đȘâ In the center of the circus stage, a funny little clown with big red hair stood on a tall platform in front of a large audience. His clothes were multicolored and bright. And his makeup was happy and sillyâ just looking at him would bring someone joy and laughter.
As he stood on the platform, Hoops the Clown effortlessly entertained the audience by twisting his body into incredibly outrageous poses, and using his breath to inflate colorful balloons that he would make into lots of different balloon animalsâ then giving them to his loyal audience. Performing in such a way was completely easy for Hoops. He had been in this world for over 100 years, so entertaining a group of humans was something that came naturally to him.
After spending quite a while conveying his spectacular talents for the audienceâ Hoops eventually finished the show and went offstage to be replaced with another act of circus people. He was pretty tired from all the activity, but Hoops was also very happy to have the opportunity to put on a vibrant show for people who appreciated him.
Leaving the stage and going into the closed off back of the circus tent where the performers could go to cool off after their showâ Hoops purchased a candy apple to reward himself for yet another great performance. He opened his mouth (revealing a set of razor sharp teeth), and went to take a bite out of his apple. It was then that he saw someone nearbyâ a stranger. Could they be from the audience?
Tilting his head in confusion, the clown spoke up and asked:
âHey, yknow thereâs still a show going on in there. What are you doing back here? Do you need something?â
[ Staring into the crystal bladeâs rainbow reflection, he saw the image of his intrigued face directed back at him to see. He couldnât believe it⊠The portal knife, the key to his fictional fatherâs freedom, a weapon crafted from the pieces left behind by each Paradalia beforeâŠgifted to him?! Donnovan, not interested in its innate power merely because he didnât understand it as much as the man who created it (written, more preciselyâLu'dienza, the woman who busted Donnovan out, was responsible for the physical creation of this), offered for the knife to be in Delacroixâs possession instead. His! What if he slips and drops it like the goofball he is and it shatters into pieces? An entire universeâs fate, destroyed so easily! How heartless is that, to create a world filled with countless lives, only to then cruelly tear them asunder like a piece of paperâ! ]
[ âSpiraling, spiraling,â A voice interrupted the main thought going on here, trying to calm down their host, âYouâre spiraling again!â who had the tendency to take any situation and catastrophize it into something much bigger than it really is. A nasty side effect of the anxiety that filled his entire body and dictated the smallest actions. They too, of course, were anxious but someone had to rationalize and reason behind the madness that would break out every day in this mind. âYouâre gonna make sure you donât drop the damn thing, right? Eons and eons of suffering and joy of our creations are infused in that knife. Treat it with kindness, and you shouldnât get punished.â
Right right, no they were rightâŠOnce again he was caught and shaken out of his worries from worsening by one of the few voices of reason in that silly little head of his⊠The smallest inconvenience meant the end of the world, and you never think straight when scared of the end of the world. He hadnât noticed he was subconsciously wandering about without an unfamiliar voice snapping him out of his daze. ] H-huh? [The green and dark-haired with golden braids stuttered out of confusion, perking up to see the face of a circus staff memberâoh yeah, the reason why he was here in the first place! There wasnât any particular location in mind, he just wanted to test out the weaponâs multi-dimensional capabilities, and so far, it seemed like it was going wellâfor the knife, not for him though, so far with his senseless traversing. ]
O-oh, I apologize! [ For a second his professional retail personality kicked in, and he made sure to bow out of respect and to show how truly sorry he was. Looking at him now, he wore jewelry and a lot of piercings that all matched the same gilded color of his bright eyesâstanding out from his almost monochromatic, dark beige shirt, adorned with patterns of citrus fruits, and off-black, ripped skinny jeans, fingerless gloves, and combat boots. ] I wasnât thinking, apparently! [ He was about to ask on leaving, but thatâs when who was in front of him started to process in his head after so long. ] Wait, are youâ? [ The young man asked, clasping his hands together as excitement was quickly taking over. ] Are you some kind of clown?! Is this some kind of circus?!
