#magical digital van

[17-noodlebird]

The Magical Digital Van

And here we have the main mode of transportation for our Digital Circus members: The Magical Digital Van!!!!

As you can see, I based the design off of The Magic School Bus and Vanzilla from The Loud House. It has a turquoise side exterior and aqua front. The Van has a face that can make facial expressions, but can't actually open her mouth, nor can she speak. But she still can communicate through vehicle noises and radio music (including meme sound effects). It has red velvet seats and seatbelts (what's safety without them, amirite?) for maximum comfort, as well as cupholders in between each seat,

It was built by Kinger, Bubble, Bethany, and Valerie to be able to withstand any kind of weather, crashes, and the usual wear and tear of a regular van. It can also survive landslides and floods.

The Van can carry up to 16 people, which is enough room for all eight Digital Circus members.

As for the seating arrangement, let's talk about that:

• Caine is, of course, the driver. He's the ringmaster of The Amazing Digital Circus, and thus the designated leader of the group. He's the dad friend of the group, who is very prone to anger and anxiety as a result of the antics he has to put up with, both coming from his superstars, and the different locations he and the others explore (WE GETTING TRAUMATIZED WITH THIS ONE!!!!). Pomni and Bubble have to keep his composure in check every now and then, so he doesn't lose whatever marbles he has left inside him.

• Pomni rides shotgun next to Caine. She's basically the little sister friend to Jax, Ragatha, and Gangle, the cousin friend of Zooble, and the granddaughter friend to Kinger. She's also the daughter friend to Caine and Bubble. Both Pomni and Bubble are Caine's straight men whenever he begins to get panicky, a la Crystal Gem Pearl from Steven Universe.

• Bubble rides behind Pomni and next to Kinger. Bubble is the mom friend of the group, having dialed back on the chaotic energy (but not completely tho) to keep Caine's sanity in check. He's also the most affectionate to Caine, since they're essentially lovers now, though the PDA is kept to a minimum to the point of almost non-existence. I'm deciding to make Caine x Bubble a slow burn because I'm still afraid what people think of this ship, though I do remind myself that it's a rarepair, so it's okay.

• Kinger rides next to Bubble and behind Caine, and acts as the grandpa friend. For once, he's not as unstable and kooky, but will space out from time to time. Being two years away from turning 50 will do that to you. He is a DreamWorks movie connoisseur, and it shows from time to time, including Shrek, Antz (though he thinks A Bug's Life is more superior in his opinion), and even Kung Fu Panda of all movies. He'll probably annoy people to death by reenacting the entire Bee Movie script (his favorite DreamWorks movie) and while in character too. The John Goodman bits make Caine nauseous.

• Gangle rides behind Bubble and next to her secret significant other, Zooble. Gangle is one of the little sister friends and is the most adorable weeb anyone's ever met. She forgets to put on her comedy mask for the almost all of the road trip, as she's just simply all too happy to be along for the ride.

• Zooble rides behind Kinger (meaning they are unfortunately in close proximity to Kinger's DreamWorks ramblings, much to their annoyance), and next to their secret girlfriend Gangle. Zooble acts as the non-binary emo cousin, and apparently has some beef with Caine, who Zooble sees as a dad figure, but they won't admit this to anyone. Zooble is a lot more stoic, but still gets occasionally infuriated by everyone's antics, just like Caine does. Like father, like... Zooble?

• In the back, we have Ragatha, who sits next to Jax, and right behind Gangle. Ragatha is the aunt friend of the group, who tries (and often fails miserably) to keep the peace amongst the group. Because of the fact that she was placed in the back, she is prone to motion sickness, especially whenever she tries to read a good book. Caine has to remind Ragatha to stop reading in the freaking Van whenever she starts to feel queasy.

• Last, but probably not the least, Jax is placed next to Ragatha and behind Zooble, which gives him the perfect opportunity to pick on the mix-and-match pal, especially during road games, with Jax's favorite road game being punch buggy. He's the older brother/uncle figure of the group, though most of the time, he tends to make the situation much worse than it needs to be, much to Ragatha's disappointment and Caine's frustration.

All other seats are occupied by their luggage. They packed a lot of luggage with them, but the one thing that that Pomni absolutely refuses to put in any suitcase is her Gummigoo plushie that she created by herself after the ringmaster gave her powers of her own two years ago. Cute, innit?

