apocalypsehowcomm | Event - Circus, Circus

Event - Circus, Circus

Circus, Circus

➥ By the Pricking of My Thumb

(cw: wax, potential compulsion and fighting)

The train pulls into the railyard at noon under a bright blue sky. The engine is a bright red with orange and yellow flames painted along the sides. The first carriage after that is pitch black with similar flames and a logo for the Fenix Down Extravaganza. It's a stylized red phoenix head in a circle of orange and yellow, the name of the circus painted across the top and bottom, mirroring the curve of the circle. A line of carriages stretch out after that, painted all different colors, but each maintaining the motif of flames down the sides and each bearing the company logo.

Excitement comes to the railyard. The circus is in town for a one-week stint before they continue their journey north. People in colorful costumes--clowns, 'fire fairies' covered in drips of candle wax, and those in animal masks--paper the town with advertisements. You might even find yourself conscripted to help with putting up the fliers and posters if you look idle. A stack of posters is placed in your hands. A $100 bill set atop seems to be your incentives to do something more than just toss them in the bin. There's a frantic energy both about the performers and the people in town. You might even find yourself strangely caught up in it. You want to help spread the word, to ensure the posters reach every part of town. Everyone else who's been conscripted, as well? You can do it better, faster. You need to be faster. You need to claim the space for your own before it's lost to someone else.

There hasn't been a circus come to Gloucester in decades, and it's the Fenix Down Extravaganza! They're renowned for their pyrotechnics and laser lights shows. Surely the enthusiasm for all that is just… catching.

The tents and booths are set up in vacant fields to the west of town, and there's one curious addition, as well. There's a railroad car that's been seemingly pulled away from the railyard somehow. No one sees it being moved, but it's out in the vacant field, and some might recognize it as the old, dilapidated thing that had been hidden in the railyard, the charred husk filled with old posters. It looms, in the field, almost seeming to smoke where it sits. It's quickly cleaned and restored over the course of the day the circus is setting up, though, and it seems to have been turned into the ticket booth for the front of the circus, complete with a new bright red paint job.

➥ Something Wicked This Way Comes

(cw: large-scale vehicular collision, industrial disaster, fire, harm to animals)

It's not a single person who can claim credit for the find, but many people all together. Hours have been poured into researching the mysterious midnight train crash that had rocked people from their beds almost a week ago. Finally, something is found. Stitched together from local newspaper clippings from around Cape Ann, a story emerges, identifying a derailment in the city of Gloucester back in 1921. More than a dozen workers had died in the railyard and there were fires beyond that in the town. The train itself had had only a few people aboard, performers for the Smoke and Mirrors Acting Troupe, along with animals used in their performances. The stories seem to be tucked away a few pages from the front of the newspapers, which are dominated by stories about skyrocketing unemployment following the Great War and the return home for the troops.

All of the stories seem to end with the same sentiment: It could have been so much worse. If the train had derailed further north in one of the more populated cities, where it had been scheduled to arrive the next morning after the crash? It could have been hundreds, maybe even thousands dead.

The information, whomever has found it, is enough. ADI calls a staff meeting. Ghostly circus train derailments just before another circus rolls into town? That's not a coincidence. Everyone who's willing is purchased a ticket for entrance to the Fenix Down Extravaganza, and every person is assigned a partner to join them. Don't lose track. There will be no kidnappings this time. ADI is determined to keep their people as safe as they can be while investigating. Maybe have a chat with your new companion(s).

Those who misbehaved during the last event's Sticky Wicket prompt and were caught with either an opened box or found to have injuries related to the artifacts inside the boxes will be assigned an additional person to their group. A mentor to keep them on the right track this time. And also to narc on them if they mess up again. Better behave, partner.

