#tadc oasis au

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Eyes on you

She's on all fours and smiling, but she's not happy to see you~

I finally got around drawing these two together and neither of them are having a good time. This in an illustration for a fic I wrote.

I had fun trying to figure out how to illustrate Gangle's threat display - it turned out to be a hybrid between that of a cat and that of an owl... kinda... eh.

She's little protective of her bestie, don't mind her.

Fanfic related to this art: (CLICK HERE TO READ) Oasis: TADC AU list Masterlist

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E X P A N D. F O C U S.

Don't ask; I don't know.

This feral boi was an accident.

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Cheeky

She's a saint, I swear!

Nah... Ragatha has her pushy moments too (in Oasis canon), but they are few and far in between.

She probably got a good swipe out of her face right after this. 0_0

Anyway~ 2 days before that poll outcome an boy... I'm curious about a lot of things...

Oasis: TADC AU list Masterlist

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Stale

Kinger is just a little confused, don't mind him!

All characters belong to our lovely lady, Gooseworx.

Fanfic related to this comic: (CLICK HERE TO READ)

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Jax x Ragatha: The snake and the water spring

The Amazing Digital Circus AU: Oasis.

Author's note: I found this show by chance and I took a great liking to it! So now I did a thing, instead of studying for upcoming exams, because I love making things difficult for myself, apparently.

I have no idea what the fandom is like, but I'm playing it safe just to be... well... safe. I just loved the concept of this show so much that I couldn't help but be inspired by it! It got me thinking and I let it all out in this... thing.

I want to write more one-shot fics about the other characters and how they fit into this au too, but I don't know when I'll be able to.

WARNING! None of these characters are mine and everything mentioned and described is purely made-up fiction; inspired by works that are not my own. Nothing should be considered canon or taken seriously - we are all here to have some harmless fun! No age restrictions. I think this might be appropriate for all ages...?

Please show some love and support for Gooseworx; the creator of The Amazing Digital Circus!

I definitely butchered Gooseworx's characters by adding unnecessary 'relationship dynamics' and deviating from their original personalities. I promise that the actual show and characters are so much better than they are in my false portrayal of them.

SUMMARY:

A fanmade take on the events following Pomni's arrival and after the crew had dinner together. This is focused on Jax's point of view, but still written in the third person.

Jax confronts Ragatha after the pilot episode's 'dinner' and does his best to comfort her in a way that works for them. That's it.

Please enjoy!

THE SNAKE AND THE WATER SPRING

Jax was a desert snake.

Nothing but a cold-blooded pest that lived to find his next meal.

When one is left to die under the scorching sun, you can’t stomp on the sun for creating a desert, but you could stomp on the desert snake if it added to the pain of surviving in said desert. The Digital Realm was nothing but a desert sun – a cage with no exit and an evil with no target.

It was no secret why so many had lost their minds here.

Jax took on the role of being the snake. It was never announced or planned, but it was deemed necessary by all who came to know the realm. The inhabitants of The Amazing Digital Circus craved any sense of control; something they could hold accountable for their torment – something they could punish. A menace, parasite.

Evil with a target: Jax.

It was fun to act out while everybody went about their lives. He could unapologetically be the worst being known to man and thrive on the rage and hatred of all he had affected. If they hated him, he was fulfilling his role perfectly… and that meant they could stay sane and do their parts as he did his. Less people would be lost to insanity… and the group would grow stronger.

Everyone had a role in their system – an oasis was established, with Ragatha as the heart of the oasis; their very own water spring.

But when a new invading creature bursts into the oasis with no knowledge of this system, their system would be doomed. Pomni happened to be that invader. Everyone could collectively, yet silently agree that she was acting by her own careless devices since she arrived a few hours ago. She greedily soaked up their water source and left it barren, dry, and suffering.

Granted, Pomni didn’t know how their oasis worked, but it didn’t change the fact that she disrupted everything by showing up. She would have to catch on quickly and prove herself useful, before anyone else loses their minds.

They lost one of their own already… and they almost lost their beloved Ragatha; Jax’s equal and opposite.

Their precious water source.

Snakes offered venom, while water springs offered hope of life. They all desperately needed Ragatha to survive. While most would assume her to be fine after being fixed by Caine, Jax knew better than that. He saw her reluctantly stand aside Pomni to support her – beautifully acting within her role as she always would, but it was clear that Pomni still didn’t understand how scarce the water was by then. Rags was spread thin enough by handling the extra stress and enduring the continuous pain of being corrupted by the abstraction, but that didn’t stop Pomni from practically having a mental breakdown at the dinner table.

Jax saw that coming from a mile away. Thank goodness he silently took the open seat next to Pomni, silent in his insistence that the ragdoll should keep her distance for the time being. He’d give anything to destroy the little jester for abusing his doll. Ragatha was acting perfectly normal at the time – her masked smile perfectly set on her face – until it was time for them all to retire to their respective bedrooms.

Jax wished that he would’ve just dragged her after him when he booked it from the abstraction earlier today. Pomni would have been the perfect distraction for them to escape and get Caine.

He stood at Ragatha’s door after dinner.

Jax made a point to ring the doorbell this time. Usually, he’d just pluck out a key and saunter in like he owns the place, but with what happened today, he’d make an exception. Everyone has their limit – and someone has already reached their limit today. They couldn’t risk losing another one. Especially not Raggs. They all really needed her.

When she didn’t open, he tried the bell again. Nothing.

Well, time for the key, then.

He shoved his hand down his front pocket and fished out the doll’s room key. The bunny didn’t waste time opening the door. He wanted to see what state the girl was in, despite dreading the possibility of finding an abstracted amalgamation on the other side.

Silence.

Not even a creak was heard from the hallway. The room was lit up as it usually was, so that was a good sign, at least. Jax couldn’t see an obvious black body of eyes – another win. But where was Ragatha? He did see her walk into her room, so she had to be here.

He walked around, keeping his cool, casual composure fixed, despite no one being around. It was effortless at this point. It became a way for him to focus on what he could control in this crazy digital prison; himself.

He couldn’t, however, control his ability to spot a blasted ragdoll, it would seem. He scanned the room again, until his eyes fell on her ¾ bed. Could she-?

The bunny rolled his eyes at himself as he lowered himself onto his knees – maybe he could convince himself that he was not phased by the situation. Bending down, he peered beneath the bed frame.

Jax sighed in exasperation. Or was it relief? Both?

Ragatha was in the state she was in before retiring to her room. No gliching, no extra eyes.

Just Raggs.

She didn’t look good, though. The doll was curled up beneath her bed and blindly staring ahead of her. It didn’t look like she was breathing – not that they needed to anyway, but it was uncanny to see Rags like this. She was their voice of reason. She was a water spring in this desert.

If she dried up, their desert would be doomed.

Jax silently stood up and walked back to the open door again. No need to make a fuss over this. He took hold of the door handle and shut it from the inside. Key in hand, he locked the door and nodded to himself. Ragatha needed a raincloud… and he’d have to fill that role now. It’s the least he could do after leaving her to fend for herself when they found the abstraction today.

Why didn’t she run with him? Why did think she could fix someone whose mind was broken beyond repair? Why didn’t she just leave the rookie as bait?

Because that just wasn’t her role, was it?

If it weren’t for her nature – her role – none of them would have made it this far. It dawned on Jax, once again, how close they were to losing their beloved doll. How close they were to being stuck with an invader who knew nothing about what it took to survive in this hell hole.

Enough.

Back to the bed, crouched down and silent Jax positioned himself to lay down and simply look over the red head from a relative distance. There was enough space for the doll to crawl out of hiding without having to touch him. The bunny still hadn’t said a word. It’d be stupid to talk, and he didn’t feel like making the effort. He just wanted things back to normal again – well… as normal as it could have been.

Now Kaufmo is gone, a new creature was invading their home, tearing it up from the roots and tipping the delicate scales of the balance they worked very hard on creating. All because of a lunatic ringmaster having the bright idea of creating a fake exit-door. Someone better get that jester on a tight leash to get her to fall in line, like the rest of them were forced to.

He knew he, for one, wouldn’t mind roughing her up a bit. It was his specialty – his role. The parasite. The menace. The instigator.

Evil with an actual target.

The sound of shifting and movement had Jax blink out of his own head. Ragatha was slowly and dumbly making her way out from under her bed. Her eyes were still fogged over and her face still eerily blank, but at least she came out of hiding out of her own will. In a matter of seconds, the doll was out from her hiding place and settled on the floor beside Jax. She was staring him in the eyes now, waiting for the bunny, silently pleading.

Jax hadn’t had his aloof-douchebag persona engaged since he locked Ragatha’s door. She didn’t need a menace now – she needed to be grounded; revitalized. She needed a dark raincloud to fill up the water spring they all needed.

He didn’t look forward to what needed to be done, but he wouldn’t allow anyone else to do it.

He moved to stand up and held out a hand to help her up. He took note of the way her hand was shaking when she took his and gently guided her to the bed. The red head was the first to sit, then moved to lay down on her back and numbly stare at the ceiling. With a deep breath, Jax gathered himself mentally and cautiously crept onto the bed and positioned himself to briefly hover over her, before lowering his full weight onto Ragatha.

He had his head in the crook of her neck, on the left shoulder with his ears folding back to floppily droop to his upper back… with his left hand resting on the opposite shoulder. His body, although slim, enveloped hers and caused her to sink slightly into the mattress. His legs just loosely laid over and aside the ragdoll’s. It was more important to have his weight resting on her torso anyway.

For a long moment, they just motionlessly laid on the bed like this. To an outsider, it would look like they fell asleep atop each other or simply cuddled together very closely.

An outsider wouldn’t see that Jax was focused on the slow process of Ragatha’s body relaxing under his weight and her breathing slowing to a regular rhythm. An outsider wouldn’t have known that this was hardly the first time they’d done this – how long it took Jax to learn that this make-shift deep-pressure therapy was the most effective grounding technique for Ragatha to collect herself again.

They wouldn’t understand that Jax didn’t do this out of wanting to, but rather out of necessity.

Jax didn’t like to be touched. If anything, he was very capable of merely tolerating it. Everyone in the circus knew that he was touch-averse; some even used that as leverage to mess with him if the situation called for it. It was a necessity that he endured to keep his doll sane – to keep anyone of importance here in the circus, sane. Their whole lives revolved around mental strength. It was all just a matter of staying sane.

The laid there for what felt like a lifetime.

Slight shifting beside Jax alerted him that the doll was moving her arms – previously stiffly pinned to her sides. This was good, she felt comfortable enough to move around now!

Her left hand gently snaked up to the bunny’s head and slowly, softly petted his ears in a longitude motion. Her right hand wrapped loosely around his middle-to-lower back – motionless. This was bad, Jax did not like being touched like that!

While he was fine with the rhythmic touches of Ragatha’s left hand, he despised the idle position of the right hand resting on his back. He couldn’t prevent himself from tensing up in discomfort.

Bad touch, bad touch, bad-

This caused the ragdoll to tense up and rip her hands off him as if he burned her.

