memories & scents

Widget Murray. 18. Memory Alchemist. "The worst part of holding in memories is not the pain, it's the loneliness. Memories need to be shared."

[contortionists-grin-deactivated]

【Expecting Curiosity】- Tsukiko & Widget

By now this kind of thing was easy; effortless, even.

The woman balanced herself on her left leg and let the right one lift into the air slowly. Even though she had performed many more much intense stunts, it was essential to always start slowly and stretch out before anything. Reaching both hands back, she shifted her body so that her hands could meet her right leg currently bent back behind her. Once she placed both hands on the calf, Tsukiko proceeded to lift the leg higher and higher, all the while straightening her limb. Soon enough, her legs had been bent into a straight line, from the floor to over her head, and keeping that pose for a few seconds, let go and relaxed. A pleased smile played upon her features, as she took a few steps with pointed toes, incorporating a few steps of dance into her warm-up.

“Sometimes you wonder when things will actually start to get interesting,” she sighs to herself as she stops to bend one leg straight out, the other bending to duck herself into a mock-curtsy.

After twirling once, she started to bend backwards slowly, and let her hands touch the cold floor of her practice room. Relaxing even more, the woman closed her eyes and shifted from her hands to her elbows. Instead of facing behind her, as she gently kicks off from the floor, Tsukiko allows her head to face forward again as she eases into an elbow stand, her legs and feet opposite her body and parallel to the floor. Her knees unlock from their position as they come down in front of her, pointed toes meeting the floor as the Asian woman looks off to the side. “You can keep as quiet as you like, but one of these days somebody is going to find you.” Tilting her head to the side, she lets her bangs move out of her face to get a better look at her spectator. Tsukiko knows that she often gets people who come by and watch, or to try and talk to her, but they usually just knock and walk in to make themselves known.

“If you’re intimidated by me, you’re going to have a hard time out in the world, little thing.” Of course she really has no idea who exactly is shuffling from behind the semi-sheer curtain, but an amused smile is obviously on her face as she watches them walk out.

[widgetmurray-x-blog]

Widget swished the bottled of his latest scent around. It contained the memory of an old woman who had stumbled into his tent while looking for her granddaughter; who was also a part of the memory.  He took a quick whiff of the contents and was transported instantly to a world of green grass and daisies. A field just a few minutes outside of Córboda, Spain. He could feel the sun shining down on him and a bubbly happiness as a child held out daisies in the palm of her hand and said "These are for you."

The feeling faded as quickly as it had come and so Widget capped the bottle and stored it seemingly randomly among the others. None of the bottles had labels, and the only person who knew their contents were Widget. To the untrained eye they looked empty as if all they contained were air, but Widget saw the light tint of the different memories. Some blue, some red, some yellow, some purple, some green. All were as different as their contents and were ever so subtle that no one would have guessed that they contained anything besides oxygen.

Slipping through the folds of his tent, Widget decided to start his nightly wanderings a little earlier than was usual. He nodded at some fellow circus members as he passed by them. He thought maybe he would stop by his sister's tent and help her set up for her performance of kittens. He got distracted though as he passed a tent that he had never paid much attention to before, it was one of the more popular tents, he thought. 

Standing on the edge of the tent he stood as if he were enchanted by the girl who was bending herself in all sorts of directions. Widget absently wondered where she had learned that, and he realized that it would possibly make for an interesting story. He hesitated to interrupt her though, many circus members didn't like when their work was interrupted. He knew this because he was one of those people.

She made it clear that she knew he was there, but still he wasn't sure about entering the tent. It was until she appeared to be testy with not knowing who her audience was that he stepped into view. "I'm sorry," he said, "I was just passing by when your tent caught my eye."

[widgetmurray-x-blog]

Day 03 ✘ Character Development

If you asked about their greatest dream, what would your character tell you?

It's no secret that Widget's greatest dream is to gather all the storytellers in the world and hear what they have to say. He wants to hear the stories of adventurers, which is part of the reason he loves working at the circus. This way, Widget gets to find out the stories of people who travel often and the stories of people who do not conform to society's normal rules. Widget also likes getting to hear the stories of people from all the different areas of the world, everyone's stories seem to be so different yet often so similar.

