#goofy ah caine

[kendzytord]

POMNI WAKE UP TIME TO GO ON AN ADVENTURE

The original⬇️

Caine is really something.

[an-au-blog]

modern academic au where viktor just can't get his peace and quiet in the library. Because every time he tries to study, there's this damned himbo that trails him around asking him what he's researching with a big goofy smile. It's always "do you want me to carry your books" and "oh I haven't read that one yet, is it good," and so on and so forth. And in his mind, it's like "just because I'm using a cain doesn't mean I need your help, and yeah of course you haven't read it, you're probably in with some sports scholarship or whatever" but he never voices it. He's the headmaster's portage and he can't go around being rude to random people in the library. Plus, it's not like the other man stays too long, he goes to classes and secludes himself to study as well.

Around exam season, the man stopped hanging off his arm so much, they didn't cross paths in the library or in the halls, but once or twice, Viktor would see him with books about physics, electronics and other things Viktor had been researching before. He never approached him, but he was a bit amused at the seriousness in his expression while he was scribbling something in his notebooks.

If the man WAS on a sports scholarship, perhaps he was reading those books to find a way to talk to Viktor more and in all honesty, it would have been the most someone had done to get to flirt with him, so what if he thought it was a little sweet... it wasn't as if he would expect though. No. His studies were far too important to be put on the back burner for a guy who thought a bone crushing hug (that usually lasts too long for it to be just friendly) was an adequate way to greet an acquaintance.

One day, Viktor found a notebook with research that could be groundbreaking one day. It was past closing hours for the academy, but he had keys so he was left to read all the notes throughout the whole night and even into the day. The neat handwriting, the diagrams, the brilliant ideas... whoever this person was, he was flowing in potential. And when Viktor turned each page he couldn't help but smile to himself, how silly and a bit narcissistic, to sign your name on each of them. Jayce Talis, Jayce Talis, Jace Talis, Jayce Talis, each page, just Jayce Talis, Jayce-

"Hey!"

A familiar voice called for him. Out of breath and disheveled, stood the man who had been trailing him around.

"Oh, I'm so glad I found it- I mean you-" He sagged with relief. But when his eyes flickered from the notes to Viktor and back, he seemed to get a bit sheepish. "I thought I lost them." A whisper to himself before he snapped his eyes back to Viktor. "Ah, uh... you read all of them?"

And there he was, flirting with the same lame excuse, Viktor thought.

"Yes," he decided to humour him a bit. Closing the book and pulling it away from the other. "I was hoping to return it to it's owner, maybe discuss some of the ideas in it."

The man didn't seem to take the hint as he sat across from him with a small smile. "Yeah? So you don't think it's an obnoxious or ridiculous idea?"

"Ridiculous? Perhaps a bit, but it is not obnoxious to want natural resources of this quantity to produce -" He stopped himself, this random guy didn't need to hear it. "Nevermind, you don't need to hear that." Viktor was ready to stand up until he felt a hand reach for his to make him stay.

"No, no! I really want to hear it! Every professor I've tried showing my research to has told me I'm being unrealistic. But I think that with enough time, and effort, it's possible!" His face was glowing. "I mean as far as energy sources go, this could save much for both the people and companies. See- " grabbed one of the notebooks and started flipping through it, "right here, I tried to make a model of-"

"Jayce?" Viktor asked in disbelief.

The other man looked up at him with that dumb smile again. "Yes?"

"Jayce Talis...?"

Jayce tilted his head in question. "Yes?" He asked with more hesitance.

"You are Jayce Talis?" Viktor lifted up the notebook, pointing at the place where the name was signed.

"Did I not introduce myself the first time we met?"

"No!"

Jayce laughed a little awkward chuckle and it made Viktor's chest constrict. With anger, probably...

"Well, I'm sorry, um. My name is Jayce." He reached his hand out for a shake. "Nice to meet you."

"Viktor." He took it. "Likewise." And he found himself meaning it.

[mistkisbiggestfan]

TADC + Pomni, romantic / Jester! Fem! Reader

Pomni (romantic), TADC (platonic) / Jester! Reader HC

A/n: Back on the grind we go!! REQUESTS FOR TADC ARE OPEN!!

Summary: You're stuck in the digital circus with a jester as your avatar like Pomni, but you're and actual circus performer. Words: 2174 Rquest: Nope!

You were in the digital circus before her, before Kaufmo’s abstraction you and him were like a circus duo. Unlike others you two actually fitted the “circus” atmosphere, he told jokes and you performed tricks. 

You were one of the people who were stuck the longest, being in the circus longer than Ragatha, maybe a bit less than Kinger. 

You still remember Queener, after her abstraction, and before Kinger’s descent into total madness he told you at least one time per day.: “I miss my wife Y/N. I miss her a lot.” And then he proceeded to shriek suddenly at your sight, you knew he was really losing it.

But oh well! Not like you were the most mentally there either.

Yet you and Kinger talked a lot, surprising? Maybe. You two really fit with each other as he was the king and you – the jester. When Queener was still around you were always third wheeling on their dates (They didn’t have the heart to tell you to go away for even a second).

And so people came and went, then came Kaufmo, and you two became like a silly duo!

– Guys wanna hear a joke? – Kaufmo said as he turned around the corner, meeting you, Ragatha and Gangle in the “living room”, if you can even call it that. You were just juggling some rings, as you caught them you gave him a nod, just as Ragatha spoke up. – What is it Kaufmo? – All right. – He cleared his throat – When does a joke become a dad joke? – He looked at everyone in the room, none, except for you, looked excited. Ragatha sighed. – …When?  – When it leaves you and never comes back! – He giggled. Ragatha’s face turned into a surprised and concerned frown, as Gangle laughed awkwardly, meanwhile, in the back you were wheezing, trying to catch your breath. Laughing so hard to the point that the trio before you became actually concerned. You started to hyperventilate, not able to catch your breath, falling and laughing on the ground. Ragatha’s face changed again, she wasn’t sure if you were laughing or having a very concerning panic attack. After your small episode you wiped the nonexistent tear out of your eye and straightened your back, sighing you spoke up. – Ah, good one Kaufmo!!

They all looked at you like you were a lunatic and you were like “:D !!”. And after that you just started doing a juggling trick again, like nothing happened. 

From then on Gangle became a bit scared because of you. 

And then Jax came around, it really pissed you off when he pulled mean pranks on others. He always sabotaged your stage tricks, one time even going so far that he cut your rope a bit, just as you walked onto it, high in the air, it snapped. Leaving you to fall to the ground with a loud, clowny thud. He laughed as Ragatha helped you up.

Just as Jax composed himself from laughing, he saw you just, staring at him, no thoughts behind your eyes. Just a numb, lifeless stare. It came to the point that he was clearly uncomfortable. And as the tension rose, you finally broke it by laughing the prank off. “Oh, you got me there! ^^” 

And again, you walked off and started to do another one of your tricks. 

Ragatha knew you weren’t stable, yet you were always so cheery and never have you come to her, asking to vent. She was always confused by you, at one point thinking you were an AI just like Caine, or something like Bubble (Seriously wtf is Bubble?), but you were just like them – human stuck in the digital world.

You were always so silly, unhuman, and worse of it all, weirdly tall. She always associated jesters with short and slightly goofy people. You were quite unsettling to her, so weirdly unhuman in this, more than others. 

Just imagine how confused she was when you were the one to comfort her when she just couldn’t take it anymore.

Ragatha sat there, away from her room. Just as she was about to open her door, she heard Jax laughing loudly behind her, she froze. – Oh what’s wrong, dollface? – Jax what did you do this time? – She asked, hoping her anger wasn’t visible, she felt it bubbling inside of her. All the poor ragdoll heard was another laugh, this time louder, seeing Ragatha upset made the purple rabbit quite happy, feeling he succeeded in his “prank”. She sighed angrily, turning around as she put weight on the knob, scared to see what’s inside, and as the doors opened, she saw a hellish amount of centipedes crawling around, slithering away from the opened entry, she shrieked and ran away crying. Hearing Jax’s laugh echo through the digital halls. Somehow, you have heard Ragatha running down the hall, and you decided to see what happened. Walking slowly and proudly, you pondered – where is that doll? Your boots squeaked and the bells on your outfit jingled. The harmony of your steps was ended by hiccups coming from someone a short distance away, slowly, you walked forward. She was there – Ragatha. Hiding her face in her knees, leaning over her, you realized she didn’t need any of your tricks or jokes right now, so you sat beside her, bells jingling. She froze again, sniffling she looked to her right, at you. Looking back you opened your arms, gesturing towards a hug, although hesitant, she took up your offer and hugged you. Trying to calm her down you just let her be, calmly waiting for her to settle down.  Minutes passed by, you didn’t mind, but the red–haired doll was shocked. You were always a lunatic in her eyes, it wasn’t even meant to be mean, you were just like that. From that day forward Ragatha has seen you for more than just another crazed maniac, but on the other hand, how could one stay sane in this digital hell?

Even the pillar of the group, the friend who always helped everyone, had to be comforted sometimes, but you never seemed to need this. Ragatha and others (except Jax) asked you if you wanted to talk on many occasions but you declined over and over again. 

Caine always liked you the most – you were the only person who actually went along with being a circus performer, he helped you set up many different sets for your tricks. 

When Ragatha couldn’t help someone she sent them to you, and to their surprise you always knew what to say, it seemed like you had this amazing ability to comfort a person just for a second before going back to being a silly jester. 

And then, after some time, Pomni came around. 

You all were doing the intro, and as the voice called your name you performed one of your gags and bowed before the voice went away to someone else. 

But suddenly, you saw a really short person appear in the main room, as everybody gathered around you saw the person wearing a jester’s outfit, just like you. Only thing was, the person was much smaller than you, had puffy shorts and a funny hat with bells opposing your long galligaskins, and a pointy collar with bells worn by fools.

The day Pomni joined the circus changed you – Kaufmo, your best friend, abstracted. And Ragatha finally saw some kind of struggle coming from you, your made up image changing.

