#honestly I just watched for Lorelai and Luke and Jess and dean at that point

[pasta-n00dles]

It’s 3 am but I just thought of a Jess/Dean story idea to write/draw and now I can’t stop thinking abt it :000

Like they ended up running into each other in the big city, both mature adults now. They caught up, made friends and fell in love.

Anyways story starts with them packing to take a trip back to Stars Hollow for Clara’s graduation from high school, and to visit the family and all.

And then leads to shocking the town bc they never said anything abt them dating the other or getting along even.

Rory returns to town too, running into the each separately and thinking they’d act like they once did yadayadayadayada and so forth

[anxiouspotatorants]

This may be considered a very unpopular opinion but...I've tried to imagine like how exactly Logan loves Rory, like what his personal feelings for her are. And I don't mean it in the sense of how he's expressed his love or admiration for her, I mean like how he personally has felt for Rory in ways that isn't just explained through words to her. And I have to be honest: I come up short every time I've thought about it now.

I don't deny that Logan begged Rory to take him back, to the point where he went to Lorelai to plead with her to ask Rory to reconsider for him. And yes, he bought and did several things which were nice, thoughtful and considerate towards Rory in those moments. But I honestly don't think that Logan ever had a scene within the original series or even the revival where we actually get to hear about how he feels towards Rory or even see it, without Rory herself being in the room or talking to him. You know how we got numerous scenes where Jess is back in Stars Hollow in season 4, and both Luke and Lorelai repeatedly mention Rory to him? Or how Jess confesses that he told Rory he loved her to Luke? Or how we even get to see Jess's own reactions to seeing her around town? We get none of that with Logan. And this is actually something that we even got with Dean to a lesser extent, like when Jess comes in season 2 and you have several moments where Dean expresses his doubts to Lorelai. By comparison, the most we see of Logan talking to someone about Rory is to Lorelai, and I can't even take this as complete 'proof' because obviously Logan tried to be "at his most charming" with her when she's Rory's mother and he's asking her for a favor relating to her daughter and his relationship with her. We never get scenes where Logan talks to his friends about Rory, or even to Mitchum about her. And I don't even find this as a fault towards him as a character, I simply find this as a personal fault towards the writing. Even in season 7, I don't think we ever really get this with him. We get Logan talking to Mitchum about his job and wanting to quit, but again, nothing in terms of a scene where he talks about her with someone else (without Rory being in the room). And I don't fully know why, but it's a reason why I find their relationship somewhat lacking. There's just a lot of moments where Logan doesn't even feel fully fleshed out to me because of this. Like yes, I know he loves Rory later on and wants to be with her, but how does he love her, beyond the supposed "healthy, perfect" way his fans repeatedly say? Like, why was he fine with suddenly up and leaving after his turned-down proposal? Was his love for Rory this passionate and desperate to fully have her? Or was it something he felt like was "time" for them to do in their relationship? I feel like we never get a proper answer for this even in season 5, where at most he just kept going hot and cold on her. I've seen some fans mention that he very much so did think of her in season 5 while he was ghosting her and she ended up crying on the bathroom floor, but where exactly was this??? Is this really a proven thing within the writing or is it just another fan-favorite view of him?

Opinionwise, I sadly can’t share much in regards to Logan overall because I’m 1.25 episodes away from finishing season 5. And when it comes to seasons 6 and 7, most of it I either remember so vaguely that my opinion is unreliable or I just haven’t watched yet... What I can say is that season 5 Logan is a fuckboy through and through. We don’t get any sign from scenes or dialogue or even looks that Logan was thinking of Rory while he was off doing other stuff and possibly dating other girls (for all we know he might have, but it is pure speculation and not confirmed canon onscreen). He made a point out of not getting tied down but sabotaged any of Rory’s attempts to explore that same freedom (see: costume party). When Rory clarified her needs and explained that she respected his boundaries, he accused her of forcing him into a relationship or dealing some ultimatum that she wasn’t dealing before begging to be her boyfriend no less than two minutes later in real time. And while he doesn’t seem to take it like a sitting duck, we don’t see a lot of him fighting his family over their sexist and elitist opinions about Rory as a potential long term girlfriend for Logan. He’s by no means the devil, but he does nothing to prove he’s actual boyfriend material either (again, at least in season 5).

Also I feel like while Dean did get some moments to express his feelings for Rory, what makes Jess stand out to many viewers (especially his fans) is that his whole existence isn’t tied to a romance with Rory. Like no, we don’t see him after season 6, but from what I’ve learned that had less to do with him not serving a purpose anymore without Rory and more to do with scheduling conflicts and behind the scenes disagreements. Dean only exists in regards to relationships, and even though he introduces new characters like Lindsay, his arcs are always about where he stands with Rory. Jess had his arc with Luke. He had a minor arc with Lorelai. Hell, his existence introduced Liz Danes to the town and to becoming a recurring character on the show without him. While Dean and Logan are narratively (though not physically) incapable of existing without Rory, Jess can (at least in theory). I think that might be why some Jess fans actually turn on Rory more than Rogan or Dean x Rory shippers do. Because we are allowed to see Jess side of the story in more ways than one, it is easier to pick one of at least three sides (Rory, Jess or both) as opposed to rooting for or against a coupling.

[we-pay-for-everything]

Hi!! I'm the fellow anti-Luke/Lorelai anon who asked about Gilmore Girls and loved reading your answers so much! To answer your question, I ship Rory/Logan so hard that I started a blog about them...but no one followed it, lol, since our ship is so unpopular. I may try again! Logan is not the kind of character I normally like and not someone I'd click with in real life, but I love his warmth, cleverness and energy and how he brought joy and adventure to Rory's life while she stabilized him and inspired him to become more mature and responsible. They're so compatible, they connect on every level, they communicate fairly well in general and very well by GG's low standards, and they're genuinely happy around each other. Like others have said they understand and accept each other as they are but encourage each other to be better too. Basically, they're everything LL aren't and it amazes me that fandom worships LL and hates Rogan! I did semi-ship Jess/Rory for one episode---the one where he comes back in season 6 - but overall I feel like Jess loved the girl she was, not the woman she became, and Rory chose Logan and even Dean over Jess again and again. She was basically done with him after their terrible S3 relationship, so I'd never believe their feelings were balanced and mutual. Plus, Rory needs a lighthearted extrovert like Logan to balance her out in my opinion. My UO here is that the revival was terrible but no worse than season 6, and despite the disgustingly casual attitude the show has towards cheating, the revival actually convinced me more than ever that Rory and Logan are each other's soulmate, still connected, still always there for each other, still loving each other no matter what. Rory hadn't even kept in touch with Jess, viewing him just as Luke's nephew by now, and I literally LOL when I see literati stans try to convince themselves that the revival was supposed to convey that Jess/Rory will be endgame! And Jess isn't Luke in good ways and otherwise----he isn't going to stay in Stars Hollow for decades while Rory raises another man's child and tries to make up her mind about whether to date him. Anyway, Rogan scenes are pretty much the only GG scenes I can see myself rewatching at this point---along with a couple of Paris's rants ;) Thank you again for reading!!

Hi! You're welcome to rant!

I agree with you on Rogan and I'm happy you are a Rogan shipper as well! How did you find my blog? Through Rogan, anti JavaJunkie, or Friends posts? I've written much on Rogan, Literati, JavaJunkie, etc..

Regarding AYITL, I also didn't think it was much worse than some GG episodes. And I loved how it showed that Rory and Logan were pretty much made for each other. Logan's goodbye to Rory was literally one of their best scenes ever. I think it's worth watching for them alone. I think I also liked Paris? But her storyline was weird. And was Lane even in it? I know she was, but not much, right? Emily was a mixed bag for me. Honestly, the cheating was so inconsequential that I didn't even care.

I'm sorry the Rogan sideblog didn't go well! It's hard to create blogs. It doesn't even matter how big the fandom is. Are you a gifmaker? It's hard when you're not, like me, haha. I have 4 blogs. The HP one isn't active, but the BTS one is, and BTS are huge yet I don't have many followers because I mostly just rant and reblog things. I have a blog dedicated to a Merlin ship now, that, like Rogan, is not very popular, so I get how you feel! You can always try again, if it makes you happy. Followers don't matter that much, just engagement.

Thanks for the ask!

[frazzledsoul]

So lately I've been thinking more and more about getting into the Gilmore Girls fandom again, which is cute, because the fandom is nonexistent, pretty much (even though the show is actually pretty popular on Netflix even all these years later) and I kind of wanted to talk about how I fell out with it.

I updated a story this week I had not touched for a year. It's my monstrous fic about Jess being Rory's baby daddy and it's 26 chapters so far and I kind of feel it went off the rails about seven or eight chapters ago but Lit fans seem to like it. Literati is not really my ship: I love them, but I also love Rory with Logan and I have written for both and see the merit in both ships. So I'm emotionally detached from it to a certain extent which is not the case with Luke/Lorelai. And I did not really get along or agree with what I thought the "official" opinions were from a lot of L/L fic authors that the fandom as a whole was encouraged to have.

The fact that I no longer talk to a lot of those authors/fans is partially (okay, mostly) my fault. There were a lot of cultural/political/lifestyle differences that couldn't be reconciled, but also a really wide gulf in fandom opinions that couldn't be reconciled, either. The fact that I was not a nice person about certain things last summer didn't help. I've blocked people on here about stuff I now consider petty and have retracted it but basically....I think sometimes online friendships need to stay in certain places and not be placed in toxic environments like Twitter and Discord where things can easily get out of hand. But when you're on a rage-blocking spree it can be hard to talk yourself down from it.

I guess the point I want to make here is that when the show was going on it had a considerable fanbase that was somewhat morally/culturally conservative. I don't think actual politics here is the issue (ASP was pretty clear about where she stood on that one) but if you were uncomfortable with Lorelai sleeping with Christopher while he had a girlfriend and never acknowledging that what she did was wrong and stupid it was okay to say that. If you didn't think it was okay for Rory to be involved with Dean while he was technically married to Lindsay it was okay to say that (not an opinion I share, but it was out there). If Lorelai sleeping with Christopher was a complete deal-breaker for you and you felt you couldn't sympathize or like her anymore after that and that what she did couldn't be justified, it was okay to say that. I feel that in 2016 with certain L/L fans and fic writers dominating the conversation, it wasn't okay anymore to express those types of opinions. Lorelai sleeping with Christopher is just a stupid thing Luke has to get over while we obsess over and over about how Luke failed Lorelai by not giving her the perfect wedding she wanted. It was perfectly okay for her to shove that knife in as far as she could if that's what she needed to do to feel that things were "over".

