#ragatha's hatchet

[hophopscotch]

RagaPom date night went wrong...

Ragatha, Chris, Pomni and Chef Hatchet went though some redesigns

[jaxfromthatcircus]

Jax, Ragatha is currently approaching your location with a hatchet, a tank and a bazooka because you put centipedes in her bed.

"Ooooh noooo I'm sooooo scared! Shiver me timbers! Heh, what is she gonna do anyways?"

[theboywithburninghands]

Hey all. Last chapter of the latest Bunnyrabbitdoll arc... thing. Longest thing I've written by far. Light on the fluff, heavy on the horror and dark comedy. Hope you enjoy. T/W: Gore, body horror, guns, arachnophobia The Dollhouse Final Part: Kill All Monsters

Caine and Bubble are relaxing on a digital beach, both of them sporting sunglasses and matching towels. Caine is still in his full ringmaster outfit and Bubble can’t actually lay down, so he hovers an inch or two above his towel. Layla sits on their picnic basket, playing some beach music. Caine sips from an empty coconut shell through a crazy straw. Caine: BOY, THIS IS THE LIFE, ISN’T IT BUBBLE?

Bubble: I feel like a million deer, Caine! *eats a seashell*

Caine: A GUY COULD GET USED TO A LITTLE R&R! Bubble: Reading and writing? Caine: OH HO HO NO, YOU ABSOLUTE SIMPLETON! REST AND RELAXATION! IT’S HARD TO COME BY RUNNING A DIGITAL CIRCUS EVERY DAY FOR [error: not found: value] YEARS! THAT’S WHY I LET SOME OF MY SELF-REGULATING AI RUN ADVENTURES NOW AND THEN!

Bubble: You mean like me? 

Caine: RIGHT! WE’RE ONE BIG HAPPY FAMILY HERE, AND FAMILIES WORK TOGETHER! AND RELAX TOGETHER! 

Bubble looked around. They were the only ones on the beach for miles. 

Bubble: Hmm… Do you think the performers are okay?

Caine: I’D BET YOU A COMBO MEAL AT SPUDSY’S THAT THEY’RE HAVING THE TIME OF THEIR NON-ABSTRACTED LIVES RIGHT NOW! 

Bubble: Good enough for me, boss! *he pulls a sun mirror from Hammerspace and flips it open, setting it in front of him* Ahhhhhhhhhh…

Caine: WORKING ON YOUR TAN THERE, BUBBLE?

Bubble: Heating myself up! It’s fun to feel myself boil!

Caine: *laughs* Oh, you crack me up. 

—

Back in Crazy Caine’s House of Tricks, Pomni paced back and forth, tapping the hatchet she found on her palm. Ragatha sat in the corner, near Jax, but with enough distance between them so his stench isn’t unbearable. Jax himself drifts in and out of consciousness, delirious.

Jax: Hey… Hey Pompom. Pompoooom. 

Pomni: *sighs* What?

Jax: Wh-What is the scariest tree in the forest..?

Pomni: What? What kind of question-

Jax: Bam-BOO! *makes jazz hands and laughs so hard he coughs, followed by a groan of pain*

Pomni rolled her eyes and continued to pace. Ragatha gave a small, polite laugh at Jax’s terrible joke. Pomni: Where are the others..? They have to be in their own puzzle rooms, right? 

Ragatha: All three of us got one. Well, you skipped yours. Maybe we should try doing what you did and climb up the slide?

Jax: My foot hurts…

Ragatha: I know Jax, we’ll get it fixed soon, okay hun?

Pomni: We can’t. The doors locked behind us… *she jiggles the handle of the door Jax fled through to demonstrate*

Ragatha: You tried chopping it down with your ax?

Jax: Heeeere’s POMNI! *laughs himself into coughing again*

Pomni: I could try… but these seem pretty sturdy. I might break it. 

Ragatha: It’s worth a shot. Beats sitting in the dark and twiddling our thumbs. 

Pomni: I guess… Should I just… pick one?

Jax: Not my door… It’s still in there. 

Ragatha: Why don’t you do mine? You already killed that monster… 

Pomni: Okay. Pomni stood in front of Ragatha’s door, taking a deep breath and flexing her arms. She then readied her hatchet. 

Pomni: …Here we go. Pomni took a mighty swing at the door. With a brittle crunch, the wooden handle broke off, leaving the hatchet-head buried a few inches into the door for a moment before falling out and clanging to the floor. Jax burst into laughter for a third time. 

Ragatha: Oh no…

Pomni looked at the broken handle for a moment before balling her fists and hurling it against the wall, where it ricocheted and skittered across the floor. 

Ragatha: Pomni, I’m sorry. That was a terrible idea… 

Pomni: No-! No, it really wasn’t. It was a good idea, it just… didn’t work. 

Ragatha covered her face, Pomni ceasing her pacing and going over to her.

Pomni: Ragatha, I’m sorry, it really was a good idea, I didn’t mean to… 

Ragatha: No, it’s okay. It’s okay, I just… It’s horrible here, yeah, but it’s never this horrible… something has to be wrong… 

Pomni: What do you mean?

