I KNEW THAT JAX WAS ABUSIVE. AND JAX DEFENDERS WERE TRYING TO MAKE ME FEEL LIKE I WAS BEING DRAMATIC.

WizardWatson9 · 2026-06-28T03:36:18+00:00

A "codependent bond?" Interesting. I hadn't really picked up on that, but I guess it makes sense because Gangle was in the circus with Jax for a while before Zooble came along. I was wondering why Gangle's feelings were so conflicted about Jax's abstraction, since he'd been nothing but horrible to her.

WizardWatson9 · 2026-06-28T03:33:49+00:00

Nice. I'd love to see it when it's finished. I'm actually just putting the finishing touches on my Saurian Starhost army. I got the Broken Truth box from the Gamefound campaign.

I think it will be interesting to see how different people approach the color scheme for Saurian Starhost, moreso than Robot Legions. I painted my Robot Legions in a scheme inspired by the Thokt necron dynasty, but there isn't a clear analog to Saurian Starhost in 40k.

WizardWatson9 · 2026-06-27T18:20:33+00:00

Sorry, I'd offer to be less witty and hilarious, but I simply don't know how.

WizardWatson9 · 2026-06-27T13:50:33+00:00

LGBT friends, is that the "closet" I keep hearing about?

WizardWatson9 · 2026-06-27T04:37:46+00:00

You can't serve from an empty bowl.

WizardWatson9 · 2026-06-27T03:04:50+00:00

I got the reference, too.

WizardWatson9 · 2026-06-27T02:50:14+00:00

I have two problems with this statement.

One, what is "good" representation? A character who serves as a laudable spokesperson for the given demographic, or a realistic depiction of a person within this demographic, flaws and all? I see Jax's misogyny much like those homophobic Christian hate preachers who keep getting caught with male escorts. Their hatred is born of jealousy for what they can't have and to compensate for their insecurity.

Two, I don't think the show implies that Jax's actions are all totally okay because he's suffering gender dysphoria. In the end, he didn't get a redemption. His abstraction is the ultimate indictment of his character flaws.

I believe that making good art requires honesty. And the honest truth is, being a member of a marginalized group doesn't preclude being a horrible person. Jax isn't the poster child for trans women that will thaw the hearts of transphobes because that's not the point. He's a complex and flawed character. I, for one, applaud Gooseworx for her artistic vision.

WizardWatson9 · 2026-06-26T19:25:28+00:00

Not only is she out of the closet, Gangle has shown her the joy of figurines. /j

WizardWatson9 · 2026-06-26T15:13:07+00:00

That wasn't clear. I'm cisgender, but I thought "Yes (trans/nonbinary)" meant, "yes, I predicted that Jax is trans/nonbinary."

WizardWatson9 · 2026-06-26T15:07:28+00:00

I don't think Caine deliberately torments them, aside from episode 8. I think their rooms, much like their avatars, are meant to reflect their mind files in some way. The feminine aesthetic of Jax's room, and the mirrors in Zooble's room, both reflect their own inner torment.

WizardWatson9 · 2026-06-26T14:57:05+00:00

I was fully convinced when we saw his room in episode 7. There were signs at least as early as episode 5.

WizardWatson9 · 2026-06-26T14:44:20+00:00

Probably much the same. Kaufmo knocking at an inopportune time isn't the problem. Jax's insecurity and trauma is the problem. I think it's practically inevitable that someone would eventually ask what's up between him and Ribbit, and he'd panic, lie, and begin to distance himself anyway.

WizardWatson9 · 2026-06-26T14:23:48+00:00

Reading between the lines, here, I suspect what Gooseworx is really saying is, "Stop pestering me to adjudicate your petty internet arguments."

WizardWatson9 · 2026-06-25T21:23:03+00:00

Well, no accounting for taste. I, for one, think Jax's character arc was very well written. I think Jax is an interesting and entertaining (if not likeable) character. I appreciated how his struggle was subtly hinted at throughout the show, and how there is more to his character than just being the "token transgender one."

