#living for rory telling christopher to leave lorelai alone

[clumsycapitolunicorn]

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[frazzledsoul]

Lorelai definitely cheats, though. It may be more cheating adjacent than Rory's infidelities, but she does mess around with other people's partners and betray her own. She slept with Christopher when he had a live-in girlfriend and paraded him around town, telling everyone she knew about their shiny new relationship before he had even broken up with Sherry. She kissed Max twice when she was still dating Twilight Dad and would have taken it farther if Max hadn't made her leave him alone. She had a screaming fight with Luke and when he didn't respond to her ultimatum the way she wanted him to she immediately drove to Christopher's house for some revenge sex because she knew that would hurt Luke the most.

She modeled all this shitty behavior for Rory and taught her it was okay to treat people this way. She directly taught her that as long as you had dibs on the guy first, it's justifiable to cheat on your partner or for him to cheat on his because all that matters is you and what makes you feel good. This isn't even my interpretation, it's directly in the dialogue. After Rory bangs Dean and is upset that Lorelai doesn't approve, Lorelai tells her that she didn't raise someone who would sleep with someone else's husband and Rory points out that she slept with Christopher while he was with Sherry. She directly modeled this behavior for Rory, told her every single detail, and didn't express any shame or regret. She did not do a good job of teaching her the difference between right and wrong.

I have pointed this out on Reddit several times and gotten screamed at. But Lorelai does terrible things to her partners quite often and is an atrocious relationship role model. She taught Rory that all of this was okay and after Rory froze her out over the Dean situation, she never really played the moral card again. After the Luke/Christopher disaster in season 6, I'm pretty sure Rory would have told her to fuck off, anyway.

i saw reddit discuss why rory always cheats on her bfs but lorelai never does

my take bc i want to join in on the fun:

i think rory is someone who flies in an out of relationships easily, and lines get blurred. she is very passive and goes with the flow. this is because she doesn’t want a difficult conversation and doesn’t want to make difficult choices.

lorelai is better at that. she has to be sure before she enters or exits a relationship. she’s more in control of her life than rory and guards her heart more safely. she’s independent and assertive. she’s also good at knowing what she wants.

rory lets the dean and jess thing go on for a whole year. she then kisses jess but still dates dean because she’s unsure. DEAN breaks up with her. then she dates jess until JESS skips town. her and logan have issues and instead of confronting him, she kisses jess. she still goes back to logan. HE breaks up with her at graduation.

conclusion: rory is indecisive and has to try things out before she makes a choice (that she doesn’t make, it’s usually the guy). we know this about her. the pro con lists.

lorelai knows what she wants and can somewhat control herself (not always but generally). she doesn’t date until rory is 16. she doesn’t want to marry christopher for years because she doesn’t think he’s ready. she knows she wants to marry luke, and when he doesn’t deliver she sets and ultimatum. she ends the relationship and sleeps with chris. conscious choice.

conclusion: lorelai is not indecisive. she does what she knows she wants and that’s that.

[stellaluna33]

I just thought of another parallel in the Christopher/Logan vs. Luke/Jess dichotomy. And before I get into it, I want to preface that this is NOT a Good vs. Bad argument. BOTH of these tendencies can be either strengths or weaknesses depending on the situation. What I'm referring to is how the guys seem to deal with times of personal struggle, in that both Logan and Christopher tend to seek out comfort from others, whereas Luke and Jess tend to retreat into themselves and "go it alone." Again, in and of themselves, these are neutral personality traits. There's a cost/benefit to each approach, and both can be taken to an unhealthy extreme, but I think the parallels are fascinating and relevant, and effect the guys' relationships with the Gilmore Girls in interesting ways.

Christopher and Logan both seem to want "a companion in their sorrows," in that, when they're going through something, they seek out support, comfort, or companionship from others. When Sherri leaves Christopher with Gigi, he calls Lorelai and asks for her help. When his father dies, it makes him feel better to spend all night with Lorelai, drinking and reminiscing. When Logan is upset because of his father and wants to escape to New York for the weekend, he wants Rory to come with him. When he doesn't want to go to London, he wants Rory to tell him not to go, so he doesn't have to make that decision on his own. On the one hand, I think that willingness to let Lorelai and Rory share in what they're feeling is something the Girls really respond to. Despite what some people may say, they are both very nurturing and caring people whose first instinct is to WANT to help people feel better, especially the people they love. And the fact that both Christopher and Logan openly express that they need them makes them feel valued and fosters an emotional bond. The flip side of that, though, is that both of these guys have a tendency to become too dependent on the Girls for emotional support, to the extent that they believe themselves unable to overcome their difficulties without having someone to push them. And Lorelai and Rory both grew frustrated with Christopher or Logan's unwillingness to take responsibility for their own lives, that they believed themselves helpless to change their own circumstances unless they had their Favorite Cheerleader holding their hand every step of the way. (And even then, they might give up and then claim "I had no other choice.")

Luke and Jess, on the other hand, tend to be self-reliant to a fault. They're used to having to look out for themselves, and take responsibility for their own problems and occasionally those of others as well. They both have reputations (in adulthood, at least) as "fixers." However, they also tend not to ask for help even when it's needed, and may even refuse assistance if offered, seeking solitude when upset and pulling away from the people who love them. This has caused problems in their relationships. On Luke's "dark day," the anniversary of his Dad's death, he retreats into himself and doesn't wish to speak to anyone including Lorelai, and when she attempts to offer unsolicited sympathy and support, Luke snaps at her (and feels terrible about it afterwards), and when Luke finds out he has a daughter, he "doesn't want to bother Lorelai" about it and ends up shutting her out, with disastrous consequences. When Jess was struggling with school, he refused all of Rory's offers to help, insisting, "I've got it covered," and when he ended up NOT having it "covered" and flunked out, he wanted to be alone and ended up lashing out at Rory when she kept trying to get him to talk about it (and felt terrible about it immediately afterwards). This tendency to retreat both physically and emotionally sometimes left Lorelai and Rory feeling shut-out and neglected. Not good. Learning to temper this instinct, being more willing to let people in, and more graciously accept help when it's offered is a big part of the journey towards maturity for both of them.

[anxiouspotatorants]

About that medieval fantasy AU for underdog quartet... I have ideas:

- Rory is the bastard daughter of an excommunicated princess (Lorelai). Lorelai ran away to a neighbouring kingdom to not get punished/lose Rory, and she raised Rory as a commoner (a commoner who is more literate than some great scholars in her country, yeah, but still). Christopher’s parents put a curse on her so that if she ever sets foot back in the kingdom the whole land will descend into magical chaos. The AU might start with her and Lorelai already having entered the kingdom again (Kingdom of Hartford?) and trying to find a way to break the curse and reunite with their family.

- Paris is a high ranking lady within the kingdom. She wants to take her lands to new hights and make the history books as the greatest lady they ever had, and has therefore set out on a solo journey to learn as much as she can about the kingdom and how to best run it. She’s loaded with gold, quills and self defense taught by her local knights.

- Lane is a commoner who ran away from home to join a troupe as a musician. Some outside conflict separated her from the troupe and now she’s wandering as a lone bard in search of her band of brothers or her mother’s house (whichever she finds first as she misses both dearly). She has no magic or fighting skills, but she’s good at stealth and catching gossip.

- Jess is a rogue wizard who’s never really belonged anywhere. His mother dragged him from village to village with little ability to plant roots, and eventually left him with her long lost brother before joining a travelling merchant on his route. Jess quickly left his uncle’s care and has travelled on his own, stealing to survive and sticking to himself. He’s seen the instability of sell-sword groups and criminal collectives, and frankly doesn’t trust anyone enough to share a bonfire with them.

- Approximately thirty seconds after Lorelai and Rory set foot back in the Kingdom of Hartford the curse sets in. This signals their return to both Emily and Richard and Christopher’s parents, who both send troops and notices to find and collect them. Lorelai and Rory are thus on the run across the kingdom trying to find a way to break the curse before the soldiers find (and possibly kill) them. At one point they end up in a village called Stars Hollow and seek refuge in Luke’s tavern. But they are spotted by a group of soldiers hired by Emily and Richard, and Lorelai gets caught but manages to help Rory escape. They assumed that the soldiers were from Chris’ side of the family, as their soldiers are more prevalent and up front.

- Like I said both sets of grandparents seek out the Lorelais, but in slightly different ways for very different reasons. The Haydens want to imprison the Lorelais and possibly execute Rory for the crime of cursing the land (a curse that they made but that’s not relevant!). They’re the ones who make wanted posters and dispatch troops all over the land. Rumours and legends spread about the bastard princess who has cursed the kingdom with her return. Emily and Richard, on the other hand, want their daughter back (partly because they do love her and partly because she’s their only heir) and want to find a less violent way to break the curse. They don’t announce their hunt for the Lorelais out of fear of starting conflict with the Haydens, but dispatch undercover groups and sellswords to find and bring back the long lost princesses.

- Alone and afraid, Rory returns to Luke’s tavern and hides there for a while. One day both Paris and Lane make their way to the tavern — Paris in schedule for her educational roadtrip, Lane finally finding her home village and preparing to reunite with her mother. They end up talking and bickering downstairs while a shadowy figure sneaks by them and up to Luke’s quarters. Jess was just supposed to steal some food and pay in gold he found in a dead dragon’s den, but instead he finds a blue eyed stranger. Rory thinks she’s caught and runs downstairs. Jess is curious and follows, breaking his stealth from Luke. Rory crashes into Paris who starts interrogating Luke about the tavern being a secret whorehouse, and the five are descending into verbal chaos before Rory spots Hayden guards and hides behind the cupboards. Lane picks up on the danger and makes an impromptu distraction with Paris while Jess sneaks her out the back. Once outside he asks Rory what’s going on, and he’s soon followed by Paris and Lane. Rory brings up a cover about being cursed by someone and the soldiers hunting her in relation to said curse. The other three buy the story and decide to join her on a quest to cure her.

- It honestly takes so little time before Rory breaks and explains that she isn’t cursed but rather is the curse. Paris is angry at the lie, but little else changes but the motivation to help Rory. Jess goes from «I’m bored and directionless» to «I really like this girl and could finally do something that matters». Lane goes from «I’m procrastinating on facing my mother» to «I’m helping my new friend and have a new chance at adventure (and still procrastinating on my mother)». Paris goes from «This could be relevant for my future occupation» to «This could be even more relevant to my future occupation, also I have a friend now».

- Paris gives Rory the cover of one of her stewardesses, but most of the time the four travel by foot or bought horses as unknowns. Jess does scouting and trap laying for threats while the girls alternate on getting food. 

- When it comes to gathering information, Lane and Paris are the best at gathering intel from other people - Lane through gossip and Paris through interrogation. Jess is great at breaking and entering and stealing important texts for research, and him and Rory are the best at deciphering the texts (much to Paris’ frustration). 

- The key to breaking the curse could be something like “when substance stronger than blood is spilled for the unworthy”. Rory actually gets found by Emily and Richard before they can break the curse and there is a short period where the four are separated and Rory thinks maybe the lands will have to live with the curse unless she sacrifices herself. Then Lane overhears a plot to assassinate her and warns Jess and Paris. The three storm in just in time to warn king Richard and queen Emily, but the accusation of two commoners and a lady against the royal Haydens is obviously considered a crime. They declare to strip Paris of her title and are about to execute Jess and Lane when Rory steps in and stops the axe. She gets deep cuts in her hands and bleeds. It is revealed that her choosing to spill her own blood - which becomes the symbolic substance of her love for them - for commoners (who royals deem “unworthy”) is what breaks the curse. 

- So the happy ending: Paris gets her title back and she, Jess and Lane are pronounced heroes of the kingdom. The Haydens apologize for the curse and get no consequences because that would mean a war declaration and oh boy do we not have time for that. Rory is legitimized and becomes next in line after her mother. 

- Lane gets the title of “royal bard” and returns to Stars Hollow to finally face her mother. Mrs Kim must admit that she is proud of her daughter but has most of all missed her, and after the mandatory bickering the two reconcile. She has also reunited with the troupe at some point before the climax, and they are now a full troupe with tight connections to the crown. 

- In addition to her title and hero-status, Paris gets a place in court. She makes mentors of the king’s advisers and now works to become a royal adviser to both Lorelais.

- Jess is offered knighthood but declines. He tells Rory that he needs to go on a journey of his own and leaves. He returns to Stars Hollow and Luke, and gives Luke a whole chest of gold and the title to Lord of Stars Hollow (courtesy of princess Lorelai). He goes dark for some months, then appears at night in the castle on Rory’s window-ledge. They talk for hours until the sun rises and then agree to make Jess an official scout for the kingdom, travelling around and figuring out the magic and creatures of the land. 

