#Caine thinks this is a silly little adventure and plays along

[kitten-kokomo]

This should be canon.

It isn’t. Yet.

But it should be

[selfshippinglover]

Cici friend! Tell me abt ur new guys 👀

HIIII COOOZYYY :DDD THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ASKIING AND IMISSED YOOOUIMMA GUESS UR REFRERING TO THE CIRCUS SILLIES YEAH?

Imma just list off random hcs about em cause not much is known anyways lol

Caine: (look at the silly <33)

~He reads as pan to me tbh

~They created all of the other npcs, the models that the humans take on, Bubble, the circus itself, and every creature that comes for their throats

~Is touch starved. Like yeah he and the moon had a thing but he's touchy with people on multiple occasions so I think he really wants anemone to hold his hand UvU

~Very lonely boyo. Created friends via the npcs, a pet/ second hand in Bubble, made the circus to inhabit, planned out adventures, figured out how to bring people to his pocket world, and lets them set the pace! Like, HE WANTS COMPANIONSHIP SO BAAAD TWT

~He loves compliments! Like, he took all his time and energy to create this world and everything around us like please tell him how good he is! He's unhinged but cares a lot and sets high standards for himself and his creations! (Also I didn't say it but that gives him blatant favoritism towards you automatically)

~Very theatrical! The guy lives like all the world's a stage fr and plays off everything as such! Always moving around, posing, and making every little thing he does a big thing that he puts all of his energy into! I find his passion really endearing <33

~Generally an artist and creative! Whether it's creating things in a Spore-esque sequence, choosing the color palettes and aesthetics for the world, or little things like placing objects in a room at jusst the right angle, he genuinely enjoys it :) Also he cares SO MUCH ABOUT COLORS AND CORRECTNESS LIKE DON'T DISTURB DURING THE CREATIVE PROCESS HE'S GONNA YELL DRAMATICALLY AND POOF YOU AWAY ABOUT IT SGJBSBJG

~Will do the pulling people out of scenes with the cane thing

~Man the bruises he could leave on a bitch with those chompers 🥴🥴🥴

~It would hurt to touch his eyes...but they feel squishy for SURE

Ragatha: (l-lesbean //// )

~YEAH SHE'S GAY FOR WOMEN FR

~She feels soft like a doll to the touch but with a kind of springiness to the texture. Especially her hair. Still is the softest of the gang though :)

~Very much a quietly pining in the background kinda gal but is also suuuper easy to make flushed so her crushes are pretttty obvioous(Jax teases her for it often)

~The person that adjusted best to the transition into the digital world since she's the most empathetic and readily accepting of what coping strategies do and don't work. It's not as if she's unaffected but she's adjusted rather well to deal with the situation and actively works to help others with it too :)

~Genuinely the nicest person in the circus gang. Looks to help others adjust to the experience, transitions them slowly and gently, offering support and guidance all the way through. If there's anyone here you can be sure to trust, it's her!

~But also helping others is a part of her coping with the world? Like, uses others stress to undermine and/or bury her own surrounding the situation. She tends to put others comfort over her own because of this. (Pomni basically left her to die and she accepted it so fast_

~When she does break down, it's mostly crying in her room. Not coming out for days. Eventually, she comes back out like nothing happened. Talks and plays along like usual but her footsteps steps are heavier. Or she's looking down at the ground when not distracted. spacing out if something makes her uncomfortable. The wear and tear comes out in the liddle things :(

~Really values anyone that takes time to get to know her, the things she likes, asks her how she's doing, invites her to adventures and the like since the group dynamic flips as well as the literal world around them are prone to flipping on a dime. The consistency really helps her feel more grounded :,)

~Isn't afraid to put Jax in his place but she also knows he's going to retaliate eventually so it really depends on the situation if she'll intervene or not.