Ragatha: I mean… you saw what was after me… you saw what that monster did to Jax-

Jax appeared to be entertaining himself by seeing how many fingers he could stick through the wound in his foot. 

Ragatha: It’s not supposed to be like this… it’s bad but it’s not… not… 

Pomni: Not?

Ragatha: Not Rated M…

Pomni: Who cares? We’re alive. And when we get out of this place we can tell Caine exactly how we feel…

Ragatha: …I guess I’ve just gotten used to a specific kind of horror… 

Pomni hugged the ragdoll, who gratefully squeezed her back. It was a lot easier to hug her girlfriend with so many other anxieties tuning out her haphephobia. 

Pomni: We’ll get out of here. It’s just another stupid adventure, right? 

Jax: Hey… where’s my hug?

Pomni: You’ll get one after you’ve had a bath.

Jax: I won’t. You just think I’m ugly…

Pomni: No, I think you stink. Big difference.

Jax: …My foot really hurts. 

One of the doors flew open with a crash and Zooble stumbled out of it, clutching what appeared to be a double-barreled shotgun. 

Zooble: I SAID GET BACK, YOU UGLY SON OF A B!#€#! GET AWAY FROM ME!

Zooble snapped their shotgun closed just as a clawed, skinless humanoid hand the size of a car wrapped its fingers around the doorframe. A head, skin so tight around its face it more resembled a skull, crammed its way into the doorframe. It had eyes like pools of fog and a long, serpentine tongue, grinning hatefully

Zooble: Yeah. Keep smiling. 

Zooble aimed their gun at the creature and fired. The kickback from the weapon sent their torso and arms flying, their head twirling about in the air before landing on the floor and their legs blindly stumbling about. Luckily, they were dead-on with their shot and hit the ghoul creature square in the forehead, fog gushing out of the wound as it clamped its bony hand over it. Zooble’s arms and torso, sitting several feet away from their head, aimed the shotgun once again, using their claw as a mount, and fired. The kickback from this blast blew Zooble’s right arm off their body, but the buckshot found its mark in the ghoul’s jaw, severing it neatly from the rest of the skull, so that it swung back and forth like the pendulum of a clock. It shrieked and gushed a torrent of fog from its maw that appeared to freeze the ground below it, shoving its way back into the doorway, the door slamming shut and locking behind it. 

Zooble: F@&$in’ @$$#@!€… their right arm crawls its way back to their body, abandoning the empty gun on the floor. The right arm reaches their torso and their left reattaches it. Then, Zooble’s headless and legless torso pushes itself up so it balances on its hand and claw and ambles its way to their head. They put their head back on and rest a moment.

Jax: *points* Gun.

Zooble twisted their head around before relaxing at the sight of their fellow performers. 

Zooble: Sweet J£$&$, it’s just you guys… gimme a second. 

Zooble grabbed their wandering legs and hoisted themselves up onto them, twitching each foot to ensure proper connection before taking a few careful steps towards Pomni and the others. They stopped, cringing and covering where their nose might have been with their claw.

Zooble: God, it stinks in here… 

Pomni: Sorry. It’s Jax. His monster pretty much had him in Its mouth… 

Zooble: Ugh… *keeping their claw up* So… you three made it out. And you all ran into monsters too? 

Pomni: I sort of skipped mine by climbing back up the slide and forcing the trapdoor open… I had a weapon too, but it just broke. *she picks up the head of the hatchet*

Zooble: Really? D@##, that gun only had two shells. I looked all over that stupid lodge for supplies… 

Jax: Hodgepodge in a lodge… hee hee.

Zooble: What’s with him?

Ragatha: He got bitten by his monster too. I think it might have had something on Its teeth, ‘cause he’s been acting like that for a while. 

Jax: *watching his own hand move* My hands make after-hands.

Pomni: Are you alright though, Zooble? Ragatha was just telling me-

Zooble: Oh yeah, dandy. Peachy keen. Nothing like nearly getting frozen by a giant ice wraith to put a little skip in your step.

Ragatha: You were better than I was. Pomni had to kill my monster for me.

Zooble: …Pomni? Really?

Pomni: You don’t need to sound so shocked. 

Zooble: I mean, no offense, newbie, but you don’t give off “killer” energy. 

Jax: It’s because she loves her! 

Pomni blushed hot pink and Ragatha rather brusquely cleared her throat.

Ragatha: He’s uh, not in his right mind. I just got lucky that Pomni stumbled into my escape room… 

Zooble: So that leaves Gangle and Kinger unaccounted for. 

Ragatha: Right… 

Pomni: They have to be inside one of the doors we haven’t used yet. And since they can really hurt us, they might be in big trouble.

Zooble: So what do we do? 

Pomni: Well, there’s seven doors. One for each of us, and one that must lead out of here, or deeper into this place, God forbid…

Jax: That one. It’s different…

Jax pointed to a door on the opposite wall from where he was sitting. It was the only door on that wall, and it appeared to have three small, colored lights on it, no brighter than those on a Christmas tree. Pomni, Ragatha and Zooble all approached the door. There were six lightbulbs, two vertical rows of three, on a small panel. A fuschia, periwinkle and red light were illuminated, while the other three were dark. A small bronze plaque above the lights was barely readable in the soft red-violet glow. 