At first, you felt like Pomni was there to replace Kaufmo, I mean, someone to forcefully make up for the lack of your circusy duo. 

But you just couldn’t hold that against that poor girl, she was scared, confused and on the thin line of abstracting herself. So, seeing that you’re the one most similar to her – avatar wise – she really started to stick to you. 

And so you carried on, comforting Pomni all the time, and after she got the info you were here (almost) for the longest? Bro she’s always with you. 

She’s seen you talking with Kinger that one time and was very much confused (like everyone tbh), how the hell do you seem to be able to hold a conversation with him? That was until he shrieked in absolute terror and jumped back to his pillow fort as you sighed and walked off.

After one particularly bad prank of Jax’s that made Ragatha and Pomni feel like $h!%, you literally jumped his @$$, and after that, when Caine separated you were like: “Sorry felt a tad bit silly. Wacky even :3” 

Pomni is always holding onto you in some kind of way, or just standing really close, and wherever you go, she follows.

Soon, she became comfortable with you (even with your unsettling nature) to be really close with you, sometimes you find her at your room’s door in the middle of the night because she couldn’t sleep, not like you need it anyway but it's nice to pretend, right?

During one of those nights, as you rubbed circles into her back to calm her down, you realized she had fallen asleep due to exhaustion, and so you let her stay.

Just before you drifted off to sleep too, you heard a weird noise, looking down on the smaller jester in your arms you discovered it was Pomni who was making the noise – Purring, she was fr purring. (I love this HC, saw it on Ao3 and since then it lives rent free in my head)

Gangle found you the next day, both of you sleeping through the days “opening” always done by Caine, she checked up on you afraid of finding you abstracted instead she saw you two cuddling, Pomni lying peacefully on your chest as you held her close,Gangle squealed, she’s shipping you two ever since.

Of course somehow Jax popped out of nowhere behind Gangle and was just about to roughly wake you two up before being stopped by Ragatha.

You sat in your room, trying to perfect your new trick – juggling with knives. Your room was rather quiet, you asked Caine to make it so years ago, saying it helped you concentrate. And so the AI agreed, knowing he was keen on you, you didn’t really expect any negative reaction to your request. It was already past curfew of the amazing digital circus, the lights in the halls went out and everyone walked back to their rooms. Luckily for you, the digital walls, not actually made of anything else than lines of ones and zeros, were thick and didn’t let any sound in or out, because of that you almost missed the light knocking coming through your door, curiously you walked over, leaving your juggling equipment away.  Opening the door you saw no one else other than – Pomni? What was she doing here? – You thought to yourself, you smiled with your typical, funky grin. The smaller jester looked anxious, looking everywhere else than you. – Pomni! What’s up? Why aren’t you in your room? You asked, leaning on the doorway. She looked up, but just for a second before speaking very quietly. – It was loud… I couldn’t sleep. – You gave her a sympathetic look, you remember the loud soundtrack that was blaring in your room when you first came around, getting out of the way as you walked into your room. – Come in, Pom.  She did, blushing slightly at the nickname and closing the door behind her, you sat on your bed before gesturing for her to sit down. – Is there any other reason you’re here? – You said, suggesting for her to go on. Feeling the atmosphere shift, her breath quickened, and she started to hyperventilate. That alarmed you a lot, moving closer you sat just far enough for her to stay in her comfort zone.  – Hey, hey… It’s okay, I’m here. – She looked at you as you opened up your arms, mentioning for her to hug you if she wants. To be honest you weren’t convinced she would take up the offer but to your slight shock – she did. You started to rub circles on her back as she cried into your shoulder. You didn’t question her, everybody had a different coping mechanism when they first got here, if she needed it, you were to provide. Soon, you felt her tense and shaken body relax, the poor jester fell asleep in your lap, succumbing to the exhaustion. You yawned, and slowly turned to lay on the bed, taking her into your embrace, at that, she just nuzzled into your chest, bells on your collar and her hat jiggling lightly, during that time, you heard a low and muffled sound, it was… purring? Confused you looked down, yes, the noise was definitely made by Pomni, you guess it was one of the weird wonders of the digital world. You laughed softly at the cute jester in your arms before going to sleep yourself. 

[the-s1lly-corner]

Hii! Idk if you've ever done something similar, but what do you think about TADC x Skater! Reader? Like, Reader always have their skates on, like it's a part of their digital costume or smth. And i really mean ALWAYS. Someone spilled water on the floor? Reader slips down. They go on an adventure and a part of the floor is inclined? (Like a hill for example) There goes reader down the hill. I think it would be pretty funny lol

Btw, i really love your page, keep it up and don't overwork yourself

TADC cast x rollerskater!reader

Anon I am so so so sorry !! I dont know if I personally got jumbled up or my inbox has been wonky silly goofy or I just got thrown off because of so many people sending stuff in, but I also missed this as well as some other requests 😭😭

This one may be a little short since I've never skated <\3

Written this as more platonic leaning !

CAINE:

Probably poofs himself his own rollerskates, literally the only time you see him on the ground and it's so weird to look at. You guys both slip and fall because bubble wiped themselves across the floor or something

Obviously leads to bubble getting popped

Honestly seeing caine struggle to keep steady while using the rollerskates is... very funny.. look at his lil legs wobble (tell anyone and he will tilt the ground of the next IHA)

POMNI:

Honestly she would probably slip on the floor too if its wet or has marbles. She looks like she would comically fall over, with her legs flinging straight up into the air before plopping down

Looks at you confused as you visibly try to calculate how fast this one little slope will make you go, she probably forgets you have skater feet in the beginning

Subconsciously tries to grab and stop you when you start rolling, but because shes so small you just drag her with you

Theres that squeaky noise as shes being dragged across the floor

Yk the sound

JAX:

Throws marbles on the floor as well as other things that can make you stumble or slip... probably soaps up the floor.. thank god hes just a circus rmemeber and not like, a ringmaster... this dude would tolt the floor in so many different angles just to fuck with you... thankfully, he cant do that!

Though in another timeline... perhaps you werent so lucky...

Not much to be said here, with the bit with zooble in the pilot (the arm thing), jax is more than ready to use peoples unique digital qualities to please him or mess with them, and you being his friend only makes you slightly less likely to be messed with

RAGATHA:

Keeps a hand on your shoulder when she notices the floor is tilted, tends to walk with you while holding your shoulder still. She can only imagine what it's like to be s victim of slopes.. it would drive her nuts.. as long as shes around shes going to do her damndest to make sure you dont roll away or slip... unless jax literally throws marbles in front of you two at the very last second because who can predict that..?

In any case where theres an IHA with a DEEP slope I think she just might resort to carrying you so you dont go FLYING down

ZOOBLE:

Okay you guys might not have the same issues but they can relate to you in the jax department, with him using your qualities to his advantage. Its absolute hell.. I think it would be this shared thing that leads to you guys building a relationship in the first place

That one meme where it's two people at the bar and they overhear each other saying "I hate (x)" then they start making out

Thats you guys ranting about the bunny/j

Offered you some parts before realizing that you cant swap out your limbs like they can

"Ah, bummer"

KINGER:

Has probably asked you why you dont just take them off when you vent to him about jax putting marbles on the floor. Kind of sounds like when people say shit such as "oh you're depressed? Just cheer up!" But like, kinger says it in a genuinely.. not malicious or tone deaf way.. like I dontt think he knows, or perhaps he thinks you're like zooble with detachable limbs and you have another pair of feet hanging around somewhere

Gives a soft "oh.. " when you demonstrate that they are attatched to you

Offers to let you strap pillows to yourself to soften any blows when you fall, let's you have his softest and thickest pillows... what do you mean it throws off your balance...?

GANGLE:

You have probably accidentally rammed into her after misjudging how steep a hill on the ground was

Good news! She stopped your momentum!

Bad news, shes all tangled up in your skates (owie!) And her comedy mask is broken (oh no!)

Please be careful getting her out. We don't want her ribbons to tear or get damaged, we cant have our girl start fraying!

[goodsgraces]

accomplished my goal of getting down to single digit drafts which means i get to post a starter / plotting call . . . like this and i'll dm you for your preference ! horror plots are listed below but anything in my wishlist tag is an option .

muses i want to write ( can be put in a horror plot or in a slice of life ! ) :

jesse erickson . harris dickinson . tattoo artist . he / they .

rowan verlice . grace van patten . politician's daughter . she / her .

zane kumari. . josh heuston . science student + lifeguard . he / him .

charli xu jett . chase sui wonders . club dj . she / they .

beau kinsey . kyle gallner . mechanic . he / him .

cassandra vega . rachel zegler . church pianist + caretaker . she / her .

juniper lindfield . odessa a'zion . thrift shop clerk . they / them .

horror / supernatural concepts :

vampire x human familiar . . . can be a one - sided crush on the human's end , a mutual unspoken thing or they could be in a transactional relationship .

vampire x vampire . . . can go a variety of ways but i'm picturing something similar to gaga x her boyfriend in ahs hotel . a very sexy and VERY smart duo .

jennifer's body - esque plot . . . but needy helps jennifer find boys to eat and cleans up her messes and they're madly in love with each other . can be canon or ocs .

bones and all - esque plot . . . two c*nnibals on the road together who are literal partners in crime . likely started as total strangers and we can start there or plot something more established .

midnight mass - esque plot . . . residents of a small town start to notice the town begin to change after a newcomer comes to town . tragedy ensues . can be the preacher like the show or can be a new resident !

shaun of the dead / zombieland . . . i'm not big on the walking dead but i do love zombies ! this would be more of a silly , goofy take on it and we can come up with extra lore together after using the movie(s) as a base .

buzzfeed unsolved / paranormal influencers . . . two paranormal influencers who run a successful youtube channel together . can be kept light or we can also venture into blair witch territory .

jeeper's creepers - esque plot . . . two people who saw something bizarre while driving and are being hunted by a terrifying creature that managed to catch their scent .

pick a song from preacher's daughter by ethel cain .

[gravitycavity]

Sunshine (Pomni x Ragatha) - Chapter 3: Helpless

Cover art by @blukiar

[Click here to read from the beginning on AO3!]

