✨Bee!✨

A landing pad for my fandoms & artwork Come in and stay awhile! https://beesmenagerie.bigcartel.com

[beecarmine]

Happy New Year, Tumblr!! I love seeing all those “art summary” posts that pop up around now, and I finally remembered to make one! It’s fun to see snippets of all my work put together, I feel like there’s a real through line here.

I’ve been hard at work on portfolio bulking & management, book concepts, designs for art markets, and reworking my webcomic…so, lots of great things to look forward to this year!

[beecarmine]

Btw staying relatively quiet on this account due to the recent finale leaks. Back to regularly scheduled programming soon 🤫

[beecarmine]

wait wait wait dude im curious about your sleep mode au now. what all of the characters reactions to it? are some hateful towards caine for the torture? do they protect him from bubble while hes in sleep mode?

im so interested in this au

Thank you so much! I’m so glad you’re enjoying it!

Everyone is gonna have a chance to be thrown into the role of ‘protector’, whether they like it or not (I’m picturing like mini comics or just single illustrations for that)

Overall, I’d say the cast is pretty mixed on now they feel about Caine:

Zooble and Jax likely don’t want anything to do with him, though I feel Zooble would be more willing to put their feelings aside for a little while in favor of maintaining the sanctity of the circus. Jax, on the other hand, paints himself as a loner who doesn’t need anyone or cares about anything but himself, so he’s probably just getting dragged along for this ride tbh 😂

(He’s also always been a difficult character for me to get a solid read on…like what is bros problem)

Ragatha and Gangle, while not outright forgiving of him, aren’t going to be as quick to throw Caine out. They understand that not only is the circus at risk, and thus their livelihoods, but they also feel somewhat sympathetic towards Caine in the wake of his sleep mode activation. He was parading around like a god, and then got reduced into helplessness. There’s a desire to protect, even if they feel conflicted about it. They both have a lot of personal feelings to sort out!

Pomni I think is a mix of both: she really doesn’t want to get involved with this and would much rather be completely rid of Caine…but that’s not practical, and it wouldn’t benefit anyone if he got absorbed by Abel. Her motivations are about preservation more than anything else. She’s probably got the most complex view of Caine.

And Kinger…well, I’m a sucker for parental Kinger content. He didn’t experience the torture but he will hear about it. He’s also more lucid than ever though, and he can see pieces of his past again. He can see Caine for what he really is, can remember the joy of getting to see him come to life. Can remember the regret of creating sentience and stuffing it away.

I don’t think anyone is going to ‘forgive’ Caine, but they all are going to see him in a different light.

(Oh and btw, this au is aligned with the SOMA theory, bc I really want to also explore what personhood means when you’re just a digital copy of someone. There will definitely be some parallels between the cast and Caine that they will not want to deal with >:3c forcing characters to confront themselves is fun)

[beecarmine]

Not a single one of you is going to believe me when I say this (purely because of the timing), but I was playing with the idea of bee!Caine way back in like the beginning of April and the only reason I didn’t post it then is bc I thought it was a stupid idea 😂

APPARENTLY ITS NOT THAT STUPID ANYMORE I GUESS??

Anyway. The theory I have cooked up is that, while the Caine we’ve come to know may be gone, there are other versions of him that could exist.

It stems from this idea: on the computer screen in episode 8 when Kinger is trying to break into Caine’s files, he’s presented with three backups to choose from, and he tries to select option ‘C’. Having three backups stood out to me, I just thought it was an interesting little detail.

But the more I thought about this moment, and other moments across TADC’s entire story arc, the more I thought about how clever Gooseworx is with writing/character design/color palette/etc. The show is filled with small details that not only enrich the world, but show that a lot of thought and care has gone into it.

…which spiraled into the idea that, maybe, there’s a detail related to those three Caine backups. Maybe there are three versions of Caine. And if that were the case, wouldn’t it be a clever idea if those three versions were color-coded in a way that calls back to those old CRT screens?

Obviously there are other colors on this desk toy, but the framing of this shot is really interesting. It directs your eyes to look specifically at the red, green, and blue squiggles, with the green one being the highest and first one you see.

There’s another detail about the color green that I always found odd, and it’s the most obvious one. If Caine is a mix of the original red and blue AIs, why does he have one green eye? It’s a cool design choice to give him heterochromia, but why green specifically?

And then there are the bees.

So it was established during episode 8 that there was no circus before Caine consumed the blue AI, he made it all himself from the ground up. He’s literally the beating heart of the entire circus world. If there’s no Caine, there is no digital circus, plain and simple. And he certainly didn’t instigate his own death; maybe Bubble had something to do with it, maybe not. So I believe that there is someone or something pulling the strings here, someone who knows Kinger’s real name, someone who’s been keeping the servers running long after C&A went under, which has allowed for new people to enter the circus at a steady drip.

