Thomas Malenko's Traveling Menagerie! (Circus Sandbox)

[Crash]

I remember her as well! Amazing skill!

No problem, Bekah! If you'd like more variety, I totally understand. Just offered in case it works out for a connection.  :3

Yeah I looked at Mel’s character.  They would be different enough.

[Bekah Boo]

Contortionist and fire eaters often work in duos and groups.   I am thinking Mel’s girl and mine would be be different enough as not to infringe or they could work together.  I made sure I read hers first.

Totally up to you really, just send me a CS and we can go from there ;3

[Crash]

I will think on it and see what image inspiration I can find.

[Bekah Boo]

I will think on it and see what image inspiration I can find.

Gotcha, just keep in mind we do have someone who is working exclusively with fire, so I would suggest possibly going a different route. At least as far as contortionists goes.

[Crash]

So we have....
Ring Leader
2 fortune tellers
Fire Dancer
Contortionist/Acrobat

[Bekah Boo]

I've updated the list of possible roles in the first post, so there are still plenty of options left.
We could always use those who don't have an exact skill, such as run-aways to the circus etc.
Though no real circus would be complete without a power house character and their amazing feats of strength, gotta love those muscles ;3

As always feel free to ask for any suggestions or run them by me here xD

[CaptainErotica]

I should have time to send my write up to you tonight. My idea is actually for a group of quadruplet twin clowns. Each has one emotion/trait that dominates their personality at the expense of other traits. The only other way to tell them apart is their eye color.

*EDIT* Ended up sending two submissions. Of the two, I really like the second one that I based loosely on a real life Spooky magician called The Sacred Reina.

[CaptainErotica]

Introducing, The Dark Lady Luna!

Player Name: Captain Erotica
Name: Dark Lady Luna
Age: 20
Gender: Female
Sexuality: Bi-Sexual
Circus Position: Magician/Illusionist/Entertainer
Spooky Magic- To say that Luna's magic is spooky would be an understatement. Her ability to perform magical feats and illusions that would scare the socks off of a cat borders on the supernatural. Her ability to maintain her creepy and spooky characterization at all times make her performances some of the scariest ever witnessed.

Fear-Luna has the uncanny ability to instill fear in those near her. Is it her mannerisms? The way she walks and talks? All of the above? Or is it something more dark and sinister? Luna will never tell.

Telekinesis-Luna has a limited form of telekinesis. She can move smaller objects with relative ease, but always at low velocity. She can even move something as large as a table with a concentrated effort.

Personality:
How does your character act around the others? - In public Luna remains in character at all times, but when it is just the other members of the Troupe she relaxes and becomes a friendly and outgoing young woman. She even comes off as a bit of a flirt, though she is mostly just a big tease. Yet she can never be fully normal often muttering to herself and sometimes when she is nervous or agitated her voice takes on the same tone as her stage persona.

How do they act around 'normies'?- When out in public, even with the others or any time there is even a chance that a "Normie" is near/around she will remain in character. Where as Luna Vizois is the cute and sweet young woman Dark Lady Luna is dark morbid and creepy. Her speech is stilted spoken in a hollow, ghostly manner. She walks with a slow jittery gate. Her head and limbs often twitch and it sometimes seems as if she is communicating with someone or something that only she can see or hear.

Luna is really just happy to have a safe place to call home and a family(the troupe) that loves her -at least as far as she can tell. Though she enjoys the spotlight and being on stage, she has no desires to become the queen bee. She would accept the role, but is not actively seeking it.

Background History: Luna had always had an interest in all things magic ever since she could remember. She got her first magicians set at age six and has been honing her magic ever since. In the beginning she stuck to the usual parlor tricks and card tricks. Until one day she discovered an ancient tome tucked away under a bunch of other magic gags and tricks at magic shop that was going out of business.