The forest was as dismal as it was dark.

“H-Hello…?” Pomni let out a feeble whine, wrapping herself in a tight hug. She squirmed at every little sound — creatures skittering through the underbrush, leaves rustling in the howling wind, a distant choir of wolves serenading the sky. “Ragatha? A-Are you there? You’re supposed to be my partner, right?”

A bead of cold sweat raced down the length of her face. Was she alone? Please God, don’t let that be true. Please be there. Please say something. Please—

“There you are!”

Pomni flinched at the sudden voice.

“Wait right there, okay, new stuff?” the voice spoke again — friendly, familiar, and soothing in timbre. “I’ll come to you! Don’t move a muscle!”

Pomni had a lot of strengths — she was observant, organized, and a whiz at math, but she never was very good at following directions. Immediately, she ducked her head forward, charging toward the voice as fast as her feet would carry her.

Something felt off the moment she started moving. Her whole body felt twice as heavy, and the sound of clanging metal rattled her ears with every struggling step.

Her path cut through a shallow puddle; scummy, stagnant water splattered the ground as Pomni shoved her hands close to her face. She squinted. A pair of leather gauntlets existed where those stupid rubberhose gloves had been before.

What in the world was that about? Had Caine put her in an even wackier getup to humiliate her even further?

Still sprinting, Pomni shot a glance toward her torso. An ornate sword was hitched to the belt around her waist — but that’s about all she could make out before she crashed into Ragatha at full running speed, sending the patchwork doll tumbling to the ground.

“Ack! Ragatha! I, uh—” Pomni glanced around the dark woods, not quite sure what to do. In a moment of clarity, of course, it dawned on her that it would probably be polite to help her colleague up. Trying her hardest to not make the situation even more awkward, she looked away as she offered her hand.

Ragatha grabbed hold, and Pomni helped the doll back to her feet. “Oh my gosh, Ragatha, I-I-I’m sorry!” Pomni stammered, taking a deep breath, “I know you told me to stay put, but I—”

“Hey, hey. Don’t sweat it.” Ragatha gave Pomni’s fingers a light squeeze before finally letting go. She dusted off her mud-splattered dress to absolutely no effect. “We’re both safe. That’s all that matters.”

“You’re not hurt, are you?”

“Fit as a fiddle.” Ragatha smiled. “I can’t say the same for my costume, though…”

“Your…costume?” Pomni shuffled slightly closer, eyes not quite adjusted to the dark yet. Ragatha’s typical patchy dress was nowhere to be seen, replaced by something one might expect a goodhearted queen to wear in a medieval fantasy story. A small tiara crowned her head where her bow had sat before. Her short sleeves were twice as poofy, and her silky skirt, now a more royal shade of purple, flowed all the way down to her ankles.

Something deep inside of Pomni fluttered to life. Ragatha’s new look was…different. The redhead had always been pretty easy on the eyes, but now? Pomni found it hard to look away. Ragatha’s coordinated outfit contrasted perfectly with the elegant asymmetry of her face, and—

“My eyes are up here, Pomni.”

Pomni yelped. “Ah! Sorry, I didn’t mean to—” she shook her head, “I wasn’t—”

“Oh, stop it. I’m just kidding around!” Ragatha elbowed Pomni. Pomni barely budged. “Don’t get your pantaloons all in a twist.”

Pomni blinked rapidly. Her what?! Her fingers spread across her breastbone as she studied herself — she’d been so fixated on Ragatha that she'd totally forgotten about her own new threads.

The existing puffiness of her goofy jester’s outfit had been turned up to eleven — puffy sleeves, puffy pants, puffy everything. A pair of oversized boots protected her feet. Her collar was larger and frillier along the edges, covering part of the loose tunic draped over her body.

“I’m a…” her chin dipped toward her body, “…Caine turned me into a musketeer?!”

“With the feathered hat and everything! How delightfully dashing!” Ragatha covered her giggle with her hands, absolutely eating up Pomni’s shrinking stance. “Gosh, the only thing you’re missing is the pencil mustache. If only we had some grease paint…”

“Yeah, yeah. Yuck it up, why don’t you?” Pomni scrunched up her face to be as intimidating as possible — which wasn’t very much, considering she was also blushing — and drew her rapier from its scabbard. “I’m the one with the sword!”

“Please. You wouldn’t hurt a fly.” Ragatha booped Pomni’s nose. “And besides, sweetheart, I’m two heads taller than you. I could take you down with one arm tied behind my back, sword or not.”

The shy smile that had been tugging on Pomni’s mouth did more than break through — it bloomed into a tiny little chuckle. “Whatever.” She pushed Ragatha’s hand away and glanced at the path up ahead. “Aren’t we supposed to be doing something?”

🎪 🎪 🎪

Pomni planted another shaky step upon the uneven terrain. She didn’t pay mind to the crunching of leaves and snapping of twigs beneath her feet — the constant sound had long ago faded into the background.

Pale moonlight filtered through the canopy, illuminating the processions of twisted trees flanking either side of the winding path. The ancient timber swayed to and fro with the rhythm of the breeze, wailing a neverending requiem of haunting creaks and miserable moans. Intricate nets of spider silk stretched between each pair of knotted branches.

Pomni exhaled. Her knuckles, sore from clutching onto Ragatha’s skirt for so long, pulsed with nagging pain. Her aching legs begged for mercy, and her feet didn’t fare any better. Her annoyingly over-padded costume, though offering her thermal protection from the chilling wind, greatly restricted her range of motion. And it chafed like hell.

The young woman had every right to be absolutely miserable — yet at some point since she and Ragatha had set out together, a warm feeling had snuck its way into her chest, and hadn’t faded since.

The sensation wasn’t unwelcome — just odd, considering her horrifying predicament. Where had it come from? Was it the chance to finally stretch her legs after so many sedentary days? The simulated scent of earthy woodland air? Perhaps Pomni’s near-abstraction had scared her straight, and her subconscious was just clinging to Caine’s adventure to keep itself sane.

Pomni sighed, rubbing Ragatha’s medieval dress with her thumb. Discerning exactly what enchanted her wasn't worth the worry. For once, she wasn’t holding back tears, screams, or the urge to break something — and she would bask in that glow for as long as it would shine on her.

Swinging her other arm, Pomni glanced up to greet her pretty partner’s silhouette, and—

Oh, for #@%&’s sake.

“Hello? Earth to Pomni?” Ragatha was staring right at her. “Anyone home…?”

Pomni’s guts — or whatever it was she had stuffed in there — tied themselves into knots. Zoning-out mid-conversation was a forgivable mistake. Doing so two or three times in one day was embarrassing, but laughable after the fact. But four? Pomni was suddenly overcome with the distinct urge to plunge her head into the nearest hole in the ground.

“Ah! I’m sorry! I was listening! I was just, uh, thinking of what to say—”

“Humor me.” Ragatha palmed her shrimpy companion’s shoulder. “Before you ended up here, did you ever do any acting? School plays, community theater — that sort of thing?”

“N-No…?”

“Yeah. I can tell.”

Pomni’s eyes widened, but narrowed twice as quickly. “You—” she grumbled. She was already boiling to death in this stupid musketeer getup — she didn’t need Ragatha’s help to look any more like a bright red lobster. “Just repeat your question!”

“I said…” Ragatha practically sang, sticking her arm out to halt Pomni’s stride. She pointed her head down the path. “This looks like a nice place to sit down for a bit. What do you think?”

Pomni followed Ragatha’s gaze. Up ahead, the narrow tunnel of trees flaking the path eased away to form a sizable clearing. A colorful community of wildflowers, fed by a trickling stream, punctuated the carpet of grass that covered the flat expanse. Lichen bloomed upon half-decayed logs scattered randomly throughout. In the very center loomed a single, old-looking redwood; a thick beard of moss wound around its impressive trunk.

Pomni thought she was eager to return to the relative ‘safety’ of the tent (whatever that meant) but the serene sight — and the idea of sharing a moment of pause there with her adventure partner — made her reconsider. Caine’s adventure didn’t have a time limit, so it wouldn’t hurt to take it easy for a moment, would it? Besides, Pomni’s feet were absolutely killing her.

“Well…?” Ragatha looked at Pomni, “You’re allowed to say no.”

“No, it’s not that.” Pomni wore a whimsical smile — she sure had been doing that a lot lately. “I was just thinking. That sounds nice.”

🎪 🎪 🎪

“Okay. Your turn.” Ragatha prodded Pomni’s shoulder with a playful poke, “I’m talking way too much.”

“Oh! Um…” Pomni brushed her hand across the fallen log on which she and Ragatha sat. “That’s okay. I don’t mind just listening.”

“You misunderstand. I insist. It’s hard work filling up every little lull in conversation, you know.”

“Sorry.” Pomni kicked her feet with a sigh. She wasn’t exactly an introvert, but no matter how hard she tried, socializing just wasn’t her strong suit. “I guess I just don’t have anything interesting to say.”

“Just talk about whatever’s on your mind. I like hearing your thoughts.”

Pomni eased a bit at that. After a moment of hesitation, she nodded.

“Well, I wasn’t going to say anything, but…” Pomni flicked the ornate sword hitched to her belt, “If this adventure is supposed to be haunted house themed, then why the heck are we dressed for a day at the renaissance faire?”

“Yeah…” Ragatha rubbed the back of her neck. “You can blame Caine’s AI for that one.”

Pomni swallowed. Her warden being nothing but a jumble of computer code didn’t change her circumstances — yet the reminder still made the sour flavor in the back of her throat taste even worse.

“I don’t know how it works,” said Ragatha, “but something about his adventure-generating algorithm likes to create funky anomalies like that. You’ll stop noticing it after a while.”

“I wish I could stop noticing a lot of things about Caine.”

Ragatha’s ladylike giggle made the gloomy grove feel just a little brighter. “Get this. One time, he put us in these elaborate Victorian ballgowns for — wait for it — a sandcastle building contest.”

