Cirque du Freak- commentary
More comments, and other fics
There is a circus that comes once a year and you never want to leave.
You = Leeteuk
It’s a kid’s dream come true- bright lights, delicious snacks, colorful tents, and more. “Be careful and don’t run off by yourself,” your parents warn you, and of course you don’t listen. You’re seven years old, and this is the circus, so why should you heed them when there’s a grinning clown serving you golden buttery popcorn and cotton candy fluffier than clouds?
And have you ever seen such a sight as the inside of the circus tent? Rows upon rows of seats circling the dirt ground whereupon a Ringmaster paces. What a man he is, the masked Ringmaster, with his high top hat and shiny black boots and swirling coat, masterfully striding around and cracking his whip.
“Come one, come all!” he thunders, raising his arms, “I am Lee Soo Man, your Ringmaster for today. Welcome to Circus SM, where only the best of the best reside! Now, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls of all ages, be prepared to be dazzled by the most impressive acts that we have to offer.
I couldn’t be bothered to come up with a proper name for the circus.
“First, gaze upon these ferocious beasts! This strong and proud lion from the faraway land of China, and this exotic tiger with its milky white fur. Hear them roar! But don’t be frightened, my children. Wild and vicious they may be, but as tame as housecats they are at the touch of a whip. See how they dare not bite off their trainer’s head!
Lion = Hankyung, tiger = Heechul
“Now if you could please bring your eyes up, higher and higher still, and look! Well if those aren’t our resident trapeze artists! Just watch them float through the air with the greatest of ease, defying death and gravity with each swing and flip! And if you listen closely, you might even hear them singing. Best voices in the troupe, those two!
Yewook
“After them are the horses! Mighty fine steeds, all handpicked and brought here all the way from Arabia! See the one in front? With the powerful gallop and glossy black coat? Not a finer specimen to be found! And who is that leading the way? Why, he would be this fine horse’s rider- a person who usually fades into the background but is essential for the performance.
Horse = Siwon, rider = Kibum
“And I present to you, the world’s strongest man! Watch and be amazed as he lifts those heavy weights as though they weigh no more than a feather! Mind you, he might not seem like it, but offstage, he wouldn’t even hurt a fly. Hard to tell with the way he’s hoisting up those barbells like nothing, isn’t it?
Kangin
“If I could direct your attention once again up above. Yes, that’s right, there’s someone standing in midair! Our tightrope walker! Definitely one of the more dangerous acts that we have, as just one tiny misstep could send him plummeting to his demise. Oh how he nimbly makes his way across! Perhaps he’s part monkey.
Eunhyuk
“But here we have a real life human-animal hybrid: an honest-to-god merman. You heard me, folks! A merman! Not a trick, for he has been submerged in this tank since the start of the show. Certainly no human could survive that! And observe how his tail seamlessly merges with his upper body. A true merman, as you can see with your own eyes!
Donghae. Not sure if he really is a merman since I don't like supernatural/fantasy in my mystery/psychological
“And by golly! Is that a giant entering the ring? Just kidding. While his legs are naturally long, this is a result of standing on mile-high stilts. Watch as he skillfully maneuvers about while performing his sword swallowing tricks! And his brother here, while not fluent in our language, wields throwing knives like a pro despite his young age. Ooh! Missed the assistant by that much!
Stilts walker = Zhoumi, knife thrower = Henry. 'Missed it by that much' is from the Get Smart movie
“Whoa! I can feel the heat from over here. How about it, my friends? Our torch juggler! Those are indeed real flames, and dropping one of those could set our performer here ablaze. Now see as he leaps gracefully through the rings of fire! And breathing out fire even! My, oh my, this man can truly do everything!
Sungmin- this wasn’t very obvious
“And for the grand finale, I give to you, our clowns! Kids, you might recognize the big one as the one operating the concession cart, but let his size fool you not, for our king of clowns can leap and tumble like no other! Oh ho! Now can they all fit into that car? One clown, five, ten, twenty, and yes! All twenty seven packed in one tiny itty-bitty vehicle! A real riot, these guys.
Shindong
“Well, ladies and gentlemen, it’s with a heavy heart that I conclude today’s fine performances, and we must bid you adieu. Ah, and as you leave, please don’t mind our errand boy too much. He might be on the snarky side, but his cleaning and tent erecting skills are second to none! A sound mechanic too, as our props and machines can attest.
Kyuhyun, menial labor job #1 (see Tales From a Run-down Movie Theater and You Have the Right to Remain Silent). Anyone catch the ‘tent erecting skills’ part? XD
“But I digress! Fear not because next year is just around the corner. So farewell to all for now! Thank you for coming, and remember- Circus SM will always be waiting for you.”
You stare in wide-eyed wonder at the incredible acts from start to finish, not daring to take a breath lest you miss one spectacular moment. This is the life, you think, awed beyond imagination. This is what you want to do when you grow up.
And so you are absolutely thrilled when the big clown offers you and several others your age a chance to secretly look around backstage. “For special kids only,” the clown whispers, winking as he ushers you into a metal cage, “so your parents can’t know about this. You understand.”
CLOWNS ARE SO CREEPY. And Shindong is in charge of the kidnapping.
You do understand. Besides, how often do you get to pretend to be an animal while in an actual cage? Not very, and that’s why you obediently keep quiet at the clown’s request when the entire circus, along with you and the other kids, rolls out of town. With the enchanting clackity-clack of wooden wheels and the cloppity-clop of trotting horses filling your ears, your parents are the last thing on your mind.
