nora’s mind

For example, I always imagine how it might have gone down if Jess had been around when Rory dropped out of Yale in a different way. Imagine Jess being present in Stars Hollow, hearing about it, and immediately knowing something was wrong. The Jess we see later in the series the one who’s grown, who’s finding direction, who’s building a better version of himself wouldn’t just shrug it off. He’d go straight to Lorelai, because he’d know that Rory’s decision wasn’t just about Yale. It was about her, her relationship with her mom, and this huge identity crisis she was spiraling through.

And I love to picture that moment Jess and Lorelai having an actual conversation, not their usual snark or defensiveness, but a real, honest talk about Rory. Jess asking, What happened? How did it get this bad? Lorelai maybe being caught off guard that Jess, of all people, is the one seeking answers, but slowly realizing he isn’t just being nosy he’s genuinely worried. And from there, Jess deciding he needs to confront Rory, not out of judgment, but out of love and concern. He’d call her out, yes, because that’s Jess. He’d tell her point blank that what she’s doing isn’t just hurting the people around her, it’s hurting herself, because he knows that Yale, ambition, drive that’s Rory. That’s who she is. And he’d refuse to let her pretend otherwise.

The best part is imagining what comes after. Rory, shaken by his words, eventually finding the courage to go back, to repair things with her mom, to own up to her mistakes. And somewhere down the line, Lorelai realizing that the turning point wasn’t Logan, wasn’t even her, but Jess. That it was Jess who pushed Rory back onto her path, not by controlling her or fixing her life for her, but by reminding her of who she really is and what she’s capable of.

And I think that moment would have been the quiet revelation for Lorelai. The moment she sees, maybe for the first time, just how much Jess truly loves Rory. Not in some reckless, destructive way, but in a way that builds her up, holds her accountable, and believes in her when she’s lost sight of herself. That’s when Lorelai would understand that Jess isn’t just some rebellious kid who blew into their lives to cause chaos he’s someone who, in his own way, has always pushed Rory toward becoming the best version of herself. And if that had actually been part of the show? We could have seen a whole different dynamic unfold, not just between Jess and Rory, but between Jess and Lorelai too.

So much of what makes the two of them work is the contrast between how others perceive them and how they truly are. Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of people who understand who Rory is as a person (Lorelai, Lane, Paris, Richard and Emily to a certain degree for starters), but she's constantly met with the expectation that she just does good and is supposed to make everyone proud 24/7. Stars Hollow as a group especially are big on this, as seen f. ex. through how Taylor takes Rory's one comment about an inappropriate DVD and twists the whole thing into a censorship crusade and makes Rory its poster-child even though she wants nothing to do with it and tells him so repeatedly. But instead of hearing Rory disagree with him (like he would Lorelai and Luke) he assumes that she actually agrees with him - and why shouldn't she when she's the perfect sunshine paragon of good who would never disagree with her elders? Also her grandparents treat her as incredibly fragile and childlike, like she must be too innocent to ever do anything wrong and so whenever she does something it has to be somebody else's fault (usually Lorelai, but occasionally Jess or whoever else was present). Time and time again Rory is treated like something innocent and naive and weak — but not by Jess. He sees her as a person.

And it obviously goes the other way too. Jess is treated like shit by pretty much everyone else. Either people hate him unprovoked or very much provoked (he did do a lot of pranks in his first few weeks and while I'm a Dean-hater I'm not blind to how much Jess picked fights with him), or they’ve simply given up on him. He tells Rory himself that every authority figure he had back in New York gave up on him too, from teachers to principals to his very own mother. But Rory doesn’t treat him like a lost cause, she treats him like the smart, brilliant and asshole-ish teen that he is. By having faith in him she also often holds him more accountable than others. Where f. ex. Lorelai or the other adults just roll their eyes, Rory physically drags Jess into doing his shifts at the diner. While others write him off, Rory chews Jess’ ear out for not helping Luke more and for willfully making enemies out of the Stars Hollow adults.

They don't put each other on pedestals or below each other. Jess doesn’t try to make a sinner out of Rory and she doesn’t try to make a saint out of him. There’s genuine respect between them. They expect each other to have integrity and treat others with kindness and honesty, and the rest is good old chemistry and common interests.

I particularly love how in so many of their scenes (especially pre-relationship) when they spend time alone they just get to be these goofy nerdy kids. They argue about controversial authors and dig through records shops and eat hot dogs and make fun of each other and try to make each other laugh. It’s not just sexual chemistry as it too often is in a dynamic like this (and often uncomfortably sexual when writing teenagers - looking at you Gossip Girl), and not just well written intellectual chemistry — they have platonic chemistry too. A hell of a lot of it actually.

While I don’t think ASP wrote them through a purely deconstructionist lens on the good girl x bad boy dynamic (if she did plan on writing the dynamic at all), there is something to be said about how where many around them treat them like stereotypes they treat each other like people. To so many people, Rory is a perfect small town princess, a little miss sunshine with booksmarts for days but too delicate and sweet for anything with grit and weight. To a lot of the same people and many more Jess is a pathetic brutish and maniacal lost cause, hell personified in a chainsmoking leather-wearing teenager. But to each other they are actual human beings. Kind and mean and flirtatious and scared and reckless and smart. Rory really thinks that with the right motivation and mindset Jess can be the kind who does (and at the end wrote) incredible things. Jess really believes that with a little more practice and support to step out of her comfort zone she can be the amazing journalist she wishes to be.

Make a wish and place it in your heart. Anything you want, everything you want. Do you have it? Good. Now believe it can come true. You never know where the next miracle is going to come from. The next smile, the next wish come true. But if you believe that it's right around the corner, and you open up your heart and mind to the possibility of it, to the certainty of it, you just might get the thing you're wishing for. The world is full of magic. You just have to believe in it. So make your wish… Do you have it? Good. Now believe in it, with all of your heart.

A few days ago, I lost a large amount of blood due to a sudden and severe hemorrhage, and I fainted without feeling it. I was transferred to the hospital, and I did not wake up until the doctors had stopped the bleeding and provided me with blood units and the necessary treatment.

I spent a full week in the hospital receiving treatment under intensive medical care, after my condition and my fetus’s condition were extremely critical. 💔😥

I was discharged from the hospital, but I am barely able to move. I need someone to support me so I can walk. 😢

My fetus, now in the seventh month, is still in a difficult condition. The doctors did everything they could to save him; they gave me injections to stabilize the pregnancy and others to complete the lung development, in addition to many other medications.

All that has happened to me is a result of the harsh conditions we are living in Gaza. 💔😓

Exorbitant prices for providing food and water, and difficulty in obtaining medications and nutritional supplements, and the life of tents that no human can endure, especially with the bitter cold and the continuous rain.

Please… I need medical care, medications, and special nutrition, so that survival may be written for me and my fetus. and this cannot happen without you extending your hands to save us once again. 🙏🥹

Vetted by @gazavetters, my number verified on the list is ( #152 ) ✅