#fishie's yapping

[poofmagictrick]

Thoughts on TADC episode 5

ITS FINALLY HERE. This episode was genuinely soooo worth the wait!! Before the episode drop, I've been theorizing and commenting on what this episode will lead to. So glad to see that goose's writing exceeded my expectations, she did a great job developing mainly jax and ragatha this episode. On that note, THEIR DYNAMIC IS STARTING TO REVEAL ITSELF AND I WAS SO HAPPY WATCHING IT UNFOLD AND DEVELOP THROUGHOUT THE EPISODE AAA

In the episode, Jax seems to warm up to Pomni throughout the whole episode which a lot of people including myself were spot on about that. Jax starts to chill around Pomni and make jokes, not being the usual mean jerk everyone thinks of him as.

Although that adventure was shorter compared to the other adventures cramped together, it stands out so much in terms of character moments for Jax and Ragatha. When Ragatha whispers "not anymore," and the way jax looks at her like she had the audacity to talk.

I theorise that next episode they'll possibly explain what happened to Jax's friend. Not sure if during the intermission time, the door Jax stops at of an ex circus member was possibly his close friends but I can't wait until we get told more about that!!

Anyways, another scene that stood out to me was the bar scene (fooled us all into thinking it was a mafia adventure lol). Where Jax ACTUALLY apologises to Pomni of all members for what he did today. Pomni is taken aback by this similarly to episode 4, the Spudsy's adventure, where it was the 1st time we see them talk 1on1. (Can I just mention I'm so glad we get to see more of Zooble too tho?!? They're able to do something that they once enjoyed in their past life too!). Now the highlight and I'm sure everyone and their mother will be talking about this is the massive lore drop of each of the circus members past lives before being transported to the circus! Except for Kinger and Gangle who we've known have mentioned briefly about what they've done. But I mainly wanna focus on Ragatha's past life and how it ties into her general behavior.

Ok bear with me here cuz I'm gonna ramble endlessly about it lol. So Ragatha mentions having grown up in a financially stable family who owned livestock (which could be a huge farm that's well known which may be why they're fairly well-off). The moment she started to talk about her mother who verbally abused her and guilt tripped her back then, her body starts to tense up. God knows what kind of abuse besides verbal did her mother do to her as it's shown she clearly didn't enjoy remembering it all and even the other circus members including who jax looked really concerned for her.

I related to her so much in this scene because of this, when you grow up with a parent who guilt tripped, verbally abused you, one of the many ways you would cope is to vow to never be like that and be nothing like what your parents were before. So you try to be the opposite of them. While there is nothing wrong with wanting to be diff and prevent yourself from becoming just like your parents, but being nice may not always make you genuine to other people. It's just like what Jax and Gangle have mentioned about Ragatha that she tries too hard to hard and when you tell people they're loved and what not it loses its meaning. When you keep saying these things to people its hard to tell if they're being genuine.

They're probably the only ones to have been the most aware of this coping mechanism that Ragatha uses as a way to cope with the trauma of her verbally abusive mother. Ragatha doesn't know how to connect with the other circus members, so to do that she tries to be nice by helping them, encouraging and many other things. It's kinda like she's almost giving them so much of her love she's afraid they'll stop talking to her the moment she stops being all nice and loving to them. In fact, later in the softball adventure when Ragatha gets to sit together with pomni and have the 3rd (?) heart to heart talk scene in thsi entire episode, Pomni tells her "It's ok to let out your negative emotions sometimes and we all kinda have to be a jerk sometimes."

But Ragatha doesn't want to be like that because it likely just makes her be reminded of her mother back in her past life.

People like Ragatha who tend to be nice to everyone ends up being extremely lonely despite that. But it's kinda sad because ultimately she just wants someone to be close with and connect with someone. She tried with Gangle, possibly Zooble, Jax even though she hates him, Kinger and now Pomni. One could probably say Pomni is aware that Ragatha is tryna warm up to her and get her to be her friend but the way Ragatha and Pomni interact is pretty distant. While Jax the whole epsiode laughs with Pomni and even opens up with her.

I'm gonna credit @zoshizick for this point they made where they theorise Jax and Ragatha will be fighting for Pomni like a toy they want so badly. Not in a romantic sense, but both R&J are incredibly lonely people and just want someone to talk to. That's when the new girl (Pomni) comes into the picture and they both are so desperate to win her attention. For instance in the bar scene when Jax grabs Pomni and says obnoxiously "WOW, the first steps of a budding friendship. Right Ragatha." As if to purposefully annoy her and of course she looks at him like she's about to explode.

