#arrrggh

I really wanted an episode where Jim either takes Driver's Ed, OR gets his permit, and is interrupted by some form of Trollhunter fuckery. Like there's a gnome that messes with him by hiding in the footwell and randomly pressing pedals because gnomes love driving (like when they stole Uhl's truck). Perhaps because of that combined with his nervousness and anxiety, he fails the first time and has to take it a second time... but is sans gnome so it goes much better.

Just picture in your head. Jim gets in car for test, nervously says hi to tester who is sick of everyone's shit already. Jim gulps... laughs nervously and plasters on that dorky smile he gets when anxious. Only response from tester is a deadpan stare... so cue Jim looking away and giving an hidden eye roll. He checks mirrors, seatbelt on, starts car, puts in drive and rolls out into traffic... only for the brakes to engage. 'What the....???' A glance at the tester, another nervous laugh snd smile. Ease back onto the gas and attempt 2 at getting out onto the road. The tester barks directions at him... 'take a left here, a right here' etc. Jim messes up one, taking a right instead of a left.. and while he is internally cringing at himself the car suddenly springs forward.

Cue brief panic and that's when Jim notices the gnome hiding down at the pedals. Trollhunter instincts kick in, He glares at the gnome. He can't expose magical creatures and trollhunting to the test giver! Hilarity ensues with Jim stomping and kicking at the gnome, the car lurching and swerving, the tester panicked, pressing themselves back into their seat and holding on for dear life while screaming; then eventually flailing and yelling for Jim to pull over. At some point the gnome bites Jim. He finally gets the car pulled over, gnome blows a raspberry and disappears. Tester is absolutely fuming now, fails Jim, Jim leans his head back on the headrest and really cringes. Tester throws him out of car leaving Jim standing on the curb. He sits down slowly.... facepalm. Has to either walk back to DMV to get his bike or call his mom.

Later he's retelling the story or his disastrous driving test to Toby and his two troll mentors, when Blinky suggests there might be an infestation of gnomes living in the DMV. Trollhunter call! There might be some B&E involved (yet again... come on you guys! One arrest is enough!) more hilarity ensues as they try to round up all the gnomes (armored up this time so they can't snatch the amulet... he learned his lesson there). Papers flying everywhere, the boys launching themselves over and under desks. One group of gnomes caught trying to steal a test car after creating a gnome tower to get the keys off the pegboard. The trollhunters just manage to get all the gnomes right as security shows up. Everyone scatters, makes it out, confused security guard calls cops in. No one gets caught though.

Cue however many days later, Jim goes back to retake his test. He gets in the test car (it's a different car than last time) and his stomach sinks... it's the same test giver as his first attempt. Tester is freaking out, like NO! No way I'm riding with this kid again! Jim has sunk down into his seat. Tester ends up having to give him the driving exam anyways. This time though, Jim passes with no incidents. At end of exam, Jim parks car, tester is looking at him with eyes narrowed. Sassy Jim kicks in and suggests maybe the other car had mechanical issues? Tester angrily rips his passing exam paper out of clipboard and shoves it at Jim, leaves car (slams door). Jim blows out a breath he didn't realize he was holding... whew! Then it dawns on him that he actually passed! He can drive now! Maybe he has a better chance of convincing his mom to get him a Vespa now.

Later that evening in Trollmarket pub celebrating with Blinky, Arrrgghh and Toby. Talking about Vespas and dreamy trips driving along the coast like that poster in his garage, hopefully with Claire. How Jim's birthday is coming up, maybe he will get a Vespa! Though Jim knows it won't happen, at least not this year. His mom isn't too fond of the idea. It doesn't dampen his mood any though. Toby secretly excited because for sure he can convince the Vespa salesman to let Jim test drive one now that he has his permit! He starts his plan to secretly gather needed paperwork. Blinky gets an idea too. He's starting to really care for this human boy, and wouldn't it be wonderful to get Jim one of these Vespas he so desires. A project they could work on together, some bonding time, like a father Jim never had and the son he never had. There in the pub, while listening to the boys laughing and half formed dreams, Blinky starts his plan.

So I’m currently rewatching s3 e2 of Gilmore Girls and while throughout the show there are a myriad of not-so-great things or unnatural dialogue, I’m always struck by how well most family (and general relationship) dynamics are written. 

This is the episode where Christopher comes to their Friday night dinner and yells at Lorelai because of her shutting him out and “keeping Rory from [him]” and eventually him coming to the conclusion that Rory couldn’t have brought herself to that level of upset and pain that she shuts him out on her own. This really gets to me because it is so grounded in reality (at least in my opinion)

This is generally because of his sense of entitlement to the life he wants and feels he deserves, a thing a lot of people tend to have. In s1 e15: “Christopher Returns”, Rory and Lorelai have a conversation about whether or not Christopher will stick around and Lorelai effectively ends this with: “He’s going to come and go as he pleases babe, you know that” He maintains no responsibility until he wants to and interacts just enough so that he can feel entitled to have a say or have weighted judgments on Lorelai’s and Rory’s lives and choices and so that he feels he has had a substantial enough involvement in Rory’s life to be under the impression that he influenced her accomplishments. 

He maintains a possessiveness over Lorelai and especially Rory and views them (again especially Rory) as trophies. You can put them on a shelf and generally forget the upkeep side of things: they’re not the easiest to dust, though they do happen to be pretty easy to put a little bit further back on shelf so no one will notice the number of times you pushed it back another centimetre and mentally muttered,“next time”. Every so often you can choose to take them out, pay a little care and attention to them, but ultimately they exist as record of your accomplishments. 

While I hate that Christopher is deluded enough to believe that no grudges should be harboured or that he not only should have, but maintains the same relationship with Rory as Lorelai does (from authority to casual to general impact), in my experience, many parents that are casually absent do this. In being around enough to exist, yet infrequently and certainly not for most impactful life events; there is a failure to realize how they factor into their child’s life because they expect all parents to factor into their children’s lives the same amount no matter the dynamic. 

I think this is incredibly apparent when it comes to each of Rory’s parents being in relationships. While Lorelai over-matures Rory and has a bit of an inappropriate relationship (and this is its own thing), at the end of the day the way she initially handled Max and Rory was amazing and appropriate and it’s a large reason why Max and Rory have their little “I wanted you to know that I really wanted to be your step-father” moment (which as someone who’s had step-parents,, I melt,, this was truly perfect) Christopher handled things with Sherry totally different than this: he introduces Sherry by surprisingly springing her on Rory on an important day for her — one where she needed an unclouded head (and if he was around enough, he would’ve been aware of how much she disliked surprises) and “ Well, he and I never met. I didn’t even know he existed until late in the game. Hell, I didn’t even know you were engaged until you called me from your bachelorette party. And I wasn’t invited to the wedding – or did my invitation get lost in the mail?” He views his lack of announcement of Sherry’s presence as on par with his lack of knowledge of Max slowly entering the life he made little attempt to exist in. But why should she have told him? With how little he was around, can we honestly think he flickered in any of their heads once? — or even that he should have?