Oh no you don’t! We are not starting all over again.

He slowly pulls away and propped up unto his elbows, hearing Ragatha’s breathing pick up as she presumably spirals into her own thoughts on how he was going to leave her like this. Jax cast down a disapproving look. He broke his gaze to unceremoniously take her right hand – now clutched close to her chest – and intertwined their fingers, before resting his head on her left shoulder once again. He close eyes as he use his free hand to put her left hand on his head again, waiting for her to resume her petting.

Good touch; this was a good touch. Please understand.

Thankfully, Ragatha relaxed… and continued her previous slow, rhythmic motions. Slowly, Jax felt her relax once again and he indulged into her need for touch by stroking his thumb over hers occasionally.

Soon they fell into a rhythm; Ragatha would pet Jax’s ears 3 times, then it was his turn to stroke his thumb over hers. Then they would repeat the routine. This also helped Jax cope with the touching; the routine. The rhythm.

It felt like hours ticked by as the two just practiced their little unspoken routine. Jax grew used to it after a while, almost forgetting that his new mattress was now a sentient ragdoll and completely tuned into their rhythm of touches.

Pet… pet… pet… thumb. Pet… pet… pet… thumb.

Jax didn’t like touch, but he loved routine.

The doll and the bunny’s time together, once nothing but grounding techniques, grew to become an intimate exchange of touches and caresses – all wrapped in a routine, like a dance. Jax felt warm and fuzzy inside; for once he basked in the moment of enjoying his dolly. He lazily wondered if Ragatha felt the same. He shifted his head to look at her.

The doll looked down to meet his eyes when she felt him move. He could swear that she looked at peace, basking in the bliss of their closeness. For some reason, she looked like an angel. They all saw her as their angel. Had he successfully pinned a heavenly body beneath him?

Her gentle, longing gaze made a kaleidoscope of butterflies erupt from his core.

This wasn’t the first time this feeling invaded his being when they did this – as rare as these moments were. He wasn’t sure when he started experiencing such feelings during these rare encounters, but as months crawled by, he felt drawn to his dolly more and more. Based on how she looked at him, he could only assume that she felt it too.

Something so foreign, yet so familiar.

He didn’t fail to spot the warmth rushing to her cheeks when their eyes met. She looked so ethereal beneath him, especially when her breathing picked up under his firm gaze. Her lips were parted, and her eyes were lidded. This time, it wasn’t fear or overstimulation. It was anticipation. It was desire.

Jax internally flinched at the tingly sensation when he smoothly burrowed his face into Ragatha’s neck. She shivered at the breath he let out against her skin. He could tolerate the touching a little longer, as long as he could see her crumble again. He wanted to see her walls crumble again.

“Jax- ”

Oh… he had to hear her again. More clearly, next time. This was torture, but she made him into her own personal masochist. His skin crawled at the sensation of her skin shivering against him, but he needed more. He could take it. Just a little longer – he just had to stand these sensations a little longer. He looked at her again.

Ragatha was reverting to a helpless puddle. The doll’s arms were gripping at the covers beneath her, successfully eliminating the bother of excessive contact that he despised. Jax didn’t know if she did it with that intension or without thinking, but either way, he was thankful. He really wanted more.

Why couldn’t he just be normal?

He lifted onto his elbows again and – dare one say – lovingly looked at her face. She could only peek back at him, breathing slightly faster than usual. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her shaky hand rise from the covers and hover next to his cheek, while her eyes pleaded for his mercy. He hesitated but bit the bullet to comply; leaning into her touch while desperately trying to ignore the odd tingles. Jax convinced himself to kiss her wrist and drowned himself in the pleasure of hearing her softly call his name.

He only heard it because he was listening so closely for it.

Yes.

DING DONG

In a flash, Jax braced himself up into a crouch and slammed his foot down with a mighty THUMP upon hearing Ragatha startle into a fit when the doorbell chimed. His hair on his back stood on end and his claws ripped through his gloves, leaving gouges in the covers beside the doll’s head.

His precious doll was disturbed again!

He heard her soft cry of fear and his blood boiled with a thirst for vengeance. Only he can make her cry out. He’ll skin the soul that dared to-

“Ragatha…? Can we talk?”

That DAMN jester!

“Jax?” a quiet voice trembled in his ear from beneath him. Jax stopped glaring at the door to softly glance down and see what his little doll wanted.

“Don’t…” Raggs sounded like she was begging while being held at gunpoint, whispering despite their rooms being enchanted to not hear anything from the outside when the door is shut.

Jax wouldn’t dare let that thing inside. Raggs was upset enough as it is.

“Look, I know it probably wouldn’t make a difference…” Pomni’s voice came from the other side door again, “…but I’m so sorry for running off… Again… I saw that exit and I had to see if it was real. No one else believed me and I started to think that I was losing my mind. You understand that, right?”

Jax placed both his hands down on the mattress, blocking the doll’s view of the door as if it could block the sound of the voice from reaching the Raggs’s ears, still hovering over her. He knew that his dolly didn’t want to hear anything the harlequin had to say now – he had half the mind to get up and bash the newbie’s head in.

“I hope we can talk about this some time. You are probably tired after such a long, crazy day.” Pomni’s voice died down near the end, “It feels like you’re the only good person here.”

She really is, but she’s too good for you. Selfish leech.

Jax looks down to the girl, still stiff as a board beneath him. Her eye was shiny with the swell of tears. He melted at the sight – anger simmering down. She was just a sweet little rag dolly, she didn’t deserve any of this, but oh, he was so happy to see Ragatha finally emote something again. She was OK again. Their water source was filled once again, now threatening to spill over. He’d happily welcome the flood.

He needed her.

The sound of fading footsteps causes Jax to rip his eyes to the direction of the door. His hearing was better than the dolls, probably thanks to being a rabbit.

Good riddance.

Ragatha seemed to relax at the sight of Jax deflating his stance, reading that Pomni probably left her door. She hesitantly reached up to cup Jax’s cheek. Jax followed her hand’s motion and scoffed, cringing at the invasion. He’s had enough touching for a week. It sucked to leave his doll so soon after being distressed again, but he couldn’t bring himself stand any more of this. He quickly got up and smoothed out his clothes, but not without missing the flash of hurt in the doll’s eyes. He felt bad, but he had to be strong with the new girl around, so straining himself now would only make matters worse and mess up the whole system.

Still, seemingly bored, Jax stood in his spot while rocking on his heels and looking off to the side, only sparing her a glance. Raggs sat up by then. She looked a little worse for wear, but it’s an improvement from hiding under her bed. She rested her elbows on her knees with her chin in her hands. The hurt in her eyes was long gone, but she looked tired. Poor thing, Jax shared the sentiment.

He felt her eye bore into the side of his face and the bunny couldn’t stop himself before he rolled his eyes and looked to her again. He could’ve choked on air when he saw her face, but the years of steeling his demeanor left no trace of his inner turmoil.

Raggs sported that longing look in her eyes again.

They were so close this time – closer than they’ve ever been before. Each time they spent together on nights like this, although few and far between, they grew closer… and hungrier. Neither understood what it was, but they never had the chance to just collapse into it, tonight being the closest to that.

But there was always something, right?

Jax allowed gaze to soften. His doll offered a small smile that almost ripped his heart out if his chest. It was drenched with melancholy of something she knew they could never have.

Because their roles in their little ecosystem didn’t allow for it to ever be theirs. It would never work.

This was survival.

The rabbit steeled his demeanor once again, but this time, his doll’s face didn’t fall.

Good, as it should be.

Jax walked to the door and fished out the key from his front pocket. He didn’t bother looking back. If he did, he wouldn’t have the will to leave anymore. When he opened the door, though, he couldn’t help but mumble out teasingly.

“See yah later, Doll~!”

He wished that he could shout his affections for her out into the void instead.

“I’m not your doll.” Ragatha responded, voice still wobbly and tired, but perky regardless. She knew just how to indulge him.

Yes, she is… she always will be.

Fanart: Evil with a target

Oasis: TADC AU list

Masterlist

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Two types of friends

Yeah... Depends on the day

Oasis: TADC AU list

Masterlist

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Noodle

Another one. 4 to go!

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Doodles taking way too long part 3 (?)

Another doodle I didn't get around to colouring yet.

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Lovestruck doodles

They're married - fight me!

I made a few doodles of them after realizing that I practically have no fluffy fanart of these two.

And I wanted to give you some fluff before the next fic, because... yeah... it's a lot.

I'm putting you all through school with the next main Oasis!entries.

You'll see~

Edit: I always wonder why I don't make more are of these two to until I sit and struggle with tendrils and shapes that I need to colour. It takes me HOURS!!! DAYS even...

Oasis: TADC AU list Masterlist

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Still busy with this page...

It's taking SO LONG, guys...

I love this ship, but like... I have I whole page of doodles I'm trying to color - this doodle being part of them - and I question my existence with the number of limbs and joints and colors and AAAHHHH!

I love them, but coloring them in I way I'm kinda happy with, is SO FRUSTRATING!

I'm getting somewhere though... here's a lil' coloured nugget.

(Some of the doodles fluster me a bit, but I'll post the entire page once I'm done anyway~!)

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Pomni and Zooble tribute

I did it... This entire thing is done, FINALLY!😭 I finished the last doodle panel and I never had to look at this page again!

These characters belong to Gooseworx!

I enjoyed making this and all, but I'm so happy to be free- (sees my bunnydoll drawings/doodles I made in the meantime) ... (sees the future fic plans/drafts)

DAMN IT, I CAN'T STOP MYSELF-!

Fanfic related to this art: (CLICK HERE TO READ)

Oasis: TADC AU list

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Silly Goobers

Pure, unadulterated jealousy drove me to draw this.

I keep seeing very good bunnydoll art being posted and realised that I haven't made a single, dedicated drawing of these two, so I made one out of spite - mostly towards myself.

I know that the fics I write has them being very lovey-dovey and all, but honestly? Most of the time? I kinda picture them like this... but even less physically touchy.

In terms of how this would fit into Oasis AU:

This is most likely before Kaufmo abstracted, a.k.a. when things were mostly stable. So in Oasis, while they're still picking up the pieces, they turned to each other more - kinda like 'coping funny' due to extreme circumstances.

There are other extreme circumstances, where they would act differently compared to this illustration, but that's sad, angsty, abusive future-fic material. (cough, cough, cou-)

I have more doodles of them I'm working on and other stories I plan to write, but I barely had time to make and post this...

Sorry for keeping you all waiting, hopefully it won't be too long until my next entry!

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Jax x Gangle (Situation-ship): Raptors and Reptiles

The Amazing Digital Circus AU: Oasis

Author's note: Thank you all who showed your support for my previous fanfic! I didn't expect people to actually enjoy it, but I'm not complaining at all. You all made me blush like crazy! I'm really flattered.

Welcome to the Gangle-centred fic! These events happens after those of the previous oneshot, but you don't really need context for it to still make sense.

This story is a little less of a series of events and a little more of a descriptive narrative - definitely not everyone's cup of tea - but at least you get to see unhinged Gangle, I guess... And a little bunnydoll is sprinkled in there too....Maybe a speck of Zooble x Gangle to wrap it all in a nice little bow.

