#i talked too much

[gomacave]

5p yuuram bloood twww

[pagelets]

Workout zzang always makes me feel better

[fayedartmouth]

I really enjoy and appreciate how you focus on JJ's and JB's friendship in your writing. I feel the show kept telling the audience how close they were but all I can really remember is JJ supporting JB, while JB was obsessed with his dad, or the treasure, or Sarah. I feel we never really saw him truly step up for JJ, and really support him or put him first. In fact I don't think we ever even saw them talk about Luke, it was all just implied through the narrative. I found it so frustrating. When the writers decided to do the time jump, I thought we were going to meet a slightly more mature group. At least I thought we’d encounter a JB that not only recognised JJ was struggling but took action to help him - like actually talked to him about his problems, helped him face what happened to him as a kid, so he could cope with life as an adult. Instead, he behaved like he always did, kind of ignoring JJ’s actions until he exploded at him.

In truth much of the story felt inauthentic to the other characters as well, and really, it’s all down to the writers’ lousy choices, and their obsession with setting up the final season. So the characters did not act like themselves, and we ended up with that bewildering episode on the boat where everyone ignored JJ, and then of course we had JB’s one awful intervention. The fact that JJ had to sort himself out in the end was just so horrible. It also fundamentally undermined what I thought this show was about - found family, and for a character whose friends were his treasure, the narrative scope of the season just felt totally cruel.

For me, your writing is really hitting on something important that the writers did not bother with when it came to JJ, or just abandoned when they decided to kill him – how much JB loved him, and that deep friendship means that you support the other person even when they are behaving badly, and you keep trying. In the end it seemed that JJ had to earn JB’s love by rescuing Sarah. It would have been far better if JJ fell off that boat, and JB jumped in to rescue him. Anyway, all of that is a long way of saying, that it’s wonderful and comforting to see the depth of their mutual love and friendship played out so beautifully through your writing. Thank you.

P.S. Really looking forward to Part 3 of The Best of a Bad Deal

I literally did not shut up.  So, like, here, have an essay!!

I do think the show more told us than showed us that JJ and JB were best friends, especially from the JB side of things.  However, I think the good acting and the dynamic between Chase and Rudy probably really sold us on it.  They were so familiar, so comfortable that it was easy to see the deep bond -- they acted like best friends, so we could easily believe they'd been inseparable since childhood.

I have plenty of criticism of JB in S1 in particular, wherein I think he was a pretty awful friend all around.  However, he was 16 and his dad was missing and he was desperate and scared -- and I generally think he's got valid reasons for being a bit of a jerk and oblivious to JJ.  I think the fact that JB's not even there for JJ's breakdown is a little weird -- and the fact that he's completely indifferent to JJ's safety also strikes me as a bit odd.

Though I do think the general idea would be that JB knows JJ so well and has known him so long -- that the abuse sort of goes unspoken.  He talks about JJ doing a JJ thing, which I think his way of indicating that he understands that JJ spirals sometimes and that it's just best to wait it out.  Is this the right thing to do?  I mean, debatable.  But it's probably a pretty normal response for a teenager who has no actual means of helping JJ in his situation -- especially when so much of JJ's trust probably stems from the fact that JB is keeping this secret for him. 

Which is to say, I can see it as complicated, and that JB has probably learned to wait out JJ's crashouts as a matter of course.

And I think that logic can be applied to most of S4 -- but I agree with you.  Things got wildly OOC in part two and they never recovered it at all, IMO.  JB didn't know about Groff as early as Kie, but even so, the whole group should have been a lot more concerned about those implications.  I mean, the fact that JB wants to run off and get married -- while JJ goes to his mother's grave for the first time?  I don't know, but that bothers me somewhat?  I don't care if JJ would push him away at first -- it's kind of a huge thing.  (Not to mention extremely traumatic, how it played out, which again, never got talked about and JJ just had to live with seeing his mother's dead body and stealing from it.  I mean, that's awful -- and the idea that JJ would want privacy is stupid.  JJ's got zero coping skills; he makes terrible choices. STOP LEAVING HIM ALONE.)

