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@muuissoinno
tadc watchers put on ur thinking caps w me for a second. why do we think that jax wasn’t ever referred to with she/her pronouns? could this have anything to do with, say, the toxicity of the fanbase, or the fact that they wanted showings in theaters worldwide? or maybe, what actually happened in the film: jax never really, truly came out before she died? say it with me now.
it's the way that every artist i follow got POSSESSED to make fan content the moment the episode dropped. everyone was so shocked that hardly anyone slowed that scene down to see that Kinger did Not Do what y'all think he did (best of luck to the parasocials out there). everyone's brains exited their craniums as we all went into a fandom-wide panic because. oh my goodness that was devastating. oh my goodness it's STILL devastating. the reblog and like count on this post alone says everything...
what i need anyone reading to understand (or at least acknowledge) is that Caine's reactions were to contradict what they had said. he was paying attention, but he just couldn't understand! he was paying attention just as the mannequin Abel had, but the cast didn't appreciate what effort he had put in. again, while he might have stripped them of their human names to give them player names so that they don't try to resist him all of the time, he wasn't purely malicious in his intent. we know this. we also know that he knew enough to create those scenes for them, to put them through torture that reflects what they've been through (or even reflects what they had said, e.g. Ragatha saying that they aren't being let to feel at home being shown a version of her mother etc.). also, while Zooble meant well, we see that during that therapy session in Episode 3, they seemed to be talking to Caine as though Caine was a human and aware of his flaws, which was never going to work.
i can't wait for the big reveal of Bubble's "boiby" or whatever he was up to when he flew off and never returned because. we still don't know what the yellow between the red/green and blue represents. if Caine is red and Abel is blue then who is yellow? Bubble? or would it be whatever comes of the plan Bubble seemingly had? could Kinger or Scratch also be represented with yellow that way, having been the two to give these AI their "lives"? either way, the yellow has to be important somehow. or maybe it's something we can theorise about even after the show ends..!
i also still think Bubble is a distorted version of Abel, though. symbolism is important in this show, and Bubble could still have inherited the remnants of Abel's code, (unless he's just reading Caine's mind) considering that Bubble seems to have a will that is more independent of Caine, despite just being a chef program. he also knows about the blue AI, so there's that.
no, i so take it back, because the yellow symbolism might just end up also being the bee… we know Caine loves bees… it was right in front of us the whole time…
(SPOILERS for LAST ACT AHEAD)
I WAS SO SCARED TO PUT IT IN WRITING THEN BUT I KNEW CAINE WASN'T DEAD, I KNEW IT!!!!!
ahem. but in all seriousness, deleted files aren't immediately removed from a computer. they're simply put into a separate place, waiting to be overwritten. this means that the Void is the empty disk space on said computer, which is why Caine was sent there.
as the C&A building is abandoned, there's nobody writing data to this computer other than Caine (or the main cast when they conjure things). this means that Caine would have had plenty of time to leave the void and get back to the circus, because he wasn't at any real risk of getting overwritten.
anyhow. the bee's inclusion in that leaked poster likely represents Caine's presence, as he never really left. furthermore, bees can be loosely associated with concepts such as spring and new beginnings, as well as hope (due to the former two), which feels very fitting, considering Caine's extended involvement with the main cast by the end of the episode, and his participation in their adventures. his willingness to communicate and collaborate with them to rebuild trust and make the circus a better place for everyone really feels like a hopeful new beginning, doesn't it?
that's my twopence!
Angry rant + the last act spoilers for tadc
I’m so mad rn. If you don’t understand that Jax is transfem you’re actually dumb. Like actually.
I’m not “disrespecting your headcanon” You’re wrong. Like I’m begging you ppl to have media literacy. This one is really really easy. Just bc the creator didn’t outright say it on Twitter doesn’t make it “unconfirmed.”
“Oh but in the real world Jax isn’t transitioning” bro she literally just said she was homeless and it’s well established she’s got a shit ton of internalized misogyny. Fucking obviously she’s not there yet. Also we only see the characters from afar- how do you know. Obviously given everything about her backstory she doesn’t feel safe to be out. Also the development she gets in the show doesn’t apply to the real world either. They’re brain scans.
Also the show is made by a trans woman do you think that has 0 impact on the characters?
