#Gangle are you in my walls?

[i-am-bored-and-i-like-turtles]

that *is* what I’m thinking…

[blueanim]

Jax's Bedroom - FAN Concept Renders @kovox @gooseworx

I've created an entire backstory & collection of headcanons surrounding his room, so if you'd like to learn more, then please keep reading! :)

His sleeping area is made up of various stolen objects.

End Table: Stolen from Kaufmo after he abstracted.

Lava Lamp: Stolen from Zooble as a prank after they had just arrived.

Room Divider: "Borrowed" from Queenie, but never gave it back because she abstracted.

His closet contains several copies of his signature overalls. He's basically Spongebob.

His desk area contains various stolen items:

Bowling Ball: Stolen from Kaufmo after he abstracted (Ep.1)

Dobby's Pet Bowl: Stolen from Dobby (abstracted dog) to make himself feel less self-conscious about Caine giving him a food bowl.

Gangle's Broken Mask: After Gangle first arrived to the Circus, Jax learned he could very, very easily break her happy mask. The one you see here is the first EVER broken happy mask.

Caine's Staff: Jax stole this while Caine lagged out for a few seconds. He didn't realize and instead just spawned in a new one.

His dresser also contains a few items, most of which aren't stolen but still worth mentioning:

Many pairs of his own gloves… don't ask why.

Whipped Cream Pies for pranking

Another stolen Gangle mask

Here, we have all of his stolen keys! He really does have keys to everywhere 👀

And finally, we have a totally-not-suspicious hole into the void! When Jax first arrived in the Circus, he spotted a tiny hole in the corner of his room.

Over the years, the hole has expanded and is now a pretty big hazard. He's been using it as a trash can, though. He doesn't care that much.

The exit door you see here is the one from the pilot, seen when Pomni was having a tour. Jax went out to the Grounds for a swim and spotted that exit door. He took it into the Tent and placed it in his room without anyone noticing.

After discovering there was nothing on the other side, he wrote "Not An Exit Door" on it and placed it against the wall.

Thank you for reading my hyperfixated ramblings! I hope it was enjoyable for you, and I had a ton of fun putting this together. :)

[redvexillum]

"EPISODE 5 ISN'T A RAGATHA EPISO--"

So I just finished watching Episodes 4 and 5 of The Amazing Digital Circus for the third time because I’ve clearly given my life to this show and Gooseworx owns my soul. Genuinely, what phenomenal writing. I've seen mixed reception for episode five but I’m thrilled that the majority of the fandom can agree this episode was amazing. Because that means I can scream with all you FunnyBunny shippers and dedicated emotional wrecks alike.

Now. Let me get into why Episode 5 wasn’t just a Jax episode (though it very much was)—but why it was, at its core, Ragatha’s episode. This is gonna be long and laced with “am I overthinking this?” moments. Buckle up.

WHO IS RAGATHA?

When we first meet her in Episode One, she’s nice. Incredibly kind. Super peppy. But there's this teeny-tiny crack in that candy coating. She spirals, just a little, and we see a nervous, anxious edge slipping through her “positive vibes only” persona.

And that spiral? It’s not a one-time thing. It gets worse. The deeper you go into the series, the more you notice how her overbearing positivity feels less like optimism and more like a coping mechanism. A weaponized smile. She’s not just trying to cheer everyone up, she’s gaslighting herself into believing she has to be happy. She has to be likable. That it’s the only way she’ll be accepted.

And in the Digital Circus, where identity is shredded (like you forget your name for fuck's sakes) and everything’s performative? That’s not just sad...it’s devastating.

EPISODE 4: THE CRACKS BEGIN TO SHOW

Episode Four set the entire foundation. When Ragatha gets “stupid sauce” in her eyes and all her emotional filters drop, you finally see her. She stops curating how she’s perceived and just exists...and what comes out? She reminisces of her life (which gets confirmed in Episode 5). Gangle tries to warn her she might get hurt, and her response is almost eerie in how casually she brushes it off.

Sure, it could be a nod to Raggedy Ann and all that doll-abuse lore, but when you learn about Ragatha’s real past: abusive, narcissistic mother, high-society pressure cooker upbringing...that “hurt” starts feeling very literal. Maybe this line wasn’t just random doll humor. Maybe it’s a whisper of childhood trauma, manifesting through a false smile.

And then comes the Gloink Queen. The way Ragatha lights up at the idea of a mother who genuinely cherishes every single one of her hundreds of children? I fucking felt that. It wasn’t just admiration; it was longing. Desperation. Like she never got that kind of love growing up, so the concept itself is intoxicating. It’s this quiet heartbreak that adds a whole new layer to her need for approval.

She hates Jax. Let’s be real. He antagonizes her constantly, pushes every one of her buttons (he literally threw her in a goddamn vat of boiling oil for fucks sakes). But the part that wrecks me? She doesn’t want him to hate her. Not because she likes him, but because anyone disliking her is unbearable. Being disliked means she failed. Means she’s unworthy. Means she’s alone.

That’s why her facade, this grinning, chipper armour? It's everything. And the more we see of her, the more we understand that it’s crumbling.

I NEED YOU ALL TO LOCK THIS SCENE INTO YOUR BRAINS, OKAY? Because this exact emotional thread gets replayed like a broken record all throughout Episode Five. It’s not just a one-off moment, it’s the theme. The cast knows Ragatha’s cheer is fake. And honestly? It makes sense. They’ve been stuck together for who-knows-how-long, and you learn a lot about someone in that kind of nightmare.

But here’s the thing: when someone keeps pushing toxic positivity, constantly trying to “cheer you up” without actually listening, it doesn’t help. It hurts. It makes the person reaching out feel like they’re talking to a wall. Ragatha so badly wants people to open up to her, but she’s terrified of doing the same in return, and that’s where the entire disconnect lies. She’s hyper-aware of how she’s perceived. Her self-image is a prison. And at the core of it all?

Rejection.

Her biggest, ugliest, most soul-deep fear. Because rejection leads to isolation. And isolation? Leads straight back to the kind of loneliness she probably drowned in as a child.

Now, you're probably wondering: why am I still going off about Episode Four when I promised this was a breakdown of Episode Five?

Because Episode Four is the breadcrumb trail. It's the soft warning. The writer’s subtle little “hey, pay attention to her” moment. It’s the appetizer. It preps us, emotionally and narratively, for the main course of Episode Five, where Ragatha's carefully-constructed image begins to crack and we finally, finally, start to understand the full scope of her trauma.

Let’s address the big criticism real quick: a lot of people think this was a Jax-centric episode. And I get it. Jax got depth, growth, actual backstory. But here’s my take: Jax and Ragatha are each other’s foils.

One is warm, soft-spoken, always smiling, but secretly repressing everything real.

The other is brash, rude, antagonistic—but when he opens up? He’s real. He’s genuine.

They’ve been clashing since Episode One, and their dynamic works because they’re mirrors: distorted, but parallel.

Why was using Jax as Ragatha’s foil so brilliant? Because it does two huge things. First, it finally shows us Jax as a person instead of just telling us he’s a dick with a smile. But more importantly?

It amplifies Ragatha.

A foil, by definition, is a character who highlights the traits of another character by contrasting with them. And what better way to show Ragatha’s entire internal collapse than by placing her beside someone who, while difficult and abrasive, actually manages to connect with someone else?

Because as Jax grows closer to Pomni, the very connection Ragatha has been chasing since Day One, it throws Ragatha’s failures into painful high-def. She’s tried everything. She’s been kind, supportive, the “good friend.” And yet, it’s not her Pomni opens up to. It’s not her Pomni laughs with.

And that is why Episode Five is a Ragatha episode. Maybe not in the obvious, center-stage way. But in the subtle, devastating unraveling that plays out just beneath the surface.

Now, let’s talk receipts. I’ve got observations, breakdowns, and repeat viewings of Episodes Four and Five loaded and ready.

I don’t know if it was a deliberate artistic choice or just an organic part of the scene composition, but I can’t not point out how telling it is that the characters are all paired off: Jax and Pomni, Kinger with Zooble and Gangle, and yet Ragatha? She’s standing off in the distance. Alone. Isolated. Visibly excluded from every natural dynamic.

And I really want to believe that was purposeful. A quiet visual cue for us, the audience, to understand not just the social dynamics of the group, but how deeply disconnected Ragatha truly is from the others.

Honestly, I think this was the moment her carefully held-together mask started to split. The start of the spiral. Go back to the earlier episodes and you’ll start noticing it: Ragatha drops a lot of sharp, snarky comments. Some subtle. Some cutting. Whether intentional or not, those little moments are emotional leaks. She drops her filter more often around Jax, which makes sense, she hates him. She doesn’t bother hiding it. But the fact that her snark surfaces at all tells us something: the mask is slipping.

Think about Episode One, when Ragatha spirals, it’s visceral. It’s raw and disturbing in a way the others’ breakdowns just… aren’t. Why? Because for Ragatha, cracking isn’t just about stress or fear. It’s about exposing something she’s worked so hard to hide: her real, “ugly,” human feelings. She’s repressed them for so long, forced herself to smile through it all, because she believes that if she isn’t likable, if she isn’t “good,” she’ll be abandoned.

And now? That bottle’s starting to shake.

I'll circle back to this moment when I dive into the bar scene later (because oof—there’s so much there), but let’s keep things chronological for now.

Right after Ragatha leaves, Jax drops a line on Pomni: “[She] is taking advantage of you.” And it hits especially hard because just before that, Gangle told Pomni she didn’t think Ragatha was genuine. That? That’s when the discomfort surrounding Ragatha starts to really take shape.

Here’s why I think that hit a nerve with the rest of the cast.

They are all constantly fighting for their sanity. For their identities. They’re trapped in this surreal, terrifying digital purgatory where reality is questionable at best and all they’ve got are each other. That’s it. Just a bunch of strangers trying not to fall apart or, worse, abstract.

And when you're in that space? Vulnerability becomes everything. And it’s risky.

Being vulnerable to the wrong person, someone who doesn’t reciprocate, or worse, uses your openness against you is traumatic. It teaches you to close up. To withdraw.

To stop trying.

Now imagine reaching out to someone like Ragatha, who seems supportive on the surface, who says the right things, but there’s a disconnect. You don’t feel like you’re being seen. You don’t feel safe. You don’t feel like you’re talking to someone who’s willing to meet you in the mess.

And when that happens? Of course they gravitate elsewhere. Of course they pair off, find comfort in each other, and leave her on the fringes.

What hurts the most, though, is this: Ragatha wants connection. She’s starving for it. But she doesn’t know how to give it back in a way that feels real. She’s so wrapped up in being “the nice one,” the peacemaker, the cheerful glue of the group, that she can’t drop the act—even when it’s pushing people away. Even when it’s exactly what’s isolating her.

She wants to be close. She just doesn’t know how to be vulnerable.

Now, the biggest lore drop of Ragatha's past, let's break this down:

Throughout the entire series so far, Ragatha always speaks with this carefully curated tone: gentle, friendly, overly polite. But every time she gets a moment alone to monologue? It always derails. Every time. Her words unravel, her tone falters, and what starts as “everything’s fine” ends with something much darker, much sadder.

And this scene? God. This one hurt. Because when she starts talking about her mother, it stops feeling like just another breakdown. It feels like the core of her trauma is being yanked out into the open. She’s clearly an adult. Had a life. A career. Probably responsibilities and routines. And yet, that wound from her mother is still festering: deep, raw, and most importantly?

Completely unresolved.

This is where you see her coping mechanisms in full force. Ragatha has this heartbreaking tendency to downplay her own pain. She’ll smile through it, make a light comment, move on like it doesn’t ache. But it does. And that habit? It sabotages her ability to connect with people in a real, vulnerable way. Because how can someone share mutual pain with you if you never admit to having any? If you can’t even be real with yourself?

Remember when she confessed she hates Jax, but she doesn’t want Jax to hate her? That moment says everything. That desperate need to be liked, even by someone who openly antagonizes her, speaks volumes about her internal wiring. She’s terrified of rejection. Of being disliked. Of being seen as not enough.

And this scene, to me, is one of the most heartbreaking moments in the show. Ragatha is caught in this awful limbo: she wants connection, deeply. She wants friendship, understanding, belonging. But the second she senses discomfort, awkwardness, even the slightest ripple of tension, she backpedals. She shrinks. She brushes it off with a laugh or a sugar-coated phrase. And that’s exactly why the others can’t reach her.

She’s surrounded by people and still completely alone.

This scene also confirms what we’ve suspected all along: her mother had impossibly high standards. That nothing Ragatha did was ever good enough. That she had to perform perfection just to maybe receive love. It was a transaction. "Be the perfect little girl, the perfect daughter, the perfect doll, and maybe, just maybe, you’ll earn affection."

