she/they pronouns. 18+. NO AI ALLOWED
this is my horror visual novels blog . . . MDNI please !!
there will likely be dark themes and nsfw content on this blog.
vns i've played ❀ ― meeting in the flesh, picture perfect boyfriend, my dear hatchet man, KLEINv01, where winter crows go, scarlet hollow, touchstarved, trapped with jester, don't open your eyes, john doe, gavril, parasite in love, bloody painter dating sim, rotten dinner, 14dwy, tkatb, big bad dogs, perfect love. ― ❀
to play ❀ ― it paints me, love you to pieces, SHOWTIME, picture perfect boyfriend reboot. ― ❀
Just a little headcannon about Caine having cuteness aggression towards you.
You can view this as both platonic or romantic!
Caine having cuteness aggression for you has its pros and cons. (mostly cons)
There can be times where you appreciate his affection towards you, but DAMN is it rough.
Since Caine has cuteness aggression for you, you would probably be his (dear he say) favorite.
But don’t get me wrong, he loves all of his little prize winning contestants! You just so happen to be the most appealing one!
No matter how laid-back, shy, jolly, grouchy you are. Just expect Caine to always be there.
Having this aggression for you didn’t just come from thin air (I mean, it did but not in the same context i’m going to).
When you first came into the circus, you became to target of his interest. He wanted to know everything about you if you would let him. And when you did, he almost short circuited from excitement.
As Caine got to know you better, the more attached he became. Everyday he had wanted to hang out with you. And you would spend your day talking with each other. Then, the two of you became more comfortable around each other.
First, it started out as a confusing feeling for him. Caine couldn’t understand why he had wanted to just squeeze you until your eyes popped out. He could never! You were his prized possession after all!
He kept it to himself, trying to figure out his weird behavior of his.
(He tried talking to Bubble about it, never again. He was no help…)
You soon noticed how distant he was, and questioned about it to him. Caine caved, he knew he could talk to you about things.
(Imma write a little snippet of it, cuz that’s what I do in my headcannons.)
“I just— I don’t know!” He rambled, floating back in forth in your digital room. Gloved hands gripping on the bottom of his jaw like everything in the world was wrong with him.
“One second I want to hang out with you, and the next second I just want to bite your head off!—But in a affectionate way, of course!” Caine explained, sort of expressing his feelings by almost wrangling your neck with his hands.
Caine then backed up in a quick motion, now hugging his body as he looked almost mortified with himself. “Is there something wrong with my programming? Am I experiencing what you guys go through—SICKNESS?!?”
Before he had a chance to fully go out of it. Caine heard you let out a laugh, making him freeze and look at you. Why were you laughing? Why WOULD you be laughing at the fact he wanted to hurt you?
After letting out a good laugh, you explained what he was feeling. The words ‘cuteness aggression’ didn’t really help him. But when you explained that humans would feel this way for cute animals and things. Caine was sort of amazed to know that he was feeling of what humans would feel. And when you had told him that it was completely normal, he had sort went quiet in thought.
“So… This is a totally normal feeling and not something that I should be completely concerned about?” He questioned once more time for a better understanding. And when you nodded your head at him, he stood there for a moment. “Andddd are you in any way uncomfortable?” Caine asked for your personal opinion about it. and when you shook your head at him, he let out a noise of understanding.
Then there was a pause, a long one. Then, Caine’s voice spoke up. “Okay explain this one more time—“
You had to explain it to him MANY more times. This new feeling of his was all sorts of confusing. Then you also had to explain it to him that this emotion was normal and that you understood him.
Soon, he pretty much went to normal. If this new emotion was not going to harm him or you (hopefully), he didn’t have a thing to worry about!
NOW here comes the hard part. dealing with Caine every time he had this emotion.
You could NEVER know his next move. It’s impossible to even know what he would do next.
You could be talking to him, then he would just hover over you with an intense look.
Hell, you could be talking to anyone else. Then you notice their eyes widen behind you. You didn’t even have to guess who it was. (It was Caine hovering his straining hands over you with dilated yet terrifying eyes like he wanted to rip you to shreds.)
And when you complimented his work, it was bad. (writing this part)
After an adventure, you couldn’t help but be amazed (and relieved) on how smooth and relaxing this adventure was. So you wanted to give your compliments to the maker!
Seeing Caine float near the exit portal of said adventure, you caught his attention.
“Hello, my little soft served scallop! What can I do for you?” Caine excitedly greeted you. You then complimented him adventure, to the storyline to the small details. You noticed how stars practically beamed in his eyes.
“Oh my little award winning winner, I couldn’t just TEAR your little limbs APART with my TEETH—“ As he began to slowly began to float menacingly before you, he quickly caught himself. Now floating all flustered before you.
