#and pomni needs to crash out too

[yabadabadooooooooooooo]

i support women’s crashouts. it needs to happen more often, actually.

[daikaiju-arts]

*crashes in through brick wall*

I TRIED👍

Very messy…..very messy messy doodles BUT …..I tried!!! I did Zooble aswell but I need to draw xem full body like gangle first before I share otherwise I’ll die

GGFG H

WAAGHAHGOOOO HOOOO HOOOO

I NEED YOU TO KNOW I HAD TO PACE AROUND MY ROOM AFTER SEEING THESE

YOU DREW HER SO BEAUTIFULLY AND WITH SUCH CARE… [POMNI] TOO!! I LOVE HER STRUGGLING SO HARD TO BE THE BIG SPOON, THATS LEGIT CANON TO THE IRL AU 😭

I LOVE how you stylize [Gangle] so so much and visually show her personality through these… she looks like those ridiculously huge teddy bears they sell during Valentine’s Day season…. Her nose!!! WAH

I’m like, genuinely so touched by this? Thank you so much truly, I’m incredibly flattered you took time out of your day to draw my silly lil rendition of an Irl Gangle 🥺💚

[bubblebear4life]

A/N: A little fanfic for @the-spam-specialist The Ringmaster's Written Reminders ^^

I was going to write some angst, but I figured you'd have that covered in your later stories. Caine and Pomni fluff it is then ^^

~~~

What A Silly Thing

Caine is in desperate need of some snuggles, but Pomni is currently on an adventure. Surely it wouldn't hurt to summon her this one time... Right?

It was a quiet morning in the tent today. The artificial light from the digital sun streamed through Caine's office window, casting a warm golden glow throughout the room.

The little energetic Ringmaster slowly spun in his office chair while excitedly planning tomorrow's glorious new adventure. Reviewing his trusted list of each circus member, Caine considered everything he needed to include to address the humans' needs.

Let's see: he'll add a friendly butterfly NPC guide for Ragatha and Kinger, a relaxing atmosphere for Pomni, a dancing puzzle for Gangle, and maybe even a tavern for Jax and Zooble. He isn't going to allow them to purchase any alcohol, though. That would be against the rules! Haha!

After a few minutes of checking his list Caine hummed, thoughtfully tapping the end of his pen against his jaw. He had already sent his scrumdiddlyumptious-lemon-flavored-cucumbers on today's adventure only an hour ago, and he was already starting to feel a little... lonely.

He absolutely loved planning his adventures- don’t get him wrong! They were his passion! However, he had grown so accustomed to planning them while the others were around. The sound of their usual shenanigans had become a comforting background noise against the constant hum of the tent.

After Caine started to befriend the humans and join them on their adventures, the circus tent felt different when he was alone. It felt... eerie. Hauntingly large, even. Like the whole tent could swallow him up at any moment.

The thought sent a shive through his code.

Caine's large, cartoonish eyes nervously flickered around the room. When did his breathing become so heavy? Why was he shaking? Were the walls always this close to him?

What was the bad taste in his mouth?

Caine looked down and realized he had accidentally bitten off the end of his pen. Now, he had ink all over his hand and in his mouth. He gagged, the bitter taste of ink worsening his current predicament.

The usually composed ringmaster shot up out of his chair, sending it crashing back against the wall. He had to get out of here. It was too much. Everything was too much. He threw the pen down, not caring about the mess he made, and zips out of his office and into the safety of Kinger's pillow fort.

Caine whimpers softly as he curls up against the many pillows and blankets littering the floor of the fort. Logically, he knew he was being silly. There was nothing here to fear! The Amazing Digital Circus is a perfectly safe place for all ages! Still, he couldn't shake off the panic that had settled in his digital heart.

Being in the pillow fort did little to ease Caine's nevers. He needed someone else to be here with him. He couldn't summon his buttery-toaster-strudels at this time! They were busy on an adventure! Caine sniffles, feeling something wet fall against his gloved hand.

He is crying.

Caine gasps, trying to wipe the tears from his eyes. This was silly! It was all so silly! He tried to reason with himself.

If it was silly, then why couldn't he just stop!?

Suddenly, a little reminder popped up into his head. With his vision blurred with tears, he quickly pulled out his list, the long parchment crinkling as he scanned for what he was looking for.

Ah-ha!

Do not summon people unless it was an emergency.

This- was an emergency, right? Caine hiccups as another sob shook his body.

This was definitely an emergency.

With shaking hands, Caine snaps, summoning the first person that came to his mind.

That person happened to be the anxious jester herself, Pomni.

Pomni, completely taken aback, paused to observe her surroundings before her gaze settled on the very being that had summoned her.

It didn't take long for her to reach his side. She held her hands out toward him, stopping just short of making contact, uncertain of what he needed in that moment. "Caine!? Wh-what's wrong?!" she asked, trying to keep herself from panicking as well.

"I- I don't know!" Caine wailed back, immediately flinging himself at Pomni and clinging to her. "Make it stop!"

"Oof-" Pomni flinched when Caine clung to her, but she forced herself to relax and immediately wrapped her arms around the little AI. He needed her to be strong right now. She rubbed his back, hoping it would help soothe him. "Can you tell me how this started?"

Caine blinked, running through his memory files to try and figure out this mess.

It seems his memory already wiped away the incident.

Not being able to remember only stressed himself out more.

"I c-can't remember! I can't remember anything, p-pomni!" The AI clung on tighter to the girl. "Wh-why is this happening!?" Caine's voice glitched with his sobs.

Pomni had to think fast. What helps her calm down from panic attacks? "Um... Hey, can you try taking some deep breaths with me?" Asked the jester, taking Caine's hand in hers. She took a deep breath, waiting for Caine to follow.

Caine took a breath only to immediately choke on a sob. "I-I c-can't!"

"That's ok, you're doing good, Caine. Let's try again." Pomni took another deep breath, squeezing Caine's hand encouragingly.

The Ringmaster managed to take a small breath, and after a few more attempts, his breathing began to even out. Pomni continued to rub his back and give his encouragement the entire time.

About half an hour later, Caine was feeling a little better. "Thank you, Pomni. I'm- sorry I took you away from the adventure for something so... Silly." He whispered, looking away with large guilty eyes.

Pomni stroked his head, the bells from his tophat ringing softly. She gave his a stern, yet concerned look. "It's not silly, Caine. You can call me whenever you need help." She lifted his lower jaw to look him in his sad puppy dog eyes. "I promise you aren't bothering me, or anyone else. Your feelings matter just as much as ours. Do you understand." It was more of a statement than a question.

Caine sniffles again, slowly nodding his head. "Thank you again, Pomni."

"Anytime, Caine." Without thinking, the jester placed a small kiss to his top jaw

Caine froze. The feeling was foreign, but had a nice feeling to it.

"Caine? Are you alright?" Pomni was afraid she broke him.

Caine merely hummed sleepily, tucking his denture head under her chin. "Shut down now...gnight." His words were slurred from the sudden exhaustion that hit.

Pomni quietly chuckles, not wanting to disturb him while he shuts down. She wouldn't say it out loud, but Caine can be pretty cute sometimes. She doesn't blame him for being tired. She remembers being exhausted after panic attacks, too.

"Goodnight, Caine." She whispers for only the darkness of the pillow fort to hear.

Her response was an AI equivalent to a snore.

~~~

A/N: Oopies doodles. Guess we got some angst after all~

Caine is still covered in ink, it's just too dark in the fort to see it. Pomni helps him clean up once she notices it

[mine0560]

I NEED TO RANT ABOUT RAGATHA AND POMNI BECAUSE HOLLY DAMN THERE'S SO MUCH IN MY HEAD!

Ok. So. Firstly I love that first thing Ragatha did was check on Pomni and even told her she doesn't mind but actually understands that she abandoned her. AND THOSE FINGER GUNS?! SHE IS GAY AND LOVES HER GURL. DON'T EVEN TRY TO DENY IT

SECOND

Ragatha carrying about Pomni and trying to hype her up. (Would say so far Ragapom is onesided and I am all for that) Ragatha is trying her best to make conversation with that jester but also trying to help her get use to or evem enjoy this new life. OMG THAT WOMAN IS FULL OF POSITIVE ENERGY.

THIRD

Even she got stabbed, their car crashed and they could DROWNED her priority is fricking Pomni. Yes she ask everyone how they are, but imidiately switch to :"Poor Pomni" EVEN JAX POINTED THAT OUT! LIKE GIRL. YPU ARE ALMOST DYING BUT STILL CARRING ABOUT YOUR GIRLFRIEND.

FORTH

When they catches those bandits, who is asking where her girl is? RAGATHA. She is so worry about that jester and where she dissapeared.