At the same time, the dominant L/L opinion that we were all encouraged to have was....intensely traditional in places. We were encouraged to believe that Lorelai's need to get married outweighed every other consideration, moral or otherwise, that marriage was going to immediately solve her and Luke's problems even though eloping ASAP would solve virtually none of them, and that Luke once again failed Lorelai by never proposing in the years between the OG series and AYITL despite the fact that it's explicitly stated several times throughout the revival that she did not want that. The dominant opinion here neither respects fidelity or has any room for a nontraditional arrangement, which is an odd combination to have.

There were other issues here, such as the time three popular fanfic writers decided to write stories one after the other about how Luke wearing jeans to dinner at Emily's did not mean he did not have any money and how they had to disabuse Emily of that notion right away because....how dare Luke actually be a person who could not afford nice dress pants. Being poor isn't a moral failure, people, and neither is wearing jeans to dinner. And yeah, fic writers can write anything they want and if I don't like it I don't have to read it and blah blah blah, but I think it's just another example of the "fandom" kind of laying out what opinions one was and was not allowed to have and how one often felt like an outsider for liking Luke *because* he was a redneck.

The thing is that when I go back and read older stories written by fans who were watching the show while it was airing or even fans who write for multiple ships I feel they...understand it more? The older stories understand why Lorelai's actions were so devastating and felt like such a betrayal. There's a writer who wrote in both time periods who has a story where it's explicitly stated that whether Lorelai was technically cheating or not doesn't matter, because it was still a horrible thing to do and she knows it and she's sorry. I honestly never felt as vindicated and validated as I did when I read that take on it. I feel this is S7's view on the situation. It's not like Lorelai tries to argue the point or anything: she knows pretty much right off that it was horrible. Yet the "modern" writers and fans seem to believe that Luke expressing any anger, even temporarily, is worse than what she did. And I feel intensely uncomfortable in a fandom where that is the dominant opinion.

Most of this isn't found in the fics themselves, for the most part, but in the publicly expressed opinions of the writers. And I feel this is a problem, in fandoms: you have your beloved fic writers and your thought leaders and they control the conversation and no one is really allowed to challenge them. Which is kind of why I feel fandoms in and of themselves are toxic: it's unhealthy to let only a few people decide what can and cannot be accepted. Sometimes it's better to let fics stay on the page and not know too much of what the writer's fandom opinions are....or at least, not to the point where it is considered the *only* opinion.

I just have one final thing to say, which is that I feel having the dissenting opinion that cheating is bad and not getting married is not a tragedy if you do not want to do it is something I feel has come back on me when I tried to write my take on L/L: I have a long, angsty story that I needed to write to get it out of me and let Luke say the things he needed to say about what had happened. I went round and round with some of these established writers in the reviews, because there were some very popular and influential fic writers who did *not* like my take on the subject. So there's some pretty solid evidence beyond my feeling that only certain takes on this ship were allowed other than my own insecurity. I feel all of this is unnecessary, and those who sympathized more with Luke than Lorelai should have a space to say why they feel these things.

But any rate, most of this is over now. The only stories really being written are AUs these days (the most prolific L/L writer working now is someone who never watched the revival and whose stories definitely have a more old skool take on things as far as the moral issues go) so all of the stuff in the past that we fought over doesn't matter.

But in case anyone cares....I'm probably updating that angsty fic next week. And it's going to have Jess in it. And he might be a (temporary) manwhore. So I'm sure I'll get some of those reviews again.

[hitchell-mope]

Some of my unpopular Gilmore girls opinions

I’m team Dean, Jess, Marty and Logan because they all fit somewhere into a certain stage of Rory’s life and the only reason they come off worse is because because the writing messed them up after a little while

Rory and Paris would NOT make a viable couple. Paris is far too high strung and Rory would probably end up in trial for attempted homicide

Christopher Hayden wasn’t a bad father. He can’t compare to Luke cause let’s face it. Nobody can. But the poor guy tried his best when he was in the picture.

Both Emily and Richard are iconic. But Richard was slightly better because at least he tried to understand Lorelai from time to time.

Trix, Emily and Lorelai exst in a cycle and only the combined forces of Luke and Rory can break them out of it

Dean wasn’t a god awful person in that damn Donna Reed. He should’ve worded it better, sure, but he was just pointing out that some families, like his, retain certain bygone elements like eating dinner together. Not that we were ever allowed to see it.

If it couldn’t have been Luke it should’ve been Max.

April was great. It was Anna that was the fucking problem

Dean should’ve popped dick grey’s head off at the dance. Content laws be damned

We deserved to see Kirk’s mother at least once.

I do not think that Rory and Jess should get back together at this point in their lives because they are now cousins since his uncle married her mother

A year in the life was actually good. People can change a lot in nine years. And they showcased well.

I don’t think they would name her child Lorelai. If anything Richard or Christopher or Luke would be more likely if it’s a boy. Paris or Emily or Lane if it’s a girl.

The final life and death brigade scene in Fall was the best ever. I can’t stop laughing when I watch it

Paris and Doyle were made for each other

Lorelai should’ve sung more. Her voice was amazing

I understand where Emily was coming from but she spends so much time focusing on what SHE wants for the girls instead of what they want that it’s honestly a miracle to me that she didn’t get called out a lot more than she already did

Taylor and Paris deserves more scenes together. The snarking would’ve been god tier

Paris and Jess would’ve been a good couple even if Doyle’s her soulmate

Realistically. Logan is the father of Rory’s baby. Doesn’t stop me wishing it was the Wookiee though

Honestly, the perfect guy for Rory is some amalgamation of the four guys who were genuinely interested in her. Like: Dean’s voice, physical appearance and personality, Jess’s intellect, Logan’s fiscal stability and Marty’s sense of humour.

Liz and TJ were actually funny. But it doesn’t excuse how she treated Jess

Patti and Babette were two of the best side characters

Sookie and Jackson needed their own spinoff.

I really liked seeing Emily squirm when Trix was around. But the letter was unforgivable

The whole class divide thing should’ve been explored more

[autumnrory]

it’s like so weird how gilmore girls fans villanize later seasons rory for her mistakes more than any of the other central characters (lorelai, luke, emily, richard) even though they fuck up just as much and sometimes worse than she does

and i don’t know why?? like maybe it’s bc she’s portrayed as so perfect and a lot of people considered her a role model in her high school years but she makes just as many mistakes during that time too, maybe not such big mistakes but of course you’re gonna make bigger mistakes as you get older and the stakes are higher in your life

and i don’t like a lot of the choices she makes in seasons 5 and 6 but you can at least understand HOW she ends up making said choices in the context of all the things she goes through. like it’s usually a reaction to feeling like a failure and being emotionally vulnerable that she makes poor decisions

like even in the revival (which is one hundred percent not canon to me because everyone’s characterization is SO BAD) we see her making all these bad decisions following the death of her grandfather who she loved dearly, i mean part of the problem is the revival doesn’t make it clear that her grief is affecting how she acts but i think that’s the best explanation you’re gonna get for how ooc she is

ANYWAY the point is rory’s fucks up are constantly connected to her emotional state and ayitl aside, rory doesn’t become a worse person as the series goes on by any means, she’s overall a decent person who’s impulses can get her into trouble

and honestly i’m not even sure WHAT people hate older rory for - it’s not like the kinda spiraling the o.c. wrote for marissa cooper (god she deserved better) - besides the affair with dean and stealing a yacht like. she was manipulated and lied to by dean, on top of all the heartbreak she experienced with jess in season 4 like she ran back to who she considered “safe” (though ofc dean isn’t safe, he’s an emotionally abusive fuck, anyway). stealing a yacht is dumb as shit but people act like that’s so evil like who cares if she stole some rich person’s yacht for a night sdkjfsk anyway and of course that was a reaction to mitchum literally crushing her lifelong dream of being a journalist like she was upset, made an impulsive decision, and when it sunk in she realized how much she fucked up

maybe people don’t like her for dropping out of yale but.....y’all. dropping out of college is not an Evil Thing someone can do, like watching it as a kid i was like “i can’t BELIEVE this, it doesn’t make sense.” but it does. rory’s immediate respones to failure are being crushed and having her confidence lowered, but throughout the series you see her bounce back over and over again, which eventually in season 6, she does. 

it’s just wild how people trash her character for a couple huge mistakes, when overall her behavior isn’t Like That unless she’s Going Through It, when everyone else on the show is usually messier than her lmao

[oneshotsandheadcanons]

Bracebridge Dinner - Jess Mariano

Request: Nah, re-watching the show inspired this.

Summary; Lorelai had another child, and she was the one Jess liked but Y/N was mad at Jess for fighting. It was the night of the Bracebridge Dinner, and it looked like Y/N was gonna be riding a sleigh alone.

I was currently with Mom and Rory at the inn, checking people in for the town-wide dinner she and Sookie were hosting. Mom had disappeared and me and Rory were stood by the door when Dean and Clara entered.

“Hey guys.” I smiled. Rory greeted them and kissed Dean, causing Clara to be disgusted.

“Hey Clara, nice dress.” She smiled. “Is it a Stella McCartney?”

“It’s a WalMart.” Clara told her, making me smirk. “Mom picked it for tonight.”

“Well, she has good taste.” Rory said, as some more guests entered. Me and Dean looked to see Jess, I rolled my eyes and Dean sighed. 

“I didn’t know he’d be here.” Dean said.

“I honestly did not think he’d come.” I added.

Rory looked at us both confused.

“Jess tried to fight me.” Dean explained,

“He hit you?!” Rory exclaimed.

“He tried.”

“Jess was fighting Chuck Presby, who probably deserved it when me and Dean were leaving school.” I explained. “Dean broke it up, and even though Jess saw it was Dean, he kept punching. So we aren’t speaking.”

“You sure he knows that.?” Rory asked, gesturing over to Jess who waved in our direction.

I rolled my eyes again and walked off with a bye to the three of them. Paris had turned up to bring Rory newspaper stuff and we ended up inviting her to stay. There were two people per room, and since Rory and Mom were together I was on my own, so she was staying with me.

Mom and Sookie got everyone’s attention after this.

“Welcome everyone to the first-ever-and-neverr-to-be-held-again because Sookie’s about to have a panic attack Bracebridge Dinner.” Mom announced.

“I’m fine, I’m fine.” Came Sookie’s nervous giggle.

With Mom wanting to make it special, she’d gotten horse-drawn sleighs for people. Two per carriage.

Clara had taken Dean and I was about to ask Rory before Paris appeared. “Will you come with me Rory?” She asked.Rory looked between the two of us.

“Go with Paris.” I smiled. “I’ll ride with Mom.”

Rory nodded and headed out with Paris. I went out after them and spotted Mom in the sleigh. I went to join her before I saw her call to Luke. I knew they both liked each other deep down, so I wasn’t gonna interrupt them.

Since Lane was riding with her Mom, I was left alone. I hopped in the sleigh, with the driver confirming it was just me.

I nodded and he set off, but as soon as we moved, Jess jumped in the sleigh, making me jump.

