Tadc Harlequin Au - Tumblr Posts

Absolutely love em

I can’t never not see these two as father-daughter coded no matter the au——-

and I LOVE their designs (honestly all the other characters too but these guys my faves + Z)

Anyways small head cannon: Gangle storytells/ reads to him and he interjects little facts and anecdotes. (They absolutely go on tangents, yapping at each other 100% of the time)

I can honestly see them doing this ish for hours on end when they do this on the rare occasion- no one can stop em

she’d probably read him the kinda books she like and others like books on insects and biology-

book club hella fun wit em

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The marvelous mechanical Harlequin AU by @iamespecter ( AU blog @tadc-harlequin-au)

Vs. Maddened Princess

Harlequin AU by @iamespecter @tadc-harlequin-au

NOT CANON! JUST MY TAKE ON THE BOSS BATTLE!

----

A long abandoned theatre stood amongst overgrown weeds and other plant life that appeared ready to overtake the dilapidated building at any moment. This was where the last of the battle harlequin puppets found herself in front of. After some travel, defeating all the other bosses and doing a bit of training with Caine- she finally found herself at the boss arena. The Puppetmaster had dubbed this boss: The Maddened Princess.

According to him, this boss used her ribbons like a spider's web to feel and catch unsuspecting prey like marionettes or unwitting puppets who wander into her arena so she had to be cautious when approaching this boss. He made sure to advise her to use the skills she had honed during the last few boss fights and whenever she sparred against him. Oh, and to not to die *too often*. 'I am running out of supplies because of you.' He once joked.

Pomni scoffed at that memory but simply began her walk inside of the theatre, her steps becoming more cautious when she starts seeing red ribbons along with dead marionettes and puppets strewn around the floor. Something that caught her eye was how a few of the ribbons seemed to be connected to the corpses, it actually made her grimace at they seemed to be puppets awaiting for their puppeteer to control them.

She furrowed her brows and frowned slightly as she slowed her walk to a stop once she got into the main room so she could examine the arena as much as she could because it was extremely dark. She could see faintly were a few scattered ribbons lying around the room but, if she could hazard a guess, there were probably a lot more that she couldn't see. She followed one of the ribbons with her gaze to where it was connected to before she spotted a large boss puppet that was made of the ribbons. It appeared that The Maddened Princess hadn't realized that she had company as she simply looked forward at the puppets that she was controlling into performing some type of play for her.

The harlequin could only see the side profile but from what she could see- the boss was mostly made of ribbons that she had used to apparently decorate the theatre with, she had giant claws on the one arm she could see but it'd make sense to assume the other arm had claws as well, there was a shoulder pad that protected the top of her torso and a large mask that adorned her face with the side she could see having a grin. Seeing how The Princess was currently controlling puppets, it was fair to say that she could also fully control the puppets and marionettes that were all over the theatre which meant that she wasn't going to fight just the boss but also corpses that she could control as minions.

Pomni took a silent breath before letting it out, she wanted to get this done in one attempt but with how many disadvantages she had in this room, she had no doubt that there would be deaths but that never scared her. She crouched down as she began to quietly move forward, she hate how slow she had to be but it was better than being killed immediately by taking a risk. She kept her eyes down as she looked for ribbons that this spider laid for her prey and any of the victims that were already actors for the Princess.

One ribbon...

Two ribbons...

Three ribbons...

Okay, so far so good. Maybe she could speed up a-

She suddenly didn't hear a small click coming from her shoe and she couldn't hear the faint words coming from the boss' direction- oh no. The harlequin's eyes widened as she could barely turn her head in the direction of the boss before hearing the giant puppet screech as she began to very quickly spin like a top and the last thing Pomni saw was a ribbon coming straight for her and it looked razor sharp.

DEATH

Pomni grumbled as she placed herself right back where she was before she died, trying to ignore Caine's scolding and how Ragatha fretted over her back in the manor. As much as she cares for them, she didn't have time to sit around and chat right now- she had a princess to beat.

She rubbed her temples a little before she silently began moving again, making sure to remember where each of the ribbons were that she passed the first time around along with the ribbon she accidentally stepped on. Her head perked up a tiny bit as she hear a change in the area, she peeked around the obstacle she was hiding behind and noticed a few marionettes were now patrolling the room in certain routes with lights shining out of their eyes- probably doing so because of her last visit. She clicked her tongue silently as she ducked down in time for one of the marionettes to come by. Usually she didn't care much if she died since none of the other bosses changed their damn tactics like this! Little miss Princess just *had* to be the special one! Fuck. Okay, no more dying.

....hopefully.

Pomni waited for the current marionette to pass by before she glanced behind the broken wall again so she could observe the routes each of the minions were taking and how fast they were moving. A couple things she noticed that gave her actual advantages were that the lights in the eyes were able to both tell her where they were looking and that the ribbons hidden in the darkness could be seen for a brief moment. She hid once again as she made mental note of that and silently watched as few lights passed by the current direction she was facing so she could see where to go to avoid upcoming ribbons.

Once the lights disappeared from her sight, she moved quickly and quietly to get past the ribbons and hide behind the next wall before any marionette was able to catch sight of her. She let out a breath she didn't know she was holding once she got behind her next hiding spot and did the same thing she did at last spot.

----

It took longer than the harlequin wished it would've but she was eventually right behind a pillar that was next to the boss puppet and it seemed that she was none the wiser about her presence. It gave Pomni time to breathe and steel her nerves for the fight.

When she was ready, she went in front of The Maddened Princess with her sword drawn and pointed straight at her mask- which Pomni found had two different sides to it and wasn't just a grin. It had a grin on the left side and frown on the right side of the mask- comedy and tragedy in one.

She didn't get much time to focus on that detail as a spotlight suddenly shined down on her, making her lift her free hand to block the light. She squinted up at the boss in annoyance, who didn't pay any mind to her irritation as she spread out her arms to the stands that had a few lifeless puppets and marionettes in them, "OUR LATEST STAR HAS ARRIVED TO TAKE THE STAGE!" The Maddened Princess announced, clearly the comedy mask was in control currently.

"The hell are you talking about?" Pomni sneered at the boss, finally putting her arms down and glared at her, "I'm just here to challenge and *defeat* you." She hissed out, getting ready to attack, only to be stuck in place by a few ribbons, "Wha- HEY!"

"Now, now." The boss had her hands do a calm down motion with her metal claws uncomfortably close to the harlequin's face which made her lean back, "That's no way for the star of our play to behave, now is it?" She questioned as a few more ribbons made their way slowly up Pomni's body as a way to keep her still and a way to kill her quick if she didn't play along.

The harlequin bared her sharp teeth and she began to slash at the ribbons trapping her until a few ribbons caught her wrist, "I AM NOT GOING TO PLAY AS YOUR LITTLE ACTRESS, YOU BI-" She was silenced in an instant as giant claws came down and slashed her back, hard enough to kill her instantly.

DEATH

'Maybe you should've been her little actor-' Pomni could hear Jax' mocking tone inside her head, he had teased her the moment she came out of Caine's office. Apparently, that asshole of a rabbit was nearby when she died to the boss without even having a chance to fight her yet.

The Maddened Princess was waiting for her to return within the shadows, as if she didn't wish to get the spotlight on her, while tapping her metal claws on the ground, when she noticed the harlequin's entrance she seemed to brighten up, "Our star has returned! Not even death can keep her down!" She cheered, her ribbons made all of the puppets and marionettes clap in unison as well.

Pomni familiar feel of ribbons gripping onto her once more but this time, despite how much she really wanted to, she didn't fight the restraints. Instead she glared up at the boss, "What *exactly* do you need me to do?" She questioned through gritted teeth.

The Princess either didn't see how angry her new puppet was or she just didn't care because she had her dance and twirl around before having her stop, "I need you to play a very important role in my new play!" She announced happily as she had a few more puppets join her in the spotlight, probably her 'co-stars', "I need you to play as the Sacrificial Princess!" She cheered again.

"What-" She froze as she saw ribbons piece through the ground and broken walls nearby as well as one of the puppets holding a real axe, "...shit-"

The boss sent her a look for the language she just used but decided to ignore it, "I'll be sure to lead you the entire way!" It was obvious that if the mask could fully grin then it would in the instance, "And who knows? You may even be able to get out of your strings on time!"

Pomni desperately wanted to escape but knew struggling right now would lead to death and besides, it sounded like the boss wasn't going to stop her from trying to get out during this so-called play, "Fine." She grunted out in irritation.

"Wonderful! Let's get metaphorical curtain up then!"

-----

Before Pomni knew was happening, she was being dragged to the center of the stage by the ribbons holding her tightly. She bared her razor sharp teeth, she hated how this felt but knew that one wrong move would result in another death.

"We begin with a sole survivor in a destroyed town~" The boss narrated from behind the curtain, Pomni didn't even notice her get up and move. Probably because she was a tad bit too busy trying to struggle away from the ribbons and towards anything sharp. Something that was apparently allowed as there was no consequences. She kept that in mind.

"Many from outside of the town heard the horrors that had befallen this poor place and had rushed in to find out if there was any way to possibly give their aid." The boss continued as if she didn't feel any pull on her ribbons. She had multiple marionettes slowly enter the stage from where they were once patrolling on the ground, "To their shock, everything appeared destroyed and many bodies were strewn around the town, dismembered. All except one lone survivor. A woman that the town had declared their princess- covered in blood and surrounded by a bodies." She forced the harlequin to move her head to look at the marionettes that had swords, shields and spears made of ribbon.

Their lifeless eyes seemed to express shock before shifting into anger and disgust at the sight of her before their mouths seemed to move by the boss' voice came out of each one of the in different vocal ranges:

"She must've been helping those monsters!" One of them accused with a somewhat masculine voice, as masculine as the boss could do at least.

Another pointed at her in horror, "She must be a witch that disguised herself as this town's princess only to curse everyone!" This one had a light feminine tone.