The trunk? Also their luggage. Look, guys. They packed a fuckton of things with them. Don't want to take any chances, now do we?

The Van will more than likely just sit there and look pretty while their adventures take place. And because it's magic, it can resist just about anything that the cruel mistress that is fate has to throw at her.

Kinger takes the Van for a joyride after it was built, and that's where he discovered that the Carnival also has a built in Bavarian village. Fortunately, he doesn't find out about Caine and Pomni's secret drinking hideout, the tavern that is La Pierrot.

So I guess that's all I have to say about the Van. It was kinda hard to draw, but I think I managed to capture the essence of what I was imagining.

[somos-deseos]

Art: Alireza Karimi Moghaddam 🎨.

[hmvw2015]

Happy Birthday Usagi!

[solarisbeam]

Amari and Dylan

Sob sob... I'm still waiting for the third book 😔

Cropped version :D

[fatedroses]

Danse Macabre

[eireanness]

Forgot to post the complete for this one! 🥴

[jievan]

南瓜巫師萬聖祭典 Pumpkin Wizard Halloween Festival 南瓜巫師手持蛛網法杖， 一場魔幻祭典即將開始~

[sharayahharbridge]

Green Fields, First Steps

Find me on instagram | buy a print on Redbubble

[telltalesketch]

Have a lil WIP because I finally used a posing program to get a proper pose instead of being stubborn and trying to do it in my head <3

[scriobh-an-iontas]

I just figured out how my necromancer character earns money prior to the start of the story:

"I take digital art commissions with a focus on a mix of extreme art and furry erotica, and I live out of my truck; thus the luxurious camper hood"

He could probably make more, but he spends his free time using his "would make for a good zombie" detection spell to save the lives of people who would otherwise die. Consequently he's never found a corpse he could turn into a zombie, but he has regularly swept in "just in the nick of time!" to save people.

He didn't intend to use the spell that way, but a peer found out that he made it and gave him a good guilt trip about it, so now this is what he does.

[felassan]

Game Informer's Dragon Age: The Veilguard coverage archive (MASTERPOST)

---

Please note that in some cases article titles were updated at some point after first being published, e.g. the "A Deep Dive Into Dragon Age: The Veilguard’s Expansive Character Creator" article is the same article as "Dragon Age: The Veilguard's Character Creator Is BioWare's Most Robust Yet".

First, here is an archive of the 'index/contents' page, GI's DA:TV "Hub" - [link, Wayback Machine link]

---

✅ "Cover Reveal - Dragon Age: The Veilguard" - by Wesley LeBlanc - June 9th. [link, Wayback Machine link]

✅ "Get Your First Look At Dragon Age: The Veilguard's Real-Time Action Combat In First Gameplay Trailer" - by Wesley LeBlanc - June 11th. [link, Wayback Machine link]

✅ "The Dragon Age: The Veilguard Digital Issue Is Now Live" - by Kyle Hilliard - June 18th. [link, Wayback Machine link]

✅ "Returning To The Magic" - by Wesley LeBlanc - June 18th. COVER STORY. [link to screenshots of article, link to another collection of screenshots, link to typed transcript (credit: @acealistair), link to reblog of typed transcript]

✅ "A Deep Dive Into Dragon Age: The Veilguard's Combat, Abilities, Skill Tree, And More" - by Wesley LeBlanc - June 18th. [link, Wayback Machine link]

✅ "Dragon Age: The Veilguard's Leads On The Name Change And Solas' Role In The Story" - by Wesley LeBlanc - June 20th. [link, Wayback Machine link]

✅ "Ahead Of Dragon Age: The Veilguard, The Entire Series Is On Sale For $10" - by Wesley LeBlanc - June 21st. [link, Wayback Machine link]

✅ "Breaking Down Dragon Age: The Veilguard's Classes And Factions" - by Wesley LeBlanc - June 25th. [link, Wayback Machine link]

✅ "Dragon Age Cover Story And Shadow Of The Erdtree Review | GI Show" - by Alex Van Aken - June 27th. CONTAINS A GAME INFORMER VIDEO. [link, Wayback Machine link, link to video on YouTube, backup link to video]

✅ "Dragon Age: The Veilguard's Character Creator Is BioWare's Most Robust Yet" - by Wesley LeBlanc - June 27th. [link, Wayback Machine link]

✅ "Here's How Dragon Age: The Veilguard's 'Unbound' Option Lets You Customize Difficulty And More" - by Wesley LeBlanc - July 1st. [link, Wayback Machine link]

✅ "Dragon Age: The Veilguard Will Feature A 'Robust' Transmog System At Launch" - by Wesley LeBlanc - July 4th. [link, Wayback Machine link]

[character limit text break!]

