Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Hey guys! So this is pretty much exactly what it sounds like- a collection of one-shots for the Amazing Digital Circus! I'll give each author a chance to introduce themselves.

Batfly- Hey, I'm Batfly (spelled with a capital i)! I plan to write almost exclusively Gangle one-shots because Gangle is my child and I love her. I'm mostly associated with the Hollow Knight and Rain World fandoms, my pronouns are she/her and yeah I think this is going to be really fun :)

PanArtist- Hey, I’m PanArtist, I’ll be doing pretty much only Pomni or Ragatha. I go by she/her pronouns. So yeah. Fun.

CeramnicSwan- Unfortunately, Cer doesn't have an account yet, but when she does I'll let her write her own intro. In the meanwhile, I (batfly) have been requested to write a bit for her, so here you go! Cer is my little sister, she/her pronouns, and she'll be mainly writing Jax's POV. She's a fantastic writer, and I'm super happy to have her! She will likely be posting some one-shots before she receives her account as I can just post them for her, and you can trust that she will receive and appreciate any nice comments anyone leaves about her work <3

Make sure you read the tags because you have been warned! We're angsty motherfucks and this collection will be anywhere to the tamest fluff to the wildest violence you ever did see (no character death though, I don't think any of us could emotionally handle that)

We do plan to make a full-length longfic, but we're choosing to wait until we have more material than just the pilot to ensure more accuracy to the canon!

Don't be afraid to leave comments about how incredible we are (/j) and enjoy!

Chapter Text

Her comedy mask was broken. Again.

Gangle really wanted to cry, but she had already done so much of that today that she worried it would be overboard if it happened again. That being said, it wasn't her fault that she was a little emotional (even if sometimes she was convinced it was), she was just like that and there was no controlling it.

Especially when her comedy mask was broken, leaving her with the other one. She didn't like it. It made her feel constantly overwhelmed, even the smallest of disturbances being enough to bring tears. It made her feel out of control of her own feelings. At least when she was in her other persona she could transfer those terrible no-good emotions to energy and happiness and, well, comedy. It's not like this hadn't happened before. In fact, this was (unfortunately) a fairly regular occurrence. It didn't help that somebody in this circus seemed to adore picking on her. 

And why? Gangle hadn't done anything! Well, other than being a crybaby. She didn't like the word. It tasted bitter. And mean. 

Gangle hated being mean, even towards herself.

She was staring forlornly at the shattered pieces that were once what she liked to call her "happy face". It was broken worse than it usually was. And no, it wasn't Pomni's fault at all. That had been an accident, and Gangle was all for forgive and forget. Or at least, that's what she would like to believe if the same malevolent character hadn't carelessly shattered her comedy mask more than it already had been, hurled her into a giant pit (although maybe that one was excusable since it didn't seem particularly malicious), and shoved her to the ground after making her think he was being nice for once in his awful life! 

Gangle frowned. And sniffled. She really didn't like those thoughts, so she banished them forcefully. She wasn't meant to be angry. She was meant to be funny and kind! Well, admittedly she wasn't completely sure on that front. She knew that she wasn't supposed to be mean and she wished her thoughts would just shut up and stop thinking very bad things. 

He's misunderstood, she told herself silently, taking a very deep breath and counting to ten. He doesn't mean it. He's just like that. He doesn't understand people. 

All things she had heard from Ragatha, usually following the aftermath of what Gangle refused to call bullying. She believed it, she did. One hundred percent. Not a doubt in her mind. Not a molecule of malice that tainted her sorrow into something burning and hot and made her itch to punch a specific someone in his yellow teeth. 

Not that she really could punch, being made of ribbons and all.

She sighed and felt another tear on her face. Oh, she had ended up crying. She felt a surge of something between frustration and disappointment, resulting in another tear joining the first and dripping onto her broken mask. She already missed wearing that smile. She got up, hunching her shoulders (if they could be called such) and grabbed her emergency reserve of hot glue.

Yes, she always had some on hand. Her mask breaking was common enough of an occurrence for her to consistently need it.

She leaned over her mask again, taking a long inhale and tapping her foot- ribbon- against the ground.

(She wished she understood her anatomy a little better, but come on, it was more than a little weird.

No stranger than Zooble's, at least. Gangle felt a little bad for her.)

