Chapter Text
Gangle hadn't been in the circus for too long, she was still adapting to her new mask and her new ribbon body, but it hadn't been too short of a time. She had gotten used to this place...somehow. It was just her body she wasn't used to, how could anyone get used to ribbons and a mask that constantly broke? Just break after break after break the moment she felt anything. She never felt so weak in her life, not even when she dropped out of college, not when she had worked in fast food and had to give up her dream to write a manga-inspired webcomic. Not ever. So maybe that was why it took her so long to adapt, that stupid f***ing mask was the problem.
She tried getting used to the people around her, Kinger, Ragatha, Kaufmo, and the AIs named Bubble and Caine. There was another one named Ribbit or something that was always around that purple jackrabbit she wish she could call jacka**, but she had abstracted shortly before she arrived. Oh, and that Jax, who was always making fun of her, she didn't even do anything, she was just..herself. Sure she was weak, gullible, and easy to make fun of. But she didn't deserve any of it. Heck, when she first got here Jax named her "Gangle" just for her appearance and the way she walked which was, well, gangly. It had even gotten worse when Ribbit's abstraction ever got brought up, but he had always been mean to her since she arrived, like she was some plaything he chose to bully more than the others, she could tell by the way the others talk about "the old Jax" he used to be a somewhat delightful digital avatar being.
Memories about when she first got here flooded her non-existant brain. She didn't even entirely remember how she got here, something about a headset or-or something. It was straight out of some kind of manga she'd read. Getting isekai'd into a digital universe, and if this were some romance she'd be saved by some attractive gir-guy from panicking and be told she was fine and she'd be fine with them, everything would be alright. But there was no guy or heck even girl there. No one to calm her fears. Well, there was that Ragatha, but she was so nice it felt fake. Like she did it to get into your trust and would stab you in the back last minute. There was no way anyone was that kind for no reason. It wasn't human-like and she knew Ragatha was human. No doubt.
Gangle walked into the lobby of the circus, no one was around her, thank goodness. The moment she sat down she tried to zone out and imagine some manga she read during her breaks in her shifts at the fast food restaurant she worked at called Shugo Chara!. She started just skimming through the plot she remembered before the screaming mouth that was Caine popped up and started screaming her ear off. She wouldn't say that though.
"Well well well! What is the Gangle doing here all alone? I can assure you although the adventures are over for the day, there is still so much to do in this digital wonderland! What can I give you so you can have more fun in this circus? You seem to always be doing nothing!"
"Uhh, maybe a sketchbook could work-?"
"A sketchbook! Coming right your way, Gangle!"
A red and blue sketch book, perfect! She did have two notebooks back when she was human, one for her usual drawings and the other for..well the other wasn't important. She looked up at Caine and smiled. Weird. For how much she hated AIs solely because generative AI that would be trying to create what they called art was in development, she weirdly grown fond of this AI, he was sentient and not generative, after all. Gangle could tell this one was genuinely interested in humans, or at least as genuine as a computer could be. To think she'd actually have these sketchbooks that she could actually do something made her happy. She grabbed the pencil from the bind keeping the red notebook together, she'd keep the red one with her and sketch in it. Her blue one..well let's just say she didn't want anyone to ever look through it. Especially not Jax, she we prefer anyone other than Jax to look through it. That would be the worst. She said thank you to Caine then he disappeared with a pop.
Eventually the others came by and started chilling around the lobby. Ragatha sat next to Gangle and they started chatting together about the previous adventure, some maze that they had to find the exit of. It was pretty but huge and well, they didn't exactly stay together in that maze. Jax was avoiding Kaufmo as Kaufmo was trying to talk to Jax, and Kinger was making some sort of fort. He had been going a little crazy lately, like he'd randomly start speaking nonsense and forget what was going on, then he became sane not too long after. She worried he was going to abstract soon. He had been there the longest second to Ragatha. But she remembered vaguely that the others talked about how Ribbit had been more of closed off and as what someone would call depressed. Gangle had her fair share of friends with depression and at some point felt it herself. So she had some sort of hope Kinger was just going looney from the digital world and wasn't going to abstract. That's all she could do, hope. Hope. That was all she had. That she might one day escape, and if she couldn't do that? At least make some friend. Someone she could talk to that would get here.
As if just the thought of it had summoned them. A new human had appeared. Right on the stage near the main lobby. She stood up and walked over, as followed the others. They seemed like they didn't realize what had happened. Their eyes blinking and adjusting to the area. They were facing the other way.
