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....


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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 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

Tardis | Doctor Who | OTA

[1st_companion]

Beast Tamer
He's a slight figure in a deep blue suit, one that sparkles like the cosmos under the spotlights in the center ring, as does the nearly-black jewel in his ear. The beasts he tames are the strangest, the most other-worldly, things from dying or dead worlds, things like no one has seen before or since.

And sometimes, just sometimes, people say that it's almost as if time has stopped while he works with them.

Sideshow Exhibit
In one of the small tents off of the main big top of the sideshow sat The Cosmos. He was a compact figure, and while he didn't look deformed on first glance, on second -and third- it was clear that something wasn't right. Sometimes he almost seemed to glow, or didn't quite seem to fit in his skin, and his eyes were either the black void of the space between stars, or something liquid and glowing gold like the heart of a dying star.

Shay | Uglies series | OTA

[1st_cutter]

Tightrope Walker
Shay wasn't the main attraction as far as the tightrope walkers went, but she was still popular, light on her feet as all of them were, and known for flexibility and her daring, always performing as if she actually did weigh nothing and a fall wouldn't hurt her. Some said she almost seemed to hover at times.

She generally wore a punched-metal wolf mask when performing, a bright red jewel in its ear to match the one in her own.

Beast
Shay was something like a wolf, with the bracelet marking her as owned by the circus high up on a foreleg. She'd been too wild to do anything with, already half-feral even before the Ringmaster had gotten ahold of her.

She was something like a wolf, certainly, but also something like a big cat, depending on the angle and the lighting. She had a tendency towards biting, and only a few of the beast tamers had had any sort of luck with her.

Thela | Tron-verse OC | OTA

[1st_program]

Acrobat
Thela was a ribbon dancer, though her ribbons weren't the traditional swaths of cloth, they were strings of triangles that never seemed to tangle regardless of the loops and tumbles she put herself -and them- through.

Her costume was decked with eyelash coque feathers which made it look rather as if she were followed by a swarm of bees wherever she moved. Her earring, like the spangles that decked her hair and her costume, was a warm amber, like honey, which added to the bee-queen impression.

Sideshow Performer
Thela was, among other things, a human calculator. She could also, for a small fee, translate anything anyone gave her into whatever they wanted it translated into. Though her specialty was codes and ciphers, she could also translate from almost any language to almost any other language without losing anything in the process.

The bracelet that marked her ownership was a pale, almost luminescent blue, like milk-glass.

Dutch | Killjoys (SyFy series) | OTA

[bestkilljoyperiod]

Acrobat
Dutch's act incorporated weapons as often as not, wickedly curved blades mostly, though the occasional actual sword and now and then a whip, the lash of which was studded at irregular intervals with hooked spines of metal.

She moved easily, smoothly, never so much as snagging herself on any of them even despite how often her hair was loose and her costume was something airy and billowing.

Sideshow Performer - fire breather
No one knew for sure if the brilliant green fire that Dutch could spew on command was on purpose or not, and she certainly wasn't telling anyone. The bulk of her act, aside from being able to blow fire rings, was lighting candles, matches, and the fans that she danced with.

Iggy | Maximum Ride (future-AU) | OTA

[blindbirdboy]

Beast Tamer
Iggy worked with the raptors, not just the birds, but the pair of velociraptors as well, and he was good at it even despite the fact that he was usually blindfolded. He was calm and steady, wings sitting low on his own shoulders, flicking open now and again to remind them who was in charge. He did, however, care for his charges, making sure they were clean and well fed, known to stay up with any of them who were ailing until they were well again.

Sideshow Exhibit
Iggy was clearly one of the failures, oh he could have been in the inner circle, he was certainly pretty enough for it, but the wings were too big and too awkward and more than that too flexible which made him unsettling on many levels.

Not only that, he was blind, eyes not just filmed over, but missing, the empty sockets usually covered by a wide band of soft leather.

Techie | Dredd (2012) | OTA

[clan_techie]

Sideshow exhibit
Techie had a way of unsettling people even before they actually saw his unnaturally blue eyes, but that sort of thing tended to happen when someone was as pale as he was, almost translucent, veins visible under his skin, looking just a little too angular, more like circuits than a circulatory system.

He was also a human prediction engine, he could guess heights within fractions of an inch and weights within a quarter pound, he was also good at guessing names and ages with the same sort of eerie accuracy.

