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

Jaeger watches her, his own stance confident. He has the advantage here, and he's not going to let her forget it. She's even wandered into an isolated area, where the crowds won't be a problem. Not if he's quick and efficient.

...quick and efficient at what? Following her was his main purpose but it's kind of hazy now that he's caught her. She hasn't done anything worthy of execution, not yet, but the way she fled from him...he wants more of that, that sense of focus and purpose. It's the only thing that makes sense right now, and he's disappointed that she's confronting him even if her body language is broadcasting discomfort, unease.

"I'm not here to kidnap you," he says, a little vaguely. Then his gaze snaps back into focus, and fixes on her again. "You're acting very suspicious."

"Me? I'm acting suspicious? You were following me." She backs up further, until her back is against a dumpster. "You're being really creepy right now."

Her fear radiates from her in waves, easy to pick up, to taste in the air. Eyes wide, knees quivering, she glances to the sides to see if there's anywhere to...run? Oh, she knows she won't be able to outrun him.

"I am an investigator," he points out, almost idly. "It's my job to keep an eye on things." He eases just a hair closer, taking his time and soaking in her fear. "Make sure nothing malicious is going on."

As much as he enjoyed the chase, this is even better. That point of breaking, of knowing he has all the power. Those rare, precious moments of absolute surety. It's been too long since he's been the one in control, and he's missed it.

Maybe she doesn't know him as well as she'd like to think, and that's okay. She's made a mistake. How much it will cost her, well, he's still deciding on that. But for the moment, he has all he needs.

Meredith's fear crystallizes into action in one burst of energy. She first pulls her cane close to her body, like she'd use it as a shield. And then she switches her grip, lashing out swiftly--her goal is to catch Andrew in the side of the head with the handle.

"Stop it! This isn't right! I'm not doing anything wrong!"

Somehow, he had been expecting something else. If she was going to lash out. If she decided to fight him at all.

The blow to the head is stunning and sudden, and gives him no chance to react in his hyperfocused state. He doesn't fall but he does stagger, hand going to the side of his face as he wobbles uncertainly.

For a long few seconds, that's all he can do because his head is ringing. The crowd still sounds far off, distant, and he finds himself...

No, this isn't right. How did he get here? Someone just hit him and he's somewhere else completely from what he last remembers.

The last thing he really remembers clearly is mirrors. Bits and pieces of the crowd, and an intent he can no longer grasp, but somehow he's here now and Meredith just hit him.

"Meredith? What the hell?"

"How about you tell me?! You just followed me and threatened me, and that's not cool. I swear, if you don't back the fuck up right now, I will hit you again."

She's still gripping the cane defensively, glowering at him.

He gives her a long, puzzled look, staying where he is but not looming anymore, simply there and rubbing the side of his head in deep confusion.

It doesn't take a genius to figure out that he did something. Somewhere in those missing moments, something happened.

The taste of adrenaline in his mouth goes bitter, and he blinks again, slowly easing back away from her. Still holding his head, though his vision is clear again and the ringing in his ears is subsiding. He can hear the crowd again, the music and chatter of the festivities, and he can feel the ground under his feet again. That's something, at least.

"I'm sorry...I was in the mirror house, and then..." he looks helplessly at her, trying to fill in the blanks. No matter how much he guesses he's not going to like it.

"And then you started stalking me through the crowd. You said I was acting suspicious, and that it was your job to make sure nothing malicious was happening. But you were looking pretty malicious to me."

The fact that he seems confused, and isn't using his height as a weapon anymore is better, but she still doesn't relax yet.

He's not going to blame her for being wary of him still. He'd told her before that he was a dangerous man when he needed to be, and it seems she's gotten a glimpse of that side of him.

A sharp pang of regret shoots through him. The words are familiar, sort of, though they seem like something that happened a long time ago, or in a dream.

It sounds like something he would say, but he's got no reason to threaten her. They'd gotten along just fine so far, and he found her pleasant company. Certainly not...

Oh. That would explain it, wouldn't it. The scar around his neck suddenly feels tight, and he tugs at his turtleneck as though it would give him more air.

Very softly, he says, "I'm very sorry, Meredith. I think I thought you were someone else."

"House of Mirrors fucked with your head, you mean."

Finally, she seems to relax, stepping a little closer.

"Let me see your head. I hope I didn't just give you a concussion--but it seems it was effective, huh? When we're back at ADI, you'll see medical, right?"

