I wanted to do something to see ghouls interact with each other more so here it is, the Captains trying to figure out where their favorite Honor Student went (≧▽≦)
─ Yesssss, another post not long after the previous one. I'm too sleep-deprived now, any error, mistakes, or inconsistency (you name it) would probably be edited after I have enough sleep. goodnight!!
─ Today's fic: OM! MC still tries to blend in to Darkwick without anyone noticing, but it seems very hard, and no one wants to really point it out directly to her, which makes her more agitated in fear and anxiety. And what's worse than that? Leo
─ Taglist; @gulaaren-123 (please dm me to be added or removed, ty)
─ MASTERLIST [ Mismatch; (1) | (2) | (3) ]
It was Leo.
Unlike most people she'd met at Darkwick, Leo gave her the distinct impression that noticing things wasn't a skill.
It was a hobby. A hobby he enjoyed far too much.
"Interesting?" she repeated carefully.
Leo smiled. Immediately, her level of concern doubled. "You looked startled."
"I almost walked into you."
"You almost did something else too."
Oh no. Her heartbeat immediately sped up.
Not visibly. Years of surviving Lucifer's scrutiny had trained that out of her. Internally, however, every alarm she possessed began activating simultaneously.
Did he notice? No. Impossible.
The spell hadn't even formed. The magic barely manifested. Nobody should have sensed anything, especially not someone from this world.
Right?
Unfortunately, confidence became difficult to maintain when Leo continued staring at her like she'd just become the most interesting thing he'd seen all day.
Which, given this was Leo, wasn't reassuring.
She folded her arms. Mostly because it gave her something to do. "I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Hm." That single syllable somehow communicated complete disbelief.
Wonderful. Absolutely wonderful.
The conversation had existed for less than a minute, and she already wanted to leave. Unfortunately, Leo seemed perfectly content keeping her there, which she doesn't understand. Actually, now that she looked closer—
He seemed unusually cheerful.
This immediately made her suspicious because she didn't know Leo particularly well. What she did know came mostly from observation. And one conclusion had become abundantly clear.
Leo in a good mood was probably bad news for everyone else.
The same way Mammon smiles near expensive objects. Or Belphegor smiling near unsecured plans. Or Solomon smiling in general. Nothing good ever followed.
"...Why are you smiling?"
Leo blinked, then smiled wider. Mistake, that was a mistake. She should not have asked. "I didn't realize that bothered you."
"It concerns me."
Leo snickered, which somehow confirmed every concern she had. "Maybe I learned something interesting recently."
Her stomach tightened immediately. Not because of what he'd said, but because of who had said it.
Over the past week, she'd learned enough about Leo to understand that information wasn't something he merely collected. He enjoyed it. Pulled it apart. Examined it from different angles. Poked at it just to see what happened. The man treated secrets the way some people treated puzzles.
Which would normally be irritating. Right now it was terrifying.
The panic arrived first. Logic followed several seconds later.
Because Leo's stigma existed.
And she knew that.
She knew enough about Dark Wick and the ghouls by now to understand that Leo wasn't simply observant. His stigma let him hear things ordinary people couldn't. Snippets. Fragments. Hidden details. Information people weren't supposed to know. Information like—
Her pulse jumped again. No. Stop.
The panic immediately started losing ground the moment she forced herself to remember.
Every conversation, important one, the dangerous one. All of their conversation, actually. She'd been using concealment spells, Leo shouldn't have heard anything.
Nobody should have. Which meant she was panicking over nothing. Probably. Hopefully.
Leo continued watching her. The silence itself felt deliberate. Like he was waiting.
For what?
A flinch? A mistake? A confession?
The realization settled unpleasantly in her stomach. He was looking for a reaction.
"...Interesting?" she asked carefully.
"Alan came back in a terrible mood yesterday," Leo hummed, a very annoying noise. "Apparently, he'd gone all the way to Frostheim for something. Next thing I know, he's stomping around looking like he wants to punch a wall. I heard Jin was involved somehow."
Another baited hook. Which was exactly why she refused to react.
The mention of Jin had caught her attention. She knew it had. The memory of that argument she'd witnessed while following Lucas and Kaito surfaced immediately.
Jin looked angrier than she'd ever seen him. Tohma is looking equally unwilling to back down. At the time, she'd only caught fragments. Enough to understand they were fighting. Not enough to understand why.
Was that connected?
Her stomach sank. Leo was watching her again, watching far too closely. And suddenly she understood.
Oh. Oh, he was fishing.
The realization hit with enough force that she almost laughed. Not because it was funny, but because it was irritating.
The annoying part? It was working.
Because she genuinely wanted to know what happened between Jin and Tohma. Unfortunately, wanting to know and letting Leo know she wanted to know were two completely different things.
"That sounds unfortunate," she said.
"Hm." That was all he said. Just that single syllable. And somehow it was infuriating. "You know, I couldn't hear much."
His tone seemed to imply that it was bothering him, but the expression on his face didn't match his tone of voice. If anything, he seemed entertained. Which was exactly why she didn't trust it.
"I hate when my stigma cuts out at the interesting parts. And that Himbo was no help. Every time I asked, he got annoyed. Which is rude." For someone supposedly complaining about Alan's mood, Leo looked far too pleased with himself.
She stared at him. "You were literally trying to listen to something that wasn't your business."