Menial
Everyone knew that if you needed something delicate or detailed repaired you tracked down Techie. Costumes, equipment, even security systems all fell under his purview at one time or another.

Of course, finding him tended to be tricky, he managed to hide himself away in the smallest of places and almost always seemed to know when someone was looking for him, especially those he didn't want to work with.

Angie Martinelli | Agent Carter | OTA

[criesoncue]

Beast Tamer
Angie worked with all sorts of animals, because she was good with most all of them. Despite her narrow frame and the fact that she barely hit five foot five even in heeled boots, there was something solid about her, something that wasn't to be argued with.

Her favorites were the big cats, but she would also happily put her head in the crocodile's mouth and let the python wind itself around her, or feed the eagles tidbits from her own mouth.

Clown
No one was sure, upon looking at her, what had caused Angie's assignment as a clown. She was certainly pretty enough, or so everyone said, until they heard her talk. Her voice was at turns shrill and gravely, as if her throat had taken a massive amount of damage at some point.

Most guessed that she'd been an acrobat who'd gotten tangled, or a tightrope walker who'd fallen and broken her neck. No one ever guessed that she'd been a beast tamer who'd gotten on the wrong side of one of the animals.

Fisk | MCU TV | OTA

[deadlyname]

Strong Man
Some would say that the Ringmaster had taken the easy way out, making Fisk into one of the show's strongmen, but it wasn't the external changes that were the work of art as much as the internal, paring that man's mind down to something so easy to manage, easy to control, that had been the real work of art. The physical augmentations were there as window dressing, really.

Dash | Minority Report | OTA

[detail_oriented]

Acrobat
Dash's act was never the same twice, and that was because his platforms and his trapezes changed every night, sometimes in the middle of his act. But he always seemed to know right beforehand what was going to move and where it was going to move, sometimes jackknifing himself mid-movement to catch where the new landing was going to be.

He seemed to delight in letting the audience think he was going to fall and catching himself at the last moment, swinging and stepping lightly to safety.

Steve Rogers | MCU | OTA

[doesntrunaway]

Tightrope Walker
Steve had slightly more bulk than most tightrope walkers did, but it didn't slow him down any, and in fact the spread of his shoulders seemed to help him keep his balance, often moving like someone smaller, light on his feet and unconcerned by heights, no matter how high they strung his tightrope.

Strong Man
Steve always seemed slightly uncomfortable in his act, whether he was lifting girls in sequined dresses or motorcycles, or both at once, he always gave the impression -despite his dazzling smile- that he'd really rather be somewhere else.

Even so he was popular as far as the strongman acts went, though he never seemed to fully enjoy that, either.

Door | Neverwhere | OTA

[doorofarch]

Beast
They called her the She-Wolf of Lost London, because for the most part she did look like a wolf.

Of course, the fact that she had wings, leathery and bat-like, put lie to the fact that she was any sort of wolf at all.

She also had a tendency to get out of her enclosure and wander the circus, often frightening guests or just getting into places that she shouldn't be.

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.]

Abigail Fury | MCU crack-verse OC | OTA

[gail_force_fury]

Beast Tamer
Abigail was known for being able to work with even the most difficult of beasts, using no more than a short crop and a clicker, along with a handful of stern commands. If asked, she always said that you just had to talk to them in a language they understood, and that had always worked for her.

Tightrope Walker
Abby's act was some combination of tightrope walking and aerial ballet, most not realizing that she was wearing a harness -cleverly disguised as part of her costume- until she 'fell' from the tightrope, or in some cases simply walked off of it as if she were climbing stairs out into nothing.

She always ended up on the floor by the end of it, the tail ends of her harness scarves looped around her hands and arms, balanced on her toes, twirling slowly like a ballerina in a music box.

Zepar | OC | OTA

[hurtyourealgood]

Acrobat
Everyone always thought that the wings -pale gray and speckled like a pigeon's- were simply part of Zepar's costume. At least until he spread or flexed them during his act, arching them up over his shoulders or spreading them wide for balance, even using them to glide a few yards now and again.

Sideshow Exhibit
He was billed as Fallen Lucifer Himself, something that had amused him at first, but had started to wear on him after a while, though even he could agree that it made sense. His wings were tattered and torn, clearly scorched in places even after this long, and his back and shoulders where they attached were scarred as if he'd been burned, as if he'd fallen like a comet crashing to earth.

