I accidentally deleted my first version of this post trying to reblog it to The Freak Circus Community.
The first part of Columbina's AMA has been posted on the official Tumblr. I find interesting the her father instilled in her a philosophy of always giving love in an unkind world to keep your "flame" alive. This Philosophy might have been what Jester and Ticket Taker warned her about.
From this AMA Columbina seems to be a sweet and innocent girl who was too naive understand that you shouldn't simply give your love away to everyone you meet. It only takes one wrong person to misinterpret that the love you give freely to the world must be exclusively for them. In her case this person ended up being Pierrot who fell madly in love with her for giving him the same standard of kindness she gave every one. He did the same thing with MC as well after they did the standard thing a good person should do when an "innocent" person get assaulted in the street. He immediately assumed MC saw him with love and believes thats why they intervened to protect him. She feels guilty about not taking Jester's advice as her kindness ending up hurting everyone in the end.
She says the Harlequin used to be shy and was very clingy to Pierrot. Present Harlequin has become the exact opposite of clingy as he is adverse to any contact that isn't sexual. Poor Harlequin must have been upset when Pierrot began to stray from him to want to spend time exclusively with Columbina after falling in love with her. This may have sparked rivalry because Harlequin wanted to feel included again in Pierrot's life and getting bold with Columbina might have been the only way. She regrets how ugly everything got between them and wishes she could apologize to Harlequin and Jester for how it ended.
Her and Ticket Taker became a traveling pair due to her persistence on cheering him up because he seemed sad and lonely to her. She basically wore him down into becoming her surrogate father figure by the power of sweetness. Now he's a grieving father. Since he most likely the keeper of her bones after her death I wonder if her mirror is the lid to her coffin. Her spirit might literally be possessing that mirror since I don't believe her lasts words to MC were under Ticket Taker's control. Ticket Taker wouldn't tell MC about the shields the hold to protect themselves because he wouldn't give a human a weakness to exploit against them or thank them for listening.
She is also happy for MC and Pierrot finding love in each other and wishes them the best which is the most precious thing ever. Therefore salty Columbina haters be damned.
@nekoboydreams Am I hot or cold on the coffin theory?
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I worry about Anna being the kind of person most of the Circus cast would not approve of under her facade. She is leading on most of the circus cast on for thrills with no feelings attached. Will karma catch up to her or will she charm herself out of a grim demise?
Oh, they all know with exception of Pierrot that Ana’s innocence and sweetness is an act only thing they don’t know to full extent is how bad she is behind the mask
Harlequin is entirely too confident and thinks he got her figured out on just assuming that she is an incredibly repressed pervert from abusive traditional household that plays that lamb because that’s the only thing she knows how to do (he aint wrong but its still not deep enough)
Doctor knows about her blood thirst but doesn’t assume anything of it since he kinda projects his own curiosity onto her (which again, not wrong she is incredibly curious about the inner workings of the body but there is way more to it)
Jester and Ticket Taker both know that she is way worse than that and can clock her sadistic tendencies from a mile away
As for her possible demise?
okay real talk this is gonna get pretty heavy
Ana’s ASPD results in her having VERY dull fear response (that’s the reason why people with ASPD experience weaker empathy or social based emotions like shame, guilt, remorse, etc) and incredibly low self preservation
To top it off as I mentioned before she is also incredibly bored
But boredom for people with ASPD experiences differently its more akin to restlessness and need to chase it away with something else that can stimulate you enough out of that state
It’s the reason why people with that diagnosis are prone to reckless and self-harming behaviors because they need to keep chasing that edge
Ana keeps toying with that danger specifically because to her those clowns coming into her life is basically like finding a new drug a new thrill that can keep her entertained because her previous ways of chasing off that bored had gotten dull
She doesn’t do it because she thinks of herself as master manipulator that can outsmart them all and achieve something out of it
She does it because she can and because so far she was able to get away with it
And when it stops working for her? Well it was good while it lasted
She is depressed and passively suicidal already, dying to her has never really been anything of concern
But honestly I am myself not sure how I would imagine her story to end! Game is still unfinished and I would like to see more of those characters to see how I would want to wrap things up and if there would be a way for anything even slightly resembling a happy ending lmao
I only know for sure that even if she does die, she certainly will never be able to be forgotten
A great character analysis! I wonder if Pierrot might help Ana discover some self love somewhere in her story since he cares for her the most. Thanks for answering my question!