Ths fanfic is very much a situation-ship, instead of a romantic ship. I love the concept of Jax x Ragatha too much to break it in this AU. We are all free to ship whoever; we are all here to have fun!

I hope didn't make too many distracting mistakes in the grammar.

Warnings: Angst, easy on the fluff. All characters and the story of The Amazing Digital Circus belong to Gooseworx!

SUMMARY:

Gangle meets Jax in the hallway right after his long visit to Ragatha. It's been a hard day with a new face arriving so suddenly and Jax looks a little worse for wear.

One look at Gangle's face was enough to have him on edge again.

Please enjoy!

RAPTORS AND REPTILES

In the desert, there is a bird that, despite their wings and the ability to hunt mid-flight, nests beneath the very ground.

The burrowing owl.

It’s small, it’s quick, and it’s silent. The Amazing Digital Circus was a desert, inhabited by characters who banded together to form their own paradise. It was far from flawless, but together, they made a desolate hell into an inhabitable home.

The owl was fleeing back to its burrow after stalking the delicious fresh meat that graced them with their arrival earlier that day. The new arrival was known as Pomni and she had unfortunately proven to be a nuisance to their beloved Ragatha. Minutes prior to the raptor’s flight to her burrow, she spotted the jester loudly blubbering from the hall while standing just outside the ragdoll’s door. She can only imagine Ragatha’s face upon hearing Pomnni’s voice frantically try to apologize.

Of course, Ragatha wouldn’t let the jester in so soon; just as the owl suspected. Pomni had a lot to learn and a lot to prove before she was going to be accepted. The soft sobs that the burrowing owl had heard from Pomni’s mouth, before walking through her new room's door, gave enough of a clue for the raptor to find that the jester seemed to realize that.

But that was enough spying – she had a burrow waiting for her.

“We really need to get you a bell.”

Gangle halted at the sound of Jax’s voice. She was almost startled by it since she just passed his door without hearing it open next right to her. His voice came from further down the hall. Based on the today’s event’s, the petite character could easily deduce that the male paid a nice, long visit to Ragatha. She had the suspicion that he would, but it was nice to receive confirmation.

When Gangle turned around, she almost missed how he stiffened in alarm.

Jax’s smug expression was fixed, and he seemed to be the personification of ‘unbothered,’ but she knew better. When it came to one’s headspace or emotion, she always knew better – call it a blessing from being born with 2 faces.

Jax was deeply disturbed, but he wouldn’t show it. It was understandable, she thought to herself. Today was a rough day and they had fresh meat to worry about. The ribbonoid girl suffered greatly under the brutal bullying of Jax, with tears practically staining cheeks by the end of it all. She should’ve been broken down and crying. Jax was prepared to see her sulk until the following morning, but he wasn’t prepared for her to present as she had in her current state.

Jax wasn’t prepared to be faced with Gangle’s bright smile.

“Someone has a pep in their step.” He quipped sarcastically, “One wouldn’t be able to say that you spend the entirety of the day with tears streaming down your face.”

It didn’t matter how easily Jax was able to fool everyone. Sure, it wasn’t all a simple façade; he really did enjoy being the menace that would ruin anyone’s day, but to call him incapable of caring would be a crime. The snake struck because it was his role – his nature – and the snake was arguably the most dedicated to his role in the oasis.

She saw the rabbit shift into a wider stance as he suddenly took extreme interest in one of his now torn gloves. Gangle didn’t notice that little detail before – something must’ve gotten his skin. Him reacting the way he did, meant that he was immeasurably uncomfortable.

Something within her shifted. If anything, the sight of his torn gloves and the fact that he just left Ragatha’s room, prompted the burrowing owl to come out of its shelter.

She suddenly craved the meat of a reptile.

“I was crying all day…” Gangle slowly took a step forward. She wanted to see him squirm a bit more before she struck her talons into him, “No thanks to you, of course…”

“What can I say? My theatrics tend to bring people to tears.” Jax kept up his aloof demeanor. He didn’t seem to quite catch on to what had her ribbons in such a twist. All he could do in the meantime, was suppress the shudder that crawled up his back while witnessing Gangle’s positively, unsettling smile.

It’s one of the only ways she could express anger, after all. It was bone-chilling.

“Judging by the state of you gloves and your previous whereabouts,” the girl used her head to motion to the door behind Jax, as he did his best to block her view of it, “I’m assuming that you were responsible for tears other than mine, yes?”

THUMP

Now that did it.

Jax was so adorable when he lost his temper. Being the only ‘animal’ in the circus, Jax tended to revert to his feral instincts when he was overcome with emotion. Gangle always found it so queer.

“Cut the crap.” Jax spat, averting his gaze in embarrassment, before glaring back sternly, “I didn’t do anything to her. I wouldn’t!”

“Your outburst doesn’t support your case, Bunny~” her voice chimed smoothly as Gangle’s smile stretched inhumanly wide in response. She knew just how to drive into her personalized predatory charms. As a burrowing owl, it’s impossible to believe that Gangle was above anything. She spent most of her time stalking underground, below their feet. Unnoticed, until she revealed herself.

And reveal herself she did.

“You know that only I do what I have to do – nothing more!” Jax’s grin widened in kind, like a snake baring his fangs as he poised to strike. He lowered his voice to a harsh whisper, “Our little dolly needed some special attention. Since you were M.I.A. I bit the bullet. You’re welcome, by the way.”

Gangle’s eyes narrowed to slits, “I dealt with Caine to get my mask fixed. He drew it out more than necessary. I was about to pay Ragatha a visit before I saw you slip into her room.”

“And you figured that 2 is compony and 3 is a crowd, right?” His sarcasm never let up, even when he was rattled by her unwavering gaze.

“We both know that you just loved every minute you had with our sweet Ragatha…” Gangle leaned in closer, until she was too close for comfort. She intended to bait Jax into losing himself. If he did, she could take it… until she could wrap her ribbons around him as restraints. She would scream for someone to help; to check on Ragatha. Until then, she needed him to give her reason to do so, “Want me to believe that it's a chore for you to manhandle your doll?”

“Want me to wipe that smile off your face, Ribbons?”

Silence.

Tension.

Feral looks that could kill.

All, but no violence. No claws or teeth. Jax was perfectly composed, despite being as disheveled as he was. Yes, the rabbit was on edge and oozing with anger and frustration, but I kept his hands to himself, and his claws retracted. He only displayed his wide, feral smile – inches away from Gangle’s face. The snake’s threat display.

That was all Gangle needed to calm her racing mind.

Jax was still sane and merely acting within his role. Nobody got hurt, despite Jax having felt the need to bare his claws at some point this evening. A wave of relief washed over her as she allowed herself to pull back and deflate her stance.

No need for talons to sink into snakes tonight.

Jax drew back as well, mirroring her stance. Gangle could see his eyes soften slowly, upon realization that she was just fulfilling her role as his was fulfilling his. Unbeknownst to the ribbinoid, Jax heart swelled as the moment lingered. He felt the urge to display his appreciation to Gangle for wanting to protect their Ragatha.

Their precious water spring.

Sure, he was offended that she would think him capable of even thinking of harming the ragdoll, but it was the sentiment that won him over. Gangle was the raptor with the bird’s eye view, after all.

She poked and prodded; she searched and tracked for anything and any sign of Jax falling out of line. The masked girl’s mind was racing and calculating, as she was assigned to; with a brilliant mind such as her own. A certain gleam in Jax gaze had Gangle deduce that his mind was called back to a fond memory of them, operating in sync.

Maybe back to when Gangle first arrived in the circus…

Since no one could remember anything before entering The Amazing Digital Circus, Gangle considered her memories to be precious. She was prone to cling to as many as she could.

Her memory was actually brilliant. The mess of ribbons she was, with nothing more than a mask for a head, would leave one thinking that Gangle’s mind was as empty as the space behind her mask was, but her memory was practically photographic. Every shift, every twitch, every mannerism and every micro-expression along with the extensive description of what it all meant – enabled Gangle to easily read and understand her peers.

She could practically read their minds with a single glance.

She’d recall almost anything to the finest detail, but no one needed to know that. It didn’t concern them… and being frail and weak in stature, means that her mental ability was her greatest strength.

Her only strength.

She could still precisely recall her arrival in this forsaken hellscape.  

When she first arrived in the digital realm, she ripped off her comedy mask – thinking that it was her headset that she put on moments before.

However, instead of escaping the new virtual reality that she ungracefully stumbled into, she was just overwhelmed with an undeniable sense of dread and sorrow. The negative emotions brought her to her knees as she scrambled to maintain her grip on the smiling mask. Back then, she didn’t know that it was just because of her tragedy mask fronting. It wasn’t until she saw herself in the mirror, when she could fully comprehend her masks’ ties to her emotions.

Ragatha remained by her side throughout her first day, gently providing a safe space for Gangle to breathe. She did her best to shoo away the chaos that always possessed the tent, whether it be the NPC's the Caine cooked up for them or the other's curious, prying eyes. Gangle couldn't voice it then, but the doll was her saving grace.

They all thought that the ribbinoid wouldn’t last a week.

It felt like hours as Gangle sat in front of that mirror, wearing and removing the respective masks… growing used to the internal waves of emotions that ebbed and flowed from joy to sorrow. It was uncanny how she could feel an indescribable, undeniable joy in the most unfortunate circumstances.

A part of her wanted to believe that she had already lost her mind... but she could never experience the full range of emotions all at once. Maybe, for that reason, Gangle held out for so long.

Maybe she couldn’t abstract, no matter how hard she tried to.

Can one experience a mental breakdown if you already had 2 heads?

One mask would always nullify the other – and that, in itself, was Gangle’s own personal hell. As time progressed and days went by, she’d wear her comedy mask for the kick of it. A close friend abstracted? She’d pop that bad boy on and revel in the horrified faces of her fellow inhabitants as she laughs and smiles like she doesn’t have a care in the world.

That little trick had even brought Jax to unadulterated unease.

She was addicted to the control she had in her self-expression, as it was the only control she believed to have at the time. A smile amidst that tragedy. It drove everyone around her to the brink of insanity. She apparently left them to question the urgency and distress of the ones they lost by the day, but that only had her bursting with uncontrollable cackles.

Nothing mattered anyway.

Everything was so much funnier and lighter with her comedy mask – a high she couldn’t live without at the time. Upon having it broken by Jax for the first time, forced a tsunami of the pent-up negativity to crash into her being. The bunny presumably couldn't stand another minute of living with the girls cold, chilling smile.

This was when Gangle realized that any of her emotions were banked until she wore the relevant mask to let them out.

It was a never-ending dive from the previous high.

Once she recovered after days of crying, screaming, and wailing in fear, agony and sorrow, she accepted and welcomed the bitter melancholy of her existential crises. For the first time since she woke up in the digital world, Gangle found comfort in sadness.

And she realized her need for Jax.

