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tommy gun to the heart!

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I made my town tune a really long high note to see what would happen and I did not expECT ISABELLE OMG I’M CRY

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"I know you love me <3" ______ The Amazing Digital Circus (Gooseworx, Glitch Production)

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i enjoy them

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they fit my artstyle so well OMFG

I'm obsessed w them 💕💕

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The cuuuuties 💕

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fortnite

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“I hated myself … But then, you… Showed up. And my outlook just, changed.”

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My boyfriend has really vivid, elaborate dreams. He’ll often wake up and talk about some grand narrative- travel, exploration, politics, performances. I’ve always been a little jealous, he can hold really good plots together for them sometimes.

But anyway, this does have a downside; vivid, elaborate dreams make for vivid, elaborate nightmares. I can usually tell when it’s one of those nights, since he grinds his teeth pretty badly.

I was never quite sure what to do when I knew he was having a bad time of it, though the grinding alone was enough to worry me and push me towards intervening. I used to just shake him gently, hope to rouse him just enough to reset the dream or something, but it wasn’t too effective and anyway waking him up all the time isn’t good for rest.

I’m rather proud of the strategy I eventually settled on: gently, so as not to wake him up, I’d lay one arm across his hands, wrapping his fingers around me so that he was holding on. Nightmares being nightmares, I can usually count on a pretty tight grip when this happens.

It may seem a little odd, but consider that holding on to something with both hands is typically a very agentic frame of mind. We hold on to things that give us power, in one way or another, and possessing objects often makes us feel powerful in some respects. That has consequences, even for a dreaming mind.

I knew it was working when he woke up rather mystified from one such dream, and told me that he’d been running through the caverns of some dungeon or cave system, pursued by monsters, but then all of a sudden he was holding a giant anime sword and fought them off instead. So I got to be a sword for him that night, I was delighted.

I don’t usually get to know exactly what happened, since even for a very vivid dreamer like Ritter, nine tenths of these things get forgotten. But I know I’ve been things like door handles, steering wheels, stuff like that. And even when I don’t know what I am to him, he doesn’t grind his teeth nearly as much- the sleep is deeper and more peaceful, so I get plenty of feedback that it’s working.

It’s such a perfect encapsulation of love in microcosm, isn’t it? No matter how much you mean to them, and how much they mean to you, the gap between two conscious lives is fundamentally separating you. But fundamental does not mean insurmountable. There’s this whole world in him, full of dreams and perspectives that I’ll never truly experience. But I will be a part of those worlds all the same, finding little ways here and there to make sure that the dreams of me make him a better, stronger, and happier person.

Or at least, so one hopes. It’s a difficult challenge, and things often go awry. But usually you get at least a little lucky.

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[The story Life and Death Companions wants to continue.]

THIS PART IN THE NOVEL IS SO GOOOODD AAAAAA. THE GROWTH OF YJH'S CHARACTER MY BOYYYY

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Don’t mind this. My last personal work took me a week and two repaints and I’m still not totally happy with it, but this came out in a couple hours with no plan for it.

Cause fuck me, said the Muses.

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Episode 6 introduces some neat mechanics of the digital circus

Jax gets blown up by his gun when trying to kill Ragatha (Ragatha wasn't sure it would work but she still had an idea it might work)

Pomni wasn't able to knock down the can with her gun when holding it realistically but could after not caring about it

Pomni was seemingly only able to do that impossible ricochet with the Rule Of Cool

Kinger is really adapt at using cartoon physics (likely due to his intentionally loosened grip on reality) (HE CAN JUST MAKE UP GAME MECHANICS BECAUSE HE FEELS LIKE IT)

After Pomni's first day in the Circus she starts experiencing physics engine issues and never again (likely because she was just starting to accept she's in a digital world)

FURTHER MORE The concept of Abstraction

one of the most important parts of Abstraction is the belief they aren't loved, that they're some sort of monster then they become one

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Pobni wit gunns go brrrr

She's such a gremlin. I'm literally in love with her

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“Have you ever had to make that choice? S-sorry, I mean…of course not. You’re Zooble.”

This sentence, I think, summarizes the point of this entire scene because it’s so patently wrong. 

Zooble’s speech about having to choose to love themself is very obviously something they’ve had to teach themselves. The shot where they say it even shows them reflecting themself onto Gangle. 

Zooble’s entire deal is that they’re uncertain of themselves, to the point where it’s been embedded in their design for the circus. Zooble’s comment about their body gimmicks reads to me as them trying to find solidarity with Gangle, who is the only other person in the circus where their state of being can be easily changed at will (Gangle with her emotions, Zooble with their body). That attempt to reach out, coupled with Gangle’s idealization and misinterpretation of Zooble, has this scene feeling decidedly lonely on Zooble’s side. While the dynamic between the two of them is very sweet, it is notably one-sided at the moment, with Zooble always providing support to Gangle, while this line shows that she can’t do the same for them. How can she comfort them through their insecurities if she doesn’t even realize they exist?

(This shot is definitely from Gangle's perspective, what with the sudden light shift to make them glow and look idealized)

It makes me wonder if any of the other circus members are at all aware that Zooble suffers from dysphoria. Perhaps they all assumed the constant changing was due to an opposite reason, believing Zooble is so confident in their self identity they can so easily change themself. Obviously Zooble would never have let Jax know such a vulnerability, but the reveal that one of their closest friends is seemingly unaware really highlights how emotionally closed off Zooble must be to the rest of the cast.

(This is Zooble's reaction after Gangle's line, and they almost pull their hand away from her)

Now, I don’t believe this conflict is going to escalate into some dramatic rift between the two, nor do I think this isolation for Zooble is meant to foreshadow an abstraction for them. Despite its zany aesthetics, TADC has consistently veered towards the grounded in regards to resolving its mysteries or conflicts (eg. Jax’s corn phobia, Ragatha’s conflict with Pomni, etc.). The massive crashout between Jax and Pomni in episode 6 is the dramatic exception that proves the rule. 

Rather, I think this is setup for a small arc for Gangle in the future, where she realizes this mistake and steps up to become the support for Zooble, as a way of showing her gratitude. While Gangle is certainly growing, becoming more confident and happy, that is a fragile development due to being dependent on Zooble’s support. I think the series plans to solidify that development into something sturdy with Gangle finding the strength to be support for someone else. 

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Also can I just say how I love the effect the guns had on episode six. Sure, there were cartoony fun moments and silly fancy shots, but like.

It also went from cartoon violence to genuine, visceral, tense bloodshed when Jax repeatedly shot Ragatha in the narrow hallway. She was dead but he kept *going*, not because it was funny and it wasn't framed as funny. She's not actually dead or hurt but the tension was real, the anger in his face was. The unease was real.

It gave the violence so much more weight than the usual acts of getting deep-fried or stretched across two moving vehicles, even though the initial impression was 'oh, that's so silly, they're getting guns' because other series would have this as they're episode to freely get edgy and silly because of the contrast between cartoon characters and this very real, fatal weapon is a very popular trope.

It started out like that, fun and games and cool poses, but much like playing with a loaded gun, *looks over at the Jax and Pomni argument* the stakes got real real quick when, y'know, it accidentally went off. When Pomni unintentionally triggered Jax's deepest issues.

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i decided to draw her after 2 years of not doing so sadhjsahdb

I ahve been heavily hyperfixated on this show forever, i just never drew any characters since the pilot for some reason-??