The Defensive / Avoidant Survivalist – a type that survives by staying unseen; often withdrawn and minimizing their presence to avoid risk, conflict, and attention, often underestimated to their advantage, but at the cost of missed opportunities and support.
The 2nd in command, the Gatekeeper, the Recruiter, the Quiet Authority.
Ticket Taker embodies this survival style almost perfectly. Nearly everything about his role in the circus revolves around remaining behind the scenes, maintaining order without becoming the center of attention.
Ticket Taker (TicTak) is the oldest member of the circus, and also the weakest in terms of physical strength. Make no mistake, believing he is weak, he is not. He is the first member of the circus you meet. He gives you the Pink Ticket. He is in charge of the tickets and tents. He is deeply involved in making the circus and each moving part. If Jester (Bobo) is the foundation of the circus, then TicTak is the one who maintains it.
Let's start with the relationship between TicTak and Columbina.
The companionship between Ticket Taker and Columbina is shown in the fact that they joined the troupe together. They were traveling together already. Ticket Taker knew Columbina before everyone else. Columbina and Ticket Taker are similar in the sense that they are both more human-like. Their monster types display more human traits (duller claws, shorter fangs, etc)
→ Columbina was very sick as a child and survived due to the kind stranger (who could be Ticket Taker, which would make sense why she was so persistent in befriending him, or that could’ve been a human. It would make sense since Ticket Taker is the oldest after all, so he might’ve had enough life to see Columbina as a child. Or they just bonded over shared prejudices on both sides (monsters and humans).
TicTak was close to Columbina. He must’ve felt so useless that he could not do anything for her, even after bonding with her. His grief is expressed through the masks, the tent, and the major symbolism throughout the circus. It affected TicTak like the rest of the troupe. It is expressed in different ways, and the deep impact of Ticket Taker is expressed in his care for the pink tent, fools, and the tall mirror. The Final Mirror, His favorite mirror, Her Mirror.
As mentioned in the prior theory related to him, the tall mirror is Columbina’s mirror, and TicTak’s rendition of that night. That night, he was too hungry to move, unable to help someone close to him. She reached out to him for help, but it was useless. Ticket Taker could not do anything, even though he might’ve wanted to.
This bond/companionship between TicTak and Columbina was strong, very strong, and it crushed him when she passed. He, like the others, warped the truth to make it bearable.
More Focus on Ticket Taker
Ticket Taker is an interesting character in the sort that we might have seen his “monster form” already. We have seen his possible ‘casual clothing,’ which made me think. Does that mean we have seen his face? We might’ve seen it then, which pegs the question: what is his monster type? We know all the monsters were of Neko's own creation based on an answer to a question on the official TFC blog.
There are discussions of prejudice toward monsters who look more human. Columbina faced that prejudice, and it is safe to assume TicTak experienced it as well. He has lived far longer than the rest of the troupe. Using their approximate human-equivalent ages (22 to 40), the order from oldest to youngest is TicTak, Doctor, Pierrot, Jester, and Harlequin, with Columbina being the youngest. TicTak would be roughly 40 in human years, though that estimate should be taken with caution since monsters live far longer than humans. Time is different for them.
Returning to the question of his sides. We have seen his sides; in the mirror tent, his tent.
Then we see the sides of the masks that correlate with them.
Black mask = “Monster”; White Mask = “Human” (I got into more detail about those symbols in the first part of his theory). We see both sides of him, and if we look at his current sprite, we see his hair that matches the individual from the cafe scene. We know this is TicTak. A new question emerges: how true was what we saw? Now, why would I ask that? What does that mean?