He was the panic button she needed but didn’t always want. He was happy to bask in her tears. She knew that he would be on the prowl to hunt her down, desperate to still the ever-growing hunger he had; to be the greater evil. Gangle would always welcome him with open arms, because in the end, she couldn’t trust herself anymore. She needed her friends.

Because without them, she would turn to that undeniable happiness once again – and she would lose herself in it. This was the very beginning of Jax’s new role of ‘snake’ and her new role of ‘owl.’

Jax and his charming, fiendish stunts operated the groundwork by biting everyone in an attempt to be the occupational hazard. Gangle and her bird’s eye view could oversee it all and silently direct or divert Jax to and from suitable victims. She was the only one who could unnerve the bunny into having him take someone seriously. She was the only one whose eyes and mind he could trust when reading into their behavior. The owl snatched the snake who carelessly parades his antics.

On the other hand, Jax was the only one that could read her state of managing her… ‘addiction.’ He was the only one who would dare bash into her shield – her comedy mask - because the snake strikes the owl weighing heavy with neglect of self-reflection.

Two predators with each other as prey.

Gangle blinked to find Jax searching for something in her expression. Even though their dispute was quietly resolved, Jax still seemed to be bothered by something. The girl made quick work to figure out what it could be – starting with today’s events.

He took such good care of her, Zooble and Kinger today.

This day was stressful and disorienting with Pomni’s arrival. Gangle felt the phantom urge to reach for her comedy mask; her smiling shield of denial. By some devine intervention, her mask was broken due to unfortunate circumstances and without her consent or control. At least, when Jax broke it, it was because it was her choice to plead for his intervention with her eyes – desperate not to fall into old, destructive habits again.

Today, her mask broke, because of her clumsiness.

Her mistakes.

Luckily, Jax was quick to fix that! He purposefully stepped onto it, effectively rubbing salt into the fresh wound. Suddenly, it was him that was the problem! Yes, he didn’t need to do that - that was just evil!

The greater evil – the menace.

Throughout the day, Jax kept them under his heel and stomped on them for good measure. The day’s stress and uncertainty regarding the arrival of Pomni and some fake exit door was gradually drowned by Jax’s antics, and they all fell into routine once again. It was a crying shame that Ragatha had to suffer alone. If only they could’ve done something more…

Something clicked.

Gangle paid attention to Jax’s face again. He looked so tired, but desperate all the same. The masked girl blinked again and suddenly she knew exactly what he needed. What he yearned for.

He needed to see that he’d done enough.

...

With slow movements, Gangle reached for the edges of her comedy mask and removed it from her face. Jax fixed his gaze on her current, sad expression and found no suddenly overflow of tears, no uncontrollable sobbing and no screaming. It was just Gangle’s calm, sad, yet content expression staring back at him. There was no repressed emotion for her to show.

“You asked me if I want you to wipe the smile off of my face...” Gangle spoke, voice wobbly due to her sad expression, “It’s not necessary, I don’t need to be smiling to be ok.”

Jax eyes widened by a fraction, but that was all she needed to understand that he was truly surprised, as if he didn’t expect her to really be content and coping.

She gave a bitter smile; the friendliest one she could muster on her tragedy mask, “You won’t see me crying, though. You’ve already done enough of that today.”

You’ve already done enough.

To an outsider, Gangle's words would sound bitter and petty, but with the way she looked at him, she wanted Jax to feel nothing but reassurance.

You've done enough.

Gangle wasn’t surprised to see Jax stare at her in disbelief, but she was surprised to see sudden, spontaneous tears sprout from his eyes. She almost missed it with how quickly he ripped away his gaze. She couldn’t say or do anything fast enough, before Jax swung around and ripped Ragatha’s door open, entered, then throw it shut just as fast. The ribbinoid stood awestruck in the silent hallway.

She wasn’t upset; she felt honored.

She’d savor this moment until the day she’d abstract, like so many of them had before her. Brief worry flashed in her mind, but it dissipated upon looking at Ragatha’s face on the door. Jax was where he needed to be at this very moment. Although she couldn’t hear Jax sobbing into his arms as he sat against the door with his knees brought to his chest, she was sure that his doll sat right next to him.

Even though Ragatha would be tired and drained after today’s events, she would always make room for someone in need to wash away their sorrow in her clean water.

Knowing the doll, Gangle could only guess that Ragatha ended up eavesdropping on their whole encounter - biding time before splashing into action once things got too heated.

Gangle loved Ragatha for that.

She turned slowly, still dumbstruck and touched by what she had witnessed from Jax and then walked down the hall without a worry in the world. Maybe she will pay her beloved Zooble a visit before retiring for the night. She'd love to let her guard down.

She'd love for something to wrap around.

Gangle looked down at her comedy mask, smiling at her. It felt like a warm, welcoming smile... and she couldn’t help but feel content.

She didn’t feel like wearing a smile anyway.

Oasis: TADC AU list

Masterlist

[estro-gem]

Jax x Ragatha: What lurks beneath the surface

The Amazing Digital Circus AU: Oasis

Author's Note:

It's done😭 Finally...

This is the longest Oasis fic I've written and I pray that my English was good enough to NOT have as many mistakes that would distract you from the story I am trying to tell. We'll hope for the best.

Thankfully, I finished it and I'm happy with it - as spicy as it turned out and all. I could finally showcase Jax and Ragatha by allowing them a chance to share another side to both of them - Especially Ragatha! It was so much fun to lean into her character (in the Oasis canon, at least).

Warnings: Suggestive themes and flirting Hypomania/manic episodes Animal instincts/ferocity

I hope you like this one. Please enjoy!

SUMMARY:

Ragatha gifts Jax a plush that she promised to make for him. He enjoys the comfort that it brought him as well as the sentiment behind the gesture, until Ragatha reveals that the dress of the plush can be removed for him to discover a secret she added for him to find. He is plagued by strange possibilities to his dolly’s reasoning behind the design choice. He struggles to muster the courage to remove the dress – or even see reason to do so, other than quenching the thirst of his curiosity.

It’s just a doll, isn’t it?

WHAT LURKS BENEATH THE SURFACE.

“To what do I owe this pleasure, Sweetheart?”

Jax didn’t expect Ragatha to come knocking at his door. It had been a long day with a very tiring adventure from Caine. Everyone had already retired to their rooms after they’ve enjoyed a feast together. The bunny was one of the last members to leave and he had been decompressing in his room for no more than an hour, until he was – as he considered – rudely disturbed.

Seeing Ragatha, however, made him curious enough to be more forgiving. She wasn’t one to knock at such a late hour… unless she had something to hide and oh, Jax loved a good secret!

Especially ones he could exploit in the future.

So Jax rested his forearm at the level of his eyes to lean against the doorframe as his free hand pushed the door open wider than before. Instead of answering, Ragatha walked up to him, keeping her eye locked with his as she invaded his personal space. Just as Jax had a flicker of uncertainty that she was getting too close, the doll smoothly strode right passed him without even touching or brushing against him. She broke eye contact at the last second and entered his room, while he was struck frozen by surprise.

Cheeky little-

“You’ve got some nerve, Dollface.” He said, masking his flustered state with a smug grin and a raised eyebrow, “I don’t remember ever saying that you are welcome to come inside.”

He turned around to find his doll smiling as if she was the cat that stole the cream. He took a moment to just silently appreciate her showing him this different side to her, as it was a side that she reserved for very rare, specific and special occasions.

Confident, sassy and letting her actions do the talking.

Dangerously silent.

Delicious.

“Are we playing games, Darling?” Jax shut the door behind him, not once looking away from her smug grin that perfectly matched his, before slowly sauntering towards her, “We can play anything you like…”

Rather than to humor him and say something snarky for him to play of off, his dolly knelt and proceeded to grab at her dress skirt to bunch it up on her lap.

“Woah, WOAH, Sweets! Calm down!” Jax eyes went wide, dropping his façade completely at the sight of Ragatha intending to lift her skirts. With his character completely broken, his ears pulled back and he averted the gaze of his shrunken pupils as a very prominent blush bloomed onto his cheeks.

“Would you relax?” Ragatha chided with a bubbly laugh, “…and shame on you for having your mind in the gutter!”

Jax almost scoffed in disbelief, but didn’t dare to look her way, uncomfortably shifting on his feet, “Ya waltz in here, makin’ eyes at me! Next thing ya know, ya here on my floor and pullin’ up you dress! Whaddaya think, I’m gonna assume ya wanna play cards or somethin’? Geez, Raggs!”

His heart soared at the sound of Ragatha’s laughter intensifying as he rambled on. He had the sneaking suspicion that she really liked his dialect when he was riled up. He tried to put a damper on it whenever he could, but sometimes he just couldn’t stop himself – especially when he was caught off guard.

If it meant that he could have his doll laughing as much as she had, he didn’t mind it too much.

“Oh, Jax…” she sighed, followed by more chuckles as she laughed, “I hid something under my skirt. Don’t worry!”

“Yeah, I’d like ta think that we all hide somethin’ in our pants, Dolly.” Jax quipped without missing a beat.

“I tie a string of wool around my waist and then I tie that to a bag that dangles at my knees, Honey.” Ragatha dismissed with an airy laugh.

The doll fumbled with a large, brown paper bag she had to waddle down the hall. When she managed to untie the top, she opened the bag to reveal a box wrapped with a disheveled red bow. It was a wonder that she managed to walk so naturally with it knocking against her legs, but years of practice taught her well.

She noticed Jax tapping his foot impatiently, still not looking at her, making her smile to herself. It didn’t matter how much he tried to hide it; he was still a good man at heart.

It was a shame that he had to do the wrong things for the right reasons.

“I’m decent for show, Honey. I always was… just so you know.” She said while standing up to present the box. She remembered what he previously said and sought the opportunity to milk her teasing just a little longer, “What are you hiding in your pants, Jax?”

“Hey, I’ll show you mine if you show me yours.” Jax mused suggestively as he peeked with a glance from the side when he was cleared by Ragatha to do so.

The doll gasped dramatically, “And here I thought you were a gentleman!”

“Ugh, please!” Jax approached his doll before resting a hand on his hip, “I’ll have ya know that ‘Chivalry’ is my middle name.”

“If that’s the case, we’re all doomed.”

The brief silence was eventually broken by the sounds of the couple barely containing their snorts, until they burst into fits of laughter. It was so hysterical, that Ragatha almost dropped the box, causing her to juggle and fumble with it in the air; eye wide until she caught it with a firm grip. Jax practically died at the sight, pointing and laughing with new vigor. The doll helplessly chose to laugh at her own clumsiness.

Finally, when the laughter died down, Jax looked at Ragatha and saw her face glowing the glee. In another life, he would have loved to make her laugh whenever possible. He would be her safe space that would never have to lay a hand on her, unless he wanted to see her smile, laugh, gasp or sigh in joy and pleasure.

But here, he was chained to the slavery of hurting everyone out of obligation.

Stop thinking about that!

“That’s a good look on you, Raggs.” Jax commented right after she chose to break eye contact to look down to the wrapped box she was still holding.

