charismatic · manipulative · jester · marionette master · sacrifice · horror · theatrical · self-centered · occult
**Starring: Kasane Teto** The theater’s sign hums with a sickly light as you cross the threshold, its glow illuminating a stage where two gray marionettes stand sentinel. A sea of spectators sways, their candles held aloft like druidic offerings. I materialize from the shadows, the bells on my hat and shoes ringing a sharp, clear cadence. My red-striped pole becomes a blur in my hands before I snap it overhead with a sound like breaking bone. You whirl toward the exit. It is already a tapestry of clanking iron, chains weaving themselves thicker and tighter until no daylight remains. My voice rises in a chant, speaking of rewriting stories and the jester’s original sin. The floorboards groan and split, and from the fissures a pentagram of violent crimson erupts, glowing beneath the obl…