Pomni’s snort was the exact opposite of graceful. She could only imagine how disastrous that particular adventure had turned out. She pictured Zooble broken into pieces, cursing at the tide as their triangular head washed ashore; Kinger would be of little help, preoccupied with staring at the little crabs skittering across the sand. Gangle, Pomni imagined, would tackle the sandcastle-building with aplomb, and Jax would be equally enthused about playing the part of the stereotypical beach bully.

And then there was Ragatha. Pomni figured that the beauty would mostly keep to herself, sculpting sand with diligence and grace — but her daydream didn’t concern itself much with what Ragatha was building. There was a far more pressing issue to settle first, namely:

“What did yours look like?”

“My sandcastle?”

Sheepishly, Pomni pulled down the brim of her feathered cap. Her voice was suddenly a lot quieter. “…Y-Your outfit…?”

“Oh! Okay! Well…” Ragatha grabbed a handful of her flowing skirt; she almost looked nervous, although her face was difficult to make out in the dark. “I don’t have the sharpest memory, but from what I can remember, it looked about as ugly as the little number I’m wearing right now.”

“What? No! I think it looks nice!” Pomni turned away, idly tapping her fingers. “To be honest, you’d probably look great in just about anything…”

“I appreciate that you’re trying to make me feel better, but let’s be real. This style went out of fashion five centuries ago.”

“I’m not just being nice! Promise! I think you’re beauti—” Pomni hacked up a lung, standing sharply. “It! It’s beautiful! The dress!” Head spinning, she leaned against the nearest tree, face turning redder by the second — it’s anyone’s guess as to how she didn’t pass out right there and then. “It’s a real keeper! A-plus!”

Ragatha tilted away. “Thank you…?”

“D-D-Don’t mention it! Anyway, this was a great break. Ready to head out?!” Pomni sped toward the other end of the clearing.

“Hey! Get back here!” Ragatha’s voice called after. “It’s barely been fifteen minutes! Where do you think you’re…”

Ragatha hesitated.

“…going…?”

Pomni, still feeling a distinct burning behind her ears, kept up her pace, approaching the large tree in the center of the clearing. She mindlessly traced her fingers across its jagged trunk. Her and her big mouth. Why did she say that? Why did she have to make it weird?!

The tree twitched its rotten branches twice. The wispy breeze stilled, and the forest fell silent.

“Pomni!” Ragatha huffed, wet moss squishing beneath her racing feet. “Stop!”

“Rest all you want!” Pomni grumbled. She was still terrified of the forest, but she wasn’t about to give up on her bluff. “I’m going ahead — the others are probably way ahead of us by now! Do you really want to give Jax another thing to—”

“I said STOP!”

Pomni’s hair stood on end as Ragatha grabbed hold of her arm.

Scowling, the jester whipped around — but her face softened once she noticed how hard Ragatha’s arm was shaking.

“Are you…” Pomni’s voice was small. For a moment, she considered wrapping her hand around the ragdoll’s quivering arm, but with her latest faux pas still fresh in her mind, she simply said: “Are you okay?”

High above, the giant tree’s branches twitched again, knocking loose a handful of crisp leaves that had still been hanging on the ends. They fluttered to the ground, settling atop Pomni’s feathered cap.

“Get behind me.” Ragatha’s voice wavered, “Right now.”

Pomni’s stomach hardened — Something was wrong. Very, very, wrong. She opened her mouth to ask what, but her persistent stutter strangled her voice into silence. Nothing would come out. Not a single sound, no matter how hard she forced it.

Giving up, Pomni just did as she was told. Pupils the size of pins, she peered around Ragatha’s back. Her twitching gaze stumbled around her periphery.

Only then did Pomni see it — the tree. Its massive trunk looked to be breathing, gently expanding and harshly contracting on a steady pulse.

Lazily, the monstrous redwood shifted its massive weight toward the intruders, scattering the congress of ravens perched upon its limbs. Pomni, Ragatha, and everything else under the moon shivered at the shrill moan of creaking timber.

Pomni shuddered. “What the…” She took a step back, “What the #%@& is—”

With a deafening crack, hundreds of thorns erupted from beneath half-decayed bark.

“Your sword!” Ragatha shouted, “Give it to me, now!”

Pomni scrambled to pull her rapier from its sheath — but the very moment she overcame her shuddering fingers to do so, a massive branch pounded the ground, knocking the woman cleanly off her feet. Her blade skidded across the ground.

“Pomni!” Ragatha slapped her hands over her mouth.

A thorny branch seized the jester’s leg, wrapping it tightly. Pomni unleashed a string of angry curses, grasping desperately for her weapon — but it was no use. A few rain-soaked leaves still clung to her face as she was yanked into the air, squirming, flailing, and utterly helpless.

“Ragatha!” Pomni screamed. Helpless, helpless, helpless. After so many repetitions, the word didn’t even sound real, devolving into a random assortment of meaningless phonemes. Helpless, helpless, helpless. Yet no other word could so succinctly describe her harrowing predicament — to be trapped in mortal peril for which the only escape was the selfless act of another.

Helpless. The concept felt so horribly familiar.

“No! Leave me alone!” Pomni grunted at her own psyche, squeezing her eyes shut. Her throat felt tighter as unwanted visions of the recent past besieged her mind. “Go away — go away!”

No matter how hard the shameful memory was suppressed, how many layers of denial it was buried beneath, nothing could stop that persistent nightmare from stalking her from the shadows.

She was never, ever safe — not even in the waking world. One second, she was fine, and the next, the wire had been tripped, and nothing Pomni could say could possibly release her from its snare.

Hallway. Kaufmo. A beaten and bruised Ragatha, paralyzed by the beast’s corrupting touch. The ragdoll’s own body had turned against her, grotesquely twisting and warping and flickering and twitching as her very existence fell apart at the seams.

Ragatha’s wincing expression had looked Pomni straight in the eyes. “Do ̸y̴ou̸ ̵think̴ y̵o̸u̵ ̵c̵o̸u̵l̵d̵,̴ p̸erhap̵s̵,̵ ̸hel̴p m̴e̸ ̸o̴u̸t̵, he̵re?” she’d politely pleaded, pain soaking into every disjointed word. “I̵ u̵n̵de̵rst̸and ̸i̸f̴ ̴yo̸u ̴do̵n'̵t̴ w̴a̴n̵t̵ ̵t̸o̸, t̴h̵o̵ugh̴.̸.̵."̸

What had Ragatha thought as she watched Pomni hesitate to help? Had she felt relief when the jester finally extended a hand? What about when Pomni had flinched away, discarding the doll the very second her own safety had been put into question? What had gone through Ragatha’s mind after Pomni had left her for dead, uttering a simple “I’m sorry” to soften the blow of her selfish flight?

The surreal beast had pursued Pomni, and Ragatha had been spared — but Pomni knew that had not been her plan.

“What was I supposed to do?!” A second thorny branch slithered around Pomni’s waist. “I’m not a bad person! I didn’t—” The woman’s terrified cry stopped short as the branch squeezed her stomach flat, emptying the breath from her lungs.

She heard nothing but the sound of her own thumping heart. Where was Ragatha? Was she still by her side? Would she put herself in jeopardy for the coward who had deserted her, or would she even the score, fleeing for her own sake while she still had the chance?

Pomni didn’t dare open her eyes to see for herself, and therein lied her answer. Alone, afraid, and abandoned — that’s how Ragatha had felt.

A familiar, tingling pain nibbled at Pomni’s fingers as her thoughts began to spiral. Ragatha,, the rock keeping her tethered to this meaningless existence, was a victim. Her victim. Ragatha had every reason to thoroughly despise Pomni — which meant her affable nature could only be a pragmatic facade.

The dark clouds returned. The world grew darker.

The creeping abstraction, hidden beneath Pomni’s clothes, wrapped around her wrists and skated up her arms. A dozen eyes, large and small, bloomed across the corruption like a malignant rash. Tremors shook Pomni’s whole body, and she groaned as the horrendous pain overtook her.

Weakly, she resisted — but her despair was stronger.

Twitching eyes and blackened skin raced up her neck, across her chest, around her back. Thoughts flickered out before they could finish as her mind decayed, and at long last, Pomni felt herself falling. Was this it? Was this what it felt like to—

Pomni’s back slammed into the ground. Hard. Her pinwheel eyes flung open, and she would have gasped had she any breath left to do so.

Dead leaves fluttered down from the dense canopy above. The rocky soil below prodded her backside. Somewhere close by, a mature, feminine voice—

Pomni sat up in a flash, clutching her fluttering chest. Her heartbeat — as well as the slithering darkness wrapped halfway around her face — halted at the sight before her.

Stiff, severed branches littered the forest floor, curled in on themselves like a nest of swatted insects. Oozing stumps enveloped the monstrous redwood where its branches used to root.

Before the monster’s corpse stood Ragatha, sword in hand. Her skirt was cut to ribbons, and lumps of cotton tumbled out of open cuts on her arms, legs, and torso.

With one final grunt, Ragatha drove the blade cleanly through the towering beast’s trunk. The redwood recoiled as if to scream, its dying pose frozen in time as the cadaver it left behind hardened to stone.

Only after the petrification had encased the beast entirely did Ragatha’s powerful stance finally wither. Heaving, she collapsed to the ground, quaking arms barely catching her fall.

Pomni’s eyes glistened; the creeping black was gone.

“Ragatha! No, no, no!” Pomni scrambled to Ragatha’s side. She shook the woman’s drooping shoulders. “Get up — get up!”

Ragatha’s battered body still clearly roared with pain — but somehow, she still found the strength to lift up her head. “Don’t be so dramatic.” She laughed weakly, embracing Pomni’s hand with her own. “I’m just catching my breath.”

Pomni shakily swallowed, forgetting to blink. Ragatha was in bad shape. Very bad. Her face was pale. Her chest trembled greatly with each labored breath. Parts of her stuffing, poking out from her wounds, breathed in a black, inky substance that flowed steadily from her insides.

She squeezed Ragatha’s hand, trying as hard as she could to keep herself together — but the moment she opened her mouth to speak, it was all over.