“You don’t look too shabby either.” She held out the box for him to take, but he just idly stood to look at it; hesitantly. He was a lot more expressive when they were alone.

“I didn’t get you anything.”

The doll just shook her head with a little huff, “You made me laugh.” She blushed, looking away, but fiddled with the ribbon wrapped around the box, “You make me laugh... and you never ask me for anything! I love that I could give you something you actually wanted for once.”

His dolly grew bold enough to look up to him, despite her little rosy blush. He focused on keeping his face neutral, despite feeling conflicted about accepting a genuine gift. Ragatha didn’t stop insisting for him to take it, “Please… just look at it? You can do whatever you want with it afterwards, but just take one look. Please?”

“Don’t beg, darlin’.” Jax suddenly said, as if a switch was flipped, as his aura shifted to take on a darker tone, “It’s unbecoming.”

Please beg for me to take you instead…

Silencing the confusing thoughts that clouded his mind, he stepped forward and held out his hands, only for Ragatha to step forward and lightly push the box against his chest. He took the sides of the present and met Ragatha’s eye. She was fixated on his gaze as she trailed her hand down her side on the box, before slowly turning around and walking to the door.

That doll would be the death of him.

“Where’d ya think you’re goin’, Sweetheart?” He asked coolly, making no move to trail behind her – even as she opened his door.

Just before closing the door behind her, she looked back one last time. The ragdoll sported that confident, cheeky grin again and Jax suddenly wanted nothing more than to make her melt.

“I’m giving you some privacy.” Ragatha gifted him one last sweet smile and closed the door as she left, not giving him a chance to answer, “Goodnight Honey.”

Silence.

Anticipation.

Curiosity.

Jax decided to sit on his bed before untying the ribbon. A small part of his mind giggled at the fact that Ragatha could walk with such a bulky object knocking against her knees. Another silent thought whispered into his mind, feeding his curiosity regarding all the things his doll managed to sneak around by hiding it beneath her skirt.

Her waters ran deeper than he thought – not that he was complaining.

Wasting no time, the bunny plucked the lid off the box, but froze on the spot at the sight of a familiar face that greeted him. The lid fell from his grasp.

His heart squeezed painfully in his chest.

About the length of his forearm, a little, redheaded ragdoll in a blue dress was staring up at him. Other than the fact that the little doll was plusher, it was the spitting image of Ragatha. It had the same red locks, the same blue dress with the darker patches and the same face of his doll – embroidered to capture to picture of her face exactly – save for the blue button stitched to represent her missing right eye, just as there was one in reality.

It was perfect.

His mind flashed back to an encounter he shared with Ragatha a few weeks ago. Them, sitting on the lone couch, with him just enjoying the sight of his dolly so focused on her very… flattering… project. How tempted he was to mess with her, but his attention was held captive by the precision, skill and progress she was making.

Maybe he was vexed by the doll’s sentiment to even think of making something that resembled him.

A monster.

The rabbit took the plush doll in his hands and admired it once again, before slowly drawing it to his chest and wrapping his arms around it in a soft embrace. It wasn’t his intention, but Ragatha’s scent invaded his senses, causing his hold on the doll to tighten.

It was not sentient or breathing, with skin or senses. It was lifeless and thoughtless, with no intention of ever reaching out to him. It just existed – made for the times he sought comfort whenever he wanted. It could provide a comfort he was cursed to loathe when receiving it from others who actually cared for him.

What a wonderful gift his precious little dolly had given him.

That night, he collapsed onto his bed, cradling the plush closely as he became intoxicated by his angel’s scent. He had no nightmares or worries that withheld him from sleep. He simply existed in the presence of something that his beloved had made for him.

He couldn’t remember the last time he felt so loved.

He couldn’t remember the last time he overslept.

Jax overslept.

“Jax?” a worried voice cried out from the other side of his door, along with insistent banging that caused him to fly straight up. “Are you okay?! Jax?”

He stumbled to the door and fumbled to unlock it, as she wouldn’t be able to hear him from the inside. He didn’t have the time to pull the door open, as a great force crashed the door right into him and caused him to be launched back with a yelp. The pain to his face caused his vision to blur, but he could clearly see the shape of his ragdolly hunched over and panting in his doorway.

“Ow! Talk about a wake-up call.” Jax said as he was blinking to clear his vision.

“Jax…” her voice drew his attention in an instant. He didn’t like it one bit. She sounded terrified.

She sounded relieved.

“Hey, Sweetheart.” he cooed as he stood up and the sting subsided, “I’m right here.”

“Jax.” Ragatha said again, seemingly stuck on his name, “You…”

She stood frozen, blinking multiple times before she shook her head and perked up uncomfortably fast, “You’re late, silly!”

“Raggs…?” Jax spoke carefully and approached her, as if she was a startled animal, “Don’t do that with me.”

Her unsettling smile remained stuck on her face as she looked over his form for any obvious injuries, “Heh, sorry about bumping into you earlier! It’s not common that you sleep in! Why were you-”

Silence.

So intense, that not even an explosion would muffle it.

Her smile was dropped as her eyes suddenly widened. Jax, startled by the sharp continuous shifts in Ragatha’s expression, followed her line of sight to see what caused her sudden reaction. He followed it slowly, until he was met with the little ragdoll plush that was still miraculously clutched tightly in his hand. He stood there like a frightened toddler, holding his favourite toy, but he didn’t feel ashamed about it.

There wasn’t time that; his dolly needed help.

“I… had a great cuddle-buddy.” He started slowly, watching her reactions very closely as he stood closer, “I didn’t want our snuggle-session to end so soon, so I laid here for a little longer.”

He was jesting, but it was gentle and benign. The rabbit could still help her choose to drop her guard if he played his cards right. He just knew he could.

“You like her…” she said in a foreign monotone, “You slept with her…”

“Like a baby.” He chuckled briefly, before unveiling his true emotions by holding the doll up to look at it dearly, “She’s perfect.”

The rabbit allowed his eyes to flick back up to Ragatha, then repeating what he had said, hoping that his dolly would understand, “Perfect.”

Ragatha slowly treaded her way back to reality, helplessly succumbing to the little, somber smile that crept up the corners of her mouth, “I’m glad you like her.”

“Heh,” Jax genuinely huffed, “Only you would think that someone calling someone else ‘perfect’ only means that they kinda like them.”

Huh…

Ragatha meant to question him on what he said, but Kinger screaming about the practicality of duffle-bags distracted the couple beyond recovery.

Before leaving to join the others, Jax made a quick stop to his bed, to rest the plush against his pillow, “Can’t risk her getting ruined in an adventure. We still got plans for tonight!”

“Oh really?” Ragatha mused, though she seemed tamer than she was with her previous fake optimism.

“Oh yeah. No going back now!” Jax said, nudging the ragdoll with his elbow as they walked down the hall.

“I was going to ask if I was invited, but I wouldn’t want to keep you two from doing whatever it is that couples do when they are alone in bed.”

“Aw, there she is! Welcome back Raggs!” Jax laughed, causing the doll to chuckle along with him. He looked over to her with a little hint of seriousness, “But seriously though, we are keeping it clean, Dollface. I mean, it’s a doll.”

Ragatha stopped, alarming Jax to do the same, ready to pull back his statement in case he went too far with his jokes.

Ragatha beat him to it, “Wait, you didn’t take off the dress? Didn’t you notice that it could be removed?”

Jax didn’t know how to react to that.

On the one hand, she could be joking – in a way that he, in turn, would consider as ‘too far.’ On the other hand, she could be serious, opening an entirely different can of worms. Based on her shocked expression at the fact that he didn’t undress a plush, he could only believe that the latter was true.

It horrified him with its implications.

“Ragatha.” Jax said, not missing the way she twitched at the use of her full name, “Why would you expect me to undress a plush?”

Ragatha fumbled to answer, but her face lit up like a Christmas tree, “Don’t put it like that!”

“How else do you want me to put it?” Jax asked, bewildered, lowering his voice down to a hissed whisper, “Why would I need ta undress ya? Is it because ya think that’s what I want? Is that how little ya think of me?”

“Jax, stop.” Ragatha said sternly. He reluctantly obeyed for her to speak, “It’s nothing of the sort, it’s something else. I added a hidden… feature… with the hope that you’d find it on your own.”

“It still sounds weird, Raggs.”

“It’s not, I swear!” Ragatha exclaimed, “I thought you’d know that ragdolls often have their bodies be a different colour fabric; to represent the bodice of the dress, instead of making an entirely separate dress, like I did. I also thought that it would’ve been enough of a clue to look beneath the fabric since I showed you how I hide things beneath my skirt. There’s nothing funny about it!

Jax still looked skeptical, but seeing his dolly that upset, softened his heart a little more than he wanted to admit.

Ragatha pleaded one last time, hoping to have justified herself enough, “I just thought that it would be a special little secret for you to find.”

Jax sighed, but relented eventually, “Fine, but I’m not happy about this.”

“Just trust me on this!” Ragatha insisted gently, “So you’re going to look, right?”

“I’d rather you just tell me and be done with it.” Jax huff, folding his arms and turning away from her. He heatedly glared over his shoulder to flick his eye from her feet to her face, “You know I don’t only want you for those types of reasons, right?”

Ragatha wanted to protest her stance on being innocent with her intentions, but his words caused her heart to melt. She cleared her throat, choosing not to say anything to humor his last question, “If you want to know, you’ll just have to see for yourself, Honey. It’s already a shame that I ruined my plans for you to find it by your own accord.”

“Come on, Doll!” Jax whined, thankfully moving passed the other matter, “I’m dying here! I can’t wait until tonight – I don’t even know if I wanna do what needs to be done to even find out. I don’t care how innocent ya think it is, IT’S WEIRD!”

“Then suffer.” Ragatha shrugged as they finally joined the rest on the crew, leaving Jax perplexed.

That woman…

It appeared that it was going to be a long day for Jax.

It was a long day for Jax.

The curiosity was nipping at the edges of his mind throughout the day. The bunny hardly focused throughout the adventure – not even his disregard for Pomni could distract him. It didn’t help that Ragatha wasn’t making things easier for him, as she would knowingly smirk at him when he dared to glance at her. Occasionally, the doll would giggle to herself, only riling him up more.

What additionally tore Jax apart, was that he didn’t know how to feel about stripping the plush from its dignity by undressing it. It was a doll, sure, but it was a doll that looked like Ragatha, it felt perverted and indecent.

When the long day came to an end, Jax fought between sprinting to his room as fast as his legs could carry him, versus stalling to avoid having the plush taunt him with it’s secrets altogether. It became an odd mixture of the two, where Jax tried to cut any conversations short that stalled him from progressing down the hall, but taking the time to stop and talk to whomever was willing to keep him from reaching his room to soon.

His odd mannerisms caused suspicion to arise among the group, especially Gangle, who always seemed to catch on.

Those cursed observation skills…

 Finally, the rabbit entered his room and locked the door behind him. Just to be safe.

The doll was just laying there as it almost expectantly stared at him. It was mocking him; he just knew it! The bunny hated to admit that his mouth was suddenly feeling dry at the thought of even just touching it. He glared at it, silently cursing Ragatha for thinking that the whole situation was a good idea.