“Your helpful commentary is much appreciated!”
Yea there will be spurts of affectionate threatening here and there, but it just shows how much he appreciates ya!
Then there are the times where you are hanging out with Caine. I think those would be the times where he lets loose a little.
After a long day, you were hanging out with Caine in your room, talking away about what went on in the digital world. Laying in your plush bed as you stared up at the ceiling as you spoke. You were talking about your day, sort of excited when you were telling him about your hobbies and such.
However, you felt something clamp down on you. Looking in that direction, you were shocked to see Caine giving you a soft affectionate bite.
After a moment of silence, Caine let go to peek over his teeth. Seeing you stare at him made him quickly let go and back away. You floating in the air and coughing into his fist. “Pardon me! So, as you were saying!” He awkwardly spoke.
Then there would be time when the two of you would hug. Caine would probably give you the most tightest hugs in the world. You would probably glitch out and accidentally get flinched somewhere else.
But over all, Caine just can’t help himself when it comes to his cuteness aggression. Once he heard that it was a completely normal thing, it was green lights for him.
Hello, traveler. I heard you're starving for a part 2 of the Caine x Reader Headcanons: I'm here to deliver. Open wide!
(I do take requests for most characters from the tadc, so don't be afraid to ask. Want more Caine content? It's coming ;) )
Warning: Potential cardiac arrest.
DATING DILEMMA
— This AI has never tried love before... like, ever, so this is uncharted territory.
— Knows nothing about the matter, so he bombards Pomni and Bubble with questions on how to woo you (even though Bubble manages to give the worst advice imaginable).
Caine is sitting in his office chair, notebook in hand, with an ungodly amount of questions written down. Pomni is sitting across from him, practically pulling her own hair out.
“Okay, okay—! Where to start, where to start..." he squints at the jam-packed page. "Ah, yes! Number one: do I compliment them on their eyes first, or their smile? Or… both at the same time?”
“Well, uh, that’s for you to decide!”
“Hmm. How often is it appropriate to bring them gifts? Twice a day? Once an hour?”
“I dunno if—”
“Is it charming if I trip in front of them?”
“No.”
“Oh.”
Silently jots it down.
Caine leans back in his chair and clears his throat with a cough. “Number four! What is the best way to convey my affection toward a romantic interest?”
Bubble, completely unprompted, suggests: “Oh! Easy! Just ignore them completely! Be cold. Distant. Mysterious. Everyone loves that!”
Pomni immediately recoils in astonishment. “That’s, like, the worst thing you could do to someone you have a crush on.”
“Hmm." He taps the tip of his pencil against his lower jaw. "Bubble says I should be ‘mysterious.’ How mysterious is too mysterious? Could I be… dangerously mysterious?”
“Caine, no.”
“Okay, okay,” Caine says, blinking as he scribbles notes anyway. “Noted… extremely noted.”
— Suddenly obsessed with romance, watching romantic movies every night, listening to human-created romantic music, etc. Anything about romance he can get his hands on, actually. (Obsessed with Hello, Dolly!)
— Acts like a lovesick fool every chance he gets. Putting your pictures up on the wall of his office, writing lovey-dovey poems, and even leaving flowers in front of your door.
You stand there, confused about who sent them, and meanwhile, he’s watching from afar, binoculars on, completely swooning over you.
Yes, he’s that far gone.
— Attempts to woo you constantly, not always achieving success. He works up the courage to use a pick-up line once or twice that he’s heard from Bubble. They, in fact, do not work.
“Are you made of glitter? Because you’re… dazzling. And also possibly slightly abrasive.”
You frown, completely perturbed. “…Are you insulting me?”
“I— NO! No, I— N-Never mind!” Instant regret.
Of course, Jax is cackling in the background, while Ragatha desperately tries to cover his mouth.
— When a compliment finally lands, he’s floored (or destroyed) by your reaction. If you swoon and smile, he’ll practically melt in your hands.
— If you go out of your way to talk to him? He’s over the moon. It genuinely catches him off guard every single time. Caine is so used to being the one hovering around you that the moment you willingly seek him out, he immediately perks up.
He’ll gasp, his voice pitches up, his posture instantly improves, and his eyes light up as if it were the greatest moment of his life.
Internally, he’s tweaking out, thinking: THEY CAME TO TALK TO ME. VOLUNTARILY.
— Willing to do the stupidest thing in front of you to make you laugh. Having a bad day? He’ll find the cure. Adventures, theatrics, his own pride— none of it matters nearly as much as getting that smile back on your face.
— Starts making very questionable attempts to seem more “attractive” in your eyes. Once Caine realizes he actually wants your affection, he becomes oddly determined to make himself seem more appealing to you— whatever that means.