Clint 'Hawkeye' Barton | MCU | OTA

[ihazanest]

Acrobat
Clint was one of the tumblers, and not just a tumbler, but a knife-dancer at that. He could manipulate the blades just as easily as he moved his own body, fluid, constant motion, his whole act seemed to be one continuous movement. He never came to a full stop until he was finished, he did pause, now and again, but even in those brief moments he was still poised, his momentum just arrested for the span of a heartbeat, stirring again easily each time.

His routine always ended the same way, balanced on the balls of his feet, back arched at an incredible angle, one arm stretched ceilingward, the knife in that hand acting as a spire, with his other hand stretched out behind him for balance, that knife held flat against his forearm. All in all he looked rather like an art nouveau nymph of some kind before the lights went dark and he exited the stage.

Sideshow performer - Marksman
How one could be as excellent a marksman as Clint was, while blind, no one could readily fathom. The story was that he'd been demoted and blinded as punishment, though the storytellers could never agree if he'd been trying to escape himself, or if he'd been aiding one of the acrobats in her escape. Though if it was the latter, it had either worked, or she'd vanished completely when he could no longer see.

He'd been an acrobat himself before his fall from grace, his jeweled earring had been traded for a bracelet that was more of a bracer, something to keep his arm from getting too mangled by the bowstring. He was not only blind, but blindfolded with a broad strip of burgundy silk, but he could still shoot the center pip out of an ace card, and William Tell an apple on a volunteer's head every time.

Gabreel King | OC | OTA

[malecompanion]

Sideshow Performer - contortionist
Gabreel was as flexible as they came, even more flexible than that, really, as if like a shark he had soft cartilage instead of solid bone. No one was quite sure why he wasn't one of the inner circle as he was certainly pretty enough for it, though the rumors flew thick and fast, that the flexibility hadn't been intentional, that it was because he never spoke, that it was because he couldn't speak, that it was because he had been, once, but had fallen from the ringmaster's good graces.

But, of course since he didn't, or couldn't, talk, he never confirmed nor denied any of the rumors, he just did his part to entertain the guests, whether it was emerging from a suitcase, or folding himself into highly improbable shapes, or, sometimes, after the show, entertaining them in the way that most dreamed about when they heard someone was flexible.

Tightrope walker
Gabreel was one of the stars of the show, his tightropes a veritable web high above the stage, and always without a net. His costume was little more than red and orange gossamer and gold glitter, making him look like a living flame with his porcelain-pale skin and rich red hair.

He moved easily, lightly, seeming to flicker now and again, all but dancing from one wire to the next and back again, a candle flickering in a dying breeze. His music was always the same, the Firebird, and he was like a phoenix, rising from his own ashes.

Of course, when he wasn't performing he seemed dimmer, not a guttering flame, but a banked one, keeping to himself when he could, a silent observer of others.

Samira | OC | OTA

[snakepitcougar]

Beast tamer
Samira didn't need a whip, or a chair, or even a top hat, though she did wear one, miniature and perched coquettishly atop her head. She didn't need these things because the beasts that she tamed were snakes. Cobras, mostly, but some other vipers as well, and rattlesnakes. Though the star of her act was the 15 foot python that she occasionally wore as a dress, or at least a wrap over the leather corset and belted skirt she usually wore. The jewel in her ear was an acrid yellow, almost chartreuse, she liked it because it was a mark of her rank and an indication of poison.

Some people said that her tongue was forked, like that of her charges, but no one knew for sure, the same people also said that she had fangs and was just as deadly as any of her vipers. She actively encouraged these rumors, though she never spoke of them herself, but she played into them easily, as cold and as calculating as any snake, and just as silent more often than not.

Sideshow exhibit - A Snakelady
Samira was one of the failures, she was still a woman from the waist up, but from the waist down she was nothing but snake, the smooth, shiny scales of a python, but with the dusty coloring and pattern of a rattlesnake, she even had a rattle, and like her serpentine kin, it did rattle when she was upset, or scared, or just giving a warning.