✅ "Companions Can Romance And Form Relationships With Each Other In Dragon Age: The Veilguard" - by Wesley LeBlanc - July 8th. [link, Wayback Machine link]

✅ "Yes, Dragon Age: The Veilguard Has Nudity, And I've Seen It" - by Wesley LeBlanc - July 10th. [link, Wayback Machine link]

✅ "A Deep Dive Into BioWare's Companion Design Philosophy In Dragon Age: The Veilguard" - by Wesley LeBlanc - July 15th. [link, Wayback Machine link]

✅ "Dragon Age: The Veilguard Is 'Respectful And Referential' To Previous Games Without Making Them Mandatory" - by Wesley LeBlanc - July 17th. [link, Wayback Machine link]

✅ "BioWare Leads Discuss The Making Of Dragon Age: The Veilguard" - by Alex Van Aken - July 19th. CONTAINS A GAME INFORMER VIDEO. [link (post contains the video), Wayback Machine link]

✅ "Here's The Main Voice Cast For Dragon Age: The Veilguard" - by Charles Harte - July 22nd. [link, Wayback Machine]

✅ "Everything We Know About Dragon Age: The Veilguard's Bellara Lutara [later corrected to Lutare]" - by Wesley LeBlanc - July 22nd. [link, Wayback Machine link]

✅ "Here's Your First Look At Dark Horse's Upcoming 'The Art Of Dragon Age: The Veilguard' Book'" - by Wesley LeBlanc - July 24th. [link, Wayback Machine link]

[starshideurfics]

Thirsty Thursday - Ring my bell, part 3

part 2

steddie, omegaverse, flagging/signaling culture, getting together, mdni 🔞

Steve shivers with the cold, being mostly out of his pants in the back of Eddie’s van, his hand still buried in the alpha’s hair.

Eddie snuffles tighter against his crotch, purring his pleasure.

“Hey, Piggy,” Steve murmurs, staring softly down at him, noting the time from the digital face of Eddie’s watch, “I should be going, it’s getting late.”

Whimpering, Eddie kisses Steve’s hip as he slithers back. “Yeah, um, it is,” he says softly as he reaches blindly behind himself, grabbing the bandana from his back pocket, and handing it to Steve. 

Steve stares at the wet spot on Eddie’s jeans as he wipes between his legs. He drops the bandana, sure Eddie will huff his slick while he jerks off tonight, warmth filling his chest over how potent Eddie’s desire is for him. He misses the leg hole of his panties the first time, uncoordinated as he works his way back into his jeans.

The warm green scent in the van has gone sharp and bitter under the overwhelming sweetness of Steve’s cum. “Hey, Eddie,” Steve says, smiling when the alpha meets his eyes, “Got a pen?”

“Um…” Eddie digs through his backpack, finding a sharpie and handing it to Steve.

“Thanks.” Steve grabs his hand and scribbles his phone number into Eddie’s palm. “I get off work at 6 tomorrow. Call me.”

Eddie nods emphatically. “Okay. Yeah, I’m free tomorrow night.”

“Good boy.” Steve pats his cheek, grinning as Eddie leans toward him. “My little mushroom pig.”

Pouting, Eddie drops his head to hide against Steve’s shoulder and groans, “Never gonna let me live that down, huh?”

“Nope! So, I guess you’ve gotta live up to your own hype.” Gripping Eddie’s chin, he turns his face towards him and kisses him slow and sweet. “Promise I’ll wash off my blockers before I see you again.”

A purr rumbles through Eddie’s chest. “Good. Wanna smell you everywhere.”

“I know.”

Eddie surprises him by kissing him hard, too much tongue that Steve gentles, ending with a soft nip at his lower lip. 

Finally, they pull apart, not really wanting to separate. “Good night, Eddie.”

“Night, Steve.”

🐽🐽🐽

His entire shift at Family Video drags, even on a busy Saturday, Steve feels every single minute he’s stuck there. The drive to drop Robin off and then to his own house feels even longer somehow. At least until he turns onto his street and sees a familiar, shitty van waiting in his driveway.