Unfortunately, he has no real understanding of what humans find attractive, so his efforts end up being wildly inconsistent.
— It usually falls apart the second you actually pay attention to him. Because no matter how hard he tries to seem smooth, one genuine look from you and he’s buffering like a broken machine.
— Throughout his messy, chaotic antics, his love is genuine, even if he himself is artificial. You’re gorgeous, and he can barely even handle sitting next to you. If you wanted, he would throw away the entire circus just for your hand to hold.
— On the rare occasions he finally gets the moment to confess directly, it’s inevitably sabotaged. Either by Jax interrupting, sudden chaos, or just spectacularly bad timing. The moment never lasts long enough.
Which makes him increasingly annoyed every time.
But he won’t give up!
In fact, he’s got another idea.
OPERATION: ASK Y/N
Asking you out on a date was like a special ops mission.
“POMNI!”
“AHH!” Pomni jolts from her bed, sitting up after being startled by... Caine?
“Caine, w-why are you—?”
“No time!” Snap!
They’re in his office. Surprisingly, for once, Bubble isn’t there.
“Ugh,” Pomni blinks and groans, rubbing the sleep from her eyes, trying to catch up. “…Okay. What’s going on?”
He’s turned away in his chair, legs crossed over the other, with the room ominously dark. “I need your help.”
He slowly swings the chair around to face her, his fingers pressed together with the most serious expression she’s ever seen him make. “Yes.”
He’s serious.
“Okay. Um— don’t overcomplicate it.”
“…Overcomplicate. Right,” he mutters, instinctively reaching for his notebook.
Pomni watches as he flips it open— there are already pages filled. Diagrams. Flowcharts. Walls of paragraphs and graphs with random calculations.
She squints. “You’ve… already complicated it.”
“I prefer the term thorough,” Caine says quickly, scribbling something down. “Now— step one: establish an optimal setting for romance. I was thinking a fireworks display, synchronized to a custom orchestral arrangement played by—”
“No,” Pomni cuts in immediately.
His pen freezes mid-scratch.
“…No?”
“No fireworks. No orchestra. No— whatever that is.” She gestures vaguely at the notebook. “You’re asking them out on a date.”
Caine stares at her, then slowly lowers the notebook like she just insulted his entire existence.
“…Yes,” he says carefully, his eyes furrowing together, “a date! A carefully curated, emotionally resonant, flawlessly executed—”
“No,” Pomni interrupts again, much softer this time, but firm. “Not a spectacle. It's just you asking them if they want to spend time with you.”
There’s a pause, and based on his expression, he is not completely understanding.
“You just need to mean it,” Pomni explains. “You don’t need an orchestra.”
Caine pauses for a moment.
“…Mean it,” he repeats, quieter, a finger tapping against one of his bottom teeth. “That’s all? Really?'
“That’s all.”
“No grand reveal?”
“No.”
“No confetti cannons, or—?”
“CAINE.”
“Okay, okay! No confetti cannons!” He leans back in his chair, staring at the ceiling, fingers tapping restlessly against the armrest.
Then abruptly, he straightens. “Alright! Excellent! I’ve got it!” His confidence snaps back into place, bright and electric. “Simple. Direct! Genuine! I will execute this flawlessly!”
“Just try not to—”
“Thanks, Pomni! I won’t let you down!”
Snap!
Of course, before ultimately popping the question, he practices in the mirror several times.
Caine poses in front of a full-length mirror, a rose in one hand and the other placed dramatically on his chest.
“Hello there, circus frie— no, no, that's too formal.”
He clears his throat, restarts. “Hello! Would you—” ...only to break off once more.
“Nope, too stiff.”
“Y/N, Would you care to accompany me on an evening of romantic inten— nope, definitely too much.” Again.
“Would you perhaps consider— ...no, sounds like a contract.” And again.
“HEY! Y/N! DATE ME—”
He freezes and stares at his own reflection for a moment, even startling himself for a second.
“…Okay, maybe not that one,” he says, slowly lowering his arms.
The room goes quiet.
...
Caine stares at his reflection for a moment with his posture less theatrical than usual.
Pomni’s words linger in his head: You need to mean it.
For a moment, Caine doesn’t move.
Then, slowly, he straightens up again. “…Right,” he mutters to himself. “Simple. Direct. Genuine. I can do that!"
Caine spends an absurd amount of time trying to find the “right moment.”
Which mostly means he keeps almost doing it.
During the adventure? Too public.
In the courtyard? Bad lighting!
At lunch? Jax is there. Immediate failure.
...Then he strikes a golden, once-in-a-millennium idea!
Maybe he will need those confetti cannons after all.
