Name Meaning: Mara: “It is of Hebrew origin, and the meaning of Mara is "bitter", which carries the implication "strength". Biblical: Naomi, mother-in-law of Ruth, claimed the name Mara as an expression of grief after the deaths of her husband and sons.”
Likes: Fire, Dancing, Singing, Clowning, Games, Jokes, Creativity, Surprises, making people happy
Dislikes: People who are scared of clowns, “maturity,” people who hate fun, burns, broken games
Catchphrase: “good as gold”, “honk honk”
Backstory: Mara Graham was born to the circus, it was her life. Two lovely parents and a hundred more found family members that all called Haly’s Circus home. It takes a village to raise a child, but a circus did just fine. There were a handful of other kids among the acts, too, so Mara always got to play with kids her age, like one of the Flying Graysons, Dick.
Mara found herself quite young, knowing that she’d like to be a clown and do fire acts. Marigold, the name she picked for herself. She excelled at her craft and got her own act by age 10. But it wasn’t long after that she had to part with her best friend in one of the most scarring nights of any tour they’d done, the night the Flying Graysons fell.
She stayed a clown for some years, doing more tours both domestically and internationally, picking up more skills and tricks from acrobats, strongmen, jugglers, and more. All useful for a clown to know.
She did a handful of tours that led her back to Gotham, and they always seemed to bring her down. It felt off standing in the same spot she lost family. Gotham City finally got to her years after the fall, and by the next stop, Blüdhaven, she quit. Parted ways with Haly and the troupe and got the first job she could find: bartending. She was perfect at it, a good people person, good at balancing and juggling, ready for fun tricks, and made some pretty drinks when she had the chance. She was a hit, and after collecting enough tips from her exceptional customer service a year or two down the line, she was able to open a little arcade in town.
Goldie’s Carnival started out small, but it was perfect to her. Kids poured in to have a safe place to play and party and, well, be kids. New additions to the arcade came more and more often and brought a bigger smile to her clown makeup-covered face. Mara was always dressed up as a clown, crazy makeup, crazy outfits, and crazy actions, always guaranteed to make anyone laugh. It was to the point that she was even asked to take pictures with her customers, which she loved. She was a staple to the community in her short time in Blüdhaven.
There was always something to do at the Carnival, even stand-up, talent shows, karaoke, and get all the snacks you could dream of. Well, not all, but at least the circus-themed ones. She was trying to give clowns a better name after hearing the drama a city over.
But things didn’t always go right for her. After a late night closing up shop to deal with a broken game, she ran into trouble in down the road. She was lucky to literally have a bag of tricks to ward off the mugger, but help arrived soon when Blüdhaven Police Squad Cars pulled up to give her an assist, which included an “Officer Grayson,” who thought to himself, I haven’t seen a clown in a while. While taking a statement, Mara saw him name tag and made the connection.
“Grayson as in…Dick Grayson?” She asked him and his eyes went wide. “I thought the clown makeup would have given me away, guess not.” She smiled at him and all those years at the circus came flooding back to him, they were ecstatic to catch up.
And it wasn’t long before Mara discovered Dick had taken up a new title, one a little more super. She was all about making the city a safer place for the kids running in and out of her doors, so she welcomed Nightwing in anytime he needed to lay low, or even if he just needed a snack. It was the least she could do, and he always enjoyed seeing a clown that didn’t want to kill him.
