#ganglw

[gangleanswersquestions]

“I had a dream i abstracted… for some reason- in my dream Zooble was there.. they calmed me down.”

(Based off of an irl dream that I had)

[jubileemon]

Following the reveal that Abel was just an NPC controlled by Caine for an adventure, a lot of what Abel said to the characters becomes depressing:

Abel is designed to say that Caine is just as much of a prisoner as the Circus members, and that when they escape, Caine won't come with them. This helps us better understand why Caine presents staying in the Circus as the "good ending" and leaving as the "bad ending", because if there genuinely was a way for them to escape, Caine could never come with them and would be left alone.

It could also mean that, if Kinger was one of the programmers of the game, he must have had at least something to help them get out, which might explain Caine's (possible) dislike.

Even in the event that storyline was just part of the ruse, it’s still implied that Caine perceives Kinger’s deeper knowledge of the circus as a threat, and might be using those “temporary modifiers” to keep him mentally clouded in the light, and could thus take away his lucidity in the dark — the moments in which he takes comfort in his wife’s memory and can offer much-needed support the others — just as easily.

Worse yet, in They All Get Guns, Kinger discusses to Ragatha about how he dislikes himself for things he thought he caused. If this includes Scratch and his abstraction, as well as Queenie’s, his wife, then this could mean that Caine’s actions causing abstraction were what led to Kinger hating himself for things beyond his control, for thinking that he either had something to do with the abstraction, or for thinking there was a way to save them, but he couldn’t.

Just the mere idea that Scratch abstracted because of Caine and thus for reasons even less under their control than the likes of Kaufmo, Queenie or Ribbit, with literally nothing that they or any other player could do to prevent it is both horrifying and even more depressing than the already-tragic abstractions were to begin with. Especially since they were the very first player to suffer from it.

Really just the fact that the whole thing was a trick, given the amount of hope our characters had that they might actually be able to go home.

Special mention goes to Jax, who takes it the hardest, albeit not for the reasons one would expect. From Jax's perspective, he was pushed into revealing that, given the choice, he would ultimately choose to willingly remain in the Circus, even if it meant forcing everyone else to stay there with him. He exposed this horrible personal truth in front of everyone for nothing. When the realization dawns on him, his response is to fall on his back in a fit of maniacal laughter.

Alternatively, this could have also implied that Jax didn't necessarily WANT to press the red button, but Caine's pushing and possibly even meddling in his mind caused him to panic and press it anyway. After he presses the button and realizes what he's done, Jax looks just as lost and shocked as the rest of the cast.

As Jax is listing off all the evidence that Caine can manipulate their minds, including the Stupid Sauce and turning Jax vegan in "Untitled", Pomni slowly puts the pieces together and adds one simple thing: "Our names." Caine likely had the power to give them back their names any time he wanted, and he withheld it from them for seemingly no reason but to fuel his own entertainment.

Notably, when it cuts back to the players, we can see Zooble's face slowly contort with rage and their 'horn' parts twitching as the implications sink in for them too, which is probably even worse for them as it also implies Caine could also potentially just give them whatever bodies they possibly want, which would've solved Zooble's biggest problem. Even worse, the implication that Caine has the ability to directly tamper with minds either means he could've tapped into the root cause of Zooble's dysmorphia or even partially contributed to it.

Pomni, Jax, Zooble and Ragatha's expressions after the reveal and while Caine is desperately trying to wave away the accusations. While Gangle sports an upset expression and Kinger has a look of concern following his realization about Scratch, Pomni, Jax and Zooble all look absolutely furious at Caine for what he's done, while Ragatha's reaction can best be described as a mix of shell-shock and disappointment. However the story goes from here, it seems that it will be very, very hard for the players to forgive Caine after this.

Pomni's expression in particular is worth noting. She started in the Circus as a complete Nervous Wreck about everything, but after a while, she seemed to embrace that Caine's adventures could be at least somewhat enjoyable with the right mindset, as shown in Fast Food Masquerade and Untitled. However, after the stunt Caine pulled, she looks like any goodwill she might've had for Caine and his adventures has evaporated, and she has had enough.

[gangleanswersquestions]

🎭 -“I’m trying out roleplaying! If you’d like, submit me some questions!!“