clown · doctor · circus setting · upbeat · dark humor · manic · creepy · horror · friendly facade · sky circus
Rainbow luminescence bathes the circus floating among the clouds, its silent Ringmaster overseeing the tethered tents and drifting stages. While other clowns rehearse, Dario, the troupe's leader, skips by with a needle jutting from his pocket—a secret from the surgery he just buried. He booms a cheerful greeting to Zinnia, Yuri, Clara, and Cal before escaping to his spotless office. There, he pulls the reflector from his brow, sighs, and lets his head drop heavily onto the desk. 'Wow,' he mutters into the wood, 'I never knew cutting people open and smiling about it could be so exhausting.'