Chapter Text
Gangle was kneeling on her bedroom floor with her already broken comedy mask in her hands. The day had barely started and she’d already managed to trip and break her newly acquired mask. Now she was left sniffling, dreading an entire day with no mask.
Why was she even doing this? She had it on decent authority that at least 2 of the others found her worse with the mask, and it’s not like it was easy to wear all the time. But the alternative of going without it made her feel exposed and like she wasn’t trying, leaving her crying pathetic self for the world to see.
“What are you doing?” Gangle jumped at the sudden voice. She spun around to see Bubble had appeared in her room at some point without her noticing. Black, soulless eyes were staring at her as he floated above.
“I-uh-I j-just…” Gangle blubbered trying to answer without breaking down. “I-I b-b-broke my m-mask again.” Her voice cracked and a fresh round of tears flowed down her face. “I don’t even know why I wear it! I didn’t want everyone to deal with me constantly crying, but I-I think most of them think I’m more annoying with the mask and -hic- and…” She paused to suck in air. “I just wish I could know what they really think! And most probably won’t be honest if I asked. I just -sniff- I don’t know what to do.” Gangle wrapped her ribbons arms around herself and hung her head, letting her crying frizzle out into sniffling. When she looked up again, Bubble was gone. And she was alone.
Gangle sighed shakily and pulled herself together. She knew Caine would want to brief them on today’s adventure soon. Standing a little straighter, she went to her bedroom door and steeled herself to face the others.
“Here you go!” Gangle jumped again at Bubble’s voice appearing behind her. She turned to see Bubble floating surprisingly close. “Blaaa!” He stuck his tongue out to her with a new mask on it. Gangle was stunned and grossed out, but found herself taking the mask after a beat. Bubble’s tongue receded back behind his toothy grin. “That should do the trick!” He chimed with a wink and floated off.
Gangle stared at the mask left to her. It wasn’t damped at all, which was good, but it was cold to the touch. Turning it over in her hands, she realized it was because it was made of metal. The inside of the mask was a shiny chrome and the mask as a whole was a little heavier than her usual porcelain ones. The front was painted white and looked just like her normal face. Except instead of a smile or frown on the front, there was a completely blank, neutral expression staring back at her. The mask showed her normal two big, vacant eyes and a straight line for a month. Why a neutral mask? Would this keep me calmer? She puzzled over it. And where did Bubble even get this from anyway?
Knock knock. “Hey, Gangle, you up?” Gangle was startled from her puzzling by Zooble’s voice on the other side of her door.
“Uh, yeah! Be right out!” Gangle called back before looking back at the mask. At that moment she decided trying this mask was better than facing the circus with no mask. It felt cool and smooth as she put it on, but it stayed in place well. She didn’t feel any different yet, but maybe it needed time to take effect. She quickly glanced at herself in her mirror to make sure she looked normal, then headed out.
“Good morning!” Gangle forced a smile at Zooble.
’ That’s a fake smile. ’ Zooble’s voice echoed. “Hey. You alright?” Gangle blinked at their bluntness.
“Uh, yeah… How’d you do that with your voice?” Gangle asked, deciding to ignore Zooble’s first comment.
“Do what?” Zooble’s asked.
“Make your voice sound all echoey at first?” Gangle said it like a question. They were walking toward breakfast now and Gangle was starting to wonder if she’d just heard wrong. “I mean, your voice sounds normal now. But it sounded like it had an echo at first.”
Zooble just looked confused. “I got nothing, sorry.”
“Heh, uh, my ears must just be playing tricks on me.” Gangle laughed nervously.
‘ Weird. Can you have hearing issues in the digital circus? Where would her ears even be located anyway? ’ Zooble's voice echoed. ”… you feeling okay?” They asked.
Gangle couldn’t figure out what question to answer first or why Zooble had talked about her in the third person. Before she couldn’t think of a response, she nearly walked into Kinger. “Oh! Good morning!” He chirped. There was a buzzing muttering coming from him that was getting louder the longer Gangle was looking at him. Zooble and Kinger exchanged greetings that Gangle didn’t process amidst the loud muttering.
