mailamchi

[mailamchi]

they only thing my mind could conjure up after the episode

[mailamchi]

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

[mailamchi]

Sucks to see people already faulting Pomni for being buddies with Jax.

Her friendliness towards him in episode 5 is 100% a reactive response to him being more down-to-earth and friendly with her first, juxtaposing their early interactions in episodes 1-3.

Though I’m not entirely convinced yet that Jax has 100% goody goody intentions being chummy with Pomni, Pomni being nice back DOES make sense. She is stuck in a digital nightmare circus world with only 5 other real people. If one of those people who was unpleasant before starts being more chill, of course she will be receptive. She doesn’t want to be completely miserable.

Also, regardless of what you think of Jax morally, which I do respect, it’s clear no one in the circus at this point thinks of him as truly evil. They just think he’s an asshole. So it’s not shocking that if he started being nicer someone would be nice back.

[mailamchi]

[mailamchi]

TADC COUNTDOWN: ONE MORE DAY!!

Hats off to everyone involved- we already know it will be incredible🎩

[mailamchi]

So after TADC's 5th episode, a lot of little details about the circumstances of the Circus have been revealed:

1. C&A has moved or been fully shut down for long enough that the building housing the Circus has been considered abandoned. For that to happen, you'd need a good 10 years of neglect, I'd say.

2. Pomni and Zooble both got trapped while exploring the abandoned C&A building. (Zooble is the second-newest, according to Gooseworx)

3. It's modern day out there, with Youtube and whatnot. Remembering that the Digital Circus is a late-90s era PC game, that means Kinger has probably been trapped in the Circus for around 25 years. For perspective, he's been in there for longer than Gangle, Jax, and Zooble have been ALIVE. No WONDER he's crazy!

4. This is further emphasized by the fact that nobody else knew about Kinger's wife. For that to happen, you'd need two degrees of separation from when she abstracted: both the people that knew her AND the people that knew OF her are gone. How many abstracted people have been entirely forgotten? How many people has Kinger seen lose themselves?

5. Caine's general looniness may not JUST be the result of him running non-stop for so long. The physical hardware hosting the Circus is likely starting to degrade after so much time. Eventually it WILL give out entirely, assuming it isn't being maintained. The fact that it's still receiving electricity despite the building supposedly being "abandoned" DOES imply someone is trying to maintain the circus, though!

6. If C&A is abandoned then nobody is maintaining the characters' physical bodies. The fact that nobody's died implies their consciousnesses are fully severed from their bodies. This also means that they probably CAN'T escape from the Circus, because they have no bodies to return to.

7. HOWEVER the fact that Pomni didn't mention seeing any decaying bodies when finding the headset implies they're either being moved, or there are many different headset that all lead to the Circus. Either way, it feels like someone on the outside is working to maintain the Circus's existence for some reason...

[mailamchi]

this episode was so much fun SJAJHDKSJD i love them in more casual everyday scenarios

[mailamchi]

🐰🐸

[mailamchi]

its ok father you can breathe

[mailamchi]

ok i have no idea what the fuck this could even mean but when jax realises he doesnt have a tail the cloud behind him very vaguely resembles a bunny with its tail separated from its body?? (forgive my tracing skills but i hope you can see it)

i could just be crazy ive barely seen anyone else bring this up

[mailamchi]

Surprised to see not that many people talking about a lot of Jax's anger coming from a loss of bodily autonomy?

That struck me as a huge thing from this episode. From first the vegan joke to how he gets noticeably distressed from it at the bar, to realizing his tail is gone, even the maid outfit section, Jax clearly doesn't like being controlled. He tends to roll with the punches during adventures, or finds ways to have fun otherwise, but when its his own body being changed against his will, thats when he gets actually upset beyond the point of masking it with being an ass

[mailamchi]

i need to see them fist fight

[mailamchi]

no words, just angst

[mailamchi]

I was struck with an epiphany and had to draw it

[mailamchi]

Jealous ragatha

[mailamchi]

I don't think that Ragatha is secretly a bad person deep down or that Jax is secretly a good person deep down. I think these characters are just two sides of the same coin; they're both trying to cope with this shitty reality. Ragatha tries to embody and encourage kindness to soothe the others' suffering. Jax tries to instigate violence and cruelty, perhaps as a way to rebel against Caine (or whoever is really behind this Digital Circus).

Ragatha's basically like "We're all stuck here being tortured together, so we don't need to add to our collective misery" and Jax is basically like "Nothing we do matters so fuck everything and everybody." It's like optimistic nihilism vs absurdism, or something like that.

[mailamchi]

Virtual Insanity