#ragatha did nothing wrong

[howtot00mblr]

Ok is anyone gonna tell me WHO in the HELL thinks RAGATHA, my sweet angel, is like JAX!? OR MANIPULATIVE!?!? When I was done with the episode I still wondered why jax keeps torturing everyone especialy gangle (My fav character ngl) If anything i thought jax and ragatha were talking abt gangle instead of pomni, i thought raggy said "can you stop making gangle act like you" instead of "can you stop making pomni act like you" and when i realised it was pomni i was like "oohh THATS why pomni said she can think for herself" sure her apology doesnt sound always genuine but at LEAST it is an APOLOGY and she DOES feel bad but jax gets a pass cuz he's a boy?????? Exuse me????? Are you high??????

[hiimalex]

Thinking about how a lot of people are hating on Ragatha for getting mad in the recent episode

While I'm over here wanting to make a fucking kinsona of her because her talking about emotionally abusive mother fucking RESONATED with me.

Plus, I am low-key an asshole irl (I'm just always on edge), but I really do relate to her for the fact that she gets mad ONE time and all of a sudden everybody is calling her a bad person for it. I've had my fair share of times where I'm rude ONE time and got called a bad person for it.

[gachagon]

Fandom misogyny strikes again because why the fuck am I seeing people hate Ragatha from The Amazing Digital Circus because she said ONE MEAN THING to that asshole, douchebag of a rabbit man. Jax literally threw her in HOT GREASE last episode just for kicks, and was nothing but a huge piece of shit to EVERYONE the entire goddamn show up to and including physical torture. Pomni even mentions "You threw me out of a moving truck" IN THIS VERY EPISODE.

And yet whenever I see any stupid, fucking moron who hates Ragatha speak in comment sections about how she "went too far" and "should've been respectful" they all act like her being mean and telling Gangle to die while she was drugged is in ANYWAY comparable to the things this jerkwad bunny man has done for the past 5 episodes mind you.

There has not been a single moment up until RIGHT NOW in this episode where Jax has ever been nice to anyone. But now all of a sudden, because Ragatha was kind of snarky to him NOW is when you all want to dial up that annoying woman hating atmosphere and hold her to a higher standard than the actual antagonistic man right next to her??

Anyways, all this to say, welcome back Ellen from I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream. I feel like I am in highschool defending a fictional woman from a bunch of ignorant teenagers who all think she's a slut and whore for sleeping with multiple people, and how that makes her actually the worst person there under AM's control, but the mean, bully guy who was physically tormenting everyone the whole time is super understandable and even a little funny at times. Please go straight to hell, I beg.

[tomodachi4l]

oh okay.

[wackywatchdotcom]

its kinda unclear how much the others know about kingers relation with light. we dont have a lot of information on how he interacts with the others, since most interactions he has w them is wobbly and brief. important to note that ragatha has known him the longest, and in ep 2 seems caught off guard by his sudden change in tone while talking to her- something shed have expected were she aware of the light thing. which makes me think that no one has put this together yet

(probably not out of obliviousness - the adventures dont seem dark often, and the fort only has room for one person so people dont often talk to him IN the fort. plus most of them prooobably retreat to their rooms at night and thats even IF lights go off at night, which is technically just a hc. point being that theres a good chance the others have not been in many situations where they could talk to kinger in the dark, and it doesnt seem to be something he brings up often- he only told pomni cus she asked, but hed been in the dark for a While before this and didnt say anything)

[hplonesomeart]

Whoops hand slipped here’s some TADC character fanart. Apologies for the severe lack of Pomni in this one idk where she went off to…maybe she got lost on her way to find the exit. The lines are incredibly choppy & rushed, I know, but it was still fun art practice! I don’t draw these guys nearly enough anyways so this is a nice change of pace. Support indie animation :3

[blaithnne]

