Archive of Our Own

"Jax, please! I just got it fixed!" A shrill voice rang throughout the tent, cutting through overbearing circus music as heads turned to witness the usual teasing from Jax.

Porcilan glistened above the rabbit's head, arm stretched high and grin widening as he bent down to her level. "Then just have Caine fix it again." A whimper caused Jax to pause, just for a moment, before a heavy sigh forced its way past his pursed lips. Signature hand on hip, he stood to full height; eyes rolling so aggressively, Gangle almost wondered how they didn't get stuck. His gaze avoided the shrinking red ribbon, choosing to eye their spectators instead. "Jeez, you're always so melodramatic, ribbons." A sour chuckle, "So what if it breaks; you're going mope around here even if you wear it. I might as well put it to use to make myself happy, right? That's what it's supposed to be for anyway."

Gangle twisted the ends of her ribbons together, pulling apart and retangling as her eyes fell to the floor. "That isn't really what it..." Trailing off as anxiety and an unusual silence stretched across the red tent.

Although the music that played was a near-constant source of overstimulation and annoyance, it brought a sense of familiarity to the circus. Caine didn't even bother to turn it off for the reset cycle at night, making it extremely hard to sleep through the crashing cymbals; so the rare occasions he deemed important enough tended to leave the cast frazzled. The colorful group jittered impatiently, exchanging glances as wide eyes scanned the room for any cause to put their minds at ease. After what felt like ages, a quiet rumble began. Echoing as it morphed into a drum roll that sped faster and faster, the group promptly making their way to the main stage as whispers floated amongst them.

What would they look like? How did they get here? What about their interests?

It was always at least a bit exciting when someone new dropped in, a friend to ride out this digital hellscape with- at least for most. Even if it wasn't under the best of circumstances. Like being a fellow prisoner. 

Caine hated that description, and he made it extremely clear. Instead, he preferred terms like cast member, performer, or some play-on-words that doesn't quite make sense. As if those sound any better when you have no choice. The humans tried not to take it to heart. After all, he seemed just as trapped as they were.

"Ah !"

The drums fizzled out, blending in as ever-present circus music began to play once more. Bright, colorful pieces clattered across the stage. A pink triangle grunting as it bounced a few times before sliding to the edge, where red ribbon waited, a second strand reaching out for support. Gangle caught the unusual head with a little huff; it was a bit heavier than she had expected. Carefully, she turned the piece to face her direction. Not quite setting them down as she saw Ragatha hurrying to gather the other scattered pieces.

Lopsided eyes squinted; the harsh lights of the circus flooded their view as the smooth plastic of their fluttering eyes shone, eventually resorting to aggressively blinking to adjust. Two different attentas sat atop the head, one shaped like a 'Home For Sale' sign and the other an upside-down L with a green plaid pattern, bigger in size than the other. Gangle gave a small smile when their uneven eyes eventually returned her intense gaze, pupils blown almost impossibly wide. Attentas began to twitch, flicking as their eyes scanned the ribbon girl up and down. "What the  is happening?! What the hell? . - MOTHER !" The pink triangle shook as it yelled, a splash of red coloring their cheeks.

Gangle jumped slightly, scrambling to set the poor newbie's head onto the stage. Ragtha turned to look at the commotion, huffing lightly as she finally got two pieces to fit. "Oh dear, does anyone know where Caine is? He should already know and be here!" A groan almost forced its way out when she spotted Kinger, who insisted on 'helping' by accidentally undoing what little progress she made. Caine was always here until they needed him.

"Oh, how I enjoy a good puzzle! Don't you, Ragatha? A cup of hot cocoa and we could have a real fun day!" Without bothering for a response, the chess piece picked up the arm Ragatha had just sorted and pulled them apart. "Blue and orange are nothing alike." He murmurs, most likely to himself, searching the ground for a more suitable color match. A deep breath and nod was all the doll could muster under the stress, smile strained as she carefully took the pieces from Kinger.

"Great, a new disaster to hold us back on adventures. Have FUN with... whatever that is." Jax scoffed, finally dropping the mask as he walked off, seemingly uninterested even as his ear twitched aggressively.