Even the upper half of her still had snakelike features, slitted eyes, retractable fangs, a dark forked tongue that she used to scent the air outside of her enclosure, smooth glass, too tall for her to pull herself up over, and too thick for her to break. The only thing she wore was a stack of bangles up each arm, one of them in the collection was the sign of her ownership.

beast tamer

[itmeanstruth]

Minoru may have been approaching middle age, but he moved with the grace and agility of an acrobat in their early twenties. He was well-suited for the tightrope or trapeze, and that was where the circus veterans expected the newcomer to end up.

It likely struck Samira as odd, then, when he approached her in the middle of practice.

"The ringmaster sent me." he nodded with a smile. His expression was genuinely friendly, as though he were here by choice instead of being coerced or controlled. "My name's Minoru."

He didn't hesitate to approach the snakes. The snakes, in turn, regarded the scruffy-looking man with respect, almost as if he was one of their own.

"He said I'd be a good fit for your act. I'm a Snake Sage."

Bane | Dark Knight Rises | OTA

[the_reckoner]

Beast
Bane was only rarely put on stage any more, there weren't many who could handle him, and he'd mauled the last one who'd tried to control him without getting to know him first. He was still kept on, however, because he was an excellent watchdog for the sideshow tent.

He'd been a performer once, they all knew it, but no one could quite agree what he'd been, most assumed that with his bulk, all of it muscle, he'd either been a strongman or a beast tamer, though others pointed out the horrific scarring down his spine, the muzzle that covered a mangled wreck of a face and said that maybe that muscle, that extra weight was a punishment in and of itself, that he'd been something lighter, something prettier, but no one could ever agree.

For the most part, he was just left in his cage at the back of the sideshow, at the back because he generally set to baying loudly enough to wake the dead if anyone got close.

Beast Tamer
Bane was one of the crowd-favorite tamers, mostly because he was half-beast himself, a veritable wall of muscle. He moved surprisingly easily for a man of his size, light on his feet, practically dancing around the beasts he tamed naked from the waist up, save for the mask he wore. The mask was terrifying, making him look almost like one of the beasts he tamed so easily, a maw almost, giving the impression that he was always snarling, baring a mouthful of teeth.

He did keep a whip on hand, just in case, but he rarely needed to use it, most beasts he subdued with his bare hands. There were many pet theories about his mask, that it was just a scare tactic, that it was because he'd lost control of one of the beasts, and had nearly lost his life to it, that it was because he was as good as a beast himself, even. All they knew was that he never took it off, and no one saw him at meals, he always ate alone in his quarters.

[newboyontheblock]

(( hope this is okay! ))

He paces and snarls, bares his teeth when anyone from the circus approaches and snarls, a low sound that rumbles deep in his throat. There's a fire that rages beneath his skin, a fury that is barely banked by the way his fingers curl tight into claws as they dig into the ground and the long, lashing tail that arches out from his tailbone, his ears large and tufted as they rise above his head.

He knows, he remembers, when this wasn't his life. When he had been more--but he can't remember details. All he knows is that he desires escape, freedom, and he spends much of his time staring at the sky. He's considered too rowdy for the ring, still, too untrained.

There was a time in his life, he vaguely remembers, when he wouldn't kill unless it was absolutely necessary. There was a time when he had to smile and pretend at being kind, gentle. These days, when he tries to smile, he gets screams for it; it looks more like a grimace than anything else.

Each attempt from the Ringleader to control him has failed, the man stepping hastily back when John snaps at him, tries to tear his throat out. It's been a few days, though, there are whispers as the other members of the Circus skirt around his cage.

"I don't fear you," John snarls, voice low as he crouches at the bars, eyes narrow as he stares at the huge man facing him. It's a lie; there's something about him that terrifies John down to his bones, but one of the first things John had ever learned was to not show his fear. "You'll never tame me."

Sine Nomine | OC

[rinsesickle]

(Is likely to be the Ringmaster's bodyguard, given she can subdue basically anyone and negate basically anything that harms them. Maybe there's an assassination attempt or someone catches her torturing a troublesome someone? Other than that, Sine'd likely be an exotic dancer, so...sideshow performer. Come on in between performances?

Info here!)

Shiro | Voltron: LD | ota

[headspacedad]

beast: Shiro came looking for someone. He doesn't remember who any more but once, somewhere in the back of his lost time, there was someone he was trying to find. He doesn't remember them now. He just remembers that, once upon a time, there was someone. That was before his change. Before he became the hulking black lion he is now. He doesn't remember what he was before he was the lion, he just dreams about it sometimes. Fever dreams of pain and anger and despair, of bones twisting and someone laughing. He always wakes up panting, terrified, unable to remember the details.

