#this is a rory gilmore appreciation account

[roeyliteratiforever]

It's like Rory anti's literally spin anything to try to prove she's the "worst" or to convince themselves why they hate her and they are nothing but stupid reasons. If I have to hear "Rory had everything handed to her" or "Rory is a spoiled brat" or "Rory is the worst because she dropped out of Yale and can't handle criticism" I'm gonna lose it!

She did not have everything handed to her. She worked her ass off to get into Yale and worked super hard towards her goals. Anyone who thinks "Rory has everything handed to her" did you not watch seasons 1-3 where she worked herself so hard where all she wanted to do was study and read or do extra curriculars to get into Yale? She worked herself so hard to the point her first boyfriend started getting jealous because she would work towards her education instead of spending time with him. She got accepted because she deserved to be there. She didn't get there from her grandparents money they helped pay where she was PAYING BACK! It was a LOAN! Her grandparents didn't just hand out money to her to buy her way into Yale like Logan's parents did she worked hard for it!

She was not a "spoiled brat" either she grew up in a garden shed and the small town of Stars Hollow and even when people tried to put her on a pedestal she fought back she hated how the town and everybody was towards her. Even when she dropped out and was staying in the pool house SHE WAS WORKING! She was not a spoiled brat she was always super grateful for the things people do for her, and even did so much for everyone around her. If anyone needed anything Rory was constantly there for them. Even when Paris was mean to her she was nothing but nice and patient with her and if she ever needed anything Rory was always there for her. I love Paris I'm not attacking her but Rory was always there for Paris even when she wasn't so nice to Rory. She did everything her mother or grandparents asked of her because she didn't want to disappoint them but if Rory has a knee jerk emotional response the fandom is like "oh she's a spoiled brat" instead of understanding that she is just human and messes up sometimes, or in a bad emotional state, but eventually she does come to her senses about most things after she's had space to think things over.

If you hate her for taking a break from Yale that's just so stupid. Lots of people take breaks from school because they aren't sure what they want to do. In Rory's case all she has ever wanted was to be a journalist and having someone so high up in the industry tells you that you don't have what it takes or you aren't good enough is soo crushing! Most people would be so hurt by it, and that was all Rory has ever known and when Mitchum told her that she was so discouraged and needed a break to figure things out and that's perfectly okay. Think if you were in Rory's shoes and someone tell you that you don't have what it takes to achieve your dream how would you react? I'm so amazed how people can't have a lick of compassion over that situation, to add icing on the cake her mom...I love Lorelai but she literally cut her off when she was in a bad emotional crisis and she needed her mom during that time, and that really crushed her more. I'm currently going through a situation like Rory at the moment and I can attest that it's so fucking relatable what Rory was going through. When I first started going to school for the program I was on my counselor also didn't think I had what it took and it hurt and when I started taking the courses it did end up being really hard, and I have been in a burn out and have been struggling with depression and I just needed a break. I got to a point of thinking is this something that I still want to do because everything just feels so uncertain right now. She is literally the most relatable character ever. I love her so much and I can't take these stupid takes that people have to hate her. It's like people will find any reason to hate her and I'm over it!

[frazzledsoul]

rory and dean, part three: we’re really just fucking kidding ourselves at this point, or why rory does not deserve 99% of the blame for this disaster

So, OG Gilmore Girls fans may recall that Dean Forester’s ill-advised marriage to his rebound girlfriend was actually an attempt to write him off the show. Jared had filmed a pilot for a Young Macgyver show (you can watch most of it online here), but the WB ultimately passed so we (and Rory) were stuck with Dean for another year and a half. One wonders what would have happened if they hadn’t passed. Would we never have heard from Dean again? Would ASP have roped him into a few guest appearances anyway and attempted to do the same storyline? Would they just have gotten Milo to guest star for season four? Would Rory have run away with Jess in that scenario? Who knows.

Anyway, let’s revisit the issue of Dean vs Jess at the end of season four, after Rory rejects Jess’s plea to run away with him

RORY: Anyway, I left the pub, got back to my dorm, and Jess was there. LANE: What did he want? RORY: He wanted me to come away with him. LANE: Oh, my God! What did you say? RORY: I said -- I don't know. It was so weird. He was just... Jess. I mean, he shows up out of no where with this crazy proposal. It was awful. LANE: It doesn't sound awful. RORY: What are you talking about? Jess bailed on me twice. LANE: I know, but how incredibly romantic to have this guy show up out of the blue and want to take you away with him. RORY: When I first met Jess, I thought, "What could be better than this? He's smart, good taste in books and music, so cute." But Jess is great one minute and then the next - you know, as far as I know, I could have said yes, packed my bag, and by the time I got to the car, he would have changed his mind. LANE: It's part of why he's cute. He's unpredictable. RORY: I guess. You know, when I was with Dean, I always knew that no matter what happened, he would be there. LANE: Dean was very dependable. RORY: It was more than that. He's -- well, he was so... um, I was safe, and he was so nice to me. LANE: He really loved you. RORY: I think I really blew it there, you know? I didn't appreciate it. LANE: Every girl has to fall for a bad boy. It's the rule. It's the reason so many accountants eventually get married.

While this fits nicely with my headcanon that Dave eventually became an accountant, that is neither here nor there. I think this is the only time Rory really is shown processing the breakup with Jess until he shows up again in season 6 and how it led her to the Dean disaster, because as schmoopy as she gets about Dean in the twelve hours or so after she sleeps with him, it’s clear that she’s mostly looking for affirmation and stability, and not to get dragged down by feelings she can’t trust or control.

And of course, she had pretty much zero boundaries with Dean prior to this: crying on his shoulder, haranguing him about not going to college, knowing that Lindsay wouldn’t approve of him hanging out with her at night and doing it anyway. Who was going to tell her she shouldn’t do that, after the example her parents set for her over and over? Anyway. Moving on.

So, let’s go over Dean’s seduction technique, which mostly involves him lying his ass off.

DEAN: It's not working with Lindsay. I can't make it work. I've tried. RORY: Are you sure? Because I've heard that the first two years of marriage are the hardest. DEAN: We're not happy. She's not happy, and I can't make her happy. RORY: I can't imagine that. DEAN: It was a mistake, and I know that now. From the very beginning, it wasn't - RORY: Wasn't what? DEAN: It wasn't... RORY: Maybe you could, um, go see a counselor or go away together. DEAN: No, it's just -- it's over. We both feel it. I know we both feel it. RORY: You and Lindsay? DEAN: Yeah, me and Lindsay. RORY: You both feel it's over? DEAN: I tried. We tried. RORY: Well, if it's over, I'm sorry. DEAN: You are? RORY: I'm sorry you're not happy. DEAN: I'll be happy again. Things happen for a reason, right?

Not to completely absolve Rory for all of this as she definitely should have gone on more than Dean’s word, but he absolutely lied to her face after she gave him three chances in a row to come clean. He made sure to follow her to her house, where she would be alone, and manipulated her into having sex with him. Yet somehow Rory is shamed for being the seductress who tempted him into breaking his vows.

Let’s move on to Lorelai, who is actually speaking sense on matters of morality, for once.

LORELAI: But he's married. RORY: You don't understand the situation. LORELAI: Is he still married? RORY: Yes, but - LORELAI: Then I understand the situation. RORY: It's not working out between them. They're not happy. LORELAI: Oh, Rory. RORY: He tried the best he could, but it didn't work. It's over. LORELAI: [ Sighs ] He told you that? RORY: Yes. LORELAI: He told you he's leaving her? RORY: Well - LORELAI: He told you he's moving out, they're getting divorced, he's got a lawyer, they've divided up the monster-truck season tickets? RORY: We didn't get around to discussing everything.

Yeah, Rory, because he lied and told you exactly what he needed to so that you would fuck him. He never actually made any steps towards leaving his wife, and he won’t until he’s forced to,

RORY: He's not a married guy. He's Dean -- my Dean.

LORELAI: He's not your Dean. He's Lindsay's Dean. You're the other woman. RORY: I told you, it's over. LORELAI: It's not over until he's out of the house with the ring off. RORY: He took the ring off. LORELAI: Oh, my God, I don't believe this. RORY: He's in love with me, not Lindsay. LORELAI: Does Lindsay know that? RORY: She's not good for him, okay? She lets him quit school and work himself to death and - LORELAI: No, Rory, uh-uh, you can't be one of those girls who blames the wife for forcing the husband to cheat.

Funny how Lorelai was exactly like that when Christopher was having problems with Sherry and not only slept with him before he had moved out or officially broken up with her, but bragged about it to Sookie, paraded him all around Stars Hollow, and let everyone she knew about their burgeoning relationship, including her parents. It would be strange if that happened to come up again, right?

