Theater of Flesh: Roll Call (open to all)

[Zagreus_D]

OOC: This post is an off shoot of Theater of Flesh: Open Auditions, and has been created as a place to introduce new characters IC. You may cut and paste from the following template and replace the bracketed sections with your characters responses, or craft an original post following this basic format.


IC:

Mr. D looked up from the yellow legal pad and scanned the small assembly. "Where is [Your Character's Name]?"

[Your response or acknowledgement.]

Mr. D nodded and smiled. "Welcome! It says here that you're a [Brief Performance Title or Description]. Tell me a little about that."

[Longer description of your skills, abilities, aspirations, goals. You can include backstory here. How long have you been performing? How did you start? Did you study this talent formally? Etc...]

"What made you decide to audition today?" Mr. D continued.

[Your answer. Feel free to share any other pertinent back story or character information... Etc.]

"Do you have any questions?"

[Questions.]

OOC: Yeah so this is kind of a cheap trick, but it saves me from having to do a lot of short line by line exchanges with each new character. Please don't feel hemmed in by the questions here. In this context I give you permission to put new words in Mr. D's mouth, so that you can share whatever is most important about your character, skip the questions you don't like, or add questions that you do like. I will answer any questions you have for Mr. D on this thread in new posts as needed.

 

[Cherrybomb400]

IC:

Mr. D looked up from the yellow legal pad and scanned the small assembly. "Where is Ivy Rose?"

Ivy felt nervous. She had never auditioned for anything before. All she had was slight of hand and silly little party tricks. There was no way he would hire her as a magician. She was hoping to become someone's assistant or maybe learning some other trade. Looking at some of the dance performers, she envied how graceful they looked.

The young girl finally stood up, "Here, sir."

Mr. D nodded and smiled. "Welcome! It says here that you are fairly well at 'slight of hand' and hand magic. Tell me a little about that."

Why was it that when asked a direct question with a simple answer that was when your mind drew blank and you just wanted to ramble until the proper words formed? Ivy took a breath as she tried to clear her thoughts.

"I am self taught... I would watch other street performers and I just picked up what they did. It wasn't really that hard. I want to learn more though. Bigger tricks with a bigger audience. I've been working on the street for two years but I don't want to keep doing that. I'm a really hard worker and I'm willing to learn under someone and be someone's assistant or maybe even learning how to do something else..." Her eyes cast over to the dancers for a moment.

"What made you decide to audition today?" Mr. D continued.

"I was working a job at a restaurant, under the table. I was cleaning tables and I found a flyer... thought it couldn't hurt to give it a try."

"Do you have any questions?"

"Um.... just one. I... I don't really have any legal form of identification. There are records of me in the foster system but I ran away when I was 16, so no birth certificate... no nothing. I don't suppose there is anyway that could he worked around?" She cringed a little as she brought it up. It wasn't always a deal breaker, just meant that she was paid under the table and there was no paper trail.

 

[Zagreus_D]

D's heart sank as he heard the girl's problem with legal identification. It's not that he gave a rat's ass about taxes or paperwork. If it came down to that he could get the girl an ID, a social security number too. His bigger concern was for her age. How many teenagers had he turned away over the years? Sweet young people who would surly be better off under his care than out alone in the world, but it was a risk he really couldn't take. Running a theater of erotic arts, made it impossible to take in lost and wayward children. He almost always had some committee for morality or community of hypocritical righteousness breathing down his neck. It was only a matter of time before the moral police would get wind of a minor in his employ, and then the game would be over, no more theater, no more safe haven for the others.

He decided to ask her outright, straight-forward. He would know if she was lying. He always knew. "How old are you Ivy?"

 

[Cherrybomb400]

"At least 18 sir. I was left at a church when I was around 3 months old and that was 18 years ago." The anniversary of her being found had actually passed, so for that she was sure she was 18. Even if the authorities got involved in some way and they found paperwork, what the foster care system had would prove that. It pained her for a moment to be reminded that she didn't know her actual date of birth, but she wasn't going to let that show now. Plus the sunglasses helped to hid whatever emotion was running through her.

 

[Zagreus_D]

She was a foundling. She was telling the truth, yes, but in some ways her age mattered far less since she was a foundling, one that found her way to the theater.

D couldn't make any decision until he knew for sure, but the suspicion was already in place. There were always odd cases of children being abandoned under various circumstances, and on most occasions the children involved were normal human children, but an unusually high number of non-human children were abandoned, and one group above all others was well known for the practice. D could almost see their common features etched on Ivy's face, but he had to be close to her to know what she was without a doubt.

"Come here, Ivy," D beckoned the girl to his side.

 

[Cherrybomb400]

Ivy did as she was told, shuffling her way through the row of seats with the others who were auditioning. She was expecting him to ask her to leave or something but she kept calm. If he did she would just stand her ground and prove that she had what it took to be there.

As she got closer to him she briefly paused. There was a strange sensation she was feeling. Like s numb ich on the finger tips but she was also feeling it around her neck. She continued moving forward until she was right in front if the unique man that stood before her. There was a strange ringing in her head, not a warning but something within her trying to tell her something about this man...

 

[Zagreus_D]

D could smell her essence before she had reached him, a smell like lilac and petricore, an undeniable indicator of her ancestry. She was of the same bloodline as Maeve, though Maeve was almost entirely human, her nearest non-human ancestor was at least three generations removed. Ivy was at least half breed.

He smiled warmly to set her at ease, and curved an arm around her slender shoulders. "You all sit tight a minute. We'll be right back," he spoke jovially to the crowd, but when he addressed Ivy he spoke gently, "Walk with me." He lead her away from the rest of the group, talking all the while. "You have a place here. This is where you belong. But there may be some complications getting you on payroll, and we have policies that will prevent you from performing in a show until you are at least twenty-one, but you can learn a lot between now and then if you set your mind to it, and I will make sure that you have all of the things that you need, and some spending cash, even if you aren't an official employee, but we can work out those details later. What do you think?"

 

[Cherrybomb400]

Ivy oddly felt comfortable with the strange man's arm around her shoulders. Then he surprised her with telling her that she had a place within the troupe, it was where she belonged. Even with her sunglasses, they didn't hide the bewildered look on her face. "I don't-" but before she could finish he continued talking.

He was offering her everything it seemed... but this wasn't the first time she heard this kind of offer, however she felt more inclined to say yes... Ivy couldn't explain it but something inside of her was telling her that she could trust him... That could be how he wanted her to feel, to catch her off guard. There was a lot of things going through the young redhead's mind.

"I... It sounds like a very nice offer," She breathed out. "Why would you do that for me though?" She looked at him, the spectacles muted the hues of his flamboyant outfit.

 

[Zagreus_D]

"This world can be a hard place for those of us who have never felt like they belonged here. When you are..." D paused considering his words carefully, "...different than most people, you develop a kind of need to be close to those rare souls who are like you, who share some of your differences. The real purpose of the troupe is to make a place for people who are like you, and like me. It's a safe place, a place where we look out for each other."

D sensed something of the girl's suspicious nature, and why shouldn't she be suspicious. In the human world there was a constant hidden economy behind acts of kindness, though no one ever spoke about the cost of a favor, cost was almost always implied, and for a beautiful young woman, more often than not, the cost would be sexual in nature.

D decided that it was best not to beat around the bush, but to answer the concern directly. "Our performances are erotic in nature. Once you are old enough to perform, you can make a decision about whether or not you want to be a part of that. For now though, there is no expectation for you to engage sexually with anyone. You can do whatever you like, I'm not going to inhibit your personal choices, but you don't owe me anything. You can stay as long as you like. You will be expected to work, but your work will be legitimate, helping out backstage, or in the office, and learning your art. That's all."

 

[Cherrybomb400]

Ivy couldn't explain it, but she honestly felt that Mr. D was being honest and truthful with her. She didn't sense any hidden or ulterior motive behind his offer. Ivy generally heard of some people who would help others simply out of the kindness of their hearts, but rarely was she ever on the receiving end of that. Maybe this was the home she was looking for.

"I understand," she nodded to affirm. "I would like to stay and learn more." She smiled softly. The urge to hug him for his kindness was growing but since she only just met the man, she held off on the impulse. She thanked him and then took her seat as he continued his interviews. Ivy was lost in thought anyway, thinking about how seeing a flyer by chance seemed to have changed her life around.

 

[Zagreus_D]

D watched Ivy take her seat and moved back to his place at the front of the house, to resume his list. He was glad to have her join them. It was always a pleasure to help a magical being slowly uncover her true nature, and all of the wonders of her heritage. He resolved to speak to Maeve about giving Ivy the spare bedroom in her apartment. In many ways Maeve would be the perfect person to act as mentor to the girl. Maeve had bonded easily with Korey and he felt certain that Ivy would fit comfortably into the family as well.