“Jesus Jess, you could have gotten hurt.”

Jess sat down next to me. “Couldn’t let you ride alone, you’d be breaking the rules.” he said, making me roll my eyes. “What, are you made at me or something?”

“What do you think?” I scoffed at him. “You got into a fight with Dean.”

“Actually, I got into a fight with Chuck.”

“Which he probably deserved. But Dean tried to break it up and you kept punching.”

“Why do you care anyway?”

“Because he’s dating my sister, and when he’s upset, she gets upset which means I get upset.” I explained. “And I don’t like it when I’m upset.”

“I’m sorry.” He sighed.

“Jess Mariano apologizing, is the world ending?” I joked, eliciting a small smile from Jess. “Hey, you okay?”

“I’m spending Christmas here.” He sighs.

“What’s wrong with that?” I asked. “I know this town is a little crazy, but we’re not that bad.”

“My mom doesn’t want me home. Luke said it was his idea for me to stay.” Jess explained. “But I know the truth.”

“Jess, that sucks. I’m so sorry. But I guess Luke didn’t want to hurt your feelings.” I told him, placing a comforting hand on his leg.  “But here, you can laugh at the Gilmore bad attempt at a snowman.”

I pointed out our snowman as we passed it. 

“Yeah, that’s pretty bad.” He laughed slightly. “But I’m not sure Luke wants me here, no one does.”

“Jess, that’s not true, I know you guys argue sometimes, but Luke cares for you.” I said. “He wouldn’t of tried to spare your feelings if he hadn’t.”

“Okay, maybe but no one else wants me here.”

I made me so sad that Jess thought that, but before I could respond, Jess changed the subject.

“So, what do you do over Christmas here?”

“Well, we build the snowmen, we have a winter carnival because we have a celebration every month here and apparently national holidays don’t count.” I told him. “Mom smells snow, which we always have to go and stand out in, watch a bunch of Christmas movies with a bunch of food and that’s pretty much it.”

“Your Mom smells snow?” Jess asked, sounding slightly concerned.

“It’s weird. Everytime just before it snows, she’ll tell us she smells it and then it always starts snowing.” I said. “Maybe one time, you and Luke could join us in standing in the snow.”

“Oh yeah, sounds great.” Jess said sarcastically.

“Brilliant, I’ll give you a call next time my Mom smells snow.”

We had just pulled up to the Inn, and Jess jumped out and helped me out and we walked to the door together, it sounded like we were the last back from the noise inside. I put my hand on the door, but stopped before opening it.

“Hey Jess, I want you here all the time, not just for Christmas.” I smiled.

I opened the door and walked in, Jess behind me. I headed over to Mom who clearly wanted to know why I’d come back with Jess, while he went to Luke. This time, I noticed he actually had a smile on his face.

A/N: So obviously I changed some dialogue in here because I wanted it to end with Jess being told he’s wanted. I hope you like it. I’m working on more stuff with Jess, but always feel free to request anything :)

[mrsmess]

Arc-enemies: On Dean and Jess

Tonight, as I ranted Mr Mess’s ear off about this, and not for the first time, I came to realise that I have to expand my thoughts on Dean Forrester, previously mentioned here. I find his character arc super interesting, perhaps mainly because of its opposition to Jess Mariano’s. I wanna make it clear that I really dig Dean, because he’s an exceedingly well-written character; This is in no way meant to bash him, but to take a closer look at his arc and characterization. Here are my thoughts: 

Dean is privileged in a way Rory isn't – via his normalcy. His parents are married, he has a sister, traditional values apply. In this way he’s the one boyfriend who shares the least common ground with Rory. Nevertheless we fall for Dean through Rory's AND Lorelai's eyes: He is the perfect first boyfriend. He's committed and willing to participate in her world, but he doesn't always do so well, especially not with her grandparents or Luke, who all think Rory deserves something more than normal, something exceptional, although they define what that is differently.

Dean can’t compete with Rory’s intelligence, booksmarts, unconventional and adventurous dreams and friendships or posh family connections, leaving him feeling inadequate, which makes him incapable of accepting Rory’s hesitance at his confession of love. Even though they make up, Dean is left more vulnerable for it. He can never shake the (correct) feeling that she doesn’t, or can’t love him back, at least not the way he wants her to. This makes him react with aggressive jealousy when Jess enters the stage. 

When Rory indeed starts dating Jess, Dean only moves on on the surface. He follows through with the pretence to a fault, even compromising his own beliefs by entering into matrimony without giving up hope about his ex. He continues pining for Rory and sleeps with her the first chance he gets. When Rory sends him a Dear John letter, Lindsey gets hold of it, and kicks him to the curb. This is sort of a turning point for him as he sees what he’s done, however, he also takes it out on Rory, more so than an honest man would have. 

In spite of all this, they still continue their relationship but it is stained by the bad things they’ve done to each other and he eventually gives up and fades into the dark (or drives off with his sibling to hunt monsters, if you will), having lost his faith in both his heritage (marriage, normalcy) and love.

It's an interesting journey to watch because of his start as personifying young love, then succumbing to a seemingly safe normalcy, and making so many bad decisions that it sort of turns him bad. Or at the very least, tragic.

Meanwhile: Jess starts out in stark contrast to the entirety of Stars Hollow, even Rory, on the surface. In reality he shares the status of being an only child of a single mother with her, not to mention their love of books. But where Rory has a loving mother and access to money, Jess has nothing. His mother is unable to care for herself or him, she is however the sister to Luke, which anchors Jess to both the story and a family in a permanent way. His arc is the near opposite of Dean’s; one of initial decline but ultimate ascension.

Since all decisions affecting his life are made without any regard for his feelings, both by Liz and Luke, but for different reasons, he interacts with everyone the same way, not communicating directly or honestly, at least not verbally. Rory’s with Dean, but Jess, at this point lacking respect for traditional values, pursues her anyway. Their relationship is difficult. They have a lot in common, but the small town has already passed judgement on him and he has very few allies but a few very enthusiastic enemies, primarily Dean, having picked up some ugly tricks (possibly from watching him). Jess cannot communicate his issues to anyone which alienates him from everyone. 

His and Rory’s relationship implodes and it takes a depressingly realistic amount of time, and hitting rock bottom for him to swallow his pride and finally start working with himself. He announces this to Rory at Yale, but she rejects him. 

He does not fade into the void with that, however, but uses his newly found acceptance of Luke’s support and his love for Rory to launch him into a rising arc. The next time we see him he has his life pretty much in order, and is big enough to forgive Rory even when she tries to use him. I know a lot of people dislike the fact that he’s hung up on Rory but I really like it and not just for obvious reasons; To recognize a person’s significance in spite of the pain they might have caused you, to understand that your life ultimately is better from the love you feel, even if it’s not reciprocated, is a strength.

Since I ship literati this might seem like some excuse to take cheap shots at Dean, but it’s not intended as such. I guess what I like about it, him, Dean, is that his development seems completely plausible. Love can lift a person up, but it can also wreck you if it means losing yourself. And I think Dean’s character in some ways is meant to embody that. Likely decisions in writing depended on a lot of external factors, but it is well done. And contrasted to Jess’s arc: frickin’ elegant. I enjoy that.

[ksfd89]

Riding in Style

Oneshot set in S5 where Lorelai impulsively buys a Vespa! A little Literaiti thrown in too! Enjoy!

"What is that?"

Rory stares at her mother's porch in disbelief. There, propped up against the steps, sits a bright turquoise motorcycle and Lorelai crows, "It's a Vespa!"

"I can see that."

"I wanted it in Hello Kitty but they only had this colour. Thoughts?"

"Well, my first my thought is why," Rory says honestly and rolls her eyes as Lorelai explains, "Roman Holiday was on and I thought it looked cool."

"So you bought a motorcycle."

"A Vespa."

"Excuse me, you bought a Vespa because it looked cool?"

"Yes," Lorelai says, protectively putting a hand on it. "And it is cool, isn't it?"

"Where'd you even buy it?"

"Oh, online somewhere," Lorelai says carelessly. "You can get anything there."

"Of course. Can you even ride it?"

"I rode it around the lot I picked it up from."

"And how did that go?"

"Wobbly," Lorelai admits. "But I can drive, and I can ride a bike, and that's kind of the same, right?"

"Um, sure," Rory says but smiles as her mother says pleadingly, "Isn't it pretty?"

"It's very pretty," Rory allows, going over to take a closer look. "I think turquoise is a more classic colour anyway."

"Very possibly," Lorelai beams. "I need to name it - any contenders?"

"Audrey?"

"Meh, too obvious."

Rory nods, going around it and placing a hand on the seat. She's usually used to unusual sights when coming home from Yale (her mother gardening is the first that comes to mind) but Lorelai has outdone herself with this. It does look cool, Rory has to admit.

"What did Luke say when you showed it to him?"

Lorelai coughs, looking away and groans as Rory exclaims, "Mom!"

"I thought I'd show him in person...maybe later today, or tomorrow is good too, if I put it in the garage..."

"Mom, don't you think he'll want a clue if someone tells him his girlfriend got in a Vespa accident?"

"Who says there'll be an accident?"

"Luke will, that's for sure."

"And that's why I haven't told him yet - he's filled with doom and gloom about these things," Lorelai says defensively. Sighing, she looks at her daughter and says, "I guess I'll tell him now - you want to take it into town with me?"

"As long as take doesn't mean ride," Rory says suspiciously, groaning as Lorelai says, "Hey, where's your sense of adventure?"

"It's busy with my sense of keeping all my limbs intact!"

"Fine, fine. Coffee before we get coffee?"

"You read my mind," Rory says, following Lorelai into the house.

They walk into the square with the Vespa between them, causing a lot of excitement and admonishment from Taylor, who shouts out road safety horror stories all the way to Luke's.

"You know Taylor won't let you ride it."

"We're ignoring him," Lorelai says cheerfully. "Check us out - the Gilmore girls and their Vespa!"

Rory has to admit it's kind of fun. Her bookbag is swinging against her leg and Rory has to shake herself from a fantasy of riding it to school and back. It's a fun picture, if completely ridiculous, and it breaks as Luke marches out of the diner and barks, "What the hell is that thing?"

"My new Vespa," Lorelai says sweetly. "I bought it online."

"It could be a total piece of junk!"

"Stop, you'll hurt its feelings!"

"Lorelai, you can't ride a Vespa!"

"I can learn!"

"It might not be safe!"

"I'll get Gypsy to check it out!"

"I'll check it out right now," Gypsy says wistfully, making Lorelai and Rory jump. "I got my stuff ready the minute I saw you two walk it down the street!"

"All yours," Lorelai says, reaching into her bag. "Here's the helmet it came with and there's another under the seat."

"Great. Can I get a spin on it sometime?"

"Sure, as long as it makes Taylor mad. What do you think, Luke? If Gypsy checks it's safe, can we make Taylor mad with it?"