Jax: (BASTARD)

~Bisexual that BASTARDIZES THE WHOLE COMMUNITY KDHAB

~ The fastest character in the entire show next to Caine. Though he's at his fastest when it's for a bit lol

~Doesn't actually straight up hate everyone but he's rejection sensitive and in a world where people just fuckin, turn into monsters?? Like, why get attached if that could just happen whenever. Also, why let others get attached to him since he could end up the same way? It's more like a damage control measure

~Same with his whole, "worst piece of shit ever thing" he's got going. He's definitely an asshole for the thrill of it but he does care about others! Watching his reactions to others(except Gangle atm) at slower speeds show more of a reaction and concern for them. He just snaps into hiding in at the drop of a hat

~Likes picking up random objects and either throwing them at others right away and/or saving them for later

~All his clothes are worn loosely cause he hates being restricted in movement. Makes him feel closed in :(

~Had a really bad breakdown when he first arrived. Isolated himself for awhile before deciding to adopt this more apathetic character to deal with everything

~Feels like a plastic stretchy toy texture wise

[geckolady]

Skulduggery Pleasant: Raising Cain - Chapter 1

Chapter 1 - Meeting the gang

Stephanie is eight years old

Stephanie ran into her Uncle Gordon’s arms for a hug.

“Oof,” he groaned. “You’re getting big Steph.”

“I’m just so awesome,” she said, backing up. “Need more space for it all.”

He laughed as he led her into the house, waving Melissa off. Uncle Gordon looked after Stephanie every weekend and most days after school, and had done since he broke his arm a year ago and found he enjoyed the routine. It was a joke in their family now that Gordon was a second father, especially since her real father, Desmond, passed away when she was little. They got on extremely well, so much so that Melissa couldn’t deny her only child time with the man even though she was unsure of his books and some of his friends. She loved Gordon as a brother, so after a few weeks of begging, she allowed it, even letting her have a week with Gordon while she went on a holiday to Spain with her friends – and Stephanie was happy for her Mum. She deserved time away to be happy. She worked extremely hard. Gordon told her so.

“What are we doing this weekend?” She asked.

“Oh, I have a few ideas. But remember I have to finish my book soon so I’ll have to work too,” he reminded her. That was okay, she had brought her homework and a book with her. For an eight year old, she was bright and unusually quick to answer back – though a lot of her humour went unappreciated by her family and teachers. It was probably also why she didn’t keep friends long, but with Gordon, she could embrace her full self and trade witty remarks without fear of being told off. He even let her swearonce.

They started the morning by taking a drive up to the supermarket and ran around the shop getting everything they wanted. That was followed by ice cream and they returned to Gordon’s house to eat lunch and put away the food. Gordon liked to get work done in the afternoons so they had evenings to have fun again. She was sent to her room to do homework, read or play. She wasn’t allowed to leave the room.

“This house is so big,” he’d say when she asked. “You’ll get lost, I’ll never find you and your mum will have my head.”

So, she never left. It was an amazing room to be fair, and she even had a computer and all the new games and toys she could ever want, and Gordon’s friends would bring little things for her walls and all imaginable surfaces. The newest thing, which she found as soon as she ran in, was sitting on her bed waiting for her. A tiny, tiny charm for her bracelet, made of some smooth stone, in the shape of a heart. She knew who this was from.

There were six of them, she was certain. She kept their things separated so she knew who got her what. She didn’t know their names though, so she gave them some herself.

This person always got her jewellery and pretty things that were every colour but pink. She called him Bear. It was rare to get something from him, but she always felt he really thought about what he got her.

Another person usually got her clothes, shoes, bags, little purses or little toys. Everything always had animals on it and she adored it all. He was called Panda because of her favourite toy, the only gift she had taken home from Gordon’s.

Crow always got her silly things like sticks, rubber bugs, random objects or books that she was confused by. He seemed a little strange, but it was always funny to her when she found his gifts.

Snakie got her pink everything, usually clothes, but they were always cool, like pink camo jackets, pink combat boots, a pink nerf gun with glittery bullets that exploded in gold when she shot them. Though they were pink, and she didn’t like to be a girly girl, she couldn’t help but embrace them with a big grin. She especially liked shooting Gordon with glitter bullets. Sometimes he’d put the nerf gun up high on a shelf so she couldn’t get to it, but she knew she could get it down by standing on the chest of drawers below.

