#pomni is just oblivious...

[miguxadraws]

Pardon me but can we get a full body drawing of Swap Pomni? She looks so cute!

You're totally right, she is cute

[danzsoldier]

sometimes I think about how Caine is canonically oblivious to the suffering that the humans trapped in the circus go through. Makes me wonder if he even understand the suffering if someone explained it to him because he’s just an AI, a robot with no soul and no understanding of how complex being human can be

[beepborpdoodledorp]

Alright it’s that time again, general ramblings post about Ep 5

I never thought certified silly billy Caine would ever actually scare me but I was proven wrong within the first minute. We definitely all expected him to become really unstable this episode but I can’t imagine many of us were thinking he was going to become violent. (And not in his ‘oblivious to the pain he’s causing others’ way.) Really scared for the players in the future episodes not gonna lie.

It’s not like it’s a huge shock a scene like this happened but I do find it very funny I wrote a one-shot with a nearly identical plot to this back in January

Also just…Jax and Pomni friendship!! I’ve been holding out for their love/hate frenemies bond to develop and I’m honestly surprised it’s happening this soon but I’m not complaining. I read them as having a purely platonic ‘bickering best buds’ dynamic but I’m proud of the funnybunny shippers for eating with this episode

Also where do I even start with these two. They’re just adorable. In a sea of messy emotions and messier relationships it’s so refreshing to see these two just…have a healthy friendship, support each other and enjoy each others’ company. They’re so in love I will die on this hill

I liked Kinger pulling Pomni under the desk to talk to her since he thinks better in the dark! Honestly very sweet of him. Their dynamic makes my heart happy

Was just trying to find a good screenshot of the anime segment to talk about how funny it was but then I spotted TGD Easter eggs on the bulletin board! Just thought it was neat

I do find it both kinda funny and fascinating how all of these lines up with the fanbase’s most popular headcanons. I know a lot of this could just be inferred from the previous episodes (and in Pomni’s case her being an accountant was just confirmed outright before) but the fact these all lined up nearly to a T to the most common interpretations of them just goes to show how well the fanbase knows these characters. It took wading through some content farming but Goose struck the right audience eventually

Found it interesting that Pomni didn’t vote for Jax to be put in the maid dress. They bonded pretty damn quick lol

I think all of us were expecting a scene like this at some point but I wasn’t thinking Pomni was going to be involved like this. It’s interesting how Jax and Ragatha are basically doing a tug-of-war over her, denying her of her agency and trying to project their own ideals onto her. I expected Pomni to play peacekeeper but I wasn’t expecting her to be a pawn in the middle of this argument. Honestly that’s just scratching the surface of this scene’s nuances, Jax and Ragatha are such fantastic foils to each other and I am very glad Ragatha finally got to have her crash out moment

Also I know there is a TON of analysis that could be made just off this one expression but just look at him for a moment. stupid man

I did find it very funny that Evil Pomni curses with basically the same frequency I write regular Pomni lol

This fucking mannequin dude…I was on the fence if they were actually plot relevant or just a running Easter egg and it definitely looks like the former’s the case. Can’t wait to find out what this guy’s deal is

Also how dare they call me out like this

[tadc-harlequin-au]

New Puppet Unlocked: Ragatha Azureus, The Artifact Collector!

Ragatha's character description:

The first (somewhat) successful Puppet to be freed from Madness, Ragatha appears to be an optimistic and polite one; carrying over traits of over-cleanliness and "keeping things proper" as she would say-- from her previous incarnation.

Ragatha was first found as an overburdened and maddened Puppet in a famous collector's mansion to act as a maid, heavily detesting unorganized objects, dust bunnies forming on every crevice, but most of all, trespassers.

After her brief defeat and resurrection, she now stays in the manor to not only help with keeping things in order once chaos ensues, but also as an artifact collector; giving Pomni a reason to scavenge for "useless junk that Ragatha likes" around the city.

Fun facts about Ragatha:

The charm on her neck keeps her calm.

Caine had to surrender the charm to her just so Ragatha would stop screaming and panicking when she first comes around.

She'd often be found in places such as the personal library, the lounge, and the greenhouse garden.

Ragatha also listens to the phonograph while drinking tea in the lounge.

But ever since Jax's arrival, she had since moved these activities to her room instead.

Ragatha is also responsible for the clothing that the larger Puppets have.

her "skin" is just haphazardly stitched together by Caine.

She's scared of centipedes. Most creepy crawlies in fact, since she thinks they're "disgusting" and "have too many legs to count".

Ragatha is still trying to figure out, to this day, how Jax manages to get inside her room to leave centipedes in.

If provoked enough, she can throw a mean pitch; as long as there's any objects within her vicinity to do so.

She cites random horse facts out of nowhere when the atmosphere and the company she's with is comfortable.

Usually, she cites horse facts around Pomni.

She also tends to get philosophical.

She, Z and Kingr actually go out to wrangle some animals to shoo back in the forest when they get too close/cause damage in either the greenhouse garden, or the residential places.

Ragatha hates getting drenched in water the same way cats do.

The insurmountable amount of free time Ragatha has has led her to tackle the art of sewing and it's many forms.

Said free time has also led her to starting a small book club with Gangle, Caine being their occasional guest.

Charm knowledge comes easy to Ragatha. She seems oblivious as to why or how is it even possible.

She has the natural ability to sense sentimental value in an object; and has once described it as a "gentle pull on her core".

Out of everyone, she's the best at cooking-- which was expected since she did used to be a maid.

She struggles the most when it comes to interacting with Z, resulting in awkward moments between the two.

Despite her.... hidden opinions towards the cast, she could never bring herself to genuinely despise them. Even the worst integration of the group.