Widget knows that his "dream" is a little wacky and highly unlikely, but for some reason he can't seem to shake it. If there's anyone who has the power to make it happen it would be Chandresh, the owner of the whole circus and the man who conducts the mysterious midnight dinners. Widget's not sure when or how, but he hopes that maybe eventually there will be a midnight dinner of people who have the best most interesting, detailed, exotic stories. And maybe Widget will be invited so that he can make sure these people's stories aren't lost.

[shirat-hasticker-deactivated201]

[widgetmurray-x-blog]

Day 02 || Character Development

What are your character's bad habits?

Widget has the tendency to space out when he's in a conversation that's boring to him. He knows it's rude but he can't really help it, he's heard so many stories that often some seem like he's heard the same thing a thousand or so times. Sometimes the different variations of similar stories can be interesting, but often Widget sees that people's memories that they hold dear to them aren't all that different from anyone else's.

When a story or a person interests him he also has the awful habit of asking too many questions. It's his way of showing that he's interested in what the person has to say, but often times others' see this as his being overbearing and nosy. He would never want to push anyone to tell him something they didn't want to, all it would take to get him to stop asking questions would be just a polite statement from whoever it was he's talking to.

[widgetmurray-x-blog]

Day 01 || Character Development

Is your character good at their job? Do they like it?

Widget's "job"--if you can call it that--is three quarters of the reason he lives and breathes. The scents that he creates that transport people to mini worlds from people's memories are a sort of release for him. Plus, part of his job is listening to other people tell him stories about their lives.

Some stories can be interesting and lively, others heartbreaking and somber, and still there are the boring and unimportant little anecdotes that he hears more often than the others. The first two are easier to make scents from, although the quirky anecdotes have been known to make some scents unlike any other.

Widget considers himself as being good at his job as he hasn't exactly met anyone to compare his abilities against. And even if he did he's sure that the techniques and such would be different, maybe even entirely opposite. Widget loves his job, as it combines elements of mystery, magic, and stories. 

[sebastiansstans]

[s-sybil-blog]

White Blank Page | Widget & Sybil.

Sybil looked across into the busy street beyond where she was standing. For some reason this city made her feel restless. It seemed to be always moving. Not how the circus was always moving but in a different manner. Or, perhaps, it was simply being in a place whose culture she understood nothing about. Unlike in Russia, however, it was not completely freezing which seemed to put her in a much better mood. The young girl loved exploring the less busy streets. With their flower patterned dresses and exotic hairdos. She was tempted to spend some of the money she had left but she stopped in her tracks, knowing that unless she came back to Asia, she would never wear one of those dresses again.

That afternoon she decided to spend some time at the park observing locals before returning to the Circus to watch people’s acts. At the park she sat by herself on a bench, watching all of the chaos. She observed an elderly couple rushing home as the clouds above threatened them all with rain. Sybil, it seemed, was the only one that didn’t care much for protecting herself from the rain. She’d gotten accustomed to such weather changes so much that she almost welcomed them as if they were her very own old friends. Waiting for it to either start raining or for the sky to clear up, she decided to start walking down the streets. There were bright colors splashes amongst the stores. Food, clothing, everything could be found in those tiny shops.

A smile appeared on Sybil’s face that she hadn’t known she was capable of. The surge of happiness came out of no where but she wanted to cling on to it. Like, when she was a little girl and her grandfather had presented her with a necklace. On the necklace was a single white pearl. It was much more beautiful than anything that Sybil had ever seen. A few days ago she’d lost the necklace in the Circus while she’d gotten lost in the crowd of people rushing into the Circus. Thankfully, she had managed to find it before someone else could grab a hold of it. Now, the necklace hung around Sybil’s neck. It was the only part of her family that she had left to hold on to and despite them having kicked her out of the house, part of her still loved them and always would.