I cannot stop thinking about Episode 5 of TADC because Ragatha is, however unintentionally, one of the best examples of how isolating and difficult it is to interact with the world as an autistic person I have ever seen. To the point it genuinely makes me sad to think about her. I need to make a post expanding on this at some point but rn just. The way everyone assumes there’s some sinister hidden meaning to everything she does and says but she’s literally just trying to be nice and she doesn’t understand why it’s not working. The way she tries so hard to make connections but it constantly falls flat, she says things that hurt without realising how or why. She follows the rules she’s been taught will make her friends — she’s kind, she’s forgiving, she’s accepting and apologetic when she messes up, but for some reason it’s just not working. She tries to mimic other people, she tries to laugh at past experiences, tries to open up about her past like everyone else is doing, but now everyone’s uncomfortable and looking at her like she’s crazy and she doesn’t get it!! She doesn’t get it!!! Jax is a jerk and he’s mean to everyone but for some reason Pomni likes him and she doesn’t get it, she doesn’t understand! Pomni tells her it’s okay to be a jerk sometimes but Ragatha doesn’t like being mean, she wants to be nice to people, but she does it anyway, she gets mean like Jax and Zooble do but now Pomni’s looking at her like she’s done something wrong but she just did what she asked her to!! She doesn’t get it!! At the end of the episode everyone goes off into their groups and Ragatha is left alone, after having tried so hard to make friends and fit in and make people like her, she’s still alone, and everyone thinks she’s weird and unapproachable and she just has to give up and accept that she is inherently unloveable. Her evil alter ego tells her she’s going to die alone and nobody loves her and the only thing she corrects her on is the fact that they can’t die here. The few that might like her when she’s around don’t miss her when she’s gone, because there’s nothing to miss. Ragatha has spent her whole life systematically stripping away everything that makes her different and unlikeable in order to make herself more palatable to others, and in the process she has made herself a personalitiless blank slate with no unique identity for others to latch onto and appreciate. She has nothing to add to any conversation because she’s too afraid of being disliked to have a memorable personality beyond being generally polite and nice. And just. God. Someone get this girl some noise cancelling headphones and a therapist on speed dial, being this good of a representation of what it’s like to be autistic, especially to be an autistic person with trauma, is not good for the soul. That final shot just destroys me right in the heart. My poor girl.

[the-amazing-digital-mafia]

Welcome to the dark tale of the day-to-day dealings of the amazing digital mafia and its newest member Pomni. Blood and murder, alcohol and drugs, love and betrayal, cool guns and mafia wars. What else will the poor jester and her friends have to go through to finally live a happy life?

THE AMAZING DIGITAL MAFIA

SUN AND MOON ENTERPRISE: soon

THE GLOINK EMPIRE: soon

BUREAU OF BOUNTY HUNTERS: soon

THE GRAND CASINO COMPANY: soon

MILDENHALL FAMILY: soon

——————————————————————————————————

BONDARIES & FAQ

"Can i make an OC based on the AU?" Yes, you can! Here's the mafia info card template!

"Can i made a dub/voice/fanart/animation/fanfiction with your AU?" OF COURSE!!!! Don't forget to mention me i would love to see what you cook for me. And if its a dub of my stuff be sure to credit me!

"What about NSFW?" I have nothing wrong with it, but please be sure to warn and spoiler it for the safe

"Can I ship other characters?" Buttonblossom is the main canon in this au, but you actually can ship whoever you want! ——————————————————————————————————

LORE ASKS

Where and when AU taking place? Mafia hierarchy Real world with silly toons Who is dead? How did Pomni find the job? Gummigoo's mother Biggest crime Why does Pomni have debts? What is the abstraction? Jax's relations Favourite weapon (Pomni, Jax, Ragatha) Weapon (Zooble, Kinger and Gangle)

CONCEPTS AND OFFICIAL ARTS

OFFICIAL POSTER Lineup/height chart + closeups

First Pomni and Ragatha designs First Zooble, Jax, Kinger, Gangle and Caine designs First Kaufmo, Queenie and Caine desighs MANNEQUINS NATION!! Loolilalu and Gummigoo's gang first mention "The Boss Pawns" "Soldier" Gummigoo and his gang (and other doodles) Caine redesign Meet the Abby! Playhouse

——————————————————————————————————

Stay tuned and watch the show!

[jubileemon]

Ragatha drops some lore on where she grew up, and what her family was like. And by her own admission, her mother was...well..."a lot". Enough that Ragatha gets visibly shaken when talking about her.

Ragatha: I'm sure she doesn't miss me. I certainly don't miss the yelling...and the berating...and guilt-tripping...and the...[quickly downs her drink and laughs unconvincingly]'' Yeah. Just kind of a farm girl. Nothing too out of the ordinary.

Notice that unlike all the others (Jax included), Ragatha is never asked to talk about her life, she’s the one who brings the subject on the table. You can feel she’s craving to be opened about her true feelings to someone, but because everyone else sees her as the "happy-go-lucky" one, they don’t even bother asking, and after she talks too much, she brushes it off like if she did something wrong.

Take note of Jax's reaction after hearing Ragatha’s story. He doesn't tease her about any of this, like he did with Zooble's own past. He just quietly studies his own drink, as if he recognizes that this is a sore spot for Ragatha and doesn't want to mock her over it.

It's hard to not feel bad for Ragatha after what happens throughout the episode: After the series of adventures, the other Circus members all go hang out with each other, with Gangle, Zooble, and Kinger together, and Pomni and Jax starting to bond with each other, leaving Ragatha all alone. Because Ragatha embodies toxic positivity to the point where the others are uncomfortable around her due to finding her positivity to be annoying or insincere, combined with how she desperately craves love and affection from the others around her, this scene shows that deep down, Ragatha doesn't have any true friends.

