An oc for @der-drachenzirkus-au (I may or may not be making another)
Languages: Japanese, English, German
Gift: Does not feel any physical pain
Sora was born in Japan and raised there until they were 11. Then their parents moved to the U.S. for a 'better life'. While there, Sora was bullied. At first it was not being able to speak English. Then it was for having an accent. Then it was for their looks. They remember how they were pushed around, mocked, had their hair pulled, everything. They remember how bad the words stung.
So when Sora turned twenty, they moved to Germany to start a new life. Once there, they came out as nonbinary. There was a few people who still discriminated against them, but they gained a close knit of friends who they trusted. Slowly those friends moved away for various reasons leaving Sora alone. They understood why their friends left, but being alone still stung.
One day, Sora decided to go to a circus they had being hearing about. They were amazed by the acts. It was a temporary release to the pain they harbored. But once the show was over, Sora grew lonely gain despite being surrounded by people.
On their way out, they were approached by a woman. They recognized her as the ringmaster. The woman introduced herself as Leila and promised she could granted Sora what they desired most. Leila also said that if she granted Sora's desire, then they would be able to work there.
Sora said they would think about it. They went home and did. They didn't have much going for them in life right now. They thought back to how much they'd been hurt in the past and how they ached now. Sora returned to the circus the next day, a few bags of clothes and other valuable items. They found Leila and said without hesitation:
"I don't want to feel pain anymore."
Leila smiled and showed Sora to where they'd be staying at. They no longer felt sadden by their friends leaving. The pain and anger from their past bullies washed away. Everything was going fine so Sora picked up aerial dancing to be their act. Until one day...
They were practicing one of their routines without a net. They didn't need one. They'd be safe. Except they weren't. Sora lost their grip on the silks and fell. They could feel themselves hit the ground, but nothing else. It didn't hurt.
Someone who had been walking by saw Sora fall and rushed them to get examined. Sora insisted they were fine and nothing was hurt. But they had broken arm. They didn't even feel the pain. Later, Sora pricked their finger to test their theory. Nothing.
They grew worried that one day they'd get hurt really bad, but won't notice. So they started to be careful about what they did. They became hesitate to use the lyras. Sora knew they had to because it was their job after all. But the fear of falling and breaking another bone without realizing scared them. Still they climbed up as careful as possible. They made short acts so they wouldn't be up in the air so long. They would be fine. They'd just have to be careful of their actions.
Sora asked for their emotional pain to go away, but so did their physical pain.