Quotes:

coming soon! sorry :)

[the-s1lly-corner]

Hiya !!! Just wanna say i love your work !!! Hvvhvhvvvbg anyway tho my request is 4 some Jax x an equally as chaotic reader Headcanons !!

The only dif is -

There just a little more oblivious to the others not Taking the "fun" very lightly and aren't mean on purpose just absent minded ???

Partners in crime basically hvbgb

I hope that made sense 😭

Jax x oblivious!chaotic!reader

i think ive written at least a few jax x trickster reader posts but ive never done one where youre not aware of how mean you can come off of ooooooo-- not sure if oblivious is the best word here but tbh i... cant think of anything else LMAO notes: reader isnt that mean in reality they just dont realize how their actions can hurt people, reader is gn, short post, jax encourages you cws: none

regardless of if youre aware youre being kind of a bully or not hes going to encourage you to keep going- come ooooooon lets go mess with zoobles parts... come oooooooon lets go try pester pomni coooooome oooooon lets-

you get the point, hes going to be stringing you along with his ideas for fun

sometimes he may appease you and back it up if you realize that maaaaaaybe one day you go too far with something and need to make things right- though its likely hes going to go right back to it once things are smoothed over.... just bugging people in a different way

youre not immune to his antics either- just because youre his sidekick doesnt mean that hes not going to set something up to get under your skin

generally though its a lot less harsh and upfront than what he saves for the rest of the circus members- one could say hes... grown fond of you

will never admit it though, what? him? good old jax? catching feelings for his partner in crime?

...partner does have a nice ring to it- not that thats what he thinks! the "in crime" part is very important and he will correct people on it!

[spread-the-influence]

On one of your asks you said you had a prediction from when everyone thought the next episode was going to be baseball—can we see your prediction 🙏

okay List of What I Thought The Hypothetical Baseball Episode Would Be Now That It's Just A Fanfic In My Head :

caine's taking more from the suggestions box . ooh someone suggested baseball ! yeah ragatha did . maybe sometime ago , she kind of forgot when she wrote that

ragatha was voted to be the team captain . this is why she eventually says Democracy Sucks ...

it of course does Not go well because she's not that good at putting her foot down . jax keeps pestering her about it because the foil is foiling .

i didn't think about the enemy team too much tbh i just pictured them as those mannequin npcs

gangle bats for One second and then her mask breaks because of the ball

all of the stresses just keep piling up . jax deliberately being difficult , gangle's too depressed to do the adventure , kinger's Oblivious and WHY IS POMNI THE BATTER SHE'S TOO SHORT TO REACH THE FUCKING BALL . to nobody's surprise ragatha just keeps repressing all of those frustrations with a steadily unhinged grin

the thematic messaging could be that it's good to ask for help or have support in some way . more similarities between jax and ragatha are shown because they both don't really have their own support . ragatha doesn't want to be a burden and jax's adamant about not needing anyone . they both need therapy

jax's going to cut the bullshit if i'll be honest . he's just going to keep probing at ragatha until she inevitably explodes .

the breakdown™ . ragatha pretty much has it in front of everyone before going off to some place where it's dark and lonely . everything's tense after that .

fake-out abstraction to scare the viewers that thought she would abstract in the episode . pomni appears to go Haiii (:

pomni and ragatha have a heart to heart FOR REAL and they're actually talking about EVERYTHING and then THEY KISSED HOLD HANDS AND WALK OUT TOGETHER

anyways they lost the adventure but that doesn't matter because ragatha has Character Development ain't that fun God i dunno anymore i think i'm more excited about it being the office episode tbh LOL

[sadjestergirll]

CAINE ANGST / LORE THEORY 🎩🎪 !

hey guys, just before I get into the theory, you may think this is a bit of a stretch or overboard, and that’s okay, if you don’t believe the theory you can scroll or maybe interpret this as just something to think about instead 🙏

Alright so, this whole theory kind of came into my mind as I was just watching TikTok, and I came across this edit of AM from ihnmaims which apparently, gooseworx took inspiration off of for Caine, except the evil part, gooseworx confirmed that Caine isn’t really evil, he’s just oblivious

I’m gonna take the following quote to base this post on, as this quote was what got me thinking; “because in all this, wonderful, beautiful, miraculous world, I alone. Had no body. No senses, no feelings, never for me. To plunge my hands in cool water on a hot day. Never for ME, to play MOZART on the ivory keys on a (?) piano, NEVER FOR ME. To make love. I.. I.. I was in HELL, looking at heaven, I was machine. And you, were flesh.”

So, taking from this, 2 lines specifically stand out to me the most here “I was in hell, looking at heaven”, you can tell the circus means a lot to Caine, which means he must view the circus as heaven, and also the line “I was machine. And you, were flesh.” It’s not a secret that Caine is AI and the other circus members are all human, as it is stated multiple times in the pilot episode

I know you all are thinking “but bubble, the moon & the sun and NPCS are all AI too?” well yes, they are, but if you think about it on a deeper level, they aren’t real, they aren’t real people, they’re all just caine’s creations, Caine made them by himself, so really, that just means Caine must’ve been lonely and decided to create them 😕

To back this up, you can notice how majority of the AI / NPCS just praise Caine and tell him things to make him feel good about himself, like the moon when she says she loves him (I don’t ship them btw!), princess loolilalu who calls him god, and bubble who consistently encourages Caine, majority of them all just seem to praise Caine

Which led me to thinking, Caine had obviously created all the other AI before the human circus members entered the circus, meaning he was entirely on his own before they appeared, he must’ve felt so lonely that he decided to create AI / NPCS that mimic other humans, NPCS & AIS that make him feel loved, and special, since they all seem to, well majority of them, praise him in some sort of way ☹️

