Chapter Text
The Freak Circus,a lovely visual novel with even lovelier characters. It was incomplete but you were very eager to wait for its full release,to play the whole thing and experience the story in its entirety!
To be specific,the lore regarding Columbina was what intrigued you the most. Her tragic ending,warped through the perspectives of each grief-stricken member,gave them the strength to fight back,to pave their path to freedom,free from the shackles that humans had placed on them. You wanted to know so much more! Their thoughts,their feelings,a deeper insight to each individual character and their relationships with one another,you wished to know everything.
You have to admit,when you first saw Columbina in the game,you couldn't help but gush over her design. Sure,only her silhouette was shown but her stance was so graceful,it exuded such beauty and the fanart just reinforced that thought.
Of course,you adored the other characters too,the protagonist's boss who seems to be hiding a secret and yet is rather caring,allowing them to end shift earlier keep them safe after their fellow coworker,Carol's disappearance. Barely anything was revealed about her but you couldn't help but feel bad for her,having been kidnapped and turned into a brainless fool is a pitiful fate. You hope justice for her will be possible in the full game.
Pierrot,the character who got you into the game in the first place. His affection runs deep for the protagonist,willing to risk almost everything as he worships their entire being in difficult restraint,afraid that one wrong move would scare them off. That complete,untouchable love he holds for the protagonist is something you yearn for. If you were the protagonist,you'd for sure smother him with so much love he would be drowning in it,and to give him that same affection that the protagonist receives from him.
Harlequin the one with insatiable desire,his greed knows no bounds,tempted to take all that Pierrot holds dear. Despite the way his voice drips in lazy playfullness,tongue heavy with hunger,the protagonist manages to catch him off guard,grounding him with soft words and gentle touches. You wish to know more,to have someone coax him out of the shell he suffocates himself with,to have him voice his true thoughts and words to someone he trusts.
Ticket Taker,calm and collected,the jerk who tries to lead (or leads,depending on your choices) the protagonist into their demise,snatching them up as dinner. His liking for obedience is something fun you like to mess around with,making the protagonist obey him one time and defy him the next. You only really have the guts to do that behind a screen though,you'd probably give in the second he starts to stare a bit too deep into you. Ha! Good thing he's not real.
Jester,the leader,his hatred and intolerance for humans was the strongest. Not even the protagonist was an exception to this intolerance,in fact,they had to have grown into the biggest nuisance for him. A threat to the safety of the circus,the members,the secrets. The whole idea and image of Jester falling for a human,the struggle for the acceptance and the constant denial of it is definitely a thought worthy to entertain. Oh,but the unsettling feeling that laid dormant in your core when you first saw him was something you strangely enjoyed,an odd comfort but it was welcomed nonetheless.
And last but not least,the Doctor. He doesn't tend to roam around a lot and instead seems to focus on his experiments. He held a fixation for the protagonist,itching to launch scientific investigations with them as his main subject. However he stops himself once he sees the red ticket,Pierrot's claim over them,marking them as his. This scene seemed to create an emphasis on Pierrot's raw strength,the Doctor was the tallest out of all of them and yet didn'twish to take his chances at the risk of facing Pierrot's wrath. Truthfully,you felt as if you could understand his need to research and learn,if monster's were real you'd definitely want to know everything you could too! You were a force bursting to learn anything that peaked your interest to an all time high.
Overall,you were excited to see them properly fleshed out once development was complete.
Now,you lay against the headboard of your bed,laptop in front of you with the blue light hitting your face,you turn your gaze slightly to look at the time. Oh it's 4am... You soon decide,given the time,that it was time to sleep. Luckily,you had a free day so you could laze around for a bit before you'd be thrusted back into the horrific life of academics and work. You put your laptop away before snuggling into the warmth of your pillows and sheets,ready to sleep. You close your eyes,sighing,relieved to finally let the burn of your eyes cool down after the excessive use of your phone and laptop.
You allow your thoughts to consume you again,flowing in like a stream.
To be honest,whenever it came to visual novels,your mind couldn't help but stray far from the originial story,creating multiple branches of universes,wondering how exactly and how drastic the characters would change under the different sorts of circumstances.
What if the protagonist was seen to have taken a child that was like the circus members-a supposed 'monster' under their care? Would they be seen in a different perspective? Would nothing change at all?
What if the roles were reversed? Who would swap with who? How exactly would the story unfold otherwise?
What if the protagonist and the circus members were attached to a thread of fate,destined to meet? Would they be more accepting of the human? Would this create new problems?
What if Columbina managed to live,to be able to stay and work at The Freak Circus with the others?
It seemed impossible,as without her sacrifice they would have surely all died due to starvation. And yet,you can't help but cling onto a silly belief that surely,there was a way that all of them could make it ot alive.
Maybe the conflict between Pierrot and Harlequin wouldn't be as bad?
And Pierrot would have his beloved Columbina by his side!
It's a sweet thing to think about,unfortunately,a story thrives on its ups and downs,a little bit of chaos and lament always gets an almagamation of emotions to bubble up and rise.
Perhaps in another world it would be possible.
The words in your head began to slur as you were swallowed into a sweet sleep.
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
Your eyes fluttered open,groaning into your arm as you sweep your hand around your bed,trying to find your phone.
Geez,did you forget to turn off your alarm? You had a free day today dammit,you need to get that phone and turn it off so you can continue resting.
After a few more seconds of scrambling,you managed to find your phone. You rubbed your eyes,before opening them slightly,reading the alarm's notification.
'10:00am shift,'
Huh?
You don't remember picking up any shifts,when was this?
That message seemed to wake you up slightly,you look down at the bed,unfamiliar sheets and the bed and felt too different to be yours.
You sprung up,and was met with an unexpected sight. To your left was a desk,a black table lamp sat at the edge of it. Its neck was bent down,light directed to the wooden surface,illuminating the stacks of books piled onto eachother,the messy stack threatening to topple down at any moment. Turning your head slightly you could see curtains,one half covered the glass door(which you assumed lead to a balcony) while the rest remained uncovered.
This wasn't your room...
This was the bedroom of The Freak Circus' protagonist!
Oh no.