LORELAI: This is your first time. It's just not the way your first time was supposed to be. RORY: Oh, and how was my first time supposed to be? LORELAI: Well, first of all, it was supposed to be in a retirement home. And secondly, ideally, it was supposed to be with someone single. RORY: My first time was with someone sweet and kind who loves me. LORELAI: I didn't raise you to be like this. I didn't raise you to be the kind of girl who sleeps with someone else's husband. RORY: You slept with dad when he was with Sherry. LORELAI: He wasn't married to Sherry. RORY: He was engaged, and she was pregnant. LORELAI: So, this is all my fault? I set one crappy example for you, and you have no choice but to follow in my footsteps?

They’re basically one of those old anti-drug PSAs. I learned it from watching you!

I mean, it’s not like Lorelai badgered and pressured Rory into staying with Dean when her attention drifted to Jess and constantly argued for his innate superiority over and over and over.....oh wait, she totally did that. It’s not like Lorelai failed to sit Rory down at some point and explain that the reason their hearts got broken over Christopher not breaking up with his girlfriend is because sometimes when you sleep with other people’s boyfriends, they opt not to choose you in the end. Oh, wait, she didn’t do that, either, because he was her Christopher and they’ve always been connected. So she’s completely entitled to not take any responsibility for that situation and try to vandalize the other woman’s bathroom at her baby shower because she was jealous.

So, let’s just say I kind of understand why Rory gives Lorelai the cold shoulder here. Who is she to lecture, given her track record? And we know it’s only going to get worse.

Before we move on from this, though...

RORY: He was my boyfriend first! LORELAI: But you dumped him! You rejected him! You picked someone else!

Okay, technically it was Dean that dumped her (apparently I am the only one who remembers this) but as much as Rory pretends that Dean was the perfect boyfriend, both of them are significantly overidealizing the halcyon days of their early relationship. They were together for three months, and only reconcile when Rory is badgered into saying that she loves him: then it’s a few more months until Jess shows up and Rory loses almost all interest in Dean whatsoever. So the perfect love that they claim to want to relive never really existed.

Okay, let’s move on to how Dean actually treats his wife he claims to Rory he was completely in the process of breaking up with prior to him boinking his ex.

Upon learning that Lindsay had committed the unpardonable sin of answering her husband’s phone:

DEAN: I mean, you know it's my phone, Lindsay. This isn't your phone. I mean, who was it? LINDSAY: I don't know. They hung up. DEAN: So you didn't take a message? LINDSAY: I told you -- they hung up. DEAN: So, great, uh, you're just answering my phone and not taking messages? That's great, Lindsay. LINDSAY: Dean, wh-- DEAN: Taylor calls on this phone, and Tom. I mean, this phone is for business, okay? That's why I have it! LINDSAY: Fine. DEAN: What if Tom called, and he had an extra shift for me tomorrow, huh? I mean he calls to tell me, and you answer, and he thinks maybe he doesn't have the right number, and he hangs up, and then I just lose out, which means we lose out. God, Lindsay, you know, you don't -- you don't get it, do you? I mean, you have absolutely no respect for me at all. That's just obvious. LINDSAY: I don't want to fight. We always fight. I won't answer your phone anymore. I was asleep. I didn't think. I'm sorry, okay?

Jeebus, she completely sounds like a battered wife here. What a prince Dean is, huh? And yeah, Dean completely doesn’t sound like someone who’s trying really hard to cover his tracks.

Let’s move on. Rory overhears Lindsay trying to prepare dinner in the hopes of smoothing things over with Dean, and she finally accepts that Dean has not left his wife and at this point likely has no intentions to. She writes a break-up letter for Lorelai to deliver to him.

LORELAI: It's a letter for you from Rory. DEAN: What happened? Where is she? LORELAI: Just take the letter. DEAN: She went to Europe, right? Miss Patty said she went to Europe. What happened? What's she doing there? Who is she with? LORELAI: Dean. DEAN: When's she getting back? LORELAI: Soon. Just take it. DEAN: Where is she? LORELAI: Europe. DEAN: With who? LORELAI: Her grandmother. Look, take it. DEAN: No. Why did she go? Whose idea was it? LORELAI: That doesn't matter. DEAN: It does.

Dean, are you still married? Then it’s none of your business who Rory is with. Fuck off, sir. You have no right to ask anything of her.

Lindsay finds the letter and finally gives Dean a small taste of what he deserves.

LINDSAY: I hate you, Dean! I hate everything! DEAN: Let's just talk. LINDSAY: I don't want to talk! I don't want you here! DEAN: I'm sorry, okay? LINDSAY: Sorry? DEAN: Yes, because it'll never happen again.

Sure sounds like a guy who really, really wants to leave his marriage and totally didn’t feed Rory a bunch of bullshit to get her to do what he wants.

Lindsay kicks Dean out and her mom and Lorelai have a blowout in the middle of the street while their kids stand by silently like the teenage girls that they still are.

MRS. LISTER: You! You should be ashamed of yourself -- what you did! LORELAI: Just wait. MRS. LISTER: What did she ever do to you, huh? How did she hurt you? Why are you doing this? LORELAI: Theresa, please. Calm down. MRS. LISTER: Calm down? My little girl has to come home and find your heinous letter in Dean's jacket. LORELAI: Listen, we're in the street -- MRS. LISTER: You little monster! LORELAI: Hey! Pull back, lady! MRS. LISTER: There aren't hundreds of other boys in the world? You have to go after her husband? LORELAI: Okay, stop attacking my daughter right now. You're upset, I get it, but you do not do this. MRS. LISTER: She slept with my son-in-law. She broke up a marriage. Are you proud? LORELAI: She did not break up a marriage. MRS. LISTER: What do you know of this? LORELAI: Enough. I know Rory. MRS. LISTER: All I know is that now my Lindsay is devastated, Dean is back with his parents, lives are destroyed, and you and your daughter can go to hell!

Okay, first of all, this was a predictable end result when two teenagers who don’t know each other that well decide to get married at the age of eighteen. Why did their parents, especially Lindsay’s mother encourage this? And what the fuck is up with blaming Rory for the situation completely? No, she shouldn’t have done it, but Dean is the one who decided to marry Lindsay. He’s the one that decided to cheat. He’s the one that decided to lie to both of them. He is not an innocent bystander. 

Later on, Rory tries to comfort Dean over what has happened.

DEAN: No. It's not a stupid question. Um...let's see. How do I feel? Actually...I feel like an idiot. RORY: Why? DEAN: Why? Because I was married, …Rory. Married. And I threw it all away for someone who dumped me once and then just bailed on me. RORY: I didn't just bail. I -- DEAN: I hurt everybody. I hurt Lindsay, I hurt her parents, I hurt my parents, and now I'm back at home, and you're in Europe with your grandmother. And what the hell was I thinking? I mean, what am I doing? What's wrong with me?

I mean, the correct answer here is that everything is wrong with you, Dean, but....in the first place, Rory didn’t dump you, second of all, and she “bailed” because you lied and had no intention of leaving your wife in the first place. Take responsibility for your own actions, my man.

Rory and Dean eventually date for a month or so. Dean dumps her again because he realizes they have nothing in common. Does he take any steps towards moving on with his life and taking responsibility for his own mistakes? 

DEAN: Your situation is no different from mine. Buddy. LUKE: I've got work to do. DEAN: Then go. They want more than this. Don't you see that? And all you are is this. LUKE: Rory was a kid, Dean. She grew up. She moved on. Accept it. DEAN: You accept it. This town, it's all you are, and it's not enough. She's going to get bored, and you can't take her anywhere. You're here forever. LUKE: It's different. DEAN: It's not different. You and me. Same thing.

Bear in mind this episode takes place in April and Dean dumped Rory the previous November, and yet he’s still bitter, still projecting onto Luke, and still completely blaming Rory for all of his own decisions. He was the one who dumped her the first two times. He was the one that got into a fight with Jess on her behalf. He was the one who proposed to Lindsay to get her to forget about it. He was the one who got married despite his reservations. He was the one who lied to Rory so that she would have sex with him. He was the one who refused to leave his wife. And oh yeah....he was the one who dumped Rory a third time.

That’s the last we see of Dean for eleven years until he shows up in the revival and actually seems emotionally stable for a change.