"Exactly."
The answer came immediately. Without hesitation. Without shame. Without even a hint of self-awareness. She honestly didn't know why she expected otherwise.
Leo crossed his arms. "I was gathering information."
"That's called eavesdropping."
The problem was that Leo said it with the same tone somebody might use when explaining basic arithmetic. Completely unbothered.
As if the distinction between "gathering information" and "eavesdropping" existed only for people who enjoyed making life unnecessarily complicated.
For a moment, he looked genuinely confused by her objection, then he shrugged. "You know what, I think eavesdropping sounds cooler, actually."
Of course he did.
She should've known arguing with Leo was a waste of energy. The man would probably argue that gravity was optional if it annoyed enough people.
"You know," Leo continued, seemingly abandoning the topic entirely, "I was expecting something way more interesting."
Immediately suspicious, she narrowed her eyes. "About what?"
"You."
Every conversation involving Leo felt like accidentally stepping into a trap you couldn't see. The worst part was that half the time she wasn't even sure he knew where the trap was either.
He just enjoyed throwing things onto the floor and seeing what somebody stepped on.
"What about me?"
Leo hummed. A long, thoughtful sound.
The kind people made when deciding whether or not they should say something. Unfortunately, Leo had never seemed particularly burdened by such decisions.
"You've been weird lately."
Her heart dropped. There it is. The thing she'd been waiting for. The thing she'd been dreading. The thing that apparently every person in Darkwick had collectively decided to notice.
Fortunately, panic had become familiar territory recently. And familiar territory was easier to navigate.
"Everyone keeps saying that."
"See?" Leo pointed at her immediately. "That's weird."
"...What?"
"Normally you'd ask who."
The response came so fast she almost missed it.
Leo looked pleased. Like he'd found an unexpected piece while assembling a puzzle. She felt a flicker of alarm. Small. Sharp. Dangerous.
"You remember stuff like that?"
"NPC, I remember everything."
The nickname somehow sounded less insulting and more matter-of-fact when it came from him. Which honestly wasn't better. But considering Leo's personality, maybe that made sense.
The original MC had spent years helping everyone. Showing up whenever somebody needed something.
Fixing problems.
Running errands.
Supporting people.
Being available.
Being reliable.
Being there. Always there.
The role itself practically encouraged becoming part of the background.
The person everyone relied on. The person nobody really questioned. And she supposed from Leo's perspective—
Someone suddenly developing stronger opinions probably would seem strange. But the realization didn't make her feel better.
Leo leaned slightly against the wall.
Not blocking her path. Not trapping her. Yet somehow making it impossible to leave naturally.
"I mean, usually you'd ask."
"Ask what?"
" 'Who said that?' " His voice shifted slightly as he mimicked the conversation.
" 'When?' " Another gesture.
" 'What exactly did they say?' " Another.
" 'Why do they think that?' " He dropped his hand.
"You skipped all that." The smile returned. "You accepted it really fast."
For one horrifying second she wondered if she'd actually made a mistake. Then she stopped herself.
No.
Because the more she thought about it, the more obvious the pattern became. Leo wasn't presenting evidence. He was collecting reactions. The same thing he'd been doing since the conversation started.
He noticed something. He said it. Then watched.
If somebody reacted, great. If they didn't, he moved on and found something else.
She'd spent enough time around manipulative people to recognize when somebody was deliberately steering a conversation like this one.
Solomon did it. Asmodeus did it. Diavolo occasionally did it while pretending he wasn't.
Leo was doing it now.
The difference was that Leo wasn't trying to guide the conversation toward a specific conclusion.
He was watching. Testing.
Dropping pieces onto a board and seeing which ones made people react.
And suddenly she understood why he made her nervous.
Unlike people such as Romeo or Jin, who approached problems directly, Leo seemed to enjoy circling around them.
Leo tilted his head. "You could probably get replaced and nobody would notice."
She stared at him. "...Excuse me?"
"I'm serious." A little smirk tugged at his mouth, the kind that made her want to throw something at him. "If Sho suddenly closed his food truck because he got bored of it, everybody would notice."
She hesitated for a second. she wasn't entirely sure how to respond. "That may be a little concerning."
"Exactly." Leo pointed at her. "See? You're getting it."
She wasn't getting anything.
"You disappear for a week, people ask where you went."
A shrug.
"You disappear for a month, people get worried."
Another shrug.
"You get replaced by some weird clone?"
He paused.
"Honestly, I think half the school would still ask you for favors."
Her eye twitched, not because the comment was particularly cruel. Because it wasn't, and that was the problem.
Leo had managed to summarize months of the original MC's existence in a few careless sentences, reducing her to the person everyone called when they needed something.
God, she hated that.
Hated how casually everyone seemed to accept it. How normal it was for people to take and take and take, then act surprised whenever MC wasn't immediately available.
And the worst part? Leo wasn't even wrong.
Leo immediately perked up. "Oh, there it is."
"what is?"
Leo leaned back against the wall. "You never used to look annoyed when people said annoying things."
"I absolutely did."
"No."
The answer came immediately. Like he'd already decided she was wrong before she opened her mouth.
"You looked tired." The correction landed so casually she almost missed it. "You know how old phones look right before they die?"
"...What?"
"You had that vibe."
She blinked. "What does that even mean?"