Inside the tome she discovered a whole new world of darker magic. The magic within the tome was meant to draw upon the audiences fear and how to use spooky affects and gimmicks effectively. As she reached the end of the book she found an old black and white photograph tucked into the spine. It depicted a spooky looking woman dressed in black with creepy and disturbing facial paint and wild hair. It reminded Luna of a twisted and evil gothic clown. As she brushed her fingertips over the picture she felt a jolt of static electricity. When she looked back at the picture the woman in the picture was gone.

Though she did not know it at the time the lady in the picture was the author of the book and had become trapped in the photograph when an attempted new trick went awry. And now the spirit of the author had found a new home inside Luna's body. The girl began to have trouble sleeping and sometimes remembered memories that were not her own. Over time things got worse as she soon began to hear a voice in her head that was not her own. Though the voice was usually nice to her and never tried to harm her, it took its toll on her mental health. Her parents became increasingly worried, but it wasn't until Luna started causing objects to move without touching them that they decided to send her away to a mental hospital.

The doctors at the mental hospital were baffled. All of their tests and brain scans claimed that she was a normal seventeen year old girl. Yet she showed mannerisms that suggested some serious mental disorder. Her telekinetic ability was also something they could not understand. One night she overheard the doctors talking to her parents. They wanted her parent's permission to perform some experiments on the girl. She was heartbroken when she heard her parents agree to them.

That night she managed to escape the mental hospital and fled into the night. She spent the next several months on the run and homeless. More than a few times she was almost caught and brought back to the hospital. It was only with the help and guidance of the other woman living inside her head that she survived. Then one night six months ago she stumbled upon the camp of Thomas Malenko's Traveling Menagerie. Thomas took her in and after hearing her tale offered her a home and a job with his traveling circus. Now sheis part of the menagerie performing her dark magics and scaring the bejesus out of the crowd as the Dark Lady Luna.

Thoughts on the Ringleader:
Do they trust him? - Trust does not come easy to Luna, but he did take her in and has shown no interest in returning her to the mental hospital. In fact he has promised to protect her and never let that happen. For now he has not given her reason not to trust him.

Personal On|Offs: I am comfortable writing in any scenario. My only hard no's are things that aren't allowed on the site anyway and scat, vore and mutilation. While I love me some BDSM I am not really into the more hardcore aspects of it.

I do not really intend on having Luna be sexually active, but should your character be inclined to try and woo her and you are okay with cross-gender players then you are welcome to try. Maybe Luna just hasn't met the right man or woman.

[Bibliophilia]

Player Name: Bibliophilia
Name: Jasper Downs
Age: 26
Gender: Male
Sexuality: Pansexual
Circus Position: Animal Tamer / Trainer

Grunt & Squeak & Squawk- Jasper has the unique ability to engage in telepathic communications with all the beasts of the earth, and even vocalize with them when desired.  The link is not so much like human dialogue, as animals conceive thoughts in a completely alien manner to humans.  Generally the ideas shared are abstract, mostly visual and fairly simple.  He finds it easiest to keep his 'conversations' grounded in the physical world, as animals have little time or patience for human emotions or philosophy.

Totally Not Warging, Bro- If an animal trusts him and is receptive, Jasper can project his consciousness into the beast and experience the world through its senses, as well as control its actions for a short period of time.  While doing this, his body lacks a conscious mind, so his eyes roll back and he goes limp, utterly helpless and oblivious to outside stimuli for the period of time he remains within the animal.

Fashion Sense- A consumate clothes-horse, Jasper is always on the very cutting edge of fashion, without sacrificing the timelessness of a classic for the tired fad of tomorrow.  He enjoys flamboyant style with bright, eye-popping prints, impeccably tailored garments and shoes that make a statement.  He doesn't bother with such old-fashioned concepts as gendered clothing or accessories, often blending the feminine and masculine.  He's as likely to show up in stiletto heels and a bespoke suit, as he is to don a silk tie, velvet ballgown and a bold, red lip.

