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

Pyre looks a little unsure in the pause, like he's worried he's going to get called out on something. He lights up at the next part, though, nodding eagerly.

"Yeah! You can shape fire, you can contain it, but once you give it life it's never really under your control. Er--I mean, obviously everything's under control here at the circus. But humans have been watching fire since before we were human; there's something magical about it."

For all the weirdness going on, Pyre seems like a nice enough young man. Jaeger is content to fall back on gentle questions rather than grilling (hah) him.

Even if he feels like he's missing something, not quite getting to the heart of it. That's okay, he's patient and his mind is working on the situation, picking at the threads of what he's being told to find the next potentially useful question.

"We master it, but it's never completely safe," he agrees. "Forces of nature are like that, I think. We associate fire with passion, with power, and that adds another element to it." He smiles a little. "Giving yourself over to it completely, though, that's not something many people have the nerve to do."

Even if it's just a show.

"I'm not gonna lie, I was scared," admits Pyre. "But it was so worth it. I've always loved fire, and there's something so freeing about it, about letting it take me in."

He seems to catch himself, realizing he's said something that might be a little weird if they're talking about a magic trick, and adds, "I mean, making it such a big part of my act. Sorry, sometimes I...I wax poetic."

Apparently some part of what Pyre just said is funny to him; he giggles at his own joke, whatever it is.

"That makes sense, too. Especially since it was something so new for you...it sounds like Mr. Down-" Jaeger's not a buddy of the guy like Pyre is, he should be proper! "-has some pretty dramatic ideas."

Jaeger watches Pyre work through his gigglefit curiously, dark eyebrows arched slightly. He's filing all this strangeness away in his memory for his notes later, because as genial as it all is, it still feels off.

"No need to apologize. I like to listen, and I'm glad to hear that you enjoy your work. Everyone has something that's close to their heart."

"He is the idea man," agrees Pyre. "But it's more than that. He's done a lot for me, and this is a chance to be part of something bigger and do something I love. He's got a real big heart, you know? And passion."

He glances around, looking a little sheepish, and seems to decide he can trust Jaeger. "I was in a little trouble before I started with the circus. He saw that I could do better, and he helped me figure out how to get here."

Jaeger nods, after a brief pause. No rebuke in it, just quiet thoughtfulness. Pyre is telling him Important Things, and he wants to take it with the utmost care.

"That certainly speaks well of the man, if he was able to help you through trouble. And that he was willing to...not everyone will do that. I've heard that about circus folks, though. That they have a very strong sense of community.

"What kind of trouble, if you don't mind my asking? I hope it's better, now."

Pyre nods back, then gives an awkward little shrug. "Oh, uh. I got in some trouble with the law, you know? Did some things I shouldn't have done. Fenix kept me from going back to jail, got me on the straight and narrow--that's a joke, I like to call the railroad the straight and narrow because it's--the tracks are narrow and there's...they're straight a lot of the time."

He trails off, realizing the joke isn't so funny if he has to explain it. He's had this realization before. Then he brightens as he thinks of something. "But I decided to reshape myself for a new life."

He puts odd emphasis on the word, and giggles again like he's said another joke.

"Glad that you found a better way." He does favor the joke with a little smile, because the 'straight and obvious' reference is pretty obvious. "Everyone makes mistakes, it's what you do after that makes the difference."

Jaeger really wants to believe that, because he's got some atoning to do, himself. But he's not going to dwell on it, because he's giving Pyre his full attention for the moment.

He watches the young man and his new fit of giggles, waiting for a beat in the hopes that he'll explain that one, too. Sometimes, a little space is all someone needs as an invitation to talk.

Pyre doesn't seem inclined to explain, the silence growing long enough to be awkward, but after a beat he asks, "Do you want to see a trick? It's a new one I'm working on."

His grin is...still friendly, but there's a glint in his eye like he's about to play a prank, and maybe a mean one at that.

That gets Jaeger's attention, and he blinks at Pyre. A split second or wariness, before curiosity takes over.

"I'd love to see a trick." That smile makes something in Jaeger's gut tighten, wondering just what he's about to witness, but it's a clue. It might be a clue, and that's important. He watches Pyre expectantly, waiting to see just what kind of show he's about to get.

Whatever impulse has gripped Pyre doesn't let him go in the face of the man's hesitation. He rocks back on his heels, rubbing his hands together in anticipation as the air in the tent starts to grow uncomfortably warm.