"It means you looked like somebody running on three percent battery." The grin returned. "And now you don't."
She hated that comparison.
"Actually, that's what was bothering me."
"Bothering you?"
"Yeah."
His gaze narrowed slightly. "You actually react now."
She frowned. "I reacted before."
"No." The answer came immediately. "You tolerated things before."
A finger lifted.
"You'd smile."
Another.
"Nod."
Another.
"Fix whatever disaster somebody dumped on you."
Another.
"Then disappear."
"Now you look annoyed, you actually push back" His grin widened slightly. "And honestly? It's way more interesting." He looked far too entertained.
Her stomach tightened. Immediately. Because he wasn't wrong. And because he sounded entirely too pleased about it.
Leo gestured vaguely between them. "The old you would've escaped this conversation ages ago."
That caught her off guard. "What?"
"Smile."
"You would've done the polite thing." A hand gesture.
Another.
"Then leave."
His eyes flicked over her face. "But you're still here."
If Leo had been accusing her of something, she could've denied it. If he'd been suspicious, she could've laughed it off. If he'd been trying to prove something, she could've picked apart his logic.
The words weren't accusatory and that's the problem.
But he wasn't doing any of that.
And every casual observation felt like another finger pressing against a bruise she was desperately trying to hide.
Her shoulders locked. Her pulse thudded unpleasantly against her ribs.
Don't react.
Don't react.
Don't—
"Huh." The sound left him suddenly.
Her pulse immediately spiked. "What?"
Leo blinked, then laughed. "Oh wow."
"What?!!"
"You did it again."
Her stomach dropped. "Did what?"
"That face."
"What face?"
"The one where you look like you're trying really hard not to panic."
"..."
"..."
Leo snorted. "There it is."
Leo pushed away from the wall. Still grinning. "You know..."
She hated him.
His voice turned thoughtful. Or at least Leo's version of thoughtful, which mostly sounded like trouble preparing itself.
"The old you was easier." The statement landed strangely. "The old you would've nodded by now. Way less fun, though."
Her stomach tightened.
"You make me sound boring."
"You were boring." The answer came immediately, without hesitation.
Leo grinned. "You were useful."
Somehow that felt even worse.
"You just showed up, solved problems, and disappeared."
That...
Actually sounded disturbingly accurate.
"You didn't argue."
Another point.
"You didn't roll your eyes."
Another.
"You definitely didn't look at me like you're doing right now."
His grin widened. "There it is."
She hated this conversation. She hated it so much. Mostly because she couldn't tell how much of it was nonsense and how much of it was genuine observation.
With Leo, those two things seemed to overlap far too often. Fortunately, she'd already reached her limit.
Lucas. She needed Lucas. Or Kaito. Either one.
Immediately.
Preferably before Leo decided to continue whatever bizarre social experiment he was currently conducting.
So she took a step backward. "I have somewhere to be."
"Frostheim?"
The answer came too fast. Her eyes narrowed immediately.
Leo looked delighted. "Wow."
"..."
"That was a really good reaction."
Damn it. Absolute damn it.
He laughed again, like the conversation had confirmed something entertaining.
"You're impossible."
"I get that a lot." Leo looked pleased by the response.
Of course, he did. At this point, she was beginning to suspect he treated irritation as a form of positive reinforcement. It's only strengthened her desire to leave.
Preferably before he found another conversational landmine to throw in her direction.
A hand caught her wrist.
The movement happened so suddenly that her body reacted before her mind did. Her muscles tensed. Magic threatened to surge instinctively beneath her skin. For one dangerous second she nearly twisted free on reflex.
"Hey—!!" The word died halfway out.
Not because Leo was holding her particularly hard. Because he wasn't smiling anymore. Even the lazy, careless attitude that seemed permanently attached to him had disappeared.
Leo had leaned slightly closer, his fingers remained loosely wrapped around her wrist. "You know, if somebody ever does replace you..."
Her entire body went cold. For a second she genuinely forgot how to breathe.
"...tell them not to."
Silence.
Her pulse slammed against her ribs. The hallway seemed to disappear. Every sound. Every voice. Every movement.
Gone.
"What?"
She hated him.
Hated how often he stumbled dangerously close to things he shouldn't know. Hated how easily he keep holding on details that everyone else probably try hard to missed. Hated how impossible it was to tell whether he was joking.
Because he couldn't know.
He couldn't. Nobody knew. Nobody was supposed to know.
Then why did it feel like he was staring directly at the secret lodged inside her chest?
"If somebody steals your spot, puts on your face, starts pretending to be you..." A small frown appeared, like the hypothetical itself offended him. "...they should give it back."
Her heart nearly stopped. "What the hell are you talking about?"
The question came out sharper than intended. Leo ignored it. Or maybe he simply didn't care. Both were equally possible.
His gaze remained fixed on her face. Then, finally, the corner of his mouth lifted. "Because if I find out somebody actually replaced you..." His voice softened. "...I'd find out what happened to you."
A pause.
The smile on his face didn't reach his eyes. "And if they're hiding you, I'd drag you back."
Another pause.
"If they're pretending to be you, I'd make them slip." His fingers tightened ever so slightly around her wrist. "And if they still refused to leave..."
The words came out almost thoughtful. "...I'd stop being nice about it."
Silence stretched between them.