TicTak deals with mirrors, ‘good at magic’, illusions, and other possibilities. He might have some strong illusions on him- maybe even more hidden away. However, I do not think this is the case. I think it is his actual face. The question would be why? He doesn’t have a nose. That sounds weird, but his face displays no nose. They do have noses, and they are just hidden. Neko mentioned this when someone asked about Harlequin and Pierrot’s noses. His ‘human’ form doesn’t have a nose. That might be his actual face, which allows him to go out so easily, and another reason why TicTak controls the Pink Tent. He can easily go after chosen humans or give them out when asked (ex. Pierrot with the lady). The circus has a lot of makeup, so he covers up the skin tone with makeup on the portions not covered by his costume. He has claws, but they might be retractable when in his human form or just covered by an illusion. Part of his abilities.
We know monsters can look similar to humans in that sense. It is mentioned during Jester’s story; we see it in flashbacks. We might have seen a small glimpse of what Columbina looked like from a flashback.
She has a nose in this, fangs, and her very human-like face. We see it again in the group of (we assume) monsters. One has a very human-like top half of their face. They are the only ones to be seen as such.
(I also find the fact that all their ‘eyes’ are just white, which makes me curious, but it also might just be a design choice.)
They are all covered head to toe, minus the one individual with open eyes.
So, going back to when we first meet TicTak at the cafe.
One portion that always irked me was the fact his face was covered in a shadow. Now, that might be a design choice. A design choice to point out how strange and off-putting this character is, which would be understandable. I think there is more to it. I think it represents another sort of double-sided. A side we do not see. His monster side.
Returning to this picture -
We can see here that the monster’s eyes are white, like the others. It is also draped in a shadow as a representation that there is a dark side you have not seen. We see the dark shade is still over the top of his face on the right side as well.
If you take that fact, the double-sided mask, then I think that is his more “monster side”. It is just a giant black hole. It only comes up in intense emotions, like when we pissed him off.
I mentioned in my mask theory that there is a strap around his head to keep his mask up since he cannot adhere to his face like Bobo, Harley, and Perry can. If the face of his is not necessarily there, or perhaps solid is a more proper word? There is nothing for it to stick to, and we know it is a full mask since we see his “teeth” expressed through when he told Perry to ‘not speak’.
This brings me to what I think his monster type might be, which is more of a concept. He is a type of ‘reflection’ monster. You could even put ‘moon’ or ‘mirror’ if you’d want, but I don’t think they fit the concept enough. TicTak is heavily connected with the moon. @hexserath goes into details about the connection here. (Please tread all their theories. They are fantastic!) I made a theory regarding the posters in the player’s bedrooms and want to focus on what I believe is the poster connected to TicTak.
Hex pointed out that TicTak’s poster is also connected to the light. The position of the lamp also lines up with the reflection of the moon during the waning crescent of the lunar cycle.
As Hex mentioned in their theory:
"The moon itself is a mirror. It doesn’t produce its own light but reflects the sun’s light."
The moon shines by reflecting sunlight, as it does not produce its own light. (I will come back to this fact later.) The moon reflects. What do we see heavily in TicTak’s tents? Reflections. Reflections of other members in each of their mirrors, which I believe are his renditions of the family, but something we do not see. We never see TicTak’s ‘reflection’ since we see him walk out of ‘his’ mirror.
The mirrors are reflections. We saw sides of Pierrot of him covered in blood w/a smile, and Harlequin mirrors how he bit Columbina. We saw how the Doctor was curious about us and wanted to keep us. Jester mocked us, and we saw all the eyes behind him. Those events in the mirrors do vaguely mirror the events in the game. It is another connection to his mirror abilities and how he sees tells the ‘truth’. I'd like to point out that there is a side of the moon we do not see. The side of the moon we never see from Earth due to its synchronous rotation, known as the far side or "dark side," which is not actually darker but simply faces away from us. TicTak's face is hidden from us the whole time, draped in shadows, and we are not allowed to see it since it is his more monstrous side.
Now, why wouldn't we comment on it? Many things, the shadows could deter others from asking. It is part of his illusion. It gives a type of uncanny valley that we just ignore. A game choice, maybe. Us not commenting on it might even be a reason why TicTak gave us a pink ticket. There are many possibilities. It does not change the fact that it is a part of his face we do not see, and it is for a reason.