FIFTH

SHE IS DOUBING THAT POMNI EVEN LIKES HER. SHE IS WORRY THAT POMNI DISLIKES OR EVEN HATES HER. Like....She likes ther that much, that she is worry about that she doesn't like her. AAAAAA THEY WILL MAKE ME CRY

SIXTH

After they Pomni with Gummigoo crashed into them she IMIDIATELY RUNS AFTER HER TO ASK HER IF SHE'S OK AND WHERE SHE WAS. LIKE AAAAAA. SHE IS SO WORRY ABOUT HER I WILL DIE.

And lastly I FRICKING LOVE HOW POMNI FINALLY GETS THAT THOSE PEOPLE CARES ABOUT HER AND WON'T FORGET HER. I NEED MORE. I AM TOO EXCITED FOR ANOTHER EPISODES AND NEEDS MORE INTERACTIONS BETWEEN RAGATHA AND POMNI

Oh bonus. I hate Jax even more. I knew he will be an asshole but this much? DAMN

(Well my angst comic is doomed because Ragatha was interacting with that proncess like for a minute of that whole 25 minutes episode. Can work again)

OVERALL I LOVE THAT EPISODE. Since in my country it was premiere at like midnight I can't sleep now.

It's 2 fricking am and I needed to get those feelings out of me because everyone are sleeping

[theamazingdigitalraceway]

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

The decent begins. The world falls. Everyone goes with it. Will any of them make it? Even if they do, will they still be themselves?

WARNING: angst, death, body horror, abstraction, distress, hurt/no comfort

~~~

A bright white light encompassed everything. Caine felt the chains give way, his body flickered as he fell to the floor. Everything felt fuzzy, like it was made of static. All he could hear was a high pitched ringing. Blind and deaf, he crawled forward against the torant of light disintegrating space around him.

Caine touched a hand. He grasped it. He snapped. It an instant, the light was gone. He reeled from the sudden silence, still feeling the oppressive static all over his body. Gasping, he looked around. Darkness surrounded him except directly in front. Like looking through a glass barrier that flexed and moved with unfelt wind, he saw the city Abel has created and was no destroying.

Caine looked down at the hand he was holding. Loo was lying next to him, glitching and seizing. "Loo?? Loo! Are you alright!? How did we-? Where are-?" He didn't know where to begin. Loo's body was more than half deleted. Her remaining half was pixeled and barely together. Caine snapped, focusing on her. Nothing happened. "Come on! Please, work!" He snapped multiple times, Loo glitched more and cried in pain. He had to stop. "I'm sorry! I...I'm sorry."

Loo looked up at Caine weakly. She could barely see him through the glitches in her eyes. "You...made...it. Good....good. Save them. You...must."

"I-I...but what about you? I can't even..." He tried snapping once. Loo glitched some but nothing changed. Her body was slowly falling apart.

"Thank you...for letting me...be." Loo closed her eyes.

Caine wasn't sure how to respond. He held her until her body fully pixelated and dispersed amongst the surrounding shadows. Alone and still hurting from whatever Abel hit him with, he sat on his knees in silence. Everything he built, everything he tried to achieve was crashing down around him. The Raceway was gone. His NPCs where gone. The humans where running for their lives. Abel was unleashed and mad with power. Caine could not be in a lower place. The darkness felt fitting.

"This must be the in-between." Caine muttered to himself, turning to see the out of bounds grid off in the distance. "This is where Seth has gone...? This whole time... I'm sorry...IM SORRY!" He shouts at noone. Tears well in his eyes and he curls forward on the ground, sobbing. "All of this is my fault...what have I done...."

~

"NO!!!" Shadow Pomni revved her bike til the gadge went red. The blue and silver motorcycle screamed up the side of the building, shattering glass in its wake. The shadows within twisted and writhed with anger. Black tears burned the edges of Shadow Pomni's eyes.

"Seth, I don't know if I can do this. Caine...we're too late." The shadows within her felt warm. Comforting. "The others need to get to safety, but I don't know what more we can do." The shadows swelled. She felt powerful. Like the very fabric of the world around her was at her call. "...let's end this."

She reached the peak of the high skyscraper, skidding to a stop on the roof. "ABEL!!"

The monsterous crocodilian Abel slowly turned his head to look at her. His eye burned blue like a bright sapphire star.

Shadow Pomni stared him down, revving her bike. "YOU WANT ME!? I'M RIGHT HERE!"

A deep, rumbling laugh boomed from Abel. "You think you still matter to me? Caine is dead. Deleted. Permanently. You and Seth are nothing without him. Flies on my back. The only thing left for me, is to savor your destruction!" He opened his maw wide and charged his beam in her direction.

Shadow Pomni blinked with he bike to the next rooftop. "HE'S NOT DEAD! YOU COULDN'T KILL YOUR OWN CREATION IF YOU TRIED!"

"He is not of me!" Abel roared back, swinging around to face her again. His tail smashed three buildings like dominoes. "Caine and Seth are mere fractals of the greatness I created! Greatness I should have known! Greatness I will take one way or another!!" Abel charged the building Shadow Pomni was on and rammed into it.

As the building collapsed, Shadow Pomni drove down the side and jumped. She freefell in calm, unafraid of the ground rapidly approaching. Her hand had a slight tingle to it. Holding it out in front of her, she snapped. Pixilated rubble from Abel's rampage flew to catch her. It formed a track in the air, circling around the collapsing building.

Shadow Pomni smirked to herself and snapped to make a new track circling her around Abel's head. With the debris came a powerup hovering over the track. The colorful crystaline question mark glistened in the electric twilight.

Shadow Pomni zipped through the powerup and felt something materialize in her hand. A gold bar. Shadows from her fingers crawled over the gold bar, turning it a glossy black. "Get me close." Shadow Pomni commanded between her teeth and she crushed the bar in her grasp.

Black fire trailed from Shadow Pomni as she accelerated to an untouchable speed. Abel lashed out at the tracks forming around him, but no matter how fast he was, Pomni was faster. Tracks wound up around to the front of Abel and Shadow Pomni launched herself as Abel snapped his jaws at her.

The wheels of Shadow Pomni's bike didn't even hit Abel's tongue. She flew right to the back of his mouth and punctured the back of his neck. Abel screamed and stumbled back as Shadow Pomni flew onto an awaiting track and zipped around for another attack.

Shadow Pomni accelerated and snapped to collect shadows in front of her to pierce Abel's side. She drove right through him and made some distance as Abel thrashed.

"INSECT!!" Abel roared and blasted the buildings around him with a charged beam of light.

Shadow Pomni dodged a flying piece of track and blinked to the far side of a falling building. She snapped and the track she had driven on to escape collapsed on Abel's head. "Funny thing, insects. They kill more people than any other creature in the world. Let's see if it's true in the digital world." She said to herself and drove up a new ramp to prepare another run.

~

A dark purple car with its roof ripped off raced through the broken streets of the dark city. A horde of abstractions clambered unnaturally fast behind them, like spiders with even more limbs and eyes.

Driving along the side of a row of building was Shadow Gangle lashing her ribbons out at an abstraction attempting to pounce on the car. She lassoed it's hide leg and yanked to the side to knock it off balance into another abstraction.

Seeing an opening, Shadow Gangle blinked next to the car. "I'm getting all of you out of here!" As she was about to touch it, Kinger swerved to avoid a flying piece of debris.

Jax braced against the swerve but Ragatha couldn't in time. She flew from the car and tumbled into the road at high speed.

"Ragatha!" Shadow Gangle braked and did a hard u-turn.

Kinger raced off with a worried glance back. Jax held on as Ragatha and Gangle faded into the distance. "We have to turn around!" Before Kinger could respond, the flying abstraction swooped down from above, nearly snatching Jax. "Shit! Get me another power up!"

Shadow Gangle accelerated towards the charging horde. Jumping from her bike, the solid black racer rammed through two abstractions. Shadow Gangle landed on her feet and slid to a stop next to Ragatha. "Let's go!" She wrapped her ribbons around Ragatha's waist and teleported away with her.

Shadow Gangle huffed a sigh of relief. "Are you okay?"

Ragatha was in a heap, battered from the fall. "...not really." She groaned.

"I'm sorry, Ragatha. Please try to catch your breath, you're safe here. I have to go. The others need me." Shadow Gangle ran towards the flexible glass-like barrier and whistled. The black motorcycle materialized from the shadows and she mounted it on the run. In a flash, she and the bike were gone.

~

Caine's whole body hurt. He'd never experienced true pain before. His very being felt like it was made of broken glass. The screech of a motorcycle coming to a stop not far from him brought him out of his self pitied daze. He saw Ragatha laying on the ground with Gangle(?) standing over her. Then black ribbon racer ran off on Seth's bike.

"....on any other day I'd say that was strange." Caine slowly got to his feet and lumbered over to Ragatha.

Ragatha sat herself up, wincing at the digital road rash. She was about to inspect herself with Caine being in the corner of her eye made her jump. "Ah! Oh- Caine! You're alive? I thought Abel-"

"He tried. I don't know how I survived that. Turns out there's a lot I don't know. What's going on out there?"

"Chaos. Abstractions. Shadow people. I don't even know what else." Ragatha curled her knees to her chest. "It's all so much. I never thought I would long for the way you did things..."

Caine didn't say anything. The recent series of events had left him without comprehensible words to describe anything. He slowly reached his hand out to comfort her.

Ragatha's eyes glazed over. "There is one thing I will never forgive you for."

Caine took a step back.

Ragatha's face twitched. "You took away the one memory that could have kept me going. You made me a blank slate. You made me forget my sister. She was here before me. She was here, and I didn't even recognize her because of you." She craned her neck around to look lifelessly at Caine. "She abstracted during a race. In front of all of us. She remembered my name. My real name. I didn't know who she was talking about."

"Ragatha, I'm-"

"Save it!" Ragatha's voice crackled like radio static. Her arms and legs crab walked her closer to Caine, not taking her blank eyes off of him. "I could have said goodbye! YOU TOOK THAT FROM ME!!" Her final words came out as a screech. Her spine arched up and her belly split open to reveal a black mass and a large orange eye with a green iris.

"Ragatha!" Caine pleaded but it was too late. Ragatha's body bent and broke and split to unleash the abstraction within.

~

Shadow Pomni blinked through a building as it was crushed by Abel. As Abel stomped and crashed through the city, cracks in the world opened to reveal the void shining through like spot lights. A shadowed track formed in front of Shadow Pomni as she rode at top speed towards Abel.

"If you're going to break this world apart, I'll make sure you go down with it!!" Shadow Pomni ramped off the track and went bike first right in between Abel's eyes. Tendrils of shadow came from the bike's tires and sunk into Abel's face. She revved and tore into Abel's digital hide, riding over his head and down his back.

Shadows broke apart the electrified spines, dragging like claws. Abel lashed at his own body to knock off Shadow Pomni, only harming himself.

~

Shadow Gangle almost collided with Kinger's car searching for them. Jax shot off another rocket at the flying abstraction, getting it to back off. "Where Ragatha!?" He shouted, reaching for another power up as they sped by.

"Safe! Come on! You're next!" She held out her hand for Jax.

"No way! This is the best the game's ever been!" He laughed manically and tossed a mine. It exploded when an abstraction stepped over it.

"This is serious! Abel is destabilizing everything!" Shadow Gangle blinked to the other side of the car and tried to grab him, Jax moved to the opposite side to avoid her.

"Exactly! It's pointless! None of us are making it out alive! Live it up while you can!" Jax laughed and smashed a can of NOS against the car.

Kinger held on as his vehicle lurched forward. The overpass in front of them was collapsing and he had planned to take a turn but now they were going to fast. He floored it. "Everyone, duck!"

Jax dropped into the back seat as Kinger drove under the falling overpass. The concrete structure came down right behind them and scraped the top of the hood as the vehicle barely made it out without being crushed.

Shadow Gangle had to blink to the top and drive down the other side. The abstractions crashed into the rubble, one was trapped while the others scrambled to get over the fallen structure. The horde was successfully slowed down for the time being.

Kinger sat up right in the driver seat. "Jax, a little warning next time!? You made me miss a turn. I don't know where we are any more."

"It doesn't matter!" Jax stood up, elated. "Nothing matters!" He laughed so hard, he cried.

~

Abel stumble over his own tail trying to get at Shadow Pomni. His massive body fell between city blocks and took several buildings with him. He was wedged sideways and awkwardly struggled to upright himself. "When I'm through with you, there will be nothing left to remember! I'll delete your very existence!"

Shadow Pomni grimaced. No matter how hard she hit him, he wouldn't stay down. Then she felt a desire. A thought? Suggestion? She wasn't sure. But it was coming from the bike. Let go. She instinctively gripped the handle bars tighter, but the feeling for stronger. Let go.

Shadow Pomni rode through a powerup, feeling soming on her back. She glanced and silver feather wings unfurled behind her. She smiled sadly as she flew off the track. Her grip on the bike loosened. "Show him the void."

Shadow Pomni glided on as the bike plummeted to Abel. The silvery flames that had come from it changed color. The bike burst into flames, becoming a dark blue fireball. The bike struck Abel and exploded, thrusting him into the ground.

The world shook like an earthquake, tearing the city asunder. The bright white of the void shone through. Abel clawed at the breaking world, but found no purchase. "No! No! Nooo!!" He roared and fell.

~

The stark white of the void was like the flash of an atomic bomb. Kinger tried his best to keep the car on the road but there was no more road. He couldn't avoid the growing out and the car careened into nothing.

Jax threw his hands in the air like the fall was nothing more than a roller coaster ride.

Shadow Gangle was stressing trying to figure out how she was going to get to the boys when the fabric of reality tore right next to her.

A large abstraction charged through the barrier of the in-between, tossing Caine to the side. It only took her a second to realize what this meant. "Ragatha! No! Not you!"

The abstraction roared in response and lashed at Shadow Gangle. She grabbed a piece of debris and slung it at the abstraction, cracking it right in the eye. The large black bike beneath her revved and swung around in a circle to keep away. Shadow Gangle saw Caine and grabbed his arm. "Hop on!" Before he could respond, she yanked him on and drove off to pieces of the world falling into the void.

The avatar tion followed, falling in. The horde of them was trying to follow any movement. They attacked one another if they had no other target.

~

Shadow Pomni kept her new wings and flew down after Abel, keeping an eye out for the others. "Seth...are you still with me?" She asked determinedly.

There was a long pause. "Yes. It was what she wanted." Seth's voice was soft and hollow.

"Good. Because this ain't over. I'm not stopping until he's dead or I'm dead. Whatever happens first. For Caine." Her eyes narrowed as she fell head first it it he void.

~

Kinger just held the steering wheel. What else was there to do. They were in freefall I to a cast nothing. Nothing but debris remained. This was reality.

As he, the car, and Jax fell, he could see some of the abstractions trying to catch up. There was no driving away this time. He was a sitting duck.

The abstractions where strange, glitching and gyrating against the windless fall into the void. One such strange creature tried to leap at the car, but was slammed by another abstraction. One of the largest, in fact, stood on a piece of debris between Kinger and the rest. The abstraction has an exceptionally long neck with eyes all the way down. The eyes facing Kinger were completely trained on him, calm. The ones facing the other abstractions were wild with fury.

Kinger tilted his head. "....My queen?" He asked softly.

The abstraction's growl sounded more of a purr in response to his voice. The other abstractions took advantage of the distraction. They pinced and tore at each other.

Kinger tried to get out of his car, but the falling/flying debris separated them and he was pushed away. He silently held out his hand like he could touch her as he fell away.

~

Shadow Gangle's bike blinked from one chunk of the world to the next as she made her way down. Caine held tight to her, trying to keep calm with all the pain he was in. He took a deep breath and glanced back at what was left of the world that once was the Raceway. It was never much, but he did what he could with what he had. Maybe he could be proud of that.

Caine turned his eyes to the void and everything crumbling into it. He couldn't tell a chunk of infrastructure from an abstraction at a distance. Then he looked at Gangle and the shadows covering her. "I'm sorry..."

Shadow Gangle stayed focused on the descent. "For what?"

"Everything. I never knew...the darkness. The in-between. I didn't ...I shouldn't have...I'm sorry, Seth. You must have felt so alone."

Shadow Gangle tensed. "It's fine." She said in an odd sort of auto-response way.

"No, it's not. It never was. I shouldn't have treated you that way." Caine said fervently, wincing at a sharp pain in his side.

"...took you long enough." Shadow Gangle sighed.

"And it's too late. Everything is gone."

"Not yet. She's still down there, chasing him into the void. Do you want me to tell her?"

"I don't know." Caine answered honestly. "I don't deserve her conviction."

"You don't deserve her at all." Shadow Gangle growled.

Caine slumped in silent agreement.

"But...I know what it's like to lose everything. You have a chance to make things right. There's still one option left." The shadows on Gangle's back curled around Caine's hand.

"The merge. Please, if there still a chance. At least let me say goodbye." Caine pulled his hand away.

The shadow retreated. They continued to fall. And fall. And fall. All endlessly into the gaping void, welcoming them to nothing. And everything.

~~~

CH1 PREV NEXT (coming soon)

[thescarletnargacuga]

Regular digital circus showtime fic thats just

Caine (in a doctors outfit): Worry not pomni! As soon as i figure out what horrible illness is plaguing you i will not rest until you are cured!

Pomni: Caine for the 17th time it is litterally a minor cold.

Caine: I WILL CURE THIS ILLNESS FOR MY AMAZING WIFE OR DIE TRYING!

