The designs for both Gangle and Ribbit in my "All Eyes On You" AU/fanfiction I'm currently working on. :D
Ragatha and Jax will follow next, as I'm still working on getting their lineart & coloring done, it's so HOT here and drawing's pure torture. x_x
More about both of them below the cut!
♦ [ GANGLE ] ♦
female│28 years old│current art major, working part-time as waitress to fund her studies│Fourth human to enter the digital world│
Gangle (real name unknown) started her life at campus pretty late - having worked in fast food for some years after finishing high school she initially planned to further her craft in painting and designing, aiming to following a creative career in the future such as an animator or comic artist - but being stuck between her family's expectations, her own mental health and other barriers along the way it took her quite a while to muster up both the finances and mental strength to get enrolled in college for an art major.
She worked part-time as a waitress to finance her studies, using her knowledge from the fast food industry in order to land herself this job - and she's quite good at it, even if most folks seeing her outside of work wouldn't assume she'd be up for the task of working with folks all night long.
Gangle's a shy mind, but patient and quite tenacious if need be, and despite struggling with knowing her worth she tries her best at succeeding with both her art studies and slowly building relationships in her future career choices. However, this all came to a screeching halt after a dip in her mental health which caused her to be hospitalized, and upon returning to campus, she found herself often missing classes and burrying herself in her room and on the computer with a recently purchased game by the C&A company - only to suddenly end up in the digital word she's now trapped in with the others.
♦ [ RIBBIT ] ♦
female│23 years old│biology major│third human to enter the digital world
Ribbit (real name unknown) used to be a biology major before entering the digital world - specializing in the studies of amphibians, which might explain her avatar form & her obsession with this "new look". She's a cheeky personality, always up for having fun and sickenly outgoing, but well-meaning in her intentions. Amphibian-autism(TM) has her talk about her favorite part of biology for hours if let be, and she's passionate in what she's doing.
Ribbit actually entered the digital word alongside Jax, as both of them shortly after the other picked up the headset after watching the other disappear - mainly out of shock of seeing this happen and fearing something bad might occur if they're not following suit to rescue their friend. Both of them have been best friends ever since middle school, leaving them with a close bond when they'd entered the same college to study and eventually in the digital world.
This wouldn't last however, as Ribbit found herself abstracted, and Jax now having to deal with the fallout of these happenings - which jumpstarted a whole lot of conspiracy.
Next up in the line up are Jax & Ragatha! For the "All Eyes On You" AU they're siblings, with Jax being the youngest and Ragatha the oldest. They have two other siblings which are basically the "middle children" that constantly get forgotten /hj
The entire AU is basically told from the perspective of both Jax and Pomni, with both of them being the main protagonists, one more reason as to why Jax is one of the most fleshed out characters (so far) :]
Also before the question comes up, their avatars in the Circus/digital realm are as "flesh & bones" as real people - they can be hurt, they can bleed, and it can leave traces such as scars, though they're basically immortal like they are in the canon. In the digital world, their avatars are living vessels filled with a consciousness.
More about them under the cut! (+ funny Jax & Ribbit doodles)
♦ [ JAX ] ♦
male│22 years│second human to enter the digital realm│
Jax (real name unknown) grew up in a fairly wealthy farm & livestock auction family alongside his three older siblings, Ragatha being his oldest sister. He was always the "nestling" of the family, although not by choice and moreso his mother's affirmation - something that did ease up some paths in his life, e.g him being able to go to college to study biology, as well as pursuing his hobby of chess playing on the side.
While his essay may sound prestige, Jax himself wouldn't appear like this, often falling through when it comes to associations with his wealthy family - and frankly, he enjoys it, not wanting to be known for his parent's money or family name. His loud-mouthed, sickenly extroverted nature and drive to bring chaos wherever he goes ultimately got him in a close friendship with [] (Ribbit), who he entered the digital world with at the same time after testing out the headset.
He was one of the first humans to ever question the strange happenings in the digital world, as well as the mysterious circumstances in which the anti-virus software of the mainframe went offline, which made him an enemy in the eyes of a powerful entity - and came at the partial cost of his sight.
Undeterred from this incident Jax uses Pomni's arrival as the latest human to add more fuel to the fire, and finds a companion in her willing to go along.
His relationship with Ragatha, who joins the digital realm way shortly after Gangle, is pretty strained. He eventually acknowledges his sister's emotional struggles, empathizing with them, and tries to open up whenever he cans - and as long as it doesn't interfere with his plans to investigate the digital realm.
♦ [ RAGATHA ] ♦
female│28 years│fifth human to enter the realm
Ragatha grew up on her parent's wealthy farmstead, helping out with the livestock auctions early on. She was essentially molded by her mother, expected to live up to her expectations and not break from these invisible chains. As the oldest daughter of the household she was quite often pressured into perfection, causing her to become reclusive and withdrawn, bottling up her feelings whenever possible, while having to watch her younger siblings gaining opporturnities she never quite had.
Even at age 28 she was only allowed a profession her mother approved of, being real estate with specialization in farms/barns. Despite it being another one of her mother's "wishes", Ragatha quite enjoyed the time she could spend away from her parent's farm and in the city, eventually getting in contact with a seller looking to eventually demolish or re-sell an abandoned C&A building on the edge of town, sending her to check out the building's current condition - only for Ragatha to end up in the same digital realm her brother and several other humans find themselves in.
Despite their strained relationship, Jax eventually tries to entrust Ragatha with the knowledge/theories he'd gained, only for her to dismiss him out of fear of whatever might happen in this strange realm, which resulted in them distancing themselves from one another; additional strain being added promptly when a new human enters the realm both sides see an ally in.
Ragatha often appears nervous, a people-pleaser, fawning to get other people to like her or at least not question her motives and behavior. She gets nervous when social situations go out of hand and slip from her "control", and she fears being emotionally overwhelmed as she knows she cannot control these moments yet - often resulting in her losing her temper and getting loud, but immediately apologizing afterwards. It seems like she's often putting herself and her own well-being last if it means for others around her to appear happy and not question/critique her.
She has troubles empathizing with people despite her very outspoken sympathy with other folks around her - but it lacks depth, though not entirely willingly, and not of her own fault. Ragatha is a person who wants to mean well, but fears rejection and uncertainty.