And then after Groff tries to kill JJ, I'm guessing there had to be conversations we didn't see.  But I mean.  JJ's father just tried to murder him.  Again, he's not going to be okay.  Even if JJ was emotionally well adjusted (he's not), that is going to be almost to deal with right away.  JJ taking all the blame for everything on the beach before they leave the OBX hurts me because yeah, JJ's made a lot of mistakes.  And precisely not one of his friends has been there for him.  He's still culpable, but he owns up to it all and then ultimately dies for it in the end.  So.  I mean.

The boat ride.  This is the point where I actually give up.  What happens on the boat ride makes so little sense to me that I actually struggle to call it canon.  I mean, JJ drinking himself into oblivion and wanting to die?  Yeah, I buy that.  But everyone else?  Did not make sense.  

Part of that is, again, really crappy editing.  Because in theory, would Kiara and Sarah be okay to have a little fun and play a game to pass the time?  Of course!  Honestly that makes sense.  But if that's one of the only scenes we see, it sets the tone for the entire trip -- and that's weird.  Kiara's boyfriend is suicidal.  I mean, maybe show her giving a damn??

I swear, the scenes they chose had the Pogues caring more about Rafe than JJ.  JJ they were just annoyed with.

As for the JB/JJ scene, uggggh.  Look, I think JB meant well. I do.  But it's like you might want to read the room.  JJ's literally drinking himself to death.  And he's got father issues like no other.  He's probably not ready to think about being a godfather or JB's impending fatherhood.  He can't.  Although this particular scene probably relates back to the maturity issue you mentioned.  Namely, JB's not mature enough to recognize the depth of JJ's problems and he's acclimated himself to the idea that JJ will crash out and then be okay.  And he doesn't have to do anything but wait it out and be ready to crack a beer with him when he's better.

(I will also have to imagine that Pope really didn't just sit there and stare when JJ expressed a desire to die.  I just.  I have no way of reconciling that with anything else.)

What happens AFTER the boat is actually even more damning in retrospect for me.  The scene between JB and JJ on the beach has become one of my least favorite moments in the show.  Because in that moment, JB reaffirms something absolutely awful to JJ.  For JJ, he's never been good enough for his friends.  He's always sort of derived value from what he can do for them.  His understanding of friendship is that he'll do anything for them -- and that means sacrificing himself, which he does repeatedly.

(Honestly you can read the race scene as this as well, even though he deflects on JB a bit, he takes the risk on himself -- so they don't have to.  He believes his value is about taking the risk for them.  He's just not always great at executing his plans.)

Anyway, on the beach, JB reinforces this, like you said.  He tells JJ, almost overtly, that he's forgiven and loved -- BECAUSE he saved Sarah.  That's not even an inferences; that's spoken dialogue.  The look on JJ's face when JB hugs him actually breaks my heart.  Because it clicks.  JJ's spent the whole boat ride thinking he was worthless and no one wanted him.  And the only reason he has to live?  Is to give himself up for his friends.

Note:  no one tells JJ they're happy he's alive.  No one asks JJ if he's okay.  No one comforts JJ in any actual way.

And JJ?  He says he's back.  Because he's able to be of service to his friends again.  He still has no inherent sense of self worth, but he's willing to put himself on the line for his friends -- because, in his mind, that's the only thing that's made him valuable since this whole thing started.

This isn't really meant to rail on JB because I love JB and he's messed up in his own right and he's got plenty of his own issues.  And really, again, these are still kids.  They're not equipped to deal with these things, and JB in particular is conditioned to wait JJ out.  If JJ had survived Morocco, it would have been "fine" in that sense and it all would have gone back to normal.