“I called a couple times today, and no one picked up, so I figured your folks were out of town,” Eddie says before popping the last bite of a Hostess cherry pie in his mouth. 

“Business trip,” Steve affirms, trying to stay nonchalant as he climbs out of his car and crosses over to the van. He takes Eddie’s right hand, fingers pressing into the simpler ring there. “You never said what this one means.” Steve taps against the band.

Eddie looks away and clears his throat. “It, um… It was my mom’s.” Steve squeezes his hand, perfectly ready to leave it at that, but Eddie looks up with a smile and squeezes back. “It’s a mood ring. She always said it was about seeing all the magic the world has to offer.”

“That’s beautiful.” Steve lifts their joined hands to his lips and kisses the space on Eddie’s finger just below the ring. “I thought I told you I was gonna shower before I saw you again.”

Blushing, Eddie leans back against the side of his van. “I can wait! Wherever you want me, I’ll wait.”

“Don’t wanna wait. We’ll just have to rearrange the evening’s schedule.” He grins, showing off his teeth.

Then he drags Eddie up to his room for another lesson in giving head, one that ends with him returning the favor. Steve’s pretty sure he sucked Eddie’s brain out through his dick, since he fell flat on his back on Steve’s bed after he came. 

Going to showers after, Steve takes his time, and finds Eddie exactly where he left him, soft cock hanging out of his pants. Steve brings him a warm washcloth, helps him get cleaned up and tucked away. Then he leads Eddie downstairs -and puts on the TV. 

His scent soft and clean, Steve lounges on the couch with Eddie cuddled close, the alpha’s nose pressed firmly against his mating gland. He has Eddie’s hand in his own, scenting at his palm and refraining from taking his thumb into his mouth. He’s trying to keep things calm for the rest of the night.

Steve always thought scentmates would work like in the movies: a jolt of lightning through his body that lets him know ‘this alpha is the one.’ Instead, Eddie’s scent makes him warm, in every way it’s possible to feel warm. The rightness of *knowing* Eddie is his pack, the same way he knows Dustin is his pack.

In that moment, Steve is glad to have his stupid padlock necklace off, never wearing it in water to protect the metal and keep his mother from nagging. But his neck isn’t locked away anymore. He’s pretty sure it belongs to Eddie.

part 4

[batneko]

Okay I was trying to come up with a sugar daddy bowuigi AU and I ended up spending so much time thinking about the setting that this is gonna be another long one

So! It's modern day, big city. I prefer to think of it as still a world full of magic and mushrooms and monsters but if y'all want to picture this as a human AU feel free. In this world instead of a king Bowser is the third-generation owner of the biggest demolition company in the city. They took a slight dent lately because Bowser doesn't exactly get along with the city planner... but the company is still best in the business and not hurting for work.

Then there's the Mario brothers, who run a tiny independent plumbing company and by sheer coincidence have a phone number exactly one digit off from Koopa Demolition. They're good at what they do but because they can only take at most two jobs at a time they sometimes struggle. And they can't cut costs (any more than they already have) so the only leg up they have on the competition is promising to be faster than anyone else at the same price. It means they have to work a lot harder (and will definitely backfire sooner or later) but right now they're doing pretty well. Reasonably well. They're doing okay.

Having nearly the same number as a different business means that occasionally both groups will show up somewhere thinking they're about to negotiate a contract only to find out they just wasted their time and gas money. Hard feelings build up. Once, when the bros actually managed to convince a building owner to replace the lead pipes instead of tearing everything down, Mario and Bowser very nearly got into a physical fight. (It doesn't help that Mario is dating Bowser's ex though neither of them will admit that's part of it.)

And then one night Bowser goes back to a demo site to check on something, ends up getting hurt, and Luigi happens to be working late on a job nearby and comes to his rescue. He insists on accompanying Bowser all the way to the hospital, and while he's waiting with him mentions that it turned out to be a good thing the van broke down because if he wasn't walking back to the subway he might not have heard Bowser cry out. Bowser asks how Luigi is going to get home now, since it's so late the subway isn't running anymore, and Luigi says "I'll... I'll figure something out." Bowser calls one of his people and makes them give Luigi a ride. It's awkward for everyone.

The next day a tow truck shows up to take the Mario Bros' van to a mechanic. They're like "we didn't order this??" and the driver just says it was paid for in advance. Luigi realizes what happened and, thinking about the bad blood between Mario and Bowser, tells him the client last night was really grateful for him working late. Mario says they should thank him and Luigi says he definitely will.