OPERATION: FAILED SUCCESSFULLY
Of course, after all that planning, overthinking, rehearsing, and emotional warfare, the actual confession does not go as planned. Not even a little.
One afternoon, Caine snaps everyone into one of his newest adventures— a full-blown racing event, complete with brightly colored karts (specifically designed for each person), an absurdly overdesigned track, and way more chaos than necessary.
Naturally, it’s a disaster.
Jax drives like he has a death wish, ending up sideswiping Gangle and Zooble in the process of making it to the finish line on the last lap. Ragatha nearly crashes into a decorative sign.
Pomni, somehow, ends up being way more aggressive behind the wheel than anyone expected. And through it all, Caine is absolutely insufferable over the announcer system.
By the time it’s over, everyone is dropped into a much calmer little “cool-down” environment Caine had prepared afterward— a cozy café tucked away in the middle of the adventure map, all warm lighting, soft music, and little drinks already waiting at the tables.
He's a genius.
“What a show, my talented racers! Time to reward everyone with a relaxing evening at the café, with definitely nothing else planned!
It’s supposed to be a nice break.
And, more importantly, it was supposed to be his chance.
Everyone’s too busy talking over each other about the race to notice him lingering nearby, trying to find the right moment to pull you aside.
“Pomni, I never thought I’d see you on the road like that,” Ragatha says, still half-laughing. “That was insane.”
“I panicked!” Pomni defends immediately. “Jax hit me with a shell or whatever that thing was!”
“It was funny!” Jax says, grinning into his drink.
“It was attempted murder! You ran me off the track!” Pomni snaps back. “I almost crashed!”
“That’s the point. I go for the win,” Jax continues, leaning back in his chair. “And you eat shit.”
Meanwhile, Caine is standing just a little too close to your chair, trying and failing to look casual. He opens his mouth once. Closes it. Then tries again.
“Y/N, if I could perhaps borrow you for just one brief, non-alarming, entirely normal—”
And then Bubble floats in. “Oh! Are you finally asking Y/N on that date?”
Everything stops. The music in the background, the employee NPCs freeze, and all the machinery noises stop.
Utter devastating silence.
Pomni goes still, absolutely horrified by what she'd just witnessed. Ragatha’s eyes go wide, her hands cupping her glass of iced coffee as she gasps aloud. Jax practically folds in half over his café chair.
Caine freezes like he’s just been shot, smacking a hand over his own mouth even though he didn’t say anything.
It’s over. Oh, it’s so over. They all know.
“Bubble,” he says, with terrifying calm.
Bubble blinks, still wearing a huge grin like nothing happened. “What?”
“You have,” he says slowly, “exactly three seconds to leave my line of sight.”
Bubble: 😀
You turn in your seat to look at him. “…Date?”
And just like that, there’s no escape. No backup plan. Just everyone staring at him.
Jax is already losing it, literally shaking in his chair. Pomni looks like she wants the floor to swallow her whole on his behalf. And Caine— poor, doomed, deeply unfortunate Caine— has no choice but to suffer.
Caine puts his jaws in his hands out of sheer embarrassment. His shoulders stiffen, hands twitching uselessly at his sides.
Then, in one horribly abrupt burst out loud: “YES! Fine! Yes, I was trying to ask you on a date! Preferably in a manner that was significantly more suave than this.”
Jax makes a noise somewhere between a laugh and a choke. Caine ignores him with every ounce of strength he has left.
His eyes stay on you now. And despite everything— the humiliation, the chaos, the complete destruction of all his careful planning—
It wasn’t supposed to turn out this badly.
…
And you’re grinning.
At him.
Not a sympathetic, judgmental, or teasing one— more like a satisfied one.
“Why didn’t you just ask?” you say, a grin tugging at your lips as you lean a little closer. Your fingers gently tug the sleeve of his still-on black-and-checkered referee jacket.
Ragatha immediately turns away and awkwardly lifts her drink to her mouth for a sip. "..."
Then, just to make absolutely sure his brain short-circuits, you add, “The answer is yes, by the way.”
She spits it out.
Caine snaps toward you so fast it’s almost comical.
“WHAT?!” His entire body jerks upright so violently it looks like his spine got replaced with a spring.
“Really?!” he blurts, voice cracking right up into the stratosphere. “You mean— truly?! Sincerely? Genuinely? With full awareness of what is happening right now?!”
“Yep.”
There is a beat.
Then Caine absolutely loses his mind.
He points at you. Then at himself. Then at you again. Then both hands just go everywhere at once, flapping uselessly like he’s trying to conduct an orchestra mid-emergency as he laughs aloud.
“YOU? Choose... me?! Me?!” he sputters. “You picked me?! Out of— out of everyone here?! Voluntarily?! Under no pressure?”
