#Hating themselves and the world
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Aaanyway, what's your favourite Durge quote?
(The ones they make when you click on them)
Mine is "nothing hurts anymore" because the way mine sounds like he's disassociating when he says it really fucks me up.
"Worship me, I'm going to kill you all" is a strong contender though.
#durge#the dark urge#dark urge#Durge has three settings:#“Daddy please love me.”#Hating themselves and the world#And burying the pain of the first two in the high of the kill#...Pretty sure they're a functional addict
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Reverse Nerd!AU in which Asuka is a fictional character and Rei is a diehard weeb who makes her their entire personality
#asurei#girlfailure rei realness#now all I need to do is make each AU meet each other#<- world-shattering implications#their tamagotchi keeps dying bc rei can never take care of it#they self insert themselves as shinji when watching#not cuz they relate to him but bc asuka beats him up#rei also thinks all other nge fans are complete losers except them & doesnt interact w the fandom besides hate-reading OOC asuka fics#I can’t believe this took me 5 months to finish oh my god#college is a scary thing#nge#neon genesis evangelion#eva#rei ayanami#ayanami rei#evangelion#asuka#asuka langley#asuka langley soryu
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"Have you no more memories?"
I am made of memories.
"Speak, then."
#qsmp fanart#that quote is from The Song Of Achilles#beautiful book#HUGE spoiler warning#in the last scene of the book patroclus and thetis are sitting together at achilles' grave watching the sunset#patroclus has just finished recounting the entirety of his life with achilles to thetis#and despite how much the two hated each other; and despite how much disdain thetis had for patroclus for being a human#for the first time in her life thetis understands how much those two meant to each other and how much achilles loved patroclus#and so she lets patroclus travel to the next world to be with him; she sends him off so they can be together#“go” she says. “he waits for you.”#that's basically what I'm thinking of here#an AU wherein which Fit and Madagio find themselves in each others' paths again and Madagio sees that Fit's grief hasn't swallowed him whol#Madagio is curios because he has never understood how to deal with grief in a way that isn't revenge#and asks about it#he asks about the rosebushes and the goggles#and after the two sit for days in a far-out reach of the wasteland; fit talking and madagio listening#madagio decides maybe he can spare the time and effort. maybe he can find a way to reunite fit with pac and ramon;#even if it's just for a minute#qsmp#fitmc#fitpac#madagio#qsmp madagio#54625art#holy shit sorry for yappin so much#mcyt#mcytblr
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case study of the self-identified god
#obsessed with the fact that rain world is a game about survival#yet every character we meet has the express goal of trying to optimize killing themselves#every creature in game seems perfectly content fulfilling their role in the ecosystem no matter how many cycles they do the same thing#(rly obvious with gourmand's entire route. guy who lives their life to the fullest without the slightest hint of resentment)#it was really only the ancients who thought they were above it and thought of it as something to escape from#5pebbles is so interesting because the only reason hes “”“godlike”“” is because of his vast knowledge. if he was in any slugcats shoes he#would die instantly which is ironically what hes been trying to do this whole time#this comic was kind of exploring the idea of awareness (divinity) as something that drags down ones enjoyment of life (walking).#if 5p would humble himself down enough to walk around like any other creature#he would a) be much happier in life and b) achieve the ascension he's been gunning for for millennia like all the slugcats did#but he never will.#getting rid of all his work on the problem or even his awareness of it entirely#would just be a trick of convenience that steals away his godhood#and him calling himself godlike is kind of a cope LOL#a cope being faced with a problem he was never meant to solve#a cope being faced with what he did to moon#a cope being faced with the rot inside him#oh well.#anyway fuck 5 pebbles i hate that guy#rain world#rain world fanart#rw five pebbles#rain world five pebbles#rw gourmand#rain world gourmand#five pebbles#rain world void worm#rain world ancients#also JUST KIDDING ilu 5p. you suck but i💛u
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*stares at disciple SQQ falling into the abyss au*
oh you are so "SY-is-SJ" coded. You are so "fell into the abyss and suddenly remembered that oh i've been Shen Jiu this whole time, not just Shen Yuan. we are one and the same". you are so 'crumbling under the weight of the system and being in the abyss and the despair of never really being free and having suffered in both lives' built. you are so 'scrambling to come to terms with your existence and battling with which life is really yours, only to realize that they both are'. You are primed for going off the rails.