A look of frustration passes Luke's face and Rory suppresses a giggle. Making Taylor angry is one of Luke's greatest joys in life.

"If Gypsy says it's safe and if you get some lessons, then I guess it's not too dangerous."

"You can bring me coffee on it!"

"What?! No way am I getting on that thing!"

"We can ride it together!"

"I have no interest in dying, thank you!"

"It won't be dangerous!"

"I was talking of dying from humiliation!"

As they argue back and forth Rory wanders over to the counter to get a slice of pie. She's just put the lid back on the plate when she almost drops it; Jess comes down from the stairs behind the counter and stops, looking as stunned as Rory feels.

"Hi."

"Hi."

"Hi."

"Okay, hi," Rory says, feeling a severe sense of déjà vu. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here for the day...was passing through and thought I'd see Luke."

"Oh."

There's a long, awkward pause, broken by Rory saying, "My mom bought a Vespa."

Jess blinks, almost smiles and says, "Why?"

"I don't know," Rory admits. A small smile creeps across her lips but she can't let herself relax. She's too caught up in remembering their last meeting, where she told Jess to leave. It seems Jess feels the same as he coughs and says, "I'll just get some coffee and head back up...I won't come back down."

"It's okay," Rory says, but Jess is already halfway there and doesn't stop, and Rory doesn't try to make him. She opens her bookbag to study and takes a bite of pie, but fails to absorb a single word.

Luke awkwardly mentions about Jess when he and Lorelai come back in and is mortified when Rory informs him she's already seen him. Rory pretends it doesn't matter, deliberately taking a large bite of pie, and Lorelai loudly starts talking about Vespas to try and diffuse the tension, to no avail. They stay at Luke's until Gypsy gives them the all-clear on the Vespa, but by then Lorelai has to go to work and says she'll leave it at Luke's for the night.

"I was so excited to ride it there too," she says gloomily, pouting when Luke points out it wouldn't have handled the bumpy road too well. She and Rory walk back together, picking out a movie for later, and Lorelai heads out to the Dragonfly. Rory eats some pizza and tries studying some more, but she can't focus. As Rory searches fruitlessly for a textbook she realises she left it at Luke's and, biting her lip, decides to brave getting it. She swore to get some studying done tonight.

Rory knows where the spare key is but in the end it doesn't matter. Jess is sitting at the counter, eating the last of the pie, and turns as Rory hesitantly opens the door.

"Hi. Sorry. I left my book..."

Jess lifts it up and Rory nods. "That's it. Thanks."

She takes it from him, her thumb brushing his, and blushes. They look at each other for a moment, hesitate, and at the same time say, "I'm -"

"Never mind," Rory says, shaking her head, and Jess looks at her, eyes sad. "Rory..."

"It's okay."

"None of it's okay."

Rory gives him a kind of shrug. What happened between them feels too much for a simple apology but she finds herself saying again, "It was a long time ago."

"Not really."

"Well, it feels like it," Rory says honestly. That night Jess asked her to go with him feels almost like another lifetime and yet, in the same moment, seeing him doesn't seem strange. It's as though Jess was always there. Rory doesn't voice the last part.

"It feels a while ago for me too," Jess admits. "I'd do it all differently - Rory, I -"

"We don't have to talk about it," Rory says quietly. Jess nods, and it's her cue to leave, but Rory simply stands there with him, hugging the book to her chest. The silence stretches between them until Jess asks, "Lorelai get you on the Vespa yet?"

"Not yet," Rory laughs, relieved. "She'll be trying tomorrow though, I'm positive."

"It sounds cool."

"Do you want to see it?" The words are out of Rory's mouth before she knew she was saying them. Jess stares at her, smiles and says, "Really?"

"Well, it's just sitting outside. No harm in taking a look."

It's totally normal to show Jess the Vespa, Rory tells herself. It's something friends would do. They can be friends, right? It's all Rory feels good with these days anyway, after the whole disaster with Dean. They open the door and see the Vespa standing outside, looking cheerful next to all the cars.

"Very cool," Jess says approvingly. "You going to ride it?"

"Yeah, I wouldn't bet a lot of money on that."

"Why not?"

"Why not? Jess, I've watched those road accident videos Kirk shows at the movie theater! Plus, it'll be driven by my mother, who gets distracted by anything shiny."

"Lorelai can drive. So can you."

"I am not riding it by myself," Rory says stoutly, her fantasy from taking it to Yale rapidly diminishing.

"But you'll ride it with Lorelai, right? Once she learns how?"

"I think she might be riding it solo."

"Where's your sense of adventure?"

Rory shrugs and teases, "Would you ride it?"

"Why wouldn't I?"

"Jess - I was just joking. You can't ride a Vespa!"

"I can ride a motorcycle. If you want, you can ride it with me."

Rory stares at him, unsure what to think, and he smiles at her.

"I mean it - I'll take you for a ride on it, if you want. But if you don't want to we can just forget it..."

"Ride it where?"

"Hadn't thought where," Jess says slowly, checking to see if Rory's kidding. "Around the square?"

"Fine, you're on. I'll go get the keys."

Jess watches as Rory goes back into the diner, emerging with them glinting in her hand and laughs.

"You sure you don't want to drive?"

"One hundred percent sure."

"Hand them over, Gilmore."

Rory passes them to Jess who takes them, hesitates and says, "How much will Lorelai kill me if she finds out about this?"

"We'll be fast!"

"That's not exactly an answer."

Jess fastens one helmet under his chin, passing the spare to Rory and climbs on, looking over to where Rory is waiting.

"Ready?"

"Yes," Rory says decisively. This is just to help her nerves, she tells herself, and climbs behind Jess. He looks at her, about to put the key in the ignition and says, "You need to hold onto me."

"What? Oh, right," Rory says, blushing. She hadn't thought about that, she berates herself and almost thinks of calling it off, but shakes herself. This is fine - it's going to be fun - and she firmly puts her arms around Jess's back. "I'm ready."

"Let's go," Jess says, powering up the engine and kicking into the road. Rory's yelp turns into a silent gasp, her grasp tight as they curve through the streets. Jess isn't going fast but Rory's heart is barely stopping, the wind is rushing through her helmet and hair and she can barely reply as Jess calls, "You good back there? Rory?"

"I'm okay!" Rory manages to call back. "I'm okay!"

That's a matter of opinion, Rory amends silently. Her initial panic has disappeared to a kind of rush, the same rush Rory felt when Jess drove her car to get icecream in cones, all those years ago. Rory tries not to think about how that ended, but Jess is steering smoothly, and her fear is more focused on herself, the way her body is thrumming against his. Suddenly, Rory isn't so sure they can be friends after all. Her feelings for him aren't as dormant as she thought. All of her senses seem magnified, more, and all Rory can do is hold onto Jess. She's not sure what it means. She holds onto him, watching the world whirl by, and then suddenly it's over. Jess is slowing down, parking the Vespa back by the diner and climbing off. He holds out a hand which Rory awkwardly takes, helping her off, and grins as he takes off his helmet.

"Thanks."

"For what?"

"For this," Jess says simply. "All of it - thank you."

"You're welcome," Rory says politely. She smiles, unsure of what else to say, and thinks of mentioning what she felt before, but doesn't know how. It seems too weird. Instead, Rory focuses on taking off her own helmet and the keys from Jess.

"I'm leaving early," Jess tells her. "Guess I should say goodbye..."

"Yes. Okay. Bye."

They look at each other, start to laugh and Rory feels instantly relieved. Maybe it's okay after all.

"Good seeing you," Jess says and Rory says sincerely, "And you too. I'm happy we ran into each other."

"I imagine people will think they hallucinated if they saw us," Jess says, nodding at the Vespa, "but I'll be a few states away if they argue. Besides, I'm just a hoodlum."

"No," Rory says. She laughs but is serious as she says, "You're not a hoodlum, Jess."

"Maybe," Jess says, giving her a crooked grin. "Goodnight, Rory."

"Goodnight, Jess."

Rory walks slowly home, dazed. It already seems like a kind of dream.

The next morning, Lorelai insists on riding the Vespa and drags Rory to the diner before she's even finished her waffle.

"There's waffles at Luke's," she says mercilessly. "And neither of you are going to stop me from taking it for a spin!"

Once at the diner, Luke argues back and forth until agreeing that it's probably fine to ride the Vespa down the street.

"I rode it when I was sixteen," Lorelai insists, ignoring Rory as she says, "You also got pregnant with me."

"Yeah, yeah. Come on offspring - want to brave it with me?"

"You know, I do," Rory says and Lorelai looks at her in surprise.

"Seriously?"

"It's just down the street."

"Didn't think I could wear you down that quickly!" Lorelai says happily. "Was it the Roman Holiday reference?"

They don their helmets, climb on, and Rory puts her arms around her mother's back as the townspeople gather and cheer. Lorelai turns on the engine, drives slowly into the road and then down the street, finding a little speed.

"Isn't this the best?" Lorelai shouts and Rory shouts back, "The Gilmore girls ride in style!"

Carefully, Lorelai turns the Vespa and drives back up to the diner where, keeping her promise, she turns off the engine and hops off, to much applause. Rory gets off as well, laughing, and gives her mother a hug.

"See? I told you I could do it," Lorelai says, before stumbling into Luke's arms.

"Lessons," he says and Lorelai sighs, nodding.

"Real lessons, I swear. But I've got to name it something cool first!"

Rory takes off her helmet, shaking out her hair and as she looks up sees Jess in the window, smiling at her. She smiles back, lifting her hand in greeting, and he waves before silently moving out of sight.

"What?" Lorelai asks and Rory shakes her head, laughing.

"Nothing. This calls for coffee, don't you think?"

"Daughter, everything calls for coffee!"

[nei-noora]

Thoughts on Gilmore Girls

So I've recently watched all of Gilmore Girls. It was one of those shows that I used to watch on TV after school while doing my homework, so depending on the time I came home and the workload... Well I couldn't watch it everyday so it was one of those shows I had seen some episodes of but not all of them.

And lately I've been in that mood... That mood that makes me want to entirely watch shows I used to catch on TV after school but never fully saw from start to finish. So a few weeks ago I started my Gilmore girls adventure and... Oh boy was it good.

A really good thing about the show is that even though a lot of things happened that I do not like/approve of, I still love it so much. The characters are so loveable, you just love the show for them, stars hollow and.. Well you know what I mean. It's kinda weird because there were still a lot of things I disliked but it's kind of what makes the show great? Or not really, BUT what is great is, it shows that a show doesn't have to be absolutely perfect to be an absolute fave.

