Chapter Text
The Dark World you resided in was simple for the most part. It was mostly a lot of snails, cotton, knives, and the occasional starry pink sky. The place was filled with music, performance, dances, risks, high rewards and drama in every corner. It’s seemingly perfect for you, but it could never reel you in.
You laid there on the floor in your apartment, once again, trying to not lose your sense of purpose. Other than being the company of your starstruck friend in the light world, there wasn’t really much you do anymore in the dark world. The only things in your apartment were pieces of a lost dream, all packed away in a closet. But that’s being dramatic. Besides your bed, currently, it’s full of paper. Lots of it. You normally liked crafting costumes or drawing up new ideas for potential routines to practice. But now, you make tiny origami to litter your house. Make it feel full.
You needed to get up at some point. You didn’t have anything to do, but it’s better than turning to stone. And so, pulling on your poncho, and mask, you head out.
Your bells lining your poncho jingle with every step, going along with the music that tempts you to dance. You’re not sure exactly where you’re going, but all you know is you needed to be away from your apartment for a while. The wind picked up the further up you went, your gaze looking past all the buildings and shops. As you walk, something hits your face. Your paws scrambled to pull it off, before finally seeing it. A familiar title you once knew.
“TV TIME! HIRING!!”
Your eyes widened, surely he couldn’t be… You lift your face away from the flyer, darting your head around for a source. And soon, you see him. Upon the stage in the middle of the city, a tall CRT TV-headed man stood front and center, throwing flyers for the wind to pick up, while simultaneously passing it around to whoever passed by. His voice booming without even a microphone to back him up. You clench the flyer between your fingers. Your mind, debating every choice you could make right now.
You finally took a breath, and made your way towards the figure. His size was… oddly taller than you anticipated. You, with your best guess, only reached up to his knee. ‘Everything’s much bigger in person than on TV’ you thought.
You stood silently beside his leg, your voice unfortunately caught in your throat. All you could do is stare up at him, waiting for him to notice you. The reminder of how large he actually was in person suddenly hit you. Literally. He ends up accidentally kicking you as you let out a tiny squeak like a toy hammer.
“OH! I am.. So sorry!” He picks you up like you're nothing, dusting off your poncho. “Gosh, I should've made myself smaller, but how could I get the good people’s attention otherwise?!” His voice caused your sensitive head to rattle with how loud he was. Wordlessly, you show him the flyer.
“Oh! You’re interested in lil’ old me?”
You nod.
“Well that’s just wonderful! Fantastic!” He whips you around as he waves his hands in excitement. “Oh! Wait.. whoops.” He gently puts you back down before sinking to a comfortable height, still taller than you but enough for you to speak to him. “You have questions?”
You slowly let yourself reel out of your dizziness, pulling the flyer close to your face and mumbling softly. “You’re hiring..?”
“Sorry?”
You mumble louder. “You’re hiring?”
“Young lady, you’ll need to speak up! I may be old but my hearing isn’t the problem, I’m sure!”
You huff, your hands changing the mask to show a more frustrated expression. “Didn’t you have people work with you before?!” You blurted out. As the words you say suddenly hit you, blush hits your face, before burying it into your hands, whispering many, many pleas of an apology.
The TV man stands there, shocked. His antenna drooped, and you could’ve sworn he shrank a little more than before. He awkwardly clears his throat, before suddenly patting your head, growing higher once more.
“Well, you aren’t wrong!” He exclaims, a hint of defeat fills his words while he adjusts his tie. “As you know, ‘TV Time’ is currently on… Hiatus.” He says. “We’re quite understaffed since some of them had their contracts shredded (‘or quit..’ you heard him mumble), but someone who knows how important a crew is to production must’ve had experience! Or, are you just an avid viewer perhaps?” He bends down towards your level, awaiting a response with a big grin on his face.
As you were knocked out of your self-pity, you blink at him, surprised, before giving a deflated giggle. “Heh, well.. maybe… wait, if you’re on hiatus, what’s being shown to the Lightners at the moment?”
“For now, only reruns! And who doesn’t love a good rerun every now and then? We'll need new sponsorships so if you know anyone, bring ‘em over!”
“Oh, um.. I was just wondering if you’re hiring-“
He gives a little twirl before placing his gloved hand upon your flyer. “Well my dear viewer, you have a flyer of mine, and you came directly to me for questions, so why not come over to my new office? Tomorrow, perhaps? We’re currently under renovations since the relocation, so any help from you or the lovely people of this new town is much appreciated!”
You simply stare. “I..”
“And~” He interrupts. “We may have a new program in the works (if you do manage to bring some sort of sponsor). So if that entices you, dear viewer, come on down! I’d love to get to know my new workers!” He practically swoons at that last line.
You look at him and back at the flyer. It would be nice to work with him, but at the same time, it could cause problems if he finds out who you once were to him. You take a deep breath. Perhaps it won’t be too bad, as long as you worked in the back rather than the front. Meaning, he’s the star of the show, and you get to be away from him. As much as possible.
“Okay.. I’ll think about it.” You reply. He grows to maximum height, raising his hand in excitement, a flower blooms from his nose. “WONDERFUL WONDERFUL WONDERFUL!!” He bends down to shake your hands. “Looking forward to working with you!! We’ll be back in the groove once we get production rolling!”
As soon as he lets go of you, you quickly nod to him, and immediately run off, still clutching the flyer in your paws. That was far too much excitement for today. You needed solitude fast.
You slammed your apartment door behind you, slumping back down on the cold floor. You quickly took off your mask before finally taking a slow breath. It felt wild seeing him again. Your thoughts buzzed in your ears, feeling like a cascade of houses whirling in a tornado. The man didn’t even give you time to think.
‘He is much larger than the last time I saw him.’
‘He didn’t recognize you, that’s good.’
‘oh gosh, what happened to him? His screen looked a little cracked. His antennae even had a bandage.’
‘Why did we yell at him?! He didn't do anything wrong!’
‘New hire…’
With a final heave, you finally have a clearer look at the flyer. Smaller details like the address of the new studio sit at the bottom, along with a phone number. Higher up, in colourfully warm, bold letters, was (you didn’t read wrong) the words “TV TIME!! HIRING!!” It’s well-made, you had to admit. You started to wonder how he even made these if he had limited resources. Did he have a bit of help for this?
You sat by the door for god knows how long. You felt so at conflict with yourself, it made you dizzy. You lift up your head, looking at the stars plastered on your ceiling. Lifting a finger, you trace different shapes among them, including the TV man in your past. You look at your room. Your wigs, brushed. Your eye collection, needing polishing, and to a closet on the side. You haven’t opened it in a while.
You gently placed the flyer on your dresser, walking over to the closet. You’ve decided. It was time to find a fitting outfit for your interview tomorrow, with the big man himself.
Hopefully, among the clown memorabilia, you’ll find something simple. If not, it’s off to buy some fabric.