Circus

<infobox> <title source="name"><default>Circus</default></title>

<image source="Image"></image> <image source="image"></image> <group><header>Basic Information</header> <label>Civilian Name</label> <label>Aliases</label> <label>Gender</label><default>Unknown</default> <label>Death</label> <label>Age</label><default>Unknown</default> <label>Post-timeskip</label> <label>Ward start</label> <label>Relations</label> <label>Family</label></group> <group><header>Professional Status</header> <label>Occupation</label> <label>Classification</label> <label>Unique Features</label> <label>Alignment</label>

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<label>Location</label> <label>Teams</label> <label>Previous Team(s)</label> <label>Base of Operations</label></group> <group><header>First Appearance</header> <label>Worm Debut</label> <label>Ward Debut</label></group> </infobox>Circus is an independent villain<ref>Comment by Wildbow on Spacebattles</ref><ref name="6.7"/><ref>The 'few dozen' is too many, a throwaway line that didn't work as I built the setting. You could say there's maybe two dozen unaffiliated capes who could interfere, if you include New Wave's members, Über, Leet, Circus, Trainwreck, Parian, etc, and a number of others who might've scrammed around the time of Arc 8, but yeah. - Comment by Wildbow on Reddit</ref> in Brockton Bay, and a classic example of a Grab-Bag Cape.

Personality

Circus is described as a genderfluid cross-dresser by Wildbow.<ref name="16.10c1">Circus is best described as a genderfluid cross-dresser and both of Tattletale’s suppositions are thus correct, which is why her power can’t give her a definitive answer. In being unsure and not knowing, Tattletale was probably closer in labeling Circus than anyone Circus has met. Circus is pleased on a level (being someone that defies/plays with their own gender identity to the point that it confounds someone like Tattletale), and thus takes it as something of a compliment.

Tattletale uses the word ‘poser’ because Circus -is- posing (or crossdressing). In a number of the snippets I wrote about Circus (and with Circus as a main character), Circus veers between being male and female and switching to the other gender (or being ambiguous) to confound attempts at figuring out the secret identity. This casual mention is something of a nod to the snippets (and not the first or last in the story). - Comment by Wildbow on Monarch 16.10</ref> This made it impossible for Tattletale to determine whether he was "a guy posing as a girl when in costume or a girl who poses as a guy when in plainclothes,"<ref name="16.10"/> because both suppositions were essentially correct.<ref name="16.10c1"/>

Circus' identity was further complicated by his trigger event, a multitrigger that involved facets linked to male and female personalities. As a result, Circus can reflect slightly different body language and skillsets between her civilian and cape identities. This might best be described as an 'alter ego,' and is not necessarily a secondary power but is instead a result of Circus' deeper connection to her passenger.<ref name="R2">Circus isn't trans. Circus is just a complicated identity, and gender is a notable factor in that. Things got complicated further because the multitrigger involved facets which linked to male personalities and female personalities and Circus could tap into that to legitimately confound questions of identity.

In weaverdice terms, Circus has the 'alter ego' power perk. Multiple personalities except not quite. She can reflect slightly different body language and skillsets between Civilian and Cape identities, and even one approach to cape identity and another. Mild comparisons can be drawn to Sy shifting mindsets in Twig. Not nearly so dramatic, not a secondary power, just a facet of Circus' particular breadth and depth.

Tattletale doesn't ask questions in the same sense Contessa does. She just picks up on the noise and sometimes does so with a particular focus in mind. So she looked at this individual through the lens of who it was and their relation to Coil, Über and Leet, and connected to Circus, and other details about the confounding identity and the interplay formed around that central tether. - Comment by Wildbow on Reddit</ref>

She doesn't tend to speak in her cape identity.

Appearance

Circus appears to be a man while in civilian clothes, and an older teen/early-twenties girl while in costume.<ref name="R1">Circus' hammerspace can hold onto a set of civilian clothes. They go looking for an older teen/early-twenties girl, sweeping the building floor by floor, letting citizens evacuate as each floor gets cleared, and a young man walks free, no sweat. - Comment by Wildbow on Reddit</ref><ref name="16.10">Excerpt from Monarch 16.10</ref><ref name="6.7"/>

