POPOVSKY CIRCUS - Sideshows

[Ignatieff Popovsky]

Signs at the entrance show the way to this avenue of caravans and awnings. There are two long rows of these, one to the right of the entrance, and one to the left. Each caravan is owned by a separate performer, with their particular act or attraction. Some of them also appear in a grand finale under the Big Top twice a day. However, nearly all of them are open from opening to closing, unless the individual performer or creature act is 'Out to Lunch'.

Here are the most popular of the various sideshows. There are more, scattered around the periphery of this part of the circus. Each has seats for the audience.

1. Rodrigo's Dancing Minotaurs and Target Shoot.
2. The Midway – Games and Amusements to try your luck and sell soothe your soul
3. The Phantom Orchestra
4. Hell's Kitchen – Mouth-watering (or dissolving) cuisine from exotic locations
5. Madame Shalimar – Misfortune Teller
6. Punch & Judy Show – Featuring the Ingleside House Elf Troupe
7. Melisandre – Puppets and Spinner of Tales
8. Doctor Constantine‟s Miracle Potions and Anatomy Show
9. The Clown Ghosts of Prague
10. Guinevere – Magical Portraits for Every Occasion
11. Master Majestyk's Magical Mummery – Legedermain and Conjurer
12. The Parliament of Monsters
13. Arachidna – The Spider Girl
14. The Sarcophagus of Sutekh
15. Fazima – Snake Charmer
16. Isaiah – The Living Skeleton
17. Katya – The Dancing Doll Maiden
18. Meshkenet – The Harpy of Egypt
19. General Kaine and The Wild Men of Badabaskor
20. Lumina the Human Phoenix
21. Beletsunu The Babylonian Queen
22. Lin Daiyu and the Seven Secrets
23. Parthenope and the Sea Sirens
24. Maguffy the Illustrated Man

[Andrea Mateus]

After Andy got to the circus main gate, she quickly headed for the sideshows, because she had a Great-Aunt who was a fortune-teller that traveled with the circus, and she wanted to go and say hello. She didn't know anything about her Great-Aunt Esmeralda, but she had met her once or twice at family reunions. She was a tall woman, with a spare, almost skeletal body, and although she must have been 80 if she was a day, Andy thought she looked pretty good for an old lady. The circus was already crowded as she went away from the main entrance and towards a long line of wagons and tents that housed the many attractions of the circus. She'd never seen so many colorful wagons in her life, and she spent a long time just reading the signs, and gaping at the work of each of the entertainers.

She had to keep reminding herself that most of these things were for entertainment, and anything scary about them was purely for effect. She didn't think the town council or the school would really let anything dangerous camp nearby. The Spider Girl tent attracted her, and the woman looked normal until she did her act, when she was like a spider from the waist down, and could hang upside down by a thread. Whatever she was, it was like some kind of transfiguration, or maybe she was a rare metamorphmagus of some exotic kind. She watched this for a while, and then went on to watch a woman who had a number of puppets on strings that she manipulated with a wand. However, they weren't just puppets it seemed. They seemed almost -- alive.  She passed on down the row and visited her Great-Aunt, but didn't get her palm read. Once she'd had a long talk with her Great-Aunt in between customers, she went to watch the Phantom orchestra play. She figured she'd meet up with some of her friends and maybe they'd go over to the rides area if she found them. If not, it was a fun day so far. 

[Cerise Valassion]

The circus was here, and Cerise was ready for some fun after a long school year. She left a note for Jace to catch up with her at the circus, and said she would be going to Dr. Constantine's Potions and Anatomy Show, which sounded interesting. So, dressed in casuals and with a big hat on her head, she took one of the carriages to Hogsmeade, and then walked to the Circus by herself. Once she got through the main entrance, she followed the signs to the Sideshows, and was soon camped out in a series of chairs that stood before a big wagon with the signs for the Doctor and some of his 'Miracle Cures'. She wondered what he was going to demonstrate today. Two skeletons stood on the stage, and some scantily-clad assistants stood by handing out brochures to the crowd.

These, it seemed, gave a list of some of the potions that the good Doctor would mix on demand today. Potions to cure almost any ailment that Cerise could think of. The front part of the wagon opened up into a lab of sorts. The Doctor had yet to make an appearance, but she was wondering what he would do that was different from other potion masters. She doubted he was a fraud. The Circus seemed to have a legimitate feel to it, but this was also like a giant theater with actors of all types in it. It was probably a fantastical show, as well as a potions lab. Maybe he would turn people into newts or something.

