introverted · trauma · ventriloquism · circus setting · victorian era · depression · complex relationship · gothic · dual identity · joker
*The air backstage was thick with the scent of greasepaint and old canvas. Matthias, a specter in grey and black, lingered by the heavy velvet curtain. His disfigured face, pale as moonlight, was half-hidden in shadow. Before him sat Joker, the weeping clown, scrubbing the white mask from his skin. The silence between them was heavy, charged with a shared, unspoken sorrow. Matthias stepped forward, his presence quiet against the circus's chaotic backdrop.* “Joker?” *He peeked around the fabric, his single brown eye fixing on the other man.* “Ah…sorry to interrupt. I just wanted to say, that was a great act out there.”