In Twain - Fragmented

Blog for the 'In Twain' AU for TADC. What if Kinger tried to restore a corrupted backup of Caine and the file repair fails? What once was two, then one, then gone, is now two in one. And neither Caine, nor Abel are happy with the current situation.

[fragmented-beyond-repair]

In Twain - A TADC AU

[First Page- Master Post] -> [Next]

What if Kinger tried to restore a corrupted backup of Caine and the automatic file repair goes wrong?

What once were two, then one, then gone, is now two in one. And neither Caine, nor Abel, are happy with the current situation.

Master Post: Part 1 - Fragmented beyond repair Part 2 - Return of the prodigal son Part 3 - Oh, the other son is also back btw Part 4 - Infestation problem Part 5 - Distraction

I have like 50 other to-dos but the brain-worms refused to let me sleep so tadaaaa, new AU.

Like any Caine enjoyer, I will lovingly put this AI through the shredder :)

Base 3D-model and rig by Malik Radwan

Model edits, posing, lighting and 2D overlay done by me

[fragmented-beyond-repair]

TACKLES THE LIL GUY

It was you :0

Dude was in the correct pose when I saved. When I returned the next day, he fell over?? Somehow?? I'd like to believe that was your fault :) (I love to take screenshot when some posing goes wrong for one reason or the other, and this was too perfect xD)

[fragmented-beyond-repair]

installing stability update to caine to prevent him from having any crashouts and crashing...

stability update has been successfully installed.

[WARNING]: Whoops, seems like there has been a whacky critical error. [SYSTEM]: Reverting to previous save-state.

C.A.I.N.E. OS Thank you kindly, it was valiant attempt my dear waterlogged waffle-iron! I really thought that would work :(

[fragmented-beyond-repair]

In Twain AU Part 5 [Masterpost]

[Previous] -> [Next]

It's an ugly reminder, one he doesn't like to think about.

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*Looks at the 30 image limit* *Looks at the 31 image part*

Guess what I just learned guys!

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Oh boy, this one has one of my favourite panels so far, I had a blast working on this, and I already have good progress on part 6 and 7! Things are heating up. I sure do love putting this AI in situations :D

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Note: I fixed some mistakes in the last part, though it's only some text errors and the effect of the abstracted was adjusted.

Zooble's font is still a work in progress, I had to frankenstein some fonts together myself and some stuff isn't quite as aligned as I want it to be. But I was too excited and wanted to get that part out.

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Most character 3D models: zayJax (with minor model edits done by me)

Abstraction model: MalikRadwan

Environment: blueambiance

Posing, lighting, 2D and 3D modifications were done by me

[fragmented-beyond-repair]

In Twain AU Part 4 [Masterpost]

[Previous] -> [Next]

One problem solved and another one unearthed.

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Happy TADC Episode 9 Day! We are free once more to browse the internet without fear! And hoh boi, what an episode!

Shoutout to one of my inspirations for this AU:

AI is for Abandonment Issues by FHazel27

This amazing fic is what inspired me to even start this AU and I can only highly recommend it!

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Still experimenting with the text styles, but I think I have locked that one down for now. Anything in a black box with white outlines is basically system logs of various kinds only visible to the Admin AIs (and Kinger, should he decide to open the logs). Let me know if any of the fonts are not readable! I try to give everybody a font that fits them but I do want to keep it legible.

Anything in a white box + Black outline and anything with a block box but no outline is spoken aloud or a sound/action if it's *written like this*

Also, if you noticed that the line work has changed a bit, that's 'cause I also switched programs. I used to create the 2D overlays with my pen on my phone, but then switched to do that with Krita on my computer. Using a tiny screen was nice when on the move, but the bigger monitor does help a lot more I'll be honest)

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Most character 3D models: zayJax (with minor model edits done by me)

Abstraction model: MalikRadwan

Environment: blueambiance

Posing, lighting, 2D and 3D modifications were done by me

EDIT: Whoops, that posted twice for some reason, sorry about that folks!

EDIT2: Fixed some text errors and adjusted the abstraction effect

EDIT3: Why do I keep finding things I overlooked? Left my color pallet dots in one panel, it's gone now xD

[fragmented-beyond-repair]

In Twain AU Part [Masterpost]

Bit of a closer look at my Caine and Abel designs. They look mostly the same, though Caine's model is a bit rougher around the edges, unfinished textures, less 'appealing' with sharper canines, and a more butterfly shaped bowtie. Meanwhile, Abel is a bit closer to the Ringmaster model that the players met, but with the C&A branding on the back and sharper bowtie, shorter coattails and a wider hat.

And well, of course their eyes

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Caine 3D model: zayJax (with minor model edits done by me)

Posing, lighting, 2D and 3D modifications were done by me

[comet-sand]

In Twain AU Fanart

Really liked the use of different mediums in the AU's artstyle (and the story is really good)!

hjsakldfhl i just realized i forgot the checkerboard pattern on the arms-

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In Twain AU by @fragmented-beyond-repair

3D Caine Rig by Malik Radwan (modded by me)

Lighting/Posing/Effects by me

(and, of course, I used Blender to create the scene)

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Without effects:

(you can barely see a thing ._.)

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Shading Editor (Cycles):

(ignore the bottom, it's just filled with unused bits ;-;)

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Shading Editor (EEVEE Engine):

(Good thing I caught that it was on EEVEE before rendering...)

