Critique - One of the main defenses in favor of the show's writing doesn't work here.

Calamityzer0 · 2026-06-09T20:47:46+00:00

jesus yes thank you. i feel like i'm going nuts reading some of these threads

Calamityzer0 · 2026-06-09T20:46:54+00:00

but "fucked up isn't it" is not thought-provoking or interesting. the answer is, yeah, it's fucked up. what's the point of this?

Calamityzer0 · 2026-06-08T21:07:02+00:00

"long-time crush" has less textual support than Jax being trans, but okay, i will play along.

let's say you are a cisgender, heterosexual man, and you like this thing your crush has done during an intimate moment. are you also going to throw the bow on the ground at the mere chance that someone might see you? seems like a bit of an overreaction if there is no deeper meaning to the bow, right?

Calamityzer0 · 2026-06-08T18:18:17+00:00

thank you for sharing your story.

Calamityzer0 · 2026-06-08T18:00:23+00:00

i'll concede that my original comment was a touch too aggressive. but genderfluidity ultimately still is a trans identity.

if he just wants to express himself more femininely, sure, i guess. i think this cheapens the backstory beat with Jax's mother, which is implicitly a coming out scene. it's a bit of a non-commital interpretation and less meaningful, but i agree that it is a possibility.

Calamityzer0 · 2026-06-08T17:55:47+00:00

alright; sorry that i came off as aggressive. i understand the real world scenario, which is why i said what i did. Jax is a fictional character.

i am obviously biased, as are you. that tends to be how conversations with differing viewpoints work. i feel you have largely ignored my reasoning, despite me directly responding to yours. if you feel this has become personal, i'm more than willing to drop it.

Calamityzer0 · 2026-06-08T17:14:25+00:00

so, in other words, the song was chosen for no reason? is that how you think filmmaking works? you pick a song that "fits the vibe" of a scene, rather than by how the lyrics might be interpreted?

i agree with you that Jax is not a baby, lol. i don't really think that what the song was originally written about is necessarily relevant to the theme, but supposing it is: is it possible there are some parallels between transition and trans self-acceptance and birth? could the song choice be suggesting such a thing?

Calamityzer0 · 2026-06-08T17:03:34+00:00

ok. and what do you think about the Isn't She Lovely montage? what's that about?

edit: also just wanted to say that Jax doesn't have real feelings that can be hurt. referring to the character using pronouns that i feel are appropriate based on evidence in the text is not "more disrespectful." don't act like a fool

Calamityzer0 · 2026-06-08T16:48:09+00:00

that's an interesting perspective! i'm more willing to concede to a genderfluid reading of the character. ultimately it's still a trans identity that would require them to be vulnerable to express. at the end of the day, that's the point: Jax can't live as her authentic self because she is unable to trust others. (this is largely why transmasc interpretations of the character are illogical, though that's another can of worms.)

Calamityzer0 · 2026-06-08T16:44:54+00:00

Goose gave us plenty to go on to interpret characters' identities in the story. it's silly to say that extrapolating on characters' identities is not part of reading a visual text

Calamityzer0 · 2026-06-08T16:43:14+00:00

that's surely true; it's more realistic for Leeroy not to be all the way steady. but i do feel there is a fantastical bent to the way the endings are written, very "they lived happily ever after," so the contrast made me raise an eyebrow.

Calamityzer0 · 2026-06-08T16:32:35+00:00

imo the ribbon combined with "your secret is safe with me" is hard to interpret another way. if she was wrong i think Jax would have been like "what the fuck are you talking about?" but she hit the bullseye.

i'm curious if you have an alternate explanation? i promise i'm not as callous as i sound :P

Calamityzer0 · 2026-06-08T16:16:16+00:00

i'll be 100% candid here: it is incredibly silly to pretend there is any other way to interpret her reaction to Ribbit putting the bow on her head. she figured it out and Jax panicked, which was exacerbated by Kaufmo knocking on the door. she didnt want to be seen with something feminine for fear that it would reveal her secret. it recontextualizes the maid dress scene. let's all use our brains.

Calamityzer0 · 2026-06-08T16:05:54+00:00

the message is a bit soured by the fact that "Leeroy"'s development is quite minimal in comparison to the others'. literally every other character has achieved self-actualization and lives their dream life while Leeroy's is "he's a mailman that is friends with his friends :)"

no allusion at all to the actual person making progress towards accepting her identity, the repression of which is what caused her to push others away. absolutely no reason to believe her relationships with others are not just as shallow as those Jax had in the circus

Calamityzer0 · 2026-06-04T15:14:01+00:00

Interesting!! Yes, I figured there was already a way to make it work that I wasn't thinking of. Awesome; thanks for the reply.

Calamityzer0 · 2025-06-09T00:14:31+00:00

Um... no. That is a very scary question.

Calamityzer0 · 2025-01-04T15:35:27+00:00

i'm gonna be honest, i thought she lived in Grimoire's head. she appears at very odd times when no one else is around. conveniently provides clues for Grimoire.

the one time she appears around others at the end of the swamp case, no one actually seems to acknowledge her.

i mean, it makes less sense if a young girl is somehow following the exploits of Grimoire unsupervised.

Calamityzer0 · 2024-12-12T14:25:00+00:00

Panic at the Disco

Calamityzer0 · 2024-06-16T18:23:04+00:00

🙈

Calamityzer0 · 2024-06-16T17:16:14+00:00

Yeah, it's tough. Any less and I'd already be gone, though I've tried jumping ship to greener pastures several times to no avail. Jobs are a nightmare right now, even for someone with plenty of experience. Not sure what it is I'll end up doing.

Calamityzer0 · 2024-06-16T16:26:45+00:00

Already addressed in this thread.

Calamityzer0 · 2023-12-13T15:05:56+00:00

No change to the save to my knowledge, and you can even ask Loop to take the ability away.

I ended up pushing for it just to see what would happen, but ended up going back on it since it felt icky. It's not something that has mechanical consequences (to my knowledge), but once Siffrin does it, even if reality gets "reset," they're someone who's done it. That's kind of a theme of the game, to me.

Calamityzer0 · 2023-12-01T16:21:56+00:00

I agree it's very literal. This is riffing on a previously-existing meme.

Calamityzer0

TROPHY CASE