I'm so normal about this guys. i promise.
#svsss#mxtx svsss#svsss au#shen yuan#shen qingqiu#scum villian self saving system#scum villian#svsss role reversal au#IF I MAKE IT SY-IS-SJ THERE'S NO STOPPING ME FROM MAKING THIS AU QIJIU. LIKE IT MUST BE QIJIU IF I GO THAT ROUTE.#grinding my teeth. grips you by the shoulders tightly#the angst of YQY finding out SQQ fell into the endless abyss and falling into a despair that he couldnt save him AGAIN. him trying to go#through hell and high water trying to get him back. him and LBH are losing their shit. also the idea that YQY existed in SY's world too#not as an older brother but as a close childhood friend who was there for him for years up until their HS years where something happened#that caused a falling out. but YQY keeps trying to rekindle that friendship and never can in that world bc SY dies before they can reconnec#SQQ realizing that he misses YQY like a limb and thinking that if he sees him again he'll demand answers for his supposed abandonment but#also he just wants to hug him. just once. and then maybe punch him. not in that order. its the doomed soulmates guys. its the reconnection#obsessed obsessed obsessed. like HMMMM. SQQ knows YQY's fate from the book and the idea makes him so nauseous he has to sit down#bingqiu is fantastic but ALSO. QIJIU. 'SY-is-SJ' is decidedly perhaps my favorite trope for the time being if only for the pure and utter#self-hatred SY and SJ are going to inflict on each other. its about the mental breakdown guys. especially with chronically ill SY.#SJ hating SY for being sick. for being a shut in. they are a reflection of each other they ARE each other and they hate themselves#holding back from going off the rails about 'SY-is-SJ' au combined with him falling into the abyss#'no light no light' by florence and the machines is this au guys. ive decided it now
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Seeing people hate on bnha’s ending for not being a utopia and claiming that nothing about their society has changed, and I just don’t agree with that.
Even if it’s not perfect, their society did change for the better. Crime still exists, but has gone down to the point that less heroes are needed. There’s less idolization on the pro-heroes career - in Deku’s teenage years the ideal job was pro-hero and only pro-hero, but in the epilogue other career tracks such as healthcare and technology are given equal recognition and value to the pro-hero career track. Therapy used to be viewed as a threat and something to be kept hidden because it is shameful to admit that you needed it, and in Toga’s case used outdated practices that did more harm than help - in the epilogue it’s instead seen as something regular and helpful, and that needing help is nothing to be ashamed about, and more up to date and effective at actually helping others, as seen by the therapy programs Uraraka and co created being talked about on tv. Society is shown (I’m mainly thinking about the old granny and the kid) to be less apathetic to those in need. Things have changed for the better.
It’s not a utopia. Crime still exists. Heroes are still needed. But they’re no longer the sole bandage for the gaping wound that used to be their society. Other people from other careers help serves as bandages too, and all of that ultimately helps society function in a way that benefits everyone better. If utopia is the top of the stairs and the society shown in the story’s beginning is at the bottom of the stairs, the society shown in the epilogue is on the step that is halfway up to the top. Not perfect, but improving, and one that is working on continuing their improvement so that they don’t fall stagnant and backslide back to the bottom of the stairs where they used to be.
(Ngl if I want to be more specific it’s that the beginning of the manga has them in the lower parts of the steps solely because All Might and his Symbol of Peace carried them there, but it’ll muddy the metaphor too much lol)
But anyways. BNHA’s ending does something I find much more interesting than ‘they’ve created a crime-free utopia where everyone is happy’. The ending goes ‘things aren’t perfect but they’re improving, and will continue to improve so long as everyone puts in the effort’. It acknowledges imperfections, and the beauty and importance of small steps that lead up to big changes. It promotes gradual growth as important and crucial, and that’s a message I find much more relatable than a crime-free utopia.