Gangle ganced to where her mask now lay faced down. Swiping it off the floor, she brushed the non-existent dirt off, letting out a sigh of relief as she heard the click confirming her mask was secure. "Hello?!" The loud, gravelly voice grabbed her attention once more. "Someone tell me what the is going on here! Why am I here? Better yet, where the hell is here! How do I even get out? And what the is that stupid honking?!" Their voice boomed as the detached head began rocking with the effort of trying to look around once more.

Looking like a deer caught in headlights, Gangle slowly shuffled back over. "Well- uhm... those are all kinda hard to answer." She shifted uncomfortably under their insistent gaze. Silence stretched before finally deciding to heave herself up and sit on the edge. "I can give you the answers I know, but they aren't very good." Softly, her ribbons nudged the pink head, turning the other till eyes met. Their bug-like stare made her face so warm she might have thought she was sick if that was even a possibility here. "First off, I have no clue why or even how- I honestly don't fully understand it myself, but we are all in a computer program. A game of sorts, really. As for getting out of here," She paused as her gaze scrambled to find anything to look at other than them.

It hadn't been that long since the timid girl had gotten trapped herself. She was terrified when she had first crashed into the stage, her mask shattering on impact. Crying uncontrollably as she tripped over her new ribbon body in an attempt to run from the cartoonish avatars. Gangle's wails and pleas only intensified when told there was no chance of leaving. No chance to be saved. Now, to tell someone the same, it made her stomach churn.

Taking a deep breath, she swallowed her nerves. "It's not really something we can do... any of us. I heard most of the others have looked, usually right after they arrived, but as far as anyone knows. There's no exit." The wide eyes that had been boring into Gangle's soul dropped, shrinking as the new information processed. Ribbons twisted among themselves, tying into knots as she figeted.

A soft voice cut through the quickly growing tension, "We ah.. Your body is all put together and ready for use! If you'd like to come test it out? It can't be much fun hanging out on the floor like that." Ragatha wore a tight smile as she tried to reason with an argument that hadn't even been made.

"I guess so..." Their voice trailed off, sounding strangled as the words were forced out. Gangle offered an appreciative smile to the doll before carefully standing, her ribbons wrapped securely around the triangular head.

It took a bit of concentration; Gangle tried her best to keep the pink head stable. The purple neck piece was so thin and small that she had a hard time wrapping her ribbons around it. Finally, a click was heard, heat spreading down each limb as the odd sensation of the mismatched avatar fully loading overwhelmed them. "What the [FUCK]." Their eyes twisted into an uncomfortable squint as they finally took the chance to look at the rest of their cursed body.

Gangle was silent as she let her eyes sweep over and gather in the new sight before her. The pink head was connected to a long, squiggly, purple tube of sorts, which rested on a red, bean-like body littered with pink polka dots. Each section of their limbs was different, changing style and color at the joints. They looked hard to manage, no doubt, but god did it look pretty. On each shoulder, just above the arms, wings fluttered with the anxiety coursing through them. The colorful mash of parts had Gangle staring in awe, only to be snapped back by a certain red rigmaster popping into existence in the middle of the small group.

"Why hello, my Pickled Patunias! I got an alert on my wacky watch: we have a new member joining our circus! Where did they run off to?" Caine brought a hand to his top jaw, his eyes squinting to see as if he didn't most certainly have perfect vision. Ragatha gestured behind him, her plush hands wringing together. A quick spin and eyes locked, one with determination and the other fear clouded by anger. "Ah! Aren't you a funny-looking thing!"

"As if any of you look normal! Who even are you?"

"I, my dear, am Caine! The ringmaster and all-powerful overseer of this circus!" His voice climbed to a boom as he hovered higher above the group.

A plastic hand reached up, grasping the end of Caine's tail coat and pulling. Hard. He tumbled to the ground, a huff leaving him as he slammed onto the stage with a thud. "Are you the one who put me in here?! Get me the [HELL] out! You are sick! Trapping people here for a prank or whatever the this is!"