[dodgeballstuckonthegymceiling]

is this how we request? if so, would you mind doing sick Jax x Kind reader? i’ve loved a lot of your x readers so far 🤩

Thank you! Had to write this one twice because Tumblr messed up and didn't save my first draft ಥ⁠‿⁠ಥ

Reader taking care of Jax

★ How the hell did this happen? There is no logical reason why this should, or even could, be happening to him. Maybe it's the universal karma catching up to him. Or he just pissed off the wrong NPC. Who knows ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯

★ Nobody except for you feels bad for the poor, sick, rabbit. Not even Ragatha has sympathy for him. He kinda made his own bed on that one. Fortunately you have a soft spot for Jax.

★ Dispite him being a massive pain the ass, you spend your day running around and making sure he's taken care of. You even found a can of chicken for him soup! It tastes kinda like plastic but it's better than nothing.

★ Extra blankets and pillows are a must. So you take the ones from your own bed. Even though you could easily steal some from Kingers pillow fort. That would be mean though. So you don't

★A very small blush breaks out on his face when you ask him how he's holding up and press a cool, damp, washcloth to his forehead. It's pretty embarrassing for him to need help like this. You really care about him, don't you?

★ When you leave his room after checking up on him, you hear him say something quietly. A very soft "thanks" falls from his mouth, like he was scared to say it out loud. Don't ask him to repeat himself. He'll swear you're hearing things.

★ Hopefully he takes this as an opportunity to reflect about how he's treated others. But in all honesty he probably doesn't. There is no changing him. He's Jax and not even the digital plane can change that.

★... At least one person tolerates him. That's better than being completely alone.

[miguxadraws]

Does anyone actually hate Ragatha? Is that even possible?

sorry but if you hate Ragatha after ep3 we can't be friends 😤

[destinygoldenstar]

”Gangle is a sociopath in Episode 4. She’s the reason things went wrong and everyone hated their experience and her.”

And to that I say…

YES. YOU ARE CORRECT.

She does do a lot of messed up stuff in the episode. Being bossy, disregarding her workers health and feelings, outright enslaving Jax and attempting to brainwash him… yeah it’s not good.

Even if you hate Jax and think he deserves it, you gotta admit Gangle didn’t have to be this cruel about it.

”…and that makes Gangle a villain.”

THAT is the part I have to respectfully disagree with.

Gangle is very sympathetic. She is treated terribly by everyone throughout the show, and when she finds someone that does treat her well, she questions how genuine it is.

There’s also her clear mental disorders, bipolar, borderline personality, autism (that one technically isn’t a disorder), depression, whichever one you see and view it as.

She came from an environment that not only crushed her, but told her she had to wear a mask to function. She’s tried to fix it so she can function in the circus too, but nothing has worked. Because sometimes it’s not that simple. Sometimes treatments don’t work for a person. And it’s extremely hard to find something that works.

So I, as well as others, sympathize with Gangle, and her behavior is very well explained.

BUT, THERE’S STILL NO EXCUSE.

Yes she’s sympathetic, but that shouldn’t excuse her actions at all.

That’s why there’s ONE LITTLE THING that prevents me from saying Gangle is a bad person.

It’s NOT because she’s sympathetic.

It’s because SHE TAKES ACCOUNTABILITY.

She was given the opportunity to pin the blame on someone else. But she chose not to.

She took accountability that she was responsible, messed up, and confessed that she broke.

And she gets consequences for it by having her score docked.

It really PROVES that she is capable of acknowledging when she’s in the wrong.

And she says this AGAIN by confessing she messed up and hurt the people around her.

And the story doesn’t excuse her, either. It’s not brushing off what she did as a joke and nothing else.

Zooble and Pomni both consider what she’s going through and offer help.

But neither of them ever excuse what Gangle does or coddle her.

Both of them just offer help when they see she needs it. (Gangle just shows more appreciation to Zooble cause she knew Zooble longer)

Regardless if Jax and Ragatha forgive Gangle or not, there’s people that do.

They don’t help because it’s ‘not as bad as you think it is’. They help because they sympathize and understand.

That’s a major difference. I would look back at the scenes I screenshot here to understand what I’m talking about.

[poofmagictrick]

Thoughts on TADC episode 5

ITS FINALLY HERE. This episode was genuinely soooo worth the wait!! Before the episode drop, I've been theorizing and commenting on what this episode will lead to. So glad to see that goose's writing exceeded my expectations, she did a great job developing mainly jax and ragatha this episode. On that note, THEIR DYNAMIC IS STARTING TO REVEAL ITSELF AND I WAS SO HAPPY WATCHING IT UNFOLD AND DEVELOP THROUGHOUT THE EPISODE AAA

In the episode, Jax seems to warm up to Pomni throughout the whole episode which a lot of people including myself were spot on about that. Jax starts to chill around Pomni and make jokes, not being the usual mean jerk everyone thinks of him as.