First, saying that, it makes me think of a simple thing : I miss the old shows, the ones with long openings with songs you would know by heart after a few episodes and all the main actors appearing during the opening too. Aw this doesn't exist anymore and even though we skip through them, we like them and from time to time we just watch them to sing and enjoy the song because with a simple melody all of the memories of the show resurface. Current shows can't relate. And I just like all the cute tiny "flaws" from old shows too. Like if you re-watch the first few episodes, Luke's diner is different, it's not located in the same place (I even think in the first episode Luke's diner appears twice and both time it shows it in a different location!), stars hollow is different, the gazebo is not at the center of the park, Kirk doesn't even exist and Sean Gunn is just a foreign dude for everybody in stars hollow and appears as different guys a few times before actually becoming Kirk that everybody knows since... Forever! I just love how before the shows were still evolving for a few episodes before becoming what they would be for the rest of the show. Now EVERYTHING must be perfect from the first episode. Idk I guess I find old shows endearing.

Anyway, so maybe I should kinda start with my actual thoughts?

1- I hated that they made Rory cheat on Dean and just stay with him when she very obviously liked Jess. I feel like a lot of people hate Dean but I feel like honestly most of his reactions were always justified? I am not saying that it's okay to react the way he did several times. In a perfect world this shouldn't be done but people aren't perfect and his reactions were natural and justified. People hate him for being mad when Rory didn't say "I love you" back, like he expected her to say it back because that's what one "should do" (in his mind, according to people hating on Dean) when they are being confessed to. I think he wasn't mad AT her. You have to think like a 16yo boy. For the first time ever (probably) you tell a girl you love her and she just freezes. If his reaction is over the top it's just because he feels so ashamed. He feels like he has bared his soul, and she didn't say a word so as a defense mechanism he gets angry, not really at her but it just covers the fact that he's ashamed. I feel like if she would have said something instead of freezing (even something like "oh wow that's unexpected, wow, I don't know what to say, sorry, what did I do to deserve a boyfriend like you" or like just something to diffuse the blank and the awkwardness) he wouldn't have reacted that way. An older, wiser guy/Dean wouldn't have acted that way but a 16yo one, baring his soul for the first time.... the alarm bells must have been ringing in his mind. Same for his reactions at the dance or when he talks to Jess after he sees him and Rory kiss. For the former, he's been suspicious for a while, hurting because he can feel his gf growing apart even though she says she loves him, and when he catches her and Jess exchanging looks, obviously he would be mad. He must be feeling like he's being toyed with for way too long. And for the latter, he's mad, and for the first time ever he lets himself have that cocky attitude he's seen Jess act with for quite some time. And he knows that even though he's still new to the town, he has the town's support because he has done a great job fitting in (hence saying "this is my town". People give him a hard time for that but it's definitely his town in the sense that even though Jess' family has been here forever, Jess is new in town and arrived later. so Dean came first, he's more of "the town" on that aspect AND everybody likes him when Jess... Well... You know. So Dean definitely "owns" the town). So even though Rory is currently blinded by her love for Jess, Dean knows that he has the upper hand in everything, and Rory might end up changing her mind after a flirt with that bad boy that blinded her for a while (that's Dean's thinking, not my opinion). Anyway all that to say, I read a lot of things about how Dean is the worst, and even though he is for sure not perfect, I don't understand all the hate. (but dude after what rory has done to you you should have known better than cheating on your wife). I was personally more mad at Rory for cheating on him and staying with him all this time when she only had Jess in mind. I for sure was mad at her for the way she acted but I don't see people hating on her for that. Not that I'm looking for people hating but like I haven't really seen people talking about her flaws but always the guys'. But anyway when she cheats she's 16/17, and even though she has that perfect boyfriend I can understand that when a bad boy that oh-so-surprisingly is also a big bookworm appears she can be swooning for a while). It's not the only time I disliked Roy's attitude/decision but to be honest I was so sad after finishing the show, I didn't want to leave those characters and start something else and forget about them so.... I restarted watching it and I'm currently at that stage so that's why it's my first exemple and that's why I feel so strongly about it right now.

2- I literally HATE how they changed Dean's character. At first he was this really knowledgeable guy, who had a pretty good knowledge in books and movies, and rory would make him read new stuffs, they would debate on it, Lorelai and Rory would show him movies he wouldn't know etc, but they had a real connection and real exchanges and debates. And I feel that to make Jess be THAT guy she can have stimulating conversations and debates with, they decided to make Dean kind of.... Dumber??? Like at one point Jess asks Rory what her and Dean talk about, and she's like really vague... I don't understand we've seen them exchanging books and stuff so much in the first season, why do they act like he's interested in nothing later? Just to make Jess more relevant and a good match for Rory? He literally brings nothing new to the table (except for that bad boy attitude) compared to season 1 Dean. But of course I guess when Jess was written Dean was too perfect so suddenly in season 2 he doesn't read, doesn't know anything about movies or music? I honestly feel like it's so shitty what they've done to this character. They should have thought about it beforehand instead of writing a perfect guy. Season 1 Dean was a bookworm, had knowledge in movies, but also liked sports, he had interest in mechanics, I swear they made a really good guy with various interests (not talking about the personality here) and didn't choose a stereotype-y kind of guy but then he ended up being too good so to be overshadowed by Jess they had to make him kinda dumber with 0 similar interests with Rory. That sucks. Am I the only one that noticed it? They could have at least kept that when Jess arrived and made Rory say that they talk about books and stuff. Jess being a bigger bookworm that actually always has a book on him just like Rory would still have had the same effect.

I'm staying on the Dean topic because as I write I remember other stuffs I've read on Dean. People hate him for that episode where they basically interpret what he says as "I want a woman that stays at home and cooks for me, nothing else". There's a difference between saying "I like the idea of having my girlfriend/wife cooking for me" and saying "women should not work but rather stay home and make her life's goal to make ME happy". Like, obvisouly if you told me that I could have my boyfriend cook me dinner I would also say "yes I want, I'd love that". It doesn't mean that I consider that his goal in life should be to make me food, it just means that yes the idea of having my boyfriend cook dinner when I come home is enjoyable. That's all it means. Kinda linked to all that is people saying that he dislikes/is threatened by Rory's ambition. He's said so many times that she is smart, she is Harvard material, that he's proud etc, how can the fact that he's asking her what they'll do when she's in Harvard is a proof that he is threatened. He's actually being really smart and realistic. That's a real question that should be asked and that they should think of. And when he's unhappy that she spends the summer studying rather than spending time with him, it's normal for him to be sad not to be able to spend time with his girlfriend when he was obviously thinking "yay holidays I'll be able to spend time with my girlfriend" and is just sad not to be able to see her more often even though they're supposed to be on holidays. He's not saying she sucks and she should drop out, he's just disappointed not to be able to enjoy the holidays how he thought he would. I don't know I think a lot of things that people hate Dean for are pretty justified ones and people just make them what they're not just because #TeamJess so they have to make Dean look bad. Idk honestly I understand a lot of these things and I think I would have acted in a similar way so maybe I'm a bad person too, hate on me people.

BTW this also makes me think of Logan's "ultimatum" that people seem to hate him for. To me it wasn't an ultimatum and his proposal and the reasons behind are completely logical??? They've been in a long distance relationship for a while, I understand the fact that he doesn't want to do that again and how it would be going backwards when he's head over heels for her and he very obviously wants to spend eternity by her side. Obviously doing it when he knows he has to move to the west coast which, by saying yes would force Rory to move too, is not perfect but anyway she always wanted to be on the move so being in LA or NYC or Stars Hollow wouldnt have changed much things for her since she would be spending her time on the road for her job. Obviously her family is essential so LA is not the best choice but if, again, they would have made Rory say "wait, let's talk about it" I'm sure they would have find a solution to work things out rather than making her say no on the spot and making it look like an ultimatum.

Until now I've voiced my opinions on Rory and Dean (and a bit of Logan), I guess these are my only thoughts concerning individual characters so what I want to say before moving on to other subjects is that those flaws that you can find in characters, even making Rory cheat on Dean, I actually like it. I like that they made those choices and all the characters, even the main ones, are flawed. Because nobody's perfect so it makes them so.... Normal? Relatable. Obviously I hate the fact that Rory cheats on her boyfriend but having a main character doing something bad, being flawed, is such a strength for a show. It shows exactly that nobody's perfect, we all make mistakes, and it's alright because that's what life's about. It doesn't prevent the characters to grow and become amazing characters later on (talking about growth and becoming amazing, kudos to Jess).

3- I really regret ONE thing. The fact that they didn't use all the seasons to show Emily and Lorelai work through their problems. There's been literally no improvement in their relationship from start to finish. Actually if you consider "a year in the Life", their relationship seems to be even worse than before (but I don't really wanna talk about a year in the life because I honestly thought all the episodes were pretty depressing, and if you think 10 years are supposed to have passed.... Why are almost all the characters still stuck in the same place/situation, Rory not having a successful career (this I can understand even though it's sad, but we see a full year with no improvement?) and still having no stability in her relationships, cheating on a poor guy no one thinks or cares about and doing with Logan and Odette was she has done before with Dean... I swear why have they made these decisions). What I regret is that Emily has kind of been all along a "comic relief", not in the sense that Emily is funny but because of her mother daughter relationship with Lorelai was always the perfect occasion to have Lorelai spit a lot of funny and witty lines. And I LOVE Lorelai and her wit. But I just wish the writers would have used all these years to show improvement. Obviously there's improvement in the sense that before season 1 Lorelai went only a few days a year to her parents' place. But still, from the first to the last episode, there's been no change. Lorelai being like "ugh kill me my mother is here" and Emily being still so cold. Meeting at least once a week for 7 years should have had more of an impact on their relationship. And even though we've seen snippets of emotional scenes where you can see how hurt Emily is or this kind of stuff, there's been no real improvement (and even though the revival shows an actual will to work on their relationship, they seem to be in a worst place than ever so..... Yeah.).

4- finally I want to talk about something that really, REALLY irritated me. The fact that they would spend episodes talking about something and then we would see nothing of..... The thing, and would directly have a scene at the end of after.... The thing. I have no example right now but I noticed it happened several times. They would hype me about something I would end up seeing nothing of and I hated it. I understand that the important point is the relationship between Lorelai and Rory (so the important thing would be their conversation after the thing and what they say about it) but still when you spend episodes talking about something, please show me a little bit of it at least ;-; so what I mean is... I was irritated with the writing sometimes haha but I swear it happened several times and it was so frustrating. Overall I have often disliked they choices when it came to the writing, the decisions they made for the characters, I would definitely not be happy about what would happen..... Actually when you think about it, pretty much all my points are complaints about the writing of the characters (or like consistent writing) or their choices haha But that's what makes it crazy how they are so many things I dislike or disagree with, but i still love the show very very much. So yeah it definitely means that finding flaws or just things you disagree with doesn't make a show bad. It just means that people don't think the same way and don't expect the same things but it doesn't prevent them from enjoying and loving the show anyway

Anyway this is way too long, I have to stop babbling, it's 4am, I've been writing for what feels like 2 hours and I'm pretty sure I've even forgotten things I wanted to say. If you've read all that........ Why.... How..... Thanks? If you did drop a star emoji!