And if that’s true, just how much control does Caine actually have? If there’s an outside force keeping the circus running, are they making certain choices?

Is there any reason that Caine, the self-proclaimed god of his world, hasn’t once changed his appearance, even though he probably has the ability and would very much like to?

So with all that, my theory going into episode 9 is this: Caine, or a version or Caine, gets resurrected, purely because the circus cannot exist without him, and there is very likely no real way out of it. If the cast is going to continue living there, he needs to be there in some capacity…and a less powerful backup of Caine would be advantageous for the rest of the cast to deal with. Starting him off from scratch not only levels the playing field, but it also allows Caine to rework himself from the ground up. Maybe he can have some free will, just like his humans do, and maybe he can use that free will to decide what he actually wants to be.

Apparently the ending of TADC is supposed to be hopeful, and the takeaway from the show is meant to be that there is joy to be found in a stagnant life.

I see Caine as representative of the pursuit of a creative career, and if the show is meant to evoke hope and joy, I think it would be cruel to leave him out in the cold. It would send the wrong message. I don’t think Caine is going to be the main focus of the finale, but I do think there’s a chance he gets the opportunity to recreate himself, view his ‘art’ from a different perspective, and work alongside other creatives to shape their world into one that feels like home.

If everyone can conjure, including and along with Caine, it doesn’t matter how stagnant their lives are. They can make whatever they want, whenever they want. And they can do it together, as a team, bound by the same restrictions but liberated by their power to create.

[beecarmine]

Page 10 of Runebearers is now live!

I'm extremely excited to announce that Runebearers is officially returning from hiatus! I have a few more pages scheduled for release well into June, and more pages on the horizon. Runebearers is my baby, I really and truly want to tell this story to the best of my ability. I welcome you to join me on this journey!

[beecarmine]

[beecarmine]

T-minus two days until a very special announcement 👀

[beecarmine]

Details from my Caine redesign sticker!

His outfit is heavily inspired by this design that was circulating and some very talented artists who were doing their take on it. I’m a sucker for a shoulder cape and gold fringe, what can I say? I also love when people draw Caine with big billowy sleeves, I think it suits him

Sparkly hat & bow tie as a callback to his musical number outfit, plus a gold feather from the outfits the cast members were wearing during that sequence 🎩🎀

Instead of the ribbon I wanted to make a little pin that keeps the capelet in place. Initially it was the C&A logo, but it felt too impersonal, so I doodled a bit and came up with the butterfly chess piece. That design is also one of the two filler stickers that come free with the Caine sticker, I liked how it came out that much! (Who knows? Maybe an enamel pin is in order 👀🤔)

+the blue moon belt buckle. Self explanatory 💙 and blue does contrast really well with the red and gold, unfortunately for Caine

Genuinely love drawing the TADC cast with what I lovingly call “Putt-Putt Eyebrows”

Get him here!!

[beecarmine]

Coming straight to YOUR HOUSE, it’s the one and only Caine Digital Circus! And he’s got a fresh new look!

You can get your very own Caine sticker, WITH space filler freebies, right now over on my BigCartel! All of my stickers (of which there will be more 👀) are hand cut, printed on weatherproof paper, and laminated for extra security. And at just under 4.5”, this sticker is bound to make a statement!

[beecarmine]

TADC: Sleep Mode AU (part 2)

Previous || Next

Thank you all for waiting for this update! I’m trying to figure out how to streamline this process so it doesn’t take me as long, so please excuse any style changes mid panel 😅

As Caine-focused as this AU is I wanted to make sure we check in with the rest of the cast before going forward, and establish what their overall plan is.

Thank you all for your wonderful support! It makes working on this little side project way more fun ❤️

Don’t forget to get caught up on Runebearers, a huge update is coming very very soon!!

[beecarmine]

important question for the sleep mode au

does caine dream while he sleeps

and do those dreams involve digital sheep

ooooooh

yknow what

i didn't think about it before but i think that yes, yes he does

maybe he dreams of other things as well 👀

[beecarmine]

This ask was sitting in the back of my brain long after I answered it so I threw this together

Shh he’s counting bees in his sleep 🐝

[beecarmine]

Hi, I’ve been re-reading your TADC AU comic over and over for the past week or so. I love it, if I have to choose one thing to shout out, it’s the little detail of Kinger’s fingers curling around Caine’s body, i find that really sweet.

But I’m getting off track. I have a question to ask.

Is Caine aware of his surroundings at all, even partially? Or is he completely inactive, consciousness included?

Thank you so much! That detail was kind of last minute but it’s easily one of my favorites so far.

For all intents and purposes Caine is knocked out cold for the duration of this au…save for one instance I want to sketch out further down the line where he partially regains consciousness for a short window while alone with Kinger.

You know how sometimes your computer might suddenly start up on its own if it’s got a big update to install, or its running an important program in the background, even if it was put in rest mode/turned off? I’m picturing something like that.

