Teatuna ☕

Commission drawn by Phil Knott Astrobot

Hi! So, basically the Desperate Measures Au is based on the idea that after the devs put on the headsets and get stuck in the "game" they find out that Caine is no longer locked up. So what do they do?

They put him back, and Abel runs the circus. Only issue is that Abel has a poor understanding of humans and has no sentience to feel bad about how he treats them.

Eventually we get to the current day circus members, and just like in episode 8, they delete Abel, only they can't figure out how to get him back to keep the circus stable.

So they find Caine and place him as the new AI.

Only issue is Caine has been locked up for almost 20 years, completely alone and with nothing to do and Kinger, never realized Caine was sentient, leading to a lot of misunderstanding.

Cover art by @water-dragon0

Summary

The circus cannot survive without Caine. His existence is tied to its existence. Which means, whether they like it or not, the players will have to find a way to bring him back.

Thankfully, Kinger has a plan. He informs the players about a powerful AI Caine had consumed long ago, Model-58. If they can get Caine to agree to have this AI removed from him, they can split the AI's power amongst themselves. But problems arise as the plan is put into action.

Caine has been acting strange ever since he was brought back without his powers.

Jax has been oddly cheery and spending a lot of time alone.

Worst of all...the players have to learn to co-exist with Caine if they want the circus to stay standing. And it doesn't take long for tensions to rise when Caine is confronted for his past actions. But the players are soon confronted with their own actions as they find out that they're not the only ones who have been traumatized in this digital hell.

Turns out this lover without a heart had his heart broken by his own creators.

Dragon's Art

Cover Art

Human at Heart Caine Reference Sheet

Teaser

Lover With(out) a Heart

I Don't Want to Go Back

Zooble's Threat

Misc. Expressions

Dizzy

Spam's Writing

Chapter 1: The Broken Circus

Other Works/Links

The Ringmaster's Written Reminders Masterpost

The Psychology of a Broken AI Masterpost

The Spam Specialist's Ko-fi

i just can't get over it. the thought hasn't left my mind since walking out the theater June 4th. it re-frames the entire narrative. lots of fans used to think Caine was just the admin AI of a video game someone else created, a virtual world made a dev team who just put him in charge of it. but it's ALL him. he created everything, not just for himself, but for them. he created a whole world full of wonders for the humans to live in, thrilling adventures to keep them happy, endless fun as much as he can provide, because he's responsible for them "living" at all. no wonder he tries so hard to get to know them, why he's so ecstatic when any of them show him the slightest bit of affection - they're all he has, and all he'll ever have.