Personality: Always ready with a smile and a twinkle in his eye, Jasper is the classic con man, capable of wooing any man or woman out of the very shirt off their back.  Rarely does he put his charm to such base ends, however, preferring to lure his targets into daring adventures and wild, sexual escapades that leave their lives richer for the experience.  His irreverence and devil-may-care attitude are blended with a genuine desire to ensure that no one he meets will ever forget him, nor will they die without at least one memory of something amazing they did once.  The thought of a life wasted never doing anything risky and wonderful is abominable to him.

Background History: Jasper was born to a Romani family of stunning size and fierce loyalty.  He grew up in Romania, but their family were forced to travel a lot due to the discrimination they faced everywhere they went.  Denied the opportunity for a stable life or work that paid a decent wage, many of their family took to the very things that their people had been accused of for hundreds of years.  And Jasper became a skilled pickpocket at the age of ten.

He didn't enjoy what he did, none of his family did really, but many turned bitter and angry as they felt they'd been forced into a life of crime by the hostility and unfair judgment they experienced just for being Romani.  The rascism isolated Jasper as parents of non-Romani children didn't often allow them to play with him and his siblings and cousins.  Sure, there were plenty of family members to play games with, but Jasper wanted to meet new people, make new friends and spend time with children who didn't all share his DNA and culture.  He was curious about things like school, fascinated at the thought of riding a bus to a building where grown-ups taught you things like math and reading.  There were games the non-Romani children knew that he and his family had never played before.  And those other children had pets.

The adults of the family didn't allow animals due to their need to constantly move around and the irregular nature of their income.  The dogs and cats that the Romanian children had were intensely appealing to young Jasper and he would often steal away from his chores to sneak into backyards so he could spend time petting the family pets and talking with them.  It wasn't until he got a bit older that he realized that not everyone could communicate with animals the way he could, and that it was best never to reveal his ability to others.  While his family wouldn't toss him into some asylum the way the non-Romani seemed to do with those they deemed 'crazy', he knew that it would forever alter how they viewed him and interacted with him.

Still, he longed for the ability to explore his gift without having to resort to risky night time visits that - on more than one occasion - had led to him having to flee the threat of violence when he was caught.  So, he began to take in injured and stray animals he found on their travels, hiding them from his parents and nursing them back to health or finding them a good home.  It fed his desire to protect the beasts of the world, while also giving him the opportunity to explore and hone his abilities.

Then, when he was fourteen years old, he was promised in marriage to the daughter of a man who was his father's business partner, a girl of only thirteen.  The wedding was planned to occur shortly following the girl's fifteenth birthday, when Jasper was sixteen and would be working full-time for his father.  The announcement of the plans that mapped out his future so clearly, with no opening for discussion or protest from himself or his betrothed, made Jasper realize how unhappy he was with his life.  He didn't want to get married, take over his father's import/export business that was really a front for smuggling stolen goods, and he didn't want to raise his children to be just as lonely and stifled as he was.

So, that was how, at the age of fifteen, with a wad of cash he had saved from skimming off the ill-gotten gains he made from picking pockets and selling stolen goods, and a fake ID bought off one of his many black market connections, he boarded a ship bound for America.  Once he arrived, he bought himself a ferret he spied in a shopfront window and the two began working up an act they could use to support themselves in the big city of New York.  Two weeks later, with his money nearly run out and Spiritus, the white ferret, perched on his shoulder...he joined the many buskers in Central Park.

Over time, he acquired two more ferrets, made a pretty decent amount of money and further honed his skills to the point he could enter any one of the three and control them with such dexterity that he could maneuver a man's wallet from his back pocket without him ever noticing.  But, the foursome only did so as a joke, a dazzling display of intelligence and agility on the part of whichever ferret he chose to enter.  Though it was sometimes a struggle, Jasper had shed the criminality with which he'd been raised, even if it didn't bother him morally.  The fact was, he simply despised the thought that the bigots who had harried his family and his people could point to the necessary illegal acts, brought about simply as a means to survive, and feel as if they had been justified in their racism and hatred.

