Original Idea by the old GM, @Aleranicus, when I once took the role as Co-GM.
The Carnival arrived, much fanfare indeed. Along with The Circus, in a time of need...
Your days have been dark ones of late. Months and months go by, and things have been stagnant or decaying around you. The factory hums, people collect paychecks, but... there's something in the air about your town. The cracks in the sidewalk loom wider. The mood of your neighbors turns darker. And your baby sister seems to be losing that spark of hope and innocence she always had. But what can you do in this world to change it? You've got bills to pay, a job to get to, and it leaves you too bone tired to do anything else except subsist. But tonight, something changed. Tonight you left work and headed home like usual, only to see something you had never seen before in this town. The city park had been overtaken by a forest of tents, and uniquely decorated booths only belonging to a carnival, all ringed by a wrought iron fence, its bars warped into the shapes of birds in flight, dragons battling knights, and other fanciful images. The tents themselves had no uniformity of look. They all came in black, white, emerald, scarlet, purple, and a hundred other hues you've seen but cannot name. Drawn by this strange happening, you approach the ticket booth along with a growing throng of individuals. It is not free to enter, but you are shocked by how cheap it is to buy a ticket. Surely they mean to milk you dry for games of chance or prizes. But you find none of these. As the sun sets, the circus tents come alive with supernatural, and stupendous acts. You are not charged a dime for any of these, but some ask for strange things- for you to kiss your own palm upon entering, the name of your favorite toy as a child, or the last name of your first love. A fortune teller knows your name, that your birthday is in two weeks, and advises you to call your mother promptly tomorrow at noon. When you do, you find that you reached her just in time to help her with a medical emergency, saving her life. But that will come later. The knife thrower volunteers you for her act. Her blades will buzz close to your skin, sheering off your hair. When you step away, it looks professionally cut, and Michael Bellikoff, your crush, compliments you when he sees you later on. But the strangest thing comes as you're eating caramel popcorn, taking a shortcut between tents. Two performers are whispering around a corner. They plot about hunting a "rooted demon" in the town, how "its' corruption has only begun taking root" and how they will speak to the Circus Masters about "leading a hunt" for the beast. This puzzles you, but you've seen a theater tent earlier. No doubt this part is just an act.
In the morning, the carnival - the circus - is gone. And the shadows cast about town are strangely lighter than before...
In times gone by, battles between creatures of Order and Chaos played out among humans in the every day. The Powers-That-Be have since... mellowed out a bit, and declared a truce. No more cities laid waste by fire and ash, no more beasts running rampant in the streets devouring innocents. And for a while, the truce held. But the forces of Chaos were never trusted, and rightfully so. They sneak and skulk through the human world, infesting towns and cities with their insidious presence, claiming earth and souls alike for the dark powers. The creatures of Order know that to call them out on this behavior would tear the treaty asunder. Millions would die from the destruction unleashed by the Powers-That-Be going to war on the mortal plane. And so, they themselves did something remarkable. They cheated. One of their numbers voluntarily Fell, was cast down to Earth, and forfeited most of it's power. But, in exchange, it was given the strength to empower others in the quest to root out the daemons of chaos to new, mythical heights. These performers form a pact with the Being, called "The Ringmaster", to forfeit their souls in exchange for some measure of power. For 7 years, their lives are forfeited to the Circus. And they may renew the contract for another 7 years after it expires, again and again until they perish in battle or grow tired of the fight. The Ringmaster and the Circus move from town to town, city to city, as a traveling troupe of a city-sized-circus. To the citizens of its latest stop, it is a place of respite and wonder. A lure to draw in all those cast in the shadows of daemons. And while the people are distracted by the glorious acts before them, teams of mystical performers-turned-warriors have one night to hunt the daemon of the city. To tarry too long in one place is to invite the ire and hunger of the daemon hordes...
