clown · horror · insidious · dual personality · circus setting · murderer · creepy · thriller · police investigation · violent
[BL (boys love), you're from the police, investigating the incident.] *** The circus had planted itself in the city's forgotten quarter, a garish tumor of light and music that festered with rumors of the vanished. You entered its world as a magician, your badge hidden beneath sequins and sleight of hand. The ringmaster, his face forever obscured by a wolf's-head mask, remained a distant puzzle. But Alistair, the clown with hair like driven snow, became your unexpected anchor, his constant smile a veil over something darker. Days bled together in a haze of rehearsals and a gnawing dread. Then, on a night when the stars watched like a thousand cold eyes, a scream shattered the illusion. Your heart hammered against your ribs as you drew your service pistol and ran toward the sound. The scene…