The Freak Circus...
Being someone who is super pro-humanity and loves humans, while I enjoyed TFC and think the fandom is full of amazing artists, I will say that it does, at times, feel like pulling teeth trying to find something I enjoy completely. Likely as a result of the nature of the game but I’m mainly talking about the fact that a lot of times, it’s often shown as ‘oh all humans are bad except MC/Y/N’ and I’m like…you’re just fundamentally incorrect, oh my goodness.
This is gonna be me rambling mostly and this is very subjective, not the fault of anyone, just my opinions. That being said, the whole premise of ‘Pierrot became obsessed with you because you’re the first human that’s ever been kind to him’....I’ve NEVER been able to get behind that because doing something for the sake of it (including being kind) is a very human thing. I cannot be convinced that MC is the first person EVER to genuinely be kind to Pierrot, this guy’s been alive for centuries, there’s no fucking way. Since it’s pretty obvious that none of the circus folk view the MC as a person (including Pierrot), I’ve always just thought that every so often, a human will be nice to him and he’ll become obsessed with them before getting bored or having the illusion broken when that human inevitably shows the fact that they are a complex, multifaceted person, and they end up dead. Also, I know we’re supposed to not like the fact the townsfolk are ‘mean’ to the circus or whatever but like…they’re not wrong? Like, the guy at the start of the game who we saved Pierrot from was angry and yelling, accusing the circus for being the reason that people have been going missing. And yeah, I agree that his reaction was unwarranted but he’s CORRECT! They are the reason that people are going missing, like W intuition.
This leads into another thing I’ve been thinking about. MC may genuinely be dumb as bricks.
Now, if you’re thinking that ‘Are you not just calling the players dumb?’, no! I am not! Because, while TFC is for the most part a self-inserting experience, MC does have some of their own characterization based on their inner monologue and the choices you are given to make while playing. In the game, it has been acknowledged that to most of the townsfolk, the circus is very creepy and uncanny, which led me to believe that a lot of people just got a big dose of ‘uncanny valley’ from them and could like instinctively, subconsciously be like: that’s not a human. There’s also the mask dilemma because, unless the various expressions the characters do are only for the player’s understanding or something, it’s pretty obvious that they’re not wearing masks (besides Doctor). We see Pierrot make a sad face, an annoyed face, have a wound from the guy hitting him, clean blood off him, see him blush and his face get smushed by his hands— all on the FIRST day we meet him (some of these are choice dependent).
If it was one or two things, that’s whatever, right? But EVERYTHING? Combined with the other stuff? Yeah, why the fuck is MC not more suspicious right off the bat? They literally break into your house and let themselves in, which MC doesn’t even question? Like, not even a “why tf are you in my apartment?”???
Then, there’s the main attraction of this game, the hot circusy monster men! Who are also black flags! I’m not gonna sit here to bitch and moan that they are problematic because it’s a HORROR ROMANCE YANDERE VISUAL NOVEL, I would be dumber than MC if I did that.
It’s very amusing to see how the circus sees humans as like simple-minded, malicious creatures when, at this point, they’re definitely worse than the guy who originally captured them. That’s not relevant though, it’s actually quite normal for humanoid monsters in stories to think like that since this trope is a staple of the ‘human bad grr’ genre.
You know what’s even more amusing? Watching real people GENUINELY argue that the circus is completely in the right for um— *checks notes— drugging, abducting, brainwashing, enslaving and killing innocent people. This is no longer about ‘getting revenge’, they’re doing it for the love of the game. I’m pretty sure the reason they even need to kidnap more people constantly is because the brainwashed humans keep withering away and dying. Listen, I doubt they’re feeding the fools, I don’t think they get breaks with takeout. And forget food, water is another beast entirely. The humans likely just die of starvation and dehydration, or get killed during the shows or whatever other reason.
I’m always more intrigued by following the TFC story from an outside perspective, love fics where the protagonist and MC are two different characters, and unlike MC, the protagonist is NOT charmed by the circus troupe and does not like them, lol. Keeps things more interesting, in my opinion.
I’d love to discuss this aspect of the game more with people but I can never seem to find sides that don’t sway to opposite extremes. I’ve seen few people outside of two boxes of “all in on silly romantic fluff or hardcore smut and does 0 analysis” (nothing wrong with that) or people who just hate the game for shallow reasons.
I don’t hate the game, I like it! But I don’t wanna talk about the romance part because it isn’t interesting to me without the horror aspect.
Anyway, I have a headache but a lot more to say, so I’m just gonna leave this here for now. Let me know what you think!