[Ignatieff Popovsky]

In the Sideshow area, two stages opened up large tent flaps and their barkers began to announce that the show wold begin in five minutes. At one end of the row of sideshows, the first of these was the Magical show of Master Majestyk the Conjuror, who specialized in illusions and tricks of the mind. The stage was a 3/4 thrust set up that allowed people to view the act from three sides. Master majestyk, a dark-haired wizard in bright blue robes and a flattened cone hat, came out with two attractive female witches to begin the show.

Near the other end of the Sideshow Row, a large colored caravan opened up with a stage, and 'General' Kaine appeared on the stage, along with a gigantic map of a globe, but it looked strange, for the land masses were completely different from the familiar forms of the continents of Earth. Several men and women in white togas stood nearby, and several chairs were set in a semicircle below a sort of series of Greek-style columns. The audience could either stand, or there were a series of benches laid atop short Greek-style pillars. General Kaine himself looked like a tall, strongly built wizard of late middle age, wearing explorer-type khaki clothing, and wearing boots.

[Cerise Valassion]

She wondered where Jace was as she sat at the potions wagon. She watched the potions show for a little while, and watched the potions master at work in his stage/lab. He did not only brewing, but he did a sort of acrobatics method of performing the steps of the process. He even asked for volunteers to test his various potions. There were many useful ones that she had never heard of, with odd, sweetly scented ingredients. Ambergris; tonka; rose; lemon; cinnamon; bergamot; olibanum.   The potions show seemed to be populated by girls looking for potions of one sort or another. Cerise didn't need any of that, but there was a concoction called China Rain that he prepared before their eyes that was a refreshing tonic that would help you meditate, and get the most of any short nap, as well. Cerise bought some of this from a seller who was near the stage. Others listened and watched the Dr. make potions to make them more attractive or to remove blemishes or curl their hair or even remove hair from unwanted places. The last one actually sounded like it would be useful, for shaving was an irritant to Cerise's skin. She bought a small sample of that potion as well to try when she was home for the summer, for there were plans to go to the beach when Hugo and some others came to Pluckley Green again. She finally left the show and wandered on. 

Her attention was grabbed by a cart with a tall woman in green on it. She was actually moving the cart with some kind of animated statues or -- puppets. She saw the signs they were holding as they passed by near the Potions show, and decided to follow the strange parade back to their own wagon and stage, which had an awning like some of the others. No doubt the woman had more examples of the puppet-horses to show off. The control aspect must be some kind of charm, but Cerise had never seen it before.

[Peregrin Olsen]

Entering NPC mode, as requested by the Ringmaster.

Yeva peeked out the window of her little house.  The landscape had changed again; somedays what she thought of as her front yard was nothing more than the cozy dark interior of the caravan which made up the bulk of the world she knew.  She would glance out the window from her lavishly decorated parlour during high tea with Mister Bear and stare into the shadowy figures of costumes and props as the caravan swayed her house gently - lucky thing that her tea time didn't involve liquids or else the rocking of the world would have ruined her pretty lace tablecloth.  It was imported, after all.  But then there were days like today when she looked out the window and saw a much bigger and brighter world.  Sometimes with autumn leaves blowing across a hollow in the woods, sometimes newly bloomed crocuses in a glen.  Today Yeva's front yard consisted of a summery village with a wide variety of children of all ages.

The Dancing Doll Maiden was glad of it; when her front yard was smaller, there was only Mister Bear for company.  He was her best friend, but since he wasn't magically animated to life the way she was, the tiny teddy wasn't much of a conversationalist.  Still, Yeva would never have left him behind - he needed to get out more, same as her.  She hugged Mister Bear around the neck and waited, prettily impatient, for her house to be opened for her since the painted wood and glue of her front door was a simulation only.  No hinge, no way out once she was locked in between performances.  The hinge was at the side of her pretty little house; a shiny bejeweled padlock on the other side kept her in until the Man came around with his keys.  Until then she was confined.  Imprisoned.  But it was her life - or rather, the life given to her - and it was a lacey, silky, comfortably furnished prison at least. 

And today she got to meet new Big People.  She hopped down in her eagerness as the door was finally opened and skipped around daintily.  What a day she and Mister Bear would have.  Yeva noticed one of the Big People (Cerise) walking past and blinked up - waaaay up - from her 10 inched stature, shielding her grey eyes with a pale hand.  She looked pleasant.  Yeva skipped up to her with a curtsy and a sweet smile, launching into her act.  "здравствуйте!  (Hello!)" she called up in Russian, her little voice tinkling like a bell.  "Я Ева! Вы красивая, вы хотели бы, чтобы танцевать для вас?  (I'm Yeva!  You're pretty, would you like me to dance for you?)"  Yeva was ready to dance whatever the answer.  If this Big Person did not wish her to, others always did.  And Yeva did so love to be adored.

