CAILEAN

we yes WE all know this is who you really wanted to read about

cailean is one of the more elaborately dressed members of their circus, so any kid's cosplay of him would be pretty chaotic and hard to do

still, this one managed it. kind of.

cailean was lingering by the ring toss, as per usual, when he feels a little tug on his leg. looking down, there they are -

a pink and purple patterned shirt, one of those cheap black neck chokers, gloves, even a pink and purple hat.

it's kind of shit

cailean does a merry spin anyway, bouncing exaggeratedly from foot to foot to make all of his attached bells jingle.

"ho-ho! what a wonderful outfit!" he crouches low, grinning wide and eyes rattling. "truly so, truly so!"

he praises the tyke a while longer. bigging them up and using word that make no sense ("truly fantasmagorical! yes yes, that's a real word!")

he rips off one of the red puffballs from his top to give to them, and waves until they're out of view

ELLAR

ellar doesn't expect it.

why would he? for the circus' run, he's been but a sidekick to cailean, the silly antagonist for performances

at most, he gets a feature in any drawings made for cailean

but this? this is something else entirely.

it's one of the rare times he's out stomping along the game stands, huffing and grumbling at anyone in his way. partly his own annoyance at them not seeing him (he's like two feet tall) and partly him playing up his role

so when some snotty kid sprints up to him, he's instinctively standing a little firmer, planting wide feet and setting a harsh glare to tell the brat hey. go away.

unfortunately it doesn't work, and when the child skids to a stop in front of him, it's when ellar notices it

this brat looks like him

they're wearing a self-cropped black shirt, shorts, scuffed trainers with diamond stickers stuck to them as if trying to copy his patterns. there's even a crooked blue ribbon around their neck and bells probably ripped from a toy tied to their ears or hair

he's. in shock, to be honest

the kid's too excited to speak, buzzing in place. ellar puffs his chest dramatically and turns his head away, peeking at them every few seconds before giving a sound of what seems to be approval.

claps his paw on their arm. makes a sweeping gesture before smirking in that way he always does during the plays right before causing mischief

the kid seems to understand, thankfully - charades had never been ellar's forte. they salute before giggling and racing into the crowd, off to cause a bit of chaos by his instruction

all while none the wiser to the cheap bell ellar had stolen, holding it tight enough to leave indents in his paw as he keeps it for memory's sake

BLUEBELL

blubell is a manticore. like, he's a furry

if there were to be an accurate cosplay of him, that's just a fursuit. that's. that's his skin.

pretty weird considering this world has all kinds of species

... anyway.

if it were a kid, the cosplay would probably just be them wearing all blue. if they went the extra mile, maybe some cardboard wings (or their own painted) and tail (again, painted if they were a scorpion)

bluebell would be surprised, but not too much. as the 'face' of the circus, he'd had his fair share of child fans

he'd laugh, first - a jovial sound that comes straight from his stomach and rumbles through his whole body. then he'd grin wide and scoop them into his arms

"why, would you look at that!" he snuffles his thick snout to the top of their head, making the child laugh and clutch his mane. bluebell doesn't mind the tugging - an occupational hazard.

"be careful, little cub, with a costume that good everyone will think you're taking my job!"

he probably gets a picture with them and has a personal copy. excitedly brings it up to venus later and has a bigger smile the rest of the day

MORGAN

morgan doesn't take to the stage very often.

not because she doesn't enjoy it, not at all! but there's simply too much to do behind the scenes and she often delegates herself to the tasks

something about the best things only coming once in a while.

anyway.

it's probably a similar situation to bluebell - a child stumbling to her while donned in a mishmash of clashing shades. neon teals and orange and stark black against white. they even have some facepaint on.

morgan's pleasantly surprised, short tail wagging hard as she crouches down to them

"hehehe, is that my biggest fan, i see?" she's grinning wide enough to bare not just her prominent fangs. "and dressed exactly like me!"

she overcompliment's the kid, using obtuse words in order to continue her rhymes

when all's said and done, she'd pat their back hard and hand them a ribbon from the hat she wears during performances.

it's a cute memento.

and also a way to get rid of it, because it was starting to fray. lmao.

VENUS

venus is like bluebell and morgan - and i realise only now while writing her section that it's kind of weird they dont wear clothes but eel does and okay we're ignoring this

her little fan is much like morgan and bluebell's that they're in a very mismatched outfit.

pastel pinks and greens and white jumbled together, those little fingerless arm warmers as well

"oh." she's surprised at the sight of them when they shuffle up close, looking quite nervous. "what's this?"

venus would lower to a kneel, soft paws brushing dirt from their shoulder. she smiles, just slightly. "this is very lovely."

the kid's squeaking and red at the ears, thrusting a crude drawing at her before scampering off. it's a drawing of them together, presumably - stick figures holding hands with a smiling sun and a scribbly circus tent in the corner.

it's kept, preciously, in her and bluebell's quarters.

PLUFFLES

i dont think they'd get many people dressed as them

but pets? that's another story

a visitor has their service dog with them and their tail's been dyed the same colours as pluffles'. their vest is even brown with little cream hearts all over it

pluffles (with the handler's go-ahead, of course) ends up staying with the dog for a while, making sounds at it

yeah i. dont have much to say about pluffles

NYON

nyon has very high standards. every sweet she creates has to be perfect - a single chip or warped side means it's thrown aside to be dropped down pluffles' gullet later.

so when this kid comes up in an only semi-accurate recreation of her outfit, she's slightly perturbed

brown shirt, white shorts, long yellow socks and what looks like cardboard horns and ears glued to a headband

"... oh!" she's doing her best to be polite. this is a child. this is a child. this is a child. "how... nice! i'm flattered."

the kid beams and asks for a lollipop. she hands it over, doesn't bother asking for exact change, and waves them off.

look, it's a nice gesture, but nyon is a bit too particular for anything less than pure accuracy.

RYAN "EEL" FISHER

putting him at the bottom because i struggle to see anyone doing this for him.

mostly because, well... as i've said time and time again, he isn't part of the circus, is he? no, he is a prisoner, trapped against his will for the simple crime of not smiling at their perfomance.

but maybe it had happened before

back in the quiet days when he volunteered at church, when he was well-liked by the small groups he helped with, when the pastor would quietly set a blanket at his usual pew in the winter months incase his clothes weren't thick enough or the heating failed

perhaps it's one of the kids in a little creativity group - late into autumn where they've been collecting fallen leaves to use in some simple crafts.

one of the kids would show up in a deep red jumper a size too big, fumbling with a belt clearly their father's.

"mr fisher, look!" they're bouncing on heels or paws or hooves, so excited they can hardly contain themselves. "my mama got me a jumper just like yours!"

so eel is stood there, cheap acrylic paints in hand, fighting back tears because this is the sweetest thing he's ever seen.

paints are put to the side, he's kneeling, ruffling their head with affection.

"that's very nice," he manages to say. "i think you did it perfectly."

and then the kid beams and the sky is suddenly a little bit clearer, even if it's raining.

and then there's the heavy steps of a deceptively soft manticore approaching his locked 'room', and eel realises it was but a distant memory.