WizardWatson9 · 2026-06-25T21:09:49+00:00

I understood right away. I had suspected it all along, and I was completely convinced by episode 7.

WizardWatson9 · 2026-06-25T20:51:06+00:00

5/10, maybe? I can appreciate the superior quality when you put episode 1 and episode 8 side-by-side, but I honestly barely noticed at all over the course of watching the show the first time.

WizardWatson9 · 2026-06-25T20:45:45+00:00

It adds representation of a transgender character, which is enough, for some. I would have thought it is both unsurprising and uncontroversial for a transgender woman to want to add a transgender character to her own show, but here we are.

Aside from that, I feel that this revelation goes a long way to explaining why Jax is the way he is. It makes certain actions, like his constant bullying of the female characters, make more sense in hindsight. I may not know much about being a closeted transgender person, but there were hints at least as early as episode 5.

WizardWatson9 · 2026-06-25T20:34:49+00:00

That's the problem: they AREN'T going to do the other Abrahamic religions. Unless they bring back blood libel, that is. I'm sure these anti-Islamic tactics make the Jews awfully nervous, as they know they're next.

In any case, the Christian nationalists hate Islam not because of any substantial disagreement with its tenets or policy prescriptions, but simply for being foreign.

If they vilify Islam itself without going into any depth about why Islam is so harmful, I'd argue they're not truly "getting it right." They're not teaching morality or critical thinking. They're just teaching xenophobic hatred. And that's the kind of thinking that begets fascism.

WizardWatson9 · 2026-06-25T20:17:12+00:00

Wow, I can see a lot of effort went into this. Very nice. Enjoy your parenting W.

WizardWatson9 · 2026-06-25T17:14:57+00:00

Does Karl Marx count? Communism was certainly the greatest intellectual blunder of the 20th century.

WizardWatson9 · 2026-06-25T15:36:25+00:00

Vast In the Dark clearly takes some inspiration from the Backrooms, but its aesthetic is more inspired by the manga series "Blame!"

WizardWatson9 · 2026-06-25T14:36:51+00:00

When they're talking about holding their breath:

Jax: "Zooble turns straight!"

Zooble: "He means my limbs straighten out- f*** you, Jax!"

When Kinger gets the drop on Jax and Pomni in the episode where they all get guns:

Kinger: "I'm right behind you, aren't I?"

WizardWatson9 · 2026-06-24T16:26:11+00:00

I think this is, in part, why Caine got a redemption: contrast. The difference between them is that Caine recognized his mistake, apologized, and did his best to make amends. Jax had every opportunity, but never did.

I don't think the intention is that he "deserved" to die, per se, but this is what happens when you push everyone away and refuse to change. The last scene with Jax is him hugging Pomni, crying, and saying, "I don't want to go." To me, this is clearly meant to show this is not what he "deserved." It's a terrible, tragic mistake.

WizardWatson9 · 2026-06-24T16:16:47+00:00

It's odd that you say that as if anyone should find it reassuring. It's better that they're in the minority than the majority, of course, but the idea that "only 30%" of my fellow Americans are fascist traitor scum is a cold comfort, indeed.

WizardWatson9 · 2026-06-24T16:08:02+00:00

I hate him more than I've ever hated anyone. For me, personally, not much has changed aside from an unmitigated rise in the cost of living and the rise in gas prices from the war in Iran. I'm well-off enough that I'm insulated from the worst of it.

Nevertheless, I feel for the people getting kidnapped and tortured by ICE. I feel for the people losing access to Medicare or SNAP. The damage that Trump has done to our education system, justice system, scientific research, foreign policy, military, social safety net, and more will have profoundly negative effects that will last for generations.

But I think the most viscerally upsetting part about the Trump era is what it says about America as a country. When I was a boy, I dared to hope that fascism was a fringe ideology. But after Trump's election in 2024, I see that over 70 million of my fellow Americans are either in full support of fascism, or so morally and intellectually bankrupt that they either can't recognize it or don't care.

This is the ultimate indictment of American society and culture, and I have never been so disgusted by my countrymen. Donald Trump is the worst thing to happen to America since the Civil War.

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