i really love thinking about the potential of lightnings childhood. we have no idea what happened, but its up for interpretation, and i think thats great.
neglect - a common headcanon - seems to make so much sense for him. he hates help, he hates being told what to do, but also hes so lonely and in such desperate need of approval and validation that he’ll take the harshest words as long as theyre coming from someone who, at the end of the day, will give him at least one pat on the back for doing something right.
i think this, as we all know, is a major part of his character, but the idea of doc, taking this kid thats been so awfully treated his entire life - who isnt used to affection or any kind of positive attention, who hates being bossed around because he thinks he knows better and can be trusted more than other people would - and essentially finding a midway point so he can be lightnings crew chief in a way that both introduces the idea of gentle help (telling him when to pit, etc etc) and doesnt infringe on lightnings fear? hatred? of being told what to do and how to do it? its perfect. it introduces to this kid with severe abandonment issues the idea of sometimes needing or even just wanting help, and helps him change for the better without forcing him to immediately conform to the idea that oh, he HAS to need help.
lightnings previous crew chiefs are so much different than doc, because while doc takes the time to get to know lightning, to discuss ways they can work together to get around these issues he has while also being able to enforce proper rules within the sport, his crew chiefs before never did this. they didnt get to know him personally, they didnt care. they just knew he didnt listen and had a flaring temper, and it was never really that fair to lightning that they didnt give him a chance. obviously, not all blame is on them, because as much as they didnt put the effort in to find a groove that worked for their driver, he also didnt try to put this effort in (although, really, as an 18 year old with issues surrounding this job that are KNOWN it was never really his job to be the one to initiate finding a solution - hell, he probably didnt even know what the issue was.), he was ALSO the one to fire these people, so they’re both at fault for this in a way.
but, again, i love thinking about this whole childhood thing because not only is doc opening up the help that lightning was always consistently refused to the point he believed he just didnt need it - that all those times he wanted help when he was young was really just him being dramatic - but hes also opening up the option for Family that lightning never had either. doc takes all the awful morals that lightning taught himself (or that harv taught him) because he had no one to teach him the true ones, and flips them around. he becomes the father lightning never had and the guidance that no one had ever given him. god i love found family guys theyre literally father and son
also nobody imagine how silly the first time doc ever ruffles his silly ass sons hair is. lightning freezing because oh, no ones ever done that before, and doc being like ? how badly do i need to kick the shit out of your parents? that is like the most average father appreciation Ever wdym ur dad didnt do that to you at least Once.
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for a little while after he comes to radiator springs, lightning definitely is in a constant state of fight or flight (mostly flight)
it comes with the trauma of being neglected and rejected repeatedly, hes terrified the the town will do the same thing to him that his parents did — or they’ll be just like the people he wanted to desperately to be friends with — so on, and so forth.
it also comes with the unmasking process — getting insanely overstimulated insanely quickly because being tied down feels Crowding . and having this many people care about you, to the point it ends in almost constant conversation with someone, can start to feel suffocating. and the fact he cant prepare himself for the day anymore because its such an out of wack routine doesnt help one bit.
so, he needs an escape.
its dumb, kind of, and sometimes his little adventures around the desert suffice enough, but it starts becoming more of an issue and he starts needing somewhere repetitive to go.
the cow fields just on the county line, the gravel road that leads to a deserted farmhouse, its age showing in each plank of wood that hangs off its nails, rotting from the rain and weather, grains of sand embed in each crack — lightning finds comfort in one of those empty fields.
first, its leaving to go sit in the long grass, pulling little bits and pieces of it out of the dirt and taking interest in how, somehow, after years of abandonment, it seems to thrive - how the cows keep living, being fed occasionally by mater, but for the most part just surviving off of the grass in their pen. he wonders why they stay. - he would find himself watching the sun disappear behind the mountains and cliffs of cadillac range, taking deep breaths, basking in the sound of the wind whistling and crickets chirping.
when his fears start getting worse, he steals one of the plastic lawn chairs out of docs shed and leaves it out there, sometimes stealing a beer out of the fridge despite how much he hates them. he rarely drinks them anyways, maybe a few sips or so for enough of a buzz to get rid of the anxiety in his bones, but otherwise he always gets home with a bottle still half full, going to waste down the drain.
doc never worries about this. its a part of the process of teaching someone that Some People in the world arent out to get them — sometimes people genuinely mean it with their care — so he can understand that these mini getaways are just his kid taking time to calm down, rationalize, and figure stuff out.
as the months pass, he becomes less terrified, he doesnt need to really disappear anymore, he starts taking sally out there with him. he lays a blanket in the grass and they stare at the sky together in silence.
the longer he stays out there in that field, the more he realizes hes here to stay. he doesnt need to come out here to calm down, instead he can sit in his bedroom and breathe.
eventually, that plastic lawn chair is deserted in that field, the smooth, white surface becoming scratchy and dirty with rain and wind. no one goes out to clean it, because no one needs it anymore.
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Every time I see your tag ‘great set op thank you’ on a gifset or photoset or something, it reminds me of that one video, the one where they’re like ‘another one thank yew. Another one thank yew’ and marking off rallies on a board. Idk where I was going with this
I love how I got these in a span of just a few days from each other lol
@mineonmain it does have that repetitive vibe since I use it on all gif sets, but I don't mean it in that Be Done And Over With It way. I couldn't possibly think of a different thing to say in all of them, so I just keep it simple
@the-iron-queen it's the least I can do for our dear gif makers who grace us with their treasures. I'm genuinely grateful for each and every single one for their time and efforts 🫶💞
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