How did the losers react to Jax pointing Pomni’s gun at himself?))))
You just gave me an excuse to go on an analytical rant, including the similarities between Jax and Zooble's defense mechanisms. (I swear it's related) YIPPIE. At first, surprised. Confused. Disturbed by events they don't understand yet. Everything has been intimately off since the very beginning of the video recording, and that moment added an extra layer of wrongness. Not because of the suicidal intonations of the scene, mind you, but because of the intensity of both Jax's and Pomni's parts in the deal. The fact that it doesn't feel like a joke to either of them. If this had been any other day, any other situation, they wouldn't have cared. Or they would have, in the sense that they would have thought Jax was being a terrible, no good person that was pushing things too far, and that Pomni had gotten close and believed he might not be, only to get pied in the face by reality. Most of the crew think they understand Jax, mostly because they believe Jax's 'fun but in an asshole way' mask is real. And it is, the mask is an inherent part of Jax at this point, but the extent that Jax is willing to push things is not the same the others THINK he's willing to go. Jax has a limit, the others might not think so. But even though he's an asshole, Jax is still 'the funny guy', okay? As much of an asshole that he is, most of the shit he pulls has some...purpose. A joke, a painful but 'carefree' punchline. He's always insisting not to take thing seriously, but there's nothing 'carefree' going on here. He's pushing Pomni away, and while the crew would expect that out of him (namely Ragatha, Zooble and perhaps Gangle) because he's an asshole like that...everything else is wrong in this picture. One step away from being broken, ill-sided.
Jax is trying VERY hard to prove a point. It's so visible to them because Jax hardly tries HARD to do anything. And yet he's willing to lose the gun, lose the battle, lose the chaos and everything expected of him, to take the hit and run. Before Pomni began asking him questions, he simply told her to shoot him. There was no flare, no punchline. Just a 'go ahead'. Carefree, yes. But there was no laughing track that followed.
First, the blink-and-you-miss-it hug. Second, the spaced-out hand staring. Third, Jax giving his gun away. Fourth, the insistence. The insistence, the insistence, the insistence. The more Pomni tries to breach the distance, the more ups the stakes. To the point where he points the gun at himself. And that's the thing. If it was just about the game, he would have shot himself. But that was NEVER the point. Jax wanted POMNI to be the one to cut the chord, put the distance first.
Now, what would the crew think? Someone like Ragatha, who tries to pull people IN rather than pushing them away, is dreadfully confused. For several reasons. So are the rest. And yet, I think ZOOBLE is the one who gets some sort of realization, here. Zooble also works on Jax's 'don't care' defense mechanism persona, just not to his extent. Not as hard, but enough to be avoidant of their own insecurities with other people, to barely talk about them with Gangle, even when given the chance. Zooble never DID tell Gangle 'actually, yeah, I also struggle with shit, man. In fact, Im dead-deep into a pit of self hate, too'. when Gangle asked 'did you ever have to make that choice?' But they didn't, because Zooble ALSO keeps themselves emotionally safe by setting some distance. Distance that Jax is clearly putting in between himself and Pomni. It's enough for Zooble to understand, enough to see through what Jax is doing then and there.