"What the h-BLOINK? What sort of game is this? Did someone leave their VR or something outside the shop?"
"Why do they look like that." Jax blurted.
The new person had turned around. They were some weird mixture of shapes, a yellow bean with orange dots sprinkled here and there for a body, some weird blue lightning strike for one leg and a pink lowercase t for the other leg, both feet being a paw but mismatched size and color, one of their arms being half a red squiggle and a green line and the other being a Christmas tree type pink limb. Their face was a pink acute triangle on its side, one yellow eye with a swirl bigger than the other a white eye with a purple half lid and eye lashes at the bottom. On their head a Y and a swirl. They looked like the body was fighting over what it was and just seemed like objects.
"Jax, that wasn't very nice!" Ragatha scolded
"Who the f-BANG said that? The h-CHINK? Why can't I swear? Who are you? What game is this? Why am I here?"
"Chill, shapes, the bunny Jax said that, AI named Caine censored us, you're in this virtual world where you're stuck in, can't leave, and probably put on a headset and got sucked in here. Any other questions, newbie?" Kaufmo explained and answered the new person's questions.
"What-"
"WOWIE ANOTHER MEMBER! We sure are getting more beautiful humans! I would wonder why? Anyway! Hello!"
Caine appeared behind Gangle and she screamed. Her mask breaking, overwhelmed from everything that had happened in the last few moments. The new person stepped back. Obviously confused and overwhelmed.
"What the…I'm trapped? I was just closing and found this headset on and…no I can't be stuck here. Thats not true. This is all some elaborate prank. One of you left this for some person to find and you all could laugh about how confused the victim is. I've dealt with kids like you before. I'm taking this off and taking the headset. Go f-POW yourselves."
They held up the finger and reached for where the headset would be. Just to pop out their yellow eye. They yelped and dropped it. So, removable parts? Gangle wondered what led that to be. Why would this person have that as their avatar? She had her mask for how fragile her emotions are and she assumed because of her masking her emotions. But why removable body parts? They kind of crouched and fumbled to grab their eye and pressed it back in.
"Holy sh-BAM…I'm actually trapped here. Oh my God. Oh my God.."
They stared down, their eyes wide. They had no mouth but if they did they probably would had it gaping. They stared at the people below them.
"This isn't a prank, is it."
"No, I'm sorry. I know how hard it is coming in here. I would know as I've been here the longest and seen all the entries. It's really hard to loose the life you once had and barely even remember it." Kinger said reassuringly, he was always good at comforting. Gangle had started to see him as a father like figure. The new one stared at what would be their hands but it was some abstract shapes that vaguely resembled and worked as hands. Gangle could see the processing.
"I can't..I don't..remember it. What's..but my life and. What about my dreams? All my plans? I wanna leave! I don't wanna be here! Not this stupid a-GOING colorful childlike place! This isn't where my life was gonna be spent!"
They were yelling now. Gangle stared, she was the second newest, maybe she could help? Caine had stepped back when the newbie started yelling and disappeared with a pop. Of course it did. He never did help with anything, and when he did try, he just messed things up.
"Hey, I know how it is. I had dreams too, to pursue art and start this webcomic. That's all gone now. But I have made friends here, and gotten to do stuff I could never do as a living person in the real world. Maybe you'll come to enjoy this place, too. You'll have some nice company! Well, mostly. If not...then I'm here! So maybe let's start with your name. What would you like to be called?"
There was no way they were gonna let Jax pick some dumb name for the new one.
Zooble. They decided to be called Zooble. Gangle and Zooble had talked, and Gangle explained things, walking them around and learning about each other. They both had found Zooble's room and talked, trying to learn about each other. Gangle managed to get that Zooble liked art but more so street art and tattoo art, Zooble also happened to go my any pronouns and was queer, but they didn't exactly know what they were in specific.
"I don't think I got your name. What is it, anyway? I've just been calling you ribbons in my head. But I do want to know you, maybe would should talk about you now"
"Oh! Well, I'm Gangle. I don't really have much about me, I like art, worked in fast food, love manga and anime. Not much to me, really. You're way more interesting than me!"
"No no, it's only because I'm bringing up all this so I know what I know and what I don't. I don't think I would know what I don't know, anyway. Ugh this is all f-BANG-ing with my mind, and the censor thing too. How do you deal with this?"
"I guess I got used to it. I've been here for a couple weeks or so, by now."
"Oh really? Well, I haven't met the others but I'm sure we'll make good friends, Gangle."
"Yeah..yeah! Same here, Zooble"