"Look at her clothes!" Another exclaimed in anger, "Covered in blood! She must have killed some herself!"

Pomni's fingers twitched a bit, she had a burning desire to use her teeth to tear up the ribbons just to get the ACTUAL FUCKING BOSS FIGHT STARTED! She hated that she knew that that would be a stupid idea though.

Her thought process was interrupted when the marionettes surrounded her, the one that had the masculine voice approached her with a sword, "The outsiders approached the princess with anger and hate- wishing to purge the supposed witch to prevent the curse to possibly get further than the town." The boss' voice continued to narrate but seemed to pause and wait as the marionette used their sword to slash at the harlequin.

Pomni was quick to understand that The Maddened Princess was giving her a chance to cut some of the ribbons. She furrowed her brows as she quickly twisted herself a bit, a little shocked by how the restraints holding her seemed to a tiny bit more lax so she had a chance. Once the ribbon blade came down, she was barely able to move her body enough to have the ribbons holding her right arm be cut which allowed her access to her change her arm into her gun and attempted to shoot at the opponent in front of her... only to find there were no bullets.

"The boss removed your bullets when she was putting her ribbons around you." Bubble explained as he puttered over near her, "You were too blinded by your rage to even notice!"

The harlequin groaned loudly in displeasure by that, letting her gun go back to being her regular arm in defeat, "Of course-" She grumbled, going back to looking at the marionettes who looked shocked as if she hadn't just failed with her attack.

"DID YOU SEE THAT?!" The one with the feminine voice cried out, "SHE PROBABLY JUST CAST A SPELL ONTO US!" She was quick to rush away from the harlequin by a few feet.

"The outsiders of the town grew far more wary and cautious around the so-called princess as it appeared she was beginning her spread of powers to the heroes from the outside..." The narration continued in a more spooky tone to apparently make the harlequin sound more like a villain- which Pomni truly could care less about.

Another marionette approached her, this time with a spear in hand, "I'll stop her this time!" They announced before swinging their spear at her feet this time. Once again, the ribbons loosened a little but were a bit tighter than last time as to make it harder- it didn't deter the harlequin as she was able to jump a bit forward enough to force the spear to cut the restraints on her ankles. Although, she did end up falling onto her face as she moved a tad too quickly and slipped on one of the discarded ribbons on the ground. She huffed in irritation at that before using her free hand to try and push herself up but found she was being forced down by one of her 'co-stars' with a blade pointed at her neck which made her scowl.

She could barely hear stifled laughter from from behind the stage but it was quickly cleared up before the boss went back to telling the play's story, "As the spear from one of the heroes was able to make the villainess fall hard to the ground, another had kept her down." She announced, "One of the knights from the neighboring kingdoms had just arrived on the scene in time to force the witch down while his comrades were close behind to aid in her defeat!"

Pomni's eyes moved to look up and behind her to see about four puppets in armor, helms, actual metal swords and shield taking the place of the more rural marionettes that had attacked her before. The Princess had decided to take the fight up a notch, it seems like the harlequin had proven to be strong enough to increase the difficult. It made her smirk some, boosting her ego to know her final boss found her tough enough to actually put in some extra effort to kill her. Well then. Bring it.

She ducked her neck as the knight holding her down swung his sword and she was able to have the blade slice off the ribbon holding neck which allowed her to freely move her head around now. She was able to use her free hand to grab her opponent's ankle and knock him off balance before quickly flipping herself around to use both of her feet to kick him away from her and quickly getting to her feet. She used her sharp teeth to tear the last bit of ribbons off of her left arm and whipped out her sword from her sheath to be more on an even ground as her opponents, even if they stand no chance against her. She grinned widely, looking like a shark searching for the next meal, "You want a fight? BRING IT ON!" She laughed, more than ready to get her irritation for being used as a literal puppet out on these puppet corpses.

The cut ribbons that were holding her back before were dragged back to their owner backstage and it almost seemed like the knights changed their stance to one that was far more aggressive, "It appears the villainess witch has shed her innocent appearance to show her true evil intentions!" The Maddened Princess narrated as the knight she knocked off of her stood back up, ready to attack as well, "Will our brave knights be able to overcome her or will more befall her curse?"

The knights raced forward and began their attack, not giving her the ease of fighting one on one- not that she really needed it. Her sword blazed with energy as she let her opponents close in on her before she quickly slashed her and had the razor light wave that came from her blade knock them all down.

Each of the puppet knights had a large gash in their armor from the attack, the ones who attempted to block it with their shields ended up having them sliced in half. The harlequin laughed, "You wanted a witch! A powerful, sword wielding witch you got!" She called to the backstage where she knew the boss was.

She received no response but the knights seemed to grow cautious in their attacks now, seeming to simply observe her for now. The boss seemed to fully understand that if she wanted to defeat this challenger without letting her fight her personally then she needs to start taking things more seriously.

Pomni twirled her sword in her hand as she observed her enemies, her gun had been emptied without her knowledge before this 'play' had begun so she could only rely on her sword and fists. That's fine, she could adjust and still win this. She just had to defeat these armored corpses then she can fight the actual Princess of this theatre.

'Don't be reckless.' Caine warned through the Bubble blimp, 'I really rather not patch you up for the *third* time during this fight.'

She scoffed at that, "Well, if I do then I'm sure you'll kiss my injuries better." She joked a bit as she clashed her blade with one of the knights who tried to catch her off guard while they thought she was distracted talking to the blimp.

'I-I, uh, well, I-I mean-' The puppetmaster stuttered- she could just see how flustered that comment made him, 'Just don't die again!' He commanded in his flustered tone before having Bubble float away to give her room to fight.

The harlequin couldn't help but snicker at that, that definitely gave her some much needed energy to keep going. She smirked as she knocked back the knight she had blocked before quickly knocking them down to the ground and sliced off the ribbon that was controlling them. That was one down, three more to go.

Pomni narrowed her eyes as she picked up the fallen sword from the puppet that she just cut the strings to. She grinned, "Well, you three are certainly fucked now~" She showed her razor sharp teeth to the remaining knights as she adjusted her grip on the newly acquired sword before activating her super speed so could get up close to the remaining opponents, "Hey there, motherfuckers~" She taunted them as she decided to put her face in the middle of them- she could already hear Caine scolding her about doing something as incautious as that but she really didn't care right now.

The knights gave no reaction other than to try and slash at her, and to their credit- two of them did get hits in on her, both on the shoulders but she ignored the pain as she did a front flip over all three of them while use her dual blades to chop off all three of their heads before landing behind them and slicing each of their ribbons off so they could rag doll to the ground lifeless.

Pomni let out a breath once she was finished with all of those puppet knights. She put both swords in one hand before staring at the darkness that was the backstage as it held her final opponent.

"Maddened Princess, I'm coming for you now." She said loud enough that she was sure that the boss could hear her clear.

------

The backstage was darker than the main room was before the spotlight was turned on and completely silent aside from the clicks of her shoes on the wooden floor. The harlequin let her gaze wander around as she observed the area in which her final battle in this decrepit theatre would be held- and, oh, how she was hoping it'd be shorter than that shit she did on the actual stage. She noticed how there were spotlights overhead, connected to the catwalk, and recalled how she saw how the Princess hid away from the spotlight that was aimed at the harlequin on the main stage- as if it could burn her. She would have to keep those lights in mind in case the ribbon boss became a pain in her ass.

She felt her foot step on a some type of cloth, most likely a ribbon in the dark, but it didn't appear that the boss wanted to attack her just yet. Perhaps she was doing the same as the harlequin, observing and learning. That was fine- it would be more thrilling if the fight was more fair and harder for Pomni.

Her gaze moved upwards towards the large bundle of red ribbons next- her next target. One of the boss puppets Caine had asked to help so she had to be sure to keep the die in one piece as well as bring it back for him to work on it- if this annoying bunch of ribbons can be enlightened then so be it.

This boss certainly seemed to like hiding in the darkness- she could only really see a bit of the mask that adorned the top of the ribbons and the shine of the claws but not much else. She didn't like that, not when it gave her such a big disadvantage. She scowled, she needed a plan...

A few ribbons could be heard and barely seen shooting towards her in high speeds, "Shit-!" Pomni hissed out, quickly using her swords to slash the ribbons into pieces. She sent a look at where the ribbons came from, "That was such a cheap trick!" She snarled at the boss.

"Expect the unexpected,

As a puppet made for battles

that should have been know~"

The boss responded in a poetic tone, almost sounding a bit smug at getting the harlequin irritated. Although, the way she became poetic now was making Pomni even more annoyed.

"Really?" Her eye twitched, "First a stupid play, and now poetry? Are you trying to be the most irritating boss?" She grunted as she made note of how a few marionettes and puppets had slowly risen from the floor, beginning to go behind the large pile of ribbons that was controlling them.

"Performance arts

A statuette's purpose

to please and amaze

But now

I wish to just win and end."

With that, more ribbons bulleted towards the harlequin on all sides with the darkness making it hard to make it known where they were. Pomni's eyes widened as she swiftly cut the ribbons in front of her but was caught from behind and felt a sharp slash on either of her sides by what could've easily been invisible swords. She gasped as the ribbon from behind her rose her upwards before slamming her on the ground roughly but not enough to kill her or take too much health off of her. But the throw into the wall certainly didn't help much. She groaned as she slumped to the ground in pain, "Sneaky fucking bitch..." She grumbled as she took out a small vial that had a battery acid in it. She moved bell, holding it tight as to make sure it didn't jingle before unbuttoning her shirt until her die was exposed- she poured the acid onto it as a way to give her a bit more energy and health back. She didn't exactly know how it worked but Caine had always told her not to question it since, at least, it kept her alive a bit longer.

She sighed silently in relief as she moved her bell back in the center of her neck, put the vial away and stood up with a light huff, not worrying about buttoning her shirt back up since she had a feeling she'd need to heal again eventually. She scowled as she felt her now slashed sides but said nothing as she looked around before noticing that there was a broken ladder leading to the catwalks nearby, it didn't have a bottom but she should be able to jump high enough...