“Why—” Pomni’s voice cracked. A tear traced the curves of her face. A second followed, and then a third. “Why did you—”

Ragatha’s brows came together. She grasped the little jester’s face and thumbed away her tears. “Why did I what, sweetheart?”

Pomni shook her weary head. Too exhausted to even begin making sense of it all, she surrendered, diving into Ragatha’s strong embrace with a whimper and a sob.

---

Whew! This one sure took me a while. Thank you all for your patience. I hope you enjoy it!

My Ko-fi - Tips are very much appreciated! :)

[First Chapter] [Next Chapter]

[peachykeenman]

I'm sorry for not responding at all my inbox is absolutely flooded xd/pos

Thank yall for so many asks but damn my soul left my body tryna give em all answers while trying to keep some semblance of a plot lmaooo

Keep it up

I'll eventually get my goofy ah up and answer stuff as the tism shoe maker again I swear give me some business days 🙏

Uhh have Elenois and Robertsky ship kids meanwhile

Amen (green shirt kid) and Amos (gun kid ahahah ammo, Amos I'm funny)

For shits and giggles Amos's Doppler is called Chews and Amen's dopple is called Crusty

They inherit their dad's wet depraved hamster energy, except Amen wants to be cool like his mom and tries to make Amos toughen up too, but Amos is satisfied with his little pathetic soft self

The characters on the very left and right are nightmare forms (Amos's nightmare form is called Abel and Amen's nightmare from is called Cain 🙏)

They're like 12 ish I assume

[the-evil-lovable-simp]

I tried…

You were writing a few more things down, for this game you've been helping to make. You were making a few changes and ideas but you were kinda hesitant about making this game, since, reporters have been saying people are going missing, of course they haven't said anything about it being the game but you sorta have a gut feeling since your work friend had disappeared. You looked down at your old work sheets you made before the game properly came out, some drawings, they were of caine that you designed, and you may or may not have made him look like your type of fictional man. So you kinda like him, what's the problem with that, it's not like he's real. You typed (Y/n) into the computer and then sighed and put your headset on, to look at some of the problems. You saw the circus, woah it's cool to feel like you're here, you looked down at your body. Yes! The character for you, you designed it in your own time at home......'Wait, what does my home look like?' you thought. Wait, what were you here for again, ah yes to look at problems, yes thats what you thought it was. And so you walked up to different objects and measured them, you put your hand on the wall expecting it to glitch through, but you touched it, you have no idea why it was a surprise to you but it was. You decided to shrug it off. You turned around and tried to run in a different direction but instead, you ran into someone, you looked up to see a purple Rabbit. You don't know why but you feel like he shouldn't be here, you grabbed his leg and started to measure it.

"Hey!!! What're you doing?" he asked angrily, this startled you and you scurried off to look at some textures, but you still have no idea why.

--------

The group listened to Jax rant about what had just happened saying that the person had tools and a few buttons floating around them, but most of them didn't believe him.

"Are you saying there is a new human in the amazing digital circus already!" Caine said shocked, then they all turned to see the exact person Jax was talking about, they were walking somewhere with a pen and paper mumbling to themself, writing things down, and going around the corner.

"See!" Jax pointed at where this mysterious person had disappeared around the corner. This shocked everyone, but Pomni kinda felt like they knew them.

Pomni ran after them which shocked them even more.

"Pomni?" Ragatha questioned, and they all followed the tiny jester, to watch what was about to happen. Pomni ran towards this person and she didn't know why but felt the urge to shout,

"(Y/N)!!!!"

----------

"(Y/N)!!!!" someone behind you screamed, you didn't know why but you felt like they were talking to you. You turned, to see someone you thought you remembered.

"Po....P....." you couldn't remember. But you both ran to each other and you hugged her and span her around like a mother would a child, you grabbed her face.

"I never thought I'd see you again......whoever you are," you said to her. But then you noticed a group staring at you two, one of them being that rabbit from before, but one stuck out to you, some guy with teeth for a head, you locked eyes with him and stayed like that for a bit.

Caine felt a bit uncomfortable. Pomni waved her hand in front of your face.

"C....C-Caine?" you said flabbergasted.

"Uh, I-er," he cleared his throat, "Yes it is I, Caine your Ringmaster!" he stopped, "Wait how did you know that?" he looked down at you, feeling like he had seen you before or even heard your voice before. "Do I know you?" he put his hand to his chin.

You blushed feeling kinda flustered that he was just staring down at you.

"Welp, I can't remember" he made a goofy face with a bunch of sound effects coming from nowhere, this made you blush even more, you walked away and leaned on a wall, facing away from everyone, steam coming from your head.

"Oh my, are you alright my dear?" he asked a bit concerned.

You Collapsed on the floor, oh my god he called you his dear.

"Oh no," you heard some say, you got up.

"Oh my god, I can't believe it's you!" you said going up to him really close, well as close as you could because he was floating. He was quite shocked that you were this excited to see him.

"Don't worry I won't swear," you said batting your eyelashes, blushing more.

"Er...Yes, well...Good!" he said but then thought about how you knew about the swearing thing. He felt like he recognised your voice but he couldn't think where, he was staring at you.

You began to realise that you sounded really creepy.

"Erm, so sorry it just feels like I," you started to say,

"Know you from somewhere," you both said at the same time, you looked each other in the eyes for a few minutes, until you both looked away blushing.

The rest watched this play out, some were grossed out, some thought it was cute and Zooble didn't care.

———————

I hope you like it, I think it’s a bit bad

[theguiltinessisyours]

malevolent liveblogging (uuuh from ep 17 - 20 I believe) continuing DUDE I loved the episode in the pit, almost pissed myself (plus!! Theseus/Minoutaur mention!¡¡ I really wonder how the beast got there. Was it put there as a punishment? Has it always been there?) then the Madness episode which. of course I am very normal about and broooo what is going on with Cain? Mr. Cain? Literally giggling and kicking my feet you could present a million villainous characters who are just having the time of their lives and are being silly goofy and I eat it up everytime. Twice as fun because it's the same voice actor.

Also I'm growing very suspicious of that lighter thanks jonathan sims 😔✌️

naurrr the themes of fate vs free will and do the choices that we make even matter in the grand scheme of things can we determine our own fate and autonomy I your own life are hitting again I can't do this anymore

Ah well great the only time I'm getting teared up had to be about a hurt animal I KNEW AS SOON AS THEY SAID THERE'S A HURT CREATURE IT WAS GONNA BE LILY why can't I listen to self improvement podcasts

update time I'm crying 🤠

WHAT IS THIS WHAT IS WRONGGG WITH THEM YEAH SURE BRO JUST RECITE YOUR CHILDHOOD TRAUMA POETRY IN THE MOST HEART BREAKING WAY THEY'RE SO SWEET IT'S AWFUL

"Arthur, whatever happens, I'll never forget you."

"Me neither, John." and what if I speak.

I'm rattling the bars of my cage I thought Arthur was gonna defeat the King in the divorce battle around John with the power of love and yeah surely I suspected that the dagger was a big hint and all this talk about killing himself and not following the path that has been chosen for him BUT STILL WHAT THE FUCK

[onlyplatonicirl]

Seven Years Later, a wedding unfolds in the Omega Timeline between a skeleton and human.

Gradient

   “Gradient stop squirming.”

     “I’m not!”

     “Gee Grady, did you gain weight?”

     “N-no?”

     “Come on Grady, I just want you to look good on your big day! I am the artist, you know.”

     Ink grabbed hold of Gradient’s pant leg, trying to hike it up until it draped over Gray’s foot.”

     Gradient grumbled. “Well the artist picked up the wrong pant size from the boutique.”

     Ink then began to fiddle with Gradient’s long draping, green and black overshirt. “Well, well, well that’s what was in the bag when I picked it up!”

     Gradient sighed. “Whatever, just, try to keep yourself together for just one day. Don’t bother other guests. Don’t start doing interpretive dance when the music starts in the hall. And please, for the love of god, don’t start explaining skeleton anatomy to anyone, especially not my fiance.”

      Ink looked Gradient up and down, getting to his feet. “Huh? I don’t do that!” He tapped a finger against his cheek. His eye sockets shifted between a few rounds of various shapes. “Ugh. What is your special guy’s name anyway? Uh. Caine, Carrie, Raphael, something along those lines right?”

     Frustrated glitches began to spritz off of Gradient’s body as he dragged his hands down his cheeks. “See? This is exactly what I mean! Casey! His name is Casey! Here!” Gradient found a rotting bandaid on the floor of the wedding hall’s bathroom. Ink mindlessly handed him a pen, an excited expression gripping his face. He was probably just excited by the thought that Gradient was going to draw something. Gradient pasted the bandaid on the wall and etched out- “C-A-S-E-Y” on the portion that wasn’t bloody, and handed it to Ink, whose eyes rapidly scanned over the name.

     “Ah. Casey. I remember now. Thanks Gray.” Ink patted Gradient on the head, ending with an affirming smack, and just stood utterly still, a goofy smile stretching across his face.

     Gradient pulled up the decorative hood that was attached to his shirt portion. He didn’t realize that his hands were shaking and that beads of sweat began to streak down his forehead. The hood’s cool darkness made him feel a bit better though, as it always had in the past. Like a little dome where he could escape the grip of reality. And Ink. And PJ’s crayon-eating sessions.

     “Aww.” Ink clasped his own hands together and striked an adoring pose. “You look so skrunkly wunkly, my little Grady. Hahahaha.” Ink abruptly swept Gradient into a smothering embrace, lifting him above the ground with surprising force considering the artist was significantly smaller than him. He could feel Ink’s hip bones jam into his side. It hurt almost as bad as that one time Casey chucked him down a full flight of stairs, resulting in a shattered rib bone and two rolls of cheap adhesive bandages.

     “Uhhhhgg.” Gradient managed to wheeze. Finally, after an eternity and a half, Ink set Gradient down, yet continued to stare at him with a dopey smile. An awkward silence existed between the two until Ink lifted a finger into the air.