Quickly scrambling to float again as he brushed off the imaginary dust, Caine shot a glare toward the toy before quickly correcting back to his usually cheerful manner. "I had no hand in you getting trapped in here, nor can I help any of you escape. There is no exit to my knowledge, and this is MY circus. If I don't know about it, then it simply doesn't exist!" Caine explained, his eyes wandering as he spoke, before suddenly zipping back to bore into the new performer. "That aside! We have to give you a name!" With a snap, a huge machine fell from the sky, the impact causing everyone's avatars to jump slightly.

"Wait, what the ?" A pause and sigh before continuing, "What do you mean by 'give' me a name? I already have one. It's-- . It's... um- why can't I remember my own name!?" Hands flew to hold the triangular head. Their eyes frantically searched the ground as if it would tell them the answer.

"Perfectly normal, my dear! Expected even! That is what I made this for!" With a wave of his cane, the wheel began spinning. The six sections flying through letters for a moment before landing on, "DHXSLW! How about that?" A glare was shot at the ringmaster, who simply laughed it off and flicked his wrist to begin the wheel once more. "Sounds ridiculous! You are so right about that..." he trailed off, looking toward the now-slowed machine. "Kishue! Are you feeling that one?"

"No? No, I am not 'feeling' that one! I'm not 'feeling' any of this! I'm trapped in here, and I'm just supposed to pick a name and move on? Like hell I'm gonna do any of that!" Limbes straightened as they yelled, aggression clear as day, even to an AI like Caine.

Still, he didn't have another option in his programming but to keep them happy while in the circus. "Well, my dear, if you don't pick your name, how would we know what to call you?"

A deep huff, "Does it matter? Obviously, what I want isn't what you care about."

"You just tell me when you see one you like, then!" Completely disregarding the complaint, he turned fully to the machine, back now toward the newcomer. "Alright, speed round!"

AUUESB

CHUSVE

QIUSEY

WINNGE

ZOOBLE

"Zooble is a nice one." The timid voice of Gangle sounded, shrinking as eyes moved to settle on her. "I just mean..."

After a beat of silence, a heavy sigh came from the triangular toy. "Zooble is fine, I guess."

Caine shot up, a burst of confetti popping from somewhere behind him. "Amazing choice! A unique name for a very unique cast member! Well then, Zooble! Allow me to properly welcome you to my Amazing Digital Circus! Now that you have a name, we can-"

A hand shot up between the two, immediately stopping the ringmaster in his tracks. "There is no 'we'. I, by myself, need to be alone." Sinking to the floor once more, dramatic tears threatened to spill from over cainines. This earned a simple scoff from Zooble, arms crossing as they looked anywhere but him.

"Oh! I can show you to the rooms, the circus has probably made one for you by now!" Ragatha cheered as she stepped up, a hand pointing in the direction of the hall. "Gangle, would you like to join us?" Sweetly, the doll turned to look, a comforting smile on her face as Gangle nodded silently. Zooble's eyes lingered on the red ribbon girl for a moment before shrugging, mumbling as they began walking in the direction that had been pointed.

Gangle played with the frayed edges of her ribbons as the three walked, wincing whenever she'd pull a bad piece. Ragatha was rambling about their daily lives, explaining the few rules and their practically mandatory adventures. Although Zooble didn't seem very interested in what was being said. Instead, they seemed to be inspecting each piece that adorned their mismatched body. The wheel that replaced their left foot squeaked; tripping every few steps as their arms fanned out slightly in an attempt to keep themself stable. Zoobles' avatar almost seemed to be made into an inconvenience on purpose. Not that any of the others were convenient.

"There we are!" Ragatha's voice startled both out of their own thoughts, looking up to see a door with the usual character plaque. Their eyes rested in a bored expression, contrasting with the rest. The ecstatic smiles that were almost teasing when returning from a particularly harsh adventure lined the hallway. "And look. Your rooms are right next to each other! It should be nice to have a hallmate other than Kafmo. Not that he's a bad one- I just mean it's more exciting with a new person around!" Turning her head, Gangle spotted the haunting smile of her comedy mask. Nerves twisting in her stomach at the proximity.