➥ Send In the Clowns

(cw: reference to cannibalism, fire, pain, mild body horror)

There's a light and excited atmosphere about the circus once a body makes it through the long queue out front. The sweet and sticky scent of fried and sugary foods permeates the air along with barbecues and the ever-present smell of ash. Fire would seem to be the main attraction for the Fenix Down Extravaganza. Fire dancers, fire jugglers, people swallowing fiery swords, and walking over beds of hot coals. There are sideshow attractions and games to see before heading into the big top. Notably, there are no animals or signs of animals at the circus save for a small contingent of goats that are set up as a petting zoo, and a sideshow with a reptile exhibit along with a 'snakeman.' Otherwise known as a performer decorated with shiny sticker scales who provides interesting 'snake facts' to anyone who happens by.

The Food
The food is typical carnival garbage. A little overpriced, but still decent and provided in excess of what people should reasonably eat in one sitting, especially for things like the cotton candy and funnel cake. There is some decent grilled food available, and those who go snooping will find that the food prep within each of the little booths is acceptable for what it all seems to be. There is one booth characters might notice that has 'long-pig' on the menu. Or does it? Check again, and it's not there. It seems to be selling hotdogs, though. Just ordinary hotdogs. Care to bite into one?

The Games
Your standard rigged carnival games: the ring toss, the ladder climb, the baseball and milk jugs. Spend more money for bigger prizes! But you're risking losing it all, as well. There are a few unique games, as well, though. One is called 'The Floor Is Lava,' and participants must make their way around a strange obstacle course that's up on balance beams. If you slip and go down, it's just grass of course. But for a moment, for a split second, you can feel the heat and agony as the lava engulfs your body. You're fine, though, of course! It's just a game, after all. Even if you might feel a bit… singed after that. Another game someone might find tucked away in an obscure corner is 'Liar, Liar,' which involves throwing beanbags at targets. Each target lights a match that helps to burn a string leading toward a cartoonish figure in polka dot boxers. The goal is to get the fire to touch the boxers before a timer runs out. When the fire hits the boxers, there's an uncomfortably realistic shriek. But it's probably fine.

The Sideshows and Exhibits
Fire is the overriding theme at the side shows with fire dancers and jugglers being the most prominent amongst the tents. Attendants for the tents all wear full (and varied) animal heads obscuring their faces; though, if someone is rude enough to rip off their masks, they'll just find disgruntled employees who would like that back now. The more notable sideshow acts include:

The Twisted Twisters - A pair of contortionists who maneuver bowls filled with flames while they shift around. They're very affable, joking with each other as they work.
Flammie the Magnificent - A magician who's open about his use of smoke and mirrors, as well as making objects appear in a burst of flame. He's a purposefully goofy magician aimed at younger kids.
Asbestos Mike - A man who juggles burning coals. His hands are… unfortunate to look at. But he doesn't seem to mind and claims to have no working nerve endings. He's extremely calm about… everything.

➥ Lost & Found

(cw: child endangerment/distressed parent with missing child, disorientation, hallucination)

And then, of course, there are the 'experiences.' They're not rides per se. Those are hard to pack up on a train, but they're exhibits to pass through with a particular theme toward interaction or ogling. There's a small wax museum with decently-crafted models of a few famous individuals. And then there's the Fun House. It's a mirror maze inside that seems to stretch on far larger than the small space it's set up in should allow. For those who make it to the center of the maze, they'll find a dark room with a single mirror in it. This, unlike the rest of the mirrors in the Fun House, isn't one that distorts your form. It's simply a standard mirror. There's also a corridor of mirror beyond it that leads to a quick escape from the Fun House for those lucky winners who make it there.

Said 'winners' will find that everything seems to be perfectly normal when they step out onto the bustling circus grounds. But is that- Ah, that's someone they wanted to talk to. Or maybe it's someone who looks suspicious. Just someone they want to follow. There is a figure and it's someone they want to follow. If they do so, they'll quickly lose said figure in the crowd, only to spot them a ways on a few moments later. Pursuing this figure will result in the winner being run around the circus grounds, never quite able to catch up. If they stop their pursuit, they will find themselves somewhere that they have not seen before. There may be a sense of disorientation as they try to get their bearings.