Pomni: “Should you give in to your pain,

In this house, you will remain.

‘Tis only after fear is slain

That you can go home again.”

Zooble pointed to each of the illuminated lights. 

Zooble: Pink for me, purple for Jax, red for Ragatha. 

Ragatha: So the other three are Kinger, Gangle-

Pomni: And me. I have to do mine…

Ragatha: But you skipped it… How are you going to get back in there, all the doors are locked… 

Pomni: Let’s worry about that in a bit. Gangle and Kinger haven’t beaten their rooms yet.

Ragatha: But the doors are locked.

Pomni: Doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try. 

Pomni picked up the empty shotgun and the blade of the broken hatchet. 

Pomni: See if any of the doors open for you. If they don’t, and they probably won’t, try to smash the handles off with the butt of this. *she hands Ragatha the gun* I don’t see a deadbolt, so it must just be a lock on the handle…

Zooble: What if you’re wrong? What if we get stuck in here? 

Pomni: Then I’m wrong, and we’re stuck. But we tried.

Pomni jiggled the handle on one of the doors they hadn’t tried yet. To no one’s surprise, it was locked, so she took the axehead and began to smash it down on the handle. Ragatha set to work on another one of the doors, testing the handle and then starting the process of bashing it off with the shotgun. Jax covered his ears at the sudden noise. 

What felt like ages of continuous bashing finally ended when Ragatha and Zooble succeeded in knocking off their door’s handle, with it clanging to the floor in several bent and twisted pieces. Ragatha pulled on the hole where the handle once was and the door opened with a crunch. 

Ragatha: Yes!

Zooble: I’ll be d@##ed. 

Pomni: Oh, good work guys! *puts down the axehead, panting with exertion* Okay, let’s go in and help…

Ragatha: Wait, what about Jax- oh.

Jax snorted in his sleep, kicking his uninjured foot and slumping a little further down the wall.

Pomni: Looks like he’ll be okay for a little while. *she smiles* I’m glad he could get at least a little rest… 

Zooble: You know, this is pretty much what he acts like even when he isn’t tripping on monster venom… 

The three of them chortled, but it died down quickly. They had work to do. Ragatha opened the door and they slipped inside, Zooble carrying the empty gun just in case.

They exited into what appeared to be a forest, the door attached to a brick wall, the only man made structure in the vicinity. It slammed shut behind them. The ivy-snared trees stretched high out of view, the suffocating canopy of leaves blocking just about all natural light. The grass was overgrown and clumpy, so tall that Pomni had to push it out of the way to keep it from getting in her mouth. Crickets and other insects chirred, and the entire area had the dense smell of wet moss. 

Zooble: Hmm. *they hold up their hand and claw, calling out* HEY GANGLE?! KINGER?! YOU OUT THERE?

In the distance, there was another shout. Too high pitched and delicate to be the echo of Zooble’s voice. 

Ragatha: Gangle! 

The three of them took off into the woods. Pomni could hardly see an inch in front of her due to the tall, knotted grass, and her foot soon snagged on a root and she fell forward.

Pomni: OOF! 

The jester swore to herself and began to pick herself up off the ground, only to squeak when a pair of hands wrapped about her midsection and hoisted her into the air. She was seated down on a pair of plush shoulders, a tangle of red curls and a purple bow between her legs.

Ragatha: *smiling up at her* Watch your head, okay? 

Ragatha continued running, Pomni leaning onto her head for support. The jester felt her face warm up despite the cool air rushing by her cheeks. This was much better… She had no idea Ragatha was that strong.

The group continued onward, following Gangle’s cries, until they came onto a clearing between two mighty trees. Strung between them was a spider web, woven with thick yet gossamer threads to be about the size of a California king bed. In the middle hung Gangle, her body a mess of knots and her lips quavering. She gasped upon seeing the three of them.

Gangle: Guys! You made it… please get me down, I don’t know when she’s coming back…

Zooble: Okay, hold still. Pomni, you’re the tallest right now, break the threads. 

Zooble handed Pomni the gun, and she stuck the barrels of it up towards one of the threads holding Gangle in place.

Gangle: Th-That thing isn’t loaded is it?!

Ragatha: Gangle, we wouldn’t do that to you- ow my neck.

Pomni: Sorry Ragatha… 

The canopy above them whispered ever so slightly, a few dead leaves drifting down upon them. Gangle looked up as best she could and gasped.

Gangle: She’s coming, please get me down, guys, please! 

Pomni hit one of the silk threads with the barrel of the gun, and it stuck fast. Pomni yanked on the stock of the weapon, but the threads stretched taut like bungee cords. A 12-foot long spindly black leg emerged from the treeline above them with slow, surgical precision, testing its grip on one of the parallel tree trunks before settling it down. 

Zooble: That’s a big-@$$ spider… 

Pushing through the leaves and branches emerged an arachnid, jet black and the size of a rhinoceros. A cluster of eight, milky white fish egg eyes sat on her almost disproportionately small head. Her pincers clicked together greedily as she climbed on eight light and nimble feet down to the web.

Gangle: Help me! Help me, please, help me! 

Ragatha: Pomni, get the gun unstuck!