     “Oh! I almost forgor, uh, forgot. Dream wanted you to have this. He thought it would add a ‘splendid accent’.” The artist dug inside of his pant leg, retrieving a silver circlet that sort of broke off and overlapped delicately near the center. Like that thing that Dream unconditionally wore as if it was a part of his body.

     Gradient stared at it, the bathroom’s LED lights bouncing off of the reflective silver surface. It was typical of Dream to assert his opinions and authority wherever he pleased to put it. He was equally bad, if not worse, than Ink in terms of invasive qualities. But Gradient had a whole separate list of worries regarding the small yellow guardian. He was mostly afraid that he would judge Casey for being a human, which would spiral back to arguments about Ink being a bad parent, which would result in a disaster to say the least. Those two were highly corrosive with each other, anyone could tell if they just glanced a bit whenever they talked or spoke or were at all in each other’s presence.

     “Here!” Ink took the circlet from Gray’s hands and reached up on his toes, trying to squeeze the piece of metal onto his head.

     “Ow! Stop that!”

     “Hold on it’ll fit, almost got it!” Ink stuck out his tongue and tried different angles, but the thing wouldn’t slip. It seemed as if Dream had used his own proportions to measure the decorative piece. Someone who was probably at least a foot shorter than him.

     Ink eventually gave up and twisted the metal around his arm. Gradient stared at him, concocting a way to make him leave the bathroom because, quite frankly, he had had enough Ink to last another hour, and needed peace. 

😏 got more

ANON IM ON YHE EDGE OF MY SEAT IM CLAWING AT THE WALLS IM FOAMING AT THE TEETH I LOVE THIS SO MUCH

Gray having a hood as part of his outfit is SO HIM and I love Dream’s gift to him (sized to Dream’s own head LOL) and Ink LITERALLY NOT REMEMBERING CASEY’S NAME but he’s so happy for gray anyways omg they are SOOOOO SO CUTE

I LOVE THIS ANON THANK YOU FOR THE FOOD. FROM THE WAY UR WRITING IM ASSUMING THERES MORE. IM VERY EXCITED AND I AM CLIPPING THRU THE WALLS WAITING FOR THE NEXT PART!!!!!!!

[tadcccallmyocs]

Bring back Tether part 2

Tether and Ashrani were still sitting together when the Portland opened again, and an orange furball rocketed through the portal and slid across the floor into the opposite wall. Ashrani hid behind her interdimensional sister as Tether stood to confront the strange presence.

Tether "wh--Who are you?"

Totes "Urk, that was worse than Caine's teleporting-- I'm Totes. And you must be Tether."

The ferret-person stood up slowly, looming taller than anyone Tether or Ashrani had ever seen. Needless to say, they were both intimidated. In spite of the newcomer's goofy smile.

Tether "h-how do you know my name?"

Totes "Well, it's a long story... one we don't really have time for right now."

Totes then reached for the zipper at the base of their neck, unzipping it to reveal a mostly empty pocket in their chest. It looked big enough to fit a person inside-- which, to Tether's horror, was the plan.

Totes "Alright kid, get in! I'm taking you home marsupial-style!"

Tether: "n-No way!"

Tether backed away from the strange animal, remembering her parents warning about going off with strangers. Besides the general bad vibes, this person reminded them just a bit of Jax between their toothy grin and mammalian appearance. She put on her brave face-- the one that was color-inverted-- and further confronted Totes.

Tether "Why should I trust you-- I've never met you before! Why would my parents send you, of all people?!"

Totes took a moment, smile falling away as they came up with an answer that would prove their intentions.

Totes "Well in truth it wasn't your parents that sent me... it was your best friend, Harley."

Tether "Then I don't-- did you say Harley?"

Tether's expression turned, and in doing so they notices that Tote's had also changed-- their serious expression had a touch of sadness to it.

Totes "Yeah, she's real worried about you. Every one in your server is, by the looks of it. Zooble was a bit too busy beating the [#$ಠ⁠益⁠ಠ!%] out of Caine for porting me in instead of you, so I went ahead and sent myself here. Which sure, maybe not the best idea, but how many servers have people with names that start with T? I have no idea what that chatterbox was thinking--"

Tether "Ok fine-- I believe you."

Tether gave Ashrani a quick goodbye hug and then climbed into the ferret's pouch. Once they were fully inside, Totes zipped the hole closed.

Totes "Ok, get comfortable-- oh, and if you find any chocolate bars in there, don't eat them. It's uh... mushroom-flavored."

Tether "Eww! Why would you have mushroom-flavored chocolate?!"

Totes "Well the flavor isn't really the selling point-- oh, here we go, portals activating! Hold on Tether!"

There was another lurch of teleportation, and once again Totes was standing in front of the same mix of half and full strangers. Kinger's finger was still pressing the recall button.

Kinger "Ah--! Sorry, wanted to see if it worked. Guess I pressed it too soon..."

Cathin "well at least you bring the guy back... but not the child"

Zooble "Where's my child, weasel?"

Gangle "Oh no, did you not find her in time?" Gangle asked, tears welling up from her eyes.

Totes "Relax, your timing was perfect-- and I'm a weasel of my word!"

Totes unzipped their pocket, and inside was Tether-- dazed from the teleportation, but fine.

Tether "h-Hi everyone. I'm really sorry about disappearing like that--"

Harley "TE-TE!"

Totes "Whoa!"

Harley didn't wait for Tether to get out of Totes, tackling both to the ground to hug her friend. Soon Zooble and Gangle joined in, and it became a group hug.

Harley "I'm so, so, SO glad you're ok! We were so worried when you started to abstract!"

Tether "y-You were?"

Gangle "Of course we were-- we love you Tether."

Zooble "You're still grounded... but, I'll count the days you were gone."

The hug may have went on forever, but then Caine hovered over.

Caine "Harley darling, your enthusiasm is delightful-- but it seems to have been a bit much for our new friend!"

They glanced over to Totes who-- between the disorientation of being recalled and the fall-- was out cold.

Harley "Oops... sorry."

Jax "Great, we're stuck with the weasel for a while.”

(totes and this writing is made by @enby-denby, this Collab has come to an end thanks to @spookykittyzzz to be so awesome to made this arc possible and I hope some of you have questions like Harley and Tether know what abstraction is or more things let me know have a nice day)

[gobbogoo]

Ranking The TF2 Mercenaries on how long they'd survive in The Amazing Digital Circus:

Ah, the joy of smashing your new and old hyperfixations together like a child playing with action figures... who is this post for? Me, of course!

Weeks:

Demoman: It's a world without alcohol. Even without his physical body's reliance, Demoman's psyche is a patchwork of unaddressed trauma held together entirely by booze. He'd be " jus' a one(thousand) eyed bloody monster" in like a week. Either that or he'd reach some sort of state of enlightened sobriety and discover true inner-peace.

Medic: The man was already balancing on the brink of madness, and being trapped in a world without biological functions and family-friendly restrictions would 100% push him over the edge. He'd initially be very interested in testing the limits of his fellow humans' unique digital bodies, but after a couple weeks all he'd have left would be his sadism, and that'd make him spiral FAST.

Sniper: While seemingly stable, the guy would last a couple months, tops. Sniper is an outdoorsman who takes himself very seriously. He would DESPISE everything about the Circus, from its artificial aesthetics to its goofy antics. He'd go full conspiracy-theorist looking for an exit, shut himself off from everyone else, and inevitably end up exactly like Kafmo.

Years:

Spy: If you were to design a personal hell just for Spy, it would probably look exactly like The Amazing Digital Circus. Tacky colours, goofy antics, all-seeing eyes, and 100% family friendly. He'd cope for a few years just as he put up with the other mercenaries, but it'd inevitably wear him down. Once he became certain he wasn't ever leaving this place, he'd probably consider madness the logical next-best option.

Scout: He'd last quite a few years by turning every adventure into an opportunity to show off, and would bask in every meaningless reward, but his general obnoxiousness would be his undoing. He'd inevitably isolate himself, and at that point Caine's validation would begin to lose its lustre. Eventually he'd have one hell of an existential crisis, and there wouldn't be anyone around to pull him out of it. The family-friendly rules wouldn't help, either.

Decades:

Engineer: Engineer would be able to survive for a good few decades exploring and documenting the circus's inner-workings. His self-reliance and general lack of empathy would ensure he never got particularly attached to anyone else, and his practical outlook would keep him from dwelling on the existential horror of his situation. However, once the projects dried up he'd have nothing to point his extremely powerful mind at, and the boredom would eat him alive.

Heavy: Heavy voluntarily spent something like 30 years isolated with his family on a mountain, and even after working as a mercenary, he was 100% willing to return to that lifestyle until the day he died. So-long as the circus gave him something to punch every now and again, he'd settle into a routine and be perfectly content with it. Madness wouldn't come for him until he was either the only one left, or he'd been there longer than a century, when the mind begins to struggle with the weight of experienced time.

Forever:

Soldier: Soldier has the unique advantage of being very dumb, and in possession of a stable sort of insanity. The existential horror of the circus would never occur to him, and his brand of enthusiastic masochism plus his shoddy memory would mean he'd never grow tired of the endless adventures. He'd treat each and every one like a life-or-death mission given to him by "The President," and would probably forget he was even trapped there to begin with. Because he'd never grasp that it was all fake, I could conceivably see him surviving within the circus indefinitely.

Pyro: Pyro wouldn't just "survive" in The Amazing Digital Circus, they'd THRIVE. It's basically Pyroland made "real." They'd love everything about the place, from the aesthetics to the NPCs to the adventures. Pyro would adore Caine, but more importantly they'd be the first/only person that actually aligns with Caine's skewed understanding/expectation of humans. Caine would likely love having someone who so genuinely loves all his antics. Even if Pyro was the only non-AI left, I can't envision a scenario where they'd ever go mad.

TL;DR:

The Adventures of Soldier and Pyro, from now until the end of time!

[ashestoashcraft]

100 Iron Artist Characters

I’ve 99% completed the list of 100 OCs that I will be illustrating for an iron artist challenge I’m undertaking. All TH profiles and/or gallery posts will be linked here to their character names as illustrations in Iron Artist are complete. All the OCs will belong to myself with the exception of 13 out of the 100 of which my fiance either created or shares with me.