Now, I want to circle back to how the moon reflects sunlight because it does not produce its own light. This might explain how he sees Jester. Ticket Taker is not loyal only because of what Jester did, but because of what he represents. A solution. A form. A control Ticket Taker could never achieve alone. So he builds himself around Jester, not as a servant, but as a reflection, trying to become real. He has a strong feeling of devotion and idolization towards Jester. He has compared Jester to a ‘God’, but Bobo mentioned that TicTak is just exaggerating. It might be similar to ‘Hero Worship,’ which is when we look for figures who embody strength, success, and security. TicTak finds the fact that Bobo was able to establish the group into some form of controlled, organized system that he heavily appreciates. To him, Bobo represents some of his favorite things, like organization, control, etc.
Also, he warned a certain someone.
Everything about Ticket Taker is defined by distance. He watches rather than acts, recruits rather than forces, reflects rather than creates, and maintains rather than leads. Even his abilities center around mirrors and illusion. Those are things that place another layer between himself and reality. It perfectly aligns with the survival style he represents: staying just far enough away to survive. He can watch and observe from far away, just like the moon every night.
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Note: I hope this makes sense. If there are mistakes or you want me to expand on something, let me know, and I will fix it or expand.
This was supposed to be done BEFORE his birthday, but my computer decided to corrupt many of my files, including theories and stories. I had a fun time trying to find a non-corrupt file of this. I still think I am missing chunks, but I cannot find them.
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Ticket Taker (1) (You're here!)
Doctor
Pierrot
Jester (1) (2)
Harlequin
Columbina (1)
(They will be updated as they are completed and posted.)
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With a recent AMA stating that Jester's family attempted to stay in a colony of their own species before every thing went South for them. In the wild the kind of animals most likely to form colonies are insects. Neko also stated that some members are missing limbs. If Jester is an insect like monsters he could have lost limbs (an extra set of arms) in the fall of his colony which would have contributed to rough state of poor health Doctor found him in.
In the picture where all of the monsters silhouettes are gathered around Columbina while standing Jester's fingers look freakishly long. I believe the reason for having such long fingers would be for borrowing underground. If he had two sets of arms the second set that he may have lost would've had more practical hands for daily tasks. If his species live like ants in a underground tunnel system this would make sense. Living underground would be an effective way for a colony to avoid humans if they weren't constantly tearing down forests for land or mining for gold and coal.
In an insect colony every member has its natural place from the Queen to the drones to the workers and so forth. In order to keep communication smooth and effective in a large underground insect monster colony these monsters would have an innate telepathy ability to interact with their kind. Thoughts would be shared down the line to communicate from one place to another within the colony as a hive mind.
In another AMA Ticket Taker states that when he first met young Jester there wasn't anything remarkable about him at that point in time. Jester may have been more aloof at this point of time because he was cut of from his hive mind. He may been used to communicating with his family and fellow hive members with thoughts instead of conversation. He would have to adapt to outwardlly expressing himself as he warmed up to the group.
Wether or not his telepathy works on other monsters with limited range is yet to be determined. If it does he and Harlequin could have "quietly" discussed determining Columbina's fate without the others ever knowing about it. He did apologize to Harlequin after the deed was done after all.
After Columbina's death he took the "Queen" position of the pack and assigned everyone else their roles similar to how insects function in a hive. Everyone has their set purpose within the pack and are encouraged not to stray from it.
As we know eating humans give monsters a boost in their natural powers. For Jester his telepathy is upgraded to mind control over human minds at the very least creating his own personal hive mind. I believe that once a human is under his control he can pre-program them with the instruction s to do basic circus tasks independently. This will give the fools the ability to run the food stalls, hand out flyers, and do street acts without Ticket Taker constantly baby sitting them. This allows Carol to remain good at whatever Ticket Taker wanted her for.