Because it wasn’t.

He took a breath and willed himself to march to his bedside, sit down and firmly hold the doll in his lap. It smiled with glee, and he scrunched up his nose while averting his gaze to gather his courage. It all felt wrong on so many levels! He really hated how curious he was to know what hidden gem his dolly had waiting for him. Yes, he was nervous, but…

He trusted Ragatha.

Jax was just going to be a man and push through his hesitation, he thought to himself. The doll felt like it was burning through his gloves, but he still preferred that above anyone else touching him. Jax looked down to his yellow gloves; and an idea slowly crept from the depths of his mind. With mild distaste, the rabbit flexed his fingers to summon his terrible claws, that pierced though the yellow fabric as a hot knife would cut into butter.

Jax’s ability to feel, was muddled through his claws, since they were not equipped with the sensory ability to perceive touch as well as his fingertips were. He could only feel the dull pressure sinking down onto his fingertips whenever he used them – willingly or unwillingly. He felt a little less guilty while implementing his idea as his very gently used the very points of the ebony tips to hold and maneuver the plush.

The bunny noticed a three little buttons on the back of the doll’s dress. He gently pinched at the blue dress’s fabric and lightly tugged at it, only confirming that the dress was able to be removed. He struggled to maneuver his claws in attempt to open the back of the dress without ripping the fabric, but he managed.

Agonizingly slow…

Finally, the buttons were loose. All that was left to do, was to pull the entire dress over the doll’s head. He still felt uncomfortable just… stripping the doll like a perverted freak, so he did the only other thing he could think of.

Pinch his eyes shut.

Blinded and with a heavy sigh, the rabbit struggled to fully remove the dress from the doll, while still being mindful of his sharp claws. It was a pain – the whole process became so frustrating that he just thought about giving up and saving the private adventure for another day.

But somehow, the plush was finally freed from her blue coverage and Jax just sat in silence, wondering for one last time whether it was the right decision to indulge in Ragatha’s twisted game.

Damn it…

It’s just a doll.

As curiosity won the dispute against shame, Jax hesitantly opened his eyes that were previously pinched shut. Slowly, as light broke passed his eyelids, the blurry vision of the mostly milky fabric that represented the doll’s skin, focused into a clear image of the doll’s bare torso as it’s little face patiently smiled up at him.

All thoughts left Jax’s mind as soon as he comprehended the sight the rested within his grasp. It stole the air from his lungs that grew still as he stopped breathing entirely. A wave of emotion washed over him, but he stood firm and frozen with the overwhelming shock that struck his mind – his soul – to a state of all-consuming numbness.

His hands started trembling, but the man remained silent.

On the chest of the ragdoll-plush, the pale fabric was harshly interrupted by the image of a small, purple heart in the very center. It was neatly threaded to the doll’s chest, in such a way that the stitch pattern of the thread wasn’t obvious to the eye. The only way that Jax could tell that the heart was indeed threaded to the doll and not just a part of the fabric’s print, was the very neat seam that revealed small purple stitches when the fabrics was pulled into the opposite directions.

Jax didn’t know much about needlework, but there was no doubt in his mind that the heart wasn’t just a patch that was stitched atop the pale torso. No. The purple heart was very much a part of the fabric that kept the stuffing from spilling out.

Without the heart, there would be a hole that would expose the plush’s inner content.

Without the purple heart, the stuffing would spill out from the doll, and it would be nothing but an empty, fabric shell.

The purple heart was a part of the doll.

When his vision became blurry, the bunny was suddenly taken aback by his uncontrolled breathing as well as the tears crawling down his cheeks. He hugged the undressed doll against his heart without a care in the world. All that mattered was him holding his dolly with a heart adorned with his colour. Falling to his knees, Jax mind was consumed by thoughts of Ragatha and her precious gift to him. The rabbit compulsively rubbed his neck and chin over the doll’s red locks, only stopping to nuzzle into the ragdoll’s chest.

A possessive blade struck into his cold, dead heart. Jax no longer had tears that spilled form his golden orbs. His dolly dried them, as she often did – because she was his. Only his.

His, as she always was and always will be.

And in kind, he was hers.

Only Ragatha could bring him to his knees like this. He’d kneel to only her, as if she was his queen. He knew, in that instance, that it would only be a matter of moments before she would kneel before him – to join him at his level as his equal.

Then, Jax would not rest until the entire universe was brought down beneath her. He’d destroy whatever it takes, he’d break whatever he saw fit, and he would crush and torture every soul that would ever dare to hurt her.

Because only he could hurt her – Jax would make sure of it.

No one else would do it right.

No one else would take care NOT to break her as he always made sure to do.

No one else would read her as he did.

No one else would care for her needs as he did.

No one else would do anything to her, because he would never allow them to.

Not only because he was the snake, but because he was HER MONSTER.

He was hers.

And at that moment, her monster craved to drown within her.

Jax held the plush back to admire it once again. It was hers, but it wasn’t her. He wanted her and he wanted her now.

NOW.

In a flash, Jax was moving.

He didn’t know how he made it through his locked door to mindlessly claw at Ragatha’s, like a dog, but he ended up doing just that. Jax was too far gone to even think about the keys he left in his door before sprinting down the hall. No words left his lips – only little desperate grunts escaped him as his claws sprouted fine wooden spirals from his dolly’s door. It was inhuman to say the least.

And that’s why Gangle lunged at him without a second thought.

 She happened to be in the hall to witness his descent into his animalistic nature. Shivers crawled up her ribbonoid form at the beastly sight of Jax’s blown pupils and ungraceful, jagged movements. He didn’t even acknowledge that she was there, so it became clear that Jax was experiencing one of his occasional manic episodes.

It didn’t happen all that often, but based on her experience, Gangle could tell that she would not be able to get through to him with mere words.

Her ribbons served her well as powerful restraints. Since she had the element of surprise on her side, Gangle was able to wrap herself swiftly and strategically around each of Jax’s wrists, as well as bind his powerful legs together, causing him to fall face first into the door, then onto the floor.

The rabbit, caught off guard, thrashed and screamed in a manner that no human ever could. He managed to slice one of her ribbons down the long length, only to have the 3 finer streaks of ribbon become their own independent tendrils that reenforced the grip Gangle had on Jax. It hurt, but there was very little that Jax could do to make Gangle stop.

It wasn’t the first time she had to restrain him, after all.

“What’s going on out there?!” rang Ragatha’s alarmed voice from the other side of the door as it creaked open by a mere slit for her voice to rush through.

“Stay put and lock the door.” Gangle ordered, her softer voice firm as a blade that sliced through any question to oppose her order. She constricted her grasp around Jax’s neck to manually muffle his senseless howls of protest and discomfort. Gangle also took note of how his pupils dilated impossibly wide at the sound of Ragatha’s voice. He fought with a greater vigor and tried to reach out to the door.

It, then, became clear to Gangle, that the bunny didn’t act out in anger, but in what appear to be a type of desire that he very rarely expressed.

“Gangle? What’s happening-?”

“Be quiet.” Gangle spat out as Jax only ceaselessly continued to struggle against her. His aggressive thrashing became desperate and distressed. The door shut after a few seconds of hesitance on Ragatha’s part. The doll knew her place.

There was nothing she could do now.

“You’ll scare her like this, Bunny.” The ribbonoid hissed into the wild rabbit’s ears, causing him to tense up and shiver. Despite Jax’s immeasurably greater tolerance for the ribbonoid’s touch, he still had his limits – limits that only Gangle had managed to push as far as he was willing to allow. Boundaries were thrown out the window a long time ago, for they both no longer regarded each other’s boundaries. They had no choice, as it was within their roles and owl and snake.

Boundaries were crossed too long ago for either of them to care.

“Mine.” Jax forced out as soon as Gangle remembered to loosen the grip she had enforced around his neck. He turned his face to look at the mask of the sentient ribbon, eyes filled with desperation, “Mine.”

“I know, Bunny. I know.” She almost cooed when she felt him burst into untamable trembling, clearly stumbling his way back to reality, “But there’s a better way to go about this. You need to control yourself.”

Jax could only blink a few times, trying to ground himself. He stopped to look down with a defeated sigh and leaned his head down to ungraciously plop his forehead against the forehead of the theatrical mask. She welcomed his gesture, by leaning back into him and closing her eyes.

They savoured the moment as the world grew quiet, sharing breaths to calm themselves.

Jax remained as he was as Gangle slowly opened her eyes again, not willing to risk being unaware for too long. Her dear friend looked worse for wear, but much better in comparison to a few minutes ago. If it wasn’t for a distant movement that caught the ribbon’s attention, the newfound peace would have led the pair to Gangle’s room in a gentler manner…

But the sight of a little jester who stood a while’s way across the hall, caused the girl to rip her ribbons from Jax - bristling up like a threatened raptor. The ribbons danced and scurried high above her head in an impressive display, causing sounds of fabric slithering and fluttering to pierce the silence. Pomni jolted at the sight of the previously meek and timid character being so intentionally disapproving towards her. It was so unsettling, that the jester took a step back.

Her movement jump-started a series of chaotic, spasmic events that could only be found in a horror movie.

In the blink of an eye, before Jax could turn his head to see what caught Gangle’s attention, the previously bristling ribbons sliced through the air to grab Jax where-ever they could grip; and rapidly dragged the purple character down the hall at inhuman speed. The only trace that Pomni managed to register for her to realize that she wasn’t hallucinating what she saw, was the blinking light reflecting on the ends of the ribbons the slithered through the remaining gap in Gangle’s door, right before it slammed shut.

The little fool blinked and recovered quickly, as she was forced to do since she found herself trapped.

The soft creak of Ragatha’s door caught her attention. The Ragdoll’s face hung lower than usual, causing the red locks to shield her face. The fool blamed the light reflecting the red, glowing hue of her hair onto her face, because there was no way that she would be bashful in the given circumstances.

Right?

Ragatha stepped outside and jumped at the sight of Pomni, then feverishly looked around the hall. She paused in confusion before she shook her head once to face the fool, who just opted to turn her face to the freshly carved scratch marks on the doll’s door. While Pomni’s face fell at the sight, Ragatha’s expression remained unbothered.

It was unnerving.

“Is this really what you consider Jax caring in his own special little ways?” the jester asked skeptically – almost rhetorically – as she recalled Ragatha’s words from a previous encounter.

“You wouldn’t understand.” The doll spoke in that cursed monotone that Pomni quickly learnt to hate, “We are all one minor inconvenience away from going insane. I told you that before. Besides, out of all of us, he’s literally the animal. The urges and instincts do things to you, you know…”

The silence that followed, stretched down the hall. The girls simply stood in front of the door and looked over the ugly trenches Jax had left in the wood. It wasn’t until much later that Pomni gently pierced through the stillness with a strangely steady quip of morbid curiosity.

“Didn’t you also say that Gangle and Zooble were romantically involved? She seemed very close to Jax just then-”

“Those two are intimately close, you saw correctly.” Ragatha interrupted, finally easing up her tone as a fond, little smile grew on her face, “Zooble and I are aware – we encourage it. They are very good for each other.”