Before long, your parents are no longer on your mind, period, but it’s okay because this circus, this wonderful circus, is your new home, and you couldn’t ask for a better one.
Oddly enough, a lot of the other kids don’t appear to agree. There is something wrong with them, you reason as you grip the bars of your cage and growl playfully, there must be if they can’t see how marvelous all of this is. So you just clamp your hands over your ears and sing quietly to yourself at night. It doesn’t completely block out the sobbing and whimpering, but it helps.
There are some children, mainly the younger ones, who can’t stop crying even during the day. These children, much to your confusion, get chosen to be assistants for the knife thrower and the stilt-walking sword swallower. Truth be told, you’re a bit jealous of those lucky ones, but you’re a good boy, so you stay silent while the performers rehearse. Sometimes, the knives miss, and sometimes, the sword slips, but accidents happen (a lot) and that’s what practices are for. In the end, there’s no more crying.
Zhoumi and Henry kill off the crybabies. Hehhehheh, accidents…
Besides, there’s always a celebration of sorts once those weeping kids are gone. The errand boy and the torch juggler both work together, using the tent ropes and poles and fire-starting tools, to set up a barbeque. You aren’t sure what kind of meat they cook (they are nice enough to share with everyone, including you and the other children), but it smells yummy and tastes very good. Tender, you believe the word is, as you eagerly lick your fingers clean of grease and wipe them on your (raggedy) shirt.
Cannibalism, with Kyumin in charge of the cooking (probably with the utensils that Shindong uses to make popcorn and cotton candy)
The crying children aren’t the only ones that get special treatment. The bullies that hog up cage space and make fun of you come and go as well. The tightrope walker and the merman (who turns into a human while out of the water) are in charge picking out those kids, and they do their job well. The mean girl steals your bread crust one day, and the next, she hangs from a tree branch. The loud boy who shoves you around gets taken for swimming lessons in the tank. And so on. Like the crying kids, you never see them again.
I think the merman turning into a human out of water came from PotC 4 (was it out when this was posted?). Eunhae take care of the naughty kids, preferably via hanging and drowning.
There are quite a few kids like you who enjoy being here on the road, not having to follow rules, and free to play all day. But there are some who eventually try to run away. Now those kids get to play with the Chinese lion and the white tiger when they come back (they always come back; the Ringmaster makes sure of that). You think that they also eat berries while they play because the lion and tiger’s mouths will be stained a pretty shade of cherry when you see them later (though not the kids because you never see them again either).
Runaways become Hanchul food.
But it’s not just about the other kids- you get to learn a lot from watching. The two people who you only vaguely remember as being your parents taught you that when a man and woman love each other very much, they have a baby together. Here, you find out, much to your fascination, that when the strong black horse and its rider love each other very much and do things to each other- sweaty, noisy things that make your eyes go really wide- they do not have a baby together. You know for sure because they’ve done it plenty of times in front of you.
Yes, this is Sibum zoophilia. Cold Rain of Happiness is the most disturbing manga I’ve ever read, and that’s saying something *shudders*
You quickly learn what those things are- they are a way of welcoming you into the circus. “It’s what you do to show that you are one of us,” the strongman explains as he touches you in places that make you feel a little uncomfortable. Since he’s an adult, surely he must be right, you tell yourself as he instructs you to touch him. He seems to be enjoying it, and you’re out of the cage for once, so you don’t say anything and just do as you’re told.
Yes, Kangin is a pedophile.
Your education aside, you have everything that you could possibly want thanks to the trapeze artists, the two with the heavenly voices. Whenever someone needs something like a unicycle wheel or a diamond necklace (you don’t know why someone in the circus would need a diamond necklace, but whatever), they go to fetch the requested items. You do regret that their pretty white outfits are usually covered in red paint when they return with bulky sacks of goods.
Yewook steal stuff and kill whoever gets in their way.
And that is how you grow up, surrounded by remarkable performers- the nicest of people, really- and a never-ending stream of kids that arrive and disappear at the blink of an eye. Several years later, you find yourself standing in the middle of a spotlight, adjusting your rhinestone-encrusted mask as the voices of an anticipating crowd drifts with the breeze.
Who cares if this old tent is a patch-worked mess held together by fraying ropes and rickety metal supports, you think as you straighten out your crisp tailcoat. So what if the snacks are more than stale or if the light bulbs flicker through a spider web of cracks, you think as you stomp your steel-toed boots. No one gives a flying heap of elephant poop if the colors are chipped and faded or if the air is rank and home to pesky flies, you think as you jauntily tilt your top hat. This circus, this fantastic and beautiful circus, is your life, and you are proud to call it your home.
In reality, the circus is completely rundown, but no one notices (or they choose not to notice it) under all the apparent glamor.
“Come one, come all!” you shout, snapping your whip and spreading your arms at the fanfare of blaring trumpets and crashing cymbals. “I am Leeteuk, your Ringmaster for today. Welcome to the incredible CircusSM! Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls of all ages, what you are about to see shall blow you away for sure, that I guarantee. Now, without further ado, I give you, the first of many astounding performances!”
Lee Soo Man is dead, probably killed by Leeteuk somehow *shrugs*
There is a circus that comes once a year and you never want to leave.
But the thing is, you never left.
And it comes around full circle. I'm rather fond of this fic ^.^