•Just like Caine’s adventures, the cars aren’t circus-themed. It’s more a theme surrounding the outside and the engine.
•This is a digital/magic(?) hybrid, the same way the train in canon seems to be combining machinery and magic(?).
•Passengers do not lose their names, but they are given an avatar along with a number upon boarding. (I don’t have a good reason for passengers to be wearing normal clothes over their avatars, it’s just something I wanted.)
•This AU could’ve been an everybody thing, and there’s a lot of potential for it, but I like making things about showtime Caine.
• (To be clear, this isn’t a “showtime AU,” I just like adding hints of it everywhere. Romantic and platonic content can be made with this AU, it’s subject to my whims at any given time.)
C.A.I.N.E
• Caine is in One-One’s role
• He does have a back and forth “glad” and “sad” side, as shown above. (Inspired by Caine’s fight with himself in the void from episode 9.)
• Bereft of his former power (hence the outfit), abandoned far back in the train, and amnesia’d. He does not remember what his function is, nor what happened to him.
• He’d like to remember his purpose, and he finds his buried programming is giving him the desire to help Abigail. With that as his first clue in a while, he continues to assist her, hoping to come closer in remembering his place on the train.
• The “unfinished” car does bring up some of his forgotten feelings, both about himself, and what happened to him.
• ”MISS ABIGAIL” <3
Pomni Abigail
• Kind’ve in Tulip’s role, but more her own thing. (She’s still 25 btw, not Tulip’s age.)
• I don’t have a range for her number, probably not too high.
• Her outfit design was a whim. I did think it would be fun to put her in slightly watered-down versions of her jester outfit colors, and it is. What’s the deal with the pants chain and the moon and star charms on it? Just fun. I wanted to evoke Caine’s office doors. (She’s already got the red and blue thing, I’m allowed to take even more liberties.)
• We genuinely know nothing about Pomni, so thinking of a flaw or trauma that would be her ticket to the therapy-train has been a struggle. Now the series doesn’t act like this is a flaw, but she was fatally sympathetic to Jax to the point of being enabling, so maybe that can be her train problem? Reminds me of Jesse.
(I’m not saying she knew Jax outside of the train, or that she will even meet him; just the idea that she’s been in, and mishandled, similar scenarios.)
Gumigoo
• He’s not royalty, but I thought he’d be good in place of Atticus. We need him for that humanizing of denizens/NPCs aspect.
• He may be turned into a monster later, but this is still a far better timeline for him than in canon. Friends? A real mother? Not dying?? What more could he ask for!
• He’s also free from the identity crisis here, there’s not really a catalyst for it.
• Joined the party to take down Bubble the steward.
Who is in Amelia’s place as the false conductor/ringmaster? I’m thinking Queenie/Destiny.
I know the turtle theme was supposed to be random, but I love the idea that Queenie’s attempts would keep accidentally making bug denizens.
This also means dead Grant, oops :(
Anyway Jax and Simon are super similar, especially in their respective approaches to the strange worlds they’ve been thrown into. I’m not saying I’ll make any content of him, but Jax gets a Simon ending. I consider this an episode 9 fix-it.
Bonus Caine thoughts: since the train exists to help people; Caine, even if he can’t help in the way he’s meant to, is compelled by that need, to help the passengers. (Abigail is the first he’s come across since being usurped and abandoned.)
As conductor/ringmaster, his role would’ve been making endless new train cars all day. (I’d say it’s similar enough to Caine’s adventure-making in canon.)
The act of helping a passenger jogs something in his memory, it at least brings up a feeling, but he’d only get small hints of the creation/creativity side of his purpose. Until getting back in power, the unfinished car incident is probably the closest he’d get to actually remembering.
I’ll have to design his combo conductor/ringmaster outfit. I imagine that once he re-interfaces with the engine and gets his power back, he’d get a magical little outfit transformation scene.
ive caught myself speaking in 3s like rocky (good good good, etc) irl multiple times and often and idk if thats something i already do but didnt pay attention to until now or if rocky is actually rubbing his nasty carapace off on me
It was a huge milestone of scientific and technological advancement. (Plus, at the time, politically significant). Humanity went to space! We set foot on a celestial body that was not earth for the first time in human history! That’s a big deal! I’ve never thought about it before but now that I have, it’s ridiculous to me that that’s not part of our everyday lives and the public consciousness anymore. Why don’t we have a public holiday and a family barbecue about it. Why have I never seen the original broadcast of the moon landing? It should be all over the news every year!
It’s July 20th. That’s the day of the moon landing. Next year is going to be the 54th anniversary. I’m ordering astronaut shaped cookie cutters on Etsy and I’m going to have a goddamn potluck. You’re all invited.
PITCH: We call it Moon Day, and then every 7 years when it falls on a Monday, that's an even BIGGER deal and we call that Moon Day Monday and go absolutely apeshit about it (the next Moon Day Monday is in 2026 so we have a couple trial runs first)
Do you think worms look at us then go to their worm partners and ask if they would love them if they were a huge squishy creatures that get around with two long weird sticks that bend and two more that swing around, connected to an almost stiff piece of wood and a face with too many moving bits or as they would say *burrowing noises*
Thinking bout how, from a fandom perspective, Jax x Ribbit started as a gay ship, became a straight ship, and ended as a gay (lesbian edition) ship. Such an amazing evolution.
I just want to say this because I’ve seen a lot of artists and writers genuinely worried about it.
Goose intentionally left things subtle, Jax never got the chance to openly talk about it, so people are naturally going to connect with the story in different ways. What makes me sad is seeing artists, writers, and fans become scared to post because they’re worried they’ll get attacked for using he/him, she/her, or for having a particular interpretation of Jax.
I’ve literally seen people talk about dropping projects or becoming scared to share their work because of it. This show means a lot to many people. Some see Jax as trans, some still interpret Jax as male, and some use both interpretations. None of that automatically comes from a place of hate, denial, or bad intentions.
You shouldn’t have to justify every drawing, fanfic, comic, or headcanon just to avoid getting dogpiled online. If someone uses he/him because that’s how they’ve always viewed Jax, that’s okay. If someone uses she/her because that’s what resonates with them, that’s okay too. People connect with stories in different ways, and that’s normal.
The real issue isn’t pronouns. The real issue is people attacking each other over interpretations that were clearly meant to be personal and meaningful. Please don’t make people afraid to create. We’re all here because we love the character, and nobody should feel unwelcome for expressing that love through their art, writing, or personal interpretation.
At the end of the day, I think there’s room for different interpretations as long as people are respectful. Just remember that Jax being trans isn’t something that should be dismissed, and nobody should be attacked over how they connect with the character.