But JJ didn't survive Morocco.  Even as he died, his focus was on what he could do for his friends.  The idea that he "got everything he wanted" is tragic because he never thought he was going to get a future.  Those 18 months of happiness was more than he deserved in his own mind.  I imagine JJ was relieved it was over, in some ways.  And I'm guessing he was relieved he couldn't screw up anymore.  JJ suffered his entire life, and he suffered when he died.  It's really really a difficult ending for fans who loved him as much as we did.

And also, the ending monologue from JB.  I think this goes to show 1. how little the writers understood their own show and 2. how little JB understood JJ.  From the JB angle, the idea that he wants to celebrates JJ's life as triumphant is normal, I guess, but it is woefully lacking in understanding of what JJ had been through.  Ultimately, he simply honors JJ as the best friend they ever had.  Not as a person who was worth something in his own right.

Really, though, I think the writers were trying to build to a death that they didn't earn.  I think they wrote such a convoluted mess that it just didn't pan out as intended.  I think we were supposed to believe that JJ was truly "back" and that everything was back to normal in Morocco.  But that healing?  Wasn't remotely earned.  The fact that they had JB mention JJ's hardships as a passing thing is indicative of how little they understood JJ as a character and how little they cared about him as a character.

They made him a plot device in the end.  They didn't pay off his storylines.  They didn't let him learn or grow.  The storyline in S4 was supposed to build to JJ winning -- and again, I think the writers want us to think he DID win -- but it ultimately just became this depressing descent where JJ dug his own grave and the writers buried him in it.

The choice to keep JB out of the death scene was wrong.  The fact that they made the death so quick was poorly done.  Nothing about it was believable or rang true to anything we've seen before.  There was no weight.  No gravitas.  None of the reactions were earned.  And yeah, them burying JJ alone in the sand of a foreign country?  Is sincerely just the worst.  

The season did feel cruel, that's all.  I don't really wish anyone ill over this and I don't care at all about whatever happened behind the scenes.  This is on the writers at the end of the day, because they had infinite options and they not only picked the worst one -- but they put it into action so badly that it's almost impossible to take it seriously.  I do hope S5 is awful, I won't lie.  And I hope that the writers don't get any other OBX shows picked up. At this point, I can't even rewatch stuff anymore.  I want to put the SHOW behind me and just keep these characters for my own pursuits.

Because what this all started with -- and what the show made us believe in -- wasn't a treasure hunt.  It was friendship -- it was found family.  It was JJ in the hot tub, saying his friends were his family, and all he wants to do is the right thing.  That's the heart of it, and I think it all started with JJ and JB for a reason. I love all the character dynamics but my head canons about the two of them, making it up while trying to survive, is really fundamental to my understanding of this show and these characters.  No way in hell are JB and JJ even capable of adult relationships -- if not for one another.

Best of a Bad Deal Book Three -- I will have to open it up again soon!  I've been knee deep in fix-it fic right now, but there is so much of Book Three.  I do intend to divide my time, because I do really love that fic.  (And to all your points about JB and JJ, I have thought about, on and off, doing a companion POV of JJ's cancer journey from JB's perspective, because I just think there are some key elements and moments I had to give up when I chose a Kie POV.)

[sollucets]

for the graphic/gif maker asks: 3, 4, 8, 12, and 22! 💕

hi mona 💜 thanks for asking

3. who/what inspires you?

the spirit takes me. i am so serious. sometimes i just see something and go i Have to see that more and you're all coming with me. as far as like, more artistic and involved edits, i'd say also my dear friends & mutuals and our lil community. innovators all of us

4. what do you enjoy about making gifs?

i like to spotlight details. parallels, hand shots, pretty colors... there's a post i half-remember that's like, you watch something then come to tumblr to put gifs in your scrapbook. and that's really how it's like. i also just like it as like, a hobby i've seen noticeable improvement in as i've kept working at it. aaaand it's kind of relaxing honestly. i like to listen to a podcast or asmr or something like this while i just sit there editing stuff for a long time