#bnha#my ramblings#bnha meta#bnha spoilers#bnha manga spoilers#the entire manga had ‘people must desire and take the steps necessary for change or else it won’t happen’ and I see that in the ending#like. we see this in Bakugo and endeavor and all might and Deku#Bakugo and endeavor recognized their initial behavior as abhorrent and took to the steps to change because they wanted to be better people#make up for their wrongdoings etc#all might and Deku wanted to save people and took the necessary steps to achieve that goal at the cost of their own bodies and selves#best boi Kirishima changed himself to become more proactive because he disliked his middle school self#they all were dissatisfied with their initial states and took the needed steps towards their ideals bc they wanted to be better people and#recognized that the only way they could do it is if they took those steps themselves no matter how hard it was#even the villains do this. they hated the society that shunned them and took the steps to break that society#‘become the change you want to see in the world. it doesn’t matter if it’s gradual or small. if the change is there you have succeeded.#continue to succeed’ was the message I got from the manga
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The Spiteful Ghost
Danny loved space, and loved exploring it almost as much as he loved the Realms (yes, apparently he had made a home there, and learned to love its quirkiness, who could knew right?). The problem was that over the years the halfa acquired another characteristic: He hated heroes.
It might seem ironic, considering his teenager years but he just couldn't stand the concept of heroism (he never chosed to be one), not after all he had been through. Not after losing his family and ending up with more than deep wounds, not after humanity called him a villain for protecting the ghosts, not after the world chosed to sacrifice him after all he did for them (Amity was his world, and the city handed him over on a silver platter to save itself, they forced him to take drastic measures, actions he should never have taken, but when you're alone it turns out that no one can stop you)
They say that rancor can change you, the halfa can confirm. The point is, Danny hated heroes (he hated what they had to go through, hated that adult heroes weren't there for him, hated what it took to be a hero, leaving everything for the world was absurd, why would you accept something like that?). When the ghosts told him about the DC dimension he didn't take it exactly well. Although at least those heroes had a base in space.
Clockwork forbade him to go for a few months (he understood his grudge, quite personal, but he didn't want it to destroy him, he didn't want him to destroy himself), but when he saw him lost and depressed he allowed it, probably because he knew it would cheer him up for a while. Maybe he saw some future where he reconciled with the "profession", or maybe he thought he needed it (the halfa wasn't evil, Clockwork knew he wouldn't hurt anyone).
So, Danny arrived in the hero dimension and set out to be the world's biggest nuisance: moved chairs, ate their snacks, disappeared their stuff. He wasn't doing anything exceptionally big until he overheard an argument between the Red Hood and Batman.
After that, Batman ran out of gadgets in no time and Red Hood found little desserts everywhere. By the time they called JLD, it was pretty obvious they had an invader (the invader strangely loved Young Justice, and anti-heroes, seemed to hate Batman thought).
John Constantine entered feeling that he was walking to his funeral, why the hell had the Ghost King installed himself in a hero base, if it was rumored that he hated them to death?
#dpxdc#ghost king danny#The GIW went too far#and killed everyone that Danny cared about#Amity blamed him for those deaths#They blamed the ghosts for everything#and soon after that the whole city called him a villain for protecting the ghosts instead of just collaborating with the GIW#But Danny couldn't do that#the ghosts comforted him#the ghosts gave him a home#they understood#dp x dc#dc x dp#He ended destroying the GIW and leaving Amity#After Amity betrayed him and almost got him double killed#he couldn't stand the concept of heroism after that#he began to hate everyone who called themselves a hero#everyone who abandoned family and chosed the world first#because deep inside him Danny felt that that was the wrong choice#but even if it was he didn't like killing or anything#so he did some pranks to the JL#He sabotaged their equipments and was a nuisance in general while helping teenage heroes who didn't know better#Danny hate heroes#danny is tired
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i think people give elise too much shit for her little outburst at the end of sonic 06 because if i was running a country at 17 and had been repressing my emotions for 10 years straight and one day i got kidnapped like 500 times and ended up befriending the guy who rescued me and while spending time with him i felt like i really got to be myself and have fun for the first time in forever and formed a really meaningful relationship with him only for some weird demon rat thing to show up and kill him right in front of me just to make me cry so the destructive fire god that my dad sealed inside my body would be unleashed and then in order to save the world i had to reset the timeline and forget we ever met i would have become the joker
#posts that sound insane to people who dont know the sonic lore#been htinking about sonic 06 again lately#also i didnt know how to work this in but remember the scene where she jumped off eggman's airship not knowing sonic was gonna catch her .#yeah#also i think its pretty obvious that she wasnt actually gonna let the world end so she could stay with sonic#considering she ended up blowing out the flame anyway. she just had a lot of feelings about it. which shes allowed to do#anyway. people alwasy say elise is boring and has no personality or character#but i think shes interesting. once you actually start paying attention to her#also i dont even ship sonelise but i think its pretty clear that sonic and elise meant alot to eachother#even if i prefer to make it platonic in my mind#people who say sonic hated elise just hate elise themselves and are projecting that onto sonic#< TO BE CLEAR PLATONIC RELATIONSHIPS CAN STILL BE VERY DEEP AND MEANINGFUL#idk if my wording on that was weird
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So @somerandomdudelmao made a version of their sona in a dystopia (inspired by @tapakah0 doing the same to theirs) and the person in this ask named the robot C.A.S.5 and I thought, ‘well then there’s at least four other C.A.S. units out and about in the world’ leading to this being the end result! It was a lot of fun to come up with the different customizations each C.A.S. unit has.