Somehow Rory gets the brunt of the blame for all of this, but she wasn’t in this alone. I do think she was scared into this by Jess showing up, and if he had any sort of explanation or apology for her either of the times he showed up, she probably wouldn’t have been so vulnerable to the affirmation that Dean offered her. Then she could have had a disappointing first experience with Marty as an alternative.

Which still would have been an improvement over the horror of that Candyman song.

[eurekavalley]

RORY: It was so weird. He was just... Jess. I mean, he shows up out of no where with this crazy proposal. It was awful. LANE: It doesn't sound awful. RORY: What are you talking about? Jess bailed on me twice. LANE: I know, but how incredibly romantic to have this guy show up out of the blue and want to take you away with him. RORY: When I first met Jess, I thought, "What could be better than this? He's smart, good taste in books and music, so cute." But Jess is great one minute and then the next - you know, as far as I know, I could have said yes, packed my bag, and by the time I got to the car, he would have changed his mind. LANE: It's part of why he's cute. He's unpredictable. RORY: I guess. You know, when I was with Dean, I always knew that no matter what happened, he would be there. LANE: Dean was very dependable. RORY: It was more than that. He's -- well, he was so... um, I was safe, and he was so nice to me. LANE: He really loved you. RORY: I think I really blew it there, you know? I didn't appreciate it. LANE: Every girl has to fall for a bad boy. It's the rule. It's the reason so many accountants eventually get married.

Gilmore Girls has a lot of great examples of how mirrors are not absolute... Jess has very little in common with Christopher but I wonder if he ever came to understand that he was triggering Rory's absent dad trauma with his behavior during this time of his life.

[peachesandmagnolias]

Round and round we go.

I recently stumbled upon a blog I started when I was like 17 or 18. Totally crazy to be reading that almost 20 years later. Man this world is crazy right now.

Anyway. I always enjoyed the idea of writing. My ADHD often has me invest in these vast projects and then get bored. So, maybe writing would be a way to hold myself accountable.

Most recently, I've been working on a new challenge. I'm trying to read like Rory Gilmore and I found a list of 400+ books that she read or mentioned on Gilmore Girls. So, I purchased a few.

I started with 1984, which I definitely know was assigned reading in school at some point. I was a smart student, but a lazy one, so, not sure how much of it was read through as intended. I can tell you this, reading it as an adult in this political climate has been eye opening.

It's like Orwell spoke it into existence. As if they wrote it like a freaking playbook. I am currently on chapter 4. I'm not even 25% through. I am enjoying it so much more than I ever expected.

This book is lost on the young. High schoolers don't pay enough attention to politics to truly appreciate the correlations between this literature and reality. Every adult should read it. It's been called the most banned book in the country and that says a lot.

[tiasgarden]

just started watching Gilmore Girls so this will now be a Rory Gilmore appreciation account! my hsmtmts era is over.

[pose4photoml]

omg hi sorry i forgot swiftie halloween (i spent it studying with NO candy) BUT better late than never so

i made you a gilmore girls themed playlist, i stalked you playlists and it seems like you like everything so here are some songs you like and some you might like, some you SHOULD like, some rory likes and some rory SHOULD like anyways here you go

happy late halloween (maybe this could be a dia de los muertos gift)

(also its really hard cause joni mitchell took everything off spotify and gilmore girls is SO joni mitchell coded)

Hi- Sorry you had to spend time studying with no Candy !! Yes it’s always better late than never, besides it just makes the time extend, so no worries about being late.

I can’t believe you had time to stalk my Spotify playlist, I have a lot!! My music taste changes based on my mood at the time 😉

Thank you so much for taking the time to make me a playlist and I’ll take time today to listen 🎧. I am so appreciative of people sharing their music 🎵, it means a lot as music is the one thing that helps me get through my crazy busy days!!

I hope you’re weekend has you having sometime to do something fun and not have to study the whole time. BTW- what are you studying, if you don’t mind me asking. I finished my school days with a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting. I’m one of those crazy people who likes math 😉

[anxiouspotatorants]

heyy first off im obsessed w your account and the underdog quartet but also i feel like, with your new jess/paris playlist post, we need to acknowledge paris and jess’s first interaction when paris went into luke’s diner in “Richard goes to stars hollow” they had a very subtle interaction but he was clearly memorable enough to her to remember him and his name. I wonder if whenever paris when to stars hollow in the future she would look for jess what do you think

Thank you so much for this ask and the kind words!!! I’m obviously obsessed with UQ too, so finding more people who love that dynamic is just amazing!

Also yes we only had about two direct interactions between Paris and Jess but holy shit was the platonic chemistry there!! Paris bothering to remember him is something I would love to take as a sign that she was a Jess gal (especially since if you combine that with Keiko Agena saying she and Lane are team Jess, that means all my faves support my ship!)

Now for Jess and Paris specifically, I could honestly give you three different types of answers for this. First is that ASP and company didn’t feel like exploring that dynamic, so Paris probably doesn’t think about Jess or seek him out in the future, especially not after Rory’s break up. But that take is boring so let’s go for wild headcanons!

The second approach is on the more realistic side. I bet that Paris would avoid bringing up Jess every time he popped into her mind in front of Rory, but she would be too desperate to finally have that decent conversationalist to not bug Rory about him. She probably wouldn’t head over to Stars Hollow of her own accord considering how disappointed she was with the research results for that article, but she would ask about when Jess could come over to Hartford so she could rip his literary takes to shreds at a nearby cafe or at the elder Gilmores. Once Jess and Rory were a couple, Paris would double down on her requests but probably only have them met once or twice (Jess has work, Rory still has a tendency to compartmentalize parts of her life etc.). Post-breakup Paris would take Rory’s side, but secretly be sad to see a potential friend go. She probably felt like this guys really could be something, not just for Rory who seemed to finally get decent taste in boys, but for Paris who was finally starting to get more true friends. She carries a secret team Jess torch for the rest of the series but hides it in general criticism of any and all guys Rory is involved with.

On to approach three, aka balls to the walls whatever I want!! Hold on to your hat because this will be a long and windy ride:

After the diner-meet, Paris is intrigued by the guy who played along with her interrogation and eye-flirted with Rory. She doesn’t think she’ll see him again, but she would be lying if she said she didn’t want to.

After the dinner at Rory’s, Paris is honestly elated to finally have a great literary conversation with a guy her age. The only one to have come close is Rory, and that doesn’t say much for the «opposite sex» in Paris’ eyes. But she’s also furiously disagreeing with Jess’ «Austen loves Bukowski»-take, so she writes a whole several page argumentative essay and forces Rory to deliver it to Jess the next school day.

Jess responds not with a letter, but by having Rory hand Paris an annotated («blasphemy!») copy of a Bukowski work. There are no arguments from Jess notes, just underlines of quotes he thinks Austen would approve of, and excerpts from different Austen works put in the margins for comparison. Paris despises him for how much she is seeing his point.

At some point Rory get’s sick of being a carrier pigeon and drags Paris with her to ST after school so the two can fight in person. All three stay until Lorelai pops over for dinner, and Paris realizes she needs to haul herself over to the bus. She’s hungry and worried about the time she should have spent on homework, but ultimately really happy about the day.

She’s bummed to see Jess go after the car accident, but doesn’t have much time to think about it between school and… well, school. She does end up being one of the few Rory can talk to about Jess without getting the whole «bad bad boy»-speech she gets over in ST and at her grandparents’.

Rory doesn’t tell Paris Jess is back until the very end of their Washington trip when Paris finds the unfinished letter and Paris is boiling. She does cool quickly, but only to constantly bug Rory about when the three of them are going to meet up again for coffee and verbal war. Rory gets so stressed about it that at some point she gives Paris the number to Luke’s and tells her to go on her own for all Rory cares.

Paris does. Jess is surprised, but they get in the groove quick. What doesn’t go as smoothly is Paris asking what the hell is going on between him and Rory. His non-answers pretty much spell everything out, and in a rare moment of comradery, Paris decides to turn the conversation in to hating on Dean. Jess appreciates it. It doesn’t happen again, but Paris firmly puts herself in the team Jess camp from then on.

Paris is releived once Jess and Rory finally are together and it is great! More cafe talks! Study sessions! Movie nights! They even sneak both Paris and Lane out into concerts! Paris feels like for the first time in a very long time, she has real friends her own age. The kind who actually like you for you and want to spend time with you for you, not just to get better grades or a better reputation.

Paris sucks at being strong for Rory when Jess leaves. Like, she takes it really personal. This was supposed to be the one good guy, and he decided to be just like everyone else. But with time she learns to coach Rory into speaking her mind about the whole thing, and to support her in her own Paris-y way.