They use him when they want something particularly frightening looking. He's large and muscled, incredibly smooth and silent on his large claw tipped paws, faster than any animal has a right to be. He cracks elephant bones with his jaws for the amusement of the crowds. But he's not pretty. He's scarred and his mane is short. One of his legs has steel that peaks out of the fur sometimes when he moves it. They bring him out when they want a fight. He's put beast tamers down before. Otherwise they leave him alone in a cage in the back of a dark tent and use him as a threat to new workers. And he lays with his nose between the bars that glow with archaic purple runes and watches for the stars.

[lionroll]

[He had been sent to find Shiro.

After everyone had been split up thanks to the wormhole, their leader had been the only one still missing. Rumors mentioned a black lion as a new attraction in the mysterious intergalactic, interdimensional circus, Cirque de la Lune. Team Voltron couldn't pass up the chance to investigate.

Except, they found the actual Black Lion. Seemingly abandoned on a desolate planet, no trace of its Paladin, console covered with dust. Allura and Coran were ready to try new tactics to hunt Shiro down, but Hunk's gut kept pulling his mind back to the circus.

It took a bit of convincing the others to check the place out. Coran was overly wary. Old contacts of his slipped information about the truth of the place. The twisted Ringmaster, and his experimentations. A Brakomi elder warned the Paladins to stay away. For if their teammate had been taken, there would be no way of getting him back.

Hunk refused to drop it though.

Once he was given the go ahead, they hunted down those who had tickets already. With how rare and hard to come by as they were they could only appropriate one.

Keith demanded he be the one to go. Then Lance. Pidge volunteered as well, but ultimately it was Hunk who was chosen. While he might be prone to some panicking, in a pinch he could keep his head, and ultimately out of all the Paladins, he was the least likely to cause a scene . Or, more importantly, be the least likely to garner the Ringmaster's attention.

Slipping into a disguise, an intricate mask covering his face, fake tattoos over his arms, Hunk was coached by Coran on the best ways to stay unnoticed, and out of sight.

While much of him was terrified at his upcoming task, knowing he might be the only one able to rescue Shiro gave him the courage he was going to need.

And did he ever need it.

The circus itself was vast, amazing, and grotesque all at once. Slipping into the mixed bag of a crowd, including some Galra, Hunk took his seat. Watching the show was difficult. Knowing the truth his heart couldn't help, but ache, for those who had been changed so terribly. Stolen from families, loved ones, their homes... Transfigured into literal monsters, Hunk felt physically sick. He almost wish his gut hadn't led him here.

Especially when the Black Lion appeared.

Hunk's breath caught in his throat. Something deep within him shattered with pain, and sorrow. Watching the beast crunch through bone, roar with such volume that it shook the poles holding the tent... The scars all along his body, the splotch of white in his mane, the metal peeking through fur on his leg...

Shiro.

It's hard to fight back the tears that prick the corner of his eyes. After so long, they've finally found him, and he was that. A quiet sort of rage filled Hunk, one that kept those tears at bay. Tapping the thin bracelet around his wrist to signal he'd found his target, Hunk slipped out of the tent to follow the beast tamer dragging the giant lion back to his cage. It would take an hour or so before the others could come. Somehow, he had to get Shiro away from the tents. Out into the open.

Once the tamer had whipped Shiro back to his proper place, Hunk took action. Shipping out his Bayard, he smashed the canon into the back of the tamer's skull. There was a sickening crunch, and Hunk apologized with everything in his heart. Coran's words echoed in his head, 'For most of them, death would be a welcomed gift.'

Slowly, cautiously, Hunk approached the cage.]

Shiro...?

Sherlock Holmes || Sherlock BBC || m/m

[desecrated]

Sideshow Performer/Exhibit
He's of quick tongue and wit as a probable fortune teller or psychic, though he's also probably viewed as being odd-looking as well, hence the duality of the role. He's liable to be paid for whatever the Ringmaster deems are worthy of his services. He has no say in the matter, obviously.


Slave
Perhaps after being tried in various roles and ... disqualified for trying to run away or encourage a revolt, he's now forced to live in the shadows with his punishment for an existance.