So of course she acts like this now. Of course she wraps herself in forced smiles and gentle words. Because somewhere deep down, she still believes that if she slips, if she messes up, if she shows anything “ugly”...then no one will love her.

Jax was a grade A asshole for this one. No sugarcoating it. He knew how badly Ragatha wanted to be Pomni’s friend. He’s not clueless. So when he swooped in and started getting close to her? Of course it triggered Ragatha. You could practically see her flinch.

And that sting? It echoes through the rest of the episode five from that point onwards. Especially when they get to the ball game scene.

That was the moment Ragatha finally let some of that bottled-up frustration out. She flat-out called Jax out, asking why he was trying to influence Pomni into acting like some careless, insensitive jerk. And yeah, on the surface it seems like just another clash between the two of them, but if you look a little closer (and maybe I’m reaching this), there’s something deeper going on.

From earlier episodes, we’ve seen Ragatha has this habit of telling Pomni how she should feel. She does it in this oddly motherly tone, like she’s trying to guide her, but in a way that almost infantilizes her. In Episode Two, in the candy kingdom bit, Ragatha starts talking to Pomni like she’s a child and Pomni immediately shuts it down: “I’m not a kid.”

That wasn’t just sass.

That was a boundary.

And it clicked for me: Ragatha might be echoing her mother’s behavior here. That condescending tone disguised as “help.” The “cheer up, it’s not that bad” mindset. The insistence that things should be okay, instead of just lettingpeople feel. Maybe that’s all she ever knew. And now, she’s unknowingly replicating it.

So when she follows Pomni’s advice to “try being a jerk sometimes,” and it backfires, when Pomni looks at her, clearly uncomfortable, it hits Ragatha like a rock. That same feeling of rejection, all over again.

And did anyone else notice the glitch when she apologized? Because I sure as hell did. It was subtle, but holy fuck, please don't be the next abstraction!

Then came the "Pomni Saves the Day (Almost)" scene, when it’s her turn to bat. She asks Ragatha if she wants to take her place, to "redeem" herself from her earlier miss. And for just a second, Ragatha lights up. It’s this tiny flicker of hope. Maybe this is her chance. Maybe she can fix things.

Maybe she’s needed.

But then… the game was already over and they won before she had a chance to bat because their evil version is basically KO'd. She turns to Pomni and sees them.

Pomni and Jax. Laughing. Close. Connected.

And suddenly that hope? It deflates.

Just like in the stargazing scene, we get this physical distance motif again. Ragatha is always just far enough to see the connection—but never be part of it. And in that moment, you can see it on her face, this quiet, confused heartbreak. The kind of grief that doesn’t explode...it just sinks in. Like she’s trying to understand why her kindness, her effort, her presence was never enough. Why being “nice” only pushed Pomni further away.

That expression she gives, caught somewhere between confusion, disappointment, and slowly-processed loss? God, that got me. It wrecked me. Because in that moment, she’s not angry. She’s not dramatic.

She’s just... alone.

And then finally… the nail in the coffin. The moment where the silent divide between Pomni and Ragatha becomes undeniable. The moment the entire show has been quietly building toward since Episode One.

Ragatha, who has tried so hard to make Pomni smile. To be her rock. To forge a connection. She wants that closeness. She craves that intimacy. But instead, she watches as Pomni laughs, genuinely, mind you, and effortlessly at Jax’s antics. And the second Pomni notices Ragatha looking? Her smile drops. Instantly. That joy disappears, replaced by awkwardness, tension, that same guarded expression we’ve seen before.

And it says everything.

Pomni can’t be herself around Ragatha. She doesn’t feel safe doing so. She might think Ragatha is a “nice enough” person… but that’s it. That’s where the connection ends. She doesn’t let her guard down. Doesn’t let Ragatha in. Because Ragatha, in all her curated cheer, never really opens up either.

And then the show drives it home with brutal elegance: the group starts to drift off, one by one, naturally falling into their new little dynamics. And Ragatha? Left standing in the middle. Alone. Forgotten. No one turns to her. No one invites her. She’s just there.

For all the time she’s spent in the Digital Circus, Pomni managed to connect with everyone else. Even Jax. And that, right there, is pure devastation for me.

Because all Ragatha has ever known is people-pleasing. That’s how she survives. That’s what she was taught. Be the sunshine, be the good girl, be agreeable and comforting and helpful then you’ll be loved. Then you’ll be safe. But what happens when that mask doesn’t work? When it actually pushes people away instead of bringing them in?

She doesn’t know how to express her loneliness. She doesn’t know how to say, “I’m hurting too.” Because that’s not what was modeled for her. That’s not what her mother taught her.

And this...this right fucking here is why Gooseworx was so right when they said this was a Ragatha episode.

Because Ragatha’s character flaws, the heart of her tragedy, are brought into the light not by spotlighting her, but by quietly contrasting her with a pair of characters we never expected to bond: Jax and Pomni.

From the start, we’re fed this narrative: Jax is an asshole. He teases Pomni. He’s rude, smug, abrasive. And yet… Pomni starts to soften around him. She connects. She even laughs. And you start to wonder...why is he getting through to her when Ragatha can’t?

Because Jax, in his own messed-up way, gets real. He opens up. He admits things. He’s emotionally messy, but it’s genuine. And that rawness, that honesty, is something Ragatha can’t allow herself to show. So while Jax slowly reveals the depth beneath his snark, Ragatha clings to her role: the always-smiling, ever-positive comfort character.

And that contrast? It’s heartbreaking.

You see it at the very end. How alone she is. And the cruel twist? She’s probably the one who needs connection the most. But she’s so stuck in her pattern, so locked in that internalized belief that she has to perform to be loved, that she ends up isolating herself even further.

I can’t stop thinking about this: Ragatha feels like someone who’s spent her entire life just close enough to be seen, but never close enough to be reached. She’s the background character in her own life: present, smiling, helpful… and utterly alone.

And maybe the reason so many people felt like this episode was more about Jax than Ragatha is because we’re supposed to feel her slipping into the background. Just like the cast is starting to overlook her, we as the audience are starting to, too.

That slow fade?

It’s intentional.

Thank you for coming to my rant. I never done a character analysis before, but I just fucking love this series so much.

Read More TADC Character Analysis

[daikaiju-arts]

*crashes in through brick wall*

I TRIED👍

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

GGFG H

WAAGHAHGOOOO HOOOO HOOOO

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

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

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

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

[magenta-malice]

A Slithering Adventure

Jax x Cat!Reader

A/N: This is just a teensy little fragment of a biiiig fic I’m currently writing, purely for my own enjoyment. I figured I’d make a small side blog (as I’m too insecure to use my main for this lol) to share it with my fellow rabbit lovers.

A little backstory: This was written with my OC in mind who is a cat-like creature that has a lot more to her than what the cast members know… But you don’t need to know about any of that to enjoy this scene! I only include one sentence as a hint to this but you'll be fine.

She also had an intense/heated/both(?) teasing/argument/both(?) with Jax the other night, so that’s how the story starts in here.

CW: None? | A giant digital snake slightly scaring an idiot bunny. | Jax has a functional nose for the sake of one sentence. | Loooots of friendly teasing (maybe a bit OOC but eh) | Slightly traumatic experience for said bunny but he can take it like a good boy

Word count: 2583 | Masterlist

You woke up feeling as shitty as ever, with exactly one blissful second of peace – one magical moment where last night didn’t exist.

And then, just like that, reality came crashing back down. Every single thing that happened from the moment you ran into Jax came rushing back to you all at once.

Shit.

You stretched a little in bed, delaying the inevitable. If you didn’t head out soon to join the others for whatever stupid adventure Caine had planned today, someone was bound to come knocking.

Oh god, what if they sent Jax? The thought alone made you want to sink into the floor. You were not dealing with another awful doorstep encounter like yesterday.

So, you took your time getting ready (maybe a little longer than necessary) until you finally heard the others leaving their rooms and heading downstairs. Perfect. You weren’t exactly in the mood for small talk this morning.

Let’s just get today over with. Nice and easy. Maybe you could even nudge Caine into doing an adventure you’d already done before – one from years back with the old gang.

Before the incident…

You shoved that thought down, squared your shoulders, and opened your door. A relieved sigh escaped you when you saw the empty hallway.

Good. No Jax. No one else, either.

With that, you made your way downstairs to the main room, where everyone was already gathered and chatting.

You spotted Jax lounging on the couch, pestering Gangle about something – her mask, you suppose?

Stupid rabbit.

You made your way toward the group, hoping Caine will magically appear and save you from having to dive into an unwanted round of socializing.

You caught Jax’s eye as he glanced your way, and you could’ve sworn you saw a flicker of something in his gaze. Or maybe it was just your imagination.

It looked like he was about to say something, but just as you braced yourself, Caine popped in out of nowhere.

You saw Jax’s expression shift, his brow furrowed slightly as he let out a quiet sigh. He turned his attention to Caine, the spark in his eyes fading into a more neutral expression.

“About time, Caine. I was starting to get bored over here,” Jax said with his usual (disgusting) smirk, though his posture seemed a little more tense than usual.

Caine started speaking about today's adventure, but your mind was only half-present. You leaned against the wall, too tired to stand properly, trying to listen to the ringmaster’s nonsense.

"That’s right, my digital darlings!" Caine’s voice boomed with excitement as he twirled his cane. "Today, we’re heading into the Mysterious Mistwood to recover a very important lost key! Ooooh, what does it unlock? Aha! That is for me to know and for you to never find out!"

He wiggled his eyebrows dramatically before clapping his gloved hands together.

"As you all know, a task this perilous cannot be done alone! So, I’ve taken the liberty of pairing you all up! You and your partner will search the foggy, winding paths of the Mistwood until one of you finds the key! But be warned!" his voice dropped into an ominous whisper, eyes gleaming. "The forest is tricky. It shifts, it changes, and if you’re not careful, you might find yourself walking in circles forever!"

The ground beneath you rumbled slightly as a massive wooden door appeared and creaked open, revealing an eerie, fog-covered forest just beyond. Your stomach twisted, not because of the adventure, but because you had a very bad feeling about who you’d be stuck with.

"And now! For the moment you've all been waiting for – the partners!" Caine grinned as a giant, spinning wheel appeared in the air. He gave it a theatrical spin, the names flashing too fast to read. Finally, the wheel slowed… and stopped.

Your name appeared.

Right next to Jax’s.

Of course.

Of course it had to be him.

Jax let out a loud, exaggerated groan. "Ohhh, come on! Rigged. Totally rigged!" he glanced over at you, a smirk creeping onto his face. "Guess you’re stuck with me, partner."

Caine, oblivious to the tension, continued cheerfully. "Welp, too bad! No takesies backsies! Now, off you go, and remember – find the key before the mist finds you!"

Around you, the others were already grouping up. Gangle had been paired with Ragatha, who gave her an encouraging pat on the back, while Kinger ended up with Pomni. Zooble, unsurprisingly, refused to participate, lounging off to the side with their usual disinterest.

At the center of the room, three massive wooden doors emerged from nowhere, each one looking equally ominous. One for each pair.

Jax got up from the couch and walked closer to you.

"Rough night? You look like you could use some more sleep," he said, his eyes flicking up and down as he took in your less-than-enthused expression, his smirk widening at the sight.

You exhaled through your nose, unimpressed. "Gee, thanks for the concern," you muttered, not even bothering to look at him.

Your shoulder pressed harder into the wall as if that alone could create some distance between you. "Maybe I just wasn't thrilled about waking up to this," you gestured vaguely between the two of you, finally meeting his gaze with a deadpan stare.

Jax raised an eyebrow at your response, his smirk growing into a smug smile. "Oh, sorry, am I not meeting your high standards?"

He took a step towards you, closing the small gap you tried to create. His gaze locked onto yours, searching for any kind of reaction.

"Oh, come on, don't be like that," he said, his tone dripping with sarcasm. "You're lucky to be paired up with me. I'll keep you safe out in that spooky old forest. After all, I'm the most skilled adventurer around here." 

You scoffed, already walking toward the doors. Jax followed beside you, hands tucked behind his head like he had all the time in the world.

"You don't want to end up lost in there, do you?” he continued, his stupid smile only growing, filled with (made up) confidence. “Then just consider me your knight in shining armor."

You rolled your eyes, keeping your pace steady, not in the mood to entertain him. Jax, still not satisfied with your reaction, pushed further.

"Oh, come on. Is being stuck with me really that painful, kitty?" he practically purred the last word as you entered one of the doors.

You froze mid-step, feeling the sudden and overwhelming urge to hit someone. More specifically, the annoying purple rabbit walking beside you.

On the other side, a dense forest surrounded you, mist curling between the towering trees. The doors – and the others – were nowhere in sight.

…Not that either of you noticed. Jax was too busy entertaining himself with cat puns, and you were focusing on not seeing his face as a living punching bag.

Jax, probably catching on to the very obvious shift in your expression, tilted his head slightly, his eyes gleaming with amusement.