8. my favorite of my own gifs

as far as one favorite full gifset it's still the space girls edit ! have i ever topped that. it was so cool of me. as far as specific ones i wanna show a few of my very favorite gifs from the last year:

rest under the cut because i was overcome by self-esteem apparently

12. fonts you like using

i like blue ocean, moon, urbanchrome, and centaur (microsoft default) as well as yana. shoutout to this person who i got like 80% of my fonts from you are a pillar of my life. i like doky too but i got that one directly from you so. lol. my most recent set used loverica and hightower text. aaaand i recently downloaded a font called magic retro that i havent gotten to use yet and Really Want To

22. your biggest improvement since you started?

last year i think i answered this with "layer masks" which is a solid choice lol. this year i will say that 1) messing around with my sharpen settings 2) camera raw and 3) IMAGE SEQUENCE have changed my life entirely

[amelia1skyz]

I'm so glad other people enjoy this hc as much as I do, the thought of yoichi wacking afo in the face in his sleep with his feet I love it lmaooo, I feel like yoichi is the type to go to sleep in a normal position and ends up upside down in the morning while afo just stays in place, I love this hc I'd love to see more memes of it, i hold the shigaraki brothers close to me like I need a backstory of em rn, they are my personal therapy is that normal? Lmao ill probably do another post my hcs for them I'm loaded with those ��🫶

[inevitablestars]

.

[yesyourstalker]

Candy: hi guy! This is candy!! You're favorite girlyyyy!!!!! So I recently got a job at Rock shock at Barnacle & Dime Mall!! I'm so excited because I am partnering with them and sharing a location! I get to have my own little piercing station inside the store!! He's even letting me paint it pink. Isn't it cute!! It's a business inside of a business. I love it ....... Some you probably already recognize me as piercing princess on Inkstagram!.. I was at wahoo world boardwalk and worked with ink tank tattoos...... Unfortunately the partnership is over....they went back home to Gillsdens..aww It's not the last time we'll see them tho.......haha. Anyway usually I answer your questions on how to take care of piercings and treat infections but today I want to do something different. So recently I got a new client and that client is my boss!!! And you allowed me to do a piercing for him

Neta: hey Candy....

Candy: hi Neta...... so what did you want me to do today?

Neta: I was thinking of a tongue piercing buuuut how about some ear piercings

Candy: ohhhhh couple ear piercings so we talking about an industrial or maybe we can do a rook *gasp* we can do a daith piercing!!

Neta: yeah that sounds great................ hey Candy can we talk off camera.

Candy....... You don't want me to film in here? I understand... I should have asked first

Neta: no, no filming is fine It brings in people plus I watch you all the time....... I just kind of want this conversation about my ear piercing to be a private thing.

Candy: ok yeah That's no problem.

Neta:..........*sigh* ok...... So it's very obvious that my ear is kind of........ jacked.......and .....it how do I say this...... it holds a lot of trauma and bad memories..... Sometimes I struggle to look at it .......when I had long tentacles I used to hide it but now I'm not able to do that anymore and I've been getting a lot of stairs at it and I feel....... ummm........*sigh*.........I just want it to be easier to deal with..... I don't want to look at it and automatically associate it with my past and want people to look at and focus more on the body modifications instead.......you know

Candy: .......... Oh.... ok it's whatever you want and what makes you comfortable..... my clients come before my content....... I'm happy to provide a safe space and am honored to be a part of this journey of healing you're going through......

Neta: thanks candy I'm fine with you filming, I just needed to have that conversation....... thank you.

Candy: It's no problem..... ok.......1...2....3.....ok guys so first we're going to start with the left ear!!................I was thinking of maybe we can do 3 piercings that travel up the soft cartilage of the ear and then add a piercing on the flat and end with a rook....... mmmmm....... On the Right we can do similar but instead of 3 piercings on the soft cartilage I'm going to stick with 2 and an industrial piercing! How does that sound Neta?

Neta: yeah...... that sounds great. Let's get to it

Candy: great!!

