#4) repeat

[nollimet]

Just some late night post card making ft Gars

[ID: horizontal lines of blue and white identical garfish with orange and yellow stars interspersed. end ID]

[soranker]

touched up and colored some old dunmeshi doodles from earlier in the year ^_^

[femimation]

Jax and Ragatha are both eachother’s antithesis and parallel.

That is to say: They’re doing the same thing in opposite ways.

In the Jax post I made I mentioned at the end that I think Episode 4’s mask theming goes beyond the main focus of Gangle, specifically that it also applies and is shown through Ragatha and Jax’s storylines.

Let’s dive into that more! The episode literally starts with an interaction between these three.

Obviously Gangle’s comedy mask would have to break to kickstart this episode, and obviously Jax would probably be involved in that, but I still think it’s very deliberate that this scene only contains these 3. They’re the characters the episode is about and that you’re supposed to pay the most attention to. They’re the ones wearing masks, (literal or metaphorical) following the episode’s main theme.

But focusing on Ragatha and Jax, the both have very notable behavior changes in this episode for different reasons. Ragatha acting different because of the stupid sauce and Jax after the training/employee reevaluation/torture thing.

Heeeere’s where I may lose some people: I think their behavior changes are meant to evoke the typical behavior of the other in some subtle ways.

Some specific examples before I generalize: On the stupid sauce, Ragatha essentially repeats a sentiment Jax made earlier in the episode.

She isn’t “acting like Jax,” she says it in a bit of a nicer Ragatha-y like way. She even acknowledges that she was being rude.

On the other hand, once Jax is mellowed out, he asks Pomni how she is. The past three episodes have had Ragatha constantly doting over Pomni and asking her how she’s doing.

Which again, is not to say Jax is “acting like Ragatha” exactly, he’s nowhere near as interested or overbearing as Ragatha typically is.

But that’s all still part of my point, they aren’t mirroring the other one to one, not even close, but their roles are swapped regardless.

Ragatha speaking her mind to everyone however rude it may be: Telling Gangle she’s annoying, Zooble that they’re grouchy, Jax that she hates him, complaining about Pomni’s connection with Gummigoo.

Jax being calm and even downright friendly: Exchanging pleasantries with Pomni, not messing with Ragatha in her… state, (barely even reacting to her) going along with the adventure until it’s over.

Not exactly like the other, but evoking the other. I think this is written purposefully.

Why? Refer to the title of this post. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that these two’s own respective focus episodes are going to be back to back as episode 5 and 6. They’re the same and they’re opposites.

Ragatha’s “mask” is being overbearingly caring, wanting everyone to like her and think of her as nice or even motherly. She will act like this regardless of how she really feels about something.

Jax’s “mask” is being unbearably antagonistic, wanting everyone to think he only cares about his own entertainment and that their wellbeing never even crosses his mind. He will act this way regardless of how he really feels about something.

Their swapped roles in this episode is a display of these masks beginning to slip, making their parallels abundantly clear.

Gangle’s drawing posted on Glitch’s social media really runs this all home for me.

Gangle draws herself with Pomni and Zooble, all happy and talking with eachother. Pomni and Zooble are upfront with the other characters, they aren’t wearing masks. The both make effort throughout the episode to be there for and help Gangle. Therefore, they can be connected with. Their care is always genuine because they’re always honest.

Ragatha and Jax can’t be connected with. Ragatha, despite probably being a genuinely sweet person, is too far behind her mask to reach and tell what of her is genuine and what is a performance. Jax… acts like Jax. Even though he’s probably quite an average person behind the mask.

Jax and Ragatha are both unreachable to the other characters for the same reason, despite their typical behavior being so opposite. Their true selves are both hidden behind opposite masks.

[honeycombsims]

naked in san myshuno doesn't have the same ring to it

[scramratz]

I have the type of autism that makes interpersonal relationships difficult and wearing clothes painful

[inkegg]

The mark of a father......

[wowhead]

this paper came with a box of jars at work I had to put together and I'm kind of obsessed with it. i might frame this and put it on my wall

[deerspherestudios]

This ask is actually related to a dream I had about the boy. And I'm not quite sure if you've already answered an ask like this. How would he react to a yandere MC or an MC who's very possessive or obsessive?

Depends on how much; he'd like the extra attention but nothing too pushy or demanding from him. If you're subtle he's definitely okay with it but if it's over the top he'd have reason to recoil if I'm honest (which is ironic considering what he'll be later).

