Blümchengespenst

♥ Welcome ♥

This is Scarlett talking to you.

I’ll post fanfictions, maybe some art, who knows!

About me: - a sleep deprived adult with too many hobbies - listen to music almost 24/7 and occasionally write music covers - art is my therapy - I am currently interested in:     - The Amazing Digital Circus    - Black Butler    - The Legend of Zelda - Kirby    - the Backrooms    - Good Omens - anything by @kritzelpixel

This blog is a safe space for all people. I won’t allow any hate speech, so please be nice to each other :)

❈ ◦•≫≪•◦ ❈ ◦•≫≪•◦ ❈ ◦•≫≪•◦ ❈ ◦•≫≪•◦ ❈ ◦•≫≪•◦ ❈ ◦•≫≪•◦ ❈

TADC Fanfic Masterlist

❤️‍🔥 = smut

Caine x GN!reader one shots

Deadly dentists of doom

I love you unconditionally ❤️‍🔥

Just one more kiss

Love is in the air

The 57th date: Initiating the KISS

Caine x Fem!BatOC - Can you hear my heart echoing?

Chapter 1: How I accidentally stumbled into a digital prison

Chapter 2: All for one

Chapter 3: One for all

Chapter 4: Welcome to Spudsy's Magic Moment

Chapter 5: Defying Gravity Failed

TADC Cast everyday life stuff

Relationship: Caine x GN!Reader Content warnings: none

Word count: 3200 - established relationship - fluff - after months of holding hands and cuddling, Caine decides to take things to the next step - he's done his research. Nothing can go wrong… right? … RIGHT? ✧༺♥༻∞✧༺♥༻∞✧༺♥༻∞✧༺♥༻✧༺♥༻∞✧༺♥༻∞✧༺♥༻∞✧༺♥༻

“You should stop pacing around, really. I can see you glitching through the floor at one point”, the rabbit jokes, but you can’t stop moving. You’ve already been wandering around your room for what felt like forever.

As the last adventure came to an end, Caine gently pulled you closer to him. Leaning down to your ear, he whispered he’d like to see you in the main hall in around an hour. He has planned something special, and he also gave you a hint to prepare yourself for some big updates in your relationship. But what does “big updates” mean?

There are just too many possibilities. “I don’t know if I am ready, no, I am, but it’s kinda scary, to be honest…”

“It won’t be anything bad, that’s for sure”, Pomni tries to calm you down. “Maybe he’ll just try out a more immersive AI for another private adventure with you.”

Jax, who was leaning against your door frame, now takes a step in front of you and puts a hand on your shoulder. “Come on. It’s just another one of Caine’s little dates. It’ll last a few hours, and once you’re done, you’ll come back love drunk. And then you’re unbearable to listen to.”

Before Jax can push you out of your room, you duck away. “Do you think he wants to… kiss me?”

A deafening silence fills the room. Jester and rabbit exchange a glance. Is there a grasshopper chirping in the background?

From all people in the circus you should not have asked Pomni and Jax to give you company right before the date that might change everything, yet here you are.

You can see the jester’s eyes darting to Jax and then back to you as she fiddles with one of her hat’s pom-poms. “Well… It’s possi-“

The rabbit rams his elbow into her shoulder, causing her to eye him half angry, half confused. “The prude AI wanting to kiss you? Nah, I doubt it.” He gives Pomni an intense look.

Her eyes grow bigger, as if she just remembered something. “R-Right! We are talking about Caine here. He is oblivious about anything that has to do with the physical aspects of romance.”

“Not entirely”, you disagree. “Caine tries, he just needs more time, that’s all”, you explain. The showman obviously doesn’t mind invading your personal space from time to time. Especially not when you two cuddle in your bed or in his office in his big armchair. Once in a while, you would give him a peck or two, and he blushes, saying he really appreciates your gesture of love. “Oh, recently we started holding hands in public.”

“Yes, and it took him almost an entire month to do so”, the jester counters back in a disdainful tone, placing a hand onto her hips. “If it took him that long to even voluntarily show and receive a bit of physical affection, it might take him years until he is ready for his first kiss, don’t you think?”

“Maybe… Maybe, you’re right.” This makes your smile almost drop, but you stay hopeful. “Anyway, see you later. Wish me luck!” You finally leave your room, departing from Pomni and Jax, who are watching you nervously, hurrying to catch up with your date.

The jester puts a hand to her chest and lets out a long breath. “Phew, I almost let it slip…”

“That much about ’not saying a word to them’, huh?” Jax hisses through his teeth in a playful tone.

“They were so happy about the thought of finally experiencing their first kiss with Caine. Let’s hope everything works out as planned.”

༺♥༻

Not just Pomni and Jax, but each of your friends had to promise Caine to keep your hopes down for what will be the most important date ever. If you’d ask anybody about the “update”, they should keep the façade of the AI being clueless about romantic interactions. Yet in the meantime, Caine was busy figuring out how kissing works, because this won't just be the grand finale of his next date, it's also going to be his first kiss. It needs to be perfect.

He started by going through every dataset he had stored in his RAM related to the terms romance, love, and affirmation. The few remaining memories about the royal couple sharing something similar to a kiss weren’t helpful at all.  How should someone with a giant mouth for a head solve the mystery behind kissing when both example participants don’t even have a mouth?

An open inquiry was needed immediately, and everyone – except for Zooble and Kinger – was summoned to his office one by one.

“Setting up a kiss? You can do it the traditional way if you like. Take them out for dinner first. You have done that before, right? Use some scented candles and put rose petals on the table to set the romantic mood. H-How to kiss? Sorry, it’s been a while since my last kiss. Better ask someone who has been kissed lately.”

“Oh! Eh… Usually people kiss with lips. Well, I suppose when you purse your teeth it could work as lips, too? Like this? I don’t have lips either, but it sure works with Zooble. Waah, I mean- it feels good, that’s all! When the ‘lips’ touch and if they like it, you will go on and on... I’m not sure if Zooble would like to show it to you. I could draw you a kiss scene? M-Maybe Pomni knows more!”

“The kissing itself is less of a crucial point, I think. In the end it’s more about the feeling you want to convey. This is your first kiss, right? Perhaps they are as nervous as you are. Once you hold them close, make sure they feel safe. As soon as you are confident enough, silently ask them for consent and do it. It might be awkward at first, but it’s normal when you’re inexperienced, just so you know. And please, don’t ask Jax for advice.”

“Use tongue.”

Information was successfully processed.

First step: Take them out for dinner.

Shouldn’t be a problem, after all, Caine has taken you out for dinner plenty of times before. The four-course meal on a thrilling water ride is still his favourite to date. But this time, he needed a place where a tender kiss could be easily initiated as well.

The idea for the setting came to him one lovely evening when you were talking about romance and what's typically associated with it. So, he planned a carefree, relaxed picnic outdoors with sweet, refreshing sparkling drinks and a tiered stand with berries and cupcakes, right by the digital lake.

You take a look at the two swans gracefully floating on the shimmering water. “It's as if the two of them were on a date, as well...  Wait, does that mean we are having a double date then?” you ask Caine in a joking manner.

Both of you have been sitting inside a silver gazebo full of cinnamon-scented candles for quite some time already. Everything is going smoothly so far. But the ringmaster slowly grows quieter as he is looking absent-mindedly at the drink you are taking a sip from, his eyes focused on your fingers.

"What?” He was only half listening to you. When is the right time to take their hands? Initiating touch from time to time sounds easy, though neither your friends nor the internet could tell him the exact number of minutes that need to pass for this specific action.

You play with one of the rose petals from the table. “Swans are such lovely creatures. When two swans are deeply bonded, they do a little courtship dance that looks like a heart. Isn’t that cute?”

Why are we talking about- Oh no! He didn’t register the last 10.57 seconds of your conversation, while his thoughts were drifting off. He is such a terrible partner! “Um, yes…”

A cool breeze wafts through the air. The petal between your fingers gets caught by the wind and flies off to the lake. At first, you refrain from asking, but now you can’t deny the sudden taciturn ringmaster. “What’s the matter, honey?”

Caine’s eyes widen. “The matter? W-with me?” One artificial bead of sweat runs down his canine, as he adjusts his bow tie. Is there the possibility you think one of his teeth should’ve been polished a few seconds longer, or was it in fact obvious he drank an entire bottle of mouthwash?

“Yes. Usually, you are the more talkative one.  Is something on your mind?”

“You! You are on my mind.” It’s not a lie, since the AI’s equivalent of a brain is currently filled with hundreds of possible scenarios involving you and the kiss.

This made you smile. “I can only say the same about you.”

Whoopers troupers! This human is everything.

Second step: Initiating touch. Whatever happens next, he cannot and must not leave it to chance.

Caine snaps his fingers, and the sky changes from navy blue daytime to a cozy orange sunset.  Pulling out his cane from his hat in a swift motion, he gets up from his seat. “Would you like to take a little walk down the lake together?” he offers, holding out his gloved hand to you. ༺♥༻

“No.”

“Come on, Zooble.”

“I will not do anything intimate around Caine, Gangle.”

“Please. Do it for them.”

“Huff… fine. Okay, Caine. Sit down and watch closely. We only show you once. And we’ll keep it short.”

“Alrighty.”

“You owe me one for that. You too, Gangle.” ༺♥༻

Whenever you do, he’d always levitate next to your shoulder, but you call it “going for a walk” anyway. Strolling down the street, hand in hand, you admired the sunset, capturing your partner's silhouette.

“Thank you for taking me on that date”, you sigh. You’re still wondering what the relationship update has in store. But whatever it is, you’re certain you’ll love it.

“Did you like it?” he asks, spinning his baton. The loud, boisterous tone was gone.

“Caine, it was beautiful!” you beam with joy.

He doesn’t quite get it. The date was if not boring, still simple compared to the other dates you had in the past. Well, sometimes it's the little things that bring happiness to humans like you. “You fascinate me more and more with each passing day, my love”, he mutters as he interlaces his fingers with yours, and your heart starts to melt.

This is when you notice his hand was growing warmer second by second. You close the gap between the two of you, and it becomes obvious that the ringmaster's entire model radiates an immense warmth. “Err, darling, may I…” You are already lost in thought, as you stop walking to examine the AI.

“Yes, sure.” What? Speak to me, human! May you WHAT???

You put the back of your free hand on his upper row of teeth and then to his soft gums, whereupon his hands slightly begin to tremble.

Your fingers brushing his head makes Caine’s body almost go limp and drop onto the ground, while his dentures lean into the touch. But then his pupils constrict and shake uncontrollably as his eyes move from side to side. Wait! Abort! Stop!!! That's not how this was supposed to go! It should be him who takes control in initiating touch and intimacy.

Actually, you just want to check if he has a fever, and yes, Caine can get sick, for example, by an infectious virus. His head is indeed steaming. You raise your eyebrows in concern. “Are you overheating? I know your body temperature is just a sensory mod, but it usually isn’t that high, or am I wrong?”

So, you didn’t notice him blushing after all, you only want to make sure he is doing fine. Oh, they are such a kind soul.

“Why is that?” you wonder, tilting your head.

Quick! Say something! “Probably because you're so hot!”

“Pardon?” You blink several times.

HOLY SACRED COW! WHY DID I SAY THAT?!?!?! Their body temperature is 36.57°C, not even close to hot. Right now, Caine would love nothing more than to sink six feet deep into a hole down below and be sealed in there with cement for all eternity.

Now, you most certainly feel heat rush up and down your body, because since when was your partner ever that flirty? Not that you’d mind.

Just keep calm, Caine reminds himself. The kiss attempt isn’t ruined yet. Pomni reassured him that it’s okay if the first kiss is a bit awkward, so why not literally ask you directly about your current level of comfort? “How... ehem… Do… Do you feel comfortable and content right now?” he questions, clearing his throat.