Kubo | Kubo and the Two Strings

[ifyoumustblink]

Sideshow Performer - The Storyteller
Perhaps the only more powerful than he in terms of raw magic is the Ringmaster. Some may possess their fire or strength, or shapeshifting, or spells--but Kubo can create and destroy with naught but an instrument and his voice. Perhaps he may be the deadliest of all.

His skin glows with the divinity of the moon. His bangs, once covering one eye now hide both. What he wears, black and gold, shimmers and flows as he jumps, leaps, twirls between his greater-than-life-size and occasionally massive creations made of paper, leaves, metal--anything loose will come to his call. These creations depict his stories to an epic scale as his voice resonates through the entire circus even if he whispers. His voice must be heard, after all. His jewel is a glimmering moonstone that shines brighter in darkness than it does in light. Much like him, really. He is almost never in the spotlight during his performances. Not only does he already shine like the moon on his own, but he tends to become… subdued under light.

A fine means of control whenever he gets too… angry creating things he shouldn't be rowdy. Especially since lights in the circus are everywhere.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ can redo if you'd prefer a different role for 'em

[dustless]

Frisk's never been to the circus before, much less something like this. The beasts were expected, even if they frowned at their treatment; the acrobats too, though they thought there would only be swings high in the air for those. And of course, the clown, though they felt bad for the (very, very few, to their suspicion) children that seemed afraid of them.

The storyteller was a prime example of that. They lean against the edge of the bleacher-things they were seated in, almost enough for the moving spotlight to clip them, sometimes.

About halfway through the performance, they learn that this was, perhaps, not the wisest of ideas.

Their locket comes loose and disappears into the whirlwind of...everything that his latest creation is being made from, and it takes most of their self-control not to fling themselves into the ring right then and there. Hopefully they'll be able to go get it back later. They're certainly going to try.

Grace Ford | OC

[barre_none]

Tightrope walker

Light but strong, she's very good at what she does, and she loves it - it was an easy role to fall into, though when she performs, falling isn't something that she makes a habit of. She likes pleasing the crowd and loves the thrill of being in the spotlight in general, but when she's not, she tries to get on with the other performers and enjoys being around them. For the most part anyway.

kurt wagner [nightcrawler] ❧ x-men: apocalypse ❧ ota for gen; m/m for ships

[shadowblends]

acrobat

His peculiar bone structure and small frame aid in his ability of being ridiculously flexible and quick. Whatever it is - contortion, tumbling, trapeze, suspension, dancing ... He's practiced any and all of it to perfect his performances. He's also quite the showman and doesn't seem to mind that most people think his blue skin and long tail are all 'for show' - even if they most certainly are not.

The teleporting is something that he only does for certain shows.

He's also very kind and friendly toward any and all of his fellow performers/co-workers and that includes the people on the 'lower' rung of the ladder.


[and because i'm a terrible person, slave is totally another option ...]

Ezera | OC | OTA

[snakechahmah]

Sideshow Performer: The exotic Dancer

She used to shine so bright with her starry eyes held up to the skies as she tightrope walked high above on, what felt like, the roof of the world. But that was then. She vaguely recalls a single memory like a dream—meekly suggesting that everyone at the circus deserved equal rights. That was the night she fell to earth like a piece of a dead star. Not literally, thank goodness, but she was quickly regaled to clothing that revealed her midriff and covered the bottom half of her face. As an exotic dancer in the sideshow, she could undulate like a snake, cajole with a glance from under heavily kohl-rimmed eyes and part gentleman (she’d use the term loosely) with their change. But she could only look at the stars now, not be one.

On her upper arm was a single silver cuff-a gentle reminder of her ownership.

Bucky Barnes | MCU | OTA

[iknewhim]

Beast Tamer
Bucky trained and performed with the beasts bare-handed (and bare-chested) as often as not. Some thought that he shouldn't be in the First Circle due to the fact that his left arm was metal, not flesh and bone, but that arm was a work of art on its own, and the fact that he was fearless regardless of the beast he was working with were proof enough that he was right where he should be.

Beast
No one was sure if the one they called The Soldier was a failure or one of the ones who'd fallen from grace, but whatever had happened, he'd clearly been through hell. His left foreleg was crudely articulated, made of tarnished metal and badly grafted onto his shoulder. His whole left side was a mass of scarring, and he had a habit of lashing out at anyone who got close, snarling and throwing himself against the bars of his cage, sometimes to the point of rolling the whole works over.