For those who don't enter the Fun House or come out as winners, they might notice someone--a parent--frantically looking about some other time. The parent comes up to them, asks if they've seen their child, before hurrying off to try to find an employee for help. Their little one was just there. They just came out of the Fun House and now… now they can't find their child! Employees will be only too happy to help, but non-employees might be quicker on the draw to locate the missing child. They're always found in a random place, seemingly unharmed but confused and frightened as they search for their parent, claiming they saw said parent going just over there, or over here. Still, you've reunited a family! No harm, no foul, right? Kids go wandering all the time. Parents really ought to keep a closer watch.

➥ The Ringmaster

(cw: fire, pain, immolation, screaming)

"Please be advised the following show contains flashing lights, sudden loud noises, and fire. Anyone who may have difficulty with these, please make your way to the exit. Our employees will provide refunds for anyone who may have challenges due to these effects." A full two minutes pass to allow those who need to leave time to do so. And then…

"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, and everyone in between, put your hands together for the one, the only, Fenix Down!" The words sound over the PA system in the tent just before roaring calliope music picks up and the man himself practically dances to the center of the ring in the main tent. Fenix is a remarkably short Caucasian man with dark hair, brown eyes, and a suit that looks like it's on fire, all orange, red, and yellow licks of color across the fabric. His bright yellow tophat features the company's phoenix logo on it, and he nearly loses the thing as he dashes around the ring, grinning like a madman and eliciting cheers from the audience as he raises his arms for them to shout.

"Are you ready, my friends, for the brightest, the grandest, the most extravagant show you have ever seen?" Thunderous cheers from the audience. "I am Fenix Down, and this is my extravaganza!"

The show plays out with two main acts with smaller ones in between. The main acts are introduced by Fenix in turn:

"Penny, the dancing flame!" is firedancer with an elaborate show involving a flaming whip and multiple other performers in horse heads acting as her 'animal companions' for the show.
"And Roderick, the man with laser hands!" is a young man in large, dark glasses who conducts a laser lights and pyrotechnics production from a DJ-style turntable as rock music plays and performers dance and tumble around the ring.

On the final night, there is a change to the performance, though. "And now, my friends, my dear friends, we have a special treat, a new main act to premier: Pyre, the burning man!" Those who are witness to this will see a young man enter the ring. He's sweating and a bit on the heavy side. He also looks… frightened. Frightened and exhilarated. He waves to the crowd as a circle of pipes is raised from a stage in the center of the ring. Pyre sets himself in the middle and lifts his hand. Liquid sprays from the pipes and for those who are close enough, they will likely recognize the scent of gasoline.

"I will be reborn and rise as the phoenix!" Pyre declares before striking a match. His whole body catches immediately in flames and there are horrified gasps and screams from the crowd. Those who might try to interfere are asked to hold on, hold on, just wait by employees. There's nothing to do for young Pyre, anyway. The flames burn rapidly until he collapses on the stage. Fenix makes the first subtle movement he has ever made for anyone who has watched his other performances. A small snap of his fingers, half-covered by one hand. The fire snuffs itself out immediately.

"Now, ladies and gentlemen, I know that seems frightening, but just watch," Fenix calls. "Like a phoenix, we rise!" As he says this, Pyre picks himself up. His clothes hang in a charred mess about his form, but his flesh… it seems to have knit itself back together. He is whole, and proceeds to give the audience a double-thumbs up. Relieved guests erupt in applause for this… very strange and rather harrowing final act.

After each performance for the night, the main acts and Fenix are available to take photos, sign autographs, and generally schmooze with the public for a little while. They each have a small tent so that you can have a moment of privacy with your favorite act, if you'd like. If anyone is looking for answers, particularly, these are the top of the hierarchy and might prove the most fruitful to speak to. They're also the only people in the circus that seem to have supernatural energy about them, for those who might have such senses to notice that.

