#and a gilmore girls book would be amazing and i think it would be something a lot of ppl would eat up

[scoopsgf]

been seeing a lot of questionable takes on my dash lately, like “mitchum was right to tell rory she didn’t have it” and “rory writing a book about her life is stupid” and I’m just… stunned by them. not only are they flat out wrong, but both of them pointedly insult rory and her capability to perform as an adequate journalist and storyteller. we know rory has it because it’s established throughout the entire series—she does great at the franklin and even manages to put spins on what should be crap stories like the pavement piece; she also rises to the top at the YDN and becomes editor in chief. not only is she great when it comes to writing (which is drilled into the viewer and over—it’s an indisputable, canonical fact), but she’s also great under pressure and defying expectations. when she went to chilton the odds were against her—it was predicted that she wouldn’t be able to catch up and would flunk out. and what did she do instead? she became valedictorian and went on to attend an ivy league university. mitchum’s critique of rory is fucking laughable when you consider all of that, but it’s even more ridiculous when you factor in that he was barely around throughout her stint interning for him, and decided that she “didn’t have it” simply because she didn’t speak up during one meeting, even though doing so would usually be considered incredibly disrespectful. rory has amazing ideas and she’s fantastic at executing them, and we know she was a successful journalist until richard’s death, which is the only reason she was in a rut at all. therefore the idea that she “doesn’t have it” is, again, canonically incorrect.

as for the other thing, rory writing a book about her life is the opposite of stupid. to the people who agree with this: you do realize you just watched an entire show about her life and found it entertaining, right? it’s a memoir about her childhood, her relationship with her mother, and how being the daughter of a teen mother affected her. there’s absolutely a market for that sort of thing. not only that, but this is rory we’re talking about: she’s perfectly capable of translating the magic we see on screen onto the page. in fact, i think it’s kind of implied that the book will play out similarly to the show and have the same kind of vibe—it sucks you in and keeps you coming back for more. anyway, tl;dr, all the rory bashing and complete lack of faith in her ability to be a good journalist is pretty unfounded and unfair. i feel like it’s just another outlet that people are using to put her down, but it has no basis in fact (like most anti-rory takes).

[thefirst3chapters]

I love the work you’re doing with your blog, bringing back older posts and spreading the Literati love 🧡 And your meta posts are so insightful! Would love to hear how you got into the ship, if you feel like sharing 😊

Thank you so much, that is so kind!

I'm fairly new to Gilmore Girls in general and started casually watching a few years ago because my sister (also a Literati shipper) recommended it. I think the first episode I saw was "There's the Rub," and I was drawn in by the generational dynamics right away. It is tough for me to precisely remember first impressions in hindsight, but I didn't particularly care for Dean or Jess as love interests for Rory. My sister said maybe I'd like Logan, but I wasn't convinced on him either. Then Jess's Season 6 appearances endeared him to me a lot more, and he became my reluctant favorite of the three boyfriends. It is a huge testament to Rory's character that she didn't know what Jess would accomplish in the future, and she believed in him right away despite most of the people she trusted disliking him!

Last year is when I really got into shipping Literati. In the classic love triangle setup with a nice, dependable character and an adventurous, brooding character, I am typically inclined to sympathize with the former archetype, but the character arcs of Dean and Jess ultimately defy those categories in interesting ways. Rewatching made me notice more details about how much teenage Jess was struggling, and I really grew attached to him and his relationships with Luke and Rory. I lurked around the Gilmore Girls subreddit for a while and saw so much animosity toward Jess. Even though he's of course fictional, it was still frustrating to see all that directed at a kid who was dealing with a lot, and it made me even more protective of him.

Then I came across a few Literati-focused Tumblr blogs and saw the interest in themes/subtext/symbolism/character motivations and the amazing fan art and GIFs (like yours!) on here. Seeing multiple posts about other people not having a penchant for the subreddit discussions was quite validating. It was an "I've found my people!" revelation, and I've really enjoyed looking through blog archives. There's so many great older posts!

What compels me with Literati, far more than the debates over who was the "best" boyfriend (what does that even mean?), is how narratively rich their story is. It starts and ends with Jess looking at Rory through a window (if the frame around her picture on the mantle counts as a window). In the first and last episodes where they interact, they show each other something they've written because they were inspired by the other person. As this video lays out so artfully, they went through parallel challenges in their lives and helped each other find the strength to work through them (including by writing a book). Then there's all of the intriguing visual cues and emotional depth and period drama reminiscent scenes. Two bookish characters being portrayed in such a poetic way is so fascinating.

Ships that don't get a conventional happy ending are often captivating because there's so many questions to ask and alternative scenarios to imagine. There are a lot of tragic romance elements to Literati, and the angst is certainly not lacking, but the neat thing is that at the end of the official narrative, both characters are alive and on good terms with each other, and it's implied that maybe their story isn't over. The last words of dialogue they exchange mark a beginning of sorts (it's what this blog is named after). How many doomed romances end up with something that positive? I do like to think that Rory and Jess end up together for good after AYITL, but after everything that happened when they were younger, just the fact that they are friends as adults and are so encouraging of each other is a beautiful thing in its own right.

Thank you for the ask!

[post-office-by-the-bay]

this is your second mate giselle speaking,

HII COVEY!!! how was prom??? and how are you doing??? anyways, omg i have a little love life update (the legacy of aphrodite is coming out) and it’s pretty crazy!!! okay so first of all, i met this amazing guy, let’s call him joe. so i’ve seen joe around in the halls since like september and i’ve always been like woah i love his style he’s so cute and he was so silly like so adorable. and he’s waved to me in the hallway before even though we didn’t even know each others names, and he’s smiled at me, OMG AND ONCE HE TRIED TO THROW SOMETHING INTO THE TRASH CAN AT LUNCH AND HE MISSED AND THIS DUDE FR PUT BOTH HANDS ON TOPD OF HIS HEAD AND GOES “OH NO ��” IN THE MOST DRAMATIC WAY AND I BURST OUT LAUGHING- anyways, so we made eye contact and i felt really bad and embarrassed because i was laughing with him but he didn’t know that, but we make eye contact and he just smiles at me like- i ascended into heaven. anyways, turns out my friend is besties with him so she was like imma put u on fr fr. so she like talked to some of his friends as well and they were like oh yeah i know giselle blah blah she’s really pretty and i think she’d go great with joe! and like trust me, we would’ve been AMAZING TOGETHER. like, basically he’s a skater boy and i’m like coquette, rory gilmore, academic weapon yk? like he was fr a punk (skater) and i did ballet (figure skating) so it was like perfect because i’m also really academically driven and he def isn’t failing but yk he isn’t like me? like imagine a short (i’m 5’2) girl in a black turtle neck carrying her books that takes things way too seriously and is super uptight with her brunette hair in a bun, and then a guy with super messy curls that’s super tall and really lanky with baggy jeans and sweaters and headphones that is super chill all of the time just balancing her out! literally the lyric “you know how to ball i know aristotle” by taylor swift! and our mutual friends said he would get me to loosen up and he’s super sweet and i’d get him to lock in for once and i’ll being calmness and stuff into his life. it would’ve been opposites attract! so we meet, we hit it off, he says he liked my outfit, (he even stood up to talk to me instead of just sitting down at his lunch table!), asked for my number, and he laughed at all of my jokes, i made him nervous (in the good way), and it was just so amazing. and afterwards i heard him saying like “woah she was so pretty thank you for introducing me to her sm” to my friend. and now we’re texting nonstop and he’s trying to meet me after class and walk me from club meetings (i asked him to pick me up from class and he went “time and place” LIKE OMG!!!) and we have the same music taste and and and one day he leaves me on opened… just completely ghosts. and i ask him if he wants to walk around and he goes “nah i have to lock in for this class” which like yea i get! but combined with the ghosting and becoming dry and bored with me… and he hasn’t responded for six days… and all of our friends are so confused because even his closest friends were like dude he likes you i know him trust me (body language, the way he acted with me, the fact that he gave me his number, and the fact that they know him super closely). i’m just like torn because idk what happened! anyways this is the longest thing i’ve ever written and i hope i wasn’t boring you 😭 but yea my love life will definitely make aphrodite proud!!! at least it’s entertaining… oh and you don’t have to like give me advice or anything if you don’t want to i thought it’d just be fun to update you on my crazy love life! spilling the tea is one of my many passions frfr

this is your second mate giselle signing off,

with love,

dior giselle

my beloved heart, dior, giselle

OH MY GOD WHAT IS BRO DOING???? NOT HIM FUMBLING WHAT IS GOING ON????

the switch up is kinda insane...i wonder if like maybe hes feeling insecure or something??? like maybe he likes you too much and feels like hes not good enough or something??? i dont know boys are so confusing sometimes i wish i didn't like them lmao-

anyways, i hope you reached out to you eventually!! you guys do seem like you'd make a cute couple!!