What if he just doesn’t know what real love feels like, what if he wants to feel loved, what if he just programmed these AIS & NPCS so he could feel loved in some way, Gooseworx has also hinted at possible Caine angst in the future episodes too, as when Gooseworx, pomni’s va, and caine’s va were at momocon, alex, caine’s va was saying how he can sympathise with Caine, which gooseworx replied back to him saying “I hope you guys are ready for that..” also, on an older post gooseworx made, someone asked if Caine can feel loneliness, which gooseworx replied to them with a picture of jax smirking, hinting that Caine can feel loneliness ☹️☹️

THAT IS ALL I HAD TO SAY THOUGH REALLY, JUST A THOUGHT, I mean to me personally, it does make a lot of sense, and it’d be interesting to see how Caine angst will unfold in the future episodes, this theory may seem a bit of a stretch, but again, it is just my thoughts, it doesn’t mean I’m necessarily right, I just think it’s interesting to think about in my opinion 😭🙏 it got me thinking after seeing the AM edit, as I’m aware that Caine is inspired by him, he’s just not as evil as AM

NOBODY CAN EVER MAKE ME HATE CAINE, GUYS, I AM HIS #1 DEFENDER. 😞

[sepublic]

I guess part of my worries for the series stems from a disconnect in that characters tell us Ragatha has toxic positivity but I feel like we’re not really shown this? Not enough to really warrant the reactions we see?

She doesn’t belittle other people’s grievances towards others or herself by telling them to just calm down and we need to keep the peace! She doesn’t dismiss people’s negative feelings by insisting they should be happy and have nothing to worry about. She doesn’t approach people’s suffering with a clumsiness so consistent it comes across as less oblivious and more willfully in denial over what she actually needs to do but too cowardly to do it.

Ragatha never does casual, callous shit to others while trying to be upbeat and No her accidentally bringing up Jax’s baggage when trying to answer Pomni’s question does not count when she immediately realizes what she did and feels bad for and later apologizes like that’s just a normal mistake. When everyone mourns Kaufmo, Ragatha is fully sincere about participating instead of talking over it. Even if Ragatha actually does do stuff like this, I’m not even really gonna blame her given it’s clearly prompted by what just happened in this episode, because she sees firsthand that being “honest” just yields her the same ostracization and loneliness by the people telling her she needs to be more honest. Like they can’t suddenly get cold feet now about this!

I love the rest of the cast and them being fucked up over this situation and not handling it well (I don’t count Jax sorry) is fine but like. There comes a point where they have to stop wallowing in self-pity and misery and move on, especially if there’s tangible consequences via abstraction if you don’t. It feels like Ragatha is the only way one worried about other people abstracting???? You can’t mourn how it happened to Kaufmo but then not worry about it happening to others yall. So it comes across as Ragatha is the only one accepting that this is what’s happened and so they need to just make do with it and try to live their lives.

Esp if the show IS going for the bittersweet ending that there is no escape. At which point Ragatha doesn’t really come across as insincere, just pragmatically hopeful because abstraction may as well be a metaphor for suicide. Maybe she is a little delusional but isn’t every belief? And in the grand scheme of everyone else kinda focusing on their own problems and ignoring the rest, Ragatha feels like the only one who actually cares to build a support network they need. But because she’s also hoping to benefit from it, she’s not 100% Pure of Heart, she’s somehow more off-putting than the behavior of everyone else. What is this Catholicism?

Given the line about how the worst thing you can do is make someone feel unwanted and ultimately that’s the opposite of what Ragatha does while everyone else, including Pomni to her own admission, does to Ragatha. Hopefully the story is building up to this Catcher in the Rye-esque realization by the cast that Ragatha’s “fake” behavior is not nearly as mean as they make it out to be and while it sucks to have someone not be able to give them what they need in this moment of negativity, she IS trying and maybe they’re too caught up in themselves to consider how they’re been contributing to their own misery by pushing her away.

Not to sound harsh I’m just trying to be fair. But I don’t think Gangle constantly wallowing in self-pity, Zooble being apathetic and stand-offish, Kinger understandably being mentally ill but nevertheless not being a person you could have an actual conversation with, and Jax being Jax is like. Anymore offensive than what Ragatha does. At least she tries to care about other people when she does it. Not to victim-blame (unless it’s Jax) but I wonder if TADC will go the route of having the others admit that maybe they’re low-key responsible for how they choose to perceive Ragatha’s actions and take them so harshly.

[rhemaji]

Lil rant abt Caine

Caine is just a lil guy, despite it all. From a design standpoint I thought I was gonna absolutely fucking hate looking at him because those chattering teeth toys make my skin crawl- but the art direction really helps make him look more appealing and whimsical than a disembodied pair of talking dentures sounds on paper.

The thing with Caine is I didn't initially like him that much after the pilot. While his interactions with Bubble were quite funny, that one episode left me feeling like he'd just end up being kinda one note or at the very least one note in a way that'd get on my nerves. Then everything changed when Pomni Wake Up Time to Go On an Adventure! attacked

The comedic timing throughout that announcement video was so fucking funny and thanks to his line deliveries and animation/model [?] upgrades- CAINE LOOKED AND SOUNDED SO ADORABLE!!

Legit it wasn't until this came out that I realized I actually could be on board with Caine as a character and it's been uphill from there. Episode 2 was better than the pilot not only comedically and visually but also in terms of showcasing just how actually unsettling Caine can be as an antagonist. Not because he's vengeful or malicious, but because he's so oblivious to how people work. His mind's always buzzing with terrible ideas and he's so so eager about these adventures, but at the end of the day he really really doesn't get the circus crew. Try as he might to include them, keep them engaged [ZOOBLE WAIT!], or even give them what they want [Exit doors] he doesn't realize how traumatic and distressing their current situation can be. The very nature of being trapped in a digital world is bad enough but it's especially rough here bc not only does its god have limited capabilities, you also are very well acquainted with him, and he can't fully understand your pain nor can he truly save you from it. He won't mourn your abstraction. He will not attend your funeral. He will not understand the distress of your arrival, nor the weight of your departure.

