#I didn't meant to go on about that singular aspect lol but it's something I've been thinking about a lot lately

[cold-neon-ocean]

2, 9 for LOK?

✨ love your fandom ask game ✨ 

2. A headcanon you weren't sure about at first but have come to like!

Ooh this one is kinda tough~ I'm generally rather removed from the fandom at large so I actually don't really know of a lot of popular headcanons out there, let alone ones I initially didn't like and came to like~ I really only ever consumed content about Baatar and Kuvira as they're my favorites, and with them I'd either like a headcanon outright, or dislike it outright. I will say, at least in the limited fan content I've consumed, there is a common idea of Baatar having gone to university in Ba Sing Se for a period of time. I've seen at least 3 folks use that in their writings for him, and while it was never something I was "unsure" about, I didn't initially include the idea in my version of him. I don't know who penned that headcanon first but I was always hesitant about being seen as "copying" anyone lol. I do like the idea though, especially with my very codependent versions of Baatar and Kuvira, some time apart like that during their "good years" would be rather interesting, since they have been in each other's lives for most of their lives, Baatar choosing to go where Kuvira can't follow- even for a short period of time, I can see her holding against him for a little while. Especially with her preexisting abandonment issues.

9. A ship that isn't your OTP but you enjoy

Once again I'm pretty singularly invested in Baatar and Kuvira but there are definitely some canon and fan ships that I like! Canon wise I'll always have a soft spot for Bolin and Opal, just because they're cute and I like the potential dynamic it creates with Baatar specifically. A lot of it is pretty contingent on my rewrite versions, but what can I say, I'm a bit of a sucker for puppy love. Lyn and Kya was an early ship I'd see in the fandom that I always was like *Kermit nodding gif* ooh yeah I like that, and I've also seen Lyn and Bumi which I also really like, but I never really delved into fan works of either admittedly. I'll confess that lately the crack ship of Baatar and Zhu Li has been on my mind, but definitely not as a positive ship in any way, more like a mutually waged psychological warfare that they aren't even trying to hide from each other kind. I don't remember what sparked the idea- I'm not usually one for crack ships as I tend to be pretty single-ship through and through, but it's been a fun dynamic to think about, especially the kinds of conversations they'd have.

#Ask Matsu #LoK Thoughts #[ The Baatar/Zhu Li thing is something I'd love to play with but it definitely would not be canon to my main AU lol #as fun as that would be Baatar does not expend any more energy on people than he needs to save for Kuvira and to a lesser extent Bolin #But the idea of him and Zhu Li waging war with each other behind the scenes is very interesting to me #especially with her really just trying to get information she can use against them out of him #and he's fully aware of that and just letting whatever happens happen to both see how far she'll take it but also to keep the leash drawn #in the event she actually choses to do something drastic #also for the sake of clarity Kuvira would be 100% fully aware and find it entertaining on a number of levels #her and Baatar do not keep secrets #she was probably the one to be like “lol you should see where that's going” #though I do think Baatar and Zhu Li would have some very interesting conversations #they're in very similar positions and I'm sure he'd wanna know why she put up with Varrick for so long #i mean he'd have a good guess but he'd wanna hear what her rationale is in her own words #and on Zhu Li's part she wants to know what twisted Baatar up so bad #but she'd also find a lot of his viewpoints about being a non bender rather gratifying #because he's willing to say out loud what a lot of people don't want to hear #I didn't meant to go on about that singular aspect lol but it's something I've been thinking about a lot lately #and crack-ships are rather new for me so this is uncharted territory #does this even count as a crack ship tho? maybe not #it definitely started out as “hehe the two glasses people on the train” but now it's like “hehe psychological warfare” #idk maybe it still counts lol ] #orangepanic

[baezdylan]

Thoughts about Jess really make me go into all sort of tangents lol. Cause like, while I was watching the first season I was talking with my mom about how small towns are portrayed in media.

It's something I've been paying extra attention to a lot lately, since I'm writing njabbic, and growing up in a small town (technically a village actually) is a big part of Aria's backstory and what shaped her into who she is. And in my story, the small town is portrayed very negatively, which I feel is very common. It's the whole "small town, small minds" thing, which is something that gets repeated in njabbic a lot. Just that the smaller the population is the less diversity there's gonna be, and then when someone is different it really stands out. Also if everyone knows everyone, there's really no place to escape. You can't be anonymous. Also since njabbic takes place in the 90s when they didn't have internet, there's really not much to do where Aria lives except gossip, which only makes the problems worse.

And there's also idea that small towns are limiting. Aria has always had big dreams and a longing for adventure, which none of her peers share and find her strange for having. Her dreams are literally bigger than her home, which is why she feels trapped.