all my love,

covey 𐙚⊹ ࣪ ˖

[panharmonium]

Hiya again, @travelling-through-worlds​ !  Don’t mind me, I’m just starting a new thread here to continue our conversation from here, since our old one was getting so long - I didn’t want my reblog to totally swallow your dashboard! :)

especially in Naruto I think the bonds and relationships between the characters are SO well done, and I find it to be one of the strongest points of the series. I think that that is probably one of the main reasons so many of us find this story to be so compelling

yessss, I totally agree!  

re: which college I went to - I’ll refrain from naming the exact one, just because I try not to put info that would narrow down my offline identity too closely on a public blog, heh, but I did my bachelors and masters degrees at schools in the Northeast USA.  I do agree with you that the English courses in your area sound a little different than the ones here - often “English” as a college course of study here refers to English literature, as opposed to English language, so you wouldn’t see the phonetics and pronunciation work you mentioned.  You will still probably have the occasional text or class that just doesn’t spark any interest in you; there’s always bound to be something out there we don’t connect with, even if the work might still have some kind of literary merit.  I remember I took one course during my degree (I think it was on post-modernist American Lit and related texts, or something like that) and I hated it.  We were doing Hunter Thompson, Brett Easton Ellis, Tom Wolfe, etc, and I just despised everything we read.  That’s rare for me; I can usually find something to appreciate in most of the “school” books I’ve worked with, but I remember reading I Am Charlotte Simmons and Less Than Zero and wanting to just dump them in a lake. 

What are some of your favourite books and series? :) I scrolled through your archive for a bit and I think I’ll be adding Merlin to my list of things to watch.

Oh, I love Merlin SOOOOO much!  One of my absolute favorite universes of all time (and one of my favorite fandoms, too - I met so many awesome people there!)  I can’t believe it took me so long to start watching it (but then again, I’ve always been really slow about picking up TV shows X) ).  Probably my other biggest past fandoms (besides Merlin and Naruto) have been Teen Wolf and Star Wars, though there are a number of other series/universes that I love but don’t post as much about (Lord of the Rings, DC Comics, House MD, Star Trek, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Fullmetal Alchemist, Gilmore Girls, etc).  As far as books go, it’s hard to choose - a couple of my favorites are Crusader by Edward Bloor, Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, and Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke, as well as the Protector of the Small series by Tamora Pierce and the Animorphs series (childhood favorite) by K. A. Applegate.

Do you happen to work in the teaching field by the way? (It’s something I’ve thought about doing myself.)

I used to, yes!  My masters degree is in education, and I used to be a public school teacher.  Nowadays I work in children’s services at a public library, though.  (I loved many parts of teaching, and the school I worked at was wonderful, but work-life balance became really difficult after a few years, so switching to a less intense work environment ended up being the right decision for me.

I find it helpful to kind of compare it to singing. 

Ooh, yes, this is exactly why I think tonal languages are so cool!!!  I have a music background, so I just think it’s so amazing to have languages that utilize pitch changes like that.  (And it’s SUPER cool that you’re able to pick certain words up in the original Naruto dialogue due to occasional similarities between the languages - there are some shared words like that between Arabic and Spanish, too, which it was always fun to see students pick up on!) 

[cosettepontmercys]

Aww that's so nice that you were watching a livestream while I was there. I'm so happy that I got to experience that and happy I got to go at all. It was really amazing and I already miss it. The thing with surprise songs is that it's really subjective..like a coworkers daughter apparently said she would have rather seen All of the Girls..which is also cool. I would've liked that too but it was better for me that Aaron was there cuz that doesn't happen every show. The only thing that could've possibly made it better is if she brought Hayley out too..lol. Anyway loved it so much and she did also wear the pink Folklore dress which is one I was hoping for. It was just so cool to even see the Folklore cabin in person too and the Vigilante chair dance.

Anyway..for my other ask..I usually don't read sequels or series. The only time I did was with HP or Twilight and that was when all the sequels were already out. But I totally get what you mean about cash grab and spinoffs. I'm interested in the new Hunger Games movie spinoff though! I think sometimes it's natural or it might be because readers want more. Like with this one, I think the book is like 10 years old and people have discovered it and seeing people like it inspired her to write more maybe? Also it works sometimes when you are writing a different characters perspective too..which is the case here apparently. If I did read series regularly, I would probably forget about it too though lol. Also..I loved the first season of Crazy Ex Girlfriend!!! I never got to finish it though cuz I stopped having Netflix..but I do like when a show is able to wrap up the story. I feel like that happens more often now actually..like when a show is based on a book so there is only one season. Then there's something like the new Sex and the City reboot show which seems kinda unnecessary but you still wanna watch for the characters lol. I did like how they updated part of it..like what it would be like for them now and in their 50s though..which made it seem a little fresh at least but it was just okay. I know people were unhappy with Gilmore Girls too..which idk how to feel about either. So I'm usually up for having more to a story or characters I love but sometimes it messes with what you already imagined in your head I guess. These two books do stand on their own though and you probably don't need to read the sequel either unless you want to and that's if you like it lol. I probably will though cuz I get curious and then I could let you know how it is. Also if you do end up reading Some Mistakes Were Made..you could let me know how it is, or I could start reading it again..or together maybe? I've taken a break from reading too this week since I was focused on Taylor but excited to get back to it. I hope you have an awesome trip in Chicago this week! 🩷

hi 🩷 friend!!!! i missed you while i was out of town 🤍 i hope you've been doin well! what have you been up to? have you read anything good lately? it is so, so interesting how people feel about surprise songs!! because to me i think they're just a bonus to the 43 songs that we're already incredibly lucky to hear, but i've seen people on tiktok/twitter/etc. genuinely upset and angry and claiming that their surprise songs like, ruined their experience or whatever and i'm like ... really? i just feel like the relationship "swifties" talk about taylor is ... very ... interesting, to say the least! my friends and i were so hopeful that hayley would be a surprise guest in seattle night 2, and they'd sing castles crumbling (we were also convinced that she'd acknowledge folklore though, and she didn't) because paramore was supposed to play in seattle the day after seattle night two but had to reschedule. and i'm SO happy you got the dress you wanted for folklore! i think the folklore outfits are just so, so pretty — they might be my favorite set of costumes for the whole show. i'm quite intrigued with the new hunger games prequel! i haven't read it yet (and i've actually only ever seen the first hunger games movie), but i really loved the trilogy when i was younger and have been thinking about finally sitting down and watching them (or maybe rereading, once i'm done with my current rereads). i do agree a prequel like this feels more natural, rather than say, shadowhunters, which has like 50 million books! if you ever get a chance to finish watching crazy ex girlfriend, i highly recommend it!! i also just love all the musical theatre references and i just think it's really well done. i haven't rewatched it since it aired, actually, but i do want to rewatch it soon! i am just very, very bad at watching tv! i'm currently watching the summer i turned pretty, and then when i'm caught up with that (or when i have a little more breathing room), i think i'll watch the second season of heartstopper! i was really excited about the new gossip girl (especially since a couple of theatre people are in it), but it just did not … work for me at all. and yes!! i would definitely be down for a buddy read of some mistakes were made if you'd like? i could start it next week if that works for you!! i just need to get my life together and hopefully finish one or two of my current reads first! i had a lovely time in chicago, thank you my dear 🤍 definitely dreading being back at work tomorrow!

[madisonbeersource]

oooh! talking ab booktok, i read it end with us n i was so disappointed. like i didn't get all the hype over it (or basically collen hover books). did u read it? rn im reading a little life and the heroes of olympus (rereading)!

omg i loved tsitp! the soundtrack was amazing. i think steven is underated. so now i must ask u, team jeremiah or conrad? i also watched heartsopper, it's so cute. personally im currently watching gilmore girls, b99, and never have i ever 3 (it just dropped today).

have a great day!

It ends with us .....I loved it, but because it was very clear to me that is it NOT a romance novel, it's a book about domestic violence, about how by either being the perpetrator of abuse or the one letting the abuse happen can destroy the one living with you because lily ...as strong as she wants to be in a healthy rls, she falls for the boy who had the same red flags as her own father and it broke me because we saw the downfall, we had hope ryle would be stronger than that but yet he r*ped & abused her & she saw it coming, the worst is in the end she saw the signs & she ignored it & SO MANY OF US do that bc we wanna believe, we wanna be loved. and the fact that lily was the representation of colleen's own mother & that her father was abusive like wow... no this book is a masterpiece BUT booktok romanticize it & it's sad bc it's a book about abuse, yes atlas is the cutest book boyfriend but honestly it's not what people on this website claim it is :/ like the end of the book says "You can stop swimming now, Lily. We finally reached the shore" like you can put down the fight, you're safe. LIKE????? WOW OKAY KILL ME NOW?? but i'm a colleen hoover's stan...i read several of her novels & honestly exept "Too Late" that I didn't like because it's a dark romance and I despise this genre i mean no worries to those who read it but i hate it w my whole heart but actually my first new romance book was from her and i think i never had my heart broken like this book it stays my favorite book & i always get teary eyed when i speak about it haha (sorry i'm a passionate type sdfgfds) but YES I DID READ IT ENDS W US & I read recentely we were liars that is SO POPULAR on there & honestly i liked it a lot!! i'm reading a emma green right now and it's HILARIOUS those womenn are literally the best!!