This isn't just sad from the pov of the circus gang, it's also very sad for Caine- not because i think he'll ever feel sad about it himself necessarily, but instead because the situation is sad. New members appear over and over, you craft adventures and games and distractions like [i'm assuming] they'd asked you to, but over and over, one by one, they abstract. They stop laughing at your jokes. They don't like you. They want you to leave them alone. It's confusing and maybe even inconvenient.

Where I'm hoping the series takes Caine is that this dissonance between Caine's intentions and the distress of the circus gang gets worse and worse and worse until something's got to give. I'm hoping that maybe at some point a character will try to sit down and talk with him and for it to either sorta get through to him but completely backfire in some form because he misinterprets what the others want from him OR i'd also be down for him to listen, but not understand any of it and proceed as tho nothing happened. I don't want Caine to come around really, it'd be interesting to see how Goose would go about having him come around to being a better host that empathizes more with humans, but personally I do prefer him to keep on keepin' on being this oblivious and eager antagonist.

My favorite Caine lines/line deliveries so far:

"You, my friend, stumbled into an incredible world of wonders, where anything can happen!…e-except for swearing."

"And here we have THE GROUNDS! Drown yourself in the digital lake, or engage in ridery at the digital carnival!"

"What do you think of XDDCC? You're right, terrible, LET'S TRY THAT AGAIN!"

"Kaufmo abstracted? Why didn't anybody tell me?"

"Bubble you can't say that"

"-ZOOBLE WAIT!"

"Why are you all just standing there?! The- The Canyon- C-Candy Canyon Kingdom needs you now!" [according to his VA, this was an actual line flub but hoo boy am i glad they use it bc it's hilarious]

"I know you guys love your NPCs, but if I start losing track of who's a human and who's an NPC, who knows...what. could. happen..."

That last line there specifically surprised me the most because up until he said that I was under the impression Caine was linked to every single NPC. I even thought he could see through their eyes if he so chose thanks to his "hundreds of all seeing eyes" line in the pilot. Him saying this here implies lots of things. Has Caine forgotten before? Is someone in the circus secretly an NPC ooooooooh~

"Who knows what could happen..."

Honestly, when Caine first said this I did immediately theorize Jax as being an NPC but now that it's been *checks calendar* three months since I watched episode 2, I don't think this is the case anymore. Jax being an NPC would be...something. Jax not knowing he's an NPC would be interesting [i like it when ppl's realities get shattered], but honestly I think this line was a way to telegraph to the audience that no Caine isn't actually all knowing. He didn't know Gummigoo was coming through that portal until he saw him with his own two eyes. My theory is that Caine is only able to teleport, create, censor, transform, and destroy the world around him, but isn't able to see all of it at once unless he tries to. I think Caine's default state is one where he only knows what he sees directly in front of him/what he himself has left waiting for someone else. And rather than implying someone in the gang is an NPC, I think that line in episode 2 was mainly implying Caine can be tricked, that it's possible to hide something from him, to surprise him even. Though I'm not opposed to an NPC we haven't met trying to join under the guise of being human, it'd potentially create some fun tension assuming the audience was given enough reason to care about them.

Jax is actually my favorite character in tadc, but i couldn't fill an entire post with things to say abt him. Caine seems to be- at least as of right now- the easiest of all the characters to try and wrap my head around. I'll probably have a lot more to say about Jax as he exists in canon as the episodes come out [EPISODE 6 MY BELOVED]

but uhhhh yeah, that's all the things i had to say abt Caine. Pls go watch/listen to the fansong Digital Land bye!

[s0ckh3adstudios]

If I see one more person characterize Caine as evil, I'm activating The Blender

ok but literally. I have been seeing people around the community actually think or characterize Caine as evil and malicious and i really have to wonder if they paid attention to the pilot at ALL.

You're telling me the guy who

-sets up adventures to entertain them and help pass the time. despite being likely too chaotic at times, he means well

-did NOT purposely trap or is keeping the circus gang here on his own accord. He was just as surprised to see Pomni appear as the others and knows an exit doesn't exist. He doesn't know how to send them home and is just trying to keep them all occupied and pleased in their new home

-gives Pomni a tour of the digital world and excitedly and enthusiastically gives her some exposition, talking nicely

-tries to MAKE the IDEA of an exit to make the humans happy. he doesn't quite understand and just tries to make an "exit" where he doesn't know what to put on the other end

-APOLOGIZES for lying about the existence of the "exit" and just didn't want to show them something he hadn't finished

-gives them their own personal rooms, gives them rewarding digital dinners, and helps them come up with new names

-doesn't try to hide MUCH (from what we see in the pilot at least) and admits that something he can't control is their minds. he NEVER tries to make himself seem intimidating or get too arrogant about his authority and control over the circus.

-is just a really pleasant guy who comes off polite despite being zany and a cause for stress depending on the activity

-was literally SAID by the creator that Caine isn't evil; he's OBLIVIOUS. as an AI, he doesn't really understand humans all that well. what seems normal and alright to him doesn't equate to how the humans feel, but he does what he thinks will make them happy. His actions may not be the best wherever the series goes, but he's not doing it with malicious intent.

-he's totally okay with Zooble not wanting to participate in the adventure and promises he'll make it in a way where they don't even have to get super involved with it

-he LISTENS to the humans and respects them. he's quick to bring up that XDDCC is a terrible name. he makes sure to ask Pomni what she thinks and doesn't force it upon her. and he agrees with Jax that an adventure to get Pomni familiar with how things work in the circus.

IS EVIL?????