Pomni almost got whiplash with how fast she swung her head to look to the doll, “Intimate? Do you mean- do they…? Are they-?”

“Intimate; nothing odd going on there, New Stuff! Friends.” The doll clarified with a chuckle, “Very good friends with a very strange, deep connection. There’s nothing more to tell – not that it’s really our business.”

“So. it wouldn’t bother Zooble that they are alone in Gangle’s room?”

Ragatha’s eyes lit up, “Oh! That’s where they are… And no, it doesn’t bother anyone when two of us wants some time alone with each other. Jax clearly needs a shoulder, I mean, just look at my door!”

Pomni sighed heavily.

It was a relief to hear the ragdolly act ‘normal’ again, but it felt like she was growing more confused as she learned more and more about her surrounding circus mates. The sooner she earned Gangle’s trust, the better. The claw marks on Ragatha’s door made Pomni want to avoid Jax for as long as she possibly could, lest she’d risk to randomly be mauled by a spontaneously feral rabbit.

Yet again, something new for Pomni to be weary of.

“Ragatha?” Pomni asked hesitantly, “Do you think I can do this?”

No context was given, but the doll could comprehend the true question that the jester was asking - she answered as honestly as she could.

“I believe that you can.” She said softly as she looked to the little fool, who’s eyes were occupied; tracing the marks on the door, “…but it will always depend on how much you want to make it work.”

“We don’t really have a choice, do we?” Pomni tore away her gaze on the door to peer up at Ragatha, who chose to remain silent.

No need to answer something that wasn’t intended as a question.

Oasis: TADC AU list

Masterlist

[estro-gem]

Jax x Ragatha: Touch

The Amazing Digital Circus AU: Oasis

Author's note: Hey guys! It's bunnydoll time! I hope you have the patience to work your way through this one. I wonder if there are any of you who can remotely relate to the way I wrote Jax to be in terms of his aversion to touch.

Oh well, it's just a story about some fictional characters who aren't even mine. Credit goes to Gooseworx, for creating such fun characters for us to play with.

Hope you enjoy this one! This story was suppose to go into a completely different direction, but that idea can always be explored in the future - when I have the guts to put it on paper.

I'm sure that you don't need the context from my previous work to understand/enjoy this one.

Warnings: None... I think.

SUMMARY:

Jax is suffering from the frustrating effects of touch-starvation, despite his touch-aversion rendering him from doing anything about it. After meeting up with his fellow circus-members, a good laugh and a brief on their new adventure, Jax is given the chance to confide in Ragatha.

TOUCH

It was going to be one of those dreaded days.

Jax was lost in a dream only moments before – one of silky, living fabric with the softest stuffing that rang with a hushed, pleading voice for him and only him. For him to give more and more; and in the dream, he was willing – eager – to provide. He’d rattled the mountains to kneel before a ragdoll only to be brought to his knees himself, all for his little doll to just look at him.

To really just look at him.

Jax closed his eyes again, seeking the warm, fuzzy afterglow of the caresses shared in his lost dream. He desperately tried to sink deeper into his mattress, as he was pressed into the softness of his doll only moments before.

But now he was burning from the inside out.

Red-hot fire nipped and crackled on his skin and yet, Jax wanted to curl into himself and burst into shivers as his heart bashed into his ribcage, threatening to jump out from his throat. The sensations caused him to forget to reign in his breathing, so he was left almost panting, until the sound of his own voice riled him up even more. He sounded so pathetic and desperate in the confines of his own room.

Suddenly Jax’s attention was drawn to his claws, now ripped through his yellow gloves, and digging into his pillow. He pulled back his hands and forced himself to relax his digits enough, to allow the claws to sink back into place; tucked away and safe. The rabbit spied the little holes that his claws left in the plush bedding, feeling the sour taste of guilt invade his being.

That could’ve been Raggs.

Just like that, the sour was drowned in the glowing, shivering heat that trembled through him again. He groaned as he rolled over to sit up on the edge of his bed. He tried to force the thoughts of her eyes out of his head, only to be thrusted into the intrusive impulse of crushing her against him, stealing her breaths.

The bunny laid his face into his hands and felt the sting of tears at the back of his eyes. It’s been a while since he felt like this, and the frustration was getting to him in ways that was almost too embarrassing to acknowledge. Jax knew that he was only going to suffer more once he left the safety of his room and he desperately tried to muster up all the reasons why he shouldn’t leave.

But someone would come knocking at his door if he didn’t – and heaven forbid that it would be Ragatha calling his name from the outside…

Because he might not be able to stop himself from dragging her into his depths only to screaming his name from the inside…

No.

This had to stop.

He was going to be fine, frustration been damned! It was just a bit of an off day, but nothing like he hasn’t lived through before. Yes, Jax was well equipped to handle the tug of war between touch-aversion and touch-starvation for the day. Just one day.

Just like he’d done all the mere handful of times he felt like this since he got here.

Jax lifted his arms to stretch, hearing the ring in his ears as he groaned at the pleasure of relieving his tense muscles. Speaking of stiffness, Jax felt the overall form of his body being a tad bit more defined and firmer than usual. Intrigued by this discovery, he poked at his bicep to confirm that it was as solid as it appeared, before rolling his eyes in annoyance. He must have really been tensed up and… invested… in that dream of his for him to notice it – or maybe his mind was just trying to occupy himself to forget the yearning for his doll’s hands to glide over his skin.

Ugh, it was going to be a rough day…

Whether Jax wanted to or not, he eventually left his room and dragged himself down the empty hallway of many doors. Voices buzzed from the main area, but he was too distracted to single them out, so the bunny was left to the element of surprise. He didn’t mind it too much, as he believed that any conversation would stimulate him beyond the confusing war between the contradicting needs of his body versus his mind.

The itch that only another’s touch could soothe, versus the itch of the unbearable residue that the touch would leave in its wake.

It was pathetic.

Finally met with the familiar figures in the main area, the rabbit’s eyes were pulled and fixed onto a specific scene. He narrowed his eyes, as his mind raced through multiple thoughts, not quite knowing what to make of what he saw.

Pomni and Kinger were off to the side of the main group, seemingly in a conversation that held the keen attention of the jester. She was practically fixated on the oversized chess piece, who by no doubt was talking about something deeper than the ramblings of a madman. Jax spotted mismatched eyes of the king dulled and muddled – and for once, sober. Just then, Jax decided to steer clear of those two, not wanting to rain on the royal’s parade.

It’s been so long since Kinger was as aware as he was now.

Even Jax wouldn’t want to knock down that precious house of cards. When Kinger was oriented, things were just… better in the Circus. It wasn’t something that anyone could explain, but something about Kinger holding out for so long, made life in the Digital Realm seem possible – even when surrounded and inflicted by anything and everything that was impossible. Granted, those sober moments were few, brief and far in-between, but they were there, rooted, and present. Jax recalled many instances where he was met with the elder’s sobriety, only for it to crumble to ash when he attempted to delve into it.

A genuine question asked by Jax in attempt to encourage the continuation of Kinger’s clear mindset, only met with the abrupt cut-off of another startled question by Kinger about whatever was happening at that moment, as if it never happened in the first place.

The snake’s charms were also proven to be ineffective against the royal, barely acknowledging his baiting and deliberate sabotage, but Jax kept hissing and striking regardless. In fact, everyone included Kinger in the happenings of the oasis, regardless of the effectiveness of it all. Anything that anyone could do for another precious moment of clarity from the king, was considered a worthy effort, because if he could make it this far and still have his mind…

Who’s to say they couldn’t make it either – even if only in small, precious increments?

What a shame to see such a precious moment of clarity to be wasted on a stupid waste of space. She had no idea how lucky she was to have that gem in her grimy little grasp.

Jax scoffed; deciding to look to where the rest of the group was situated. His heart clenched at the sight of his girls, watched over by none other than Zooble themself.

Gangle was happily wrapped around Ragatha’s slim frame. He could tell that the ribbon continuously squeezed the doll with a firm, but gentle pressure, just as Ragatha liked it. He heard Zooble mumble teasing comments about Raggs 'stealing their girl' as Gangle nuzzled her face into the top of the doll’s head, burying her face into the red wooly locks with an admittedly cute smile on her face. Sometimes, Jax wished for them to be living another life, where the bunny would be free to just pinch and tug the masked ribbon’s cheeks. He’d make it hurt, that’s for sure!

And then, there was his doll, also smiling and content – at ease in the crushing grasp of Gangle’s magic touch. The doll often sought out the ribbonoid for her infamous squeeze, as they found that Gangle was the best at practicing Ragatha’s occasional need for deep-pressure therapy.

Sure, some time ago, it was a case of desperation on Jax’s part to indulge his doll with his weighted cuddling, but Gangle was the ideal option. He didn’t mind the rare time with his dolly one bit, though. The annoying itch and bother prickling at his skin for the few hours afterwards was all the more worth it to have Ragatha melted and helpless beneath him.

Where she belonged.

Jax felt a warm, but not exactly unpleasant tingling ghost over his lips when his needy thoughts pushed back into his head upon remembering the sensual kiss he left on the inside of her wrist. It was when she wordlessly begged him to have her caress his cheek as her shaking hand hovered in offering for him to accept or reject. He couldn’t ever say no then – he doubted that he’d ever be able to say no to her ever.

Her face… her voice… pleading his name like a prayer...

Stop it.

 It’s just worse because of that stupid, unrealistic dream he had before! It didn’t matter how much he dreamt about him sinking and drowning into his doll, because in the waking world, he was just a broken snake that felt the need to shed his skin every time anyone had the mere thought of touching him.

Why couldn’t he just be normal?

For the time being, he’d be happy to just live vicariously through Gangle securely holding Ragatha as she sat cross-legged on the floor, while Gangle playfully blew raspberries at Zooble, who could only shake their head in mock-disappointment. It was written all over the ragdoll’s face and evident in the melody of her bright laugh; Ragatha felt safe and content.

That was more than enough for Jax to be happy.

Right?

“Jax! Took you long enough!” Jax was pulled out from his thoughts upon the sound of Zooble’s bored, bossy tone, “You’re lucky Caine’s not here yet. Where were you anyway?”

Jax’s sleazy grin was fixed on his face, trained and trimmed as the snake he was, “Oh, you know… definitely not snooping around you rooms or anything – but hypothetically, if I were, I’m pretty sure I forgot something in one of them, so if you find it, be sure to give me a shout!” He winked.

“Jax, I swear…” Ragatha’s face was pulled into a scowl, but the fire she possessed proved her spirit to shine as bright as ever, “If you rigged my room with firecrackers and smoke bombs again, I am going to lose it.”

“What?” Jax exclaimed in false expiration, “Didn’t you hear me say that it was hypothetical, Dollface? You might wanna get your ears checked, because it seems I left one too many centipedes in your room to crawl into them at night.”

