` welcome to our wicked little fascinations
right on time to join us for the ride
we've devised an antiquated machination
oddities await, so won't you kindly step inside?
Banners unfurl, antiquated posters appear on lamp posts, telephone poles, mailboxes, carriage hitches, shop windows - all of them emblazoned with the bright faces of clowns, roaring tigers, mystical tarot - Come, come, they say! Left of Midnight Faire is on the way! Mesmerizing mysteries, they promise, and thrills beyond compare!

Excitement builds, and tents rise in the distance like paper cranes. Lights and flashes and the roar of beasts drive your anticipation, and by the time the wrought iron gates are open you are salivating with apprehension, with the need to see the promised sights, to experience the thrills and chills, the press of the crowd, the sparkling masks. Stepping onto the grounds feels as though you've crossed into another dimension, another time, where excitement abounds and energy hums in the air like electricity. Lights and sounds surround you, entice you toward the many paths that branch toward and away from the main thoroughfare. Will you visit the house of mirrors, of have your fortune told? Or perhaps sample the rich or strange delicacies, rest at the dark and dreary inn, peruse the wares, or perhaps head straight for the knot of commotion in the center -- the main tent, packed full with three rings of dark and exciting entertainment!

The choice is yours, but the longer you stay, the harder it seems to leave, the more these stained tents and angular stalls begin to feel like home. Or, perhaps, this has been home all along...?

Left of Midnight is a panfandom musebox/dressing room RP based around a traveling circus and carnival faire. Every week it appears in a new location, having been advertised several days beforehand, and no matter what world or location the faire ends up in, it always looks the same: surrounded by a deep forest, even if there are no trees in your area, and hung over by perpetual dark, never any brighter than twilight. Once it is open the faire does not close, though some stalls may close briefly for maintenance here and there, but different performers circle in to keep the excitement running wholesale around the clock. All are welcome here, and you can play your character either as a spectator or a participant or perhaps both, if the faire's pull is strong enough to keep them there permanently, for there is no leaving once you have become a part of the family— though strange disappearances are wont to happen on occasion. If your character is a performer, they may either be OU and drawn from their original background, or AUed as part of the faire from the beginning (and, perhaps, altered in the process of joining the staff?).

Anything goes here, let your imagination run wild, the dark sky is the limit.

NPCs
The Master // The Mask Salesman // Madame Agatha // The Samuelsons
Elizabeth Jeffries // Merry Andrew // Tristram // Jasper

Locations
The Main Tent // The Sideshow // House of Mirrors // Hall of Masks
Madame Agatha's Fortunes // The Twilit Inn // The Smokehouse & Lounge // Rides, Thrills, & Entertainments

NPCs
Though performers, vendors, and visitors may come and go, there are always a few faces who remain constant at the Left of Midnight Faire. If you have questions about the NPCs, where/when they might be encountered, or would like to interact with one, please leave a comment on this post!

THE MASTER
No one has really seen the one at the center of the faire, but everyone knows that he must exist. Someone has to run the day-to-day operations, someone has to be controlling the shifts from location to location, and someone has everyone else at the faire so awed or intimidated that no one will even speak his name.

If anyone speaks of the Master, it is in hushed, respectful tones. For if they were to do otherwise...well, one never knows what consequences might be.

THE MASK SALESMAN
He likely has a name, but nobody has bothered to ask him about it. Nobody really wants to talk to him in general, because despite his always-cheerful smile, there is something incredibly odd about the man. Something foreign, off-putting and uncomfortable.

He is always happy to make suggestions to anyone who seems uncertain about their selection, but usually remains unobtrusively hidden in a dark corner of the shop, watching over his wares.

MADAME AGATHA
The blind old woman never seems to leave the confines of her tent, nor is she ever seen to eat or sleep. Somehow she remains hale and healthy, though, for she is always available for those who seek her.

JACK AND MARY SAMUELSON
The Samuelsons are a friendly-looking couple, perhaps in their forties, a bit round from comfortable living in their well-kept inn, and always glad to welcome visitors looking for a place to rest. Behind their jolly exterior, however, one might think that there is something a little...off. A little strange. But it could just be imagination.

