Good Morning/Afternoon/Evening/Night(whichever one it is in your part of the world),
Hi! I'm here to leave a quick review!!
First Impression: Another neat little collection I think. I loved the vibes that you created here. I think there were some really intriguing moments there and the way some stories connected to each other was really neat.
Anyway let's get right to it,
Philippa stretched her arms out in the box, as she always did. Her parents would put her in a box that would close in on her.
Philippa’s act was to stretch her arms and legs out in the box, pushing back the walls. Not only that, but marbles would pour in from hidden holes. It got harder every day to try and not slip up on them.
From the large window that allowed her to see the audience and the audience to see her, Philippa noticed that the crowd was full of bored, disinterested adults and eager-eyed, cotton-candy wielding children. They were always enthusiastic for her to continue, always hungry for more. It frightened Philippa, how much they craved the entertainment.
But not as much as the walls, which we’re getting closer…closer…no! She could push them back, push them away!
Well this is quite the start, poor Philippa in trouble here just trying to entertain everyone but genuinely struggling in there even if its just meant to be an act that's normally perfectly safe.
They were so tight…the marbles so slippery…her clown shoes made it difficult to stand upright…why did that have to be her act? Would it ever end? Would she come out alive? Would-
“And that, my dear audience, was Kit the clown, tall beyond belief! Give her a round’ of applause.” Mr. Florin said.
The walls moved back, the marbles ceased to fall, the lid opened, and Philippa could get out.
She crawled out of the lid, grateful for the fresh air, even if it was contaminated with greased foods and the smoke of grills. The claps were as obnoxiously loud as ever, as if the people couldn’t get over how much of a treat it was to see someone suffer in glittering glam.
Well look like she managed to survive for this day despite how terrifying this seem to have been. It feels like this day was certainly a little bit closer than it normally tends to be from Philippa's reactions.
What Philippa did was sold as entertainment, but oftentimes, it felt like her parents were trying to kill her. Mr. Florin was the ringmaster, but he wasn’t the boss. Her parents, the Morisons, were the ones who started the circus.
She wondered if Mr. Florin was ever terrified like she was, if any of the other performers felt the same as her. Philippa couldn’t be the only one suffering…could she?
At least Jennifer would be waiting for her backstage. She would run into Jennifer’s open arms and just be Philippa. Not Kit the clown, but Philippa.
Real, human, Philippa.
Well it seems Philippa is certainly terrified of what she has to go through here with all of the pain its causing her but it seems at least at the end she has someone to run to for comfort.
“Why does Philippa always look so glum?” Jacob asked. It was early on a Monday morning, which meant that he had to drive Annetta to the circus.
They started a circus together and got their fourteen year old daughter, Philippa, to perform as Kit the clown. They could have chosen their nineteen year old son, Conrad, but he was…boring. He looked just like any person one might pass. He wasn’t miraculously six feet tall, he didn’t have glowing red eyes, more red than ruby.
He was just human.
Philippa was extraordinary, loved by all. Anyone and everyone was eager to see her. She even missed a few days of school! What kid wouldn’t want to miss days of school?
Hmm well this is an interesting perspective to get right after and see what parents think of that and what they want for Philippa. You can certainly see quite a lack of communication there.
But she always seemed sad, before and after performance. Her eyes held a hint of loneliness.
Which perplexed both the Morisons.
“I don’t know. She doesn’t have any reason to be. She’s a clown, she gets to be loud and ridiculous without anyone telling her differently. I know I would have wanted that.” Annetta said.
Both she and Jacob bonded on one thing: They wanted glorious, unforgettable lives. Growing up had been boring and uneventful, but being an adult didn’t have to be.
They wanted their kids to have colorful lives with confetti and sparkles, a chance to shine.
Hmm well this is definitely showing how little they actually know about their kids and what they want in life, they really seem to only want the kids to enjoy what they themselves would have enjoyed when they were younger.
“Maybe she wants to get paid.” Jacob said. Philippa was the only performer in the circus who didn’t get paid for her work. He heard that kids liked getting paid for their job, that they would do it more if they were paid with an allowance.
Annetta laughed softly.
“Why would we need to? It’s not work, it’s play! You don’t get paid to play, do you?” Annetta asked.
How could Jacob even say such a thing?
“I suppose not.” Jacob said, shoving the thought away. He just wanted Philippa to be happy.
“If Philippa is upset, she’ll tell us. Don’t worry about it.” Annetta said.
They both made it to the circus.
It was time for show business.
Well I think that proves exactly why Phillipa feels the way that she does. The parents while they think they're doing the right thing really are creating only trouble for the poor kids.
Angelita pressed play on the “Nightmare circus” video game. She was playing with her twin sister, Maybelline. It was the video game they always wanted, but never could afford.
That was, until their parents got them the video game for their birthday. Finally, finally, they could play as demonic, mischievous, devious clowns, stalking and searching for unaware children.
“May the best clown win.” Angelita said, a note of excitement in her voice.
“You know it.” Maybelline said.
Well that is certainly quite something there. The two of them just enjoying their time terrorizing people, definitely not too far from your typical style of horror video game and it looks like they're having fun.
Angelita loved playing as a demonic clown in the “Nightmare circus” video game with Maybelline, but…
She never wanted to live that life.
After death by a very real demon clown who called herself “Violet”, Angelita and Maybelline were monster clowns themselves. They were what was once a symbol of joyfulness and innocence twisted into something wicked and mocking.
Their smooth, girl faces were contorted into makeuped masks, faces not a soul would trust. Their hearts were as kind as ever, but their bodies were made into abominations. No one would speak to them, no one would love them.
Angelita and Maybelline reached out from the other side, but everyone else ran away.
No one liked clowns.
Well that is quite the ending there, with their dreams being realized in a way they really did not think and now they're facing he reality of having to exist with that and it seems its not as fun as it was in the video game.
Nova stared at the fallen tree stump. It had come down on the park after the nightly storm. Mom was taking Nova there for fun when she noticed the fallen tree and pointed it out to Nova.
It was only a few days since Nova learned of her witch powers. She still had to grow more accustomed to it.
“You want me to…heal this tree?” Nova asked. Mom told her to heal the tree, as it would be “good practice”.
“Precisely.” Mom said.
“But isn’t that a lot of-“
“You want to learn how to use your powers, this is a good start.”
Well okay this is a little new, just our child here learning her witch powers and being trained in them. I think its a rare wholesome little moment but at the same time we're not super sure if this is going to end well.
Nova sighed and raised her hands above the tree. She imagined the trunk coming together with the stump, branches reaching towards the sky…
The tree rose from the ground, connecting with the stump, slowly, but rising, nonetheless…
Rising…rising…
Nova gasped at the sight before her.
The tree was healed! Good as new.
“Well done, Nova!” Mom said proudly, giving a comforting squeeze to Nova’s left shoulder.
Nova smiled, pride filling her veins.
She did it! She healed a tree with her powers! There was still more to learn, but that was a great start!
Philippa grinned at her from underneath the tree before disappearing.
Philippa was proud of her too.
Well it did turn out wholesome after all then although it looks like this is the point in time after Philippa's death and she's just sort of watching over this happily seeing good things happening here.
Aaaaand that's it for this one.
Overall: Overall I think you've done a wonderful job here putting together quiet a set of stories once again. These collection have really started to get more and more detailed as they go along and they're great.
As always remember to take what you think was helpful and forget the rest.
Stay Safe
Kate
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