[mmecolbert]

this is a little lengthy but i enjoy hearing your opinion on gg so what is one thing you like and one thing you dislike about each season?

aw, thank you! and thank you for the great ask!

there’s definitely more than one thing that i like or dislike about each season, but what i’ll do is like…provide rapid-fire, what-first-comes-to-mind answers and see where that leads us. 

season 1

like:  the music! whenever I start a rewatch i notice just how much sam phillips they used and how much more music was integrated into the show. I get why they didn’t continue this throughout the show, but it gave season 1 and extra…cozy feeling, i guess. 

dislike:  the Max story line. I’ve never been particularly attached to any of lorelai’s love interests, but max really bugs me. everything from the fact that he is rory’s teacher and that this didn’t stop lorelai from dating him, to the fact that i didn’t get why they went from barely dating to breaking up to being engaged….none of it makes any sense to me and max is annoying. 

season 2

like: the exploration of Lorelai’s deep-seated desires. Between her rejection of Max (because she didn’t love him) and desire to be with Christopher (because on one level or another she did love him and wanted a family life with him) and her pain over a life path she didn’t take (Harvard…and wanting Rory to kinda…take that path for her) and her desire to bond with her parents but realizing that she and they are far too different….just all the lorelai stuff I feel this season was perfect, even when she was…not

dislike: I can’t decide between the Puffs story line (cause it’s fucking stupid and whatsherface is annoying) and the dragging out of the Rory-Dean-Jess triangle, which made the three of them look like complete jackasses. I think I’m in the minority but season 2 Rory bugs me the most. I honestly got no entertainment out of watching Dean be jealous and whine, Jess condescend and antagonize, or Rory emotionally cheat (and then actually cheat) and ignore her role in the mess. 

season 3

like: feeling vindicated because I knew that Rory’s relationship with Jess would end up a train wreck. I also did really like watching their relationship unfold, because I think that ASP captured very well what a lot of young women go through when they decide to date a bad boy. A lot of highs and lows that were very well demonstrated. I also LOVE Rory’s story line about Yale - literally all of it. 

dislike: the batch of episodes leading up to here comes the son. I’ve mentioned this in other posts before, but the extended focus on Jess and his feelings in a show that is meant to focus on women bugged me. I like Jess well enough as a character, but I feel like Rory and her feelings (especially about the end of school + prom) and her perspective on her relationship with Jess all got shafted, in order to give us a further insight into Jess into the lead-up to the spin-off. 

season 4

like: watching the slow schism between Rory and Lorelai as they adjust to living apart. I believe that the underlying main theme of GG is watching Lorelai’s loss of Rory. That is what, to me, mother-daughter relationships are. It’s a very Simone de Beauvoir perspective, but I feel like ASP always meant to show that Lorelai brought Rory up as her moulded mini-Lorelai (hence the same name), but as Rory grows and becomes her own individual, she gradually separates from Lorelai to become her own self. And season 4 has Rory going from “mommy don’t leave me” (at Yale) to wanting Lorelai to leave her alone after Rory slept with Dean and she and Lorelai had that fight. Subtle but beautiful relationship shift/rift. 

dislike: this is probably between Lorelai keeping her relationship with Jason a secret, which makes me want to scream at Lorelai, or Emily and Richard’s rift and separation, which makes me want to cry. Also, Rory’s hair is atrocious. 

season 5

like: just about all of it? Richard and Emily get back together, Rory and Logan do some crazy ass shit together, Rory finally gets some honest feedback on her work, the writing is good, Dean finally fucking leaves, everything, EVERYTHING :)

dislike: Dean’s weird haircut. Having to watch Dean who is still on the show when he should have left two seasons ago and not come back. Dean’s general existence, but that sentiment is true for most of the series…I guess also how unhealthy ASP made the LL relationship look? Both of their behaviour towards each other is….not good…but, yeah, not much to say cause I ADORE this season.

season 6

like: oh jeez I hate this season. I guess the Rory/Lorelai rift, to me, is a great story line. I think that they both needed to be away from each other to grow as individuals and figure out what they want. To me this season very clearly shows that Rory is becoming very different from Lorelai…whether you like adult Rory or no, this season she becomes her own person, rather than Lorelai’s metaphorical appendage. I like the shift showing that they’re not only clearly increasingly different people, but also their needs and desires for their futures are different. The rift showed, I think, that even though they ultimately made up, the rift fundamentally changed both Rory and Lorelai, and their relationship. 

dislike: everything else? I hate this season. But I guess I’ll just do a sweeping point and say I hate the tone of this season, because I think that’s the root of the problem. The show became a weird melodramatic, HBO-drama inspired mess. The characters became awful, relationships became toxic, any and all communication broke down. Just an overall depressing fucking season. 

season 7

like: that the writers managed to reign GG back from the mess than season 6 was? Does this count? I think all the story lines this season worked conceptually. I get why Lorelai and Chris got together and then broke up, I like the set-up for Logan and Rory’s whole “we’re right for each other, but maybe not right now” concept, I like Rory and Logan getting on track with their futures, I like Doyle and Paris working out….I feel like overall, the writers managed to wrap up the show in a generally satisfactory way, barring a few issues (i.e., wtf was that RL proposal/breakup). 

dislike: the execution of the story lines, the dialogue, the fact that the actors look about 100% done with GG. I barely ever re-watch this season because while I agree with what happens (more or less), I just don’t enjoy the episodes in any way. Case in point: I get the sentiment of Lorelai singing that karaoke song to Luke but I can’t watch it because my whole body revolts against it. The whole season is just me cringing at every fucking scene. It made me miss ASP, which is a feat, given the garbage that season 6 was. 

AYITL

like confirmation that ASP and Dan can ruin all good things

dislike AYITL

Thanks again for this ask! I loved answering it :) :) :) 

[iwatchedyougoinghomeeveryday]

before watching gilmore girls, i knew jess was the most popular love interest for rory, but that dean was also talked about a lot, so i expected there to be more mixed opinions. (and honestly when i watched the first time i didn't like jess or dean with rory so i didn't understand the debate.) but no... everyone hates dean! which i kinda get - i don't think he was suitable with rory long-term; to me he was perfect "first boyfriend" material so it was frustrating to see their relationship prolonged past the point of compatibility. i don't think dean deserves all of the hate he gets, though.

i liked marty in his season 4 appearances! i liked that he was awkward and not adjusting smoothly to college... felt right that he and rory would be friends or at least bond over that. but yeah, they should've never made him have a crush on rory. couldn't she have at least one guy friend?!

SAME on the lorelai/luke discussion! they fit so well together!!! they've got the perfect blend of similarities and differences. their similarities - their independence, having to grow up so fast at a young age, their loyalty - give them a strong foundation and their differences - they're both super witty but in contrasting ways - keep things challenging but fun. i find that a lot of times when someone say they're wrong for each other, the person ends up having a completely different view on the characters than me, not just their relationship. like some people say luke holds lorelai back and keeps her stuck in stars hollow... um, that's exactly where she wants to be?! and people will fixate on the grumpiness of luke, but i don't think lorelai's as optimistic as some people say she is. besides... they enjoy each other's rants and ramblings - encourage it, even! lol this was longer than i expected... sorry, my love of lorelai/luke overtook me!

i introduced my mom and sister to gilmore girls and we just finished season 3 and i have a feeling that the next two seasons are gonna start a world war:

my mom is team dean and she thinks he was a sweet and kind boyfriend to rory (the car! the ball!) and that he deserved better. my mother also expressed that, when rory was considering losing her virginity to jess, she wished that her first time would be with dean because he cared so much about her and only her. (oh boy)

my sister is team jess and feels sorry for jess and defends him with pretty much everything. my mom and sister get into arguments - my mom will say something negative about jess and my sister will passionately protest - and i cackle then just sit back with my lips sealed because…

i’m team logan and think he was by far the best match for rory. they fit in a way that i don’t think rory did with dean or jess. logan made the most sense with rory’s character arc + i think he was charming and challenging while still being supportive and there for her. i’ve got a feeling that neither my mom nor my sister will like logan, so… it will be interesting, to say the least

[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!

[missallycat]

I don’t like Jess for Rory

and neither does Rory actually… if you think about it

 This has been a long time coming and I always was asked to explain why I dislike Jess, for Rory. I don’t hate Jess, as a character I think his backgrounds are interesting and his lashing out understandable because of it. As a teacher I feel for the past they recreate in that character, and his troubles because IRL I know men who have a similar background history. But that doesn’t mean I have to like him… much less believe even in the slighest he’s “the best choice” for Rory or “the only one who truly understands her”. Sorry no, my one and only choice for Rory will always be Logan, why? Because to me if you watch the show and the revival is clear as day who she chooses to be with, and who she turns to. Each and every time regardless on how many times they say goodbye.

I don’t like Jess because he first arrived and was totally not just disrespectful but downright insulting to Lorelai, (honestly the pie comments were far too wholesome I would have slapped his rude mouth and tossed him out). He was a guest in her house and he basically called her a whore because she was talking kindly about her friend. 

He’s rude to Luke and I get it, he’s angry he’s upset to be sent like a package by a mother who is the only parent he has, who can’t control him and doesn’t want to deal with him because she doesn’t know how to be a parent, but at the same time loved him enough to want to do better for him because she knows she can't succeed, so sends him to the one person she KNOWS AND TRUSTS who might make a difference with him, the one person who always helps her. If she didn't care for her son she would have let him be whatever, let him get in trouble, let him end up in jail or worse who knows, but she loved her son enough to want to do something for him that she knew was beyond her. So she sends him away, and I get it, he arrives like a package without a choice, to this little weird town where he doesn’t know anyone or understands if he suddenly landed in a loony bin or in an alien planet (I mean I feel for the guy, he goes out and sees people hanging garlands and little kids doing cartweels and suddenly a mother and daughter wearing THE SAME ONESIE! I mean WTF??! lol I understand his dismay, I do! Lol). I get it and I feel for him, however I don’t find it an excuse and carte blanche for him to be rude to everyone and treat the entire world as if they were beneath him nor I give him the pass for being the crappiest boyfriend to Rory, those things don’t excuse him. However I simply don’t like him FOR Rory because Rory doesn’t like him for Rory. 

Most of Jess’ growth is assumed and not seen, I think is fantastic he lost the MASSIVE chip on his shoulder and started taking responsibility for his life and wrote a book, however we have no clue of what his personal life, because we barely see anything of that when he reappears, and why? Because the writers didn’t consider him that relevant to the show, or maybe he wasn’t that interested but still point is he wasn’t that relevant to the story. He had already been written out and the writers didn’t consider relevant to the story to know Jess’ personal life and backgrounds from the time he wasn’t around, because he was no longer important as any more than to make an effect then be on his way.