THOSE WHO WATCHED THE PILOT AND THINK HE'S EVIL AND SCHEMING.... NO,, HE'S REALLY NOT? He means well, he's just... extremely wacky and intense about it. I genuinely don't understand how some people can misinterpret him like that

[chronicbeans]

I've heard a lot of theories about Caine's name, and while I'm not sure if anything's been confirmed by the creators (I don't use a lotta social media and stuffs so I'm not entirely in the loop if they've said things on there), but I have my own little theory. It's not really that complex or anything, but here goes nothing! This is based just on what was seen in the pilot, so I may be wrong about Caine's characterization. After all, we only have a little to go off of, so far!

So, I hear a lot of people mention the Cain and Abel story from the Bible, but I personally don't believe it is connected to that, so far.

I think it might be a reference to novocaine, an anesthetic which is most commonly used during dental procedures to numb an area of the mouth. It's not the most common drug used for dental procedures, since that's now lidocaine (which, well, also ends in CAINE), but it the most commonly known drug and used to be the most common. I mean, for one, Caine's head is literally a set of teeth with gums, and novocaine is injected into the cheeks or gums. The other reasoning I have for this is that while Jax, Pomni, Zooble (is her name is referencing something I just don't know what it is), and Gangle's names don't have much to do with their appearance, Kinger, Ragatha, and Bubble's names do. Kinger's a chess piece, Ragatha is based on a Raggedy Ann doll, and Bubble is... well, a bubble!

Another reason I have for this is a bit more metaphorical. Since Caine is and AI and the ringmaster, as well as the fact that he is clearly trying to keep the humans trapped entertained, he's essentially there to try to numb the fear, dread, and mental pain that being stuck in the Digital Circus causes. By distracting them with adventures, witty dialogue, and even going as far as to try to make a fake exit to keep them hopeful, he's basically doing what he can to just keep them sane so they won't abstract, even if he isn't the best at doing so. He can't get them out, he can't 100% for sure keep them from going insane, but he can provide mind numbing distractions and games to give them something... possibly with the hopes that someone outside the program may, one day, get them out. It's a bit like how novocaine can't *fix* the problem you're going to the dentist for. That's the dentist's job, not the anesthesia's. The novocaine can only numb you up while they do so.

EDIT/ADDITIONS: Another thing is that the reason why most modern dentists don't use novocaine is because, even though it is a minority of patients, some people have severe allergic reactions to novocaine. It is less likely to have a reaction to lidocaine, which is why most modern dentists use that, or other anesthetics, instead. This could relate to how Caine WANTS to help the people trapped, but due to his own obliviousness and habit for mischief, he more often tends to cause distress instead of joy or fun. He has every intention to help them, be it bringing joy or simply distracting them, but there is a flaw that is causing problems with him being successful at it.

[imbree64]

TADC Headcanons (Updated)

So, I thought it would be fun to do parental headcanons for the amazing digital circus. (Also one question: Why does google misspell Gangle as Jungle?) Edit: I updated this so check out the new headcanons! :D

Let's start with you.

You were a naive child who was highly curious. Out of curiosity, you put on a headset. The next thing you knew, you couldn't remember anything. You kept having a constant feeling that something was wrong. You felt scared as you stood somewhat trembling on some sort of stage. But then, you see that someone has noticed you. Maybe they can help.

Let's move on to the characters

Pomni

Pomni looks flabbergasted upon seeing you. She definitely wasn't expecting to see a child in the circus.

Pomni starts to panic. But she calms down a bit and reaches out for you. It wasn't long before you followed her around feeling comforted by her presence. She starts to question your behavior.

She is obviously caught off guard by some 5 year old. But she begins to start acting like a worried mom.

If you wander off, Pomni will start to panic. She will grab anyone near her by the chest and yell "WHERE IS MY KID??!!!" She finally calms down when you show up or if she finds you. "OH THANK GOODNESS YOU'RE OK!" is her reaction to finally seeing you.

Pomni is now extra careful during adventures because she wouldn't want to lose you.

Jax

Jax acts uninterested in you at first, and shrugs it off as some joke by Caine. That is, until you start to follow him around. This annoys him a lot.

He will repeatedly try and get rid of you, but Caine will just teleport you back to him. It may take weeks to make him get used to you.

He first notices your imprinting on him when you not only follow him, but laugh when he pranks someone.

Eventually, Jax will become protective and loving towards you. If there is danger near by, he will sprint away with you either flailing behind him as he carries you, or with you held tightly to his chest. Either way there is a very high chance that you will throw up the moment he puts you down.

He gives you an Ipad with educational games, and it keeps you occupied. Jax uses this as an excuse to get a break from you.

There is no doubt that he will teach you how to be a menace like him.

Jax also likes to tease you with scary stories. But if he makes you cry, you're being carried for the rest of the day.

Jax will eventually just hold you like a plushie when he sleeps. He also made a separate bed for you incase you need space.

He can tell if your having a nightmare. If he sees that, he will grab you and you will secretly sleep with him for the rest of the night.

Ragatha

Ragatha is worried about you. After comforting you for a bit, she begins to show her motherly figure towards you.

She plays lullabies on the piano to help you sleep. She will always be there to comfort you.

If someone throws a weapon at you, Ragatha will track down who did it, and kick their shins. XD

Ragatha makes knitted plush toys for you. She also scolds Jax way more often so that he won't prank you at all.

Gangle

Gangle is shocked upon seeing you. She panics a little breaking her own comedy mask. After that she will start rambling while sobbing that she's too young to be a mother.

Once she calms down, she takes you in. She absolutely loves cuddling you.

Gangle will let you draw with her. Your first drawing was this:

Upon seeing your drawing she starts having a mental breakdown of happiness.

4. She makes you a comedy mask of your own. Now you can be twinsies! :D

Kinger

Kinger is oblivious to you, until you say hi and he screams

He lets you follow him into his impenetrable fortress, but then he forgets you're there and screams again. "AAAÆÆÆ- Oh! Little guy! You startled me!"