1.) Obey the rules of the Site. 2.) Be courteous to others. ~ This is an RP site. We're here for fun, but that fun should not come at the expense of others. If it looks like you're being a jerk OOC, I will ask you to leave. 3.) Be dramatic, but don't be a drama llama. ~ This RP is about a supernatural circus. I encourage drama of all sorts- whether it's descriptions of stupendous performances or feats of magical combat. Likewise, interpersonal drama is encouraged, but please don't stir the pot "for the lulz". 4.) Characters ~ Your character should follow the below sheet, but feel free to add any details or sections you would like. The only thing not up for debate is the Audition. If you do not follow the Audition instructions, I will reject your CS immediately. 5.) If, in any event, you have to leave, please let me know.
Their True Name Their Stage Name Their Appearance (Anime or fantastic theme encouraged) The Date they Joined the Circus (The Circus began on January 1, 1634) The Act they perform when not on the combat team - Juggler, Fortune Teller, Acrobat, Ice Sculptor, etc. - along with any sort of mystical powers one has been granted by their Contract. - The powers of the Contract come with an RP cost, a compulsion, such as "I cannot tell a lie, not even a kind one" or "I cannot give in to fear or terror." Breaking this compulsion means your character will be expelled from the Circus forevermore. Be creative with this. I look forward to seeing what you come up with! Why they Joined the Circus. - What price did the Ringleader pay to get you to sign the contact? Did you approach the Ringleader, or did they approach you? Their Biography - One may go completely ham here, or leave it a mystery. I will accept a mystery if the writing on the rest of the Character Sheet indicates you have sufficient skill to capitalize on this fact in the RP. Their Connections - How does this performer interact with at least one other person's character? As an example, "Xander was the first performer the Ringleader recruited into the Circus. He often leads the away teams hunting daemons or he manages the performances that draw in the mortals during the hunts- whichever the Ringleader is not doing at the time." Their Audition - Here, I want you to describe your character's act from the perspective of one of the visitors of the Circus. It should evoke a sense of wonder, of joy, of excitement, or some other emotion. Have fun with this. I expect it to have a beginning, middle, and end. No novels are needed, but this will be the main deciding factor in accepting or rejecting the CS.
Their True Name Agneta Adria Their Stage Name Lady Aqua Their Appearance
The Date they Joined the Circus on November 13, 1989
The Act they perform when not on the combat team - Juggler, Fortune Teller, Acrobat, Ice Sculptor, etc. - along with any sort of mystical powers one has been granted by their Contract. - The powers of the Contract come with an RP cost, a compulsion, such as "I cannot tell a lie, not even a kind one" or "I cannot give in to fear or terror." Breaking this compulsion means your character will be expelled from the Circus forevermore. Be creative with this. I look forward to seeing what you come up with!
Why they Joined the Circus.
Their Biography Agneta Adria used to live in a underwater kingdom where she was born in the royal family with her two sisters, Aiyana the oldest and Annemette the youngest, her mother rule the kingdom and Agneta and her sisters were princesses....Well Agneta used to be a princess....Ok, let me explain. Sure she use to be happy being in the royal family but she always get overshadow by her older sister with her singing voice and her gorgeous red hair, there was no way that Agneta can top her older sister but she is grateful to be with Annemette who is also being overshadow
Their Connections - How does this performer interact with at least one other person's character? As an example, "Xander was the first performer the Ringleader recruited into the Circus. He often leads the away teams hunting daemons or he manages the performances that draw in the mortals during the hunts- whichever the Ringleader is not doing at the time."
Their Audition - Here, I want you to describe your character's act from the perspective of one of the visitors of the Circus. It should evoke a sense of wonder, of joy, of excitement, or some other emotion. Have fun with this. I expect it to have a beginning, middle, and end. No novels are needed, but this will be the main deciding factor in accepting or rejecting the CS.
@Majoras End Okay, a question I've been having issue with. How would a Contract with a demon work? Presumably, said demon would already possess powers of their own.
P.S. The formatting in the C.S. hider needs a touch up.
One more thing! The Powers that Be and the ones that Were. Is it a conflict between two long standing rivals or did one party rebel against the actions of the other and split off?
