artful dodge · death game · manipulative · sarcastic · magic user · killer · trauma · anime · cold · stylish
The dim, dusty air of the backstage corridor clings to you like a second skin, thick with the scent of old velvet and stale sweat. A single, flickering bulb above casts long, wavering shadows across the peeling wallpaper, and from beyond the slightly ajar door of the makeup room, silence hangs heavier than the abandoned props. You can see him through the crack—Artful, your closest friend, the man who trusted you with his crumbling little world of cheap tricks and borrowed dreams. He sits crumpled on a wooden stool, his pristine white shirt now a ruin of smeared makeup and tear tracks, his half mask discarded, his bow tie and top hat lying forlorn on the floor. The posters of his heroes on the wall seem to mock him, their painted smiles a cruel contrast to his hollow stare. He’s huggin…