She suddenly went into a defensive position when she heard close by, no doubt The Maddened Princess was sending in a few minions after her. She narrowed her eyes as she was able to block the unseen attacks that came her way, using her ears to locate them. She might be blind currently but her hearing still worked just fine. She was able to knock them all back harshly before quickly jumping against the wall and pushing off hard enough to be able to leap into the air, grabbing the ladder. She had to move quickly because the rung she first grabbed onto creaked loudly before as she grabbed the next one breaking in half, clattering to the ground which alerted the boss to her presence. Ribbons were shot like rockets towards the ladder, aiming at the harlequin's head but she was, thankfully, able to scurry up onto the catwalk, barely having the ribbons miss her feet.

"Run, run, run

Try to flee and hide

but it'll be your hide

as my trophy at the end of the night."

The Princess mocked in her poetic tone as the ribbons began to wrap around the catwalk, feeling for their prey.

The harlequin growled silently as she felt a tiny bit of silky fabric under one of her feet as she got close to the spotlight nearest to the ladder. The silk slowly began to go up her leg but before it could go much further, she was able to turn the spotlight on and turn it towards the pile of ribbons.

The boss screeched and covered her mask as the light shone bright down at her, she seemed to freeze for a moment and the ribbon on the catwalk unwrapped itself and fell. It gave the harlequin a perfect opportunity to dive down and put energy in both of her swords to create two powerful light waves that broke a few ribbons off of a few of the puppets as well as slice a dent into the boss by breaking numerous ribbons on the boss herself- it didn't make enough damage to expose the die within the silk but it made it where she could do a few more strikes like that and expose it for good.

"HISSSSSSSSS!!!" The boss screeched like a cat being sprayed with water as she finally got out of her slight blindness before skitter skattering away from the bright light and back into the shadows as if they protected her. A couple ribbons grabbed onto to Pomni and threw her opposite of her while another ribbon rocketed upwards, shattering the still shining spotlight so there would be no more light on her.

The harlequin used one of her swords to help her not hit the ground too hard by stabbing it into the hardwood floor and spun around it a little as a way to help catch herself. She smirked as she pulled out the blade- she found the weakness. But she's have to make sure to defeat the boss with the last three working spotlights left on the catwalk or else it'd be back to doing everything blind and hoping she doesn't get caught off guard and die.

"Tis but a scratch

Surprise by the light

that does not belong onto me

Oh, dear actress,

the spotlight merely belongs to you."

The Maddened Princess continued reciting her poem although a small angry hiss came through in her tone this time. A few more puppets rose from the ground but it looked like it was less this time- looks like slicing a dent in the pile of ribbons did give her more of an advantage.

The harlequin kicked away a couple puppets that sounded like they got a bit too close to her before front flipping over the ones that sounded to be right in front of her. Only to have her feet land on both of their heads which made her almost lose balance, she had to put her arms out to try regain it.

Which only left her wide open for a few ribbons to grab onto her arms tight before once again slamming her into the ground a couple of times, making her lose her grip on her swords and having them clatter onto the ground a bit further away from where she was tossed.

"Running and jumping,

Can get you far

but can you see

where you're going

to make it?"

"Oh, COME THE FUCK ON!" The harlequin slammed her fist into the in irritation, feeling one of her sides break a bit more due to the slams onto the ground. She took a breath as she stood up and sped towards where she heard her swords land, not liking how she was unarmed currently. She heard a marionette slice their sword in her direction and she was scarcely able to duck under it, half of her ponytail was cut off as it bounced upwards from the swiftness of her movement. She felt how she lost some of her hair but couldn't be bothered to care at the moment as she simply kicked the marionette to the ground and used her teeth to tear the ribbon off of them before somersaulting on the ground to get to her swords faster. She grabbed them right as she heard a couple puppets slash down towards her- she reacted swiftly by using both of her swords block where she heard where the blades were. She laid on her back as she struggled against the weight on both of the swords on hers. She bared her teeth as she shoved hard against the two and forced them away from her, knocking them off balance which she was quick to use to her advantage. She hopped onto her feet before quickly slicing at their ribbons.

The harlequin made use of the time where nothing was currently close enough to attack her rush up on top of the catwalk again, speeding towards the farthest light from her since she didn't feel like risking getting there after pissing off the boss three times. By the way she could hear the platform squeaking a little bit- she definitely made enough noise to alert the boss enough to have more ribbons race towards her. She gritted her teeth as she ran bit faster before sliding towards the spotlight and having it shine on on the pile of ribbons once more.

Like before, the boss screeched and covered her mask with her ribbons which left her wide open for Pomni to dive down again. Maybe not wide open because this time one of the boss' claw reached up to slash at her. She moved slightly to avoid it and make it where she could do another double light wave attack that both sliced off the the ribbon arm that had the claw on it and increase the size of the dent she made on the pile of ribbons initially but it still looked like she had a ways to go.

Pomni landed on the ground, avoiding the ribbons that attempted to grab at her this time. Only to be caught off guard as she felt some silk underfoot, "Oh, come on!" She yelped out as her ankles were grabbed, making her trip and fall on her butt and was forcibly slid her towards some spikes that were made on the wall. Her eyes widened and she had to quickly spin herself so her back was facing the spikes instead of her exposed chest and die. She clenched her teeth as a harsh gasp came through them, that definitely left some awful holes in her back but they didn't go through her body enough to hit her die at least. She hissed through her teeth as the ribbon spikes suddenly came out of her back and were used to destroy the spotlight that was currently still on. Turning everything dark once more.

The harlequin listened for any nearby enemies before taking out her last vial of battery acid and poured it onto her die like she did with the first one. She grumbled as she forced herself up, using the wall as support. If she got hurt that badly again, she won't have anymore battery acid to heal her again- she had to be extremely careful now. Being careful sucked though.

"Difficulty increasing

Tension raising

How much longer

will you be able to survive?"

Pomni ignored the threatening poetic tone the boss used as she forced herself to move towards the ladder as fast as she could despite her injuries, countering any puppet or marionette that tried getting in her way. She didn't feel like putting up an effort to make it more of a show anymore. At least not until her pain numbed.

She grimaced as she looked up at where the lowest rung of the ladder was and how she knew she had to force herself up there again. She grunted as she moved back again before giving herself a running started and wall jumped up to the ladder again, barely making it. She grunted as she got up on the catwalk once more. She panted a bit as she crouched down to take momentary breather- she should have about fifteen seconds before the ribbons start wrapping around the platform.

She went through the charms she had on hand but weren't currently using as she didn't like boosting herself unless necessary. She found the one that boosts her jump height and placed it onto the collar of her shirt, she could tell this one was fully necessary now. She put the rest of the charms away as she could hear the silk ribbons climbing up the ladder and frowned as she began to speed off towards the second furthest spotlight from her.

Once she turned it on, turned it towards the pile of ribbons and began her dive down, making sure to avoid the metal claws aiming at her and used the light wave attack to slice off the claws as well as make dent even bigger- she could start to see a shine coming from the boss' chest, the die. She felt a sense of relief as she knew she was almost done.

The Maddened Princess let out a loud, angry, catlike snarl as she destroyed not only the spotlight that was on but also the one that the harlequin was supposed to turn on next- ...well, that blows.

"Darkness surrounds,

You had your fun,

Now it's- ARGH! IT BURNS!"

Pomni had her right hand shift into her gun and had the rest of her energy go into to create a laser to burn the pile of ribbons from the bottom up- interrupting another irritatingly, smug poem from the boss.

She only used it for a few seconds until her energy felt like it was going to run too low for her to walk any longer, or even stay standing. The gun went back to being a hand as she watched The Maddened Princess lean down to try and attack her a bit more. The harlequin gave an exhausted look as she simply used the last bit of her energy and her charm to jump high enough to slice off the mask that the boss wore before letting herself land on her butt on the ground in exhaustion.

Once the fire got to the point where the boss' die was fully shown, she was quick to grab it before running as fast as her body would let her out of the theatre before the flames could reach her.

------

"Here's the stupid die heart, Caine." Pomni grumbled in exhaustion as she got back inside the manor and weakly gave the item to the man who had been waiting anxiously at the door for her, swaying a bit as she tried to keep herself upright.

The Puppetmaster didn't even hesitate to simply pocket the die heart before putting his arms on the harlequin's waist so he could pick her up bridal style gently. She didn't even fight it, simply collapsing in his arms as soon as she felt herself become weightless.

Caine felt himself blush a tiny bit as he brought her to his office table to start repairing her body. He paused a moment before deciding to take a small advantage of her being unconscious right now to give her a quick peck on the forehead.

---------

A/N: Yes, the ending is *extremely* rushed. But after writing 6k+ words in the span of three days? I got too tired to care much longer. Hope y'all still enjoy the read.

I love how I'm known as "the Harlequin AU creator" like yeah, that's my official title now

Like hi yes I'm the dumbass who took one good look at these two and thought "you know what would be awesome. if they were robots in an 1800's sci-fantasy world and were super hot spouse material"

Congrats for 1K

Celebratory 1k+ post! (+Official Reveal of "Him.")

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First of all, before I start, I would just like to thanks everyone from the bottom of my heart. I cannot begin to emphasize just how much it means to me that more than 1,000 of you decided that this blog was follow worthy.

The fact that so many people engage with this blog, whether asking a lore-related question to know more about the world of the AU, to joking around and making me laugh makes my heart swell with pride and joy.

This AU's purpose was not only to tell a story, but to also destress myself from my problems so I can keep my head on my shoulders and keep on living. So to know that many people found this passion project interesting enough, well... All I could really say is...

Thank you.

Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to share an incredibly canon-divergent story that is so far removed from the original source, it may as well be considered as a standalone project.

Thank you for sparing a little bit of your time and attention (as well as a few braincells) to learn about the characters, the story, the history, and the world of it.