“Yes, Caine.”
Then, without warning, he spins in a full circle, grabs both sides of his head to stop it, and blurts: “Well, this is off-script.”
Jax snorts. “Aren’t you always off-script?”
“NOT LIKE THIS!” Caine snaps at him. “This was supposed to be elegant! It was supposed to be perfect! There were phases, Jax! Phases! The perfect sunset, the perfect atmosphere!”
“I HAD A TIMELINE!” he shouts, scandalized. “There was a reveal, a dramatic emotional cue! There was... there was supposed to be romantic music and—”
Bubble gasps. “Ohhh, and the confetti?”
“NO, BUBBLE, NOT THE CONFETTI—”
BOOM!
A cannon somewhere in the ceiling fires, somehow shaking the entire café, blasting a violent storm of glittering, holographic heart-shaped confetti into the café.
Everyone screams in unison.
“NOOOO!” Caine shrieks, shielding his face from the falling paper hearts like he’s under attack by the enemy. “IT WASN’T SUPPOSED TO GO OFF UNTIL THE HAND-HOLDING PHASE!”
Jax is doubled over laughing. “You had a hand-holding phase?!”
“Caine, I told you not to do the confetti cannons! It was supposed to be simple!” Pomni sinks into her chair in disappointment and shame.
Ragatha covers her mouth, torn between horror and laughter. “Caine…”
“No, no, this is— this is—” he gestures vaguely, pacing in a tight circle, throwing his arms around like he’s attempting to swim for his life. (To be fair, he is... emotionally.) “T-This is structurally unsound romance execution! It's ruined!"
“You’re covered in confetti!” Zooble says flatly.
“I KNOW!!”
“AND YOU—” Caine whips around so fast he nearly spins out, pointing at Bubble with scandalized fury. “YOU are no longer permitted to assist in any romantic operations! Never, ever again! You are banned! Banned from love!”
Bubble still floats there like: 😀
Jax is finally able to speak through his laughter, wiping tears away from both eyes. “This is the greatest thing I’ve ever witnessed in my life.”
Caine clamps both hands over his face.
“Oh, this is— this is catastrophically embarrassing,” he groans into his gloved palms. “I need to go to... to...”
And then— he peeks through his fingers and sees you smiling at him.
He just… stops.
Stops the freakout, stops the panic in his chest. At least, long enough to actually think about something other than the embarrassment. His shoulders shrivel and his hands lower.
“You’re still smiling,” he says, like this is somehow another unexpected variable.
“Yeah.”
That somehow hits him. For the second time. Even harder.
He whips back toward you so fast he nearly trips, and somehow still manages to look wildly, helplessly excited underneath all the fluster.
“That was really cute and all,” you start, pushing yourself up from your chair, “that you were trying this hard to impress me.”
“I-...” he slowly relaxes. “You... think... it’s cute? You think... I’m cute?”
“Well, yeah!” You chuckle. “I always knew you liked me. It was obvious.”
Caine’s lower jaw drops straight through the floor.
Literally.
“You... knew?”
“We all knew, dumbass,” Zooble mumbles.
“…Oh.”
“…But listen, I like you, too.” You go ahead and blurt it out already. “I meant it. Let’s go out on a date.”
Jax immediately makes the loudest fake gagging noise known to man. “I think I’m gonna puke. This is so gross.”
“Jax,” Ragatha hushes, “shut up!”
“No, no, I’m sorry, this is just so revoltingly sincere I almost threw up.”
...
There is awkward silence once again.
“So, uh... I guess it’s time to get ready. For the date.” You break the silence.
“Oh, right! Right.” Caine stammers nervously before swining his cane, opening a portal to teleport everyone back to the circus.
“Ahem... Farewell, my racers! I’ve got a DATE to get ready for!” he announces on full blast before disappearing instantly with a snap.
Everyone is quiet.
“…Well that was... an experience,” Jax says, breaking the silence. With a sigh, he turns to walk through the glistening portal. “I’m going to sleep. Have fun with the date or whatever.”
FIRST DATE
— Okay, so, first date! Shouldn’t be too hard to plan, right?
— Honestly? Caine never planned this far. He was so focused on making the proposal perfect that he finds himself blankly staring at his own reflection.
— Wears his best suit of all time: THE BLACK SPARKLY SUIT (oh yeah, you know the one). You deserve nothing but perfection, and he wants to make a good first impression.
Something the reader doesn’t know: he polishes his teeth and eyes beforehand. Not with a toothbrush, I’m talking with a full-sized handheld car polish buffer. Gotta keep ’em clean and shiny!
— Spends an absurd amount of time trying to decide what kind of date you’d like best. Not what he thinks is best for you— someplace you’d actually enjoy. He cycles through dozens of ideas before finally settling on something that feels special.
