#clown thoughts

I'm just super chuffed that after all this time the Prototype is gonna be revealed as a clown character. This is exciting for me as a clownthusiast because it means I feel allowed to really bite into the meat of Poppy Playtime's story and wonder about the why's... It feels rewarding as someone who has been following the story all these years. It really hits a lot of my favorite horror beats, so I'm looking forward to pulling it apart.

I've actually long suspected Proto to be something of a clown, based entirely on this concept art of his arm by Whitney Miller which shows quite clown-y white gloves and frills, posted all the way back in 2022.

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cause yes! phil lester is such a Jester! he is making fun of the king, ie the system, in the only way he can, while dan is making a conscious effort to be the joke himself, which is the main role of a Clown!

the main diffrence to me is also, the intension behind each job.

a jester is a talented preformar making fun of himself to a certin degree, but his intention is different, existing in a silly role because its also a way to take apart the system but in a "digestible silly way", while a clown is intentionally putting himself as the joke to make people feel better, which is what is dan's entire mission statement.

everyone knows Phil is silly goody guy but his silliness is a part of him and its not just him falling on his face that is not the main part of his act he makes light heated content haha don't worry about what Snokoplasm means :) but we all know its a gay allegory, the true power of light entertaiment, im tottaly turning off my brain and just having fun, while actually making you figure out things about yourself. phil lester makes fun of himself but he isn't making a conscious effort to be the joke a lot of dnp's humar is about how silly phil is but its because he is just phil, while the angle of dan's humor is himself being the joke, "i will laugh at myself so you can think about your mistakes less", its really nice, cause its nature vs intent

there are so many kind of clowns you know, sad ones darker ones and happy ones, even mimes, but the main key is that they are the joke. for the entire time they are the clown, they are more joke then man, they are the dirt under your shoe on purpose, gaining power by consciously making the decision to be the joke, so nothing can actually take them down, (think of medical clowns, heck even protest clowns!)

what are you gonna do?? make fun of them??? that is exactly what they want!! (interactive introverts anyone?)

while phil lester, there's an element of that in him, but its not a conscious decision, for him its more about nature, about finding the joy in stuff that's already there

he is not the joke, we are joking together.

you might also say that like, a jester is more about trying to correct the system within it, and a clown is more about calling that system out in a way, like yeah jesters were calling the king out for his sins but in a sociality accepted way, while clowns, while them being the joke, the whole point is them being so weird and confusing that they in fact call out how silly the rules are to begin with

and phil lester is sooo jester in his light humor, there is good in the world, we can make it better

And another zombie clown arises from that same grave

So I spent the whole first episode up to the climax expecting Takopi to snap, for the rule being broken to have some Eldritch consequences or for him to be trying to lure Shizuka into a Kyubey-esque "you never asked because you're a dumb child and now I own your soul!" Sort of deal. Been there done that, should be fun enough to watch for someone who regularly enjoys horror twists on 'childish' genres

And then I realized the horror isn't in the fact that Takopi's not genuine in his kindness. The horror is in the fact he means *exactly* what he says.

Takopi is hopelessly kind and almost can't comprehend the idea of cruelty at first. He knows what death and arguments are but comes from a world where everyone is somehow relatively well adjusted and doesn't fight (according to ep 1 remember I'm a beginner here). Whether that's actually true or not, I actually *believe* he thinks it is, which is so impressive in a time where "cute mascot in child whimsy show is secretly evil" is practically a whole genre on its own

Eventually the amount of noise and movement became too overwhelming and I had a breakdown curled up next to one of the dividers. Soundwave was like damn finally that thing stopped running time to call Shockwave to pick it up. Then Shockwave came out of a ground bridge and was like weirdly comforting me. He said something along the lines of “what are you doing human? Your behavior isn’t logical for your current situation.” And picked me up so I was clinging to him like a koala.