okay for some reason the nightmare episode 8 section is way more upsetting on rewatch and also im only talking about jax in this post sorry
first off, i didnt even REGISTER that the cut to Jax's was straight from Zooble's & their body dysmorphia whatever. im sure that means nothing
SECOND off, i didn't notice at first but the people go from unspecific faceless crowd but morph into ribbit + kaufmo + pomni. which is fucked up
physically makes me ill how much this guy is obsessed with other peoples perception of him. which i relate to for no reason JAX IS TRANSGENDER
i dont know why i never fully registered this but the Jax ducking in fear + being grabbed by his ears and pulled around is also really upsetting? oh my god?? i dunno. part of this is definitely fear of being treated the way he treats others but. whatever . this bit is just so scary to me. it hurts
also its Ribbit that grabs him, fucked up, and Pomni + Kaufmo that grab him by the arms and hold him down .
i really really desperately wanna know what the fuck is up with Jax & Ribbits relationship because there is definitely a difference between his relationships with everyone else including Kaufmo and Pomni as compared to Ribbit
these are three VERY different reactions, and im also realizing now the shot of each of them gets closer to the camera, which is fun.
A know a lot of people like to put Pomni in Ribbits shoes but this is in large part the reason I like putting Jax in Pomni's shoes-- befriending someone who seems outwardly mean, sarcastic & pessimistic because its the only person you have the opportunity to feel "real" around, and then having to watch them destroy themselves in front of you while theres nothing you can do to stop it, because youre not that kind of friends.
Jax only seems to be capable of making friends with people who are similar enough to him (even if he hates it), but it seems more like that was a learned action from Ribbit rather than the other way around, since Ribbit seems to be the main antagonist of the nightmare with Pomni & Kaufmo playing along.
^my favorite transcription/interpretation of the snow globe scene (transcribed by zoshizick on twitter) and I know this was color coded to have Jax be the antagonistic one, because that's how we've seen him, but I dunno. he doesnt seen upset here in the same way he is when he's thinking back on his own arguement with Pomni (where he seems alot more upset, and yes because he's self sabotaging but I also read it a bit as he knows Pomni doesnt deserve that. But he's so solemn here and I think looking back on a memory where Ribbit was awful to him would hit differently because he's under the impression he does deserve it.)
uhhh anywaya. i forgot what i was saying