So he goes to see Bowser, who is still laid up with a broken foot, and brings him a fruit basket. Bowser is like, I will absolutely eat this fruit but fixing the van was supposed to be payment for Luigi's help. He doesn't like feeling indebted. And Luigi says it was too much! There must be something Luigi can do to thank him properly.

Well... there's this stupid local businessman dinner that Bowser really didn't want to go to. Having somebody to talk to will make it more bearable. Luigi says sure, and the day of the dinner Bowser picks him up two hours early to go out and buy him a suit. Top to bottom, shoes and all. Luigi is a little offended Bowser didn't think he had nice enough clothes... but once they get to the venue and see what everyone else is wearing he can admit he did not have nice enough clothes.

The dinner goes well. Luigi IS a local businessman and nobody questions what he's doing there, even if they haven't heard of his company. Talking with Bowser is surprisingly easy, especially since plumbing and demolition have enough overlap that they can chat about work without having to explain much. They have a lot of similar gripes about clients and contracts and tools.

After a pretty nice evening and maybe one too many glasses of wine, it's all too easy to forget this wasn't supposed to be a date-date and fall into bed with Bowser. When Luigi gets home, rumpled and dressed in clothes he didn't leave in, Mario just congratulates him on what looks like a successful night.

A few days later there's a delivery. A brand new set of the power tools Luigi had mentioned he daydreamed about. Luigi calls Bowser and says this is too much, he can't accept it, and Bowser just says, "keep 'em or throw 'em out, I'm not taking them back. Already wrote them off as a business expense."

Luigi keeps them, but he can't explain this one away. He tells Mario that the person he went out with last week is... from a different socio-economic bracket. (Mario is not allowed to judge, Peach pays for most of their dates too.) They both avoid using the S-D words, but Mario says he feels too weird accepting work equipment from a stranger. Better tell the guy to stick to personal gifts.

So with something like brotherly approval, Luigi starts dating Bowser. He gets clothes, a new phone, fancy dinners and nights at expensive hotels. Bowser is not a bad date (except for when he is) but Luigi always feels a little weird knowing that their relationship is transactional. Even though Bowser clearly likes him and wants to make him happy, Luigi feels like he can't speak up about Bowser being demanding or talking down to people. Because if he's not agreeable enough Bowser will just find somebody new.

Meanwhile, Bowser has NO IDEA that Luigi thinks this. Somewhere along the line he got it in his head that his affection is a burden. He hasn't thought about this enough to put it into words, but he feels like he needs to reward people for being around him or they'll leave. He's not even trying to be a sugar daddy, he treats all of the (few) people he loves like this.

It's not until they've been dating long enough for Luigi to meet Bowser's son that anything changes. Luigi immediately sees that Bowser is pulling the old "new toys make up for not actually being around, right?" and can't stop himself from telling him that NO it does NOT make up for it. Your son wants your TIME.

He's extremely surprised when Bowser listens. And after Luigi tells him that asking Junior about his day and his hobbies will make him feel more cared about, Bowser starts making an effort to ask Luigi those things too.

Eventually he starts to think that... maybe? Bowser has just been romantically incompetent this whole time? So he tests it, and the next time Bowser tries to demand he take a week off to go on a boring business trip with him, Luigi (calmly but firmly) says that he can't possibly miss that much work but Bowser can call and talk to him every day. Bowser goes for it. He actually seems really excited that Luigi is "allowing" him to have so much of his attention.

Oof. Now Luigi feels bad.

After a couple more weeks of trying to wean Bowser off buying his affection (except paying the phone bill because Luigi seriously couldn't afford to do that himself) Luigi asks Bowser if he can officially call them boyfriends?

Bowser practically falls all over himself to agree. Everything is good, they understand each other, Luigi even has his own section in Bowser's closet. He could see this relationship lasting for the rest of his life.

Now he just needs to figure out how to tell his brother...

[hmvw2015]

Titan Luz is SO COOL!!!

I had a sketch of her from late April.

[earlgreytea68]

Patrick really is an incredible live performer, isn't he?

With so much of the world being digital nowadays, live performances are invaluable, in letting people actually see the artistry that goes into the music they love. And Patrick has grown over the years into no less than a Van Gogh.

Like, you get reminded over and over again that WOW: That man's vocal range really is like that, and he loves what he does that much! It baffles me that there are still people who write FOB off as just a nostalgia act, or as top 40 hitmakers, when Pete figured out over two decades ago what "true blue magic" he had, in the shy teenager with the argyle sweater....

Oh, and I'm really keeping my fingers crossed, that we get a Tourdust/2ourdust live album at some point, because it would be incredible to really get to hear all the amazing performances this era gave us!

I want a live album and at the same time I'm like, BUT WHAT PERFORMANCE WOULD THEY CHOOSE???? Like, they were all incredible, I want all of them.

My favorite thing in the universe is when people reach out to me after they've seen FOB in concert to be like, "PATRICK'S VOICE IS REALLY JUST ACTUALLY LIKE THAT??????" He kills everyone always. The truest thing ever is that Pete heard him sing live and never let him go, like, WHO WOULD???? It's a good thing Patrick never really sang until then because that's what kept him free and unattached for Pete to swoop up lol

(actually this makes me want to write a fairy tale kind of thing where Patrick has been cursed to never be able to sing until his true love arrives)

But you're right, live performances mean SO much and Patrick always, always delivers. They all do! They all throw themselves into the live performances. It makes me think of Pete's obsession with authenticity, like, every show is JUST THEM, with all their little quirks and idiosynchrosies (no idea how you spell that) in it.

[17-noodlebird]

presenting...

The Amazing Digital Circus Road Trip AU!!!! 🎪🛣️🎉

I finally have the courage to post something of genuine purpose here!!!

So this is the summary:

• The events prior to the road trip were… eventful, for lack of a better term. To make a long story short, a group of dimensional travelers opened the eyes of the Amazing Digital Circus, both for better and for worse. What started out so rocky ended up becoming a closer bond for them, as they learned more about the other dimensions, and maybe, just maybe, the enigmatic inner machinations of C&A and their perpetually dark history.

• About 6 months went by since then, with Bubble, and four of the interdimensional diplomats, Beth, Pam, Val, and Garcia, creating brand new maps for the game that the others could explore, while completing tasks, gaining artifacts, and meeting brand new people, all while keeping the details secret until it was ready. The other diplomats each had their own contributions to their own game maps, as did Bubble, but only one knew the ending of the road trip: the main diplomat Lulu.

• The road trip would be akin to the world level-based collect-a-thon video games, a la the Super Mario Odyssey, and the role-playing games a la the Steven Universe: Light series. Twenty-six designated levels were made, each with a different theme, animation style, culture, customs, interactable NPCs, characters in need of help, and antagonists/bosses that they can defeat.

• There is a door made out of mountain rock that needs to be unlocked, using all twenty-six (or twenty-eight, depending on your point of view on the matter) jewels, to unlock the “ending” of the road trip; no one else, not even Bubble, knows what's behind the rock door — no one, that is, except Lulu. She says that it's a surprise for afterwards. Each gem is hidden somewhere in their respective worlds, and the players need to obtain and collect all of the jewels in order to open that door by completing tasks, fulfilling objectives, and defeating antagonists. While the circus players pack their things into the Magical Digital Van (a combo of the Magic School Bus for the cutesy face that only communicates in beeps or radio music, and Vanzilla from The Loud House, in terms of retro appearance and spaciousness in cargo and passengers), Garcia gives Caine a silver-colored crystalline gem, causing a “YOU DID IT” pop-up to appear, startling him. Apparently, the pop-up appears when a jewel is obtained after completing the location’s objective. After the first jewel is placed in the middle of the rock door, The Amazing Digital Circus sets off for fun and adventure, thrills and peril, comedy and tragedy, action and excitement, an obscure all-star cast of side characters, heroes, villains, pop culture references, ties to nostalgia, relatability, and… possibly romance…...? Who knows? The inner machinations of my mind are an enigma.

• Each of the Digital Circus members have magical Velcro bracelet communicators that they can use to contact the diplomats for help on tasks, finding out further information, or to just talk to them the same way we'd talk to our loved ones on the phone for hours on end. The communicators also send the circus members notifications for an objective they must complete (do keep in mind they can come much later than usual when they least expect it), as well as random achievements, the same way you would when actually playing a video game. Once a jewel has been obtained by any means, the pop-up will congratulate the circus members for grabbing the jewel, as well as to notify how many left you need to obtain to unlock the rock door. For example:

~ JEWEL OBTAINED! ~

15 out of 26

Only 11 remain

~~~~

Characters:

The original eight characters have been slightly altered to fit the AU, but still have most of their canon traits intact.

• Caine:

Caine is still the charismatic goofball we all know and love, but with a dash of nervousness, inability to understand human humor, especially Gen Z humor, and hints of newfound irritability. He's practically a fish out of water in most of these game locations, not really capable of self-defense outside of his signature cane, and being a lot more cautious and protective with his fellow members, especially his best friend and guide, Pomni. Caine sometimes acts as the dad friend of the group, not tolerating anyone's BS and trying to maintain order in situations he's absolutely not familiar with at all. When around Pomni, he feels kinda at ease, with their dynamic being akin to SpongeBob and Patrick when working together. Hell, Jax even refers to Caine and Pomni as The Dynamic Duo.

• Bubble:

Still the chaotic, anarchy-loving glutton we all know and love, but with a caring side to him. You see, for as long as Bubble could remember, he had been Caine's sole confidant, being there for him during his toughest battles, from witnessing yet another abstraction, to calming the ringleader down after a nasty panic attack. They're even roommates! (my god, they were roommates) Bubble would totally just go with the flow and not worry too much about having to adapt to an environment completely different than his own. In fact, his masochistic tendencies make the perils more thrilling for him! He'd also act as the mom friend of the bunch, acting as some sort of mediator for when things get too chaotic for his liking. He'll also lend a helping hand if so desired.

•Pomni:

She's still jittery and anxious, but thankfully not as bad as when she first arrived at The Amazing Digital Circus. After several months of dealing with this game's BS, she developed an indifference to her situation as a defense mechanism, and has become something of a voice of reason to the others. Jesters in real life are known for not just providing entertainment and comedic nitpicks to the royal court, but were also considered their royal advisors. Pomni would become Caine's advisor after some constructive criticisms towards him and his methods of keeping the others sane and healthy, and later on his best friend, acting as Bubble's stand in from time to time, providing witty banter and friendly roast sessions with the other circus members. Jax often calls Pomni and Caine “The Dynamic Duo” because of the fact that they share some things in common: both can turn into nervous wrecks during stressful situations, both are hilarious to be around, both want to keep the circus happy and healthy, and both care immensely for the well-being of everyone around them. Rumor has it they're also drinking buddies; but nothing has been confirmed…

• Ragatha:

Still our cheerful and good-natured ragdoll, with big sister/ant tendencies. Her hugs are as soft as they are warm and reassuring. She'd be the one to always look on the bright side, even when surrounded by unfamiliar surroundings, kinda like Ruby Gloom. She still has to keep an eye on Jax and make sure he doesn't get up to no good, but during moments where Ragatha and Jax must work together, there are things they can learn from one another. Ragatha would teach Jax the importance of being kind to others as well as taking time to listen and understand them, while Jax could teach Ragatha how to be more assertive and set proper boundaries, making her less of a passive pushover and more confident in taking care of herself first. Ragatha could also attract animals and have them help around with chores, a la Snow White.

• Jax:

Jax is less of a condescending asshole and more of a Jerk With A Heart Of Gold, becoming Pomni's big brother figure when necessary. Sometimes, he and Pomni would get into comedic hijinks of their own, as regular siblings naturally would, even pulling off harmless pranks. Jax is still snarky as always, but this time, being more genre savvy than the others, taking notes of his surroundings, and apparently has a lot of knowledge about agriculture, which proves useful for one particular road trip location. He'll also go out of his way to give someone a hug if he sense someone is in dire need of one, and will offer helpful advice during his more rare moments of kindness.

• Gangle:

Still the cute and bubbly but also emotional and prone to crying talking theater mask, but with hidden depths. Her love for anime and all things Japan is generally what keeps her going, as well as her love for drawing. Gangle doesn't really contribute much other than trying to be as helpful as possible, especially after finding out she can use her ribbons as a rope! Golly! She is, however, incredibly intelligent, with a knack for math, science, and history, as we come to find out in a road trip location, and can even speak and translate Japanese. When Gangle decides to grow a spine in protecting her friends from harm or bullying (even Jax, surprisingly), her voice has a tendency to change to a more mature and assertive business-like tone (remember that her VA, Marissa Lenti, was once the voice of a high school guidance counselor until… y'know.) to show you that you really shouldn't fuck with her. This causes Jax to rethink picking on Gangle ever again at one point.