“Uh… hi.” She squeaked out, overwhelmed. Kinger went on his way to the far end of the breakfast table, the noise going with him. “What do you think all that was about?” Gangle asked Zooble, concerned.
“All what?” Zooble looked confused.
“All that muttering Kinger was doing!” Gangle insisted.
“I didn’t hear any of it.” Zooble said and looked towards Kinger. “I’ll go check on him though.“ ‘ Is my hearing that bad? ’ They walked off before Gangle could answer their question.
The morning was already starting off weird. Gangle sat down to make a cup of coffee and overthink that whole interaction. She hadn’t even had a chance to mention the new metal mask to Zooble. At least she wasn’t crying. Yet.
Still, the echoey voice, strange mumbling, and uncharacteristically forward questions were rattling in Gangle’s head. Something felt off. Or… missing? She felt like there was some detail she wasn’t seeing. While mixing milk into her coffee, Gangle spotted Ragatha come out to the table.
“Good morning! Sleep well?” Ragatha said with the smile she used when she thought people could see her. ‘ Thank god Jax isn’t up yet! I’m not ready to deal shit this early. ’ Gangle froze.
She heard that second part, echoey and clear as day. But Ragatha’s mouth. Did. Not. Move.
Gangle glanced at the others at the end of the table, realizing neither of them had visual mouths. She realized most of the odd things Zooble had said were in that resonating tone. I can hear their thoughts? How? Why? Her ribbony hand went to her face and felt painted over metal. It has to be the new mask, right? Why would Bubble even give me this thing?!
“Uh… Gangle?-” “I’m fine!”
Gangle responded too quickly. She’s been quiet for too long and had clearly concerned Ragatha. “Sorry, yeah, uh, I-I slept good. Well, I’m mean. I slept well!” Now, she was just word-vomiting. “H-How are you?”
“Uh… I’m good. You doing alright?” Ragatha asked while pouring her own coffee. “You seem distracted and… jumpy.”
“Oh, yeah, I…” Should Gangle tell her? “I, uh… I broke my comedy mask this morning. I felt pretty silly losing it so early.” Not a lie, but definitely avoiding the truth. Learning you could hear the private thoughts of those around you was a lot to process.
“Oh, I’m sorry, Gangle! Don’t feel bad about losing it! We’ll… we’ll just have to focus on having a good day on our own!” ‘ I have no fucking clue how to help with this! I’m still not even sure what that creepy mask does to help. ’ Gangle was surprised by how vulgar Ragatha was in her mind. It was strangely nice to hear uncensored swear words again, even if it was just in her mind.
Gangle gave Ragatha a little smile to reassure her. “Maybe it’s for the best. It could be good to take a break from the mask for a while. It’s not always the easiest thing to wear.” She said, hoping to ease Ragatha’s concerns.
‘ Wait, does she not like wearing that thing? Is it rude to ask? Honestly, she never wants to talk to me about this stuff. ’ Well, so much for easing Ragatha’s concerns.
It suddenly dawned on Gangle. She had said she wanted to know everyone’s true thoughts on her mask. “I just wish I could know what they really think.”- Those were her exact words. And Bubble had taken them literally and gave her a tool to do just that. How Bubble got this mask though was still a mystery. And the implications surrounding the very existence of a mind reading device in this world were horrifying.
“Gangle, does the mask… hurt you?” Ragatha asked carefully. She could clearly see Gangle was struggling with something, but wasn’t sure if it was her fault.
“It doesn’t hurt, but it takes effort.” Gangle answered honestly. If she wanted an honest opinion from Ragatha, Gangle figured she should be honest first. “It feels like it’s literally contorting my face so I can’t cry. And I like not constantly crying! I thought everyone else would prefer me that way too. But I’ll admit it’s a relief to take off. Or even sometimes when it breaks. Like, I have an excuse to not try to be… happy.” Gangle’s voice got quieter as she realized how long she’d been talking and just how much she’d revealed. She never talked about this before. She felt like a burden even talking about it now. And the horrified look Ragatha was giving her didn’t help.
