#i'm watching the second episode of tadc right now

[udnergecko]

OMFG I LOVE GUMMIGOO

[pyschedtrickster]

TADC Ep 2 - Depression and the Meaning of Life

Well, I may or may not be a day late to release of the episode, but I've watched it three times so far and I have some thoughts. Let's get the gritty stuff outta the way.

First of all, The Amazing Digital Circus belongs to @gooseworx and therefore everything I say here is just my personal take on the episode. I could be wrong, talking out my ass, etc. But this episode really spoke to me, so good job Goose.

Secondly, spoilers <3

Third, I think I've written enough that people won't get jumpscared with spoilers. This is gonna be a long read, so bear with me. This post will contain ALL my thoughts on the episode, both meaningful and just silly things I liked.

BUBBLE

So anyone who knows me from Bunnydoll Burrow knows I love Bubble. They're my favorite so far and this episode only cemented that further. They're wonderful comedic relief and even if they don't have any character development (which I don't think they will), I will always love them.

Caine Cares Too Much

While watching this, I was immediately off-put by Caine's reactions, even beginning with him calling Zooble back. He sounds so... dire? I don't know if that was intended to mean something or if it was just to put emphasis on how much Caine cares about his creations. Caine is AI, so world-building is likely his ONLY goal, or his prompt if you will. It wouldn't surprise me if that was why he was so upset by everyone's reactions.

But I can't help but wonder if this will play into his character arc. We understand that Caine is ambiguous right now and there's no real explanation of what his intentions are in the Circus. Something about this just really set me off. It made me feel unsafe in a way as if staying behind would result in danger of some kind. Obviously, it couldn't be that bad, as Zooble did stay behind and turned out fine. Still, I can't shake the feeling that this is foreshadowing.

Zoobie

Hilarious. What a solid nickname, I've seen so many headcanons that Zooble would be a stoner in the real world. This only makes it better. They are now Zoobie in my mind.

Pomni's Child Comment

While I'm sure this was just a silly comment to be made, I kinda liked it. Just a little in-show reminder that through all of this, Pomni is a real, grown-ass woman stuck inside some digital Hell. The whole first episode, we see her wallowing and panicking, justifiably so. Finally, we get to see her grow more serious and stable.

Through the episode, we see more of her being a good character and becoming more at terms with her situation. I'll touch on this more soon.

Gangle

My girl CANNOT catch a break. Gangle is such a funny character and so, so sweet. She's level-headed in my opinion, even through her emotions. She seems to have a good grip on the shit happening around her but has a hard time communicating properly because she has a lot of feelings going on. Me too, honey, me too.

Even in the face of violence, danger, and overall shitfuckery, she doesn't shut down. Sure, she cries. But I've cried plenty of times while still holding the fort down. I think I just relate to her.

Lastly, I NEED to know what this means like I need oxygen.

Government Mandated Shipping

I dunno man, I just really liked this. I'm a shipper at heart. I've been writing fanfic since middle school. I saw pure fanfic material when I watched this scene.

Kinger and Raggs

This scene made me smile. It's a cute nod towards how Kinger is the longest-standing character and, according to some lost post of Goose's, Ragatha is the second. Plus, all of episodes one and two, we see her trying so hard to be a rock for Pomni. She tries to include everyone, keep everyone cheerful, and be a stable constant in a realm of chaos; Seeing Kinger recognize how far she's come and using that to bring her back to reason was just so refreshing. Ragatha deserves more appreciation like that: less about what she does for others, and more about what she's done for herself.

Jax's Disappointment

So we don't know much about Jax besides how Goose loves him and says he's an asshole who may or may not be irredeemable. When he started talking about violence and getting excited at the thought, I chalked it up to him being an ass. But it struck me just how much this mattered to Jax in this scene. I have questions, man. But I'm about to go on a wild tangent, so hear me out.

Jax is happy when being destructive. He gets immediately upset when things go well. And in the circus, we can assume that there have been a lot of traumatic, wild things that have occurred. I wonder if the chaos, the violence, is a comfort for Jax because of those traumatic experiences. As a person with trauma, I've learned that there's a funny cycle that I and other traumatized people experience.