• Zooble:

Honestly, not much can be said about Zooble, other than they're mostly apathetic, slightly rude, and snarky, being there cuz they can. They, along with Bubble, kinda just go with the flow, but now has the ability to become awestruck or starstruck by the other circus members’ newfound abilities, including Gangle's rope ribbons. Zooble also takes time to appreciate the little things in life, enjoying the much-needed change of pace the road trip brings. They're basically the emo goth kid in terms of personality, but with layers like an onion. Zooble also acts as the bodyguard of the circus members, somehow discovering her prowess in defensive combat, fueled by the innate desire to protect their loved ones at all costs.

• Kinger:

The oldest surviving member of the circus, Kinger still retains his ability to get startled easily from constantly dissociating, his love for insects and insect collecting, and his knack for building pillow forts. Due to being the oldest, he now acts as the group’s grandpa, with his “back in my day” kind of storytelling, and apparent knowledge of how the digital world works. He also offers some life advice on how to get through even the toughest days, him having lived through it long ago with Queenie’s abstraction, and is noticeably a lot more chipper and compassionate during the road trip. He also becomes braver and more empathetic in one particular road trip location, with him becoming less startled easily over time. He apparently is also a tech genius (in reference to MatPat and finnthepony’s theory on Kinger’s past life as The Amazing Digital Circus’s game dev), having knowledge on how to fix machines and software, as well as acting as the gang's mechanic for the Magical Digital Van.

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• The Magical Digital Van:

Built by Bubble, Kinger, Val, and Beth, the Magical Digital Van is the main vehicle the circus members use for the road trip, traveling to different destinations and stops along the way. The Van has a cutesy face that pays homage to The Magic School Bus, with her own emotions and reactions, but can only communicate in van noises, horn beeps, and radio music. Yes, the Van is a girl; a lot of vehicles in real life (including ships) are referred to by female pronouns. Kinger especially loves the Van like he would his girlfriend, much to the chagrin of everyone else.

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• Potential ships(?):

I might be the only one in a sea of Showtime, Bluetooth, and Kingleader, among others on this platform, but I actually do ship Caine x Bubble. When I first saw the pilot, I thought to myself, “yep. These two definitely have chemistry.” I see them as one of those old bickering couples that like to tease each other. They've basically been through thick and thin, gray skies and sunny days, tears of laughter, and everything in between. Also, I'm in love with the idea of Caine just being a tsundere; I find it pretty hilarious to me. And Pomni being the Shipper On Deck in the background. I have a particular fondness for the unusual.

Another ship mentioned here is Jax x Ragatha. Remember The Princess & The Frog where Naveen taught Tiana to relax a little, while Tiana taught Naveen to take life more seriously and work harder to achieve his goals? Well, it's essentially that, like rivals to lovers or something. I love when “opposites attract” is done properly, especially here!

Bluetooth (Moon x Caine) would have been canon in this AU at one point in the past, but now The Moon and Caine are exes (y'all can have exes in fiction btw!). In the past, Caine and Moon dated (and at one point did the deed, *wink wink*), but after the Moon became too clingy and possessive, with a yandere attitude, Caine broke up with her, and Pomni would have helped both the Moon and Caine move on from the breakup, realizing what they had was not healthy. This “adventure”/off-screen episode would be mentioned here and there during the road trip (I want to assume the road trip is like a Season 3 thing, but the show's success might contradict this; oh, well) while Bubble and Caine try to take things slowly.

Hints of Gangle x Zooble (aptly named Google by the masses) can be found, but only in subtext. Zooble makes an in-passing comment on how they find Gangle's assertive voice to be hot at one point.

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This AU pays homage to… well… A LOT of things that I enjoy watching over the years. It takes a look back on the things I found nostalgic as a kid growing up in the late 2000s and early 2010’s, including things that might also be familiar to other older generations of Gen Z. My most recent fixations (such as Unikitty) can also be found there, including random YouTubers I used to watch all the time, horror movies I grew fond of, some cartoons I still watch, such as Steven Universe, The Loud House, Teen Titans Go of all shows, the DreamWorks and Disney movies I watched as a kid, the older Gen Z memes we're familiar with by now, other video games we used to play all the time, among many others. I also wanted to spice up the variety of the fandom with my own interpretations of the characters, as well as some neat ideas I wanted to share when I conceived them.

With that being said, I hope you enjoyed this summary of my brand new AU idea!

Welcome one and all to

The Amazing Digital Road Trip!