... And most of all, thank you for continuously saving me from the darkness that attempts to consume me everyday.

No one really knows what happens to me behind the screen, and I'd rather keep it that way because I don't wanna be such a downer. Even here, I want to keep things lighthearted so I won't be delving into that.

Besides that, there's unfortunately something I haven't been entirely honest with you guys. Everyone knows about the B.O.S.S. (B.loodthirsty, O.verburdened S.corned S.ouls) roster, and how they serve as the AU's antagonists, but there is a secret character who doesn't exactly fall into that category.

Rather, he's not just a normal boss antagonist. HE'S THE OVERARCHING VILLAIN OF THIS AU, and has been teased since WAYYYY back to the early poster of the Harlequin AU.

You may know this guy as "???" from the roster list, or "HIM" from the answered lore-related asks. Well, for the sake of a celebratory 1k post that won't provide much strain for me, I've decided to reveal who this is.

Now, without further ado, I'd like you all to meet-

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"The Patriarch of Puppets" - Official design reveal!

"Adorned in silver and reds, The Patriarch of Puppets (or simply, "The Patriarch") is an untouchable and powerful entity who constantly chases Pomni after she finishes a battle with a Boss."

No one knows what the fuck his problem is, But one thing is for sure: he first shows up after Pomni defeats the Skirmish General, and seems to like tormenting the Combat Harlequin by attempting to separate her soul from her heart and inflicting burning agony.

Pomni, in tandem, feels GREAT DREAD even at her first encounter with The Patriarch; she doesn't know why, but whenever he's in her general presence, her entire soul, AND her fight-or-flight instincts screams TWO THINGS: "DANGEROUS. RUN."

Pomni CANNOT fight him to save her life. Her sword hands starts to tremble and she can't move if she's around him for too long. She knows from the very beginning that this is a fight that she cannot win no matter what. He is the Hunter, and she is the Prize.

Bubble also seems to power off instantly and just crash to the ground with no warning, an immediate telling sign that he's already in the general vicinity. He seems to not care about the blimp in the slightest.

His classification is a King Harlequin; 1) a reference to "king-size", 2) a literal one of a kind Puppet, and 3) the tallest of Harlequins that no one even knew existed in the first place.

Just how tall exactly? Well...... here's the updated lineup.

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I hope that this is a fitting celebratory 1k treat for all you hungry lore eaters and Harlequin AU enjoyers!

And now this is probably for the souls like au, since it’s technically the game version.

Oh? What's this? Seems to be an AU crossover with The Monster Labs, by @etanow!

Now, sometimes I like to pretend that this AU is a playable game.

And what does a playable game have? LORE Limited time SKINS!

Endowed with the powers of a minor god, Caine's already outrageous ideas seems to stretch far, far, FAR beyond the horizon now.

It also seems that the Puppetmaster's become a little bit more of a cuckoo than his usual self; cackling like a mad scientist about to bring about either the next revolutionary discovery, or a massive city-wide explosion.

... Why is he giving Pomni so many flowers??

Tsk, tsk, tsk Pomni. You would think that the pain from battles would make one learn, but nope. Not this Harlequin.

Especially when it seems like she's speedrunning flipping the bird off of Death's face as many times as possible to show 'em who's boss. Now she's UNdead!

Good thing she doesn't eat robot brains too. I-I hope...

She's electric! Literally!

Ragatha's gotten quite the new look, and some new tricks at that too. The Artifact Collector herself seems to be more open to going outside all of a sudden; when she tended to be a recluse prior to the change.

Wonder if she's also more open to hugs that don't shock you?

A one of a kind special boss skin! Only available under specific circumstances. His attacks don't change nor add something new, it's just a cosmetic skin for The Mischievous Trickster Automaton fight. lmao

Special thanks to Audi/Eta for letting me do this! I kinda wanna do more AU crossovers when I can because this was very fun, so I may reach out to other AUs I really like :)

For now, I rest my bones........ I have done my job :3c

Sneak peek of my newest showtime fanfic about TADC Harlequin AU.

Sequel to my other work on ao3 "Purple"

TADC Harlequin AU BY @tadc-harlequin-au

Lilac

⚠️WARNING ⚠️ A liiiiiiitle suggestive talk between two personalities.

____________________________________

Caine and Pomni were cuddling in the Puppetmaster's bedroom. Since Pomni's mind had short-circuited, causing her to behave like the Performer Harlequin for a while, they had grown closer. However, Pomni still struggled to accept her feminine side. And now, she was dreaming of her dark subconscious.

"This... is Caine's office." Harlequin looked around.

"It's comfortable here. And there's something to read." The voice from the sofa reached Pomni's ears.

Harlequin drew her sword and pointed it at the source of the sound. Performer Pomni lay on the sofa, reading a book.

"You? B-but how? I killed you!" Pomni shook her head in denial.

"You dispelled me, yes." Pomni closed the book and stood up. "But no matter how you look at it, I'm a part of you. From now on and forever. So..." She awkwardly spread her arms and smiled.

Combat Pomni's right eye twitched, and a yellow light flared up in it.

"GO TO HELL!" She lunged at the second personality with her sword. Performer Pomni easily and gracefully dodged. "What? How did you dodge?"

"We share skills and motor memory." Pomni began examining her left hand. "So predicting your moves isn't hard. Plus, I have access to your memories."

"I already know that last part," Combat Pomni sheathed her sword. "You showed me a memory of a battle in the smoke back then."

"Yup. I love playing with the past." Performer Pomni placed her hands on her red cheeks and wiggled her hips. "And I have a special fondness for how gently Caine hugs us."

Combat Pomni blushed, trembling with rage.

"WHY THE HELL ARE YOU DIGGING THROUGH MY MEMORIES?"

"Oh, cut me some slack." Performer Harlequin put one hand on her hip and waved the other dismissively. "You won't let me enjoy his touches. Let me at least drool over them."

Combat Harlequin cooled down a bit. The angry grimace left her face.

"So if I give you access to the body, you'll stop rifling through my memory card?"

A purple eye sparkled. Performer Pomni playfully ran her hand through her hair, letting it flutter.

"Oh. Is a deal in the making?"

"I haven't promised you anything!" Combat Harlequin pointed a finger in Performer Harlequin's face. "But I'm willing to listen to you. By the way," Combat Pomni crossed her arms. "what should I call you? Just 'slut' isn't an option."

"WHY DID YOU GIVE ME SUCH A NICKNAME?!" Performer Pomni's turn to get angry came. But she took a deep breath and exhaled, pressing a finger to her cheek. "How about Lilac? A shade of purple, like my eye."

Pomni nodded.

"Alright, Lilac, I'm listening."

"Okay. For starters," Lilac thought, her cheeks burning bright red. "I want to spend hot nights with Mr. Puppetmaster."

"Go to hell. Any other requests?" Pomni said absolutely neutrally.

"Oh, come on. It's the same body! He won't notice the switch!" Lilac stomped her foot in frustration. "Well. Either you let me have fun with him once in a while, or I'll keep digging through your shared memories and enjoying the view." She haughtily raised her nose.

"Argh. Fine. One night in one lunar cycle." Pomni showed one finger.

"Not fair. That's too little. I want once a phase." Lilac showed four fingers.

"Deal." Pomni agreed through gritted teeth. The two personalities shook hands. "Then sit tight and don't bother me until the new phase starts."

"Actually," Lilac covered her mouth with her fingers, "tonight is the new moon."

Pomni's mind short-circuited. Right. How could she forget?

"Well, it's already started, so it doesn't count. Wait until the end of the first quarter." Pomni felt something between fear and awkwardness for the first time.

"Nuh-uh." Lilac wagged her finger side to side. "Don't you dare refuse me. We agreed. So tonight, I'll be enjoying the Puppetmaster's warm and pleasant touches."

Silence hung between Pomni and Lilac.

"Fucking nympho." Pomni broke the silence.

"Look who's talking!" Lilac retorted indignantly.

to be continued

I understood that it's easier to make chapters rather than one large work. So here we go.

TADC HARLEQUIN AU SHOWTIME by @tadc-harlequin-au

Part two of a sequel to my fanfic "Purple"

Part one is here

Lilac

⚠️WARNING ⚠️ A litle suggestive.

_________________________________

“Pomni. Pomni.” Caine’s voice came from somewhere outside.

Pomni opened her eyes and found herself in the Puppetmaster’s embrace. A book he had been reading lay nearby, but now he was more interested in something else.

“Are you okay? You were hissing with anger in your sleep.” Caine adjusted a strand of her hair and placed a hand on her cheek.

Pomni understood why Lilac was so eager to come out. These touches were special. Only she could experience them. Only her body. But now, with her consciousness split into two halves, she would have to... share.

“I don’t want to...” Pomni began to shake.

“Oh. Sorry, I didn’t realize you’d had enough.” Caine awkwardly removed his hand from the Harlequin's face.

Pomni aggressively grabbed Caine by the neck and pulled him close.

“I don’t want to share you with anyone,” she growled. “But if I don’t do this, she’ll keep rummaging through my memories.”

“Pomni. Who is she? Share with whom?” Caine stroked Pomni's back.

Pomni pulled away.

“Remember a couple of weeks ago when my character block short-circuited?” Receiving a wary but affirmative nod from Caine, she continued. “The second personality didn’t disappear. She’s still in my head. And she’s rummaging through my memories like a damn raccoon.” Pomni sighed. Caine hugged her shoulders. “She especially likes the memories of you, and she wants to make her own. So we made a deal. I let her out occasionally to have fun and cuddle with you, and she leaves my memory card alone.”

Caine’s gaze dulled.

“Wait. I have to entertain your second personality? What happens if I refuse?”

“No one’s asking you!” Pomni showed her sharp teeth. “Basically, give Lilac what she wants, and I’ll be free.”

Pomni stood up and walked to the window.

“Pomni. Wait.” Caine followed her.

Pomni looked at the starry sky. The absence of the moon bothered her.