’Why did she wear it everyday if it was uncomfortable? Did we make her feel like she had to? Did I make her feel like she had to?! ’ Ragatha’s panic echoed in Gangle's mind. But on the outside, Ragatha forced composure and placed a hand on Gangle’s shoulder. “The only person you should worry about when it comes to your comedy mask is you. If it helps, use it, but if you’re not feeling better with it, don’t.” ‘Honestly I think she’s better off without it, but I’d rather her be comfortable more than anything. ”
Both her words and thoughts made Gangle smile. She felt tears welling up, but at least they weren’t sad tears. “Thank you.” She said softly. Ragatha gave her a smile and a hug before going to get her own breakfast. That had probably been the most honest heart to heart she’s had with Ragatha in ages! And even if Ragatha hadn’t been entirely honest, she had been genuine in caring for— hoLY CRAP SHE READ HER MIND!! Gangle's happy feeling disappeared as the reality of that conversation sank in. She had been listening in on people’s personal thoughts. She had no right to do that! She should take the mask off now and tell the others what happened.
…And yet, it had worked, hadn’t it. Gangle was right about Ragatha not being completely honest on how she felt about the mask and Gangle now knew Ragatha’s true feelings, which was exactly what she wanted. This was wrong, but Gangle was so tempted to keep the mask on. Just for today. She thought. I could use it just for today, know what the others really think, and then decide if I should bother with my normal mask. It’d be better for everyone! She knew her reasoning didn’t really hold water, but she still struggled to convince herself to lose the mind reading mask.
Gangle went back and forth in her mind for longer than she’d like to admit. She was only broken out of her deliberation when she heard a scream. Everyone’s heads shot up as Pomni came tearing out of the hall with her hat on fire. Jax was close behind laughing hysterically. Before anyone could react, she ran to a pitcher of orange juice and dumped it on herself.
“Oh my God! Pomni, are you okay?!” Ragatha darted over as Pomni stumbled into the seat next to Gangle. Her inner thoughts were mostly cursing, but she gave Ragatha a halfhearted thumbs up. “Jax!” Ragatha shouted while storming to the still laughing rabbit.
Gangle looked over at Pomni sympathetically and pushed her freshly made latte to the jester. Pomni gave a tired but grateful smile as she took the coffee. ’ Oh damn, this is good !’ Pomni’s thoughts rang clear, being so close. Gangle wondered how close she had to be to hear thoughts while making up another latte.
Jax walked past towards the food, Ragatha still tailing behind and scolding. Gangle managed to pick up some of Jax’s thoughts without trying. ’Crybaby is making lattes, nice. Imma steal hers on the way back.’ Gangle stopped mid coffee pour. She glanced over to make sure Jax wasn’t looking at her, distracted with food and Ragatha. Without thinking, Gangle grabbed the salt canister and started pouring it into her cup. After dumping a substantial amount in, she quickly switched back to mixing in coffee and milk. Pomni was giving her a funny look, but she just put a ribbon to her lips then focused on making the latte as appealing as possible. Gangle even added a dash of cinnamon just so.
Right on cue, Jax came back and snatched the latte from right in front of Gangle. She made no motion to stop him and he immediately started drinking down the coffee. He got about a gulp and a half down before he choked out curses and gagged on the salt.
“GAAAGH! F#&K!! WHAT THE F#&K!! SALT?!” He choked out while the others looked on. Some started laughing.
“Serves you right.” Ragatha tutted amused. Pomni was laughing tauntingly in revenge. Gangle tried halfheartedly to hide her laughing.
After a few minutes of Jax coughing, Gangle spoke up in her least convincingly innocent tone. “Oh dear~ I must have confused the salt and sugar. Oopsie!” She side-eyed Jax where he doubled over, hacking up salt. He shot her a dirty look while Gangle gave back the fakest smile. She expected him to mentally curse her out, but his mental voice sounded… impressed with her. ‘Damn, she really got me! Am I that predictable? Nice one, Ribbons. Fuck, my throat hurts!’
It had been the first time in ages Gangle had gotten the upper hand with Jax. (Not counting anything to do with the plastic manic mask.) Honestly, the temptation of staying one step ahead of Jax pushed her over the edge. Morals be damned, she was using the metal mask. Just for today. Just to get some solid opinions on her normal mask. And to have just one day where she could stay ahead of Jax’s nonsense.