SHOWMANSHIP [๐๐770 Followers Special๐๐] [PT. 1]
โฅ Yan!Ringmaster x Acrobatic!Reader
โฅ Summary :- Like always, misfortune almost always has a choke hold on the reader, so you get sold to a circus for the meer sum of 1,250 dollers.
โ "IS THAT ALL I'M WORTH TO YOU??" You boomed at your parents, grateful for the bars that so kept you a foot's distance from ripping your parents to shreads.
"Honey, listen -" Your father was brutally cut off by your untamed anger radiating off of the walls, screeching so loud that it made the cell bars vibrate momentarily afterwards. There was no way in hell this man was trying to butter you up after selling you off.
"No. YOU listen to me, you wasteful, unwanted sperm doner. YOU could've worked me to the BONE, and I would have forgiven you because we still need a roof over our heads, but to sell me to some random-ass person who probably smells like your fuckin' toe jam for a mere sum of 1,250 DOLLARS!??? You hurled insults at your parents left and right, only recieving furious stares in return.
"[Y/N]! That is no way to speak to your father! We were low on funds, and our payment was due soon." She stepped forward with a sharp expression engraved in her face.
"LOW ON FUNDS!?!? WAS IT YOUR GRAND PLAN TO SELL ME FOR JUST 1,250 DOLLARS??"
Your intermittent breathing became the only thing that was stopping you from going over the edge of insanity town. Your parents stood without motion, their eyes locked on you as if they weren't the ones who should've been in the cell instead.
"...Don't you want your due payments to disappear? That's rich, how ironic, huh? Or maybe you two were just waiting on an opportunity to make me disappear?!?!"
Without waiting for a response, you slammed your hand on the part of the iron bars closest to their faces, getting surprised fast blinks from your mother. Her pride lasting in all of this was honestly pissing you off.
"YOU FLABBY-ASS-HAVING CUNT! YOU COULD HAVE NEGOTIATED FOR MORE MONEY!! IT'S NO WONDER WHY YOU HAD TO BRING THAT CHEAP-ASS PEARL NECKLACE, BECAUSE YOU'RE TOO NEARSIGHTED TO SEE THAT THE PRICE TAG WAS ONLY FOR 8 DOLLARS. FUCKIN' BRAGGING TO THE BAND OF THE BITCHES HOW YOU WE'RE ABLE TO BUY AN 8K PEARL NECKLACE KNOWING DAMN WELL YOUR ASS IS SO POOR THAT YOU HAD TO ASK ME TO PAY FOR THAT SHIT BECUASE YOU ONLY HAD 2 GODFORSAKEN DOLLARS IN THAT RIP-OFF CHANEL BAG." You sneered at the woman who was shaking in frustration.
"Dear, there is no worry for this... thing anymore. Our twin daughters will pave the way for greatness, bringing wealth and fortune to our name. Their talents and beauty hold no bounds." The woman looked over at her husband as you glared at them before you as if they were brainless, dilapidated creatures.
"Keep on sweet talking to them like that, and they'll end up in jail for homicide." You held up a middle finger and walked to a corner of the cell. You heard them spit in the front of the gate to your cell as they left. Silence then engulfed your surroundings.
No more of your parents' nagging and selfish tendancies. It was because of them that you could never look at your early twenties with fond memories. Looking back, you could have been partying and romancing other people, yet all you were promised was work, work, and more work. The pressure of trying to make money for your teen siblings and parents was exhausting, especially when your mother was spending more than you could make. That was how you got an earful from both your parents and siblings when they found out that the family's credit score was so low that it practically nestled right beside the dogshit on the side of the road.
"Fuck. This fucking sucks..." You couldn't hold back the resentment that forced themselves out your eyes in beads of tears. You were already at 26, with no job, no car, no money, no partner, and worth only 1,250 dollars. The path you walked on was not one adorned for the bunnies and butterflies, but rather, was draped in colourless desperation and pure survival.
"At least an arranged marriage would've given me the things I worked so hard for! But no! They just want me to die miserable and poor!"
"Awe, is my new performer preaching about death? My, a face like yours would be a total waste in a casket." The voice of a man echoed through the cell, almost making you jump out of your skin. He appeared almost instantaneously before your cell gate; he was dressed in an array of red, black, and white with an assortment of ruffles.
"You! YOU SCUMMY BASTARD! JUST WAIT 'TIL I HAVE YOUR HEAD ON A PLATTER TO FEAST ON!" You stormed your way back to the front of your cell and looked him directly in the eyes.
"Ah... I'm sure you would enjoy that, but alas, that mouth of yours is a bit rotten, would some chlorine and a scrub daddy do the trick?" The man's face held no defining emotion that represented what he was saying to you.
"I suggest you quit the smack talk, unless you prefer to continue and be thrown out of my establishment; can't make quality meat without an obedient animal, am I right?" Even if his facial expression didn't change, you could tell that his words were looking to strangle you if you refused to take heed to them.