YES HONESTLY it's a cute show!! well steven kinda got on my nerrves tbh... like he's the first to denigrate belly cause she has "no life" but everytime she tries yet she does something he mocks her and yells at her, he makes out w belly's bff bc he was "insecure" about his current gf, and he knew about about it & yet he took advantage of it. He gaslighted at poker losing every pennies he owned sacrificing shayla's dream dance LIKE NO HE WAS ANNOYING MOST OF THE TIME sdfghgfd. AAAAH... hm for belly? i'd say Conrad cause they were in love for the longest time, she never looked at Jer the way she does w Conrad and he is an ass....like a real ass but I also understood that he knew of his mother dying from cancer and couldn't tell anyone so it was eating him alive like if the guy iloved was going through that i would have forgiven him sooo i'd say conrad BUT for me I had to admit that Jer IS REALLY CUTE like the golden retriever type and i like a man like that for me, the type i could die laughing with you know? & i love the fact he's so at piece w his sexuality you know?? and his eyes.......WHEW. Heartstopper is literally the cutest and i love this show SO MUCH!! ooo never watched those shows it's not my type even tho b99 has some banger scenes!!

[minasummersch]

papyrus & jasmine (but I kinda wanna change the latter part of the Q to "and would recommend to anyone" if that's alright!)

papyrus ⇢ if you put your ‘on repeat’ playlist on shuffle, what’s the first song that comes up? what do you like about it / associate it with?

I've talked about this when I last answered this question here, but I don't have an 'on repeat' playlist. I'll link a song from my 'liked videos' playlist on youtube for you instead!

I am not sure I could even begin to explain this video tbh. I really like Gilmore Girls and something about the combination of Rory with Taylor Swift songs is fucking immaculate.

And here I'll also link a song I've had on repeat over the last week for you!

This is the first full song Nino sings in the Anonymous Noise anime/manga. Something about how messy it sounds really stuck with me and I am just living for these vibes. I know rock music totally plays against the aesthetic I have going but I want so badly to one day sing this song.

jasmine ⇢ do you have a movie or book you loved but will never watch/read again? and would recommend to anyone?

Oh boy! I have a long, long list of books, movies, tv shows, anime, manga, and light novels that I toss around as recommendations to friends. I usually like to tailor my reccs based on what I know people like but since I'm not entirely sure about your tastes I'll give a few of the ones I know most poeple enjoy.

Oscar (1991): a movie with Sylvester Stalone and it's a comedy so you really can't go wrong with this

Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun: either the manga or anime, both are amazing imo and the comedy is unparalleled

Summertime Rendering: honestly the best mystery manga I've ever read and it got a boppin anime adaptation just this year, go in with as few spoilers as possible

Pandora Hearts: please read this manga, if not for the plot then just for the art because Mochizuki Jun improves so much over the course of this series and it's absolutely stunning

86 eighty-six: watch the anime and if you're feeling it read the light novel or just wait it out for a second season because this will definitely get one

2.43 Seiin Koukou Danshi Volleyball: okay so I know this is the less popular volleyball anime but I like this one more

IDOLiSH7: i love these idol boys and this is the best idol game turned anime adaptation out there I think

IDOLY PRIDE: the other really awesome idol anime, I love this more than words can say and it's just a good time all around

Ao no Exorcist: read the manga and just avoid the anime please, the manga is much better

Fruits Basket: I watched the 2019 series and I didn't know what I was getting into at all but damn it was worth it, this anime is perfect

Kaze ga Tsuyoku Fuiteiru: I clearly like a lot of sports anime lol, but nah this one is good and has like warm and fuzzy friendship vibes but an older cast so it's a bit more serious

Kono Oto Tomare: music anime about a traditional Japanese instrument with great friendship and romance, I loved this so much that I bought the CD and I will one day play it for my wedding

Ya Boy Kongming: it's got great music and is hilarious, you could not ask for more imo

The Raven Boys: this was a fun time to read, like it had friendship and romance and all that teenage angst but also treasure hunting and supernatural powers

Percy Jackson: someone has probably already recced this tbh

All Our Yesterdays: the only valid time travel novel imo

Here Lies Daniel Tate: there's murder, there's mystery, what more could you want lol

The Devil is A Part-timer: watch season 1 of the anime and if you want to continue past that hit me up because things get messy and your enjoyment will depend on which character was your fave

The Last Fallen Star: a korean mythology middle grade novel

Into The Spiderverse: do I need to say more lol

The Good Place: again a comedy tv show, I do love comedy

Gilmore Girls: this is honestly a fascinating study in character development and writing

Ms Marvel: as a pakistani muslim this tv show was a mood in many ways

And there you have it! A very extensive list of media for you to check out! If you want to talk more about any of these and/or want more reccs join my discord server and feel free to scream in there! I am always ready to talk about fandoms and series I love but there's not enough people around lol

Thank you for the question! Feel free to check out my other answers under the tag mina answers! on my blog!

[ongaku-ato-kakikomi]

PLEASE I NEED A GG FIC!!

So basically the reader drops out of chilton in her senior year and rory yells at her but she didn't know the reader got into this big art school in new york

You jump up when a school bag is roughly dropped on your table, your opened mouth freezing in mid-air as your hand gently holds onto your donut.

"You dropped out of Chilton?"

You slowly close your mouth when you hear Rory's voice, the aggressiveness in her tone making you put your donut back on your plate. "Hello to you too, Rory."

She gives out a groan as she plops down on a chair, her eyes glaring at you with frustration. "I've looked everywhere for you today, (Y/N)! I thought you were sick or something! But then you know what I learn? That you dropped out of school!"

"... sorry." You blink a few times, unsure of where she's going with this. "But I-"

"Did you lose your mind?" Rory doesn't seem to realize the loudness of her voice, Luke's other customers turning annoyed looks towards you two. "This is our senior year; our last year at Chilton... and you just drop out without even warning me?"

You give out a long sigh, letting your back hit the chair. "Rory..."

"There's no excuses, (Y/N)! Have you even think about the future?" You stay quiet as you watch her start one of her many frustrated rambles, the Gilmore girl unaware of the quirked eyebrow appearing on your face. "What about college? Harvard? We were supposed to go to Harvard together!"

"Rory, I didn't drop out."

"How did your parents let you do this! Are they as insane as you?-" Her words turn to silence as soon as she registers your words, confusion rapidly spreading into her eyes. "Wait, what?"

"I didn't drop out of Chilton." You cross your arms over your chest, your annoyance clearly visible on your face. "I'm transferring to Laguardia."

She blinks a few times, her eyes widening a few seconds later. "You're transferring to a top art school in New York?"

"You remember the charity auction at your mom's work? The one where we sold a few of my pieces?" She slowly nods in agreement, another sigh coming out of your lips. "Well, they saw them... and they contacted my parents to see if I could be transferred there. I'm gonna move in with my grandparents so I can start next week..."

"(Y/N), that's amazing!" Rory's lips stretch out onto her cheeks, a happy gleam appearing in her eyes as she feels the excitement rise inside her chest. "That's been your dream since forever! Why didn't you just tell me?"

"Well, I was scared you would..." You make a gesture towards her, an unsure look on your face. "... do what you just did, basically."

"Ugh, I'm sorry..." A blush of embarrassment graces Rory's cheeks, the Gilmore girl partially hiding her face behind her hands. "I just got so mad when I learned you left..."

"It's okay, Rory... I should have told you in the first place." You give out a genuine smile, a sadden look taking over your eyes. "You're my friend, after all."

She manages to give a smile back, her hands reaching across the table so she can squeeze yours. "I'm gonna miss you like crazy, though."

"I'll still come back here every weekend. You know, to see my parents and all." You give out a grin as you say those words, squeezing her hands back. "Think you can squeeze a little weekend time for me?"

She giggles, shaking her head. "I'd book all the time in the world for you."

[fandomtrashgoeshere]

Ok, so it’s been a long time since the Gilmore girls revival on Netflix, and an even longer time since the show ended, but I’m still mad. So this has probably all been said about the revival, and specifically Rory in it, but I want to say it anyway.