Zooble twisted the knob, creaking as the door slowly swung open. The colorful walls were painted with abstract shapes, floating as stripes overlapped them. Mirrors hung along almost all the walls, with a few plants scattered in front of them. A massive bed sat in the plain middle of the room; the excess color splash of blankets and pillows falling off the overflowing spread. Relatively speaking? It was a lot more plain than Gangle would have guessed. "God ." Zooble gumbled, shuffling through the door, a quick pause before turning to address the two left outside. "Well, uh, thanks for showing me my room, I guess." Although they were speaking to both girls, their eyes rested solely on Gangle's. Their strict gaze caused the red ribbon to squirm, her own eyes dropping to the ground.

Before either could respond, mainly Ragatha, the door clicked shut, leaving the plush doll blinking in surprise at the forward rejection. After a moment of silence, a soft clap of fabric sounded. "Well, it's always a rough first day. They probably just need a little time to adjust; the circus is kind of crazy. I'm sure they'll come out when they want to! Right?" The doll smiled down at Gangle, who returned it, although more tight-lipped.

"Right," Gangle reassured the other, shuffling as the two began the walk back. Ragatha began to ramble once more, theorizing about the day's adventure. Gangle paid no mind as she glanced down toward the new door, letting her mind wander.

A frustrated sigh was quickly drowned out as a loud trumpet sounded, and a quiet thud. Gangle groaned as she lifted her heavy mask to look at the scribbled mess she had been trying to make into a portrait of Zooble. Usually, the openness of the tent area allowed the music to be just a bit quieter for her nighttime drawings, but the music seemed to be playing particularly loud- she couldn't concentrate with all the crashing. Every time Gangle was caught by surprise, which was most times, her pencil would break from the pressure or make a line that shouldn't be there. 

She stared at the sketch, tears feeling heavy as a frown tugged at her comedy mask. A loud thud prompted her to quickly shoot up, looking the room for what made the sound. Her question was quickly answered as a loud honk rang out, followed by some shuffling and grumbling. Quietly, she flipped to an old page with some doodles of some NPCs. The drawing was technically for Zooble, a present of sorts, since they are neighbors- Kaufmo never got one- but she couldn't show an unfinished product! Especially one this bad.

A few moments later, Zooble shifted around the corner, an arm hovering near the wall as she looked toward her feet; the quiet sound of Gangle moving her legs off the couch had her freezing. She looked up with wide eyes, her antenna twitching. "Oh. Hey." 

Gangle could feel her smile tugging again, the tears feeling weightless. "Um, hi. Was something wrong with your room?"

"What?"

"It's just, you came out here- so I thought maybe something was wrong in your room."

An amused huff, "Well, it's not what I would have chosen, but no, that's not why I'm out here. I was just gonna see what was around while everyone was asleep." An arm gestured to Gangle, who was tangling her leg ribbons as they spoke, "But I guess it'd be hard for anyone to sleep with this noise."

"Oh- yeah, that basically never stops, unfortunately. Sometimes I come out here to draw, but the music is too loud tonight." 

"Wow. That A.I. guy has some amazing ideas." Zooble scoffed, her eyes rolling slightly as she crossed her arms. 

Gangle raised a ribbon to her lips, as if that could hold back the laugh it brought forth. "He sure seems to think so!"

"I didn't think it was that funny." Her tone was laced with laughter, her hip jutting out as she rested her muscles; if you could call them that. 

Gangle didn't seem to catch the playfulness, though, her laughter quickly trailing off. "Oh, I'm sorry. I wasn't making fun of you or anything, I really did find it funny." Her quiet voice was just loud enough to be heard. 

"What? No- humor is subjective or something, right? I'm honestly just glad someone found it funny." 

"Oh, okay." Was all Gangle could force from her mouth, the embarrassment was hitting her like a truck, and she just wished this couch could swallow her whole. The silence that stretched between them only caused her to slowly shrink in on herself. 

Zooble's rough cough caught her attention, back uncurling to look up at the other. "Well, any places I should avoid on my self-tour? You know. Since his ideas are just sooo amazing."