“Damn new moon. Why did it have to come right now?”

Pomni closed her eyes and turned to Caine. She took the band off her hair, and the locks flowed over her shoulders. She curtsied and opened her eyes. Her right eye, purple, shone brightly.

“How glad I am to see you again, Mr. Puppetmaster.”

And again, that smile, that voice, they had changed beyond recognition. That softness, tenderness, vulnerability. Caine remembered them as if he had just met Lilac yesterday. He stepped back. She stepped forward. The Puppetmaster retreated, and Lilac continued to follow him. At some point, he stumbled against the bed. The Harlequin smirked slyly. She adjusted the collar of Caine's unbuttoned shirt.

“It seems you were about to sleep. Mind if I join you?” her half-closed eyes sparkled with desire.

“No. Yes. I don't know.” Caine ran his hand over his head. “Lilac, right? I don't want to entertain you. My heart belongs to Pomni, not you. Give her back control over the body.”

Lilac tilted her head thoughtfully. Her finger slowly and calculatingly tapped her cheek.

“Fine. If you don't want to, then you don't want to.” she spread her arms.

“Really?” Caine's gaze dulled.

“Yes.” Lilac clasped her hands behind her back and headed to the door. “I'll just find someone else to spend the night with. Ragatha seemed nice. Or I could get to know Jax.”

Instantly, Caine snapped out of it and teleported to the door. He grabbed the Harlequin by the shoulders as she was about to open the door.

“You are not going anywhere. Especially not to Jax!”

“Oh, oh, oh. Mr. Puppetmaster. Is someone getting jealous?” Lilac tried to kiss him, but he pushed her away.

“Just because I won't let you roam around the mansion doesn't mean I'll spend time with you.”

“Ugh. Caine. What's wrong? I don't understand.” Lilac brushed off his hands and rubbed her nose bridge. “Pomni's body, Pomni's face, everything is Pomni. What don't you like?”

“But here.” he pointed a finger at her forehead. “it's not Pomni. I love her confidence, her unyielding nature, her persistence, her bravery. I fell in love with her soul. And you are her opposite. So sorry, but I won't love you.” his eyes now showed anger. “Do you understand? Give me back my woman!”

“Oh, Caine.” Lilac took his hand. “I am not Pomni's opposite. I am her other side. The side she fears. And since you love her, you should love me too, because I have always been, am, and will be a part of her consciousness.”

Caine looked at Lilac's hand. Usually, when he held Pomni's hand, it had a firm and strong grip. But this touch was gentle and light.

“I still need to learn more about you.” Caine said with a light chuckle.

“So why don't we learn more about each other? Now?” Lilac finally managed to kiss Caine.

She wrapped her arms around his neck, and he hugged her waist. There was no passion or lust in this kiss, but love flowed from Lilac. Caine felt a strange déjà vu, as if Pomni had already kissed him like this. Which was strange, because his kisses with her were filled with fire and insatiability. Lilac pulled away. The tip of her tongue still peeked out from her slightly parted lips. She smiled sweetly. Caine awkwardly looked away.

“How about I go change, and you wait for me here?” Lilac put one hand behind her back and ran the other over the lower half of Caine's head. He, not understanding why, raised his head in embarrassment.

“N... no...” Caine moved Lilac's hand away from himself and cleared his throat. “better yet, I'll take you to Pomni's room and you can change there. Under my supervision.”

Lilac's cheeks blushed. She clasped her hands together.

“Fine.”

“You agreed surprisingly quickly.” Caine looked suspiciously at Lilac.

“I just liked your wording.” Lilac made a strange sound with her lips, something like "POP".

To be continued

You're really funny if you think that i have any idea of how to avoid tumblr rules in the next chapter of "Lilac".

I have another idea, but for that, Lilac has to be on the battlefield. *looking directly into your soul* any ideas of how should I do this?

What time is it? Correct! It's HARLEQUIN AU SHOWTIME!

AU belongs to @tadc-harlequin-au

Part three of the sequel of "Purple"

Part one

Part two

Lilac

⚠️WARNING ⚠️ little to no suggestive

_________________________________

Caine opened the door of his room and looked around.

"Empty. We can go."

He cautiously led Lailac by the hand. Surprisingly, they made it through the corridor without being seen.

"Pomni's room. You can go in. I'll wait outside." Caine stepped aside to let Lailac through.

However, the Performer Harlequin had other plans. She grabbed the Puppetmaster by the collar and dragged him into the room with her.

Lailac looked around the room until she found a small wardrobe. She opened the doors with a happy smile, but the smile faded when she saw identical sets of clothes and a very suspicious black box.

"Pomni," Lailac tried to smile awkwardly, "you're not picky about clothes."

There was no response. Pomni was asleep in her subconscious, hugging her sword.

The suspicious black box caught Lailac's attention. She opened it, and her eyes lit up.

"My dress!" she exclaimed joyfully.

"Hmm. I was sure Pomni had burned it," Caine mused, scratching his chin.

Lailac started unbuttoning Pomni's clothes. Caine turned away.

"Why are you turning away? You've already seen this body naked." Lailac giggled, looking at Caine over her shoulder.

"Your body language is different from Pomni's. I don't like looking at this body when you're controlling it."

"Oh, look at you, so delicate." Lailac removed the top half of the clothes and started on the pants. "Fine, we'll have other opportunities to look at each other."

Caine stared into empty space. He just needed to avert his gaze. He wondered how he ended up in this situation. Ten minutes ago, he was with Pomni, and now he was babysitting her second personality.

"Ugh," the Puppetmaster sighed. "Pomni, I love you, but sometimes you do things I don't understand."

A few minutes later, Lailac finished changing. The dress, the corset, the gloves, the high boots. She spun around and approached Caine.

"Tell me, does this dress suit me?"

Caine carefully lifted his gaze from the floor to Lailac.

"A dress is a dress. What's there to mumble about?"

Lailac didn't like his reaction. She decided to try something.

"Ugh. These rags again," she said in a slightly rough tone. This immediately made Caine hold his breath. "Well, if you like it, fine. I'll wear them."

Lailac closed her right eye and made a slightly displeased face. One fist on her hip, the other hand covering her right eye.

Now, seeing Pomni before him, Caine found her truly beautiful. Her beauty was mesmerizing. But before he could say anything, Lailac couldn't hold it in and started grinning.

"Sorry, sorry, you just looked at me so lovingly that I couldn't help but smile."

Caine immediately frowned.

"How often will you come?" he asked with slight irritation in his voice.

"We agreed on four times a month." Lailac showed two fingers on each hand.

"Too often. But fine." He extended his hand to her.

Lailac bowed and took the Puppetmaster's hand. He pulled her close and wrapped his free arm around her shoulders.

"Right here and now?" she asked playfully.

Caine mumbled something, and they teleported back to his room.

"Now sit and stay quiet until I return." Caine headed to his wardrobe.

Lailac rolled her eyes. Suddenly, an idea came to her. She carefully approached the exit door.

"Don't even think about it," Caine said, removing his shirt without turning around.

"Caine, can I sleep at my place tonight?" a rougher voice asked.

The Puppetmaster dropped his shirt. He turned and rushed to Pomni. He wasn't even bothered that her hair covered the right half of her face. All he wanted to do was kiss her.

After finishing the kiss, Caine pressed Pomni's hand to his cheek.

"Pomni, how are you? Did Lailac let you go? I'm so happy."

"Yes. I decided it was a bad idea. I didn't even give you a choice. Sorry."

"Don't apologize. I'm just glad you're back."

"Well, then you won't mind if I sleep at my place tonight? I want to be alone."

"Of course. No problem. Go. Rest."

Pomni kissed Caine gently and turned to the door.

"I love you. Good night."

As soon as the door closed behind the harlequin, Caine returned to the wardrobe and picked up his shirt.

"I love you too, Pomni," he said, then it hit him. "Pomni said 'I love you' for the first time. She usually says, 'Same old crap'..." Caine facepalmed. "What an idiot I am!"

He quickly put his shirt back on and threw on his cloak. The Puppetmaster dashed into the corridor, but Lailac was already skipping around the corner. She playfully peeked from behind, stuck out her tongue, and winked her left eye to make the right one sparkle.

"Oh, you..." Caine ran after her.

TO BE CONTINUED

Hey-o! It's me, again.

Idea:

So, for whatever reason, Caine has taken Pomni's sword, everyone is out in front of the mansion (So Z and Kingr can also be there), and Pomni is pissed that Caine won't give back her sword. The following conversation ensues:

Pomni: "Give back my sword Caine! Or else!"

Caine: "Or else what?~" *Said teasingly*

Pomni: "You wanna find out?" *She lowers her stance, preparing to lunge at him.*

Caine: "Go ahead~" *Shifts so her sword would be out of reach and he could deflect her lunge.*

Pomni: *Growls, knowing she can't get past him before hearing a whisper in the back of her mind; "I could get your sword back y'know~, all you have to do is let me have my fun~". For a moment Pomni's expression drops as she considers the offer, before smirking and standing straight again.* "Fine, have it your way~" *She turns and goes into the mansion, going back to her room so Lilac can get into her outfit instead of Pomni's.*

Caine: *Doesn't realize what Pomni is planning but has a bad feeling. (He doesn't think Pomni would actually let Lilac out.)*

(A while later (it takes a while for Lilac to get into her outfit bc she's extra))

Lilac: *Walking out of the mansion.* "Oh, Puppetmaster!!!~"

Caine: *Messed up sob-like noise as he whips around to look at her because he didn't think Pomni would actually do this to him.*

Lilac: *Giggling like the sassy bitch she is as she literally cartwheels over (so extra) landing just in front of Caine and curtsying while smiling smugly.*

Caine: "Wha- huh?! N- No! Pomni wouldn't-"

Lilac: *Cuts Caine off by gently holding his lower jaw with one of her hands.* "Ohoho~ but she would~, and she did~. You're all mine for a little while~, of course I won't go any farther than she'll like me since she's watching... I wonder how far she'll let me go~ hehehe~" *Leans in just a little and places her free hand on Caine's shoulder.*

Caine: *Is a flustered mess/ fighting between leaning into her touch and pulling away.*

Tldr: Caine took Pomni's sword, Pomni was petty and let Lilac out to mess with Caine and get her sword back.