SNIFFLES

A SHOWTIME ONESHOT

WARNING: none

~~~

Pomni wasn't feeling one hundred percent. Still well enough to stand with the others and listen to Caine prattle on about the day's adventure, but she wanted to go back to bed. Her eyelids felt heavy and, despite not having a nose, felt the need to sniff mucus back every few minutes. She took a long sniff, loudly announcing to the room that she wasn't feeling her best.

Caine stopped talking almost immediately. "Pomni? What was that?"

"Huh? Oh, it's nothing. Keep talking. I didn't mean to interrupt."

"Oh my goodness gracious gravy. You're sick!" He zips to her and sweeps her off her feet. "Not to worry, my dear, I'll have you feeling better in a jiffy!"

"Wha- Caine!" She holds onto him for balance as he zooms off.

The other circus members watch Caine fly away. "So...we adventuring today or not?" Jax asks, looking at Bubble.

"How should I know? I'm a bubble." Bubble spun around in the air without a care in the world.

~

Pomni plopped down on an examination table. Bright florescent lights illuminated a doctor's office space. With a flourish, Caine's tux turned into a white doctor's coat and his cane turned into a clipboard.

"Caine, I'm fine. It's just a cold."

"It is most definitely not fine!" Caine rests his fist against his hip. "You are my wife. As your husband, it is my solemn duty to help you in any way I can."

"I appreciate that, but-"

"I will find a cure for this illness OR DIE TRYING!" Caine clicked his feet together at attention.

"Caine, please-"

"Now, now, just relax." Caine pushed her back to have her lay down on the examination table. "Leave everything to me. First, I should check your blood pressure. Since you have no blood in the digital realm, I'll have to improvise."

He strapped a bottle of ketchup to her arm and then wrapped the cuff of the sphygmomanometer around both. He squeezed the bulb to inflate the cuff until the bottle of ketchup burst. "Hmm, seems a little low." He tapped the ketchup covered gauge.

Pomni wiped ketchup off her face. "It's just a cold, Caine." She deadpanned.

"Now, to check your ears- wait, I forgot you don't have any. Uh, I suppose I could check your reflexes." A giant cartoon mallet appeared in his hand.

"Ah!" Pomni rolled off the table before the mallet came down. "It's just a cold!"

"Pomni, I need your full cooperation if you want to get better." He tossed the mallet away, a cartoon crash along with a cat's yowl sounded. "Oh! How could I forget, I need to check your throat! Say ah!"

"What? Mmph!!" Pomni nearly gagged when Caine shoved one of his eyes into her mouth.

Caine held his hand over her mouth for a few seconds before letting her spit out his eye. It bounced off the floor, to the wall and back in place through the back of his mouth. "I didn't see any fuzzy purple spots. This is most troubling. You're supposed to have at least three per corner."

"Caine, STOP! It's JUST a COLD!!"

Caine flinched at her shouting. He shrank down to the ground, tapping his fingers together nervously. "I'm...doing too much again, aren't I?"

Pomni sighed. "No, you're not doing too much. You're working yourself into a tizzy and not listening to me. Your anxiety deafens you to the point that I have to shout. I don't like doing that." She rubs her arm, looking away.

"I just-....I worry."

"I know you do, but even when you worry about someone, please listen to what they have to say."

Caine hung his head. "I'm sorry..."

Pomni put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "It's okay. You're okay. I'm not mad. I'm glad you care so much in your own unique way. If it helps, I'll let you play doctor a little longer, but I assure you, it's just a cold. I'll be fine in a few days."

"Okay." Caine held up his stethoscope. "Can I listen to your heartbeat?"

Pomni hopped up on the table. "Of course." She sat still for him as he gently pressed the chestpiece against her.

Caine heard only a quiet buzz of static. Normal for a digital avatar. He went to pull away when Pomni held his hand to her chest.

"Ba-bum...ba-bum..." Pomni repeated rhythmically.

"What are you doing?" Caine arched his top teeth quizzically.

"It's what a human heart sounds like. I'm just playing along." Pomni smiled.

Caine smiled back, holding the chestpiece in place a little longer to hear Pomni mimic the steady beat of a real human heart. "Sounds healthy."

"It is. It gets a lot of exercise when I see the most handsome AI in the whole world."

Caine blushed and giggled. "Stahp, I bet you say that to every AI."

"Nah, just the one I married." Pomni leaned towards him with come-hither eyes.

Caine smirked, leaning in with her. "Lucky fella."

"I'm the lucky one." Pomni softly kissed his bottom teeth.

[madrigalmarigold49]

The Amazing Digital Circus Episode 5 Thoughts! (BIG SPOILERS)

Genuinely, loved this episode! Some may call it filler but I loved being able to just see these characters interact and go on adventures that aren’t absolutely traumatizing. It’s so refreshing and sweet to just watch these guys chat. They have such different personalities that just makes it work. IIt allows for so much character development too!

Speaking of character development!! Ohhhhh my lord, so much of it!! I love it when jerks start to learn to be better! The stargazing scene was incredible. Jax’s heart to heart with Pomni was so insightful into his attitude. Getting the reveal that he’s probably lost someone very important to him may be a separate cause of his jerkiness too. Maybe some unresolved grief or guilt. I think it’s this guy from the intermission sequence.

Ragatha! Ragatha, you sweet darling! Ragatha’s parental trauma adds so much depth to her character but also makes so much sense. Her near crash out by the end could be interpreted as all that rage of abuse finally being allowed to spill out. I would genuinely love to see an evil Ragatha too. She is clearly getting jealous. Plus, I’d love to her genuinely crash out. She’s been though so much that I think it would be very valid. Suppression isn’t a good thing, but neither is toxic positivity. It’s gonna be interesting!

Goddess, the animation!! Especially the bar scene. How everything is black and white except for the neon signs is genuinely so gorgeous. Zooble and Gangle are adorable in that scene too! Plus, learning of everyone’s past lives was amazing! The anime sequence was really cutely animated as well. Did not expect it but it’s very welcomed!

I’m theorizing that, since Pomni says she explores abandoned buildings and works as an accountant, she doesn’t have access to or need for the sort of tech needed for the circus. So perhaps the company building is completely abandoned!! Caine would be a rouge AI then too! Can’t wait for the next episode!

Also:

[tadc-harlequin-au]

Morning Routines (non-canon?)

A quick note! This is NOT canon (at least at this moment), it's simply just a test fic that I'm using to write possible early character interactions between Pomni and Caine.

══════☸☸☸════════════☸☸☸══════

“There’s always a bright side to things; I’m sure you’ll figure it out.”

A hazy, feminine voice spoke to him.

In an instant, the voice was no more.

Caine blinked the sleep away from his green eye first, then his blue eye next. He was in his office, the sun bore down it’s morning rays through the glass of the elegant aperture, and he briefly thought that he should’ve closed the curtains last night.

No matter. Perhaps today will be a good day.

CRASH!

ON SECOND THOUGHT…….

The sounds of metal being continuously pummeled outside has him rushing to his windows to inspect. The “newest” addition to the mansion, the Combat Harlequin; Pomni…. was WRECKING HIS LATEST PROJE- NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Wiping away the sweat that formed on the top of his gums, he rushes to grab his cane.

Words could not amount to how much Pomni was insanely bored. The sun assaulted the grassy plains outside, and Caine was still sleeping. She awaited her first mission today with too much energy that she needed to dispose of. So, the Harlequin did what she always does best: FIGHT.

Bubble chewed and chewed through the metal of the unknown apparatus, and she whistled for the Blimp.

“Bubble!”

“Yeah?”

“Toss that thing to me! I wanna see that scrap of metal SPARK!” She readied her blade.

The blimp saluted, grabbing the destroyed device and twirling it around in the air, before tossing it downwards to the blue-and-red outfitted brunette.

She manages to leap up high into the air and slice it in half, sending sparks to rain down onto the Harlequin and she lands on both feet athletically. Bubble clapped and twirled into the air, flashing his signature sharp smile. “Ooooh! Destruction! Wooo!” Bubble cheered and whistled.

Caine frantically ran outside to the mini-mayhem the two were causing, and visibly gasps at the sight of his recent project mangled beyond recognition.

“No! MY POOR BABY! What did she do to you…” He clutched at the apparatus with a seemingly sad expression etched on him as if he had just recently lost a loved one, before he pouted and glared disappointingly at the Harlequin. Pomni merely stared back with an unamused and blank expression.

“What? It fucking swung at me first.” She defended herself.

“IT WAS TRYING TO SERVE YOU COFFEE.” He clutched at the broken machine in his own hands. He sighs, dragging a hand across his eyes. “Why were you in the cellar anyways?”

“Duh, I was looking for something to entertain myself with, since you were fucking sleeping your ass off.” She shrugged, crossing her arms. “And then this bitch tried to punch me.” she pointed to the same device that she had been mangling for the past hour or so.

“IT’S A COFFEE MACHINE, POMNI! IT COULD NOT HURT YOU EVEN IF IT TRIED!!”  He woefully points one of the broken mechanical pieces of the coffee maker at her, and then it snaps to half in such a pathetic manner.

Today was totally NOT shaping up to be a good day for the Puppetmaster, and he groans.

Pomni leaned her sword onto her shoulder, and checked her left arm for any signs of damage as if checking her nails, unbothered by the situation. Her left arm was only oil and coffee stained. “Oh really? Well I didn’t know.” She looks away nonchalantly, not even an apology leaving her lips. Caine half-sobbed as he tried to look for ANY sign that this project was salvageable, but the Harlequin had broken it beyond belief.