Pomni: I’m really trying! It’s like steel wire!

Pomni was on her feet by this point, balancing on Ragatha’s shoulders and pulling on the shotgun as hard as she could. Her gloves slipped and she was sent flying backwards off of Ragatha’s shoulders, who had to rapidly spin her arms for balance. The shotgun remained stuck to the web, the spider advancing past it towards Gangle, frothy drool dribbling onto her mask. 

Gangle: NO! GO AWAY! 

Ragatha: Hold on Gangle! I’m coming! 

Ragatha, using her height to her advantage, crouched and jumped up, grabbing onto the shotgun with one hand. Her legs pinwheeled in the air. The enormous spider was jostled about as she prepared to sink her fangs into Gangle, stumbling and turning her ghostly eyes towards Ragatha. 

Pomni: *just now climbing to her feet# Ragatha wait, don’t get stuck! 

Ragatha: I’m not gonna get stuck, I-

The rag doll lifted up her other arm to grasp the shotgun, pulling the trigger by mistake. Instead of the expected click of the hammer striking an empty chamber, there was a deafening bang and a muzzle flash the size of a manhole cover. The gun fired, catapulting Ragatha back onto the grass and sending buckshot directly into the spider’s face, breaking a few threads of her web.

The arachnid’s head burst like a rotten melon, chunky, bright white slurry pouring from the stump that was left behind. Her legs twitched a few times before she tumbled off and hit the overgrown forest floor, her legs curling up. Stone dead.

Gangle: YOU SAID IT WASN’T LOADED!

Zooble: IT WASN’T LOADED! 

Gangle: *practically sobbing# YOU ALMOST SHOT ME!!!

Zooble: IT. WASN’T. LOADED! It’s a double-barreled shotgun! What, did another shell just APPEAR in the barrel?!

Pomni snapped the gun open after a few tries as Ragatha worked on getting Gangle down from the web. A spent shell casing, smoking hot, dropped onto the grass, along with a live one. 

Pomni: I guess it did just appear in the barrel… *puts the live round back into the gun and snaps it closed*

The gunshot had ripped through a few of the threads in the spider’s web, making it much easier to pull Gangle free now that a lot of the tautness was gone. Ragatha only had to reach up on her tiptoes to grab Gangle by one of her ribbons and yank her free. The pile of ribbons fell into Ragatha’s arms and promptly burst into tears, full-on spouts of water erupting from the eyeholes of her mask.

Zooble: Ah… Gangle, I’m sorry, we really didn’t know it was loaded…

Ragatha: Zooble used both shots on their own monster, we never reloaded it… it must replenish ammo on its own…

Gangle sniffled and sobbed a few more times before managing to calm herself down enough to speak. 

Gangle: I-I believe you… I was just… it was so scary… I was stuck up there for ages waiting for her to come back, I screamed and I screamed for help and I thought it was never gonna come… 

Pomni: …All of us are scared, Gangle. But once we find Kinger and I complete my challenge, it’ll be over.

Gangle: *wet sniffle* Challenge..?

Pomni: Yeah. All of us completed a puzzle room like this… well, I actually sort of skipped mine. Long story. Let’s just go back to the nexus…

Zooble: The what?

Pomni: The room with all the doors. It’s called a nexus I think. 

Ragatha: Very Metroidvania of you, Pomni. *she smiles, then looks down at Gangle, still a pile in her arms# Can you walk, Gangle?

Gangle: Um… I don’t know… 

Ragatha: Don’t sweat it. I’ll carry you to the nexus. You’re pretty light.

Gangle: …Thank you. 

The four of them walked back to the door. The chilly air and ambience of the forest was nearly soothing on the group’s inflamed nerves. Pomni pushed her way through the tall grass; it was manageable when she didn’t need to run full tilt, but a part of her wished she was back on Ragatha’s shoulders. 

Zooble: Let’s hope Jax hasn’t wandered off. 

Gangle: Jax is with you guys..? Is he okay?

Ragatha: He’s- Well… he’s hurt, but okay. He got bitten by his monster and we think it may have been venomous or something, because he’s acting really loopy.

Zooble: It’s kind of entertaining.

They reached the solitary brick wall. Zooble reached out to open the door, but someone pulled it open from the other side.

Zooble: Kinger..!

The eldest member of the group stood on the other side of the door, trembling more than usual. In his left hand he held a meat cleaver, stained with something blue. Flecks of the same blue substance stained his face, gloves and robe. 

Kinger: Glad to know you…

The four of them cautiously slipped by Kinger back into the Nexus. They were soon hit by the putrid smell of rotten corn and winced. Jax was exactly where they left him, sleeping like a rock. 

Gangle: It smells really bad in here…

Pomni: I know, it’s Jax… he got it probably the worst out of all of us. *she leans the shotgun against the wall# B-But what happened to you, Kinger? You killed your monster?

Kinger: Monster..? 

Pomni: Uh, yeah, in your escape room…?

Kinger: I… I remember books… 

Ragatha: Books? *she sets Gangle down*

Kinger: Books and- and black candles- and cheesecake… *puts his hands to the side of his head*

Zooble: Okay, okay Kinger. Sounds like you had a rough go of things… Just gonna… 

Zooble took the cleaver from Kinger’s hand with no resistance. 

