#4:15am

[faces-of-the-traveler]

view from top of the shogun's house

[emlovessid]

happy clown o'clock to all who celebrate 🤡

[ao3screenshotss]

i’m pretty sure ao3 was down the exact same time yesterday too

[corpseprxnce]

I really need to fix my sleep schedule, it's fuckin diabolical rn.

[kayfabebabe]

I have to get up for work in an hour…

[kairasims]

Ok! Last one of her! <3

[dennistakesamentalhealthday]

i do think what's interesting to me is how dennis created this very intricately crafted scenario but there was so many subtleties (FOR ME) in it that showed that this is not a sustainable way of coping? or like the things he can only cope or process by creating a intricately crafted fantasy to confront. like all those comments about the system. its not your fault. you didnt create the system. the fact hes saying that in his own head is so ?!?!?? frank not answering the phone when he needs him shows how dennis feels about frank but doesn't actually like. unpack or properly confront it. and the repetition of listen to your heart ?!?!? all his struggles and stress were fully realistic but his catharsis and success at the end was this overly exagerrated fantasy that he couldnt even do irl if he tried. because that's not who he actually is. idk where his character will go going forward esp bc i dont think he really learnt anything within that arc but there's so many little things i'm gnawing whether the show actually does something with them or not

[dawntainbobbynash]

Sometimes I really wish I could’ve joined this fandom when I could reliably churn out thousands of words of fanfic every month

[jobazzle]

i'm so depressed 😔 i act like it's my birthday 🎉 every day ‼️ (except today it actually is 🥳)

[gatorsnot]

jabba the rottweiler pup! he's my boyfriend's puppy and this is his first bath away from the breeder. gotta get a glow up before a vet appointments 💅

[anagram-for-mongo]

That was certainly a week

[mellowdarkness]

Spent another afternoon sleeping..... :')

[ofhouseusher]

username change, don’t freak out

[gulliesforever]

before i go to bed, its time for me to write my 4AM essay thoughts about an old ass comedy webshow again!

tonight's thoughts: why i love the finale arc A LOT

so i know it's not as earnest as the road trip arc and sick day arc, but finale to me is extremely important to the show and adds LOTS of layers of complexity to the dynamic of their characters that i find REALLY important.

first things first: one of my favorite episode types in Jake and Amir is the episodes where the audience goes, "oh, so that's why they are friends". IE - translator being one of my favorites

now, a lot of the other arcs of the show (both sick day and road trip and even Fired) center around jake leaving amir. amir is just there wanting jake to come back, waiting for him to realize he's actually his friend, or to show he actually cares. it's really sweet emotionally because OF COURSE jake always comes around, but to me it puts the characters on this uneven footing. jake has to have this realization that he likes amir, and amir simply has to wait for jake to pity him or miss him enough so he can progress forward. because he's almost this weird level of incapable and unlikable without someone like jake.

in contrast, the finale arc finally puts the characters on even footing narratively imo. the first episode already shows that jake is just as incompetent as amir because it's not like he's been doing work, and they are both equally socially hated. not only does it show that jake is oddly fond of amir enough to argue day in and day out and adopt his lingo, it shows why he is - because he's also a loser. this is a very important fact to me and it's established extremely well throughout the finale. the audience IMMEDIATELY gets why they are friends.

secondly, the plot is pushed forward by amir's pitches, his direction, and his own film. i think it gives him agency as a character, especially the power lunch episode. jake honestly doesn't really have to be there for the finale for it to make sense. but he is. and i think that's important - that amir has the capability to function without jake, to be liked and to progress in life without him - but he chooses not to to be with jake. and jake, for reasons established in the previous paragraph, also chooses not to to be with amir.

when they ultimately get fired, it's not about who's leaving. when they get fired, they get fired together. jake simply accepts that. and i think that's super interesting. jake could have stopped amir at any point - why did he even go along with this? he clearly knew he would get fired. he knew. there is only the conclusion that he's grown from road trip, from sick day, from all that. in a sense, the weird belief and trust he has in amir is... a reciprocation of amir's reverence for him. like hes not just FOND of amir’s mannerisms (ie his rap he wrote in jakes ipod in sick day), he truly actually sees him as an equal in terms of ideas. i think that's fascinating and also sets the characters on more even footing than sick day or road trip.

and, well, this is less character based, but i love the exploration of history. we see a little bit of it in road trip when jake opens the paper ozenenz bag, but we don't get it the same way as the finale. the finale is a testament to all the memories they've had throughout the series, but more than that, it's a testament to the earnesty and charm of the early episodes that got them both here. i feel like road trip made it more about jake's random memories of amir which added up (which is very sweet still). finale made it more about that first moment where everything clicked for them IN and OUT of universe with the callback to the beer episode. it was an acknowledgement of a SPECIFIC friendship moment that meant a lot to them both.

i guess, then, the keyword for me is BOTH when it comes to the finale arc. i want it to be very clear that the sole reason they are together is because they chose to have each other and/or because no one else would ever choose them. they chose to be toxic and codependent. they could have had different lives. and i think the road trip and sick day arcs clearly show jake chooses to be with amir, but the finale arc solidifies that amir chooses to be with jake right back in a way where he isn't just "helpless and stupid". yeah he's obsessed. yeah he's insane about jake. but he had the opportunity to allieviate himself from that knowingly, and he never has. he'd rather suffer thousands of days of jake being mean to him, knocking down his ideas, thinking he's stupid and crazy, challenging him... than be anywhere fucking else.

ending on "dinner tonight?" just fucking blows it out of the park in my mind too. because it shows the characters have been through SO MUCH and they've CHANGED entirely - to the point where we DONT know the answer that Jake gives! we know his old self would have said NO of course - while at the same time showing how little has changed. so fucking heartwarming.

anyways. i personally love finale arc.

[darling-little-sidenotes]

Love is just

knowing you exist

gave me the energy

to make breakfast this morning

[ahaura]

hi for the love of god hello