Fancy candlelit dinner? Nah, too formal.
Fireworks over a digital skyline? No, no, too much pressure.
A quiet walk through a pretty little custom-made world?
…Okay. That one stays.
— Rose in hand, he tries very, very hard to act smooth when he comes to pick you up. And for about five seconds? It actually works... then you smile at him and his entire thought process just completely derails.
He had a full greeting prepared, but forgets all of it the second he sees you.
Ends up just blurting: “YOULOOKVERYNICE!”
“…Caine, I have nothing else to wear. This is just... my normal outfit.”
— ABSOLUTE GENTLEMAN. Offers his arm for you to grab on the way out of your room. He stands up straighter, talks a little too formally, keeps trying to casually compliment you despite his blatant awkwardness.
“Still— you are looking particularly— uh— exceptionally— aesthetically—”
“…Pretty?”
“…Y-Yes! That one!”
— Once you’re both there? He keeps checking to make sure you’re having a good time. Constantly. I mean, every few minutes, in a “please tell me I’m not ruining this” kind of way.
“Are you comfortable?”
“Do you like this?”
“Would you prefer a different ambiance? Do you not like the swans?”
— You assure him you’re enjoying yourself.
— Naturally, the date doesn’t go so perfectly. Walking next to your romantic date in the middle of the night? The swan props malfunctions nearby. Romantic music involved? The music cuts out at the worst time or glitches.
And honestly? That’s what makes it fun.
Instead of everything falling apart, you laugh.
— In that moment, when he realizes you’re having fun even when it’s imperfect? He’s relieved.
— Be careful, he’s fragile. You bat those pretty eyelashes at him? Caine is momentarily stunned. Oh, and the first time you casually touch him during the date? He nearly glitches out.
Could be his arm, his sleeve... or even better, his hand. Doesn’t matter where— whatever cool composure he managed to scrape together is gone immediately.
— If you let him hold your hand again? Oh, he is DONE for. He tries so hard to play it cool, but his fingers are so careful when they lace with yours, like he’s worried he’ll somehow ruin the moment if he moves wrong.
He tries to hide it, but keeps sneaking glances down at your joined hands like he can’t believe it’s actually happening.
Meanwhile, his hand is literally trembling in yours. He swears he’s okay.
— By the end of the date, he’s less focused on impressing you and more on being near you. Sure, the night started with him trying to orchestrate a perfect, romantic experience, but honestly, it didn’t need one.
In the end, he’d be perfectly content just sitting beside you in comfortable silence if it meant the date didn’t have to end yet.
— Does not want to say goodnight. At all, actually. Even when you two are standing outside your bedroom door, he keeps dragging it out in the most painfully obvious ways possible.
“Well! This, um... I guess concludes the romantic evening!”
“I guess it does.” You smile.
“…Very successful evening, I may add!”
“Uh huh.”
— Bro still doesn’t walk away. For a moment, he just stares at you wide-eyed, unable to move his legs for some unknown reason.
Then, after a small pause, you ask softly:
“…Do you want a kiss?”
Caine goes still. Not dramatically like before— it’s more like his entire system genuinely stalls out for a second.
“I—”
And that is apparently all he’s got.
His shoulders stiffen. His posture straightens a little too much. He glances at you, then immediately away— then back again like he’s not sure where he’s supposed to be looking.
Obviously, the answer is yes.
He just clearly was not emotionally prepared to say it out loud yet.
“…That,” he says at last, voice just a touch higher than usual, “is… a very important question.”
You can’t help but smile.
“Well?”
“…Yes.”
And somehow, that tiny little answer is more sincere than anything else he’s said all night.
“… Can you kiss?” you ask purely out of curiosity— and definitely not like you wanted to test it out for yourself.
“Er— uh...” Caine sputters.
“I mean, physically. You don’t have lips.”
He opens his mouth, only to close it. Very good point.
“…I— I could try,” he whispers, clearly paranoid about his surroundings all of a sudden, glancing at the walls around him. “I’ve never... kissed anyone before.”
Aww.
You grin. How cute... honest, but cute.
Then he adjusts his jacket with sudden urgency, visibly starting to sweat again.
“Though, in my defense,” he says quickly (maybe in an attempt to save his dignity), “this is not exactly a design flaw I anticipated becoming relevant!”
You chuckle softly. “It’s okay,” you reassure him. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to.”
That gets his attention immediately.
“No! I mean—” He attempts to save whatever is left of this moment. “No, I do. V-Very much so!”
Both of you lock eyes with each other once more.
All is quiet.
...
Then, slowly, Caine leans in.
Carefully.
Like he’s trying not to ruin something fragile.