We don't like the situations we're in, but when faced with normalcy, it's so much scarier than the damaging situation we come from. So, we run from 'normal' back into the suffocating arms of our traumatizing situations for comfort. Going back to the situation means more trauma, more trauma means a harder time finding peace in a safe, normal environment, which means more trauma... you get the picture.

So am I saying a fictional purple bunny is using violence in a digital realm to cope with the very real topic of trauma? Maybe. Yes. Yes, I am. This is how I cope.

Depression, Finding Your Place, and the Bigger Picture

Now you may be saying, "hey! You skipped over some major scenes to talk about silly stuff! What gives?"

Well, as the title of this post suggests, I had some heavier stuff to address in this episode and wanted to compile it all in one section. So that meant skipping over a scene to bunch it in with other ones. I'll break it down.

Depression

Let me begin with the fact that I have been diagnosed with depression for years now. I've been hospitalized for it and I've had family members struggle with it around me. This heavily influenced how I viewed this episode and specifically this scene.

Gummigoo had a perfectly reasonable reaction to seeing the perfect replica of him that is his model. Seeing something like that would shatter your world, and we see that happen to him immediately.

But when Gummigoo talked to Pomni and asked why anything matters, it gave me this really familiar feeling. Thoughts of being nothing, of feeling meaningless, the mere idea of being an obstacle--I've experienced all of these. I'm sure others have. Pomni was right when she said it's normal. Everyone has felt down from time to time.

But what Gummigoo is talking about really hit home with my depression. Thoughts like these, especially when they linger for long, change how you view the world. Everything is tinted blue and desaturated. You feel empty and eventually, so does the world around you. You feel like when the party is over and everyone leaves, you disappear--or you think you should, at least.

"Why are you trying to cheer me up? How does this benefit you at all?"

And it's so, so hard to accept help when feeling like this. Depression is a bitch in the way that it wants you to stay depressed. It feels like everyone around you wants you to feel better because it is a convenience for them. It almost feels transactional if you smile.

But Pomni says it so beautifully; "I guess I just don't want you to feel like you're nothing. I don't want anybody to feel like that."

The way she says it makes me feel like she knows the feeling too, and in reality, she says she does understand in a way how Gummigoo feels. But that? That made it real for me. I don't know why. This whole scene, the entrapment and loneliness despite not actually being alone, just embodied how I've felt for years. What amazing writing.

Finding Your Place

This scene was really the cherry on top of everything I just spoke about. We see that these two understand each other, at least as much as they can. They recognize all of this, it's ridiculous. They're hurtling through space into the unknown, hoping everything works out. They may feel empty, but they're not alone. They've got each other, for better or worse. Maybe they don't know where they belong in this liminal space, but they know where they stand in each other's minds.

And then we get this ending scene. God. Fuck.

I knew that there was obviously something to that dream Pomni had in the beginning, but somehow I didn't expect this to be the conclusion to it. I guess I was too distracted by everything else. So when I got to this shot, I got all warm and teary-eyed.

Pomni finally feels like she's got a pack, a place in this digital circus. When you don't feel mentally alone anymore, there seems to be a weight that's lifted off your shoulders. It doesn't cure the sadness, but at least you know that if you need to be picked up, someone will be there. Depression wants you to be alone, but it just lost that battle. The internet has said it best: A win is a win.

The Bigger Picture

We all know where the end of the road is. How we get there is the mystery. This thought can really make a person feel small, especially when depression comes in to tell you that you in fact are small, according to the chemicals in your brain. But the power of numbers and knowing your place in the world makes facing the unknown a little easier.

I'll be honest, the words are kinda lost on me at this point. Our demise is a really hard topic to broach. I've lost a lot of people, especially some major players in my life (shoutout to the Dead Dads club), and still, I don't understand it all. But the best way I can explain it is through my own experience and how I applied it to this episode.

I had for a long time gone through life trying to prepare and prepare. I played the role of the strong, unaffected individual after being hardened by trauma in childhood. I didn't want to be outwardly emotional, because if I was I would have to admit defeat.

It made me feel weak, especially when my depression would whisper nasty things to me about my self-worth. The bigger picture at that time didn't even exist in my mind. I lived to serve and die. It was no way to live.

