snaking in floor patterns across the space of their center ring, she sat, she shook a paw -and high-fived- anyone who got close enough, and was quite enjoying herself, all said.

Really it was enough that she'd all but forgotten about the two men who were the reason they were here to see the Acrobats in the first place.

[headspacedad]

Shiro doesn't walk back over right away once his business is done. He has a wide range of beasts that follow him. Some are angry and violent, some are wild and fierce, some are nightmares dredged off the very bottom of the ocean floor or the deepest jungle shadow. And some, like Door, are hearts of gold that reflect inside and out. He doesn't like that they have to live in cages but in the Circus, sometimes its as much for their own safety as anyone else's. He's got his own show to prepare for though and no matter how much fun she's having, they both have to get back to their part of this world.

Most of his communication with his beasts isn't verbal. He relies on body and hand motion and, when they're not looking to see it click and whistles and hums. He hums now for Door, knowing she's tuned enough to him to hear it even past the Acrobats. His fingertips tap the outside of his thigh. say goodbye, time to go

[doorofarch]

She perked at the summons, ears lifting before relaxing again, acknowledgement give, she gave one last high-five and unfolded to her feet, wings stretching for a moment before settling against her back again, head held high and tail waiving as she returned to his side.

She wasn't smug, exactly, but she was definitely proud of herself for having gotten around his no-painting order while still having some color added, since she knew he'd notice the ribbons, they weren't that subtle after all.

She didn't sit, since she knew they were leaving, but she did bump her shoulder against his leg, just once, letting him know she was ready to go whenever he was.

seem like a good place to wrap it up?

[headspacedad]

Between her and the Acrobats he knows he shouldn't be surprised at all that she's wearing color. He can't say he really minds either. She didn't go against his orders, she just found a way to keep them and still get what she wanted. He can never bring himself to discipline cleverness. So his hand drops down to find her head and he gives her ears a friendly ruffle. Good job, clever girl.

"You can wear them in the performance."

He's debated keeping her out of the show tonight, just in case those two from earlier come to it but after talking it over with the Marquis he's decided to keep her in. Better to have things come to light on their terms, if there is anything to come to light, than to let it happen somewhere else in the dark where they can't watch for it.

Not that he's going to do anything that uses some of her more... subtle powers. They'll stick to the physical winged ones and let her play second string so she only gets as much attention as the others. It's a test. They'll see how it goes. At the moment though, he's got the rest of his team to prepare for the show. Her head gets one more long stroke and he heads for the exit.

works for me, thanks for the thread!

[doorofarch]

There was, of course, always the chance that the pair had simply come to check up on her, that they'd been the ones to deliver her to the Ringmaster in the first place and wanted to make sure she was still where they'd left her, it wasn't as if Door would have known either way.

No, what she knew was that it was time to go practice for that evening's performance, and so she happily fell into step beside him once more, close enough to touch but not so close as to get underfoot.