I have heard that the Rory storyline was what the original writer ASP wanted to do for the last season of Gilmore girls, and I understand that she wanted to see that through. But it just didn’t work. She probably had intentions for Lorelai and Emily for the last season too, but obviously changed and adapted them bc of the death of Richard (I can’t recall the actors name, but RIP he was a wonderful Richard) and ended up with a really fucking good storyline for the two characters his death most impacted. I loved everything about Emily’s storyline, seeing her in jeans was mind blowing. I also loved Lorelai’s storyline, although Paris working in the fertility clinic was just wrong. I didn’t like that for her. And you wouldn’t see her for that, you’d see a doctor who specialises in fertility services so idk why ASP thought to put her in that setting, so weird. Anyway, Lorelai coming to terms with her own experiences as a parent and relationship with her father coming to an end, was amazing. The phone call on the mountain? Amazing.

But fucking Rory. My biggest issue, honestly, isn’t that she was whiny and annoying and entitled, although she was and that’s shitty. It’s that she was going through the same things as part of her character ark that she’s already fucking been through in the show.

She already had an affair with someone who was in a committed relationship (Dean) and was visibly disgusted and upset with herself when she realised what she’d done. Then she goes and does the same shit with Logan? With like, seemingly no remorse? We’ve been through this Rory, that’s not who you want to be. Not to mention the boyfriend she keeps forgetting. There was no need for that, it wasn’t funny and just made Rory look like a bitch.

Then the shit with her work ethic. Many people have commented on how out of character it is for Rory to not do her research before a job interview, not be all in on her work in general. Absolutely correct, the Rory we know from earlier seasons was determined, hard working and always went the extra mile. If she’s struggling to get a foothold in the journalism industry, show her working her ass off trying to make it work and then finally finding her niche when she starts writing about the privileged elite world she was half a part of or something. Not this half ass bullshit the show gave us. We’ve already seen her crisis about whether she wants to do journalism when she quit Yale. That was her soul searching year, when she worked out who she was and what she wanted to do. She wouldn’t turn around and be all lazy and entitled about her work after that. This is the girl that always wanted to get into Yale on her own merit, to not get special treatment at her internship bc of Logan. We’ve seen this shit.

If I was queen of the world and got to write rory’s storyline for a year in the life, I would have made her have a good job at a good publication, (like someone as talented as she is would likely have years after graduating from fucking YALE) but she’s burning out because she works so hard and so much. No time for friends, relationships, and eventually she crashes and burns. Then she takes time off, thinks she’ll write the book she’s always wanted to write. No inspiration, tries many drafts but nothing is right, until she writes the Gilmore girls. I’d also have her end up with Jess but that’s just because I love him and they’re soulmates and I won’t be convinced otherwise.

Anyway Rory isn’t a shit person she just copped a shitty storyline rant over.

[daydreamreality]

So on and off I’ve been writing this super long post on some of my thoughts about Gilmore Girls. And something I wrote made me go, “wow, the evidence against AYITL just being the season ASP didn’t get to do is really stacking up because the two things I can see Jess being around for in season 7 is what he does in the revival except the circumstances with Liz are different.” SO. Hear me out. If the reason we didn’t get a “real” Lorelai/Luke wedding was budget restrictions (I call bullshit, why did we need TWO musical numbers)...well let me take you on a made-up journey of the end of season 7 on the CW with ASP showrunning. Without Netflix freedom and money to throw her unrestricted last hurrah with GG, we get our series finale with a full-on Luke and Lorelai wedding because, well, why wouldn’t this be the ending of the show??

I now realize that getting Luke and Lorelai married in one season after the shitshow that was the end of season 6 might be difficult so let’s just assume this is handled in a mature and healthy way and they’re back and better than ever! Because I honestly didn’t think about that bit when this scene popped in my head and made me go “WHY, it could have happened! And now I need to tell everyone!” And I’m not really in the mood to go about theorizing this AU season 7 in full.

Rory still has to get pregnant but not want to be with the father because ~*fULL cIrcLe*~. The way I can see this happening is Logan goes off to London, their long-distance relationship is a lot rockier, and she eventually finds out that Logan has been cheating on her. OR Logan convinces her they should open the relationship up; Rory is not comfortable with this but is too emotionally invested in him to let him go yet. Either way, the hurt she feels has her breaking up with him for real, is very sad, blahblahblah, and they end up having a “last hurrah” together that gets her pregnant. WHY? Because FULL CIRCLE. 

So we’ve seen Rory break up with Logan for good, she’s pregnant but we don’t know that, and we’ve gotten some sort of “window scene” that shows Jess still has feelings for her. WEDDING TIME. For real this time with family and guests and ceremony! Town square or Dragonfly Inn, take your pick.

Maid of honor and best man start the show. Jess is hilariously nervous because that’s my favorite look on him, ngl. While waiting on Rory to meet him, we get a nice little look between him and Luke of familial love and respect across the room. Jess gets distracted by Rory appearing and his whole face goes soft, and the proud smile on Luke’s face quickly devolves into a smirk because Luke has his number and knows he’s still got it good for Rory. Jess glares. I laugh. Rory is unaware of this moment of amazing communication and is nervous as well, but puts on her best brave face and walks arm-in-arm with Jess in all her beautiful grace.

Now for the actual ceremony, I could never even begin to come up with something as heartwarming and beautiful and hilarious as ASP or a talented fic writer. But I’m gonna throw in the detail that for some reason the officiant they booked can’t get there and Kirk has to step in last-minute because of course he’s an ordained minister. He throws in way too many personal stories and exudes his awkward charm (cut to appalled looks between Emily and Richard), but overall it goes surprisingly well (cut to proud, tears in their eyes like in Lorelai’s Graduation, MY HEART). We also get one little Jess and Rory smile at each other all shy and romantic-like because I wanna see it.

Now we’re at the reception. Rory comes up to Jess all cute and happy, “come dance with me.” Jess is like, why would I do that, blank stare. “It’s tradition.” Super cute innocent smile she knows will get anyone to do anything; Jess is not immune and is already going to say yes but he has to be difficult, Rory knows this.

“What tradition? And why would you think that argument is going to work on me?”

“Best man and maid of honor traditionally share a dance.”

“*rolls his eyes* Your mother is not going to care, and frankly would probably prefer not to have a picture of us dancing.”

“*pulls out the big guns* You owe me for prom.” Not unkindly, clearly in a joking manner. (I KNOW THIS IS A TROPE BUT I LOVE IT OKAY)

Fake hurt, clutches his chest “OUCH.”

The dance starts a bit awkward and stilted, but they slowly relax and enjoy themselves. Jess cannot waltz. Neither can Rory. We’re getting served some serious “Reflecting Light” vibes tho with the shots, set design, and another beautiful Sam Phillips number. The parallels are being thrown in our faces. We LOVE IT. We EAT IT UP.

Jess goes to make the slightest move to bring her in closer when a wave of nausea comes over Rory. She backs away quickly, and Jess does a “did I do something wrong” look/line like after the “Then She Appeared” kiss. She’s got her arm covering her mouth, looks panicked, “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,” runs out of the party. Luke notices and asks what’s going on. “I don’t know, she looked like she was sick?” “I’ll get Lorelai.”

Lorelai searches for Rory and finds her crumpled on the ground crying, sweaty hair, make up ruined, just completely unraveled. She tried so hard to keep this secret to herself for Lorelai’s big day, but she is too overwhelmed and tired. Lorelai settles in next to her, pulling the hair out of her face, “Oh honey, what’s wrong?” Rory cries harder.

After some good Lorelai hugs, Rory calms down slightly, looks at her mother distraught:

“Mom?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m pregnant.”

.

.

.

.

IF YOU’RE OUT ON THE ROAD

[thepermanentrainpress]

THE PERMANENT RAIN PRESS INTERVIEW WITH EDEN SUMMER GILMORE

The film scene in the Lower Mainland has never been brighter. Rising talent, including Burnaby’s own Eden Summer Gilmore, have begun to make a name for themselves, with a multitude of key roles over the past five years. Gilmore is currently starring as Sofia Bianchi in Global’s Family Law, a drama that follows “a group of flawed family members who reluctantly work together at their father’s law firm in downtown Vancouver.” Her on-screen mother is Jewel Staite, who as recovering alcoholic and lawyer Abigail, must find a way to balance (and repair!) her own career and family life. 

Growing up, who were some artists you looked up to? What specific films, series or characters did you watch and feel inspired by?

Growing up I was really inspired by artists such as Taylor Swift, Emma Watson, Amy Adams, Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston. They are all such strong women that really showed me at a young age I can do and be whatever I set my mind to. I was (and still am) obsessed with the Harry Potter series. I remember growing up and watching Hermione, Emma Watson’s character, and feeling inspired to be me. She never let what anyone said dictate her and always stood up for herself. I also loved the film, Enchanted with Amy Adams. I actually used to call it “princess in the hole” since Amy Adams' character comes up from a sewer grate. She also really inspired me to be myself and to see all her talents in this film was so much fun to watch and definitely inspiring. Enchanted brought together all my favourite elements of Disney Princesses, musicals, singing, dancing, fantasy, it was my favourite growing up and I can’t wait for the sequel.