Although that adventure was shorter compared to the other adventures cramped together, it stands out so much in terms of character moments for Jax and Ragatha. When Ragatha whispers "not anymore," and the way jax looks at her like she had the audacity to talk.

I theorise that next episode they'll possibly explain what happened to Jax's friend. Not sure if during the intermission time, the door Jax stops at of an ex circus member was possibly his close friends but I can't wait until we get told more about that!!

Anyways, another scene that stood out to me was the bar scene (fooled us all into thinking it was a mafia adventure lol). Where Jax ACTUALLY apologises to Pomni of all members for what he did today. Pomni is taken aback by this similarly to episode 4, the Spudsy's adventure, where it was the 1st time we see them talk 1on1. (Can I just mention I'm so glad we get to see more of Zooble too tho?!? They're able to do something that they once enjoyed in their past life too!). Now the highlight and I'm sure everyone and their mother will be talking about this is the massive lore drop of each of the circus members past lives before being transported to the circus! Except for Kinger and Gangle who we've known have mentioned briefly about what they've done. But I mainly wanna focus on Ragatha's past life and how it ties into her general behavior.

Ok bear with me here cuz I'm gonna ramble endlessly about it lol. So Ragatha mentions having grown up in a financially stable family who owned livestock (which could be a huge farm that's well known which may be why they're fairly well-off). The moment she started to talk about her mother who verbally abused her and guilt tripped her back then, her body starts to tense up. God knows what kind of abuse besides verbal did her mother do to her as it's shown she clearly didn't enjoy remembering it all and even the other circus members including who jax looked really concerned for her.

I related to her so much in this scene because of this, when you grow up with a parent who guilt tripped, verbally abused you, one of the many ways you would cope is to vow to never be like that and be nothing like what your parents were before. So you try to be the opposite of them. While there is nothing wrong with wanting to be diff and prevent yourself from becoming just like your parents, but being nice may not always make you genuine to other people. It's just like what Jax and Gangle have mentioned about Ragatha that she tries too hard to hard and when you tell people they're loved and what not it loses its meaning. When you keep saying these things to people its hard to tell if they're being genuine.

They're probably the only ones to have been the most aware of this coping mechanism that Ragatha uses as a way to cope with the trauma of her verbally abusive mother. Ragatha doesn't know how to connect with the other circus members, so to do that she tries to be nice by helping them, encouraging and many other things. It's kinda like she's almost giving them so much of her love she's afraid they'll stop talking to her the moment she stops being all nice and loving to them. In fact, later in the softball adventure when Ragatha gets to sit together with pomni and have the 3rd (?) heart to heart talk scene in thsi entire episode, Pomni tells her "It's ok to let out your negative emotions sometimes and we all kinda have to be a jerk sometimes."

But Ragatha doesn't want to be like that because it likely just makes her be reminded of her mother back in her past life.

People like Ragatha who tend to be nice to everyone ends up being extremely lonely despite that. But it's kinda sad because ultimately she just wants someone to be close with and connect with someone. She tried with Gangle, possibly Zooble, Jax even though she hates him, Kinger and now Pomni. One could probably say Pomni is aware that Ragatha is tryna warm up to her and get her to be her friend but the way Ragatha and Pomni interact is pretty distant. While Jax the whole epsiode laughs with Pomni and even opens up with her.

I'm gonna credit @zoshizick for this point they made where they theorise Jax and Ragatha will be fighting for Pomni like a toy they want so badly. Not in a romantic sense, but both R&J are incredibly lonely people and just want someone to talk to. That's when the new girl (Pomni) comes into the picture and they both are so desperate to win her attention. For instance in the bar scene when Jax grabs Pomni and says obnoxiously "WOW, the first steps of a budding friendship. Right Ragatha." As if to purposefully annoy her and of course she looks at him like she's about to explode.

I wanna add on and say that Jax and Ragatha know that they hate each other but don't want to admit that they are both two sides of the same coin. It makes their character all the more deeper and complex cuz really who would they both fight for to be their friend? Zooble? She's distant with everybody except for Gangle but they're both already friends so nope. Gangle? She gets bullied by Jax and doesn't like him and she's kinda friends with Ragatha? but she's with her likely because rags defends Gangle from Jax. Kinger? Jax isn't that close with Kinger and just thinks of him as weird and Ragatha is fine with him but wouldn't seem like someone she would open up to like Kinger doesn't remember what they were even talking about 1 second ago unless in darkness. That leaves Pomni, the neutral person in the whole circus who hasn't made any connections yet. I think the next episode will raise the stakes with R&J's cold war of winning Pomni's friendship. While Ragatha does hates Jax, I don't think Jax really hates Ragatha all that much just probs want her to be herself more. Possibly even wanting to get to know her cuz they're not as lonely as they realise they are, just that they refuse to talk it out is all.