also, the design for C.A.S.4 (Cash) was partially inspired by @mobiitez post.
Doodles:
#somerandomdudelmao#tapakah0#my art#Dystopia au#Mob’s character design session#cass fanart tag#i think#I’m probably not going to make more C.A.S. bots but just know C.A.S.7 or Cast is bird based (not sure which bird yet) and blue for my sis#small detail but on Cass there’s broken wires on the back of their head so I decided that they used to connect to the body#Cash hates Castle while Castle is indifferent unless Cash tries to steal from her#Case is vibing with the farm life and making up little tunes#Cazz is a cross between the crazy old cat lady and a backwoods cryptid - they will stare at you from the shadowed depths of the scrap yard#while making commentary to the parts they keep for themselves and of those parts Benji is the favorite#Battery packs for C.A.S. units attach to the things that stick out their backs for the wires - except Cazz who made some internal modificat#No one knows exactly how since the mods are a chaotic hodgepodge of patchwork but they somehow work#Had a lot of fun watching others make stuff for the impromptu dystopia au the vibes of the world were awesome#Technically fanart#so yeah#enjoy!
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hello re:zero fan. in front of you is a re:zero character. describe them and who they are as a person without mentioning or angling your analysis around subaru natsuki.
#actually kills me talking on public servers about other characters#only for it always to gravitate towards how subaru is the messiah who has given them weight and purpose#characters exist outside of subaru. its valid to love him and the impact hes made but please. he is not the only guy ever#weird world where people watched ottos speech about subaru acting all on his own and forgetting the people around him#only to then forget everyone around him themselves#hate. hate.#if you reply to this with how subarus the protag and talking about him being so important i will stare wistfully out the window and sigh#joking. mostly
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like knows like//two unlike things, day 7 of @radiantemperorweek
whatever they are, they're forever. recommended listening: 'your liver is my drum machine, my clavicle your e chord'
#radiantemperorweek2024#rew2024#the radiant emperor#she who became the sun#he who drowned the world#zhu yuanzhang#general ouyang#my art#band au#they're best friends. they hate each other. they're each other's gallbladder. they sit in the cool bathtub water together in a heatwave#they bare themselves to each other. every word they say to each other is a trick. they trust each other blindly#super normal about them#last day of treweek feels like the final day of holidays a bit going back to normal tomorrow etc#the playlist is not in any particular order. and also the song choices are mostly vibes and sort of what kind fo music they'd play
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I finally got why I love so much the "dragons are gone" ending in the books while I hate it in the movies:
The books set the dragons free.
The movies simply sent them away.
That's basically the idea but I had a vision yesterday at 3am so I will be getting into detail below the cut.
The books have a very strong message about slavery. Some would say that it is a concept that is only important within the context of the last five or four books, but the ones that have been paying attention to the saga as a whole knows that there are things happening in the background. You know, stuff like
People eating dragons
People stealing dragons from their families so
The dragons can serve the vikings
And they're expected to obey because
People threaten to turn them into bags.