- Rory’s first move after the reunification of her family is to get to know her estranged relatives and upgrade her education through the royal masters. After Jess returns she convinces her mother and grandparents to let her join Jess as an ambassador for the kingdom. She uses Paris’ argument of wanting to truly know the country she is supposed to rule one day, and the whole band gets back together for new quests.

[randomestfandoms-ocs]

What’s Kirsty’s relationship with Jess like? (I know you touched on it a bit in the Yale ask but I wanna know more!)

Short answer: “true friends don’t judge each other, they judge other people together” meets “slow burn found family”

Long Answer: oh boy buckle up we’re getting an Outline™ bc I really don’t know how to sum it up bc it’s a lot of growth and shit!  it’s like... many many paragraphs so I’m tossing this under a cut bc i don’t want to be murdered lmao

(I’m just... v proud of how much work went into planning out their whole arc and how the dynamic shifts and how certain plots play into things and I just wanted to share it all I couldn’t chill and I’m like half sorry but thank you for this ask I love them)

So when they first meet they don’t really get along because they’re just generally both kind of abrasive and shit, like it’s not personal on either end but they both generally push people away so that they don’t open themselves up to get hurt which makes their first couple of meetings kind of rough

but then there’s the dinner at Lorelai’s and Kirsty went outside because the whole vibe was just setting her on edge, and she hears the Lorelai rant bullshit (hi lorelai he’s seventeen and your an adult grow the fuck up) and as he leaves she goes after him — she tries to apologize for “my mom being... well, the way she is” and Jess immediately snaps back that he doesn’t want her pity, and Kirsty just shrugs and goes “nah dude I get it, parents suck.  My dad is a piece of shit and my mom, well, you’ve met her... not to mention she named Rory after herself and me after my piece of shit dad so I’m sure you can guess who her favourite child is” and just keeps it very chill and Jess takes that a lot better than pity and they end up talking for a bit and are like “yeah okay I can get along with you” and like they aren’t close but they both like pissing Taylor off and giving Luke ulcers so it works well enough

Kirsty absolutely flips her shit when Taylor calls the town meeting about Jess like she tears into him more aggressively than anyone has seen before and basically tells them all to shut the fuck up and “let him at least settle in before you pull out the fucking pitchforks” and goes off on them all for trying to bully a seventeen year old kid out of a town he didn’t even choose to move to and like Luke still gets there and flips his shit too but Kirsty is completely feral calling out the hypocrisy and telling them to get off their high horses and pull their heads out of their asses — like they might not be close but Kirsty is so far beyond pissed at the idea of Taylor calling a meeting literally just to get everyone to hate Jess that she can’t just stand there quietly 

Fast forward a bit and they’re getting along a bit better, Kirsty spends so much time at the diner that she and Jess have taken to talking during Jess’ shifts and Kirsty helps out when she can so they’re starting to actually get along, Kirsty has figured out the tells for when Jess just can’t deal with people anymore and will make up all sorts of excuses to get him a break (anything from ‘hey can you read over this essay’ to ‘hey did you remember to grab that book from upstairs’ to basically anything else that comes to mind) which he appreciates and when he’s on his breaks he sits at the counter to do homework with her

By the Bracebridge dinner they’re like actually friends, and when Jess meets Tristan for the first time he’s fully prepared to hate him but when he sees how shitty Lorelai is being about Tristan he’s just like “okay guess we’re in the same boat” so the three of them end up working together to stay as far away from Lorelai as possible for most of the night and Kirsty is just very grateful for the buffer because like she just can’t deal with Lorelai and Jess remembers her comment on the “you can guess who the favourite is” and starts to see how much Lorelai’s disapproval actually bothers Kirsty

fast forward even more to Christopher coming to town and with Sherry and all that and oof Kirsty is not okay like her relationship with Christopher is terrible and Jess kind of knows this already (based on the fact that Kirsty asked Luke to stand in for her dad at the debutante ball because she wanted nothing to do with Christopher; and he’s heard her bitch about him before) but when Christopher and Sherry come to the house, Kirsty excuses herself for “dance rehearsal” and runs over to the diner and Luke is out at the moment and Kirsty is Not Okay™ and Jess is the one who sees her just standing in the doorway shaking and clearly about to start crying and he just quietly leads her up to the apartment and sits down and lets her sort of collapse on the couch and she tells him about Christopher and about how unreliable and flakey he always was and how Luke has always been more her dad than him and he always shows up and tries to play happy family and then bails as soon as he gets bored or something comes up and about how now he’s apparently changing and becoming mr family man and why wasn’t she worth changing for

and jess has no idea how to handle this whole breakdown because he's a little bit emotionally stunted (which is fair and so is she) but it definitely resonates with him and he ends up sitting next to her and telling her that if Christopher wasn’t willing to change for she and Rory then it’s because of him not her and trying to comfort her even though he really doesn’t know how, and ends up opening up to her about Liz and his life before Stars Hollow too.  It’s more than either of them have shared with anyone before and it’s very strange tbh — at this point they’re definitely veering into the friend category but neither of them would admit it, not to mention they don’t talk that often because neither of them wants to deal with a Lorelai Gilmore Hissy Fit, you know?

(also a sidenote, Tristan is completely chill about literally all of this like he and Kirsty are the healthiest relationship and have very good communication skills now and he's just like “hey I don’t live nearby and Kirsty hates cars, I’m just glad she has someone to talk to”)

and okay so now we’re at the episode where Lorelai accuses Jess of stealing the bracelet and this is just as Kirsty is getting home, and Lorelai is more of a bitch than in canon (but seriously Lorelai grow up and let Dean deal with his own relationship issues ugh) — as Jess is leaving, Kirsty turns around and calls Lorelai out on being an absolute bitch and on the fact that she’s an adult and Jess is seventeen and to grow the fuck up because she’s acting like her mother and believe it or not she doesn’t actually know everything.  Kirsty then sort of storms off, and Jess ends up walking with her and just goes “hey, thanks for that” and Kirsty goes “don’t mention it” and they just sort of laugh and part ways so she can go to Miss Patty’s but anyways I’m soft for Kirsty fighting the entire town for him

then we have the hilarious scene of Kirsty looking Dean in the eye, knowing full well that he literally just saw her getting out of Tristan’s car, and going “yes I’m completely in love with jess is that a problem” and jess going “oh Kirsty I’m really flattered but while you were gone I started talking to Paris and I think I’m in love” and they’re just such little shits I love them

and okay now I promise we’re getting close to the speedrun part of this relationship lmaooo

so Kirsty is the one who ends up tutoring Jess and like he’s not on the verge of flunking because Kirsty has already been forcing him to do his homework semi regularly but he has trouble staying on task (he’s a mood) so Kirsty is basically there to make sure that he gets all of his final projects done — they take a break to go get ice cream and the car accident happens and Kirsty gets injured and she’s having a panic attack and she begs Jess to stay with her so he does, she lies to the hospital staff and tells them that he’s her step-brother so that he can stay with her because she’s afraid of hospitals and doesn’t want to be alone.  He stays with her until they hear Lorelai and then sneaks out the window; at this point Kirsty has finally called him her friend — while high on painkillers and introducing him to Richard and Emily, who she had him call because she knew Lorelai wouldn’t (they like him much better in this !verse than canon because Kirsty knows how to play them lmao)

Lorelai still pitches a fit to Luke and Jess still leaves and jesus christ when Kirsty finds out about all of that she flips her shit even more than she did at the town meeting, calls Lorelai petty and selfish and a shit mother and tells her that she’s more like Emily than she wants to admit, and this is very possibly when Kirsty finally drops one of my favourite lines of hers — “you and Rory might be best friends first and mother daughter second but I never needed a best friend, I needed a mom.  And now I don’t want either.” — and crashes at either Luke’s or Miss Patty’s (and is not thrilled when she finds out that Lorelai called Christopher and that he’s now back and awnting to play dad again)

fast forward and Kirsty knows Jess is in New York but they haven’t talked and Sookie’s wedding happens and Kirsty and Lorelai have their huge fight (this is the other point where that favourite line might happen, I’m torn) and Kirsty packs up and moves to New York for the summer to play Victoria in Cats on Broadway

She gets to New York and she’s staying at a hotel provided by the production company and she’s lonely and miserable and she’s never really been alone before and low and behold she stumbles into some diner on the verge of tears (just a bad day and everything is too much and she’s about to break) when all of a sudden she hears “wow, deja vu.  Coffee?” and she turns around and low and behold it’s Jess Mariano.  She accepts and sits at the diner until his shift is done and then they leave together and catch up and he offers to be her tour guide, and over the next week they become really close (all of both of their coworkers think that they’re siblings at this point) and blah blah lots of details I won’t get into bc seriously how many paragraphs is this thing, but Emily and Richard end up renting Kirsty this huge penthouse apartment and she manages to convince them to let Jess live with her and they become super close and kind of codependent and skip right over the friend stage to the “this is my brother, Jess” stage lmao and basically everyone in stars hollow except for lorelai and rory (bc kirsty and lorelai aren’t talking for most of the summer and rory is in dc so she and kirsty aren’t talking much either) know because they all came out for her opening weekend and everyone thinks it’s hilarious and their new york friends think Luke is their dad bc he called them “my kids” without thinking about it

also Tristan visits as much as he can get away with and seriously he and Jess become really good friends too and they’re just like, an iconic trio okay I love them

fast forward they go back to stars hollow together the day of the summer festival thing and that’s when Lorelai and Rory find out about their friendship and Lorelai is Not Happy and then Tristan shows up and the three of them are being adorable and having a great time and Lorelai flips out and there’s yet another fight (seriously Lorelai pls stop assuming you always know best, you don’t) and the fight is angsty but there’s the softness of jess finally really accepting that Kirsty meant it when she said that things weren’t going to change when they got back to stars hollow and they don’t and it’s just great

and in season 3 they’re just still all soft and codependent and Lorelai is forced to accept that Jess knows Kirsty better than she does and Rory has some really fun “what the actual fuck” moments watching Lorelai & Luke and Kirsty & Jess have the exact same arguments because Kirsty did inherit Lorelai’s ability to annoy people into doing things like participating in town events and season 3 is just very very soft and there are so many scenes/episodes that I’m so excited for

and anyways this was so long and I’m sorry but also I’m not because like i just really love this dynamic and I want to just like skip two seasons and just write new york & season three because i love them so muchhhhhhhh and anyways yeah 

TLDR they’re a slowburn rivals to found family with a speedrun towards the end and i fucking love them so much

[jakeperalta]

ok so like #1: the revival ending? they’re really just gonna drop that bombshell and leave? there’s a CHILD of rory gilmore floating around out there and rory is out there being a MOTHER (provided she kept the baby, anyway) and i don’t get to see any of it? i feel robbed. i somehow feel like that was setup so it would bring the show full circle, even though the circumstances of rory’s pregnancy and lorelai’s are not the same outside of possibly rory raising the baby on her own. it makes complete sense now why she was so interested in asking christopher if he thought lorelai raising rory alone was a good idea… because i think rory wanted to raise her child alone. ALSO it’s definitely logan’s child based on what the revival showed up because she wasn’t hooking up with anyone else. i’d assume she just chooses to raise the child herself and not tell logan because he has his life with his wife in london and rory wouldn’t want to interrupt his life or use the pregnancy as leverage to get logan to leave his wife.

when I first watched and that's how it ended I was like "wtf that's it?? it ends like that???" lol I would love to see rory as a mother and lorelai as a grandmother!! (idk how much like gg trivia you know, but "mom I'm pregnant" line was how the writers had intended to end the original show but then they left before s7, which personally I'm glad of because rory getting pregnant straight out of college would have been a bit depressing imo). totally agree that it's logan's and I know it's supposed to be full circle so rory raises the baby alone, logan = christopher etc, but if they're gonna leave it so open ended then I'm just gonna headcanon that rory tells logan, he leaves his fiancée because rory is the love of his life (and he does have a backbone against his family, even if that somehow disappears in the revival) and they live happily ever after in a cute little family 🥰

[lovelylogans]

what are your favorite episodes of gilmore girls?

ooOOOOOOH GREAT QUESTION i’ll break it down season by season:

season one

pilot. i mean, obviously. it sets them all up so well, character-wise; plus, you can tell some episodes in season one that were filmed shortly after the pilot vs a while later, just bc of emily’s differing hair lengths

the lorelai’s first day at chilton: introduces such great characters (paris, madeline, louise) and also is such a great way to continue the transition into learning about this world

rory’s birthday parties: god. just. the stark difference between emily and richard’s world vs stars hollow...... the found family of practically all of stars hollow showing up to rory’s home party...... “lorelai’s right. i don’t know my daughter at all.”...... God

forgiveness and stuff: like, gOD. a masterclass of acting especially from kelly bishop and lauren graham; it hits so differently after edward hermann’s actual passing. luke and lorelai’s relationship displayed on what he’d do for her. lord!