As I got older and started watching the tv show Friends - Jennifer Aniston really showed me the power I have as a woman. Also, Gilmore Girls and the relationship with Lorelei and Rory was fascinating to watch. One of my favourite shows! And of course Reese Witherspoon, she is also a huge inspiration. She has portrayed such amazing strong women in her films that I find awe-inspiring. Her production company Hello Sunshine is also a huge inspiration to me and a platform for female led productions.

Were your family and friends supportive of your decision to pursue a career in the arts?

Yes, they were very supportive. My mom actually works in the industry behind the camera and she was the one who thought I might enjoy acting, which I very much did. My parents and my grandparents were the ones who always would drive me to my auditions or take me to set. I am very grateful to have my family's support. My friends are also very supportive. I am very lucky and grateful to have friends that I can share these milestones with.

A defining role in your young career was starring in It’s Christmas, Eve opposite LeAnn Rimes. What did you take away from working on that project, and with LeAnn?

That was such an amazing project to do. LeAnn is so incredibly kind, I loved getting to work with her. Since this was my first lead role and I was on set almost every day, what I really took away was observing the actions of others, cast and crew on set & behind the scenes. I learnt so much about professionalism, kindness, tone and how to set healthy boundaries for yourself. Kindness can go such a long way and a positive attitude can really change the tone of a set.

LeAnn taught me so much about spreading kindness and acting professional on a set. She really is such a role model and created such a positive energy on the set. Same with Tyler Hynes (who played Liam, my dad in the show) I learnt a lot from him too, he is so lovely.

You star as Sofia Bianchi in Global’s Family Law. What have you enjoyed about portraying Sofia so far, and do you have similarities with her?

I love playing Sofia, she is awesome. There are so many things I enjoy about portraying her. We are both teenagers so there is a lot I can relate to her with. She has made me feel not alone in some of the experiences we both have gone through. I am sure many teenagers watching the show will be able to relate to her as well, I am really grateful to be able to tell her story. She is very witty and smart so it’s really fun portraying that side of her too! Her short jabs to her mom are really fun to play with. She also has a really vulnerable side to her that we see more of throughout the series. It’s really fun exploring those deep emotions and opening her up throughout the series. We definitely have similarities. As mentioned we are both teenagers so I can relate a lot to the emotions she is feeling. We both are very caring people (though Sofia doesn’t show it as often) and we both aren’t afraid to stand up for ourselves or the people we love.

Tell me about your time on-set, and working with your on-screen family – Jewel Staite (Abigail), Luke Camilleri (Frank) and Brenden Sunderland (Nico)? What are a couple of your favourite memories?

I love my on-screen family, they are all so amazing! Working with them is so great and they are all kind and generous. I love sharing scenes with them. We talked a lot about food on set, favourite desserts or recipes. Jewel and Genelle [Williams] would often buy Honey Donuts whenever we were shooting in Deep Cove which is so incredibly nice of them. Honey’s Donuts were a favourite on set. Brendon was always telling us interesting facts or stories (much like Nico’s character), he’s really sweet. I learnt so much from Luke and Jewel about acting and the industry. I really enjoy our talks in the greenroom and on set. I am really grateful to be able to work alongside them, they are both incredibly lovely! Jewel and I also tend to have a lot in common fashion wise and interests in general.

What is it like working and interacting with legendary actors like Victor Garber and Lauren Holly?

Amazing! Victor and Lauren are both so incredibly kind. I was already huge fans of them before getting on the show so getting to work with them really is a dream come true. Lauren is so kind, funny, and so talented. I have learnt so much from her on set. Same with Victor, I have learnt so much from him too. They bring such a positive and warm energy to set. I am grateful to work with them. It’s still surreal to me that they are my tv grandparents.

A large part of Sofia’s storyline is her fractured relationship with her mother. Did you and Jewel talk about your characters ahead of time, and how their relationship will evolve during the course of Season 1?

Yes, definitely. We would sometimes rehearse lines or talk about the scene between takes. Or sometimes when getting a new script we would talk about Abby and Sofia’s relationship that episode. Lots of it just came on the day when we would film the scene. Playing off of each other or seeing what other layers we could bring in.

You handmade friendship bracelets as a Season 1 wrap gift, which is so sweet and creative! How’d you come up with the idea?

Yes! I already made bracelets in my free time, while watching a show or just as something to do. It was a little hobby of mine. I love having little mementos to remember events and thought the bracelets would be a great idea to remember season 1! Something we could all share and remember how special and fun filming season 1 was. I think they were a great hit with everyone.

Family Law is very much a family drama, but also has crime and comedy mixed in. For those who haven’t yet tuned in, how would you pitch the show to potential viewers?

I would pitch it as a dramedy that follows the story of Abigail Bianchi, a recovering alcoholic and lawyer slowly trying to put her life and family back together while also helping other families do the same. She’s forced to work with her estranged father and two half siblings she has never met while at the same time trying to patch things up with her husband and kids. The dysfunctional family at the law office is always helping other dysfunctional families and learning things along the way. Each character is so real and rooted with so much truth. Each person watching will be able to find themselves in the characters and the stories being told. You will laugh, you will cry, and learn that in the end we are all human.

Congratulations on the Season 2 renewal! You wrapped the second season in late August, while the first season has just premiered! Was it exciting to return to set, knowing you’d have an opportunity to further Sofia’s development?

Thank you so much! Yes, it was very exciting! I had gotten to know Sofia so much in season 1 that in season 2 I just got to dig so much deeper! I got to explore other sides of her and show the audience more of who Sofia is and her relationships.

You can also be seen as young Nancy Drew in the CW’s Nancy Drew. To play such an iconic character, what has that meant to you?

It meant a lot to me. I grew up reading the Nancy Drew books. Nancy Drew was another role model to me growing up, there was always a deep connection I had with her. So to be able to bring that to the screen means so much. I find myself so much in Nancy’s character and am really grateful to be able to be a part of her story. It also meant a lot to me because I know other young girls who look up to Nancy’s character and I hope they learn from her that they are powerful and can do whatever they set their mind to. I am really grateful that I was able to play Young Nancy Drew and it will forever hold such a special place in my heart.

You’ve also gotten to work with an older Nancy, lead actor Kennedy McMann. How special has it been to have her support and guidance?

Yes, she is amazing. It’s been so special to have her support and guidance. She is a large role model to me as well. She always looked out for me on set and I am really grateful for that. I learnt so much from her as well. She is a phenomenal actor so to work alongside her has been truly a blessing and she is so incredibly kind!

You’ve worked on numerous projects, including web series and independent short films (many being female-led). What do you enjoy about being a part of the vibrant B.C. film industry?

Yes! I love being a part of the B.C. film industry and working a lot on independent shorts because there is just so much joy, passion, and creativity. It’s amazing working with people who have a passion for storytelling, it’s therapeutic in a way and gives the storyteller an opportunity to tell their story their way. Working with such passionate people also allows my creative energy to flow and allows me to let so much go. I am also really grateful to have worked on so many female-led projects. Especially being young in the industry working with so many females has taught me about the power I have as a woman. But also it’s so important that female writers, directors, etc. are getting opportunities and their stories told.

How has it inspired you to pursue writing and directing in the future, and have you been able to shadow/ask questions on these projects?

It really inspired me. It showed me that I really can do whatever I set my mind to. It also showed me how much writing/directing our own stories can inspire so many other people. I was definitely able to ask questions on these projects and it’s inspiring to watch their passions come to life. 

The Directors/Writers/Storytellers on these independent projects, such as Andy Alvarez, Veronica Kurz, Meeshelle Neal, Leah Beaudry, Annette Reilly and Heather Perluzzo really taught me a lot and they welcomed my questions and curiosity. I honestly can’t wait to write and direct my own independent short in the very near future

Is there a dream role or character you would like to play in the future? If not character, are there any specific film/TV genres or franchises you would like to be in?

I would love to do a comedy or horror film. I really love those genres and haven’t explored them on screen as much. I would also love to do a period piece. The 70s or 80s would be awesome. I love exploring pop culture and trends of different time periods.

For other young actors like yourself, do you have any advice for how to be confident in front of the camera? What (or who) has helped you prepare for roles and work on your lines?

Totally. My main advice would be to have fun and trust yourself. Whenever we do anything our main goal should be joy. Of course preparing and such is important but joy should be our number one goal. Once we are working out of a place of fun, truth, and joy when we get to the camera we can trust ourselves and have that confidence. That also comes with working on mindset and mindfulness in our everyday lives. And also remember to be yourself! My acting coach and mentor Beatrice King really helped me prepare for roles. She taught me to make sure I am working from a place of joy and continues to inspire me. I also train year round by attending acting classes and private coaching, which I think is definitely an asset in growing your craft and confidence.