"Actually, scratch that." His grin widened. "I don't think I'd be nice about it at all."
Something cold crawled down her spine.
The words should've sounded ridiculous. They should've sounded like another joke. Instead they sounded horrifyingly sincere.
Not because he knew anything.
Because he sounded like he'd already decided what he'd do if it happened.
The thought terrified her. Because Leo wasn't looking at her like somebody making a joke. He was looking at her like somebody imagining a scenario. And deciding he didn't like it.
Then suddenly he blinked.
The moment shattered. Just like that. The strange intensity vanished, his grin widened. And Leo was Leo again.
"Oh." He laughed. "There it is."
"What is wrong with you?!" The outburst escaped before she could stop it. Several students glanced in their direction.
Leo looked delighted. "See? This never get boring with that face."
She yanked her wrist free immediately. "You're insane."
"I've heard that one before too." Leo shrugged, completely unconcerned.
Like the last thirty seconds hadn't happened. Like he hadn't just reached into her worst fear and squeezed. She couldn't tell whether he'd meant any of it. Couldn't tell whether he was joking. Couldn't tell whether he was guessing.
The uncertainty followed her even as she turned away. Fast.
Because for the first time since arriving in Darkwick, she wanted only one thing. Find Lucas. Find Kaito.
Immediately.
⊹ ࣪ ﹏𓊝﹏𓂁﹏⊹ ࣪ ˖ .fin
Before she had time to think about the fact that Leo had just described her exact nightmare without having any possible way of knowing it existed.
Early warning: Tbh, I'm still not finished with all the episodes up to the latest update, so I actually have little information to go on while making this (please forgive me if there's any OOC; have mercy).
Word count: 3.034
Power and Control in The Freak Circus + Columbina Theorization
This post is personal analysis of the overarching theme of power/control within the story of TFC (sorry, y'all, I had Columbina brainworms and needed to get this typed out since a lot of it has to do with my queen... I apologize if it's a little all over the place), as well as some slight theorization regarding the history of the characters and Columbina's death.
TW: Discussion and mention of SA, human trafficking, discrimination, objectification, dehumanization, and femicide. Please do not read if these topics upset you!
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So, we see from the very first day of the game that the monsters had their autonomy stripped from them by humans, specifically the human man (whom I will refer to as "ring leader"), who takes advantage of their poor circumstances and offers them a place at his circus in exchange for food. The ring leader knew he had some innate power over the monsters, and he used this power to potentially coerce the monsters into working for him, resulting in the control he had over the cast.
At the circus, the monsters are treated incredibly poorly. They were kept in cages, and their food rations – which were the only thing the ring leader had promised them when he asked them to join his circus – were made smaller and smaller, resulting in them growing too weak to fight back. They were promised they would receive something as payment for their service (i.e., food), and then that was taken away from them (in real life, human trafficking is defined by the use of force, fraud, and/or coercion; in this case, what the ring leader did to the monsters would be fraud, and it would eventually become force).
Since we now have three different versions of Columbina's death, as of December 2025, I will be analyzing each scene one by one to piece together what we already have regarding lore, starting with Harlequin's puppet show.
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Harlequin's Tent:
We are shown by Harlequin during his performance on Day 1 that the monsters were not able to flee from or leave the circus because they were all physically too weak and malnourished to do so (they were trapped, and because of that, they no longer had control over their own lives/wellbeing/fate). However, they eventually regain their freedom by killing, and most likely eating, the ring leader who had been responsible for their imprisonment and unjust treatment.
However, to achieve this in the first place, they had to violate the autonomy of one of their own – Columbina, who I must note was also the only woman-identifying member of the group (Brazil, the country in which the characters originate, also has high femicide rates). Columbina additionally had the identity of "angel" thrust upon her by Harlequin in his story, presumably against her will, just to make her death seem like a sacrifice rather than what it truly was – betrayal and murder.
Harlequin also frames Columbina in this scene as a willing sacrifice, wanting them to eat her so they could become human and build a home for all of them. However, the text right after this narration is Columbina pleading with them as she says, "Please, no!", followed by the text below:
Jester: "We have no choice." – The purple text seems to be almost dejected, like this wasn't something any of them wanted to do, but instead just something they had to do. The way it's worded almost takes away any accountability from them and the actions they had to take as a result of their circumstances.
Harlequin: "She is the weakest of us." – The green text highlights the clear power difference/imbalance between Columbina and the rest of the monsters, her physical weakness making her a prime target for what they have to do because she will not be able to fight back.
Ticket Taker: "You will give us the strength to go on." – The white text comes off, to me at least, as trying to comfort Columbina so she knows her death will not be in vain, and that she will be helping them all with her "sacrifice."
Columbina: "PLEASE HELP ME, I DON'T WANT TO DIE." – The pink text highlights that she did not want to die, and that her death was not something she wanted to happen, nor something she consented to. She was killed, and we do not know who she was calling out to in her final moments for aid.
I find it interesting, too, how in Harlequin's play, only he, Jester, and the Ticket Taker comment on the murder and consumption of Columbina, especially since these are the three characters who have been confirmed not to be virgins by the creator. As someone who works with survivors of SA/stalking/human trafficking and as a survivor myself, I just find this particular scene (and Columbina's story as a whole) so chilling because, statistically, most harm-doers are people you know/are close with. Sometimes, they're even people who experienced violence themselves and no longer want to feel powerless, going so far as to violate the autonomy of another.