Weasel got her food most of the time, though he did occasionally send her tickets to an event of some type which she went to with Gordon.

Lastly was Wolf, whose gifts she would always take to Gordon to explain and show off. They were always exotic and fun, sometimes an instrument, or a toy, or jewellery. It seemed random, but it was always different and intrigued her. Wolf had inspired her to learn dance, to her mother’s joy, and to find her talent in singing. She hated singing in front of people because they would immediately want her to sing. Still, she enjoyed it, and liked to sing songs with her Mum.

Stephanie did her homework quickly with the stone heart charm in her little fist, and when it was stuffed back into its folder, she attached the charm to her bracelet, putting it on. It was a perfect size and very pretty. Gordon said he’d get her a new bracelet one day, when she was older and bigger. They’d put the charms on that one so she’d get to keep wearing the gifts.

She played with the doll’s house for a while and tried to compete in a chess match against herself. She turned the board for every go but she found herself being biased towards one colour when they started winning. Quickly, she gave up on the others and set them up for death just so she could win. Looking around the crowded room of stuff, she wished she had someone to play with. So, she played her favourite game – imagining she was on an adventure with her friends, with Crow, Bear, Panda, Wolf, Weasel and Snake.

She wasn’t sure why, but soon into the game, she heard a noise from outside the room. It had been a sharp BANG. She went quiet and listened carefully.

Nothing.

If it had been another day, she would have kept playing her game. But Stephanie and her imaginary friends had been playing ‘saviours’, where Stephanie would valiantly save all her friends from certain death, and now she was certain that Gordon needed saving.

She opened the door very, very quietly.

“Gordon?” She whispered. Nothing. “Gordon?” She shouted. Nothing. “GOOORRRDOOOON!” She screamed. Nothing.

It was serious then.

Stephanie bit her lip and left the room, something she had never done in the afternoons before. She knew where the office was, which was where Gordon was, a floor above her. She snuck up the stairs and down the long hallway. She could see from a distance that his door was slightly open and light from the spring sun was filtering through into the hallway. There were murmurs of voices, but she wasn’t sure if they were Gordon’s.

She snuck closer, stepping around the noisy floorboards until she was beside the door. She held her breath and investigated the crack.

She could see Gordon’s desk and there were three chairs in front of it, each of them filled although she couldn’t see their faces. One of them was sitting in front of Gordon, blocking her uncle’s view of her.

“How was your time in India?” Gordon asked suddenly, she could tell he was changing the topic. “Find anything exciting? Any fun stories?”

One of the men snorted. “Nothing at all. I went for a month and I didn’t find a single mercenary matching their description. I just sort of wandered around.”

“You never were the best at finding people though,” another man with a velvety voice said. She’d heard that voice before but had never seen him. “You probably had drinks with them and didn’t realise.”

Gordon and the third man laughed. The first man looked at the second with a scowl and Stephanie got a look at his profile before he turned back to Gordon. He had dark blonde hair and a scruffy beard that wasn’t very long. “How is your book coming along? Am I going to be a hero?”

Suddenly, Stephanie realised Gordon’s new book was about herfriends. Because these men had to be her friends. She started to jig excitedly in place. She really, really wanted to meet them. Who would they be? What did they get her? What other stories did they have? What were their real names?

“It’s going well, thank you,” Gordon said. “And you hardly think I’m going to tell you that, do you?”

One of them barked a laugh. “You’d tell China.”

“Well, that's neither here nor there,” Gordon claimed. “Did you get that information from her by the way? You never said.”

“Yes, I cracked that case a long while ago,” the velvety voice said.

“We spoke about it this morning.”

“Really, the difference between a few hours and a few years is nothing.”

They all laughed at the man and Stephanie giggled accidently. They went quiet and she held her breath. She was going to be caught. Oh no, where could she hide? Think, think…

Gordon opened his study door and Stephanie shut her eyes, so she’d be more hidden. She heard his steps going up and down the hall, looking for her. “Stephanie, where are you? You’re not in trouble.”