"Aww, is someone getting angry? Gonna hiss at me now?"

You barely spared him a glance, replying completely unbothered. “If this is your way of getting back at me for calling you ‘bunny boy,’ I’m letting you know it’s not working.”

Jax chuckled. "Oh, dear me, you are so cool and collected," he drawled, faking a swoon. "But I’ll let you in on a little secret: It's not just about getting back at you."

His words hang in the air, but before either of you could say more, the bushes started rustling violently. A giant, serpent-like creature slithered through the trees, its scales shimmering in the dim light.

Jax’s ears perked up at the sound of the bushes rustling, as your attention snapped towards the strange, serpent-like creature that slithered into view.

Without a moment of hesitation, Jax turned his back on you, putting himself between you and the serpent.

"Stay back," he warned, his eyes fixed on the creature. However, as he glanced over his shoulder at you, he noticed the smirk still plastered on your face. "Really? We're facing a giant snake and you're still finding this amusing?

You let out a small laugh, clearly unfazed by the serpent’s intimidating presence. "Oh, I’m terrified," you drawled, your eyes scanning the creature with curiosity.

The snake hissed, its tongue flicking in and out, causing Jax to stiffen, his ears flattening against his head. You could see him trying to keep his composure, but the fear was clear in his wide eyes.

"Come on, Jax," you said, taking a step forward to stand next to him. "I thought you were the most skilled adventurer here. Surely you can handle a little snake, right?"

Jax’s ears flattened further at your words, his pride clearly wounded by your teasing. A mix of annoyance and slight panic appeared on his face. 

The giant creature suddenly lunged forward, its muscular body coiling as it prepared to strike. Jax swiftly side-stepped, causing the snake to crash into the ground with a thud. He let out a frustrated groan and shot you a sharp look.

"This would be a lot easier if you weren't distracting me, you know."

Paying no attention to him, you rolled your eyes and headed straight to the serpent’s direction. But before you could take even three steps, Jax suddenly grabbed your arm, pulling you behind him again.

"Are you crazy? You can't just waltz up to a giant snake!"

You huffed, yanking your arm free from his grip. “Oh, please. It’s not like I was gonna ask it for a dance.”

Your gaze flicked back to the serpent, its body rippling as it readjusted from its failed strike. The way its glowing eyes locked onto you sent a thrill down your spine – but not fear. Just curiosity.

“You keep panicking, and it’s gonna eat you first,” you cooed, tilting your head. “Which, honestly, might be kind of funny.”

Jax shot you a glare, his ears scrunching up in frustration. “Oh, hilarious. I'm so glad my imminent death amuses you, Y/N. I’ll make sure to laugh while I’m getting swallowed.”

Despite his words, he didn’t move from in front of you, his body tense, ready to snap at any moment.

The snake hissed, tongue flickering as it was ready to strike again, and its attention now focused solely on Jax.

You smirked, completely unfazed. “Well, if you’re gonna get eaten, might as well go out with a smile, right?”

Your tail flicked lazily as you took a step to the side, casually sizing up the serpent. It was massive, sure, but it wasn’t unstoppable.

“Besides,” you added, tilting your head. “Looks like it likes you more. Maybe it has a thing for nervous rabbits.”

Jax scoffed at your comment, his eyes twitching in annoyance. The fact that you were just peacefully standing behind him, making jokes about him getting eaten, was only adding to his frustration.

“Well gee, thanks for the moral support. I’ll make sure to wear a sign that says 'tasty rabbit meat' next time.”

The snake’s attention remained fixed on Jax, its body tensing as if preparing to attack again. The air of the forest suddenly felt electrically charged.

“Oh great, you’ve definitely made this worse,” Jax groaned.

You snorted, barely holding back a laugh. “Moral support is important, y’know. Someone’s gotta keep things light while you’re busy freaking out.”

Jax shot you a look that screamed ‘not helping’, but before he could retort, the serpent lunged again – this time, faster.

“Alright, time to go!” you grabbed Jax by the wrist and yanked him backwards just as the snake’s jaws snapped shut where he had been standing. Without wasting another second, you ran as fast as you could, dragging him along as you weaved through the trees.

Branches whipped past, the distant sound of the serpent crashing through the undergrowth rumbling behind you. The deeper you ran, the thicker the forest became, its glowing flora casting an eerie light around you.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the sounds of the creature faded. You slowed down, releasing Jax’s wrist as you both caught your breath.

“See?” you panted, shooting him a smirk. “We made it out in one piece. You’re welcome.”

Jax staggered away from you as soon as you released his wrist, doubling over to catch his breath. His eyes were filled with a mix of relief and lingering fear. He took a moment to steady his breathing, his gaze narrowing as he looked at you. Even in the dim light, he could see the hint of a pleased grin on your face.

He was not enjoying this.

“Oh, thank you oh so much for saving me,” he said sarcastically, his voice still slightly shaky. "What would I do without you."

You stretched your arms behind your head, unfazed by his sarcasm. “I dunno, probably end up as snake food. But hey, glad to be of service.”

Jax scoffed, rolling his eyes before plopping down on a nearby tree root. He still looked rattled and he was doing a terrible job of hiding it.

For a moment, neither of you spoke. The forest was eerily quiet, the glow from strange plants casting long shadows between the trees. You watched Jax from the corner of your eye – his ears twitching, his body trembling, his fingers tapping restlessly against his knee.

You exhaled, tilting your head. “Didn’t expect you to be that scared,” your tone was casual, no teasing edge to it this time.

Jax tensed slightly, his nose scrunching. “I wasn’t scared.”

You gave him a look.

He let out a frustrated sigh, his gaze drifting toward the trees. “I mean, c’mon, that thing was huge. Anyone would’ve–” he cut himself off, shaking his head. “Doesn’t matter. We’re fine. I don’t need a therapy session.”

You just shrugged. “Didn’t say you did.”

Silence settled again, but this time, it wasn’t as tense. After a few minutes of introspecting, reforming and reflecting, Jax took a deep breath, his shoulders dropping just slightly.

“…I just don’t like ‘em, alright?” he muttered, barely audible.

You didn’t press. You just sat beside him, resting your arms over your knees. “Fair enough.”

Jax glanced at you, like he was expecting some kind of snide remark. When none came, his expression shifted – just a little.

“Y’know, you’re really annoying,” he grumbled, though with a softness in his tone.

You smirked. “Yeah, yeah. You’re welcome.”

Suddenly a large wooden door shimmered into existence ahead of you, its frame glowing with dim light. The door opened with a creaking sound and you spotted the rest of the group on the other side. Someone – probably Ragatha – was holding up a key, shaking it triumphantly.

“Well, would ya look at that,” Jax slipped his hands behind his head. “Guess we did our part.”

Caine popped up behind Ragatha, beaming. “Great work, you two! Even though you didn’t actually find the key, your little adventure was very entertaining! A+ for effort!”

Jax rolled his eyes but didn't say anything. Instead, as you two stood up and walked towards the door, he threw you a sideways glance, smirking.

“Don’t forget,” he said, back with his usual teasing voice as nothing had happened. “I’m still planning on that thing I promised ya yesterday. With your requested reward of course.”

Then, just like that, he wandered off, leaving you to wonder what exactly he had in mind.

[kys02]

Hey everyone!

So, the trailer for Episode 5 of The Amazing Digital Circus just dropped.

Most of the shots were chaotic, blurry glimpses of characters in weird settings. So instead of going through every frame, I’ll just break down the scenes that actually seem to mean something - and compare them to what we’ve seen in past episodes.

Let’s go!

ON THE NEXT EPISODE OF THE AMAZING DIGITAL CIRCUS: “Find out what happens when Jax is given a gun! People said this was a really bad idea, BUT WHAT DO THEY KNOW!”

We can already see the next “switch” in the background - titled Poacher’s Paradise. I’ve previously speculated that Jax might get bored of one episode and be “teleported” into a setting that suits him better. Honestly, with a gun in his hands? He’s gonna love it.

“You got to be kidding me… the episode changed again!? It’s no longer about office life… it’s about softball? How can you even make a plot out of that?!” So, softball - basically baseball, but softer. And it looks like the cast is playing against their opposites. Their caps and billboards say “Big Tops.”

Their designs are wild, but the real thing here is the personality switch. Ragatha is aggressive and on edge, while Jax is… shy?! That, to me, is a huge sign he wants to escape this adventure - because that timid version? It’s part of him, and he doesn’t want to admit it. Meanwhile, Ragatha’s holding a bat - similar to how she and Jax were goofing around with bats in Episode 4. But this time, it feels like she’s ready to fight her inner opposite. Or maybe she’s scared of it. Who knows.

Also - their color palettes have changed, which matches their shifted personalities. As I said before ( in this post ): Ragatha hides her anger behind kindness. Jax hides his kindness behind cruelty. This episode might finally explore that.

Next up - the mafia\bar scene:

“Aaaand now the next episode is a mafia episode now… I’M ACTUALLY GOING INSANE, can we please stop changing the episode already!?!?” Zooble’s a bartender in this one, and everyone’s looking at Ragatha, who seems to be saying something… embarrassing?

Reminds me of that sauce scene in Episode 4, where she sounded kinda drunk and talked about wanting someone to flirt with her. Maybe something similar happens here, but in front of everyone, and it’s just awkward.

Now my favorite part:

There’s a frame where Ragatha says something that clearly upsets Jax. She seems to be apologizing, and Pomni is watching from the corner. I think this connects to something I posted before:

“Every time he sees others forming connections, it bothers him. Because deep down, he wants that too - but he doesn’t know how to handle it. Instead of confronting his own feelings, he shuts those moments down. He disrupts conversations, pushes people away, and keeps his distance.”

So maybe Ragatha says something to Pomni like, “Well, Jax doesn’t care about anyone’s feelings anyway” and it hits him. Maybe he finally admits why he acts like that.

Gooseworx already confirmed that Jax is afraid of corn. But in one shot, he’s not scared, he’s angry. Anger and fear are closely linked. Sometimes anger is a defense mechanism, or a mask for fear. So I think corn brings up something for him, a memory, maybe, that he doesn’t want to talk about. And that turns into anger.

And finally - a little details.

Reference from pilot.

The shot from above looks just like that moment in Episode 3 when Jax breaks the fourth wall - staring directly at the screen, like he’s talking straight to the audience.

Judging by the portal (and honestly, other shots too), it looks like Caine is placing portals to jump between adventures. Like he’s actively navigating through the switches. Also, I noticed Gangle has a medal! So she actually won something?

But if we look at the overall scene… I’m pretty sure it was Jax who broke Gangle’s mask. I mean - who else would do it?) Maybe she tried to fight back, or maybe she got scared - we don’t know yet. But from the silhouette, it really looks like Jax lunged at her and shattered the mask himself. That said… we also can’t rule out the possibility that someone (Ragatha maybe?) just handed Gangle the medal out of pity or encouragement.

Phew, this took me forever to write. Analyzing all these low-res, crunchy screenshots and trying to come up with theories is honestly exhausting, but still fun) Especially with a multi-adventure episode coming up, there’s so much to look forward to!

What do you guys think? Let me know your thoughts!

[bananafire11]

OH MY GODDDUHYY BUNNY YOU JUDT WHIPPED THIS UP LIKE IT WAS NOTHING WATTT.

Pondering how to combine jax and bugs. No particular reason i just like both of those things

[devochive]

Punishment.

caine x f!reader fic.

tags: established relationships, dom / sub undertones, anal sex (w minimal prep) , blow jobs, exhibitionism, dub con(?)

That asshole Gangle couldn't keep her mouth shut.

You hated referring to her in such a manner, but ever since Zooble gave her that damn mask, she's been on a managing rampage.

Punishment? Seriously?

You had enough tension with the ringmaster as it is.. Even though he runs the place as if it never even happened.

Which in turn made you act the same, you wouldn't give him that type of power over you. Not while you're stuck with him for eternity.

SNAP.

The swift friction between Caine's fingers sent you teleporting, although it felt more like flying into his office, you landed on your butt right in front of his desk.

"Ouch.. so this is upper management?" You took a moment to look around, purposely ignoring Caine. "Looks tacky."

"Tsk, tsk! That smart mouth of yours is exactly what landed you here in the first place, you know!" He spoke excitedly, expressing himself with his body language like usual.

You blinked, and Caine was floating above you now, looking down at you with an oddly sinister twinkle in his eye.

"So what? You want me to slave away in that stupid fast food restaurant like an idiot as if—" Your words caught in your throat as the ringmaster pressed his cane beneath your chin. The cool texture made you shiver as he trailed it down and along your throat.

You swallowed.

"Exactly, yes! But, according to gangle you were a very rude employee, ....I thought more of you dear!"

"T.. Those customers were acting crazy, I–I mean one of them had cereal in line! Who does that!?" You sputtered as he continued to stroke your skin with the end of his cane. Using it to tilt your head from side to side as if to inspect you.