“Yes. Yes, I do”, you chuckle, also taking his other hand.

One thing less to worry about, albeit this horrible, cocky line will probably haunt the AI in his dreams.

“How about you?” you want to know. You two face each other, your eyes shining with anticipation as you wait for the showman’s answer.

“I never felt better than when your hands hold mine, my twinkling treasure”, he says in an alluring voice. Your heart skips a beat as he gives you an infatuated look. The whole part about consent is very important to him. The worst case would be that you’d happen to find him scary or disgusting for even trying to do real kissing with you. What if he does something wrong? You probably have more experience than him. What if he messed it up completely on his first try, and you ended up disappointed? No, that’s the worst! You’d probably turn away and never look at him ever again. He’d be a lonely AI, abandoned by the person he loves more than anything and- “Caine?” Your cheeks are already flushed red by the pure thought of kissing him tenderly. A deep kiss is still a bigger number than a quick peck on the side of his gums, which is why your pulse starts to rise. Perhaps, he feels the same.

“Hm?”  His eyes dart down to your lips for a millisecond. Apparently, he really was about to kiss you.

“So about the relationship update…”, you mutter underneath your breath. “I’m ready when you are.”

Okay, the time has come. Don't rush things. Caine knows that if he isn’t able to calm down, he is about to either bluescreen or freeze at any moment. And that’d be humiliating. To add another alarming factor, there are too many programs and windows open at the same time, and the data storage clean-up is also long overdue. What if an inconveniently timed update shuts him down? Perhaps deleting a few last files he doesn’t need anymore could prevent a sudden-

Caine’s eyes go blank for a moment, and he tenses up in an A-pose, startling you a bit, as the baton goes flying when the ringmaster's arms swing out with unexpected force.

“Is everything alright?” you ask, worried, and gently cup his lower jaw, making his eyes turn back to normal.

“Um…”

Sugar honey ice tea.

He just wanted to get rid of a few unrelated dating files…

Deleting a few files is good. Deleting all files is bad.

How does he do the kiss now?

Think fast, Caine.

How embarrassing! the AI panics internally as he desperately tries to find the “How to kiss”-files in his RAM. He did so much research, gathered rare bonus material from Zooble and Gangle, and studied the entire wikihow page, and for what? Unfortunately, he can't find the answer in your pretty face either. Your sincere look makes him even more flustered. Great.

His hands clench into fists, his jaws tensing up. What is the last thing he can remember? One file that can easily be restored- Oh, right!

Before you know it, he grabs you by your arms and runs his damp tongue all over your face. This must have been the most passionate lick ever dated in digital history. As soon as the AI pulls his head back, you can't help but stare at him.

“W-What?” Your voice cracks slightly. You barely have time to react in an appropriate manner. Caine was already waiting for a reaction on your side. But how on earth are you supposed to react to something like that? All you manage to do is let your expression shift from shock to surprise. “What… was that?”

“A k-kiss”, he stammers. “Yet, your perplexed expression tells me, this wasn’t quite the right way to do it…?”

At least not the way you expected him to.

“Yuck! Get a room, you two! That’s revolting!” The Sun shouts in disgust from above. Her face is distorted into a grimace of horror.

“S-Stop looking!” Caine exclaims pathetically and lets the sky turn straight to nighttime with a snap of his fingers, replacing the yelling Sun with shining stars and the resting Moon.

You giggle softly as you wipe your cheek. “Going all in on your first kiss, I see.”

Caine’s pupils shrink down to the size of pin-needles. “Oh, no! That wasn’t-  I-I’m terribly sorry, my darling daisy.  My brain must’ve, um, short-circuited. I didn’t mean to-“ You close your eyes and interrupt him by pressing a gentle kiss on his lower incisors, causing the tails of the ringmaster’s tuxedo to shoot up and stand on end, as his hat takes a joyful spin. The sensation of the smooth surface is kind of new to you, but you are eager to explore it. It feels as if your lips are touching marbles made out of ceramic. Since you let the kiss linger for a bit longer than usual, Caine must be aware that this can’t be counted as just a little peck anymore. Finally letting go of all the tension you had built up before, you place your hands on his shoulders to bridge the last tiny gap that might still separate you. The way his torso is trembling tells you that it must be just as exciting for him as for you.

Tingling electricity runs through your veins, as the showman hesitantly shuts his dentures and slowly leans into the kiss. His initial nervousness completely vanishes as he tenderly places one hand on the back of your neck and wraps the other around your waist. Simply through the romantic collision of your avatars’ polygons, he is actually able to feel something he had feared he’d have to simulate: physical desire. And he is totally giving in.

As you break the kiss and slowly open your eyes again, you see his canines are now covered with pink bars resembling blush.

“Wowzie…” Caine whispers, his pupils blown wide.

You release a shaky breath, your heart beating faster than before. “D-Did that kiss live up to what you'd originally imagined it to be like?”

TADC Caine x Fem!OC

Chapter 5: Defying Gravity Failed

Content Warnings: physical harm, psychological distress, repeated self-destructive behaviour (Batty doesn't cause herself injuries on purpose but I'll include this warning here anyway) Word Count: >3300 - 1st person POV - slow burn - “Everyone deserves the chance to fly!” - well, not today ⇽ Previous Chapter

🔷🔹🔷🔹🔷🔹🔷🔹🔷🔹🔷🔹🔷🔹🔷🔹🔷🔹🔷🔹🔷🔹🔷

Jax lifted me off the ground.

“H-hey, what are you doing?”

We were all standing on top of a skyscraper in the heart of a bustling, modern city. A helicopter flew above our heads, the propellers spinning. Their shrill whirring ringed in my ears. And I thought that the fast and intense pounding of my heart would’ve already been loud.

“Guys!” I cried to the others. “I need some help, please!”

“I thought he was done mocking her. What is the a%$&!#hole doing this time?” Zooble asked annoyed, already taking a seat in the flying vehicle. Since Spudsy's they've been going to more adventures again, which seemed to be to Caine’s liking.

“He’s going to throw Batty off the roof!” Gangle shouted from the loosely swaying ladder that Kinger had lowered from the helicopter door a moment ago.

Ragatha glanced back at us over her shoulder, her eyes widening in shock when she saw me and the rabbit.

I was dangling about a mile and a half up in the air. Only Jax's fingers, holding me by the fur of my neck, kept me from plummeting straight down at rocket speed.

The doll gasped. “Jax! Don’t you see she is seriously afraid? We don’t have much time left, so get up here now! Let her go!”

“You mean like that?” He pretended to let me fall, making my pulse spike and leading Ragatha to cry out my name in fear. The rabbit chuckled. “Batty, you should try spreading your wings already. Or do you want us all to get caught in the blast of a massive bomb?”

Thanks for reminding me that we could end up reduced to smoke at any second. “We could’ve already been inside the helicopter right now if you’d stop playing around!” I kicked my legs wildly, trying to reach him or maybe the building.

“Come on! Falling down a skyscraper with a big explosion during a sun set, and saving yourself by spreading your wings last moment, wouldn’t that be epic?”

Or I’m going to fall and hit the ground. If I’m going to hit the ground first before the building explodes that is…Looking down once, I immediately regretted doing so. I wasn’t much afraid of heights, but sure of the possible fall.

Pomni and Ragatha were already on their way to us to stop Jax from carrying out his plan on the other side of the roof, climbing the ladder back down, their hair and hat dramatically fluttering in the wind.

I knew it probably wouldn't make a difference, but I exhaled shakily and gently asked again, “Jax, would you please put me back down on the roof now?”

“And if I don’t?” he grinned amused, and leaned back just a little, moving away from the edge.  “Listen, even if you don’t make it, it’d still be a cool first Game Over.” He winked at me and fully extended the arm he was using to hold me, as he took two fingers off.

Okay, that’s it. With a slight momentum, I managed to swing my body up high enough to catch his wrist in my fist. I narrowed my eyes. “If this is the cause for my first death, I swear…“

While I was still talking, Jax shook my hand off and let go.

I cartoonishly hung in the air for a few seconds.

Huh.

Instead of breaking the fourth wall to seek for help in the imaginative audience, I stretched out my arms and pulled that stupid bunny with me.

As we were falling at break-neck speed, we happened to startle a pair of grey pigeons. It must’ve been a funny sight: a rabbit desperately trying to free himself from a bat’s tight grip to somehow brace the fall. But there was no use.

We both landed flat on our faces, hitting the concrete pavement below us, while leaving a big crater right where we made contact with the ground.

The force of the impact with the rock-hard surface knocked the wind out of my artificial lungs. I was sure that if I had bones, they would’ve all been broken.  

“Ow…” Perhaps a Game Over would’ve been better than fall damage.  How on earth did we survive?

Jax was already crawling out of our hole. As for me, I had trouble even lifting a finger. At least the rabbit looked just as physically battered as I felt. However, that annoying yellow grin was still plastered across his face. “Naw, does the little bat girl need a band-aid?  Or maybe a bat-aid?”

The pain gradually subsided.  I coughed a few times, giving him a death glare. “When I catch you, Jax… You are so finished…”

“You’re threatening me? Ooh, I’m soooo scared,” he laughed. “Tell me, what are you gonna do then?”

“I don’t know.” I regarded the huge building beside us. No doors. And windows only made of tempered glass. The roof was really the only way to escape. It's crazy that we still made it all the way up there using the stairs before the hidden explosives detonated.  “Hold on. Shouldn’t the bomb have gone off by n-“ ♪‿︵‧˚₊ With heavy steps, I dragged myself through the shimmering neon-coloured portal, which closed behind me. I wasn't in pain anymore, but I felt as if a huge elephant had danced the tango on me. Death by explosion was way worse than fall damage. At least the after effects felt like it.

”Welcome back, my nimble, climbing squirrels!“ Caine appeared, beaming with joy, held out his arms in a welcoming gesture. Squeaky horns and whistles could be heard in the distance.

I looked up at him, giving him a weary expression. That moment, I really needed some peace and quiet.

“Hey, are you alright?” The jester asked next to my shoulder.

“Yeah, I’m good…” My eyes shortly darted to Jax, walking away unbothered.

Ragatha put a hand on my back, probably to calm me down. “We all know how you feel. Jax has killed us on purpose a few times already. If you need anything-”

“Everything’s fine.” I took a step forward and turned to face the two of them. “Really. I just need some me-time for now, you know?”

Caine came straight into my view. “Batty, my dear! How did you like the adventure?”

Before I could even say a single word, Zooble spoke up, their voice completely disgruntled, their antennae twitching. “What made you think our bodies ever were in shape to run up 57 flights of stairs under time pressure?”

“Shut up, will you!” the AI snapped at them, but immediately switched back to his happy facade. “I asked Batty.” He flew down to me, his eyes huge, almost impossible to ignore.

I rubbed the back of neck. Usually, Caine and I always had a quick chat after we finished an adventure, but this time I actually just wanted to go to my room. “Well, 57 floors are a lot and it was certainly unfortunate that the elevator was out of service due to maintenance work.” It was hard to say anything positive right now. “Maybe next time you should take in account that some of us, including me, don't exactly have the stamina for something like that.” The last part sounded gruffer than I intended, so I softened my voice a bit. “I mean, all in all it was a decent adventure.”

This, in turn, caused Caine to drop his gleeful act to stare at me in confusion. “I see”, he replied hesitantly and vanished.

I sighed. Now, I not just felt exhausted but also like a bad guy.

Our group headed for the dorms, me alongside Zooble and Gangle. The two of them seem to get along really well already. I often see them hanging out together on the couch in the main hall.

Gangle waved us goodbye as she was entering her room. 

The smile that had been in Zooble's eyes as they watched their friend’s door closing faded when they turned their head toward me. “Hey, let me just tell you this…” They looked around, making sure we were the only two left in the hallway. “You really don’t have to give Caine any advice. It’s a waste of time.”