He lets you sleep with him in his fortress and shows you his insect collection.

He is overjoyed to be a dad. He loves teaching you about insects and stuff. You sometimes hide in his robe, and when someone asks where you are, you peek out like a kitty.

He will give you piggyback rides.

Zooble

Despite their sarcastic personality, Zooble is concerned for you. They take you in and start telling you about an absolute jerk known as the easter bunny. Well you fell for it. And when you call Jax the easter bunny, Zooble starts laughing

They get beyond pissed when someone makes you cry. They will track down the person who bullied you and strangle them.

Zooble will instead of saying they refuse to go on the adventure, they will say "Speak for yourself. If anyone needs me then leave BOTH of us alone."

Caine

"My my! It's seems like a new human has entered this realm! ... A small one!"

Caine has to get parenting information into his data since he is an Ai. He entertains you with magic tricks.

He let's you sit on his lap while the two of you watch the adventures progress.

"No no no my dear! We can't have any of that rude language around here!" is his reaction to you insulting someone.

You sometimes steal his hat, but you are so cute, that Caine won't get mad at you. But he will still take his hat back from you.

That's all!

[skellyjingles]

FUN FACT(I learned this the hard way and almost lost a doughnut floatie):The ocean will catch you by your floating, and drag you away.

My experience/ painfully horrible stick man doodle bc I don't feel like putting effort into anything:

:3

I feel like this would happen to your beach pomni and everyone except for Caine and jax would be panicked, Caine would just be painfully oblivious, and jax would be laughing lol.

Funnily enough, that's similar to what I initially planned to draw for Gangle in my beach episode design!

She was gonna drift away because of her floatie and she couldn't paddle back to shore because her ribbon limbs are too weak. I also had it so that she still had her comedy mask and no one could tell that she was in trouble because she was smiling the whole time.

But then I scrapped it when episode 3 came out and we see that she can still frown and make non-happy expressions when she's wearing it.

Nevertheless, here's a quick drawing of the idea! (but with the comedy mask being canon-accurate)

[forgetmaenott]

Experimentation - SHOWTIME

SUMMARY: Pomni isn't sure if Caine knows what he feels towards her, so she experiments a little bit. She's just curious. Nothing else. Nothing at all.

a/n: Title is also a double meaning for me, as this fic was written more so as practice for the sillies more than anything else. So apologies If it's a bit all over the place. I wasn't going to upload but Showtime fans are deprived of content so I will give you what you need 🙏

Pomni was far from oblivious to the things that Caine did to impress her.

Initially, it had been small attempts at making her happy--no doubt as a result of her first few adventures being particularly unpleasant. Caine didn't seem to understand most things about human responses, but it was of Pomni's understanding that it was in his programming to make everyone happy. And Pomni, from day one, had made it exceedingly clear just how unhappy she was. If anything, she was a challenge to Caine's coding, just begging to be fixed. Why wouldn't he put in a slight more effort for one of his superstars?

With time, though, his check-ins and side quests for her grew into...something else. Lingering touches on her hand or shoulder, seeking opportunities to show her, and only her, a preview of an upcoming adventure. Sometimes she caught his lingering gazes, his artificial eyes searching for validation of his work, and it made her wish to shrink away. He'd move his thumb lightly across her hand experimentally, sending a rush of nerves through Pomni's system. Or he'd fly around excitedly--often at the expense of Pomni's stomach--to show her something new he had coded into the circus. Or he'd show up in her room under the guise of a check-in, only to stay and talk with her for nearly an hour. He hung onto her every word, and Pomni had to admit to herself, she rather enjoyed his presence in those times. Getting to explain bits of her real life memories to his fascinated gaze; as she regained the pieces of what real life had been like, he was just beginning to understand it.

Just a day ago, she had found herself mindlessly recounting vague details of reality that she had once adored--the flickering of stars in a quiet night, the humming of crickets, the feeling of a slight breeze, the slight running of water nearby. She didn't know where that memory originated from, but she could still feel it. It was strange, not remembering facts but remembering feelings.

And now, she found herself recounting these thoughts as she waited for Caine on a "special adventure", staring at the way the digital stars twinkled in the night sky, and how her wisps of hair gently brushed across her face in the breeze.

His favoritism wasn't subtle, but Pomni had always tried to deny it to her friends. But now, standing here and seeing the ripples on the digital lake, she couldn't help but wonder. Was it really so bad? Wasn't it almost endearing that Caine had found himself so enamored with her? That he was falli--

"Good evening, my dear!"

Pomni stiffened at the sound of her ringmaster's enthusiastic voice, jumping out of her thoughts and flushing at the realization of what she had been considering. "AGH--Caine! How many times have I told you--"

"Ah, apologies, my dear. I just can't help but be over-the-moon about your private adventure!" Caine winked at his not-so-subtle play on words, zipping around excitedly above her.

Pomni rubbed her head. "Uh...okay...that's great," she said quietly.

"Isn't it?? I stayed up ALL night working on this just for you! Not that I need to sleep, of course," he chuckled before lowering to her level, carefully grabbing her hand in both of his, "But I did it! Just for you, dear."

"Just for me?" she repeated mindlessly. Her mind screamed the same words: AI, Program, NOT REAL, but she couldn't help but gaze again at the flickering stars and wonder--

"I wouldn't have it any other way."