➥ Mod Notes

GENERAL - Players are welcome to play NPCs for themselves when they are needed in a thread. If you need more information on general behavior for these types of NPCs, please feel free to ask! In general, the information provided in the prompt should be sufficient and you're welcome to make up any details beyond that for your specific scene. For this event, the only NPCs that should not be controlled by players for threading are: Fenix Down and the Main Acts in The Ringmaster prompt. These NPCs will be played by mods and available for interaction.
BY THE PRICKING OF MY THUMB (25-26 August) - Characters may accept fliers to put up a maximum of three times (that's $300). Not everyone will feel the compulsion to put up the fliers, but if you need incentive for your character to take action, they can do so. The fliers are ordinary adverts with dates, hours, location, and pricing for the circus. Characters can wander around some of the set-up for the circus, but they'll be shooed away if they linger too long with a request to leave for their safety. Circus personnel doing the set-up are not interested in talking. They'll ignore characters or threaten to call the police for harassment if characters persist in bothering them while they're trying to set things up. Those who attempt to mind-control the workers or otherwise compel them for information will quickly discover that these are genuinely just ordinary people who are doing all the set-up. And they would really like to do their job because they do not have enough time.
SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES (25-27 August) - Players are free to OOCly select their ADI-assigned partner. Those who misbehaved during the Sticky Wicket prompt (and there was evidence of that misbehavior) will find themselves saddled with a mentor, either as their partner or in addition to their partner. This mentor (if they're a PC) should be someone who DID behave in that prompt or who has not made themselves a problem for ADI up to this point. Partners are not required to stick together or with their mentors for the duration of the event. This is just an opportunity to get some new CR (or strengthen existing CR)! And maybe butt heads while you slip away from each other while investigating. Mentors will be expected to be somewhat responsible for their charges, though, if you would like to play with that dynamic.
SEND IN THE CLOWNS (26 August - 2 September) - Regular employees and sideshow acts have no particular information to provide about anything sinister going on at the circus. As far as they know, the work is grueling sometimes given the quick set-up/break-down and schedule, but they're paid very well and even have benefits! They're pretty protective of their employer, as a result, and aren't going to willingly trash-talk him or the circus beyond some standard grumbling about the extra work going into this as Gloucester wasn't originally on their tour schedule.
LOST & FOUND (26 August - 2 September) - Employees will be generally helpful in these situations, using walkie-talkies to try to find missing children. They won't be fast, though. Parents will be uniformly distressed, then grateful to anyone who might assist in locating their children. Children will be wholly unharmed, wherever they are found, but frightened, confused and disoriented. Characters who end up as 'winners' in the Fun House will need several minutes to get their bearings back after following their hallucinations. If they try to return to the Fun House, they won't seem to be able to find the center of the maze anymore, and the mirror maze will appear to be wholly ordinary and the correct size for the space it's in.
THE RINGMASTER (26 August - 2 September) - Characters who would leap in to assist Pyre will be waylaid by staff just long enough for him to stir and complete his act to show that he is, indeed, alive and seemingly fine. Those who still try to interrupt will be escorted out by security. Characters will have the chance to speak to Fenix, Penny, Roderick, and Pyre during this prompt. The first four will be available for the full week the circus is in town. Pyre will be available the final night. Characters may interrogate one NPC each. Each NPC will have different information they may be able to provide.

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Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Airplanes are good for advertising because they contain fliers.
By the Pricking of My Thumb - (The 25th)

Kate finds herself being pressed into service when it comes to putting up fliers. She's not going to complain. A hundred dollars is a hundred dollars. The funds will come in useful at some point, she feels. Besides, they never said how many to put up. They never said how long she had to accomplish her task. She has decided that she can use this time to explore some of the town that she hasn't gotten to see yet.

When the compulsion hits her, it goes a little wonky. She wants to put up more fliers and more fliers she does put up. However, she notices that someone has already been putting them up and putting them up with no care whatsoever. What is the point of accepting a job if you aren't going to do it properly? Some of the posters are crooked while some only have a singular piece of scotch tape holding them up. It won't do, it won't do at all.

Someone is bound to catch her taking down the lopsided fliers and putting one of her own up that is perfectly level and straight. Someone is bound to here her indignant comments about someone else doing a shit job.

InvestiKATE.
Something Wicked This Way Comes - (The 26th and 27th)

Kate is present at ADI Headquarters during the staff meeting. She is willing to investigate but isn't certain what they should be looking for. Should they look to see if any of the train carts match the description of the ghostly one? Should they look to see if there are any pictures of the old performers that may match the current ones? She isn't sure but there is one thing that she is certain of, she has a partner to go with her.

