« Le Cirque de Rêves »

{Sydni's role-play}
This roleplay is based off my favorite book, The Night Circus.

-=| Storyline |=-
The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque de Rêves, and it is open only at night.
It is the year of 1905, and you are an entertainer at Le Cirque de Rêves, the Dream Circus. The circus travels to a new town, country, or even continent every week. Though, this is not your everyday circus; there's something strange about it. Possibly the fact that the performers are not your everyday performers either. Most possess magical abilities.

You are trained to be the best entertainer you can be and make Le Cirque de Rêves as memorable as possible. In the midst of this, something is not right with the circus. Maybe it's because Friedrick Thiessen, leader of the rêveurs was murdered. Maybe it is because of the oppressive heathens of the circus, réalistes. Maybe it is just your imagination. Anything is possible in the Circus of Dreams.

-=| Types of Entertainers |=-
Pyromancers: These people play with and can produce fire, of any color. Whether it's juggling balls of fire, shooting flaming arrows, or just spawning fire, they do it.
Contortionist: These entertainers have superhuman-flexibility. They can bend themselves into a box, form a human pretzel, etc.
Illusionist: These people can produce unbelievably realistic "illusions". They can even give themselves false appearances.
Animal-tamer: These people tame animals to perform tricks. (i.e., panthers, bears) Their secret is their obedience charms.
Fortuneteller: These performers can tell others their futures by use of a crystal ball, tarot cards, palm readings, etc. (There is only one. She is an NPC. maybe if anyone wants to be her apprentice?)
Acrobat: These entertainers walk the tightrope, swing on the trapeze, etc. They can actually perform magic that defies the laws of gravity and enable levitation.
Dancer: These people are usually foreign. They entertain by dancing with ribbons or performing dances of different cultures unique to them.
Manipulator: These people can manipulate or distort objects, animals, and sometimes people. They can do things such as make a cup bigger or change someone's face.


-=| Performances |=-
You can choose to have your own tent or to just have little shows around the circus grounds. Each have their own benefits. Tents allow you to always have a place to perform. While with just appearing anywhere, you have to find a clear, open area to entertain. On the other hand, performing out in the open allows you the opportunity to be more spontaneous.

-=| NPCs |=-
Non-playing characters. These characters are people part of the storyline who can be freely be controlled by anyone. Though some NPCs are 'taken', you are allowed to have relationships beyond friendship, if you wish. Also, some NPCs are dormant, meaning they serve no purpose besides giving you a back-story because they are gone now.

Name: Penelope "Poppet" Murray
Gender: Female
Birthday/age: October 14, 1886 / 18-years old
Appearance: Long flaming red hair and blue eyes
Back-story: Born into the circus. Her parents are animal-tamers as well, though with big cats such as panthers and snow tigers. She brought Bailey into the circus, thinking there was something special about him.
Entertainer: Animal-tamer (kittens), Co-owner of the circus
Special Abilities: Can see the future, usually from looking at the stars
Type: Active
[Is always referred to as Poppet. Keep in mind that she is a the love interest of Bailey, and twin of Widget.]

Name: Winston "Widget" Murray
Gender: Male
Birthday/age: October 13, 1886 / 18-years old
Appearance: Short, bright red hair and blue eyes
Back-story: Born into the circus. His parents are animal-tamers as well, though with big cats such as panthers and snow tigers.
Entertainer: Animal-tamer (kittens), Co-owner of the circus
Special Abilities: Can read peoples' pasts
Type: Active
[Often referred to as Widget. Keep in mind that this is Poppet's twin.]

Name: Bailey Clarke
Gender: Male
Birthday/age: Unknown, 1886 / About 18-years old
Personality: Kind and sweet, especially to Widget and Poppet. He loves to have fun.
Back-story: Born and raised on an orchard/farm in Concord, Massachusetts, Bailey never felt like he belonged there. Until one day, he was dared by his sister Caroline to sneak into Le Cirque de Rêves, where he met Poppet. Five years later, the circus went back to Concord, where Bailey met Poppet again. Yet this time, Bailey leaves with the circus never to return to Concord again. He always felt the circus was more home to him than anything, even before eloping to join it.
Entertainer: None: Owner of the circus
Type: Active
[Keep in mind he is the love interest of Poppet.]