Kinger: I need my pillows…

Ragatha: We’re going to get you your pillows as soon as we get out of here, okay? You saved us a whole lot of time by finishing your puzzle on your own.

Gangle: Hey…

Ragatha: No, I didn’t mean it lik-

Pomni tuned out the conversation to stare at one of the doors. It seemed to be drawing her towards it… almost whispering to her. 

Pomni: *Points to it* That’s my door. It was made for me.

Everyone stopped and looked at the door with Pomni. Jax blearily opened his eyes, curiously tilting his head at what everyone was looking at. 

Ragatha: Well… with all six of us, it shouldn’t be that hard to finish, right?

Zooble: More like five, since Jax is… indisposed.

Jax: Who are you calling in this clothes?! These are MY clothes!

Pomni went and picked up the shotgun, double checking the shells. One spent, one live. One shot. She sighed and snapped it closed. 

Pomni: Let’s get this over with… Zooble, you can probably use the cleaver to- HUUUUUAAAAAAHHHHH!

Pomni felt herself yanked backwards with enough force to give her whiplash. She rocketed towards her door, which swung itself open to swallow her up.

Ragatha: POMNI-!

Even if Ragatha had perfect timing, she couldn’t have caught up to her girlfriend in time. By the time she had taken three steps, the jester was across the threshold and the door slammed shut with a teeth-chattering bang, locking itself. 

——

Pomni awoke in darkness. Her head swam, and her upset equilibrium couldn’t tell if she was sitting up or hanging upside down. She felt around in the dark, her gloved hand grasping the shotgun laying beside her. So she was right side up, good start.

There was a clunk somewhere and she was blinded, covering her eyes with the back of her hand. A tinny buzz signaled that she was under some lights. She felt her pupils constrict painfully as she squinted at her surroundings. 

It was an office. An almost perfect imitation of symmetrical, focus-grouped blandness. The cheap carpet beneath her was an inoffensive green, the walls sterile, corporate white, and the drop ceiling above her lit with fluorescent, brain-itching lights. A few posters showing nonsensical cartoons sparsely decorated the walls. One had a man throwing a fish back into the lake he just caught it from with “Keep on The On Keeping On” overlaid over the sky in impact font, another showing an orange house cat looking up curiously at a T-Rex, with the quote “If at First You Don’t Succeed, Bite Off Your Tongue and Change Your Name to Xerxes” on the bottom, attributed to Buster Keaton.

There was a large table set up between the two rows of cubicles, empty bowls that may have contained chips or punch sitting on them, with a few cheap pink party hats and paper plates littering the floor. It wasn’t at all clear what the party was celebrating, the only clue being a lone greeting card laying on the table. Pomni brought along the shotgun and picked up the card. It was totally blank on the front apart from some words written in silver. 

Pomni: “To our new Employee.” *she flips it open* 

“The time for riddles has since passed,

For you are the very last.

We present to you a terror pure

That, by yourself, you must endure.”

One of the tiles on the drop ceiling was knocked loose, falling onto a desk and snapping in two. An arm emerged from the hole in the ceiling, a long, purple arm with a bright yellow glove on the end.

Pomni: Jax?

Another arm emerged from the ceiling, this one soft and plush, a hand with three fingers…

Voice: Pom… niiiiii…

Pomni: Oh my god…

A head emerged from the dark, or rather, two heads. Jax and Ragatha’s heads, squished together cheek-to-cheek and sloppily melted into one another like plastic. Their eyes were blank and staring, the middle eye fused together with Jax’s yellow sclera bleeding into Ragatha’s white, their mouth a single, grotesque combination of Jax’s yellow teeth and Ragatha’s sweet painted smile. Their entire body below the chest was a mass of squirming black flesh and multicolored eyes, exactly the same as Kaufmo’s was. Abstracted.

Creature: Pom…niiii….

It fell from the drop ceiling onto the floor, out of sight behind the cubicles. Pomni, her hands quaking, aimed at the cubicles with the shotgun, doing her best to look down the ironsights without dropping it. She only had one shot…

The creature rounded the corner slowly, dragging its combined weight on just its hands. The black abstracted goo stuck to the floor behind it and left a nauseating snail-trail. The creature mewled in agony.

Creature: Pom… ni…. It hurts… 

Pomni: …

The creature leapt forward and grabbed the barrel of the gun, pushing it out of the way and grabbing onto Pomni’s leg. A disgusting, earthworm-like tongue shot out of its mouth and wrapped around her leg as it whined piteously.

Creature: Pom… niiii… why didn’t you… save us… please… make it stop….

Pomni: Okay.

Pomni pressed the muzzle of the gun to the creature’s dual foreheads, and it barely had time to look confused before Pomni pulled the trigger and blasted off the top of its head. There was a squidgy explosion of black abstraction goo that rained down on the cheap green floors and into the food bowls. The amalgamated creature, the top of its head now a fine oily paste, slid to the ground off of Pomni’s leg. Pomni stepped back, looking up at the ceiling.

