Angel Lover

Note: I'm in denial and coping so have this from my delusional ass.

Note pt.2: No pronouns used, mushy gushy fluffy cute shit, very self indulged, not proof read, tried to keep Caine as in character as possible but I'm delusional so don't come at me

What you need to know: You showed up after Pomni, around episode 3. You were shaken up upon finding out that you can't exactly leave and you were naturally pretty clingy so to no longer have the people you were close to, you became touch starved. Now you could've been normal and sought affection from Ragatha or even Pomni, anyone but for the sakes of pushing my fuckass plot forward, you decided Caine was what you needed.

You were losing your mind as you lied in your bedroom, staring up at the ceiling. You could feel just how touch starved you were. Before getting trapped in this digital nightmare, you could call your mom, or your best friend, and they'd come cuddle you until you felt good again. But that wasn't an option here exactly.

You had to find someone though, anyone to just hold you. Then, an idea popped into your head. You slipped out of bed and snook out of your room, being quiet not to wake up any of the others.

The circus was still brightly lit like always, even if it was technically 'bedtime' for everyone. You looked around, pausing for a moment as you hesitate at first before taking a deep breath.

"Hey Caine!" You call out to the AI, wondering if he can even hear you. You don't want to wake up the others so if he doesn't answer, you'll just go-

"Hey Y/N! What're you doing up? Isn't this the time everyone dedicated as bedtime?" Caine asks, his head tilting curiously at you but he seems excited that you even called for him.

"Yeah.. Everyone else is asleep. I couldn't really sleep." You say as you stare at the ringmaster, you could've sworn your heart skipped a beat but it's hard to tell in the digital world.

"Oh! Well, why don't you go on one of my adventures in the meantime? I have some solo adventure ideas I've been wanting to suggest but everyone is always-" Before Caine can ramble you push your finger to his teeth to shut him up.

He seems confused, having stopped talking to look at you. As you pull your hand back, you rub the back of your neck with your other hand.

"I actually had a reason for calling you.." You motion for Caine to come down from his floating spot in the air.

"Oh? What was your reason?" Caine questions, very interested in knowing why you called him if it wasn't for one of his amazing adventures. He lowers himself closer to the ground, wondering if it's a secret, he loves human secrets!

You bite your lip and instead of saying anything you wrap your arms around Caine, hugging him. He's.. warm. That's not what you expected. His body feels quite.. normal, all things considered.

You hear what sounds like a computer error and when you lift your head to look at Caine his eyes are blue with error messages quickly rolling past. You shrug and just continue to hug him, needing some semblance of physical touch.

When Caine comes back, he looks down at you with surprise but he can't deny how much he likes the sudden attention.

"Um.. Y/N.. What is this..?" He asks, his arms stiff in the air as he doesn't know what to do with them. He wasn't programmed really with knowing what hugs are.

"It's called a hug.. It's something humans do.." You answer softly as you nuzzle closer to him. "Wrap your arms around me, like this."

You gently grab his arms and wrap them around yourself before you go back to hugging him. Caine is stiff at first but he quickly figures out how to relax into the hug.

"Oh, I see. Do humans like hugs?" Caine wonders as he continues to hold you, blush lines appearing on where his cheeks would be on his denture head.

"Some do.. Some don't.. Depends on the person.. I really like hugs.. And cuddling.. It helps me calm down and regulate my emotions.." You explain softly, feeling yourself relax into the hug and your stress melt away.

"Cuddling?" Caine tilts his head, still not exactly knowing a lot about humans and how they work.

"It's like hugging but lying down." You respond with a sigh as you nuzzle yourself right under her jaw.

Caine would normally get bored of just standing around but the way you cling to him makes him feel wanted, needed even. So he finds himself not minding just standing there any holding you.

"Am.. Am I helping..?" He whispers, not wanting to completely ruin the quiet moment.

You nod in response, "Yeah.. I needed this.. Thank you.." You whisper back.

Caine's pupils dilate with excitement as he's so happy he's helping. He's only ever wanted to be helpful and serve his purpose. This is also giving him new adventure ideas, believe it or not.

After a few minutes you pull away and Caine floats back into the air. You look up at him and smile warmly, feeling alive again after getting the physical touch you desired.

"Hey Caine." You speak before he has a chance to disappear, "Can.. Can I call you anytime I need a hug..?"

"Of course, my dear! I'll gladly give you all the hugs you want! But don't tell Bubble or he'll say something weird." Caine whispers the last part to you.

You giggle which seems to make Caine even happier and he pats your head before he disappears. You go back to your room and lie back down. You can tell your blushing but you don't mind.

You're the only one that didn't really hate Caine after episode seven, sure you were upset.

This could go one of two ways:

Caine still goes AM and tortures the gang (excluding you bc he likes you), ending up being deleted and you're back to being touch starved OR

Bc of your closeness with Caine, you calm him down, and he doesn't go AM. You talk to him and explain why they feel angry and he can learn to be better.

Since I've been seeing the two compared a lot, I thought I would do what I do best and overthink it.

To be clear, I'm sure there's plenty of people who have sympathy for Vox, and I know many people who have no sympathy for Caine. But stick with me here, the overall vibe is that Vox is more of a character that's 'fun to watch be horrible', while Caine has a little bit more of 'His actions are inexcusable but I still feel bad for him vibe.

So with that out of the way - returning to the question. Why do we have sympathy for Caine but not Vox?

First of all, why are people comparing them?

There's the obvious visual similarities they both have during their 'crash out' episodes. Where they're at both their most powerful AND their most unstable.

A lot of people have said that in these episodes both these characters basically undergo a narcissistic collapse - which I should note isn't an official term in psychology and hasn't been studied a lot - but A narcissistic collapse is defined as:

Something that occurs when a narcissist’s, usually, grandiose, false self-image is shattered by a severe blow to their self-esteem, such as public humiliation, loss of power, or loss of their "narcissistic supply" (admiration/attention). This causes a crisis—intense shame, rage, or depression—where they can no longer maintain their superior facade, leading to extreme, often desperate and erratic, manipulative behavior.

I think that absolutely applies to both of them. Both of them build themselves up as leaders, they're both entertainers, they thrive off attention and admiration.

Where they differ I think is intention and motivation. Ironically, I believe Caine has more humanity to him than Vox does. Caine is a tragedy, he gives into his fatal flaw - where as Vox continually chooses cruelty over and over throughout his life.

i think i accidentally misspelled accidentally