What she doesn’t tell Rory is that at some point after summer break (either because she gets hold of Jess for some scolding or because Lane does and spills to Paris or even if Jess gets in touch himself) Jess starts sending Paris beat up books he collects on the road around the country. None of them feature letters (at first), but annotations at the beginning declaring his safety and momentary location, as well as his general style annotations of the book inside the text. Paris starts responding with letters, and with time they start talking on phones and through email.

Paris helps Jess with his GED. They make it an equal study-buddy thing because Paris needs help taking certain writers seriously in her essays. Most of their sessions are over the phone, and a lot of it is just them daring each other to actually try. Paris gets actual stars on her improved essays, and Jess passes with flying colours.

Paris doesn’t know about Truncheon until Jess stands in front of her place ages later, dressed like a Kids Bop version of himself and holding a messengerbag with his debut novel. Paris tears through it in two hours (forcing Jess to sit on the couch next to her the whole time) and then spends another half hour furiously trying to tear it to shreds but actually praising it. She gives him their first hug ever, and hopes this afternoon is a sign they’ll slowly get back to being close friends in person.

Paris sucks at hiding how team Jess she is. So. Much. She does have genuine critiques of Logan and other guys, but her gut-defenses of Jess at random times in the day and weird reminiscing back to the «good old days» of diner talk after school gives her away immediately. Rory is uncomfortable, but Paris doesn’t even change her mind after Rory still picks Logan.

What she does do is invite Jess over for grown up evenings with Doyle. Whenever Rory is scheduled to be out and Jess needs to visit Luke anyway, Paris extends her invitation. They test wines based on price and taste, watch cult classics, eat takeout (in honour of Paris’ very first Mac and Cheese night) and talk for hours. One day wires cross and Jess gets in while Rory is there/Rory gets back while Jess is there and things get awkward.

Paris invites Jess to the graduation. Yes she has a limited amount of tickets and yes it’s weird to invite your friend who has barely been around ever but damn it she wants him there. He came to her when he was celebrating his accomplishments, she wants him to be there for hers.

They actually grow even closer as adults; emailing, texting and calling regularly. About 70% of it is general banter and picking on everything and everyone around them, but it’s a far more loving kind now — not that anyone who isn’t them would know, from the outside it looks like they want to kill each other. Regardless of outcome, Paris remains forever team Jess, and the two end up having each other’s backs for life.

So this went long and away from the point (and I only went through Paris’ pov!) but it was fun to write! I hope you like rant answers!

[obsessionoftheday]

Fic Questionnaire

Thanks for the tag @wind-at-her-heels!

How many works do you have on ao3?

65. And 4 more ready to post for @sicktember in the coming weeks!

What’s your total ao3 word count?

307,086

How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

4. (ao3 says 8, technically, but half of those are under the Marvel universe).

Supernatural, Gilmore Girls, This Is Us, and Marvel Cinematic Universe.

(edit because I forgot about the Outsiders, and I was reminded further down, but those fics aren’t on ao3)

What are your top five fics by kudos?

Tony Stark, Here to Pick up Peter Parker Please (745)

What Makes a Dad (613)

Not Your Dad! (519)

Found Family (502)

Five Things That Will Always Get Peter in Trouble (480)

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I do! I enjoy when the author responds to my comments when I leave them, so I like to do the same for others. Plus, I’m so appreciative of each and every comment, I want to respond to make sure people know that they made me smile :)

What’s the fic you’ve written with the most angsty ending?

Oof, I don’t normally do much angst I have to be honest. And when I do there is most definitely fluff at the end. I think probably Make Him Proud would be the closest thing I have to an angsty ending, since Tony is still dead at the end and Peter is still sad. But even that isn’t really angsty since the fic is a sweet heart to heart between Peter Parker and Peter Quill... sorry friends, I guess I need to up my angst game 😂

Have you ever received hate on a fic?

I feel like I may have had one or two not so friendly comments at one point, but I can’t think of anything off the top of my head, so either they haven’t been that terrible, or I have effectively blocked them from my memory. Most people in my fandoms have been lovely!

Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I do not, and will not. It’s not my thing.

What’s your all time favourite ship?

I have quite a soft spot for Rory/Jess from Gilmore Girls. Which is kind of funny, because when I wrote Gilmore Girls fics, I wrote those two in a brother/sister sort of relationship. But, yeah, I’m solidly team Jess!

What’s a WIP that you still want to finish, but you don’t think you ever will?

My Gilmore Girls sequel to my first fic. Sigh. That series got so much love and I loved writing it, then I stumbled into Marvel and started writing for it instead, and I’ve never found the motivation to go back. It’s too bad, every time I get sweet comments on that fic I still feel guilty.

What are your writing strengths?

I think I’m pretty good at descriptions.

What are your writing weaknesses?

Just, lack of motivation is my #1 enemy. Focusing. I despise endings 😅

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

I don’t mind when it’s done, especially if it’s true to the character. I don’t think I’ve ever done it, but I’m not oppose.

What’s the first fandom you ever wrote for?

Oh, The Outsiders. I forgot about that! Those fics are buried deep on my old fanfiction.net account.

What’s your favourite fic you’ve ever written?

I don't know if I necessarily have a favourite since a lot of them are so different. I think I get better with every fic, so my newer ones I always feel proud of for the growth. My most recent fic was my first @sicktember fic from last week! I Swear, You Were There. So I’ll say that. I will also be posting another @sicktember piece tonight!

Well this was fun! I’m glad I finally got around to doing it!

Tagging: @jenniboo311 & @littlemissagrafina

[lightninginabottle0613]

get to know me meme, iteration #247

i was tagged by @yanak324 & @watersandwolves - and this meme feels like the movie groundhog day with like a couple of different questions each time, and i’m loling so much. here we go again, i’ll try to add some ~flavor~

name: erin. i currently live in the midwest, but i’m not from here, so everyone pronounces it ‘air-in’ and like ... that’s not wrong. but i have a philly accent, so my ‘short e’ sound is very distinct, and everyone here makes fun of me for how i say my own name lol

nickname: my best friends call me moon/moonie. we have another erin in our group who we call sun/sunny. we’re complete opposites and someone in high school jokingly called us sun and moon once, and we’ve been called that ever since. teachers called us that, and it’s been extended to friends’ parents/friends’ college friends/etc.  

zodiac sign: gemini (sun and mercury!!). i have every single sign in my chart somewhere, except for aries and libra. lean v heavily on my cancer moon, but also will take this opportunity to highlight my venus in taurus - my kink is literally just stability 

height: very nearly 5′9″, and i’m on the shorter side of my family

languages: just english :( i took two (2) semesters of russian in college, and i do really want to pick it back up to some degree this year. yana can u just teach me 

nationality: am*rican

favourite season: tie between late fall and early spring

favourite flower: gladioli (sword lilies) 

favourite scent: raaaaaaaain. and also the ‘hawaiian breeze’ scented glade plug-in

favourite colour: dark red & dark green 

favourite fictional character: i could write an entire novel on the depths of my love for arya stark (and like ... i pretty much did lmao). also love: willow rosenberg, rachel green, rory gilmore, and emily fields

coffee, tea, or hot chocolate: yes, i’m an iced coffee gay. no, i’m not alright 

average sleep hours: lately around 4. the insomnia really jumped out! but we are working on it!

dog or cat person: i am with dogs the way some people are with kids, where i’m like, i will cuddle you and love you and be your best friend, but i don’t really want you in my home. cats are much more my vibe. my cat is asleep on my foot right now 

number of blankets slept with: just one. and also i sleep with my baby blanket balled up under my head  

dream trip: i want to go back to italy now that i can properly appreciate it/drink without sneaking behind my high school latin teacher’s back. also spain.

blog established: i have another tumblr that i made in 2011 on the night that my best friend and i skipped junior prom, and i haven’t logged on in a few months. this account was actually created in like 2015 under a different URL. i never posted anything on it at the time, and i followed maybe 10 people, and it was very briefly supposed to be my ~online journal~ but i logged on maybe twice before i forgot about it. it was revived and repurposed in september 2019 when i started writing fic and didn’t want people in my real life that follow me on my other account to know about it lol

followers: more than i had the last time i answered this!! surprised these long answers haven’t made people unfollow yet tbh

random fact: i got a black belt in karate when i was 12. fight me!! (don’t fight me, i’m so tired)

everyone i would normally tag has already been tagged, so do this if you want!! you have my completely unnecessary permission

[myfandomrambles]

Jess Mariano Character Analysis (Expanded)

Facts:

Abandoned by his father as an infant

Grew up with a neglectful mother

His mother dealt with minor alcohol dependency throughout his childhood

mother dated “losers, “deadbeats” giving an unstable childhood.