Now, in no way am I saying that this scene is directly related to or implying SA, but I just found it interesting to take note of, especially considering that Pierrot and The Doctor have no lines of dialogue during this entire scene. They were simply bystanders from Harlequin's perspective, despite them being the two largest members of the circus, and Pierrot being the strongest in terms of physical strength.
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Ticket Taker's Tent:
TT's tent is incredibly interesting as its main theme is to "not trust what you see", and yet, we see a very different tale compared to both Harlequin's and Jester's retellings presented in the mirror at the end of the hall, which TT states is "his favorite." Placing your trust in someone inherently gives them a lot of power over a situation, especially since, if they break your trust, you're in a worse situation than they are. TT puts the MC in a position where they're inherently at a disadvantage (they're in his tent at the circus he helps run), and to make it through his tent, they have to trust what he tells them during their interactions.
Now, in TT's tent, we get to see mirrors for each of the different circus members, with their reflections either interacting directly with or speaking directly to the MC. At the pink mirror, we see who we can presume is Columbina, given the pink eyes and the subsequent scene if you choose to stay and listen to her tale.
In this retelling, we learn that Columbina didn't look as "monstrous" as her companions, and because of this, she was frequently leered at by the humans who found her to be pretty despite "being one of them (a monster)." However, Pierrot was always around to protect her, and presumably the other circus members, due to his large size and immense strength. Because Pierrot acted as a barrier – as something that prevented them from getting what they wanted (i.e., "a problem") – the humans somehow managed to harm him, leaving him physically unable to protect the others (i.e., taking away his power).
We then cut to a scene of everyone trapped inside different cages – everyone except Columbina, who is sitting on the ground in the middle; we can assume this was because the humans did not view her as any kind of a threat, so they felt no need to restrict her the same way they felt the need to do so with the others. She says she is scared of them (the humans) trying to touch her again, and she asks Harlequin if he will "save" her, which he seems confused by.
After this, we overhear the humans talking about their plans; they'll leave the others to starve, and they'll find a use for Columbina. The humans were planning on isolating her completely from her support system (the other monsters), which is a tactic used by abusers against their victims, so the victim feels as though they can only rely on the person abusing them.
This, to me, can also be representative of how some individuals in real life tend to fetishize other groups of people, which is another way of dehumanizing them (the humans don't respect the monsters, but they find themselves viewing Columbina as an exception to their biases/prejudices, potentially knowing that she is the weakest and targeting her specifically to "tame"). I feel like they were planning on trafficking Columbina, as well, and we can presume what kind of trafficking they were planning on doing based on how they talked about her and the fact that Columbina mentioned they had tried to touch her before ("she'll be useful for something"). We also know Brazil has experienced a rise in human trafficking cases, particularly regarding women [1].
Jester then seems to be surprised that Pierrot is alive and hasn't succumbed to his injuries right before Harlequin breaks out of his cage, and he mentions the fact that Columbina is the weakest among them once more. However, instead of crying or begging for her life, she simply tells Harlequin, "Thank you." Pierrot directly talks in this scene, as well, saying "No... no... no...". Harlequin then laughs with tears in his eyes before telling everyone to eat after biting into Columbina's neck.
Jester: "Sorry, [Harlequin]." – Why was Jester apologizing to Harlequin? Was what happened something Jester had mentioned at some point? Was Columbina's death not done in a spur-of-the-moment situation, but rather, planned, or at least talked about beforehand?
Columbina: "No, he wasn't..." – Columbina states that Jester wasn't sorry, but what wasn't he sorry for, exactly? This line brings up a lot of questions.
Now, the story told by the Columbina in TT's Tent shows Harlequin's actions, while most likely not intentionally by him, as merciful – that by killing and eating her, she would not have to endure further abuse by the humans. After this, Columbina thanks the MC for listening, and you leave the tent after not having blinked or moved for quite some time.
This story is completely different from what we have seen from the other characters, and since it's confirmed that everyone remembers what happened differently to cope with her death, I find it so interesting how TT's depiction of the event shows Columbina's death as almost peaceful. I'm a huge sucker for the theory that TT had a paternal relationship with Columbina (based on the screenshot of him kissing her forehead while she was dying/being eaten, his symbol being a teardrop, him being in charge of the pink tent, and the fact he is the oldest among the group; if you're interested in this theory, check out @hexserath's blog under the tag #grievingfathertheory), so it would make sense for his character to view her death not as violent, but as something better for her than the potential abuse she would have had to endure while the rest of them were left to rot.
However, while the Columbina in the mirror could have potentially been her spirit talking with the MC, and while I do enjoy this concept, I do not think that is the case. The reason I say this is because of the easter egg and other flashes of dialogue from her character. In the easter egg, if the MC chooses to name themselves "Columbina", it shows scenes of her violent death, with her text reading, "We are not the same, you and I. I didn't want to, but our fate was cursed. I should have listened to him. It was my fault." (Keep this last line in mind for later.)