Only recently, with time, a couple grippy sock vacays and therapy have I started to form my own, new big picture. At the center of this is my interactions with others. Family, friends, and strangers, all of them are affected by my actions. Even during the days when I feel worthless or alone, I remind myself that even the little things I do have a spiderweb effect. I have worth, more so than serving others or being some obstacle. I can simply walk down the street and perhaps I'll be the person who some kid looks at and hopes to look like when they're older. My existence is so much more than just a give-and-take situation with everyone around me.

It felt like Pomni found her purpose in the circus, and it was more than just playing along until the end. Rather, it was to befriend the people around her who have proved in one way or another way that they care. Abstraction wasn't in vain to them. Lives mattered, and therefore so did Pomni.

In a vast, digital world where chaos looms like a grey cloud, Pomni always mattered. She just had to realize how, and it was much more than being an obstacle or a pawn. And so do we, I think.

[demiaroacejadeharley]

The Amazing Digital Circus Episode 2 Review

Warning: This post contains spoilers for the second episode of The Amazing Digital Circus. If you haven't seen the episode, please skip this post and watch the episode before reading this post.

This post also contains critical commentary about Vivziepop. If you're a Vivziepop stan, please do not interact with me. Critical fans and antis are welcome to interact. Reblogs on this post are turned off to prevent Vivziepop stans from interacting with me.

If you're a Vivziepop stan and try to interact with me by sending a PM or tagging me in a post, you'll be instantly blocked. Any asks sent by Vivziepop stans will be deleted.

I didn't find out that TADC had another episode out until Saturday night while I was preparing for my morning shift at work. I decided to watch the new episode before bed and wasn't disappointed at what I watched.

The episode starts with Pomni having a nightmare before Ragatha woke her up. Poor girl can't catch a break after what she went through in the first episode.

And now, for the main event of the episode. Caine assigned the crew to a mission to return the maple syrup that was stolen for a candy kingdom by a small group of gummy gator bandits. I also got some nostalgia feels for the episode as I grew up watching Adventure Time, and the candy themed kingdom reminded me of the Candy Kingdom from Adventure Time.

The chase scene was extremely hilarious, and I felt bad that poor Pomni had to try to keep the bandits from going away. If only Jax actually did something instead of antagonizing her. Gotta say that Jax is one lovable prick.

It made me sad that after Pomni and Gummigoo had their little bonding moment, Caine was like, "nope" and Thanos'd Gummigoo from entering the circus. But after that episode, I wonder what Gooseworx has planned for Caine. Will he end up being the big bad guy in the show? His role is to be some sort of ringleader, after all. I'm looking forward to the future episodes to come.

To end my thoughts about the new episode, I did like that the ending shows Pomni slowly starting to get comfortable with the others. I know Gooseworx said that she doesn't plan on shipping the characters, but maybe she might reconsider it with Pomni and Ragatha. But either or is fine. Gooseworx has the right to do whatever she wants with the show.

I've also mentioned at the very beginning of the post that I will add some critical commentary about Vivziepop. So I might as well address everything now.

I believe I've said this in my post about my thoughts on the first episode about The Amazing Digital Circus, which is that Gooseworx doesn't rely heavily on excess amount of swearing to make her content funny. I still got a good laugh out of watching the new episode. I also like how Gooseworx hired indie voice actors for the show, and it shows that you don't need voice actors who have been in the industry for years to get people to consume your work. Also, last time I checked, the new episode got over 30 million views on YouTube.

Another thing is that I really like how the characters are designed. I'm curious if there is any significance for the roles the TADC crew will play during the future of the show. For example, Pomni is in a Jester outfit, and I'm curious how it will affect her role in the show. And it's obvious that Caine, being the ringleader of the crew, by having him wear a suit and top hat to show that. Meanwhile, Vivziepop seems to rehash similar character designs for the rest of her characters, which, in my opinion, makes her characters look dull looking. Viv has the potential to create really well designed characters as shown with her past work. And I wish she could improve that in the future.

