Chapter Text
Caine went back to his office after seeing their reactions to his last adventure. Did he do something wrong? Duh, of course, but what? What did he do wrong?
He thought about it, sitting down on one of the couches and trying to think. What had he done wrong... Was it not convincing enough? Not enough storyline, or..?
Caine gave them what they wanted before; an exit. When that didn't work, he made the 'Leave the Circus' adventure, and they seemed really invested in that, but when he revealed it was an adventure, they were mad! They weren't really thinking about leaving him, right?
No, that's nonsense! They would never leave him! Never..! They chose the red button, after all! Well, he did nudge it a bit, but that wasn't his fault! He was worried, and that kind of thing makes you do crazy stuff! Feelings in general make you do crazy stuff! It's not his fault!
... Was it? No... But- no. It wasn't his fault. In fact, it was theirs! They never appreciate him! He does so much and they don't even give him pats for trying! He really is trying! Why can't they help him so he can understand?! Zooble seemed to try, but nothing they said made sense. They were complaining about a problem he already fixed! What was so wrong about his adventures? They're engaging with a good plot and effort, so what gives?!
Caine tried to piece it together, drumming his fingers against his bottom jaw. Why did humans have to be so confusing and complicated?
He leaned back on the couch. The level of thinking he was currently doing almost hurt. He felt so frustrated. Nothing he did was ever enough for them! He worked day and night, hours on end, for years, and never has he gotten a penny of appreciation! They were so picky and rude!
No. He couldn't think of them like that..! They were his guests. He just had to try harder.
Caine floated up, facing the shelves of adventures he made in the form of snow globes. The ones that got the best reactions from the humans. The other ones were in storage.
He picked one of them up, carefully holding it in hand. He looked inside, seeing the Candy Kingdom. Everything he built and coded...
All unappreciated.
Caine's hands clenched around the orb as frustration bubbled up. Why was nothing ever good enough?! Why did they all have to be so picky?! WHY WAS HE NOT GOOD ENOUGH?!
Caine yelled in frustration, throwing the globe onto the floor. It shattered easily, mercury-like fluid splattering across the flat surface.
Right after realizing what he did, he froze up. He didn't mean to let his anger get the best of him. Oh, this was bad... Very, very bad.
... But it felt nice. In that really messed-up way. And it wasn't like the humans would care. I wasn't like anybody would care...
Caine hesitated a bit before grabbing another and angrily smashing it on the ground. Nothing changed, no one cared. Again and again, smash after angry smash, and yet still... No one cared.
After a while, Caine slumped back into the couch. The floor was a mess of broken glass and whatever the gross liquid was.
Years of hard work, all over the floor in a mess that couldn't be put back together. He could only really stare down at it, unsure what to think about it. He was angry that nobody cared, sad that he broke it, and a bit hurt that everything was still seemingly the same. He could place it, but didn't know which one to start with. He shouldn't be angry like this, it was bad. He had his job: to make the humans happy. And being angry wasn't gonna make anyone happy.
But really, it wasn't like he was good at his job anyway. So it didn't matter how he felt.