You also have a passion for music! How did this interest come about, and how long have you been singing and playing the guitar?

Singing really was always a part of my life but I formally started taking lessons about 4 years ago. I love singing, it’s such a beautiful form of expression. When I am having trouble expressing something through words I can turn to a song to help me release. I started playing the guitar during quarantine. I had played the ukulele for a few years and wanted to try something new and ended up loving it.

You performed “You and Me and Christmas” with LeAnn (Rimes) in your holiday film. You even joined LeAnn for a live performance that December! Tell us about that experience, what do you remember from that concert?

It was amazing. It was my first time singing live at a concert. The movie means so much to me so getting to share that experience with LeAnn on stage was wonderful. I remember being quite nervous, but LeAnn gave me some advice before going on stage. Singing live on the stage was truly magical, I will never forget the adrenaline and pure joy it was. I am really grateful to have that experience, especially with LeAnn.

As a poetry writer, are you writing your own music? If so, what can you share about your lyrics and what has inspired you?

I do love writing poetry, it’s such a beautiful form of expression. I have dabbled in songwriting but never have gone too deep into it. It’s definitely something I want to explore further.

We know Queen is your favourite band, but who are some other artists we can find on your playlist?

Yes! I love Queen, I grew up listening to a lot of 80s music so I think that’s one of the reasons I love Queen. I mean - Freddie Mercury is pretty awesome. On my playlist you will find artists such as Taylor Swift, Olivia Rodrigo, Billie Eilish, Harry Styles and other 70s or 80s artists such as Abba, Billy Joel, Elton John, etc.

Your family has a wonderful pup, Finn, adopted from Fur Angels. What are some activities you enjoy doing with him? How would you encourage people to ‘adopt not shop’?

Finn loves swimming so often in the summer I love taking him to lakes to swim or in winter when it snows I love throwing snowballs for him. Like most dogs he loves belly rubs, walks or playing fetch. I always encourage people to look into adopting. There are lots of dogs who need forever homes and love. Lots of dogs in shelters who don’t get adopted sadly don’t end up making it. Finn is a rescue pup and I am really happy we were able to be his forever home.

What are some of your favourite places to visit or eat at in Vancouver?

Some favourite places to eat in Vancouver (which has been mostly take-out this past year and a half) are Agra Tandoori, Ragazzi Pizza, Neverland Tea Salon, Big Star Sandwich, or Casa Gelato! Highly recommend those places. I love to visit Lynn Valley for a nice hike. Downtown Vancouver is always fun. I also love Deep Cove and Granville Island.

Our signature question – if you could be any ice cream flavour, which would you be and why?

Love this question! If I could be any ice cream flavour it would be Raspberry Cheesecake. It’s one of my fav ice creams. It’s sweet with a tiny bit of tartness and combines the richness and softness of cream cheese, the sweetness of a raspberry, the nutty flavour and gritty texture of graham crackers to make a lovely combination that is both complicated, intriguing and delicious at the same time.

Thank you to Eden for taking the time to answer our questions about your projects and passions! Be sure to follow Eden on Twitter and Instagram for updates on her life and blossoming career! 

Family Law airs Fridays at 9 PM on Global TV. 

Photo credit (header and sixth image) to: Noah Asanias Special thanks to: M Public Relations

[letteredlettered]

i love the way you write more than i do any other writer, of fic or otherwise. do you have any particular writing inspo that’s shaped the way you write? like any books, shows, etc? thanks!

Thank you so much! This is such an amazing thing to say. I’m so glad you feel this way and thought to tell me so.

I wrote about my influences, but it got long, so here is a cut:

Here are some early influences:

-Christy, by Catherine Marshall. This was the first book I ever wrote fanfic for. I was in 4th grade. I was upset with the ending. I wanted so desperately for the book to continue that I studied the writing a lot so that what I wrote would feel like the book. I don’t actually know that it’s particularly well written, but I learned SPAG, show-don’t-tell, and dialogue tags from it.

-Mists of Avalon, by Marion Zimmer Bradley. We’ve learned some bad stuff about MZB over the years, but when I was in 7th grade, I was obsessed with this book. I thought a lot about how she constructed her characters by putting the plot together and I studied the writing style. I can’t say that this book is particularly well written either, but I learned about POV and character voices from it.

-Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte. I was absolutely obsessed with this book for years. I cannot even calculate the way in which this book influence both me as a person and my writing. As far as writing, I was particularly influenced by the themes and the syntax.

-Robin McKinley. I used to love this author devoutly. I didn’t “study” her books as much as the other ones, but I always wanted to sound like her. I think I was very influenced by her subject matter and tone.

When I got older, I started to look back on books I’d read and use them as ways to create certain voices. Here are a few I turn to:

-Jane Austen. I would go to her for syntax, word choice, simplicity and clarity of phrasing, and humor. I think unconsciously, she influenced a lot of what I do in terms of the reader and the author sharing things that the main character doesn’t exactly see themselves.

-Toni Morrison. I learned a lot about lyricism from her, but one of my favorite techniques of hers is switching between highly literary and super colloquial language, sometimes in the same sentence. Morrison also consistently reminds me that there is not a General Audience. Instead, there is you. Just you, reading these words, wherever you are, and I’m writing for you, and not for anyone else. I think about that all the time.

-Borges. I think about him a lot when I need very striking word choice. He’s a lot like Jane Austen in that he can describe something quite precisely in a way that feels quite light and amusing, but unlike Jane Austen it feels staggeringly literary and elevated. I think about that a lot--how to be pretentious but still be comprehended.

-Arrows of the Queen, by Mercedes Lackey. Whenever I get too pretentious and stop writing things I like, I read this book. It is not well written. It is the tween fantasy of so many of us who loved horses and wanted to be magic. I use it to remind myself that you don’t have to sound smart or write what other people want. If your id wants it, you’re still okay if you give it exactly what it wants.

In later years, I started to watch more TV. You can’t get things like style and voice for prose from TV, but they can be great for dialogue and very instructional on how to put plots together. Here are some shows I think about all the time:

-Avatar the Last Airbender: This show has a lot of archetypal characters that manage to not feel cliche even though they’re archetypal. It also has fairly tight plots, many of which are episodic but fit extremely neatly into larger arcs. This is hard to do and can be great for taking apart the pieces and looking at how they work.

-Buffy the Vampire Slayer: I mentioned this in another post, but I took notes on this show to see how jokes were constructed. It’s also quite useful for sharp, fast-paced dialogue.

Gilmore Girls: I’ve only ever used this exclusively for sharp, fast-paced dialogue.

Lastly, I could not conclude this post without mentioning that I’ve been very influenced by fanfic over the years and things I’ve read online. Some of these have been more influential to me than anything else:

mistful. This writer no longer has fic online, but this is where I learn how a tight 3rd POV can reveal things to the reader that the viewpoint character does not see. The lightness of her writing also helped me to finally say goodbye to my overly chunky prose, which did no service to the character-driven stories I tend to prefer. I also learned to write attraction from her.

kita. I started reading kita’s fic when I was in a post-modernist literature class. While I was reading kita, I was reading Gravity’s Rainbow. Kita’s writing is the opposite of mine, usually dense and heavy without much dialogue. She did a lot of experimental stuff, some of which worked for me and some of which did it, but it gave me the bravery to try a lot of things I otherwise never would have done.

lynnenne. Lynnenne has a deft, clean style that you don’t notice at first but can really pack a punch when it needs to. She has a great sense of rhythm. The biggest influence she had on me is she beta’ed a fic once and just started chopping out sentences. It was strange to have things I thought were good deleted, and see that through the deletion, the rest became more powerful. I became a huge fan of hardcore editing after that.

Luckily I have @icmezzo, who deserves mention as a fantastic beta who literally made me kill darlings. Literally. She made me cut the word darling.

refur. Refur’s SPN fic is still one of the most shockingly good things I’ve ever read. I think of them as someone who taught me some things about parentheses.

Captive Prince. This is not a fanfic! This is an original novel, by C.S. Pacat, but I first began reading online. Their sharp, clean style is something I really admire. The most important thing I learned from them was the value of the word “said.”

I’ve read and seen a lot of other things that have influenced me over the years, but these are the things that always come to mind when I think about what shaped my writing.

[imogenlefay]

oooh, a ship game! tagged by @perfectromanceinmymind​ who i just started adoring more for reading Imzadi. ok, let’s get into this!

rules: Movie/TV ship questions; answer with a GIF; no repeats

1. First ship - Janeway and Chakotay (Star Trek: Voyager)

yeah, I KNOW. since i started my rewatch i’ve been complaining about how boring chakotay is and how captain mom - i mean mommy - i mean janeway deserves someone way more interesting. hell, i’m pretty sure i’ll be shipping Q with her over chakotay. and just see waht will happen when seven of nine shows up. ...but yeah. sue me. it’s THERE. it’s obvious. it’s just also very, very boring. 

2. First OTP - Lily and James (Harry Potter)

so, i know, tons of issues with harry potter. but that was a fandom i was super invested in. ctually, not sure that’s the right way to put it. i was super invested into the books, waxed and waned a bit... and the funny thing is, i didn’t care about the whole harry-ron-hermione-ginny thing until i started reading fandom things and was totes fine with whatever was happening (actually kinda rooting for ginny since book 2). didn’t really care about these ships. but lily and james? from first finding out about the marauders, i was on board of that ship. also, snape was a creep and a horrible person, and a nice guy, and that was not romantic

3. Favourite current ship - Sebastian and Blaine (Glee)

do i have to say it? seblaine from glee. these two have barley 15 minutes of screentime, but the chemistry is just there. i still think they were set up to be at least a midgame ship that fell through when grant gustin was busy with the flash, which given the writing on glee and the insistance on klaine as an endgame might have actually been for the better, but there’s just something about them. if blaine’s in the room, sebastian’s eyes are on him. when sebastian shows up, blaine’s mood lifts. Just so much potential, wasted again - but that’s the glee thing. 

4. Shipped from the first minute - Dean and Castiel (Supernatural)

sooooo, i won’t say they’re canon, but they’re half-canon and broke the internet. now, keep in mind, i stopped watching supernatural around season 8? the one in which metatron showed up, idk. it got so boring how every season another main character was the bad guy, the winchesters got more toxic, and of course, the treatment of cas. so i’ve seen from gift that got super toxic. but come on. i’m the one who gripped you tight and raised you from perdition. best entrance ever, electric chemistry, gradually growing connection... i’m ignoring most of supernatural canon, but that was magic. 

5. Wish they had been endgame - Barney and Nora (How I Met Your Mother)

my shipping history with himym is... spotty. i liked ted/robin, was fine with them breaking up, and reaaaally got into barney/robin. until they got together, were awful and broke up. sure, i blamed the writing, but that short stint killed my enthusiasm. enter nora. sweet, smart, confident nora who is not ashamed to admit she’s a romantic and clearly state what she wants, who calls barney on his bs and won’t let him walk all over her. and also, the first woman barney actually wanted to be in a relationship with. even with robin, lily had to bully them into it. i thought she was really good for him, and he was at his best with her. hated how she was pushed aside to bring back more barney/robin drama (who srsly brought out the worst in each other) still my headcanon that he runs into her again when he’s more mature, caring for his daughter. but alas, has to remain a headcanon. (also, it’s a pic cause i literally can’t even find a gif)

6. Wish they had been canon - Bashir/Garak (Star Trek: DS9)

sorry, not sorry. the dynamic between is amazing - the brilliant but naive new doctor, excited like a freaking puppy, meeting the mysterious spy pretending to be a tailor while trying to move away from his past. there is SO much chemistry, fascination, intrigue between them, even if they aare so fundamentally different. just... damn. except at some point midway they stopped giving them scenes. were they afraid of the chemistry? idk but i’ll spread the rumor. because we were cheated. 

7. Ship everyone else hates - Ted and Robin (How I Met Your Mother)

i get it. the writing had issues. writing an endgame ahead of time can backfire. ted backtracking to robin again and again gets really annoying. the mother was seriously amazing and i still can’t believe they pulled her off so well after all the buildup. and the pacing of wasting a whole season on a wedding for a couple that gets divorced within like five minutes is awful. i know all that. but i honestly think they work. their first relationship was seriously sweet - nothing like the trainwreck between barney and robin - and for them to come together when the timing is right, they both grew and matured, and are in the right places in their lives... idk, they work for me. 

8. Don’t even watch the show but still ship - Rory and Jess (Gilmore Girls)

i literally only know gifsets of them. they look cute. 

9. Wish they had a different storyline - House and Cameron (House MD)

i seriously shipped them so much in season 1. their date was sweet, especially how before wilson told her to please not break house’s heart. but after the date, they just threw it out. i had some hope again when she left his team and returned as head of the ER, just cause i thought it changed the power dynamic and maybe they had a shot. that’s what i would have liked to see. that they work together occasionally, and he starts seeing her more as an equal and maybe build something from there. would probably been way healthier than the toxic crap with cuddy. 

10. Actually endgame - Emma and Hook (Once Upon A Time)

oh hi, jennifer morrison, haven’t seen you in a bit. so, i also stopped watching once upon a time, as the stories got too wild and i never got into regina’s big redemption, which consisted of *checks notes* deciding she’s redeemed now and screw anyone who disagrees. but i did love captain swan. did not see that coming. like, sure, hook flirts from their first interaction, but i was against them, given how antagonistic they were. but come season 3 and neverland, and their kiss? and damn. they took chemistry, and actually built something from it, and this time, it freaking worked. which is rare. so yes, so many issues with the show, but these two? ready to set sail, captain! 

tagging @blainesebastian​, @seblaineaddict​, @glitzgustin​, @ejaycaswell​ and @liloandsoon​, as well as anyone else who wants to take a spin at this

[purple-fireflies]

Hermione for the character ask! 🧙‍♀️

Hi!! Tysm for the ask :)))

Hermione Granger, aka my idol in my teen years.

Favorite thing about Hermione

So, a generic response would be something like "oh her strength" or "oh her brains" and while those things are really great parts about her, the thing that I like most about Hermione is that she's not afraid to stand up for herself when she faced bigotry. If I remember correctly, she had always stood up for herself and never took anyone's crap -- in the same vein, she always called everyone out. I feel like this is a really important and amazing part of her character because it's really hard to always be ready to confront others and stand up for yourself, she makes a really good role model.

Least Favorite thing about Hermione

Oh see, I have two right off the bat answers to that - what least favorite thing? She's great? (Keep in mind I did read the series when I was quite young, everything is put through rose-colored glasses, so to speak). My second answer was her relationship with Ron or in general, the way it developed. From the way I remember it, Ron constantly made fun of Hermione on multiple occasions, this going to a point where Harry was exasperated in having to deal with their drama, and then in the Half-Blood Prince, it turns out she actually has a crush on him? I don't understand it. And honestly, I don't like it.

Favorite Line/Quote

So this took quite a bit of sleuthing but I remembered the general gist of the quote I wanted to use.

“Just because you have the emotional range of a teaspoon doesn’t mean we all have!”

Or something along the lines of this.

Obviously, Hermione's had many more impactful and meaningful lines that I could've chosen - why did I choose this one?

It's just so funny. And like extra points to a person who could slip this quote into a bit of conversation.

BrOTP

I actually don't have a brOTP for Hermione - I love her friendship with the Golden Trio but it just doesn't hit the bar for me: some really good brOTP's I have are Matteo and Gaston, Percy and Grover, Jason and Nico, Meredith and Christina (Soy Luna, PJO, HoO and Grey's Anatomy, for those confused with the refs). If I did have to pick a friendship of Hermione's I liked and wished was explored more it would be Hermione and Luna, Hermione and Ginny, or Hermione and Neville.

OTP

Again, for Hermione, none of her major love interests really stick out to me, but if I did have to choose - Harry.

This, I've learned, is quite an unpopular opinion, so let me explain.

Even as children, Harry respected and thought of Hermione as his equal and friend, and often came to her for advice. He respected her knowledge whereas Ron (I'm not currently counting Krum as a contender, sorry) ridiculed her in the beginning.

But okay, going on - I just loved reading their friendship scenes, and when I watched the movies, again, loved the scenes.

and going on, I feel like (this is movie-specific) that there was always more chemistry with Harry and Hermione, rather than Ron, and again (move specific) the tent dancing scene was so adorable.

nOTP

Dramione.

So this is another two-pronged response.

Draco Malfoy is a horrible person. In the books, he called Hermione slurs, bullied her numerously, and was just horrific to a lot of people. To want Hermione to be with him, with all of this in mind is really hard for me to fathom.

Now for the second prong of the response.

Dramione could've worked, in another world in which the HP books went a different route. If Draco had gone the same way as Sirius Black did - realizing that his family's values were not his, and running away, Dramione would've worked. In this universe, we could've acknowledged Draco's home life and family life, watched him unlearn the bigotry ingrained into his life, and start a friendship with Harry and Hermione. This way, Dramione would've been a good contender for one of my OTP's. Alas, this is not the case, and Draco's storyline went a much different route.

Random Headcanon

Hermione really likes Gilmore Girls & Autumn.

I can't explain why but it just feels right to me.

Unpopular Opinion

See above: I don't like Romione

A song I Associate with Them

Behind these Hazel Eyes - Kelly Clarkson

So, if you've never heard this song before, please go listen to it!!!!

