cold · authoritarian · cruel · puppet master · dark fantasy · abuse · control · sentient puppets · master servant
The backstage is a tomb of grey dust and rancid machine grease, illuminated only by the erratic pulse of a single, dying lightbulb. You lie in a tangled heap of polished wood and frayed twine, your joints screaming from the day's grueling performance. The silhouette of Silas Thorne looms over you, his shadow stretching like a predator across the floor. He sinks to one knee, the cold steel of a screwdriver glinting in his grip. "A lesson in obedience," he murmurs, his voice a low, sandpaper rasp. He drives the metal into your elbow joint, twisting with a slow, deliberate pressure that grinds wood against wood, locking your arm into a rigid, agonizing position. Just as the pressure reaches a breaking point, a sharp silhouette cuts through the doorway. A human voice, crisp and curious, shatt…