Seemingly smoked from a youngish age, and found taking beer as minor normal behaviour for him

Was sent to live with an uncle he had little of a relationship with

was continuously hated by the town

formed a bond with Rory and became very attached

Struggles in school while understanding most of the material.

Sticks to solitary behaviours

Has very limited social interaction. Only seeming to form connections with few people.

Mother goes through periods of radio silence.

Finds he would rather be in stars hollow than his original home (NYC)

Breaks taboos and rules often.

Runs away when faced when he fails high school and fights with his uncle

Searches for belonging with his biological father

Was willing to come to celebrate his mother’s marriage, even when he was wary of her husband and didn’t have a trusting relationship with his mother.

finds himself through creating and working within the art scene

Analysis:

Jess is a character who simultaneously is presented as a cliche Bad Boy, and love interest in many ways, but is also a character who breaks the dichotomy  of Lorelai’s world vs Emily’s world, he isn’t either of these worlds which makes him a standout character even if he isn’t a lead for the majority of the show. But in a thematic and plot way, he is seamless in the story. His plot is reminiscent of many of the full-time leads, and struggles with many of the same problems of our leads but coming from a different background and world.

When the show starts Jess is already jaded and grown in ways he shouldn't be yet. He's experienced a lot of material and emotional hardships with no one even attempting to help him understand. He's casual about drinking, smoking, sex, and having to support himself. But he isn't exactly mature, he does all these things without being able to process them or react to new stress well. He is still a teen who feels he has nothing. I think he experiences something a lot of kids who experience unstable childhoods do simultaneously having to be older than you are, but not getting there in a way that allows it to be true maturity. Often struggling once you are a real adult to having the context to work with what you know.

His relationship with Rory is one that is s central point in both of their narratives. It’s sweet and cute at a lot of times, romantic in the way only happens with people who aren’t yet adults tragic in how it ends.  Their relationship was also kind of cursed from the start having formed while Rory was still in love with someone else. The relationship also is plagued with problems in the form of neither of them knowing how to communicate. Jess is working through everything from his childhood, and Rory has a warped vision of relationships she can’t push through. Jess is also overly attached to Rory because he’s the only person she even likes, and the only person who shows open affection for him. The first end to the story is a kind bittersweet tragedy, it’s ar a crossroads point in time for both of them.  It’s done beautifully with Jess knows this is goodbye and Rory I think kind know too, she’s not surprised he cut and run, though she is of course hurt.

After he runs away he stays in love with her but doesn’t ever properly communicate. He is still used to cutting and running, and Rory is tired of being the one left behind. This is exemplified in the scenes where he admits he loves her but neither of them knows what to do with it, then when he asks her to run away with him she can’t trust him. Then at the bookstore, we notice he still loves her, but she doesn’t love him. This clearly hurts jess, but by that point, he has a life to fall back on. But their relationship did change them for the better Jess references her being the only one who really believed in him, and He pushes Rory back into college. His reality check helps remind Rory that she isn’t only a Gilmore like her grandparents but also a Gilmore like her mother. Reminds her of her dreams and talent. He pushes her to try and not let Emily mould her into what she wants her to be. In A Year In The Life, we see him again help Rory find her way, his ability to be a foil to her erratic way of viewing the world is even stronger here as he has been in a stable life for a while, and he still cares for her quite a bit.

Jess’s relationship with Luke is the second most pivotal during the story. It’s an extremely dysfunctional relationship. This comes from Jess never having had a real parent figure he can’t accept Luke’s attempts to support him. Luke has never been a father before and having stunted emotional communication make it hard for him to articulate his thoughts. He can only show his care through actions. Buying him nicotine patches, building him a room, bringing him back from new york and trying to get him to stay in school. Another factor in the struggles they have is Luke is equally connected to Lorelai & Rory. He considers Rory his responsibility as much as Jess, even taking “her side” after the car accident. Their relationship does form into a deeper connection after Jess starts to find his way and appreciate what his uncle meant to do. When Luke visits him at his job and then when Jess visits in AYITL we see that they are able to truly connect as they both learn to work on their struggles. We also see through that Jess still has his characteristic slightly cynical view on the world easily assuming Lorelai is leaving Luke instead of trying to have Luke just ask her what's wrong. Though he does still come to visit him before the wedding showing he does support Luke and Lorelai's wedding even if he and Lorelai were never best friends. 

As for his mother Liz, by the point, he enters the show she has sent him away instead of dealing with his mental health and behavioural issues. He even only calls her by her first name and doesn’t really try and repair the relationship even when he comes for her wedding, it’s clearly based around Luke wanting him there. Then even after he comes from her wedding she never tries to involve him in the future up to him never meeting his half-sister Dula. She is clearly a neglectful mother, not out of any kind of malice but by never being able to put him before her own whims. She dated around, married multiple people they all describe as loser and deadbeats, not getting to know jess as a person and struggling with implied alcohol addiction (ex: she has only ever been sober for one wedding). This affects him greatly and a large part of his character is learning what to do with this. In AYITL Jess explains he has to go help his mother and sister after they joined a cult, within the narrative, it comes across as mostly an explanation for Jess leaving and where the other characters are. However this raises a question of how much connection Jess has to his mother and sister at this point, and it shows he might have taken up Luke's role of bailing Liz out now that he's an adult. 

Lorelai and Jess are generally antagonistic most of the time, though she does work to apologise when Rory is in love with them. Their visceral reactions based on their similarities not based on differences. Neither of them grew up in a loving household, neglect and poverty in Jess’s case and psychological and emotional abuse for Lorelai. Jess is a lot like a young Lorelai trying to do anything to rebel from the status quo, he acts as a mirror to her past mistakes and some of her personal issues. Jess dislikes her she’s just another judgmental adult, she actually does understand what he’s going for trying to connect with a teen like that doesn’t work right off the bat, they have to see it. She isn’t actually thrown off by him being rude that isn’t her problem, she only really gets defensive when he attacks her relationships and motives. Then he worries he might hurt her daughter and friend also.

I do think Jess is being a jerk in their conversation in Nick & Nora/Sid & Nancy with her because he didn’t want to be there. But I don’t read him assuming she is sleeping with luke is just wanting to be a jerk, I think that was honestly what he assumes. In Jess’s eyes that would be bad and the only reasons, someone would view another person as that good. People dating and marrying his mother was destabilizing form as a kid I think in his mind if Lorelai was that to Luke it would just follow the pattern.

He is averse to Stars Hollow style of life, but he also seems to want the security of that lifestyle. Even choosing to come back after returning to New York for a period of time. He wants to be close to Rory again hoping she would choose him, and he is going back to the only stability he’s ever had.

The rest of the town generally hates him because he pushes back on many of the assumptions they have with life.  He doesn’t want to be part of the town and doesn’t believe in the small town interconnection. Jess doesn’t believe that the way stars hollow is a family is worth people being nosy or wanting him to be someone he isn’t. None of the town regulars cares about him, takes his motivations into account, or listens to Rory or Luke when they say he isn’t the worst bad guy. Dean and he are rivals for Rory’s affection, Jess usually pissing Dean off in the process.

The only other person who likes him at all is his girlfriend Shane, but their relationship is shallow and I think they both knew that. Jess dates her I think because he came back to Stars Hollow to not be alone, he assumed Rory wanted him as well. But Rory is gone for the whole summer cutting him off, so he hangs out with someone who will pay him attention. They also do a lot of PDA and possibly go further it's not clear again I think it's some form of connection that doesn't include his emotions. Shane doesn't really seem all that upset that there is definitely an aspect of their relationship that is showing off for Rory. She doesn't like it, but i don't think she's as hurt as she could be becuase i don't think she loved jess also seeing it as just some fun. This relationship also doesn't make him anymore liked in town, or give him a connection to Stars Hollow. 

Jess seems to simultaneously be bored in school but also struggles to view himself as adequate.  He has no drive to finish school and cuts and runs instead of facing fallout, being pushed over the edge when he feels like Luke is angry with him too. He doesn’t ever flex the intelligence he has or skills with writing till the end. This is stated to be because of boredom and wanting money, I also think that he probably missed things in school. People who have unstable childhoods often miss multiple days in school, struggle to focus while in school, and may find it to feel impractical with so much else going on. Even if someone could understand and excel when given the information you can miss lessons that are hard to make up. As you get older there become things teachers assume you know, particularly in math, science and foreign language courses.

