SOME OF THESE I HAVE WORKED OUT BETTER THAN OTHERS!!! But here’s some yapping about them-

Smitty: Smitty is albino, and in this time (~mid 1700s?) it immediately made him a social outcast. His parents were ashamed of him, and hid him away, so he took to sneaking out. He learned to perform in order to make money, saving up so he could leave for good. He met Matt, who already owned an animal circus. Matt offered him the circus, if only he could find some way to get all the exotic animals back to their homes. He did, and that was how he became the ringmaster.

Puffer: Puffer originally joined intending to take the circus over, wanting a quick bag. He rose in the “ranks” quickly, and proved himself a capable ringmaster, so Smitty shared the crown. However, Puffer could never get a leg up on him. He definitely tried to kill Smitty a few times, but the man has incredible luck. Puffer’s bloodlust has since died, but his rivalry with Smitty has not.

Grizzy: Grizzy was constantly bullied growing up, and attending a boarding school only made it worse. He found he liked to work out because it helped him feel proud of himself, and tune out the world. He joined the circus to escape bullying, and saw the opportunity to become a strongman. It was an easy spot for him to fill, and he loves it.

Eli: Eli comes from the highest social class of anyone in the circus. (Don’t ask me what it is I don’t know. It’s not royalty but like. He’s fancy idk) He had a million expectations, and among them an arranged marriage. He met Smitty in the early days of the circus, and Smitty listened to his laments about his upcoming marriage and offered him to join. He took the escape. Eli was nimble, and had been taught things like dancing and fencing. Acrobatics weren’t the hardest thing to adapt to.

Pezzy: All I have in my notes is “Pezzy was poor” lol. But I think that speaks for itself. He didn’t grow up with money, and didn’t grow into it either. I’m thinking he leapt on the circus train like a stowaway rat and they just kept him. He probably wasn’t even intending to join, he just wanted to hitchhike and they were like nope you’re ours now. Pezzy was also nimble, and very fast, so he got voluntold into the acrobat position

Yumi: Yumi’s here for shit’s and giggles and also he’s wanted for murder. I’m not elaborating cuz I can’t. Smitty offered him a deal: He’d do everything in his power to hide Yumi from the law if, in return, Yumi would learn aerial acrobatics and join the circus. It was the circus or jail, and Yumi chose the circus.

Daukey: Daukey co-owned a company with his older brother. Technically his brother was the owner but they worked together, right? Except his brother kept dumping work on him, and Daukey thought he might be stuck an office worker his whole life. A friend off handedly mentioned that he had better get used to it. It wasn’t like he could just run away and join the circus! Well, he actually could, and he did. He became an aerial acrobat because he thought it was mesmerizing and fun.

Sovi: Sovi is the newest member. He was a bartender at a bar Daukey went to when the circus was in town. Someone started harassing Daukey for being a performer, and Sovi eloquently kicks them out. From then on, Daukey makes it his mission to make Sovi join. He gives him a VIP ticket, frequents to bar, talks to him after shows. And it works! Sovi joins and becomes and aerial acrobat with him

Rectrixx: Rec is unfortunately among the more underdeveloped. His father was a gambler and a drunkard, and Rec pulled himself up by his bootstraps to get away from him, and was doing alright for a while. But his father dies, leaves a bunch of debt, and Rec is crushed. Unable to pay, he runs away and finds himself at the traveling circus. They take him in, thankfully. He never knew magic before, but he picked it up quickly, and has become an amazing magician.

Droid: He saw a circus when he was little and never recovered. He always wanted to be a fire spinner. Of course, he was being practical and training to become a blacksmith. But like- he saw the circus was in town, and literally hunted down Puffer after a show. He begged to join, begged to be a fire spinner, and puffer was like “damn dude sure yeah come along” and that was that

John: John is the second highest class person, just behind Eli. He was extremely creative, and already a practicing witch. His parents didn’t know about the witch thing, but they hated how eclectic he was in general. They did everything in their power to “correct” him, and controlled his whole life. He snuck away one night to see the circus, and ended up meeting Matt afterwards, and then meeting Smitty. He told Smitty’s fortune (or something more witchy maybe- tarot cards or reading his aura) and Smitty offered him a job on the spot. John said he couldn’t leave, but he did come back every night and began giving fortunes outside the tent. The circus stayed in his city for over a month (for some actual reason), and when they finally left, he made the decision to go with them as their fortune teller.

Matt: Matt is actually the one who grew up in the circus. His family owned the tent and supplies, along with dozens of exotic animals. Lions, tigers, bears, ect. They were extraordinary, and abused. Matt hated it. In an unfortunate “accident” (he may have staged it. Idk yet) His parents were killed by the very animals they claimed to have tamed. His siblings didn’t want to be stuck in the circus and left, so it was left to Matt. He wanted to return the animals to their homes, but couldn’t do it alone. So he made a deal with this guy he met. Smitty was charismatic and clever, and seemed to have taken a liking to the idea of a circus. Together they returned all the exotic animals. Now, Matt works wonders with big dogs, cats, bird, and horses.

I haven’t really had a memorable bad experience wearing “gear” out. In fact, I’ve had mostly memorable good ones. Most people compliment me, it’s actually incredible. I’ve had little kids to old ladies to college students working at chick fil a say they like my tail or ears, and it’s such an awesome experience.

These guys fascinate me immensely. And when I say them, I mean their fictionally embellished versions. It’s so easy for them to be so similar, and yet the differences that they do have separate them in such stark ways as characters.

They both want to be the top dog at everything they do. They will play dirty to get what they want. They stalk quietly. They brag loudly. They’re both manipulators, in their own way. They have charm and humor and are very good with people.

And my favorite thing to do with all these similarities is take them and turn them against each other. Make these two HATE one another in whatever story I’m writing. It creates the most interesting relationship for me to write.

Especially because of the lack of speaking needed in a relationship like that. They are the same, so any action either does the other understands. Sometimes I try to avoid having characters have deep talks about emotion because it feels lazily executed to me (just in my own writing) so that’s why Puffer and Smitty are so fun. They hate each other more than anyone else, but they understand each other like no one else could.

Powers are so variable that they can’t really be categorized more than “affects the atmosphere, individual, or other people”. However, healing is in the rarest category, being “affecting other people”. And, generally, healing is both the rarest and most desired power within that category.

How “powerful” something it can’t really be charted either, but most of the time you can look at a power and go “yeah that’s overpowered”. Healing is, usually, not one of these. See, healing isn’t just a cure all, it has its own barriers just like other powers. Some people can soothe mental issues, some can heal open wounds, some illnesses, ect. But the thing about healing is that it almost always comes with a drawback, rather than a limitation.

Drawbacks cause pain to the user. Forcing healers to overexert themselves is an unfortunately common practice because of how valuable they are. And, in many places there aren’t enough enforced restrictions to protect a healer, and even if they are they’re often undermined.

In short, the life of someone registered as a healer is often dim. If ever there was a reason to hide powers, it was this. Because otherwise they risk being exploited by whichever group gets to them first.