Dean, before leaving, had a background and a story, when he came back in the revival too, Logan had a story, he was seen in his many wrongs and in his growth and most of all and I can’t emphasize this enough: His RESPECT for Rory’s will. Say what you want about the situation and whatever Logan’s mistakes have been and whatever Rory AND Logan’s mistakes have been. He was always upfront and clear with Rory from day 1 onwards, he’s still waiting for her but at the same time he’s not hiding anything from her. And while neither of the boyfriends were perfect ever, far, far from it, Jess takes the prize (of the worst one) because he was by far the most disrespectful one and the one who, in the limited time, treated Rory the worst. And present tense (and past) Rory rejected him flat out multiple times in the original show: 

1. The infamous Keg! Max! Incident. We will dwell on that one later on but for now let’s just get to the gist. She said wait, she said no, and he kept going. And if you are of the argument that her protests were too feeble and that’s why he kept going thinking she was game, or that because she went up there she was game, then please grab the nearest brick before I can and throw it at you. No means NO, paraphrasing Paris, “male, female or hermaphrodite” no means no, period.

2. The silent phone call after Chilton graduation: She kept getting hang ups so she finally understands it must be Jess because as usual he doesn’t willingly comunicate so she uses the the chance in order to say her goodbyes. Rejection number 2: “…that’s it for me. I’m going to Europe tomorrow and I’m going to Yale and I’m moving on. And I’m not going to pine. I hope you didn’t think I was going to pine, okay? I think…I think I may have loved you, but I just need to let it go. So, that’s it, I guess.” She wanted him there but since he had yet again failed she decided the only thing left to do was move on. Once Rory makes up her mind about things, she stays headstrong until the end.

Let’s not forget this is the swell boyfriend that after making her feel bad for not sleeping with him (no, it wasn’t his intention but that’s what happened) he went to explain but instead saw her talking to another guy, got jealous, made a snide remark got in a fight and wouldn’t talk to her at all, until she happened to find him in the same bus by chance. Why by chance, you say? Because he admitted taking a later bus. So he wouldn’t have to face her and say goodbye. Left without explanations and then kept calling and hanging up on her because he couldn’t even get the nerve to ask for forgiveness. ("Ghosting, because I'd rather at once show you I'm an asshole than slowly let you know that I suck")

3. When he tried to get her out of Yale, “come with me let’s start over but away from this place we’ll go to New York, we’ll live together we’ll work”, she said no, he said “only say no if you really don’t want to be with me” and she said, guess what? NO. I get it he was desperate because he was finally owning up to his feelings of loving her and he wanted her to go with him there and then because he felt his window of oportunity was shutting down if it wasn’t shut already so he went and he pushed and pushed until he got a firm and loud NO.

And let’s dwell on this for a bit. People say Jess was the only one who really understood how much she loved college, because he really loved her… How is a guy who pretty much proposed her to drop out of college the one and only who truly understands her love for studying? He showed up out of nowhere after once again leaving (not forgetting his previous pop up where he said he loved her and bolted) with no contact at all nor any explanations about his behavior (season 4) and to come get away, run away with him to New York, to what? Oh that’s right to live in a filthy mattress with view to the mold (Luke’s words and let’s face it, the truth) in a crappy apartment with 10 other people. He didn’t ask her to leave to go on a vacation he proposed to live and work in NY. With no qualifications, a Rory who had been trained for nothing in the real world. Who hadn’t even worked in a store yet ever before. What would she have done? Hmm waitressing in NY, probably a messenger too, with crappy hours and crappy pay until she got bored of the boho life (which was never her style to begin with) and went back to Lorelai and back to where? Ah that’s right the place Jess was demanding she dropped off.

4. Season 6 comes, (after the yelling, we’ll get back to it, don’t you worry) after an entire season without him and we find Rory in a fight with Logan. When she went to his open house she was mad at Logan yet she didn’t want Jess, she wanted to use him, she told him she loved Logan. Plain and simple.

Let’s go back for a sec to a moment before in season 6. Him getting credit for getting her back to Yale, I’m sorry but to me is ridiculous. To make him look like the knight in shining armor the one and only who saved her is, to me, just plain ridiculous and also underestimates and insults Rory. He came, yelled, she was already shaken and thinking what am I doing, she sees this guy who had nothing and had accomplished something big professionally and since she was ALREADY shaken she got shaken a bit more and made her choice to go back. I’m not saying he was useless, neither am I saying he didn’t have any influence, he did but it was his presence and what he had accomplished while she had nothing in the works (by her own choice) and he was the last drop that spilled her glass that was already brimming. She was already headed that way. It was HER CHOICE, nobody MADE her go back, Rory may be indecisive so many times and insecure but when it comes to her own life, in the nitty gritty she’s nobody’s pushover. Lorelai knew, Logan knew, Lane knew, SHE.COULDN’T.BE.FORCED. Rory needed to decide on her own, she needed to learn from her OWN mistakes and make her own choices to find her way back. Had Jess come to shout earlier in her path he wouldn’t have made a single difference; He comes out of nowhere and with no previous contact whatsoever, shouts or gives an idea then disappears again. He left her without so much as a goodbye (after the yelling) or actually breaking up (when he first left town) with her. And this is the guy who KNOWS her best? Someone who she doesn’t talk to in years at the time? hmmm…

5. Revival, they talk like old friends who haven’t seen or known of each other for quite a while (YEARS actually hmmm interesting friendship when they haven’t known of each other at all for years) yet she doesn’t share that much with him not even her difficulties while writing. Is a good conversation, is fun and I personally was so happy to see him for the first time EVER, I was so happy to see Jess, he seemed calmer, he seemed in a better place, more grounded, he genuinely tried to give his best advice as someone who was involved in a similar field of work.

But here’s the thing… Why is his growth made SUCH A BIG DEAL? So he grew up! Was he expected to still be a sulky bratty disrespectful punk of a teenage boy at age 32, 33?? Wouldn’t that be sad? If a grown ass MAN was still acting like a resentful teenage BOY? I would feel so sad and it would feel so unrealistic for a human being with a minimum level of intelligence (and Jess has a good level of it) to NOT grow u and leave the ‘tude behind? It would be dumb if he didn’t, is only NATURAL for him to change and grow up, why shouldn’t he? Or are the expectations for his character so PAINFULLY low from his own adoring fans that they expected no change in him from ages 19, 20 to ages 32, 33? Did they really except him to still be the same and that’s why his growth is so highlighted when it should be a natural thing? He was supposed to stop being a sulky disrespectful child at some point. What else do we know about him? Is there a mention of him having a successful relationship with anyone in all these years? Or even a semi committed relationship that in the end just parted ways? Is there any mention of him having had that? No. Because it wasn’t relevant because we don’t have to know if he is in a better place in the romantic world, because (and I can’t stress this enough: HE 👏 ISN’T 👏 A 👏 ROMANTIC 👏 INTEREST 👏 FOR RORY 👏. ASP said it best, Jess and Dean were not meant to be forever. (even though she compared Dean to prince Charming and she said Jess is now family).

So back to the revival conversation (notice how she does not hug her friend even though she hasn’t seen him for years? She doesn’t even come near him, yet she hugs plenty of other people she hasn’t seen in a while) He suggests out of the blue: a book. Why? “he knows her better than anyone!” I hear you say. Sorry, no. He knows Rory as well as anyone who knows Rory. In the words of Dean “A book. Well, you’ve read them all, what’s next is writing them”. He gives a good idea, spends a couple of minutes talking to her, then goes his way, as usual because why not? He’s got his life, he’s got his stuff, he’s always in the moment kind of guy. Is not that he doesn’t feel love (Milo’s words) but is not the romantic love anymore. Rory is Rory she’s in her own world, lost at the moment but finding her path again enthusiastic about the new idea given by Jess. She tells Logan all about it and about her struggles in the meantime, and goes to Logan when she can’t understand her mom and is fighting with her, she tells Lane about it, she meets Dean by chance and HUGS Dean, and tells him about it while thanking him about being such a fantastic first boyfriend for her. And Jess… she jumps up and down excitedly without showing her author friend her pages, and grabbing the front of his shirt and his jacket… why? because he happened to be there.

Now, having finished with the plain and clear rejections. Let’s go back to the first one.

Keg! Max! Makes me mad for many reasons the main one being that she had to PUSH HIM OFF OF HER for him to react. I am completely, 100% sure he wasn’t going to rape her or even hurt her. I’m sure that wasn’t the intention nor the purpose EVER, but the fact he needed to be pushed is what makes me mad and is inexcusable. She was trying to find out what was wrong with him because she was worried, but since he didn’t want to talk he tried to distract her by kissing her and lowering her on the bed to carry with the next “order of business” as a way to shut her up. 

I get it, teens and hormones (although 18, not really THAT excused) but I’m not saying he needed to jump away from her the very second she said wait, he could have kissed her and ASKED what was wrong; he didn’t need to jump, just pause without having to be pushed! He yelled at her and that also makes me mad. I also understand he was frustrated about other things and took it out on her, that the yelling wasn’t really about that and that he felt bad for saying it and was planning to perhaps distract her say it wasn’t his intention or that he’d do better next time, because let’s face it, did he ever actually explain anything owned up to his mistakes? Did he ever apologize for anything, that we see during his time? He’d distract her, try his best to make up but that’s the point he just NEVER talked, (”I don’t know why he was mad at me I don’t know IF he was mad at me because he NEVER tells me anything” Rory’s words). He was just plain rude (rude to her grandma too but let’s not dwell on that) because in his mind actually doing something nice for his girlfriend, and actually communicate with his girlfriend made him a pushover. 

The fight with Dean I actually understand, because if I came out of a room crying because of a fight with a guy and guy then showed up behind me annoyed (annoyed! He actually scoffed!), I have a good number of friends who would want his head, metaphorically speaking of course, even now as an adult. I get he didn’t yell really because she wouldn’t sleep with him but what really pisses me off is that he had to be pushed to react and move (his intention wasn’t to force her because he could have easily done that) then yelled and had the gall to be annoyed and afterwards radio silence, no apology no explanation he simply left and if they hadn’t seen each other by chance she wouldn’t have even seen him that time because he purposely took a later bus. 

The Keg! Max! scene in Kyle’s bedroom is inexcusable and there is no coming back from it period, in my opinion, because how can you trust someone who never explains or apologizes and you never know why things happen with him or what is he going through. 

I don’t think Jess is bad nor that he ever had bad intentions towards Rory, I’m 100% convinced that’s not the case. But he IS a bad boyfriend and that scene is so uncomfortable to me even though I had never had a similar experience and it makes me so mad every time I force myself to rewatch it to make sure I’m not judging too hard. I’m not. Jess wasn’t even a hormone filled teen here. He was 18. He didn’t want to have a conversation and tried to use sex as a distraction, as something interesting to make it happen, both to forget about his problems and get Rory to stop talking and questioning what happened. 