There’s the tiniest hesitation right before he reaches you. He gives you one last pause, like he’s giving you every chance to stop him if you want to, just in case.
But when you don’t?
He finally closes the distance.
Sure, it’s awkward and a little clumsy— mostly just him pressing his teeth against your lips. But surprisingly...
It’s soft.
When he pulls back, it’s only by a few inches.
His jaws open slightly, just so his eyes can peek through.
“…Was that,” he asks quietly, “acceptable?”
This makes you laugh as you pull away.
“That was cute.”
. . .
“Well, um,” you say, glancing at the watch around your wrist, “I’m going to go to sleep.”
Caine is hesitant to let go of your hand, but once he does, he awkwardly fiddles with the hem of his glove.
“Goodnight.” You turn away, pushing the doorknob open as you glance back one more time. “I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”
“O-Okay.”
“Night!”
Once again, Caine finds himself standing in front of your bedroom door. But instead of nerves, the only thing on his mind is disbelief.
Then, very slowly—
he turns around and immediately freezes.
Because down the hall...
Gangle is peeking out of her door. Wait, hold on. Not just Gangle.
Pomni is halfway leaning out of hers, too, both eyes wide.
And Ragatha is very much not subtle about it, fully standing in the doorway with both hands gripping the frame.
All three of them are staring at him in SHOCK at what they just witnessed.
. . .
“…You nosy little—!”
Pomni points at him instantly. “YOU KISSED Y/N!”
“I did not!”
“You absolutely did,” Ragatha says, already covering her mouth with both hands like she’s trying not to squeal. “Oh my gosh!!”
Gangle makes a tiny, delighted noise, clasping her ribboned hands together. “Aww… that was cute!”
“HEY!” Caine immediately straightens, one hand flying to his chest in outrage. “That was a private interaction! A confidential exchange! A classified emotional event! How dare you—”
Ragatha leans forward a little more, eyes practically sparkling. “Wait— was that your first kiss? Please tell me that was your first kiss.”
“…No,” he says far too quickly.
The hallway goes silent.
“I SAW IT!”
Bubble pops into existence right above his shoulder.
Caine shrieks, jolting so hard he nearly levitates off the floor, whipping around so fast he almost loses his balance. “BUBBLE?!”
Bubble is absolutely beaming. “You kissed them! With your little teeth!”
“Wait, your teeth?” Pomni narrows her eyes.
“I DON’T HAVE LIPS!”
Pomni falls to her knees, one hand slapped over her mouth as she tries... and fails not to laugh.
Ragatha physically turns away, shoulders shaking. “Oh my God.”
Gangle lets out the tiniest, muffled squeak and ducks halfway behind her door like that’ll somehow hide how utterly delighted she is right now.
Caine straightens abruptly, brushing at his sleeves like he can physically smooth the situation back under control.
“That is not the issue here,” he snaps. “The issue is that the four of you have somehow transformed a deeply personal moment into a hallway spectacle!”
Bubble gasps. “It was a very good hallway spectacle!”
Ragatha lowers her hands just enough to grin. “Okay, but… was it nice?”
"I—" Caine, in an attempt to throw a wall up between them, looks away entirely. “…That is not information you are entitled to. None of your business!”
“Oh my gosh, it was,” Ragatha squeaks.
Gangle clasps her ribboned hands together again. “Aww…”
That does it!
Caine points at all four of them with deep, trembling offense. “You know what? That’s enough. I can’t take any more of this!”
Pomni immediately loses it, practically coughing up a lung. Ragatha frantically covers her mouth again, while Gangle squeaks and pulls her bedroom door shut.
“Yes! Retreat! GO TO BED!” Caine blurts, backing away down the hall. “Goodnight! Goodbye! This conversation is over— forever!”
Snap!
He’s gone.
“…I told you guys he liked it!” Bubble chirps.
_________________________________________________
Sorry for the long wait, I've been feeling sick for the past few days y'all, and I wanted to push this bad boy out already
been making a lot of progress w a certain home invader cutie lately❤️ hoping to finish development by the end of the year at this rate, i'll do a proper devlog soon❤️
You beautiful queen! I have a few questions I’d like to ask about Lane. And I’m sorry if there are any mistakes in my translation.
1. How would Lane take care of MC when she is sick?
2. How would Lane pamper his lover? We already know how much "baby girl" Lane loves to be spoiled in a relationship, but it makes me curious about the other way around. What would he do? Would he keep flirting all the time?
3. Once he’s married, would Lane change his current job? What kind of work do you think he’d switch to?
4. This is a bit odd, but do you think Lane would survive a zombie apocalypse? (I had this idea when you mentioned how much he loves zombies)
5. Lane seems to like girls who are talkative and like to banter with him, so how would he feel about someone more reserved or even shy?