Slowly, trying to not shake or cry, Gangle shifted the tip of the hot glue gun towards the fragmented porcelain. It trembled slightly as she shifted it slowly along the sharp edge of one piece. 

Relax, she thought. It's like a puzzle. A very important puzzle. And when I'm done, I'll be happy again.

Concentrate. 

She felt heat waft off the clear glue and cringed inwardly at how much it would burn on her ribbon. She got hurt a lot. It was a side effect of being, well, frail, in the words of... most of the other members of the circus, honestly. Frail was a nicer word than crybaby, so Gangle didn't mind. It was true, wasn't it?

Once she had pulled a thin line of the stuff along two edges of her mask that obviously went together, she slotted them in place, holding it for a moment. She felt herself calm slightly once they stuck. She knew from experience that the spiderwebbed cracks wouldn't last very long, eventually fading away as a scar might. Actually, that's kind of what they were, right? Scars, since the masks were also her face.

Meaning that he had broken her face. What's more, he had done it multiple times.

Gangle felt the urge to simultaneously cry and scream surging to life in her chest, and she forced it down into a distressed whimpering sound, pressing her ribbons to her face again. Her face. Her face. And yeah, it hurt! It hurt a lot! So Gangle had every right to cry, as far as she was concerned. She decided to take a break from repairing her comedy mask (she had barely made any progress but she didn't currently care much).

She flopped down on her bed, stomach down, and cried into her mattress. She was not having a good day, but then, when was she ever? When he didn't bother her, she supposed. But it's not like that ever happened. 

Her face was hot as too many tears formed and left at a rapid pace in a way that it shouldn't be comfortable, but it was a sensation she was used to by now. She had been here long enough. Maybe she would go swimming in the lake- the digital lake, she reminded herself, although that's something she didn't particularly need to be reminded of. She liked being underwater because it was quiet and isolated, and her tears couldn't exist down there. No tears, no crying. It made her happy, and that in itself was a rare commodity and one she would take anywhere she could get it. 

She flopped over onto her back with a noise cross between a choked sob and a sigh. It's not like she was irreversibly happy while under the influence of her comedy mask, but she was certainly in a better state of mind with it equipped. She felt stronger, completely in control of what emotions she did and didn't feel, and was more often than not in a good mood. 

She also wondered often which one was her real face. Maybe she didn't have one. 

The thought was disturbing, to say the least.

At the sound of knocking on her door, Gangle jerked into a sitting position with an undignified squeak. She turned her head towards the door, shifting anxiously, the spiraled ribbon that made up her body contracting inwards. She hesitated, for a moment unsure of whether or not she should answer. Nobody visited her. Was this a prank or something? 

After a moment, there was a faint voice from outside, low and tired. "Hey... Gangle? You in there?" After a moment, "I can always... y'know, come back later."

Gangle took a deep breath and rose from her bed, twisting several knobs to unlock her door and peeking out warily. Zooble was the one that stood there, looking a bit uncomfortable. Actually, Gangle was pretty sure that's how they normally looked, but she thought that they might look just a little more awkward than normal, if possible. 

"Oh," Gangle said timidly, pulling the door open wider so she could be fully facing her visitor. "Hey, Zooble. U-um... what's up?"

Zooble seemed to be avoiding her eyes, shifting his weight between his mismatched legs. "Could... I come in for a second?"

Gangle paused, one ribbon curled around the edge of the door as she considered that. She didn't usually let people into her room, but then again, people didn't usually ask. And Zooble was nice, she guessed. She didn't really know him well, mostly on account of him being fairly new to the circus, but... She had never been mean to her, not that Gangle could remember. 

"Okay," Gangle said quietly, stepping aside to allow Zooble to enter. He nodded and stepped inside, closing the door carefully behind him. Gangle sat down on her bed, fidgeting nervously and occasionally glancing between Zooble and her comedy mask, which was still in a state of disrepair on her table in the far corner. Zooble sighed slightly. 

"I just wanted to say... thanks." 

Gangle perked up, eyes widening slightly. "H-huh? Thank-... thank you? W-wha-..?" She had to pause for a moment to wrestle her feelings back into a manageable state, distantly aware of Zooble watching her with an expression she couldn't quite read. Once she had managed to reorganize her thoughts, she looked up again, still incredibly startled. "Why are you thanking me?"