Lastly, the writing. I know The Amazing Digital Circus only has two episodes, but the writing is far better than Hazbin Hotel and Helluva Boss combined. The Amazing Digital Circus stays consistent to the plot by showing the crew going to various parts of the universe they're in to complete their missions. I will admit that the plot of Hazbin Hotel is somewhat consistent as it shows Charlie trying to redeem sinners on top of the threat of Heaven. My biggest concern with Hazbin is that whenever Season two comes around, I'm worried that Vivziepop will sideline Charlie's mission to redeem sinners and help maintain the population of hell to either filler episodes or deter the main plot by focusing heavily on heaven or things that are not significant to the plot of Hazbin Hotel.

And then there's Helluva Boss. The show was promoted being about a group of imp mercenaries doing kill jobs. It wasn't until Viv decided it would be a "brilliant" to show that the main plot aside to focus on Stolas and Blitzo's "relationship" (even though I don't consider that a relationship due to how predatory Stolas is towards Blitz and something similar to Angel Dust and Valentino).

To close this post, I would like to say that The Amazing Digital Circus is what both Hazbin Hotel and Helluva Boss could be, despite TADC only having two episodes. If Vivziepop hired indie voice actors, worked more on her character designs, rethink how she writes both Hazbin and Helluva Boss, and works on giving her female characters the character development they deserve, then maybe I'll rewatch them in the future. However, the problem is that Viv doesn't really handle criticism well and relies on her fans to protect her. She's a grown woman, and she doesn't need other people to fight her own battles. If she can't handle that as a content creator, then maybe she should either step down from her position as the lead of HH and HB or consider taking a hiatus and have her work on herself.

But anyways, that's was I gotta say. The second episode of TADC was a fun watch, and I'm looking forward to what Gooseworx has in store for her viewers.

[kittydragondraws]

well that happened, tadc reaction

stuffs under cut

yipee ads :D sick beats yoo new intro yipee silly pommi silly symbols is it just me or did things get… golder nauseating i think this is a dream, soo sobble oh my god this hurts to watch i don't like thit "i don't wanna play with you anymore" toy story vibes oof collission errors at their finest best girl raggy is it just me or did she get deeper?? man it's so much better watching yt on a laptop then phone "judging by what he's been teasing" FOURTH WALL BREAK canadaland BUBBLE!! local intorvert what's with the block? LARPing :,D he's so me frfr of he's smoking GUNNY ELEPPHANT MY FAVORITE THIIIING shiny manrqquiens kinda nice ngl awww kinger :D it's giving mario movie tbh "GOD" I'M CRYING AHAHAHAHHA ooooh amazing digital yuri she just like me frfr loloo kinda sweet i looove jax ha :D pomni is me jax is so slayful wacky sound effects i'ts only been thrity seconds but i love her already this si adorable WAIT SAD BACKSTORY GUMMIGOO jax has those n genes jesus christ bunny boy i swear i've seen that joke before babootka little arms georg gummigoo is precious jax is actually horrible kuh-nife jax is a masochist lesbian gangle real OH GOD NO RAGGY girly got inverted hot chokky, or diarreah i love colission errors NOO GUMMY COME BACK POOR GUMMY SAAAAVVVEEE HIIIIIIM that's not terrifying at all it's giving n learning he's a clone vibes exstestential horror yippee :D POMMY SAVE THE DINESAW you're in out of bounds dumass POOOR GUUUY NOOOO NAW WAAAAAAA D: data in a computer WAIT THEY CAN GET AWAY WITH THAT REFERENCE wow i hate this, i haaaaaate this jesus fuck my man she wouldn't last a day on copper 9 the keys come back i legit throught that was a nuke oreo wheels he's busy being emo i love his voice NO GUMMIGOO YOU'LL LIVE ON ON TURMBLR oh shit pomni therapy it's giving cabin fever oh i'm sad now YEES POMNI LET HIM COME WITH YOU CAINE WON'T MIND HAHAHAHAHAHHAAH (hyperfixating) his legs are so frucking weird bruh like yourself you worked at C&A i love him yipeeeeee colission glitches are best glitches fudge is nauseating nd i hate him md fans before a new ep: kinger why is your head in a bucket RAGATHA NO IT'S FINE SHE'S JUST IN THE ETHER kinger admin headcanon HE JUST DIED THEY MURDERED A GUY is there like a one vomit per episode requirement or sumting AWWW HE'S BEEEEST YEESSSSS GUMMIGOO GO SAVE YOUR MOMMA are they dancing? are those cahsews on the front? EVERYONE IS DEAD oh… my… god CAINE I HATE YOU CAINE CAINE CAINE I HATE YOU were her teeth clipping? ptsd flashbacks lol RAGATHA FOR THE LOVE OF EVERYTHING GOOD PLEASE BE RIGHT oddly wholesome awww don't make me sad NO DIALOGUE? GOOSE YOU COWARD! awwwww wait noooooo this iiiissss sweeeeet I WANNA GUMMIGOOOO PLUSHIE jax looking pretty neat ngl

