BirdTheWord
New Member
Hurry hurry hurry! Step right up and experience the Abbott and McCulloch Carnival and Sideshow! Just one low price gets you access to thrills, chills, spectacle, and of course unbelievable human oddity in this last of its kind, 100% genuine and bonafide Carnival and Sideshow!
See Electric Boy! No different in appearance than you or I dear friends, but strapped in a chair with electricity coursing through his body, he will make ordinary household light bulbs gleam brighter than any star in the sky! See sparks fly from his fingers! See cigarettes lit off of the tip of his nose!
See our world famous Human Lizard! Touch his scaly green hide with your own hands! See the Weightless Woman levitate right before your eyes! See the Strong Man bend metal I-beams with his chin! Watch in horror as The Stomach devours thumbtacks, broken glass, and even live rats!
We’ve got jugglers! We’ve got fire eaters! We’ve got acrobats! We’ve got daredevils and magicians!
That’s right folks! The A&M Carnival and Sideshow has it all! From world-class performers to every manner of freak your fragile psyche can imagine! Step right up good people! Go right in! A once in a lifetime experience, AND -I cannot stress this enough- we are the last attraction of this kind left in all of the known world!
The overview… Sort of..
Alright guys! If you read the idea on the forum opener there you’ve probably already guessed this RP idea has something to do with a carnival/circus/freak show type of thing; the last of its kind. You’d be RP’ing not a spectator, but one of the carnies (a freak, roustabout, or some other member of the staff). I haven’t worked out the overview quite yet but what may not be immediately apparent is that the freaks and other showfolk are real. They are people who were born with some power or abnormality that keeps them from leading a normal life, and the show itself is actually a cover for these people who have nowhere else to belong. The magicians can actually vanish themselves and smaller objects, the Electric Boy actually has power over electricity, and the Levitating Woman really does have power over gravity.
The performers travel around the country on a train to the outskirts of cities and towns where they set up their show, and perform for the people there for money. Once they’ve worn out their welcome, they pack up the entire thing and do it all again. For this reason, the scene will be changing throughout the life of the RP.
Something more sinister
I sound a little bit like a carnie barker here, but that’s not all! Wherever the show travels to, trouble always seems to not be too far behind. With a group of outcasts and misfits this shouldn’t be surprising. One trouble that insists upon rearing its ugly head is a string of disappearances that follows the show. Almost every town the show comes to sees the disappearance of one or two of the townsfolk. The Ringmaster (who is very important, we’ll get to her shortly) is able to explain it away to the authorities with the old “Hey it’s the circus, people always run away with the circus” line. She’s not sure how long they’re going to buy it, and she knows it to be a lie. Someone in her show (maybe multiple people?) is killing at random, and using the show as a cover. She and her trusted allies in the show must figure out who is doing it and get them to stop before someone gets wise to who they really are and ruins it for all of them.
Characters we’d need super awesome cool RP’ers to play
The Ringmaster: I see this as a pivotal role, and one of the central characters in the RP. The Ringmaster was born in, and grew up with the show, and now watches over her flock of miscreants; always trying to do what’s best for everyone. Her job is to keep the train rolling and everyone out of trouble with the townsfolk and local law enforcement. Depending on the situation, she would have to be able to be mother, advisor, friend, and boss. She runs the show, her word is law amongst the carnies.
The downside is that she’s entirely human, no special powers, no abnormalities, no nothing. Her father, who is recently deceased, was the shyster businessman that started the show. His name was McCulloch; there never was an Abbott, he just thought it sounded better to have two names instead of one. He left The Ringmaster holding the bag with a show to run, and the people who have long since been her family to take care of. Maybe some of the carnies love and support her? Maybe others doubt her abilities to keep the show going? Maybe the loss of her father and all the responsibility is too much? Time will tell.
**Important Note** I will NOT be RP’ing the part of the Ringmaster. I want someone else to take the part and make her their own. If you want the part, please start a convo with me. I really do want her to be yours so if you don’t like some of the ideas I have for her, change them. Take out stuff, add things in, do what you’d like! The only thing I ask is -because this part is so central to the goings on- the person who takes her have a reasonable amount of experience with RP’ing. Once the RP starts, I will be entirely hands off on how you play her.
The Strongman: What good is the law without the muscle? The Strongman would be the last of the ‘old guard’ carnies. With the death of their former boss, and new freaks and showpeople cycling in and out all the time, the core of the show that’s been around since its conception needs a pillar to anchor themselves to. This is The Strongman. He would generally be aligned with The Ringmaster (maybe he saw he grow up as a kid, maybe his loyalty to her old man transfers to her), and be her way to kind of keep her finger on the pulse of her band of misfits. He would serve as a sort of trusted advisor/second in command to The Ringmaster. Oh, and did I mention he’d have superhuman strength? Yea. Someone has to hand out the ass-whoopin’ when the occasion calls for it.
As before, make him your own.
The Killer: There really is no requirement here, other than if you’d like your character to secretly be the one (or more) picking off the townsfolk, shoot me a convo starter and we’ll take a look. Just remember not to tell anyone! That would ruin all the fun.
Final thoughts and other stuff that doesn’t fit anywhere else: I’m really just trying to create an RP that I think I would enjoy playing around in, and I want anyone interested to help in the construction of it. I plan to have a couple little surprises here and there (plot happenings and such), but I’ve largely laid out the idea. If you have an idea, post about it! We’ll see about working it in together. Or, conversely, if you think you’d like your idea to be a surprise, send it to me privately and we’ll spring it on everyone at just the right time!
Bulletpoints!
- I see the rough time period here to be sometime before cell phones and portable video cameras, obviously a time period where trains would still be relevant.
- Guns exist, but long rifles and revolver handguns are far and away the norm. Semiautomatic magazine-fed weapons are still in their infancy and extremely uncommon.
- Guys, this gets put in every RP I know, but if this idea actually turns into an RP (I really hope so) just be cool about everything ok? Don’t break the RpN rules and just generally be helpful and kind to one-another out of character. If we disagree on something that’s fine, but let’s get it worked out without fighting. If you want to be a bastard, make your character the most miserable bastard you want, but OOC let’s just have fun and enjoy ourselves.
- This is the very first RP I’ve taken it upon myself to make here on RpN, and would love any help, tips, or suggestions with things like the best place to post the RP, advertising, formatting, that type of thing. Also some pictures and things would be nice as well, I haven't figured that part out yet. Super big awesome thanks in advance![/centerblock][/border]
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