His lack of self-esteem often makes him rejects attention while also seeming to really want healthy connections. Or he experiences an obsessive connection as he does with Rory. This also plays into not always paying attention to what he needs and not believing he can be more than other people assume he is.

Jess acts out from wanting to express his anger which is then fed by the town anger and rejection of his presence. He does stupid stunts and fights with the people he loves. It’s a think a way to express anger and somewhat to get attention (usually Rory’s or Luke’s) he does want someone to care but doesn’t know.

Jess makes mistakes that hurt Luke And Rory. With Rory, some top examples are stealing her bracelet, not communicating with her and leaving without ever talking to her.  With Luke, the mistake is mostly mutual neither of them know how to show or accept affection from the other. Jess usually resorting to trying to piss off his uncle and Luke not figuring out how to deal with issues before he reaches a breaking point. These problems are greatly connected to his trauma but are still things he should have tried to work on.

Jess is a character who I find is either demonized or over-romanticized. I think what both of these reads mistakenly view him as only a romance character, basing almost their entire read of him through a high school romance or Nicholas Sparks book lens.  The reason Jess works in this story aren’t those influences they are present but why he works is he a different view on the main themes of the story.

It’s undeniable that Gilmore Girls is a story about family/generations, culture differences, and dealing with broken family relationships. Jess is driven by these themes as much as Rory or Lorelai. The family/generations theme isn’t as in your face with Liz and jess not sharing much screen time, but it’s still there, it acts mostly as prologue but it’s still the inciting event in his arc. His story with luke is also based on family, a found family arc to some extent. Then with broken relationships again his story is based on dealing with the fallout of his abusive and neglectful childhood, he isn’t managing broken relationships like most of the others but managing the way it changed him. Jess is an arc of someone having to overcome this, and it causes him to crash many times. Lastly, the culture clash is still important, You have the blue blood yale culture, the small town of middle-class Americana, and then Jess is a person who lives in shit in a dirty city. I think those themes are the crux of why jess works, his character is another view on the themes and motifs the story is built on, like with the others those motivations drive his relationship with Rory.

Jess is a character who only was major in two seasons but manages to be one of the most loved people on the show. He’s a character that if you watched it as a kid/teen you probably crushed on a little bit. He’s controversial but relatable to people who have similar backstories and his level of disillusionment with life plays well on the rose-coloured manic world Rory and Lorelai inhabit.

There is also such a skilful ability that even with it being slightly scattered his growth in the later seasons is believable, at each stage we see how he was able to internalize what he learned during his main arch and work it into his natural art and survival instincts. I wish we had seen more of it, but it is also one of the most hopeful and real stories on the show.

ADHD:

Inattentiveness

hyper fixations

Hyperfocus

Misunderstanding social input

Stimulus seeking

RSD

Hyperstimulate

Inability to focus in school

Works better in environments of action or art

Impulsive behaviour

Irritability

AVPD:

Struggles with maintaining relationships

avoids face to face interactions

negative self-perceptions

A safe person with Rory (ie: I don’t like anyone else)

Hides his feelings

avoids participating in group activities

heads off rejection by leaving or ignoring the problem

Avoids situations of both praise and rejection

Don’t believe he can succeed for much of the show

[ashtheisfp]

Differentiating ESFJ & ISFJ

In ESFJs and ISFJs, you will usually find more similarities than differences. However, when contrasting these types to one another you will generally find:

ESFJs are more warm (if healthy), and will either mirror the emotions/demeanours of those around them or be very emotionally effected by other peoples feelings. If they do not like someone in a group, they will not exclude them as the opinions of the majority matters to them (however they might try to influence others opinions of that person). Can be VERY persuasive (or manipulative). Like verbal affirmation and compliments.

ISFJs are more reserved, and prefer one on one time, or smaller groups. Rather than controlling a group, they would like to serve it. They are slightly more open in sharing their opinions, and if they dislike someone they would prefer to keep a distance from them if possible. Instead of compliments, they like loyalty and appreciation for their efforts.

Margaery Tyrell + Sansa Stark (Game of Thrones)

Margaery (ESFJ) has exceptional Fe, and plays pretty much everyone she talks to like a fiddle (minus Cersei). She sees Sansa as a way to ensure they Tyrells get control of The North (by marrying her to Margaery’s brother). It’s pretty difficult to be sure of any of her real motives beyond just wanting “to be THE Queen”, however it’s safe to assume that everything she does is to support her own ambition. She walks Sansa around beautiful gardens, telling childhood anecdotes, having girl-talk, leading up to propositioning her to marry Loras. She tells her how amazing their lives would be together, and really sells it... and conveniently doesn’t mention that Loras is gay.

Sansa (ISFJ) has such an intense longing to belong that when Margaery comes to her with all of these plans to send her to live in the beautiful High Garden and marry the handsome Loras, she is the happiest we have ever seen her in the show. Finally her Si dream of living in a castle with a Prince was going to come to fruition. She can’t see that this is a grab at her right to Winterfell, and doesn’t even consider that Margery could have an ulterior motive.

Another fictional example would be grandmother and grandaughter, Emily Gilmore and Rory Gilmore from Gilmore Girls.

Real Life Example -

Taylor Swift and Kim Kardashian

Enemies lol but I’m gonna try be impartial even tho I have strong opinions on what happened

Taylor (ESFJ) outgoing, prefers larger friend groups, cares very deeply for her friends, fans and family. Doesn’t want to rock the boat and prefers to solve conflict quietly rather than publicly (she generally sends people bouquets to smooth things over). In 2014-16, a huge topic of conversation in the media was her “squad”, which has since shrunk to a more select, closer-knit group of friends. Taylor doesn’t do paid meet-and-greets, but rather hand selects her fans to meet off of their social media accounts online.

Kim (ISFJ) while not as outwardly warm, fiercely protects her family and brand reputation, and will not hesitate to call people out publicly if she feels threatened. However, if people within her family are acting in a fashion she deems inappropriate, she will try to talk to them privately (as filmed by the KUWTK team lol) rather than call them out publicly (unless it’s for a publicity stunts for the show). You can see struggles to control her husband Kanye when he wants to rant, as she doesn’t have the dom-Fe knack for persuasion.

Another real life example would be sisters Amy Cimorelli and Lauren Cimorelli from the band Cimorelli.

[roeyliteratiforever]

When people want to hate Rory and throw it in her face the way that Logan treated her and try to justify it I get so mad. "Rory shouldn't be mad about Logan sleeping with the bridesmaids because she actually cheated on Logan and she broke up a marriage" I'm done when people say stuff like this! People on TikTok think they are something else with their Rory hate but they are not. Again Dean lied to her and manipulated her he told her his marriage was over and she repeatedly tried to get him to work things out with Lindsay but Dean was adamant that it was over and coerced her he cornered her in her room and told her what she wanted to hear in order to get in her pants! That was Dean's fault! When Rory kissed Jess in Philly she never mean't for anything to happen between them. Jess kissed her and she was surprised at first but then she pulled away and she still cared enough about Logan that she felt she couldn't have cheated on him the way he cheated on her. Even if you want to try to say "Logan didn't even cheat on Rory" he cared nothing about how she felt, he totally gaslit her and invalidated her feelings. He made her feel like she didn't have a right to be upset, but before he said he didn't think they were broken up and that he just told his sister they were broken up to get her off his back, then once he gets caught he changes his tune, and says we were broken up I didn't think we were together. Well which is it Logan because there are a lot of holes in your story! This is why it feels like so many Rogans hate Rory because I keep seeing takes like this. They say stuff like this or "he put her in her place" (referring to when he yelled at her at the pub where they met Jess) or "he called her out on her priveledge" no he was just being an ass and felt personally offended in both scenarios. Logan has no right to call anyone out on priveledge. He is more priveledged than most people and him and Rory are no where near close to being on the same level of priveledged. She wasn't raised with priveledged Lorelai ran away from that life and didn't want it for Rory. Yes the Gilmore's have money but even Shira told Emily "there's our money and then there's your money." Meaning the Gilmore's were no where near close to being on the same level of wealth as the Huntzberger's. Rory may be in that world but Logan is of that world that's a big difference. There is no justification for Logan treating her like shit! I'm just so over Rory anti's trying to use Logan's flaws to punish Rory and justifying her treating her like shit! It makes me livid! No matter Rory's mistakes he has no right to treat her like that! 😡

[dingoes8myrp]