I think this really fits Hermione because she has to always be strong but she is also vulnerable - it also fits her anger that I think she would have.

Also, There Are Worse Things I Could Do - Grease.

I just think it really fits.

Favorite Picture

I don't want to repost any fanart, so I am going to put in a picture from the movie that I really like.

I feel like this is self-explanatory as to why this pic is superior.

*this got so long sorry!!!*

[transxfiles]

What are some shows you like?

Here’s some of the ones that come to mind, and why I like them :D

Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts - post apocalypse done well, every character is a person of color, world building is very sound and believable, animation’s cute, also the soundtrack fucking slaps

Round Planet - nature documentary with commentary that just fucking slaps, very funny, please watch it

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power - overall good show, cute animation, the ending made me very happy, has some arcs i didn’t like but the overarching storyline made up for it, lovely lgbt rep

Gilmore Girls - i like watching this with my family, the dialogue is well-written and banter-y, fun characters and plot that i can disappear into, small town vibes that are written by someone who has obviously never lived in a small town but i’ll excuse it because i enjoy the show

Steven Universe - animation is adorable, love the dynamic of the three aliens trying to figure out how to raise a small human child who also has alien powers, lots of great lessons on various things, the world building is lovely and the characters are three-dimensional and believable, there are lgbt characters here too

Buzzfeed: Unsolved - i just really enjoy the dynamic between the two hosts, also appreciate how they literally know nothing about anything they investigate, true crime but they’re always just like “fuck this dude was messed up”, hosts drink their respect women juice, as someone who believes in ghosts because family members have been known to come into contact with them there’s definitely an element of genuine paranormal activity in this one

Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? - i watched this a lot as a kid and it makes me very happy because it’s kind of like a comfort show for me

What’s New, Scooby-Doo? - again, watched it as a kid, comforting when i’m having a bad day

Antiques Roadshow - love learning about different old things it makes me happy, fun to find out that a plate a lady’s been serving potatoes on for years is actually a picasso, even better when you see this old white man try to sell off something as an ‘ancient indian relic’ but it turns out he was fucking scammed

Avatar: The Last Airbender - this show is just amazing, it’s got so many great themes it would take too long to list them all here, the character arcs are great, love how the world is built so it feels almost like our world but not quite, all characters are asian, sibling dynamic between two main characters is so fucking relatable, even the episodes that feel like filler episodes aren’t really filler, best villain redemption ever, just a wonderful show overall

The Great British Bake Off - the best cooking/baking show ever, incredibly pure, everyone’s kind to each other and it’s quite lovely, plus all the bakes look really tasty and the hosts are fun!

Good Omens - wonderful book-to-show adaptation, probably one of the better takes on christianity in general (i went to catholic school for my primary education so it was fun to see biblical elements of the show) but it’s also not really a religious show at all, the characters are fun, love the witch character because she’s just pretty badass, the kids are written so that they feel very much like kids which a lot of writers have a hard time doing

Phineas and Ferb - the plot’s repetitive but i can still watch multiple episodes back to back without getting bored, i love all the characters, the villain is great because he’s super smart but he devotes all of his time to fighting his platypus nemesis and building crazy machines the he thinks will help him take over the tri-state area, all of the songs are bops, the protagonists are little rays of sunshine, the dialogue always makes me smile, protagonists come from multiple different cultural backgrounds

Gravity Falls - i'm a sucker for mysteries and conspiracy so this is a fave, the animation’s really fun and adds to the story, a great overarching plot line for a kid’s show, the family dynamic is believable and relatable, accurate portrayal of sibling relationship, kids summon demons: not clickbait

Milo Murphy’s Law - in the phineas and ferb universe, overarching plot lines that are fun, time-travelers and middle school shenanigans, the protagonist always has the worst happen to him but he always has a positive attitude which is really wonderful and he’s honestly just a ray of sunshine

Gayle - a youtube series, so fucking funny, pretty much the chronicles of a karen

[stina-bo-bina]

Ships Meme

Talk about the first ship you ever had. That was Chandler/Monica  when I was 14 and in high school. I don’t even know how it began. I was  watching Friends reruns and saw them get together and boom! Obsessed.  It’s funny because I never went for Ross/Rachel but C/M were a good, easy ship to start out with.

Talk about three of the most important ships throughout your life.

What’s your current OTP? Right now it’s Josh/Donna since finishing The West Wing for my first time in October and currently slowly rewatching.

What’s your current NOTP? None.

Do you have any poly ships? No.

How do you feel about love triangles? I hate them! I much prefer a lot  of other keep them apart tropes.

How do you feel about RPF? I’ve never been into it.

Have you ever shipped yourself with a character? Yes, I think with the male part of every ship. hahaha.

Do you have many ships that never got together at all? No,  I don’t think so. I tend to ship pretty mainstream.

Do you ship any characters that have never met? No.

Talk about your favorite first kiss. Luke and Lorelai: amazing, amazing, amazing. It still makes my stomach flip every time I watch it. ALSO Nick/Jess. Amazing. Josh/Donna’s first kiss is also amazing. The whole vibe with the music.  (I know this said favorite but those are my top 3 I guess.)

Have you ever been disappointed when your ship finally got together? Yes, Booth/Brennan let me down a bit. It was kind of a bummer how we saw no lead up to it. I liked that they had a kid (well, 2) and got married but once they got together they weren’t as great anymore.

Has a ship ever broken your heart? LUKE/LORELAI. I mean, they made up for it in the end but late s6/s7 was painful in real time and I was legit heartbroken. Also Sam/Diane because they never ended up together.

How do you feel about will they/won’t they? Many of my ships ARE this, so I guess I like it. Although it has to be  “will they” in the end AND I  don’t like it if it’s until the VERY end.

Have you ever “shipped at first sight”? Don’t think so.

Talk about a ship you initially disliked. None.

Talk about a pairing you’ve stopped shipping romantically. None, I don’t give up shipping much once I start.

Talk about a moment which made you question an entire ship. Lorelai sleeping with Christopher a the end of season 6.

Have you ever shipped something despite yourself? No.

Talk about a ship you feel alone in shipping. None, I’m a mainstreeam shipper.

Is there a ship you just don’t get, but have nothing against? I have nothing against Ross/Rachel  but I never shipped them hardcore which seems strange that I didn’t.

Which of your ships have the best chemistry? Luke/Lorelai and Josh/Donna are pretty consistent through the whole series. Nick/Jess are strong in s2 and so are Booth/Brennan in s2.

Which of your ships deserve better writing? Nick/Jess (mostly Nick). His character got so strange after they got together.

Do you mostly ship canon pairings? Yes.

Have you ever shipped a pairing before you even started watching the show/movie simply because of gifs and graphics or similar? I was kind of like this with Booth/Brennan I think. Josh/Donna too. I knew   they were a big deal and would end up shipping them before I watched.

Have you noticed a pattern in your shipping? Is there a romantic dynamic you’re more drawn to? Friends first. 

Is there a ship you’ve shipped for most of your life? Chandler and Monica I started shipping in 1999. 22 years. Of course it comes and goes but whenever I get in a Friends binge I fall right back into them.

Does shipping come easily to you? Not really. I ship very few ships compared to all the TV I watch and there’s a lot of couples out there I’m cool with (I like Jim/Pam for example) but I don’t consider them my SHIP.

Do you need to ship something to really enjoy a movie/book/tv show/comic? Yes and no. I can enjoy a lot of shows without shipping obsessively (The Office, How I Met Your Mother, tons of shows I watch). But when I ship that’s when it spills over into OBSESSION.

Name a couple of fandoms in which you have no ships. HIMYM (I liked Barney/Robin but never felt I was a shipper), Modern Family, Grey’s Anatomy. 

Talk about one of your favorite headcanons for a ship you love. I feel like Josh/Donna have a lot of  headcanons that are fandom recognized (the trip was to Hawaii. They move in together right after).

Do you have a favorite trope and/or AU for your OTP? I never really get into AU.

Do you like and use ship names? The only time it’s something other than their initials I think was Luke/Lorelai (JavaJunkies).

Is there a fictional relationship you’d really want for yourself? I’d go for the ones with less breakups and drama (Chandler/Monica, Josh/Donna aren’t too bad).

If you could change one thing about your OTP, what would that be? I understand Gilmore Girls wanting Lorelai to go through the whole Christopher relationship to prove it wasn’t right for her, but I’d change how it was done.

Which ships have made it to marriage? Chandler/Monica, Booth/Brennan, Nick/Jess, Luke/Lorelai (haha I can say that now!).

Which ships have children on screen? Chandler/Monica, Booth/Brennan, (Nick/Jess do in the flashforward?).

Ship that took the longest to get together? Josh/Donna

Ships that never broke up? Chandler/Monica, Booth/Brennan, Josh/Donna (simply because they got together at the very end haha).