I wanna add on and say that Jax and Ragatha know that they hate each other but don't want to admit that they are both two sides of the same coin. It makes their character all the more deeper and complex cuz really who would they both fight for to be their friend? Zooble? She's distant with everybody except for Gangle but they're both already friends so nope. Gangle? She gets bullied by Jax and doesn't like him and she's kinda friends with Ragatha? but she's with her likely because rags defends Gangle from Jax. Kinger? Jax isn't that close with Kinger and just thinks of him as weird and Ragatha is fine with him but wouldn't seem like someone she would open up to like Kinger doesn't remember what they were even talking about 1 second ago unless in darkness. That leaves Pomni, the neutral person in the whole circus who hasn't made any connections yet. I think the next episode will raise the stakes with R&J's cold war of winning Pomni's friendship. While Ragatha does hates Jax, I don't think Jax really hates Ragatha all that much just probs want her to be herself more. Possibly even wanting to get to know her cuz they're not as lonely as they realise they are, just that they refuse to talk it out is all.

I think that's all I gotta say and amazing work from the team, animators and other people who worked on the episode!! I hope ya'll can understand by endless rambling about all of this as I was super hyped about the episode and the day it dropped although a day late to the party haha. Gosh my hands are in pain from typing this long.

[ieatscotchtape]

alrighty. Theory time mfs

so

in fix a beast we see a mysterious entity, clearly evil and has bad intentions. So who is it? Imma go over the options

(DISCLAIMER: I am in no way affiliated with the creator of the au, and this is not canon, just me being an over thinker)

Elder faerie: obviously not, the evidence being the entity encourages his bad ideas about white Lily

dark enchantress: she wouldn’t hide like this entity, and it looked like mystic flour knew them personally. The two are obviously not close, therefore it cant be her.

someone unknown: the most likely option to me, seeing as no one else fits exactly the criteria

And finally, my personal fav theory, Longan dragon: they would see silent as a threat because of his power and capability as a cookie. It would make sense if he and mystic were close at one point, perhaps old lovers (waaayyyy before coruption) or had an arranged marriage for alliance reasons, hence him possibly making the ivory pagoda as a gift. Dark cacao would be a target because he is known as ‘dragon tamer’. Longan would see this as both a threat and an insult. It would explain mfs reactions to the figure, her fears of losing dark cacao, and the distress of dark choco in that one panel from the bonus attached to it.

Despite allat, I still think it’s unlikely it’s Longan bc this is kingdom not ovenbreak but Yk a enby can hope

[fishy-lava]

ive been thinking a lot about will graham and his attraction to hannibal in terms of sexuality lately and honestly I don't really think its that will is attracted to men, it feels more like his relationship with hannibal is so all-consuming and intensely intimate that its almost ridiculous for sex to be where the line is drawn I guess. idk we could label him bisexual or something but it always feels off to me in some way. will graham's ambiguous sexuality my beloved

[abyssyby]

been thinking a lot about rafayel with a reader who can't swim (and is scared to). ...this is reflection, yes...

omgggg okay wait what an interesting thought

pls omg disclaimer, im not as immersed in raf's story (tho i do love him dearly my fellow pisces, this is based off of what i know about him & his overall vibes hehe

i think this can go both ways because, although i don't think raf would be the one to force you— specially when the fear comes from a specific trauma— he'd be creative about it.

he'd love the challenge of trying to capture his love for the water and the sea in ways that don't necessarily involve getting you in the water— he'd paint for you, sing for you, drape you in silks of blue hues like sparkling ocean waves, all to say: this, i love this, but i love you too. i love you more.

he'd love for you to dip your toes in the water, of course, but you don't need to. he has plenty of other ways to show the person he adores the thrill of the waters he loves.

[mysteriousmissme]

i know who runs this page !!! go follow @hananene-daily if you’re cool !!! support my fave !!!!!

[camera-face]

can i talk to you about dolphin fresh?

go ahead and yap away :)

[normystical]

whatever. go my low effort "edit"

[ittybittyfanblog]

unless i'm missing a myth or something, but is rafayel (from his new myth) really the first LI we see cry on-screen?

[poofmagictrick]

(Preview Taken from the SDCC tadc panel for episode 6)

Ok but like considering this is ragatha and jax’s episode (again), this is gonna be the episode where they likely “talk it out” and it’s gonna be the most comical or most difficult to watch them properly communicate to each other

[koiifiishy]

continuing off my previous posts but specifically talking about dol, of which many of my current moots and followers have come here for:

if not for the tumblr community ive gotten into with dol, as another unfinished indie game, i dont think my hyperfixation would have lasted this long. the fact that ive been surrounded with other creatives who also love their ocs and are open to chatting about oc interactions, i think thats probably the biggest saving grace dol as an unfinished, ever updating game has.

it also has the edge of being a years long project with a team of writers and various contributors Vs these tumblr otomes that have solely one person doing all the art, writing, coding, etc. even though this game in unfinished, theres enough content that you can continue to play and explore and still encounter new things constantly! the sandbox style versus the visual novel style helps make dol feel bigger as well, and lets the player explore hours of gameplay.

once youve done everything though (or at least everything you wanted to explore), the tedium of the game starts to become more and more apparent. you begin to notice the loose ends & unfinished storylines. i know plenty of people have shared the sentiment that they dont like the supernatural / cult angle as well, which is within their right! but personally, this was one of the other aspects of the game that made me interested. i enjoyed the mystery of it and unraveling the lore! however, now that ive done basically everything thats currently out, im left with a "now what..?" kind of feeling.