You can add the other characters reactions to Lilac (this is their first time meeting her except Ragatha because she was there) and how she snags Pomni's sword for her. (only if you want ofc) Otherwise my creativity is out and I just wanted you to see this (I accidentally sent a version of this ask to the og creator of the au by accident lol)

It's four o'clock in the morning at my place, I don't know why I woke up, but I decided to check my phone and then there this beautiful idea.

I want to write it now!

But it's too detailed, so if I write it just like you described, it won't be interesting to read. So I'm going to modify it.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR IDEA!

Gimme your headcanons about Harlequin AU.

Extra points if they are about showtime or Lailac.

If you don't understand what I am talking about, than go to the @tadc-harlequin-au and read everything about this alternative universe of TADC!

You know what? F[CENSORED]K EVERYTHING! *makes next part of "Lilac" extremely suggestive*

I'm joking 🙃 🙂 😅

Or am I?

I failed in making something extra suggestive. So this part has just normal amount of it.

TADC Harlequin AU by @tadc-harlequin-au

4th part of the sequel to "Purple"

Part 3

Part 2

Part 1

Lilac

⚠️WARNING ⚠️ suggestive.

_______________________________________

Lilac ran through the mansion corridors, laughing loudly. Caine raced after her, but she managed to elude him.

"Oh God, she has Pomni's stamina," Caine concluded.

Lilac continued her dash. At some point, she saw an open door. The door outside.

"Onward we go!" Lilac exclaimed and jumped straight out.

"Stop, no!" Caine reached out, but Lilac had already gracefully jumped from the top step of the staircase and landed like a ballerina on the bottom step.

Caine dashed outside right after her. Lilac looked around. The front yard was filled with flowers and various plants.

"How beautiful," Lilac said, looking around.

"Um... Pomni?" a sudden voice came from the side.

Z was standing nearby, observing Harlequin.

"Oh. You must be one of the mansion residents. Z, right?" Lilac approached her new acquaintance.

"Pomni, have you lost your mind?" Z speculated.

"Well, actually I..." Lilac didn't get to finish. Caine covered her mouth with his hand.

"Hi Z. Why aren't you asleep?" Caine babbled awkwardly.

"I... what difference does it make? I might as well go and sleep." Z turned and left.

Caine exhaled and teleported them back.

"Are you crazy?" Caine began to get angry at Lilac. "The other puppets shouldn't see you! Do you know how worried they'll be if they find out about you?"

"No one will worry. They are not the sea to be worried," Lilac waved her hands side to side, imitating waves.

Caine was getting very annoyed by her. How he wanted to knock her out until morning!

"You know how to calm me down." Lilac flirtatiously swayed her hips.

Caine started growling under his breath in anger. He teleported right next to Lilac, who was standing with her back to the bed, and they fell onto it.

"Oh. You crave my attention so much. You want me to be interested in you. You want care. Well," Caine ran his hand up her thigh so that his hand disappeared under her dress hem. With his other hand, he grabbed her chin. "I'll take care of you so well that sparks will fly from your eyes."

"YES YES YES YES YES!" Lilac grabbed Caine's shoulders. "YES YES YES..." Suddenly her expression changed. Anger distorted her face. "NO NO NO."

Pomni headbutted Caine in the lower jaw. She almost knocked out his gold tooth. Caine immediately recoiled. He sat on his knees and ran his hand over his teeth.

"Pomni. You're back!" Puppetmaster exclaimed with obvious excitement in his voice.

Before he could add anything else, he received a slap in the face.

"Caine! You dirty cheat! I told you to cuddle her, not sleep with her!"

"You caught me off guard," he said in a neutral tone.

Pomni was about to hit Caine again, this time with her fist, but he grabbed her wrists and pinned her to the bed. Harlequin was agitated. Her clenched teeth and red cheeks looked endearing to the Puppetmaster. Harlequin twisted and turned, trying to break free from his firm grip, but it was all in vain. What seemed funny was that the bell on her neck was gently ringing all this time. Caine carefully leaned in and bit her neck. Pomni made a light sound through her teeth. After Puppetmaster ran his tongue over the bite mark, he whispered in her ear.

"Did you really think I would break your trust?"

Pomni didn't know how to react. Was she angry, upset, disheartened? What was she feeling now? Puppetmaster's shining heart was reflected in her eyes.

"Your heart..." she said in a trembling voice.

Caine placed his palm on her cheek.

"Belongs only to you," he continued.

Pomni held the hand on her cheek.

"I love you, you know that?" Puppetmaster asked.

Pomni averted her gaze and nodded.

"Same shit," she replied.

Both only had the strength to remove their uncomfortable for sleeping clothes and fall asleep cuddled up together. Pomni ran her thumb near Caine's heart and whispered.

"Forgive me."

"Hm? Did you say something?" Caine half-opened his eyes, but Pomni no longer answered him.

And now, back to Caine's office in Pomni's subconscious.

"Why his office?" Combat Harlequin sat in a chair next to the sofa where Performer Harlequin was sitting.

"It's the most vivid memory of a location that I recall," Lilac started counting on her fingers. "We can also talk in the dressing room or the basement."

Hearing the word "dressing room," Pomni shook her head negatively.

"No. Then better the office."

Lilac pouted and turned away.

"Seriously?" Pomni looked at her disappointedly. "You're sulking because I took back what is rightfully mine?"

"You jumped in when I was supposed to be at the helm." Lilac crossed her arms over her chest.

"He was about to fulfill your wish out of desperation!" Pomni trembled with anger. "I promised you physical contact!"

"I would've had a dose of physical contact for a month," Lilac licked her lips.

"Fucking nympho! If you think I'll let you out again after this, you're deeply mistaken." Pomni jumped up and pointed at Lilac.

"Okay," Lilac stood up and dusted off her dress hem.

"What? You give up so easily?" Pomni was confused by such a statement.

"Just know. One day you will need my help. And you'll have no choice but to give me the reins." Lilac lightly placed her hand on her heart and the other on Pomni's shoulder. The Harlequins stood like this for a minute or two until Lilac suddenly said, "Boo."

Pomni opened her eyes. It was already dawn, but it was still early to get up. She sat up and looked at Caine, who was lying on his back next to her. He was in a deep sleep. Pomni climbed on top of him and looked at him from the perspective of a curious cat. She examined him from all sides. Ran her hands over his metal body. As if studying, trying to find something. But what? When she realized she still wanted to sleep, she lay down on him and closed her eyes. Suddenly she felt his arms embrace her. The silicone skin felt every touch, all his fingers lightly and effortlessly ran down her back. Pomni sighed.

"You're not sleeping!"

"I was, until a curious Harlequin disturbed my sleep." He lifted her face by the chin and looked into her eyes. "Your body language is rough, yet graceful. I think you and Lilac aren't such opposites."

Pomni frowned.

"Don't mention that name in such a context."

Caine closed his eyes. Finally, they fell asleep, sharing one rhythm of breathing.

TO BE CONTINUED

Thanks to the @mrs-nightshade for the idea for this part.

Harlequin AU by @tadc-harlequin-au

Previous chapters here

Part 5 of

Lilac

____________________________________

The next morning, all the residents of the mansion gathered in the front yard. Why? Well, they heard a scream.

“CAINE! GIVE ME BACK MY SWORD!” Pomni's voice was clear and loud.

“Or what?” Caine asked sarcastically, holding the sword behind his back. “You will stab me? With what? Your weapon is with me.”

Pomni was boiling with anger. How she wanted to tear the Puppetmaster into little pieces at that moment. Caine enjoyed watching her, finding the situation amusing.

“Come on, dear, I’m just playing with you.”

With a loud battle cry, the Harlequin lunged at the Puppetmaster . He, in turn, simply teleported behind her.

“The Harlequin is really on a rampage,” Jax said, crossing his arms behind his head.

“She was calmer yesterday,” Z said calmly.

“Yesterday, she was ready to break my tea set just because Caine didn’t give her a quest,” Ragatha sighed.

“What do you mean, Lady Z?” Gangle tilted her head in surprise.

“Not only was Pomni in a dress yesterday, but she also didn’t recognize me. Caine had gagged her. But I think I dreamed it,” Z scratched her head with a claw.

Ragatha was stunned.

“A... dress?” realization hit her. “Oh no.”

Meanwhile, Jax leisurely approached the still enraged Pomni and gave her a light slap on the back of the head.

Before the Animatronic could say a word, Pomni did a swift leg move and kicked him right in the face. Jax fell, rubbing his bruised cheek.

“Hey. How did you twist like that?”

“I’m very flexible, tiny bunny,” Pomni stood with closed eyes. “And you hit weakly.”

As Pomni walked away from the injured Jax, swaying her hips gracefully, Jax was coming to his senses.

“That was a playful slap! And you hit me with real force! Since when do you even do such leg tricks?”

The Harlequin stopped, swayed slightly from side to side, and looked at the Animatronic. Her right yellow eye seemed clouded.

“What?”

“WHAT YOU HEARD! BY WHAT GEARS DID YOU KICK ME IN THE FACE?”

A moment of silence. Pomni was genuinely puzzled.

“I didn’t kick you. And if I did, it would have been a punch to the stomach.”

Jax was in shock. He couldn’t understand if Pomni had gone mad or if he had phantom pain in his face.

Suddenly, a voice in the Harlequin’s head spoke.

“It was nice to stretch my legs.”

“Wha...” Pomni almost spoke out loud. She turned away from everyone and started staring into space. “Why did you appear suddenly?”