Jester only programs the fools to have limited pre-reccorded lines which why Carol can only tell us to enjoy the attractions. This prevents them for asking for help if they are aware they're being controlled that is. Carol looked at us way to intensely for me to believe she didn't know who she was looking at.
When Jester wants a fool to do a more specific task he has to put more effort into his controll on that one fool. This can be seen during his play as constantly shifts his position around the stage's backdrop to be in range of the specific fool he manipulating. This also explain why the actors representing Jester, Ticket Taker and Doctor literally do nothing on stage but stand there while the other three actors perform.
I also think the fools are pre-programed to drag anyone who faints from the food to the pink tent before the crowd can notice.
Many birds in the wild mate for life (90%) such as swans. Far fewer mammals practice monogamy in the wild. Oddly enough some of the most common animals Pierrot is theorized to have similarities to are wolves (many dog references in the AMAs) and Amazon River Otters (swimming, fishing) are monogamous. Monogamous animals form bonded pairs that practically do everything together. A bonded pair are emotionally dependent on one another and can develop separation anxiety or depression when apart. If one mate dies the odds surviving mate finding a new mate are slim. The surviving mate usually loses their drive to survive and dies of a “broken heart” (Pierrot’s father).
I believe monogamy among monsters is rare and only a few species naturally practice it in their unique culture. I can see packs of 1 male monster with several “claimed” mates being common place in most monster cultures. Having more mates gives higher chances of reproduction and survival. This makes monsters who form single pairs social outliers in places where many species of monsters mix together.
If Pierrot is a monogamous monster by nature it could have contributed to his obsession with Columbina and his rivalry with Harlequin. It would make him possessive over Columbina and fight with Harlequin if he made any advances towards her. Sharing a mate is not an option that has ever occurred in Pierrot's thought process even in present day. With Pierrot's innate nature being a rarity among monsters the rest of the Circus crew aren't aware of his unique social and emotional needs and have never properly address them to aid Pierrot’s declined mental state after Columbina's death.
While being apart of the Circus's pack has given him the will to continue living following Columbina's passing he's become a "lone wolf" among them. He withdrew inwards and spends most of his days when not working directly for the circus alone in his thoughts. I believe Harlequin's teasing may be one the few thing the crew does to snap him out of his lonely haze but it's a short lived solution to a long term problem.
I don't know if Ticket Taker or Jester have encouraged Pierrot to socialize with other monsters who visit the black tent as Pierrot doesn't know how to notice social cues for his life. With Pierrot still being a virgin decades after Columbina's death I wouldn't be surprised if Harlequin tried to "Wingman" Pierrot some monster ladies as a joke in the past. These attempts probably lead to Pierrot avoiding anyone Harlequin sent his way like the plague, because Pierrot yearns for unconditional love not a hook up.
With the rest of the crew being emotionally constipated as hell they wouldn't understand Pierrot's need for a long lasting intimate connection that having a mate provides. He repressed his need for this intimacy until we came his way. We showed him that unconditional affection he has been wishing for all these lonely years. We've become prime mate material and he will go to any length to claim us. The rest of the circus are very unprepared to handle Pierrot's current metal crisis now that he has finally found a new mate and their attempts to chase us away will backfire.
His natural need for monogamy drives his obsessive and possessive tendencies towards us. He longs for you to chose him and only him because his kind needs that emotional stability that comes from forming a bonded pair. He doesn't understand that not all humans are wired the same way he is and may want more than one mate.
I think the scariest part of the poly route will be trying to convince Pierrot when he goes full yandere mode that he can be in a poly relationship and still be loved while sharing your love with someone else.
Neko has stated the Boss Nathaniel has an interesting past that will be explore in future days.
I believe Boss is a retired monster hunter who opened the cafe to make up for the fact monster hunter is not a career that comes with retirement benefits (you're lucky if you live long enough to grow old in that line of work). With Carol being 26 (official Tumblr question) she has mostly likely been his first employee. Carol said she need this job and with Boss only having two employees; he seem to a good enough employer that will pay a thriving wage rather than minimum wage. Knowing Carol for so long, I believe Boss saw her like an honorary daughter and took her disappearance as a personal matter.