Zooble exhaled, averting her gaze. "It's just... you know, that whole episode with the gloinks..." Their voice trailed off, but Gangle still wasn't exactly sure what Zooble was getting at. She waited patiently, now more curious than nervous. Zooble sighed again. "I noticed you when I was being, um. Stolen. Everybody else was talking about... something or the other, but you... You were paying attention to me. And I'm pretty sure you cared... right?"

"Of course I cared!" Gangle's throat felt tight. "You got pulled apart and carried off by little shape monsters! How could I not?" 

Zooble tilted their head. "Yeah, but you were the only one."

Gangle paused at that. "I-... I was?" After a brief consideration, she frowned. "Huh, I guess I was. But it's what anyone in my position would have done, I'm sure. Anyways, I'm sure everyone was just distracted by the new arrival." She didn't know why she was defending the other circus members. After all, they mostly ignored her. But there was truth to her sentiment, wasn't there?

Gangle and Zooble finally met eyes- Gangle, black eyes shining against porcelain, and Zooble, whose eyes didn't even come close to matching. Most of him didn't, and Gangle felt bad. But of course that didn't mean the unfortunate body Zooble found themself with was their fault, just like Gangle's sensitivity wasn't hers. Zooble shrugged. "I guess. But you still noticed, so... thank you."

"O-oh, you're welcome, I suppose," Gangle said, voice faint and squeaking slightly at the end. Zooble gave her a small nod before turning, looking like he was about to head out. At the last moment, though, he paused, one foot across the threshold. 

"You know," they said, voice a bit gentler than Gangle remembered it usually being. "I could help you fix your mask. Or, I guess, I could try. Or just... keep you company?"

Company? Gangle hadn't had company before.

Despite her tragedy mask, she felt a tiny smile cross her face. "Oh! Uh, yes, you can stay and help. I-if you want. Only if you want to," she added quickly. Zooble's eyes squinted with amusement and they shut the door, crossing the floor back to Gangle. She pulled out an extra chair that she had sitting in a pile of disorganized chaos (so that's what that was for) and set it up next to the one she normally used.

"Thanks again," Zooble said, and Gangle's face lit up. 

No, Zooble. Thank you. 

Chapter Text

Pomni had been here for god knows how long. She was starting to adjust. But there was one thing that bothered her, Jax. He would always tease her. It was the worst. Today was no better. Pomni was just enjoying some cuddles from Ragatha. Which were a daily thing at this point, but Jax decided to make a spectacle out of it today. Pomni was cuddling with Ragatha in her room. She was quite comfortable, yet she was sobbing into her shoulder. The only reason they were in Ragatha's room right now was because Pomni had been having another breakdown.

Ragatha was holding Pomni. Quite tight, it was nice. Warm. Pomni adored this feeling. Ragatha was very soft. And always willing to give hugs. So Pomni sat there, sniffling into Ragathas shoulder.

”It’s alright Pom. I’m right here,” Ragatha murmured into where Pomnis's ear would be. Pomni looked up at her and gave her a watery smile.

”T-thanks, I don’t know what I would do without you,” she muttered, her voice cracking from crying. Ragatha gave her a soft smile, and patted her back. Pomni sniffled again as she snuggled into Ragatha's chest. Her tears slowly stopped, and soon, she was… purring? Not the weirdest thing that’s happened in her time here. The moment was nice, calm… happy. Pomni hadn’t felt happy quite enough since she got here. But that moment was quickly destroyed when Jax came barreling in.

”I didn’t know you could purr Pomni,” he said in his usual smooth voice. Pomni looked up from Ragatha a chest to see the purple rabbit smirking at her.

”Go away Jax,” Ragatha warned, her voice stern.

“Actually, I will, I need to go tell the others Pomni can purr.”

“NO!” Pomni shouted. They both looked at her startled. Jax narrowed his eyes before sprinting off, Pomni right behind him. They ran around corners and bends, Pomni's words being censored the entire way. Arriving in the main room, Jax screamed,

”POMNI CAN- UAAAGH!” He was cut off quite quickly, as Pomni tackled him to the ground with surprising strength. She growled like a feral cat getting ready to demolish its opponent. That’s when Jax knew he $@!*£% up. She punched him while keeping him pinned to the ground. She hit his face, making him grunt in pain. A maniacal smile appeared on Pomni's face as she kept hitting him.