Circus' costume, makeup, and color scheme were different every time she went out, but the theme was always more or less the same.<ref name="6.7">Tangle 6.7</ref> On one occasion, she wore a costume and makeup of red and gold.<ref name="7.11">The man who had opened the door for us inclined his head in the direction we were to go. We traversed the metal walkway, and passed more of Coil’s soldiers. I saw one squad of six below us was gearing up, pulling on masks and checking their guns. Five seconds later, we passed Circus on the walkway, in a costume and makeup of red and gold. Oblivious to us or our passing, she was leaning against a wall by a stack of cardboard boxes, standing intimately close to a young soldier with close-cropped red hair and an ugly scar running down one side of his neck. - Excerpt from Buzz 7.11</ref> On another, she wore clown makeup and a jester’s cap, with a teal and orange skintight costume complete with coattails, and bells jangling from the tips of her cap, coattails, gloves and boots.<ref name="6.7"/>

Abilities and Powers

Circus' power granted her superhuman reflexes, balance and coordination,<ref name="Cast1">Circus – A cat burglar, she sports an array of powers including enhanced balance and coordination, a pocket dimension she can use to deposit items and limited pyrokinesis. - Cast (spoiler free)</ref> enhanced aim,<ref name="16.10"/> spatial sense,<ref name="6.7"/><ref name="Cast2">Circus (Missing) – A burglar with a varied powerset. Has enhanced balance, spatial sense, a mild pyrokinesis requiring existing flame to work with and the ability to insert or withdraw objects from thin air. Disappeared after working with Coil. - Cast (in depth)</ref> minor pyrokinesis,<ref name="6.7"/> and an extra-dimensional storage space, which she used to store a variety of items,<ref name="6.7"/> potentially including disguises.<ref name="R1"/> She was considered a "grab-bag cape" give her wide spread of minor but related powers.<ref name="6.7"/><ref name="16.9 e1">I was looking at it the wrong way. Circus. She had been part of the plan from the beginning, and he’d hired her for an explicit reason. Her powers included her personal pocket dimension for storing items. I couldn’t think of how that might be used. She had minor pyrokinesis, but that didn’t apply here, either. She also had an enhanced sense of balance and enhanced coordination.

The balance wasn’t a major thing here. But the coordination? The way she’d been able to casually target Piggot as she tossed the throwing knives over one shoulder? If I had to guess, Circus’ knives had only killed the people Coil wanted dead. The others would have been hit in nonvital areas. Her enhanced hand-eye coordination would have given her the accuracy needed to ensure the knives hit where she wanted them to hit. - Excerpt from Monarch 16.9</ref>

Circus' aiming skills are sufficient to hit a horsefly out of the air by spitting,<ref name="16.10"/> place throwing knives only in nonlethal areas,<ref name="16.10"/><ref name="16.9 e1"/><ref name="16.8">Monarch 16.8</ref> and hit her targets without line-of-sight.

Circus is highly practiced at effecting a quick change into costume aided by his pocket space,<ref name="Draft">Partial text of Circus and the Elite</ref> and has general skills in escamotage.

Equipment

Circus makes good use of her pocket space, using a garish sledgehammer, accented with matching painted streamers, which she could make disappear after each hit, and reappear in a raised position or while spinning to speed up assaults.<ref name="6.7"/><ref name="16.8" /> She wielded throwing-knives, which benefited from her enhanced aim.<ref name="16.8"/><ref name="16.10"/><ref name="6.7"/> Furthermore, she carries disguises,<ref name="R1"/> as previously mentioned, and road torches and similar for a base from which to summon massive fire-balls with her power.<ref name="Draft"/>

History

Background

Circus triggered as part of a cluster, given his mix of powers.<ref name="R2"/>

Publicly, Circus was one of the more successful solo villains around Brockton Bay, working as a thief. Her powers made her both quick and versatile enough to win or slip away if she crossed paths with a hero. At some point, she was offered a position on the Undersiders and vehemently refused, apparently remaining independent.<ref name="6.7" />

In reality, Coil had recruited Circus over a year and a half before the events of the story.<ref name="16.10a">Circus and Chariot were hired nearly a year and a half ago, their actions and development in the public eye carefully orchestrated. - Excerpt from Monarch 16.10</ref>

Story Start

Fought Dauntless and Armsmaster when the Undersiders' backer revealed themselves.<ref>Tangle 6.7</ref>

Post-Leviathan

Circus was seen in Coil's base, being kept in reserve for the fight against the Slaughterhouse Nine.