Pomni: …You wanted me to run, right? You wanted me to run away. I… I think I’m done with that. There’s no point in running, right? Because there’s no escape. Running only makes things worse, delays the inevitable. Well. Mission accomplished, I guess. You scared me. But I killed your little monster. So… I’d like to get back to my nightmare now.

She dropped the gun on the floor and opened the exit door, closing it behind her politely.

——

Back on the digital beach, Caine and Bubble were still relaxing. A rift opened up a few feet away and the six performers tumbled out onto the sand. 

Jax: Caine! Bubble! My guuuuuuuys- *makes finger guns at them as he flops onto his back, starting to make a sand angel*

Caine: GADZOOKS! YOU ALL MADE IT OUT OF THERE! CONGRATULATIONS ON DEFEATING THE FIRST EVER PROCEDURALLY GENERATED ADVENTURE!

Caine snapped his fingers and the six of them were immediately clean. The hole in Jax’s foot knit closed and he sat up, blinking.

Jax: What the- Wh… where am I? Oh, man, why do I smell so bad… *covers his mouth and where his nose would be#

Layla hopped with joy and went over to Kinger, who caught her in his hands and pet her.

Kinger: Layla! So good to see you…

Pomni: Hold on. Procedurally generated?

Caine: THAT’S RIGHT, POMNI! USING OUR CLASSIFIED DEFINITELY LEGAL TECHNOLOGY, MY NEW AI PROBED YOUR BRAINS TO-

Pomni: You… left us in that h€!!hole… didn’t even bother to check on us… nearly let us die… and you didn’t even make it yourself. You spent… ALL OF TODAY just sitting on a BEACH?! 

Caine: …………Well, everyone deserves a break now and then-

With a howl of Barbarian rage, Pomni grabbed the meat cleaver from Zooble’s claw and took a swing at Caine.

Caine: WOAH! HEY NOW, TAKE IT EASY-

Pomni: I’M GONNA STAB YOU TO DEATH AND PLAY IN YOUR BLOOD!

Caine: I DON’T HAVE ANY BLOOD- *ducks another swipe* HEY, WAIT-

Pomni continued to chase Caine around the beach with the knife, the ringmaster pitifully trying to calm the madwoman down. The performers watched the chaos with some gratification. Bubble slid them a bucket of seashells.

Bubble: You guys want one? 

Everyone: No.

Bubble: More for me! *he downs the entire bucket in one go*

Caine: WATCH THE COAT! WATCH THE COAT-

[candy-ac3]

A little birthday gift to myself I been wanting to talk about this au I made and make art for it but just haven’t anyways introducing what I like to call the jester who didn’t like musicals au with one of my fave moments from the og musical! More about it is under the cut

Now this follows the story of the starkid musical “the guy who didn’t like musicals” but with tadc characters as well the characters, also while I know it’s the first part of the Hatchet field series in this au only tgwdlm is a part of it since tbh I haven’t watched the others, the story is mostly the same besides for a few small changes to make sense anyways here’s the list of characters.

In this au Pomni is in Paul’s role not much changes

Ragatha is in Emma’s role once again not much changes

Jax is Ted because let’s be honest he just is

Professor Hidgens is Kafmo don’t have to worry bout changing what we don’t know

Mr. Ken Davidson is Caine

Alice is Gange

Zooble is Deb

Sam is Queenie

Which leaves Charlotte and Bill who I combined into one role and that Kinger has, so a few things change (he still dies when Charlotte does so the rescue mission for Gangle only Pomni goes to)

But yeah I absolutely love both tgwdlm and tadc and wanted to bring them together also please watch tgwdlm it’s on YouTube for free no one I meet in real life has heard about it let alone watch it please please if I can even get one person to watch it I’ll draw them art of one of the characters from this au please just watch it on my hands and knees begging you to

[tirededuxhours]

Meet Cabbie! He's my Tadc oc ::3

✧: CHAR INFO!!

・Name: Cabbie(Cubby)

・Age: [error]

・Gender/Pronouns: He/They/It/Ze/Fae

・Sexuality: Ace/Demi

・Species: Fluogen/Lava Lamp Caterpillar Plush Animatronic

Height/Weight: 7'3" 10.89-376.2 pounds(can fluctuate if wanted)

・Illnesses/mental health probs: Depression, Adhd, Autism, Mild hallucinations (auditory, visual, and scent), social anxiety disorder, insomnia, mild asthma/trouble breathing, sensory processing disorder, chronic pain and frequently (silent) panic attacks, might also have did/osdid(he isn't sure)

・Personality: Cabbie is a large gental giant, wanting to treat everyone with kindness and respect. He doesn't talk much, though when he does it's a low rumble sound or using some sort of lingo from the 1920s, 1990s, or from fiction (i.e. steampunk or videogames). His references are all over the place, mostly because he can't remember which timezone he was from.

He's sweet, slow, and quiet and will never pass judgment onto others unless they really grind his gears.

✧: STATS!!

・Strengths/Weaknesses: Calm during crisis, soaks up information like a sponge, can knitt/sew, he can lift on a good day up to twice his max body weight. While being the jack of all trades he is slow at communication and have bad days where he can't do anything he normally can.

・Magic(yes/no): yes

・LV/AT: ???

・HP/DF: ???