Your game is absolutely amazing!!! Your art style is so beautiful!!! No wonder Lane turns out so fine in your art! The gameplay? Oh god! Just when I think I’ve explored every corner of the game and am only replaying to admire the LIs, it jumpscares me with new choices and areas I didn’t even know existed! That’s truly wild! I’m starting to think a guide is necessary to experience everything your game has to offer. It’s so detailed!! The amount of effort you’ve poured into this game is incredible, and of course you deserve every bit of praise you receive. Sending you lots of love and wishing you a wonderful week!
AAAAH THANK YOUU POOKIE💖💖💖🥺🥺 SO GLAD U LIKEDDD THE GAME :3 no worries about the guide, im planning on making one ✋✋💖💖 (LOVED UR QUESTIONS BTW)
How would Lane take care of MC when she is sick? (assuming theyre in a relationship)
honestly, Lane ISNT the most responsible nurse xD but he would take care of the MC in his own Lane way. hed wrap MC up like a burrito in his blanket, park her on his couch and then act like hes just chilling while secretly taking care of her :3
hes the type who refuses to keep his distance no matter how much MC tells him "dont get close, youll catch it too" that guy will just smirk and glue himself to her side anyway and then kiss her while saying "its a magic kiss" 😌💖
he will also cook something she actually likes, make hot chocolate and put on a comfort movie but the whole time hes also joking/talking nonstop, saying things like "ngl you look kinda sexy all sweaty like that" just to annoy her xD
its frustrating but in that way that makes MC laugh so she forgets how gross she feels. basically Lane is the worst nurse but the best company x)
How would Lane pamper his lover?
Lane loves being babied, true, but he can give it back when he wants to!! i think hed do stuff like:
- hed always drag MC onto his lap while he plays xbox and absentmindedly rub circles on her thigh or mess with her hair.
- if MC is tired, hed insist on carrying her to bed (well the couch xD) like a prince but then ruin the whole romantic moment by literally throwing her (gently) into the cushions just to annoy her and laugh about it (i imagine the MC could sulk and Lane being like "whaaaaaaattt??")
- hed call her "my girlfriend" in third person constantly even if its just them alone.
- if MC wears something new hes going "oh my god?? whos this hot girl in my apartment?? dont tell my girlfriend" (hyping her)
- hes the type to save her contact in his phone as something embarrassing like "wifeyyy💋" or "#1 babygirl" and showing people on purpose.
- letting her pick what they watch or play then pretending hes bored (hes not)
- hed rub her shoulders/feet/back constantly + hugging her constantly too.
Once he's married, would Lane change his current job? What kind of work do you think he'd switch to?
i dont see Lane as someone who plans his career path that far ahead tbh xD hed probably just keep working wherever pays the bills unless MC pushes him into something better.
so if she pushes him, hed move for her BUT if MC ever got pregnant then hed be THE ONE deciding to change on his own. hed drop the lazy act real fast and find a job that brings in more money for MC and their baby.
his new job wouldnt be something in a office cuz hed go insane in two days xD i think hed work in a factory.
Do you think Lane would survive a zombie apocalypse?
Lane loves zombies but he would NOT survive the apocalypse for long xD hed be the first one dying cuz he cannot shut the fuck up + hed panic and scream instead of hiding xD
if you ask him tho, hed say hed survive EASILY.
How would Lane feel about someone more reserved or even shy?
hed actually find it really entertaining. Lane thrives on reactions so a shy person who blushes or avoids eye contact, hed be obsessed with teasing them xD
at the same time, he wouldnt want to overwhelm them too much (tho hes doing the opposite cuz hes stupid). if ure quiet, Lanes the type to poke and poke until he finally cracks a smile out of you. deep down, hed find it kind of sweet tho :3
I feel like Lane would totally be the type of guy to make fun of a MC with glasses, especially since in the early 2000s where glasses were portrayed as undesirable. I don't think he'd actually dislike how MC looks with glasses, but he'd still definitely be a little shit and ask them questions like "How many fingers am I holding up?" or "How do you see with these things?" whenever he tries to look through her glasses. Low-key though I think he'd like the cute nerdy look
Queen, I just want to know, do any of the characters have plushies on their bed. Like something they'd hug to go to bed 💤🛏️🧸
HI MY SWEET BESTIE :3💖💖💖🎀🎀
Lane and BB dont really have plushies xD
Lane literally doesnt even have a real bed since his couch is his bed, and he usually just falls asleep with his controller in his hands after gaming too long x)
BB just sleeps without one, but he stares at the stars when he can :3
as for Amelia, she absolutely has one but its not even technically a plushie, its an old pink pillow with magical ponies on it xD