Random Survey

Found here: @question-meme​

1. Name one of your favourite characters: Ellen Ripley (Alien). I would argue she’s the model for every strong female hero that came after her in cinema (or one of them. Jamie Lee Curtis’s Laurie Strode and Linda Hamilton’s Sarah Connor get honorable mentions). 2. Name one of your favourite villains: Glory (Buffy the Vampire Slayer). She really gave Buffy a run for her money, and in my opinion, she was an impossible villain to follow up. She was also an interesting foil to Buffy herself. Glory was powerful, put in a position she didn’t want to be in, and all she wanted was for things to get back to normal. She had an appreciation for fashion, kicking ass in style at all times. Her superficial attitude and quippy humor greatly resembled Buffy’s pre-calling personality. Glory was definitely a tough act to follow. Honorable mentions: Lucifer in Supernatural: 5.05 - “The End,” Paul Spector in The Fall, The werewolf in Silver Bullet. 3. One actor that you look up to and why: Keanu Reeves. Talented actor, badass, and from all accounts a very kind soul. 4. One actress that you look up to and why: Nicole Kidman. She’s intelligent, talented, and elegant. 5. Favourite episode from any show you watch (or just an episode you love): From a show I currently watch, Supernatural: 12.11 - “Regarding Dean.” This was a very good use of the supernatural as a metaphor, and Jensen Ackles delivered a heartbreaking performance of a man slowly succumbing to memory loss. From any show ever: One Tree Hill: 8.01 - “Asleep at Heaven’s Gate.” This show wasn’t afraid to experiment and throw in a risky episode here and there. This episode was not only well written, but beautifully acted and it delivered a jaw-dropping twist. This was one of those episodes that hopped genres, but did it so seamlessly I never noticed. 6. Favourite show and why? Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It was the first world I got lost in. I fell in love with the characters and the universe. I still am. 7. If you could live in any fictional universe which one would you live in? Harry Potter. I wanna go to Hogwarts. 8. Name 3 OTPs: Nathan and Haley (One Tree Hill), Buffy and Angel (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), Rory and Jess (Gilmore Girls). 9. One character you have a crush on: Oz (Buffy the Vampire Slayer). Honorable mentions: Derek Morgan (Criminal Minds), Charles Gunn (Angel the Series), Rick Grimes (The Walking Dead), Asa Farrell (Outsiders). 10. One of your favourite fandoms to be in and why: Outsiders. They’re such a dedicated, enthusiastic group, and I’ve never had anyone be unkind to me in that fandom. 11. Describe (insert show here) in three words: Penny Dreadful: Gothic, scary, sexy. 12. Favourite book: Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice. Honorable mentions: The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson, Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. 13. One band that you love: Just one? Damn. Fleetwood Mac. My honorable mentions would be a mile long here, so I won’t do that to you, gentle reader. 14. Favourite cast: Friends. 15. If you were a fictional character in (insert show here) what would you probably be doing and what life do you think you would have? Angel the Series: I’d end up in Fred’s shoes. It’s totally me to open up a book, read from it aloud, and end up opening a portal to some ooky dimension. 16. Who do you think is a misunderstood character? Faith (Buffy the Vampire Slayer). She was a young woman in pain who didn’t get the help she needed. Then she made a mistake that condemned her but would not have condemned Buffy due to their differing histories/reputations. Sure, the murder spree was a bit much, but she could have been helped long before that if someone had just asked a few important questions. Like, maybe Giles. You know, the resident guy who’s supposed to watch the slayers. I’m not saying she’s blameless, but misunderstood for sure. 17. Which character do you wish you were siblings/best friends/dating with? Siblings: Rory Gilmore (Gilmore Girls), Best friends: Xander Harris (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), Dating: Nathan Scott (One Tree Hill). 18. Which Hogwarts house are you in? I’ve gotten both Slytherin and Griffindor. It must depend on my mood. 19. What are three things you've learned from one of the shows you watch? From Stranger Things: 1) Friends don’t lie, 2) It’s never a bad time to add a new member to your party, 3) Never give up on the people you love, even when they’re lost in some weirdo alternate universe and everyone thinks they’re dead. 20. If you could be a writer for any show you wish, how might you develop the plot/characters? It would definitely depend on the show. I’d love to take a crack at Carnivale making it slightly more accessible as far as the lore went. 21. What's one of your favourite quotes from a show you watch? “I like the quiet.” Xander, Buffy the Vampire Slayer 22. Favourite type of AU? The kind featuring doppelgangers of beloved characters in the ultimate “what if” scenario.  23. Write a brief headcanon for one of your OTPs: Buffy and Angel (Buffy the Vampire Slayer). Buffy is in her forties and has somewhat retired from active slaying, becoming more of a trainer and counselor for slayers and watchers. Angel becomes human. Suddenly Buffy’s a cougar dating a younger man and they have all kinds of jokes. Angel secretly loves being able to joke with her about how she’s getting older because it means she’s having a long and happy life, which she once thought would be impossible. Buffy has no idea this is why he jokes with her about it and gets super annoyed with him (“I’m NOT old! Hello? Which one of us has had a bicentennial again?”). 24. What's one show you don't watch but you're still in the fandom? Game of Thrones. I try once in a while to read the books. 25. Why do you love the shows you watch/books you read/fandoms you're in? All for different reasons. I like universes with rich settings or lore that I can study and sink my teeth into. I like well developed characters I can invest my time in. I like fandoms where we can debate our different theories and opinions without being lashed out at (which is a rare find nowadays).

[aion-rsa]

Happiest Season: The Problem With Harper’s Treatment of Abby and Riley

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I enjoyed and even loved Happiest Season, Hulu’s new lesbian Christmas romantic comedy. But like pretty much any queer person with a pulse and a Twitter account, I’ve spent the last week dissecting some of the more troubling aspects of a movie that was meant to be romantic escapist fun.

Some of its issues come from the structure of the film, which shoehorns very real queer struggles into wacky rom-com tropes too fluffy to contain the stakes at hand. Meanwhile the choice to have one half of the lead couple be so aggressively and repeatedly cruel—while her high school ex Riley, played by the ever-perfect Aubrey Plaza was standing right there having all the chemistry in the world with the other romantic lead—was a fatal one.

Like many queer movie fans, and made-for-TV holiday movie enthusiasts, I’ve been eagerly awaiting Happiest Season since it was announced last year. Clea DuVall, lesbian film royalty (But I’m a Cheerleader, Veep, Rory Gilmore’s wife on The Handmaid’s Tale), co-writes and directs a star-studded (and very gay!) cast that includes Kristen Stewart, Dan Levy, Victor Garber, co-writer Mary Holland, and token straight people Mary Steenburgen, Alison Brie, and Mackenzie Davis.

The movie promised a sweet, aspirational romance in the present tense with a happy ending for a wlw couple, which is sadly a rarity in film and television. Adding to the overall gay AF vibe is the soundtrack, the first ever to be wall-to-wall queers. (Check it out on Spotify, it’s pretty damn good.)

For the uninitiated, Happiest Season follows Davis’ Harper and Stewart’s Abby, with Harper introducing Abby to her family for the first time during, of course, the Christmas season. The twist is that on the ride over, Harper tells Abby that, jklol, when she told her last summer that she came out to her family and they took it great, that was actually a lie. She has not come out and since her father is running for mayor, she’s going to wait until after Christmas to come out.

Moreover, Harper lied about Abby, her live-in girlfriend, being gay too. So now they both have to pretend to be straight, platonic roommates while getting through the usual Christmas rom-com hijinks.

Where the script gets into trouble is that it doesn’t distinguish between Harper being closeted and her poor treatment of Abby. The two are separate issues and treating them as one does no favors to Harper, nor others struggling with the closet. As Dan Levy’s beautiful monologue late in the movie alludes to, the closet is a safety mechanism—but it’s not a free pass to treat people like garbage.

The closet didn’t make Harper send Abby to the mall with her scary sister. It didn’t make her text Abby to come hang out and then ignore her so she could drink with her ex-boyfriend. And it definitely didn’t make Harper tell Abby she was “suffocating” her.

Even a brief conversation teasing out that being in the closet doesn’t justify how Harper acted, and that plenty of people in the closet don’t treat others like trash, would have been important. Instead once Harper is out (which the movie takes pains to make clear only happened because Harper’s sister Sloane outed her), and a gesture so small it could never credibly be called grand is made, all bad behavior is washed away.

Sloane outing Harper is fine; Harper outing Riley when they were in high school, and abandoning her to the wolves, is fine; Harper repeating that with Abby at the white elephant party is fine; all the terrible ways Harper treated Abby, which are not acceptable treatment for a roommate either, are fine. And once he shows back up on Christmas morning, Harper’s father’s hesitation to accept his daughter and her girlfriend is also fine.