ELIZABETH JEFFRIES
The madam of the brothel hidden away beneath the Smokehouse was once a worker there, in the days of her youth. Now she is a shrewd businesswoman, her beauty aged and hardened somewhat; she is neither cruel nor kind to those in her employ, but fair and attentive to their needs. Happy courtesans make for happy customers, after all.

Whenever the faire moves to a new location she always goes a-wandering in the crowds, searching for likely young girls or boys to attract to her establishment with promises of beautiful clothing, wealth, and attentive, rich clients. The new recruits may not always get everything they had hoped for, but then, who does?

MERRY ANDREW
The leader of the clowns is a man of middle years, born and raised by parents who were both performers before him. On stage he delights adults and children alike with his antics, "speaking" through a series of whistles and gestures, as though his only voice is the performance itself.

Off stage he is soft-spoken and gentle, with an air of melancholy that always lingers about him. He often keeps a paternal eye on the younger performers and makes sure they're happy and healthy.

TRISTRAM
Once upon a time, Tristram was a lion tamer, the flamboyant star of the show, all clad in tight black leather and proud to demonstrate his skills with the whip while his fans cheered. He ruled the animals by making them fear him, and did the same with anyone else he encountered: he was short-tempered, cruel, and delighted in the pain of other living creatures, of any species.

And then finally his pride got the best of him. He committed a terrible crime against another Faire worker (the exact nature is unclear, since gossip has rendered the truth difficult to separate from speculation) and was dreadfully wounded as a result. The Master, displeased with Tristram's actions, sentenced him to live out the rest of his days as a beast of burden, forced to reside in the stables and earn his keep.

JASPER
Jasper is the proprietor of the Smokehouse, a stocky man of indeterminate age who tends to the bar when he's of a mind, mingles with customers when he's looking for a conversation, or simply lurks in his office on the upper mezzanine and dozes after dipping a little too far into the intoxicants his establishment sells.

LOCATIONS (map)


THE MAIN TENT
Striped in green, gold and violet, the main tent rises in three spires that pierce the night sky like needles. Three rings open within the center, and deep into the night the entertainment ensues without end. Performers file in and out, agile acrobats and daring beast tamers, tightrope walkers and fire-eaters, dancing bears, jugglers, contortionists and clowns, clowns, clowns of all shapes and sizes, happy or sweet or grotesquely terrifying, there seems no fine distinction between the two. Some of the acts are exciting and delightful, others strange, eerie, inviting; did that clown flash a mouthful of fangs at you? Surely not, it must only be the lighting playing tricks on your eyes. The magician saws the girl in half; surely the dark stains must be paint and oil. What you take from what you see is yours entirely to decide.



THE SIDESHOW
Ringing the outside of the tent are stalls and cages and gazebos of all sizes, in and through which you may view the strange wonders of the world. Mermaids in filthy tanks or rare birds, grotesque beasts or simple, suffering humans. Not all of them are nice, and though some will perform willing for you, many will not, and drawing too close might lose you a bit more than you bargained for.



HOUSE OF MIRRORS
South of the main tent sprawls the massive house of mirrors, three tiers in height, with several wings flung out in every direction - try as you might to memorize the layout from without, it will do you no good within. Finding your way through is difficult at best, and along the way you might face any number of things. Perhaps you will find nothing, perhaps only joy and excitement in flashing lights and your own glittering face reflected back at you a hundred thousand times, but perhaps the mirrors will reveal more to the willing. Truths of self that you may not be prepared to face, and many who step through these halls emerge a changed person, if they ever emerge at all. Sometimes, even, imprints of yourself may be left behind within the mirrors, to venture out on their own at the most unexpected of times. Dare you tempt it?



HALL OF MASKS
Along the western wall of the faire there are many kiosks, tables and tents from which a wide variety of merchants may sell their curious wares, but largest and most alluring shop is the Hall of Masks you'll find at the center. Leather or satin, steel, iron, paper or velour, hundreds upon hundreds of masks line the walls, the shelves, the cabinets. Some of them elegantly feathered, others hideous, scarred, some almost too simple in their allure, some that shift and change each time you lay eyes upon them. There is a mask here for everyone, and though some may be innocent enough, still others may visit.. unexpected results upon their wearers. You may just be turned into a grotesque beast, a silken monster, or perhaps it will rouse in you a violent streak you at once did not possess, or soothe the savage beast within. There is no limit to the possibilities, but it is exciting, sometimes, to wear a mask, to hide your true self, to become something more.



MADAME AGATHA'S FORTUNES
At the very back of the faire you will find the gauzy violet tent of Madame Agatha, the blind old crone who shall, for a price, answer whatever questions you might seek. The tent itself is small and yet quite noticeable somehow, perhaps simply for the draw of it, the deep feeling in your gut that seems to pull at you to enter. Inside you are greeted with the thick, cloying scent of incense and tea and darker things, perhaps, poisonous herbs or the coppery scent of blood, or is that heated metal? There is little furniture besides the round, low table flung over with spangled, moth-eaten cloths, and the circular tent offers pillows of all sizes on which to sit or lounge, all of them embroidered with strange or unsettling designs that seem to shift every time you look at them. The crone herself seems kind enough, and she will service your mind however you please - through the crystal ball or mystical tarot, divination through tea leaves, astromancy, palm reading or perhaps.. darker methods, old blood magic and sacrifice, but she will warn you kindly that all knowledge comes with a price. She will accept coins, perhaps, as payment, but for some things, such earthly currency might not be enough. Make sure that you are able to honor your debts, for old Agatha will find ways to collect them, one way or another.



THE TWILIT INN
Feeling tired, perhaps? Has the night gone on longer than you had anticipated, and you simply don't feel up for the return trip to town? Or perhaps you traveled too far to think of returning home tonight? Or perhaps, you simply don't wish to leave, not yet, not yet. Fear not, fairegoers, for just to the left of the faire entrance you shall find the Twilit Inn, its doors always open for the weary traveler. The waitstaff is kind if not a little strange, and however busy it might seem there are always rooms available to suit your needs. The furnishings are lavish and beautiful, but very, very old, and there are always noises in the night, for the Midnight Faire never sleeps. Tonics and potions are available to help you sleep, if the racket is too much, but there is no guaranteeing what bizarre side effects they might have, and whether or not you will feel rested the next day. Many customers complain of bumps in the night, strange visions or apparitions, violent, inexplicable acts or noisy children playing in the room above well into the night. You must remember, these walls are old and have seen and absorbed many, many things. But the beds, at least, are quite comfortable. The topmost floors are reserved for the faire staff and performers themselves, and guests are not permitted above the fourth floor.


THE SMOKEHOUSE & LOUNGE
Older fairgoers might enjoy a little rest and relaxation at the Smokehouse Lounge, a sprawling, comfortable night lounge that caters to darker, higher end tastes. Flung with comfortable sofas, chaise lounges and lacquered tables, complete with a well stocked bar and tobacco retailers, one can relax in a cloud of scented smoke and tasty beverages, though some of these might have strange, soporific or hallucinogenic effects on their users, but that, perhaps, is the draw. The fine, finished basement below leads to a hall of gauzy curtains, a secret brothel open to those who seek it, and ask the correct questions.



RIDES, THRILLS, AND OTHER SUCH ENTERTAINMENTS

Dotted throughout the fair are smaller entertainments of all types and sizes. Fire dancers and exotic food vendors, carousels and swings and creaking ferris wheels. There are wandering singers and workers who will paint your face or offer, perhaps, more unsavory, exotic, or risque services for the willing, though the it is at your own risk. You can find gifts and gadgets of all kinds, pretty baubles and intricate watches, strange clothes and snacks the like of which you may have never seen before. The vendors sometimes switch in and out, however, and are not always found in the same places, so it is best to snatch up what you want when you see it!