Geek:

1. A person regarded as foolish or clumsy.

2. A person who is single-minded or accomplished in scientific or technical pursuits, but is felt to be socially inept.

3. A carnival performer whose show consists of bizarre and disgusting acts.


Your breath stinks from the foul things you've been eating and the rest of you stinks from not bathing in who knows when.

Your head hurts from the cheap moonshine you've been getting "paid" in.

Rubes often throw stuff at you and spit on you.

Most of the other Carnies find you utterly repulsive and avoid you, a couple of them just abuse you for various reasons.

On a good day, only the Pinheads come to your cell and taunt you with their gibbering laughs and mongoloid chatter.

You have absolutely no worth as a human being, you get no respect from others, and you have no respect for yourself…and why should you? You are the lowest form of life in Carney society. You're not a real performer; what you do can't really be considered a skill. You're not even a real freak. At least a deformed freak can evoke an emotion of horror, or pity, or even admiration for overcoming their condition. You weren't born "this way". You chose to do this. All you evoke is disgust and revulsion. At best you're laughed at and not in the good way like those pervert clowns you work with.

Fuck all that "Wildman of Borneo" shit that the Ringmaster tries to tell all the rubes. You're little more than a bum with a "job". A degrading job that involves you to debase yourself, all for the amusement and shock value of others, but hey it keeps a "roof" over your head and you pleasantly drunk enough to just barely forget how utterly pathetic your life is.

You are the GEEK.

You wake up to a bucket of piss being thrown in your face. Not the first time and certainly won't be the last.

"You like the taste of that Geek? Get up Geek! The Ring Master wants to see you!" Charley orders then he throws the empty bucket at your head. The comical sound it makes hitting your skull and the pain it causes makes Charley laugh. Then he jabs you a couple times with his pointed stick.

Midgets can be so cruel…

You jog your damn memory to remember who the hell you even associate with (Cast of Characters)

Just because you're all Carneys and united against the Rubes doesn't mean there isn't division in the ranks. You're all like a big dysfunctional family, and you're the scapegoat black sheep, you lucky Geek you.

The only good thing about being the GEEK, is that nobody considers you a threat or even a person! Plus you're usually sprawled out someplace either drunk or asleep. This means while others assume you're out of it and not competent enough to do anything except eat disgusting things, you've over heard some interesting information in your half conscious state of mind. Things that will probably come in handy in the ensuing power struggle you're about to become embroiled in.

So if you keep your head down, use animal cunning, watch your ass and you might just come through this alive.

And maybe, just maybe you'll finally get some respect.

Maybe…

You cast of Characters (The Main Event)

The Ring Master

Nobody knows what his real name is and if they do nobody's telling and she's certainly not volunteering any information about himself. Of course everyone assumes she's male, but there's an "air" of androgyny about him leading to rumors that he may actually be female…or possibly both. He's very pale, his voice has an unnatural melodic tone and he wears a traditional ring master suit with a top hat. The only thing she wants people to know and remember is that he is definitely in charge. Her main concern is to keep his carnival running and turning a profit; he doesn't really care what any of his employees do in their spare time unless it interferes or hampers the carnival.

The Ring Master is known for being "Freak friendly" after all not many would have jobs at all if it weren't for him, but by the same token he pays them fairly. Many see her as somewhat of a savior since he's given many of them a place in the world where they can be useful. She doesn't hold their hand or overprotect them he just gives them a chance. A chance that they can either succeed or fail in, but a chance they might not have had otherwise without him.

He tends to stay in his trailer until show time allowing her assistant Charley to do all his leg work. She's rarely seen walking around anywhere; instead he just suddenly "appears" and he's never seen outside at all during the daytime. There have been the hushed rumors and semi-jokes that she's really a vampire, but most people just think he's just weird and suffers from albinism which makes her less inclined on wanting to be exposed to the sun.

While not sadistic, (He doesn't appear to get off on it like say Charley) he will make examples out of people that displease him and you'll definitely feel it. Oh how you'll feel it. When you have to see the Ring Master personally it's usually not a good thing.

You met him when she found you wandering and vomiting near his trailer at night while in your usual drunken states. She saw how utterly hopeless you were. You had no job, no home, no loved ones, no future prospects, yet he saw potential where there literally was none. He made a deal with you. Become the GEEK for a place to call home and all the liquor you could drink.

Well gee how could you not pass up a deal like that?

Charley the Midget

Charley was a criminal long before he joined the carnival. The carnival just allowed him to flourish in those activities. He's in charge of most of the illegal activities that go on at the carnival as well as making life miserable for anyone who displeases the Ring Master. Of course he takes great delight in making people miserable whenever it suits him. He has found a like minded partner in Ajax the Strongman who acts as his muscle when the need arises. He's a first class sonofabitch, but he probably makes the carnival more profitable than it is.

Midgets represent most of labor workforce in the carnival and being the "Biggest" and toughest midget at the carnival makes him their unofficial leader which the rest of the midgets have mixed emotions about, but with all his connections and power there is little that they can do about it even if they wanted to. Charley constantly reminds them that they are the real backbone of the carnival and also reminds them how townies and rubes would often pick on them for fun and ever since he arrived they don't do that anymore lest they suffer the consequences. Gruesome consequences.

Charley definitely harbors secret plans to take over the carnival completely one day, he likes to think of himself as the "Real Ring Master" and dresses like his boss except his suit is checkered and has an especially tall top hat. (To extend his height no doubt) He feels that with Ajax and "his people" behind him he'll be able to launch a take over when the time is right. All he needs to do is get a few more of the others to side with him.

As for you, Charley likes to take any free opportunity he has to humiliate you, which seems rather pointless given you don't have any self-respect to begin with, still it makes him laugh. Chances are if he did take over the Carnival you'd still have a "job" since Charley wouldn't want to get rid of his favorite whipping boy.

The Remarkable Randal

Randal is the appointed spokesperson for the "normal" Carneys such as the acrobats, tightrope walkers and other performers that rely on their genuine skills rather than their genetic conditions. Randal himself is a magician, but makes no pretense that he actually has any kind of real magical powers, but he believes magic exists. He's constantly acquiring old books hoping that someday that he can learn how to perform real magic one day. Randal is a bit of an optimistic dreamer, he believes the carnival is supposed to be a place of fun and wonder for the whole family. He IS that boy that ran away to join the circus in a sense as he did run away from his family who were fundamentalists that believed him to be dabbling in Satanic worship with his magic tricks.

He doesn't really like the idea of the carnival having "freaks" for the sake of having them. He feels its pandering to the lowest common denominator and cheapening the other Carnies who actually have to rely on a learned skill and he really doesn't approve of all the illegal activity that goes on (Especially in a place which is supposed to be for the children) he blames the Ring Master as much as Charley for this, since the Ring Master turns a blind eye to it when he should be stopping it.

Randal is a little more open about his rebellious nature than Charley and complains to the Ring Master whenever he gets the chance, (One of the few that gets away with it without consequences) to which his last response was if he doesn't like the way things are being run, he can either leave or make his move. So far Randal hasn't gone anywhere, so maybe he's going to take the Ring Master up on his challenge. Charley thinks he's a lot of talk and doesn't think he really has the balls to do it so he's not worried about him.

Considering Randal's views, you might find yourself out of a job if Randal got things his way. Shock value and Freaks wouldn't really have a place in Randal's carnival. Unsurprisingly Randal finds you and your act disgusting and completely unsuitable for anyone, especially children. (Even though the kiddies really like throwing chickens at you)