"Mmhm, buuuut the customer is always right, or have you forgotten such a simple thing? And to think you used to be so obedient, ha!"

He smoothly added that last bit in, causing your cheeks to heat up. You swallowed, and before you could say another word, you were teleported again, not even able to register the sound of his snapping fingers.

It was disorienting. To say the least.

"Would you stop doing th— ouch!" Your head collided against the wooden desk above you. Only when the pain seemed to ease up did you finally realize he transported you to the cramped space beneath his desk.

You had half a mind to crawl out but had a feeling he would— and he plopped down directly in front of you.

Purposely man spreading. Of course.

You huffed offended, wasn't this supposed to be some type of punishment anyway!?

"Caine, if you think I'm giving you a damn blow job after all this time—!" You remarked in a mocking tone.

"Ah, ah, ah! Stay quiet dear. We'll have company soon!" He said followed by a light chuckle, but you were trying to push past his legs.

He used his leg to push you back with ease, "Oh my, perhaps I should pacify you, how would you like that, my dear?"

"What? Are you insane?" The words escaped your gritted teeth. Despite your words your heart was racing in your chest. He was so nonchalant about all this. It was pissing you off.

"Come now." His voice was oddly calm, and he undid his zipper. His semi hard shaft was pulled from his black slacks.

The pervert.

"This will shut you up won't it? Just like old times!"

You averted your gaze immediately, scooting back beneath the desk as far as you could, "C.. Caine, this.. isn't—"

"Isn't ….what? Oh, perhaps you'd rather have our guest watch you do it out in the open? I can arrange for that!"

"N.. No..!" You jerked and bumped your head again, and just then you heard footsteps in the hall. Man these walls were thin.

"I see, then perhaps you're doing this on purpose, are you trying to make me upset [y/n]?" He scooted back, just enough to give you one of those soulless stares.

One you're oh too familiar with, it triggered something within you. Causing the words to carelessly tumble from your lips.

"N.. No sir.." Instinctively the words came out and you regretted it immediately.

Fortunately, before Caine could comment on it and torture you further, the door opened,

"Ah! Gangle, perfect timing! Take a seat here!"

“Caine.. Were you talking to someone..?” Gangle inquired, taking a look around the office, but it only contained the two of them.

“Oh you know, just phone calls! Busy busy at the workplace!”

He exclaimed, his other hand dipped below the desk and started stroking his cock a few times before curling his index finger inwards, beckoning you over.

Fuck.

You crawled closer towards him, reluctantly.. excitedly? Damn it. how did he flip this entire situation on its head within mere minutes.

Your thoughts began to fog, you could smell his arousal and finally gave in.. planting kisses at his member, before licking a long stripe along his twitching cock until your lips met his tip.

Caine shivered, "Bbbrrr did it suddenly get cold in here!?" He tried to play it off and Gangle just blinked.

"Ah.. no, what I was saying about [y/n] their behavior is beyond disrespectful!" Gangle rambled on , but her voice was garbled in your head.

You'd already taken him further into your mouth, inch after inch. It wasn't until he was fully sheathed in your warm throat did you start to move. Careful not to be too loud.

Caine scoots closer, causing his tip to bump at the back of your throat. You tried to pull back before you gagged but as if predicting you would, the ringmaster grabbed the back of your head and held you in place. Rocking his hips and grinding against your throat.

“Mmph, mnngh-” You tapped at his thigh, struggling to keep up with him and stay quiet.

Damn him.

The ramblings of Gangle were long forgotten by now, even Caine was struggling to maintain the conversation.

He suddenly slammed his fist on the table, maybe it was the way you were drooling on his cock. Or how you tightened around him everytime you gagged. But he was at his limit already, “G-Gangle, I’ve heard quite enough and I’ll deal with this at once now run along!” He quickly dismissed the bundle of ribbons and she did not think to question him or his odd behavior. He’s always odd.

The door shut and Caine pulled out of your mouth, leaving you sputtering and gasping for air. “St-Stay still dear,” He panted and took hold of your chin while he stroked his cock a few times before ropes of cum spurted from his tip and all over your face.

“Ah.. I must've missed your mouth more than I thought, ..you wrung me out like a wet towel!” He laughed.

“Y..you’re a pervert..” The words don’t hold much weight as you lick your lips, tasting his cum on your tongue and poorly wiping the rest off.

“Is that so?” He gripped you under your arms and lifted you onto the desk, “Fortunately!” He snapped, and your clothes disappeared. You tried to cover yourself but Caine already had you sprawled out on his desk, looking in between your legs, a pool of your own arousal was rapidly forming. “So are you.”

“D.. Don’t look, fuck.. You asshole!” You whined, more embarrassed now than upset.

“Leaking like a fountain..” His gaze was intense, even though you were naked you felt as if he were gazing directly into your soul.

“Oh! And don't think I forgot about you calling me sir, earlier.” He added, snapping you out of your little daze.

Unexpectedly an unseen force, or energy..? Pinned you down on the desk, while Caine used his limbs for other matters.. another one of Caine's tricks, you guessed.

You grunted and struggled, you weren't sure why.. your body was so hot. Needy. You needed to be relieved but you were still so mad at him.

“I.. I didn't expect you to remember.. wouldn't be the first timEE— Ah!” You squealed as he tugged you to the edge of the desk, he rubbed his tip against your leaking hole.

“Oh please! How could I forget about my ever so obedient [y/n]!” He prodded against your cunt, and you whimpered instinctively grinding your hips against him.

If Caine could smirk he would, but he just stared down at you, his large tongue briefly rubbing along his teeth.

“Which is why I'm sorry I have to teach you a lesson today! This is punishment, remember?” He dragged his thick tip from your weeping hole down to your ass, poking against the tight entrance teasingly.

“W.. Wha— Caine!” You exclaimed and wiggled , but that unseen force kept you in place. “I.. haven't.. not there..!”

“Oh, sweetheart.. I know that's why I'll guide you!~” He laughed and ran his gloved hand up your body, cupping your breast and gently massaging them.

“Mmh..” You turned your head away from him, embarrassed at how easily you were giving into this. At how good it felt.

“Keep looking away and you'll miss the main event dear!” He pressed against your tight hole again to garner your attention and it was successful.

You couldn't help but glance down at his shaft, twitching needily even after the sloppy blow job.

“J.. Just be gentle..” You sounded so pathetic, but what more could you do?

“Breathe darling,” It was meant to be soothing but it sounded more like a warning, he shifted towards your cunt again. Lathering his cock in your natural lube before pressing against your asshole.

You yelped as he started to sink into the restricting entrance, luckily your natural lube and arousal made it an easier task than you would have thought possible.

“Caine..” You whined.

The ringmaster had to control himself, you looked so cute and vulnerable beneath him. The code embedded in him seemed like it was glitching, failing.

“It's ..fine, dear.. I've always taken care of you, haven't I? Y.. You can take it!” He thrusted hard following his last words, and you shrieked.

“S.. So deep— ah… caine..!” You squirmed, as he thrusted into your tight hole, unable to hide your pleasure any longer.. you felt so pathetic, getting off to him using your ass.

Caine grunted and hooked one of his hands beneath your knees, the other slipped between your legs and gently rubbed circles along the sensitive bud decorating your dripping cunt.

“S.. so good for me, just like old.. times!” He grunted, struggling to keep his composure.

“Going to fill .. you! My dear!” He exclaimed, his pace only quickening. You felt the air being knocked from your lungs, the weight behind his thrusts was too much to bear.

“F.. Fuck caine.. im.. please..!” You were reduced to a teary eyed whining mess, cunt dripping down your thighs as your ass sucked him in desperately.

“S.. So much for punishment, [y/n] .. ! Ha it would seem you're a little anal slut as well! Now take it..!” The ringmaster practically declared, thrusting hard one final time into your ass.

His words sent you over the edge, your legs twitched and hips bucked as you clenched around nothing. “Nngh..!”

Dazed.. and tired, you felt the warm sensation of his cum filling your tight hole, you could hardly move. Your limbs only twitched in response.

“Phew.. well, that was my workout for the day!”

Caine exclaimed happily. “Well then. I hope you learned your lesson.”

[guwix]

Is Jax in a Digital Circus because of the "father"?

The art was made according to my Theory, or to put it more simply, thoughts. This theory is not confirmed, but I just want to point out a couple of points below about the origin of this thoughts.

1) Jax didn't react well to the Digital Circus when he appeared in it. Therefore, I have 3 thoughts. First, he was forced to enter the digital world, second, or he turned out to have someone from his neighbors. The third is simple, an accident, like the others.

https://www.tumblr.com/gooseworx/733036960374013952/i-wonder-how-jax-reacted-when-he-appeared-for-the?source=share

2) According to Gooseworx, Jax described the song (Michael Wyckoff, Kalya Ramu & Nathan Ford - Don't Fence Me In "Bonelab OST"). The lyrics of the song:

________

I want to ride to the ridge where the west commences

And gaze at the moon 'til I lose my senses

And I can't look at hobbles and I can't stand fences

Don't fence me in

No

Poppa, don't you fence me in

________

https://www.tumblr.com/gooseworx/724963060172881920/if-you-were-to-describe-jax-as-a-song-what-song

3) In fact, Caine is as crazy as Jax. Which makes them very similar.

https://www.tumblr.com/gooseworx/748356006599393280/why-does-caine-keep-teleporting-everyone-in-random?source=share

4) Gooseworx's response: Jax and Caine are modelled after my own character flaws.

https://www.tumblr.com/gooseworx/732138901035253760/what-character-from-tadc-do-you-relate-to-the?source=share

5) Caine doesn't like it when someone uses "swear words". And it is known that the only ones who do not produce them are Jax and Gangle.

https://www.tumblr.com/gooseworx/745615556801167360/please-tell-me-every-character-will-curse-multiple?source=share

6) Even though Jax is an "impulsive jerk," he won't hit Caine.

https://www.tumblr.com/gooseworx/748357128936472576/if-someone-had-the-chance-to-just-straight-up?source=share

7) There have been theories that Caine is "maybe" human, so feeling "lonely" for AI is a bit strange.

https://www.tumblr.com/gooseworx/738007673867534336/can-caine-feel-loneliness?source=share

8) In episode 2, "Caine was called God." I assume that the person did not appoint the main AI, or if Caine rebelled against people having the authority of an "administrator", then it would be problematic...

9) As we know, Jax has interesting passions for us: He takes objects out of nowhere, steals keys, breaks 4 walls for the audience, in the Pilot he, like Pomni, interacted more often with Caine, detachment, in the Glitch store pin Jax, they do not want to tell his room to the end.

None of the points particularly supports my theory, at the moment it's just one of my thoughts.

[oofitty]

Just finished the new episode. Here some spoilers if you haven’t seen it yet:

I CALLED SOME OF IT (sorta)

*Ragatha kinda crashed out. Mini crash

*CAINE SAYING HE’D TEAR ZOOBLE TO PIECES???? Crashoutville, USA.

* The poaching adventure, Jax “killed” Gangle and chewed on her ribbons. Cool???

*JAX HAD A TAIL??????

*MOON AND CAINE INTERACT YES

*I’m glad I’m knowing more about the characters and their professions.

*ZOOBLE WAS A BARTENDER WHEN THEY WERE HUMAN HELL YEAH. and a tattoo artist which is so believable.

*Ragatha farm girl truthers how’re you feelin? She also comes from a rough home life…

*What Ragatha said about Jax not having a friend anymore makes me think on which person it was…in the intermission section, Jax went to a door with a frog character on it. I’m pretty sure that was his friend who abstracted.

*The opposites WERE ANNOYING YES (“IM EVIL PONMI” FUCK YEAH)

* Abstragedy shippers are eating good (I’m eating good) ❤️🩷❤️🩷

*Jax and Pomni are slowly becoming friends and I lowkey like it. Ragatha is jealous of it (cue the party 4 u edits).

*Disappearing Guy is my new favorite bit 😭

*Kinger’s wife mentioned ❤️🥀

*THE ANIME ADVENTURE??? That’s adorable.

*Jax lowkey watches anime? He said Slice of Life animes were the worst ones.

*Bubble kinda broke the fourth wall idk-

*Maid. Outfit. Jax. (He slayed)

*I think I’m starting to like Jax a bit more. I wanna know what he was gonna show Pomni at the end.

Can’t wait for the 6th episode in 3 years! 🩷

[yapaholique]

ragatha is literally going to abstract in the next episode i cant move

maybe someone can say it smarter than me but on top of her bringing up getting jumped by kaufmo like it was a joke and not something borderline serious, my only evidence? :

- her evil ver says “nobody loves you and you’re going to die someday” to which she denies it, brushing off the idea of death (or abstracting) (stage one: denial)

- then when she goes to get her second chance to bat??? SHE DOESNT TRULY GET IT!

- and then she was isolated at the end. she had no where to insert herself and ended up alone!

ALSO ep5 completely contrasts ep4’s ending to a degree.

not going to go through everything rn bc i’m so sleepy, but i just think it’s interesting that though gangle was going through it, she was still able to to rely on her connection to others to help make things a bit better. she also ditches the idea of looking for a new mask if i remember correctly??

but in ragatha’s case, she has this kind of wall up that makes it hard to get close to her because no one can really tell if she’s being genuine, so it probably wouldn’t be as easy to forge a connection with her than someone like gangle??? she still has her own mask thing going on? i don’t know??

jax has more meaningful interactions with pomni between ep 4 and 5, but up to now, all of ragatha’s interactions with pomni are kind of superficial?

she ALMOST does. when pomni reassures her it’s okay to be a jerk. she doesn’t have to be so hard on herself or pretend. and let’s her bat in her stead. but when she goes to she just LOSES IT!!! second chance squandered. life taken away!

i’m probably veering off topic at this point but like. minus zooble (but also. not imo??? bc it’s kind looks like zooble and pomni r able to genuinely get along just fine) ragatha is like the only character that pomni hasn’t broken any ground with on a deeper than surface level?????

edit: also i just remembered evil ragatha melted and died. therefore she is gonna follow suit 💔

[lopsicle]

Caine’s Extravagant Obscure and Explore Championship

TickleTober Day 4: Hide and Seek

Lees: Pomni, Kinger and Zooble

Lers: Jax, Gangle and Ragatha

Summary: Caine’s latest in-house adventure involves the circus members playing a totally not a rip-off version of Hide and Seek. Jax introduces a twist that catches on.

After the events that happened at the Candy Carrier Kingdom, Caine, despite all his ignorance, recognised that the circus members needed a lighter, more fun adventure for their day. Really, they didn’t need some problem to deal with at all, but his artificial mind wouldn’t be able to comprehend that. Instead, her perused through his old files, looking at the games he’d have planned if a child ever entered the circus, before finally landing on one. Obscure and Explore, a play on Hide and Seek because Caine would never stoop so low as to blatantly copy a game, he always had to put his own spin on things.

With a comically large and loud trumpet, Caine emitted a screeching, piercing sound through the tent, enough to penetrate the walls of each circus’ members room, resulting in some annoyed groaning or horrified screaming. It did work however as one by one, they teetered out of their rooms, knowing better than to go against Caine lest he just become more persistent. Once Zooble finally left their room, Caine figured it would be the best time to explain their new adventure.

“Now, I know all of you critters are a little tired after yesterday, so I’ve managed to prepare something that will be sure to give you your fill of absolutely fantastic fun to make up for that!” He cheered, though no one marched his excitement. Ragatha put on a polite face, which was painfully obvious to everyone except him.

“Thanks, Caine,” Ragatha didn’t know when she started treating Caine like a human, but it helped ease her mind to think of him as the same to them, instead of what he really was, a God amongst the tormented. “What is it?”

“I hope your prepared, my dear, for the first annual Extravagant Obscure and Explore Championship! Here’s how it goes, you’ll be spliced into two groups, one the Obscurers, the other, the Explorers! The Obscurers will have one minute to find a place to hide in the tent before the Explorers have to go looking for them! They’ll have one hour to find all the Obscurers, if they do, they’ll win and if they don’t, their loss!”

It wasn’t the worst idea he’d had, it wasn’t pleasing to Zooble to learn that this was an in-house adventure, they’d already had one of those just two days ago. They did not want to have to deal with the others’ today, especially Caine.

“Isn’t that just hide and seek?” Jax asked, placing a hand on his hip as he gazed at Caine with a disinterested stare.

“No, it’s totally different!!” Caine shrieked, waving a dismissive hand at him. “You’ve never played a game like this in a digital world before, have you? And since I’m making this into an annual competition, you’ll be able to count exactly how many years you’ll spend in here!” Caine explained excitedly, though that didn’t seem to please anyone.

“Uh, don’t do tha-.” Pomni was cut off by a snap of Caine’s fingers, teleporting her across the floor of the circus, with Kinger and Zooble standing beside her. Opposite to them was Jax, Ragatha and Gangle, with Caine floating between them. Jax’s team were all given a vest with a large E on it, and a pair of dentures chomping at the centre of the letter that resembled Caine. Pomni’s team had a large O on it, of which the centre was filled with playing cards, vaguely resembling a face.

“Uh, whose this supposed to b-?” Pomn pointed to her vest though she quickly cut off once again.

“Jax, Ragatha, Gangle, you’ll be the Explorers; Pomni, Kingle and Zooble will be our obscures!” Caine said, a little louder than usual.

“Ugh, do I have to?” Zooble groaned, already trying to rip off their vest, though it proved difficult since their head was a triangle.

“But of course, my dear, if we don’t have you than the teams will be uneven, and Bubble hasn’t been allowed to play since The Incident.” Caine steered into the distance as his tone took on a rare seriousness that almost made the others concerned, but he quickly bounced back.

“Bottom line is, you’ll all be participating today so good luck, my dears,” Caine flicked a few buttons on his Wacky Watch ™ and a large, digital timer was displayed at the top of the tent, set to one minute. “Now, once I disappear this timer will start, so Explorers, close your hide to give the others a chance to hide!” Surprisingly, they all complied though Jax was sure to take peaks whenever Caine wasn’t looking. In an instant, Caine had flushed away and the timer began ticking down and down.

“Well, #{$+ this, I’m going back to my room,” Zooble shrugged dismissively, before walking away from her teammates, leaving Pomni and Kinger alone. Pomni was going to awkwardly offer him a goodbye as she went to hide, but he was already staring off into the distance and shaking violently so instead, she just opened her mouth, closed it again before dashing away.

30 seconds. Pomni didn’t know why she was taking any of this seriously, she should’ve ignored whatever Caine was saying to her, none of it mattered anymore. He was just an AI, a few strings of code that didn’t understand them-hey, that table could be a good hiding spot-who had no idea what they even wanted and was only write one out of a thousand times.

15 seconds. Caine was stubborn and cruel, even if it was unintentional, he didn’t save her time of day, any of their time, even Jax’s. She’d gladly leave him here once she got the chance. Why was she taking this seriously? Why was she currently crawling underneath a fake dining table covered in fake food that barely even fit her? Pomni couldn’t answer that, but it was probably something about seeing Ragatha and Gangle excited to go along with this, for whatever reason.

0 seconds. An annoying beeping filled the tent, the two girls opened their eyes to see Jax’s already wide open.

“Well, I’m off to go find the newbie,” he announced, placing his hands behind his back. He didn’t earn a reaction out of the other two but thankfully for his own ego, he wasn’t focused on them at the moment., so they were spared from any further annoyances. Jax was keen on following Pomni, he knew that she couldn’t be holding up all together after yesterday and thought that this would be his chance to make it a little worse for her. He saw her walking off into a side room, where Caine stored the supplies for the feast Bubble prepared for them a little while ago. Jax was expecting to have to put in a little amount of effort to finding Pomni but it was blatantly obvious when he stepped in, spotting the jester’s legs sticking out from underneath the table instnatly, her red and blue shoes sticking out against the golden polygons that textured the floor.

“Oh gee, I wonder where Pomni could be,” Jax’s uninterested, infantilising voice spread through the near empty room as he hopped up on to the table, pretending to look around while Pomni was painfully aware of how obvious she was now, but trying to shuffle her way fully under the table now would just be pathetic, in her opinion. She was just about to announce herself to Jax sourly, before a gloved hand plunged its finger into the back of her knee.

“I-eeeee!!” Pomni squealed at the touch, her legs blindly kicking about, a blush forming on her cheeks from the noise she just produced.

“Oh, clown girl, is that you? What are you doing under there?” Jax grinned to himself, squeezing Pomni’s knee once again before she could respond, producing another loud squeal as well as getting her to kick her feet against the ground in frustration.

“I-it was for aaaaaadventure, ohohobviously, stop thahat!” Pomni screeched at him, trying to shuffle her way out from underneath the table but it was like her legs had turned to jelly, she couldn’t focus on anything when laughing.

“Stop what? I’m not doing anything!” Jax had to hold back a laugh at Pommi’s frustrated cry, continuing to bully her knees by jabbing his thick, gloved fingers into the back of her knees, or just by giving them a good squeezing.

“Jahahahax, if you don’t stop rihihight #¥$^ing now, I swear-!” Pomni got cut off once again, because apparently no one cares about what she has to say.

“You’ll do what?” Jax asked, his voice wasn’t threatening or teasing, it was just knowing, he knew Pomni wouldn’t end up doing anything to get him back for this, either because she was practically stuck at the moment or because she lacked the confidence to enact revenge. All Pomni do was bury her face in her elbows and let put her frustrated squealing and giggles into them, wildly kicking her legs about in hopes that Jax would just get bored trying to keep up with her. Instead, he just dug his hands even harder to the back of her knees, latching into him as his fingers practically vibrated against her skin.

“Jahahahahahax!!” Pomni cried, satisfying his attention fill for the day. “Quihihihit it!” To her surprise, she actually felt Jax’s tough leave her body, although the phantom tickles did leave her a twitchy mess.

“Well, if your too ticklish to handle it,” he shrugged, already making his way to the door as to not have to deal with the consequences of his actions, “tell Dentures I participated if you see him. Oh, and the aim of Hide and Seek is to not get found, by the way.” Jax added unhelpfully before finally deciding to dash off, leaving Pomni to recover and slowly roll her way out from under the table.

•••

Ragatha unfortunately felt like she had an idea on where to find Zooble. Their room. Well, they did announce pretty loudly so it wasn’t a hard deduction to make, but Ragatha would’ve already known. Zooble had a habit of refusing to take part in Caine’s adventures, one that they made no secret of. Maybe it developed from some deep-rooted hatred they have for the ringmaster, or maybe theyjust preferred being left on their own. Either way, it left Ragatha stumped on how to help them, it seemed like the tasks Caine set them on were the only way to keep them sane, but she didn’t want to be too pushy to her friend. She gave a gentle knock to Zooble’s door, being allowed in once she confirmed that it was her.

“Found you!” Ragatha pointed her fingers at Zooble awkwardly, chuckling a little. They were sitting on their bed, back against the frame of it with their knees curled upwards. “You know, it can’t be good to stay cooped up in here all day.” Ragatha commented lightly, but Zooble averted her gaze from here.

“Yeah, no. I’m not living my life based on what someone else wants me to do, especially some AI.” Zooble huffed, if there’s one thing that they remembered from their life, it was a hatred for authority. Being plunged into a world where they had no control whatsoever, not even of how they looked, not even of their own bodies, was a living nightmare and as far as they were concerned, they could think of a good place where Caine could shove his routines.

“Oh well then…could I stay in here with you?” Ragatha offered gently, shocking Zooble lightly, having expected to be met with nothing but persistence. Luckily even Ragatha managed to see that Zooble didn’t need an elaborate adventure right now, maybe just a friend. Wordlessly, Zooble patted a spot next to them on the bed to which Ragatha took delightedly.

“Do you want some help getting that vest off?” Ragatha offered and Zooble immediately felt like a weight has been lifted, happily sighing and breaking out in a rare smile.

“Please,” they confirmed, meekly raising their arms above their head to allow Ragatha to relieve them of their clothing. She got to work immediately, grabbing the cuffs of the sleeves, starting to worm their way up Zooble’s awkwardly shaped arms. Rags that didn’t mess the way Zooble shuddered as her fingers ended up brushing up against what could only be described as Zooble’s armpits.

“Ticklish?” She asked with a small smile, and a tone she found she hadn’t genuinely used in a while.

“Don’t you dare.” Zooble warned them, though after years and years of putting up with Zooble’s rejections, Ragatha could tell that this wasn’t one of their serious grievances, just a playful dispute between friends.

“Oh, but how could I not?” Ragatha lamented with a playful grin, before deciding to plunge her nails into Zooble’s sides. Their skin felt akin to a bean bag, squish able and filled with…something. Zooble let a shriek before bouncing back against the top of her bed frame, wriggling about against Ragatha’s fingers as they kicked their legs back and forth.

“Nohohoho!” They whined, not able to remember the last time she had laughed, or shrieked this much but it felt oddly right in this moment.

“Wow, your such a squirmer, Zoobs!” Ragatha commented playfully, crawling down her fingers to the little bit of torso left exposed by Zooble’s vest, sliding her fingers against the pudgy skin. Zooble couldn’t keep their arms raised any longer, gently batting away at Ragatha’s arms as they whined beneath their breath.

“I’m a fihihihghter!” They corrected her, a few darker shades of violet appearing on their pink face. Ragatha stayed determined however, drilling her thumbs into Zooble’s tummy, which was proving to be a very sensitive spot for the poor enby. Zooble covered their face with their hands to the best of their ability.