paris is burning: paris................ the Beginning of turning from enemies to friends...... plus, like, you get to see some of lorelai’s commitment issues, which plays out throughout the entire series (sometimes To My Great Aggravation)

concert interruptus: the bangles 🥺paris and rory 🥺

christopher returns: i mean. you see the dynamic between rory and christopher, lorelai and christopher, and emily, richard, and christopher, which just paints such a clearer picture of what lorelai’s life might have been like back then. PLUS, emily being soft toward rory; it’s one of my fave relationship moments for them, and i kind of regret taking that line from her and giving it to christopher in wyliwf.

star crossed lovers and other strangers: the same way we get to see emily and rory, we get to see richard and lorelai; also, you can see how lorelai’s commitment issues might have inadvertently affected rory in this. plus i love love LOVE the backstory of the stars hollow lovers festival, i wish they’d repeated it in later seasons!

emily in wonderland: i really wish you’d gotten to see the effect of learning about lorelai and rory living in the shed play out more than a one-episode arc, i really wish we did, but like. emily bishop, once again, acting her damn heart out. phenomenal.

season two

the road trip to harvard: you get to see the beginnings of how rory leaving for college might affect lorelai, plus you get to see rory in her ivy league habitat. luke getting so suddenly, “inexplicably” cheerful when he hears that lorelai’s not marrying max. and at the very ending emily being sympathetic to max. bless it.

nick & nora/sid & nancy: first jess ep. “dodger.” what else is there to say. points off lorelai tho for immediately losing it at jess when he snarks at her, when, like, that is your move, lorelai, you should recognize that?

presenting lorelai gilmore: rory stepping more and more into her grandparents’ world in a way lorelai never wanted to; though i don’t ship christopher and lorelai, their dance scene is adorable. plus, emily and richard fighting a bit and the beginnings of richards (seasons long!) arc about his journey with his work.

the ins and oust of inns: MIA. you get to see mia for the first time! lorelai and sookie having a fight is :( but you get to see lorelai’s turmoil over actually leaving the inn. emily coming to see mia! luke yelling at the town over them being rude about luke! lorelai coming to his defense! rory telling jess off and jess wordlessly fixing luke’s toaster in silent apology!

the bracebridge dinner: GOD. love it. the horses and carriages! the absurd historical acting! emily and richard! rory and jess! luke and lorelai! it’s fantastic!

a-tisket, a-tasket: I LOVE THIS EPISODE. some of the town absurdity that was just A Plus. “it’s not like she’s shipping off to ‘nam!” is a great line. jackson proposing to sookie! and poor lane........

there’s the rub: emily and lorelai, seeing how great they could get along, but seeing how either of them wreck it just when it’s getting a-okay. god. it’s just such a great microcosm of their relationship.

dead uncles and vegetables: luke......... Luke. lorelai and rory and jess all rallying around him in their ways, and stars hollow by extension. even tho they were pretty shitty at first, they, like. managed to make it up to him in the end.

lorelai’s graduation day: GOD LAUREN GRAHAM, KELLY BISHOP, AND EDWARD HERMANN KILL IN THE GRADUATION SCENE!!!!! i ADORE that shot of the three of them, gets me every single time!!! the only thing i dislike about it is rory accidentally missing the graduation bc....... :/. like. i really like jess. but. come on.

i can’t get started: sookie’s wedding!!! her freaking out over the cake so much in her dress is So Her, she looked so pretty omg! plus, if the spa ep is a good microcosm of emily and lorelai, this is a great microcosm for christopher and lorelai. plus!!!! RORY AND JESS FIRST KISS!!!!!!

season three (look, full disclosure, seasons 3/4 are like. my faves. so)

haunted leg: gosh. lauren graham kills it in that last couple scenes. plus! kirk asking lorelai out on a date is hilarious! emily and lorelai’s lunch at luke’s going So Bad! and i know that not a ton of people like the francie chilton student politics intrigue subplot isn’t great for some people, but i do think that the potential was Great and there are definitely some really good scenes that arose from that subplot, so

take the deviled eggs... like. just. a great blend of town insanity (patty’s new boy, the town loner pitching a protest no one knows the reason behind) and lorelai and rory bonding (by deviled-egging jess’ CAR) and just!!! yes!!!!

they shoot gilmores, don’t they?: i mean. come ON. what list would be complete without this? literally every single favorites list has this episode on there. the dance marathon is the perfect example of town insanity! lane and dave getting their bonding! that little luke and lorelai moment about having kids! that scene of rory crying into lorelai’s shoulder!

a deep-fried korean thanksgiving: i love the whole “three thanksgivings” thing. Can Relate, Do Understand. i think that lorelai freaking out at rory for applying to yale is definitely a contrived subplot (i mean. she was never going to apply to only harvard. ma’am.) but i do like seeing sookie, and luke and jess, and just.... Yeah

dear emily and richard: our ONLY flashback ep! while i do think that only lauren graham can really pull lorelai off, the actress is, like, fairly decent (young christopher, however, does not really fit) and you just! yeah! you get to see them back in their youth and FINALLY get the context of how lorelai ran away!

the big one: like! yay paris! lorelai’s reaction (”i’ve got the good kid!”) is Gross, Frankly! it’s gross and bad! but also poor paris 🥺but!!! rory helping to comfort her afterwards!! richard falling asleep in the middle and having No idea of what just went down is also inexplicably hilarious to me!

those are strings, pinocchio: i mean. it’s the graduation episode. God. i just???? god. it’s such a great episode, there’s so many great moments, i just. 🥺

season four

the lorelais’ first day at yale: a great little titling parallel to chilton, but also, rory panicking when lorelai leaves is like. such a Thing ya know??? i just. yeah. i really like that ep it’s a nice introduction

the festival of living art: one, this show won its only emmy bc of the makeup, so that alone is great. uh, kirk being so adversary to the guy who plays judas is god tier humor! plus! sookie and jackson having their baby!

ted koppel’s big night out: THE FOOTBALL GAME EPISODE! i actually kind of love it, but more the first half than the latter; it’s such an emily and richard way to prepare for a football game, you know? and then meeting pennilyn lott! igniting the arc of emily and richard having doubts about their marriage which has Acting! Moments! but this also has jason and lorelai’s first date, which i Dislike, bc i Dislike Jason Very Much.

nag hammadi is where they found the gnostic gospels: seeing jess come back into town and you get to see how unfinished things are between him and rory..... the luke angst..... Yes.

the incredible sinking lorelais: a very realistic part of college, imo, in which you feel overwhelmed and anxious and EVERYTHING SUCKS NOW CAN I JUST CALL MY MOM, though i wish they’d set it up a bit more and followed it longer than an episode, and also that rory hadn’t gone to dean; but also, trix, and richard standing up to her, which!

scene in a mall: idk i just love this episode? seeing emily in her shopping element; seeing her break down in that way; seeing how shopping is like, one of her Only ways to execute power, and how she’s kind of jealous of lorelai’s career bc she was born into a generation where the only thing it was really acceptable for her to do was cultivate a husband and a nice house; plus!!! that last bit of emily and richard and the apples at the table just BREAKS your heart!!!

girls in bikinis, boys doin’ the twist: SPRING BREAAAAK which is so unexpected for paris and rory and therefore very funny. you get to see madeline and louise again—i actually really love their characters, lmao! paris and rory kiss! just! yeah!

tick, tick, tick, boom!/afterboom: another “idk i just enjoy it” episode. richard and floyd coming to a head; kirk’s easter egg hunt; seeing little davey. however i have some Words for rory because lindsay deserves better??? i understand that she could get a part time job but also MIND YOUR BUSINESS?????? dean’s the one taking classes! that’s an unnecessary expense! he has two jobs!! he’s allowed to take a pause!!! also i can’t believe i’m forced to defend dean right now!!! fuck asher, tho, but yay! breaking up with jason!!! yay breaking up with jason!!!!!!

luke can see her face/last week fights, this week tights: i can’t, okay??? i literally had to. the beginning of jess’ (admittedly mostly off-screen) development arc! luke and the self-help books! the absurdity of the renaissance wedding! the WEDDING DANCE!!! 

raincoats and recipes: truly an episode has never gone from such a “FUCK YESSSSSS FINALLY” scene to a “FUCK NOOOOOO WHAT ARE YOU DOINGGGGGG” but honestly it’s just. it’s Such a fantastic episode like i can’t

season five

written in the stars: their first date 🥺the horoscope 🥺”i am in, lorelai. i am all in.” 🥺 HER GOING DOWNSTAIRS IN JUST HIS SHIRT 🥺 HIM YELLING AT THE TOWN ABOUT HOW IT’S THEIR RELATIONSHIP AND NONE OF THEIR BUSINESS 🥺🥺🥺

we got us a pippi virgin: literally the concept alone of “nearly coming to blows via bop it” is great. also luke being like “rory is like pippi!” and showing off what a high regard he holds her in 🥺

emily says hello: LITERALLY so many great little things about this episode. emily deciding she wants to try dating! rory and christopher snapping at each other! KELLY BISHOP’S ACTING AFTER THE DATE WHEN SHE CLOSES THE DOOR ON HIM AND BURSTS INTO TEARS!!!!!!!

women of questionable morals: the dog. 

wedding bell blues: HUNDREDTH EPISODE couldn’t NOT make it on here, so here it is!!! luke and lorelai looking at each other when she’s next to the aisle! luke and christopher both yelling and logan—AcTING! also emily being so manipulative even on her second wedding day, it’s just So classically her, and kelly bishop and lauren graham in the final scene is just. Mwah!

so... good talk: rory literally stepping into lorelai’s shoes for a dinner and being the one to snap at emily and richard is Such a role reversal for her but honestly whenever it does happen i actually really enjoy seeing the dichotomy between the grandparents seeing rory as their perfect little second chance and lorelai seeing her as her mini-me and how rory walks the line between each. AND THAT ENDING KISS SCENE BETWEEN LUKE AND LORELAI????? I CAN’T?????

pulp friction: LORELAI CONTINUING TO ICE OUT EMILY AND RICHARD!!!!! the yelling scene at the diner!!!! plus seeing the chilton skirt come out again was nice imo i too have reused private schoolwear

season six (the season, admittedly, i have watched the least)

we’ve got magic to do: the outfits of the dar bash. paris’ sudden dedication to the proletariat. emily’s rant to shira. that is all

twenty-one is the loneliest number: them finally starting to talk; “this is luke, my soon-to-be-stepfather”; the pastor scene is also just. hilarious. but also so very richard and emily

let me hear your balalaikas ringing out: lorelai’s emotions toward paul anka being sick Oof and luke and the soccer team lmao but also JESS RETUUUUURNS!!!!! RORY SNAPS OUT OF IT!!!!!! FINALYYYYYYY!!!!

friday night’s alright for fighting: literally the montage of all of them intercut with fighting and them sitting in silence while the other two yell in the background to them laughing is just. Peak gilmore

this turned out..... even longer than expected lmao

[summerspn]

Gilmore Girls

Lorelai & Her Parents

At 16 Lorelai was rebellious against anything her parents did or said & she’s the same way even in Year in the Life where she’s in her late 40’s. She has zero open communication with her mom...still.

She never listens to her parents, avoids their calls, tries to get her daughter to be the go between on several occasions.

Lorelai whines, bitches & moans about her parents being the root of all evil. The way she talks we would expect them to be Joseph Stalin (a comparison she made herself in that magazine interview about the Inn).

However, we never see or hear anything that bad about her parents. Nothing unforgivable. They’re just normal loving parents who have strong opinions & are sometimes pushy.

Lorelai gave birth to Rory when she was 16. No parent would be thrilled at the idea their child just made their lives considerably more challenging for themselves. Parents generally want their kids to have better lives than they had.

In flashbacks we see Richard & Emily being good parents. Posh & proper they took parent in lots of events & rituals Lorelai didn’t like. Such as sitting for a portrait & wearing fancy dresses etc

Lorelai’s seen joking with Christopher & in good spirits. She’s not traumatized or being abused in any way.

We never see them being cruel, angry, or abusive to her. They definitely wanted her to follow suit. To do what they say...to listen...and to learn from them.

Lorelai rejected all of that. She’s not good at any of those things.

However they still seemed like good parents. Great even.

When they realize Lorelai’s pregnant they are shocked & disappointed. Immediately they jump into protective mode. Richard suggests helping Chris join the family & the kids could get married... his attempt to salvage her reputation. He knows how cruel people can be especially from the upper class elites whom of which can be petty.

Both Richard & Emily want to fix the mistake so they jump in. Christopher even said he wanted to marry Lorelai & he seemed excited about having the baby. Lorelai just looked annoyed at all of it.

We also see that she pushes them away again & again.

When she goes to the hospital alone they rush to be by her side. And she still acts annoyed. They wanted to help someone they love & she was annoyed!