“It’s just about being queer/a femboy” were you paying attention at all? Did you just ignore all the like trans imagery (like the egg stuff) and like specifically the connection to femininity? If you can’t see that I’m sorry that’s literally just trans misogyny.
gonna start posting my (worthy) shitass d4 shitposts from tiktok onto tumblr because i think they're funny
jax as a character doesnt really do it for me but i saw someone say that it's funny that gooseworx managed to make people care about a transfem character by disguising them as a tumblr sexyman and ykw that IS really funny actually
I kinda like the idea of jax becoming a cautionary tale of what happens when you let dysphoria and self hatred eat you alive. I've met so many of him IRL in my own circles. I think people need to hear it. I need more characters who eat themselves alive and actually have to suffer the consequences of not choosing to be better. It's pretty refreshing to see a different and nuanced take on dysphoria and how it doesn't always manifest the way you would expect.
"when i showed weakness i was less of a man than him" and "i said something deep and personal that i thought would get her off my back" and ribbit putting their bow on jax and then saying "your secret is safe with me" while jax is happy and blushy looking at the bow and the montage of jax scenes with isn't she lovely playing in the background WE WONNNNNNN WE SO FUCKING WON
you know if you think about it, if youre a system and use multiple accounts to vote, it's not voter fraud. because milgram itself counts each alter as a separate individual with their own rules
…you mean to tell me that we could've been voting on multiple accounts this whole time??
but you know, you're so right! seeing this also makes me wonder. at what point is there an “acceptable” limit to voting on the same prisoner, (if any)? after all, there's a world of difference between the hypothetical unique votes cast for a single digit number of alters versus actually voting separately for the near seven dozen headmates we have up here…
well, on second thought, maybe we won't do that, but yeah. it's funny to think about it that way!! that's certainly what MILGRAM's architecture suggests, after all :)
to my little sister who is consistently awful to me and had bragged about downloading Episode 9 early: you aren't “tuff” for it, nor are we going to see it in the theatre together!! i'll make sure of it!!
sorry, just needed to get that off of my chest.
アマネさんを許してくださいアマネさんを許してくださいアマネさんを許してくださいアマネさんを許してくださいアマネさんを許してくださいアマネさんを許してくださいアマネさんを許してくださいアマネさんを許してくださいアマネさんを許してくださいアマネさんを許してくださいアマネさんを許してくださいアマネさんを許してくださいアマネさんを許してくださいアマネさんを許してくださいアマネさんを許してくださいアマネさんを許してくださいアマネさんを許してくださいアマネさんを許してくださいアマネさんを許してくださいアマネさんを許してくださいアマネさんを許してください
i know next to no kanji but i still can read this! it says “Amane-san wo yurushite kudasai” repeated over and over… and i second this!! please, everyone, let's forgive Amane-san… please :(
I sure hope everyone realises that the lack of mention of the cat in the amane report comes to show that thoses are written by a biased third party who has not seen the mvs nor interacted with the prisonners and nobody is gonna come up and scream 'BAD WRITING' all over the place
(ss of tags because i'm adding onto what they were saying)
(was gonna do this as a comment, but because i'm So Focused On Muu, i decided i wanted to add a little more to this.)
i absolutely agree!! i also think that the reports themselves are focused purely on the murder and nothing else. i don't feel like reading through the reports rn (so i'm going fully off of the dome here) but in terms of Muu, it's clear that she derails the whole MV to put the focus on Haruka's death, instead of focusing on her own crime.
i also think that the reports are very impersonal and leave out (what are otherwise, to us; the audience) key details for each plot. when it comes to Muu, what explanation are we given for the line 「“あなた”が好きよ」 (“anata” ga suki yo/i love “YOU”)?
the answer is none. and we won't get one, because both the report and Muu gave us nothing to work with. i personally think that the prisoners in MILGRAM mirror and echo each other, and i think that Muu and Kazui are parallels (unrequited gay love) in the same way that Fuuta and Kotoko are parallels (vigilantism and moralising) or Yuno and Mahiru are parallels (seeking love) or Mikoto and Amane are parallels (system-hood/plurality borne from extreme stress), but maybe i'm reaching here?
i just see a lot of thematic links. in that sense, Kazui and Muu caught feelings during highschool, and both of their unrequited loves play a big part in their "murders". of course, there are still major differences in their stories, but a big part of the reports is that they don't acknowledge emotional intent. that's why there are so many details missing from each of the reports: they're completely objective summaries of the events that led to the death of a person, and only the strictly important events seem to be listed.
in that sense, i don't think we can expect the reports to tie up all of the loose threads. they're all reports on the murder alone, from the perspective of an unsympathetic third party, and nothing more!