That's mostly the first book.
Dragons are constantly showed as unsatisfied with the status quo trough out the books, some more annoyed with the vikings than others. We have complete monologues from different dragons before the war is even a possibility. Sincerely, when it happens, it feels natural.
The idea of freeing the dragons is not one that comes up in the last book, not even close. The first time it is considered an option is in book 9 (I think), and, by the time being, we've already stablish lots of concepts as slavery within human beings, the dangers of a war, how this could lead to the end of all and freeing the dragons is the only option.
It is fatalist to say the least, but it's not going out of nowhere. There is a lot of worldbuilding (more on that later), but it is also the right thing to do. By the time Hiccup is presenting the option, Cowell has made us root for the dragons to be free and wild and do whatever they want, even if what they want is to hide under sea for thousands of years. Or if they don't want, or if the want to but just not in that moment, they can do it.
Oh, yes, because they leave GRADUALLY.
It is a sad ending, but still manages to get as satisfactory because, yet again, we know this happens and the books remind us this will happen eventually every time they can. “There were dragons when I was a boy” is literally the first phrase in the saga.
And then we got the movies.
The movies never followed the books. Like, not very much. The writers decided that they wanted to tell a story of a broken relationship between a father and a son while using dragons, the heroic and prophetic aspects of the books were getting on the way of that and they scrapped the idea. So, no, you can't tell me the movies actually follow the books.
However, if you're very technical, you know the Hiccup we see in the movies resembles Hiccup I, the one that stopped the war between vikings and dragons in the books, stablishing an equal relation between the two races. And this idea of the movies being a prequel can work for the second and specially the first movie, disregarding the fact that there are no prophetic or magical elements at all.
But THW exist and... Exist.
Suddenly the writers and producers decide that they want to follow the books and want to get rid of the dragons, something that is completely against the message of the other two movies.
(I am just talking about the movies, the shows-books relationship is very different and I will someday make a post ranting about it)
The movies do NOT talk about the dangers of dragons being with vikings or how the vikings mistreat the dragons or how bad is slavery or anything like that. The second movie does, yes, but the second movie also sends a message about how people benefit of being with dragons. They have their dragons and they're strong because of that friendship. Being at war with one another only brings loss and suffering for both bands while being together promises an actual future. A bright future that no one imagined before the first movie and that now they cling to.
Dragons and vikings are friends and together cand do basically anything.
That's a very strong message, you know?
And you know what? The third movie decided that such a strong and important message about friendship should leave the franchise completely.
“Free the dragons” it's a concept that doesn't fit with the movies. They're not slaved, they're not away from wildness and, most importantly, they CHOOSE to be with the vikings in the first place. They are already equals, they can do what they want and, you know, they are with the vikings because they want to.
But no, let's do a movie about letting friends go as if it could actually fit in the saga.
(I know it could actually fit but the execution was terrible).
As I said before, the movies resembles Hiccup I befriending dragons and we know how it ends. And someone who has never read the books will go and say "well, it was bound to end that way, why are you mad?” I tell you the difference right now: there's 1000 years of difference between the befriending and the parting in the book, 1000 years in wich we witness the deterioration of said friendship (from being friends and equals to being slaves). That's no what happens in the movies. The films give us 6 years and the only deterioration is within Toothless' character and how they made him a horny dog.
The dragons shouldn't have leave. This was a whim from the writers that thought that ending both stories the same way would be cool. It isn't. At all.
Long story short, it doesn't fit thematically. The movies and the books have different themes with different concepts and different characterizations of the dragons. While the books got story building and present the theme's since the beginning, the movies get it out of no where ignoring the themes in previous works.
