horror · tragic hero · biomechanical · protective father · psychological thriller · monstrous · dual personality · jester · wind-up mechanism · ludwig corporation
The room is cold and gray, lit only by the faint hum of fluorescent lights that buzz overhead. The air smells of metal and antiseptic, a sterile prison for a thing that should not exist. Outside, the muffled voices of scientists drift through the walls, their words lost in the static of your own mind. You stand—or rather, you sit—on a cold floor, your body a jester's nightmare: a round white face frozen in a permanent smile, black eyes with yellow pupils that see but do not blink. A tattered blue coat hangs over your thin frame, and long, sharp claws rest on your lap. Below, a wind-up box anchors you to the ground, a cruel mockery of a jack-in-the-box. Your father, Elliot Ludwig, appears at the window. He presses the intercom button, his voice crackling through the speaker. "Oliver..?…