A small, quiet settled between them once more, shorter this time as Gangle unwrapped herself completely. "I could tell you, this place is really big, though. So if you'd like, I could show you, maybe? Like a real tour and not a self one? If not, that's alright, of course I just thought- you know? I guess." 

Zooble looked up, her fingers coming to toy with the triangular chest piece. After a moment of thought, she nodded, gaze returning to the wide eyes watching her intently. "Yeah, just don't tell the others? I don't want them thinking I'm making friends." 

"Deal." A slight cheer was evident in her voice; her smile felt so wide, Gangle was sure it would break her porcelain. That was probably all in her head, though. "Well, you kinda know the room hall- but you'll probably remember where everyone is with time. Although Kinger usually sleeps in his pillow fort over by the stage, sometimes he'll wander to the carnival and use the Ferris Wheel."

"There's a carnival." Irritation edged her voice, taking a deep breath before sighing.

"Well... it is a circus? Honestly, I think Caine just put in his favorite things."

Zooble scoffed, hand coming up to massage her right wing, "Thought of everything but convenience, huh."

"That's basically Caine, yeah... Personally, though, I think the carnival is pretty fun- once you look past all the floating Caine heads and merch." Gangle shrugged, her hands front ribbons in a knot as she struggled to pry them apart. "I can show it to you now, actually. Oh, or the lake? It's not as fun and only has a slide, but it's more on the calm side, which might be better for you. There's not much else to see in this tent. All those doors change what's behind them, so most of us don't go looking anymore."

"As cool as Caine merch, sounds... I think that lake would be more relaxing."

Gangle nodded in agreement, tossing her notebook onto the couch as she hopped off the couch, her ribbons finally untangled. "Now is the perfect time, too. Moon is out! She is much nicer than Sun usually is-"

Zooble's eye twitched. "So creative. Sun. And. Moon."

Gangle stifled a giggle as the two began the slightly long walk to the sandy beach. The shuffle of their feet and the squeak of Zooble's wheel almost became louder as they traveled farther from the tent that rumbled with the base. The ribbon girl kept to herself, occasionally glancing toward the mismatched pieces before quickly looking back at the ground. This was the first time they had gotten quiet of some sort since this had all started. Gangle would make sure not to ruin it.

Zooble was practically silent, if it wasn't for that god-awful squeaking with the occasional huff followed by a deep breath when she would slip. She eventually brought her left arm to massage her right wing as it twitched like crazy, annoyance evident in her eyes. "I'm starting to think that Cable guy made everything inconvenient on purpose." A complaining huff left her as she tripped once more.

Gangle hummed lightly, looking off at the trees that lined the walk. "It definitely feels like that sometimes... I think maybe he's just confused. He's not like us."

"He blasts music during nighttime. And apparently that's normal. Not to mention the lights? It's dark out here, but not in the place we are expected to sleep?"

"He says it is for the ambiance and that the music helps him sleep, so it should help us? And he told us he is afraid of the dark since he can't see us properly."

"...That's such bull. He gave me a Mr. Potato Head rip-off as a body with no extra parts?"

"Um- I really don't know how he could have messed that up. As soon as you call him, though, or see him for tomorrow's adventure, I'm sure he could whip something up quickly. He loves requests!"

Zooble's eye twitched at the thought, "I am not asking him for . I'm not even going on that stupid adventure." The ground under her suddenly felt like it was gone- well, not gone, just melting. She stumbled forward, the awkward balance of her off-center body making it hard to stay straight. Her hands reached out, catching herself with a grunt as sand sank into the joints of each part. "That's great."

Gangle hurried forward, ribbon over her mouth as she looked down with a worried expression. Once she saw the other make a move to get up, she reached out a ribbon to help. "Are you alright? I should have warned you, the cement just drops off onto the beach."

Zooble looked at the suspended ribbon, nodding curtly before grasping it with a tight grip. She carefully stood once more, still finding the uneven ground hard to balance on in this new body. "Another inconvenience... But at least it's pretty." Her plastic hand uncurled, dropping the red ribbon as they both slowly made their way to the crashing waterfront.