In the flashbacks we see that Lorelai & baby Rory were living with Richard & Emily for at least a few weeks. Her parents seemed to be okay with the living situation.

A nice house, no rent, all expenses paid, and they mentioned a nanny...to which Lorelai felt she had to escape. What??

Seriously, she wanted zero help from everyone & anyone. That’s not just being independent that’s being blinded by pride.

And after her parents did everything for her, Lorelai runs away with baby Rory.

That’s completely selfish. I could imagine how painful that would be for her parents.

To make matters worse, it’s said several times in the early part of the series that Emily never got to see how Lorelai raised Rory...and that they barely ever got see or talk to Rory when she was little.

In fact, the first interaction we see of Rory & her grandparents it’s like Rory doesn’t know them. It’s like they’re being introduced to each other.

So...basically Lorelai didn’t try to have her parents involved in Rory’s life. She didn’t encourage a relationship with them - that is so incredibly spiteful & selfish.

When Emily finally meets the owner of the Independence Inn we see that she was upset about all that missing time. She didn’t have pictures of Lorelai or Rory during that time. It’s so...sad.

Season one has Rory getting into Chilton & it’s an excuse for her parents to get involved in their lives. They see it as an opportunity to get to know Rory. They pay for Chilton in exchange for Friday night dinners.

Even though they made a deal & Lorelai gave her word to have weekly dinners with her parents she still tries throughout the series to get out of them. It’s so rude & she’s so ungrateful.

Lorelai always whines about the dinners. But they were good! They get nice food, sit in comfort & have good company. She often looks like she’s having fun but later complains about them. There were only a handful of bad dinners in the series with her parents.

So why did she always complain about them?

Because she’s ungrateful for everything her parents did for her.

Good things Richard & Emily did for Lorelai:

* They raised her in a loving, stable home

* She had a good education

* They taught her good morals

* She was always fed & taken care of

* They tried to help when she was pregnant & provided support once the baby was born

* In season 1, Lorelai hurts her back & Emily takes care of her

* They paid for Chilton & Yale

* Their only request (or as Lorelai called it they ‘demanded’) to spend time with their daughter & grand daughter in exchange for the schools’ tuition.

* Despite not being invited by their daughter (because Lorelai assumes they wouldn’t want to go), both Richard & Emily attend Lorelai’s college graduation as the proudest parents in the world.

* They bought Rory an over the top high school graduation gift- a car- to which Lorelai barely thanked them.

* Richard taught Rory to golf & showed her around the country club.

* Richard was a mentor for a school project of Rory’s

* Emily encouraged Rory several times to make friends with her classmates

* Emily encouraged school involvement to help make those friends & for college. She stated something along the lines that it would help for everything.

* They remain friendly with Christopher (Rory’s father) even though he’s rarely around & they don’t like the fact he & Lorelai never got married. They know it’s important to be civil as he’s Rory’s father & they hope eventually the situation would improve.

* Emily is super nice to Jess upon their first meeting even though she thinks Rory is too good for him. She kept her opinion to herself, except when she had a private conversation with Lorelai.

* Emily helps Rory navigate parties & the DAR, making sure her grand daughter would be prepared for life of the upper society instead of leaving her to flounder.

* Emily prints out a list of tips for ways in which Rory can avoid getting stabbed in prison (during her community service)

* Richard defends Rory’s honour when he realizes Mitchum Huntzberger had upset her.

* Likewise Emily gives a great verbal thrashing to Shira Huntzberger in response to the woman having humiliated Rory

* Even when he’s not speaking with Lorelai, Richard helps take care of the insurance at the Dragonfly Inn.

* There were lots of warm family exchanges between them & Rory. Some warm exchanges between them & Lorelai too.

* When Rory ran to her grandparents, breaking down & basically begged them for help, they gave it to her. They took care of her.

* When Rory got arrested they never gave her a hard time or judged. They tried to help.

* They were still open to Logan being in Rory’s life even though his parents treated her poorly.

Not so good moments of theirs:

* Richard breaks business ties with Digger, going behind his back & working for his father

* Richard manipulates the situation so that while visiting Yale Rory has a meeting with the dean

* Emily throws the Yale (boys) party to try to get Rory to meet someone new as she’s too good for Dean (it worked, because she was too good for him)

* When they feared for Rory’s ‘virtue’. Old fashioned, yes. They felt her being a virgin until marriage was the way to go so they set up an awkward dinner with a pastor to talk sense into her. Good intentions but it was none of their business.

People have a lot of opinions about who was responsible for the rift between Lorelai & her parents.

What I think is this:

When Lorelai ran away with baby Rory, it was her fault. She took off, pushed them away & refused help.

Being rich & powerful, they could have won custody. All they had to do was get a private investigator to take pictures of the shed Lorelai & Rory were living in. Prove that Lorelai (who refused help from anyone) left Rory alone while she cleaned rooms at the Independence Inn.

It would be easy for them.

However, they didn’t do that. They actually gave Lorelai space & took what scraps of contact she was willing to give.

During the series (even with nothing triggering it) Lorelai pushes her parents away, bad mouths them, constantly hides big life events from them (her college graduation, not one but TWO engagements! , etc)...and she humiliated Emily by giving that mean interview about her when she should have talked about the Dragonfly Inn.

However, when Richard betrayed Digger, that caused tension. When he forced Rory to talk to the Yale Dean, it caused a rift. Not approving of Luke caused tension but they still supported Lorelai even though they didn’t like him.

Supporting Rory’s decision to drop out of school was huge. They supported her, thinking it was the right thing. Then Richard laid it out for Lorelai (because Rory was too chicken shit to stand up for her mom more than once a year 🤷‍♀️) .

It was what Rory wanted but Lorelai felt it was all her parents’ fault, which wasn’t true.

Emily even tried to encourage Rory to talk to Lorelai a few times. Finally getting through to her with the invitations to her birthday party.

And Lorelai showed up to the party & acted like she wanted to kill them. Emily asked how Luke was & Lorelai jumped down her throat...and of course that was when we realized that again Lorelai didn’t tell her parents she was going to marry Luke.

Another knife wound.

Emily & Richard are critical but they also learn & evolve. They both are pragmatic so while Emily was underhanded in inviting Christopher to the vow renewal, I get it. Emily wanted to see if she can piece the family back together - choosing one of the few times where she’s getting along with Lorelai. She probably thought that if he saw Lorelai at a wedding he’d want to marry her & vice versa. Kill two birds with one stone.

Yes it was shitty because Lorelai was with Luke; however, if that had been a healthy relationship (there were lots of issues) it wouldn’t have imploded the way it did. Later when the two have a healthier relationship both Richard & Emily are more accepting of Luke.

Even during Emily’s emotional breakdown where she wanted to buy that plane she suggested that Lorelai & Luke can use it - showing at that point she’d accepted the relationship.

So who was to blame for the rift?

Both...but mostly Lorelai.

While I can understand the argument that she had been raised in a way she didn’t like, you can’t place blame on that.

Lorelai felt suffocated at 16 but she didn’t just need space, she wanted to cruelly ditch her parents.

You definitely can’t blame her parents for the way she acted towards them at 30-something. Because adults are responsible for themselves. You have issues with someone? Talk! Communicate! Even if that involves arguing.

Suck it up, address the issues then figure out how to fix it.

I feel like Emily & Richard did this a lot. They struggled sometimes but eventually they worked things out. But Lorelai kept pushing them away & shut them out of her life.

Even in Year in the Life. She still resented her father so much that she couldn’t remember a single good memory about him at the funeral. Then she acted angry at Emily when she was upset. Emily had every right to be.

They go to therapy because after all these years they can’t talk to each other. Still. Well, we know Emily is very vocal so who could be to blame? Perhaps the fact Lorelai was keeping her therapy from Luke was a bit telling.

In any case, whomever you blame for the problems, I think we all can agree it would have been nice if the show had more flashbacks so we can see why Lorelai resented and (at times) hated her parents.

Nothing I saw in the series was enough to be that angry with them & to run away or barely see them in 16 years. Were they stifling? Yes. Controlling? A little bit but parents often are. Annoying? Yes.

Abusive, cruel, mean, neglectful? No, no, no, and no.

In my family, we talk & occasionally yell. We don’t have to like what each other is doing but hey that’s family. But we do try to talk. Sometimes things come up that annoys us but we deal with it.

Lorelai’s family wasn’t perfect. That’s fine, but why wouldn’t she want to see them? Why would she take a situation about her neurotic mother & think it was funny to tell perfect strangers & to compare herself to a murdering dictator?

You have to be pretty heartless to do that...even if Lorelai didn’t realize it would be in print. I don’t care how annoyed I get I would NEVER talk about my parents like that.

So, why does Lorelai? What happened to her that she thinks this is okay? What (if any) shady things did her parents do to deserve something like that?

I wish the show could have shown us because the absence of information just feels like Lorelai is cruel & vindictive

I personally think Lorelai just never grew up. She acts immature even in later seasons so I believe she has the same mentality as she did when she was 16. She assumes several times the worst about her parents when the were just being straight forward or asking simple questions.

Like, for example, Rory’s invitation to her birthday party. Lorelai assumes it was a manipulation by Emily but her daughter was just reaching out to her. Instead of checking to see if she was actually welcome she - like a child - ignores it & would rather miss Rory’s birthday then deal with 2 minutes of awkwardness on the phone to get clarification. She just assumes there is no possible way she’d ever be wrong. Keep in mind at this point Lorelai is supposed to be around 38.

She’s not a child, she’s not naive nor stupid. She’s merely self involved. She thinks how she thinks, never bends, & can’t possibly comprehend the fact that her parents genuinely love her & try any means in which they can see her & their grand daughter.

In later seasons we can see how heartbroken her parents were still about missing out on Lorelai’s life. Emily starts making suggestions about adding onto the Dragonfly Inn, by having a spa attached. Lorelai brushes it off like it was nothing but Emily was reaching out to her because she was worried she wouldn’t want to do Friday night dinners again.

And we see in season 7, when the girls attend Mia’s wedding that Emily was still upset by the separation all those years ago. She’s civil while trying to hide her pain. Lorelai was completely oblivious to how upset Emily was. Rory points that out & eventually Lorelai actually understands.

Some people aren’t fans of season 7 but I loved that episode because it showed Emily’s vulnerability & pain and we actually got to see some growth between Lorelai & Emily!

Year in the Life completely shit all over that of course.

The series finale was alright regarding how Lorelai is with her parents. They were in a good place & she reassured her mom that Friday night dinners would continue. Meaning, she would still be in their lives.

I had no complaints about that. Though I still wish we saw more about their past.

What I had hoped to see in Year in the Life was a solid relationship with Lorelai & Emily. After all those years, why wouldn’t they have progressed?

We saw hints that when Lorelai would take her head out of her butt, she actually enjoys time with her parents. Such as having fun with Emily at that fashion show.

And a lot of people get annoyed at their family as teenagers but once they’re grown up & moved out, they have a good relationship with them.

I wanted, in the Year in the Life, for Emily & Lorelai to still have their banter but be friendly. Meeting up to shop occasionally & such. But instead they’re still in a bad place? After ten years...really?

Seeing that was exhausting. Even as a 40-something woman Lorelai acted like a spoiled brat. Like a teenager, and her mom then treated her like one. It was stupid & disappointing.

[zalrb]

Could you do a meta on Rory and Christopher’s relationship, and how Lorelei might’ve influenced it?

It’s not going to be particularly involved just because I don’t have a great memory of Gilmore Girls but I will start off by noting that I think Christopher is a horrible father and his negligence and irresponsibility is framed as oh-he’s-just-charming-and-figuring-his-life-out-and-he-means-well-but-boys-will-be-boys

but he’s a legitimate deadbeat. The one thing he did was pay for Yale, which is literally the least he could do.

I’ve seen a few posts trying to contradict that by stating that Christopher was willing to marry Lorelai and give up his dreams and work for Richard but Lorelai ran away and what was he supposed to do, follow her? And the answer is, yes. If he was really committed to being a dad then he should’ve followed her, he should’ve made a stand. The response to that would be well, he was only 16 years old and 16-year-olds aren’t the most mature to which my response would be if the claim is that he was mature enough to want to marry Lorelai and start a job at Richard’s company you can’t turn around and say he wasn’t mature enough to actually follow through on trying to be a part of Rory’s life when Lorelai ran away. Especially as they grew older. In Entourage, one of the main characters, his ex gets pregnant and she tells him she doesn’t want to get back together and that she intends to raise the child alone and she’s moving across the country and his response is to quit his job to move across the country too.

Which is the thing, Christopher is lip service. There has been mention of him emailing Rory and calling Rory. OK? That’s a friendship and at best, an avuncular relationship.