She's quiet until they get to the carnival grounds. "It's okay if you'd rather go it alone. I won't tell ADI."

Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right...
Send In the Clowns - (The 26th - 2nd)

It has been a great while since Kate had attended anything remotely resembling a circus. There are a few childhood memories of local fairs but that has been a long time ago. At any rate, she's glad that she accepted the hundred-dollars to put up those fliers. From the look of the food and game prices, she's going to need it.

Food. Glorious food! She has no interest in such benign items as hot dogs. Why bother them when she can have a funnel cake covered with powdered sugar and strawberries? There's cotton-candy to be had! There are candied apples covered with just about anything you can imagine. Kate is going to try most of it but she's not completely selfish. She is willing to share especially with her roommates.

Kate doesn't know what kind of luck she'll have at the carnival games but she is going to try. At the ladder climb, she flips over and falls for everyone to see. She has to step away after losing at the Dart Toss. All of the balloons had been filled with red paint but there had been a few moments, just a couple of microseconds, where she had believed them filled with human blood. "Gross," she says out loud.

The ring toss doesn't go well for her either. One second she had been holding a plastic ring, the next second she heard a slight hiss and when she looked down it was a living ouroboros. With a shriek, Kate flings the ring away. With the shriek, the ring is plastic again. Maybe it's a trick of the light. Maybe the hiss had come from an air compressor. It couldn't have been real... right?

"That counts as a toss, miss." She hears from the carnival worker. Kate gives him a funny look. It really must have been her imagination. She tosses the remaining rings. Not a single one lands on a bottle. She hopes the person next to her has better luck.

Screaming can be a breathtaking experience!
Lost & Found - (The 26th - 2nd)

A Fun House should be fun, fun is in the name after all. However, Kate is not having a fun time. She is not having a fun time whatsoever.

She doesn't know how but she has gotten herself lost. Kate thinks that she is probably going to be bruised in the morning from all of the bumping into things that she has done. It doesn't matter where she turns or what corridor she walks down, she can't find her way out. Kate doesn't seem to be able to find little Tommy that she had been sent in to retrieve. That had been the only reason she willingly entered the Fun House. She doesn't like dark and confined places but she her desire to be liked outweighs that.

Out of nowhere, she thinks she remembers some trick about how to get out of a maze (though it is probably just her mind playing tricks on her). Kate places two fingers against the mirror surface
and begins to walk, her fingers skimming the surface ahead of her. The idea is to find an opening in the mirrors, another hall to move into.

Kate screams bloody murder when she touches something that is neither open air nor the flat surface of glass.

Ring-A-Ding-Ding!
The Ringmaster - (The 26th - 2nd)

Kate is in attendance for the final show. It promises to be sizzling or so she's heard. She enjoys the shows put on by Penny and Roderick but then comes the final act, the burning man. At first she thinks his act is going to involve playing with fire, maybe backed up with pyrotechnics and the like. Maybe it will be a combination of all past performers joining together.

Oh, no. Oh no no no no.

It's time for flight, fight, or freeze! Kate involuntarily chooses the third option. She finds herself stuck to her seat and having to watch another person burn to death before her eyes. Pyre lights a match and is immediately engulfed in flames. A scream of no catches in her throat.

There is no relieved clapping with Pyre rises from the ashes. Instead, Kate makes a break from the tent as soon as she is able.

She runs out of the tent and tries not to throw up.

Wildcard!

(( I will match style, prose or action-spam! If there is anything else that anyone would like, it goes here. Maybe your character also wants to catch Kate using her powers to scare some poor, unfortunate mimes. Maybe they want to investigate with her. Maybe there's something that I missed and you'd like to play it out. Hit me up! ))

She can feel it inside her. It's not in her head or her stomach or even her heart. It feels more ominous than that. The feeling could be in her soul for all she knows. The only thing that is for certain is what the feeling needs. It needs to feed. It needs to see people afraid.