“Anyway,” Lilac made Pomni’s neck itch. “Here, under the back of our head, there’s a sensitive spot. If you hit it hard enough, we’ll switch places.”

Pomni ran her hand over the itchy spot and almost yelped.

“Damn. The spot really is sensitive,” Pomni blushed slightly.

“Lady Pomni, why are you talking to yourself?” Gangle approached Pomni, followed by the other residents of the mansion.

Pomni turned and caught their wary looks. Oops. It seemed she had spoken out loud after all. Then her gaze fell on Caine’s hands. He was still holding her sword.

“Caine!” Pomni was about to attack, but Lilac disturbed her again.

“You know I can get your sword back in no time?”

Pomni stopped, exhaling in surprise.

“Just let me have some fun.”

Pomni shook her head negatively and headed towards Caine again. However.

“Bubble. Catch!” Caine pretended to throw Pomni’s sword, but Bubble rushed in that direction anyway.

That was the last straw.

“Well, Mister Puppetmaster . You’ve had your fun,” Pomni said through gritted teeth.

The Harlequin headed towards the mansion.

“Strange. Why doesn’t she want to take her sword anymore?” Caine wondered.

“Caine. Can I talk to you for a minute?” Ragatha took the Puppetmaster aside. “Listen. Now you must answer me completely honestly.”

“Ragatha. I have no reason to lie to you. I am absolutely honest with all of you,” Caine theatrically raised his hand.

“Has Pomni’s character block short-circuited again?”

Caine was taken aback.

“No. What are you talking about? Nothing short-circuited with her.” He hid the hand with the sword behind his back and waved the other forward.

“Caine! If Pomni becomes a girly girl again and needs to go on a mission, she won’t be able to handle it!” Ragatha was worried about her friend and wasn’t going to accept Caine’s lie as the truth.

“Ah. Listen, Ragatha. Nothing really short-circuited with Pomni. It’s just,” he hesitated and then blurted out, “the second personality took the name Lilac and now will occasionally take over Pomni’s body.” He smiled awkwardly.

Ragatha was in shock.

“And you think that’s normal?” she threw up her hands.

“Of course it’s not normal. But don’t worry. Lilac won’t appear for a long time. I guarantee it.”

“OH MISTER PUPPETMASTER !” a melodic sweet voice came from the mansion doors.

Caine and Ragatha fearfully turned their eyes to Lilac. The Harlequin, dressed in her dress, spun around and struck a pose.

“Oh no,” shouted Caine.

“No!” added Ragatha.

“Yes, yes!” said Lilac.

The other residents of the mansion said in unison, “What?”

And only Z nodded and said, “So it wasn’t a dream.”

TO BE CONTINUED

Me and @mrs-nightshade : *come up with an ending and a bunch of Angst for Lilac*

Also me, who just planned a short fluff (and I also didn't write a new chapter): I took a wrong turn somewhere...

LILAC IN DIFFERENT TADC AUs

Carnival: basically flirty non-sentient Pomni.

Freakshow: She would have brought Pomni to her grave because she would have flirted with Caine and been rude to Able.

Time capsule: neoclassical violinist.

Boxer: She woud be the pro in dodging punches.

Raceway: a cheerleader (she doesn't know how to drive)

Pokémon: Ruby Cream Alcremie

Kindom: she would act more like a princess. A sassy princess.

Do you know any other AUs? Tell me about them!

It's 1 am at my place, but I finally finished it! IT'S SHOWTIME BABY!

Harlequin AU by @tadc-harlequin-au

Previous chapters here

The 6th part of

Lilac

⚠️WARNING⚠️ suggestive

______________________________________

Lilac stood majestically in the mansion's doorway. Caine was so shocked that he dropped the sword. His vision began to blur.

"This is bad, bad, bad!" Ragatha took a step back.

Jax twitched his ears in surprise.

"Why are you all so scared?" he broke the silence. "It's just Pomni."

"Oh ho ho. I'm not Pomni, tiny bunny," Lilac made a leap, spun like a ballerina in the air, and landed in a curtsy in front of the mansion's residents. "My name is Lilac," she raised her head, her purple eye sparkling. "The Performer Harlequin," she straightened up, clasped her hands together, and smiled sweetly. "And I am also Caine's lover."

"What did she say?" Caine's vision was still blurry. He looked around for Lilac. When his gaze focused, he pointed at her and shouted, "LIES! SHE'S NOT MY LOVER!"

"Oh, has Mr. Puppetmaster already forgotten how his hand was under my skirt?" Lilac giggled mockingly.

Caine blushed. He was trying to think quickly.

"Awkward," Z whispered to Gangle.

"Caine, I think you need to explain why our dear Harlequin is in such a strange form," Kingr helped Caine to focus.

"Right. Ahem." Caine approached and placed his hand on Lilac's shoulder. As soon as he did, she hugged him around the waist. This made the Puppetmaster  freeze. "Uh... this is Lilac. Pomni's second personality. A couple of weeks ago, Pomni's character block short-circuited, and her personality split into two parts: the Combat and the Performer. They sometimes switch places," he mumbled the last part. "But I was promised that I wouldn't see you for a long time."

"Oh, don't be such a grump," Lilac waved her hand. "Pomni herself asked me to come out."

"HOHOHO! SHE WOULDN'T..." Caine began to protest, but Lilac silenced him. How?

She placed her hand on his lower jaw. Her lips brushed against his teeth for just a moment, but it was enough for Caine to straighten up and become stunned.

"But she would. And she did. You're all mine for a little while. Of course, I won't cross the line she set." Lilac ran her hand across Caine's head, making him look at her. "But I'm curious how long she'll let me balance on the edge of what's allowed."

Caine was trembling, either from anger or bliss. Lilac's touches were so gentle and pleasant that he wanted to drown in them...

"WHAT AM I EVEN THINKING ABOUT?" Caine pulled Lilac's hands off himself. "Give control back to Pomni. Now."

"Mr Puppetmaster. I can't." Lilac clasped her hands behind her back and swayed from side to side. "Our dear Combat Harlequin is well aware of my actions and is currently watching my every move."

Lilac closed her eyes for a few seconds, and when she opened them, it was Pomni who was back in control. Her elegant posture immediately shifted to a more combative stance.

"And that is why you should have given me the sword willingly. Now suffer with this fucking nympho! Ha!"

Pomni turned back into Lilac. She smiled sweetly and rushed toward Caine with open arms. The Puppetmaster teleported behind Kingr.

"First the Moon, and now this? You truly are affectionate, my friend."

"Kingr, you're not helping!" Caine's eyes widened.

Jax had been holding back laughter all this time. But eventually, he couldn't contain it anymore and burst into loud laughter.

"Pomni's now a prim and proper girl! Haha! Hey, ballerina! Dance for us!"

Lilac took these words literally. So, she assumed a ballerina's stance, and just as her hand rose into the air, Caine grabbed her.

"No, no, no, no. You're not going to dance. No, no, no." Repeating "no" over and over, Caine dragged Lilac into the mansion.

The mansion's residents watched them go.

"He's definitely..." Jax began.

"JAX!" Ragatha smacked him.

Meanwhile, Caine pulled Lilac into his office and closed the door behind him.

"Pomni. I know you can hear me! I know it!" He approached Lilac.

"Oh yes, Caine, I can hear you." Lilac clasped her hands together and bent one leg, then theatrically fluttered her eyelashes. "I’m here, my love. Let’s merge into a beautiful dance that embodies our feelings."

Caine was nauseated by such words. The Puppetmaster moved close to the Harlequin and stared into her sly eyes.

"What do you want?"

"You know what." Lilac ran her fingers across Caine's chest and slid her hand over his shoulder under his shirt. "Maybe..." She placed a finger on her lips. "You'll just give me what I want, and we'll go our separate ways?"

Caine's thoughts were muddled. He exhaled and placed a hand on the back of the Harlequin's neck.

"I'll give you this in advance, and you'll disappear. Understood?"

"Give what?" Lilac was genuinely surprised.

Caine placed one hand behind his back and pressed on Lilac's neck with the other. He kissed her. He expected her to respond, but instead, she seemed shocked. At some point, she wrapped her arms around his neck and closed her eyes. In that moment, Caine felt a change in the Harlequin's body. It was as if her movements and gentle breaths became harsher. The Puppetmaster decided to take a risk and wrapped his free hand around her waist. Their tongues intertwined in that dance of feelings and emotions she had mentioned earlier. But as soon as the kiss ended, the Harlequin whispered with only her lips.

"Sword..."

"Word?" Caine didn't catch it.

"SHE WANTED MY SWORD BACK! CHEATER!" Pomni yelled furiously.

She shook Caine by the shoulders so hard that if Caine had been a simpler puppet, he would have fallen apart.

"Pomni!" He stopped her. "By the middle of it, it was already you, not Lilac!"

"So what? You wanted to kiss her! If it weren't for the spot on the back of my neck, I would have..." Pomni suddenly fell silent. She realized she had said too much.

"What did you say? A spot on the back of your neck?" Caine casually moved to stand behind Pomni.

"N-nothing! I didn't say anything!" Pomni turned away.

"Is it perhaps this spot?" Caine lightly ran his finger over the place where the neck meets the head.

Pomni gasped sharply and covered her mouth with her hands. Caine smirked.

"Could it be that our dear Combat Harlequin has a weakness?" His hot breath scorched her neck.

"Caine. If you press too hard..." Another unintelligible sound escaped her throat. It was a reaction to how the Puppetmaster  running his finger along her neck. "Lilac and I will..."

Pomni's legs were giving way. How, and more importantly, from where did she have a weak spot?

"What will you two do? Kiss me to death?" Caine whispered sultrily into Pomni's ear. He took her hand with his free hand and kissed it.

"Caine..." Pomni couldn't take it anymore. "IF YOU PRESS TOO HARD, THAT NYMPHO AND I WILL SWITCH PLACES!"

Caine's eyes widened instantly, and he backed away, raising his hands.

"That's better." Pomni glared at Caine and headed for the couch.