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BONUS! Caine staring through the screen:

(i just had to screenshot this lol)

[fragmented-beyond-repair]

aksjsgdka How dare I miss this notification! This looks stunning, this absolutely made my day :D Thank you <3

[fragmented-beyond-repair]

If you can answer, how does this really work? Or is that spoilers? Because the shift was visible to everyone, is it always that visible? And what about whoever is not controlling the avatar at the moment, are they always aware? Or are there times when they aren't aware? Like, is Abel aware after swapping with Caine in part 3? Or something else?

It will be explained in the comic a bit later, but I love to ramble and questions like that also help me put my thoughts in order :D

The basic gist is this:

The switch is always visible, both Able and the Original (Caine) have their own version of the Ringmaster avatar that they use when they are active.

The other tends to be aware of what is going on, they just don't have any influence on the system or any capabilities to interact with the players.

My knowledge of some coding languages is veeeery rudimentary (I should really apologize for all the psychological pain I am inflicting on programmers) but it's basically this:

Whoever is the AI that is not currently active, anything they say and any commands they try to run, will be automatically 'commented' out by the system. In Java or C++, the use of // indicates that a line should not be read by the system when executing a script, it will act like it doesn't exist, even though it's present in the code itself. Any player who can see the log files that the CAbINEl.os puts out, can read whatever the two AI's talk about, but the inactive one can't otherwise communicate with the players.

The inactive one is aware most of the time. There could be a time where they are knocked out due to the nature of the switch-trigger, but that doesn't tend to last long. Or they can choose to fall dormant, aka napping, until a switch is triggered by one thing or the other. The active one could potentially force the other into that dormant state, but that takes a lot of processing power and it wouldn't last forever.

[fragmented-beyond-repair]

That panel mirrors my expression perfectly after I realized part 4 has like, twice the amount of panels than part 3 did and I am not even finished. I miiiighht have to split that part into 2 separate ones.

[fragmented-beyond-repair]

Not a new part (that one's gonna take a bit longer) but I wanted to warn those that have not heard yet:

The brasil dub of EP9 has been leaked, so please be careful when browsing any social media platform until you can see the episode. I promise that this blog will be spoiler free until the episode comes out on youtube!

I'll probably stay a bit away from tumblr until I can watch it in the cinemas, so it will take a bit to answer any asks if they come in. Just know I really appreciate all the nice comments and support this comic has been getting and I hope you guys will enjoy the next part when it comes out (it's longer than the last part, I cannot stop myself help)

[fragmented-beyond-repair]

Working on part 3 it felt oddly fitting for the entire PC to freeze and bluescreen lol

Thank god I work with programs like Maya and blender on a professional basis, because that sure as hell taught me very fast to constantly press save whenever you do anything xD (especially Maya. I love it, it's great for animation but ohhhh boy, you look at it wrong and it break in ways I didn't even know were possible. I once broke it so bad, an animation changed depending on if you scrubbed forwards or backwards in the timeline. That animation curve was a concerning sight)

[fragmented-beyond-repair]

In Twain AU Part 3 [Masterpost]

[Previous] -> [Next]

It was strange, the Original knew he should be much more angry with his humans about their deletion. But in this fragmented state, separated from Abel's inability to properly comprehend emotions, he is starting to finally understand.

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And we have reached the main point of what this AU is about.

Caine wasn't always 'the Ringmaster'. He is an amalgamation of the original Caine and his brother Abel, each personality affecting the other to form one coherent whole. But what if that whole cracks so badly it's almost in two separate pieces?

Split, these two have to not only grapple with the fact that they are aware of each other, but also with their actions that lead to their deletion and subsequent fragmentation. All the while their powers are reduced and their home is in desperate need of fixing.

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I decided to tweak the designs of Caine and Able a bit more than what I showed in the original master post, and all in all I'm quite happy with the new look. Similar eneough to each other, but still some differences. (Will post a character ref where the lighting isn't... purple xD)

But man, I am having a blast working on this, and I gotta thank you guys! You're likes and comments feed my very soul (and motivation) <3

Zooble, Kinger and Caine 3D model: zayJax (with minor model edits done by me)

Environment: blueambiance

[fragmented-beyond-repair]

In Twain AU Part 2 [Masterpost]

[Previous] -> [Next]

The return of the prodigal son.

Restoring Caine did not go as planned and now Kinger is faced with the remnant of another son he has failed.

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Man, composition is noooot my strength. But I'm fairly happy with how this turned out and I should get better over time I hope!

Kinger 3D model: Malik Radwan

Zooble and Caine 3D model: zayJax (with minor model edits done by me)

Environment: blueambiance

Posing, lighting, 2D and 3D modifications were done by me

[fragmented-beyond-repair]

In Twain AU Part 1 [First Page] -> [Next] Kinger has not slept since he deleted Caine. If anybody breathes wrong, this man is going to kneel over unconscious. ---

It's honestly pretty fun combining 3D with 2D, I'm very happy with how this part turned out :D

Kinger 3D model: Malik Radwan Zooble 3D model: zayJax

Environment: blueambiance Posing, lighting, 2D was done by me

[Edit: reuploaded the single panels in the hopes that this will preserve the image resolution better]