I had already walked ahead to my room, yet Zooble was still in front of the ribbon’s door. I certainly wasn't expecting them to say anything about that. “Well, I think, I’ll continue doing it.”

“Why?” they asked, raising an eyebrow.

A simple question but difficult to answer. For some weird reason I really wanted Caine to be happy. But then I’d have to explain to Zooble why I wanted him to be happy, and I didn’t even had a clue why this was the case.

“Because I want to”, I spoke quietly, shifting my weight from one foot to the other.

“Batty, I tried that too, and believe me… He never listens.” The mismatched toy walked over to me, glancing scornfully at the carpet floor as they did so. “He’ll forget about it because he doesn’t care at all.” Their eyes shot back to me, holding a tense energy. “I want you to understand that.”

I felt a little queasy.  “I just want to be nice to him.”

“Whatever you say”, they muttered, opening the door to their room right across from mine. “But I’m not sugarcoating anything for Caine. I stopped trying to look for something good in his adventures a long while ago. And you'd be better off if you did the same.”

We both silently disappeared into our rooms at the same time.

I slumped down on my chair.

My head was still so loud, full of thoughts that were swirling around and never came to a halt, almost driving me crazy. Quickly, I took out the diary from the invisible inventory each of our avatars got. Jax had the annoying habit to invade Ragatha’s room and now my room as well. That’s why I needed to be careful with my personal belongings. 

When I opened my diary a wacky tune started to play. I was still thinking about Zooble’s words.

I’m not sugarcoating Caine’s adventures. Am I?

While writing, I started to hum and eventually began to sing to the music in the background.

“Day after day after day we fly…” Oh, I wish I could.

The helicopter ride during sunset would certainly have been beautiful, had I been able to experience it myself. It would have also been nice if I’d been able to pull myself together during the fall with Jax and spread my wings.

I leaned back and slowly turned around in my chair, observing my room.

The blue rose on my nightstand still was as pretty as a few days ago when Caine gave it to me. Whenever I looked at it the corners of my lips perked up.  Next to it, a few coloured fine liners I borrowed from Gangle. My room was also decorated with other little items by now, all requested by Caine. The growing amount of plushies and pillows already covered half of my bed.

All of this, just to make my eternal stay in this digital prison more pleasant...

Nope. Stop thinking about it like that! All I do is trying to cope by increasing on material wealth. So what?

I glanced in the mirror on the wall. Over time, it became easier to recognize myself in this form, but I'm just not the person I used to be. I raised my arms to spread my wings. So far, the only thing I've managed to do with them is get them caught on cabinets and door handles.

I could at least have used them as a parachute.

Hold on…

Right at this moment, I could see in my reflection that an idea had literally just popped into my head, since a tiny light bulb went off above it. ♪‿︵‧˚₊ Every time I looked down from the railing near the dorms' entrance, the inside of the circus gave me the impression that someone had accidentally dropped a giant toy box, which had just exploded right then and there. The main hall was always brightly lit, even at night.

I started on the first floor. It was high enough that I would definitely be able to glide through the air for a few seconds. I pulled myself up onto the railing and stood there for a moment. My legs were shaking. Not because of the height, but because I now knew how bad the pain was after a fall like that. I took a deep breath.

I fell down a skyscraper. This is just the first floor. I can do it.

Mustering all my courage, I spread my wings and jumped.

My survival instinct kicked in instantly. I threw my arms out in front of me to break my fall as I fell. The sound of hitting the ground echoed off the tent walls and shook my non-existent bones.

“Sh%$&!#t!” I cursed as I got up again and ran back up the stairs to the first floor.  As soon as I stood on the railing again, I counted down from three and took another jump. Call it a curse or a blessing, but once I set my mind on something, I was determined to make it happen.  

This time, my arms were spread wide, but quickly folded during the gliding as the fear of falling crossed my mind. And I fell again.

“D%$&!#mn it!” Maybe I do need more height after all.

So I went up to the second floor and tried it again. The next fall made me even more frustrated, but I couldn't give up. Again.

I made it further this time. My thoughts began to race, making it hard for me to concentrate. I fell again.

All those colours, I hated how they hurt my eyes. I grew a little dizzy, yet I didn't want to stop. My heart was pounding faster and faster.  Come on, one more time.

I just kept falling. This way I will never make it out of here... Again.

The adrenaline rushed through my veins, my thoughts turned into a wild storm.

Again.

Everything was itching, my fingers and ears twitched after the next failed attempt.

One more time.

And there it was. An exit door…

A bright red door with an “Exit” sign on it. Just a few feet away from me, floating in the air.

Freedom.

I could do this. I can do this. My heart was almost beating through my chest, longing for freedom. I wasn't going to abstract in here.

“Hello, my tireless night owl!”

Recognizing that voice, I froze mid-motion. “Caine?!”

As I was just about to jump again, my feet slipped from the railing and I fell backwards. At least not straight back onto the ground floor again, but of course I hit my head even harder right here than before.

Caine’s tiny shimmering shape came back into focus as my blurry vision began to clear. “If I may ask, Batty, what are you doing here at this late hour? You humans usually are asleep during night time!” He put his hands on his hips. “Or at least they pretend to be.”

“I was…” As I looked up the ceiling the exit door was gone. Was I just hallucinating?

“You might have hit your poor little head a bit too often.” The ringmaster snapped his fingers.  “Here we go!  Everything’s healed.”

I didn’t even notice I was that physically hurt. “T-Thank you”, was all I could possibly say. Carefully, I stood up, my heart wouldn’t stop hammering painfully. “How did you… How did you know I was here?”

“Haven’t I told you about the hundreds of all-seeing eyes yet?” The AI flew down towards me, a few more eyeballs appearing right beside him.

“The what…?” But before I could ask what they were all about, they were already gone.

Caine took a look on his wrist. “Anyway, the Wacky Watch showed me-“

THE WACKY WATCH! YOU CAN NOW SAVE 50$ PER PERSON, THAT’S 200$ OFF FOR A QUARTET OF BUBBLES FULL OF RABIES! ORDER NOW AND WIN A-

“-one of my guests experienced harm over and over again by suffering fall damage. I found it to be rather odd, since inflicted pain outside the adventures primarily occurs around Jax, so I simply had to make sure what it was caused by, and then I saw you falling down.” Caine scratched his upper jaw. “Multiple times.”

“Oh…” Ashamed, my eyes darted to the ground, only half noticing how the massive pair of dentures got closer to my face.

“Did you happen to fall down the railing by accident? You must be rather clumsy then, I mean, seven times in row is pretty unlucky.”

I was totally overwhelmed by now. “I… I wanted to learn how to fly,” I mumbled as I was clenching my trembling hands to fists.

“Ah! Well, that’s wonderful!” the AI cheered. He swooshed up a few feet higher just to spin a wheel back towards me. “But it seems to me you haven’t been very successful yet.”

“No.” Obviously not.

“Let me check something.” The showman’s eyeballs detached from his head and circled around me, as they began to scrutinize my body. “Your avatar’s model should be light enough for your wings to carry without further ado. Just practice a bit more.”

Even though I knew he just meant well, I felt disturbingly exposed. “Right.”

 I just can’t concentrate! I can’t calm down. If she just wasn’t fast asleep already.   

Ragatha told me I could always come to her, and that’s exactly what I did the first days, almost every evening. She was a good listener, and her hugs definitely helped collecting me, whenever I felt like I was about to fall apart emotionally. I thought it got better and I refrained from taking the opportunity to go to talk to her, but actually it only got worse.

I don’t want to disturb her sleep. I wonder if Caine would listen to me, even in that way?

Forcefully, I unclenched my tense fists. “Caine? I…”

Is it foolish to confide my thoughts to him? Am I aloud to be honest about my actual mental state towards him or will he ignore me like the first day when I addressed the whole being trapped thing? 

The frantic moving heterochromatic eyes popped back into place. “Yes?”

“If it’s not too much to ask for,” I paused to think this through one last time, “…would you mind if we’d talk about… feelings?” I hoped I wouldn’t regret asking.

“A human wants to trust me with their feelings?” The ringmaster sounded almost euphoric.

I nodded. “I-I’m not okay right now”, I finally confessed to him, praying he’d somehow understand.

“You know what that means, Bubble?” He gave a wink to his companion, who just happened to levitate right beside him.

“Therapy session round two!” the little gremlin exclaimed.

Round two?

Next second, I found myself reclining on a deep red chaise lounge, surrounded by cardboard walls adorned with a row of paintings. A small side table with a potted plant separated me from Caine, who was sitting in an armchair opposite me.

“Wait.” I nervously rubbed my arm. “Are you, like, actually concerned about my well-being, or...?”

The ringmaster had already pulled out a notepad and a pencil.  “Yes, indeed, my doozy dove. What kind of host would I be if I didn't look after the well-being of all my guests?”

At that point, I had no idea whether Caine was any good as a therapist but I wanted to give it a try. I settled in comfortably and gave him a sincere smile to show him, how grateful I already was for him taking me to a therapy session or whatever this was going to be. “That’s nice to hear.”

Caine crossed his legs, raising a part of his upper jaw like an eyebrow. “So, let’s get straight to it, shall we?” 🔷🔹🔷🔹🔷🔹🔷🔹🔷🔹🔷🔹🔷🔹🔷🔹🔷🔹🔷🔹🔷🔹🔷 author's note: The ending was a bit heavy, but I promise the focus will be on fluff and comedy in the next chapter.

Relationship: Caine x GN!reader Content warning: none Word count: >1300 - your friends discuss the fact that you are dating an AI - and not just any AI - but the ringmaster himself! - use of Y/N for reader This fanfic was written before the screening of episode 9 but is supposed to take place after the main events of the show. ✧༺♥༻∞✧༺♥༻∞✧༺♥༻∞✧༺♥༻✧༺♥༻∞✧༺♥༻∞✧༺♥༻∞✧༺♥༻

Everyone takes a seat in the newly renovated French café inside the tent. They make sure you won’t eventually come along, so Gangle is put near the front door to keep an eye out for you. Ragatha’s grip on her cup tightens as she stares guiltily at the steaming, brownish tea. It was she who, after being filled to the brim with stupid sauce, told Zooble about it who is the one who would later call this emergency meeting.  Pomni gives the ragdoll a reassuring look as she explains the situation to the rest of the group.

At first Jax can’t bother about whatever they’d possibly had to discuss, but now, he throws himself back as he laughs manically.  “Haha, if I understand correctly, hehe… they have a crush?”

“Yeah, a crush on Caine”, the jester confirms, collecting the purple rabbit from the ground and putting him back onto his seat.

“You gotta be kidding me, Pom.” Jax shakes his head. “So, this technically means they are in love with a character.AI?  Well, that’s another low even for them.”

“A-and I think Caine feels the same way”, Pomni adds. “I’m almost sure they’re dating. At least that’d be a reason for the recent private adventures between them.” She waits for another response, but Jax just looks at her in disbelief as he starts to cackle again.

Zooble groans worried “Why didn’t you tell us sooner?” they ask, suddenly raising their voice. Their gaze quickly shifts to Gangle who gives a thumbs-up to let them know you are still out of sight. “Would you stop laughing like a fucking hyena, Jax! Could you try to act at least a bit concerned?”

“No. In fact, I’m more interested in how I could possibly make the lovey doveys all uncomfortable about it“, he says in response, showing a sinister smile.

“That’s not helpful, Jax”, Ragatha says, giving him a glance.

Jax can’t help but grin when thinking about all the mockeries he could taunt you with. “Never intended it to be.”

“Think about it, what if Caine is playing with their mind in order to make them like him even more?” Zooble takes in consideration. And that certainly just hit the mark, as they can clearly see Jax tensing up a bit.

