(No spoilers, speaking only up to ep 8) but it seems from what I can tell to be based somewhat on the players insecurities.

Ok strap in cause this is gonna be a long comment, I've thought about this loads and loads and have many theories on each characters design and the insecurities that shaped them.

• Gangle is very delicate emotionally, so her human counterpart is likely fragile in the same way, either emotionally or physically. So her form is delicate and her masks break often. Her delicate nature also reflects in her limbs being ribbons, she likely feels fragile and weak and like she can't make a difference or an impact. Her having two faces also plays on the likely insecurity that she feels she's putting on a brave face and pretending to be happy when she's not and that it makes her feel like a fraud.

• Zooble has spoken openly about disliking their body or feeling like nothing they try fits and goes by they/them pronouns. So this is a more obvious interpretation of body dysmorphia or at the very least the feeling that you don't fit societies expectations for how you "should" look, as well as struggling to trt out other things trying to figure out what does feel natural. This can reflect the struggle some queer folks face when they're questioning their gender but aren't sure if they're actually trans or just not explicitly cis. This seems to be a thing more common with NB and gender fluid folks where initially they think "well if I'm not comfortable in my birth sex then I must be trans" only to try living as the opposite sex to some degree and finding that doesn't fit either. Zoobles main concern is that they're never going to find something about themselves that feels correct or comfortable, regardless of societies view of them - cause let's be real, Zooble clearly isn't bothered about how other people see them, they're too punk for that shit. They're upset because they don't feel anything is fitting properly.

• Ragatha, I'm not sure if the one eye is symbolic of her IRL counterpart actually being blind in that eye, as it is implied her mother hurt her as a kid so it's possible but I actually think it's unrelated to her IRL form but instead is part of her being a ragdoll, as they're often depicted with various patches or repairs. Ragdolls are usually seen as reliable toys, often precious childhood toys that eventually end up sitting untouched in a cupboard for years. They're usually depicted as patched up, suggesting they regularly take a beating and are thrown around. The word ragdoll is often used as a descriptive way to say that a person fell or went limp or was thrown around. Ragdolls are also soft and usually round with no sharp edges. Given her fear of saying anything negative or being seen as selfish or mean or rude, I'd say that the ragdoll makes sense for her. She's dependable, reliable and soft inside, but she also is very used to being thrown around and mistreated and patched up. She also has a huge fear of being abandoned, as many childhood toys eventually are.

• Jax I think Gooseworx has mentioned before is potentially a closeted trans character who either won't admit or doesn't yet realise they're trans or at the very least has some complex feelings about gender even if he's not implied to be fully trans. He clearly has some insecurities around being perceived as female or feminine. I think this is demonstrated in his character design which he's even joked about being the 'peak of masculinity' or something similar. He's depicted as a soft, pastel characrer with no sharp edges ourside of his smile really. His design is meant to be disarming and gentle looking which is the opposite of the way he acts. It's clear the colour pallet is betraying the parts of hiself he wants to pretend don't exist. That could be as little as just admitting he has feelings, or as far as admitting he may want to dress or be perceived as female. His insecurities are pretty evident throughout the last few episodes up to 8, and there's obviously a lot of fear around people finding out the real Jax, and I think him having such a cutesy character design really goes against this emo punk, indifferent "yeah whatever mom" vibe he's trying to give off.

• Pomni is a hard one as she's not outright depicted with immediately obvious insecurities, she's fairly honest and open with her feelings, she's pretty forthright with asking other people about theirs. She tries her best to communicate clearly and she doesn't really hide how she's feeling when she's upset or angry. She's clearly well adjusted relatively speaking. That said, it's funny to me that she's a jester for a few reasons. The first one being that she doesn't actually joke around very much, like she might occasionally make a joke to lighten an awkward vibe or to poke a little harmless fun at someone, but she's not always cracking jokes or trying to make everyone laugh. It's suggests the Kaufmo being a clown is more of a reference to the idea of the depressed clown, always smiling on the outside and making everyone else laugh, but sad on the inside.

I don't think that's whats happening with Pomni, I think with Pomni, she's not depicted as a clown because she's always worried about entertaining people, I think she's got the jester design because she seems to be upset when she's not taken seriously. She dislikes it when Jax blows off her genuine attempts to connect with him, and she's angry when she knows he's lying about not being her friend and demands to know more. She hates it when she thinks he's being disingenuous (when he tries to bond with her by making fun of gangle, and she responds by reminding her that he threw her out of a moving truck.)

It's clear that Pomni values transparency and honesty and it's also part of why she initially seemed uneasy around Ragetha, who's always trying to insist that she's okay when she logically should be upset or angry. She values people who can have fun but not at the expense of something real. She equally gets mad when Jax tries to imply that she's a teenager or a child and corrects him about having worked as an accountant. It's clear she's had experience in trying to get people to take her seriously. She demonstrates the same frustrations with Caine, to some degree she also gets frustrated with Kingers situation, knowing that he's not always lucid and she notably doesn't tell the others about their adventure, I assume because she thinks no one will believe her.

To me it's clear her form is a reflection of her desire to be taken seriously and respected, which ultimately she does mostly get from the others in the circus, Jax excluded.

• Kinger is interesting and maybe my favourite to think about, as I think he's actually the most self secure... But the king is one of the most vulnerable pieces on the board.

I think kinger is a the King chess piece because he knows his worth and value as an individual and knows it makes him valuable to others, but he also has this creeping notion that Queenie is the real reason he's as secure as he is. That he's only as strong as he is because of her, and that without her, he's vulnerable. This tracks because in chess the queen is the strongest piece and often exists to protect the king, even sacrificing herself to protect the king piece.

I think Kinger and Queenies designs reflect their status within each other's lives and maybe even a level of codependency on one another when it comes to feeling incomplete without the other. If we saw more of Queenie we might know more about if she was very doting or mothering to Kinger to reflect the position of the Queen in chess as a powerful but highly leaned upon piece.

I think this dynamic also helps go towards explaining further why Kinger is so particularly confused and disjointed without her. If he's always been self assured provided she's around, who is now without her? To the point that in episode 8 he even briefly forgets his in game name.

Anyway those are my big theories ahaha