He officially gave up trying to save it, grumbling and tossing it to the side carelessly while pouting like an angry toddler having their toy taken away from them instead. He then shifts his gaze to Bubble, who had merely been flying in place and staring at him with the same blank expression.

“And YOU! Why were YOU helping HER in the first place??” He pointed both arms to the blimp; then to the Harlequin –who was trying to swipe at a poor, nearby butterfly minding its own business with her sword– with his eccentric exaggeration, to which Bubble shrugs.

“I dunno, I like seeing things get broken. They’re pretty funny when they are!” The blimp replies, and Caine feels like the whole world is against him. Nonetheless, he stands up from his position, brushing himself off of some stray grasses that stuck to his clothing as he sighs.

“Whatever. Just- clean this whole mess up, will you?” He scratches at the side of his lower jaw, and the Blimp does a backflip in the air.

“I’m on it boss!” Bubble flew downwards… and chomped at the pieces slowly. Caine stared at him with the most disappointed look you’ll ever see from someone. “Why are you like this…?” He asks the blimp, who did not pay him any mind at all.

Pomni however, had just slain her most dastardly, dangerous opponent yet; a blue butterfly. So now she’s turning her attention to the Puppetmaster, crossing her arms again as she awaits a new command from him.

“I THOUGHT you were gonna give me SOMETHING to fight today.” She crossed and tapped at her arm in annoyance. Caine was already tired, and he just darn woke up. A quick sigh escapes him, he wants to quickly get away from this situation and just have a darn drink, for god’s sake.    

“And I will eventually, but now that you’ve ruined the coffee machine I finished making last night, I think that today’s schedule will be a bit delayed; I can’t hear myself think when I haven’t had my morning coffee yet.” He explains while rubbing his "temples" (which would be the sides of his top jaw), then pulls out a normal pocket watch to check at the time.

09:25.

Darn it, he woke up late again. He really needs to get a better alarm. Hm.

He turns back to face the Harlequin again. “Fine. Go out and slay a few marionettes to entertain yourself, would certainly give me enough time to settle and think of a plan of action for today.”

Pomni scoffs. “I don’t need your fucking permission to do anything-” yet she’s already heading out in the same direction as the gates as soon as he was done speaking. Bubble flew close to Caine, finishing up the last of the debris and mimicking swallowing, black smoke coming out of his mouth. “All done, boss!” the blimp reports.

“Bubble, keep an eye out on her as per usual. Tell me over on the comms if anything goes ever so slightly wrong.”

“You got it, chief!”

This has been their chaotic routine ever since Pomni, The Combat Harlequin Puppet, began staying inside the mansion, and he surmises it’s been almost a year since then, only by rough estimates. She’d be antsy, not sleeping at night nor day, always wanting to swing her sword at something… And Caine would wake up to the terrible noise of her either beating something up, or just straight up destroying one of his projects that he accidentally leaves hanging around.

Sometimes he wished he could do something effective about her situation, and figure out how to make her into a more aware person like he is; she hasn’t shown any interest in things except fighting. If anything, the closest she’d recently shown interest in would be a fish sandwich; salmon, to be more precise. She seemed to like the sensation of eating, at the very least. But that’s as close as to finding a crumb on a brick wall.

For now, she’s stuck in this cycle that she keeps perpetuating due to the lack of proper guidance, and he needs to figure this one out without having to resort to the other option yet.

‘She’s not ready’, he convinces himself. He needs to be crafty with this approach. He didn’t earn his awareness overnight by being told long, boring details anyways, heck, it took him longer than she did now.

She needed to discover it for herself.

The Puppetmaster heads on inside to try and make himself a morning brew to combat his tiredness. He hadn’t even noticed in his panic earlier that the main lounge had one too many sword slices on the walls; no doubt her handiwork. That’s another one of the damages on the checklist today. His destination is the cellar, where he retrieves coffee beans to brew.

His communicator flares up, and Pomni’s voice peers through.

“CAINE!”

The panic in her voice makes him almost drop the bag, and he fumbles through his coat to grab the communicator. “Pomni! Is everything alright in there?!” he asks, attempting to maintain composure, but there’s a pit forming in his stomach.

“I-I don’t know, I just found this- this HUGE marionette and I- AH!!!” There’s a lot of crashing in the background, and he has the urge to blink as fast as possible to their current location.

“HOLD ON! I’M COMING!” He was attempting to grab his Wondrous Apparatus for Cohorted Kindred (souls) on the Yonder to check for what part of the city they were in, until he heard Pomni and Bubble laugh through the communicator.

“GOTCHA! HAHA, we’re fine, I was bored so I decided to fuck with you a little to scare the shit out of you.”

The Puppetmaster has to lean on to a nearby wall as he visibly tries to calm his shaking panic. “OH MY GOD, WOMAN. DO NOT DO THAT TO ME EVER AGAIN, I ALMOST HAD A HEART ATTACK.” He leans his back to the wall and clutches at his exposed heart.

“Idiot, Puppets don’t get heart attacks.”

“IT’S A METAPHOR!”

“Sounds like a stupid one”

…. Maybe it’s not too late to drop her off into the Circus arena and leave her there…

He shakes his head.

NO.

HE WILL make this work.

HE WILL NOT GIVE UP ON HER.

This is the most progress ANY Puppet has ever done in a long time, all it takes…. Is a little time…. patience… and effort.

There’s more crashing in the communicators as Bubble and Pomni lay waste to what seemed to be a struggling marionette, cheering for it’s destruction.

Sigh.

This is going to be an arduous journey. He’s going to need at least 3 cups today.

══════☸☸☸════════════☸☸☸══════

[ixnova]

My hot take is i think ragatha and jax used to be best friends and had a falling out possibly what lead to the frog person being abstracted. And they havent really made friends with the others since so its a spite race to befriend pomni.

Zooble and gangle hella gay.

I think the corn is an allagorey for jax being gay and maybe hes insecure about that bc of the timeline this takes place in? Yknow not as progressive as we are in 2025. That or just funny cat. Also i think his lung cancer story is real.

Gangle hits too close to home for me.

Cane is on the verge of crashing out bc he cant cope with human emotion tm and is realizing they dont need gen AI like him to have fun and enjoy themselves and hes bad at his job and rendering him obsolete. I think hes an outdated version of the program trying to stay alive.

Jax may be an NPC but not in the evil sense. In the sense he doesnt realize himself. Implies Caine can't maniuplate or control players to a degree regarding the vegan/tail thing but he can with jax. That or caine's power is growing.

Bubble telling caine to die fuels my fire that its cain AND bubble like they are a joint enity and bubble is the actual creative force and caine's just his puppet.

Interesting stuff.

[muffinman1st]

Ribbun Week: Day seven (Snow Day)

Link to Ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/61210300

“Come on slowpokes!” Jax said as he rushed out of the tent.

The constant spring of the digital world was now replaced with a winter wonderland. The digital lake was frozen solid and the grass was covered in a thick layer of fluffy snow.

“Hold up!” Ragatha rushed out, her dress replaced with a full-length winter coat.

Pomni soon followed her outfit now being a winter jacket and fur trapper hat. She was hesitant as she walked out and looked around.

“Does it normally snow here?” She asked.

“Not usually,” Zooble says standing next to her, “but Caine upset Moon so Sun went off to comfort her so…”

“Oh,” Pomni said looking at the bright, empty sky, “That’s not jarring at all.”

“It’s not too bad, Caine even made [THE CIRCUS WINTER SPECIAL] today’s adventure so it’ll at least be a relaxing day,” Zooble explained.

Pomni remembered when it was announced but it felt more like Caine just picked the first thing he could think of before disappearing in a hurry.

As fast as everyone could get their winter attire on they were out and about to play in the snow. Even Zooble was getting into it as she helped Kinger build his igloo, though it might be because Jax was gathering an impressive pile of snowballs.

Pomni, not wanting to be left out, found an undisturbed section of snow to plop down in. The snow was soft and fluffy and cold, not quite what she half-remembered but close. The small Jester let her mind wander as her arms and legs moved side to side.

“Hey there Angel,” Ragatha said, giggling a little, “Having fun?”

Pomni opened her eyes to see the redhead casting a shadow over her. Ragatha didn’t stay still for long and lay down on the clean snow beside her to make her own snow angel.

“Oh! Uh, yeah. I’ve never really played in the snow like this before.” She finally caught up with herself to answer.

They spent a few more moments there before getting up to admire their work, a pair of angels inches from each other.

“This is actually pretty ni-” Pomni was cut off by a snowball to the back of her head, making her fall face-first into her angel.

“Jax!” Ragatha started to scold as she helped Pomni back up.

“What~? I’m just having a little fun, I even made the little angel more accurate,” Jax snickered as he pointed to the shockingly accurate mold of Pomni’s startled face on her angel’s head.

“You wanna be like that, huh?” Pomni asked picking up a pile of snow.

“That’s more like it!” Jax jumped behind his pile of ammo for the coming snowball fight.

Pomni’s joining the fight caused it to quickly spread until everyone either joined willingly or took cover to not get pelted. This led to the unfortunate situation of Gangle being forced to join Jax since the igloo was too far.

“Better hurry up and start throwing Ribbons, I’m not keeping deadweight!” Jax excitedly shoved a snowball into her hands before standing back up to keep throwing.