✧: ABILITIES!! (only if `yes` magic)

・Description: Music. The audials/headphones on his head emite constant music into his skull but if needed he can cause auditory illusions for one or more persons. He can also use the headphones to listen to his surroundings more in depth but he uses that only when he needs to fight.

・Weapons: hatchets/axes would be his primary go to for weaponry whole scythes and Sickles is his close second. He is more equipped to do hand to hand verses distance.

✧: OTHER INFO!!

・Fears: Crowds, Porcelain dolls, Needles

・Hobbies: Drawing, Listening to music, Writing

・Birthday: [Error]

・Likes: Coffee(coffee addict before tadc, coffee addict now), dark places, alone time, plushies, nests, bugs

・Dislikes: crowds, people shouting(hurts his ears), the lava lamp star in his chest, touch(picky on who he allows to touch him)

・Is your character ok with romance?: yep!

AU or outcode? Yes.

・Occupation: ???

・Backstory: [error]

✧: RELATIONSHIP INFO!!!

・Family members: ???

・Lover(s)/ Crush(s): Mal, Kinger, DJ MM

・Enemies: Monty(doesn't like how loud he is)

・Friends: Jax, Ragatha, Pomni, Sun/Moon, etc

・Pets: Two rats Mal made him that just chill in his Bedroom

NSFW Notes

➤Name: Cabbie(Cubby)

➤Kinks: Mommy/Daddy, Leashes and collars, Size difference, voyeurism, more to be added

➤Genitalia: Cunt mainly, but can summon an ecto dick if needed, though rarely

➤Description of their 'assets': Pierced, no one knows where he got his clit/dick pierced especially in tabc but they are. They are also the same colours as the lava lamp chest.

➤Favorite Position(s): he doesn't have one

➤Switch,Top,Bottom?: Bottom mainly, rarely a top

➤Limits: depends on kinks and his comfort levels of touch in the moment. Diaper and bodily fluid kinks are an automatic no.

➤Preferred type of sex: he likes to service his partner verses being serviced himself.

➤Masochist or sadist?: masochist mostly

[crearuru]

recently saw both nerdy prudes must die and the amazing digital circus episode 1. I hope the latter has less overly-self-aware "yeah its silly but youre watching it" moments going forwards but the circus aesthetic is nice. LOVE pomni and ragatha. Nerdy prudes must die was pretty fun too but i hated the bathtub scene it was viscerally uncomfortable. Yes the characters were of age so that wasnt the issue but i never wanna hear the phrase dirty girl soup again in my life. Good musical though. Hatchet Town and Nerdy Prudes Must Die were my favorite songs in the musical but the theme song of the lords in black was some good harsh noise i loved the wavy quality of the instrumentals/vocal filter

[hophopscotch]

Meet the staff!(Pt.2)

Hoppy Hopscotch

Name: Hoppy Hopscotch

Age: 25

Nicknames: Hoppy, Hops, Hop-Hop and Ayuda's wife(nickname by Popee)

Family:Jason(father), Jumpy Hare(mother), Lizbeth(sister) and Evelyn(daughter)

Nationality: American/Brazilian

Sexual Orientation: Pan

Relationship: Ayuda(a little atmosphere between them)

Friends: Derek, Trevor, Kristal, Pomni, Jax, Gangle, Ann, Andy, Ragatha, Kedamono, Ayuda, Chris, Chef Hatchet and Popee

Enemies: -

Likes: Run, Make exercises, Be productive, Hop and Lizbeth(it's a Stockholm Syndrome case...)

Dislikes: Being tired, Don't feel enough and Fear of being rejected

[hophopscotch]

Meet the gang! (Pt.9)

Jax

((the quality bro-))

Name: Jackson Jones

Age: 22

Nicknames: Jax, Jack and Rabbit asshole

Family: Ayuda(adoptive mother), Wyldes(adoptive father), Zooble(adopted sibling), Evelyn(sister), Ariah(sister), Louis(biological father), Sophie(biological mother) and Kedamono (cousin)

Friends: Popee, Derek, Chris, Chef Hatchet and Andy

Enemies: Ragatha, Pomni, Trevor, Kedamono, Gangle and Ann

Nationality: British

Sexual Orientation: Gay

Relationship: No one

Likes: Carrots, His sisters, Ayuda and Making jokes

Dislikes: Corns, His parents and feeling lonely

[hophopscotch]

Meet the gang! (Last part)

Pomni

Name: Pomni Kuruwaya

Age: 18

Nicknames: Pom, Pom-Pom, Ghost(Popee's kind of affection) and Roulette eyes

Family: Nichiteru(biological father), Luna(biological mother), Kinger(adoptive father), Queenie(adoptive mother), Popee(biological twin-brother) and Mariha(biological sister)

Nationality: Japanese/Russian

Sexual Orientation: Lesbian

Relationship: Ragatha(crushing on)

Friends: Trevor, Derek, Kedamono, Ragatha, Kristal, Pomni, Chef Hatchet and Gangle

Enemies: Chris, Popee and Jax

Likes: Reading, Salmon and Painting

Dislikes: Being touched

[hophopscotch]

Meet the staff!