He lets his breath out slowly, and tips his head to allow her to touch the forming bruise on the side of his face. He had only just gotten rid of the bruises from the car wreck, now he had new ones. But, small price to pay, he supposes. Meredith is okay and doesn't seem too horribly traumatized, and that's what matters.

It's amazing how fast all the menace can go out of a person, when the guilt hits. He's still stunned by the whole thing, by that momentary but oh-do-dangerous lapse of reason, and he nods slowly, wincing at the motion.

"That's the last thing I remember clearly. I was looking for a little boy, so I went in. When I came out, I felt like I was looking for something else, and I saw you." He's piecing it together, slowly, in spite of his desire not to dwell on it.

"I'll get checked out, but I think I'm fine. I apparently have a very hard head." He manages a tight smile. "Are you okay?"

"You didn't touch me."

Which isn't the same as 'yes, I'm okay', but her expression is masklike, not letting him in as she examines his head. "You're not bleeding, but it's going to look pretty awful in a day or two."

Oh, there's so many things that Jaeger could have done to her without raising a hand to her, and that makes him feel cold and sick. Even as she gently examines her handiwork, he's feeling more and more like yes, he did indeed deserve it.

He can read her mask just as well as the expressions that aren't showing, and it's enough to tell him that he needs to give her time to recover from this. She has even less reason now to trust him and he's not going to try to force it.

"It shook me out of...whatever that was, and I appreciate it," he says seriously. Honestly. "Bruises will heal just fine." Then he falls silent again for a few seconds, debating what to say next.

Finally, he settles on, "I should let you be. I want some photographs of the funhouse to see if anything shows up that we missed. If there's something going on there..."

"If you're going back in there, do you think there's a chance you'll be subjected to the same effect again? Is that really wise?"

She's not just concerned about him, of course, but whoever else might be targeted if he loses himself again to whatever that effect was.

"I have no intentions of going in again, but something about the building seems strange so maybe I can make some sense of it from the outside. You think other people have been affected?"

He isn't exactly copacetic with the idea of Dark!Jaeger running around, either. He knows exactly what he's capable of and he doesn't want that unleashed on innocent civilians.

A small, cunning voice in his head whispers that it would be so satisfying, but he's not having any of that. That voice had enough of a say in his little adventure, he's not going to give it a single shred of legitimacy.

"And I'll head back to ADI after that. Just to make sure." If nothing else, getting away from the crowds for a little bit and collecting his thoughts will do him good.

"I don't know if it's affecting others. I don't think I had the same problem, but I got lost and left out the entrance after about an hour of wandering. Did you make it to the middle of the maze?"

Meredith frowns. "Do you think it was...ahm, inconsistent space bullshit? Bigger on the inside?"

"I did make it through the maze, yes. And the mirror at the middle, then the hallway out." Small details, fuzzy but becoming clearer as she speaks.

"I don't know what's going on in there, but I know there's some very dangerous magic that can be done with mirrors. They can act as portals for some very bad things." He's heard stories, but more importantly, he has experience with just what kind of awful things can come out of mirrors. That had been why he was so unsettled in the first place.

So many reflective surfaces, unwarded. Unprotected, open.

He rubs his temple again, straightening so that he seems a little less pathetic. It hasn't even occurred to him yet to be embarrassed, he's too busy feeling guilty.

"But if the two of us had...issues, then it stands to reason others might as well and something is going on in there."

"Something probably is going on in there. Mirror at the middle, you say? That might be some sort of...fuck, I don't know the right word. Focus? Catalyst? Kind of makes me glad I didn't make it there at all. But I really don't know all that much about magic, honestly."

She bites her lower lip, glancing in the direction of the funhouse.

"Maybe let some of the others know about it, before going straight to investigating. I really don't want to know how it might affect my roommates."

"Focus or catalyst both work," he agrees, almost absently. "And I can only make guesses based on my own world. I still don't know exactly how different things are here, compared to what I already know." He's willing to admit he can be wrong about things, that he doesn't know everything. Especially here, and especially now. His head is still fuzzy and he could probably use an icepack and he still doesn't have the answers he wishes he did. If anything, more questions.

"Agreed. We should have a central meeting at some point in any case, to share information and compare notes. Some of us may be having different experiences here, and some of them may overlap. Both are things that are good to know about." He tips his head, thinking for a few seconds, before he adds, "I'm interested in seeing how the grand finale event goes, in light of this, but I think I'm going to head back to headquarters at least for a little bit to put my notes in order and clear my head."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Event - Circus, Circus

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Grr. no notify on this, sorry!