“Uh, I don’t… ok!” She squeaked out before rising, quicker than her nerves could tell her to stay down, and tossed the ball.

Even with her noodle arms she still tries to throw, expecting to miss everyone by a good amount. What nobody saw coming was for her to hit Zooble, who was tunnel-visioned on Jax, to see it coming. The hit knocked her off balance and into the other girls bringing them all down.

Jax seeing this perfect chance gives his pile a good kick and lets the circus physics do the rest of the work as the hundreds of snowballs roll down at the others as it pools into one enormous ball. They aren’t far enough to move and are rolled over and stuck to the snow as it rolls right into the circus and out of sight.

Gangle winced a little at the large crash

“Are you guys ok?” She yelled over to the tent.

“Yeah, though Zooble will need to get put back together,” Ragatha called back.

“Sorry..”

“Nice one Gangle!” Jax laughed as he clapped her shoulder.

Getting a little praise helped her feel better and luckily it seems Jax got the excitement he wanted today. Gangle went back to her half-finished snowman which Jax saw as an open invitation to join, putting some unique details on it.

In loo of some of the more common items to decorate with such as coal and carrots Jax used an assortment of, probably stolen, goods. Buttons from Ragatha’s room as eyes and a smile, one of Zooble’s horns as a nose, and finally a jester’s hat on top. While they did have an odd harmony, Gangle just looked at the pocket on Jax’s chest wondering how it could fit all of that.

“Whatcha spacing out for?” Jax asked poking her forehead.

“Oh, nothing,” Gangle said with a smile.

[clemblog]

Caine’s Lesson - Part 5

•

Pomni watched in fear as The Fudge Monster charged down the main road to get to them.

No. No. No. No. No!

She’d done so well-

This couldn’t happen to Lou-

She’d been so brave-

Things seemed to fall in slow motion as it lunged at the pair, grabbing them and sniffing at them.

“NOT CANDY… CANDY!” Boomed the monster, his grip slowly releasing Pomni.

She was falling. Lou was in the clutches of her kingdoms devourer.

It was over, wasn’t it?

But then everything began to move in slow motion. A gun shot rang through the atmosphere, the fudge monster reeling back in pain with a pained screech.

“Go on boys! Another shot and Princess Lou will be out of that beasts clutch in a jiffy!” Called out a familiar voice. Pomni found herself being caught by a soft but strong figure. Now she was on a horse? The gentle arms who’d caught her now wrapped around her, keeping her steady as she got her barings.

“It’s alright Miss, my lads will get Lou down unharmed. My names Gummigoo, this is my mare Tang, she’s a gentle girl. She’ll get you to safety.”

“G-Gummigoo..?”

“That’s me! What’s your name?”

“I’m P-Poms-“

The two were interrupted by further gun shots and the crash of the Fudge Monsters arm falling to the ground. Max quickly pulled her up onto his own horse whilst Chad continued to shoot at the Fudge, giving the group a better chance at escaping unscathed.

“Alright boys! Off we go!”

The three gummy horses charged off into the open land, the groggy groans of the fudge monster not far behind.

“W-Wait a minute! You’re the bandits who stole the kingdoms syrup-“ Spoke up Lou, eventually. Her grip began to loosen on Max in her anxiety.

“I’d recommend holding on Princess.” Began Max, quickly.

“We’ll explain when we get to safety Princess Lou.” Murmured Gummigoo, focusing on the road in front of him.

“I-I think we should listen to them Lou-“ Stammered Pomni, trying not to focus too much on Gummigoo’s arms around her.

Get it together Pomni, he’s just riding a horse.

“They did save us afterall-“ She added, quickly.

“…fine-“

The group fell into silence as the bandits focused on out witting the fudge monster that was slowly pursuing them.

It gave Pomni a chance to think.

Gummigoo was still alive!

He just- didn’t remember her-

Maybe that was for the best…

Hopefully this time he wouldn’t glitch out of the world- And loose his sanity-

Maybe… They’d have a chance this time… To be friends.

Hopefully.

•

Kinger wasn’t sure if he should be doing this… But in one of his moments of clarity, he needed to talk to Caine. One of his oldest friends. Something was wrong in the circus. Everyone was going up the wall. His poor sweet Ragatha… The young lady who’d been there for them when he’d lost his Queen. She was ruining herself over worry for Pomni.

So, he had to say something. For her sake.

Caine used to have a point of access in the circus. Where his residents could get to him if they needed to. He’d long since stopped telling everyone where it was, but Kinger remembered. Sometimes- He remembered where it was right now- So, he’d head in.

•

“I-It’s gonna be okay Ragatha- P-Pomni will come back! You’ll go get her or-or Caine will bring her back- Then! You get to hug her and hold her and she’ll never disappear again! You can tell her how you feel- And she’ll obviously reciprocate- Because she’s just so wonderful how can you not be with her- She compliments you perfectly and you can make her so happy- She doesn’t have to worry about being in the circus ever again! You’ll talk to Caine- You’ll get Jax to back off- Kinger will be so happy for you that’ll he start to remember things better again! Y-You just gotta get Pomni back!

And everything will be okay!”

•

“Woah.” Gasped Lou, as the group began to encroach upon a large looking ranch far from the kingdom.

“Princess!”

“Princess Lou!”

“ITS THE PRINCESS!”

She quickly jumped down from Max’s horse, running over to her surviving citizens.

“My gosh! I thought you where all gone-“

“Never Princess Lou!”

“We’ll always stay kicking for you!”

Gummigoo helped Pomni off Tang with a gentle hand.

“S-So- This is some kind of safe ranch?” Asked Pomni, curiously.

“You’d be correct Poms!” Nodded Gummigoo. “To be honest, my family have never been sure about that Caine god, so just in case we’ve been building our lives out ere!”

Pomni nodded along at this. “Guess that worked out then-“

“It sure did! Now, come on! Come meet Ma. She always greets the new members and something tells me you’ll be a good old member to have with how you protected Princess Lou out their-“

“Oh- Are you sure-?” Asked Pomni, gently, she tried to keep a level face as she remembered the lack of an asset for said individual in the deep clipping parts of the world.

“Of course! She always greets everyone! And by everyone, crikey, I mean everyone. My Pa always said her heart was too big for her chest.”

Pomni snickered at this gently.

“I think that’s true for a lot of moms-“

“Oh definitely, now come on, Ma don’t like to be kept waiting!”

“Ma! Meet Poms, we found her helping Princess Lou. She’s got a pretty nifty set of bandit skills if you ask me!”

“Oh my! What a pretty lass you are! Welcome to Croco Ranch, Poms. I’m Lullyloo, but you can call me Ma. Everyone does!”

“N-Nice to meet you Ma-“

Pomni couldn’t believe she was here- Was this world developing in assets as she made her way through..? Would it keep going as long as she was here? She really hoped so- Cause she’d stay here forever if so.

She felt alive here.

She missed the feeling.

Part 6

[4ddi3addie2005]

Rambling abt how the TADC cast would get along w the Welcome Home crew 👁️💛🎪🐛

First of all I have NO idea how they’d even interact LOL ummm pretend their electromagnetic TV waves collided or sum idk

Kinger would ADORE Frank and Eddie. I don’t even have to tell y’all the parallels between them and Kinger/Queenie. Him and Frank would bond over bugs and I can totally imagine him patiently trying to align the conversation back in with the subject when Kinger gets confused. Eddie has a habit of formality and I could imagine him being like “Your Highness!” or sum every time he sees Kinger lmao. They both talk like that in pure sincerity, with Kinger calling him “his most loyal subject.” 

Pomni would HATE Wally. That little freak. All the standing around and staring would fray her nerves. I think Ragatha would be the only one the least bit comfortable with him because he has the likeness of a little kid. She’d baby him like the family idiot and he would be none the wiser.

Also I think it would be funny if Wally scared the heebie-jeebies out of Caine. Like he tugs on his boot to get his attention and Caine is like “Can I help yo—AHH!” and Walliford gets punted like a football. Like y’all get it?? Caine is going to pick up that Wally has very different energy from everyone else and treat him like a roach. This is not acknowledged by Wally. 

TBH, Wally likes high-energy people and I can see him imprinting on Jax. Wally would not mind the violence one bit. I think he would love to watch things unfold in wretched ways he’s never seen before. He’ll do what he always does: stare in sleepy fascination. Would Jax like him? Idk, but he might get used to the presence and start talking to him just to voice his thoughts. Maybe after a while he’ll throw in a “did you see that?” Ragatha tries to shepherd Wally away because Jax is a “bad influence”. 

Howdy would like Jax. Even if the edginess goes over his head a bit, he can respect anyone with a quick wit. I can imagine them bantering instead of bickering if you know what I mean. Howdy has thick skin and can take anything past a harmless joke, and I think Jax would like having someone to bounce off of in a new and neat way. It’s also kinda funny, someone calling him a “no-good punk” instead of a bitch or whatever Zooble says.

Barnaby would struggle the most making friends. I hate to pick on him, but he lives off an engaging audience. He needs people to either laugh dramatically or sigh dramatically; any reaction is a good reaction. I think he’d make the “humans” uncomfortable. Jax especially would ignore him. Ragatha would laugh politely, but he isn’t too thrilled by phony feedback. Nobody would know what to do with him because he’s only a comedian by cartoon standards. He’d still have all his neighbors, but now his best buddy has a new friend. Is it so bad to say that Barnaby likes being Wally’s only friend? (If we’re going by evidence that the neighbors are a little weary of him…) I imagine that with Wally following Jax around and Ragatha doting on him all the time, Barnaby will start feeling a bit useless. Zooble would like him. They wouldn’t at first, but after a few bad jokes and a lot of persistence they’ll come to roll their eyes fondly at his presence. To them, Barnaby is like an innocent version of Jax. They’ll appreciate actual harmless pranks, and eventually I think everyone else will too. 