I think that's all I gotta say and amazing work from the team, animators and other people who worked on the episode!! I hope ya'll can understand by endless rambling about all of this as I was super hyped about the episode and the day it dropped although a day late to the party haha. Gosh my hands are in pain from typing this long.

[sillystarwrites]

Do you like dark asks? Cause I wanted to ask [based off a disenchantment scene] how would the tadc cast react if Jax, while pranking a reader with a glass bulb head, shattered it, which causes reader to flat out die. The light in their head goes out before nothing

A/N: THISSS FHSJDHDHSH consumes ask i love this and disenchantment sm. It’s been a while since I watched it tho 😔. Sorta made a new setup?? Idk what I’m doing, but I think it looks neat.

Type/Summary: tadc cast’s reactions to Jax pushing a prank too far and breaking the (gn)reader’s lightbulb head, killing them. Reader literally dies, so if you guys are sensitive to that, shoo shoo, we’ll have more stuff to feed you that won’t upset you soon

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

LIGHTS OUT!

Jax:

He was walking from his room, down past the vibrant landscape of the digital circus until he saw you sitting at the couch. He commonly pranked you, and it never hurt too much, so what if he broke your head? Surely Caine could fix it, of course.

He stealthily snuck behind you, attempting to be slow and steady, that wins the race, right? Until someone made eye contact with him. Ragatha. There goes slow and steady. Knowing she’d warn you, he shoved you quickly, cackling at your yelp until-

CRACK

Your head…shattered. The light, gone, now eternally dark. Was he maybe possibly scared as hell? Yeah. But he couldn’t just admit that, we’re talking Jax.

“Pfft, they’ll be fine!” he laughed, trying to be hopeful in his own way.

Later, when having discovers that no, you were not fine, and somehow…dead, he couldn’t stand himself. He barely even knew you outside of his pranks, but still. He can’t help but feel like the worst human being to ever human being. Which, those now pent up emotions, anger, grief, sadness, all go to his pranks. They get worse and worse, with his mental state too. He just can’t live with himself. He didn’t mean to, he really, really didn’t. Or did he? He can’t tell. He can’t ever tell. You’re gone. He can’t apologize. Everyone, except Caine and the NPCs, treats him like a monster. He’s heard their whispers, he’s seen their looks. He knows he is.

Ragatha:

She was relaxing, crocheting in the main area when he spotted Jax behind you. Just as she began to jump up, her cloth lips beginning to move, it was too late.

A loud CRACK sounded in the room, the deed done. She scrambled to get Caine, who was nearby, thankfully, but he couldn’t do much.

You’d always been more closed off, unless to the likes of Gangle, Zooble, or Pomni, so she couldn’t know you too well. That, of course, didn’t stop her from feeling guilty. She should’ve known. She should’ve helped. She should’ve done something.

She knew you were gone the moment the light was, all those bright ideas, thoughts, jokes, plans, evaporated into the digits of code in the circus. She couldn’t help but feel like she could’ve - no, should’ve - saved you.

She was furious with Jax, but also herself, neither of the two she’d ever forgive.

Caine:

He wasn’t around when it first happened, sitting in his rocking chair, with his favorite digital pipe when Ragatha ran over, panicking.

“What’s the matter, my dear? Are you all dying for a new adventure this quickly?” He asked, worried the morning was too quiet.

“No! No, no, y/n is hurt! Badly hurt!” She was speaking quickly, wasn’t that his thing? Something was definitely wrong!!

“Hurt? I’m on it, my radiant pineapple!” He joyously shouted, teleporting the two of them to you rather quickly, despite it only being a short run. 

Seeing you shattered on the floor was startling, nobody had played that game before, but nonetheless, he’d have it done quickly.

“I’ll fix them up in a jiffy, dear Rag-“ he attempted to reassure the doll as he snapped, but oddly enough, nothing happened. “That was just a fluke, I’ll have them fixed up in no time!”and so he tried again. And failed, again.

After several snaps filled the room, he was beyond worried now, “D-don’t worry everyone! I-I’m not sure what seems to be the issue, this should be working…”

“Then why isn’t it?” Zooble interrupted, irritated.

“J-just calm down, I’ve got it!” His snaps became white noise, he tried desperately for a good 30 minutes before floating above you. He decided to just…clean you up and shove you away, unsure of what else to try.

It was upsetting, losing a valuable guest such as yourself, and all the adventures seemed a bit less…lit up. Even worse, he didn’t get it. Why didn’t it work? 

Zooble:

They got there soon after Caine did, being with gangle and Pomni. They wish they stopped Jax, maybe then you’d still be there. 

After hearing Caine’s unexplained snaps, the trio walked out, confused until Zooble saw you. They couldn’t believe it. You. Shattered across the floor. It was fake, yes, but a terrifying site for those close to you.

