i think about how sensitive Jack is a lot.
like, yea, he's a trickster. but he's also incredibly lonely and had been isolated for 300 years without any answers as to why. he might've acted out, played pranks, or done things he shouldn't ( breaking into the workshop ) for attention because any is better than none. he might've lashed out several times over because he didn't understand why any of this was happening to him.
Bunny made Jack cry. it's not something super obvious, like Jack sobbing ( tho that would've been valid, tbh ), but you can see him tear up at the reminder that no human can see him. that no one believes in him. and that the only ones who do seem to have an arms length distance with him or hate him.
Jack blames himself for what happened to Sandy. he thinks he didn't do anything, that he didn't try hard enough, when he was the one who first noticed Sandy struggling. he thought he didn't do enough.
we see it in how he's curled up by the window, his hoodie is up, his eyes are welled up again, and he just looks like he shut the world out because of guilt. North had to cheer him up for him to smile again.
and then we see his tears for a third time when Jaime finally sees him. his first contact with a human in 300 years. the first time someone believed in him like that.
what kinda gets me about Jack is that i wanna say he isn't obvious, but he is. he talks to people who can't hear him, tries to tell Jamie and co. that all the fun they had wasn't the Tooth Fairy, that it was him who did that. he blatantly asks what does he have to do to get attention.
Jack knows the kids like his snow, his winter, but also knows that he doesn't exist to them. and Bunny bringing it up made him retaliate by purposefully acting like he didn't know what Bunny was.
to me, it came off as Jack trying to get Bunny to understand, for even a second, what he had been feeling and experiencing for his entire existence. but what happened instead is that Bunny doubled down and went to where it'd hurt most ( "people believe in me." ).
but even when the worst happens and Bunny is no longer believed in, Jack empathizes with that. he tries to apologize, saying he didn't mean for any of this to happen. because even if he didn't like Bunny, he wouldn't wish for someone good to not be believed in. and, as much of a hardass as Bunny can be, Jack knows he's good.
and Jack takes it hard when Pitch isolates him further ( "i make a mess of everything." ), because of course he does. he's alone again. how couldn't it be his fault, after he had just gotten to warm up around everyone, after he had earned their trust?
how many times has he had to ask "is it me?"
i can't imagine the euphoria Jack felt when he had answers, even if they were what could be considered the bare minimum. i can't imagine the euphoria he felt when he was finally seen. when Jamie hugged him.
yea, Jack is a tricky one, and always has been ( we can see that in his memories ), but a part of that became a way for him to cope.
in comparison to everyone else, he's just a kid.
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