Before long, Sybil realized that she had traveled quite far from the circus. She told herself to calm down because she’d simply go back the way she had originally come from. Take the same twists and turns. The problem was, she didn’t even recall those. Part of her thought that she would never find her way to the Circus, therefore she’d be left behind in this strange country. The other half pushed that thought aside and continued walking. She was trying to hurry by, not paying attention anymore to the little shops or anything that before had been intriguing her. In that instant, however, she saw a familiar face move amongst the crowd. Sybil ushered towards the familiar looking guy and when she thought she was going to lose him all over again in the crowd she pulled on the corner of his sleeve to get his attention. 

[widgetmurray-x-blog]

Widget had needed some time away from the commotion of the circus life, and he wasn't really very tired despite how long the night before had seemed. Some nights the circus seemed almost endless and he couldn't wait for peace and quiet; others he never wanted to end. The latter hadn't come around in quite some time, but Widget knew another had to come around soon, the longer he waited the sooner it was coming around. Slipping past the gate, he entered the city.

Asia was always an interesting place for the circus to stop at. The feel of it was entirely different from Europe or America. He was glad that they weren't in some Siberian wasteland like the previous place. Widget wasn't the biggest fan of cold, isolated places. Although the people there were always interesting without a doubt. Interesting people were Widget's favorite. The stories they had to tell always made great scents for him to bottle. Scents unlike those anywhere else in the world. The little bottle worlds from Russia were always interesting to see people take in. 

He was excited for the stories people could tell him here. The feel was exotic, and exotic worlds were everyone's favorite. Of his wide range of bottles, he only had a few from areas as exotic as this. Maybe it was the lack of people in places like these who knew enough English to tell a story well enough for Widget to extract. Sometimes he wished he knew more languages than he did so he could hear even more stories. He had always wanted to do this but had neither the time, the patience, nor anyone who could teach him.

As Widget slipped into the crowd on the city streets he relaxed his muscles and walked with the crowd. He let his senses guide him, followed interesting sounds and intriguing colors. It was while he was following a particular scent, the scent of some food he had never encountered, that he felt a tug on his shirt sleeve. He stopped short and turned around slowly and his eyes rested upon a girl who looked a bit younger than he was, but probably not by much. "Can I help you?" he asked.

[jesslynnebarnes]

[widgetmurray-x-blog]

The Sun Rises ||Widget&Poppet.

[p-murray-deactivated20130222]

Poppet sat down on the grass, the skirt of her performance dress sprawled around her. In her hands she was twirling a piece of ribbon. A scarlet red one, like the clothing articles the reveurs often wore. She’d acquired it accidentally, having bumped into a woman mere minutes ago. By the time she’d realised she had had it, the woman had already vanished, nowhere to be found. She’d wandered around the circus grounds for a bit, trying to catch a glimpse of her again, but to no avail. She probably wouldn’t even miss it, what was one ribbon compared to the dozen she had placed on her black and white dress.

Blue eyes studied the ribbon closely. As far as she could tell, it seemed rather expensive. It fitted the image of most of the reveurs, their wealth enabling them to follow the circus everywhere they went. Penelope thought it both strange, yet also touching how some seemed to have made it their life goal to be always present. Puckering her lips, she decided on visiting her brother. It had been a while since she’d seen him and she did wonder how he was.

Dusting off the skirt of her dress, she hid the ribbon in her pocket before making her way to her brother’s tent. Penelope didn’t know if he would be asleep or not, but plenty of people seemed to still be awake, even though the day had been long and tiring. The sound of her shoes against the grass dissolved in the rumours of some people pulling down one of the temporary tents. 

When she arrived, she noticed that her brother wasn’t to be found, so she leaned against the side of the tent, pulling out the red ribbon again. Mere minutes later, she noticed him returning, and grinned. “Fancy seeing you here.”

[widgetmurray-x-blog]

As he walked back to his tent Widget noticed that the guests were clear now, so the gates would be closing any minute. Then maybe he'd try to sleep or work on his bottled worlds. He walked with his head down, looking up as he arrived a few tents away from his own. The layout of the circus wasn't really that complicated, but seeing visitors get lost could be interesting. It was part of the charm of the circus, the twists the turns and the surprises.