After realizing what happened, they never forgave Jax. They refused to believe he ‘didn’t mean to’

“Come on, I didn’t mean to Zoobie, you know me!” Jax would try to explain, but they didn’t take it.

“Didn’t mean to my [boink sfx idk], Jax, sure you didn’t. Sure.” They would ignore, simply walking away.

They tried to adjust, attempting to ignore you even existed. Think red guy in the Death episode of DHMIS, if you get what I mean. Just trying to ignore you’re gone, ignore the problem and it’ll surely go away, right? Wrong.

Considering you two were close, they were used to you helping pick their Zooble parts. They always felt better when you did, but now it just didn’t feel the same.

It never would. 

Gangle: 

She always worried your bulb head would break, she just didn’t expect it to be like this. 

She walked out with Zooble and pomni, shocked at the sight. She was horrified, letting out a small squeak of surprise and panic, her mask shattering as she flinched.

“are they okay?” Was all she could ask, was all she would ask. She couldn’t bear the thought of losing you, but she did.

She sobbed for hours, her mask breaking every time she tried to fix it for the next week or so. She just couldn’t believe it, no way, no way! This wasn’t fair.

Like Zooble, she struggled to believe Jax’s plea for innocence, her trust with him forever lost. 

She still had Zooble and Pomni, so they helped her as she helped them. After spudsy’s, she did realize the happy mask was pointless. What’s the point of forcing happiness? You’re not coming back, and that’s okay, it’ll be okay, right? Right. Right.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N: sorry it’s missing Kinger and Pomni, I feel like I started repeating myself here 😭

[poprocksriot]

*Sigh* Yet another wave of people who think Jax is Satan himself and the female characters are perfect in every way. Let me explain why Ragatha is disliked by a lot of people. This is not about people who are flat out misogynist.

Jax is a bad person. He is. I'm not denying that. He's got problems he needs to overcome. But guess what? Despite him bullying the others, that doesn't mean it's a good thing for them to retaliate. They should stand up for themselves, but not in such a torturous way. Yes. Torturous. Gangle got power hungry and tried to brain wash Jax. That's psychological torture. In this last episode, Ragatha got pissed at Jax becoming friends with Pomni and reminded him that his old friend abstracted. You think that's ok? He's a bully, but that's a little harsh.

A lot of y'all try to say Ragatha did nothing wrong in the slightest. Yes, she was expressing an anger she's had for a while, but she also saw Pomni becoming friends with Jax and lashed out at both of them. She attacked Pomni as well, not just Jax. You think that's ok?

People can criticize female characters without being sexist. And pointing out Ragatha's (probably unintentional) manipulation does not mean Jax fans hate women. It means we acknowledge both characters' issues and prove at what makes them tick. We praise their good deeds and we criticize their bad deeds. Not everything is a personal attack.

[impishjesters]

Aggression Distraction

warning(s): canonical character..death? (it's Kaufmo), nondescript type of panic/anxiety attack (honestly the whole thing glosses over exactly what type of mental state you are in, just that you aren't doing so hot after that experience), cursing, minor suggestive content note(s): This can be read stand-alone but goes in hand with my previous post about Jax with a partner (platonic or romantic) who suffers from depression/suicidal tendencies. Can be read as platonic or romantic but written with more romantic intention in mind, consider it like pre-dating romantics or whatever. A/N: It's worth mentioning that Jax's behavior is a little back and forth, which is intentional. This stuff is new territory for him, but you matter to him so he's trying to be a rock for you, he's just gonna be a little shit while doing it though. ♥ AO3 version

With the latest addition of Pomni and the recent departure of Kaufmo, things had taken a slight turn from the usual day-to-day. You weren’t particularly close to Kaufmo, but to see him abstracted like that? Someone you knew, for god knows how long to just..stop existing like that?

It was horrifying.

As nonchalant as Jax had been over the whole thing like he’d seen it a million times, it had yet to leave your brain. Even days later. Days? It’s still hard to tell the passing of time.

Jax had taken notice when your gaze lingered on Kaufmo’s old room, the large red ‘X’ over his face. Every time he’d swing by your room to pick you up or drop you off he’d catch you staring, and he knew it wasn’t a good thing. Sure, nobody really liked Kaufmo, and you knew him for an even shorter time than them, but he had an inkling what had you so..distracted for a better term.

The first day or two after the events left everyone a little thrown off. Pomni stuck by Ragatha like a little duckling, Gangle had taken to trying to fix her comedy mask, Zooble did whatever Zooble does, and Kinger? Yeah, nobody cared what he did. But you? You distanced yourself or tried to at least, Jax was never far behind.

It was sweet really, he’s still getting the hang of this whole situation the two of you got going on and it’s been going on for a while. Honestly? It’s almost scary how well he knows you and is able to silently confront you without you realizing something’s even wrong, like some weird sniffer dog.

The thought makes you giggle.

