ssssorry i just saw you mention sub jack 👀 and it had me thinking about how it seems like jack is the type of person who needs to feel like hes in control, which makes sense! he likely never really got to have any sense of control, so hed be very deflective i imagine if he ever thought that sense of control was wavering >_> like one of the more interesting parts of his character is how good he is a subtly "directing" the player away from certain things, he can be veeeeeeeery sneaky! so! even in the bedroom, he tends to need that same sense of control 🙂↕️ i think that jack is a deeply distrusting person, and while there shouldnt be any reason for him to distrust his sunshine, i still think hed need time to be comfortable with certain things, so i got very inspired thinking about this, that with someone he GENUINELY trusts, hed let himself relax... i dont mean to ramble so much, im not good at character writing but i really love analysis and i REALLY love jack and want to see him be happy too...!
thank you anon this was such a wonderful read!! i'm so glad you stopped by and that my little comment inspired you. let's chew on this idea together.
i think there are many factors that have given us hints about jack's complex relationship with control. for one, in the glimpses of art and lore we've seen of his actor/past self (joseph haberdae? cullman? who knows), we can tell that he was a troubled kid growing up who may at some point eventually resorted to running away for survival. this can be seen in a school report about him getting into trouble for bringing a knife into campus and art of his adult self hitchhiking.
it's important to remember that jack started off as an upbeat and joyful character on a children's show. as someone who's worked in the entertainment and media industry, i can tell you that not everyone is the same as they are in front of and away from the camera. considering that he's 6 feet tall and strongly built, i can imagine that jack would resort to fawning and being sweet as a means of protecting himself even though he was probably an anxious mess internally. failing to perform within people's good graces could have risked what little financial or social security he had so he could survive.
i love that you brought up his habit of subversion and directing the player away from things! i see jack as someone who is always aware that he has an audience—observed and consumed, but never truly seen. if he can be good to you, if you can only focus on what makes him great, then maybe you won't see how flawed and broken he truly is.
i totally agree that jack is a deeply distrusting person and for good reason, considering what little we have gleaned from his past. and while there shouldn't be any reason for him to not trust his sunshine, i think there are a lot of reasons why he would feel wary. his sunshine has to focus on him, or his only tether to the real world may be forfeit. jack is in a terrifying, tenuous state of existence that all depends on maintaining the adoration of one person.
and this one person, his beloved sunshine, is nursing the wounds from a past relationship. that's baggage that could deter his sunshine's focus away from him. in addition, there's a roommate from their college days who may be a little in love with them and a handsome customer who has a crush on them. all of these are people who share a history with his only person and/or could grow with them if they enter a relationship. all of these are things that jack cannot do for his sunshine, considering he is a ghost who may not ever grow old.
so of course he has to over compensate. of course he has to sweet, be useful, and be whatever you need. he'll make you blueberry pancakes (there was a line from groom of gallagher mansion, another project from snaccpop, that mentioned a ghost making pancakes as a bid for your affection), wake you up in the morning, and take care of you because his existence is tied to your love for him.
although he's often seen as confident, cheeky, and dominant, i don't think that spending decades being trapped in a vhs tape and his own self-loathing would inspire much of that confidence. he's scared, but he knows he can be good for you.
in all honesty, i don't see jack as someone who has ever had the time to explore his own desires. all his life and even in his afterlife, he's had to deal with never truly being acknowledged as himself.
i think that with time, honesty, and wholehearted acceptance, jack would be able to love and be truly himself without any of his defenses.
and his gentle face, with his kind eyes and the scars he never wanted you to see, would melt in your hands.
this was so much fun to get into! please ramble and visit my ask box any time. if you're interested in my fanfics (i'm trying to write jack/joseph this way), feel free to check out my swwsdj masterlist. 💛💙❤️