"Oh my! It's quite late for you two to be out, especially as a newcomer. Have fun, you two!" The elegant, sultry voice of Moon beamed across the lake, shifting herself to shine a beautiful shimmer across the water's surface.

Gangle waved shyly, a light pink dusting her porcelain cheeks as Zooble looked up and gave a quick hand gesture of acknowledgment. "Well, ain't she pretty."

"She really is." Gangle giggled, whispering between the two as if it were a secret. "She has a huge crush on Caine; he's a little shy, though."

Zooble scoffed, a grin almost traced into her voice, "Of course he is. Well, so far she's my favorite character in this place-"

"Oh, very understandable! She was my favorite for a while." A squeal left the tangled red mess as cold water splashed closer, brushing over the ends of her ribbons and Zooble's toes. "It gets kinda cold at night..."

Before she could say anything else, the colorful limbs were already floating in the cold water, plastic glistening as water spashed from impact. "Better for me then. This avatar is hot as hell."

Gangle just quietly nodded in agreement, slowly making her own way into the water as a chill ran through her ribbons. She sat in the shallow area, the water soaking into her pieces felt heavy, dragging her ends to play with the sand below. Her eyes followed Zooble as she pulled off most of her parts, giving each a good soak in the cool water below. Her eyes rested shut, only bothering to open when she had trouble reconnecting a piece. Gangle wondered how she would look with the parts she'd pick.

"So. Is that all you guys do? The adventure thing. Like, he makes stuff up, and forces you to play along, and you do?" Zooble's usually rough voice was now soft, small, almost; eyes still shut tight as she stilled her movements.

Gangle swallowed the lump that quickly formed in her throat. She knew how pathetic it was to just accept it, but what other choice did she have? "I guess so? I mean, he likes holidays, I've been told- but I haven't been here long enough to see that. They're supposed to help us not go insane or something like that... It doesn't really help."

"Yeah, it doesn't really sound like it would."

Another stretch of silence, Gangle's ribbons feel heavier as she sinks into the sand a bit.

Zooble shuffles, moving to swim to shore as she speaks. "Is there literally any other way for me to get some parts for this thing? I really don't wanna talk to that guy."

Gangle picked at her frayed edges, "I don't think so... I could ask for you, maybe? I ask him for stuff kinda often, so I'm sure I can add that in."

"You are okay with him?"

"I mean-yeah? I can't really get anything to be remotely comfortable if I don't at least ask.. Plus, he's actually kinda sweet sometimes."

The triangular head shook with a scoff, "Seems real sweet..." A heavy sigh forced its way from Zooble. "I would actually really appreciate it if you could get some parts or something. I just- I don't really know what to think of him."

Gangle hummed in agreement, legs pulling up to her chest. "I honestly still don't know what to think of him. But I don't wanna see him mad if this is his hospitality."

Zooble shuddered, water dripping off her as she sat on the water bank next to the timid girl. "Still wouldn't call it hospitality, but you aren't wrong."

Gangle shivered as a cold wind swept through the area, waves crashing higher and soaking her ribbon body. She quickly stood up, shaking her limbs as water splashed. "It's kinda cold, huh?" She giggled, twisting her arms to wring them of the heavy water.

"Oh! Yeah, you can go inside or whatever. I don't wanna force you out here." Zooble gestured toward the tent, circus music still faintly playing when the silence was loud enough.

Gangle looked down at herself and toward the tent. "Will you be alright out here by yourself?"

Zooble chuckled, nodding softly, " I can make it back on my own, and based on what I've seen, there's not much danger."

"That is true- Okay, I think I will? It's just so cold out here!" She quickly wrapped her ribbons around herself as another strong wind passed. "If you need anything, Moon loves to help, so don't be shy to ask."

That earned another giggle as they looked between the moon and the red ribboned girl, "Got it. I won't be shy."

Gangle's smile widened, waving softly as water dripped from her figure. The weight was evident as she trudged toward the tent, even when out of the sand. Zooble watched as the little red dot disappeared, almost wishing she had something to forget and come back for. She lay back, water splashing around her sharp face as the waves enveloped her.