"Ah, right, before I leave, I have assigned you as an acrobatics trainee; our last acrobat died of... unforseen events." He paused before chuckling and waltzing out of sight. Making you alone in the cell once more.
You just plopped right on the ground in realization. This was your life now. Just a minute ago you got sold to some freak by your idiotic parents, and now, you were going to be one of the acrobatics in a circus that you didn't even know the name of? You could only pity yourself.
It had been a few weeks since you came here, and all you had been doing was practicing acrobatics with the help of the others. Furthermore, since that unfaithful day when you were sold, it was your decision to just stop talking altogether. If no one was hearing your voice, then what was the point?
"Ah, [Y/N]... have you finished up on your practice for today?" A young woman came over to you. It was Ellen, one of the acrobatics that taught you all the basics, from balancing on a beam to how to quickly put on different costumes in between performances.
You acknowledged her for her determination, even after entering into the circus at a young age. Though, what you wish you had was her ability to not complain and take things as they were. Alas, that was something Ellen had shown you that you hadn't observed from a person in ages; endurance.
You gave her a small smile and nodded. She brightened up before motioning you to come over to the schedule, which displayed all the events that were to partake following each day. You noticed that there was no last month performance mentioned on the chart.
Last month's performances were big and grand compared to the regular performances, which had more repetitive and basic performances. With all that in mind, you still couldn't participate in them because you were new, but soon you would participate within the next month or so.
"Ah, the other ringmaster has yet to meet you, by the way. He's been gone for a while now. He's the one who can conduct the monthly performances..." Ellen slowly stopped talking, mentally debating with herself with something before refraining on speaking as her grim face turned into one of happiness.
"Ah, right, it's almost time for the show to start, so I need to go this time. You are responsible for ensuring that the children are safe when they are watching the show." Right, you almost forgot about the children that were here. They were either sold to here or just given to the circus. They either had deformities or just had albinism. In total, there were 8 children that you needed to watch over.
You nodded once more and left to change out of the plain acrobatic suit that you wore for practice. Obviously, you had some different coloured ones, but those were strictly for performances.
Once you stepped into the changing room, you deflated and rubbed your face, which was buring from trying to hold back your tears. You sat there as streaks of tears slid down your face.
It was hard for you to just be happy about the situation. It was a struggle to just even have a neutral look on your face, to seem unbothered, to seem as if you were taking the situation well. The reason you gave for becoming selectively mute was only half of the reason. It was partially because almost every day your throat would tighten up from the never ending fear of living like this.
There were nice people, of course, but was it enough for you to accept this situation? The pain of realizing over and over again that your family betrayed you for such a little amount was painful. Even if they mistreated you, you only want to go back to the times when everything was much simpler.
You sniffled and checked the time and noticed that 10 minutes had passed. That was enough crying time for today because you weren't going to get beaten for not taking care of the children this time. Babysitting children comes first, money is second, and depression is last. That crazy psycho of a manager won't let anything slide under the rug, so you had to be on your tippie toes.
There were a bunch of mini humans wandering about, but not out of your sight, of course. You sat on a wooden bench backstage amongst the junk pile, where all sorts of thrown out props and costumes entangled themselves into one giant monster-like concoction. It was enough to keep the children entertained, and so you had a portion of your job cut out for you.
One of the 8 children was a little, baby boy, the youngest of the batch; he snuggled into your chest, feeling the warmth radiating from you.
"Ah, are you babysitting?" A man, with long hair spoke up from beside you. You hadn't noticed when he sat down. You shook your head in reply, raising an intrigued response from the man.
"Not quite a speaker, are you? I see. You must be [Y/n], then. I am Mathew Alabaster, one of the ringmasters in this lovely establishment." You raised a brow at the 'lovely establishment' part, but Mathew didn't mind, well, more like he didn't have the mind to notice.
You hadn't seen him before, and it seemed as though he shared resemblance with that of the ringmaster you met on your first day in the cell.
"Right, so how well are you fitting into your role? I assume it's daunting because you get to be hung high in the air with nothing but your skills and aura whilst the floor's comfort lulls and beckons you to just... drop." The man smiled at you, but for an odd reason; he had an off-putting look in his eyes...
Pt 1 cus I ain't writing allat rn. Also I'm so so super duper sorry for not posting in decades! (Esp @emptybrain01, it was only recently i saw your comments! Im so so sorry ๐๐๐๐) Obviously I've been on tumblr for a short period of time, but like, I was just lazy on top of me having no time on the weekend because I'm making a cosplay and I have to study during the week, along with upcoming tests and a big exam next year. Basically my hobbies take up more time than I have.
So maybe next year ill disappear for a while cos i hv a shit ton of stuff to do.
But I'll take requests instead of just thinking about a character and making a smol story for them.
Also once more, thank you for following me and getting to 770+ followers (its now 831) even if i don't post much. I would also like to thank my friend Syren, who has access to my account and sees all my shit ๐, for editing this work!