“Tss, not my problem, so it’s nothing for me to care about”, the rabbit shrugs it off.

“You should-“

“To be honest, Zooble, I don’t think he would,” Ragatha interjects. “Caine could’ve done the same with us, easily manipulating our minds in giving him compliments and validation, yet he never did.” Lately, she started to give praises and cheer Caine up whenever he did something right and she is sure she never felt forced to do any of it.

Zooble crosses their arms. If they weren't trapped in an artificial body, they'd be sure they'd already have a migraine from all of this. “Argh, Pomni! Please, say something. Don’t let me be the only voice of reason here.”

Pomni bites her cheek. “I don’t know…” she mumbles, playing with one of her costume’s pompoms. “Caine showed us many times, he’s capable of feeling emotions similar to ours. Still not too sure about the part of empathy, though. But one thing is clear, he is sentient and he does feel. Maybe even love.” The jester sees the mismatched toy’s antennae twitch.

Slowly Zooble gets up from their seat. “Okay… Bucket time, Kinger. I need to know what your reasonable side has to say about that.” In one motion Zooble takes a conveniently placed bucket from the ground and put it on Kinger’s head.

“Oh, the bucket again”, the chess piece replies in a muffled voice.

“Take your time.” Zooble leans back in their seat again.

Minutes pass. Everyone stays silent, so Kinger can concentrate.

“Are you waiting for something, Zooble?” the bucket head asks.

Thank god. “I know you were partially lucid during our conversation right now. So, what do you think about Y/N dating Caine?”

“Well… wherever love takes you”, he says casually, folding his hands in a romantic manner.

“What? Aren’t you scared about what happens if Caine gets to, I dunno, possessive once they are a couple?” Zooble asks baffled.

Kinger puts a hand on their shoulder. “Don’t you worry, Zooble. I know, I am responsible for him. And I’ll make sure to take care of it in time, if things are about to go down. But for now, I’ve got high hopes for them.”

---

Unfortunately, Gangle is way too intrigued by the argument, so she isn’t aware when Caine just teleported you two right back into the tent.

You two step out of the portal.

“Please, you shouldn’t have made it easier just so I wouldn’t get caught in the first five minutes”, you tell him, holding his hand, while he levitates beside you. “I could’ve easily hidden in one of the corners.”

Real life Pacman is sure exhausting.

The AI hums quietly. “How should I put this, my syrupy griddle-cake”, he taps the gums of his lower jaw, “you’re just simply too slow for longer on-going chase sequences.”

“How dare you!” you gasp dramatically, causing the AI to giggle. “No, really. Does this imply you think my stamina is too low?”

Your partner shakes his head. “Nooooo. Your stamina is almost right enough.”

Right enough for what???

As you are on your way to the main area you notice how quiet it is.

“What an eerie silence”, the ringmaster comments, glancing around.

You point to the colourful pile of pillows which’s door is left open. “Even Kinger isn’t inside his fort. Where could they possibly be? It’s the middle of the day…“ The smell of coffee wafts through the digital air. “Huh.”

Caine looks up and raises his upper jaw in realization. “I think they’ve been inside the cafeteria for almost the entire adventure”, he assumes. Thankfully, Ming doesn’t appear, yet this also means he is most likely right about it.

“Yup. I wonder why…” You know why.

“I could swear, every time someone’s up there, they’re up to no good”, the showman sighs. From the point the both of you are standing, he tries to peer through binoculars all the way to the others, leaning over your shoulder. Even though his hundreds of all-seeing eyes have been taken from him, he knows how to get by. “They are obviously talking about us behind our back...”

“We should’ve seen that coming.” You tilt your head to the side, trying to also get a small peak. Both of you share one part of the binoculars but of course you can’t figure out what your friends are saying. You really shouldn’t have told Ragatha and Pomni about you and Caine being love with each other the day before.

“Can we finally make it official?” He gently pokes your cheek. “Come on, dearie. Tell them we are a couple!” The ringmaster throws the binoculars mindlessly behind him and starts kicking his feet impatiently.

“Only for a week or so”, you chuckle as you see Gangle on top of the stairs, looking at you two with her mouth wide open in shock.

Caine doesn’t notice her, as he admires your entire existence, his pupils heart shaped. “It’s been the best week since my installation!” he exclaims, immediately wrapping his arms around your waist. “Pleeease?”

How could you possibly say no to the ringmaster’s pleading eyes full of adoration for you and only you?

“Yeah... I think we should just let them talk that out and tell them about us… tomorrow”, you decide while patting his upper jaw which in reaction makes his dentures nuzzle inside the crook of your neck. “I just want Zooble to calm down a bit, you know. Hope you don’t mind the waiting.” Your cheeks must be glowing in a pink shade already.

🎪

I went to see the movie in my Ragatha cosplay yesterday. To see all those people with their merch and own cosplays, there was something incredibly magical about it, discussing the things we've just seen and taking photos in front of the standees together... Just wow.

TADC Caine x Fem!OC

Chapter 4: Welcome to Spudsy’s Magic Moment

Content Warnings: none Word Count: <3800 - 1st person POV - slow burn - a kind of magic ⇽ Previous Chapter

⇾ Next Chapter

🔷🔹🔷🔹🔷🔹🔷🔹🔷🔹🔷🔹🔷🔹🔷🔹🔷🔹🔷🔹🔷🔹🔷 This song is too wonky. Let’s skip to the next… Oh, this song sounds even more cacophonic.

I asked for an MP3 player and a journal, as I explained to Caine, I need something to kill more of my free time in my room. Falling to sleep turned out to be a little trick in itself, which I still had to learn.

In here you'd never grow “tired”. Exhausted, yes, but you never felt the need to sleep. The same rule applied to eating. I would've never grown hungry, but instead, I could’ve experienced occasional appetite and cravings, which is why we all ate at least once a day for routine.

And this was also why I sat here, on my bed, fully awake.

With a sigh I took off the headphones, at first accidentally grabbing the side of my head and not where my ears actually were. My eyes darted around the room, avoiding the look in the mirror. I stood up and went over to my bookshelf. Picking one of the bee encyclopaedias from the shelf, I sat down crisscross on the floor and started to read.

“Bees are mostly attracted to purple and blue flowers…” Another animal fun fact that’ll live rent-free in my head.  Unfortunately, reading the book wasn’t that boring to make me feel as sleepy as I thought it would, yet it also wasn’t entertaining enough to distract me.

Distraction was something I sought after. Something that doesn’t remind me of being far away from home. From reality.

The first three days were simply strange. A sensory overload, with too many impressions, trying to bond with the others, and avoiding any of the bunny’s pranks. But from that moment on, I’ve come to get used to most things here, I had to deal with the realization that I’d neither breathe real air nor feel real sunshine or rain hitting the skin of my face ever again.

And I will never see my friends and family again.

They must be wondering where I’ve been all this time. If I’m lucky, time doesn't move in here.

My friend, with whom I explored the abandoned building, would have looked for me. I'm 100% convinced that if I had been knocked out by the electricity running through the computer and headset, they would have called an ambulance.

Can something like that even happen? I can’t be dead already, and this is the afterlife or something, right? No, that’s nonsense. But I’m a cartoon character…

Or maybe it was all just a dream. A very long dream.

I just want to go home, please.

♪‿︵‧˚₊

After a few more creepy adventures, Pomni clearly had had enough as Caine was about to announce his next adventure was going to be a gory one. The jester didn’t like horror that much, so it’s understandable she was already terrified by the sheer thought of having to deal with a violent psychopath butcher. Also, Zooble, whom I've never seen participating in the adventures, started to complain.

For whatever reason, the AI was really keen on using horror elements now and then, ranging from eldritch abominations to jump scares and chase sequences. Sure, I might’ve liked my first adventure, but I have to admit all the monsters were a bit traumatizing. I know the adventures are meant to distract us from our personal issues within the circus, but soon, I’d need a distraction from the distractions.

However, the ringmaster didn’t seem to figure out why the two of them were so displeased with his new idea. “Well, if you’re all gonna be such CRITICS, why don’t you suggest a better one?” He crossed his arms and shut his teeth defiantly.

“We do!” Zooble replied. “Have you not checked the suggestion box once?”

Curiously, Caine levitated over to the black pole in the main hall, a red box filled with notes nailed to it. “Gonna be real, I forgot we had that.”

“I knew it”, the mismatched toy sighed.

Pomni’s voice lost a bit of her fear. “We have a suggestion box?”

“Basically no”, Zooble rolled their eyes.

We all turned to Caine, going through a few suggestions. If only I had known about this box, I would’ve definitely put my own suggestion inside. Though I wouldn’t know if anyone would actually like what I would come up with.

As I was thinking about my own personal adventure, the AI had already decided on one specific suggestion. “That means today’s adventure is ‘An Honest Hard Day’s Work AT SPUDSY’S RESTAURANT CHAIN’!”

Apparently, our next adventure is about the bunch of us working in fast food with Gangle being our shift manager, which wasn’t very surprising. Since she put that new colourful mask on, she acted quite confident and secure, way more than when she’d only worn her comedy mask. She was also the one who came up with the idea and made this our today’s adventure.

But then it darned me, I’d have to work in fast food.

Well, it’s only for a day. It can’t be that bad, right?

♪‿︵‧˚₊

“Are you sure you don’t need any medical help or anything?” I asked concerned.

Ragatha’s hair stood on end, her woolly skin was totally soaked in oil, and the button eye was just about to melt off her face. “It’s okay. Caine will fix it in a few seconds”, she smiled weakly.

We got a bit closer during the time I’ve already been inside the circus. I was really grateful for her encouraging words, she always had ready whenever I felt doubt. Helping her now was the least I could do.

I just pulled the poor doll out of the deep fryer, where Jax had thrown her in earlier. Later on, it would turn out he was the least interested in doing his job during the adventure. Heck, even Zooble was doing their assigned task.

Well, Caine didn’t really give them a choice whether they’d like to participate or not.

“Battyyyy~” Gangle sing-sang my name. The manager's costume suited her, though I got the feeling the executive position was already getting to her head. “Don’t you stand there and mindlessly look around like an NPC and get to work. We’ve got customers to serve!” She handed me a tray with a breakfast meal and a coffee strong enough to chew.

“O-of course.” It was only the beginning of a long, never-ending shift.

What was interesting to me was that everything, not just looked, but also smelled and sounded quite familiar to the real world.  There was the feeling of the employee uniform, which right now still smelled brand-new but would reek of the restaurant by the end of the shift. Then there were lights, the humming and beeping of the various machines…

The beeping will definitely be stuck in my head for hours after all this is over.

Perhaps I shouldn’t have checked the clock each and every single time I picked up an order. As I cleaned a table of spilled drinks, I glanced past Ragatha, building a pyramid of burgers, and to the clock in the kitchen. Time was almost standing still, the clock hands were barely moving.

“Order 57 is ready to serve!”

I hurried to the counter, picking up the order to carry it to the customer, as I stumbled over someone’s foot, causing me to fall. The filled tray flew across the kitchen, almost hitting Zooble.

“Hey, watch out!” They turned to me angrily, but their gaze was already softening once they recognized the lean creature standing next to me.

“Yeah, Batty, you’d better watch where you walk”, Jax grinned.

Gangle suddenly appeared behind us. “Jax, this is the second co-worker you harassed this shift”, she reminded him.

The bunny shrugged. “So?”

“We can’t have that now, can we? You're also behind with cleaning the bathrooms. Don’t you want to be a model employee?”

“Believe me, he couldn’t care less.” I was collecting the parts of the ordered food lying across the dirty kitchen floor and put it back on the tray. None of the NPCs will notice anything. Can I get fired because of this? This is unpaid labour, so are there any consequences then?