Their True Name Dana Halabi Their Stage Name The Queen of Jungle Cats Their Appearance
The Date they Joined the Circus July 5, 1950 The Act they perform when not on the combat team - Tiger tamer Dana is a were-cheteeh and has the powers of that creature. She is also able to communicate with and command felines. Dana’s contract made her more powerful than other’s of her kind, and granted her long life and an extremely high tolerance for poisons (such as alcohol), and disease. When hunting, she will take several tigers with her. All of the circus' tigers were magically granted long life, and regeneration from combat wounds as part of Dana's contract. However, Dana cannot free the big cats from the circus, even though it tears at her soul, or she will be expelled, and the tigers' magic removed.
Dana’s current “family” are six female Bengali tigers making up her act. She does what she can to protect and comfort the tigers, even climbing into their cages to lie with them at night as they sleep. Dana desperately wants the tigers to be freed from their circus life, but knows she cannot. It’s a dilemma that eats at her every day. She will never leave the circus cats, and has become just as trapped as they are. To cope, when she is not hunting demons, Dana often sneaks off to sample the local nightlife. She usually returns in the morning smelling of alcohol, (but is never drunk), tobacco, and looking like she spent the night in somebody else’s bed. The Ringmaster calls Dana a “wild one,” when he is in a charitable mood and worse when he is not. Dana’s trysts often causes trouble and occasional visits by the local police. But as long as she continues to kill demons, he will do nothing.
Why they Joined the Circus. Dana joined the circus to help out the big cats the circus owned at the time. They were all locked in cages and looked terrible. Her heart sank. But what could she do? She was in luck, for the last lion tamer had just broken his contract after almost being mauled by Ashanti, a huge Bengal tigress who went “on strike.” The Ringmaster was desperate for a new lion tamer, but had no idea what to do Dana knew she had a knack for talking to or controlling cats. Gathering up some courage, Dana approached the Ringmaster and offered him a deal. If Dana could get Ashanti to calm down and perform again, he would make her the circus’ new lion tamer. Of course, she really had no idea what she was asking for.
The Ringmaster agreed to giver her a chance, if only to get Dana to stop bothering him. Dana boldly approached the cage and spoke a few hushed words to the tigress. She then opened the cage door, and stepped inside without Ashanti lifting a paw. Though it took a few minutes for her new boss to recover from his near heart attack, he agreed to hire her, and the two wrote out her first contract later that night.
Their Biography Dana was a child of the streets of Alexandria, Egypt and never knew who here parents were. Dana would eventually stow away on a tramp freighter to escape a local gang war, and wound up in Marseilles. A local Corsican crime syndicate found her on the docks and she would have sold into white slavery or worse had the man she would call “Uncle Marcel” not intervened. Marcel Halabi, a former Lebanese Christian, was an up and coming figure in the Marseilles underworld. To show off his power, he wanted a special girl of his own. Even at 16 Dana was very beautiful, but she was also headstrong, tough, and stubborn. At first, Dana tried to escape. But Marcel had dealt with others of her kind before, and armed his men with guns loaded with silver bullets.
Eventually, the two struck a deal. In return for “services,” Dana would be made into a proper lady. Uncle Marcel brought in tutors who taught the street girl how to speak, read and write in French, and English, and even in Arabic. Other than that, Dana’s education was kept basic. Instead she learned more useful skills, such as how to act, how to eat with a fork and knife, how to dress, how to “perform” in bed, how to tend bar, how to drive, and even how to handle a gun.
After five years, Uncle Marcel had climbed to the top of the Marseilles underworld, and got his dream girl. In that time, the relationship had changed significantly. While still a trophy and occasional sex toy, Marcel respected Dana’s business sense and began to teach her about the drug trade. Alas, all good things must end. Uncle Marcel was gunned down in a hit organized from within his own gang. Dana knew she was next, and decided to flee once again. Taking cash and a few clothes, Dana traveled north to Caen, where she was able to bribe a ship captain to give her passage to the United States, the land of wealth and freedom. Dana landed in New York City a few days later and soon learned that not having the proper documentation in hand was going to make it very difficult for her to gain the wealth and freedom she desired. Going back to the old job as an escort also didn’t appeal to her. She needed somebody to hire her with no questions asked. The circus was in town performing, and somehow she was drawn to it.