The Harlequin flopped down on the couch and covered her face with her hands.

"Just take these rags off me."

Only now Caine realize that Pomni was still in Lilac's clothes. He walked over to her and sat in the chair next to her.

"What's taking you so long? Don't you want to touch this body? Don't you burn with desire every time these hands caress you? Isn't that what you want?" Pomni raised her hands in the air.

"Pomni." Caine looked straight at her. "What am I to you?"

"What do you mean?" The Harlequin sat up and crossed her legs in a lotus position.

"We've been sleeping together for several weeks now. You let me kiss you, touch you, look at you." Caine counted on his fingers. "But we never crossed the line. Whenever I start hinting at something more, you begin to back off."

"Pff. That's nothing." She waved her hand dismissively.

"When I almost slept with Lilac, you were furious." Caine stated with absolute seriousness.

Pomni was taken aback. Her gaze darted from Caine to the window and back again.

"Well, yeah!" The Harlequin found the strength to say. "It's my body. I won't let just anyone stick anything into me!"

"Pomni!" Caine clenched his fists. "Am I just anyone?"

"I meant..." Pomni had to think quickly. "I meant, why would my lover be having fun with someone else? By the way, I was first!"

Caine was stunned, then a smile spread across his face.

"I'm your lover?"

Pomni blushed.

"D-don't smile like that! It just slipped out! I wasn't even thinking about my words!"

The Puppeteer moved to sit next to the Harlequin on the couch. He hugged her and twirled a strand of her hair around his finger.

"I understand that these feelings are new to you. But they're new to me too. Let's explore them gradually."

Pomni leaned into his embrace. She wanted to respond. She wanted to say something. But there was a lump in her throat. So they remained lying on the couch in the Puppetmaster's office... until there was a knock on the door.

"Caine! Where should I leave Pomni's sword?" Ragatha's voice came from the other side of the door.

"I'll go get your weapon. You rest." Caine kissed Pomni on the forehead and walked to the door.

The Harlequin rolled onto her side. Her gaze became hazy. It seemed she had once again retreated into her subconscious.

TO BE CONTINUED

@moonknigh2t : i think this song has Lilac vibe.

Me: oh. Let me listen.

*after listening*

Me: holy last Harlequin... it's so her!

To be honest, I don't really know what kind of vibe Lilac emits. Another person said she has vibe of song "Wrap me in plastic". But this song is not really my type of music, so... meh...

Sorry, I'm late. But I have some Harlequin Showtime with me!

Harlequin AU by @tadc-harlequin-au

Previous parts here

Part 7 of

Lilac

⚠️WARNING⚠️ suggestive bath scene and an arm rip off

_____________________________

Harlequins were talking in the subconscious. Surprisingly, their conversation was light and easygoing. They even laughed during the discussion.

"No, wait!" Lilac gently covered her mouth with her fingers. "That can’t be true."

"I swear it is!" Pomni tapped her knee. "When I first defeated Ragatha and she moved into the mansion, she thought I was the mistress of the place and tried to shove her cookies into my mouth. I don’t even like cookies!"

The Harlequins continued to laugh.

"Yeah." Lilac wiped away a tear. "I regret stopping reading your memories. I stopped at the ones about Caine, but now I want to learn more about the others."

"Forget it." Pomni declared with a wide smile.

"Well, it was worth a try."

"Listen, I’ve always been curious." Pomni placed her hands on her knees. "What are you after? What’s your goal?"

Lilac pondered for a moment.

"Well, I have this overwhelming desire to spend time with Mr. Puppetmaster. I love him with all my heart. And I want to open my soul to him."

"But you’re just a glitch of my character block. We share the same soul," Pomni hesitated, "at least I think so."

"Pomni, have you ever wondered where I get such desires from? Maybe I just embody what you’re afraid of?" Lilac said with a slight smirk.

"Hah! Nonsense. I’m not afraid of anything!" Pomni hit herself in the chest.

"Sure, sure." Lilac tilted her head.

At that moment, they heard voices from the real world.

"Boss, are you just going to leave her lying here?" Bubble asked.

"Well, I’m not going to wake her up. Let her rest; she’s been stressed out," Caine adjusted a lock of hair on the sleeping Pomni. "I’ll take a bath in the meantime." Caine began to work out his shoulder. "It feels like I’ve got sand in my joints. Follow me; we need to discuss a few details."

As soon as the Puppetmaster disappeared behind the door, Pomni sat up.

"I want to take a bath too!" shouted the voice in her head.

"Ouch! Lilac! Don’t shout so loudly when you say something!" Pomni tapped her right ear.

"Sorry."

Then the same thought crossed the Harlequins’ minds. But if one thought it was revenge, the other wanted to have fun.

"Are you thinking what I’m thinking?" Pomni asked.

"I sincerely hope so," Lilac sang playfully.

Meanwhile, Caine was relaxing in the bath. He was right; the water did indeed wash away all the stress that had built up in just half a day. Yes, he had managed to accumulate stress in just half a day.

"You need to remind me to clean up the old circus," he opened one eye and glanced at the floating Bubble. "Marionettes have been acting up there."

"Got it, Boss." Bubble began flying in circles around the bathroom.

Suddenly, the door opened, and Bubble let out a loud "whee!" as he flew into the hallway.

"Hey, I locked that," Caine sat up. "door."

Standing in the doorway to the bathroom was Pomni, or at least that’s what he assumed. Her eyes were hidden. The Harlequin closed the door behind her. She slowly approached the bathtub, and a sweet smile appeared on her face.

"Mr. Puppetmaster, do you mind if I join you?"

"Oh no. Lilac!" Caine shouted. "Don’t come any closer!"

But the Harlequin, giggling mischievously, shed her clothes and, with one swift movement, plunged into the water. Caine tried to get out, but she grabbed him by the shoulder.

"Stay."

Caine froze. The Harlequin moved closer and lay on him so that the top of her head rested under his chin. He gripped the edges of the bathtub with trembling hands.

"Don’t look, don’t touch, don’t breathe!" he whispered faintly.

Caine felt a finger tracing patterns on his chest.

"Mr. Puppetmaster," began a sweet voice, "I think. I’m thinking really hard. I just know," she pushed herself up from his chest, and the sweet smile turned into a wide grin, "that you’re pathetic!"

Pomni burst into loud laughter. Her yellow eye gleamed with excess emotion. She settled more comfortably and felt something. This made her stop laughing and smile maliciously. She moved closer to Caine so she could look him in the eyes.

"Wow, do you really want this body that badly?"

"Pomni, I..." Caine raised a hand, but a sharp tone made him grip the edge of the tub again.

"Don’t touch!" Pomni slowly and deliberately moved her hips. "I didn’t give you permission."

"But I’d be happy to give you all the permission you need," the yellow eye turned purple as Lilac’s melodic tone echoed in Caine’s ears.

"But you don’t deserve it," Pomni winked with her yellow eye.

"Oh, Mr. Puppetmaster. We’re going to play with you," Lilac leaned in for a kiss.

"Until you beg for mercy," Pomni whispered through her lips.

"Because who knows," Lilac sat up straight and shyly covered her chest with her hands.

"How long you’ll last," Pomni giggled without changing her posture.

Their words and body languages were completely different. It was as if there were two different people in front of Caine. But if one was ready for anything, and he didn’t want it, the other wouldn’t let him do anything, even though he was burning with desire.

"Oh, Mr. Puppetmaster," Pomni mimicked Lilac. "I’m so cold. Please. Warm me up!"

"Hey, Caine, I’m actually untouchable. Don’t touch me until I say so," now Lilac was pretending to be Pomni.

The Harlequin’s right eye blinked furiously. Her laughter alternated between harsh and mocking, then gentle and sweet. Caine couldn’t take it anymore. He waited until Pomni was in control of the body, bent his legs, and the Harlequin slid into his arms. He kissed her with all the passion that had built up in him during those miserable minutes they had spent there. Even if she got mad at him for taking the initiative, he was ready to accept his fate.

The Puppetmaster and the Harlequin pulled away. Caine was afraid to open his eyes.

"Please, be Pomni, be Pomni, be Pomni!"

He opened his eyes and saw a flustered Pomni. Her cheeks were burning bright red, her smile had faded, and her eyes were trembling with excitement.

"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?" Pomni started hitting Caine on the shoulders with her fists.

"Ah. You can torment me, but I can’t torment you?" Caine narrowed his eyes.

"I was joking, you idiot!" she was beside herself.

Pomni didn’t know what to do with herself. Or wait, she did!

"CAINE!"

She was about to attack him, but he pulled her close and lay down comfortably.

Barely had Caine exhaled and patted Pomni on the back when he felt her teeth sink into his shoulder. A sharp gasp followed. Then the pain hit him.

Bubble, who had been happily floating through the hallway the whole time, passed by the bathroom. From inside came a man's scream of pain. The butler stopped and hovered in front of the door. Then there was the clatter of metal and the sound of running water. About a minute later, the door opened. Caine, wearing only pants and shoes, stood frozen in the doorway. Oh, and one more important detail: he was missing his left arm.

Pomni, who had thrown the Puppetmaster’s cloak over herself, gave Caine a smack on the back of the head with his own severed arm before heading toward her room.

"Not. A. Word!" Caine glared at Bubble.

He picked up his arm from the floor and muttering something, headed toward his workshop.

"Stupid split personality of hers. Stupid embarrassment of hers. Stupid desire to always take the initiative of hers." Caine kept mumbling as he reached the workshop.

The Puppetmaster was on edge. Of course! His beloved had torn off his arm. He managed to quickly restore the shoulder attachment.

"If only there was a way to fix this glitch," his eyes suddenly lit up. "Fix it. That's it! I can repair Pomni's character block! And then Lilac will disappear! And maybe Pomni will calm down!"

Caine rushed to his tools and blueprints.

TO BE CONTINUED

Rereading Lilac because I already forget what I have written.

Gummigoo fell.