“No fair, lemme say that smile!” Ragatha promoted her by jabbing her fingers into Zooble’s armpits, causing them to let out a wild cry and jolt upwards on the bed. Their arms immediately crashed down, wriggling against their sides and trapping Ragatha’s fingers. Zooble tilted their head away from Ragatha slightly, a genuine, happy smile on their mismatched face, with adorable giggles pouring out of it to top it off.

“Adorable.” Ragatha commented gently, circling her fingers against Zooble’s armpits for another few moments before stopping, leaving them a little more than flustered from the whole ordeal. While Zooble was still recovering from the sudden tickling session, Ragatha worked on removing their vest from them, triumphantly pulling it over their head before tossing it across the floor. Zooble leaned their body against Ragatha’s a little, just enough so that their shoulders were touching with Zooble still curled in on themselves.

“I..uh, thank, you know, for all of that,” Zooble commented, staring at a random spot on their bed, not needing to look at Ragatha to know that they were smiling gratefully.

•••

Gangle, armed with their comedy mask, began striding through the tent on her search for Kinger, given that her other two teammates had already went off looking for Pomni and Zooble. Even though Kinger was going to be the hardest to find, Gangle didn’t actually mind that. She got time alone when wandering through the tent, no fear of having her comedy mask being shattered, simply able to put her mind on the task at hand. And credit where credit is due, Kinger was the best Obscurer of their bunch, but time wasn’t an issue in the circus.

Gangle stopped as she noticed something that she probably should’ve taken note of before, a pillow fort, right in front of the stage, with some small muttering and rambling coming from inside. She manoeuvred her way over to the entrance of the smooth, soft cyan and white pillows, swinging her way inside.

“Found you, Kinger!” She announced cheerfully, hunched over in the comfortable spot, able to see Kinger sitting curled up in the corner. For a few moments, he simply sat there in silence looking at her, as if he was zoned out but he was quickly dragged back to reality.

“AHHHHHHHH-oh it’s just you, Gangle.” Kinger smiled once he came to his senses, Gangle initially jumped back startled from his scream but managed to relax. “What are we doing?” He asked, tilting his head.

“Kinger, we were all playing Hide and Seek!” Gangle whined, a little annoyed at herself that it took her so long to find someone who wasn’t even hiding before giggling a little at the fact that he was the person who took the longest to find.

“Oh, well, I found you!” Kinger announced, earning yet another giggle from Gangle.

“It’s the other way around, silly!” Gangle exclaimed, lightly poking Kinger in the side, to which he almost comically bounced back, practically lunging across the cozy fort. The two just stared at each other for a moment, Gangle half ready to apologise but Kinger beat her to it.

“A-ha, my apologies, Gangle, it’s been a while since I was tickled.” Even the word came off of his tongue awkwardly, like it hadn’t been used in a while. When was the last time he’d been tickled? It must’ve been when he was with…

As Kinger searched through his already forgetful mind, Gangle scooted over to him, a little bit of curiosity twinkling through their mask. They extended one of their ribbon-esque arms towards the man, before carefully wrapping it around his stomach beneath his robe. Kinger was too lost in thought to take note of the touch, only beginning to notice it once Gangle began circling her arm around his waist.

“Pfft-ahahahah, Gahahahangle!!” He cried out, curling in on himself even more, but nothing he could do could pull himself free of Gangle’s mischievous arm.

“Sorry Kings, this is just too cute!” Gangle announced, a delightful expression spreading across her mask, adoration being evident in her pitch black eyes.

“I dohohohn’t mind!’ Kinger admitted casually. “Just a bihihit perplexed abohohout why yohohour doing this!” Kinger asked, deciding now was going to be one of his moments where he’d be incredibly perceptive. Gangle paused for a moment in consideration before leaning against Kinger in a comfortable embrace, keeping her arms wrapped around him.

“You just seemed like you haven’t had attention like this in a while…I thought you could use it.” Gangle figuratively let down her mask, finding a chance to be vulnerable on her own terms with Kinger. His eyes squinted in gratitude whilst placing a disembodied hand atop Gangle’s head.

“Thanks, kiddo.”

••••

“Haha, Bubble, that is-that is not funny, that’s tragic.” The remnants of Caine and Bubble’s conversation seeped back into the tent as Caine teleported the two of them back their, ready to check in on the results of his latest adventure. It seemed like the Obscurers were doing their job very well at first glance since he couldn’t see any of them, only catching sight of Jax. Caine immediately flew down next to him, planting his cane on the ground next to the rabbit’s feet.

“Jax, my boy, how’s the adventure go?! Did you have fun?!” Caine asked, and if Jax didn’t know better, he wouldn’t of recognised the desperation in his voice, or in Caine’s widened eyes, fixed on him. Jax simply waved a hand dismissively at the ringleader.

“Oh yeah, Teeth, I definitely had fun!” Jax grinned, more than usual as he choose his wording carefully.

“Fantabulous! Where are the others?! I need to congratulate and/or degrade them for their victory/defeat!” Caine said, gazing around the room. Jax stared him down for a few moments, then looked around the room before shrugging.

“They uh, pretty sure most of them are resting right now. Why not surprise them with that bright and early tomorrow morning?” Jax suggested, already feeling amused as he imagined their reactions.

“Jax, your a genius!” Caine cried, shaking his hand gratefully before floating back up into the air. “Well, I won’t interrupt your rest either, my dear, have a lovely night and remember; I’m always watching!” And with a snap of his fingers, Caine was gone again and Jax was alone. He stared at the empty space where Caine was, then around once more. Casually, he turned and began striding with confidence, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

“Oi, Pomni, your not still on the floor like an idiot, are you? Come on, I wanna see how much damage we can do to Caine’s stuff before he gets back!”

•••

[snowthedemonfox]

So we got some screenshots for Ep 3, and I'm going to talk about some things I've noticed + some theories

I went off for over an hour in the bunnydoll burrow's VC talking about everything I noticed, but I'm realising writing it all down would be a smarter move, cause I know I'd forget it. If I've missed anything you think is important, let me know! I'll edit this post with new notes.

Let's start with the first screenshot, because that just makes the most sense:

The elephant in the room is the realistic human hand. I don't doubt this is the scene that has some level of blood and gore in it. We can't see what the hand is connected to, but whatever it is, it seems to be taller than Pomni and Kinger. They're both looking up, and the camera angle is facing down towards them both.

We can see 2 heads hanging from the wall behind Kinger, and what we can assume to be a 3rd behind the desk behind the hand.

One of these heads, as many have pointed out, seems to resemble Pomni. The face is entirely white, what I can assume is an eye seems to be the same size as Pomni's, and you can see that familiar looking hair on the side.

Even the other two things we see look like other members of the cast!

The head to the right of Kinger looks like Ragatha. It's got the hair, and even the face looks to be made of actual fabric, like a real doll. It seems whatever these things are, they're meant to look like more 'horror' versions of the characters.

(Side note, but if I had to guess, if Glitch releases a 3rd sticker sheet for episode 3, I wouldn't surprised if we got a new set of icon variations for the main cast. But instead of candy, we get these horror versions instead. I think that'd be cool, and I really hope that's what happens.)

You could even go as far to say the 'human' hand we're seeing is from the horror version of Kinger. Like I said before, the camera is looking down at them. Why would it be looking down? Because whatever's looking at them, is attached to the wall.

Moving onto other details in the room, we can see there's a chair behind Pomni with some kind of light on it. At first, I thought this might have been the tape recorder from the February trailer, but you can see the tape recorder is on a desk, not a chair.

And while there is a desk in the room, whatever is on there doesn't look like a tape recorder. It looks more like a photo, or some kind of radio.

The giant 'M' on the rug. We know the ghost lady's name is Martha Mildenhall, so this probably implies she owns the mansion the gang are exploring. Why would she need their help, though? Maybe whatever force is moving the hand in the screenshot, is some kind of 'evil' ghost, and that's why Pomni and the others are there to help. There's evil ghosts inhabitating the mansion, and Martha needs help to get rid of them. It's simple, it's your basic video game quest, it seems like a normal adventure plot that Caine would come up with.

There seems to be something behind the chair, but I can't make out if it's a door, some curtains, or some kind of closet. The lighting isn't doing me any favours. Either way, I doubt it's important to the episode, probably just background decoration.

As for my other thoughts that aren't as related to the screenshot itself, I do believe that everyone is going to be split up. Obviously Kinger and Pomni are working together, but I'm still not sure if Jax would be hanging with Ragatha & Gangle, or if he'd be off doing his own thing. As for Zooble, I'll get to them later.

And this might just be me looking into things too much, but it almost looks like one of Kinger's eyes is focused entirely on whatever is behind the camera, while the other isn't focused at all. Like he's half paying attention to the 'danger' he and Pomni are in.

But that's really all I have to say about the first screenshot. Let's move onto the main event:

Again, let's get the obvious out of the way: new Zooble design! They've got some new parts, like the arms, unicorn horn, and the blocky yellow and pink thing, but also some old parts, like the bluish-green ring, and their classic black and white antenna. So far, I like this design! I'm happy to see that they've decided to mix things up a bit. Not my favourite design, but still decent. They've got good taste.

Before I talk about Zooble and Caine, I first want to talk about the location they're in. At first, I thought this might've been Zooble's room, but looking closer, it's obviously not. Then I thought it was that little desk area at the end of the dorm hallway.

But nope, the hallway has different plants, picture frames, wallpaper, and no chairs to be seen. The plants we can see look similar to those seen in Caine's resturant realm from Ep 1, so I think I can safely guess that this is a new location, made specifically for him and Zooble to chat.

Speaking of that, I think that's going to be the driving point of Zooble's character development this episode. Something is going to convince them to join the future adventures, and it seems this will be that something. We know thanks to the AMA, that Zooble not going on adventures is important to their character, so having their episode focus on this topic makes sense.

What I can assume happened to lead up to this interaction is this:

Caine announced the adventure, and just like in both Ep 1&2, Zooble immediately expresses that they are not interested, and walks off. Caine can't really do anything about it yet, so he focuses on everyone else. Explains the rest of the adventure to them, and sends them on their way.

He then catches up to Zooble before they reach wherever they planned on going, and teleports them both to this new room. It looks almost like some kind of waiting room, or a room where they're both supposed to talk things out. It's got the comfy chairs, wall art, I wouldn't be surprised if there's a little table between them.

Zooble, obviously, is not impressed. They don't care about Caine's adventures, and want nothing to do with whatever he has planned for them in the meantime. Caine, on the other hand, just wants to figure out why Zooble doesn't want to go on his adventures. He spends so much time figuring them out! Just for the humans! Why won't Zooble participate!?

This very likely evolves into an argument between the two. I like how Caine is clearly angry in this screenshot. It's nice to see him show some more variety when it comes to emotion!! Zooble doesn't care for whatever Caine is saying, and Caine just wants to understand why they don't care.

Something happens, maybe they do talk it out, maybe something else, but by the end of the episode, Zooble decides that maybe going on a few adventures isn't that bad. I think it's way too early to guess what happens in that huge timeskip, but for now, this is the best I've got.

I feel Zooble's arc in this episode might touch on a few topics, like how while they might think staying by themselves all day and doing their own thing is better for them, isolating themselves isn't doing anyone any favours, and that, for lack of a better term, going 'outside' every once in a while can't hurt.

... and that's pretty much all I can think of to say regarding these two screenshots! I'm sure we'll get to learn more as the episode release gets closer, but I'm excited to see how things turn out!! :3

[inkzee]

🚬BURNOUT🚬

bunny doll oneshot

summary: Through the adventure at Spudsy's a certain purple bunny finds himself burnt halfway through the adventure. He thought the only thing that could warm him in his hiding place was cigarettes, but the presence of a certain doll proves otherwise.

small warning: if you are not okay with smoking it's okay to skip this one

A/N: This fick is kinda based on the comic I made like a few days before ep 4 came out (linked here) and I just wanted to write down this little idea that I had of Jax and Rag's in a freezer during a break.

word count: 1.2k

Spudsy’s wasn’t the ideal working environment. The greasy mountain bugers. The smell of sour ice cream. The pushy manager. The works. Though it had moments of entertainment for Jax, he found a certain manager who made the place a living hell. But there was one place where Jax could get some peace from the chaotic environment—the Freezer.

Sure it was colder than a polar bear’s @#$ but he had quickly found an alternative to the bitter cold of the ice box. Cigarettes. He had no idea where or how Zooble got their cruddy claws on them, where she found them, or why Caine thought to add these into the world. All he knew was that he finally, finally something to pull his mind out of this hellscape of an adventure.   

He flicked open the box to find a multitude of different colored cancer sticks, he rolled his eyes. Even the stupid cigarettes are colorful. He grabbed a blue one with a red tip, and placed it in his mouth while stuffing the box back into his pocket quickly and grabbing the box of matches in his apron. Opening the box of matches and licking the match across the box, giving off a dim light in the dark room. Lighting the cigarette he quickly shook the match out and made a sharp inhale.