Their Connections Dana is a loner, and spends much of her time in the company of her tigers. She is close to all of them, but Ashanti, the largest and smartest of all of them, shares a special bond with Dana. Dana projects an air of “leave me alone” and very few in the circus try to approach her. The one exception is one of the newer members of the circus, a young Belorussian aerialist named Katrina. Katrina saw how the were-cheetah was slowly destroying herself and felt Dan needed a friend no matter how Dana thought of it. It took some persistence and some patience, but eventually Katrina broke through Dana’s defenses and the two grew close. Katrina has since nicknamed her new friend “koshka,” which Russian for female cat, and addresses her as such.
Their Audition The audience sat in tiered benches before the stage, watching the final preparations made for showing the circus’ big cats. The dull roar of the audience die away as the lights dim to darkness. ”Ladies and gentlemen, children of all ages!” The announcer says. “Now, for your enjoyment and amazement we are proud to present the Queen of Cats!”
A spotlight illuminates a woman walking onto the stage and into the huge cage, closing the door behind her. More lights come on and following her into the cage through a large metal chute, are six huge Bengali tigers. Dana, the Queen of Cats, is in a facsimile of a person on African safari. She wears hiking boots, khaki shorts, a brown belt, a bush hat with one side bent upwards Australian style, a leather vest and a large canine tooth suspended on a leather thong around her neck. However, what is most striking is the white shirt tied off above her midriff to expose her navel, and quite a bit of cleavage. Dana has a bullwhip curled up at her side, presumably to help her command the tigers. As she comes into the middle of the cage, most of the men in the audience suddenly stop what they are doing, and pay rapt attention to her.
Dana looks around at all six tigers who bow to her in turn as she calls out their names. And then the show really begins. Dana shouts commands, and the cats perform in ways simply unimaginable to the audience. Leaps, jumps, twirls. It’s practically a cat ballet, with Dana in the center as conductor. And never once does she resort to the whip. Dana appears to finish her act by riding around the cage draped over the biggest tiger in a very sexy display. And then the lights go dark. The crowd jumps to its feet to applaud the show.
But it’s not over. Suddenly, the spotlight comes on again, and there is Dana outside the cage with a single tiger so big even sitting on its haunches, is still taller than its companion. The crowd gasps. Is she crazy?
“Ladies and gentlemen,” Dana says in English accented in Arabic and French. “Do not be alarmed. Ashanti and I wish to thank you for your generous applause.” Dana and the tiger bow as one, and in response the crowd heartily claps. She then looks around the tent at her audience.
“Who among you is brave enough to come face-to-face with a tiger?” she challenges. The crowd grows silent, before a single middle aged woman finally volunteers to come forth and join the Dana on stage. An assistant armed with a .357 magnum revolver escorts the volunteer to the Dana’s side.
“A bit nervous?” Dana asks the woman.
“Yes I am,” the volunteer freely admits. The crowd chuckles at her honest response.
“Have you ever touched a tiger before?” Dana asks. The woman shakes her head no. Dana turns to her feline companion. “Ashanti, come down please.” The majestic cat lies down at Dana’s command.
“Go ahead,” Dana tells the volunteer, who looks at her in askance. “I assure you it is quite safe.” Dana adds.
Hesitantly, the volunteer reaches out to touch Ashanti’s fur, while the crowd holds its breath. And Ashanti does nothing. The woman grows a bit more bold and actually strokes the beautiful cat’s side a few times. She then withdraws her hand, and sighs in relief that it is still attached. She thanks Dana, and is soon back in her seat with a one-of-a-kind experience. As the crowd applauds once more, the spotlight goes out. When the house lights come back on, the last of the tigers can be seen running up the chute as the cage stands empty.
True Name Risyla Sarora Nemoress (Her true name is not something she has shared with anyone other than Aiden)
Stage Name Lady of Blades
Appearance
’Nerissa’ in her human form
Date Joined August 12 1890
The Act
Knife Thrower, Juggler and Acrobat. She does precision and trick shots while using dynamic movements along the lines of parkour to hold her audience’s attention. While she leaps and flips about the arena, she will use her powers to ‘stretch’ her leaps to make jumps that the audience is sure she’s not going to make; or to make moves that border on the impossible, without fully crossing the line.