So, he was honest out of spite, rather than any ethical quandary.  He'd come to accept that most human beings were far less pleasant company than beasts, and most seemed to be looking to get tricked out of their hard-earned money.  It wasn't until Thomas stopped to watch him and the trio one day that he ever considered anyone a true friend.  Then, when the same strange man kept coming to the park each day, talking with him and laughing over the tricks the ferrets performed, he found himself a new family...friends and a place he could finally call home.

Thoughts on the Ringleader: Thomas was one of Jasper first true friends and he would lay down his life for the man.  Never before had he met anyone who's care for animals matched his own, and with each new animal Thomas helps him to liberate from untenable conditions, his devotion and gratitude for his friend grows.  Plus, he's just such a good sport and their little pranks make life more interesting!

Personal On|Offs: Hedonism; Humor; Unconventionality; Adventure; Teasing; Banter; Friction; Passion; Flirtation; Spontaneity; Backbone; Wit; Wildness; Moxie

Insecurity; Ennui; Nihilism; Bigotry; Pettiness; Jealousy; Self-Importance; Cruelty; Apathy; Stoicism

Additional Pictures

Extra Information: Jasper's three companions, and the stars of his act, are his trio of ferrets named Corpus, Animus and Spiritus.  Corpus is the darkest, Animus is the middle and Spiritus is pure white.  They are deeply connected with Jasper and highly intelligent, as evidenced by the dazzling displays of adorable dexterity and cleverness they put on during his act.  They're often found draped around his neck, hiding in his shirt or pockets, or generally darting around his feet.

[BlueEyedBard]

Player Name: Blueeyedbard
Name: François Arouet...or just “Franc”
Age: 29
Gender: Male
Sexuality: Pansexual
Circus Position: Daredevil
Calculator- You don't survive this long trying to survive death without having some things figured out. In spite of the way he comes off as nothing short of stupid, Franc was always a great student and especially found mathematics came very easy to him. He has a skill for making quick calculations in his head; from the velocity of the fall from the top of that tree, or the angle he needs to be fired out of that cannon. He is known for making quick calculations and adjustments on the spot.

Stunt Man- Having all the numbers figured out is helpful, but knowing what you are doing is important too. Franc spent a lot of time training himself on how to move, how to fall, how to breathe. Every little thing matters, every single second, and while that may scare some stiff, Franc finds knowing exactly when to tuck and roll, exactly how to separate himself from the moment of death, to be incredibly exhilarating.

Luck- Smart, agile, competent, precise are all good qualities when attempting to do very stupid things. But when it comes down to it, no amount of planning or preparation can quite hold up to dumb luck. A quality that Franc seems to have in spades. Somehow every jump, and every fall, he walks away unhurt. After every explosion, he walked away unburned. Planned, unplanned, even blindfolded. Some even said that he had offended the Reaper, and that Death wanted nothing to do with him now.

Personality: Franc can come off as a bit of a dork, or a goof, with a rather carefree attitude and a silly smile on his face. He doesn't take many things too seriously and about the only time he doesn't appear to be in s good mood, is when he appears to be figuring out what gasp inspiring stunt he was going to pull off next.

Not used to being close to anyone, especially a family, Franc can sometimes seem hesitant to participate in group practices geared toward a more nurturing or caring idea. An inner conflict that he has always dealt with where he views himself as being more weird, or more crazy than anyone, including the others in the circus. As such, he really doesn't see anyone in the circus as much different than anyone else in the world, aside from the fact that they are strangely accepting of him.

Background History: Born François Arouet, in a dingy little, ground floor apartment, in the southern part of Paris. The unplanned child of Maurice and Anastasia Arouet, a professional gambler, and a high class prostitute. Franc spent most of his time fending for himself when it came to keeping himself fed, and bathed, and even going to school most days. Though he did always have trouble with his attention span when it came to his classes. He was a good student and picked up lessons rather quick. But he always found more interest figuring out how to shimmy up the side of the building to retrieve a ball from the roof of the school.