Amane… my poor baby… she deserves the world…
anyone giving her a “guilty” verdict gotta listen to the Voice Drama because she literally can be completely redeemed fr!! she needs love and therapy and that's all there is to it.
also just gonna say this while i'm here. we're reaching the stage where i'm beginning to think we're going to vote them all innocent, just to end up with some crazy plot twist where they all suffer anyway…
it's the way that every artist i follow got POSSESSED to make fan content the moment the episode dropped. everyone was so shocked that hardly anyone slowed that scene down to see that Kinger did Not Do what y'all think he did (best of luck to the parasocials out there). everyone's brains exited their craniums as we all went into a fandom-wide panic because. oh my goodness that was devastating. oh my goodness it's STILL devastating. the reblog and like count on this post alone says everything...
what i need anyone reading to understand (or at least acknowledge) is that Caine's reactions were to contradict what they had said. he was paying attention, but he just couldn't understand! he was paying attention just as the mannequin Abel had, but the cast didn't appreciate what effort he had put in. again, while he might have stripped them of their human names to give them player names so that they don't try to resist him all of the time, he wasn't purely malicious in his intent. we know this. we also know that he knew enough to create those scenes for them, to put them through torture that reflects what they've been through (or even reflects what they had said, e.g. Ragatha saying that they aren't being let to feel at home being shown a version of her mother etc.). also, while Zooble meant well, we see that during that therapy session in Episode 3, they seemed to be talking to Caine as though Caine was a human and aware of his flaws, which was never going to work.
i can't wait for the big reveal of Bubble's "boiby" or whatever he was up to when he flew off and never returned because. we still don't know what the yellow between the red/green and blue represents. if Caine is red and Abel is blue then who is yellow? Bubble? or would it be whatever comes of the plan Bubble seemingly had? could Kinger or Scratch also be represented with yellow that way, having been the two to give these AI their "lives"? either way, the yellow has to be important somehow. or maybe it's something we can theorise about even after the show ends..!
i also still think Bubble is a distorted version of Abel, though. symbolism is important in this show, and Bubble could still have inherited the remnants of Abel's code, (unless he's just reading Caine's mind) considering that Bubble seems to have a will that is more independent of Caine, despite just being a chef program. he also knows about the blue AI, so there's that.
no, i so take it back, because the yellow symbolism might just end up also being the bee… we know Caine loves bees… it was right in front of us the whole time…
almost every time i write a rant or vent post, i never post it. i want to, and then i don't.
it's not a problem about self-acceptance, but i suppose i get afraid. afraid of potential backlash and the like.
not that it's like i'm not aware that this is the Internet and visible to the world, but… sometimes i feel like nowhere is safe. i can pretend that partial anonymity makes me safe, but that's hardly true anymore too.
i'm only wondering one thing. is it bad that i feel so excluded, even from online spaces? because, when it comes to your 18+ system resources or your Black-only posts, where do i, a minor and a non-Black POC system fit in?
i don't agree with what i saw was said. i don't agree with the idea that showing solidarity with a post concerning Black culture and oppressive views is erasure, all because the person expressing the “you aren't alone; in my culture they do the same thing.” sentiment is non-Black. i also don't agree with the sentiment that Black people are necessarily “the bottom rung”, because that viewpoint shifts between societies; the Internet is a means of connecting people from across the globe, and so in my experience i find Black people to be well-respected members of society and sinophobia to be the most prevalent – and it is just that. it is just my experience. but to suggest that one race is unequivocally “the bottom rung”; that you should necessarily be exclusive about your own experiences; that the “i get it” mentality is inherently harmful… that doesn't sit right with me.
as much as Black people are mistreated, being oppressed is not exclusive to being Black. as much as Black culture is erased, cultural erasure is not exclusive to being Black. same goes for the lack of representation, or for the unforgiving nature of POC communities in the real world, where mental health can be seen as taboo. as much as i agree with the sentiment of sitting with and discussing the inherent differences between race, i also think that we need to gatekeep discussions of culture and race less. the feeling of inclusion is great, don't get me wrong, but being excluded time and time again as a minority of a minority feels incredibly painful.