Keeping vague tabs doesn’t mean he’s a parent, that doesn’t mean he makes an actual effort to be in her life or to commit to the concept of being a family, especially when it’s made clear that he comes and goes as he pleases. He shows up in season 1 and says he wants to be with Lorelai and Lorelai says no so he just leaves?

He doesn’t actually do anything to show his commitment to finding a job and being a stable force in Rory and Lorelai’s lives? It’s easy to say you want to be with someone and be a real part of your kid’s life without doing the work to make sure it’s a viable option and when he does have the job, the life-on-track etc. he’s with Sherri.

In terms of the actual dynamics of her relationship to Chris and Lorelai’s influence on that, I think Lorelai’s feelings about Christopher are made clear to Rory but she doesn’t do anything to sway Rory to her thinking

Even in this argument, Lorelai then tells Christopher that Rory will come round. And the fact that she encouraged him to go back with Sherri

and then told Rory to go to the baby shower and then was with her when she went into labour I think indicated that she didn’t want Rory choosing any sides.

But Rory essentially parents Christopher

It’s like she and Lorelai share custody of him rather than the other way around. I’m very rarely on Lorelai’s side in GG but in comparison to Christopher and his relationship to Rory, I’ll give her Mother of the Year.

[ksfd89]

I'd love to hear your opinion on the main similarities and differences between Lorelai/Luke and Rory/Jess :)

Thanks for the question! I’ve always thought Lorelai and Jess and Luke and Rory are very close as personality types, which I’ve discussed below:

http://ksfd89.tumblr.com/post/132206840160/luke-and-rory-show-emotion-through-actions-and

http://ksfd89.tumblr.com/post/140115564895/pairs-of-introversion

Lorelai and Jess deflect with sarcasm and wit, which is probably why they get off on the wrong foot - Lorelai tries to get through to Jess with humour and he feels mocked, so responds with sarcasm - and both of them have put up emotional walls out of vulnerability.  Luke and Rory are very quiet, stoic people who mull things over in their minds until something pushes them over and they can’t hold their emotions in.  They often respond with gestures - when Rory misses Jess, she doesn’t call him, but she goes all the way to New York, and when Luke wants to show he loves Lorelai, he builds her an ice rink.  When they are angry and hurt Luke snaps at everyone and is rude to his customers, and Rory makes spontaneous, occasionally destructive decisions, such as stealing the boat.  So all four share a kind of introversion, demonstrated in different ways.

This ask is about how Lorelai and Luke are similar though, and Rory and Jess. My main thought is that all of them share a similar background.  While Lorelai grew up rich, she and Luke both had to grow up suddenly.  Luke’s mother died when he was a teenager and Lorelai got pregnant. They both had to begin navigating adulthood and, while Luke and Lorelai are extremely successful at managing businesses, they occasionally show arrested development - Lorelai in particular.  Neither of them were able to fully experience early adulthood, where you go to college or simply have the years of not knowing where you’re going, or think you know and then mess up.  Luke had to run the store, and then his father died when he was still very young, and Lorelai always had Rory.  Neither of them had time to just be kids, or rather, very young adults, and so have cultivated a fierce independence.  Luke and Lorelai also had distance from their parents. Whilst Lorelai’s are living through the original series, she had an almost Victorian relationship with them as a child and then barely spoke to them after leaving as a teenager.  Even when Emily arranges Friday Night Dinners, Lorelai resists telling her about her personal life, largely as she knows her mother will use it to hurt her.  Luke’s father died, but it is implied that he was tough on his son, never discussing emotion and focusing heavily running the hardware store. There is a kind of bitterness with Luke too but, like Lorelai, he channels his energy on running the diner as she does with the inn. They both struggle with asking for help or admitting weakness, even to themselves, and yet when they do, the other completely understands.  In anger, they push each other away and can be cruel, but are also ready to forgive as they understand each other so strongly.

Rory and Jess grew up without fathers.  They were both brought to new worlds without a say - Rory first to Stars Hollow as a baby and then back to the rich world she can’t remember, and Jess to Stars Hollow from New York - and neither of them fully fit into either.  Rory may have been born into wealth, but she wasn’t raised in it, and always feels out of place in Chilton.  It dazzles her though, and she comes to enjoy the fun of it for several years, before seeing the shallow side.  While she enjoys life in Stars Hollow, it’s not where Rory wants to stay.  Her early aim is for Harvard, then Yale and later, after moving home again, Rory still feels out of place. Jess grew up in New York, almost definitely in poverty and abuse from some of his mother’s boyfriends, yet resented living in Stars Hollow. It’s all the things his uncle complains about - twee, small and has a kind of mob mentality - but as it’s not his home, he can’t see the good side Luke and Lorelai do.  He eventually chooses to move back because of Rory and better life with Luke but still resents elements of it and eventually leaves again. Much as Rory doesn’t see the negative elements of her grandparents’ world, Jess doesn’t see how good, if perhaps stifling, it was living with Luke until he goes to California and then back to New York.   

While he and Rory move in and out of these worlds assigned to them, they find solace and a centre in books.  In her Valedictorian speech, Rory talks about how she has two worlds - not Chilton and Stars Hollow, but the worlds of fiction and reality.  Books are a home for her, just as they are for Jess, especially in times of uncertainty.  Jess’s mistakes, and arguably Rory’s too, are linked to their biological fathers.  Jess felt unwanted for most of his life, sent to his uncle’s by his mother and then being kicked out by his uncle after a fight.  Rory, while knowing how loved she was by Lorelai and all of the town, kept hoping that Christopher would eventually stay and marry her mother.  Initially believing that Lorelai pushed him away, and later abandoned by him, Rory sees leaving as the greatest kind of sin.  She never ends relationships, afraid that she could be alone, or that she could push people away. Rory sees Jess leaving as much worse crime that Logan cheating on her. She holds on and yet, often emotionally leaves without fully seeing it in herself.  

Rory and Jess both falter, make mistakes and are aimless at times, but after encouraging each other they are able to put the other on path.  The goal and aim for both of them is to write a book.  Through the worlds of fiction they come to write their own stories, and their own place.  Their first meeting is based around Jess writing in the margins of Rory’s book, and their last is Rory showing him the first chapters written of hers.  Luke and Lorelai encourage each other’s independence but can also see each other’s vulnerabilities and are patient, willing to support the other when they need it.  They occasionally struggle to communicate, but know each other through and through.  Their first meeting involves Lorelai giving Luke her horoscope and, though Luke claims not believe in fate, goes with his heart over head with relationships and keeps the horoscope in his wallet for the rest of his life.  Like Rory and Jess, they complement each other well, and have a deep connection and understanding.

Thanks for the ask!

[skyler10fic]

5 Headcanons Meme

I was tagged by @gingergallifreyan. Thanks, friend!! 

1. It will come as no surprise that my ultimate headcanon is that Tentoo and Rose are not only madly in love, but also live their one human life together and die happy having fulfilled their dreams of not only traveling in their TARDIS but also making their universe a better place.

2. I would like to echo Teresa’s Doomsday headcanon that I don’t think Rose would be so cruel as to tease him about being pregnant with his child and I agree that Ten thought she meant she was with Mickey again. However, I will take this a step further and say my actual headcanon is that they weren’t officially even together until JE, just best friends who both loved each other romantically as well, but imo School Reunion sets it up as forbidden love (a favorite trope of mine), so they weren’t sleeping together and hadn’t said I love you until BWB parts 1 and 2. This makes the most sense with why it’s such a huge reveal in JE that Tentoo can live his life with her and give her what Ten can’t commit to (a romantic relationship). 

3. I also have a huge headcanon that is pretty much canon because it was said by RTD in regards to the JE script, which is that Rose makes the choice between them. She asks each Ten to finish the sentence, and one gives the answer he has to and the other gives the answer she needs to chose him. I don’t think it would have worked any other way, but I do think he gave her the agency to choose (and thanks to Donna and not Mr. Broody Pants, she had all the information she needed once she understood who/what Tentoo was). She’s still confused and hurt, of course, but not about being denied a choice. Even in Doomsday he had learned his lesson from PotW and at least told her the plan before he did it, but this time he truly lets her decide and she does. And why not? With Tentoo she has it all: her family, eventually a TARDIS, a life, a job, and a Doctor who is free to return her affection and states point blank he’s willing to commit to her. So I don’t really see her struggles being related to choice and agency. More along the lines of the other Ten being out there alone and PTSD from all the trauma they have both had to suffer in the meantime. Plenty of angst there. 

4. Since Teresa mentioned Teninch, I will as well. I also don’t really see Hannah leaving her job for Hardy, but I do think she gives it up willingly eventually to become a novelist. Escorts don’t have long careers anyway. It’s a pretty limited thing. And she knows she isn’t cut out to be a madam. So I see her several years post-canon finding Hardy somehow, as a different and more free man than we see in canon. They can meet in the middle now that she’s matured and he’s looser. It’s not perfect, but it works for my shippy purposes. 

4b. Actually apply that to all my Teninch ships. I think Campbell and Bella and Mercier and Betty are all in that realm of meeting post-canon when they have grown and changed a lot, though I will say I love AUs so screw canon. 

5. Fix-it headcanon binge!!! Steggy forever; Clint clicks with Natasha so much because neither of them have family outside the Avengers and an accident happens that gives them a telepathic bond and they finally learn to trust each other enough to get married, Harry and Hermione are perfect for each other but don’t realize it until they are in their mid 20s (years after they have broken up with their respective Weasleys, who are still their best friends but like “lol can you believe we dated in high school” friends); Matthew and Mary Crowley live long and happy lives together and their descendants still tell of their sappy romance as they lead tours around the in-tact and financially stable Abbey; Lorelai Gilmore sent Christopher packing after the shenanigans at her parents’ vow renewal, Luke kissed her deeply and they got married soon after, Rory was brought to her senses at the wedding, never dropped out, and no one gave a damn about any Huntzberger ever again. Oh! and Elsa thinks it’s just another weird isolating thing about her that she doesn’t get romance but then she meets Merida who tells her about being aro ace and suddenly her life makes sense. Well, at least the parts about not understanding her sister and most of the world when it comes to romance. 

Whew. Ok. Should be enough variety in there to piss off everyone, so I’m going to stop now. haha (If I did offend, though, please keep it to yourself, because frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn.)

Tagging: @joi-in-the-tardis @sequencefairy @onthedriftinthetardis @perfectlyrose @kelkat9

[mmecolbert]

Tell us why Logan is not "Rory's Christopher" like ASP claims :)

Here’s the thing…i don’t even quite understand what Amy meant by that comparison, exactly? Logan being compared to Christopher can be interpreted in a number of ways, and I think that’s why fans are arguing over it…because not only is it a vague statement, it’s also true and false no matter how you interpret it?

One way that you can interpret it is that Logan and Christopher have similar personalities. To me that’s like saying that Rory is like Lorelai—sure they have some similar traits, but overall they’re different people. Like…yes, I get that Rory fell in love with a guy who reminds her of her father. Logan does have a Chris-like vibe. They’re both positive and fun-loving. They’re charismatic and charming. They’re both funny and smiley and are all about joy, parties, no responsibilities, let’s have a good time. They’re both communicators and tell the Gilmore women how they feel openly and often. I get that broadly speaking, Logan and Chris are similar. But no, they’re not the same person one generation removed. Logan, unlike Chris, has a backbone. Logan’s a born leader. He’s decisive, he’s fearless, he’s competent. Even at his worst, Logan is a Yale grad who is a gifted writer and a natural at running the YDN (and I assume his business ventures beyond). In contrast, Chris found out his girlfriend was pregnant at 16 and dropped out of school (which, by the way…I still don’t understand why that happened? He wasn’t involved as a father, so why he didn’t continue with his school still baffles me). So I mean, I guess maybe Amy meant that the immediate, surface attraction that Lorelai had for Chris, Rory also had for Logan? They were both hot for funny, optimistic, life of the party type men? But beyond that, the comparison makes no sense, even if we ignore S7 Logan.