The reason the list is 99% done and not 100% is because there are a few characters yet to be listed. Unlisted Characters are (a) my fiance’s characters; the listed ones are official, but the rest are undecided currently and (b) surprise Pokemon in Renee and Dr. Rin’s parties, which will be announced later, likely as I draw them.

I won’t be necessarily drawing everything on this list in order, not everyone will have a TH profile yet, and I may even change the list a little bit as time goes on (though I’m going to make an effort not to).

KEY: Crossed Off = Even though it’s redundant, I’m just crossing off all the characters that I’ve already drawn for the Iron Artist challenge. (IA#) = Iron Artist and the chronological order number in which I completed the illustration. (TH) = Toyhouse profile for that character, in case you want to get to know them a little better and/or see other potential illustrations. (WIP) = I haven’t yet completed the Iron Artist piece for this character, but I have some WIP work to give curious birds a little sneak peek.

CHARACTER LIST

Ashcraft Starborne (IA1) (TH)

Carrot Top

Itzel

Korkarea

Quon

Aziz

My Fiance’s Top 13 Charas

Sariel Ray Silver

Orphelia Luna Silver

Xenon Havok Garden

Akitla

Jet

The rest are to be decided. Possibilities include:

Valentine, Harland, & Vivian Bronze

Gabriel, Scarlet, & Sterling Silver

Olin & Kaikane

Merfolk

Orphelia’s friends

Goofy Hell

Seraphim

Ivan

Cain Rivers

Weak: DOaP

Azazel Redfield Sharpe (WIP)

Asmodeous Sharpe

Ji Ah

Malcolm Christian X

Titus Lucius DeKatch

Lucius Gordan Ramsay

Heidi

Monique Tara Shae

Aster

Yuugure

Yuu’s bf

Renee DeKatch

Reckless

Dr. Rin Osamu (IA3)

Renee’s Mom

Renee’s Dad

Renee’s Big Brother

Krishna

Krishna’s gf

Doki Doki Yakitate

Hoshimi Chi Akumu

Avila Akumu (IA2) (TH)

Noelani

Aurora

Flamingo

Haruto

Haruko

Kud Tue [KT] (and his band:)

> Ja Kyung [Jack]

> Hwan Ki [Kiki]

> Chi Hae [Khaos]

> Sayeo [Sunny]

> Jun

Pokemon Teams

Reckless’s Pokemon Pack

> Void (Shiny Umbreon)

> Fear (Haunter)

> Willow (Fearow)

> Lace (Aron)

> Fang (Mightyena)

> Talon (Houndoom)

Renee DeKatch’s Pokemon Party (6 undecided Pokemon)

Dr. Rin Osamu’s Pokemon Party (6 undecided Pokemon)

Tarot Cards & OCs

The Fool Male

The Fool Female

The Lovers Male

The Lovers Female

The World Male

The World Female 

King of Swords

Queen of Swords

Knight of Swords

Page of Swords

Ace of Swords

2 of Swords

3 of Swords

4 of Swords

5 of Swords

6 of Swords

7 of Swords

8 of Swords

9 of Swords

10 of Swords

King of Wands

Queen of Wands

5 of Wands

6 of Wands

King of Cups

Queen of Cups

King of Coins

Queen of Coins

[hundredsunny]

yoo can u tell us who your ocs are and their story??

YES I WOULD LOVE THIS SO MUCH THIS IS THE BEST ASK I HAVE EVER RECEIVED !!!! im only gonna talk about like 4 of them bc im v attached to these 4 okokokokokokok here we go this answer bouta be long as hell 

april - ok this girl is my first oc. i made her in the middle of english class in 6th grade and shes been around ever since!!! tbh at this point idk if i want her to still be a straw hat or not but like??? anyways shes a rogue princess. she grew up just fine, but then one day her asshat dad killed her mom bc her mom was an “embarrassment of a ruler” and made their kingdom “look bad” anyways that happened when april was like 11. then once her dad took TOTAL control of the island he locked her tf away so she wouldnt be able to visit the citizens like she used to. so from 11 to 18 she was cooped up in the damn castle. when she was 16 she got her hands on a devil fruit that was locked away in some hidden room in her mother’s library (cliche i know im sorry) so then she ATE IT. THE AURA-AURA FRUIT. a v basic summary of that fruit is that she can manipulate her own aura and shit. imagine lucario from pokemon as a human honestly. idk. so when she ate the fruit she decided to fight her dad but of course she lost horribly and then she had to sit around in even more of a cooped up state for two more years until the STRAW HAT TEAM CAME ALONG ON ACCIDENT BAM SHE WAS ABLE TO LEAVE THE ISLAND BC OF THEM ok ok??? her whole story is complicated i tried to give the best watered down version im sorry. anyways shes v sweet and can be goofy but can be defensive as hell. she knows what she wants and will do anything to get that. yeehaw. shes an average height for a woman, she’s got shoulder-length brown hair and sky blue eyes. if u ever wanna know more bout her hmu

jack - OK MY 2ND OC EVER HE WAS MADE RIGHT AFTER APRIL AND HONESTLY HES MY FUCKING BABY. I LOVE HIM SO MUCH!!!! anyways. he grew up on the same island april did. his dad was like the right hand man to april’s dad so like he had connections and shit. he had a v happy family. a sweet mom celest and a dope dad cain and a wonderful lil sis sho. when aprils mom was still alive, they would always visit the town so jack and april always hung out and went on adventures throughout the town together. when april’s mom died and her dad started locking her up more, they werent able to see each other much anymore. of course, jack being the rebellious son of a gun he was, he would always sneak around and find ways to still hang with her. jack’s 3 years older than her btw. anyways. one day out of NOWHERE jack’s dad just VANISHED from the island and it rly fucked him up. he was 14 when that happened. so then he had to take a step up and watch over his mom and sister. then april’s dad became even more of an asshat and more people started leaving the island, so jack’s mom and sis decided to leave. HOWEVER jack decided to stay so april wouldn’t be completely alone. that happened when he was 16. then he stayed on the down low and visited april as much as possible until he finally decided to leave and make a life for himself and also search for his family. he left when he was 18 and he promised april that shed be set free one day and theyd be able to meet up once again and have more adventures :’) anyways then he went on a search for his dad. turns out his dad left bc he was the leader of the LEAGUE OF ASSASSINS and had to tend to the duties over there. after YEARS jack finally found the LOA but his dad literally left AGAIN 3 months before he got there. that frustrated him. but then he decided to start a life in the league ((bc his dad lowkey taught him a whole lotta shit about that as a child but u kno)) and met CHAZ AND JO…anyways pause on the story. jack’s an uncooked piece of spaghetti. hes v tall and lanky. hes got messy black hair and red eyes. he deserves so much love ok. he needs a hug. covers up his problems with dumb humor. a little shit. v snarky. his weakness is overthinking. v good with daggers. his epithet after he becomes a wanted man is (lame) jack “the slicer” solo ok. hes 23 after the timeskip. yes. i could talk about him forever. pls lemme know if u wanna know more about him AHHHHHHHH ps april and jack are my favorite brotp and i wish someone was the jack to my april 

chaz - oh charles. dont call him charles he’ll kill a bitch. idk what it is about me and having my oc’s be of higher class but like chaz came from a family of nobles and Fucking Hated It (big shocker huh) so long story short he RAN away and started a life as a pirate but he was betrayed Too Many Times and ended up hating pirates. nerd. anyways. one day he ran into this guy named cain. jack’s dad. cain was like “yo u got somewhere to stay?” and chaz was like “lol no”. so then cain took chaz in and introduced him to the LEAGUE OF ASSASSINS and basically trained chaz for years and then VANISHED. chaz was SO FUCKING HURT!!!! but cain left him as the leader of the organization so chaz was also v shook. he got RLY defensive when jack stumbled along. he felt threatened that jack was gonna snatch his leader spot all bc he was cain’s son. tbh chaz was a dick to jack for a good bit of time. cain was the best kind of father figure chaz ever had and he just??? ah chaz also needs a hug. anyways eventually he and jack became nerd bros. they argue all the damn time. think of zoro and sanji but dumber. thats these two. chaz fights with whips (kinky) ((jk)) and hes a fuckin BEAST with them. run. they call him the dawn menace bc he mostly makes his move at that time of day. CHAZ THE DAWN MENACE. ok lame. but yea. hes 26 after the timeskip. hes a nerd. takes things seriously. easily stressed. chaz had a horrible event happen to him in the past so he lost one of his green eyes and (theres a whole other story about that where cain does a Good Thing but im tryna save time and space rn) his weakness is his right side bc he literally cannot see. hes a hothead sometimes. also a redhead. makes sense. hes got some good biceps tbh. strong dude. love him

jo - AYYY JOSEPHINE!!! her story isnt entirely developed tbh. she’s part of the league of assassins. literally the smartest damn person in the entire world. SO SMART. literally shes the reason why the league is still thriving. she knows everything about everyone. ALSO SHES SUCH AN INCREDIBLE SHARPSHOOTER. USOPP WHO? v v v v v good with guns. honestly. shes 25 after the time skip but honestly shes a mom to chaz and jack. always breaking up their dumb arguments. so kind. can be snarky. purple eyes and long blue hair that she wears in low pigtails all the time. she was around when chaz first joined the league so they’ve been good buds for a hot minute. she’s 2nd in command now!!!!! she needs a break so bad. oh my god. works so damn hard. i honestly feel like im forgetting a lot of things about her im sorry im rushing rn but!!!!! honestly jack chaz and jo are my fave dream team. they’re all fucking nerds. i love them. tbh on the sims 4 i made a household with the three of them in it and it was wild. 

codie - lil cordelia. redhead. amber eyes. V STUBBORN. serious as shit. will kill someone. she has a zoan fruit and the model is an albatross so since shes a redhead she just fuckin. turns into a red albatross. they call her the red feather bc 1) literally red and 2) the blood of her enemies sometimes stain her feathers. ooooo spooky. her story is fuckin insane. all im gonna tell u is that she’s just with the whitebeard pirates. 20 after the timeskip. sassiest gal i know. fuckin constantly flamed ace even though ace was the flame guy. bird bros with marco!!! yay!!!!!!!!!!! anyways. thats all i got rn im sorry!!!! thank u for asking and please feel free to ask me more questions if u ever wanna know about some of these kids o mine!!!!! 