And then there's the positive side of things, which is a lot of what Stars Hollow feels like in the beginning. Where the small size of the population and everyone knowing everyone results in a really tight knit community. Like a really big family with all that small town charm as well. Also the fact that like every resident is super weird and eccentric somehow (affectionate for everyone except Taylor).

And in the first season, this is mainly how Stars Hallow is portrayed (they even have an entire plot line where Paris tries to discover the town's "dark side" and it's meant to be funny because it doesn't have one), but when Jess enters in season 2 it shows aspects of the town that aligns with that first example (here's your story Paris). And I think it's interesting that the world is afforded this complexity, and what it says about how these portrayals differ because of who's telling the story. Cause if Jess had been the main character of the show it most definitely would've been portrayed as example number 1. I don't know, it's just about how people and places are complex and one's perfect blah blah.

Oh yes, definitely! Gilmore Girls always does that thing where they simultaneously confirm a stereotype and demolish it, which I've mentioned before. It's all about the perspective and it's lovely to see that same manner of writing applied to the characters. The problem (well, one of the problems) with a tight-knit community is that they don't do so well with change and what's so heartbreaking about their treatment of Jess is that it's more of a treatment of this caricature, a made up character with this boy's face, personification of unpleasant aspects of change. But naturally, everything they say and do inevitably affects him and messes with his self image which wasn't too positive to start with. And then you have Rory!!! Who deals with the opposite issue, but it's an issue that comes from the same source which makes Rory and Jess the perfect reflections of each other. Jess is only ever associated with failure, Rory is never allowed to fail which leads to her actual mistakes being regarded as the mistakes of this other, made up Rory because the real Rory can't possibly afford to be anything other than an angel, anything other than the nice, good kid. (I have to recommend @jonismitchell 's beautiful writing piece that deals with the struggles of being "the cool girl". One of the best writing pieces I've ever encountered and while it doesn't deal with Gilmore Girls specifically, I think it's still relevant to the subject.) Re: see how Rory's treated after the car accident. I think that situation perfectly reflects the different ways in which the town exaggerates a singular trait these young people possess (or have appeared to possess) and only see them through that lens. That's why, to find comfort and understanding, Jess and Rory always have to be away from the town somehow, sometimes even physically. (the bridge, New York, the empty diner) It functions as a metaphor for the world they created prompted by each other's presence where they can not only be who they are, but also REALISE for the first time that they aren't this one unchangeable point in time and space. (This is where I talk about how romanticism is Literati's historical movement.) That they aren't only capable of changing, but that there's more to them right now, in the moment of speaking. Jess questions Rory's lifelong dream, she questions his predictions about his future. Maybe he doesn't only have to work to survive, maybe he can work to survive and love the work that he does. Which means a lot, someone seeing that kind of potential in you, when your whole life so far has been about holding onto the edges of the world that doesn't love you and trying to preserve against whatever lies behind existence, all that on your own. (Rory doesn't get enough credit for her unwavering faith in people and the ability to focus on the good in them.)

But the town loves Rory, and she loves her town. She loves Stars Hollow. It's small and everybody knows everybody and she's loved. Well, the person she thinks she should be is loved. But still, it's love because love is not fixed in stone the way that Rory's future is. So she's always torn between satisfying everybody else and satisfying herself and the former always seems like a better option because a part of her doesn't want to be anything except the person that she should be, the fixed point, the ideal. That other choice would acquire change and a complete reexamination of her identity. (this is what makes Jess's progress soooo good) Who else is reluctant when it comes to change? Small towns. But Rory's dreams are big, she wants to travel and see the world the same way Little Women's Amy March does. ("I was impatient, I wanted to get out into the world.") How do you accomplish both the internal AND external peace when your own self feeds on contradiction?

So Amy sailed away to find the old world, which is always new and beautiful to young eyes, while her father and friend watched her from the shore, fervently hoping that none but gentle fortunes would befall the happy-hearted girl, who waved her hand to them till they could see nothing but the summer sunshine dazzling on the sea.

I really love it when places are shown to parallel people because there's a whole entire world in all of us, but the common mistake is pursuing this one place per person logic. Because often times, the world within you doesn't exactly match anything external perfectly. It's more like a mosaic of different places and it just keeps building itself, it's a city and a little town and a person. A speck of dust burdened by being larger than life. I think that's why it's often said that home is found in others because you're more likely to find similarities or understanding between two collages of experience, no matter how different the pieces they're made out of are, the concept their presence relies on is the same. Just... places changing the people and people changing the places. They always end up painted one over the other and you can rarely tell which one came first.

#restless wind inside a letter box💌 #gilmore girls #otp: you wrote a book #gg meta #jess mariano #rory gilmore #jess x rory #mal the writer wizard 💜💫📝 #irl amy pond tag