"It's another act I'm trying on," he says. "Watch this."

He rubs his hands together faster and faster, then lifts them in front of him. With a snap of his fingers a flame bursts into lift at his fingertips, painfully bright and far too hot. And there the act pauses, Pyre gazing at Jaeger as he lets the flame flicker, as his own skin bubbles and runs to reveal the bone underneath.

It takes only seconds, and then Pyre snaps his fingers again. The flame goes out and there's a sudden sense of released pressure in the air as he nonchalantly shakes out his whole and unburned hands.

Jaeger watches the show with an impassive face, staring at the spectacle and taking in every detail of it with a detached sort of fascination.

He's learned to be stoic through some truly awful things, often while they were happening to him. This is grotesque, but Pyre isn't showing any signs of pain or distress, so Jaeger just...watches until he's done. Meets his eyes with hiw own faded-blue gaze, divided between Pyre's look and the sight of exposed fingerbones and wet, ruined flesh.

He can't quite bring himself to applaud. But he nods, finds his words after a moment through the distant, tinny ringing in his ears.

"That...is very impressive. I think it'll be a hit. Did Fenix teach you that?"

Pyre's smile falters as he fusses with his hands, stretching and flecking the fingers. Is that skin too smooth and shiny? Is that the shape of bone Jaeger can still see? Or is it just a trick of the light?

He sags in on himself a little, like gravity is weighing on him just a little heavier. Pyre seems disappointed with Jaeger's reaction, and more than a little stymied by it. He has to search for words, not really having expected the conversation to continue.

"He told me about someone who could do something like that and I, uh, kind of worked it out from there," he says, the sinister glint in his eye gone and all the awkwardness returned full force.

Jaeger does make note of those little details, those little bits of 'not quite right' that remain after the act. He feels a little bad that it takes some of the wind out of Pyre's sails, but his analytical mind has seized onto the whole situation. There's a puzzle here, and he wants to get to the root of it.

"I know you can't give away your tricks, I'm just trying to figure out how you did it. Because that's really impressive, considering you don't have any set-up here." Jaeger's tone is mild, with just a thread of intent behind it. He wants to know, and there's no hiding that particular impulse.

"Dare I say, it would be a good...warm-up to the main event?" He doesn't crack jokes often, but okay, this one just set itself up.

Pyre looks worried for a second, before bursting out laughing. Jaeger's joke was just that funny, it seems.

"I'm going to remember that one," he promises. "Warm-up. That's brilliant, I'm using it."

He seems to satisfy himself as to the condition of his hands and stops fussing over his fingers. "Smoke and mirrors," he says with a shrug. "Emphasis on smoke."

It seems the openness of a moment ago is gone.

Good timing on the joke, though Jaeger doesn't let his relief show. He just smiles with Pyre, sharing the moment of humor.

"That's fair. I've always had that sort of mind, trying to figure things out." Time for him to share a bit about himself, a small peace offering for the questions that he's been asking. "It drives me a little crazy to leave a puzzle unsolved, but I've been learning over time to just enjoy the spectacle."

Smoke and mirrors, indeed. He's going to make note of that comment, too, adding it to all the little oddities that Pyre has said.

He rubs his hands on the knees of his jeans, contemplating his next move, before he smiles briefly and inclines his head.

"It's been very good talking with you, Pyre. Thank you for taking the time, and congratulations again on your new act. I hope it continues to go over well in the future."

"No, yeah! It's been great, man. I'm glad you enjoyed the show. Sorry I can't share everything, but a magician never tells, right?"

He nods back, smiling. "Maybe if we stop by here again, come back out and see us? Watch close enough and maybe you'll see through all our tricks."

Jaeger nods agreeably. "I'll keep an eye out. I travel sometimes, too, so who knows, right?"

He doesn't quite leave yet though. "What's your next stop? Boston?"

"Yeah, Boston," confirms Pyre. "Guess it's not that far to come up if you really want to see us again."

"Just a short trip," he agrees. "Perhaps I'll see you again, but in the meantime, take care of yourself. Hope everything continues to go well for you."

It's sincere enough, and with a last faint smile Jaeger heads out of the tent, to leave Pyre to his evening routine.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Event - Circus, Circus

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cw body horror, burning, hand trauma, skin trauma, exposed bone

cw body horror, burning, hand trauma, skin trauma, exposed bone

cw body horror, burning, hand trauma, skin trauma, exposed bone

cw body horror, burning, hand trauma, skin trauma, exposed bone

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