Jax’s head lifts and his gaze falls to you with a brow raised, it’s not the first time you’ve randomly giggled but usually there’s a reason, generally something he did. And he wasn’t doing shit worth giggling over. Waving him off that it’s nothing he shrugs it off and goes back to his little task that his torso is blocking.

To be honest, you aren’t even sure what he’s doing anymore, he kinda just showed up and said “I need my favourite doll for this new little prank, so get off your butt and come to my room.” And then proceeded to drag you off your bed and over his shoulder like a sack of rice into his room.

A prank that he has still yet to tell you if there even is one.

During the time spent together, there’s something you’ve managed to pick up in the way he always goes with the crowd. Sure there are times he’s alone, but it’s different, it’s like he wants to be alone compared to the times he seemed to be following others around simply because he didn’t want to be by himself. It was something you yourself used to do after all. Hanging out with people you didn’t really care about simply so you weren’t completely alone.

Now if you tried to confront him on this little theory, he’d no doubt make some comment about how he’s not sure if it’s sweet or creepy that you’re staring at him so intently. Then immediately follow up with some spiel about how he can’t watch funny stuff happen to others if he’s alone. “Think of all the funny shit I’d miss!” Or whatever.

“Are you ever going to tell me what this latest ‘prank’ is?”

“Mmm..” he hums as if debating, but it doesn’t take a genius to tell you it’ll be a—“nope!” Called it.

You wanna call him out that there isn’t even a prank, he’s not even doing anything other than sitting there polishing a…bowling ball? You sit up from your spot on his bed confused. “Is that.. the bowling ball from—”

“What you think I went back down to that creepy place just for this exact bowling ball?” he scoffs, this place has plenty of the damn things he doesn’t need that one.

As tempting as you wanna say yes, you know just how lazy and manipulative he can be. “You? No. Making someone else fetch it with some excuse about how it’s got meaning and worth to you? Now that I can see.”

His eyes squint as he throws a grin over his shoulder at you, one that looks almost painful if not for the fact that he’s almost always grinning.

“You know me too well sugar,” he turns to face you, bowling ball balancing in his hand like it weighs nothing to him, “but I hate to break it to you. This really is just a different bowling ball, but now you got me wanting to send Gangle down to see if she’ll actually do it.”

“Behave.” You playfully chide. It’d be hypocritical to say “poor Gangle” after all, you’ve also sent her on a wild goose chase once or twice, even if you felt a tad guilty later on.

He scoffs and places a gloved hand on his chest in mock offense. “I always behave. I’m the textbook definition of the word gentleman.”

“Oh yeah? In what book?” Slipping off his bed, you walk over to him and reach out to the bowling ball only for him to yank it out of reach. Even sitting the bastard has enough reach to keep anything away from you.

Jax waves his arm about every time you try to reach for the ball, there’s no real reason to keep it from you, he’s just fucking around at this point. Plus this little endeavor has kept you distracted and him mildly entertained. “Oh, now that’s just rude doll, have a heart.” You stop trying to get the ball and he waggles it at you like he’s trying to tempt an animal. “You don’t think I’m a gentleman?”

“A man? Yes.” You scoff and push the ball out of your face. “Gentle? Only when you want to be.”

He hisses and tosses the ball aside letting it roll away, no longer finding it fun. “So harsh, you really do wound me.”

You flinch at the loud thud, unsurprising at the lack of dent the ball should have created under normal circumstances. “Oh bite me.”

“Is that an invitation?” His shit-eating grin nearly splits his face in two, it’s a shame the others aren’t around, he loves seeing their reactions when the two of you banter like this.

Like an old married couple.

You roll your eyes and step into his personal bubble, one of his ears twitches out of habit and his shoulders tense but they gradually relax as you get yourself situated on his lap.

It takes everything in him not to spit out something insultingly sweet, he’s heavily aware of your mental state right now and that wouldn’t help. Though he really wants to joke about how this definitely seems like an invitation seeing as how you’ve walked into his bubble and made yourself at home on his lap. Maybe later.

Silence falls between the two of you, huddled up against him with your face buried into his chest. He pulls the blanket off his bed and drapes it around you, it’s not cold per say, but you had voiced once that you still liked the habit of curling up into a blanket. Specifically how you were a fan of blanket sushi? Much to his original confusion.

“You know I’ve seen some pretty gross things wrapped in seaweed, you by far are the grossest sushi-filling doll.”

To which your immediate reaction was to question whether or not he’d still try and eat you. That was definitely not something he thought would leave your mouth. Luckily his quick tongue bit back something along the lines of “Not while the playschool toys are around baby”.

Jax placed one hand on your back applying light pressure while rubbing small circles, the other falling loosely to rest on your lower back. Your arms tightened around him and he gave you a squeeze back, when you got too embarrassed early on to keep asking for him to squeeze you the two of you settled on this unspoken method of asking. And it wasn’t always limited to full-body squeezing either, you’d squeeze his hand, arm, or leg and he’d squeeze back.