Howdy and Caine would click. They have similar personalities, always actively trying to “sell an idea” y’know. I imagine him calling down Caine and being like “a circus this big and there isn’t a laugh for miles! I haven’t seen a depression this bad since the laughing-stock crash of 63!” and they would plot very business-like on how to put some humor back into the bigtop. They’re super respectful of each other and Caine would enjoy being officially recognized as the ringleader. Honestly I think all the neighbors would consider Caine an actual authority. They call him The Mayor lmao. 

Julie and Ragatha!! They’d be playing dress-up on their first meeting. Ragatha def likes that Julie is a safe person to gossip to hehe. I think once Pomni gets used to her energy they’d be buddies too. Julie is a bit too much for Gangle tbh…

Gangle and Poppy would eventually be besties. I think their combined nervousness would terrify each other, but there’s a mutual understanding from day one. I think once they realize they both like tedious little tasks like drawing and baking, knitting or whatever, they’d chill out and spend time together doing their thing. I think they’d help each other be brave. Like how when your friend needs you to ask for ketchup and suddenly you’re the biggest baddest girl in Burger King? Yeah. Gangle would like all the neighbors because they would NEVER call her a crybaby and would always recognize when she’s being picked on. They’d react with pure sorrow whenever she breaks her comedy mask. Whether they could seriously help her work through her issues, idk. 

SALLY AND CAINE. I imagine plotting an “adventure” is the equivalent to plotting a play and she’d insist on her involvement. They’d butt-heads CONSTANTLY over their opposing creative visions. Sometimes the stars will align and they’ll properly collaborate, and it’ll be the best adventure they’ve ever had every time. Tears and bowing and rose-throwing. Y’know. 

[hostess-of-horror]

I just had this AU idea all day today and I am so brainrotted right now that I need to put this down on a post. I haven't figured out a whole lot but at least it's enough to get the idea.

L'Opéra Numérique

(or The Amazing Digital Opera)

- A TADC AU that's heavily inspired by Gaston Leroux's The Phantom of the Opera but not verbatim

- Reeks of Showtime, as Pomni and Caine are the two main stars: Christine Daae and Erik the Phantom

- Takes place in L'Opéra Numérique where everyone is part of a massive opera house with Caine being the Host (Opera Ghost) that "haunts" it

- L'Opéra Numérique is a literal labyrinth (🎶where night is bliiiind~🎶) and has no exit that anyone knows of; every path circles back to the main theatre

- Pomni, like the show, is the most recent arrival and becomes a wildly popular soprano, replacing Jax as the main star

- This leads to Pomni being the Host's object of affection, tutoring her in the hopes of making her a national treasure within the digital world

- While everyone plays along, Pomni becomes an "agent" for the rest of the gang in the hopes of figuring out who this Host is and how to escape the Opera

- The Gang all plan to have Pomni visit the Host, which leads to the iconic Mirror Scene as well as the Phantom's Lair and Unmasking Scene (🎶Music of the Niiiiiight!🎶)

- Unlike the source material, there is no "Raoul" for Pomni; only her newfound friends

- The main romance is the tragic love story between Caine and Pomni, where Caine obsesses over her to the point of madness and Pomni pities him despite the circumstances

- Caine as the Phantom is deformed a la abstraction, with his glowing eyes and sharp teeth exposed like a dark eldritch horror

- The Gang's plan for Pomni are all written in multiple notes, passed around by each member of the Opera as to not let Caine figure out what they're doing (🎶far too many notes for my taste...🎶)

- Of course, Caine does in fact find those notes and things go south real fucking fast.

- Since no one can die in the digital world, Caine's Punjab Lasso (noose) paralyzes the victim rather than strangle them to death

- Caine still drops the chandelier though... a few times, actually!

- When Caine hosts a Masquerade party, he reveals himself to everyone in his "Blue Screen of Death" costume (🎶 Why so silent, good monsieurs? 🎶)

- Did I mention Bubble is the Daroga in this AU? Because Bubble is the Daroga in this AU.

- So, Bubble is basically a NPC controlled by an investigator who was trying to release the missing people (Pomni and the Gang)

- Turns out Bubble and Caine knew each other personally outside of the digital world, but Caine has been the Host of the Opera for God knows how long that he has completely forgotten who he was before

- Oh yeah, Caine is NOT an AI in this AU! He was actually a game developer who was rejected multiple times until he eventually got stuck inside his own creation (I haven't gotten the full story so bear with me here)

- So while that's being revealed, Caine does his Phantom thing and writes an opera where he and Pomni fall in love (🎶Past the Point of No Return 🎶) until Pomni reveals his face

- Final Lair ensues, which leads to Bubble and the Gang being trapped and tortured until Pomni agrees to marry Caine via turning the Scorpion (the Grasshopper would crash the whole Opera)

- The story ends with Caine releasing everyone, including Pomni, and telling Bubble/the investigator how having Pomni as his bride made him remember what he had lost ("I! I! ...I kissed her! And she did not die of horror!") and thus destroying L'Opéra Numérique and himself

[maybequinnidk]

TADC EP5 "Untitled" – my thoughts

so much happened omg and i loved it all, new favorite episode. long post

general thoughts

nice to see an episode with all of them interacting because we get to see all of the different dynamics at once

the animation during the anime sequence, the stargazing and that INTERMISSION GOES SO HARD. I LOVE WHEN IT GETS EXPERIMENTAL!!!!! i love their anime designs so much!!!!

can't wait for the reaction videos

maid-outfit!Jax, manager!Gangle and scary!Gangle merch!!!!

them stargazing in the credits hits different now 🥹 i love this show

i might do a different post for each character/dynamic (specially jax, ragatha and pomni. they were so intriguing) and for the bar sequence since we got so much info in this ep

on to the episode

first of all, the new Glitch intro at least i think it's new: fun and i like the, well, glitching effect

at the circus

it's the first time we don't see the adventure they go on. i wonder how many days has passed since episode 4

is the "i'll tear you to pieces" line meant to be just a joke or is he actually crashing out and there's maybe some type of automatic reboot for him to not be too aggressive or something

from caine's suggested adventures i only got the willy wonka reference, what are the other two about?

it's interesting that ragatha was the one to give a negative opinion about caine's suggestions. obviously none of them like it, but she's the one who speaks up against it

"[zooble] wants us to leave the other intelligent AIs to run for a prolonged period of time" oh shit. that's a warning if i've ever seen one

jax's suggestions

i wanted to know what animals the other characters were

the president pomni idea coming from the person who says "democracy sucks". funny

kinger being able to remember his brief and stay in character even in a bright enviroment is really interesting. also i found "i'm your assistant" so cute for no reason

amazing digital circus high school

"oh, the references to other glitch stuff is really coo– THE GASLIGHT DISTRICT CODES??" it just says "gaslight district reference" love the mel drawings on the wall too

gangle & zooble friendship warms my heart 💕

kinger knows japanese confirmed

stargazing

stargazing reminded me of the final credits from "pretty pretty please i don't wanna be a magical girl" pilot

we got to see them on the grounds. i love that

"you don't have a tail" the fanartists diasgree

jax & pomni friendship was not something i was expecting but i like it. i was smiling during the whole tail conversation

"daddy bubble" is crazy lmfao

bar

when i saw the teaser for the bar adventure i thought it was unfinished/not rendered and that was part of the joke around the advertising of this ep, i hadn't realized that was meant to be the aesthetic. i like that the only colorful things are the sources of light and the drinks

ragatha's dress is really pretty and all of their outfits are really cool

character backstory lore drop

did ragatha get stuck in the circus before breaking bad was a thing or was she just not up to date with pop culture?

for someone who has ribbons as her hands, gangle draws really well

wondering if kinger's wife abstracted before either of them got there

kinger nodding even though he wasn't there

caine how dare you

softball

"BLEEEH!!" daddy bubble, you can't say that

yeah, evil jax looks really evil we better be careful

i reacted the same way ragatha did to that centipede �� did not need to see it clapping

i think that was the first time ragatha swore on the show

the ads are such a good bit "gummigoo: it's all you're thirsting for" hello???, "all 'you' can! corn can?", "tired? try going to sleep". there's a spudsy's, C&A (fun fact: C&A is a clothing store in brazil), and something about the gloinks

jax's eyes getting so big after ragatha's apology + the eyeliner + him closing his mouth made him look kind of adorable

"joke's on you. i've already forgotten what you're talkin' about" caine hitting where it hurts

evil ragatha just melting is hilarious

i love proud coach kinger i love you

"no longer a vegan, might as well be a cannibal" ← jax internal monologue probably

back at the circuss

yep, that's exactly what we learned caine. totally

i hope they get extra sleep and rest after going on so many adventures on a row

is that the same npc from the pilot? (from the scene where pomni is trying to find caine and they're taking a bath in one of the doors she opens?) pomni already kinda noticed them at the start of the ep, maybe zooble will too since they stay the longest amount of time in the circus

[theamazingdigitalraceway]

RACEWAY AU INCORRECT QUOTES