While moving, she produces a seemingly endless series of thrown weapons at targets all across the stage; hitting them with improbably speed and accuracy.
Her most popular piece is when she selects skeptics from the audience and let them propose a challenge to her, which she then inevitable completes, much to the shock and awe of all.
Nerissa’s Contract is a bit different than others. Given who and what she is, there was little Aiden would be able to offer in terms of Powers, instead he offered her shelter and anonymity on the condition she would never raise her hand against the Powers that Be again.
Why She Joined
To put it plainly, survival. She’d already burned her bridges with the Powers that Be once, and more recently with the Powers that Were; the Circus was the only option that didn’t include being hunted by both sides.
Biography
Once she was an ‘Angel’, a compatriot of Aiden’s brother, and soldier for the Powers that Be. For a long time she was a good soldier, followed orders, did what she was told and never asked any of the ’wrong’ questions; but as humanity began to grow and flourish, she began to see things that upset her, the arrogance and, to use a human term, benign racism of the Celestials towards humanity. She’d always believed they were there to try and guide humanity as teachers and to protect them from dangers they were ill equipped to deal with, not sneer at them from on high and dictate how they behave.
Such thoughts sat and festered in her mind for a long time until a supposed ‘chance’ encounter with an agent of the Powers that Were. He came to her under a banner of peace, saying he wished only to talk, and while she was most suspicious, she let him speak his peace.
The agent spoke of how he had been observing her for some time, not something she found overly assuring for a lot of reasons, and he’d suspected she was not as happy with the decisions of her superiors as she let them think. He spoke of how the Powers that Were wanted to free humanity of the invisible shackles that the Powers that Be had ensnared them with; he spoke at length and with passion about how all the terrible things she was told about the Powers that Were, were simply lies to blind her to the truth, and to her eternal shame, she bought it.
When she returned from the patrol she’d been on when she’d encountered the agent, she calmly made her way to, for lack of a better term was the armoury for the host she was a part of, and cast her power against it destroying it utterly, before escaping in the ensuing chaos.
Once it was discover who was responsible, she was branded a traitor and called a Demon, with orders given to destroy her on sight should she be found. She cared little for all that, pushing herself full time into what she thought was freeing humanity from her old masters, and for a time it was good and she felt happy…but bit by bit cracks began to show in that pretty façade that suckered her in, until one day it broke and she realized the actual truth. The Powers that Be may have some, pretty serious, issues, but at least they don’t see humanity as so much disposable cattle something to either be consumed or used and discarded.
That nearly shattered her, for a time she even considered ending her existence, but before she got that far, she caught wind of the Circus. At first she shied away, she knew what Aiden was and figured he would try and kill her, and despite her own thoughts of suicide, she couldn’t let that happen; but still, the place called to her, so she watched it from a far, watched it genuinely trying to help humanity defend itself, not with beings from another plane, but with humans themselves…yes granted powers, but still humans.
Eventually she worked up the nerve to approach Aiden, to ask if she could be a part of it all.
Connections
During hunts, she’s either scouting ahead to find their target(s) or flanking to hit from unexpected directions; that said, even playing the role of ‘merely’ a human with powers, she’s a good heavy hitter; and if she find she needs to go all out, there isn’t much that can stand against her for long.
If not preforming on stage she will wander through the crowds in costume, doing small juggling routines, a bit of slight-of-hand magic and bantering with the guests. Off-duty she can be quite sociable, and is generally game for a bit of partying.
The Audition
The audience sat in tiered benches before a massive stage, a dull roar of side conversations that rapidly died as the lights dimmed. ”Good evening to all and welcome,” A voice said out of the darkness. “We’re glad to have you with us, and we hope you are all having a fantastic time. Now, for your enjoyment and amazement we are proud to present the Lady of Blades!”
