#god the glory days of ship names before they were all portmanteaus

[windowsandfeelings]

nancy/ace! And literati, for a throwback, haha.

omg, my 2 favorite subjects

OK, so Nancy/Ace

1. What made you ship it?

They're just so...well-matched. I remember thinking I was imagining things in season 1 because it did not seem like the show was actively trying to do any of the stuff that I was seeing, but the chemistry was so immediately there, and the complete invasion of personal space was so immediately there, and even in the pilot you have Nancy refusing to let anyone in emotionally while also saying that she told Ace all of her deep dark traumas over the summer (*ahem*). I think I first realized it was something I was into around their visit to the library (maybe a little before that?), or when he drank poison for her(!!!), and I was fully on board when he was the only one who knew the truth about Lucy and his first instinct was to protect that secret until she was ready to share it. The way he dives into doing the ritual in 1x17 when everyone else is asking questions just makes my heart feel like it's going to explode, I love it so much.

2. What are your favorite things about the ship?

INVASION. OF. PERSONAL. SPACE.

The fact that they both have an inferiority complex and it's so so absurd (Ace is worried he doesn't speak enough languages for her! he speaks 3 languages but that's not enough!! Nancy is an emotional disaster and should really be in so much therapy!!!!! Ace probably should, too!!!)

Excellent gazing.

There's a moment in 2x07 where Nancy realizes Ace and Amanda are flirting and she does these little jealous eyes and it was the first time I thought there was anything intentional going on and it's the best. (related: the way Nancy says "She's competent" in 2x13)

Any and all moments we see text messages between them they are top notch. (MEAT HOOKS!!!)

They both love Horseshoe Bay so much and it informs everything about them.

I can't even talk about the lust curse.

Or the fact that Nancy thinks he has pretty eyes.

OR THE HUG AFTER SHE AND GRANT SAVE HIM.

They. have. a. private. server.

Season 4 is going to be sooooo angsty and I am here for it.

Did I mention the invasion of personal space?

Anyway, there's just so much mutual respect and trust and even when they're mad at each other or not communicating well or dating other people or anything they still care deeply about each other.

Everyone else knew they were in love before they did.

HANDS.

UGH I COULD GO ON FOREVER.

3. Is there an unpopular opinion you have on your ship?

I do not get why the fandom is so invested in Ace calling her "Nance" when the specific way that he says "Nancy" is the hottest thing in the fucking world.

AND MY BELOVED LITERATI

1. What made you ship it?

I honestly barely remember because it's been literally twenty years, but I do know that I went into season 2 very invested in Rory and Dean (and very alone in that, the fandom was intensely Trory in a way that is hilarious to me now), and I hated Jess for a long time because I didn't want anything to get in the way of that (hahahahaha). But he won me over somewhere in season 2, because I do remember reading the spoilers for "I Can't Get Started" and seeing that they were going to kiss and losing my shit in a way that only a 14 year old can (lies, I lost my shit so hard during the Nancy Drew finale that I spilled half a diet coke on my couch and now there is a giant stain on the fold-out mattress). Like running around the house and screaming about it.

And then the night before "Let the Games Begin" aired (it might have been "They Shoot Gilmores...") I got grounded and got my tv privileges taken away and I wrote my parents a letter explaining why it was extremely important that I be allowed to watch and they actually let me.

2. What are your favorite things about the ship?

Well, let's talk about mutual respect again. Let's talk about chemistry again.

Book nerds in love.

It's a cliche to say 22.8 miles/you looked it up, but 22.8 miles!/you looked it up! (True story: there is a picture of me on Buzzfeed holding a sign that says 22.8 miles/you looked it up, because they went to the same Luke's pop up that I did before AYITL and asked people in line what their favorite Gilmore Girls moments were.)

They pushed each other and expected more from each other. I think the ways that Jess nudged Rory back to herself in season 6 and AYITL get more attention, but Rory was also so important to getting Jess to a place where he could be that person for her. (Anyway, see chapter 4 of MYatRT this weekend for more of my thoughts on this. It's a ~theme~)

Separate from the actual, on-screen ship: Rory and Jess were what drove me to stars-hollow.org in 2004 (right after "Nag Hammadi..." aired), and that message board, and specifically the Lit thread, gave me some of my dearest friends in the world, people who are still in my life every single day, people I've vacationed with, people I love deeply. I would love them for that if for no other reason.

3. Is there an unpopular opinion you have on your ship?

IDK, the discourse around GG has changed so much over the years (I have to stop looking at the subreddit. It makes me feel 1000 years old), and at no point have I agreed with all of it, but no specific examples spring to mind. I'm not as much of a Dean hater as many (probably has something to do with my answer to 1), which is not necessarily a ship opinion considering Dean is not a part of the ship, but does seem related to them anyway.

OH! I do think it's funny the way people use the ship name now! People call Rory and Jess Literati, but we used to call ourselves Literati (or really, Literatis, even though Literati is already plural. But really, we mostly used Lit/Lits). Like, we were the stars-hollow.org Lits. Lits wrote Literati fic, but I don't think we would say we wrote fic about Literati. Does that make sense? IDK I think it's a subtle difference, but it's there.