Kate has tried to ignore it. She doesn't want to go down that route because it is not who she wants to be as a person. But maybe she already is that person and she is simply lying to herself. After all, hadn't it been her to keep a conspiracy on her own world a secret? Hadn't it been her who found Specials and had them erased from record and forced into service? It gives her a headache. It infects her dreams.

The dreams say all will be well as long is the great eye is fed. The dreams say all will not be well for her if it doesn't. Feed or be fest upon, that is the message. She can't ignore it anymore. It simply leaves the question of who to scare?

Eventually, Kate settles on a mime. Why a mime? She thinks that it is the perfect cover. She finds a bench near the performer and sits down. Her eyes never leave the Mime. Eventually, the Mime does their trapped in a box bit and that's when she strikes. She finds that her powers come readily to her.

With her palm splayed up on her knee, Kate manifests a force-field around the Mime. Most people would miss the subtle teal shimmer at the corners of the box because most wouldn't be looking for it. The Mime flexes their fingers on the box to show that they are trapped and there is a moment of genuine moment of fear. It shows in how big their eyes get when they touch the force field. While the Mime experimentally touches another part of the force field, Kate closes the box in on itself. They still have room to maneuver, however.

It is only after the Mime has turned in a circle and touched ever panel of the force-field that Kate squeezes the box a little tighter. The performers, meanwhile, love it. They think the Mime's performance is genuine. When the box closes in again, the crowd laughs as the Mime starts to scream for help only Kate is keeping all of the sound trapped within the box. The laugh gets louder when they start beating their hands on the force field in an effort to break it. The audience thinks its for show.

She could do it. Kate knows that she could squeeze the Mime into oblivion until nothing but chunks remain. It wouldn't be too hard. All she has to do is concentrate, squeeze and... NO! Kate stops and immediately releases the Mime who collapses on the ground. The audience collapses.

Kate looks away from the Mime. She needs a moment to process what she had just done. It had felt good. It had felt real good but it wasn't enough. She should do it again, test it out, that feeling tells her. No, no. She tells it. Maybe later because she's suddenly noticed a new problem, Malcolm Bright.

He hasn’t been watching the mime. He’s been watching her. He knows that look on a person’s face. His life work has been hunting people who prey on others.

“I feel like maybe you could have handled that baseball on your own.”

She looks better than the last time they met. Her eye is no longer bruised. She hadn't just witnessed a kid burn to death. With the return of her powers, she feels refreshed. Her eyes are brighter, her skin clear.

"It's a little more complicated than that."

It is extremely more complicated than that. There is a maelstrom of different emotions and feelings inside her. It had felt good to scare the mime but it was bad to scare people. It was good to feel some of her powers return but the way in which they returned is unethical at best. She shouldn't have done it. No. She should have done it more. NO! Stop it. Go away. There is one thing she knows, Malcolm could make her life very difficult.

Kate shakes her head a little bit and motions to the bench next to her. If they're going to talk, they might as well be sitting comfortably. "I don't know how I should begin."

Malcolm shrugs a shoulder and sits.

"You could start with why you were torturing a man for an audience." He looks at the figure slumped on the ground. "Is he dead?"

"I don't think he's dead. I just made his invisible box a real one." As if on que, the man starts to get to his feet. He shakes off any that would help him. The Mime assures everyone that it's all part of the act. However, he doesn't go back to immediately performing. He runs off and it doesn't make Kate look anymore innocent.

The Eye is feeding right now. Kate has been discovered. She fears that Malcolm could make her life very difficult if he chose to do so.

"Don't you feel it?"

Malcolm studies her for a moment.

"Feel what?"

"Why can't you feel it?" Kate lets out a little breath and shakes her head minutely. She's been trying to avoid it, ignore the feeling. Up until the carnival had rolled into town, she had been doing a fairly decent job of it. But as the days turned into weeks, her dreams had gone from fine to terrible.

"The Eye needs to feed, Malcolm." She says quietly.

“What does that mean?” he asks, but it’s a quiet demand. “What’s The Eye? How do you know what it needs?”

Kate Cordello - Original

Mime Mistake (Closed to Malcolm Bright)

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Ring-a-Ding-Ding

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Stuck in the middle with you

I don't know why I came here tonight.

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