She was pushed off by Jax, standing up to his full height, he socked Pomni's stomach, making her kneel down. He stepped back, but not far enough, as Pomni kept at him, surprisingly gracefully, and bit his neck. He yelled out in pain, trying to get her to let go. But his attempts were unsuccessful. He eventually is able to pry her jaws apart enough to get her off and slam her into the ground.

Panting, she stands up.

Gangle and Zooble watched from a distance, clearly surprised. Kinger tried to get closer but was nearly bitten.

Ragatha sprinted into the room, seeing the fight in front of her. She tried to separate them, but they were locked in combat. Jax kicking and punching, Pomni biting and scratching. And Caine was nowhere to be found. Luckily, with the help of others, Pomni was successfully pulled off of Jax. Kinger helped him up, making sure he was steady before letting go. Pomni wriggled around in Ragatha's arms. The only reason she hadn’t sprung back out was because Gangle and Zooble were helping hold her back. Eventually, Pomni went limp.

”Holy $@&! Pomni…” Zooble muttered.

”Are you okay?” Ragatha asked, checking Ponmi for injuries while holding her.

”I won’t be okay until that &@!€¥ gets what he deserves,” she growled. Gangle looked mildly concerned, looking between Jax and Pomni. Kinger was tending to Jax's wounds, observing his arms and face. Pomni glared at him, thinking of how she was going to make him cower, when she was snapped out of her thoughts of vengeance.

”Can we put you down now?” Zooble asked, looking concerned for one in her life. After a few seconds, Pomni nodded and Ragatha gingerly set her down. While Ragatha tended to her injuries, Pomni waited for the perfect time to strike. She watched Jax's every move, taking in every little movement. A faint growl rose in her throat. She watched him raise his arm, and knew it was her time to shine. Leaping into the air, she didn’t look back to see the shocked expressions of Ragatha, Zooble, and Gangle.

There was only one thought in her mind.

This is for you, Gangle!

Landing on him, her teeth- now fangs, latch onto his arm, and with a solid tug- and a sickening crunch, his arm is torn off. He screams in pain, kneeling to the ground, tears welling in his eyes. And Pomni just stands over him, his severed arm in her mouth. Everyone stares at her in terror. The fear only increases when she laughs hysterically. Her laughs echo through the room as everyone stares at her, horrified.

MEANWHILE…

“My, my Bubble! This is just a fabulous restaurant isn’t it?” asks Caine in his normal jaunty voice.

”It sure is boss!” Bubble responds happily.

”Why do I feel like something utterly terrible is happening while I’m away?” Caine suddenly asks, his voice taking on a deep monotone tone to it.

”I have no clue boss! Maybe someone is getting what they deserve!” Bubble suggests. 

“HAHA! I’m sure it no big deal!” he says, snapping back to normal, returning to his meal.

MEANWHILE MEANWHILE…

”YOU RIPPED MY ARM OFF!” Jax yells, stopping Pomnis's manic laughter. She looks down at him, her eyes wide.

”And? I’ll do it again. Maybe I’ll do it to you as many times as you’ve broken Gangles masks. Or- or, maybe I’ll do it for how many times you’ve teased me!” she breaks out into a fit of giggles. Jax looks at her, terrified, and clutching where his arm used to be. A single tear spills over, trailing down his cheek. Pomni, who is now holding his arm, throws it at him, as hard as she can.

Another tear falls from his eyes.

”I think you’ve proved your point Pomni,” Ragatha says cautiously. Zooble nods in agreement. They look back at Jax, who is holding his arm. It’s glitching out, spazzing in his grip. All the while, Pomni still has that wicked grin on her face. Kinger rushes over to Jax and tries to help him put his arm back on while Ragatha takes Pomni back to her room to calm her down. 

Hours later Caine finally comes back and sees the destruction that’s happned.

”My, what happened here?” He asks, looking at Jax, his arm glitching out beside him.

”Pomni went feral,” Kinger simply responds. Caine curiously looks at the damage and snaps his fingers and everything is back to normal. Jax rubs his newly attached arm and groans

”Let’s let her calm down!” Caine decides. Kinger nods. A little while later, Pomni and Ragatha come out for dinner. An awkward silence ensues. Everyone is avoiding eye contact with Jax and Pomni. The silence is eventually broken by Pomni.

”Sorry for ripping your arm off.”

”It’s fine.” After that, everything got a little less awkward. Everyone at least started talking. And Pomni has a satisfied smirk on her face, knowing Jax has learned his lesson.