“I like you better when you’re sad.” I heard the rabbit saying to Gangle.

Well, that hit her like a truck. Something was breaking in the background, though, I wasn’t exactly sure what it was. I’d hate to agree with Jax, however, Gangle’s new mask was already giving her an unhealthy amount of positivity and motivation, more than her usual happy mask. “Well, maybe you just need some more… training!”

I just got up on my feet again, as a pair of giant gloved hands violently grabbed Jax and pulled him into a dark hallway. Now she's really going overboard. “Gangle, where did he-“

“And YOU!” Gangle raised her voice again, and I shrank to half my size. “You should go back to work! Or do you also want to be part of the employee re-evaluation?”

♪‿︵‧˚₊

During the stressful hours, I began humming whatever came to my mind, which was basically a jam of three songs at once, one changing from time to time. I was helping Ragatha to sample the burgers, since she was feeling a bit off and had problems concentrating. If this were a diner or a café, the immersion would’ve been great for a specific musical I can’t stop thinking about since we got here.

“What the hell is that melody?” Zooble asked, helping to pack the order.

I immediately stopped. “Sorry.”

“No, it’s okay. Some music wouldn’t be so bad anyway.”

Ragatha began to sing the chorus of “All By Myself” as she finished the last one of a total of 300 burgers.

“Oof, not that kind of music... Pomni, the order is finally ready!” the abstracted toy shouted across the kitchen.

The doll proceeded to sing, her lips trembling. “Don’t wanna be…”

“Hey, it’s okay. Whatever you’re going through, it’ll pass...” I comforted Ragatha, who was almost about to cry. “W-Would you like to tell me more about your horses you mentioned earlier?” Maybe this would lead her thoughts to drift in another direction.

Her head shot up. “My horses? Ooooh, I can’t remember their names, unfortunately. Well, one of them was the most majestic tinker you can possibly think of.” She closed her eyes, talking about better times outside the digital realm.

I listened to her while I was doing the dishes. There have been three horses and a few other animals on her farm, Ragatha loved from the bottom of her heart. It was sad to think about the fact, she might never see them again, yet her genuine happiness right now was a good thing. She didn’t need to make light of anything or force herself to say something optimistic-

“Has anyone ever been interested in you?”

“What?” When did she steer the conversation in that direction?

“Romantically. Like… like a love interest.” The ragdoll could barely stand on her own feet. I was wondering how she was able to keep her balance.

“Err…” Tapping the edge of the sink, I tried to think of the right words. I tended to overshare, especially when talking about the past. “Well… Yes, I once was in a romantic relationship”, I spoke quietly.

Zooble raised an eyebrow, overhearing our conversation.  “Anything apart from that?” they asked, not digging any deeper, which I was very grateful for.

“It’s been a while since I’ve been in love with anyone. And since I never went out of my way to date, I also never really had a chance to fall for anyone again.”

“I see.” The triangle head turned back to the griddle. “You know, dating can be fun. Or horror. There is nothing in between. I once went on a date that actually started off pretty well, but when they asked me if I’d be up for doing it in a bathroom stall, I paid for the drinks and left.” Still rather polite of them.

“Uhm, it’s not like I never thought about it. I’m just scared of the ‘you’ll never know who will be behind the mask of a stranger’ thing.” With a stranger who might talk to fast- F%$&!#ck! Another song is stuck in my head. “Like you said, you don’t know their intentions.” The words just poured out of me, but I felt the urge to explain myself. “And then, there is still the fear of not knowing what to say, and then this will make a whole date just awkward, and you ignore each other in silence.”

“Sheesh, it’s not like we are dating anyone anytime soon. No need to panic.”

Ragatha sighed. “How much I wished someone would ask me out on a date… or flirt with m-” She slipped and fell to the ground.

Bending down, I made sure she didn’t accidentally hurt herself. Weirdly enough, she still had that slight smile on her face. Maybe she was literally daydreaming of the scenario she wished for.

It’s not exactly the same thing, but why not do her the favour? Perhaps it will cheer her up. “You know, this reminds me of a pick-up line someone used on me. Would you like to hear it?”

The doll was already giggling nonstop when I knelt beside her. “Even if there was no gravity on Earth, I’d still fall for you”, I purred.

In reaction, Ragatha cackled even more.

“Yay, it worked”, I celebrated my little flirt attempt and stood back up. I wondered how people didn't feel silly doing that.

“Those f%$&!#cking corny pick-up lines never work”, Zooble said.

“Really?” Now, I approached them, lowering my voice to sound even more suggestive. “Good evening, sweetheart. Do you have a map?”

They wheezed. “Let me guess”, they put a hand to their hips, but I could sense their amusement.  “Is it because you just got lost in my oh-so beautiful eyes?”

“Dang it”, I mumbled defeated. “Yeah, I think everybody knows that one. Wait, I know another trick.” I glanced to the counter. Come on, why are we already out of napkins? “Hold on. I’ll be right back!“

Quickly, I rushed over to the bathroom and grabbed one of the blue paper towels from the dispenser. They were a bit thicker, but I’d make it work nonetheless. Rolling it up, cramping the sides and edges, I formed the towel into a rose step by step.

“Ta da!” I showed my co-workers the crafted flower.

Zooble was quite surprised. “Cool. How do you know how to make these?”

“Learned it in my free time when I had a part-time job as a waitress.” Not that song again… I shook my head. “I wish this had come more in handy. But there actually were one or two guests who loved it.”

Ragatha seemed to love it as well, her normal eye was shimmering. “Hey, do… do you guys think true love exists?”

At this point, she could’ve also easily asked me if there had been any days when I imagined I’d just happen to run into the love of my life while I was buying groceries. Even if that were the case, I probably wouldn't be able to get a single word out without stuttering or mumbling when asked if we could exchange numbers.

Jax might not have been entirely wrong. At least in that regard, I suppose I’ll always be a hopeless case. “Yes... Yes, I do. What about you, Zooble?”

“I dunno.”

♪‿︵‧˚₊

Finished sweeping the floors all clean, I could finally clock out and drive back home in our personalized cars, our names written on the plates. As I fastened my seatbelt and started the engine, I was teleported somewhere else in the blink of an eye.

Bright lights were blinding me. The smell of grey shaggy carpet filled my nose, and it made me feel as if I had been transported back in time. As my eyes slowly adjusted to the light, I found myself sitting in an almost typical office room, decorated with a few motivational posters featuring affirmations and a few colourful objects, breaking the cold, sterile ambiance.

Suddenly, a voice as loud as a siren boomed in my ears. “WELL, WELL, WELL! What a busy worker bee you are!” Caine floated in front of me, patting my shoulder. “You fulfilled all your assigned tasks, and in the end, also successfully hyped the mood of your co-workers. Even Zooble was having a blast for a short time!” His heterochromatic eye balls were bouncing out of his head and back in, accompanied by the sound of a squeaking rubber toy. “Although I’m not quite sure what you were actually doing right then and there to achieve that rare phenomenon.”

If he was referring to the light-hearted, unserious flirting with Ragatha and Zooble, I didn't want to dwell on it too much. “Oh, we were just having fun. Hyping the mood was pretty unintentional.”

The AI put a finger to his lower jaw. “As unintentional as serving contaminated food to the customers, being aware of the risks?”

Well, as it seemed, I didn’t know the risks after all. I took a gulp. “Am I going to be punished for this… like Jax?” Whatever he went through, I don’t want to experience it myself.

“Of course not. But it will definitely leave a dock on your final score!” He took off his hat and was about to reach for something inside it – most likely my score –but Bubble sprang out immediately as soon as he got the chance. For some inexplicable reason, he wore a pink moustache. “Not during the performance review, Bubble.” The ringmaster popped him and led his other entire arm to reach back inside the hat. This reminded me of the extension charms from Harry Potter.

“Can you, like, pull animals out of your hat, as well?” I didn’t specify which animals because I wouldn’t have wanted him to get the idea to pull out Jax by his ears. “Like a magician?”

“Bunnies, pigeons, aliens- you name it.”

Now I was curious about the aliens.

“Ah! Here is your score!” He tucked a photo of me on a pinboard behind him. It captured the moment I stumbled through the kitchen.

Graded a B+. Not too bad. I also took the time to look at the other photos. Wait, when was Kinger riding a bull, and why did he get an A+ for it? The chess piece sat that adventure out, so Zooble could come with us in the first place.

Caine looked me up and down.  “Are you a fan of magic tricks in general? Like this one?” He pointed to the blue paper flower. The rosebud peeked out of my infinite apron’s pocket.

“Oh. Yes. When I was younger, I was given a magic set for kids as a gift. Optical illusions and things like that have always fascinated me. However, I don’t see how this is supposed to be a magic trick.” I took out the rose and put it down on his desk next to a doodle of a bee wearing sunglasses.

“Don't be so modest.” Carefully, he picked up the flower and gently turned it in his hand. “Look. You made a flower out of paper. It’s practically crafted art. And art is magical! Don’t you think so, my fruity custard tart?”

His enthusiastic, logical-sounding reasoning made me smile a little.  “Hm… It depends.” There was a hint of a challenge in my voice.

And he took the bait. “Oh, shall I prove it? I’ll make your flower the main focus of my own magic trick.”

“Okay.” I crossed my arms. “But you have to use a magic hat and a wand. No snapping allowed.”

Caine raised a part of his upper jaw. “Mhmmmm-I can make that work! Sit back down!”

I got pushed back on my chair by my shoulders.

Once again, the showman took his top hat off. This time, it seemed to have grown to twice its size. To make sure I saw that there couldn't have been anything in the hat to begin with, he let me take a peek inside and even let me check that there was no hidden bottom. Not that he would’ve needed one anyway. He dropped the flower inside. I grinned to myself as he got his fingers ready to snap again, but then remembered that he was supposed to refrain from doing so. Instead, he used his cane like a magic wand, tapping the brim three times. “Wap-bam-boom, alakazam!“

A small puff of smoke rose, and confetti exploded.

Of course, I knew he could've let anything appear in that hat thanks to his powers. Nonetheless, I kicked my feet in anticipation like a small child. I was literally spellbound.

“Et voilà!” Caine pulled out a realistic blue rose and held it right in front of my face.

I chuckled and applauded this small, delightful performance. “That was truly amazing, Mr. Houdini.”

He took a bow. “Thank you, thank you. Now, this one’s for you, my dear.” When he handed me the flower, our fingers lightly brushed against each other.

For an artificial rose, the smell was quite authentic, so sweet and... calm, if that made sense. The thorns gently pricked my skin, and the petals felt like velvet.

Wait…

I just came to realize our ringmaster gifted me a rose out of nowhere. No special occasion or whatsoever. I knew it was originally my flower, but I couldn’t help but feel my cheeks and ears suddenly start to flush with embarrassment. “T-Thanks.” My voice was thin and shaky.

Caine seemed to notice my flustered state. Perhaps he was thinking the same thing. Now he, too, slumped slightly in his posture. “Y-You’re welcome.” He cleared his throat and then led me straight to the door. “Anyway, have a nice day, Battina!”

“You too, Caine. I really enjoyed the adventure.” I gave him a timid smile, watching him fly back to the ceiling, looking all content. “Oh, and you can call me Batty if you like.”

“Batty…” I heard him repeat the nickname multiple times as I left the office.

Still, I had that one song stuck in my head. I started humming again, as a certain part of the lyrics struck my mind.

“He could be very nice, have lovely eyes. And make me laugh. Come out of hidin”-

NO!

He’s a flying set of dentures! What am I even thinking? The gift was a general act of kindness, his eyes are mismatched and I only laughed because I’m easy to impress.