dol still doesnt suffer as much from being unfinished as these visual novels do, since dol isnt linear and you have a lot more freedom in the sandbox. i would love it if it was done and i had actual in game answers to loose ends! but its still not quite as egregious to me as the otomes ive talked about.

im not going to touch on the creator drama as one of the failings of this game; but i will say what ive seen is a common sentiment - the devs really would do a lot better with a clearer boundary between themselves and the fans. similar to the indie otome creators, i really dont think that being so accessible to the fanbase is doing them any favors. in their case, id say its actively hindering them tbh. creators can be hype for their creations but. vaguely gestures. yknow.

since ive specifically been talking about yanderes, i'll take a minute to talk about dol's resident yan! when i compare kylar to the Tumblr Yandere Man trope thats poppin rn, i would put kylar into the "hes a character that happens to be yandere" category over "this is just a walking yandere caricature". there are some aspects that ive seen others mention hinder his character, and while agree to an extent, i think it also sets him apart from many of these Male YanderesTM. disregarding that you can choose kylar's gender atm. but either as a man or woman, kylar's shivering wet puppy shtick is unique enough that even if i can agree with people who say "i wish the basement abduction scene wasnt so silly ie- kylar dancing and shit", it still sets him apart from the Standard Model ive seen tumblr crafting:

the Tumblr Model seems to be a mix of (but not limited to) - Tall, Strong, Suave & Shy all at once, Your Hobbies Are His Hobbies, He Will Tailor Himself To You 90-100%. tiny weak nerdy ass otaku kylar is honestly a breath of fresh air after being bombarded with the same thing over and over again. its like a copy pasta of the same "Your fav but as a yandere whos in love with you!" over and over again where the only thing different is their looks ; otherwise theyre carbon copies of the same Yandere ManTM. even when hes doing cringe shit that makes we the player roll our eyes, and while im sure it was most likely done as a joke by the devs, its still something that sets his apart from the literal SEA of yandere LIs out there now.

dol has its shortcomings and im by no means in any "dol is the best game ever!" boat, but of the games ive played recently - its fun! it has interesting gameplay (after u adjust the encounter rng.....), the characters feel solid (overall), the underlying story is interesting (whether you play it as a realistic gritty crime sim or as that + underlying supernatural cult city). and outside of my personal frustrations with unfinished games, i think the only biggest glaring blemish on the game is uh... well the dev team haha? they really do seem to be their own worst enemy with how they constantly shove their own feet into their mouths. but even with the drama, they still manage to update their game pretty consistently. i would say, that if the tumblr otomes had as much done as dol does in respects to how much story and gameplay we can grind out, then i wouldnt be griping as much as i do. i have the benefit of starting to play this game in dec of '24, where there was a Lot of stuff already done! but i would put this amount of actual gameplay as a gold standard for these unfinished indie games.

again tho, id like to acknowledge that its the community i find myself in and the fanartists that have really made me stay for as long as i have. if i hadnt seen the countless AMAZING fanarts over on twitter, i wouldnt have even picked this game up. it was the fanartists that got me interested and its those that mash their ocs with mine thats kept me. in a story like dol, its so easy to create with other fans! outside of fanart of the LIs in the otome games tho, i dont really see the fandoms lasting as strongly as this one..? i wouldnt be surprised if this is why i see so many new people coming into the tumblr dol scene either. unlike the other games ive mentioned, this one has its own self sustaining, oc driven creative community. the fact the nnpcs and li's are so customizable to the point of basically being ocs also lends itself to holding the interest of the fandom / fanartists.

[fishy-lava]

monster/creature will x human hannibal is such a top tier concept like here's will, monster against his will, violent instincts he can't snuff out, maybe he's in denial about enjoying the violence maybe he's not but either way he doesn't have a choice in the matter. and then here's hannibal, self-made monster, delighting in the violence and gore, who does this bc he wants to and enjoys every moment of it. monster by chance and monster by choice, two sides of the same coin. hand in unlovable hand etc etc. incredible every time

[buunyhaeven]

I LOVE TINNED FISHHEFFFRN,,likE YES give me a cabinet full of delicious, flavorful, colorful fishes to consume!! I would always be making sandwiches or put it on crackers with salt and Vinger chips, LITERALLY lick the tuna out of the can. i love eating fish, but tinned fish is just a delight!!

[mysteriousmissme]

@hanakoandafish hi aquarium fish i’m doomed kou

[lemedstudent2021]

is there deer in Jordan?

yes! while antelopes and gazelles i believe are more commonly associated with the region, there are 2 deer species i know of (native or otherwise): fallow deer and roe deer

the entire wiki page (wildlife in jordan) is really interesting lol i kept getting side tracked XD there are a couple reserves (and i believe rehab programs) for flora and fauna alike. overall nice read :]

[stargaz3rxoxo]

My friend that I might be in love with might love me back (I WIN!!)

[poofmagictrick]

WDYM THE DANDADAN OPENING DROPPED???