[anulithots]

hi i saw you reblog a tadc post and my jaw dropped-

YOU WATCH TADC TOO??? WAIT WHATS YOUR FAVORITE CHARACTER I NEED TO KNOWOWWWWW

I LOVE TADC IT GOT ME INTO INDIE ANIMATION!!!! IM SO SO HAPPYY SHHDHDSNSM

HIii! Yea I was into indie animations and things for a while (dead sound on youtube has these AMAZING series) then found murder drones, liked it, and saw tadc was coming out. I had a mini hyperfixation on it and it was the first thing I've ever seen of my niche interests get popular.

I tend to like main characters because ~character development~ Pomni is no different. But also Ragatha is really nice and level headed and I lovvveee herrr personality. I REALLy hope they get these full fleshed out backstories because I think that would MAKE this show. (not that it isn't good already.... but the backkstorriiiesss I'm weak for them.)

I haven't seen the second episode yet (I have another hyperfixation right now and too much ap tests for my adhd brain to handle.)

BUT I'LL DO IT TODAY AND LET YOU KNOW WHAT I THINK.

[bowlerhatwearer]

This is something that came to mind today after i watched a reaction video of TADC ep 2: How much do you need to do for your audience to care abt your characters really? cus like, you probably heard complaints along the lines of "why should we care about a character we just met" or "character who we don't know much about". but like, for me personality I can get easily invested into characters, and I doubt I'm the only one. so what gives?

this sounds like something from a video essay but I'm certainty never gonna make one

Greetings Annoyingheartenthusiast :-.)

How are you doing and how are things going for you?

Whether a character is liked or not, I have to admit is a mystery to me mysel, I am always surprised what characters get, and don't get popular in media. Sometimes a character that was intended to get popular, ends up being disliked, while a random background character gets instantly loved.

But, I believe there might be a few reasons that speak for a character getting popular.

For example, a character that stands out, might it be due to their backstory, design, their personality, character etc. gets often liked / easily gets popular.

Then of course it also depends on the audience, sometimes the people who enjoy the media, just prefer Character B over Character A, despite A being, the protagonist or one of the main characters.

Something else that comes into my mind right now is how sometimes the villain gets liked more than the hero, due to their backstory, or again, their design with the fans maybe believing that the villain is better explored or written as the hero.

What is also interesting is, how sometimes a side-character, who was only meant to appear for, one episode / one chapter, gets very well liked, with sometimes the character being lamented when they no longer appear or are killed off, because of wasted opportunities, from what I have heard and read.

I believe that, you can try as much as you want to make a character popular, in the end, the fans decide whether they like them or not, and sometimes it is the character you are least expecting, turns into the fan favorite.

Often personal/individual affinity also plays a big role whether people care, or don't care for a character.

Something I wonder and theorize about is, that, a character has a better chance to be liked, when they act more natural...and relatable to people, when they can maybe associate themself...or a part of themself with said character, or said character is at least sympathetic / makes them feel sympathy.

I also can relate to you Annoyingheartenthusiast , I easily get invested in characters, even if they are just a background or side-character, which is why it often saddens me when they eventually vanish, or get killed off.

Since you have mentioned the second episode of the Amazing Digital Circus, I have to admit that while I haven't watched the series yet, I have seen, that from what I have noticed on my dashboard, a lot of people appear to like the Candy Crocodile that has appeared in Episode 2 ^^