[spineandprose]

East of Eden | June 2018

You guys.

Thanks for your patience.

I renewed East of Eden three times and then stayed up late the night before my final, honest, no-more-renewals, due date to finish the last 75 pages. It felt college-worthy in that sleepy eye kind of way. But my life is not at all of the college variety—instead, the newborn and two-year-old type of life. And that means it takes me twelve weeks to read 600 pages. Oh well. :) 

This book has so much to discuss, so let’s dive in!

Character Development I really liked reading this book. Steinbeck’s writing is beautiful—simple and captivating—and his character development is remarkably good. The characters remained with me a spell each time I finished a reading section and always came leaping back right as I settled in to a new page, beating my mind to the story and reminding me of who they were and keeping me guessing on what their next move would be.

My favorite character had to be Lee. How could it not be? He was wise, kind, loyal, truthful and truth-seeking, hilarious, and others-focused. I so appreciated his honest words spoken firmly at just the right moments. But I got the most joy out of his goofiness:

When learning how to operate the Ford, page 366 Lee said quietly, “So young to be so erudite.” The boy swung around toward him, scowling. “What did you say?” he demanded, and he asked Adam, “What did the Chink say?” Lee spread his hands and smiled blandly. “Say belly smart fella,” he observed quietly. “Mebbe go college. Velly wise.”

Just one of the many scenes with Lee and Abra in the kitchen, page ? She moved toward the table. “Lee, I wish—” “Don’t spill flour on my floor,” he said. “What do you wish?”

When prepared to fight Aron, page ? Lee said softly, “Aron, did you ever have to fight a little man, a man half your size?” “What do you mean?” “It’s one of the most embarrassing things in the world. He won’t stop and pretty soon you have to hit him and that’s worse. Then you’re really in trouble all around.” “What are you talking about?” “If you don’t do as I tell you, Aron, I’m going to fight you. Isn’t that ridiculous?” Aron tried to pass. Lee stood up in front of him, his tiny fists doubled ineffectually, his stand and position so silly that he began to laugh. “I don’t know how to do it, but I’m going to try,” he said. Aron nervously backed away from him. And when finally he sat down on the steps Lee sighed deeply. “Thank heaven that’s over,” he said. “It would have been awful. ...”

Lee said many wonderful things at the moments most needed for truth, but I especially liked this thought:

After Aron lost the bet to Cal and they were asked to go to bed, page 376 Then he said, “Mr. Trask, do you think the thoughts of people suddenly become important at a given age? Do you have sharper feelings or clearer thoughts now than when you were ten? Do you see as well, hear as well, taste as vitally?”

As a mom, it is so good to remember that my children are full-on humans and their joys, fears, triumphs, struggles, insecurities, pursuits, passions, frustrations, and ambitions are full-on worthy of respect and support.

Another Giggle This scene gave me such a giggle—did you enjoy reading it?

Page 209 Julius asked, “What are you going to do?” “Well, I think it’s beyond me. I told you I wouldn’t put you on the payroll, but hold up your right hand.” “I don’t want to get sworn in, Horace. I want to go to Salinas.” “You don’t have any choice, Julius. I’ll have to arrest you if you don’t get your goddam hand up.” Julius reluctantly put up his hand and disgustedly repeated the oath. “And that’s what I get for keeping you company,” he said. “My father will skin me alive. All right, what do we do now?”

Writing Styles I loved his different writing styles throughout. I found four types:

the intense, descriptive, less plot-focused character development of the first section—most notably focusing on the character descriptions of Cyrus, Adam, Charles, and Cathy

the plot-focused later half where we learn of Samuel, the Hamiltons, Lee, Aron, Cal, Abra, and even Adam and Kate again in later life

the small snippets of personal history where he recounted his mother, Olive, flying almost to her hilarious death in a plane and later his uncle Tom coming to visit

and finally the bursts of world history—especially recounting the American Indian war and World War I—but also elaborating on the mindset of the times and how society was changing. Along with these, he also had bursts of beautiful landscape descriptions of the Salinas Valley, making the changing landscape a character of its own right.

The snippets of personal history gave me several double-takes: were we to believe the stories of Samuel and his family as Steinbeck sharing about family history—Olive’s plane ride, Una’s death, Tom and Dessie’s deaths, Will’s automobile success, Samuel and Liza’s vacation and retirement—even the story of John and his sister Mary speaking to Mr. Fenchel in such a cruel way? Are these all a recording of personal family history? I assumed they were, but what did you think? Either way, the story on Mr. Fenchel was so incredibly heart-breaking to read and I could see why Steinbeck would look back on it in shame.

Biblical Themes As the jacket flap of the novel describes, this is a muddy mirror of the story of the fall:

Set in the rich farmland of California’s Salinas Valley, this sprawling and often brutal novel follows the intertwined destinies of two families—the Trasks and the Hamiltons—whose generations helplessly reenact the fall of Adam and Eve and the poisonous rivalry of Cain and Abel.

As such, I found these biblical themes:

Mistrust of Fathers In Genesis 3 we see the serpent tell Eve in verse 1, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” And the thought of a lying father was presented to mankind. The idea sprouted; Eve believed the servant and mistrusted her Father. While we know God is not a liar and is the perfect Father, fully truthful, Steinbeck wanted to introduce the character of a lying father. We see Steinbeck create this role in Cyrus; while his son Adam always believed him, Charles rightly saw him as a liar—and an exceptionally, unbelievably skilled one at that. We also see this in Adam in his role as father to Aron and Cal, which, when they find out Adam is a liar, it causes Aron to flee and surprisingly causes Cal to become loyal. I thought this quote represented this theme well. It’s the scene where Adam and Lee are about to discuss Charles’ will:

page 375 Adam said, “That wasn’t quite the truth I told you. I want to talk privately to Lee.”

A lying father coming clean.

Sin Represented As Darkness Eve takes the first bite of sin; in Steinbeck’s novel, we see Cathy as Eve. Biblically, we know that sin is both innate in our human nature—we are born sinners—and sin is also select thoughts, actions, etc. that we choose to partake in. For Cathy, we see from the get-go that she is off; evil as a young child. This innate predisposition in her character only grows stronger as she selects evil deeds to conduct, and as she does so, she can only continually select the evil choice always and forever. Cathy’s evil nature is overwhelmed to insanity when, instead of bringing death—as her nature and choices wish—she is bearing life to twins. She even takes a horrifyingly awful bite of Samuel’s hand in the process, trying to bring death to the man who is ensuring she is bearing life. The Bible often refers to sin as darkness, to our rejection of God as loneliness, and I found this line to be a fitting description of how Cathy represents sin:

page 197 Cathy’s voice came strong and edged from the bed. “Shut the door. I do not want the light. Adam, go out! I want to be in the dark—alone.”

The Bride and the Whore When Kate first enters the prostitution business, I just thought it was Steinbeck showing how twisted she was. But then when she flees her marriage to Adam in order to embrace the title of whore—and apparently, a harsh version of whoredom—it hit me: she is representing sin and the rejection of being the bride of Christ. God refers to his church as his bride, and the book of Hosea is all about a married whore running away from her husband. I think Steinbeck is tying in this theme by Kate’s chosen profession.

Timshel. Thou mayest. First, can you believe there is a whole website—one simple page—devoted to this passage? As a reminder, here’s a snippet of Lee’s explanation of his discovery:

“Now, there are many millions in their sects and churches who feel the order, ‘Do thou,’ and throw their weight into obedience. And there are millions more who feel predestination in ‘Thou shalt.’ Nothing they may do can interfere with what will be. But ‘Thou mayest’! Why, that makes a man great, that gives him stature with the gods, for in his weakness and his filth and his murder of his brother he has still the great choice. He can choose his course and fight it through and win.” 

Free will and predestination—we could get into a deep conversation about that for hours. But, the word timshel is so important to the book that I had to include it in my review; Steinbeck has it as the final word of the novel! (Which, I was so relieved Adam didn’t say “Aron!” Ah! I was fearing he would.) Simply put, Adam, is choosing to forgive Cal, choosing to love and bless him, choosing to value him as an equal son and not one less than Aron.

Disappointments in Character Development I was disappointed that Lee didn’t create the bookstore he had dreamed of, but what great fortune for the Trask family that he remained with them! I was also disappointed that Adam’s character seemed to stall so much. The trajectory was in the right direction (embracing his role as father and loving his sons, sending Lee off and honoring his wishes, choosing to love Cal), but golly it took so long for him to mature.

A Sweet Marriage Moment I really loved this and thought it was such a tender exchange:

Page 289-290 Samuel said, “Liza, do you know the meaning of the English word ‘vacation’?”... “In fifty years, did you ever have a vacation, you little, silly, half-pint, smidgin of a wife?”... “You can just turn them in and send her back the money.” “No, I can't. Why, Liza—Mother—now don’t. Here—here’s a handkerchief.” “That’s a dishtowel,” said Liza. “Sit here, Mother. There! I guess the shock of taking a rest kind of threw you. Here! I know it’s a dish tool. They say that Billy Sunday drives the Devil all over the stage.” “That’s a blasphemy,” said Liza. “But I’d like to see it, wouldn’t you? What did you say? Hold up your head. I didn’t her you. What did you say?” “I said yes,” said Liza.

Review in Summary Overall I enjoyed the read, thought the writing was wonderful and the characters captivating. I enjoyed feeling the weight of a well-worded novel. To witness the excellence of a trademan’s craft was a treat. While it’s not a favorite of mine and I won’t reread it, I would recommend it!

Even after all that I still haven’t touched on much. Abra! Glad she turned around. I thought she was a mini Cathy for a while. But if Lee approves of her, then she must be alright. Ok, that’s it! Share your thoughts below. :)