notsaneabouttelamon - Tumblr blog

notsaneabouttelamon · 1 day ago

Text

Why did Jax ask this question? — Analysis/Rambles

Alright I'm going to try and organize my thoughts as cleanly as possible here but I have a lot of them that are about this scene in particular. Jax's question to Pomni was intriguing, and I think people are quick to assume he's just stupid or has a severe lack of self awareness

Well, he is, and he does, but I've been thinking to myself; Why? For what reason is he asking Pomni this question?

This is going to be long as shit, it's almost 2 thousand words of pure neurodivergent hyperfixation, so buckle up and be prepared for Bibi's Jax Character Analysis Extravaganza with a Sprinkle Of Gangle, Ragatha, Pomni, And Kinger Too

Alright, let's begin.

I think it starts with the fact that Pomni is "the new guy", she doesn't know any of the cast too well, but she also has the unique quality of being both empathetic, wanting to understand people at their own level, and serious and realistic, not taking any BS from anyone.

This clearly intrigues Jax because he is also a curious person, he also wants to know what people would do in different situations, but he has a very different way of handling this curiosity. And it's mainly by pushing people's limits to find out; At what point do they snap? What makes them angry? What makes them sad?

Jax is also a very real person, but he has a warped view on what realism means. Based on the way he feels about Ragatha, it's safe to assume that Jax only thinks that negative emotions are genuine, because to him, positive emotions are easier to fake, and easier to manipulate people with. Personally, I can see where this stems from, it is very hard to fake negative emotions but it's also ironically very shallow to assume that positive emotions are automatically fake if the former is true.

This brings us to Gangle.

Jax assumes that Gangle's emotions are controlled by her masks, and I think the rest of the cast believes this as well, including Gangle. But in episode 4 and even 5, we learn that this is actually not the case, Gangle doesn't need her comedy mask to be happy, it's simply placebo.

What made her happy wasn't the Happy mask that Zooble offered her, nor is it the comedy mask even if it's easier for her to be calmer with it. It was her relationship with Zooble, having someone that cares about her well-being and her interests.

We see Gangle genuinely having fun, smiling, winning a homerun during one of the adventures. We have never seen Gangle have fun in the adventures, but aside from the first 2 by Jax, she had a pretty good day here because Zooble was there for her.

The show's overarching theme seems to be about how forming genuine and close relationships with people is extremely important for the well-being of everyone, not just you and the other person.

Kinger says this blatantly in what is probably his most famous quote;

"In this world, the worst thing you can do is make someone think they're not wanted or loved."

It's probably the wisest advice anyone could have given, and Pomni was the perfect character to be given this advice. Pomni cares, but she needed that push to be able to realize what she needs to do in order to feel more comfortable in her new environment. Make friends, make connections, because there's people that care about you and the best thing you can do is return that favour.

Pomni took his advice to heart, and she thanked Ragatha for being there for her, she offered to take care of Gangle's responsibilities when Gangle was stressed and alone, and in episode 5 she decided to actually talk to Jax instead of assuming he's an evil villain like everyone else does. She also makes an effort to give Ragatha some advice, but interestingly seemed more annoyed with her in this episode than usual. But I'll hopefully be able to cover this in another rant.

Now, back to Jax, and why him asking that question to Pomni is so significant for his character.

Jax doesn't understand how important connections are, or maybe he does and just buries it deeply because of fear, trauma, or simply believing he's not the kind of person who needs or deserves it.

So when Jax sees Gangle being happy with Zooble, he's... confused. His worldview is being challenged, he's starting to think and ponder about the way he's been treating her.

Even potentially... Starting to feel guilty.

But Jax buries these feelings, because if he starts feeling guilty it's going to eat him alive.

And we all know what happens to those who end up spiraling.

Jax is starting to realize that Gangle's masks actually don't control her feelings, it's not that simple. It's actually the way she's being treated that influences how she feels.

That's why with Zooble she's so happy, and why around Jax she's so upset. Because Zooble treats her with dignity and respect while Jax disregards her feelings almost entirely.

This whole time, Jax was assuming it was her sad mask that was making her upset all the time, that's the excuse he used to absolve himself of all responsibility whenever she cries. "It's not my fault, she's just built like that!"