The other way to interpret that statement is that Logan plays the same role in Rory’s life that Chris played in Lorelai’s. I get that. Logan and Chris both bring out the more adventurous, playful side of the Gilmore women. They encourage them to have fun, not take life too seriously, enjoy themselves in the moment, be impulsive and more immature and avoid responsibilities. I think Chris and Logan are both unpredictable, which makes them a little unstable as partners. Again, sure, I see the similarity, but the comparison breaks down because Chris is incredibly unreliable while Logan is. If we ask what role these men play in the Gilmore women’s lives, then on a broad scale Chris disrupts Lorelai’s while Logan expands Rory’s. Chris brings chaos and then leaves, because he’s flaky and cannot keep a promise. He might not show up when Lorelai (or Rory) needs him. In contrast, Logan brings fun and parties to Rory’s life, but he doesn’t bring chaos. He’s incredibly supportive of Rory—he’s her #1 cheerleader, no matter the situation. He encourages her to step out of her comfort zone and conquer challenges that Rory might be too meek to even attempt alone. Unlike Chris, Logan is stable and present. Additionally, I think the underlying issue in comparing Logan and Chris in this way is that it requires for us to assume that Lorelai and Rory are identical and want the same things from their partners. The thing is, I get why Lorelai and Chris can’t work out: because they’re both immature and fun-loving, when together they’d never get anything done. Lorelai wants (and needs) a partner who’ll ground her, whom she can rely on, who’ll always be there, and that’s not Chris. Rory and Logan make a fairly stable couple (a lot longer than Lorelai and Chris ever managed to be) because I think Rory wants (and needs) a partner like Logan. She can be a little too meek, too afraid, too grounded, too serious, and Logan helps her relax, have fun, try new things, and tap into her strong, adventurous, playful side. And unlike Chris, Logan is there, always. Ultimately, while Chris and Logan may overall bring fun and lightheartedness in the Gilmore women’s lives, unlike Chris to Lorelai, Logan balances Rory’s personality out, and unlike Chris, Logan sticks around and supports Rory, so this interpretation also doesn’t work either.

The final one that I can imagine Amy meant is that Chris and Logan have the same fate in the Gilmore women’s lives. That is, Chris got Lorelai pregnant and Logan got Rory pregnant. Lorelai cannot and will never be able to fully let Chris go. Rory cannot and will never be able to fully let Logan go. Lorelai and Rory both know that for one reason or another, they cannot make it work with these guys, either due to timing or circumstances or fate, but that chemistry or safety or “what if” feeling will always draw them back, even if it’s never going to work out. Lorelai and Rory will ultimately both find another fated love whom they’ll marry and who’ll help raise their kid. Chris and Logan are doomed to loving the Gilmore women, never being with them, not raising their children, accepting their family business role, and never having a loving and fulfilling partnership with another woman. We see this happen with Lorelai and Chris. In AYITL we know that Chris barely has a relationship with either of his kids, he has accepted his life in the family business, he has no partner, and (in Rory asking Chris not to come to Lorelai and Luke’s wedding) Chris and Lorelai still have something that can hurt Lorelai’s relationship with Luke. Because AYITL ends where it does, we don’t know if this is going to be Logan and Rory’s fate as well, or if this is what Amy meant in making the comparison. If it is, then that’s incredibly depressing for Logan. Chris’s fate is awful. If Logan—who (even if you don’t like the guy) is superior to Chris in just about every aspect—has the same fate, then that’s tragic. I don’t know what conclusion you can even draw from that, except that all men with happy, fun loving, charismatic personalities are doomed to a life of loveless relationships and careers they don’t enjoy? It’s not great for Rory either, because Lorelai met Luke in her mid 20s and it took them like 25 years to marry/fully commit. If we’re taking that comparison to its end, then if Rory’s having Logan’s kid at 32, then Rory will be retiring when she marries “her Luke.” This whole scenario is absurd and sad and not…good. 

So yeah, I don’t exactly understand what Amy meant by the Christopher/Logan comparison. I see how it works on a broad/surface level, but I feel like Amy would be insulting her own writing if she’s suggesting that she writes identical characters that will have identical relationships and fates generation after generation. To me, Chris and Logan are different people. Their relationships with the Gilmore women are different. So, unless Amy really does mean that Logan will follow Chris’s fate, I just don’t see how we can in any way see Logan as Rory’s Christopher. 

[wazafam]

With Gilmore Girls being a family drama, there were as many sad episodes as there were upbeat ones. Lorelai Gilmore has a tumultuous family background, which was a major source of tension and sadness throughout the series. With Rory being a beloved member of the Gilmore family, she became torn between two worlds: her grandparents’ and her mother’s. But it wasn’t all family matters that gave this show sad episodes.

RELATED: Gilmore Girls: 10 Unrealistic Things About The Show, According To Reddit

Relationship woes also plagued most of the characters. From young love to divorces, the people of Stars Hollow had their hearts broken on multiple occasions. After seven seasons of falling in love with the show’s characters, it’s easy to get as emotional as they do whenever they go through something traumatic. 

10 "In The Clamor And The Clangor" (S4, E11)

In season 4's "In The Clamor and the Clangor," Mrs. Kim finally found out about Lane's big secret: her identity. Lane has been keeping her true passions a secret from her mom since she was six years old. She knew her mother wouldn't approve of her.

When Mrs. Kim found everything Lane was hiding, Lane felt relieved that the secret was out. However, Mrs. Kim was distraught and kicked her daughter out of the house. This was a huge turning point in Lane and Mrs. Kim's relationship and it was distressing to see both of their hearts break.

9 "Say Something" (S5, E14)

"Say Something" was one of Lorelai's most emotional episodes. Her parents just had their vow renewal in the episode prior and it ended in Luke walking out alone. In this episode, Luke told Lorelai he needed some time to think about what he wanted, but after she pestered him, he admitted it wasn't going to work. Christopher, Emily, and Richard were always going to be in her life, and that was a life he wasn't able to be a part of.

RELATED: Gilmore Girls: 10 Biggest Relationship Mistakes Lorelai Made With Luke

Watching Lorelai cry herself to sleep and leave a heartbreaking voice message for Luke was too much for viewers to handle.

8 "I Can't Get Started" (S2, E22)

"I Can't Get Started" started out with such promise. Christopher came into town to watch Rory get her cast off and things seemed different between him and Lorelai. Christopher and Sherry broke up, and he was looking for a second chance with Lorelai. Rory was excited to have both of her parents give their relationship a second try but as soon as they started, they ended.

At Sookie's wedding, Christopher found out Sherry was pregnant with his child. Just like he did years ago, he left Lorelai and Rory yet again to start a different life. It wasn't just Lorelai who felt betrayed; Rory did too.

7 "The Incredible Sinking Lorelais" (S4, E14)

"The Incredible Sinking Lorelais" was a hard episode for both Lorelai and Rory. It was a great one to show the parallels between mother and daughter. For Lorelai, the inn was nowhere near completion and she ran into money troubles.

RELATED: Gilmore Girls & The Green-Eyed Monster: 10 Times The Characters Were Jealous, Ranked Understandable To Ridiculous

The only person she could turn to was Luke. But asking her friend for $30,000 was a lot of money and she broke down in tears as she asked him. Likewise, Rory was struggling with her course load and wasn't able to keep her head on straight. After running into Dean, Rory crumbled in his arms from stress. It was tear-jerking seeing them fall apart at the same time without each other knowing.

6 "Forgiveness And Stuff" (S1, E10)

In "Forgiveness and Stuff," Richard suffered a serious heart attack and landed in the hospital. The shock of his failing health was too much for Emily to handle and she started acting out at the hospital. Understandably, she wanted Richard to be treated like a king. 

When Richard was awake, Emily and Richard had an emotional heart-to-heart. “I did not sign on to your dying. And it is not going to happen. Not tonight, not for a very long time. In fact, I demand to go first. Do I make myself clear?” Emily told Richard with tears in her eyes. Adorably, Richard knew how hard this was for Emily and said, “Yes, Emily. You may go first.”

5 "A House Is Not A Home" (S5, E22)

No one likes the downfall of Lorelai and Rory and it's in "A House Is Not A Home" when it happens. In the episode, Rory takes her final exam before summer break after recently being arrested for stealing a yacht. It's then that she realizes she wants to drop out. After telling her mother, Lorelai went straight to Richard and Emily for backup; Rory needed to finish college.

The Gilmores supported Lorelai 100% but as soon as Rory came over to talk to them about it, they switched sides. By the end of the episode, Lorelai found out that it was three against one and that Rory would now be living with the Gilmores. It was incredibly painful.

4 "Richard In Stars Hollow" (S2, E12)

In "Richard In Stars Hollow," Richard had just retired and was learning how to be a non-working man. It was hard for him to relax and not do anything. Emily was the first one to point out how annoying she found him when he was around all the time, so she sent him to Stars Hollow for the day.

Sadly, even Lorelai and Rory found him to be a chore. By the end of the episode, Richard told Emily that he knew exactly what she, Lorelai, and Rory were doing. He didn't realize that no one wanted him around until he had time to be around. Seeing his sadness was harrowing for viewers.

3 "The Party's Over" (S5, E8)

#TeamDean fans were thrilled when Dean and Rory got back together after his divorce from Lindsay. But their sweet relationship came crashing down in "The Party's Over."

When Emily found out that Rory was dating her high school sweetheart again, she intervened and threw a Yale alumni party where she only invited eligible boys Rory's age that attended Yale. With Logan there, Rory had too much champagne and ended up making a scene when she left the house to see Dean. Watching Rory with a trail of men behind her, Dean knew he and Rory no longer belonged together. He broke up with her and left in tears.

2 "Christopher’s Return" (S1, E15)

Christopher comes back to Hartford with his parents in tow in "Christopher’s Return." He and his parents have dinner with Rory, Lorelai, and her parents as a way to mingle as a family again. Sadly, the night went sour when Christopher's parents went after Lorelai for ruining their son's life (did they forget that it takes two to tango?). Richard had no choice but to stand up for Lorelai and represent the Gilmore name. He kicked the Haydens out.

Later, Lorelai went to her dad's office to thank him for supporting her but things got dark. Richard protected the family — not Lorelai. He was still upset with her for taking Rory and running all those years ago. He knew then that Lorelai never really needed him, which saddened him to that day.

1 "Scene In A Mall" (S4, E15)

"Scene In A Mall" is one of the saddest Emily Gilmore moments. With Richard busy with his new business, Emily felt like she wasn't capable of doing anything. The only thing she was known for was shopping and spending money. It was gut-wrenching to see Emily realize that she had nothing to show for and that her own husband didn't even care what she did all day. At the end of the episode, Richard doesn't notice the apple decorations that Emily bought and the look on her face said it all. She felt unworthy and irrelevant.

NEXT: Gilmore Girls: 10 Greatest Betrayals, Ranked

Gilmore Girls: The 10 Saddest Episodes, Ranked | ScreenRant from https://ift.tt/3vqFQDa

[savvyliterate]

So I have “A Year in the Life” on the brain again, and because I am in Hermione mode, here’s another really long essay on the revival revolving around the little-discussed fourth main storyline.

READ PART 1: How Luke and Lorelai have a far healthier relationship in AYTIL than in the original series

And, yes, there were four main storylines in AYITL. I love how each of them addresses something different:

Lorelai's storyline has to deal with everything in her life changing, and she is finding that she is stuck in time. Her father has died. Her best friend has left the business they started together. Her longest-serving employee wants to leave. Her daughter is drifting. Her mother is throwing every mistake she ever made in her face. Everything is happening so fast, and she can't quite keep up, and it's terrifying her. By the end of the revival, Lorelai has learned how to move forward with her life.

Emily's storyline deals with the changes in her life after Richard's death, of how to start living alone - truly living alone - after 50 years of marriage. She has to deal with her relationship with Lorelai in a way she could avoid before, because she had Richard to fall back on in regarding her opinions about her daughter. Emily learns throughout the year to become independent and learn to live for herself.

Rory's storyline deals with drifting and the displacement a lot of Millennials have in the world. Life wasn't what was promised her in high school, and through a combination of her own choices and the changing industry, her chosen career has left her behind. Rory has to find her identity all over again, and you see her stumbling through life as she comes to terms with it. This is the one storyline that's left open when everything is said and done.

But there’s that fourth, because there were four people listed in the opening credits after all, and this storyline is so subtle and so entangled with Lorelai and Emily's that you don't realize it for what it is until the very end of the revival, and that's Luke's storyline. His storyline deals with the opposite of what everyone else does, and that's the fear of getting left behind.

It's such an interesting storyline, because it picks up a subtle thread that's woven throughout the original series and tugs on it. You don't even really realize it at first, because unlike the storylines for the the three girls, Luke's doesn't start until "Spring" when Emily informs him about the trust set up in his name.

There has been some criticism of the discussion he and Lorelai have over Michel in "Spring," and about how he snaps at her for not letting Michel push her around. It's the type of behavior he displayed during season 6 that made fans bristle, and it has the same root cause. Why do things have to change? Why can't you be happy with what you have?

LUKE: How have you peaked? The place has been booked solid since you opened.

LORELAI: But it's so small. Just ten rooms and no suites, no mini-fridge and no room to grow.

LUKE: You don't need to grow.

LORELAI: Tell him.

LUKE: Why does everything need to grow? If something's good, keep it the same.

LORELAI: Yeah, but I kinda get what he's saying

LUKE: No, you don't need more. [Snapping]

LORELAI: Okay.

