Funnybunny refers to the ship between Pomni and Jax.
I actually didn't think much of the pilot when it first came out. It teetered on an Invader Zim level of random humor that was comfortable enough to watch until followed by a few millenial-isms.
The pilot didn't do much to explore Pomni as a person as it stands to tell the workings (and inescapable fate) of the Digital Circus's macrocosm. What eventually solidified her as my favorite character was her assertion, emotional intelligence, and playful side displayed throughout the series, and it was grounded in mostly her interactions with Jax.
She openly explores the depths of her circus neighbors, showing gratitude to Ragatha's (kinda hopeless) efforts, receives advice from Kinger when least expected, and empathizes with Gangle as well as standing up for her when she's at her most stressed.
On the other hand, Jax is a jerk to everyone since frame one and is reserved by choice. His history with the rest of the cast spans into years, yet those who have been at TADC for longer than he has don't even seem to know much about his private/prior life or any of his avatar gimmicks (like what his avatar does when he holds his breath, why he breaks the fourth wall, etc.) He keeps it that way too, never getting closer to the other characters and actively antagonizing them.
Around August 2025, I went through and coped with a breakup. In the earlier periods of our relationship I struggled to trust my ex-girlfriend because of my previous relationships. Every time we had an argument she wouldn't let go of things she said she forgave me for, and I felt like I couldn't change because her resentment ruined my drive to get closer. I never felt safe to mess up around anyone because I knew she wouldn't trust me enough to forgive me.
Even though Pomni has seen all the nasty sides of Jax with others and in private, I felt comforted to see Pomni give Jax a chance and I feel comforted when she fights (literally) to preserve their relationship, even if it doesn't work out in the end. She didn't have to empathize with him, but she chose to and that's important to me. It also kind of comforts me to see someone as avoidant as Jax existing in media, so I guess I also like seeing him get beat up by Pomni. This ship helped sober me up and leave the past behind.
"Ragatha, where's Pomni?" "Huh? Oh, she's flirting with the gummy guy. 'Cause she'd rather be with the NPC than with us, or something. I wish someone would flirt with me." |
Gummigoo is a one-off NPC that shows up in episode 2. Previously an antagonist of the Canyon Candy Kingdom adventure, he and Pomni get stuck in an out-of-bounds character model room and becomes self-aware.
While short-lived, Gummigoo is the very first friend that Pomni connects with and despite being new stuff herself, she invites Gummigoo to the living quarters with her in hopes that he feels less isolated upon his self-awareness, and maybe lives there with her to share solidarity in how little they fit in.
"I guess I just don't want you to feel like you're nothing. I don't want anybody to feel like that." |
Gummigoo couldn't stay after all since NPCs aren't allowed in the lobby (so he's more of the punchline and he's literally snapped out of existence by Caine) . His last appearance/impression on Pomni would be in episode 4, where she says her last farewells and rests her memory of him. After Pomni bonds with and mourns that NPC variation of Gummigoo, that's when Jax begins to display a more obvious interest in her.
Jax's interest in Pomni can be subtle for both the cast and the viewers. For implied years he's devoted to pranking, swindling, and straight up bullying to the point of desensitizing everyone. Throughout the episode, he manipulates Pomni several times into telling him simple details about herself (you know, like rather than just asking direct questions). In the President Pomni segment he tries to learn her favorite color by making her defuse a bomb [x], and in the Noir Bar segment he tricks her into telling her age by asking if she's old enough to have a job [x].
"Oh yeah, I didn't give you [a brief] because I wanted to see what you'd do." |
Ever since Ragatha said Pomni was flirting with Gummigoo, it seems Jax overheard her and started taking initiative to get Pomni's attention multiple times in his own strange, backhanded way. In the second lightning-round adventure, his prompt is centered around Pomni where she's president and Jax plays into a character of what everyone (or at least Ragatha) thought was Pomni's type; an Australian. Like Gummigoo.
Over the series runtime Pomni becomes more comfortable with her new life in the digital environment, and reluctantly humors the adventures. We get a lightning-round adventure thats just about stargazing, and Pomni learns that the adventures don't always have to be intense.
"Stargazing" being a soft-temper adventure, we finally get to hear him speak down to Earth for the first time. In this sequence he asks Pomni if she thinks Gangle can truly feel happy, which reinforces how Jax's perception puts their gimmicks and tropes first before anyone's humanity.
His attachment to tropes is an eye he trained to have, wanting to read others first before they can read him. After being confronted by Ragatha for bullying Gangle, Pomni also confronts him "I didn't think you cared about what other people like." [x] and it catches him off guard. (What did he expect?)
Knowing how he spent most of the episode trying to talkstage her, it's actually really pathetic to see how he goes about making friends, but it somehow works on Pomni. After the bar sequence and the transition into "Good Ol' Fashioned Softball", Pomni starts empathizing and fixating on him the entire time at the bleachers, now knowing as much as she does about him such as his loss of unnamed friends. As Jax gives Evil Pomni attention [x], she's the only one against the grain on Jax's maid costume vote.
"I think we all need to be a jerk sometimes." |
(20:29) Ep 5: Untitled |
Pomni and Jax both want to see themselves in each other. Jax seeks escapism (at the expense of others), and Pomni seeks company and a parallel that she can see herself in, whether it's a real human or an NPC.
What I really enjoy about FunnyBunny is that even if Jax doesn't always take Pomni seriously like he should, he still sees her as an equal and goes out of his way to involve her in his business, when he usually keeps others at armslength (and has for years). He shows her how to lose her realism because he wants to share his fun with her and he's an outlet for her from all the shock and hardships of being stuck in TADC.
Pomni's raw playfulness and shameless curiosity totally captured my heart. Even if she's on the timid side, she's never a doormat and often confronts or has advice to give to those who need it. She's the exact type of person who can handle Jax, and can keep Jax in his place. In return, he helps bring out her best stage of being and comfort and lets her be "evil".
"You wanna finally work off those weeks of rage and anguish that have been building up inside you?" |
My favorite iterations of FunnyBunny is usually when Pomni's the one leading or being dominant. Height-teasing or head-leaning is my least favorite to be honest. Much to note is that my favorite fanworks is those that acknowledge Pomni as someone with more life experience than Jax.
"How you doing?" |
(15:17) Ep 4: Fast Food Masquerade |
"Or you could toughen up! I wanna see what your funny cartoon body does." |
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"I thought a position of power suited you." |
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"So, what was it like being stuck with the nutcase?" "It wasn't that bad, actually." |
(00:23) Ep 3: The Mystery of Mildenhall Manor |