The longer the silence went the more his irritation grew, not at you though, just overall irritation at the silence, at seeing you like this. Kaufmo’s abstraction itself wasn’t what had you like this, he knew you thought of it more like Kaufmo dying. Which, who’s to say that you weren’t wrong for thinking that? That thing wasn’t Kaufmo, and now he’s in the cellar doing whatever it is abstracted things do. If Caine couldn’t fix them they might as well be considered dead.

The topic of death and dying almost never came up in day-to-day conversation, maybe a joke here or there but nothing like this. And you were doing so well too.

If he had the ability to fall asleep he would’ve, not that it wasn’t cozy and domestic as shit being all huddled up with you, but he was getting bored. His leg began to wiggle, lightly bouncing you in the process, something you recognized as him being antsy and an unintentional aid in soothing you.

Another squeeze to the lilac torso resulted in another returned squeeze, except unlike the first time, the grip didn’t loosen. It wasn’t suffocating but grounding, the hand on your back stopped moving, and both hands were glued to your back to apply pressure like a weighted blanket. If asked, Jax would probably lay himself on you like an actual weighted blanket—but part of you felt like he’d enjoy that too much and force you into some shitty deal to get him off of you.

The thought sparked a tiny giggle, one that didn’t go unnoticed by Jax. What the fuck were you giggling about? Meanwhile, his ass is going numb (it’s not) sitting here holding you like he’s trying to wrestle a balloon and not pop it. Mood swings aside he’s grateful for the sound, it’s not much but it shows him you were coming out of it. Especially when the giggling starts to pick back up.

“What’s so funny you little brat? Finally gone bonkers?” It’s harsh but there’s a fondness in his tone that only causes you to giggle harder. The lost grin slowly returns to his face and he purposely jostles his leg harder now, bouncing you more chaotically.

The giggle turns into a full-on laugh and he can’t help but find himself grinning more at the sound. “Okay, okay! Enough jostling, I’ll lose more brain cells if you keep it up.”

“Oh, you still have those?” He chuckles. “Here lemme just.. shake those loose too.” Both of his legs wiggle, jostling you back and forth like a boat would, his arms caging you in so you don’t actually go flying.

You let out a squeal following more giggles and hold tightly to his neck until he comes to an abrupt stop. “Jeez, that’s a real workout on the legs..” he mumbles, letting out a little exhausted sigh.

“Hey you did that all on your own, you have only yourself to blame.” Your grip doesn’t leave him in its entirety as you shift on his lap turning sideways, he loosens his grip and grumbles out a “watch it” until you settle down.

After making grabby hands at the arm not trapped behind you he rolls his eyes and relents, giving you his newly free hand. It’s obvious that Jax is pushing his limit at both sitting still and being this vulnerable, and you could keep going on and just soak up the affection full well knowing he won’t actually blow up at you. The others however will pay the price of his pent-up aggression. Perhaps you could lessen that by…

You give his palm a few gentle prods with your thumbs like it’s a squish toy before bringing it to your face, moving it in such a way that allows him to take your jaw and squish your cheeks between his thumb and fingers.

And oh boy does he squish, a bit too roughly but it’s not unbearable as he moves your head side to side. He knows what you doing, letting him have some playful aggression with you to lessen what he’ll put the others through.

You’ve done it before but it rarely does much, he’ll play nice when you’re around then subject the others to his full bull shittery when you’re gone. It does give him a good chance to just fuck with you and squish those cheeks and rattle you around, you’re at his mercy and you happen to make some particularly cute little noises after all. It’s a nice and rare chance to soak up being able to have your face in his hand without him having to subject himself to any embarrassing vulnerable shit of outright asking to touch your face in such a.. intimate-like gesture.

His internal struggles are lost on you though, simply content on his lap, in his arms letting him squish and waggle your head around. You silently count down the minutes, or guesstimate the minutes until he’s had enough and lets you go. At least this time he has the decency to help you stand versus shoving you off his lap and onto the floor.

Jax brushes the imaginary dust from his clothes and puts a hand on his hip, gesturing the free hand towards you. “We done here babe?”

You nod, rocking back and forth before shaking your head. “Lean over real quick.”

He rolls his eyes and groans but does as asked, leaning over to be on your level. Before he can ask why he’s breaking his back you lean up and press a quick kiss to the side of his mouth before pulling away and racing out of his bedroom.

The grin slips for a split second while he processes that you literally had him lean down, just to kiss him and then bolt. That face-splitting grin returns as he strolls out of his room just to see you at the end of the hall giggling like a maniac.

“You know what? I’ll give you a head start, better hope I don’t catch you!”

You bolt off with a squeal and he chuckles, maybe when he catches you he’ll just settle all that pent-up aggression toward you—he’s long overdue for an intense tease session after all.