Stephanie opened her eyes. Wasn’t she in trouble? She wasn’t sure she believed him, but he couldn’t go back on it now he said it.

Gordon was further up the hall where it split into different halls going to other places. She carefully crawled out from behind the counter-thing she’d squeezed into a moment before and tiptoed into the study.

There, three men looked at her. She grinned and ran behind the desk and sat in Gordon’s big leather chair.

“Good day,” she giggled.

They grinned back. One had his face covered with glasses, scarf and hat, another was the dark blonde man with stubble, and the last was a man with a lot of scars. Stephanie was a little shocked at his appearance but next to the man covering his face she could only assume he was getting off lightly and gave him a bigger smile. Her mum always said to be nice to people no matter what they looked like, and she didn’t want to seem rude.

“You’re my friends,” she whispered. “The ones who keep bringing me things.”

The one with scars laughed deeply. “Yes, I suppose we are.”

“You’re little Stephanie,” the dark blonde one grinned.

“Of course,” she rolled her eyes. She turned to the covered man. “Why are you hidden?”

“I’m sorry?” He questioned.

“Why are you hiding?”

“I’m not. I’m right here.”

“Your face,” she specified, giving him a look of attitude her mother wouldn’t like.

“Well, I have a hideous face,” he said.

“Oh. You’re the one who brings weird things, aren’t you? Why do you do that?” She questioned.

He tilted his head. “I do not. I bring things that will aid your development.”

She frowned at him. “Like plastic bugs?”

He hesitated. “Yes.”

She shook her head. “Who are you?” She asked the other two.

“My name is Ghastly,” the scared one said. “I’m a tailor.”

“I’m Dexter. I’m awesome.”

“So am I,” she grinned. “Do you bring all the different things from everywhere?”

“I suppose so. Do you like them?” He asked.

“I love them! I have everything in my room, you should come see!”

Gordon came into the office then. “Stephanie!”

He looked mad.

“Oh, sorry Uncle Gordon,” she apologised, trying to look sorry. “I forgot you were going to get lost.”

The others tried to smother their laughs.

“I didn’t know where you were. Why did you leave your room?” He asked in a kinder tone.

She shrugged. “You walked right past me, so I came and met my friends. I was going to show Mr Dexter my room. I haven’t even told them my nicknames for them!”

“What’s my nickname?” Wolf – Dexter – asked quickly.

“Wolf,” she grinned excitedly.

Dexter grinned but Gordon shook his head. “Come on, back to your room.”

“What?” She asked, really upset. “But I only just got to meet them! I want to play a game. I want to know where all those things came from, I want Panda to teach me how he makes stuff! I don’t know what being a tailor is yet!”

“No,” Gordon said, picking her up. She was about to start squirming but didn’t want to have a tantrum in front of her friends. That was just embarrassing. “I told you to stay put.”

“I heard a bang. I thought you were alone and hurt. I wanted to help.”

“You don’t have to worry about me,” he said. “Now say goodbye.”

She looked at her three friends with big, tear-filled eyes. When would she see them again? “I want a hug.”

She was let down and she hugged Crow first because he was nearest before hugging Panda in a tight grip, and finally Wolf. “Be good,” he told her, “and we can talk another day.”

She squeezed him tighter. “I’m not leaving He laughed and squeezed her tighter too and started a squeezing competition. “I’ll squish you!” She shouted. “No Gordon! I have to squeeze his butt off!”

Wolf roared in laughter and Gordon finally pried her away. “I love you,” she said, and she was forced from the room trying to see them again.

Gordon shut the door softly and took her back to her room. He sat on her bed and she looked at him from the middle of the room for a moment before sitting beside him.

“Are you upset?” She whispered. “I didn’t mean to upset you.”

He sighed. “It’s alright.” He looked at her with a smile, but she could see he was upset. “I was just worried when I couldn’t find you.”

Stephanie gave him a hug. “I love you.”

“I love you too Steph.”