But, and I know this is controversial, Jax does care about Gangle. He does care about her wellbeing, he does care about her feelings. We briefly see this in episode 4 when he stays silent after Gangle has her mini breakdown before realizing the clock is broken.

But he's so bad at accepting this fact, he would rather keep burying his care for others and trying to convince himself that he's better off being an asshole than actually exposing himself to the idea of being... emotionally vulnerable with someone.

Gangle's struggles were funny to him because he didn't think she was actually sad, it's just the tragedy mask, right? It's funny because she's always crying, it's not like she's actually sad or anything! Right?

...Right?

...

So, instead of actually accepting reality, he turns to Pomni instead, wanting to distract himself by the opinion of someone he's beginning to trust. He wants Pomni to validate his thoughts, he wants someone to share his beliefs with him.

This isn't even the first time he was silently seeking validation from Pomni. In episode 4 he walks up to her, slumps down on the counter, and asks; "How you doing?"

When Pomni answers hesitantly, "I'm doing fine..." he presses even further, reminding her of his feelings and making it as obvious as possible that he's tired;

"Wish I could say the same."

Jax wants desperately for her to ask him why, he wants her to give him that validation he craves, because Pomni is actually honest, he trusts her judgement because she's never shown any sign of covering up her true feelings in favour of pleasing someone else.

And I do believe Pomni might've actually asked why purely out of curiosity, if Gangle hadn't interrupted their conversation. And Jax doesn't fight back against Gangle, largely because of what happened earlier, but also because Pomni doesn't seem to want to engage with him the way he wants.

But before he leaves, he leaves that door open, "Later, Pomni."

Juuust in case she wants to go after him and is still willing to have that conversation.

Now, in episode 5, Jax is faced with yet another internal conflict, and he's alone with Pomni again. So he turns to ask her, trying to open up another conversation in an attempt to connect on his terms;

"Do you think Gangle is actually capable of being happy?"

But Pomni doesn't respond with any actual opinion, she just says "What?" because Jax's question seemingly came out of nowhere.

So Jax explains himself, still trying to get Pomni to understand him and validate his worldview;

"I dunno, her comedy mask still breaks all the time. Does she think being friends with Zooble is magically going to fix that?"

However, whether he knows it consciously or not, Jax is actually asking;

"Do you think Gangle's happiness is because of her masks, or is Zooble actually making her feel better? Is it possible that I'm actually the reason she's so upset all the time?"

But before Pomni could answer, Ragatha walks in and provides her own answer, which clearly immediately makes Jax go back to his dumb, sadistic persona because he knows Ragatha is going to take over the conversation from that point.

Ragatha is also objectively right, Gangle's sadness stems largely from Jax's treatment of her, but Jax doesn't want to hear it from her.

It's likely out of a combination of many different reasons; Ragatha already has a bias against Jax and he knows it, Jax hates her, he knows Ragatha doesn't have his best interest in mind, and her answer isn't an opinion, it's just an assumption.

After this conversation, Jax opens up a little to Pomni and briefly vents about how he feels about Ragatha and the way she handles conflict. He also says "If you tell someone they're loved and appreciated all the time, it just, kind of loses all meaning." Which, this obviously ties back into his belief that positive emotions are not genuine while negative emotions are.

But he also says something even more interesting,

"It just feels like she's trying to take advantage of you, y'know?"

This implies that not only does Jax think positive emotions are not genuine, but he perceives them as manipulative. Meaning that, somewhere along the line, Jax picked up the idea that the only reason someone could love you or be polite to you is if they have some sort of ulterior motive.

That raises a lot of questions about his past, and potentially hints at parental trauma or even having been love-bombed at some point in his life.

Jax also runs with this idea because whenever he's being positive or laughing, it's always because he has an ulterior motive, because that's what he believes positivity is. It's almost like he's playing a caricature of Ragatha sometimes, he even mocks her whenever she's trying to get everyone to settle down and make peace.

Honestly, based off this analysis, what I know for sure is that Jax's happiness or amusement is almost never genuine, and that he's likely in a constant state of anger and misery. What Jax craves the most is freedom, and he's trapped in a literal circus, having to answer to an AI overlord whether he likes or or not.

This is the cause of his constant bullying of the others.

He doesn't enjoy their suffering, he doesn't hate them or want them to abstract. He hates his life, he hates the place he's trapped in, he hates Caine, and unfortunately for both him and everyone else, constantly bullying everyone around him is the only way he knows how to take out his resentment.