TADC Caine x Fem!OC

Chapter 3: One for all

Content Warnings: mild angst, depiction of violence Word Count: >3200 - 1st person POV - slow burn - goated Kinger, let's gooo

⇽ Previous Chapter

⇾ Next Chapter

🔷🔹🔷🔹🔷🔹🔷🔹🔷🔹🔷🔹🔷🔹🔷🔹🔷🔹🔷🔹🔷🔹🔷

“What do you mean by saying I’m hopeless?” I asked.

Jax’s grin grew wider. “I’m talking about your chance of survival. If you’re ever that unlucky to cross the way of an abstraction, it’s over for you.”

“Oh...” The rapier on my hips weighed heavier than before. “Sounds lovely.”

“Yeah, right?” he sighed and leaned down so he would be on eye level with me. “Since I’m such a nice guy, I give you a little roundup about the so-called abstracting.” The bunny pulled me closer to him. “Once you go nuts here, you’ll most likely become one of them. It’s inevitable. Your body starts to distort, and soon it’ll glitch all over the place, as you become estranged from every little bit that once defined you”, he explained. His voice was soft, yet somehow unsettling, and his pupils had dilated so much they almost completely covered the yellow sclera. “Dozens of eyes sprout from your skin, open their lids, but can’t see anything in the endless darkness.”

The glimmering light of Pomni’s torch faded away, and all that remained was Jax next to my ear.

I blinked several times, trying to make out anything, but to me, the hallway was pitch black. “I-I feel well-informed about the abstractions, you can stop now.”

The rabbit didn’t stop. “You feel everything and nothing at the same time, until the last thing you notice is a huge, damp void that threatens to swallow you whole.” His grip got slightly tighter, as an uncomfortable knot of fear formed in my stomach.

“Jax, stop that.”

“It’s only a matter of time until you abstract as well. Then, you’ll be the monster hunting us. And as you are on your way to track us down to your hell…”

I braced myself for whatever he might say next, but in contradiction to my expectations, he burst out laughing.

“With your short legs, though, none of us would have to worry about getting caught by you, haha!”

“Ha. Ha.” Roughly, I pushed him away from me. “T-Thanks… Thanks for your brief explanation”, I stammered. “Next time, I’d rather do without you creeping the heck out of me.”

“Ohohoho, how I wished I could’ve seen more of your face. It must’ve looked hilarious!” Jax laughed, leaning his full weight on me, which wasn’t much given how slender he was.

“I can tell I'm going to have a lot of fun with you“, I muttered in a sarcastic tone.

“You bet. Now, let’s see what I can find in here”, he said as he let go of me and groped around the torture chamber.

“Hey, guys!”

Our ears perked up as we heard the jester coming back. We stepped out of the torture room and towards Pomni’s voice.

“Oh, there you are. Sorry, the torch went out. But I found something inside a treasure chest”, she said, handing me a metal object. As I began to guess what it was, Jax immediately snatched it out of my hand to examine it.

“Is that a bugle?” The rabbit had already put his lips to the mouthpiece, and I could hear him inhale deeply.

“Wait, no-“ I tried to stop him, yet the blare already echoed throughout the cellar, making the floor shake. I sighed. “Are you proud of yourself? Now, the guards definitely know where to find us.”

“What? It’s just a bit of shaking”, Jax remarked unbothered.

Except that the shaking would go on and on. A loud, unbridled roar came from above.

The bunny immediately gave the bugle back to me. “Pomni’s fault. She found the bugle.”

Why would you give it to me then?!

The shaking intensified, amours started to rattle.  I steadied myself so I wouldn't fall over while trying to fix the bugle on my belt.

Then, something crashed through the ceiling and into the hallway.

It was Kinger, wearing a helmet from one of the said armours from before. “Oh! Hello!” He raised his head rapidly, causing the guard of his helmet to shut down.

“Kinger! Are you okay?” Pomni ran to him, helping him to get up. “How did you get here? We’ve thought you were trapped!”

“I managed to dig a tunnel through the ground with the help of a spoon I found inside the trap and eventually ended up here”, he casually explained. There was a terrified outcry coming from the hole in the middle of the ceiling.  “But we got no time! Gangle and Ragatha are up there!”

♪‿︵‧˚₊

Fortunately, Kinger's fall had now given us a steep, brittle way out of the cellar and straight to the chamber where Gangle and Ragatha were held captive inside a golden cage.

“Guys, please help us!” the ragdoll pleaded, her body tied up back to back with Gangle’s. She had it even worse. Her arms were tightly bound into the ropes, arranged in cute little bows on each end. Pomni and I already made our way to the maidens as a shadow reared up from behind us. Simultaneously, we turned around and opened our mouths in shock.

A giant glistening rhinoceros beetle appeared. Its eyes glowed in a dangerous red.

The chess piece took a step in front of us, putting some distance between the beetle and us. “Stay behind me and be careful, kids.” I was certainly surprised by Kinger’s authority-like presence. Pomni seemed to trust him completely, so I joined her as the three of us drew our swords, Kinger still holding one hand in front of us for defence, should the beetle try to come closer. “Usually, Veronica Wingfeather is a very peaceful NPC during the adventures, yet for some reason, instead of being protective, she turned villainous by an evil force.”

“Well, she sure isn’t impressed by your toothpicks. Why not use this little tool instead?” Jax sprinted past us and toward the beetle at full speed. He jumped up and midair, he swung a large, shimmering battle axe, aiming it at Veronica’s head. But apparently, he wasn’t aware how tough this lady beetle’s shell was. When he attacked her, he didn’t land more than a weak blow that didn’t even leave a scratch. “Argh, come on. You’re kidding me!”

The beetle roared one more time, a cloud of red smoke escaped her mouth, and for a split second, said cloud formed a mischievous grimace. A part of that smoke drifted across the chamber and down into the dark hole leading to the cellar.

First, there was silence.

Then, there was battle music playing.

As Jax, Pomni and I exchanged a glance, three of the armours from downstairs leaped from out of the hole. The knights immediately assumed a fighting stance, their blades and morning stars ready to attack.

While Veronica scuffed the ground with one of her legs, she prepared herself to impale us with her sharp horn. She and the knights thus became two problems to face at once. Pomni and I nodded to each other, silently promising to protect one another should either of us get into trouble.

“Alright, kids. You take care of the knights together. I’ll handle VW”, Kinger said determined, fixing the guard of his helmet. Just as I was trying to figure out how to take down a living piece of armour, the old man was already under attack by Veronica. He blocked her with his sword and was knocked back, but he was still standing.

“Okay, girls, I’m gonna show you how it’s done,” Jax grinned. He had collected quite a few weapons earlier, and now it was time to put them to good use. Wondering where he might have stored a fauchard as long as he was tall, he swung its blade in a wide circle around him. With a provocative wink, he managed to rile up one of the knights which immediately charged at the rabbit, swinging their own blade, the armour rattling with each fast step.

Well, now it was our turn. Pomni and I raised our rapiers once again. “En garde!“

I ducked successfully as a soldier’s sword flew past my and Pomni’s head. My enemy left me no time to think. They stroked their sword at me again. Less successful, I blocked their move with a counterattack, striking my rapier from below, my own arms and legs trembling from the effort of parrying.

Think fast.

A second later, Jax brought his blade down hard right on his opponent’s shoulder and cut off the entire arm, falling down with a clatter next to me.

I see. “All we have to do is take those cursed armours apart into their individual pieces.” I thought out loud.

It was quite of easy to find the few spots where we could pry apart the interlocking pieces of metal and I tried my luck several times, but with a moving target, it was anything but a piece of cake to hit those spots. I looked around the chamber to see if I could find something to stop the armour from moving around.

The knight’s following attempt was aimed at my legs. Swiftly, I dogged away to a side table with a porcelain vase placed on it. I quickly grabbed the vase from the table and threw it at the knight, chattering against their helmet, and stunning them.

This was my chance!

I kicked the armour hard in the side and pushed it against the wall. A skilful twist of my rapier below the hips pulled off one of its legs causing it to stumble around.

The one-legged enemy clumsily swung their blade through the air, as it was falling to the ground and inadvertently grazing my arm.  I hissed through my teeth and let loose of my sword. A burning sting shot through me and all the way to my hand. The pain felt exactly as I would imagine it would in real life. However, instead of blood, sand trickled from the gaping wound.

In the meanwhile, Pomni got to disarm her enemy and wrap them up in the carpet on the floor. Now, that both knights were unable to move properly we were able to take them apart piece by piece. “So far, so good“, I said, picking up my rapier from the floor and put it back onto my belt.

“Please, hurry. It looks like they can restore their health”, Gangle whined.

I nodded. “Let’s not waste any time then.“ The jester and I ran over to the two locked-up maidens. By using Jax’s battle axe like a crowbar, we were able to pry open the cage door without further ado.

Jax struck down his knight much more violently than we did. Still celebrating his little victory, he suddenly got startled by Veronica who was taking turns and was now chasing the poor rabbit. He used the window ledge to jump up to the ceiling and clawed his fingers around the arms of a golden chandelier, trying to avoid being caught by the beetle. The knights Pomni and I had knocked out, slowly started putting themselves back together.

Kinger ripped off a part of his cassock and placed it in the air with both hands, luring the beetle back to him. It worked. The attracted lady beetle soon became pretty much aggressive due to the colourful cape. “Come at me, M’lady!”

Veronica huffed and bolted back to the chess piece.

Pomni and I just managed to free Ragatha from her ropes, as the jester was already running up to Jax, who was still hanging onto the chandelier for dear life.

We really needed to get out of this fortress. The adrenaline helped numb the pain in my arm pretty well, yet my fingers were trembling uncontrollably as I helped Ragatha free Gangle by working on the rope knots intertwined with her ribbons.

Steel struck against steel as blades crashed against another. Jax was taking on three enchanted knights at once, while Pomni pushed pieces of armour down into the hole on the ground, and Kinger had a bullfight with a giant beetle.

Even though we're currently in a life-threatening situation, everything seems under control.

“Hold on! Is that the magical bugle?” Ragatha’s expression lit up when she saw the bugle hanging from my waist. “Quick, Batty! Use it to exorcise the evil!“

I didn’t question it as I followed her words by blowing the bugle, upon which a deafening sound resonated inside the chamber.

The beetle groaned in pain, flinging its head from one side to the other, as a dark matter left her body and the possessed bunch of armours as well, forming a big cloud of red swirls up in the air. Kinger kneeled down to Veronica and calmed her down after being possessed for so long. It must’ve drained her a lot. But she got up and was now on our side, her eyes filled with vengeance.

Dark red swirls curled on the ground and transformed into a devil-like creature with sharp horns and pointy teeth. Thunder and lightning appeared in the room with us.

“YOU VERMIN! How dare you use the bugle that bans and destroys all evil against me – the Demon Duke of Destruction?!” the monster growled, its voice deep and layered.

Ironic, isn’t it?

Kinger was already on the beetle’s back. “Hop on, Gangle. It’s time to reclaim your throne!” He helped her up.

Spreading her wings, Veronica flew up to the ceiling, chasing the demon. The demon thing was about to fly away, but Kinger and Gangle were faster. They circled him at breakneck speed, a jumble of shapes that turned into a gleaming ball, shooting fire into its ring and right to the demon.

“Not in this monarchy, you wretch!” I heard the chess piece shouting at him. The demon duke got sent through the entire chamber, bouncing around, collapsing in a corner. “The bugle, now!”

With a pain-filled scream, the demon dissolved into a beam of light as I blew into the bugle one last time.

♪‿︵‧˚₊

“We won!” I cheered as we left the fortress, a portal waiting for us at the front gates. There was so much energy inside of me, I really felt like a hero of a fairy tale.

Kinger took off his helmet, his eyes turning into wide baby blue crystals. “Yeah, we’ve made it, uhm... What was your name again?”

I tilted my head in confusion. “Batty…?”

“What a beautiful name. Nice to meet you!” In response he shook my hand violently. I looked to the others, unsure about what was up with him.