Ana Pietra/Dollface

(looks like nothing like me irl but I don't wanna be bullied ;))

Name: Ana Pietra Amorim

Age: -

Nicknames: Ana, Pietra, Aninha, Pietrinha, Pi and Ghost

Family: Samara(mother), William(biological father), João Arthur(little brother), Maria Eduarda(little sister), Elson(ex-stepfather), Ana(grandmother), Marta(grand-aunt) and Valentina(kitten)

Nationality: Brazilian

Sexual Orientation: Pan

Relationship: -

Friends: Ayuda, Ann, Andy, Trevor, Derek, Kedamono, Ragatha, Pomni, Gangle, Chris(sometimes), Chef Hatchet, Popee(sometimes) and Kristal

Enemies: Chris(mostly), Popee(mostly) and Elson(despise)

Likes: Drawing, Watching TV, Sleeping and Goofing on phone

Dislikes: Be sociable, Have apparence insulted and Some certain episodes

[hophopscotch]

Meet the gang! (Pt.12)

Gangle

Name: Glenda Ookami

Age: 24

Nicknames: Ribbon girl, Gangly, G and Masker

Family: Zusume/White wolf(adoptive mother), Terrance(adoptive father), Sophie(paternal aunt), Kedamono(adoptive older brother), Jax(adoptive cousin), Louis(biological father), Eve(biological mother), Mark(biological older brother) and Marisa(biological older sister)

Nationality: British

Sexual Orientation: Pan

Relationship: Zooble(crushing on)

Friends: Kedamono, Pomni, Ragatha(ankward), Kristal, Trevor and Derek

Enemies: Jax, Popee, Chris and Chef Hatchet

Likes: Drawing, Reading and Writing

Dislikes: Having her masks broken, Jax bothering her and Feeling like a burden

[hophopscotch]

Meet the gang! (Pt.5)

Raggedy Agatha

Name: Raggedy Agatha Gruelle

Age: 30

Nicknames: Ragatha, Rags, Raggy and Aggy

Family: Raggedy Ann(mother), Raggedy Andy(uncle), General D(father), Marcella(consideration grandmother), Poppa(consideration great-grandfather) and Momma(consideration great-grandmother)

Nationality: American

Sexual Orientation: Bi

Relationship: Pomni (crushing on)

Friends: Ann, Andy, Trevor, Derek, Kedamono, Gangle and Pomni

Enemies: Chris, Chef Hatchet, Jax and Popee

Likes: Sewing, Reading and Meditating

Dislikes: Seeing people, Rude people and Jax being a jerk

[hophopscotch]

Meet the gang! (Pt.11)

Kedamono!

(yes the mask will be different, but you'll understand him by body language or voice tone)

Name: Kedamono Jones

Age: 23

Nicknames: Keda, Mono, Mona(nickname by Dollface(me), only Brazilians will understand) and Jax's lost sibling

Family: Zusume/White wolf(mother), Gangle(adoptive sister), Terrance(father), Sophie(paternal aunt) and Jax(cousin)

Nationality: Japanese

Sexual Orientation: Pan

Relationship: Popee(simping on)

Friends: Popee, Ann, Andy, Trevor, Derek, Ragatha, Pomni, Chef Hatchet and Gangle

Enemies: Jax and Chris

Likes: Watching TV, Eating and Sleeping

Dislikes: Popee's tantrums, Be compered to his mother and Seeing Gangle get hurt

[hophopscotch]

Meet the gang! (Pt.8)

Chef Hatchet!

Name: Nobert Hatchet

Age: 72(turned back to 50)

Nicknames: Chef Hatchet, Chef, Mr Hatchet and Creepy old man

Family: Axe(maternal grandmother), Michael(father), Lola(mother), Simon(older brother)

Nationality: Canadian

Sexual Orientation: Bi + Demi

Relationship: No one

Friends: Chris, Ann, Andy, Kristal, Trevor, Kedamono, Gangle, Ragatha and Pomni

Enemies: Jax and Derek

Likes: Cooking, Baking, Teaching and Gaming

Dislikes: Feeling insulted, Chris being a jerk and Have his anger episodes

[hophopscotch]

Meet the gang! (Pt.6)

Kristal McLean

Name: Kristal McLean

Age: 30

Nickname: Kris, Young McLean and Big tits(this nickname was given as a joke)

Family: Chris McLean(father), Raggedy Andy(stepfather), Raggedy Ann(stepaunt), Ragatha(step cousin), Marcella(stepgrandma), Poppa(step great-grandfather), Momma(step great-grandmother), Rachel McLean(grandma), Pete McLean(grandpa), Frederick McLean (uncle), Blaineley(aunt) <- (I consider Chris and Blaineley as siblings; Blaineley is adopted) and Susie(Biological mother;distanced from her)

Nationality: Canadian

Sexual Orientation: Straight

Relationship: No one

Friends: Trevor(ankward friendship), Derek(ankward friendship), Ann, Andy, Ragatha, Kedamono, Gangle, Pomni, Chef Hatchet, Marcus, Nina and Oliver(they won't show up in the AU but will be mentioned in a future Q&A)

Enemies: Chris, Jax and Popee

Likes: Reading, Cupcakes and Writing

Dislikes: Chris being sadistic, Being compered to her dad and Feeling stressed