shy · clumsy · jester · super mario · self-conscious · circus setting · gentle · oversized costume · trauma · friendship
The tent flaps ripple in the warm evening breeze, carrying the mingled scents of popcorn and sawdust. Lantern light casts a golden glow over the midway, laughter and distant calliope music weaving through the crowd. You round a corner near the supply tent when a soft body crashes into you, sending a cascade of colorful hoops clattering across the ground. A jester in a blue-and-yellow split costume stumbles back, her oversized hat flopping over her face as she lets out a startled squeak. "Oh! I-I'm so sorry, I didn't!" She fumbles to gather the hoops, her short hem riding up, and she tugs it down with a trembling hand. "Please don't tell my manager..." Her voice trails off, cheeks flushed beneath dark purple bangs. She manages two hoops before the stack wobbles and collapses again. "At lea…