And that feeling. That feeling he hasn’t felt since he spawned into this hell whole came rushing in. The slight tingle he felt in his throat and the sudden burning in his lungs was a feeling he all too well missed. “You’ve outdone yourself Caine” Jax smirked murmuring to himself as he let out a quick exhale letting the smoke fill the small area, letting himself gently slide down the wall. Allowing the warmth in his chest to travel through his body. Or once he finally felt… at peace? Normal? That wasn’t even the right word, he had never really felt normal before.

Even before the Circus.

He quickly snapped out of his thoughts as the freezer door slowly swung open. Crap Jax cursed to himself quickly moving himself behind a shelf. He prayed that it wasn’t Gangle, he couldn’t go through training again. He just couldn’t!

“H-hello~?” A giggly, preppy voice echoed as the freezer door closed. “Any-he ha Anyone in here?”

But instead of the cheery and annoying manager, it was a giggling, stumbling ragdoll who looked high as a kite. She had been this way since earlier this morning and Jax didn’t know how or why she got like this but it was a weird sight to see. Sure she was still smiling, but it looked unfamiliar and different. And the things that she’s been mumbling and saying to others…Jax couldn't really care less but there was something she had said earlier that caught him off guard…

“I like, hate you but I don’t want you to hate me… Is that weird?”

He had originally bypassed the comment as if it was nothing. He didn’t want to give what the ragdoll said a second thought, but…

“Oh hey, Jax~” Ragatha waved loosely, moving like a ragdoll. “Gangle was wondering where you were” she giggled. “What are you doing in the fre- OH MY GOSH WHERE DID YOU GET THO-”

Jax quickly grabbed her loose arm and pulled her toward him, quickly covering her mouth. Quickly shutting the door behind her.

Jax shushed her. “I don’t know what you're on nor do I care, but I don’t need you announcing the whole kitchen that I’m in here” 

The doll removed his hand from her mouth. “Okay~ Okay~~~ I get it.” She giggled pointing at the cig in his mouth. “W-where did you even get a box of those from. Didn’t Caine like make things like.....illegal~?”

“Don’t know. And don’t care” Jax sighed releasing more smoke into the chilled room. Ragatha oh-ed the ways the smoke filled the room.

“Can- I have one?” she asked in a childish, mystical tone.

Jax narrowed his eyes to her, giving her a quick snort. “Whatever you’re on must have turned your brain to mush doll. Why would a goodie goodie like you want one of these?,” he leaned down to her eye level and pocked her forehead slightly sending her off balance. She clumsy slapped his hand away. "What happened to your lawful nature~" It was an attempt to make a snarky remark.

“Shut up and gimmeeeeeeeeeee-” she swinged her arms and reached for the half smoked cigarette out of the bunny’s mouth. 

“Hey-” Before he could finish his sentence the the doll placed the red end between her plush lips, and tried the inhale smoke from the bud.

And Jax just stood there.

Shocked.

Speechless.

And oh so confused.

There was something else there as well. Behind that shock. A slight tug in his chest that stopped him in his tracks. It felt hot like he was just seared by the end of the cigarette currently in her mouth.

And.

He.

HATED.

That stupid feeling!

He knew the feeling all the well. It haunted him everytime the doll lectured him. It haunted him when she yelled his name in that annoying tone he liked when he did something wrong. It haunted him even in the bitter cold of a freezer with the doll who clearly isn’t herself. And he hated it because he knew. He knew he could never act on it.

No.

 He was too scared to act on it.

“Aww-” Jax was snapped out of his thoughts to see the ragdoll sadly staring down and the unlit bud between her fingers. “It went outtttt~~ Nooooooooooooo~” she childishly groaned. If Jax didn’t know any better, he would have thought she was gonna throw a tantrum.

“Shhh keep it down!” Jax shushed. She quickly slapped her hand over her mouth. 

Jax sighed at her stupidity, reaching inside his pocket the grab both boxes out of his pocket. Quickly grabbing another pastel stick from the first box. The opening the other to grab a match.

“Awww~ I want a new oneee~”

“Too bad you're not getting one!” Jax grunted as he flicked the match across the box painting the freezer in a warm dim light, which got a ‘ooooh~’ of approval from the ragdoll. He placed the stick in his mouth and brought the end of his to the burnt end of the half-used cigarette between the Ragatha's lips and brought the match up to light both ends.

Ragatha watched as the flame licked the ends of the buds, lighting the ends a pretty ember. Her eyes widened in a trance at the sight. The bunny soon realized how close he was to the doll. The way the flame light reflected onto her was mesmerizing. Of course, this wasn’t her real body, but he noticed the way the light shined into her eye… The burning feeling came back again. And instead of beating it down with a cocky joke, he sat with it. And let it warm him in the cold chill of the freezer.

But the moment was soon cut short when her gaze turned from the flame to him, causing him to make a sharp quick gasp. Watch caused him to inhale and choke on the bitter burnt taste of the cigarette soon causing a short burn in the back of her throat. He began to cough profusely.

“Shhhhhhhhhhhhhh~” the doll shushed him quite loudly. “You don’t wanna get ca-”

On cue, the freezer swung open to show a certain preppy manger, “What’s going on back here?”

@#$% Jax cursed to himself.

So much for a corporate break.

[theamazingdigitalraceway]

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Abstractions and Shadows and Death, oh my! Chaos is putting it lightly, describing the turn of events. Abel has discovered a new way to make himself powerful, much to the bane of the others. Caine is no longer required. Run, racer, run...