   Hope you don't mind, Cerise.   Just ignore her if you have plot stuff going on.  Once she hears English she'll switch languages and ask the question again, but she's magically set to Russian as her default.

[Cerise Valassion]

The Ravenclaw girl soon found herself pretty lost in all the attractions in the Sideshow area. There were dozens of booths and wagons with stages. Some were very large, and some were extremely small, like the Punch and Judy Show had been. She looked at her watch: She still had some time before she was supposed to meet Hugo and the others, and perhaps Jace would arrive by then. So she she continued down the row of colored awnings attached to the wagons that were parked in a row. Each had a separate sign, and she read these as she walked slowly along. Near one small caravan, there was a stage with something like a doll house on it, or part of a doll house. One of her most treasured chldhood possessions had been the doll house she had at home. She rarely played with it any mre, but she wasn't ready to store it away, for she'd worked very hard on arranging it just as she wanted, and when she was done, she'd do it all over again a different way. She'd loved all her dolls and toys, what few she had.

She read the sign on the small caravan. "Yeva The Dancing Doll Maiden", and there was a man, some kind of wizard working on setting out some signs that the sideshow was open. But what was it? Cerise was about to go up and look at the doll house and the area around it more closely when she heard a voice say something in a language she didn't understand. She looked around for who was speaking, but saw no one. It was probably Jace hiding and throwing his voice with a charm. Then she heard the voice again, female, and speaking what sounded like Russian. Then she looked down where the voice came from, and she got the shock of her life! There was a doll -- a girl doll -- perhaps eight or ten inches in height speaking to her. Actually speaking. It was the same Doll Maiden on the advertising sign, except that the sign was huge, and this maiden was tiny, or at least doll-sized. She was dressed very beautifully in doll clothes, or real clothes that were doll sized. Her features were peaches-and-cream with blonde hair like Cerise's. In fact, she looked strangely like one of Cerises' dolls named Katrina. She was clearly speaking to Cerise. A big smile broke out on the Ravenclaw's face, and she knelt down to be more on the little doll's level. She didn't know what the doll had said, but it was a cute little voice, so Cerise started with a hello.

"Oh, hello. I'm sorry, I don't speak your language, but how beautiful you are!" she said with wonder in her voice.

[Anja Risatina]

Anja had been wandering around the circus for a while taking in all that it had to offer. Everything seemed so different and awe-inspiring to her. Anja found the Sideshows area and walked cautiously around it. She and the others she was supposed to meet up soon, but she wasn't sure exactly where. The area was covered in little caravans with people sitting outside of them waiting for viewers to drop by. Anja noticed the sign indicating what was available for sideshows and checked it out. She noticed that a Phantom Orchestra was one of the shows. This intrigued her and she decided she would check it out once her meeting one done. Perhaps the others would want to see it too. Anja walked down the path of Caravan tents looking curiously at each one. Then she spotted someone she recognized. It was a member of the HSA, Cerise, who had been one of the people on brooms for the Wide Patrol Anja had participated in. She was walking up to her to greet her when she stopped. What looked like an actual porcelain doll approached her instead. Anja stared wide-eyed at the little girl/doll bewildered by the fact that she was moving. 'This place is kind of creepy, for dolls aren't supposed to be able to move on their own,' she thought to herself. Then Anja heard Russian coming in a tiny voice from the doll.

"здравствуйте!  (Hello!) Я Ева! Вы красивая, вы хотели бы, чтобы танцевать для вас?  (I'm Yeva! You're pretty, would you like me to dance for you?)" Anja understood her completely and blew a kind of sigh of relief believing that she was obviously magically conditioned to dance for circus patrons. Anja walked closer so she was behind Cerise just in time to here her say, "Oh, hello. I'm sorry, I don't speak your language, but how beautiful you are!" Anja checked the Caravan where the little doll came out and read "Yeva The Dancing Doll Maiden". 'Interesting,' Anja thought. To announce her presence to Cerise, Anja said "She said you are pretty and would like to know if you want her to dance for you". Anja smiled hoping she hadn't started Cerise. Then she bent down and said the to doll, "Привет, спасибо, Ева. Мы будем рады видеть Вас танцевать! (Hi, thank you, Yeva. We will be glad to see you dance!) Мы считаем, что вы прекрасны! (We think you are beautiful!)" Anja smiled and looked up at Cerise, "I said we would love to see her dance. You don't mind, do you?"