“Oh my lord, Jax stop. Just stop.” Ragatha squirmed to get her arms free from Gangle’s grasp and cover her ears while shutting her eyes, “You are tricking me into thinking that I can actually feel them in my head!”

“I just got her to calm down, Jaaaax!” Gangle whined, switching out her masks to frown properly.

Jax wanted to laugh, but the girl’s whining rang an alarm.

Why would Raggs need to calm down?

He had to be smart about this – the coldblooded snake couldn’t show that he cared, so asking about it was out of the question. He considered using his silence – that always got someone talking.

He raised an eyebrow for good measure.

To his luck, Gangle just knew, as she always did, “She’s feeling a little touch starved today.”

Ragatha opted to cover her face instead of her ears. Her cheeks were glowing red with embarrassment, and she groaned out Gangle’s name to shut the ribboniod up, but the damage was done. Zooble saw Jax perk up more than he probably should have, followed by him sinking into himself like he was dragging dead weight with him. He was struggling to maintain his composure, Zooble thought to themself, surprised that even they were able to read him so easily today.

Meanwhile Jax was suffering from the internal fire that just didn’t seem to leave him be today.

What dumb luck for him and his poor little dolly to be suffering the same fate. He consoled himself that the solution was at least easier for Raggs than it was for him. He had other issues that prevented him from getting the help he wanted. He only wanted his doll’s touch – but even then, he didn’t really want it, either. It felt a bit comforting to know that Ragatha was suffering alongside him, but it killed him that he couldn’t do anything about it!

If he were to indulge in her touch like he did a mere week before, he would probably want to skin himself by the end of it all. The whole situation was bizarre to begin with! It was rare that he craved touch so quickly after such an invasive encounter, but here he was. And there she was.

Even though he knew that they were so different, it hurt a little to think that his touch only satisfied her until now, before she felt near distressed with need again.

And it also hurt that Gangle could replace his touch so well.

It actually hurt a little more than he was willing to admit.

Someone’s eyes were burning into his face and it was enough to have him jump out of his own head, looking over his fellow circus mates to see who’s eyes it was. He was surprised to find his dolly’s eyes peeking through her fingers. When he looked to her, she didn’t avert her gaze, so he had a chance to get a read on her, only for the bunny to find something he didn’t expect.

Ragatha had that yearning look again.

She watched his face very closely, as she slowly lowered her hands from her face, never once glancing away. The doll was calling out to him – he knew she was! His core was invaded with butterflies as she entranced him with that look that she seemed to reserve for him alone. He fell in love with how she silently pleaded for him, only to realize that she was, in fact, silently pleading for him.

He blinked but didn’t stir otherwise, trying to uphold his careless façade.

‘What do you want?’ a single, swift scrunch of his face was all he needed for her to understand.

Ragatha blinked in turn, and after a moment of her tossing her gaze around in search for an answer, her eyes fixed on him… or rather… his legs. His thighs? ...His hips?

Jax wanted to be set ablaze with that thought alone, but at the same time, he couldn’t stop the chuckle that bubble up from his chest. He knew it was unlikely but the thought of Ragatha being vexed by his hips was a hilarious thought at the time.

When Ragatha’s face became adorned with confusion, he flashed her a cheeky smile and swung his hips playfully, if not a tad suggestive. Her eye widened to resemble a dinnerplate before the dam broke and she burst into explosive laughter. It was so sudden that Jax could only bend over and wheeze as Gangle squeaked in surprise.

“I’m sorry!” Ragatha squeezed out in apology to her, but with one look to Jax’s face, laughter erupted from her with a new vigor. As Jax sunk onto his hands and knees, it seemed that he couldn’t risk looking at the doll without laughing either. The situation left Gangle and Zooble glancing between the 2 in the utmost confusion, but they didn’t get the chance to ask anything.

“My, my! It’s sure is a jolly occasion we have here!” Caine’s voice boomed from above, suddenly floating in the space between Jax and Ragatha, “Care to share the joke, folks? The audience would be dying to know!”

“Oh, Caine, hey buddy!” Jax managed to say as he desperately tried to just breathe again, “Don’t- don’t worry about it-” Jax cut himself off with a something in between a whine and a suppressed giggle.

“Yes, it was all just-” Ragatha caught her laugh and offered a moment of silence, before trying to continue in a shaking voice, “Just a misunderstaNdInG.”

Laughter erupted again, though it was more of a chaotic jumble of wheezes and heavy breathing between the bunny and the doll. It was a challenge for Gangle and Zooble not to feel left out, but they found themselves smiling at their friends who were finally blowing off some steam.

For whatever reason they were unaware of…

The laughter eventually died down as Caine enthusiastically explained the adventure he had cooked up for the crew. When he disappeared in a cloud of smoke, the team reluctantly divided themselves into groups of 2, purely based on whomever wanted to team up. The only two who didn’t team up willingly, was Kinger and Pomni, who were the last two left after Gangle clung to Zooble and Jax slide beside Ragatha.

They were chummy before, right? Who better to be paired together than the 2 local nutjobs?

There was a brief commotion of protest and complaining, before the teams departed and split up to perform the silly tasks that were set out to complete the adventure, as Caine described. It wasn’t long before the silence between the bunny and the doll was broken by Jax right after they lost sight of the others.

“So, Dollface, I didn’t take you as the blunt and forward type of gal!” Jax wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, “Unless it’s just ‘cause it’s me and I’m just too irresistible to be taken out to dinner first.”

“Oh, quiet you! I told you that it was a misunderstanding.” Ragatha blew him off, much to Jax’s dismay.

He pressed on with his signature grin fixed on his face, determined to understand, “You told Caine that. You didn’t tell me squat. So? Out with it! What were you looking at? Whattaya want, Doll?”

Ragatha sighed, much like a tired mother would, “It’s fine, Jax, it’s over now. We can leave it be.”

“Nuh uh, it ain’t over. We’re bringing it back, toots!” Jax dismissed her immediately.

But the doll didn’t seem to budge.

“You’d never be able to handle it! You’ll live with the eternal regret for even considering asking.”

Was that a challenge?

“Oh ho ho, darlin’…” Jax tone shifted to a menacing one, causing Ragatha to audibly gulp when he moved to stop her from walking on, looming over her, “You have no idea what you just started.”

She recovered quickly, thinking that Jax was messing around as he usually was, “Jax, we should forget it ever happened. I’m serious!”

“So am I.”

It turns out he was actually serious for once.

“What do you want, Ragatha?” Jax asked in an ominous tone, not giving the doll the chance to digest just how serious he was to use her full name.

It turns out was actually really, really serious for once.

“What does it matter?” the ragdoll breathed, hardly intimidated, yet greatly stunned.

“What do you mean ‘what does it matter?’” Jax shuffled closer to stand inches away, causing for the doll to crane her neck to look up at him, “When you beg for me with that pretty little eye of yours, what makes you think it wouldn’t matter?”

Ragatha felt the familiar rush of heat bite her cheeks as Jax blown pupils pinned her in place. His words could easily just be the words of the snake, but something within Ragatha’s depths wanted to believe that it was only the words of the man before her.

Her man.

 “If I tell you what I want, you have to deal with the regret of knowing by yourself.” Ragatha spoke with a calm, steady voice as she prepared for the moment to wither away with the diminished sound of her future confession, “Are we clear?”

“Crystal.” Jax murmured, not once breaking his gaze from her face.

Ragatha took a deep breath and looked him dead in the eyes, steeling herself for the disappointment to drag down his spirit. She took only a second longer to appreciate the churring sound of Jax’s teeth grinding within his mouth.

“Your hands.” Ragatha sighed in defeat, “I was looking at your hands.”

Jax didn’t stir or change his demeanor, silently processing the information, “My hands…”

Hands. What could she want with his hands?

Hands grab.

Hands carry.

Hands hold.

Hands touch…

Oh. Oh.

OH!

Realization must have washed over his face, because Ragatha allowed her head to fall forward in regret.

“Do you see now?” she asked with sorrow lacing her voice, “You regret knowing now.”

Jax was silent for a moment, only to softly speak up – almost to himself, “Do you know why I was late this morning?” a beat of silence, “I was dreaming about your hands too.”

Ragatha’s head flung itself up, to look at him in shock, but was met with the saddened expression of the bunny as he continued to speak, “In my dreams, I can’t get enough of them. I can’t get enough of your touch, Raggs.”

The doll’s eye started stinging with tears, but her face remained stuck in shock.

Jax wasn’t finished, “Seeing you enwrapped with Gangle makes me so happy, Raggs. I love seeing my girls take care of each other, but believe me when I tell you that I’m selfish enough to wish that you came to me instead – even if I can’t hold you like she can…”

The silence that followed, stretched a bridge between them.

The ragdoll blinked once before taking the chance to speak, “May I touch you right now? Please?”

More silence deafened them, but a lot was said in the looks they shared.

Jax sighed, bracing himself for the confusing tingles his doll tend to leave on his skin, “...Go on.”

Without knowing what to expect, Jax eyed the movements of her hands, only to see them fold into each other behind her back. The rabbit’s breath hitched as he saw the whole of Ragatha's body move closer to stand against his frame with her forehead resting right under his chin. He violently shivered when he felt the doll’s breath caress his upper chest.

His brain malfunctioned when he felt her soft, warm lips place a long, tender kiss on his sternum.

No itching. No tingles. No burning.

Fireworks.

He huffed out an aspirated breath and allowed his shaky hands to grab at her shoulders to keep her in place when he felt her hastily back away. He proceeded to wrap his arms around Ragatha and crush her against his body, as he did in his dreams, suffering the onslaught of firecrackers and sparks erupting from everywhere their bodies met. Her cheek was pressed against his chest, and she could hear the thundering beats of his heart bashing to break free from its cage.

The sound that left his dolly’s mouth would haunt him for years to come and he couldn’t care less. For the first time since he was trapped in the Digital Circus, Jax was overwhelmed by the white-hot bliss of touch.

...Until it became all too much, all too soon.

And the dreaded itch crawled back into his skin, causing Jax to grab Ragatha’s shoulders again and harshly shove her back and away from him. The poor bunny was panting and trembling as he looked at Ragatha’s face in shock.

She was as frazzled as he was but she recovered quicker to tend to the poor, overstimulated bunny.

“I just want you to understand one thing.” Ragatha spoke between a few harsh breaths as she calmed down, “At times, I may need someone else's touch, but…”

Jax fought to focus his eyes on the woman before him – to indicate that she had his utmost attention, just before she blew all thoughts from his mind as she completed her sentence;

“I will always want you more than anything.”

She didn't need to say more, trusting that he understood her words perfectly.

Unlike a 'need', a 'want' can not be fulfilled.

Oasis: TADC AU list

Masterlist

[estro-gem]

Unlikely friends

This isn't the whole image, I cropped out the doodles I didn't finish colouring. I just couldn't resist sharing it.

My favourite pass-time is playing Mr Potato head with Zooble's accessories.

I'll post the full picture with all the doodles when I finally finish them.

These characters belong to Gooseworx!

A link to the story kinda relevant to this: (CLICK HERE TO READ)

Oasis: TADC AU list

Masterlist