Don't be like this though:

[john-ts-sh-ai]

♫ ♫ ♫

[galedekarios]

i saw a post not so long ago talking about how emmrich probably would be all jingly jangly with the amount of jewellery he wears and i'm a magpie myself so i had to go back and check just how many pieces he actually wears:

he has (approximately bc they vary in each piece of art / footage shown):

1 collar pin/brooch

around a dozen bracelets on his left arm

1 delicate golden chain on his left arm connecting a ring and bracelet

7 rings on his left hand

5 bracelets on the right arm

6 rings on his right hand

3 golden chains on his waist coat

3 golden chains on his belt

that brings the tally up to well over 30.

💍🔔 💍🔔💍🔔💍

[chimerafeathers]

i know we love to rag on Siffrin for feeling so miserably guilty and manipulative for the crime of [checks notes] “doing nice things for their friends so that they’ll be happy and care about him even if it’s not perfectly sincere on his end”

but like. in context i don’t think that thought process is anywhere near as nonsensical as it always sounds written out like that

i’m sure i’m just stating the obvious here but it’s not really about the “crime” of making people happy. it’s about what he’s not doing, which is anything that would allow their friends to have any real knowledge or agency over the situation they’re all in.

it’s about never acting according to his real feelings in the moment and letting them see the messier version of him that exists now, never allowing their relationships to evolve or develop meaningfully beyond the “safest” iteration, the thing that is Known and produces the Correct Results, because anything else has the possibility of leading to negative emotions towards Siffrin.

Siffrin knows he’s not really doing all this for their benefit, not entirely, because the “right” thing to do would give them the full context to choose how they feel and what to do about it. they’re happy, but in a way they don’t get to keep. they’re happy, but in a way that keeps Siffrin safe from anything more complex and real. they’re happy, but only because some Siffrin in the past said the right things once, and this new, bitter, lonely, desperate version wouldn’t know how to get the “correct result” without a script to follow. they’re happy, and it was real once, it meant something once, but not anymore.

they cared about that Siffrin, yes, but would they still care about this one, if they knew? if Siffrin ever allowed them to know? (he won’t, he can’t, he refuses.)

and there’s something that could have been said in favor of Siffrin allowing himself this “selfishness” if it made him happy anyway, if it could be a genuine source of comfort in a difficult situation—but it doesn’t! not really! because that guilt is there, because that fear is there, because of how flimsy it all inevitably feels.

so they’re not doing it for their family’s benefit, because that happiness is predicated on lies and ignorance. he’s barely doing it for his own benefit, because they’re torturing themself by revealing things they no longer want to reveal, concealing things they no longer want to conceal, acting out of fear of rejection rather than genuine desire for connection. who benefits from this hollow “kindness,” really?

that’s why the last loop had to be the ugliest one. Siffrin had to see that the worst could happen and there could still be love and connection on the other side. that even when the party sees the worst of him, when they have the agency he’s been knowingly denying them, they will still choose to love him.

[qlala]

i love coldflash because logically both of them would freak out and immediately regret that spontaneous hookup (which they knew was a bad idea at the time, but beforehand it was a bad idea (sexy!), and afterwards it was a bad idea (jesus christ))

but the consequences of that freak out and how much it tanks them depends entirely on which one of them freaks out first

like, if len does, then he’s going to shut down and get flippant and try to leave immediately, which is going to make barry feel stupid and naive and used (the thing he’s sensitive about) and now he’s getting defensive and angry, and the entire situation devolves into barry making snappy accusations and len shutting down even further and walking out with no intention of ever touching that can of worms again

but if barry freaks out first, he starts making excuses and rambling and tripping on his own jeans as he tries to get his clothes back on and head for the exit at the same time, and that completely derails down len’s own pending freak out, because he’s a man with a one-track mind, and barry disheveled and backing toward the door just set off his prey drive

no one is leaving that situation with their pride intact enough to bail out because len is pinning barry up against the wall for round two and barry forgets every reason he shouldn’t let him as soon as he does

this is by far the more catastrophic situation btw because barry getting even a little bit invested increases the chances of len hitting his cut-and-run point in the future and causing option 1 to execute instead. except it also gives barry the leverage to ignore len’s freak out and be like “oh okay you’re a ~villain ~ again, got it. well, i’m gonna take a nap. so text me whenever you’re done with… whatever this is, and want me to blow you again” and len is extremely cranky about it. but he does

[lavenderfieldsforvr]

anybody else fucked up over the fact that kris is being contacted and manipulated by a mysterious force over the phone. just like spamton was. is anybody else fucked up over the continuous parallels between them. does anybody else think someone should tell spamton this information so he can be a protective uncle and smash their cell phone to pieces.

[cryptidmagician]

johnny DESTROYS you at UNO

this says a lot (this is unironically my computer bg)

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Bonus 7: Time moves sideways

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[simswoon]

Give it back, you know I can't keep living this way ♪

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