This sort of behavior is actually pretty unusual for a guy who constantly encouraged Lorelai from the very beginning of the series to grow. Luke was one of her very first supporters regarding the Dragonfly and repeatedly told her she is capable of branching out from the Independence Inn and running her own business. He even put $30K of his own money behind that belief before they were a couple. And he has been super proud of her achievements, go insofar as to order back issues of the magazine the Dragonfly was featured in so he could get familiar with the publication. As we saw in "Winter" with Rory's "New Yorker" article, this is an aspect of his personality that hasn't changed over the past nine years.

So why is he balking now?

Part of it is the tendency for Michel to push Lorelai around, and the fact that everyone around Lorelai is forcing her to question her own decisions and this is the breaking point for Luke. He's seen what Emily's constant second-guessing of her choices have done to her, and Michel piling on top of that isn't helping. As he pointed out, Michel has been guilt tripping Lorelai over one thing or another for 20 years. His next sentence was to immediately apologize for snapping, but he's feeling pretty protective at this point. I don't think he meant it in a mean way. Previous times Luke has made similar statements, he's walked them back pretty quickly - such as his protests over the Durham Group wanting to purchase the Dragonfly back in season 5. Back then, his response was largely the same as this: an initial snap judgment, some time to process things, then revisits it from a more rational standpoint. Really, this has been a character trait going all the way back to the beginning of the series.

But here in "Spring," this conversation serves another purpose - especially given its placement in the episode. In Broadway, you tend to have a piece of music where the major players state their desires. In "Hamilton," Alexander Hamilton does this during "My Shot." He doesn't want to throw his away his shot to change the world. Most people's "I want" songs are toward the beginning of the show. However, Aaron Burr's desires are cloaked until well into the second act of the musical. That's when we finally find out that Burr wants to be in the room where it happens. He wants to be part of these history-making decisions rather than remaining on the sidelines.

In "A Year in the Life," this discussion about Michel in the second act of this revival is really Luke's "I want" statement. He wants everything to stay the same, because life for him is good. This is established in "Winter" and why this storyline didn't start there. He and Lorelai are stable and happy, which shows in their relentless bantering and bedtime rollicking. He's the super proud dad, the one rescuing everyone when Kirk's car breaks down, the one providing support for Lorelai at Richard's funeral and when she realizes she's going to therapy with her mother. He's devoted to both Rory and April, as seen by the menu placement of Rory's article and taking several hours (and three dictionaries) to decipher April's letters. This has always been him at his best, and it's about to change.  

"If something's good, keep it the same." And this is where we pick up his journey, because the next major scene that Luke has is the one where Emily calls his cell phone and specifically invites him to dinner to tell him about the trust Richard left him, and then we're off to the races.

One thing that the original series subtly points out is that everyone Luke has ever loved or cared for deeply has left him - be it through circumstances out of his control, their own need to grow, or his mistakes involving those people: His mom died when he was young. His dad died of cancer when he was in his 20s. Liz bailed on him, presumably when he was dealing with his sick dad. Rachel came back and left again and again. Anna left and didn't think he was worth telling about his own kid. Nicole bailed when she realized he wasn't all into their relationship. Lorelai left him because of their mistakes regarding April and Christopher. Jess chose his birth father and California over a stable life in Stars Hollow. Rory and April left home and made their own lives in the world.

You have someone who, at the age of roughly 50, is convinced that he will always be left behind, that he isn't worthy enough to stay for. Luke has severe abandonment issues. Yeah, Lorelai and Emily weren't the only ones who needed therapy. It can be argued that out of the four members of the main cast, Luke is the one who needs therapy the most but never gets it - even though part of him recognized that need all the way back in season 4 with the self-help book.

Now you have Richard reviving Luke's insecurities from beyond the grave thanks to the trust. No matter that it's established Luke has a decent amount of money on his own - enough to offer Lorelai a $15K loan out of pocket for termite repairs, to immediately write out a $30K check for the Dragonfly, to drop $100K on a building without any sort of financial issues. He was able to afford renovations to the diner and apartment twice without any sort of financial issue, and helped pay for renovations on the Crap Shack twice (season 6 and at some point between "Bon Voyage" and "Winter".) That really nice stove now in their kitchen isn't cheap by a long shot, and I doubt Lorelai was the one to pick it out or spend the money on it. He's floating the bill for April's education at MIT, and while I'm sure she had scholarships, it's not exactly cheap.

But despite all of that, Richard is claiming through that trust that Luke still isn't doing enough to provide for Lorelai. Don't get me wrong, I think by the time of Richard's death, there is a certain amount of trust and affection between Luke and the Gilmores. Richard included him on the actuary table to begin with, and Emily called Luke a member of the family. Emily is affectionate toward him at the funeral, and while there is some awkwardness, there isn't a ton. His first instinct at Friday Night Dinner is to hug Emily, which speaks to a lot about his character growth there - that the guy who could barely hug Rory in the early seasons of the original series has shed enough of his armor to more easily show physical affection. Yes, Emily tells the therapist that he doesn't often go to FND, but this is also Emily - who has an established pattern of telling people they're not doing enough when they've done all they can. Luke could have gone to every single FND for years and Emily would still claim that he barely shows. I don't think he went as often as Lorelai, but I would wager he went probably once a month - just enough to be familiar with the house since he was wandering about doing stress home repairs at the funeral, but not with Richard's inner sanctuary (as he mentioned to Emily he's only been in there one other time).

Now Luke gets dragged into this real estate scheme and really doesn't protest it. Part of it is knowing that Lorelai and Emily are having issues, and he doesn't want to make things worse. But, deep down, part of him thinks that Richard is right - he isn't doing enough for Lorelai. And that seems to be confirmed in his mind when Lorelai starts pulling away from him. She's lying about therapy, and while they aren't the huge lies she expressed back in season 5, it's still lying. And that just adds to his unvoiced fear that Lorelai will leave eventually him behind. His response? To clam up about the trust. Piling onto all of this is Lorelai’s new belief (no thanks to Emily) that Luke isn’t satisfied with his life, though he made it very clear in “Winter” that he was.

In "A Year In the Life," Lorelai never considered leaving him. It wasn't an option on the table from her perspective. That was all coming from him. Yes, she second-guesses how she treated him, and that her own selfishness led to him having a life he didn't want - hence the surrogacy subplot and their fight in the diner in "Summer" - but she never thought of leaving him. Even at the very beginning of "Fall," when she's babbling to his voicemail, her thoughts are of getting herself straightened out and coming back home. Contrast how Lorelai treats Luke at the beginning of "Fall" versus "Partings." She was going out of her way to avoid him in that episode until their ultimate confrontation that ended the engagement. When she's on the hiking trip in "Fall," she leaves rambling voicemail messages and defends him to the strangers she's hiking with. It's not the actions of someone planning to bail.

As I wrote a couple months ago, "The Wild trip was never about Lorelai figuring out if she was going to end the relationship. It’s Lorelai finding herself so she can deal with all the emotional crap thrown at her in the past year. She goes when she does because she realizes that she’s fighting with her daughter and that if things keep going the way they are, she could very well permanently damage her relationship with Luke."

But Luke doesn't see that, because there is no precedence in his life for this sort of thing. When he sees people growing emotionally, he knows they will walk away from him.

LUKE: You know, there's been some, uh ... Between us, it's been

JESS: Communication problems?

LUKE: Exactly.

JESS: Never experienced that myself. Maybe she wanted a vacation.

LUKE: Yeah, from me. From us.

JESS: No. No.

LUKE: Uh, she's been keeping things from me.

JESS: Guy things?

LUKE: No. Other things. Like, she's been she's been going to a therapist. Do not say, 'It's about time.'

JESS: I did not say it. I thought it, but that's the way my mind works.

LUKE: Ah, we've been arguing, like sniping. And, we never sniped, you know. We never picked at each other in public and put each other down and made other people look at us like, "Oops, what's going on?"

JESS: I don't like you using the word "oops."

LUKE: I don't like me using it either. I never used the word before. Now I'm a guy who snipes at his girl and uses the word "oops."

JESS: Well, when does she get back?

LUKE: Three weeks. It's the longest we've been apart since we got together.

JESS: You might be wrong.

LUKE: You think I'm wrong?

JESS: Hey, I'm just hearing headlines.

LUKE: Lorelai Gilmore decides to hike the Pacific Crest Trail to figure some things out. What's that sound like?

JESS: It sounds like she's leaving you.

LUKE: Yeah.

Way back in season 4, we are treated to two significant excerpts (and some smaller ones) from the self-help book that Luke purchases. The second excerpt is the one that everyone latches onto, because that's when Luke realizes his feelings for Lorelai.

But the first one is the one that comes into the play in the revival. It's the lesson that Luke never learned, and the single thing that causes him to screw up all his significant relationships:

MAN ON CASSETTE: It's going to take work. It's going to take introspection. You're gonna have to learn new things -- how to be your own best friend, how to treat your damaged psyche with a little kindness, how to say, "hey, pal, you're worth it. You mean something to someone, and you deserve love." That is the key. If you crave love, then you deserve love. Say that to yourself. If I crave love, I deserve love. [Luke sighs deeply.] Now, how did that feel coming out? I'll bet it was hard. I'll bet you felt ridiculous. Some of you may even have been incapable of saying it at all. Try again.

LUKE: I'm not incapable. I just haven't been hit in the head with the Oprah stick lately.

And that's the lesson Luke never learned. He honestly doesn't believe he is worth fighting for, and his own sense of self worth is utter crap. It's why he doesn't react to Lorelai's pleadings in "Partings" until it's far too late. It's why he lashes out at her in season 6 and becomes overly controlling. It's why he just goes along with the cruise, gets married, then never really tries to make the marriage work with Nicole. It's why he dealt with April so badly at first and couldn't figure out how to integrate his relationship with his daughter with his relationship with his fiancee and her daughter.

His talk with Jess is the first time that he openly admits that he is terrified of Lorelai leaving him again, and shows us how he really feels about himself - he's tired and lost and doing things he knows is out of character. He feels like he is the root of Lorelai's issues and that he's the one holding her back. But because of this, because he's finally acknowledging his own fears, he's able to address them. This culminates in the reiteration of his initial "I want" statement when Lorelai returns home in "Fall." This is the culmination of his entire story arc, because he's finally taking a stand for himself.

LUKE: I am not unhappy, okay? I am not unsatisfied. You think I'm unhappy and unsatisfied, and I can't convince you that I am not! I mean this right here is all I will ever need. I never thought that it would happen. That you and me that we would happen. But we did. Listen, I know I am not the easiest guy in the world to build a life with and to share a house with, but there is no one who will be more here for you than me. I will never leave. I will never think about leaving. I will do whatever it takes to fix what's wrong."

The speech in "Fall" is beautiful, necessary, but also in a way pointless. Lorelai has already decided they should get married. She never thought of leaving him, which is why she just kind of gives him this baffled look throughout all of it. He wasn't going to change her mind about anything, because it was made up all along.

But what the speech does is put the cap on Luke's storyline and what he learned through his talk with Jess. He finally acknowledges that he as a person is worth fighting for and so is their relationship, then actually does so - which is far different from his actions post-"Wedding Bell Blues" and post-"Partings." Yes, Luke also made a big damn speech at the end of "The Long Morrow," but it was also different. He doesn't put forth the effort to say he will fix whatever is wrong with them, just that he moved too slow. It's capped with him walking away again when Lorelai reveals she slept with Christopher. They never really talk about it in the aftermath, as he just makes barbs at her when they run into each other in the next episode. Luke never went to the effort to really find out what was wrong and to see if there was a chance they could move past this. They eventually do, as they apologize to each other in "Hay Bale Maze," and Luke in "Summer" finds the idea of Lorelai cheating on him preposterous, so clearly everything regarding that was resolved off-screen after "Bon Voyage."

In "Fall," Luke finally fights for his relationship because he's finally fighting for himself. He's not going to be left behind again, and he will do whatever it takes to avoid making that same mistakes again and again. This is when he starts to recognize his own self worth, and for the first time in his life, he is truly all in.

And that's a beautiful storyline - to discover that you are a person worth fighting for. That change doesn't mean you have to be left behind.

[frazzledsoul]

The 24 Most Infuriating Things on Gilmore Girls Ever Because That BuzzFeed List Is All Wrong and I Am The Sole Authority On These Matters

(okay, I know I went on a long tangent on this first entry here the other day but be patient, we will soon discuss all the ways in which Luke was a jerk soon)

1. That moment when Lorelai is upset over her and Luke’s stalled engagement and his evasiveness concerning her role in his kid’s life but instead of a) sitting down and discussing this with him like a sane, rational human being or b) taking some time to think about what she wants and approaching the subject with him like you know, an adult or something Lorelai decides the absolute best course of action is throw an epic temper tantrum in the middle of the street and demand that he elope with her right then or else, responsibilities and common sense be damned. When Luke doesn’t respond exactly the way that she wants and has the temerity to argue for sanity and logic, she runs off and has sex with her ex-boyfriend almost immediately to ensure that he’ll give up for good.