to the system in question (if they ever see this, but may this never reach their eyes, because i'm clearly deeping it more than was ever intended): what you said left a bad taste in my mouth. no matter how respectful you were trying to be, non-Black being supportive shouldn't “come across” as erasure. feeling seen and saying “i get it” to a post that doesn't 100% apply to them isn't necessarily erasure. of course, there are certainly ways to unintentionally erase the Blackness from your work by refusing to acknowledge it, but a short “i get it” or “i face the same struggles” comment doesn't quite do that (imho). while your feelings about Black erasure are dependent on you being Black, relating to it or feeling seen by recognising an equivalent sentiment is not. life is full of shades of grey, and though i will still continue to follow your work, i won't ever think about leaving a comment ever again. i had briefly thought about it, before deciding i felt too shy to do so, and now i find myself glad that i hadn't. reading that addendum in the tags made me feel unwelcome. as a non-Black, non-White POC system, we feel unwelcome. i do not know which country you hail from, but it is my experience that American discussions of race have almost always exclusively been about Black people and White people, and i find myself thinking about all of the other races in the world who are never included in those discussions. that is where, i suspect, this Black-exclusive sentiment stems from. this feeling is valid within its own right, but i disagree with the indiscriminate application of this Black exclusivity as a lens to view all non-Black supportive comments through. we don't have to be Black to “get it”. we don't have to be Black to relate to your feelings. hot take, but even non-POC can “get it”, because discrimination itself is a common occurrence that can be based on characteristics other than race itself.
what i'm trying to say is that non-Black people can conceptually understand, sympathise and empathise with the Black experience of oppression without being Black, because those feelings are not exclusive to being Black. rather, that oppression and lack of recognition within a community is simply part of the human condition: these feelings are not exclusive to your race, so while i would not personally treat them as such, that choice is up to you.
is it bad or wrong to feel this way? i hope it isn't. i just wish there were more spaces for me, but there probably won't be. if anything, the fate of social media access is looking more precarious by the day, and governments around the globe are looking to ban social media for all under-18s, but that's besides the point. my point is that we divide things into groups when they should have never been divided in the first place. but who am i kidding? since when did nuance matter? since when did the viewpoint of a non-Black person on (apparently) Black-exclusive matters, matter? since never, probably. that's why i decided a vague vent was fitting. that's why i decided against leaving a comment or message. discussions of race are polarising and contentious, after all.
to anyone who sees this, i hope you have a nice rest of your day/night. it is quarter past 5 in the morning for me, i have been up since half 2 and i have school in the morning. i ought to sleep at least one more hour…
i might post my original rant. i also might not. i'm sure it matters very little in the grand scheme of things. if i end up posting it, i'll leave a little note at the top, just so nobody's confused. as long as i can exist in relative peace, i am happy.
just in case: if you find who i'm talking about, (please) don't harass them. opinions differ. that's life.
Es has Dissociative Identity Disorder: A Manifesto
Es, the protagonist of Milgram, textually has Dissociative Identity Disorder. This analysis will explain why.
First of all is the most obvious piece of evidence: dialogue from Fuuta's third voice drama, The Second Coming.
Es outright says that they believe themself to have multiple identities within them. They then go on to expand on this statement.
Now, what does this sound like?
That's right. Es practically lists the criteria for DID in respect to themself.
Now, I sincerely doubt that Yamanaka didn't know what he was doing here. After all, Milgram features Mikoto and John Kayano, who are explicitly stated to have DID; in fact, it's one of the main points of their character and case. With that in mind, it would be near impossible for this specific listing of symptoms not to be intentionally signalling Es's DID.
However, people tend to argue that Es doesn't have DID, as what they describe here may have to do with Milgram's real-life audience. To that, I will first say, why can't the real-life audience be an allegory for alters, or even outright be such in-universe? However, Es is shown to fulfill the criteria for DID in other contexts. This is what the bulk of my analysis will focus on.
The first example of Es showing behavior consistent with DID is in Muu's First Trial voice drama, Crying B. As shown in the above screenshots, when forced to confront their own inconsistent identity, Es is triggered and has a minor panic attack. This is a very common occurrence for people with DID; the way that the disorder functions is by hiding its own existence, and therefore having it brought to attention is upsetting. Below is quoted from the DSM-5:
They often conceal, or are not fully aware of, disruptions in consciousness, amnesia, or other dissociative symptoms.
Additionally, Muu describes patterns of dissociation here. In Trial One, Es treats everything, as Muu said, "like it's someone else's business". This is a clear example of depersonalization — "a dissociative phenomenon characterized by a subjective feeling of detachment from oneself, manifesting as a sense of disconnection from one's thoughts, emotions, sensations, or actions, and often accompanied by a feeling of observing oneself from an external perspective" [source].
Mahiru's First Trial voice drama, Love Is Mine, is another that directly confronts Es's amnesia and dissociation.