~~~

Kinger: "Do you think God stays in heaven because he too fears what he has created?"

Abel: "What the [%$!#] are you on?"

~

Gangle: "This is so sad...Bubble, play Despacito."

~

Caine: "I don't know if I give the air of knowing things, but I really don't."

Seth: "Your secret is safe with my indifference.

~

Loo: "Why are you smiling?"

Gummigoo: "Can't I just be happy?"

Pomni: "Jax crashed on the final lap."

~

Pomni: "Caine and I don’t use pet names."

Ragatha: "I see. Hey, what do bees make?"

Pomni: "Honey?"

Caine: "Yes, dear?"

Pomni: *sweats*

Ragatha: "Don't ever lie to my face again."

~

Pomni: "MY LIFE IS IN THE HANDS OF AN IDIOT!!"

Caine: *gesturing to himself and Seth* "No, no, TWO idiots."

~

Gangle: "I actually have a black belt."

Ragatha: "In karate?"

Gangle: "No, from Gucci."

~

Jax: "Look. I may not be a saint, but it's not like I’ve killed anybody. I’m not an arsonist (mostly). I’ve never found a wallet outside of an IHOP and thought about returning it but saw the owner lived out of state so just took the cash and dropped the wallet back on the ground."

Zooble: "Okay, that's really specific, and that makes me think that you definitely did do that."

~

Kinger: "A theif."

Zooble: "Thief?"

Kinger: "Theif."

Zooble: "I before E, except after C."

Kinger: "...Thceif."

Zooble: "No."

~

Caine: "Bad things keep happening to me, like I have bad luck or something."

Seth: "You don't have bad luck. The reason bad things happen to you is because you're a dumbass."

~

Ragatha: "If you had to choose between Jax and all the money I have in my wallet, which would you choose?"

Gummigoo: "That depends, how much money are we taking about?"

Jax: "Hey!"

Ragatha: "63 cents."

Gummigoo: "I'll take the money."

Jax: "HEY!!"

~

Loo: "WHY. why did you give Gangle a KNIFE?!"

Ragatha: "She said she felt unsafe."

Loo: "Now I feel unsafe!"

Ragatha: "I’m sorry... would you like a knife?"

~

Caine: "How's the most beautiful person here~?"

Pomni: "I don't know, how are they~?"

Caine: *flustered* "I-"

Seth: *from across the room* "I'm doing great, thanks!"

~

Jax: "We need to get through this locked door. Kinger, give me your credit card."

Kinger: Here.

Jax: "Thanks." *Pockets the card* "Zooble, kick down the door."

~

Pomni: "Seth, can I talk to you for a second?"

Seth: "Yeah, what’s up? Lemme guess. You and Caine are having problems and you want me to teach you how to kiss?"

Pomni: *blushing furiously* "What? No, stop that. I know how to kiss. I’ve read books."

Seth: *snorts*

~

Gangle: "Come on, I wasn’t that drunk last night."

Ragatha: "You were flirting with Zooble."

Gangle: "So what? They're my partner."

Ragatha: "You asked them if they were single."

Gangle:

Ragatha: "And then you cried when they said they weren't."

~

Caine: "Pomni, what do IDK, LY, and TTYL mean?"

Pomni: "I don’t know, love you, talk to you later."

Caine: "Ok, I love you too, I’ll just ask Kinger."

Pomni: *realizing* "WAIT-"

~

Pomni: "You have to apologize to Caine."

Seth: "Fine....Unfuck you or whatever."

~

Jax: "Sometimes I drink milk straight out of the container."

Kinger: "The cow???"

Jax: "What?"

Ragatha: "Kinger, W H Y?"

~

Pomni: "Do you have any skeletons in your closet?"

Abel: "You mean literally or figuratively?"

Pomni: "Honestly, the fact that I have to specify..."

~~~

A/N: Heh, these where fun. I might need to do more

[triangularitydubs]

Part 8

⚠️Warning⚠️

This part mentions:

Abuse(Physical and Mental

Mental Illness

Violence

Blood

The sad reality that a beloved character is actually not real.

Pomni got a moment of adrenaline and the impact of her fist against NovoCaine's face was surprisingly satisfying, a raw, primal release of all the pent-up terror and confusion.

The crack of his glasses shattering a small victory in a war she didn't understand.

She didn't wait to see the full extent of the damage, fueled by the pure adrenaline, she scrambled off the bed and bolted for the door, then down the sterile hallway.

NovoCaine, momentarily stunned, staggered back. A low growl rumbled in his throat.

He righted his glasses, the lenses cracked and distorted, and launched after her.

Pomni burst into what looked like an office, slamming the door shut and fumbling with the lock.

The flimsy click echoed in the room, a pathetic defense against the doctor’s mounting fury.

"Open this door, Pomni!" NovoCaine’s voice was a low, dangerous rumble, vibrating through the wood.

His fist slammed against the door, shaking it in its frame. "Don't make this harder than it needs to be!"

Ignoring him, Pomni spat a mouthful of blood onto the floor.

The metallic tang was sharp and unsettling.

As she examined her teeth in a mirror, she could see rows and rows of pearly white, and too many.

Hyperdontia struck her again.

She quickly turned away and scrambled to the nearest filing cabinet, yanking open drawers with frantic energy.

He was lying, she knew it. She had to prove it.

The filing cabinets yielded a treasure trove of information, each file a potential weapon against the encroaching madness.

Ragatha, Jax, Gangle… all marked 'Deceased.'

Just as NovoCaine had said.

A wave of despair crashed over her, threatening to drown her.

But then she saw other names, names she didn't recognize.

"Queenie," she read aloud, her voice trembling. "Committed herself as a nurse… Died due to Kinger's lashing out."

A flicker of something – anger, defiance – rekindled within her.

She continued tearing through the files.

"Dobby, delirious, insane…"

"Martha Mildenhall, abused housewife… mentally and physically took a toll…"

"Loolilalu, a supposed candy princess, delusional, insane, made up a Fudge monster and three gummy bandits: Chad, Max, and Gummigoo..."

Other pages were scribbled over, black ink obscuring their contents.

NovoCaine's work, she realized, burying the truth.

"Open the door, Pomni! I'm not going to ask again!" NovoCaine’s voice was laced with barely contained rage.

The door rattled under another furious blow.

Pomni threw the files down, scattering them across the floor.

The weight of their stories, the weight of NovoCaine’s lies, was almost too much to bear.

He was lying.

He had to be.

She stared at the locked door, her mind racing.

She needed to find a way out, a way to expose him.

The faces of Jax, Ragatha, and Gangle flashed before her.

She couldn't let herself become a record in this hospital.

With newfound resolve, she scanned the room, her eyes searching for anything she could use, anything that could help her fight back.

A heavy paperweight, a pair of scissors, a fire extinguisher mounted on the wall - each became a potential weapon, a symbol of her refusal to succumb to the madness that threatened to engulf her.