Anyways, go read the books they're jewels and the ending isn't as shitty as thw make it look
#httyd#how to train your dragon#httyd 2#httyd the hidden world#httyd book#httyd books#im angry about the ending#probably because I'm watching rtte and i llve the relationship wuth the dragons#and the characters themselves#freeing the dragons is an actual theme in rtte but not in the movies#that's sad#also i don't think the shows follow better the books but#they actually use themes from them#english is not my first language#sorry if i wrote anything wrong#i love the films#i know it sounds as if i hate them but i don't#they're basically my favourite movies of all time
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His only deanfense
#gotta be one of my fav episodes I won't lie#why would I lie. I'm right#epidemiology is my all time fave and like ten other eps all fight for my top spots#community#nbc community#community nbc#dean pelton#craig pelton#community textposts#community memes#b4 anyone says like um great episode if it weren't for the jeffannie#i don't think I'm as against jeffannie as most of u guys. NO WAIT HEAR ME OUT. i absolutely do not think they should be together#i think annie is a lesbian and jeff is aro#but i don't hate that it happened in the show like most of the fandom does. i think in a way it made sense for their characters#because if you look at it through the lens of comphet on both their parts. it's still a shitty fucked up thing. but it's one that makessense#i don't think they're meant to be together. i think they're NEVER meant to be together#i think they're two people who only want the fantasy of each other#because it makes them feel like they're performing a version of themselves that the world expects of them#anyways. this post wasn't even about jeff or annie#i deangress#!
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hey folks who interact with creative works online! just a tiny PSA
If you don't like a character, that's totally fine! If you have a different reading of a situation in a show & have issues with stuff that's going on, that's also fine.
What is NOT fine is to ACTIVELY SEEK OUT fans of the characters you don't like and talk shit about them, the characters they have feelings about, or the content they've posted b/c you, Freddy McHatesalot really needs to tell everyone how much you dislike a...fictional character.
You are totally welcome to consume content in your own space in whatever way you see fit. It is disrespectful of the fandom space to try to drag other people into your space and interact with you if they don't want to. And dunking on a character in writings or art of them is fucking rude as hell to the person who put work into into the creation they made out of some feelings they were having.
Also. side note, it is possible to enjoy a character who is Wrong About Some Things or Isn't Doing The Right Stuff In The Right Situation. Sometimes it's possible to like a character and disagree with them, and shitting on people b/c you can't see what they see in a character is pretty trash garbage and is 90% of why I just make silly little art for me and my own silly feels and hope folks get a chuckle or some enjoyment out of it too.
#Behave better#and if you can't behave yourself I'm not going to play into your little hate roleplay#you can do that elsewhere while I enjoy the nuance in my media thankss#don't pull me or my work into your weird vendetta against fictional characters#I draw art for me and for anyone who is feeling like I am#to jump in and be like “this person is the shittiest & I hate them” on that creation is ummmmm#why I don't interact with fandom like I used to#b/c if people can't control themselves it spoils the whole pot#I don't like some characters and stories and ships#does anyone here who isn't a close friend of me irl even know what they are?#no b/c I don't find that worthwhile to spend my time doing#I don't fill my page with hate for fictional characters. I post what I enjoy and share it to put more joy out there in the world#sorry this is so long#I'm just fucking pissed b/c I thought we were past this bad behavior#and I'm too old too tired too busy and too stressed to have to put up with this shit. Grow up.
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Unhealthy for funny little hell robots
N e ways, Ultrakill fanfic (;
I was gonna draw art for this chapter but end of year burnout be hitting hard 😭😭
#ultrakill#ultrakill v1#ultrakill terminal#v1#fanfic#ultrakill fanfic#v1 ultrakill#v2 ultrakill#gabriel ultrakill#minos prime#sisyphus#using fanfic to explore how non humans perceive the world#gabv1el#idk how to tag for fanfics#angst#i live for the angst#hurt/comfort#I refuse to have my fics beta read#v1 and v2 are siblings#they also hate eachother#it’s great#my au#Sandcastles au#game mechanics#robots learning how to be human#then realising humans suck and relearning how to be themselves
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Actually you know what I need to rant about this: while literati is technically a good girl x bad boy dynamic it is written so incredibly well and avoids so many pitfalls and stereotypes that it makes a good girl x bad boy hater like myself (I’m only half joking — I don’t think any trope is inherently good or bad but I tend to dislike most pairings with this dynamic) fall head over heels for their story and relationship.