Mahiru asks Es for autobiographical information, which they don't recall. This is obvious, we've known from their introduction that they have amnesia. What's more interesting is their response to this questioning.
First of all, Es is shown justifying their own dissociative amnesia here. Digging deeper into their past would likely be triggering, but even that can't be acknowledged, so they make up an excuse. Below is quoted from the DSM-5:
Individuals with dissociative identity disorder vary in their awareness and attitude toward their amnesias. It is common for these individuals to minimize their amnestic symptoms. Some of their amnestic behaviors may be apparent to others — as when these persons do not recall something they were witnessed to have done or said, when they cannot remember their own name, or when they do not recognize their spouse, children, or close friends.
Regardless of level of disability, individuals with dissociative identity disorder commonly minimize the impact of their dissociative and posttraumatic symptoms.
And when Mahiru further presses them?
They completely zone out — in other words, dissociate — from the topic, and don't pick it up afterwards.
This set of lines is from Amane's First Trial voice drama, Apostle And Death. Once again, Es has a hard time being confronted with the idea of their own identity.
This, from the same voice drama, shows the first example of Es switching to another alter. It is a repeated pattern of Es switching to this alter, typically triggered by the ringing of the bell. To avoid confusion, I'll nickname this alter "Executioner", after a line of Kotoko's from Task.
The switch from Es to Executioner is very clear. Es is originally holding calm and even positive conversation with Amane. However, after the trigger, they're silent for a moment, before their demeanor completely shifts. It's very obvious once you know what you're looking for. Keep this in mind, as Executioner shows up repeatedly throughout Milgram. In fact, they appear prominently once again in Kotoko's First Trial voice drama, Task.
Before that, though, Es once again dissociates when attempting to confront their identity.
Es is very friendly to Kotoko here. They even seem like they want to take her offer. However, moments later, the bell rings.
Es's behavior, attitude, and seemingly even belief set suddenly changes. Once again, Executioner has switched out; even Kotoko has noticed the change.
Even over the First Trial alone, Es has experienced enough to qualify for a DID diagnosis. The next few trials only strengthen this.
Fuuta's Second Trial voice drama, Baptism of Fire, shows another very clear switch. Es shows large amounts of sympathy to Fuuta, pitying him, only to switch to Executioner when the bell rings and go back on all their words of compassion.
In Muu's Second Trial voice drama, Queen B, Es once again tries to understand their identity outside of being the warden, and is met with another panic attack. Even Muu recognizes what's happening again.
In Shidou's Second Trial voice drama, Aesculapius, Es refers to themself as "we" for the first time. Upon having this pointed out, they seem confused at first, and then ignore it. Again, this is completely typical to DID. Acknowledgement of the disorder defeats its purpose.
Amane's Second Trial voice drama, Of Blessedness And Punishment, is a whole can of DID worms that I won't get into here, since the post is about Es. However, suffice it to say that Amane also fulfills the diagnostic criteria, something that is relevant to Es as well.
Previous to this moment, Es and "Amane" discussed at length how "Amane" is, quote, "like a different person" than the normal Amane. Now, "Amane" is comparing that experience of dissociative self states to Es, who has once again referred to themself in the plural.
Both Amane and "Amane" recognize Es as a non-singular entity, and refer to them accordingly. Interestingly (though there are no official studies on this, making it technically more like anecdotal evidence), people with DID tend to be able to recognize the condition in each other. If you Google it, people speak about the phenomenon quite frequently.
Switching headaches are a commonly recognized DID symptom, and have been documented in literature in the subject since 2001. Es being referred to in the plural is likely what's causing this switch.
A switch to Executioner. Just as usual, it was shortly after the bells rang, and it was once again marked with violence. The pattern is becoming quite consistent indeed.
In Kotoko's Second Trial voice drama, Yonah, Kotoko calls Es's role as a warden into question. Immediately, Es is hit with a headache, and struggles to speak, likely due to dissociation.
Then, Executioner switches out. You can see the quick oscillation in viewpoints and beliefs. Es is about to admit that they agree with Kotoko's point of view, but Executioner vehemently denies such a thing.
And, finally, we're hit with this. Quite explicit with it.
But it gets even more explicit in Fuuta's Third Trial voice drama, The Second Coming. Here are the lines that were quoted at the beginning of the post.
Let's compare Es's description of their symptoms to the diagnostic criteria in the DSM-5.
"The lack of memories"
"Recurrent gaps in the recall of everyday events, important personal information, and/or traumatic events that are inconsistent with ordinary forgetting."