Post-Slaughterhouse Nine

She attacked the mayor debates with Coil, later being seen out of costume with Thomas Calvert. After Coil's Betrayal, he was found by Echidna while laying low. Alongside Uber and Leet, he was used to create the first wave of her clones.

Post-Echidna

He went missing shortly after Echidna was defeated.<ref name="Cast2"/>

Timeskip

Joined Über and Leet as a trio, retaining the videogame theme. They briefly passed through Tijuana, Mexico, where they evaded authorities and caused property damage after detonating a device.<ref>Since the opening of the Tijuana PRT, there have been three incidents involving capes; the forcefield labyrinth, a raid by an American gang, and a trio of capes with a video game theme evading authorities and causing some property damage with the detonation of a device. - Tijuana PRT Struggles, Announces Split, PHO Sunday</ref> They eventually traveled to South America and tried to stay under the radar. However, after getting into trouble and crossing the wrong people, Leet was killed.<ref>Quest Premise: In South America, Über, Circus and Leet are making their way through the city after having left Brockton Bay. It’s a situation as simple as flying under the radar, playing nice, and being cool, calm and efficient, so as not to stir up trouble with the locals.
Spoiler: Leet is bad at this.
Spoiler: Things get worse when his luggage is looted, and his laptop with notes on what inventions are mostly okay for him to make is taken, along with the reality hacker.
Spoiler: Leet dies. - Leet Quest</ref>

Post-Timeskip

Circus entered a relationship with Über, but the relationship didn't work. They split up both as partners and as a team.<ref>Mr. Calle answered for Glenn. “Attempted murder. Bit of a loose cannon, but not so loose they’d stick him in the Birdcage. Shacked up with Circus for a while, but it didn’t take. Relationship-wise or as a partnership. They stood to lose more than they could ever gain if he got loose again, so they made it a secure facility. He hasn’t escaped.” - Excerpt from Cockroaches 28.6</ref>

Trivia

• Circus was the protagonist of several early stories that eventually became Worm, including drafts such as Versus Dragon<ref name="14.8c2">Comment by Wildbow on Prey 14.8</ref> and Circus and the Elite.<ref name="I20c1">Comment by Wildbow on Interlude 20.y</ref><ref name="14.8c1">Comment by Wildbow on Prey 14.8</ref>
• The name Circus brings to mind the traveling entertainment shows that operated from the late 1800s to the early 2000s. The abstract name choice works for covering the grab-bag spectrum of powers that Circus possesses.<ref name="4.2II">“A few of the multi-triggers I’m aware of tend to have more… I’m not sure what the word is. Esoteric or abstract names. The one villain in my town was Circus. The solution to a disparate set of powers is to just create something more out there that has its own identity, and then fit your powers to match, instead of trying to fit your identity to a random set of powers.” - Shade 4.2</ref>
  • Clones of Circus created by Echidna are given the name Carnie. The word carnie is an informal term, sometimes derogatory, used in North America for a traveling carnival employee.

Fanart Gallery

• Error creating thumbnail: File missing
  Art by Uberpigeon on Reddit.

References

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Site Navigation

Grab-Bag Capes
Subway Cluster	Flechette • March {{#switch: deceased	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Homer {{#switch: deceased	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }}
Mall Cluster	Snag {{#switch: deceased	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Precipice • Cradle {{#switch: unknown	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Love Lost • Colt
Smugglers Cluster	Goddess {{#switch: deceased	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Tori Heflin {{#switch: deceased	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Megan • Jace {{#switch: deceased	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Ysmine • Bill {{#switch: deceased	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }}
The Stable	Oxfair • Ramfair • Foulcock • Foulpig
The Graeae	Dino • Enyo • Pephredo
Unknown Clusters	Circus • Grace • Hoyden • Ixnay • Jotun • Mouse Protector {{#switch: deceased	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Paris • Ravager {{#switch: deceased	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Watch

Coil's Organization
Leader	Coil {{#switch: deceased	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Tattletale
Members	Dinah Alcott {{#switch: former	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Chariot • Creep • Leah • Pitter • Trainwreck {{#switch: deceased	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • The Travelers {{#switch: former	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • The Undersiders
Associates	Accord {{#switch: deceased	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Circus {{#switch: former	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Faultline’s Crew • Leet {{#switch: former	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Über {{#switch: former	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }}

Über and Leet
Members	Leet {{#switch: deceased	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Über
Associates	Circus