A professional might have said that the boy's habit for climbing to potentially dangerous heights, was a cry for attention. But he never saw a professional… he did however get plenty of attention, every time he would climb a lamp post to jump onto a moving bus, or jump off the same bus to dive off a bridge into the Seine.
It wasn't until he was a teenager that he finally got some of the attention he had likely craved as a child. It had been a particularly fortuitous day at the track when Maurice came home already drunk and wanting to celebrate. With his wife out working, it ended up that sixteen year old Franc was the only one around to go out on the town with.

Drinking, laughing, dancing, the father and son probably spent more quality time together that night than they had in the last sixteen years combined. But the evening really hit its climax when the two got in some silly forgotten argument and Franc took a bet from his father that he couldn't climb across one of the arches of the Eiffel Tower. A bet that Franc was more than ready to gamble twenty francs, and his life on.
Scaling one of the legs had been the easy part. The tough part was shimmying across the arch to the other leg. He happened to look down when he was halfway across, where he noticed his father on the ground taking more bets on whether he would make it or not. It was in that moment that Franc realized he could make his own living without his parents, doing exactly what he had enjoyed doing his whole life, and there was no way for his father to talk him out of it when the police that arrested the two of them let Franc go free after just an hour, for being a juvenile.

That next morning Franc raided his father's gambling tin and headed out on his own. First he traveled to London where he continued to climb tall structures for people's amusement, and money. When that started getting stale he began figuring out how to then jump off those places, to the delight of onlookers and irritation of local law enforcement. Who really made it clear that he was wearing out his welcome, when he scaled the side of Big Ben and hung a flower, that a girl below had given him, on the minute hand.
Fortunately there was someone out there that appreciated his need to stare death in the face for people's entertainment, and those people were Hollywood. As soon as he got out of jail again he got the next ship to America, and made his way to his new career as a movie stuntman.

One thing he quickly learned about America was that they were much more appreciative of his near suicidal tendencies. The studio taught him to drive, and trained him how to take every fall, dive, and crash in a way that would keep him falling and crashing without the expense of his life. But while the Hollywood life was entertaining, Franc quickly got bored of doing the same movie stunts over and over again and soon he was back on the road to find more insanity for his insatiable survivor lust.
He leapt from the Golden Gate Bridge, he jumped the Grand Canyon on motorbike, he even climbed the side of the Empire State Building.

There was one time he met a man that he thought was more strange than him, who introduced himself as Thomas Malenko.
He was on a plane that he intended to jump out of, sitting next to the strange man who said he had been looking for Franc for some time now; having just missed him when he got to the 99th floor of the ESB and passed by the window he was at, and again when he drove a motorcycle along the roof of a train car he was in. This man told him of a show where he could perform his death defying stunts to his heart's content, and with all the resources he needed to keep pushing the bar.
Franc was unsure about the offer by the time he had to jump, and before he could sign the contract he was out the plane door and free falling through the open sky.
What changed his mind was when he looked up to find himself face to face with the falling ringleader, still wearing that big grin, and clutching a contract and pen in front of him. Without even another thought, Franc signed the paper, and at the same time Tom opened his parachute, Franc opened his arms for the wind to catch his homemade squirrel suit.

Thoughts on the Ringleader: Franc sees Thomas as by far, the oddest man he has ever met. From the way he acts, to the stories he tells, to the friends he keeps, himself included. But he still trusts the man more than anyone he has ever met, even if he doesn't really know why. But one thing he does know is that, since meeting Thomas Malenko, he has not been bored a single day in his life.

Personal On|Offs: Same as player

Additional pictures |Information:

[Bibliophilia]

Finally got some more boys in the game.

Still have a bunch of other options for characters, though.  -dangles treats for potential players.-  Here kitties.

[Bekah Boo]

Awesome characters so far everyone!
This makes me even more excited to kick things off, if that was even possible ;3

We will still be accepting roles even after we start so come join the fun ;3

We’re still on the look out for a strong person to round out the roster, but original ideas are always accepted  too xD

[Mellific]

I'm really sorry to do this, but I need to bow out of this game for the time being. I signed up for more than I should have at one time and need to prune a few things from my plate, in order to keep myself sane. Apologies for the inconvenience. Happy writing to you all.