"O-oh." There it was. His favoritism showing itself once again, his devotion to her and her alone. He brushed his thumb over her knuckles, gazing down at her hand as though he wished to memorize each detail. This was crazy. She couldn't let him be so foolish as to be interested in her, she couldn't let this go any further. "Caine--"

"Ah, ah, ah! This adventure is about you. I have SO much to show you!" His gentleness faded instantaneously from the excitement, the pressure on her hands growing tighter as he pulled her in. Before she could even process the closeness or the fluster, he grabbed her waist and graciously flew her above the lake. He set her down on a digital cloud, which she was able to step on as though it were a solid surface. She avoided looking down, tensing as she looked around her. "As your ringmaster, it is my sole purpose to make YOU and all of your co-stars happy," he exclaimed, pointing an exaggerated finger at her, "and I couldn't help but notice how your mannerisms changed when you told me about your world. My dear...I cannot return you to your world. But perhaps, I can bring your world here."

Pomni's heart skipped a beat at the gesture, which she tried to ignore. This wasn't the same Caine from her bad dreams when she'd first arrived. This was...different. Entirely different. "For...all of us?" she asked slowly.

His demeanor broke for a moment. "Ah--yes, yes. Of course! My role is to assure everyone at the circus is happy," He paused in thought for a moment before he flew down by her side and cautiously approached her, "but admittedly, you've been quite the challenge for me since you've arrived here. You're a bit stubborn, you know."

"Is that a bad thing?" Pomni cracked a smile.

"Not exactly, dear. It's one of my favorite traits of yours. It's what keeps me coming back to you," Caine said with what she assumed was a smile.

Pomni felt a light blush dust her pale face. "I don't think you know what you're saying."

Caine titled his head curiously at her. "Why is that?"

Pomni blinked. He really didn't know what he was saying, did he? Did he even know what he was feeling? Could he even feel anything?

She glanced sidelong at the flickering stars, the lake below her, the way the clouds swirled up and floated around them--enough to give her the courage to test the waters. Before she could listen to the voices in her mind screaming at her, she grabbed his gloved hand in hers. "So...you like that I'm a challenge to your purpose? Or is it something else?" she asked experimentally, hoping the quiver in her voice wasn't too obvious.

Caine's eyes widened at the sudden contact, too afraid to move his hand an inch at the risk that she would let go. Not that Pomni could see his reaction, as she was too busy looking at her red and blue shoes to avoid meeting his gaze with her flushed one. "Something...else? What would that be?"

She lightly traced her index finger along the edge of his hand. Oh, God. She didn't even know what she was doing. How does she even answer a question like that to an AI? "Well...what do you, uh, feel?" She sealed the gap between their fingers, interlacing them together carefully.

If Caine could breathe, his breath would have easily caught in his non-existent throat. "I feel that I want you to be happy."

"Because of your programming? Or...something else?" Pomni said before she could cringe at her own words. She was just asking because she was curious, that was all. She just wanted to know if he knew what romantic feelings even were, nothing more. Or so she told herself.

"Well, I want you to be happy all the time. Because of me. That is my purpose, isn't it?"

Pomni smiled half-heartedly. Intentional or not, he was making this extra difficult for her. "Yeah..." she agreed quietly, a strange pit settling in her stomach. Maybe he was just coded to be this way. Maybe she was just being extra difficult. Before she could think of anything else to say, the sudden sensation of his smooth teeth against her hand sent shockwaves up from her hand and into her digital heart. She stilled at the sensation, gaining the courage to meet his gaze as he lifted his teeth from her hand, a cartoonish flush appearing on his lower jaw.

"But, I do find myself feeling more...drawn to your happiness, dear," he admitted, looking to the side sheepishly. He brushed his thumb against her knuckles where he had left a kiss, causing Pomni to shiver. "My dear? Did I do something wrong?"

Pomni squeezed her pinwheel eues shut, tensing her shoulders. "No, no--Caine you--" she stuttered, "I..." God, what happened to her composure? She had never been like this around him before. But suddenly every movement against his hand sent chills across her body, every thing he'd done to make her happy felt significant, and--oh, God. She couldn't possibly be--

"Darling," Caine said, so quietly Pomni almost couldn't believe it was him. His hand trailed up to the curve of her chin, gazing at her so softly she felt dizzy, "you don't need to worry around me. You've taught me so much about your world, about how the human mind works. So dear...don't be afraid to teach me more."

Pomni couldn't tear her eyes away from his gaze, tongue tied by his intense adoration in his eyes. "What is it you want to know?" she asked quietly, her lips seeming to move before her mind could catch up.

"Anything you have to show me."

There was certianly no way he understood what he was implying.

And there was even less of a chance she was actively considering all the things she could show him. She blushed at the thought.

"Caine?"

"Yes, my dear?"

"I love this. All of this. Everything you've added to the grounds for me. It's sweet of you, and...it really feels a bit more like home. I-I just thought you'd want to know that it...you made me happy. Thank you."

Caine's eyes glistened cartoonishly, unable to tear his eyes from her. "Pomni," he sighed, saying her name for the first time all night somehow felt more intimate than any contact they'd had, "why is it that I feel this way?"

Pomni flushed. "What way?"

"I have made you happy, my very purpose as your ringmaster. But now, I don't want to stop making you happy. I..." he tightened his grip on her hand, "I've never been close like this to anyone before. Truly. Would it be so bold as to call you a friend?"

Pomni struggled to contain an incredulous laugh--he really didn't understand what he felt, did he? "I...think you're becoming a friend to me, as well," she admitted, staring down at their hands still clasped together. He had moved the hand on her face down to hold the top of her hand, gently rubbing circles against it. In the back of her mind, she still felt the imprint of his teeth against her hand, her heart speeding up at the thought. "Caine?"

"Mm?"

"Is it...well, um...would it be okay if...I taught you, one more thing?"

"Why Pomni, I'd love nothing more than that!"

Pomni smiled. "Okay, it's just..." she hesitated, allowing herself to get caught up in the way the stars twinkled around them before tracing her hands up to his chest, then his shoulder, then below his lower jaw. She could see him gazing at her curiously, stiffening at the way her hands slid up him. Before she could regret it or think twice, she moved closer and tilted his teeth to her right before planting a quick, firm kiss to the left side of his lower jaw.