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Pink Tent Intermission:
Before we get to Jester's tent, I wanted to talk about the "fools" of the circus. So, we know that the characters cared deeply for Columbina, with all of them being depicted crying in one scene or another over her death. However, I do find it strange that pink – the color that represents Columbina herself (even if we see two different shades of pink for her used throughout the game; one that is more saturated, and one that is more pastel, which we see in Jester's performance) – was chosen for the purpose it was eventually given at the circus. We know that pink tickets are given to people who will either be used as dolls for performances or advertising (i.e., Carol, the unpleasant woman from the café, other "fools") or as a source of food for the circus members (as shown in the bad end on Day 1 regarding the MC's fate).
While them wanting to have Columbina and her memory remain a crucial part of the circus makes sense, especially since her death resulted in them being able to become human and create the circus as their new home, I do find it almost cruel that the pink tickets are given to people who are "sacrifces" that are used for their bodies in one way or another (either as meat for the circus members to consume, or as mindless dolls to be used in the different performances or tents).
Given that we can assume that Columbina was frequently a target of unwanted advances, both from humans and her own kin alike (i.e., Harlequin), and was a victim of abuse just as much as the rest of the cast was, it feels almost... distateful to me that her violent death is memorialized in such a way by the circus. Though, perhaps the monsters simply grieve and mourn differently than humans, which wouldn't be a stretch considering Jester's comments about how love is perceived in the valley where they once lived.
It's also strange to me that those dressed in pink are called "fools", which Harlequin talks about in Day 2, especially considering that fool is something demeaning you would call another person who you would consider to be unintelligent or naive. I find Columbina saying "it was my fault" in her scene in the naming easter egg to be something to note, and it makes me wonder if Columbina was the one who first made contact with the humans and, because of her naivety, was coerced or tricked into making a deal with the ring leader that resulted in the poor conditions she and her companions then were forced to endure. This would make sense why those who wear pink at the circus are deemed "fools" to mirror Columbina's own naive actions.
Harlequin mentions in his play that the man who asked the monsters to work for him would give them food in return for their services. Perhaps the monsters were experiencing famine in the valley, and Columbina believed the human man would be able to help them. This is just a theory for right now, though, at least until more information is revealed throughout the story.
To tie this little rant back to power and control, I desperately want to know how the circus chooses those who receive pink tickets. Since we know Carol is currently at the circus as a fool, it makes me wonder how she ended up there – was she kidnapped, or was she invited to the circus much like the MC was? We know from the brief interaction between the MC and Boss that Carol has a turbulent home life, so did this make her a target for the circus? In real life, most predators tend to find victims who don't have many people to rely on or other traits that make someone an "easy" target, so it's not too far of a stretch. This also makes me wonder why the MC was given a pink ticket, too. Did TT know the MC lives alone, or was there something inherently apparent about the MC that made them seem like a prime target (i.e., naivety)? Here's an interesting post/theory regarding the fools, particularly in reference to TT!
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Jester's Tent:
In Jester's play on Day 2, we get to see the events Harlequin depicted in his puppet show as something almost completely different. For one, Jester uses the human fools as actors, resulting in the death of the one woman actor, who was assigned to play Columbina, at the hands of the actor meant to represent Harlequin. So far, we have seen Jester and Pierrot directly killing people in their performances, which I think is another important thing to note for the future; I don't have much more to say about this at the current moment, but I do find it quite interesting that this is the case (Harlequin uses puppets, The Doctor doesn't kill anyone on-screen during his tent sequence, and Ticket Taker has no one else in the tent while we're there).
Jester's story focuses on Columbina and Pierrot's relationship ("forbidden love") rather than their prior interactions with humans/the history of the circus. In his play, he highlights how Columbina was "delicate, with no claws, almost no fangs," and how Pierrot would be incredibly gentle, going so far as to hide his claws (the monstrous aspects of himself), so as not to accidentally harm her. However, Harlequin, who is described as The Poison by Jester, shows great envy towards the two and their relationship. He seems to wish that Columbina would look at him in the same way she does Pierrot, and that he would become angry whenever she "slipped away from his attempts at seduction."
Jester notes that Columbina's heart "beat differently" for Harlequin (which could have been from fear of him, since she states that "something inside of you scares me" when talking with him). However, in this moment of rejection and heartbreak, Harlequin kills Columbina, which Pierrot ends up stumbling upon. Her final words are "Please... Please don't [Harlequin]." This is followed by the following lines of dialogue:
Ticket Taker: "Why... did you do that?" – Blue text (not white, which is interesting given that TT seems to switch between white and blue text, with the white text being used for him on Day 1 during Harlequin's performance). This is the same dialogue we have seen in previous moments from him that expresses a feeling of shock because of Harlequin's actions.
Harlequin: "Someone had to do it, obviously." – Green text; new dialogue that was not shown in any other scene regarding this moment. Harlequin states that someone had to do it (murder), and that Columbina's death was an obvious choice; he comes off as almost callous and cruel.
Pierrot: "No... no... no..." – Yellow text with the same dialogue we have seen in a similar scene from TT's Tent. Once again shows how much emotional turmoil this caused Pierrot, especially since he didn't have the power to protect Columbina in this moment.
Jester finishes his performance by stating, "Because in the valley of monsters, love is just another way to devour each other." This is something that could certainly be a cultural difference between their species and humans, though it could have just been the culture of monsters living within the valley, since they had been forgotten and left to starve, making food and hunger something important to them. After this, we get the text, "We have no choice.", in purple, with Jester once again reiterating they didn't have a choice regarding the actions they took toward Columbina. Were they forced to do it, or did they simply believe there were no other routes they could take, given their physical weakness/loss of power?