Why is Rory blamed for “forcing” him to talk and he isn’t for trying to force her to have sex with him? That’s what ended up happening. It wasn’t his intention or his plan, absolutely, granted; he did back off, granted; he never meant to hurt her, totally granted. Thing is he wasn’t a hormone riddled 15 year old (and even then, how about RESPECT someone who you apparently like? Never mind he wasn’t taught better, is common sense you don’t push your wants on someone who doesn’t want them, I like this person then I don’t want this person to feel bad because of me), he was a tad older and one would expect a bit smarter, and he knew this would be Rory’s first time but he didn’t ask her to consent, he didn’t pause to make sure she wanted that, to make sure she agreed or was comfortable, in fact he didn’t really care at first when she started to show being uncomfortable. He didn’t ask if she was OK. Instead, he was only caring about himself. He didn’t even wait to ask her how she was feeling, actually he wasn’t very interested in that… and this wasn’t a random teen at a party, this was supposed to be her boyfriend, and in the words of people of Team Jess, the one who loved her and understood her… yet she had to push him off and he still didn’t care about her comfort level he snapped at her berating her why did she come there that he didn’t force her, so on top of pushing he made her feel like crap in what was almost her first time. 

Now, on adult, revival Jess:

I like that later on when he shows up, seems to have dropped most of the ‘tude but what happens in his personal life we don’t have a clue and we see a Rory who, rejects him flat out (season 4), basically says she regrets leaving Dean for him (same season), uses him and tells him she loves someone else (season 6) and hasn’t had contact with him in years and barely tells him much about her writing or personal issues when they talk, doesn’t show him her pages (hello, he’s a writer why not discuss that with him?) and then barely grabs his sleeve and the front of his t-shirt when she’s happy jumping excitedly around him (may I add, the jumping happily is not ABOUT him? He just happened to be there), yet she doesn’t hug her supposed friend at all in any point? (revival) Rory doesn’t want Jess for Rory from what is shown, doesn’t she deserve the chance to be with the one she obviously chooses? And honestly, in my opinion, Jess deserves better than to apparently pine away after 10 years for a girl who doesn’t show any interest in him. So no, I’m not team Jess for Rory because Rory isn’t team Jess for Rory. And I’m damn glad, Milo seems to be of the same opinion and so it would appears, are the writers.

Just:

[morelovelyandmoretemperate]

All from A to Z :)

Oh my Lanta. Really? I mean, I’ll do it, but wowza. Thank you, anon. :D

A - Ships that you currently like a lot. (They don’t have to be OTPs because not everyone has OTPs.) Friendships, pairings, threesomes, etc. are allowed.

I’m not honestly a huge shipper. I prefer bromance to romance... if I HAD to pick a ship or two? Demitri/Anastasia from “Anastasia”, and Mr. Darcy/Elizabeth Bennet from “Pride and Prejudice”. Always get me every time.

B - A pairing–platonic, romantic or sexual–that you initially didn’t consider, but someone changed your mind.

Mmm... Spirk (Star Trek) and McKirk (Star Trek). Damnit, I didn’t want to get sucked into this hell hole, but here I am.

C - A ship you have never liked and probably never will.

Sherlock/Anyone. I just don’t see romantic relationships there. I mean I can see how people get the Johnlock thing going, but honestly... I don’t ship him with anyone. Again, bromance before romance for this one.

D - A pairing you wish you liked but just can’t.

Dean Winchester/Lisa (Supernatural). But that might be because that storyline was pretty weak.

E - Have you added anything cracky/hilarious to your fandom? If so, what?

Some of you may well remember that there is a little known one-shot lurking out there inspired by @faragonart‘s Hiccup in Aperture Science drawings from... Jeez, like a year and a half ago? Not sure. But it’s out there. It’s cracky as hell.

F - What’s the longest you’ve ever been in a fandom?

Been in the Teen Titans fandom for... jeez uh... 13 years? Harry Potter is closely behind at 12.

G - Have you ever had an OTP? If so, do you remember your first one? Who was in it?

Again, not super shippy. When I was a wee tot I adored Robin/Starfire on Teen Titans, but the older I got the more I was like “I just don’t see it.” I do love me some Harry/Ginny (Harry Potter).

H - What is your favorite source text for fandom stuff (e.g., TV shows, movies, books, anime, Western animation, etc.)?

Usually tv shows. Almost always. Sometimes movies. Rarely books.

I - Has Tumblr caused you to stop liking any fandoms, if so, which and why?

Tumblr has turned me off of so many fandoms before I ever even saw the show, because I was sick of it before I ever got a chance to enjoy it, including but not limited to: Steven Universe, Gravity Falls, Voltron, Troll Hunters, Hannibal, etc.

J - Name a fandom you didn’t think about until you saw it all over Tumblr. (You don’t have to care about it or follow it; it just has to be something that Tumblr made you aware of.)

Supernatural. Honestly had no idea what it even was before I saw it on here, and then of course I got obsessed.

K - What character has your favorite development arc/the best development arc?

Ooohhh. Sherlock is one of my faves, just watching him become more.. human, is great. Jesse Pinkman and Walter White (Breaking Bad)... there are so MANY.

L - Say something genuinely nice about a character who isn’t one of your faves. (Characters you’re neutral about are fair game, as are characters you merely dislike. Characters that you absolutely loathe with the fire of ten thousand suns are exempt, as there is no point in giving yourself an aneurysm over a character that you hate.)

John Winchester has a pleasant sounding voice when he isn’t screaming at his children? Does that count?

M - Name a character that you’d like to have for a friend.

Lorelai Gilmore (Gilmore Girls). I want to be her.

N - Name three things you wish you saw more or in your main fandom (or a fandom of choice).

Jesse Pinkman character analysis and canon compliant Harry Potter learning to deal with his upbringing.

O - Choose a song at random. Which ship or character does it remind you of?

“Reflecting Light” by Sam Phillips- Luke/Lorelai (Gilmore Girls)

P - Invent a random AU for any fandom (we always need more ideas).

I actually developed a relatively in depth baby bots AU for Portal in one of @faragonart‘s streams. The idea was more or less that in an effort to tame Glad0s, they scientists desperately tried to bring the human part of her (whatever was left of Caroline) back into control by appealing to her maternal instinct with android baby bots, creating first Virgil (who was too soft spoken and non-assertive, and brushed aside before being reassigned to maintenance) then Wheatley (who was too curious and outgoing, and caused her to become increasingly hostile against him to the point that his memory of it was wiped, and he was left with nothing more than an inherent fear of her), and finally having no choice but to bring in Caroline’s actual daughter: Chel. If anyone wants more than that, I have it all written down somewhere and I’ll hunt it down and share.

Q - A fandom you’ve abandoned and why.

Ooooh. LOST. Too weird, my dudes. Far too weird. And Grey’s Anatomy.

R - Which friendship/platonic relationship is your favorite in fandom?

Merlin/Arthur, Sherlock/John, Harry/Hermione, this is a looong list.

S - Show us an example of your personal headcanon (prompts optional but encouraged)

Hmm... alright, so @orhowfar and I were watching Anastasia a few weeks back and I went dark af and just proclaimed that I think Dimitri was abused by the staff of the palace. He very clearly gets manhandled rather aggressively on a fairly frequent basis, and his self esteem is virtually nothing. So we came up with this whole big thing where his favorite of the nobility was always Vlad, who had kind eyes and a big belly and would sneak him sweets when he assisted, and after helping the princess escape and being knocked unconscious (by a blow to the head from a gun which 100% broke his nose btw have you ever noticed?) He finds himself with nowhere to go. He runs into Vlad and there’s a moment of pure panic because Vlad knows how bad things are right then, but they both just nod, and wind up taking care of each other. Vlad becomes something of a father figure to Dimitri. He notices pretty early on that Dimitri doesn’t like contact unless he’s initiated it, something that carries over into adulthood, despite his best efforts, but it does get better. Vlad just makes sure to let Dimitri come to him as often as possible instead of reaching out first. Etc. etc. it was a LONG thing.

T - Do you have any hard and fast headcanons that you will die defending?

Hiccup’s hair looks the way it does because he won’t sit still for a haircut- he’s always off doing something or other- so his father will just randomly grab a handful of his hair and slice through it with his knife to keep it manageable. Hiccup barely notices until after Stoick’s death when his hair is suddenly longer than it’s been in years and then he remembers and ouch.

U - Three favorite characters from three different fandoms, and why they’re your favorites.

Merlin- self sacrificing, intelligent, lovable little dork with immense power.

Dean Winchester- self sacrificing, intelligent, lovable little dork with virtually no self esteem or self preservation skills.

Jesse Pinkman- self sacrificing, intelligent, lovable little dork with virtually no self esteem or self preservation skills who is far too broken and has seen far too much but is desperate for love.

V - Which character do you relate to most?

It varies... I related to Jesse Pinkman more than I probably should have but... given current circumstances.. yeah. I understand Lorelai Gilmore on a spiritual level as well.

W - A trope which you are virtually certain to hate in any fandom.

“Bad guy is reformed and becomes besties with the gang”. Get away from meeeeeeeee.

X - A trope which you are almost certain to love in any fandom.

One character slowly humanizes another through little acts of affection and teaching and both learn from the other and become best friends in the process.

Y - What are your secondhand fandoms (i.e., fandoms you aren’t in personally but are tangentially familiar with because your friends/people on your dash are in them)?

Hmmm... does The Office count? I see a lot of The Office second hand.

Z - Just ramble about something fan-related, go go go! (Prompts optional but encouraged.)

They have never once cast a decent Dick Grayson (Batman) and let me tell you why because when a child is of Romani descent they are not some little pale white boy with dark hair. They have a very specific look and I have yet to see it. Not to mention they never pick the right body type. Dick is an acrobat first and foremost; he just learned to adapt that into a fighting style. He would not be some top heavy bulky af ripped dude with giant shoulders and biceps and thighs as wide as a tire, he’d be lean and wiry and small. He needs to be fast, be able to get and keep himself airborne, and fold into all sorts of weird shapes (the kid is basically a damn contortionist). He’s strong as hell, but it’s not just big ass muscles, it’s... *deep breath* he’s not the body type they keep casting. Furthermore, that kid is definitely his own special brand of damaged and I get very tired of seeing the “so sarcastic and carefree” attitude given to him in movies and tv shows, but I also can’t stand the other extreme: the cold, clinical, calculating, trying to be Batman nonsense. That’s not who he is. He’s smart and capable, and certainly can be serious, he’s been playing a part in public for most of his life, just as Bruce does, but he’s also very careful not to become what Bruce has... I could go on about this for a long time... @cinemamind, help me? 

Thanks for the request, anon, sorry this is SO long...