"coexistence of completely opposite ideologies and values, as well as fragmented identity"
Disruption of identity characterized by two or more distinct personality states, which may be described in some cultures as an experience of possession. The disruption in identity involves marked discontinuity in sense of self and sense of agency, accompanied by related alterations in affect, behavior, consciousness, memory, perception, cognition, and/or sensory-motor functioning. These signs and symptoms may be observed by others or reported by the individual.
Now, real quick, let's go through DID's remaining criterion.
C. The symptoms cause clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning.
Check. Many previous screenshots have shown Es extremely distressed by their symptoms, and experiencing social impairment with the other prisoners as a result of them.
D. The disturbance is not a normal part of a broadly accepted cultural or religious practice. Note: In children, the symptoms are not better explained by imaginary playmates or other fantasy play.
Check. The only possible other explanation here is the audience, which is far from a broadly accepted cultural or religious practice, or imaginary playmates or fantasy play. (Not to mention, it hasn't even been confirmed that Es's "wills" are the audience. Considering Milgram's supernatural nature, it's even possible that the voices the other prisoners have heard are simply Es's alters being externalized throughout the prison!)
E. The symptoms are not attributable to the physiological effects of a substance (e.g., blackouts or chaotic behavior during alcohol intoxication) or another medical condition (e.g., complex partial seizures).
Check. Es has no access to mind-altering substances, and shows no symptoms of other medical conditions.
In conclusion? Es meets every single one of the criteria for DID. Es shows a distinct alter that can't be attributed to "the audience". Es textually, and even canonically, has DID.
Thank you for reading this monster of a post.
reblogging this because it explains everything in such a neat and wonderful way! (blue text means it is a tangent.)
to me, (as a system myself) it feels undeniable that Amane, Es and Mikoto all experience plurality and check all of the boxes for DID especially given Amane's T2 VD.
there is also something to be said about how Es is prisoner 000. (note: i have not read the novels or its summaries in any capacity, so i may be missing vital information here?) i might have to formulate this theory better later, but Es exhibits behaviours that give me the impression that – if Es has committed a crime – their hypothetical crime may share some similarities with all of the prisoners. what i mean by that is that at times, Es themselves feels like a mirror of the prisoners. likewise, in terms of Es' DID, Es and the Executioner presents very similarly to Mikoto and Orekoto/John, while also having that almost divine sense of higher purpose bestowed upon them that Amane also has (due to the cult, just as Es trusts the nature of the prison and MILGRAM itself).
also, calling the more violent alter the "Executioner" makes so much sense and so i absolutely will be nabbing that and referring to that alter as the Executioner myself!!
it's the way that every artist i follow got POSSESSED to make fan content the moment the episode dropped. everyone was so shocked that hardly anyone slowed that scene down to see that Kinger did Not Do what y'all think he did (best of luck to the parasocials out there). everyone's brains exited their craniums as we all went into a fandom-wide panic because. oh my goodness that was devastating. oh my goodness it's STILL devastating. the reblog and like count on this post alone says everything...
what i need anyone reading to understand (or at least acknowledge) is that Caine's reactions were to contradict what they had said. he was paying attention, but he just couldn't understand! he was paying attention just as the mannequin Abel had, but the cast didn't appreciate what effort he had put in. again, while he might have stripped them of their human names to give them player names so that they don't try to resist him all of the time, he wasn't purely malicious in his intent. we know this. we also know that he knew enough to create those scenes for them, to put them through torture that reflects what they've been through (or even reflects what they had said, e.g. Ragatha saying that they aren't being let to feel at home being shown a version of her mother etc.). also, while Zooble meant well, we see that during that therapy session in Episode 3, they seemed to be talking to Caine as though Caine was a human and aware of his flaws, which was never going to work.
i can't wait for the big reveal of Bubble's "boiby" or whatever he was up to when he flew off and never returned because. we still don't know what the yellow between the red/green and blue represents. if Caine is red and Abel is blue then who is yellow? Bubble? or would it be whatever comes of the plan Bubble seemingly had? could Kinger or Scratch also be represented with yellow that way, having been the two to give these AI their "lives"? either way, the yellow has to be important somehow. or maybe it's something we can theorise about even after the show ends..!
i also still think Bubble is a distorted version of Abel, though. symbolism is important in this show, and Bubble could still have inherited the remnants of Abel's code, (unless he's just reading Caine's mind) considering that Bubble seems to have a will that is more independent of Caine, despite just being a chef program. he also knows about the blue AI, so there's that.