[After piercing session]

Candy: ok we're done........ What do you think?...... Usually I like to film my client's first reactions but I feel like maybe this one should be..... personal

Neta:........................................... Wow ah ha .......... I love it!......... I can-i can actually look at it......I can fully look... at myself....... Candy.... thank you....

Candy: aaaaaaaaaaaa! It looks so good!!!....... you're welcome!! You look amazing! Some of my best work!!........am I crying??.... it's fine....What do you guys think? It's cute right?

Mahi: looks nice.....and painful

Neta: yeah the rook part hurt like shit but I think it's worth it.

Mahi: you didn't get the tongue piercing?

Neta: I did. I just got on the bottom. See......laaaaa....

Mahi: damn I should have gone that........ You look so different in the first time I met you. Are there any more changes that you're going to do?

Neta: I might stop dying my hair and keep it yellow...... I think I'll be good as a natural gold

Mahi: ehhh I don't know. Let me see you being green..... It would suit you though

Warabi: yeah, I would match your personality. A dumb bubbly gold bimbo

Neta: ha. Ha. Shut up

Candy: Oh my cod yes we would match!!

Mahi: I don't think Phoebe would recognize you though

Neta:ah man you're right guess I'm keeping it green...

Mahi belongs to @fish-at-fish-fish-resort

[jamespottersdaisy]

Ooh, my absolute favorite has to be " It's nice to have a friend". I remember reading it the first time and just getting so into the story, the way you wrote their fight scene has to be my favorite thing ever. And I love how long your stories are, usually everyone just writes blurbs but i really love reading a long ass story. I really appreciate you writing and sharing all these stories

actually the reason why i wrote 'it's nice to have a friend' was because my sister wanted a remus fic so let's thank her

it took me like 10 days to write it since i was overthinking every scene, sentence, interaction. (i was asking if it's in character for remus, if i could describe the emotions properly without overdoing it, if i should add one more scene for a smooth transition between the scenes) and i really wanted it to be long bc i immensely enjoy slow turn out of events hehe

but it was sooo hard to write it lol it required funny amount of patience but yeah 'it's nice to have a friend' has a special place in my heart, too

[kendyroy]

“They gave me runway in this film. There’s one monologue in there. I can’t tell you the details of it. I say more words in that monologue than I said in an entire movie once as Wolverine. But there are sides of the character that I’ve been scratching at for 24 years […] There is stuff in this movie where I was like, ‘This is the thing I’ve been trying to get out’ and I feel so excited about it.”

— Hugh Jackman talking about Logan in Deadpool & Wolverine (x)

[eosofspades]

i didn't have "i'm broken" teenage asexual angst i had "i'm literally being the only reasonable one about this concept and the rest of you are behaving like fucking freaks" perception issues

[cuteteacakes]

akumanoken

Awwwww my wifey is evolving as a streamer

But I'm really not thooooo I was shocked when a username I didn't recognize suddenly said hello and I was like "oh no now I gotta actually engage D:" but it was fun even though they teased me about how far behind I am in Dredge they actually helped a little xD

[mynnthia]

was talking with a friend about how some of dunmeshi fаndom misunderstands kabru's initial feelings towards laios.

to sum up kabru's situation via a self-contained modernized metaphor:

kabru is like a guy who lost his entire family in a highly traumatic car accident. years later he joins a discord server and takes note of laios, another server member who seems interesting, so they start chatting. then laios reveals his special interest and favorite movie of all time is David Cronenberg's Crash (1996), and invites kabru to go watch a demolition derby with him

[captainkirkk]

Concept: Peter actually got bitten by a totally normal spider. It's just a coincidence that his mutant powers were awakened around the same time

[artkaninchenbau]

A h-heartfelt reunion..?

Bonus

[ninjasmudge]

last night i had a dream that i was playing minecraft and i noticed i had 77 blocks of cobblestone in one slot instead of it being capped at 64 and it was so jarring to me that it literally booted me out of the dream. like sure you can fly now and your childhood home is a pharmacy but 77 pieces of cobblestone? unthinkable. wake the fuck up.

[lemongogo]

life of regret