Name: Lucette Mehra
Gender: Female
Birthday/age: March 3, 1876 / 28-years old
Appearance: Long, straight, black hair and brown eyes. Her skin is slightly dark.
Back-story: Asked by Marco to be the fortune teller of the circus
Entertainer: Fortune teller
Special Abilities: Can read peoples' futures without the use of "materialistic" ways.
Type: Active

Name: Marco Alisdair
Gender: Male
Birthday/age: Unknown / About 30 ~ 35-years old
Entertainer: None: Lefevre's exassistant
Special Abilities: Can produce 'magic'. Put a spell/charm on the circus so that no one physically ages or dies by natural causes.
Type: Dormant

Name: Chandresh Christophe Lefevre
Gender: Male
Birthday/age: September 9, 1847 / 57-years old
Entertainer: None: Ex-Owner of the circus; Holds NO memory of being part of the circus
Special Abilities: None
Type: Dormant

Name: Nathan Scott
Gender: Male
Birthday/age: Unknown / 16-years old
Appearance: Nathan has light blonde hair and dark blue, almost midnight, eyes. He has fair skin and a birthmark on his face that looks a coffee stain on his cheek.
Personality: Nice, but can sometimes have a short temper
Back-story: Nathan was born in Cambridge, England. His family was not very wealthy, and soon died of an unknown illness. Nathan was on the streets when a man in a grey suit found him, brought him to the circus, and he was trained as an acrobat since.
Entertainer: Acrobat
Special Abilities: Unknown
Type: Active

Name: Celia Bowen
Gender: Female
Birthday/age: Unknown / About 30-years old
Appearance: Strikingly beautiful- long, dark, brown hair. Green eyes. Tall, skinny.
Back-story: Love interest of Marco; rest- Unknown
Entertainer: Illusionist
Special Abilities: Can do magic. Taking on Widget, Poppet, and Ethel as apprentices.
Type: Dormant

Name: Tsukiko
Gender: Female
Birthday/age: Unknown / About 35-years old
Appearance: Japanese- straight black hair, brown eyes, pale skin
Back-story: Performed for Lefevre back in the circus' and the Midnight Dinner's haydays.
Entertainer: Contortionist
Type: Active


-=| Means of Being Discovered |=-
Someone can be 'discovered' and brought into the circus two different ways:
1. They are asked to perform at one of Chandresh Christophe Lefevre's Midnight Dinners.
2. They audition in London for a spot in the circus; only took place from, 1884-1886.
Other than this, performers can be in the circus by:
1. Being found performing in the streets.
2. Are asked to elope with the circus and run away from home.
3. Born into the circus



-=| RULES |=-
1. Deaths are allowed.
2. Do not use others' characters without their permission.
3. All characters (excluding "clients") must wear black, white, and/or silver. "Too much white and people assume they are wedding gowns, too much black and they become heavy and dour." Characters do not have to stick with two outfits; they can vary with each performance if you wish.
4. Everything in the circus is black and white. Food, clothing, tents, animals, everything. Although you can get away with grey and silver.
5. When a character is not performing, they must wear casual-clothing. This means do not stick to black, white, and silver. You are free to wear any color you wish.
6. Keep in mind that this takes place in the early 1900s, starting at: February 1905.
7. You are allowed to bring characters outside of the circus into the circus. They must possess some sort of talent that benefits Le Cirque de Rêves.
8. You are allowed to make no more than two characters who are not members of the circus. These people are called rêveurs; they usually spend their free time following the circus to wherever it goes. You can identify these people by what they wear, which is pure black and white, with one splash of red such as a scarf, a rose in the lapel, or a tophat-band. If your character is a reveur, in the "Entertainer" section put
"None: Reveur". Also, a reveur will most likely not have a "Special Ability". They just really love Le Cirque de Rêves.
9. Entertainers are not allowed to perform their "talents" on other people. Such as, manipulating someone's face hideously or "tame" a client into being your butler/maid. This obviously excludes fortune tellers.

-=| Locations |=-
So we know where we're at, where we're headed, etc. Don't want confusion. I'll have to update this every now and again! We might not hit all of these dates. Sometimes we can jump days, weeks, months, or years. Depending on what happens. When we're not in a city, we're on the circus' magical train traversing to the next city. (If -- is between dates, that is when we skip over time.) (!!!The week in RED is the current one!!!)

----1905----
Friday, February 10 ~ Monday, February 13: New York City, New York
Tuesday, February 20 ~ Saturday, February 25: Montreal, Canada
Monday, February 27 ~ Friday, March 3: Nice, France
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Tuesday, March 14 ~ Thursday, March 16: Vienna, Austria
Sunday, March 19 ~ Wednesday, March 22: London, England
Monday, March 27 ~ Thursday, March 30: Tokyo, Japan
Friday, March 31 ~ Monday, April 3: Wuhan, China
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Wednesday, June 7 ~ Saturday, June 10: Sydney, Australia
Monday, June 12 ~ Wednesday, June 14: Mumbai, India
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Thursday, September 21 ~ Sunday, September 24: Constantinople, Turkey
Wednesday, September 27 ~ Friday, September 29: St. Petersburg, Russia