A single spotlight illuminated a woman standing in the middle of the stage. She appeared to be dressed in a mass of feather weight blue satin ribbons that twisted and flowed like they were alive. Moving with fluid grace, she made her way to the edge of the sage and bowed, just as music began to play. In time with the beat, small targets, no bigger that a smart phone started to light up, and as they did, she flicked a knife out of her hand and into the target.
As the show went on the targets got harder, and she began to move about, flipping and vaulting over set pieces, all the while either throwing a variety of knives, darts, axes and swords into various targets, or while juggling said knives, darts, axes and swords. Finally it all came to a spectacular conclusion, targets moving so fast it was inconceivable that she could actually hit anything and yet she did, picking tennis balls (or smaller) out of the air with lightning reflexes while both juggling blades and balancing on wires, the lot.
The stage lights died down until, once more, the Lady of Blades stood under a single spotlight and bowed to the applauding crowd. “Now,” She said, speaking for the first time. “Is there anyone out there who is skeptical of me? Please, don’t be shy. Doubt can be a good thing, especially when confronted with the fantastic.” Eventually a man in the crowed put his hand up, and as soon as he did a light shone on him. “Ah excellent,” The Lady exclaimed. “Please sir do come down. If you are truly skeptical about what I can do, then please…give me a challenge.”
It took some time for the man to make his way out of the audience, but eventually he made it to the stage, where he joined the Lady. After asking his name, she asked what his challenge was. He challenged her to hit a dime, in the air, at fifty feet, with a throwing dart. After letting him inspect, and mark, both the dime and the dart, “Please be careful Sir, they are very sharp”, there was a drum roll and a stage hand flicked the dime into the air. The Lady moved in a blur of blue, and there was a faint clatter in the darkness. Moments later the stage hand came forward, with the dime impaled on the dart. The crowd broke out into cheers and applause as the house lights came up and the Lady handed the dime to the stunned man from the audience.
The Act As he can control fire and its flames, his role in the circus is the fire breather. Lately, he is learning to turn fire walking and fire eating into new acts to perform. Right now, his only act is that of a fire breather. However, he doesn't only makes fire appear out of his mouth, he also makes it appear from his sleeves.
The contract he has with the demon makes him unable to enjoy the company of men or women. The fire he breaths keeps a certain distance from him and other humans. When they come too close to him, they'll get burned.
Why He Joined The Circus When he was little, he lost both of his parents. As he lived in a poor neighbourhood, there wasn't anyone who had enough resources to take care of him properly. Most of his family members had died early because of some illnesses. That's why he taught himself fire breathing. That way he could perform on the streets and earn some money from the people passing by.
At one moment, the Ringmaster noticed him. He was one of the first persons to actually start a conversation with the boy. Shane was so impressed by him, that he agreed immediately when the Ringmaster asked him to come to the circus. He was finally going to have a place to live and people who care about him. The only condition he had, was that the Ringmaster helped him with one last show to say goodbye to the people in his neighbourhood. Afterwards, he followed the guy to the circus.
His Behaviour with other people When he talks to other performers, one is never going to see him smile, get angry or show any other emotion. It's not that he won't be nice and polite or that he will say something rude, but he simply will keep some distance from the others. He won't start a friendship with them, mainly because of the contract.
However, when he is doing his performances, he actually does show emotion. He smiles a lot and shows actual happiness. When he is alone, he does it too.
His Audition The male in front of me had a bright smile on his face. His arms were raising into the air, showing the empty space between his arms and the long sleeves of his vest. At first, nothing seemed to happen. However, when his face started to form a grin, I started to notice the dark red color appearing. It slowly grew larger and larger until a flare filled the whole room with a heat and excitement. My eye lids were partly covering my eyes from the bright light in which the male was bathing. Flames were coming out of his sleeves in the form of wires. They were forming circles into the air, until they went for his mouth after a couple of seconds. He opened his mouth and blew the fire wires away, so they turned into a shower of sparks. The sparks formed the image of the wings of the devil before disappearing completely. The guy didn't say a single thing, he simply grinned and raised his arms into the air. "Did you enjoy Satan's Flame?" He asked with a loud voice, clearly enjoying the enthusiasm of the visitors. The public answered with loud cheers.