Real adults don’t play those kind of manipulative head games to get the relationship outcome they want, and they don’t use other people to push away their partners. The Lorelai Gilmore I knew and loved for six years would not hurt the people around her like this.

I’ve dealt with the carnage with this type of situation in my RL way too many times. My life is basically a much more white trash version of Gilmore Girls. I have zero sympathy for Lorelai in how she chose to handle this situation and I will never, ever forgive ASP for this.

(okay, enough about that, let’s beat up on Luke for a bit)

2. The fact that for the first two months after he finds out about April Luke basically doesn’t do anything to try to live up to his responsibilities. I mean, COME ON. I judge him way more over this than any of the Lorelai stuff.

3. Luke doesn’t let Lorelai near his kid for months and months even though everyone else is allowed to spend time with her, and when she finally confronts him on it, he still doesn’t want to let her around April because he thinks April will like her more than him?! I cut Rosenthal (who wrote the birthday party episode) a lot of slack for S7, but seriously with that excuse?

4. Luke doesn’t tell Lorelai about his sekrit kid for two months, and makes the decision to be involved in her life without including her in any of it while she’s planning their wedding. And then she finds out accidentally?!? Dude, WTF.

5. Luke’s inability to explain his relationship to Rory to April when they all meet up at Jess’s book launch is inexcusable to me. For the most part, all of this drama doesn’t really affect Rory, but this was just awful.

6. I hate that Lorelai voluntarily shows up to comfort Christopher with a bottle of tequila to comfort him and stays all night and it doesn’t even occur to her that Luke might have a problem with this very, very inappropriate behavior until afterwards. There were very serious boundary issues there.

7. I hate everything in Lane’s wedding episode. I shouldn’t hate it, but I do. It’s a vehicle to sell Christopher as the savior on his white horse while Lorelai is miserable over Luke and I hate every freaking second of it.

8. I kind of hate that Lorelai and Luke have this big blow-up at the end of season 2 and that Lorelai is completely awful to him for having to care about someone else besides her and Rory and then expects a simple apology is going to fix things after her complete freak-out leads to him sending Jess back for a few weeks. This was his big experiment in parenthood and he felt like he failed and she doesn’t really seem to care about her part in how things ended. 

9. I can’t stand that whole period in the first third of season 7 where Lorelai absurdly decides that because Luke was such a big part of her Stars Hollow life and she doesn’t have him anymore, she doesn’t know what any of her values are and she’s going to go embrace her parents’ world for a while and um - excuse me? Lorelai spent her entire life running away from her parents. She built a life around doing the exact opposite of what they valued long before she met Luke. And I know she felt like she had to give Luke space, but that was no reason to throw out her entire value system. Christopher is tied up in this, too, and Lorelai becomes this person who can pretend they are happy Yale parents, that she wants cotillions and whirlwind trips to Paris to be the things that are important to her. I mean, I kind of get the point, but it’s so drastic and out of character.

10. Lorelai marrying Christopher. I get why it happened. I get why it happened a lot more than most other fans do, I think. Doesn’t mean I have to like it.

11. Every clingy, embarrassing thing Lorelai does to try to hold onto Christopher after he finds the character reference for Luke. I mean, I understand that they are married and that Lorelai sacrificed a lot to get to that point because it was her main priority, and she feels like she has to cling to this, and a lot of that has little to do with Christopher in the first place. But, seriously, ugh. Especially the part where Christopher tells her he and Luke got into a fistfight again and Lorelai tells him she should have been more sensitive? Um, sorrrrrrreeeeee? I hate that she says that her feelings for Luke are just going to go away, and that she considers cutting him completely out of her life to placate Christopher. I hate that she claims that she tried to do everything she could to make it work with Luke (she didn’t. She gave up, and tried to force him to pass a test that he was incapable of). It doesn’t even have much to do with either Christopher or Luke, but I hate how submissive and desperate she is to hold onto a relationship that she knows isn’t worth it.

12. Lorelai taking her rage out on Sherry’s towels at her baby shower. I just want to shake her and tell her that Sherry isn’t the other woman: she is. That situation was absolutely not Sherry’s fault. And you know what, Lorelai? If you can’t handle the situation after all of this time you shouldn’t have gone to the dang party.

13. The fact that Lorelai slept with Christopher with the full knowledge that he already had a girlfriend, and then proceeds to tell oh, everyone she knows about their new relationship even though she knows (from their final conversation, even before the news about Sherry’s pregnancy is revealed) that he could still go back to her and nothing is settled.

14. Rory’s really, really messed up attitude about the half-sister she claims he doesn’t have. Look, Rory, I know you are disappointed that your dad could be there for this kid and not you, but you were 17 when it happened, so maybe you should get over it and accept that your half-sister is a kid who had no control over the circumstances in which she was conceived, just like you were.

15. I hate that Emily, Richard, and Christopher conspired together to destroy Lorelai’s relationship with Luke, and that they were successful, at least for a couple of weeks.

16. I hate that Rory is spoiled and hypersensitive that she steals a yacht to make up for the fact that she got a bad performance review. I really hate that she decides to chuck her entire life plan to be aimless and when Lorelai asks her why, she pouts that Lorelai doesn’t understand because she never went to college. Yes, because was busy struggling to raise you two out of dire poverty so that you could have chances like this, Rory. I know that Lorelai is being equally stubborn here, but Rory’s attitude is so entitled.

17. I hate that when Lorelai goes to her parents for help in keeping Rory in school, and they basically betray her and decide to proceed with their own plan for Rory, taking the situation completely out of Lorelai’s hands.

18. I hate that Logan reverted back to his old life in the revival after becoming such a great guy in season 7 and Rory embarks on a semi-adulterous relationship with him and they can never discuss their relationship or tell us why things have to be this way. I’m ranking this so low because I think maybe I could understand if it was explained, but it never is.

19. That moment when Dean shows his latent serial killer potential by tearing into Rory for having dinner with Jess and Paris instead of making plans with him. I could have kind of understood this if she was alone with Jess, but she wasn’t. She was with Paris and Jess invited himself over. They were chaperoned. The way Dean screams at Rory in front of Paris for something so innocent is just scary.

20. Also equally scary? The fact that both Lorelai and Rory go into hysterics when Rory loses the bracelet that Dean gave her while on the picnic with Jess. It occurred to me at the time that I watched it that Lorelai has so little experience with serious relationships that she has no idea how scary it is to freak over upsetting Dean like this. I think we kind of see that reflected in her behavior when her own love triangle rears its ugly head.

21. I probably should have this ranked higher, but I hate how awful Jess is to Luke when he comes back to town for the first time, and tells how much he resents Luke ever doing anything to try to help him, reducing him to a drunken mess in Lorelai’s living room. The show never really acknowledged it, but I think the whole massive parenting failure with Jess was why Luke was so weird about April when she came around.

22. Jess’s breakup with Rory was atrocious, from his trying to get her to have sex with him at the party (for the record, I do not believe that Jess is a sexual predator, but that was still way beyond appropriate) to picking a fight with Dean to yelling at Luke for trying to get him to take some responsibility for his life to completely leaving town without telling her goodbye.

23. I should probably rank this higher, but Zach destroying Hep Alien’s musical future in the middle of season 6 and the fact that it basically never gets put back together. I think Zach redeemed himself for all of this but he and Lane got distracted with domesticity and we never really saw things get back together on that front. I know, ASP would have never had Lane get pregnant, blah blah blah, but she set up the situation where Zach messes up and Lane gets married off very young in the first place (not to mention Lane wanting to hold onto her virginity, kind of ensuring that plot outcome) so in a lot of ways it’s just a repeat of the L/L storyline: we can’t expect her to repair something she went to a lot of trouble to destroy. (And in retrospect, I wonder if all of this happened just to set up the situation with Lorelai and Christopher in the wedding episode: it’s awful to think that ASP let Lane’s future melt down just to prioritize this side character, but I wouldn’t be surprised, either).

24. Rory’s entitled behavior in the revival really got to me, especially that period where she pretends she doesn’t have any money and then shortly afterwards she’s discussing renting an apartment in Queens even though she doesn’t have a job (in other words, she’s full of crap). I also hate that she tries to sell Lorelai on the memoir by pitching her own life story back to her as if Lorelai didn’t live it herself. I’m not saying Lorelai’s reaction was entirely reasonable but at Rory’s age she surely realizes that a lot of the childhood memories she thought were cute probably weren’t for the teenage mother trying to keep them both safe and hold it together.

[randomestfandoms-ocs]

Since were both in a Kirsty & Richie mood - seven scenes, one for each season?

oooo okay let’s go!!!!

Season 1: in Forgiveness and Stuff, once they’re sure that Richard is going to be okay and they all go home, Richie makes hot chocolate and brings it to Kirsty’s room because he knows that she’s been really shaken up (both because of being closer with the grandparents than Rory and because of the hospital stuff) and they spend the night drinking hot chocolate and cuddling under a warm blanket until Kirsty stops shaking 🥺(I can see him including Rory in it or Rory having gone to bed when they get home!)

Season 2: just, Richie escorting Kirsty at the debutant ball 🥺at first it’s just doing a favour for his sister but he ends up getting really excited to have this special thing with her because they haven’t has as much time together since starting Chilton bc of school and everything, and the entire thing is just soft and sweet and adorable!

My Way —

Season 3: listen when Kirsty gets her early admissions to Yale, the first person that she tells is Richie and he’s so excited it’s adorable!  He totally respects that she’s not ready to tell Lorelai but he definitely struggles to hide his excitement

Season 4: okay these are technically two scenes but idk which works with your Richie plans!!!  In The Lorelais First Day At Yale, either Kirsty goes to crash in Richie’s dorm for the night because having Lorelai (and Rory tbh) there at all is already really shitty for her but then the whole food party makes it even worse, or Kirsty begs Richie to come to the dorm because she can’t deal with any of it alone (possibly including Richie reassuring Kirsty that she’s not a bad person for being pissed about Rory being at Yale/in her quad)

Season 5: oof oh boy okay so Rory and Kirsty have a huge fight over the Rory getting back with Dean thing (especially because Kirsty is like genuinely afraid of Dean after the Keg! Max situation), and I can just see Richie like basically dragging her to New York to spend a weekend in the apartment because he can tell that she’s kind of falling apart over it all

Season 6: okay so while literally everyone else is fighting with everyone else (hell, Kirsty even tears into Rory at one point), can we just have Friday Night’s Alright For Fighting with Kirsty and Richie absolutely defending each other all the way until finally the two of them just leave and Richie drives them out to New York to spend the weekend at the apartment because it’s home-home (and possible Richie calling Logan & Tristan and Kirsty calling Paris, and Jess already there, so they just have a family bonding time)

Season 7: oh god okay but at parents’ day, Kirsty continuously introducing Luke & Jess as her family and Richie just kind of laughing at her (but affectionately) but then when he sees Lorelai and Christopher he joins her in calling Luke dad (and they both run interference keeping each other away from Christopher and Richie basically telling Lorelai “you really fucked up so respect that Kirsty doesn’t want you in her life and leave her alone”)

Piece By Piece — 

Season 3: Just give me Richie defending Kirsty & Jess’ relationship to Lorelai pls 🥺like when she flips her shit at the end of summer party and Kirsty is like definitely close to tears, I really need Richie to just say something along the lines of “well she’s almost 18 were and Jess is involved, so she’s off to a better start than you were”

Season 4: ooh boy okay so obviously the Harvard-Yale game is a disaster so afterwards Richie goes back to Kirsty & Jess’ and the three of them eat takeout on the living room floor while watching a movie (probably a disney one bc of the twins) like they used to when Richie was staying with them in New York!!!

Season 5: okay but when the Christopher and Kirsty fight breaks out, Luke and Jess are each holding one of the twins (keeping them far away from Christopher) so Richie is the one who like just grabs her by the stomach and pulls her away and basically tells Christopher to leave before he lets go of her

Season 6: okay like it isn’t a specific scene but since Rory lives in New York for at least a chunk of the time that she’s out of Yale, just give me the triplets’ New York adventures like either in the summer or Kirsty and Richie going down for some weekends (and still studying super hard but also just spending time the three of them because like clearly they’ve grown apart a bit if Rory fell apart like that and couldn’t talk to them about it so they want to reconnect 🥺)

Season 7: goddd okay but the episode where Richard has a heart attack like in PBP Kirsty is still at Yale and she’s in Richard’s class so either Richie being in the class too or Kirsty calling him and like the entire ambulance ride to the hospital and like tbh the entire time at the hospital they just are not letting go of each other’s hands and just being each other’s rock through the entire time (and the second that Christopher finally shows up, Richie is just immediately pulling Kirsty out of the hospital)

Send me a crossover and I’ll talk about a scene that I could see happening in their story