Ragatha held her hand to the side of her mouth and spoke quietly. “Kinger has a few problems remembering.”

“Tsk, usually, you can feel your own IQ dropping the longer you look at him.”

“Jax!” the ragdoll shot glares at him.

Finally, I had the chance to admire the details on hers and Gangle’s somewhat matching gowns. “You look stunning in those dresses, by the way.”

“Thank you”, Gangle smiled happily through her tragedy mask, “And you guys literally look like the three musketeers.”

“Right, only the moustache’s missing”, Ragatha said in agreement.

Now, that she mentioned it... I raised my rapier in front of the shimmering portal. “All for one and one for all!” Pomni and Kinger crossed their blades with mine, speaking along the last part, a victory fanfare playing in the background. I looked over to our last missing soldier.

“I’m not doing that. That’s cringe”, Jax refused.

I laughed, poking his shoulder with the handle of my sword. “Oh, so you're too proud for that, huh? Next time, I’d wish for Ragatha to be part of the musketeers instead.”

“And I’m prince Charming then, or what?”

I grinned. “Nope, you’d be Gangle’s lady-in-wait.”

The bunny let out an offended laugh. “In your dreams.”

As soon as we stepped out of the portal and back into the circus tent, all of our appearances were reset to our usual avatar models. Which was sad, because I sure would’ve liked to have something to dress myself in from time to time. Also, I would’ve wished for Kinger to keep VW, the giant beetle.

“Welcome back, my huckleberry heroes of time!” My gaze shot up, so I could see the ringmaster, accompanied by Bubble, floating above the closing portal while the others were already heading elsewhere.

Is it normal to, like, ignore him? I was waiting for nothing in particular, since I found it strange to see everyone leaving without another word. They were probably exhausted. This adventure was sure a lot, though I could still feel the adrenaline rushing through my veins.

This was when Caine floated down to me, his hands resting on his hips. “Do you need anything, Battina?”

“Eh, no. I just- This was so cool!” I burst out loud, causing the AI to flinch a little, for I still couldn’t quite believe what just happened. “We were literally fighting possessed knights. That was just- I admit, I was scared a few times, yes- But I really liked it.”

“You liked the adventure?” His pupils dilated as his shoulders lost all of their tension.

“Yes, I did.” I rocked my body back and forth, my gaze darting across the circus floor. “Thanks for considering my idea about actual knights if they weren’t already a part of your original concepts.”

He shook his head. “I have to thank you for such kind words!” His voice became slightly softer. “Would you like to tell me more, my pizazzy poppy flower?”

“Well, roleplaying has always been something I generally enjoyed. So, imagine me, doing things I usually only do in fiction, now…” I mindlessly flung my hands around as I was explaining, accidently making more of the sand run out of the wound from the battle a few minutes ago.

“You enjoyed it… Whoops, your arm!” His hands grasped his lower jaw in shock.

Immediately as Caine addressed it, my arm started pulsing harshly. “Oh, that’s nothing, that’s just a minor-“ The next moment, the cut on my arm was gone with just one finger snap. “Huh… thank you.”

“You’re welcome! I’m terribly sorry for not noticing it sooner. Each and every little injury you endure during my adventures will be healed by humble me!”

“And if not”, Bubble drifted over to us, rolling out his tongue, “I can lick your wounds clean.”

I blinked. “I politely reject that offer.”

The showman’s upper row of teeth turned into a frown. With pointed fingers, Caine pulled back Bubble's tongue by its tip, letting it snap to the ground and back into his mouth. “Pardon him, he just can’t help himself.” He cleared his throat. “Anyway, your feedback was wonderful! I really appreciate it. If there is anything you could possibly have a request for, Battina, all you have to do is call me, and I’ll be there!” he saluted.

As the AI took a bow and was about to teleport himself anywhere else, I held him back by the tails of his coat. “Wait!”

The dentures turned 180 degrees, his body followed a second later.

“Oh, sorry. That was rude.” I let go of him, since he looked sort of irritated due to my sudden movement. “Actually, I already have one, uhm, a request I mean.”

🔷🔹🔷🔹🔷🔹🔷🔹🔷🔹🔷🔹🔷🔹🔷🔹🔷🔹🔷🔹🔷🔹🔷

author’s note:

TADC Caine x Fem!OC

Chapter 2: All for one

Content Warnings: none Word Count: <2200 - 1st person POV - slow burn - Caine sings ⇽ Previous Chapter

⇾ Next Chapter 🔷🔹🔷🔹🔷🔹🔷🔹🔷🔹🔷🔹🔷🔹🔷🔹🔷🔹🔷🔹🔷🔹🔷

I almost jumped like a cat being startled by a cucumber.

Caine was in the room with me, staring from the side of my bed for who knows how long. Floating toward me, he put one hand on his hips as his lower jaw rested on the other hand. “Why did you stop with that beautiful melody of yours?”

“I was just… What are you doing here?” Does that guy know what personal space is? Hoping he would realize he was lingering a little too close to me, I crawled to the other end of the bed.

“I noticed you were still awake, Battina, and I just couldn’t wait until tomorrow to find out about your opinion on your new room.” The ringmaster spread his arms in anticipation as he squatted down on my pillow.

“It’s… quite nice, actually. The vibe is cool”, I said as I took another look around. “I… I like that it’s less bright than the rest of the circus.”

His eyes were filled with excitement. “Another one who is drawn to the gloomy darkness.” He was already taking notes. Looking down, I could make out a heading that must have read something like “Battina's likings”.

“Not in particular. To be honest, I can’t see sh%$&!#t  in the dark.” I furrowed my eyebrows when I heard a HONK-sound covering the cursing mid-sentence. “What was that?”

“You just discovered the censor bars! Since the circus is a place for all ages, I can’t let you humans go about your day using such profane language”, Caine explained raising a finger in a lecturing manner. “Plus, I don’t want Bubble to learn any more swear words”, he added in a stern tone.

Tilting my head, I tried deciphering more of the handwriting upside-down, reading “prefers dark colours (not too dark!)” while the AI drew a small frowning bee next to the note. “Cute...”

“Hm?” The pen was still moving over the paper, drawing round lines for another bee, as the showman’s gaze shot up from his notebook.

“Err, do you have lists for each of us?” Why did I say that out loud?

“Just started them today. This is will show Zooble that I, in fact, do listen to my guests and that I will surely improve on my already amazing adventures!” the ringleader announced, his voice as boisterous as before.

So, I was right about Zooble not liking his adventures that much. “About the adventure tomorrow, what will it be like? Will you take these notes for inspiration?”

He shook his dentures. “I can’t tell you yet. That’s always a secret until I show it to you.”

“I see”, I responded, sounding a bit too disappointed.

A few seconds pass until, with a little spin of the pen, he gave in. “Weeeell, since you’re the new one I can make an exception. But just this once!” He began to whisper “My next adventure is set in medieval times.”

Medieval?

“Let me guess, we’re going to be accused as witches and people try to hunt us down or burn us alive?” I joked but when I saw Caine was thinking about something, his lower jaw resting on his hand, my eyes widen in concern. “T-That’s not what’s about to happen, right? I was actually thinking about kings and knights and stuff, you know?”

I listened to Pomni talking about the last adventure which took place in a horror mansion. She and Kinger got trapped in hell and were almost killed by a gigantic angel monster. If this was going to be another adventure filled with terror and monsters, I would rather have something to defend myself with. I shouldn’t have spent almost all night imagining all of these scenarios. Who knows, maybe it won’t be that bad after all.

“I’ll take that into consideration, my winsome wacky cake”, Caine smiled and levitated back up into the air to pat my head and leave.

Wait, what?

  ♪‿︵‧˚₊

He took it into consideration. Even though I wasn’t part of a royal family, I sure felt like a prestige knight in not-so-shining armour with about one hour of sleep last night, as we were now on our mission to rescue two young damsels in distress.

After a hearty breakfast prepared by Chef Bubble – which was surprisingly delicious – we all headed straight into my very first adventure.  Well, everyone except for Zooble.

At the beginning, Caine gave us an introduction. But not just any introduction, no, an entire adventure introduction song!

“Once upon a time, in a far away land, there was a kingdom old Reigned by princess Gangle, the kingdom grew rich, her soldiers strong and bold”

He gave us a quick overview of the map, showing it to us with the help of a man-sized fully coloured children’s book.

“But one unfaithful day Someone took our pretty princess away”

A flute played in the background, accompanying a scene of princess Gangle and her lady-in-wait Ragatha picking flowers, as they were suddenly kidnapped by two mannequins in black cloaks.

“Losing our princess to the evil, o what a cruel sight! The loss of the regent left her poor people full of fright”

On the next page of the book, the two girls were patiently waiting inside a cage longing to be freed by their rescuers, as a big shadow of a monster hovered over them. “Without their princess the people’s hope disappeared But folks, don’t be afraid, new hope is getting near”

The last page showed four knights raising their rapiers to the sky. “Here are our knights, fierce in their eyes, as they slay the evil and bring back the kingdom’s light!”

Jax, Pomni, Kinger and I were dropped off alone in French guard attire in a quiet meadow near a wide ditch leading to a fortress. I had to admit, Caine’s baritone singing voice wasn’t awful. I think I would’ve loved his idea for this adventure way more if I had a bit more knowledge about fighting, especially sword fighting, since we’ve got rapiers for defence. At least I was filled with determination, and I was genuinely hoping I wouldn’t have to actually kill anything.

Our French bard AI narrator gave us the hint that only as a team we’ll be able to succeed. Unfortunately, we had Jax with us, and pretty soon I had to find out he wasn’t much of a team player.

“You know… if Gangle wasn’t the young lass we have to save, I sure would help you”, Jax said in a laid-back tone leaning against an old oak, the brim of his feather-adorned tricorne casting a pleasant shadow over his eyes, making him almost fall asleep. Too bad, we have lost Kinger to a trap on the ground right at the start. Perhaps, he would have been helpful in some way.

“I doubt you’d offer us any help even if your actual partner would be trapped.” I pressed through my teeth, beads of sweat running down my temples. Pomni and I were already climbing up a stone brick wall to the heavily armed fortress.

“How about using your wings?”

“Would you kindly shut your mouth, Jax? I have to concentrate!” I will not try this here and now and make a fool of myself.

“You’re really taking your time, Batty. You know you're supposed to climb the wall, not hug it”, he smirked as his left ear suddenly twitched.

“Jax, you’re supposed to watch our back.” Clumsily, Pomni tumbled on top of the wall, but at least she made it. I told myself to stay determined. “Could you please make sure no one sees- Never mind.”

Next moment, there was chattering in the background. Carefully, I turned my head. I could make out a few mannequins in armour standing right next to the purple rabbit.

Without a second thought, he took his bow off his back and yanked it over the guards’ heads, making them crash and collapse into each other, causing other guards to notice us. “Great…  I think we gotta hurry.”

“INTRUDERS!” one of the guards shouted from afar.

Out of nowhere, an arrow whizzed past my cheek and nearly hit me. I shrieked as another one followed.

“Battina, don’t just hang there and use the arrows to climb up!” Jax had already knocked the next arrow. Now I understood.

How mean to think Jax would’ve actually just hit me with an arrow…. Making sure he was still doing fine, I took one last look at him as he was strangling a mannequin by using the string of his bow. Forget what I just said. He would have definitely hit me if it’d taken him too long.

Swinging myself from one arrow to the next, I progressively made my way up the wall. My hands were sweaty. I didn't let my focus be disturbed by the clanking of swords and rattling of chains behind me. Just as I was about to reach the end, my fingers slipped.

“I got you!” Pomni took my hand. I braced my body against the bricks to regain my footing as the jester helped me by pulling me up onto the wall with her.