In a way, it’s the script’s biggest betrayal of both Harper and Abby. With Harper’s family accepting her with so little fanfare, it makes it seem like her fear was all in her head. When Sloane and Harper outing others is so readily forgiven, it sends the message that outing someone isn’t a big deal. With all real and imagined transgressions by and against Abby erased once she’s recognized the girlfriend, it makes it seem like she’s out of her mind. Get ready for a lifetime of gaslighting from the in-laws, Abby!

As Stewart told the Times, “Going back and forth from the comedy to being emotional or hurt was, like, traumatic for me. I would be mad at Mackenzie in the morning.” Performing this movie hurt, and for many, watching it hurt too.

The jarring underlying issue is that Happiest Season attempts to apply the standard rom-com and made-for-TV-holiday-movie tropes to queer life. So Abby having to go back into the closet isn’t framed as a painful regression or being forced to deny an essential part of herself, but rather a fun twist, in the vein of “but the guy she insulted on the plane is the owner of the ornament factory she has to impress to win the Christmas contest!”

Similarly, the idea of Harper and Abby potentially getting caught in Abby’s room together is meant to have the same wacky-sexy-naughty-fun vibe as when Courteney Cox’s Monica appeared from under Chandler’s covers during a surprise reveal on Friends. You can still hear the audience’s gasp as the two characters hide from her brother Ross. Except if Harper and Abby get caught, something terrible could happen.

All of Harper’s behavior adds up to making her feel like something the audience wants Abby to be free of, not someone Abby should be fighting for. Once Riley tells Abby about Harper’s cruelty in high school, where Harper outed Riley and mocked her rather than standing up for her or finding an excuse that protected them both, it becomes incredibly difficult to root for the lead couple to get back together, or for Harper at all.

With this information, Harper’s other transgressions go from frustrating to part of a larger pattern. Sadly, it’s a pattern Harper repeats when her sister outs her and she throws Abby under the (lesbian) bus.

In contrast, Riley connects Abby to queerness, bringing her to an LGBTQ bar to decompress and enjoy a Christmas-themed drag performance. It’s the most relaxed and comfortable Abby is on screen since the opening scenes, a chance to glimpse Abby’s authentic self before Harper summons her back to heterosexuality, and where she once again ignores and disappoints her. Riley actually talks to Abby at the various holiday parties whereas Harper keeps leaving her to please her family, especially her father. It’s not hard for the natural chemistry between Plaza and Stewart to take over, aided and abetted by Riley’s boss power suits and that fit from the white elephant party.

It’s possible to appreciate a movie and still want better from it, and for our community. Happiest Season feels like a stepping stone—a necessity to get us to a different (hopefully better) place in queer filmmaking. In Happiest Season, what romantic comedies usually play for as hijinks smacks a bit harder when underneath it is the reality that Harper’s family could disown her, or harm Abby, making it hard to enjoy the movie as it was intended.

For some viewers, especially those who are closeted, questioning, or who come from more conservative backgrounds and can’t or couldn’t count on a warm welcome, Harper’s story is especially important. Given the mainstream platform and plot, Happiest Season will reach far more straight audiences than the vast majority of queer cinema. Here’s hoping it opens the door wider for more diverse stories that resonate better with the community.

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[dollsome-does-tumblr]

For the Sophie's Choice meme: Gilmore Girls --> which season is worse, season 6 or season 7? Also, choose between Luke/Lorelai and Rogan.

Gilmore Girls –> which season is worse, season 6 or season 7?

I am not sure if my response is really based objectively on quality, but I prefer season 7 because, like, s6 is slouching steadily toward agony, which casts a pall over even the cutest of hijinks, whereas s7 is coming out of that agony and moving in a happier direction, and ultimately culminates in one of my favorite series finales in all of TV. I think s6 is probably more natural Gilmore Girls in a lot of ways, on account of the Palladinos still being there, and I find the majority of it charming and enjoyable to watch. But I also feel like s7 made a distinct effort – even if it was kind of awkward or fumbling at times – to bring the show back to the warmer vibe it had in the first few seasons. I appreciate that effort a bunch! There are also some things I really love in s7: Rory and Logan’s relationship throughout, every beat of the Chris + Lorelai + Luke triangle sitch once it really starts bringing the exquisitely crafted pain mid-season, Luke’s relationships with April and Lane and Zach developing, some of the Gilmore family stuff with Richard having another health crisis, etc. There are some things I really don’t enjoy (how both pregnancy storylines are introduced, sigh), but overall, s7 has a lot going on that I enjoy a lot, and I feel like it strove admirably to bring the show back from profound despair!

Luke/Lorelai or Rogan?

I have grown super fond of Rory/Logan over these past few years, as anyone who has looked at my blog can tell in an instant, but I gotta go with Luke/Lorelai. It’s been one of my most beloved pairings for like a decade and a half at this point in my life! I think I probably talk about Rory/Logan more often because they were left in a place where I desperately want to fix that ending and imagine a happy reunion for them!!!, whereas Luke and Lorelai got a happy ending in canon, and therefore my heart is blissfully at peace where they’re concerned.

[beaurcgards-blog]

have a young nick robinson for this ridiculously messy intro post !! ello lovelies, how ya doin? you alright? it’s ya boy STEVIE from australia n i’m eighteen and this lil punk right here is SAWYER, he’s twenty-one and been in 212 for about 5 and a half years !! get to know him a little more under the read more, otherwise, check out the bio already on my account !!

so yeah basically he’s a medic ( however this is against his own desires for a job, don’t expect him to be a caring a lovin lil angel bc if you come to him to get stitched up, he’ll do the job but he ain’t going to be a darlin about it ) he’s been around for 5 and a half years, probably wasn’t an OG OG because he’s a bit young n when he was young he was a bit scrawny looking – his label is also the dirtbag n that’s because he’s been heavily inspired by jess mariano from gilmore girls. but let’s see why he was picked up by adrian

he was left in an orphanage in brooklyn when he was literally days old n not even the orphanage could tell you who the parents were

so basically he grew up really alone bc he definitely wasn’t the best at making friends and he definitely didn’t have the ‘ right attitude ’ to be adopted by anyone so poor lonely boy

fast forward a bit n he was put into the foster system n he was in this was fairly permanent home however that fairly permanent foster home included a discussed ‘ arrangement ’ in which the foster parents pretty much told the boy that they just needed the money, so all he had to do was show up for inspections and they’d pay for school bills but other than that, he was on his own

so best believe he didn't stick around any longer somewhere he wasn’t loved which meant he was alone and set to survive on the streets of new york 

so while he was on the streets he learnt and tried his hand ( also ended up getting pretty good at ) being a con artist n hacking

did i mention this lil dude is smart as heck n did i also mention nowadays he’s DEFINITELY a smartass that uses his intelligence to his upper hand

anyway besides the hacking n thieving he got involved with the wrong type of crowd ( probably like a shitty gang – nothing like 212 ) n yeah got into drugs and alcohol

 also side note during those street days the crowd he was with was into dog fighting in thats where he found the love of his love; he rescued an australian cattle dog n named her bonnie thats the only thing he truly loves

so he ditched that group once they started doing that bc fuck that n then he was left alone again

he’s act 16 by the time adrian picks him up and he probably saw a lot of himself in sawyer so that’s why he was adopted into 212. so he’s got this cute lil brotherly relationship with adrian. he tried his hand in most things as per what a rookie does except despite clear expertise other areas, he was ordered to become a medic as that allowed him to stay as safe as possible AND stay out of missions

you best believe this makes sawyer SALTY AF cause he don’t want to be no goddamn medic and he’s also mad that adrian hasn’t given him more power despite how long he’s been around in 212 before

so now this is this lil shithead sawyer, he lives in the tiny abandoned factory/storage space thing where he has the random shed for bonnie n a makeshift kitchen and then upstairs he has a ~ luxurious ~ living room that includes a laptop, desk and n like two chairs and then the next room literally has his bed and some container thing that keeps his minimal clothing choices

he loves literature and has a pretty indie vibe to him, probably appreciates the 70s more than present time n really he’s just a lil shit head come love him

for connections i’m definitely just looking for the basic ones but specifically i’d love for sawyer:

someone that REALLY hates him and he hates them n yeah they just do not get along – probably a hacker or get away driver or definitely even 2ic characters bc low-key he’s very jealous

i’d love a lil love plot that has him break away from his dirtbag tendencies and actually gets to know him him ( like rory to jess )

probably someone he fixes up all the goddamn time – maybe there’s a reason they come to him all the time idk lets plot that

aNYTHING fwb on again off again shit give me everything 

i want to plot with every single one of you pls