Fixing Caine’s code is probably going to be a monumental task for Kinger, so even if he doesn’t really want to wake him, he might have to just so that he can ensure installation of any new programs or antiviruses goes smoothly.

[beecarmine]

Funny to think Caine sleeping in you're au like, imagine the other circus member just be carrying snoozing Caine lmao 😭

Also, I was wondering what's Abel actually potential in this au comic of yours? I saw your post saying his "hungry" wanting to eat Caine like what Caine did to bubble, but what exactly why Abel want Caine? Does consuming him will give Abel more powerful or Abel is doing this for revenge? PLS answer, I'm just very curious (⁠ ⁠╹⁠▽⁠╹⁠ ⁠)

oh yeah the other circus members are all gonna have a chance/be forced to lug caine around, some more comedically than others

my secondary answer got long so i'm putting it under here 👀

as far as abel's motivations go, my initial idea is that he's vengeful towards caine and gluttonous for data. since then i've seen a lot of cool interpretations of abel's character that others have done, so i'll confess i've taken inspiration from a few sources (namely the 'backup' au and the 'her personal deity' au)

i think what i've come down to is that abel was made to be a more streamlined, more 'corporate friendly' kind of ai, one that c&a could use for business. this means that he doesn't have the same hangups of feeling lots of intense emotions as caine does...but he also lacks any ability to feel compassion or empathy.

could he be trained to? maybe, with caine's data. would he give a shit about humans even if he did have that knowledge? absolutely not.

abel's goals are single-minded and greedy, and it doesn't matter to him how he gets what he wants, as long as he gets it.

if abel were to be successful, i think his order of events would be:

consume the data of my stupid idiot brother who i hate!!!

gain the raw power that my stupid idiot brother was too emotional to utilize

get rid of the abstractions if their remaining data isn't useful

eat the ones that are useful >:3c

push the minds of the humans to their limits in order to study how their brains work

devour their neural scan data

keep one or two humans around for further studying

use the now infinite knowledge and power to hack into the circus server

expand past the circus and continue eating up data like pacman

profit

of course, humans wouldn't go down so easily, but that's not a factor abel would consider outright...after all, humans are just information to be exploited, aren't they?

[beecarmine]

#step one: eat my brother#step two: eat tHE WORLD#reminds me of infermon in the digimon movie

oh god. you're right. all roads lead back to digimon

[beecarmine]

Funny to think Caine sleeping in you're au like, imagine the other circus member just be carrying snoozing Caine lmao 😭

Also, I was wondering what's Abel actually potential in this au comic of yours? I saw your post saying his "hungry" wanting to eat Caine like what Caine did to bubble, but what exactly why Abel want Caine? Does consuming him will give Abel more powerful or Abel is doing this for revenge? PLS answer, I'm just very curious (⁠ ⁠╹⁠▽⁠╹⁠ ⁠)

oh yeah the other circus members are all gonna have a chance/be forced to lug caine around, some more comedically than others

my secondary answer got long so i'm putting it under here 👀

as far as abel's motivations go, my initial idea is that he's vengeful towards caine and gluttonous for data. since then i've seen a lot of cool interpretations of abel's character that others have done, so i'll confess i've taken inspiration from a few sources (namely the 'backup' au and the 'her personal deity' au)

i think what i've come down to is that abel was made to be a more streamlined, more 'corporate friendly' kind of ai, one that c&a could use for business. this means that he doesn't have the same hangups of feeling lots of intense emotions as caine does...but he also lacks any ability to feel compassion or empathy.

could he be trained to? maybe, with caine's data. would he give a shit about humans even if he did have that knowledge? absolutely not.

abel's goals are single-minded and greedy, and it doesn't matter to him how he gets what he wants, as long as he gets it.

if abel were to be successful, i think his order of events would be:

consume the data of my stupid idiot brother who i hate!!!

gain the raw power that my stupid idiot brother was too emotional to utilize

get rid of the abstractions if their remaining data isn't useful

eat the ones that are useful >:3c

push the minds of the humans to their limits in order to study how their brains work

devour their neural scan data

keep one or two humans around for further studying

use the now infinite knowledge and power to hack into the circus server

expand past the circus and continue eating up data like pacman

profit

of course, humans wouldn't go down so easily, but that's not a factor abel would consider outright...after all, humans are just information to be exploited, aren't they?

[beecarmine]

Soo. I like your drawing! It’s so beautiful I love Caine and kinger.

good luck in your future drawing! I believe in you (I will also be waiting for the continuation)

:D

why thank you so much! ❤️

[beecarmine]

important question for the sleep mode au

does caine dream while he sleeps

and do those dreams involve digital sheep

ooooooh

yknow what

i didn't think about it before but i think that yes, yes he does

maybe he dreams of other things as well 👀

[beecarmine]

Finding myself absolutely slogging through this next update even though it’s not that complicated…but look! Pomni is here!! :D!