Evidence:
1. Mysterious appointment first night of the game.
This cafe closes late enough to give those working the graveyard shift their first cup of coffee to get them going. After business hours for most businesses that would require appointments. Who could he have an appointment with so late a night. I suspect he was having a meeting with a fellow monster hunter who is still hunting, to get any tips if the recent disappearances could be monster related.
2. Interviews same day of job posting.
Who gets job applications that are interview ready the same day the job is posted? He had only finished getting police confirmation that Carol is an active missing person case and he is already replacing her. I don't think any baristas were getting interviews that day but monster hunters were instead. Carol's bag and a used pink ticket were shown on the news and if the police also told him this information he'd know where she was last. He might be hiring Hunters to investigate the circus on his behalf if he isn't in shape to do it himself.
3: Immediate Suspicion of Pierrot.
The moment Pierrot walked in and finished pointing to his order on the menu he pulled MC aside to question them about the large red clown standing in his cafe. He may have overheard MC call the silent clown by name and wanted to see if MC might let something interesting slip since that implies they know him personally. He then leaves MC to tell the 6'5" clown"no flyers" themselves. He may have also seen Pierrot immediately grab MC to whisper in their ear before heading to the back.
4. Surviving "large cat" attack.
Boss's past life experiences granted him reflexes and skills to doge Pierrot's most likely fatal blow with only a "cat scratch". He was quick enough to retreat back into the cafe and didn't seemed startled by the encounter. He brushes off MC's concerns of a scratch that large coming from a cat with ease.
5. Casual interest in the circus
When MC suggests that Boss should also check out the circus, he smiles and suggests he might do just that. This man just got mauled by one of this circus's clowns and he still willing to go. He's got nerves of steel if he didn't take the attack as a warning to stay away.
Going from Ticket Taker's version of Columbina's fate to Jester's bastardized version of the love triangle made my blood boil for Harlequin's sake. I believe he loved both Pierrot and Columbina equally and felt heart broken when Pierrot started obsessing over her and neglecting him. From Jester's story it seems that Columbina wouldn't have been against being with both of them so everyone could be happy. I bet Harlequin’s ideal version of a throuple would have been him and Columbina sharing Pierrot. Unfortunately Pierrot didn't see it that way and didn't want to share Columbina which started the rivalry.
In the end Harlequin was forced to choose between his first and second love and chose to sacrifice his second to save the first along with everyone else. Even though his choice saved everyone else Jester still vilified his role in this love triangle. I believe Harlequin takes this version to heart. Now the closest thing to love he believes he can get from Pierrot is hate. He uses his sex drive as coping mechanism to fill the void of love in his life. Right now the current love triangle dynamic is Harlequin trying to steal MC from Pierrot before MC can steal Pierrot from him.
While Pierrot immediately throws you into the deep end of his "romance" burning the candle at both ends; MC is the one to spark a slow burning romance with Harlequin of their own free will. It's up to Harlequin to choose if he will fan the flame MC started by accepting genuine love or blow it out by rejecting his worthiness of being loved.
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Honestly since Kingdom Hearts treats Naminé pretty independently from Kairi and have basically given the role of Kairi’s shadow/mirror to Xion, I vote that they give her pants or shorts if they redesign her.
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Three years ago, a gateway between Earth and the "Beyond" opened over the city of New York. In one terrible night, New York was destroyed and rebuilt, trapping New Yorkers and extra-dimensional creatures alike in an unassailable island, a world all its own hidden in the mist of its physics-defying waterfalls. New York has been rechristened Hellsalem's Lot, a paranormal melting pot where magic and madness dwell alongside the mundane, where every form of human vermin gathers to exploit otherworldly assets for earthly profit. Now someone is threatening to breach the controlled flow of harmless, average humans and items in and (much more rarely) out of the city and thereby release Hellsalem's Lot's deluge of horrors on the outside world. The mysterious super-agents of "Libra" fight the impossible to prevent the unthinkable.
Outlaw of Green is up!
I’m going to do Chain reaction since that also hasn’t been animated yet. I might do the extras too.