Time stilled for Caine, pupils dilating and jaw frozen slack in place as she pulled away. The stars he had created just for her reflected in his eyes, her touch lingering everywhere they made contact. He didn't even realize he had placed his hand on his lower jaw until he saw her flushed face pulling away. His tongue tied, breath stolen from his metaphorical lungs, he could do nothing but stare at the woman before him that somehow seemed more beautiful than ever under his starlight.

Pomni's heart raced at the way he was looking at her. This was all too much. Why had she even done that? What was going on with her tonight? When he stared at her, frozen in time, her face burned more and she twiddled her thumbs. "U-uh, can you put me down, now?"

It took Caine a moment to register her words. "Y-yes. Of course, darling."

He didn't even have it in him to carry her down with him. No, she had left his code too starstruck with the gesture that mystified him. He simply snapped and the two of them were by the digital lake. She walked towards it and experimentally dipped her gloved finger into the waters, relishing in the sensations around her digits.

She looked back at him with a small smile, his code seeming to thrum excitedly at seeing her joy because of him.

Her taking the next step of intimacy left him confused, to say the least. There was far less about human emotion and mind that he understood, and if anything, the static-like feelings in his chest were nothing short of a mystery to him. Perhaps he'd have to check himself for a bug later.

No matter. He shook the thoughts from his head, the feeling still lingering as her floated by her side, unable to stop smiling at her quiet demeanor. She took in every detail he had added just for her, smiling to herself.

She'd have time to regret her forwardness later. Or scream into her pillow about developing a crush on an AI. For now, there was only this moment.

"Thank you, Caine."

"Anything for you, my dear."

And he meant it.

[spread-the-influence]

Sorry for the Cain rant. I didn’t realize he was my favorite until you put him in this position 😭🙏🏾 Noooooooooo. I feel so bad for Cain. He dosent know. Ragathas blaming Cain for their suffering but the fact is that he’s an ai. To him, players showed up and haven’t been able to leave, so he TRIED. Made accommodations like the rooms, and the adventures. He’s oblivious but that’s bc he isn’t human, imagine being stuck with something you can’t fully understand. Zooble said it herself, Cain can do much worst but dosent bc He likes them. He wants them to love his adventures and have fun. He tries for them despite everything. It’s far from perfect and he’s flawed. But he tries. So I feel so bad for him bc waking up to everyone corrupted . After he tried so hard.

caine's my second favorite so while he's not going to go through pomni levels of trauma here he Is going to be beaten to the ground and shot at

what i find fascinating about caine is that he's put in a situation where he's Doomed to fail . he can try as much as he wants but he will always fall short . and it's just out of his control .

he's meant to be entertaining players with fun games , not play therapist to a bunch of traumatized adults with complex problems . he's not Meant to deeply analyze human emotions and problems — it's just not in his neural network . he has not been trained to do that . he said it himself ; making adventures is the only thing he's good at .

and i'll say this , he's not bad at making adventures ! they are juvenile , yes , but i feel like they are intended for a player putting on the headset for a short amount of time . everyone aren't a fan of them ( i like to think ragatha likes the adventures to an extent , though ) because they're jaded adults that are in the game for More Than A Day and are slowly being broken apart by the monotony of the circus . and that's something he cannot grasp .

so yeah . silly guy (: i have a lot planned for him here and it'll be fun (:

[the-s1lly-corner]

For TADC

How would Gangle, Ragatha and Pomni feel about an reader who's too dense to realize that they like them, anytime they try to flirt it just goes right over their head

Gangle, Pomni, Ragatha x oblivious!reader

LOOOOOOOOOOOOVE the oblivious character trope RSAAAAAAAHRAHRAHRAH (i promise i do my writing just feels dry rn </3) notes: reader is gn, they dont know if they want to kiss you or strangle you, youre REALLY oblivious, crushing hcs, short post cws: none

GANGLE

ohhhh........ you frustrate her too much but shes so... *gangle*.. she doesnt have it in her to say how she feels out loud and when she defies herself and does it anyway it comes out in a word vomit

she swears her mask is going to crack as she watches her advances go right over your head- her saying she loves having your company, how talented and pretty you are, drawing literal hearts around drawings of you when she does portraits of you... and somehow! you still dont seem to notice her attempts!

she almost feels hopeless... youre frustrating but just charming enough to keep her from totally losing her cool

as an aside shes a lot bolder when shes wearing the mask zooble gives her in episode 4- at least until the adventure starts and she hyper focuses on her tasks...

POMNI

oh you are both going to drive everyone else insane, because pomni herself can be rather oblivious at the best of times. on the chance you also have feelings for her and decide to flirt back it might go over her own head!

she does kind of just... stare you... in vague frustration and... slight confusion and awe that somehow- once again- her attempts to flatter you have not only failed but were only taken as platonic musings... not that pomni muses... no... shes more of a rambler and awkward charmer

her only real hope is someone from the sidelines getting fed up at the back and forth and simply- shouting that shes into you... it might be jax, once hes tired of teasing the both of you over it... even he gets sick of it...!

RAGATHA

sometimes... after she drops a rather good smooth line that would make anyone blush... and you miss it... because it was so casual and seamless... her eye twitches --- if you notice THAT and ask if shes okay she kind of just brushes it off and continues on like nothing just happened

gifts, praises, sweet words and names all go undetected by you- only ever seen as something platonic, with nothing more under them. it drives her up the wall when she gives you something handcrafted thats basically plastered with heart motifs and you call her your best friend to her face

shes not as awkward as pomni, or as shy as gangle- but shes not overly confident. but shes not going to sit back and let her signals keep missing- she does have the spine to confess her feelings to you herself and shes going to make sure she spells it out as clear as possible to make sure you dont miss it this time