“Thanks.” Once I was back on solid ground, I became aware of the mannequin guard standing right behind Pomni. “Watch out!” Before the mannequin could strike her with his sword, I pulled her aside a little too quickly, causing both of us to stumble along the wall toward a wooden hatch on the ground. Luckily for us, it wasn't locked, and we dashed through it in a flash. We were just about to slam the door shut again before one of the guards could grab hold of us, as I noticed a purple figure in the corner of my eyes, quickly squeezing itself through the small crack of the hatch.

“Oh, yeah! Just leave the old hare behind…” Jax panted. Pomni and I shared his exhaustion as we looked down a dark staircase across from us.

♪‿︵‧˚₊

“Are these adventures always so high-stake?” It sure has been a while since I was as physically stressed out as right now. But I actually didn’t mind. I was way too excited for whatever was about to happen next.

After descending a long flight of stairs, we found ourselves inside an ancient cellar. Fortunately, there was a torch conveniently placed at the beginning to light our way. I swung the torch along the sides of the corridor, but all I saw were old tapestries and rows of silver armour covered in cobwebs decorating the dark corridors. As I lit into a corner, I saw a hidden door with a caged window. What’s in there?  When I pushed the door open, an entire room full of medieval torture devices was revealed. “Nice. A secret torture chamber.”

“Oh boy… A-as far as I know…”, the jester began to answer, looking curiously into the chamber, “…there haven’t been any adventures without running away from any possible dreads.”

Jax perked up from behind us, as he was just collecting another weapon from one of the lined-up armour suits “You still lack the instant flight instinct as soon as a monster approaches you, Pomni. You always hesitate.”  He pulled Pomni’s hat down and over her face, causing her to stumble.

“You took off as soon as Kaufmo looked at you and left Ragatha and me to handle him in his abstracted form alone!” Angrily, she adjusted her tricorne. “And it’s not like anyone prepared me for running away or anything.”

“Jeez, sometimes, you have to learn a few things on your own“, Jax clarified as he pranced around her with his new dangerous morning star. “Besides, nothing serious happened to you, so why care?” he shrugged it off with a smirk while Pomni was still glaring at him furiously.

I was sure Jax had said something about “abstracting” before. There was still so much I didn’t know which was frustrating. “Sorry, but who is Kaufmo and what’s up with that abstraction thing?”

Both their heads turned to me. Pomni's anger gave way to genuine worry while Jax started grinning the same way he did yesterday the first time we met.

He grabbed my torch and threw it to the jester. “Why don't you see if you can find a way outta here, Pomni, while I give the newbie some insights? Prepare her for what might possibly happen if she ever encounters an abstraction?”

“Okay? But I’ll stay close by.”

Jax waited until Pomni was already quite a distance ahead of us down the hallway.  The moment the torchlight was nothing more than a tiny speck from where we stood, he grabbed me by the shoulders and pulled us into that torture prison cell. “Look, Batty, sorry but not sorry to tell you this… From what I've seen of you so far, you're hopeless.”

“What do you mean?” 🔷🔹🔷🔹🔷🔹🔷🔹🔷🔹🔷🔹🔷🔹🔷🔹🔷🔹🔷🔹🔷🔹🔷 author's note:

I listened to the Zelda soundtrack while I was writing this chapter.

♪‿︵‧˚₊

Lady Cloudia Phantomive but she dead ._.

Relationship: Caine x GN!reader Content warnings: None

Word count: <1800 - established relationship - fluffy fluff - Caine took a day off to have some quality time with you - but once you decide it’s enough for today, he just won’t let go of you

✧༺♥༻∞✧༺♥༻∞✧༺♥༻∞✧༺♥༻✧༺♥༻∞✧༺♥༻∞✧༺♥༻∞✧༺♥༻

It's been a while since you’ve only just chilled in your room, far from the overwhelming jumble of colours and sounds. And it's been even longer since you were able to relax together with your partner.

Creating a well-thought-out adventure often takes entire evenings and nights, and by the time the day comes, you’re already immersed in said adventures. This is why you and your beloved use this rare opportunity to its fullest.

So there you are, lying in your bed, the two of you holding each other, with Caine’s head resting on your chest. You chat about everything under the sun, occasionally dozing off for a quick nap thanks to the comforting digital warmth of each other’s bodies. Every now and then one of you whispers sweet nothings to the other, which results in your avatars’ faces blushing for the next few minutes.

But it’s getting late now. You can only guess what time it actually is, which is why you have to rely on your internal clock.

Okay. Three, two, one… “Caine, would you please get off of me?”

The ringmaster tenses up and raises his upper jaw in confusion. “Why? We’ve just started cuddling.”

“We’ve been hanging out for at least half the day already.” You are sure his fingers must have already left marks on your body from his firm grip he suddenly has on you.

“What about the other half though? There are but a few blank pages left in my notepad that still want to be filled with our art, my skilled starflower”, the AI offers. There are a few torn-out pages with little bee drawings scattered all over the floor, and you could swear there must be some bee doodles hiding between you and the pillows of your bed.

“I see…” With a little momentum from you, you roll over so that he is now lying beneath you. “Is this why you skipped the adventure today? Just to have some more time with me?”

Caine flips you again, switching him to be on top. “And if I did?” he asks as his teeth curl into a smug, his boisterous voice replaced by something soft and deep. You just can't help but smile. Hoping it will distract you two from your red flushed cheeks, you start playing with his bow tie, spinning it around like a fidget toy.

Never, in a million years, you would have thought that Caine asking Jax to teach him about “rizz” and how to pursue your loved one with it, to work on you. Almost embarrassing, but it would always have an effect on you, even if it just causes you to smirk for a tenth of a second.

“A-As much as I want to spend the evening with you, I can’t. I promised Gangle and Zooble I’ll be there as soon as the sun goes down.” You gently take him by his waist and lift him off of you. His hands are already reaching out for you again.  “They’re going to the digital lake. I don’t want to miss the fun.” You slide off the edge of the bed, letting your feet touch the carpet.

As expected, you don't get very far.

Caine is blocking your path, levitating right in front of you. Arms outstretched and now thrice as long as usual, he makes it impossible for you to get past him.  “You won’t!” he exclaims, pushing you back onto the bed, his limbs snapping back to their normal size.

You give him a baffled look.

“Uhm… I mean…” His mismatched eyes dart around the room searching for the right words until his gaze meets yours again. “You won’t miss the fun, ha ha. I really want you to do as many fun activities with the others as you please”, he clarifies. “But until then-“

In a flash, his head is placed in your lap, as he makes himself comfortable. “I’ll stay here. I won’t move. No force can make me do so!”

“I can make you bluescreen, my love”, you threaten him in an unserious menacing tone.

“T-That’s not fair!” Defiant, he crosses his arms and clenches his teeth. Luckily, you know the best way to deal with a stubborn AI. As soon as you start stroking his upper jaw, he leans in toward your touch and tries to follow every single stroke, until he starts to purr.

That’s new.

Since when does he do that?  “You’re not a cat. If anything, you rather remind me of a dog.”

“I can be whatever you want me to be, darling.” He kisses the palm of your hand. Your heart skips a beat, butterflies dancing in your stomach. You instinctively begin to pet Caine with the same hand.

This feeling throws you back to the day you had your first kiss with him.

Both of you were strolling down the park in front of the circus tent, the silhouette of the digital carnival in the background and the sun shining in bright orange and pink. What a beautiful sunset it was.

Kissing was a rare thing in your relationship back then, since you had agreed to take things slowly. Once in a while you would’ve pecked your partner’s gums and right before an adventure you two would’ve exchanged a few blown kisses. The purple rabbit kept commenting on your behaviour with “Cringe!”

But it was the fateful 57th date when Caine decided to take things to the next level. And even though he’d already picked up how kissing works from Gangle and Zooble he was so nervous that, in his flustered state, he ended up giving you a passionate lick over your entire face. You’d never forget the grossed out grimace of the Sun as she caught the showman’s first attempt on an intimate act.

Letting that memory replay in your mind makes you smile, and also chuckle a bit.

“Do that again, my love.”

“Mmmwhat?” you snap out of your thoughts.

He's opened his dentures again and is now gazing at you completely infatuated. “Laugh again! I like your laugh.”

“Oh… Well, thank you.”

“It makes me feel-”, he starts, but a sudden loud KNOCK KNOCK interrupts him.

“Hey, are you getting ready?” Zooble’s voice can be heard through the door, muffled.

As soon as he hears their voice, Caine sighs in annoyance.

You try to use your hands to nonverbally convey to him that you would have told him after all and that they were probably already waiting for you. “Just a few more minutes! I just got up!”

“Alright?” They can probably guess who else is in the room with you right now. “We'll be waiting for you outside the dorms.”

The two of you listen to Zooble’s footsteps fading into the distance.

“What were you saying, honey?” You can hear dramatic sobbing coming from below. "Caine?”

Knowing that you're leaving soon almost makes him choke on artificial tears.  “I-I don’t understand! Why g-go to the beach a-anyway?” Even his hat looks sadly crumpled.

“Now, now…” You give a comforting pat on the shoulder.

Just in case he has one of his sudden emotional outbursts, you always keep a tissue with you. However, Caine snatches it out of your hand and waves it wildly around in the air. “Once the lights are out, you humans usually go to sleep!”

“You know, that’s not always true. Sometimes you and I also stay up longer than the lights are on in the hallway.”

“I guess… you’re right…” He hates having to admit when he's wrong. The next moment, however, his expression beams up. “Once you’re back, we are going to have a sleepover tonight!” he announces solemnly. “I let you choose the movie and snacks.” The AI knows you can’t refuse such an offer.

“Okay. One thing though.” You tap his chest. “Only if you can keep yourself and your curious eyes in check... No offense, but I find it hard to come to a rest when I know there’s someone staring right at me.”

“GASP, I was facing the wall last time.” If he had cheeks, he would have puffed them out in indignation.

“Yes, but at the same time your eyes were independently floating right above my head.”

He holds you tightly against him. “Please. I’ll make sure this won’t happen again”, he pleads as he looks up at you with puppy-dog eyes that fill your heart with cute aggression.

Resist the urge to crush him romantically.  “Fine.”

The ringmaster becomes silent.

You know what comes next.

“Get ready for…” Caine’s hands swoosh up your body, wrapping his arms around your neck. “A ton of goodbye kisses!”

He knocks you over.

A series of light, feathery kisses follows. One might assume a massive set of teeth lashing out on someone else’s face would hurt, but your partner manages to stay gentle with each kiss. His attack has the desired effect when, with his last kiss, you playfully raise a hand to your forehead and pretend to be physically defeated, letting out a dramatic sigh. Caine's feet are kicking with joy.

“I love you so much.” You cup his lower jaw giving him a kiss to both sides of his molars and another one to his front incisors, “I love you to the moon, to the sun and beyond…“

“I love you more than each and every star in the mirco- and macroverse combined, my shining supernova!” The showman’s heterochromatic eyes blow into wide pink hearts. “One more!”

You give him another kiss. And another. And another.

The AI tries to hide his blush with his hands, but the cartoonish pink bars are still visible, which makes you laugh.

There it is! Your laugh. Nothing compares to this kind of validation, and he is certain that nothing else can cause him so much happiness. With a tenderness he usually finds quite difficult to show, he takes your hands in his. “You should go before I change my mind and kiss parts of your body that make you squirm.”

His last words hit you like a truck.

“What?” Your mouth is open in shock as you’re wondering if you understood him correctly. “Caine… Do…. Do you even know what kind of body parts you’d have to kiss to do that?”

“No.” His innocent look tells you that he has absolutely no idea. “Jax told me, saying things like that will help me ‘rizz you up’. I'm honestly surprised that it works so well on you.”

Just imagine how surprised I am. “I’m curious. What else did Jax tell you about..?”