#really the intense closeness of jjmarr followed by the falling apart hits different for me

[realtapiocafan]

https://www.tumblr.com/realtapiocafan/772608693856583680/jjmarr

Ever wondered why he holds Tee so near and close his heart ?? This is why and the dynamics being completely different where Ja’Marr basically says he’s more relaxed and unguarded because, it’s not a competition with Tee 😭🥹

!!! I have. so many thoughts regarding justin and tee and their different relationships with ja'marr. i wrote a lotttt

ok, ja'marr and justin reallly were attached at the damn hip. we all talk about the handshake and the dances and shit, but like. they used to share airpods. airpods, for fuck's sake. and the slushie/icee thing? 😭 how many of us used to have dumb arguments like that with our friends? it's those little things that really define jjmarr for me, the things that you'd only do with someone you love.

all of that is beautiful on its own, but it makes the ending hurt even more, doesn't it? you used to talk everyday and do everything together, now you need to schedule around practices and time zones and it's so much work. and then you get home and you're tired and before you know it, you haven't talked to them in weeks.

ok, pardon me for going on a side rant here, but i did try to use the twitter interactions as like a microcosm of the entire jjmarr relationship, to show how a friendship that close can fade over time.

the first three tweets (bantering about practice, making fun of justin's first down celebration, sharing airpods) are all in the lsu era (2018-2019) when they were still doing dumb shit in practice and hanging out and coming up with their silly celebrations

the next three (justin rolling his eyes at ja'marr flipping, ja'marr teasing justin's attempt to get into the nba, reminiscing about what they used to do in practice) is set in 2020-21 (when justin was in the nfl and ja'marr was not). and you can see! they're STILL bantering. still making fun of each other with delight! but it's about what they used to do, not what they're doing now then.

then the last time ja'marr mentioned justin on twitter, was last year (before justin signed his extension and everyone thought he might go to a diff team). justin never responded (on twitter, at least.) again ja'marr's said a few times that justin's the one that doesn't answer his texts. while i take his words with a grain of salt, all of the throwback photos and birthday posts are from ja'marr. i catch myself thinking about justin's most toxic trait being communication all the time.

now, do i think justin is at fault for the 'breakup'? no, i really don't think so. unreliable narration aside, they live in different states, different timezones. they have different schedules, different practices. justin has a c, ja'marr doesn't (yet). justin is like, the sole Face of The Franchise, whereas ja'marr has joe to carry the burden with him. my point is: justin has a different life and different responsibilities and it's understandable that a friendship would fade under those circumstances. it's life. it happens.

but for ja'marr... you can know that it's perfectly natural for friendships to fade. you can know that it's not anyone's fault. you can know that's just how life goes. but it still hurts, because of what you shared together. the friendship was still there! the memories still exist! the love didn't last, but that doesn't mean that it didn't matter. it mattered! it mattered a lot!

justin changed ja'marr (and ja'marr changed justin!) like all friendships do and especially with college friendships. in college, we still have no idea what we're going to do, who we are, and that's fine, because that's what college is for. it's just... when you don't know who you are, how are you supposed to tell where you end and where your friend begins? (there's a reason why college friendships can sometimes seem almost codependent and why so many fade out. when you grow that close to someone, the only direction left is away.)

so, getting back to tee, anon. yes, i do think the past jjmarr weighs deeply in ja'marr's mind with the current tee situation. he's clinging onto tee with everything he has, because he already knows how easily his best friend can slowly slip out of his life. like arguably justin and ja'marr were just as close, if not closer, than he is to tee rn (ARGUABLY). and if justin can drift away from him... in ja'marr's experience with justin, once you're on different teams, it'll never be the same. it'll never be what it once was. so if it were up to him, he won't let tee go on a different team, won't let tee become a stranger the way justin has.

then the competitive aspect bc i DO also have lots of thoughts of that. above, i said justin changed ja'marr. if you look at videos and even tweets of ja'marr before college, it's like a different person. he just seems so much more shy and quiet in those old videos 🥺! a baby! i don't know exactly how to describe it, but he's definitely not confident the way he is now. i do think justin was one of the main reasons why this is the version of ja'marr that exists. there's a quote somewhere, that ja'marr had to speak up and demand the ball because justin was. because justin was there, ja'marr had to learn to speak up for himself and come out of his shell.

it's always a competition with justin and ja'marr, that's part of their relationship. maybe they'll forget about the slushies/icees, about the airpods, but that competitiveness will always be there, pushing each other to new heights. now, ja'marr knows himself. he knows the heights he's capable of reaching, and you can see that. would he be the same without that competitive aspect in his relationship with justin? i don't know. i don't think so.

but with tee, as much as i've compared jjmarr to teemarr in this post, they're two entirely different relationships. tee... ugh, how do i phrase this? tee's... tee's gentler than either justin or ja'marr. whereas justin's reaction to ja'marr leading in triple crown stats earlier this year was "don't count me out", tee's was "i'll get to tell my kids i played with a triple crown wr". justin pushes ja'marr. tee supports ja'marr. they both affect ja'marr, help him get better just in different ways.

jjmarr hits different for me, bc i just love that drifting-apart angst, but really, teemarr is so so very special. in lsu, justin helped bring ja'marr out of his shell. in cincy, i consider tee to be the safe place for ja'marr, away from all the cameras and reporters. it has to be a lot -the social media trolls, the talk show bs, even the expectations of the fans. i have thoughts of an overwhelmed rookie ja'marr being found and comforted by tee. because having that one person that you can lean on, that one person who gives you peace... that makes a world of a difference.