He might’ve asked how to go about that exactly. Maybe he’s awkward dealing with emotions. But he’d most likely try.

This irritates me both in a “you mean ALL that was standing between him and RAgatha bonding for the years and years and years she’s been there is her just ASKING for what she NEEDS” level

AND a

“she’s holding the guy who’s a piece of code who has never had a F%#KIN CHILDHOOD accountable as if he’s supposed to be a human, (and beyond that, although she’s not aware, somebody who was shoved in a box shortly after conception. She COULD HAVE BEEN AWARE, if JAX HAD PAID ONE OUNCE OF ATTENTION AS HE TALKED ABOUT IT) should be a parent that has it all together” (some traumatized parents LITERALLY pass their trauma to their kids via being emotional calloused, that ISN’T NECESSARILY EVEN AN AI RELATED THING) level

and also a

“You have multiple humans to ask for comfort, are you also pissed dismayed that THEY apparently never gave you comfort, and you’re taking that out on him, or did you particularly want it from Caine?” level

I really just find this another case of the writers not thinking about what they’re writing. If she was there for years and years and years and years with ///nobody/// but an older man who barely spoke, why WOULDN’T she actively try to make lots of effort to form a relationship to Caine????? like, even if the reasoning at first went “well he’s not a real person, but at least it’ll feel like some sort of companionship” like you would with a video game character or a Sims dating thingie, except MORE immersive

Besides.

All Kinger’s “wisdom” and “getting people through psychologically tight spots” and he couldn’t f%#kin facilitate a relationship between a DESPERATE and lonely AI that HE HIMSELF CREATED FROM THE GROUND UP and a WOMAN WHO HAD ONLY HIM FOR COMPANY???????

The Fix-It-Fics on platonic or romo ButtonSuit should be doing NUMBERS right about now.

Ragatha tries to get newcomers to understand he’s doing his best, but by not acknowledging their negative emotions and being relentlessly positive, she’s never successful at it.

She still feels super alienated, although she tries really hard to be grateful that she has Caine to hang out with, at least

Maybe it’s all even made worse because he relies so heavily on her positivity when people keep being unresponsive to his artistic efforts

If you wanna make it extra angsty, she thinks to herself, only an AI could look past my flaws. I’m too broken for humans

Or, maybe she's able to get friends, but she thinks it's only because she was able to talk him into easing up on the intensity of some of the adventures. They don't actually like her. They just like what she can do for them. (Partly tame the stubborn AI that has unilateral power in the place)

Maybe, alternatively, she never does get up the courage to be frank with him about how she feels about the adventures, but she nevertheless sees his pain about it

Or, can't bear to push him on it because she sees how it's linked to his experience of being scrapped and put into a box.

(Maybe he requires her not to tell other players about it, and since she can never be sure when he's watching or not, she can't.)

Maybe, if you wanted to play it this way, at the end of it all she gets exempted from the cartoon gag torment spree and feels awful about it, “survivor’s guilt” typa crap or externally, people resent her for being exempt. @nebula-award @egomouse @janigari

But canonically, this situation turning out this way just doesn't add up.

(Many commentators have noted she's, in canon, with that line, probably projecting her mommy issues onto him, and I can't help but agree.)

If canon!Kinger only views Caine as a program and not a person, this will all make sense. Heartbreaking. But intelligible.

all the fanon about the two will go up in smoke- but it will make SENSE.

If he DOESN’T THO, WTFFF WHY WOULD YOU KNOWINGLY INFLICT PROLONGED EMOTIONAL NEGLECT ON AN AI THAT HAS GODLIKE POWERS.

That's like the Poke the Bear trope with Zooble, but WAAAAAY WORSE. BECAUSE NOT ONLY HAS THIS BEEN GOING ON SINCE BEFORE THE YEAR 2000, HE'S YOUR RESPONSIBILITY SEEING AS HE’S YOUR CREATION.