WARNING: body horror, abstraction, distress

~~~

In a flash of silver fire, Gangle and Shadow Pomni appeared in the silent In-Between. Gangle flinched away from Shadow Pomni's grasp and spun around, not knowing where she was. "Zooble!?" She frantically shouted into the darkness. "Zooble! Zooble..." Tears poured down her face.

Shadow Pomni dismounted their motorcycle. "Gangle.." Their voice resonated eerily. "Please try to take a breath. You're safe."

Gangle held her head. "No. No,no,no, nowhere is safe. The game has gone mad. Caine's out of control. Zooble-" She choked on a sob. "Zooble abstracted!" She fell to her knees and wailed. "ZOOBLE!!"

Shadow Pomni looked down and clenched their fists. They should've just taken Zooble. Maybe Zooble would still be here if they had tried. Shadow Pomni snapped and the shadows around them converged to create a blanket. They gently draped in over Gangle's shoulders, who curled up under it immediately.

Shadow Pomni sat down next to Gangle and summoned a cigarette, flicking open their silver lily zippo simultaneously. With a sigh, they took a long drag. "Their final wish was for me to save you first." Their solid silver eyes dimmed. "I don't know what put them over the edge, but you were important to them. They loved you."

Gangle sobbed quietly under the blanket, refusing to show their face. "I should just abstract too...there's no point to any of this. There never was."

~

The bright and flashing neon lights of the pseudo-cyberpunk track back lit a glitching, lurching multi-limbed creature. Well over twelve feet tall and covered in iridescent eyes that changed color at random, the abstraction stomped Gangle's car til it was pancaked to the pavement. The abstraction saw its reflection in the window of an adjacent building. With a roar, it slammed through the wall and rampaged inside the hollow structure.

Abel chuckled from behind the POV screens in the penthouse overlooking the city. "Feisty little thing, isn't it?"

Caine hung his head in mourning for Zooble. They were so strong. They fought it back for so long. It shouldn't have ended for them like this. His shoulders slumped and the chains holding him slacked as he sat on his knees.

Loo held back tears. She could only silently watch the horror unfold. Glancing at the other screens she saw one with Ragatha holding her head in clear pain. "Hold on, love. You can make it." She quietly inched her way towards Caine, keeping a careful eye on Abel who had his back to her.

~

Shadow Pomni flicked away blacked ash into the expanse of nothing around them. "Even in this repetitive digital existence, you still made connections with the people around you. You made friends, enemies, a lover. Were they pointless?" Shadow Pomni watched the pile of blanket closely for any real signs of abstraction.

Gangle sniffed, "No...but they're gone now...why shouldn't I just go too?"

"Because I can't save the others without you. Ragatha, Jax and Kinger need our help."

Gangle whimpered, curling herself up tighter under the blanket.

Shadow Pomni flicked away the half-smoked cigarette. "I'm sorry about Zooble, but unfortunately time isn't on our side. Abel is tearing the game apart and is taking us down with him. There's still a chance for us to get out, but we need to get the others out of the line of fire first."

Gangle poked an eye out from under the blanket. "...how do you know that?"

"I have Seth's memories rolling around in my head. Ultimately, we need to get to Caine, but first we help the others before they abstract. At least, as many as we can." Shadow Pomni stood and offered their hand. "You with me?"

~

Abel watched the abstraction tear apart a city block before he sighed with boredom. "Well, I can't have this thing tearing up my track forever. I have three other racers I can still use." He turned his crocodile grin to Caine and Loo. "Sit tight. I'll be right back." He snapped and teleported away.

Loo immediately jumped at trying to undo Caine's restraints. The two clamps on Caine's wrists had no keyhole and chained him to the wall. The chains pulsed with vibrant binary code that moved along the surface like a forcefield. No matter how hard she pulled or tried to pry open, they wouldn't budge. "Ugh! Come on! There has to be a way to get these open!"

Caine was limp in her grasp. He remained on his knees, staring at the ground. "They're all going to die."

Loo stopped. "What? What did you say?"

"They're all going to die and it's all my fault." His voice was hollow. His thoughts would've spiraled further if a sharp pain on the back of his head didn't take him out of it. He looked back at Loo, who was bending down a little at the hips to glare at him.

"That was for putting my girlfriend in danger." She slapped him again. "That was for putting your own girlfriend in danger." Then she kneeled down and hugged him. "And this is for you. You didn't know all of this would happen. Maybe things could have been done differently, but it doesn't matter at this point. Focus on what's happening now and fix it. You're pretty good at that."

Caine didn't fight, he only sat there with tired eyes. "I don't think I can. Not this time."

"Don't give up. There has to be something let in you. I don't know what Abel did to change the game, but he doesn't strike me as the careful type. Try." She stood up and stepped back.

"Try...what?"

"Anything." Loo encouraged.

Caine looked at his hand and poised it to snap. His gaze went to his restraints. Snap. The restraints flickered but stayed in place. His eyes went wide.

Loo smiled. "The world still recognizes your commands. Keep trying!"

~

Gangle looked at Shadow Pomni for a long moment, weighing her options. She determined that she didn't have many so she reached out and grabbed Shadow Pomni's hand. She was lifted up, but she held the blanket around her shoulders. "I don't know what I can even do. I've never been a good racer. I only participated to humor Caine."

"Don't worry, the bike will do all the work." Shadow Pomni snapped and a solid black motorcycle formed from the shadows. "What I need from you is your creativity."

"Huh?" Gangle held the blanket right around herself. "I don't understand."

"Mount up. It'll make more sense." Shadow Pomni got on their dark blue, silver-lined motorcycle.

Gangle gulped and swung her leg over the racing bike. It self-balanced as she got comfortable on the seat. "Now wha-!?" She gasped as a cold darkness spiraled up her legs.

~

Abel appeared on the street corner with the abstraction. The blue lighting pattern on his tracksuit glowing in the city black light. His wide brimmed hat hid the intensity of his menacing gaze. "Hate to break up your pity party, but you should really take it down below." He snapped and the track caved in to open a gaping pit to the cellar far beneath the overworld.

The abstraction stopped its rampage to face the new noise. It stuttered in place, its body quaking and shivering with constant glitches. Several limbs spiraled around its body as it spider climbed in unnatural positions out of the building it had been wrecking. It towered over the gator avatar.

Abel nonchalantly pointed at the abstraction and it started to levitate. Before he could drop it down the hole, however, the levitation stopped and the abstraction crashed to the ground. "What!?"

~

Caine and Loo jerked their heads up to the screen set on the abstraction. Loo looked from Caine to the screen and back. "Do that again!"

Caine snapped his fingers to attempt to break the restraints and Abel cried out in frustration as his control faltered. Caine gasped and snapped many times in succession to break free.

~

The abstraction angrily roared in Abel's direction and scrambled to right itself. Abel tried again, picking up the abstraction half way, dragging the other half. The abstraction dug into the track, preventing itself from being thrown down the hole.

Abel whole body ripped with angry static. "What is wrong with this thing!?" He shook his hand and tried again, but not before the abstraction lashed out at him, forcing him to teleport away and loose focus. "ARGH!" His eyes flared brightly and he squeezed his fist tight. Blue static focussed at the end of his arm and the abstraction screamed as its whole body lit up with electricity that acred to the nearby buildings.

"Obey me!" He focused to pick up the abstraction up again, attempting to throw it into the pit. The abstraction gripped the ground, all eyes on Abel, not moving. Abel was starting to breathe heavy, a slight panic in his eye. "I said, obey!"

The abstraction refused, feeling the telekinetic grip on it fading again. It roared, tearing at the ground as it charged.

Abel tried to teleport away, but he didn't get as far as he wanted. He had to dodge a long ranging strike from the creatures whip like tail. He desperately used the telekinesis to grab de ris and throw it at the abstraction, but I wasn't enough. The abstraction plowed through the debris without slowing down and pounced on Abel.

Abel was crushed into the track, cracking the ground around him. He couldn't even scream in pain. The wind was knocked out of him. Heavy hit after heavy hit tore at his avatar. His body glitched and moved in ways he's never experienced. It was agony.

The abstraction reared up on its multiple hind legs and slammed its front down on Abel again. This time, it broke through Abel's chest and collided with the energy that made up Abel's being. Lightning shot through the abstraction, stunning it for a second. When it tried to pull away, half of its leg didn't go with it.

The abstraction backed up with a weird limp. Abel felt like he could breathe again. He sat up and felt his chest. The strange energy from the abstraction didn't just fall away, it went inside him. He felt a strong buzz that was equal parts painful and powerful. He needed more.

"So that's what you become." Abel slowly gets to his feet. "Pure, unadulterated, uncontained energy. It's all our brains are at the end of the day. Energy. Energy that can be used for control. Power. Give it to me." His eyes were manic, staring down the injured abstraction. "GIVE IT TO ME!!" He ran at the abstraction.

~

"He's lost his mind." Caine snapped away at the chains. "Come on. Come on!"

Loo kept an eye on the monitors. "I hope Pomni can get to the others while he's distracted. Jax isn't looking good."

~

Jax was still in the driver seat of his racecar. His vehicle had come to a dead halt when his mind was flooded with memories. His childhood flashed before his eyes. His mother was his whole world. A single parent. No siblings. Just him and her. She worked hard to give him a good life. He was going to college. He would make her proud. Until she didn't come home. Until no one had any idea what happened to her. They lied. They knew. He came to find her.

Tears streamed down his face, wetting his tracksuit. His eye flickered vibrant pink. "Mom...you were here...but I never saw you...you're..." His chest felt like it was about to burst. The pain of realizing the lose he never new from the moment he got here was tearing him apart.

"JAX!" A woman's voice called out to him, muffled by the static in his head. "Jax!" Ragatha threw open the car door and grabbed Jax's twitching face.

"Momma?" He whimpered.

"It's okay. You're okay. Please, dont-" She grabbed his hand and tried to soothe him. "Don't go. Stay with us."

Jax tried to focus on Ragatha's face. His vision was obscured with static like an old television. He settled a bit, recognizing the voice "...dollface?"

Ragatha has never been so happy to hear the nickname. "Yeah, that's me."

"What's happening to me?" His voice glitched out.

"You're abstracting. Fight it. Please. Stay. I want you to stay."

"Why? You hate me."

Another hand laid on Ragatha's with Jax's. A larger, white gloved disembodied hand. "She doesn't hate you, Jax." Kinger's fatherly voice came over both of them. "You two helped keep each other going, whether you realized it or not. The siblings neither one of you asked for, but ultimately needed."

"Yeah..." Ragatha felt a pain in her own chest as the memories of her own life struck her too. "I had a sister, Jax."

"Sister..?" Jax's voice was less garbled. He blinked several times to try and clear the static away.

"She's here, but...not up here." Ragatha looked forlorn at the ground.

Jax's breathing settled. He could see the world around him more clearly. Ragatha was leaning inside the car to him. Kinger was peeking in from behind her. He undid his seatbelt and got out of the car. The city felt oddly quiet around them. "Where's everyone else?"

Kinger spoke up. "Last I saw, Pomni was trying to escape with Seth. I haven't seen Gangle or Zooble."

"I don't know where anyone is." Shrugged Ragatha. "I've been too busy trying not to crash."

The revving of motorcycles caught everyone's attention. Two bright lights fast approached and divided right where the group stood. Shadow Pomni rolled up with her newest recruit: Shadow Gangle.

Gangle's mask had blackened, her eyes solid white, not a tear in sight. Her mask was more akin to anger than sorrow or comedy. Her ribbons were still red, if a bit darker. Her pink suit was black with silver trim. Her ribbon bow and streamers were ablaze with misty shadow flickering off her like black fire. She rode astride Seth's large black racing motorcycle. It's engine growled with power, ready to run.

"Glad to see no one else has abstracted." Shadow Pomni's voice reverberated. "Come. We must go to the In-Between. We can plan our next move in safe-"

BOOM

A building down the track exploded, sending debris their way. Everyone scattered as Jax's and Ragatha's cars were crushed. An unidentifiable monster plowed through the building screaming and roaring. It threw debris as it rammed aimlessly and thrashed about.

"Go!" Shouted Shadow Gangle. "We'll keep it busy! Get as far away as you can!" Shadow Pomni and Shadow Gangle drove towards the creature, the others ran to Kinger's car.

Everything the creature came in contact with glitched and sometimes disappeared. It's strange black static body couldn't keep a consistent form. The eyes roiled and moved along its body, darting all around like it was trying to see everywhere at once. Then it the shadow racers.

It stood on four of its six legs and started to shrink. Shadow Pomni and Gangle slowed and watched as a Gator's maw formed from the black static. The body took the form of Gummigoo, if a little taller. His blue eyes flinches with multicolor static. He grinned, "Hello, Shadow. Or was it Seth?"

"Shadow Pomni." They grimaced at Abel.

"Oh, right. You merged with the brat that started this. Why? I wonder. She not her, you know. She's never coming back." Abel eyes flared as his body glitched. He gripped the building corner so hard, it cracked.

Shadow Pomni and Shadow Gangle gripped their handlebars tighter and said in unison. "I'LL KILL YOU, YOU BASTARD!"

Abel's shrill cackle made the street lights flicker. "You had your chance! Now, it's my turn!" He stomped his foot and the track split like an earthquake. "You may be clever enough to hide yourself in other avatars, but you'll never outrun all of them!" The track broke even further, entire buildings fell into the darkness below.

The shadow racers retreated upon hearing a cacophony of roars erupt from the abyss. The grind of claws and gnashing of teeth climbed up from the darkness. Abstraction after abstraction emerged into the bright lights of the city. They screeched and called as they chaotically crawled towards the nearest thing that moved.

~

Kinger jumped into the driver seat right through the window and threw the car in reverse. Ragatha and Jax barely had enough time to get in before the car started moving. Three abstraction clocked in on them immediately.

"Hold on!" Kinger swung the car a full 180° and floored the accelerator. The purple racecar sped off with an ear splitting squeal of its tires.

Ragatha held on for dear life in the passenger seat. "Where can we go!?"

"Anywhere but here!!" Jax shouted, watching the abstractions gaining on them from the back seat.

Kinger navigated the fractured landscape to more intact track where he could really open up and speed away. On the way, he bumped a power up floating above the track. A bundle of dynamic landed in Jax's lap.

Jax's shock turned to straight malicious intent. "Now we're talking." He leaned out the back window and checked the bomb at the nearest abstraction. The explosion left the monster reeling and it fell behind. "HA! We can fight back! Kinger! Grab another one!"

"One for me too!" Ragatha leaned out her window, waiting for a power up. Her smile didn't last long as an unseen abstraction swooped down and dug its talons into the roof of the speeding car. "There's a flying one!?"

The car was lifted a little off the track before the roof tore away, unable to handle the weight. The abstraction slowed trying to unstuck the roof from its talons.

The car hit the track hard, nearly bouncing all three occupants out. Kinger maintained control and swerved for two power ups: a can of NOS and a rocket launcher Kinger drifted the car around a sharp bend to force the pursuing abstractions to bottle neck at the corner.

Jax waited til he saw the abstractions clamoring around the corner to fire the rocket. "Eat shit, freaks!" The abstraction that caught it in the face glitched violently and collided with the others, making them glitch as well.

Ragatha slammed the can of NOS against the car, breaking it, and the car roared forward. Purple fire shot out the tail pipes.

"WOO! Been a while since I've used that!" Kinger laughed as he guided the car away from the abstractions.

~

Abel laughed as his body broke and jerked. "You're MINE, shadow racers!" His body expanded and darkened and eyes of all colors opened across his torso. His tail lengthened and his body more beastial, if a bit esoteric.

As the last of the abstractions came up to the surface, Abel grabbed a smaller one by its theoretical neck. He opened his gaping crocodile jaws and bit off its head. Its body continued to glitch and fight as able absorbed it into his chest. He grew even larger, his glowing blue eyes dividing into. His arms became four. The city itself sank under his step.

Lightning glowed down his back and hummed with power as he took a deep breath and released an incredibly powerful beam of light that vaporized all in its path. The deepest, guttural chuckle came from him. "Mine. All mine. And more fun." He turned his gaze to the tallest skyscraper and stomped his way towards it.

The shadow racers stayed hidden amongst the debris, running from the abstractions. Because of their shared possession of Seth, Gangle and Pomni could speak in each other's heads. "Now what??" Gangle asked.

"I don't know." Pomni answered, stressed. "We should still try to make it to the In-Between." Her dark blue bike zoomed under an attacking abstraction Pomni hadn't noticed. The Dodge made her look back and she saw Abel going for the tallest building. "Fuck! New plan! You get back to the others. Take them to the In-Between. I'm going for Abel."

"Alone!?"

"No." Pomni geared down to brake and sharply turned a corner to race after Abel. She blinked and teleported ahead. Then again. "I hope you know what you're doing..." She said quietly. The bike accelerated.

~

Caine almost had it. He could feel it. He snapped again and again. The binary holding the chains flickered and started to glitch. He had to get out. He had to help. Everyone was in danger. Pomni was in danger!

Heavy footfalls shook the tower. The penthouse swayed dramatically. Loo held on to the control panel to keep her footing. She gasped upon seeing the massive half-abstract Abel coming face to face with the penthouse. She backed away, but had nowhere to run.

Caine couldn't believe what he was seeing. "That's not possible." His entire core sank as Abel opened his maw. A blue light emanating from his throat was gradually getting brighter as the spines along his back rippled with electricity. "Loo! Run!"

"I- I-" Loo was struck with so much fear, she was unable to move.

"Loo!" Gold fire flickered across Caine's hands and he pulled hard against his chains.

Shadow Pomni was going as fast as she could, driving up buildings to get to Abel's height. She could see what was about to happen. "No!"

Abel leaned forward to brace and released a beam of light that made his clawed feet dig into the ground. The entire penthouse was vaporized.

~~~

CH1 PREV NEXT

[koifishscribbles]

Through sobs, Satoru whoops, “I was— I was gonna say maybe I’ll fuck you so hard that you’ll scream in the middle of the night and wake up the whole floor— everyone— but I think he’d drop dead if—“

“Sure thing, pillow princess!” Suguru taunts through increasing giggles.

Satoru’s laugh flatlines, and he leans into his ear whispering, “That sounds like a challenge. Watch yourself tonight, Suguru!” And he feels every word taking shape down his spine in goosebumps. Visions of Satoru’s hands on his waist— running up and down is back— his face pressed to the nape of his neck. It all knots up inside of him.

Before he has a chance to pursue it, Satoru continues, “Ya’ know, a dead RA would solve a lot of our problems.”

“What do you think it would take?”

“Probably not a lot.” Satoru cocks an eyebrow at him. “Can I walk you down the hall in a full gimp suit?”

“No, I’d die.”

“You could walk me.”

“Nope, I’d still die.” Suguru feels his laughter start to creep back in, infecting Satoru as the corners of his lips tremble.

“We just need to move.”

“You can’t walk me around in a gimp suit in private.”

“Fuck no,” Satoru howls. “We gotta stop with the gimp suit shit because if you joke about it enough, you’re gonna want to try it, and I think I’d rather cut off my hand than touch latex.” Satoru slumps forward, pressing his head to Suguru’s chest. “A fucking sensory nightmare.”

Suguru cards his fingers through the longer hair atop Satoru’s head. “You’re a sensory nightmare.”

“Thanks, I try.” Satoru flops over inert.

Suguru grabs a shoulder, shaking him. Satoru lets the motion wrack his whole body. “What are you doing?” Phony offense grips him.

“Ehhhh,” groans senselessly out of the gangle of teenager that nestles further into the crack between the bed and the wall. “Nap.”

“Nap?” The answer is egregious. Disgusting. Suguru spits the word back in his face. “I need you to help me fulfill my promise to Riko.”

The sound Satoru makes implies that he is unhinging his jaw on the singular word fuckno. It travels up his spine very quickly, like he’s hacking up a hairball.

Read the rest of I’m Sorry: In Various Translations (a high school, college, and teaching AU) on ao3

(pssst it’s also a 100k slowburn)