Now, Jester's story is interesting because Harlequin's murder of Columbina is painted to be done because of jealousy, not out of mercy (as depicted by TT) or as something that needed to be done so they could be free (as depicted by Harlequin, who also called Columbina an "angel" for her sacrifice). I really enjoy Harlequin's character, but it's clear that he is depicted in Jester's retelling of the events as being selfish, greedy, and envious, resulting in him killing someone he cared for in a fit of anger (or to purposefully harm Pierrot, similar to the idea "if I can't have her, no one can"). This particular retelling is a bit unnerving compared to the others, showing Harlequin's seeming entitlement to Columbina, her love, and her affections, despite her not wanting to have that kind of relationship with him. This is very frequently a reason behind a lot of harm done to women by men who feel wronged or slighted by the woman not reciprocating the feelings they believe they deserve.
After his show, Jester's final words to the MC are that, if they try to run, they will be found; he wants the MC to know how powerless they are in the current situation, and he seems to have no problem making them aware of it. We know that Jester is the only member of the cast who fully hates humans, and that he is the appointed leader of the circus (we do not know the full details behind why at this point in time, but being a leader is a very high position of power).
The fact that he can control another person's mind, turning them into "dolls", is quite concerning. Calling someone a "doll" is clear objectification and dehumanization in this case, and since Jester's ability leaves people unable to move or act of their own free will, it takes away from them all of their autonomy and choice. Pierrot even tells the MC to not speak or move after putting a mask over their face and telling them to simply act like a doll, which indicates to me that this is how humans under Jester's influence act when not being given direct orders (which, later in the mentioned scene with Pierrot, results in Harlequin coming in and immediately taking advantage of the situation, saying "I must be really lucky today!" when he sees the MC chained to the bed).
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...So, yeah. This was my big, long braindump because I'm very interested in the truth behind my beloved Columbina's death (and I'm very passionate about discussing the inappropriate amount of violence that women face across the world). Let me know your thoughts on my nonsense haha! I tried to compile/analyze all of the retellings of this particular event from the characters so far. It's really interesting to me that we haven't seen what happened from Pierrot's or The Doctor's POVs yet, and I'm very curious to see if we will.
On that note... surprise!!!
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Bonus Pierrot Analysis:
Pierrot calls the player "my sweet angel" (the same mioniker/theme that is tied to Columbina) at the end of Day 1 if you eat the circus food or his cake, likening you to his deceased lover (who we know he felt drawn to because she was kind and gentle with him, as told by Jester). He then says, while you're passed out, "Don't make me devour you, too."
The next day, when the MC wakes up, Pierrot tells them that there were other eyes "trying to devour" them (that specific word is used again by Pierrot, and it's the same word used by Jester during his performance), and that you "looked like prey" while passed out – highlighting his desire to keep you safe and under his watch, but also noting that he does view you, to some degree, as prey/helpless/weak (he seems to be aware that he is a predator/much stronger than you). He then mentions that you were breathing slowly and you weren't moving, saying, "it was like... like you were going to disappear forever, like..." (like Columbina?) before quickly stating he would never hurt you "like that" (murder? assault?).
We know that Pierrot's main color is yellow (his eyes, his text), and yet, he's forced to wear red. Red symbolizes love and passion, but it is also a color closely associated with anger. We also know that Pierrot was assigned this color by Jester as a punishment (red also being the color used for the humans who harmed the cast). Now, this brings up the question – did Pierrot hurt Columbina in some way, or was he more involved in her death than he remembers? Sometimes people black out in moments of intense anger, so could that be a potential reason? In the Commedia dell'arte, the character Columbina cheats on her husband Pierrot with Harlequin, so do the characters' inspirations/historical origins play a major role in TFC?
For right now, though, there are not enough clues pointing to Pierrot potentially being the one who killed Columbina when compared to Harlequin, who is depicted in all the stories as being the one behind her death. All we have is Pierrot mentioning not wanting to devour the MC "too", but this could simply be because he was fed part of Columbina by the other members of the circus to get his strength up after being attacked/injured. Though, in Jester's play, Pierrot says, "I'll find a way to be together forever..." before it cuts to a shot of an open mouth with sharp teeth moving towards the camera after Columbina is killed, implying that Pierrot ate her remains willingly so the two could be together even after her death.
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...Man, I really do love lore analysis. If anyone is interested, I could do an analysis of the mirrors in the Ticket Taker's tent (because his tent was so, so cool).
On May 26, 2026 — happy birthday to our Harlequin!!! Baby! All of us, both inside and outside the screen, wish you happiness and joy, now and forever!!!
(I had originally envisioned a birthday illustration for H — a night raid, secretly leaving gifts, or surprising him with a sudden visit. But after much thought, I decided instead to let this child — who always chooses to carry everything alone — be gently led by family to celebrate his very first birthday.)
I thought of including the staff members + MC too but maybe I'll leave them for another separate post if I feel like it... for now please take a look at the Mortkranken+ Dionysia seiyuus!!
this part took me about +5 hours of extensive research that unfortunately came out empty in most cases, but it was also the one I enjoyed the most because I can finally introduce you guys to my beloved Koseki 💜 so I hope you enjoy this!