So much of what makes the two of them work is the contrast between how others perceive them and how they truly are. Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of people who understand who Rory is as a person (Lorelai, Lane, Paris, Richard and Emily to a certain degree for starters), but she's constantly met with the expectation that she just does good and is supposed to make everyone proud 24/7. Stars Hollow as a group especially are big on this, as seen f. ex. through how Taylor takes Rory's one comment about an inappropriate DVD and twists the whole thing into a censorship crusade and makes Rory its poster-child even though she wants nothing to do with it and tells him so repeatedly. But instead of hearing Rory disagree with him (like he would Lorelai and Luke) he assumes that she actually agrees with him - and why shouldn't she when she's the perfect sunshine paragon of good who would never disagree with her elders? Also her grandparents treat her as incredibly fragile and childlike, like she must be too innocent to ever do anything wrong and so whenever she does something it has to be somebody else's fault (usually Lorelai, but occasionally Jess or whoever else was present). Time and time again Rory is treated like something innocent and naive and weak — but not by Jess. He sees her as a person.
And it obviously goes the other way too. Jess is treated like shit by pretty much everyone else. Either people hate him unprovoked or very much provoked (he did do a lot of pranks in his first few weeks and while I'm a Dean-hater I'm not blind to how much Jess picked fights with him), or they’ve simply given up on him. He tells Rory himself that every authority figure he had back in New York gave up on him too, from teachers to principals to his very own mother. But Rory doesn’t treat him like a lost cause, she treats him like the smart, brilliant and asshole-ish teen that he is. By having faith in him she also often holds him more accountable than others. Where f. ex. Lorelai or the other adults just roll their eyes, Rory physically drags Jess into doing his shifts at the diner. While others write him off, Rory chews Jess’ ear out for not helping Luke more and for willfully making enemies out of the Stars Hollow adults.
They don't put each other on pedestals or below each other. Jess doesn’t try to make a sinner out of Rory and she doesn’t try to make a saint out of him. There’s genuine respect between them. They expect each other to have integrity and treat others with kindness and honesty, and the rest is good old chemistry and common interests.
I particularly love how in so many of their scenes (especially pre-relationship) when they spend time alone they just get to be these goofy nerdy kids. They argue about controversial authors and dig through records shops and eat hot dogs and make fun of each other and try to make each other laugh. It’s not just sexual chemistry as it too often is in a dynamic like this (and often uncomfortably sexual when writing teenagers - looking at you Gossip Girl), and not just well written intellectual chemistry — they have platonic chemistry too. A hell of a lot of it actually.
While I don’t think ASP wrote them through a purely deconstructionist lens on the good girl x bad boy dynamic (if she did plan on writing the dynamic at all), there is something to be said about how where many around them treat them like stereotypes they treat each other like people. To so many people, Rory is a perfect small town princess, a little miss sunshine with booksmarts for days but too delicate and sweet for anything with grit and weight. To a lot of the same people and many more Jess is a pathetic brutish and maniacal lost cause, hell personified in a chainsmoking leather-wearing teenager. But to each other they are actual human beings. Kind and mean and flirtatious and scared and reckless and smart. Rory really thinks that with the right motivation and mindset Jess can be the kind who does (and at the end wrote) incredible things. Jess really believes that with a little more practice and support to step out of her comfort zone she can be the amazing journalist she wishes to be.
They don’t have this stupid «we’re so bad for each other but we can’t stay away» thing that too many trope users rely on and don’t even justify in the plot. Everyone else might think they’re not fit for each other, but they knew they were each other’s person from the very first day.
#where a lot of good girl x bad boy dynamics are about opposites attracting#what draws Rory and Jess towards each other is how much they resonate with each other#the books the weight of expectations and assumptions the passion for more in life#they don't look at each other and see a sexy alien world they look at each other and see themselves#me rant because me unnecessarily passionate about this#again I don't inherently hate the good girl x bad boy dynamic#there's just so many examples of doing it badly out there#like I don't even need the dynamic to be morally good I just need it to be justified in the narrative#and to not just rely on the same old “it's so bad but it feels so good” and relying on stereotypes over actual character writing#Rory and Jess is one of the ways this dynamic is actually done right and it's because ASP doesn't dumb them down#or take the dynamic for granted just because it's popular and bound to have an audience#literati#gilmore girls#rory gilmore#jess mariano#rory x jess#gilmore girls meta#my meta#also extra because I can't contain myself
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