This is a piece I did for mother's day 2021. This is an actual scene from the BTBF storyline. The dialog is actually pulled from the story document (paraphrased a bit, but it's subject to revision anyway). This piece took approximately 48 minutes to make.
So what's going on? Well, Jonah and Jonathan were once the best of best friends, but a cataclysmic event lead to Jonathan completely disassociating himself with Jonah. After several failed attempts to reconnect with Jonathan, Jonah fell into a deep despair. He refused to go to school, to leave his room, and he couldn't even eat or sleep for days. For two weeks he has been like this avoiding his parents because he doesn't want to have to confront them with what happened. He refuses to go to school because he can't stand to see Jonathan completely ignoring him and resenting him anymore.
Jonah spends much of this time lost in thoughts of his treasured past with Jonathan. All their wonderful memories together. In reviewing his memories he had hoped to find some clue as to how things had turned out the way they did. But late one Thursday night Jonah decides to sneak a piece of cake from the kitchen. He figures everyone is asleep so no one will catch him leaving his room. His mom catches him in the act and refuses to let him go. She forces him to open up to her and confess his feelings, over warm tea and a slice of the cake he wanted.
There is plenty of things that get discussed in this scene but I am not looking to spoil all of it. I thought it would be nice to pick out one particularly gentle moment between Grace and her son Jonah. Martin had come down and had some not-so-nice things to say and finally gave up and left when he couldn't get Jonah to back down. Jonah was distraught by Martin's words, but his mother tried to comfort him afterward. Jonah asks his mom if "Jonathan feels the same way about me that I feel about him?". Neither confirming nor denying she simply says "your feelings for him are unusually strong, but you mean a lot to Jonathan. He loves you very very much". This gives Jonah the briefest glimmer of hope.
It is perhaps one of the nicest things Grace ever says about J&Js relationship. I thought this touching little moment would be fitting for mother's day. Although there is some strain in Grace & Jonah's relationship his mother still loves him very much and is his most prominent confidant and advocate. She may not fully understand and accept how Jonah feels, but she also understands her son better than anyone and doesn't want to see him unhappy. Here we see that even when others consider there to be something inappropriate to J&Js relationship, Grace doesn't condemn Jonah's feelings.
If you are interested to learn more about BTBF, the beginnings of a potential comic series for it can be found starting here:
