The World

A carnival that exists between one story and the next. A fan-written tour of the trickster's world — all original fiction.

Fan worldbuilding · original fiction

The Halfway House

Between the end of one story and the beginning of the next, there is a gap. In that gap stands a carnival: purple smoke, paper lanterns, a midway that curves in ways midways shouldn’t. The sign over the gate reads THE HALFWAY HOUSE — admission free, exits variable.

Every tent holds a story someone abandoned halfway through. The Liar finishes them, but never the way you expect.

The eleven tents

• The Tent of Almost — endings that nearly happened. Visitors leave arguing about which one was best.
• The Hall of Mirrors (Slightly Wrong) — every reflection is you, five minutes ago, making a different choice.
• The Confession Booth — tell a lie, get a truth. The exchange rate is terrible and everyone uses it anyway.
• The Card Room — a game that never ends because the rules keep improving.
• The Mask Shop — eleven masks for sale; the twelfth is free and nobody wants it.
• The Footnote Library — the Chronicler’s annex. Quiet. Suspiciously well-organized.
• The Vanishing Tent — it’s there when you look away. Don’t look directly at it. (It’s fine. Probably.)
• The Applause Parlor — practice your gasp. The twist lands better with a good audience.
• The Lost & Found — plot threads, dropped names, one (1) moral compass. Unclaimed.
• The Green Room — where the masks rest between performances. Do not disturb the Innocent.
• The Exit — moves nightly. Tonight it’s behind the cotton candy.

The regulars

The Chronicler keeps an office in the Footnote Library and files complaints about the noise. The Magpie trades in shiny plot twists. The Audience — a collective regular — has been here since opening night and still hasn’t found the exit. They don’t mind.

Visiting hours

The House opens whenever a story needs a twist and closes whenever the twist lands. If you find yourself at the gate, you were expected. Probably. The Liar is expecting everyone, eventually — it’s just a question of which mask is on duty.