Mortkranken
Yuri (VA: Kogure Koseki): once you listen to his music you won't need me to make it clear that He.Can.Sing.
I'm a huge fan of his voice and how sneaky he can be at times with it. I could literally talk about his singing all day but for your sakes I won't (you're welcome).
also please Please if you haven't already go listen to his ex band's "DarkestoRy" music!!
Jiro (VA: Hideyuki Kobayashi): this seiyuu hasn't participated in any musical projects yet! though for some reason I could've sworn I saw his name somewhere...
Dionysia
Jo (VA: Yanagi Kohei): unfortunately no music from him either (yet) 😞 but he has voiced a character in Project Sekai so, who knows, maybe that'll change soon...👀 AND FUN FACT DID YOU KNOW HE VOICES MY BELOVED NAHOBINO IN SMTV? PLEASE PLAY SMTV!!!
Fem Jo (VA: MAKIKO): oh god this woman SINGS, and you'll never believe what her voice is capable of! like genuinely nothing could've prepared me for this
Mio (VA: Kaito Takeda): another seiyuu who hasn't participated in any musical projects as a singer yet
Elias (VA: Hiroo Sasaki): no music from him either buuuuut iirc Ishiguro mentioned that they used to work together at a karaoke some years ago so I wonder if maybe he ever sang at his old workplace to kill time or smth 😂
Shion (VA: Tachibana Tatsumaru): After a Deep Deep Deep search I can confirm that he does sing!!! (also thanks to me making this compilation I'm just finding out that gunjou no fanfare has character songs 😂 and now I feel nostalgic)
Notes: sorry not sorry for the long koseki playlist, I hope you enjoyed it nonetheless!
we all know this game has a lot of less known/raising talents which was something I always kept in mind while making this compilation, so I guess it was to be expected that I wouldn't find anything for most of them. even so, it was really fun to make and now I'm looking forward to hear them sing one day!
This is an interpretation I have of Shion. So to be taken with a grain of salt, because I am not an expert in human behavior. Also take into account, my explanations go in all directions haha.
─ ⊹ ⊱꒰☆꒱⊰ ⊹ ─
Ok, so in Shion’s general description, he is described as a character who « inspires » fear and who is rather proud of it. -Or more precisely who does not care too much about the look of others on his actions.
However, he gives me the impression of a character who has lived through loneliness and isolation - and I’m not talking about the punishment by Dw - and that in fact now he is aware of it and is afraid of it.
I may be wrong, but all this infantilization around him, in my eyes, results from the fact that he has a need to be surrounded but does not know how to express it. As a result, he will pretend to hate something, because behind if he admits to love, there is a risk of loss. And the loss would be more than a simple betrayal because it is something that directly impacts his emotions and that he does not have free will on it.
Just as he explains that he considers Haru as a trade for - I imagine - having left dio, but behind during his interaction with Haru - in the campus stories - he behaves rather correctly with him. Because despite everything he says, he remains fundamentally attached to Haru, as a member of the family he created for himself.
He can therefore say something, but feels the opposite effect.
If we take his relationship with Haru as an example, it is quite obvious that Shion did not mourn him. As much in the campus story as in the main story. He talks about Haru as his nemesis, but basically, he seeks to get the latter’s attention. Or at least that’s the effect I feel. So he tells himself that if Haru is no longer in his life, it is necessarily betrayal. But he can’t get over the fact that he was abandoned.
This leaves us with an obvious: if he is so inclined to promote constant loyalty and he can’t make a cross on the passive when it comes to social ties, he must have lived one or more elements that are related to abandonment.
Now as we can see, Shion seems to have « affinities » with a certain type of people. Haru, obviously. Mio, and in the descriptive sheet of his character, MC.
Why MC? Personally I don’t think he sees her as a replacement for Haru, or another person - although it seems to me that something similar is mentioned - but I think MC fit perfectly with the type of person he initially likes.
Haru and Mio are both hard workers, empathetic, easy to approach, and very attentive. Who else is like that? Yes, MC.
And I think that if he saw her qualities in her, he immediately wanted her to join this circle he calls family.
Regarding his obsession with family ties, it’s the same. First like every non-human ghoul (Ed, Towa, Lyca..) Shion seems to have a very specific vision of affection. The or for example Towa is obsessed with the idea of a love that seems romantic to me, Ed abhors love... Shion seems to think that love happens primarily through a bond. A bond that would not be romantic, but a family bond. Because the family is always supposed to be there. Your family is supposed to support you and be present in good and bad times.
And if he may not have known this from birth, he therefore decided to create his own circle, people who would love him and who would support him in all circumstances.
His family.
But despite that, when I imagine Shion, I mainly imagine a character who is alone, and who dreams of being accepted. I wouldn’t really know how to explain it to myself because in TKDB it’s the first one that makes me feel that way, but I find that it really gives off this aspect of « I want to be loved » even if it shows nothing for.
I imagine him watching his show which surely showed him what family love was, and saying to himself "I want that, me too.”
Just as I find that there is a certain candor in him. His delirium with his obsession to do activities in the snow (affinity sentences), his innocuous questions to Mio to learn to understand things better... even his interactions with Elias. All this screams that he’s not just a horrible guy. He is a character who is really interesting to understand in his way of interpreting affect.
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In short, it was a lot of yapping for not much but I needed to express that haha.
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