What the other characters see as him just being plain sadistic, and understandably so, is actually just a massive cry for help done by someone who has absolutely no idea how to regulate his emotions in a healthy way.

If he continues on this path, Jax will someday snap and no longer be able to hold up his persona. He will be in a situation where he's lost all control over himself and his life, where he can no longer do anything to distract himself from the nightmare he's living in.

And I reckon that instead of going on a killing spree or taking his anger out on the others, he will just... give up.

Jax woild stop bullying the others, he'd stop going on the adventures, and would likely just completely isolate himself as he sits in a state of numbness and hopelessness, because there is finally nothing he can do anymore.

I really hope we get to see this in episode 6.

#spam's reblogs

120 notes · View notes

notsaneabouttelamon · 1 month ago

Text

SECOND POST EVER!!

Okay so ever since chapter 3 and 4 came out i've been going FUCKING NUTS?? I replayed the whole game before experiencing 3 and 4 and OH BOY DO I HAVE SOME THOUGHTS TO SHARE.

i have noticed something not many people bring up. I never shared this here but i am a HUGE Spamton fanatic ever since 2022?????? good god he has such a grip on me even 3 years later obviously, the revelations about Ralsei's character and the more we get to know about Kris and the prophecy has hurt me deeply So here's my insane ass fucking idea (I'm not that confident in it to call it a theory)

may be a LIL rambley and incoherent, be warned!

Jevil went insane because he learned the true nature of his world That everything is a game All their lives? Predetermined. Set in stone Written on a script. He was exposed to the rules of his world, its limitations. And it broke him apart He knew too much, and thus was locked away for years. Yet he thinks he's the only one free, and everyone else is locked away Blind to the truth. He knew about events in the future, such as Queen in chapter 2 He even spoke to the Knight himself, he was the one to tell everyone about them

Ralsei knows the prophecy by heart. It's all he's come to known He knows the truth about HIS world and its rules. Darkners true purpose and the reality of their existence. He too knows too much, oh so much information he fears it may break the Lightners he so deeply cares for That everything is predetermined, set in stone. All written on on paper, destined to occur one way or another Ralsei also knows about certain events that can happen in the future And another thing is: Jevil thinks because nothing truly matters, he was free to do as he wished If everything is a game, what consequences are there? Everything is predetermined, so why should he really care?

Ralsei on the other hand thinks HE doesn't matter All there is to him is to help his friends and fulfill the prophecy along the way To please them if you will Whatever may happen to him isn't important Nothing about him personally matters. So why should they care about him?

Now for talk about my favorite puppets ever! Yay I think everyone (i hope) knows Kris and Spamton have a VERY obvious connection and or parallel Spamton in his bossfight wishes to be free, thinking that the NEO body could offer him such freedom He years to be so much more than a "mere puppet" to fate, and knowing he know the prophecy (or some of it) It all makes sense. Yet there are still strings Strings controlling him He seeks out your soul (or [heartshapedobject]) believing it can grant him said freedom He even urges Kris to just hand it over, but he's interrupted by the rest of the gang (iirc? idk) And in the fight itself, if you choose to ACT instead of FIGHT, you attempt to cut his strings Spamton doesn't realize this till the end that you were trying to free him When one last string is left. He's hopeful, he thinks this can free him. But even if you cut it, nothing changes. He won't ever be free Even if there are no true strings attached to him now , he is still a puppet of fate. Just like everyone else is. Just like Kris is. It's funny his introduction features him telling Kris that they "grab life by the silly strings" That must've invoked some kind of reaction in Kris, right? And yet, at the end of the fight. They are distraught, uncomfortable and shaken up by the whole ordeal. They could have even seen themselves in Spamton there Ralsei even tries to make light of the situation, diminishing its impact on Kris so they don't have to think about it Like Spamton, they will never become anything more A puppet to US, the player. No matter how many times they rip us out. They have no control in this world anymore For they are the cage with human parts.

But maybe there's hope. There's a chance. They too can break out of their little cage.

#deltarune #spamton #kris #ralsei #jevil #im going FUCKING INSANE #shed's insane rambles #these connections drive me insane imagine we get a susie secret boss counterpart too #i dont think gerson counts he's not fucked up enough/lhj #really long yeowch

7 notes · View notes