His sister was waiting for him, leaning against his tent. He grinned and nodded back at her, "Imagine that! Seeing me at my own tent for once." He rose an eyebrow and stepped closer to the tent, standing just a few feet away from the younger twin. He crossed his arms and crossed one ankle in front of the other as he stood, cocking his head to the side. "So, what brings you here?" he asked. 

Widget hadn't said it to be rude, he was genuinely convinced that there was some reason she was at his tent and not at the big cat trainer's tent. It could have been any number of things, really, he realized. It could be a simple wanting to talk to her brother, a favor she needed, or something she wanted to do with him. Widget was glad that she had come around regardless, time with his sister was generally time well spent.

He took a few sideways steps and opened his tent, motioning for his twin to follow him before stepping inside. 

[wintersparkless]

[widgetmurray-x-blog]

The Sun Rises || Open Para

It was late, or early rather, and so the crowd had mostly cleared out of the circus for the time being. Dawn would arrive soon and the circus would officially be closed until the next evening. Widget closed his tent up and took an empty bottle, labeling it according to the scent from the memory it would hold. He was far too tired to start working on bottling the scents themselves from the memories he had collected from people that night, so he stuck the three empty bottles in a basket designated for scents to be made. He'd work on those when he woke up, hoping the people's memories would stay fresh in his mind.

Widget took his usual place for sleeping and closed his eyes for a moment. After a while he realized he couldn't possibly sleep right now so he decided to venture out of his tent and see what the other circus members were up to. The sun was just barely visible on the horizon and the circus was beginning to close; the last stragglers of visitors heading away sadly. The performers were mostly still in their black and white uniforms, Widget didn't know how they stood it as he hardly wore his unless it was absolutely necessary. His tent really was only open during the very beginning of the circus and occasionally during the performer's breaks. Not that many people even paid much attention to the quaint tent of Widget's anyhow.

Sighing he wandered further away from his tent, stopping to see if people needed help with anything here or there. His hands were tingling to do something, but it wasn't the right time to make the scents even if he was no longer tired. He brushed his heel along the dirt path that twisted its way around the circus. Finally he figured he might as well try to get some sleep so he turned around to go in the direction of his tent.

[thenightcircus-rp]

Winston “Widget” Murray ☛ 18 ☛ Alchemist ☛ FC: Eddie Redmayne ☛ Closed

Born shortly before his twin, Poppet, Widget has always felt the weight of being the older one, even if it is only a matter of minutes. He feels as though he must carry the weight of the world on his shoulders, and is rather prone to brooding silences.

It is easy to break him out of these silences, and once you do, he is one of the most carefree people you can meet, acting much younger than his eighteen years would suggest. His tent requires little maintenance, so he spends most of his nights with Le Cirque des Rêves wandering the other acts, enjoying himself and relaxing, as well as providing occasional assistance to Poppet.

While alchemist isn’t, perhaps, the most accurate description of Widget’s position, nobody has ever suggested a better one. He collects stories like some collect stamps, his pleasant, relaxed way easily convincing people to share their memories and experiences. With these memories, he creates scents that evoke them completely, bottles them, and places them in a tent. The bottles aren’t labelled, so a person may walk in and uncork a bottle to be enveloped in a soft, rushing sea breeze, salt spray on their lips and a lover’s hand clasped within their own, or they may find themselves inhaling the acrid scent of woodsmoke, heady and wild and a little frightening, the sensation of some nameless nearby monster hanging threateningly over them.

Nobody knows Widget’s method for bottling memories so vividly, and he certainly isn’t telling. Secrecy is an organic part of his nature- Widget thinks that secrets have power. Every time a secret is shared its power diminishes, so he often keeps things to himself. He takes almost a childlike glee in hiding secrets, even if they are mundane or unimportant.

Twin brother of Poppet Murray

Interested in Celia Bowen

Friends with Charlotte Soames